Ten On Wednesday

Here are 10 of my favorite childhood reads, in no particular order.

1. Three Billy Goats Gruff - Norwegian Fairy Tale
I remember the Troll under the bridge. Things nightmares were made from.

2. Thumbelina - Hans Christian Andersen
I had an oversize hardcover book & Thumbelina was drawn with huge eyes.

3. Rapunzel - The Brothers Grimm
I had the Disney Read Along Book. With the 45rpm record. Where you turn the page when Tinkerbell rings her little bell, like this...ring ring ring.

4. One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish - Dr. Seuss
Love it to this day!

5. Are You My Mother? - P.D Eastman
Being an adopted kid, this topic held my fascination.

6. Curious George Goes to the Hospital - Margret & H.A. Rey
He ate the puzzle piece & had to have an x-ray. Classic!
My Mom gave me the Complete Adventures of Curious George a few years ago for Christmas.  I still have my stuffed Curious George I got when I was a kid. 

7. Are You There God It's Me Margaret - Judy Blume
Standard preteen rite of passage.

8. Peter Pan - J.M Barrie
Remains one of my all time favorite stories.

9. Archie Comics
I always preferred Betty. Even as a young girl I didn't like Veronica. Funny.
I think it's great that my niece likes reading Archie Comics today. Timeless.

10. Little Golden Books
Who didn't LOVE Little Golden Books. I had a few that were all classic fairy tales. I still have them in a box. Books are one of the few things I kept from my childhood.

Very Cool Exercise

I don't remember how this came to me.

I am at least thankful that there is a name at the bottom of it.

I did this exercise & was able to pronounce all but 2 words and I

of course read it aloud in a British accent.

It is so much easier to speak clearly when you sound like

HRH Queen Elizabeth or Dame Judy Dench.

-  -  -  -  -  - 

If you can correctly pronounce every word in this poem, you will be speaking English better than 90% of the native English speakers in the world. After trying the verses, a Frenchman said he’d prefer six months of hard labour to reading six lines aloud. Try them yourself.

Dearest creature in creation,
Study English pronunciation.
I will teach you in my verse
Sounds like corpse, corps, horse, and worse.
I will keep you, Suzy, busy,
Make your head with heat grow dizzy.
Tear in eye, your dress will tear.
So shall I! Oh hear my prayer.
Just compare heart, beard, and heard,
Dies and diet, lord and word,
Sword and sward, retain and Britain.
(Mind the latter, how it’s written.)
Now I surely will not plague you
With such words as plaque and ague.
But be careful how you speak:
Say break and steak, but bleak and streak;
Cloven, oven, how and low,
Script, receipt, show, poem, and toe.
Hear me say, devoid of trickery,
Daughter, laughter, and Terpsichore,
Typhoid, measles, topsails, aisles,
Exiles, similes, and reviles;
Scholar, vicar, and cigar,
Solar, mica, war and far;
One, anemone, Balmoral,
Kitchen, lichen, laundry, laurel;
Gertrude, German, wind and mind,
Scene, Melpomene, mankind.
Billet does not rhyme with ballet,
Bouquet, wallet, mallet, chalet.
Blood and flood are not like food,
Nor is mould like should and would.
Viscous, viscount, load and broad,
Toward, to forward, to reward.
And your pronunciation’s OK
When you correctly say croquet,
Rounded, wounded, grieve and sieve,
Friend and fiend, alive and live.
Ivy, privy, famous; clamour
And enamour rhyme with hammer.
River, rival, tomb, bomb, comb,
Doll and roll and some and home.
Stranger does not rhyme with anger,
Neither does devour with clangour.
Souls but foul, haunt but aunt,
Font, front, wont, want, grand, and grant,
Shoes, goes, does. Now first say finger,
And then singer, ginger, linger,
Real, zeal, mauve, gauze, gouge and gauge,
Marriage, foliage, mirage, and age.
Query does not rhyme with very,
Nor does fury sound like bury.
Dost, lost, post and doth, cloth, loth.
Job, nob, bosom, transom, oath.
Though the differences seem little,
We say actual but victual.
Refer does not rhyme with deafer.
Foeffer does, and zephyr, heifer.
Mint, pint, senate and sedate;
Dull, bull, and George ate late.
Scenic, Arabic, Pacific,
Science, conscience, scientific.
Liberty, library, heave and heaven,
Rachel, ache, moustache, eleven.
We say hallowed, but allowed,
People, leopard, towed, but vowed.
Mark the differences, moreover,
Between mover, cover, clover;
Leeches, breeches, wise, precise,
Chalice, but police and lice;
Camel, constable, unstable,
Principle, disciple, label.
Petal, panel, and canal,
Wait, surprise, plait, promise, pal.
Worm and storm, chaise, chaos, chair,
Senator, spectator, mayor.
Tour, but our and succour, four.
Gas, alas, and Arkansas.
Sea, idea, Korea, area,
Psalm, Maria, but malaria.
Youth, south, southern, cleanse and clean.
Doctrine, turpentine, marine.
Compare alien with Italian,
Dandelion and battalion.
Sally with ally, yea, ye,
Eye, I, ay, aye, whey, and key.
Say aver, but ever, fever,
Neither, leisure, skein, deceiver.
Heron, granary, canary.
Crevice and device and aerie.
Face, but preface, not efface.
Phlegm, phlegmatic, ass, glass, bass.
Large, but target, gin, give, verging,
Ought, out, joust and scour, scourging.
Ear, but earn and wear and tear
Do not rhyme with here but ere.
Seven is right, but so is even,
Hyphen, roughen, nephew Stephen,
Monkey, donkey, Turk and jerk,
Ask, grasp, wasp, and cork and work.
Pronunciation (think of Psyche!)
Is a paling stout and spikey?
Won’t it make you lose your wits,
Writing groats and saying grits?
It’s a dark abyss or tunnel:
Strewn with stones, stowed, solace, gunwale,
Islington and Isle of Wight,
Housewife, verdict and indict.
Finally, which rhymes with enough,
Though, through, plough, or dough, or cough?
Hiccough has the sound of cup.
My advice is to give up!!!
- B. Shaw



