Suzanne Stengl's Blog, page 10

Jigsaw Puzzling

I’m looking for inspiration and I think I might find it if I can get lost in a jigsaw puzzle.

When the Muse has deserted you, you go and look for her. Although with all the changes in my life lately, she may be hiding for a while.

One friend suggested a funny movie and a good Merlot. This works, although the effects are transitory. I return to the keyboard and nothing comes out of my fingers. So I am trying jigsaw puzzles. Maybe immersing my mind in a jigsaw puzzle will loosen up my brain.

There is something about snicking those little pieces into place. Something that is good for the soul. It may not free up my writing muscles, but it is relaxing.

I started working on the coffee table in the living room. This is just a 300-piece puzzle and it fit the space nicely.
I was with a friend when I bought it. She commented that she wanted to get an “adult” puzzle—meaning one with more pieces.

“Adult?” I said. “What’s wrong with this? It’s a pretty picture and the pieces are large and sturdy.”

Besides, I’m not looking for Hard. I’m looking for Doable and Distracting.

After the 300-piece was finished, I got a 500-piece. And the pieces started dropping off the edge of the coffee table. So, Rolf made this “puzzle board” to fit on top of the coffee table.
The Puzzle Board has edges so the pieces cannot go astray. That’s kind of comforting, knowing all your pieces are there and not in danger of disappearing.

The back of the board is covered in vinyl so it does not scratch the coffee table underneath.
Do you like jigsaw puzzles? Do you equate a large number of pieces with being adult-like? What if you are a tired adult and only need 300 pieces?

orange puzzle piece from bigstockphoto.com #15892556

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Book Quotes

I need your help with a quote and I’m sure one of you will remember the quote I’m looking for.

Rolf is busy sorting our bookshelves. We have hundreds of books, and every once in a while, he wants to cull.

Just because I haven’t reread a book in a few years does not mean I want to get rid of it. Even if I never read that book again, there is something about seeing it there, lined up with all my other books.

For one thing, I like being my own personal library. For another, I like it when my kids (adults) come home and find a book they used to read. They pull it off the shelves and flip through the pages, as if they are saying hello to an old friend.

Of course there are books we outgrow. Usually they are how-to books. How to cook without fat. How to cook without sugar. How to cook without cooking. Fad books. And, sometimes, even those books are worth keeping, as a way of measuring how we are no longer influenced by the current hype.

From Webster’s —

But the other books? Why do we keep them?

To remember the pleasure we had when we were inside that story? To remember where we were in our lives at the time we read that book? To have those books available for others to find and perhaps borrow, so that we can both know that story and talk about it?

I remember reading a quote somewhere that answered this for me. Do you know the quote I’m talking about?

Even if you don’t remember that specific quote, tell me your favourite quote that has to do with books and reading. I want to collect a whole bunch of book quotes and keep them here.

Some of my favourite quotes about books

“Books are a uniquely portable magic.”
— Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

 “Books are for people who wish they were somewhere else.”
— Mark Twain

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
— Dr. Seuss, I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!

Now tell me your favourites.

And I really hope one of you remembers the quote about keeping books.

library from bigstockphoto.com #101638283

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20 things this writer is grateful for

Today is Thanksgiving Day in Canada and I am grateful for all the important things in my life.

Things like:

family all together around the table
with good health
with good jobs and prospects,  
and with good attitudes.

As a writer, I am also grateful for the writerly indulgences I have in my life. I have more than quill and inkpot, more than just pencil and paper. And I appreciate that.

So for this Thanksgiving, I made a list of 20 things I am especially grateful for in my writing world.

Writer groups
Writer friends
My quiet office
Scrivener
The library
My bulletin board
Three Act Structure
Enya
The Chicago Manual of Style
My ergonomic keyboard
Whole milk lattes
Two monitors
My bench in the backyard
A really bright ceiling light
My favourite mug
Monday mornings
Crystal sun catchers
Story boards
Rainy days
Long walks

Do you have a list of things you appreciate this Thanksgiving?
If you’re a writer, what would you add to my list?

acorn and oak leaves from bigstockphoto.com #52093915

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Thanksgiving Dinner, a day early

Today I am grateful for family, turkey, dogs and the kitten.

