Earth Hour

I can successfully say we did it...we participated in Earth Hour. I had my doubts about hubby. I hadn't mentioned anything to him about it...I was going to wait till it got closer to the time...but Google did it for me. Googles version of Earth Hour and Lights out was to use a black screen on their site...anyhow...it got my hubby thinking...so I told him that I wanted us to participate.....he thought I was only asking him to have the lights out....but oh no I wanted him to shut down his computer... and have the TV off....nothing except the lights from the candles that I was going to light and the fireplace.


I gave him the 5 minute warning...he proceeded to tell me he had a few more minutes. I had all the candles lit....the fire was roaring....it was really rather romantic....all we needed was a nice bottle of wine....but since we didn't have any wine Soda and Crystal Light were the beverages of choice. It's 8:00 pm PST lights were out....hubby comes into the living room.....so now what do we do he says....I said we could play cards.....or chat.....chat he says....about what....I said tell me a story.....he couldn't think of one....the man who is full of stories couldn't think of a story....so I started in...talking about some of my life adventures...things I have done over the years....things that I have felt proud about....accomplishments...times I really enjoyed...it was while I was recanting a childhood memory that I heard this "gurring bubbling flapping" sort of noise coming from his direction, I looked over only to realized that my story was so stimulating that hubby had proceeded to fall asleep. At 8:40 he woke up and said is it time yet.....I laughed....only 20 mins to go..., it's 8:59.....hubby awakes...it's time....he grabs his lap top and starts googling....I turn on the TV, I opted to leave the rest of the lights off and candles lit....oh did I mention it had started to snow around 7:00 pm? Well by 9:00 pm it is snowing heavily...and I mean heavy, it was that wet big flakes kinda of snow.....it was pretty but hey it's the end of March we are not suppose to be getting snow!

It was 9:30 and I was in the washroom when the lights started to flicker....hmmmm. They go out momentarily then come back on....flicker again....come back on.....flicker one more time...and they are out, thank goodness I still had candles going in the washroom. Hubby got a good chuckle about me being caught in the washroom with the lights out....I told him I had candles which gave the room some ambiance....LOL. So there we were ready to settle into our routine of watching some Saturday night TV and hubby playing on his computer...but no it was not meant to be. So now what....hubby decides it was time for some dessert so off to the kitchen for him....I sit on the couch contemplating my options....I really don't have enough light to read, knit or do much of anything....I was feeling tired and had a headache so I opted to make it an early night.

I hadn't lit any lights up stairs, I generally have my night lights...but with the power out it was pitch black.....we keep a flashlight in our room just for these occasions(we get a lot of power outages here) I managed to make my way into our room, I found the flashlight on our dresser, I turn it on to help me find my way around the bed ....I get all settle in.... I hadn't been there more than maybe 5 -10mins at the most, when I heard this crash downstairs...it sounded like a candle or something had fallen over. I call out to hubby...no answer, I call again...still no answer...so with my trusty flashlight in hand I make my way downstairs...again calling out for hubby no answer. I get to the bottom of the stairs and start looking around I notice Bert who generally greets me at the bottom of the stairs is no where to be found either....I check every room in the house both for hubby and for what was the cause of the crash...I make my way back to the living room and through the window I see a light out in the shed..it's hubby. We have three of those portable shelter tents...with the heavy snow hubby was out there pushing the snow off of the tent roofs. I don't know why I didn't hear him leave the house....I generally hear everything. So now I have found hubby, but still I haven't found the source of the noise. I search some more. Finally, I find the culprit there on the floor was a candle, not lit of course....hmmm .... to strange .... I look at where the candle landed and where it came from, that was a long ways for it to fall.....I wondered how it could have fallen from the holder(which I had reinforced that morning)across the table, missed landing on the chair but behind the chair.....hmmmm....very strange........does anyone remember me telling you about the laundry soap incident, this reminds me of that incident. Hubby comes into the house we chat..he said "I thought you were going to bed"....I told him what happened...he makes spooky sounds at me and laughs....I get a blanket and curl up in the Lazy boy chair and nod off.

At 1130 the power comes back on......hubby is sound asleep on the couch.....my neck has a bit of a kink in it from the way I was sleeping in the chair....I get up to go around make sure everything is off and candles are out, I head upstairs to my bed....it's ok now I have my nightlights on....I'm a big girl now....I can do this.

