Not Very Kafkaesque

I've never read any novels by Franz Kafka because I've never came across anything described as "Kafkaesque" that would  "spark joy" - to use a Marie Kondo expression. I'm drawn to books and movies with a positive message...

But recently - in a book on nurturing creativity - I came across a Kafka quote that actually sounded interesting. Writing about the need to be alone to nurture creativity, the author quoted Kafka:

You do not need to leave your room .... Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait. Do not even wait, be quite still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked. It has no choice. It will roll in ecstasy at your feet.

I don't know if his saying that "the world will freely offer itself to you" refers to imagination, to the solving of a problem, or to something else entirely. But the quote resonated with me because I'm one of those people who needs to spend time in solitude every day - just to clear my mind.

The Garden Erupts with Plants!

We've had lots of rain this spring...

(Or is it already summer?!)

Plants (as well as weeds) are erupting in the garden...

So I need to weed!

As I write this, irises are the tallest flowers in bloom...

... But I'm also noticing little ones, like these white flowers that might belong to the variegated ornamental grass next to the road...

My goal is to have a rim of flowers all around our yard...

But the flowers are always in competition with weeds that threaten to overwhelm them and cover them up!

My gardening war: the flowers versus the weeds... (Especially the gout weed!)

Am I Ready for "Normal Life"?!

This week I've noticed more cars on Ottawa roads and in parking lots...

Have people - who don't work from home - returned to work? Or is everyone out shopping like me?

This is the first week that dentists and optometrists are open in Ontario. Spas have opened. Barbershops and beauty salons open this weekend. Sidewalk cafes as well, I think.

This past week I had two scheduled medical appointments - appointments made long before Covid-19 social distancing began.

Should I keep them? Am I ready to sit in a crowded waiting room? I wondered...

I ended up going to my annual eye check up at a large optical clinic, but cancelling the scheduled dental cleaning. In the eye care clinic, the waiting rooms had been re-configured so chairs were two meters apart. We had also been told to wear masks.

Is this your first day open? I asked.

We were open all along for eye emergencies, the assistant replied. But this is our first day accepting non-emergency patients.

While at the clinic, I read the news on my Iphone. New Zealand had just stopped all isolation and life there was back to "normal"...

It was encouraging to think that "normal" might come sooner than I think. Will it take months - rather than years - to feel safe doing the things we've always done without wearing masks and worrying about washing our hands or touching our faces?!

I think that, when the time comes, it will take me a while to get used to "normal" again. But it will be wonderful not to live in fear!

Clear the Counter...!

I tore this page out of a magazine because I liked the quilted cushions.

Recently I came across the page again - but this time I also read the article...

The easiest way to make your house look tidy is to clear off the counters, the article suggested...

I decided to give it a try... The article said that the task should take about 10 minutes!

My attempt to clear the kitchen counter took considerably longer than that!!

But I'm not going to stop...

There are a lot of table tops, bureau tops and desk tops in the house to clear... My new goal is to organize them all!

Trying to Remember the Busy Years!

One of my current projects involves organizing photos from the "busy years" - the years I had no time to date photos after developing them.

My kids were teenagers, transitioning from high school to university and college...

They took trips with sports teams and with friends... I sent them off with disposable cameras, then developed their photos.

We looked at the photos, talked about them - then put them away to organize later!

Now, all these years later, I want to do it!

After finishing a program at Algonquin College, one of my sons headed to Russia for a memorable vacation in Moscow with a friend who was born there...

Not long after that, he he moved to Banff to work for a year...

What year was that?!

My mother moved to Ottawa... We celebrated birthdays...

But what year was that?! It's hard to remember!

To help me sort it out, I've created a time-line of historic family moments - referring to old calendars, Christmas letters and journals.
(My memory doesn't have many dates embedded into it...)

It's been challenging - but interesting to look back and remember!

College Musings

Our neighborhood is a lot quieter now that Algonquin College is closed, as are all schools and universities in the city...

However, construction on a new college building is continuing...

Terry says it's a new gym, with stadium seating...

I wonder when crowds will be sitting in stadiums again...

Across the parking lot, barriers, blocking off part of the lot,  for some reason...

What's all that about?! What are they planning here?!

Thoughts like this fill my mind as I take my daily walks around the neighborhood.

So much has changed, in the past few months, it's nice to see some hopeful signs of progress.

Slow - But Steady - Quilting

I started this quilt at least a year ago.

It is the by-product of another blue quilt I made using scraps of shirt material...

For this one, I simply sewed left-over strips of mainly blue fabric together randomly...

It's quite long, but I'd like it to be a little wider. So I need to find fabric for a border - hopefully in my stash...

My goal is to finish it without buying any new fabric... So I need to see what "treasures" I can find in my bins...

Hopefully, there'll be something suitable in my stash.