Posts Tagged ‘art’
biking log book – virtual bike trip from Sanxay to Exireuil, France #3
I’ve now completed the second phase of my virtual bike trip through central France! In this phase, I travelled on my stationary bike from Sanxay to Exireuil, a distance of almost 18 km.
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My bike ride for February 16 started in Fomperron, France. Imagine my surprise to see a donkey watching me as I biked by an old shed on the outskirts of the town!
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a donkey watches near an old shed in Fomperron
(image from Google Earth Street View)
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Feb 16 notebook showing distance travelled and Street View images
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Log Book: February 16, 2013
Area travelled: from ‘Fomperron’ to ‘just north of La Robelière’
Distance: 25 minutes 3.0 km
Best view: old stone shed with a tile and moss-covered roof in Fomperron
Notes: Took a side road not on the Street View grid, so I travelled ‘blind’ for a day through uncharted countryside.
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Distance Travelled Feb 12 to Feb 13 : 11.8 km
Total Distance Travelled Jan 30 to Feb 13 : 25.8 km
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Log Book: February 17, 2013
Area travelled: from ‘field just north of La Robelière’ to ‘intersection of road to La Clavelière’
Distance: 30 minutes 3.0 km
Best view: a lone oak in the middle of a field
Notes: Travelling ‘blind’ for a day through uncharted countryside.
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Distance Travelled Feb 12 to Feb 17 : 14.8 km
Total Distance Travelled Jan 30 to Feb 17 : 28.8 km
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Log Book: February 18, 2013
Area travelled: from ‘intersection of road to La Clavelière’ to ‘Exireuil’
Distance: 45 minutes 3.0 km
Best view: old stone fence along road
Notes: Did a lot of walking this trip because I have a bad cold. Rejoined Street View at intersection and glad to be able to ‘see’ the road. First time I’ve seen a subdivision or a cemetery.
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Distance Travelled Feb 12 to Feb 13 : 17.8 km
Total Distance Travelled Jan 30 to Feb 13 : 31.8 km
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This virtual bike trip has really worked to encourage me to exercise. I am going to keep going! For Phase 3 of my trip, I plan to bike in 12 days from Exireuil to Magné just beyond Niort.
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map showing plan for Phase 3 (12 day virtual bike trip from Exireuil to Magne)
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Follow me in Phase 3 to see more sights in the French countryside, to see some more drawings and to hear about my virtual adventures!
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Copyright Jane Tims 2013
biking log book – virtual bike trip from Sanxay to Exireuil, France #2
I am in the second phase of my virtual bike trip through central France. In this phase, I am travelling on my stationary bike from Sanxay to Exireuil, a distance of about 18 km.
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I began my Feb 13 bike ride in Mènigoute, France, a very neat and lovely town. I saw many trees in blossom since it is spring in Street View. Most properties are fenced, or surrounded with hedges, and the streetscape is pristine. Some of the yards have gardens and very tidy compost bins.
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In the centre of town were two interesting churches. One, La Chapelle Bouchard, was in Gothic style, with intricate architectural features. Across the street from the other church was an interesting house with red and green shutters. Functioning shutters are common on the houses.
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Feb 13 notebook showing distance travelled and images from Street View
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Log Book: February 13, 2013
Area travelled: from ‘Mènigoute’ to ‘field near Ètang de Bois Pouvreau’
Distance: 25 minutes 3.3 km
Best view: house with red and green shutters in Mènigoute
Notes: old oak trees line the roadways and dominate the hedgerows. In the countryside it is autumn, so I got an early glimpse of fall colour!
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Distance Travelled Feb 12 to Feb 13 : 6.3 km
Total Distance Travelled Jan 30 to Feb 13 : 20.3 km
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Feb 15 notebook showing distance travelled and Street View images
Log Book: February 15, 2013
Area travelled: from ‘field near Ètang de Bois Pouvreau’ to ‘Fomperron’
Distance: 25 minutes 2.5 km
Best view: mustard field near Fomperron
Notes: I was stuck behind a haycart for a while!
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Distance Travelled Feb 12 to Feb 15 : 8.8 km
Total Distance Travelled Jan 30 to Feb 15 : 22.8 km
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Copyright Jane Tims 2013
biking log book – virtual bike trip from Sanxay to Exireuil, France #1
On February 12, I began the second phase of my virtual bike trip through central France. In this phase, I plan to travel on my stationary bike from Sanxay to Exireuil, a distance of about 18 km.
