Birthday Brunch

We were invited  to a birthday brunch with the 'girls' for my sister's 50th today.

                         Brynn (niece) and Mim.


The place was very busy but we managed to get a table for 8 after a little bit of shuffling around the restaurant.

                     Mim, Brynn, Ellie and Ron.


It was good to meet a couple of Mim's friends that we hadn't met before. Everyone was pretty hepped-up and starving!

                   Diane, Mim and Kim (before we moved to another table).


This was just the start of the day for these ladies! They had lots planned for Mim's day.

                                 Kit, Kim, Diane, Mim, Brynn, Ellie and Ron.


Happy Birthday Mary Elizabeth! Can't believe you are all growed up!

Branding

No I have not turned toward the 'open country' and do not plan to become a cowboy of any sort!!





But 'branding' has been on my mind lately, particularly when it comes to my favourite products.


Thanks to Santa, I have been in the market for a camera....my own. You see we, Ron and I, have been sharing his camera for a while now. He has a Nikon D50. 





And you know there comes a time when a guy just has to have his own stuff! lol


So last evening we went to our favourite camera shop and bought one. It looks like this:


 




You see, I have always had a Nikon camera and they have served me well. My first one was a 'used' one. It was a Nikon F which was  originally used by professionals. It was a manual camera.......totally. So, needless to say, I had to learn how to operate it if I wanted any pictures at all!







I learned quickly and used it for years. It was a very heavy camera but produced such good photos.This was the first SLR (single lens reflex) professional camera Nikon made back in 1959. I bought mine (used) in the 80's sometime.


So, when digital made it's presence, we switched and haven't looked back.


Where am I going with this post!!?? lol.  "Branding".....right. Why do people pick a brand/company and stick with it?


I stick with certain brands because I have had success with them and have been satisfied with what they are supposed to do.


Another example where we are 'stuck' on a brand is with televisions. We love Sony for the same reasons as for Nikon.


This is not to say that other brands are not good. They are. But isn't it strange that some people stick to their brand. 


Or is it just us? What do you think? Do you have a certain brand that you prefer and would not switch to another, no matter what!?

It's That Time!!!

All photos were tken at the beach last week by hubby Ron.
Yes folks, it's that time of year when we think about how we will make our lives better in the coming year ahead.


Call it what you will, but this really is a great time to reflect and see how we can make 'things' better for ourselves and thus for others.

So on that theme I would like to share with you what Deepak Chopra thinks will really enhance our lives for the better.

He recently gave an interview for Zoomer magazine here in Canada. In the article/interview, Chopra, the MD-turned-wellness Guru, shares his ultimate longevity prescription.....from the biological imperative to the consciousness question.

They are really straight forward and I will list them:


1. Have your physician define your current biomarkers with a simple blood test.


2. Define your wellness goals.


3. Develop and maintain nutritional balance.


4. Get aerobic and anaerobic exercise.


5. Never smoke. If you do smoke now, quit.


6. Take a moderate approach.


7. Make sleep a priority.


8. Manage your stress.


9. Embrace joy.


Looks and sounds like a lot to chew on! But you will probably be surprised that you are already aware of a few of them. The hard part is to kick start some of these!

Chopra says: "You can actually reverse the biological markers of aging by 10, 15, even 20 years. Your chronological age does not need to correspond to your biological age."

He continues: "In my view, the body is just the objective experience of our consciousness--it's a process, it's not a structure."


I guess what he is getting at is that our 'life-style' directly effects our health.  Certainly not 'rocket-science'! If we are not taking an active role in the health of our bodies and minds, we will 'age' prematurely. One can be 40 or 50 years old but have a body of a 70 or 80 year old.

So what can we do? Well, I would pick a few from the above list, ones that are easily do-able right now, and learn what is involved with each and make them part of your life.


Once you have these 'under control', look at the rest and pick a few more that you can handle. And so on. But don't think you can do them all at once! Be reasonable with yourself and know your limits.

"People who are constantly in a hurry....speed up the biological clock. People who think they have all the time in the world, however, have a slower biological clock", says Chopra."It's also whether you have peak moments in life of joy and ecstasy."

We may want to consider, during this 'resolution' period of the upcoming year,  more healthy choices and making them achievable/attainable. What have we got to lose.......10, 15, or 20 years?

Contemplative Monday

" We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them."
-Albert Einstein 

Christmas Is For Family

            Me making the cakes for Christmas Eve while Sophie awaits patiently for something, anything to fall!

What a whirlwind the last few days have been!


Got to love this time of year. We turn into different creatures, full of energy and rearing to go!

Birthday cake for my sister Mary ........ surprised her too!!!


Guess that's what makes Christmas so special. We find time for friends and family and have quality time with them.

Mary blowing out the candles on Christmas Eve.


