What’s the Mother of Peroration?

Posted on 03 July 2026 by Isabel Gibson

Hot weather is the mother of procrastination —
my energy is at ebb tide —
I’m getting caloricly stupid —
Tried to read . . . mind stumbled
on a ponderous perioration (sic) (I think)
 and fell in between two paragraphs
and lay unconscious for ten minutes . . .
– Diary of Thomas Edison, July 20, 1885

Thomas Edison kept a diary for all of 10 days in his 84 years, but clearly someone else kept it on his behalf and on ours. I thought it was cute, so I posted it.

I had to look up perioration.
– A correspondent of mine, July 03, 2026

I might have looked it up too, but I had decided to ignore my faint misgivings about the spelling and go with my vague sense of its meaning from context — A long-winded thought or argument, yeah? — because there was a delightful image beckoning to me from the far side of this peculiar word.

(My) mind . . .
Fell in between two paragraphs
and lay unconscious for ten minutes.

I’ve had reading experiences just like that.

Continue reading →

Posted in Language and Communication, Thinking Broadly | Tagged , | 14 Comments

Car Reflections

Posted on 20 June 2026 by Isabel Gibson

One advantage of going to familiar places is that I know what to look out for: in this case, the in-full-leaf trees reflected in the sunroof, windshield, and hood of our SUV parked in its usual spot, as viewed from my usual spot on the second-storey deck.

New vistas can be exciting; familiar ones can be exquisite, joining hands across time to draw from and add to each other’s beauty.

Posted in Appreciating Deeply, Photos of Built Stuff, Photos of Flora | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Naming the Clouds

Posted on 20 June 2026 by Isabel Gibson

Heigh ho, heigh ho,
It’s off to work we go.
– Song from Snow White

How did the Seven Dwarfs get into things this week? Well, I was reading The Invention of Clouds, a book whose existence I stumbled across when trying to find out whether clouds had seasonally distinctive appearances, in order to justify my belief that a given cloudscape was a harbinger of spring which, in turn, would justify the associated photographically induced departure delay. I was not entirely successful in this quest, which is often the case when searching for self-justification, but I got a new book out of it, so there’s that.

Continue reading →

Posted in Appreciating Deeply, Laughing Frequently, New Perspectives, Through History | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Now You See It; Now I Don’t

Posted on 06 June 2026 by Isabel Gibson

It’s your turn.

Silence.

It’s your turn.
People online have to introduce themselves, too.

I sigh inwardly and speak my name, rather than the thought in my head.

Oh. You’re talking to me?

Or, perhaps . . .

What exactly do you think I can see?
Because I can’t see you lookin’ at me.

Continue reading →

Posted in Language and Communication, Laughing Frequently, Thinking Broadly | Tagged , | 8 Comments

As I was saying . . .

Posted on 04 June 2026 by Isabel Gibson

You’re a good woman.
(slight emphasis on the good)

If you’re not a woman you won’t have heard this addressed to you, but you might have said it or heard it used — it, or this punchier variant.

Good woman.
(slight and entirely optional emphasis
on the 1st syllable of woman)

Continue reading →

Posted in Feeling Clearly, Language and Communication, Laughing Frequently | Tagged , | 14 Comments

Light Show

Posted on 30 May 2026 by Isabel Gibson

As we took our seats, I looked out through 40-foot tall windows lit up beautifully by the setting sun.

Not.

Continue reading →

Posted in Appreciating Deeply, Photos of Built Stuff | Tagged | 10 Comments

Quick! Name that thing!

Posted on 30 May 2026 by Isabel Gibson

Whoa.

You know those tall balloon figures that sway as if in the wind but it’s not really wind, it’s variable bursts of air from a compressor or something? The ones that look as if they’re about to fall over backward and then jerk upright? The ones used to attract attention to used-car lots and similar establishments? Sure you do, although my description might not convince you of that. This would be simpler if they had a name.

Continue reading →

Posted in Laughing Frequently, Photos of Built Stuff | Tagged | 8 Comments

A Fistful of Floors

Posted on 23 May 2026 by Isabel Gibson

Not a fan of balconies: the higher, the worser. Sometimes, though, getting an uncomfortable distance off the ground provides a different perspective. Here’s just such a perspective from Winnipeg last weekend, just before sunset.

Continue reading →

Posted in Appreciating Deeply, Photos of Built Stuff, Thinking Broadly | Tagged , | 8 Comments

A Fistful of Faces

Posted on 22 May 2026 by Isabel Gibson

As seen on a recent trip to Winnipeg, one art card offered at least four faces/characters. Can four faces appear by accident in one piece of graphic art, just as a function of the underlying design or style choices? Whether by chance or intention, here they are, top to bottom . . .

Grinch

And his face is even green!

Continue reading →

Posted in Photos of Faces | Tagged | 6 Comments