So there you have it our Earth Hour......what did you do for your Earth Hour?

Saturday Scavenger Photo Hunt

This weeks theme is HIGH. When I saw that the theme for this week was "High" I immediately thought about our trip to Mexico in September when my daughters and I all went parasailing.......

Here they are getting me ready.....

Here they are giving me my final instructions......as you can see the sail is filling with air

here I go it's take off time.......There I go.....

Up Up and away............

Do you see that yellow speck in the sky....that's me........

Here I am coming in for my safe landing......

Just so happy to be back on land!!!!

If you would like to join in on the Photo Hunt please check out tnchick for all of the instructions. Happy Hunting all!!!

I got tagged.....

Leslie from The Pedalogue has tagged me for this meme....it was kinda of fun....

What I was doing 10 years ago: Working as a Critical Care Nurse in the ICU on the Mainland, very involved in my nurses union attempting to negotiate a new contract.

Five things on my to-do list today: Do my house chores, excercise, go grocery shopping, call the volunteer coordinator to set up a meeting,watch the SNOW fall urgh!!!

Snacks I enjoy: I'm into eating a lot of fruit these days so I like to make fruit salad and have it with yogurt,caramel rice cakes,cheese any type,Chinese crackers,frozen blueberries

Things I would do if I were a Billionaire: Make sure my family is taken care of, build a hospice facility, assist in increasing services for children with learning disabilities,buy my hubby his favourite fishing boat,see more of Canada,learn how to fly and buy my own plane

Three of my bad habits:being impatient,worrying to much about everything and everyone,controlling

Five places I have lived:I have only ever lived in BC so here are the cities I have lived in, Burnaby, Langley,back to Burnaby, Qualicum on Vancouver Island.

Five jobs I have had: A&W car hop(age 15) Server for a catering company(age 15-16)worked at a dry cleaners(age17)Federal government (age 19-28)Registered Nurse (age 30- current)

Five people who I would like to tag: hmmm, let's see - I really don't know...I say who ever wants to do this should do this.

A little while ago as I was blog hopping one of the bloggers had mentioned that it would be nice to see photos of where some of the bloggers live. Well, the other day hubby and I decided to take a walk around the neighbourhood and with camera in hand here is a look at some of the things we see in our neighbourhood.....

This is taken on the hydro line trail across the property from us, you are looking north at the Island mountain range in the background

This is off of the trail heading down the road which leads to our house, you are looking east towards the mainland and coastal mountain range.

Deer are frequent on our property...this fellow was paying us a visit on Easter Sunday

And then there were two......

Happy Friday All!!!

Traditions.....

I never really thought of myself as a "Traditionalist" but as I get older I am finding myself attempting to hold on to traditions that I grew up with.

This being Good Friday and the beginning of the Easter weekend, many traditions flood my memory banks. Being raised a Catholic the Easter weekend would start on Holy Thursday, where we would go to church in the evening. Today being Good Friday, it would be one of the few days of the year my father would not work. One of the traditions of course would be going to three o'clock mass. I always found Good Friday service very depressing, dark and gloomy and to make matters worse it often rained around the time mass would begin. I remember it being one of the longer services with lots of up and down. As child I was glad when the service was over.

Another tradition was that you never ate meat on Friday and Good Friday was no exception. My father would buy at least 30 lbs of frozen squid(calamari). He would clean and cut them up, separating the body from the tentacles. My dad made the best deep fried squid. Thank goodness he passed the recipe on to us. Of course as we got older we all took our turns at preparing and cooking the squid. To this day I love squid, unfortunately today I won't be eating squid but rather hubby is going to make a seafood bisque of prawns, scallops and salmon....yummy.

I have given up on decorating eggs as I often would find them weeks later stinking up the place(forgotten where they were hidden). Today I buy those small coloured plastic eggs and fill them with little chocolates and put them in baskets for display. I still love to decorate for Easter or any special event for that matter. This year it was difficult with it being St. Patrick's day on Monday, by Wednesday I had all the St. Patrick's day decorations down and Easter decorations up it's a nice change.

I can also remember as a child at Easter mom would take us out and by us all new Easter outfits. I loved it. A new dress, bonnet, gloves and new shoes....oh it was glorious. I really don't know how they afforded to do that but they did. As a result I can remember always buying my girls new outfits for Easter, bonnets and all. I have this one picture of my eldest daughter and middle daughter in their dresses and bonnets and gloves....oh they looked so adorable...but I think that was the last time my middle daughter who was 2 1/2 at the time I took the picture, would be seen in a dress up until she graduated from high school.

