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Finding well-being through travel and books. |
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Hello and welcome! I have two great passions in life. The first one is travel. After a series of life-changing events, my husband and I decided to spend the kids’ inheritance and see as much of the world as possible (I’m still bitter about Damascus). Our bible? A Thousand Places to See Before You Die. Please join us on our adventures seeing new places, meeting fascinating people and trying new, exciting, and sometimes just plain weird, food. My second great passion is books. Reading expands my interior world in the same way travel expands my external one. And, books are a great way to armchair travel - not only through distance but through time as well. My tastes are eclectic, so we’ll be looking at a wide range of writing in a possibly haphazard fashion. Come along for the ride! My best, Kirsten ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| Gah! it’s only January 9th and already I’m overwhelmed. I came back from holidays with more excess weight than I really want to acknowledge, and a whole bunch of bad eating and drinking habits. I can’t seem to concentrate on anything, especially the NaNo novel I’m supposed to be finishing, and I have to do the year end accounting for my husband’s company and the tax return. I have already designated 2013 as “Be nice to my body” year. This means treating it like the person I love the very most in the world. After all, without it my soul doesn’t have a leg to stand on in this world. And my soul deserves a nice home. So this means no calling it names, no comparing it unfavorably with anyone else’s body, taking exceptionally good care of it, in short, no being mean to it. To that end, a friend loaned me a book called The Hormone Diet by Dr. Natasha Turner to try to sort out my current unsatisfactory state. It’s proving to be helpful. So, now that I’ve actually ranted I feel quite a bit better  Does anyone else have trouble with concentration? What have you done to improve it? All of the above smacks of the January Blues, and a great way to lift them is to watch a beloved old movie. So, here we go with today’s prompt. What is your favorite old movie? Again, GAH! Just one? Impossible! It seems to me that the old movies were focused on two things, glamour (think Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Katherine Hepburn) and glory (all those old cowboy and war movies) and people seem to prefer one over the other. I’m definitely a glamour girl. I loved everything ever done by Audrey Hepburn but I think my favorite is Funny Face because it’s shot in Paris. And these movies were all old when I was a child. Just saying. I also loved all the old musicals, yes I know, scoff if you will, but they were beautiful, and although the world they represented never existed, they were great escape. People behaved well – for the most part, and they definitely had glamour. A couple made a big impression – Funny Girl , Cabaret , come immediately to mind. Perhaps we currently feel the need again for a more glamorous, mannered time. How else do you explain the tear-away success of Downton Abbey? |
| Well I had a bit of excitement today! A big box arrived from Amazon, and since I hadn’t ordered anything – or certainly didn’t remember ordering something (two different things), it was all a big mystery until I opened it and discovered six new books, a belated Christmas present from my youngest brother. The downside to all this largesse is, of course, that I will want to read and not write. Ah, first world problems. The other bit of news came when I phoned my parents to report that I was back and safe and sound. They are going to Hawaii next month apparently – bless them, they’re 84! The sadder news was that yet another one of their old (in every sense of the word) friends just passed away. Sometimes I really don’t know if it’s worse being the one left behind. What with speaking with my parents, and today’s blogging prompt “What is your favorite book from childhood?”, a flood of memories have been unleashed. My mother taught me how to read by the time I was four. This was mostly out of self-defense, I believe. By that time my younger brother was toddling and she needed to keep me occupied with something she considered ‘productive’. She had been a teacher before I was born (in those days when a married woman teacher fell pregnant she had to quit as soon as she started to ‘show’ – I think it took my mother years to forgive me for that!). We had weekly trips to the local library and I chose my books for the week. We didn’t have a television until I was eight – not because we couldn’t afford one, but because my parents really didn’t see the value in one. Even at eight, I was allowed to watch one half hour show a week. I chose Bewitched. The choice of television program was also grounded in my choice of books. They were usually skewed towards fantasy and magic: The Narnia series, the Borrowers, Carbonel, The Diamond in the Window, The Five Children and It (or any of the other books by E Nesbitt), all come quickly to mind. Alternatively the books revolved around ballet (any of the books by Noel Streatfeild) or horses (King of the Wind, My Friend