Catching up....

On Valentine's day hubby and I took a lovely walk around the neighbourhood. The owner of the property not far from us has been doing a lot of clearing. I think he is thinking of selling the land in parcels. Some of the area in which he has cleared has the most wonderful view of the water and the local islands and the coastal mountain range. I am sure whoever the lucky person(s) are who buy the property will enjoy the wonderful view.
While walking in the cleared area we noticed some of the local vegetation.....this really caught my eye.....At first I thought is was frost on a twig.....but after a closer look....it appears to be some kind of fungus....what do you think?


I found this very intriguing....how these two trees of different species intertwined. As our walk took place on Valentine's day the first thing that came to mind was even in nature opposites can attrack. Then is got me thinking even further.... if nature can find harmony and compatibility in difference what is wrong with the human race?

We made our way home. Hubby and I had no special plans for Valentine's day, but I couldn't let it go by without making a special something for us to enjoy...It's called Strawberry Cream Cake

I got a little messy with the Belgian chocolate....but boy was it yummy......

Now onto a completely different note. As most of you know I am into birding. Over the past couple of years I have shared photos of birds that I have spotted in my travels. Today was no exception in the bird spotting category. With spring just around the corner the birds have been abundant. So while I was clicking away with my camera it dawned on me that maybe I should start a blog on birding. So that is exactly what I did. The link to it is on my sidebar...but here is it as well....it's called The Amateur Birder. I have met many of my blogging friends as a result of birding. What I am hoping to acheive with this blog is that it would be used by amateur birders like myself to share birds that we have seen....their antics and the likes. I figure there are some wonderful people with a lot of resources out there and we can share our love for birds. So please stop by my new blog....let me know if you like to bird and if you have photos to share or questions to ask.....I am hoping this blog will be used to talk about anything to do with birding.

I hope you will join me in the fun.

A poem for you....

Another week beginning, Lord, Another page to turn, another chance to start a new With Lessons still to learn, A time to lose all last week's fears And leave them all behind, To look for bright horizons, Lord, And find new peace of mind. Then going forward through the week Whatever lies in store, Be with us on the path we tread, And keep us safe once more.

by ~ Iris Hesselden~

I hope you all have a wonderful week ahead! Stay safe and be good to yourself!

Cheers!

Sunday Camera Critters

We were out fishing last summer, and hoping to catch some salmon. All we seemed to catch were theses "Dog fish" actually they are part of the shark family. This is youngest son holding his catch of the day.

If you would like to play along please check out Misty's Musings at My Dog's Keep Me Sane
Hope you all are have a great weekend!

Something to Celebrate

I received this award the other day from my dear blogging friend Peppylady.

It's her "Encouragement Award" Whenever Peppylady visits a blog she ends her comments by saying "Coffee's on". Peppylady says this award represents the encouragement people provide her and that the coffee is on and are ready to listen, encourage and even advise.
Thank you so much Peppylady. Again this is a very hard award to pass along as I would say all bloggers who leave comments are leaving comments of encouragement or good will....but in the spirit of the award I would love to pass this along to:

Jeni at Down River Drivel
Claudia at On A Limb with Claudia
Grandmocha at In the MIddle~Mad Hatter

It was also Peppylady's Birthday yesterday....so if you get a chance stop on over and see who she shares her birthday with.

That gave me an idea.....What do all these people and I have in common?


1922 Shelly Winters (actress)

1933 Roman Polanski (film director)

1936 Robert Redford (actor)

1954 Patrick Swayze (actor)

1957 Denis Leary (actor, comedian)

1958 Madeleine Stowe (actress)

1969 Masta Killa (rapper)

1969 Edward Norton (actor)

1969 Christian Slater (actor)


On This Day In History:

1920 The Nineteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, granting women the right to vote, is ratified.

1991 Soviet hard-liners launch a coup to topple the government of the vacationing President Mikhail Gorbachev.

1227 Genghis Khan, Mongol leader and warrior, dies.

1994 Blues singer Cab Calloway dies of a stroke at age 86.

Hope you all have a fantastic Day!

The single Letter name..........

The other day I wrote about insurance companies and how I don't like them. The unfortunate thing is I do have a policy that I am currently trying to make a claim on and as a result I have to correspond with them.

I recieved correspondence from my case manager last week and I don't know if this person was trying to stay anonymous or if their actual last name is only one letter name. This person signed the letter with just a single letter....i.e Mr. Kevin G. My question to myself was is this for real or as I said are they trying to remain somewhat anonymous. The reason I wondered that is because you never get to speak to these case managers directly. I have to go through the bank that I have the insurance with and they look things up on the computer to see where the file is at. I am not given a telephone number or possibly of a last name of the person who is handling my file. Seems a tad odd don't you think?

It got me thinking, are there really names out there, whether it be a first name or last name that actually are only one letter? I did some checking and I still don't think I understand or got answers.

