...and a Happy New Year!

We watched An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore's crusade about improving awareness of global warming. It is truly sobering because of the fact that we are rapidly approaching the point of no-return. We know what must be done to leave a lighter footprint on the planet (though here are more pointers, from his site), now we need to Just Do It.
So I have only one New Year's resolution for 2007,
Save The Planet

That should keep me busy for a while...

Best wishes for a Happy New Year 2007.

The Beauty of Technology

Year end is coming fast. I am actually rewinding the reels of time (I made that up - nice image, huh?) as I go through boxes of slides my mom took over the years. I saw moments that were never printed. I saw my grandmother in mourning dress after my grandfather had passed away; I saw her with jet black hair and my aunts and uncles younger than I am now, holding my brothers and I as babies. I saw the results of a hurricane that brushed past our house (we were away on vacation so there was only material damage), and corrected a few over- or underexposed shots. I discovered some gems and polished them. I recaptured lost moments, shreds of life. Oh - and those are only 6 boxes... There are plenty more.

Thank you Santa for this wonderful scanner!

The day after

I hope everybody had a good time. We were up watching Pirates f the Carribbean II last night - a XMas present, of course. I had already seen it, so halfway through I started reading my new How-to book on writing songs. Good stuff, man. I can't wait to put it in practice. I haven't gotten to the exercise parts yet, still in the intro chapters, but it is an entertaining read and there's a lot to learn + actual songwriters are interviewed which is way cool. Evidently, everybody has their preferred work method so they contradict each other but as I (we) have been doing it for over a year now, I can use what applies to my style and not feel overwhelmed by choices.
I fell asleep in the living room and had bits of lyrics floating through my mind. Since I didn't have a notebook (Rule 1) to jot them down, they are lost to posterity. Not to worry. There is more where that came from.

Joyeux Noël - Merry Christmas!

Christmas Marathon

The race is on! We have hit the second marker (family party and gift exchange), the first one being putting up the Christmas tree (we ran swiftly by that one last week). We are carburating on Chrsitmas cookies. We still have cards to mail and a few gifts to buy but the finish line is in sight. Still hoping Santa will bring me a new job for Christmas (I've been decent this year maybe I deserve that).
We're in it for the long run. The season isn't over until the last party, the last eggnog and the never-achieved New Year's resolutions.
We have left a few competitors behind - clearly ill-prepared. They look tired, are in a shopping frenzy and their house is a mess. We're just tired with a messy house. Two out of three is good at this stage. I have an edge because I don't need to go to any office party - nothing beats working from home!

Of Other Addictions

Forget smoking - what about blogging, emailing or surfing? I can't seem to get enough.I get up, start my computer and check for email. Go about my routine in the outside world, then back to my routine in the computer world. There's always lots to do: click on the Hunger site and affiliates; turn on my launchcast radio or a friend's; chat; email; blog; check friend's blogs; oh - uh - work; that's only morning. I get reminders popping up for tasks not in front of the computer - dr's appointment and stuff - but mostly, I can while away the day without noticing. I go out and get fodder for my flickr site. I seem to always be thinking of ways to entertain you : ) ... except in the evenings, where I do take a break.
I've been logging on regularly to the Atomic Tumour site, where I can live a guy's life by proxy. How healthy is that? I haven't started on YouTube - somehow, the written word appeals to me more than moving pictures. I read a great article on Evites in yesterday's Time. It described this growing compulsion to make public private matters and try and entertain at the same time.

Maybe smoking is healthier after all...

P.S. I am writing this in Notepad as I have lost my Internet connection... Life is hard.

Gnikoms

I was just musing about the disappearance of cigarettes in my sphere of consciousness. As laws have been enacted and more people have been made aware of its deleterious effects, cigarette smoking has lost its ubiquity.
Smoking is no longer permitted: on planes, buses, taxis, classrooms, restaurants (depending where you live, maybe?), bars, bingos (they lost their appeal), offices and most indoor public places.

Can you imagine taking a bus from Ottawa to Toronto with people smoking? Or boarding a plane to Florida where the back rows were reserved for somkers? Hello - don't you think we'll all be smoking (even unwillingly) after being subjected to 3 hours of that?
Or going to class/work and having colleagues lighting one beside you? The nausea!

So - this post is to rejoice at the suppression of ads, characters in comic strips (remember Lucky Luke), sexy smoking actors, all huffing and puffing seductively trying to suck you in.

In high school (I think), I did an ad on cigarettes as part of a class assignment. I thought nothing of it because it was still so pervasive. A product that we all knew so well and could talk about. I shudder to think of it.

Is there a point to this post? Not really. I guess I was just happy to realize we've come a long way in my lifetime and I am enjoying my smoke-free environment.

Funny - banning smoking was not mentioned in the Clean Air Act. I won't hold my breath....

Every picture tells a story, don't it?

Well, maybe not. I tend to take close-up of plants and stuff. I am not sure I could make a story out of that. What I really want to try but I am having trouble with is taking abstract pictures from concrete objects. I have been going so close that you don't know what the picture is about but that is reltively easy (if your camera can do it and if you can keep your hands still).

My model is to make a picture from parts of disparate objects so that together they make an esthetically-pleasing tableau yet remain oddly foreign. It is this strangeness which appeals to me. Things are not what theu appear to be. There is something whimsical about those pictures sometimes. My problem is, my brain is not attuned that way and I don't see objects that way so I can't take pictures of them. I tend to think man-made objects would lend themselves to that more readily... but I live in the woods. So life is tough. I am thinking I could try something with the mailbox maybe. The garbage can? My choices are limited. I will add a flickr link here if I manage to take a few decent pictures to show you what I mean.

Till then, don't forget that beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

Noel

I have been trying to write a Christmas song with Steve these past few weeks. This year, Christmas is unlike the other years. No expectations, no needs. Quiet, peaceful. No rush.
We were trying to set a melancholy mood to the song and I was having trouble feeling it. I can write without thinking but writing with feeling takes a lot of work. For me, that is.
So it got me thinking about Christmases, past and present. Mainly good memories. Exciting years alternating with boring ones.
Our family tradition on Christmas Eve was to go to the 10 pm mass at the school across the street where I would sing in the choir (I loved it) and then eat fondue bourguignonne and homemade cream puffs with our grandma, and then, around midnight, open the presents. Then my parents would go to bed, we kids would follow. As we got older, we always asked for LPs and we would spend the whole holidays listening to our new records while playing board games.
On Christmas day, the whole family, aunts, uncles and cousins would gather at my grandmother for loads of food and drink and talk. That was noisy and fun. Sometines, our cousins from Australia would be there and that was even more excellent.
And then we'd have plenty of time on our hands to play hockey, go sledding, listen to music and basically hang out with our driends. We didn't do much on New Year's Eve - watched the end of year shows (just the kkids, our parents would head off to bed early). That was nice too. At midnight, we would say Happy New Year and head off to bed (I was never a late-night person - maybe my brothers stayed up. No amount of noise could have roused me.)

As we all moved out of home and settled with partners, Mom and Dad would invite us a week ahead or so so we could go to the in-laws without having to rush from one place to the next. It was very thoughtful: they never cared too much for exact dates and stuff and just wanted to see all of us. We're just lucky that way...

Unschooling kids

There is a trend within the homeschoolers. It is called unschooling (great article in the NYT on the topic) and it's all about having kids take the lead in their learning. From what I read, it seems like the essence of learning, i.e. you do what interests you and have someone who helps you understand the principles behind your questions.

There are none of the usual structures (books, classroom, teacher-pupil relationship). The emphasis is on the child, his curiosity and his passions. I looked up web sites on the subject too which brought my enthusiasm up a notch.

I am really dismayed by our general reliance on figures of authority who tell us what to do in our daily lives. I guess my first-hand experience was with an institution for old people where my grandmother went. I felt that every aspect of her life was arranged to make life easier for the staff - her privacy was not their concern. And so of hospitals. And schools. We tend to forget the basic truths about human beings and hide behind rules. What a strange evolution. I wonder how that is tied in with the ills of our civilization? Still reading on Emotional Intelligence which has tons of ideas on the topic (reading in between Ludlum which explains the slow pace ; )

I guess the message is: Think! Feel! Don't "go with the flow". Trust yourselves. But you don't need me to tell you that now, do you?

Quiet... and action!

Anytime in Quietville these days, the sound of a shot will pierce the silent air. Apart from a turn of the mouth, nobody will twitch or start. The hunting season is on, and there's nothing you can do about it. An innocent walk in the woods become unnerving when you hear shots and start to wonder how visible this green coat really is in a forest? and how doglike does your dog really look when he gracefully jumps over a fallen tree blocking the path (coincidence? accident? I think not!).
I have been going to Ferguson Forest where hunters can hunt with bow and arrows for 6 days in the fall. I have a friend who hunts that way. Think huge technologically sound bows. Forget the one you made as a kid with a branch and some string. Those are deadly weapons.
The 6 dreaded days have come and gone so I don't need to worry anymore. The forest is now host to people who train their dogs for dogsled races - I have heard they have started training but have not seen them yet. I go on narrow uneven trails, the proverbial "road less traveled". Peace and quiet, peace and quiet. I better look inside 'cause the outside world is not getting any quieter...

Something New

In my "Nothing New" blog, I mentioned the AtomicTumour blog I accidentally discovered. In it, a young man was baring his soul after his wife had been admitted to the hospital for something that looked like a bad case of flu. She passed away yesterday (we still don't know what attached her). I am grieving as though I lost a friend (though we only met through her husband's posts). Hundreds of people - strangers like me - have been touched by this blog and condolences are pouring in.

Thanks to that post, I also discovered you can light virtual candles on the Net. This is where I went (http://www.gratefulness.org/candles/enter.cfm?l=eng) but other addresses are also listed.

Frika passed away 2 months ago today - I think I will go light a candle now.

