Oct. 15, 2012 - I have been having SUCH trouble with this silly website but have just found a browser that will allow
me to update it which I haven't been able to do for nearly six months. No idea what the problem has been but it's now resolved.
Also, I recently canceled my paid account and so the site will, from now on have ads. Sorry about that.
This also means no more http://www. homejoys.net - in 12 days, we will be plain (and free!) http://homejoys.tripod.com
May 8, 2012 - Okay I'm back.
Lots has happened. A friend has come to help us upgrade the cottage (the foundation is shot) but it's beginning to look like
this might not be possible. If that's true, we are looking at a new log house! Either way, it's good, although horrifyingly
expensive. Of course we will have to sell our house in town to pay for it even with Ray and our friend doing most of the work.
This good because Ray's lungs are reacting badly to the fine particulate in the air of our pulp mill town. He is much better
off at the lake.
We had a great time in Mexico
last winter and were expecting to return to San Cristobal, Chiapas, this year but something didn't "feel" quite right. Then
a friend said, "I'm going to China to visit my family. Do you want to come?" We promptly booked a one way flight to Shanghai
at the beginning of November but the cancellation insurance didn't go through -- oh well, we thought, as we don't usually
buy it, anyway. Then our friend cancelled.
So it's China in the fall
for no known reason. The plan is to return, one way tickets again, sometime in May, from New Delhi with (we hope)
Myanmar and Nepal in between. Or not. The plan is way, WAY up in the air, obviously. I am scouring Lonely Planet (the book
and the web site) for great small towns to spend a month or so in because five months of travel is too much for us.
Ray is facing some health
problems but should be okay by November, He has inherited a slow pulse from his mom (who lived to be 96) and the doctor says
it's time for a pacemaker. His mom was like the Energizer bunny with hers, when she got it at age 92, I think, so we have
high hopes.
We are both definitely getting
old and have lots of aches, pains, and complaints. But it does seem things will only get worse if we slow down too much.
March 20, 2012 - OOPS. I
seem to have become one of those people who abandon their blogs, maybe just for awhile, maybe permanently. The Mexico trip
has thrown me into a bit of a tailspin. San Cris is such an amazing place and we are thinking seriously about moving there,
perhaps for good and perhaps just for winters. At the same time, we are not feeling all that well and unsure about making
such a big move at this time of our lives.
So, instead of writing about
life I seem to be keeping busy thinking about it. As well, some rather surprising things have happened. Not bad stuff, exactly,
but surprising. More food for thought.
I hope you have found the
site and the blog mildly entertaining. I know I have had fun with it..
Feb 16 - We made it safely back home (central BC) in mid january only to be met by the coldest temperatures since 1951
-- lucky us! Just 38 degrees below zero in Celsius or Fahrenheit, whichever way you want to count. Yikes. Actually, it
was okay. We stayed indoors and, as always, a few days later the temperature rose 20 degrees and it felt crisp and lovely
and (almost) warm. We human beings are nothing if not adaptable.
Since then: a funeral (we do them ourselves,
see diyfuneral.tripod.com for the details), some old friends are moving to town, a couple of trips to the lake, a surgical
emergency for one of the doggies (she's fine) and -- oh yeah, I'm leaving for Vegas in 10 days to attend my neice's wedding.
Ray says forget about it, he's not going.
Other than that, home is boring. We've always known we
both have a touch of ADHD. Just a touch.
December 19 - tomorrow will be the one month anniversary of our arrival in San Cristóbal de Las Casas. Yesterday was
a big day because we found a lamp at Bodego Aurrera (a sort of WalMart) and, outside it, a grilled meat stand where
I bought a medio kilo of delicious beef for a mere 77 pesos. The only other place we could satisfy our Canadian hunger for
steak was outrageously expensive so now we won't even consider doing that again.
Today
is a fairly typical day: up around 7 or 8 a.m., breakfast at the hostal where we pay about $ 20 a day for a big room with
ensuite. Quesedillas are my favorite breakfast but it changes daily and today was pancakes so I ate a mandarin orange and
a lovely, moist macarroon (sp?) which every bakery here seems to produce.
Next, I fell into
conversation with a lady from Ladysmith (on Vancouver Island) who has a bad cold so we walked with her to the Maya Pakal restaurant
where she could get a big bowl of garlic soup that Ray feels "could cure cancer".
Then around the
corner to the Jik Coffee shop (Jik means "aroma" in the local Mayan language), in the zócolo, the main square, where Roy (American),
Ruth (Mexican), Habib (an Israel Christian), Anne (who is American but has lived here for 43 years, Quentin, another American
and his Mexican wife, Blanca, and many others showed up for the morning coffee clatch. We are told that European, Canadian
and Australian travelers are more common than Americans, in San Cristóbal, but there seem to be quite a few interesting folks
from the US who have chosen to settle in this area.
We've met some fascinating people at the
hostal, as well, including Jonathan and Annie who travel the world from their home base in London but are South African Jews,
by birth, and George who has been in South American for more than two years after emigrating to Toronto from the Ukraine when
he was a young man. So many people I'd love to know better and remain in touch with but, of course, that is rarely possible.
One
special person is a 19 year old Mexican who speaks almost perfect English and everyone takes for an American but he's never
been there. Also, we have gotten to know many others including teenagers Bette (a cook) and Raul (a handyman) who vouched
for me in front of a notary public and took turns twirling around in her big chair shouting "I am the boss!" while I kept
watch down the hall.
The streets are full of Indian vendors selling local (and imported) crafts.
Many are old, most are mothers with kids, some are kids apparently on their own although few appear entirely homeless as is
common in Central America. Most of these are newly converted Protestants who were kicked out of their ancestral villages and
now live (illegally, but there are too many of them to chase away) around San Cristóbal. Most people here are nominally Catholic
but that's mixed with indigenous religious practices. One nearby church hasn't celebrated a proper mass in 30 years and is
full of traditional healers, praying, lighting candles, sprinking pox (pronounced posh - a corn liquor) and Coca-Cola (they
believe it's made of human blood and therefore has magical powers) around as they chant and sacrifice the occasional chicken.
Quite as dramatic as it sounds.
One guy told us that the village leaders disliked Protestants because
they gave up alcohol and had no need for the candles (both enterprises controlled by the leaders) so decided to arouse the
populace against them and chased them out. As time goes by, of course, the exiles are making new lives for themselves but
the city offers few services so most of the kids dont go to school and spend long days on the street selling to foreigners
and trying to add to the family income in any way they can.
Back to Jik's: After a couple of hours
of coffee and conversation, we usually go for lunch. Ray loves tamales con mole (sauce with a bit of chocolate) and my favourites
are elotes (corn on the cob smeared with mayonnaise, chilis and lime) and pazole (a soup flavored with achiote - a Mexican
spice mixture difficult or impossible to find in Canada. There's also a great place for grilled chicken with roasted onions
and hand pressed, fresh tortillas and beans with salsa. Yummy, but step up a bit (in price) and the restaurant is likely to
serve disgusting gm corn tortillas imported from the US (thanks to NAFTA, they are cheaper!)
Then
back to our room for a nap (for me) and a cigar (for Ray). Later, we'll go out again to check out Habib's work in an art gallery
(I bought a large photo of one of his paintings and will try to post it here), buy bread and cheese, more macaroons and big
jugs of water at the supermarket, walk around and see who else is on the street. Then home for Los Simpsons (SeemSONS)on
tv and some computer time. We go to bed early because it's cold here at night and the norm is to wake up several times
(celebratory rockets and spontaneous outbursts of music and song at all hours).
Other matters of
interest: Terradentro which seems to be a hangout for revolutionaries and intellectuals (the local insurrgents are called
Zapatistas and their crafts are on sale around the restaurant); dozens of parades (every day is the feast day for some saint
or another); wonderful markets, beautiful apartments with balconies over the streets and houses (with courtyards) where a
winter-avoidant Canadian like myself could happily live on much less money than at home ... now to talk Ray into it. And
much else.
