The Art of Book Design: Our Next Door Neighbor: Winter in Mexico

Gilbert Haven. Our Next Door Neighbor. Winter In Mexico. New York, Harper, 1875.

I’m dreaming about winter in Mexico today, because I’m going to Mexico on Feb. 13th. It would be an understatement to say that I’m excited. My girlfriend and her husband lived in Mexico for 11 years, but her husband died two years ago and she moved back to my city. She’s finally sold her home in Jacotopec and we’re going down to pack up the last of her things. We’ll also do a few other things that might be more touristy, but we’ll see what comes our way. I’ve never been to Mexico, nor had a winter holiday in the south so I don’t care what we do, as long as there’s no snow involved, I’ll be happy.

 

via: The Internet Archive

Fabulous Fumaria Flowers

Thanks to Nightjar and her magic with a camera we have beautiful flowers to start the week.

I wanted to share these photos I took on my first walk of 2020. This is Fumaria officinalis, known as common fumitory or earth smoke, and one of the first winter wildflowers to bloom here in Portugal and give the fields some colour. They look even prettier covered in morning dew.

©Nightjar, all rights reserved

©Nightjar, all rights reserved

©Nightjar, all rights reserved

Have kids, they said. You’ll never be bored, they said.

You’ll grow so much and learn so much, they said. You’ll be faced with so many new challenges, they said.

Like repairing a slatted frame on a Friday afternoon because the kids thought that you only told them not to jump on your bed because you’re a mean old sucker…

©Giliell, all rights reserved

You can see the part where the laminated beam broke completely through. Mr will visit Ikea on Friday and # 1 will learn about the value of money (that’s the equivalent of 7 Pokemon movies!).

Crappy New Gear etcetera, aka: Good News, Everyone!

The New Year has arrived, with a new, fresh and unsullied threat of a third world war. For me, personally, that would be more than enough to jump with joy /s, however, there is more.

Closer to home we hadn’t any decent snowfall this winter, only rain. Which does not seep very well into the frozen ground. Even the mountains have no more than a few cms of snow, and to get the skiing business running, they keep depleting groundwaters to make artificial snow. So in all probability extreme droughts are going to continue for the third year in a row. But global warming definitively does not exist, because right now there is about two mm of snow outside that fell overnight. Yay!

Even closer to home, I was pain-free for a whole week, so I felt confident I can manage the transfer from Windows 7 to Windows 10. The update went reasonably well, after only four tries I have managed to install the system without needing to buy a new license (or doing anything illegal), and mere two days were needed to install all the software I use and get it running. Some older programs and HOMAM III needed some persuasion, but I managed it alright. The PC runs better than ever before (clean system installation does that) and everything is ship-shape. Now the only thing that remains is to backup and clean all my data when I am at it. True joy. Except that both my pointer fingers flared up from typing, the right one with extra helping from all the mouse-clicking before I got my old drawing tablet running so I can use left hand too (I have an ergonomic mouse, so I cannot use it left-handed). And it was not that difficult work to do, to begin with :-(.

So the new year is off to a very “good” start, even the good comes with some bad.

On a cheerier note, I heard that it helps to keep new year resolutions when you write them down publicly, so here are mine with commentary:

1) Exercise at least 2 minutes, daily, no other specifics (last year I tried an hour two times a week, that got thrown out of the window with subsequent 6-week illnesses – 2 minutes daily should be more manageable and possible in some form even when ill, less exhausting and still at least somewhat useful).

2) Absolutely no using phone or PC after 21:30, I shall be reading books instead before bedtime (I think I was staring into my phone more than is healthy, even without facebook or twitter, especially these last two months when I could not do much else).

3) No YouTube or movies or internet or games on PC or phone from after breakfast till 19:00 on workdays, only perhaps audiobooks to listen to at work (I do not need to watch as many vids as I did, neither do I need to obsess over what new idiotic thing the conservatives the world over have done right this minute).

4) Most relevant to you all – at least one blog post a week, however short and inconsequential.

5) Start painting and drawing again (to have something to blog about).

So, happy New Year to you all. The farce is definitively with us.

