Plastic flowers never fade

Teacher stuff

I’m giving my second class today. We are week 3 and things are going fine, I’m ahead in writing the material needed (2 weeks ahead). I’m enjoying being busy again but not too busy.

Reading

I finished these: 

The Apothecary Diaries v.1.  It was really good. I read it in French and got v.2 from the library. It’s in my PAL.

Heaven Official’s Blessing v.8.  The series is done. I’ve gotten the first volume of the manhua. It is also in my PAL.

Faux-semblant/Smoke screen. Horst and Enger second book in the Alexander Blix and Emma Ramm series. This is Nordic noir at its best for my taste. Yes there is violence but it’s not graphic violence, the investigation has multiple branches, both characters are strong and not helpless. The rhythm and pace of the story grabs you at the first chapter and lets you go at the last line. It’s a page turner and no sleep night type of read. The French translation is well done. The third book is not available in French yet but is in English. I will wait for the French edition. 

La course contre l’amour de Valentina Tran. This is a romantic YA graphic novel just in time for Valentine’s Day. It’s part magical realism, part romance, part coming of age story. It’s well written, beautifully drawn. I spent a really nice evening reading it. 

Watching

I finished Love Between Lines and it was so so good, Green flag, HE. Loved it. 

I started an old one The Spirealm so far I like it (4/38 episodes). I got the translated novel on my Kindle too. It’s creepy enough but not too creepy. It probably will be an open ended ending. I haven’t been spoiled.

Crafting

Last Friday was our first crafting evening of 2026. I worked on my fox 🦊 crosstitch. This coming Friday is knitting. I’m making progress on the baby blanket I have one month left to finish it. The baby is arriving in March. 

State of me

I only had one episode of really *bad* aka over 8 on my pain scale during my summer break. Thanks to the remains of Debby otherwise the pain was stable around 6-6.5 i hope this is what I can have most of the time after retiring. Going back to work tomorrow will reset the pain scale higher but I am rested and will be able to get to my short fall break in October in one piece. 

Summer break

I did rest and knit and watched c-drama. I did go school shopping with the the grand daughters of my heart and the daughter of my hear. It is tradition. Then we decided to make a day of it and watched a movie, Hidalgo, ate cut fruits, popcorn, etc. It was a really nice day.

I did have some repair work done around the house in prevision of the coming fall and winter. The windows scellant were redone and the steps of the front porch were redone. Eliminating much of the possibilities of falls. A big plus. 

Knitting

I finished the hood scarf and the recipient was really really happy. I tried the Greek revival shawl pattern with the Katia Spring Rainbow yarn cake I had. It was a mess. I tried 4 other patterns, hoping to match the yarn with a pattern that was fit the yarn with medium difficulty. The Subtle Interruption shawl was the winner. Espace tricot offers a wide range of free patterns. 


 C-Dramas

Having found the new knitting project I could knit and watch in comfort. 

I watched an office Rom-Com, You are my secret. It’s a fun, romantic story. A little angst but not heavy angst. The couples are fun and communicate with each other. The obstacles are there but the vilains are not totally dark. Which is fine by me, especially the female opponents. Wei Zhe Ming and Karlina Zhang as the main leads are in synch. 

I went looking for other drama with Wei Zhe Ming, I started watching Unforgettable Love, it’s okay in a cheesy, CEO rom-com type of drama.

But as soon as Go East started dropping episodes I switched. I binged Under the Skin last June and tried a few of Tan Jian Ci other dramas. They were okay and I will eventually finish them. I’ve been waiting for Go East to drop since it offers almost all of my favourite things : mystery, genius but weird lead, a layer of comedy and smart female leads.  So far it’s delivering. I’m enjoying it. 

Hockey news

Patrick Laine, all 6 foot 5 right winger Patrick Laine is coming to Montreal. I hope he finds his hockey head space again. If he does, the Habs will finally have a top scorer. 

Well, it’s been an hectic and not so much fun three months. 

State of me and work stuff

The first two and a half months 2024 were a rollercoaster that didn’t let up even for a few days. Work was not so much difficult but relentless in the number of dumpster fires to put out. I came home exhausted, aching, stressed out. When you need your two days off of the week to be able to barely function on Monday, the energy level to do anything but the bare essential is non existent. 

