12 on the 12th.

I found a new thing on a blog, where you post 12 pictures from your daily routine on the 12th of the month. I thought it sounded like a fun kind of diversion so here goes. My only problem is they are not chronological and I could NOT get the dang things rearranged, so just deal with it. HAHA!


1. Me at my desk at work, just waiting for that phone to ring!


2. The veggie stand down the road from the office, which I pass every day on my walk to get the mail. I got a zucchini today for $1, and it is all organic stuff!


3. The view from our deck at work. It is a bit foggy on the water today so you can't see the mountains across the way, but they ARE there.


4. Dixon's suitcase, after he got home from a week of travel to the mainland for work.


5. Dishes all washed up! The dishwasher has not worked since we moved in and we can not figure out why. I can't wait until we get a new one!


6. First thing to do when I get up - feed the dog!!! She is SO patient.


7. MY usual breakfast - coffee with French Vanilla creamer and Honey Nut Cheerios. Hey, at least it's something!! Sometimes I indulge by adding an expensive banana to the cereal.


8. I glance out at the weather conditions before I get in the shower and figure out what outfit to wear today. Gee, fog again, but it will be sunny when I get to work.


9. On the drive to work. It is 20-25 minutes and I RARELY encounter another vehicle. If I do they are usually headed in the other direction. My kind of rush hour.


10. Well, here it is - my place of employment, nestled in the woods with beach access.


11. A beautiful sunset to end another good day!

12. Frying up some mushrooms to make an omelet for a late lunch, after Dixon got home from his travels.

Purple slush.

Once again I find myself home alone with the 'girls, as my other half travels for work, but I'm not complaining - too much. Being home alone I tend to watch a lot less tele and catch up with my favorite blogs. You know who you are because you'll see comments from me all of a sudden. I also try to catch up with e-mails and keeping in touch with friends and family in the US. I'm already so over this election in the US that I try avoid conversations in the genre. So here I am, online, posting and finding new blogs to read and possibly bookmark. The dog is doing her thing, chewing a toy vigorously in an attempt to remove the plastic ball that is surrounded by some wondercloth that has stood up to her teeth for quite a few months now. In the end she will be triumphant but in the meantime it gives her something to do. As usual the cat is upstairs sleeping in the waning rays of sunshine that are filtering through to the underside of the table. Little does she realize, nor care I suppose, that a few feet from her, just over the low window ledge, is the beginings of another spectacular fall sunset. The guys in Vancouver know what I speak of. And I'm not talking just one or two evenings but a string of perhaps 7, 10 or 14 days of glorious color in the sky over the ocean. Keeping me company tonight is a tall glass of Wild Blackberry Margarita, made with a handful of fresh berries that mere moments ago I, with my two bare hands and a bowl, persoanlly plucked from the thonry tendrils along the driveway that have nurtured these berries to the wonderful, flavorful state they are in, or were in. Now they are part of my Purple Slush, and OH so yummy.

Thanks for tuning in, and don't forget to click on the left link to Help the Animals.

A lighter note.

It seems that Fall is just around the corner. The days are getting shorter, the sunsets have taken on a brilliance not seen very much during the summer and soon we'll bid adieu to the cruise ships for another season. I've been thinking lately about how lucky I really am, to be living in such a wonderful place. The house is getting refreshed, the job is working out quite nicely and one of the most stellar moments as of late - I found peaches that are TO DIE FOR!!! I am something of a peach fanatic and with the demise years ago of a local establishment back where we came from, The Fruit Ranch, I have been having a devil of a time finding good peaches. Georgia? Nope. California? Nope. They are always too hard and crunchy, have no flavor, or turn to mush in your mouth, none of what I consider to be traits of a truly good peach. WELL! I found some BC grown peaches at a local chain called Thrifty Foods, and they are absolutely spectacular! Perfect texture, juicy and bursting with flavor. My regret now is that I only bought two, fearing once again an inferior product. In the next few days, when I am in the neighborhood, I will have to stop and get a few more. In this house they will not be hanging around very long, that is for sure.

Another indulgence as of late, that takes me back to the days when my age was in the single digits, is cooked peel and eat shrimp. When I was about six or seven years old, in the mid-60's, Mom and Dad and I would go out to eat at a restaurant called Country Gardens. In my eyes this was a fancy place and they did a smorgasbord that seemed to stretch on forever. OF course Mom would TRY to get me to eat a balanced meal, with veggies and such, but all I wanted was hard salami and the cooked peel and eat shrimp. In my developing years since then, with budgetary constraints, shrimp was relegated to a once a year treat that, truth be told, I probably didn't eat even that often. Now with the move to Vancouver Island, and an abundance of local and international seafood, we've dabbled in the shrimp and I am now once again addicted to cooked peel and eat shrimp. For some reason I am not overly fond of hot cooked shrimp in a dish but give me that cold cooked shrimp, with a good cocktail sauce, and I'll be your friend for life. Or until the shrimp runs out.

