Monday, December 30, 2013

Running Wild

The Post-Christmas mania at Best Buy was worse than "Black Friday".  We ventured into the chaos to return a point-and-shoot camera that hadn't lived up to its hype.  We gravitated towards the Apple displays.  Lo and behold, we came home with a new Ipad for Rosemary!

Couldn't wait to play with it.  
Scrabble download.  
Sudoku download.  
Skype download.  
And then the books..... Now I won't have to carry a trunk-load of books with me to the Bahamas.

I started reading a sample of an action-thriller and HAD to pay the $1.99 to see what happened next.  I was swept into the storyline immediately and before I knew it, several hours had passed.  Yes, it's just like reading a real book.  It's is even better than a real book though.  When I came to a new concept, I just tapped the screen and got to learn all about "Parkour Free Running".

Hubby and I call them "Flying Ninjas" when we see those Dragon movies on TV.  I had thought it was all trick photography, but this makes me rethink.  Check out the video and be prepared to cringe, gasp, shriek and laugh.  You'll love it!




Sunday, December 15, 2013

White Christmas

The two-day snow storm is over, for now.  The Neighbourhood is buried!








Inside, we are snug and warm, getting into the Christmas Spirit...


...the Spirit of giving.



As we celebrate the third week of Advent,  may your hearts make room for the Prince of Peace.


Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Swimming in the ice and snow....

I thought our family was brave, strong, courageous for BBQ'ing on the back deck all year long, in rain, in snow, in wind....  Just look at these Jocks swimming in the ice and snow, in the water all year long!

http://photos.ca.msn.com/slideshow/photo/surfing-the-arctic/2tjrz1wq#3


Rosemary

Sunday, December 8, 2013

I'm Different



I am different.  Sure...there are others like me, but I was the "different" one in my family.

It started, and was encouraged, when I began walking and talking as a precocious toddler, the late-born, blond and bonnie lassie to doting parents.

-Isn't she adorable?
-Doesn't that beat all? Look at her go!
-Come here, Sweetheart...let me bask in the sunshine of your radiance.  (not really, but the message was loud and clear.)

I was a walking, talking, 11 month old, show-stealer everywhere I went--to fashion shows, weddings, even to the local pub, of all places!

But then, things changed--not me, but the world around me.  A baby brother, followed two years later by a baby sister.  My world no longer had time or energy to dote on my antics.  Now it was:
-Rosemary, sit still.
-Rosemary, cant you be quiet for two minutes?
-Rosemary, go in the other room and read a book.

The indifference that now met my vibrant explosions of colour and dance only spurred me on to ever-greater decibels of song and pulsing beats of marching.  There were no inhibiting checks to filter ideas that flew thru my head and immediately out of my mouth.  Curious became nosey. Lively became manic.  Expressive became look-at-me-demanding.  I was a one-person band in every room, every situation.  The "children should be seen and not heard" refrain punctuated every performance, deflating any momentary bubble of focus in my direction.

It is only now, in my 60's, as I watch my grandchildren and their parents interacting, that I am seeing myself this way.  It used to be my opinion that I had always been "different", "creative", "artistic", "spontaneous".  Today's catch-words are "busy", "inattentive", "uninhibited", "loud".

When I chose bright yellows, oranges and batik blues for a quilting square last week, the class leader intuited I was a "moving kind of girl, choosing fabric combos that had lots of movement".

Good grief!  Different again.