Beginner's Art

I’ve been working so much lately, I thought I would like to do something different for a change. One of the perks of working at the college is accessibility to evening courses. The only night I had free was Monday night and the course being offered that night was Acrylic Painting. Hmmm… I had never tried my hand at it before, so I thought, why not? Tonight was my debut, et voila!




Even a closer look - well, not bad for an amateur! Whaddya think?

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Attitude

I came across some really good quotes about attitude. Thought you might enjoy them too!

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude in life. Attitude is more important than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people, think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break an organization ... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past. We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude ... Life is 10% what happens, and 90% how we react to it. And so it is with you ... you are in charge of your attitude."

- Charles Swindoll

The only disability in life is a bad attitude. ~ Scott Hamilton

And a "Good Monday Morning to You, too!"

A paradox

Quite unexpectedly I've found a paradox of my life in Vern McLellan's book Shredded Wit. It goes like this:

Bite off more than you can chew, then chew it.

Plan more than you can do, then do it.

Point your arrow at a star, take your aim, and there you are.

Arrange more time than you can spare, then spare it.

Take on more than you can bear, then bear it.

Plan your castle in the air, then build a ship to take you there.

A paradox - absurd, unbelievable, but true.

Clutz!

What a clutz I am! As I was getting ready to leave for work on Monday morning, I tripped in the handle of my bag - on carpet, wearing slippers! Of course I sat and cried. I cried not so much for the pain (and it did hurt!), but because I just don't have the luxury of time to rest. I didn't realize how many steps I walk in the run of a day and just how fast I need to go. You can just call me peg-legged sue or hop-along cassidy :)

Valentine's Day Poem

A couple of years ago, I wrote this poem for a Valentine's Day contest. It was aired on CBC Radio and I won tickets to a show by the same name. I thought seeing it's Valentine's Day again I would share it with you.

I LOVE YOU, YOU’RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE
I love you, you’re perfect, now change
Now don’t ya think that’s rather strange
Do you think this ol’ earthly me
Can a gorgeous butterfly be?
Once I get my feet off the ground
I might never again be found.
This metamorphosis you ask
Is quite an impossible task
So dear, it’s take me as I am
You love me, I’m perfect, no change!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Web Page Design

This past week I taught an introductory course in Web Page Design over on base. I did a search to see if I could find some of them. Here are some of my student's pages that I found:
http://www.geocities.com/hollymooressnook/jonahhughlettsnook
http://www.geocities.com/allheart_73/index.html
http://www3.nf.sympatico.ca/robiaman/

On the last day of the course I had my students create blog spots. Here are a couple of them:
http://crazymomoffour.blogspot.com/
http://hollymooressnook.blogspot.com/

Keeping in mind that blogs are updated regularly and web sites are perpetually under construction, why not give a raincheck.

Since we were on the topic, I was inspired to revamp my own page as well. Why not check it out? http://www.geocities.com/bnwrite/personalpage.html

On the soapbox!

My, it’s looks like I may be only a weekend writer! To say I’m busy would be an understatement.

Tonight I feel like I need a soapbox because there are a few things I’d like to get off my chest.

First, I’d like to talk about voting in the federal election – or lack thereof. What really bothers me is conditional voting: “I would vote this way if…” Hogwash! I hear people say, “Well I really like the NDP policies but I know they have no chance of getting in, so I voted for the Conservatives/Liberals.” If every person who I heard say that, had voted for the NDP, the NDP may very well be the official opposition!” Then there are the people who say, “I don’t like the Liberals or the Conservatives. I would vote for the NDP but they’ll never get in so I didn’t vote at all.” Such apathy! Come on people! To me it seems clear – and I’m no political major! You look at the policies of the party, what stand they take on issues that are important to you, and vote for the party. Why would you vote for a party you don’t agree with because you feel they are going to get in anyway? It’s ludicrous! While you may have had a winning vote, you are surely not winning!

