Top ten selling books in Canada this year

The whole list here: https://www.cbc.ca/books/the-top-10-canadian-books-of-2023-1.7069754?cmp=newsletter_CBC%20Books_10618_1336688

Bacon Day

Everyday could be Bacon Day for me. I don't think I knew there was a special day.

On December 30th each year, bacon lovers celebrate one of nature's favored gifts on Bacon Day! The day reminds us that bacon is not just for breakfast and encourages us to test out various ways to enjoy this culinary marvel.

Quite the e-scooter

From Nice News: "When folded, the Arma e-scooter is as tall as a stack of 10 A4 sheets of paper and can travel up to 15 km on a single charge. Imagine an e-scooter that is so compact that it effortlessly fits into your briefcase. Or you rush to the airport to catch your flight by scooter but you can take it in your carry-on and continue to cruise in another city once you’ve landed. These are just some of the uses promised by what its developers believe is the world’s smallest and lightest e-scooter. When folded, the Arma e-scooter is 210 mm wide, 297 mm long, and 96 mm tall. That’s about 10 A4 paper sheets stacked on top of each other. And it only weighs about 4.5 kg."

Tuscany

This photo came up in some travel pitch.I don't think I will ever tire of seeing the hills of Tuscany.I know we had some amazing meals.I loved the small portions of pasta that came before the main course.Jim wasn't so keen on the small portions being a real pasta lover.

Photos from a wonderful Christmas dinner

A wonderful Christmas Day

We were treated to a fabulous dinner at Naomi and Ray's place and to the most wonderful news. Richard and Grace are getting married. We are so happy for everyone. Wow....what a special Christmas present!

My Christmas books from Jim

He always finds such great stuff. Can't wait to start reading. Now, what to begin with?

And more titles: The Heir by Vita Sackville-West The English Stories by Cynthia Flood Paris, Capital of the World by Patrice Higonnet Fresh Girls by Evelyn Lau Collected Stories of Carol Sheilds

Merry Christmas to all!

We had a lovely Christmas Eve dinner with Donna. So nice to be together. Love this holiday tradition from Mexico.

"From her shop in eastern Mexico City, Tania Hernandez begins making piñatas for the holiday season as early as October. That's because piñatas are essential to celebrating Christmas in Mexico. Specifically, traditional ones in the form of a seven-point star. The reason why goes back years, and continents. The Posadas tradition Hernandez says her favorite piñata to make is that traditional one. These colorful figures are a key element in Posadas – which translates to inns – an annual tradition that runs from December 16 to 24 and is fueled by music, food, and a piñata for the children. During Posadas, family, friends and neighbors drop in on each other at night, asking for shelter in representation of Mary and Joseph's journey to Bethlehem ahead of Jesus' birth."

KFC for Christmas dinner

I love this idea especially after being responsible for Christmas dinner for my family and Jim's family for many years. Our mothers were worn out by making many Christmas dinners over the years so I volunteered.

From Nice News "KFC" for dinner in Japan Christmas is the busiest time of year for KFC in Japan, as, per tradition, many families get their holiday dinner from the restaurant. The tradition started around 1974, but there are a couple theories within the company about how it began. One is that a store manager dressed up as Santa Claus and delivered chicken to a Japanese school. The kids enjoyed it, so he launched an advertising campaign. Another is that Japanese people began buying KFC during the holidays because turkeys weren't easily available. Though, neither of the theories has been confirmed, KFC Japan said. Merry White, a food anthropologist and professor at Boston University, lived in Japan in the 1960s, when there was no KFC. KFC Japan was founded in 1970, and for many years was seen as more of a date night spot. A recession in Japan made people turn to the restaurant as a way to feed their families, White said."

Lego Man

Many Christmases in our home were all about lego so this seemed appropriate to post at this time. Location: Yuigahama Beach, Japan Year Discovered: 2014 Est. Value: Unknown Humans worry about dead wildlife washing onto the shores, as that could be a sign of a problem with the water quality. Who knows what a gigantic, eight-foot, ominous Lego man means? This potential portent of doom was discovered by a Japanese surfer. Forebodingly, the Lego man was wearing a t-shirt that said, “No Real Than You Are” on the front.

A lovely visit with old friends

Dick and Susan came for tea yesterday and we had a great time talking about all sorts of things. They brought a beautiful poinsietta plant. I always like to have one at Christmas but hadn't got round to buying one so it worked out perfectly.

