Nothing says autumn quite like the taste of a crisp apple! Every year we’ve made a habit of frequenting MacLaren Orchards on the Burnstown Road in nearby Renfrew County for the express purpose of replenishing this invigorating store. Today we introduced our pre-scheduled visit there (we had already ordered product on-line) first by dipping into Antrim Truck Stop in Arnprior for what was undeniably a healthy man’s breakfast though in fact it was labelled on the menu as the Hunter’s Variety Breakfast.

https://maclarenorchards.ca

Continue reading →

We were hit today with a storm of activity surrounding our upcoming residential shift across the river. Previously I had anticipated that today’s direct address of the move would not have transpired until the middle of October (by which time I expected the developer would be certain that the new building was habitable). It turns out that our mover wished to have a more proximate assessment of the affair.

Continue reading →

Proverb. Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise. A person who goes to bed early and wakes up early will lead a more successful life.

According to a study published in Journal of Applied Social Psychology, people who wake up early tend to be more productive than those who sleep in. Early risers are also more confident, positive and assertive. Early to bed, early to rise, ready to succeed.

Continue reading →

Eventually we begin to run out of household provisions and supplies. Our innutritious but gem coloured environment with Oriental rugs underfoot and the collection of prints, paintings and gleaming paraphernalia becomes noticeably lacking, just too clinical; artistic but threateningly metallic. Certainly not fibrous or what one would call wholesome. The shiny mahogany furniture sustains the millefiori, the crystal decanters, the lamps, the vase and the carriage clock. But the denuded pantry renders a stark and dissonant image if not replenished. Rummaging the freezer for possibilities is seldom the answer – except perhaps for exotic hors d’oeuvres.  Bread and peanut butter is filling but unlike beer it fails to constitute a healthful diet. Then there are the pharmaceuticals – arthritis pills, razor blades, hair shampoo and bath soap.  In the past liquor was on the list too. I used to buy the stuff by the case. In any event, the inescapable fiat this morning was grocery shopping.

Continue reading →

It is a spectacular autumn day in the country, a Saturday bejewled with gleaming sunshine, blue sky and dry air. The fields are clothed in precise rows of burgeoning emerald and mustard coloured crops. We bicycled earlier this morning then recovered briefly on the garden patio in the warmth of the midday sun. I am perched at my drawing board, sipping chilled espresso, listening to what I suspect Apple Music had a hand in, another of Decca Records Releases called a “Classical Crossover” no doubt a conscious inexactness for schmaltz. It is the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra playing Bond 25 with Dolby Atmos and Hi-Res Lossless (whatever they are). But, oh my, the memories! Hollywood (or its British or Welsh equivalent) deserves applause.

Continue reading →

It is an odd mixture of bloodymindedness and certitude that propels me unrestrained in these trifling narratives.  For some writers the source of achievement is the “write what you know” dictum.  For others (like Ernest Hemingway) it’s about getting your butt out of bed and putting pen to paper; viz., writing from 5 o’clock in the morning – while standing up no less – until you’ve written something, anything.  And that brings one to the ultimate persuasion; namely, just write for crying out loud!  And stop thinking about it!

Continue reading →

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.
Ecclesiastes 3:1

There was a time I had a lot of p&v.  I am nonetheless pleased to report that that time has passed. I am rather enjoying my current state of torpidity. Perhaps I am doing myself a disfavour to suggest I haven’t any longer any p&v, that I have lapsed into a state of disrepair. Indeed my instant reaction to the initial criticism is that, while I no longer pursue many things with the same fervour as I may formerly have done, I certainly haven’t abandoned my delight in and preference for many other things, things which I confess are shamefully removed from the stoic flavour of industry and enterprise. In short, I have transitioned from method to mode; that is, from procedure to pattern. It is the alteration of primacy from what is done to how it is done.

Continue reading →

Mutiny is a singular event in the management of power. It stakes the proponent as the real enemy. The Marie Antoinette image of widespread unpopularity is not entirely irrelevant.

Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military, of a crew or of a crew of pirates) to oppose, change, or overthrow an organization to which they were previously loyal. The term is commonly used for a rebellion among members of the military against an internal force, but it can also sometimes mean any type of rebellion against any force. Mutiny does not necessarily need to refer to a military force and can describe a political, economic, or power structure in which there is a change of power.

Continue reading →

Technically the autumnal equinox arrives on Thursday, September 22, 2022 at 9:04 P.M.EDT in the Northern Hemisphere. Reportedly the equinox occurs at the same moment worldwide. For my purposes however today is the first day of autumn. I’ve always associated the first day of autumn with the 21st of the month.  Besides the breeze and the balmy air are today unsurpassable. Following this morning’s constitutional bicycle ride throughout the neighbourhood and along the former B&O railway line to Carss Street and back, I positioned myself in a comfortable but admittedly lifeless metal armchair on the garden patio facing directly into the midday sun. There I sunbathed and dozed uninterrupted (except by the commotion of the grounds keepers going about their duties) for an half hour. Continue reading →

After an early morning oil change, a midday donut splurge and a late afternoon series of on-line address changes that perfectly wore me to the ground, a thoroughly unanticipated result has ensued. It was I suppose a full-circle project because it began and ended on a similar note. To be specific the morning started early today at Lincoln Heights car dealership in order to have my Aviator’s oil changed; and all that that entails. The day’s activity primarily ended late this afternoon with unpredicted research of a new (but related) automobile called the Corsair. In fairness, I was prompted unwittingly to pursue this particular line of retail “investment” only because one of the leading sales representatives of the dealership highlighted to me the vast improvement of this entry level model (the Corsair), one of the Lincoln line-up of SUVs.

Continue reading →