dimanche 4 avril 2010

Upside down

Been so busy lately commenting all over the place and writing short pieces for our litterary group over at M.I.L.R. that I have somewhat neglected my very own blog.  Maybe to the relief of my few readers.
I was also outside some since we have one of the earliest spring thar I can recall.  With 27C yesterday all the Greater Montreal population was basking in the sun and even barbecueing and gardening and coloring easter eggs on the patio.  Here you have my daughter in law and my grandchildren at work.
Extracting pesky dandelions, unfortunately not for salad purposes, starring Ariane (4) and her aunties Nadine (Standing) and Nadia.
As you can see, while the West coast was shivering, watching the waves and the electric lines, over here we were quite comfy.  Temperatures hovered 15 degrees above average and no snow on the ground whereas last year we still had 4 or 5 inches in our backyard.
Today is cooler and we should have showers most of next week according the weather channel.

20 commentaires:

  1. Oh Spring is there in your neck of the woods. Lovely family picture. Glad to know your family is enjoying the warm weather.

    Wait, you're in shorts? Good grief, it must be an upside down world!

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  2. We enjoy the warmest weather since weather statistics are kept that is since somwhere around 1837. Former high temperature records have topped by 15 degrees.

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  3. I like the new layout, Paul.
    Oh, the joy of grandchildren. Have a couple myself! The joy of my life.

    We could use some sunshine today, but alas, Zephyr is blowing up the hill with force.

    Enjoy the weather, the dandelions, the grand kids, and the day.

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  4. Thank you Cheri. Hope your grandchildren give you as much joy as mine.
    Our weather, although remaining mild, should sour tomorrow with some showers forecasted for the next 3 days. But then forecasts have been known to be less than accurate.

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  5. The unseasonably warm weather in Montreal which you are having, puts me in mind of when I lived in Toronto (only 300 miles from Montreal, after all) in the 1970s.

    It was early April in, I think, 1976, when there was a heatwave in Toronto, and temperatures went up to about 90 Fahrenheit. A few days later there were snowflurries.

    Talk about mercurial changes in weather!!!

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  6. This time around Toronto and Montreal had similar weather and although a little bit cooler it still holds. This morning we even had a storm complete with high winds litghning and thunder and heavy rain. Sounded every bit like summer.

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  7. Paul, your family and the sun are much better than blogging!

    And your family is wonderful, and the grandkids I envy, my daughters might 'produce' some only in 5-10 years I'm afraid. Italy is going down the drain for Berlusconi, and for this too.

    Like Cheri I like this layout too but the other one was better for my eyes (tho I toggle colours on my browser, no problem.)

    The only unfair thing, it is your BIG picture above. It is blurred, we want to see your better lol.

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  8. I'll do my best to have bigger letters and a clearer picture.

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  9. There MoR, bigger letters and clearer picture. It was taken while we were vacationing in a rented chalet at lac La Truite near Ste=Agathe-des-Monts, last July. It,S about 90 km from our home.

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  10. THAT is perfect! I'll download it and keep it, I like my blog friends to be the least virtual possible.

    Ciao Paulus, αγαπητός φίλος.

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  11. Et, j'allais oublier, ce lac La Truite est magnifique, il ya pas trop de doutes là-dessus.

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  12. Dans nos Laurentides se cachent des centaines de lacs comme celui-ci tous plus beaux les uns que les autres. Certains sont encore assez sauvages.
    "agapitos philos"=ami de la bonne bouffe?

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  13. "agapitos philos"=ami de la bonne bouffe?
    You sure are kidding, so I will sound pedant.

    αγαπητός φίλος means cher ami. σ'αγαπώ is the most common phrase in modern Greek songs, meaning 'I love you'. αγαπη, which is feminine, means 'charity' and 'love of God' towards men. What is fascinating is that modern Greek is closer to ancient Greek (or, to be precise, to Hellenistic Greek or Koinè, ie Greek after the death of Alexander the Great, a bit degraded vis-à-vis classical Greek mais tout de meme fascinating) than Italian or French to Latin, which also means it is damn hard, which contributed to Greece's isolation (and preservation) in my view.

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  14. Thank you for the clarification. When it comes to Greek, Koinè or other, I'm a total ignoramus. I told you that. From the Greek I learned in classical college I recall the sound of the letters but not the meaning of the words, save for some root words that you find in modern words in other languages. You see Philos was familiar but agapitos I confused with agapè.
    Sorry carissimo.

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  15. Glad you've had such delightful weather. It's been snowing out west.

    Like your new design. And a great picture of you.

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  16. Thank you Rob Bear.
    We do have unseasonably mild and sunny weather aroud here and seems that it will last all through this week. Well the longer the better since we will be nearer the real springtime...unless your weather drifts our way.

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  17. It's very nice here in the Mid-Atlantic now. It was actually very hot a for a few days last week.

    I like the new look of the blog, btw.

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  18. Thank you Zeus. I'm glad to hear that the Mid-Atlantic is back to normal. You have such wonderful public gardens and parks, it would be pitiful to see them ruined by unusual weather.

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  19. Mid Atlantic, Toronto, Montreal, everything so big and with big oceans, full of whales, who, by the way, chant their deep songs all the time to the extent that, when I went to Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in 1993 with family, I thought I heard them, but of course I didn't. I never saw so many whales in my life, and never ate so many cheap and delicious spiny lobsters: wonder why here they are so expensive. You all live in a wonderful world, my friends.
    Here all is tiny and modest. Modesto.

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  20. MoR, Montreal is 2000 miles from the ocean by the St-Laurent and some 900 straight down through New England where cape Cod is and Toronto is even deeper into the continent. Lobsters over here are probably just as expensive as in Italy since they travel a long way before ending up on our plates.
    They go, for eating at home, at 13$ a pound and if you eat in a restaurant you pay around 30$ for a one pound lobster.
    Virginia, where Zeus lives does not have lobster fishing, too far south, but they have many other fine fish and fresh too.

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