Sunny Side Up

"Canadian pride may not rest on our sleeves, but it resides deeply in our hearts."
 - Steve Miller -

Let’s end the week and kick off Canada Day weekend with a video of a song that is quite popular with us Canucks. I’ve included the lyrics below for those who are curious about them, and for anyone who wants to sing along.



"Canadian, Please"

Yeah I know that you wanna be Canadian, please
Even if in winter things tend to freeze
We've got the world monopoly on trees
And our country's bordered by three different seas

Yeah I know that you wanna be Canadian, please
We invented the zipper, we've got expertise
We made insulin to combat disease
Yeah I know that you wanna be Canadian, please

♫ Brits have got the monarchy
The US has the money
But I know that you wanna be Canadian

The French have got the wine and cheese
Koalas chill with the Aussies
But I know that you wanna be Canadian ♫

Et si ce n'était pas assez
On a deux langues officielles:
L'anglais et le français Ooh la la

Yeah I know that you wanna be Canadian, please
Where else do you find mounted police
Or go to the hospital and not pay fees
Yeah I know that you wanna be Canadian, please

And when freshwater is in high demand
We've got the world's largest supply on hand
So you know that we could make a pretty good friend
But it's even better if you can be...

♫ Brits have got the monarchy
The US has the money.
But I know that you wanna be Canadian

The French have got the wine and cheese
Koalas chill with the Aussies.
But I know that you wanna be Canadian ♫

So you're thinking to yourself,
"How do I live in this beautiful country?"
Well we've got some steps for you to follow...

STEP 1: Lose the gun
STEP 2: Buy a canoe.
STEP 3: Live multiculturally
STEP 4: You're ready, there is no more!

We got beavers, caribou and moose
We got buffalos, bears, and Canadian goose
And we're sorry about Celine Dion
But she did do that good song for James Cameron...

♫ Brits have got the monarchy
The US has the money
But I know that you wanna be Canadian

The French have got the wine and cheese
Koalas chill with the Aussies
But I know that you wanna be Canadian

The Greek chilled out with Socrates
Can't build a wall like the Chinese
But I know that you wanna be Canadian

In Kenya they have safaris
We've missed lots of other countries
But I know that you wanna be Canadian ♫ ♫

A wonderful weekend, to all.

And to my fellow Canucks:
Have a happy Canada Day, eh?

Cats In Hiding... Sort of

My cat once disappeared for hours. Inside the house. We searched everywhere, but to no avail. She was determined not to be found, and she wasn’t. Then suddenly...POOF...there she was. It was quite eerie, and made me wonder if cats can vanish and reappear at will.

But she was simply hiding, which is something most cats enjoy doing from time to time. And they’re usually very good at it. Except for the cats below...who are not clear on the concept of staying completely out of sight...

If they can’t see you, you obviously can’t see them...

A Single Photograph

“Too many times we stand aside and let the waters slip away, till what we put off till

tomorrow has now become today. So don't you sit upon the shoreline and say

you're satisfied. Choose to chance the rapids and dare to dance the tide.”
- The River (Garth Brooks) -

Yes, Virginia, Introverts Do Go Outside

I once had an extremely extroverted neighbour who couldn’t stand being alone for one minute. “I need people”, she said to me. “Really NEED people.” And because she so desperately needed to be around people all the time, she would call friends or acquaintances to invite them to join her on every single outing, even if said outing was a quick trip to the market. And she would drop by some neighbour’s house, unexpectedly, whenever the need for company arose. Which was every day. And sometimes several times a day.

I was one of those ‘lucky’ individuals whose doorbell and phone rang a few times a week by this extroverted extrovert. Sometimes I accepted the invitation, most times I did not. It’s the many times of refusal that she couldn’t understand, and this led to her blurting out one day: “You need to get out. Don’t be such a recluse.”

“You need to get out.”

* blink *

As my long-time readers know, I’m a self-proclaimed introvert, someone who relates to the inner world of ideas rather than to the outer world of things and people. I enjoy – and need – quiet time, and time for introspection of my thoughts and feelings. What this means is that although I enjoy socializing, I don’t need to constantly be around other people.

But extroverts like the woman I’m writing about have a very difficult time understanding my personality type. They picture introverts as basement-dwellers who hide from people and never see the light of day. In reality, we get out a lot. I certainly do. But you’d never notice me. Because I’m low key. Soft spoken. And I’m very good at getting out alone. Or with one other person. Or in very small groups.

And you’ll find me in subdued settings. Like nature trails. Quiet dinners. Parks. Intimate gatherings. Small towns. Bookstores. On road trips. Running errands. Near waterways. Nature reserves. Curled up on my couch with a book. In my garden. At the movie theater. In a thrift shop. At a coffee shop. Strolling along a country road snapping photos. At the zoo. And so on.

Not in my basement with the blinds closed.

* blink *

So, yes, Virginia, introverts do get out. They just don’t need to do it with you all the time.

"Oh no...I'm outside. The light...the light is hurting my eyes!"

Chuckles and Chortles

It's a brand new week, and the best way to begin it is with some humour, so let’s start chuckling...

