The Old Year is Almost Done!

The new year is almost upon us and I can't help but think back on the past year with mixed emotions. It has been a year of ups and downs. On the upside there was my trip to Quebec which renewed my love for this country and energized me to continue to work to preserve it for future generations. There was my introduction to professional baseball and the accompanying Chicken Dance that is done at every game. I love it! New friends and new relationships.
The downside has been my back and neck problem, the unstable economic situation, lack of affordable housing and the grave illness of a relative.

The thing that was lacking for me in 2008 was stability. I never felt that anything in my life was for sure. I wish I had spent more time playing and laughing and less time worrying. Life happens no matter how much you worry about it or try to manage it. No matter where I end up next year it will be where I am supposed to be that I am sure. The end of this year has seen me sadder, poorer and fatter, but it has also made me wiser.

I never make new year resolutions as I always believe that they just set you up for failure. However, I intend to eat more healthy and get more exercise. I also plan on enjoying life more and worrying less. To do that I want to spend more time doing what I love - hiking with Miss Lucy and taking photos.

I am grateful for all the new people who have passed through my life this year and all those that have stayed with me over the years. I am also grateful for my blogging friends. Many days your encouragement and cheerful comments left on my blog brought a smile to my face and gave me hope that someone in the world cared. Thank you so much for that. I hope that everyone of you have a healthy, happy new year.

Bye Bye Christmas 08!

This Christmas stockings that were hung by the chimney with care are now drying out on the heaters that everyone is burning night and day around the province in a vain attempt to keep warm.

This Christmas has to be the worst I have ever remembered for bad weather. Christmas eve, Christmas day and Boxing day saw me trudging through the snow to get the last of the shopping done, deliver gifts and have Christmas dinner.

Most of the holiday I took sky train which at the best of times is unreliable and right now is subject to closure without notice on an hourly basis. As I sit here bundled in my coat and new boots I thank god for these boots not to mention the person that purchased them for me as a gift only days before we got our first real dump of snow. These boots have been the only thing keeping me sane while walking Lucy and waiting shivering in the wet and cold for buses and sky trains.

All the bad weather aside - I did enjoy my Christmas with lots of nice gifts and kind words in greeting cards and e-mails from close friends. I gave thanks that all the people I am close to enjoyed their Christmas despite of the challenges many of them are facing this year.

I am saddened however, that while I celebrated what is supposed to be a season of good will and peace on earth, hundreds were killed or injured in senseless fighting in Gaza, car bombs continued to go off in Baghdad killing innocent civilians, three more Canadian soldiers were killed in Afghanistan and children in Canada, one of the wealthiest countries in the world, continue to go hungry in ever increasing numbers.

I hope that all of you have had a safe, happy and healthy Christmas.

Merry Christmas

Dreaming of a White Christmas??

You Got it - Happy Shoveling Vancouver!!

Winter Wonderland... or Hell?

Winter arrived with a vengeance this week. We have had about 35 - 40 cm of snow and if you don't have to leave the house it looks lovely. Unfortunately we were not that lucky. On Sunday while the storm raged and most people stayed off the roads we made an hour and a half long trek to take my daughter to the dentist and then on to visit a relative who is in a hospice near her dentists.

The snow did not let up most of the night and this morning it was almost impossible to get anywhere in the city. Most of us are not used to this kind of weather and here in lotus land our municipalities do not really have the capacity to deal with a major snow fall of this kind. Most of the time they only manage to clear the main roads and unlike eastern Canada we do not have the capacity to cart away the snow so we have piles of it taking up one lane of most roads. The side roads are almost impossible to get around on. Tonight while I have been typing this two vehicles have gotten stuck on the corner outside my house. My car is parked in Burnaby where I ended up getting caught by the storm and I doubt I will be getting it home till after Christmas making finishing up those Christmas shopping tasks almost impossible.

