HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Okay, I know I've already wished you all a Happy New Year, but hey, I found myself with an opportunity to do so again, so - HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I also managed to get pictures of all three of the boys last night, so I thought I'd post them here for your entertainment:


Tiny Tim


Tom Thumb


Tad - giving me the finger! You think maybe he didn't want his picture taken? ROTFLMFAO

I didn't notice that on the camera screen, but I sure laughed when I brought it up on the computer monitor! I guess I'll have to revoke some of his privileges!

Oh, and if anyone is interested, here's a link to a bunch of other pics I've taken - I picked a few of my favourites and put them in this album. As you can tell, I LOVE the macro feature! LOL!

PHOTO ALBUM

Some of these pictures you'll have seen already, but there are several new ones there, and ones I haven't posted yet.

Have a great New Year everyone - be safe, and be happy! (((HUGS)))

Another Year

Well, another year is almost gone. I can't believe how fast it flew by, but then again I find they go faster and faster with each passing year. It makes me think about when I was a kid...

Summer vacations lasted forever, Christmas break seemed to last for a month or more, even though it was only two weeks, and even Easter break, which was a week, seemed like a long time. Now, a month seems like a couple of days, and a year seems like only a month!

I know that a lot of it has to do with the fact that kids tend to live in the moment, and focus on what they are doing at the time rather than trying to focus on a hundred different things at once. As we get older, we have so much going on in our lives, and so many different worries and stresses, it's difficult to focus on one thing at a time and just enjoy each moment as it comes. Because of that, time seems to fly by faster as we get older. I also recently read some article that mentioned there was something to do with a substance in the brain that decreases as we age, and that also makes time seem to go faster. I don't recall all that it said, but that's mainly because I didn't really buy what they were saying - it did not jive with my common sense - so I didn't really opt to retain it. :)

I don't usually make New Year's resolutions or anything, as I find it's so often quite a futile exercise, but I think I might just make one this year - to try and be aware to live in the moment a bit more often, and to not worry so much. Now, me being a consummate worry-wart, that should be quite the challenge. But hey, it's worth a shot!

I am also planning on getting back into photography more again. My beloved digital camera is motivating me. It's helpful because I can see the results of playing with different settings right away, so it gives me a better idea of how things might turn out by using similar settings on the 35mm SLR. It will be interesting to compare results between both mediums. I will always prefer film over digital, simply because there are things that digital cannot pick up on. However, digital has some very good points as well, so I will certainly enjoy both!

Speaking of photography... Yes, I have taken some more pictures. I was out with the dogs today, and Mother Nature's artistry motivated me to snap some pictures! So here are a few of my favourite shots of the day:


This frosty leaf on the deck was my first inspiration...


Yep, same leaf, different angle.


Yes, my friends, there are actually still a few patches of green grass about! This pine cone seems to be enjoying the greenery.


This pine cone, on the other hand, looks a wee bit chilly. As you can see, not all is green in the yard! But you have to love the way Mother Nature has painted this little guy and the surrounding vegetation (as well as the leaf on the deck) with such lovely frost patterns.


This is my favourite shot of the day. I spotted this leaf hiding in between the deck boards, and just had to see how the shot would turn out. And yes, the decking is going to be replaced one of these days!

Ooh, I almost forgot a couple of other random shots (taken over the last few days), four of which were from a Backgammon session Judy and I had:


Me waxing Judy's ass.


New game set up.


Judy waxing my ass...


...and not being a very gracious winner, I might add!


My collection of things that hang off my ceiling fixture over the bed - two witch balls, a hanging red stained glass tea light holder (which is awesome), my pyramid with crystals, and my acrylic light pull. I have a crystal pull of the same size and shape somewhere around here - as soon as I find it I'll be replacing the acrylic one with it! At any rate, this collection of hanging goodies does lend a very nice, peaceful energy to the room.




Depressed snow shovels, pining for more snow. Hmm, do you think we have enough of them?


Aww geeez, Mom's at it again with that camera... C'mon Mom, can we please just go in?

And on that note, I think there are more than enough pictures here for one night! So take care everyone, and I wish you all a joyous, healthy, peaceful, and safe New Year!

A Christmas Wish

I just wanted to send out a little Christmas wish for all my family and friends. May your Christmas be happy, healthy, loving, and peaceful, and may you be showered with blessings - not only at Christmas, but throughout the year to come.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Birds, Fish, and Frogs

I am just unwinding from the annual company Christmas party. I am happy to say it was another success, especially with respect to the food. The hotel cooked up an awesome banquet, which we had served buffet-style. There were more salads than you could shake a stick at, veggies and dip, cold cuts - and that was just on the first very long table! Once we got past that table, it was to discover an equally long table with buttermilk mashed potatoes (yum!), mashed sweet potatoes, roasted winter vegetables, vast quantities of turkey (hence the birds reference in the title), salmon in dill sauce (the fish reference), dressing, and gravy that was to die for.

