Nimble to Zen

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Fingers laced through the handle of my coffee cup

warming my hands

I gaze out through my patio door

It’s a colourless February day

Yesterday’s rain and wind have melted the piles of snow

But I know, winter is far from over.

I look up and see a squirrel scamper nimbly without a care

along the wires that criss-cross my backyard

From there he jumps onto an outstretched tree limb

runs along it then up and around the trunk, making

his journey all the more interesting

as no other beastie, two-legged or four

is chasing him and I see him no more

Was it that long ago that I was so intrepid?

Without a thought I would climb

to the top of the monkey bars

and stand on the summit, arms outstretched

fearless, though heart thumping

(there is no proof as no way would

mom or dad have approved)

There is not enough money in the world to get me to do that again.

©Ron Jones

Just last September, I gingerly made my way to my roof

stepped onto the rusty little table, then up onto the fence

(around my propane tank)

holding on for dear life to the house roof

as I hauled myself up onto the garage roof (lower)

I stood up, legs wobbly, heart pounding

but feeling exhilarated

(No matter that I have watched my son

hop, step and jump his way up with nary a care

sigh)

still

I am not so feeble that I daren’t try

And how it was worth it!

I may not be as nimble; I may not be as quick

but that’s okay because I still do things

that make my heart quicken and me feel alive

I have also learnt that it is quite okay

to step back, centre, stretch, meditate

and find my Zen

Even the squirrels find the time

 

 

 

No Expectations – dVerse

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On Monday, the lovely Merril hosted dVerse Prosery Monday.  I promised her I would participate but it took me two days to get the words I wanted.  These are still not the ones that popped into my head as I was walking but that’s how it goes, sometimes.  We were challenged to use the following poetry line, but NOT in any poetry form whatsoever.  We have 144 words to work with (not including the title):

“This year’s a different thing, –
I’ll not think of you.”

from Charlotte Mew, “I so liked Spring”

 

It’s the same thing, year after year.  I tell myself not to expect anything, that way there will be no disappointments.  It’s like I can’t help myself; my mind goes off on its own, raking in one thought after another, building up a scenario until I find myself thinking, yes! that’s exactly it.  That’s what I want.  Then I wait for it to happen ~ for some mysterious entity to come along and do the necessary to bring that random scenario to fruition.  How foolish is that?  I know better.  I’m past the fairy tale age.  There is no myth to getting what you desire.  It requires effort.  On MY part.

I promise myself this year’s a different thing.  I’ll not think of you as that mysterious entity come to swoop in and make it happen.  Having you join me will be a bonus.

 

 

 

 

We are doing the fashion show early…Resa’s Grand Valentine’s Day Fashion Show…4 pictures

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Gigi has done it again! Wonderful MC for the lovely Valentine’s Day fashion show as designed by the lovely Sorceress of the Cloth Resa.

Rethinking Life

The show opens with Dale wearing a pink chiffon full length gown, tied at the neck, accented by a one-of-a-kind purple sash, covered with multi-colored hearts.  Her bracelet, made of hearts, is a tribute to this wonderful day.  Elegant, but sassy, she struts down the catwalk, throwing paper hearts into the delighted crowd.

Holly’s wearing a sleek, formfitting, gray, strapless satin sheath with a billowing heart bottom,  is destined to catch everyone’s attention, wherever she goes.  All eyes are on her as she tosses her long hair and  dances her way to the center stage, throwing candy hearts to the audience.  She too, is wearing a heart bracelet to remind everyone that love is in the air.

After a quick change, Holly is back, wearing  a one shouldered pink form hugging gown with a flared bottom.  Part way down her gorgeous gown, is a blood red heart that draws all…

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Remember Brooklyn? – Friday Fictioneers

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Good Thursday, my peeps.  It’s a grey day here and I wanted to go for my daily walk but I was on slo-mo and now I can’t go because my contractor is coming for some last minute thingies and I’ve run out of time.  If I had been smart and organized, I’d have been out the door by nine but hey, I’m nothing if not go-with-the-flow.  As a result, well, why not play Friday Fictioneers?  Go on over to Rochelle’s blog by clicking here to find out the how-to’s inspired by Roger Bultot’s photo below.  Got a 100-word story simmering in your noggin that just needs release?  Click on the the lovebirds below and add your link.  G’head, it’s fun!

