Skiing Adventure

Hi!

Well I made it safely home after spending a great time at my sister's. Here are a few pics of our Boxing Day ski adventure.

Thought I'd post this picture of Dale, Jenny and me first after the day of skiing to reassure you all that I made it through the day safely!

Dale took me to the summit, which had these signs posted on the edge of the cliff .... oh, I mean ski run

Wow! I'm actually atop Dale's ski mountain where I actually got to view 1000 peaks!

This is a picture (looking up) of the Black Diamond (expert) run that we skied down from the summit. While I used to be an expert skier, it's been 12 years since I've skied! I did get down it very slowly while my quad muscles were burning with lactic acid! (I was singing "burn baby burn" all the way down)

To give you a better perspective, here's a picture of the same run (from the same spot), looking straight down! In the distance, you may see the little dots that make up Panorama Village.

It was a great adventure - and I want to go back in February when I have to fly out west for work!

Thanks Dale

Christmas with Family

Hello! I'm now thousands of kilometres away from home sitting in my sister's kitchen looking out at the mountains which surround this long and narrow alpine-like valley. The trip across the country was long and uneventful. Upon my arrival I noticed snow on the ground. When I drove up to Dale's, her two young ones - Jenny and Bobby were out in the front yard all bundled up awaiting my arrival. When they saw me they started jumping up and down and ran up to my rented car .... now nothing can warm the heart as much as that!! Later I stayed up way too late with Dale and chatted until the wee hours of the morning.

Before leaving, I tried to get onto blogger to do a new post, but wasn't able to get on. I had reserved a parcel of time to try to do something creative - but to no avail. However...

I wish all of you a happy and healthy holiday season with your loved ones.

May it bring you joy, love and peace!

On my next post, I hope to have a picture of me and Dale .... oh, and I think we're going skiing tomorrow. It should be fun: me and my rubber legs.

A bientot mes amis ...

White Canadian Christmas memories

Christmas can be a time of reflection and as I look out my window onto the barren and green urban park - my mind goes back to whiter Christmas seasons, which I thought I'd share...

This first picture was taken in the 1960s at the beginning of one late November or early December. We used to travel up to the mountains outside of Montreal to search for and cut down on Christmas trees.



A few weeks later, during the 12 days of Christmas we'd have the tree up and play in the snow. In this picture, I'm on the far right and some of you may have been in communication with the girl wearing a yellow hat. Some activities never leave us - but only get stronger later in life!

This house belonging to my grandparents had three ponds in front of it and we'd choose one, if the ice was strong enough to shovel and skate. My parents used to always invite some friends up (with kids our ages) for the week between Christmas and New Years.




Every Christmas eve, we'd put up our stockings up with care, put out some milk and cookies for Santa and then try to get a good night's rest. I never could understand why my older siblings always heard and/or saw Santa and I never did!

We used to have to wear "Christmas pj's" and stand for pictures. All in all so many wonderful memories were created thanks to my parents and grandparents. We were very fortunate to have some special traditions and stay at my grandparent's amazing "cottage". I think some of my favourite Christmas' were at that house, so close to nature and ski hills!


The last two pictures presented in this montage are from 2004 at my parent's house. The first one illustrates how we bring white Christmas' outside into the inside (by whipping up ivory snow and putting it on the tree).




This last photo was taken a two years ago at Christmas from my bedroom window. Obviously the guy liked eating the dropped birdseed from my parent's feeder.

Never! Never! Never!

I've been tagged to put 10 things about myself that I'll never do. I now tag the fabulous and artistic Ian, the intelligent and perseverant EL Wisty and the animal loving and photographic loving Grace. Here are my 10 things:

