UFO

Can't sleep. This song will lull me to sleep though - love it.

marking, marking, marking

This semester – okay, I am going to stop right there. I can’t use the word ‘semester’ as it makes me feel too much like I am back in school. And that is a road I no longer have any desire to travel down. This “fall”, I secured a contract to do some marking for a former Professor at the University of Toronto. It is for a course I took while doing my Master’s degree – actually my favourite course. I picked up the first round of papers this past Friday – 45 in total with 18 more to come in this batch. I have to have the 45 completed in two weeks time so needless to say you can guess how I spent my weekend: r-e-a-d-i-n-g! What I didn’t expect is how much I am truly enjoying reading these papers. The majority are very engaging and informative.

So as to alleviate as much stress as possible, I completed all my Christmas shopping prior to this work. I have all the gifts going to PEI packed in my suitcase and ready to go. I have also written out all my Christmas cards. All that is left is to mail the cards and four packages around the first of December. I strive to be as organized as I can possibly be, but curve balls inevitably arise. Such is life.

I did take time this weekend though to pick up these funky glasses at a thrift store. I loves loves loves them!!

Now back to the Walking Dead...

What a difference six days make

Last Friday I woke up with a throbbing pain in my upper back molar (right side). Having had a crown put on that tooth in 2010, I knew it was not nerve related. As I had done before, I figured I had caused it with my relentless teeth grinding while asleep. I had gone to the dentist and had a fitted mouth guard made. But I couldn’t get used to it and it interfered with my sleep. Nothing interferes with my sleep. So the mouth guard remained in its case in the medicine cabinet. Thus, the self inflicted tooth ache. But I thought “Hey, this pain is nothing that my 2010 Tylenol 3s (left over from my root canal) won’t cure!” I was of course, so very wrong.

 

 

I had Friday off work so I wasn’t missing work. And I generally live by the philosophy that if you ignore something long enough, it will go away. This can apply to most annoying situations in life. Friday turned into Saturday and the tooth pain revealed itself as a full blown sinus infection on the right side of face. The left side felt fine. The right side of my face felt as though it belonged to someone else.  

I had to cancel my plans for Saturday night. Before I knew it, it was Monday, and I was not getting better. Mom was calling everyday to check in with me, which I so appreciated. Every day she said “I think perhaps you should go to see your doctor?” I kept putting it off. Tuesday morning, however, I had had enough. I wasn’t eating, but what was worse, I wasn’t sleeping! So I made the trek up to York U. to see my Doctor. Within an hour of getting to the walk-in clinic, I had seen my Dr. and was waiting for my prescription to be filled. I had come prepared with a snack Ziploc that contained 4 small blocks of cheese. I bought a small container of chocolate milk and nibbled on the cheese. As soon as my meds were ready I paid the whopping $4.50 (thank you dear medical plan), ripped the package open and gobbled down my first antibiotic. The student cashier looked at me like I was growing an antler. I so did not care.

Going to the doctor yesterday, I had half a notion of going to work after. This quickly turned into a no-notion. I could not believe how wobbly I was. I guess six days of not eating or sleeping very much does that to a person. It also resulted in a loss of seven pounds (which is always fabulous!). I went home and as soon as the meds kicked in, I fell into a coma. I slept 11am to 3pm and then from 8pm to 5am...smokin’.

This morning I went back to work and was so glad to do so. I was still a little wobbly but it felt good to be back in my routine. But I still had a nagging pain in my face. I wondered if I could perhaps take Tylenol to take this edge off, but wasn’t sure if I could take it while taking an Antibiotic. A quick Google search said I could, but one shouldn’t believe everything they read - especially on the Internet. So I went to the fountain of medical information – my mama. I decided to contact Mom via my brother David and now know that it played out something like this:

