TIME WELL WASTED

I was looking for an album cover to add to iTunes artwork for the Adele album 21 and laughed my head off when I saw this in the images on the page!



His inspiration:

THE ACROPOLIS, ATHENS

RIP JOE FAFARD

It doesn't matter that I have lived away from Saskatchewan more years than I have lived there. I am a prairie girl at heart and always will be. I will always miss those years, and although returning stirs up more of those feelings, it is a place but also a time that I miss.

On my morning commute, I walk from the commuter train and have several routes that I can take, but my favorite one passes the Montrea Fine Arts Museum, and, if the lights cooperate, or I have enough time, I walk by a Fafard statue that has found its most recent, hopefully permanent, home, in my line of sight. I say hello, and now that I hear of Joe Fafard's passing, I will say hello to him too, when I greet the statue that always says Saskatchewan to me when I see it.

Claudia the Cow across from the MMFA

HOT CROSS BUNS RECIPE

I love these things, and bought at the right time, they are not expensive, but having them warm and using real icing is really special.

This is a recipe from Company's Coming Holiday Entertainment, p. 55. Makes 24 small buns.

From a Great British Baking Show episode, I think turning the fruit inside so that only the smooth dough shows would keep them from burning, but I did like the sweetness the exposed ones had and didn't seem to burn them.

1/2 cup warm water (body temperature will do)
1 tsp sugar
1 T yeast

Stir water and sugar to dissolve. Sprinkle yeast and stir. Let stand 10 minutes.

1/4 c margarine
1/4 c sugar
1 egg
3/4 salt
1/2 t cinnamon
3/4 warm milk
1 c flour

Cream margarine and sugar. Beat in egg until fluffy. Add salt, cinnamon, and milk. Beat in 1 cup flour. Mix in yeast mixture.

1/2 cup currants (important)
2 T finely chopped candy peel (I used candied fruit. Candied cherries would work fine too. Not optional, even if Jean Paré says they are!!)
2 1/4 c flour

Mix in currants and candied fruit. Add remaining flour. Mix well, adding a bit more if necessary to make a soft dough. Let dough rest 10 minutes, then knead until smooth and elastic. Place in greased bowl, and turn in grease before covering. Let rise for about an hour, to allow dough to double in size.

Punch dough down. Shape into small balls. Place on slip baking sheet. Cut a wide cross into each bun with greased scissors. Cover and let rise again until double in size.

Bake at 400F for 20 minutes. Brush with margarine and cool on a rack.

GLAZE
1/2 c icing sugar
1 1/2 t water
1/4 t vanilla

Mix all glaze ingredients together until barely pourable. Add a drop of water at a time as needed. Pipe or drizzle into crosses.

Add caption

FIRE IN THE NOTRE-DAME CATHEDRAL

Once upon a time, the Princess Pirate went to Paris, and walked into the great cathedral named after Mary, Mother of Jesus, "our lady". It was an impressive nave to walk in, with gothic arches and rose windows. The exterior walls were made with the technology of the time, with flying buttresses and gargoyles the highlight of the exterior tour.

We were saddened to learn of the fire that destroyed this famous spire, and friends of PP wanted to know what it looked like when she had visited. These are the pictures we shared.

On walking in under the arches of saints with ribbed arch

One of the massive rose windows (this one's North) that needed those buttressed supports

Joan of Arc, the patron saint of girls and executed by fire. Many art pieces had a fire escape plan. I recall she was near a door. I hope she was able to escape!

MARATHONS AND OTHER RACES

I am supposed to be in bed, and it's 7 oclock in the evening. I am on shift at midnight and hungover from a bad sleep on a normal night. I am supposed to have written 60 minutes for the NaNoWriMo marathon I was to have begun 5 days ago. It all seemed so doable, but I find myself always behind the boulder that I am supposed to be pushing up to the crest of the hill, never to actually get there.

The writing marathon is in preparation of November's feat of writing a 50,000 page novel, and it seems like a great way to get in some practice with exercises all year long. 10 minutes was easy. 20 minute went pretty fast. 30 minutes didn't happen and 60 minutes won't either. There is no way tomorrow is going to have 2 hours of time to write, and I find the suggested "training schedule" a little intense. So I am taking 7 minutes, which will likely turn into 10. Anything is so much better than zero.

