Saturday, October 30, 2004
Friday, October 29, 2004
Thursday, October 28, 2004
Red Sox Break the Curse!
It was great to see the Red Sox win the World Series the first time since 1918. It would have been nice to see the Cardinals win a game or two but after a great season they just seemed to run out of steam...except Larry Walker who really shone. Good on a local guy and former Expo!
I liked these "lego" red sox.
I liked these "lego" red sox.
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
Hole in One!
Heather got a hole in one on the 6th hole at The Ridge this morning...way to go! We're usually in the water on this hole...Marilyn even brings special balls that float. Susan J., Claire, and myself were there and Heather bought us all lunch...thanks, Heather! We got our picture taken with the champ and Heather received a neat certificate with the picture. A fun morning. Our group is on a roll with this hole as earlier this season Susan M. got a zero putt on it after cracking it in any old which way from the water's edge. History in the making.
Raclette
We had a raclette the other evening and it's always a fun thing to do with a group. The dish comes from the Swiss/French Alpes area. Thanks to our friend, Monique (from the Haute Savoie), for introducing us to this dish and her parents who gave us the raclette device!
Recipe for a raclette dinner:
Raclette cheese which is melted by the participants on a raclette device
Smoked meats like proscuto, salamis, etc.
Small boiled potatos (red nuggets are a good choice)
Cornichons, pickled onions
French bread
Red or white wine can be served, although white is more common. A French (non-oaked) Chardonnay is good. The wine that is drunk most with this in the Alpes region in France is a Vin De Savoie called Apremont. It is available here but a bit pricey.
Recipe for a raclette dinner:
Raclette cheese which is melted by the participants on a raclette device
Smoked meats like proscuto, salamis, etc.
Small boiled potatos (red nuggets are a good choice)
Cornichons, pickled onions
French bread
Red or white wine can be served, although white is more common. A French (non-oaked) Chardonnay is good. The wine that is drunk most with this in the Alpes region in France is a Vin De Savoie called Apremont. It is available here but a bit pricey.
Monday, October 25, 2004
THE PIGHTLE
I had a lot of fun painting these two views of THE PIGHTLE for the Brooks family. We had such a super time with Patty in the summer at her beautiful 400 year old thatched house.
Photo of the front of the house.
THE PIGHTLE 8 x 10 acrylic on paper
THE PIGHTLE - backyard 8 x 10 acrylic on paper
* please note the glass of Pimm's on the table!
Photo of the front of the house.
THE PIGHTLE 8 x 10 acrylic on paper
THE PIGHTLE - backyard 8 x 10 acrylic on paper
* please note the glass of Pimm's on the table!
Sunday, October 24, 2004
Sealand
I figured I better take a picture of this sign in case it disappears. Although I agree these wonderful animals shouldn't be penned up, my son and I went weekly for years and loved it. Aways in the splash zone in the warm weather...one way to get an ocean swim of sorts.
Saturday, October 23, 2004
Technology Nostalgia
The answer is the Adam computer by Coleco. What motivated this post was coming across a tangle of old cable and computer paraphernalia while cleaning up the basement. The original price for this computer was $1,000 which was pretty cheap considering Apple II systems were going for around $3,000. It also included a daisy wheel printer so you had good quality print rather than what those awful first dot matrix printers produced. You hooked it up to an old TV for a monitor and the data was stored on cassette tapes.
We got it new for $300 at Canadian Tire when it was discontinued. I sent my husband out to get an electronic typewriter and he came back with this because it was $100 less. I avoided it for a while because it seemed rather complicated just to do some typing but then I learned computers could talk to each other. So, with a 300 baud modem I became connected to the world. A very different online world than today's high speed, graphic laden, easy web browser environment. Then, it was all text, unfriendly, command driven, slow....but tremendously exciting all the same!
We got it new for $300 at Canadian Tire when it was discontinued. I sent my husband out to get an electronic typewriter and he came back with this because it was $100 less. I avoided it for a while because it seemed rather complicated just to do some typing but then I learned computers could talk to each other. So, with a 300 baud modem I became connected to the world. A very different online world than today's high speed, graphic laden, easy web browser environment. Then, it was all text, unfriendly, command driven, slow....but tremendously exciting all the same!
Friday, October 22, 2004
Waz...zat?
A little preview of tomorrow's post.
Email me if you can identify this computer.
Clue 1: Released Oct 1983 - Discontinued Jan 1985
Clue 2: Was our first computer
Email me if you can identify this computer.
Clue 1: Released Oct 1983 - Discontinued Jan 1985
Clue 2: Was our first computer
Grab Bag
I think blogging is a lot like that excitement we used to have when opening our grab bag of penny candy. It's always fun to see what people are posting.
