Great antidote to the pandemic

 

By Tara Bahrampour

November 26, 2021 at 11:53 a.m. EST

Before the pandemic, Kate Young didn’t think of fairy doors as a way to commune with her neighbors.

The tiny sculptures she made were something she did for herself, tucking them into the crooks of branches and the bases of trees near her house in Del Ray, in Alexandria, Va. A graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design, she started making them four years ago when she was out of work and saw, in a nearby apartment complex, a little door in a tree with a stone path and a bridge. It looked like a fairyland.

She felt moved to contribute, and started leaving miniature gifts.

Rest of the article here:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/11/26/fairy-doors-pandemic-delray/?utm_campaign=wp_the_optimist&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_optimist&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F3564135%2F61a38b929d2fdab56ba5c99b%2F596a937bade4e20ee373994f%2F22%2F49%2F61a38b929d2fdab56ba5c99b

A wonderful Hanukkah celebration at Donna's Sunday

The company was amazing and the food was wonderful. We had so many laughs and I just love latkes!

Donna and Myra

Jim, Sherrill,and Jan

Sherrill admiring the wine...it was fabulous.

Jim and Sherrill

Jan and me

Sherrill about to taste the wonderful soup

Sherrill and me

Jan and Donna

Hanukkah money for us all

 

On getting older....

Nothing is inherently and invincibly young except spirit. And spirit can enter a human being perhaps better in the quiet of old age and dwell there more undisturbed than in the turmoil of adventure.
– Philosopher and writer George Santayana

The older I get, the greater power I seem to have to help the world; I am like a snowball — the further I am rolled the more I gain.
– Susan B. Anthony

A human being would certainly not grow to be 70 or 80 years old if this longevity had no meaning for the species to which he belongs. The afternoon of human life must also have a significance of its own and cannot be merely a pitiful appendage to life’s morning.
– Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung

Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.
– Henry Ford

Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.
– Minister and columnist Frank Crane

I believe the second half of one’s life is meant to be better than the first half. The first half is finding out how you do it. And the second half is enjoying it.
– Activist and writer Frances Lear

Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art.
– Eleanor Roosevelt

The complete life, the perfect pattern, includes old age as well as youth and maturity. The beauty of the morning and the radiance of noon are good, but it would be a very silly person who drew the curtains and turned on the light in order to shut out the tranquillity of the evening. Old age has its pleasures, which, though different, are not less than the pleasures of youth.
– English writer W. Somerset Maugham

Odder still how possessed I am with the feeling that now, aged 50, I’m just poised to shoot forth quite free straight and undeflected my bolts whatever they are… These are the soul’s changes. I don’t believe in aging. I believe in forever altering one’s aspect to the sun. Hence my optimism.
– Virginia Woolf

The great thing about getting older is that you don't lose all the other ages you've been.
– Author Madeleine L'Engle

There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.
– Sophia Loren

If you are pining for youth I think it produces a stereotypical old man because you only live in memory, you live in a place that doesn’t exist. I think aging is an extraordinary process whereby you become the person that you always should have been.
– David Bowie

Since our society equates happiness with youth, we often assume that sorrow, quiet desperation, and hopelessness go hand in hand with getting older. They don't. Emotional pain or numbness are symptoms of living the wrong life, not a long life.
– Author and speaker Martha Beck

When you get to my age, you’ll really measure your success in life by how many of the people you want to have love you actually do love you. I know people who have a lot of money, and they get testimonial dinners and they get hospital wings named after them. But the truth is that nobody in the world loves them. If you get to my age in life and nobody thinks well of you, I don’t care how big your bank account is, your life is a disaster.
– Warren Buffett

Today, I am 64 years old. I still look good. I appreciate and enjoy my age… A lot of people resist transition and therefore never allow themselves to enjoy who they are. Embrace the change, no matter what it is; once you do, you can learn about the new world you're in and take advantage of it. You still bring to bear all your prior experience, but you're riding on another level. It's completely liberating.
– Poet and activist Nikki Giovanni

Kate Robertson at The Diner in 2019 from FB

As Jim drove by The Diner he saw Christmas lights and thought perhaps it was open again. It doesn't appear to be. The property is worth so much I can't see anyone doing any kind of restaurant there especially in these times. And The Diner wouldn't be The Diner without Stella.

Always loved the suckers that came with the cheque.

Wouldn't the barge look great with some kind of design like this?

 

John Denniston Photo

Storefront

More cool art!

