Hi, I’m Alexandra, a tea drinking humanoid with an over active imagination. When not scribbling on random bits of paper, or doodling in my journal, I capture my thoughts with a butterfly net, stuff them into tiny glass jars with brass lids, and store them on dusty shelves in various corners of my mind till I’m ready to share them with the rest of the world.
𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧
The wind was blowing crazy fierce this weekend, so much so, it blew the snow into interesting sculptures.
Happy Cat has come over all pink …
It’s not that I’ve been thinking about death, even though, last year, I had another brush with death — waving at Him on the sidelines of my own personal battlefield. But Death has a way of following us around once we reach (a) a certain age or (b) have that close encounter with Him. He’s just there over our left shoulder, lurking.
For now, He’s mildly passive but, we all know, who know, that this state of being can change, and change in a fraction of a second. A mere heartbeat, and it can all be over. Death being there to catch us as the light winks out.
What started me thinking about Him, again, is talk of wills and notaries and the Other Half having had a fright of their own: the possible loss of me. And here we are, talking about what we want to happen to what’s left of us when we pass to that other realm, that supposed realm of Darkness. Though I prefer to think of it as the realm of light. But of course, we’ll never know till we arrive which state it will be and then, given no one on the other side has ever let us know, we are, as they say, in the dark till that final moment of seeing the light.
But all jesting aside, the OH has been talking almost nonstop about us getting our affairs organised. Not that I own anything of great value. But needs must, as they say. And so, the OH has set up an appointment with a Notary to start the process which, I understand, will take a couple of visits at least, to get said affairs in order.
The thing is, all this talk of wills has me looking over my shoulder to check out if Death is still hanging around (of course He is) but you know what I mean.
It’s not like any of us get out of this alive to live another day. Death and taxes. Isn’t that the axiom?
Am I rambling? Probably. To be honest, all this talk of notaries and wills has me twitchy. I told myself after surgery to live in the moment, the here and now, and not think or worry about the future and things beyond my limited control. But here we are. Sometimes we have to plan for a future we don’t particularly want to think about, our own demise.
All joking aside, sometimes we have no choice but to step outside of the here and now, and make decisions for our future. So if ever there were a moment of Memento Mori, it’s the writing of a will. And that time to have that last say in the land of the living of what happens to you when Death finally does come.
I would like my last will and testament will simply read: Bury me under a sapling oak.
𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧
Let’s face it, I really did poorly last year with my reads averaging one book per month with a long dry spell over the summer (as I was otherwise occupied). Ending with nothing read in November and December or, I should say, nothing finished. I did start THE LOST by Sarah Beth Durst in (I think) November but, sad to say, DNFd it to the TBR pile on the coffee table. And then, excited to get Len Deighton’s reissued BERLIN GAME, started reading that and, well, got sidetracked.
It’s still sitting on the side of the coffee table next to three stacks of unread or partially read books. I got a couple of chapters in and wasn’t feeling it. Though I do love me a good spy thriller set in 60s-70s pre smart phones when Gooks still had to do a lot of leg work. When it was all about connections and spy craft rather than tech. But, all that aside, I’m struggling to focus.
Cue my third read in as many months. A DROP OF CORRUPTION, a fantasy and the second in a series by Robert Jackson Bennett. I raced through book one earlier this year, pre-op, and loved the characters and world building, which was so different to the usual books I read, murder-mysteries and thrillers. I’m hoping as I’m familiar with the world and characters that I’ll find the same magic as I did in book one.
Wish me luck, I’m starting it this afternoon after lunch.
𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧
On this day, Donald Trump inspired a riot of the capital.
While John F. Kennedy inspired a generation.
I’m nondescript. Of average female height, do not stand out in a crowd as such, and am probably considered average to look at with short semi blond mousy hair, petaled blue eyes 1 and an unmemorable face unless, you are paying attention. Then, you might see the small scar to one side of my nose, and then remark on the odd shaped nose sat above somewhat thin lips.
