Plastic flowers never fade

Here comes the sun.... finally.

Health

With the sun, less pain. Now if the temperature can stop playing yo-yo, I'll be set to have a good spring.

Teaching stuff

My last class was this week. The students have until the 30th to hand out the last term paper. After that I need to grade and hand out the final results by April 14th. I did go to the University on Monday and if the teacher, who is on sick leave, is still out next January, I have a chance at giving the class again.


Reading

I'm in a rot reading wise. So I'm reading the translation of a web novel "My most faithful companion" by Bu Zhi Shi Ke Cai that was adapted and will be on iQiyi late this year or early next year "My Queen, my rules". The translation is not bad, it's really, really up to the roof CEO/wife arranged marriage trope. It's good in a too sugary, I need pop corn with lots of caramel type of reading. Also CEO Ao Rui Peng is kinda hot.

Watching

I'm also kinda in a rot so I am rewatching Coroner's Diaries. It was that or Under the Skin 2 again. I went with Ao Rui Peng and Li Landi.

Hockey

My Pens are awful. Just awful. Less said is better.

Crafting

I took out of my boxes a x-stitch that I put aside years ago. Only the back stitches are left to do, a lot with metallic thread. I decided to finish it. It's on black canvas. The union of back stitch, black canvas and metallic thread is like Dante's Inferno.

Health

Crossing fingers and toes that I keep out of early spring cold season. So far, so good. I haven’t taken off my winter gear yet even if it’s very tempting to do so. It’s still 3 C outside. The little voice inside my head is saying… above 0 C, the temperature is above 0 C. In French we say : En Avril ne te découvre pas d’un fil mais en mai…. Fais ce que tu veux.

Teaching stuff

The Book club conference went really well on Monday, the students were happy, the lecturer was great. Things came out nice. My content for next week is off to my beta reader. Only two weeks left. The next class is on reading challenges and I wrote about that last year on my blog. Half of the content is already done. I might decide to write it this week-end.

Reading

I am doing a read along on Discord in a French Book club Jeannot book club. We are reading Katabasis by R. F. Kuang. So far and I have only 6% read it’s okay.

I’m also half way through book 2 of Sara Lövestam series. Ça ne coüte rien de demander It’s quite good. Short chapters, ambiguous characters.

I got a bunch of new books this week. One of them is Geomagician by Jennifer Mandula. An Fantasy AU of Mary Anning’s life. I loved Tracy Chevalier’s Remarkable Creatures so when I read about Geomagician at Bookriot, I ordered it.



Watching

I’m slowly making my way through Pursuit of Jade 13/40 Zhang Ling He is quite a sight. I am looking forward to Rebirth coming next week with Li Yun Rui (Song Mo from Blossom) although I have not seen any of the Princess Agent previous dramas.

Hockey

My penguins came out of March alive. Thanks to Erik Karlsson, EK65 took the team on his back (both Sid and Geno were out multiple games) and took charge. I wasn’t surprise, he was the Senator’s captain after all. Now, Sid and Geno are both back and we are, crossing fingers, making the playoffs.

Crafting

My red fox is coming along the blue and black winter forest is almost done. Only the rest of the tail after that.

Health stuff

Doing okay on average. The hip pain comes and goes along with the humidity.

Teacher stuff

I completed the content for next week’s class. I’m diving into writing the next one tomorrow. This week is spring break for my students and all the high schools and elementary schools. I had the grand daughters of my heart with me today. We watched movies, talked, they are both teenagers. I might have one or both of them sleep over on Friday. 

Reading

Two non fiction this week.

Every day I read : 53 ways to get closer to books by Hwang Bo-reum.  Shorts essays on reading. All the ways to read. Fun and deep at the same time.  

L’œil de la Gorgone : 22 figures mythologiques sous un regard féministe by Noémie Fachan. Non fiction graphic novel revisiting the mythological women like Medea, Hera, Medusa, etc., with the point of view of women. It’s an important, intense and engaged point of view well worth the read. Not translated. 

I’m also reading Zhu Yu (Chasing Jade) the translation of the Chinese novel that the up-coming drama of the same name is based on. It’s interesting. I’m up to chapter 30.

Watching

I finished Unveil : Jadewind and Flight to you this week. I’m looking forward to Pursuit of Jade starting Friday. 

Crafting

On last Friday craft night I put some time into the baby blanket and at home I cross-stitched all the blue hues of my red fox. Half of the snow part is done I’m attacking the tail part of the fox. 

Health stuff

The chiropractor appointment this morning helped a lot. I’m feeling a lot better.

Teacher stuff

The first paper was due last Friday and only one student was late. My TA is working on noting the papers. We had two meetings to make sure we were on the same mind. She’s is a very good TA. I am three weeks ahead content wise and I am considering playing with avatar AI for the remix class. We will be analyzing all the remixes of Arthur Conan Doyle Holmes and the current trend in romansty and dark romance to use Greek Mythology, It’s an option I kinda hope to explore. 

Reading

Done with v. 3 and v. 4 of The Apothecary Diaries, v. 5 arrived from the library. Still very good and addictive.

The Beginning After the End. 1 by Turtle Me. Manga. Okay, it’s a twist on the Arturian legends but not something I’ll continue to read. 

Downlands by Norm Konyu is a whole other story. So, so, so good. Ghosts, gothic tale of a village, twins siblings, time travelling and gorgeous graphics. A must read graphic novel. 

Watching

I have gotten a little further into Unveil Jadewind  (17/34) but I’ve gotten back to one of my comfort viewing The Best Thing. 

I’m watching the Olympic men’s hockey tournament and Canada almost lost today but we made it through. Probably lost Crosby for a game or more but Suzuki, Binnington and Marner saved the day. 

Crafting

My red fox xstitch is coming along. It’s making me want to start a blackwork project. 





 

Health stuff

Much better. The acupuncture treatment on Monday brought down the pain to my new normal of 4.5-5 and the menopausal symptoms have receded too with the pain going down. 

Teacher stuff

I’m two and half weeks ahead in writing the content. I have all the classes for February done. First week of March is the spring break. I’m up to the class of March 9th now. I have an online class later this afternoon on analyzing and mapping processus, specifically Reader’s advisory. I love that stuff. I lose touch with time when I’m mapping. 

Reading

Almost done with The Apothecary Diaries 3   It’s still very good and even more edge of my seat storyline. There were three big reveals. One was easy to guess, the other a little less so but there were crumbs hinting to the truth and one totally caught me off guard. Hence the edge of my seat storyline. Book 4 has arrived. The cover is really gorgeous, 

I also read because I put it on the list of graphic novels for the students to choose for the second term papers The Alchemist  by Paulo Coelho. I am not a fan of mystical, philosophical type of writing to begin with.The manhua adaptation is well done. The drawings are really nice, black and white. The desert, the decor are gorgeous. 

Watching

I’m up to 21/36 on my rewatching of The ingenious one. I also took a look at Unveil : Jadewind because of the posts on my cdrama X timeline.  I watched the first case it’s good. I’ll wait until it’s almost done airing before going back. 

Crafting

Last Friday crafting evening was devoted to cross-stitching the fox design. I’m also at almost half in the baby blanket. No crafting evening this week because of the Valentine thing day. 

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.