This just might get me into yoga….yoga with cats!

Maybe Catfé (coming soon to International Villages in Vancouver)  will do this….

Downward-facing dog will soon involve a lot more cats. D.C.'s one and only cat cafe, Crumbs & Whiskers, will host its first yoga classes with cats on Sept. 22.

Founder Kanchan Singh says she solicited her Facebook fans for events to host at the cat cafe. The overwhelming response? "'Oh my God, yoga with cats,'" Singh says.

Singh has been doing yoga for the past couple years—but not with cats. "After yoga, I'm already so zen. And then after I hang out with cats, I'm really zen," she says. "So I'm really excited to see the combination of zen... It's going to take it to the next level."

Crumbs & Whiskers is partnering with Georgetown's Down Dog Yoga for two classes next Tuesday at 2:30 and 4:30 p.m. Each class will last two hours with one and a half hours devoted to yoga and the remainder for playing with cats. The sessions will likely be limited to 15 people, and tickets will cost $25. (Crumbs & Whiskers normally charges $15 for one hour.) If it's popular, Singh is considering hosting cat yoga on a regular basis.

The idea is not unique to Crumbs & Whiskers. Other cat cafes in New York and London have also hosted yoga classes with cats. "It's definitely a thing," Singh says.

As for the logistics of posing and stretching with animals wandering around, Singh just hopes that the cats don't try to use people's mats as scratching pads.

"You don't know what's going to happen," she says. "You don't know if a cat's going to come trip you. That just makes it more exciting."

A perfect day for Autumn Soup...

I've always loved this soup….from a Betty Crocker cookbook I got as a shower gift.

Thank you, Richard!

Last night we watched two DVD's of old Super 8 films that Richard had converted.  It was fun watching them and so great to have them in a format we can still view.   We had watched these before but I was impressed with the quality Richard managed to get on this conversion especially considering some of this footage was taken  around 37 years ago.  And of course,  it's all people... mainly Richard,  of course.  Super 8 was expensive and I didn't waste it on footage of views.  It's great to have footage of both sets of parents,  Ian,  Craig,  and friends.   It was also fun to see our three houses in Victoria and my parents' place at Gabriola.

 Goodness,  we all looked so young!

And our view this morning….great to see the lawn greening up.

We just need to look at the view...

We loved the rain today and then tonight this great sunset.  We do live in paradise.

Skytrain delays today….

How nice politics would be without the politicians...

However,  I did come away from the debate thinking Trudeau is the best of a bad lot.  At least he has some vision and I believe that vision will help our son and his friends the most so that's an investment in the future.  The Globe and Mail seemed to think so too:

"The three men vying for Canada’s top political office took the stage in Calgary Thursday night to go toe-to-toe on the most pressing issue facing the Canadian electorate: the economy. Once the smoke of political gamesmanship and rhetoric cleared, only one emerged as a leader with a new vision for Canada: Justin Trudeau."

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/trudeau-emerges-as-leader-with-new-economic-vision-for-canada/article26417694/?click=sf_globefb

Humour helps everything….

First a clerk in Kentucky, and now a church lady in Los Angeles! This same sex couple faces yet another obstacle on the way to marriage equality in this spec commercial I directed. Special kudos for terrific performances by Matt Marr, Karl Ramsey, and Lynne Marie Stewart.

http://www.marknickelsburg.com/directing/tide-go

A very moving post on Facebook by Louise Penny

An absolutely gorgeous late summer day here in southern Quebec. Garden in full bloom still. Had some much-needed rain. And the writing is going well. It often does, until it suddenly doesn't. It's the oddest thing. I will hit a section where I don't know what should happen next. I know two or three scenes along, but how to get there? And, even better, so that it makes sense.... But right now all is well. Michael did something he's never done before, and in a good way. This morning when I was getting him dressed, and buttoning his shirt, he slowly reached out and started buttoning my sweater. He couldn't do it, or course, but he was trying, with a look of great intensity. He clearly wanted to take care of me, as I was taking care of him. It was one of the most moving moments of my life. Dear man.