However not all is lost in the snow. These little birds were a delight to watch outside of my friends house today. They were busy fighting over the seeds the landlord had put in the bird feeder.

And the trees in the park look lovely in their winter whites.
It has quit snowing here this evening, but the temperature is expected to get to -7 tonight and more snow is expected Christmas eve and Christmas day.

I am hoping that the Grinch will not steal Christmas this year!

Brackendale - Winter Home of Eagles

A few weeks ago on a chilly, but clear day a friend knowing my passion for eagles drove me to Brackendale to view them at their wintering ground. I had heard a lot about this place and had even visited it last summer when I went to Whistler Village, but there was not a sign of an eagle then.

This time as we drove near the river you could see groups of them in the trees, but I was unprepared for the sight of so many white heads sitting in the trees on the other side of the river! It was quite amazing.

As we walked along the river's edge we could see several of them eating fish on the other side and at times making that high pitched call that is so unique to the eagle and always thrills me. Occasionally one would fly up the creek and to my delight two of them flew right over our heads!

While I was quite over awed by the amount of eagles in one place I was surprised to hear from a gentleman who visits every year that this was a poor turnout for the eagles so far this year. He told me that last year he was able to count over 900 in 40 minutes!

As the season for the eagles in this area is from November to February I am hoping that more show up and that I will get the opportunity to visit again.

I was not on my game this trip with taking pictures so there are not many and they are not great, but I hope you will enjoy them.

It is All True!

Everyone who I know who does not live in the lower mainland keeps asking me if it really is THAT cold and snowy here.... in a word YES!

As I write this at 2:30 pm it has not risen above -8 here in Delta all day and it is expected to snow again! The radio announcer says up to 25cm over night. For those of you who are unable to translate the cm it is a about a foot of snow and he says that is a conservative estimate depending on where you live. Most years we get some snow, but not generally much till about January and even then we rarely get these cold temperatures over an extended period of time. The biggest problem is getting around the city. Most people here rarely have to drive in icy conditions and few have any idea of how to drive in it as a result traffic slows to a crawl. Adding to the misery is the fact that most municipalities do not put away much of a budget to handle these conditions so they try to skimp out on the sanding and salt to save money resulting in numerous fender benders. These conditions are not expected to let up until January 02/09!

In my house only Lucy likes the snow. She can hardly wait to get outside and play a rousing game of snow soccer. This year however, even Lucy has had problems with her feet in the extreme cold so she is being limited in the amount of time I take her out. For me the greatest problem is getting around in my beater of a car! I never know when I leave the house if I will be making it back any time soon.

All I want for Christmas is some warmer weather!

There Must Be a Better Way!

I have begun to wonder who really likes Christmas. I read all these articles about how stressful the holiday is and how to survive the holiday and I really wonder why do we do this to ourselves every year?

If Christmas is such a wonderful time of the year why are there so many articles written on how to survive the holiday season and why do the hospital psychiatric wards put on extra staff to deal with the crisis a lot of people find themselves in?

Practicing Christians they will tell you that to not celebrate this holiday is to ignore the wondrous birth of Christ. However, biblical scholars all agree that the date of Christs birth remains a mystery and even if this was Christ's birthday would He really want us to celebrate it with the incredible consumerism and greed that this holiday has become? I think not!


I know that most people would say that this holiday is for children, but what are we teaching our children?
Do we really teach them to share with the children of families who do not have much by getting them to give a donation to a charity or collect food for the food banks, but then go out and buy extravagant gifts in large numbers for our children and load the Christmas dinner table with more food than many children will have in six months to eat? What have we taught them when we fill our stomachs to the bursting point and in many households end up throwing out large amounts of uneaten food?

This year I have had to struggle to get through everything. Not feeling well has kept me from doing some of the things I really like and made shopping a misery so I have cut back on everything. I find myself feeling guilty about this and then questioning why I feel that way. After all if this season is about giving and caring shouldn't that include caring for myself as well?