 

 

Drive By

A guy broke into my apartment last week.

He didn't'’t take my TV, just the remote.

Now he drives by and changes the channels.

Sick Bastard!!

 

Happy Monday, everyone. And have a terrific week.

Sunny Side Up

"In order to keep a true perspective of one's importance, everyone should

have a dog that will worship him and a cat that will ignore him."

- Dereke Bruce -

The last post of the week will tickle your funny bone, particularly if you’re a dog lover. Cat people will also get a kick out of the video as it references the feline’s independent, intelligent and cynical attitude.



A lovely weekend to each and every one of you!

Yeah, I’m One Of THOSE Neighbours

You know the type...

The type that has tacky decorations like this in their garden:

Yes, dear readers, I’m a gnomaholic. Whenever I see gnomes at the stores, I want to bring (yet another) one home.

This post shows just a few that are in my flower beds. There are others scattered amongst the plants.

I know I’m obsessed with these characters, but I just can’t resist them. Particularly when I run across one that looks like this:

How could I not bring this badass gnome home with me? He doesn't get much work done, and he totally rejects the establishment (that would be me). But he looks cool.

He smokes funny stuff when I’m not looking. Sometimes even when I’m looking. Just to make a point. But I’m willing to put up with it. Because he’s just so darn awesome.

He is the latest addition to the gnome collection. And I don’t think he’ll be the last. He’s got other friends that I’m tempted to bring home. I fear I might not be able to resist the urge.

Help me before I gnome again...

A Single Photograph

"By ethical conduct toward all creatures, we enter into a spiritual relationship with the universe."
- A. Schweitzer -

Be kind to all living creatures, no matter how big or small.

Today's Trivia - Dreaming

I was reading an article about dreaming awhile back, and learned a few interesting things. Apparently, during a full eight hours of sleep, two hours of it is spent dreaming. And although the average person has three to five dreams per night, up to seven can be had. That’s a lot of dreaming. Personally, I barely ever remember mine, so whether I have three or five or seven or seventeen dreams, it doesn’t make a difference.

But the amount of dreams and their length isn’t what fascinated me. Nope. What fascinated me is that the human brain can’t invent the image of people, so the so-called ‘strangers’ that you meet in your dreams have the faces of people you’ve seen at some point in your life even if it was only for a split second. Which means that the ax murderer chasing you down the street could be the young man who used to bag your family’s groceries when you were a little kid. During your lifetime, you run across a lot of people, therefore the brain has a huge cast of characters to write into its dream scripts.

Also, scientists believe that besides humans other mammals as well as birds also dream.

Hmmm...I wonder what my cats dream about.

Chuckles and Chortles

I hope you all had a lovely weekend. We spent Saturday touring small towns and country roads, and I ended up coming home with 300 photographs! It's quite clear that no camera of mine ever goes to waste. I always put them to good use, and certainly get my money's worth. Eventually, I will play tour guide and share some of those adventures with you. As I always do.

But for now, let's laugh out loud with this week’s round of silliness...

Spell Checker

I halve a spelling checker,
It came with my pea see.
It plainly marks four my revue
Mistakes I dew knot sea.

Eye strike a key and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye is wrong oar write
It shows me strait aweigh.

As soon as a mist aches is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the era rite
It’s rarely ever wrung.

I've scent this massage threw it,
And I'm shore you’re pleased too no
Its letter prefect in every weigh;
My checker tolled me sew.

(I ran this through Word and there were no errors found in it!)

 

 

 

 

Wishing you all a great week ahead. 

To All Dads Everywhere

Happy father's day to all the wonderful dads. I was blessed with an amazing one, and although he's no longer with us in this world, he lives forever in my memories --- and in my heart. My two girls were blessed to have known him very well, and to have been so deeply loved by him.

Have a wonderful day, everyone!

Sunny Side Up

“All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave

behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another.”

- Anatole France -

This week’s end of the week post is a video that some of my readers will relate to, particularly those who were kids in the 50s, 60s, 70s and early 80s.



This was certainly my childhood. Was it yours?

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone.

Photographic Gems Along Country Roads

One of my favourite things about living in this area is the proximity to the countryside. Within (literary) less than 10 minutes, we find ourselves in a rural setting. And we frequent the country roads often to relax, explore and – in my case – take photographs.

Sometimes we plan our route (you gotta love Google Map!) before we leave the house, particularly when we are headed toward another town as our final destination.

But quite often, we just wing it and see where we end up. Those trips are especially fun because surprises spring up along the way. Like the abandoned building in these photographs.

And the photographic bridge leading to it.

It is always a joy to discover these photographable gems on our journeys. Some are off the beaten road and slightly hidden, others are clearly in view.

I wonder what the stories are behind these abandoned places, which were brimming with life at one time.

They are scattered throughout the area I live in, and we stumble across them as we travel along country roads.

Since I got my first DSLR last spring, I have photographed hundreds of abandoned, dilapidated and decaying urban and rural structures. It’s become quite obvious that this is one of my favourite photography themes.

Do you like taking photos? What are some of your favourite photography themes?