Just a sampling of photos from our Christmas, starting with Christmas Eve which was held at my Dad's house. Close to 30 of the clan were there and it went very smoothly mainly due to my sister, Paula. This gal has boundless energy and always has time to do whatever is necessary to make a get-together successful.

                           Jodi (nephew Kyle's fiancee) with 'new addition Payton....8 week English Mastiff


Considering the number of people there, it wasn't that crazy like it used to be. Guess everyone (nieces and nephews) is growing up now....only two young kids there (great nieces).

Sarah Jane (great niece) with Payton.


Christmas was quiet in our house this year. We got up around 8 A.M. and had the obligatory breakfast (my favourite meal of the day!).

Sisters Mary (Mim), Jo-Ann and Paula...Christmas Eve.


After we ate we opened a few gifts.

                  Sophie with her new toy from Santa!

                 A 'single malt' from one of my nieces and nephew.


We decided to have Christmas dinner here for a change. We had always (for years) been invited out to Paula's place but declined this year to do something different.

Santa gave me two kinds of my fav tea!!

It worked out well actually. We ate around 1 P.M. and had a huge meal with about seven vegetables!!

                             Ron 'displaying' a gift....I am SO dead!

                 Sophie getting in on the action!


Today we had company before noon. We were 'ready' for them as Paula 'warned' us she and her husband would be here and their daughter Jami and her husband Dustin and dog Fenway were on their way from northern Nova Scotia and were heading to our place first!

                     Jami with Sophie and Fenway

We got up at 7 and ate....told you, we'd be crazy(er) without breakfast! Cleaned the house like nobody's business in no time flat and sat and waited for them.

                 Fenway 'trying out' Sophie's new toy.


I had also been busy making up something for them for lunch. Luckily there were a couple tins of frozen lobster I had especially for Christmas. Made a batch of Ron's Mom's mayonnaise.....presto! Along with freshly made cranberry sauce, it made for a nice chunky spread on crackers.......with raw veggies.

                 Sister Paula.


I just love my sister's family! We are close and always have been. She has always made a point to include us in her kid's upbringing. Jami is the oldest and has a younger sister Meghan and a younger brother Matt. It's the closest thing Ron and I have to having kid's of our own........we have spent a lot of time with them since they were infants.

                 Ongoing training for Fenway.........


I truly believe Christmas is for family. Time to re-connect where necessary and maintain what has already been established. 

Now to extend this 'great feeling' throughout the rest of the year......imagine the positive effect on this world of ours!

From Children's Eyes

Yesterday, a fellow blogger, Becky from Life With Kaishon, had this Christmas Story featured on her post.


It is priceless! Only children could capture the true nature of the Christmas story in all their naivety and uncluttered imagination.

Rain, Rain Go Away Come Again in Around May

                 Photos taken a few days ago....before all the rain!


Last evening another Nor'easter was heading our way. This would make it the third in as many weeks.

Luckily, I guess, each has been a 'rain event' and very windy. The temperature is about 5 degrees Celsius.

Just got back from 'town'......needed to pick up a few things for the next couple of days. We will be having the 'whole' family together at Dad's on the 24th.....30 plus people. We each bring something to eat and this year I am baking two (2) cakes.....a chocolate cake and a carrot cake.

I got the carrot cake recipe from David Lebovitz's blog. I can't go on enough about his blog, so I won't. Check it out though if you get a chance.

The chocolate cake recipe I got off the internet. It had rave reviews from a ton of people so I will try it out. I was looking for some really good dark chocolate truffles earlier but will have to get them in the city.....nothing suitable out our way.

While I was out this A.M. it was getting closer to lunch time. So I decided to get 'take-out' at this new Thai place. We have been there a couple of times and REALLY like it. It's not that far from here.......10 kms (meaning not in the city).

So I surprised Ron, and Sophie, with Thai Cashew Chicken, fresh Spring Rolls (uncooked) and Jasmine Rice. It was great.

Here's hoping you are all having a great week and are looking forward to a 'relaxing'(?) holiday.


Oh yes! Happy Winter Solstice everyone! Just think....each day will have more 'daylight' time from now on...can't beat that!

Contemplative Monday

"Whatever you fight, you strengthen, and what you resist, persists." - Eckhart Tolle

Sunday's Selection

We were watching a Christmas special the other night and the featured artists were the Canadian Tenors.

They each have very distinct voice styles and were able to 'show' this with a number of selections.

One of them was Hallelujah. I don't know if you are aware of it or not but Leonard Cohen, a Canadian, wrote this back in 1984.

Jeff Buckley and a number of other artists have recorded it as well. One that stands out for me is the one by K.D.Lang, by golly another Canadian!

                    All photos in this post were taken on Friday during our first snowfall.


Take the time to sit back, relax and enjoy the Canadian Tenor's version below.....you deserve it, especially that this is the 'countdown' week before the holidays!!!




Hope you all have a great day.....and week.

                   Hey Sharon! This owl is 'hootin' for you!