little things

Watch La Luna by Pixar!

| Mairead

3

(Butterfly on lavender at Powerscourt Estate)

I watched a beautiful short movie on Sunday… here’s the blurb about it. There’s a little boy, his father and his grandfather and they are out in their boat. In the beginning of the movie the father gives his son a hat, the same kind of hat as the father’s, the same kind of hat as the grandfather’s. The father places this hat on the son, in a particular way – just like his own hat is placed on his head. The grandfather huffs and puffs, grabs the hat and then places it on his grandson’s head in a different particular way – just like his own hat is placed on his head.

7 8b

(Gothic doorway)

There’s a bit of a scuffle and the father’s way of placing the hat on the little boy’s head finally wins and the story continues.

7 8k

(Raindrops on flowers… requested by Grahame…..;-/)

By the end of the story the little boy places his hat in a completely different particular way on his own head as he teaches his father and grandfather something new. Our children learn all they can from us and then there comes a time for us to learn from our children. Probably sooner than we think…..

What’s the lesson for today? Mairead.

Paper Sizes….. The Real Story…

| Mairead

17 10a

(A5 notebook on top of A4 sketch pad on top of A3 hardback sketchbook)

Turns out I didn’t completely understand paper sizes (Personal Notebook)….. but thanks to some smart people I think I’ve got it now. My sister Moira told me there’s a size A0. Then Damien (you might remember Damien from the Dublin Flamenco Festival last  year?) sent me the following….

“….I’m going to be a bit geeky and correct you on the paper sizes. This is only on my mind because Nathalie and I have spent a lot of time designing posters for this year’s flamenco festival. Hard to believe it’s starting on Friday!!!! Where did the year go?
 
Anyway, I digress 🙂
 
In the A series of paper sizes, A0 is the largest. Each increment divides the paper size in half. So, A1 is half the size of A0, A2 is half the size of A1, A3 is half the size of A2,  A4 is half the size of A3, and so on.
 
All this halving gives us a nice little binary system. The number of the paper size ends up being the power of 2 of the number of sheets that fit into an A0, e.g.
 
A0 = 2 ^ 0 = 1 (1 sheet)
A1 = 2 ^ 1 = 2 (2 sheets of A1 in A0)
A2 = 2 ^ 2 = 4 (4 sheets of A2 in A0)
etc etc etc
 
Ok, geeking over :)…….”
 

(This is Damien)

Thank you Damien! Thank you also to Susanna who took the time to explain it like this…

“...or you could express it mathematically

A5 X 2 = A4
A4 X 2 = A3
A3 X 2 = A2
A2 x 2 = A1″

 

Now that I understand the paper sizes… I was wondering if anyone could help me with my drawing homework? Anyone? Mairead.

 

Wake up Time.

| Mairead

19 9b

(Agawa Canyon… picture by Doris or Grahame (forgot to ask!))

I’m rushing off to a course this morning (more later) so instead of a post here’s a story from the book Being Peace by Thich Nhat Hanh that explains what waking up from unconscious living means.

19 9a

(A huge rainbow filled the sky one night as we left Staples (stationery shop) in Niagara, it was so big it couldn’t fit in my camera)

A little boy wakes in the morning and realises the whole family has slept in and the whole family will be late for school. He runs to his favourite sister’s room and very gently shakes her awake, “Wake up, wake up we will be late for school.” She awakes and is very angry with her older brother, so she shouts at him and kicks him. He is very upset, because he was gentle when he woke his sister and now she is angry with him. The he remembers that she was coughing in the night and probably didn’t get much sleep and may be very tired. With this realisation he understands his sister and he has woken up from upset. She is his favourite sister again and he is love.

19 9c

(A rock in a lake on the way to Agawa Canyon. There’s beauty everywhere to help us wake up)

In an instant the boy could let go of the upset because he “woke-up”. We’re upset when people treat us badly, we’re upset when things don’t go our way, we’re upset when we can’t do what we want to do, we’re upset when we’re not as strong as we’d like to be, we’re upset when we’re not as wealthy as we planned, we’re upset when we’re sick, when we’re tired, when we’re sad. What if it was possible to let go of the upset and return to love? Being in our natural state of loving is much more comfortable than being in an unnatural state of upset.

We can wake up in an instant, Mairead.

Fear and Lightening on the way to Niagara Falls.

| Mairead

05 9e

(Treats at Tim Hortons)

We set off for Niagara Falls this morning (Tuesday). Denis went to pick up the hire car while I packed enough for the two days away. Something lovely happened when he got home. You remember Doris’s mum Bobba? Well… long story short, just as Denis arrived back with the car Doris and Bobba pulled up to the house with umbrellas (it’s raining today and well… Doris thinks of everything!) and a package. Bobba, knowing I love to crochet had crocheted me a blanket! I feel very special.