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One of the first features I encountered on my trip from Sanxay to the town of Mènigoute were mysterious plantations of trees. Street View shows lines of mature hardwood trees, leafless since the photos were taken in early spring. In the branches of the trees were green branchy spheres.
Feb 12 notebook showing distance travelled and Street View images, including a plantation of hardwoods with strange branchy spheres in the tree tops
I was very puzzled at first, but some thinking solved the mystery. The spheres are of mistletoe, a hemi-parasitic plant. Mistletoe is known for its medicinal uses and as a symbol of good luck and fertility. Kissing under the mistletoe is a familiar Christmas tradition. To learn more about mistletoe, and to see some photos of mistletoe plantations, see the website http://naturalmedicines.hubpages.com/hub/Mistletoe
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Encountering a mistletoe plantation during my virtual bike trip was truly rewarding!!!!
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Log Book: February 12, 2013
Area travelled: from ‘just west of Sanxay’ to ‘Mènigoute’
Distance: 30 minutes 3.0 km
Best view: plantation of hardwood mistletoe! also, lilacs in bloom in Mènigoute!
Notes: I also passed an area of archaeological interest… the Gallo-Roman ruins west of Sanxay – these include a Gallo temple, the Sanxay baths and a Roman amphitheatre.
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Distance Travelled Feb 12 : 3.0 km
Total Distance Travelled Jan 30 to Feb 12 : 17.0 km
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Have you ever seen a plantation of mistletoe??
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Copyright Jane Tims 2013
biking log book – places I have never seen #4
Another day of my virtual bike ride from Lusignan to Sanxay, France. I hope you enjoy my silly comments as I make my way through the French countryside! I am really enjoying making my drawings of the sights along the way.
As you will see below, on February 11, I completed the virtual bike ride to Sanxay. The incentive of the virtual bike ride and reporting on my progress has really helped me – I have used my stationary bike more often and for longer sessions!
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Feb 8 notebook showing distance travelled and Street View photos
Log Book: February 8, 2013
Area travelled: from ‘intersection with A10 Autoroute’ to ‘stream crossing south of Sanxay’
Distance: 25 minutes 2.8 km
Best view: bridge at crossing of small stream south of Sanxay… the road makes a sharp turn before crossing the bridge
Notes: Such a brisk day, I got off bike and walked for 5 minutes!
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Total Distance Jan 30 to Feb 8: 10.5 km
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Feb 11 notebook showing distance travelled and Street View photos
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Log Book: February 11, 2013
Area travelled: from ‘stream crossing south of Sanxay’ to ‘country-side just west of Sanxay’
Distance: 30 minutes 3.5 km
Best view: street-scape in old town of Sanxay – wish I could have had a bite to eat at the Resto/Bistrot La Petite Fringale …
Notes: No wind and a flat country-side made for an easy ride to Sanxay! I did notice that when I began it was early spring (no leaves on trees) and when I finished my ride today, it was early summer (trees fully in leaf). The cause is not my slow biking, but different photography months in Street View!
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Total Distance Jan 30 to Feb 11: 14.0 km
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I have decided to push on, toward the town of Exireuil, about 16 km to the south-west of Sanxay.
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Do you know the way to Sanxay??????
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Copyright Jane Tims 2013
biking log book – places I have never seen #3
I am continuing to enjoy my new exercise plan – a virtual bike trip from Lusignan, France to Sanxay, France on my stationary bike. I am also biking further each session.
Progress from January 30 to February 6 (North is toward the top of the map)
I have also discovered a new tool in Google Earth, a way to ‘pin’ my progress on the map by using ‘placemarks’.
placemarks on Google Earth (North is toward the upper left corner of the map) (map from Google Earth)
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Feb 4 notebook showing distance travelled and Street View photos
Log Book: February 4, 2013
Area travelled: from ‘ ‘hill beyond Le Breuil’ to ‘Jazeneuil (Eglise Saint-Jean-Baptiste)’
Distance: 20 minutes 1.9 km
Best view: house with blue shutters in La Mimaudière
Notes: Every roof is finished with cylindrical clay tiles … remember those tiles in Jurrasic Park III …
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Total distance: 4.7 km
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Feb 6 notebook showing distance travelled and Street View photos
Log Book: February 6, 2013
Area travelled: from ‘Jazeneuil’ to ‘intersection with A10 Auto Route’
Distance: 30 minutes 3.0 km
Best view: streetscape in Jazeneuil – clay tiles and various types of yard fences
Notes: The traffic on A10 was horrible. I am glad I decided to bike the back roads!
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Total distance: 7.7 km
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Have you ever been to this part of France?