The cycle of dumpster fires finally reached its peak last week. All the dramas both from the employees, the city’s environment and external forces ate all of the existing fuel. There is no more to have. We have reached the bottom or the peak whatever you want to call it. 

In a year, I will be off this train of unending pursuit of doing more with almost nothing. My health both physical and mental will thank me. 

Hockey stuff

Pittsburgh is almost at the end of the road of the Crosby cycle. I still love this team to pieces and it’s going to be a long, long way back to having a competitive team but I’ll enjoy watching Sid the Kid for last years of his incredible career because Sid even at his age is better at almost everything than 3/4 of the league. Having Jagr in Pittsburgh for a week days in the last weeks was fun. 


Moment of joy

Spending two half days with my grand daughters during spring break. That was the highlights of the last two months. 

Stuff I swore I didn’t need but…

I got an air fryer. I know. I know. It’s not the best thing, end using the oven thing people make it to be but it’s useful. Quite useful. Especially to make diner in less than 20 minutes for things that would take up to 45 minutes. I can drop a marinated chicken leg, filet, etc along with vegetables in it instead of on a plaque in the oven. Less time, less heat (which for the summer is perfect), less electricity (less money spent) for the same result and taste. With the same amount of pots used. 

Knitting

I finished the hood/scarf in early January and spent the rest of the time on a grown up blanket aka «doudou pour adulte» using left over yarns from multiple projects. The end result was a beautiful, warm, soft blanket in all shades of earth green colours. It was a good birthday gift for a coworker.

Reading

Exhaustion does not create optimal space for reading in my case. I started a lot of books and left them after a few pages or chapters. I read one full book since the beginning of the year and one novella.

 Guardian. Zhen Hun #1. Which I liked. I did rewatch the first 4 or 5 episodes of the c-drama to remember the universe. I am looking forward the second book available in a few weeks. 

I also indulged in my New York based fiction/non fiction love with Truman Capote’s La Cote Basque, 1965. I enjoyed the vitriol enough to dig out of my Kindle Melanie Benjamin’s The Swans of Fifth Avenue. 

I’m also rereading The Long Tail for research purposes. 

I’m hoping my reading draught it over. 

C-Drama

Being so tired every single day does not make watching episodes during the week a thing. So I became a week-end watcher. I did try a few that didn’t stick. I might revisit them eventually, maybe. 

What did stick is Eternal Brotherhood. I liked it a lot. It’s messy story-wise. It’s messy in the way it mixes humour, murder, political intrigue and really messed-up family bonds. I loved it. All three ML are good in their own way. The FL are uneven and don’t have the big parts but are not just green plants. The scheming old men are scheming, stupid, arrogant and ultimately get what’s coming to them. It end with a somewhat open ending if you look at it sideways. The last line is so so so good. I don’t need a season 2. I’ll watch it but I don’t need it. I love the trio of idiots. 

I started War of Faith. Which is amazing cinematographically, has amazing actors Wang Yang, Wang Yibo and Li Qin. It is set in an era I like learning about Shanghai in the 1930s. So far, I am on episode 3, it’s a good, solid political, Republican, financial thriller with a dash of spy intrigue to come. 

State of me

November is almost over and good riddance. It.is.the.worst.month. There were days I could hardly walk. It’s been a difficult two months. Still other than my chronic back pain, I haven’t been too bad. I still have a little more than two weeks before my end of the year break. 

Moment of Joy

Having my 16 years old kitty cat finally sleep on my lap. She’s envious of my younger/teenaged cat who sprawls on my lap so she started taking the space away from her. 

Reading Wednesday

I’m reading book 4 in the Veronica Speedwell series : Dangerous Collaboration. So far it’s good. 

I read the latest Astérix comic. It wasn’t bad. Better than the last few ones.

Watching

I have a few c-drama that I have started but not finished. None of them captured my interest enough to finish them. That was until yesterday’s premiere of A Journey to Love. Assassins, political intrigues, martial art. Liu Yu Ning is the main lead. I confess I like him a lot. Really. He’s not conventionally beautiful but man, he has charisma and presence and he is lovely to look at, despite all the antis. I loved him in The Long Ballad. He was the only reason I watched almost 10 episodes of the Legend of Anle. As soon as the last episode of Wonderland of Love drops I’ll get back to it. He has 4 either upcoming or in production dramas that looks interesting. Including one with Zhao Lu Shi. I’m up to episode 4 of Journey to Love and it’s good. 

