Happy Halloween

It's been a cute Halloween, I had some adorable wee ones show up

at my door trick or treating and the most precious fairy showed up...

Elyssa looked so cute, her focus was on Winnie the Pooh...
I'm still laughing at the commotion which was priceless! 

The neighbors just up the street go all out for Halloween,
 I went to check it out and the fairy was scared to walk up

to the door... can't say I blame her, but she trooped up the 
walk hanging onto her Daddy pretty tightly.  

Those who celebrate this day, I hope you all

had a safe and wonderful Halloween! 

See Ya Later

Tonight it was out to dinner... 

Montana's hasn't let me down yet so it was

this venue for tonight's get together

A lady who was once my boss, took a chance

on me back when I was still very ill and confused and she

put me to work. I started out cooking one night a week, 

until this amazing lady seen my health was improving. 

My one night became two, two turned into three, 

and after a while I had the keys and was running the place

for her while she would be away on a holiday every

now and again. Not only did the work increase, a bond, 

a friendship blossomed and tonight the dinner was to say

farewell to this remarkable lady who has made a 

tremendous difference in my life. My friend Jill is moving

to Ontario; it's not too far that we can't still visit, but 

it's too far to sit and chat over a cuppa tea. 

Jill I'm sure going to miss you, thank you for believing

in me back when I didn't even believe in myself. Thank you

for the laughter, the shared tears, the guidance and

direction. You've made a tremendous difference in my life and

I will forever be grateful to you, as I will forever treasure

our friendship. The joy of working with you, well work

just didn't seem like work when we were together... it was

sheer joy!  

Wishing you all the best in your new adventure, 

I love you and please know you will be missed, not only

by myself but the countless others you have influenced

on their journey.  I refuse to say goodbye, so 

see ya later my friend. Happy trails. 

On Change...

I was looking for some new bedroom lamps when I stumbled upon

a brilliant new idea, for a fraction of the cost. The old look is on the left,

the new and improved is by far a much cleaner and brighter look. 

The same base with different shades. 

Any amount of change for me is letting go of

something old, a step up, and it doesn't always

work out as planned, but at least I'm willing

to take the chance. 

Jammin'

First news of the day, we woke up to snow! Not that I want it to be here

but I can't always get what I want. I didn't even take a photo of snow today,

that's how unimpressed I am with it... can't help but laugh

though, what else can one do?  

Anyways, back to the regular scheduled post...

Today a I went to a bluegrass jam session at a new place called

Blue Skys Cafe/The Mercury Room. The room is quaint, the food

fantastic and the music set the mood...

There were two bands featured, one was 

Whitemud Drive and the other was

Mountain Spirit. There sure were a lot of musicians

who attended this event, the jamming was 

fantastic and what a great way to spend a 

few hours on a Sunday afternoon. 

Sweet Dreams

Tonight Elyssa is spending the night with me. She told me when

it was time for her to go to bed, so I listened. We read bedtime 

stories then it was time to tuck her in, first her friends had to all 

be tucked in though.  This one was way to cute...

I guess bunnies don't rate, they sleep in drawers BUT they

need blankies. Only bears get tucked into the bed... don't you 

know Grammy?  I do now! 

Now we can all sleep well and have sweet dreams. 

 

My Walking Buddy

It was an absolutely gorgeous day to get out and go for a walk

today, naturally my walking buddy came along.

The colors are stunning this time of year and those

who follow me, or have been for a while...

yup, me and my reflection shots, it's like a 

two for one and who doesn't like a deal? ;-)

 I'm still surrounded by research, my desk looks like a tornado

went through here, but but but... it's getting there, one 

word at a time. Only another month and I'll be getting ready

to wrap up another semester, one wee short month!

Play Time

My son and his wife bought me a gorgeous bouquet of flowers, 

they're so beautiful I thought I'd share them will  you. 

I didn't realize just how much I've missed

playing with photos until I did the photo

shoot on Saturday, so today I made the time

to have me some play time and it was fun! 

Thank you Shayne and Sandy, 

the flowers are gorgeous! 

Belle of the Ball

I went to do a photo shoot last night, it was for my son's

in-laws 40th wedding anniversary. The evening was magnificent,

and the belle of the ball looked gorgeous! 

You guessed it, Elyssa! 

First she walked her Grumps down the aisle with her 

cousin, they both looked so precious. 

Later, once the dancing began,

 Elyssa cascaded across

the dance floor...

... with her Daddy, 

then it was Grump's turn

Hardly a dance went by which Elyssa sat through...

And at about 9:15, way past bedtime, the princess 

came home with me to spend the night. 

A beautiful fairy tale evening, one which not only

 Elyssa will treasure, but I shall as well. 

Win / Win

On the way home today I stopped off to pick up a few items at the 

grocery store, I spotted fall bulbs and I couldn't resist. 