1. I’ll never climb Mt. Everest. While my aim is to see it one day – I’d rather see it at the base and/or from afar.
2. I’ll never cease to explore the world. My goal is to visit every continent and sub-continent. I love travel and can't see me ever stopping.
3. I’ll never stop singing. Singing is one of the greatest joys in my life and something that I view as a gift, rather than a talent. Music and singing provide me with so much inspiration - not to mention stress relief.
4. I will never stop praying for world peace.
5. I’ll never like short winter days. While I like winter and snow – I don’t like the limited hours of sunshine.
6. I’ll never stop loving nature, children, my friends, my family and animals (especially dogs and cats).
7. While I love to cook, I too will never cook, eat or use liver – not even in pate. (Yes, I’m stealing this from Dale, however since we both share the same mother, I feel it only appropriate because I can relate!!)
8. While I consider myself a Christian, believe in Jesus and go to church regularly (where I get to sing in a great choir) I'll never totally believe today’s bible is the true word of God or gospel. For me, it’s more about spirituality and the philosophical learnings of living life in today’s crazy and hectic world.
9. I’ll never understand how some religious institutions (and fundamentalists) can be so judgmental, prejudice and unbending when religion (and life in my opinion) is supposed to be about peace, love, acceptance and understanding.
10. I’ll never feel comfortable being in the same job for a long time. I continue to have a need to grow and challenge myself in different areas of business life. Maybe one day I'll stick with the same employer, but'll need to mix up my tasks.

This has been fun.

Know your limit, drive within it.

That was the road sign I saw above the Gardiner Expressway the other day.

I know that it was pertaining to alcohol and/or speed this holiday season. But, in a world where excess has become a virtue, I thought that the road sign could have been a message for us all in this excess-driven world. “Know your limit. Know yourself and care for things within you” was the way I read it.

The road sign stirred something deep within. “Know your limit, drive within it.” “Know your limit, live within it.” “Know yourself and care for things within you.”

We are living in a world where every form of extremism has become a norm. TV land has become a virtual un-reality where extreme forms of life styles are being heralded as something to be desired by all. Every form of media seems to proclaim a message, “Ignore the limit, and drive over it.”

In the midst of the billboards enticing drivers to “in excess, excess, excess,” was a signpost of wisdom, “Know your limit, drive within it.” “Know your limit, live within it.” “Know yourself and care for things within you.”

“What does it mean to live within one’s limit?”
“How do we learn to value ourselves?”
“How is it that we live in a world full of people with misplaced values?

How do we learn to value ourselves in such a way so we could know enough of ourselves to value things within us?

How do we value a human being?

Just some interesting food for thought as we approach this holiday season and are bombarded with commercialism and excess at its extreme.

The Who – What an awesome show!

The evening began at a restaurant nearby the venue where Derek, my English footballer friend, and I met up with fellow blogger Anne-Marie and her new hubby Austin.

During the 5 minute walk from the restaurant to the ACC it began to snow lightly. Upon arrival, we took our respective seats in different sections of the 100 level. Wow! What seats we had too! While we weren’t close – we were smack in front of stage centre and had a perfect view of the boys with all their sophisticated lighting and video screens … but I’m getting ahead of myself.

When we first entered the venue (a huge concrete and metal “fish bowl” usually used for hockey and backetball), Chrissie Hynde with low key lighting and stage effects had just begun rocking. What an incredible surprise bonus --- to see one of the original female rockers before one of the original British Invasion bands. I was in pure heaven! Being the singer that I am was mouthing all the words to the songs she was singing – especially Ohio and Chain Gang (a personal favourite).

After a short break while smelling “nostalgic sweet smoke" wafting above the crowd and admiring all the "hunky" roadies on stage, the lights went down and Roger, Pete and the boys took stage and opened with “Can’t Explain”. (bonus, a kid is in front of me and when he stands, I can see perfectly over his head while sitting down).

Wow! Here I am at a Who concert! My mind was whirling back in time to those teenage parties listening to The Who while taking my first sips of various potent potables and first puffs of that “now nostalgic smelling smoke”. I was also drifting to memories of a 1970s Who concert and my “sweet sixteen” birthday party where we listened to the entire “Who By Numbers” album!

But, now almost 30 years later, as a mid-lifer, I was in an arena listening to the Who live once again along with thousands of other mid-lifers probably feeling exactly like I did. Sorry Pete, I don’t want to die before I get old – however I felt like I had died and gone to heaven – thank you Pete and Roger!

