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Okay, so I'm a little late posting these photos from our Sunday walkabout but that's because the weather has been so damn good — sunny, warm and inviting. Late or not, we took an early bus into the historic centre to go ambling about, taking in the sights like a tourist prior to seeing the French National Aerobatics Flight do a flyby in the afternoon. This was one of many international teams that had been in New York on Saturday for the 250th anniversary flight/sail extravaganza on the Hudson…
Well, if you read yesterday’s post you will know it was a Bank Holiday here and that I went out for a walkabout. A short walkabout given that, by the time I got out, after lunch, when the sun finally broke through the clouds, it was already 32C and 80% humidity. It was hot. But, keeping my word, I took the Olympus Pen two-thirds camera for a spin and, here are a few snaps I took downtown. These first two photos are of where the bus terminates, at Place D’Youville. Capitole Building St Jean Gate…
So today is Canada Day, July 1st, a celebration of all things Canadian and, every year since I moved here it usually rains on this day. Well, today may be an exception to the rule as the sun is doing it’s best to fight it’s way through all the heavy thick cloud, and shine. If it does, I just might take the bus into the old part of town and take photos. I have maybe a 2-3 hour window of opportunity before a big storm moves in later this afternoon, because of the humidity out there. It was 70%…
So, as promised, I charged up the batteries and, took the Pentax super small Q10 camera for a spin. And now, posting these pictures, remember why I stopped using it. it’s all a blur I mean, come on, really. That’s where you chose to focus? Okay, so these next ones are better. Promise. daisy, daisy … And … new growth This is, I have to say, a screen only camera sporting a teeny lightweight 70-200 mm lens. Also, it shoots in RAW and jpeg. I may try again on another day in the park or botanic…
We can’t start a Little Things without first talking about the weather and come on, it’s been hell on earth for everyone in Europe these last few weeks, while we here, in North America, are being drowned with almost daily rain storms. But of course, the naysayers will tell you, there’s no global warming. Not that one of them has the slightest idea of what it entails let alone means. Anyway, getting off my soapbox before I start into a rant about idiotic people, let’s talk of mellower things, of…
This novella may only be 102 pages long, but each and ever page of In Shadows We Fall drips with palace politics, intrigue, and deception. Madson’s Aurealis award-winning prequel to the Vengeance trilogy, rips along at a blistering pace leaving the reader no time to pause and catch their breath. Let alone stop to reflect as, in a pitched battle of wits, the Empress Li plots the downfall of her God-Emperor husband, the Emperor Lan. Madson literally drops us straight into the heart of this story…
The sun was shining early this morning. So me and mine showered and got dressed as quickly as we could in order to get out, and go for a walkabout. string bean tree trees, trees, trees While waiting for the bus to go to our favour Halle to pick up some food for the day, we saw this weird tree/shrub, with foot-long been/seed pods. It has very large heart-shaped leaves with weird little almost black blossoms. If anyone knows what it is, let me know. On the way home, I also found a still-flowering…
While Andrew Taylor beautifully evokes the stifled atmosphere of New York City under siege during the War of Independence (also referred to as the ‘Revolutionary War’). And gives us a plausible enough character in the guise of Mr. Edward Savill, a clerk for the American Office based in London. The over-all arcing storyline could have done with some judicious (if not) ruthless editing to bring the unwieldily mess into a more manageable read. As it stands, The Scent of Death meanders all over the…
Look, white puffy clouds and glimpses of sunshine and blue skies … the Swiss Chalet house We had to take a walk to the pharmacy to go collect the mad potion for my colonoscopy next Friday, Jul 3. We walked passed what I call the Swiss Chalet house. One of my favs in the area. It’s the last distinct house left standing in this area, which is kind of sad. We were also mobbed by a swarm (Plague?) of speckled Grackles, whooping it up. I think it was a large family group as I’m sure there were…
Because a couple of you asked, Odd & David, I’ll try and recreate the recipe for last night’s pork stew. So, here goes nothing … Ingredients: 8oz pork pieces (mine were lean loin) 1 large yellow onion cut in chunks 6 carrots cut in chunks 3 large potatoes cut in chunks 2 bay leaves large pinch of oregano a good splash of Worcestershire sauce (about 1 tsp) 1 ½ cup of Aurora mushroom broth 1 tbsp tomato puree sunflower oil salt & pepper flour Method: Heat the oven to gas mark 5 or 350F dredge the…
Following on from Thomas who was also answering James’ Coffee Blog questions in his, Blogger Archetype quiz, my answers yielded these results. my blogger archetype results I never thought of myself as a community gardener much less a culture maker, author, yes, explorer, yes. The occasional link curator, yes. So I feel kind of chuffed to think I might be something of a culture maker.