A Day in Pictures - Lots of Chalk

Today, I met my Mom for lunch & then we took a walk up to

Toronto City Hall Nathan Phillips Square to

see all the chalk messages for Jack Layton.

I tried another finger upon CN Tower shot and again, failed!



Mmmmmm dessert.

Me - Creme Brulee

Mom - Butter Tart



It's amazing the things you find when you walk inbetween buildings in Toronto.



These are some of the chalk messages written at

Toronto City Hall Nathan Phillips Square

to Jack Layton & his family.

It was very moving.



There are messages written in many languages.



Toronto City Hall. Where Adam & I got married :)



This message above was not too clear but it reads:

" Thank you Toronto!

Your support got us through

this difficult time.

With love, the Layton Family"



There were so many seagulls flying over head.

It was a beautiful sunny and windy day.

I got pooped on!

Supposed to be good luck.

At least it was my pants & not my head!



There was a constant stream of people.

Most with cameras and quite a few with tears in their eyes.

It's one of those events that just happened organically

and it's very special.

Manifesto for Social Democracy.

Today was the State Funeral for

Jack Layton

Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition.

Those who didn't agree with his politics, agreed

that he was a decent human being, a good man,
a passionate politician.

I realize I am lucky to be Canadian.

There is a political change going on here with the

almost disappearance of the Liberal Party.

Jack Layton was front & center in that change.

He inspired many while alive and by looks of things,

has inspired many more in his death.

Here is the letter that was realeased after his death.

The letter that Stephen Lewis mentioned in his eulogy as,

 "The letter was, at its heart, a manifesto for social democracy,"

Jack Layton

1950-2011

Jack Layton & wife Olivia Chow
source: http://www.thursdaynightmagazine.com/2011/08/22/jack-laytons-last-letter/

Dear Friends,
Tens of thousands of Canadians have written to me in recent weeks to wish me well. I want to thank each and every one of you for your thoughtful, inspiring and often beautiful notes, cards and gifts. Your spirit and love have lit up my home, my spirit, and my determination.

Unfortunately my treatment has not worked out as I hoped. So I am giving this letter to my partner Olivia to share with you in the circumstance in which I cannot continue.

I recommend that Hull-Aylmer MP Nycole Turmel continue her work as our interim leader until a permanent successor is elected.

I recommend the party hold a leadership vote as early as possible in the New Year, on approximately the same timelines as in 2003, so that our new leader has ample time to reconsolidate our team, renew our party and our program, and move forward towards the next election.

A few additional thoughts:

To other Canadians who are on journeys to defeat cancer and to live their lives, I say this: please don't be discouraged that my own journey hasn't gone as well as I had hoped. You must not lose your own hope. Treatments and therapies have never been better in the face of this disease. You have every reason to be optimistic, determined, and focused on the future. My only other advice is to cherish every moment with those you love at every stage of your journey, as I have done this summer.

