ATM ding ding ding

Sights and Sounds and Security Issues
at OLG Slots
Monday, March 12
8:00 - 8:45 a.m.

ATM
ding ding ding ding ding ding

Asian Princess
Heart of Gold
50 Lions
Fireball
Wolf Run
Code Red
Hexbreaker
Golden Goddess

dingdingdingdingdingding

Sign: "Winner's Circle Rewards"

dingdingdingdingding

A woman in bright earrings and a fake fur parka plays a machine called Kitty Glitter.

Sign: "OLG Slots & Casinos -- Bet You'll Have Fun!!"

dingdingdingdingdingdingdingdingdingding

A few guys play two machines at a time.
2 cent machines
5 cent machines
penny machines
(What's the harm??)

Wild Blue
Silver Raven

I notice the security guard following me, eventually he stops me, asks what I'm doing.
I say I'm trying to figure things out, I'm new to this, I say.
But the notebook, what's that for?
I'm writing down names of machines, I explain. They're kind of funky, don't you think?
He doesn't answer.

Starlight Fire
Quick Strike Major
Fire Opals
White Orhcid
Red Lions
Wild Wolf
Miss Kitty
Tiki Talk

dingdingdingdingdingding

Harelquin Hearts

An older man in a plaid cap plays Chieftans.

Triple Lucky
Triple 777
Triple Stars
Triple Slingo
Mermaid's Gold

The security guard sidles up to me again, arms folded over his chest, says he's never seen anyone writing things down in here before.
I say I'm sure he hasn't.

Live Lobsters

Nowhere to sit except at machines.

dingdingdingding

I sit down at Pelican Pete and when a passing drink server asks if she can get me anything, I ask if she can tell me how the machines work. She's happy to help and it's very simple, I discover; but then, it would have to be, wouldn't it?

dingdingdingdingdingding

I play 30 cents worth then cash out.

Sun and Moon
Buccaneer
African Diamonds
Golden Theatre Deluxe (takes bills from $5 to $100)
Diamond Solitaire Deluxe

Staff walk around wiping down machines, hand sanitizer is available.

dingdingdingdingdingdingding

I stop a moment at Jumpin' Jalapenos and a woman in a red coat sits down at the machine beside me, plays a while then leaves.

Aztec Kingdom
Leopard's Claw
Peacock Magic
Jewels of India
Siberian Storm

I notice there are exactly no machines named for anything along the lines of Contentment, Inner Wisdom, Fresh Air.

Twin Warriors
China Shores

A tall man appears, smiles, says hello, introduces himself as the manager, asks what I'm doing.
I explain. I tell him, really, he has nothing to worry about.
As he walks away, he says he doesn't worry about much.
There is worry in his voice as he says it.

Gold Gold Gold
Diamonds Dublin

dingdingdingdingding

Instant Riches
Full Moon Diamond
Ontario Problem Gamblling Helpline above the BET MAX and SPIN AGAIN buttons
1-888-230-3505

dingdingdingdingding

Capricorn Mountain
Eleven Pearls (I play this, win a dollar and cash out immediately)
Yellow Brick Road
Glinda the Good Witch

The floor manager, a woman this time, comes over, says hello, tries to get a look at my notebook, asks what I'm doing.
I tell her I'm fascinated by the way the place is set up, how the machines work, their names; I point out I've played a few.
She looks concerned.
I smile, tell her not to be.
She says she's not but she can't stop trying to sneak a peek at my notebook.

Wicked Riches
Jack Pot Vegas Hits
Cats
Peacock Magic (played this and lost 15 cents)
Horoscope
Twin Win

The coat check cum snack counter cum lottery ticket kiosk mostly sells tickets; no one checks their coat, they don't even take them off at the machines, maybe to reassure themselves they won't be there long enough to bother.

dingdingdingding

Fort Knox
Crystal Forest
Wild Wild Safari
Maiko
Paraoh's Contest
Lucky Fountain
Stand & Deliver
Gold Fish

The same machine you use to redeem your winnings, breaks large bills just in case you'd like to stick around another minute or two while a video-screen shows well-dressed people laughing, chatting, hands raised in the air in victory; none of them wear coats.

dingdingdingdingdingding

But in reality no one chats
No one laughs
No one even smiles
Nor makes eye contact with another
Except the men and women who wander about asking if all is well and would you like a drink.