05 9d

(Sat-Nav)

After lots of hugs and kisses we set off but we hadn’t gone far when we realised we had to stop the car – Denis couldn’t pass Tim Hortons (it’s only been a week but Tim Hortons has got hold of him.) So just ten minutes down the road we stopped again. Everyone out for coffee and Danish. Everyone back in and power up the Sat-Nav. To make sure we got the most out of our trip to Niagara, Grahame (who lived and worked in Niagara for many years) typed up an itinerary for us and yesterday Moira programmed the Sat-Nav with all the locations so we were ready to begin. In spite of my dislike for planning, I do appreciate when someone else does it!

05 9g

(Gone a bit dark over here)

We got onto the 401 (highway south from Barrie) easily enough but just as we were getting close to Toronto we hit a thunder and lightning storm with torrential rain. The rain was so loud we couldn’t hear the little voice on the sat-nav and so heavy we couldn’t see very far in front. Something we’ve noticed about the drivers on this road – they like to drive close together, possibly something to do with slip streaming and saving petrol? Whatever it is, it’s very scary, especially in the rain. We passed two accidents where the car behind could not brake in time!! As I’m a nervous passenger at the best of times I was prepared with my crochet (very calming) and the storm soon passed (as they always do…) and we arrived safely.

05 9f

(More rain – yippee)

I’m sitting writing on one of the two ginormous beds in our hotel room. We’re on the 9th floor and have a great view… well it would be great except for the mist and heavy rain, but I’m not complaining I have a new sense of respect for rain (yes Isabel!) – it’s cooling and there are no biting bugs. I’ll be consulting Grahame’s itinerary soon and we’ll go for a walk in this soft Canadian rain.

From an Irish-looking Niagara Falls, Mairead.

Happy Labour Day and Happy Birthday Bro!

| Mairead

03 9b

(The famous Timmys)

Today is Labour Day – a holiday here in Canada, almost everyone’s off work and all the shops are closed. We will be resting mainly because we’ve already had a packed weekend. On Friday we left Barrie about 8.30am to drive to Sault St. Marie (pronounced Sue-Saint-Maree) for the weekend. It was billed to be an eight-hour drive and it fulfilled its billing. You may remember Doris and our trip to Toronto? Well, Doris’ husband Grahame was the driver this time. Only the just arrived Irish thought driving for eight hours was very odd, to everyone else this is what you do. Afraid we might miss something we tagged along anyway. We were glad we did.

03 9d

(Pit stop coming up)

The weekend will probably span a few posts because quite a lot happened, not least of which was the preparation for travel. Coolers with water for hydration and chocolate for energy, electronic devices for boredom and connection and first stop Timmy’s for breakfast, ensured smooth running of a finely tuned vehicle – Grahame. Well… to be honest we all benefitted.

03 9f

(That’s just selfish… Grahame)

This is probably a good time to tell you about Timmy’s, a nickname for Canada’s favourite coffee shop – Tim Hortons. Tim was a successful hockey player who started the business in the 1960’s selling coffee and doughnuts (also spelled donut here in Canada) and when he died his young wife sold up and the new owners grew it to what it is today –  a love affair, an addiction, possibly a religion, and definitely a way of life. Unlike Starbucks, there are no comfy sofas, the main attraction is the price  (low – you can get a coffee for little over a dollar) and it’s Canadian.

03 9c

(Spotted at the servers station of an Italian restaurant)

Since we arrived here I’ve spotted traces of Timmy everywhere. Not just the shops – there are 3,326 of them. I’ve seen the empty takeaway cups on shelves in Wal-Mart (the supermarket), Michael’s (art and craft supplies), in the library, on the bus (in someone’s hand.)

03 9e

(On the train)

It’s my little brother’s big birthday today, he fell under the spell of Tim Hortons when he visited in July so I hope the pictures bring back happy memories. By the way, Timmys trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange… just saying….

Have a great Labour Day wherever you are and have a great birthday Lar, Mairead.

Canada – home of the free… stuff

| Mairead

29 8a

(Our bus stop – a little off-center but working perfectly)

Yesterday Caoimhe and I went to the Mall (pronounced maul.) Although there’s public transport here in Barrie –  a bus service and a train to Toronto – most people take cars. So Caoimhe had never been on the bus (neither had my sister or brother-in-law) but as bus travel is an integral part of every holiday for me, we gave it a go. Barrie is considered a town, but it’s a big town, with a population size similar to Cork city. We would need a map, timetables, directions – we didn’t have any of these…. but we had something else – Doris!

