They met for brunch at Ricardo’s Café. It was a new place for both of them. How she felt her mother’s presence when they walked into the kitchen store part. All the dishes, bowls, table clothes and special accessories to decorate a table. Mom loves walking around in a store like this. For a moment, she felt she was in Knowlton just shopping unitl they would sit at a café for a light lunch and coffee…maybe even a beer or a glass of wine!
Now she was experiencing this new place with a friend. They talked like they knew each other for years…laughed a bit, cried a bit like women who get to the heart of things and truly communicate, then giggled like excited teenagers. A perfect afternoon.
Good food
Excellent company
Brunch with a friend
Good food
Heals what ails you
Topped with fudge sauce
Excellent company
Being present when it counts
Then giggling like teens
(C) Clr’18. Inspired by the jazz playing in the cafe
Dear Emma, May 30th Vancouver day trip
I decided to go into Vancouver since it was the only place I could purchased the CBD cream for my knee. Well, what I am saying? If CBD is good for aches and pains, my goodness it should do wonders for all my aches due to Fibromyalgia. I will just get it and slather it all over the sore areas…which are plenty.
My host was kind enough to drive me to the bus stop, which saved me a good 30 minutes. I had loaded extra $ on my Compass card, so was not too worried of transfers and getting to the Waterfront in Vancouver. What I had not anticipated was the bus did NOT drive into the city as a few locals had told me last night. The bus stopped at Bridgeport SkyTrain station and I saw everyone get off. I walked up to the front and asked the driver if this was the end of the line…yuppers!
I remembered Waterfront line since it is close to our Vancouver office and chose that line to get in town.
I had the address of the Cannabis Lounge where I was hoping to get my cream. In BC you don’t need a prescription to get it but in Montreal we do. I have my request put in for that when I get back from vacation but I wanted to try it now since my knees were so painful as well as neck and shoulders, so what had I to lose? My intention was to buy it, try it and then mail it to me in Quebec because there was no way I was flying with that or going through customs with it. There is barely any THC in it and it does not affect the brain/mood but it is supposed to be healing and soothing for inflammation…so they say!
(C)Clr’18 Vancouver, GasTown, Hastings Street
I got in town and started walking in circles…yes, that is me. I look at Google Map on my phone and argue with it thinking I know better well, that means I go in circles and get so fed up, I give in to Google and voilà I found the place
I was a bit apprehensive since it is on Hastings Street and there is a section that is quite sketchy but this place was not that far East…phew! As I walked in, there were three clerks at the centre of the shop on a raised platform surrounded by a counter. There were so many smoking paraphernalia and most I have never seen…well, maybe in a movie! As I walked in, one clerk was lighting up a joint and then gave it to his colleague and calmly [they sure ARE calm!] asked if he could help me.
I started, “I come from very far…” and explained that I heard the MJ Pain cream was very good for joint pain. One of the clerks said he uses it regularly on his wrist and it works…I doubt it was just the cream…[wink wink]
The small jar was $45 and the larger one $100…so I took the small one. I left and looked around for a comfortable café where I could put the cream on my knees, neck and shoulder and sit and relax with an Americano and wait for the magic. I found a Starbucks on an nice corner with a terrace, so I stood in line for the washroom first. After a good fifteen minutes, I entered and put the cream on, and placed the jar on the toilet paper shelf. As I put it there, I told myself, “I had better not forget it now!.” Why the hell did I not put it in my bag straight away? I wanted to wash my hands first.
I ordered my double shot Americano and sat comfortably in an armchair and relaxed…I felt a tingling in my neck but still pain. My knees had not budged…I mean the pain did not subside even a little. My shoulders were the same but my upper arm seemed painless. Hmmm, well, maybe I need to slather this on a few times before seeing any difference.
After an hour of reading and writing on my iPad, I messaged a colleague who now works in the Vancouver office and asked if I could take her out for dinner on her hour break later. I am so glad I did. She brought me to this funky bar called The Taco Shop actually just across the street from The Cannabis Lounge…another coincidence? I was thrilled hearing the jazz music as I walked In. I was so delighted. Of course I ordered seafood burritos with guacamole and chips to start. My friend chose the local beer for me as she had a good idea on what I preferred. It was great!!
We could only eat half so we doggy bagged the rest (which I will be eating as my bedtime snack tonight) and I went to join her at the office. I wanted to show her my jar of magic potion. I looked in every section of my backpack…then she looked for me and then an image flashed before my eyes ‘Brown jar marked MJ Cream’ on the shelf above the toilet paper’. I slapped my forehead with the palm of my hand out of sheer frustration! Darn!!! I forgot it there.
Then I remember the woman going into the washroom after me, I warned her that there was no more toilet paper (for which I was pleased I had carried Wet ones in my bag). I saw her later and she looked at me weird…NOW, I know why. She was probably waiting for me to ask the clerk if anyone had found a jar of cream. But I had not realized it at that time. Well, my coffee ended up costing me $55.00 (including Americano and a danish).
