local news

In my local newspaper yesterday, I came across a couple of items which made me giggle.  I don't mean to come across as a snob, or to belittle our little town paper (actually there are two), after all, this is a valuable source of information and links us to the community's goings-on.  But.....

Item 1:  an ad for a new spa, hair studio, and wellness centre.  This was actually well done and caught my eye.  The location?  'directly behind Sit 'n Bull gas station'.  (Tee-hee).

Item 2:  LOST:  lower denture plate in either one of the two towns mentioned. (Wouldn't the person have noticed? How will the poor soul eat?).

..wait, in the comment by the editor, it says the county is "compromised of" several areas, instead of 'comprised of'....(hee-hee).

I suppose I'm easily amused, but I've found that our local newspapers are quite entertaining-just maybe not in the way they are intended to be.

And on a totally unrelated note, here is a photo of some found items: shed antlers, and a little nest under glass.  We sometimes find the most amazing nests with our dogs' hair and horses' mane or tail hair intricately woven into them.  You see, little details can sometimes amaze or amuse :)

domestications

The wind is howling something fierce outside.  I can't decide if the air is assaulting me at high velocity and pushing any remaining warmth out of me, or if it's pulling it out of me at the same time as it's making my hair go horizontal.  The dogs are insisting on being let in, and the horses are obsessed with their feed, and prancing with anticipation when it's feeding time.  If you met my horses on a day like today, you would find them less than charming (especially Sadie, the big Mama).  They seem somewhat greedy and rude, but it's only the windy cold weather that's making them grouchy.

I wish I could say that I retreated indoors today, to polish silver (mostly silver plate, my dears), but alas I did not.  Of all household tasks it's one of my favourites (that and loading the washing machine-not unloading it, or folding laundry, those are less hope-filled activities, don't you find?).  I love the quiet ritual of polishing tarnished silver and bringing it back to a lively sparkle.  No, today was one of those days when I try to tie up loose ends, and tick off necessary but uninspired tasks from my to-do list....and aren't most days like that?

I did have time to take a few snaps of a silver tea (and coffee) service which sits in my dining room.  I don't use it,  except, of course to polish it twice a year (hopefully) and to wonder, when I pass by it, who did use it, when, and wasn't it awfully heavy to carry around when the pots were all filled?

november

Here's the thing about November: it's a transitional month.  Because it bridges the gap between fall and winter, it can provide you with a real mixed bag of  weather.   I generally think of this month as being all greys and browns and darkness.  But it's not, really.  This weekend we experienced a little of everything.   A few moments of snow-globe swirls:

Some wind-less sunshine, perfect for doing a little training of giant baby horses:

"I don't like to be trained.  Look at the gear they make me wear.  It's positively undignified".

And the proverbial greys and browns.  The farmers who lease our land decided to fertilize and plow.  It looks like a giant fudge cake right now (but smells oddly like salty beef boullion).  I hope you all had a good (and varied ) weekend!

tea wisdom

"You're not thinking of making me go outside, are you?"

 With the advent of the cold weather, Scout has claimed his spot on the rag rug in the mudroom.  He takes every opportunity he can to barge in, throw himself down, and promptly fall into a  deep snoring sleep.  If he's awake on his rug, he sinks into the floor, and avoids eye contact as if he's thinking, "they probably can't see me if I try to make myself really small".  And for a hundred pound dog, that's quite a feat.  

We all have our winter rituals, things we turn to, to bring a little warmth into our lives.  One of mine is drinking endless cups of tea.  I was inspired by fellow blogger Ladi Fi to try a kind that is new to me: Yogi tea.

I happened upon it at a health food store on a trip to the city, but they didn't have the kind she had written about (chili spice I think).  Anyway, Long story short, I tried it and promptly floated away on a cloud of bliss.  Seriously.  It's that good.  It's spicy, flavourful and warming. Black pepper is one of the ingredients, so it has a nice little kick to it.

And look!  attached to the tea-bag are some words of wisdom:

So you can meditate and ponder while floating in your cloud of gingery warmth.  Try it.  (But only if you want to).  :)

snow is softly falling

 A light, feathery snowfall, just perfect for the first snow of the season.  Everything feels hushed and blanketed.  Peaceful. 

These two (Mama and her giant baby) have already had their breakfast, but I think they wouldn't turn down a pear or two.

See how feathery the snow is?

The bush looks mysterious but inviting at the same time.

Beauty in the everyday.  I hope you find some today.

Instant Relatives

These photos could have been so much better with natural light, but I took them in the afternoon when things get (agh!) dark early on.  I obviously need to bone up on how to take good photos using a flash.  Oh well, baby steps.

It's my preference to have original artwork around the house, rather than reproductions.  Most of the paintings we have are original, most of them are old,  and most of them (actually all) are by little-known, or unknown artists.  (And most of them were a real bargoon).

 

I do like modern art as well, but this old place tells you what it likes and wants.  No, really, it's true.  I once tried to paint the front hallway a pale yellow, and you should have seen it!  It looked all confused and unhappy.  It cringed.  After I painted it a non-descript greyish-putty colour, it took a deep breath and smiled.  It's all about keeping the house content.

So anyway, meet my instant relatives!  Instant relatives are people whose portraits were painted once upon a time, then one hundred years or so later, these same paintings ended up hanging in some out of the way antique store, or leaning against the floor in a corner of the flea market.  When you purchase one of these portraits and drag it home,  you get the dubious honour of pretending that these are your relatives, and you also get to name them.  Really. This is Georgie.  He lives in the dining room.  He seems a little  vain and self-centred.   I don't think I would have liked Georgie too much, had I met him in person.  The (somewhat) formal dining room seems like the perfect place for him.

This next painting is of my fake uncle Nestor.  He's actually my favourite.  He seems like he was a nice and jolly person, and he has kind eyes.  He gets to live in the hallway, where we can see him every day.

Isn't there something kind of gentle about him?

This last fake relative hasn't been named yet.  I'm not so sure what to think of her.

This painting is actually signed, and the artist was Irish (I looked it up).  I wonder what her story was (someone's wife? A widow? A spinster? )  What do you think?  How about a name?  I keep thinking something starting with 'A'...Arabella?  Aurelia?

Help me out here, folks, it's just not right to leave one's fake, instant relatives unnamed!

all is well

I survived (and enjoyed) my 13-year old son's confirmation on Friday.  And because I tend to take things a little far sometimes, I ended up going over-board with the cleaning (I even finished painting my kitchen floor, which I had been meaning to do for the longest time), and of course there was much too much food, but all in all it was a lovely event.  All is well.

My kids laid claim to my computer over the weekend, and between assignments, games and watching of movies (and other high-priority items), I couldn't seem to get near it.  I will be getting back to my regular routine of spending time with my horses and dogs, and taking photos, all the while letting the cobwebs re-establish themselves.  It's as it should be, really.