First, the family. Eight of us sat around the table downstairs and feasted on turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, yams and pecans, carrots, celery and tomatoes. There was also cranberry punch and asparagus from Thamesville.

For dessert, there was pie and cake.

Sarah and Brendan’s pumpkin cheesecake, Ryan & Liz’s rhubarb and strawberry pie, and Carol’s mini lemon-cashew pies with blueberry sauce. All accompanied with herbal cinnamon tea, decafe coffee and homemade Port.

The turkey was a happy, free range, juicy turkey carved by our on-site chef. (How many families get an on-site chef?)

And finally, there were the pets. Makita was there, an eighty pound Labradoodle. Makita is usually the only pet to show up. Today, we also hosted Jameson, a long-haired Dachshund.

This a Jameson, a Real lap dog.

This is Makita, a Pretend lap dog.

And we had Ollie, the rescue kitten. I was bit concerned that the kitten would have a problem with the two dogs. Not so. That little ball of fur knows how to take care of himself.

And this is Ollie.

 

turkey from bigstockphoto.com #6379720

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Our New Furnace

We won’t be cold this winter. And since the foothills of the Rockies see extreme weather, that’s a good thing.

Our old furnace has been maintained and repaired over the years. It’s not that it was doing a bad job, but since we’ve had it for almost forty years, we figured it might be time to get a new one. We also figured it was better to replace it now in the warm days of October rather than waiting for it to fail on a freezing day next February. So yesterday, we got our new furnace.

This is our old furnace.

This is our new high-efficiency furnace.

It’s half the size, produces more heat than the old furnace, and uses less energy. Plus we got a new humidifier, thermostat and carbon monoxide detectors. The installers tell us our new furnace is 93% efficient. They also tell us the old furnace was 76% efficient. It will be interesting to compare natural gas bills for this winter over last year’s numbers.

It took two installers a whole day to complete the installation, carting out the old, bringing in the new, hooking it all up, adding new pipes and venting, and establishing a drain for the water condensation that is a by-product of high-efficiency furnaces.

Since the installation, we’ve noticed that this thing runs very quietly and the house has a more even heat.

It’s a warm autumn this year. Usually we’ve had at least one snowfall by the end of September, but not this year. And not only that, the temperatures have only dropped below freezing on a couple of nights. I still bring in my planters if frost is predicted and, so far, we still have blooms.

So today I’m feeling gratitude for our brand new furnace and the warmth it promises. And I’m also feeling gratitude for these blooms.

Bigstockphoto.com #81957890

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When life gives you lemons

I haven’t been a regular here for a time. A funeral in August, another in September. Both unexpected. But then, thankfully, we rarely do expect them.

I grew up in a farming community in Southwestern Ontario. Now I live in Calgary, two thousand miles away.

I am blessed with lots of family that still live in the area. And then there are all the friends.

My late brother and late father had lots of friends. They show up and offer sympathy and support. They write interesting anecdotes on the funeral home’s Condolences Page. They send emails. They send flowers and donate to favourite charities.

In a very short period of time, family and friends and funeral directors help us to put together a Celebration of Life. Eulogies are written. People speak about our loved ones and surprise us with stories we’ve never heard.

The waitress in the small town gives me breakfast on the house. Someone else buys dinner for me and all my sisters.

Family shows up from everywhere. It turns into a photo op. My family does an annual family reunion but funerals are another kind of family reunion. Some of our best photo album pictures come from funerals. After all, when you are from a huge family, it’s hard to get everyone together. So we take those pictures and keep those memories.

It is a time for goodbyes, and reconnections.

After it’s all over, the sadness lingers and spikes, sometimes when we least expect it. But I have been to enough funerals in my life to know that the sharp feelings will lessen. The ache will pass. Life will go on. I know it will take time to say goodbye but life is for the living.

So.

Thanksgiving is celebrated on next Monday in Canada. Many people have the turkey dinner on Sunday and then just kick back on the holiday Monday.

I have much to be thankful for and I am going to focus on the good things. In fact, I am challenging myself to write a Gratitude blog for the next few days.

Today, I am grateful for the sunshine, the coloured leaves of autumn, and the love of family and friends.

When life gives you lemons, add sweet tea.

