The Halifax Look

Hey, did you know we have a "look'?
This week's The Coast magazine lays it out:)

Sensational Snap Society e-course

Want to break free from the same old thing ?

The Sensational Snapshot Society photography e-course

(that's a mouthful) starts up again on September 26th. Click on link to learn more, register......and read what some of the past participants have to say:)

This course is a six week celebration of photography in a low pressure, comfortable environment. We will focus on fun and interesting ways to view our surroundings. Stretch your creative vision and enjoy seeing the world around you with new eyes.

Participants are from everywhere. You will "meet" new people and enjoy seeing the different intepretations of the same assignments. This is for those of you who are wanting to improve your photographic "eye". Join in the fun!

Puppy Love

Illustration by Janet Cleland

That picture illustrates how I felt all day today!
I got a delightful surprise this morning! A wee book in the mail and this note!

from...

Yes!!!

How did this happen?
Well.........I have been a huge fan of Dean Koontz since reading The Watchers, years ago. Often when reading a book of his I will come across a passage that really speaks to me or an insight of his that resonates and sometimes something that just makes me laugh really hard. I have wanted to contact him for years. In the back of every book of his, there is mailing address.

Finally, a month ago, after reading his latest book in which there is a hysterically funny scene with a sweet bun and the consumption of it, I decided to sit down and pen a short letter. I also sent him one of my prints as a thank-you for all the years of reading pleasure he has provided me with. I thought he would enjoy it and that was that. Never in a million years did I expect to hear anything back. This man gets 10,000 letters a year.


The book he sent is called is called I, Trixie Who is Dog and it is wonderful fun. What you might not know about Koontz is that he has an abiding soft spot for dogs. Trixie a beautiful Golden, and a retired companion dog was their loveable family pet. She sadly died at twelve. This book, a few others and a new one in October, Trixie and Jinx, are his tribute to her love and faithful companionship.
100% of the proceed of these books go to Canine Companions for Independence.

and look..... he personalised it:) I'm thrilled.

Wednesday

Gosh, I was very surprised at all the comments on yesterday's post. That book certainly made an impact on everybody. I am all for traveling and getting out into the world, it is something I think everybody should try, I was just surprised and baffled at the huge success this book and author have claimed. I have read much better books about travel and self discovery. Anyway...that's enough about that.

I received this email today and had to laugh because quite a few of these things apply to me. I have read those same emails in the past and the info has stayed with me:)

Thanks to all your educational emails over the years.........

I no longer open a bathroom door without using a paper towel, or have the waitress put lemon slices in my ice water without worrying about the bacteria on the lemon peel.

I can’t use the remote in a hotel room because I don’t know what the last person was doing while flipping through the adult movie channels. I can’t sit down on the hotel bedspread because I can only imagine what has happened on it since it was last washed and I cannot drink out of the water glass in the bathroom for fear of what the housekeeper was cleaning prior to washing that glass ( if it was washed).

I have trouble shaking hands with someone who has been driving because the number one pastime while driving alone is picking one’s nose.

Eating a little snack sends me on a guilt trip because I can only imagine how many gallons of trans fats I have consumed over the years :(

I can’t touch any woman’s purse for fear she has placed it on the floor of a public bathroom. Purses are one of the dirtiest germ carriers around.

Must spend special thanks to whoever sent me the one about rat poop in the glue on envelopes because I now have to use a wet sponge with every envelope that needs sealing. ALSO, now I have to scrub the top of every can I open in the kitchen for the same reason.

I no longer have any savings because I gave it to a sick girl who is about to die for the 1,387,258th time. I no longer have any money, but that will change once I receive the $15,000 that Bill Gates/Microsoft and AOL are sending me for participating in their special e-mail program.

I no longer worry about my soul because I have 363,214 angels looking out for me, and St. Theresa’s Novena has granted my every wish.

I can’t have a drink in a bar because I’ll wake up in a bathtub full of ice with my kidneys gone.

I can’t eat at KFC because their chickens are actually horrible mutant freaks with no eyes, feet or feathers.