Grab Bag by Janice S.
8 x 10 pencil crayons on sketchpaper
Grab Bag by Janice S.
8 x 10 pencil crayons on sketchpaper
Thursday, October 21, 2004
Hooray for the old teams!
Way to go Cardinals! The first time in many years I've been interested in the World Series.
Red Sox Rule
It was great to see the Boston Red Sox beat the Yankees. I love New Yorkers but I hate seeing the Yankees buying the World Series with their high priced players almost every year.
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
little cat feet
The fog comes
on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.
- Carl Sandburg
Perhaps it's something to do with being a life long westcoaster but I've always loved fog. As a kid it was almost as exciting as snow....certainly more common on the coast especially growing up with most people burning coal for home fuel. Going downtown on the trolley bus was even slower in the fog and familiar things seemed different when they suddenly appeared out of the mist. Then all those years at UBC... half asleep in classes listening to the old fog horns.
Some pix I took of fog last week.
on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.
- Carl Sandburg
Perhaps it's something to do with being a life long westcoaster but I've always loved fog. As a kid it was almost as exciting as snow....certainly more common on the coast especially growing up with most people burning coal for home fuel. Going downtown on the trolley bus was even slower in the fog and familiar things seemed different when they suddenly appeared out of the mist. Then all those years at UBC... half asleep in classes listening to the old fog horns.
Some pix I took of fog last week.
Monday, October 18, 2004
Atwood is still noble to me.
Well, Atwood didn't win the Nobel prize and I guess they won't be picking another left wing woman soon. Seems like this Austrian WON it because she is anti-American. Times have changed...Graham Greene probably DIDN'T WIN it because he was anti-American. My cousin, John, sent me this story that I found very amusing:
"As I read through your blog I remembered an incident while I was working at
the Edmonton Journal, 1968 or so, when a young woman came into the office
to have her picture taken. It was just a mug shot to go with the
announcement that she had been appointed to something or other at the U of
A. I took her picture and because of a directive from the brass, that we
were not to use the term Ms and that every woman would have her name in the
paper with a Miss or Mrs in front of it -- you might remember that hassles
that occurred over Ms -- I asked her, "is that Miss or Mrs?". She looked at
me and said nothing. I tried looking at her hands but couldn't see a ring
and asked again. Again she said nothing but she was begining to get testy.
I glanced towards the man she was with, who was an age that would qualify
him as possibly being her husband. His face gave me no clue to his status
so I asked this woman for a third time if she was Miss or Mrs. This time
she replied, but with a tone of voice and look that I imagine was something
like what the first Elizabeth used as she sent a man away to be drawn and
quartered. "It's Margaret" and then after a very long pause in which she,
I'm sure, in her imagination, pulled out my guts and fed them to a dog,
"Atwood." and that's how she appeared in the paper. If I remember right I
was accused of being a wimp for not pressing the issue further but I think
in hindsite, knowing now who she became, I was really quite brave entering
into the battle at all."
"As I read through your blog I remembered an incident while I was working at
the Edmonton Journal, 1968 or so, when a young woman came into the office
to have her picture taken. It was just a mug shot to go with the
announcement that she had been appointed to something or other at the U of
A. I took her picture and because of a directive from the brass, that we
were not to use the term Ms and that every woman would have her name in the
paper with a Miss or Mrs in front of it -- you might remember that hassles
that occurred over Ms -- I asked her, "is that Miss or Mrs?". She looked at
me and said nothing. I tried looking at her hands but couldn't see a ring
and asked again. Again she said nothing but she was begining to get testy.
I glanced towards the man she was with, who was an age that would qualify
him as possibly being her husband. His face gave me no clue to his status
so I asked this woman for a third time if she was Miss or Mrs. This time
she replied, but with a tone of voice and look that I imagine was something
like what the first Elizabeth used as she sent a man away to be drawn and
quartered. "It's Margaret" and then after a very long pause in which she,
I'm sure, in her imagination, pulled out my guts and fed them to a dog,
"Atwood." and that's how she appeared in the paper. If I remember right I
was accused of being a wimp for not pressing the issue further but I think
in hindsite, knowing now who she became, I was really quite brave entering
into the battle at all."
Sunday, October 17, 2004
Happy Birthday Mom and Richard!
Today is the birthday of my mother and my son!
My Dad, Mom, and Richard 27 years ago.
The proud parents!
My Dad, Mom, and Richard 27 years ago.
The proud parents!