Definitely not pretty and nothing to write home about. Sometimes this to my advantage if I want to disappear into a crowd and not be noticed. But mostly it means I get served last at the deli counter when I go in for sliced meat and potato salad.
Does that matter in the long run? Probably not. When you look at the big picture being average is okay, most of the time. I can’t say I enjoy it when I want prompt service, but hey, it’s something I’ve adapted to however much I wish otherwise. This is it, this is my life and, at my age, it’s a little late to complain or, worse, try to change.
I am who I am. I look how I do thanks to my parents and a random set of genes shaken not stirred to perfection. Thanks, I’m use to the face that stares back at me from out of the mirror (hi, Alex).
𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧
Though it’s true, one eye has a large brown spot in it which, according to my mother is inherited from her side of the family. She had it but not her sister. I have it but not my sister. My mum’s mum had it but not her sister. You see what I mean. Also, my gran was told by a traveller it was the mark of a witch, an Irish thing apparently. ↩︎
We decided to catch up on one or two shows, on Netflix last night, and chose the movie, Troll (no, not the kiddies animated version). And, I have to say, I’m glad we went with a silly fantasy because, it was ridiculously good fun. Putting aside whether we believe in trolls or not. It doesn’t matter. They gave their existence plausibility in this amusing Norwegian romp through the countryside.
Genuine and heartfelt in places, whimsical in others, it was all the scifi references and throw away lines that made this all the more enjoyable. And yes, before you ask, we will be watching Troll II at some point and will probably enjoy it just as much.
Great fun from beginning to end.
Four bags of buttery popcorn 🍿🍿🍿🍿
We decided to set to a do a deep clean on the apartment today given we hadn’t touched it in over two weeks. So we dismantled the tree and stowed everything holiday related back down in our lockup, in the basement. Then we set too and vacuumed, dusted, washed, and stripped the bed.
Strangely enough, it only took us just over a couple of hours to do all that, which surprised me. Talk about working like a team, or clockwork. It was cathartic. And I’m thankful the OH did most of the heavy lifting. I’m still on no lifting anything over 20 lbs till the next doctors appointment in March. So I’m behaving myself till then.
After a much needed shower and a very light lunch we collapsed on the couch and watched a couple of episodes of Neil Patrick Harris in his new Netflix gameshow (yes, I watched a gameshow can you believe that?) What’s In The Box. What you need to know is I don’t normally watch that much TV, and definitely not a gameshow, but there we were laughing and thoroughly enjoying this one for what it was worth.
To be honest, after everything, I think it was just what the doctor ordered, something silly, fun, and mindless to watch and distract us after a morning’s workout cleaning.
Now, excuse me while I go make a brew and watch another episode and see who’s going to Paris.
𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧
This shot of the moon was taken earlier tonight by my nephew, Cedrik. It looks amazing.
A desperate father searching for his runaway daughter gets caught up in a murder case and stumbles upon secrets that could destroy his family for good.
We watched the last couple of episodes of Harlan Coben’s latest mini series, Run Away, on Netflix last night. And, well, what can I say? What seemed like a great premise and a story ripped straight from the news headlines, this one came across as convoluted rather than clever and muddled rather than twisted. Both of us kind of guessed early on certain key plot points even before the so-called great reveal at the end.
There were some interesting aspects, but over-all? It lacked integrity in that we’re once again presented with the big bad cult brainwashing people into subservient belief. As the side plot, quite frankly, it bordered on the ridiculous. And then, the big reveal?
Seriously, no. Just, no.
A struggling 2 bags of popcorn 🍿🍿
Another bright sunny day, but boy is it cold out there. It was MINUS 22 again this morning. And, with the windchill, only supposed to get up to about minus 17 this afternoon. Welcome to winter in the Frozen North.
Okay, so everyone hates writing lists like this because, let’s face it, none of us stick to them. It’s like the minute we even think about them we fail, whether we’ve listed 1 thing to achieve or thirty.
This time, however, after the year I’ve had and, let’s face it the fact I’m still here with you all, I’ve decided if ever there was a year to check off items on my list, it’s now, in 2026.
