The letter "C"

I am once more a Couple of days late to post to ABC Wednesday's alphabet meme.  Many thanks to Mrs. Nesbitt, who started the meme over seven years ago.  Her photos and Commentary for the letter "C" today are well worth a visit.  She is kept great Company by a fine team of volunteers as well.  My fervent thanks goes to each one of them!

My Contribution today will include a few new and/or amusing "C" words, a musical reference, an art reference, and a little about our Convivial Constitutionals.

Here are the words that amused me:

1. claptrap: showy language designed to gain praise

2. clinomania: excessive desire to stay in bed.

3. clinophobia: fear of staying in bed

4. cockamamie: ridiculous

5. cowcat: person whose function is to occupy space

6. crapehanger: pessimist

7. curiology: picture-writing (I am Curious about this one.  Note to self.  Must get more info.)

8. cynanthropy: pathological belief that one is a dog

The musical reference is about Franco Corelli (1921-2003).  In the video below, Luciano Pavarotti speaks of his huge admiration for this Charismatic singer with the voice that Commanded respect from opera lovers everywhere.    

The Calibre of Corelli's talent is  Clear in his performance of the Flower aria from Carmen.

During a recent outing to Stanley Park, I saw lots of "C" shapes.  I rotated the photo of two boats with reflections,

and even the folds in this boat Cover..

formed a Convoluted "C" shape. 

It was not a bright day, but there were Copious opportunities for photography.

It was impossible to Curb my enthusiasm for reflection shots,

but I promise you, I've tried my best to Curtail the number of them to.. 

within the realm of Common sense.

I took this moon shot yesterday near the Cambie Bridge.  

My Conflict was to figure out a way to get both the tree branches and the moon in focus, but finally Conceded that wasn't going to be possible.

I didn't use the word "Convivial" lightly in my introduction. Bill brings good Cheer..      

to every outing.  He has a sense of Comedy..

and Capriciousness that I love.

Though we have visited that park many times, our Circumambulating..

had never brought this hopscotch game into our Consciousness. 

What a fun surprise and Bill was up to the Challenge! 

Black Jack was Contented to Check out a new perspective from the safety of Bill's arms.

The Cerulean skies brought a feeling of being on Cloud Nine.

On the way home, we stopped to take a photo of these Compelling Inukshuks.  I've saved a lot of photos from our outings, some for an "Orange You Glad It's Friday" post, and many for Eileen's "Saturday's Critters" meme.  Wish me luck in Catching up!

The artist I have Chosen to highlight is Frederick Simpson Coburn.  I found this picture of his painting, "The Country Doctor" in a book of Canadian art at Harrison Galleries.

Tonight, we are off to an event at Vancouver Art Gallery.  There are lots of  "C's" in the description of the evening at the gallery's web site:

Artists from the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival descend upon the Gallery for an unforgettable evening of interdisciplinary performances set amidst the Chinese contemporary art in Unscrolled and the legacy of Emily Carr in Landon Mackenzie's Wood Chopper and the Monkey. Take out a selection from the Human Library, experience an interactive installation by Hong Kong Exile and listen to the lyrical stylings of Sonic Elder before heading to the Courtroom Bars. 

Wishing you a Colossally Chimerical day.  Many, many thanks for stopping by!

Good Fences Lately

I've missed the past two weeks of TexWisGirl's Good Fences meme so it's a bit of a catch-up today.  Thanks so much, Theresa.  Such a fun project!

This is a strange little iron fence discovered only a few days ago in a stream in Olympic Village Park near the Cambie Bridge.  I haven't quite figured out its purpose.

 We viewed the fence in the photo above from this little bridge.  Black Jack was dancing for her Bill, as she so often does :)

 I love these little bridges with gently curving fences.

 This is close by.  Sometimes I think about the people whose houses border the parks.  I guess they have to show the dividing lines somehow.  Hopefully, their attitude is one of appreciation for living by such beauty, but at times, I imagine they must prefer the rainy days when there are less visitors about.

 This was taken at The Orpheum..

 when we attended a concert a couple of weeks ago.

 I never get tired of looking up at the balconies from the foyer.

 One of the plainer ones, with photographs of stars from former days behind it.

 Loved the lighting from inside the theatre as well.

 Looking up at the balconies behind us.

 We're at Stanley Park here.  You can see a tiny bit of the seawall at your left.  Bill brought my attention to the beautiful curve in this fence.

The ramp to the Rowing Club building often has..

 interesting reflections.

