Snow, snow go away....

....and don't come back another day.

I will be glad to see the end of this snow. 

Ramen soup

It was great to see Richard yesterday and he brought over some great soup that we really enjoyed.

Thank you so much! 

The Cheese Inn on Dunbar

 We had a nice lunch there yesterday. I got the lamb burger and Jim got bangers and mash. The soup was beef barley. I remember my mother made a similar soup in the old days.

Species that mate for life

 This came up on Valentine's Day and I found it pretty interesting.

Even seahorses do it...

https://nicenews.com/animals/animals-mate-for-life/

Over 300 languages

 

You can get Translink support in over 300 languages. I just love hearing stuff like this. For those people reading my blog who don't know what "Translink" is...it is our public transportation system in Vancouver...buses and subway.

Getting a Masters degree in "Educational Transformation"

This sounds like a pretty interesting field to study. I'm sure I would have chosen this specialty if it had been offered when I was doing my Masters in Education.

 https://edtransform.georgetown.edu

The Borsalino hat

 Not quite sure why this was in my reserve posts I keep for when I can't think of anything. I guess Jim was looking for a hat.

"Ah, Borsalino! The hat of hats, the headwear of stars! It's a name long familiar to gourmets of fine hats around the world, but today, is almost invisible in the USA. And these days, not everyone will jump at the chance to spend several hundred dollars on a fedora. Nonetheless, Borsalino has been an icon of the Italian fashion market for 160 years and has deep roots in the art, design, movie and theater worlds. Wide-brim Borsalinos are also standard apparel for many Orthodox Jews who consider head coverings a sign of peity. In short, the name is a magic one and well worth exploring. So here we go.

Not surprisingly, it was Guiseppe Borsalino who founded his eponymous firm on the streets of Alessandria, some 50 miles east of Turin. He was already a skilled hatmaker, and within a few decades, built a formidable business. By the 1880s, the firm was making 2,500 hats a day. In 1900, having won the Grand Prix at the Paris Exposition Universelle, the company was launched into the stratosphere and by 1914 had grown more than three-fold. This was a time when headwear in England and America was a regular feature of the well-dressed man. For the next 35 years, a Borsalino hat was something to own."

A lovely night out

We went to Donna's for dinner last night and enjoyed food from Minerva's...always a treat. And Sheryl dropped by...so nice to see her. We all had many laughs. 

Modernism Week in Palm Springs

Looks like it's that time again. Loved the car and the house.  They both look like they could fly away.

 

The Sunday roast

This was a tradition in our families when growing up. Jim and I grew tired of it and went in for more gourmet items. But Richard didn't really appreciate that kind of food and loved having roast at his Grandparents.

 https://www.standard.co.uk/reveller/restaurants/best-sunday-roast-london-lunch-blacklock-bull-and-last-soho-pubs-b1007121.html?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=News%20email%2017/02/2023&utm_term=ES_News_Daily_CDP

Western Spotted Skunks

I've always loved skunks and felt they are very beautiful. Maybe I'll come across one of these some day.

"From The Vancouver Sun:

While the Striped Skunk (Mephitis mephitis) is the one most commonly observed in the Lower Mainland, locals may also come across the Western Spotted Skunk (Spilogale gracilis). 

Spotted skunks are rather elusive creatures, and "very little is known about them in B.C.," Vanessa Isnardy, a program manager for WildSafeBC, told V.I.A.

"They are much more slender and smaller than striped skunks and, as per their names, have white spots rather than white stripes. They are more nocturnal than striped skunks and therefore are likely to be observed less often."

Great news for Sicily

We had amazing coffee in Italy and it would be great if they could grow their own beans. I'm writing this the day before posting drinking my very ordinary Folger's coffee. We just can't seem to enjoy fancy coffee in the morning. 

MONOCLE FILMS / SICILY

Sicily’s tropical produce

"Climate change is prompting fruit farmers to diversify and coffee roasters to start considering areas beyond the so-called bean belt to source their raw material. In Sicily, Morettino, a forward-looking family-run roastery, has already started growing coffee plants in Palermo, creating an espresso that is truly made in Italy. To discover more surprising business opportunities, subscribe to Monocle magazine today."

Too cute not to post

I do love all things otter.

From Steve in Otter News:

Who would have thought?

Our family home was just a couple of blocks from Central Park. We played lots of "Cowboys and Indians" there and built forts and climbed trees. 

From the Vancouver Sun today:

 "Central Park hosts Chinese-style matchmaking, as parents seek wedded bliss for kids

In a corner of a park in Metro Vancouver, the hunt for marital bliss is on.

Groups of middle-aged and elderly Chinese speakers pass around their smartphones or photos plucked from wallets, smiling and nodding their greetings before getting down to business.

Do you have a daughter or a son? How old are they? Where did they go to university? Where do they work? And perhaps most importantly — why are they still single?

Central Park in Burnaby has become a matchmaking corner for parents, replicating a phenomenon seen in some cities in China."

Happy Valentine's Day!

Jim gave me some beautiful roses...just love them and him.