Rain in Palm Springs yesterday...

Everyone was pleased about the rain!  A rare b & w photo by Hal Castle of the San Jacinto mountains.

Erna posted this on Facebook…loved it!

Palm Springs sunrise today

Another couple of great photos by Hal Castle:

Our son, the runner.

Richard has been running a half marathon every weekend and did one just before coming for dinner Sunday and so enjoyed Jim's spaghetti!   He's going to do the full marathon in Victoria Thanksgiving weekend but will probably walk most of the last half.  There is a category where you can start two hours earlier with the idea of doing that.

Good on you,  Richard!

He and Grace are staying at The Magnolia Hotel while they're in Victoria.  It always seemed like a very nice hotel and the restaurant looks good too.

Really looking forward to getting back to my Canyon Sands book group.

I'll be sorry to miss this meeting particularly since I've just started using my Kindle recently.

Canyon Sands

ALL ABOUT BOOKS

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

2 p.m., HOA Conference Room

• The focus of the October session of All About Books will be e-books.  We will talk about our experiences—successes and frustrations—with reading on our computers, pads, and phones.  Is the format more suited to some books than others?  How do we access e-books from our local libraries?  Richard Bass, coordinator of the Friends of the Palm Springs Library Book Club, will join us to share how he uses e-books and what resources aid the e-reader.

• Library monitor for September is Deb Hirsch.  That duty will be assumed by Patti McCarron in October.  Any Canyon Sands residents who wish to borrow or donate books may do so during the regular HOA office hours.

• Books discussed in the September meeting were mainly ones that had been borrowed from the Canyon Sands library shelves:

–Fatal Majesty  by Reay Tannahill—This historical fiction thoroughly covers the life and death of Mary Queen of Scots.  The endnotes are interesting, too.

–The Poet by Michael Connelly—Bestselling mystery writer Connelly knows how to build a story—“to keep your heart racing and your mind guessing.”

–To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee—The publicity surrounding the recent release of Lee’s Go Set a Watchman has resulted in many people reading and enjoying her classic To Kill a Mockingbird for the first time.

–The Oxford Murders by Guillermo Martinez—In this book’s academic setting, a serial killer leaves clues with a mathematical theorist.  Math and mystery mix well.

– The Tower, the Zoo and the Tortoise by Julia Stuart—This nonfiction account of the Beefeaters living in the Tower of London is an enjoyable read—a balance of odd and normal.

–Although of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself by David Lipsky—This account of a five-day road trip  gives unusual insight into the minds of two modern writers: David Foster Wallace and David Lipsky.

--The Light Side of Little Texas by Uyless Black—Growing up in Southeastern New Mexico, aka “Little Texas,” is the subject of Black’s humorous and insightful memoir.  The Light Side of Little Texas ends by refuting Thomas Wolfe—You can go home again.  This book and four others by Black, a Canyon Sands resident, are on display in the HOA office and may be borrowed.

 “That old September feeling, left over from school days, of summer passing, vacation nearly done, obligations gathering, books and football in the air ... Another fall, another turned page: there was something of jubilee in that annual autumnal beginning, as if last year's mistakes had been wiped clean by summer.”

--Wallace Stegner

Itty Bitty Book Review: "Suffer the Little Children"

"Suffer the Little Children" by Donna Leon

So far,  Donna Leon doesn't disappoint.  I think anyone who has been to Venice loves revisiting this wonderful place through these novels.   I especially enjoyed the passages in which Brunetti and Signorina Ellettra go to Verona and experience the delights of traffic and taxis.  They wonder how people live in cities with cars…yes,  indeed,  how do we?  I also enjoyed this passage:

"In another culture,  Giuliano Marcoloni might have been described as fat: Italians, however, graced with a language from which euphemism springs with endless sympathy,  would describe him as 'robusto'."

