Staying in the moment - Black Ice on TCH

This morning I heard on the radio that there had been a serious car accident on the road between Sicamous and Salmon Arm, with a medivac being called in.

It's always unnerving to hear there has been a serious accident. More unnerving when the accident is  on a road frequented by family and friends.

So ... I breathed deeply, focused on the road, and gave everyone a call when I got home. Whew. Everyone accounted for.

Here's a link to what is know as of 10am Jan 6 2017 about the accident near Bernie Road.

http://www.saobserver.net/news/409902505.html

Nabucco

Nabucco
First time in HD

The running time on the Verdi's Nabucco 

is 2 hours and 43 minutes.

You can catch it this Saturday (January 7th) or on any three of its Encore dates in Calgary: February 4th, 6th and 8th.

Review: James Livine and Placido Domingo Storm the Met Anew

I am telling Moiya this morning that I think she will recognize this u-tube clip of the Hebrew Slaves Chorus.

Arta

On the First Day of Christmas ...

 ... ten pipers piping ...
 ... 11 maids a dancing ...

From Catherine:

Does everyone remember the Christmas Kelve gave everyone a 12 days of Christmas mug.

I love mine.

Use them all year long although they get used nearly daily during Christmas. If any of you want to gift me yours (assuming you aren't using them) I'm trying to put together the entire set. I'll be hunting on kigigi and ebay but thought I'd start the easiest placed-- with you.

Happy new year everyone.

Love to you all.

From Arta:

... pipers' coaster ...

There was a coaster that came along with the mug.  It looks like I ended up with your coaster.  Pretty expensive to get it back, having to fly here, but well worth the search.

Did you hear the Christmas special with the Boston Pops this year, Catherine?

They did the most clever arrangement of the 12 Days of Christmas.  Brought in Beethoven's Fifth, some of the Hallelujah chorus and enchanting secular songs.

Next year I am going to teach this song (The 12 Days of Christmas) to Michael and Alice.

Oh yes, here I am already planning for next year.

Let's start now and count the days until Christmas.

Arta

Learnng to do selfies

Sharon at Agecare Seton

Sharon and I had lunch together last week.

I asked if I could take a picture of her for the blog and she agreed.

Then I wanted a selfie with her.

I have been trying to take good selfies, even going out to the internet to get tips.  Most of the suggestions are that I change my settings so that the people in the selfies have fewer wrinkles.

Sharon and Arta in their first selfie together

I am not that advanced. I just want tips on how to get the faces of the participants all in the frame.

I noticed this summer that Catherine could get 20 or more people in the same selfie!

I thought I might make a New Year's Resolution and see if I could do a selfie a day with someone.

Note the problem here. I would have to find 365 friends. Consenting friends.  I have discovered that I get about 9 out of 10 rejections if I ask people if I can use their picture on the family blog.  Maybe that tip about taking the wrinkles out of the photo is a tip I should be looking at.

Arta

Seven Lucky Gods

When I was in Japan at one of the markets, I saw seven squat Asian figures glued to a board and was curious about the details.

My sister, Bonnie, used to buy some trinket whenever she was on holidays, to remind her of that place.

For some reason, remembering that fact gave me permission to pick up this set when I was in Japan though I had no idea of its meaning.

Yesterday Michael asked me what it was and pulled it out so the two of us examined it, turning over every figure and looking at them. “This is fun,” I thought, for we could examine the clothing, the facial expression, the bodies, the objects the figures were carrying. I have great powers of making stories up, but it seemed to me that I would get more enjoyment if I could give him that myths that I thought really must belong to these little piece.

Goggle.

I must use it 10 times a day. Perhaps I have already used it 10 times today and it isn’t even mid-morning yet. I can’t imagine living life without it anymore. No set of encyclopedias could work as fast as just a few words into a subject line. My hit came with “7 people Japanese fishing rod”. Now I have new myths to learn and no end of pleasure thinking of how I am going to hook Michael into loving these figures. He will never know that I will be taking notes, studying the character details, and memorizing short stories before talking with him next.

I just love making him think I know everything about everything and that it has taken me no time to learn it!

Arta

Where are Mary, Joseph and Jesus

I have a small transparent glass nativity. I keep it in my china cabinet all year round beside 3 glass fir trees. There is hardly a day when Alice comes over, that she doesn’t take it out and place the characters on a 5-inch ledge between the top of the cabinet and the bottom of the cabinet. On that flat small space Alice lines the characters up and plays with them. She does the same thing with the Russian nesting dolls, but takes them over to the dining room table to separate them and then reassemble them.

I wanted a Nativity set that has some colour in it, one that she could do the same thing with … all year round. The transparent Nativity seems so surreal. You can see right through Mary, Joseph and the manager. So I have been on a one month search. Mary, Joseph and the babe in the manger were no where to be found this year. Oh, I could find some sets where the figures are glued to a platform or right into the stable. But the fun is in turning them over, looking at each part and then setting it in a place and in combinations of figures only imagined by a small child.

The only set I found that fits the criteria of moveable figures was a set for $150 that was now half price. I just couldn’t do it though it was not about the price. I didn’t think that Mary’s tiny nose, or her delicate hands and arms would stand up to the taps and bangs that have occurred on the glass set. In fact, every time Alice takes these out, I think to myself, “This is going to be the last time this set is complete. There is going to be breakage.” But it doesn’t happen and she puts it back behind the glass doors and goes onto another toy. I have had more breakage taking the bulbs off of my Christmas tree this year! I know that Christmas decorations are cyclical and that every year the manufacturers manage to find a new theme: bears, reindeer, elves, country villages, and this year, fairies. And after my trip to the Spanish outdoor Christmas markets, I know I can never gather together those possibilities – the whole countryside: villages, farms, fields, town squares.

Still, I am going to keep my eyes open for a moveable set so that I can play “nativity” with her in colour. Just a few more shopping days left.

Arta

My Deck Railing from Moiya

From Moiya:

Feathered deck-railing pane
 at Moiya's house at dusk.

Panoramic view from the cabins to Wyona's house

... and now looking the other way ...

From Arta:

Moiya and I are discovering different capabilities of our phones.  She has been trying to work with her camera.  She says she got into the panoramic view on her camera by chance and just couldn't stop herself from taking pictures.

I have been practising using voice recognition.  Both of us are crazy, spending all of this time.  And worrying that we won't remember tomorrow what we learned today.

We are better off than Wyona, though.  She just bought a new phone and she is so far behind us!

When Wyona and I get out to the lake the week, the three of us will get together, sit on the same warm fuzzy couch and talk to each other through our phones, just like everyone else in the world does.

We will practise sending messages to one another, seeing what we can learn.

No bridge.

Arta