Rock Star Sevens
Triple American Spirit
Triple Charms
Cleopatra

After 45 minutes I redeem my ticket; total losses = 25 cents. (started with $5.00, leaving with $4.75)

I pass the floor manager on the way out, tell her I'm leaving, that she can relax.
She laughs (a mixture of relief and confusion), then says Oh, that's okay, stay as long as you like.

Red Hot Fusion
Planet Moolah

to make asap

To Make ASAP,
and (A Few) Things I Learned...
from HEALTHY STARTS HERE
by Mairlyn Smith, Whitecap Books

TO MAKE ASAP:

Asparagus Salad (and all things asparagus)
Curried Lentils with Spinach
(Secret Ingredient) Chocolate Mousse
Fennel with Spanish Onion Slaw
Leek, Parsnip & Apple Soup
Sweet & Spicy Walnuts
Marinated Mushrooms
Winter Pea Salad
Summer Pea & Mint Salad
Crispy Kale (with parmessan)
Tuscan Supper (a soup)
Olive & Herb Topping (for salmon)
Four Sauces: citrus, teriyaki, wasabi, dijon
Coleslaw: master recipe
Chili Roasted Broccoli Stalks
Asian Style Chicken & Watercress Soup
Roasted Butternut Squash with Turmeric
Pan-Fried and Oven-Finished Fall Veggies

(A FEW) THINGS I LEARNED:

My addiction to salt can be overcome.

Serving sizes on labels vary. Marketers love this trick.

Cut dates with scissors.

How to choose asparagus, broccoli, fish. (The darker the broccoli the better.)

Don't over-stir mushrooms.

Mushroom stems are good for stock.

Mushrooms are the only vegetable that contains vitamin D.

A good temp for fridge is 4 degrees C. (40F)

I need a set of dry measuring cups. Glass is for liquids. Silly me.

How to measure liquids.

Yogurt is a dry ingredient.

Easy way to peel ginger. (with a spoon) (it works!!)

How to hard 'cook', as opposed to hard 'boil' eggs. Makes for fluffier yolks. (it works!!)

Rand McNally Deluxe

(Some) items found in convenience store
(in the order they're displayed)
at Fifth Wheel Truckstop, Bowmanville, ON

Rand McNally Deluxe Road ATlas
Chips
Maps
Scented Candles
Harley Chachkies
Harley Dog Chachkies
Greeting Cards
Angel Pins
Single Serving Cereal in a Bowl
Single Serving Microwavable Soup in a Bowl
Single Serving Chili in a Bowl
Single Serving Ravioli in a Bowl
Paper Napkins
Paper Plates
Plastic Cutlery
Can Openers
Corkscrews
Sardines
Miniature Jar Instant Coffee
Sweet & Low
Dads Oatmeal Cookies
Chips Ahoy
Ziploc Bags
Ketchup
Mirror Mounts
Wet/Dry Vac
Halogen Headlights
CB Antenna
Antenna Mount
Mini Jack Strap
Cables
12 Volt Power Socket
Dome Studs
Noise Cancelling Microphones
LED Marker lights
Rope (Nylon, Sisal)
"Wide Load" Flag
5" Convex Mirror
Metal Strapping
Hubcaps
Nut Covers
Canadian "D" Sign
Steering Wheel Covers
Cowboy Hats
"No Smoking" Decals
"Caution: Wide Right Turn" Decals
Steering Wheel Spinner (skull)
Licence Plate Bullet Studs
Soft Bottom Ashtray
Tarp Straps
3-Lock Grip Pliers
Air Freshener
Feather Dusters
Bottled Water
Pop
Chop and Grate Machine (as seen on TV)
Smart LiDZ (as seen on TV)
Boot & Sneaker Dryer (as seen on TV)
Toy Guitar
Back Rest
Postcards
Steam Mop
Toy Trucks
Leather Belts
Stuffed Toys
Toilet Paper
Sweatshirts, Toques and Socks
Ice Scrapers
Books: Dean Koontz, Louis Lamour
Baseball Caps
Fluorescent Orange Vinyl Jackets
Coffee Mugs
Box Set of 'Sex in the City' Body Lotion & Eau du Parfum
Piggy Banks
Charm (and other) Bracelets
Sunglasses
CDs: Roy Orbison, Dr. Hook, Shania, Elvis, Franki Valli, Lonestar
Audio Books: John Saul, Louis Lamour, Daniel Silva
DVDs: Silence of the Lambs, Missionary Man
Souvenir Key Chains
Work Gloves
Canary Yellow Vinyl Rain Gear
Canary Yellow Helmets
Pads of "Drivers Daily Log"
Pads of "Drivers Inspection Report"
Pads of "Drivers Trip & Cost Report"
ID Sealer
Mountable Map Light
Hole Punch, Stapler, Liquid Paper
Pens
Playing Cards
Calculator
Paper Clips, Rubber Bands
Animal Crackers
Miscellaneous Toys
Faerie Figurines
Nascar Decals
Candle Holders
"Remember When" Books
Wall Sized Framed Pictures of Horses, Blurry Landscapes
Miscellaneous Pharmacy
Gum, Candy, etc