We both agree that we love being here and have met many more interesting people in a month
than ever in most other cities. The Spanish language is challenging but considerably less so than Chinese or Turkish, both
places we's also like to be. As well, a flight home is cheap and easy, by comparison with other parts of the world.
The
foregoing probably needs cleaning up but it's time for my siesta. Later. Maybe.
December 07 - I have always had incredible luck when travelling but it all seemed to run out, on November 23, in
one second of inattention in the back of a taxi in San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico. As of that moment, I have been
illegal in Mexico. I can't leave without a new passport (not even the town we are presently in) and can't seem to get one
either. Every step of the way is difficult, impossible, or blocked. It's scary, to tell the truth.
Still,
a few years after His release from a lifetime in prison (it began when He was a small boy and His family was sent into exile
by the Iranian government), 'Abd'ul-Baha said:
Freedom
is not a matter of place, but of condition. I was happy in that prison, for those days were passed in the path of service.
To
me prison was freedom.
Troubles are a rest to me. Death is life.To be despised is honour.
Therefore
was I full of happiness all through that prison time.
When one is released from the prison
of self, that is indeed freedom! For self is the greatest prison. When this release takes place, one can never be imprisoned.
Unless one accepts dire vicissitudes, not with dull resignation, but with radiant acquiescence, one cannot attain this freedom.
It's
time for me to give up insisting on what I want (a passport, NOW) and radiantly acquiesce to what God wants, whatever that
may be.
Our new expat friends say "So what? This is a great place to live!" I think they are not
entirely sympathetic to the notion that we MUST get back to Canada, in mid-January, lol.
So, maybe
it's a matter of this:
Or this:
It wouldn't be such a tough choice if our dog/bird/house sitter didn't have other plans like, quite possibly, returning to
China where he teaches at a university in X'ian.
November 04 - I have passed the NLP Masters level course! It was incredibly interesting but I will need a time out to try
to synthesize all the information I've been stuffing into my poor brain. Luckily, we are going on vacation to Mexico in a
few days. How lucky is that?
I'll try to get back to updating this blog at fairly regular intervals.
October 4 - I am deep into the NLP Masters certification course and learning SO much. Very interesting information about
how to figure out the way other people think and what matters to them. Then you can tailor your speech so that they will be
able to more easily learn the skills they need to overcome problems and reach the outcomes they want in life.
Example:
some people are internally motivated while others look to the outside for results. So, you might say to the internally motivated
person: "You will feel so proud of yourself when you lose 20 lbs" and that might speak to them more than saying, "People will
be so impressed when you've lost 20 lbs". Why NOT talk to people in their own language rather than assuming everyone is the
same?
There are many more communication skills, both inter- and intra-personal to learn. So
busy and my head is swimming!
September 27 - Today I passed my Neuro-Lingusitic Programming (NLP) Practitioners Certification. Woot! I am really pleased
with myself. I have been studying NLP (and similar systems) for many, many years and finally a found a program online that
seems thorough and costs far less than taking a 3 week full-time course.
Now, to practise on
friends and relations until I really understand what I'm doing! I am also putting together a web site at:
Not that I'm planning (just yet, anyway) to become a serious NLP practitioner but it's nice to have a web site to refer
people to.
September 22 - today is my 48th Baha'i birthday. It's been a good life. Wish I'd done some things differently but at the time
they seemed right. I guess that's the way it goes.
September 20 - We just got back from 10 days on Vancouver Island, visiting Ucluelet and Tofino (Long Beach is between them),
and some old friends in Nanaimo and Chemainus. So beautiful although the weather changed from sunny to damp and I was glad
to get home to the (much drier) central Interior.
Here's the amazing trip we didn't have time
to take: there is a mail boat that heads down the inlet from Port Alberni to Bamfield, then across Desolation Sound to Ucluelet,
and return. It leaves early in the morning and returns by about 7 p.m. for just $ 70 per passenger. Wouldn't that be fun?
Another year, maybe.
August 14 - Wow. Darn
near two weeks of summer, but now we are having a pretaste of autumn. Still, it's beautiful between rains (and, today, a hail
storm) but far from swimming weather.
I have been reading Mel Bartholomew's All New Square Foot Gardening which was the result of many years experimentation
and the development of Mel's mix which is equal parts (by weight) of peat moss, vermiculite and composts. You put this (only
8 inches deep) into a 4x4 foot square with landscape cloth on the bottom as a weed barrier. A bit pricey but (with the additon
of a scoop of compost each time you replant) it lasts indefinitely and grows tremendous crops. Sounds good!!
Didn't work for me, however. Bummer.
Is that sad, or what? It might look like the lettuce is growing but it is really only a tiny bit bigger than the original
plants. The rest of the box was seeded and most have not even germinated (one month later). Meanwhile, a few feet away
we planted peas at the same time (in good garden soil with some charcoal mixed in) and they were thriving until a passing
deer or two ate most of them.
So, what's the problem? No idea. Most people have great success
with their square foot gardens but once in awhile someone doesn't. One reviewer on amazon.com said the compost is "too hot"
and burns the plants. Then, why are most people so successful? Again, no idea.
If the
idea of big yields in small spaces intrigues you as much as it did me, you can find out more from this web site in central
Alberta:
August 8 - We've had a few friends out to enjoy the sudden outbreak of summer. July was pretty awful. The rest of the
country a steam bath and we were wishing for just a day or two of sunshine. Now we are basking!
August 3 - we put in a small dock! Unfortunately, it will have to be dragged out in October and put back in the water
in May. Otherwise, the winter ice will sweep it away or at least leave it a tangled mess. Still, it looks properly cottage-y
and makes the job of getting into the boat much easier.
August 3 - James and his family have, again, been house hunting in our area and finally found a house
they all like. Whoopee! It will be fun to have them so close. The baby continues to be the cutest little thing ever (she is
now 6 months old). Can't think why I didn't take a photo of her and her "big" brother. Next time.
July 22 - it's been over 2 months since I last blogged! I've been going through a "dark night of the soul" (depression) but
that came to an interesting resolution. Here's what happened: I was browsing the UBC site and came across a 5 day journaling
course, based on the work of Jungian analyst Marion Woodman, I felt such a strong urge to attend and (this is a lifetime first!)
immediately signed up rather than talking myself out of it.
who is also a Jungian, was great in itself. Second, it introduced me to Jungian theory which has, I think, moved me an
inch or two along the long road to "enlightenment". Third, I met some wonderful women with unique and familiar perspectives
on life. Lovely, all in all.
The best news about depression, according to Jung, is that it is "a
good thing".
May 15 - Today, on the news, I heard about a guy named Derek Miller who blogged his death from colorectal cancer. It's
a brave story and you can find it here:
The blog has caught on and has had millions of hit from around the world. Worth a read.
Anyway,
I am telling you this because Derek was an afficionado of Diet Cherry Coke which is apparently quite popular in the US but
not available in Canada although it used to be. He blogged about this sad situation and got a letter from Coke who said there
just aren't enough people here that want the stuff (understandable, imho) but they were sending him some. Damn nice of the
big faceless corporation, eh? Yes.
Derek blogged about this, too, and friends and strangers started
showing up with Diet Cherry Coke. This, in turn, reminded me of my friend Roland's Coke story as he lay dying of stomach cancer.
I may have blogged it at the time but what's it gonna hurt to tell the tale again? Nothing that I know of.
Roland
loved Coke. So much so that when he was in Russia during the early days after perestroika, he was dismayed to discover that
Gorbechov had taken the Pepsi challenge and, yes, Pepsi won. Therefore, no Coke in Russia in the early 90s.
Now,
Roland (despite many, many fine qualities) was a guy who liked what he liked and wanted it, not now, but right now. Lack of
Coke was one of the reasons he left Russia several weeks early, forfeiting his return ticket, and putting out a couple of
thousand dollars for a one way ticket home to Vancouver from Moscow.