From the Vancouver Latin America Cultural Centre Newsletter

Tuesday, January 6th, 1pm

Studio Visit – Special edition, LIVE from Brazil. Join us on a visit to the beautiful studio of prominent Brazilian artist Luiz Aquila.  More information soon!

A bit of a plug for the Writers' Exchange...one of Richard's volunteer experiences.

 

It’s your last week to support the Writers’ Exchange in the sweetest way possible: by stocking up on limited-edition Rain or Shine ice cream flavours—all created by the kids!   Every fall, the kids invent five brand-new flavours that the friendly team at Rain or Shine turns into real-life (and real delicious) ice cream. And for every pint of these kid-created flavours sold during the month of November, Rain or Shine donates 25% back to the Writers’ Exchange!   Here’s a rundown of what you’ll find at your neighbourhood Rain or Shine this month, complete with official taster reviews by the very kids who dreamed up these brand-new flavours:   A vegan coconut base infused with tart lemon and scattered with sweet candied ginger OFFICIAL KID REVIEWS: “Yes, yes, like!” “Good for people who like lemon and ginger”   Local Earl Grey tea with pieces of chocolate shortbread OFFICIAL KID REVIEWS: “Tea is good” “This tastes like weird”   A spicy mango base with a beautiful dragonfruit swirl OFFICIAL KID REVIEWS: “Very good. But you would mentally die if you ate this in summer” “Absolutely bee-yu-ti-ful”   Espresso with a caramel swirl and clusters of actual Cinnamon Toast Crunch! OFFICIAL KID REVIEWS: “Incredible sweet coffee taste” “Strong coffee... but what are the chunky bits?”     Chocolate base swirled with white chocolate ganache and chewy brownie chunks OFFICIAL KID REVIEWS: “Chocolate is classic” “This is a good chocolate”   Load up on your limited-edition Writers’ Exchange ice cream pints before the end of November to support the kids! Find your nearest Rain or Shineand ask for them before they’re gone.   We are honoured to be able to provide safe, fun and welcoming programs for kids and their families on the unceded and traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. As uninvited guests on this land we are grateful to be able to enjoy this beautiful place and we are committed to building relationships and learning about ongoing traditional ways of life from our Indigenous friends. Copyright © 2021 The Writers' Exchange. All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: 207-877 East Hastings Street Vancouver, BC V6A 13Y Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

This email was sent to janice.b.sexton@gmail.com  why did I get this?    unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences  The Writers' Exchange · #207 877 Hastings Street East · Vancouver, British Columbia V6A 3Y1 · Canada

The barge has created a lot of humour

 Well, probably nothing everyone hasn't read who is local but I do have some international readers so this is for them.

https://thetyee.ca/Culture/2021/11/18/Disaster-Internet-Flooded-Jokes/?utm_source=weekly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=221121

Futurist art

 From: The Art Newspaper

How a Milan museum won the battle to show the world’s most important private collection of Futurist art

Famous Mattioli collection loan will make Museo del Novecento “undoubtedly the most important centre for Futurist art” when it goes on display next spring

Now, this might inspire me to get painting again. Think I'll look up a few more examples.

Team Barge

 I continue to be fascinated by the barge and ordered a t-shirt for myself. I'll soon get doing a painting.

We had a great time at D.IC.E.D. with Richard and Grace

 We introduced them to our great burger deal and Richard even had a double burger which was huge. He  had a big run earlier that day so was hungry. So busy talking no photos. 

Great sunset the other day. I know John will appreciate it. I even seem to have some special effects. Not quite sure why I got the furry effect.

Leaf art in Vancouver....love this!

From: Vancouver is Awesome

 It's only at a specific time of year you'll see the foliage-based work of Nik Rust.

The local designer is behind some of the unique, intricate designs left in some of Vancouver's parts and public areas this past fall. Going by the handle @rakemob on Instagram, he raked leaves into simple but precise circles around the trees they fell from, creating patterns of concentric circles like ripples of water or sound waves emanating from deciduous trunks.

"The idea has been bouncing around in my head for at least a decade," he tells Vancouver Is Awesome. "Falls would come and go and wouldn't get to it."

But, like many people, the parks were the place to be with the pandemic in play in 2020, and he finally put rake to leaf and got to work.

"Everything was kind of different as far the day-to-day," he says. "Parks were being used in ways they never had before."

He goes out early to create his art, so as people head out at the start of their day the designs are already in place, having appeared as if out of nowhere. While the majority of people who see his art have no idea how it got there, some early risers do catch him.

A wonderful day yesterday!

 We got our booster vaccines at the Italian Cultural Centre and got gas on the way. It was fun to be in that area.