abernethy, wood, mackinnon

Brock Township, November 2011
Sunny hillside with a view
And not a Johnnie Walker among them

Abernethy
Wood
MacKinnon
MacLean
McInnis
McInnes
McGregor
MacDonald
Michael
Cameron
Clark
McCallum
Duncan
Campbell
McPhaden
McLean
McQueen
McDonald
Philp
McIntyre
McFadyen
Bailey
Sheldon
Brown
Wylie

Babysitting a kid on Bermuda Avenue

Jobs I had
before I was eighteen,
starting with age twelve.

Babysitting a Kid on Bermuda Avenue whose name I forget. Boy, maybe five or six, possibly annoying, not sure. Had a dog. TV in basement. Nice parents. Went out a lot. Paid well.

Selling Regal Cards and Novelty Items door to door. Best customers in the high rise apartments over by Food City.

Selling Sarah Coventry Jewellery through home parties. Only ever had one home party -- hosted by my mum. I let her friends look at my samples plus showed them a few nifty tricks with a scarf I learned from the training brochure. If I sold anything, I don't remember.

Selling Avon. This was so awful I've blanked it out. All I remember is thinking the plastic turquoise case was a kind of grown up version of Barbie, where you, yourself, have become the doll. I still have a mild reaction whenever I see a stray catalogue or, worse, a Tupperware full of assorted 'product line' at a garage sale. It ruined turquoise for me.

Strawberry picking one summer; had to get up before dawn, walk to the Towers intersection, wait for a flatbed truck that would deliver me and the other pickers to a farm forty minutes (by flatbed) away. Ate more than I picked. Got a tan and a rash and a very small cheque.

Slicing meat and cheese at Tothe's Delicatessan. Also slicing fingers. Visits to emerg aside, I quite liked this job. Make-your-own free lunch included, which meant shaved Black Forest ham and smoked cheese on a fresh kaiser slathered with sweet butter and grainy mustard, a large dill pickle... and custardy, creamy slice of Napoleon, washed down with Orange Crush.

Receptionist at a denture clinic. Mostly what I did was take messages, make appointments and when people arrived with their broken dentures, pulling them straight out of their mouths to leave for adjustment, I'd grab a kleenex and carry them into the back room. I also paid myself because the denturist, a madman from somewhere in Eastern Europe, named Dr. P., did not know the going rate. Yoost write out some kind chick! he'd yell, so I multiplied my hours each week by the minimum wage, wrote a cheque to myself and he signed it. Sometimes he'd yell for me to go to the liquor store and get him some brandy. Only taking teaspoon for medeecinal! One time he yelled my name from the back room in such a way I thought he'd yanked out his own teeth by accident. I ran in to see and he was there in his big black dentist chair, leaning back, holding a huge butcher knife in one hand and a peach in the other. You vant peach? he yelled. Is good! I did not have peach.

As I have been given

First sentences of culled books
enroute to Sally Ann
July, 2011

As I have been given a large and magnificent diary for Christmas--seven by ten and nearly two inches thick--I intend to fill it in as long as may ardour lasts.

