The Adventure of English....Melvin Bragg

 

We just finished watching this fascinating 6 part mini series on the history of the English language.   A number of years ago (mid 80's)  there was a series The Story of English which was also very good but this is higher budget and even better.  Melvin Bragg is always involved in excellent programs.  It is available on YouTube if you have Apple TV and can watch it on your TV and the library has it on DVD.  Really worth a look.

"The Adventure of English is a British television series (ITV) on the history of the English language presented by Melvyn Bragg as well as a companion book, also written by Bragg.
The series and the book are cast as an adventure story, or the biography of English as if it were a living being, covering the history of the language from its modest beginnings around 500 AD as a minor Germanic dialect to its rise as a truly established global language."

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/adventure-of-english/

Christmas Bookclub at The Penny Farthing

We had a super time at our Christmas Bookclub meeting and Wendy very generously treated us all....thank you, Wendy!  And Wendy had her family provide us with transportation there and back....now that is one hostess.  We did all enjoy the book,  Louise Penny's first mystery novel, "Still Life". 

The most fun ( along with the eating and drinking of course) is the Book Exchange.  It was a very lively exchange with many "steals" but everyone was happy with their book.  I brought the latest Alice Munro (no surprise there....) and ended up with the CBC Massey Lectures by Adam Gopnik called "Winter".  I loved his "Paris to the Moon" about his time with his family living in Paris and look forward to reading "Winter" on wintery days....maybe we'll even get some snow.  I remember in 1996, the year of the big big blizzard I had just begun to read "Snow Falling on Cedars"....very appropriate.

I took some very bad photos but did manage to get everyone more or less.  I must start taking my digital camera with me....the iPhone just doesn't cut it when the light is very bad for photos.  Well,  that my excuse..

 Roberta, Pru, Gretel

 Heather P., Adrienne, Wendy

 The very serious business of ordering...Susan,  Heather K, Roberta, our great server, Wendy

Jean et moi

Christmas Buffet at the University Club

Monique treated us to the Christmas Buffet yesterday....a tradition chez nous!  The Seafood Newburg
and the ham were particularly fantastic and of course the plum pudding with creme anglaise...Monique waits for that all year...

No need for any dinner at all last night and had some wonderful papaya for breakfast today...perfect.

Merci beaucoup, Monique!

 It was impossible to get all the desserts in the photo.

The chef.

This tasted sooo good this morning and ripened to perfection....always a bit tricky to know exactly when to cut it.

Thai Lemongrass in Cadboro Bay

 This restaurant deserves another plug for the food which is excellent.  We went with Patty and Terry last night and thought we'd order exactly what we ordered the first time since it was so good but got enticed by other dishes and so had all new things and loved every morsel.

Our menu last night:

Lemongrass Dressed Prawns
Panaeng Salmon
Spicy Noodles with Prawn
Masmon Lamb Curry
Steamed Rice

Cool fireplace video

Ian sent me this....quite cool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqbrgA-Z99E

Emily has arrived in Jakarta

Emily and her team are now in Jakarta and will be heading out to the jungle soon where the deforestation areas are.  This is part of the UBC International Reporting Program she's in.   I'm sure she'll have some tales to tell at Christmas!

This will be quite a change from the big modern city below!

Computer dying slowly..

Just to let my readers know that my computer is in the process of crashing so if there is a pause you will know why.  I have one on order at UVic and I probably will be able to post via the  iPad and I can pick up mail easily on my phone so all won't be lost but everything won't be completely up and running until Richard is over at Xmas.

Children's Art

Always brings a smile to my face...

In loving memory

Lunch at The Snug

After swimming Elaine and I went for lunch at the newly opened Snug at The Oak Bay Beach Hotel.  It's been a long wait but after seeing what a beautiful job they've done with the hotel it's worth it.  The food was good...Elaine had the calamari and chorizo appetizer and I had the steak and kidney pie as it seemed like a very appropriate choice!

 The new Snug takes full advantage of the view...will be lovely in the good weather on the deck.

 Very cool to have kept the old bar.

 And some furnishings.

Just one of the lovely corridors.

 In the "old" days it was a wonderful venue for Katy and David's wedding...I'm sure Richard remembers this day very well....he was honoured to be their ring bearer.