Years later, Roland was dying.
His wife, an RN, was able to keep him at home. Friends and family often crowded around the hospital bed that had been set
up in the living room in front of the big screen tv.
As his condition worsened and his medications
increased, Roland drifted in and out of consciousness. Near the end, he spoke very little and was seldom awake. When he was,
people spoke quietly with him and he comforted them.
One day, when he had not been coherent
for several days, I got a frantic call. "Roland just woke up says he wants ice cold Coke!" Ray and I rushed to the corner
Mac store, bought a dozen cans of Coke, and tore over to his house.
He drank a few sips of his Coke,
smiled, and passed out again.
Later, we heard the whole story. When he asked for Coke, someone
had brought him a glass from the bottle in the fridge. He glared at it and said, "I'm on my dying bed and I want a can of
ice cold Coke. Relatives, everywhere, drinking my damn Coke!"
Pure, unadulterated Roland. Great
guy, wants his Coke.
April 30 - Our friends have decided not to buy the house and will be staying in Vancouver for now. Too bad.
April 21 - We are in the throes of reevaluating our what to do with the rest of our lives (we are both over 65) and having
a tough time trying to decide. One option is to fix up the house at the lake and live there year round. Another is to move
south. Usually, in this situation, something happens to send us off in one direction or another but . . .
I
guess we have to be patient.
Today, a family of friends from Vancouver dropped by for a
visit and we started looking at local real estate listings. Here's what we came up with (and we are all going out to see it
in the morning):
This house would cost a fortune anywhere in the Lower Mainland! They are really excited about the possibilities, especially
since the husband is from the north and has been yearning to get out of the city.
April 14 - friend Janet is in hospital in Kamloops getting her knee replaced. Best wishes, my dear!
April 13 - we both picked up some kind of intestinal bug (food poisoning? virus?) on the trip. I was sick first but it
was not really bad. I recovered and then Ray came down with the same thing (perhaps) in a much more virulent form. He is just
getting over it now.
I have been working on a new slide show starring my favorite "character
actor". Maybe it will end up on youtube.com if I can remember how to do that.
It's not finished yet
but here's the link. Click on Slideshow just above the photos.
April 4 - back again after many adventures. We have a particiularly bizarre experience crossing back into Canada from Idaho.
Maybe I'll write about it later.
March 25 11 - 3 p.m. - We have just arrived in Kelowna after our first real shakedown cruise in Harvey the RV.
All went fairly well except when we didn't get the system right with regard to towing the wee car. This cost us four tires
which is probably just as well since they were a bit worn (like the rest of Toad).
The
dogs didn't seem to appreciate that we are going to a lot of bother to avoid leaving them in "pooch prison" in Quesnel. Failing
to realize that a moving dog house is a positive under the circumstances, at the first possible opportunity they escaped and
tried to fling themselves under the wheels of passing trucks.
After a few stops (firmly leashed
so neither did any 'business' for nearly 24 hours) we found a nice spot, with a trail down to the water, by Monte Lake. They
tried to climb the embankment for another try at sudden death on the highway but I patrolled the top and they eventually understood
(I think) that this outing had parameters. Or, "no means no".
Where's Cesar when you
need him?
From then on it was all lots of fun. Ray is a wreck -- he smoked four cigars by 3 p.m.
instead of his usual two a day. We are here, everyone survived, and we managed to park the rig in our friends' back yard.
So, a couple of days respite coming up.
March 14 11 - Is anyone but me getting a sense of the fragility of our world? We are dependent on systems that fail
so quickly under the wrong circumstances.
I suppose everyone is thinking, "Good grief, this could easily be happening to me!" as they watch the horrors going on in
Japan? Well, if not we should be.
Some years ago, for example, I read a geological report about what would happen to Kelowna BC if there were a decent size
earthquake in Vancouver (where, like California, everyone knows it's coming). Now, Kelowna, is a long way from Vancouver
and everyone there thinks they are safe. Fat chance.
In fact, the unstable clay soil of the Okanagan Valley will slip sideways and buildings will topple. But guess what the BIG
danger is to human life? You will not believe this ...
Tsunami! Yes, 395 k. from the Pacific ocean, a tsunami is likely to roar right down the 90 k. length of Okanagan Lake causing
"considerable" loss of life and property damage. Btw, there's a fault line down the middle of the lake, as well, but an earthquake
at the coast will more than do the job.
So said the geological report. Ray claims I'll read anything and I guess he's right. What disasters lurk in your neck of the
woods? Here, I've heard we aren't likely to have big quakes, so spring floods, summer fires and -40 degrees in winter may
have to do the job. Or our ancient volcanoes could decide to wake up:
It's a big, bad, scary world. There was a BC team of environmental activists in Sendai harbour (filming the slaughter of dolphins)
when they noticed the ocean was heading east. No fools, they pelted for high ground and survived. They have announced they
will put together a documentary on what happened that day. Good on 'em.
March 09 11 - Did you know there are many words in the English language with meanings that are the direct opposite of
each other? They are called antagonyms and my personal favorite is "cleave". It means both "to split" (as in, to cleave with
an axe) and "to unite" (as in, two people cleave to each other in marriage). How silly is that?
Other languages do the same thing. For example, hoi polloi is a Hawaiian phrase meaning the upper classes. In fact, non-Hawaiians
usually think it means the common people. I suppose that's how antagonyms get started -- we hear them used and misunderstand.
The same thing is happening to the common phrase "it's a moot point" (meaning a small, rather irrelevant point). Lots
of people now think moot means "important". More of these crazy-making gems, here:
March 06 11 - Tonight we ate out at the Kakalots Kitchen restaurant (more about the name, later) where our waitress was a
very nice young lady who turned the channel on the tv to curling and that started a long chat about sports and the many other
challenges of life. As I often do when I like someone, I gave her a card with this web site on it. So, if she visits, "hi,
and it was great to meet you!".
I'm now 65 (and loving it, btw) and it is sometimes difficult to remember the struggles with family, a job, and (especially)
the feeling that I had to hurry to do something with my life. I am really glad I can now kick back and relax. There is still
plenty to do to make live worth living but, these days, I let it find me. I don't feel the need to go out and find it, as
is natural for someone in the middle of their life.
Back to the Kakalots. When we moved back to Quesnel in the early 2000s, this restaurant was called the Come Joy. Of course,
this was lots of yuks. Then the very nice Chinese people who owned it sold it to a family from (I think) Yellowknife and opened
the Fu Lin (pronounced Foolin) just down the street. Now we have two decent Chinese food restaurants in Quesnel and both are
within easy walking distance of home. Great.
Doesn't matter a bit that they have silly names. Although I must say that Fu Lin is an improvement over Come Joy. So where
does the name Kakalots come from? I googled it but the mystery remains. Some sites were Japanese, others Vietnames and Korean.
Some were blogs, others Facebook pages. Maybe we will never know.
I'm sure Chinese speakers get a big bang out of lots of English names, too.
March 01 11 - I'm bbaaacckkk... It's been a tough winter, not just lots of snow and cold temperatures, but we've both
had health problems. We had hoped to take "Harvey" to Mexico for a few months but that didn't work out much to the relief
of family and friends who think we must be mad.
I'm still on the low carb diet and have lost 30 lbs or more. Feeling good, too. Ray is getting interested. He is quite a fan
of Suzanne Sommers' books and finds it fascinating that "Chrissy Snow" is now a nutrition guru.
Most recently, I've had the very good luck to contact two wonderful doctors who are helping me out via their books and emails.
One is Dr. Ron Rosedale, author of The Rosedale Diet who currently resides in India where he works with diabetics.
The other is Dr. Michael Levitt, of Australia, who wrote The (Other) Women's Movement. You can go ahead and guess what
that's all about.
Both lovely people and I am very grateful for their kind concern. I love the Internet. It is amazing the people who will respond
to an email question. As a kid from rural Saskatchewan, I've always thought of famous people as entirely inaccessible and,
of course, they often are. But not always. How wonderful is that?