Saturday, October 16, 2004
Radio at SFU
I've been enjoying Richard's radio show ("How to Bowl") he does with a friend Sunday evenings at the SFU radio station. I find the best way to listen to it is to download the shows which can be linked to on his blog The October 10 show (10/10) is a tribute to the Vancouver Film Festival and has neat film music plus some very funny old commercials for films including some of Elmer Krueger's (of Badger Theatre fame) phone promotions. And the other shows have surprisingly listenable music...guess I was judging what all young people listened to from what I hear blasted out of car stereos!
Friday, October 15, 2004
The Joy of Art
Everyday our local newspaper prints a piece of children's art on the weather page depicting something to do with weather. I think everyone who sees this joyful art gets a lift everyday...I know I do.
Thursday, October 14, 2004
I saw some purple chairs today that reminded me of a poem I like by Jenny Joseph...photo has been altered!
Warning
When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick the flowers in other peoples' gardens
And learn to spit.
You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.
But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.
But maybe I ought to practise a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.
Warning
When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick the flowers in other peoples' gardens
And learn to spit.
You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.
But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.
But maybe I ought to practise a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
Thanksgiving Aftermath
I love making soup from the turkey carcass...my favourite recipe is Lynne Bowen's from The Great Canadian Literary Cookbook.
Thursday, October 07, 2004
I headed out today to take pix of unique Victoria street crossing signs. I especially wanted the duck one and the golfers one. Alas, the golfers has been replaced by the standard pedestrian crossing sign. Guess the sign was stolen quite a lot. I can see it being a collector's item. When we're in Carqueiranne I must take a picture of the one in front of an old folks home...two bent over elderly people. A little too politically incorrect for North America! I always get a laugh when I think of Frank Robinson (who was black) stealing the sign in the Raquet Club bar that said "No Whites in Lounge"..."whites" of course, referring to tennis clothes.
Two local Victoria signs:
Two from the Internet I thought were kind of neat:
Two local Victoria signs:
Two from the Internet I thought were kind of neat:
Wednesday, October 06, 2004
Some talk in the newspaper today about Atwood being in possible contention for the Nobel Prize for literature. I would love to see her get it as I think it's high time a Canadian got the Nobel Prize for literature and she is such an obvious choice given her body of work and her contribution to putting Canadian Literature on the world map. Not that I feel she's written the very best Canadian novels...my picks for those are The English Patient and The Stone Diaries. My favourite Atwood novel is Alias Grace although I also liked The Blind Assassin a lot and felt it deserved the Booker. I think why Alias Grace was so successful for me was that I never heard Margaret Atwood when reading it...just Grace. And although I love listening to Margaret Atwood as Margaret Atwood, I hate it when her voice intrudes in her novels...usually in some attempt at wit that I would find very funny if I was talking to her at a dinner party but completely grates when it comes through a character. I'm surprised her editor doesn't nuke those parts!
Monday, October 04, 2004
Friday, October 01, 2004
“Truth or Lies”...short story by Frances Itani from the collection “Poached Egg on Toast”.
I only had time to read one story from this collecton before it was due but will put another hold on it. The story I read cracked me up! It’s about a woman with two small children who is taking a Creative Writing course and a course in Geomorphology. Here’s a bit of it.
“You women have it all ways, my Creative Writing prof says. All ways....I’ve always wanted to be a woman, he says. Have children. Write sixteen hours a day.....
Creative Writing prof reads my story aloud to class. All laugh at part about dream. Clearly, he says, this is the dream of a madwoman. All agree, even me. Don’t tell that I dreamed it two nights before story due, no time to think up fiction this week. Only reality knocks at my door.....
Mother phones. You were smart to have two, she says. Not fair to have an only child. Lonesome. Spoiled. Never learn about the opposite sex until too late. With my six, she says -- I drop phone on floor, receiver cracks. I’ll call back, I shout from above. Unplug phone.
I only had time to read one story from this collecton before it was due but will put another hold on it. The story I read cracked me up! It’s about a woman with two small children who is taking a Creative Writing course and a course in Geomorphology. Here’s a bit of it.
“You women have it all ways, my Creative Writing prof says. All ways....I’ve always wanted to be a woman, he says. Have children. Write sixteen hours a day.....
Creative Writing prof reads my story aloud to class. All laugh at part about dream. Clearly, he says, this is the dream of a madwoman. All agree, even me. Don’t tell that I dreamed it two nights before story due, no time to think up fiction this week. Only reality knocks at my door.....
Mother phones. You were smart to have two, she says. Not fair to have an only child. Lonesome. Spoiled. Never learn about the opposite sex until too late. With my six, she says -- I drop phone on floor, receiver cracks. I’ll call back, I shout from above. Unplug phone.
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