Marilyn's Photos - Aug 26 2026 - When Does School Start?

 

Going back to school stays in the mind long after the experience.  Our society has a back to school sort of frame of mind.  September is the start of many activities, classes and personal projects.  It seems it got wedged into the social psyche. Perhaps this happens in Canada and Ontario because Labour Day is the marker of the end of summer vacation and the start of school. Most of the provinces start school after Labour Day.  In Quebec it is late August and Saskatchewan September 1st.  There are all kinds of recommendations for getting into the back to school mood.  Everything from decluttering your workspace to updating your wardrobe - these are the sorts of projects in the "adult syllabus." By this decade, these sorts of advice lists seem silly.  So why not go straight for something that is silly, and enjoy it. Teacher: "If I gave you 2 cats and another 2 cats and another 2, how many would you have?" Johnny: "Seven."  Teacher: "No, listen carefully... If I gave you two cats, and another two cats and another two, how many would you have?" Johnny: "Seven." Teacher: "Let me put it to you differently. If I gave you two apples, and another two apples and another two, how many would you have?" Johnny: "Six." Teacher: "Good. Now if I gave you two cats, and another two cats and another two, how many would you have?" Johnny: "Seven!" Teacher: "Johnny, where in the heck do you get seven from?!" Johnny: "Because I've already got a freaking cat!" Nothing like an excellent example of silly. Here's the latest in the Saltwater Moon series. Read past POTD's at my Blog: http://blog.marilyncornwell.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.com

Marilyn's Photos - Aug 25 2026 - Ask the young, upwardly mobile professionals at Wirecutte

 

finally thought it was time to find out about "The young, upwardly mobile professionals at Wirecutter."  There is a product review each day in the New York Times referencing Wirecutter.  It turns out the New York Times owns the review service. It does testing and research to recommend the best products.  What might their most famous review be?  It is their guide to the best umbrellas.  And the next is the air purifier - the Coway Airmega Mighty at $319.00 (I assume U.S.).  This is the second most long-running review.  That has been going on for a decade.  The reviews are known for being in-depth, long-form testing guides.  The choices are narrowed to one or two best picks, rather than a list.  The one name we all would recognize in the consumer product review field is Consumer Reports.  This is a non-profit organization, and it buys and tests everything anonymously with its own funds.  It focuses on things like cars, appliances and other physical goods.  Wirecutter earns most of its revenue from affiliate marketing - that means including links to its recommendations. The story goes that the staff who write the reviews are not informed about what the commissions are.  Also these are distinct organizations with a a separation between the news and wirecutter organizations.  That would be needed because of commercial advertisers might want to influence decisions.   There are 3,000 product picks each year, and somehow Wirecutter is famous for its review of this vanilla-looking box - the Coway Airmega AP-1512HH Mighty Air Purifier.   Here are two examples of black in nature - leaves of a Calocasia, or black elephant ears and black tomatoes.   Read past POTD's at my Blog: http://blog.marilyncornwell.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.com

Marilyn's Photos - Aug 24 2026 - Who is the Luckiest of us all?

 

I wonder if there is some sort of tracking of the "luckiest person in the world."  It continues to be Croatian music teacher Frane Selak.  He survived multiple catastrophic near-death experiences and also won a million dollars in a lottery in 2003.  Luckiest is tracked, but second luckiest?  Not so important.  The person that does come up is Tsutomu Yamaguchi.  He is the Japanese engineer who survived the bombing in Hiroshima and then in Nagasaki. He is the official double-survivor.   There's Joan Ginther a former math professor from Texas who won the lottery four times for a total of $20 million. I consider this the only happy luck story. And remember Vesna Vulovic who survived a fall of over 33,000 feet after the plane broke apart mid-air in 1972.  There's no tracking of  "happy story" luckiest person or for the person with the most happy luck.  I guess that would be Joan Ginther.  We focus on people who have survived death as a version of lucky.  An American park ranger who has been struck by lightning seven times, or a Nigerian ship cook who survived for three days in an air pocket 100 feet underwater after his tugboat capsized.  The strangeness of the circumstances compels us to follow these stories.  OK - here is a good story.  Lena Påhlsson: A Swedish woman who lost her wedding ring in her garden, only to find it 16 years later miraculously wrapped around the root of a homegrown carrot.  The definition of luck? Maybe I should have started there -  the Oxford Dictionary says that luck is success or failure brought on by chance, or the force that causes good and bad things to happen to people outside of their own control, skill, or effort.   What about the record for winning the lottery the most times?  Stefan Mandel has 14 documented wins and he uses a mathematical algorithm to buy every possible number combination when jackpots grew larger than the total cost of tickets. That's definitely not about luck... I randomly selected a picture and got this great Painted Lady portrait.  Visit Grimsby Beach! Read past POTD's at my Blog: http://blog.marilyncornwell.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.com

