Kids

Every Sunday morning about 11 A.M. my niece, Jacqui, takes her two daughters, Sarah Jane and Julia, to my father's, their great grandfather's, house.

                             Sarah Jane
He always has a 'special' treat for them. Last week it was two locally made 'sock dolls' he got at the Heritage Farm Cafe.

                             Julia
This week is was cupcakes and cookies shaped like ducks. Whatever it is the girls have a great time. And my father really looks forward to their visit.

Sarah Jane, the older of the two, I think she is six years old, can also play the piano. Sometimes she 'composes' her own and plays them for 'Poppy'.

So this past Sunday Ron, Sophie and I arrived at Dad's to see Jacqui and the kids. I wanted to take some pictures of the girls.

When we got there they were in the kitchen devouring, I mean eating, the  'Ducky' cookies. I sat down and started to click away. Julia was not at all bothered by the camera. Sarah Jane was not as comfortable.

I kept thinking, 'What would Becky from Life With Kaishon do in this situation? Her photos are beautiful and she always seems to 'catch' something about the child in her photos.

I managed to get a few shots that I thought caught the essence of the girls.....mostly Julia because she 'played along' with me and was completely at ease. Sarah Jane left the kitchen and went to the piano to play something for Dad.........she was much more relaxed at this and completely 'in her zone'.

I don't know about the kids but I enjoyed this. Their spontaneity was entertaining and their shear joy of being alive was infectious. 

Contemplative Monday

I got today's quote from an article I read in this month's  Shambhala Sun. The article, 'The Science of Meditation', was written by Andrea Miller.

"There is no contradiction between science and spirituality because each gives us valuable insights into the other. With the ever-growing impact of science on our lives, religion and spirituality have a greater role to play by reminding us of our humanity."  His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Sunday's Selection

Jill Barber is a Canadian singer/songwriter and lived here in Halifax for a number of years before she married and left for the west coast of Canada.


She has a very distinctive voice and style. I hope you enjoy this selection today and are having a stupendous Sunday!

Retro Saturday

You know when you see something that you'd really like to own but think it is way over-priced?

Well, about a month and a half ago I saw these glass bowls at Value Village. They were up front with the 'good' stuff. I asked if I could take a look at them.

Upon close inspection I saw that they were made by the Anchor Hocking Glass Company. I also noticed that they were 'microwave safe'.

This told me that they were probably made in the 80's if not the early 90's. So I knew that they were not in the league with those great Pyrex Mixing Bowls 400 Series.

                                          Small.
Nonetheless I kept my eye on them for a few weeks. They weren't budging. I did notice however that some of the other 'good' stuff was being reduced.

    Medium.
So I approached the manager and asked her she was ever going to reduce these bowls. She looked at the date they were 'listed' and said that they were due to be reduced in a week. She also told me when she does this.....on Friday evenings.

     Large.
Guess who was there on Friday evening? Moi! She smiled when she saw me and headed directing to the showcase and reduced them!


I knew they were way over-priced for this venue and with a little patience I brought them home.

Tag, You're It!

I got a request from Annie over at The Day After Yesterday to play the game of 'Tag' with her. I would never turn down a request from her, so here goes!


First, I must answer the following questions:


If you could be any historical or current character who would you be?
I wouldn't want to be anyone other than myself.

Name an interesting fact about yourself
I am a pretty basic guy with basic needs and accomplishments........not all that interesting.  

If you could go back in time and change one thing, what would it be?
The development of all 'organized religion'. It has led to so much conflict in the world.

Which character traits annoy you?
Selfishness, meanness, arrogance and narrow-minded stupidity.

Name one thing that you would change in yourself?
I would be more forgiving of others and show more compassion.

What do you consider your biggest achievement?
My biggest achievement was to 'survive' the school system for almost 30 years as a teacher.


There! That's done. Now it is my turn to 'Tag' eight (8) people to play along with us. I figured the only way for me to choose these 8 is to pick the first 8 in my 'Google Reader' list.....as they are listed right at this moment. And they are:


1. Terry at 'Moondance Ranch'
2. Sharon at 'Life With Jack And Jill'
3. Mark at 'Our Simple Lives'
4. Jojo at 'My Random Insanities'
5. Chris at 'Midwestern Mama With A New York Heart'
6. Barbara at 'If I Didn't Have A Sense Of Humor'
7. Christine at 'I'm Not Old, I'm Vintage'
8. Nancy at 'A Rural Journal'


Here are the rules according to Annie:


Rule 1 - No Tag-Backs (this means I can't tag the people who tagged me - Gits)
Rule 2 - You must tag a further 8 bloggers (we'll see about that)
Rule 3 - You must answer the questions that were sent to you (I might invent my own set of questions)
Rule 4 - You must have a link back to the people who tagged you (yeh, yeh, already done it) 


This is all about fun. Enjoy. If \nybody else wants to 'play'....go for it!

Thursday's Thoughts......

Was woken up last night around midnight by a thunder and lightning storm. These are almost rare occurrences around here. We may get only a few of these a year really.

I like them personally. When good ole Mother Nature takes over and 'tells' us who's boss, there's not too much we can do about it.

Our last dog, Jessie, was petrified of thunder. She would literally start shaking so much that she would freak herself out. She wouldn't settle until the storm had long passed.

Sophie, our present dog, slept through the whole thing. Nothing seems to phase her, except for people and other dogs. And then she gets all silly and demanding looking for treats or playtime!

Providing we are safely situated in our house and it is not a major hurricane, there is a certain 'peaceful' feeling I get when I am at the mercy of Mother Nature for an hour or so.

I know that she can and has caused a lot of destruction in different parts of the world as of late, and I do not mean to 'romanticize' these occurrences, but I do appreciate her power and potential.

Off For Some 'Energy' Work

This afternoon I am going to our Naturopath/acupuncturist. I 'found' her through my sister Jo-Ann about 10 years ago.

The basis of her practice is opening up blocked meridians throughout the body. Meridians are pathways/points in our body that if blocked can affect one's performance.

Some of you may be aware that I have been living with the 'after-effects' of a severe concussion for three years now. There is progress being made but it is slow progress.

So enter Terry, our Naturopath. She has been very helpful. Last week she was 'working' on the energy interaction between the Cerebellum and the Cerebrum areas of the brain. Because of the scarring done by the injury, the 'connections' between the two brain parts needs to be 'encouraged' somewhat.

Due to this injury I have become an advocate for the mandatory use of helmets for everyone participating either in recreational or team-oriented sports. I fell when I was skating on a lake one afternoon after school in February. 

I was not wearing a helmet. If I had been I am certain that I wouldn't have had the injury I have.

I was told by the 'medical world' that I would have to 'wait it out' and give the brain time to heal, not any mention at all of any therapeutic treatments. I am so fortunate to have had Terry to help me along the way.

Here's to Alternative Medicine!