In My World

Describe your life or current situation using exactly six words. Air conditioning is my best friend!

Surfacing was Margaret Atwood's second novel and was published in 1972.  I actually have a 1972 copy of the novel.  The pages are browned and getting brittle.  Hard for someone my age to understand that 1972 was a long time ago because it doesn't feel that way to me.  But it was a long time ago. I read Surfacing by Margaret Atwood a while back but I still remember it well.  Yes, I know, you either love or hate Atwood.  I prefer to judge on individual books and this one was exciting and stressful and very real to me.   The main character, who remains nameless, is summoned to her home town in northern Quebec to find her missing father.  She travels with her lover and another couple.  Atwood dealt with issues of mental health, the environment and nationalism through her characters. I think this is an excellent read.  Not an easy read.  But worth it.

Today's Prompt: To Buy What are you waiting to purchase right now but don't have the money for yet? Dear hubby and I are hoping to find a nice affordable RV to do some traveling when we retire.

An alvar is a biological environment based on a limestone plain with thin or no soil and, as a result, sparse grassland vegetation. Often flooded in the spring, and affected by drought in midsummer, alvars support a distinctive group of prairie-like plants. Most alvars occur either in northern Europe or around the Great Lakes in North America. This stressed habitat supports a community of rare plants and animals, including species more commonly found on prairie grasslands. Lichen and mosses are common species. Trees and bushes are absent or severely stunted. In North America, alvars provide habitat for birds such as bobolinks, eastern meadowlarks, upland sandpipers, eastern towhees, brown thrashers and loggerhead shrikes whose habitat is declining elsewhere. Rare plants include Kalm's lobelia, Pringle's aster, juniper sedge, lakeside daisy, ram's-head lady's-slipper, and dwarf lake iris. Also associated with alvars are rare butterflies and snails.  Alvars in Ontario inc...

Who doesn't love an epic love story?  Action?  Adventure?  A hero trying to defeat evil?  This movie has something for everyone.  It is an exciting story.  William Wallace's wife is killed by the British and Wallace turns his anger toward starting a revolt against the tyrant King Edward I and trying to free Scotland from his iron fist.  The cinematography, costumes and location are all amazing.   Academy Awards, USA  1996 Won Oscar Best Picture Mel Gibson Alan Ladd Jr. Bruce Davey   Best Director Mel Gibson   Best Cinematography John Toll   Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing Lon Bender Per Hallberg   Best Makeup Peter Frampton Paul Pattison Lois Burwell   Nominated Oscar Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen Randall Wallace   Best Costume Design Charles Knode   Best Sound Andy Nelson Scott Millan Anna Behlmer Brian Simmons   Best Film Editing Steven Rosenblum   B...

Today's Prompt: Unwanted Win Write about someone who wins something they do not want. I can't write about an unwanted win without hurting some peoples feelings so I choose to write about something a little more general. I don't wear perfume.  Perfume makes my allergies go wonky.  I hate wonky allergies.  People used to give me perfume as gifts.  Fortunately no one has done that in a while.   Perfume is kind of a personal thing.  I think that, unless you know for sure what a person's favourite is, you should just get a gift certificate or something a little less personal.   Okay rant over.

  Pictures and keepsakes Memorabilia and Tickets and journals Letters receipts childhood art Necessary for scrapbooks

Today's Prompt: Procrastination What are you procrastinating on right now? (Procrastinating on? Procrastinating about? Procrastinating over? How do you say that, anyway?) I admit it.  I am the world's greatest procrastinator when I really really really don't want to do something . . . but my real problem is that I want to do too many things and I run out of time to do the thing I don't want to do . . .

This book is the perfect summer read -- light and funny.  It is the story of a mother turning 50 and totally out of touch with her teenage children which is rather awful since she is a child psychologist.  Surprisingly my favourite character was Denys.  I was almost done the book before I found out what his name was since he is most often referred to as Pater, Dad and Husband.  Denys is the glue that holds this totally inappropriate and dysfunctional family together with quiet strength and insight.  The story is mostly about the daughter, son and mother who are all floundering through some crises or another.  Funny.  Funny.  Funny.  And just a little insightful as well.

