SATURDAY NIGHT: A HERO'S JOURNEY

Nod to Joseph Campbell's HERO OF A THOUSAND FACES and the concept of MONOMYTH

DEPARTURE

The Ordinary World - introduction of the protagonist anti-hero

The Call to Adventure - shifts

Refusing the Call to Adventure - Sick call

Meeting the Mentor - bad bosses, charming colleagues, paying it forward, role model

Crossing the Threshold - signover 

INITIATION

Test, Allies, and Enemies - blue light, catching mistakes (rib fractures, MRI delays, transfer errors)

Approach to the Inmost Cave - catching up and other calculated moves

The Ordeal - psychiatrist pushback, missing bedtime, eating late, code stroke at dinner

The Reward - RN support

RETURN

The Road Back - countdown to signover

Resurrection - the golden hour of catchup

Return With the Elixir - homeward bound

Jonah

Life in Niniveh

Called by God 

Shirking responsibility

In the Belly of the Whale (inmost cave)

Vomited on the beach

A second life to live

POTENTIAL SPACE

The space between my thoughts.

Giving space for ideas.

Holding space for others.

LEMON POPPY SEED BISCOTTI

Recommended by my friend and former roommate (one year by chance, and one year by choice!), who makes biscotti a regular breakfast decision.

It seems ironic that the website that supplies the recipe is Lord Byron’s Kitchen, as he was famously known to have a suspected eating disorder, and was probably body dysmorphic.

In any case, cookies look good, and I will try them as soon as I buy flour.

Today was a pyjama day, but tomorrow I will get dressed, and make it to the store!

LEMON POPPY SEED ALMOND BISCOTTI

COURSE: BRUNCH, DESSERT, SNACK

CUISINE: NORTH AMERICAN

 

PREP TIME: 15MINUTES MINUTES

COOK TIME: 55MINUTES MINUTES

TOTAL TIME: 1HOUR HOUR 10MINUTES MINUTES

SERVINGS: 12 SERVINGS

 

CALORIES: 289KCAL

AUTHOR: LORD BYRON'S KITCHEN

Sweet, tart, and a whole lot of fresh lemon flavour is what makes this Lemon Poppy Seed Almond Biscotti so delicious. Perfect for dunking in an afternoon hot drink!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 whole lemons, zested and juiced
• 1 teaspoon lemon extract
• 1 cup whole blanched almonds
• 1 cup confectioner's sugar
• 3 teaspoons lemon juice

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Next, wish in the poppy seeds.
• In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, sugar, and butter until light and fluffy - about 5 minutes. 
• Add the lemon zest and lemon extract to the butter mixture. Beat well to incorporate.
• Transfer the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Beat on low until just combined.
• Stir in the blanched almonds.
• Form the dough into a long log on the baking sheet. The dough log should measure 6" wide by 12" long. (Dust hands with flour if dough it too sticky to form into a log.)
• Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and place baking sheet onto a wire cooling rack for 5 minutes.
• Gently transfer the log to a cutting board. Slice across the log to get slices of 3/4 inch thick.
• Lay the slices, cut side down on the baking sheet. Return to oven and bake for 12 minutes. Turn over each slice and bake for 12 more minutes.
• Remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire cooling rack.
• When completely cool, whisk the confectioner's sugar with 2-3 teaspoons of lemon juice until smooth.
• Drizzle over cooled biscotti or dunk the tops into the glaze. Sprinkle iced biscotti with extra poppy seeds if desired. Allow the glaze to set and harden before serving or storing.

NOTES

Lemon extract is used in the biscotti dough rather than lemon juice.  The extract is much more concentrated, ensuring a good amount of lemon flavour.  

NUTRITION

Calories: 289kcal | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 47mg | Sodium: 116mg | Potassium: 185mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 27g | Vitamin A: 68IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 75mg | Iron: 2mg

www.lordbyronskitchen.com

PARTITION OF INDIA

The story of the partition of Indian and Pakistan was familiar to me, but it is strange that the story resonates from a Disney show about a young super hero called Ms. Marvel.

