A bird in the hand...

... is worth dozens in the bush!

Last Sunday I finally found a few spare minutes and met my dear friend Jane at Lynde Shores Conservation Area for a couple of hours or so of photography. I bought a Canon Rebel XTi almost a month ago now and haven't really had a chance to try it out until then.

The camera is phenominal, as you can see from the photos.

I was shocked to see that there were several robins in the woods - very unusal this late in the year although since talking with some other people "in the know" this past week, it seems it has been too mild for them to get the urge to migrate, so they may stay right through now.

This is a downey woodpecker, I believe.

Here's Jane and a wee friend. There were so many Chickadee's in the woods that if you so much as stood still, they were on you looking for food - and I don't think it had anything to do with being hungry. These little suckers were plenty plump already!

Check out the top of his hat :o)

I'm hoping we get some snow soon. I'd like to go back and get some winter photos early one morning.

Off now to try to finish my Christmas shopping!!

This was sooooo me last week!

In an attempt to get out of the blue funk I've been in lately, I thought I'd try one of these inane surveys that people email around from time to time. This one's a little different than most I've seen previously.

1. When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought?
Good God it's way too early to be awake.
2. How much cash do you have on you?
About $100 US that I still haven't put back in the safe from my trip to the US in early Nov.
3. What's a word that rhymes with "DOOR?"
Four
4. Favorite planet?
Have to go with Earth since I've nothing else to compare it to and Pluto isn't a planet anymore.
5. Who is the 4th person on your missed call list on your mobile telephone?
Probably Dianna. She's the only one who calls me all the time and claims I never answer my phone.
6. What is your favourite ring tone on your mobile telephone?
It's playing a funky version of "Jingle Bells" right now that I'm kinda liking... but I think it will get annoying really soon. Otherwise, the "Mission:Impossible" theme kind of suites my life.
7. What shirt are you wearing?
Deep purple snuggle sweater with a big collar.
8. Do you "label" yourself?
Yes, but I'm not wearing it today. ;oP
9. Name the brand of the shoes you're currently wearing?
Dr. Scholes.
10. Bright or dark room?
Medium. Lots of wood paneling (way too much, in fact)
11. What do you think about the person who took this survey before you?
I don't know the person who took it before me.
12. What does your watch look like?
Like a gold and silver Andrew Fezza watch.
13. What were you doing at midnight last night?
Trying to get my mind to shut down so I could go to sleep.
14. What did your last text message you received on your cell say?
Would have been from 411 Directory assistance since I don't use text messaging.
15. Where is your nearest 7-11?
No idea, but there's a Mac's within spitting distance. Ask me where the nearest Tim Horton's is though. That'll get you an interesting answer.
16. What's a word that you say a lot?
Crap.
17. Who told you he/she loved you last?
My husband.
18. Last furry thing you touched?
My dh. ;oP
19. How many drugs have you done in the last three days?
One kind but a lot of it. Advil for a headache that was off the charts.
20. How many rolls of film do you need to get developed?
Zero. Gone digital and never lookin' back.
21. Favorite age you have been so far?
17
22. Your worst enemy?
Time
23. What is your current desktop picture?
Blue carpet. Not kidding. I goofed processing house photos the other day and instead of deleting a photo meant to separate pictures of two houses, I clicked "Set as Desktop Background", so now I have a photo of dark blue carpet and my camera strap as my desktop background and it's been like that for 3 days now...
24. What was the last thing you said to someone?
Good bye.
25. If you had to choose between a million bucks or to be able to fly what would it be?
No question...the cash.
26. Do you like someone?
Yes.
27. The last song you listened to?
It's Beginning to Look A lot Like Christmas
28. What time of day were you born?
Not sure.
29. What's your favorite number?
2
30. Where did you live in 1987?
Pontypool, Ontario.
31. Are you jealous of anyone?
Yes, several people, actually.
32. Is anyone jealous of you?
Doubtful.
33. Where were you when 9/11 happened?
At work. I watched everything on CityTV online with my boss.
34. What do you do when vending machines steal your money?
I don't use vending machines as a general rule.
35. Do you consider yourself kind?
Most of the time, but I can be quite a b*tch at times, too.
36. If you had to get a tattoo, where would it be?
Ankle or shoulder blade.
37. If you could be fluent in any other language, what would it be?
Spanish
38. Would you move for the person you loved?
Did that already.
39. Are you touchy feely?
Not really.
40. What's your life motto?

41. Name three things that you have on you at all times?
Out in public: watch, wedding ring, glasses
42. What's your favorite town/city?
Cobourg, but I also really, REALLY enjoyed San Diego, CA.
43. What was the last thing you paid for with cash?
Oil change
44. When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper and mailed it?
Last Christmas
45. Can you change the oil on a car?
Actually, I can! And then some...
46. Your first love: what is the last thing you heard about him/her?
In jail!
47. How far back do you know about your ancestry?
Not very.
48. The last time you dressed fancy, what did you wear and why did you dress fancy?
To go to an opera in Buffalo. Black carwash pants and a really (really) sparkley green/gold top/jacket (I'm still finding sparkles EVERYWHERE).
49. Does anything hurt on your body right now?
Actually no. And that's unusual. Oh...wait...I just got a twinge in my knee. Par for the course.
50. Have you been burned by love?
Yep, but I got even.

Once upon a time...

... I was young and carefree.

Once upon a time...

I was intelligent, pretty & thin... I was confident. The world was mine for the taking.

Once upon a time...

... I knew without a doubt what I would be when I grew up.

The reality...

...I am approaching middle-age and lost.