I was thinking of moving on to War and Peace especially after I read someone saying it was "like sand…once you got going it just kept flowing" or something to that affect.  Carol replied with this comment:

"I'd say War and Peace is more like gravel than sand. You just get going with a beautiful, interesting narrative and then comes a hefty discourse about war and battle tactics. Then back to the flow before you hit another rocky chunk. It's almost like two books--one a story like Anna K, the other a discourse on war. Some people would enjoy both parts, but I thought that if I read it again, I would skip the war stuff. Probably defeating the whole point of the book, but that was my reaction."

Well,  my problem is solved as Elizabeth Hay's new novel "His Whole Life" came up on my holds so I will have to read it now,  of course.  War and Peace will have to wait.

Wonderful documentary: Oscar Niemeyer: an architect committed to his century.

We watched this the other night.  I'm very impressed with his work in Brasilia and other places.  He lived to be 105.  He is featured in the documentary and does a lot of line drawings which are so simple and brilliant.

A few images of his buildings.

Billboard courtesy of "Planting Peace"…I love it!

Planting Peace has constructed a message for Kim Davis and the anti-LGBTQ movement. The intent of the billboard is to expose this narrow interpretation by Davis and others that they use to defend their discrimination against the LGBTQ community.”

The non-profit organization, which promotes equality and peace, has previously been in the news for buying a house across from LGBTQ-hating Westboro Baptist Church in order to paint it the colours of a giant rainbow flag.

Itty Bitty Book Review: "Anna Karenina"

"Anna Karenina" by Leo Tolstoy

Well,  I must say it was quite an amazing read and somewhat surprised I hadn't read any Tolstoy.  I think I must read War and Peace but will take a bit of a break from massive tomes.  It's a wonderfully "modern" novel considering it was written in 1877.  Especially in the first parts,  I was struck by the satirical commentary on Russian society.   And of course the main purpose of the novel which focuses on the sorry state of woman's rights and the double standard.  The men don't come off very well.  Levin does eventually find his "faith" and can believe in God and a purpose for living:

"Where could I have got it?  By reason could I have arrived at knowing that I must love my neighbour and not oppress him?  I was told that in my childhood, and I believed it gladly, for they told me what was already in my soul.  But who discovered it?  Not reason. Reason discovered the struggle for existence, and the law that requires us to oppress all who hinder the satisfaction of one's desires.  That is the deduction of reason.  But loving one's neighbour reason could never discover,  because it's irrational."

His revelation reminds me of these quotes I've always liked about kindness:

"This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness."
Dalai Lama

“Three things in human life are important: the first is to be kind; the second is to be kind; and the third is to be kind.” 
― Henry James

"It's a little embarrassing that after 45 years of research & study, the best advice I can give people is to be a little kinder to each other."

― Aldous Huxley

Note from Carol today:

Congratulations on finishing Anna. I was interested that you picked out the same passage that I did when recapping my thoughts on the book-- great minds.... .? 

Australia has this right…why can't we do this in Canada?

Letter to the editor in The Vancouver Sun today:

Here in Australia, the national minimum wage is $17.29 but there are many additional benefits. For instance an additional 9.5 per cent of salary must be paid into the employee’s retirement fund. Casual employees receive an additional loading of at least 25 per cent, meaning that the minimum wage for casual staff is $21.61 per hour (and the 9.5 per cent is also added to that). 

Services, like restaurant meals, are probably a touch more expensive here, but as we do not generally tip, the net cost to the customer is probably lower. 

Paying people properly seems a much better approach than forcing people to rely on tips. Surely a rich country like Canada can afford to pay everyone a living wage.

WILLIAM KENNEDY

Blaxland, NSW, Australia

Pizza night with Derek

There's nothing like an evening with old friends…such a great time with Derek tonight.  Lots of laughs as usual.  Mary,  I hope you make it into Vancouver before we leave for Palm Springs.   We are so enjoying not taking a ferry for a year….we'll make it if we don't go to Victoria this year.

