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AND THE WINNAH IS........

Yup it's that time again, the end of the month Photo Contest over at Opacity. The November competition was themed "Night Shots".

Here are my 3 entries:


COLOURING THE CLOUDS



COLOUR OF DARKNESS



FULLMOON MAGIC



AND.......... here are the 2 winning (tied) entries both by SlyV! (you really have to see these full size)

Highway To Heaven:

Metal And Stars:

The entire contest's pics (all full size!) can be found at Opacity Nov. Photo Comp. where you will see the second place winner "Big Ed's" Bar Wars and runner up Greg's untitled first entry. There were some stunningly beautiful night shots in this contest, so enjoy!

On another note, it is 6:30 a.m. here and it's -38F here with the windchill!! Can you say, "hardy Canuks"??? LOL

Thank goodness we're heading back up to some more normal temps in a few days.

All right chicks and dudes, I'm getting ready for work now so I'll catch you all on the fly as the week goes. This is the week I work 2 extra days so I may not be as prompt here as I'd like. But know I'm thinking of you!

Take care of each other, and see ya soon.

PEACE!
Love Jude

**************************
TREE TRIMMING

Every year I put up my Christmas tree at the very end of November. Seeing as this year I'm working 2 extra days that week, I had to get it done a week early, meaning this weekend.

So she's up, and done!

And the wreath that I bought stuff for and decorated myself a few years back:




And my favourite..... my crystal lidded dish that I ball a string of lights up inside in the kitchen:



And last but not least..... my new desk hubby and I got Saturday:



He STILL needs a place to put his computer etc. and I'm sick of it being all over the dining room table. *rolls eyes*. So..... the desk I had is perfect for the spot he needs to put his in, and wasn't working so well for me. This one fits here much better for my use.

Well folks I'm off and running to brave the cold and get some groceries for the week. Anyone need anything? LOL

Have a great week and take good care of each other! If you still need to get in the Christmas spirit perhaps the above pics will help, and if not try my old standby:

TRANS SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA

PEACE!

Love Jude

*******************************
FROSTY WINTER WONDERLAND

Remember this?

Early this morning, same shot:

Yup, we've had more of the white stuff, and there's more to come soon apparently. I woke up this morning quite early with a headache, so although I finally have a day off I've been up early enough to start laundry and schlep around the house. Once the sun started coming up, I went outside to take a few pics of the pretty morning.





You may recall a couple weeks ago we had an early "freak" snowfall before the leaves had all turned colour yet and were even all off the trees:

....we have much more now:

I stuck a rake there to try to show you how high this pile is getting.


Hubby spent a couple hours or more out there shovelling last night.






Pretty snow shadows:



A pretty day indeed, but I'm frozen out here!




One last picture from inside the house.



I hope it's much warmer where you are right now! We're looking at daytime highs around the -20 something mark over the next few days, yikes. That would be around -10 or colder for you non-celsius peeps.

Well I'm heading to bed for a much needed nap while laundry continues, and then this afternoon I'm putting up my Christmas tree!

Have a great weekend everyone, and take good care of each other.

PEACE!

Love Jude

**************************
TURKEY DAY IN THE U.S.!!



A month after ours, my friends to the south of us are celebrating their Thanksgiving today. I'm sure there will be much turkey eaten and many reasons for thanks to be given. I for one am forever grateful for the friendships I've made with so many of you south of our border!

As you gobble down the chow (pun intended) think of me having my bologne sandwich for lunch at work today, in our VERY FROZEN temperatures where I reside. It must be some cruel joke.... did your cousins up in Alaska send this icy Arctic air to descend upon us here?

Not only do we have a lot of snow, but we are getting more of it today. We are in a veritable "deep freeze" here, this morning at 6:30 a.m. the temperature out there is 14F with the windchill...... and that folks, is going to be our HIGH on Monday coming up. Can you say, "BRRRRRRR"? I can hear teeth breaking from the chattering here.... My guess is we've probably already got around a foot of snow and we are, as I mentioned, in for more.

Still in the nasty throes of working extra days so once again I apologize for not frequenting your blogs as often as I normally might; nor posting as often as I usually do on my own. But, I SHALL RETURN! One day soon, at least in the next few weeks.

But for the moment, I wish my American friends a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING!! I hope you all have a safe and warm holiday. And to all of you out there, take good care of each other, I'll catch you soon.

