Moose and Squirrel

Are you old enough to remember The Rocky & Bullwinkle Show? I loved Rocky and Bullwinkle when I was a kid. The show was a product of its times though, as evidenced by Boris and Natasha, the Cold War Soviet spies constantly being thwarted by Our Heroes.

Once the Cold War ended, whatever happened to Rocky and Bullwinkle?

It seems that someone in Russia is still keeping tabs on them.

Because of this new danger, I think Rocky and Bullwinkle have gone underground, emerging only occasionally to leave coded signals of their ongoing presence amongst us.

Giveaway Winner

Oh, HRH, you always know how to ramp up the drama of any situation!

Thanks to everyone who entered my 5 + 500 Giveaway -- I wish I could send a calendar to each and every one of you! Alas, however, I have but one. And the winner of the 2014 Sacred Celtic Sites calendar is . . . .

Lisa of ANAMCARA 2 !!!

Congrats, Lisa, I'll be emailing you shortly to get your mailing address. I've never posted anything to Australia before -- this is exciting!

Up and Down in Old Quebec City

Le Vieux Québec (Old Quebec City) is built on a large rocky cliff overlooking the St. Lawrence River. This is what gave the city its strategic military importance in days of yore. The magnificent Fairmont Chateau Frontenac hotel crowns Upper Town. Below it lies Lower Town along the river's shore. Both areas feature beautifully restored old buildings full of shops, restaurants, museums, etc.

There are two ways for a tourist to go between Upper Town and Lower Town. First, you can take L'Escalier du Casse-Cou (Breakneck Stairs). These stairs have existed since 1635 (replaced several times, of course, over the centuries). Walking down to Lower Town is fine. Walking back up to Upper Town is another thing. What you don't see in my photo is that, at the top of Breakneck Stairs, there is a further very steep climb via sidewalk past more shops and restaurants and then there is another set of stairs leading up to the Chateau Frontenac. Pretty daunting.

OR you can simply ride the Funiculaire du Vieux Québec! This vertical funicular railway with two cars has existed since 1879. Renovated and rebuilt several times, it now runs on electricity instead of the old water ballast system. It will carry you in comfort up and down from the Chateau Frontenac to the base of Breakneck Stairs. Each one-way trip costs $2 per person and, believe me, it is worth every single friggin' penny.

This is the view of Lower Town that you see from the Funicular. The St. Lawrence River is very narrow at Quebec which also made the City easier to defend and therefore more impregnable.

[Photos by Debra She Who Seeks and My Rare One, June 2013]

OMG, EVERYONE!

Not to be OVER-DRAMATIC about it or anything . . .

. . . but today is the LAST DAY!!!

Yes, the VERY last day to enter . . .

. . . my 5 + 500 GIVEAWAY! Click here to enter if you haven't already. The winner will be announced on Friday!

The Canadian Holy of Holies

Yea verily, hear ye the words of the Gospel of the Great White North:

. . . and on thy sacred pilgrimage, proceedeth thou to Ottawa Street in the holy city of Hamilton in the province of Ontario. Feareth not neither Tiger Cats nor the United Steelworkers Union nor yet even Sheila Copps, for the Lord Stanley shall protect thee on thy journey.

And lo, on Ottawa Street shalt thou findeth the Sacred Way revered by all true Canuckians of faith and lovers of donuts everywhere.

O thou unworthy one, behold the sacred shrine -- hallelujah, the very first Tim Hortons store in all of Canada! Shield thy eyes, cover thy head and kneel before its glory! For 'twas on this holy spot that Saint Tim himself trod in his hockey skates of fire. Yea and here createth he the very first Timbit, like unto the manna of heaven that did sustaineth the Israelites during their exodus from Egypt.

And the hand of the Lord Stanley did cause this plaque of bronze to appear on the front of the holy shrine, so that all who come may marvel at and worship at this sacred spot.

Yea verily, drinketh thou thy double-double and eateth thou thy maple glazed donut, symbols of all that be sacred and holy in this great land from sea to sea to sea.

Here endeth the lesson, eh?

[All photos by Debra She Who Seeks, May 2013. And a special thank you to Lois of Mid Life Fibres who told me of this sacred spot and how to get there this summer while in Hamilton!]

[And don't forget to enter my 5 + 500 Giveaway if you haven't yet! Click here to do so.]

Autumn Equinox Fun!

Today is the Autumn Equinox here in the northern hemisphere -- the first official day of autumn. And a good way to welcome the new season is to make yourself a beautiful Crown of Leaves! It's fun for girls . . .

. . . and boys too!

Even teddy bears like to get in on the action.

It's also fun for Moms . . .

. . . and maybe this beau chapeau could persuade Dad to participate?

[All photos from the internet]

And hey, don't forget to enter my 5 + 500 Giveaway if you haven't yet! Click here to do so.