The concert had a good mix of old and new music and they did a masterful job at controlling the energy of the crowd – well except after they played Baba O’Reilly when we the crowd went so wild that Pete had to ask us to sit down so they could get on with the show. (My favourites were the show opener, Baba O’Reilly, My Generation … oh I can’t really name them all because there were so many !!!)

The chemistry between Pete, Roger and the band were great. Pete also talked about the chemistry he has had with the city of Toronto and the affection for her.

They played for just over two hours!!

After the show, we regrouped with Anne-Marie and Austin and then departed ways with Derek who had to shlepp to the Eastern part of the city. A and A-M drove me home and had a quick drink (of juice because it was a week night) at my place while we relived the concert and looked at pictures from Austin’s camera.

Today, I’m very tired because I went to bed at 1:30 and had a very difficult time sleeping last night. Actually, I was so keyed up I found it pretty difficult to sleep at all. And while I left some extra time in the morning to sleep in, my cats had other ideas and were purring in my ears at 6:00 !! Oh well …. It was worth it .... worth every expensive little penny.

I shall remember this for a long time.

To bring in the month and the official start of my holiday season I hosted my first dinner party Last night. I live in a small place so only had three friends over, but it was fun.

I had the fireplace going, lit the place with candles, had my usual Christmas decorations up (including about 20 birds, which began a string of jokes mostly at my expense), and had Christmas music piping in the background, including a CD that I made with a choir back in 1992)

I began the meal with a cream of broccoli soup. (I thought I had made too little, but it was perfect for four).

I then brought out the main course, which included pork tenderloin stuffed with apples, pancetta, pecans and a few raisons, carrots glazed with my own maple butter, green beans garnished with toasted almonds/butter and light/fluffy mashed potatoes. I also made red wine gravy for the pork.

For dessert, I let our local baker help me out by providing a light and fluffy dark chocolate mousse cake.

I’m a real ‘fine pottery’ nut and last week went to a huge craft show, entitled One of a Kind, [for Koos' benefit - the name of the location] and bought a number of Christmas gifts for others (not yours Dale) and myself - including wine goblets and casserole dishes. Last night I was able to showcase my new pieces with the meal (yeah).

At this time of the season I really get an entertaining bug and love having friends over for fun and a bite to eat. Sometimes dining at home can be way more fun than having a meal out. [sigh] Think this is one of the things I miss about having a man in my life, because I love to make fancy meals. Guess this year it’ll be friends who benefit from this crazy passion.

Hope you all have a great December of 2006!

More Photos! ! !

Anne Marie, A married woman

I just came home after attending the wonderful wedding of Anne Marie and her new husband Austin. What an honour it was to attend and represent the blogging world.

The ceremony was short, quaint and perfect. The gentleman officiating the ceremony did it with gusto and flair perfect to the tastes of the married couple. There were several chuckles thru the ceremony however the words that were spoken by the officiator, thru the two readings and the personal vows of Anne-Marie and Austin were sincere, thought provoking and very poignant - beautiful actually.

News has it that Austin was extremely nervous before the ceremony while Anne-Marie was as relaxed, cheerful and normal as could be.

I didn't have a clear view to take good shots, but I'm posting what I have, after making some very quick and not so perfect photoshop adjustments (to eliminate people's shoulders or heads!)

Currently, Anne-Marie is still at the beautiful historic Old Mill with her new husband and family. By now she's probably feeling like a movie star with all the photographs she's having done.

In a couple of hours I will be rejoining her, along with all the other guests for a night of food, drinks and celebration.

Feel free to leave your comments here for Anne-Marie. When I see her again, I'll be telling her that I've posted this blog so I'm sure she'll be checking in sometime soon to see what type of post I've done and comments that have been received.

Being thankful

Friends are something really special. As people living south to me celebrate thanksgiving, I am thankful for the friendships that I have. I don't have a husband and/or children. So friends in my life are extra important. And, to have caring and loving friends like these, makes me feel incredibly blessed and thankful.

Highlight of my week-end, having nothing to do with the activities that were done.

On the weekend, I traveled to a tiny horse breeding farm south of Ottawa to spend the week-end with a bunch of girlfriends. While I’m relatively new to this group, it has been meeting approximately every two months for about six years.