It is difficult to know quite where to begin this story, but I have fixed my choice on a certain Wednesday at luncheon at the Vicarage.

I'd never felt so intimidated ringing a doorbell.

The espresso machine behind my shoulder hissed like an angry snake.

"Thanks be, I'm done with geometry, learning or teaching it," said Anne Shirley, a trifle vindictively, as she thumped a somewhat battered volume of Euclid into a big chest of books, banged the lid in triumph, and sat down upon it, looking at Diana Wright across the Green Gables garret, with grey eyes that were like a morning sky.

It was late May.

It was the opening day of the summer term at Meadowbank school.

The July storm moved down the valley, rumbling around either side of the hills and Pembina Lake.

Mrs. Ferrars died on the night of the 16th-17th September--a Thursday.

Miss Jane Marple was sitting by her window.

I was standing at the window of Poirot's rooms looking out idly on the street below.

"Anything of interest this morning, Miss Lemon?" he asked as he entered the room the following morning.

The memory of the public is short.

Both Frank and Nancy have been married before.

When Farmer Oak smiled, the corners of his mouth spread till they were within an unimportant distance of his ears, his eyes were reduced to chinks, and diverging wrinkles appeared round them, extending upon his countenance like the rays in a rudimentary sketch of the rising sun.

Every time he drove through Yorkville, Rosenbaum got angry, just on general principles.

Look at me now, Joshua thought.

I, Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus This-that-and-the-other (for I shall not trouble you yet with all my titles), who was once, and not so long ago either, known to my friends and relatives and associates a 'Claudius the Idiot', or 'That Caludius', or 'Claudius the Stammerer', A.D. 41 or 'Clau-Clau-Claudius', or at best as 'Poor Uncle Claudius', am now about to write this strange history of my life; starting from my earliest childhood and continuing year by year until I reach the fateful point of change where, some eight years ago, at the age of fifty-one, I suddenly found myself caught in what I may call the'golden predicament' from which I have never since become disentangled.

We called him Old Yeller.

About midway along the Atlantic seaboard of the North American continent lies a strip of land which is known today as the Sate of Old Catawba.

"That is New York."

The children were at the Theatre, acting to Three Cows as much as they could remember of Midsummer Night's Dream.

I was nothing but a pimply little question mark on the day my sister and I first walked into Ken Jones Music in Etobicoke.

Some twelve miles west of Istanbul, beyond the outskirts of the city in the flat farm country near the coast, is Yesilkoy International Airport.

The extent of territory occupied by the Ojibway nation, is the largest of any Indian possessions of which there is any definite knowledge.

We started dying before the snow, and like the snow, we continued to fall.

The ship that was carrying me away from England to Africa in the autumn of 1938 was called the SS Mantola.

After an hour the young policewoman brought Fielding a cup of coffee and left him alone in the room.

The Beast destroyed my brief peace.

I was never so amazed in my life as when the Sniffer drew his concealed weapon from its case and struck me to the ground, stone dead.

3 Km - Grass

Randomly Selected Kilometre Markers
Eastbound on Hwy 407
Sunday, June 19/11

3 Km - Grass
4 Km - Guelph Line
5 Km - Dundas Street
7 Km - Appleby Creek, new housing development
11 Km - Recently ploughed field
14 Km - fallow field
20 Km - Sixth Line
25 Km - Lower Baseline Road
39.5 Km - Financial Drive
49 Km - kids' soccer game
50 Km - Algonquin Power
53 Km - Airport Road
53.5 Km - Mimico Creek
57 Km - large pond/small lake
61.5 Km - Rainbow Creek
62 Km - train trestle over woodland
77 Km - Yonge Street
85 Km - Warden Avenue
90 Km - grass, trees, chain link fence
92 Km - Markham Road
92.5 Km - Rouge River
94 Km - Ninth Line
96 Km - Barn
98 Km - York/Durham Line
100.5 Km - "Aircraft Patrolled" sign
103 Km - field, trees
103.5 Km - Sideline Road
104 Km - thicket, pond
104.5 Km - woodland
105 Km - woodland, Urfe Creek
105.5 Km - barn, Brock Road

Grey Whale: Surfing

From a book I'd intended to give to a young niece
but have since decided I love
far too much to part with.

