Cherish

I haul that word out now and again. A perfect descriptor of moments, of little memories, of slivers of gratitude. A word used a lot in the Ireland I grew up in.

to love, protect, and care for someone or something that is important to you: Although I cherish my children, I do allow them their independence. Her most cherished possession is a 1926 letter from F. Scott Fitzgerald. Freedom of speech is a cherished (= carefully protected) right in this country.to keep hopes, memories, or ideas in your mind because they are important to you and bring you pleasure: I cherish the memories of the time we spent together.

 I had what I call a "shyte day" yesterday. I cancelled a physical therapy session as the chair yoga I had been doing caught up with me and I literally had pain from top to toe. Add this to the ongoing back misery and I was unfit for just about everything. But so grateful I had purchased a huge quantity of prepared salads a few days ago as I was way beyond cooking anything. Sobeys do the most amazing salads and include protein of all kinds, chicken, fish, hardboiled eggs and a huge quantity of various vegetables. A good ol' Canadian chain. Founded when God was an altar boy. An elder's gift for prepped meals.

But today is a cherish the moments kind of day. Pain has taken a mini-vacation and as much as I despise the unpredictability of each day from a mobility perspective, I grab the ones which don't get in the way of any kind of enjoyment.

I actually have a "visitor" coming today. A friend I haven't seen in a while. I avoid such encounters when I am in the misery of pain and discomfort. Who wants to listen and observe others struggling? 

I'm listening to some lovely music (music of my life) which has carried me through challenges and grief and all the ills us humans suffer.

And the moments we cherish and can relive at the touch of a button. I hope you enjoy this duet from The Pearl Fishers.

Sunday Selections

 Joining with many others in this feast of forgotten, overlooked and meaningful photos. Here are some participants: River is one, Andrew is one.  Messymimi is one. Kylie  is another. Drop in to their blogs and have a look.

I'm under the wire here, barely making Sunday.

Just finished this 440 page charmer of a book about a gay artist who inspires a young homeless girl. It's beautifully written and had me crying a few times.

A Valentine's Card from the management of my building with a personal handwritten message inside. Very touching.

Daughter brought me this pen back from her trip to Scotland last year. I feel important when I write with it. Which is like every day.

My new knitting bag. Knitted, of course.

And I've been longing for one of these for a while, working in two colours. Handcrafted and gorgeous. No more balls rolling all over the floor.

A close up of my Hyacinth which brought me such joy.

Enjoy your week my dear readers as we cruise into Spring here and into Autumn for my readers in Oz.

Sunday Selections.

Joining with many others in this feast of forgotten, overlooked and meaningful photos. Here are some participants: River is one, Andrew is one.  Messymimi is one. Kylie  is another. Drop in to their blogs and have a look.

The simple things.

I like these clever cartoons.

A bowl of blackberries for breakfast this morning,

I gifted these two dishcloths I recently knitted yesterday. They last forever and never hold an odour.

I gifted myself this lovely wee hyacinth yesterday.

I gifted myself a sit-by-the-ocean-and-nothing-yourself for a long time yesterday. I call days like these #40shadesofblue.

Sometimes Our Hearts Break A Little.

I glanced out my window the other night. I was struck by this oul fellah struggling along on his cane to the requisite 25 feet from our building. Snow was coming down fast, the plows had been around three times already.

He balanced himself carefully on the stick and lit up. Rules are no smoking in the building or within 25 feet of it. The rule is taken seriously. Even when you're dying of lung cancer.

As he is.

As a recovered nicotine addict (2 packs a day when it was allowed everywhere even on planes and post partum in the maternity wing - yeah, I know, appalling breathing smoke on our newborns, you would be dumbfounded if you saw a photo of back then, I do have one somewhere) I sympathize with him. We attribute my late brother's death to tobacco, he had quit for years and then went back for about 10 years which, I believe, nailed him to the cross of cancer.

All 6 of us siblings were smokers and quit along the way. My own withdrawal (no medical support back then, 38 years ago) was so terrible I knew I could never smoke again as I would never quit again.

This poor fellah tried to quit. I just know he did. All smokers do whether they say so or not. And now, in his late sixties he's dying one of the worst kind of deaths. Fighting for breath, plugging in tanks, yearning for the one thing that would bring him a comfort he defines.

Yeah. I'm so sad for him. 

PS I can't post this on local social media as many would know him.

Belatedly - The Books of 2025

The still-to-be reads from 2024

Intermezzo - Sally Rooney *****

Followed by the Lark - Helen Humphries ***

The Inheritance - Cauvery Madhaven ****

Still Life - Sarah Winman *****

The Postcard - Anne Berest *****

The Pages of the Sea - Anne Hawk  DNF 

The Adversary - Michael Crummy (2nd Reading) *****

Walking with Ghosts - Gabriel Byrne *****

Bewilderment - Richard Powers *****

The Overstory - Richard Powers DNF - tiny italics and my poor eyesight

The Wife Who Risked Everything - Ellie Midwood *

A Little Life - Hanya Yanagihar 0

Fresh Water for Flowers - Valerie Perrin *****

The Hypocrite - Jo Hanya *****

I'll Be Seeing You - Elizabeth Berg *****

Convenience Store Woman  - Sayaka Murata *****

How the Penguin Saved Veronica - Hazel Price ****

Dolly - Anita Bookner *****

The Killing Kind - Jane Casey *

Nun The Less - Patricia Brown Not rated, a friend.