The Bocce courts. We would love to participate in activities there but a bit too far away.

But the best thing was Carol and Don were in from Victoria and came for a visit and we all went for dinner at the University Golf Club. We had an absolutely wonderful time together and many stories and reminiscences. Don did his dentistry degree at UBC so it was fun for him to see all the changes and the things that were the same. 

Again, We were having so much fun I didn't take any photos. We'll soon have to make a trip to Victoria and not forget to take those photos

Ah well. 

Humour always helps even in these stormy times

 

New dishwasher and fireplace fixed

 Our landlord gave us a new dishwasher and we got our electric fireplace fixed. We needed a new flame motor. We enjoy our electic fireplace a lot and Jim was on KP duty so he is especially pleased about the dishwasher. Both tradesmen arrived on time and were very efficient. 

Story behind Wiki

 I didn't really know the behind story. Linda made a great post on it.

https://lindaandcec.blogspot.com/2021/11/wikipedia.html

I'm having problems uploading images for some reason

Wikimedia Commons only accepts free content, that is, images and other media files that are not subject to copyright restrictions which would prevent them being used by anyone, anytime, for any purpose.

Ah, just tried at 9:06 this morning and it worked. Well, more peanut brittle arrived.

Atmospheric River

 My heart goes out to all the people affected by this terrible storm and I have so much admiration for all the people who pitched to help and are still helping. We seem very distanced from it all. It's food shopping day today and I wonder what awaits me or perhaps doesn't await me. Well, thanks to Amazon we have lots of cereal. 

I guess the now famous barge (even has its own Twitter account) that went aground at Sunset Beach should be removed if possible but if it can't perhaps artists from all the cultures in Vancouver can be commissioned to paint on it. I'm thinking of doing a painting of it so something good may come out of all this if I get painting again.

I still can't seem to upload photos...ah well.

Steve McCurry

I found these photos rather interesting: 

https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2021/11/15/steve-mccurry-documentary-photojournalism?utm_source=The+Art+Newspaper+Newsletters&utm_campaign=daca109513-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2021_11_15_01_03&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c459f924d0-daca109513-62269122

Jane Austen conference

While we have been very restricted because of COVID, I have had lots of opportunities to see things I wouldn't otherwise have seen. These were very interesting talks from a conference in Hawaii. I think so many conferences and talks will be zoomed as well as in person in the future. Our next local Jane Austen will be trying the format of doing both and many things are now taped so you can watch them later. I won't have to miss my morning swim:)

I knew Jane Austen is read world wide but I was amazed at all the translations. The whole idea of translation is pretty interesting itself. One translator made a happy ending for Persuasion.

I googled "Jane Austen Translations" and this came up. So, English translated into English. Now, I can see English speakers being helped with  Shakespeare. But then I thought perhaps this is a good idea especially for people who aren't native English speakers and for people who are learning English. I remember Monique mentioning that at her Lycée (just love it when the accents are put in automatically!) they read Shakespeare in their class in learning English. She learned pretty much nothing and couldn't speak English from her classes she took in France at school just as we didn't really learn to speak French from our classes in Canada.

The classic novel, carefully edited for modern readers to allow for easier reading. 

When rich and handsome bachelor Charles Bingley moves into the neighborhood, Mrs. Bennet is ecstatic. She insists that her husband welcome Bingley – and secure an introduction to the Bennet’s five unmarried daughters. Since Mr. Bennet’s estate can only be inherited by a male heir, it’s imperative that at least one of his daughters marries well. But when the meeting finally takes place, it is Bingley’s arrogant friend Mr. Darcy who falls for Elizabeth, the Bennet’s intelligent and witty second eldest daughter. What follows is Darcy’s unlikely pursuit of Elizabeth, a tale that has delighted readers for generations.

 "Jane Austen in Translation" 

3:10-3:50 p.m. Pacific/1:10-1:50 p.m. Hawaiian

Dr. Juliette Wells

Professor of Literary Studies

Goucher College, Baltimore

 

I haven't read "Klara and the Sun" but even more intrigued after this talk. I usually enjoy Ishiguro.

 

"Reading Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun as a Modern Interpretation of Mansfield Park"

4:40-5:20 p.m. Pacific/2:40-3:20 p.m. Hawaiian

Dr. Hatsuyo Shimazaki

Founding Member

Jane Austen Society of Japan

Loved John's photo of this mural

Photos by John Denniston

October 27th, 2021 — Selfie spot for a wall mural, below, next to what used to be the Odeon Theatre in West Vancouver.