I had a bit of Caesar Salad, a bit of Waldorf Salad, potatoes, turkey, dressing, and spiced cranberry sauce. Oh, and gravy, of course! I'd never had Waldorf Salad before, and I have to say it was VERY good. I found it rather amusing to note that the sweet potatoes did not go over well - there was barely a dent in them! I can't stand them, so I was curious to see if anyone else would tuck into them.

After that mass of food was done with (I shudder to think how much was left over!), it was on to dessert. The dessert table was just as loaded down with food as the dinner tables were. There were shortbread cookies, gingerbread cookies, some awesome looking cakes, eggnog mousse, various bits of Christmas baking, and an awesome bread pudding, with Saskatoon berries, white chocolate, and truffle sauce. I stuck to a small bit of bread pudding and a shortbread cookie, both of which were awesome. I've been wanting to taste something with truffles for ages, and I got my opportunity with the sauce for the bread pudding. I would never have thought of using truffles in a sauce for dessert, but it certainly worked very well.

I made sure to keep my portions quite small, as I didn't want to be stuffed like the poor turkeys, but even at that I was still quite full by the time we were done. I was amazed to see how much other people were eating - I have no idea where the heck they put it all! One of the ladies and I were discussing how we just could not eat as much as we used to be able to, and it got me to thinking about a conversation my sister and I have had on that subject a few times.

We talked about how we could eat a lot more in our younger years. Christmas dinner was our prime example. We'd get up Christmas morning, and have coffee and open presents. Then we'd have breakfast - not just toast and jam, but the whole bacon and eggs type of breakfast. For the rest of the day we would be constantly munching on Christmas goodies - sugar cookies, shortbread cookies, butter tarts, mince tarts, nuts, chocolates, mandarin oranges, and whatever else might be around. Then there would be the big Christmas dinner. We would usually have a couple of helpings of dinner, and then finish it off with a little bit more mashed potatoes and gravy. Then dessert, which was more of the Christmas baking. Later in the evening, it would not be unusual to find us munching on a bit of cold turkey, or even having a turkey sandwich. Of course there were also the Christmas baking and goodies that were still being munched on.

To even try to imagine myself eating like that now is enough to make me ill. Of course, we didn't eat like that on a daily basis, but these days Christmas eating is a whole lot different. We still get up and have coffee and open presents, then have breakfast. It's usually something along the lines of bacon and eggs still. After that, no one even wants to THINK about eating any food, so there is rarely any munching going on through the day. By the time the big Christmas dinner is ready, I often find that I'm just barely recovered from the big breakfast. One helping of Christmas dinner is more than enough - I find myself quite stuffed, and I certainly don't have any room or desire for second helpings. We'll usually have coffee and dessert afterwards, although we tend to have to wait a bit to let supper settle. Dessert consists of Christmas baking, and I usually find that a couple of cookies is all I can manage to get down. There is definitely no munching on anything in the evening, except perhaps for the odd chocolate if we have any around. There are certainly no turkey sandwiches being made!

What gets me is that when I was able to eat those large amounts of food in my younger days, I was a heck of a lot less rotund. Now I can only manage to eat a small fraction of all that, and there's a lot more of me! Go figure, huh? In light of that, it's just as well that I can't eat anywhere near that much anymore!

I bet you've been wondering where the frogs from the title were coming into play. If any of you were thinking we had frogs' legs at the dinner, you're way off the mark. I was playing about with the digital camera again, and decided to see how it would do when faced with the aquarium. The cheap freebie digital I had didn't work well at all. This one, on the other hand, is awesome! I managed to get a couple of great pictures of two of the boys, so here they are!


This is Tad, my eldest wee froggy. Okay, so it's not ALL of Tad - he was hiding behind some of the plants. But still, there is his back and his hind leg!


I believe this is Tom Thumb - kind of hard to tell when he and Tiny Tim aren't out together, and Tiny Tim was hiding very successfully. I'm pretty sure this is Tom because Tom's always been the more curious of the two, while Tim tends to be shy. When I started snapping pictures, this guy wandered out front and centre to see what was going on!

I love the picture of Tom. I took a few pictures in the macro mode, and a few in regular mode. The regular ones turned out, but I couldn't really see much other than that it was a frog. However, these shots in macro mode amazed me - I couldn't believe the detail! I told one of the girls at work that they remind me of the stuff you see in National Geographic, with all the detail and colour. Unfortunately, the pictures don't show nearly as much detail once they are uploaded to the blog - the originals look a lot better. However, they still look pretty good here. I have to say, the more I fiddle with this camera, the more impressed I am with it. It's encouraged me to take some similar shots with my Canon 35mm SLR, using my macro lenses. I'll be interested to see how they turn out.