Grey Whale: Surfing With Devilfish
Minke Whale: The Camera-Shy Little Rorqual
Sei Whale: The Sprinter
Fin Whale: Asymmetry in the Whale Worlds
Blue Whale: Old Sulphur-Bottom
Humpback Whale: Not-So-Gentle Giant
Bowhead Whale: Skirting the Arctic Ice
Northern Right Whale: Lonely Survivor
Sperm Whale: The Generic Whale
Cuvier's Beaked Whale: Elusive Warrior
Northern Bottlenose Whale: The Flathead
Beluga: Ghostly Screamer
Narwhal: Acoustic Jousting
Long-Finned Pilot Whale: Stranded High and Dry
Killer Whale: Ignoring the Rules
White-Beaked Dolphin: The Squidhound
Atlantic White-sided Dolphin: Water Ballet in the N. Atlantic
Pacific White-sided Dolphin: Playful Pest
Harbour Porpoise: The Puffing Pig
Dall's Porpoise: Hyperactive Speed Demon

tips and tricks

Words, Phrases and Prices
from The Bay's advertising flyer
titled, 'The Art of Beauty'

tips and tricks
the power of cosmetics
take beauty seriously
skin consultation
$22.50
$66
fragrance wardrobing
prescription: cleanse, hydrate, concealer, foundation, powder, bronzer, blush, illuminator, brows, eyelid, crease, liner, mascara, liner, lipstick, gloss
dancing queen status
apply
smudge
follow natural outline
fill in
curl lashes
$160
$93
$140
brush around the inner corner of the eye
shimmer on the cheekbone, nose, collarbone, shoulders
orgasm
$99
light-reflecting liquids
pearlescent
golden
multi-faceted in more ways than one
instantly refreshed
RADIANT
face, neck, shoulders, decollete
NATURAL healthy GLOW
a perfect tan is not a seasonal luxury
eight shades, newly designed packaging
hydrating
addict
voluminizing
dresses lips with a veil
shimmering
sheer
melts
brilliantly plumped look
active and animated faces
complete solution
aging, sunburn, acne
boost
minimmize age spots, dark spots, freckles
discoloration
regain clarity, youthful glow
dark spot corrector
improvement
visible reduction
concentrated serum
reverse melanin production
luminous
developing
$95
diminished
visibly brighter
refreshing
#30
lackluster
intensely plumper
natural radiance
antidote
top secrets
peel technology
stimulate
$70
$71
exfoliation
epidermis renewal
rested-looking
$89
potent power
rare botanical
strengthens
irregular pigmentations
$390
moisture
hydration
barrier
imperfections
rarified, seduce, serpentine
neuropeptides
$54
paralyzing effects
botox in a bottle
freezes
contractions
striking speed
$160
stranglehold
french clay
skin-brightening
wrinkle-dispatching
$83
$118
youth activating
lit from within
$95
rivals
anti-aging
wrinkle prescription
noticeably reduces
wrinkle depth
irritation
veritcal fret
stubborn furrows
frownies
$140
$88
youthful bounce
clinically firmer
lifted-looking
continued use
cosmeceutical
clinical grade
collagen-boosting peptides
super-charged
$44
$110
$28
ceramides
antioxidants
active molecule
stimulate
DNA repair
stretch marks
$162
primes
absorption
treatment
fights aging
brighten, hydrates, refines
brightening serum
spot corrector
day cream
injectables, peels, lasers
microdermabrasion, facials
$170
battle
sabilized
elimination
$58
synthetic growth hormone
lightweight
firming
super-power ingredient
$275
hyper-pigmentation
free-radical scavengers
defends
$330
de-puffs
increases circulation
$275
feminine fragrance
embodies richness
enveloped, sensual
$126
evocative
addictive
exclusive
$89
$140
#127
ethereal energy
#102
flamboyant, elegant, spontaneous
$88
voluptuous, sensual, sophisticated
$102
$150
$80
$70
wanting more
$32

hong kong: front

The other Front Door Back Doors
From the first twelve pages of Google


1. hong kong: front door/back door (blog)