I feel like I'm in another world

I wonder if there is a "Blockchain, Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency" for Dummies book. I don't think I would get very far taking courses for this certificate "The Mastering Blockchain, Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Certificate Accelerated Program provides learners with the knowledge, strategies, tools and skills needed for using blockchain, Bitcoin and cryptocurrency in the workplace. Blockchain and cryptocurrency skills are required in various fields, including government, health care, education, financial services, logistics, real estate, startups, oil and gas, the non-profit sector and business. Using a digital pedagogical approach that integrates theory and practical application, learners use blockchain tools, techniques and platforms to gain an understanding of this technology. Learners are provided with the essentials of blockchain technology, Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, including its origin, what it is, how it is being used, how to use it and how it can be used to add value to businesses and society. Also covered are important advanced topics, such as smart contracts, Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and how they transform entire industries. This program includes three modules for a total of 108 hours. Graduates of the Mastering Blockchain, Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Certificate Accelerated Program are qualified to write the Global Blockchain Professional (GBP™) exam from the Foundational Technologies Institute." And of course there is a Dummies book. I've put a hold on it from the library.

Lego Concorde

Now this will be a pretty cool gift for kids into lego.

From: JAF Communications Inc. "Appealing to collectors who care more about details and accuracy than play value, Lego's Icons line has delivered everything from brick-built recreations of the Titanic to NASA's Space Shuttle Discovery. But as an aviation enthusiast who still remembers first seeing the Concorde visit my city's small airport when I was just 10 years old, I jumped at the chance to give Lego's 2,083-piece recreation of the now retired supersonic passenger plane a test flight. A close-up of the Lego Concorde's instruction manual. The 290+ page instruction manual for the Lego Concorde is peppered with interesting facts about the real aircraft.The Messenger | Andrew Liszewski First, some background. The real Concorde was an impressive feat of aviation engineering that never had the chance to reach its full potential. Created through a collaboration between France and the United Kingdom, it was the first and only non-Soviet passenger aircraft capable of regular supersonic travel. This allowed it to fly 100 passengers at twice the speed of sound—Mach 2.04, or 1,354 MPH—across the Atlantic ocean in just three hours. It was meant to revolutionize air travel, but competition from the Boeing 747 (which could instead carry over 500 passengers), cost overruns, a limited range and a steep price tag meant that just 20 Concordes were ever built. The plane served as a novelty until it eventually ceased commercial service in 2003."

Just love these snowmen!

From Nice News: "While most were soaking up the height of summer in July, Pauline Parker was thinking about snow. That’s when the Burlington, Wyoming, artist began making personalized, wooden snowmen for all of her neighbors. And by all, we mean each and every resident. “I started in July, and I thought, well, I’ll do everybody in Burlington one, which was 142 houses,” Parker told Q2 News. “I think snowmen bring joy to you.” To date, she’s painted more than 300 adorable snowmen for Burlington and, by popular demand, has even given some to families in other nearby towns in the state’s Big Horn Basin. “My last count was 316,” Parker said. “You can find brown-eyed snowmen, or blue or green.” Per Cowboy State Daily, the holiday project is a community effort — Parker received a wood donation as well as $600 from Burlington for her artwork. “They’re all adorable,” said resident Jenny Booth. “I’m an artist myself, and I swear I could not do the snowmen that she does. She has such a generous heart. It’s very Hallmark-like.”"

Roast Suckling Pig day today

If I remember right we did have this in France.

Portrait of Oprah Winfrey

I was a little surprised by this but why not. She certainly is a famous world figure.The purple dress is so fitting symbolising Winfrey's breakout role in The Colour Purple. I remember not really wanting to watch the movie since the book was so wonderful. The movie did an amazingly good job as I recall.

"The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery (NPG) has unveiled a new portrait of media mogul Oprah Winfrey, painted by the Chicago artist Shawn Michael Warren. Following a ceremony with Winfrey, Warren, Smithsonian director Lonnie Bunch and NPG director Kim Sajet on 13 December, the painting was placed on public display as the latest addition to the museum’s permanent collection. The portrait, which a height of nearly six feet, depicts Winfrey in her California garden wearing a purple dress and holding an olive branch. Her vibrant, photorealistic gown stands out in the composition, symbolising Winfrey’s breakout role in the 1985 film adaptation of Alice Walker’s novel The Color Purple. The oak tree beside her is one of 12 in her backyard that Winfrey likens to the Twelve Apostles. Warren has painted Winfrey’s likeness before—in a commissioned mural in Chicago’s West Loop neighbourhood, near the studios which housed The Oprah Winfrey Show between 1990 and 2011. In the new portrait’s description, the Smithsonian says that Warren “grew up watching and admiring Winfrey on television”. The NPG houses paintings commemorating figures important to US history and culture, and has selected Winfrey as a subject for her position as a “global media leader, philanthropist, producer, actor, author and entrepreneur” who has made “significant contributions to American popular culture”. Speaking about Winfrey at the portrait’s unveiling ceremony, Sajet said: “Through her rise to fame as host and producer of The Oprah Winfrey Show, Oprah demonstrated an unparalleled ability to connect with people and inspire them to become the best versions of themselves.”

