It’s always something
Plumbing is all fixed just in time as Saturday night brought biblical proportion rains. So nice to be able to enjoy a hot bath, no matter what the weather, but perhaps not immediately as there is a full load of soaking-wet, half-done laundry sitting in the tub. Oh joy, the 15 year-old washing machine is officially on its last legs. I can’t even anymore…
Internal landscape
So that’s the culprit in all of the recent plumbing woes, an impressive 6’ long crack in the cast iron stack that has been leaking in secret for who knows how long and only recently came to our attention thanks to the deluge of rain last week.
Kudos to the plumber who did a fantastic job and had a sense of humour to boot. Encourage kids to go into the trades – as long as there are old houses there will always be work.
Another perspective
Things should be easing up a bit now that Mercury retrograde has released its stranglehold on communication and general life glitches. Don’t rush, perhaps consider last month’s setbacks from a different angle and take some advice from the Farmer’s Almanac – “Use your energy towards intelligent changes”.
Indoor bouquets only
Still too cold here for anything but hostas to be happy in the ground . Keeping my fingers crossed May will bring warmer temperatures.
Time flies
Who knew seven years could go by so fast. Dipping my toes in the waters once more – lots to catch up on.
Just trying to blend in.
Everyone else is making so much noise our own fake news is lost in the shuffle.
Some days it’s just jumping through hoops and rearranging blocks.
Some days you just don’t want to sit down to a large plate of anything – out with Miss Z on a sunny afternoon we opted for a little bit of everything: fresh guacamole with house nachos, sweet potato fries with coriander and chipotle mayo, a double fudge brownie with vanilla ice cream and, of course, a refreshing cocktail – a tall glass of Mezcal with lime and muddled strawberries. Yum.
Making simple a mandate but forgetting that eventually someone is going to have to change bulbs 35 feet up…
A spur-of-the-moment chocolate almond garden berry tart – because pie is good anytime. What is your favourite pie?
When all the world is free for the creating with the swipe of a finger.
It’s not always as simple as it seems.
The Farmer’s Almanac weather forecast for July in my region reads much like my biorhythm looks, all ups and downs, intense highs punctuated by icy lows, and long, lingering periods where much reaches some sort of tepid plateau. Here’s wishing for more temperate climes.
Someone’s been busy.
That teetering point between getting something concrete accomplished and actually moving forward.
Being a heavy sleeper has its advantages when the Professor and our pup get up pre-dawn for their daily constitutional but lately it has been the sound of thunder and sudden torrential downpours rather than any absence of warm bodies in bed that have signalled to my unconsciousness that another day has begun. This unusually cool spell has meant we have been lucky enough to be able to open the windows at night and this morning’s reveille of raindrops was a sweetly clean yet heady fragrance reminiscent of simpler times.
More grey skies and cold winds wreaking havoc with my sad garden and cloudy mood. Best to limit indoor activities that lift our spirits and remind us that it is the simpler things in life that sustain us.
I am ready
to say goodbye
to fall finery
and let the frost
of winter
kiss the dead and decaying
goodnight
I’ve run across alot of people recently who are just worn down, exhausted and overwhelmed by information and social media. Is disconnection and a realignment of hands-on priorities the solution or just a few days in a warm climate dipping our toes in the surf? A change is as good as a rest…
Experimenting with a cauliflower crust yielded some tasty results. What is your favourite pizza?
In these days where much seems orchestrated, improvisation should be a welcomed part of our required skill set.
Hope the roof on this baby wasn’t built by the same contractor who installed the one on the Olympic Stadium 
I really wish local government would get with the program and accept that not all tourists to our fair city are francophone: Such a great PS installation should at least be bilingual and then everyone could go home and say they saw the world’s largest 
and not wonder what that was all about.
He treated her like vinyl
fell in love at first sight
with the bold colour
and sleek lines
hot and cold
against
the story of his skin
then left
no motive
roadside
‘Tis the season to wax nostalgic – this one is dedicated to my maternal grandparents and their annual journey across the Painted Desert during a time when not many thought doing such things prudent.
I’m always fascinated by the elements that make up some of the larger murals splashed around Montreal. In this three-story high piece, there’s a very literate and informed conversation going on between artist and viewer but I’m not actually sure how many people are picking up the thread, how many passers-by are aware of the references (age, interest and culture probably being a deciding factor) and how such iconic images are woven together in a greater commentary.
Walk on by or stop and think about it for awhile.
Take joy in diversity : Recognize similitude : Create harmony
There is a part of my brain where all the blue is stored; I like to think that it makes itself useful once in a while…
Strive for Liberty, practice Equality, extend Fraternity.
Our prayers go out to all those who suffer – everywhere.
When north, south, east and west conspire in the reminder that beauty in nature is timeless.
ACROSS THE BORED 