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Copyright Jane Tims 2013
biking log book – places I have never seen #2
So far, my exercise plan is working. I am biking on my stationary bike more often since I began my virtual bike trip from Lusignan, France to Sanxay, France, a total distance of about 14 km.
I have discovered several tools in Google Earth to help me, including a ‘ruler’ under ‘tools’ – this gives me the approximate distance from place to place!
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map showing progress for Feb 2 (map from MapQuest)
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Log Book: February 2, 2013
Area travelled: from ‘intersection with road to Mangadon’ to ‘hill beyond Le Breuil’ 20 minutes 1.6 km
Best view: fence at entry to a farm road near Le Breuil
Notes: Great to be able to drive on the same side of the road as at home!!!
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Total distance from January 30 to February 2: 2.8 km
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Copyright Jane Tims 2013
biking log book – places I have never seen #1
This will seem a bit strange, but I am trying a new strategy to get myself on my exercise bike at least three times a week.
I am lucky to have a good quality recumbent bike to use. I have the tiniest exercise room, located in our basement. It is basically a large open closet that fits my bike and a small table for a clock and other items. I finished the walls in stucco and have a wall shelf to put photos and art to look at as I bike.
I know biking is good for me, especially in the winter when it is harder to get outside on some days. However, getting myself down to my exercise room is harder than it sounds. I invent all kinds of excuses not to go. Often, the end of the day comes and I ‘discover’ I have skipped yet another day of exercise.
In January, I began to work on a new plan for encouraging biking. You will quickly note that making the plan and preparing takes a lot more time than doing the actual exercise. Although this may be another form of procrastination, the time I spend serves other purposes. I learn about new places, I practice my drawing skills, and I don’t mindlessly watch TV and eat if I am busy working on my plan.
The plan is this. When I bike, I pretend I am riding my bike through the countryside of some place I have never been. There are bikes that actually have this feature built-in (just Google ‘exercise bike with google maps’), but I am using an old-fashioned approach.
I select a place and print out a scaled map with a 10 or 15 km distance to travel. Then I go on Google Earth and ‘travel’ the road on the computer, using Street View to have a look at places along the way. I print off some of the more interesting views so I will have an idea how the countryside appears. Then I glue maps and images into a notebook and plot my progress on the map. Each 10 minutes on my exercise bike equals approximately one kilometer on the map. I use small stickers to mark my progress. After I have ridden through an area, I can use the views as source material for drawing in my sketch book.
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My first virtual bike ride has been through the Poitiers area of France. This is in the Poitou-Charentes Region of western France, south-west of Paris. I selected this area because a few years ago I worked with a woman from Poitiers and her descriptions of the area made it sound so interesting. She also gave me some brochures and other tourist materials that featured the beauty of the countryside and some of the local history. I have never been to Europe, so this is quite a learning for me. To start, I have selected a road from Lusignan, France to Sanxay, France, a total distance of about 14 km. At 10 minutes per km, this will take me 140 minutes or more of biking (about seven biking sessions).
‘MapQuest’ map showing route from Lusignan (A), France to Sanxay (B), France
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From Street View, I can tell that this is a very rural area. The road passes by farms and connects small communities. Most of the scenes in Street View in this area were taken in the spring, so trees are in blossom but not yet in leaf. There are sheep in the pastures and the houses are roofed with clay tiles. Many houses have small kitchen gardens and are bounded by low rock walls. At the intersection of major roads, there are frequently shrines, including crucifixes and statues of Saints.
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Log Book: January 30, 2013
Area travelled: from ‘just north-west of Lusignan’ to ‘intersection with road to Mongadon’
Distance: 20 minutes 1.2 km
Best view: gate to ‘le Muranit’ near Lusignan
Notes: It took longer to cover this stretch of road because I kept getting off the bike to see the sights …
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Please come back often, as I plan to update my Log Book each time I bike.
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Copyright Jane Tims 2013
writing a novel – taking a break from the draft
On Friday of this week, I begin a weekend Maritime Writer’s Workshop with the University of New Brunswick’s College of Extended Learning. I will work with a dozen other writers at revision of our written work under the leadership of Joan Clark. Joan is an award-winning novelist of both adult and children’s fiction, and I am anxious to find out what she thinks of my work.
I have chosen to submit ten pages of my novel ‘Saving the Landing Church’ to be examined during the weekend. I will get some good insight into how other writers respond to my writing. No doubt, I will also discover some aspects of my writing that need improvement. I hope the other writers will find my work interesting and help me discover some strengths as well as weaknesses.
