The Week in Pictures

The week began with Orange Shirt Day/Truth and Reconciliation Day. In recent years, I’ve been caught without an orange shirt. This year, I was prepared.

I picked mine up at Giant Tiger. 100% of proceeds are donated to Indspire – a national Indigenous registered charity that invests in the education of First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples.

Last year on this date we were in Florence, Italy. This year, I was determined to remember to get a shirt. If you buy one at GT, they’re only $12 but size up at least one level. They’re super small. I bought a size bigger than usual and wish I’d gone up two sizes.

A Helping Hand, But First, An Arm

After COVID derailed me a couple of years ago, I restarted the process of becoming a volunteer at our local long-term care home. First order of business is to take a TB test. It’s mandatory across the province if you want to be around older people, along with a vulnerable sector check via the local police.

That’s phase one of the test. After 48 hours, that little bit of serum under the skin should be barely perceptible. Ergo, the ink circle so the nurse knows where she put the needle.

Now I need to come up with something to do with the people I visit. I’d love to take down their life stories and compile a little booklet or diary. But I don’t yet know for sure what I’ll do as a volunteer.

Dragon Fruit

I’ve eaten this tropical fruit before but I’ve never brought one home. Years ago, I recorded a voice-over for a company that used dragon fruit as an example of something you could search for online. The project was teaching computer literacy skills to those who were new to the Internet. The other day I saw one and thought it was so pretty, I needed to bring it home.

The peel is toxic but the inside is mild and delicious. It’s not something I’d reach for on a regular basis but it was a nice change.

Soup Season

I love making soup but I tried to get too fancy this week with a tomato soup topped with puff pastry.

Once I fished out the uncooked pastry, it was pretty good! But too much work to go into regular rotation.

The King Causes Concern

Cuddles woke me up around 3 am Tuesday and wouldn’t leave me alone. He crawled all over my head, pretended to get under the covers only to change his mind, and walked rings around me for at least a half hour. Something was up!

After the weird overnight fussing I found this upstairs, not ten steps from one of his two litter boxes! (Photo has been altered!)

Even when he’s being messy, he’s very neat. Fortunately, we already had a regular vet appointment scheduled. He’s fine. But a deposit like that usually means something is wrong. I asked, but he didn’t explain.

Grammar is (Apparently) Hard

And who would I be if I didn’t talk about grammar?

This is from Circle K also known as Mac’s also known as Couche Tard. How can a conglomerate of its size not employ someone who knows English grammar? I understand they’re headquartered in Quebec. But if I was tasked with creating a gazillion signs in French, I’d consult an expert in French grammar. It’s simple.

Beer and wine are two separate things. Alcohol IS here. Beer and wine are here. There’s no point saying anything to anyone because I know how these things work. They’ve invested a lot of money in the posters so they’d rather go with a glaring error than spend the money to fix it. Sigh.

Have a wonderful weekend!