Saturday Photo: Valentine Hearts, Maylis de Kerengal, and Donor Pledges

 It's a couple of days early, but here's a Valentine  heart to enjoy, made with a not-too-steady hand in Photoshop.  Nice to know that I don't do much cardiac surgery, right?

As it happens, though, I've been reading the wonderful novel by Maylis de Kerengal, variously called Réparer les vivants (in French) or Mending the Living (translation by Jennifer Moore) or The Heart translation by Sam Taylor.  In it, a young man dies and his heart and other organs are donated to others.  Sounds gruesome, but it is exalting.  The French is poetic, evocative and engrossing, while the translations (why there are two, I haven't been able to determine, but both are quite good in their own way) carry the reader along through all the agony of the young man's family and medical professionals who will see that he lives on in others.

In France, organ donation is the default situation: a person must opt out, or it is assumed that he or she has agreed to have organs donated.  In North America, the reverse is the norm, so that unless one has specifically signed a statement approving donation, they won't be.  I'd always been a bit ambivalent about this, and while I've signed the statement on my driver's license agreeing to donation, I had no strong position.  After reading the novel, I'm far more positive.  Read it, and check out where you can sign up. In Canada: here.  In the US: here.

Saturday Photo: Winter Fun--Thank Heaven for Urban Parks

Didn't have a camera with me this week, but this one taken a few years ago captures the spirit of Montreal in the winter.  I picked up both the grandkids (Jeanne on Tuesday, Thomas on Thursday) early and took them to play in the parks near their houses for a while.  The days are getting longer which meant that Jeanne could skate without problem until after 5 p.m. (and Thomas could "skate with my boots" at Parc Macdonald until even later.

Cold, snowy weather is what makes this place interesting this time of year.  January was the warmest ever, of course.  I know there are much graver consequence of climate change, but, selfishly, I hope that we don't lose all this.

By the way the parks where this family is frolicking as well as Jeanne's and Thomas's are set down in densely populated neighborhoods.  Great city planning!

Saturday Photo: Sun?

I'm tired of cloudy winter days.  Give me really cold weather, a good dump of snow every week or so, and I'm happy.  But gray skies?  No thank you.

Saturday Photo: Not My Photo, But An Important One

This is Chico Mendes, the Brazilian organizer and environmental champion, who was murdered in 1988.  The photo is by Miranda Smith, who documented some of his activities that were instrumental in setting up reserves where the rubber tappers in the Amazon rain forest could live and work. 

His death was a tragedy, but he is an example to us all of what a few good men and women can do when they buck the odds. 

We're going to need many more like him (who, one hopes, will not meet the same end) in the coming four years.

As other protester said, keep the faith, baby!

Saturday Photo: Brrrr, But It's Not as Bad as on the Greek Islands

Rather nippy this morning--down near -20 C (0 F)--and on my walk this morning I saw two things that I wished I had my camera to record

The first was a trio of tiger-striped cats sitting in a window, looking longingly at the outside.   The second was a battered umbrella which had apparently given up the ghost during Thursday's rain, and then became frozen in a puddle upside down.

But because I didn't have my camera  with me, you'll have to take my word for it. The windows here at home looked rather like the one in the photo, though.

But we are prepared for cold weather, we have central heating and scarves and heavy coats and boots.  Winter is an inconvenience not a disaster.

The case is quite different in  refugee camps around the Mediterranean, with snow falling on the Greek Islands, in fact.  One of our young friends is involved in a project to help pregnant women, new mothers and their families in the camps, and has put out a call for financial help.  Check it out here: CRIBS. 

Saturday Photo: Wet Snow, Our Backyard, and Deliveries

Beautiful snow this week, although it was tough driving on Tuesday when the temperature hovered near freezing, and some of the precipitation was freezing rain.  But yesterday was clear and cold.  That meant the weather was perfect for delivering furniture.

Lee's remake of Stuart's bedstead and the new table for Sophie and Lukas found their new homes, after we rented a van and made the rounds.  I did the driving since Lee--insert drum roll here--says I'm a better driver in winter conditions than he is!  All true, I'd even say that I'm a better driver than he is in ALL conditions, but we won't start an argument this sunny Sunday morning.

Of course, there's a certain irony here, because I'm far from being a car person, even though I got my driver's license at 15 1/2.  For a long time I've been a BMW kid--Bike, Metro, Walk (without the bike).  Yet it's nice to have access to vehicles when you need to do something like deliver Lee's projects.

Saturday Photo: For Peaceful New Year...

And in hopes that not everything is swept away by the Trump Train...

Saturday Photo: Holiday Greetings and the Link to My Rant...

Things are getting a little hectic right now, so I'll be brief:  here's wishing everyone a fine holiday.  If you'd like more: here's the link to my annual end-of-year blog.

Saturday Photo: Bolo do reis and Putting Things in Perspective

This is a Portuguese holiday cake, covered with crystalized fruit and sugar.  Quite good if you like that sort of thing, which Lee certainly does.  Bought one last week and it was much appreciated.

A Padaria Coimbra, AKA La Baguette dorée, on Mount Royal in the Plateau makes a lovely one.  We discovered it six years ago during the difficult winter we spent in an apartment nearby following the fire that seriously damaged our house. 

Jeanne was a baby then, but now she's six.  Her cousins Thomas is four and baby Louis will be six months on Thursday.  Time passes and frequently in retrospect the bad things (8 months out of our house, fights with the contractor, much uncertainty etc) fall away and the good things stand out.

Would that be the case with the current political situation!

Saturday Photo: Climate Change and Getting Ready for Christmas in Montreal

These are salted herring, to be filleted and marinated to make sil, the Scandinavian pickled herring dish.  It's something I've made every Christmas since I married into the Soderstrom family. Delicious!