Flicka, Black Beauty – I sobbed over those). And, oh heavens – I almost forgot The Wind in the Willows. I had lots of time to read, and I was the lucky child, the only girl, so I got a bedroom to myself. The boys had to share. I holed up in there for hours, devouring one book after another. I really don’t know why I believed for most of my adult life that I was an extrovert. It is perfectly clear that from childhood I was an introvert. But back to the task at hand, could I pick just one of those books from my childhood as a favorite? No. Basically I read everything I could get my hands on. I still do. The ones I listed above I do remember returning to over and over again (I just reread on of the Narnia books again recently). I think that one of the greatest gifts a parent can gift a child is a love of reading. I was so fortunate that books were revered in my house. I now have a favorite book to give to new parents for their babies to start them off right, ‘Love You Forever’, by Robert Munsch. What do you give? |
| It’s been quite a day – I resolved an initial struggle with the Microsoft online store with a trip to the bricks and mortar store, and I am now the proud owner of a new laptop. My other one was on its last legs and I was terrified that the occasional ‘blue screen of death’ was going to become permanent. I’m pretty chuffed with myself – it’s all set up, I had a lesson from a lovely Microsoft lady and we’re rolling. So, now to the blogging topic du jour. Do I consider myself a cat person or a dog person? Well, I’ve been both at various times in my life. For the first half I was definitely a cat person. I am a Leo, after all, and like all big cats can stir up quite a rumpus. Speaking of big cats – did you know that a group of leopards is called a ‘leap of leopards’? I didn’t either until I watched this fascinating video of Martha Beck’s. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvtsPc-oPOs&feature=share&list=UURbtZaU_j5x4DnB31... I brought home my first four-legged pet when I was twelve – a kitten, black and white from a pet store I named her Serena after a favourite television character. My mother, always responsible, took Serena to the vet when she was six months old to have her spayed. When she got home, she received a call from the vet. “I’m sorry, I can’t spay your kitten.” My mother blenched. What could have gone wrong? Surely the animal didn’t expire under the anaesthetic. “No, no, nothing like that,” the vet reassured her. “But Serena is a boy.” In fairness, I do think that a twelve year old can be forgiven for not being able to sex a kitten. For years after that, I had cats. This continued right up until the time fifteen years ago, when we moved to South America. At that point, I thought it would be wise to have a large dog. Having done my research (and being a Martha Stewart fan at the time – this was before her conviction for insider trading), I bought a chow from a reputable breeder who was known to breed for temperament since chows can be tetchy. I like them because they are actually the closest thing to a cat in a dog’s body. They don’t jump on you and slobber, an exhibition I dislike in men as well as dogs, and they are content to just be in the same place as their owners – they are very independent personalities. I lost the original chow in a divorce, but bought another right away – my beloved Ming. He was really special. When I was still working at the hospital, I would take him in with me on the weekends if I had work to catch up, and he was a wonderful ‘therapy’ dog. I think both types of animals are lovely and suit people in different circumstances. I won’t have either for a few years since we are away so much. But, when I do get another pet, I think perhaps one of each is the way to go – get them both young so they grow up together. Next time, I will have my dog specifically trained to be a therapy dog and go to retirement homes (as one of my friend’s does with her Golden Retriever) and to hospitals. Pets are amazing. |
| Today's Blogging Circle of Friends Prompt: Looking back over the past year, what do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment of the year? This has been a challenging year, my husband was diagnosed with a non life-threatening, but most certainly life-changing, illness; my beloved dog died and; quickly following him, my father-in-law died. Perhaps my greatest accomplishment was carrying on and not reeling too much from these various blows. But on reflection, I can point to two significant accomplishments, one external and one internal. The external accomplishment was a very successful completion of National Novel Writing month. I am still working on fully completing the novel but I am confident that it is the best writing I have done so far. I learned a lot during this process. The internal accomplishment has been to, finally, step away and stop enabling my daughter's financial mismanagement by continuing to hand over money when she runs out because she has blown it all - again. Instead, I am now helping her to manage what she has, but if she runs out before the next paycheque, she has to bear with it. So far it hasn't killed her. In fact, I am seeing very positive changes come out of it. One day at a time. |