PEACE!
Love Jude

**********************************
STILL KICKIN'

Sorry I'm not around as much, like I said a bit ago I'm working extra days until just before Christmas so I don't have as much time as I'd like at home.

Hubby has a MONSTER head cold and I'm trying valiantly to steer clear of it. I'm washing my hands at a ridiculous rate and praying hard, LOL. However this morning I notice a slight sore throat coming on. I've been loading up on Vitamin C and Echinacea.

I went outside at twilight yesterday and shot a few pics of our snow. We've got so much of it! Here's a couple shots:

Twilight Over The Fence:



Table Cloth:



Snow Sculptures At Night:


The rest of my winter shots can be seen on my website "Vision Quest" under "Winter Magic", HERE.

Must dash peeps, so I hope you have a fabulous weekend. Take good care of each other and PEACE be yours.......

Love Jude

********************
UPDATE AND KUDO'S TO US OLDER KIDS!

I'm feeling better..... all 3 of us are: me, hubby and sister Pammie. All 3 of us went back to work today although we're still feeling like crap, just "better" than we were, LOL.

My new computer is working well, I've noticed it's a little faster than the old one too. I'm loving it so far!

And I got this in an email today and no it's NOT because I don't feel like posting my own stuff..... I really LOVE this one and want to share it cuz it's so true!!

Enjoy!


TO ALL THE KIDS
WHO SURVIVED the
1930's 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's !!


First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant.
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.


Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints.


We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking .

As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster seats, seat belts or air bags.

Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.


We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle. We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.


We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank koolade made with sugar, but we weren't overweight because .


WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING !


We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.


No one was able to reach us all day.


And we were O.K.



We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down
the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.


We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound , CD's or Ipods, no cell phones! , no personal computers , no Internet or chat rooms.......
WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!


We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no
lawsuits from these accidents.


We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.


We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays,
made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang
the bell, or just walked in and talked to them!


Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!


The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of.


They actually sided with the law!


These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!


The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.


We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned


HOW TO

DEAL WITH IT ALL!


If YOU are one of them . . CONGRATULATIONS!


You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as
kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated so much of our lives
for our own good.


And while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave (and lucky) their parents were.


Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!

The quote of the month is by Jay Leno:

"With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the
country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, "Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?"

Take good care of each other peeps, and until next time.....

PEACE!
Love Jude

***********************************
DAMN...... HELL REVISITED??

When nothing but water is coming out of your body, you need to replenish and rehydrate. I was told by a couple of nurses that Gatorade and other sports drinks are good also because they have good stuff in them when you can't get a lot of nutrition due to lack of food.



I just got hit BIG time with this stomach virus a month ago and have been feeling the effects of it (however mildly, exhaustion for one) ever since.

Yesterday, hubby got hid HARD with this same virus. In the 10 years that I've known him he has NEVER called sick into work. He did today, and he's been in bed continuously.

I thought seeing as I'd already had it....... well yeah. And I got my flu shot, but only 4 days ago and it takes a week or 2 to be entirely effective.

I woke up this morning with a major problem, the kind where you cannot leave your bathroom for too long. So once again I had to call in sick. Bleh! So far I'm just a little nauseous and I hope it doesn't get any worse. I had enough of that a month ago, and hubby is sick enough for the two of us.

I don't want to take more time off, so I hope this has passed by the morning. DAMN!!

I need to try and coax hubby to eat something soon. He needs solids in his body and so do I, to start turning the waterworks into something more solid.

Wish us luck! And don't think about coming for a visit here. You might as well bring your own Gatorade if you do, LOL

PEACE
Love Jude

*********************************
REMEMBRANCE DAY 2006

This is the first year I've missed posting this, as I was offline until last night.
I say, it's never too late to remember.... or to keep those in our thoughts and prayers that are serving our country here and now.




Some of our Canadian military graves I've taken shots of recently:











God rest you and keep you.........


****************************************************

Well it took 2 days but I've got my new computer up and running with I think everything on it that I had before on the old one. I had to re-install some programs, re-download others, and do some tweaking. What I am having a hard time with is all the fonts/text on my blog and some other places (even in this "create post" window on my blog!!) is smaller and not as easy to read. I've changed all the fonts for my toolbars etc. so I'm not sure what else I can do. Oh well I'll either figure it out at some point or just get used to this.