What inspired me to sit down and write, even if it has nothing to do with a novel? It was the moment I came inside from gardening, and saw that the sky was, at the same time, darkening and lightening into the colours of sunset on a sunny day. It was beautiful, and strangers and neighbours were in accordance that this was a great day. For me, the last two weeks when the streets finally cleared of the ice that covered them for the last 4 months were just fine, but it was consensus today, and I had to agree. The wind was noisy and gusty, just like I like it from my prairie days. The water was running freely through the drains and I even found a spider in the soil as I unearthed grass growing in the wrong place that wasn't dealt with from last year. It was the kind of spring day that I remember rejoicing in as a child, in rubber boots, with toothpick boat races and kite-flying. It was the moment that I came inside from an hour of gardening that I almost didn't do. I was dirty and am still tired, but I wasn't sad anymore. I was alone in my house, and I wouldn't call it happy, but there was a complete lack of sadness in my aloneness, and, honestly, that was a great relief.

One insight that I recalled while gardening and dreaming of hosting baby showers and having friends over and widening my social circle was that I didn't have to be done. I can no longer wait until my garden or my house or my body is in shape. I am a total believer in the philosophy of starting before I am ready. Why else would I be a marathoner, half-marathoner, triathlete, doctor, or mother? The act of signing up is the beginning of something great, and being ready has never been the point at which to start any of those things.

So, I am 17 minutes in, and I really do need to sleep, but I want to remind myself, and anyone reading this blog, that spring is a perfectly wonderful time to start something that you are totally not ready for. If you don't start it, you will be never complete it. So just do it! Start something that scares you a little today!

CRETE SIMPLIFIED MAP

KATHE KOLLWITZ

A NICE CRUNCHY COOKIE

tiny chocolate chips work best

SNORKELING COZUMEL, MEXICO

MOVIE REVIEW: TADOUSSAC

It took me to the credits to realize that the film was entirely without sound. A simple film following a young woman's venture to find answers in a village in a Tourist area dear to my heart, having sat for hours with my daughter on the beach, and taken a boat trip to watch for Beluga and Minke whales.

An unusual piece by a male writer director. A simple story with satisfying closure, and few fabulous views of the St. Laurent River.

MOVIE REVIEW: PARIS CAN WAIT

It was a slow script, more akin to a French Film than an English one, but as a travel film, it was decadent and delicious. The presumptions were obvious, but the photography, food, and itinerary were jealousy inspiring!

The extras included a feature on the film's director, Eleanor Coppola. It was her debut, as the story was told, but a quick wikipedia search credits her directing 5 other films, albeit documentaries based on Francis Ford, and his work or their life together. She had written the screenplay, Hello Anne, and was 80 years old when she directed this travelogue.

It was an enviable adventure that begins in Cannes, travels through Provence with its lavander fields, fabric museum,  and Roman aquaduct Pont du Gare, visits Bourgogne (Burgundy) with its wine and Vezelay Abbey, and finally ends in Paris. The draw are France and the food obsessed couple who talk and photograph their way through some of the finest food on the planet.

BOOKCLUB : MURDER ON THE BALLARAT TRAIN

I saw Phryne Fisher on tv before I ever wading into a mystery written by Australian author Kerry Greenwood.  The character in the show was strong, wore sumptuous clothing and dared to be seductive as she was smart.

I had hoped to start at the beginning of the series but the library only had the third in house, so I took it. The book did not disappoint. It was as sensous and beautiful as the sets on the show, and Phyrne's level head and moral heart was even more apparent.

Each chapter began with a quote Lewis Carroll. I'm still not sure what most meant, nor did I discover where Ballarat was, but it was a fun read nonetheless, and I look forward to another in the series in the near future.

TODAY I AM A DIVORCEE

There is no celebration on this day, but much reflection. Maybe divorce can be prevented. This needs to happen before kids.

I picked a nice man, with reasonable potential. I used to say that couldn't have seen this coming if I had the same information. But what I know now are the following:

When things fall apart, and your family fixes things for your marriage to stay together,  you can find yourself somewhere you shouldn't be. If you can't do it alone, step back, take your family out of the picture, and then decide.