In 1947, with the British Parliament passing the Indian Indepedence Act, Lord Mountbatten announced the date, and the border was prepared at a distance by barrister Sir Radcliffe.

 The  previously integrated populations moved in hopes of the religious safety of a religious majority between India, and Pakistan, in the provinces of Bengal and Punjab. An estimated 1 million people died.

It reminded me of the troops leaving Afghanistan, with a vacuum that lead to violence and oppression, thanks to the longtime interference of a military power (the US instead of Britain, in this case).

HISTORY OF MONTREAL CHINATOWN

 https://www.sfu.ca/chinese-canadian-history/montreal_chinatown_en.html

DRESSUP IN YUNNAN CHINA

My friend lived in Spring City, Kunming for a time, and I went on tour with her and her friend, my daughter’s namesake. We dressed up once, and it was the traditional dress of the “Bai” people, which apparently means white.

BEST FOOD IN THE WEST ISLAND

 https://montreal.eater.com/maps/meilleurs-best-restaurants-west-island-montreal-dorval-pointe-claire

Bombay Choupati 5011 Sources Indian

Aryana 4886 Sources Afghan

Becks 4886B Sources Filipino

Vivaldi 13071 Gouin Italian

Ooh! Crabe 4820 St Jean Cajun

Bistro 1843 376 Cherrier Ile Bizard French

Toasties 4710 St Jean submarine

Tacos Don Rigo 4740 St Jean

Matjip 3343A Sources Korean

Marko Sushi 3339 D Sources sushi

Birdhouse 63 Brunswick “wingerie”

Riccardo 4071 St Jean Italian

Bisto Nolan 3669 St Jean Cajun

Mama Dumplings 3597 St Jean Chinese

Scarolies 950 St Jean Italian

Tommy Cafe Fairview Tapas, blue milk latte

Bistro Grace 18425 Antoine-Faucon 

Grill Select 2756 St Charles Persian noodle soup, mirza ghassemi

Cugini’s Pizza 275 Elm

Resto Pub Bord’eaux 53 Ste Anne homestyle cooking

BIKE PATHS MONTREAL

 https://www.velo.qc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/2022-cartemontreal-detaillees.pdf?v=1

THREE METRICS IN ADDITION TO DIVIDEND YIELD

 Don’t just rely on the dividend yield, or a low-priced stock that pays dividends can lead to what The Motley Fool calls a « dividend trap »

1. P/E Price-to-Earnings ratio  - the higher the P/E ratio, the more expensive a stock is relative to its earnings

Earnings per share = profits/ number of outstanding shares

P/E =stock price/EPS

2. Free cash flow

More cash in, even if not going out in dividend, is good.

If dividends are greater than cash in, this is a red flag!

3. Debt-to-Equity ratio = total liabilities/total shareholder equity

A Low D-E R is more funded through equity, which is preferred.

A high D-E R means a company is funded more by debt, which is riskier.

BILINGUAL TREES AND SHRUBS

Un Érable - Maple 

Un Tilleul - Linden

Un Pin blanc, gris, rouge - Pine 

Un Sapin  - Fir 

L’Épinette blanche,  noire - Spruce (France: Épicéa)

Un Chêne - Oak 

Un Bouleau - Birch 

Un Frêne - Ash 

Un Hêtre - Beech

Un Cèdre (Blanc/Thuya occidental) - Cedar (White)

Un Peuplier - Poplar 

Un Saule - Willow 

Un Tremble - Aspen 

Un Châtaignier - Chestnut tree

Un Marronnier - Horse Chestnut 

Une Caryer (ovale) - Hickory (Shagbark)

