Winter Scenes

22 Wednesday Feb 2023

Posted by michelinewalker in Art, Feasts

Tags

Candlemas, genre painting, Groundhog Day, Hendrick Avercamp, Nunc Dimittis, The Four Seasons, Valentine's Day, Vivaldi

Hendrick Averkamp, *A Scene on the Ice* (Wikimedia.commons)

Hendrick Avercamp, *A Scene on Ice* (WikiArt.org)

—ooo—

I haven’t posted an article since Epiphany, Ukraine’s Christmas. I was very busy during the last month. John has been evicted, but there is nothing I can do to help him. He requires more than I can offer. A home for seniors could be his best option. John suffers from Ménière’s disease. He is nearly deaf and he hugs the walls.

February …

Candlemas

Candlemas: its Stories & its Songs, updated (3 February 2015)
Feasts and Liturgy (page)

But today February is foremost in my mind. It has been extremely cold. We missed groundhog day but we did not Candlemas, la chandeleur. La Chandeleur invites longer days. In the Northern hemisphere, each new day is slightly longer than the previous day. Candlemas, is also the day Simeon recognized the child Jesus as the Savior and the day His mother was purified.

The season’s Marian antiphon, une antienne, is the Ave Regina Cælorum. The Nunc Dimittis, a canticle, un cantique, is Simeon’s song of praise. He had seen the savior so he could be recalled.

Valentine’s Day / la Saint-Valentin

February also brings Valentine’s Day. We have read many post on a page called:

Posts on Love Celebrated (page)

Hendrick Avercamp

Hendrick Avercamp (1585-1634) is a painter of the Dutch Golden Age of painting. He was born in Amsterdam, where he was trained by Danish-born portrait painter Pieter Isaacsz. He moved to Kampen in 1608. Avercamp’s favorite subject matter was winter inhabited by people and their pets going about their everyday activity: working, fishing, or skating and otherwise amusing themselves on the ice. In other words, he was genre artist when genre painting was a new frontier. Moreover, Avercamp lived during a period known as the “little ice age.”

Interestingly, Avercamp painted as though he stood slightly above his subject matter. He used an aerial perspective. He made sketches of his winter scenes which he transformed into paintings in warmer seasons. Hendrick Avercamp was mute and probably deaf, and he is therefore known as “de Stomme van Kampen.”

Hendrik Avercamp, *A Winter Scene with Skaters* (WikiArt.org)

Conclusion

February was a busy month, but we have almost caught up. The Pagan precursor of St Valentine’s Day was Lupercalia.

Hendrick Avercamp, The music is from the second movement of the fourth concerto of Vivaldi‘s Four Seasons.

Epiphany 2023

06 Friday Jan 2023

Posted by michelinewalker in Feasts

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Adoration by the Magi, Angel Cake, Christmas in Ukraine, Epiphany, Félix Lorioux, Feasts, Sandro Botticelli, The Twelve Days of Christmas

Feasts & Liturgy

Feasts and Liturgy (page)

I have written several Epiphany articles and discovered that illustrator Félix Lorioux depicted more subject matters than the Fables of Jean de La Fontaine and Charles Perrault‘s Contes de ma mère l’Oye.

When I introduced Félix Lorioux, finding his illustrations was complex. We learned, however, that he had worked for Walt Disney. Matters have changed. The Internet now features several pictures by Lorioux. This will help us read the fables of Jean de La Fontaine, a continuation of an earlier endeavour. Images often lead to reading narratives one would otherwise overlook. Moreover, they facilitate an understanding of “stories.”

Epiphany in Quebec

When I was a child, Epiphany was the twelfth day of Christmas. The next day we returned to school. On 6 January, my mother baked a gâteau des anges (angel cake). Hiding in the cake was a bean. The person who ate the piece of cake containing the bean was crowned King or Queen. The Christmas holidays ended festively. I do not know whether all Quebec families celebrated Epiphany, but my mother did. She was an excellent cook and honoured traditions.

The Winter Solstice

Christmas occurs on or near the Winter Solstice. It is a celebration of the longest night and the winter solstice always leads to a reversal. It had been a feast since antiquity. The world was new. Then came the Carnival season leading to the Spring Equinox (equal day and night).

The Three Kings of the Orient represent all human beings. No race is excluded and Kings honour a child, a little baby. So Epiphany can be incorporated into the upside-down view of the world the Winter Solstice inspires. Félix Lorioux has given Jesus teeth, which is artistic license.