• I emailed David and asked him to get Mom to call me at work.
• Yes, I am one of three people in Toronto who is not velcroed to some sort of mobile device.
• What I didn’t realize is that David was just about to make a presentation to two government Ministers on something...fire related of course.
• David called home: May I speak to Mom.
• Dad: Who is this?
• David: Who do you think is asking for Mom?
• Dad: Mom is at the clothesline - what do you want?
• David: (In an attempt to get off the phone quickly due to the impending presentation) Tell her to call Neat, I dunno, I think it has something to do about her plane ticket.
• Mom comes in, immediately calls me and asks what is wrong.
• Me: As I start talking an email notification appears on my computer screen from David telling me Mom is at the clothesline.
• Me: I was just wondering if I can take Tylenol with my Antibiotic?
• Mom says it is fine and admits she is standing there still with her jacket on – she had a scare thinking something was wrong with her upcoming plane ticket.
• Me: No, why would you think that?
• Mom: Because that is what Dad said – tsk, ohhhh, he must have got that screwed up
• Me: (Puzzled face) Okay....

David called this evening and explained everything. I laughed my head off. I felt bad at having called him just before an important presentation with such a silly request, but he reassured me that it made him laugh. D'oh! I promised (and keep promising) to get a cell phone sometime this century.

Those six days are a blur. I wasn’t able to focus enough to do some writing, so I watched a few movies, a lot of really bad TV, and spent a lot of time with my heating pad on my face. I was able to finish my latest rug hooking pieces so all was not in vain. All that remains is to sew the backs of the pieces on.

I am quickly getting back to 100% and am ready for my Mama’s visit. Let the good times unfold. I can’t wait to see what the next six days will bring.

Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness

"To the left of the archway there is a two-roomed cottage comprising the guest room and Dad’s office. It is a thatched, brick structure inclined to be porous to wildlife. I open the door and wait. Nothing launches itself at my ankles, so I make my way to the bed and sit down, feet drawn up onto the bed. Big H brings me a clean towel, then stands around surveying the place. “Frogs,” she observes at last. As my eyes become accustomed to the gloom, I see what she means. The place is smothered in large, foam-nesting tree frogs, white as alabaster. They are hanging from the mosquito net, glued to the walls, attached to the door, hopping across the floor. Later, I find that if I drink half a box of South African wine and take a sleeping pill, a frog will come attached to my cheek while I sleep and will stay there unnoticed until morning. “How lucky for you,” Mum says. “You can write about that in one of your awful books."

- Alexandra Fuller
Cocktail Hour under the Tree of Forgetfulness

Florida

The first thing that always comes to my mind when someone mentions Florida is Flora Sutherland. Flora was a neighbour who taught in the one-room school house in Greenwich for many, many years. With the consolidation of schools in the 1960s, she retired, but occasionally did some substitute teaching in the newly established elementary school in St. Peters Bay. When she did get called in to substitute, she always came on the school bus that was driven by my Dad. When David was in grade one, he came home one day, busted through the door, and said to my Mother, “Guess what? I got to sit on the bus today with Florida!” Henceforth, Flora became “Florida” in our house and David became a favourite of Floras.

The second thing that comes to mind with respect to Florida is of course Disneyland. I can honestly say that as a kid, I never really thought – or dreamed – much about going. The opportunity arrived, however, when I lived in Japan. Some girlfriends decided that going to Tokyo Disneyland would be fun way to celebrate my 29^th birthday and subsequent departure from Japan, which occurred a month later. It *was* fun – a lot of fun. And it is something I wish everyone could experience once in their lifetime. In saying that though, it is something I don’t need to experience twice!

Between not seeing the need to go to Disneyland more than once and with me hating the heat, I therefore saw no need to ever go to Florida. A good friend, however, recently got posted (Foreign Service) to Miami. She expressed difficulty in making friends locally, was lonely, and asked me to go for a visit. So I found myself booking a ticket for a long weekend in Miami – South Beach to be more specific.

