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Musings and Observations

A Good Idea

They should pay people to do the same thing in California State parks, except Bigfoot.

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/canadas-quirky-federal-jobs-meet-the-anne-imator-on-the-governments-payroll

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Experiences Musings and Observations

The Health System, a Semi-Outsider View

Part 1. What Happened.

We had some associates from the US visit us here, whom I will call Régis and Léontine (many of you reading will know who they are, but as this blog is publicly accessible this post will have some intentional vagueness).… [Read More]

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Musings and Observations Only in Montréal Vairy Fransch

Just Now, In Front

A truck just came by and quickly spray-painted this “sharrows” symbol on the street, right in front of our condo.

Sharrows–an amalgam of “share” and “arrows”–are used on streets without a designated bike lane.… [Read More]

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Experiences Musings and Observations Places

I’m Sohrry

Sohry I’ve not been posting recently, been having some health challenges. Ready to get back up to speed now! Here are some flowers. Hope you’ll forgive me.

peonies, Chinese garden @ the Jardin Botanique

Some of these health problems were not so much caused by our bug-out to Montréal (though that was exhausting) but by the place we moved into.… [Read More]

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Musings and Observations Pictures

Crowds of Summer

Things are busy. Manon and I are both taking six hours of French classes per week, along with homework and the usual quotidian grind.

Summer is a glorious but brief season, so Montréalers are anxious to be out and about when the weather’s good.… [Read More]

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Musings and Observations Pictures

Butterfly Week

The summer season is short here. You can see the changes in things from day to day. This week, it’s the butterfly’s time.

Up at the top of Mont Royal, it was a hot and very very humid day.… [Read More]

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History, Culture, and Politics Musings and Observations Only in Canada

You Don’t Look A Day Over 39 Million

At approximately 3 pm today Canada’s population reached 40 million people (according to Canada’s population clock, which really looks more like test tubes….disturbingly).

By comparison, California has a population of about 39 million packed into a lot less geographical space–lookee here**:

This is one of the many reasons we’re in Canada.… [Read More]

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History, Culture, and Politics Musings and Observations Pictures

Here’s the Church. Here’s the Steeple.

Montréal has many, many churches. So many that one of the city’s nicknames is “ville aux cent clochers” (city of a hundred bell towers). Images Montréal, a website dedicated to documenting architecture in the city, lists 437 buildings in the “Churches” category.… [Read More]

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Musings and Observations Only in Montréal

Talk Amongst Yourselves

I went to The Village recently to hunt up some nougat for a friend and dropped into a place I discovered last year, Pouding Cafe. Nice proprietors and staff, yummy sandwiches and coffee, and this sign.… [Read More]

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Experiences Musings and Observations

Flowers and Ashes

The spring is coming on hard with temperatures waggling all over the place, even on the same day; cold and icy one minute, summery and 70s the next. The daffodils are dead but the little violets and vincas are beaming purple and prolific dandelion blossoms punctuate the greenbelts with brilliant yellow polka dots (in MTL there’s a movement to leave dandelions untouched when they’re flowering to feed pollinators.… [Read More]