On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me... snow, snow, snow!
Cats like boxes, kids like snow!
Tuesday, December 31, 2019
BUCKET LIST 2020
Quebec Carnival February
Ottawa Winterlude and skating Rideau Canal - POSTPONED DUE TO COVID
Strawberry picking
Montagne d'argent and climbing with PP - POSTPONED DUE TO COVID
Camp Mauricie - POSTPONED DUE TO SITE UNAVAILABILITY
Louisville inn with vegetarian menu at 100 St. Laurent, Victorian style B and B half way to QC - POSTPONED DUE TO COVID
Hike Hautes Gorges and Grand-Jardins - NOT ENOUGH TIME FOR BOTH
Beach at Malbaie/Ste Irenee DONE
St Felicien zoo DONE
Lincoln Lafayette - POSTPONED DUE TO COVID
Hot Air Balloons Richelieu - POSTPONED DUE TO COVID
Apple picking in Rougement - DONE VERGER HUDSON
NYC Central Park, Natural history museum, Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Macy's Day Parade, Morgan Library, Brooklyn zoo, Hamilton Grange, Frick museum (temporarily closed 2022-23, virtual site), High Line- POSTPONED DUE TO COVID, last time 2013! ?Sonder apartment hotel
Medieval feast/castle in TO - POSTPONED DUE TO COVID
London - POSTPONED DUE TO COVID
Niagara Falls - POSTPONED DUE TO COVID
Cozumel snorkelling - POSTPONED DUE TO COVID
Ottawa Winterlude and skating Rideau Canal - POSTPONED DUE TO COVID
Strawberry picking
Montagne d'argent and climbing with PP - POSTPONED DUE TO COVID
Camp Mauricie - POSTPONED DUE TO SITE UNAVAILABILITY
Louisville inn with vegetarian menu at 100 St. Laurent, Victorian style B and B half way to QC - POSTPONED DUE TO COVID
Hike Hautes Gorges and Grand-Jardins - NOT ENOUGH TIME FOR BOTH
Beach at Malbaie/Ste Irenee DONE
St Felicien zoo DONE
Lincoln Lafayette - POSTPONED DUE TO COVID
Hot Air Balloons Richelieu - POSTPONED DUE TO COVID
Apple picking in Rougement - DONE VERGER HUDSON
NYC Central Park, Natural history museum, Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Macy's Day Parade, Morgan Library, Brooklyn zoo, Hamilton Grange, Frick museum (temporarily closed 2022-23, virtual site), High Line- POSTPONED DUE TO COVID, last time 2013! ?Sonder apartment hotel
Medieval feast/castle in TO - POSTPONED DUE TO COVID
London - POSTPONED DUE TO COVID
Niagara Falls - POSTPONED DUE TO COVID
Cozumel snorkelling - POSTPONED DUE TO COVID
Monday, December 30, 2019
ON THE SIXTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS...
On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...my own personal designer!
( I was fine with leggings and a winter themed pj top for my birthday bash, until I found this laid out for me!)
48 is quasi-Pythagorean, and here's to a year that has a leap day and is the dawning of a new decade!
( I was fine with leggings and a winter themed pj top for my birthday bash, until I found this laid out for me!)
48 is quasi-Pythagorean, and here's to a year that has a leap day and is the dawning of a new decade!
BIRTHDAY CAKES
1. Praline (Pecan) cheesecake
A Luther staff room favorite from The Joy of Cheesecake (given by Uncle Laurie)
9" springiform pan
350 F
Crust: 1 1/4 c. graham wafer crumbs
1/4 c chopped pecans
1/4 c white sugar
6 T melted margarine/butter
Chill 10 minutes in freezer until set
In large bowl, beat together:
3 x 8oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 c brown sugar
2 T flour
3 eggs
1 t vanilla
1/3 c chopped pecans.
Pour into lined, greased and floured tin.
Bake 50 minutes.
Open the oven door, but do not remove until cooled to room temperature.
Modified to approach KETO friendly
1 1/2 c finely processed pecans
2 T melted butter
Omit crumbs and sugar.
Bake at 400 for 6 minutes (not more even if pale as will bake further), then cool and reduce oven to 350F.
Cream cheese, eggs, and vanilla together. Reduce brown sugar to 1/2 cup, add pecans, and use 2T almond flour.
2. Queen Elizabeth cake
IGA.net
serves 8-12
45 minutes: 20 to make + 25 to cook
9"springform pan or 8" pyrex baking dish, bottom lined with parchment paper and greased and floured sides
350F
1 c chopped pitted dates
1 c water
1/2 t baking soda
1 1/2 c flour
1 t baking powder
1 pinch salt
1/2 softened unsalted butter
1/2 c brown sugar
1 t vanilla extract
1 egg
1/2 c toasted chopped walnuts
Place dates, water and soda in saucepan and simmer for 3 minutes once boiling. Cool.
Blend flour, powder and salt together in a bowl. In a second bowl, cream butter, brown sugar and vanilla with mixer. Add egg and beat until smooth. Alternated add in dry then dat mixture on low speed. Add nuts and mix gently. Pour into pan.
Bake for 20-25 minutes.
FROSTING
Preheat broiler on low.
1/3 c 35% cream
1/3 c butter
1 c brown sugar
1 c shredded unsweetened coconut
Bring all ingredients to a boil in saucepan, while stirring. Simmer for two minutes.
Spread icing on still warm cake and place under broiler for 2-3 minutes, until frosting is lightly golden brown.
Serve warm, as Queen Elizabeth prefers.
3. Sponge cake with mocha icing and toasted almonds
Mocha Frosting
From Mom
Roast 1 cup sliced almonds in the middle of the oven for 5-7 minutes at 350 degrees. Let cool.
Mix up 1 double package of Dream Whip or 1 (250 ml) carton of Nutriwhip as directed. (Lately I have been using 1 tub of Cool whip to save time.)
Add:
1 cup icing sugar
2 tbsp cocoa
1 tsp instant coffee granules
1 tsp vanilla
(I usually mix the coffee granules with a wee bit of hot water to dissolve.)
This should cover one Angel Food cake. Sprinkle over top and sides. Keep in fridge.
4. Pastel de Tres Leches
Martha Stewart - Cinco de Mayo
serves 12
350F
Generously butter a 9-by-13-inch glass baking pan.
1 stick butter (8 tablespoons), melted and cooled, plus more for pans
6 large eggs, separated
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups milk
12-ounce can evaporated milk
14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 fresh coconut (approximately 300g dried; consider soaking)
2 cups heavy cream
Assorted tropical fruits, such as pineapple, star fruit, mango, and pepino, for garnish
In an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine egg whites, baking soda, and salt, and beat on medium speed until soft peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes.
Add yolks to the whites, and beat until completely combined. With the mixer running slowly, add sugar until combined. Remove the bowl from the mixer. Using a rubber spatula, fold in butter.
Sift 1/4 cup flour on top of the mixture, and fold in to combine. Repeat with the remaining flour, folding in 1/4 cup at a time. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake until golden and a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven, and transfer to a wire rack.
About 5 minutes before the cake is done, whisk together the three milks, and set aside. As soon as the cake is removed from the oven, pour the milk mixture over the entire cake. The cake should absorb all the liquid within 3 to 5 minutes. Set cake aside, and let stand until cool. Cover cake well, and transfer to the refrigerator to chill, at least 5 hours or overnight.
Before serving, heat oven to 450 degrees. Place whole coconut in the oven, and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, and using an awl or a screwdriver, pierce the three "eyes" of the coconut. Turn over, and drain the liquid. Using a hammer, break open coconut. To remove the meat from the shell, insert a small spatula or a grapefruit knife between the flesh and the shell to pry the meat out in large pieces. Using a vegetable peeler, shave off thin curls of coconut. Transfer curls to a baking sheet, and let stand uncovered for 30 minutes. Place in oven, and bake until edges are golden, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and set aside until cool. These curls can be stored in an airtight container for up to 5 days or frozen for future use.
When ready to serve the cake, take out for at least one hour. Whip cream to soft peaks. Slice cake into twelve servings, top with whipped cream, and serve with the fruits and toasted coconut curls.
Cook's Notes
The most time-consuming step is making the coconut curls; in a pinch you can use store-bought shaved coconut.
5. Fruitcake
6. Carrot Pudding with hard icing
A Luther staff room favorite from The Joy of Cheesecake (given by Uncle Laurie)
9" springiform pan
350 F
Crust: 1 1/4 c. graham wafer crumbs
1/4 c chopped pecans
1/4 c white sugar
6 T melted margarine/butter
Chill 10 minutes in freezer until set
In large bowl, beat together:
3 x 8oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 c brown sugar
2 T flour
3 eggs
1 t vanilla
1/3 c chopped pecans.
Pour into lined, greased and floured tin.
Bake 50 minutes.
Open the oven door, but do not remove until cooled to room temperature.
Modified to approach KETO friendly
1 1/2 c finely processed pecans
2 T melted butter
Omit crumbs and sugar.
Bake at 400 for 6 minutes (not more even if pale as will bake further), then cool and reduce oven to 350F.
Cream cheese, eggs, and vanilla together. Reduce brown sugar to 1/2 cup, add pecans, and use 2T almond flour.
