This and that - here and there....

The days go by.  I mean to post on what is happening in my life butI find it is either one of two things that deter me.  Either I am much busier than I ever was  (I don't think so...) or I have got much, much slower at things I aim to accomplish.  (and this is probably the true state of affairs).

Thanksgiving passed by.

Did I post any pictures of the ladies busy decorating with fruit and veggies

and fall flowers so on the day of Thanksgiving the church looked like

this......

No, I did not.

Nor did I say a word about the sermon on gratefulness, the denial of anxiety
and the collapse into the joy of living, - which
I found most inspiring!

However, Monday arrived (Thanksgiving Day)
and the first concert of the week that the Berlin Philharmonic
 has devoted to the Beethoven Symphonies..

Wow - a whole week of this marvelous music at 11:00 a.m. every morning!!

I came home early from singing yesterday, to be sure I didn't miss The Pastoral

and tomorrow  it is the magnificent Ninth and the lovely choral Hymn to Joy

concluding the week.

While I have been listening and watching I have also been hemming

towels that I took off the loom last week....

This is before they went into the washing machine.

Disaster - the blue towel shed cotton all over the others.

It took me hours to pick all the blue fluff off, cutting the towels first

so I didn't have that great long yardage to deal with.

Well, then I pressed them, pinned up the hems, and now I am in the process

of hemming.  A rather slow job when I combine it with

concert watching, and I still have four to go.

Then there is the garden, and the task of pulling up the blankets and

bidding it good winter...

I have dug up all the potted lilies and dailias, and the amaryllis

who spent the summer potted and providing greenery amongst the 

varigated zinnias.  I will re-pot them and put them away in the cool

darkness of the garage for six weeks, then bring them out and

on their way to glory in the middle of winter.

Today I seeded all the silver dollars (Luneria)

and have a lovely bouquet to put with the dried Chinese Lanterns.

When I get weary I read a bit.  Finished "I heard the Owl Call My Name"

and always as I come to the end I am in tears....

I am just starting 'Hold Still' by Sally Mann.

It says on the back...

"Hold Still" is a wild ride of a memoir.  Visceral and visionary.  

Fiercely beautiful.  My kind of true adventure.

PATTI  SMITH

And it quotes W.H. Auden on the forward page

"The steady eyes of the crow and the camera's candid eye

See as honestly as they know how, but they lie."

Perceptive of course - so much lies beneath.

I am looking forward to reading it.

But first, after I watch the concert tomorrow - or maybe before if I get up early enough....

I have two lemon slices to make and a couple of dozen cookies.

One lemon slice for a sad funeral, and the other baking

for the Museum and Royal Purple tables at the annual

Taste of the Valley that the village sponsors to provide an

opportunity for farmers and vineyards and community organizations

to advertise a little.

Well, that's my this and that for now, and although I know that

my dearly departed love would say 'enough, enough'

I do sleep well at night.

Charming Nelson

ABC Wednesday
October 14, 2015

The Letter is N for Nelson, British Columbia

Said by the New York Times to be the prettiest city in Canada, and

chosen for the site of numerous movies

(Roxanne, Housekeeping, Snow Falling on Cedars 

 Gold Diggers and The Secret of Bear Mountain)

Nelson, with its three hundred and fifty restored heritage buildings nestled on tree-lined streets 'creates a warm and welcoming ambiance'

The West Kootenay region of British Columbia where Nelson is situated is part of

the traditional territories of the Lakes and Kutenai peoples.

Archeology information suggests occupation of this territory for some four to five

thousand years - thousands of years of use by indigenous 

hunter-gatherers 

Gold and silver were found in the area in 1867, and then again silver was discovered at nearby Toad Mountain in 1886.  The town boomed - two railways were built to pass through Nelson. and

it soon became a transportation and distribution centre for the region.

It morphed from a false fronted boom town to a sophisticated city, and many of the granite buildings

were designed by Francis Rattenbury, an architect most noted in British Columbia for the

Parliament buildings in Victoria.

However, in the sixties and seventies Nelson's merchants, wanting to be more modern,

sheeted many of their buildings with aluminum siding!!

In the eighties, suffering a devastating economic downturn when the local

Forest Products sawmill was closed, merchants of downtown Nelson

were drawn to observe the historical restorations of the oldest areas in Vancouver

and Victoria, with great success.

Nelson quickly stripped its aluminum siding, restoring

their buildings to their original brilliance, and in the process creating the

most charming of places to live and tourist to visit,  AND in which they have

 discouraged big box stores and crowded malls.

The Courthouse

Many artists and writers make their home in Nelson and the city is highlighted as

"Number One Small Town Arts Community in Canada' by the publisher of  The 100

Best Small Arts Towns in America.

There are many festivals, exhibits, displays of artwork around town, and several outdoor markets where artisans and farmers can be found selling everything  from

local produce, poultry and eggs to handcrafted jewelry,

pottery and clothes.

Two local hiking trails are popular.  Skiing and snowboarding are primary

winter outdoor activities, and mountain biking is 

part of the local culture.  Rock climbing is also a popular

summer activity on many of the surrounding bluffs and cliffs.

During the summer months it is possible to take a ride on a piece of Nelson's heritage

that spends time moving back and forth along the waterfront.

Streetcar #23, which plied the streets of Nelson until the streetcar system

was replaced by buses in 1949,is now fully restored and carries passengers

along to the Lakeside Park.

Located on the extreme West Arm of Kootenay Lake Nelson is popular

for boating and fishing.

How to get there?  The city is approached from the west across a quite elegant bridge

and here is a map of its location.....

Many more Ns here at ABC Wednesday.

Thanks to Denise and Roger and notable helpers!!!

From the back seat.....a quick-snap posting

Thanksgiving, - and a glorious crispy, sunny day culminating in a most delicious dinner among dear ones. 

But first, that old familiar trip over the Yellow Lake Pass to Summerland....

I sat in the back seat, the better to manipulate the camera - and here are some of the things I saw....

So many blessings - so much to be thankful for!