800th post

This is my 800th post. It has been going on for a few years now. I have been spending way too much time on the computer. This blog has been a great impetus to getting me to observe and think a little each day, but I think that I have done enough for now. The blog has been good to me. I thank you all for your interest. For now I am taking a rest from the machine. There are so many books to read, and so much to do, and I'm going to get on with it.

Tepee

   I went away overnight and spent some time with others last evening in this tepee. What amazing energy! I took the pictures this morning.

garden wash

 

Early this morning I caught the perpetrator of the apartment garden decor hanging up her wash. You can see my reflection as I, with great stealth, snapped her in the act. You can also see the blossoms on the trees, but the dragonflies, butterflies, hummingbirds and skunks are not captured. Perhaps that is another day.

Meanwhile carrying on the theme of St. Joe from yesterday, here is a video of a talk given on the one relic that St. Joe would have handled. Warning: there is an interdict against the discussion of this relic and Roman Catholics face excommunication if they view this. But for the rest of us, here it is. (The sound is poor, and I used earphones.) 

house for sale

There is this house on the market and nary an offer, so we pulled upon our resources and purchased a medal of Saint Joseph, and to help the cause we threw in a Saint Joseph prayer card. Then Saint Joseph was properly buried head first in the garden of the house along with the card. Then to honour all faiths we wrote a wish and placed it in a Chinese wish jar - that the house be sold by the end of June. Then things got busy, and an offer has been placed on the house. So here's to Saint Joseph, wishes and the power of intentional prayer!

forsthia

Here's another picture from Maine - looking out the window at the pouring rain.

And here'is a video, a remake of the Lady Gaga video, from Afghanistan. The troops have always entertained themselves, but now we get to see, too. I think that these are British soldiers, but I really don't know.

puzzling cat

We set out a puzzle on the parlour table. Bur it seems to be impossible to work on it without Miss Johnston's feline help. I've taken to going into the parlour and shutting the door. But Miss Johnston has taken to hiding out in the parlour, and jumping out of her slumber as soon as the door shuts. No matter where she is, she knows exactly where I am at every moment.

spring blossoms

It was astonishing. I looked out my window and down below the fir trees were in bloom. One had pink flowers and the other had white blooms with dark pink borders. I took two pictures from my window and later when I went down I took two close ups.
The thing is that this is not a joke, it was done to beauty the garden. You gotta love it!

May Day harvest

I went home for a couple of days and madly gardened. And I harvested: Egyptian onions and rhubarb. Not in the same recipe, I think.

rock weed hunt

 After planting last Saturday I went down to the beach to find rock week to fertilize it, but hardly any had been washed up. I suppose I need to wait until there is a storm, but then the storm would not necessarily be very welcome. I suppose that one just waits to see what life washes in.

And now, do you eat bananas? Here is a movie trailer:


BANANAS!* trailer from WG Film on Vimeo.

prayers

On a misty morning last weekend I hung the prayer flags, so they will blow and fade and send prayers to the ethers when I am otherwise engaged. I hope drive home tomorrow for another couple of days.

wardrobe makeover

My personal dresser took me to Louis' 2 for 1 Monday sale from which she unfitted me in 8 pants, 8 tops, 2 jackets, 2 pairs of pyjamas and 2 vests, all name brands for $48.16, This gem of a shopper had been watching my clothes get baggier and baggier as I lost more and more weight, so she took pity on me and invited me to her favourite sport - shopping at the second hand emporium. I never would have done it on my own.

Hugh's birthday

Hugh turns eleven and gets his favourite, his mother's homemade sushi and miso soup.
Then comes the cupcakes that his aunt sent long distance. Being his grandmother, I get invited to the festivities, which is terrific because I love the menu!

rained out

Last Saturday the game was rained out. The next day our tickets were good for a double header. So here we go to the ball park to cheer on the Portland Seadogs - at least I was cheering them on - my friend was rooting for the Trenton Thunder.

And here is the controversial statue celebrating the All American family.

  It seems right to me: active father and son and passive mother and daughter.

And here is the game which began in the sunshine.

What ever happened to the uniform - what are these long pants? The Trenton team were dressed in the proper socks and knickers.

