Global Warming Dust Storm - the Beginning of the End!

With all the news about Global Warming and Climate Change in the news, I have been on the lookout for it.

Well folks - today I found it!!!

Check out this Global Warming Dust Storm!!

Wind and that danged Global Warming Dust blowing everywhere!!! It was SCARY!!

It is the beginning of the end folks!! A blizzard in January on the Prairies - I mean....

That's just plain weird weather!!!!!

Treading into the Political Fray - Anonymously, of course

Every day I spend time (often an inordinate amount of time) looking (and commenting) on various political blogs - mostly on the "right" side of political thinking. Blogs like Kate's "Small Dead Animals" really speak to how I think and I always check out this list of other right thinking bloggers.

Today there seem to be a number of bloggers commenting on the fact that female political bloggers seem to be few and far between and certain male bloggers (*) even develop lists of top 10 blogs that seem to be estrogen-deficient.

However, in reading about this new "problem", it led me to check out some of the links provided to various female bloggers of - shall we say - the other persuasion.

Let's just say - one certainly gets their eyes opened that there is really that thinking out there. It started me thinking that maybe I have to venture out of my comfortable chair on the right side of the room - look at how others are seeing the same situation - open debate with them (although that often denigrates into name calling on their part - sigh... - why can't they just debate an issue!).

Blogs like this (link does not seem to work - if you really want to check it out - just type www.liberalcatnip.com into your browser)and this really open my eyes as to why there is such a chasm between left and right in this country. Sigh.........

There is an interesting poll out there which shows that the majority of those who vote right are older while the majority of those who vote left are young.

To that I say - I was a Liberal when I was twenty - then I grew up!!

I admire those that blog about politics on a daily basis as I think it helps those of us who follow politics more often than just at election time to get more information about the goings on in that big building down east. It takes an inordinate amount of time and and energy to put out accurate information about something that many have strong opinions about.

So I tread lightly into the political fray - this may or may not be the only time I blog about politics and let me just say that my posting name on those political blogs is not my real name nor does it link to this blog. I prefer to remain somewhat anonymous for the time being.

Anonymity helps maintain my fragile self esteem and allows me to comment on some of the idiotic things that certain left thinking commenter's say.

Well - I am off to read my blogs and take a leftie to task!!

What Price Summer?

Today we find ourselves enjoying the midwinter "thaw" - that week or so that seems to happen every year when the sun is so bright it hurts your eyes, the temperature gets above 0 and we have visions of what lies under all that snow.

I was in the local Coop store the other day and low and behold they had fresh flowers! Many of the shelves were bare due to the Alberta labor shortage that finds companies unable to find drivers for the trucks or even labour to load the groceries into the truck for delivery to the smaller centers. But there at the counter were flowers!

I was especially drawn to the Hot Pink flowers - I am usually not a Hot Pink kind of gal, but something drew me to them. Maybe visions of hot, lazy summer days when the sun is so bright it hurts your eyes and visions of snow covered gardens are a distant memory.

I wanted those flowers!

Then I looked at the price -$14.00.

$14.00!! - Yikes!!!!

Sigh.....I decided to pass on the flowers.

But.........

They would look so pretty on my Island......

Aw - what the heck - $14.00 for a taste of summer - it's a lot less than a plane ticket!

So I bought a bunch, brought them home, cut the stems and lovingly arranged them in a vase. When I unwrapped them, two stems of the hot pink flowers were wilted. I was rather disappointed, however decided to cut the stems and see if they could come back to life with a drink of water. To my surprise, those two stems are as perky and bright as all the rest of the flowers.

So for $14.00 I have a little bit of summer in the middle of winter. The flowers make me feel good and make me want to get out those gardening magazines and books and dream of those lazy summer days. My mom gave me a new gardening book, just the thing to curl up with and make plans.

For now that's all we can do - dream while $14.00 bouquets of flowers provide visions of what lies sleeping beneath the frozen ground.

So how much does summer cost?

Why a mere $14.00!

What to do with all this STUFF???? Um - well - I'll get back to you on that...

We are in the process of finishing our basement - now finishing a basement can be an easy thing if you can pay someone to come and deal with it - alas, our monetary situation means if we want a finished basement, it is up to us.

Finishing a basement can also be alot easier if you do it BEFORE you move in. Doing it after means moving things from here to there, from there to here, and then move back to there!!!

Which brings me to the topic - WHAT TO DO WITH ALL THIS STUFF!!! - or perhaps -

Why do we have all this STUFF?????

I mean really..... what am I saving that tote of tablecloths for. The last time I used a tablecloth - um - well - yeah - I'll get back to you on that........

How about the box of purses????? I am always on the lookout for the perfect purse - that bag that has just the right number of compartments that you can be organized, but not so many as to give rise to the forgetfullness of ageing. Over the years, I have thought I have found the perfect purse, only to find out it is too small, too big, too many compartments, not enough compartments. Some of these purses did live up to expectation and bear the scars of hard use, scuffed leather, ripped innards, broken straps..... Of course all these rejected bags are "too good to throw out" and my Scottish ancestory says that someday I may have another use for this old purse..... um - well yeah - I'll get back to you on that ........

