Stuff this Week

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☀️ We’ve been having another long run of good weather again, this week. With only one overcast snowy day in the last 10. I just wish it wasn’t so damn cold out there as I miss my daily walks.

💊 Thursday I had yet another doctor’s appointment, a follow up after yet another blood test the previous week. My sodium and magnesium levels were, once again, on the low side of being worrisome, so I’m back on pills in the hope of boosting my levels to somewhere near normal. 

🩺 It’s been over 7 months since my cancer surgery but as yet, my poor body is still having difficulty absorbing all it needs. It’s not just that they took a foot of colon out, but the fact the rest of the system is still in problem. And, of course, no one  knows why. It’ll be another year of  tests—but boy, am I running out of blood and pee …

👨🏼‍⚕️ After chatting with the doctor about what we can do, and the need to keep on top of my diet and fitness, I went out and bought myself a Fitbit Inspire 3 which, lucky for me, was on sale. I’ve been loving it ever since and we’re only on day 3. I love that it’s also giving me sleep data which is something I’ve never had access to before now. Let’s hope I don’t turn into a stats junky.

📺 I’ve been binge watching Younger these last few weeks over on Netflix, and am half way through season 6 of 7 seasons. Set in the book publishing world, a world I was once privy to, it’s been a fun ride to follow along on Liza’s journey. I also caught up on  part 2 of the new season of Bridgeton. Yes, I watch and enjoy a good Regency romp as much as the next person. My fav characters are the delightfully throaty Lady Danbury and Queen Charlotte, whose friendship has been fun to watch over these last 4 seasons, sometimes, more so than the rest of the cast. 

🔗 I’m delighted to have discovered a few new blogs after I moved back to Social lol on Mastodon and, after reading a number of interesting posts, I’ve created a new Postroll on the blog to share them. 

Mindful March

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Thanks to MacPsych, I’ve discovered Mindful March by Action For Happiness, and thought to participate where possible this month. Today’s prompt asks us to ‘set an intention to live with awareness and kindness’. Two excellent principles we should all be adhering to. 

And what a perfect month to start thinking more about being more aware of our surroundings March being a month where winter isn’t quite over, and spring won’t started for awhile. A month where most people, especially where I live, here in the Frozen North, start to be more aware of the seasonal changes about to happen. Watching the snows as they melt, and the arrival of spring flowers and tree blossoms as everything suddenly bursts forth.

It’s a timely month to remind ourselves that new life is just around the corner, and new adventure await us after a long, cold winter. And that we have so much more to look forward to on every level, better weather, the arrival of colour once again into our lives, and a renewed sense of vigour to be out, walking, and taking in our surroundings. So much more to see and do, and experience, including the people around us, friends, family, strangers we meet at the coffee shop.

And so today, on this Sunday, March 1st, I look forward to not only being more aware of what’s around me, but being kinder to myself and others.

𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧

Being Canadian

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You cannot become a Canadian Citizen unless you:

  • love ice hockey

  • drink a gallon of maple syrup a day

  • know who scored the Stanley cup winning goal for the Montreal Canadiens

  • know what the Grey Cup is

  • wear a toque during winter

  • drink Molson lite

  • cheer for the Blue Jays no matter what province you live in

  • eat poutine for breakfast every day

  • finish every sentence with the word, eh

Note: I posted this one before, elsewhere, just wanted to share it here for the archives.

Cold Storage by David Koepp

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When Pentagon bio-terror operative Roberto Diaz was sent to investigate a suspected biochemical attack, he found something far worse: a highly mutative organism capable of extinction-level destruction. He contained it and buried it in cold storage deep beneath a little-used military repository.

Now, after decades of festering in a forgotten sub-basement, the specimen has found its way out and is on a lethal feeding frenzy. Only Diaz knows how to stop it.

He races across the country to help two unwitting security guards—one an ex-con, the other a single mother. Over one harrowing night, the unlikely trio must figure out how to quarantine this horror again. All they have is luck, fearlessness, and a mordant sense of humour. Will that be enough to save all of humanity?

What I Thought

COLD STORAGE1 is an incredibly fast read, not just because it’s only 308 pages long, but because it’s that kind of a story. A book you simply cannot put down. I read this in a day. Yes, seven hours on a Sunday, from beginning to end. I really didn’t want to stop as there was too much at stake. Yes, I know, it’s not real, but the science in COLD STORAGE, along with the excellently researched background to the alphabet soup government departments and processes, were spot on. 