Hockey

My penguins have their ups (West Coast trips) and downs. I can’t wait for the February game where Jagr will have his jersey put up in the rafters. 

State of me

Summer has ended with a few sunny and breezy days. My left ear is still wonky, no pain but closes up at awkward times. It’s annoying. I still have drops from last months to get it open again.

I did an unhealthy thing a week ago. I helped at a local fair where the library had a booth. It was fun, I saw people I hadn’t seen in ages but after 4 hours I was in pain. After getting home, exhausted, I had major difficulty walking the rest of the day, the day after (Sunday) and Monday. The exhaustion lasted most of the week. I am not doing that again. Ever. Lesson learned. I am not strong enough physically to do that again.

Work stuff

It’s the literary season. The big one. French titles coming in by the dozens. Same for the Quebec books. I still have about 80 000$ to spend by early December. Fun but demanding.

C-Drama

Stange Tales of the Tang dynasty 1 . It’s a very good thing there’s a Strange Tales season 2. All characters and actors are really good. Even the bad guys are good. I even empathized with the Princess. All cases have their own resolution and I sneaked a peek at Season 2 roster and two of my favourite characters from the cases are coming back. 💃 It’s a really good historical mystery drama.

All the Way to the Sun  is is a women centric drama. You need to know that from the start. It’s slow burn. It has strong, solid sisterhood. Good family support. As for the romance,it is background, both heart breaking and so so nice. It’s grown up romance. I had moments when I said out loud «They still love each other» and so being adult about it. Wang Yang is just, well, a really, really good actor. 

I’ve started on the modern Cheng Yi drama. So far, it’s okay. He does a really, really pretty charming, competent, rich brat. It did not grab me and since the episodes are still slowly dropping on Viki after 4 episodes it’s going to on the back burner. 

Reading

Book 3 of Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation. Better than the drama. I’m at the «Turtle cave» part.  

I ordered the new Emily Wilson’s Iliad translation. I loved her translation of The Odysseus. It should be here for my October break. 

Hockey, hockey, hockey.

I’m actually listening to pre-season game one of the 🐧. New play by play guy (former TV play by play) he’s not annoying and they kept the Old29 so far I’m back on the 🐧 hockey beat. Still completing my daily Puckdoku. 

Crafting

Knitting fingerless mittens again. I’m up to pair number 2 since the beginning of September. 

State of me

I'm tired bordering exhaustion but I have 3 days left before my summer break. 3 weeks of nothing. Can't wait. Really. I can't wait.

My dad and his wife have found a smaller apartment in an elderly type of housing. They are moving second week of October. They will have more services and less work. My dad is 83, in good health 83 but still 83.

What I'm reading

I finished the last Peter Grant's novel last nigh. Amongst Our Weapons which is my last one. I still have a few graphic novels but not the same.
I also read False Value.

I have my big bad book brick for my summer break : The Priory of the Orange Tree.

Craft

My xstitch project is coming along. I have 1/4 of it done.

Watching

I'm watching and rationing The Mysterious Lotus Casebook. It's good and fun and a good plot. Cheng Yi is especially good in a somewhat departure from his previous roles.

I have also The Princess and the Werewolf waiting to be sample.

I also have Hidden Blade to watch since it's now available on North American platforms.

State of me

Work has been fine. I'm slowly planning next year so I can hand out the transition for when I leave, earliest March 2025. I'm tired, my body is acting out more and more and it takes longer to be functional for the work week. My week-end are mostly recuperating from the days before.

I eat healthy, i do not exercise because that's courting disaster and being out of commission for weeks if non months. So I carefully walk, make sure I do not hurt myself by being distracted. I did end up pulling my right shoulder because I, literally, walked into a corner wall. That hurt a lot.

Planning for my summer break in August

I want to go see the Alexander McQueen exhibit in Québec City.  Make a day of it. Leaving really early and coming back early-late evening.

Weeding my personal library and redoing my office, which was never done in the first place and has become a storing room by default.

In hockey news... my Pens have gotten a new boss aka Kyle Dubas off the Leafs. I don't think they will get Erik Karlsson but I wish they could. That would be quite a show.

Reading

I went on a rereading binge of Rivers of London and started on the books I hadn't read as of yet.

