Tall in the saddle; with alloy claws

Moving on to 0h ten, (is this what we will call the new year?) and putting the nails in the coffin of oh nine...in more ways than one. Here I have a motley collection; new shoes from Santa; a remake of the old saddle shoe variety but with a haute clomp. Clint Eastwood cd collection and the xmen trilogy set. Can't wait to watch them...how did Santa know exactly what I want? Oh that Santa, shopping online these days....Thrown in for good measure to represent the death of the old year and those hopes and dreams that can never be fulfilled, is Jesse James (Brad Pitt), stills photo shoot on location in Alberta by Canadian photographer, Kimberley French. A movie par excellence. Even though I'm not a huge Brad fan. Seriously. But I do like Angelina. But not Jenn. No cachet.

Sail away Sailor Dan Friendship-it endures!

Me Homies-or what's left of them. We used to call ourselves the magnificent seven....but...marriage...retirement....& the resulting moves...estrangement...all contrive to sabotage our bond...we're down to 4 now..not often we get together these days....I call us the fab four....I'll be John, (so this is Christmas, what have you done?)someone else can be Ringo, or Paul, or George, whatev. Here we are at Mano's celebrating Christmas and friendship with appetizers and wine. Each year we draw numbers for our gifts-this year we broke with tradition and got the waitress to divvy up the goods. Lo and behold, it did not matter. I always get Rachelle's gift! This year t'was chocolates, subliiiiime chocolates. and a funky scarf! Speaking of scarfs, the travelling scarf showed up and this year it went to Gloria....which means we have to go to Gloria's for I guess some Ukrainian celebration next! Looking forward to that! Here's to friendship---may it endure always!

Scarth Street Mall in Regina

One of my fave places to walk to at lunchtime back in the day when I worked in downtown Regina. Of course, in the summer it was sandals and sundresses. ( Ahh, those were the days!) Not so the day before yesterday! Although it felt fairly balmy compared to Saskatoon, it was still cold. I found myself navigating the downtown Christmas shopping traffic in rush hour and not remembering very well which streets were one way. My daughter and her man were sitting in a pub sipping a pint, so I embarked upon finding my way to the Scarth Street Mall. I don't recall the name of the pub, but I did take note of some rather good-looking suits. I'd like to take a week off in the summer and just enjoy the Queen City. Regina has such character, and although there is competition and sometimes feuding between our two fair cities, I have to say each has its own merits. Saskatoon is very pretty, and Regina has more brick and mortar, both figuratively and literally. This photo is courtesy of Guy, http://reginainpictures.blogspot.com

Don't Look Back

Live Each Day tothe Fullest. (author unknown) (first 2 verses)

Live each day to the fullest. Get the most from each hour, each day, and each age of your life. Then you can look forward with confidence and back without regrets.

Be yourself - but be your best self. Dare to be different and to follow your own star.

I love this poem for its simplistic message of happiness and its a great reminder to not waste the gift of life. The last line reads "Act as if everything depended upon you, and pray as if everything depended on God". I have it hanging in my bathroom in a frame. My friend actually found it behind her house by the dumpster one day when I was at her place. So I snagged it and took it home and cleaned it and have it hanging in my bathroom. So the "don't look back" part brings me to this pillar of selenite, which I absolutely love and I got it for a song at Charter House. Well it really was a more like a symphony, but a fraction of the price you'd pay for it at a crystal shop. Selenite is known for its peaceful qualities. I keep it on my nightstand with my other crystals.

(Might as well face it) ADDICTED TO MUGS

I can't help myself. I love buying mugs & cups. And giving mugs and cups. Usually in twos, because if the recipient doesn't like them, well then they only have two. But, sometimes its hard to decide which color you want. . (I'll take 3 of each, please.) So what the heck, just fill up the basket. Then go home and fill up the filter basket. These aren't all the cups I have bought in the past week, I gave 2 away, and I broke one already. I see that white one is being a bit stand-offish.

The Sawtooth Pack

I was working on a painting. From a photo I had taken of a wolf. A very old wolf, crippled and caged at the forestry farm. He looked so terribly sad. The photo I had taken myself was really not that great, and so I thought I should check out some books at the library, strictly for the photos. But what ended up happening, is that I read this whole beautiful book from cover to cover and fell in love with the Sawtooth pack. I even listened to the cd in the back cover of the sounds of the pack. The study that Jim and Jamie Dutcher did on living with wolves, is simply amazing. The photography is stunning. So I never did finish my painting. And I had a hefty fine when I finally returned the book.

http://www.livingwithwolves.org/