Well, that's enough babble from me tonight! I have wound down from the party, and am now feeling quite sleepy. So I shall toddle off to Dreamland and wish you all sweet dreams!

Moonbeams and Make-Up

I belong to a few message boards, and the other day a lady on one of them posted a topic about make-up. She wanted to know which brands everyone preferred. That got me to thinking, and posting, about some of the issues I've had with products over the last several years, particularly hair and facial cleansing products.

I have always had oily skin, and because of that I have never been able to use a moisturizer. Yes, I know they make them for oily skin, but trust me, none of them worked for me. Over the years I've spend a lot of money on trying products, each one touted to be the best, and sales clerks assuring me that they would work like a charm. Were they guaranteed, so I could get my money back if they did not work? Of course not. However, I would dutifully shell out the bucks and take the products home, only to find that anywhere from five minutes to an hour after I'd used them, my face would look like I'd soaked it in a bucket of oil. One of the worst culprits was a very expensive dermatologist-recommended product, made specifically for extremely oily skin.

I gave these products a fair trial. I did not simply use them once then give up on them. I was well aware that it could take a week or so for my skin to adjust to them, so I would persist, hoping to wake up one morning to see my face radiating vitality, baby-smoothness, and shine-free perfection. All that happened is that I continued to wake up to skin that appeared to be oozing more oil than an Albert oil well. I would finally admit that the product of the month was not going to work, and I would honestly be relieved to go back to soap and water, which didn't produce quite so much oil.

Many years ago I found one brand that worked. Alouette. I loved it, but I have to admit that I eventually got tired of the steps involved, and stopped using it. A few years later I tried it again, only to find that the product had changed a bit, and was no longer working quite so well for me. So off I went on another round of fruitless searches. By this time, my sking was developing dry patches - while still being quite oily, of course. So it was becoming imperative that I find a moisturizer I could use.

My sister Judy had been raving about a new moisturizer she was using. I was reluctant to try it, because she had a problem with dry skin, whereas I was still battling oil, so I did not think it would work. But I figured what the heck - I'd spent a small fortune over the years already, what would another $10.00 hurt? To my astonishment and utter amazement, the moisturizer worked like a damn! I was overjoyed! Now, I know that everyone's skin has its own agenda, but I figure if this stuff works on Judy's dry skin, and my oily-with-dry-patches skin, then it ought to work for everyone! So I shall recommend it to all and sundry. It's Nivea Soft, and not only does it moisturize beautifully without causing an oil spill, it also smells heavenly. While I'm at it, I would also like to say thanks again Judy, for talking me into trying this product!

After all these years it's wonderful to have a routine that works for my face. I cleanse with regular Noxzema, and follow up with the Nivea Soft. Every few days I exfoliate with the Noxzema and a facial scrub pad. Works like a charm - when I do it, that is. I will admit that I get lazy and skip it at times, but those dry patches start cropping up and send my scurrying back to my beloved jars soon enough!

Another huge issue I have is with hair products. I have very fine, porous, curly hair. Now curly hair is dry, and requires a good conditioner. Fine, porous, curly hair can be a royal pain in the tush, because many conditioners tend to weight it down and make it go into the strangest contortions imagineable. Curly hair always does its own thing, thank you very much, but with the wrong products, it's a nightmare. I can't count the times I've heard each and every strand laughing demonically at me as I try to make it do something that will, at the very least, not scare small children to death.

When I was younger, my hair was very oily, so the conditioner issue wasn't quite as bad. However, as I got older, it became less oily, so of course any hair that was more than an inch away from the scalp became drier. I finally found a shampoo and conditioner that worked wonderfully, but it was hard to get hold of. My hairdresser moved away, and I could not find the product anywhere else, so I spent almost as much on trying different hair products over the next few years as I'd spent on finding facial cleansers and moisturizers. In that time, I also started developing allergies to many hair products. Consequently I have spent the last several years putting up with a scalp that is constantly itchy and sore. It always felt like there were wee little critters running around it, tickling and biting. And no, I did NOT have an little critters, thank you very much! Not only did my scalp feel like that, but also my neck, ears, and shoulders - wherever the hair touched.

Anyhow, a few weeks ago I decided I'd had enough, and did not want to keep spending more money on hair products that did not work. So off I went to the nearest hair salon to try and track down the stuff I used to get years ago. I ended up being referred to a hairdressing supply store that is right near my home. I never knew it existed, but boy am I glad I know it's there now! They carry every product imagineable, and while I was at first horrified to discover that my old favourite was no longer made, I ended up having a very nice chat with one of the ladies there, and she pointed me in the direction of my new love. Nioxin.