Katy and David in their going away clothes and leaving the hotel.

Feys and Hobbs on the Avenue

 Sticky Toffee Pudding

Gingerbread Cheesecake

I went into Feys and Hobbs the other day and picked up their Holiday menu and was very intrigued by their Sticky Toffee Pudding and Gingerbread Cheesecake so while we all enjoyed the Buche de Noel from Patisserie Daniel last year,  Susan and I both agree these would make a great change..yum!

Fun time with Fern and John

We had a great time this afternoon with Fern and John....lots of laughs and Fern brought over this wonderful little Christmas quilt that fits on our hassock perfectly.  Merci beaucoup!

 

This is a photo Fern took of all of us...

Advent calendars and tree tops....

We had a lot of fun with advent calendars over the years....sorry Richard isn't here to change the dates or open the little doors for the chocolate.   I bought this one at Whistler  when we were on one of our pre Christmas ski trips with Don and Elaine.   In all the shuffle between moving the decorations to and back from Vancouver I lost the little Santa that travelled along the dates so I decided to have things that were reminders of Richard....last year a pirate (how many times did we go on Pirates of the Caribbean in Disneyland..!) and this year a saxaphone...next year...?

And then I read about this gigantic Lego Advent Calendar they have just installed in Covent Garden this year....cool!  Lego has pretty much played a part in most Christmases too.



I have had the usual things at the top of the Christmas tree like stars and angels but when those broke  or didn't work anymore I decided to have other things (although Elaine wasn't impressed with my mouse one year....at least it had a red ribbon around its neck...).  Last year I had a peacock and then when I was in Jennings Florist recently I saw a red cardinal so he is keeping him company this year.

Guessing game...

It's been fun for me picking up ornaments for the Christmas tree on our travels....ok, who can find the following:

cicada from the south of France
cable car from San Francisco
mask from Florence
dove from Mexico
cactus from New Mexico
celtic cross from Wales
bagpipes from Scotland
big apple from NYC
hummingbird from Palm Springs
harp and rosary from Ireland
Big Ben from London
boat from Travemunde, Germany
lobster from Maine
starfish from Maui
chimney sweep from the French Alps
elephant from Thailand

The one minute Christmas tree...

I brought up my tree today which was all decorated, lighted,  and ready to go.  Took a minute...I love it!

I've always found it fun to put up the other Christmas things like my village but the tree always seemed a hassle somehow...many memories of problems getting a live tree in a stand so it wouldn't fall down,  problems with lights, etc.  Not terribly designed to get you in the Christmas spirit!

Donna,  one of our servers at the Grand Pacific,  got me into doing Christmas decorations on the early side.  Why not enjoy them for longer....indeed,  why not?  And the smaller tree makes it possible since it doesn't disrupt the living room at all.

P.S.  Jim just said we should have been doing this for the last century.
P.P.S.  And our $300 rebate from Fortis for installing the gas fire place just arrived in the mail...this is beginning to really feel like Christmas!  And the sun is shining when I believe rain was predicted...

And speaking of the Grand Pacific,  they have a new lunch menu and we had a fabulous seafood pizza the week before and this week this very different and special clam chowder...made to order with clams in the shell and a wonderful,  not gloopy, base.  FABULOUS!

Curling up with a good mystery before the fire....no life like it.

I've read two Louise Penny mysteries in the last few days and they really caught my attention.  "Still Life" is her first one and is our bookclub choice for Dec and then Patty brought over "A Trick of the Light"....couldn't put them down.

Picked up her second one, "Dead Cold" at Bolen's today and settling down to a good read by the fire.

The Oaks...new restaurant on the Avenue

Jim and Anne (American friends from the Port Angeles area) invited us with a group of 9 for dinner last night.  It was after the Oak Bay Light Up and it was very busy but we had a reservation and were seated quickly.  Our server and other front line people were experienced and very pleasant and dealt well with the large crowds that night especially given they had only been open a couple of days.

Everyone enjoyed the food they ordered but it took all of us a while to figure out what to eat probably because it was more of a pub menu than what our group would expect for a dinner menu.  There do need to be some seafood options and given the pub like atmosphere a steak sandwich at a reasonable price rather than just a $24 steak would be a good idea.