 

Cancer is my astrological sign

 I had to laugh at "white" being my colour since I love all things brightly coloured. I do like the "silky, shimmery soft to the touch" part of it. And crab is one of my very favourite foods so that works for me.

Cancer

White

According to “The Picatrix,” an ancient astrological grimoire translated into English by John Michael Greer and Christopher Warnock, the moon is associated with the color white. It’s easy to see why. This celestial body reflects the sun’s light and illuminates the night sky in varying degrees as it moves through its phases, acting as a cosmic flashlight to us down here on earth. The moon rules one sign, Cancer, so those with placements in this comfort-loving Water sign should introduce white or off-whites into their home or wardrobe. Anything silky, shimmery, or soft to the touch gets bonus points.

I almost feel inspired to paint again when I see her work

I never tire of looking at her work.

 Georgia O’Keeffe

Known for her abstract paintings inspired by nature, Georgia O’Keeffe knew from an early age that she wanted to be an artist. She once wrote in a letter to her sister Catherine, “I’m frightened all the time. Scared to death. But I’ve never let it stop me. Never!” This quote, from a 1977 interview O’Keeffe gave at the age of 90, reflects the artist’s attitude toward her vocation, and her determination to overcome fear in order to achieve her goals. Even at the age of 90, with decades of awards and accolades to her name, O’Keeffe downplayed the importance of natural talent. Instead, she credited her impressive body of work to “mostly a lot of nerve, and a lot of very, very hard work.”

These two rather surprised me. They are something I might be able to do some version of...maybe I'll try.

The Puppy Bowl

 I doubt I will be watching the Super Bowl (I never really did understand football) but this sounds like it would be fun to watch.

" — 

For many animal rescue groups and shelters, Super Bowl Sunday is the highlight of their year – not for football, but for the other big game happening that day: Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl special. 

The annual televised event features dozens of puppies taking to a scaled-down football stadium and field. A referee (or “rufferee” in Puppy Bowl lingo) oversees Team Ruff (orange bandanas) versus Team Fluff (blue bandanas) as they play for the coveted “Lombarky” Trophy.

The goal is to get the ball into an endzone; it doesn’t really matter which one. But the real point is to get every player on the field adopted into forever homes while promoting shelter and foster pet awareness. For that, Puppy Bowl sports a perfect 19-0 record. 

This year’s program features 122 puppies from 67 shelters and rescue groups across the United States and Caribbean. "

“We really couldn’t ask for a better platform,” says Chrissy Beckles, founder and president of The Sato Project, a non-profit that rescues abused and abandoned dogs in Puerto Rico and rehomes them on the US mainland. “I can’t think of a single negative for this – only that it’s only once a year.”

Table tennis yesterday morning

 Well, not too early in the morning, but we did get out to Brock House to have a few games. I played fairly well but like having the excuse of tri-focals whenever I miss a ball.

New York New York

 Another one of my very favourite cities in the world.

I do enjoy reading their postings and wish them a happy birthday!

Happy Birthday to The Good Life France!    Bonjour I hope that all is well with you and yours.    This month is all about anniversaries for me (hence the cake photo!). It was in February 2004 that, living and working in London, I took a day off work to catch the ferry from Dover to Calais to buy wine with my dad and my husband Mark. It was a bittersweet day. It was our wedding anniversary and my mum’s birthday was the same week. She had sadly passed away two years before and my heartbroken dad drowned his sorrows in whisky. I had an idea that wine would be better for him, so on a glacial, sleet-driven day we shopped for wine in Calais and finished just in time to miss the restaurant lunchtime opening hours! Wandering cold and hungry around a town about an hour inland from the port, we stopped to look at houses in a property agent’s store window. Before we knew it, he offered us coffee and persuaded us, well me really, to look at his three cheapest houses even though I assured him we had no money, and we were not interested in buying a house in France. I went home later that day having purchased not just wine – but a hovel of a French farmhouse! We spent holidays here for many years but in the end, that old hovel stole our hearts and so did our little village in the middle of nowhere with its quirky inhabitants, Jean-Claude who never knowingly does a day’s work, Claudette, a 90-year-old marvel who bakes the most delectable cakes and is the wisest woman I’ve ever met, Bread Man who delivers the bread to our village and many more wonderful folk. So we moved to France for a rollercoaster new life. It’s a long story, three books long in fact (if you’re interested there are details below!). And - The Good Life France is 10 years old! When we first moved here, we had a LOT of renovating to do. The house leaked, some rooms had bare earth floors and it was hardly habitable. In order to save time chatting to friends and family who phoned for nightly reports of our progress, Mark created a website for me. I wrote about life in France, the people I met and the places I went. I became the Forrest Gump of writing! Since those early days the website has grown a lot, and I now publish a free magazine which has had a staggering 8.7 million readers in the last ten months (wow) and a fun podcast. And if anything, my passion for sharing the France that I am still getting to know and exploring as much as I can, has also grown. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for subscribing to my newsletter, for all your comments on social media (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter), for reading the posts on my website, for reading and sharing the magazine and listening to the podcast. Bon weekend and bisous from a humbled writer, sitting in a little converted pigsty/writing den, in the middle of nowhere, rural northern France…   Janine Editor ps You may have noticed that the newsletter came out a day early last week - whoops that was me being technically challenged! If you missed it here it is on the website: Groundhog Day in France

Libraries....how we love them

 

Most beautiful cities in the world

Well, we've been to nine of them. Brought back wonderful memories. I've posted my favourite which will be no surprise to anyone and easy to identify. There is no more wonderful walk in the world for me than walking up to the Eiffel Tower.

 https://www.travelandleisure.com/most-beautiful-cities-in-the-world-6931288

The CT-2

Wow...this is one small car! Good on this Israel-based  start-up! I'm not sure how safe I would feel driving but then again I did drive a motorcycle.