By the fifth inning the Seadogs were losing. ( I blame it on the pants.) and the skies opened and the rain poured down. We left. I have no idea who won, if anyone, and if they played the second game. I prefer dry games in the summertime. But before leaving I tried the culinary offering at the park: fried dough!

  I shouldn't have.

Route 1 continued

Some day we shall complete Route 1 from Fort Kent to Key West, but this time we covered from Portland to Brunswick in the rain. The first stop was in Falmouth at Delorme Maps. This is Eartha the largest globe in the world. It slowly revolves.Fascinating. http://www.delorme.com/default.aspx

The second stop was at the humungous and fascinating L.L. Bean stores in Freeport: http://www.llbean.com/shop/retailStores/freeportFlagshipStore/freeportLander.html

 

And the third stop was the Bowdoin College Museum of Art in Brunswick. 

This is one of Bowdoin's six imposing relief sculptures from the Assyrian King Assurnazirpal's palace built in the ninth century BC, destroyed in the seventh century BC and excavated in the nineteenth century AD by the British archaeologist A.H. Layard. I was thrilled to see up close what I had only seen in dusty old books. http://www.bowdoin.edu/art-museum/ I liked the works by Danny Jauregui, and there was a stunning work by Andrew Wyeth. This is it: "Night Hauling"

We had a great afternoon!

Mainely wet

It was wet in Maine, but then it is April. So a lot of Bananagram was played. I shall post pictures in the next few days. But first I want to tell you about my Border Incident. It was a slow day for the agent when I was crossing back. He pointed out that I didn't look like my passport picture. So I replied: "I shouldn't think so; I've lost 35 pounds." He said that he could stand to lose some weight. (He was pudgy.) So I told him that if he lost 35 pounds he wouldn't look like his picture either and besides his clothes wouldn't fit. Then he noted that I was born in Montreal. Where? His family came from there. We decided that we had lived within blocks of each other. Then I assured him that I didn't have guns, mace, weapons, fireworks, cigarettes, liquor and God knows what else, including merchandise for my business. Then, with a wave, I was off.

Here's a travel video thanks to Joan:

more details

So I couldn't be an architect, perhaps a stewardess or a waitress, or a shop girl - but Miss Oswald suggested I take a vocational test. I did the test and went in for the results. It said that I should be a minister, but, as Miss Oswald told me, women cannot be ministers. As I was then an Anglican, she was right.

I am heading out of the country for a few days, to the US of A - without health insurance - pray for me.

details

I walk the streets of this town noticing the details in the buildings. I wanted to be an architect. I spent my childhood building things with minibricks. I wanted to take mechanical drawing in high school, but it was only for boys. And then Miss Oswald, the guidance counsellor informed me that girls could not be architects. So I learnt early on that girls could be teachers, nurses, secretaries, beauticians, mothers and ballerinas, and I certainly was not going to make it in the ballet department.

mayflower emerges

The little forced mayflower came to flower, and the scent is sublime. This is a sure sign of our early spring. The weather is turning cooler now, so farmers are worried that frost will bite the new growth. I live in a fruit growing region, so this is a real concern.

pastoral field

I like seeing cattle. I like their fuzzy ears and I really like it when they have their horns. Horses are a lovely sight. But my heart skips a beat or two when I see sheep. Maybe it is an ancestral memory. This is a mixed bunch of girls. I just had to stop and take their picture. A sound track of baas should go with them.



Shaun The Sheep - A funny movie is a click away

could've

I could've been home gardening, digging delving and weeding and communing with Creation - but I had to go to a day long mandatory workshop. I blame God for this one. This is a church in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia.. It could be any where in Canada.

mayflowers

We had finished our meeting and stopped by the woods just before dusk to see how far along the mayflowers had come. Not far enough, it seems. Perhaps these two little springs will come into burst into bloom now that I have them in a little glass of water. The mayflower is our provincial flower. They have a special place in our Nova Scotian hearts.

apartment hallway

This is our apartment hallway.

And this is my door.

And this is my neighbour's door. Two cats live behind each door. They have never met each other; cats being not all that neighbourly.