Getting in the Groove

I am finally getting with the program - I am listening to Yahoo launchcast. It's like having your own personal DJ. You go through a list of pre-selectedbands and select the ones you like. You then add a few more of your favorites for good measure. It will play those and similar songs (to expand your horizons). They choose the similar songs based on recommendations - did I mention you rate the songs as they play? This will indicate the frequency at which you are likely to hear it. Rating is just a click away. You can also skip to the next one if you don't like it. Very cool. The free station runs commercial ads but you can upgrade so you are not subjected to that (I hate having people talking over the radio - I would rather listen to silence)

TeeVee Toons

Interestingly enough, I went looking for a CD I obtained in a Freecycle transaction. After listening to it once, I thought I was done and kept it as a conversation starter... : ) but the tunes are so lively, they're fun to have as background (not unlike Christmas carols - I wonder if it will put me in a buying mood - oooh Meow cat food!): they are TV tunes, that is, TV ads.
I find commercials, as much as TV series or movies, are something of a common cultural bond. Regardless if your social, racial, religious affiliations, if you've got a TV, you will have been subjected to the same ads. The fact that you like them or not is irrelevant.
These days, my mom is preoccupied with the definition of culture (it's a long story I won't get into). She likes to equate culture with artistic or scientific outputs.
I would like to submit that culture is "environmental" as much as "mental". It is a shared understanding of reality. In that sense, TV tunes are cultural icons as much as Warhol's pop art (we always come back to him...).

So get me a slinky while I drink my Coke to go with my Harmer hot dog... and hum along!

Happy Days

I took a walk in a different part of the property today. It was pretty wet, as it is a swampy low-lying area and seeing we've had plenty of rain these past few days. The water was clean, though, and I enjoyed wading through it with my high boots. I was imagining playing there with my young niece - there are lots of fallen trees, with moss on them and I thought we could imagine a Florida swamp with crocodiles (or is that alligators?). Then I moved on to more grown-up thougths: what if we had a paintball fight in there? I drafted up two teams, quickly, all wearing fatigues and marvelously hidden. Where would my dog fit in? Maybe he could guard the flag?
Ah - the small pleasures of life! Of course, I was walking with Minuit, though you couldn't tell as he was doing his thing, out of sight. We were off the beaten track; as he doesn't go over two feet or so, I don't tend to follow him or I would end up on all soggy fours. Still, he comes when called, a friendly furry bouncing blast of energy and joy, just the thing to start of the day in a grand old way.

Nothing New

I come to my blog and there's nothing new. Just the silly counter that indicates I've come and gone. I guess I must be very happy, 'cause I have nothing to write and "les gens heureux n'ont pas d'histoire" (c'mon, you know enough French to figure that out). We watched the Giller award last night. http://www.scotiabankgillerprize.ca/home.htm There were 5 contenders for this Canadian non-fiction litterary award. Three Montrealers - 2 French that were translated so we got a glimpse of the translators (go team!). The sole Torontonian won - Alice Munro was positively taken by his novel way of writing. I had actually read a review about it this summer so I wished him well. Actually, I will add the five books on my book list... That was more fun than watching the American elections result - they were front page news anyhow this morning. No way you were going to miss out unless you live under a rock (I wonder if they would slide the newspaper under a rock... Yeah, I guess they would.)

Oops - I wrote this on Tuesday and the server crashed or something. So I went looking for entertainment on my friends' blogs and was redirected to a blog to which I got hooked. It is a very sad story from a guy whose wife had flulike symptoms and went to the hospital. After a few days of her getting worse, she almost died. This is a daily diary and it is very moving. It really stays with me. http://www.atomictumor.com/

Boring normal life is so unbelievably cool.

Book List

This was such a bad idea - I don't think I read more than a handful of the books I set off to read in January. I got sidetracked with a slew of books by Ken Follett, an Amy Tan one (Hundred Secret Senses - I became an instant fan of the author), and others who escape me right now.

A few days ago, I started reading two books in parallel. They were published roughly at the same time and seem to answer each other. One is "Our guys", published in 1997),an account of the gang rape of a retarded teen by the young elite of an affluent community. It questions the motives and society's attitude towards the crime to understand where America has gone wrong. The other book is "Emotional Intelligence", currently on its 10th anniversary reprint. It was a ground breaking scientific study on the psychological aspects of a social phenomenon viewed as the breakdown of values and the rise of crime in America. In a nutshell (and I am still on chapter 2 so don't quote me), it denigrates the system which equates IQ with success, explaining that IQ tests will show how good an academic you could be while not evaluating human skills such as compassion. It is fascinating to read both books at the same time as they basically address the same issue from a different standpoint.

I find "Our Guys " to be a compelling if gut-wrenching read as it portays real events with little distance (the information is largely tributary to live interviews) contrary to "Emotional Intelligence" which strives to be didactical yet accessible.

A recommended read (4 stars)

Answer to the Life Story quizz

Take out your description and let's go through it.

1- Nationality: If you are a Canadian living in Canada, did you think of mentioning your nationality? I think perhaps if you live in Quebec, you might have put something down regarding your nationality, seeing as you don't want to pass for an Anglo. Perhaps, born and raised in Quebec, Canada, or something. Or Montrealer, if you are so inclined. Somethhing to affirm your distinct status. Of course, most of you are not from Canada, and so, as a minority will be touchy on the subject, wondering if you should mention anything at all and being in turmoil about it. That is because our identity is so linked to other people's reaction. I read that Jewish people starting reclaiming they were Jewish when persecutions started. In the movie "Shall we dance?", there is a sentence to the effect that we marry so we have a witness to our life, so that our life does not go unnoticed. It all ties in.

2- Sexual identity: If you are heterosexual, why mention it? It is obvious, normal, and you don't even think of it, right? Yet is it a core characteristic of your being. Again, unless you are in a minority, gay, bi, transgender, you won't give it much thought when defining yourself. We define ourselves against inner or outer conflicts.
In psychology of old, a "normal" person was deemed to have all the qualities people associated to males. By definition, females were a bit askew...

3- Race: Being Caucasian in Canada goes without saying, right? Again, these assumptions are what biases are made of. The first IQ tests were nothing more than cultural tests. They did not measure intelligence but social conformity. If you were a white middle-class kid in the US, you were pretty bright. If not, you were out of luck.

(BYW, these are examples I am making up just to challenge your assumptions. There are many other categories. I just selected those that came to mind.)

4- Religion: This is another interesting one. You might have decided to write something relative to that topic. The province of Quebec was overwhelmingly Catholic until the 60s so depending on your age, you might have decided to take a stand - "I am an atheist" too oppose Catholicism which used to be such a strong force. Your upbringing might have been strict, you might have been sent to a private school manned by brothers or sisters, priests or nuns. Not at all unusual if you were destined for higher education.

5- Handicaps: Did you mention any? Or mention you were whole? I guess that is a bit stretching it but again I was thinking that people these days associate with their disease. "I am a cancer survivor" defines many people.

6- Trivial? I am not a lefty. When I grew up, my best friend was a lefty and that was a real issue for her in a world where objects are designed for right-handed people. Did you think of mentioning you were right-handed?

In class, we created a mental map using our answers of who we were and identified the values that were important to us. We linked the different attributes and saw those that were emotionally charged by the number of arrows that went to them and came out from them. It was revealing and intriguing, a nice way to get to know ourselves.

If I can just remember the teacher's name, she wrote a book about her method... I will look for it and let you know...

Life Story

I am fascinated by the fact that people have Life Stories. I am talking about a narrative that everybody has about themselves. It is typically a story that reflects their view of themselves and that they can recite (or write) to new people they meet.

It consists of little stories meant to show certain character traits or a persona that they carry around. I became aware of this one day when I read part of an email a friend was sending. I had done the exercise in a psychology class, but had never thought that was actually done in real life. I guess it seems obvious, but it was actually quite a shock to me.

I don't believe I am "the youngest of three kids, the only girl" of my family. I don't feel it describes who I am, and yet it helps define my relationship to the world. Isn't that strange? How could this information make someone decide to be my friend? Ah, yes! I too have two brothers! Shall we bond? I don't think so.

Somehow this fact has helped shape who I am but - other girls in a similar situation react differently because of who they are. So how could this be relevant in any way? And yet, that is what I say when asked to describe my family - rank and gender.

I was told that if you are in the majority (say, a boy, in this case), you won't find it necessary to assert that you are a male. It goes without saying. So, to me, what you don't say is as important as what you do say because it reflects your self-image.

Try it. Take a few minutes to see how you would describe yourself to a total stranger. Look for what you omit as obvious and what it says about how you think of yourself and how you feel about yourself, your family, your country, politics, religion.

We'll talk some more about it when you're done.

Children's rhymes

I based this little ditty on the popular kid's game "Snakes and Ladders". I hope you enjoy it!

Snakes and Ladders

With the roll of a dice
From heaven to hell
Who you will be I never can tell
Friend or foe – I never know

Chorus
Up and down
I get pushed around
The games you play
Yet still I stay

Sometimes I find myself
On the slippery slope of your affection
The snake rears its ugly head
Down I go

Chorus

From your balcony, you shout for me
I climb into your head
And nestle in your heart
Sweet ladder of delight

Chorus

I hope I win this time
I need to stay ahead
I long for the end of the game
I feel I’m going insane

Hope

When I was in school, as a child, we learned the population stats for the countries we studied. Hence Canada is home to 24 million people, right? That's an easy way to tell somebody's age... We had already passed the 30 million mark in the 2001 census and (gasp!) the number keeps changing.
As a kid, I sang "500 million of Chinese and me, and me". Not sure where that came from as there are over 1 billion Chinese. Has the population doubled since my childhood or did I learn the song from my mom and so the population would have doubled since her childhood? How far back do we go?
All this to muse on the 300 million people landmark that the US achieved last week. Is this something to celebrate? We are bombarded with doomsday scenarios of aging baby boomers eating up our resources. I read an analysis from EDC (Export Development Canada) refraining from catastrophic forecasts, instead asserting "... the doomsayers are discounting yet another important compensating force: technological progress. New technology means that the workers of tomorrow will produce more for themselves and for their retiring parents." They back that claim with numbers and projections of economic growth. As I am an optimist, it really resonated with me. I am tired of hearing of apocalyptic scenarios. It only shows lack of faith in the creativity and resilience of humans. I believe imaginative solutions will be created to address the challenges ahead in the same way that the population in Asimov's Foundation trilogy found a way to counteract "The Mule". Hope is at hand...