I was kicking shelf but then I finally let it go and figured if anyone who more pain and fell upon it, then I’m happy someone can benefit it. I know I will not order it online, having tried it, I need something stronger which I noticed they have another blend for arthritic pain. In any event, I shall discuss it with my rheumatologist before I try that again, since I am sure he has referred many of his patients to alternative pain relievers.
Walking back home away from home slowly and stopping often to take in the v
Getting back home on the sky train was fine (I double checked with a local to make sure I was taking the correct line since it was getting late and late transit is not so great outside of the city). I got at the bus stop at 10:30pm and looked on my app Transit to check the stops to make sure I got the right transfer. When I got at the stop at 11:15pm, there was no one waiting for a bus, so I asked another local and the lady was going to call the transit company not trusting my phone app. Just then the 321 transfer bus arrived, so we checked and the driver said this was the right line. The bus was a fifteen minute ride and the driver told me to just keep walking straight ahead and the road will become the street I needed to get to. WELL HE WAS WRONG!!!!
(c) Clr’18 When I crossed this overpass, I knew I was lost!
I walked onto a highway crossing and realized I could not be going in the right direction. Thank goodness the moon was so full and bright but boy was I getting frustrated, tired and after 30 minutes of turning in circles, I was getting scared. I did not meet ONE person on the streets where I was walking. This is so different than back home. My phone was losing juice quickly at 7% and often it closes down at 5%…I didn’t want to call the host of my AirBnB as I knew she turns in early (compared to me) and I wished for once that Uber existed in B C. If I would call them (like I did once in a similar situation when it got too dark in San Diego to retrace my steps) I called Lyft (similar to Uber) and they catch us on their GPS and pick us up straight away. I have to say we should have that service at least outside of major cities where transit is scarce. I could not have called a taxi, since they don’t have the GPS system Uber has. My last resort if I could no longer find the house was to call the police.
There was 1% left on my phone and it stayed on by pure miracle …yes, I said a few prayers too! And I finally got home at 12:30. I had walked 12km that day but 5km just getting home since it was supposed to be 2km!
Oh well, at least it gave me something to write to you about, Emma. Right? I took a nice hot shower when I got it to soothe every aching muscle and slept like a baby.
May 31st,
Today I woke up at 8 am but my body wouldn’t budge. I picked up my phone and finished reading an e-book, then I snoozed a bit off and on and did not get out of bed until noon. It took me a while to get moving but I took my time. And now here I am at a café
(c) Clr’18 White Coffee and Ice Cream
I started with a cappuccino and called my uncle in Ontario to wish him happy 90th birthday and then treated myself to a double scoop (did not realize they were so BIG) of rainbow chocolate…YUM!!
I sat inside to savour the ice cream and the music turned to Jazz which seemed to attract my muse and voilà, I just finished another post!
It is such a treat to by typing my post in front of the ocean…time to leave and sit on the shore now…one last time. Then walk the 4km back.
I picked up s few souvenirs at Whitby’, a place recommended by a grienf who used to live here in White Rock I wanted so much there but the owner said I could order online too.
I sat on the beach taking in all I could , meditating and trying to be st one with my surroundings. After half an hour I decided to walk back home slowly hopefully my to find a spot tovrst closer to my lodgings.
Unfortunately, I did not find a restaurant or fish and chip place open after nine. Boy!!! it’s a bit like Toronto was like in the early 1990’s. Ih well I guess ti each its own.
There were some other places further away from my lodgings, so I thought about the half seafood burrito I saved from last night. Phew! I also brought some good aged cheddar from Montreal. I am all set for my last night in BC.
Unpredictable
Whimsical and enchanting
Like Mother Nature
Unpredictable
The weather
In Canada
Whimsical and enchanting
Getting to know
A new lover
Like Mother Nature
Humans influenced by the moon
And the stars
(C)Tournesol’18-05-31
Daily Moments – unpredictability- May 31-18 (troibun)
Walking along the beach, I checked the time and realized there was over 3 hours before sunset. So, I stopped at a café, a friend suggested, Whitby’s Café. They have coffee, pastries and gelato. It seems there are at least a dozen ice cream parlours on Marine Drive. I sat with my coffee and relaxed entranced by the ocean view across the street.
It has such a friendly and “small town” affect here. I rested for almost 30 minutes, sipping my coffee and then I walked a bit more west. I found a place to sit and lean my back on the cement. I watched people arriving after their day job, to catch a few hours on the water, kayaking, fishing or just sitting on the beach and chilling and watch the sun set.