The group began after one of the girl’s husbands suffered a terrible tragedy due to her husband committing suicide. At that time, the seven founding members of this “group” took turns to look after her. They realized after a while that the 24-hour support would have to stop – but they didn’t want to completely stop giving her support. These women, whom are mothers, grandmothers and career women with busy lives, didn’t want to get caught up in their own lives and lose touch with Linda so they formalized this group.

Every two months a pot-luck dinner is hosted by one of the women and the gang all stay overnight so they don’t have to worry about driving home. Each dinner has a theme and fun is had.

I feel very fortunate to be best friends with two of the original seven members and am honoured to be part of their extended “sisterhood”. These get-togethers have nothing to do with gossip or “hen pecking” but have everything to do with love and caring for others in days of happiness and sadness. Linda, I’m happy to say is with a new man and this group has supported her every step of the way just as everyone in the group has supported each other.

I have had more than my share of tragedy in my life, but am thankful for what I have.

Have a good Week-end

I'm off with friends for an artistic adventure!

Photography, pottery, art on canvas

then
off to the spa for.....

body wraps, facials and back massages !!

I'm leading the photography and others are leading the other arts - quelle fun!

What will they think of next?

Today at work I was doing a media audit of stories on plastic bags and came across this story out of Japan. What do you think about this new invention?

JAPANESE women looking for a place to hold their melons while shopping may soon have an alternative - their bra.

In a bid to discourage the shopaholics from using plastic bags, a lingerie maker has unveiled a bra with cup padding that unfolds to become a handheld shopping bag.

The bra-turned-bag is made of recycled polyester fibre with straps that can be tied onto the bag as ribbons.

Japanese shops hand out some 30billion plastic bags a year but almost a third are thrown away without being reused.

A spokesman for Triumph said: "In this context, what deserves the most attention is the significance of each and every customer understanding the importance of not using plastic bags."

The company has sought a patent for the eco-bra, although there are no plans yet to put it on general sale.

Nine "weird" things about me. Answering Anne-Marie's tag

1. I love word play and constantly come up with (what friends refer to as) horrendous puns.

2. I’m a sucker for total darkness at night and have 2 sets of curtains on one curtain rod (to block out outside light) in both my bedroom and living room.

3. I like to sit in total darkness while listening to soft classical music before going to bed at night.

4. I have a melody for every moment and can break out in song at any time during a conversation.

5. I like to act like a monster in front of my cats while making growling noises, having my arms stretched high and wide, with a funny walk towards them. They’re so used to this that they usually just jump up on the closest chair to get a friendly pet after I’m finished with these strange movements.

6. I’m a sucker for intelligent men – regardless of race or vocation. To me it’s the hugest turn-on.

7. One can often see me on the street with the most peculiar grin on my face, smiling from ear to ear, while I’m in some far away place of thought.

8. I am extremely spiritual, but have a difficult time talking about it.

9. I am usually very shy, but work in communications, which entails a lot of public relations!

Oh, and like Anne-Marie, I too have way too many pictures of my cats!

Reflections: a page from my diary and thoughts from today

September 2, 2004

I'm on the train right now [leaving France] and am in Germay - no sign of customs - the times have changed in a united Europe ...

later that day:

I'm in the the Platz in front of Cologne's Cathedral next to the Rhine River listening to Raggae and now an accordian version of Vivaldi's 4-seasons - what a Global Village! ... I notice that Cologne, which was almost completely destroyed from allied bombing is really is a rebuilt city. It's not very interesting due to its lost architecture and what was replaced are drab buildings form the 1950s. This makes me reflect on the changing of history. 60 years ago we were at war and today there is a united Europe - pretty amazing. I'm glad I live in this age ... God Bless You Grandma and Grandpa for living during your time [in WW I] and helping to make this place better for us. And thank you Uncle Gordon [a fighter pilot in WWII] - But what a price you paid.

