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Part of the context for these images is that, as part of my ongoing resolution to slowly shed what I no longer want taking up space in my house and in my mind, I have been listening to some cassette tapes! in preparation for throwing them away. They sound terrible, by the way. I am spoiled by how much sound has evolved over the years. I remember how thrilled we were by how much clearer CDs sounded in comparison, and that was already maybe 30 years ago.
Of course, I talked about this with one of my sons, who collects old records, mainly from Italy, dating back to the 1930s and 40s. Talking about the sound quality of old recordings, the conversation moved organically to Ms. Albani, who I had never heard of, and listening to a recording of her voice, which I’m sure does no justice to the beauty of her sound. Here is a selection from Handel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1d5FjYZMcLs
According to her obituary, she was from Quebec and was highly regarded in her day, including by Queen Victoria!
So many of us hold on to stuff that makes no logical sense. What are you struggling to get rid of? – Maria
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Well, it’s not much of a smile, but I had just given birth to my sweet darling daughter. As you know if you have done it, or been through it with someone who has, having a baby is exhausting! However, the overwhelming love, the forever bond, I felt for this little bundle, the joy to finally be holding her, meant that I could smile even though I was tired.
What the four year old says is so true; love is often the reason why we smile even though we are tired. I think about my conscious decision often to smile at my mother as I approach her with some information, a question, or last minute reminders before I go back home. I want us to leave each other in a positive way, if possible. We are a sensitive bunch and it means a lot to both of us. In return for my effort, even though I’m tired, it is so rewarding to see her, almost like a child, smile back at me. She has a lovely smile.
When do you smile even though you’re tired? – Maria
We were thrilled last weekend to enjoy our first peach crisp of the season! I honestly feel that it tasted even better than usual because the peaches and blueberries were so fresh. I bought them from a farmer’s shop when I took a much-needed day off last week and ventured out into small town Ontario.
We love the taste of my peach crisp, which is not too sweet. I don’t want the fresh natural sweetness of the fruit to be overwhelmed, and the fruit’s cooked texture contrasts nicely with the crunchy rolled oats. I’ll be making another one next week to take advantage of Ontario peach season, which goes by so quickly.
What is your favourite fresh fruit dessert? – Maria
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Blue Rodeo is one of my favourite bands. I’m a child of the 80’s. Those were my teen years, so the music of that decade is my music: Eurythmics, The Bangles, The Police, The Parachute Club, Bryan Adams. But Blue Rodeo has always been the number one throughout. I have seen the band perform about 20 times. The first concert was in 1987, after the release of their first album “Outskirts”, at the Forum Amphitheatre. I watched them play live 4 times in 2 days. The concerts were free with admission to Ontario Place back then and I was smitten and became a lifelong fan. The t-shirt pictured above is a freebie I picked up a couple years later at a ceremony for their second album “Diamond Mine”. A funny story, I wore this T-shirt to their Ontario Place Forum concert a few days later. A few days after the concert there was a movie scene being filmed on my street – a man pulls up in his car, steps out and walks up to the door of the house and walks in, took over 2 hours to get right – I wore the same shirt and cut off jeans. A person in the crowd asked me if I was the one dancing on the grass area at the concert. Yes, that was me! Good memories attached to this shirt.
We all know that music can affect our mental health in positive way, it helps to “sooth our nerves”. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine listening to new music can help to trigger our creativity. The article says that instead of listening to the music or our generation ( music from our teens and early twenties, we should be listening to our kids music or grandkids music. Listening to music that we know well helps to calm us and triggers the release of all the feel-good hormones in our body or it can bring back happy memories from days gone by. New music on the other hand, is challenging for our brains. It’s this challenging aspect that can spark our creativity in new ways.
This doesn’t mean I’ll stop listening to Blue Rodeo, but I’ve been making an effort to listen to new music by finding new playlists and new artists.
Who is your favourite artist or band? – Cris
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I just finished reading The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. I picked it up at my local church book sale. The book was published in 2003, the movie came out in 2008. I enjoyed the book quite a bit. It takes place in 1964 in South Carolina just as the Civil Rights Act was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson. The movie is alright but the book is just so much better – as books usually are compared to their movies.
The story is about a young girl who is lost and feeling unloved. Lily is a 14 year old whose mother died under awful circumstances when she was just 4 years old and she is looking for answers and details about her mother’s life, something that she is not able to get from her own father. It’s a novel about finding your people, your tribe, your family outside of your birth family, your independence and self-discovery. I found the story of Lily and Rosaleen, her father’s hired help, hard to put down. I highly recommend this novel to anyone. – Cris
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