©Roger Bultot

Infant's Class Teddy - Kermit the Frog - Charleville National School

Dear Bill,

Going over some old photographs today, I found our trip to Brooklyn.  Do you remember?  It was November and the trees were still dressed in golden yellow leaves.  We were excited to be together again.

We were determined to cross into Manhattan by subway (getting lost in the confusing labyrinth), so we could walk back over the Brooklyn Bridge.  Such tourists we were. 🙂  We decided to stop for pizza at Grimaldi’s and had to pool our money, because they only took cash. Best pie ever!

Just thought I’d bring you for my walk down memory lane…

Lotsa love,

Lianne

 

Imprints

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icy decorations dot my window

creating a lacy pattern

ephemeral

delighting for its brevity

with one kiss of the sun

nothing left but a memory

We Interrupt This Usual Broadcast to Bring You Something New…

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Hello my blogging friends.

This is a short and quicky post to let you know that I have resurrected my Dalectables blog and have written my first (since June, 2014) post.  I could have simply done a reblog but that’s not my jam…

If you’d like to take a sneak peak, please, click here.  I would love to see you over there!

 

Midnight (Close Enough) Walk

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*I handwrote most of this post in my Whatever Pages Book last night instead of typing it directly, as I try to unplug from all electronics a good hour (lucky if it’s a half-hour) before bed.  And I didn’t want to, once again, have an idea for a post but wait so long that it becomes too late, so…

After watching the flag-fest that was the the Eagles/49ers game and then foolishly watching the refs-are-off-the-deep-end Bengals/Chiefs game, B and I hung up in annoyance.  There were better ways to spend our time, we both thought.  During the half time of the second game, I went out to shovel the walkway.  I realised it was perfect out there and declared that I was going to for a walk after the game.  The more the farce game went on, the less I felt like going out there so I ended up on the internets, pfaffing away my time with comments here and there, until finally deciding around 11 pm, to hell with it, I was wasting my time again.  A much better use of said time was to go out.

I checked the temps:  -9℃, feels like -11℃ (16℉/12℉) and decided my rather thick leggings would suffice, though I put on my big Canadian-style boots, my only-when-it’s-at-least -10℃ coat, ski mitts and tuque, of course, and out the door I went.

Face-to-face with the half moon competing with the lamppost, I clicked a few, thinking I’ll use them for the Boucherville FB photo group and made my way to the nearby park.

I marvelled at how bright it was (the reason I prefer snow to rain in the winter, is it brightens everything) and the clouds were fascinating.

Don’t scratch your screen, it’s not dust, they’re stars 😉

As I approached the outdoor hockey rink (now equipped with a fantastic heated changing shed), I was surprised to find it empty.  Yo, Rog, it’s close to midnight on a Sunday, what did you expect?  I still expected, what can I say?  They play in much colder climes and often at night!

The rink
The shed – taken on another outing but here for clarification purposes

The crunch of my boots on the packed snow and the faraway beeps of the snowploughs readying the parking lots for tomorrow’s employees and patrons were the only sounds keeping me company.   The snow sparkled under the moon and the trees cast their shadow under the lampposts.

I am amazed that my hands are not freezing when I remove my mitts to take pictures. It’s weird, really. I have Raynaud’s Syndrome which only comes into play if I hold something cold.  But the cold itself doesn’t really bother them.  Well, obviously, in really cold temps, I needs must have those mitts on (gloves are useless for me) but I am amazed at how long I can go without before needing to warm them up again.

 

This just might be card-worthy…

I decide to simply walk the loop of the park, then make my way home.  It is late, after all, and my thighs are thinking it might have been nice to find themselves in warmer snow pants (it’s not that bad but go too far…)

I am surrounded by beauty.

And loathe to go home.

But it’s getting late… Now it’s close to midnight!  But just one more before I pick up the pace.

Oooh… No, this one!

On the last stretch, I encounter the first and only other human.  To my bonsoir! I receive nothing.  I choose to think he did not hear me.

I feel my cheeks getting more ruddy with each step.  My legs are going to be happy to find themselves wrapped in warm blankets.  Surely I will sleep well?

 

A Little Something for Sheree

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*Wow, just realised this is my 1200th post!

