Saturday, August 6, 2016

TOULOUSE LAUTREC EXHIBIT MMFA





Toulouse Lautrec is still not my favourite artist, but it was an interesting perspective on  La Belle Epoque. He was definitely in the heart of it, and I did not know before how he was affected by a congenital disorder that made his life as a painter make sense. He had more admirable works than I had seen. I do like La Toilette  and Portrait of Van Gogh. I recognize his style, and respect that development, but I feel like the original critics of impressionism. His distortions in colour and detail make me feel his disrespect of the women in his world, and I find most of his work ugly. To each his own, and time will tell!
Miss Marcell Lender 1895 by Toulouse Lautrec (TL), an obsession of TL. She played Galswinthe in Hervé's Chilpéric (operetta) at Théâtre des Variétés, dancing the bolero in a Spanish costume. 

At the Circus 1887 by L. Anquetin, a favorite subject of TL

Chez Bruant (Mirliton, Montmartre), of Black Cat fame.  1886-7 by L. Anquetin. La Goulue is the girl centre stage. Artist Paul Tampier is on the right, seen from the back. Painter Émile Bernard is on the left. TL is behind in the far background, standing on a table in a red shirt. 

The black cat from May Belfort fame

ART DECO POLICE/FIRE STATION ON STE-CATHERINE











AUX VIVRES EXPRESS ON CRESCENT

DRAGON SANDWICH  (tempeh, carrots, lettuce and cabbage) with the famous dragon sauce, and a strange combo drink a little too heavy on the cucumber for my liking. Nice filling lunch after rounds downtown.

THAI EXPRESS, CONCORDIA GHETTO

spring roll and pad thai with mango juice

CARAVAN CAFÉ, CÔTE-DES-NEIGES

mural
bathroom, refurburshed

CEDAR PARK POOL CANTEEN SPECIAL

Fairmount bagel with cream and cheddar cheese

SPANISH CLUB ON ST LAURENT

Menu for next time?
Bacalao (cod and potato croquettes) - yum
Patatas bravas (for the first time!)
Garlic mushrooms




SUMMER FUN

Camping with dolls on a playdate
St Irené beach
Chalk drawings
Malbaie beach
Quebec City Mountains
Roger's cup Tennis
Marsh Boardwalk, Ile Bizard
Home camping and roasting marshmallows
Ice cream
Mini-putt
Time to braid!

Sprinklers


ROGERS CUP AS A VIP

It was a scorcher at the Uniprix stadium, so I was glad I brought an umbrella to wait out the pauses before and after matches. The seats we had were incredible, but the ability to walk up the stairs behind us for lunch, water and ice cream was almost necessity! It was a nice reprieve that the players couldn't take advantage of! Thanks to my friend for this generous invitation! I feel very privileged to have shared this event with you!

The first match was Romanian Monica Niculescu vs Polish Agnieszka Radwanska,  number three  and number 46 seed. The crowd was totally for Monica, the underdog, who seemed really nice and she fought hard, but just wasn't ready to defeat the superior player who seemed cold but fashionably dressed (I respect the pink and ruffles!)

The second match was American Venus Williams vs Czech Barbora Strycova , the number nine and number 30 seed. At first Venus did not look that invested to start, but stepped up when she felt herself falling behind, and deserved her win.

It was fun to be in a crowd and see the dynamics evolve. The game of tennis at this level is very strange though, to an outsider. The hierarchy is so rigid, with the players who act almost like servant masters. Very weird. But fun to play on my local public court with my daughter! It is a little more thrilling after watching these strong athletic women show me how it's done!

GOLD LOGE section 103 E1




A NEW SITE OF ALL THINGS BEAUTIFUL

This is colossal

DDO'S WILLIAM COSGROVE CENTENNIAL PARK



QUOTES FROM ALBERT EINSTEIN (internet sourced)

 Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
(My favorite quote, that strangely comes up at work a lot!)

A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.

I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.

Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.

Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.

Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.

He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would suffice.

The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge, but imagination.

Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.

Joy in looking and comprehending is nature's most beautiful gift.

Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them.

There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle. (You choose!)

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.

Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.

Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions.

The monotony and solitude of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind. (So turn off netflix, and find a routine!)

Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen.

The only source of knowledge is experience.

Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.

It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education.

It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.

If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.

Love is a better teacher than duty.

Everyone should be respected as an individual, but no one is idolized.

Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.

The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it.

Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.

My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind.

It is the experience of mystery - even if mixed with fear - that engendered religion.

Before God we are equally wise - and equally foolish.

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.

The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.

Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves.

When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder a second seems like an hour. That's relativity.

The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once.


VELVET MOUSTACHE CUSHIONS

I am obsessed with this Montreal company. They make some of the most original cushions, with the sleepy eyes as the standout theme. If I didn't have two cats with claws, hair and teeth, I think I would have this collection by now!
Chinchilla

Blue Caribou

Red Fox

Panda

Sheep

Rose cat
Raccoon

Blue whale

Sleepy Koala
Beaver

Houndstooth pug (how cute is that!)

Hedgehog
Penguin

Calico cat




Saturday, July 30, 2016

MAZDA CS9

Confectioner plutôt que fabriquer

Crafted versus built.