Most friends can't tell you the truth. Most friends you invite to your wedding won't be your friends in 15 years. Ask the hard questions, expect discomfort and lies, but better to know who your true friends  and what they really think at the beginning of the relationship, because if you don't, you will only know it for sure it at the end.

Some men regress after marrying you. Mine did, in the most extreme way I have ever seen. It paralleled living with an alcoholic, without the unpredictability. Major failures at the beginning of your marriage can be enough to derail it permanently. If you are the cause of these events, take account and act early. Be honest, responsible, reliable, sorry. Make reparations. They will never be enough, so you can never stop. Commitment is patience with sacrifice. This will be enough in time.
If you are the injured party, be kind, open and strive to teach, not judge. But your ideal of marriage is not a reason to prop up your uncommitted partner. Your commitment will never be enough, if your partner does not step up. Allow yourself to grieve, but leave. Your pain will only be in proportion to your ongoing stupidity. You deserve more.

I knew I had a romantic notion of love. I had thought about it from a young age. I have read about it, dreamed about it, lived it. I know my role is never to be taken for granted as a woman. I am an afterthought in our society still. I am not mistaken for the leader. I am often not asked my opinion. My opinion, when voiced, is often dismissed. Women have gained many things in society. My university education was never in question. My acceptance to medical school was not about my gender. But despite being the sole breadwinner in a household for over a decade, I still did more housework then my "stay-at-home househusband", and not because I wanted to.

 Men also have a romantic view of love. They have expectations that they may never have thought about. They more than likely have lived a naive entitled existence, and will act accordingly. They will think that "helping you" is sharing responsibility. They are too often taking the easy road and sharing much less of the cognitive responsibility. They were taught to act sexually and confidently, without having many tools to meet woman's emancipated understanding of struggle. Philosophy degrees do not connote more understanding. You will have to insist on not being their mother, their prostitute, their subjugate. It is their fault, but not until they see it is it conscious. Consciousness is the first step to true communication. This process is slow, and if you are lucky, their mothers and sisters and colleagues and girlfriends will have done some of the work before you.

We are in an era where the ideal of marriage is less of a pressure, and in Quebec, the legal obligations so unfairly protected, that a long term relationship is more likely taxable than legal. I am not sure I am proponent of marriage anymore, but I do think committed relationships are ideal. For more on the history and thoughts from author Elizabeth Gilbert, her book Committed is a great read.

The success or struggle of marriage is decided in the events of conflicts. It doesn't matter about your compatability in the good times. It is decided in the bad ones, which are more marked if they happen in the early years. Some interesting factors are raised to be predictable in these cases, and can be seen in a TED talk I recently watched by a psychiatrist Dr George Blair-West. He believed that divorce can be prevented, and that while you are dating, you can see whether this might be a relationship that lasts. He starts with a list of most distressing human experiences. Number one was death of a spouse. Number two is divorce. Number three is marital separation.  Number four is being imprisoned in an institution. I am proud of my insistence to stay in mediation where I was disadvantaged, because divorce felt better than separation, although separation from my child was the true suffering. This is the interesting take home message in 3 points:

1. Get married older.

I picked the right age. Marrying at 30, you are more likely to be the personality that you will stay, to some degree. It was not enough.

The next two points are what I learned myself. I thought I knew the factors involved in a happy successful marriage. But what counts, really, is how to see the things that destroy a marriage. Apparently it had nothing to do with me. Women are influenceable. Not all men are. But what they are matters.

2. You husband needs to be influencable. The most stable and happy relationships are those where the couples share power. Men who allow women into the decision-making process are called influenceable. This trait also make better fathers.

If your husband holds all the power, it is like drowning. If he quits his job, leaves every responsibility to you, vetos your decisions, you may be an emancipated woman with income and intelligence, but if you don't have influence, you are more impotent than the unemployed man on your couch.

3. You both have to be reliable. The older we get, the more important this is. It doesn't matter if your partner can make you believe all things are possible. It matters that when the opportunity arises, you can rely on them. That means no task can be passed off. You need to learn how to cut your kid's nails when they are too long. You need to see the house needs cleaning, not be asked. And when you mess up and need to be asked, you can't take 7 months without an answer or update or explanation.

