Beautiful autumn day...

[fajrdrako]

"Beauty" seems to have been the attribute of the day - which was like yesterday: skies of royal blue, leaves of every colour from dark green to amber to pale yellow to bright scarlet, mild temperatures, and a lovely purple sunset. Sadly, my camera has stopped functioning. When I'm solvent again, I'll buy another.

maaseru and I drove to Pinecourt, Quebec, to visit maaboroshi and her father for Thanksgiving. maaboroshi's mother used to be the one who cooked for Thanksgiving; she died a few months ago, and we thought her father might like our company. We would at least be a bit of a change from his routine.

We went with the GPS Daniel as our guide, and he got us lost somewhere - seemed to be looking for a street that didn't exist in a town we weren't going to. But we got there in the end, through a series of lovely riverside towns. We were amused that when we made the turnoff from the highway to Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, GPS Daniel called it "Sweet Anne de Bellevue". Daniel does have trouble with French names. I'm not sure whether I'll ever be able to call the town by its proper name again.

And that was where we had dinner, in a restaurant called Peter's Cape Cod, overlooking the canal and the locks. I had squid with salad. I'd already planned to deviate from my diet for Thanksgiving, though: I had bread pudding with hot lemon sauce for dessert. But only ate one third of it: the rest is now in my freezer.

maaboroshi's father was most amused by maaseru, who was good at making him laugh, and a good time was had by all. We got the quick potted tour of Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, and saw the school where maaboroshi went, and some beautiful old stone houses with gorgeous gardens and huge old trees.

Driving home, due west, we saw a lovely rainbow - yes, it was a clear and sunny day, so we never did figure out the meteorology of it. But there were some lovely dappled clouds and they must have caused just the right conditions for a tiny arc of rainbow in the atmosphere.

Comments

[walkingowl.livejournal.com]

I am glad that you had a lovely time in all that beauty.

Rainbows are always miraculous, I think. This one -- just a little more dramatically so. (I was delighted to see rainbows in the fountains at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas: I had to be standing on the uphill side of them, with the sun bright in a cloudless sky, at about 3:15 PM. I intend someday to be there again and get a photo of them.)

I'm hoping to be able to get my sister to agree to have Thanksgiving at her new home in Frostburg, so our dad can have family around him at least one more time. Lots of work has to occur before that, however, as the settling-in has barely begun there. This Wednesday and Thursday I plan to help out with window caulking, front-door painting, wall-scrubbing (decades of coal furnaces took a toll!), and other little repairs that my sister has no chance of making the time for right now. And I'm going to cook chicken with rice and mushroom soup in their oven for them... which my sister was delighted to hear. I was touched. She said in wonder and surprise, "Nobody's offered to cook for me since...." Well, I like to cook! What can I say. And I'm trying to help make them feel at home there. I don't want them to get discouraged and move!

Thanksgiving is for family. You've partaken in yours; mine is to come.

Good luck with the election, btw. I ran across an article today at work on the Catholic News or some such paper, noting with disappointment and confusion that matters of religion and "values" are not taking up much space in the discussions leading up to Canada's election. Why, no one is even protesting that abortion is legal and available! And, as for the protection of marriage...! I was, by then, laughing. As you possibly are too.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Yes. Long weekends are beautiful in themselves, however awful the weather. But to have perfect weather at my favourite time of year? It's a special treat.

Yes, rainbows are wonderful and an unexpected, unexplainable one - just all the more a delightful surprise.

Good luck with the Thanksgiving plans! I find it's a good idea to have an occasion like that in mind when it comes to moving in to a place; it gives a person incentive to get the job done, at least to a certain liveable point. Otherwise it can drag on for ages.

no one is even protesting that abortion is legal and available!

Hee. Doctor Henry Morgentaler (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Morgentaler) recently got the Order of Canada. And good for him, too.

as for the protection of marriage...!

There are other endangered species I worry about more in this country. I hear the polar bears are having some trouble. Let's worry about them instead.

[walkingowl.livejournal.com]

Hi. It's rough typing on a tiny laptop when your jacket cuffs keep catching on the edge of it.

Thanksgiving -- Thursday, two days ago, my sister brought it up herself, and in just that way: maybe I can host Thanksgiving? That would ve something to aim for. ...I was waiting for her to sya it first. (She is now seeing the house and landlord for what they are, and is focusing on getting all organized so as to be able to move out as soon as possible, probably breaking tghe lease -- the house has enough problems to make it "unliveable" under Maryland law, and the landlord is not being up-front -- didn't put the security deposit in escrow, for one, but is using it to pay off contractors -- um, things like, windows that are about to fall out of their xasements, no electrical outlet in the upstairs bathroom, that hole in the floor in the upstairs hallway, the used-to- be-back-porch addition that is settling too much and has cdracked off at the kitchen doorway... and lots of other things. BUt, for now, take it as it comes and just be grateful for the wonderful job at Frostburg University!j)

Sorry.ffj

Um... I htink Obama is ahead, here, and right-wing peopoe are geting all testy. Screw'em. As for species -- hey, global warming is a myth, didn't you know that? AT work last night, I saw a magazine from Creation Sceinc people. Science, I said. Right. THey are scary -- they are serious? in this day and age? THe earth is only 6000 years old??? Ugh

hugs

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I'm glad to hear that Thanksgiving is working out. Good luck with your sister and the house.