2. Queen Elizabeth cake
IGA.net
serves 8-12
45 minutes: 20 to make + 25 to cook
9"springform pan or 8" pyrex baking dish, bottom lined with parchment paper and greased and floured sides
350F
1 c chopped pitted dates
1 c water
1/2 t baking soda
1 1/2 c flour
1 t baking powder
1 pinch salt
1/2 softened unsalted butter
1/2 c brown sugar
1 t vanilla extract
1 egg
1/2 c toasted chopped walnuts
Place dates, water and soda in saucepan and simmer for 3 minutes once boiling. Cool.
Blend flour, powder and salt together in a bowl. In a second bowl, cream butter, brown sugar and vanilla with mixer. Add egg and beat until smooth. Alternated add in dry then dat mixture on low speed. Add nuts and mix gently. Pour into pan.
Bake for 20-25 minutes.
FROSTING
Preheat broiler on low.
1/3 c 35% cream
1/3 c butter
1 c brown sugar
1 c shredded unsweetened coconut
Bring all ingredients to a boil in saucepan, while stirring. Simmer for two minutes.
Spread icing on still warm cake and place under broiler for 2-3 minutes, until frosting is lightly golden brown.
Serve warm, as Queen Elizabeth prefers.
3. Sponge cake with mocha icing and toasted almonds
Mocha Frosting
From Mom
Roast 1 cup sliced almonds in the middle of the oven for 5-7 minutes at 350 degrees. Let cool.
Mix up 1 double package of Dream Whip or 1 (250 ml) carton of Nutriwhip as directed. (Lately I have been using 1 tub of Cool whip to save time.)
Add:
1 cup icing sugar
2 tbsp cocoa
1 tsp instant coffee granules
1 tsp vanilla
(I usually mix the coffee granules with a wee bit of hot water to dissolve.)
This should cover one Angel Food cake. Sprinkle over top and sides. Keep in fridge.
4. Pastel de Tres Leches
Martha Stewart - Cinco de Mayo
serves 12
350F
Generously butter a 9-by-13-inch glass baking pan.
1 stick butter (8 tablespoons), melted and cooled, plus more for pans
6 large eggs, separated
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups milk
12-ounce can evaporated milk
14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 fresh coconut (approximately 300g dried; consider soaking)
2 cups heavy cream
Assorted tropical fruits, such as pineapple, star fruit, mango, and pepino, for garnish
In an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine egg whites, baking soda, and salt, and beat on medium speed until soft peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes.
Add yolks to the whites, and beat until completely combined. With the mixer running slowly, add sugar until combined. Remove the bowl from the mixer. Using a rubber spatula, fold in butter.
Sift 1/4 cup flour on top of the mixture, and fold in to combine. Repeat with the remaining flour, folding in 1/4 cup at a time. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake until golden and a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven, and transfer to a wire rack.
About 5 minutes before the cake is done, whisk together the three milks, and set aside. As soon as the cake is removed from the oven, pour the milk mixture over the entire cake. The cake should absorb all the liquid within 3 to 5 minutes. Set cake aside, and let stand until cool. Cover cake well, and transfer to the refrigerator to chill, at least 5 hours or overnight.
Before serving, heat oven to 450 degrees. Place whole coconut in the oven, and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, and using an awl or a screwdriver, pierce the three "eyes" of the coconut. Turn over, and drain the liquid. Using a hammer, break open coconut. To remove the meat from the shell, insert a small spatula or a grapefruit knife between the flesh and the shell to pry the meat out in large pieces. Using a vegetable peeler, shave off thin curls of coconut. Transfer curls to a baking sheet, and let stand uncovered for 30 minutes. Place in oven, and bake until edges are golden, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and set aside until cool. These curls can be stored in an airtight container for up to 5 days or frozen for future use.
When ready to serve the cake, take out for at least one hour. Whip cream to soft peaks. Slice cake into twelve servings, top with whipped cream, and serve with the fruits and toasted coconut curls.
Cook's Notes
The most time-consuming step is making the coconut curls; in a pinch you can use store-bought shaved coconut.
5. Fruitcake
6. Carrot Pudding with hard icing
Sunday, December 29, 2019
ON THE FIFTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS...
On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...8 days of Hanukkah!
ON THE FOURTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS...
On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...chocolate walnut fudge in red and green!
Friday, December 27, 2019
ON THE THIRD DAY OF CHRISTMAS...
On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...a picture perfect present on the wall.
CREDIT: Gigi's Pizza, Pointe-Claire Village does this every year and gave me the idea!
Thursday, December 26, 2019
ON THE SECOND DAY OF CHRISTMAS...
On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me... rainbow pastel coconut sweets!
Wednesday, December 25, 2019
ON THE FIRST DAY OF CHRISTMAS...
On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...a bright star on our Christmas tree!
Merry Christmas to all! I celebrate the 12 days of Christmas for the practical reason that I work a lot of Christmases, this year included. I hope you have a wonderful holiday, and, if you are not having a wonderful holiday, I hope that a beautiful stanger reaches out to change it! Thank you to those who have sent wishes, early, on time, and late!
Merry Christmas to all! I celebrate the 12 days of Christmas for the practical reason that I work a lot of Christmases, this year included. I hope you have a wonderful holiday, and, if you are not having a wonderful holiday, I hope that a beautiful stanger reaches out to change it! Thank you to those who have sent wishes, early, on time, and late!
STILLE NACHT
Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht
Alles schläft; einsam wacht
Nur das traute hochheilige Paar.
Holder Knabe im lockigen Haar,
Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh!
Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh!
Silent night, holy night
All is sleeping, alone watches
Only the close, most holy couple.
Blessed boy in curly hair,
Sleep in heavenly peace!
Sleep in heavenly peace!
Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht,
Hirten erst kundgemacht
Durch der Engel Halleluja,
Tönt es laut von fern und nah:
Christ, der Retter ist da!
Christ, der Retter ist da!
Silent night, holy night,
Shepherds just informed
By the angels’ hallelujah,
It rings out far and wide:
Christ the Savior is here!
Christ the Savior is here!
Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht,
Gottes Sohn, o wie lacht
Lieb’ aus deinem göttlichen Mund,
Da uns schlägt die rettende Stund’.
Christ, in deiner Geburt!
Christ, in deiner Geburt! Silent night, holy night,
Son of God, oh how laughs
Love out of your divine mouth,
For now the hour of salvation strikes for us.
Christ, in Thy birth!
Christ, in Thy birth!
Alles schläft; einsam wacht
Nur das traute hochheilige Paar.
Holder Knabe im lockigen Haar,
Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh!
Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh!
Silent night, holy night
All is sleeping, alone watches
Only the close, most holy couple.
Blessed boy in curly hair,
Sleep in heavenly peace!
Sleep in heavenly peace!
Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht,
Hirten erst kundgemacht
Durch der Engel Halleluja,
Tönt es laut von fern und nah:
Christ, der Retter ist da!
Christ, der Retter ist da!
Silent night, holy night,
Shepherds just informed
By the angels’ hallelujah,
It rings out far and wide:
Christ the Savior is here!
Christ the Savior is here!
Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht,
Gottes Sohn, o wie lacht
Lieb’ aus deinem göttlichen Mund,
Da uns schlägt die rettende Stund’.
Christ, in deiner Geburt!
Christ, in deiner Geburt! Silent night, holy night,
Son of God, oh how laughs
Love out of your divine mouth,
For now the hour of salvation strikes for us.
Christ, in Thy birth!
Christ, in Thy birth!
O TANNENBAUM
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum
Wie treu sind deine Blätter!
Du glänzt nicht nur
Zur Sommerzeit
Nein, auch im Winter, wenn es schneit.
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum
Wie treu sind deine Blätter!
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum!
Du kannst mir sehr gefallen!
Wie oft hat nicht zur Winterzeit
Ein Baum von dir mich hoch erfreut!
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum!
Du kannst mir sehr gefallen!
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum!
Dein Kleid will mich
Was lehren:
Die Hoffnung und Bestndigkeit
Gibt Trost und Kraft
Zu jeder Zeit.
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum!
Das soll dein Kleid
Mich lehren.
Wie treu sind deine Blätter!
Du glänzt nicht nur
Zur Sommerzeit
Nein, auch im Winter, wenn es schneit.
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum
Wie treu sind deine Blätter!
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum!
Du kannst mir sehr gefallen!
Wie oft hat nicht zur Winterzeit
Ein Baum von dir mich hoch erfreut!
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum!
Du kannst mir sehr gefallen!
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum!
Dein Kleid will mich
Was lehren:
Die Hoffnung und Bestndigkeit
Gibt Trost und Kraft
Zu jeder Zeit.
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum!
Das soll dein Kleid
Mich lehren.
