Quebec General Election - April 7, 2014

I've lived in the United States for nearly 31 years, but I always feel a pang of something like regret whenever I follow a Canadian or Quebec election. It's a sense of missed opportunity to participate in building the future of Canada.

This passion and emotions surrounding this year's riveting Quebec general election reminded me of  November 15, 1976, when the Parti Québécois, Quebec's independence party, first came to power. It was one of the worst days of my life, partly because I wasn't on the voter roll and didn't vote in that election, but mainly because I drank far too much as I watched election returns well into the night.

For voters who favored the Parti Québécois, the next day was filled with euphoria and hope for a new, exciting future. For me, not so much. I woke up the next morning under a friend's dining room table. Literally -- the beginning of a three-day hangover and years of guilt for missing the election.

At the beginning of the last election campaign, I thought there was a good chance Premier Pauline Marois would get her majority government and move forward with isolationist policies that would culminate in yet another referendum.

That was until "star" PQ candidate Pierre-Karl Péladeau's right wing, anti-union positions clashed with the party's left leaning history. PKP created so much controversy that the Parti Québécois lost track of other campaign themes that might have seemed more attractive to the electorate.

I started to look for election results shortly after the polls closed on April 7 and was stunned that the Liberals gained a solid majority early on in the evening. The outcome of the election was a disaster for Marois and others who lost their seats. The Parti Québécois itself seems in disarray, with fewer seats than at any time in the last 35 years.

The jubilation of loyal Canadians was reminiscent of that long ago day in 1976 when Parti Québécois victors celebrated for days. The independence bullet has once again been dodged, but civil debate and respectful dialogue could provide many opportunities to identify and embrace common ground. The issue won't just "go away" until the sovereignty option seems unnecessary and undesirable

Ignatian Volunteer Corps

I like to put structure into my day, with the objective of achieving a balance between physical and mental activities. I tend to divide every day into a few hours of physical labor, some writing, keeping up with social media, and work on my photos. The beauty -- and major attraction -- of photography is that it requires so many physical and mental skills, while providing the opportunity to spend time outdoors.

For the last few months, I've also entertained the possibility of part-time work. One of the interesting opportunities was the Ignatian Volunteer Corps. Like many other American Catholics, I'm somewhat influenced by Pope Francis' charismatic personality, so I thought I'd check out the IVC, whose work is grounded in Jesuit spirituality. I met with the regional director on Tuesday and learned a little about the IVC's presence in the Twin Cities.

The idea of finding a match with one of the partner organizations is intriguing, but I'm reluctant to commit two full days a week to a project for ten months of the year, at least for now. Over the short term,  two books by Jesuits on my reading list: Jesus and Tattoos on the Heart.

First 70F Day since October

I didn't want to miss a minute of the warm day promised by Twin Cities weather forecasters. I was in shorts and a polo shirt by 9:30 a.m., determined to get "indoor work" out of the way before noon. I'm not quite caught up from the month away, but by the end of the morning the kitchen and bathrooms were clean, most carpeting was vacuumed. The irritating cat puke stains are still there ... it will take a professional carpet cleaning to resolve that particular problem.

Both Bob and I worked outside all afternoon. He washed the deck and deck furniture, and put a good dent into spring window cleaning. My main task was to remove the leaves insulating Bob's roses and my spring bulbs, a bigger job than it sounds.

I uncovered burgeoning daffodils and tulips, one of which I ruined with the rake, but most seem to be intact. I'm hoping that the daffodils' yellow foliage will soon turn green now that it's exposed. The bulbs planted too deep near the front of the house have yet to peek through the ground.

After filling full barrel with leaves, I started on another and added to it by picking up leaves that had drifted to the area between the back fence and the garage, and we made our first trip of the season to the compost site.

I ached all night from using muscles I'd forgotten about over the winter, but feel reasonably energetic this morning. Spring planting seems a long way off, despite recent balmy temperatures.