I sat there for awhile and let the sea take me in. I was in a quieter area with less people traffic, so it was easy to just drift off and be in the moment. Later, I started walking back East, hoping to find a quiet place for dinner. I had walked up an appetite for sure! It was a long day, walking over 2 km just in the airports! I did a total of 11 km for my first day!
Most of the places I passed were buzzing with patrons and many couples…I needed to be in a calmer place and then I noticed one place that seemed more inviting. The terrace was almost in front of the pier and one patron smiled at me and said, “Come on in, you won’t regret it.” And so I did and when the waiter came out, I recognized her and realized this is the exact place I came to last year on my first night in White Rock. What a coincidence!
I had mussels in a coconut and curry bouillon with cilantro and a local fruity beer from Delta. I happened to have that same beer last year too. A family passed by and right in front of the entrance one of the toddlers set herself on the sidewalk having a tantrum. I felt bad for the mom who was trying to not make a scene. The couple across from me, said, “Well, we’ve all seen that before.” And we got to chatting. They were from Clearwater, BC near Kamloops. They seemed so nice and it looked like they were out on a spontaneous couples’ getaway. I asked them if they wanted me to take a photo of them. Their phones had died, so I used my phone and gave it to the woman to forward to herself. They were so sweet and I learned more about the beauty of their neck of the woods. Maybe next year, I might consider flying to Vancouver and renting a car to drive up north for four to five hours. Apparently the view is worth the road trip.
Walking home, I felt bad that the sunset had been hidden by the clouds but the sky was turning magenta all around me. I took a few more pics and I still could not get over all the gelato places on the way home. I finally gave in on the last place and got a chocolate pistachio gelato. It was pure bliss!
Twilight serenade
Rolling waves kiss the shore
My feet tingle
I grew up in the ‘50’s and lived by the train tracks where you would hear shunting of freight trains and whistles throughout the day. When I was first married, in the early 70’s my husband and I lived by the train station, again we too felt the vibration of the long cargo train especially late at night. Trains were a way of life in our small town and still, these freight trains impact and at times oppress the lives of the residents.
This reminds me of a typical day in the late 1950’s where shows like Father’s Knows Best was a popular television show…
cooking supper
window shakes
6 o’clock train
cooking supper
children whine they’re hungry
train whistles
window shakes
pot of stew boils over
shrill screeches
6 o’clock train
children squeal with joy
Daddy’s home!
(c) Tournesol’18
Last night she went on a journey into the past. She had discovered her late mother’s old love letter from 1969. She felt she was there next her mom, waiting for her to stop writing so she could go to bed. She was in her last year of high school. She slept with her mother in Grandmaman’s bedroom. Since her older sister was now living and working in Montreal, she no longer had to share the furnace…her old bedroom.
She remembers how her mother fell in love so quickly with her first lover after her parents’ separation…and she fell hard too! She recalls how part of her was worried and did not want her mother hurt; she was so fragile. Another part was jealous…well just a little since it had been her mother, her sister and her sister braving the world for so long. She remembers falling under his spell six months later because he was so good to her mother and treated her like a princess. Soon he became a proud father to her as well.
She read another set of letters mailed to her mother…all from her new lover. Such declarations of pure love. It warmed her heart. The last letter was dated April 30, 1969. Was this a coincidence to be reading these later exactly 49 years later to the day?
She wished she had kept her old letters from her first crush. She was only 13 and he was 17. It was so exciting waiting day after day for the mail to come. She also wrote letters to her best friend who spent the summer at her cottage by the lake. Time moved slower then. You had time to write five, six or ten pages to a friend. Not many could phone even of it was just 20 kilometres away. In those days long distance bills were very expensive and her mother and grandmother could not afford such luxuries! But still, it was a more romantic time…spending hours by the turntable listening to the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.
Sitting on the porch
Waiting patiently
Mister Postman
Sitting on the porch
Watching butterflies
Kissing daffodils
Waiting patiently
Cat hides behind the bush
Eyeing his prey
Mister Postman
Carrying a bag of joy
P.S. I Love You
She tossed and turned throughout the night; her mind was filled with do’s and should’s. A cluttered mind is like a cluttered house. Time to clear out the closets, empty drawers and sort out the junk from the good. How often do we hold something in our hands and ponder for a split second and end up tossing it in a drawer or the bottom of a closet? Often times between season’s change, that same item is found and tossed into the trash. Ah, yes, she finds a cluttered mind is often a sign it is time to do some serious spring cleaning…how therapeutic it can be and at the same time, a clean home is her reward.
cluttered minds
toss and turn all thru the night
spring approaches
cluttered minds
dust bunnies and bread crumbs
hanging on to yore
toss and turn all thru the night
cat chasing its tail
hoot of the night owl
spring approaches
out with the old making room
a renaissance
Walking on her usual path to the bus stop, she rolls her beaded bracelet with two fingers, whispering. At first she looks up at the sky, then notices the trees and branches waving shyly. Images of Amma floats in front of her, smiling…always smiling. Her mind is like a field of bumper cars going, coming and crashing. She has to slow down and whisper louder to block the distractions that clutter her mind.
