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dVerse Quadrille Monday was yesterday but I won’t let that stop me! De Jackson (aka WhimsyGizmo) hosted and suggested we bloom out a 44-word poem including the word flower. So here we go!
While snow blankets the ground
As far as the eye can see
The idea of springtime
and the flowers it brings
Feels (is) still so far away
To counter the winter whites
I dust off my vase trio
in preparation
There will be blooms
I have been sporadic at best in this blogging biz. It’s that whole trying to find balance thing and I’ve been having a bit of trouble getting it all in, so to speak. Hell, it’s taken me three days to actually get this going!!
Today is Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day in Québec, so I am off work (yay!). There was a time when I celebrated this day with friends and family but I guess those days are gone. Anyway, it’s hotter than Satan’s Armpit out there and I am sans pool (still). I’ve been waiting for a new liner since May. Long story, short… if all goes well, I’ll be swimming by June 30. Doesn’t help on a day like today where the temps are at a lovely 33°C (91°F) with a humidex that makes it feel like 44°C (111°F). Thank Bob for A/C, is all I can say!
So I am inside, listening to good Québécois music that brings me back to my days in high school. On this day I am always pulled towards my French Québécoise roots. Harmonium, Beau Dommage, Plume, Robert Charlebois, Offenbach, Paul Piché and many other wonderful singers from Québec are my soundrack today. This following piece of music, no lyrics, is just so beautiful and should not disturb you as you keep reading, if you were so inclined. And I just found out one of the founders of the group, Serge Fiori, died today. Very à propos dans he die on this holiday, being a voice for a québécois generation, but way too young at 73… 😦
So, anyway…. back to why I’ve been only half-assed blogging and falling way behind on all your wonderful posts… And it’s taking me forever to write this as I get up and dance and sing along to some tunes before coming back to my computer.
I want to read more – books that is – so that means reading less blogs. Then I feel guilty. Which I know is silly because bloggers are not sitting by their computer waiting for my comment. Still. As you know, I like to be a good blogger, meaning I don’t write and run nor do I read and run. I overwhelm my own damn self in the process. Ridiculous, I know.
And, I AM reading more. I am rather pleased with myself thus far. I have read (and listened) to 19 out of the 30 books I am aiming for. I’m five books ahead of schedule! Woot!
Right now, I am delighting/torturing myself reading the most delicious A Thousand Feasts by Nigel Slater. Not only can the man cook and take beautiful photos (I follow him on Instagram) but his writing skills are wonderful and evocative. This one I read at lunchtime and/or, when I decide to sit, at home. I am listening to The Dutch House by Ann Patchett, wonderfully narrated by Tom Hanks (so glad it’s not Ann reading because she can be rather monotone, as I learned with These Precious Days) during my walks, mostly on my lunchtime walks. On my Kindle, so before bed, I am reading The Boys of Summer by Roger Kahn because B waxed poetic about his writing. He is not wrong. Considering I feel pretty neutral about baseball, I am pleasantly surprised with reading about it and about the sports journalism business. Almost as good as baseball movies, which I bizarrely love. As well, I have The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien that I am (re)reading with Sammi and friends. We already read all three Lord of the Rings books and why not? One chapter per week and then we discuss them. Fun stuff.
In April, I went with a couple colleagues, to Toronto and then the Muskoka region in Ontario. We have an extension programme for Viking ships and had to go check out the suppliers and venues (how sad 😉 ). What a gorgeous area! Lake Muskoka was still partially frozen in many spots. I loved our visit with Sainte-Marie-Among-the-Hurons and picked up a puzzle. Erm… Rog, you don’t DO puzzles! Well, maybe I should start! So, yes, this is also how I spend some of my time. Emptying my mind of all the stuff and piecing the puzzle together. Just one-fifth left to do.
