Have A Jolly Merry Christmas

Well, here we are once again....it is Christmas week.

Lots to do before the big day on Friday.

Wishing all of you out there in the blogisphere

a very peaceful and happy Christmas.

See you in the New Year!

Contemplative Monday

"Peeling away the labels so the human being

can be revealed is truly a practice for peace."

....Thich Nhat Hanh (click to learn more)

Eclectic Tastes

A friend posted this musician/artist on her FB.
I instantly liked what I heard.
I hope you do too.
Her name is Sister Rosetta Tharpe
and she sings gospel/blues.

Have a wonderful Sunday everyone. 

Saturday Morning Post

A week in December in Nova Scotia.......

Lone crow on a wire....

From the top of Fort Needham Park in Halifax.

A real swinger this fella!

From my perch at the shop last Sunday.

Sun setting over the Atlantic. (straight out of camera)

So, there really is such a thing as a Unicorn!

Sunlight through glass.

Another day.......

December Sunset

Saw this on Wednesday evening while looking out a window at home.

Bridges

A couple of bridges today.....

The one above, the MacKay Bridge

 which spans the harbour and connects Halifax and Dartmouth.

And this much smaller one down the road from us

which is on the Atlantic Trail in Lawrencetown.

A Good Visit

Yesterday Ron and I went to visit a friend I have known since the 60's.

Her name is Alyce and she is my friend, Paulette's, mother.

Alyce presently resides in a residence for seniors in Halifax.

She had to sell her condo last year......one she lived in since the early 70's.

This was difficult for her to do. But it had to be done.

And she is making the best of it.

We had a good visit with a lot of catching up to do and lunch,

 since we saw her last in September.

Alyce and moi.

Ron and Alyce.

From My Perch

A spectacular day here on Sunday.

I was at work in the MacDonald House

and noticed these horses across the way/river 

running up and down Conrad's Beach.

Contemplative Monday

The following was written by Thich Nhat Hanh (click).

"Cherish this very moment.

Let go of the stream of distress,

and embrace life fully in your arms."

Eclectic Tastes

The jive was the first dance I learned at about age 12.
My oldest sister taught me because she needed to practice
before she went out to dances on Saturday nights.
It is my favourite dance.
Thanks sis!

Here are two professionals doing the jive.
enjoy and have a wonderful Sunday.

What is your favourite type of dance?

Saturday Morning Post

Boy, did this week go by quickly or what!

From my perch last Sunday....

The top of the pagoda/bandstand at the park and a cannon from the 1800's.

I took this on MacDonald Hill the other day

 while Sophie and I were enjoying the 'springlike temperature....12C.

Same day and looking towards Halifax to the west.

Sophie always stops to make sure I/we are right behind her and not lost.

A very moody looking sky.

And to end the week that was.....I'll leave you up in the air......

Deck The Halls

The Christmas Holiday Season is fast approaching!!

I LOVE shopping online. I don't like department stores any time of the year

let alone Christmas time.

I have most of my shopping done.......just a bit more to do,

like ordering our Christmas dinner pie.

this is not a sweet dessert pie but a complete Christmas dinner in pie shells.

It has the obligatory turkey, squash, carrots, onions, greens and dressing.

Sounds mushy but not at all. We add other vegetables on the side.

It has become a tradition of sorts for over 10 years now.

I still have to pick up something for my father.

What does one buy a 99 year old man

who has pretty much everything he will ever need?

I will figure that out soon as I do every year.

OK. If you celebrate Christmas, are you ready for it?

What is one of your traditions at this time of year?

And Now.....Here Are The Beetles

I found this dead tree to be an interesting subject to photograph

at the park a few days ago.

This is one of many Spruce trees in our region 

to be infested by the Brown Spruce Longhorn Beetle (click to learn more)

This beetle killed most of our spruce trees as well.

One can see the holes left behind on the trunk.

And that is your botany lesson for today, folks.

Have you had similar infestations in your area?

Wrecking Ball

Drove by (actually stopped) my old high school in Halifax yesterday.

It is being demolished and the site getting ready for a business and residential development.

I attended St.Pat's High for grades 10 and 11.....

that would be back....let me see now.....in September 1963 till June 1965.

It was a Roman Catholic high school 

which was part of the public school system at the time.

The boys were on one side of the building and the girls on the other.

The girls were taught by the Sisters of Charity and the boys by male lay teachers.

The girls were in uniforms and the boys in shirts and ties.....no jeans.

I remember during the first week I got lost and couldn't find my classroom.

I ended up in the girls side of the school!!

This set a few nuns into into a tizzy!

Things were different back then.....some good, some not so good.

For my final year in school, grade 12, I attended

a private Roman Catholic school in Dartmouth

as my family moved to that city which is across the harbour from Halifax.