Tuesday, December 24, 2019
TWELVE APOSTLES: TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS: TWELVE GOODIES
John the minor, son of Zebedee
James, the brother of John, son of Zebedee
Matthew, taxman
James the lesser, son of Alpheus
Thomas
Judas (replaced by Matthias)
Simon Peter
Andrew
Philip
Bartholomew
Simon the Zealot
Jude
Rainbow squares
Peanut butterscotch squares
Apricot squares
Cranberry squares
Maple fudge
Rum balls (make day of, store separately)
Popcorn Balls
Cornmeal biscotti
Butter tarts
Toffee bars
Pecan Fruitcake bars
Chocolate fudge topped with crushed peppermint
ALTERNATES
Magic bars
Gingersnaps
Pecan turtles
Almond Crescents
Snow cloud meringues
Toblerone shortbread
James, the brother of John, son of Zebedee
Matthew, taxman
James the lesser, son of Alpheus
Thomas
Judas (replaced by Matthias)
Simon Peter
Andrew
Philip
Bartholomew
Simon the Zealot
Jude
Rainbow squares
Peanut butterscotch squares
Apricot squares
Cranberry squares
Maple fudge
Rum balls (make day of, store separately)
Popcorn Balls
Cornmeal biscotti
Butter tarts
Toffee bars
Pecan Fruitcake bars
Chocolate fudge topped with crushed peppermint
ALTERNATES
Magic bars
Gingersnaps
Pecan turtles
Almond Crescents
Snow cloud meringues
Toblerone shortbread
Thursday, December 12, 2019
I LOST MY APPETITE
When your patient tells you they lost their appetite, there is whole differential diagnosis that has to be explored. But what if your patient has multiple reasons. And what if that patient is you.
Last Thursday, I went to bed overstuffed, having eaten too much holiday peppermint bark ice cream. When I woke up in the morning, and didn't feel like eating, I thought it was GERD, took a TUMS, and walked to the train.
That was two days after my daughter's Opa, and my ex-father-in-law died. For good or for bad, he was resuscitated, and everyone has been living in limbo for the last ten days. My connectedness to his illness seemed remote, being that I am estranged to the family since my divorce, but, as the week wore on, I would have to admit that his ICU stay, and the little I knew about his case through his very non-medical son/ my ex-husband, was more distressing than I could have guessed. The financial grievances mostly over, it had cleared the way to the bigger grievances of divorce. I have lost whatever family I spent investing in for the last 15 years. Now I am outside of even their deaths, but never truly disconnected. Strangely, because of her age and the ICU policy of no visitors under the age of 16, my daughter is living this limbo also, and bearing it about as well. She is getting support from school friends, and we have talked about her Opa, and how she sees death, but it weighs on her, even if she believes he might end up, like the Wolf Pups of juvenile fiction, transported to Canus Major and Minor, to watch over her from the familiar constellations, just as her cat Nancy Drew does, from a full moon.
For 5 days, over the weekend, I was on call. The hours sound stupid (24x5 equals a ridiculous 120), but really I was free from calls all except the last night, so it was much closer to 50 hours of time on site, which shouldn't have felt so bad, but it did, and I was so exhausted by the final night, that when they called me just shy of midnight to announce the death of a man we had been expecting for 5 days, I was afraid they might need to call me in, and was planning to negotiate another in house MD to declare his death, because I did not feel safe to drive by them.
I often get too busy to eat lunch, but I wasn't feeling hungry at breakfast, or supper either. Was it my gallbladder? But it wasn't painful, just uncomfortable. I had gained some abdominal weight since the end of summer, and that would explain the GERD. Maybe I was just resetting. Maybe I was exposed to a disease during the week. I had been in rooms with C difficile diarrhea, RSV, pneumococcal pneumonia, and other unexplained respiratory and diarrheal infections. Maybe I was fighting those off, or experiencing a mild form of the cold viruses going around.
The definition of depression cannot be made unless symptoms have been experienced for at least 2 weeks. I could not be depressed, but I felt increasingly depersonalized and numb, as there were daily visits to one dying skeleton whose family spent the entire time wishing he was dead, instead of looking around at each other and taking care of the living, other visits to a young woman who had spent ten years with chronic pain as such a terrible experience that she avoided potential treatment of a newly found cancer until it was untreatable, and was still waiting for it to be worse to do anything about her new steps. There was the 90 year old woman with two doting sons who advocated for her, but she still could not decide who to choose to be her decision maker, and was not yet ready to decide for herself while she still had her faculties, because she only had metastatic renal cancer that had spread up to her lungs and stomach, but she might not die for a while yet! There was an elderly man who was no longer able to take care of himself, who had been held a virtual hostage on the floor for months, awaiting a long term care bed. Both he, and the unhappy girl with cancer had been fed this pipe-dream of the next place being better, so therefore doing nothing to make it personal, even though they had been there for weeks, and would likely be there for weeks more. It was enough to drive a sane person to insanity. Decide your level of care! Put up Christmas decorations! Let your family visit! What are you waiting for? Tomorrow could be too late!
So, when I was hungry, once or twice, I ate. Sometimes I felt weak, so I would make a salad, or eat some banana bread. I used up leftover bread in toast, and occasionally had a bowl of cereal. I had no fever, and I tried to get enough sleep, which I did. But 10 days after my daughter's Opa was revived into an incomplete recovery, and now 2 days after the skeleton finally took his last breath, I am still exhausted, and not hungry.
I don't think it's GERD, biliary obstruction, C diff, or any other colitis, pneumonia, viral respiratory illness, or other physical ailment. I know it is not depression, and could hardly explain it by grief. I know I am burnt out, and that my stamina is terrible to have it happen in 4-5 days, but that doesn't explain my loss of appetite. I don't mind for now. I haven't binged since the night of the ice cream incident a week ago, which is extraordinary. But I wonder what is truly happening, so until it passes, I will continue to increase the list of the differentials, for now avoiding the worst ones that it could be: esophageal obstruction, extrinsic duodenal obstruction from a renal mass, pancreatic cancer; all diagnoses I saw this week. I'll take a TUMS, and reach out to friends. I'll take a walk, and keep hydrated. One day soon, I expect I will be hungry again. I hope it's before my next shift.
Last Thursday, I went to bed overstuffed, having eaten too much holiday peppermint bark ice cream. When I woke up in the morning, and didn't feel like eating, I thought it was GERD, took a TUMS, and walked to the train.
That was two days after my daughter's Opa, and my ex-father-in-law died. For good or for bad, he was resuscitated, and everyone has been living in limbo for the last ten days. My connectedness to his illness seemed remote, being that I am estranged to the family since my divorce, but, as the week wore on, I would have to admit that his ICU stay, and the little I knew about his case through his very non-medical son/ my ex-husband, was more distressing than I could have guessed. The financial grievances mostly over, it had cleared the way to the bigger grievances of divorce. I have lost whatever family I spent investing in for the last 15 years. Now I am outside of even their deaths, but never truly disconnected. Strangely, because of her age and the ICU policy of no visitors under the age of 16, my daughter is living this limbo also, and bearing it about as well. She is getting support from school friends, and we have talked about her Opa, and how she sees death, but it weighs on her, even if she believes he might end up, like the Wolf Pups of juvenile fiction, transported to Canus Major and Minor, to watch over her from the familiar constellations, just as her cat Nancy Drew does, from a full moon.
For 5 days, over the weekend, I was on call. The hours sound stupid (24x5 equals a ridiculous 120), but really I was free from calls all except the last night, so it was much closer to 50 hours of time on site, which shouldn't have felt so bad, but it did, and I was so exhausted by the final night, that when they called me just shy of midnight to announce the death of a man we had been expecting for 5 days, I was afraid they might need to call me in, and was planning to negotiate another in house MD to declare his death, because I did not feel safe to drive by them.
I often get too busy to eat lunch, but I wasn't feeling hungry at breakfast, or supper either. Was it my gallbladder? But it wasn't painful, just uncomfortable. I had gained some abdominal weight since the end of summer, and that would explain the GERD. Maybe I was just resetting. Maybe I was exposed to a disease during the week. I had been in rooms with C difficile diarrhea, RSV, pneumococcal pneumonia, and other unexplained respiratory and diarrheal infections. Maybe I was fighting those off, or experiencing a mild form of the cold viruses going around.
The definition of depression cannot be made unless symptoms have been experienced for at least 2 weeks. I could not be depressed, but I felt increasingly depersonalized and numb, as there were daily visits to one dying skeleton whose family spent the entire time wishing he was dead, instead of looking around at each other and taking care of the living, other visits to a young woman who had spent ten years with chronic pain as such a terrible experience that she avoided potential treatment of a newly found cancer until it was untreatable, and was still waiting for it to be worse to do anything about her new steps. There was the 90 year old woman with two doting sons who advocated for her, but she still could not decide who to choose to be her decision maker, and was not yet ready to decide for herself while she still had her faculties, because she only had metastatic renal cancer that had spread up to her lungs and stomach, but she might not die for a while yet! There was an elderly man who was no longer able to take care of himself, who had been held a virtual hostage on the floor for months, awaiting a long term care bed. Both he, and the unhappy girl with cancer had been fed this pipe-dream of the next place being better, so therefore doing nothing to make it personal, even though they had been there for weeks, and would likely be there for weeks more. It was enough to drive a sane person to insanity. Decide your level of care! Put up Christmas decorations! Let your family visit! What are you waiting for? Tomorrow could be too late!
So, when I was hungry, once or twice, I ate. Sometimes I felt weak, so I would make a salad, or eat some banana bread. I used up leftover bread in toast, and occasionally had a bowl of cereal. I had no fever, and I tried to get enough sleep, which I did. But 10 days after my daughter's Opa was revived into an incomplete recovery, and now 2 days after the skeleton finally took his last breath, I am still exhausted, and not hungry.
