I've been very lax at updating either LJ or DW recently. Because of the recent LJ changes, I'm trying to move lock, stock and barrel to DW. At present, I don't intend to delete my LJ, but may change my mind on that. I think I've subscribed to all of my LJ friends who have DW accounts, at least those who are using the same names in both. If you are on DW and we are not friends there, please drop me a note.

I am going to unfriend folks on LJ who are now using DW and only cross posting to LJ to cut down on duplicate feeds. If I unfriend you and we are not friends on DW, please drop me a note.

This entry was originally posted at http://xinef.dreamwidth.org/936844.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

I am going to switch to DW as my main posting platform. For the time being, I will cross-post to LJ and will continue to check my LJ friends' page. If you are on DW and we aren't friends there, please send me a friend request.

I am going to switch to using DW as my main posting platform. I will cross-post to LJ for the time being and will continue to check my LJ friends' page. If we are friends on LJ but not on DW, please send me a DW friend request.

This is worrying:

"Also, users can no longer browse and read LiveJournal over an encrypted (HTTPS) connection; going to https://www.livejournal.com redirects the user to the insecure site."
"LiveJournal represents social media without borders." | MetaFilter

Took my sister to the airport early this morning. She arrived on Dec 13, so had a nice long visit. Mostly stayed down at my parents' place, but saw her a few times.

Our elder son was home for just over two weeks, went back to the UK Wed evening.

So, all of the overseas visitors have departed. The Christmas tree was dismantled before Colin left. All that is left to do is to take a picture of the completed jigsaw puzzle and put it away to be donated to someone else to have fun with.

It was a good Christmas season. Quiet but with lots of visits with friends and family.

I've neglected my LJ account of late. No real news to report, life goes on much as it has for the past few years! I can't get LJ to show me my Photostream, so will post photos of recent finishes later, when LJ decides to cooperate.

Merry Christmas to those who are celebrating it today. Happy Hanukkah to those who are celebrating that festival.

Happy thanksgiving today to all who are celebrating it. May you have a wonderful day with family and/or friends.

For me, I like US Thanksgiving because it gives me two really quiet work days!

Wonderful week away. Destination was Quebec City. We went by way of Laval so that Andrew could take a look at the places he'd lived there as a child. Spent one night there, then headed to Quebec City the next day, arriving around noon. Checked into our hotel and headed out in the light rain (on and off all afternoon) to wander around the old city. The rain was a nuisance but didn't slow us down much. We grabbed a quick bite of lunch (poutine!) and went to the Musee des Forts, a light and media show of the history of Quebec City. Looked through the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity and into Notre Dame. Then made our way down to the lower city and wandered around there. Found myself a new purse. Had been looking for quite a while, but nothing had met my basic requirements up to this point. (Happy with it so far.) Back up and returned to our hotel around the time that the shops closed. Simple meal at the hotel bar and a quiet evening. Monday was a beautiful day. We did a tour of the Citadelle and got some wonderful views across and up the river. The fall colours on the hills were gorgeous. Past peak, but still lots of yellow, orange and red. Bought a new umbrella with a very pretty poppy pattern. From there, we went to the Plains of Abraham park. No tours at this time of year, so we picked up a park brochure and wandered. Then decided to take advantage of the great weather and drive up to Montmorency Falls. Back to the hotel and found a nearby restaurant for dinner. Tuesday was another wet day. Walked to the Museum of Civilization in the lower city, getting quite wet by the time we arrived. Got tickets for the VR show in the Libraries at Night exhibit - great fun, VR headsets giving tours of 10 libraries around the world. Wandered around the museum for a while, including getting a bite of lunch. Then up the funicular to the old town. Stopped in a medieval store we'd spotted earlier, and I got a cool blouse with accompanying jewelry. Dinner at the very nice restaurant at the hotel, avoiding the need to go out in the rain. Good prime rib. Departed Quebec Wed am, good weather, heading to Saint-Lazare airport, where Andrew met a friend to see his plane, and from there, to Ottawa. Quick dinner at the St. Laurent mall, and another quiet evening. Thursday was another wet day. Took a city bus to Parliament Hill and signed up for a tour. Had a bit of a wait, so Andrew dropped by the COPA offices to say hi (Canadian Owners and Pilots Assoc). Then did the tour. Getting past security was almost as long as the tour itself. Oh well, tour was great. We then got seats in the Visitor's Gallery and watch some debate, some announcements and part of Question Period (ie a lot of pointed or non-questions and a lot of round-about or non-answers). From there, walked to the War Museum and saw an exhibit on WWI aviation. Then a taxi to the Byward Market (my feet were sore and I didn't want to walk that far in the rain). Met friends for dinner and got a lift back to our hotel. Home on Friday, miserable drive in the rain. Stopped at The Big Apple just off the 401. We'd passed it many times but this was our first time stopping. Got a quick lunch and bought a pie to take home. Home in time for dinner.

Shell Game 2, designed by Debbie Rowley. I love the shells on this pattern. They are stitched, but really look like shells.

It was a good long weekend. Too much of it spent indoors, but enough outside to be good. Weather was just about perfect. Mostly sunny (no rain at least) and temps in the low to mid 20s (C).

Saturday, my younger son and I rented a van and drove down to Niagara-on-the-Lake to pick up a couple of couches from my parents. Had a nice, albeit brief, visit with them then returned home, dropped off the couches and returned the van. Picked up libations (beer and cider) on the way home. Spent the rest of the afternoon tidying up the basement. We have a couple of events next month and need to have the basement at least functional (rather than a messy storage area) by then. Made a Guinness Ginger cake for Sunday evening. Caught up on the Marvel Agents of Shield season closer.