rain … I. Am. So. Tired. Of. It. Raining. That’s it. That’s my post. Move along and find something else to do, go on, shoo … What? Oh, okay, the week hasn’t been a total washout. We have had the occasional morning or afternoon where the sun has put in an appearance, and it’s stayed dry for more than an hour. Like today, where we woke up to glorious blue skies and brilliant sunshine. That is, till 5 minutes ago. Then, a huge thunderhead rolled in, and it’s once again, raining! No. Not just…
The first question has to be, how did a girl from Birmingham (in the UK) end up training as a bounty hunter, in the US? It was all in the name of research! Once I knew that Lori Anderson would be a bounty hunter I knew I needed to find out as much as I could about the realities of that job - and about how it felt being a woman in the largely male dominated profession of bounty hunting - in order to make Lori as a character, and the story itself, as authentic as possible. I researched it online…
As we have 3 months of Apple TV for free, we started binge watching one show after another. And, last night, watched the first episode of the world’s worst dubbed comedy, ever: Star City. I mean, come on people, every last character on this really odd show was speaking with a regional British accent that, quite honestly, had me laughing. No, really, I couldn’t stop. I think I was in some sort of cultural shock, or something. Hear these people earnestly being cruel and vindictive in a harsh…
Ah, that is the question, isn’t it. Did I or did I not pre-order the new Commodore Callback flip phone. A wonderful retro Motorola style phone harking back to our innocent days before Apple burst our bubble and got us all hooked on so-called ‘smart’ phones, doom scrolling into the wee small hours of the morning. Commodore, yes, that Commodore of the gaming platform/computers of our misspent youth, has jumped into the phone arena with a delightful InterNot phone pared down of those ugly ‘smart’…
We’ve all done this one before, but I’m updating this one to include a few that bugged in this last month. It drives me nuts when someone tells you not to break up a relationship over politics. Honey, let me tell you, if you’re compromising your values to suck up to a jerk who votes right-wing conservative, it’s time to move countries. Sending me a link to go watch a video or listen to music where I have to create an account and or sign in. Not. Going. To. Happen. People who don’t RSVP. Listen…
BETELGEUSE - Instant space drink made from insects. FINAL SOLUTION - The universal solvent. VALIUM OF THE DOLLS - Robot tranquillisers. MASTER BAITER - The ultimate in handheld fishing gear. WHEREWOLF - Computer dating service for lycanthrophiles.
CY BORG - The bionic tennis player. SEA OF TRANQUILITY - Bath salts. KODA-CLONE - Duplicating film. CYBER-KNOT - Robot zippers. ANDROMEDA STAIN - Hair-colour that makes you look like a star.
GOSSAMER DODO - Human powered airplane for people who are afraid to fly. MENTAL FLOSS - For removing extraneous material between brain cells. QUASIMOTO - A four-wheeled, hard-topped moped made in France, affectionately known as the Hatchback of Notre Dame. MRS. PAULI'S FISSION CHIPS - A high-energy snack. SUTURE SELF - Home surgery kit.
SIC TRANSIT - A pill to counteract space sickness. BATTLESTAR GALAXATIVE - Super deluxe space laxative. C-3PO - Robot deodorant. ALPHA SELTZER - A tablet that induces a meditative state. CYBER-NOT - Robot repellent.
I’m following in David’s footsteps from over at Forking Mad, when he asks: What things are easy for you to write about? What things are hard? As someone who has written literally millions of words and curated just as many since moving into print and publishing, it's a mute point as to what's hard and what's not when it comes to writing. Whether it's for myself or work, a short story or a blog post, each offers it's own set of challenges and sometimes, obstacles. Including do I really want to…
DRY SACCHARINE - The first sugar-free wine. GANY MEADE - A fine pilsner beer chilled in liquid methane. IMI-TATERS - Potato substitute. APOLLO CAPSULES - The only contraceptive that makes re-entry as safe as the first. SKY LABS - Government trained dogs used for retrieving space-debris.
You don't have to become an expert on a subject to write about it, but you do have to do research and due diligence in order to write with authority and make your work sound plausible. Authenticity is key, that's why I love authors who do their research like Steph Broadribb, author of the Lori Anderson crime thriller series. Broadribb went to the US and learnt all should could by working as a bails bond person in order to lend authenticity to her characters and world building. You can't get it…
MILK OF AMNESIA - To help you forget the problems of the day. DILDOES - Pickled deer meat on a stick. LIQUID PRO QUO - Water substitute. PLUTONIUM BLONDE - A radiant new hair colour. DEAD EARNEST - A male doll that simulates rigour mortis.
QUASER - Space sickness pills. CLEARSOL - Sunspot remover. MALIG-NOT - A cure for the common cold. RESURRECTOL - For prompt, temporary relief from death. MC SQUARES - The crunchy breakfast cereal that equals energy.
Truly, it’s quite frightening when you stop to think about it, organised religions are nothing short of zombie cults. Nearly everyone of them promotes and pushes the premise of us all being resurrected at some future point, to the greater glory of the whatever god (small g) it is they’re pushing. They’re resurrecting what, exactly? Our dead rotting and mouldering bodies? Turning us into zombies in the process? Is our future to be our rotting bloated corpses sitting out in the open in all…
at the botanic gardens So another week fades into the rearview mirror of my life and what were the highlights this week? Well, I can’t say it was the weather and, yet, we had some lovely warm sunny days. I’ve cooked from scratch dinners all this week in an effort to get back to some sort of regular healthy eating patterns. Everything from Dijon chicken & pasta to spaghetti Bolognese, and my version of hash browns. Wednesday I got a call from the Apple shop to let me know my replacement Apple…
Not all fantasy has to be grim. After having a back and forth chat with an online friend about fantasy reads, I admitted I had never read GRRM and was not likely too, ever. The truth is I’ve not read a great deal of fantasy over the last 4-5 years and it took the likes of the masterful SA Chakraborty and her Daevabad trilogy to rekindle my love of the genre before Covid hit us hard. Well, not all aspects of the genre, which has, in the intervening years since I started, spawned as many sub…
botanic gardens We woke up to perfect clear blue skies and 16C at 7:30am, so I knew I had to get out as soon as possible and hoof it around the botanic gardens. I haven’t been for what seems like weeks. And I so wanted to see if the peony garden was in bloom yet. Well, it was, and it wasn’t. But more of that in a minute. There were a lots of staff out there on the grounds, our botanic gardens is also a part of the University Laval, so the place was swarming with (what I assume) were students.…
the sun finally came out for a full day … and it got up to 29C here!