Frog Eyes are an indie rock band from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada fronted by Carey Mercer. Their 2010 album Paul's Tomb: A Triumph was a longlisted nominee for the 2010 Polaris Music Prize. They have released eight albums and two EPs and are noted for their collaboration with Dan Bejar of Destroyer. Frog Eyes is led by singer/songwriter/guitarist Carey Mercer. Drummer Melanie Campbell and Mercer are married, and were Frog Eyes' only two permanent members. Campbell is originally from Penticton, British Columbia, as is former member Spencer Krug. On April 26, 2010, Frog Eyes released their fifth full-length studio album, Paul's Tomb: A Triumph, in the UK. It was released a day later in the US. It is the band's first release on Bloomington, Indiana indie label Dead Oceans.[8] Around the same time Mercer and Campbell had a son. Carey's Cold Spring, Frog Eyes' sixth album did not feature Campbell and she was temporarily replaced by Matt Skillings. The album wa...

Today's Prompt: Oops! Have you ever forgotten a loved one's birthday or your anniversary? Has your significant other ever forgotten? Many many many many years ago my sister and I nearly forgot our youngest sister's birthday.  So we put together a scathingly brilliant plan.  We dressed in hair curlers and housecoats and dressed our kids in their pyjamas.  We bought a day old cake and had the baker write Happy Bar Mitzvah Irving on it.  We wrapped up presents in old wrapping paper and newspaper.  The presents were things like rolls of toilet paper and half empty box of chocolates.  And we all marched into her place of employment . . .  It still makes me giggle when I remember.

I read Breaking Thru the Fibro Fog  by Kevin P. White MD PhD.  Dr. White is a  Rheumatologist and Epidemiologist practicing in London ON who has spent many years studying what many people think is the recent phenomena of Fibromyalgia.  Dr. White believes this condition has actually been around for centuries but misdiagnosed and misunderstood.  In fact Dr. White suggests that fibromyalgia may be similar to missing limb syndrome, a problem with the nerves in the body not shutting off when they should.  (okay this is a very very simplified version of what he suggests) I have lived with this condition for many years . . . many many years . . . and most of that time has been spent learning to deal with it on my own since I've never been able to get a referral to someone like Dr. White or much help from my family physician.  But through research and trial and error I have learned to make the most of my life.  Sometimes this condition can be so fru...

 The Hell Holes Site with all its natural and mystical wonder relates back to the glacial period for its unique geological formation. Millions of years ago this was the route of the Salmon River, now situated north of here. The constant movement of water wore the limestone into a Karsts feature giving an intricate pattern of rocky ground with overhanging ledges, mushroom-shaped rocks, caves, gullies, potholes and sinkholes. The Devils' Horse Stable Cave which once reached far underground was dynamited shut for safety reasons when it collapsed in the early 1900s. Legends tell us that Satan visited this area frequently and stabled his horses here! One strange legend was told of a headless horseman seen in this area on moonless nights in November looking for a new head to replace the one he lost to the Devil. The one well-known Hell Hole Cave appears to be a large crevice in the limestone but is a narrow shaft dropping down approx. 7.5m and widening into a cavern that would hold 20 pe...

Today's Prompt: Summer Treats It's summer in the northern hemisphere. What's your favorite summer treat to cool down with? Lemonade, popsicles, iced tea? Mine is . . . 

Today's Prompt: Beautiful What makes you feel beautiful? (Or handsome / cute / attractive, if you don't like the word beautiful?) I don't wear it often enough although lately I have been making more of an effort.  Red lipstick and mascara makes me feel special.

  The Good, the Bad and the Ugly My mother always said, if you can't say anything nice you should say nothing at all.  I have nothing to say.

 Journal Prompt ~ Tanka about Peace and Quiet  Peace and quiet are priceless Some days the only way to achieve this state is to stay up after  everyone else is in bed

Today's Writing Prompt: Caught Dead What item would you simply not be caught dead owning, wearing, or using? So my imagination must be short circuiting today because I couldn't think of an answer to this question.  And then I made the mistake of Google-ing "things I would not be caught dead with".  That was a mistake.  Wow . . . there sure is a lot of strange and ugly out there and chances are I wouldn't be caught dead with any of it.

This is a story about a hard working reporter who's much needed vacation is put on hold when she finds herself in the middle of a dangerous standoff.  It is more of a novella than a novel but that's okay.  It made for a quick yet exciting read . . .

Frederick John Elgersma (born July 9, 1957), known by the stage name Fred Eaglesmith, is a Canadian alternative country singer-songwriter. He is known for writing songs about vehicles, rural life, down-and-out characters, lost love and quirky rural folk. His songwriting uses techniques of short story writing, including unreliable narrators, surprise endings, and plot twists.  Eaglesmith, one of nine children, was raised by a farming family near Guelph in rural Southern Ontario. He began playing the guitar at age 12. As a teenager Eaglesmith hopped a freight train to Western Canada and began writing songs and performing. A typical Fred Eaglesmith show includes his music set between several lengthy between-song comic monologues by Eaglesmith. Topics in the past have included stories about crossing the U.S.–Canada border, Newfoundlanders, and some friends from an Indian reserve. His fans are known as "Fredheads", a nod to deadheads, who followed the Grateful Dead. He is known to...