Rivers of London to Foxglove Summer. That was June. In July I've read so far The Hanging Tree and have started on What Abigail did that Summer.

I will probably reread the graphic novels as well.

I also read in 2 days last May during my spring break Sur la dalle the latest, after a break of 7 years, Adamsberg's novel. I was good and like meeting up with old friends you haven't seen or talked to in ages but fall in sync with in minutes none the less.

I am also reading the short list for next year selection for Eread Canada. I have done 3, so far the most disturbing but still quite good was Shut Up You're Pretty by Téa Mutonji. I have two more to read by the end of next week.

Watching

In c-drama watching, I've started a few and so far I have enjoyed :

I'm also almost done with Hidden Love  22/25 episodes. This is first love fairy tale like modern romance. It's unbelievably sweet and totally not realistic at all. Still Zhao Lu Si is amazingly good as Sang Zhi from young girl to young woman. Chen Zhe Yuan is the perfect boyfriend. It's adorably cute, a bit too sugary but it pulls you in.

I'm also watching in real time no less Destined. 28/40 episodes. Which is so, so good. It's a mixed of New Life Begins and Blood of Youth casts with a pinch of Immortal Samsara (Yu Mo). Both leads are good, have a nice chemistry. the plot is interesting too.

I did finish The Ingenious One which was really good. Good plot, good cast. 

The last two were on my list of upcoming dramas I wanted to watch and they didn't disappoint.

In between Hidden Love and Destined, I am slowly finishing Mr Bad  11/24 episodes with Chen Zhe Yuan as a villain turned good in a fish out of water, Ancient guy pulled into modern era totally bunkers story.

Arts and crafts

The weather is becoming too hot to knit I am picking up my x-stitch again.

State of me

February so far as been ups and downs health wise. From minus 30 celsius to 7 celsius temperature in the span of a week. I took the swings badly. Inflammation got into my articulation and the worst parts of my scoliosis. It’s gotten better in the last few days but the energy is low. I plan what I do and do the shores in bursts. After 58 years I know how to manage my body. 

I am still quite tired at the end of the work day and use the week-end to recuperate and be able to complete the next work week. 

Work has been okay. My librarian trainee is wonderful and nice and fun. This is to be my last one. Next year I will be a year from retiring and I want to end my mentor career on a high. I will move from working for the city to working freelance at my pace. Most librairies will be in the mist of migrating to new software managed by and for them.  The library association is in the process of deploying a digital strategic plan (year 2) to move librairies from their archaic and obsolete softwares (we don’t even have an app for 99% of them) to something created by us for us managed by us. That kinda sounds familiar. 🙂. 

I contributed to an article on Radio Canada with book recommendations about surviving Valentine Day. 

Currently watching

Under the Microscope. With Zhang Ruo Yun and Wang Yang. It’s a gritty mystery with an unlikely lead (Zhang Ruo Yun) as an mathematical neuroatypical  genius. 14 episodes on IQIYI. Wang Yang plays a shades of gray characters and steals all the scenes he is in. Really. Watching him play with his fan is delightful, his interaction with Stephy Qi/Qi Wei are priceless. 

Watched and loved

The Blood of Youth. That was my comfort viewing for most of January and February. So good and fun. Li Hong Yi prettiness is almost not real. Bonus really pretty Cao Yu Chen. 

Reading

Discordant Rhaposdy by nirejseki  I’m on a Lan Qiren being a good uncle, father, teacher etc reading thing. 

Knitting

I finished the soft cowl in pink coral as a birthday gift from me to me. I’m working on an all shades of purple lace scarf knitted on two sets of needles one 10 size one 5 size. 

State of me

The first two days back at work were brutal. All day meetings yesterday and in between trying to dispatch all urgent work that came in during my break. Came home exhausted but zen since I had my acupuncture appointment after work.

Today the to do list was extensive but got done. One of my employee was back after 4 months sick leave. I missed her she’s a wonderful person and we get along fine. Welcoming her back and bringing her up to speed this morning was one good part of my day.

Hockey

My Pens are up and down. This is going to be a long season. Win against Arizona which it’s the Yotes you need to win. Canucks are a whole different game tonight. It’s already 3-3 after one period. 

Watching 

I’m up to 33/40 of She and Her Perfect Husband. They are so so adorably weird, they complement each other perfectly. I love them.