Oh, look, my butt’s buzzing … it seems I forgot my phone was in my back pocket and, well, I sat on it.
No harm done, nothing seems to be broken or squished, including my butt.
Down Cemetery Road to the Grave
Watched the first two episodes of Down Cemetery Road starring Emma Thompson and, well, (possibly unpopular opinion here) I felt decidedly underwhelmed, never mind irritated by the drab, neurotic characters. Do they all have to be the same?
I mean, it’s all very blah, blah bland. Worse, Emma Thompson looks positively bored delivering snark at every possible juncture. And can they please stop casting Adeel Akhtar as the bumbling fool in every TV thriller.
All I can say is, thrilling this one ain’t.
That was the week that was ...
It’s the start of Week 10 since my operations and I’m still (supposedly) not allowed to lift anything heavy than 10 pounds in weight. Not that I am about to weigh everything to know what it weighs before lifting it. I mean, who does that, right? So, in other words, I’m still not lifting anything including the laundry basket. Which means the OH is on call 24/7 to lift anything deemed heavy or awkward or hard to reach. This means I cannot do any household chores when they’re at work work, and not at home working.
Of course, magically on week 12, I will be mysteriously able to lift anything and everything, including, I suspect, the elephant in the room. Now won’t that be fun. Not. I wonder who comes up with these arbitrary numbers. It all seems so, unrealistic. Twelves weeks, I know, is three months and therefore, I suppose, enough time to have elapsed for my internal bits to have healed. Maybe.
This week is another busy week visiting the nurse for yet more blood tests to see if my sodium, iron and magnesium levels are doing okay. Of course, as soon as I know, I’ll let you know.
Meanwhile, this last week, despite the rainy weather and sudden drop to normal autumnal temperatures — it’s been a brisk 3-4 degrees here every morning, and an almost balmy 7 today. I did manage to get out for a couple of short walks around the park next door. And even ventured as far as the corner shop. Though with strict instructions not to buy anything heavier than a loaf of bread. Ha!
Things this week
- On Monday, as many of you know, I had an appointment with the gstro doctor for an endoscopy to check whether my ulcer was still there. And was over joyed to report, it's gone. Which meant I could stop taking at least one of the pills I've been on. Yippie.
- I started a Postroll following in the footsteps of many others. It's a fun way to share all the amazing posts I read each week/month that I want to share.
- I mentioned I was cooking Beef Bourguignon for dinner, to which, I've now promised cooking lessons to Davey Craney.
- We also scored excellent stage-facing seats for the Sarah McLachlan concert here in Quebec City, this coming Saturday.
- Saturday morning saw us both getting our Covid and flu vaccines at the same time. However, mine were free because of my health issues, while the OH had to fork out $150 for the pair of jabs. Which included all the fees and taxes.
- This Sunday was the first in two early voting days for the municipal elections here, in Quebec City. We got to vote for who we wanted for Mayor and as our local councillor. Voting is always a stab in the dark. Do you vote for the incumbent who you sort of know what to expect from or, go for one of several strangers with weird party names, whose platform sounds like a fairytale of vague promises we'll do this and we'll do that, if elected? Throw in the fact it took two and half hours to vote because of the queue, despite being told the wait was only 20 minutes. Yeah. Who organises these things?
TV & Film Watched
- A House of Dynamite on Netflix ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Chief of War on Apple TV ⭐️⭐️
- The Diplomat S3 on Netflix ⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Murderbot S1 on Apple TV ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Anyway, that was the week that was, and this weekend? I have a concert to look forward to. I promise I’ll try take lots of photos. Meanwhile, have a great week whatever you’re doing and where ever you are. Be extraordinary!
𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧
Watched: A House of Dynamite (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️) 🍿
A House of Dynamite is a chilling film by Kathryn Bigelow that explores the terrifying scenario of a rogue nation launching a nuclear strike on the U.S. and the critical moments that follow.
Scarily accurate, authentic, and chilling to the bone, A House of Dynamite is Kathryn Bigelow’s peek inside just how it might all go down when a rogue nation decides to try its luck, and fires a nuclear warhead on the continental US, giving everyone just 20 minutes to decide if it’s real, and if so, how to respond before the shit hits the fan.
Highly recommended!
Just got a reminder from my pharmacy to say don’t forget, I have an appointment tomorrow morning for my combo flu and covid shots.
Reminder to the rest of you, don’t forget to get Vaxxed this season, save lives!
The beef bourguignon is in the oven, you better believe it smells good!
Now, I just have to wait 2 hours to eat it.
Yay! We did it!
We scored really good seats for the Sarah McLachlan concert here, in Quebec City, on Saturday November 1. And I am stoked that we managed to grab possible the last pair together in the whole section facing the stage.
This will be my first concert in ages and, I can’t wait.
I struggled to finish the first episode of Chief of War starring Jason Momoa, last night. It was ultra violent in places to the point of showing us visceral disembowelment and people having the skulls smashed in. You know what, there’s historical accuracy, then there’s historical accuracy.