 

With the EU’s ambitions for green urban mobility, there’s likely to be less and less parking space in cities in Europe in the future.

Paris, for instance, decided in 2020 to remove some 70,000 surface parking spots to make the city greener and more people-friendly.

One of Europe’s greenest capitals, Copenhagen, passed a proposal this year to free up 600 out of 1,050 public parking spots in the city centre by 2024.

• Helping you switch to electric cars: How do countries in Europe compare?

This may be a sign of the times for some drivers. But an Israel-based start-up, City Transformer, may have the answer to parking woes with its all-electric urban microcar, the CT-2.

At only 1 m wide in "city mode," the slim car is narrow enough for four of the vehicles to fit into a standard parking spot.

And keeping along the French theme

 In her newsletter Louise Penny mentioned she was off to Paris later this month and made a mention of the art nouveau metro signs. I didn't realize they were considered "art nouveau". I guess they just became so much a part of Paris that was just Paris. It's strange to think that I found almost everything I saw in Paris amazing and yet never really thought of the metro signs as being special and don't remember reading that wonderful little bit of history in any guidebook.

Wow...Eurostar takes only two hours London to Paris now.  I remember taking the train and hovercraft London to Paris many years ago. It was probably our first trip to Europe in 1972. It was by slow train and hovercraft and there were many delays because of weather. I have a memory of it taking 24 hours which may not be correct. I know we were completely exhausted when we arrived in Paris around 2am. The hotel  had held our reservations which was amazing since I had just a confirmation by letter and had made no payment. It was a Saturday night and the streets were teeming with people. We joined the throng and had a great time. 

"Along those lines, am off to Paris later this month for dinner with the great Dorie Greenspan and her husband Michael.  Eurostar in two hours, London to Paris.  How amazing.  I'll let you know how it goes and will send pictures.  We're having dinner at Juveniles - which Dorie introduced me to years ago and which figured in ALL THE DEVILS ARE HERE. I have yet to master the Métro system in Paris.  I keep getting lost, and then get all intimidated.  I know it's about perseverance, like so much in life, but I really just want it to be easy!  Argh.

Though I do love the art nouveau signs outside the subway entrances.  (Though those can also look slightly scary.)"

Musée d’Orsay

I guess I will never forget my first trip to the Musée d’Orsay. I seem to remember going everyday for a number of days while Jim was slogging away doing some research in some library or other.  

"The Musée d’Orsay in Paris has acquired a major Impressionist painting by Gustave Caillebotte thanks to luxury goods conglomerate LVMH, which paid €43m ($46.7m) for the work. The canvas, Partie de Bateau (Boating Party, around 1877-78), went on display at the Paris museum today (30 January). The €43m acquisition was confirmed by a museum spokesperson. The Musée d’Orsay’s annual acquisitions budget meanwhile platforms at around €3m, according to Le Monde.

According to The Washington Post, the painting was sold by Caillebotte’s descendants and was one of the last Impressionist masterpieces still in private hands, said Jean-Paul Claverie, an adviser to collector and LVMH chief executive Bernard Arnault.

According to a statement from the French ministry of culture, the work will be shown at several locations across France next year to mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of Impressionism (the first Impressionist exhibition opened in 1874 at 35 Boulevard des Capucines in Paris).

“Impressionist masterpieces from the Musée d’Orsay collection will also be shown in around 20 museums across French territory,” adds the ministry. Meanwhile, a major Caillebotte exhibition is planned for autumn 2024 at the Musée d’Orsay.

The work was classified as a “national treasure” by the former French culture minister Franck Riester in 2020. The current culture minister, Rima Abdul Malak, says in a statement that “thanks to the patronage of LVMH, I am delighted that this masterpiece enriches our heritage and will be shown in several towns across France. It is the first time that such an initiative has been organised for a national treasure.”

Getty Museum

‘We had to give it our best shot’: inside the Getty’s record-setting Caillebotte acquisition

J.S. Marcus

The Musée d’Orsay website states that Boating Party shows an unidentified man boating on the Yerres river that flows near a holiday property owned by the Caillebotte family in south-east Paris. “The painter presents an ‘immersive’ framing [technique] that places the viewer in the boat, seeking to abolish the distance between the space of the painting and that of the viewer,” adds the statement."

UPDATE: This article has been amended to reflect that the Caillebotte painting Partie de Bateau was classed a "national treasure" in 2020.