Contemplative Monday

SEEING OURSELVES

"One of the main discoveries of meditation is seeing

how we continually run away from the present moment,

how we avoid being here just as we are.

That's not considered to be a problem. The point is to see it."

The above quote taken from Heart Advice: Weekly Quotes from Pema Chodron.

Eclectic Tastes

Since flowers play an important part in most of our lives, I thought this to be appropriate this weekend. 

I also send this to a woman named Leontien who is having a health battle right now. I hope this gives her some cheer.

Retro Saturday

This cannon is pretty old and was used to fend off those frisky French back in the day when Halifax was an English stronghold defending and protecting what was then Canada.

I am very happy that my French great-great grandfather, Theodore, waited till all this was over.

He was smart and came here via France and the US in the mid 1850's when the conflict was history!

This cannon is one of a few that can be found in Point Pleasant Park in Halifax.

For Leontien

This post is for you Leontien.

I know you don't know me but when mutual 'blogger friends' request something in the hopes of 'picking up' someone's spirits, then I listen.

This is one of our favourite flowers in our garden this spring.

It is called 'Hellebore'  (thanks Deb!!) or 'Christmas Rose' (because in England it blooms at Christmas time, that makes sense, I guess)

I hope this lifts your spirits a bit and we here along the  Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada send you our best and all the positive energy we can muster up!

All the best to you Leontien.


If any one wants to add to this virtual bouquet you can do so by clicking on the Flowers For Leontien link on the upper left of this post.

Macro Mania

Now that the weather is consistently at or around 10 to 15 degrees Celsius, which is pretty normal for this part of Canada, flowers are showing their faces everywhere.

Armed with my macro lens today I ventured out into the garden and these are what I found:

 Corydalis Lutea (no yellow flowers yet)

 Azalea buds

 Hellebore / Christmas Rose (in England it blooms in December)

 Marsh Marigold

 Corkscrew Witch Hazel catkins

' William and Mary' / Lungwort

 Daffodil 

 Seed cone from Fir tree

 Pieris Japonica

 And my favourites again........'William and Mary'

Thinking Out Loud

Sometimes we live in an up-side-down world.

Dancing All Over The Place

At the mouth of Halifax Harbour there are two ways one could go:

into Halifax through the harbour

or in a northwest direction and into the Northwest Arm.

The park we frequent in Halifax is surrounded on three sides by these two bodies of water.

These little sailboats on the Northwest Arm reminded me of tropical fish dancing around

in the spring air on the weekend.

There was quite a breeze and these little fellas were jostling around all over the place.

Window Shopping In The Hydrostone

The winner of my 'Give-Away' Billboards was John D. from Australia!!!!

John has a wonderful and informative blog called Tok Tok Place, check him out and you'll learn a thing or two about the land 'down under'.

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The Hydrostone is a 'go to' place to shop and eat in Halifax.

It used to be a working-class area in the north end of the city where only 'northenders' would venture.

I grew up in this area and am amazed at it's transformation.

In the 50's and 60's these shops were what every neighbourhood

needed at the time: a laundromat, a dry-cleaners, a drugs store,

Who's that man in the window!

a grocery store, and a hardware store, C.Russell Isnors to be exact! Oh  yes, and the best pizza shop in town called Salvatore's.

The buildings are all intact just as they were, but with an assortment

of fine eateries, a spa, a wool /yarn shop, a bakery, and a couple

of 'gift shops' like the one above that was stock full of colourful things.

People now come from all over the city to this part of town.

If we ever moved back to the city, this area would be at the top of our list.....it would be like 'going home' in a way.

Hey, there's that guy again!

Contemplative Monday

WHO WE ARE

" Meditation practice isn't about trying to throw ourselves away

and become something better.

It's about befriending who we are already.

The ground of practice  is you or me

or whoever we are right now, just as we are.

That's the ground, that's what we study,

that's what we come to know

with tremendous curiosity and interest."

The above quote was taken from:
Heart Advice: Weekly Quotes from Pema Chodron