| Who plans to quit smoking in the middle of a vacation? My husband, that's who! In solidarity (gulp), I have sadly, and reluctantly, decided to give up sweets. I must be mental. But he is not fun when he is in withdrawal! |
| This year my husband and I are going away for Christmas. It’s the first time in our marriage that we won’t spend at least part of it with the kids. It’s getting harder to get them together in any event. Our oldest son is doing a Surgical Trauma rotation in Brisbane and the youngest son is working on the West Coast and not coming home. We will have seen our daughters individually before we leave tonight and have a family delayed Christmas later in January. Besides, I want to buy my presents while we’re away. We’re going to Prague first. There are amazing Christmas markets in Prague that run to January 1st, and then we are going to Paris on New Year’s Eve. We have friends in Prague that live there and we are meeting friends from here in Paris. After the year we have had this is truly a breath of joy. My husband and I both come from European backgrounds, his is French and mine is British/German. Normally Christmas Eve is our big celebration and our tradition is to have a ‘French Canadian Christmas Eve’. I make Tourtière, Green salad, a fish dish (for the non-meat eating children) and Sugar Pie. Then I usually need a lie down. It is such a tradition that I just received a panicked email from our youngest requesting the recipe. He is invited to a potluck dinner on Christmas and he wanted to take it. I thought I would share my recipe for Tourtière, it’s one that I have modified over the years. I don’t have a photo for it, since I haven’t made it yet this year, but I promise to add one when I do.
I read an interesting thing about recipes – apparently, you can’t copy write or patent them. This seems odd to me – surely, they are intellectual property like anything else? Do any of you have a favourite Christmas recipe you’d like to share? |
| YAY!! I woke up this morning and to more than cockroaches and fruitcake (my idea of an apocalyptic holocaust). It feels like a brand new shiny world out there. I was listening to the radio in the car today and apparently some from #mayanapocalype tweeted “Sorry, running late … “ So far, it’s been a day of errands that have gone reasonably smoothly. I find if you get to the stores right when they open, it is pretty civilized even on December 31. People are smiling and happy today even though it is dark, gloomy and starting to snow. Today’s blogging prompt was “What would you like people to say about you when you are gone from this earth?” After two deaths this year it has been interesting to hear what people remember/say about the recently departed. Funny memories come up as well as poignant ones, stories are told around pictures and favorite foods/drinks are recalled. I’m sure this will happen when I am put to rest as well and people are having one heck of a party afterwards - that’s what I want – a rousing celebration of life! What I would really like people to be able to say about me is this: She lived up to her potential, she strove to learn her entire life, and, in her own small way, she made this world a better place for family, friends, and complete strangers. She knew how to love, how to laugh, how to cry and how to create. She will be missed. Yep, I think that’s about it. I’ve heard it’s a good idea to, once in a while, write your own eulogy – a different take on the letter from your Future Self. Supposedly, it helps one to focus on what is still undone in life. What do you think? |
| If there was an imminent crisis, what would I grab and run with? Blogging prompt of the day: If I had 15 minutes to evacuate my home before it was to be destroyed by a hurricane, what 10 things would I grab? (not including people or pets) I’m not particularly attached to stuff so this one needed some thought to come up with a list of ten. In the end, I figured it was best to take the things that were irreplaceable and the things I would need to start a new life. Therefore, assuming that the people and animals are safe first, this is my list. 1. The oil painting of my father and his brother when they were very young children. This is big and awkward but irreplaceable. 2. The charcoal and pastel portraits of my grandparents when they were young. Also irreplaceable. 3. My passport 4. My wallet with my id in it. 5. My laptop and external hard-drive 6. The strong box containing our important documents (marriage certificate, birth certificates, wills, insurance policies, that sort of thing) 7. Clothes to suit the weather. 8. Photo albums 9. The important jewelry – the few pieces I have inherited and those pieces my husband has given me. 10. If I had time and space there are a few other paintings that I would try to save. Now that I look at this list, I can see that I would have a problem taking the entire list. Most of our important things are in our apartment in the Big Smoke. It’s on the 5th floor, and the vehicle is in the underground parking garage, so several elevator trips would be necessary to get this stuff out which is really going to cut down on my available time. This is going to require a better plan! Almost all my important files are kept on Dropbox, the Cloud, or WDC, so I could leave the laptop. I think we will scan the photos and put them on DVD’s and keep them in the safety deposit box as backup so that gets rid of a lot of the bulk. The important documents could also be kept in a safety deposit box. Some clothes, wallet and paintings are pretty much non-negotiable. It’s a toughie to decide! Did anyone else have an ‘Aha’ moment about what was really important? |