To the members of my party: we've done remarkable things together in the past eight years. It has been a privilege to lead the New Democratic Party and I am most grateful for your confidence, your support, and the endless hours of volunteer commitment you have devoted to our cause. There will be those who will try to persuade you to give up our cause. But that cause is much bigger than any one leader. Answer them by recommitting with energy and determination to our work. Remember our proud history of social justice, universal health care, public pensions and making sure no one is left behind. Let's continue to move forward. Let's demonstrate in everything we do in the four years before us that we are ready to serve our beloved Canada as its next government.

To the members of our parliamentary caucus: I have been privileged to work with each and every one of you. Our caucus meetings were always the highlight of my week. It has been my role to ask a great deal from you. And now I am going to do so again. Canadians will be closely watching you in the months to come. Colleagues, I know you will make the tens of thousands of members of our party proud of you by demonstrating the same seamless teamwork and solidarity that has earned us the confidence of millions of Canadians in the recent election.

To my fellow Quebecers: On May 2nd, you made an historic decision. You decided that the way to replace Canada's Conservative federal government with something better was by working together in partnership with progressive-minded Canadians across the country. You made the right decision then; it is still the right decision today; and it will be the right decision right through to the next election, when we will succeed, together. You have elected a superb team of New Democrats to Parliament. They are going to be doing remarkable things in the years to come to make this country better for us all.

To young Canadians: All my life I have worked to make things better. Hope and optimism have defined my political career, and I continue to be hopeful and optimistic about Canada. Young people have been a great source of inspiration for me. I have met and talked with so many of you about your dreams, your frustrations, and your ideas for change. More and more, you are engaging in politics because you want to change things for the better. Many of you have placed your trust in our party. As my time in political life draws to a close I want to share with you my belief in your power to change this country and this world. There are great challenges before you, from the overwhelming nature of climate change to the unfairness of an economy that excludes so many from our collective wealth, and the changes necessary to build a more inclusive and generous Canada. I believe in you. Your energy, your vision, your passion for justice are exactly what this country needs today. You need to be at the heart of our economy, our political life, and our plans for the present and the future.

And finally, to all Canadians: Canada is a great country, one of the hopes of the world. We can be a better one - a country of greater equality, justice, and opportunity. We can build a prosperous economy and a society that shares its benefits more fairly. We can look after our seniors. We can offer better futures for our children. We can do our part to save the world's environment. We can restore our good name in the world. We can do all of these things because we finally have a party system at the national level where there are real choices; where your vote matters; where working for change can actually bring about change. In the months and years to come, New Democrats will put a compelling new alternative to you. My colleagues in our party are an impressive, committed team. Give them a careful hearing; consider the alternatives; and consider that we can be a better, fairer, more equal country by working together. Don't let them tell you it can't be done.

My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic.

And we'll change the world.

All my very best,
Jack Layton

Praying Mantis

I was in Finch Station this afternoon on my way home walking from the bus

to the subway.  My left hand brushed up against something on my left hip.

I grabbed it, looked at it, screamed & dropped it right on the floor.

It was this critter who was half the length of my hand.

I'd never seen one up close & personal before.

A Praying Mantis.

It almost looked like a twig.

Where the heck did it come from & how long had it been attached to me.

I will say, that ever since I have had the creepy crawly itches.

You know, after you brush an ant or bug off yourself, you are extra sensitive

and itchy for the rest of the day.

The last place it needed to be was on the floor in a subway station so I went into

my bag, grabbed a piece of paper, caught it & brought it home

to release back into nature.

I had to watch it for a few minutes first.

Very graceful.

Very inquisitive.

Very creepy.

Easy to see why so many creatures from scary films

have been inspired by this little critter.

I posted another shot as my Project 365 photo of the day.

10 Questions

1. Have you ever eaten a crayon?
No, but  the Wright's dog Taffy used to and we'd see her white poop in the park with bits of crayon in it that looked like colored chocolate chips.

2. Are you wearing socks right now?
Nope. My feet are under my desk resting on my flip-flops.

3. Are you hot?
Nope. I'm in my jammies and I have the fan on.  To answer this question another way, no. I was not the type of girl that was described as hot. Cute maybe, not hot.

4. What was the last thing you had to drink?
I'm drinking orange juice right now. Minute Maid Low Acid. Really tasty.

5. What is your favorite animal?
Dogs and Sloths and Giraffes.

6. Worst injury you've ever had?
I broke my collar bone when I was 13 or 14 years old.  The most painful part was in the ER when the obviously overtired MD tried to put a brace on me that was way too small.

