My Everything Corner

 I'm pleased to introduce the newest member of our family,  Dusty.  He's a lot of fun. Despite our entire household being sick this past week, he managed to keep us smiling. 

 Snow is in the forecast tonight. Oh boy. I'm never ready for snow. Maybe if it didn't come with ice, it wouldn't be so bad. Anyway,  here are some of the photos I took during this beautiful season. 

 I adore brick buildings. I have an Uncle who was a master of the trade and my Father worked with him for many years. Much of their work is in the city where we moved to last July.  Every time I see brickwork, I have to wonder if it was their's. This picture is particularly charming with its unique window being framed by branches.  It reminded me of a Hobbit's home.

 I don't like being threatened by any size of bird, but geese are especially frightening.  They're huge! I've never been attacked by one unless you count the time I was in my truck and saw a pair with their gaggle of little ones. I slowed to a crawl and was enjoying watching them when one of the adults thought he had a job to do. He attacked the truck! Now, if a goose is willing to take on a half ton, then I'm small potatoes.  That's why I'm always on edge when they're lounging near the walking trail I like to frequent. There wasn't an incident today, for which I am very grateful. 

I have no real excuse for my absence.  My motivation for drawing up a post is seeing how many of the blogs I follow are so active. Good for you guys!  I went for my morning walk and these are photos of my company along the way.

 On December 11th, 2021, we lost our Bear. It's hard to believe that 5 months has passed already. There is still way too much space in our house without him. Eventually, we will adopt another dog to help fill that void in our life. My husband and I are nearly empty-nesters, and the house is too quiet. Going for a walk seems pointless without our best friend. I can take walks with my husband but walking by myself is still unbearable. I'm at the point in my grieving where I no longer forget that he's gone. Thinking of him brings on an overwhelming wave of grief, but it's not quite as bad as it was, and I can even, once in awhile, remember him and smile. Having lost several animals during my life, I know I'm on the right path in my grieving process, and that eventually all that will be left is the wonderful memories.

 I wanted to drop in and wave hello to all of you out there who are still following my blog.  I have been going through a difficult time in my life and rarely think of blogging, although it's an extremely supportive community.  At least,  my small audience is. One of the things I have been doing to make myself feel better is art journaling. I was skeptical at first,  but it has turned out to be one of the most enjoyable parts of my day.  Have any of you ever tried it, and what are your thoughts? 

 Yes, I have become a bit of a princess over these past few years. I not only have my own bedroom,  it's the master room and ensuite. I need to be surrounded by beauty to feel a sense of safety, comfort and joy. So, I am very particular with what goes into my rooms. You don't see them in the photos,  but my cats are both sleeping, one on my legs, the other right beside me. 

 I won't go into detail about why I've been MIA. I've been dealing with my health.  Still dealing,  actually,  but feeling a bit better, so here I am to say I'm still alive. I'm currently in training at Starbucks, my first job in nearly 20 years 🙃. I'm overwhelmed by the number of recipes I have to remember. At this point, I can't recall the difference between a latte and a macchiato. But, it is only my third day, and my first day learning the drinks.

 It's snowing and blowing here today, but we've had little tastes of Spring here and there. The real clues that warmer weather is on the horizon are the birds. It's just the best feeling when we start seeing diversity again.

I had the luxury of petting a moose nose once. It was at a zoo in Moose Jaw, Sask. Yes, the city also has a giant statue dedicated to the wonderful animal. The problem with having petted a moose once, is that you want to do it each time you see one. Their muzzle is velvety soft, and their look is sweetly comical.  They are simply adorable. But they are big, and wild and one should not fool themselves into thinking that they are ever approachable. Ever. Unless, of course, you want your headstone to read something along the lines of: "It could have been a duck or goose, but no, she just had to try and pet a moose."  

 So far, our weather this year has been incredibly mild. Not only did I wake up to yet another warm, (enough) windless day, the hoar frost was looking gorgeous against its backdrop of a delicately coloured sunrise.

This mug found its way to me from Whitehorse, a city in the Yukon territory.  Every time I see this mug, I think of the trip that my family and I took up to that northern part of Canada in 2018.  The North is beautiful in a way that resonates with me. Trees and lakes. That's where my heart is. I love the ocean and it's beaches and the view of a mountain from a distance. But, put me in the middle of a forest with a lake just a short walk away, that's my heaven. I live in the middle of the prairies now, with farmland all around me. It's beautiful in it's own way, but it's the forest I long to be in. Trees are becoming more scarce in my neck of the woods as farmers have to clear their land to make room for the huge machinery that does the job of feeding the world today. I'm always sad to see the new piles of trees that sit ready to be burned when they are dry, and I'm sure it's hard on the humans who have made that choice. But there is a huge population...

 I'm typing this up in the midst of a blizzard. Until now, we've had to look at a desolate prairie landscape. A large amount of fresh white snow that's just in time for Christmas is winter perfection. Of course, it's going to make my walks around the yard more challenging and I will most likely have to pull out the snowshoes.  Like most everyone, we are stuck keeping to ourselves for the holidays. It's more than a little bit sad, but there is something very comforting about not having to go anywhere at all. It leaves plenty of time for blogging and reading and drinking all sorts of tea. I did not send Christmas cards out this year, so don't be waiting for one. Perhaps I'll make up for that next year, as I did enjoy sending out and receiving some lovely cards and letters from my wonderful blog friends. Merry Christmas!

A coffee scented candle and a mocha treat me to a coffee shop experience without leaving the house. I should put on some chatter in the background to complete the effect. Did you know that there is actually a channel you can listen to all day long that is just the hum of  people happily chatting? Winter has, so far, been exceptionally kind to us in terms of its temperatures and I've been able to enjoy long periods of time outdoors. It's good to be out listening to the noisy birds that visit our garden in the winter. Our house house has been so quiet since our daughter moved out in August. I do like quiet, but this is a bit much. We visited her in November and she is doing very well, enjoying living on her own, even though she is working long hours at her new job. My son turned 15 in August and recently acquired his learner's license. He took us on our first drive to the city yesterday, and did a great job. Yesterday also happened to be our daughter's 18th birthday and m...

 Have you ever seen an old black and white photo of a rainbow. Yeah, me neither. In my opinion, if I was a photographer back in the day, I believe time and energy would have been much better spent just looking at the rainbow and appreciating its fleeting beauty. 

 I go driving the back roads looking for wildlife to photograph, and I'm always especially on the lookout for owls. I see them often enough, but can never get close enough for a good photo. While out walking the other evening in my garden, this beauty shows up and patiently waits while I go to the house to get my camera and then allows me to take as many shots as I like. Then, I just sat awhile with him until I got cold. It was awesome.

 It doesn't matter what sort of day I'm having, the colours of autumn always cheer me up. Take a little stroll with me around my yard.

 Everyone loves pet photos. Everyone. Without exception. So, here's my dog. It is a gorgeous day here. Perfect for yard work, or just laying in the grass enjoying the last little while with the leaves.

A lot has changed in my household over the past month, and the month before that, we were busy preparing for the change. My firstborn has moved out at the ripe old age of 17, to a city 8 hours away. (insert tears here.) Photography and blogging were the last two things on my mind. But for the few of you who like visiting here, I did tote my camera around a bit and have finally managed to get around to working with a few photos.  That newfound time probably has a lot to do with the drop in temperature.  The great outdoors is suddenly not quite as tempting as a warm cup of tea in front of the computer.