Tuesday Here We Come

It's Tuesday morning and I don't know what I am going to post today. I'll just see where this will take me.....and you.


Oh yes, yesterday we were in Halifax sitting in our car sipping our coffee/tea and Ron said 'look over there'. I did and saw this.

I follow a blog called The Hen House and some of you may be familiar with Penny, the bloggeress(?). Check her blog out here, you'll really like it.

So I took a few pictures of this shop which is located in a unique area of the city called the Hydrostone, of which I have previously spoken.

Since it is Tuesday we will bringing lunch to Dad today. Last evening I made a chicken stew which he seemed to enjoy the last time I made it. We'll see......

Actually Dad should be calling pretty soon as he does every Tuesday morning with a small 'shopping' list of things he needs.

Ever since he stopped driving, about a year ago, he finds it frustrating that he has to depend on his kids to do things for him. He was always a very independent man and to have to depend on someone is new to him. We assure him that it is no bother to us, but it is difficult for him at times.

As can be seen in this post, we also went for a walk yesterday in our favourite Halifax park, Point Pleasant Park. It was devastated in 2003 by Hurricane Juan, thousands of trees fell like matchsticks. A real shame but now you can see the ocean from the centre of the park! And lots of little trees are beginning to grow. So in a few generations it will be back to the grandeur it once was.

Dad just called and 'placed his order'. So off we go. Have a great day everyone.

Contemplative Monday

“The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself.” –Henry Miller

This 'fog' was coming from a few Spruce trees this past Saturday morning......the temperature was rising.

Sunday's Selection

Today is my mother's birthday. She would have been 90 years old. Having died three years ago, it is always nice to stop and think about her.

                                    This is my mother and father in 1938 before they were married. That's a bottle of Coke in his hand!


Mom had a very difficult life. She was diagnosed with Bipolar illness many years ago. As some of you may be aware, Bipolar illness requires medication if one is to have a reasonably 'comfortable' (for lack of a better word) life.

My Mom was very inconsistent with her meds. In fact for most of her adult life she refused to take anything to help her. Needless to say this made life very interesting around our house!

But, when I stop to remember Mom I do not think about the 'highs' and 'lows' she had. I remember her gentleness and soft voice. She was a very considerate and compassionate woman. And could she knit!!! And bake too. No one can come near her 'tea biscuits'. She used to say: " In order to make the best biscuits you can't 'work' them too much". I still don't have it down!

So today, on the anniversary of my mother's birth, I would like to send out this 'Sunday Selection' to her. I know if there was a way for her to be 'listening', she'd find it.

This was one of her favourite songs. It is by Nova Scotia's own Anne Murray.

Retro Saturday

The Sally Ann thrift store (aka The Salvation Army) in Dartmouth is turning into my favourite shop to find interesting things. 

The people there are very helpful and will go out of their way to help you find something and make sure your items are well -wrapped before leaving the store.

On Monday past I picked up these little gems.

First, a 'chintz' plate. It was obviously part of a tiered dessert set of trays.....thus the hole in the middle. There is something very warm and cozy about 'chintz' pieces that I have always liked. Plus it was only $1.99.

The marking on the back of this plate shows a date and where it was made.

I hesitated before I bought the next two items. 

However, one had the remains of a 'sticker' on it of which I am always a sucker. Also they were very light weight, unlike most 'mugs'. And they were made in Japan. When I saw the price they were mine.....49 cents each!!!

The next two casserole dishes, each with covers, caught my eye immediately because of the patterns which didn't look familiar at all. The first one is Pyrex and made in England. It was $3.99.

The next casserole was made by Federal Glass. I really liked the crisp floral design. It was $1.99.

I am having second thoughts about the covers for these casseroles. They fit okay but just don't look like the originals. Oh well, they will pass.

Hope you all have a great Saturday and find a few treasures of your own!

One more thing! There is a great 'give-away' going on at http://vonlipisfavorites.blogspot.com/2010/11/totally-awesome-holiday-giveaway.html.

Check it out.

Do You Read Your Horoscope?

I love reading my horoscope but only if it is by Rob Brezsny.


There is a local weekly newspaper here in Halifax called The Coast and it was here that I discovered Mr.Brezsny's horoscope column called Free Will Astrology.





Since I am a Cancer and Mr.Brezsny is also, I feel I am getting the 'inside scoop' of the meaning of life. Not really, but I do find his writing and explanation of the world of astrology to be intelligent, humourous at times and insightful.





I know some horoscopes tend to dump all people together under their individual 'signs' and there is no escaping their narrow parameters. In Free Will Astrology you don't get that group/clone mentality.





Some people take astrology/horoscopes very seriously as does Rob Brezsny. There just may be more to astrology than meets the eye.





I, for one, think there is something to the notion that the time and place of our birth can and does have an effect on our lives. It is up to us if we wish to acknowledge this.





There is something mysterious about all of this too. I guess that is what attracts me the most......a sense of the unknown and unexplained. Plus  it is exciting when your horoscope is EXACTLY YOU!!! How did they know?! lol





Have some fun with your astrological sign. Check out this guy and see what you think.

It Gets Better as Told by the Elders.

I have borrowed this from Justin Dunes blog today. Thanks Justin. It contains a lot of wisdom from folks 'who have been there'.


Happy Thanksgiving to all you Americans out there.

Qi Gong at the Beach

We had our first 'sprinkle' of snow last night. No big deal....only a few centimeters. We had the snow tires put on last week and we are ready for anything!!!


