Saturday, 7 April 2018

Militant art

The pollution of our oceans is a very serious problem. There are many movements and campaigns that try to address the issue. Artists also make a contribution.



Image created by Jorge Gamboa of a plastic bag in the shape of an iceberg to make awareness of all the plastic that's found in the ocean.


Friday, 6 April 2018

National Tartan Day

Who ever heard of a National Tartan Day?

Of course- as soon as I read about it, I thought of our own TW. Upon further research, I discovered that it had nothing at all to do with TW! 

National Tartan Day originated in New York City when the mayor, Ed Koch, declared July 1, 1982 as Tartan day, a one-time celebration of the 200th anniversary of repealing the Act of Proscription (August 12, 1747), which had forbidden Scots to wear tartan.  Then in 2004, the National Capital Tartan Day Committee lobbied US House Representatives to designate April 6 as National Tartan Day, a day which was adopted on March 9, 2005.

SCOTS FORBIDDEN TO WEAR TARTAN! OH NOES!!
I think TW would agree that repealing the Act of Proscription is indeed something to celebrate!

So here we go...! Please concentrate on the tartans... nothing else. ; ))



Q- perhaps we can invite this guy to the next party? He looks like fun.

This one is for TW.  (Credit: Tantalizing Tuesdays)
From TW's private collection.



Can you guess which one is the TRUE SCOT? Watch the video to find out.



                                                       
Fun Fact!
  • Rachel Walker holds the Guinness World Record for wearing the most Tartans within 60 seconds.  Walker managed to put on 4 kilts within 60 seconds.

As I was looking for photos, I started to think about my own history. 
I have one Irish grandmother, and 3 Scottish grandparents. 

My mother was a Campbell. Historically one of the most powerful of the Highland clans. The Campbells were known for their brutality and cruelty. Apparently to this day in many Highland villages, there are signs in restaurants, inns, and pubs that state: "We don't serve Campbells." Luckily only one of my grandparents was a Campbell. 



My father was a MacClennan.  We had a large stained glass window in our house with the following motto. While I breathe, I hope.  I like that.  I think my MacClennan genes are winning out over the Campbell genes. 



Happy National Tartan Day Everyone!  GO PLAID!


Thursday, 5 April 2018

Spring, we are waiting...

I know many of us have been dealing with a cold , rainy, and yes , snowy spring so far.  The temperatures in my area look to be nasty for the next week.  As I cook yet another pot of veggie soup to ward off the chill, I keep thinking of the things I enjoyed last spring and summer. Sunny days, gardening, and of course grilling out.  Cheers to spring arriving soon !


         





Tuesday, 3 April 2018

Les Tours de Merle

I miss France and decided to take a little tour of a fascinating place in the south of the Corrèze. The fortress was considered impregnable, but history intervened and parts of it fell in the wrong hands for a while. The lords of Merle prevailed, eventually.
This is from Wikipedia:
The Tours de Merle are the ruins of a castle in the commune of Saint-Geniez-ô-Merle, in the Corrèze department of France. It was a feudal fortress from the twelfth and fifteenth centuries, which was subject of a classification as a historic monument since July 30, 1927.
In the fourteenth century, Merle included seven castles, two chapels and a village, owned by seven noblemen from Merle. 
During the Hundred Years' War, the English took one of the towers and a castle in 1371.
In 1574 the Calvinists took the citadel, where they established a garrison, they were driven out two years later by the co-lords. But the fortress was abandoned by those who preferred to live in places that were more pleasant and certainly more accessible.

















Monday, 2 April 2018

HAPPY MONDAY !

 I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend ! I know many of us enjoyed time with family  and friends. It's back to reality today - Monday morning !  It's the little things that count, so enjoy your coffee, spend time with your pets, talk to a friend, or enjoy the outdoors.  💜




         Or perhaps these are more appropriate .......Either way, have a great day!





             Thanks to my son for his help !!!                                     



Sunday, 1 April 2018

Saturday, 31 March 2018

Spring!

Spring has always been my favourite time of the year.

When I think of the springs of my childhood, I think of new shoes, a new dress and a new bonnet to wear to church on Easter Sunday. Somehow the days suddenly seemed happier and my sisters and I seemed a little freer. Because the days were longer, we could get outside after supper to play in the park across the street. Does anyone remember hanging upside down on Monkey Bars? The boys always got the baseball diamond but sometimes, if there were not enough kids to play, we might get the chance. At least until more boys showed up!

Spring circa 1956.




It feels like we wait so long for spring. And then slowly but surely, things start to change. This year the geese returned earlier than usual. Sometimes there are hundreds of them overhead. I remember the sound of them when we were in Montreal and Mike was working shift work. Late at night I might hear them honking as they flew overhead. It always brought a lump to my throat. It felt like a special treat to hear them but now we have so many and it seems like I am always running outside to watch them when I hear them calling. I have discovered that geese are much more romantic when they are flying overhead than when they are hanging out in the park messing up the sidewalks!