Pillow Talk

You sleep with it every night, yet for all you know it may be infested. When was the last time you changed your pillow? If you are using a foam pillow, I read (and was told) that they start to break down after two years.
A friend saw a doctor for a sinus infection and he said she might mistake colds for allergy atacks. He also suggested she might want to buy a new pillow as a way to ward off the sore throat and congestion she experiences.
As this sounded remarkably like me (I clog up when I go to bed but sleep well on the couch), I decided I needed a new pillow and went on the Web to find out all I needed to know about buying a pillow but was afraid to ask. The only surprise came from the rationale of a hard vs soft pillow. I always put that down to preference but it turns out it depends if you are a "back sleeper", a "side sleeper" or if you sleep on your stomach (would that make them "tummy sleepers"?)
The site states : "Back sleepers ... will need fairly flat pillows while side sleepers should have something more substantial that can support their head. (...) You'll want a firmer pillow if you sleep on your side and a flatter, softer one if you sleep on your stomach. " The intent is to keep your spine straight while you sleep.
I will keep you posted on the results of my search - hopefully to tell you I am sleeping much better.

Good luck charm

Our cell phone was acting up lately. If you were lucky, it would work. If not, it would get a line but the person on the other end would speak and not hear you answer. That led to funny conversations - I guess as close as the ones in person - where two people are basically talking by themselves:
- I don't know if you can hear me but I can't hear you.
(...)
- Can you stop and get some milk on your way home?
(...)
- I will hang up now. I hope you're ok?

And from the other side:
- Damn phone
- Hellooooo! I can hear you. Can you hear me?
- Helllooo - no don't hang up. I will stop the car and face the East. Maybe, just maybe...

So we carried the phone for a few days, confident in its self-healing powers. We dutifully charged it, again and again. It seems we lugged it around out of habit, for the sense of security it brought in case of a mishap on the highway. Our own high-tech talisman. Except it was broken.

After many frustrating one-way conversations, we finally brought it back to the store.

You want a new one? asked the helpful clerk.
No, we want you to repair it.
The new ones are really hip! he said in a forced jovial voice
No. Fix it.
It will be ready tomorrow.

And so we resume our love-hate relationship.

Microcredit

Ok, you might not be interested in money but this is something else entirely.
Thirty years ago, one man made a $27 loan to 42 villagers in Bangladesh at a time when the country was struck by famine. This was the beginning of a movement that spread across countries as far and rich as the US. Mr. Yunus, then teacher of Economics in a nearby town, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his pioneering work.
What makes this so exciting is the sheer simplicity and brilliance of his idea. He always believed in people: ".... people have the drive and creativity to build small businesses with loans as small as $12" He created a bank (the Grameen Bank) which has dedicated itself to helping the poorest of the poor.
The effects of his work are far-reaching. In a largely Muslim-dominated society (in Bangladesh, where he started), he loaned to women, which empowered them. Through women's efforts, children got better education and were able to get out of the cycle of poverty.

I first heard of his work through 60 Minutes, years ago, but he has been on the talk circuit with no less than ex-President Bill Clinton (also fighting poverty).

His bank loans to beggars:
All we are doing is telling beggars that, well, since you go house to house begging, would you like to take some merchandise with you, some cookies, some candy, something?” he asked a crowd that hooted with delight at this clever notion.
“A typical loan for a beggar is something like $12,” he said. “With $12, she has a basket of merchandise she carries around and goes house to house.”
“Today, we have more than 80,000 beggars in the program,” he said. “Many of them have already quit begging completely.”

Read more at: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/14/world/asia/14nobel.html?pagewanted=2&th&emc=th

Growing Old

I have been giving some thought to an article I read about 4 women who decided to pool their resources and live together. They are four friends who are retired and were looking for alternative living arrangements. They sold their houses and got rid of duplicate appliances, keeping only the best.
Their goal was to avoid moving into an old folk's home, They carefully drafted a contract between them, outlining how they wanted to deal with one person leaving or dying. They agreed they would buy out the share of the one who left and that noone could move in without their consent (to avoid heirs upsetting the delicate balance they achieved).
I think this is an experiment that needs to be followed carefully. I have started a mental list of friends I could spend my old age with... They need to get along though... I am starting early : )

What's In A Name? (3)

Fascinating subject (to me - third time at the bat)

This morning, I read an article in the NYT (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/12/fashion/12names.html?th=&adxnnl=1&emc=th&adxnnlx=1160655010-/qdueI3USczo/kDjHkVfzA) that was just what I was looking for. As America is embracing its diversity, foreigh-sounding names are no longer shunned. Less new citizens are choosing to anglicize their name and people are reverting to their "ethnic-sounding" names as they age. It has to do with coming to terms with their identity and embracing their cultural heritage.
An African friend of mine was given the name "Joan of Arc" when she was in school. (Can you imagine being called "Joan of Arc"? What were they thinking?) Her "normal" name was inadequate for the nuns, I guess. She emigrated to Canada, where people called her Jenny, a further departure from her real name (which she used as her last name). Where she comes from, there is no last name.
As a young adult, she reclaimed her African name as her own. Now this trend is growing, much to my relief. I don't believe in homogeneity at all costs for people. What is it supposed to achieve? Aren't we losing the salt of life? (I know, I know. Salt is bad for you, right?)
Well, I want salt. And pepper, please.

The Forgotten Month

If you are born in October, please accept my apologies for the blog I am about to write.
On my planet, there is no month of October. However hard I try to remember, I can never quite grasp that there is such a month. Somehow, I totally forget this month exists. I tend to ignore it until it bites back (which makes for awkward excuses - I can't believe it's your b-day! - because all along I was sure that special day was in November).
It is not by any means a sad month or a month to forget. The fall colours are shining and there is a nice crispness in the air. Not yet winter, but the promise of it.
It seems there are 11 months in my world. October and November are nicely tucked in together, snuggly fitting in one bloated month. I can't explain it: it just is, and it puzzles me to no end.
Just thought I would share that with you...

Surprise!

So, what do you think of the new look?
As a kid, I would change bedrooms with one of my brothers. He would grow bored of his and would ask me if we could switch. One bedroom was large, with vast windows overlooking the street and a door to a balcony. It had a large closet. The other was cosier, smaller, with one good-sized window onto the backyard and a small closet. Both were fine and we did not really mind switching. Just having a new room to decorate made it fun.
We would spend a good part of a (summer) day cleaning and moving furniture. My parents would come home from work and we would casually have them check out something in one of the bedrooms then watch the expression on their faces. I think my mom was usually pleased because that meant my brother had (finally) cleaned his room.
There came a time when the switch did not work anymore because the furniture was too customized and our tastes differed too widely. Well, it was fun while it lasted...

Who's your (flat) daddy?

Apparently, relatives of soldiers can ask for a cutout of their loved one (soldier). They get a cutout (referred to as "flat soldier" presumably to be gender neutral) from the waist up that can be seated on a chair and conveniently transported around. It seems it's a hit with families with young kids who otherwise forget what the parent looks like. They bring the cutout at graduations or other important events the parent is missing and so they are in the pictures and so on.

Now, doesn't that sound like something useful to have? "My (fill in blank) could not come. I hope you won't see the difference. He is usually so quiet anyways..." Good-bye boring meetings, so long tiring in-laws... Did you even notice I wasn't there? Did you think I was more polite than usual? It think it would be worth a try.

Read more from the article in the New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/30/us/30daddy.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Clapton

The Ottawa concert was a gem, easily my best-ever concert. Why? Well, apart from the obvious (total mastery of music, series of hits played with feeling and intelligence, Clapton's personality and his easy rapport with the members of the band), I was surprised at how deeply some songs moved me. What astonished me was that the lyrics themselves were not as important as the music (re: my ongoing discussion with my friend Steve on the matter).
I was totally blown by "I feel wonderful tonight" that brought me back to what??!! I don't know, but I was totally there. It's like this song tap into a deep strong flow of pure joy that I forgot I had ever felt. It was an exhilirating feeling.

What is your calling?

When a new friend asks my mother what I do for a living, she answers: Matchmaker! This reply is always met with a gasp and a puzzled expression. My mother then goes on to explain that my true calling is to bring together people with shared interests: You want to get rid of an old computer? A friend of mine has a child who could use one.
I have always had that drive to "match" people up and it has always fascinated my mom. I think it has somewhat abated in recent years but it was rekindled recently with Freecycling and Bookcrossing. Those ideas are very stimulating, but my passion for institutionalized "matchmaking" has faded...
As for myself, I rather thought I would be well suited as a housecleaner, as I like nothing more than impose order onto chaos. I guess that is a very transferable skill as many can testify to that.
What about you? What is your calling?

Bella Frika Pierre 1999-2006

Suddenly but peacefully, with her family by her side on Monday September 18, 2006 at the age of 7. Frika was an extraordinary German Shepherd, devoted and caring. Survived by Minuit, her lifelong companion, and by Yseult, Paul and Pascale, her caretakers. Frika leaves all those who have come in contact with her with fond memories of a playful, opinionated and caring friend. Our heartfelt thanks to the Kemptville veterinary clinic staff for their support in her last days. As an expression of your sympathy, donations to the Ontario Veterinary College's Pet Trust Fund (http://www.smilingblueskies.com/pet_trust_fund.html) would be appreciated.