Origin of Guinness World Records

I think I would have known this but I didn't. We often buy some Guinness around Christmas time. It may have been because Jim's Scottish grandfather liked a Guinness.

From Interesting Facts 'Guinness World Records started out as a Guinness Brewery promotion intended to help settle bar bets. In 1954, Sir Hugh Beaver, the managing director of Guinness, thought up a way to reduce pub disputes so bartenders could focus on pouring his company’s signature beers. He suspected that every bar could benefit from a book filled with verified facts and stats about subjects that might arise mid-conversation over a drink. Two events in particular prompted his decision: Earlier in the decade, he and fellow guests at a hunt in Ireland memorably argued about Europe’s fastest game bird, which they had no means of identifying. Then, on May 6, 1954, English athlete Roger Bannister became the first person to run a mile in less than four minutes, causing public interest in records-related news to surge. Norris McWhirter had served as the stadium announcer during Bannister’s historic run, and Beaver hired both him and his identical twin, Ross McWhirter — another sports journalist — to assemble The Guinness Book of World Records. At the time, the pair had already begun working at a London-based agency that supplied facts to newspapers and advertisers.'

Makes me think it's time for a lobster dinner

From: Nice News AUTHOR Rebekah Brandes The University of New England has welcomed a special newcomer to its campus, but not one that will be living in the dormitories. An incredibly rare, bright orange lobster joined other multicolored crustaceans housed at the institution’s Arthur P. Girard Marine Science Center on June 5. Sporting just one claw (it likely lost the other in a scuffle with another sea creature), the animal has yet to be named, but its new roommates include a Calico lobster named Sprinkles and a yellow one named Banana, so we’re sure the moniker will be well worth the wait. The female invertebrate was donated to the center by a lucky fishing crew who caught it off the coast of Maine — the odds of catching an orange lobster are about 1 in 30 million, per a press release from UNE. I want mine with both claws.

Family Christmas card

No need to identify whose family it is. I would guess it's much more casual than many previous royal family Christmas cards.

Well, I would be wrong about it being much more casual. It was fun to look through past photos. https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/entertainment/g3072/royal-christmas-cards/

Ah...to be a pirate

Good on MIT

"MIT awards a certificate in piracy. Earning the right to call yourself a pirate once meant living a rough-and-tumble life on the seas, robbing ships, and dodging naval law. However, modern swashbucklers enrolled at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have a much easier go of it. Students who attend the esteemed university can earn a certificate in piracy by completing four classes — sailing, fencing, pistol shooting, and archery — and then taking the school’s secret pirate oath."

Wonderful to see Notre Dame reopening

It just isn't Paris without this wonderful structure at its best.

https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2023/12/11/president-macron-confirms-notre-dame-opening-date-plus-plans-for-a-new-museum?utm_source=The+Art+Newspaper+Newsletters&utm_campaign=7b99db43b9-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2023_12_11_12_08&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-7b99db43b9-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D

Best Canadian Fiction of the year according to the CBC

There are a lot of interesting titles. I guess I'll put library holds on some of them.

https://www.cbc.ca/books/the-best-canadian-fiction-of-2023-1.7044119?cmp=newsletter_CBC%20Books_10481_1325028

Vera Neuman

She is being highlighted at Modernism Week in Palm Springs. I really like her colourful work. I especially like the blue sunflower.

Good time not to be travelling in Europe

* I made this post yesterday so the current situation isn't so great with the heavy rain. Hope it won't turn to snow. Looking out at our beautiful weather with no snow it's hard to imagine it is so awful in Europe. I hope things get better for them as the Christmas rush gets underway.

BERLIN (AP) — Freezing rain and cold weather buffeting Germany were blamed for traffic accidents that left three dead on Tuesday while Munich Airport temporarily suspended flights. One student was killed in a crash involving a school bus in the Erzgebirge mountains in the eastern German state of Saxony, police said. At least 10 other schoolchildren were taken to a hospital. Two adults, including the bus driver, were seriously injured. The bus skidded into the side of a winter road maintenance vehicle in Sehmatal county near the Czech border, German news agency dpa reported. It then crashed head-on into a tree and and the impact was so strong that it completely destroyed the front of the vehicle.

