“Photography is the art of frozen time …
the ability to store emotion and feelings within a frame.”
– Meshack Otieno
Photos were taken on the first of January while out for an afternoon walk.
Our faces felt frozen but our bodies stayed toasty warm.
Time to bundle up on those walks, my northern friends.
Happy New Year to all!
Cold winter days are fast approaching, and for our feline friends and housemates Maisie and Viv, that means snowy paws and shorter trips outside.
Sometimes they cry to go out, but change their minds and make a quick backtrack when we open the door and the bitter wind hits their furry faces. Then they cry again as if we can magically change the weather for them!
“Cats seem to go on the principle that it never does any harm to ask for what you want.” – Joseph Wood Krutch, American writer, critic, and naturalist
When I folded laundry from the dryer the other day, I put a throw cushion on top until I got around to bringing it upstairs.
I usually do that to prevent one of the cats from turning it into a bed. Well, Maisie couldn’t resist the warm nest and simply nudged the cushion aside.
“Voila! Thanks, Mom.”
I didn’t have the heart to drive her out of it. ❤️
“Like all pure creatures, cats are practical.”
~ William S. Burroughs
Please encourage your children to read.
Give them books they would enjoy for Christmas.
Take them to the public library to get their own library card.
If they are too young to read themselves, read them bedtime stories.
It’s never too early to inspire a love of good books. No, they won’t all become leaders, but research shows that reading to children and discussing the book is the best way to increase your child’s IQ and instill a love of reading.
“There is a harmony in autumn, and a luster in its sky.”
– Percy Bysshe Shelley
I don’t know about you, but I find these fall photos I took in scenic Grand Bank as Halloween-ghostly as they are eye-catching.
The story behind this memorial is one of tragedy and loss, a familiar one for many who live on this island in the North Atlantic.
From the Town of Grand Bank’s website:
“This is the Mariners’ Memorial: a life-size female figure and a water and beach rocks “shoreline” containing the names of the mariners who were lost at sea. The woman represents and exemplifies the virtues and strength of character of thousands of Newfoundland wives, mothers, daughters, and sisters who had to endure the loss of their men. She is standing alone on the widow’s walk staring in the distance. Her body is full of tension, anticipation and premonition of tragedy. Like a withered tree, she remains there eternally expecting those who will never return.”
To see more of my photos from historic Grand Bank, NL, click here.
Now that summer is drawing to a close and I’m back to work on my manuscript, coffee has once again become more vital to my daily routine. Yes, writers and their coffee is a cliché but with good reason. Many of us can’t live without it!
Straight up black is the way I drink it, preferably served in my favourite mug. I love the wide lip and pretty colours on this hand-painted beauty.
My writing brain works best in the early morning, so while I wait sleepy-eyed for the coffee to brew, I picture a caffeine-craving miniature version of myself swimming across the surface of a full cuppa java, gulping as I go. Mmmmm…
What goes best with a cup of coffee? Another cup.
– Henry Rollins
Do you love coffee as much as I do?
Black or with sugar and cream?
Or is tea your go-to hot beverage?
Please share with me below!
“If I had my life to live over, I’d pick more daisies.”
– Don Herold
“We are like butterflies who flutter for a day and think it is forever.”
– Carl Sagan
I am s-l-o-w-l-y but surely easing myself back into the blogosphere after a longer hiatus than planned. Summer and my love for it has been a delightful and major distraction, but of course those days are racing by. As the weather cools, you should see me around more often.
Now, where was I?
Oh yes – he loves me, he loves me not, he loves me…
The old adage “good fences make good neighbours” is a wise one, and it is usually true.
And yet, some neighbours don’t have any.
The fences we had once upon a time are long gone,
with only rolling lawns between us now.
And more pleasant neighbours you would never find. W and M are the coolest folks.
(That’s our house in the background, and W’s new bird-house in the foreground.)
Grandma M’s pot will soon be overflowing!
…and those bloomers will be blooming.
Good one, W and M. Let’s just hope Maisie and Vivian don’t drive away your new feathered tenants – or worse!
All of this neighbourly talk brings this timely quote to mind:
Whether the borders that divide us are picket fences or national boundaries, we are all neighbors in a global community.
– Jimmy Carter
Check out pretty little Pippa. She was the resident cat at La Sorgente*, the bed and breakfast we called home during our visit to Baveno and Stresa in northern Italy.
Fun feline fact: the Italian name for “cat” depends on its gender. A female cat is “la gatta” while a male is “il gatto.”
“In the little cat’s eye that sees my soul and stares into my heart,
there is nowhere to hide. I see my reflection.” – jenniferkellandperry.com
“Happy is the home with at least one cat.” – Italian proverb
*La Sorgente Bed and Breakfast is near the Alps and on the shore of the beautiful Lake Maggiore. I highly recommend the area as an Italian destination.
Jennifer's Journal 