Songwriting

I have been writing songs with my friend Steve for over a year. We have gotten into a rhythm and scheduled weekly sessions which works out fine. We use IM and either write one line each or one writes a bit and the other improves on it. It really depends on the degree of energy, the type of song and so on. It's always a collaboration, though I am unofficially in charge of the words and he deals with the music.
So it is up to Steve to check for flow, awkward words or to stop we when (not if) I get too verbose. It helps me simplify my writing. It is great to have someone critique your work as it unfolds. When I like a line but we decide it doesn't fit, I put it in with the other "misfits", hoping they can eventually turn into a song. Songwriting is quite fun because I end up looking at words in a different light. For example, after writing this, I know we will write a song called "Misfits".

Often, I get myself a title and write a song around it. I usually like the ambiguity of the word and like to write on two levels. I guess the difficult part is to not write a poem since I don't know anything about songwriting. I just enjoy playing with words and Steve enjoys playing with notes. We figured something's bound to come out of this.

So - a funny thing happened today. I started singing a new song. It came out of nowhere, all prepackaged and ready to go. I just had to write it down. It doesn't seem to be a song I remember but who knows!? Anyways... It was a fun experience.

Gone are the dog days of summer

I have this thought I amuse myself with. What if you wrote an addendum to all books/movies where all the main characters have dogs? How would the story then unfold?
Well, for example, murder mysteries would not exist because a dog would either:
1 - prevent a murder happening by sounding the alarm;
2- catch the bad guys within hours;
3- defuse the situation by destressing their owner so that the impulse to commit murder would not take root.
See where I am heading? No. Read on.
Dogs are such perfect creatures that when you listen to them, you get better. We praise the dog for its faithfulness, selflessness, sense of fun, hard work, unconditional love... Do I need to go on? If we were more like them, we would be saner and our books and movies would be kinder and more fun.
Which brings me to why I haven't blogged much this summer. I was with my dogs, enjoying myself. There is nothing to tell when things are going well (les gens heureux n'ont pas d'histoire) and so I was staying quiet. A "fan" said I was awfully quiet so I wrote this little blog... I hope you enjoyed it.

Parallel worlds

We went camping last week-end. In a flash, I understood why parents need to bring so much things for their kids. They are trying to be ready for all and any situation.
The same goes for camping. You would think nothing could be simpler. You don't need much because you will mostly be outdoors. A tent, food, light, warmth. But what if it rains? And what if you hurt yourself? And what if you are bored?
An experience which is simple in itself needs a lot of support to unfold properly. And so - I believe - it is for parents. What if the child gets wet? uncomfortable? It will need food, shelter, warmth.
In camping, you are as helpless as a child. The environment is unfamiliar and you need to expect the unexpected and plan for all eventualities.

BTW - we had a great time!

Thoughts on thoughts

I have a little experiment for you.
I noticed how my "alone" thoughts are different from those when someone is in the same room and/or building as me.
Self-awareness in solitude is way different than (self-) awareness when other people are present, even if not physically in the same room. That, in itself, is interesting.
What is compelling is that my thoughts changed as my position in space changed.
Let me explain: I was washing vegetables at the kitchen sink, facing a window, with my back to the door.
I then turned to the island to chop them up. In so doing, the window was now in my back as I faced the door. Boom! My train of thought became very different.
Somehow, I don't think it was related to the task at hand but to the environment I now saw.

This goes hand in hand with my mom's theory that as we age (and become really, really old), we can't hold our heads up much and start looking at the ground. This in turn shrinks our world to where our feet are and turns our world into a tiny piece of land... This affects our mood, our interests, and so on.

I guess it also speaks of body language where if you walk confidently, you think positive thoughts and the like. Sort of like people meeting on a bridge and mistaking their elevated heartbeat for love... Hen or egg, egg or hen...

BLIK

Design for those who like to change their minds. Really, that's roughly how this design product is advertised. Or "stickers for grown-ups". I mean, who woudn't want to decorate their house with giant stickers? This feeds in to the article I was reading recently about how to decorate your cube.
See blik site here: http://www.whatisblik.com/about.html

They are quite cool decals with the added value that you can peel them off (good for offices where you get moved every year or so). You can choose from a variety of themes and plan your design according to your taste. They have clouds and robots, geometric shapes and heads, organics... They sound like a lot of fun.

Bulldozers have feelings too!

We let the grass grow between the paving stones in the backyard. Well, not just the grass but pretty well any weed that felt like calling this area home. With the greenery came unwanted guests - sand wasps. Now, that is what I call them though I don't know if that is how they are classified. They are nasty little buzzing buggers that look like they would sting.

The backyard is for our dogs and we don't want them sharing their space with wasps. And so, today, I pulled out the weeds and unleashed the wasps that live in the ground. I felt like I am sure bulldozers feel when they raze poor areas where whole families have been evicted in the name of progress. I could feel the puzzlement and distress of the wasps as I was destroying their environment, parks, grocery stores (some were wild flowers) maybe schools. Very few protesters as I chose a moment of the day when they are not too active in the yard (I usually hear them early mornings when I change the drinking water outside). I dumped all the flowers in the woods on the property with a sad feeling of destruction. Now I know why bulldozers huddle at night with sorry faces...

I won the lottery!

Or so I am told a few times a day. In English, Spanish and, I suppose, Japanese (though one can't be too sure with all those question marks...). I don't know what I clicked but I am getting spammed so much these days that my head spins. It really sucks. All those "loterias" and also people from banks as well as nice people, all wanting to GIVE me money. Wow, no need to look for a job...

I will soon be resuming my kids' book. It got busy in the past few weeks. And catching up on my mail - though I have kept up-to-date with the bloggers among you (as up-to-date as the last blog...).

One hundred words

As promised, here is the link to the first draft of the children's story I have been writing.
Follow the link and instructions below for a sneak peek.

http://www.100words.net/front.cfm - on the pane on the left-hand side, under Read Selection - 2006", select June. My display name is 3hugger - select "All at once" if you want to read what I've been up to in one go...

Dangerous job

A bunch of people in England ransacked a pediatrician's home and then attacked the good doctor. The mob had mistaken "pediatrician" for "pedophile" (hey, they both deal with kids, don't they?)... Makes you happy to have chosen your profession?

For Granted

Barely awake this morning, I put some drops in Paul's eye. Now that is not a wise thing to do as, surprisingly, I am not very coordinated when I wake up. No harm done to do the eye but I caution you - DO NOT try this at home. It requires immense concentration not to drop the little bottle or touch the eye in any way...
That being done, I decided I was awake (hey, no major catastrophe) and headed for the computer. Again, I never realized what fine motor skills are required to operate a mouse. At least I was awake enough to realize how uncertain my movements were. That is certainly the difference. Whereas I would merely fall asleep at my desk, this time I was on the ascending arc (!) trying to wake up and do difficult tasks (such as clicking the big button on the Hunger site and navigating to the other tabs all the while trying to remember which ones I had clicked already - I might have skipped one this morning).
Yet the difference remains - half-awake when waking up is scary because you are aware that you are half asleep; half-awake when falling asleep is scarier because though you are aware that you are half awake, you don't really care. So kids, only put things in eyes when fully awake (unless they are in someone else's eyes)...

Barefoot hiking

Update in italics
Do the words "barefoot hiking" strike terror in your heart? Do you get visions of sore feet, first aid kits, poisonous snakes? Chill out! We're talking about walking barefoot. It's been done for ages. Wearing shoes all the time has really softened our brains when we come to think of barefoot hiking as an extreme sport.
I have grown reluctant to part with my shoes as soon as I step outside, fearing for my feet who appear in the world without protection. What a sad state of affairs. Try googling "barefoot hiking" and browse sites devoted to the "new" sport... You will find interesting things. My brother sent me the Wikipedia link which contains the following gem: "In the Far East, some areas have officially established reflexology paths; the idea being that those who walk on them in bare feet, stimulating the foot reflexology points, will get the same benefits as a reflexology massage."
One of the benefits is that barefoot walking is softer on the ground. It reminds me of something I read about the delicate soil of Australia that was abused by non-native hoofed animals. We abuse the earth by walking on it with shoes.
What is my point? Hmmm... Try walking barefoot outside (try it as though you mean it) and let me know how people react to you and how you feel about this radical experiment.

Mosquito buzz

Update: I heard the buzz this morning - the mosquitone is in the news. It wasn't as annoying as I feared it would be (maybe I can only hear the pleasant part). So listening to all that rock'n roll didn't have an adverse effect after all...


Read this in the news. A company invented "an ultrasonic teenager repellent, an ear-splitting 17-kilohertz buzzer designed to help shopkeepers disperse young people loitering in front of their stores while leaving adults unaffected." Of course, this was quickly inverted and became a ringtone (the mosquitone) that can be downloaded to your cellphone. Teenagers can then get keep their cellphone turned on because all the students, but, presumably, no teachers, can hear it.
This is based on the fact that as we age, we experience hearing loss in the higher tones of the spectrum.

(quote from June 12 New York Times)

Of Mice and Men

We decided to barbecue some steaks for the first time this summer. We armed ourselves with a pail, rags, soap and water, got the barbecue out from the shed and... saw a mouse poke its head from the grill. I don't know who was more surprised... Paul took out the gril slowly and saw that the mouse had made a huge nest out of the pink insulation of the wall we opened up this Spring when we thought we were going to set up the sugar shack in there. We needed to make a hole in the wall for the vent so the steam would get out.
The nest looked very comfortable - large and soft and warm - something like a pink cloud. It took up about a quarter of the bottom of the grill. The vent holes were dutifully plugged.
There was just one thing to do: we put the barbecue back in the shed and headed for the oven. Good thing too, cause it's raining.
Now to make sure she does not adopt the barbie as her own...

Stress

I have been living in a reduced stres environment since the beginning of the year and while it has been great for my health, I seem to have a hard time coping with stress related to the job search. The stress seems to find its way to my brain and digestive system. They tend to shut down : )
All systems now back to normal but I need to find a better way to cope with stress. I liked my solution best: live in a stress-reduced environment!

I kept at it for the 100 words, didn't miss a beat. I am having a grand old time and have no clue where the story is leading me. Lots of fun.