Marilyn's Photos - Aug 23 2026 - Spritzing to Sprinkles

 

It was spritzing earlier but it has turned to sprinkles and trending to drizzles.  Spritz is not a formal meteorological term, just informal.  Sprinkles is - very light, scattered drops that fall in small amounts.  Moving onto drizzles, they are very tiny, fine water drops smaller than 0.5 mm that seem to float in the air.  I think we're going to miss the floaty stuff, and move on to showers - rain that starts and stops quickly and changes in strength.   There are no forecasts of a downpour - a sudden very heavy rush of water that falls fast.  What we had in Niagara 2 weeks ago is called torrential rain (deluge) and is extreme, heavy rain that can cause floods very quickly. What about the phenomenon known as Virga:  precipitation begins as snow or rain from the base of clouds.  But it passes through a thick layer of warm, dry air, which causes the precipitation to evaporate before it reaches the ground.  It is also called phantom rain or a dry storm.  This is more common in arid western climates.  They look like jellyfish - so the common name is often jellyfish clouds.   It looks like a 9 to 5 day of rain in Grimsby and then all clear.   Here's a happy cloud sky in Niagara around this time of year.  I haven't found any Sunflower fields like this one so far.  They get gobbled up by the great harvesting machines. Read past POTD's at my Blog: http://blog.marilyncornwell.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.com

Marilyn's Photos - Aug 22 2026 - Onwards to Non-consumerism

 

I wonder what the list of things too expensive to buy is going to be.  Will we retaliate product to product?  OK, I don't need any hockey sticks, and we've already done without U.S. alcohol.   According to the CBC the next in line is the electronics sector. I guess we would suffer if we decide to retaliate there.  Us older people have been through harsh consumer times in the 1970s inflation era when if you wanted to buy something there was urgency to do it quickly before the next shipment of whatever it was came in with a whopping price increase.  That was a long time ago, and I wonder how many will remember the experience.  Could this harsh time be like the 1930s Depression era?  That isn't the prediction so far.   So what things should we stock up on before the tariff tsunami hits?  The list of things that will receive the new U.S. tariffs has been  thoroughly analyzed in the build-up to the deadline.  The general consensus is that this is a strange list of things.  There are three main themes:  motor vehicles, dairy and alcohol.   Probably don't worry about the organization of the lists, worry about the $28 billion worth of goods that the 50% applies to  5% of Canada's exports to the U.S.  In the tit for tat world, will we see tariffs on the following? The dairy proclamation/order: Milk and cream Whey and milk protein concentrates, including casein Bones and horn-cones Lactose, glucose, fructose and blended syrups Sugars, cane molasses Non-alcoholic beer Essential oils of peppermint The alcohol proclamation/order: Beer, wine, liquor, cider and other fermented beverages Essential oils of grapefruit Densified wood blocks, plates, strips Some wooden tableware Wood marquetry and inlaid wood, wooden articles of furniture Skewers and ice cream sticks, as well as bamboo products Basketwork and other articles Grease-proof paper Ice hockey and field hockey equipment, other than balls and skates The motor vehicles and broad proclamation/order: Natural honey Down feathers Tortoise shell, whalebone, horns, antlers and other animal parts Tulips and other dormant flower buds, live orchids and mushroom spawn, tubers, mosses and lichen Vegetable, tree and shrub seeds A range of other vegetation and parts Perfumes containing alcohol and plant parts used in perfume Various essential oils Makeup preparations Doughs and other bakers’ mixes Bitters Synthetic paints and varnishes, printer inks Cements Candles Various fatty acids Vinyl floor tiles Non-plastic office supplies Plastic furniture fittings Household and toilet articles, tableware, kitchenware Dog leashes and saddles Luggage and other cases, such as for musical instruments Various fibreboard, laminate and plywood sheets Various paper, wallpaper, binders, paper pulp products Silk, yarn, carpet and other various textiles T-shirts, sweaters, trousers, dresses, gloves, coats and other clothing items of various materials Wigs, false beards, eyebrows of synthetic textile materials Glass packing materials Non-industrial diamonds, not set Various gold, silver and imitation jewelry A range of power tools and equipment Armoured safes, locks and lockboxes Brewery machinery Refrigerating or freezing furniture and equipment Vacuums Smartphones and other recording devices Devices containing semiconductors for data transmission and storage Cameras and projectors Radar equipment and antennae, optical fibre cables Motorcycles fitted with an engine capacity of 800 cc or greater Floating docks, vessels and rafts Furniture seats and parts made of wood, plastic and metal with a range of outlined uses and exemptions Chandeliers and lamps Toys, puzzles and models Video game consoles Christmas and other festival decorations Ice skates, golf and gym equipment Swimming pools, wading pools and parts Fishing rods and parts Paintings, drawings, collages, sculptures of various ages Postage stamps and other collectors’ pieces Antiques of an age exceeding 100 years but not exceeding 250 years This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 18, 2026. The Canadian Press Isn't that such a list!  There has been much analysis on what it all is about. One thing that won't likely happen is a retaliation of the sorts of accusations and false claims that have become part orf U.S. rhetoric. We should brace for an escalation - maybe that is the tsunami to prepare for.   Here's a water bog planting of carnivorous pitcher plants at Laura Grant's garden. Read past POTD's at my Blog: http://blog.marilyncornwell.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.com