Une Pruche - Hemlock

Un Charme -Hornbeam tree

Un mimosa – Mimosa tree

Un sorbier – Mountain Ash tree (Rowan) - red berries

Un sumac – Sumac

Un lilac – Lilac tree

Un Prunus – Plum tree

Un Cerisier - Cherry tree

Un If - Yew (Château d’If, Conte de Monte Cristo) *frontyard

Un Noyer - Walnut

Le Mélèze - Larch

Un Orme - Elm

Le Sureau – Elder bush

Le Magnolia – Magnolia 

L’Aubépine – Hawthorn

Le Brunellier – Blackthorn (Sloe) *backyard

Le Chèvrefeuille - Honeysuckle

Le Cornouillier – Dogwood *frontyard

CONIFERS BY IMAGE

CREDIT: www.coniferousforest.com

SUBMISSIONS AND PUBLISHING

https://discover.submittable.com/blog/where-to-submit-your-work/

 https://www.publishersmarketplace.com/

*Recommended by a repeat published author with an agent and everything!

EDITING

STAGES OF EDITING

DEFINITION

Carefully reviewing material before it is published, suggesting or making changes to correct or improve it

GOALS

Ensure the material is consistent and correct

Its content, language, style, and design suit its purpose

The text meets the needs of its audience

FOUR STAGES

1. SUBSTANTIVE/STRUCTURAL

2. STYLISTIC

3. COPY

4. PROOFREADING

SUBSTANTIVE editing = Structural editing 

- focuses on content, organization and presentation of the text

-title to end

-revising, reordering, cutting, or expanding material

-defines the writer’s goals

-identifies their readers

- shapes the manuscript

-determines whether permissions are necessary for third-party material

-recasting material better presented in another form, or revising for another medium

STYLISTIC

-clarifies meaning, ensures coherence and flow, refine language

-eliminate jargon, clichés, euphemisms

- adjust the length and structure of sentences and paragraphs

- establish and maintain tone, mood, style, and level of formality

COPY

-editing to ensure correctness, accuracy, consistency, and completeness

- grammar, spelling, punctuation, usage

- continuity of mechanics and facts

-edits tables, figures, and lists

- developing a style sheet

- fact-checking

- marking levels of headings

- placement of art

- Canadianizing, converting measurements  

- indexes

- listing permissions

- front matter, back matter, cover copy

- check web links

PROOFREADING

- final format review (checking a work AFTER editing)

- check adherence to design, deviations from style sheet, consistency and accuracy of cross-references, captions, web pages, hyperlinks, metadata

 - copy fitting, page numbers

PROFESSIONAL EDITORIAL STANDARDS

ESTIMATING TIME (page =250 words)

Light Copy Edit 6-8 pages per hour

Stylistic/Heavy Copy Edit 3-4 pages per hour

Substantive edit 1-3 pages per hour

STYLE SHEET DEVELOPMENT

4 components: 

General Style - treatment of numbers, abbreviations, punctuation, typography (use of italics and other font attributes), usage, and, of course a general word list

Characters - physical descriptions, life status, negative attributes, relative descriptions

Places - real or fiction

Timeline - plot your characters, lists details

https://opentextbc.ca/selfpublishguide/chapter/style-sheet/

https://www.louiseharnbyproofreader.com/blog/whats-a-style-sheet-and-how-do-i-create-one-help-for-indie-authors

https://www.thebluegarret.com/blog/what-is-a-style-sheet

https://www.friesenpress.com/blog/2021/5/6/style-sheet-template-book-writing

https://americaneditor.wordpress.com/2015/01/19/thinking-fiction-the-style-sheets-part-i-general-style/

CREDIT: Editors Canada website

I need to learn how to be one!

WRITING COMMUNITIES

 The first time I met our NaNoWriMo group downtown was after the pandemic lockdown was over. We met at a bar in my old neighbourhood in Côte-des-Neiges. I was early, and the first bartender didn’t know anything about it, but was unbothered by me sitting alone, ordering a drink, and working on my computer.

The barkeepers shifts changed and the meetup hour neared. The next one was aware of our meeting, and showed me to the back room that held a number of tables. We were a big group, so we took up 3 long tables, and made our introductions. Everything seemed normal, until we started to write.

I imagine it was startling for the server to walk into the back room of the pub, hearing only silence, thinking it was empty, only to find 15 people there, all staring at their computers or notebooks, furiously writing and thinking, with no one saying a word to their neighbour! He physically started when he arrived, and I laughed to think what a bunch of nerds we must seem. I was such a happy introvert that day. Why didn’t I do this before? Outside of a library, that is!