And congratulations about Obama - though I don't believe anything till the election is over.

[walkingowl.livejournal.com]

Oh, absolutely. No silly premature celebrating for me. I'm still scared stiff, and will be until Wednesday morning, November 5. But I am hopeful. Last Wednesday night, I browsed tv at my sister's house because she and Daniel had gone to bed earlier than I'd wanted to... saw three late-night news shows on Comedy Central, and was heartened. In one, a Republican (member of someone's failed re-election team) who had written a book about something was saying right out, "McCain can't win this election, but Obama can still lose it." Meaning, even his own side knows that McCain isn't running a winning campaign. And sure enough it doesn't look like it. Clips on the other shows: Obama speaking about issues, McCain and Palin yammering on about "Joe the Plummer and Chuck the Schoolteacher" and sounding like idiots without a clue. I felt good to see it. But I'm still scared....

The house is showing more and more problems as time goes by, but my sister now has enough of them documented that when she breaks the lease and moves out (spring, she plans) there can be no real dispute of it by the landlady (who is still just messing up, not trying to be vicious). I'm learning about how survivors of massive strokes can end up being subtly impaired in such things as day to day responsibilities, like checking to be sure a contractor is dependable and honest, and keeping the fuel-oil tank from going dry, and putting windows back in when they get broken... and so on. Daniel's now afraid of her, which upsets me -- she yelled at him. I assured him that if she ever shows up again, I'll immediately get between her and him. Poor kid. And poor landlady. I'm sure she didn't ask to end up this impaired.

We may have snow tonight! It's chilly enough.

Um,who is that gorgeous woman in your icon?

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

The beautiful woman in my icon is Georgia Moffett, an actress who will be appearing in this year's Spooks (or MI5) and who was in Doctor Who in 2008 as Jenny, the Doctor's daughter, in (you guessed it) the episode called "The Doctor's Daughter". She is also daughter of the actor who played the Fifth Doctor on Doctor Who and she is also David Tennant's current girlfriend. Lucky her. Lucky him.

This icon is from her Doctor Who role.

[auriaephiala.livejournal.com]

I ran across an article today at work on the Catholic News or some such paper, noting with disappointment and confusion that matters of religion and "values" are not taking up much space in the discussions leading up to Canada's election. Why, no one is even protesting that abortion is legal and available! And, as for the protection of marriage...! I was, by then, laughing. As you possibly are too.

Well, there was a tiny group of demonstrators when Dr. Henry Morgentaler formally received his Order of Canada pin last week. But very subdued, and no particular frothing about it even in the Sun papers (though I didn't check the National Post).

I am very glad that, during this Canadian election, we are talking about issues like the economy and the environment and tax policy and other issues that are the necessary role and concern of of government. I can make up my own mind on "values", thank you very much.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I can make up my own mind on "values", thank you very much.

Seems to me that elections should be about issues and what to do about them. "Values" are our business, to be applied to our own decisions, as necessary.

No reason to think the Catholic News would agree with me, of course. And we probably would agree on some issues, though maybe not as many as I'd hope.

[auriaephiala.livejournal.com]

We had a family Thanksgiving (I made the dessert), which was nice. One family member was on a business trip overseas and called in via skype, telling us to google his hotel so we could see what the view from his hotel window was approximately like. Cool.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

What was the dessert you made? Was it trifle?

telling us to google his hotel so we could see what the view from his hotel window was approximately like.

Oh, I love technology!

[auriaephiala.livejournal.com]

Was it trifle?

Yup. Special request from my nieces. Recipe coming soon.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Yum.

Not that I can currently eat it, but my interest is keen.

[laitosto.livejournal.com]

Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian friends.

Please give my condolences to maaboroshi on the recent passing of her mother. Didn't we meet them at the marathon back in May?

Is/are there a traditional Thanksgiving dish(s) like here? Do you have a favorite?

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving back to you. After all, we can't ever get too much of this 'thankful' business, not in my opinion, and I like to celebrate the American date too, just on principle. (I don't mean that 'greed' is the principle, but... that too.)

I will certainly pass on your condolences to [Unknown site tag]. Yes, they were at the marathon, they went to see it with her and we met them on their way back. That was the last time I saw her mum.

Yes, thanksgiving food here is traditionally like the American - roast turkey, stuffying, cranberry - with pumpkin pie for dessert. Or so I usually hope. I love that. Yesterday's meal was a divergence for me, which was fun, too.