I’m having surgery next week. This is the list of books added to my Kindle for Recovery Reading:
The Arsonist’s Guide to Writers’ Homes in New England by Brock Clark
100 Places to See After You Die by Ken Jennings
War by Bob Woodward
Lieutenant Nun: The True Story of a Cross-Dressing, Transatlantic Adventurer who Escaped from a Spanish Convent in 1599 and Lived as a Man – Gambling, Duels, and Leading Soldiers into Battle by Catalina De Erauso
Black Elk: The Life of an American Visionary by Joe Jackson
How We Learn to Be Brave by Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde
The Jesuit Relations: Natives and Missionaries in Seventeenth-Century North America Edited by Allan Greer
As a bonus treat, I discovered this in my emails, and plan to visit the next time I am in Montreal:
Cafe Three Pines – Inspired by the bistro in Penny’s Three Pines novels, their cafe is a haven for book lovers, croissant seekers, and anyone in need of a quiet moment. They can be found at 51 Chemin Lakeside, Knowlton Quebec J0E 1V0 and on Instagram! They are open Tuesday to Sunday, 9am to 5pm.
When we were in Montreal last August, we were driving down one of the city’s streets on our way to Notre Dame Cathedral. It was our first time visiting the cathedral – it had been closed the year before when we tried. I was looking out the window – I’m always on the lookout for an unusual picture, and I saw a giant bird. Was that a bird? I asked my family. I think that was a dodo bird. I don’t know how I knew it was a dodo bird, but they thought I was seeing things. One google search showed that I wasn’t. It was really there. When we went last week, I made sure to put the dodo bird on my list of things to take a picture of.
It did not disappoint.
Most of the trip was to do research for the book I’m writing about St. Kateri Tekakwitha, and while I wasn’t able to look at documents, I did speak to some people, attended two masses, and received a wealth of information – all of it inspiring. The second mass was a surprise, and the priests were two traveling priests who said mass for the four of us in the church at the time. The homily was about Mary at the crucifixion, and I was moved to tears by not only this man’s words, his sermon, his preaching, but his excitement. He was just thrilled to be talking to us about our mother, Mary. It was a beautiful thing.
On our last day, we went to see the original burial place of St. Kateri, which is marked by an empty tomb (cenotaph) in Sainte-Catherine. I had been there before; this was the first Kateri place in Canada that I had been to initially, but I wanted some photos closer to the water that flowed behind the shrine. Water is important in the story of Kateri’s people and where they located their villages. I got there, and I stood for a moment, just looking around. I was overcome with the scent of flowers. It was so strong, like lilies or hyacinth. Hyacinth has that very strong, powerful, flowery aroma.
I looked around to find where the strong smell was coming from, but there was nothing. There were flowers, pines, grass, and a shrub or two. I even put my face into some of the colorful flowers that were budding there, but none of them gave off that smell. Nothing there could explain the scent. As one of my writing colleagues said the other night maybe St. Kateri was communicating something to me. She was called the Lily of the Mohawk, so maybe they were right. Whatever caused that remarkable moment I may never know, but it remains inspiring and wonderful all the same.
We spent the last five days in Montreal doing research for my book, seeing the St. Kateri Shrine, attending masses, seeing St. Brother Andre Bessette’s tomb and relics at the St. Joseph’s Oratory, and we also ate some really great food!
This is the feast day of St. Kateri Tekakwitha. She died on this day in 1680 at twenty-four years of age. Since that time, miracles have known to have occurred through her intercession. In two more days, is the anniversary of my own conversion.
I’m looking forward to the celebration of her feast day in the US in July, and my visit to this shrine and her tomb in June, partly for intensive research, but also hopefully to attend mass while we’re there.
As you may know, and as I may have mentioned at least once, I have recently been obsessed by Louise Penny’s Armand Gamache book series. This could be a good as well as a bad thing. I’ve read the series twice now and have taken a few forays into the depths of some plot points. I am immersed. One of the negative things I find in binge reading and re-reading so closely together is noticing things like continuity errors that pop up on occasion, things that would typically slip by the reader if the books were read as they were released rather than all at once, the change of a pet’s name or a grandchild’s nickname; the age of someone when their parents died. There is also the redundancy that follows a book series in order to catch-up new readers with things that series regulars know, like the physical characteristics of the characters (I’ve had some issues with a couple of the women characters’ descriptions), their phobias (heights & closed spaces) and their foibles, their likes and dislikes (like Beauvoir’s love of steak frites – why mayonnaise with fries, someone please, please explain this to me, and his dislike of Anglos), their idiosyncrasies (the poetry), their hidden agendas and pasts that play into how they act and react to others and to situations. One of the things I do love about binge reading and re-reading is discovering the Easter eggs hidden and the foreshadowing that are only visible in hindsight.
We spent eclipse weekend in Montreal, Canada. Once we were shut out of Syracuse (too expensive) and Plattsburgh (no room at the – or any – inn), it wasn’t a difficult decision to go a short distance further. I love being that close to the border, and luckily our passports are current.
Because of the research I planned to do while we were up there, I thought we’d pop our chairs down at the park near the Ile de Tekakwitha on the Mohawk territory/Kahnawake. We scoped it out the night before and the parking looked extremely limited, but we were still hopeful. We would decide when the time came. As darkness settled in, we drove out to the main road for dinner – Robbie’s Smokehouse!
On Monday, we woke up bright and early; adventure awaited!
When we travel to places with Native American distinction and I plan to buy something to remember my visit, I look to see if the object is Native made. There are so many knock-offs and items appropriated out there that I feel that if I’m going to buy Native crafts, symbols, and jewelry, it should be genuinely made by Native peoples and the income should benefit them.
The picture below highlights my three most recent crafts:
(c)2021
The photo on the left is a dream catcher. I have had one in my bedroom for decades. I had received a small one but it has been mislaid. I chose this one while we were in Montreal. I didn’t realize it at first but it is a necklace. I have hung it over the lamp on my bedstand to keep away bad spirits and dreams.
The top right is a simple lapel pin that I purchased at the St. Kateri Shrine in Fonda, New York. It is the flag of the Iroquois Confederation. These flags can be seen flying in many places across New York State and lower Canada.
The bottom right picture is a pair of earrings I discovered in Niagara Falls, Ontario. I was drawn several times to the three colors – the silver, the bronze, and the turquoise. While this design could easily be Native American jewelry or ancient Egyptian, and I was so happy to find that they were indeed Native made. As my birthstone is turquoise, I am often drawn to the stone and color.
I do have plans to post a few things this week while I’m away from home. If you can’t wait for the prose, check out the Instagram link on the lower sidebar. I’ve just posted a vignette of snapshots from our first two days in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Included in the photo are:
Historic Site of Margeuerite Bourgeoys et Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours – outside and altar
Emtpy tomb of St. Kateri Tekakwitha in Kanawake (the site where she died)
One of the oldest doors of the first hotel in Montreal. A nearby historical buiilding is keeping its historical features and turning into an Air-bnb
Largest potted plant *I’ve* ever seen – Town of Mont Royal
Riding the Metro
Poulet et poutine at St. Hubert’s
Gelato! Creme broule, napolean, and raspberry sorbet
Sculpture on our walk through towards the Port of Montreal
I will try to post photos on this Instagram daily.
Any suggestions on what to see and where to go in Toronto and Niagara Falls are welcome in the comments.tm
Griffins and Ginger Snaps 