Holy Water

I am freshness when you wake up
Tiny droplets that reflect the morning sun
I extract and condense a plant's spirit
Drink me and you will feel the strength, the sorrow, the uniqueness
Of the flower, of the grass

I am crispness under your steps
In the wintertime
White and pure and fleeting
I bear the power of the Sun
And express myself through Water

In the name of the Water, of the Sun
I am Dew

First Book

I just read a sentence saying: "You always remember your first book." So I started wondering about my first book and I don't know which it is. I remember a number of books from my childhood but my first one?
My mom read to my brothers and I as she tucked us in. She would start with me, the youngest. Each of us was allowed to decide the book she would read. I would lie in my bed, my mother would read and my brothers would sit by her, listening. She would kiss me goodnight, I would promptly get out of bed and go to the next room where my older brother would get tucked in and read his favourite story. My mom would kiss him goodnight, he would hop out of bed and we would go to my oldest brother's side where the same scenario would repeat itself. And then the young ones would scamper off to bed, our heads filled with bedtime stories and we would dream the night away...

100 word update

It's only been 3 days, but boy am I enjoying this. I am not using the site as it is intended perhaps. I recall reading that you should jot down everyday occurences - I thought that was what blogs were about! Anyway, even if I am doing it backwards, it works for me.
I have been thinking about writing a kid's book (ok, a series) and even started but it never got anywhere. This works for me. I find that the book is writing itself. It is not at all what I had envisioned. I often write a little bit more and pare it down. I keep a sentence to start me off the next day. Loads of fun - I feel I am writing at last. I think the practice here with you guys really helped so again - thank you for tuning in!

Spider webs

The land is covered in spider webs today. Where did they all come from? I suppose they were there all along, invisible. This morning, the dew revealed them as they dotted the grounds. Pretty site.
There is talk of rain over the week-end so we will probably hold off on getting the goats from our neighbour. We need help with the hard-to-reach places where we fear to go with the tractor (the hill is too steep and it might overturn, pinning the driver underneath).
I am tired of mosquitoes. They invade the house when the dogs come in and buzz around my ears. It's mostly the buzzing that grates me - the sting is just a minor irritant.
'Tis colder today - I am back to wearing sweatpants around the house : ) I just get chilly easily... Well, gotta go - the 100 words site thing is going well. I don't want to jinx it by talking about it...

Thank you

I am hereby releasing myself from the 100 words constraint. Thanks for participating in my little experiment by reading faithfully and encouraging me with your comments. I will now take the lonely leap and start staunchingly recording 100 words a day on the "real" site, without your cheering. Of course, I will keep you posted on my progress. I plan to write a kids book, 100 words at a time. I want lots of illustrations.
My fingers are slowing down as I am getting closer to the magic 100. Will I ever again be able to break the barrier? 100

Birthmark

I used to have a dark birthmark on my leg. It poisoned my life. I would wear knee high socks to cover it up. One day, my aunt, a nurse, said: “Get rid of that. It can turn into cancer.” She called a dermatologist friend and before I knew it, it was out. Gone, never to return.
I never gave it a second thought. And now I remember how I made myself miserable over it and just can’t believe I made it matter so much. There must be something to learn from that. Don’t sweat the small stuff? Ideas? Suggestions?

Phone

I realized yesterday how my relationship to my land line phone has changed. I don't mind giving out that number, because I rarely use it anymore. We mostly get nuisance calls (charity solicitations). Rather, my email address has become the fiercely-guarded information. I am online pretty much all day (except when we lose the connection like today) so my friends can contact me at all times. I regard the phone as a noisy appliance which I mostly ignore. I feel awkward using the phone when I can email more efficiently, to more people, regardless of time… The future is now.

Talk to the Hand

The hand, in its infinite wisdom can tell the future. Books explain how to read your life in the palm of your hand, but also how to “take your life in your own hands”, just a few examples that use the hand to say important things.
Press the right pressure points in the hand and unleash the blocked energy that will flow again, fixing what ails you.
Hands are truly a survival tool: the latest trends in child rearing show that babies unable to verbalize yet will talk with their hands through sign language.
And holding hands says it all.

Taboos

I thought I would talk about a taboo subject but the taboo is too strong. So instead I will ponder on the strength of taboos and their long life. What makes a taboo taboo? I posit that things that define people intimately are taboo. Comedians make us laugh when they reveal their singularities (or imagined singularities of well-known people) on those taboo subjects. We recognize their foolishness and bravery in exposing such topics with the utmost disregard for common decency. They break the code like children who haven’t learned yet how to behave in society. That’s why we love kids…

Music

I love music, as long as it is played with a measure of soul. I will listen to any style, if it is done with passion and sincerity. I remember a few horrific experiences but it is the shock and dismay, not the music itself (it was very forgettable), that comes to mind.
Music reveals how I feel and I tend to prefer silence when I am sad or depressed. No point in listening to the Smiths – they will just want to make you act out. Without music, I fill my head with my own, which is very satisfying too.

Clichés

Until today, I never understood the mantra-like effectiveness of clichés. I used clichés as a joke, to show off my familiarity with my acquired language. Yet today, after agreeing to an interview with a staffing specialist, I had to start seriously contemplating going back to work and the emotions it stirred up in me. Curiously enough, I found solace in clichés such as “All good things must come to an end”. They enabled me to play down my emotions. I realized it is an effective way to keep emotions in check while feeling I was going through a shared experience.

Rambling

I read two articles on walking lately. One was about barefoot hiking (in this month’s Utne Reader magazine), the other was in today’s Citizen about rambling in Ottawa (or lack of room for it). Well, I didn’t know rambling had to do with walking; I only knew the verbal kind. But I definitely felt inspired and energized by both articles.
On the fridge, I have a postcard called “Rideau Woodland Ramble” (www.rideauwoodlandramble.com) that I picked up a while back, inviting the reader to “Come Ramble!” It sounded like something I would enjoy, akin to frolicking. Added to my to-do list.

Friends

I am a packrat when it comes to friends: I keep the old ones. Even if we don’t see each other as often, they sit in my heart, undisturbed.
Though I am pretty good at discarding objects – I don’t attach too much sentimental value to them – people are something else. There’s this whole extra dimension that friends bring into my world. They make it bright, funny, fascinating. Of course, you can have too many friends – I suspect there is an ideal ratio at different times of your life. This theory will be tested over the next 50 years. Stay tuned.

Water anyone?

Water: Do you drink enough of it? Most of the Earth is covered with water and most of our body is made up of water. A liter of water is more expensive than a liter of petrol. It’s been raining for weeks (or so it seems) – did you gather the rainwater? No, we take water for granted and yet the icebergs are crying as they melt away, their precious resource wasted in the sea. People die of thirst in some areas while others are killed in floods. Water is everywhere. You need proof? I was just watching ice hockey… Cheers!

Aging

Age is such an elastic concept: I know of an 81-year old man who works on his property, chopping his own wood; my parents are in their late 70s, and not slowing down; there was an article recently about a man who finally retired at 100 years of age.
What is strange is that I still hold onto my notions of old age, though all around me I see people who dispel that myth. More and more, we have models of healthy and vigorous people over 70 and this is still amazing to my feeble mind… Old myths die hard.

Insurance

For those who weren't paying attention, you have been reading 100 words of text a day on this blog for the last 2 weeks or so. One of the rules for "100 words" is that you have a one-day grace - you're not "kicked off the island" if you miss a day. I am away all day today so I am writing without a topic, because I don't want to miss a day, just in case I r-e-a-l-l-y need it later.
On our way, we will be listening to cassettes on how to write. I hope you notice some improvements.

The Working Life

I was away looking for myself in Australia (I found myself - they have very odd animals there, so I fit right in) for 4 months between jobs, and I really missed contributing to society. I did not enjoy drifting, was looking for a purpose with a vengeance.
Almost ten years wiser now, I am between jobs again and absolutely satisfied with life. I feel more attuned to my needs, less stressed, not hungering for purpose. I am happily working away on a book, enjoying nature (the new and bright green of the leaves) and my ever-changing, ever-familiar German Shepherds.

Thunder and lightning

As kids, my cousin and I would sit by the window and watch electric storms. My grandma had told me that St. Peter played bowling (do you hear the thunder? His ball is rolling). When the sound broke and the lightning struck, she would say that St. Peter had a hit. And so I told my cousin the same story and we would watch and wait for lightning to strike. We knew the story was made up, but it made the terrifying spectacle more bearable and allowed us to keep our fears in check. To this day, I enjoy storms…

Shared will

And so yesterday, all of Canada was filling out the census form so we would have a snapshot in time of how many of us there are and who we are. There is something awe-inspiring at having a group of people doing things either together or at the same time, be it in sports, class, military parade or filling a census form.
It seems to be the simple act of shared will and sense of purpose that is the kicker. The feeling is brought to a new level when caring and selflessness toward a goal is thrown into the mix.

Grammatical Faux Pas

As my parents grow old, health weaknesses surface. I research those ailments and my fate emerges. I learn about genetic predisposition for different ailments and their onset as well as their evolution and outcome (eventually, you will die). I am so grateful I never wanted to be a doctor; I would have died by proxy a million times. In my chosen profession, I am at risk of committing an awkward sentence or a grammatical faux pas. Death by embarrassment is not unheard of, but I don't believe it will be my fate.
Hear I go living dangerously and defying dead!

Childhood desserts and snacks

What was your all-time favourite snack as a child? For my part, I used to relish (pun intended) spreading ketchup on a piece of bread. Before going to bed, we three kids would have toasts. I always had the same: toast with butter, cinnamon and heaps of sugar. Total bliss! I can’t imagine how I could sleep after that… Actually, I sleepwalked a lot in those years. Hmm… Do you suppose there is a link? Another favourite was a mix of Carnation milk (we were big on that), banana sliced in round bits and again… loads of sugar! And you?