Older eyes, ya know???

**EDIT** Just fixed it! Hee Hee

I only have one thing left to do and that is to hook up the new printer and install it's program. The old printer/copier/fax/scanner I have has a busted scanner. Hubby had already got a new one (same but without the fax feature as we don't use it anyway).

It cost me only $60 to have a guy load my stuff from the old tower to the new one, leaving everything on the old one for use as backup. It was $60 well spent for me! I HATE not having a computer with all my stuff on it that I use daily. This time was only 2 days.... but last time it was 2 1/2 months!!

So the weekend has flown by, today is Sunday and that means grocery shopping and other errands. Then back to work..... maybe I'll get lucky and win the damn lottery for once and for all today, huh? RIIIIIGHT!!

Hope you have all had a good weekend, take good care of each other and until next time......

PEACE!
Love Jude

********************************
NEW COMPUTER FOR THE HIPPIE CHICK


My hubby saved all his pennies and bought me a new computer to replace my 5 yr. old one. It's TEENY!









Here it is sitting next to my current monster:



I've had it hooked up just to make sure it's working, which it is. And holy mamma you can't even hear it running, it's so quiet.

Now........ I just need to get everything on my old one transferred to my new one. As I don't know the first thing about it, I'm looking at seeing how much it would cost to have it done for me. I've heard it isn't expensive.

The only thing is....... how long will I be without a computer???

I'll keep ya posted!

Take care of each other and PEACE to you!

Love Jude

****************
A LITTLE (OKAY A LOT) WORRIED

Has anyone else noticed that THE COMPLIMENTING COMMENTER hasn't posted anything on his blog for 6 weeks now??

I'm getting worried that something isn't right in his world, this just isn't like him. I sent him an email about a week or so ago but haven't heard anything back.


I'm trying to keep up with everyone's blogs here and so far not doing too badly. The extra day at work is one less day at home I have to catch up on online stuff AND rest/sleep. Bear with me folks, hopefully my life will get back to normal by Christmas.

Geez that's not too far off now is it?

Take care of each other!

PEACE
Love Jude

********************
HEALING AND THE WINTER

Well Lexy sounds like you've got it too..... an early winter. I mean, it's COLD so fast.

I'm working extra days for the next couple of months as we're short staffed. I HATE it. And after the first week of it I'm pooped already, and my feet and legs are killing me as my job is on my feet mostly. So, forgive me in advance if my posts and visits are a tad bit more sporatic for the next while until things get back to normal again. Which they better!


Taken in my hot tub room an hour ago or so. It's not an insulated room don't forget, but still it gives you an idea how much colder it is outside:




This morning it's another cloudy day with the occasional (so far) light snowfall.

Hmmmm... bunny tracks?




Brrr




I've had some conversations with my friend Pete (and others) about the healing stones I use. My hubby's back is screwed and has been for around 30 years. He always had to wear a back brace to work and when it went out on him he could hardly walk straight. A handful of years ago I started doing hands on healing for his back (I'm a spiritual medium and healer) but using my stones that I have programmed specifically for healing. He hasn't had to wear his back brace since that first time, and it's been stored away in a drawer ever since.

Pete, these are the ones I use. The little dark one is an unfinished Watermelon Tourmaline, a stone no healer should be without as it's so powerful. The rest are all clear quartz crystals, and what they do is amplify the healing process. Kinda help it along, big time.




What we do is this: I hold the Tourmaline in the hand I'm healing with (right hand) and hubby holds one of the clear quartz crystals in his left hand while I do the work. He tends to fall asleep before I'm done, and it takes usually anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes.

Now I have a problem healing myself. "Healer heal thyself" is a whole 'nuther story!! I think I just get in my own way subconsciously or something. It HAS worked for me a couple of times though. Anyway for working on myself, I hold the tourmaline in my right hand again, and I place each of the clear quartz crystals around me in a circle with the points pointing at me.


Watermelon Tourmaline is called that because as a finished stone you see it has red/pink and green lines through it that makes it resemble watermelon. If this stone were finished and polished, the dark rock around it would be gone and all you'd see is the beautiful red/green. Hard to see but I tried to get a close up of it:



I hope this gives you a bit more information Pete and will be somewhat helpful.

Okay chicks and dudes, I'm off to bed for a much needed nap! Catch you all soon, take good care of each other and until next time.....

PEACE!
Love Jude