The second thing I’d like to talk about is “blue air.” Why is it that some people use profane, blasphemous, sacrilegious, vulgar language in everyday, casual conversation so naturally? Not only do I hear it when somebody is surprised, shocked, or upset. I hear it in jest, in mixed company and in the presence of children. The most commonly used adjective seems to be the word “fuck”. I have been amazed to work in offices with “professional” people who use this expletive as a noun, a verb and an adjective all in one sentence. In fact it seems like they see how many times they can use the word in one sentence. For some of these “professional” people I would like to turn their microphones and tape recorders around to let them hear themselves as others hear them for a while. Not only is it crude and improper, it makes me cringe. One day when I worked in one of these offices, a person said to me “that’s ok Bev; you can say the word “fuck” because it’s in the dictionary now.” Whoopee do! So are a couple of hundred thousand other tasteful, suitable, choice utterances that can be used to express thoughts with elegance and class. When I hear a person speak in such a profane manner, it speaks to me of ignorance. It is uncouth, impolite, crude, ill-mannered and rude.

Whew! I’m glad I got that off my chest!

Mountains of Snow

We haven't had snow for a few days now and the banks have settle down nicely and frozen in place. We're having a large Labrador day today. Since I usually go to work before daylight and come home after dark, it was nice to get out in the beautiful sunshine. I donned my long fur coat and trotted out to get a few photos. I had to do it quickly though. The temperature was -18C with a windchill of -29C. It felt like my eyebrows were freezing and I was getting an ice cream headache without eating the ice cream. When you're all bundled up and hurring along, it's hard to keep your mouth closed - it sure wakens those sensitive teeth! It's a good thing I remembered where my house was because it's not in full view anymore from the road. If you peep around those snowbanks you'll find it.


Right after the storm the banks on either side of the road were as high as or higher than the car. It felt clostrophobic driving the narrow streets with high banks - like going through a maze. Now that the snowblower has gone by and widened out the streets it's easier to see around the corners. Here's what I see when I look up and down my street:

Mega Snow

Wow! Since Saturday we've had over 100 cm of snow and it's still falling! And it doesn't end there. We're supposed to have 20-30cm more today. Here's the Environment Canada forcast for today and tomorrow:
Today
Snow at times heavy and blowing snow. Amount 20 to 30 cm. Wind north 30 km/h gusting to 50. Temperature steady near minus 5.
Tonight
Periods of snow and blowing snow. Amount 10 cm. Wind north 40 km/h gusting to 60. Low minus 16. Cold wind chill minus 29.
Tuesday
A few flurries ending in the morning then clearing. Local blowing snow in the morning. Wind northwest 30 km/h gusting to 50. Temperature steady near minus 16. Cold wind chill minus 29

The whole town is basically shut down. Business and schools are closed. It seems the only people working today are CBC and The Town. CBC Radio employees were in bright and early to give us all the weather updates and closures. The Town crews are busy trying to keep the roads open in case of an emergency. When I look out my windows, this is what I see:




I got up the usual time (6:15 a.m.) and had breakfast with my husband. Once I realized I didn't have to go out, and since it was still dark as midnight out, I went back to bed and listened to the radio over the hum of snowploughs and snowblowers until it got daylight. Now let me see, what will I do today?

What's your major?

What's your major? In layman's terms "What are you good at?" I came across a little quiz that may help you determine just what it is that you love to do. It can be found at:

http://quizfarm.com/results.php

Here are the results of my quiz:

You scored as English.

You should be an English major! Your passion lies in writing and expressing yourself creatively, and you hate it when you are inhibited from doing so. Pursue that interest of yours!

English 100%
Journalism 100%
Linguistics 92%
Theater 83%
Philosophy 75%
Art 67%
Psychology 67%
Anthropology 67%
Engineering 67%
Mathematics 58%
Sociology 58%
Chemistry 33%
Biology 33%
Dance 33%


Why not check it out?

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

During Christmas we had a cold snap with temperatures in the -20's (celcius) range and a windchill in the -30's, but one day it got a bit milder, bringing the frost out of the trees to create a silver thaw. Isn't it beautiful?!



This picture of Nadine was taken at Welbourne Bay. I like to call it "Walking in a Winter Wonderland."

Taking down the Christmas Tree

Traditionally we have observed the 12 days of Christmas somewhere between Christmas Eve on December 24th and Old Christmas Day on January 6th. We didn’t usually put up our Christmas tree until the 22nd or 23rd of December, depending on where it fell in the week and we didn’t take down our tree until Old Christmas Day, or after the children went back to school after the holidays. Of course, in those days we had real, live Christmas trees and despite the fact that they were standing in water, by the time the 12 days were up, the spruce had created its own tree skirt of needles.