Marilyn's Photos - Aug 20 2026 - Surprise Me Travel

 

Did you know that there's a travel site that takes you on a surprise vacation? The site is srprs.me   We'll take you wherever you're meant to go Stop control-freaking your trip. Just sit back, relax and let us arrange everything. Select a specific theme or put together your own city break. Only accommodations rated 8 or higher will make the final and, of course, you’ll fly with a safe airline. Take the leap and discover your mystery holiday to destination unknown! FLIGHT TRIPROAD TRIPROCKET TRIP Here's the rocket trip option: THIS IS GOING TO BE A PHENOMENAL RIDE We cannot wait for the day that we'll take you on a srprs.trip to space. We have our top engineers working day and night on the srprs.rocket and we have already successfully sent a pork sausage into the stratosphere. So we feel we're getting close. So leave us your email address and we'll keep you updated on our progress, and maybe chuck in some special editions trips and special offers too. Here's another option:  Bucket List - you share your bucket list, we'll make sure you can cross a city off.  From 360 pounds. (We're in the U.K.) How many people have taken srprs trips?  It says the number is over 120,000 people. The global surprise trip planning market reached $1.42 billion U.S. in 2024.   Isn't it so interesting.  At one end of the spectrum is the control approach with a bucket list where things must get checked off regularly. At the other end is the spontaneous and surprising with little control.  We're at the end of August, so if a vacation is on your horizon, you might consider the surprise approach. What about this approach?  Go to Sugar Beach in Toronto and spin the dial.  What if you get Big Brother is watching you. Then you are already there. Sit down and have an espresso. Read past POTD's at my Blog: http://blog.marilyncornwell.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.com

Marilyn's Photos - Aug 20 2026 - Back to School

 

If it is back to school time, then the CNE is opening this weekend.  The weird food competition previewed on the CBC yesterday.  The hosts didn't find the weird food to be a good news story.  One of them said that if he had to eat any of it, he would go buy a six-pack of Pepto bismol.   Or did he say a 24-pack.  Things like deep-fried pizza, Kraft dinner smoothie, pickle cheesecake pops... none of them sound fun.  Here's the CBC list.   Pickle or bacon-flavoured coffee. "The Szechuan Sizzle" spice cream. Cotton Candy Kickin’ Chicken. Sushi pops.  Blue Heat Taki Tenders. Popcorn falafel poutine. Jamaican beef patty mini pierogies. Lobster on a stick. Footlong butter chicken taquito. Fried S’MOREO. S’more Deep Fried Slice. Brie cheese deep fried Oreos. Dill pickle "pegrolls." Ramen Fried Frog Legs. Smash burger dumplings. The Carnival Cone. Nacho ribs. Steak barrel pork belly. Sweetcorn wasabi lemonade. Maybe this weird and crazy food mix-it-up is a response to the budget-conscious, inflation-biting back-to-school purchases this year.  The fashion news is barrel-leg denim, elevated basics, oversized outerwear and retro-inspired sneakers.  Also healthy-skin beauty routines - I noticed that all the girls had makeup on when Millie and I visited one of the high schools in the spring.  There are way too many fashion-driven items: A Garage shoulder bag, an H&M ball cap, an Indigo water bottle, Roots 2 piece junior backpack set.  AI says that back-to-school costs are $600 - $750 per child.  Here's AI's version of the 1951 vs 2026 back to school trend: The back-to-school landscape in Ontario has shifted from a highly standardized, traditional community experience in 1951 to an individuality-driven, AI-integrated, omnichannel shopping event in 2026.  That comes from fieldagentcanada HERE.  Isn't this an August flower field picture.  Another from Laura's St. Davids garden.  Read past POTD's at my Blog: http://blog.marilyncornwell.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.com