I don't think it's GERD, biliary obstruction, C diff, or any other colitis, pneumonia, viral respiratory illness, or other physical ailment. I know it is not depression, and could hardly explain it by grief. I know I am burnt out, and that my stamina is terrible to have it happen in 4-5 days, but that doesn't explain my loss of appetite. I don't mind for now. I haven't binged since the night of the ice cream incident a week ago, which is extraordinary. But I wonder what is truly happening, so until it passes, I will continue to increase the list of the differentials, for now avoiding the worst ones that it could be: esophageal obstruction, extrinsic duodenal obstruction from a renal mass, pancreatic cancer; all diagnoses I saw this week. I'll take a TUMS, and reach out to friends. I'll take a walk, and keep hydrated. One day soon, I expect I will be hungry again. I hope it's before my next shift.
Monday, December 2, 2019
I AM A NANOWRIMO WINNER
Saturday, November 30, 2019
THOUGHTS ON MY FIRST NANOWRIMO WIN
Dedicated to my dearest daughter Princess Pirate. Thank you for all your inspiration and patience. You are amazing!
This month of writing has been incredible. It started last year with the introduction of the idea by Karyn and family, all of whom were writing a story during the month of November. They had done the preparation work, and had started on time. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to finish the goal, but I did get inspired to create 3 characters for a mystery series that I had imagined to be junior fiction, in the vein of Nancy Drew, and set in the Fairmont/CP hotels that I love across the country, and dream of not only visiting, but being offered free stay in them because of my great writing and their shameless promotion I would give them in my best-selling books!:)
My goal was to write 250 words a day, based on the Château Laurier, and achieve a start by month end of 7500 words. Then I signed in, and my counts bounced around a lot, because I was often writing late at night. I would expect to have the word count for the day I wrote it, but would be given zero for that day, since I had only saved it after midnight. Still, I found 250 words easy on most days. Then I discovered that a New Zealand writer had organized (ie committed to being there) a first west island write-in at my favourite Starbucks coffee shop on the first Thursday night. There were two young writers there, and an area organizer. They kicked my butt at sprints, looked politely at me when I told them my goal, and made it very clear that NaNoWriMo was not for sissies like me. That night I wrote 735 words, and then peaked at 2127 two days later, before writing nothing for the 4 days of SSU call and 12 hours days plus commute.
I surprised myself at making it halfway though. I had developed 3 characters that I loved, and had found an event to make the plot move forward, without needing a murder. I was jealous many times of the murder mystery construct though, because it is so easy, except for the uncomfortable knowledge of the growing pile of bodies. Mysteries are tough, because they really need to have a clever premise, and 1 month later, I still haven’t come up with one. So I developed these characters, and although the setting being on holiday ended up feeling a little shallow, I went to what was familiar, and staged a medical emergency. Every day that I sat down to write, I was afraid that I might not have anything left to say, but some plot line needed to be developed, or a character had to catch up to the others, or a new idea or new character would need to be introduced in the story, and then I was off again. It was a fascinating exercise.
Because I had started so slowly, I had to work really hard to regain ground. On day 25, I wrote 5174 words as my biggest day. It was not sustainable, and the last week has been quite tough to come up with ideas, in part because I have been writing non-stop for weeks, never looking back, and this really works for me. Never before have I gotten this far, almost 50,000 words and 118 pages so far. That is partly due to the incentives inherent to the program, the month, the daily word count, the fellow writers, the happy icons and coveted badges. But mostly I think it was this idea that now is the time to write, and not the time to edit or let anyone criticize you. That worked for me, very very well. I have started many novels, but never got anywhere. I have characters I used to love more, but I think they were based too closely on real people. The characters I created in this story come for some level of reality, but are their own beings. I feel much like Frankenstein must have felt, cobbling my characters together and bringing them to life, and finding, at some point that they have become their own entities, and I no longer control them. It is only my job to bring them to different places and meet different characters, and then record what they do.
Later in the story, I was getting bored of the characters just being expanded and I needed another twist. While walking my daughter to her dad’s at dusk, I told her the bare bones of my book, which by then was clearly nearer a romance, and erotic fiction at that (it helped pass the time!). She knew immediately how to fix it, and suggested, instead of this great blind date that I have my newest character, Luke, orchestrate, she said he should stand her up! Well, that was tough. I didn’t want my character to suffer another heart break. She had already grieved the tragic loss of the love of her life, and she didn’t deserve another blow. But her sensibility in telling a good story (not the boring one I was telling) was sound, so I went home and wrote the scenario as if Stephanie decides to stand him up, which was much easier. In the end, it came to me that maybe they both mistakenly think they are stood up, but can still meet up in the end. It is, after all, a romance. But it made me realize that I could use the story to talk about some issues that are important. My characters, like the people I have met in life, get depressed, have been sexually assaulted, have been burnt by former lovers, and burn out. It is easier for me to see a character die, though, than break their heart. I am sure a psychologist would have a field day with that!
This last week has been the toughest. I think in a more natural setting, I would not feel the pressure at this point to keep up the word count, as I fear the quality is dropping of as the numbers required to finish tonight have been daunting, since I had half of the novel (25,000) to write in this last week, and I wrote 40,00 in the last half of the month, averaging, of course 1667 words a day overall, which is reasonable but still impressively disciplined, but 3571 a day in the last week is not recommended for quality control.
I am looking forward to December’s advent season, and then will look back at my story to see what it truly looks like. I don’t think I have the heart, now that it’s written, to write it again more succinctly. I do, though, look forward to creating profiles for my characters to correct some inconsistencies that may have happened over time. I suspect there may need to be couple more plot twists, but I have a lot to learn about those, and have no leftover ideas that I can’t wait to try. I am pleased to have written this book, whatever it may be. Some parts of it are, I am sure, terrible, but I look forward seeing a few moments that it’s not that bad. I suspect the erotica, will need to be edited out completely. I hope that the plot twists are believable when I look at them again. At least I can find an excuse to visit Ottawa and stay at the Château Laurier, to make sure that my story is accurate.
Tips: Get ready for writing. November is a great month, but preparing weeks before a couple of plot points, a few characters and how they will interact is useful.
Don’t do it like I did, and sit for a month. Exercise! Don’t, as an amateur, try writing more than 1 -2 hours a day. 7 hours is not health, and neither is relentless arbitrary pressure. Although a little works.
Write a scene, and think of all your senses. If you take one perspective, write it again from another viewpoint.
Read. Write with other people. Talk about your writing, with people you can take criticism from. Just keep writing, even if it has nothing to do with your story.
Live. Get out and put your life into the story. My cat, an electrician, my SIL, my ex, an unrequited love, some of my friends and patients made it into the story.
I did it! I wrote (the first draft) of my first novel!
Soon, I have the hard job of editing. We’ll see if it survives, but part of it will live on with me forever.
NOVEL MARATHON ACCOMPLISHED
Dedicated to my dearest daughter Princess Pirate. Thank you for all your inspiration and patience. You are amazing!
This month of writing has been incredible. It started last year with the introduction of the idea by Karyn and family, all of whom were writing a story during the month of November. They had done the preparation work, and had started on time. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to finish the goal, but I did get inspired to create 3 characters for a mystery series that I had imagined to be junior fiction, in the vein of Nancy Drew, and set in the Fairmont/CP hotels that I love across the country, and dream of not only visiting, but being offered free stay in them because of my great writing and their shameless promotion I would give them in my best-selling books!:)
My goal was to write 250 words a day, based on the Château Laurier, and achieve a start by month end of 7500 words. Then I signed in, and my counts bounced around a lot, because I was often writing late at night. I would expect to have the word count for the day I wrote it, but would be given zero for that day, since I had only saved it after midnight. Still, I found 250 words easy on most days. Then I discovered that a New Zealand writer had organized (ie committed to being there) a first west island write-in at my favourite Starbucks coffee shop on the first Thursday night. There were two young writers there, and an area organizer. They kicked my butt at sprints, looked politely at me when I told them my goal, and made it very clear that NaNoWriMo was not for sissies like me. That night I wrote 735 words, and then peaked at 2127 two days later, before writing nothing for the 4 days of SSU call and 12 hours days plus commute.
I surprised myself at making it halfway though. I had developed 3 characters that I loved, and had found an event to make the plot move forward, without needing a murder. I was jealous many times of the murder mystery construct though, because it is so easy, except for the uncomfortable knowledge of the growing pile of bodies. Mysteries are tough, because they really need to have a clever premise, and 1 month later, I still haven’t come up with one. So I developed these characters, and although the setting being on holiday ended up feeling a little shallow, I went to what was familiar drama, and staged a medical emergency. Every day that I sat down to write, I was afraid that I might not have anything left to say, but some plot line needed to be developed, or a character had to catch up to the others, or a new idea or new character would need to be introduced in the story, and then I was off again. It was a fascinating exercise.
Because I had started so slowly, I had to work really hard to regain ground. On day 25, I wrote 5174 words as my biggest day. It was not sustainable, and the last week has been quite tough to come up with ideas, in part because I have been writing non-stop for weeks, never looking back, and this really works for me. Never before have I gotten this far, almost 50,000 words and 118 pages so far. That is partly due to the incentives inherent to the program, the month, the daily word count, the fellow writers, the happy icons and coveted badges. But mostly I think it was this idea that now is the time to write, and not the time to edit or let anyone criticize you. That worked for me, very very well. I have started many novels, but never got anywhere. I have characters I used to love more, but I think they were based too closely on real people. The characters I created in this story come for some level of reality, but are their own beings. I feel much like Frankenstein must have felt, cobbling my characters together and bringing them to life, and finding, at some point that they have become their own entities, and I no longer control them. It is only my job to bring them to different places and meet different characters, and then record what they do.