So I come back to my original question - Who really likes Christmas? Maybe some of you can answer that question for me.

Happy Thanksgiving America

Enjoy all that turkey!

What a Difference Six Weeks Makes

What a difference six weeks makes. It seems as though I have been gone forever because so much has happened in my province, my country and the world!
Here in BC we have had two by-elections both of which were won by the left leaning party.
Federally we have had an election that really saw few changes. The Conservative party picked up a few seats, but not enough to give them the majority government that they were looking for. One thing this election did was cost money - a lot of it! 300 million at last count. We can spend this amount of money to get very little change for our country, but we cannot find a way to house the thousands of homeless or the feed the hungry children in this country - shame!
Our civic elections saw a number of communities electing predominantly left mayors and council members. In particular was the election of Gregor Robertson in Vancouver, former NDP MLA and an almost complete left council to give him a large and powerful mandate. Many see these changes as being a taste of what is to come in the May 09 Provincial election.

Of course the greatest change is the complete sweep that the Democrats took in the US electing, Barak Obama, the first black President in their history.

Obama was seen as a bringing hope to our neighbors to the south who have been plagued with recession and job losses. It will be a bleak Christmas for many in that country who have lost their jobs and their homes due to the down turn in the economy. However, I wonder if the American people are expecting miracles from their new President, when he may only be able to offer soloutions that will take time and patience from Americans before they see any real lasting results. This country may yet be in for some real challenges in the next couple of years.

Remembrance Day was rainy and miserable, but I still managed to get out to a ceremony to yet again remember those who lost their lives so I could freely speak out on this blog. And also remember that we are still losing young lives in a war we can't win in Afghanistan.

Thanksgiving in Canada has come and gone and I am thankful for my family and my extended family. In four days the US will celebrate their Thanksgiving.

All that in just six short weeks since I last really posted anything! Can't wait to see what happens over the next year!

Happy World Toilet Day!

Yes it is that time of year again - World Toilet Day. I thought that this might be an appropriate day to start blogging again. After all next to Christmas what could be better than World Toilet Day - right? As I went about my day I pondered how I could best express my delight in this very important day. I thought about the few times I have been with out a bathroom when nature called... well first it calls then it SCREAMS at you. We have all been there - long car ride no rest stops and every miles seems longer than the last. Or the times that something went horribly wrong with the plumbing and all the toilets in the house were unusable and one of the kids had the stomach flu - both end!!! Suddenly World Toilet Day does not seem so trivial.

Really - what would we do without a means to dispose of human waste?

Well that is exactly what 2.6 billion people or 40% of the worlds population face every day. It is one of the leading sources of water contamination that kills more than 5 million children from diarrhea and other sanitation related illness. Not to mention the fact that here in the west where we have some of the best sanitation systems in the world we still struggle with raw sewage being dumped into our oceans, rivers and lakes.

So I think I will spend my day by:

• Being thankful for the toilet I have ( a little cleaning and polishing maybe)
  
• Being more aware of where the sewage goes when I push the handle and urging city, provincial and federal leaders to make changes in the way we deal with our raw sewage.
  
• Demand that public toilets be kept clean and sanitized so we are not spreading disease
• Support organizations that are helping to bring proper sanitation to under developed third world countries.

Check out more information about World Toilet Day .



Many Thanks to my ghost typist Karen

Just Ducky!

Check out Camera Critters for more great photos!

Degenerative Disks or Ain't Getting Old Great!

It has been a long time since I have posted much of anything. This summer I was so busy having fun and working that I really didn't have much time. Then there was my wonderful trip to Quebec! All of these things prevented me from posting much on my blog, but there has been another reason that I have not posted much.