I know that spring is a lot slower arriving here in Eastern Canada than it is for many of you. There is still a lot of dirty snow on the ground and I know that we could still have a snowstorm or two, but today I found the beginning of new life in the garden and I saw my first robin. Maybe that is what is special about Spring... hope.


I just know this little green shoot is going to turn into something beautiful. And of course, because I cannot remember what is planted where, it is going to be a wonderful surprise!


Mike and I had a special treat today when we were invited by our neighbours to make traditional Ukrainian Easter eggs (Pysanky).  One egg took us about two hours! It is probably a lot easier when your hand doesn't shake!

As you can see Mike was pretty intent on what he was doing.



And here is my effort. I was quite pleased with it. The colours and symbols have special meanings. Leaves and flowers represent life and growth. The colour red is beauty/ love, orange is endurance and black is remembrance.




How about you? What do you like best about Spring?


Friday, 30 March 2018

A cat post

Some people say the purpose of the Internet is to let people enjoy photos and videos of cute animals... The following were shared on snapchat and I saw them on Facebook. There were pages of them, so I saved the ones I liked best.





















Thursday, 29 March 2018

Pagan, Tinian, and Saipan


Trip of a lifetime in the Northern Mariana Islands, circa 1970ish – Pagan, Tinian, and Saipan

Back in the early 1970’s, two of my fellow flight attendants and I took a vacation together that included a stop in Guam where my father was living at the time. He offered us a once-in-a-lifetime trip to a small island in the Mariana archipelago named Pagan. Unfortunately, my camera jammed on this part of the trip and thus all the pictures are from the interwebs.

Pagan is beautiful with both white and black beaches, palm trees – everything you find on a gorgeous Pacific island. We were able to play a bit at the black sand beach – shoes required! - and in the warm water.

I have no idea who is enjoying my beach!




There were a small group of islanders, maybe 50, living there at the time. However, they were evacuated in 1981 when one of the volcanoes blew. To the best of my knowledge, they have not
been allowed to return due to various political machinations, the worst idea being to use Pagan as a bombing target for the US military. Pagan would be far better served as an eco-destination for people wishing to see the natural world and its unique flora and fauna.
The three of us boarded a small prop plane for the flight to Pagan. We were graciously greeted by the chief of the clan and invited to join him and his family for lunch. Prior to lunch, we took a short tour of the area and were shown coconut crabs in the wild. I’ve never seen such an animal before or since! Huge, scary……and delicious. I don’t remember exactly what we had for lunch, but it did include crab meat which was sweet and tender.
BTW, this is SMALL coconut crab!



Back to the aircraft which now had a flat tire. The islanders lifted the wings using their backs to allow one to pump up the tire with a bicycle pump! One must make do with what is on hand for sure.

On our return trip to Guam, an islander joined us along with his fruit bats tied to the inside of the airplane. I guess this is about the same as chickens and pigs on busses in some parts of the world.

Just change the tree branches and flowers and substitute metal bars on the ceiling of the plane and this is what the bats looked like, just bunches of them hanging there – and they were live! Thankfully, we didn’t have any fruit bat with our coconut crab – at least I don’t think so.






Another day, Dad arranged for us to take a trip to Tinian, the launching site for the Enola Gay and the atomic bombs that destroyed Nagasaki and Hiroshima. This is what the runway looked like when we were there. We drove up and down the empty runway.


On to Saipan where it is believed by many that Emelia Earhart and Fred Noonan were held prisoner by the Japanese and then executed prior to the American’s arrival. Our guide showed us an almost overgrown jail where they were held by the Japanese. It was a very spooky place.



Then we visited Suicide Cliff where thousands of Saipan residents and Japanese soldiers, fearing how they would be treated by the American forces, jumped to their deaths. The fighting in Saipan was one the Pacific’s worst battles and Hirohito told the islanders that the Americans would kill them, and it would be better to honor Japan by jumping. There were many Japanese who lived on Saipan since it had been ceded to Japan much earlier.

It is so disconcerting to look at the present-day beauty of a place and realize that unspeakable carnage took place earlier. It does bring history to life in a way that a textbook is unable to do. I felt sad for all the people involved in the battle - the American and Japanese warriors and the terrified citizens of the island.

We left Guam after having a great glass-bottomed boat ride over the gorgeous coral bed and a few libations in a small local bar, heading back home to go to work.

This trip was so interesting because my father had the connections to great guides who enjoyed sharing their special places with three crazy American women – a brunette, a redhead, and a blond-at-the-time!

I’m so glad I get to share this adventure with you as it gave me time to focus on a special trip in my life and to remember the joy of traveling with great friends to places we knew only from history classes.