On Humility

Ottawa has its tulip festival; Kemptville has the dandelion one. In the all-too Canadian competition for most humble-sounding festival, Kemptville wins.
During childhood, you hear kids bragging that "their father is stronger than yours" to which the next kid answers "My father is a policeman" - the Ottawa schoolyard variety goes: "My father is a politician". You can't get any humbler.
Does that explain the Senators crushing defeat? I am sure it will be part of the speculations that we will read/hear in the next little while as hurt fans come to grip with the grim reality that is theirs.

Reflexology

A few years ago, I was introduced to reflexology (foot massage) and I have taken to it. With my current availability, I try and give my significant others regular massages. Depending on the "patient", different areas hurt where the blocked energy needs to be released. I always joke that their foot is in a bad way, but the areas do match with known pains (bad knee or eyes, for example). I never fail to be impressed by the accuracy of the mapping. One of my charges regularly falls asleep during the "treatment" waking only when I hit a painful point.

The Lightness of Being : )

God's body is made up of stars and planets. They are his/her cells. Cool thought, hum? Not my own, but I like to share.
I read about the bodi tree (the tree under which Buddha sat for seven years or 49 days, depending on your source, before reaching Enlightenment). The author was saying that it can only propagate through an insect and was wondering why this insect did not also become a Sacred Insect (by most accounts, the tree is said to reproduce through seeds). Nevertheless, it does raise the question: are there any Sacred Insects? Or are we biased?

Autistics

It turns out when you give the correct tools of expression to people affected by autism, they have loads to say. The problem is not that they can't feel anything but rather that they can't express it in ways we understand. For example, they often can't tell where their bodies limits. They don't know if they are sitting or standing - they cannot move if you say "Come" but will stand up and walk to you if you phrase it this way. This week's Time magazine's cover story explores the brains of those affected and methods to work with autistics.

The Colour Orange

Tiger, fruit, flower, cheese, monk's robes, summer, sun (sometimes), pumpkins, pepper, Sunkiss Express, Montreal subway line
Orange is an interesting color. It shows up in the most unusual places in large vegetables or exotic flowers. I used to endlessly wonder why Velveeta cheese, carrots and oranges share the same color with such differing tastes... Green was everywhere to be seen and one focused on ways to differenciate the various foodstuff rather then concentrate on their commonality. I love the different tints of it - vibrancy and speed, warmth and happiness, sunshine. It is a "feel good" colour in my book.

Hiroshima

Hiroshima. A word that stirs up conflicting emotions in me, mostly sadness and guilt. Growing up, when I saw a wheelchair painted on the road near a lowered sidewalk corner, I would be reminded of the shadows of people imprinted in the asphalt.
I can understand the shame of the generations of Germans born after Hitler. They bore the shame and guilt associated with him. And so it is with me and my uneasy relationship with this word, this past and the pain that was inflicted long ago yesterday today. It lives as a reminder of what happens without love.

Talking as Regression

What if talking was really not an improvement in the human race but a regression? I mean, so many people take offense at perceived slights or fight over misunderstandings. Would we not be more peaceful beings if an imprint of out thoughts or feelings were communicated to one another? You will argue that with the advent of language, we have been able to communicate and retain knowledge much more readily and, arguably, evolve faster.
Maybe then, it is not the fact of talking that is the problem, but rather what is being said. Talking is so overrated. Let's try silence.

Alone thoughts

What are the thoughts that come to you when you are alone? Do you mull over your mistakes, replay the movie of your actions until you get the desired results? Or do you re-live the good parts and enjoy them over again?
Or are you one of those who avoid the thoughts that surface from the depth of your being when there are no distractions to cover them up; no music; no tv; no friends on the phone to drown their voices?
Those voices are the only ones worth listening to: the voices of experience, and of wisdom. Your own.

My To-Do List

Here’s what happens when you think you have a winning idea. You talk about it and make it sound like a great idea for someone else to do it and make it work. Here it goes: as part of my 100 words assignment, I thought it would be interesting to lay out a To-Do list. I decided it should be funny, yet accurate. What an eye-opener. My To-Do List was surprisingly boring with stuff I need to do but that is not very entertaining. I have new-found respect for Leno. (Tip: Hyphenate adjectives so they count only as one word).

100 words - first try

Do you want to know what's on my mind? If you do, at any given time, listen to what I hum. It might be an indication of what I am thinking - or of the last word that hit my conscience. An example would be the word garlic (pronounced "aye" in French) which sends me into a rendition of "Aye, aye, aye, aye! Cielito lindo!" You see, only the sound matters: the meaning itself takes a backseat.
And if nothing else strikes my fancy, I go to bed humming the stupid song, grateful for a new day and new words...

Enough said; more words

Canadiens lost. They played so well. Enough said: time to move on to the Senators...

I subscribed to the 100 words site (http://www.100words.net/front.cfm). Here is the deal: it starts fresh every first day of the month. You write 100 words and upload those to the site. You write every day - not one day in advance, nor do you cram later on. You are allowed to forget one day - just one. You have to finish a whole month before it is published. You can't read what you wrote the previous day. Nothing is published if you miss two days.
I never knew about the constraints. It makes it more interesting, actually. I can't start until June (I didn't know about the guidelines) but now I am excited about it. Nothing like obstacles to make you want to jump higher : ) So - should I practice on my blog? That's already 157 words. Less is more...

May the best one win!

I have been struck down by the flu: the hockey fever has taken hold of me. Evening after evening, I alternate between my favorites and watch the Senators and the Habs triumph or writhe in pain as they sail to victory or crash to defeat. Within my body, I follow them in their ups and downs, go to bed exhilarated or sad and wake up the same depending on the previous night's performance.

I don't watch hockey during the regular season so I am always surprised by the virulence of the attack. This year, I can indulge in my passion (and I do!) which is great. With the "new" regulations, the game is so much smoother, a throwback to the years that followed the games against the Russians when we changed our ways to embrace speed and sgility over brute force. Hockey as an art form.

If all goes well, the Senators and the Habs will meet soon. And then what do I do? Support my adopted home team or stay true to my roots? Either way I will cheer the winner and follow them through the Cup, with sadness in my heart for those who didn't quite make it. There is no excess too great for a goal so great as the Stanley Cup.

May the best one win!

Tidbits

I had an experience where I lived for a week in a monastery. I missed... reading and writing. Everything else, I could do without. Even not speaking was ok. You can communicate very effectively non-verbally. The monastery was located in the middle of some woods. After a week, I came back to the city. The colors assaulted my senses. The noise was ok - not traumatic. But I was amazed by the sensory overload our eyes deal with on a daily basis. No wonder we block out advertising (and the billboards become more conspicuous). It might not be speed but it's equally alienating.

I downloaded Yahoo widgets - so cool. One of them is called "Clockish". It displays the time it is approximately. For example, it says "Half past 7" not 7:29 pm or "7 fifteenish", or "a bit after 7". It fits welll with my present situation where clocks have become a nuisance and a stressor.

A friend told me about a site where you can write 100 words a day - just to keep your writing muscle going. I haven't taken the plunge yet though I am thinking of it. Go there if you are curious: http://www.100words.net/front.cfm

Infant signing

So your child doesn't talk yet but he/she has plenty to say: Hungry? Mommy, Help, Cat, Earache.
I love language in all its forms and sign language has always fascinated me. Infant sign language is easier because it is about simple words and not meant for older children with complex needs. Parents say it cuts down on the frustration on both sides as the child can now effectively communicate his or her needs before he/she can talk. There is less guesswork involved and the child actually teaches signs to the parent too.
I was reading testimonies and one parent was saying how her child signs with one hand when the other is full of fish crackers... Another was saying the child signs as he says the words but his words are unintelligeble and so the sign helps her understand what is going on.
There are studies proving higher IQs as a result... I think it is a given, when a parent goes to that trouble and is alert to a child's need, the child is more stimulated + the child has an influence on the environment so is more self-confident, etc. I also read it stimulates the same brain centers as language does - which makes sense because it's all about communicating.
Anyways, food for thought. Here is a site I liked.
http://www.mimicbaby.com/bsl.htm
and another:
http://www.signwithme.com/001_infant_signing.asp

Signing off...

What's in a Name (2)?

The question of identity has always fascinated me - probably because I always felt I wasn't quite Canadian being born to new immigrants. As a child, I did not have a Quebecois accent and was asked repeatedly where I was from (despite the fact my brothers spoke with no accent and played with the same kids - I guess everybody assumed I was adopted...). I was puzzled - I don't think I really understood that I was speaking "funny".
Fast forward to my life in Ontario - a disproportionate number of my friends go by a given name that is not theirs by birth. Most are... immigrants or children of, who have anglicised their names. Oblivious to the obvious discrepancy between their origins (a Polish friend called "Ron" not Roman, for example), it took me years to realize that most of the people I knew under one name just gave up being called by approximate names that were not their own and decided to take destiny in their hands. They named themselves with a simple name that people would be comfortable with. Similar to "Pi", the boy in Yann Martel's famous "Life of Pi". I had always assumed names were absolute - had I known they were just an easy way for people to address you, I would have changed mine in grade 2... Mine is rare enough in French, and downright exotic (as in weird) in English.
So it's another absolute that doesn't hold. I read that in some cultures, your name changes as you go through life, so that it reflects more closely who you are. Sort of trial and error?
Still looking for absolutes.

Trees

I just finished reading a book about trees and their energies. Since I have been working from home and going for walks in the woods behind the house, I have reacquainted myself with trees. And, after our adventures making maple syrup, I have been even more intrigued by them.
Since reading the book, I tend to look more at individual trees, instead of as part of the woods. I have been trying to write a children's book about trees and was looking for descriptions of how different species "behave" so as not to write impossible stuff...
This book deals with trees in relation to humans - how we can benefit from their presence and what they can teach us. The author uses tree essences in therapies to help people. He takes 9 types of trees and assigns them characteristics that can help heal us at different stages during the resolution of a problem. He also suggests exercises to feel their vibrations and so on. Pretty New Agey stuff. I haven't tried any of the exercises yet but I will - and will keep you posted on all the wonderful things I learn about myself ; )
Actually, walking in and around trees has proven to have mesurable health benefits. It's just that the writing in that book put me off... the pictures in the book are quite beautiful though so all in all, it was a pleasant read.

