Almost ready

22 Thursday Dec 2022

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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

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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)

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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)

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.

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.

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/)

Winter has come …

15 Tuesday Nov 2022

Posted by michelinewalker in Quebec Art, Sharing

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Clarence Gagnon artist, New Computer, sharing

Baie-Saint-Paul, par Clarence Gagnon

Winter has come. I was 78 in July, but the photo at the foot of this post was taken on 19 September 2022. I expected to have many wrinkles by the age of 78, but I don’t. However, I have aged. My skin is rather transparent, and my lips are thinner. Moreover, my memory fails me and when night falls, past events leap upon me. I regret some of the decisions I have made.

New Computer

But the business of the day is the purchase of a computer. I needed help choosing the right computer. So, I am in Magog where my friend John helped me to choose a good computer and set it up. I should have replaced the former computer a year ago, but a Covid vaccine caused pericarditis and gout.

These are difficult years: Covid, Putin invading Ukraine, inflation, and a devastatingly sick climate!

The Language Laws

I will no longer discuss Quebec’s language laws. I had to speak English during the decades I lived outside Quebec, but I was in a very friendly environment, and the difficulties I faced were not related to my mother tongue.

RELATED ARTICLES

Colonization and the Revenge of the Cradles (11 January 2014)
Maria Chapdelaine (26 January 2012)

Sources and Resources

Clarence Gagnon EN

—ooo—

Love to everyone 💕

Clarence Gagnon, L’Hiver (I have used this video previously.)

Micheline, 19 September 2022

The Second Amendment to the American Constitution: a Misunderstanding

27 Friday May 2022

Posted by michelinewalker in Firearms, Gun Control, Sharing, Terrorism, War

≈ 8 Comments

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Guernica, Pablo Picasso, the National Rifle Association, the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the U.S., the Security of the State, Uvalde Texas

*Guernica* by Pablo Picasso *(Image credit: RMN-Grand Palais, Musée national Picasso-Paris/Mathieu Rabeau)* and the BBC

—ooo—

The Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States reads as follows:

“A well regulated [sic] militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”

The United States has a well-regulated militia, so “the security of a free state” is not endangered, except by those who misread the Second Amendment. If the goal of the Second Amendment is to promote the “security of a free state,” it forbids the wearing of deadly weapons.

In short, the insufficiently-controlled use of firearms has just led to the death of nineteen (19) innocent children and two (2) teachers. So, the American National Rifle Association could be described as a parallel government. The bearing of arms currently threatens the security a “free state” should promote. Proponents of the bearing of arms have become advocates of social disorder and great sorrow.

My love and sincere condolences to all who have lost a child or a dear one at Uvalde, Texas.

—ooo—

Love to everyone 💕

Guernica: What inspired Pablo Picasso’s masterpiece? BBC News

Picasso in 1905 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Could it be the war on opioids?

01 Saturday Jan 2022

Posted by michelinewalker in Medicine, Sharing

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

Crime, Law, Legitimate use of painkillers, Medicine, Opioid

Sandro Botticelli http://www.tuttartpitturasculturapoesiamusica.com

—ooo—

Two nights ago, I was in such pain that I thought no law should prevent a doctor from prescribing medication that soothes a patient’s pain. I phoned a friend and my nephew to tell them that I may have to enter a hospital. However, after I took a muscle relaxant, prescribed, and several tablets of Tylenol the pain was more tolerable. However, this morning, the pain had returned.

I can understand that a government would “crackdown” on opioids. There are dealers making a fortune selling opioids and young people who use opioids for recreational purposes. In fact, it kills. But it is difficult to accept that the sick should pay the price for the criminal and abusive use of opioids. There are times when a painkiller is necessary, just as there are times when a doctor must be at liberty to perform an abortion.

