Researching

There aren't a lot of photos to take when one is sitting in a chair reading books. That's what I was doing all last week. I went on a short walk with Steve in the hopes of photographing the last of the seasons dahlias and having some fun autumn images for today's blog. The photos have nothing whatsoever to do with today's content.

Oops, the dahlias are gone.

To begin with, there was (and continues to be) How to Sit by Thich Nhat Hanh. A very little book on slowing down and centering. My hope is to read one page a day (once in a while, let's be realistic) and try to think about that instead of less constructive thoughts. I haven't linked any of the books because I buy from my local book seller, not Amazon or use the local library.

The lane through the cemetery.

 I've read Fishing in Action x Bobbie Kalman. It's all about fly fishing.

I've read Guides of the North Woods by Mike Parker. It's all about men and a couple of women who guided officers from Halifax, American tourists and a few local folks out into the woods to fish, hunt birds, deer and bear. I didn't not like the ones who hunted bears. Just as I was about to toss the book under the chair, I came across Lew Freeman. He was a guide who spent his career on the Medway River, used the boat designed specifically for the Medway River's rocks and rapids and there are a couple of charming anecdotes about him. That little section was written just for me.

A muse with pumpkin and seagull

I also read The Times of African Nova Scotians, Vol. 1. That was a good read. Fairly simple but a much better survey of African Canadian's lives, past times, important events and just regular people. It showed the roots of racism here and I was surprised by the existence of segregation. I had made a huge assumption that while Canada had been unequal in its treatment of all people, we hadn't fallen prey to the nastiness of segregation. Wrong.

Gander drinking

Trams in Halifax was a short but fun little read.

Gander not drinking.

The Nova Scotia Home Coloured Children by Wanda Taylor is a fascinating book. I wanted to know about the lives of black children in Halifax in the early 1900's. Before the Halifax Explosion, there wasn't too much going on to protect children generally, but with the explosion, all of a sudden there was a flood of needy children. It took a while for the first home to be organized and built. It burnt down before it was occupied. The second one had a long list of problems, mostly stemming from the government refusing to properly fund it. The home received one third the amount per child that other homes for children received and that remained true until its closing.  By the book's title, you can see that there was certainly segregation going on in many ways. There was deep poverty there and many abuses by the adults in charge. The book reveals the experiences of several children, ranging from awful to not too bad. Saying that experiences in a home were not too bad is silly, of course it was bad just by virtue of being there. But relatively speaking, some children had less trauma than others. I still don't know about coloured children living a life with a family and community.

Steve noticing that there are now three model ships in the pond.

For a little light reading, I read about Fireflies. Ha ha.

Steve modeling his homemade hat, vest and shirt. He is not allowed to wear the shirt out of the house, there are too many embarrassing mistakes in it. I'm a little concerned about the vest, it has a few too many gaps over the tummy, but if I insist he can't wear it outside of the house, then I'll have to knit another one. I don't have the time right now, so don't tell him.

My favourite catalogue arrived and that took me into a deep dark cave of lust and yearning. The Persephone Biannually (here) comes twice a year. It features mostly women writers from days gone by that were either overlooked over time, or who were pretty darn good but currently not on the bestsellers list. I yum this catalogue. Besides the obvious list of offerings, there are lovely art images relevant to the author or the time period of the new releases, there is usually an extract from one or more of the featured authors, there are book reviews from fellow Persephone weenies and best of all, I get to use a coloured magic marker and make incomprehensible notes to myself through the entire catalogue. I circle author's names that they reference, or book titles that are referenced, or if I like a piece of art, I give it a good circle too. It takes me a couple of readings to fully enjoy this, along with a bit of chocolate and some scotch. The autumn one is best because a fire and blanket can be included.

Gander drinking yet again.