Marilyn's Photos - Aug 19 2026 - Tariff Day

 

It was Tariff Deadline last night at midnight - well the tariffs were to come into effect at 12:01.  That would be after a normal news deadline for the paper version of The Globe and Mail.  I can imagine what yesterday was like.  Did the Globe and Mail have to wait till past midnight for closure on the story, or was the news story set earlier in the day? Yes it did have to wait.  Trump made the announcement on Truth Social at 11:55pm - five minutes before the midnight deadline.  Front-page print deadlines operate into the "late evening" and final production workflows run deep into the night and can go towards 1:00am or 2:00am to accommodate final regional editions and late-breaking developments.  This isn't a war story, but I suggest it is being treated as one - by both sides.  And of course the drama of an 11th-hour breakthrough would have to be in the headline. What do I see is I look through the headlines from news sources all over the world?  The BBC says that the announcement came less than two hours before the levy was set to go in place.  That would have meant the tariffs would come into effect at 2:00am in the morning.  None of the other news stories say this, so maybe the BBC wasn't attentive to EDT.  I would think that would be considered sloppy work. Mostly, the news coverage around the world - Britain, France, Australia, Japan, and other countries read the same - come from the same feeds.   Maybe CP and AP.  Chinese state-controlled media had coverage of the late-breaking tariff deadline, making the last-minute announcement the main news.  The trade relationship would be of interest to China compared to Russia where there is much tension between our countries.   Let's turn our attention to what the Russian state media covered in the dispute.  "Russian reporting notes how quickly Washington is willing to apply maximum pressure...even against neighbouring partners like Canada."  They highlighted "trade friction within North America as evidence of fractures in Western economic solidarity," and "the late-night pause is characteristic brinkmanship rather than a stable resolution."  Seems insightful and on target, doesn't it?  That comes from AI.  I can't seem to get any articles when I search tass.com.  I do see the Gordie Howie Bridge article where Trump demands half ownership so there is some coverage.  I wonder how the news will go today.  Will there be a lull as people get some sleep? Will there be bits and pieces as the news sources start to reveal details?  I expect Canadian coverage will be the latter, and all the rest of the media will wait for some breaking-news update.  Another watercolour image today - something soothing and calm. Read past POTD's at my Blog: http://blog.marilyncornwell.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.com

Marilyn's Photos - Aug 182 2026 - The Fondas

 

The Globe and Mail's obituary today is about Mark Rydell, the director of the movie On Golden Pond. Notable in an obituary about one person, it includes information about other people.  None other than Henry Fonda and Jane Fonda an their father-daughter relationship.  It made me think about the public life of celebrities - anyone and everyone could easily know they had a difficult relationship.  That Henry Fonda had an austere, remote personality interspersed with temperamental outbursts.  And that Jane Fonda sought her father's approval all through her life.  The story is that she bought the film rights to the play On Golden Pond specifically so she and her father could play the fictionalized version of an estranged father and daughter.  That this might lead to the real father and daughter being reconciled.  And it worked out. There are dozens of articles on the topic, probably thousands over the years.  Many are Jane Fonda "recalls closure" with her father articles - the dramatic conclusion story.  Anything and Everything private made public is how I think of their lives.  It is the American version of Royalty.  There is Royal Family scrutiny and rabid interest.  We can take a look at the Fonda Family Tree or the Royal Family Tree.  Other comparable headlines are: Henry Fonda's 5 wives in order - similar title to Henry the VIII's 6 wives in order.  And the "how well do the Royal Siblings get along" articles - Jane and Peter's relationship compared to Harry and William's relationship.  We could come up with a chart of areas of interest of the Royal Family, and then fill in with Celebrity comparisons.  I wonder if Henry Fonda had horses or corgis.  Or if Jane Fonda is a strong supporter of organic and natural gardening like King Charles.   But then I don't have a deadline with People magazine to have to really work this stuff out.  This is a Zephyranthes, Rain Lily, in Laura Grant's garden.    Read past POTD's at my Blog: http://blog.marilyncornwell.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.com