Just because we are working introverts doesn’t mean we don’t like being quiet with companions!

Here are a few leads for communities that have been recommended to me:

 NaNoWriMo

Quebec Writers’ Federation “Shut Up & Write”- uses the Pomodoro method of 25 minutes work, 5 minutes break

Sisters in Crime

Editors Canada

I AM NOT RENOVATING MY KITCHEN ANYTIME SOON

But when I do, I have a vision board!

 

SOUP AND STUFFING

I like leftovers and easy meals. I have these can tops that I got for my dear diabetic kitty years ago and I use them to save people food now. I had half a can of tomato soup and a bunch of turnip sweet potato carrot stuffing leftover. For a day of writing, which is a low energy way to spend on a rainy day, this was the perfect five minute meal!

 

GRANDMA AND GRANDPA’S HOUSE

Some of my favourite memories were formed in a rectangular bungalow in a small town. There were seasons: end of summer threshing, fall piles of leaves, frigid blowing winter, spring pussywillows. There were cousins, and long days and short nights. There were Archie comic books with advertisements promising X-ray glasses and sea monsters exchange for a stamp and a fee. There were sagging beds covered in fuzzy chenille bedspreads and mirror vanity complete with a set of hairbrush, comb and hand mirror in a musty basement There were shelves lined with rows of carefully prepared jars, filled with repeating colours like a food museum with warty green pickles and crimson beets and other delicacies I would never taste. There was a light above the work bench, illuminating an array of tools and boxes of .22 gauge ammunition, and two double barrel rifles with notched sights carefully hung on the wall.

There were fragrant turkey dinners with mountains of creamy mashed potatoes and abundant gravy. There was music, with my grandma on the piano or organ or accordian, in between being cook and clotheshorse. One time my aunt even swept me up dancing the two step around the living room floor. 

For small gatherings, there were tv tray dinners and schedules of soap operas that my grandma called stories. It was a warm place. My grandma was a soft cuddly woman who smiled and squealed in delight when we came to visit. My grandpa drove us out to the farm in the back of a pickup truck, and if we were really daring we would try and sit on the edges we called “gunnels’. They drove downtown to mainstreet, literally two blocks from their house. I never even saw my grandma walk around the block, but she could drive the grain truck beside the thresher in wheat harvest like a pro, her jet black hair and glasses barely visible above the steering wheel.

Two things that I smell in my house take me back to those days. The humid basement air that doesn’t circulate in the summer, and the smell that I came home to last night.

I am a mostly vegetarian but I still eat as an omnivore when I am with Princess Pirate. I don’t want to waste any meat sacrificed by an animal, so although I am motivated to vegetarianism by my ideals, I am a practical vegetarian. I had bought a roast chicken for sandwiches this week, and the carcass needed treating. Yesterday I chopped up some rapidly deteriorating celery and carrots, added a bag of frozen leeks (Somehow I have more of those than onions these days), added some spices from my cupboard and dried from my garden, put it in a crockpot before I went to work. 

When I got home, my house smelled of the wonderful aroma of my Grandma’s house. 

This dog’s breakfast of now compost reminds me of those wonderful days at holidays at my grandparents’ house. 

It also reminds me of the first time I made soup stock, to serve as a reminder to myself and a warning to you: I cooked it for hours and poured it into the sieve, only to realize that this was not pasta, and the water was not the waste but the product! 

Too late, I had poured most of it down the sink! 

ALWAYS ALWAYS put the sieve in your biggest container before you pour, and catch every last drop of the precious soup broth! 

WALKING AWAY FOR ME

Sometimes walking away is the only option. 

Not because I want to make you miss me, or realize that you took me for granted. (I know you can’t because I tried to explain, but you couldn’t hear me, or even see me.)

It’s because I finally respect myself enough to know that I deserve better.