With the arrival of artificial Christmas trees, the 12 days of Christmas have become longer and longer, expanding to almost double in length. Realizing that Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, we begin our decorating much earlier now. Depending on my work schedule, I usually have my tree up by mid-December.

I have noticed, however, that the earlier people put up their Christmas trees, the earlier they are likely to take them down. As soon as New Year’s celebrations are over, people begin to dismantle their decorations to return to a form of normalcy. As soon as my daughters leave after Christmas, I feel that Christmas is over – at least for me it is. Nadine left on New Year’s Eve this year. As I started to tidy up, I started to put away some of the decorations and realized, oh it’s not time yet!

Patches, the lady of the house, had the feeling much earlier than I, however. She began taking decorations and even a string of lights off the tree about a week ago when all her treats were gone and her new toys were integrated with her old ones.




Well, I’ve beaten my own record this year. Old Christmas Day has come and gone but my tree is still up. This may be the day that it comes down though. Since it’s the only day I have off, the chances are very good that it will.

Have you met my cats?

When my girls were in kindergarten, animals such as hamsters and budgie birds were kept in their classroom. By the time they were in elementary grades, they were asking for a pet of their own.

I had grown up with a dog as a family pet, but was never allowed to keep a kitten because my dad was afraid of them. I think he had had a bad experience when he was younger. However, my Aunt Hazel, whom I stayed with on and off since I was 7 years old, had always kept a budgie bird. So, after some discussion we were off to the pet store to get a budgie. I rationalized that we could confine the bird to a cage most of the time and it would be cheap to feed.

First we had Pretty Bird, then Good Luck and Polly who each lasted a couple of years. The bird we had the longest was Jack, my favorite. He shared our home for over seven years. Jack had an extended vocabulary, was trained to perch only on top of his cage or on us – not the drapes and picture frames! He even traveled with us in the motor home on trips to Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island and Welbourne Bay.

After Jack died, my daughter’s friend was going away to college and needed someone to adopt Buster, a 10 or 11 years old budgie, who only lived long enough to give me the longing for another bird. Last Christmas my daughters brought me Joni in a cardboard box on the plane from St. John’s. Joni turned out to be female and a little more of a challenge to train, but great company just the same. A house without a budgie is just too silent.

Even though we had budgies for pets, my daughters continued to pester for a hamster, cat or dog – a pet they could cuddle. My oldest daughter Natalie came home several times asking if she could have a kitten. I researched and weighed the pros and cons. Anything from the rat family – or that remotely looked like a rat – was out of the question. Finally, we decided a cat would fit with our lifestyle and be less work than a dog – and I was right!

In the spring of 1996 we began to shop for a kitten. On Saturday, March 2nd we adopted Smokey from the pet store in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. Smokey was born December 20, 1995 and he had a grey regal coat. He’s a real he-man cat who controls his territory, yet is very affectionate.

A few months later, Nattie came home saying that one of her friend’s cats had kittens and they needed a home. Their dad was out of town at the time and I was so confident that he would say ‘no’ that I told them to call and ask dad. If he said ‘yes’ then it was ok with me. Much to my surprise (chagrin) he did say ‘yes’, so off we went to the friend’s house to adopt Patches on Saturday, July 20, 1996. Named for her calico coat, Patches was born June 7, 1996.

We were totally enamored with our cats by this time. Whenever we saw a cat with rusty-coloured fur, I used to say that he would fit in great with our family because all of us had hair in various shades of strawberry blond at the time. Lo and behold, on December 23, 1996 I came into the house to find Goldie in a basket under the Christmas tree. I didn’t even notice him until he hopped out of the basket and ran across the floor in front of me. Goldie, orange as a pumpkin, was born on October 31, 1996. He has become Bev’s ol’ baby. He’s my shadow when I’m home. Whenever I sit at the table or work on the computer, he sits by my chair and waits for me. Whenever I sit on the chesterfield, he sits beside me. He also likes to share my bed.

Our three cats are house cats. Don’t get me wrong though. They are not confined to the house – they are just not permitted to roam free. They also have had trips in the camper, nights at the cabin, rides in the car and barbeques on the patio – supervised, of course!