My Toronto BFF and her husband love South Beach. They have attended Art Deco weekends and perfected the local shopping route. The first piece of advice they had for me was to go to the Wolfsonian. Located in the heart of the Art Deco district, the Wolsonian, in its own words, the Wolsonian:

“...is a museum, library, and research center that uses objects to illustrate the persuasive power of art and design, to explore what it means to be modern, and to tell the story of social, historical, and technological changes that have transformed our world. It encourages people to see the world in new ways, and to learn from the past as they shape the present and influence the future.”

I love small museums such as this. I’ve been to the Louvre and Hermitage and big museums can be exhausting. We were able to have dinner at a Mexican restaurant, visit a local South Beach art gallery, tour the Wolfsonian (and have drinks in the museum lounge – 2 for 1 margaritas!) and go to a club – all in one evening. And we did it all without being the least bit rushed.  Here are some photos from the Wolfsonian, starting with my favourite object I saw – this table:

We then spent an entire day at the Sawgrass Mills outlet. Never had I shopped or spent so much in one outing in all my life. I had a blast. I purchased shoes, pants, tops, a jean jacket, Nine West purses, and a lot of nice cool summer dresses. I did visit the Coach outlet but didn’t see anything I loved. After everything was said and done, we were both exhausted. The next day we spread out all our purchases and accessed the damage. I was grateful I had brought an empty suitcase with me.

The hotels along "the strip" in South Beach are gorgeous. Beth said the hotels are actually pretty minimal inside, but the exterior is stunning. The majority have the art deco detailing South Beach is famous for mixed with relaxing beach tones. The beach itself is nothing to write home about. The sand is very coarse and uncomfortable to walk on without shoes, it is crowded, and stinking hot. I realized while I was there that I am a beach snob. Growing up on PEI, we grew up on beautiful sandy, clean and pristine beaches. In South Beach, the beaches are even closed at night, which was bewildering for me.

Beth is a bird lover and owner of two exotic birds. I was actually thrilled to go with her to her “bird club” monthly meeting. When else would I have a chance to get to do this? There were some beautiful birds there and I found the outing very interesting. We also stopped by a pelican rescue shelter that she volunteers at. I had never seen a pelican up close – they are such interesting creatures.

That is my Florida experience in a nutshell. On that note, I’ll leave you with some Will Smith.

Spring

I realize it is summer - barely. This past spring was wonderful. I had lots of visitors and a few trips and I just realized I haven’t written about any of it. I am taking a break this evening from my working on my latest book and my online shop projects. It’s time to watch Oprah’s life class and do some fun writing and reminiscing.

Mom was my first visitor last spring. Now that she is retired, she can come for longer visits, although ten to twelve days seems to be the limit as to how long Dad functions okay without her. So ten to twelve days it is. I’ll take what I can get.

Since I am seldom home to celebrate Mother’s Day with Mom, I decided to celebrate with her a little early here in Toronto. Arriving in my apartment, Mom walked into my living room and said, “Ohhhhhh, somebody got flowers??” I said “Yes, *you* did!” The look on her face was priceless and we both broke into a fit of laughter. The next Mother’s Day present was high tea. There are several places where you can do this in the city, some stuffier and more formal than others. I didn’t want to subject her to something stuffy or formal because it is not what either of us is about. So I took her to T-buds on Yonge Street for High Tea. I had gone in January to celebrate a friend’s birthday and loved it. I also knew immediately I would take Mom. The selection of tea is incredible and the homemade scones are heavenly.

I love exploring the city with Mom. This past trip we explored Young Street shops for the first time. We saw the Wizard of Oz at the Ed Mirvish Theatre. We had our regular gathering with the Baldwin family, Brian Miller and Mom cooked a few dinners for friends who came over after work. We (Mom, Dee, and I) also went for our traditional mani/pedi and Greek feast on the Danforth.    