In the Eastern Church, today is Christmas. (See Christmas in Ukraine, Wikipedia.2.) The season ends on 19 January. The word Epiphany also describes a sudden revelation. Moreover, the name Tiffany derives from Epiphany.

RELATED ARTICLES

Johann Amos Comenius: Word and Art (7 November 2015) (post)
Comenius: Orbis Sensualium Pictus (13 November 2011) (post)
Epiphany Balthazar, Melchior & Gaspar (6 January 2012) (post)
Feasts and Liturgy (page)

Sources and Resources

Epiphany (Britannica)
Epiphany (holiday) (Wikipedia.2)
Christmas in Ukraine (Wikipedia.2)

—ooo—

My kindest wishes to all of you. 💕

We Three Kings: Epiphany Montage,
arrangement by Eugene Ormandy (18 November 1899 – 12 March 1985)

The Adoration of the Magi by Sandro Botticelli

Pavarotti sings Schubert’s « Ave Maria »

25 Sunday Dec 2022

Posted by michelinewalker in Feasts

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Luciano Pavarotti, Schubert's Ave Maria

Luciano Pavarotti sings Schubert‘s « Ave Maria »

I tried to write a little Christmas post yesterday, but I could not.

RELATED ARTICLES

Feasts and Liturgy (page)
The Topsy-Turvy World of Beast Literature (27 August 2013, repaired 25 December 2022)

—ooo—

My kindest wishes to everyone. May the forthcoming year be your best and may Peace return and remain.

I posted many articles on Christmas, New Year, Epiphany, etc. All can be found by clicking Feasts and Liturgy. It’s a page. The Greek kōmos (comedy) and the Roman Saturnalia were Paganism’s celebration of the longest night.

*Saturnalia* (1783) by Antoine-François Callet, showing his interpretation of what the Saturnalia might have looked like

Yves Montand chante “À Bicyclette”

23 Friday Dec 2022

Posted by michelinewalker in French songs, Uncategorized

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

À Bicyclette, Yves Montand

—ooo—

I have translated this song literally rather than poetically. A poetic translation may not have provided a clear connection with the words. Yet, although simple, this song is poetry.

Yves Montand sings « À Bicyclette »

Quand on partait de bon matin
When we left early in the morning
Quand on partait sur les chemins
When we left biking on paths
À bicyclette
Biking

Nous étions quelques bons copains
We were a few good friends (lads)
Y avait Fernand y avait Firmin
There was Fernand there was Firmin
Y avait Francis et Sébastien
There was Francis and Sébastien
Et puis Paulette
And then Paulette

On était tous amoureux d’elle
We were all in love with her
On se sentait pousser des ailes
We could feel wings growing on us
À bicyclette
Biking

Sur les petits chemins de terre
On little dirt roads
On a souvent vécu l’enfer
We often lived hell (as though in hell)
Pour ne pas mettre pied à terre
Not to put a foot on the ground (Trying not to put a foot down)
Devant Paulette
In front of Paulette

Faut dire qu’elle y mettait du cɶur
Must say she put her heart in it
C’était la fille du facteur
She was the mailman’s daughter
À bicyclette
Biking

Et depuis qu’elle avait huit ans
And since she was eight years old
Elle avait fait en le suivant
She had (biked) just following
Tous les chemins environnants
All the neighbouring paths
À bicyclette

Quand on approchait la rivière
When we neared the river
On déposait dans les fougères
We’d put (our bikes) down on the grass (literally: fern)
Nos bicyclettes
Our bicycles

Puis on se roulait dans les champs (se rouler: to roll)
Then we rambled in the fields
Faisant naître un bouquet changeant
Creating a changing bouquet
De sauterelles, de papillons
Of grasshoppers, butterflies
Et de rainettes
And tree frogs

Quand le soleil à l’horizon
When the sun on the horizon
Profilait sur tous les buissons
Profiled (drew) on all the bushes
Nos silhouettes
Our silhouettes (shadows)

On revenait fourbus contents
We came back exhausted but pleased
Le cœur un peu vague pourtant
But our heart a little confused (vague)
De n’être pas seul un instant
Not to be alone a single moment
Avec Paulette
With Paulette

Prendre furtivement sa main
To steal her hand (unseen)
Oublier un peu les copains
To forget our friends a little
La bicyclette
The bicycle

On se disait c’est pour demain
We’d say, perhaps tomorrow
J’oserai, j’oserai demain
I will dare, I will dare tomorrow
Quand on ira sur les chemins
When we go/ride on the paths
À bicyclette
Biking

—ooo—

My love to everyone 🎄

Yves Montand sings « À Bicyclette »

Almost ready

22 Thursday Dec 2022

Posted by michelinewalker in Sharing

≈ Comments Off on Almost ready

Tags

Parking fees, Share

Scène de Val-Jalbert, Marc-Aurèle Fortin,1948

—ooo—

I am in Magog. Two posts are ready, including a song I have translated, but I must eliminate spelling errors and repetitions. I repeat entire statements.

