IIDD, Moondance: Thursday, October 4th

In a world of fugitives, the person taking the opposite direction will appear to run away. -T.S. Eliot, poet (1888-1965) 

Bacchus/Dionysus

Art: Caravaggio (1571-1610)

Copyright Deborah C. Sawyer

BRA i.d. a.k.a. Hello! I'm Your Bosom Buddy!

After last year's entry in the UB Artful Bra fundraiser, I came up with several ideas for the 2012 event and eventually settled on the bra pictured. Much as with my 2011 entry, this one is a pun!

The title is: BRA i.d. - and, as the title suggests, the decorative elements are all made from braids. 

For the "i.d." of the title, I raided my copious collection of name tags from all the conferences I've attended over the years - see, it pays to keep stuff! - and made a tag saying "Hello! I'm Your Bosom Buddy!"  

Copyright Deborah C. Sawyer

Hello! I've just posted onto my blog about my 2012 entry in the Artful
Bras fundraiser for breast cancer.

You can find details at:

http://DeborahSawyerArt.blogspot.com

Please feel free to share this with anyone else you know who may have
an interest in cancer research and cures. Deborah

Patrizio! Just read your fab review - thanks so much for taking the
time! Deborah

Hi Dear landlady!

Glad to write review, with Hemmingway's help! Have been busy with VIFF volunteer duties of late! Not sure if I'll wander downtown tonight to catch a few films, Liverpool, Quebec, romantic comedy-thriller, and Twilight Portrait, Russia, "a unique feminist perspective on the rampant corruption and callousness in modern day Russia." My next shift is tomorrow, 2:00pm-7:00pm, and Cora Lee plans to join me for Barbara, Germany, about an East German doctor who finds herself exiled to a small GDR village in the summer of 1980.

Weather is still holding here so am planning another reasonably long ride before my meeting at the church later today. Cheers, Patrizzio!

Hi

Beautiful autumn morning here and have completed my modest ride testing out recent bike repairs. Have had to spend £160 over last week on repairs to cables, gears etc after the system collapsed on me 3 miles from home. Fortunately there was a long downhill path so I could free-wheel part of it with the chain looped over the crossbar. The local bike shop is somewhat ( no, very) chaotic but at least I can have a chat about say football matters with the owner who was playing locally until last year aged mid 40s.

There is so little space with all the new and second hand bikes so the pavement outside is covered with bikes too. The repairs came in two stages and had I realised the second phase of problems i might have considered putting the money towards a new bike. Riding on bridleways is Ok when it is dry but he tells me part of the problem was all the mud and grime caked into the system. Quite frankly when I come off a ride the last thing I fancy doing is cleaning the bike.

This means I shall be more circumspect where I ride over the winter.

I have also been using the road bike (laughingly called a racer) but I feel more vulnerable on it with its thin wheels and riding more on the roads.

The attached photos show last week's weather when the local playing fields on the Ings were flooded to a few feet. Much worse in York where several rivers converge into the Ouse despite flood protection improvements. There were floods all over the country ironically after the worries about droughts earlier in the year

Christine is off to the Ilkley literary festival this afternoon- quite an impressive array of speakers over the fortnight, I believe, of the festival. She is going ti see a children''s author whose work she is familiar with from teaching. I shall probably accompany her and walk around , maybe coffeeing in Betty's.

Mother is Ok in the nursing home and demanding all sorts from my sister eg a bottle of Bailey's and additional sleeping pills etc which are not allowed. We usually journey on up to Newcastle to see Laura, Ed and William and stay over helping with the feeding. So far I have avoided nappy changing duties but have splashed a bit of water about when he is in the bath.

We have booked to go to Tenerife for 10 days in late November staying in the far north east of the island just past the capital Santa Cruz. There is a long sandy beach imported from the Sahara nearby but the main reason for going there is to have a look at the Anaga mountains behind and of course to miss some of late autumn.

I have tried out my minimalist running shoes a couple of times but am still struggling with tendonitis and am trying to get by on cycling and HIT on the exercise bike with some weights and gym work. Not too keen on the yellow stripes on the shoes.

We enjoyed listening to the Ryder Cup at the week-end , one of the few times in the year when I wished I had Sky. Incredible turnaround in fortunes and gripping right to the end. Strange supporting a European team really.

Chris is watching the new series of Downton Abbey- I have given up on it and there is a rival to Spooks/MI5 about to start along with one or two costume drama series.