2. Front Door/Back Door Restaurant (Missouri)

3. Your Lucky Directions and the Front Door Back Door Confusion (book)

4. Hong Kong: Front Door/Back Door (book)

5. Front door, back door: seascapes and the Australian pysche (essay)

6. Front door/back door question (forum)

Orange Red Turquoise

Colours of Sea Glass
In order of most rare to most common
From the book Pure Sea Glass, by Richard LaMotte

Orange
Red
Turquoise
Yellow
Black
Teal
Grey
Pink
Aqua
Cornflower Blue
Cobalt Blue
Opaque White
Citron
Purple/Amethyst
Soft Green
Soft Blue
Forest Green
Lime Green
Golden Amber
Amber
Jade
Kelly Green
Brown White (Clear)

air canda best buy canadian

First Items on Google Search
Eh to Zed
February, 2011

air canada
best buy
canadian tire
dictionary
ebay
facebook
gmail
hotmail
ikea
job bank
kijiji
lcbo
mapquest
nhl
olg
pizza pizza
qwop
rogers
skype
ttc
ufc
via rail
walmart
xbox
youtube
zellers

cowboys & indians

Three Tiers of Magazines,
All Shelved under "Art"
Chapters, Ajax, February, 2011

TOP TIER of "ART"--
Cowboys & Indians
Armoured Militaria Magazine
Military History
Canada's History
The Scots Magazine
Heritage Britain and Ireland
Military Heritage
World War II
History
After the Battle
Ancient Warfare
National History
The Highlander
Wild West
Lost Treasure
Wills and Kate: Special Souvenir Edition
William and Kate: A Royal Romance
The Scottish Banner
et al

MIDDLE TIER of "ART"--
Fine Art Conmnoisseur
Wester Art
Pottery Making
The Art of Watercolor
International Artist
American Art Collector
American Artist
Art of the West
Artasiapacific
Blue Canvas
Watercolor Artist
Art & Australia
American Art Review
Art Forum
(t)here
The Artist
Art Lies
Art Auction
Creative Review
et al

BOTTOM TIER of "ART"--
Tatto.1 Tribal
Rebel Ink
Flash
Tatoo Society
Inked
Magazine Art
Wallpaper
Juxtapoz
Public
Communication Arts
Urban Ink
Tatoo Life
Tatoo
Total Tatoo
Tatoo Energy
Ink Shots
et al

NOTE: Literary Journals shelved under "Entertainment",
along with Horror Hound and MAD

I was going

Discussion among three schoolgirls
Pickering Library, January 2011
11:35 a.m. - 12 noon

I was going to buy a notebook, laugh at me, obvious, like, all this stuff we’ve learned, like, like, Imperialism, tests are easy, I don’t, oh, FaceBook without WiFi, nothing’s working? click on something, I’m on a profile, wow I can’t go on mine, search, no internet connection, quiet revolution or whatever it is, civil rights, on TV, all I know, page 246, looking over my stuff, didn’t study hard, so nice not having to study, after science, history tomorrow, so simple, whatever, no WiFi, there is WiFi, here, don’t know anything about Nellie McClung, wasn’t she, speaker, fought for women in the kitchen, right to vote, go on page 40, like she was, women’s christian temperance movement, in french, oh, whatever, I thought it was WTCU, or women’s temperance christian union, or is that just the same? Halifax explosion, bombed harbour, only know from going to Halifax, and time of Germany, Hitler came out of nowhere, sided with Japan, U.S. got cheesed off, Japan decided to bomb Pearl Harbour, Canada got mad or whatever, Japanese people being treated bad, Pearl Harbour so close to Canada and so are they going to bomb Canada also? No, Halifax Harbour, oh. I think it was an accident, I got confused when she said Pearl Harbour, I kept thinking of Halifax, so Japan bombed Pearl Harbour or Halifax harbour? bombs in water, remember in Finding Nemo they had those chairs? have to know about bombing, I lost a whole section, who were the Bolsheviks? wanted higher salary, revolution in Russia, communism, I found prohibition, WCTU during war, proposed factories, used wheat for food for soldiers and ammunition, 1918, WWI or II? What time period?

