It's Getting Closer!

Tomorrow is December 1st.

The Christmas season officially begins.

Which radio station will be playing carols 24/7?

Tonight, one of my favorite Christmas traditions occurred;

How The Grinch Stole Christmas was on tv.

It doesn't matter how many times I've seen it, it is part of Christmas for me.

I was happy to hear that my almost 6 year old niece Abby watched it too.

Poor kids birthday is right after Christmas.

I don't know what is different about Christmas for me this year, there's just something.

We've had a tough year. A little stressful, well, alot stressful. A little scary at times.

It's been a roller coaster and I prefer the merry-go-round.

Right now, at this very moment I am happy.

Very happy. I think that's huge.

I'm consciously looking at the glass as half full vs. half empty.

I'm grateful that it's half full.

All of the people I love are alive and healthy.

I just wish we were all geographically closer.

It would be nice to drop in for a cup of coffee or tea and a chat.

I get to wake up everyday with my Adam at my side.

Crockett is always happy to see me when I walk through the door

and to top it off, Adam now makes my tea to perfection.

Lucky girl.

What's Not on Adam's Christmas Wish List

We were having dinner tonight in our usual

spot in front of the tv watching the news.

Global Toronto have recently added a new co-anchorwoman

and she makes me nuts. She has plastic surgery face, big capped teeth

and a turkey neck. A story can't end without her giving her opinion

about it and she is forever interrupting the correspondents.

Ok, I feel better now I have vented.

A commercial for Lowe's came on with a husband

telling his wife he wanted tools for Christmas.

Just as the wife made her selection and the commercial ended, Adam looked over
at me and said very matter of fact, " I couldn't give a sh*t about tools."

Pizza Loving Pug

We are a family that enjoys a good pizza.

Any kind, it doesn't matter if we order it in,

make it ourselves or have a store bought one.

Crockett also loves pizza.

Tonight, we had this PC pizza from Loblaws.

It was really really tasty & was on sale for $5.

I would absolutely buy it again.

Crockett doesn't get alot of people food.

Maybe a tiny taste of meat.

But pizza makes him nuts.

When I make it he stays at my feet

and barks and barks and barks.

He's not even a dog that barks alot and he certainly isn't yappy.

Tonight, he went on a funny pizza rant.

Our Day In Photos and a 9pm Update

It was a cool, crisp, sunny and windy day today.

If the rest of the winter stays like this...who am I kidding.

Here is our day in photos.

We had another light snow overnight. It's the wet stairs that
frighten me.  You can't tell what's water and what's ice.
I take at least 2 tumbles a season on the ice.

It was so windy you could hear the flag flapping.

I got Crockett mid-scratch after a tinkle. I let him do this as
it's the only way his nails get filed. He's too squirmy for me to do them.

A Pug and his shadow.

With the leaves off the trees we can again see our building
from the park entrance.

Our after supper walk in the Parkette across the street.
Don't worry honey, at night I don't go past the first lamp post.

The building across the street has put up their twinkle lights.
One small candle with the lights gives our bedroom
a great cozy Christmas glow.

Another perfect day that I am grateful for.

Update 9:00pm

Too funny.
I spoke to my Mom on the phone this morning for about a half hour.
We just chit chatted about nothing in particular.
Earlier I asked Adam to pick a movie for me &
I was watching Interview With The Vampire in my room enjoying
the candle light & the twinkle lights.
I was almost asleep when Adam advised my parents
had called & left a message.
I asked him to play it. I didn't get to the mute button fast enough
and I could hear my Mom's voice but not clearly.
Then Adam said, " Oh ya, Happy Anniversary Honey"

We both forgot.

I called my Mom back, thanked her for the call
and told her our funny predicament.

I admit, I am AWFUL with dates.
Also I don't think I'm a typical girl when it comes
to things like Birthdays & Valentines Day.

It also has to do with the fact I think, that I have a husband
who tells me every day that he loves me.
I am lucky girl & I know it.
As Adam says, " You won." I did.
I am lucky in that I don't need a special day on a
calendar to know I am loved.

6 years today.
It feels like it was yesterday and at the same time
it feels like it was forever ago.

Happy Anniversary Adam.
I love you.
I love you.
I love you.

Merry Christmas - Creature Comforts

This is 8 minues and 45 seconds that

I enjoy watching every year.

Merry Christmas.

Hallelujah

Both my Dad and my Father-in-Law

sent me this Flash Mob video.

It occurred at a mall in Welland, Ontario.

