1. Although I’m generally particular about my tea, brewing up my own blend of smoky black tea, I’m loving this David’s Tea caffeine-free Cinnamon Rooibos my sister gave me. Not only does it taste delicious, but it fills my office with the most comfortable spicy scent.
2. That same sister is the first one to finish the project she started on our The Family that Knits Together afternoon last Saturday. We had so much fun, and we’re planning more such knitting get-togethers. R. cast on last Saturday, quickly remembered what she’d known earlier about knitting (I believe she has at least one Cowichan-style sweater in her past), and had this gorgeous scarf (chunky wool by Fleece Artist, big needles, garter stitch, and ta-da!) finished by Tuesday. Another sister (in-law) directed her to a you-tube video for instructions on casting off, and look what she was wearing for her commute to work on Wednesday:
Not bad, eh?
3. Puglia, Italy . . . I’ll tell you soon why I’ve been searching out photos (found this one on Pinterest, couldn’t figure out who to credit) and daydreaming about Italy . . .
Meanwhile, seriously? I need a reason? To follow that road, past those beautiful blue doors. . . . ?
4. I’ve been watching my way through The Good Wife on Netflix. Doesn’t Christine Baranski make 60+ look good? And I’m so impressed by the powerful reserve of Julianna Margulies’ character, Alicia Fiorrick. So very different from my give-away face, my tendency to blurt.
5. This one might seem a bit odd, or just esoteric, to you, but I’ve been having fun building a wee compendium of Canadian poetry featuring fish. It started after a speaker I’d invited to my class cited Karen Solie’s perhaps best-known poem, “Sturgeon,” and went on to cite Tim Bowling’s “The Last Sockeye”. I made a connection between imagery in Bowling’s poem and a metaphor in Isabella Valancy Crawford’s late 19th-century “Said the Canoe.”. And it occurred to me that it might be fun to begin using the hashtag #canfishpoetry on Twitter and see if I could get some crowd-sourcing to gather a virtual anthology. I already occasionally contribute to #todayspoem, started a year or so ago by that champion of poetry, Vicki Zeigler, aka Bookgaga. So far I’ve had several other contributors although #canfishpoetry is not yet the hottest trending hashtag on Twitter. . . 😉 If you Tweet or simply perch on a branch over there, I’m @materfam — do say hello!
So, five things to round up another week, and now I’m off to find #todayspoem which must also be #canfishpoetry. After that, I’m going to see whether or not my still-sore right arm/shoulder/upper ribs will tolerate a yoga class which the rest of my body, not to mention my spirit, is badly craving. And then I’ll settle into a weekend of marking, reading, lecture-writing. . . . and perhaps some snoozing by the fire.
What will you be up to? And if I asked you to add one thing to my Five Things Friday list, what would it be? Do you have a One Good Thing this week, something you’ve enjoyed eating or listening to or watching or wearing or . . . .?
I am really enjoying Netflix. We decided to cut the cable to save $$. This week, I watched Bletchley Park which was quite interesting and The Woman in the Fifth which was not as interesting as the book.
I've got Bletchley Park on My List. We saw The Woman in the Fifth in a cinema in Paris two years ago, in French, so we probably missed some things, but we did enjoy it — presumably you read the book en français I'll have to watch for it.
We have been watching orange is the new black on Netflix. Off to Vancouver for the boat show and some lingerie shopping this weekend! Just hope our house and cat sitter can tolerate the antics and habits of our felines. They have been quite frisky lately!
Enjoy your naps by the fire.
We really enjoyed Orange/Black and look forward to the next season. Are you heading to Diane's or to Scarlet for your lingerie or do you have another favourite spot. That was one area I had to spend money after weight loss, that and replenishing my jeans. . . .
I am binge-watching Breaking Bad. However, I am not sure this is something to recommend for anyone searching for peace;). It is, on the other hand, a reassuring endorsement of the continued value of narrative in our society.
I found BB tough to watch by the 2nd or 3rd season — everyone just seems so venal or banal. Yuck! But the story-telling, it's true, is very strong, the cinematography, the acting, etc. Too much realism sometimes. . . . perhaps that's why we're watching Supernatural on Netflix now . . . 😉
Monsieur has been a "Good Wife" fan from the get-go. I've only begun watching (intermittently) the last two seasons. Problem is it's on so late here I usually fall asleep halfway through!
Ooh, are you going to Italy??? You MUST go to Venice. I know, I know, but just get off the main streets, get yourself lost in those meandering alleyways, and the magic of the place will hit you. A lot of the place seems a caricature of itself but other bits are so genuine and other-worldly and worth all of the dross.
Seriously, I can't watch anything after 10 on TV. I'm always at least a season behind most shows (exceptions: Grimm, Grey's, and now I'm caught up on Bones) and I watch on Netflix or iTunes.
We'll probably not get to Venice this trip, but we have several friends who go regularly and tell me exactly what you say. I'd like to go when we can spend perhaps a week. . . we're going in late June this year, so we'll be elbowing our way through serious crowds, malheureusement
One good thing – sunshine on Wednesday. I too have a tendency to blurt and give far too much away with my facial expression. I am sure that is why I have so many wrinkles, I do alot of face crinkling and perplexed looks. Take care of your self this weekend.