While I was writing this, I actually had tears in my eyes (I can be such a suck) but history's events really hit me between the eyes in a way that I hadn't anticipated. Sometimes, living in North America we get removed from the happenings of two world wars, even though their events influence how we live today. Somehow, I believe that I went to the boring city of Cologne just for that reason.

So, thanks to all who gave up their lives or went through horrible things such as losing spouses, relatives and friends or having to endure what my uncle did by living three of his life as a prisoner of war.

Today, I wish that war could be stopped, however, that doesn’t seem to be possible on this precious planet. However, I wish we all could give peace a chance.

later Today

Right after writing this blog in draft today at 10:30 a.m. I walked over to our downtown mall, the Eaton's Centre, to get some light bulbs and a few other things. In doing so, I walked thru the Ryerson University campus at about 10:45 and saw some students on the residence grounds writing the words "we remember" in chalk on a cement walkway. At 11:00 I was in one of the city’s largest department stores where they made an announcement of silence and you couldn’t even hear a pin drop – it was very moving.

I think today as events go on in Iraq and soldiers are in Afghanistan many people of younger generations are understanding more about what this day really means. So, as this day comes to a close, I will say a prayer for peace.

In Flanders Fields

IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD

The association of the Poppy to those who had been killed in war has existed since the Napoleonic Wars in the 19th century, over 110 years before being adopted in Canada and the British commonwealth. There exists a record from that time of how thickly Poppies grew over the graves of soldiers in the area of Flanders, France. This early connection between the Poppy and battlefield deaths described how fields that were barren before the battles exploded with the blood-red flowers after the fighting ended.

Just prior to the First World War, few Poppies grew in Flanders. During the tremendous bombardments of that war, the chalk soils became rich in lime from rubble, allowing “popaver rhoeas” to thrive. When the war ended, the lime was quickly absorbed and the Poppy began to disappear again.

The person who was responsible more than any other for the adoption of the Poppy as a symbol of Remembrance in Canada and the Commonwealth was Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae, a Canadian Medical Officer during the First World War.

World Stupidity Awards

World Champions of Stupidity Revealed

Winners for 4th Annual World Stupidity Awards Announced

US President Bush wins Award for Being "Most Out of touch with Reality"
Middle East takes Lifetime Achievement Award for Stupidity

The 4th Annual World Stupidity Awards has revealed this year's global champions of stupidity and ignorance, as decided by a worldwide Internet vote.

Details on the winners, taken directly from their website is below. For further - go to: http://stupidityawards.com/winners.html

An American judge who presided over several murder trials while attached to a throbbing penis pump was voted Stupidest Man of the Year - edging out US Vice President Dick Cheney and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (neither men are not known to use the device while working). "I think this sends a clear warning to all the other penis pumping judges, airline pilots and heart surgeons," said World Stupidity Awards SpokesMoron Robert Spence, "turn off that penis pump now!

Although some are already calling this a humiliating defeat for Cheney, the Vice President took the award for having created the Stupidest Moment of the Year when he shot his friend in the face during a hunting trip instead of a bird. "Although Vice President Cheney had worthy adversaries," said Spence, "you must bear in mind, the Cheney shooting unleashed a series of stupid events, and helped create what would become this year's stupidest statement.
In the category of Stupidest Statement of the Year, a comment by Cheney's shooting victim Harry Whittington was the clear winner. After Cheney shot him, Whittington, a lawyer said: "My family and I are deeply sorry for all that Vice President Cheney and his family have had to go through this past week."

Always a contender, US President George W. Bush won the hotly contested new category, the Disinformation Stupidity Award for Being Most out of Touch with Reality. "I think the feeling from voters is that all the nominees, which included Michael Jackson, Tom Cruise and Hilary Clinton, were deserving," said Spence. "The award, however, went to the person most out of touch with reality, while having the most influence on it." President Bush was also awarded with his own category this year after voters complained that his presence in the Stupidest Statement category was unfair to other nominees.