I love that it is a Chorus of young and old and in between.

It made me cry.

Music makes me cry.

I have always loved and been touched by music.

I went on a Field Trip as a kid to the Montreal Symphony

and saw Peter and the Wolf and remember really feeling music for the 1st time.

In High School Concert Band, the last number would always get me teary.

The Timpani just kills me, I love it.

Peter Gabriel sings one note a way that touches my soul.

I've cried listening to Classic Radio in the kitchen while preparing supper.

I've cried at Church when the Choir sings.

I've cried at the Symphony.

I've cried at the Opera.

I've cried at the Ballet.

I've even cried while listening to a Busker play Violin at the subway station.

Then again, I cry when I watch dance, when I see art, sculptures, paintings,

photographs and when I am overwhelmed by the beauty of nature.

I think if I was to go see Cirque du Soleil or swim

with Dolphins it might kill me.

I cry when I see little old grey haired couples walking together holding hands.

These are all tears of great joy and I am so happy to be this way.

Some may say I'm oversensitive.

So be it.

My Hat

I married a man who is completely confident in his man-ness

and self and has no problem walking around the apartment naked.

He married a woman who is the exact opposite.

I've never been the naked type.

I can't even sleep naked. What if there's a fire?

A burglar? What if I sleep walk?

I can do the shower/bathroom to the bedroom dash,

but that really is about it.

I also married a man who makes me laugh.

He's always funny, but he is most witty early in the morning.

Even more so when he's still half asleep.

I need to be alert at 6am as to not miss his comedic gems.

I write the really good ones in a notebook I have on my desk.

The weather has cooled down quite a bit here in the last few days.

Along with my scarf, I now need a hat and gloves,

particularly when I'm standing outside waiting for

Crockett to do his business.

Last year, I bought this hat, being modeled by our lovely lady.

I no longer worry about what the effect of wearing a hat

will have on my hair. I just want to be warm.

It was around 3:00pm on Sunday and

I was sitting here at my desk on the computer.

 Crockett was cuddled up asleep behind me on the bed and Adam

was in his fortress of solitude on his computer or so I thought.

As I heard the floor boards creak, I turned around to see

him walk in the room wearing nothing but a big grin and my hat.

It was one of those moments where I was taken aback to where the only thing

I could think to do was stare and laugh.

I stood up, gave him a hug, a kiss and told him how much I love him.

 We then shared a good deep belly laugh.

He turned around, walked out like it was New York Fashion Week,
did a cute butt flex and we each went back to what we were doing
pre-naked time.

It's moments like these that I LOVE about being married.

Life is like Coffee

Life is like Coffee Movie

This link was sent to me today and it is worth sharing.

I really love this.
Click on the above & enjoy.

First Snow and the Reverse Sneeze

We have our 1st snow this season.

It is just a light dusting, nothing too exciting.

Then again, I live in Toronto where when it rains or snows people

forget how to drive and panic.

Too much snow and they call in the army.

I learned how to drive in Quebec, in winter, in a Chevette.

That's how everyone should learn how to drive!

Our Crockett causes me stress with his breed specific issues.

This weekend, the dreaded Reverse Sneeze has reappeared.

Read HERE for a full description of the Reverse Sneeze.

All I can say is it is terrifying.

Crockett was enjoying the fresh park air.

Then, it happened......

Here's the back end of an episode.

At 0:03 is his last gasp.

I wish I could film one start to finish, but I am

more concerned at the time to have my dog breathe

than get the camera on, you understand.

Once he has an episode he's not much interested in walking anymore,

so we slowly walk home.

It's taken a while for me to stay calm during these episodes as to not

make him worse by giving off bad energy.

Thank you Cesar Milan.

Today, there will be alot of Pug cuddling.

Sheldon Cooper

The Big Bang Theory's Sheldon.....

I think he's great!



(Source)





A Little Bit Of Job Security

It was a busy week at work.

I like busy.

In this economy it makes me feel a little more secure.

I am a neat desk person.

Everything has it's place.

This was my desk Friday afternoon.

Paper....Everywhere....Crazy....

Alot of things on the go at once.

My To Do List is now filled with notes and reminders and updates and is

now 6 pages in length.

I Love it!!!

I earned my salary and then some this week!



This is my current desktop photo.

It is of course Harry Potter Weekend!!!!!!!!

Can't wait!

A Looooong Commute Home

Serious Crash Sends Man To Hospital - CityNews

I hope all the people involved survive.

This happened about 5 minutes from my office at 3:30pm this afternoon.