After the third cat, we learned to say ‘no’ to more cats, but we did have a dog for about a year and a half. We adopted, Freddie, a beagle pup on November 18, 1997. He loved to chew on anything he could reach but he had his redeeming qualities. He especially won over the girls, but he was Wally’s dog! In the summer of 1999 Freddie got sick with leukemia and after a lengthy (and expensive) stay in the clinic, he passed away one hot day in July. Freddie rests in peace by our cabin on Mud Lake Road. Loosing Freddie was such a traumatic experience that we never did get another dog.

Our three cats permit us to share their house, do the housekeeping and serve them food. We are rewarded with lots of love. Let me introduce them:

Smokey a.k.a. Fat

Patches a.k.a. Lady of the House

Goldie a.k.a. Bev's ol' baby

Happy New Year!

Like many other families, we keep a calendar on the kitchen wall where we make a note of special dates, appointments, in town/out of town, jury duty, interviews, etc. It’s only a regular monthly calendar, but each page is covered with notations.

This morning I took down my marked up 2005 calendar to replace it with a brand new, clean 2006 calendar and sat down to review the year gone by. It went rather quickly! The days my daughters were home seemed so few but I am grateful for the times that they could come home. The doctor’s appointments were few and far between and for that I’m so thankful! The working days were busy, interviews done, contracts completed with no sick days and for that I’m very pleased. It means that we had the health and strength to work and make a living.

What will the new year bring? We have a clean slate before us. We don’t know how many days or months of this calendar we will complete, if we will have work, or be in good health. The future is not for us to know. I’m so glad that I don’t have to worry about it. All I have to do is hold on to the One who holds tomorrow.

I Know Who Holds Tomorrow

I don’t know about tomorrow, I just live from day to day;
I don’t borrow from its sunshine, for its skies may turn to gray;
I don’t worry o’er the future, for I know what Jesus said,
And today, I’ll walk beside Him, for he knows what is ahead.

Many things about tomorrow I don’t seem to understand;
But I know who holds tomorrow, And I know who holds my hand.

Ev’ry step is getting brighter as the golden stairs I climb;
Ev’ry burden’s getting lighter; Ev’ry cloud is silver lined;
There the sun is always shining; there no tear will dim the eye;
At the ending of the rainbow, where the mountains touch the sky.

I don’t know about tomorrow, It may bring me poverty;
But the One who feeds the sparrow, Is the One who stands by me;
And the path that be my portion, May be gthru the flame or flood,
But His presence goes before me, And I’m covered with His blood.

- Ira Stanphill © Copyright 1950 by Singspiration, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Happy New Year!

Someone to Care

We can do no great things; only small things with great love.

We realize that what we are accomplishing is a drop in the ocean. But if this drop were not in the ocean, it would be missed.

Let no one come to you without leaving better and happier.

Go out into the world today and love the people you meet. Let your presence light new light in the hearts of people.

- Mother Theresa

These quotes by Mother Theresa indicate the way I feel this morning as I reflect back on the last few weeks.

As a freelancer I have to accept contracts when they become available and sometimes it’s feast or famine – contracts are either not available or coincide and overlap. Such has been my experience in the past few weeks. I have been teaching at the college in North West River during the day and running some evening classes at the college in Happy Valley-Goose Bay at the same time. Prolonged, it would be a surefire recipe for burnout!

But I have much to be thankful for. I’m thankful that despite my physical ailments, I rushed to the finish line with gusto. I’m thankful that I found somebody to car pool with so I only had to drive the 89 km return trip over icy roads half the time. And I’m thankful for the wonderful people I’ve had to work with.

What strikes me the most is the many people I meet – rich or poor, married or single, native or non-native, young or old – who just need to know that somebody cares. We all have to deal with life, the ups and downs, the trails and tribulations that come our way. Sometimes life is just not fair. But a burden shared is a burden halved. Sometimes there is nothing we can do to help the situation but to accept the person, listen to their concerns and love them anyway. People just need to know somebody cares.

A baby is born with a need to be loved - and never outgrows it. ~Frank A. Clark

Driving home one day I found myself singing the chorus:

“Love through me, Holy Spirit, love through me.
Let my hands reach out to others, love through me.
There’s a needy soul somewhere, needing just one friend to care.
Love through me, Holy Spirit, love through me.”