Simple Math: 5 + 500 = Time for a Giveaway!

Today is the 5th blogoversary of She Who Seeks blog! Where, oh where, has the time gone? It just seems like yesterday that I was a fresh young newbie in the blogosphere. And now here I am, five years later, a wizened old crone of a blogger.

But wait, there's more to celebrate!

My blog has made it to the 500+ followers level! Thank you to everyone who reads She Who Seeks or has read it in the past. I'm honoured that people choose to spend some of their precious, precious leisure time here at my site.

So, put these two events together and it can mean only one thing -- it's time for a giveaway! What's up for grabs? This new 2014 calendar!

The calendar has fabulous photos of ancient Celtic monuments and landscapes in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Rich in myth and legend, these sites are the magical "thin places" between the worlds -- places of spiritual awakening and power. Accompanying text by Mara Freeman explains the lore and significance of each site. (Mara Freeman was our guide when My Rare One and I did a pagan tour of southern England a few years ago. She is one of the world's leading experts on Celtic spirituality).

So if you'd like a chance to win this calendar, here's the contest rules:

1. You must be an official Follower to enter. Old, new or just signed up in order to enter the contest, it's all good. And it doesn't matter where you're from in the world, I'll mail it anywhere!

2. In addition to being a Follower, you must leave me a comment on this post. If you want to leave a comment but don't want to be entered, just say so (and that's okay!)

3. One entry per person!

4. Entries will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time on Wednesday, September 25, 2013.

5. The draw will be made by random selection on Thursday, September 26 and the results posted here on Friday, September 27.

Good luck, everyone!

Oh, Wolverine!

Are you a Wolverine fan? I certainly am, much to My Rare One's astonishment. Oh well, she doesn't understand my thing for Colin Firth/Mr. Darcy either. Anyway, what's not to love about Wolverine? Yes, he's a viciously violent animal but he has a tortured soul and sort of a noble nature, so he's not all bad. Plus he's Canadian so he means well.

It goes without saying that Wolverine is 110% straight. His dangerous bad-boy persona makes him a huge hit with the ladies! Provided he's had a bath first, of course, and keeps his claws sheathed.

From time to time, there are rumours about Wolverine relatives who might be a little light in the loafers but hey, no one can control who they're related to.

But you know what? Comics are not like they used to be when we were kids. Marvel now has this whole big alternate universe thing going on in its comics and in that alternate universe, Wolverine is gay! And in love with Hercules to boot.

Good thing those boys are in Canada. They can get married!

And this all just goes to prove the happy conclusion that . . .

I'm not holding my breath for a gay Wolverine movie to be released anytime soon, though.

Bunny Luuuuuv

Years ago when I moved in with My Rare One, she gave me this lovely verdigris rabbit lawn ornament to mark the occasion. Every summer we put it in the front yard beside the inukshuk in the juniper bushes. We can see the rabbit from the house but it is not visible from the street so it is safe from theft.

This summer our rabbit made a new friend! A wild rabbit came to visit over the course of several days in July. She would sit near our rabbit in companionable silence for up to an hour in the late afternoon. After a few visits, she moved on to greener pastures (hopefully) and we didn't see her again.

[Photos by Debra She Who Seeks]

Rabbit Cuisine, Part 2

Le Lapin Sauté is not a large restaurant but its interior is cozy and rustic. Naturally, it features a lot of rabbit decor such as this adorable bunny shelf . . .

. . . and these rabbity folk art carvings.

For my meal, I ordered "rabbit with two mustards sauce." As you can see, it came with salad and fries. There were four little pieces of rabbit under a delicious sauce. And yes, it is true what they say -- rabbit tastes just like chicken. However, it is a bit stringier than chicken in texture.

My Rare One was on a fish kick at the time and ordered salmon instead. It too was delicious. But she also sampled my rabbit.

Oh, I enjoyed this so much! But I know that this nice feed of rabbit may have to hold me for years until I'm able to find rabbit on a restaurant menu again.

[Photos by Debra She Who Seeks and My Rare One.]

Rabbit Cuisine, Part 1

I love rabbits, yes, but I'm also not squeamish about eating them. Rabbit doesn't appear often on restaurant menus here in Canada but when it does, I order it. Too often, however, the restaurant is "out" of it on that particular day so I end up eating something else.

However, when we were in Quebec City a couple of months ago, I hit the rabbit cuisine motherlode! In Old Quebec, we descended the long flight of stairs down to Lower Town and found amongst its charming shops and old buildings . . .

. . . a restaurant called Le Lapin Sauté -- The Jumping Rabbit! I suspect its name is also a bit of a double entendre on the cooking term "to sauté." Anyway, I knew we had to have lunch here!

Look at the cute "rabbit crossing" sign on the restaurant's outside wall, along with the carrot bucket full of greenery and a cherry tomato plant!