Sometimes it is difficult for me to hear criticism about my writing, but I have to listen carefully and keep an open mind …
I will also read and comment on the work of the other writers. This will help me to hone my own editing skills and discover more about what readers like in written work.
Once I have done the workshop and incorporated various comments into the draft, I will take a three-week break from my novel. I will put the current (third) draft away. During that time, I will not read the draft and I will try not to think about it. Then, after March 4, I will spend a couple of days reading a paper-printout of my novel. The theory is, it will be new to my brain after the break and I will see, with great clarity, what I certainly should have seen before.
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I expect to find:
simple edits (Sadie takes a drive on the car, rather than in the car)
discontinuities in the action (Sadie goes for a hike a week after cracking her ribs)
slip-ups in characterization (Nicola suddenly has blue eyes instead of green)
cases of inverted time (July cames before June)
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I may discover that Tom and Sadie are going for a walk and listening to the rustle of the leaves in the birch trees in the dead of winter….
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From these observations, I will make some changes and then will come a series of decisions about how to get my novel published.
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on the road to novel publication
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Copyright Jane Tims 2013
messages on a still winter day
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intentions
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snow, crystal-quiet
a sluggish breeze
riffles the woodland
sunrise lost in a rose sky
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listen to the rustle
of paper on wood
the mutter of unwritten lines
birch-bark, deckle-edged
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tatters and shreds
sorted by a sluggish wind
words I meant to write
letters ready for the mail
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misplaced
behind parcels
wait for postage
brown paper and string
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Copyright Jane Tims 2013
writing a novel – the community as a character
One of the first things I did as I was beginning my novel is create character sketches for the people in my book. By knowing as much as possible about the characters, I knew how they would react in any circumstance.
As I wrote, I began to wonder of the community itself could be a character in my book. Communities certainly have characteristics… they may be tolerant or intolerant, modern or traditional, rural or urban and so on. Sometimes a community has a mixture of these characteristics.
Famous examples of books where the community has character include Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird (J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1960) and Peyton Place by Grace Metalious (Julian Messner, Inc., 1956).
People in the community in my book will respond to the abandonment and disposal of a church both as individuals and as members of the community. In any community, places of worship are important. Churches are important to the community for their religious significance, but also for their historical connections.
Communities in rural New Brunswick, as elsewhere, are not homogeneous. In my own community, there are people whose families have lived here for generations. Other families have just moved here, attracted by the community’s rural character and by its nearness for commuting to work. Sometimes this heterogeneity is a source of divisiveness in a community. More often people from these different parts of community live together in harmony, coming together for school events, community sports or just neighborliness.
The community in my novel will also be heterogeneous, composed of people of different backgrounds and interests. For simplicity’s sake, I am thinking of them in three categories.
1. Many of the characters in the community will be part of the ’embedded community’, people whose families have lived in the community for generations. These will include most of the members of the church congregation.
folks who were born and raised in the community
they all have good eyesight or wear contacts
second from the left is the Minister, Oliver Johnston
2. Other characters will belong to the ‘commuter community’. These will be people who have moved into the community from away. They love its rural qualities. The community is also near enough to the city for them to be able to work there.
the one on the right is my main character
the man to the left of my main character is her husband… looks a little like a movie star from the 50s
I went to university with the lady on the far left
Of course, within these groups will be people who have their own interests and loyalties. For example, there may be members of the commuter community who fit very well with the embedded community. There will be those who are part of the congregation of the Landing Church and those who are not, those who will be interested in the church because of its historic importance and those who are not that interested in preserving its history.
3. There will also be a negative element in the community in my book. This element will behave very badly and I think of this as the ‘aberrant community’.
Ed Blake, the ‘bad guy’ in my novel
my sister will say he looks like Spock from Star Trek
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To help me plan the interactions between these three community components and the main character, I made a graph to guide my main character’s relationships through the book.
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I want the protagonist’s relationship with the aberrant component of the community to begin on a neutral note and deteriorate with time.
Her relationship with the commuter component of community will begin high and remain that way throughout the book.
A main source of tension in the book will be her relationship with the embedded component of community. At first, she is an outsider who thinks she can solve everything by moving and re-purposing the church, and her relationship with the embedded community is very poor. However, during the book, she learns to be more understanding about the community and they learn she is not really so bad after all. This relationship will grow in a positive direction during the book.
As I write, I will check with my time-line to see if the relationships I am writing about are staying true to my graph.
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Copyright Jane Tims 2012
nichepoetryandprose 