About 12 years ago I was diagnosed with degenerative disk disease in my neck from the third to seventh vertebrae. It was bad enough then for my doctor to utter the warning "don't get in a car accident" as I was leaving the office after getting the x-ray results. However, would have been better to warn me about keyboarding for hours on end or speaking on telephones with the receiver tucked into my neck so I can multi-task at the same time. She didn't warn me and now I am reaping the consequences. Just before I went to Quebec I was having some numbness in my hands,some weakness in my arms and the occasional dizzy spells. While in Quebec I noticed that when I was walking my right hand was getting what felt like electric shocks through it and I was forced to put it in my pocket to stop the discomfort. When I returned my symptoms seemed to increase and was aggravated even more by the four hours of keyboarding tasks a day that I was given at my work place.

When I went to my doctor she ordered new x-rays and was saddened to tell me that my neck was in really bad shape now. The muscle was in constant spasm and as a result was tilting my neck at an incorrect angle. As well there is an over growth of bone and it appears that the nerves are probably quite pinched off and there may be a bulging disk, but we will be unable to tell until I can get an MRI which could take nine months or more. In the meantime my doctor has put me on short term disability and advised me to not do any keyboarding ( my daughter is the ghost typist for this) until my muscle spasms, headaches and numbness are better and even then I will need to restrict the amount of time I can do these things.

So... I am left to bribe my daughter (chocolate works wonders for this) into typing my posts.

Miss Lucy is happy as I can still give her lots of belly rubs! Lucky dog!

Sarah Palin Moving them To Canada

Camera Critters

Check out all the rest at Camera Critters

Above the Clouds

Skywatch Friday! Check out all the rest at Skywatch

Memories of Quebec

I am back to the grind and hating every minute of it as much as I did before I went on holidays. I think there is a message in that for me. However for now I cannot do too much about it.

My first glimpse of Quebec City was just as the sun was rising on the old quarter. I had been told that it was probably one of the most European like cities in Canada, but having never been to Europe I was not sure what to expect. However the first morning that I walked in the Old town I was so over whelmed by the colorful old buildings and narrow winding cobblestone streets. You felt as though you were walking back in time, yet here people still live and work in these buildings.

Quebec City is the oldest city in Canada. It has just celebrated it's 400 hundred anniversary. As I walked through the streets I could not help but be awed by the beauty that surrounded me on all sides. The city sits on a hill overlooking the St. Lawrence river.

I walked on the Plains of Abraham where the battle between Britain and France played out and was a deciding factor over the fate of New France and influenced the creation of Canada. It was so exciting.
Everyday from early morning until late evening I walked the streets and explored as many nooks and crannies as I could. I ate wonderful traditional Quebec food such Poutine with chunks of cheese melting into the gravy and every afternoon I indulged myself at one of the many out door cafe's with one of the incredible pastries and fragrant coffee. No matter how hard I tried to resist it was impossible!

Quebec City is the best holiday I have ever had in my life. I have never had the chance to just go away on my own and explore a new city. Usually I had children and/or husband in tow so this was a great experience for me. Later I will put up the rest of the pictures and share my trip up through the country and then up the St. Lawrence to the Saguenay Fjord!

More Pictures at my Flickr site

Camera Critters Sunday!

A very French Cat! In the Old Quarter of Quebec City

Check out the rest of the pictures at Camera Critters

Bonjour Quebec City!

I have spent the last five days exploring Old Quebec City and enjoying every moment of it. I have hundreds of photos, but more importantly wonderful memories.
With the exception of one day of rain the weather has been great! Sunny and warm.
I cannot tell you how exciting it was to walk the Plains of Abraham in glorious sunshine.
And the St. Lawrence is incredible. All my life I have been fascinated by bodies of water. In school when they would teach us about rivers and lakes I longed to see them. Of particular fascination for me was the St. Lawrence. It seemed so exiciting - explorers arriving and Indians trading furs up and down the banks. I not only got to see the St. Lawrence I took a trip up to Saguenay Fiord to see the whales. The belugas looked like marshmallows floating on the water! It was wonderful.
Like all good things it comes to an end and today I fly home. I will post pictures some time in the coming week.

