I have come late to admiration of the sci-fi show, "Dr. Who", which I gather has been around since the late 80s with one Doctor or other ( Read more... )

Well, Yule was celebrated here with style last Saturday and Sunday. One of the best I can remember, in fact ( Read more... )

I cooked a wonderful meal last night that is both laughably simple to make and full of garlicky goodness. John just kept saying, "This is delicious!", something he doesn't always say to my cooking, which is spotty at best. He and I were practically licking our bowls by the time we finished it. It serves 4 and takes less than half an hour to make ( Read more... )

This is the essay which my seven year old grand-daughter, Devon, sent in to a contest. The prize was to be playing Tiny Tim in two performances of A Christmas Carol. She, along with 15 other kids between 7 and 10, won, and will be performing on December 18th at 10 and then at 1. Needless to say, we are very proud of her. What I find charming is ( Read more... )

 I know that it says "I count only the sunny hours" at the top of this LiveJournal, something I posted there to remind me not to complain here. However, I'm afraid I do have to rant a bit. It's the leaves, you see. They're almost all fallen, now, and every time I walk out into the garden to feed the squirrels and  tread on those which have fallen ( Read more... )

     Perhaps because I spent my first nine years in Calgary, Alberta, far from an ocean or a large lake, I was one of those children who, when the time came to learn to swim, was afraid to put her face into the water. I drew away from the pool or the edge of the sea or pool with cat-like distaste and no desire to put even a toe in. Or, if actually ( Read more... )

 When I go out my back door to feed the squirrels, as I do almost every morning, they run towards me, then pause to sit up and gaze at me with what looks like hope on their faces. Before I appear, they have been gleaning seeds from under the bird feeder. That must be a tedious job, for most of what they encounter will be discarded shells. How much ( Read more... )

 So-- I have discovered Google Streets.

It was hard to find, but I stumbled upon it after many tries, suddenly finding myself on St. Catherine Street in Montreal, in 3D, no less. It's one thing to trace a route on a map with your finger in a car as you travel in a strange city, or even find a map of a city online, but to find yourself able to glide ( Read more... )

 Ah, the beauty of Mozart's music! Especially the Andante of Piano Concerto # 21,  the "Elvira Madigan" theme music, which is playing now on the radio beside me, as I sit here typing on a gray day near the end of September. Some readers may not know of this music, or of the movie by that name, but to me it is part of the many-tuned theme music of ( Read more... )

My family and friends have all been apple picking lately. Usually my husband and I have gone with them, in October, but this time they set out early, and said that although the orchards were crowded with people, the apples--at least the Macs--didn't look red yet. They brought me some, and I can attest to the fact that they are still delicious. ( Read more... )