Amma is known for her embrace but also for her compassion and humanitarianism
After several series, she is in her own world, sitting on the bus, watching the ice patches floating on the Saint Lawrence. Another mega bridge is being built parallel to the one the bus is crossing. All those men working in the cold. She shivers at the thought.
clouds holding secrets
Mother Nature knows
Snow, rain or hail
clouds holding secrets
Chaos in the world
Tears from heaven
Mother Nature knows
How it will all end
Sins we committed
Snow, rain or hail
March wavers tween two seasons
always be prepared
Daily Moments – Sunday reflections – (troibun) A troibun is a term I use to term a haibun but rather than having haiku within the text, I have a Troiku which is a new form of haiku created by my mentor, Chevrefeuille at CarpeDiemHaikuKai
This photo challenge inspired this story…from MindLoveMiserysMenagerie at Sunday Writing
Life was intolerable. Little One could no longer let this happen to her. This was the last time she would sit still while being violated; she did not cry herself to sleep tonight like most nights. Instead, she sang a chant the old lady in the village taught her. The Elder told her as she knitted on her porch,”These words bring home justice…always, If you chant this chant 10,000 times in a row without interruption.” The old lady gave her turquoise mala beads, “Here, these beads will ensure your safety if you chant as I have instructed.” She held her gift preciously all the way home.
Little One took the beads from under her pillow and began chanting. She pulled the curtain beside her bed to let in the light of the full moon. The universe kept her up all night…by sunrise, she was chanting her last set. It was quiet. The house would not come alive for another hour. She had time…
Her backpack had all her necessities had been packed for months, hidden under her bed. She dressed quickly and slipped out the back door and made her way to her secret place by a pond in the woods behind her house.
Sitting by the pond
Heart filled with hope
A lotus blossoms
Sitting by the pond
Birds chirp happily
Morning songs
Heart filled with hope
Frog sits on a lily pad
At peace
A lotus blossoms
Exhales equanimity
Touched by an angel
Day 4 of snow today but on the grrreat side, it is th warmest it has been in 2 weeks reaching a balmy minus 4 C!! I had to do some errands today and waiting for the winds to calm down. They said it was supposed to stop at 2pm.but by 4pm.it was still snowing. I was so thrilled when I got outside, because the snow was nice and immaculate and powdery. The snow ploough had cleared up the sidewalk in the morning, so it was not too bad but on my return it had stopped snowing and I was following the sidewalk plough.
I love walking in the snow after a blizzard. It was so calm and mild outside. I thought of waiting for the bus when I finished my errands with two heavy bags but I figured that walking was healthier even if I walk slowly. I have spent two weeks on my back most of the time nursing my sinuses but mostly I was so darn exhausted.
Coming back to my walk, it reminded me of a dear late friend who used to walk at night with me for hours. We would tuck our kids to bed, our hubbies too and then meet after 10 or 11 at night and walk and talk. I miss her so dearly. She was my next door neighbour I met when we moved to Chambly January 7th 1982. My daughter was just one and my son was 4. It was their father’s birthday too. I was never happier moving out of the country where the kids were born and into a small suburban town. I had been so lonely at the other place. Here in Chambly, all the children were outside playing speaking French or English and moms were outside chatting and walking. During snow storms, everyone was out. Dads shovelling and chatting with a neighbour or two for a break; children making forts and moms watching them and chatting with neighbours. Gosh! We were all healthy!! [chuckling to myself now]
I was thinking of Janet, my old neighbour and dear friend walking back home tonight. I have never had a friend like her since. We would call each other late at night if we could not sleep and let the phone ring one ring. That was the signal who was calling not to disturb or wake up anyone. I suppose today we might have texted but we did not have cell phones then. Then we would meet up and drink coffee and me sweet tea until 3 or 4 in the morning. She made me a better person and mother in so many ways.
So back to the weather, well, apparently we have had such cold weather from minus 25 to minus 40 C and they say we broke a record for being the coldest for so many consecutive days in 164 years!! Wow!
Thanks to Linda Hill for her prompt in Stream of Consciousness Saturday (SoCS): prompt “eco” that coaxed me to write something since I have not had the energy, although I had the inspiration, to write in the past week. And once again, wishing you all a happy new year filled with much love. If you have love in your heart, you are wealthy and successful!.
Memories
Winters long ago
Soulmates
Memories
Sauntering
Lifting my spirit
Winters long ago
Building snow forts all day long
Snow angels rest
Soulmates
Walking after a snowstorm
Crunch underfoot
(c)Tournesol’ 18-01-08
Daily Moments – January 8, 2018 – memories (troibun)
Tournesol dans un Jardin 