Monday AMuse

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Sunday Stills - water

It has been a lovely spring day and Abby has been sunning on the balcony in the sunshine.

Violet has been entertaining all weekend and strolling along the streets in search of an outdoor patio.

Me, as a cat, I have simple needs - a bowl of water and I'm good. Here I am, having discovered that drinking from my paw is so much neater than slurping straight from the bowl. It shows a certain amount of dexterity and finesse, don't you think?

This week's challenge was water. See more SundayStills takes on water by going here

A bit of spring cleaning this week.

Have been busy working so that I can enjoy the weekend.

Have yourselves a chocolate. On me.

tulip photo from Southern Living

smells like

I was all set for my bath the other week when I noticed I had no bar of soap. Can't use shower gel, it's a bath. Need soap bar. No problem, as I knew there were several bars tucked away from a previous bulk buying frenzy of 'buy 2 get the 3rd one free' variety. Couldn't find them. Every time I have a good tidy I seem to lose things, especially those bulk bought items. Keep searching. Can't even find the cream soap I also have tucked away... Bath water is getting cold, so I decide to use those luxury bars that I've got in my socks and underwear drawer as a sort of pomade. Am not sure where it came from, most likely from when I cleared out my mother's apartment last year.

So now, my bathroom is smelling particularly spring like.
And well, lovely, really.
I know, you're probably thinking it smells like your grandmother.

Lily of the Valley. Yardley's.

Something you don't see very often. In fact when I did some research for writing this I couldn't find any in the two Shoppers Drug Marts I checked, which is where I was sure they would have some for the older ladies who cling to their tried and true favoured brands.

I love this smell. I'm using it all the time now. It isn't too cloying or too sweet and fake. It lasts forever. No wonder people think of their grandmothers. Throughout the day, I will move an arm and get an oh so subtle whiff of lily of the valley and sigh, contentedly.

This made me wonder when this particular scent went out of favour. In fact when flower scents went out of fashion. Lavender is still around, though usually mixed with something else. But for the most part the scented soap industry has veered off towards the fruits. And like juice, there is often a combination of fruits of the anti-oxident variety with acai and goji thrown in. Pomegranate, blackberry, mango, passionfruit, lime and ginger are popular. It is like they are trying to make their shower gels and lotions sound healthy. Food that gets absorbed in your skin?

My kitchen always smells of fruit with the dish soap. I must admit though, that I usually just buy whichever colour goes with my decor. So I have grapefruit scents wafting every time I wash a dish. There is key lime waiting in the cupboard. Unless I've lost that one, too.

But my bathroom smells of SPRING.

Monday AMuse

springing forward

There was a shift in the air today. I flung the windows wide open.
Well, metaphorically speaking. I actually just slid them across, but I like the idea of flinging them open. I've always wanted to live in one of those large Paris apartments with huge windows that have a latch and open outward onto a little balcony. I can see myself, long flowing gown, flinging open the tall windows onto a street scene below, Paris skyline above with the Eiffel Tower in the distance, someone riding a bicyclette, waving some flowers in one hand, shouting up to me that he has croissants...

Oh, sorry. I'm back.

The breeze that blew in was fresh and smelled of ... S P R I N G!

Spring Forward.

The clocks will move ahead an hour this weekend, far earlier than we are used to (3 weeks earlier). But maybe that will mean Spring will follow quickly with flowers, and birds, and more sunshine, and warmth...

Until two years ago, the time changes came about on the first Sunday in April and again on the last Sunday in October. Now it is the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November.

Blogger ate my post where I tried to be both witty and informative about Daylight Savings Time. But really, I'd just as soon go back to my fantasy than rewrite it all.

Now, where was I ...

Paris ... spring ... croissants ... coffee

where I dream of escape

One of my favourite 'cooking shows' is on again and every Wednesday lunchtime I make a large pot of tea and stretch out on the chesterfield and float away ... to the canals of France.
With Rick Stein's French Odyssey.

It doesn't matter how many times I've seen each episode, or that I will never attempt to recreate any of his recipes, just listening to him enthusiastically describe the ingredients and the cooking method, humming along to the the head-bopping, toe-tapping accompanying music, watching the tranquil scenery unfold as his barge put-puts through the canals of Southern France into the most picturesque countryside and villages gets me drooling. And weeping with jealousy.

He is brimming with passion at everything he sees and tastes. So many of these 'reality shows' are so earnest as to be painful to watch. This is one example that takes you into the tv with him, "the constantly changing vista: sometimes a ruined chateaux, rolling vine-laden countryside, yellow fields of corn. The utterly serene pace of life."

"Coming into a village is particularly easy on the eye… The Canal du Midi was built when the waterways were the deluxe form of transport --- so that unlike entering a modern town by train, past back gardens, graffiti-daubed walls and rusty factories --- travelling by French canals you go through the best bits: …under elegant bridges and alongside towpaths with pretty houses, right into the centre."

He mentions frequently that things move at a leisurely pace and that locals take their time to experience and savour the finer things of life. Lunches and dinners were always enjoyed leisurely, with always just enough and no more. There is a French saying that one should always leave the table wanting more. This is suppose to be one way to keep yourself trimmer - though it doesn't look like it worked on him. Perhaps, the barge trip was a little too leisurely?

I'm sure it is not all so perfect as the series suggests.
But it does looks so unbelievably romantic.

I need a glass of wine.

Someone please make me a cassoulet.

where I make a plan

Right. So the other part of the story of the marathon on Sunday, the part you don't see in the photos, goes rather poorly. I couldn't find Sylvie in that silly looking running gear with the crowds at the finish line (we have only met in person once, but still email and talk on the phone since she temporarily gave up blogging [as Urban Animal]). But, I forgot to put her phone number into my cell phone, so instead of wasting more time, I thought I'd run home and get it. It was only 3 blocks. I used the time I needed to look up the number by catching my breath. Once the panting stopped and my heart rate returned to something a little less hectic, we connected and I sprinted back to our new meeting spot. I ever so gently steered her towards the nearest bench. My legs needed to sit. I can still feel a slight stitch in my side.

How sad is that?

Yesterday, I wandered over to the Y. Just to visit a friend, have a coffee, while I thought, again, about joining.

This morning, after work, I went inside.
Monthly payments will come off my credit card.
I had a 10 minute ride on the bike and a slightly shorter time on the treadmill.
I surveyed the other machines.
I wrote down the schedule of classes I want to take.
Yoga this afternoon.
Made a beeline to the steam room.

Now, I must rest.

Feel free to quiz me on my attendance record.

Monday AMuse

Sunday Stills - motion

Sometimes, Life gets in the way of having fun

We run and run, trying to get away

Sometimes, Life is the fun

we run and run to keep up

and when we reach the finish line

it should be with a joyous smile and laughter and a feeling of pride.

(cheering on my friend Sylvie, on her first half marathon.

she's not in these shots, but had a great finish time!)

see SundayStills for more photos on this week's theme of motion