A Rose by Any Other Name!

Many of my blog friends have a variety of pets or as I like to call them, fur/feather babies. Do your fur babies have "pet names"?

Maddy has several and her formal name is Ms. Maddy Mae Petunia Brown. Often, we use the less formal "Boo" or just Maddy.

We recently had to board her at the local critter camp and her camp name was "fatty Maddy". Not nice but understandable after a long winter of too many cookies and not enough exercise. She was able to trim down and came home looking much slimmer.

Here she is after her spring bath and hair cut, looking slim and vampish! Fatty Maddy, no more!

Coming Along.

I haven't been doing alot of hooking but just taking my time with life, in general. Sometimes, you have to stop and take account of everything and see where you stand.

Weather is dull and cool but trees are starting to push out buds. This is the time of year in NL where things seem to be stuck in a time warp. With winter behind us, spring is slowly, slowly releasing her treasures!

Class of '69

I recently connected with a high school classmate who is trying to arrange a class reunion. I graduated in '69 but went back for one extra year, to get algebra, geometry and chemistry credits necessary to enter nursing school.

Most often, you lose touch with the people you went to high school with but you still remember some of their names and wonder where they are now.

A class list was sent and I took a quick look. It came as a shock to see that some of my classmates have passed away. I still see them in my mind's eye, full of life and eager to embrace the future. Somehow, I can't see them any differently and they will remain captured in time and space.

Spring Yesterday!

Winter today. My poor flowers must be shivering in their beds this morning. Here in NL, a spring storm with snow this morning which will change over to rain later today.

No playing in the garden today. All taken in stride as usual.

Same Path!

Something I have learned through blogging and being linked to other likeminded bloggers, is how similar we all really are.

We are all on the same path, not really knowing where we are going to end up in the life we are living. The twists and turns, u-turns and road blocks and all without a map!

Playing in the Garden

Today was a beautiful day and I was able to poke around the garden to look for signs of life. I found several signs including snowdrops, crocus; the tulips and daffodils are just 3-4 inches tall and no flowers yet.

I sat in the sunshine and enjoyed the birds; finches, chickadees, sparrows and of course, crows and bluejays. Inside, I watched Lily and Henry sprucing up in their birdbath. Yes, spring is here and everyone knows it!

Back on Track!

Well, some time has passed since I last posted. But, here I am again, back on track. All went well for P's surgery and now, a slow, road to recovery. I haven't had a chance to do much on either of my rug hooking projects, but here is the smaller project, the table mat.

The weather is great and I have tulips and crocus coming up out of the cold earth. Pretty soon it will be time, to take off the winter coat in the garden and put on her spring coat!

Quiet as Horses

Anyone who knows about horses, knows that is definitely not true. During the winter, our neighbour houses two horses in his barn which is really his garage. Lately, the horses when inside, have been kicking and kicking. I think they feel spring in the air and want to get out and kick up their heels.

Today is P's 59th birthday and on this auspicious day, she is in St. John's and meeting with the heart surgeon who will perform a miracle on her defective heart valve.

Do you ever wonder about the people you trust with your life. What kind of year have they had? Do they have any health issues? And the obvious, how much they drink the night before the big day?

Many times per day, we trust our lives in the hands of perfect strangers and never give them a second thought. The truck driver in front of you, the bus driver, the pilot, the mechanic, and yes, the surgeon.

A little Distracted!

John Lennon once said, Life is what happens, when you are busy doing other things. And so, I have been a little distracted with some of life's curves.

I decided with my little rug hooking group to do a little table mat along with them and here it is. I am doing abit now and then, and will go back to Hearts and Flowers later on.

Still haven't seen a robin but I think I heard one yesterday.

Spring?

While we have had very mild weather, my search for our first robin of spring has proven fruitless.

On seeing the first robin of the year, I have been known to recite the spring poem. You know the one; spring is sprung etc. It is bad luck to chant it before seeing the first robin of the year, so I won't finish it for now.

A couple of chickadees have taken up residence in one of the birdhouses and are busy nest building. But a spring storm is looming on our horizon for the next two days so I hope, if any eggs have been laid, that they will survive the blast.

Dear Julie,

Shape up. Long walks. Small meals.

Please see an optometrist... for goodness sake... thread-repaired glasses from 2004 are wrong. Leave your partner's t-shirts in the closet.
And one more thing, and please don't take this the wrong way,
but maybe you don't need to share *everything* in hOOkwOrm.


Just saying.