Next to come were David and Karen. Dave was in town for a week of meetings and arrived the day that Mom left. The three of us actually got together for lunch at YYZ. Karen flew in on that Friday to spend a long weekend in the city. I had that Friday off so I headed downtown, contributed to the hotel, and spent the weekend with them. We stayed at the Cambridge Suites Inn off Yonge Street. It is a fabulous hotel. It literally is a suite. The main bedroom was closed off from the living room/dining room area. I slept on the pull out and David and Karen took the bedroom. It was like a vacation for me too as when I go downtown it is always for a specific reason. It was nice to have time to do some exploring and I think David was happy I could take Karen and go shopping – something men never seem to enjoy? We went to the Eaton’s Centre as well as new Marshall’s store. Being an avid Toronto Maple Leafs fan, I took Karen down to the Air Canada Centre, which was hopping because the play-offs were on. There was a tail gate party happening and Karen seemed to really enjoy it. It was my first time to be there in the midst of such activity and therefore a memorable outing. The one thing David did want to do is tour the Hockey Hall of Fame. I’ve been before with Dad and Doug Baldwin, but there is so much to see and do, I didn’t mind going again. It really is such a fascinating place. And getting to get your photo with Lord Stanley’s cup, well, it is such a cool Canadian thing to do.

Then it was time for the Bluenosers to arrive. My Acadia pal Laura came for a long weekend with her husband David and two boys, Daniel and Thomas. It was the first time for the boys to fly and make a long trip with their parents so it was a bit of a test run for Laura and David. And I am grateful all went well. Doug and Patty took them to the Science Centre and a few other attractions and we all got together for a Sunday gathering at High Park. We had lunch together at the Grenadier Cafe and the kids enjoyed the small petting zoo and the playground (rebuilt recently by Mike Holmes).

The next spring event was a quick trip to Miami. Stay tuned!

Standing Stones

Sorry, that was not it for Scotland after all. This week I was listening to my iPod coming home from work one day and Loreena McKennitt came on the shuffle setting. I was introduced to McKennitt the first year of my undergrad – approximately twenty years ago. It was my RC in my first year of residence at Acadia that made me listen to Anachie Gordon on her Parallel Dreams album and I was hooked.

I have almost all her albums. Two of her CDs have actually worn out and don’t play well anymore so I need to replenish my stock. I hadn’t listened to her in a while, but I quickly found my way back to her when Standing Stones (also from Parallel Dreams) played on my IPod. I suddenly realized McKennitt was referencing the standing stones on the Orkney Islands I saw with Mom last Fall. And of course the song took on an entirely different meaning for me with the visuals in cue.

In one of these lonely Orkney Isles
There dwelled a maiden fair
Her cheeks were red, her eyes were blue
She had yellow, curling hair

Which caught the eye and then the heart
Of one who could never be
A lover of so true a maid
Or fair a form as she

Across the lake in Sandwick
Dwelled a youth she held most true
And ever since her infancy
He had watched those eyes so blue.

The land runs out into the sea
It's a narrow neck of land
Where weird and grim the Standing Stones
In a circle there they stand.

One bonny moonlit Christmas Eve
They met at that sad place
With her heart in glee and the beams of love
Were shining on her face
When her lover came and he grasped her hand
And what loving words they said
They talked of future's happy days
As through the stones they strayed.

They walked toward the lovers' stone
And through it passed their hands
They plighted there a constant troth
Sealed by love's steadfast bands
He kissed his maid and then he watched her
That lonely bridge go o'er
For little, little did he think
He wouldn't see his darling more.

Chorus:
Standing stones of the Orkney Isles
Gazing out to sea
Standing stones of the Orkney Isles
Bring my love to me

He turned his face toward his home
That home he did never see
And you shall have the story
As it was told to me
When a form upon him sprang
With a dagger gleaming bright
It pierced his heart and his dying screams
Disturbed the silent night.

This maid had nearly reached her home
When she was startled by a cry
And she turned to look around her
And her love was standing by
His hand was pointing to the stars
And his eyes glazed at the light
And with a smiling countenance
He vanished from her sight.

