In My World

  Name the one thing you are most grateful for in your life at this moment.

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

On Canada Day we took our puppy on her first long car trip to Rock Glen, We all had a wonderful time and the day was pretty perfect. Rock Glen Conservation Area (RGCA) is a day-use conservation area, featuring recreational walking trails through Carolinian Forest, with views of the scenic Rock Glen Falls waterfall. Wind your way through Rock Glen Conservation Area, travelling over wide gravel trails, through Carolinian Forest, over bridges and down long staircases to explore the falls and experience the wonders of this hidden gem! During daylight hours, the park is open for walking trails year-round, weather permitting. The sides of the gorge are steep. Please stick to the maintained trails for your safety. There are three staircases that lead to the bottom of the gorge. Each staircase has more than 100 steps. CAUTION: These are nature trails. Trail surfaces and boardwalks may be slippery or uneven. Be especially careful during windy, wet and icy conditions. Use caution and avoid trail...

Today's Prompt:  Favourite Party Themes What are your favourite party themes. I think my favourite party themes are Rocky Horror Picture Show, Kid's Party, and Murder Mystery.

I have loved Maggie Smith since I first saw her in  The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969) .  She is one of my favourite actors of all time.  In  Keeping Mum (2005) , Dame Smith has the opportunity to play a fabulously quirky character, the new housekeeper.  You may find it hard to believe that she is a cheerful serial killer, but she plays the part perfectly.  You will find yourself cheering for her by the end, I promise. Rowan Atkinson plays an adorable but absentminded vicar in a village called Little Wallop.  One of the many things he has forgotten is to pay attention to his wife, played by Kristin Scott Thomas, so his wife decides to have a fling with her golf pro, played by Patrick Swayze.  Swayze is hysterically funny as he plays his part in the broadest possible way.  You actually feel that if you touch him you'll find his skin is slimy.  The daughter is a nymphomaniac with really poor choices in boyfriends and their son is a...

Jacob William Hoggard (born July 9, 1984) is a Canadian former musician who was the lead singer for the pop rock band Hedley. Hoggard competed on the second season of Canadian Idol in 2004, where he placed third.  Before appearing on Canadian Idol, Hoggard worked as a construction worker. In 2003, Hoggard formed the band Hedley with Kevin Giesbrecht, Kevin Heeres, Ryan Federau, and Brandon McKay. Hoggard eventually started his career on Canadian Idol, who was challenged by his bandmates to appear on the show. He appeared on the second season of the show and auditioned in Vancouver after he had "been dragged to the audition after work" by his high school sweetheart performing "Forever in Blue Jeans". He advanced to the top 30 performing Billy Joel's "Only the Good Die Young". He soon made it to the top ten where he sang the songs "Put Your Head on My Shoulder" and "Space Oddity". Hoggard placed third on the show. After Canadian Idol,...

Today's Writing Prompt: Colour If your life right now had a colour to it, what colour would yours be? I don't think my life could have one colour.  I think I have three colours.  Red for pain, Orange for optimism and Yellow for joy.

Happy Publication to Tim Bowling and his new poetry collection, In the Capital City of Autumn, published with Wolsak & Wynn! Tim Bowling is in top form in his latest collection of poetry, In the Capital City of Autumn. Threading through autumnal themes such as the loss of his mother and the demolition of his childhood home, his children growing and the inevitable passage of time, Bowling writes with rich lyricism and imagery. Sweet William and loosely woven woollen mitts for his mother, the moon as “an egg in the pocket of a running thief” for time, salmon for eternity. In the Capital City of Autumn, the characters of The Great Gatsby come to life, and three a.m. brings wisdom. These are masterful poems, lightened with a touch of whimsy, poems to sink into on a quiet evening. @wolsakandwynn @river_street_writes #canlit #poetry #publicationday #bookbirthday #poetrycollection #nationalpoetrymonth #poetsofig #bookishcanadians #bookstagramcanada #canadianpoet #canadianpoets #canadianpo...

Today's Prompt: Siblings If you could choose, would you rather have been born an only child or born the middle child in a very large family? I've never really thought about being an only child. I'm not even sure what that would be like. I am the first born child and I like it, especially now when my siblings are starting to look as old as or older than me . . . LOL.