After lunch with Dad (we had Japanese) Ron, Sophie and I headed to the beach. It had turned quite mild.....4C degrees and no wind! Perfect for walking.

Since it was low tide, we walked along the beach instead of taking the boardwalk and trail. What a difference it made with no wind.......much like late March around here.

Sophie was very happy to be on the beach. There were some sandy areas, so she had a ball (literally too) running everywhere.

When we got to the far end of the beach, the sun was starting to break through and a blue sky appeared in the east. It was really quite nice. So I thought it would be good to do some Qi Gong.

It took about 15 minutes to go through the 7 movements. As I was staring out at the Atlantic Ocean, I couldn't help but feel a sense of exhilaration. As always, whenever we do Qi Gong at the beach Sophie digs the obligatory hole!

I've said this before but I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have accessibility to the ocean. I've  read somewhere that there are a lot of negative ions along the ocean's edge. When one walks near it positive vibes are created and you feel really good. Read more here if you don't believe me!

After the Qi Gong I took a few pictures to try and capture a 'sense' of the beach today. 

If you have a chance, why not treat yourself and go for a walk in the mountains ( no wonder you always feel so good Inger), near a water-fall or along a beach. 


Oh yeah, with doing the Qi Gong and all those negative ions, we 'floated' home.....I think.

Two Good Movies

As I mentioned last week, I borrowed four movies from the local library. 


I have since watched a couple more. Hemingway's Adventures of A Young Man was made in 1962. It was filled with quite a few 'stars' of the time, like Paul Newman, Eli Wallach, Dan Dailey, Diane Baker and starring Richard Beymer. 

The film covers the life of a young man, played by Richard Beymer, attempting to 'move out' from under his family's wing. He takes the leap and heads for NYC in search of employment with a newspaper company.


A lot happens along the way to his dream job, including enlisting in the war, the first World War. 


The film is dated and the sets are just that....mostly sets and this is obvious. You know how some older films look and sound like a 'broadway' play? But it is a good movie nonetheless. Mostly due to Richard Beymer and Diane Baker, his love interest. It is a good movie with good old-fashioned morals and values.


Now I come to the film that I feel was the best one of the four I chose, by far. It is William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. 

Al Pacino! The movie was Al Pacino. He was incredible as the Jewish money-lender, Shylock.  Lyn Collins played the role of Portia. Besides being very beautiful to look at, she gave a very strong and convincing performance as a very strong woman who knew what she wanted from a man.


Joseph Fiennes plays the role of Bassanio. He wants the 'hand' of Portia but in order to do so he borrows a lot on money from his close friend, Antonio (Jeremy Irons). And thus the plot 'takes off'.


Fiennes is very convincing in his pursuit of Portia and his 'love' for his friend, Antonio.


Jeremy Irons' role was very dramatic and gut-wrenching. Without being overly negative about his performance, suffice it to say I am not a fan of his work but I do accept he has talent. Maybe it's his intensity and vigor he puts into his roles that I don't appreciate and find exhausting......far too dramatic and difficult to watch. Enough said.


If you can, see this film. It is so educational on many levels......friendship, romance, racism, bigotry, religion, history, the English language.


No wonder it was rated one of 2005's Best Pictures. Hope you get a chance to see this movie. It is jam-packed with everything and very entertaining.

Contemplative Monday

I got this 'message' from The Universe recently and it hit a chord with me. Maybe it will 'hit' you too.


Just as the acorn existed within the oak, even when the oak was a seedling; and as the oak existed within the earth, even before there were trees; and as the earth existed within the galaxy, even before there were planets... there has never been a time when you did not exist within me... during which we dreamed all else into being.

Far out.

Love you.

Well done.

Happy everything,
    The Universe

              Purple Beech in the Fall of 2010.

Sunday's Selection

In May of this year one of my favourite female singers of all-time passed. Her name is Lena Horne.

I was always so intrigued with her life. It was difficult at first for her. Having African American heritage, it wasn't easy in her formative years as a singer. She had to put up with and live through a lot of bigotry and racism. She succeeded in spite of it all.

Check out her biography/ time-line here. An amazing life of an amazing woman.

Here she is a little later in life: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPvZR6DTbq8&feature=channel

Retro Saturday

You guessed it! I was back at the 'thrift' shops this week. 

This looked like Delft at first. But I realized it was 'delft' Japan. Not the Holland Delft. I still like it and have no idea what it would be used for. Do you? Too small for candy. It has a hair-line crack in the 'head' section but not at all noticeable.

It think it's really cute.

Got this little collection of Hull, USA pottery in two separate shops. Looked it up and the company started in  Crooksville, Ohio in 1905. They make all kinds of ceramic and pottery items.

This little 'jigger' caught my eye because it was a souvenir from Prince Edward Island. We spent almost a month there this summer.

This is an iridescent glass dish and I think it's from the 'depression era'. There are no 'marks' on it but it was very grimy and had to be cleaned up. But it has that 'depression' look.

I have a lot of Fire King items around the house and this small baking dish is another to add to the collection. It may have had a cover originally, but no longer.

Speaking of Fire King, here's another I found. 

It is called 'luster ware' and was all by itself without the saucer.


Hey, you would think that we had a huge house in which to put all this stuff. We don't! Some day I will sell it all just like I planned years ago......upon retirement.


Have a great Saturday everyone!!!