The President's statement that won the Stupidest Statement by President George W. Bush was Bush's famous Katrina disaster line "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job." It beat out "Wow, Brazil is big!" and even "I am the decider." Killing people for God won in the category of Stupidest Trend of the Year, followed closely by the media's tendency towards glibly an nouncing that World War 3 has already begun. The trend towards showing off Ass Cleavage brought up the rear. "Killing people for God was voted a clear victor in this category," said Spence. "And it probably serves as a reminder to check with your god before murdering innocent people, as most gods will send you directly to hell." The Middle East itself was awarded the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award for Stupidity.

We're halfway thru the season.

I was just thinking today how quickly time is flying. I was reviewing my work schedule and shudder at how much I have to accomplish before the end of the year. It's only 28 days until I see the Who and 46 days until I fly to British Columbia for a Western family Christmas.

I also realize that November 6 is the 310th day of the year with 55 days remaining until we reach 2007.

With 88 days between the equinox on September 23 and the solstice on December 21, we're halfway through the Autumn or Spring season (depending on which hemisphere you live in!

Thank goodness I only have one more Christmas present left to get!

Winter, where I live, is on its way. What is your favourite thing about Winter?

My favourite is walking on freshly fallen snow that crinkles when you walk upon it on a clear crisp sunny morning.

Six Degrees of Separation pared down to zero

Thank you “crazy sis” for introducing me to this blogging system.

I first heard about blogging last winter when Dale was talking about her daily activities over the phone. I remember her talking about friends she made all over the world, including this school teacher in Toronto and how real, genuine and fun the whole blogging thing was. However, it wasn’t until Dale and I met up this summer at Mum and Dads and I saw her sit and their computer that I really became interested in this “strange world of blogging”.

After I returned home, I immediately started blogging myself. It was a lonely and solitude place at first, until I started talking to some of Dale’s blogging friends. Well, when they learned that I was Dale’s sister – every embraced and welcomed me to blogging land, including this Toronto school teacher.

Being fortunate enough to live in Toronto, this teacher and I met up and we became instant friends. This teacher, Anne-Marie is so lively, intelligent, spontaneous, genuine, verbose and funny that you can’t help but want her to be your friend. I was lucky because she seemed to like me and so we instantly became good friends.

Last night I was honoured to be invited to Anne-Marie’s pool hall wine shower by her lovely sister. I went and met a whole crowd of wonderfully warm, intelligent and lively woman. Lucky for me we were all at the same pool playing “skill” level. I use quotations because I’m not sure how much “skill” was actually in this crowd. Myself included!

I am equally honoured to have been invited to Anne-Marie’s wedding on November 25^th. I am looking forward to attending, will bring my camera and will report back to all our blogging friends quickly.

I find myself to be extremely lucky to live close enough to Anne-Marie to go to the wedding. However, knowing her, she wishes that all of us in “blog land” lived close by because I’m sure she would invite the whole gang if it were possible.

So, thank you sis for introducing this great new communication mechanism to me. Even tho you live thousands of kilometers/miles away from me, you introduced me to a new good friend.

Hummm, who do I bring to the wedding? All the men I currently know are either gay, married or in relationships. lol

Is this a symbol for a Canadian hockey goalie on the logo?

You might laugh, but when the 2010 Vancouver Olympic organization announced their logo for the Winter Games, some people thought it was! Good grief.

The Inukshuk, which means "likeness of person" was first used by the Inuit People (aka Eskimos) to mark trails, indicate caches of food, locate nearby settlements as well as to mark good places to hunt or fish. Most of the Canadian arctic is dominated year round by permafrost so it only has a few natural landmarks which can be used for orientation. Thats why Inukshuks are used as directional markers.

The rock Inukshuk embodies the spirit and persistence of the Inuit who live and flourish in Northern Canada, one of the world's harshest environments. Inukshuk's represent strength, leadership and motivation

A few years ago my parents travelled to Canada's north and saw many inukshuks and decided to make one on their lawn.

The Ghosts and Goblins are coming out in North America, amended to include songs

Here's a picture of the pumpkin that I carved out yesterday for Halloween. It was supposed to look like "Herman" from the Munsters, however I think he looks far too jolly and/or dazed to be an authentic replica.


"Herman" is currently sitting on the balcony in front of my condominium.

