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Friday, October 26, 2007

FIRST SNOWFLAKES

Yup that's right, it's been sunny autumn weather but colder at night now. And this morning just as the sun started to make its appearance I went outside to see the first flakes of the years end.






Most of the trees are nekkid now....





Of course once the sun rose a bit higher 30 minutes later, there was no sign of any snow left.




Although most of the flowers have now died off, there are still some that keep blooming and blooming, especially the rose bushes.










The rest of the day has been breezy, fresh and sunny. My favourite weather!






It is my fondest wish that we make it 5 more days to Halloween without a cover of snow on the ground! Wish us luck.

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

PEACE!
Love Jude

Sunday, October 21, 2007

FLAT BUSTED

Nope not my endowments, those are overly much and just get in my damn way really. What I'm talking about is scarier than that.

We might be dealing with the old "putting the sugar bowl in the fridge" syndrome.... you know, getting older and forgetful.

Until I got paid Friday, I had a grand total of a whopping $5.63 in my bank account. I should have had a couple of hundred. But last weekend I did the sugarbowl thing.

First, I overspent WAY too much on groceries, thinking I should be okay but only because I overlooked just how expensive some batteries I bought were going to be. That was my first mistake, not looking at the prices.

Then a day later I made a monthly payment to my bank. No big deal right? Well it wouldn't have been had I not already made that payment for the month! That's the first time I've ever done something like that and I can't believe I did it.

The very first mental signs of my mentalpause showed up several years ago when I started making a habit of walking into a room and forgetting why I went there. How embarassing, even if it was only me who knew I did it. Now, that's become so old hat it's almost comforting and keeps me aware that I'm indeed still alive. I think the second thing that showed up was forgetting conversations that took place between myself and another person. Like a day earlier for heavens sake. Sister Pammie will correct me if I'm wrong, she was keeping pretty good track of my mentalpausedness damn her.... but that's okay she's getting it now. Bua ha ha.

That's the scary part; I can vividly remember my 4th. birthday party but can't for the life of me recall what I said to someone yesterday. I've heard that it's the "short term" memory that goes first, and holy schmoly that's true!

Being the first time I ever ran my bank account into the ground unknowingly though, scared the pants off me last week. As I said, my paycheque on Friday meant that we could eat something more this week than the condiments in my cupboards, thankfully. And my Widow's Pension comes through a few days from the end of the month so I'll be okay for the end of the month stuff. Whew!

Ginko Biloba save me a seat because here I come. Better make that season's tickets if you please!

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One of my dearest blogger friends is going through a very rough time. Within the last 2 years Karen fought the brave fight with breast cancer and thankfully won. Recently she just found out her Mother has it. My heart goes out to her and her Mom, and I'm keeping them in my prayers. If you've a moment please stop by over at KAREN'S and give her a supporting hug. Thank you so much.

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On a lighter note, the weather here has been gorgeous. We're looking at sunny skies and temps just under 70 this coming week. Last week the forecast for yesterday was rain and possible snow. Well it was so far from that it wasn't even funny. I'm so in love with autumn!

Wherever you are on my Guestmap I hope you have a wonderful upcoming week. Take good care of each other!

PEACE!
Love Jude

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

WALK IN THE PARK

Sister Pammie and I went to another city park a couple of weeks ago to try and catch some Autumn Splendour.

It was another sunny warm day and although some of the trees had already lost their leaves there were still some colours overhead.




This park has a cute little footbridge that spans a creek which runs into the river.








We had to get a shot of us waving. You can see us (I'm on the right) as shadows in the water.




There are even more bare trees now than there was when these were taken, I'm thinking these golden trees might be naked by now.




All in all I've had a few nice walks in nature this autumn, enough to satisfy my need for crunching leaves underfoot for another year anyway.



We're expecting at least some snow by Halloween, but who knows? We usually get some by then, even if only a "skiff" of it. And THAT is only 2 weeks away! Ah well, in the meantime I can still enjoy this:



Lovely!


I hope you are having a good week where you are. Until next time, take good care of each other!

PEACE!
Love Jude

Friday, October 12, 2007

THE BEJEWELED SEASON

In honour of my favourite season, a little something I wrote a few years back.




THE CHANGING
Windfall colours glow in trees
and dance among chill breezes
Autumn's breath cools the air
before the water freezes

Clouds skid along in a rush
much quicker than before
Pumpkins plump while flowers fade
on frosty garden floors

Summer's sun once so warm
replaced by rays subdued
The laziness of summer gone
now wintry thoughts intrude

Proof of breath hangs in the air
from morning exhalations
Frosty crystals on the ground
are rich in their sensations

Dried foliage crunches underfoot
soon blanketed in white
As Mother Earth shares her gift
of Autumn's wonderous sight.




I hope you are all enjoying autumn this year, get out there and go for walks in the leaves and enjoy the fresh air. I love it!

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

PEACE!
Love Jude

Thursday, October 04, 2007

IT'S ALL ABOUT BLOOMS

When I first started trying out the "macro" feature on my digital camera (close ups) everything I shot was fuzzy. I bought myself a tripod to remedy that, as without one if you just breathe the camera moves and the picture will be blurry.




Well I quickly found out that it's a royal pain having to haul a tripod around for just a few macro shots somewhere (unless of course you set out for that purpose only) not to mention that some shots, like on the ground, are impossible with a tripod anyway.





So being the very stubborn Taurus "bull" that I am, I just kept practising and practising, until I was able to shoot say one flower about 6 times and get one good shot out of it that wasn't blurry. It's all about not breathing and steady hands AND body when you push the shutter button.





The above shots I got at my sister Brenda's place a month ago, and the rest (like the roses) I got here in our own front yard.

Autumn is in full swing here now and some of the blooms have faded, mostly flowers that only bloom in the spring and early summer. But others are still a going concern and honestly if we didn't get winter at all, would just keep on blooming forever.

We've been getting frost now almost every morning. It's gone as soon as the sun rises though, leaving it's wonderful melted water drops in my garden.








Soon enough the entire garden will be under a blanket of snow, awaiting the breath of spring to give life to all the blooms once again. But for now, I am enjoying the colours still showing out there.






In another few weeks whether there is snow or not on the ground, sister Pammie and I will be decorating the front lawn and house with spooky Halloween things. It's usually pretty cold out by then, if not snowy, at the very least the air is frosty and the little goblins and witches can see their breath.

But for now, a last dance with the bloomers in my garden while it's still warm enough for them to thrive.......





It's Thanksgiving long weekend here in Canada and Monday is a holiday. For all my Canadian readers, Happy Thanksgiving! Stay safe and enjoy the turkey.



I hope everyone who is reading this has a great weekend coming up, take good care of each other and God Bless.

PEACE!
Love Jude