Standing in Gaps - Seamus O'Rourke ****

American Mother - Colum McCann/Diane Foley ****

The Outside Boy - Janine Cummins **

Advice for Murders - Vera Wang *****

Cassandra at the Wedding - Dorothy Parker *****

The Precious Days - Ann Patchett *****

Signal Fires - Dan Shapiro *****

Isola - Allegra Goodman *****

King of Ashes - S.A. Cosby ****

Waiting for Gertrude - Bill Richardson DNF

Homecoming - Kate Morton **

Will and Testament - Vigolis Hjorth ****

The Secrets of Primrose Square - Claudia Carroll **

Heart Be At Peace - Donal Ryan ***

The Post Mistress - Sarah Blake *****

Question 7 - Richard Flanagan *****

A Truce That is not Peace - Miriam Toews *****

The Ruin - Dervla Mc Tiernan ***

The Narrow Road to the Truth North - Richard Flanagan *****

101 Days - Kamala Harris *****

Four Red Sweaters - Lucy Adlington *****

Nobody's Girl - Virginia Giuffre *****

We Did OK, Kid - Anthony Hopkins****

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

So there you have it, the list of books read or dropped (DNF) for 2025. Rated with 5 for superb and thus downward. At my advanced age I don't have time for books not to my interest anymore. Our Annual Jolabokaflod (literally book flood) celebrated at Solstice/Christmas yields treasures for the year ahead. We put great thought into our book selections for those we love. So these gifts are treasured and endure. And it has the added bonus of taking all the angst out of the seasonal gift madness.

I also get quite a few books out of my local library  which also has access to multiple libraries across Canada and will haul in any special request for me along with holding book requests (best sellers) for me. It's always lovely getting to know your local librarian and to be greeted by name when you walk in. They also offer a delivery to my home for the mobility challenged. When I lived in the outports they had a books by mail service until I founded the library in my town back then which still flourishes.

Below is the haul of unread treasures from this past Jolabokaflod, I have read a few already.

Let me know if you have questions on the 2025 books or share your own favourite reads of the past year. I do recommend keeping a book journal. I have done this forever, it seems.

 

Sunday Selections

Joining with many others in this feast of forgotten, overlooked and meaningful photos. Here are some participants: River is one, Andrew is one.  Messymimi is one. Kylie  is another. Drop in to their blogs and have a look.

I love my indoor garden. These orchids are a constant source of joy as they take turns blooming. This one has 8 more buds and the blooms last as long as 3 months.

Dinner dropped off by a caring friend during the week. I am forever grateful to those who understand my frequent (far too) immobilizations and endeavour to cheer me. And they do. Food is such a visible expression of love.

I keep this prettily framed photo of my last four-legged companion, Ansa, on my desk. You can see the love in her eyes here. She was a never ending source of inspiration to me. A beloved rescued border collie and constant companion.

This is part of the tiny fishing village of Quidi Vidi (pronounced kiddy viddy) which is part of the city of St. John's near my home. An enchanting wee place.

This is a drone view.

Have a good week all.

 

Balance

 It's hard to maintain a balance in life, especially once we get older. I believe, also, that the advancing years can make us more impatient, more immediate in demands, more hurt by invisibility and lonelier as dear ones die.

I remember being at a gathering many years ago where we were asked individually what troubles we carried into the room. And we all got very honest and shared exactly what we were worried or grieved or in grief about.

And at the end of the evening we were all asked what troubles we would exchange with anyone else in that big room. And the answers were we would prefer to keep our own, thank you very much. Incredibly revealing.

It reminds me also of our human habit of comparing our insides to someone else's outsides. "They look happy all the time, what not me?" being a classic. Many project happiness and carry sorrow within. I know I've done it.

I remember this jolly older man, always joking, a little flirty and one time he shared with me that all three of his sons had committed suicide over the past 10 years. Yet there he was, doing his best, getting on with it and probably crying into his pillow at night. Books and covers come to mind and speaking of......

I'm reading this wonderful biography of an actor I've always admired. And he is a classic example of being wretched for years and wearing a sense of uselessness and stupidity (reinforced by his father) and letting that define his persona. How he surmounts many challenges is inspiring.

I took this photo out my living room window tonight. the white bit at the top of the pictures is an overhang of snow from the roof above, dangling like a canopy.

And finally a pic of my supper, one I make frequently as it is so easy. A tortilla in a pie plate, throw in 3 eggs and some cottage cheese, whisk,  add layer of spinach leaves and chopped red pepper, cover in shredded cheese (I use parmesan) and bake in preheated oven 425 degrees for 20-ish minutes, depending on the cottage cheese amount. Does me two meals. It reheats well in the oven. Micro would make it too wimpy.

So there you go.

I suddenly feel useful.