Later in the story, I was getting bored of the characters just being expanded and I needed another twist. While walking my daughter to her dad’s at dusk, I told her the bare bones of my book, which by then was clearly nearer a romance, and erotic fiction at that (it helped pass the time!). She knew immediately how to fix it, and suggested, instead of this great blind date that I have my newest character, Luke, orchestrate, she said he should stand her up! Well, that was tough. I didn’t want my character to suffer another heart break. She had already grieved the tragic loss of the love of her life, and she didn’t deserve another blow. But her sensibility in telling a good story (not the boring one I was telling) was sound, so I went home and wrote the scenario as if Stephanie decides to stand him up, which was much easier. In the end, it came to me that maybe they both mistakenly think they are stood up, but can still meet up in the end. It is, after all, a romance. But it made me realize that I could use the story to talk about some issues that are important. My characters, like the people I have met in life, get depressed, have been sexually assaulted, have been burnt by former lovers, and burn out. It is easier for me to see a character die, though, than break their heart. I am sure a psychologist would have a field day with that!
This last week has been the toughest. I think in a more natural setting, I would not feel the pressure at this point to keep up the word count, as I fear the quality is dropping of as the numbers required to finish tonight have been daunting, since I had half of the novel (25,000) to write in this last week, and I wrote 40,00 in the last half of the month, averaging, of course 1667 words a day overall, which is reasonable but still impressively disciplined, but 3571 a day in the last week is not recommended for quality control.
I am looking forward to December’s advent season, and then will look back at my story to see what it truly looks like. I don’t think I have the heart, now that it’s written, to write it again more succinctly. I do, though, look forward to creating profiles for my characters to correct some inconsistencies that may have happened over time. I suspect there may need to be couple more plot twists, but I have a lot to learn about those, and have no leftover ideas that I can’t wait to try. I am pleased to have written this book, whatever it may be. Some parts of it are, I am sure, terrible, but I look forward seeing a few moments that it’s not that bad. I suspect the erotica, will need to be edited out completely. I hope that the plot twists are believable when I look at them again. At least I can find an excuse to visit Ottawa and stay at the Château Laurier, to make sure that my story is accurate.
Tips: Get ready for writing. November is a great month, but preparing weeks before a couple of plot points, a few characters and how they will interact is useful.
Don’t do it like I did, and sit for a month. Exercise! Don’t, as an amateur, try writing more than 1 -2 hours a day. 7 hours is not health, and neither is relentless arbitrary pressure. Although a little works.
Write a scene, and think of all your senses. If you take one perspective, write it again from another viewpoint.
Read. Write with other people. Talk about your writing, with people you can take criticism from. Just keep writing, even if it has nothing to do with your story.
Live. Get out and put your life into the story. My cat, an electrician, my SIL, my ex, an unrequited love, some of my friends and patients made it into the story.
I did it! I wrote (the first draft) of my first novel!
Soon, I have the hard job of editing. We’ll see if it survives, but part of it will live on with me forever.
Tuesday, November 26, 2019
NANOWRIMO UPDATE
After getting plot advice from Princess Pirate on a walk today, I am feeling strong in my position to finish. She really is good at moving the plot forward, and way more willing to give my characters heart break than I am.
Yes, I am just competitive enough to push through to the deadline of November 30th (I hope I have until 11:59 to do it!). I was flagging, and fully hoped to at least be at 40,000 tonight before a nap and two night shifts (and winter tire change and 7 parent teacher interviews and a major school change town hall forum), but I am feeling pretty good to leave it at 38, 158 for the night. That's pretty motivating to get the 40K badge for tomorrow night.
To date:
My record daily count was yesterday at 5, 174 word (excluding this blog, texts, and the usual emails). That was almost 7 hours of dedicated writing, which really is not healthy!
I have written 38,158 words in 26 days, created 5 new characters that have truly developed a life of their own.
I have written, on average 1,467 word per day, with an average of 12 words a minute, although I am not sure that last stat is very accurate.
To be on the ideal trajectory, I am meant to be at 43,342 words today, leaving a deficit of 5, 184 to today's goal, or an extra 1296 words a day. That's a very doable 2963 words a day. I might be that racer that crashes just past the finish line, in this case 10 words over, but it will done!
At this rate, the NaNoWriMo site calculates that I'll be done December 4th.
Gauntlet still down, game on! I plan to win this one on this side of November! See you on the other side!
Yes, I am just competitive enough to push through to the deadline of November 30th (I hope I have until 11:59 to do it!). I was flagging, and fully hoped to at least be at 40,000 tonight before a nap and two night shifts (and winter tire change and 7 parent teacher interviews and a major school change town hall forum), but I am feeling pretty good to leave it at 38, 158 for the night. That's pretty motivating to get the 40K badge for tomorrow night.
To date:
My record daily count was yesterday at 5, 174 word (excluding this blog, texts, and the usual emails). That was almost 7 hours of dedicated writing, which really is not healthy!
I have written 38,158 words in 26 days, created 5 new characters that have truly developed a life of their own.
I have written, on average 1,467 word per day, with an average of 12 words a minute, although I am not sure that last stat is very accurate.
To be on the ideal trajectory, I am meant to be at 43,342 words today, leaving a deficit of 5, 184 to today's goal, or an extra 1296 words a day. That's a very doable 2963 words a day. I might be that racer that crashes just past the finish line, in this case 10 words over, but it will done!
At this rate, the NaNoWriMo site calculates that I'll be done December 4th.
Gauntlet still down, game on! I plan to win this one on this side of November! See you on the other side!
Thursday, November 21, 2019
HALT ACRONYM
I listened to a tough interview with Elizabeth Vargas on the matter of alcohol addiction. It was a heartbreaking, not uncommon story, told with fierce honesty and bravery.
I hadn't heard the HALT acronym, but I guess it is used in addiction recovery to watch for potential triggers for relapse.
They are:
HUNGER
ANGER
LONELY
TIRED
This is the posted info from an Alabama Health Services group.
I thought it looked pretty good in terms I recognize as being important for wellness at work, for both patients and staff.
Do you feel hungry (or crave whatever you are are at risk to do)? Do you need something physically or emotionally? Find what (good thing) will fill you
Do you feel angry? What is causing you to feel this way? EXPRESS YOURSELF
Do you feel lonely? Are you having difficulty connection with others. TELL SOMEONE (BLOG? CHAT?)
Do you feel tired? When was the last time I took a break? TAKE A BREAK. PACE YOURSELF. SLOW DOWN. PLAN(PRIORITIZE) SLEEP
I also thought it was kind of brilliant that her mother taught her that God answers in 3 ways, and as a parent in a generation that doesn't often say no, with a daughter who currently only says no, to her detriment often, I would like to adopt it to my way of thinking and parenting. Obviously, sometime the answer still is a hard no, but from a judgemental personality especially, wouldn't it better to give the third option more often?
God/Universe/Life/Parents/Teachers (should) answer in one of these three ways:
1 Yes
2 Later
or, my favorite:
3 I've got something better
I hadn't heard the HALT acronym, but I guess it is used in addiction recovery to watch for potential triggers for relapse.
They are:
HUNGER
ANGER
LONELY
TIRED
This is the posted info from an Alabama Health Services group.
I thought it looked pretty good in terms I recognize as being important for wellness at work, for both patients and staff.
Do you feel hungry (or crave whatever you are are at risk to do)? Do you need something physically or emotionally? Find what (good thing) will fill you
Do you feel angry? What is causing you to feel this way? EXPRESS YOURSELF
Do you feel lonely? Are you having difficulty connection with others. TELL SOMEONE (BLOG? CHAT?)
Do you feel tired? When was the last time I took a break? TAKE A BREAK. PACE YOURSELF. SLOW DOWN. PLAN(PRIORITIZE) SLEEP
I also thought it was kind of brilliant that her mother taught her that God answers in 3 ways, and as a parent in a generation that doesn't often say no, with a daughter who currently only says no, to her detriment often, I would like to adopt it to my way of thinking and parenting. Obviously, sometime the answer still is a hard no, but from a judgemental personality especially, wouldn't it better to give the third option more often?
God/Universe/Life/Parents/Teachers (should) answer in one of these three ways:
1 Yes
2 Later
or, my favorite:
3 I've got something better
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE'S TAKE ON A FREE MAN
Okay, to be fair, I don't think his exposure to slavery was any at all. These are words of a physically and intellectually privileged man, but there is some truth to this in light of the modern work expectations, and especially when it pertains to the needs for recovery and restoration of the introvert.
“Today as always, men fall into two groups: slaves and free men. Whoever does not have two-thirds of his day for himself, is a slave, whatever he may be: a statesman, a businessman, an official, or a scholar.”
“Today as always, men fall into two groups: slaves and free men. Whoever does not have two-thirds of his day for himself, is a slave, whatever he may be: a statesman, a businessman, an official, or a scholar.”
NANOWRIMO UPDATE
There have three days that I worked that I did not write.
I have started reading pep talks, available without a signing in, and they are really great.
Talking points: don't watch tv, make time, any time to write, your paper/screen doesn't talk, so if it just you and the paper.. (the problem might be you - give yourself a break!), read, write,., keep going, write tangentially, be fearless, don't edit, don't criticize (that will come, later)!