Nioxin is a line of hair products for thinning hair, but it's also a treatment line. It is often recommended for problems such as psoriasis, sensitive scalps, and allergic reactions. I had actually used it several years ago to clear up a very bad allergic reaction, but I thought it was only for treatment, and not to be used regularly. I have now discovered that it can be used regularly, and I am ecstatic to report that it works like a damn! No more itchy, sore scalp, ears, neck, and shoulders, and the conditioner is awesome. It's a tad pricey, but it's worth it not to have to be constantly going through the nastiness I've put up with for so long!

Now that I'm sure you've all been thrilled to pieces reading about the trials and tribulations of my skin and hair, I shall move on to other things, that no doubt will thrill you equally as much. Tomorrow is the full moon, and it looks absolutely beautiful tonight. There are wispy clouds rapidly moving through the sky, creating breathtaking views. If it wasn't so cold out there, I would be tempted to stand outside for quite some time just gazing at the moon and clouds. However, since it is rather frosty, I decided to simply haul the camera out and take some pictures. Here are some of them, for your viewing pleasure:







There! That was one hell of an exercise in patience, let me tell you! I figured out how to get two pictures per line (so to speak) easily enough, but I think Blogger was not too happy with me posting so many pictures at once! Every second or third picture would not work, and I'd have to upload it again. Ah well, it kept me out of trouble, and they are working now! Aren't they pretty?

I also managed to get a couple of shots of the tree at work, showing the star topper this time, and also showing the lights a wee bit better. I figured I'd just post one of them though, since you've already been tortured enough with all the moon pictures!



Since I have nothing else to babble about at the moment (okay, I heard that chorus of "thank God!"), I am going to shut this down and head to bed. It's going to be a long, busy day of finishing off the shopping for the Christmas party, so I'll need all the rest and energy I can muster! Sweet dreams everyone, and sleep well!

Dragonflies and Baubles

As I mentioned the other day, we got a new tree and put it up at work. I had completely forgotten to take pictures of it, but I took the camera in today and snapped a few shots. Unfortunately the lights don't show up that well, as the only picture I got where they did show was a wee bit fuzzy, to say the least. I guess I must have wobbled a bit on that one! At any rate, it does look very nice - see?



In my quest to get the right angle and the lovely lights, I didn't notice that I had totally cut out the tree top! LOL! So I shall try and fit that in when I try to get another shot with the lights showing more clearly.

We got some lovely ornaments, but my favourite ones are the acrylic dragonflies. They look awesome in the tree, especially when the lights reflect off them. And yes, I did go back and get some for my own tree at home! Here are a couple of the ones on our work tree:


Yes, I wobbled a bit on that one, I think. But I kind of like the effect, so I decided to keep this picture!


This one is much clearer, and I love the detail that comes out in the macro mode. Aren't these little beauties just gorgeous?

I was fiddling with more moon shots tonight too. They came out very fuzzy, becasue there's quite a cloud layer starting to build up. But I kind of liked the colour variations, so here are a couple of pictures showing that. I love the blue-tinged one, and no, I did not do any colour masks or anything on it - these pictures are just as they were from the camera - just cropped a bit. So here is the moon, waxing ever closer to fullness:





We're having our company Christmas party this weekend, so this week will be full of shopping and last-minute details for me. I spent all day today working on some of the final details, and I must say it was fun. The most fun for me is sorting out the presents. We give gifts in recognition of years of service - 5 years, 10 years, 20 years, 25 years, and 30 years. This year we have 4 people at 5 years, 4 at 10, and one at 30 years. So I was the lucky one who got picked to figure out what to get for each of these people! One was easy, since he made a point the other day to tell me what he wanted! The others were a bit tougher, but after making calls to one spouse, and several co-workers, I managed to sort it all out.

I don't like to just choose one-type-fits-all kind of gifts for these things. The big boss wanted to give each group the same thing (different budgets are allotted to each group of service years), but I was not too thrilled with that idea. I like to make sure that each person is getting something he or she really wants. I see no point in spending the money on something that is just going to sit and collect dust, and be turfed in the trash a few years down the road. So after the spousal and co-worker consultations, I ended up with some awesome ideas. I found out what hobbies each person was passionate about, and I am getting them gift certificates to their favourite stores pertaining to those hobbies.