Fun in the Sun

Did I tell you how much I am enjoying my time off from the corporate world?
This week-end, we collected sap from our maple trees and have started boiling it to create maple syrup. I have uploaded a few pix for your enjoyment:

You see me baby sitting Big Bertha (it's hard work but somebody's gotta do it); then Paul checking on the boil; Paul and Yseult collecting sap for tomorrow's boil; Frika helping out;
I can't wait to sample the final product.

Yeah, sure, I miss work : )

Convergence

I had an intersting adventure over the week-end. I went to Merrickville with a friend to buy a gift at the glass blowers' place but the town was closed because of a planned power outage (it's a small town). Most of the stores were closed until noon - we ended up in a quilt store. Now I just read Plain and Simple whose structure is loosely based on simple quilts made of nine squares. Throughout the book, the idea of quilts floats around and permeates the atmosphere. As you know, I also read a book about Slowing down and so have constantly in my mind those two notions of simplicity and slowing down. I was happy to have an opportunity to learn about quilts.
Well, these days quilts is serious business. There are classes, and beginners are encouraged to buy special grids to help them calculate their creations. Right sizes of squares are sold in very nice fabrics. I asked ther lady if she herself did any. She said she made them for her grand-children. I asked if she used old material which carried memories of the year. She didn't answer. I guess I am too old school. People these days buy pretty easy-to-assemble squares and use patterns to stimulate their imagination.
So things are as you make them to be and slowness will only creep in if you let it. BTW, we had time to kill before the elcticity came back and we could buy our gift. We had to sit down in a cafe in front of hot chocolate and chat for an hour. Talk about the joys of Slowness : )

Plain And Simple

Plain and Simple was published in 1989 by Sue Bender and is still relevant today. I was reading it the other day - it is a woman's personal quest for meaning of life through her fascination with the Amish. I thought I would go through her findings and see how they resonate in my new life.
1- Value the process, product
I am working on slowing down. I became aware that I was reacting to internal pressures for speeding things up and have proceeded to change that. In the process, I am paying more attention to the way I am doing things and trying to improve every step.
2- Living in Time
Yeah - see above.
3- Celebrating the ordinary
Again, a conscious decision to do so. I decided to find joy in all things around me. When I succeed, I am less irritable. Nice side-effect.
4- Home
No change, really. My identity is not linked to a place and I don't thnk I have ever "inhabited" a home. I like it bare but can live in clutter. I am easy...
5- Community
Now this one has changed because of Freecycling (as my regular readers know). More virtual than what she refers to but it definitely exists.
6- Life is Art
Haven't given it much thought.I never thought of art as being separate from people or things, just as science is everywhere so - yeah, life is art. It is also science.
7- Limits as Freedom
Personnally, I think you need to free your mind to find freedom. I guess more choices equals clutter and makes the process harder. I think the limits increase your focus and that is valid.
8- Power of contrast
No thoughts on how that one could relate to me.
9- Choice
Here the author is saying how having more choices does not necessarily translate into more freedom. For me, it goes back to Limits as Freedom

Freecycling - a look inside

Ok, I have been freecycling for over a month now. How does it feel? Great! What do I like best about it?
1- Meeting like-minded people
I love dealing with people I would never have met if we did not share this passion about recycling. They are from all ages and all walks of life. In common, they have a smile that comes from sharing what they have or getting my stuff for free. You can't go wrong.
2- Helping others. I love when people post a "Wanted" ad. I scrounge around the house to see if I don't own something useful that I no longer need. It helps me, it helps them; everybody wins.
3- Discovering the area (picking up or dropping off items here and there). I suddenly have a reason for exploring the communities around my own. I just have a better feel for my surroundings. Now if I can just figure out how to update my profile (it doesn't stick when I do it) to reflect those newly-acquired skills...

Repetition

I have been going for walks in the woods around the house. I have become more adept at finding my way and figuring out where I am.
It is simple repetition really. You do it often enough and you get your markers. You make enough mistakes and eventually you master the task. It is nice to get a concrete illustration. My confidence is such that I now enjoy the excursions on the property. They were almost anxiety-provoking at first. Now, I feel more at home, more adventurous and I appreciate the outing a bit more each day. I can actually walk slowly and finish the loop in very little time because I know what I am doing. Shortly now the leaves will come out and I will have to relearn the woods. The dogs' view is closer to the earth. Visually, I don't know that it changes that much. I sometimes wonder if I would find my way more easily on all fours. Eventually, I will take pictures of the woods from their point of view, try and see it through their eyes. Next, to develop my sense of smell...

Musical Chairs

I had this flash the other day: the layoffs happening in the corporate world are akin to the kid's game of musical chairs. There is a dispassionate orchestrator who plays an innocuous melody while children skip around some chairs. Abruptly, without warning, the operator stops the music. There is a wild scramble, a jostling for position. Laughter, a collective sigh of relief. One person is left out. The person disappears in the background, is no longer in the game. A chair is taken away.
The music starts again, still innocent, though the kids themselves start eyeing each other. Again, the music stops, at random. Perhaps the one without a chair will sit in somebody's lap, hoping for a moment that he can keep going. But there is no mercy. He is unceremoniously thrown out and the same music starts again. The music is the unifying theme. The all-powerful orchestrator makes it linger, and taunts its willing victims.
There is less laughter, more suspicious glances. Round and round they go with more dissatisfied people on the sidelines until the interest wanes. Kids are ready to move on. But the game hasn't yet played itself out. We need a winner.
Finally, there is a winner. It is the person who is now alone. I never realized that was the goal...

Bookcrossing

I haven't read all the info on the site (too tired + these guys love to read so there is TONS on that site) but here is the gist of it. This is an organized movement to release books in the wild. You register on the site, get an ID for the book you want to release, and boom! leave it for others to enjoy. With any luck, the person who picked it up will go to the site and register it so you caan keep track of its progress.
The idea is to get books to circulate in a free un-hampered way as God intended... : )
Go on the site and read for yourself. It sounds like a lot of fun!
http://www.bookcrossing.com/

Much Ado About Nothing

I translate all day - have writer's block all night. Should I be squeezing in blog time during the day like my compadres? My fave tech writers write their blogs, for sure, to get their creative juices running before they go back to that big hunking Installation Guide. Sure beats falling asleep on it!
I put a backdrop of Paris on my laptop - not exactly torture, but close.
I am just out of original thoughts, dried up, kaput.
I am still as excited about Freecycling but I now also go on a BB and they whine and complain and frankly, they aren't that inspiring. I did find a few good links on crafts - how to make a really cute sock puppet (they have you buy the socks and cut them up, though. It sort of defeats the purpose). Another one on ladybugs - we get regular invasions but now I know it's because the house faces South.
Once you know why things happen, they stop bugging you. That is an interesting fact. There. That is my thought of the day.

Freecycle

I came across the coolest invention. It is a community on the Internet who rally around the common cause of giving away stuff they no longer want or need. There is no exchange of money. You simply post info on what you want to give away (old magazines for kids' projects, electronics, CDs, anything) and wait for someone in that group to step up and say they are interested. This has been going on in my little town. I just joined last week and have been very excited about the opportunity. I answered a post from someone giving away CDs I liked. It turns out a friend of mine had posted it! Small world.
So instead of getting rid of stuff, I am actually getting more. That was not my intent... To read more about the organization and see if there is one in a town near you, go to:
http://freecycle.org/

Book List (bis) - Liste de livre (deuxième essai)

I am not sure if publishing a list of books I thought I would be reading was a silly idea or not. I actually exchanged a few emails and got other must-read bools to add to my list. Up to now, I finished Soul's Code (quite interesting: as far as I can tell, the author speaks of reincarnation throughout without mentioning that dreaded word once. He's Californian; he probably fears a backlash) and have been reading books off that list. Randomly: I started Machiavel's The Prince (I bet you haven't read it either so don't give me that look), Au carrefour de l'Orient (Asian legends and prophecies), a book on Einstein - I am looking for something short and they are all rather hefty. I will be travelling on Friday. Let's see what I feel like reading on the bus.

Gaia

Envision Earth as a living creature. Its heating mechanisms are volcanoes (the ash it throws up protects it from harmful rays). When it shudders (earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes), humans are blown to pieces. It is as though we are these annoying fleas on her back and once in a while she shakes us off or scratches us away to get some relief from the annoying sting.

Humans are so conceited, they keep predicting they will kill the beast with pollution in all its forms. They end up poisoning the upper crusts of air and soil which protects and feeds them instead. A recipe for disaster for mankind but does Gaia care? Will she not just stomp us off when she has had enough?

I am currently reading about how planets are formed - central core of light, amalgamation of debris from space that eventually creates an outer membrane on which lives animals, plants, etc. I want to know the deep Gaia, the one that decided to exist so that we could play out our lives...
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Pensons à la Terre comme à un organisme vivant. Les volcans lui servent de régulateurs de chaleur (la cendre qu'elle projette la protège des rayons malsains). Quand elle se secoue (tremblements de terre, tsunamis, ouragans), les humains volent en morceaux. C'est comme si nous ne sommes que des puces importunes sur son dos. De temps en temps, elle s'ébroue ou se gratte pour se débarasser de cette démangeaison.

Les humains sont si vaniteux : ils passent leur temps à prédire qu'ils vont tuer la bête à coup de pollution. En fait, ils polluent les couchent supérieures de l'air et du sol - ce qui protège et nourrit les humains. Un désastre pour l'humanité, mais est-ce que ça préoccupe Gaïa? Ne va-t-elle pas juste se débarasser de nous quand elle en aura marre?

