Summer's End

I'm looking at a charming quilted cushion with an appliqued house and two trees and the embroidered words "Home Sweet Home." Today home indeed feels sweet after a week away on vacation. Only a week, but it felt longer with several different things crammed in. Our week started in New Brunswick with a family celebration for our 40th Anniversary. It was great to be with sisters, brother, nephews and cousins. This was followed by a three day trip to a golf resort on Prince Edward Island. Two rounds of golf at challenging courses in the beautiful surroundings of the Rodd Brudenell River Resort will be remembered in the years to come. Driving, exploring the countryside and spending time visiting various relatives and friends in Nova Scotia filled the remainder of the week. It was a good week for travel - almost the end of summer. The traffic seemed moderate and people seemed relaxed. The weather has changed to be noticeably cooler (and much more to my liking) and fall is in the air.

I've Been Had!!!

I've been had by the irrepressible "Canary" who at writing group the other day told us we should all have read the wonderful poems of that famous Saskatchewan author Sarah Binks! Feeling just a little ignorant about not knowing such an icon of Canadian literature I decided to 'google' and found Sarah to have been the creation of one Paul Hiebert, a Manitoba professor who wrote a book called "Sarah Binks: The Life and Times of a Little Known Poetic Genius." I read elsewhere that Sarah, albeit unconsciously, considers the trivial a fit subject for lyricism, and we in turn find the incongruity in her work hilarious. Apparently there have been several Amazon reviews which took it for granted that Sarah was real! For myself, I haven't had such a good chuckle in ages!
Sarah Binks

Written by Paul Hiebert
Afterword by Charles Gordon

		Category: Fiction - Literary; Fiction Publisher: New Canadian Library Format: Paperback, 184 pages Pub Date: April 1995 Price: $9.95 ISBN: 978-0-7710-3453-4 (0-7710-3453-9)

ABOUT THIS BOOK

Paul Hiebert’s critical biography of the wholly mythical but irrepressible and irresistible Sarah Binks, “the Sweet Songstress of Saskatchewan,” who gave her life to poetry and died a martyr to the muse, is a hilarious analysis of her career and influences, along with a memorable selection of the poet's tenderest, most inspiring writings.

This masterpiece of satire won the 1947 Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour.

How Does Your Baby Grow?

Yesterday I had the privilege of attending a 1st Birthday party and it was delightful. My sister-in-law, one of the grandmothers, and I, a great-aunt, along with several other relatives and friends were invited to the special occasion. I'm not sure that the birthday girl herself knew what was going on but she sure enjoyed herself. Her guests were 6 or 7 other one or almost-one year olds and their parents plus a couple of older children. Everyone had a wonderful time watching the babies interacting - or should I say NOT interacting. I was interested in observing the characteristics of this developmental stage of growth.

The babies seemed to be at the stage of growth where they were pleased and happy to have others of their age nearby, but they were satisfied to look and observe one another, then proceed to engage in a solitary activity - exploring a toy, for example, or scuttling across the floor to search for something new. I noticed that most of us had brought gifts marked "12 months" - the toys seemed remarkably appropriate with buttons to push, noises to listen to, and soft things to cuddle. Apparently, this is an age for squeezing and hugging soft toys, and when a little rag doll was opened the birthday girl immediately hugged it, and curled up with it on the floor.

The occasion wasn't without its hilarious stories and moments. A birthday cheque received a few days prior to the party will have to be reissued as the birthday girl "ate" it. Luckily, the evidence was found in shreds and most of it accounted for. One of the guests was a very good natured but determined little "mover." He kept his mother chasing after him constantly. We all agreed his mom wouldn't be needing any additional exercise for a while. Gathered round the birthday cake placed on the coffee table, this same little guy kept us in stitches as he sampled the icing with his fingers.

My observations: too cute!! But what a lot of work raising a baby!

A Perfect Day

If there is such a thing as a perfect day, I would have to say I enjoyed one yesterday! The locale was splendid. We sat high on a deck on a clear sunny summer day overlooking a stunningly blue Annapolis Basin. The company was congenial - seven women joined by common interests of writing and visual art and the expression of creativity in gardens and home decor. The food was delicious: curried rice and shrimp, salmon pasta, Greek and spinach salads, and quiche. Coffee and tea and desserts followed. A very tasty homemade blueberry flan, fresh fruit and a spoonful of chocolate mousse left us all sitting in the sun with sighs of satisfaction. It was the annual summer gathering of the writing group I belong to. And, oh yes, we shared recent writing: there was poetry and science fiction, suspense, a thoughtful bit of character fiction, and a very funny satirical spoof of literary criticism. Call it what you want - a mini-retreat, a summer get together, a day in the country - it's one I will relish and remember, a perfect day!

Progress: What is That?

I have been thinking lately about change and time and progress, not only in my own life but in more general terms. This morning's paper headlined the news of four more Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan. One wonders if any headway at all is being made there. And then with the outbreak of hostilities in Lebanon, it just seems that there is little hope of people settling their differences and learning to share this earth peacefully. I'm reminded of the words of Eccleisiasticus in the Bible - something to this effect: a generation comes, a generation goes, the sun rises, the sun goes down, all is weariness, and there is nothing new under the sun, and all is vanity, vanity, can't do anything about it. These same passages do go on to tell us that there is a time for everything (a time to be born, a time to die, a time to mourn and a time to celebrate and so on), so perhaps we can take some encouragement that there will be some progress eventually!