It is on my route home.

Let's just say I did not have a good communte home tonight.

Nor did alot of other people but at least I got home safe.

I see it everyday as I wait for the bus, people are driving

and just not paying attention.

Don't they realize their lives and the lives of innocent

people can be forever changed in the blink of an eye.

The cell phone ban hasn't stopped people from talking & driving.

I see alot of people who don't wear ear pieces

holding their phones in their hand while talking on speaker phone.

Is ANY text or phone call so important that you can't

wait until you can pull over somewhere safely.

About 18 months ago, an elderly man was run over by a small

truck at the intersection of Finch & Weston Road.

I was a passenger in a car behind the truck.

The old man was pinned under the axel.

He later died in hospital.

Awful.

Be careful.

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'

I married a serious night-owl.

We used to live in a 2 level apartment above a bakery on Queen Street.

The upper level was just one really large bedroom and our bathroom.

Adam had his desk in the bedroom and I would fall asleep every night

to the glow of the computer screen and the clackity clack of the keyboard.

Adam also loves his music and would wear headphones, but I could still hear the music,

the squeak of the chair as he'd chair dance and the sound of his drum
sticks in his hands as he'd play air drums.

We now live in a wonderfully spacious 2 bedroom apartment where the

second bedroom - actually the larger of the two - has become

his Fortress of Solitude/ Man Cave.

Here he spends hours debating (arguing) with strangers and friends online,

working on his film, writing movie reviews, watching trailers,

shooting gangsters, e-mailing and full on rocking out.

What this means is that I go to bed on my own pretty much every night.

I need a movie on in the back ground sometimes depending on how

tired I am to block out the noise on the street.

I get creeped out by noises too easily.

I tend to lay on Adam's side of the bed as he has one of those really

good pillows. The kind that fit in the nook of your neck and cradle your head.

When he comes to bed he gently gives me a nudge, I roll over and that's that.

Last night, I rolled right off the bed.



Where I landed on the floor.



I guess I was in the middle or just not paying enough attention.

I kept rolling and BOOM landed on the floor.

I remember being very confused and my elbow and wrist were sore.

I don't remember getting back in bed I just remember saying, " Ow...ow.....owww."

Adam gave my arm a bit of a rub and then, I remember this well,

he said, "It's just a dream."

Very sweet, but dreams don't hurt.

When I got home from work today it was the first thing we spoke

about and we both had a good laugh.

No bruises, no aches, I'm all good.

And yes, that is a Harry Potter blanket on my bed.

What you can't see is Adam's Star Wars pillow case.

I am a nerd who is beyond excited that I'm going to see

a new Harry Potter film this weekend!

Procreation

I'm 42 and my husband is 39.

In 12 days it will be our 6th Wedding Anniversary.

We do not have children.

Something very interesting has not occurred since we got married;

no one has ever asked us about kids.

There haven't been any hints, no people or family saying tick tock tick tock or

asking when they were going to hear the pitter patter of little feet.

Does this bother me? Yes and no.

Would I be a good Mother? Would Adam be a good Father?

Absolutely. Without a doubt. Yes.

I will say that I have never been baby crazy.

I don't look in baby carriages that go by.

I don't even think all babies are cute.

Some are, not all are.

Did I think my life would include children?

Absolutely. Without a doubt. Yes.

What has me thinking about all of this is that all of last week on the bus,

a young high school girl had one of those fake babies.

I have such an issue with these things.

The girl was most likely 15 years old and in a school uniform.

Skirt so short that both men and boys can't help but be drawn to stare up it.

(That, by the way, is a whole other issue I could easily write 1000 words about)

She carried this doll that was dressed in a onesie with a very small blanket. 

No diaper bag, just her book bag.

That is what caught my attention last Monday morning

at  6:30am when it was 10 degrees outside.

As we boarded the bus everyday, like clockwork, this doll/baby started

to wail. It sounded like cats mating. It would last exactly 20 minutes.

This young girl did nothing but giggle and say sorry multiple times.

If the seat next to her was empty, she'd put the doll down and stick

a fake bottle in it's mouth. If the bus was full, she'd rock it back

and forth in a manner that would make a real baby cry.

On Friday, she met up with a girlfriend and complained how

she was so tired. This doll/baby has been keeping her up at night and the

crying was getting on her nerves. I get that. My daily 20 minute

exposure to this doll/baby crying was getting on my nerves.

What irked me the most and took everything in me to not react with a look or

a sigh or a change in body posture was when she told her friend, 

" Real babies aren't like this."  

