Marbles

From Bonnie:

Yes, my life resembles the chaos of the universe.

David and I used our mantra tonight - "aesthetic and ritual".

We put the groceries away together.

We did the evening snack dishes together.

We did the loading of the laundry machine together.

The house looks great. David concurs - "I do think it looks better".

"getting a bead on a marble I want to win"

We also studied the lunch options for tomorrow together: salami sausage sticks, cheese sticks, yogurt, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, apples.

He was given the task at the store to choose things he would be sure to eat in his lunch.

I tried not to blink at the things out of season, the 30 salami sticks he may not eat.

Now, he is putting away his iPad and we are going to have a game of marbles to wind down.

Today was filled with Karate, Nerf Guns Wars, Hot Pools ... oh, he has changed his mind to a Labyrinth board game.

Could life be better?

The White Rabbit

Richard and I continue to walk in the early morning. There is much to attend to. He is super vigilant about walking in the crosswalks. He wants cars to be absolutely stopped before we venture off of the sidewalk and pass in front of them. Today there was only a skiff of snow on the sidewalks. He stopped along the pavement in the park on the brow of the hill to point out tracks – coyotes he said, giving it the Western Canadian pronunciation of coyote without the long e at the end of the word. 

On this morning's walk, when I hadn’t finished one of my stories and we are close to our respective sidewalks to our homes, we walk a few more lengths. He stopped to show me the rabbit that sleeps on my front lawn, just below the cement pieces that encircle the birch tree.

 On being startled the rabbit hopped over a few yards and stopped at my porch.

“See, there it is,” he pointed to a small nest in the snow. “The rabbit has been staying in that spot all winter.”

Alice thinks the rabbit belongs to her. Even though she is barely tall enough to see over the bottom ledge of their front window, she will go there and look for the rabbit, sometimes seeing it hop across the lawn and calling to her parents in her baby language to come and look.  Nothing she calls would alert anyone else to go, but you know something is happening outside the window by the way she is anxiously calling them.

Near the King was the White Rabbit, with a trumpet in one hand, 

and a scroll of parchment in the other. 

Illustration from John Tenniel, published in 1865.

I don’t disbelieve that the rabbit sleeps there, for I have seen it. Still I went out to Wikipedia to check.  I learned that rabbits sleep in burrows or hutches or nests.

There is nothing about cuddling up to a bunch of stones on a front lawn, or huddling up against the back of the house, which I where I see them.

In the past the only rabbits I have known were Br'er Rabbit, Peter Rabbit, the White Rabbit, the March Hare and Bugs Bunny.

On my early morning walks I have become acquainted with real rabbits who have a charm of their own.

Arta

James Despot

From Janet:

a cliff, a bay of water and
there could be a fish
right around the next corner.

Shuswap's best friend and neighbor passed away yesterday.

James Despot had heart surgery last summer and he never really recovered.

He fought a strong battle.

He had a couple of heart attacks that we knew of over the years.

Doral enjoyed fishing with Ray and James and they would often get together and discuss their catches and tactics. James was a great school teacher, administrator and  Superintendent of the Board in Ashcroft.

He was a great counsellor. James had a very soothing fatherly/big brother manner. He would speak his mind, though, and let you know if he thought you were in the wrong. People gravitated to James. If there is one person that all of the Annis Bay residents/part-time residents knew, it was James.

Ashcroft, Annis Bay and I suspect Kamloops (where he and Yvonne were living) will miss him.

For Glen and I as well as our children, I have to say it is like losing a family member. For me personally, since I was 19, the Roger’s have always been there. Even with only getting together on an average of twice a year – they are always supposed to be there. Caring and fun to be around – great hosts – knew how to have a good time.

Easter as well as New Year are always set aside and worked into our calendar to get together and catch up. Never enough time but enough time to affirm the tie between us. I will not forget him and in fact I now add him to my thoughts on Valentine’s Day along with my Mom and Dad’s wedding anniversary.

To you, my family, I leave you with a couple of thoughts from James. He and Yvonne would often talk to us about the past, the present and the future at the lovely Shuswap. Those visits with him were always rewarding and comforting.

In our Annis Bay Community we take efforts to hold strong for each other and to do what needs to be done for the good of all. I guess we can add all of Annis Bay will feel the loss of James.    

Glen commented this morning that our every day problems seem small compared to health and wellbeing.

Eat your veggies please.

Love Janet and Glen

Happy Valentines Day to you

LtoR: Amy Duong, Arta Johnson, unknown , Chris

When I opened the door to go into the TD Canada Trust Bank this morning I noticed a cupid motif on the door and hanging garlands of hearts.

"Who did all of this decorating?"

"Me," said Amy Duong, "and since you are the first customer this morning you have a chance to have your picture taken with all of the staff."

So here we are -- Happy Valentines Day from me and the 8 o'clock am staff at TD.

I couldn't have started the day in a better way.