Logos

I love logos because they often are wonderful examples of naive art.  I signed up for a newsletter from the LA Times recently called "California Essentials"  and loved its logo…perfect for California.

Front page news today in the Vancouver Sun

MacDonalds to phase in cage-free eggs.  Well,  the European Union is way ahead on this and other animals welfare issues.  I wonder why North America is so far behind?

European Union Council Directive 1999/74/EC^[1] is legislation passed by the European Union on the minimum standards for keeping egg laying hens which effectively bans conventional battery cages. The directive, passed in 1999, banned conventional battery cages in the EU from January 1, 2012 after a 13-year phase-out. Battery cages were already banned in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Sweden prior to 2012.

Sunset tonight

Finger painting ATC's

I got talking about finger painting with Jo at the last ATC meeting.  She gave me a great tip…use spray starch so the paint will go on smoothly.  I guess in kindergarten the paint was quite runny.  I loved finger painting in kindergarten but I do seem to recall my creations turned out rather brown looking….well,  that's what happens when you keep mixing paint!

Finger painting abstracts inspired by mid-century modern colours.

Rock Balancing

There hasn't been a lot of rock balancing this summer although lately there have been some.  The regular guy who was unbelievable doesn't seem to be around.  John took this photo Labour Day.

-John Denniston photo

September 7th, 2015 — There are many rock balance sculptures beside the Stanley Park seawall and every once in a while there is a passer-by who climbs down for a closer look believing something other than the skill of the artist is holding them up.

Queen Elizabeth overtakes Queen Victoria's reign

I think pretty much everyone has to admire Queen Elizabeth regardless of one's views on monarchies.  Good on her!

Fun link on the Telegraph of interesting stuff about the Queen and neat photos.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/queen-elizabeth-II/11785557/33-fun-facts-as-Queen-Elizabeth-II-overtakes-Queen-Victoria-in-pictures.html?frame=3398599

Finally….Elaine's postcard from Bucharest arrived.

Elaine mailed this about four weeks ago so quite a while to arrive I would say.  It's great to get a postcard…one doesn't get many these days.  Although,  about a month ago a woman was buying a whole load of postcards in the dollar store.   She was a teacher and was sending them to her students…nice teacher!  Speaking of teaching,  isn't it nice not to be back to school!

This post is for Richard….you don't have to wait until December!

In-n-Out Burger in Vancouver for one day.

http://www.vancitybuzz.com/2015/07/in-n-out-burger-vancouver-2015/

20 Quotes from Children's Books every adult should know...

Kate posted this on Facebook today…loved it!

http://encurious.com/post/90982259223/quotes-from-childrens-books

The wonderful bread of Carqueiranne in Vancouver….almost too good to be true!

We had our annual Labour Day "Beach Friends" picnic yesterday and André and Marivanne brought a delicious quiche warm from the oven and brie and a baguette from La Croissanterie.  This is the real traditional French bread that you can't always even get in France these days…wow!  I'll be going there for sure.

After Don and Elaine visited us in Carqueiranne,  they went on a search in Victoria to find bread like we got there…no such luck.  Up to now I haven't been able to find the real French bread anywhere.

Croissanterie La Marseillaise LTD
Croissanterie La Marseillaise LTD is proud to provide a weekly selection of over 125 classic handmade European breads and rolls. Choose from our signature Baguette, and our daily featured fresh baked Artisan specialities. As well, a tantalizing selection of fresh made daily sweet delights, including Gateaux, Tarts and Pies, Muffins Croissant and Pastries are also available.

Our bread Selection:
Croissanterie La Marseillaise bakes a wide variety of artisan breads daily. These are some of the classic…

French Baguette:
This traditional and classic loaf captures the heart and soul of France, where they wrapped around the middle with a small piece of paper for the consumer to carry. Artisan Bakeries are integral part of daily culture. One would stop by their local boulangerie to pick up bread in the morning for breakfast and lunch, and again in the evening. Typically, only enough bread needed for the day is bought, ensuring fresh flavour and texture. We use traditional methods, and only the finest natural ingredients to ensure each Baguette we create is of the highest quality, with a crisp crust and a soft flavourful crumb

Croissant:
Rich and buttery with a light inner texture, combined with crisp outer layers give the croissant a truly authentic taste.