THE OLDEST BOOK IN THE WORLD IS A SCROLL

 China is known for a lot of technology, but this doesn’t always conjure up more ancient technologies, which include paper, gunpowder, the magnetic compass,  silk, rice, noodles, citrous fruits, tea, porcelain and medicine (homeostasis, balancing chi).

The story of the discovery of oldest printed text could be the plot from a movie. The Diamond Sutra is a 16 foot, 6000 word scroll written by a Tang Dynasty monk in 868 AD. It is considered to be one of the most important teachings about the basis of Mahayana Buddhism . The Diamond Sutra in combination with the Heart Sutra is the basis of Zen (Chan) tradition. It was discovered by a monk guarding the Mogao cave, also called the Cave of the Thousand Buddhas. He sold the Diamond Sutra to Hungarian born archaeologist Aurel Stein on one of his expeditions along the Silk Road.

The Diamond Sutra tells a story about a disciple having a conversation with Buddha about a Wisdom that Cuts Like a Diamond (Thunderbolt in Sanskrit), shattering illusions to get to ultimate reality. 

The four main points from the sutra:

1. giving without attachment to self

2. liberating beings without notions of self and other

3. living without attachment

4. cultivating without attainment.

NEYS WWII LABOUR CAMP

 In the province of Ontario, on the north shore of Lake Superior, in the boundaries of a provincial park, rests the remains of a World War II Prisoner-of-War camp. This park drew me to it because it was where 

The information I am about to record came from a three page pamphlet titled :Neys Camp 100: A Brief History, which was self-described to be an condensed version of the PoW section of a booklet published in the mid-1970s called Inhospitable Shore: A History of Neys Provincial Park.

“Shortly after the onset of World War II, the British government requested the assistance of the Canadaian government to house some 6700 interned persons, as British camps were becoming full. The Department of National Defence in Ottawa then surveyed several locations across Canada as a number of camps were intended to be built. Neys was one of the sites that was surveyed.”

CAMPING POETRY

 Parc Mauricie

Sept 5, 2021

Crickets creaking

Girls giggling in their tent

Raindrops

Is it raining again

Or just falling from the trees?

A cricket jumps into my tent

Phew! Caught it! It’s out!

Too wet for a fire, so no s’mores

Cold beans for lunch

No complaining

Toads jump in the dark

Girls recycle gladly

Pump up the mattresses again

Time for sleep

Copyright Freaka Johnsdotter

November 17, 2023

SHE WALKS IN DARKNESS

Inspired by Portuguese Sonnets and Victorian Gothic Horror

She walks in darkness

Out of sight

A beast within

Behind sad eyes

Where others shied

from any fight

She embraced pain 

Saw through lies

They cautioned her 

She had a bite

Eschewed her presence 

Under the guise

Of more appropriate 

Social ties

But when they hurt

Felt shame

Feared pain

They found her

She listened 

To all their sighs

Behind the shadows

Her heart shone bright

In the darkness

She was wise

Beyond her years

Pushed to the edge

Of social norms

And mental health

A Debbie Downer

at a party

A failsafe friend

in times of strife

Behind dark eyes

A careful watcher

For bad in good

Ever present

November 17, 2023

Copywrite Freaka Johnsdotter

REVISION

She walks in darkness through the night

Steady in places where others take flight

Sitting in shadows out of sight

Fearless where others dare not go

She looks for those who are brought low

Staying where others don’t want to know

Companion to those who take it slow

Eyes and ears full of death

Attuned to distress and their last breath

Never alone but absorbed in thought

Memories recalled without being sought

In search of broken hearts to mend

Never knowing what she could give or lend

Cold fingers from the dying cling 

She squeezes warmly with lullabies to sing

Her beating heart slows its pace

Gazing unflinchingly into their face

Knowing how low she can get

Before she needs to recuperate

SINGLENESS AND WRITING

 I started a journal with this title in 1997, dated May 30. I was in my first year as a medical resident in Montreal, and I started writing in third person.