So I have a 7 day badge and am aiming for the 14 (by a glitch, if you write late like me, there is no forgiveness if you post on time, as it counts as the next day😭). I have the 10K badge and have a significant way to the 40K and winner badges.
I have written 17,906 that are now involved in a somewhat convoluted but slowly advancing story line. My characters have made at least one friend and with a plot dry spell for 2 days where I talked more about them as I stalled for ideas of a plot, I went to bed with character arcs that will hopefully get me to a superficial story at least. I will have to be careful that it is not too boring, but that's for later!
I have had on my bucket list to write a novel for decades. When I began, I thought I could invest a little 250 words and day and write 7500 words/ 30 pages. I did not understand the winners of this exercise, and that my obsessive side would bring me past that by now and more. Thanks to Alex, Emily and Scarlet for arranging a meeting with strangers in a coffeeshop that first Thursday. I am closer to imagining writing that novel than ever. The trouble is sleep and exercise have gone by the wayside, and I am running out of time. It is tough!
It would not have been as tough if I had written 1667 words a day from the beginning. My graph is start to look like it might be heading back to the intended trajectory, but it is taking massive investments of time and energy, and given my night shifts begin tomorrow, I am more than a little scared.
The distance between doable and done is expressed in the equation 33,340-17906=15434. That's 1667+1403=3070. With 4 day shifts, I wrote 0 for 4 days. With four nights, this might be difficult. But 3000 on nights is better than leaving 6000 for the last 4 days!
My last math stats, and then I am off to write. I have written the most between 10 and 11 pm. I average 11 words per minute. I write at home, given no portable device but my phone. I have averaged 895 words a day, with a complete date at this rate on December 26. But that is just the gauntlet they throw on NaNoWriMo. The last two days have been my high counts: 2931 and 2921. I finished them both a just before midnight. Today I am going to break that record. I am aiming supra3000, and need to go to bed by 23:00. Today's count is already at 0, as if they mean to mock me. They don't know me. I am stubborn. I am willful. I can do things that seem impossible. I can push myself. I have to push myself. I have plans for December. November 2019 is the month to write my first novel! Wish me luck!
Editor's note:
as of 23:11 tonight, I have a new record of 3475 words, my count total is 21, 381 which is more than a thousand words a day, and the complete date is now December 17th! A demain!
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
LA GIOCONDA (ET AL)
If you can't find the Mona Lisa in the Louvre, ask a guard. There are signs, and legends on the map, and everyone can point the way. You don't really have to try though, if you see a crowd gather like this. You have stumbled upon her. It is an art pilgrimage. An original meme. She's been vandelized so she is stored safely, which will be to your reduced experience. Still, especially if you have a small child, you can make your way through the crowd and see her. To be fair, how can you be anything but underwhelmed with all these centuries of hype?
On the way there, don't miss my favourite Da Vinci paintings in the Louvre (apologies to the quality of the photos:
On the way there, don't miss my favourite Da Vinci paintings in the Louvre (apologies to the quality of the photos:
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| John the Baptist aka the Debonair |
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| Playdate, renaissance style: Mary and Jesus, Elizabeth and John |
THE VATICAN AND SAINT PETER'S
In 2012, I took my family on a l month trip of a lifetime to Italy. Some of our time was spent in Rome, at a hotel on the Via Cavour, a stone's throw from the Colosseum.
My daughter was studying renaissance history and mentioned St. Peter's Church, Michelangelo's Pietà and Da Vinci's Mona Lisa, all of which she has seen. None of which she remembered. So I did the parent thing and dug up some photos, and fell down the rabbit hole that is my digital photo library, and came up with a few gems.
Check out this blog post if you want to see why I keep going back to Mary Queen of the World and its view from the Queen Elizabeth hotel's west side.
Here is Michaelangelo's Pietà, signed in a banner across Mary's chest, and housed in a corner at the Vatican, where precious art is common, that they put tables in front to sell you copies of things, and display things in corners that would be centerpieces anywhere else. The Vatican Museum is THE must-see of all must-see museums.
If you think you saw it in St. Peter's, I will not dissuade you. I think, however, that it may be a copy. Maybe they are both copies. But there is something special about the one against the window that I am taking as the real deal.
Here is proof that my daughter was there (sorry, there seems to be a glitch so these rotated versions will placehold for now):
My daughter was studying renaissance history and mentioned St. Peter's Church, Michelangelo's Pietà and Da Vinci's Mona Lisa, all of which she has seen. None of which she remembered. So I did the parent thing and dug up some photos, and fell down the rabbit hole that is my digital photo library, and came up with a few gems.
Check out this blog post if you want to see why I keep going back to Mary Queen of the World and its view from the Queen Elizabeth hotel's west side.
Here is Michaelangelo's Pietà, signed in a banner across Mary's chest, and housed in a corner at the Vatican, where precious art is common, that they put tables in front to sell you copies of things, and display things in corners that would be centerpieces anywhere else. The Vatican Museum is THE must-see of all must-see museums.
If you think you saw it in St. Peter's, I will not dissuade you. I think, however, that it may be a copy. Maybe they are both copies. But there is something special about the one against the window that I am taking as the real deal.
 |
| La Pietà in St. Peter's Basilica |
Here is proof that my daughter was there (sorry, there seems to be a glitch so these rotated versions will placehold for now):
 |
| The glorious exit from a the truly glorious Vatican |
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| St. Peter's Cathedral |
MEMORY PROBLEMS AND DYSGRAPHIA INTERVENTIONS (BRAIN FRAME, EMPOWER)
I curse the person who invented the term: See 1 Do 1 Teach 1. It is a goal post set too high too often.
My daughter struggles with a type of processing that falls under the heading of expressive speech (a type of Dysgraphia). It was described today by the Speech Therapist as a cognitive problem of memory, and struggles with sequencing, in stories, paragraphs, and even phrases of a sentence.
Thankfully, although she was apparently emotional about it, she has been clear at school that she wants the help they want to give her! And she has been good at advocating for herself.
One of the recommendations is that she needs to have things repeated in order to learn them. As a teacher friend would say, "Duh!" So that's simple! Repeat that, please!
Another is extra time.
A quiet place.
Proofreading should be out loud. In this day and age, Siri can do that for you! There are adaptation on every device these days that should make it easier than ever. When I was in high school, I had to use a tape recorder and record my own voice to memory texts!
As a parent, I need to confirm she understand the instructions by asking for a paraphrase of the task, and cue her to proofread out loud.
Two devices are being taught to her by the Speech Therapist (good name change from Speech Pathologist):
1. BRAIN FRAMES
Look forward to look back, meaning read the WHOLE recipe before you start cooking.
This resource (slideshow on Executive Function Skills) shows the PDF as well as whole lot of other ideas to help the essential processing memory. It includes how working memory works, how struggles occur, interventions suggested. Some include: give written/visual directions in addition to verbal, break down large tasks into smaller ones, highlight, Cornell Notetaking, reduce processing demands by using a graphic organizer or writing rubric (OREOS, Essay Writing Outline) for student to refer to, create a work system, must do (vegetables) and can do (dessert) folders. There are resources and apps to look at.
Seeing someone else's completed task can help.
2. EMPOWER (trademarked so couldn't find) CHECKLIST
My daughter struggles with a type of processing that falls under the heading of expressive speech (a type of Dysgraphia). It was described today by the Speech Therapist as a cognitive problem of memory, and struggles with sequencing, in stories, paragraphs, and even phrases of a sentence.
Thankfully, although she was apparently emotional about it, she has been clear at school that she wants the help they want to give her! And she has been good at advocating for herself.
One of the recommendations is that she needs to have things repeated in order to learn them. As a teacher friend would say, "Duh!" So that's simple! Repeat that, please!
Another is extra time.
A quiet place.
Proofreading should be out loud. In this day and age, Siri can do that for you! There are adaptation on every device these days that should make it easier than ever. When I was in high school, I had to use a tape recorder and record my own voice to memory texts!
As a parent, I need to confirm she understand the instructions by asking for a paraphrase of the task, and cue her to proofread out loud.
Two devices are being taught to her by the Speech Therapist (good name change from Speech Pathologist):
1. BRAIN FRAMES
GET READY - what do I need? Gather it together in one place.
DO
DONE
DO
DONE
Look forward to look back, meaning read the WHOLE recipe before you start cooking.
This resource (slideshow on Executive Function Skills) shows the PDF as well as whole lot of other ideas to help the essential processing memory. It includes how working memory works, how struggles occur, interventions suggested. Some include: give written/visual directions in addition to verbal, break down large tasks into smaller ones, highlight, Cornell Notetaking, reduce processing demands by using a graphic organizer or writing rubric (OREOS, Essay Writing Outline) for student to refer to, create a work system, must do (vegetables) and can do (dessert) folders. There are resources and apps to look at.
Cornell Note Taking Method is found in various template forms. Here is a link to a google doc. Here is a link to download a word doc.
This is a slide show for dyslexia, but I think anyone can benefit from the tips (including wannabe novelists!) It talks about executive function and oral language, breaks down vocabulary with shapes as diagramming symbols, and shows the Brain Frames six part infographic.
This is a slide show for dyslexia, but I think anyone can benefit from the tips (including wannabe novelists!) It talks about executive function and oral language, breaks down vocabulary with shapes as diagramming symbols, and shows the Brain Frames six part infographic.