Nov
17 - We are going to take a short break from the blog. Happy trails!
Oct 31 - Halloween Night and the kids keep coming. A few years ago,
there were very few of them but that's changed, lately. Fun to see them although it's exhausting to try to keep up with the
World Series and run up and down stairs every couple of minutes.
For the past while, I've been on a low-carb diet which has a marvellous effect on many aspects of
life but it sure can dampen a Halloween night.
Right
now, San Francisco is ahead of the Texas Rangers. I am rooting for the Giants but, to tell the truth, the Rangers deserve
it, too, after whumping the Yankies.
Oct 15 - here's the 1991 Chevy Sprint convertible that is, right now, speeding (downhill more than uphill - lol) north
from Nanaimo to become the junior member of our "fleet". It will join the Batmobile (2006 Hyundai Azera), comfy, old Harvey
the RV and the truck (1998 Tacoma) which doesn't really have a name. The Sprint will be a "toad" which means towed behind
Harvey so that we don't have to wrangle the big fella around cities, etc.
I joined an
online forum to find out how to stuff two good-sized dogs into this tiny car. Most people suggested turning the trunk into
a rumble seat or, alternatively, putting in a sun roof. Yes, into the trunk. Cute.
As Ray so
often puts it in these situations, "What have we done?"
Oct 12 - had lunch today with Susan Smith who is writing the book about Lillian Alling. Good news: Susan is lots of
fun and lunch was delicious (butter chicken with naan bread). Bad news: there is no historical evidence, so far, that Lillian
was hunting down a bad guy (or was it a reluctant lover?). That part of the opera is creative license.
Can't
say I mind. The thought of Lillian simply deciding to go home to Russia (or maybe Estonia), walking thousands of kilometres
alone, is thrilling to me.
Susan and I talked about misconceptions people have about women
in general and especially those who appear to have been unusual for their times. Conclusion: women are people first and no
amount of rules and dictates are can change that. Most will lead fairly quiet lives in keeping with the norms of their society.
Others will choose a different path.
Consider, for example, the Empress Cixi who came to the
Forbidden City as a concubine, age 16, and ruled China until her death in 1908, or Isabella Bird, a middle class Scottish
woman who travelled alone, almost 150 years ago, to the farthest wilds of Asia, the Middle East, and the American west, or
14 year old Madeleine de Vercheres who, in 1692, took charge of the soldiers at her family fort in Quebec and defended it
from attack by a superior force of Iroquois warriors until help arrived eight days later. There must be thousands of other
examples, if we only knew.
Our family has an ancestor (at least we hope she is) named Eliza Joy,
the daughter of a Canadian farmer and an Abnaki medicine woman, born in Vermont in the early 1800s, who ran away to
join the circus, married an Austrian prince in Washington DC, fought in uniform for the north in the Civil War, and for the
Emporor Maximillian in the Mexican Revolution, and was decorated by the Austrian government for her work building military
field hospitals in Europe.
There is surprisingly little historical interest in Eliza Joy probably
because no one has taken on the job of researching her life in more detail. Maybe Susan's hard work with Lillian Alling will
inspire me to get serious about Eliza's story. Here's a clipping from a newspaper in 1899:
Personally, I think women have had a far greater impact on history than ever given credit for. There's more to the
human story than knocking each other around with swords and other weapons of mass destruction.
Oct 8 - a few days ago we saw the documentary Young at Heart for the first time, about a chorus of
senior citizens celebrating the music of much younger generations than there own. It is such a hoot. My favorite is Eileen
Hall, age 92 at the time, and her rendition of Should I Stay or Should I Go (the Clash):
Life changing, or what? I have emailed the Young at Heart Chorus web site to see if they have an archived copy of the
whole song to put online. Can't find one so far, though.
Oct 4 - The fall colors are glorious. Not as stunning as "back East" in Quebec, Vermont, etc. but glorious, nonetheless.
Here's Mei Mei checking out the bear proof trash cans.
Oct 02 - Years ago, listening to CBC Radio, I heard an weird and amazing song called Chemirocha recorded in Kenya
in 1952. I've searched for it many times and, suddenly, here it is:
And here's the story: Jimmie Rodgers, who died in 1933, was a famous country singer in the United States and one of the first inductees into the
Country Music Hall of Fame. Somehow one of his yodelling records made its way to the Kipsigis people at a place called Sotik,
in Kenya. These people decided that such sounds could not be coming from the throat of a human being and concluded that "Chemrocha"
was a half-human, half-antelope forest creature.
It was the habit of the young ladies of the area to gather in the forest at night, singing
songs to call such forest spirits to dance with them. This is the song they sang to entice Chemirocha. It was recorded in
1952 by Hugh Tracey and
"sung by local girl Chemutoi
Ketienya
accompanied by a wishbone lyre and some female friends, was released on
Gallotone, and then on Decca and its US subsidiary London.
It’s a hymn to
Chemirocha. You couldn’t make it up."
Oops - for some reason I couldn't enter the URL as a link. It works
fine, however, if you cut and paste it. Then, scroll down to 1952: Music of Africa series, No 2.
Here's a version complete with condescending 1952 commentary:
Oct 01 - I have just learned about the most amazing journey -- beyond anything I could have imagined: A young woman named
Lillian Alling walked all the way from New York City to Teller, Alaska where she was seen negotiating with local natives for
a boat ride across the Bering Strait to Russia.
Why? Because she wanted to go home to Estonia but first she had some unfinished business to attend to. She was last seen
in Provideniya, Russia and no one seems to know what happened to her next.
More to come about Lillian, the opera with her name on it which will make its world debut in Vancouver in less than two
weeks, and the local writer who is researching her almost unbelievable story.
Distance from New York to Estonia: about 14,000 kilometers, give or take. Of course, it would be shorter not to walk the
long way round but she had her reasons.
Sept 17 - it's all over (the funeral was yesterday) and we are exhausted. The reality of the loss of another good friend is
setting in and we are tired and depressed.
Good to have the family together, though.
Our
Baha'i community made the decision to keep a casket on hand more than a year ago so we will now have to order another one
from our friend Brent Goerz at:
Actually, our "box" was not pine since Baha'i law requires the use of a hardwood. The last one was eucalyptus and this
one will be fir.
I have put together a web site where all the info for a "homemade" funeral
(Baha'i or not) can be downloaded by anyone who wants to save a lot of money and rather easily produce a much better send
off for someone they love:
Sept 09 - no fires (lots of rain) and summer is gone but we are hoping for a long and gorgeous autumn.
The
past week has been a roller coaster. Among the ups, we bought an old, cheap, but very comfy motor home. Only 131,000 k on
the motor so mechanically it's good. The body was good, too, until ... well, let's not talk about that. Suffice to say, insurance
is once again a good thing at the Joys.
We were planning a trip to the Okanagan to celebrate our
44th wedding anniversary (tomorrow) but that's had to be cancelled.
Nena's brother-in-law has
cancer and recently came here to visit his son and daughter-in-law, hoping to get in "a couple more hunting trips". Those
plans ended with the news that his system is shutting down and he will not survive much longer.
C.
(the daughter-in-law) is an accomplished native healer and a licensed practical nurse. Her own mother was told she had terminal
cancer many years ago but with a combination of modern and traditional method she lives on.
Bob
isn't interested. He is surprisingly cheerful and fully aware of what is happening to him. The doctor has told his wife and
daughters this weekend may well be their last chance to spend quality time with him so they will drive north on Sept 11.
My
friend J. (an RN) says renal failure moves very quickly and keeping Bob comfortable will mean considerable sedation. Today,
though, he was pain free and in top form. He talked mostly about good friends and the gratitude he feels as he recalls their
many acts of generosity.
This is not the first time we have been with someone who is dying.