Dave Williams says it best, in his book, Defying Limits: "Commitment demands two things: patience and sacrifice". If your partner doesn't make sacrifices on your behalf, but you do for them, say good-bye. Your endurance will only make things harder for longer. You will have to forgive yourself the image you had of your ideal. It will not solve the problem of a bad relationship. You are worth it.

HOW TO LIVE LONG AND HEALTHY

Women: have a female community and nurture that community.

Men: marry and stay married.

Stay active. Stand when you can. Move often.

Exercise daily.
1. Cardio 30-90 minutes per day.
2. Weight training three times per week.
3. Stretching/flexibility regularly.

Avoid sleep deprivation/nightshift work.

Eat 5-10 fruits and vegetables each day.

Stay your ideal weight.

Avoid toxins like drugs, tobacco, and alcohol (there is some debate about alcohol. One glass of wine a day may be reasonable).

Eat minimal sugar.

Don't over eat salt. <3g day="" p="">
Get vaccinated.

Avoid STIs.

Get cancer screening: PAPs, cscope after 50, mammography

Get regular screening over the age of 35-50, depending on your family history: BP, glucose, cholesterol.

13 MOONS ON THE BACK OF A TURTLE SHELL AND HOW TO RENOVATE IN A YEAR

THIRTEEN MOONS

Map Turtle

Map of a Turtle Carapace (plastron is the front)

13 ROOMS TO RENOVATE, 1 EVERY 28 DAYS
INDOORS - smallest to largest room
1 POWDER ROOM
2 FOYER
3 BATHROOM
4 LIBRARY
5 CREATIVE ROOM
6 ATELIER
7 MINOR BEDROOM
8 MASTER BEDROOM
9 KITCHEN
10 LAUNDRY/FURNACE
11 LIVING ROOM
12 DINING ROOM
13 PLAYROOM

7 GARDENS TO RENEW
OUTDOORS - front to back
1 CANAL
2 TUILERIES
3 PIAZZA SAN MARCO
4 CABANA
5 TAVERN ON THE GREEN
6 POTAGER
7 THE BACK 40

BILLS TO KEEP, AND OTHER SIMPLIFICATIONS

Tax Deductions
Tax Credits
Under Warranty
Potential Returns
Car
House
Princess Pirate

In an attempt to follow the advice of an introvert who preferred his own company to others, but made brilliant sense in his classic book Walden:

"Our life is frittered away by detail. An honest man has hardly need to count more than his ten fingers, or in extreme cases he may add his ten toes, and lump the rest. Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb-nail. In the midst of this chopping sea of civilized life, such are the clouds and storms and quicksands and thousand-and-one items to be allowed for, that a man has to live, if he would not founder and go to the bottom and not make his port at all, by dead reckoning, and he must be a great calculator indeed who succeeds. Simplify, simplify. Instead of three meals a day, if it be necessary eat but one; instead of a hundred dishes, five; and reduce other things in proportion. "

BACARO PIZZA, LASALLE

My friends and I wanted to do pizza, but the place we had picked wasn't open when the three of us were able to get together. Thankfully, Bacaro Pizza as a backup suggestion turned out to be an excellent choice. If you want to be a true "Pizzaterian", the Specken Wolf was a crowd favorite, and the best name of the menu (a nod to my German heritage and Herman Hesse's Steppenwolf and the word for Ham).

My primavera pizza covered in rocket (arugula).

We ordered dessert before we could use the excuse that we were too full. They were delicious, and we were 3, so the hot Nutella sugar coated beignets were easily downed, if not obviously divisible by 3!

5 divided by 3. Tough math, but generous tablemates!

BEST OREO EVER!

Be on the lookout before and after Christmas. This was found at Maxi in January!

"WAR CAKE" FOR AN AUSTERE BIRTHDAY OR A NUTTY EVERYDAY LOAF TO SHARE

Nutty loaf

Dry cream of wheat, but I would presoak in milk. Also known as fine semolina, used in focaccia bread and breakfast porridge.  Backpulver  is baking soda, and 3/4 tsp worked. I love using a whole egg instead of 2 whites. It took closer to an hour but I would start at 40 minutes to check.

