Coincidence

Tuesday was sunny and bright all day. Her Highness and I went for a lovely morning walk and then I came home to read and do errands. When Ron came to take Sheba for her afternoon walk, I got busy tidying up the shed and gathering up all the stuff I need to take to the recycling depot. Once Sheba was back, She had a nap and I got into the spa for a wonderful long and lazy soak.

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When I was at UBC, I remember being in a carpool with a fellow named Dale. And he decided to volunteer with an organization called Gordon House (GH). GH provided services to marginalized people. Dale got me involved. I was around 20 years old. My entire experience with GH came down to one vivid memory. It involved a young teenager who refused to speak.

 Dale and I were part security personnel, part caregivers. After we’d had a couple of sessions with him, we met a woman who was his therapist, or doctor. I can’t remember her position. But she explained to us what happened. This is what I remember: That the boy was sexually abused in a bedroom in his house by his parents. The woman told us that he lives in a world where everything is a trigger. His entire universe is linked to things in that bedroom. He was locked into his trauma.

Sound like anyone?

I watched a pretty satisfying movie last night. The Fabelmans is a lovely story based on Steophen Spielberg's life experience. I thoroughly enjoyed watching it. But it was a rough ride for me. A classic bumpy ride. I had a seizure when there was a fight between two men. There are triggers everywhere for me, too. Not nearly as many as there was for that young man. And we both have speech disorders. 

Fact: Coincidence.  Human: Magical.

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On thing I loved about The Fabelmans movie was that a feature part of the story is the relationship between the boy who loves to make films and his mother. And in a powerful scene between them, her message is: Follow your heart. That’s what I did when I saw this house I’m in online on a real estate website. It was love at first sight. I moved in here 37 days after seeing the ad. Then my heart led me to Fred, Ethel and Sheba. What a smart move for me, all these decisions were. 

Emotional decision making has been my way of life since birth. In grade seven, I was put in the accelerated group, but that program did not allow for taking music and art classes and I knew what I wanted to do.  One reason I know I’m old is that I am so nostalgic. 

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Today, after I walk with Her Highness, I’m taking bags of plastics pop tins and glass bottles to our recycling centre. Then I have an appointment with the insurance agent. In the afternoon, Sarah and Graybin are coming over to help me assemble the wood splitter. In the evening, I’m taking François out for dinner to thank him for fixing my leaky faucet. 

Nureyev's tomb in Paris. It's a mosaic rug.

The Princesses Cornstocks.

Cold!

Wet, wet, wet. It seemed that all we’d get all day, was water. And it was dull and grey. But I have books, so all is well; I read and wish the dark and wet would go away. It was so lovely to be cozy by a fire and with all my beloved animal friends close by. At 9:15, Her Highness and I went to meet Regina and her Molly, to walk together through the forest trails. Although it seems unappealing as I dress for a wet walk, once we’re out there, I’m always glad I came because at the end I got to come home again to the warmth of the fire.

It rained all day. I finished my 29^th Commissario Brunetti novel and today I will likely begin my last of the Donna Leon novels. But it’s absolutely glorious morning. The coming five days are all predicted to be warm and sunny, so my big task during this spell of lovely weather, will be to assemble the wood splitter. Plus, I have some planting to do, so today I’ll be happy to be outside a fair bit. Ron is coming at 1:00 to walk Her Highness.

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I just went outside for the first time to clean the cats litter box that’s in my cattery patio, and it’s bloody freezing out there. It’s 7°! That’s the coldest it’s been so far this season, and I don’t like it. I hate being cold. I’ll be dressing warmly before Her Highness and I go for our morning walk. Sigh. 

Monologue 2

Sunday was another glorious day. At 9:45, we departed to join our friend for the big Sunday dog walk. It’s always a joy to go on the Sunday walk because I know so many people and I walk with various of them over the course of the walk. It’s really a lovely weekly event.

Then it was back to Pinecone Park to read up on the assembly of our new wood splitter. Grey and Sarah, Dave’s kids next door, will help me with the assembly as Dave is away next week caring for his father in Ontario. Once assembled, I plan to split a lot of my wood. I like having zillions of smaller pieces on hand for getting my fires going.

