Saturday, April 30 2022

 "We are all born for love.

It is the principle of existence

and its only end."

~Benjamin Disraeli~

Before Covid and during the two years when masks were required and also vaccine passports were used in Restaurants we took dad out for dinner every Friday evening, usually to his favourite place where he would always order the spaghetti. However, now with masks no longer required, and no vaccine passports either, we've decided not to go to restaurants. Instead we do takeouts on Friday nights and while it's nice it's definitely not the same. Last night we got A&W hamburgers and fries, which was delicious and of course the best part is I didn't have to cook or clean-up. Today the Blue Jays are on tv at 4 so I'm thinking something easy like hotdogs. The problem is we like them for one meal but since the packages have 10 hotdogs, they sit in the fridge for a long, long time. Then I sniff them and toss them.

After dinner last night I quietly confessed to hubby that I was about to get a small delivery from Amazon. He asked me what it was and I am sure I blushed as I told him "pens- you know- in case I run out". He laughed at me and said "as if". He's right of course but there were new colours of my favourite pens and I absolutely needed them. Didn't I? You have to admit I have a small addiction but he should be thankful it's not  diamonds. 

The New Colours

Mr P got the taxes done and yippee! we get a nice refund. More pens? LOL!

Weather: 6c and cloudy all day

Reading: about early Greek art in 'History of Art', which led to ordering a book of Greek Mythology on my Kindle. Both Mr P and I love the myths and love to discuss them, He always teaches me stuff since his degree is in Classics. His memory is still really good about the subject. Lucky me!

Listening: Radio Apollon, Athens Greece, on Radio Garden This goes perfectly with the Greek art history and the myths. I know nothing about wine but I sort of understand the feeling that a sommelier would have when I pair the appropriate music with what I am reading about. It's such a fun app!

Friday, April 29 2022

 "I learned that stories are important, that they are the way our souls are made visible to others."

~Clive Doucet~ (Notes From Exile: On Being Acadian)

Had a bit of a scare this morning! dad usually comes upstairs at precisely 7 am for coffee and breakfast so when I heard him coming up at 6:30 I was a bit concerned. I am the one who looks after his diabetes and his insulin so I am always a bit worried about his blood sugars overnight. Being blind now he can't do it for himself since it would be easy to make serious mistakes. However, this morning it wasn't a blood sugar issue but he had had a fall during the night. So we discussed it and he pulled his shirt up to show me his back. "Ohhhh Dad" I said "You've got a pretty bad gash there!" And it was quite bad at first glance. About 10" long and very red. So far there's no bruising but I think that will develop. Good thing I have a well-equipped first aid kit and I had everything I needed to get him cleaned up. After wiping it clean it didn't appear quite so serious, just a long line of broken skin on the surface. So that's good. I put some antibiotic cream on it and a light bandage and I'll check it later this morning. The hard part was trying to figure out exactly why he fell. He just had his 2nd booster on Wednesday and he wasn't feeling great last night when I helped him with his nightly needs. I thought he had a bit of a fever and his arm was sore. He said he was very disoriented around midnight when he got up to use the bathroom and couldn't find his light switch and the door. He must have tripped or bumped into his desk. He really doesn't know, but he says he sat on the floor for some time and couldn't get up. Eventually he did and got back to sleep. I've got to figure out some better lighting for him- perhaps a gadget or a motion detector type. Plus I think I'll get him a stationary walker (without wheels) to have right beside his bed. Anyhow... now I just need to keep the wound very clean and help him heal. As we age, especially with diabetes, everything takes so much longer to get better. I'm thankful he didn't hit his head or break anything!

Reading: Girlhood by Melissa Febos, brilliant and oh-so-honest essays about growing up

Watching: Midsomer Murders on Amazon Prime. We started watching this series at the beginning of February and we're now on Season 18 of 22. This is our afternoon pleasure several times a week, with baseball being our evening choice. Go Jays!

 Shopping: Yesterday was 'senior's day' at our local pharmacy and I remembered to take advantage of the discount. We save up points from our groceries and pharmacy purchases and then I splurge by buying books! They have a small but up-to-date selection and I almost always find a few new novels to buy. They are always 25% off the cover price (which is nice), then I get the senior's discount of another 20%, and then I use my points to pay for everything! I got 5 books and ended up paying $3.67!!! Plus when you spent over $50 you get a $10 card for future purchases! Can't beat that deal!