My Sweet Orange

'Books to Read' :Part One
Entries noted in Georgia O'Keefe engagement calendar, gift from Chead
From 1992 until ??

My Sweet Orange Tree -- by Jose Mauro de Vasconcelos
Letters from the Country -- by Marsha Boulton
The Debt to Pleasure -- John Lanchester
Everybody's Favourites -- Arlene Perly Rae
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court -- Mark Twain
The Little Red Buckets -- Lynda M. Nelson
The God of Small Things -- Arundhati Roy
The Secret Path -- Paul Brunton
An Experiment in Love -- Hilary Mantel
The Strange One -- Fred Bodsworth
My Journey to Lhasa -- Alexandra David-Neel
A Life of One's Own -- Joanna Field (aka Marion Milner)
Promise of Shelter -- Robyn Sarah
Visitors -- Anita Brookner
In a Land of Plenty -- Tim Pears
The Life I Really Lived -- Jessamyn West
The Career of Katherine Bush -- Elinor Glyn
Anything by Zora Neale Hurston
Death Rapture -- Carol Bruneau
Incredible Co-incidence -- Alan Vaughan
Surpassing the Love of Men -- Lillian Faderman
The Giving Tree -- Shel Silverstein
The Illustrated Man -- Ray Bradbury
Anatomy of Restlessness -- Bruce Chatwin
The Universe is a Green Dragon -- Brian Swimme
The Garden Letters -- Elspeth Bradley and Judy Maddocks
Marrow and Other Stories -- Nora Gold
Solitude of the Self -- Elizabeth Cady Stanton
The Power and the Glory -- Graeme Greene
Touch the Dragon -- Karen Connelly
Theory of Synchronicities -- Carl Jung
Read Barbara Gowdy
Read David McFadden
The Gilded Gutter Life of Francis Bacon -- Daniel Farson
Arctic Dreams -- Barry Lopez
Leonard Woolf?? wrote about hippies in S.F.?
Loving and Leaving the Good Life -- Helen Nearing
Laurie Colwin (food writer)
The Hungry Ocean -- Linda Greenwall (sp?)
Read Shirley Faessler (about early Kensington Market)
First Person Plural -- Cameron West
Read Alec Le Sueur (about Tibet)
The Tipping Point -- Malcolm Gladwell
Late Bloomers -- Brendan Gill
Let Evening Come -- Mary C. Morrison
Anam Cara -- John O'Donohue
Haley's Hints -- Graham Haley (household, etc., hints)
Girlitude: A Portrait of the 50's and 60's -- Emma Tennant
Ian Dengler (food historian)
Too Close to the Falls -- Catherine Gildiner
I Knock at the Door -- Sean O'Casey

Grey is the colour

After Lunch
Idylwyld Inn, London, Ont.
October 3, 2010

Grey is the colour of the pillars on the porch of the Idylwyld Inn; also the colour of the porch floor and the colour of both the hair and the suit of the man sitting on his walker surrounded by family, all of whom just came from the hotel dining room and now stand silently staring at him while he stares at grey porch floor and then someone says "Oh, you brought the Volvo," and, after a lull, someone else says, "Well, this sure is a nice spot," then another lull and the grey man on the walker looks to his left and here comes the Volvo and everyone is suddenly animated with goodbyes -- "Goodbye dad... bye, bye, take care of yourself," and there are hugs and the relief is palpable as dad is put into the Volvo and the sons and daughters and spouses become awkwardly chatty with each other as they take turns reaching in to pat dad on the shoulder one last time, then someone closes dad's door -- Bye dad! they all shout, all smiles now while dad sits alone, hermetically sealed in the unmoving car and the family shuffle on the pavement in silence and then one mutters to another about what kind of hydrangea this is growing in front of the porch and a few others quickly express their own muttered bemusement about the shrub until the driver starts the car and it begins its escape around the circular driveway and onto the street and the family, their backs already turned, search for their own car keys -- no one sees dad's face looking out the window as he's driven away in the Volvo, they barely say goodbye to one another in their haste to their separate (grey) cars, all long exhalations, shoulders dropping as doors unlock, slam shut, engines start; no one waves as one by one they also escape.

Not that it matters, but the hydrangea is 'Annabelle'.