We began with  a couple of orders of yam fries for the table....excellent and a nice sauce.  Quite a few at the table had the short ribs,  one had the blackened chicken (quite spicey apparently),  Jim had a burger, and I had the garlic dry ribs appie with a side of mushy peas (excellent example!).

The downside are the three large screen TV's constantly flickering so that would make me hesitate to return.  Anne did ask if  you could request that the TV's be turned off if we returned and our server was very happy to ask the manager.  The reply was that for lunch they might consider this if you made the request with a reservation.  At night,  it seems the TV's are essential.   Going for more of a Sports Bar atmosphere I guess.

It was a fun evening and great to see Jim and Anne and Richard and Judith again and their other friends.  And I really do wish the restaurant well and hope they are successful.

Raclette with the neighbours

We had lots of fun last night having a raclette with Susan and Chris and no one had to drive!   I chose wine from the Mendoza region of Argentina since they will soon be on a trip there and they brought a great  Bordeaux since we love France so much and also a California wine...very appropriate since we all enjoy Palm Springs.

We do live in a great neighbourhood where within minutes I can swing by Ottavio's for the cheese,  head up to the The Whole Beast for the meats,  then round to Pure Vanilla on the way home for dessert....lemon tart of course.

And waking up to another beautiful sunny day....life is good.

Frost and sunshine this morning...what a beautiful day!

Excellent dinner in the Camas Room

Last night we went to the University Club with Don and Elaine to have their special three course dinner for November....wow...every course was excellent and what a deal!

Chef’s $19.95 Prix Fixe Menu

Crispy Squid w Wasabi Tzatziki
Baked Lamb & Goat Cheese Lasagna
Zesty Lemon Flan

The roasted veggies with the lasagna were a super accompaniment.

We all looked pretty awful in the people photos so I'll just stick to the food....

iPad mini has arrived!

Well....I was hoping this one would be mine but it seems I'll be lucky to get the iPad I back again....

Teddy Bear's Picnic at the Grand Pacific

We began with a great swim as usual then were treated to a new lunch menu,  the arrival of the bears, and cheery Christmas decorations up...and the sun even came out!

We absolutely loved this new seafood pizza...wow!
Scallops, Shrimp, Smoked Salmon, Basil Garlic Butter, Buffalo Mozzarella all on a homemade fantastic thin crust.

 We got a real kick out of the "bear muffs".  I tried them on and Elaine took a photo but they looked much better on the bear...

CUPE on strike today and tomorrow at Camosun

Jim will probably join CUPE workers on the picket line for a bit today.  No one likes to lose money and cause disruption.  Striking is a blunt instrument but a lot of groups including teachers and our fathers wouldn't have had salaries they could support families on if unions didn't exist.  And, unfortunately, a lot of people in the developed and undeveloped world will never have a fair living wage because they don't have access to a union.

Ah yes....Alice Munro...amazing

I enjoyed this review of Dear Life...her latest collection.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/18/books/review/dear-life-stories-by-alice-munro.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Quel temps!

A day for making garlic potato soup and finishing my mystery.

Itty Bitty Book Review: "The Age of Hope"

"The Age of Hope" by David Bergen



I sometimes didn't quite know what to make of this novel but in the end I think he did capture the life of a woman born in 1930 living in a small community really rather well as understated as it was.  The novel just sort of "is" without a lot of fuss....kind of like Hope herself.  One reviewer said he was trying to "channel Alice Munro and failed".  No,  I don't think so and the novel is successful on its own terms.

If photographs had real scents...

Passed by these live Christmas trees that had just arrived and loved the scent.  Just think....looking a a photo of a baguette and the scent of fresh bread.  Maybe one day....

It doesn't get any better than this....

Colourful art,  doggy welcomes, and dinner with good friends.   I knew that going into the Red Art Gallery on Oak Bay Avenue would make me feel good....how can you not feel good looking at such wonderful colour?  But I wasn't expecting to be welcomed by two friendly lovely dogs...what a bonus.  Then a dog in the car next to me when I returned from my walk on the Avenue.  And then to dinner at Derek and Mary's and welcomed again by Holly and Ian...both sweethearts.

 I saw this mat on my walk....definitely a doggy day!

Holly and Ian.