May 10, 2023
Spring truly is underway here
in my part of the world, which is Southern Ontario, Canada. The pomp and
circumstance of last weekend is done, and while I wasn’t glued to my seat from
before the butt-crack of dawn on Saturday, I did tape the Coronation as
broadcast by the BBC on my PVR.
I held our late great Sovereign
Lady, Queen Elizabeth II, in very high esteem, as you all know; the respect I
felt for her was earned by her, and her unmatched example of humility and service.
I’m not yet there with our new King. He has a history of service, yes. He saw
the climate crisis far earlier than most and began practicing sustainability and
eco-friendly habits earlier than most. As the Duke of Cornwall, he used these
concepts in the management of the vast farmlands he managed. For those accomplishments
I say, well done.
But he did that one
thing, which in my opinion was truly quite awful. Actually, I am having a hard
time selecting the words adequate to describe the level of wrongness committed
by him and how I feel about it.
Despite my feelings about the
man personally, I did spend some time on Saturday watching parts of that
ancient rite performed in Westminster Abbey. It was interesting, and the
quality of the video far and above what the public had the last time it was
televised, in 1953. That, by the way, was the year before I was born.
I tape a lot of shows via our
PCR to watch at a later time, because it allows me to watch when I have the
time, and not to be forced to make the time to watch them when they air. And I must
tell you, I was very surprised when, watching my taped edition of American Idol
on Monday afternoon, they aired their first live “check in” by Katy and Lionel—two
of the regular three judges on the program. The pair were reporting in from
Windsor Castle, as they had been invited to perform at the Coronation concert.
It took me a moment to
understand that the King and Queen Consort (sorry, can’t go that extra step)
appeared before the cameras for the entire world to see. To his credit, he did
not look directly into the camera; however, the fact of his appearance was a
shock. I might even say, it was “unheard of”. At least in my experience.
I’m almost willing to give him
kudos for it. Almost. I’ll try to keep an open mind, going forward but I
honestly must report that in this case, my mind is only slightly ajar and not
fully open.
In other news, the multi-day rain
event we’d been experiencing in these parts finally came to an end a couple of
days ago. David made quick work of emptying his three table gardens of their
soil. He found a perfect place to put the dirt, too. He and our daughter then
went to the local big box building store to purchase lumber, and now, he has
completed the task of building table garden number 4, along with that “frame/mesh”
piece to put on top of the garden table that will be planted with seeds.
The only thing left to do now
is to get the dirt and then put in the seeds and plants. That’s still a few
days off, as we like to (usually) adhere to that rule of not planting before
the May 24th weekend. It’s a proven wise decision as we can get
frost before that time, but very rarely after it.
My spring cleaning is going
slowly, which doesn’t surprise me in the least. I still tend to think I can do
more during any given morning than I really can. It certainly doesn’t help one
bit that the last couple of weeks of rainy-chilly exacerbated an arthritic flare-up.
Yes, I know, waah, waah. But it is what it is, and I will continue to do as
much as I can, when I can. My daughter thinks perhaps I might be doing a bit
more than I should. That put a smile on my face. Better to have her think that
than to have her think I’m a malingerer.
Though in all honesty I should
tell you I can waste time, when I’ve a mind to, in ways and with a degree of
ease that would truly amaze you.
I completed my 69th
title for my publisher, Siren-Bookstrand, and have signed a publishing contract
for it. I have a new cover and will share that, shortly. I know who my
characters are for my next book, and I am in a state of high hopes about it and
am beginning to feel an itch to get back to writing.
I truly do hope that the miasma
that had been plaguing me for the last couple of years is finally done with me
and is gone for good. As I said, a state of high hopes.
Love,
Morgan
http://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury
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