Pic Round-up

Cleaning up my PC a bit tonight. Organizing stuff. Mostly filing away pictures from the past year. Not so many of me, but gathered some as they went by and here's a small collection of the past year:

Pic 1 - Around Christmas of last year:


On to goofing around at a dance last winter:


To dancing with my daughter at her grade 8 grad (yes I've removed the innocent from all these photos ;):


Beside a lake in Algonquin Park at the start of a wonderful looking day:


In Ottawa, beside the river (actually, I think I'm in the river):


Indoor Rock Climbing:


Cleaning up trees with my dad:


Hiking with my youngest just north of Ajax:


And the last two are from yesterday. Both are me goofing around with parts of other peoples halloween costumes while bowling....



Small snapshots of little bits of my life ;)

Little Crossroads

Hit yet another of those little cross roads in life. Early last week actually, not today. The ones where you can pick between two paths. In my case, more where I was forced to choose between two paths, likely before I was ready to make such a choice. Decided to choose what was in my heart rather than what was in my mind. It was the right choice. That I know as I've learned a lot about myself over the past year. Funny what you can learn when you are looking. Mostly hard lessons learned through my muddling around and making a lot of mistakes, but seems that's how I learn - from my mistakes. That's all one can do with mistakes, other than try to fix up as much of the damage one caused in making them.

I'm still very positive and yes, still happy. At least I know what I want, eventually. Question is, will I find it ;)

It matters not, life's for living, so that's what it's best to do!

[Edit: Forgot to add. It's funny, the more you learn about life, the more you go through, the more the world fade from being black and white to infinite shades of gray]

Sweet Soul Sister

Listening to some older stuff in my music collection. For some reason, "Sweet Soul Sister" by The Cult took me way back in time in my mind. To happier times for me perhaps. Younger times anyway. When the world was an oyster, full of promise, and I had no responsibilities.

Oh well..so it goes. At least I can finally understand and quote Hemmingway....

" Ahhh youth"

(from "Old Man and the Sea")


Youth really is wasted on the young ;)

Be Yourself

Never be afraid to be yourself and stand out. You just may be beautiful!

Attitude is EVERYTHING!!!

Sometimes, at work, or in the news, you hear they are trying to find someone with attitude to fill a certain position. I always think they should include the word "right" in front of the word attitude. People with the right attitude can do almost anything. Attitude, just solely on it's own and undirected can cause problems.

I think it's also important to have and keep the right attitude in one's life. Following this thought, I must give credit to a very remarkable and amazing lady, who I am proud to refer to as a friend - Vy - of "Shades of Vyolet" In all that life has thrown, and has continued to throw at her, she has remained. She's lived through more than I think I could physically ever live through, endured more than I've ever even remotely had to endure, and through it all, she remains - as herself. She just gets back up and picks up with her life where it had left off. No complaints, life goes on.

Vy, you are an inspiration and I know why your blog has touched so many people. I'm glad you are still with us - it makes me smile. You definitely have the right attitude.

Where are they going? Why?

Driving into Toronto from my parents place (they live West of the City) at 2 pm on a Thursday afternoon, I really had to wonder about all the traffic on the highway. It was full. Stop and go full at times. I had to wonder where they were all going? Why? Is it all necessary? It's certainly not efficient, nor is it sustainable. I had spent a week at my parents and was heading back to where I live, which accounts for some of the traffic. Others will be traveling around for work. About half the traffic were transport trucks very inefficiently hauling stuff around the province and country. What ever happened to trains?

Stuff. Why so much stuff? We are always wanting stuff. More stuff. I had a couple errands to run when I got home (needed some stuff), so I walked up to the shops on Eglinton. While there I sat and had a coffee on a patio and watched the cars and people on the street. As always, the street was congested. Not by transport trucks, but by cars. At that time of day mostly woman, some with children, driving here and there to get stuff. What stuff? Groceries? Pastries? The dry cleaning? I don't know. I wondered though - why? Why fight all that traffic just to move things around, get a little bit of stuff from here, a little more from there, and bring it all to some place else. Are we all happy in doing this, or does it just present a way to pass the time? Looking at faces, no one looked too happy.

If you think about it, a city and the surrounding countryside is kind of like an ant hill. Paths lead in and stuff is dragged around, eventually stored here and there for when it is required. Ants scurrying here and there, working on this and that. Storing, using and replenishing.

Kind of like an ant hill, other than in an ant hill, the ants are all working for one thing - survival of the colony. Stored food for the lean months, bringing food for the young, feeding the queen for more young. Not so with us in the city, as we go about our own things for ourselves.

Or do we? Perhaps consumerism is our colony and the dollar is our queen?

Pensive

Since yesterday afternoon, while sitting outside on a patio having a coffee on Eglinton Street, I've become quite pensive. A million thoughts, none of them complete, circling in my head. Thoughts about the environment, our economy, our financial system, the current topology of big cities, how much I enjoy working outdoors, how much I enjoy the outdoors, my children's future, their children's future, my future, my past, how I got here, where it is I'm going? - and more.

It lead to me starting to think about why I was suddenly thinking all these thoughts? Perhaps a week away from work and a lot of different labour (with a couple games of golf tossed in) that lead to an empty mind into which thoughts could flow? Some of it comes from the first third of a book entitled "Water" and the realization of how poorly we've treated this resource, and the dire consequences that will follow without change. Maybe, but mostly as I recall I decided I needed a break away from everything - away from me mostly - and had vowed at some point to totally enjoy the summer, which I did. It is, over the past two days, however, unarguably now fall.

Oddly, with all these thoughts returns the feeling of restless drive. The feeling I need to be doing something, but no idea what that something is. The answer will come to me, I just need to wait for the clouds to clear. Patience has been one of the hardest lessons for me to learn (have I learned?).

I wouldn't trade in the mostly carefree summer. At least it reminded me that I can be a lot of fun. There's a lesson in everything, if you look. The older one gets, the more often the lessons are reminders...

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Be thankful for all that you have and, if you live in southern Ontario, for this fantastic weather. I was kayaking last night in a short sleeved shirt and not cold at all. I wish I'd brought my camera with me, as on the way back in it was getting dark and the skyline of downtown Toronto was brightly lit. It's a nice picture, however it resides in my mind,so can't post it here ;)

Um........

Was at the Markham Fall Fair today. Lot's of agricultural exhibits. Cows, horses, goats, sheep, roosters, banty hens, pigs - you name it. Nothing out of the ordinary, but then I ran across these:



Um.......Yup....... Chickens that have been dyed.


Perhaps in preparation for Easter?

Oct 14th - Vote Canada!

I don't know who to credit the above image to, but it came in an e-mail with other similar pictures. For some reason, this one reminded me of the upcoming election. Canada - do not forget (or neglect!!!) to go out and vote on Oct 14th.

And hey, think about your vote. Don't be sheep! ;)