The Lansdowne Letters: The Beverley Baxter of the Bush

I've been busy with my northern materials.

Instead of calling my Northern posts Human Refuse, 
I've decided to title them The Lansdowne Letters.

My brother Roy really got me thinking 
when he commented,
"You know, Louise, 
Human Refuse doesn't capture 
the wonder and the delight of the North.  
It sounds too grim.  
Don't you remember all the good times we had?"

Well, yes I do, Roy,
and you're right.

I've been letting the wrongs and the injustices
I experienced so deeply
overshadow the delight and the wonder.

And one thing I know about our family
is that good times together are a constant.
(We even have fun squabbling and competing,
as five close siblings can do spectacularly!)

Still Good Times Together!  

Donnie and Roy, Two of My Sibs
Making Dinner Remains a Family Effort
Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, 2014

Dad's Northern letters are filled 

with the wonder and the delight 

of an adventurous place and time.

Lansdowne House

Northern Ontario, Canada

Photograph by Rev. Father Ouimet, OMI

Fall, 1960

Once he arrived in Lansdowne House,

my father quickly settled into a nightly routine

of writing letters to his wife, mother, and extended family.

On September 28, 1960 he wrote:

"Good Evening, Everyone.  

This is Donald MacBeath

from Lansdowne House speaking to you.

I feel just like the Beverley Baxter of the bush.  

I think I should call this nightly effort of mine

'The Lansdowne Letter.' "

The Beverley Baxter of the Bush

Lansdowne House, Fall 1960

I had to google "Beverley Baxter" to learn

that my father was referring to Sir Arthur Beverley Baxter. 

Baxter was born in Toronto in 1891,

and he had a successful career as a journalist, theatre critic,

and politician in the United Kingdom until his death in 1964.

So I snagged Dad's title,
which feels appropriate because the letters he wrote
are the primary resource for my Northern manuscript.

I've been sporadic with my Northern posts.
I haven't written one since last May (post).
But I'm home for now and plan to publish one each Friday.

And thanks to my brother Roy,
who has never hesitated one nanosecond
to tell me when he thinks I'm wrong.

Here’s to a plan and to the best siblings!

We Five

Roy, Louise (me), Donnie (in back), Bertie, and Barb

IWSG: 300

Wikipedia

I am not writing about 

the iconic movie 300;

but rather, about the need to limit 
IWSG posts to 300 words.

IWSG

Yikes!  
The guilt I felt when I discovered that dictum!  

I had just published my verbose June IWSG post.

Do you struggle with verbosity?

I do.

I love this antiquated Chinese character Zhé,

meaning verbose.

Arguably, 
it is the most complex Chinese character,

with its sixty-four strokes.

Read on, and see why that makes me laugh!

Wikimedia ~ Erin Silversmith

I remember my sixth grade teacher, Mr. Keast,

teaching a lesson on using adjectives in  descriptive writing.  

Wowza!  I fell in love with adjectives!  

I crafted a sentence about my house containing ~ 

I counted them ~ 

sixty-four adjectives!

I thought my sentence brilliant;  

Mr. Keast did not.  

He called my mother for a conference.  

He thought I was mocking him. 

The two sorted out my personality, 

and I learned that the liberal use of adjectives

was inadvisable.

  

I never wrote another sentence with sixty-four adjectives.  

I became a seeker of the succinct.

I have failed miserably many times.

Succinct writing takes effort.

Chopping, 

refining, 

and choosing the precise word

do not come easily for me.

It's a slog.

My mantra is advice

from William Strunk Jr.

who co-wrote 

the indispensable reference

The Elements of Style.

"Vigorous writing is concise."

Wikipedia

The complete quote: 

“Vigorous writing is concise. 

A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, 

a paragraph no unnecessay sentences, 

for the same reason 

that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines 

and a machine no unnecessary parts. 

This requires not that the writer make all sentences short 

or avoid all detail and treat subjects only in outline, 

but that every word tell.”

Strunk

Make.  Every.  Word.  Count.  

Seek brevity, but without sacrificing clarity.

Thanks for the challenging dictum, IWSG!

It improves my writing.

Wowza!

The Scavenger Hunt That Wasn't: W is for Water

I wasn't able to participate in this month's 
Made with Love Scavenger Hunt.

This summer has been heavy on
battling unexpected demands,

maple.fearnleys




traveling abroad,

The Sculpture "Suncraft"

by Jón Gunnar Árnason

Reykjavik, Iceland, 2014

and wonderful times with my family.

It had been five years 
since all five MacBeath siblings 
were together in one place at one time.
So family trumped everything,
and it was pure bliss!

My Sister Barb and My Niece Heather

Heather was on her way to the airport to move to Surabaya, Indonesia,

and she drove out of her way to meet with "The Aunts."

Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada 2014

So last night, I decided I'd put up a few photographs
for the first item on August's list:
W is for ...

W is for Water!
I've had a water-filled summer!

Peggy's Cove
Nova, Scotia, Canada, 2014

I Prefer Mine on the Rocks!

Ron and Sophie Doodle

Lawrencetown Beach

Nova Scotia, 2014

Ron and Jim, 

My Wonderful Buds 

Lawrencetown, 2014

Checkout Their Awesome Water-Filled Blogs:

Ron's/Sopie's and Jim's

Waterfront, Lunenburg

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Nova Scotia, 2014

Fundy Shore with Fishing Boat 

About to Go Through Digby Gut into the Annapolis Basin

Point Prim, Nova Scotia, 2014

Digby Gut from the Annapolis Basin Side

Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, 2014

Water Lilies
Annapolis Royal Historic Gardens
Nova Scotia, 2014

Tidal Mud Flats and the Town of Digby
From Joggin Bridge,
Nova Scotia, 2014

Fundy Blue Out on Her Beloved Bay of Fundy

Nova Scotia, Canada, 2014

Four Logging Humpbacks

Bay of Fundy, 2014

Heading Down the Slip
to Board the Petit Princess
Tiverton, Nova Scotia, 2014

Waterfront, Halifax

Nova Scotia, Canada, 2014

Waterfront, Halifax

Nova Scotia, Canada, 2014

Gulls on the Wing

Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, 2014

Peggy's Cove

2014

Nope, you just can't keep this Pisces from the water!

I'll be back in the hunt next month,
and I'll be checking out all the hunters' photos very shortly!

September's List

S is for?,  2pm,  Car Park,  Hat,  In the mirror,  Garden,  Lock,  Nails,  
Lamp,  Street sign,  Game,  Out side your window

Thanks to Jill (Greenthumb) 

and her Made with Love blog 

for setting up the scavenger hunt.

Bittersweet Farewell

How time flies when you're having fun!
After almost three wonderful weeks
in my native Nova Scotia, 
it was time to say goodbye.

We Five:  Bertie, Barb, Louise (Me), Roy, and Donnie
One Last Photo Together (This Trip!)
Digby Waterfront, Nova Scotia, 2014

It's always bittersweet to leave

my sisters and brother.

Except for Terry, 

there is no one I'd rather spend time with
than my awesome siblings.

We get each other.
We always have one another's backs.
And boy, do we have fun together!
Often ridiculous fun!

Do you and your family 
do ridiculous things together?

We have a tradition of rolling down 
the steep grassy hills 
of Fort Anne in Annapolis Royal.

Fort Anne, Annapolis Royal, 

Nova Scotia, 1930 

wikimedia

Our newest niece Jeannie 
married our nephew Neil in 2012.

Jeannie and Neil

Moana Surfrider, Waikiki, 2012

There was no way 
she could escape Nova Scotia this year, 
without rolling down a Fort Anne hill
for the first time.

Jeannie is an awesome sport,
and she is now an official member of the family!

Jeannie Rolls

We don't have to do anything special.
It's enough just to be together.

Roy, Nat, Else, and Bob

Bertie with her FIL Bob






BR:  Donnie, Susan, Roy,
FR:  Barb, John, and Louise

Barb, Sara, and I

Halifax Waterfront, Nova Scotia, 2014

Families are the best!!!!!

'Til next time ~

Love and miss you guys terribly!

Standoff!

It's been tense on the home front 
this past ten days or so.
A lot is being left undone.

The Ever-Patient and I have been battling each other.
Long silences and intense looks
have filled our days and nights.

      We aren't making 
      much eye contact.












                         And when we do,
                         the looks can be
                         downright unfriendly!

It's outright WAR!

Neither of us is going to surrender.

No Surrender!

Source:  wikimedia

Our home is a battlefield 

where we marshall our troops.

It's the Great Canasta War of 2014!

Do you love to play cards?
I mean REAL cards ~
where you shuffle and deal and hold them in your REAL hands.

Terry and I LOVE to play cards.
Hours can pass as we battle,

because 
WE BOTH WANT TO WIN!!!

Our desire to win makes for long games.

I actually unloaded the dishwasher

and peeled the spuds for a large potato salad

while Terry contemplated one discard.

It's about time, Honey!!!!!

"There is so much to think about in this game, 

because you are very crafty," says the E-P. 

           

"You must be worried, 
because you are getting cranky!" says I. 

"I am," says he.

I don't know why! 
The E-P has won the last three games!

But then he wants to win EVERY game!

We're at a STANDOFF!!!

I'm going to make sure 

these cards are well-shuffled!

Because I'm going to win the next game!

"We'll see," says the Ever-Patient.