My next post is on La Fontaine’s Preface to his three collections (recueils) of fables. It will be published in Magog. Analysing La Fontaine’s Preface was a difficult task because he uses obliqueness. He had offended Louis XIV by pleading mercy for Nicolas Fouquet.

You have no idea how much I worked to make sure the initial rule is reinstated. I had to part with my car because I could not clean it before before 8 o’clock and take it away from the outside parking lot. People who fail to clear their car are fined by the managers. Last year, I took taxis to emergency rooms week after week. My doctor would not treat me. My nephew drives me to Magog for short stays, and my groceries are delivered to my home. I’m managing, but when my little car left, I lost my wings. I do not leave the apartment.

I have searched the web for an apartment for John and found that he would have to pay $2,000 a month for facilities that compare favorably with his current apartment. Retired people often live on a very limited income, about $19,000 per year. In fact, many people do not retire.

As for my audacity with the syndicate, it may turn into a benefit, but not entirely. I pity the owners of two- or three-bedroom apartments who have secured two or more parking spaces in the basement garage. Yet, they have no right to occupy more than one parking space in the garage. The architects should have designed a two-floor basement garage, but they did not and now is too late. The rule is one indoor parking space for each apartment. John cannot clean his car. I watch luxury cars exiting the garage.

Volodymyr Zelensky is in the United States and he has won further support from both parties: the Democrats and the Republicans. The world is threatened.

RELATED ARTICLE

Vaux-le-Vicomte: Nicolas Fouquet’s Rise and Fall (20 August 2013)

—ooo—

Love my friends 🎄

Fortin, Marc-Aurèle – Scène de Montréal – c.1928

Bicycles for Migrant Farm Workers

14 Wednesday Dec 2022

Posted by michelinewalker in Migrant Farm Workers, Sharing, Voyageurs

≈ Comments Off on Bicycles for Migrant Farm Workers

Tags

Bicycles, Dr Roger Page, Fraser Valley, Migrant Farm Workers, Peace in the world, Steve Nicklen, Voyageur explorers

**Bikes for Migrant Farm Workers** (Photo credit: Marissa Tiel)

—ooo—

The gentleman whose photograph sits at the top of this post is Steve Nicklen. Steven is married to my niece Susanne Lebrun and they have two married children: Jacob (Jocelyn Evans), an engineer, and Jessica (Dustin Smart), an artist and a photographer. They live in British Columbia‘s Fraser Valley (Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, etc.) and in Vancouver. My family moved to British Columbia when I was a High School student. I have a sister, a widowed brother-in-law, and five nieces who live in British Columbia, where I studied and married. I cannot afford to go back to the West Coast.

Steve Nicklen repairs old bicycles and gives them to migrant workers who would otherwise have to walk several kilometers to get their groceries. My nephew met Dr Roger Page who “spends his evenings visiting farm workers and writing their needs.” (See “Under the Helmet” below).

These migrant workers are excellent people, but they must travel a long distance, dangerously, to earn a meagre living. They are at times separated from their families for a long time. My nephew fears for the safety of these workers and wishes for them to be part of the community. The Migrant Workers remind me of the voyageurs. In fact, Steve is a Nicklen (Scandinavian) and a Dicaire (French-Canadian). There were Dicaires among the voyageurs. When these men lacked a waterway, they carried the fur, their supplies, and their canoes on their back. They hated portages (carrying) and jumped the rapids to avoid them.

Steve studied computer science and worked for nearly three decades in this area. Sensing the approach of a burnout, he discussed matters with his family and they agreed that his resigning was not unrealistic. It hasn’t been. He loves his new life. He works for the Coquitlam Public Library, but his main occupation is restoring bikes and providing migrant farm workers with a means of transportation.

Other volunteers, in Calgary (Canada), the United States, the United Kingdom, also collect bikes for workers elsewhere, but Steven specializes in repairing bikes. Moreover, Fraser Valley migrant farm workers are provided with a helmet, reflectors and “needs written” in Dr Page’s notebook.