Weather: 4c, overcast and not looking like spring. The tulips are coming up but still have a ways to go.

Thursday, April 28 2022

"The goodness that thou mayest do this day, do it!"

~Chaucer~

What good advice from a 14th c writer! It is good to be reminded to do good. Sometimes we're feeling lazy, or distracted, and simply can't be bothered to get up off our bums and do good. It's essentially the same as being kind. I have two people in my daily life, my husband, and my dad. I think I'll try to keep this little phrase in mind today as I interact with them. It's also an important reminder of something else. There's a song on right now as I am writing and a line in it says "be good to yourself". I tend to do this early in the day when I enjoy reading, creating art, and learning new things. It's a rather concentrated time for me so let's see if I can spread this out a bit more over the course of my day. 

Listening: Radio Rizites, Kissamos, Crete, Greece on Radio Garden. I'm not sure what I'm listening to exactly. It sounds like traditional Greek music but it also sounds sort of churchy. I think the announcer just said something about "musica historica" so I guess that's traditional. There's a touch of the middle east in there too and I can imagine the old men dancing to it.

Reading: Jansen's History of Art -Aegean Art- which includes Crete, the Cycladic Islands just north of Crete, and and the Greek mainland. We loved visiting Crete and Athens, but our favourite was Thessalonica. It is glorious to be surrounded by ancient history while enjoying the delicious Greek food!

Weather: 5c and fairly foggy this morning. It looks like a long stretch of wet weather for at least 10 days. I told my dad (who's blind now) that it was foggy outside and he said "What? Froggy!?" We had a chuckle about that.

Library Checkouts: 

• Hotel Du Lac, Anita Brookner I can't remember which one of her books I read a long, long time ago but I do recall that I enjoyed it. So I put a couple on hold and they arrived today.
• Strangers, Anita Brookner
• Graounded Spirituality, Jeff Brown I follow Jeff Brown on Facebook and I like his vibe but now that I have the book in my hands I'm not so sure I can get into it. We'll see.

Wednesday, April 27 2022

 "We are indeed much more than what we eat, but what we eat can nevertheless help us to be much more than what we are."

~ Adelle Davis ~

I'm wondering, does anyone grow old without health issues? Is it possible to age and not have diabetes, heart problems, high cholesterol? My husband and I are both in our 60's and it seems that everyday we get out of bed and ask each other "how do you feel?" Sometimes it's about our feelings but usually it's about our aging bodies. "How's your neck? Your shoulder? Your hip? Your foot?" A good day is when all questions can be answered positively. "All good." You have to careful how you walk, how you sit, how you sleep. Everything you do always has an underlying concern- how will this affect my body? I'm diabetic so I have to think about everything I eat, how much insulin to use, how much exercise I do. I watched my mom grow old with so many health issues and I don't want to be the same. Dad, who lives with us, is 85 and is relatively healthy. He mainly deals with his diabetes, which I help manage. But still, it's an unending list of doctor's appointments and blood tests for all of us. When you're young who thinks about health? I hardly did. You really do think that you'll live for a good long time without worries. Unfortunately, life catches up with you and everything you've ever done seems to affect the waning years of your life. If I could I'd warn the younger people in my life to be more careful, make better choices, look before you leap, but honestly, who would listen?

Listening: Radiodowntown on Radio Garden; Knowing Me, Knowing You by ABBA

Reading: Girlhood by Melissa Febos. What an honest writer! She writes brilliantly with such beautiful language and insight. 

Weather: 5c and cloudy. The week ahead is full of rain... sigh.

Drinking: Tetley Immunity. Dusted off my sweet brown teapot and made a full pot today, and am using the cute mug hubby bought me recently.

Tuesday, April 26 2022

 "Stop the habit of wishful thinking and start the habit of thoughtful wishes."

~ Mary Martin ~

What a great morning! Waking up to news that both our teams won their games last night. Hurray to the Jays and to the Raptors! Last night I deleted my Twitter account after hearing the news about Elon Musk buying the platform. It's about to become a hotbed of hatred and anyway I have been avoiding it lately because it makes my anxiety rise. Gotta take care of me. Chatted with Miss B yesterday about her pending move to the UK and how exciting it is for her! I can't wait to go for a visit. Praying that all her planning goes smoothly and everything works out perfectly.