CAFEXO, VAUDREUIL

Lavander lemon scone

Anastasia Kusmi Tea, 3 minutes to perfection, Parisien elevation of Earl Grey's Bergamot

MONT SAINT SAUVEUR

I had a free Tuesday and convinced a friend to join me for a ladies deal they have at Saint Sauveur. Unfortunately it was one of two weeks in March that it didn't apply, but buying the four hour ticket was worth it anyways. There was a 20 cm snowfall in the 48 hours before we arrived. The conditions were perfect! My experience skiing in Quebec has often been icy, cold and overcast. This was like skiing in Sun Valley. We had total powder coverage. There was not one icy slope. It was sunny. It was   cold, but not even negative double digits. My favourite run was down to the Pavilion 70, with a great view of the town and beautiful lake.

It was great fun, although it was just a little too little time! But I am glad that we had a lunch in the sunny cafeteria, and a little break before hitting the slopes.

View onto Jay and Cote 70 Est run

The technology at Sauveur was impressive. Given a Go Card, you put it in a pocket (best at your hip) and it lets you through the gates on your way to the chairlift. No person trying to scan your badge that flaps in the wind. Very convenient! But most impressive were the bathroom fixtures. I took out my phone to take a picture of the beautiful bathroom stalls, then noticed the bespoke mirror. It was only on the way out, I went to wash my hands and found the most incredible bathroom hygienic fixture that I am convinced is more superior than any other I have ever seen in hospitals, airports and public places!

Bathroom stalls as wall art

Mountain Mirrors

It doesn't photograph well, but this is a touchless fixture, with soap on the left, water in the centre and  a personal dryer on the right. That means that each sink had its own dryer. That gives 10 more dryers to the a busy bathroom than most. Brilliant!

The only downside of the day was that at the end, with approximately 3 hours of exertion, my fitbit recorded my daily "active minutes" at 17! I refuse to accept this as valid information and went to bed without guilt!

I hope to return next Tuesday and actually get the $23 ladies pass. Summit Gabriel is advertising $15 for ladies on Mondays, but is a further drive and smaller hill, but what a great deal!

Funny thing about weather. It may be melting and raining in Montreal, but drive a little higher into the hills, and add some snow guns, and you have skiing for another few weeks to make the end of winter a little easier to bear!

THINGS RATTLING AROUND IN MY HEAD

The reason sometimes I fail is that I haven't spent enough time extending beyond the bounds of basic emergency medical expertise.

"Do you know why most investigators fail?They refuse to extend their basic knowledge beyond the bounds of basic investigative procedure."
Elementary's Sherlock Holmes

Said to me in the staircase after rounds on my way out
"I didn't recognize you. You look so pretty!

The biggest communication problem we have is we don't listen to understand , we listen to reply.

Beauty is not an option.

You never know.

Poverty is sexist.

VAN GOGH INSPIRATION

I am fortunate to have had some diverse exposure to Vincent Van Gogh's painting. He has often been in the collections and exhibits that I choose to look at. His work is also propogated in many forms, and most recently I found a number of quotes with a painting matching the background and font colour that is part of a complementary pairing that I enjoy seeing repeated in so many of his works.

Today, I watched a film, hand painted by a hundred painters, that brought his death to life. It was at time's childish in precision, but powerful in its execution of drawing me in to places and paintings I had seen. There are characters brought to life from his portraits. There are places you walk into. There are rooms you already know, and others that you believe you have seen before. And then there are the fields of gold, and the starry night, with their vibrant colours and believable movement, now animated, as if they were meant to be all along.

I hadn't realized how late Vincent had come to painting, and how short his prolific career was. Starting at 28, he had 9 years to paint 900 paintings. He wrote daily letters to his brother Theo, who died of tertiary syphilis within months of Vincent's death, that was argued as an accidental death brilliantly, even though it has been largely accepted, with his own confession, of self-harm, and the septic death that was typical post trauma in the era before antibiotics.

SKI TRIP TEAM BUILDING EXERCISE

 February 12 

Storm Mia coming from US 

We still show up - each individually. Strangely, we all ski together. We mixed up and call out for each other, staying as a pack.

I feel like a dolt, only once coming second last; all the other runs I am last. I lose my pole, crash into a seat mate, almost miss the chair, forget to lift my feet, lower my  poles , sit in the right sport. This all related to chairlifts.