She stated with great enthusiasm that this experience,

if anything, made her realize how much easier a real baby would

be and that she wants one before she's 18.

 " Being a young Mom will be so cool."

One week with a fake baby does not a parent make.

If they really wanted these young girls and young boys to fully understand the impact

having a baby would have, they should have them spend a month

living a true life of a teenage parent, one not supported by his/her parents.

Both girls and boys should have to continue school full time and work.

Perhaps a  retail or minimum wage food service job, because at 16,

what else are you qualified for that will give you flexible hours?

They should have to pay rent, utilities, daycare, do the groceries, buy diapers,

buy a stroller, buy clothes and shoes, allocate enough money for transportation

and all the things that real life entails.

I have always looked at parenthood as a very serious responsibility.
People who have happy healthy children are lucky, they are blessed.

More than anything in the world, I would LOVE to see what little person

Adam and my love for each other would create.

Would he/she have my green eyes & his long eyelashes?

My curly hair & his stubby fingers and toes?

I want to take my child to the library, to dance class, to hockey practice.

I want to go to the Christmas pageant at school & watch him/her sing

Silent Night or Frosty the Snowman.

I fear that Mother Nature has caught up with me, I hear the tick tock & I
know my egg inventory is dwindling down.
At 42, are the eggs that are left past their expiry date?

For now, my maternal instincts will be satisfied by looking after my

fur baby Pug Crockett and I'll leave it up to fate to see what happens next.

If you've never seen them, those fake baby/doll things are really creepy.

Delicious Sunday Dessert

Two yummy thumbs up.

My $3.00 PC Butter Tart Square Mix,

Butter & 2 Eggs are

absolutely tasty good.

Cutting the butter into the crust mix.

Cooked crust - 10 mins @ 350

Filling - with raisins

In the oven 30 mins @ 350

Fresh out of the oven - smells wonderful

TAH DAH!!!!  Really really tasty.



Brown Socks

What started out a foggy morning ended up a beautiful sunny day.

After taking Crockett for his Saturday morning walk,

we ran all our errands and did our groceries so

that tomorrow we can relax.

When we were getting our shopping bags together, I started to mumble

to Adam about how he didn't fold them  right.  He brought up

my Love List that I wrote to him yesterday and said that

whenever I get flustered with him he's going to refer to the list.

 I threatened writing a list of the things that annoy me and his response

was, " There are two things I hate about you.  One I can't remember

and the other is when you call me, I answer, then you don't say anything."

Too funny. I'll take that that is all he hates about me!!!!

We'd just missed a bus so we had a nice sit & chat in the sun.

I noticed that my brown socks didn't really match my cords or my black shoes.

Luckily my pants cover them when I stand up.

Comfort over fashion.

We had a good shop today.

With the holiday season approaching, alot of the specialty items

are making their way to the shelves.

PC has increased the selection of their private label goods.

I picked up these 2 packages of squares:

Butter Tart Squares

Lemon Squares

I think I'm going to make the Butter Tart ones tomorrow.

They are really basic. All I have to do is add butter, eggs and water. 

 We'll see how they turn out.



TGIF

I had an odd day at work today.

The morning was done in a blink & the afternoon

crawled at a snail's pace.

I was having one of those days where I had alot to do

but couldn't decide where to start.

This is my 3 page To Do List:

I also felt like documenting my commute-home sky.

When I leave the office it is light.

When I get home it is dark.

It is right now only 7:08pm but it feels later.

I love it!  I'll be in bed by 9:30pm!

4:11pm - Waiting for the Bus by my office.




5:14pm. Just off the Bus at Yonge & Finch, onto the Subway.

 



5:32pm. Just off the Subway at Yonge & Lawrence

 


5:50pm. Home Sweet Home





To My Adam

Lest We Forget

IN FLANDERS FIELDS POEM

The World’s Most Famous WAR MEMORIAL POEM

By Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place: and in the sky

The larks still bravely singing fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead: Short days ago,

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved: and now we lie

In Flanders fields!

Take up our quarrel with the foe

To you, from failing hands, we throw

The torch: be yours to hold it high

If ye break faith with us who die,

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields

Composed at the battlefront on May 3, 1915

during the second battle of Ypres, Belgium



Moment of Irresponsibility

This evening, we have succumbed to our craving and have

thrown responsibility out the window!

We are going nuts and throwing $40 of our weekly grocery

budget to get Chinese Take Out.