The owner of Croissanterie La Marseillaise LTD is the ex-owner of Boulangerie La Parisienne in Yaletown and Boulangerie Chopain in Davie St. He is the master of the traditional french bread 100% Natural. He is a developer of a multigrain, french bread and croissant in Vancouver.

PNE

Shelley Fralic had an interesting article on the PNE…Rare Generational Treasure.

http://www.vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/shelley+fralic+rare+generational+treasure/11341840/story.html

In one sense,  it has remained somewhat the same and comforting to those of us who barely recognise our city anymore in so many ways.  Except looking out our window at the freighters and the English Bay slide…that remains the same and perhaps that's why our view is so comforting to us.

Of course,  what has changed is the cost and the crazy food…not that we ever bought any food at the PNE.  We went to the food hall and got free samples.  And we got in on "free day" for kids.  It was a tremendous treat to be given 6 quarters for rides…sometimes we only got four.

A new food item at the fair this year.  Just as well they didn't have crazy food because I'm sure I would have been attracted to it as a kid and wouldn't have been able to afford it.  I wouldn't have given up my money for rides!

“A New Capital, Aldous Huxley, and Some Indians.” by Elizabeth Bishop

Jim is working on editing for publication in the Huxley annual this very cool article he found by Elizabeth Bishop,  the poet.  The "new capital" is the city of Brasilia,  a futuristic city.  It had been previously unpublished but got published in the Yale Review a while ago (without any footnotes or information on Huxley's visit).   He is finding out the most amazing stuff and even managed to find archives online of the local newspaper in 1958 that had a lot of coverage of Huxley's visit.  Ever the literary detective extraordinaire!

More photos on this link:

https://designkultur.wordpress.com/2010/06/29/brasilia-the-buildings-the-palace-of-the-dawn-as-seen-by-elizabeth-bishop-in-august-1958/

 Laura and Aldous

Huxley and Laura visited a number of places in Brazil on that visit and Jim found a previously unpublished conversation between him and the author,  Gilberto Freyre.  It's in Portuguese but he has been doing pretty well translating it and he got in contact with a graduate student who lives in Brasilia and who offered to translate it for him.

Ah…the internet…what fun!

Dear James,

First of all, thanks for your compliment. I've never estudied abroad, in fact I've never left Brazil. I'm finishing a post-grad in International Relations at the University of Brasília. Studying abroad is a project I am working on, so reading, writing and speaking other languages is something I have to improve. This was the purpose of the blog. Talking to you has also being a great way to improve my skills, so any remark about misuses of the english language won't be understood as a criticism. You will be helping me.

Sorry I coudn't answer you earlier. The scans were only ready yesterday. Here follows the whole dialogue. I am sure you will enjoy it. I can translate it to english if you like. You won't be asking too much. The dialogue is small and I can ask my sister and my wife for help. We'll be glad to help you.

I couldn't enlarge the picture you sent me either. But here is something that can be useful. The newspaper Jornal do Brasil has its whole archive on the web. I found a small interview with Huxley in the page 8 of 7 august 1958 (https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=0qX8s2k1IRwC&dat=19580807&printsec=frontpage&hl=pt-BR). I guess you'll find more about his travel in the following days.

In the beginning of the dialogue,it says it was published in 19 oct 1958 by Jornal do Brasil and Jornal do Comércio (Recife). Unfortunately the 19 oct 1958 file is not available in the site of Jornal do Brasil. The days near 19 oct are all available, but the 19 oct is not. I don't know why. And Jornal do Comércio de Recife doesn't have its archives on the web. However the file I send you has the whole dialogue. It has taken place in the house of Gilberto Freyre, in Apipucos, in the morning of 28 august of 1958. You will see that they talk about Brasília.