7. Ever go to camp?
Yes. Brownie/Girl Guide camp  - loved it. I wish I'd gone to summer camp more. I love the movies Meatballs when I was a kid.....are you ready for the summer?

8. Do you need to do laundry?
Yes. This weekend we need to do the sheets & blankets. I love sleeping in a freshly laundered bed.

9. Do you collect anything?
No. I don't like clutter and I don't have enough space. One thing I buy more often than I should is notebooks. I love pretty paper, I love writing pads, and fancy notebooks.

10. What the first thing that comes to your mind after reading this question?
One does not simply walk into Mordor.

Hypochondriac?

Every once in a while, if I'd get home early enough from work, I'd relax

on the couch & catch a bit of The Dr. Oz Show.

After watching a few episodes, I determined that watching him was in fact,

a hazard to my health. My mental health anyway.

hy·po·chon·dri·ac

An excessive preoccupation with and worry about one's health.

wor·ry

To torment oneself with or suffer from disturbing thoughts; fret.

Is there a difference between a hypochondriac and someone that just worries too damn much?

How does worry & stress effect ones body?

I'm only hypochondriac-like when it comes

to my heart and it's all because of Dr. Oz.

It seems like every ache or pain on my upper left side be it in my back, my

neck, my arm, etc is a sign & symptom, according to Dr. Oz,

of a cardiac episode/issue/disease of some kind.

As a woman, with a full to-do list, I don't have time for illness.

Sometimes, when I don't feel well, I over-think, panic, and get myself so worked up

to the point where an anxiety attack is imminent.

I feel all the blood leave my extremities, my neck gets tight 

and I'm sure I'm seconds away from full cardiac arrest.

The odd thing, the really odd thing is sometimes, I completely

block out the aches and pains.

Then, the moment I am still , it's like my brain dam has been opened

and I can no longer ignore the way I feel, it again starts again.....

I over-think, panic, and get myself so worked up

to the point where an anxiety attack is imminent.
I feel all the blood leave my extremities, my neck gets tight 

and I'm sure I'm seconds away from full cardiac arrest.

So here are some facts:

We need a new bed.

I sleep on my left side & don't move alot while asleep.

I have bad posture.

I eat way too fast.

My desk at work is not ergonomic at all & I sit crooked all day.

I don't have enough core strength.

Arthritis is prominent on my maternal side.

These all could very well contribute to my aches & pains.

My left shoulder blade hurts.

My left shoulder socket is sore.

Skip this next bit if you find boob talk offensive, on occasion, my left boob aches.

I'm always tired and lack energy.

I suffer with depression & those commercials on TV are right....sometimes with

depression, everything just aches & you feel like, pardon my french, shit.

Also, I do have Sarcoidosis which, if my immune system is low, causes

inflammation of my lymph nodes by my heart and lungs so that can cause

pressure in my chest.

Here's the internal conversation;

Do I book an appt with the MD, take time off work, get sent for other tests that

will require more time off work only to be told 3 months from now that I'm fine, it's stress,

I need to find a way to relax.

-or-

Do I do nothing, wait until I have my annual physical (which is already booked for

Sept 27'11) and hope that I don't drop dead in the meantime from a cardiac

episode/issue/disease of some kind.

So, it is hypochondria?

Is it chronic worry?

I think, no, I know that what would ease my mind a bit.

I'd like to wake up in a villa by the ocean with clear water

and white sand where I could lounge on a chair in a sunny breeze,

dip my feet in the ocean, read a good book, and watch the sunset

with my beloved by my side. That would be so nice.

In lieu of our tropical paradise vacation, I just really need to find somewhere quiet.

I'd like to meditate but it's just not quiet enough here in my

little space in the world.

Did It Rain?

My Dad came downtown today & took me to lunch.

It's always tough to choose what to eat when we go to

Le Marche Movenpick / Richtree Market at BCE Place , but today

when my Dad came back to the table with the Canadian Breakfast, I

had to have the same.

Seriously, they have the very best breakfast sausages I've tasted in

a really long time. My Mom & my Dad both agree.

It's a nice place to go because you can eat at your own pace, the wait staff

are all friendly and don't bother you too much.

It's also nice that there are a bunch of smaller rooms so that

you're not in the middle of all the noise.

We were discussing the length, or lack thereof,

of the girl in the pink tops' skirt.