“The night was dark and the sound of rain hitting the roof and flowing down the drain pipes enter the room. She was lying on her bed, seemingly engrossed in a novel. She looked at briefly, laid the book, open on its pages and reached over her side table to light a candle with a match. The smell of the burning match reminded her instantly of a campfire and she sighted and sat up against her headboard in a happy state of reverie. Memories of past holidays, school backpacking trips, and summer camp tumbled through her mind with a smile coming over her face as one happy moment led to another’s memory.”

Some awkward phrasing, giving rise to an image of a happy nostalgic young woman with a room about to flood! My cursive writing was still quite readable, and I stroked through words in error with an average of two lines, something my medical training would teach me only to use one.

“970604

It’s the strangest thing, but I can write things on paper that I hesitate to tell my closest friends in person, and yet I would have no problem my friends or complete stranger reading the exact same words. Although it’s not intuitive, I think part of it [sic] because when a person sits down to read some thing, it means that they have opened theirself [sic] at least enough to make the effort to settle down with a book. And although many would agree with me about it, for an introvert like me who grew up devouring books, I think the medium of print is one of the most intimate, private ways of expression that I have ever known.”

VERSES

Isaiah 54:5 God as our husband

Matthew 19:12 singleness as a choice

1 Co 7:34-36 undivided devotion

Song of Songs 3:5 love in God’s time

Eccl 3:11a In His Time

SONGS

No One But You Lord

Abba Father

As The Deer

Cry of My Heart

Father God

The Greatest Thing

I Cry Out

I Lift My Eyes Up

In His Time

In Moments Like These

Jesus Lover of My Soul

Love the Lord Your God

More Precious Than Silver

O How I Love Jesus

Only A Shadow

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

Vergiß es Nie

When I Look Into Your Holiness

You Are My Wholeness

You Are the One

Father I Want You to Hold Me

I know the tunes and lyrics of most of these songs immediately, although they were stored decades ago. I think of myself of musically challenged, having confused Rush and Tragically Hip songs and many obviously different sounds and styles, much to my embarrassment and others incredulity. But as I sing these songs, there is an undertone that creeps me out. The love of the Father and Jesus is almost cringeworthy, as though their love is an obsessive love usually reserved for crushes, and romantic relationships. In that guileless love is the potential for evil, whether in losing oneself for another or as prey for a predator.

“Dec 16, 2021

THOUGHTS

I didn’t get very far in my thoughts almost 25 years ago,  but I clearly found myself a writer. At least a journalist or a reporter, I think it was difficult to write about singleness when even in my scripture passages, I [sic: sound like I] am not whole single. I am still looking to a man as god. 

Today I can truly write about being single. I could not live the life I have today if I wasn’t single.”

IN HIGH ACHIEVING STUDENT HOMES

Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu: You are the primary educator of your children

Reposted on Sean Croxton’s Podcast The Quote of the Day

1.  Transmit hope (culture a belief for a better future for them)

2. Be consistent

3. Compliment your children

4. Have high expectations

5. Believe that you are the primary educators of your children

Establish goals for your children

Make a home program

Develop the necessary skills

“I control the process, not the result.”

BREATHE

She sat at the back and they said she was shy,

She led from the front and they hated her pride,

They asked her advice and then questioned her guidance,

They branded her loud, then were shocked by her silence,

When she shared no ambition they said it was sad,

So she told them her dreams and they said she was mad,

They told her they’d listen, then covered their ears,

And gave her a hug while they laughed at her fears,

And she listened to all of it thinking she should,

Be the girl they told her to be best as she could,

But one day she asked what was best for herself,

Instead of trying to please everyone else,

So she walked to the forest and stood with the trees,

She heard the wind whisper and dance with the leaves,

She spoke to the willow, the elm and the pine,

And she told them what she’d been told time after time,

She told them she felt she was never enough,

She was either too little or far far too much,

Too loud or too quiet, too fierce or too weak,

Too wise or too foolish, too bold or too meek,

Then she found a small clearing surrounded by firs,

And she stopped…and she heard what the trees said to her,

And she sat there for hours not wanting to leave,

For the forest said nothing, it just let her breathe`

~ Becky Hemsley ~