Omega-3, Orville Peck, and Lost in Space

Cue The Excitement!

I braved Costco this week to buy a big honkin' bottle of fish oil pills. Yes, this is what "Retired Life" is like, folks!

Who's That Masked Man?

I've also been busy listening to Orville Peck's latest album of duets, Stampede. Here's his duet with Willie Nelson. I love the two-stepping lesbians in the video, especially the sexy butch with the Mayan nose. Rowrr!

News Story of the Week

I feel bad for those two NASA astronauts who were supposed to remain at the International Space Station for a short 8-day stay which, due to Boeing's faulty spacecraft transport, morphed first into an 80-day extension, and now will require a further 180-day stay until they can be brought home to Earth next year in a rival SpaceX vehicle.

The Dog Days of Summer

GET OUT OF HERE, HRH!

WHAT? ANOTHER BLOG?

That's right!

I have now started another blog

in addition to She Who Seeks! 

It's one of those "photo-a-day" formats,

simple and quick, yet hopefully

a bit thought-provoking too!

If you want to check it out, just click here

or click its Blog Button over on the sidebar!

And of course, feel free to sign up

to follow it if so desired!

Also, MANY SPECIAL THANKS to Linda

of Life and Linda and My Fairy Blog Mother

who so generously used her programming skills

to help set up the new blog!

Another Beautiful Woman!

My Olympic Pet Peeve

I really enjoyed watching the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. For two weeks, my TV setting scarcely left the CBC channel (the official Olympic network in Canada). It was like the "olden days" 60 years ago of being a kid growing up in a small prairie town in the middle of nowhere when the CBC was literally our one and only available TV channel, lol.

However, I have one major pet peeve about the Olympics -- all those #!@*&% athletes biting their #!@*&% medals! Gawd, I wish that hackneyed gesture would go the way of the dodo bird! By the end of the two weeks coverage, I was ready to put my foot through the TV screen every time I saw another athlete perform that stupid ritual.

In case you don't know why that gesture occurs, here's the background. Historically, tradespeople from long ago would bite gold coins to test their authenticity, since a comparatively soft metal like gold is susceptible to small dents or scratches from being bitten, unlike "fake gold coins" made of harder, inferior metals. Today, this biting gesture is an anachronism, of course. There is now very little actual gold in "gold" medals. However, the ritual is still performed by many athletes (regardless of whether their medal is gold, silver or bronze). It is, apparently, often done at the behest of photographers who see it as an iconic pose, no matter how clichéd it is.

Okay, rant over. At least for another two years until the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics in Italy.

Kung Pao Chicken, Rufus Wainwright, Zombie Gnome, and Unicorn Skull

This week I've been going out for some lovely meals with various friends. Here's a photo from Earls Restaurant of their delicious Kung Pao Chicken with 3 hot hunan peppers. I've been going to Earls for nearly 30 years now and I always order this same dish Every. Single. Time.

I love gay singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright. I've been listening all week to this fabulous 2021 live album of his. It's an intimate and intense mix of eclectic songs written by various Canadian and European songwriters, as well as by himself. Four of the songs are sung in French, his childhood language from Quebec.

I also went to Canadian Tire this week to buy a new muffin tin and noticed that their Halloween merch is now on the shelves. My two faves were this Zombie Gnome and the Unicorn Skull.

Guess Who I Met? Part Two

Debra She Who Seeks: My second blogging buddy meetup of 2024 was with Robyn Engel of Life by Chocolate! In June, Robyn came to Alberta from California to vacation at Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies. We were able to meet beforehand in Calgary for dinner one evening.

Her Royal Highness the Cat: TELL THEM WHAT I DID TO MAKE HER VISIT EXTRA SPECIAL!

DSWS: Okay, okay, calm down! I'll tell them. Does everyone remember the famous 2009 viral photo of the "Crasher Squirrel" who photobombed those tourists in Banff?

HRH: [interrupting excitedly] Well, I had the BRILLIANT IDEA  to recreate that photo with Robyn and my human at the restaurant! I just know MY VERSION will be a HUGE INTERNATIONAL VIRAL SENSATION too! Take a look --

DSWS: [sighing heavily] Yes, I'm sure it will. Anyway, Robyn and I had a delightful meetup and discussed all sorts of blogosphere goings-on. We've been following each other's blogs for many years, so there was a lot of ground to cover! Robyn is a talented author and poet who is now doing some stand-up as well, so I wanted to hear all about her current and future endeavours!