Today's Prompt: Cooking What was the last thing you cooked? It has been so hot this week that there has been no cooking happening here . . . unless toasted tomato sandwiches count as cooking.

Simcoe Island is about 6 km long and 1½ km wide. It is the first of the Thousand Islands, marking the very beginning of the Saint Lawrence river. Mainly farmland, with a historic lighthouse at its westernmost tip, it has a population of about 80. To get there you need to first take the ferry from Kingston to Wolfe Island, and then turn right and drive 5 to 6 west from Marysville before turning right into Simcoe Island Ferry Road. It's a simple cable operated 3 car ferry – about the size you expect for such a small island. The Simcoe Island Ferry operates on-demand. It takes about 5 minutes to make the 450 m trip across. The diesel powered cable ferry is called the Simcoe Islander. It was built in 1964 and has the capacity for 3 cars, 12 people.

The Testaments was released in September 2019.  It nicely ties up a lot of questions remaining after The Handmaid's Tale.  It also tells the story of the downfall of Gilead.  And the story of Offred, including her real name. If you are a lover of Margaret Atwood, you really want to read this book. If you are a non-fan, which I just can't understand, read it anyway for closure.

Today's Prompt: Avoidance What are you avoiding? Yeah . . . somedays are just like that . . .  Things I avoid: 1.  Making phone calls (unless I am in the mood for a chat).   If I just need information I don't want to be drawn into a huge conversation.  I've had days where a simple phone call has turned into a lost morning and me no wiser than I was before.  I also hate automated answering machines.  One day I called the same place about 6 times before I gave up and decided to live with the problem (whatever it was) all because I would press numbers and end up lost in the maze that is automation.  Email and chat is so much simpler. 2.  Humidity. 'Nuff said. 3.  Planning anything. As soon as I finalize plans, get all excited and pay down the deposit you can guarantee something will manage to screw it up.  I think the world has secretly hacked into my calendar and turned messing up my plans into a drink...

I know I watched part of this movie back sometime in the murky past but I'm pretty sure I have never seen the whole movie.  Knowing I can't write a review without actually seeing the whole movie, I decided to give it another try.  It took most of the afternoon to watch it because every time I got annoyed I would hit pause and walk away for a while.  My grandson stopped in and asked me what I was watching.  "Just about the dumbest movie I've ever seen," says I.  "So why are you watching it then," says he.  "Well because I've made it all the way to the last half hour and I'm going to just stick it out to the end now."  And I did. I like Edward Norton and Brad Pitt.  I think Meatloaf as Bob is cool.  Helen Bonham Carter always cracks me up with her eccentric characters.  So why don't I like this movie?  I guess it just seems dumb to me.  It is just too far out for me. I think the Academy agrees with me . . .  A...

Today's Prompt: Astrology What is your astrological sign? Do you exhibit any traits commonly associated with your sign? Traditional Leo Traits . . . Generous and warmhearted Creative and enthusiastic Broad-minded and expansive Faithful and loving Leo On the dark side . . .  Pompous and patronizing (I can't help it) Bossy and interfering (I'm working on fixing that) Dogmatic and intolerant (I'm pretty sure I've fixed this one) http://www.astrology-online.com/leo.htm Yeah, I think that pretty much sums me up . . . sigh . . . but I still don't believe in astrology.

What's on for supper I don't know what do you want I just can't decide the fridges freezers pantry nothing but ingredients

Elizabeth Buchan's book REVENGE OF THE MIDDLE-AGED WOMAN is about the destruction and ultimate resurrection of a single life. At the start of the book, Rose Lloyd's life appears idyllic. Married to Nathan for twenty-five years, she has concurrently raised a son and a daughter, forged a career as a book critic and editor, and kept a beautiful home. Life is comfortable, easy and lovingly predictable. She feels blessed by the ease with which her days pass. Whether she is tending her garden or dining out with colleagues, Rose is grounded and at peace. But then one day, forty-pushing-fifty Nathan comes home and announces out of the blue that he wants out of their comfortable, easy, predictable existence. He uses the oldest cliché in the book: he has found love, or at least lust, with a younger woman. And, ouch, the younger woman is a good friend of Rose's. As if this devastation is not enough, a waterfall of catastrophic events happens in quick succession, sending Rose ov...