I was very impressed how Huxley was interested in Brazil. Even in Brazil we are taught to always look to the North Atlantic culture (Europe, USA and Canadá too), so when I saw Huxley taking the other way around I was really impressed. I guess you are also doing it somehow. Any day wish to visit Brasília, it will be my pleasure to show you around. Untill then I send these nice photos of our beloved city (https://bentoviana.wordpress.com/2012/07/24/brasilia-vista-do-ceu-45/)

Since you mentioned Sartre, here it goes a discourse by André Malraux about Brasília, which can also be useful (http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/actualites/dossiers/malraux2006/discours/a.m-brasilia.htm). My final course assignment was about Brasília and my sister is an architect. I guess we can help with that too, if you need.

Would you send me the draft you are working on? I would love to read it.

Felipe

Palm Springs today….

 From Eric Norland:  It keeps getting even better. Palm Springs,CA at 8AM. What a paradise!

Cactus today from Hal Castle….apparently,  everyone is taking cactus photos.

Perhaps the last lunch outside at Coal Harbour

We went to The Lift for lunch yesterday since it seemed like it was going to be the last good day for a while although there is some blue sky and a few rays of sunshine at the moment.  We parked on Robson and walked down.  We couldn't believe the number of people renting bicycles from the shop on Denman and Georgia.  We wondered how they do in the rainy months.  As we got out of the car the
"Vancouver Opera Man" strolled by singing his arias.   This guy is always quite fun to see.

http://www.straight.com/article-353188/vancouver/vancouvers-opera-man

I felt this was a perfect name for a fishing charter company!

Glad to be retired….

I certainly thanked my lucky stars last year I didn't have to be involved in all the strike stuff and now that they have trotted out the old Year 2000 curriculum to try again, retirement seems even sweeter.  What goes around comes around.  It's not all bad.  In fact,  it's always a good thing to reflect on what helps kids learn.  I've been impressed with what Finland is doing and the more I hear about it the more I like it.  Even more than certain prescribed practices,  the key is attracting excellent people to be teachers and that's Finland's main focus.   What I found during my career as a teacher is that really good teachers could be effective no matter what style they had…traditional,  innovative, or flakey.    Kids learn from really good teachers….pure and simple.

Finland was asked to create a school in Quatar.  This article is about a parent's experience with that school.  I loved this quote:

"Besides lunch and recess,  the schedule included "long break," "breakies," "mini-break," and "golden time."  The principal would put on puppet shows."

http://www.pressreader.com/canada/the-vancouver-sun/20150905/282763470406413/TextView

A beautiful morning...

We have recently learned that Stan and Nicki will be in Palm Springs for November and Susan and Dick will be in PS for December.  They lucked into getting the place they had two years ago in Canyon Sands.  And Richard and Grace will be coming around Christmas.  It will be great having them all down there!

Also,  Roger and Kerry will be in Vancouver for a week in October before we leave.  Roger,  along with over 10,000 obstetricians will be invading our city for their international conference.

Fall seemed to have arrived from one day to the next and even on my cat calendar!

And I got a laugh out of Friday's quote on the cat calendar:
"I have never married because there was no need.  I have three pets at home which answer the same purpose as a husband.  I have a dog that growls every morning,  a parrot which swears all afternoon,  and a cat that comes home late at night."  - Marie Corelli

Leaves are turning already…mainly because of the drought.

This grass in front of our place was completely brown a week ago.  Along with the greening up come the geese.

Second Beach pool closes after Labour Day.  I got my last outdoor swim yesterday morning.   It was coolish so there was only one other person in the pool when I arrived.  That will be my last swim there this year.  Jim thinks he might get into the ocean today but I think I'll be giving that a pass.  Soon,  the slide at English Bay will be gone and then it will definitely be the end of summer!

We are always amazed at what people leave in the "free room" in our apartment.  We snagged this recliner yesterday.  I've been wanting a chair in the master bedroom but finding something comfortable yet smallish was a challenge.  This fits the bill perfectly.