The context for this story, a mutated, fast breeding ELE fungus capable of eradicating all life, as we know it, on this fair green earth, is so plausible as to scary the bejesus out of me! Based on reality, and stretched to the what-if point like any good author should, Koepp takes the reader on a wild, scary ride. But then, tempers the real-life horror with two flawed, familiar, and sympathetic characters—Teacake and Naomi—that you are immediately drawn too and root for. 

All the fingernail biting tension is further tempered with plenty of dry humour including the line that I think COLD STORAGE is going to be most remembered for: “The fucking deer just took the fucking elevator.” Uttered by the astonished Teacake (great name btw) who was a character I took an instant liking too.  

While it’s true Diaz and his partner, and senior officer, Trini Romano, get an opener to the book that will blow your socks off (and, might I suggest, not be read before bedtime! Trust me.) It’s Teacake and Naomi who, for the most part, carry the weight of the story. It’s the investment into their two lives that make us care, care about what happens, and adds the heart to what could be an otherwise chilling read. 

Over all, this is a riotous read. Suspend your disbelief at the first page, jump in with macabre glee, after all this is fiction, and have a fun, frightening, all to plausible ride on the horror-tinged train.

𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧

  1. You should note that this one got it’s cinematic release this year!

The Blog Question Challenge

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I know how much I love a good challenge, and I know too that there are a few of you out there who, like me, love to answer blogging questions. So when I saw this challenge online I knew I had to do it. 

So, welcome to The Blog Question Challenge.

And, the questions are:

  1. Why did you make a blog in the first place?

  2. Why did you choose your platform? (Blogger/Wordpress/Bear Blog/Pika)

  3. Have you blogged on other platforms before?

  4. Do you write your posts directly in the editor or in another software?

  5. When do you feel most inspired to write?

  6. Do you publish immediately after writing or do you let it simmer a bit as a draft?

  7. What’s your favourite post on your blog?

  8. Any future plans for your blog? Maybe a redesign, changing the tag system, etc.?

Feel free to copy the questions and answer them on your own blog. And then, when you’ve answered them, how about asking three fellow bloggers to accept the challenge?

Here, of course, are my answers:

Q. Why did you make a blog in the first place?

Way back when, it was to join in a blogging social community (remember LiveJournal and MySpace?) and share in this new thing with other people online. Swapping photos, ideas, and book recommendations.

Q. Why did you choose your current platform? (Blogger/Wordpress/Bear Blog/Pika)

I chose Pika because, in the end, I can tweak the theme (if I want) they have built in variables, a great and easy to use editor and interface, and no unnecessary frills that get in the way of actually writing.

Q. Have you blogged on other platforms before?

Oh, of course. I think at any one time, here and there, I’ve probably used them all. Well, maybe not LiveJournal. I don’t ever remember creating a blog there. But most of the big names? Yes. I was there for maybe a couple of months to a couple of years.

Q. Do you write your posts directly in the editor or in another software?

I’ve learnt from a lot of bad experiences losing lengthy posts to not write directly into the editor. Instead I use a combination of writing in Apple’s TextEdit or Apple Notes, both of which save to the cloud, which is another way of ensuring I don’t lose another post.

Q. When do you feel most inspired to write?

I’m a first thing in the morning kind of person. I like to come and sit at my desk straight after breakfast, and write. I feel like my thoughts are clear and fresh at this point, and I’m more likely to have better focus than later in the day.

Q. Do you publish immediately after writing or do you let it simmer a bit as a draft?

I try, where at all possible, to write my posts in advance and schedule them a couple of days in advance so, if need be, I can check the morning of posting for errors or spelling mistakes. I say I try to do this. Some days it’s not always possible. I find this works for me, and gives me time to really think about what it is I want to write.

Q. What’s your favourite post on your blog?

Oh gosh. That’s a hard one. Do I chose the one that speaks to me, or the most popular post by visits, or comments? I guess the post that speaks most to me and that would have to be: There Is Life After Death, a post I wrote about the loss of my parents. A difficult post to write.

Q. Any future plans for your blog? Maybe a redesign, changing the tag system, etc.?

Quite honestly, I love my current set up, which does everything I want in displaying content in a pleasing way, with readable fonts. So no, not really. I might tweak one day in the future. But right now, this set up works beautifully for me.

Community Echoes:

Amendment: There’s also a great listing of other participants, here! 

𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