Recent books by other people

 In no particular order, for no particular reason.

One of the things I've always been mildly curious about, and have become much more so as I got older is, how long has something lasted. Everything has a lifespan. People. Plants. Even things eventually reach a point where they are beyond economical repair.

It's the things I'm thinking of just now. Some things last a long time. My family gave us a set of nice dishes as a wedding present just over 39 years ago, (39 years!!! and that's probably a blog topic) and much of it is in daily use, still going strong. When I moved from Ontario to Calgary in the summer of 1980, essentially everything I owned fit into a 78 Pontiac LeMans. The only one of those things that is still in daily use (as far as I can remember) is a little key fob connector thingie. 

It lets me easily separate the car keys from the rest of the keys, which is handy when the car is being serviced, or I need the house key but don't want to shut off the car for whatever reason. The keys involved are the car key, our house key, a friend's house key, the bike U lock key, the mailbox key (we were forced into the horrid community mailbox system) and a small key that I don't know what it unlocks. It might be the garage door lock from the garage door that was replaced about 12 years ago.

Which reminds me of another thing. The garage door opener reliably worked from in front of our neighbour's driveway across the street. Reliably, every time. But would it shut the door after backing out of the garage, while we were RIGHT THERE!!!??? No. Or rarely. My thinking was that it couldn't be the battery so I was looking for other causes. It turns out that if you put an LED bulb into your garage door opener motor box, that might interfere with the remote. But I still have a normal bulb. Then the guy how installed the door, who happens to live in the cul de sac behind us was walking by and asked what was up. We talked about a few things, then he asked when I'd last changed the battery. I told him I remembered putting a 9 volt square battery in it a few years ago. He gave me a funny look, and said, that wouldn't fit into this box. It takes one of those dime sized ones. I happened to have one, and we put it in. Now it works all the time. Go figure.

One of the things that broke recently was the glass part of the French Press in daily use. It slipped a bit in my hands as I was washing it, and the bottom cracked against the edge of the sink. Oops. Well, we had another in the cupboard, and when I opened it up I found a receipt for it, dated almost exactly 3 years ago. That means the one I broke has been in daily use for more than 3 years. Pretty good for something made of glass.

I had to go out anyways, so I made a point of going back to the same store to get another. After all, morning coffee is a serious business. I'm pretty sure if I break the next one without a replacement, it will be at a time that's really awkward, perhaps with guests waiting for coffee. That store is the kitchen store in Britannia, a wonderful shopping centre off Elbow drive and 50th Ave. Near it is one of my favourite bookstores, Owl's Nest, a small independent store that is somehow still in business. Calgary used to have a ton of bookstores, new and used, and I'm pretty sure that Chapters and Amazon has driven most of them out of business. I picked up two books, this one, and a new Robert J Sawyer book I'm part way through.

This is how you lose the Time War by Max Gladstone is an amazing read! It's almost like prose poetry. I'm seriously thinking about reading it again, but reading it aloud, slowly, savouring the words, the images. It's the most unconventional love story I've ever read.

Secret Knowledge by David Hockney. He has done a bunch of research into how painters did their work. He shows how paintings evolved between the Middle Ages and through the Renaissance. His point is that it appears that some painters used optical aids to create their work.

While he gives lots of examples, and it tends a bit towards the scholarly end of things, it's quite readable, and it's fascinating to see the portraits change. I'd look at a portrait, then read about it, and was amazed at all the things he saw in it. Only after he pointed it out did I see them. Clearly there is work to be done in my brain about seeing and thinking about what's before me.

Extraordinary Light by Sherman Hines This was a gift from friends. He's a Canadian photographer I'd never heard of, who has captured amazing images. What's more, they're on film, which further increases the skill involved. I've been to a few of the places he has photos of, although mine aren't even remotely in the same league. 

Of the Day

Driftwood (NZ)

Driftwood (BC)

Flower

And a flowery serendipity from 2017.

Yukon

I'd love to have been able to spend more time watching the shadows move across the mountain sides.

Film (new)

I can't help but think this would make a brutally hard jigsaw puzzle.

Film (old)

There's a story about that pickaxe. This is probably the summer of 1991. At the time I was working at the bunker (the old Nova Gas Transmission building off 14th st). Linda was working at City Hall. Ribtor Hardware was just a few blocks away for her. She picked up the pickaxe and walked to meet me since I didn't get off till 5. She said the drivers were very respectful as she crossed the streets. She says it was the pickaxe over her shoulder, but I think it was the determined glint in her eyes.

And a found image of Linda from early 2023.