Sunday am, went to church, as usual. Then more tidying. Put a bunch of things out at the curb, all but one gone by Monday morning. Also filled 4 garbage bags (this is an exception week, thus the focus on tidying the basement and getting as much garbage out as possible). Fresh hamburgers (BBQ'd) for dinner. Then we went over to a friend's place for a bonfire. Fun evening. The cake was appreciated. We did bring some home, but not much.

Monday, Andrew went off to work on the plane. I went by the garden centre and picked up some plants. Our front garden doesn't get much sun, and the front bed gets NO direct sunlight, so is a bit of a challenge. We have a bleeding heart that thrives there, so I got a second one. Also got some salvia, a full-shade hosta, an iris and some more forget-me-nots. For the bed under the crab apple tree, which does get some sunlight, got a couple of mixed-shade hostas and some periwinkles. We'll see how they all do. Had my mother-in-law over for dinner - BBQ'd salmon, garlic mashed potatoes and salad. She provided home-made apple pie for dessert.

And I even managed to get a little bit of stitching done!

Note, I haven't read these books, but they look interesting.
http://www.cassandraleuthold.com/giveaways/free-kindle-giveaway/?lucky=1

Two recent finishes. Both gifts and both have been received so ok to post. Note, bad language warning re both of these pieces.

( photos behind the cutCollapse )

Prelude to Peace, designed by Jim Wurth. Finished today. A few minor changes from the chart.

Prelude to Peace, designed by Jim Wurth. Kit was a Christmas present from my husband. I started it just before the New Year. Some parts left to fill in, plus the visible canvas background in the inner diamonds.

Prelude to Peace, designed by Jim Wurth. Kit was a Christmas present from my husband. I started it just before the New Year. Love the way it is coming along.

Merry Christmas to all.

Pattern by Dianne Herrmann. Started Nov 21, finished Dec 20. The beads in the "foam" sparkle much more in real life than in the photo. Plan is to get this framed some time in the new year and put it up on a wall.

Finished Nov 19, 2015. The bulk of the work on this was done by my friend, Linda Marcellus (now Linda Jackman), between 1989 and 1998. For various reasons, it was obvious that she wasn't going to finish it, so I offered to do so. I completed the back stitching and added a few missing cross stitches and will be returning the finished piece for her daughter.

"When you teach a man to hate and fear his brother, when you teach that he is a lesser man because of his color or his beliefs or the policies he pursues, when you teach that those who differ from you threaten your freedom or your job or your family, then you also learn to confront others not as fellow citizens but as enemies, to be met not with cooperation but with conquest; to be subjugated and mastered. We learn, at the last, to look at our brothers as aliens, men with whom we share a city, but not a community; men bound to us in common dwelling, but not in common effort. We learn to share only a common fear, only a common desire to retreat from each other, only a common impulse to meet disagreement with force."
- Robert F. Kennedy, 1925 - 1968, "On the Mindless Menace of Violence" speech (5 April 1968)

I will take time off work today to watch the Remembrance Day ceremonies in Ottawa as I do every year if possible.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.


In Flanders Fields
By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Army

IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Some really good observations made in this blog post. In many areas, esp urban, voters don't seem to care if the candidate was born in Canada or if English is their native language or what their religion is. What matters is their party and their stance on the issues.

Differences between US and Canadian elections - Experiencing Technical Difficulties

When I Fall in Love by Lynn Kurland.

Yes, this is out of order. I'll do #5 soon. I finished this book July 27. The last of the Lynn Kurland's that I have on hand.

I really enjoyed this book. The main female character, Jennifer, knows about time travel since her two sisters have both married medieval men and are living with them in the modern day. She unexpectedly steps on a time gate and gets transported back to medieval times. Nicholas de Piaget, whom she'd been discussing in a historical context just the day before, rescues her. They are immediately attracted to each other, but worried about the implications. She doesn't realize he knows about time travel and he wants her to fall in love with him and not want to go back home to the future. As always, it ends up settled in the end. One thing I really liked about this book is that it continues after the happy denoument. So we get to learn a bit about their lives after that. That gave me more of a "complete" feeling when I finished the book.

Sorry this is the last one I have available to me. Will have to go searching for the remaining books in the series.

http://www.hotchicksdigsmartmen.com/p/its-that-time-of-year-time-for-fifth.html

A Garden in the Rain by Lynn Kurland

This one is a bit different from earlier books I've read in this series. It starts with both characters in the modern day. I realized from other books, including ones later in the series, that the hero, Patrick, was actually from medieval times but had been living in the modern day for a few years. This becomes obvious not too far into the book. The heroine, Madelyn, is from the modern day. She's figured out that there is something that doesn't quite add up about Patrick, to whom she was quite attracted after the first few rocky meetings. Then she steps through one of the time gates, without realizing it. Patrick manages to follow her, eventually, and rescues her. They get back to the modern day, have a few more adventures there and, as expected, end up happily married.

Some of the fun bits of this novel - I loved the phantom piper who shows up a number of times in modern day and Madelyn then meets in person when she's shifted back in time. Nice guy. The couple are forced to marry, not exactly against either of their wills, in medieval times, and this makes for some interesting discussions later with her parents, esp since the wedding was in Latin.

I enjoyed this one a bit more than the last couple I read recently. Two more to go in my recent "catch", then I have to go "fishing" to find more.