Today's Prompt: So What Do You Do? What do you spend most of your time doing - when you're not journaling , of course! Most of my time is spent working on various craft projects, trying to keep my apartment clean, looking for the joy in my life, and spending time with my family and friends.

My Personality Type: The Good-natured Realist Good-natured Realists are warm-hearted, helpful personalities. They do their work conscientiously and have a pronounced organising talent. They often feel they are committed to traditional values. The family in particular is extremely important to Good-natured Realists. Their greatest pleasure is making themselves useful and taking care of other people. But they do not like pushing themselves to the fore; they prefer to fulfil their tasks out of the limelight. Good-natured Realists are real workaholics; they are very reliable and nothing is too much for them when it is a question of completing a project. Thoroughness, conscientiousness and sense of duty are their strongest points. They prefer established and familiar situations to new and unknown situations. In dealing with others, Good-natured Realists are considerate and obliging; they are always happy to put aside their own requirements in the interest of their family and friends...

We've been to the Petrolia Discovery several times and always enjoy our visits. Everything is so interesting and the history of the oil industry in Ontario and around the world, fascinating.  In 1857,   James Miller Williams   of   Hamilton   began distilling some of the "tar" lying around   Oil Springs   (located a few kilometers south from Petrolia), after buying the property rights from   Charles Nelson Tripp . In July or August 1858, he struck an oil deposit in Oil Springs while digging a shallow well, sparking the oil drilling industry. In 2008, the 150th anniversary of the discovery,   Canada Post   issued a stamp commemorating this first commercial oil well, featuring portraits of Charles Tripp and Williams.   However, these early wells resulted in a large amount of wastage from   gushers , estimated at 5 million barrels (790,000 m 3 ) of oil in 1862 alone. Petrolia got its start in 1866 when a major gas well was fo...

So why, when I've said so many times how much I hate violent movies, do I love this crazy movie.  I've also said more than once that I hate Quentin Tarantino movies.  And yet I've now seen two of Tarantino's movies that I love . . . Inglorious Bastards and Django Unchained. Perhaps it has something to do with the stars of the show which I absolutely love.  Christoph Waltz cracks me up.  And I love to hate Leonardo DiCaprio. The short version of the story is that Django ("The D is silent. Payback won't be.") is teamed up with a German bounty hunter.  The hunt bad guys.  The bounty hunter agrees to help Django find his wife who had been sold off.  They find out where she is and come up with a really complicated plan to free her. There is a lot of violence and red stuff and the language is a "bit" much but the story is good and the actors are amazing. Academy Awards, USA  2013 Winner Oscar Best Performance by an Actor in a ...

If you could swap bodies with someone else, would you do it? And with who? I would like to swap for any body that works much better than mine. There's not much left working right on the one I've got . . . sigh.

Today's Writing Prompt: Wrong Class! So, in an effort to find some school-time humour, I have to wonder if you ever mistakenly wound up in the wrong class? Or maybe missed an important class or test for a very unusual reason? I don't remember ever being in the wrong classroom.  I went to the wrong school once when I was trying to pick up my daughter-in-law from work.  I went to pick up my middle grandson once and accidentally nearly left him behind.  And I did miss a mid-term exam in university when my car caught on fire .  

Jack Scott (born Giovanni Domenico Scafone, Jr.; January 24, 1936 – December 12, 2019) was a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. He was best known for his string of rockabilly hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s.  Scott was born in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, to Italian-American parents. When he was 10, his family moved to Hazel Park, a Detroit suburb. He grew up listening to hillbilly music and was taught to play the guitar by his mother, Laura. As a teenager, Scott pursued a singing career and recorded as "Jack Scott". At the age of 18, he formed the Southern Drifters. After leading the band for three years, he signed to ABC-Paramount Records as a solo artist in 1957. After recording two good-selling local hits for ABC-Paramount in 1957, he switched to the Carlton record label and had a double-sided national hit in 1958 with "Leroy" (No. 11) / "My True Love" (No. 3). The record sold over one million copies, earning Scott his first gold disc. Late...

