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Ali's avatar

Lovely! I'm particularly fond of Mr Canale :) . The Chosen is a wonderful lesson (IMO).

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Jeannine's avatar

Thank you, I'm glad you liked it! Mr. Canale is loosely based on a real person - his real-life counterpart was a truely sweet gentleman; sadly, he never did get to embark on his grand adventure. 😥

There were a few lessons in "The Chosen." Which one did you notice? I was a mite annoyed about the assignment specifying "boys," so decided to play with the rules a bit.

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Evelyn K. Brunswick's avatar

Feminism! Yes!

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Jeannine's avatar

It lurks within the mildest of hearts. 😁 Though as a confirmed Tomboy, I guess I was always a bit of a feminist (🎵Anything he can do, I can do better!🎶 🤣).

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Ali's avatar

I think for me the lesson was about assumptions made by allegedly clever (even wise) people - especially if they're men.

But also about the idea that the 'official hero' narrative can and should be challenged. Princes aren't always the clever ones.

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Jeannine's avatar

A good prince always has a strong princess helping him out? 😁

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Evelyn K. Brunswick's avatar

I totally agree with Ali.

All of these are just lovely!

I like your photos too.

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Jeannine's avatar

Thank you! I find that I am enjoying a bit of daily writing, even if I end up doing it on my own. I find most of the photos on Unsplash or Wikimedia Commons, but I like to insert at least one of my own to show people how things are moving along here.

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Evelyn K. Brunswick's avatar

The penguins are just wonderful!

And that is a great idea - your own photos as the seasons keep turning...

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Jeannine's avatar

They were gifts from decades past. They come out every winter. 🐧 I am looking forward to spring, though, the winter shots are getting a mite monotonous. 🎅

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Evelyn K. Brunswick's avatar

Me too. There are daffodils out now though since a few days ago so Spring will definitely happen! I always pay very close attention to the ground at this time of year, because next on the list is violets (catch them early for that beautiful scent). Then when the grape hyacinths emerge around about Equinox time then I usually take that as Winter’s end.

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Jeannine's avatar

Oh, France must have a lovely climate! We're still knee deep in snow here and won't be seeing daffodils for at least a month. The farmers are starting their maple sap collecting, though. The vegetable garden usually waits until late May or early June, lest a late snow kill off all the seedIings. The official beginning is at Equinox, though, so I'll be happy then, too.

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Evelyn K. Brunswick's avatar

It probably depends which part of France, but yeah - I am now thinking myself luckier than I thought, having got through that winter. I think it was the second winter we were here temps got down to minus 20 and everything froze (including the toilet), and we still don’t have central heating.

If you want to know how we know that this beautiful planet is alive, we got through this winter because last September part of one our trees sheared off, and the wood we got from that, combined with my own foraging, has been exactly the right amount we needed.

If only every child was educated in nature, they would never tolerate the horrors that are inflicted on us by those evil monsters with all the money and the power…

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