So, here we go:
And you, did you make any resolutions for the New Year?
𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧
From Boxing Day to New Years Day, I survived my two visits to various inlaws, and the onslaught of food followed by food, followed by yet more food. Yesterday my nephew and his girlfriend came by and picked us up, early, too early for my liking, to go to my mother in law’s for brunch. We drove through a horizontal snowstorm on icy roads driving between 45- 50km and yet … the sun kept trying it’s best to break through.
My mother in law put on a big spread, but I think she though there would be 10 more people there than there actually was. There were only 7 of us this year, but mothers always over prepare the amount of food anyone one person might need to eat. I did my best to politely refuse all the extras and just ate what I knew I’d enjoy and left it to the boys to vacuum up the surplice. I really don’t need jello, cream and ice cream with my teeny slice of pie.
I’m just glad the two kids wanted to go home early while it was still daylight, given the snowy conditions. So we escaped mid afternoon, and drove safely home enjoying the winter weather without incident. Thankfully, the ploughs were out, four-deep, doing the roads both journeys. I for one was so thankful for their due diligence.
Today? Today in stark contrast, the sun is shining in a clear vivid blue sky but, with the wind chill, it’s a brisk minus 21 at the moment. It looks enticing enough to want to go for an afternoon walk but, on reflection, and the need to get dressed in one too many layers of clothing, I think I’ll just watch the afternoon pass twatching hrough the window, safely on the couch, reading a good book.
Happy new year everyone!
𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧
Well, I don’t care what anyone else says, we watched Borderlands on DVD last night and, I have to say, it was pure unadulterated fun. I should also add noisy, colourful, crazy, madcap, seriously demented fun. Kudos to both Kate Blanchet and Jamie Lee Curtis for knocking it out of the ballpark. Seriously, Jamie Lee gets better every film I see her in. Also, Kate was excellent as Lilith, she nailed the character.
Four bags of popcorn for the entertainment win 🍿🍿🍿🍿
Yesterday was our busiest and noisiest day yet of the Christmas holidays in that we were at my sister in law, Valerie’s place, for the family dinner — which is normally on Christmas Eve but, because of work and other commitments by the young’uns, everything was moved.
It also meant my sister in law was the one on driving duties. She had to come all the way from to Beaupre coast to pick us up, and then, head out of town into the sticks to collect my nephew, Cedrik. Before taking us all back up the coast to collect the mother in law. This journey, on a good day, would normally take about 45 minutes (with clear roads) but, due to it being early morning, Boxing Day, the plan went out the window, as it were, and the journey, due to traffic snarls at all the major intersections, took us an twice as long: 95 minutes to be exact.
Truely I have never seen so much traffic on the road. Everyone, and I mean half the population of the city, were in their cars determined to go to the Boxing Day sales at one mall or another.
It. Was. Insane. Out. There!
Crazies aside. Being late back to Valerie’s meant all hands on deck to start peeling veggies and getting various things ready and or cooked; except the turkey, thank god, which Valerie had cooked Christmas Eve. Throw in two LARGE excitable Newfoundland dogs demanding attention and belly rubs, and it was none stop chaos.
All the rushing was for naught as my nephews partner was working and got off work late, and then, had to drive out of town just as everyone else were leaving the malls for home. So, of course, it took her twice as long to get to us. I guess a late dinner is better than no dinner, right?
Anyway, in the end, all was well, we ate, we drank, and we made merry as if it were Christmas Eve, and enjoyed ourselves. Oh, and what did I get for Christmas from everyone?
Day twelve of the 12 days of Winter Wonder Photo Challenge and the topic is: Home
Day eleven of the 12 days of Winter Wonder Photo Challenge and the topic is: Feast
Day ten of the 12 days of Winter Wonder Photo Challenge and the topic is: Travel
Day nine of the 12 days of Winter Wonder Photo Challenge and the topic is: Baking
Well, the time draws near for Santa to be out on his sleigh so I’d just like to say to one and all (old and new) a very Merry Christmas and all the best for the coming New Year!
