Mon Aug 22: Update on NOTHING

Rick speaking:

This is an interesting part of Montreal for us to hang out in.  It's called the West Island area (Montreal is actually a big island), and it's dominated by English-speaking inhabitants.  There is still French around, but it is the first place since we’ve been in Quebec that most people speak to us first in English.  Also, unlike in the rest of Quebec where everything is in French and only French, here the signs are also in English and websites have a button where you can select language.  People here have very different feelings about the French language (and government) compared to other parts of Quebec we have visited. We have been told that business must operate in French - employee handbooks in French, emails written in French, etc. Signs must have French first, or larger, then the English.  Needless to say, everyone is mad about some aspect of the arrangement.  I do feel for the French speakers who are still 'ruled' by the British and as an outsider it seems like an insurmountable problem.  Eventually English would prevail and the French language and attached culture would fade away, just as they fear.  But can you make people speak French by passing laws and fining them if they don’t? 

Celebrating the Queen's Jubilee, whether they want to or not.  This is a good example of signage - with the French coming first.

 

I continue to heal but it is frustratingly slow.  I wish we had one of those things they have in the Star Trek movies that the doctor waves vaguely in the vicinity of the broken bone and it heals in 30 seconds.   Melanie is being a really good sport about the whole thing and she jumps up to get whatever I need….(Mel here: perhaps SOME of us would heal more QUICKLY if they stopped DOING things they AREN'T supposed to do.  Just sayin'.)

Today we took a bus over to the Walmart (it’s much nicer if you pronounce with a French accent) to resupply.  Just like the stores in the US it looked like a tornado had hit the place with so many bare shelves and merchandise sitting on pallets waiting to be put on the shelves.  It looks like Canada is having the same labor problems as the US. (Guess WHO has to carry ALL the bags?!)

Cultural appropriation: an Inuit style statue
Used to help herd caribou into a group for hunting, or to mark the trail.

 

Mostly to pass the time we have been doing puzzles….Mel found a local thrift shop with some 'baby' puzzles (less then 1000 pieces).  Here are some examples of our 'work'. 

While we puzzle we listen to our audiobooks.  We use (alert reader Linda wanted to know) the free universal library app, Libby.  It's very user friendly and can be used with any library card (we have cards from more than one state). You can check out audiobooks or e-books, and can listen/read on any device.  Right now we are listening to the first book in the Inspector Armand Gamache series by Louise Penny, Still Life. Linda introduced us to this series, set in many of the areas of Canada we have visited. Tres charming!

PS: Inspector Gamache keeps talking about Licorice Pipes.  Has anyone ever heard of those?  I can't believe they are still a thing - maybe they went the way of candy cigarettes...