It includes (thanks to images from Miss Francine):
Showing relationships
Sequencing
Telling
Categorizing
Showing cause/effect
Comparison/contrast
Seeing someone else's completed task can help.
2. EMPOWER (trademarked so couldn't find) CHECKLIST
I did find an elaborated paragraph for EmPOWER that breaks down like this:
Start with a TOPIC SENTENCE (fact or opinion that you will discuss and prove0
Then FRED (Facts Reasons Examples Details) SAY MORE, then FRED SAY MORE, then FRED SAY MORE, then FRED SAY MORE
Finally SO WHAT.
3. Test Prep Sheet
Friday, November 15, 2019
HOW TO WRITE A NOVEL IN NOVEMBER
Last year, I called a girlfriend who lives out of province to catch up, and she told me that she and the four members of her family (hubbie and three primary school kids) were writing novels!It seemed ambitious, but she is a home school teacher of 3 and a teacher by profession, so I thought she and her teacher husband were just working that into their lives they are a little more free to plan than most.
It turns out they are writing a novel in November, and they are far from alone. It turns out that November is not just Movember, a month to raise awareness and funds for male genital cancer, but it is also National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo for those in the know.
Unfortunately for her, she never did get to the point where she could say she "won" (In NaNoWriMo parlance, you are a winner if you write 50,000 words in the 30 day month of November). She was keeping up admirably, while helping her kids to write theirs as well, and had high hopes of weekend retreat at a cabin in the woods, when she fell on the first time out cross-country skiing, and had a fracture of her writing hand that, needless to say, derailed her success for the rest of the month. But she had already developed a character, and had a plot and a setting, and was on her way to going somewhere with this novel that she had started.
At the same time, I entertained the thought of "joining" in midway. Thank goodness I had the good sense not to! I did, however, come up with 3 characters for a longstanding idea of a series, and left it at that.
In the summer, I was invited to participate in a camp. Part of the camp was a marathon. This was an an escalating number of words to reach in a period of time so short I only kept up for the modest first two legs. But it gave me a taste, and I signed up on the website.
In September, emails begin to arrive, and I finally open a document mid October that suggests a six week preparation course that I think is quite well done. I take some notes one day, and signup for my first NaNoWriMo. I figure I'll just take the time frame, make a modest goal of 250 words a day, and look forward to starting. I write a page a day for a few days, and then I see a "write-in" at a neighbourhood coffee shop that I decide to attend. I forget my paper and notes, as I figure the two hour window will be too hard to do much but planning, but when I arrive, I realize I left the papers at the front entrance, and all I have is a phone, and 3 eager writers who have all "won" NaNoWriMo in the past, two of them more than once. (I was impressed but only after do I learn that everyone can be a winner, if you just write 50,000 words.) So I write on my phone for a couple of 20 minute sprints, and I am inspired. My modest goal is a good idea in general, but this program is all or nothing, and writing 1667 words a day is the prescribed minimum. I didn't think that was doable, but that night, I write over 2000 words, and I am hooked, but WAY behind. Maybe I didn't believe it, and still in the view of, "I've never written anything near this, so already this is worth it if I just do something", I fall off for the weekend, and then write NOTHING for the next 4 days of 12 hour workdays, finishing too late to make the next Starbucks meeting on the Thursday that just past.
So today is a hard day. November 15th is half way. That means I should be at 25,000 words by midnight, and the over 6000 words I was proud of last Sunday is looking woefully inadequate. My only badges are 1,2, and 3 day streaks and a 5000 word one. But I had a few ideas while I was washing the dishes and making lunch, and I am off for the next three days. I calculate, that at my 8 words per minute, I could write 540 words an hour, and I have proven to myself last week in the sprints, that 15-20 minutes is enough time to do something. So while my daughter cleans up her room, I write over 800 words in less than an hour, superceding what was predictably impossible. Another 15 minutes while she is in the bathroom, and an hour during homework, and I have the daily quota I was suppose to be meeting all along. Bedtime, and I finish the thoughts, and I have written over 2000 words, and am encroaching in on the 10,000 word badge.
I think the winning idea, beyond daily writing, and a steady goal, is that you are to write and not edit. Not all 50,000 words will be equal in quality. Some would argue that this is destined to be an output of low quality words. What I am finding, though, after a lifetime of editing and careful crafting, is that my brain needs to learn the skill of never looking back. Like brainstorming, it is too easy to poo-poo ideas or crush the seed of one with early criticism. Writing like this is freeing, and today is the first day that I see a plot emerging where I didn't know where to go next. In a murder mystery, there is a death. Too often, the first plot twist in a tv show is an unlikely incredible event. To find a credible inciting event is no easy task, and without the drama aforementioned, the story can get pretty boring.
Fortunately for me, my daughter is not yet allowed to criticize, and neither am I.
A pep talk from author Erin Morgenstern (A Nighttime Circus) was a motivator today too, and in part I have to credit for some things falling into place that I was afraid they wouldn't. She insists that you don't have have the whole plot laid out in front of you, with post its and cue cards. She doesn't. She says she, who has written the NaNoWriMo way, tends to focus on a scene that plays out, and where it fits is to work out later. So I took that to heart today. I had a four ideas, and in laying them out, I started to see how, with small changes to the characters stories, I could used some of the ideas to move the plot forward. If I swapped one story that fits better with another character, some plot turns came up naturally.
I am 9200 words on day 15 /30. That leaves me with 40800 words to write in the last half of the month. With four night shifts, and a multitude of other obligations, I have 2720 words to write on average a day. It's a long shot, but if I fail, what fun has it been to see just how far I have come anyways!
It turns out they are writing a novel in November, and they are far from alone. It turns out that November is not just Movember, a month to raise awareness and funds for male genital cancer, but it is also National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo for those in the know.
Unfortunately for her, she never did get to the point where she could say she "won" (In NaNoWriMo parlance, you are a winner if you write 50,000 words in the 30 day month of November). She was keeping up admirably, while helping her kids to write theirs as well, and had high hopes of weekend retreat at a cabin in the woods, when she fell on the first time out cross-country skiing, and had a fracture of her writing hand that, needless to say, derailed her success for the rest of the month. But she had already developed a character, and had a plot and a setting, and was on her way to going somewhere with this novel that she had started.
At the same time, I entertained the thought of "joining" in midway. Thank goodness I had the good sense not to! I did, however, come up with 3 characters for a longstanding idea of a series, and left it at that.
In the summer, I was invited to participate in a camp. Part of the camp was a marathon. This was an an escalating number of words to reach in a period of time so short I only kept up for the modest first two legs. But it gave me a taste, and I signed up on the website.
In September, emails begin to arrive, and I finally open a document mid October that suggests a six week preparation course that I think is quite well done. I take some notes one day, and signup for my first NaNoWriMo. I figure I'll just take the time frame, make a modest goal of 250 words a day, and look forward to starting. I write a page a day for a few days, and then I see a "write-in" at a neighbourhood coffee shop that I decide to attend. I forget my paper and notes, as I figure the two hour window will be too hard to do much but planning, but when I arrive, I realize I left the papers at the front entrance, and all I have is a phone, and 3 eager writers who have all "won" NaNoWriMo in the past, two of them more than once. (I was impressed but only after do I learn that everyone can be a winner, if you just write 50,000 words.) So I write on my phone for a couple of 20 minute sprints, and I am inspired. My modest goal is a good idea in general, but this program is all or nothing, and writing 1667 words a day is the prescribed minimum. I didn't think that was doable, but that night, I write over 2000 words, and I am hooked, but WAY behind. Maybe I didn't believe it, and still in the view of, "I've never written anything near this, so already this is worth it if I just do something", I fall off for the weekend, and then write NOTHING for the next 4 days of 12 hour workdays, finishing too late to make the next Starbucks meeting on the Thursday that just past.
So today is a hard day. November 15th is half way. That means I should be at 25,000 words by midnight, and the over 6000 words I was proud of last Sunday is looking woefully inadequate. My only badges are 1,2, and 3 day streaks and a 5000 word one. But I had a few ideas while I was washing the dishes and making lunch, and I am off for the next three days. I calculate, that at my 8 words per minute, I could write 540 words an hour, and I have proven to myself last week in the sprints, that 15-20 minutes is enough time to do something. So while my daughter cleans up her room, I write over 800 words in less than an hour, superceding what was predictably impossible. Another 15 minutes while she is in the bathroom, and an hour during homework, and I have the daily quota I was suppose to be meeting all along. Bedtime, and I finish the thoughts, and I have written over 2000 words, and am encroaching in on the 10,000 word badge.
I think the winning idea, beyond daily writing, and a steady goal, is that you are to write and not edit. Not all 50,000 words will be equal in quality. Some would argue that this is destined to be an output of low quality words. What I am finding, though, after a lifetime of editing and careful crafting, is that my brain needs to learn the skill of never looking back. Like brainstorming, it is too easy to poo-poo ideas or crush the seed of one with early criticism. Writing like this is freeing, and today is the first day that I see a plot emerging where I didn't know where to go next. In a murder mystery, there is a death. Too often, the first plot twist in a tv show is an unlikely incredible event. To find a credible inciting event is no easy task, and without the drama aforementioned, the story can get pretty boring.
Fortunately for me, my daughter is not yet allowed to criticize, and neither am I.