Easter Sunday was full of traditions....starting with breakfast....my mom would set the table starting with a half grapefruit at each place setting, then it would be a special sugar cereal(we only ever got that at Christmas or Easter)hot cross buns and then eggs and bacon. We use to think it was a feast fit for a king. After breakfast we would rush around cleaning up the dishes and get ourselves off to church for Easter mass. After mass we would come home and have the Easter egg hunt...the rest of the afternoon would be spent relaxing...until such time that it came to prepare for dinner. We always started with an ante pasta plate consisting of various seafood's, pickles and cheese. Main course consisted of ham, two kinds of potatoes and lots of vegetables....I know there was dessert but I can't for the life of me think what it was...I bet it was trifle...I never liked trifle so I wouldn't eat it.

Yes my life was full of traditions. I don't think I really appreciated it all at the time...but looking back I am so thankful that I have all those wonderful memories and traditions. I hope I have instilled in my girls some of those traditions are at least some fond memories.

What are some of your family traditions?

Miss Manners where are you?

Is it just me, or does anyone else out there wonder where our manners have gone? I am not just talking about the "please and thank you's" I'm talking about the appropriate way to respond and acknowledge someone, social etiquette, general respect, and how to dress for special occasions.

My mother and father were a sticklers for manners and how to dress for occasions. As a child it drove me crazy, but as an adult I am so thankful that they were as strict about them.
they were very particular about how to speak and greet guests, friends, individuals who held prominent positions in society from church priest to politicians. We were always taught to address adults as Mr. or Mrs. never by first name unless the adult themselves had insisted even then that was difficult. Grandparents were whatever name was given but again never by there first name. In our house we never used the word Nanny when referring to our Gran as "nanny" was a word used for hired help, and believe me Gran was no hired help. So it was either Gran, Granny or variations there of. But as I said never first name.

When one of my siblings or I were called by our parents if you ever responded by saying "what" you would get a cuff on the back of the head....we had to respond by saying "yes mom or yes dad" never "what" my mother always said that saying "what" sounded rude and disrespectful...in hind sight I must agree with her...it really does sound rude. Listen next time....

What ever happened to asking politely for something .....like "do you mind getting that for me" or could you get that for me please" instead what you hear a lot of is...."get that would you" or "pass that"..... where is the please or thank you? Where is the "if you wouldn't mind would you please...." Instead what you often get is the abrupt pass and give that to me. It's just so rude. My question is why do we accept it? Why do accept being spoken to in a rude manner?

This leads me to social etiquette....what ever happened to sending out invitations to parties or better yet what ever happened to people responding and committing to attending a function? Have people forgotten about sending out thank you cards to people who have you for special function or have you spend a weekend with them? What about thank you cards for gifts....I can't tell you how many functions weddings, baby showers, you name it that I have gone to that the recipient of the gifts have not sent out thank you cards. Again that is just rude, and not socially acceptable.

What is happening to us as a society? I know there are many books out there on social etiquette for weddings and special occasions... but what about just every day manners.

I can't help but wonder if the decline is due in part to the fact that there is less and less family time going on. If the children are not learning social graces at home where are they to learn them? If mom and dad or their guardian is constantly being made to work more and more to make ends meet or the employer is placing higher demands, then how can that parent be there for their child/children to teach them?

What ever happened to dressing for occasions? I mean you go out to a nice restaurant now and you still see people arriving in jeans...or the theater or ballet....what is that all about? Don't they know that you dress for those occasions? I swear I must be from the old school, but I for one am proud to belong. When I was growing up, we always dressed for church hence the term "Sunday best". When we went to any one's house for dinner or a function you always dressed....for Christmas eve and Christmas day you dressed jeans were not acceptable. I can remember times when a boy would come to pick up my sisters or I for a date and my father would answer the door, if that boy was in jeans or not dressed appropriately my father would say something to them like " you going to take my daughter out wearing something like that" My father was even worse than my mother when it came to that. I can remember him sending people home to change...but you know....as a result I can assure you that even today everyone in the family knows what is acceptable...even all of my 32 nieces and nephews know that at functions you dress....and they all know how to address their aunties and uncles appropriately again it is seen as a sign of respect for your elders. Sure you can pay more for a pair of jeans than you can for a pair of dress pants...but there is a time and place for all attire. Jeans as we all know were originally designed as a durable work pants...and that is where they should stay in the work environment....oh ok.....causal environment as well....like going to the pub with your friends.

