One very cool lady

Once again, our Governor-General, Michaelle Jean has demonstrated just how classy she is. This morning's Globe and Mail contains picks for great reads from a number of prominent people. Her picks? Poetry. The winners of this year's G-G Awards, in both French and English.

M.J., you rock.

Merry Christmas to all

... and to all a good night.

It's a sign

of Christmas.

Whatever it is you celebrate, enjoy!

Solsticey greetings

And how's this for a sign of hope?
Hyacinth bulbs sprouting -- spring can't be far...

This is what I do

I make butter tarts and banana breads and chocolate-covered brandied apricots, row on crazy row.

But it sure beats going to the mall for gifts for family and friends!

And still more . . .

This flower still isn't ready to quit. After putting out eight blooms, there's yet another bud poking its head out.
More to come from this guy!

Miraculous amaryllis

Okay, not really a miracle, but. For someone with such an anything-but-green thumb, I'm impressed by how it's thrived, despite me.

It sure started out as an ugly duckling.

But with just the barest amounts of water and light, look how gorgeous it's become!

Feed the people

What a fun fundraiser!

Last night the White Rock Blues Society brought a lot of people out of their Sunday night cocoon mode. The event managed to raise a heap of money for the local food bank. The photo at the top is Brandon Isaak, fronting a band made up mostly of his band, The Twisters. The pic at the bottom is a fairly surreal shot (sans flash) of the Mud Bay Blues Band. Their trumpet player alone is worth going to hear them play.

Terrific event and a very worthy cause. Let's hope all of us do something for others during this season of sharing.

I'm stumped

...as to why Robert Latimer was denied parole. Okay, they claim he hasn't shown enough remorse. But really, it isn't as if he has another severely disabled child whose suffering he might end. What harm do the powers-that-be expect him to inflict? This sounds like a case of sour grapes, of 'power-over' in one of its ugliest forms.

Guess it must really be December

. . . because I've been making cards. Now it's just a matter of figuring out who gets which one, signing them, and getting them into the mail -- and in time for Christmas! Still, this feels like a great start.

Talk about micro-climate!

The weirdest part is that while this snow was falling, it was raining barely 2km south of here, at the beach in White Rock. Slight change in elevation plus that big liquid sea.

In truth, it always surprises me when it snows here. I know: it's the end of November, so I should be prepared for the white stuff.

My attitude must have something to do with my still holding the image in mind of that January day when I first came to Vancouver from the wintry climate of Sault Ste. Marie. As I rode along in the taxi, everything looked soooo greeeeeen.

I like little books

The top shelf of my desk holds a row of tiny books. There's a miniature edition of nursery rhymes, a guide to Japanese gardening, a flip book of Eadward Muybridge photos (the bird flies or a man jumps, depending which way you flip the book's pages). You'll even find Nancy Drew's very brief Guide to Life.

Last spring, when I was in San Francisco, I bought a set of tiny books from a street vendor, Thom Schimer. Lately, I've been reading Kevin Spenst's collection, Fast Fictions. I always love it when I experience synchronicity in what I'm reading. That happened in 'A Story Both Big and Small'. The story makes reference to November, 1972, then closes by referring to a date 36 years after that -- in other words, now.[N.B. bad math -- that would be one year from now -- will have to re-read the story next November]

The stories are all over the place, but prompted me to insert stickies in many different spots throughout the book -- bits of language that jumped off the page and made me want to read them again. But for sheer imagination power, Spenst is at his best in 'What the Soup Told Me To Do'.

He's reading again Sunday (the 25th) at Bibliophile on Commercial Drive. The event begins at 5 p.m.

Zappa plays Zappa, again

Last year on December 20th, Dweezil Zappa played at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver. Last night, he and his band were back -- this time at the Orpheum. I think the sound was even better than last year's show. Who knows, maybe our seats were just better.

A surprise (at least for me) was video footage, with Frank on guitar -- one that wasn't necessary, still a very cool addition. Talk about dessert after an already full buffet.

Only, right now I'm completely jealous. My friend Rolf was at the concert too -- and he managed to meet the band. Apparently, he and Ray White had a chat about hats. What a smarty pants.