Confection

Candy=craft

Candy is art!

WHOOPIE PIES BY BETTY CROCKER

I remember my grandma making what I thought of as homemade oreos. So when I went looking through her hand written recipes, I was surprised to recognize the recipe under the heading of Whoopie Pies. Not only did that surprise me, but it was totally identical to Betty Crocker's recipe with their boxed Devil's Food Cake and White Frosting! Here is the modern recipe:

Let’s Make Whoopie Pies

Prep Time 30 MIN
Total Time1 HR 15 MIN
Servings 18

Ingredients

Cookies

1 box Betty CrockerTM SuperMoistTM Devil's Food cake mix
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 box(4-serving size) chocolate instant pudding and pie filling mix

Filling

2 containers Betty CrockerTM Whipped Fluffy White Frosting


1. Heat oven to 350°F.

2. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper, silicone baking liners, or lightly spray with cooking spray.

3. In large bowl, beat all cookie ingredients with electric mixer on low speed until moistened; beat 1 minute longer on high speed.

4. Pour batter into a 1 gallon resealable plastic bag. Seal baggie and cut small hole off of one of the bottom corners.

5. Pipe batter into 36 small circles onto cookie sheets about 1- inch apart to allow for spreading.

6. Bake 10 to 12 minutes until set being careful to not over bake. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheets and place on cooling rack. Cool completely before filling.

7. Once cookies are cooled spread frosting on flat side of one cookie. Top with the second cookie, flat side down to make a sandwich.

Here is another version my mom had, called Grandma's Oreo Cookies:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together in a large bowl:

1 c. margarine (softened for easier blending)
4 eggs
2 boxes Duncan Hines Devil’s Food cake mix
2 tbsp. flour

Roll into balls the size of a walnut. Put on cookie sheet 2-3“ apart, but don’t press down. Bake for 12 minutes. Cool for 2 minutes and take off sheet. Cool completely.

Filling:

Cream together:
2 cups icing sugar
1-8 oz. package of cream cheese

Spread on cooled cookies. Put two flat sides together. (Hint – put a blob on one cookie and squish with other cookie)


Makes 24 and freezes well.

WISH LIST: NEW YORK RESTAURANT BLUE HILL FARM

Featured in Chef's Table documentary, the evolution of Dan Barber's farm came from a place I admire. Trying to make the best food possible, he searched for a source, and developed a hobby farm that even features veal that tastes freedom before its demise. The taster's menu sounds amazing, but I think my first visit will be to the Café.

WHAT DID YOU DO THIS WEEKEND?

Sometimes I feel like an underachiever. People like Dr. Dionne Tatlow both impress and depress me. She decided to spend two days swimming across a 45 km wide lake in Saskatchewan. When she started swimming across Lac La Ronge, she had plans to swim 12 hours on Saturday, and finishing on Sunday. She planned, however, to start at 5:30 am, just in case she felt good enough to do it in one long day. She divided the swim into 5 legs, and five minutes shy of 15 hours of swimming later, she had just achieved what no one else had ever done before. Not my ideal day, but a kick in the butt when I contemplate binge watching a tv show. I could do better!

ARE YOU A NIMBY?

NIMBY

An acronym for "Not In My Back Yard", the most pejorative use of the word is when someone is okay for something bad to happen, as long as it doesn't affect them.

Sunday, July 24, 2016

WHERE I WAS JUNE 1ST, 2016

The train from Fuessen to Rothenberg ob Tauber runs right through Ansbach

THE YEAR YOU WERE TEN

You passed Olympic Way Red!
You had a marathon swim with Audrey Cavanaugh for 6 hours!
You won two fourth place ribbons for front crawl!
You swam a length of butterfly for the first time!
It hailed in July!
You gave a circus show with Jasmine.
You planted a table full of potted plants with Jasmine.
Your friend Laura had a cast when she fell at the playground.
You finished grade four with flying colours and made the most wonderful stone Kitty Castle!
You Read Amelia journals over and over again!
We went to Bavaria and Austria together.
Your favourite animal is a cheetah.
You love maple sugar ice cream!
You watched the Sound of music with me, and it was so much fun to see placed in Salzburg we had been together!
You help with Nancy Drew and Calico. Calico loves when you play with her!
You saw your first firefly!
You still love playing with dolls!
You joined a book club!
You love graphic novels by Raina Telgemeier and Marisa Moss (Amelia)!
You ran a cross country run of 1.5 km!
You chose Steve Jobs for president!
You chose the American Basswood (the Linden family) for a project on Le Tilleul.
You get your bag ready every morning.
You had your first cavity.
You got glasses (and eyedrops to prove the headaches were from your vision).






Tuesday, July 19, 2016

PLANET MONEY

On my way home from bookclub this evening, I listened for the first time to a podcast called Planet Money. The talked to a doctor who ran an unusually sensitive health insurance company in the States, remarkable in his policy to give dissatisfied patients their money back. I don't remember the name of the company or what the context was of the quote I walked away with, but his reference was in trying to avoid being "the cream of the crap"! I think that's funny!