 Another of those scenes that draw me in, time and time again.

We stopped along Coal Harbour to admire the sunset during a bike ride few days ago.

 We're back at Olympic Village Park again, by the little dog run. 

 Not a beautiful fence but it keeps the dogs safe..

 and they sure seem to have a lot of fun behind it.

 A reflection of the fence looking over the stream across the path from the dog run.

 This is a balcony fence on a high-rise near our apartment. 

This was taken on a rainy-day downtown Vancouver walk to the waterfront.

Took this two days ago in Stanley Park.  The sun was catching reflections that showed of the interesting features of the Rowing Club building (told you I never tire of it) rather nicely.

 From the same vantage point, looking to the left gave a view of the Stanley Park seawall.

 We walked around the park and discovered this little lookout over a stream.  Bill and Black Jack did what people and dogs do when there is a fence :)

 Places to go and things to see.

 Same fence with a beautiful fallen tree admired as we looked to our right.

That's it for today.  Thanks for stopping by!  Check out that Good Fences meme.  There is something about Theresa that brings not only good fences but good people together.

Our World on Monday

I'm posting to Our World Tuesday today, with many thanks to Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sylvia, Sandy and Jennifer  for hosting.

I'll try to describe the kinds of things in my world that made Monday a good day. 

I rode my bike to UBC for a piano lesson with Bogdan Dulu, who has a way of bringing out little discoveries I hadn't expected to make.  The depression and release of a key as a tactile experience seems like a small thing, so obvious that most would accept that it happens and that would be that.  After all, that is what pianists experience every time they play, but I had never paid attention to the response of the keys in quite that way before.  I hadn't thought, for example, about how much force is required to keep a key depressed once it has been played (very little, so if the lower half of one's finger nails turns white when one is "sitting" on a note, a heck of a lot of energy is being wasted!).  It felt rather like discovering something new and exciting about an old and trusted friend.  This morning, I've come up with a research study, and also discovered a musician with an interesting story somewhat related to that topic.  You can hear Nick Van Bloss perform Beethoven's "Appassionata" Sonata in the video below.  

And since Beethoven has been on my mind lately, I'll share another little discovery that came out of the lesson with Bogdan.  He told me that several years ago, he was fortunate to attend a  theatre performance called 33 Variations.  Though Jane Fonda's performance in it was lauded, and though this play, written and directed by Moisés Kaufman, won several awards, I was completely unaware of its existence.  Here are a few scenes from the play.  I hope one day to see it in its entirety.  

And the bike ride?  Well, the temperatures were balmy and the scenery gorgeous.

There's that Point Grey hill again.  It is still challenging, and still feels like a huge accomplishment when I make it to the top, and it is even more enjoyable on the way home :)

I stopped twice on the way back to Vancouver's Yaletown.  These shots were taken..

from the bike route along Point Grey road, and much closer to sea level.

I leaned my bike against a tree for a few moments, and loved these textures.

Looking over the fence, I watched a happy dog and his human enjoying the beach..

at low tide.

Layers created by mist, mountains and ships were beautiful,..

though I see my eye could have used a bit of iphoto straightening help here :)  

As happens after every single piano lesson, arriving home to share my excitement with Bill was one of the best parts of the day.  We went out almost immediately to catch the sun, and as you can see, there was no mist along Yaletown's False Creek.  Cyclists were stopping to breathe in the Spring air and walkers of every description were out and about.  We were happy to spot Masumi, who just happens to work at our favourite pet supply store. She was out with Bailey, her Beagle, and two other dogs that I didn't recognize.

She told us one of the dogs with her wasn't fully social, so we..

took photos from a distance. 

Masumi had the full attention of two of her charges here, but the little lady in pink kept an eye on Black Jack.

There was a rare moment when all three glanced in our direction,

but it was usually a two out of three (at best) situation.

I love the way the sun outlined Bailey's ears in this shot.

Bill and I continued on our way, soaking in the warmth and good cheer around us.

When we arrived at Harrison Galleries, it was a great surprise to see our friend, Jock, waiting for us.  He knows we'll be there most afternoons and it's always fun to share a few laughs and catch up on the latest news.  His partner, Kitty arrived soon after that (sadly, I didn't take a photo!) and more laughter followed. Just a few of the things that, along with your visits here, bring happiness to my days.  You can read about other days in the lives of people from across the world by checking out the meme, Our World Tuesday.  Thanks so much for stopping by here on your way!