Tomorrow: the restaurant's interior decor and my delicious lunch!

[First photo from the internet. Other photos by Debra She Who Seeks.]

To See the Rabbit

To See the Rabbit

by Alan Brownjohn

We are going to see the rabbit.

We are going to see the rabbit.

Which rabbit, people say?

Which rabbit, ask the children?
Which rabbit?

The only rabbit,

The only rabbit in England,

Sitting behind a barbed-wire fence

Under the floodlights, neon lights,

Sodium lights,

Nibbling grass

On the only patch of grass

In England, in England

(Except the grass by the hoardings

Which doesn't count).

We are going to see the rabbit

And we must be there on time.

First we shall go by escalator,

Then we shall go by underground,

And then we shall go by motorway,

And then by helicopterway,

And the last ten yards we shall have to go

On foot.

And now we are going

All the way to see the rabbit,

We are nearly there,

We are longing to see it,

And so is the crowd

Which is here in thousands

With mounted policemen

And big loudspeakers

And bands and banners,

And everyone has come a long way.

But soon we shall see it

Sitting and nibbling

The blades of grass

On the only patch of grass

In -- but something has gone wrong!

Why is everyone so angry,

Why is everyone jostling

And slanging and complaining?

The rabbit has gone,

Yes, the rabbit has gone.

He has actually burrowed down into the earth

And made himself a warren, under the earth,

Despite all these people,

And what shall we do?

What can we do?

It is all a pity, you must be disappointed,

Go home and do something else for today,

Go home again, go home for today.

For you cannot hear the rabbit, under the earth,

Remarking rather sadly to himself, by himself,

As he rests in his warren, under the earth:

"It won't be long, they are bound to come,

They are bound to come and find me, even here."

I have loved this poem by the British poet Alan Brownjohn ever since I first read it more than 40 years ago in junior high school. I love how the poem unfolds -- the young narrator's excited enthusiasm, the disturbing realization that this poem occurs in a future dystopian England, the creepiness of the imagery and the heartbreaking plight of the last rabbit. What a powerful warning about social, environmental and political breakdown and its costs, all in a concise little poem.

My Favourite Fictional Rabbits

1. Bugs Bunny

Oh, how I loved this trickster when I was a little girl! And Bugs Bunny cartoons are still funnier than most of the stuff produced today, in my humble opinion.

2. The Rabbits of Watership Down

I read this novel when I was in university. It's one of the few books I've ever read that was so good, I literally could not put it down. I stayed up all night reading it. I was worried when the animated movie came out that it would cheapen and ruin my vision of Watership Down. But hurray! The charming movie is a genius work of art in its own right. Both the movie and the novel are wonderful.

But neither the book nor the movie is suitable for children. The story is a political analogy of oppression, violence and the search for freedom. Rabbits fight, bleed and die. It would scare young children.

3. The Killer Rabbit from Monty Python and the Holy Grail



The very first time I saw this scene, I laughed so hard the tears ran down my face. And down my leg too, if you catch my drift. I can see this clip a million times and still find it hilarious EVERY. SINGLE. TIME!

My favourite immortal line: "What's he do? Nibble your bum?"

4. Jessica Rabbit from Who Killed Roger Rabbit?



Well, okay, she's not really a rabbit. But she's married to one and that counts. She took his last name, after all.

My favourite immortal line: "I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way."

If you want to see my favourite Jessica Rabbit cosplayer, click here.

Screw Shark Week!

Cuz it's RABBIT WEEK here at She Who Seeks blog! And rabbits kick ass.

So yes, it'll be all bunnies, all week. I love rabbits no matter whether they're cute, evil, tame, wild, real, fictional, sautéed or whatever.

Let's get hopping, shall we?

More on Budgies

So when I mentioned budgies last week in a post, I didn't realize that Americans don't know and don't use this name for little pet parakeets. In Britain, Canada and Australia, these birds are called budgerigars or budgies for short. I think budgerigar comes from an Australian aborigine word, although no one is entirely sure what it means. "Good to eat" is one theory I've read. Apparently, budgies are native only to Australia but now, of course, they are bred everywhere as pets.

And how can I talk about budgies without posting my favourite Monty Python clip about how to put your budgie down?



Classic Python tastelessness, I know, but funny as hell!

And Now, in Hockey News

I've mentioned before that my favourite former Winnipeg Jet is the Finnish Flash, Teemu Selänne. As of the 2012-13 season, he has played in the NHL for an incredible 20 years (the last 14 with the Anaheim Ducks). He is now 43 years old, an advanced age for a professional hockey player. Retirement is on his mind, of course. But Teemu appears to be having the longest farewell tour since Cher. He swears that every season will be his last but then the next year, there he is on the ice again! And now he's returning for the upcoming 2013-14 season (his 21st). How did he come to that decision?