Looks like the most common use for single use letter names is for bands in the music industry. In my search I also came across a blogger who was posting on a similar topic and had taken offense to people abbreviating names by using single letters and hence felt those individuals had lost their identity. Of course one of the respondents to this person post stated that their first name was indeed a single letter name. This then reminded me of my brother. When he was a real estate business he shortened his last name to a one letter name. He said he did it because so many people had difficulties saying the last name so he thought it would be easier if he just gave them his first name and the first letter of his last name...it did have a catchy tone to it and I guess in the real estate industry you want to do anything positive that will make you stand out from the competition.

But I wonder, do you really think that is what this is about that people want their name to sound catchy or do they really just want to stay anonymous? I can understand abbreviations and single letter use in arenas such as this but when sending out a professional letter and only use a single letter for your last name just seems odd to me.

I ended up writing a letter to Mr. G and all the while I felt it odd that I was addressing this individual in this manner.

Update on this post....I wrote this post yesterday before I got my mail....can you guess what arrived in the mail? I'll tell you. I got another letter from the insurance company from a completely different case manager. T his person like Mr. G signed their letter using their first name and initial for their last name. It makes me wonder what is going on with this company that they find it necessary to have such a policy? Are times that rough that the company has adopted such a protocol for their staff to stay anonymous? How very odd and sad. Doesn't give me much confidence in this company.

Reality TV....what's it all about ?

Do any of you watch Reality TV? Shows like John and Kate plus 8, or the Dugger Family a family of soon to be 18, The Real Housewives of Orange County, Bachelor, The House or Little People Big World and the list goes on.

Well I have to admit that on occasion I have been known to watch John & Kate plus 8....I guess I watched as I was intrigued wondering what it would be like to raise never mind twins but multiples in their case 6 plus their twin daughters. After watching one episode I found it really wasn't that much different from raising children who are close in age. Yes lots of extra laundry and tears to wipe and scratched knees to put a band aid on....but really it is pretty much the same.

So what is the attraction to all this Reality TV? I know there has been research done on this and obviously their is a market for it as more and more Reality shows are popping every season. The latest being about Jockey's. Again what is it...what draws us to a Tuesday night to sit down in front of the television and watch such programs? Are our own lives so boring that we need to look in on someones so called life? Are we that bored and need to watch such mindless drivel?

Some of the show I find an insult to our intelligence and members of the cast should apologize to the public for their displays of bad behaviour. I'm talking about The Real Housewives of Orange County here.... What is so real about these over Botoxed, Cosmetically altered women? I have only seen the adds for the show and that is enough for me to know that it's not a program for me. What do I care about watching some rich spoilt women gallivanting around the country going to the spa, drinking their bubbly and talking trash about each other. No thank you there are some great Documentaries out there that I would far rather watch. Better yet read a book.

So this is what we have been relegated .... so called Reality TV. First thing I ask myself is how real is this....Do you really think their lives are like that? I don't want to believe that some people can be that rude, ignorant or egocentric...but I guess they must be.

What is the attraction to shows like the Bachelor or Bachelorette? Why do I give a hoot as to who this person marries? Why does air time have to be wasted on watching someone have a so called intimate dinner with their possible future husband or wife....why...why are we drawn to this?

Let's take the Dugger family for instance...again I haven't watched the show only the advertisements. Yes that is a very large family....something they choose to do....I too grew up in a large family of 12 children....most of my friends came from large families albeit it not 18 but 14...so why is there a program about them? Families can and do amazing things. When you have large families everyone has to pitch in, everyone has chores....grocery shopping was an all day affair for my mom....she would do the major shopping at the grocery store and then her and my dad would go to the bakery often buying the day old bread and then off to the butcher where they would get the hamburger meat the chicken necks and backs and maybe a roast for Sunday dinner. I don't recall there being anything special about doing what you had to do to raise your family. Yes I thought my parents were extraordinary people to provide for us the way they did, but was it TV worthy? I don't know.

If you really want reality TV why aren't those producers out there with the cameras and just filming what goes on in the streets everyday.....do they witness an act of kindness...do they observe an accident....do they see someone just stopping to lend a helping hand.....Reality TV as I understand it is to be non scripted....but I can't believe that some parts of it aren't. How natural are you going to be with a camera following you around all day? Here's the true test....put a hidden camera in someones home for a day...or a restaurant...or a bank.....film the goings on in that environment for a day....see what happens.

If you want reality look at yourself....look at all the amazing things you have accomplished in your life. Look at the adversities you have overcome. Take a good look around you and see the wonderful circle of family and friends you have...that didn't just happen...YOU made it happen...that is reality.

Insurance a false sense of security......