She quickly turned and home she ran
Not a word of this was said
For well she know at seeing his form
That her faithful love was dead
And from that day she pined away
Not a smile seen on her face
And with outstretched arms she went to meet him
In a brighter place.

Romance and tragedy played out amongst ancient standing stones.  How can that not be infectious?

 

Perhaps my most favourite of all her adaptations is her version of Tennyson’s Lady of Shalott. One of my favourites *forever*:

Down she came and found a boat

Beneath a willow left afloat

And round about the prow she wrote

The Lady of Shallot.

And the beautiful and haunting Dante’s Prayer:

When the dark wood fell before me
And all the paths were overgrown
When the priests of pride say there is no other way
I tilled the sorrows of stone

I did not believe because I could not see
Though you came to me in the night
When the dawn seemed forever lost
You showed me your love in the light of the stars

Cast your eyes on the ocean
Cast your soul to the sea
When the dark night seems endless
Please remember me

Then the mountain rose before me
By the deep well of desire
From the fountain of forgiveness
Beyond the ice and fire

Cast your eyes on the ocean
Cast your soul to the sea
When the dark night seems endless
Please remember me

Though we share this humble path, alone
How fragile is the heart
Oh give these clay feet wings to fly
To touch the face of the stars

Breathe life into this feeble heart
Lift this mortal veil of fear
Take these crumbled hopes, etched with tears
We'll rise above these earthly cares

Cast your eyes on the ocean
Cast your soul to the sea
When the dark night seems endless
Please remember me
Please remember me

It is poetry to music. Enjoy this Canadian treasure.

Transforming

I cannot believe that God has programmed any of us for failure. He wants your life and mine to be the fullest, richest experience that it can possibly be. Get hold of that idea and let it transform your living. Go out and face the daily challenge with the firm conviction that God is there. Then the effort is no longer drudgery; it’s a privilege. It’s a kind of victory of its own.


Father Joe Rossiter
April 9, 1989

Orkney

When I lived in Scotland in the early nineties, I shared a student flat with a fellow Canuck, an American, and three girls from France – yes, a six-bedroom flat! At some point during that year, the gals from France did a road trip and I recall them sending us a post card from the Orkney Islands. From that point on, the Islands were on my radar. I also made a backpacking trip around Scotland with a friend from Spain after the school year finished, but I didn’t have enough money to make it to Orkney. I got as far north as Helmsdale when I ran out of funds.

So this time around, I wanted to include Orkney in my Scotland itinerary. Mom and I met our mini-bus on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh and after a few stops, we caught the ferry at John o’ Groats at the very northern tip of mainland Scotland.

It was a relatively short ferry ride on a relatively small ferry. We were lucky with a beautiful calm crossing as I’ve heard it is often quite rocky. We even saw dolphins. I was falling asleep in my chair when Mom nudged me and said “Juanita, what are those things swimming in the water?” It was an unexpected treat – one I’ve never experienced on all the other ferry crossings I’ve undertaken in my life.

I really wasn’t sure what to expect in Orkney. I will admit that there is somewhat of a romantic appeal visiting such removed Islands. And this place in particular has so many pre-historic, stone-age and Druid settlement remains that it made it all the more intriguing. I’ve always loved ancient history since I first took it in grade ten. But before we got to visit these various sites, I was first intrigued at how fertile and green the Islands are. It didn’t take very long to determine that in addition to tourism, agriculture plays a vital role in the Island’s economy.

Before heading to our B&B in Kirkwall, we made a stop at the small chapel located close to the ferry depot. Known as the Italian Chapel, it is one of the few structures on the uninhabited Lamb Holm Island. Built by 550 Italian prisoners of war captured in North Africa during World War II, the Chapel was constructed with limited materials. One Italian POW stayed on the island to finish the chapel, even when the other prisoners were released shortly before the end of the war. Both the exterior and interior of the Chapel are so quaint. And it is touching to see something so inspiring come out of something so negative.