When I went to pay for the bulbs they rang up a dollar more

 than the sign said they were. I mentioned it to the cashier, 

she checked and said I was right and told me I didn't have to pay 

for them. Then I remembered the  scanning code of practice, 

here I just wanted the sale price, and bonus, I got them for free.

Now to see if free Narcssus bulbs grow any better 

than the full priced ones do. Mind you if they don't

come up at all I won't have wasted any money,

this really is a win/win situation. 

Patience

My poor Abbie girl, she has the world of patience with me and today

when I spotted her just chillin' at the top of the stairs my heart just 

melted. 

 She's in dire need of a visit to groomers, she needs some love

and attention and starting tomorrow I'm going to make a point of taking

her out on walks a bit more often, well until it gets too cold out there.

Too much time on my computer is taking it's toll, the 

fresh air and exercise will do us both the world of good. 

Special Days

Today I celebrated Thanksgiving with my children, daughter-in-law and precious Elyssa.  We had a beautiful dinner at my son and his wife's house, but before anyone else arrived I went out with my oldest son and his family and shot a few photos. 

We had a lot of fun...

and what's a photo shoot without capturing at least 

one, or 100 photos of my precious wee girl? 

It's a tradition where we all share what we're grateful for

and I have so much to be grateful for we'd still be at the table

if I were to list every single thing so it's limited to a few NEW things

each year. 

Here's two more individuals I'm so proud of and grateful

to have in my life, my middle son and my daughter. 

And out of the photos I shot today, this

one has me smiling...

So in addressing special days such as Thanksgiving or Christmas, 

I find that I have choices, do I keep my gratitude or sharing spirit

for one day of the year? Heck no! I choose to carry gratitude

and the spirit of Christmas within me all year though; the calendar

 dates are mandated, the choice is mine. 

On Saying Goodbye

Today I went to a farewell party, a very near and dear friend

is moving away and her and her husband will be dearly missed.

For those of you who I 'know', this lady is the lady I 

worked for when I was cooking. I learned from this 

lady, we shared, laughed, cried but most importantly

we became near and very dear friends, her presence

will be missed immensely. So it wasn't saying goodbye really,

I was saying see ya later and now when I go to Ontario

I won't have to pay for a hotel! :-)

There's always a bright side, sometimes I just 

have to look a bit harder for it. 

And on saying goodbye, it's that time of year

we're saying goodbye to the leaves, goodbye to

our summer days, the sunshine and warmth but 

then again I can choose to carry this sunshine and

warmth within...

Life really is about choices, attitude and choices. 

Although I haven't always made the wisest choices, 

at least I've learned something from them. 

Beautiful

I just know it's going to be a beautiful day when I wake up to this...

And on this happy note I'll leave you with this quote and

wish you all a wonderful weekend! 

"The windows of my soul I throw

Wide open to the sun."

~John Greenleaf Whittier

Something Old, Something New

I can recall the days when I would NEED new blue jeans because mine had ripped, gotten snagged on something, or just plain went out of style. Not that I always got what I wanted but it's interesting how the tables have turned. The old ways, refusing to wear ripped jeans are gone... 

Yup, I paid for these, they were on sale thankfully... who knows, 

would I have bought them full price? For some reason I 

think not.  I must admit they are super comfortable,

look good with boots and soon enough I can even wear 

these with my mukluks. Brrr, a shivering thought. 

Stolen Sisters

A rally in remembrance of Aboriginal women who have been murdered or have gone missing was held at City Hall today. The event was a combination of the seventh annual Stolen Sisters Awareness Walk and the Edmonton Sisters in Spirit vigil (CTV news). The messages delivered today were powerful, now it's time for some action. It's time our government became actively involved and do something about the unbelievable amount of our beautiful women who go missing. I strongly believe it's time we, as Canadians, started speaking out and have our voices heard, enough is enough.  No woman, man, or child should have to live in oppression nor fear...

                         and I'll stop right there before I get on a real rant.

  

 The news report is here if you would like to take a look at this event 

Play Time

I miss playing with my photos, I miss being able to wonder around aimlessly, camera in hand and taking photos of whatever I see which interests and/or intrigues me.  Today I took a break, a much needed break as the words were blurring together, no I didn't leave my house, didn't venture too far from the desk but I allowed myself some play time and this is what I came up with... 

... all in a day in the life of a student. 

Now back to work I go. 

Empty Mind

"If a cluttered desk signs a cluttered mind, of what, 

then, is an empty desk a sign?"
- Albert Einstein

No worries here about having an empty mind! 

And what's up with the Gummy treats? Oh right, Elyssa has a horrific 

allergy to nuts and this package after I bought it, brought it home 

and read it said "may contain peanuts", so who am I to let something

 go to waste? I never knew I liked these, I never used to... interesting. 

A Revisit

I'm not sure if I've shared this photo before or not, 

so I thought even if I did it's worth a revisit...

Wishing you all a wonderful week!