Margaret Atwood
Venerated Canadian author Margaret Atwood was in Edmonton last weekend for a live interview event attended by a large audience, of which I was one. She was in fine form, witty, insightful, and trenchant. She had much to say about our Maple MAGA Alberta government's recent misguided (and ultimately retracted) attempt to ban The Handmaid's Tale from school libraries. Atwood also read from her just-published Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts about her time living in Edmonton in the early 1970s. The crowd adored her and hung on every word. And of course, I fangirled right along with everyone else!
St David's Welsh Society Christmas Concert
Last weekend I went as well to a Christmas concert at a local church. There was a small Welsh Male Choir singing various songs (a couple in Welsh) and an audience singalong of favourite carols. However, the real draw for me was a recorder and harp duo! They played a selection of Welsh traditional tunes, all of which were quite lovely. You know how much I enjoy well-played recorder music and how rare it is to hear a live performance!
Paper Bag Snowflakes
I also indulged in a bit of crafting this week and made two paper bag snowflakes. I just liked the look of them on the instructional website (found here), they didn't seem all that difficult to make, and I had a bunch of paper lunch bags kicking around in my cupboard, so what the hell, why not?
Here they are side by side on the loveseat. If I make some more next December, I'll buy smaller white paper bags at Michael's or somewhere so they will be easier to hang and display.
What a lovely winter weekend you’ve had. Margaret Atwood, she’s amazing.
ReplyDeleteJayne
Bravo on the snowflakes!!!!! Homemade items sometimes make the best decorations. I once did them with white bags then used spray adhesive lightly and sparkled with white glitter. Stunning! But the damn glitter later gets on everything. And as we know, you still find months later, lol.
ReplyDeleteI think the St David's Welsh Society Christmas Concert would have been lovely too hear.
...your snowflakes are great!
ReplyDeleteThe snowflakes are so cool and yes, buy white paper for next year!
ReplyDeleteMargaret Atwood is amazing!
I hadn't heard about banning books in Canada! Such ridiculousness.
ReplyDeleteCarlos will be playing trumpet in the Catholic Church this weekend for a Christmas program; he is not Catholic and a flaming homosexual, too, but still they welcome his music.
Love the snowflakes; I love them out of paper bags, too!
Lucky woman. I didn't even realize that Margaret Attwood was here, that would have been amazing to see her.
ReplyDeleteYour snowflakes are beautiful.
Hello Debra, I hate to say it, but Margaret Atwood is at the top of the list of authors I despise. I read The Handmaid's Tale because I had agreed to, but it made me think of Dorothy Parker's famous review that such-and-such was not a book to be laid aside lightly, no, it should be thrown with great force. In my opinion, Atwood could not write her way out of a paper bag.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of paper bags, I really admired your craftsmanship with those snowflakes, but I did wonder whether Canada in winter was a place that required more snow. Talk about coals to Newcastle!
--Jim
@ Parnassus (Jim) -- Not a fan of Atwood? Them's fightin' words in Canada, LOL! And we have so much snow here, what's a couple more giant flakes?
DeleteHi again, In view of all the talk about book banning and burning, I thought I should amend my comment. I am not in favor of banning ANY books, even Atwood's (even those of Arundhati Roy!). People should be able to read whatever they want. My hope is that exposure to good authors will make them realize that it is a waste of time to read bad ones.
DeleteBesides, why should Canada set up a shrine to Atwood when there are so many really good Canadian authors and cultural icons. Especially when I once read either in Time or Newsweek how Atwood sneered at her fans, and was buying a mechanical autograph writer. Even if such items are necessary, they should be kept in the background, and not extolled by the likes of Margaret Atwood.
--Jim
I can't stand Margaret Atwood either and I'm Canadian! There are many excellent Canadian writers and I've never understood why Atwood is so revered. I don't hold with censorship of libraries or book-burning either -- children teens and adults should decide what to read for themselves.
DeleteI’m also not a fan of Margaret, even though I was absolutely hooked on the show. There’s something dark about her to be able to write such misery porn. I know she said every aspect of the book was taken from a real situation somewhere in the world, but she just took the worst of the worst of all of it, and she did so with a perpetual smirk. I cringe at myself when I think of how sucked into the handmaids tale I was, but honestly, I’m just going to be as sucked into the testaments.
DeleteRecorder and harp, now that sounds like an interesting combo. I wonder if you'll get back to your favorite instrument at some point?
ReplyDelete@ Boud -- My astigmatism still sucks, although everything is brighter now that the cataracts are gone. I still can't read print books, so I'm not holding out much hope for reading music either. But I'm going to give it a whirl over the holiday down time and see how it goes.
DeleteWow! those snowflakes look terrific!
ReplyDeleteOMG! I would love, love, love to see Atwood and hear her speak. Saw an interview on TV a while ago --- she's fiesty! and I'm there for it!! What an experience. Truly. Take me with you, next time. 😁
ReplyDeleteThe snowflakes are very nice - I can imagine white ones.
@ whkattk -- If that was her interview on "60 Minutes," I saw that too and it was terrific!
DeleteYep, I think that's the one I saw.
DeleteSeeing and hearing inspiring things, feeds out creativity, and you are so good.
ReplyDelete🤪🔥 How wonderful school used to be when my parents (and even the Nosy Nellies) didn't hover everywhere paying close attention to what I was reading. They figured all was right with the world as long as I had LEARNED to read and write and do my sums and play fair during recess and Margaret Atwood didn't get death threats and I could decide for myself what I thought of her writing!! Ahh, nostalgia!! 🥰
ReplyDelete@ Cleora Borealis -- I was very fortunate as well that my parents never, ever put any restrictions on what I could read. I am a better person for it. No cottonwool for me!