To me it boils down to this, as adults we must set the standards and lead by example. If we don't teach and demonstrate social graces then how will our children learn? If we don't teach our children about charity and giving then how do they learn? It begins with us...our children mirror us both our good and bad....we are their building block.....it all begins at home...and for those children who don't have a parent to fall back on, I hope that they find a mentor who can instill some social graces....

Saturday Scavenger Photo Hunt

This weeks theme is a little harder....it's "I Spy" So what you have to do is find that little something in the photo.....

Last summer when my step sons were here they climbed the trees outside the house...so for my I Spy can you see my son in the tree.....if you click on the photo and zoom in you can see him way up near the top of the tree....he's much braver than me....hint look directly above the roof of the car....
If you would like to join in on the photo hunt please check out tnchick for all the instructions.

Happy hunting all!

Happy Friday

I am off to Victoria today. I go see the neurologist, maybe I will get some answers...but I won't hold my breath. With Spring break starting next week, youngest daughter is coming over for a visit for a few days, so on our way back from Victoria we will stop at the ferry to pick her up. It's going to be a busy weekend as my niece and her family will be coming on Sunday and spending a couple of days which will be absolutely lovely. So If I am not around very much you will know why.

So with that being said, I will leave you with a few photos, hope you enjoy them.

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend and remember to smile at someone, who knows you may be their ray of sunshine for the day...but most of all be good to yourself....cheers!

Humour Thursday

Well it's Thursday so here is some humour for today.............

This is the greatest application ....what a guy!!! He should live to be a really old fella with that attitude!

This is an actual job application that a 75 year old senior citizen submitted to Walmart in Arkansas .
They hired him because he was so funny.....

NAME: Kenneth Way (Grumpy Old Bastard)

SEX: Not lately, but I am looking for the right woman (or at least one who
will cooperate)

DESIRED POSITION: Company's President or Vice President. But seriously, whatever's available . If I was in a position to be picky, I wouldn't be applying here in the first place

DESIRED SALARY: $185,000 a year plus stock options and a Michael Ovitz style severance package. If that's not possible, make an offer and we can haggle.

EDUCATION: Yes.

LAST POSITION HELD: Target for middle management hostility.

PREVIOUS SALARY: A lot less than I'm worth.

MOST NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENT : My incredible collection of stolen pens and post-it notes.

REASON FOR LEAVING: It sucked.

HOURS AVAILABLE TO WORK: Any.

PREFERRED HOURS: 1:30-3:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.

DO YOU HAVE ANY SPECIAL SKILLS?: Yes, but they're better suited to a more intimate environment .

MAY WE CONTACT YOUR CURRENT EMPLOYER?: If I had one, would I be here?

DO YOU HAVE ANY PHYSICAL CONDITIONS THAT WOULD PROHIBIT YOU FROM LIFTING UP
TO 50 lbs.?:Of what?

DO YOU HAVE A CAR?: I think the more appropriate question here would be 'Do you have a car that runs?'

HAVE YOU RECEIVED ANY SPECIAL AWARDS OR RECOGNITION?: I may already be a winner of the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes, so they tell me.

DO YOU SMOKE?: On the job - no!
On my breaks - yes!

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE DOING IN FIVE YEARS?: Living in the Bahamas with a fabulously wealthy dumb sexy blonde supermodel who thinks I'm the greatest thing since sliced bread. Actually, I'd like to be doing that now.

NEAREST RELATIVE....7 miles

DO YOU CERTIFY THAT THE ABOVE IS TRUE AND COMPLETE TO THE BEST OF YOUR
KNOWLEDGE?: Oh yes, absolutely.


***Old People Rock***
Hope you all have a great Thursday!!!!

Do you know someone like this....

