AIDS, fairies and other tales

pegkerr's novel The Wild Swans relates the stories of two parallel lives, Eliza and Elias, but while reading it I was struck by a third parallel in my own life.

Eliza's story is based on the fairytale of the wild swans, in which a girl risks her life to rescue her 11 brothers from a curse. Peg sets it in 17th Century England and New England.

Elias's story begins in New York City in 1981. He is an 18-year-old whose father has discovered he is gay and kicked him out of the house. He is living on the streets, hungry and penniless, when somebody helps him out. Elias finds a job, falls in love, and starts to discover acceptance in a newfound family of his own choice.

Then his friends start falling mysteriously ill.

( Read more... )

Interruptions

Does anyone know of some FTP software that is genuinely free? At present I am unable to upload images.

I'll have to address this problem next week. Today the girls and I head to my parents' place, where I grew up, on Lake Erie. It will just be the three of us. Mom and Dad are away at the cottage. We'll be able to enjoy the beach, and the girls can camp out on the lawn if they like. I'll play the piano. We'll visit my Aunt Carol and maybe one or two of her children. They are the only ones in my mom's large family to whom I have come out and maintained contact.

No internet, so I'll be incommunicado again until we come home, probably on Tuesday.

Three images of Lake Fletcher

Okay, I managed to get some new ftp software installed and working. Thanks to wonderboymi and blackcustard for their help.

Three more lake images, two from the dock and one showing the view from the cottage livingroom.



( Two more images, both 550 x 367 )

Knox United Church, Dorset, founded 1894

A Dorset barn

For ruralrob and emjaybaxter

The Festival Theatre

The Stratford Festival in Stratford, Ontario, is world famous for its performances of Shakespeare and other theatre. As a boy I saw Maggie Smith perform Lady MacBeth in this theatre, also Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn as an affectionate Titania and Bottom. The Festival Theatre is one of three venues. Performances run every day from early April to early November.

At Stratford on Avon

This young redhead gave Brenna a slice of bread to feed the black swans.

Ducks on Avon

My final offering for this week

Yesterday before the show, the girls and I took a few minutes to stroll through an "Art in the Park" at Stratford. There was some beautiful work. Although I'm seldom enchanted by realistic nature painting, we liked the work of Jeff Baxter. I bought an art card, the "Yellow Warbler" which appears on page two of his website gallery. I would like to keep it, but I have enough trouble finding room to hang my own drawings. Instead I'll mail it to someone who likes birds.

Brenna's new drawings

I almost forgot I wanted to post a scan of one of the wonderful drawings Brenna has done in the past couple days.

It started when Sylvie and Sarah came over for dinner on Tuesday. Later on Sarah asked for some drawing materials, and I got out my box of art pencils. Brenna was impressed with what she did and has done seven drawings since then. This is the one we both like best. It is about actual size.

I didn't let the girls use my art pencils when they were younger, for fear of them getting lost and broken. Now that is going to change. Brenna especially likes working with the pencils which have a charcoal texture because they blend so nicely. I love the effect, but can't stand working with them myself; it gives me the same feeling as fingernails on a blackboard.



© Brenna L. Waffle, 2003