I can’t use cancer-causing deodorants even though I smell like a water buffalo on a hot day and my hair is now an attractive shade of grey because I am too afraid to colour it with dye.

Thanks to you, I have learned that my prayers only get answered if I forward an e-mail to seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes.

Because of your concern, I no longer drink Coca Cola because it can remove toilet stains. I no longer buy gas without taking someone along to watch the car so a serial killer doesn’t crawl in my back seat when I’m filling up.

I no longer use Cling Wrap in the microwave because it causes seven different types of cancer and thanks for letting me know I can’t boil a cup of water in the microwave anymore because it will blow up in my face. Disfiguring me for life.

I no longer go to the movies because I could be pricked with a needle infected with AIDS when I sit down.

I no longer go to shopping malls because someone will drug me with a perfume sample and rob me.

I no longer receive packages from UPS or Fed Ex since they are potentially terrorist agents in disguise and I no longer answer the phone because someone will ask me to dial a number for which I will get a phone bill with calls to Jamaica , Uganda , Singapore , and Uzbekistan .

Now I can’t use anyone’s toilet but mine because a big black snake could be lurking under the seat and cause me instant death when it bites my butt.... if not a snake, a rat....

I can’t ever pick up $2.00 coin dropped in the parking lot because it probably was placed there by a sex molester waiting to grab me as I bend over.

I no longer drive my car because buying gas from some companies supports Al Qaeda, and buying gas from all the others supports South American dictators.

I can’t do any gardening because I’m afraid I’ll get bitten by the Violin Spider and my hand will fall off.
If you don’t send this e-mail to at least 144,000 people in the next 70 minutes, a large dove with diarrhea will land on your head at 5:00 p.m. tomorrow afternoon, and the fleas from 120 camels will infest your back, causing you to grow a hairy hump. I know this will occur because it actually happened to a friend of my next door neighbor’s ex-mother-in-law’s second husband’s cousin’s best friend’s beautician . . .

P. S. : I now keep my toothbrush in the living room, because I was told by e-mail that water particles spray over 6 ft. out of the toilet each time it is flushed.

eat pray what?

I went to see Eat, Pray, Love last night....

I did not really enjoy the book, it was ok, and thought I would try the movie. It was pleasant, the locales were beautiful, the actors lovely but the turmoils of Liz again left me flat.

I guess part of what bothered me was how self absorbed her character was. Her life was not really that bad in the big scheme of things, she left her husband and then she left her lover on her terms, she was not broke, she had no health issues, nobody depending on her, no one to please but herself. Many women would probably happily change places with her at her lowest point....

.... there are hundreds of women I am sure, who would love to take off and go traveling to "find themselves" given the opportunity but have no money, are looking after kids, parents, have job commitments, health problems and are trapped by these constraints. Liz had nothing to hold her back and someone offering to pay her to go "out there" I don't begrudge her the adventure at all. I just don't understand what people find so brave and courageous about Liz leaving to find herself when there were no obstacles to stop her and lots to gain from it. That would be a sensible thing.

I think the braver and riskier thing would have been to stay and work things out for herself. Not as much fun, more difficult, and certainly not as interesting as travel. "Finding yourself" in your own surroundings is a lot harder. I doubt people would been as interested in her struggle had she stayed. The exotic places and people make this book. I don't get why so many people think that Liz's leaving was such a hard choice and idolize her for it.

Most people I know with nothing to hold them back would absolutely leave and travel to find themselves if offered a ticket and time and money to write about it. I certainly would. That's practical and a no brainer, not amazing and brave. That's my beef. I'm not saying she shouldn't have gone, I would have. Her trip WAS amazing and interesting. It is idolization of Liz and her choice that bothers me.

I love the idea of finding yourself. I love the idea of travel, I adore travel..... one always grows and sometimes gets uncomfortable and meets new people and discovers other ways of doing things and just being. I dunno, this fuss about the personal odyssey of Liz's really baffled me, not the travels, they were fun to read about, just all the massive hooplaa about it.