| Rant of the day: I need to get something off my chest. I have a friend, an old friend – we’ve been friends for almost 25 years now, but she seems to have fired her internal editor. Things are coming out of her mouth that are positively offensive. For example, they came to our place on the lake yesterday to break a long journey. My husband had spent hours trying a new cooking technique (prime rib roast cooked sous vide). She was asking about the technique and then told him it didn’t look very appetizing. More comments were made during the course of the evening – I don’t know whether she is trying to prove herself to be more discerning or discriminating than the rest of us (i.e. classier than the rest of us), or if she’s trying to be funny, but it is really grating on my nerves!! All right – I feel better for getting that of my chest. Thanks for listening. Today’s blogging prompt: It's been said that there are three different types of people: those who prefer to make things happen, those who prefer to watch while things are happening, and those who ask, "What just happened?" Which category do you fit into? I’m a fixer, also known, in high falutin’ corporate speak as ‘an agent of change’. I love to make things happen, figuring that Newton’s Laws of Inertia (an object in motion tends to stay in motion) are a good way to live. Part of preferring to make things happen has been the practice of always saying yes to new opportunities, whether they are way out of my comfort zone or not. This has not always worked in my favour as some of the things I’ve initiated have resulted in some unintended consequences, but it has made for an exceptionally interesting life. Control is always an illusion, but I believe that if you are willing to initiate action you at least have a chance of having some input, rather than letting life just happen to you. This could just be because I am a firstborn. Do you think the tendency to prefer to make things happen has anything to do with birth order? |
| Today’s blogging prompt Optimist, pessimist, or realist - which one are you? provoked a ‘hmmmm’ I’ve learned that we experience the world in the way we expect to. If you expect the world to be an awful place full of awful, untrustworthy people, doing awful untrustworthy things, then that’s the world you see. In psychological terms, it’s called ‘confirmation bias’ – your mind naturally seeks out confirmation of its preconceived ideas. If, however, you choose to see your place in the world as a spark of the Divine, that we are all one facet in the brilliant diamond of the whole that had to create us so that we could bear witness and stand, awe-struck, before its loving magnificence, then that is the sublime reality you’d see each and every day. In other words, it’s entirely a personal choice what kind of world we live in. With a simple decision, we can suffer in a world of darkness that is going to hell in a handcart, or we can step into the light. I tend to assume that things are going to turn out all right for me. I generally look for the best in others and get it. But, if I have a bad experience, I remember it and I adjust my expectations for the next time. This seems to work for me and I’m a happy person overall. So, I think in the final analysis, I’m a realistic optimist I found two great quotes that express how I feel about both optimism and happiness. “People who are too optimistic seem annoying. This is an unfortunate misinterpretation of what an optimist really is. An optimist is neither naive, nor blind to the facts, nor in denial of grim reality. An optimist believes in the optimal usage of all options available, no matter how limited. As such, an optimist always sees the big picture. How else to keep track of all that’s out there? An optimist is simply a proactive realist. An idealist focuses only on the best aspects of all things (sometimes in detriment to reality); an optimist strives to find an effective solution. A pessimist sees limited or no choices in dark times; an optimist makes choices. When bobbing for apples, an idealist endlessly reaches for the best apple, a pessimist settles for the first one within reach, while an optimist drains the barrel, fishes out all the apples and makes pie. Annoying? Yes. But, oh-so tasty!” ― Vera Nazarian, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration “Happiness is always a by-product. It is probably a matter of temperament, and for anything I know it may be glandular. But it is not something that can be demanded from life, and if you are not happy you had better stop worrying about it and see what treasures you can pluck from your own brand of unhappiness.” ― Robertson Davies If you want to learn more about the science of optimism and how to get you some more of it, I can recommend a book by Martin Seligman, the father of Positive Psychology, titled Learned Optimism |
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