Mom and I both loved our B&B in Kirkwall. It was removed from the city centre and located by the water. The lady that ran the B&B was wonderful. I looked forward to talking with her every morning while eating our breakfast. She explained how the educational structure operated for the Islands, the mentality of the locals, the effect of finding oil in the nearby North Sea. She was a fountain of information and her facility was the nicest B&B we stayed at. She showed us her traditional “Orkney Chair” – a gift from her parents when she turned eighteen. These straw-backed chairs are so quaint – and incredibly expensive! But a lovely local tradition nonetheless. Here's Mom outside our B&B and the Orkney Chair:

That first night we went into Kirkwall for supper. It was here Mom managed to fall into a pub. She missed a step down into the pub and all I saw where legs and arms flailing in front of me. She gave me a scare as she could easily have broken various parts of her body. But within a milli-second of pulling the triple sow cow, she leaned against a table and said very calmly, “Here’s a free table.” I looked at her and said, “Really? You are going to pretend that didn’t just happen?” Then we went crazy. We laughed, and laughed and laughed. Then we’d think about it and go crazy all over again. Everyone in the pub looked at us like we were growing antlers. This only made us laugh more. Before heading back to the B&B, Mom called home from a pay phone by the harbor, and this is the view I had while she chatted with Peter:

The Standing Stones of Stenness was our first stop of pre-historic Orkney. There are only three and a half stones left of twelve that would have once formed a complete circle. It is hard to describe how incredibly massive these stones are – 16ft high. The way to indicate the scale is to include people in a photo standing beside the stones.

One amusing story associated with the site concerns a farmer who owned the property in the early 19^th century. Disgruntled that people were trespassing and disturbing his land by using the stones in rituals, he began removing the stones. He had successfully removed three before locals intervened.

The Ring of Brodgar was our next stone circle located only a few kilometers away. The northernmost example of circle henges in Britain, it is also the third largest in the British Isles. Originally comprised 60 stones, only 27 remained standing at the end of the 20th century. Located on an isthmus, the backdrop for the Ring of Brodgar is incredibly scenic. Mom and I loved walking around the stones with the lovely view of the water.

Skara Brae was next. I had seen pictures of it and had read about it. Considered the most important settlement on Neolithic Orkney, this site is also located right on the water on the Bay of Skaill. The site consists of eight stone houses and is Europe's most complete Neolithic village Europe's. What astounded me is that the site has been dated older than Stonehenge and the Pyramids. Documentation we received at the site states it has been called the "Scottish Pompeii" because of its excellent preservation. What is intriguing about this site is that occupation of Skara Brae began about 3180 BCE with occupation continuing for about six hundred years – then the people left and it is not known why. Many theories exist, but the mystery remains as to why the settlement was abandoned.

The Broch of Gurness was the last settlement we toured. What I loved about this site is that we could actually go into the Broch and walk inside it – unlike Skara Brae. Like the other settlements, however, this Iron Age Broch village overlooks water - Eynhallow Sound. It was so windy and cold, we appreciated the refuge inside its walls.

We stopped many times along the roadside for the seemingly endless photo ops. One of my favorite spots was a simple rocky seaside rest stop. The wind was so incredible, I was actually a little scared to go anywhere remotely near the cliff edge. One photo of Mom and I show how exactly how windy it was. Not a complementary photo by any means, it actually looks like we had the scare of our lives, but it is just too funny not to include here.

Mom with our collection of Orkney seashells.

That’s it for Scotland. I have recently realized that I have seen more of Scotland than any other country in the world. Something keeps pulling me back. The country is so majestic and the people are so charming. It is part of my ancestry. And it is part of my own individual story. There are still a few places I want to see and am hoping to make one last journey back some day. For now, however, my Mom and I have begun making tentative plans for our next journey. And it can’t come soon enough!