Christmas markets around the world

I found these quite charming and wish I was there at some of them. This one was in Taipai.

https://nicenews.com/culture/magical-christmas-markets-around-the-world/

Christmas tea at Brock House

We joined Donna for a lovely tea at Brock House yesterday and Jim won a door prize...this lovely wooden bowl made by the woodworking group.

Great to see

Parisians and the world will soon be getting back our beloved Notre Dame.

By: NEWS WIRES ADVERTISING "Scaffolding still surrounded the new spire, captured by an AFP photographer, and officials did not wish to comment while they await the finishing touches. The authority overseeing the rebuilding told AFP last Friday that the oak structure of the spire, which reaches 96 metres (315 feet) high, would be visible "before Christmas". It is identical to the previous one, designed by the 19th century architect Viollet-Le-Duc, which collapsed in the fire of April 15, 2019. The scaffolding will remain to allow the installation of its cover and lead ornaments early next year, the authorities said."

Word of the year

Well, I guess it shows how out of it I am these days since I wasn't even aware ot the word.

"LONDON (AP) — Oxford University Press has named “rizz″ as its word of the year, highlighting the popularity of a term used by Generation Z to describe someone’s ability to attract or seduce another person. It topped “Swiftie” (an enthusiastic fan of Taylor Swift), “situationship” (an informal romantic or sexual relationship) and “prompt” (an instruction given to an artificial intelligence program) in the annual decision by experts at the publisher of the multivolume Oxford English Dictionary. The four finalists were selected by a public vote and the winner was announced on Monday."

A lovely brunch

We had a great time with Linda and Cec, Carol and Dave, and Donna at Wildlight yesterday. I had the crab cakes and so did Jim...very yummy. So great to see everyone.

Robot dogs painting art

This intrigued me. I'll have to keep an eye out for robot dogs painting art.

"For four months, three robot dogs will put their paws to the canvas at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) later this year. They’ll be trained by Agnieszka Pilat, the artist behind their upcoming appearance at the NGV Triennial, an arts festival in Melbourne, Australia. While the event marks a departure from the Silicon Valley circles she usually paints for, Pilat has said she is excited to share her outsider perspective with the broader art world."

Seven Famous Canals

I only have seen one of these...the one in Venice. Guess I haven't travelled as much as I thought. https://dailypassport.com/most-famous-canals-around-the-world/

Venice was so amazing. You can't really appreciate it until you are there. It was pouring rain and we got absolutely soaked. But you can't spoil Venice. I've probably said this more than once.

Not a cigarette to be seen soon...perhaps

It is great to see all these smoking bans https://www.euronews.com/travel/2023/11/29/tourists-in-mexico-could-be-fined-for-smoking-in-public-where-else-has-strict-laws-on-ligh?utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=travel_newsletter&utm_medium=referral&insEmail=1&insNltCmpId=253&insNltSldt=10080&insPnName=euronewsfr&isIns=1&isInsNltCmp=1

Christmas tree at the B.C. Legislation

Linda posted this on her blog. What a great idea for a Christmas tree.

Some pretty cool mailboxes

Good on these folks for being so creative!

Paintings up

Well, some of them but it really gives me pleasure to see them. Thank you, Richard!

Pebble Art

Very cool!

From Nice News: For the past five years, British artist Justin Bateman has been creating intricate portraits out of pebbles, with pieces ranging in size from 10 square feet to over 80. Aside from a few permanent commissions, they’re all ephemeral — arranged on beaches and in forest clearings. It wasn’t a medium he set out to master, but it’s since become something of a calling. To date, he’s made 120 works of art using over 1 million stones. “I had no intention to make this many, but as soon as I decide to take a break, a new one starts to play on my mind,” Bateman, 47, writes in a statement shared with Nice News. He adds, “The world is a collection of masterpieces, waiting to be assembled.” Formerly an art lecturer, Bateman began working with pebbles while exploring natural materials for a variety of environmental art workshops he’d developed. He found that the form fit perfectly with his lifestyle: He’s a minimalist who loves to travel. Currently based in Chiang Mai, Thailand, he’s also created pieces in Indonesia and the U.K. Though the portraits take hours to make, the process is meditative, Bateman explains. “It is like being able to control a tiny part of life. In a world where I have no control, I can choreograph this brief dance with the stones and find peace in the process.” See His Pebble Art