DeleteI love the snowflakes. Well done. I immediately thought they’d be cool made from white paper bags.
ReplyDeleteWhat a treat to get to see Ms. Atwood.
ReplyDeleteI really do like those snowflakes.
The ad gave me chills!
ReplyDeleteAnd I love the idea of giant snowflakes! And handmade???? I'm gonna try my hand at them next year!!!
XOXO
I love Margaret Atwood so that must have been a wonderful evening.
ReplyDeleteGreat snowflakes.
A woman with a blow torch, that rocks!
ReplyDeleteOMG, Debra. Those paper bag snowflakes might work in the winter reading nook! I love this idea. Yours are stunning!
Thank you about the comment on the minis. They are so great to learn light and shadow along with manual camera settings. Really a fun way to learn.
Wishing you a MOST EXCELLENT Winter Solstice - Deciding what my winter goals are gonna be.
Cheers and boogie boogie!
Paper bag snowflakes .... how clever. I'll pass this craft along to Crafty Lady.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great weekend you had. I love the paper bag snowflakes, they're beautiful! :)
ReplyDeleteI have yet to purchase the new Atwood. I will look for it this week though.
ReplyDeleteI was lucky enough to be first in line when the library's Atwood memoirs ebook was available. Engrossing. Fascinating. A tour de force! She and literary Canada matured together. A must read for Atwood fans, and an enlightenment for the passing curious. I envy your rvent attendance. Take care, Kris in Ohio
ReplyDeleteSuper te gwiazdy:):)
ReplyDeleteYour paper bag snowflakes turned out great! White paper bags would be lovely, though coloured bags could be used to make "flowers" too and strung together in a decorative garland.
ReplyDelete@ Paracelsus (Jim) -- Atwood helped to actually invent the LongPen device for long-distance autographs. She explained her reasoning in this CBC news item at the time --
ReplyDeletehttps://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/the-far-reaching-pen-of-margaret-atwood-1.579910
I don't know whether the device became commercially viable or got much traction in the world of autograph signing. But I know it didn't do anything to make Canadians love her less! And in a country where all our heroes are hockey players, we need all the diversity in cultural icons that we can get, LOL!
Paracelsus? Does that mean that you think of me as a doctor, and that I can write prescriptions now, like Dr. Spo? --Jim
Delete@ Tundra Bunny -- I think one of the reasons Atwood has become such an icon is that she has never hesitated to eviscerate ignorant or misogynistic interviewers right to their face. She has the intellectual quickness to make mincemeat of them. Like Pierre Trudeau used to. She's his female equivalent, LOL!
ReplyDeleteHooray for Margaret Atwood! I also love your crafty snowflakes.
ReplyDelete@ Parnassus (Jim) -- Well, that was a "classic" seniors moment, wasn't it! * Get it, get it?* Sheesh. Can you write me a prescription for some brain boosting pills?
ReplyDeleteVery nice and impressive snowflakes.
ReplyDeleteMargaret Atwood scares the shit out of me and that is reason number 38 why I love her SO much. She's so sharp and so smart and so funny and so done with idiots. As a listener and fan, this is the scary part: one never knows if you're one of the idiots or not, haha. (Our provincial UCP MLAs are definitely the idiots.) She is a master historian who, at this point, can tell the future. Did you see that interview with Matt Galloway? She read his palm, lol..always walking a line between riveting speaker/entertainer/writer and annoyed cat, toying with us (idiots) like mice.
ReplyDelete@ DB Stewart -- Love the analogy in your final sentence, LOL!
DeleteOh the Welsh choir, Cymraeg is like poetry to me, I can listen to it all day. Such a magical language.
ReplyDeleteLove the paper bag snowflakes. They look fantastic!!
ReplyDelete-Soma
I remember making paper snowflakes in grade school. You folded up a piece of paper, made cuts here and there, unfolded it and there was your snowflake. Something like that, right? If I tried it now I'd probably botch the whole thing.
ReplyDeleteYou had a wonderfully varied weekend, from fangirling over Margaret Atwood to enjoying the delicate sounds of a recorder and harp duo, and even getting creative with paper bag snowflakes
ReplyDeleteI love the snowflakes
ReplyDeleteI didn't even know Margaret Atwood's Canadian. Silly me. That's very cool that she spent that time in Edmonton. More exciting, you got to hear her speak. I'm happy for your fangirl experience.
ReplyDeleteAnd those snowflakes are wonderfully festive.
Stay warm and well, SWS.
You're always fascinating!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you got to see Margaret Atwood. Book banning is the worst :( I love those paper bag snowflakes!!
ReplyDeleteI love Margaret Attwood. I have enjoyed most of what I've read, I can't remember the one I couldn't understand! and The Handmaid's Tale made me angry. She is a legend.
ReplyDeleteMargaret Atwood in person plus recorder and harp sounds like a near perfect December combo, especially with a crowd that clearly adores her as much as you do. Those paper bag snowflakes turned out beautifully too.
ReplyDeleteI would be fangirling right along side you! I saw her once decades ago and asked her to sign a book. My mother was mortified that I had brought a paperback. Ms Atwood didn't seem put out about that.
ReplyDeleteLove the snowflakes, so clever! And, the concert sounds amazing. What a weekend!
I love the paper bag snowflakes.
ReplyDeleteI love Margaret Atwood's writing! It always makes me think. Lucky you to see her, Debra! Great Snow flakes!
ReplyDeleteYour snowflakes are wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI love ❤️ the snowflakes ❄️ and illustrations.
ReplyDelete