So, lately life has been pretty darn good. I have incredible peaches once again, I am reviving a childhood fondness for cold shrimp, the job is working out very well and the days leaning toward Fall are sunny with perfect temperatures. And I am taking a break from all the US politics. Don't even ask me about the Canadian election coming up - I'm still trying to figure out all the parties!

Please click on the link to the left to Help the Animals, and thanks for tuning in...

Wake UP people!!

Sure, she is entitled to wear whatever she wants, but come on! WHO is the elitist?
And since when does one mix pearls with diamonds??? I'm sorry but to me that is just so wrong! One has to keep a theme going, not all this mix-n-match stuff. All diamonds or all pearls is elegant, Classy and says style way more than mixing your gem stones. Mix 'em if you're going to the local music festival or country fair, but NOT when you are appearing before the nation as the potential First Lady! What was she thinking??? Jackie O she ain't.

Cindy McCain's $300,000 Outfit

by Vanity Fair

September 4, 2008, 10:29 AM

One of the persistent themes in the Republican line of attack against Barack Obama is the notion that he is an elitist, whereas the G.O.P. represent real working Americans like Levi “F-in’ Redneck” Johnston.

It caught our attention, then, when First Lady Laura Bush and would-be First Lady Cindy McCain took the stage Tuesday night wearing some rather fancy designer clothes. So we asked our fashion department to price out their outfits.

Laura Bush
Oscar de la Renta suit: $2,500
Stuart Weitzman heels: $325
Pearl stud earrings: $600–$1,500
Total: Between $3,425 and $4,325

Cindy McCain
Oscar de la Renta dress: $3,000
Chanel J12 White Ceramic Watch: $4,500
Three-carat diamond earrings: $280,000
Four-strand pearl necklace: $11,000–$25,000
Shoes, designer unknown: $600
Total: Between $299,100 and $313,100

Wow! No wonder McCain has so many houses: his wife has the price of a Scottsdale split-level hanging from her ears.

(All prices except Laura’s shoes and Cindy’s watch are estimates, and the jewelry prices are based on the assumption that the pieces are real.)

Separation of Church and State?

In June 2008, Sarah Palin spoke at her former church. On the topic of Iraq, she asked that people pray for the soldiers and that "there is a plan and that that plan is God's plan." In regards to a proposed natural-gas pipeline she said, "I think God's will has to be done in unifying people and companies to get that gas line built."


Is she for real? Is this what the US needs? YIKES!

Change your habits, change the world.

I came across the website of a visual artist, Chris Jordan, courtesy of an enlightened neighbor, and the images are startling enough that I think I will post from time to time, in an attempt to change peoples' habits with a visual one-two punch, as opposed to just words on a screen. I think any sane, thinking person would view these as a bit of a wake-up call, and hopefully be moved to action. We can not keep plundering our planet and expect there to be no long term consequences. Although the images are done with the US in mind I am sure they apply globally. If you would like to view the website, and share with others to spread the word, it is here

Step one - use reusable cloth bags for your groceries, or take some of your plastic bags along and reuse them. The store we shop at on Vancouver Island no longer provides plastic, or paper, bags and we bring along our own tote bags that are kept in the car trunk. It's an easy first step and maybe, just maybe, other people seeing you do this might be moved to do the same. Be a trend setter!


Depicts 60,000 plastic bags, the number used in the US every five seconds.



Partial zoom:



Detail at actual size:

Just the begining, I'm sure.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 29, 2008

Shocking Choice by John McCain

WASHINGTON-- Senator John McCain just announced his choice for running mate: Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska. To follow is a statement by Rodger Schlickeisen, president of Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund.

“Senator McCain’s choice for a running mate is beyond belief. By choosing Sarah Palin, McCain has clearly made a decision to continue the Bush legacy of destructive environmental policies.

“Sarah Palin, whose husband works for BP (formerly British Petroleum), has repeatedly put special interests first when it comes to the environment. In her scant two years as governor, she has lobbied aggressively to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, pushed for more drilling off of Alaska’s coasts, and put special interests above science. Ms. Palin has made it clear through her actions that she is unwilling to do even as much as the Bush administration to address the impacts of global warming. Her most recent effort has been to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove the polar bear from the endangered species list, putting Big Oil before sound science. As unbelievable as this may sound, this actually puts her to the right of the Bush administration.

“This is Senator McCain’s first significant choice in building his executive team and it’s a bad one. It has to raise serious doubts in the minds of voters about John McCain’s commitment to conservation, to addressing the impacts of global warming and to ensuring our country ends its dependency on oil.”

Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund

Washington, DC