Je lis sur la façon dont les planètes se forment - un coeur de lumière, un amalgame de débris qui viennent de l'espace qui un jour forme une membrane externe sur laquelle vivent les animaux, les plantes, etc. Je veux connaître Gaïa la profonde, celle qui a décidé d'exister pour qu'on puisse vivre quelque part...

Better Than a Phone - Mieux que le téléphone

Ok - this is hard to believe, but I found something that is better than a phone (and I don't mean the usual suspects). I subscribed a service that allows you to talk over the Internet. How do you do that, you ask? Well, first you need a computer and Internet connection (duh). Second, a microphone that you plug into said computer. You get your friends to do the same, share your coordinates, add them to a contact list. When they are online (which you see because of a nifty icon beside their name), you click on a phone icon. Your friend sees words to the effect that you are calling and clicks on a phone icon on his/her end. Tada! The connexion is made. You talk to each other through the microphones. Why is this better than a phone? Well, because it uses the Internet lines which are free (unless you use your computer to call a phone - then there are charges) and so if your friend is in a hard-to-reach god-forsaken country with his/her computer and Internet access, the effort to reach said friend is minimal. No intermediary, nobody to guard their privacy. And you don't need a different phone number everytime they move around. It goes back to encryption and secret keys. You and your friend share a key. You can make your name public and allow just anybody to call you up (as though you were in a phone book) or keep it private. Pretty cool.http://www.answers.com/topic/voip?gwp=19 explains the different types of connections and their benefits better than I can here.
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Je sais que c'est difficile à croire, mais j'ai trouvé quelque chose de mieux que le téléphone (et je ne parle pas de vous savez quoi). Je me suis abonnée à un service qui me permet de parler sur Internet. cmment ça marche? me direz-vous. D'abord il vous faut un ordinateur et une connexion Internet. Ensuite un microphone que vous branchez à l'ordi susmentionné. Vous convainquez vos amis de faire pareil, partagez vos cordonnées, et les ajoutez à votre liste d'amis. Quand ils sont en ligne et désireux de parler, une icône verte apparaît à côté de leur nom. Cliquez sur l'icône de téléphone à l'écran. De leur côté, ils seront avertis que vous appelez et, s'ils décident de prendre l'appel, ils cliquent à leur tour sur l'icône à l'écran. Woohoo! vous êtes en ligne. Vous vous parlez à l'aide des micros. Pourquoi est-ce que c'est mieux que le téléphone? 1 - c'est gratuit, parce qu'on utilise les lignes Internet. Si votre ami est au diable-vauvert, avec son ordi branché sur Internet, l'effort pour le joindre est minimal. Pas d'intermédiaire, personne pour éloigner les fatigants qui voudraient le joindre au milieu de la nuit. Et nul besoin de numéros de téléphone différents pour lesuivre dans ses déplacements.Ça me rappelle le livre que je lisais sur le chiffrement et les clés de déchiffrement. Vous et votre ami partagez une clé. Vous pouvez rendre public votre nom et permettre à n'importe qui de vous appeler (comme si votre nom apparaissait dans un annuaire) ou le garder privé, au choix.
http://www.granddictionnaire.com/btml/fra/r_motclef/index800_1.asp parle un peu du protocole.

Plastics - plastique

For those who haven't caught on, we live in the countryside. I went to get the mail (at the end of a long alleyway that represents that day's exercise). It was lying on its side, empty, like modern roadkill. There were no brake marks, just a clean icy surface and, on the side, our late plastic mailbox. So we jumped in the truck and got a new one - as identical as possible (it's a new and improved model but the same colors we know and love). It comes with a catalog of all things plastic - and I mean all... Most of them are geared towards children (let's hook them early). They are mostly themed play structures and garden stuff (http://www.step2.com/). The play structures are so elaborate, they don't leave much to the imagination. A playhouse? It comes equipped with a sink and chairs. A "boat" (I haven't quite figured out what it is)? It comes with a wall-mounted phone. I went looking for a plastic thingy in a Zellers once and felt overwhelmed by plastic. There were high aisles full of nylon and plastic containers. I remember thinking, "I hope to tell this one day to kids and that they will look at me in awe that I saw such riches, because in their world plastic will be as rare as ivory is for us." I don't see plastic outlawed any time soon. Although it has been decried for so long, its uses are so many that unless we discover something else to replace it, we are doomed.

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Pour ceux qui n'ont pas encore compris, nous vivons à la campagne. J'ai été chercher le courrier (au bout d'une longue allée qui constitue, à lui seul, l'exercice de la journée). Il gisait sur le côté, victime de la route. Pas de marque de freinage, juste la surface glacée et, sur le côté, notre défunte boîte aux lettres. Alors, sans faire ni une ni deux, on a sauté dans le truck et on s'en est procuré une nouvelle, aussi semblable que la précédente (c'est le même modèle, mais nouveau et amélioré, et dans les mêmes couleurs). Ça vient avec un catalogue de choses en plastique (http://www.step2.com/), la plupart axées sur les enfants. Ce sont surtout des structures de jeux, mais il y a aussi des cabanons, des remises et autres coffres de jardin. Les structures de jeux sont si complètes qu'elle ne laissent pas grand'chose à l'imagination. La maisonnette de jardin vient avec évier et chaises. Un yacht est muni de son téléphone mural...
Un jour que je magasinais chez Zellers, je me suis retrouvée encerclée par des contenants de vinyle et de plastique. Je me souviens avoir pensé "J'espère raconter un jour à des enfants que j'étais entourée de plastique et qu'ils soient ébahis d'entendre parler de choses tant de richesses parce que le plastique sera devenu aussi rare dans leur monde que l'ivoire l'est pour nous." Malheureusement, je ne vois rien qui annonce un déclin prochain des plastiques. Même si on le critique depuis longtemps, le plastique connaît tellemnt d'usages que, à moins de découvrir un substitut, on est foutu.

Sense of direction - Sens de l'orientation

I told you earlier about being blessed with mild dyslexia - I also have trouble with my left and right. Is it all related? I went for a walk with my dogs (I never go without, you'll see why in a minute) in the woods behind the house. I followed the tracks from previous walks I took with fellow humans. Have you ever noticed how paw prints and boot prints are strangely similar? No? I got lost. Well, it was overcast and somehow the human tracks and deer tracks intermingled and, guess what? my dogs like to follow deer tracks and, I, in case of doubt, like to follow my dogs. Which means we end up in cedar bushes (great food for deer - I find it a bit tangy myself). Deer tracks are hoofed just like the devil... I think there are elves in our woods. They leave contradictory tracks to confuse airheads like me... It works.
I once got lost between a restaurant and the hotel I was staying at. I walked back and relied on my memory. I ended up back to the restaurant, having gone around the block (did I mention my problem with left and right?). I finally looked at the sky (for airplanes, there's an airport nearby) and aligned myself with it... Did I tell you I wasn't raised in the country? I got safely back to the hotel. But I digress -- back to the woods.
The good thing about my dogs it's that they are intelligent and helpful. I couldn't get my bearings so I called them back (bushes are too thick for me and I don't like frozen droppings -- though they appear to be a rare delicacy) and asked them to show me the way home. I followed them blindly and was back home within 15 minutes (it's a large wooded area). What did I learn from this? 1- You CAN drink snow; 2- Talk to your dog; 3- There are elves in the woods and they trick you and laugh devilishly when you stumble (I will write up a book on those creatures later); 4- Overcast is bad; 5- Don't follow blindly in other people's footsteps... ; )

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Je vous ai déjà parlé de ma légère dyslexie? J’ai aussi du mal à différencier ma gauche de ma droite. Est-ce que c’est lié? J’ai été me promener dans les bois derrière la maison avec mes chiens (ci-après nommés pitous). Je les emmène toujours avec moi dans le bois (vous comprendrez pourquoi dans une minute, deux si vous lisez lentement). J’ai suivi les traces laissées par mes congénères. Avez-vous déjà remarqué la ressemblance frappante entre les empreintes de bottes et les empreintes d’autres animaux? Non? Bref, je me suis égarée. C’est que le soleil était caché. En plus les empreintes de pas et de pattes s’entremêlaient et, devinez! Mes pitous aiment suivre les empreintes de chevreuil et moi, en cas de doute, j’aime suivre mes pitous. Ce qui fait qu’on se retrouve dans des fourrés de cèdres (la nourriture par excellence des chevreuils – un peu trop amer à mon goût). Comme le diable, les chevreuils ont des sabots! Je crois que notre bois est infesté de diablotins. Ils laissent des traces contradictoires pour mélanger les têtes en l’air comme moi. Ça marche.

Je me suis un jour perdue entre un restaurant et un hôtel où je restais pou quelques jours. Je suis retournée à l’hôtel à pied, me fiant à ma mémoire. Je me suis retrouvée au restaurant, ayant fait le tour du bloc (vous ai-je mentionné ma difficulté à différencier ma gauche de ma droite?). J’ai finalement consulté le ciel… à la recherche d’avions (je sais où se trouve l’aéroport, par rapport à l’hôtel). Je n’ai pas été élevée à la campagne. Vous saviez? Je me suis retrouvée sans plus de mal à l’hôtel. Mais je m’éloigne : retournons à notre campagne.

Ce qu’il y a de bien avec mes pitous, c’est qu’ils sont intelligents et toujours prêts à aider. Je ne savais plus où j’étais alors je les ai rappelés (les fourrés sont trop denses pour moi et les crottes gelées ne m’attirent pas – bien qu’il paraît que c’est à essayer). Je leur ai dit qu’on retournait à la maison et je les ai suivis. On était de retour en 15 minutes (c’est un grand boisé). Quelles leçons pouvons-nous tirer de cette petite aventure? 1- La neige se boit; 2- Parlez à vos pitous; 3- Il y a des diablotins dans le bois; ils vous jouent des tours et rient de vous quand vous trébuchez (j’ai en tête un petit livre à écrire à leur sujet); 4- Ne vous aventurez pas quand le soleil est caché; 5- Ne suivez pas aveuglément dans les pas d’un autre… ; )