Yesterday afternoon I went for a nice two-hour walk, camera looped around my neck (no camera bag, so no zoom lens, as my back was barking), hoping to find something for today’s Wordless Wednesday, over on Sorryless.  Of COURSE, there was more than one occasion where I would have liked to have my zoom.  Live with our choices, I say.  So what if I couldn’t get a nice closeup of this tree filled with robins and one blackbird who was lording it up top, and that I had to manipulate the hell out of to help you see their red bellies?

I count 15 robins, what say you?

The forecast was for partial sun and lemme tell you, it was partial a’ight (or ayt, as my kids write it).  I walked around the corner towards my usual park (which feels like an eon since I last walked to it) it started to lightly snow.  By the time I turned to the next street, snowfall had become nil.  But the sun was a tease.  Or maybe it was the clouds that were just too damn possessive and wanted to keep the rays all to themselves?

The clouds did open their jaws for a brief moment…showing some blue

Allowing a small area to light up for a short period of time…

Oh no, wait.  Not that light!   This one.

And the one that made trees cast shadows, added sparkle to pine needles, and pop to playgrounds.

It got me to thinking man, oh man, where is the golden hour from last week.  LAST WEEK!  Oh! How could I forget?  I promised Sheree, from View From the Back, the church bells!  After last week’s Wordless Wednesday on Sorryless, she said how much she enjoyed church bells and I promised her some…

I had shared some images without including the Sainte Anne de Varennes Minor Basilica, so why not share them now, right?

The video is a tad long but hey, I was in the moment and the light was so beautiful and the wind crisp and when the second person was headed into the video, I stopped. Plus, they were dying down.

Hope you enjoy, Sheree!

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Year – First Dinner

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I was going to entitle this “Breaking in the New Kitchen” but that would be technically wrong as I did host the Christmas breakfast with my family… My sister might disagree with who should have been first for last night’s feast but hey, things don’t always they way we plan, yanno?

Anyhoo, this evening was planned after we learned of our friend’s death on December 18th (post still not finished but will follow shortly). We suddenly felt the need to see each other; the funeral home not counting.

I swear I am the queen of start and not finish. 🙄 So, before I lose the feeling of last night, here I go. I started on Friday. Lucky for me, I was “liberated” from a job I loathe on Thursday, giving me all day Friday to cook (if that was how I chose to use my time).

I started things off by making the parsley-celery oil for the soup as well as the parsnip chips, inspired by my chef friend Janet, of The Simmering Chef’s recipe. Click here to get it. I was determined to use chicken thighs (skin on, bone in) that I had in my freezer so The Google was brought into service. I found Ina Garten’s Chicken Marbella. I got all the ingredients together and placed them in a bag to marinate all afternoon and overnight. If I hadn’t had my date night that included watching the oh-so-horrible-please-don’t-waste-your-time movie “The Poison Rose” (surprising cast: John Travolta, Morgan Freeman, Famke Janssen, Brendan Fraser), I might have actually made my soup AND my cake but no…

No matter! I was up and at ’em really early so, first things first, I baked the cake. I am so mad at myself as I had been making Soeur Angèle’s version of the Sachertore for eons (though it had been ages since I last made it) and could not find my copy of the recipe. I was positive I had kept that page, but no. Sigh. So onto The Google (again) I went. No luck. Her recipe is not to be found. So I keep my search up until I found one that sorta-kinda resembled what I remember of it by Lidia Bastianich, but made a few modifications.

As the cake baked, it was onto the Parsnip soup.

The “Mise”

As the soup simmered, I went out to shovel the walkway – not that there was much, but still, I took my time. Time to purée the soup and set it aside for warming up later.

I then went on to make my cheese bowls (Raclette and Grana Padano) that would hold my mesclun salad with Raspberry-Honey Vinaigrette. Every time I make these, I am amazed at the quantity of fat I need to wipe out of the frying pan!

Frying the cheese
Formed over square bowls

Cake cooled and iced it was time to do a quick sweep and mop of the floors and take my shower.

Good grief! Who was this broad who was so organized that her hair would not still be dripping wet when her guests arrived? I didn’t recognize her! She even set the table and shucked the oysters and made mignonette!

