Feb 16 2025 - Let the Blizzard Begin

 

There's a tiny moment between 5:45 and 7:00 where there isn't a forecast.  Starting at 7:00am it is snow, snow, heavy snow. Well, actually, the forecast says "blizzard".  Look at the radar - so many colours of blue, then there's green and red. Red is for ice.   So it is blizzard until 1:00pm today when it becomes snow again.  It moves to light snow, then snow, then scattered flurries, then blowing snow. We're starting to move into Monday morning with a mix of sun and clouds - rise and shine it is 7:00am and your holiday weekend has been a long weekend forced to stay-at-home - a "Snoliday."   And what is a blizzard?  Three components are necessary - "high winds at least 40 km/h, visibility less than 400 meters and lasting for 4 hours.  That's the Canadian definition. And if we get a ground blizzard?   "Another type of winter storm is called a ground blizzard. This is when gusty winds—often 50 to 60 miles an hour—lift up snow that's already on the ground. Both types of blizzards can cause whiteouts, a condition in which so much snow is blowing so fast that it's hard to see anything." The worst blizzards in history were in Iran in 1872 and in Afghanistan in 2008.  Iran's was the deadliest blizzard in recorded history and dropped as much as 26 feet of snow, completely covering 200 villages. The Storm of the Century was in 1993 in the U.S. Toronto's great snow storm of 1999 is not covered in Wikipedia.  It is remembered for bringing out the military to clear the streets.

A watercolour abstract today. Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblogspot.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Apr 25 2024 - Retirement Regrets

 

What are those big item purchases that retirees try out?  Supposedly retirement often brings on a purchase of something one has always longed for.   Here are a few of them from an AARP article: The Boat - maybe  a sail boat to travel somewhere challenging or a speed boat for the weekends.  "Before you know it, what was supposed to give you joy and freedom is tying you down. “The two best days are when you buy and sell the boat." Recreational Vehicle - What better way to travel than with an RV?  “If you are going to use an RV once a month or three times a year, do you really need to buy an RV? Of course not. A lot of those things that make retirees feel good can add up.”​ Dream House - "Doing an upgrade here and an upgrade there, home improvement enthusiasts may soon find they’ve blown through a big chunk of retirement cash. That dream dwelling suddenly becomes a money pit at a time when less income is flowing in, leaving owners “really stressed out and frustrated,” Manske says. “It’s a really big one that retirees regret.” Resort Living - " For lots of people it’s a fabulous idea in the first year, but after that, the novelty can quickly wear off, Manske warns. They realize that all the things that gave them value and purpose and were fulfilling are back where they used to live, he says." And there's more - Giving to adult children can leave one destitute later, Buying a time share, Expensive musical instruments, Fancy cars. So many possible ways to dwindle one's retirement income. Here's some advice to a person starting their retirement.

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Nov 25 2023 - Leave the Leaves? Yes or NO

 

Leave the Leaves?  Yes or No.  There are a few headlines on leave the leaves yes or no.  It seems a bit late to me as most people have sent them away.  They ruin the "greenscape" or the garden of conifer bushes that make for the winter sculpture garden. We've created a difficult situation with our suburban yards.  With excessive amounts of grass, we are stuck raking leaves from the lawns.   Moving leaves about and getting my leaves to stay in garden areas is a difficult circumstance.  The wind likes to move small things about.  Our entrance door is a swirly wind area that accumulates leaves and when the door is opened, they move right into the house.   The reward of leaves left in the garden occurs In the spring in the places where leaves are in nice piles,  I usually find a toad underneath.  Raking should be done carefully in the spring - there is a lot of wildlife within.   Leaves also provide winter protection for garden plants keeping the roots insulated from the changing temperatures, and then in spring they are nutrients to the garden - the way mulch is. Our idea of mulch, though, is much more uniform that all those different shapes of leaves.  We like cedar mulch with its even texture and uniform colour.  It creates artistic landscapes. I notice that there are lots of headlines about the movement to 'leave the leaves.'   I think it is a distraction - the moment before the snow headlines. Our picture today is the brilliance of locust trees in the Autumn. These locust leaves won't need any raking.  Tiny little things, they just disappear into the lawn.