Love, Your Inner Voice

If you want to be Happy,

BE HAPPY.



I heard this quote yesterday which was attributed to the Dalai Lama. So simple and so true.

Often, we look for complex answers to complex questions but could Ockham's Razor be the truth.

'Frustra fit per plura, quod fieri potest per pauciora'. ('It is vain to do with more what can be done with less.')

I tried to carry this theme into yesterday's hooking group. Rug hooking was a simple and inexpensive chore of necessity and yet, is it in danger of becoming large, expensive and elitist?

It was a small but enthusiastic group. Next week, we will work on a small project and transferring the design onto the backing.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

As an person of Irish descent on both sides, I am tipping the hat to all the lads and colleens today.

In NL, there was a time when the island was 90% Irish and you can see and hear the remnants of this influence everywhere you go. It is in the language, the accent and even, the look of the geography is so similar to the emerald isle.

We are so Irish in NL, that it is a provincial holiday. Monday, most offices, schools and stores were closed because of the St. Patrick's Day holiday. They took the Monday instead of today.

Today, is the first meeting of our at-work rug hooking group lunch bunch. I will let you know how it goes!

Alpacas of Newfoundland

Along the Port a Port Peninsula, there is unusual wildlife not native to the province. The Alpacas of NL were out as we took our road trip on the weekend, and I could not resist taking a picture to share.

A couple, who were former OPP officers, retired to the province several years ago and decided to raise alpacas. They opened a craft shop complete with alpaca fibre, alpaca knitted goods etc.

The shop wasn't open as it is abit early in the season for travellers but these beautiful creatures were willing to pose for me.

Weekend Trip

St George's Bay














Three Rock Cove













Red Island, Gulf of St. Lawrence















West Bay








The weather was so beautiful that it called for a road trip. The weather has been very unusual for the island and that was clearly evident. We headed for the Port a Port Peninsula which is approximately 80 kms away from Corner Brook and took the French Ancestors Route around the Peninsula.

As NL was settled by a variety of fishermen from many countries over 500 years ago, many of the names and influences remain. French, Irish, English to name a few. The scenery along the way always amazes me in its rugged beauty.

At this time of year, the ice usually moves in and surrounds the island with its icy arms of white. The only ice in any bay was at the end of the French Ancestors's Route, West Bay and it was only frazzle ice; not the usual thick pans of ice.

Progress on Mat

Kim must have been reading my mind and I was thinking too, it is about time to update the progress on Hearts and Flowers. It is coming along but I am not sure about my chosen colours at this point.

But I will persist as I am not going to do any reverse hooking. It is going in a small room and I wanted it to have some light shades to brighten the room. We shall see.

Going ahead with the rug hooking group at work and have set a date for next week. So far, there are five of us and there would be more but some employees have a different lunch time and a shorter one. But there is quite a bit of enthusiasm within the group.

the hOOkwOrms

This picture was sent to me of a beautiful albino moose in the woods in Nova Scotia. If you look carefully, there is also a bird (I think a whiskey jack) in the shrub!

Well, I will be starting a small group of hOOkwOrms at lunch time at the Day job. After my infamous article in the Western Star, I have had lots of interested coworkers suggesting that we start up a lunch time group.

With all the upheaval in the work environment, there is nothing like a distraction for our mental health.

Women's Day-March 8th

First of all, it is International Women's Day today and I have been taking the time to think of a list of 50 women who changed the world. Back in the 70s when I first moved to Toronto, I was a part of the Women's Liberation organization in that community.

Where have all the "libbers" gone as we were called in the day. Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem, Kate Millett, Germaine Greer all aging as I am. Has the movement aged into oblivion? What happened to the passion for change that fueled the consciousness raising of forty years ago?

Who knows but are we all toddering in our gardens, muttering to ourselves?

I am hoping that the spirit of the movement will continue to inspire us all. The struggle remains, sadly.

The Tax Time Blues

Well, with longer days and thoughts of Springtime in the air, tax time rolls around once again.

Don't get me wrong, I live in a wonderful country and understand that the social services we enjoy must be paid for by those who can enjoy them.

But why does tax time tax us so much?

With Glowing Hearts!

I am not such a fan of the Olympics but when it comes to hockey, both men's and women's teams, that's another story.

To say the least, for the men's hockey team to win four straight after the defeat to Team USA was unbelievable.

To my dear American friends, we are brothers and sisters in arms, great neighbours and close to each other in many ways, but not when it comes to hockey!