It is an amazing process. One person fought to the end to survive and died in misery. Another (in her 90s) saw joyful scenes
that she assured us (as she slipped in and out of coma) were "not a dream". On one occasion, she perfectly described
the contents of the basement of the hospice she was in but had never had any opportunity to see. Several times, she complained
about "beautiful" but "too loud" music coming from the room next door. The music stopped the moment the patient died.
We
are sad to see our old friend go but he has had a truly challenging and difficult life and is not adverse to a change. It
helps that he firmly believes the soul goes on and seems to be looking forward to the next adventure.
Many
times, people have said that losing friends becomes a constant in their lives as they get older. This is becoming a reality
for us.
August 25 - more than three weeks later and the fires are still burning despite a fair amount of rain in the past few
days. If this keeps up we'll have no more summer. If not, we'll have fires. Oh well. Perhaps a nice autumn is in the making.
Meanwhile,
here's a fine photostream at Flickr.com
August 02 - we have been spending a lot of time at the cottage but "bugged out" yesterday because the air was so thick
with smoke that it was hard to breathe. There is, according to the Cariboo Fire Centre (in Williams Lake) a big fire, about
2000 hectares, 16 k from us. A strong wind from that direction and it could be on our doorstep in minutes. Still, the house
has stood since 1948 so we can hope it will be around a bit longer.
Ray has set up a pump to get water
out of the lake and, with several long lengths of hose, can now get a lot of water on all the buildings. Unfortunately,
I forgot the good camera in town and did not get a decent photo of grandpa saving the day.
Our son,
who fought forest fires in this area as a youngster, thinks that (barring high winds) we would have a good shot of saving
the place. Not unless we are there, of course, and right now we are in town where the air quality is almost as bad but we
are inside in the central air.
He had some interesting things to say about fighting fires.
He said the stats re "20% contained" etc. are mostly fire boss wishful thinking. Often, nobody has any idea -- perhaps not
even knowing how big the fire is because the smoke is deceptive. He said people don't put out fires, rain does. People can
mop up small areas if there are air tankers on the job, but a raging fire (especially with wind) is essentially uncontrollable.
This
correlates with something the head of BC Forestry told me many years ago. He said, "One of these years, this province is going
to burn down and there will be nothing we can do about it". Of course, technology has improved but that may be more
than balanced by the enormous amount of "bug kill" debris just waiting for a fire to start.
There
are about a hundred wildfires burning in the Cariboo right now and some are big. They don't get any press coverage because
few of them are "interface" fires which means, apparently, 10 or more structures in a square kilometre being immediately threatened
by the fire. Or something like that. Still, it's better than in Russia where 500 towns are being threatened.
We
drove out to Nazko yesterday and were told a 5000 hectare fire is burning "out of control" about 25 k north. The older folks
there will not be looking forward to another evacuation after spending much of last summer in Quesnel. A friend of ours told
us that elderly people from Nazko and Kluskus who move to town don't last long. "Too much bingo, not enough moose meat", he
says.
If you find native culture interesting, you might like this video from youtube.com:
July 10 - Our guests arrived safely and we spent an incredible day at Cariboo Mountain Park as well as several days
just goofing off and catching up.
Truly a pristine wilderness (if you overlook the clear cuts and the bug kill). There were few other people on the roads
or at the falls, mostly about 10 old guys on motorcycles with long grey beards and helmets with cameras on top. They
didn't appear to be travelling together so we asked one of them who they were and he said, cryptically, "my friends".
The Montreal friends (above) have now gone to Vancouver where they will be living close to Granville
Island Market - a great place to be. Yingze is going to attend BCIT (British
Columbia Institute of Technology) in the fall to learn cabinet making. She is
so excited. Her eyes light up when wood is mentioned! Dayyan needs to find a
job but then plans to go to computer design school (he has a Master's degree in
sculpture from X'ian, China)
The other
family is also away (only for a few days) to attend his daughter's 19th
birthday party in Bella Coola. Xu Rui is nervous about meeting her for the
first time but she is a sweet girl. They will love each other, I think.
As it
happens, one of our foster daughter's also arrived from Saskatchewan with three
of her children, to meet up with her two older ones. We had a bbq yesterday with
people and kids everywhere. It was fun but I could definitely use a break.
--------------------
When I was
fussing about what to feed "the Chinese relatives" I came across a
great blog and wrote to the owner who very kindly sent some recipes suitable
for a pregnant lady who is experiencing morning sickness. They are proving very helpful, easy and good. So, many thanks
to Liza. Here's an example:
July 04 - soooo busy in the last month. Tomorrow, several friends lately of Montreal are coming to stay for at least
a week while on their way to live in Vancouver for awhile; then a family from China (James is an old friend from this area)
who will be touring around the BC Interior until the end of August.
I thought I'd make a weather chart
of some of the places we've lived or visited. The only civilized places (weather wise, anyway) appear to be San Diego and
San Cristobal, Chiapas, Mexico) I think, however, we'll probably stay right here with, when possible, a trip south in mid
winter.
The temperatures (centrigrade) are the normal highs and lows in January (green) and
July (blue). The last figures (in brackets; in black) compare the normal January low and the normal July high):
Beijing
- January 2 and -8 and July 30 and 18 (-8 and 30)
Montreal
- January -5.7 and -14.7 and July 26.2 and 15.6 (-14.7
and 26.2)
New York
City - January 3 and -4
and July 31 and 20 (-4
and 31)
Penticton
-January
0.9 and -4.3 and July 28.1 and
12.7 (-4.3
and 28.1)
Puntchesakut
- January -4.1 and -14.6
and July 21.3 and 7.3 (-14.6 and 21.3)
Quesnel
-January
-4.3 and -12.8 and July 24 and 9.3 (-12.8
and 24)
San
Cristobal, Mexico - Jan 4 is 16 &10 and July 4 is 25 & 11 (10 and 25)
San Diego
- January is 19 and 9 and July is 25 and 19 (9
and 25)
Vancouver
- January is 6.8 and 2.7 and July is 22 and 14.1 (2.7
and 22)
X'ian
- January is 5 and -3 and July is 32 and 22 (-3
and 32)
It's true that many
other factors besides high and low temperature make up a good place to live. Humidity is high on my personal list of "forget
about it, I'm outa here" factors so there goes a lot of south Asia and my personal favorite city, New York. San Diego has
an ideal climate but I am not about to live somewhere that has nucleur subs in the harbor. Not once I'd seen them.
--------------------
Later, I made kiwi marmalade out of a bunch of over ripe kiwi fruit,
some lime juice (and a bit of the zest) and sugar til it tastes good: buzz it together and microwave for about 10 minutes
in the microwave (stopping to stir several times). Good stuff.
Fun being retired and being able to do what we want even if it isn't always
"time well spent".
June 02 - this Gulf of Mexico oil spill is beginning to look like the end of the world (as are quite a few other things
going on right now) and I doubt I'm the only one who feels this way. Baha'u'llah said the earth will get so sick of people
that she will "shrug" us off. Oh boy.
It seems to be the easiest thing to just blame BP for this particular
disaster. We humans have a marvellous ability to identify the cause of any problem as "him" or "her". This protects
our egos but it may well be the reason we are on the verge of failing as a species.
The Bible assures
us this is not going to happen but we'll come close. The Quran and the Baha'i Writings say much the same thing. Why? Because
we are a bad lot, that's why, but God is determined to make something of us. At least that's my understanding of the theology.
It's
fascinating how different the religions are from "new age" which maintains that we are all doing the best we can given what
we know. Maybe they both have a point. One of those describing the elephant things. Obviously, if we really understood
what we are getting ourselves into we'd think twice and maybe even control ourselves. But we don't. We think science will
save us or, as a last resort, we'll be dead before it happens.
Of course, this is patent crap.
Sorry, but it really is. Science is at least as big a problem as it is a solution. And foisting it all onto our grandchildren
and great grandchildren is a solution that brings out the nutsoid in me. Not that we haven't already done it but that doesn't
make it less sickening.
May 27 - first visitors to the cottage this spring. Actually, there have
been a few people drop by but these were the first friends from town coming out to go fishing and enjoy the country air.