I, being the prude I am, thought it was inappropriate.

My Dad said, "She has nice legs."

I tried to get his finger resting right at the top of the tower but

my lack of direction & his impatience made for a "fail".

After a cuppa at Tim's, my Dad got on his train home & I got on the subway.

My trip from Union Station to Davisville to transfer to the bus was no more 20 minutes.

The sky was grey but it wasn't raining when I left Union.

By the time I got home it was drizzling but I think I missed a heavy flash rain

because the intersection north of our building, that thankfully is downhill from us,

was flooded over the sidewalks and the traffic lights were out.

There were TOOLS driving so fast and NOT obeying the;

"traffic lights out 4 way stop rule".

I just hope there isn't an accident because the corner is a nightmare.



 

The water level is over the sidewalk curb.

There are sewers under there somewhere!

Asshat #1 of many.



Asshat #2 of many.

I'm In A Really Good Mood

After too long a time of having some life stresses, and last week

probably being one of the worst weeks I've had in a really really long time,

things seem to have tuned a corner and are looking brighter.

I finished early today & my commute was a pain in the ass.

I left work at 1:00pm.

I walked in the door at 3:00pm.

That's just stupid.

But, the weather this afternoon is sunny and breezy and nice.

Crockett was so happy to see me & scratched on the door, which is

Pug for "Walk".

Here are a few of our walk photographs.

Can you spot the Pug?

I was being super lazy & sitting on a bench in the shade.



He then started to trot quickly so I had to get up fast & catch up to him.

I say trot, because he stuck this horse-like pose at the top of the steps.



Can you spot the Pug?

My Mom used to do this to a shrub we had in the front yard at Handfield.

I was getting odder than normal looks from people today.

Alot of smiles and eye contact.

Then I realized I was wearing this shirt.

More Sky

I took my camera to work with me today.

Last week we had a full moon.

Since then, it has been sitting high in the bright blue western

morning sky as I go to work.

My Project 365 today was this mornings moon.

It was taken at 6:45am.

The clouds lately have been really beautiful.

I've always had a thing for weather.

It's just amazing to me how I've never been 100% sure

what I want to be when I grow up.

Looking back now, there are so many things I am

interested in, that I wonder why I didn't just pick one & go for it!

Woulda, coulda, shoulda.

There is still time I suppose.

But I digress.....

When I got off the bus today on my way home the sky did not disappoint.

I went in, changed, grabbed Crockett and my camera & we went for a walk.

This big white fluffy cloud in the SSE sky caught my attention so we walked south

to try and get a better shot of it.

As we got closer, I couldn't see it as well.

Imagine my surprise when I looked to the west & saw this!

Awesome!

There was a slight breeze in the air and it was changing quickly.
I zoomed in so I could get the plane in the shot.

Crockett is NOT fat.  I took this using the Fish Eye setting.
See where the sidewalk is wonky?
It made me laugh cause he looks like a Seal on the Santa Monica Pier!
He was so good and sat there patiently as I took a bazillion photos.

Pictures of the sky like this, that's my religion.
Just so awesome.

I was only about 3 blocks south of our building for all the above shots.
The wind started to pick up and this was my last shot before going in
just above the church across the street from our building.


A great walk and one where I am thankful I have a camera to catch these shots.

Ten On Wednesday

1.  What condiments are always, always in your fridge?
Ketchup, Mustard, Mayo, Steak Sauce, Hot Sauce. Many different hot sauces. Adam likes them, I do not. He tries the most obscure brands. His current favorite is:

2.   How do you like your steak cooked?  

Medium well.

3.  What’s your favorite use for fresh tomatoes?

Many uses. Toasted tomato sandwich, diced with Avocado and a Dijon mustard dressing, as a side dish with Kraft Dinner, sliced with scrambled eggs, on salads and finally, Bruschetta.

4.  What’s your go-to dinner when you haven’t planned anything in advance and you don’t feel like going out?

Pasta - Adam. Tuna Melts - Me.

5.  What’s your favorite snack food lately?
Lately? Always. Potato chips.

6.  What’s your favorite weekend breakfast to make at home?
Fried egg sandwich - Adam. Scrambled eggs and toast - Me. I don't do fry-ups anymore as great as they are. I'd rather go to The Sunset Grill as a treat once every couple of months. There's no greasy clean up that way.