Having finished my contracts last night and a few weeks of burning the candle at both ends, I promised myself I would sleep until daylight this morning, but the house was still dark when I got up at 7:30 a.m. It’s snowing a lot and before I went to bed last night the weather channel said we were to have 25-35 cm of snow in the next 24 hours with winds gusting to 90 km/h this afternoon and blizzard conditions. To me this sounds like the perfect time to put on a Christmas CD and clean and decorate the house in preparation for my daughter’s return home for Christmas on Tuesday.

Having my gift for a child ready for the Community Christmas Hamper and donations to several charities is certainly only a drop in the bucket of what needs to be done, but if it were not there it would surely be missed. Now I’ll concentrate on Christmas preparations for my family.

Merry Christmas!

It's Winter

Wow...have I ever been busy! Freelancing can get hectic at times. Then there's the volunteer stuff. Sometimes it all comes at once.

Winter's finally here. Since I last wrote we had a nice snowfall - about 15 cm on one day and flurries here and there. This is how it look when it started on Remembrance Day, November 11th:

Since then we had a mild spell with temperatures hovering just above and below zero. yuk! This is more like St. John's weather. We're not used to it being so mild this time of year. Today we have a temperature of 11 C with winds of SSE 54 km/h with gusts to 76 km/h. Very unusual!! Since I took this snap about 30 minutes ago the sun has come out but it does look rather bleak ( like winter!?):

With winter comes the wardrobe change. I've shifted around my closet and packed away my 'summer' clothes. Wouldn't you know that I've added a few extra pounds, so I'm faced with the dilemma of either buying new clothes or shedding a few pounds. Now I'm not a dieter and have never been able to stick with the new fads, but I like to eat healthy. Since I'm supposed to be on a fat free, no caffeine diet anyway, it's not a major adjustment except for one thing - Chocolate!! I'm a professed chocolaolic! Believe it or not, I haven't had any chocolate since September and a lot of my meals look like this these days:

It looks like a summer meal, doesn't it? When I think of fall and winter, I think of rabbit stews, caribou soup, moose roast, fish and brewis, and all the wonderful breads, doughboys, drawn butter and pastries that go with it.

Now we're entering the chocolate season. First there's my birthday, then Christmas, Valentine's, Easter, Friday, the weekend, tired....and all the excuses to have a nice creamy milk chocolate bar....maybe something very sweet like a 'S'mores' bar...(drool)!

Sorry, I'm not posting any chocolate pics today but I'm sure you can visualize them! Now to stop my chocoloate craving I think I'll go have a bananna :)

First Snow!

Yep! We've been expecting it any day now - the first snow. But we've had beautiful fall weather. Yesterday I wandered about my garden drinking in the beauty of my few fading flowers and admiring the colorful leaves as they begin to fall from the trees. Petunias and nasturtiums seem to be the most hardy. This is what I saw yesterday:

Petunias...









and...

Nasturtiums...

the dying embers...

of summer...




Green leaves...

turning brown...

and red...

to golden...

...now covered with snow!

Fall Colors

I'm absolutely amazed with the colors of fall! Aren't they beautiful?! This morning while I hung out my clothes I had this over-the-fence view:
Then on the other side I had this view:

When I backed out on the road I had this view:

As I drove up the road, it looked like this:

The leaves are just beginning to turn now. In another few days it will be even more beautiful.

This afternoon my friend and I went partridgeberry picking (known as redberry picking in Labrador). It was a beautiful sunny day, little breeze, no flies and lots of berries. This is what they looked like:

I love Fall!

Fall Plant Rescue

I have finally brought all my house plants in for the winter. Last night the weather was clear and we had (almost) a full moon - actually it will be full by tomorrow night. This morning at 7 o'clock it was 1 degree celcius and a white sparkling frost covered everything outside. Now in mid-afternoon it is 22 degrees celcius with only scattered clouds in a clear blue sky. What wonderful weather we've been having! Here are the last two beauties I rescued from Jack Frost:

On The Line

We have just completed how many weeks on the picket line? CBC management has locked out its Canadian Media Guild employees for 35 days now!! Walking the picket line is harder than a days work because it's frustrating and futile. We've been pounding the pavement in front of the building waiting for management to open the doors and let us go to work. The weather is getting colder each day and this week we acquired a large drum in which we light a fire to keep warm. Our union rep visited us on the picket line this week and he says "the goal posts are in sight." Well the main issues have yet to be discussed. Despite the smiles, we're disgusted!