May 24 - well, that was a day of close to Biblical proportions (okay, only 2 weeks) but here I am with
a bit of spare time, since it's Victoria Day in Canada and, in honor of the old queen, we get to sit around and do nothing
if we want.
Not that every day isn't Victoria Day, when you are retired. Woot!
Anyway,
to return to the "echo", I should explain that this notion comes from something called Matrix Reimprinting which is
an off shoot of EFT. Personally, I have found it very helpful.
I must have been
a sensitive kid because i seem to have LOTS of triggers that bring out my childhood echos. Just ask my poor husband who has
been known to suffer greatly from the mildest observation about the honey lid (last post).
It has
been several months, now, since I started using these techniques to understand and diffuse my "issues". EFT promises that
we don't have to address every last issue which is good because there may have been hundreds or thousands of times we felt
a certain way. Usually 4 or 5 (or even 20) will serve to "collapse" the whole reactive mess. From then on, we find we
simply don't get angry or depressed or whatever, like we used to.
May 10 - for some reason I am in a total funk (aka "black hole") and am working hard on getting out of it by using my EFT.
Here's what I've learned, lately:
When shocking things happened to people who don't have
the skills to cope with them (ex: little kids) part of us "splits off" to protect our main selves. This split off part
can be called a "part" (as in "well, part of me obviously doesn't want to quit smoking or I'd do it") or our "inner child"
or an "echo" which is a fancy anagram I don't remember.
This echo is frozen in time. It is created
just to hold the pain of that long ago moment when something bad happened and we didn't know what to do next. Most of the
time, we are completely unaware of the echo and the problem she is keeping away from our conscious mind so we can go about
our life.
Problem is: once in a while, something reminds us of the sadness, rage or despair we felt
at that long ago time. Then, our echo comes back into our conscious mind and we feel EXACTLY the way we did when we were 2
or 4 or 14 or 24 years old -- whatever age we were when the situation overwhelmed our resources.
Here's
what happens:
Husband: You left the lid off the honey again.
Wife: Who the !%& do you
think you are? You are always picking on me. I'm sick of your constant criticism. I'm leaving.
Oops.
Later on, will the wife think "he was just noticing the honey lid was off, for pete's sake" or will she get a divorce? That,
of course, depends on a lot of things. The point is she over-reacted to what may or may not have been a put down.
Not
that it really matters. The interaction was not really between husband and wife. It was between the wife and one or
maybe hundreds of little echos who felt put down in the past and buried the feeling because there was no way, then, to cope
with it.
The husband counts here, too. Was he really just noticing the lid or did seeing it lying
in a sticky mess on the kitchen counter propel him back to a time in his past when he didn't have the skills ...
If
so, husband and wife are not talking to each other AT ALL. They are both conversing with the past. They think they are in
the present but they are not.
More tomorrow.
April 10 - We survived the doggy adventure -- perhaps because Holly did almost all the work. I kept begging to help but
she seemed to be having a fine time between yard work and riding herd on the pack of poodlies (they are all the same mix but
I forget what it is).
Finally, she sequestered herself downstairs for a few hours and left
me to it. Everyone survived although Janet's crew thought I was a poor substitute for Holly for is, apparently, just about
as indulgent a mama as Janet. Tough.
Roland used to tell Binzer (who must be the world's
most delicate and least prepossessing "pack leader" but even our big girls acknowledge his leadership) that he needed to join
the navy and "man up". Not an easy thing to do sans nuts.
Oakie has always been the family "bad boy"
but he is now 10 years old and suffering from Cushing's Disease. He has certainly not developed a conscience but now lacks
the energy to get into the sort of real trouble he used to specialize in.
My favorite story is about
Janet and a friend deep in conversation one sunny afernoon when they both saw a streak of green out of the corner of one eye.
It was Oakie who had, with unerring good taste, found enough brilliant green paint to soak himself in. He had managed to get
Binzer fairly green as well. They both needed endless baths and grooming and, even so, the green tinge lasted well past St.
Patrick's Day.
DeeDee (short for Damn Dog, what else?) is the newest addition and the only girl.
She is a rambunctious instigator of the first order. No journey into the wilds of Barlow Creek is quite the same without wee
DeeDee (sorry) along for the fun.
April 01 - our friend J. has left for a quick trip to Haifa, Israel, and will not be back for 9 days. We (and her friend
Holly) are looking after her 3 dogs. Ray and I took the whole pack (six!) for a romp out to the ball field on the edge of
town. There, they have woods to explore and useful clumps of grass to post and pick up their "pee-mail".
It
was a sunny day but chilly so when we were all played out we headed for the truck. A blizzard blew in out of nowhere (driving
horizontal sleet - yikes!) hitting with force just as we finished loading the dogs and were safely in the cab of the
truck.
Peaceful day, everything under control and then change sweeps in. Old ways no
longer meet the needs of the moment and we scramble to find an adequate response to challenges. It struck me as a metaphor
for life. We thought we had control of the situation and, moments later, we found we did not.
In
this case, the truck saved us but it could as easily been parked down the road and the outcome would have been somewhat disastrous.
We
look at a place like Haiti and wonder at the way folks there can't seem to attain the good life we have come to expect. They
seem to be continually swept off balance by the winds of change. We forget that anyone who is "okay" today is
the recipient of generations of relative good fortune.
For example, our ancestors flooded
into the American continent searching for a better life than the one back home. Some travelled west in covered wagons. We
forget (if we ever knew) that the majority of these people died on route. If we are here, we are the recipients of good
fortune, perhaps deserved but often just the luck of the draw. Or maybe destiny.
Great
great great grandma didn't die of the cholera but most of the children did. Her husband found meat on the trail so the survivors
didn't starve. They made it through the pass just before winter settled in. There was land available when they arrived. The
land was good and the effort they put into farming paid off. So we exist: we are who we are and where we are. Otherwise
we would not be here at all, at least in a form we recognize as ourselves.
Hard work. and good planning
is important, of course, but we can't do without dumb luck. Unless it's destiny.
The economic crisis
we have just been (we hope) through is a good example. There are new dangers ahead, no doubt of that. Are we really so clever
and productive that we will meet them and prevail? Or has our dumb luck run out and our destiny capriciously changed its direction.
I suppose we will find out soon enough.
March 24 - Alan Moberg (a high school classmate of ours and a well known BC singer) wrote this song about the Williams
Lake Stampede. It's been sung all over the world. By choirs, no less.
March 08 10 - I have been totally immersed in EFT for the past month. Have I already talked about this? Yes, (see
Dec. 29, below) so I'll try not to repeat myself.
So much fun. It's an amazing way of clearing out
old emotional garbage (hangups) that might be preventing you from finally getting on with whatever you really want to do with
your life.
Yes, yes. You've read claims like this before -- and so have I. I've even tried
a few things, found them interesting and sometimes helpful, but EFT is one that suits me better than most.
It
started (for us) in the 1980s when I read a book by Roger Callahan who taught some weird tapping stuff to cure allergies,
among other things. I read from the book while Ray tapped anyone who had made the mistake of complaining to us about their
allergies. Thing is, weird or not (okay, weird) it worked. Too much bother, though. People felt silly and so did we.
More
recently, I've come across EFT which stands for Emotional Freedom Techniques and was invented by a guy named Gary Craig, a
student of Roger Callahan. That led me to Gary's students who include some very qualified medical practitioners (Dr. Pat Carrington
is a professor of psychiatry at a major medical in the US, for example), Others are well-qualified psychologists
and counsellors. Others are teachers, lawyers, housewives, people with illnesses no one has been able to cure and so on.
Gary
Craig who is an engineer and has never studied psychology or medicine. Doesn't seem to matter. This is a whole new system.
Many
of those who use EFT have developed new, improved forms of EFT that are even faster, easier to learn, and considerably
less embarrassing.
Or maybe you just get used to it.
Anyway, Gary's site
is still up (until June, now) but will soon be gone as he is retiring.
