Five Favourites (List 3)

It’s been a while since I’ve done a list.

Movie: “The Farewell”

Main character Billi’s Nai Nai (Grandmother on father’s side) is not told that she has terminal lung cancer. The relatives hold a party, a pretend party during which her grandson gets married, but it’s really a final party for Nai Nai. 

The movie is based on a true story. Because of the belief that the fear of cancer kills and not the cancer itself, some Chinese families don’t tell their loved ones that they have the disease. It’s an excellent examination of the difference in Chinese and North American values.

Awkwafina won a Golden Globe for Best Actress-Musical or Comedy.

Memoir: “Birds, Art, Life” by Kyo Maclear

I have always loved Kyo Maclear’s children’s books, and I have mentioned a few in previous blog posts.

So I decided that I would read her memoir called “Birds, Art, Life”. I immediately fell in love with this book. Once in a while a book really speaks to you, and this is one of them. I felt that the author understood me in so many ways, which doesn’t happen to me often.

This memoir won the Trillium Book Award.

Music: “5 Rhythms: Endless Wave”

One thing I love about the Sark book “Succulent Wild Woman” that I blogged about here is the wide variety of music the author introduced to me. One of my particular favourites is “5 Rhythms: Endless Wave” by Gabrielle Roth. I wasn’t aware that it was part of the ecstatic dance movement when I first heard it. I just know that when I listened to it I had this strange compulsion to move my body. 

Article

I recommend this Anne Lamott article on brainpickings.org titled “The Definitive Manifesto for Handling Haters: Anne Lamott on Priorities and How We Keep Ourselves Small by People-Pleasing”

I shuddered when I read this quote: “…do you have any idea what it’s like to get 500-plus negative attacks, on my character, from truly bizarre strangers.”

Podcast: “Bewildered”

I know that a lot of people love podcasts, but I have yet to catch the podcast bug. Once in a while though I tune into one that has been recommended to me. In this one, “Bewildered”, Martha Beck and Rowan Mangan talk about how to be wilder. This episode is about creativity and self-doubt.

Shoe’s Sunday Stories

@Copyright 2020 Linda Schueler

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Five Favourites (List 2)

It’s been a while since I have done one of my lists. Here we go, my five favourites of the week.

-Adult book: “Chop Suey Nation” by Ann Hui

I grew up loving Chinese food. My favourite Chinese restaurant was the now closed Tien Sun Inn. Two of my favourite dishes were egg rolls and Cantonese chow mein.

So imagine my surprise when I first went to China in 1996 where I discovered that the Chinese food I loved in Canada is not at all like the Chinese food in China. That food I ate as a child? Well, it was invented by Chinese people who lived in North America. 

I love the different flavours and foods in China. So much so, that I no longer eat at North American Chinese restaurants. I am grateful that with the influx of mainland Chinese people, many of the flavours I loved overseas can now be found here. 

Still I really enjoyed reading this book, in which the author talks about the history and current day situation of what she terms “chop suey” restaurants, which includes her own family’s history. Hui asked “Why is there a Chinese restaurant in just about every small town in North America?” and the result is this delicious book. It made me long for my childhood favourites again. What about you? Do you have any favourite Chinese food, North American or not?

-This gift of gnomes

I realized when I got this gift that I have a soft spot for gnomes. Not that I am going to set them up in my garden or anything…

–This article about why it’s so hard to get rid of books. 

I love especially this observation: Books “are not impersonal units of knowledge, interchangeable and replaceable, but rather receptacles for the moments of our lives, whose pages have sopped up morning hopes and late-night sorrows, carried in honeymoon suitcases or clutched to broken hearts. They are mementos…”

-The wine, Cox Creek Cellars Inc.’s Back Home black currant wine

One of my neighbours kindly gifted me this black currant wine. It immediately brought back memories of my childhood, when my mom would make me my favourite jelly, yes, black currant jelly, from the fruit on our bushes in the backyard. I wasn’t too sure about this wine the first time I tasted it though, especially because I am not a big fan of red wines. However, it tasted much better the next day when I had another glass, and I am now a convert! It’s a local wine, and the winery uses local fruit, some of it grown on their own farm.

-The movie “Hugo”

A few years ago I read the book “The Invention of Hugo Cabret” by Brian Selznick, and I loved it. I learned a lot that intrigued me, particularly the concept of the automaton. 

Though the main character Hugo is a fictional character, another character, Georges Méliès, is not. 

Normally I would say that a book is better than the movie, but in this case the movie was superior in one way: you were able to see some of Méliès’ work. Méliès’ was a filmmaker, and he made many films including the first science fiction movie, “A Trip to the Moon” (1902). Have you seen it?

Do you have any favourites to share this week?

Shoe’s Sunday Stories

@Copyright 2020 Linda Schueler 

On Writer and Botanist Diana Beresford-Kroeger

Have you ever seen the movie “Call of the Forest – The Forgotten Wisdom of Trees”? I saw it several weeks ago, and this film was my introduction to Irish botanist Diana Beresford-Kroeger, who now lives in Canada.

According to the movie’s website, “The film follows Diana as she investigates our profound biological and spiritual connection to forests. Her global journey explores the science, folklore, and restoration challenges of this essential eco-system.” I was surprised to learn about the link between deforestation and the decline of fish. 

I particularly like Beresford-Kroeger’s bio-plan. She believes that we can turn around climate change by replanting our forests. According to her, if everyone planted one native tree each year for the next six years, we can save our planet. If you are interested, you can spend some time exploring the website connected to the movie, which is full of advice related to tree planting and introduces a related app.

After watching the movie, I wanted to read some of Beresford-Kroeger’s books. I had wanted to start with “To Speak for the Trees”, which is an account of her life and how it led her to her ideas, but, unfortunately, it is not yet available in my local library. Instead I decided to read “The Sweetness of a Simple Life”, a book with “Tips for healthier, happier and kinder living, gleaned from the wisdom and science of nature”.

The book is a collection of essays. In the introduction, Beresford-Kroeger writes about how the biggest gift we can give ourselves and others is the gift of time. In order to do this, we need to learn to live more simply. So Beresford-Kroeger has written the book in order to help us to “reset the clock”.

The book is divided into three sections: “health and food”, “home and garden”, and “the larger world”. Each essay is full of practical and doable advice, such as how walking 20 minutes per day is beneficial for the pancreas and what plants can benefit you for certain ailments. One essay called “Bee’s Knees” discusses the benefits of bone broth. In the essay the author writes about how a lot of generational wisdom—wisdom handed down—has been lost, because of delayed births. This means that the wisdom of the elders is not being passed along, because often they are not there or too elderly to do so. This is followed by the essay called “Marriage Menopause”, which sheds some insight on “the long game of marriage”. Indeed, when I was reading the book I often felt like my grandmother was passing on things I would have loved to have known.

You also can read more about Beresford-Kroeger’s bioplan in the last chapter of the book.

I am looking forward to reading another of her books called “The Global Forest” (40 ways trees can save us).

What about you? Have you ever read any of Diana Beresford-Kroeger’s books or seen the film? What wisdom did you glean?