Rock 'n Read

Saturday, November 17th, and the place to be was the Legion in Crescent Beach. A combo event, it was the first ever in the Rock 'n Read Series, sponsored by the local Community Arts Council. The evening's headliners were Wyckham Porteous and John Armstrong.

John opened up, reading from his hilarious memoir, Guilty of Everything. This hit the spot with the locals, as many recognized the places and times Armstrong was writing about -- the old 7-Eleven behind the OP Safeway, the chicken factory in Newton, cheap apartments for rent down on the beach. He went on to read from his latest, Wages, and kept us both laughing and shaking our heads -- often in recognition over bad times and bad jobs.

After a short break, Wyckham Porteous stepped to the mic. He commented on the irony of our being in a Canadian Legion Hall this night, as two more Canadian soldiers had just died in Afghanistan. He opened his set with the first cut from 3D, his latest CD, a piece that finds its roots in the current conflict.

The band accompanying him was beyond outrageously good. I'll admit to having a soft spot for great keyboard playing, and this concert was no exception. Simon Kendall, once upon a time of Doug and the Slugs, was nothing short of amazing. Pounding piano keys with his right hand, and playing an electronic keyboard with his left, he made as much great sound as a band on his own.

Altogether, a totally wailin' night. And hey, get a load of these two, Wyck's sisters, Robin and Kitty.

I'm ashamed

...of the Taser incident at YVR that resulted in the death of Robert Dziekanski. And I'm embarrassed that earlier this year, I bragged up YVR on this blog. But then, my positive experience there might have something to do with the fact that I speak English, not Polish.

O, Blogger, where art thou?

Monday's storm here left us without power. This wasn't your usual annoyance-type-outage -- the kind that sends you re-setting every clockish appliance in the house. We were living on candlepower for over 40 hours.


All because one of the beautiful old trees in our neighbourhood blew down, snagging a power line as it fell across the lane.

So this morning, I'm appreciative as I sit here typing on this lighted screen that connects me to the world. Still, as I sip my hot coffee (made in the under-counter automatic unit, not on the burner of the old fondue set), I cringe as I can hear the wind rising yet again.

Art -- indoors and out

Visiting my sister in North Carolina -- and wow, has she ever set up an itinerary of activities!

Yesterday was a visit to the North Carolina Art Gallery. Links and pix will have to come later, once I'm home. What a cool place though: Impressionists in the featured show; amazing installation pieces outdoors, including a building that's essentially a pinhole camera.

Transformation

This was just a week ago, and look what's happened tonight. Maybe Linus has the right idea after all -- shades of The Great Pumpkin, rising.

You are not alone

There probably should have been signs announcing that last time we went out mushrooming-picking. While we didn't encounter any little green creatures, there was plenty of evidence of large brown ones.

Besides piles of scat on the trail, the forest held several reminders that bears were about. We knew it was the season when they'd be fattening up for hibernation. And if we'd forgotten, we would have been reminded by the many salmon battling their way up the shallow streams. Still, despite making plenty of noise while foraging, I came close to stepping on someone's dinner-interruptus -- a partially eaten salmon much too far from the river to have leapt there.
I was glad to be wearing both a bell and a whistle, and much to the disgust of the bears I am sure, I did a lot of singing.

Over the course of the day, we saw some beautiful sights and made a good haul of edible shrooms, most of which are now dried and stored in jars for the winter. Still, I'm darn glad we didn't have to tussle with any of the neighbours.

World Pasta Day

Can you believe that there's really such a day? Whatever. To observe the day properly, we had linguini for supper.



The recipe is a quickie, passed along to me by a friend. It's one of those combinations that's very forgiving about its ingredients.

If I have mushrooms, I cook them up with the pasta then drain both. While those sit in the colander, I heat up some olive oil and add bits of fresh garlic. (Since you're really supposed to make this with butter, I usually add some butter to the garlicked oil.)

Next, smoosh up a ripe avocado or two, swirl in the juice of a lemon (or, failing that, a lime). Chop up a few green onions (or else add finely chopped bits of red or other onion). Once you get a sauce that resembles soft guacamole, throw the pasta back into the pan and smoosh it all together. Heat it through and add a bunch of grated Parmesan. Sprinkle liberally with freshly-ground black pepper and prepare to be hungry.

Serve with a salad and a cold, crisp white wine. Enjoy!