Happy Publication to Melanie Marttila’s debut poetry collection, The Art of Floating, published by Latitude 46. The Art of Floating is Melanie Marttila’s debut poetry collection, and a result of and testament to years of honing her craft. The collection of five sections of free verse poems is wide ranging and eclectic, bringing to life her deep connection with the earth and sky of Ontario. The aptly named collection describes her learned ability to ride the unpredictable waves of mental illness  and prevent herself from drowning within it, while seeking solace in the natural world around her. These lyric poems are stunning and transportative, absorbing the reader with captivating imagery, complex diction, and highly relatable themes most pivotal in life, such as loss, grief, and hope.  The Art of Floating is an elegant and beautifully crafted debut collection of poetry by Sudbury’s Melanie Marttila. Her poems are mirrors to the tiny, often quiet, and supposedly insignificant m...

One Word One Minute: Clean Setting a one minute timer and start writing . . .  I seem to be constantly cleaning but I never find the end of the chore list.  How do you win this race?  Some jobs I can't do anymore.  I really enjoy a clean house but I'm stuck with a tidy house because that's what I can accomplish.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/snuffy/28780895666 The Thames flows southwest for 273 kilometres through southwestern Ontario, from the Town of Tavistock through the cities of Woodstock, London and Chatham to Lighthouse Cove on Lake St. Clair. Its drainage basin is 5,825 square kilometres. I've very familiar with this area. My husband comes from this part of the world and I have visited many times in our 44 years (s0 far) together. The river is known as Deshkaan-ziibi / Eshkani-ziibi ("Antler River") in the Ojibwe language, spoken by Anishnaabe peoples who, along with the Neutrals prior to their disappearance in the 17th century, have lived in the area since before Europeans arrived. This name was anglicized as Escunnisepe as the first English name of the river. In 1793, Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe named the river after the River Thames in England. Early French Canadians referred to it as La Tranche, for the wide and muddy waters of its lower section.  Much of th...

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 drinking ...

  When were you last surprised?

I loved loved loved this movie. Of course I don't think I've ever seen a Morgan Freeman movie I didn't love. Tim Robbins plays a young banker who is found guilty of murdering his wife and her lover. He is innocent but I guess that doesn't matter. The movie is about his life in prison and his friendship with Red, played by Morgan Freeman. My favourite scene is right after the arrival of donations for the prison library. That is all I am going to say except that it is an uplifting moment. I really love the ending but I'm not going to give it away in case you've never seen the movie yet. Let's just say it is good to never lose hope . . . and to be a very clever banker. Both Robbins and Freeman give award worthy performances in this great story of hope. I can't believe they didn't win any Oscars but the movie was nominated for: Best Picture - Niki Marvin Best Actor in a Leading Role - Morgan Freeman Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material P...

Today's Prompt: Spring Cleaning Is there anything in your life you should really throw out, but you just can't bear to part with it? I honestly can't think of anything in my life I would want to throw out.  I've pared back my life to suit me, my energy level and my goals. I'm wondering what my husband and family would say I should throw out of my life?

  Isabelle Boulay , born July 6, 1972 in Sainte-Félicité, Quebec. She became known thanks to her albums États d'amour and Mieux qu'ici-bas . During her career, she has sold more than 4.5 million records throughout the French-speaking world. During her tours, she has sung in prestigious venues such as Place des Arts, the Olympia in Paris and the Carthage Amphitheatre . In 1990, she won the Petite-Vallée Song Festival hands down. Her friends signed her up as a surprise when she was about to leave their home region to study literature. She was noticed by a journalist, Josélito Michaud, who took charge of Isabelle's career. In 1991, she won the Granby International Song Festival , performing Jacques Brel 's Amsterdam. The same year, she was invited to the FrancoFolies de Montréal. In August 1993, she won the French-language song trophy at the Silver Truffle competition in Périgueux. In 1995 , at the age of 23, she founded an independent Quebec record company with Josélito M...