This is not a show I will be finishing.
Watched: The Diplomat S3 (⭐️⭐️) 📺
I had such high expectations for season 3 of The Diplomat given how season 2 ended (on a cliffhanger). But, have to say, all the usual snark and drama has been overshadowed by way too much sex. This season has turned into a very bad British sex-farce worthy of a Benny Hill episode. I mean, I understand that having sexual tension between certain characters is a must these days, and can really change up a show.
But, dear me, when it devolves into us seeing naked butts thrusting skyward for five minutes solid, you can get distracted quickly from the message that the world is, once again, on the point of annihilating itself. Several sex scenes in one episode become tedious quickly.
So much so that, by the end of the last episode I was, quite frankly, bored and couldn’t care less.
So, for all of you who are following along. This morning I went for my follow up endoscopy at the hospital. A three minute prceedure that, in the end, took almost three and a half hours.
But … skipping all boring details … the good news is: MY ULCER IS GONE.
Healed one assumes. And, as a result, the doctor told me I could stop at least one drug straight away. As to the second one? Well, I have no idea who to ask about that one. It remains to be seen over the coming weeks what effect this will have on my guts and health going forward. It’s certainly a weight off my shoulders to know the ulcer is gone. And maybe, just maybe, things are slowly getting back to normal.
My next doctor’s appointment is with the colon surgeon on November 6th.
I am so hoping for more good news.
Watched: Murderbot (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️) 📺
It took me a long while to get into this one. I have to say that, after the first episode I was ready to abaondon it and, well, actually, I did in that my Apple subscription ran out and I waited till just last week to renew it.
Maybe the break was just what I needed because we’ve just binge watched the rest of the season. And — I loved it.
You cannot become a Canadian Citizen unless you:
- love ice hockey
- drink a gallon of maple syrup a day
- know who scored the Stanley cup winning goal for the Montreal Canadiens
- know what the Grey Cup is
- wear a toque during winter
- drink Molson lite
- cheer for the Blue Jays no matter what province you live in
- eat poutine for breakfast every day
- finish every sentence with the word, eh
An Introductory Post
Like, Jedda and David, who have rewritten introductory posts to share a little bit more about themselves. I thought I would too but I’m wondering, do I go bullet list like Jedda might do, or CV style like David did?
Do you really want to know where I’ve lived (37 countries and counting) and the kinds of jobs I’ve had (way too many). Or that I love marmite (yes, I’m one of those) or that I could eat porridge for breakfast every day, but don’t as there’s this thing called bacon, and oh do I love me a good bacon butty for breakfast now and then.
Or do I just tell you to go read my About Page. Or, should I simply write a series of random facts about myself? You know, like this:
FACT #1 : I was in the military.
Yeah, and I survived! Ha! Ha! I did 8 years in the Women’s Royal Air Force, to be exact, as an Air Traffic Controller. Does that fact scare you knowing I was in charge? Well, okay, maybe not in-charge and it was military fighter jets, not passenger flights, that we landed!
FACT #2 : I jumped out of a hovering helicopter over the sea.
Not once, or twice, but several times. No, really! See, this one ties in with being in the military. We got to do some really stupid things, like this. But it was all in the interest of teaching Search and Rescue techniques to SARs Crews, and survival (that would be me, bobbing around in frigid waters) — yes, we had survival suits on.
FACT #3 : I was an qualified All-England Netball Referee.
See, I bet you never saw that one coming either. Ha! Again, this is the kind of thing you get up to, while in the military. I had to go to London to train and then, had an exam and passed with flying colours. Yeah, for netball!
FACT #4 : I’ve been to, London, Paris, Rome, Berlin, Montreal, Washington DC and New York.
Okay, now don’t laugh, as I kid I was fascinated by those glossy perfume ads in magazines that featured these seemingly, exotic cities. So I had this thing about wanting to visit them all, and I have. Now I only have Melbourne and Tokyo left on the bucket list.
FACT #5 : Growing up I wanted to be a marine biologist.
Yeah, I know, go figure. It was watching all those TV shows featuring one of my dad’s heroes, Jacque Cousteau, that started it, that and I love the ocean. I’m convinced I’m part mermaid or was a tardigrade in another life. The water and I are best buddies.
FACT #6 : I love to cook.
This one is in homage to my mother. And while I don’t know if I’m as good a cook as her, I know I learnt a great deal from her. I do all the cooking here, and I’m always trying new things and tweaking recipes to suit my taste buds. I do love me some spicy food and love my herbs. I cannot imagine life without bay leaves.
FACT #7 : I still have my childhood teddy bear.
It’s a small Steiff Bear and if the apartment was burning down, that would be the first thing I would grab and save. My dad bought it for me when he found out my mum was pregnant with me. There is nothing more precious to me than that little bear.
