Saturday Morning Post

A busy week........

Pigeon looking for his 'brunch'.

This very simple but DELICIOUS dessert was made in the 'Heron's Nest Tea Room

which just so happens to be downstairs from where we are setting up our shop!!

Handy, eh?

An ad opposite from where we had brunch last weekend.

This lake area is in Dartmouth which is known as the City of the Lakes.

Ron walking by our favourite brunch restaurant last Saturday.

He parked the car.

A surprise for someone.

A container ship leaving the Port of Halifax.

Red tulip.

Everyone loves a Teddy Bear, right?

This is our garden version......Teddy Bear Rhododendron.

The humble Dandelion.

A 'rock face' in the park.

Ron getting lost in the graffiti in Halifax.

Our Star Magnolia is still in bloom.....thanks to the cool weather.

Don't you just love fern fronds!

Psst! There's that crazy guy again!!

This is Tupper, a Saint Bernard. He was very interested in Sophie's ball

and followed her around for at least 15 minutes before he decided

to listen to his owner.

This tulip came from Ron's mother's garden back in 1999. 

It has bloomed every year. Now THAT is a tulip!!

Looking across the Northwest Arm in Halifax.

Mid-Century Maniac

We are setting up a room in a vintage shop just down the road a ways from our house.

It is in the MacDonald House on MacDonald Hill which is just before the beach.

We have been busy all day selecting items from our 'inventory' (30 years collecting)

in the basement. We also set up a Facebook page as well which is under construction.

We are called Mid-Century Maniac. Most everything will be vintage from the 50's and 60's.....

from Pyrex, jadeite, arborite tables, chrome/vinyl chairs, vintage dishes and china, 

and glassware.

We made this sign using vintage fabric as the background.

This endeavor will keep us busy initially until set up. We are open as of June 1st.

We will not be 'minding the shop' as that is done by the owner, Amy

whose expertise is women's vintage clothing.

She has really good quality items. You can check out her FB page here:

https://www.facebook.com/FancyLuckyVintage?ref=br_tf

Here is our FB page link which doesn't have any photos as of yet

but will soon:

https://www.facebook.com/midcenturymaniac

Occupied For The Season

A couple of weeks ago I noticed that our bird house has a tenant.

I wasn't able to get a good look as to type of bird as she flew away so quickly.

I will have to sit myself down, from a distance, and see who is there.

I'll let you know.

The Goalposts Of Life

I was never one to play competitive sports when I was a kid.

I figured I would be 'creamed' my first time out!! And I would have been!

So I stuck to the sidelines so to speak as far as sports teams go.

We were visiting my 'childhood playground'/park yesterday in Halifax's north end.

 I came across these goalposts and felt much more comfortable

 this many years later taking photos of them.

Rain Or Shine

It's been a very cool, as in cold, spring here in the Maritimes*.

But that doesn't stop a lot of folks from getting out into/onto the water.

* Maritimes, in Canada, refers to the three provinces of New Brunswick,

Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.

If we were to include the province of Newfoundland/Labrador in the group

they would all called the Atlantic Provinces.

There you have it students!

Contemplative Monday

The following is from 'Heart Advice, Weekly Quotes from Pema Chodron'. (click)

HUMANIZING STRANGERS

"Suppose we spend some time every day bringing the unknown people that we see into focus,

and actually taking an interest in them. We could look at their faces, notice their clothes,

look at their hands.

There are so many chances to do this, particularly if we live in a large town or in a city.

There are panhandlers that we rush by because their predicament makes us feel uncomfortable,

there are the multitudes of people we pass on streets 

and sit next to on buses and in waiting rooms.

The relationship becomes more intimate when someone packs up our groceries 

or takes our blood pressure or comes to our house to fix a leaking pipe.

Then there the people who sit next to us on airplanes.

Suppose you had been on one of the planes that went down on September 11.

Your fellow passengers would have been very important people in your life.

It can become a daily practice to humanize the people that we pass on the street."

These flowers are called 'Bluets' which I found in Point Pleasant Park.

They are very low-to-the -ground spreaders.

Eclectic Tastes

This piece was released just last week.
It's like 'going back' to the late 70's and early 80's.

Hope you all have a great Sunday.

Saturday Morning Post

The week that was.....

Old shed.....

Bilberry trees in bloom everywhere.

Ron and Sophie along the beach trail.

Jay-walking Mallards!!

Down the road in Seaforth.

Parcel delivery......

Sun trying its best to break through.

It's all downhill from here!

Sophie's first dip in the canal this year.

Brightening up a very gray day.

Brave souls!

Sophie doing what she does best! Looking for a treat!!

On the way to the park....

A family that bikes together........

Checking Ron's mother's and grandparent's grave site while in the Valley last week.

Sharing A Lifetime

Who would have thought  back in the early 1970's,  that I  

was about to meet someone and then spend the next 40 plus years with ?

Not I!

Until I met this guy, that is!

I had just come out of that proverbial closet

 and thought I had enough to deal with let alone to begin a relationship with someone.

And a man at that!

What was so special and attractive about this guy?

That is easy.

I got totally wrapped up in his enthusiasm for life.

He opened my eyes when they needed so badly to be opened

and focused on things I had never taken the time on which to focus.

The simpler things in life, like looking up at a tree while lying on the ground 

and seeing for the first time the framework of branches,

sliding along the mud flats of Minas Basin,

and learning to let go and really enjoy the environment around me.

His exuberance and enthusiasm for life caught me off-guard from the start.

I remember reading recently a lesson by Thich Nhat Hahn which said:

'Never extinguish enthusiasm'.

Well, this exactly sums up the guy who, so many years ago, stole my heart and soul.

It's this crazy guy you see almost weekly in one of my posts

and here he is again in all of these photos.

Ron and I are sharing our lives together.

I know this isn't earth-shattering news and so many people are doing this as well.

But yesterday afternoon this fact hit me between the eyes 

when I saw him high up on the dune grass

and he started to show the enthusiasm he had at that particular moment...

at the beach, the wind blowing, with very dramatic dark clouds as a backdrop

and the skies about to open up with rain.

I stood there for a second and smiled as I began to 'record' this on my camera.

It was all very spontaneous and nothing planned at all.

A very happy moment.....a celebratory moment in a way.

Ron has had a very difficult past couple of months

  learning to deal with his very first health crisis.  

Today I realized that he was going to be alright

and it became obvious to me as well that he realized

that the worst is behind now. He can begin to live his life again.

Lots more time ahead to lie on the ground and look up at the trees.

Oh, and thanks Ron for all that you have taught me......so far.