Sunshine, woot woot!
As for the facial expression, yes, and I'm always the one a speaker looks for in a crowd. I get locked into an exhausting sense of responsibility and often would much prefer the default mask of unreadability/boredom that others wear so well . . .
Hi Mater – I've been doing bits and pieces of the January Cure via Apartment Therapy and while I'm doing things like cleaning out cupboards I like to have something playing in the background. Right now my favourite, on Netflix, is the BBC series Twenty Twelve. It's a mockumentary, if you will, about putting on the London Olympics, and it's hilarious! Hugh Bonneville (Lord Grantham from Downton) is one of the actors.
Ooh – Italy!
That clean-up and organize seems such a perfect response to January. Mine are always full of getting new class dynamics working, but in my retirement I plan to be sooooo organized!
Thanks for the recommendation of Twenty Twelve — sounds like fun!
There are so many things I plan for my retirement, I probably won't have time to put them all into practice. And although being organized is definitely on the list, I am not sure it's going to make it to the top.
Where exactly in Italy are you planning to go?
As for facial expressions: I remeber an ad (I think it was "The Body Shop") saying something like: "There is a sure way to avoid wrinkles: never to smile again". Illustrated with a fotograph of Katherine Hepburn with that huge smile of hers.
I feel the same way about my eventual retirement — and about the likelihood of achieving organization, if I'm honest!
The plans for Italy are still evolving — Puglia is the only sure thing. . .
I love the notion of that ad — you can tell I've smiled a lot! 😉
I'm so impressed with that scarf, and what a beautiful colourway. Love your fish project. I'm devouring the series "Top of the Lake" made by Jane Campion, for which Elizabeth Moss just won a Golden Globe. have you seen it?
It's a gorgeous colourway, isn't it? Fleece Artist does wonderful ones as so many yarn companies do, particularly the smaller ones.
I didn't know about Top of the Lake but I will be adding it to the queue — really admire both Campion and Moss.
The Good Wife – me too, though I am a season behind. Some terrible reality show went over 5-10 minutes every Saturday night and messed up the PVR's ability to record an entire Good Wife Episode. That's alright – I'll enjoy it when everything is in repeat.
I don't know what I can add to the week. It's been a hard one, but dinner tonight at Il Terrazzo will smooth the rough places.
I'm still only in the 1st season of GW — never did sort out a PVR and rely mainly on iTunes and Netflix.
Dinner at a good spot (and I haven't been to Il Terrazzo for years, but it counts!) is such a good way to slow right down. A deep breath as you think about that first sip of a good red wine . . . . hope it helps. Take care.
We just finished Breaking Bad … Not sure what the next show we watch will be.
My things this week have been: 1. really enjoying my writing work; 2. watercolour painting (when I should be ironing); 3. sending Spouse off to London for a week; 4. getting properly back into my yoga practice; and 5. teaching my older kid to drive … Quite a week, really.
That's a busy week with some big stuff! And some clear signs of balance, I'd say. Wise you with the watercolours and the yoga. . . and isn't it great when we can enjoy our work. Have to laugh at the notion of stealing time from ironing to get time for watercolour painting — the amount of ironing I do? that would net me almost enough time to remember where my watercolours are . . .
My daughter is addicted to David's Tea – well, all tea, really – but she loves the "fun" flavours. I'm more into regular tea – black, maybe with a bit of extra excitement like lavender, ginger or rose. But tea with chocolate chips?! Mind you, we should try this flavour because I'm sure the smell is excellent.
I'm generally pretty skeptical about most of the flavoured teas, but my sister loves David's and I have to admit that this cinnamon rooibos is great! Nothing artificial added and no sweetener. And it makes my office smell crazy good. Chocolate chips, though? There's a tea with chocolate chips? That's just nuts. . . (says the woman who's drunk the same blend of Russian Caravan and Lapsang at least 3x daily for umpteen years)
oh, and I love that your daughter's already an addicted tea granny! 😉
My nomination to add to your Five Things Friday would be Bristoland, the giant Hollywood style sign which has mysteriously appeared in our neck of the woods. bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-25876228 . Seeing it just makes me smile and this afternoon my daughter and I braved the weather to climb up to the base of the letters for a closer peek. Not only did we have the place to ourselves – which surprised me given someone is bound to come and take the sign down pretty soon – but I rediscovered the fun in scrambling over boulders, shining up hillsides and generally reverting to that childish joy that comes from doing something just for the hell of it. Oh yes, and mud was involved too. Isn't it just great to get a bit messy sometimes? Ceri
I couldn't help but click through to the BBC site — it looks as if that would have been a considerable scramble to get up that slope to the letters — but yes, messy can be fun! Good for you, and this definitely qualifies as a good item to add to a week's list. Thanks!
That tea looks fantastic! I'm out of my favorite and it is really putting a damper on my afternoons when I'm working from home.
I can't wait to hear more about potential Italy plans! I will be there for a bit in June for a conference. I'm excited as I haven't been since my honeymoon back in 2010.