Growing up we'd order take out from Chow's on Dorval Avenue.

Dinner for One #4 with 3 extra Egg Rolls.

It was $17 and it fed our family of 4 perfectly.

I haven't found a decent Egg Roll since moving to Ontario,

but also had never had a Spring Roll while I lived in Quebec.

$40 probably doesn't sound like much.

Alot of folks drop that kind of money on dinner

more than 3 times a week without thinking about it.

We used to be that way. A long time ago. Not anymore.

Now that we are a one income family, we have a budget.
I work really hard and if once in a blue moon I  need
a treat, then so be it, I deserve it!

Sometimes those Mandarin Spring Rolls just call my name

and there is nothing else I can eat that satisfies.

I have tried some of the frozen Asian dishes from the Supermarket.

They're ok but just not the same and they sometimes are too salty.

Plus, it is cheaper to have it delivered than it is is to go to the restaurant.

Now the fun part is trying to decide what to have with my Spring Roll!!

Hopefully we get good fortunes in our cookies tonight!

Fortune Cookies -  photo from The Mandarin Take Out Menu.



It's Beginning To Look Alot Like.....

Yes.....Christmas.

In my neighbourhood anyway.

Some folks have put their lights up.

As previously stated, I am really in the pre-Christmas spirit.

I've started to listen to Christmas music 

and had my nails done in a lovely Christmas Red.

  

Hopefully this nice weather will hold so that everyone else can get

their lights up this weekend.

We are lucky, our apartment building is on Yonge St in a really nice area.

The side streets have really nice houses, big houses.

The kind of houses that we currently cannot afford.

I imagine the property taxes alone are at least half what our rent is per month!

So, I really enjoy this time of year when it gets dark early and folks

 put up their lights & leave their drapes open to display their living room

decorations and Christmas trees.

It makes for really enjoyable evening walks with Crockett.

I know it is still early November, but blink a few times & it'll be Christmas Eve!

The Deathly Hallows

Frequently, to block out the street noise, I'll put on a DVD when I go to bed.

More often than not, it is any one of the 3 Lord of the Rings films.

I cannot count how many times I've seen each film and all the extras.

As of late, it's been Harry Potter.

I've rewatched over the last month, in 30 minute increments, the first 5 films.

I don't own #6 - The Half Blood Prince.

It was my least favorite of the films, but still, I should have it in my collection.

I'll wait until all 7 are available in a super box set at the Silver Snail.

Maybe with a mini replica of Hogwarts or something cool and geeky like that.

I'm going to start re-reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

tomorrow and have it done by Nov 19th.

We won't go opening night. I don't think I can handle that many

people at our regular cinema. It'd be too crowded.
The line for the washroom alone after the film will be horrendous.

This may be a time where we'll have to fork out the big bucks

and go to the VIP Theater at Yonge & Bloor.

Whatever we decide, it is something I am looking forward to.

I hope it lives up to my expectations.
I'm sure it will.

Click here to watch the Trailer.

Headache

I woke this morning with a headache.

One that after 2 doses of pain medication hasn't subsided.

I suffer with Bruxism.

I clench my jaw unconsciously during the day

and grind my teeth at night.

I wear a dead sexy mouth guard when I sleep but it doesn't make it not grind,

it just protects my teeth from further damage.

My future holds some pretty extensive dental work no doubt.

Sometimes the guard makes the pain worse as it places my jaw

 in an unnatural position so when it grinds....just.....owwww.

My fear, along with grinding my teeth so that they fit together like

pieces of a puzzle, is that I will ultimately get Arthritis in my jaw.

The headaches I suffer with are similar to tension and sinus headaches

but the pain feels like it's deep in my skeleton, in my bones and

my face and head just ache.
Sometimes it makes me nauseous, dizzy and sensitive to light.
Today, it's just throbbing ache.

Here's a visual aid:

I am going to go sit on the couch & bury my head in a pillow with the
occasional hot face cloth application and
wait this thing out.

Winter Wonderland

I am really looking forward to Christmas this year.

I don't know why this year I feel different, I just do.

Actually, I think I am also looking forward to snow.

I say that now, but when I have to walk home from the subway

on snow covered sidewalks I'll grumble a bit to myself I'm sure.

But then I love the feeling when you get indoors out of the cold and your

cheeks start to warm up.

I love it when it is crisp cold and the sky is so clear you can see

loads of stars, even here in the city.

I know everything seems bigger when you're a kid, but we DID

have more snowfall & accumulation when I was a kid.

We never had a snowblower.