Maybe I am jealous. Who doesn't have things they would like to run from, areas of personna they would like to explore, open tracts of time to fill with personal adventures and not have to worry about someone else. Not mention have it all paid for? What was the big deal? Why was her decision to escape so amazing?

I think that's what I don't get. Countless women given the same opportunities would do a trip like that in a heartbeat. What am I missing? This book was a huge sensation, why? It seems to be polarizing women because some love it and other's don't. We lived vicariously through her, exotic locations and wonderful experiences and people along the way. Was she living out our fantasies? What was it that spoke to you?

Monday again

This is the before picture. Minutes later, a group of us comandeered all these chairs with cappuchinos and lattes in hand. Mid morning "pick me ups" to fortify our scrambles around the rocks of Peggy's Cove!
Sadly, I've just come from the airport. My lovely clan has departed for Vancouver and adventures on the West coast before returning to England in a few weeks.

flying by

This picture is an oasis of calm. Unlike my life at the moment:)

Last night I cooked tacos for 15 people! It was such a fun meal. Messy but delicious. Tacos are a super easy meal to put together for a crowd. I made the meat filling earlier and then there was just the chopping for the toppings. We had tomato, lettuce, black beans, avocado, cheddar cheese, sour cream and three different salsas to chose from. I loved the mango/lime salsa. Yum.

It has been busy times around here but nice to have family and friends about. Today I am heading downtown with one of the British clan and picking up a friend visiting from Toronto with her daughter. We will have a grand poke about and then later pick up my daughter who unfortunately and much to her dismay, is working fulltime and cannot spend as much time as she would like with her cousins. I am so lucky that I can shift my work around everything.

The winner of the cookbook on Suzie's blog is Sandy!

new prints:)

Red Cottage, one of my fave paintings of Nova Scotia!

Daisies

BluePoppies

Click on the pictures to go to the shop:) The resolution on these pictures is poor but the prints are sharp and lovely!

I'm headed Peggy's Cove this morning, showing it off to my visiting clan:)

Also, today's recipe is shrimp with feta! Pop over to SuzitheFoodie to see the pics, collect the recipe and maybe win one of my cookbooks !

Monday is a good day

Another week starts, full of possibilities!

This past weekend was another great one, spent with a pal fom Vancouver on Saturday and then family from the UK on Sunday. Some of the highlights were seeing a baby foal and soaring eagles,(not at the same time lol,that sounds ominous!), popping into an old friend's house for an unexpected visit, lunch overlooking a river, visiting vinyards, trip to the airport, giving and receiving lots of hugs, sitting around my brother's pool catching up on news, lasagna, wine, laughter........ trying to fill myself up with summer!

More busyness this week. The hard part will be trying to fit in work around it all:)

And now....here's something for you! My pal SuzietheFoodie who is always busy in the kitchen, is giving away one of my cookbooks! Go visit to see what she has prepared from it:) Suzie has posted the recipe also. I do know that a blueberry cake was made as well as a shrimp recipe and they will be posted over the next few days Yum! Pop over and have a delicious peek.

photo:SuzieRidler

weekend escapery, part 4

I can't believe it has taken me all week to post about my Saturday adventure. Too many pretty sights not to share...

This is Mahone Bay, a popular town about one hour away from Halifax. Known for it's three beautiful churches along the water's edge and a of boat building. There are some really gorgeous interesting houses and colours here.

Queen Anne's Lace another favourite wild flower of mine:)

Chester is next on the trail home...can you see the photographer?

I would love to live here. A charming community that has a lovely old fashioned laziness to it. My best friend's mom grew up here and I used to spend lots of time at her Grandmother's house in the summer. I guess that's why I have such a soft spot for it. Lots of happy memories.

Having said that, it is also home to many wealthy families who come from the United States and other places just to spend a few weeks here each summer in their luxurious"cottages. I can definitely understand the appeal!

We stopped for supper here at Nicki's Inn. An airy open fresh restaurant with DELICIOUS food.

And of course, dessert! Pavlova:)

The end of a perfect day with my mum~! Queensland beach............


Part 1
Part 2
Part 3