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Showing posts from 2014

Faith, Believe and Hope

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With thanks to Soraya Silvestri for providing the inspiration.  I took a photo of these stones during the Spring Choir Party at Soraya's house last May.  We look ahead as a new year starts Believing deep within our hearts, That the world is a good, despite its sorrow We must believe in a better tomorrow, We must have faith and we must have hope It’s really the only way to cope, Believe that good will overcome bad Believe that happy will overcome sad, Out with the old year and in with the new A Very Happy New Year to all of you!

Needing Solitude

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I remember as a kid that I enjoyed getting up early on Saturday mornings to read or draw before the family woke up. It was a magical quiet time to enjoy being with my own thoughts and imagination before the day really began. Our society often seems to view being solitary as a negative thing. As children, we’re encouraged to join in with the group and get along with others. If we are a loner, we are seen as a misfit who needs help. After the busyness of Christmas with its focus on socializing with other people, I long for some solitary time. It’s not that I don’t enjoy people, but as an introvert, I find being with groups of people very tiring. I enjoy my solitude and crave downtime to recharge, reflect and tap into my creativity. I am a morning person and still enjoy that magical alone time when everyone else is asleep. It is so rejuvenating and soul nurturing. As Thoreau’s quote states, it can sometimes be even lonelier being with people than being alone. These d

Am I Really 55 Years Old Already!

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This week I had to put our red Siberian Tanner to sleep as he was 16 and could barely walk or see. His quality of life had diminished so much this past year that I knew prolonging his life was only prolonging his suffering. I’ve had to put four animals down in the past four years, one for each year. You’d think I’d get hardened to it but I still find it just as difficult each time and cry over each one. There is nothing like having a pet with their brief life spans to appreciate time passing. And there's nothing like another birthday to make you stop and reflect on life so far. Reaching 55 years old today is hard for me to fathom. I still feel like a little girl deep down, even if I get a rude shock when I look in the mirror. Who is that old plump lady with the wrinkles around her eyes and the grey in her hair? Do I know that person? Stores are offering me seniors' discounts and retirement magazine samples are arriving in the mail. If that's not proof of

Being a Multipotentialite

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For years I thought I had a short attention span since I couldn't focus on just one interest area and I got easily bored if I had to do the same thing all the time. I have always felt pulled in a million directions at once and tend to flit from one thing to another   like a butterfly who has to sample all the different flowers in the garden .  As a result, I often have many unfinished projects cluttering up the house and my brain feels very scattered. Having deadlines and priorities seems to help but I still tend jump around from project to project. It's so refreshing and a relief to find the site  Puttylike  by Emilie Wapnick. I just love the whole idea of being a multipotentialite, a person who has many passions and interests and doesn't want to settle for just one.   Throughout my life, I have had various interests of creative writing, blogging, drawing and painting, playing flute, singing in a choir, acting and set design,desktop publishing, graphic/web d

Dinner Invitation

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I am linking this to from-15-to-50-fiction  the Fiction Challenge at The Moving Quill "From 15 to 50" and using Shailaja Vishwanath's photo for the prompt. Dinner Invitation 19 words That was the last time Milton would accept a dinner invitation without checking what was on the menu first.

Rainbows and Butterflies

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I love Jonathan Lockwood Huie's daily quotes and inspirational posts. Today he writes that it’s important to look for the small miracles of daily life instead of always waiting for the big miracles which may or may not happen. Everything is a Miracle Each day we see small miracles all around if we open our eyes and minds to see them. Here is a small miracle, a beautiful photo that my son Rory took of his walk in the woods with our dog, Loup during the snowfall yesterday. I think it’s so magical when the snow clings to the trees like this as if they fairies came by and dusted snow on each branch. So picturesque. Maybe I won’t be so in awe of the snow by March but right now it looks gorgeous on the trees as the first snowfall of the winter. Here is another small miracle. I shared a wonderful post about writing by my good friend Shailaja that is definitely worth a read. The-real-reason-you-should-write At that same moment in time, Shailaja said she rece

Mannequins

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I’ve always had a fascination for mannequins. I find them creepy but intriguing at the same time. They seem so life like but yet cold and distant from being human. Mannequins come in different styles and looks. Some are very chic and elegant where some are downright tacky. Whenever I see some I like to take photos of them. I can almost hear them talking to me as they look at me in their bored, condescending manner. And why shouldn’t they be condescending? After all, they’re so perfect with their classic features and slim figures. Their hair and makeup are always perfect. And of course, their clothes always look good. No dirt or food stains on their outfits. These mannequins I saw at the Rideau Centre were totally white with strong chiselled features like Greek and Roman statues. These ones in Toronto had bald white heads like aliens. I didn't like them as much as the ones with actual hair and facial features. This one in Montreal didn’t even

From Rags to Being True to You

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I watched the most incredibly lame movie last night on Netflix called “Rags” with a twist on the Cinderella theme. This Canadian-made 2012 movie was filmed in Vancouver with New York as its setting. I couldn't help noticing that in the opening scene of NYC, they still showed the Twin Towers. You'd think they could at least use some modern footage. For a while I kept thinking the movie must have been made before 2001 until I saw them using modern Iphones and not those huge clunky portable phones of the 1990's. This movie was a stinker, no doubt about it. It was really bad; the script, the acting and the music, but I watched it anyhow. Rags Like eating junk food, sometimes I’m in the mood for a fluffy teen movie where I don’t have to think too much. At least it had no calories! The main character Charlie reminded me of Justin Bieber with his boyish looks, his goofy eagerness and singing style. GAG! *Makes a face* I’m not a Bieber fan, can you tell?