The last time I was in the Emergency Room, the doctor spoke to me aggressively. I left with a prescription for medication that could not alleviate the pain I experienced. So it could be that doctors are afraid. Given the fight against opioids, they hesitate to prescribe them. However, having to suffer needlessly at this stage in my life seems an offence. In the past, I have taken codeine to relieve the pain of migraines, but codeine will no longer be prescribed to me by my new doctor. He had negative comments about codeine. A few days from now, I will know whether my illness is a degenerative musculoskeletal condition, which it may not be. But if it is, and the pain is not constant, i. e. every minute of the day, I will not qualify for genuine relief.

Moreover, a good relationship with my new doctor has now been jeopardized. How can I trust a man who has already shown indifference to the pain I was experiencing. He told me to buy Voltaren and to pay for the services of a physiotherapist. He claimed that my neck was the problem. However, the X-rays did not show damage to the neck. In Magog, I was prescribed Prednizone (cortisone) and morphine, a short course of each medication. That kind of prescription could not be renewed, but it had helped me. Besides, the problem was first diagnosed as pericarditis.

I hope that my next test does not reveal a degenerative musculoskeletal disease. What would I do?

Grief has affected my health adversely, … I was talked into selling my home in Antigonish, and my family bought an apartment in Sherbrooke. I had seen the apartment. It was large, and it had an office. They refused to have the condo inspected, which is a mistake, and, although I hired a notary fearing my father may not read the documentation about the building, I learned, too late, that the apartment could not be sold to a person who needed a mortgage. I could not sell that apartment. So, I lost my equity. Nearly all that my career had earned me. Besides, I was selling the Antigonish house on the condition that my application for disability benefits was approved. I was told that it had been approved, but it hadn’t. The person who bought my house died, but I did not have the money to repurchase it. Colleagues had already fooled me into relinquishing my tenure, but I would have liked to return to my home. What had I done?

It is all incredible. I often wonder why I have retained a youthful face and figure. It seems a lie.

It appears I suffer from a musculoskeletal condition. The pain is genuine, but which condition is it?

My smartphone just informed me that a curfew is effective now. No one can leave home between 10 in the evening and 5 in the morning, which means that New Year’s celebrations had to be cancelled.

But let us hope for the best. Covid hasn’t ended, but a new year brings promise. Life starts anew. It has always done so.

Love to everyone and a Happy New Year 💕

Claude Debussy La Fille aux cheveux de lin (The Girl with the Flaxen Hair)

Résultat d’images pour Sandro Botticelli Paintings — **Birth of Venus**, Sandro Botticelli

Do not Blame the Vaccine

23 Thursday Dec 2021

Posted by michelinewalker in Covid-19, Quebec Art, Sharing

≈ 8 Comments

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Clarenge Gagnon, Laurentian Village, Pericarditis, The Vaccine

**La Messe de Minuit** par Clarence Gagnon, 1933 (WikiArt.org)

—ooo—

My last post may have confused certain readers, which is very sad. I was fully vaccinated but, during a visit to an emergency room, I was diagnosed with Pericarditis. Pericarditis and Myocarditis may be caused by a vaccine, including the vaccine protecting us from Covid-19. I would like to make it very clear that I was vaccinated against Covid-19 too early for the vaccine to be associated with the onset of Pericarditis or Myocarditis. Moreover, my diagnosis was not clear. Therefore, my illness was not associated with the vaccine against the Covid-19 virus.

During two visits to an emergency room in Sherbrooke and Magog, I was diagnosed with inflamed muscles in the rib cage and with a degree of deterioration of my left shoulder. The pain goes from the shoulder to the wrist. Doctors now suspect a musculoskeletal condition. I caught the H1N1 virus 46 years ago and never recovered. It caused Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome). Although my heart still feels as though it was squeezed by a powerful hand, I suspect a mere continuation of ME/CFS.

In short, the vaccine did not cause Pericarditis.

Please listen to Dr Fauci, the CDC, the WHO, and top doctors in various countries. Since the beginning of this crisis, the words of politicians have been deemed truer than the words of experts.

—ooo—

Above, we see Clarence Gagnon’s depiction of Midnight Mass. Traditionally, Quebecers used mass as the weekly get-together. Christmas was no exception. They then walked home for the réveillon.

Kindest regards to everyone 💕

Clarence Gagnon Intermezzi Brahms