Today's Prompt: Scary People The news has been full of some pretty scary people this week (what else is new, I guess - it just seems particularly bad, recently.)  What kind of person scares you most? The type of people who frighten me are those that don't seem to realize what they are doing is wrong or immoral . . . but the scariest people know what they are doing is wrong and they just don't care.  

The Four Lads were a Canadian male singing quartet which, in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, earned many gold singles and albums. Its million-selling signature tunes include "Moments to Remember"; "Standing on the Corner"; "No, Not Much"; "Who Needs You?" and "Istanbul". The Four Lads appeared on many television shows, including The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom (1958); Perry Como's show Perry Presents (1959); Frankie Laine Time (1956); and the award-winning PBS special, Moments to Remember: My Music. The original quartet grew up together in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and were members of St. Michael's Choir School, where they learned to sing. The founding and core members were Corrado "Connie" Codarini, bass; John Bernard "Bernie" Toorish, tenor and vocal arranger; James F. "Jimmy" Arnold, lead; and Frank "Frankie" Busseri, baritone and group manager.  In 1984, the Four Lads were inducted into the ...

Today's Prompt: Lottery Imagine you won $500,000 in the lottery. How would things change in your life? Is that enough to quit your job, pay off your debt, or do what you want? I would like to say that I would give all my money to my family and charities . . . but I wouldn't.  They would get some . . . but . . .  I would like to fulfill a dream my hubby and I have had for as long as I can remember to buy a motor home and travel.  I don't want a big fancy motor home.  I want one like we rented a few years ago that slept 6 but would still fit in the drive thru of most Tim Hortons.  We would travel Canada and the northern U.S. in the summer and fall and the southern US. in the winter and spring.  We would stay as long as we enjoyed where we were and then we would move on.  We would blog, write articles, take photos, letterbox and just enjoy.

Murney Tower is a Martello tower in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, whose construction dates to January 1846. The tower is one of five components of Kingston's fortifications that defended Kingston Harbour, the Naval Dockyard, military supply depot and the southern entrance of the Rideau Canal. Murney Tower complements the fortifications of Fort Henry, Ontario, Cathcart Tower on Cedar Island, Shoal Tower in the Confederation Basin and Fort Frederick on the grounds of the Royal Military College of Canada. In addition to protecting the harbour and approaches to Kingston, these fortifications were designed to concentrate fire on Gardiners Island; it being the only place to effectively land artillery at the time. When the tower was first constructed they planned to call it Murray Tower after the Master General of Ordnance. The land however, was owned by the Murney family and was called Murney Point by the locals. They thus began calling the tower, Murney Tower. This name stuck. The original...

I went to the library in person to order Beverley McLachlin's Full Disclosure and make sure I received the right one.  It was sitting on the shelf so I grabbed it and ran . . .  It was an excellent read, enjoyed by all . . . which was nice . . . except that it made for a boring conversation at book club.  There was wine though.  

Today's Prompt: Fathers It was Father's Day recently, so today tell me a little about your dad. I can't tell you much about my father.  He was well respected in our community.  Everybody seemed to be his friend.  He had a sense of humour.     I didn't know him very well.  To me, growing up, he seemed a distant figure; not really part of the family but rather peripheral to it.  I always felt sad about that.

I'm probably going to rile up a bunch of people with my opinion of this movie.  I absolutely hated it.  I tried to make myself watch it again to properly review it and perhaps give a solid reason why I hated it so much but I just couldn't make myself do it. A while back my dear hubby and I were at a dinner party with a group which consisted mostly of theatre people and the topic of best and worst movies came up.  When I mentioned that I thought "Pulp Fiction" was one of the worst movies I had every seen they all stared at me like I was a calf with three heads. So, the other day I decided to watch Pulp Fiction again.  I kept an open mind figuring perhaps I just wasn't understanding the movie.  I lasted about 30 minutes before I shut it off and walked away.  So I guess I must be the three-headed calf.   From IMDB:   The lives of two mob hit men, a boxer, a gangster's wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and ...

Today's Writing Prompt: Escape What have you escaped from lately? Every few days I feel the need to escape from all the demands (admittedly, some are self-imposed) on my time and energy.  Usually I do something creative like scrapbooking or art journaling.  I just found out a friend likes to take a book, lawn chair and coffee and hide in Pinafore Park to recharge.  I may be taking a page out of my friend's book.