I planted my garden. Got me some raised beds – so there Mrs. and son Groundhog! Course, they ate all my shoots because I had left them on the deck for a day… Anyhoo. Planted in the four nice tall bins plus some pots on stools only to find that now the squirrels? I’m guessing… are not too shy either! Sonova…
What else? Oh, I have managed to start running/walking again. Going quite gently and so far so good. Have to get up stupid early with these temps, though: 5:30 in the a.m.! I’ve also started a mobility programme and it’s quite different from other exercise programmes I have tried before. This one really focuses on the joints and a mix of flexibility, strength and overall mobility – hense the name. I am liking it so far. Plus, there are no promises of a “flat belly in six weeks”! It’s an overall wellness programme that I can get down with. Because I just want to feel like I can keep going well into my eighties! Plus, whenever I can, I walk during my lunch hour – even went on Monday when it was stupid-hot! Here’s a few pics of the many, MANY I take 🙂
I have also been baking (every couple of weeks) as well as cooking myself some delicious meals. I signed up for “Odd Bunch” – they deliver a box once per week and I love the surprise of discovering what’s inside. These veggies can be odd-sized and rejected by stores for it but honestly, after two deliveries? I cannot see what’s wrong with any item!
I’ve kept you long enough 🙂 By the end of writing this, the following song came on and I felt a sort of melancholy. All in all… a decent day.
Translation (by Deepl because I was too lazy to do the whole thing myself!)
A weekend prompt to get our creativity flowing. In 14 words, no less! You know I cannot resist these ones 🙂
have lost it
found it
held it
caught it
shared it
gasped for
breath
It was Haibun Monday yesterday for dVerse. Host, Frank J. Tassone wanted us to write about the shifting of the seasons. How could I resist?
It’s so subtle, it quietly creeps up on you. Or maybe it was the full week of rain that caused the beginning of the end. A cold snap that had us donning light jackets before the return of the heat which is lovely but not quite with the same gusto as summer (frankly, I am good with it). And now, when the sun goes down it is not quite so cozy. It’s warm but you might have to consider covering your shoulders.
I take my daily walks and notice there are still many flowers of varying colours, but everything feels a tad less than. Less vibrant. The still-bright blooms share the bed with dead or dying ones. Call me weird but I actually love the look. Gardens dressed in shabby chic before being tossed away like last season’s styles.
Colours of summer
Time for a new collection
Autumn is calling
It is Sunday! And the forecasted rain is still not upon us so I must get off my duff and out there to do what I can before it does arrive. But first… a little WWP 🙂
Just a few minutes, an hour at most, I tell myself
I’ll respond to comments on my blog
I’ll read the daily offerings
catch up on a few of the ones that are already
two, three, four(!) days old
but that’s it – only an hour
I’ll then move on to my life
Two hours later, am still sitting here
reading, responding, commenting
still not caught up
the blogosphere can be
a pirate of time
Totally random and unrelated photo showing that I could be out walking instead of sitting in front of my computer!
Good Wednesday my peeps! It’s another overcast and muggy one up here in Montreal. Hope your neck of the woods is a comfy one. Come, join me in the shade; grab a book, and let’s escape reality. If you’d like to play along but don’t know how click on my pic below to swoop over to Rochelle’s blog for the rules and regs. If you already are in the know, then by all means, click on my frog and add your link to your 100-word story.
Come with me.
An alley? It’s dangerous. Don’t cars come through?
Not this one. It’s special. The neighbours got together to create a safe and beautiful space.
Wow. Look at that! How long has this taken?
Not quite finished, but we started it last year.
Look! One of those little book boxes!
My idea. Though whoever put in the French-English dictionary doesn’t quite get the concept…
Hah! Well, ya never know; someone sans computer or smart phone could come along.
Hahaha! Right!
All that’s missing are chairs.
We’re working on it.
A delightful reading room.
We call it an oasis.
***
This is an alley in Montreal, just behind St. Denis Street, in the Plateau Mont Royal borough, what they call the St. Louis Square. A delightful area. I wrote about it here.
When Crispina’s challenge came up yesterday, I thought, oooh, I am gonna play (tomorrow, which is today) because I have many images to do my matchy-matchy thing. Only when today arrived, I realised what day it is, so, change of plans. What day is it?
It is National Indigenous Peoples Day here in the northern half (Canada) of Turtle Island (North America). All day I’ve been listening to our national radio station CBC (yes, I still listen to radio) play Indigenous music. They always do, except today, it was exclusive. From pop to hip hop to classical. Some really good stuff that I’ve been enjoying for a few years now.
So, let this beautiful song be my guide.
I bloom for you
Taking root in the most improbable and difficult places
Opening up in the morning sun
A gift for you from me
So you can remember me as you walk along your road.