29 8d

(Our map – that’s the lake in blue and the circles with the arrows are the bus number and bus direction – we took number 10 and number 20)

If you’re keeping up with our story you will remember Doris and Bobba? Well, on Monday they had to go for a doctor’s appointment and among the out of date magazines and health promos in the waiting room they discovered a bus map and timetable. We had the tools. (Interesting by the way…. doctors visits are free – yes free! I was beginning to notice a few aches and pains that I could get investigated before we get back to Non-free-land when I was told it was only for residents. Sure I’m fine really.)

29 8b

(A newspaper stand on a suburban street)

Anyway, on Monday night we poured over the map and discovered where we could pick up the bus, how much it would cost (one fixed price $2.85 and that includes transfer to any other bus), what number it would be and which direction it would be going in. By Tuesday at 11am we were ready. We found the stop easily (after a bit of confusion – mine – about which side of the road the traffic drives…. it’s  the right!) and settled down to wait.

29 8c

(A fire hydrant – doesn’t it look a bit like the little bear in Yogi Bear?)

Caoimhe had a book and I had my camera. When the bus came we were ready with our exact change. I had put mine into the little slot and was encouraging Caoimhe to do the same when the nice lady driver said, Tell me she’s in 8th grade. Never one to disobey a person in uniform (and Caoimhe is in 8th grade) I nodded, Yes, she’s in 8th grade. Then she’s free when she’s with you. Yahoo!

Free doctors and free travel, how much better can this get? Mairead.

We’ve arrived with family in Toronto!

| Mairead

28 8a

(Caoimhe, all set for her day at CNE)

Yes, here we are, we arrived in Toronto on Saturday. My sister. Moira and my niece/godchild Caoimhe were at the airport, waving banners and cheering as we exited the arrivals gate (well they may have been earlier…) We may have left a rainy and chilly Ireland seven hours ago but the sun was shining on our arrival. Moira and her husband John live about an hour away from Toronto in a town called Barrie, so as we beetled along the highway Caoimhe gave me a running commentary of the sights.

28 8b

(Doesn’t it look a bit like the RDS?)

We had just enough time to get a tour of their house and change out of our cold weather clothes when it was time for dinner. Although we had eaten breakfast in Greystones, pasta lunch and teatime pizza on the plane, for some reason we were ready for dinner in Barrie as well. My sister and her family moved here about a year ago and stayed with friends until they bought a house. Tonight these friends were coming for dinner. Although I have never lived way from Ireland I have noticed the experience of others. It seems to me when people leave their native soil and their extended family they meet friends who become family. Grahame, Doris and Bobba (I’m spelling phonetic – it’s Ukrainian for grandmother) are family.

28 8d

(CN Tower in the distance)

So, bright and early on Saturday morning we headed off with our new family (in their car) to the CNE. In case you haven’t heard of it the CNE is like all the shows that happen in the RDS in Dublin, but all happening at the same time and using all the buildings. So it’s Funderland (rides and carnival games), it’s  a Dog Show, it’s a Cat Show, it’s a Flower Show, it’s a Farm Show, there’s horses, there’s music, there’s a little train, there’s a sky lift, there’s booths selling products from countries around the world and there’s food… lots of food. But mainly it’s nostalgia. Parents who were brought here as children are back with their own children.

28 8f

(Food…)

Every day in the CNE at 6pm there’s a parade of floats. With music and stilt walkers and clowns and animal characters. And the best thing about the parade? The beads. Mardi Grais plastic necklaces are thrown from the floats to the crowds lining the route. I’m not sure what it is about the beads but they seem to bring out the inner child in adults and we were in a unique place to spot this phenomenon – we were throwing the beads!

28 8g

(More food…)

On our way to the CNE we stopped by Maryann and JoJo’s house (more family.) JoJo had prepared a map with instructions on how to get the best from our day while Maryann gave us tickets (free!). I think it was Maryann’s niece who got us places on a float. Initially Denis and I were a bit sceptical about the whole parade thing… how could we politely refuse when everyone had been so kind? Well… by the time the parade started you couldn’t have dragged us from that float. We were dancing to the reggie beat and hurling beads with abandon. The looks of delight on the faces of grown men and women as they caught a necklace was addictive.

28 8h

(Our float before we took off – we were too busy to take pictures on route!! That’s me and John at the back)

It’s the little things, Mairead.