Here, the classes were co-ed and much different from the previous two years

in a good way.

Never Too Old

Beautiful sunny day yesterday

with a great walk in the park.

While Sophie was amusing herself in this grassy area,

I was goofing around with my shadow!

Hey...it happens a lot at this age!! lol

Contemplative Monday

The following was written by Thich Nhat Hanh: (click)

"Stopping the war in our minds and hearts,

we will know how to stop the war outside."

Eclectic Tastes

Here's a tango that will warm us all here in the northern hemisphere.

Have a wonderful Sunday everyone.

Saturday Morning Post

From art to fog to surfers this week...........

I put up some art on the staircase wall going up to my shop.

A north end neighbourhood in Halifax known as the Hydrostone.

From my perch at the shop on Wednesday....looking west.

Construction in the fog in Halifax's north end.

At Birch Cove Park in Dartmouth.....

View from the top at the shop.

Reflections on Lake Banook....all that's missing are the paddlers.

Downtown Dartmouth at the bridge plaza.

At dusk last evening at the hill.....surfers in the sunbeams.

Now......gently tilt your head to the right......

Sitting On The Fence

'Sitting on the fence'.....an expression used for those of us who can't

quite make up their minds about an issue that arises.

I learned early on in life, courtesy of my father,

that taking a stand on something was the right thing to do.

Only problem was that my father and I 

were always on opposite sides of the fence!!

We mostly agreed to disagree and things went well.

But I did learn that taking a stance and voicing it was alright to do.

This of course leads me to a big issue of the present day.....

that of 'gun control' in the USA.

The US is the only country in the western world

 that doesn't have strict gun-control.

And look at the result of this.....351 mass shootings this year alone.

Why hasn't there been something done about this?

Well, because the National Rifle Association (NRA)

has financial control of the GOP (Grand Old Party)

otherwise known as the Republican Party.

It is in the NRA's best interests to prevent any strict gun-control

laws to be passed....as that would cut into their profits and power.

So many here in North America say we must pray for the victims

and their families.

To me, this doesn't do anything!

This is 'man-made' not 'god-made'.

Only humans can stop the insanity that is happening in the US.

Guess you know where I stand on this issue.

I do not like 'sitting on the fence' for any length of time.

From My Perch

Foggy overcast day along the shore yesterday with temperature up to 10C.

Slow at the shop yesterday, so I continued reading 'East Of Eden' by John Steinbeck.

I am almost finished this epic novel of life in the late 1890's early 1900's

in southern California. The characters in this story are strong, determined people

who want to 'settle' and live in the west. So different but so much alike

and unchanged in many ways from today.

Are you, or have you  read anything interesting lately?

There's Always An Alternative

My Natural Therapist has been working on my sinuses and neck glands

 the past couple of weeks.

I have had a chronic sinus condition since I was a kid.

In the 80's they got a lot better when another 'natural therapist'

suggested I give up all dairy products.

I did. And what a difference it made for me.

I still get flair-ups and if I get a head cold....watch out!! 

So our NT started acupuncture today as well as 'cupping'.

There I was lying on the MOST COMFORTABLE

table ever, with a heated mattress for about 30 minutes....

with soothing music playing in the background.

I thought I was in heaven!

I WAS...for 30 minutes.

Can't wait to go back next week!

Have you ever tried 'alternative therapies'?

And if so which ones?

Lamplight at dusk yesterday near Lake Banook, Dartmouth.

Project Season Begins

It's 'project time' here in the Maritimes!

And that means, for me anyway, knitting once again.

I usually start with a scarf to warm up the ole fingers.

That is what's below.

After this, I like to start something a little more challenging....

like a sweater. I haven't knitted one before and I have Ron

here to help me through some challenging patterns.

Do any of you have 'winter projects'?

If so, what are they?

Contemplative Monday

The following was written by Thich Nhat Hanh (click).

"The cosmos is filled with precious gems.

I want to offer a handful of them to you this morning.

Each moment you are alive is a gem,

shining through and containing earth and sky,

water and clouds."

Eclectic Tastes

The world is embracing Adele.
I am no exception to this.
I like her groundedness.

Have a wonderful Sunday everyone.

Saturday Morning Post

Things that caught my eye this week

and a Happy Birthday......

A foggy, windy walk for Ron and Sophie.

Early morning sun hitting painting in kitchen.

'Like a walk in the park'.....

Fall dune grass....

Setting sun...

At a fortress in Point Pleasant Park in Halifax.

Long-fallen/uprooted tree in the park....

Reflections in a pond....

This pond will soon be frozen. But when?

Nom nom nom.......

My mother would have been 95 years old today.

She LOVED being near the ocean.

Must be where I get that from.

Happy Birthday Mom.