There are two exceptions. One will get a portable DVD player, as he doesn't really seem to have any hobbies. Although I am going to try and get hold of his wife tomorrow, just to see if she has any other ideas. The other is the co-worker who already told me what he wanted, so he will be getting an MP3 player. He asked for an iPOD, but it's been mentioned that it might be better to go with some other brand, so that we're buying the features he wants, rather than the name. He doesn't care - so long as it's shiny, has bells and whistles, lots of memory, and plays MP3s, he's a happy camper! So I am now involved in researching MP3 players, and figuring out what will be the best choice for him.

With all of that planning, I have at least one full day of running around picking up all the gift certificates and such, plus doing some other Christmas party shopping, as I have to buy small presents so that each person attending receives something. The last couple of years we've gone with Christmas ornaments and decorations from a few local dollar stores, and they seem to be a big hit, so I'll likely do that again this year. Then I have to get everything wrapped and ready to go, along with trying to find time to squeeze in some actual work! It will be a busy week, but should be fun.

I am looking forward to the party - especially the dinner! The menu was finalized today, and we will be have a wonderful buffet, with roast turkey, dressing, gravy, potatoes (both mashed and sweet potatoes), veggies, several salads, cheeses, veggies and dip, salmon in dill sauce, an assortment of desserts that sound like they are to die for, plus several other things that I can't remember at the moment. I read the menu out to one of the guys' wives over the phone, and we were both almost drooling over it!

I have decided to take a cab there and back, since the company will pay for it. That way I don't have to pay for parking, and I can have a drink or two since I won't have to worry about driving. It is being held in a fancy-schmancy hotel downtown, and I hate the area it's in, so it will be wonderful not to have to worry about driving there and wandering back and forth to the car on my own. I worked right in that area for 10 years, and it's not a good area, to say the least.

I was going to try and come up with something interesting to ponder about in this post, but I think I've babbled on enough at the moment! Besides, I'm just about ready to head to bed, so I will shut this down for the night and wish you all sweetest dreams. I am off to dream of MP3 players, Christmas dinner, and dragonflies and Christmas tree baubles!

Is It Time For Bed Yet?

I can't believe I am so tired today. I got a fair amount of sleep last night, napped today for a couple of hours, then ended up going back to bed and napping for a couple MORE hours, and my eyes are STILL wanting to just slam shut and stay that way! I guess I must not be quite as over that flu as I thought I was!

I made myself cook a really good dinner though, as I figure the better I eat, the more I'll fight off any other flus and colds that are going around. So as I type I am enjoying a steak that I roasted, along with a potato that was roasted with the steak, some corn, and a bit of leftover stuffing. I have the most divine steak sauce - a sesame-based sauce - from one of our local restaurants. I absolutely love the stuff, but I've just used the last of it for dinner, so I'll have to stop in and get some more soon.

The weather took a major turn, warming up significantly and even raining on Thursday. Thankfully most of the snow was melted off the main streets by the time it rained, and the temperatures didn't hit freezing again yet, so we didn't have the nasty ice that I was worried about. It ended up getting up to about 7C (44.6F), so that was a major improvement from -29C (-20.2F), which is what it was with the windchill on Monday. As a result of these balmy temperatures, most of the snow has melted, and it's rather dirty looking out there!


See? Dirty, icky looking remnants of snow.


And in this area, no snow whatsoever. Just dead, icky lawn.

I think the snow shovels need therapy though. They are looking highly depressed and are NOT happy that the snow has melted. I keep telling them not to worry, that there is more snow on the way, but I don't think they believe me yet. The only one who doesn't seem too concerned is old Grandpa Shovel - he's just happy to be hanging out and not having to do any work!


"Awww man, what happened to the snow? It's never coming back, is it?"

I had a lot of fun spending a couple of hundred dollars on Thursday. It was even more fun since it wasn't my own money! I hauled our receptionist out of the office and we went and bought a new Christmas tree and decorations for the office. We got a lovely pre-lit 6' Christmas tree on sale for $75.00 - can't beat that! I have to admit, I'm highly tempted to consider that for my own place - I may have to keep an eye on the after-Christmas sales. At any rate, the tree is set up and decorated, and it's gorgeous. We got some lovely ornaments. In fact, there are some acrylic dragonflies that I have decided I must get for my own tree...

One of the pre-lit trees they were selling was a 15-foot beauty. Take a wild guess at how much it costs. Go on. Guess. I'll tell you at the end of the post. Now, aside from the cost of the tree, I had to wonder what on earth would possess anyone to buy it? Yes, it's beautiful, but it's also HUGE. Who in their right mind would want to struggle with setting that behemoth up and taking it back down again every year? You'd have to be constantly going up and down a ladder just to set it up, decorate, then un-decorate and take it down again. Not to mention the headache of finding a spot to store it. Granted, it would look awesome in a room with cathedral ceilings. It just exhausts me thinking about all the work involved! Thank God it's pre-lit - can you imagine fighting with putting the lights in something that size?