The 2 shovels and the broom had a home on the front steps

so you could grab them as you opened the door.

Remember the time you could do that and they wouldn't get stolen?

These photos of me and my brother are from 1976.

I was 8 years old.

My snowsuit was AWESOME.
Red with a Canadian Flag badge and the zipper from neck to ankle.

I still have and still wear that white hat!

Our mittens were no doubt made by my Mom.

The snow would ball up on them and be honest, you ate it too, with bits of yarn in it.

The best was when I'd kick off my boots and my socks would be

holding on by a big toe where they'd worked their way down while outside playing.

Snow Angels

In our backyard

In the front yard

Another in the backyard

Snow makes me think of Christmas, Christmas makes me think of music.

I love Christmas Carols.

I sing them all year round when I'm waiting for the bus and am sure that

no one can hear me. Winter Wonderland is a staple.

I am going to spend some time making a Christmas Carol Playlist so that

my blog will be accompanied by Christmas Carols for the entire

month of December.

Can't wait!

Just Because He's Adorable

These are 2 of my favorite photos of our Crockett.

If I was ever to have an artist paint a picture of him from a photo,

 it'd be this first perfect profile shot.

Pugs, like our Crockett, are awesome.

He is right now laying on a pillow behind me and I'm going to go

give him a belly rub. He loves that.

Thank Dog!

Gratitude and Post Update Nov 5'10

Life can be difficult at times. 

Stress, fear, anxiousness, vulnerability and uncertainty on occasion
creep into my quiet mind.

 I have consciously made an effort to replace these negative thoughts with thoughts of

GRATITUDE.

If I made a list of negative vs. positive things in my life, positive wins by a land slide.

The tough part for me has been to focus on and recognize the positive.

I am a worrier, always have been, always will be, but I am getting better.

I'm not one who could keep a daily list of things I'm grateful for. 

It would make me think about it too much.

I need to learn to recognize these things organically as they happen.

There are the basics, Adam, love, health, family, dog, laughter, gainful employment...

Today, I am grateful for the roof over my head, the food in my pantry, the warm blanket,

perfect pillow, cozy jammies and bed I get to sleep in next to my husband.

I leave the house for work between 6:15-6:30am.

Twice last week and again this morning I came upon a lady

who has been sleeping in the bus shelter at my bus stop.

The City of Toronto over the last year has, with the beautification

of Yonge Street, replaced all the bus shelters.

It is almost as though they were designed specifically so that homeless people

would not choose them as a place of shelter.

The walls are 6 inches shy of the ground.

The wind hits your ankles and goes up your pant leg.

If you have to wait for more than 15 minutes in the cold, your toes freeze.

The seats are divided into 3 sections with a cold raised piece of steel.

You have to be a size 6 for it not to dig into your thigh.

Again, anything longer than a 15 minute wait and your leg would fall asleep.

The lady is about 5'4".

She wears a red winter jacket at a length just above her knees.

The fake fur trimmed hood is up, covering her face.

She wears a long jean skirt to her ankles and flat ballerina type slippers.

By the time I get to the bus stop, she seems to have been up for awhile.

As I walk by, she is putting belongings into a bag.

The seat is covered with boxes.

She's put them under and over the seat dividers to fashion a home made mattress.

She's placed other boxes up the side of the glass so she has a

barrier against the cold glass.



Red Coat Lady's boxes tucked behind the shelter.

 I walk past, she doesn't look up. By the way she moves and holds herself, I'd say she's in her 50's.

I sit on the other bench a few feet away waiting for my bus. We can't see each other because of the ad wall of the shelter. I'm happy for this as I feel I'm invading her

space and privacy in a way.

She takes about 4 trips from the bench to the garbage can, folds up her boxes and places them behind the bus shelter so that they will be there for her to reuse tonight.

I wonder what her story is. Are there people who worry about her? Wonder where she is? Wonder if she is alive? I fear for her saftey.

My bench at the corner by the bus stop.



Seeing homeless men is always sad, but seeing a homeless women hits me in a different way.

She seems so much more vulnerable, exposed.

I wonder why sleeping on the street is better than going to a shelter. I wonder if anyone has tried to help. I wonder what I can do. I am going to hurry up and finish knitting my red scarf so that I can offer it to her.

It seems so little, but if I put myself in her place, I

would hope that someone would do the same for me.

POST UPDATE Nov 5'10
I haven't seen the Red Coat Lady since Monday.
It has this last week cooled down fast, so I hope she's found
warmer and safer shelter.