Then there is the tote full of patterns?????? I mean patterns from the 70's when my girls were little ones and I would make them cute little outfits. Patterns from the 80's complete with "shoulder pads". Patterns for tablecloths (yeah, like I need another one of those), patterns for curtains, patterns for aprons, patterns for clothing in sizes that my body has long forgotten exists. Patterns for hunting coats and pants for the hunter in sizes that his body has long forgotten..... Somebody, somewhere could use these..... um - well yeah - I'll get back to you on that.....

Shelves full of pots, pans, baking dishes, pie plates - why do I need 12 glass pie plates, 3 stockpots, 3 roasters, 4 cake pans, 8 loaf pans ......... I suppose if I were starting my own Hutterite colony they might come in handy??? Hmmmmm - um-well, yeah - I'll get back to you on that........

Then there are the boxes of "things to sell at a garage sale". Those things have been sitting there for more than 3 years since we moved to this town- a few of the boxes are things that did not sell at the last garage sale we had before we made that move. So I should ask myself - if the 1970's book of "Macrame Tips and Techniques" didn't sell in 2003 - will it really sell in 2007???? It's only 25 cents!! Surely someone will want to take up the craft! um-well, yeah - I'll get back to you on that.......

Of course the Stuff in the basement that needs to be moved is not limited to my collections - husband has done his own "collecting" over the years - of course, his collecting includes antlers, deer heads, old purses to use as shell bags (yes, some of those purses were formerly "the perfect purse"), and multitudes of clothing suitable for every temperature change when one is out hunting or fishing? Of course, all of the man Stuff is still "good"! Um - well, yeah - he'll get back to me on that.......

So I stand before the STUFF and think - what to do, what to do - um - well, yeah - I'll get back to you on that!!!!!!

The Art of Winter

Today is one of those Alberta winter days that belies the actual temperature. The sun is shining, the sky is the gray blue that often accompanies a cold winters day, fooling us into thinking it will be warm outside. But the temperature is a cool -12, a marked improvement over the -35 we had yesterday, however it is still cold.



Since the back deck had not been shovelled since the blizzard that roared across the prairies on Wednesday, I decided that I would get some exercise and shovel the drifts that had blown across the decks.



On my way out the back door, I was taken by the frost etched onto the window and that got me thinking about the artistic license Mother Nature often takes using the wind and the snow and the cold as her paints.

The beautiful, frosty patterns drawn on glass as cold meets warm made me stop to admire her handiwork.

Once outside, I took note of the snow drifts flowing in undulating curves like a winter ballet dancer moving across the ground using the landscape to mould and model itself around.

The lengthening shadows of the afternoon sun draw patterns on the snow's surface that become a textural addition to the painting.

But Nature's paintings are fleeting. Once the temperature warms and the sun heats up, the once beautiful curves will soften and become tired.

Nature is an everchanging artist - her models and her canvas dependent on how she uses her tools, the wind, the sun, the snow. That is why it is important to take note, to savour each painting as presented. There will never be another like it, but we will always know that everyone will be beautiful in its own right.


I have a saying hung above my sink that says:


"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. "


It is often difficult, in our rush to pass through each day, to stop and notice all the little moments before us meant to take our breath away.

I am glad I did today!

And So It Begins

A New Year Dawns - 8:20 am, January 1, 2007

I was just over in the Weight Watchers site reading the message boards and someone posted the following from a daily motivation site on the internet. It struck a cord with me as I am often jumping to conclusions about situations based on my views. I am learning that all is often not what it seems, situations that I have built up in my mind as happening are often just that - built up in my mind.

So I decided to post the message to my blog - so I will always have a reminder to wait until I have more information about things that I make assumptions about - to take a breath and know that all is often not what it seems.

A new year is here. It's a great opportunity to re-examine your assumptions, and to get rid of the ones that no longer make any sense.

Assumptions can be very useful because they free you from having to think through every little detail. Assumptions are a practical way to make positive use of your extensive past experience.

Remember, though, that change is a constant part of life. People change, conditions change, the world changes, and all those changes can quickly make your assumptions obsolete.

Outdated assumptions can keep you stuck when there's really no reason for you to be stuck. Outdated assumptions can prevent you from connecting with good and valuable things that are easily within your reach.

As you go through each day, make note of the assumptions you rely upon. Select a few of those assumptions and seriously challenge them.

You'll find limitations you thought you had that are no longer there, and opportunities you never knew about that are now open to you. As the new year begins, free yourself from outdated assumptions, and you'll find all sorts of new possibilities popping into view. -- Ralph Marston

Food for thought...... besides we all know what A-S-S-U-M-E means.