Our Sunday adventure today – in lieu of hunting for Easter eggs – was a drive to Barry’s Bay “a community in the township of Madawaska Valley located two hours west of Ottawa on the shores of Kamaniskeg Lake, with a 2016 population of approximately 1,300 people“. The jaunt was a 2-hour ride each way.  The purpose was to familiarize ourselves with the Canadian Legion at which I am to receive my COVID vaccination on April 14th next. The outing was the first we’ve had of this duration in months so we welcomed the occasion. Until today the pandemic had succeeded to narrow our focus imperceptibly. It helped naturally that the sky was blue and that the temperature had risen to a very tolerable 13°C sufficient to enable us to open all the windows and the landau roof.

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Many of us have had uncertain events or progressions in our lives requiring no small amount of accommodation.  Regrettably some of the episodes have bordered upon catastrophic in nature involving for example serious medical complications or death in the family. Whatever the particular incident, the consequence is always having to live with it. Remarkably it is frequently those who have suffered the most dreadful reverberations who ultimately set an example to the rest of us just how to adjust to reality; while those enduring far less aftermath seemingly wallow in despair, self-pity and utter immobility.  From the perspective however of each one of us, our own repercussion is paramount and seldom do we consider the popular view of our adjustment or interpretation of the initial assault. Reality is in that respect irreverent, insipid and irrespective.

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Funny how things unfold. Serendipity never fails to astound me. While driving about the countryside this afternoon on this unsurpassably brilliant day I overheard a BBC program about quantum computing, the business of combining the customarily separate binary themes such as one and zero to afford greater capacity and exponential performance.

Quantum computing is poised to upend entire industries from finance to cybersecurity to healthcare, and beyond—but few understand how quantum computers actually work.

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I recall one Sunday morning in our house in Stockholm, Sweden hearing from the main floor to the third floor where I slept my mother’s howl, “How’s God going to bless this goddamn house if no one goes to church!”  She evidently had just returned from church.  When my father did go to church he customarily sat behind one of the large stone pillars.  My sister and I had seemingly already abandoned any religious custom.

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Having the conviction there is a tomorrow is itself perfectly digestible.  On the other hand leaving something undone until tomorrow presents an entirely different model. I recall being dismayed by my late mother’s casual discharge “until tomorrow” of what I thought was a pressing need. Tomorrow was never exactly defined. The protraction – indecorous in my opinion – seemed to me to taint the organization of the universe.  What if it never got done?  Then what?

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Apparently farmers and the unemployed share a fascination with the weather.  This is especially so on the last day of March as we approach what is forecast to be April showers for May flowers. We’re having today an introduction to that poetic recurrence, drizzle persisting into the morrow. Meanwhile the inclement weather affords a welcome reprieve from the more industrious preoccupations which normally attend a day of atmospheric high and sunshine. As I await the warming temperatures and clear air – interrupted though they may be in the morning tomorrow by a delayed March blizzard which I am certain will melt by the afternoon – I am at liberty to dwell upon the trifling recreations which now characterize my existence; namely, idle reflection upon my past, present and future, a car ride naturally (including the blatant immersion in the automobile’s many switches and conveniences), absorption of the limitless fields of Renfrew County and ultimately a strong, black coffee and general revelation in the events of the day which by the way have already been preceded by a highly profitable visit to my barber.

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Never have I considered myself an entrepreneur. It’s a privilege associated with famous business operators like Steve Jobs or Elon Musk. But when I read today the “About Us” section of Mr. Sam Barber Shop on the internet I was instantly smitten with interest. It’s the newest business in Town and something tells me it’s the beginning of a marvellous adventure. Almonte is curiously known for its successful and singular businesses, enterprisers who attract those seeking quality in a rural environment.

Sam

Sam has been a successful hairstylist and barber for more than 15 years serving both female and male clients. He has always enjoyed hairstyling and we are confident you will be pleased with the services you will get.

Sam has finally achieved his lifetime dream of opening his own salon.

Mr. Sam Barber Shop Inc.

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The Rive Gauche (Left Bank) is the southern bank of the river Seine in Paris. Here the river flows roughly westward, cutting the city in two: when facing downstream, the southern bank is to the left, and the northern bank (or Rive Droite) is to the right.

“Rive Gauche” or “Left Bank” generally refers to the Paris of an earlier era: the Paris of artists, writers, and philosophers, including Colette, Margaret Anderson, Djuna Barnes, Natalie Barney, Sylvia Beach, Erik Satie, Kay Boyle, Bryher, Caresse Crosby, Nancy Cunard, Hilda Doolittle (H.D.), Janet Flanner, Jane Heap, Maria Jolas, Mina Loy, Henry Miller, Adrienne Monnier, Anaïs Nin, Jean Rhys, Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas, Renee Vivien, Edith Wharton, Pablo Picasso, Arthur Rimbaud, Paul Verlaine, Henri Matisse, Jean-Paul Sartre, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, James Baldwin, and dozens of other members of the great artistic community at Montparnasse. The phrase implies a sense of bohemianism, counterculture, and creativity. Some of its famous streets are the Boulevard Saint-Germain, the Boulevard Saint-Michel, the rue Bonaparte, and the Rue de Rennes.

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What better preoccupation on a drizzling Sunday afternoon than to square oneself! The ordination of life  – putting it in order – affords its own elevation not entirely dissimilar from the process by which individuals are consecrated in various religious rites and ceremonies. The object is perhaps not as dynamic as an understanding of ethics, spirituality and humanity but it legitimizes one’s life by strengthening the fibres that insinuate our being. Clearly while there is a metaphysical world of untold dimension there is also an inescapably blunt but equally wholesome foundation beneath us all. Straightening the corners, overlooking the trifling debris and dust gives a bigger picture, one which clarifies and expounds.

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Steel-cut oats are oat groats that have been sliced into smaller pieces, whereas old-fashioned oats are oat groats that have been flattened. They all contain the same pieces and parts, but the difference between slicing and flattening explains why steel-cut oats take longer to cook (around 30 minutes).

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