Under The Helmet: Steve Nicklen

Tweets by SteveNicklen

I am not providing several links to Steven. The links I have provided lead to other links that tell the whole story. Steven has both a public and a private life. In fact, I barely use social medias. I have been the victim of an international group of hackers. The bank saved me locking my account. It is still locked. It was a devastating and paralyzing experience. So, I am now afraid of using the internet. Besides, remembering passwords is difficult. There are so many.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenicklen/?trk=public-profile-join-page

That’s a wrap for 2022! It’s time to clean up the shop, build a new workbench and start collecting and fixing bikes for next year #donateyourbike

Conclusion

These are difficult times. Russia has attacked Ukraine and Vladimir Putin will not negotiate. European countries need Russian oil: that is dangerous. The price of everything is rising everywhere. We must try to stay away from the unrelenting soap opera featuring members of Britain’s Royal family. Finally, Liberal members of parliament are trying to help Quebec’s anglophones. Canada is a bilingual country.

I will go to Magog and create passwords. Sadly, John must leave his lovely apartment. He was renting. He cannot come here unless I move to a larger apartment that has a basement garage space. There was only one per apartment. Mine was sold. John suffers from Ménière’s disease. He drives short distances and very slowly. His car must be inside, not outside, so driving is not a source of stress. I still have a valid driver’s licence. Don’t worry. John is a very good friend. I will make sure he has a home, privacy, care, and a warm place for his car.

Virtue is in very short supply.

Be good my friends. Love 💕

*Shooting the Rapids*, 1879 by Frances Anne Hopkins
(1838–1919)

Tout Molière.net : parti …

10 Saturday Dec 2022

Posted by michelinewalker in Comedy, Molière

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Edmond Geffroy, Henri van Laun (traducteur), Internet Archives, toutmoliere.net

—ooo—

As you know, I wrote posts on every play Molière wrote. Molière is a major writer. In fact, the French language is often referred to as la langue de Molière. Quotations were in both French and English, and each one was followed by a link taking readers to the entire play.

Toutmolière.net / Molière 21 has been removed from the internet. So, links following my quotations no longer lead to the complete play. I believe a few of my posts are entries.

However, I hope sincerely that the toutmolière.net/ Molière 21 site will be reintroduced among necessary entries. I so enjoyed using these toutmolière.net.

English translations of my quotations were taken from an Internet Archive‘s translation of the plays of Molière. I had chosen Henri van Laun. The print is small but it can be enlarged. The full texts of certain plays is available courtesy of the Gutenberg Project, Wikisource, and other sources, but most of my Molière posts no longer have a link to the French text and I fear readers will not “run around.” A teacher’s presentation of a work is a key source of learning. Illustrations are also very important.

Many people are confined to their home or bed. They cannot go to a library or a bookstore, because there is no convenient transportation. Some are blind or have poor eyesight, so audio books are important. Henri van Laun was an excellent moliériste and translator. The print was small, but it could be enlarged.

I hope toutmolière.net /Molière 21 will reinsert Molière’s plays on the internet so people reading my 82 posts will be able to read more than its short quotations.

My doctoral thesis has been published on the internet by the University of British Columbia. However, the copy that was used has many spelling and surface errors. I will correct these.

Messieurs, je vous en prie, rendez-nous toutmolière.net.

RELATED ARTICLES

Molière (page) 83 posts

Conclusion

We will survive. I was going through my Molière’s plays because I would like to present more fables by Jean de La Fontaine. Molière and Jean de La Fontaine were good friends and the same age. Both were influenced by Rabelais.

—ooo—

GEORG MATTHIAS MONN (1717-1750)

Concerto for cello, strings and basso continuo in G minor (1. Allegro moderato)

Performed by the Freiburger Barockorchester
Featuring Jean-Guihen Queyras, cello
Conducted by Petra Mullejans

Remembering Belaud

07 Wednesday Dec 2022

Posted by michelinewalker in Sharing

≈ 11 Comments

Tags

Belaud, Cats, Chartreux, sharing

—ooo—

Remembering Belaud

Belaud was three months old when he entered my life, but he died in 2019. When I first saw him I thought there could not be a lovelier kitten.

However, for the first two weeks, Belaud was in mid-air. He was flying. I think he was nervous. He didn’t know me and he had just left his family. I could not go and meet Belaud, but the breeder sent me a picture of his father, Tennessee, and she told me Belaud would look like Tennessee. His mother was an aristocrat. She had a very long name.

Belaud was my second chartreux. There was a previous Belaud: Belaud I. Chartreux look almost the same, but my first Belaud was more dependent on me. Everytime I left the house, he looked worried. Fortunately, he was with Mouchette. They played together. They were lovely to watch. My house was not very large, but it had more space than we needed.