I acquired a new Nexus tablet the other week so I am playing around with this. The voice recognition is letting me down on anywhere other than "Wetherby". I have a few apps installed including Funbridge and even a Spanish English dictionary for the holiday. I was sold a film to protect the screen but the instructions and my dexterity were hopeless and fortunately the shop gave me the money back. Avoiding air bubbles seems a real problem and the store told me the screens are robust anyway so long as you don't mind finger smudges everywhere.

I am told lunch is prepared so I shall venture down stairs. Hope you are all fit and well. Jim

Hi James, The Mudster!

Terrific to hear from you but sorry to learn about your bicycle woes and your your nagging tendonitis. I'm sure the "coffee cure" will work miracles! Enjoyed the pictures of the the swollen river and the flooded fields. You'll need pontoons for your bike! I must say that I am far my disciplined about cleaning/oiling the chain on my new bike, on a regular basis, now that I have to pay a mortgage on it for next twenty years!!!

Weather is still holding here so am planning another reasonably long ride before my meeting at the church later today. Wasn't able to connect with The Lads. Whirlygig wanted to leave at 9:00am, RR at 11:45am, but when I suggested Horseshoe Bay he wasn't keen on the distance. Obviously, your influence, James! Fondestos to Christine. Cheers, Patrizzio!

Lads,

My only opportunity to ride is this morning, 9 – noon. Enjoy your ride later. G

Pat,George,

    Don't fancy such a long ride Pat. Probably best for you get out with George this morning.

Ray

Hi Misha!

Sorry it has taken me so long to finish the book. Have been too busy watching films instead of reading! Let me know how to get the book to you. Cheers, Patrizzio!

 

Hi Janice:

Trust that you are well. I apologize for not sending along this material sooner. No excuses but plenty of reasons. I have attached the first draft of the program so we'll probably need to discuss this in order to clarify, refine, etc. I have included the words to hymns, songs, readings, etc., more to help me and the friend doing the layout, with overall formatting. These may be some of the things we need to clarify, but it is a start. As you can see, we have decided upon having only one hymn, the solo and a duet by close friends. This was a song that Mom was especially fond of whenever our friends played at the various gatherings we had over the years.

 

Regis Wilson

I have given some thought to your request for information on what the Church meant to Mother. Although she was raised in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the town where she lived, Rivers, was only able to have a priest visit every few months. This being the case, Mom decided to attend Sunday School with a close friend, Edith Mitchell, at the United Church where Edith's mother played the piano during services. Her affiliation with the UCC stems from those early days. In Cyprus, she attended Anglican services as that was what was available. Back in Canada, she returned, to the fold, so to speak, and renewed her membership in the United Church, joining St James and then Trinity, as you well know.

So much for the mechanics of her ecumenism! However, I'm not sure if I can describe her faith as easily. From my perspective, I think, I believe, that she found in the church a welcoming community and a prescribed way of living a good life, a Christian life, in the "traditional" sense, if I can put it that way. She was not an overly complicated person, very, very practical, if anything. In times of crisis I'm sure she found comfort in the ministry of clergy and the compassion shown by members of the congregation but I honestly think that she "weathered" most, if not all, her difficulties through her belief in simply carrying on. Because, simply put, that was what one had to do. She was certainly no stranger to death at an early age, losing three siblings, at a time when infant mortality was much higher than today. The last child to die was two years old and Mom was responsible for much of his care. His remembered death would still bring tears to her eyes whenever she recounted such family history. However, she wasn't scarred by these or other deaths or illnesses or economic setbacks. She grieved, obviously, when my Father died and left her a widow in her early fifties. But she had herself and a son to support and she soldiered on.

Priscilla

Intellectually, she was always blessed with a curious mind and I do know that she thoroughly enjoyed, looked forward to, the bible study sessions that she attended regularly, even at Broadway Lodge, until her mental faculties failed. As a practising nurse, I know she always respected the beliefs and creeds of her patients, no matter which religion they followed. To her, Christianity was but one path to a life meant to be of service and comfort and help to others, whether friends or family or strangers. She cared about the less fortunate, in good measure, I feel, because she felt she was so fortunate herself, blessed with a caring, close family and wonderful, life-long friends. She took the greatest delight in the simple joys of being alive: a sunset, a flower in someone's garden, a home-baked cookie, a gentle joke. She really didn't worry about the meaning of Life, she worried about who was going to do the housework! But such chores were not an obsession, simply tasks that needed doing and then one could play tennis or bridge or go to the symphony, all activities she enjoyed for many, many years. 
 

I hope this helps. In conclusion, I would say that Mother was a woman of faith but more of faith in the community of the church, a community of individuals gathered together to support and help one another. Cheers, Patrizzio!

Lost the big tree out front during this storm! George