Birthday Blessings to my dearest friend, Lori
(and her sister Christie, too)!!

Birthday Wishes For My Friend

On your birthday,

I wish for you the fulfillment

of all your fondest dreams.

I hope that for every candle

on your cake

you get a wonderful surprise.

I wish for you that

whatever you want most in life,

it comes to you,

just the way you imagined it,

or better.

I hope you get as much pleasure

from our friendship as I do.

I wish we were sisters,

so I could have known you

from the beginning.

I look forward to

enjoying our friendship

for many more of your birthdays.

I'm so glad you were born,

because you brighten my life

and fill it with joy.

Happy Birthday!

Where were you?

25 years ago...

- 25 years ago I was 7 years old. I lived in a little village called Pontypool and I went to Grandview School. I would have been in grade 1 or 2 that year. I certainly was in Brownies. Likely was already taking piano lessons, skating lessons, swimming lessons, etc... My parents had a pool - summers were great. I had lots of friends. I had My Little Ponies and Cabbage Patch dolls (3 of them!) and I lived for Saturday morning cartoons (remember when it was actually worth getting up early on a Saturday morning??). Life was simple, good & carefree.

20 years ago...

- 20 years ago I was 12 years old. I vividly remember proclaiming to my parents on a drive to Peterborough in my dad's grey truck with the maroon seats that I was going to be a teenager soon and how excited the prospect of that made me feel (I also remember that I wasn't wearing a seatbelt at the time - but I don't think it was such a huge deal then like it is now). I played baseball in the summer at the park on a team and I was pretty good at it (having a much older brother was a big influence on that). I was a bean pole with long dark brown hair - not as dark as when I got older, but much darker than the sandy blonde it was when I was young. I was in grade 6. I was in Girl Guides by then. I was on every sports team and club I could possibly fit in. I had even managed to be the only girl in a group of 4 who was on the Gause Math team (I've still never figured that one out since I despise math and really wasn't all that good at it, or so I thought). I somehow managed to be smart AND cool at the same time. No small feat. I had already had several boyfriends and crushes. My brother had already threatened one of them with bodily harm (ah, brotherly love, ain't it grand?). I was a packrat and a slob. I was hard on my parents, especially my mom. A lot of what I said to her usually started or ended with "Make me".

15 years ago...

- 15 years ago I was 17. My brother had married (and divorced) the previous year. I had dumped my highschool sweetheart (to my parents delight) and I was already dating the man who would eventually become my husband. I was in grade 12 at Weldon. No longer into sports as much as I was in public school. I was fast tracking through highschool and would finish 5 years of course material in 4. I was the only girl in my shop classes (wood/metal/drafting) which I took all through highschool. I was Victoria County Female Technical Student of the Year 2 years in a row. I had entered several juried art competitions (Buckhorn and Fenlon to name a couple) and was winning awards with my work. I was chosen one of 5 students to paint a mural in the school. All were on the second floor. Mine was at the top of the main stairs and the first you saw when you came up stairs. I was also student liaison with the town's local art gallery. I was working as a waitress at a restaurant on Hwy 35 called Kimberly's. My larger group of friends from public school had become a smaller tighter group that lasted through highschool and for a few very special ones to this day.

10 years ago...

- 10 years ago I was 22 and a new bride as well as a new home owner. I had been to college and decided it didn't agree with me. Although I had had many jobs, I had just started my first full time 40 hr week minimum job (a job I still hold today). I still had my first, and to this day still favourite, car, the 1986 Cougar that my grandfather had bought for me to drive back and forth to college. I got 3 cats of my very own and lost the cat that had grown up with me at the age of 18. I had become friends with Lori who over the years has come to be like a sister to me.

5 years ago...

- 5 years ago I was 27 years old. The Twin Towers fell that year and had a profound effect on the world. Life and responsibility had beaten some of the fun out of me. I no longer cared to dance, hadn't been to a bar in years. I had lost touch with people who were once important to me. I had my first PT Cruiser and the insanity that is Cruzin' was just starting to afflict me.

1 year ago...

- 1 year ago I was 31 and feeling a little more at peace with myself. I had a bit of a personal crisis about turning 30 because I wasn't happy with where I was in my life (interestingly enough, as I look back on this, things are pretty much the same today as they were then). In the last 5 years I had lost both of my grandparents. Losing my grandfather was especially difficult for me. It was sudden and as I was very close to him, I took it very hard. I had found my birth mother and half sister and was surprised to learn that they live very close to me (within BLOCKS). I was in a minor car accident and was charged with careless driving. It was a snowy night in December and the car I slid into was backing up and I got the lion's share of the damage (minor though it is). My parents were down for dinner the weekend of the accident and I couldn't tell them what had happened. I KNEW without a doubt I wasn't at fault but I was embarrassed that it had happened at all. As I type this, I am still waiting to go to trial to fight the charge. 14 months later and still counting... There's so much more to that story, but it's already been covered before - I see no point in rehashing it again.

1 week ago...

- 1 week ago today I was wrapping up a long week of work and looking forward to a "Crop til you Drop" event in Kendal on Saturday from 9am-midnight. The week preceding had been so busy that I hadn't packed anything so Friday was a late night sorting, figuring out what I was going to work on and packing it all up.

Yesterday

- Yesterday I worked from 8am to 7pm. Went home to feed my animals. Darryl and I had our routine Thursday night feed of pasta and watched our TV shows and I fell into bed at 11:30pm. I am so tired.

And where do you see yourself 5 years from now?

I'll have to think about that one. For now, it's late and I'm tired. It's been a long week. Fodder for another post perhaps.