HRH: Yes, Robyn is a FASCINATING person! YOU, on the other hand, seemed intent on BORING the poor woman to death with your LONG-WINDED EXPLANATIONS of the Monarchy's role in Canada, the function of the Commonwealth, and how Canadian socialized medicine works. My gawd, I can't take you ANYWHERE.

DSWS: But . . . but . . . Robyn wanted to know about those things!

HRH: Yeah, yeah, keep telling yourself that. Thanks to your endless BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, I couldn't get a WORD IN EDGEWISE to discuss poetry with Robyn. She and I are both OUTSTANDING POETS, you know. Remember how I won her blog's poetry contest in 2018 with my POEM OF GENIUS?

DSWS: So what? I won the same contest on her blog in 2022!

HRH: Yeah, with a piece of LEWD DOGGEREL, you no-talent hack. Besides, I have it ON GOOD AUTHORITY that yours was just a PITY WIN.

DSWS: Why, you little . . . .

Guess Who I Met? Part One

Debra She Who Seeks: Hello everyone! So far in 2024, I've had the pleasure of meeting two blogging buddies in person! Part One today is about the first meetup and Part Two on Friday is about the second, so be sure to come back for that post too.

Her Royal Highness the Cat: Of course, the BIGGEST THRILL for both of them was to meet ME, GLORIOUS ME!

DSWS: First I met Allen Hingston of The Blog Fodder. He came to Edmonton at Easter to visit his son, daughter-in-law and adorable little grandson, so I went over and had coffee with him! It was great to sit and chat about so many things. I heard about his career in Saskatchewan, how he met his wife Tanya in Ukraine and got married, and how they had to flee the war to come back to Canada for their safety.

HRH: SLAVA UKRAINI! 🇺🇦 🇺🇦 🇺🇦

DSWS: We had lots of blogging stuff to talk about too, plus our shared love of noir detective fiction and bad puns.

HRH: But then YOU had to go and pick a FIGHT with him about the Edmonton Elks and the Saskatchewan Roughriders, didn't you? You just COULDN'T leave that football club rivalry alone, could you?

DSWS: . . . . . . . what?

HRH: I'm in despair about your LACK OF PEOPLE SKILLS, I really am. GOOD THING I was there to step BETWEEN you two before things got UGLY.

DSWS: What the hell are you talking about? Nothing like that happened!

HRH: Don't lie to your readers! I have PHOTOGRAPHIC PROOF of the intervention I had to perform to SAVE THE DAY! Take a look --

DSWS: Oh for gawd's sake, get some decent photoshop skills, willya? That photo is so obviously fake!

HRH: You think you're SO CLEVER, Miss Smarty Pants! I know that in the comments Allen will confirm MY story about you picking a fight with him. Just wait and see! JUST WAIT AND . . . .

August Full Moon Altar: Idunn

 

This month's altar honours Idunn, Norse Goddess of Youth and Rejuvenation. Idunn (pronounced ee-doon and meaning "Ever Young" or "She Who Renews") grows and tends the Apples of Eternal Youth which all the Norse gods and goddesses must eat to maintain their youth and vitality in perpetuity.

I bought my little statuette of Idunn about 12 years ago at a Scandinavian Christmas Market here in Edmonton. The beeswax apple candles came from a local Ukrainian crafts store.

There is a theory which speculates that extensive Viking settlement and influence in Scotland resulted in the River Doon being named after this popular goddess. The River Doon featured in some of Robbie Burns' poetry (Tam O' Shanter and Ye Banks and Braes o' Bonnie Doon). Its bridge ("Brig o' Doon") became the name of the fictional magical Scottish town in the Broadway musical Brigadoon.

[Photos © Debra She Who Seeks, 2024]

Cribbage, Tiger Tiger, Back Scratchers and Marvel

Welcome to my "Vacay Edition" of Weekly Roundup! While visiting my sister, we didn't get up to too many shenanigans but instead had a quiet and enjoyable visit. Here are a few hilites --

I got my ass whupped at cribbage. I only managed to win a measly couple of games.

A special treat was going for some yummy tiger tiger ice cream! This is a Canadian delicacy consisting of orange ice cream with a black licorice swirl. I've written previously about tiger tiger here.

I finally found and bought a replacement back scratcher for my old one which broke about 6 months ago! Victory is mine!

And I scored an awesome new Marvel t-shirt! (And before you ask -- no, I haven't seen the just-released Deadpool & Wolverine movie yet! I'm waiting until it streams on Disney+).