TUESDAY, MAY 6, 2014 Tanka Tuesday: Blossoms and Blooms It's time for the next installment of Tanka Tuesday! Tanka is a form of poetry similar to haiku. It's short, and the lines don't need to rhyme. The just must have a set number of syllables: 5/7/5/7/7. Today's tanka prompt is: Blossoms and blooms. the sun is shining  perfect pink petals reach out toward the sun's warmth dew glistens on each leaf spring is here yes spring is here

So I began reading . . . just a few chapters . . . and next thing I knew a couple of hours had passed.  I stopped reading to get some chores done.  But I kept coming back to the computer and reading a few more chapters.  At 11 that night I gave up pretending I didn't really want to read the book and settled in with a cup of tea.  At 2:30 in the  morning I could no longer see the screen but I was almost done. The next day I brought my supper into my office and finished off the book in very short order. I think this book is very simply and clearly written, perfect for the teen audience this book is meant for, and yet it remains mature enough to keep an adult's interest.  While the characters were not particularly easy to connect with, I was happy when I learned who the winners of the Hunger Games were.  And I have to say I was kind of impressed that the author didn't end with the perfect happy ending.  Well, of course, there are three mo...

Today's Prompt: Memories Was there ever a moment in your life when you thought, "I must remember this exact moment, forever." What struck you about that specific moment? What details can you still remember? I am so lucky to have many moments in my life that I would like to remember forever.  I've noticed a lot lately that early memories long forgotten seem to be coming back and yet I have trouble remembering what I had for lunch two days ago.  Thank goodness I am a photographer and scrapbooker and journaler.  I have concrete ways to remember those moments . . .  The first time I held each of my children and grandchildren and felt my heart grow larger each time . . . kind of like the Grinch I suppose . . . LOL  When Hal and I were married (the first time) and it was simple and exciting at the same time. When Hal and I renewed our vows it was a special moment . . . a reminder of why we were together in the first place and a chance to celebrate ...

I'm getting a lot of reading done lately.  I just finished The Honey Thief by Elizabeth Graver.  First . . . what's good about the book . . . Graver does an interesting job of introducing the characters a little at a time, sharing all their goodness and all their flaws as well.  You become involved with the lives of the little girl, her mother and the bee keeper very quickly.  And you really want things to work out for them. My one complaint, if you want to call it that, is that I wanted the book to continue.  Is there a second volume in the works?  Please?

FM Static was a Canadian Christian pop punk duo based in Toronto, Ontario. The band was formed in 2003 as a side project for Thousand Foot Krutch. The band consisted of Trevor McNevan and Steve Augustine. The original lineup included John Bunner on guitar and Justin Smith on bass. The band released four studio albums, most recently My Brain Says Stop, But My Heart Says Go! (2011).

Journal Prompt:  Six Words Describe your life or current situation using exactly six words. I'm huddled by the air conditioner.

J. A. Edmison wrote in his book, The History of Kingston Penitentiary , “If [KP’s] walls could talk, we would indeed have stories of drama, of tragedy, of cruelty, of every vicissitude of human emotion.” Though Canada’s oldest and most notorious maximum-security prison closed in 2013, some of those stories have survived.  While KP has become one of Kingston’s top tourist attractions in recent years, this isn’t the first time in its history that sightseers have been allowed in. In the 1830s and 1840s, the new penitentiary charged admission to the “better classes” to gawk at the prisoners. Charles Dickens was one of those early tourists, and in his travelogue American Notes he wrote that KP was “well and wisely governed, and excellently regulated, in every respect.” He was deceived. An 1849 report detailed flagrant abuse of prisoners, and the warden was accused of “mismanagement or negligence reducing the penitentiary to a state of utmost disorder.” The Kingston Pen tours were cance...

Today's Prompt: Lost Describe an object you have lost recently. I can't think of anything I've lost recently. Of course, that is probably just because I can't remember now and not that I don't lose anything. Do you know who loses things a lot? My son, Tim. He is constantly searching for his phone, his keys, his coffee cup . . . I am a creature of habit so I don't have as big a problem of losing things . . . except when I need something right away. Hal & I binge-watched the TV series Lost a while ago. He hated the ending. I loved it.

I tried for several days to read this book.  I think my problem is with the characters.  They are well developed and even interesting (a bit) but I don't like them.  Should I try to read it again some time in the future?  I don't know.  According to the "300 Books . . . " list, I guess I should. That's all I have to say.