Since I have been off work with my shoulder injury, I have had a little more time on my hands. As a result I have tried to make dinners at our house a little more exciting. I don't know about you but I get a little tired of shake'n bake chicken, pasta and the likes. My recipe books have been getting some use. The other night was no exception. I was looking through a cook book my in laws got me for Christmas, called Cooking with BC Wine. It's a great cook book as it not only gives you great recipes for cooking with wines but it also highlights wineries throughout the province. Anyhow, the other night I decided I was going to make Chardonnay Pork Chops. It was a recipe that featured BC chardonnay. It was rich and robust. To compliment the pork chops I decided to make oven roasted rosemary potato's using fresh rosemary from my garden and baked spaghetti squash. It turned out really very nice and hubby said he enjoyed.

Here's the funny part. My hubby loves spicy food. The spicier the better. He also loves his fresh ground black pepper. We have one of those pepper mills that is put to good use. Anyhow, as I always do I put out the dinner leaving the condiments on the counter for him to add as he sees fit. What I find interesting is that he hasn't tasted the food yet and there he is smothering it with pepper. It makes me wonder how does he know what the meal is to taste like if he covers it all in pepper? How does one know how the dish is to truly taste if you don't taste it before you add all the pepper? I really don't know if he does this out of habit or if it is that he truly just loves his pepper and can't eat a meal unless the food is covered with it.

As I mentioned earlier he is a man who loves his spicy food. I could never cook anything spicy enough for him because then no one else would be able to eat it, so I opt to make food with a little zing and I leave out all the hot sauces and chili peppers and let him go at it.

Don't get me wrong, I love to cook for my hubby he loves everything I make and is appreciative, but it just struck me the other night how he must have pepper on everything...to me it just spoils the original intent of the flavours you were meant to experience.

So do you have someone in your life like that?

I haven't been able to get out and run like I have wanted, due to my shoulder/back injury and as a result I have had to use my stepper instead. On Sunday I thought I would go out and see if I could do a run. As I started out and I was trying to be optimistic about being able to at least make it to my favorite spot and back, but my back started hurting almost immediately. As I got more into the run it seemed to ease off. I got to my spot and I was feeling ok so I set another landmark....I made it there, still feeling ok....I set another landmark before I knew it I had surpassed what I thought I would be able to do, I decided it was time to turn around and head back. I was almost back when I felt the ache in my hips and knees and my toes going numb(not good and I seem to experience that more these days) but I had to finish it....I did.....I wasn't sure how far I had run....my pedometer told me I ran 10 kms. I was a happy camper.

As I was doing my cool down I looked out at the beach and what should I see but this gorgeous heron...having my camera in my truck I crossed to the street to take a picture....I got a couple. It was standing perfectly still so I went to see if I could got get a closer shot...so I climbed down the embankment and slowly made my way towards the heron. I guess at one point I must have gotten to close as it flew off...but only a few yards away....I made my way a little closer....here are some of the shots I got.....

If you click on the picture you can get an enlarged version of the photo. Hubby and I have appointments on Wednesday so I won't be around much, so here's hoping you have a great

day!!!

Well it's Tuesday so that must mean it's Heads or Tails Tuesday. This week Skittle has chosen the theme to be GREEN. In light of St. Patrick's Day being just around the corner what a perfect time to celebrate green. It just so happens that hubby and I will be having a St. Patrick's Day dinner party and so I have gone out and bought decorations....so for green this week I will share with you the decorations I have bought for the party.....

There is another little something I would like to share with you and it to has a lot of green in it. Last week I went and got something I have wanted for a very long time, and I think it is perfect for the theme and for St. Patrick's day, as well as in keeping with my Irish heritage.

It's my tattoo....yup....it is the Celtic symbol for Motherhood...the three coloured dots represents the birthstone of each of my children....The tattoo is a heart within a heart...I had opted to have one of the hearts green..again to follow along the lines of my Irish heritage...the tattoo is only a week old so I am still getting use to it..it's not the greatest picture...I didn't realize what ugly feet I had until I started taking photos of my tattoo....so that is my Green.

Anyhow, if you would like to join in on the fun, please check out Skittle's Placefor all the instructions...hope you play along.

Saturday Scavenger Photo Hunt

This weeks theme is "Different"....different as in... you say Tomato I say Tamato.....or different as in black and white.....or Ying and Yang......I had to do some digging....here are somethings that I thought were different.....Spending the night in the outdoors or....... on a yacht with your very own helicopter(this was in Victoria harbour last May)....or

Enjoying the beauty of winter......or....the anticipation of Spring

Whatever your "Different" is, I hope there is a balance.....Happy hunting all!

If you would like to join in on the fun please check out tnchick for all of the instructions.