Lemons from Bigstockphoto.com #101320991 and 44177782

 

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Denman and Hornby

The leaves in Calgary are changing to gold. No frost yet and, so far, none in the forecast.  Of course, it’s still technically summer until the twenty-first. And I’ve heard predictions that we’ll get a very warm autumn.  That would be nice.

This past July, we spent over three weeks in British Columbia.

On July 4, we left Horseshoe Bay on the mainland , taking the BC Ferries ship called “Coastal Renaissance” and landing 90 minutes later at the terminal in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island.

From there we drove north to Courtenay to stock up on groceries. Then we headed back down the island to Buckley Bay where we caught another ferry, a much smaller one, which delivered us to Denman Island where we stayed for a week. During that time we visited Hornby Island twice.

Denman and Hornby are two small islands on the east side of Vancouver Island.

Vancouver Island with Denman and Hornby in the circle

Denman and Hornby

Our son (Ryan) and daughter-in-law (Liz) and their Labradoodle (Makita) joined us on Denman. They were coming from further north on Vancouver Island where they had spent a week at Nootka Sound salmon fishing.

We stayed in a little cottage and, with a five minute walk through the trees, we could be at the ocean shore.

nighttime on the deck of the cottage

Denman Island is about 19 square miles and home to approximately 1000 year round residents. Tiny  Denman Village is made up of a general store, a bookstore, a couple of cafes, a hardware store, some craft stores, a library, a church, a school, a community hall and a post office.

Hornby Island is a bit smaller, about 11 square miles, and also has about 1000 year round residents. During the summer months, the population can swell to 5000.

The people who live full time on these islands are farmers, crafts people, artists, potters, writers, retirees and others looking for a laid-back lifestyle.

~ Walking around the “downtown” on a warm summer’s day ~

While exploring the island, we visited a vineyard. The farmer was out with her vines so she left this note.

We called her, she returned and invited us inside to taste some wine, and I bought three bottles of the Sandy Island White.

On Wednesdays, there’s a Farmers Market on Hornby Island so we took the ferry across.

 

 

 

Makita watching the ferry’s progress on the short trip to Hornby Island.

 

 

 

 

~ Approaching Hornby Island ferry dock ~

The market is in a treed area with a huge array of stalls selling muffins, jams, vegetables, jewelry, clothing, wine, massage, pottery and more. After the market, we went into “downtown Hornby”  to one of the restaurants.

~ Watermelon, cucumber, feta, mint and spices ~

~ A wrap of avocado, romaine, red onion, cucumber and hummus ~

Later we walked down to Tribune Bay.

Tribune Bay, on the south side of Hornby, has a white sandy beach and warm, shallow waters.

Still later we ended up at the Cardboard House Bakery for some blueberry sour cream pie.

That’s Makita hiding in the shade of the picnic table.

The next day, we went back to Hornby using Ryan and Liz’s boat.

~ Makita in her life jacket ~

We anchored in Tribune Bay for some swimming. This is me with Makita. We both like swimming but I think she prefers fresh water over the salty seas.

Then we motored over to Ford Cove for fish and chips.

Here I am relaxing on the boat.

There’s a public boat launch at Bill Mee Park on Denman.

Liz is lining up the boat and Ryan will secure it  to the trailer.

While Ryan and Rolf went fishing, Liz and I relaxed at the cottage. Liz (an artist, as well as an engineer) did some painting. I did some writing. And we both worked on this jigsaw puzzle which reminds me of Tribune Bay.

On Saturday, it was time to leave Denman. We said goodbye to Ryan and Liz and Makita. They headed back to Calgary and we were going up island to Campbell River.

It started to rain that morning, a very welcome rain considering the island (and much of the west coast) had been experiencing drought. The Denman Island Farmers Market is on Saturday so we stopped in before we left.

As I wandered around with my umbrella, I bought a hand woven dish towel and another bar of homemade soap. I also had a cup of steaming hot coffee and the best rhubarb coffee cake I’ve ever tasted.

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Daylilies

I grew up on a mixed farm in Southwestern Ontario.

My dad rotated crops of corn, wheat, beans and occasionally sunflowers. My mother grew a garden of carrots, asparagus, string beans, leaf lettuce and a few tomato plants. There was a flower garden right in front of the living room windows with lots of petunias and morning glories. Mom used to put strings in front of the windows and “train” the morning glories to climb.