7.  What’s your favorite thing to grill?  How do you do it?
Apartment living hasn't given me opportunity to grill. We don't own a BBQ. I can't remember the last time I had a BBQ :(

8.  What’s your favorite wine for under $10? If you’re not a wine person, what brand of beer is your favorite?
I don't buy wine. If I was to it'd be white & it would be something my Dad would tell me to get. Red wine gives me a headache. I've never been a beer drinker. I don't like the taste at all. The only beer I ever had was the first really cold sip of my Dad's Molson Export when I was a kid. I don't think I ever got any beer, just a frothy moustache.

9.  Give us your most delicious cocktail recipe.





10.  How do you like your eggs?
Scrambled or over-easy and ALWAYS with the little umbilical cords do-hickeys removed before preparation.

I Tried. I Really Tried.

I so wanted to finish reading Stieg Larsson's

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

I tried.

I really did.

I just cannot get into it.

I got stuck on page 27.

I must've read page 27 20 times.

Here it is:



There are a few things I've had issue with.

An odd spelling of the word jaol instead of jail.

Main characters last name is Blomkvist.

Every time I read it, I have to sound it out:

Blom - k - vist

It does not roll smoothly in my brain and pulls me out of the story.

After page 27, there are about 4 more pages of AIA, Govt this,

Govt that, speculation firms, blah blah blah.

I just had to close it and sigh.

I will most likely enjoy the film very much.

I love the Bourne films but I don't think I'd enjoy

reading the novels by Robert Ludlum.

So, I have given up.

I can only try so many times before I completely shut down.

Today I grabbed from my bookshelf a book I bought on

sale a while back & have yet to read.

If You Could See Me Now by Cecelia Ahern.

She also wrote P.S. I Love You, which I really enjoyed.

Bus fluff.

Easy reading on the way home after a hard day.

I Got My Zzzzzz's

I went to bed fairly early last night.

Adam put Hope Floats in the DVD player for

me and I was out before Birdie made it back to Smithville.

On weekends especially, with our bedroom window facing the

street, I hear too many noises that spook me.

When people walk by & talk when it is quiet out, it

sometimes sounds like they are in my room standing next to me.

DVDs are a good way to trick my brain that everything is ok

and I can fall asleep peacefully.

Crockett was up bright and early this morning at 7am and he did that

thing where he stands right next to the bed and I can feel his stare.

As soon as I open my eyes and we've made eye contact, he spins in

place and goes a bit mental.

This means

A: He needs water in his bowl

B: He's hungry & wants his breakfast

C: He wants to go outside & do his business

Today, it was all 3.

I got up & went right to the kitchen to prepare his meal.

While he was eating I splashed cold water on my face so I could

face the outside world & take him for a tinkle.

As soon as we were back inside, I was back in bed.

I had a headache but one I thought more sleep would alleviate.

I woke up again around 11am and I had a full on

headache as well as a grumbling belly. I was hungry.

I took 2 Excedrin and made scrambled eggs.

My headache was right in my eyes & watching TV hurt as I was very light sensitive.

I turned it off & sat there in the living room with the curtains drawn.

Took 2 more Excedrin.

I woke up on the couch at 7:00pm.

At least my headache was gone.

Now there was just the sense of dread and waste to deal with.

I hate sleeping the weekends away.

I know I needed it and my body feels better, but still.

From Monday - Friday I spend 40 hours at work and 17 to 20 hours

on the bus/subway on my way to and from work.

The weekends are all I have.

This weekend I accomplished absolutely nothing.

I hate that.

Adam was able to sit in his man cave all day in

his underwear on his forum without me nagging him.

At least one of us had a good day.

Cicadas and Bees

Today, there were too many wedding parties getting photos taken in the park so Crockett

and I went on the trail that goes around it.

It was a good idea because it was in the shade & good for Pugs.

The Cicada's were out today in full force.

I love the sound they make.

It reminds me of when I was a kid.

We had them in the trees in the neighbourhood.

I used to think it was the sound of tree frogs.

As soon as we got out of the trail and back onto the edge of the park,

I saw this dead Cicada being devoured by Ants.

There were also alot of the small white moth looking Butterflies fluttering

about & landing on the plants and flowers.

This one sat long enough for me to get a shot of it.



Normally, I only see Bees in this park on blue or purple flowers.
Today, they were on everything.

Remembering that Bees smell fear, I remained calm & got
as close as I could.
These 3 below were my best shots.

This flower was huge. It was at least 4" in diameter.
They've surrounded them with little plants that look like
little hot peppers.

It was a nice walk this morning.

Even sitting here now, with the window open facing

Yonge Street, in the city, I can hear the Cicadas in the trees.

Love it.