So, is that enough random facts about me and something of an(other) introduction to who I am? Well, probably not, but I’m sure you’ll get to know more about me the longer you read this blog. Go on, follow me via RSS, you know you want to.
𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧
For the love of the written word
This post is a response to Robert’s post about blogging more, which was a response to BinaryDigit’s original post.
Anyone who writes, and writes a lot, will tell you, blogging is one of those things that, like writing (and maybe reading too) we have no control over. The compulsion to share our words is strong and so, we blog. We may not blog daily, though if we do, we may not share lengthy epic posts but rather a series of short, thoughtful posts about things that pop into our heads throughout the day that we need to put to paper or, in this case, onscreen. To share or just to remember.
Like we’re blogging post-it notes for later.
As Sylvia quotes:
I blog for an audience of one: me.
Which is true for most of us. We’re emptying our brains and, sometimes, as I know I have this last year, our heart and soul out onto the screen by way of understanding things that going on around us, or happening to us. Blogging is, for all intents and purposes, at various times, our therapy.
At least, for me, all this is true. Blogging has, at times, become my therapy and my release, my outlet for creativity, and well, just a place to record my thoughts on anything and everything.
So, as Robert wrote:
In the world of blogging, the www bit stands for: Write Whatever Whenever
Advice I, for one, intend listening to and following. 𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧
Community Echoes:
- Blogging for joy's sake by Sylvia
- I'm writing because I'm thinking by Sebastian
- For the love of writing by David
Taken through a dirty bedroom window …
Ladybug, Ladybug
The ladybugs are swarming again today.
Hundreds of them. I mean, the air is thick with them. This usually tells me summer is definitely at an end when you see them all looking for somewhere to spend the winter, safe and warm.
They’ve been swarming for the last two weeks. They’ve also been providing a bonanza feast for all sorts of other animals and birds. The morning after we had our first rainfall in almost 3 month, which lasted all of about 6-8 hours, the birds and squirrels were our mowing the lawn. At least, when I opened the curtains and looked out, that’s what they seemed to be doing.
Three squirrels, 20+ sparrows (it was impossible to have accurate numbers they moved so quickly) plus six plump pigeons and two very noisy crows who kept bullying the other birds.
Each group methodically moving over the damp grass feeding on … what?
And then it dawned on me. Downed ladybugs. It had to be.
I’m guessing the rain had drowned many of them, meaning the band of grass between my apartment and the privacy hedge was littered with dead or dying ladybugs. The sparrows are out there again, this morning, doing aerial ballet, trying to snatch a snack midair. It’s enthralling to watch. Like live TV without the ads or inane voiceovers.
In death there is still life.
Fungi high rise …
Iconic Buildings
While in Montreal despite spending most of our holidays in the hospital, we did get to walk around some of the iconic 1976 Olympic Stadium.
Two different views of the iconic stadium tower which, by the way, you can go up inside to the top. But it’s all stairs and, well, I’m not that crazy.
Also, next door to the stadium, the planetarium had this fantastic building …
An oddly angled beehive version of the leaning tower of Pisa maybe?
Then, on the rainiest day possible, I mean, look at the waterfall coming off the building, we went to what was once the olympic velodrome, and what is now the Bio Dome. A fascinating looking squat building that was totally transformed to accommodate, well, all sorts of weird and wonderful animals.
I’m just glad it only rained the one day and for most of that day, we were inside communing with nature.
Montreal Trip Part II
Despite the amount of rain the poured out of the sky on the first Monday we were in Montreal, we had tickets booked to visit the Bio Dome in the afternoon and, like two crazies, decided to get a taxi and brave the weather.
As you can see, it was raining so hard, there was a waterfall.
Once inside though, we visited the North pole to the Amazon and saw penguins, capybaras, otters, turtles and piranhas and a lot of very colourful birds.
And, of course …
Plus, so much more.
Montreal Trip (highlights)
It’s Sunday and I realise that I haven’t really shared any photos from our trip to Montreal, which as you know kind of got overshadowed by other events. So, here I am looking to rectify that with a few of my favourite photos from the Chinese Garden at the Montreal Botanical Gardens. One of the main reasons for us choosing to go and play tourist at Montreal in the first place. Neither of us had ever been before.
Crane Flight & Cherry Blossom panal
First of all, these gardens alone need a day to go around let alone the rest of the botanical gardens. So I was glad we managed to get a whole morning there before I ended up in hospital.
Chinese Tea House, Montreal Botanical Gardens
One of the most stunning parts about this garden are the buildings, done in traditional period style, and the formal gardens that surround them. All go to make up a harmonious mini village. From the lake to the pagoda to the bonsai tree garden, to the tea house and other pavilions. It was mesmerising, and tranquil.
Chinese Tea House, Lake, Bridge & Pagoda
I can definitely recommend visiting the gardens and making sure they spend at least 2 to 3 mornings, or afternoon visits in order to see it all. And don’t forget to ring the bell before you leave …
Chinese Bronze Prayer Bell
Until next time.