One year I saw her sprinkle morning glory seeds at the base of an upright juniper beside the lane. The morning glories topped the trees by the end of the season.

Everything grows well in the rich soil of Southwestern Ontario. Across the road, a few yards away from our lane, there was a ditch filled with orange daylilies. They are not technically wildflowers, but somehow they got started there. Since they are very hardy, they don’t need a lot of care. They manage to survive the intense heat of the summer even if there is little rain. They’re not fussy about the soil and the bugs don’t seem to bother them. And they bloom from early spring until the frost comes in the fall.

Notice that is one word. Daylilies.

The scientific name for these flowers is Hemerocallis. This comes from the Greek words hemera (day) and kallos (beauty). An appropriate name, since these perennials only bloom for a day, opening in the early morning sun and withering by nightfall.

Although they look like lilies, they are not of the lily family. True lilies grow from bulbs and daylilies have tuberous rootstocks. And, of course, the cut blooms of real lilies can last a week or more.

As children, we would pick bunches of daylilies and bring them home where they sat in mason jars and wilted by nightfall. Still, we kept picking them and our mother kept putting them in jars.
Also across the road, and down about a quarter mile, was another farm where the bachelor Gordon lived. He was a soldier from WWII who had taken up farming, and like many farmers, he supplemented his income by working at the steel factory in the city about 30 miles away. He didn’t have a phone so if the factory needed to get a message to him, they phoned our farm and one of my brothers or sisters delivered the message.

Every Christmas, the factory gave him a huge turkey. Since he lived alone, he gave the turkey to my mother and she cooked it and invited him to dinner.

Gordon also had a pear tree—a single pear tree that stood in the middle of a field. He must have liked that pear tree because he drove his tractor around it as he worked the land. Each October, that tree produced the most beautiful yellow pears I have ever seen. We would go across the road and bring back bushel baskets of the pears. We ate a lot of them and my mother canned some.
I was back in the area this summer, and I drove past the old farm. The pear tree is gone. Maybe because the new owner didn’t like the inefficiency of driving around that single tree. Or maybe the tree died.

But in the ditch, although not as abundant as I remember, the daylilies are still there.

Daylilies from MorgueFile
Mason jars from Bigstockphoto #9102760
Pears from Bigstockphoto#98820719
Daylilies from Bigstockphoto #95722331

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The Hot Sardines

A little musical interlude for today’s Tuesday Café.

 

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Checking in

Well look at this. It’s the end of June and I’ve been delinquent with my blog. But I have been busy.

First of all, I am writing a lot. It’s a Christmas book, set in a blizzard. And last week, Calgary was 30+ Celsius (86 Fahrenheit). So it was difficult trying to imagine coldness.

imagining coldness for a Christmas story

We’ve got a bit of rain predicted now so the temperature is more tolerable. I’m humming Christmas Carols as I go through my day, and the story is working itself out.

The second reason for my absence: I’ve been working on another blog.

It’s for my primary hero, hubby Rolf. He’s just finished bicycling around Lake Michigan. Along the way, he took pictures on his phone, typed a story out on that tiny keyboard and sent it to me. I put it into WordPress. You can have a look if you’re interested: www.rolfstengl.com

He’s back in Calgary now. I picked him up at the airport on Friday night. We had a Welcome Home BBQ on Saturday and it’s great to have him home.

And the third reason for my absence? I think it has something to do with not having a specific day of the week to be here.

Remember when I used to call this blog Tuesday Café and I actually showed up every Tuesday? I did that for a solid 4 years and then last March,  I decided to be more flexible. I also changed the name of the blog to the Chimes Café but most people still refer to it as Tuesday Café – whether or not I blog on the Tuesday. I supposed it doesn’t matter. Tuesday is a name. It’s doesn’t mean I can’t post on a Sunday if there’s something I want to say on a Sunday.

So I’ve decided to be Tuesday Café again and to try to post every Tuesday. I still might not be here every single Tuesday, but it’s a goal.  

So that’s where I’m at. I hope your summer is what you want it to be – calm and relaxing, or off the beaten path and adventurous.  

I prefer a summer of calm and relaxing.

imagining cold from iStockphoto #000019131823
bicycle gears and chain from thinkstockphotos #83113308
coffee from iStockphoto #000024767120

 

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