It's quite lovely out tonight - 9C (48.2F) at the moment, with clear skies and a lovely waxing moon:



It's supposed to be dipping down again next week, and they are calling for snow on Wednesday, so I guess I'd better enjoy this mildness while it lasts! As there isn't much news I shall head off for now. I've made a nice pot of coffee, flavoured with cinnamon, freshly grated nutmeg, and vanilla, and I am going to enjoy that with an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie - or two. So I shall wish you all a wonderful night, and sweetest dreams!

Oh yes - the tree. The cost of the monster Christmas tree is $800.00. Spare change, anyone?

Ho Ho Ho...

I'd best get the whining out of the way first. We got more snow yesterday - quite a bit more snow, as a matter of fact. It was -29C with the windchill. So all in all, it was a rather miserable day yesterday, weather-wise. Of course the roads were loads of fun to drive on (insert heavy sarcasm there), but I must admit I was extremely surprised to find that most people were driving well. Except for the twit in the 4 wheel drive that spun out trying to make a left turn through a red light. However that was not a surprise - it's often the 4 wheel drive vehicles that get themselves in trouble because their owners are WAY too overconfident and cocky. Before anyone gets upset, I am not lumping all 4 wheel drive owners in that category. Many know how to drive their vehicles and do not have, or cause, problems. I'm talking about the twits who think it's cool to own a 4 wheel drive vehicle, but haven't got the faintest clue how to handle it.

Anyhow, it was damned cold and nasty around here yesterday, and here are a few pictures to at least show off some of the snow:


This is my car, which faithfully got me to work through the rather nasty snowstorm we were getting. You can still see some of the lovely snowflakes falling in the picture. Ugh.


View down the alley - and yes it was very dark and dreary.


Tail end of our parking lot. Most of the vehicles hadn't been there all that long, and were already getting covered in snow.

I wish I had thought to bring my camera out a bit later on. One of my coworkers drew a happy face in the snow on my windshield, and about an hour later the happy face was almost filled in by a new accumulation of white shit. By the time I left work, it was completely filled in, although thankfully it had quit snowing by then!

Today was nice and clear, so no more snow, although it was still flipping freezing. It's supposed to warm up quite a bit over the next few days, so that will be a most welcome change. Although considering the amount of snow we have now, and the state of the roads, I am devoutly hoping that we do NOT get the rain that they keep saying is going to come!

After freezing my bunyakas off every time I went outside today, I came home and made a nice dinner and popped an Apple Crisp in the oven. It smells divine in here, and that makes it feel nice and cozy. I can't wait until it cools down enough to dig into it! It's still chilly in the house, but I have my little wood stove going, so that adds to the coziness, and is helping to warm me up! Hmm, I'm thinking I might have to make a cup of tea to go with that Apple Crisp. Yum!

I will be heading out to do a bunch of Christmas shopping for work in the next day or two. The boss asked me to go buy a new tree, so we'll be needing decorations to go with it. We have a small tree that used to sit on the table in our reception area, but we have a larger area in the new office, and the tree is just too small for it. So it should be fun doing all that. I think I'm going to go for one of the pre-lit trees, since I hate putting the lights in. I also have to do some shopping for gifts for our Christmas party, so I'll likely incorporate both bits. That should make for a nice afternoon out of the office!

There's not much news around here, so I shall wander off for now. Besides, it's time to check on the Apple Crisp, and see if it's ready to much on yet! Sweet dreams, everyone!

A Wee Break

We had a bit of a break from the snow today, although the temperatures didn't improve. Still, it was nice to see clear sky for a change!


See? Look - lovely clear blue sky behind the tree, and no added snow on it! Woo-hoo!

It's funny, because normally I love overcast days. I'm not a huge sun worshipper, and prefer clouds and rain to clear blue skies. I must admit, even during the winter I'm not big on clear blue skies, as it generally is a bit colder (although at these temperatures it doesn't make that much difference!), and my eyes are so sensitive to light that the sun is annoying at best, and even worse when glaring off white snow. However, when we've been getting snow for a few days in a row, the lack of clouds is rather welcome!

There are those who aren't overly thrilled that it stopped snowing:


"Aww man, we haven't even been able to clear this up yet. I bet if it had snowed some more they would have let us have at it! Why did it have to quit snowing? Well, at least Gramps is happy - he still gets to hang out behind the cardboard..."

Don't worry guys. I was just out with the dogs, and it's snowing again. Not much, granted, but there are wee little flakes drifting down. So I have no doubt you'll be put to work soon, and then you can be happy little snow shovels again!