Chasing the Orcas

It has been quite a week for me! So much to do to get ready for my trip to Quebec City on Monday. The weather here has been so good it is hard to focus. Every minute I want to get out in the sunshine and play!
I did get to play on Thursday. Last Christmas my daughters gave me a gift certificate for a whale watching tour that departs from Steveston. It turned out a beautiful day to be on the water and there were lots of whales about as you can see by the pictures that I posted on the side. The tour lasted about 4 hours and was so relaxing. The most difficult part was trying to balance a camera on a rocking boat to get some pictures.
These whales are Orca whales commonly known as Killer Whales despite the fact that I have never heard of them killing anything but seals and dolphins! In fact these poor mamals had such a bad reputation that at one time the military used to use them for shooting practice!! Can you imagine that! These lovely creatures are so elegant to watch and they are able to move so swiftly through the waters that we were constantly starting engines to move up to them. We are only able to get within 100 meters of the whales as the department of fisheries only allows for that in order to keep the whales from being too stressed. An accurate count of how many Orcas actually exist is unknown, but like most of the whale population it has diminished greatly. One of the problems is the pollution that is infecting them and causing their young to die. Terribly sad and should be a wake up call for all of us. I can not imagine a world without these beautiful animals.

I hope you enjoy the pictures!

Had A Whale of a Time!

Whale Watching!

Camera Critters Sunday!

Check out the other Camera Critters at Camera Critters Meme

Skywatch Friday

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Headlines That Make You Cringe!

Red Tape Holds Up New Bridges

Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Expert Says

Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers

Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over

Miners Refuse to Work after Death

Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant

War Dims Hope for Peace

If Strike Isn't Settled Quickly, It May Last Awhile

Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures

Enfield Couple Slain; Police Suspect Homicide

Man Struck By Lightning: Faces Battery Charge

New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group

Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas in Spacecraft

Kids Make Nutritious Snacks

Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half

Hospitals are Sued by 7 Foot Doctors

Typhoon Rips Through Cemetery; Hundreds Dead

Golden Sunset

One of the last before the end of summer

Skywatch Friday - A Beautiful Promise

Skywatch Friday - A Beautiful Rainbow gives the essence of promise and hope.

Skywatch Friday -Flying High

Flying with the Eagles for Skywatch

Having a Ball!

Three weeks has to be a record for the longest period I have gone with out blogging since I started this blog. I have been so busy that there has not been a moment I could actually write a word. Today when I started writing I thought I would catch you all up on the things I have been doing, but I quickly realized that there is not enough time to fully explain to you where I have been and what I have been doing. There have been a multitude of events and rally's covering everything from freeing the Cuban Five to Latin American festivals, Japanese festivals barbeques in the parks, eating barbequed salmon that was cooked over a pit fire in the middle of the street and the Gay Pride brunch and parade of which I took hundreds of photos. I have also been to several ball games and helped a friend move! Just writing about some of these things exhausts me, but it has been a lot of fun.
This past weekend I went to Seattle with a friend to visit Pikes Place Market where they had the biggest seafood I have ever seen in my life! The scallops looked like platters and the lobster tails, shrimp and Alaskan crab legs were huge! I had to stop myself from buying on of everything and cooking it on the spot!

We took a tour of the underground city that was built after the fire in the 1800's. It was a fascinating piece of history that I had never heard of before.

All in all my summer has been fabulous. The weather, rainy and chilly today, tells me that summer is beginning it's descent into fall before leaping into winter. I can almost not bear to leave this summer behind!

I have tried to keep up with everyone's blog over this period of time and I have missed you all!

Hey Drowsey-Monkey!

On one full year of Drowsey-Monkey insanity! You have made us laugh, brought us some great pictures and shared some candid moments with all of us! Not to mention driving us all crazy with your tags and meme's!
We love ya and hope that you continue to bring us more wonderful Drowsey-Monkey crazyness!