Late in the afternoon, I went to the Commons for the annual Gabe Apple Fair. Her Highness came with me, and we both loved being part of a great annual tradition—me for the apples and seeing people, Sheba for the dog treats so many vendors have at hand for canine guests.

And then it was home for a nice warm and cozy Sunday evening with a nice warm cozy and inviting fire burning. Fires make the cold season wonderful. All I did all night was work on monologue 2, and before I knew it, it was midnight. I hadn’t stayed awake until midnight in probably a year. It’s addictive, writing in rhyme.

And today, an iffy day, I’ll likely do more work on it. This will be a very easy and calm week. I have little to do but read, write, eat and walk Her Highness. Life is good, and it’s going to take me a lot longer to work on the first draft of my monologue than I thought. I wrote to much, so fast, but now I’m doing heavy editing and it’s like starting over. But as I say, I love it. Here’s a piece of it that is working well:

Confucius, Bond and Gabled Anne,

Chaplin, Garbo, and Gauguin

Tom Sawyer, Hitchcock, and Cosette

Tarzan, Dali, Carol Burnett,

Snow White, Superman, Cinderella, Bambi

Spiderman, Mandella, and Orphan Annie

Conrad, Gogol and Camus

Their mothers knew not what to do.

Onassis, Boeing, Magellan, Dali,

Huck Finn, Batman, Edward Albee,

Howard Hughes, Streisand, Billie Holliday

Chanel, Jane Eyre, Degas, and Steinway,

Kamehameha and John Lennon,

Pippi, Mowgli, and Potemkin

And, of course, I absolutely have to mention

Hitler.  (Pause.)

Ingrid Bergman, Quasimodo

Genghis Kahn and Heidi Hoho.

Annie Oakley, Jimmy Dean.

All of us are on the team—

Team orphan.

The Penultimate Market

A Little Life follows four college friends in New York City as their lives are pulled apart by various forces. Hanya Yanagihara’s 2015 novel was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, and in 2016 was also nominated for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction. Starring in the stage production of Hanya Yanagihara’s novel, A Little Life, is James Norton as Jude. I adore him. He is the most handsome man and he seems like a really lovely person in interviews.

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Saturday began slowly. I lit a morning fire to warm the house on another cool morning. Eventually Her Highness and I left to walk in one of our favourite places, a natural meadow-like place where the sandstone of our island lies exposed and covered with moss. It’s a huge natural ‘oasis’ in the forest that covers our island. And then we went to the market for doggie treats. Then we returned home to commence our day of rest and relaxation. 

When I was last on Nanaimo, I got some Agastache (Kudos Mandarin) that is unbelievably fragrant—not the flowers, but the foliage. The scent of the species I got is ‘licorice mint,’ and it’s just wonderful. It smells like an herb. It’s used as an herb in cooking and is beloved as a tisane tea. Plus, the plant is highly respected as a pollinator. 

Ron came right after I awoke, having fallen asleep reading, and he took Her Highness for a walk. He’s come back to walking Sheba in the afternoons and we all love the arrangement.

Everything needing removal from the garden, all the furniture and the hammock, are in the studio for the WinterAnd the barbeque is back in the cattery where it serves as an alternate cooking site during Winter power failures. Ron helped me lift it up the steps of the deck. 

Today is another beauty. Her Highness and I will walk with our friends on the big Sunday dog walk, and then we’ll come home to chill all day. I may do some gardening, but I will definitely be doing some reading. I love Sundays!

I'm on the trail to the meadow I love here. All around here, the
forest floor looks landscaped, but it is natural. This area is protected.

This is a natural meadow created because this part of the island
has no soil. It is a huge slab of exposed sandstone covered in moss.

In some places soft, delicate grey plants grow through the moss.

Sheba loves the meadow! She wants me to play.

So, so much soft lovely moss, as as the rains have returned it is
radiantly green after a long brown Summer.

Our penultimate Saturday farmers' market. I was there when it
opened and because all the tourists are gone, there was no-one.

Normally there is a HUGE lineup for the bread from our one local
bakery, but not yesterday. It's so weird to see so few people at our
market, but interest wanes as the season ends.

We can always get nice juicy fresh mushrooms.