This next picture is rather interesting. I was sitting here at the computer, and sensed that there was a spirit or two hanging around the doorway. Now, that's not unusual here - there's always someone dropping by for a visit. However, I figured it might be a good idea to grab the camera and see if anything would show up. I usually don't have success in capturing anything on camera, but I thought it was worth a try. I felt like Great-Great-Grandpa was around, so I asked him if he'd like to get in the picture. I took five pictures in a row, all from the same angle, and was quite surprised to actually get an orb in one picture. The other four had nothing in them. Usually I'm very sceptical of orb pictures, as they are so often dust or reflections. However, since I'd taken five in a row - with no waiting in between - and none of the other pictures had orbs, I'm fairly confident it's not dust or a reflection. With knowing that Great-Great-Grandpa and at least one other spirit were here at the time, I think I may actually have finally captured something.


Hopefully this will show up reasonably well on the blog. I did not alter the picture other than to resize it (smaller), and to lighten it up so that it could be seen better. The orb was very visible on the original picture, but it was fairly dark in the area it was hovering in, so I figured it would not show well when the picture was resized. At any rate, it's the small white circle (sphere)down near the bottom of the kitchen cupboard, on the right, just above the base.

The other thing that makes me skeptical is that digital cameras tend to create false orbs (pick up on dust, reflections, etc.) more often than film cameras do. However, I again have to take into consideration that the other four pictures did not have anything in them, and if the camera was going to create a false orb in one, it should have done so in at least one or two of the others. So for me, that pretty much rules out false orbs created due to dust and reflections. Plus I have a feeling this one is genuine.

Anyhow... I just thought it was interesting, and I was quite startled to have actually gotten any results! I'll have to try this experiment again in different spots in the house - once I've gotten things reasonably cleaned up. I'd hate to subject your eyes to the piles of stuff scattered about at the moment!

I am also considering trying another EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena) session. Two of my sisters and I did a couple of sessions awhile back, and were astonished to have obtained some very good results. I had done a session one night where I left the recorder running in my living room. Everyone had gone to bed, so there was no one up and about, and no one could have gotten into my living room anyhow without waking me up. I did not get voices, but I did get some very interesting noises. Some were right beside the microphone, while others were further away. Some actually sounded like someone tapping on the microphone. I used an external mic, so it wasn't anything in the recorder. The most interesting noise - to me, at least - was the clear, unmistakable sound of dishes being moved about. I am sorry to say that yes, I did have some dishes in the living room, left there from a snack earlier that evening.

I was a bit disappointed not to have captured voices, but I was quite impressed with some of the noises - especially the dishes - that had come up. When my eldest sister came to visit a while after that, I played the tape for her and Judy. The three of us then decided to do a question and answer type session. We wrote down 15 questions, and then started the tape. I would ask a question, wait two minutes to give the spirits time to answer, ask another question, wait two minutes, and so on until the 15 questions had been recorded. Of course we heard nothing while we were recording. Other than our own fits of giggles! It really is hard to sit quietly and not giggle when the three of us are together!

However, when we played the tape back, we were astonished and pleased to find that we had gotten a few results. Not every question was answered, of course, but there were some audible voices after a few of them. We ended up doing another session, asking the same questions, and again got results. I'll note a few of the more notable ones here.

I can't recall which question this one followed. It didn't pertain to the question, but I can still remember the chills I got when I heard the voice. It was the first response we got, and since I really wasn't expecting anything it startled the hell out of me! It was a very clear whisper, which sounded male, and said one of my sister's names quite clearly. We were quite certain it was her husband who had passed away several years prior.

We asked how many spirits were present, and heard a clear male voice, which we recognized right away as Dad's voice, say, "seven".

We also heard a female voice, which we thought was Mom, who had recently passed, and it said one of my nephew's names. The voice was clear but faint.

We asked about the family dog who had died many years before, and I was very startled to clearly hear the sound of a dog licking. It was very clear, and quite loud, compared to some of the voices we had heard. She almost always accompanies my Dad when he visits, so I was not surprised she was there. I was surprised to hear the licking sound, though.

We also asked about a budgie that we had had for several years. He too had long since passed. Again, I was very startled to hear a clear, loud chirp - unmistakably that of a budgie. If any of you have had budgies before, you'll know what I mean about the unmistakable sound of their chirps.

There were other voices, some of which we could not quite make out the words, but which were clearly voices. And there are some things that were said that I cannot recall now. I'd have to listen to the tapes again. Needless to say, the results impressed us a great deal, and I'm thinking it might be good to give it a try again, and perhaps take some pictures at the same time. I think I would once again use the question and answer format, as I found that more successful than just leaving the recorder running.