I relearn to bend forward into my boots, point my navel downhill, hold my poles out like a shopping cart. I enjoy turning and following the ups and downs. I try and get off icy slopes and avoid snowjets. I learn the zen of skiing in trees - don’t think of the trees, but following the white space between (even around the trees). I learn tips to survive a fall from a chairlift. Turn downhill to ski down a slope. Don’t lift the bar - use it to hang off of to get closer to the ground. Put both feet in your snowboard. Let go of your poles first.

Driving up, I was feeling lonely but I had a great playlist and I was singing along by the 5th song. 

I felt validated when the crew waited for me. The first run they thought I’d gone the wrong way, and were chasing after another girl in pink when I caught up with. N waited for me at the top of the hill, but had I followed, I would have been on a double diamond. The Northside was the best, and we took the black Jasey Jay with good views. It was icy, but for another another. La Griffe is apparently the best views.

At the end, I went off too soon and walked down the street instead of skiing the last of the route ( at least two bridges). I realized then that N gaslights. Who is -9678? Weren’t you at that supper party? I didn’t know you were here.

But he looks at me when JM gives him advice about kids. Texts when I am lost. Waves me to the group waiting to take the lift. 

I want him to want me. I want him to choose me. I want to him to tell me how he feels. Tell that story again because it gives me such great pleasure to hear it. I want to have inside jokes (What took you so long? Did you see that black bear!?) I want his company for the drive. I want to know his body and he mine. I want to know why he loves this song.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY PACKAGE

Chocolate, scarf, necklace

Massage roller, glowsticks, beach coverup, soap, cream, bracelet, DVD

KIRBY'S MACARONS FOR VALENTINE'S DAY

My daughter and I have been a little obsessed with Nerdy Nummies over the years. We own both of Rosanna's cookbooks, and love recreating her recipes. Here was this year's attempt at her macaron. I like the way the foot turned out. She gives clear instructions on how to achieve this here.

The important things to remember are:
Room temperature eggs
Beat them for longer than you think - she swears by 8 minutes
Sift your almond meal
Leave to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes
Take them out just before they change colour. White is the toughest colour. These were too brown.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

It's the year of the Boar, and that's auspicious for me! So it was great to celebrate with friends and make dumplings with 8 treasure tea. We finished the second season of The Crown, and Princess Pirate made some impressive dumplings!

A plentiful table

Steamed naked dumplings

Steamed dumplings

Fried dumplings

Clockwise from 12 oclock: red date, dried longan (dragon eye), goji berries, ginseng,  rosebuds, chrysanthemum bud,(centre) rock sugar
We counted multiple times, and only had 7 treasures. Then we realized the 8th.

8 Treasures - Just pour in the Jasmine green tea!

SECOND IMPRESSIONS

When I first heard of Lady Gaga, she seemed like a character and not a real person. I didn't like her  songs (lyrics of blatant drunkenness and gratuitous sex) and her persona was so provocative that it reminded me, unfortunately, of Madonna from my growing up years. Her trajectory of provocation didn't interest me at all. I disliked my young daughter singing the refrain of Poker Face. Then I saw a video of her on a radio show.

I couldn't find the video, and I'm not even entirely sure what song she played. She sat at a keyboard. She was absorbed in her playing. This was the era where she would dress with Ascot hats and Japanese geisha lips. But despite her carefully crafted appearance, when she began to play, her talent was raw and humble. She was entrancing. She was a natural performer, with nimble fingers, and she slowly built up the acoustics. Then she started to sing, and her voice was more powerful than her melody. By the end of performance, she was playing with her feet. It exceeded all expectations and was a testiment to her incredible skill. But that moment was a culmination of years of planning, hard work, and passion. From that moment on, based on my second impression, I have been blown away by her work.

This is not that song, but the drama is similar: Paparazzi

I haven't seen her in the movie A Star is Born, but the videos of the songs sure look like it might be worth a watch. Here is my favorite dramatic moment: Shallow. Even if you don't buy her nerves, watch her break out that all star voice. I don't think Bradley Cooper has to act out his pride and joy at that moment. Kudos to you, Gaga! You earn every performance.

So, as much as I am a big believer in first impressions often being the truest one, it is fun when it takes a second impression to really knock your socks off.