Business Card: Changes

Contents of Phyllis' brown suede purse
November, 2010

Business Card: Changes, Family Hair Care, 'Alisia' handwritten in corner

IGA Receipt for $39.66 with list on back: rubbing alcohol, milk, butter, coffee

Sheet of binder paper folded four times listing grocery items in one corner, the name of a local nursing home in another and the number(s) seven hundred and thirty nine.45 in a third

Three mini post-it note pads

Receipts: Shoppers Drug Mart, Commisso's Food Mart, Jug City

Business Card: Scissors Hair Design, handwritten on back: Dec.15/04 $63 perm & set

Dunlop Seniors Association Membership Card (#637), for the year 2002

Prayer Card from funeral January 10, 1989

Medical Emergency Card, with list handwritten on back: bran flakes, soup, oranges, Kleenex, cold cuts, bread, milk, Javex

Swiss Chalet paper napkin with red lipstick smudge

Receipt from Scissors Hair Design, $14

Ticket Stub, #895933

Four Toonies, One Quarter, Two Dimes, One Nickle, Thirteen Pennies

cat dressed as skeleton

Faux titles for paintings
in Painters Eleven exhibit
Museum London, October 2010

Cat Dressed as Skeleton for Halloween
Hydro Lines
Duck and Doughnuts
Laundry in Storm
Mail
Nuclear Beach
Lost: Search and Rescue
Aerial View, Town
Aerial View, Space Town
Costco on Mars
Subdivision Colours
Downtown, Hot Wind
Interior, Dragon's Belly
Robot Eye
Blue Campsite
Vulture and Frog over Arizona Desert
Springs, Snakes, Sand
Glorious Car Crash/Quake
End is Near
Apple Core
HIghschool Disaster
Anchor and Weights/Scales
Burned Smoked Salmnon Pizza
Fiddler on the Greens
Socis in the Drainpipes
Candy
View of Rain Outside Window
Pre-history Colours
Family Tree(s)

White, White, Carter Empress

243 Westbound Trucks on 401
Between Woodstock and Kitchener
October 6th, 11:05 - 11:20 a.m.

White, White, Carter Empress, Churchill, White, Red, Papineau, Green, Brown, Coke, White, Red, Purple, ITS, GTA Traler, Yellow, Ryder, Mobil, White, White, Cascades, Steel, Black, Silver, White, White, Verspeten, Verspeeten Cartage, 16, Papineau, White, 4, Red, Connors, Midlaw, Turquoise, FedEx, CFI, Ryder, 14, DHL, UPS, M&M, 9, FedEx, 3, TIP, The Rosedale Group, Falcon, 4, White, 3, Muirs, Verspeeten Cartage, Verspeeten Cartage, 3, Sleemans, 8, Ceva, CFI, Warner, 4, Green, Ryder, Belden, Black, White, Orange, Schneiders, Everest, Robert, Donnely Farm, Laidlaw, 7, Green,, 35, Verspeeten Cartage, Silver, CN, Callenger, Chrysler, Westfalia Surge, Autobahn, Blue, 4, Westband, President's Choice, No Name, VTL, Autobahn, White, White, Ryder, Martin, Carger, JTI, Blue, Blue, Shaw's, Discount, White, White, XTL, C.A.T., Robert, 22, President's Choice, Black, TNI, 17, Verspeeten Cartage, White, White, White, MTS, Red, White, White, White, White, White, White, White, Chrysler, MacKinnon, Orange, Lime Green, 19, Ryder, Brookville, Blue, Gibson, MTS, 20, CFI, White, White, Verspeeten Cartage, White, White, White, Celadon, Caal Ark, 12, Red, Lime Green, Lessard, 8, Black.

young and ancient

List of phrases
found in an old notebook
No idea what I meant by them

young and ancient
the art of the sea
black earth appearing
marriage unique between
salute and burst
a fan of rockets
the tocsins were ringing
fertile still
now to evil, now to good
absorbed and disappear
held together by its land
quelques arpents de neige
Einstein's genius
gravitated like iron
baffled horse-player
guilt-neurosis
attungala
vastness is deceptive
exalt & magnify
against the abstraction
urbar giantism
old men remember their youth
propped against N. America