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Jan 19 2023 - Yukon Gold

 

Are Yukon Gold and Yellow Potatoes the same?  Here's the answer: Yukon Gold, though yellow fleshed, is a cross between a yellow and a white potato.  The definition says that all three types of potatoes are similar and can be used in similar ways.  But Yukon Gold potatoes have a smooth, creamy texture.  Regular yellow potatoes have a waxy texture.  Waxy is good for a salad.  That's what eatpallet.com tells me.   It also says that adding cream of tartar can help to add flavour to both types.  When it comes to white potatoes, they are starch and lower in moisture.  That makes tm ideal for baking, frying and mashing.  Yukon, in comparison is higher in moisture and lower in starch. That makes them best for boiling and steaming.  And who named Yukon Gold potatoes?  It was developed in the 1960s by Garnet Johnston in Guelph, Ontario.  This is the story in McLean's Magazine HERE:  "The invention came from a male parent grown in North Dakota (considered male because it spreads pollen), and a female, yellow parent grown in Peru. After 14 years, on the 66th cross of 1966, Johnston created a variety known technically as G6666-4y (“G” for Guelph, 4 for the fourth selection from the cross, and “y” for yellow). Johnston originally named it after the Yukon River—his previous varieties included the Huron and the Rideau—but his colleague Walter Shy suggested adding the word “Gold” in honour of its yellow tint. Not to be confused with “new potatoes,” which are small, sweet spuds of any variety picked earliest in the season, the Yukon Gold has pink eyes and tan skin. Soon after Yukon Golds hit the market in 1980, chefs were serving it to presidents. “When I started at the White House, it became like the new kid on the block,” says former White House chef John Moeller. “I like the butteriness of it. I do a purée, with added parsnip purée and sweated-down leeks. It’s a nice smooth consistency. When you see a white potato, it just doesn’t look as appealing.” Moeller also cooks Yukon Golds au gratin with garlic custard, and he roasts baby Yukons to serve as marble-sized garnishing. “You can put one potato on your fork and eat it in one bite,” he says." Yukon Gold remains a top potatoes out of more than 150 varieties grown in Canada today.

I get one of these heart-shaped potatoes every so often.   Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblog.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Sep 17 2022 - The Urine Bank

 

Do you hate those squirrels that bother your garden?  Urine is an animal repellent. There's a lot of nitrogen in Urine so it can be useful in the garden.   It is a fertilizer when diluted with water.  The chemical industry used it in the manufacture of gunpowder.  A nitrogen source, it was used to moisten straw which was kept moist and allowed to rot for several months to over a year.  The resulting salts were washed from the heap with water, evaporated, and crude saltpetre crystals were collected.   Or what about fermenting urine to produce a solution of ammonia to wash cloth and clothing.  That's the story of fulling. Fulling has specific urine requirements.  Here's the story from Judy Zinni. In the Scottish highlands and in Cape Breton (and Ireland), the local people would gather together to “full” the cloth - although the term used in Scotland is “waulking” and in Cape Breton “milling” or “fulling”.  Harris tweed fabric was processed in this manner, traditionally.  A long table, often with ridges carved into it, was used.  People sat around the table and the woven fabric was stitched together at the ends to make a long loop/coil.  The fabric was wetted down with a solution of water and aged urine (the urine of a young boy was preferred), which helped to shrink the fibres and cause them to become water resistant (in more modern times, a soapy solution was used instead). The people then sang waulking songs, a capella, which consist of short verses with a common chorus (in Gaelic). The songs had strong rhythms which were used to keep rhythm while pounding the cloth against the table top.  They would pass the cloth to the person next to them during the procedure (remember the cloth is a big loop), this would ensure that the cloth would be evenly worked along its entire length.  People from the community would save up their newly woven cloth and bring them to this community event (much like barn raising is a community event), and all the cloth would be worked at the gathering.  In Scotland, the waulking was done mostly by women.  This tradition was brought to Nova Scotia and was practised in Cape Breton, where it was done apparently primarily by men, although I’ve seen photos of groups of men and women together participating.  After all the hard work, a “lunch” was served (usually in the late evening) and there would be music and dancing.  In Ireland, the waulking was apparently done differently in a tub using the feet. The waulking songs have survived through oral tradition and some tell of tragedies or events from the areas in which they were sung.  A “leader” would sing the short verse, and the rest of the workers would sing the chorus together.  In Cape Breton, there are sometimes demonstrations of this, known as milling frolics, and are put on for tourists.

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Sep 12 - September is Happy Cat Month

 

