And The Winner Is....Spring, By A Mile!

That's right folks, Spring has beaten Winter this year along the eastern shore and Atlantic Coast of Nova Scotia!

          The mouth of Halifax Harbour as seen from Point Pleasant Park.


It has happened a couple times before. It is not a common occurrence around these parts.

         A way to go yet, but hey....no snow.


Winter didn't put on much of a show this year. During the past couple of months it was obvious that spring was gaining the upper hand over winter.

        You can see the reddish hue of the potential buds.


Winter was weak  and evidently was lacking the training needed to make/leave an impression.

        Where are the people on this bench? Good question!


Spring has been persistent and held on to it's advantage. It didn't once give up it's lead....mind you today was a close call with that shortly-lived snow squall moving through.

        OK, Ron is wearing a hat and gloves....it's all relative people!


So here's to Spring, the mostly forgotten and often beaten-up season of the year. Welcome!

                              Sophie finds a stream to cool her feet!

I wish I had photos to match the sentiment, (like daffodils and croci popping up all over) but you will have to trust me on this one. It is still February! 

Come On, Smile

Sometimes it is good to take a step back

and allow oneself to be completely immersed

 in everything that sparkles in your life.

 If you aren't careful it could just make you smile. 

Much like those first few sips of bubbly soda pop attacking your nose.

 Go ahead, find that sparkle in your life. Give it a try and don't hold back!

Contemplative Monday

THE COURAGE TO WAIT

"When you are like a keg of dynamite about to go off,

patience means just slowing down at that point----

just pausing----

instead of immediately acting on your usual, habitual response.

You refrain from acting,

you stop talking to your self,

and then you connect with the soft spot.

But at the same time you are completely

and totally honest with yourself

about what you are feeling.

You're not suppressing anything;

patience has nothing to do with suppression.

In fact, it has everything to do

with a gentle, honest relationship with yourself."

The above quote comes from 'Heart Advice'--Weekly Quotes from Pema Chodron. This particular quote is from her book: Practicing Peace In Times Of War.

Eclectic Tastes

Always liked this version by these four artists.


Going out to all you 'www.penpals'.

Retro Saturday

I was born in 1948. And I suppose some of you could think of me being as 'vintage' as the Olds in the following commercial from that year. I can take it! lol


I was rather surprised that this car was an 'automatic', I thought they came much later on. I guess I was too young to take heed of this 'new invention'.....I have always driven cars with a 'manual transmission' to this day! 

Free To Be, Soon

Sometimes I wish that we in the LGBT community had a spokesperson with the impact, passion and articulation of either  a Martin Luther King or a Nelson Mandela when they were campaigning for the rights of their peoples.


It could have accelerated 'the fight' and maybe all of this would have been behind us and we would have been free to be who we are years ago without the threat of breaking any laws.


But I can 'feel it in the air' that this issue will be behind us very soon.

Thinking Out Loud

These are photos of a neighbourhood in north end Halifax.

It is called the Hydrostone because the vast majority of homes were made from stone.

This was the extended area of the neighbourhood in which I grew up.

It was a 'working class' area that was totally devastated by an explosion in 1917.

This entire area of about 10 city blocks was paid for by the city of Boston after that explosion.

Today it is becoming the 'have to place' to live and shop in Halifax.

This residential and shopping area has become a Nova Scotia Heritage Site. Go figure, my old neighbourhood.

My Sisters Made Me Gay!

I was the 'third born' in a family of nine kids. My Dad got the baseball team he always wanted! lol


Having two older sisters I always found myself in unusual, but strangely comfy,  situations. Some I didn't object to....like being the 'practice' dance partner before Friday night dances. 


Some situations I probably should have run the other way! But I didn't. I chose to go along with their requests. It felt very natural and not foreign at all.


Take for example this scenario at the age of 12 :


Marilyn: " Jimmie I really need you to go downtown and get me something before I go out and I need them now !!"
Jimmie: "But I have something I have to do!"
Marilyn: " I'll pay you and give you the bus fare."
Jimmie: " OK. What do you want and where do I go?"
Marilyn: "Reitman's Lady's Wear" for a pair of nylons. And I want Autumn Leaves, size large."


                                                        


And away I went on the number 3 bus to downtown Halifax on several Saturday evenings.


Then there were those 'regular' monthly requests from Jo-Ann:


"Jimmie please run down to the drugstore for me."
Jimmie after several 'runs': " Let me guess, Special K?"
Jo-Ann: "Yes, thanks!"


And away I went. I always wondered what the big secret was!


                                            


You know, I really didn't think twice about doing any of these things and many other things for my sisters. I never questioned where or what it was.


Goes to show you that some things are already predetermined for us.

The Inevitable Is Coming To America

Living in Canada we, the LGBT community, no longer have to deal/worry/feel like second-class citizens any longer. It has become a 'non-issue'.



It always takes me by surprise that the progressive, powerful nation of the United States of America is still trying to figure this out.


If this man has anything to do with it, he will make the American people realize that gays/lesbians/bisexuals/transgendered people are first class citizens like everyone else.


I wish I could vote for him!!

If the Mayor of Newark, New Jersey wasn't convincing enough, here is another look at the 'debate' of whether homosexuals should be classified as first class citizens in the U.S.A.

Contemplative Monday

Be Patient With Pain

"Patience is a way to de-escalate aggression and it's accompanying pain.

This is to say that when you are feeling aggressive ----

and I think that this would go for any strong emotion ----

there's a seductive quality that pulls us

in the direction of wanting to get some resolution.

We feel restless, agitated, and ill at ease.

It hurts so much to feel the aggression

that we want it to be resolved.

Right then we could change the way

we look at this discomfort and practice patience."

Above quote comes from: Heart Advice: Weekly Quotes from Pema Chodron.

Eclectic Tastes

I know this clip is not a piece of music but it was 'music to my ears' last night when I watched it with my father at his house.


We were both spellbound by this movie.....the acting, the drama, the suspense. I remember seeing it the year it was made in 1967. I feel it is a classic movie in the true sense of the word....one that changed people's perspective about racism and one that would be remembered the next day. Not many of those around today.

Retro Saturday

I dedicate this post to my sister, Jo-Ann, who had a birthday on Thursday of this week.

In the photo below she is the one in the top row centre with the ringlettes!

She is 16 months older than I and we were 'as thick as thieves' when we were growing up.

I remember going to this St. Patrick's Day concert with my parents.......it was 1953.

Jo-Ann was in Primary.

Happy Birthday Jo!

Martello Tower, A Photo Essay

This is for all you history buffs, engineers (Annie), architects and the rest of us!

There's a lot of history in an old town (by North American standards, that is).