How many of you have been talked into buying those extended warranties? You know the ones when you go to Future Shop or Best Buy and you purchase some electronic and they want to you get the extended warranty....or you go and purchase an appliance and again they want you to purchase the extended warranty, and what about those one's on vehicles, now those can cost you. When I bought my Mustang it was practically new, they talked me into purchasing the extended warranty...what a goof I was, it cost me an additional $3500 for that insurance and I never used it.
Back to the salesperson who first off tries to sell you the most expensive item in the product line for which you are purchasing...you finally decide what it is you want and then of course they use the pitch on the extended warranty. I actually had a sales person try and sell me an extended warranty on a chair I bought for my husband. Can you believe it! I know these sales people make most of their money on selling the extended warranties but really it's just not right.

I am told that all products have a shelf life or life expectancy....how long a product is estimated to last. Personally I think the product should last that..and if it doesn't the manufacturer should be responsible for either replacing or repairing the product. It should also be affordable that if the product does only last the predicted life time then it's not going to cost you an arm and leg to replace it.

Now let's talk about life insurance, home insurance, mortgage insurance and health insurance. Again I am finding it to be a bunch of crap.

I got my first life insurance policy when I was 24 it was shortly after I had my first pacemaker and my first daughter had been born. I had my life insurance policy with this company up until last year, when it came time for my renewal. I went to renew and right out of the blue they cancelled my policy because they said I "lied" about my pacemaker. I was shocked. The only reason I went to this company was because I knew they provided policies for people who had pacemakers. So why would I lie. I had a very thorough physical way back when I applied for the policy...I completed all the forms, I couldn't believe what was happening. I spoke with the broker who I maintained contact with all these years and he said he would do what he could....he spoke with them....we wrote letters...but they were having nothing to do with it. So there I was with no life insurance...now what am I going to do. We found another policy holder...it is costing me triple of what I was paying...and has a lot more limitations. The life insurance policy does nothing for me, when your dead your dead. It is however giving me peace of mind that if I were to die tomorrow at least I know I would have left something for my hubby and family.

Personally I wouldn't have gone for the life insurance....but when I went for mortgage insurance they turned me down. Again I was shocked. I was turned down because of my pacemaker and colitis...I am considered a high risk. High risk....bull s..t. I run regularly, I am not over weight, I don't have hypertension or cholesterol issues...none of the risk factors which would normally be considered. So as a result I went to increase my life insurance policy and that is how the whole mess with the life insurance started.

I have home insurance coverage....but right now as it stands it would be void as it says we don't have a wood burning fireplace, but we do....we always have....I have personally been to the agent on three occasions to get this changed but it hasn't happened....I know I have to pursue that more.

I have a loan that I got an insurance policy on in case of injury/illness. I went to go make a claim on this policy this past month......again they are making me jump through hoops to get them to pay up for the loan( and this is not asking them to pay out the loan it's only asking that they pay the monthly loan). I am still paying the loan....I just wanted it covered while I was off on sick leave....chances are it won't get covered by the time I go back to work....it's been useless. You see I couldn't even claim for it until I had been off work for 6 weeks then of course all the medical forms have to be completed by myself and my doctor...which I had done....but no...they send me and my doctor more letters telling us about all these restrictions and how they want more information...like I said by the time I get this approved...if I do get it approved....I will be back at work and won't need it.

Health care, in Canada we have universal health care. What the means is if you have to have surgery you can have the surgery...there is no such thing as an HMO dictating your treatment. Most employers offer health benefit packages which often includes not only health coverage, but extended health(prescriptions, glasses,massage therapy, and chiropractor just to name a few)dental and long term disability insurance. Now if your employer does not offer this or if you are a retiree you still can get the basic provincial health insurance which again covers any doctors visit, hospitalization, surgeries and the likes. If you can't afford the provincial premiums then there are systems in place where the government would pay for such services. But you would have to prove eligibility for such services. Which I think is only right.

So, I talked to my brother who is an insurance adjuster about the whole insurance thing. He said to me that insurance companies are not out there to pay your claims or make our lives easier....they are out there to make money...and you making a claims takes money away...so of course they are going to do whatever they can not to pay out on a claim.

So let me recap this....I have life insurance which is very restrictive..and I truly wonder if I were to die tomorrow if my hubby would be able to get anything....but that would be a battle he would have to fight. The house insurance as it stands isn't worth the paper it is drawn up on because we have a wood burning fireplace and the loan insurance company is already giving me the run around. To me insurance is truly a scam in the greatest sense of the word and yet it is consider acceptable and prudent. But that has been falsely fed to us by the insurance companies.

I have fed into this insurance scam and allowed them to provide me with a false sense of security, that they will be there when you need them.

When I was looking for pictures to coincide with this post I came across this one cartoon...it was a picture of the insurance agent on the one side of the desk and two snowmen on the other the caption said "Are you prepared if one of you melts" That was just the icing on the cake.