Are you ready for this?  You thought that cats are indifferent and superior.  There are 15 signs that your cat is happy. They are things like: They purr They have a healthy appetite They like to play They're relaxed They like to rub on you They're knead-y They keep themselves (and sometimes their owners) clean Here are the signs for dogs: A high and waggy tail. This is probably the most well-known sign your dog is a happy pooch. Floppy ears. By this, we mean that their ears are relaxed, not tense or flattened against their head. Pricked upright ears are a sign of alertness – they tell you if your dog is happy or sad, just focused. Their body’s relaxed. If your dog seems relaxed in their posture and not tense or stiff, this is a good indication they are feeling good. Loose shoulders, soft eyes without a fixed gaze, and a dose of ‘wiggliness’ or pure ‘flopped-outness’ are all clues that your dog’s feeling super chill. They’re playful. A happy dog is more likely to want to play and leap around. Play “bows” are a great sign your dog is in the mood. They lean in to you. A relaxed dog who enjoys your company is more likely to also enjoy your attention. They may come to you for attention and it’s a good sign if they lean into your hand when you stroke them. Do we humans get a list of signs for happiness?  Not so easy, is it.  We get all analytical and generalize this to living a good life and being "genuinely satisfied".  But I did find one equivalent sign: So, how can you tell if someone is truly happy—or masking another emotion? While it starts with the mouth, it’s actually all about the eyes! A sign of happiness is when the sides of the lips rise symmetrically (as in the first picture on the left). In an authentic smile the eyelids drop, and the eyebrows lower accompanied by a symmetrical smile (see the picture on the right).  You can see the pictures HERE.  Another article says that it has to do with the crinkles near the eyes.   This wonderful colour combination is the Weeping Willow at Charles Daley Park reflected in the water.  It isn't about to turn yellow yet - usually it happens into November.

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Jan 4 2020 - You Can't Imagine Such Banana Art

 

Today's subject is banana ideas that might entertain children or that get at least 3 art collectors to spend $120,000 US.  Headline in artnews in December 2019:  Is Maurizio Cattelan's $120,000 banana sculpture a cynical sign of the times of a thrilling artwork?  Yes! "The semi-retired artist, whose last major creation was a golden toilet titled America (2016), has now taped a banana to a wall of Perrotin gallery’s booth at Art Basel Miami Beach, the glitzy bazaar that alights in that flood-endangered city every December. It is titled Comedian, and it is priced at $120,000. Three were available, and the first two apparently sold on opening day." "Though Cattelan is known for being something of an art world prankster, Perrotin was quick to dismiss the idea that Comedian is a joke. Every aspect of the work was carefully considered, from the shape of the fruit, to the angle its been affixed with duct tape to the wall, to its placement in the booth—front and center, on a large wall that could have easily fit a much larger painting—he said." To assure the purchasers of their investments were of value? "The purchased editions come with a certificate of authenticity. The banana can be replaced as needed." There are lots of explanations of the work's meaning.  I prefer to bypass all of these to show you the witty banana sculptures below Cattelan's visually boring piece which has its own entry in Wikipedia (!) Head over to Saatchi Art to see all manner of banana art HERE.  You can see a few satires of Cattelan's banana among them.   The daffodil abstract follows the theme of yellow to go with our banana art.     Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Jan 3 - - New Stuff Just In

FutureTimeline.net on its home page says Welcome to the future!  Explore our timeline of future predictions... Latest updates HERE are fascinating.   The 2020-2029 Entries are HERE Most of these are big-scale, government sorts of milestones.  It is in 2024 that something everyday seems to come up:   Bio-electronics for treating arthritis is in common use Arthritis is a form of joint disorder caused by trauma or infection of a joint, or old age. As of the 2010s, it was the single most common type of disability in the United States, predominantly affecting the elderly and resulting in over 20 million individuals having severe limitations in function on a daily basis. Total costs of arthritis cases were close to $100 billion annually, a figure expected to increase dramatically in the future with an aging population. Treatments for arthritis usually involved a combination of medication, exercise and lifestyle modification, but a cure remained elusive. In 2014, a breakthrough involving the use of bio-electronics was unveiled by researchers. This took the form of a pacemaker-style device embedded in the necks of patients, firing bursts of electrical impulses to stimulate the vagus nerve – a crucial link between the brain and major organs. The impulses were shown to reduce activity in the spleen, in turn producing fewer chemicals and immune cells that would normally cause inflammation in the joints of patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Over half of people saw a dramatic improvement, even for severe symptoms, with up to 30% achieving remission. After successful clinical trials, another decade of progress led to next-generation implants miniaturised to the size of rice grains, as well as improvements in cost and efficacy. By 2024, it is a routine form of treatment in many countries.Bio-electronics are showing promise in other areas too. For example, they can prevent the airway spasms of asthma, control appetite in obesity, and help restore normal insulin production in diabetes. This has personal meaning to many of us and gives us optimism for our future health and well-being.

We're into January and this is the month I seem to do a lot of "colouring".   I started with a spring image of daffodils and put them through the Topaz Lab Impressions Filter.