But this year I've been having trouble finding the fish.  My usual fish store says they're sold out, and won't receive any more before January.  I called around a bit, and found that National Herring, a wholesaler, has some at $6 a pound that they may sell me if I trek out to their warehouse.  The price is much more than I've paid in the past, but for a holiday treat, I'll pay it.

But why the penury? I wondered.  Seems there's a shortage of herring and other small fish in northern Atlantic waters.  Lobster fishers who use herring to bait their traps,  complained all summer about the lack, and special rules were put into effect.

Nobody I've read puts the finger on climate change  or over-fishing for the decline in stocks, but we all know what happened to the cod fishery.  After 30 years of closure, the stock is beginning to come back off Canada, but the Americans are saying that things are getting worse there, probably because of warmer water which is driving the fish north.

There may be snow on the ground here this morning, but it sure looks like we've messed things up.

Saturday Photo: Getting Ready for Christmas in Brazil

Another photo for three years ago: a cafe in Brasília which was all decked out in pointsettias and red ribbons for Christmas.

We picked up our Christmas wreaths from Jeanne this morning: her school was selling them, and I bought two plus one for a neighbor.  Quite nice.

Now we need some cold weather and sun to make this winter season work....

More later.

Saturday Photo: What Happens to Cuba's Health System after Fidel's Death?

Thinking about Fidel Castro's death: Three years ago exactly I was in Brasília, doing research for my book Road through Time. The top floor of the hotel where I was staying was taken over by Portuguese classes for about 40 Cuban doctors, come to work in the Brazilian hinterland on some sort of cooperative program.

Seemed passing strange to me.  So I asked about this, and I was told by Brazilians that their doctors didn't like to work in the bush, and so their health system depended on Cubans to do what amounted to Peace Corps type work in a country that to all eyes was much more prosperous.

I suspect that other parts of South America also benefited from programs of this sort. What will happen now to Cuba's really quite remarkable health system?

The photo was taken from the top floor of the hotel.  Check out the cars: definitely not what you'd see in Cuba. 

Photo: Yellow Leaves of All Sorts

The leaves of all sorts are off the trees.  This Tuesday will be the last pick-up of garden trimmings too.  After this, the snow is supposed to come.  So be prepared....

Saturday Photo: After a Very Dark Week, Looking for the Light

Last Sunday we celebrated birthdays--Elin's, Lee's and mine--because it was one day we all could get together.  It was great fun, and I was very pleased that Lukas and Sophie had taken my suggestion and got me Leonard Cohen's new CD You Want It Darker.  

On Tuesday I listened to part of it in the car on my way to a book discussion club, before the results began coming in on the horrendous 2016 presidential election.  On Thursday, still shaken from the election returns, I listened to the rest coming back from another book discussion.  I also thought of the fabulous sunset we had had that afternoon--bands of clouds and reds and purples that rivaled the last of the fall's leaves.  What I didn't think, was that this could be viewed as an example of that Cohen line: "There's a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in.  

And then the news came on Friday  that Cohen had died on Monday and had been buried on Thursday afternoon in Montreal.   I don't know what his politics were--probably fairly leftish--but I can't imagine that he would have been pleased with the Trump election.  Perhaps it was better that he died before the results were in.  But certainly, those with a mystical bent might see in the sunset on Thursday a glimpse of light that we all hope lies on the other side of the future.

The photo, taken this summer, is of the gates to the Shaar Hashomayim cemetery where Cohen was buried, a place a beauty and peace.  The sun is out this morning, so I'm looking for the light to guide my way.

Saturday Photo: Klimt Weather

Didn't have a camera with me, so you'll have to believe me: yesterday was a marvelous Klimt-coloured afternoon. Looking up de Maisonneuve toward the Quartier de Spéctacles, the trees on the median glowed yellow, gold and orange,below gray buildings and blue skies. Then in my neighborhood, the only leaves still on the trees were the same glittering mixture of colour, made even more lovely by a light breeze which made each leaf dance. Simply gorgeous.

Here's an idea of the colour, from an old photo that gives a bit of the effect.  And also one of the master's golden works.

Saturday Photo: Quoth the Raven, Nevermore!

Katrina and Mike, a young couple up the street, are extremely creative.  She has a high end couterière shop, making marvelous dresses.  He has a vegan restaurant that is supposed to be the best in town.  They're also parents to a sweet little sprite, Victoria, and they decorate their house for special occasions with great class.

This is what began this year's Halloween display: a pumpkin and a stuffed crow.  By the end of the week it looked like the pesky squirrels had discovered it, and had begun to gnaw at the pumpkin, but who cares?

Not I, certainly.  The combination of taxidermy and agriculture is simply delightful. 

Saturday Photo (Very Late): Fall Afternoon

This was taken about a week ago, before we had three days of hard ran. The leaves which had not turned colour, did so during the storm, and many of those who had are no carpeting the grass.

Fall is a lovely season. 

Saturday Photo: The Turning of the Leaves

This morning it's gray, but until today we've had a great run of marvelous weather.  Last weekend's rain pushed the leaves into glorious colour, and then the sun came out.

Yesterday I chatted with a couple of Argentine guys, out for a ride on Bixis.  The colours on the mountain, they said, were unbelieveable.

Yes, it's that time of year when the world seems to explode with reds, oranges, yellows and golds.  Simply spectacular!

Saturday Photo: Something Different, Only I Can See My Grandkids Loving This

Pretty terrific, don't you think!

Saturday Photo: Asters in Bloom

The front yard is full of asters right now. They're the last flowers to bloom, and this year, while there were a lot of buds, they didn't seem to be in any hurry to flower.

But the right combination of day length and rainfall arrived this week and now we have billows of flowers.

A reward for making it through the hot, muggy days to arrive at the other side....