Sky Watch !

It is sky watch Friday again. Go to the Sky Watch web site and see more great photo's!

Tagged by Lorelei

Okay - I did Drowsey's and now I am doing Lorelei's tag. I want them both to know I will get even!

1. Where is your cell phone? somewhere in this house.... I will phone myself to find it before I go to work.
2. Your significant other? What is that?
3. Your hair? Everywhere I have three cats and a sheep/dog lab cross. We can make several wigs every week with the hair off the floor.
4. Your daughter? Works for Liberals - need I say more! (translate Liberals as right wing a**holes)
5. Your son? Never happened.
6. Your favorite thing? Photography
7. Your dream last night? I dreamed I never had to work ever again!
8. Your favorite drink? Jones Cola Black Cherry Coke! HEY JONES CEO'S are you listening??
9. Your goal?Try all 218 flavors at Mario's Gelato
10. The room you’re in? Kitchen/office
11. Your church? Nature
12. Your fear? That I will have to mow the lawn this weekend
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Out of the city
14. Where were you last night? Shopping for groceries
15. What you’re not? Patient
16. Muffins? Love them rarely eat them
17. One of your wish list items? Have enough money to buy a house one day.
18. Where you grew up? Sunshine Coast
19. The last thing you did? Le the dog out to the back yard
20. What are you wearing? blue jean capri's, green sweat shirt & flip flops.
21. Your TV? News & Amazing Race
22. Your pets? Three cats & one loveable extremely spoiled sheep dog/lab cross
23. Your computer? Hewlett Packard
24. Your life? Love my daughters, love my animals, passionate about the rights of the less fortunate.
25. Your mood? Content
26. Missing someone? My Parents and sister
27. Your car? Honda Civic
28. Something you’re not wearing? makeup (never do)
29. Favorite store? Maurice's -- but I'm too old now to wear anything from it
30. Your summer? Boring but busy
31. Like(love) someone? Hubby, and Vin Diesel
32. Your favorite color? Pumpkin orange
33. Last time you laughed? Constantly laughing
34. Last time you cried? Last night as I was finishing my book, These is my Words
35. Who will repost this? Probably no one since most of my readers don't have blogs. Maybe Marvin and Heather will.

Awarded & Tagged!

Last week Drowsey awarded me the Arte-Y-Pico award and tagged me at the same time! Just like Drowsey to give with one hand and take away with another. The tag was to post five unspectacular things about myself. (now you understand why it took me so long to get it done

Rules ...

1. Link the person(s) who tagged you.
2. Mention the rules on your blog.
3. Tell about 5 unspectacular quirks of yours.
4. Tag 5 bloggers by linking them.
5. Leave a comment on their blogs to let them know they’ve been tagged.

Diffictult though it maybe I did manage to come up with 5 unspectacular things about myself!

1. I love Nando's Chicken and will eat it till I burst if allowed to!
2. I turned 29 this July ( okay so I lie about my age)
3. I chew gum chronically and that could be why my fillings fell out!
4. I am totally addicted to Jone's Cola's Cherry Coke and am mad as hell that they quit producing it!
5. I love stuffed animals

The five specatacular blogging friends I pass this award and Tag on to are:

1. Blogsdon
2. K-9 Mom
3. Nervus Rex
4. A Stellar Life
5. Crazy Cath

Camera Critters #16

My favorite Meme! Visit Camera Critters for more Great Critter pictures!

Sky Watch Friday!

Here on the west coast we have such beautiful sunsets in the summer and fall.
Check out Sky Watch blog for more sky watch photos from around the world.

Canadians vs Yakima

Yep went to the ball game. Canadians lost!

Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network

Folk Fest & Protest

It was fun in the sun for me this weekend. I went to the Folk Festival for the first time in my life! I have always wanted to partake in this music filled weekend, but could either never find the time or the money. This year the ticket was a freebie and I made the time.