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Nov 8 2020 - To Offer Congratulations

 

What happened last time when Trump became President?  Did everyone offer their congratulations?  Of course - it is a formalism.  My guess, though, is that they were not prepared for the onslaught of personal insults combined with the mess that he was about to unleash.  There is an entry in Wikipedia for his congratulations:  International reactions to the 2016 United States presidential election HERE.  What Trudeau offered in 2016, below, is very similar to what he offered Biden this weekend. "I congratulate President-elect Donald Trump on his election victory in the United States. Our shared values are strong. Our common purpose is to build countries where everyone has a fair chance to succeed, and where the government works first, foremost and always for the people it governs. The Canadian government will continue its hard work toward these ends, and we offer our hand in partnership with our neighbours as friends and allies as they move forward." This time he added: "We will further build on this foundation as we continue to keep our people safe and healthy from the impacts of the global COVID-19 pandemic, and work to advance peace and inclusion, economic prosperity, and climate action around the world." Others showed relief: "Welcome back America !" tweeted Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris. A city official in Berlin said, "After the birth of my son, the election of Joe Biden is by far the best news of this year." I am sure there are some very funny comments and congratulations to come our way over this next week.  This will be part of the having fun again social movement. Our picture is yesterday's view of our beautiful weeping willow tree on the lagoon at Charles Daley Park.

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Nov 8 2020 - Advice on Having Fun

 

It looks like Christmas Day is around the corner - which corner we're not sure, but we can see the destination ahead.  So it is time to turn our attention to Having Fun on Christmas Day.  We may need some assistance on this given the social discourse of the last 6 or more months.  Who should we turn to for advice?  Would it be Cosmopolitan Magazine or Psychology Today?  I don't think we should count on Psychology Today - the article tells us all the reasons that we don't have fun.  For example, worried what other people think, need to spend money, don't have the time, need to plan it, and so on.   Would you like to know how fun you are?  Go to GOTOQUIZ  to find out.  I ended up skipping through it as it wasn't that much fun as a quiz.  But it was enough to let me know that the state of social discourse is seriously lacking in fun these days. I guess we'll try onelifecritic.worpress.com -  here's the advice: "You know by your heart. When your heart beats like dinosaur footstep, you are having fun and making memory. For example, when you sneak into some forbidden place, your heart beats. When you plan on a prank on someone, you know you’re having fun. When you are on an adventure, you are making memories. ... Real fun is supposed to be exciting, finding new things, experiencing things you have never done." And the funny ending of my search is the last retrieval on how to have fun.  It is 7 signs you're having a heart attack.  I wonder how that is linked with having or not having fun.   We've got some motion blur on the Weeping Willow at Charles Daly Park lagoon - the blue in the picture is water and reflections   This was taken a few years ago.  We didn't get good colour on the tree the last few years because of severe cold in November.  The temperatures were so low the leaves froze, turned a dark brown and fell off.  Let's hope we're on a better path for pictures this year.

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Oct 11 2020 - And Why so Earl y?

 

What is with Canada that Thanksgiving is so early?  Why don't we follow the American dates?  Today there is a general answer first and a social political answer at the end.   A general answer is that festivals of thanks and celebrations of harvest took place in Europe in the month of October. We might note that all North Hemisphere inhabitants had a fall harvest celebration that dates back to the beginnings of communal living.  These just aren't documented very well.  What is more important is that history is written with an orientation towards colonialist celebration.  Our Canadian history writing is orientated around European settler celebrations.  How do I know this?  Our first documented European settler celebration of Thanks (vs harvest thanksgiving) was in 1578 with Martin Frobisher, the explorer.  It occurred in Nunavut.  I would be thankful too if I'd arrived in Nunavut - how did he get up there?  I expect he got lost looking for the famed North-West Passage to the orient. It seems to me an indication of historian orientation - to inject European settlers into every social context - to confuse Martin Frobisher's meal of thanks of survival with the traditional fall harvest thanks.   So on to turkey:  the first documented harvest thanksgiving celebration featuring the uniquely North American turkey, squash and pumpkin wa in Nova Scotia in the 1750s and by the 1870s was common across Canada. In Canadian provinces the date had moved around quite a bit - even as late as December 6th, and other times coinciding with American Thanksgiving.  Canada decided in 1957 to make Thanksgiving the second Monday in October, particularly to separate it from Remembrance Day - November 11th.  It had co-occured before then to mark the sacrifices of veterans in the great Wars.   An excellent article on Canadian Thanksgiving was written in 2017, in McLean's Magazine HERE  with a broader point of view. The author, Christine Sismondo expresses clearly the concerns over European settlers and their dominance over the social landscape.  Here's the concluding paragraph: "Since the United States has thoroughly taken ownership of it (Thanksgiving) as a founding myth for its nation-building project, to the point that it’s practically eclipsed Canadian Thanksgiving, we could make the holiday our own by using it in a totally different way. A good start would be to acknowledge that Europe had pre-contact harvest feast traditions of their own, but to stop pretending Europeans invented Thanksgiving in Canada or the United States and, instead, consider how to repurpose the holiday to redress historical wrongs—and imagine a new Canadian identity." I think we'll be keeping track of what Christine Sismondo has to say from now on. Here's one of my favourite Autumn pictures - Charles Daley Park's gazebo under the yellow of Locust trees.  And then here's Millie with her version of pumpkin pie.

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