I did try with just the recorder going two other times. Once in the laundry area, with no results whatsoever, and once in my bedroom. I turned it on just before going to sleep, and left it running. I was a bit startled to hear some odd noises when I replayed it, but the more I listened, the more apparent it was that it was just me snoring! There was nothing other than that - I probably scared the spirits off! LOL!

There's no major news today, so I think I'll wander off for now. I've rambled on enough anyhow! Have a wonderful night everyone, and sleep well!

And So It Continues...

It's still frigging freezing, and it is still snowing. Thankfully it's a relatively light snowfall, but it's steady, so the white shit is accumulating. The roads are also getting icy, which makes it interesting to drive. Not that I find it that bad, but the way some people are driving, it's pretty unnerving on the roads.

"Does she have pictures of this new accumulation of snow?" my fair readers ask.

"Well of course I do! Would I let you down by not taking more pictures?" I reply. "Here ya go!"


More white shit. I have to admit, it sparkles real pretty...


And yet more pretty sparkly white shit.


It's even settling in on the trees now. We're doomed.

The shovels are getting excited again, though. They seem to be quite pleased with the new batch of snowflakes.


"Yay! More snow to play in! Look at Gramps hiding behind the cardboard, though - I told you he couldn't hack it anymore!"

Misty is a happy camper. She loves the snow, and it doesn't seem to matter how cold it is outside - she could stay out there and play in it for hours if I let her. Silly girl.


Hey Mom! I like this stuff!


C'mon and lay in it with me Mom! It's fun! And look - it sparkles real pretty too!

Yeah, yeah, Misty. Whatever. Oh all right. Yes, it DOES sparkle real pretty. But I am NOT going to go lay in it with you, thank you very much.


C'mon Mom! Let us in - it's cold out here! Aw, put the camera down and let us in! Lady, I think it's your turn to fix the cyborg eye on Mom...

Well, that's about it for pictures, folks. I know, it's disappointing. I'm sure you just can't get enough of looking at all these snow pictures. Not to worry, one of these days I'll take pictures of something else to post. What, I'm not sure yet. But I'll think of something. Until then, you're stuck with these!

It's supposed to keep freezing and snowing through the weekend, then it's supposed to warm up considerably during the week. As a matter of fact, they're calling for rain next Thursday. Now, if people think the driving conditions are getting interesting now, just wait until it rains. Mind you, the weather forecast can change more often than I change my underwear (no comments from the Peanut Gallery on that, thank you), so for all I know we could end up at -40C (-40F) with a raging blizzard by Thursday. Ooooooooooooh. Sorry, God, I take that back. Honest, I was only joking. :D

Let's see, anything of interest to report today? Oh, yeah. I was unplugging my camera after downloading the pictures, and the cable slipped, resulting in the camera dropping to the floor before I could catch it. Scared the beejeezus out of me! I had a fairly cheap digital camera that I just barely bumped (and I do mean just barely), and the LCD screen broke. So I was quite freaked about my new less cheap camera hitting the floor. Thankfully all seems to be well though. Guess it goes to show that you get what you pay for, no? I have to say my heart's still not quite settled down after that one!

I was just debating what on earth I was going to have for dinner. I really didn't feel like cooking, what with it being Friday night and all, but I wanted something more substantial than toast. And trust me, I didn't even feel like cooking toast! It's pretty bad when making toast or opening up a can of soup and nuking it is too much work, isn't it? LOL! Anyhow, I remembered that I had some frozen french fries in the freezer (I guess that's kind of the obvious spot for them, now that I think about it - mind you, they'd keep nicely outside right now too), so I decided to throw some of them in the toaster oven along with a few chicken fingers.

I don't usually eat french fries. I think it's mainly because the ex used to eat them all the time - he'd have had them for every meal if I had let him. So we used to eat them way too often for my liking, and I got to the point where I couldn't stand them. I used to cook two separate meals so that I didn't have to eat french fries. That was back in the day when I was young and really dense. Trust me, that would not happen now. Anyone in the house would damned well eat what I cooked, and be happy with it. None of that restaurant style ordering shit nowadays.

Anyhow, as I was saying, I don't usually eat french fries. But every now and then I get a hankering for them. They have to be the shoestring kind though - not the big fat ones. Ick. So awhile back I was perusing the frozen veggies and such and spied a bag of frozen shoe string french fries. Yeah, I know - logical place for them. I got them, had them once, and then forgot all about them. So it was kind of a nice surprise to remember them tonight. A nice hot comfort meal on a frosty winter's eve. And yes, Brooke, it IS winter. Maybe not technically, but trust me, around here winter usually hits a heck of a lot earlier than December 21!

As there is no more fascinating news to tell you, I guess I'll wander off and check out some other blogs while I'm waiting for din-din to finish cooking. So have a great night all, and stay warm and safe!