A pep talk from author Erin Morgenstern (A Nighttime Circus) was a motivator today too, and in part I have to credit for some things falling into place that I was afraid they wouldn't. She insists that you don't have have the whole plot laid out in front of you, with post its and cue cards. She doesn't. She says she, who has written the NaNoWriMo way, tends to focus on a scene that plays out, and where it fits is to work out later. So I took that to heart today. I had a four ideas, and in laying them out, I started to see how, with small changes to the characters stories, I could used some of the ideas to move the plot forward. If I swapped one story that fits better with another character, some plot turns came up naturally.
I am 9200 words on day 15 /30. That leaves me with 40800 words to write in the last half of the month. With four night shifts, and a multitude of other obligations, I have 2720 words to write on average a day. It's a long shot, but if I fail, what fun has it been to see just how far I have come anyways!
THE ALTRUISM ARGUMENT
True altruism exists.
I have heard it argued that altruism is just another form of self-preservation, an extension of ego. No good act can be truly selfless, as the act itself benefits the giver with its own reciprocal gift. I have been convinced of this argument for a large part of my adult life, but I have been disappointed by its truth for just as long. I have not conceded, however, that this reality should change the act of giving, doing for others, loving, sharing. I prefer a society in which this is the default, and criticize the current one that is too often self-serving alone.
So as I was hustling to the train in our first serious snow of the season, I was thinking about a parent's decision to do something for their child. I was thinking about how some parents, and I think all parents, sometimes, do things for their children as an extension of their ego, which is truly more self-serving than for their children, but if the child's needs are met, even though this may only be possible for the initial decade or two, even a narsissist, with the right choices, can raise a child. But if the egoist parent can make a better decision, even while self serving, can not another kind of parent act in a the opposite, selfless way?
For example, if a child needs something that the parent feels they cannot spare, is it selfish, then, to find a way to give it to them, at whatever the cost? If I have to choose between work I am expected to do, and something my child needs, and I find a way to do, at whatever cost that might be to my work life, and by extension me, is this not a selfless act. Other things are at play than ego. Can I not do the right thing for another while sacrificing something from myself? No, you argue, I have now obtained the satisfaction that I have done the right thing. But if I imagine the act of a hero, whose existence is given up for the life of another, is this not selfless. There is no reward. Their sacrifice is complete, and their act is real. They have chosen to give without hope of reward. So if such an act is possible, are not the lesser acts similarly possible to be made without selfishness, in the sense of justice, or fairness? And if this was the first time the act was done, would the reward not yet motivate, but only come after the altruist choice? The fact of satisfaction does not negate the intent, made before the reward.
Sunday, November 3, 2019
HOME DECORATING INSPIRATION FROM A LITTLE OLD LADY THAT THE INTERNET CLAIMS TO BE REAL
I like the pattern on the wall, the decadent front dresser and the gold mirror. Of course having room for windows around the door, and a walkin hallway like that is the stuff of dreams but not this bungalow's reality.
I love the chandelier, and the gold wall paper. The pastels with a pop of blue work. She has the sideboard set up with vases and champagne glasses, like one uses everyday!
Galley kitchens are practical and the double sink and chandelier are necessity!
This breakfast nook with a velour looking built-in and climbing roses is romantic.
Pastels and pops. Gold and White. Soft fabrics and slender legs. I love it!
No tv in sight! Side lamps, not chandeliers in this living room. A true hearth.
Office with my least favorite colour, but there is something about that orange that makes me want to accent in purple. Desk looking out the window.
Another fantastic green with pops of soft fabric and the neutrals white and gold. Missing the purple master bed room I think.
A small but decadent guest room.
Bathroom with lots of mirror, and loads of towels.
Basement great room with carpet and hearth. Where does she keep her books?
A well stocked bar and a little less class. Comfortable though, and uncluttered.
REGINA WALKING TOURS
For some local architecture, the city of Regina has a number of walking tours with history and maps at your disposal. Here is the link.
MYTHICAL CREATURES IDENTIFIED
Friday, November 1, 2019
PLANTING TULIPS TO REMEMBER
Herman was the first of our class to die. Trouble was, he was only 20 years old when he died in Washington's Cascade mountains, 2 years after we graduated. So this year, after a 30 year class reunion, gold tulip bulbs are being planted across the country in his memory. They are sitting in my mailbox, and according to the instructions and the weather predictions, I only have 2 more days to plant them before the ground will start to freeze.
At the same time, I am researching some details of one of my favourite hotels; Ottawa's Chateau Laurier, and remembering that the lobby is filled with Karsh photos. A classmate of mine who couldn't make it had told me years ago that he had seen a photo taken of Herman's grandpa, and tonight, in my research, I discovered that Karsh lived at the Chateau with his wife in a suite that still bears his name, and still contains the refridgerator from their 1930 extended stay. The photo is called Prairie Wheat Farmer, and was taken in 1953 as part of a magazine assignment.
For an exhaustive list of contemporaries, and beautiful black and white poitraits, the curated site of Yousuf Karsh is easy to navigate, and stunning.
At the same time, I am researching some details of one of my favourite hotels; Ottawa's Chateau Laurier, and remembering that the lobby is filled with Karsh photos. A classmate of mine who couldn't make it had told me years ago that he had seen a photo taken of Herman's grandpa, and tonight, in my research, I discovered that Karsh lived at the Chateau with his wife in a suite that still bears his name, and still contains the refridgerator from their 1930 extended stay. The photo is called Prairie Wheat Farmer, and was taken in 1953 as part of a magazine assignment.
For an exhaustive list of contemporaries, and beautiful black and white poitraits, the curated site of Yousuf Karsh is easy to navigate, and stunning.
THE YEAR WE HAD TWO HALLOWEENS
Our ability to predict the weather has only served to increase our fears. This year, the prediction of rain led the city of Montreal to postpone Halloween. Those of us in Pointe-Claire have demerged, and did not cancel. My tough Canadian girl was excited to be a "realistic" bat, and I had enough time to make the design waterproof-ish. It was a little tougher the next night, with winds so strong, many trees fell in the area.
 |
| Cardboard, a stretched out garbage bag, the bars from a broken umbrella, some tape, craft glue, and some pantyhose that had holes in it. |
 |
| One bat costume complete with matching ears. |
NANOWRIMO PROFILE
My name is Freaka (Fredericka) Johnsdotter. You can call me Fred if you like. Writing a novel has been on my bucket list for a while, but I only wrote small pieces, and kept collecting them in a file. Last year I had an idea, but it didn't go very far. One year later, the idea had percolated long enough to have a setting, and three embryonic characters. Now I just have to find a plot that makes sense, but the characters are fleshing out nicely in this perfect month of the year to write my first (very unedited) novel!
Thursday, October 31, 2019
HOMEMADE PUMPKIN SPICE
In the fall, everything seems to turn to pumpkin spice. Lattes. Cookies. Candles. Coffee beverages. I had some leftover pumpkin puree from a favourite lentil recipe, and I thought I would try and make my own syrup. It was not an obvious winner, but if you look past appearance and texture, the flavour was perfect for the season.
I got this 4 ingredient recipe from It doesn't taste like chicken. It requires no cooking. I actually used canned puree, but the results was very sludgy, so I ended up putting through a sieve, but it remained a clingy consistency. I enjoyed it with my coffee. One time I tried a latte. I think I overdid the time! It was a pumpkin latte fail!
I got this 4 ingredient recipe from It doesn't taste like chicken. It requires no cooking. I actually used canned puree, but the results was very sludgy, so I ended up putting through a sieve, but it remained a clingy consistency. I enjoyed it with my coffee. One time I tried a latte. I think I overdid the time! It was a pumpkin latte fail!
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
RIGAUD IN THE FALL
We have had the most beautiful October, and the longest colour festival for fall in a long time. Every drive, walk, hike, train ride, I think, "this is it, it's going to be over", and then I find another tree in all its yellow, orange, red, and purple glory.
Last week I hiked the summit of Rigaud's Our Lady of Lourdes Sanctuary Hill, and it was stunning. At the peak of pilgrimage, the sanctuary must draw incredible crowds. We were just a few cars that day, but hundreds could park in the lot below. My dear friend made the longer trek to meet here from Ottawa, but was happy for the experience. I was relieved, as it was competing with a bakery in Cornwall and the Gatineau Hills! We were niced fueled by sandwiches, salads and baked treats from Croissant 21. We made our way to the cross from trails that led through the granite rubble of an old quarry, and got lost around the back for a while before backtracking to the summit. Next time we will try the hiking trails that actually have a map for it! It was overcast, but just the right time for the fall colours.
 |
| View from the Sanctuary |
Last week I hiked the summit of Rigaud's Our Lady of Lourdes Sanctuary Hill, and it was stunning. At the peak of pilgrimage, the sanctuary must draw incredible crowds. We were just a few cars that day, but hundreds could park in the lot below. My dear friend made the longer trek to meet here from Ottawa, but was happy for the experience. I was relieved, as it was competing with a bakery in Cornwall and the Gatineau Hills! We were niced fueled by sandwiches, salads and baked treats from Croissant 21. We made our way to the cross from trails that led through the granite rubble of an old quarry, and got lost around the back for a while before backtracking to the summit. Next time we will try the hiking trails that actually have a map for it! It was overcast, but just the right time for the fall colours.
 |
| The Cross with a gaggle of students at the lookout |
 |
| From the lookout. My pictures don't do it justice. |
 |
| If the path feels like you are walking on sand, you have gone too far ! |
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