This is a strange time in history. There is not a single chartreux available in Quebec. I would have to fly to France to find Belaud III, but even French breeders have been affected by Covid and I could not afford to fly to France, not at this point. The markets are fluctuating.

The above photograph was taken in Magog. Magog is less than a half-hour drive from Sherbrooke. Chartreux enjoy cars. The law demands that cats be inside their carrier, but with chartreux, the carrier protects the chartreux, not the driver.

I did not live in this building when Belaud was adopted. I wanted to move, but decided not to do because I was not feeling well. I lost the former apartment to a dishonest realtor and an unconscionable lawyer. I asked the lawyer to phone the realtor and explain that I wasn’t feeling well. It ruled out moving to a new home. I didn’t pay his bill. It was the beginning of emphysema. It causes shortness of breath, but it is not a great obstacle.

This building I live in is perfect for an aging woman, but it is a smaller apartment and it needed and still needs renovations. Moreover, it could not accommodate hundreds of books. So, I have missed my former apartment. And now I miss Belaud.

I am looking for a third Belaud, but I may not find one.

The war in Ukraine has not ended, so I believe this will be a humble Christmas. The days are getting shorter and the light will return.

RELATED ARTICLES

Belaud (2008-2019) (29 Nov 2019)
The Chartreux portrayed (14 February 2019)
Belaud the Cat’s Suite (28 February 2012)
Belaud the Cat (31 July 2011)

I wanted to say hello. I haven’t recovered fully yet, but you are in my heart. 💕

**An Amaryllis** (https://florium.com/amaryllis-hippeastrum-joker/)

Monet’s Magpie

01 Thursday Dec 2022

Posted by michelinewalker in Christmas, Metamorphosis

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Amaryllis, Beethoven, Lettre à Elise, metamorphosis

—ooo—

December brings the longest night and promise for a better year. I’m still here. My eyes have returned to their normal color. Both are hazel, and I see perfectly well. However, my ability to concentrate has lost ground. It started declining when I developed chronic fatigue syndrome/ME. That is a very long time ago.

The word for Magpie, une pie, is not flattering, but Monet had yet to see this landscape. I’m working, but time passes so quickly.

I heard rumors that Canada’s Province of Alberta wants to renegotiate its relationship with Ottawa. Quebec has language laws, but separatism is no longer seen as the best option.

Alberta is a rich province, and the Rocky Mountains begin in Alberta. However, the Rocky Mountains have several ranges.

May the new season bring peace and chase away viruses.

Love to everyone 💕

Thierry Châtelain plays Beethoven

To Lori Weber: Language Laws in Quebec, 2

29 Tuesday Nov 2022

Posted by michelinewalker in Folklore, Just Society, Language Laws, Québec

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Cegep, Language Laws, Lori Weber, Quebec

**La Chasse-galerie** d’Henri Julien, 1906

—ooo—

I am a few minutes away from publishing a post on La Fontaine., but …

The events of the week kept away from you. A vein broke near my eyes. My eyes were filled with blood and one eye went from deep green to blue, but I’ve recovered. It didn’t hurt and I am recovering.

The Project: no Language Laws

I will first get in touch with Champlain-Lennoxville, the Advantage programme. Reforms are necessary, and French-speaking students have been enrolling in English-language Cégeps for several decades. It’s their English-language immersion finishing schools and there is no tuition fee. I must then talk to Justin Trudeau and François Legault. Attending a Cégep after grade eleven does not threaten a student’s knowledge of French.

The more difficult step is convincing French-speaking students to have anglophones as their classmates. A few changes are needed. As a university teacher of second-language acquisition, four years at McMaster University, and I wrote articles on the subject, I have the necessary background. I have also edited books on this subject.

Interestingly, people have realized that Internet Archives, Gutenberg, Wikisource have published a wealth of free books including audio texts. I have used these to write articles of every play Molière wrote. Henri van Laun is a scholar.

I am returning to the fables of La Fontaine, but I will be busy working on a better relationship between English-speaking and French-speaking Quebecers. There has to be trust that the French will not lose their language. The Battle of the Plains of Abraham took place a long time ago. We are now a free people, and our official languages are French and English.

The conversation begins. Cégeps are the starting point. French-speaking students themselves have used Cégeps. We keep this alive.

Wherever I phone, I hear: English will follow.

Here is an introduction to Lori Weber. She speaks four languages and is an author.

https://www.babelio.com/auteur/Lori-Weber/140487

Love to all of you 💕

A Cégep is a publicly funded post-secondary programme in Quebec.