Sammi said: With this weekend’s word prompt, we begin our 8th year of the challenge! Woohoo! So new year, new graphic. I hope you like it. Thanks so much for joining in with the prompt, whether you’ve been here since the beginning and still participate weekly, or if you dip in and out as the muse strikes. Here’s to another year of fun!
Wrote this yesterday but didn’t like the results. Figured I’d sleep on it.
Weekend sounds
a melange of street noises along with
neighbours sawing, hammering,
nailing, mowing, and
what’s that annoying and incessant buzzing tool?
the necessary homeowner’s outdoor busyness
comes with the sunshine and a day off
but now and again
a pause
breathe in
and delight in the reflective
play of light on the hedge
a brief respite
before all begins again
So. Last weekend was the traditional “plant-your-garden” weekend up here in Canada. Or is it mostly in Quebec? Whatever. It was our May long weekend, third Monday of May, which is always the Monday before May 24. What is May 24th? That was Queen Victoria’s birthday so, as the “Mother of Confederation”, she gets honoured.
As for here in Quebec? Oh no, we are distinct. We don’t wanna honour no stinking Anglo queen! Much better to honour those who fought in the rebellion against the British in 1837. It falls on the Monday before May 25, coinciding with Victoria Day, and is called Patriots Day (since 2002). (However, in the 1920’s, the Quebeckers unofficially started calling this day Fête de Dollard, for the “hero” of the 1660 Battle of Long Sault. However, in recent years it became embarrassing to keep the name because it could not longer be swept under the rug that he was more of a schmuck than a hero as he not so much faught against the Iroquois as he ambushed them. A name chnge was in order!
Let’s be honest here. No one cares about what this particular holiday is. It is a paid day off (or a day paid at double pay). It was garden time, baby!
Back to the purpose of this post.
I ordered this connecting raised bed thingy last February. I did NOT receive it. I have been back and forth with the company and that’s neither here nor there now, is it? No, coz planting season is here, now. So, I used last year’s pots and there ya go.
Went and got my plants and herbs and flowers (stinky marigolds to keep the beasties away) and whatever other stuff that would help my garden grow. Sprinkled cayenne pepper, strategically plced said stinky flowers and basil and voilà.
In between planting and stuff, I was getting the pool ready, too.
Even went wild and planted some flowers in the front and filled in with cedar mulch.
Doesn’t look like much…yet
And so ended my long weekend. Tuesday night we had torrential rains and I thought the garden was done for. But no! It survived. Woo hoo!
Went out last night with the girls, had a delicious Cajun dinner and lovely evening. Totally enjoying my drive home until I came to a complete stop, then crawled at a snail’s pace. Da hell? It’s 9:30 at night! Why am I in traffic worse than at 4:30 in the afternoon? Merge from three lanes, to two; then from two to one and forced out at the exit before mine. Just bloody great. As I approach my exit from the service road, I see a truck and I think… they’re painting the highway? Really?
A thirty-minute drive home turned into an hour and I was just wishing for my bed at this point. But. Whoa. The moon was HUGE! And right there! But I couldn’t stop anywhere and I knew that once I reached my house, it would disappear because it was too low, so I drove a little ways to a parking lot and boom!
How to go from pissed and fed up to happy… just like that!
And here we are today. Friday. Another weekend ahead. As soon as I got home, I went to check my garden.
Lettuce. GONE.
Cucumbers. GONE (note the marigold is still standing)
Other batch of lettuce. GONE. Lovely marigold holding court, watched the whole thing go down and did NOTHING.
Parsley from large herb garden. GONE
Apparently, my efforts were all in vain.
I’m ready to order a hit on the effing groundhog who lives under my deck. I shoulda known when I saw the little fucker peak out this morning, one paw on the step. You hear me groundhog? YOU’RE A DEAD RODENT!
Oh hey, lady…. thanks for dinner!
dVerse Quadrille Monday, was hosted by De Jackson, aka WhimsyGizmo, where we were asked to write our 44-word poem using the word “Place”. Oh the places we could go with this one!
My place is
front and centre
behind and hidden
on equal standing
underneath, holding up
high above, overseeing
In my place I am
exuberant and enthusiastic
seen but not always heard
but present, completely
My place is mine to share
when I want to
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