Halloween Carol #1:

Dashing through the streets
In our costumes bright and gay
To each house we go
Laughing all the way

Oh Pumpkin Bells, Pumpkin Bells
Ringing loud and clear
Oh what fun Great Pumpkin brings
When Halloween is here

Halloween Carol #2:

On the (nth) day of Halloween
My true love gave to me

1. An owl sitting in a dead tree
2. Two trick-or-treaters
3. Three black cats
4. Four skeletons
5. Five scary spooks
6. Six goblins gobbling
7. Seven pumpkins glowing
8. Eight monsters shreiking
9. Nine ghosts a-booing
10. Ten ghouls a-groaning
11. Eleven casks a-leering
12. Twelve bats a-flying

Halloween Carol #3:

Screech owls hoot, are you listening?
Beneath the moon, all is glistening
A real scary sight, we're happy tonight
Waiting in a pumpkin wonderland

Later on, while we're eating
What we got trick-or-treating
We'll share all our sacks of
Halloween snacks

Waiting in a pumpkin wonderland

Halloween Carol #4:

I'm dreaming of the Great Pumpkin
Just like I do this time each year
When he brings nice toys
To good girls and boys
Who wait for him to appear

I'm dreaming of the Great Pumpkin
With every pumpkin card I write
May your jack-o'-lanterns burn bright
When the Great Pumpkin visits you tonight

An inconvenient truth - A must see

I just came home from seeing a very informative film "An inconvenient truth".

This film follows one man’s crusade to bring home the terrifying truth about global warming to ordinary people before it’s too late. The film was produced by Al Gore - the man who, had it not been for controversial Supreme Court decision on the 2000 US election, would have become President of the United States.

Combining hard science with Gore’s passion and drive, the film makes for compelling viewing.

The film follows Gore on his seemingly selfless crusade to educate the world that global warming is an imminent threat, interspersing interviews with long sequences capturing Gore's elaborate traveling slide show on the issue.

The film is a magnificent primer on global warming and a tough-love commentary on how today's energy gluttony could be endangering tomorrow.

To be sure, Gore does take the occasional jab at business interests, the Bush administration and naysayers who remain noncommittal about whether global warming is real or simply a result of natural cycles. So he's not entirely an apolitical saint doing what's right by humanity.

Yet even skeptics who go in scornfully figuring Gore is serving his own self-interests may come away wondering, what's in it for him? Gore has said he does not plan to seek office again and that spreading the word on global warming will be his main pursuit from now on.

In "An Inconvenient Truth," Gore comes across as a man without a personal agenda, following a cause for the greater good, whether you believe in it or not. Gore has believed since college in the 1960s, when he took a class from Roger Revelle, a pioneer in global-warming studies.

Gore lays out the science behind the notion that our fuel emissions act like an envelope, trapping heat in the atmosphere and causing glacial retreat, the melting of polar ice caps, increases in hurricane intensity and other climate changes.

The film includes footage of the devastation Hurricane Katrina wrought on New Orleans and images of melting glaciers, evaporating lakes and the vanishing snows of Mount Kilimanjaro. It shows what could happen if ice covering Greenland and Antarctica continues to melt -- huge tracts of Florida flooded and the site of the World Trade Center Memorial under water. Other areas could be hit by drought and disease, while the world may have to cope with widespread relocation of refugees fleeing deluged coastlines.

The scientific evidence Gore shares is alarming, but the film lays out steps to reverse the warming trend -- a combination of conservation and new energy technology. All that's lacking is the political will, Gore says.

This is a must see, in my opinion, for everyone on this planet.

Pirates, thieves, pedophiles and porn. Where did the internet, and its promise to improve our lives, go wrong?

Pornography, gambling, lies, theft and terrorism: The Internet Sucks (where did we go wrong) states the front page article of last week’s Macleans magazine (Canada’s equivalent to America’s Newsweek or NY Times).

Is this true? I wonder ….

I wonder how many times the author used Google, Yahoo or another search engine to do his basic research. In my opinion, the Internet has provided positive changes to society.