The folk fest has been going on for more years than I can remember. The music was great, but the whole feeling of the Folk Fest seems to be what keeps people coming back year after year. It takes people back to their youth and the good ole hippy days. Sitting under the sun, getting stoned and grooving to music. We did not stay till the evening when I am sure the air would have been pungent with good ole BC bud! Instead we headed down to the heart of the city. Down to the waterfront where the rich and powerful PNWER group were meeting to discuss the fate of us little people. They claim they are bringing in new security measures to speed up the flow of traffic through the border when the Olympics happen yet there was no representation from the Border Guards there? Tech Cominco was there & Conoco was there although what makes them specialists in border traffic is beyond me. They have not been elected nor have the people been consulted about the decisions they are making. They want to unify and merge Canada, USA & Mexico. They want our countries to be so similar that soon we will be one. Of course the USA as usual controls the agenda in most of these meetings. They have the most to gain - Canada.

The meeting this week was taking place at the BayShore Hotel right on the harbour and for two hours our group of protestors disrupted the peace and quiet of the garden party reception they were having. For two hours our group banged pots and chanted to let them know that WE are the people and that WE are the voice of democracy and WE want our say in how our countries are run. It was noisy and very disruptive to the hotel. The police were out in exagerated numbers given the fact that half the group were elderly and there were even some disabled people there. However, the police for the most part were patient and did little more than stand guard.

Later I took a walk on the waterfront that this hotel fronts. Then I drove home through the poorest address in Canada - East Vancouver! It was a full day.

*** I have posted some pictures of the day on the sidebar.

Camera Critters #15

This is an old picture, but one of my favorites. This baby seal was on the shore in Sechelt, BC.
Take a look at all the other Camera Critter postings at Camera Critters.

Sky Watch Friday!

PTSD

How terribly sad. Joseph Dwyer, the US Medic, who once won the hearts of everyone when he was shown rescuing an injured Iraqi boy who had been caught in crossfire has died of an overdose. He was suffering the ravages of PTSD from his time in combat and unable to cope with the trauma. He was only 31 years old. For some the war never ends.

Maybe by SARK

Maybe we are building a new world
Maybe we'll paint marshmallows purple,
Or Free Circus elephants
Maybe we'll ride
On chocolate merry-go-rounds,
Or make tennis shoes for camels.
Maybe we'll find a child who feels
Unsafe at home and take her out of there right away.
Maybe we'll mail so many letters to God,
That everything gets all healed up.
Maybe we'll take all the mean people, And use them to full up the ozone hole.
Maybe when we see a sign that says
"Drawbridge', we'll get out and do a lovely bridge sketch.
Maybe we will make airplanes
Out of the same material that the "Black Box" is made of.
Maybe we'll live in real communities,
Equal for everyone.
Maybe 100% of the people will vote,
And start a new world.
Maybe everybody is an
Angel, God, Animal, nature, all rolled into one bundle
Of nerve and tissue, lip and bone.
Maybe we'll stop fighting
And trying to be right.
Maybe there will be nap rooms everywhere,
And cars will run on kisses.
Maybe dreams are real
Maybe all the homeless
will move onto all the golf courses.
Maybe schools are filled with imagination,
And prisons have nutritious food and spiritual programs.
Maybe we are all free,
Safe and well loved.
Maye we all want the same things. Maybe we all love everyone.
by S.A.R.K.

Some days all I can do is dream.

Morgentaler gets The Order Of Canada

Amid much controversy Dr. Henry Morgentaler is awarded The Order of Canada. This is the highest civilian honor that is given in this country and Dr. Morgentaler's award has created a firestorm of controversy.