There are hundreds (maybe, thousands) of pages of information on EFT as it is practised by people from all over the world.
If
you are looking for help (or a new fun thing to study) this could be it. The only real requirement is an open mind and
the patience to learn and apply the techniques. Best of luck!
February 28 10 - came across an interesting way to help Haiti that happens to be associated with a long ago friend
of mine named Linda Gershuny. She is the director of CAFT (not sure what this stands for but it's probably in French) which
is a program to train teachers (mostly rural).
Of course, since the earthquake, most of
the schools have been destroyed or damaged, so CAFT is working hard to accommodate some of the 500,000 or so Haitian children
who have no opportunity to learn even basic literacy.
Linda's program is one of many projects
in many different countries, run by:
Here's Linda, hard at work, administrating. We knew her in Vancouver in the 1960s. She is a Baha'i (of Jewish background)
and I've often wondered what became of her. My friend Sue told me, just a few days ago, that there was a "letter from Linda"
on the Mona Foundation web site. And here she is!
Feb 04 2010 - Not much to talk about except the weather. We had a cold spell in December (down to -30 C.) which
means the current warm up to 0 degrees feels absolutely balmy. Just cold enough to keep the snow and feel like a real Canadian
winter (although it certainly is not).
It's funny how adaptable people are. We have a friend
who lived in The Gambia (east coast of Africa) where the temperature doesn't vary in any sense that is meaningful to us. He
said the people there put on a coat when it drops one or two degrees.
Something like this happened
when we were last in San Diego. The temperature went down to 15 C. (my very favorite range is 15 to 20 C. which is 60 to 72
F. I believe) and we thought it was beautiful. The locals were cold, though, and many even dressed up in jackets, mitts and
boots. This was especially true in Tiajuana where people were wrapped up in real parkas. Totally hilarious, as I suppose we
were to them, in our tees and crop pants.
Years ago, I read about a US Army experiment on a group
of (volunteer) soldiers in Tierra del Fuego. These guys ran around buck naked at 0 C. (32 F, of course) and within a couple
of weeks they were perfectly comfortable, day and night. Also, I've read that Inuit people who lived traditionally were cozy
in an igloo at that same temperature. The only heat was the light from seal oil lamps, ice benches were covered with
furs and everybody was stark naked inside, having fun, playing games and telling jokes while the winter blizzards howled.
Sort
of like an ice hotel except for the lack clothes, down comforters and hot beverages. See link below.
January 15 10- so many things have happened since I last posted. The earthquake in Port au Prince
was the worst of all, of course. The Canadian government has pledged to match private contributions up to a max of $ 50 million.
I
have always had a thing about Haiti but seein' as Ray and I are both big sissies about heat we have never seriously contemplated
going there. Somewhere I have a book called Best Little Hell on Earth which is both tantalizing and terrifying. I can
only read a few pages before I become overwhelmed and have to put it done. What amazing people.
--------------------------------------
We
have a new dog who is part Shar Pei and younger than Kaiya so we named her Mei Mei (little sister in Chinese, pronounced May
May). She has a dear, wrinkly face and came fully house trained (woot!) but she she loves to express both joy and dismay
by tearing up paper and bathroom tissue is her personal favorite. We try to keep the bathroom door firmly closed - easy to
forget.
Mei Mei is smart, though, and starting
to figure out the rules. This morning she brought Ray an unharmed roll of toilet paper and dropped it at his feet. A warning.
This reminds me of a young relative who was just 18 months
old her grandmother arrived for a visit and began unpacking her suitcase. Amber watched with great interest, then commented
matter-of-factly: "You've got beads in there. You better not let me get those beads. I eat beads, y'know".
Mei Mei, in her own way, was saying exactly the same thing. Here she is after
a bracing swim in the creek followed by a roll in the snow. I don't know how they do it.
Jan 03 2010 - Below is a digital proof of a photo printed on canvas by canvaspop.com
(click on the photo to check them out). It is destined, we hope, to hang in the new place at the lake. Ray's cousin
Wilfred (who recently married Ray's Aunt Audrey) painted the original from his memories of the home ranch he grew up on in
Alberta and he has kindly allowed us to reproduce it.
Our copy will be an 18 x 24 photo of
the original, digitized to .jpeg, then reproduced on canvas. I recently realized that 18 x 24 is larger than the original
so it will be interesting to see how that works out. It should arrive in the mail any day, now.
Wilfred
and Audrey are both in their late eighties. They knew (and loved) each other as teenagers and are finally married about a
year ago. Very romantic.
Dec 29 - just over 2 days left in 09, as I write this, and I have to admit that despite losses in business and
retirement savings, it has been a pretty fun year. There is definitely something to be said for getting old if you stop watching
for trouble (which you already know is coming) and start watching for the good times.
In the
past month or so I have been studying EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) which is a form of energy healing. If you don't know
what this is, think Avatar -- only the people are not bigger and bluer than the rest of us. In fact, they are
quite ordinary except for their understanding of the universe. One of them is a 30 year Stanford University department head
(in engineering) named Dr. Bill Tiller. Others see fairies. All of them are quite convinced that most emotional (and
many physical) problems can be quickly resolved using simple techniques anyone can learn.
Anyway,
it's fascinating stuff and helpful so far. I pride myself on being open to new experiences (but always a skeptic) so I'll
continue until I'm either all fixed or have reason to decide it isn't working for me.
The founder
of EFT is retiring on Jan. 15 2010 and his web site will disappear at that time. Still, there are thousands of trained
EFT professionals (and many more talented amateurs) around the world so the system should continue to develop and evolve both
under that name and many others. Basic EFT training is free (an e-book) but if you can't find a link email me at:
Dec 11 - tonight begins Hanukkah (Chanukkah?) so we are celebrating with latkes, delicious potato cakes fried
in oil. How many religions have a holiday which celebrates oil? Gotta love it. My adopted grandson is Jewish so
that's my excuse if I need one. Here's the recipe:
Latkes
2 lbs potatoes
2 large eggs
Salt (lots of pepper is good, too)
Sunflower oil for frying (no other oil is as
good in this dish)
Most recipes tell you
to finely grate the potatoes, peeled or unpeeled as you prefer. This can be done in a food processor -- not so traditional
but a lot easier than a hand grater.
Most people put the grated
potato straight into cold water, then drain and squeeze it as dry as possible by pressing it with their hands in a colander
(or rolling in a clean towel). Beat the eggs lightly with salt, add to the potatoes, and stir well
Btw, Ray doesn't put
his grated potato into cold water and barely squeezes them and his latkes are delicious. Go figure. He also uses the
wet stuff to make blinis filled with applesauce. Such a clever guy!
Heat the sunflower oil
on medium-high (if you are on a diet you may use only a little which is kind of sad) and then drop the potato mixture into
the hot oil. Flatten to form a roundish potato cake, and lower the heat a bit so that the fritters cook through evenly. When
one side is brown (about 5 minutes), turn over and brown the other. Lift out and serve very hot with sour cream and applesauce.
We also add lots of black pepper to our latkes.
P.S. Some people use
potato flour (or even wheat flour) to help bind the mixture but this doesn't taste quite as good, imo.
---------------
I have been trying to learn to sing Hava Nagila with (hopefully) a passable accent.
My online tutor is none other than Harry Belafonte. To hear this gorgeous man sing the best Hava Nagila ever (and learn the
words) please click on the link below:
When a Jamaican sings a Jewish song this well it proves the world is one family. I think so!
November 29 - sitting around watching the Grey Cup Game and waiting for the turkey to cook. The first half
went well (Montreal Alouettes 3 to Saskatchewan Roughriders 17) for Nena but not so much for Ray. Unfortunately,
Ray's team is roaring back in the second half.
Google Girl (my granddaughter's name for me)
just found out that the average salary in the CFL is a pathetic $ 45 k. Can you imagine? Their wives have to work and so do
the players, in the off season. Talk about playing for the love of the game. Makes for a great game, anyway.
