Okay, dahlinks. I've put my shoe away for now. So on the lighter side, at least as light as I get... see I'm all pink and stuff...

Hibiscus in front jardin weathers the weather...(I water her. And, yes, she is sticking her tongue out at you. click and see.)

SO.....Heat gotcha?

Just in case you'e feelin like the weather is more than you can bear, here's a photo I snapped today (click on it to enlarge) of a crew of toiteurs (roofers) pumping hot tar through a tube up to the roof of a house where they slosh it around a flat surface with what looks like a huge, heavy mop to seal the new rolled roofing. These guys are sporting serious do rags. I told them they were ouvriers bravoures! and said I'd post a picture of them on the blog. It's these folks and not the CEOs of the world who keep the planet spinning for the rest of us, literally keep a roof over our heads. They looked like gypsies (and may well be), short, dark, good humored and stocky fellas with a sense of the absurd. Hard workers. It's 92 degrees out and tres humide... Face it, Ladies. Desert island, who'd you rather be with? One of these guys or the CEO of BP? Right, probably neither, but you get my point, eh? At least this guy can fix a leak! BP CEO? Not so much...

Here are Terris and Ana in the kitchen. (My total dream kitchen by the way, more on this later.) Terris is from Edmonton, over 7 hours NORTH of here, BBRRRR. Forty below not uncommon there in winter he says. And Ana is an exchange student from Cuba. They have been an item for 3 years and were staying here when I arrived. Terris has been to Cuba with her cause he can cause he's canadian. They said goodbye on Friday to return north for more summer study. they knew I was feeling sickly and brought me home an eclair au cafe before they left. Blessed enfants!! Ana adores Fidel and don't think it wasn't nice for me to talk with her about Cuba and one of my personal heroes and to now have a connection there. Her grandmother knew Che...Noice, as they say in Jersey.

The housekeeper just left. Gabriella. She did a bangup job with de nettoyage of de house. Using mostly broom, dustmop. string mop and a bucket and rag on everything. Cute leetle feather duster on the bookshelves. Didn't hear the vacuum once, though I know she used it on the rugs. Mel would like her: she's a sweeper. This place is all wood floors and a few orientals. Nice gal from the Azores who left that place 16 years ago with her three small kiddies and a husband who is a meat cutter. There was no work there. Only rich tourists and the few taken hotel jobs, unless you were a farmer and she wasn't. So she tidies up for the untidy here in Montreal. Has swollen ankles, so we talked nutrition for a bit. Speaks no anglais, and ok french (native langue, Portuguese), but we managed. Smart gal, very thorough. Much better than american housekeepers who use swiffers and sprays and such surface cleaning items that enable them to move less. Pffftt!

So I did some more reading on the Hasidic dress code/outfits. Get this: The huge chocolate cake/hat thing? It's worn by rabbis (rebbes) and by single (read: available) men on the Sabbath. Which explains why I witnessed so many of these chapeaux going by last Saturday. But I mean, really, guys? Quoi? I see Jerry Lewis flailing about spastically and yelling:

Ladies! Hey, Ladies! Looking good here! I have cake!!

Like you'd have anything to do with a guy who thought it perfectly normal to go around with that burden on his head. I mean it's fur, heavy fur. Dead giveaway for mommy issues, don't you think? The GUILT... oy veh.

I swear the best thing about life is its constant stream of hilarious ironies.

Next post: What works to get rid of the flu? And: How far will young women go to look inhuman? (And what are the feminist implications of this rising trend?) Speaking of feminism: some recent encounters with self styled male "feminists" who have no clue, and are perhaps the nouveau mysogynists. Or, What might PC misogyny look like? I know what it feels like for sure, and it's scary.

If you're looking for some inexpensive CDs to learn a foreign language (possible fast getaway mode), this site gets raves from the likes of Forbes (not Steve, God help him) and PBS. I can't vouch for it, and do check and see the price is clear (appears to be only ten bucks for 4 Cds), but it looks like a good one. Learn in 10 days! And developed by a linguist. I may try the Arabic and let you know.