So anyway . . . this article shows up in my Facebook news feed the other day and it got me thinking. My usual pet peeve in restaurants is that they don't clear the dishes away quickly enough but this article got me looking at the whole thing from a different angle. Without my permission, restaurants have abandoned, or simply overlooked, a classic tenet of service etiquette (I'm talking about entrees, not the ubiquitous small plates, which demand a different etiquette). Rather than clear plates once everyone at the table has finished the meal, which has long been the custom, servers instead hover over diners, fingers twitching, until the very instant someone puts down a fork. Like vultures, they then promptly snatch up the silverware -- along with everything else in front of the customer. If you're lucky, they might ask permission before stealing your plate. When a server clears a plate before everyone is finished, he or she leaves the table with a mess of subtle but imp...

Happy Publication Day to Ellen Chang-Richardson and their extraordinary debut poetry collection, Blood Belies (Wolsak & Wynn, 2024). Chang-Richardson writes of race, of injury and of belonging in stunning poems that fade in and out of the page. History swirls through this collection like a summer storm, as she brings her father’s, and her own, stories to light, writing against the background of the institutional racism of Canada, the Chinese Exclusion Act, the head tax and more. From Taiwan in the early 1990s to Oakville in the late 1990s, Toronto in the 2010s, Cambodia in the mid-1970s and Ottawa in the 2020s, Blood Belies takes the reader through time, asking them what it means to look the way we do? To carry scars? To persevere? To hope? Ellen Chang-Richardson (they/them) is an award-winning poet of Taiwanese and Chinese Cambodian descent whose multi-genre writing has appeared in Augur, The Ex-Puritan, The Fiddlehead, Grain, third coast magazine, Vallum Contemporary, Watch Your ...

Are you a fan on trivia?  Odd facts?  Titillating questions and interesting answers? Might I recommend Can You Have Too Much Sex? Not only will you find out if you can have too much sex, you will also find out if we need our pinkie finger, why our stomach doesn't digest itself, and why we don't ride zebras. Enjoy!

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.

Putting on a good party or other fun event is a lot of work if done correctly.  You want the venue to be perfect, the guest list to be conducive to an enjoyable and convivial time, the food to be delicious and plentiful as well as meeting the dietary needs of all of your guests, and entertainment in whatever form appropriate whether it is music, a baby shower game or even a craft. You make your plans and send out the invitations, whether by phone, mail, email, in person, or on social media.  And then you wait.  Three days before the event one or two people say they are coming but the other 30 or 200 say maybe or don't reply at all.  What do you do? At one time I would prepare for what I hoped was a good estimate of guests and sit back and hope it all worked out.   When did the RSVP stop being "normal"? Definition of RSVP:  An abbreviation often included in invitations to request that the invitee let the host know if he or she will ...

Newfoundout is a ghost town in Renfrew County, Ontario. It may be the best photo opp of abandoned pioneer log cabins in Ontario. It's apparently worth the drive up the mountain to find them. Because of the condition of the road, a truck or SUV is the best method of travel. The settlers to the Opeongo Road were given 100 acres of land. The Public Land Act (1853) proclaimed, "One hundred acres will be given free to any settlers, 18 years of age, who shall take possession of the Lot within one month from the date of his application, erect on it a house, 18 by 20 feet, put in a state of cultivation at least 12 acres in the course of four years, and live on the Lot during the period. Should he fulfill these conditions he will obtain an indisputable titles to the land, but failing to do so, it will be sold or given to another." While many immigrants received title to the land in 1864, the title was not deeded until the land was cleared and the home built. So many settlers lived...

My son called one afternoon to tell me he had watched a great movie and he knew I was going to love it.  He's usually wrong but I watched the movie anyway and he was right. This story has so many comedic elements to keep it from becoming unappealingly maudlin and the quirky characters are meant to be loved, liked, or hated in turn.  I felt this for each character. The trailer tells the basic plot quite well.  Be prepared for some violence and coarse language. Academy Awards, USA  2018 Winner Oscar Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role Frances McDormand Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role Sam Rockwell Nominee Oscar Best Motion Picture of the Year Graham Broadbent Peter Czernin Martin McDonagh Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role Woody Harrelson Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score) Carter Burwell Best Original Screenplay Martin McDonagh Best Achievement in Film Editing...