Jack’s Walk

Bye, Bye, Angus. ©voyager, all rights reserved

Just a short post today because Jack and I are heading home, that wonderful place where we keep all our junk and where life is a bit more predictable. I know Jack is growing weary of Angus’ hyper-vigilance and herding and, to be honest, so am I. Angus is a bullheaded, tripping hazard, and he’s noisy. He’s exhausting to be around, and two weeks in close quarters is enough. Jack and I will both be happy to return to our quiet little corner of the world. It’s a long drive, but Jack is a seasoned traveller. He took his first trip to the east coast when he was six months old, and that’s a gruelling 22-hour drive over two days. Seven hours to home is a breeze by comparison.

Mostly, though, I’m looking forward to not having to talk to people all day. I’m an introvert by nature, and two weeks of constant chatter has left me drained and exhausted. I can’t wait to get home and put my phone on mute and just read without interruption. Oh yes, and to have a nice quiet coffee in the morning before I have to engage in ‘happy talk.’ If I wasn’t so damned exhausted I might even jump up and down for joy at just the thought of being alone for a while. I’ve told my friends that it will be a few days before I talk to them and I know they understand. I’m goin’ home, and I’m gonna have me a good, long dose of quiet contemplation to recharge. See you on Monday.

 

 

 

Jack’s Walk

Please, may I have a bite? ©voyager, all rights reserved

We had guests for dinner last night, and we served a roast chicken with homemade stuffing. It was delicious, and everyone enjoyed the meal, including Jack and Angus, who had a few tasty tidbits on their kibble. Did it satisfy them? Well, yes and no. They ate with great gusto, but both dogs wanted a bit more. Angus barks when he begs, which is annoying and not effective at all, but Jack has begging down to a fine art. He simply turns up his charm to maximum volume and sits quietly beside someone until they notice him with his goofy smile and big eyes that say, “Please, may I have a bite? I am a poor, hungry dog, and I will be eternally grateful.” It’s a very effective strategy, and it doesn’t seem to matter that I tell people not to feed him at the table. People are helpless to resist, and even I give in once and while. Poor Angus doesn’t seem to learn from Jack, he just barks more loudly and seems confused that no-one offers him anything. Twice I forced Angus to hush for a bit and rewarded him with a bite, but the lesson didn’t stick. He’s a guard dog by nature and barking is his go-to mode. Jack, on the other hand, is a lover by nature and guarding isn’t on his resume. I don’t mind. All that chocolate brown love makes me happy and brightens my days. It might even help me to be a better person, and who could ask for more than that?

Jack’s Walk

This tree is getting a good workout. ©voyager, all rights reserved

The big news around here today is the sudden closing of one of the largest snow removal contractor’s in the Pointe-Claire area. Snow is big business in this part of the world, and most households contract snow removal for their driveways, and they pay by the season and not by the number of visits.  After a significant snowfall, anyone without a garage moves their car to the side of the street (which side is determined by date) and then the contractors come with their big, tractor-sized, enclosed and comfortable snow blowers. The city itself has most streets plowed quickly, (Montreal does snow removal well) making the whole process quite manageable.

Today, when Jack and I were out for our walk we saw quite a few people shovelling their drives and most of them were grumbling about Bo Pelouse going out of business. It isn’t certain that any of Pelouse’s customers will get a refund and most of the other contractors don’t have the infrastructure to take on new clients at this point in the season. According to the morning news, one other major snow contractor picked up over 2,000 new customers in 24 hours. Thankfully, my mother-in-law uses a different company, who arrived late yesterday to blow out our driveway. My aching back was overjoyed to see them.

Meet Adorable George

This adorable young fellow is George, the wire-haired Miniature Dachshund belonging to Raucous Indignation. George was adopted by Raucous as a puppy and he celebrated his first birthday a few days ago on December 28. I can’t think of a better way to start the New Year, than with a great big dose of cute. Thanks, Raucous, George has stolen my heart with his big eyes and fabulous, bristly whiskers.

©Raucous Indignation, all rights reserved

©Raucous Indignation, all rights reserved

©Raucous Indignation, all rights reserved

©Raucous Indignation, all rights reserved