I found the article to be somewhat one-sided to be on the front cover of Canada’s leading news magazine. For example the article uses only one professor’s opinion to conclude that the Internet has failed to offer anything new to the world. “The internal combustion engine, refrigeration, even air condition, had profound impacts on our lives, making the impossible practical. The Web does nothing of the sort” … “e-mails replace faxes and phone calls. Online shopping replaces sales that used to be made through a catalogue. And for all but the most socially isolated, every hour spent trolling through chat rooms replaces an hour that might otherwise have been spent in real, live conversation”.

Very little is devoted to what’s working. The author spends little space to what is working. The internet has helped exchange data over greater distances at greater speeds than previous technologies. Medical doctors use the internet to send information over to diagnostic clinics for instant results; in my own life I have an instant encyclopedia at my fingertips … I could go on and on, but why bother?

Like every technology out there – there will always be both positive and negative aspects. To me, the internet is just another communication medium that has influenced several hundreds of current processes we do at both home and at work.

St. Sauveur

Today, in the Laurentian Mountains, the road ahead is leading us to the (once) quaint little town of St. Sauveur. This town gained fame world-wide about 20 years ago for refusing to have a MacDonald's restaurant in it because town council felt it would ruin the charm of this town. A friend from Switzerland who visited it with me years ago remembered that story making the press over there!

The mountain in the distance is the ski hill where I learned to ski. It might not be as impressive as the rocky mountains displayed on Dale's blog, however, this mountain has significance for her to as it was her first ski hill as well. In fact, when we were young, we really were "Chicks on sticks" because the ski school we learned to ski was called "The Ski Chicks"!

This is a picture of my friend RJ, standing in the foreground of the green and picturesque "Hill 70" ski run. I loved this ski run for all of it's moguels and when I was young my ambition was to be able to ski it well. While it took some time to accomplish that - the hill was conquered - along with more fierce ski runs at other ski resorts, including those in my beloved French Alps.



Like most French Canadian communities in the province of Quebec, this town has the ever-prominent Catholic church, which stands proudly in the town centre, in front of our family's favourite "apres ski" bakery.





Oh, the memories of Page's bakery. At four o'clock sharp, we would race off the ski hill to make it to Page's bakery (pictured in the distance) with the maroon awning) before all their freshly made loaves, direct from a wood burning oven, were sold out. They usually sold out in 15 minutes!

We'd then drive back to the Montreal suburbs to usually eat some hearty baked beans soaked up in this mouth watering bread!

My trip back to this town sure brought back some memories. Below is a picture taken by my parents from "Hill 70" in the 1960s.
Hope you enjoyed my trip back memory lane. Guess I'm not the only one who is looking forward to skiing this upcoming winter. This brings to an end my thanksgiving photo journey.

Bridges

When away for Thanksgiving week-end, all the lakes and rivers were swelling from the huge amount of rain the area had received.

Because of this, I seemed to be paying more attention to some of the area's bridges so I took some photos.

This photo to the left is the little bridge on my parent's road that goes over Lost River, the river which feeds into the lake.


This second picture is of RJ's and my reflection on Lost River, taken from the bridge.

I'm sooo glad that it turned out.




The next two photos are a rivertop's view of the bridge that I took while on our canoe jaunt.




On a normal day, when the water isn't so high, we can paddle under the bridge. And, when the water is at it's normal height a small island can be seen under the middle post of the bridge. But certainly not on this day! So many youthful times were spent at this bridge.

Another bridge that crosses Lost River is on the main highway. So when I had to go to the little country store to pick up some beer, I ran across the road and snapped these.



This bridge is in the little town of Lost River.








I just love the contrast between the mirror-like calm water instantly churning into torrential rapids. Perhaps it is an illustration of how life can be a times.


This last photo (below) is taken over the Rouge River. Again, because the water is so high, the water in these rapids is churning wildly.


I have one distinct memory of this bridge when I was a child. I was horseback riding over the bridge and was very spooked because this strong bridge, made entirely of metal with metal pieces criss-cross each other (similar to the sides of the bridge), allows you to look right thru the bridge to the water below. I didn't like that idea and was afraid to cross the bridge - especially on something as high as a horse! I actually remember being terrified - but not anymore.