We Will Remember

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Today a young reserve soldier, Cpl Nathan Cirillo, was shot and killed while guarding the War Memorial Monument in Ottawa, where I live.  My heart goes out to his loved ones. I especially have a soft spot for reservists since I was once in the reserve myself. This kind of thing doesn't happen in Canada, a peace-loving nation where we can walk freely without fear. It is especially shocking to happen in Ottawa, a quiet government town. Even now, my husband's building is on lockdown and he doesn't know when he can leave. The gunmen are still wandering around and the whole downtown area is locked down.  These kinds of things don't happen in our peaceful corner of the world. At least that's what I used to think.  It just shows that it can happen anywhere at anytime. We are vulnerable and even more so in these scary times of extremist terrorists with a warped view of the world. But mostly, I can't help thinking about that innocent young so

Talk is Cheap but Listening is Gold

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Talk, talk, talk, we’re good at that Day in day out, we like to chat, What a noisy world where everyone is talking Some even talk on the phone while walking, We talk and talk without stopping to think We talk about everything but the kitchen sink, But listening is a more important skill. Just close your mouth and keep it still, Do you actively listen or wait to reply? Do you listen patiently, do you even try? Because conversation is a two way street Having someone listen is mighty sweet, Having someone listen can make your day Much more than anything you can say, Talk is cheap but listening is gold It’ll keep you company when you get old, Instead of your mouth, why not open each ear? You’ll be amazed by everything you hear, Listening costs nothing and is completely free Hey you out there? Are you listening to me?

Size Matters

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Today's topic for the weeklong writing festival at Write Tribe is to write about inequality for Blog Action Day. blogactionday.org We think we’re equal and all the same But how you look is part of the game, If you’re slim, no one bothers you If you’re overweight, that isn’t true You get charged more for an airplane seat You get judged for everything you eat, People make a face and look away How dare you come and wreck our day! How dare you come and invade our space! You don’t deserve to be in this place, Overweight people are stupid and lazy Go away, you’re driving us crazy, Worse than the shunning are the comments and jeers Taunted and teased for years and years, They retreat and hide to protect from hurt They're so used to being treated like dirt, Overweight people are not treated the same Shunned and despised, they live in shame, If you’d listen, they have stories to tell They know that inequality is alive and w

Frugal is Fun!

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For the fifth day of the Write Tribe Blogging challenge we are writing tip posts.  I’m always looking for ways to save money in these tight times where a dollar doesn’t buy as much as it did before. I wouldn’t say I’m virtuous and perfect at it. Like watching my weight, I sometimes slip up in a moment of weakness. Still, being frugal can become a way of life if you work at it and change your habits gradually. TO SAVE MONEY: Think before buying something. Impulse buys can be foolish. We’ve all done it where we buy something on sale just because it’s such a great deal and we never even use it. Do you really need the item or is it just going to add to the clutter? Take time to consider a purchase instead of buying it as soon as you see it. Often after thinking it through, you’ll decide you really don’t need it after all. Don’t use the credit cards so much. It’s easy to lost track of expenses with a credit card and that results in a rude shock when the bill arrives

Links I Love

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(Image from The Graphics Fairy's site) Today's topic for the Write Tribe's week long blogging challenge is to make a list of favourite links to share. My main challenge for this is that I like so many sites, it's hard to pick only a few. I narrowed it down by deciding on ones that inspire me and help me with my creative projects. Contrary to popular belief, I don’t just spring out of bed all happy, confident and positive.  Some days I need lots of coffee and inspiration to get going for the day. Every day I like to look at posts from inspirational and writing sites. The inspirational sites get me into a positive mindset for the day while the writing sites help inspire me, overcome procrastination and give me ideas. Of course there is always the danger, I’ll just surf and not get that writing done. There are just too many interesting sites out there. Guess I’ll have to find a site about not procrastinating. I’m sure there is one. I’ll have to Google it

A Review of Picaboo

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Day 3 of the blogging challenge at Write Tribe is to write a review so I have chose to write about Picaboo, an online photo book making company. http://writetribe.com/ If you’re like me, you probably have loads of paper photos or digital photos taking up space in boxes or on your computer’s hard drive. I decided to take on the job of being the family archivist and love to create books to capture the memories before they’re forgotten. For several years I have been making books, both conventional paper scrapbooks and digital. I have tried many of the different photo book companies over the years such as Heritage Makers, Snapfish, Photobook Canada, MyPublisher, Blurb, Walmart and Picaboo. I would have to say that my favourite is Picaboo, an American company. www.picaboo.com Here is a photo book I made with Picaboo.com about my cat, Kobie. The main reason I like Picaboo is for the deals they offer, ease of use, quality of their books, fast turnaround and fast ma