My Beloved Swainson's Thrush

The best aspect of today was the sense that I will get better and go for more long walks. I am waiting for one more appointment with the physiotherapist to discuss resuming exercise and walking, but I am hopeful — if I start moderately. When I do, I will go to the park to hear the song of a Swainson's Thrush. It is my favourite birdsong here in southwestern BC. It is the song of my years on the mountains and in the parks. It is our nightingale.

I love Wes Anderson

This preview of the Wes Anderson film coming out in March looks delicious. It had me from the first scene.

The back/hip/leg issue is two things: it is physical and mental. The mental part is a seesaw of "I can hardly wait to get better" and "this is never going to get better." I am better than I have been in a month, but only if I am sitting in a good chair or sitting on a cushion that keeps my legs down, not parallel with the flow, or if I am standing.

Every morning at around five am, Leon meows and comes up on the bed to get under the covers. I go back to sleep and get up around six. I stay in the dark so that the fish wake up slowly with the light when the sun comes up. Only then do I turn on the lights in the main room. Then I feed them.

I got these fish on impulse after seeing a fish in a bowl at a friend's house. I couldn't be happier. I just love my tanks and fishies. I have babies maturing that were born here and are looking gorgeous and a new set was just born that are surviving in the jungle of plants I have for them to hide in.

Saturday my second section of my course starts. And in the mail, I got another royalty cheque. I have had a few lately and still can't get over how my little book has become a valued pension.

The BEST Audience Ever

The love of the audience for this gifted singer, Lara Fabian, is palpable, as is her clear sincere emotion at the spontaneous singing by the crowd. Lara has Canadian citizenship; she is hugely popular in Quebec.

The first concert of Lara Fabian after the death of a loved one, Gregory Lemorshalya. She came on stage, but could not sing, and then everyone stood up and started singing and the whole hall replaced the words "Je t'aime" (I love you) with "On t'aime" (We love you) Then her producer Rick Alisson, on piano, comes up and says: 'Look ... and you said that you had nothing to live for ... Live for them, for people who love you.

I read this today...

For tens of thousands of years the reality of human existence was discomfort. It is only in recent years—evolutionary speaking—that homo sapiens have been able to kick back and relax. In an excerpt from his new book, The Story of the Human Body: Evolution, Health, and Disease, evolutionary biologist Daniel Lieberman explains why this new phenomenon of being comfortable is hazardous to your health. 

Comprehensive analyses of the incidence of back pain around the world consistently find that back pain is twice as high in developed versus less developed countries; further, within low-income countries, the incidence is roughly twice as high in urban versus rural areas. For example, lower back pain afflicts about 40 percent of farmers in rural Tibet but 68 percent of sewing machine operators in India. Neither of these populations lounges about in La-Z-Boys, but a general trend is that people who frequently carry heavy loads and do other “back-breaking” work get fewer back injuries than those who sit in chairs for hours bent over a machine.

Link.

Thanksgiving with John & Bunny

Long-time close trusted friends J&B and I had a truly lovely evening. I used a co-op car to get there and back and I went early so that Bunny and I could make gnocchi while John visited his ailing mother. Then we ate a marvellous meal, as always and then we looked at slides and movies taken on their vacation. Simple and wonderful and I came home with a pot they gave me in which to make bread. Friends and good food! Mmmm.

First course: chanterelles, cabbage and cheese.

Our rather gooey gnocchi.

The plumb cakes with ice cream melted my soul.

...and God was there... 

Dinner.

C'était trés FUN!

The French Meet Up group was great. There were only nine of us there but the host was fabulous. He is an extrovert from Algeria and is very welcoming. There was an absolutely stunning woman from France there who arrived here three weeks ago to learn English. I really enjoyed myself and will go back.

When I got  home, the apple tart above was waiting for me. I made this one with hazelnut flower and added ground cloves and it is delicious.

Brave Chris

Like everyone, I am a mixture of contradictions. I am very, very comfortable and outgoing with my friends but completely terrified of strangers. I love people and I love solitude; I can't do without either. So I am proud of the step I am taking tonight.

I have gone to the website MeetUp.com and joined a French conversation group and I am going to my first function tonight. I will be eating with twenty people who want to speak French and I know not a single one of them. It is a craps shoot as to how things may go. I will be reporting.