Last night Kelvin bought home orchids for me.

This morning Michael delivered a valentine to me -- the print of his 3 year old left hand in red and then shaped into a flower.

This day has already delivered in spades ... but that would that be "delivered in hearts".

Then Richard brought out his morning shooting targets for me to see.  Instead of our 6 am early morning walk, he went out to do some practise shooting.  I tried to get one of the target practise sheets off of him to put up on the wall beside Michael's valentine to me.  I couldn't get it off of Richard.  Too valuable.  It was going in his target practise binder.

Had I thought ahead, I might have gone with him to see what the experience is that makes it so valuable that he wouldn't even give me just that one piece of paper.

Love to all,

Arta

The Valentine

"The valentines ... that opened into perfect symmetry."

I loved 

The valentines we made in school.

I never cut the hearts out flat—

The two sides would never match for me.

I always folded and centered

And scissored out a half a heart

That opened into perfect symmetry.

So they never had a side that was fat

And a side that was skinny.

I loved them for that.

"... nice and tidy ... as if it had opened from some good design ..."

I felt sort of nice and tidy that way

The day we saw the shape of our being one—
As if it had opened from some good design
That made two matching halves,
Yours and mine.

But I find we don’t stay put like paper.

We are not comfortable with glue.

Your edges have shifted, stretched,

And mine have too—

But not to a pattern.

If we folded our halves up today

They would not fit.

Occasionally I itch for the scissors,

I will admit.

Ah, well.

I will put away childish things—

Cut them off like braids.

We are no valentine, you and I.

We are something so alive, so moving,

So growing, I cannot yet

Put a name to the shape.

I only know it goes on and on and on,

Pressing toward whatever border

There may somewhere be.

"occasionally I itch for the scissors [but]... I will let the edges go."

Your center and mine are one,

And between the halves there is flow.

That is much.

I will let the edges go.

by Carol Lynn Pearson

Published in the Ensign in 1976.

The Fear of Friday, the 13th

From Wickapedia:

Triskaidekaphobia (from Greek tris meaning "3", kai meaning "and", deka meaning "10" and phobos meaning "fear" or "morbid fear") is fear of the number 13 and avoidance to use it; it is a superstition and related to the specific fear of the 13th person at the Last Supper being Judas, who was said to have stabbed Jesus Christ in the back (metaphorically). It is also a reason for the fear of Friday the 13th, called paraskevidekatriaphobia (from Παρασκευή Paraskevi, Greek for Friday) orfriggatriskaidekaphobia (after Frigg, the Norse goddess after whom Friday is named in English).

I couldn't help but put this explanation up on the blog.  I didn't know the real name of fear of Friday the 13th when I went to check this morning.  I could only remember the name of the fear of the number 13.  I have a black candle holder that circles in a spiral and holds 13 black candles.  I went to find it today and couldn't put my hands on it.  Could I have given it away?  Now there is a fear for you -- that I might have given something away.  

I have no fear of Friday the 13th.  I was going to mock the universe by lighting the candles today.  I guess I will have to wait until next time.

Arta

Reviews of Bluebeard's Castle and Iolanta

Anna Netrebko in Iolanta

Saturday is Bluebeard's Castle and Iolanta at the movie theatres that carry the New York Met HD Live.

I hope there is an event like this in your city.

In the January 30, 2015  New York Times review of theses operas,  there is a 1 1/2 minute video of Anna Netrebko singing Iolanta.  Just listening to 90 seconds of this, I could feel the chills going up and down my arms.

I must be susceptible to sudden musical pleasure, having seen Bluebeard's Castle in London when I was there with Wyona and Greg.  In fact I can bring back to my mind exactly where we were sitting and who was sitting beside whom.

Yesterday in my film class on the Western we were talking about the implcations of genre mixing.( ie  a musical western or a romantic comedy).

When I was looking at pictures about Bluebeard's Castle the subtitle was "psychological thriller". Yes.  That genre mixing doesn't just happen in the movies.  I am going to enjoy it in the opera, too.

Here are some other reviews of this production:

The New York Times, Jan 21, 2015

The New York Times also publishes this short synopsis:

★ ‘Iolanta’ and ‘Bluebeard’s Castle’ Anna Netrebko brings Tchaikovsky’s lush fairy tale “Iolanta” to the Metropolitan Opera for the first time, singing the title role of a princess whose blindness is cured by love. The slightly surreal production is directed by Mariusz Trelinski with references to film noir, and as in “Eugene Onegin,” Ms. Netrebko is conducted by the Russian master Valery Gergiev. He also leads the second half of the evening, Bartok’s “Bluebeard’s Castle,” whose mysterious central couple (sung by Nadja Michael and Mikhail Petrenko) arrive at a less happy ending. 

I still can't believe that for $25, I can go to the opera -- as though I were in New York and sitting in one of the best seats in the house.

Amazing.

Arta