Just before Giselle and Dany, then Julie and Michael arrived, I put the chicken into the oven. An hour to cook, fifteen minutes to rest and Bob’s your uncle. The tour of the remodel was given and, as we are wont to do, stood around the island. We noshed on oysters and drank bubbles while catching up. (And, just so you know, it’s not because I still have not received my sofa that we had to. Plus, I did bring up the stools that will be getting their own makeover soon!)

There is nothing I love more than cooking for people I love. We ate, we laughed, we sang an early happy birthday for Dany (two weeks early) and then, because I had changed the Spotify from 70’s acoustic to French crooners, we ended up doing a sort of karaoke with one of Aznavour’s songs – which, as I wrote about when he passed away, is completely IMPOSSIBLE to sing along to (hell, you can’t even read the lyrics fast enough!)

The meal:

Cream of parsnip with Parsley-celery oil and parsnip crisps
Chicken Marbella with egg noodles that I brilliantly added butter and the oil from the soup
Raclette & Grana Padano bowls with mesclun salad
Sachertorte

Fun times. I’ve never had all the lights on in the house at once. Bloody hell it was bright. (Note to self… use the damn dimmers!)

A crazy bunch
Blow Dany
Birthday Boy

P.S. I started this post, officially yesterday morning (as it’s close to 1 am now) whilst enjoying my raisin bread toast (courtesy of Giselle) followed by one of her delicious almond cookies (and she claims she’s not a baker!) I pressed publish before I realised I forgot to add these!

Raisin bread toasts needs cinnamon sugar!
Cookies made with love

Survey Says! Because I Please…

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When the mojo is not to be found and you read a fun survey post in which you know you can answer, well, you, hopefully, use this as a way to get things going.  So thank you Ally from The Spectacled Bean for nudging me to answer Maggie’s (From Cave Walls) blogging questions.

Hey, use what works, eh?

1. How many times per week do you post? Do you post multiple times a day? If so, how many?

  • When things are flowing and I am in the mood for participating in challenges or when I just have things to share, I could post up to three times per week.  Most times, it’s once per week.  However, this is my first post of 2023…

2. How many blogs do you follow?

  • I had to look this up.  I apparently follow 139 sites.  However, I do not receive email notifications from all of them – I did a major cleanup and some I access through the Reader.  Those multi-posters?  The ones I really appreciate and love, I had to change the settings to get only one email per day which gives me a link to three of their posts – I still can’t keep up.

3. Do you read all the blogs you follow every day? If not, how often do you read other blogs?

  • I read blogs every day.  Do I read all of them?  No. I spend so much time trying to catch up that every now and again, I just flush my whole inbox and start anew.

4. Do you seek out new blogs to follow?  If so, how do you find them?

  • While I don’t necessarily seek them out, I discover them from comments they leave on my blog or other blogs I follow. Have made some lovely discoveries that way.

5. Do you comment on the blogs you read? If not, why? Do you respond to all the comments left on your blog?

  • I comment on almost all the bloggers I follow (though maybe not all their posts – multi-posters, that means you!) and I respond to every one left on mine – note to anyone I might have missed, the key word is missed!  I often go back to make sure I left none behind…

6. Do you ever close comments on a blog you post? If so, why?

  • I close comments on reblogs, encouraging people to go visit the original post.  I’ve never closed comments on mine (and am now going to join the 21-day club and see if my spam reduces…)

7. Do you ever unfollow someone? If so, why?

  • Yes, I have unfollowed some that just don’t have anything to offer me, are too long-winded, too political.  Others I simply remove the option of receiving emails for their posts and can access them through the Reader on those days when I have more time.

8. What content inspires you to follow a blogger?

  • Hard to pick:  Some make me think, some make me laugh, some inspire me…

9. What content turns you off from following someone?

  • Not taking the time to even “like” a comment I left them (I mean systematically, not missing a comment as I mention in no. 5).  Why should I bother?  Also, if they are all about the “woe is me” and super negative and depressing, or very political and ramble on, I am outta there.

10. How important is it to you that you add a photo to every post?

  • What?  Post without a photo?  GASP!

11. Leave me a link for one blogger (other than yourself) that you think I should check out.

  • Now, I may be biased but that doesn’t mean it’s not for good reason.  He is funny, smart, well-read, snarky, but best of all, he has beautiful writing skills.  More than one writer has said they want to throw their own computer into the lake after reading his prose.  He writes at Sorryless.