Apparently,
the main difference between Canadian and American football players is their size which mostly matters except for guys like
Doug Flutie. And basketball's Steve Nash.
Rats, the Alouette's just got their first touchdown. Excuse
me, while I go watch the game.
Well, Montreal won, due to a last second penalty against the
Roughriders (extra man on the field) that turned the clock back and allowed a successful field goal. Montreal 28 to
Calgary 27. Amazing game. Full of stupid mistakes and stupid decisions but exciting nevertheless.
November 25 - we just returned from a 2 day stay at our new house. There is so much that has to be done! The well
is in but not yet hooked up to the kitchen sink. In spring (many months from now) we'll try to put in a solid foundation which
involves jacking the house up, then digging out a crawl space and putting in vapor barriers and such. Big job but luckily
we've found a local handyman who will help.
Other urgent projects: either compost toilets or
a septic tank and bathroom (s), a legal wood stove and safe chimney, a veranda facing the lake and a carport on the other
side, a banya (Russian sauna), and of course a start on gardening, fruit trees, exterior siding, some chickens and a horse
or two... Oh yeah, and a ton of interior work including painting, flooring, furnishings, etc. I've been calling the
decor Depression Minimalist but people freak so maybe I'll call it Dacha style. It's gonna be great.
Eventually,
we will probably sell our house in town but until then, even on a shoestring, this is going to cost a lot of money. We have
to admit this is all a bit crazy but the property is so beautiful and we love the house despite the fact that it is basically
a shack. Our shack. Lovely shack. Where we want to be shack. LOL.
November 11 - Remembrance Day today. The veterans are getting to be few and far between but the poppies are still
everywhere. You have to wonder why, with WW2 over sixty years behind us, someone couldn't come up with a better poppy pin.
Each year's tiny pinpricks remind us of those who gave their young lives for our freedom. This year, without discussing
it, Ray and I donated the money but rejected the poppy, pretty as it is.
In Flanders Fields
Source: http://www.www.greatwar.co.uk
Poem by John McCrae, Canadian soldier and MD, May 1915
In Flanders fields
the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing,
fly Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved,
and now we lie In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to
hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields.
October 26 - It's snowing! What is this -- Canada? Usually doesn't snow until November so lots of people are sure
it won't stay. We went out to "the swamp" this afternoon to deliver an atv we bought a year or so ago and haven't had much
occasion to use. Our granddaughter, age 12, had a great time ripping around. The Chorkie, who is always underfoot, was a trial
but we managed not to run over her.
We got the new place surveyed and discovered that our property
runs right beside the neighbor's driveway. There are orange ribbons hanging on her trees and outbuildings, within a few feet
of her house. Anyway, we have a lot more land than we thought. She's going to hate that but what can we do about it?
We
are having fun planning what to do with the "homestead" (better than "the swamp"? We were told it was probably built later
than the 20s since most house in that area were log, at that time. But a neighbor said her house was built in 1946 and our
house was there quite a while before. It must have been a nice house in its time and will, I hope, be so again. I am thinking
of decorating it in "30s farmhouse" which Ray thinks might be "sparse" but I prefer to call minimalist.
September 18 - we are in Vancouver,
attending Rosh Hashanah services at the Hassidic synagogue on Oak Street,
warmly welcomed by Rabbi Yitzchok Wineberg and the
very sweet congregation of ultra-orthodox Jews.
In preparation, coached by a Conservative
Jewish friend and the Internet, we decked out in traditional attire, rather
like visiting mosques in Istanbul but with less bling. Ray and a young friend
were up front with the men, looking perfectly at home in their kippahs and
prayer shawls.
We ladies sat behind a
one way glass. All
dressed modestly but I was the only woman in a more or less traditional head
scarf (tichel) except one beautiful young pregnant wife who looked good in it. The rest wore wigs or
hats in an understated way that could have fit in almost anywhere.
The service
bored the daylights out of both the kids we brought and, it turned out, dozens of other kids who played quietly in nearby
rooms or noisily in the downstairs foyer. Personally, I enjoyed it. The Hasidim pray individually (loosely following a book)
which is cacophonous at times and not at all like hymn singing. Everyone stopped to shake hands with newcomers and to gossip
about community happenings and the latest news from Israel. The ladies, except for rabbis' wives who paid attention, seemed
much more interested in assessing the pretty new wife of one of their own than in following the service. It was all quite
relaxed and pleasant with people coming and going constantly during the several hours we were there.
That was the morning. Then we went to Chinatown for
a traditional New Year's feast at Hon's Wun Tun House. Well, it was traditional for us.
September 12 - We are negotiating for the house and trying to figure out what we can sell to make the necessary
repairs. The property is utterly beautiful and was several excellent outbuildings (including a good workshop/garage with 220
wiring) but the house is disastrous. Just for starters, the well and the foundation both need considerable work.
It
all depends on whether this will be a summer house or a year round home. For summer use, the outhouse has a great view of
the forest. For year round use, we need a bathroom or two and a septic tank unless I can talk Ray into compost toilets which
he seems to think are icky.
August 31 - What a miserable month! Too hot, sick the whole time --- grrr. Tomorrow we are going out to the
lake to look at an old farm house on three acres. Lakeshore except for a tiny strip of crown land. Not much chance of anyone
using it for anything so that's a good thing. Five bedrooms, no bathroom. LOL - that ought to be interesting. We are also
going to try to meet Sandy and Happy who have recently bought the acreage next to ours on the Creek. They are living in a
fifth wheel trailer and planning to build a house. I hope they've had some experience with our winters.
James was just here from China and is on his way back in a day or two. Xu Rui couldn't get a visa on time so he came
alone. They are moving to Beijing to put her son in Baha'i school there. James says he is having quite a time with culture
shock, both there and when he returns to Canada for a visit. He brought us great video of the wedding. They are so darn cute
together!
August 09 - Much cooler. We met some
nice people from Riverview, California, today. They were walking their dog near Extra Foods and were surprised when our granddaughter
said, "Hey, look at the Labradoodle". They said lots of people stop to admire their big wooly friend but no one else has known
what breed he was.
August 05 - still desperately hot.
Fires everywhere. Our friends in Bella Coola are cut off and if they have to be evacuated it will be done by boat and air.
A nearby reserve was evacuated by helicopter. Another fire is out of control at over 50,000 hectares but is not being fought
all that aggressively since there are few people and houses involved. All this dead pine makes fires particularly hard to
deal with. We are prisoners of our air conditioning!
July 31 - it looks like the historic
20 day heat wave may be ending. Tomorrow we will get thunder and LIGHTNING and about 1 mm of rain. Good grief. Who thinks
this stuff up?
July 29 - still not feeling well --
the flu comes and goes and right now it is very much here. We keep making plans and having to change them. It is much hotter
in Quesnel than usual (32 C, right now) and hotter than Mumbai, India, for all that. Seattle is 40 C (104 F). We were supposed
to be there, attending a Blue Jays game, today. But the trip got canceled and we are very grateful. Not to mention the Jays
lost with Halliday pitching. Outrageous.
Ray says it's 30 and raining
in Singapore. He says exactly the same thing every day (with a rare 1 or 2 degree variation). He thinks it's funny.
July 21 - Not much going on. We have
been to the cabin a couple of times but mostly July has been taken up with dealing with a stomach flu. Not super sick but
not feeling up to having fun, either.
James and Xu Rui are coming from China for
a visit this August.
July 10 - the grandchildren came over
for some quality time with grandma and grandpa. All four of us sat around the living room with our laptops. What a world.
July 01 09 - : it
has been a difficult winter (a close friend died of cancer) but the spring has been fun. We just returned from a visit with
Nena's brother and his family in Creston and Ray went to Nelson BC to help with a Baha'i event. The weather is lovely and
we are planning to go to the cabin soon.
Summer is so wonderful! Maybe winter, and the
fact that summer is short and sweet makes it so precious.