Cooking: Pasta and Kidney Bean Soup or Pasta e Fagioli from Italian Favorites (Williams-Sonoma) I was going to make this yesterday but I forgot to buy the pancetta/bacon. I love this cookbook. It has some of my favourite Italian recipes and I've used it a lot over the years.

Drinking: Tetley Immune Tea (lots of zinc and echinacea)

Reading: History of Art (Jansen), Chapter 3, Sumerian Art

Listening to: Radio Shafaq, Erbil, Iraq on Radio Garden (as close to Sumer as I could find) Surprisingly not as conservative as I had expected. They have female voices as singers/announcers/advertisers and the music is catchy enough. It makes me feel like dancing!

Weather: 7c and sunny at 8:30 am. Looks like a beautiful day ahead! Thinking of doing some work in the garden and hoping to get some bulbs planted.

Library Pick Ups:   

• Girlhood (essays) by Melissa Febos I really enjoyed Abandon Me last week
• Snow Country by Sebastian Faulks I remembered how much I loved Birdsong
• No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood Should be interesting because it's about the impact of social media on a woman's life.

Pasta and Kidney Bean Soup

1 can white kidney beans (the recipe uses dried but I want a faster soup)

2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

2 oz (60g) pancetta or bacon, finely chopped

1 yellow onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped (fresh or canned- I use canned)

1 Tbsp chopped fresh sage

Pinch of red pepper flakes

Salt and freshly ground pepper

4 cups (1 L) chicken or vegetable stock

3/4 cup dried small pasta such as shells or macaroni

6 Tbsp grated pecorino romano or parmesan cheese

In a soup pot over medium-low heat, warm the olive oil. Add the pancetta, onion, garlic and saute slowly, stirring until the onion is soft, about 12 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, sage, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Add the beans and stock and simmer for about 30 minutes longer to blend the flavours. The beans will be very tender and the soup will become stewlike.

Add the pasta to the soup and simmer, uncovered, until the pasta is al dente, 12-15 minutes. The timing depends on the type of pasta.

Ladle the soup into warmed bowls. Garnish with the cheese and serve immediately.

Serves 6

Monday, April 25 2022

 "Success is important only to the extent that it puts one in a position to do more things one likes to do."

~ Sarah Caldwell ~ (American Opera Conductor)

I am a notetaker. I make notes about everything. I make lists, I write in a daily planner, I keep journals, and I have shelves of blank notebooks. I love words, I love reading, I love writing, and I love discovering things. At 63 I am still a student of so many things. Things I've loved since childhood- like dollhouses, and things I'm just now discovering- like British history. One is never too old to learn. Yesterday I dusted off my massive History of Art by H.W. Jansen (well over 600 pages) and decided it is time to actually read it. I do a lot of reading in the early hours of the day, usually starting by 5 AM. I break for a bite to eat at around 7 and then get back to my desk for a couple more hours. I'm simply happy during these hours. I read, study, make notes, and even make art/collages when the impulse stirs. A lot of the time I'm staring out my office window sort of meditating as the sun rises. 

Listening to: Italy Classic Radio on Radio Garden 

Weather: 3c as I rise with a high of about 15c later today (I am hopeful)

Reading: Pictures and Tears by James Elkins (a reread of a favourite book)

Feeling: Slightly anxious without a precise cause- it\s probably just the world

Playing: Wordle- competing secretly with two people

Sunday, April 24 2022

"Every time we make the decision to love someone, we open ourselves to great suffering, because those we most love cause us not only great joy but also great pain. The greatest pain comes from leaving... if we want to avoid suffering of leaving, we will never experience the joy of loving. And love is stronger than fear, life stronger than death, hope stronger than despair. We have to trust that the risk of loving is always worth taking." 

~Henry Nouwen~

Listening to: Shetland Internet Radio, Bigton, UK on Radio Garden

Thinking on: Women Who Run With the Wolves Chapter 7

Learning from: Janson's History of Art, Introduction

Weather: 2c, cloudy with gusty winds

Feeling: Serene