For those who don't know Dr. Morgentaler fought for women to have the right to choose what happens to their body. That included the right to end a pregnancy and in 1969 Dr. Morgentaler, a Montreal doctor, opened the first abortion clinic in Canada. Until Dr. Morgentaler's historic battle many women lost their lives to back door butchers who used dirty instruments in dirty back rooms to have an unwanted pregnancy terminated because it was illegal to have an abortion in Canada. Some women ,in extreme desperation, attempted to abort themselves with coat hangers. Many women died in the process.

Many have come forward to criticize Michaelle Jean, the Governor General of Canada, for awarding this to what they deem "a murderer". Not the least of these critics is the Catholic church. In particular Father Lucien Larre, himself a winner of the Order of Canada, has sent his back. Father Larre claims that people find Dr. Morgentaler's stand on abortion repugnant and that Dr. Morgentaler's pro abortion stand has divided the country and not unified it which he feels is important.

It strikes me that the Catholic church is very hypocritical. Given the fact that the church has been hit with numerous lawsuits over it's treatment of children in residential schools in Canada as well as having numerous priest charged with sexual assault of children in their parishes one would think they would heed the words "people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones". Father Larre should take particular notice of this since in 1989 he was found guilty of two counts of physically abusing children at the Bosco Youth Centres in Saskatchewan that he helped found.

I am not a pro-abortionist, but I do think that women should have the right to choose what to do with their own bodies and this should be a matter between themselves, their doctors and their God. It really is not the business of the Catholic church or Father Larre.

Change Can Be Good

As I am sure most of you noticed my blog was looking a little pale in the last week or so. That paleness was not a new design by me, but rather a glitch in my other template which I could not fix. So I found a new one. It needs a little tweaking still, but at least it is no longer bland.

Camera Critters #14

Well it is a lovely Saturday here on the west coast and I am getting ready to spend the day out walking in the woods with Miss Lucy and then off for a belated Birthday dinner at the Boat House. YUM! I can hardly wait.

For Camera Critters #14 Here is a photo of my favorite bird. I spend a lot of time trying to get good photos of these big fellas and they grudgingly oblige me on occasion.



Have a great happy and safe weekend!

Sky Watch

Thanks to Crazy Cath for letting me know about this and Wiggers World for hosting Friday's Sky Watch. Here is my photo of Harrision Lake, sky and mountains that I took a few weeks ago.

Great Birthday Week!

My Birthday Bouquet

I have had a busy week having fun! Yes I still had to go to work unfortunately. It was my birthday on Tuesday and even though I started the morning out in the dentists chair the day was beautiful. It was sunny and warm and Miss Lucy and I went for a picnic with a friend. The girls at the office got me a beautiful card and brought in butter chicken for lunch. I got a beautiful bouquet of flowers from my friends in England my daughters are planning a weekend party for me and I also was given a round trip plane ticket to Quebec City for September when I take my holidays. You can not beat that!

Last night I was given free tickets to Theatre Under the Stars at the Malkin Bowl in Stanley Park and my daughters, Miss Lucy and I saw "Annie Get Your Guns". The setting there is always beautiful and was especially so because of the eagles flying over head. I was so mad at myself that I did not take my camera. I would have gotten some really good shots. The play was wonderful. The singing and costuming as always was great. There is something so nice in being able to sit on the lawn with bunches of people and be entertained in this way. One of the benefits of living in this city. The only spoiler for the evening was the temperature which dipped drastically yesterday and made it a chilly evening.

I am now gearing up for a great weekend in the sun and party time! Drinks with co-workers tonight and birthday party this Saturday and hopefully a day in the sun at the beach with Miss Lucy on Sunday!

Camera Critters #13 - Canada's National Symbol!

As all of you know I love nature and I also love photography so finding Camera Critters meme has been right up my alley. This week I was going to post my picture of a baby seal that I took up the coast, but instead I went for a walk tonight in Foreshore Park with a friend and look what waddled past me! Looks like a big rat at first glance......

But it is Canada's national symbol.... the Canadian Beaver!

HAPPY JULY 4TH AMERICA!