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 |    My random thoughts and reactions to my everyday life. The voices like a forum. |
| I do not know quite what happened or when , but my hubby and I now qualify for seniors' discounts at some venues. This creates a quandary; in order to save money, but not face, we have to admit to our age. HMMMM..... We definitely do not consider ourselves to be old. In this day and age ,when people as a whole are living longer and healthier lives why are 'young seniors', those in their fifties, like moi, considered 'old'?? It's so true that age is just a perception! "Maturity" is very objective/subjective, and I object! Whew, a few years have skittered by since I composed this biography block. Those "fifties" are in the rear view mirror and they are distant, fond memories. Oh, I do not plan to stop writing any time soon. |
| If you had to be a member of an outdoor species during the Fall and Winter, what would you be? Would you be the kind of bird that migrates to a warmer climate? Would you be a bear, curling up nice and snug through it all? Would you be a squirrel, hiding food here and there and occasionally poking your nose out of your tree? Whatever you choose, tell us how/why you reached your decision. Hmmm, what animal would I be to better survive Winter? I cannot imagine myself as a bird flittering here and there. Do they ever have much of a thought in their tiny bird brains? Don't they ever tire of fluttering those wings? A bird's feet must feel the cold of the branches, the telephone lines, or the fences on a blustery day. All they can do to stay warm is puff up their chests and ruffle their feathers. Scavenging for food can't be easy in the snow and ice. I don't see myself as a squirrel either. Chances are I'd forget where I stashed my winter supply of nuts. I'm not partial to heights, and I'd have to reside in a tree. That bushy tail would be such a distraction. I dunno, being a bear might have its advantages... I could grow to love the idea of bingeing, and gorging on my favourite foods. I wouldn't have to count calories, or watch for unwanted weight gain, or diet. My appetite would be appeased with everything and anything. I could indulge my sweet tooth indiscriminately. A bear is supposed to bulk up for winter. Hearing "she's a big gal" would be the ultimate bear compliment. If I was a bear, I could forgo the whole shaving ritual. Hairy legs are fashionable , fetching, and warm for a bruin. Just think, no possibility of cuts and bleeding, so no future scars. Bears love their fuzz/fur. Hey, I wouldn't need a hair cut if I became a bear. I'd be expected to be hairy. There'd be no call for styling at all. I could save a bundle on personal hygiene products, too. Bears don't lose sleep worrying about showers, shampoos, or deodorants. They prefer au naturel. The whole-hibernating-for-months thing is appealing. It'd be one extended lie-in, with no alarm clock. Uninterrupted lazing and lounging sounds so refreshing. How could I not feel rejuvenated in the Spring? With this there would be an extended period of inactivity. Ah bliss, no exercise, exertion, or perspiration. I'd concentrate solely on my deep breathing. I believe the greatest benefit to becoming a hibernating bear is that I'd be able to avoid Winter entirely. Yes, I'd be snug in my den and protected from bitter, blustery winds. I would not shovel mountains of stubborn snow. Ice could not send me crashing to the frozen ground. I would be blissfully unaware in a type of suspended animation, dreaming of sunshine and gentle breezes. |
| You've won a competition! Well, for the purposes of your blog entry, anyway. *Laugh* You and up to four other people of your choosing are going to spend ten days in a place of natural beauty of your choice, anywhere in the world! Where do you go? Who are you taking along? What's it like when you get there? Do you see any interesting wildlife? Any stories about your adventures that will be told for generations to come? Oohh, I won? I'd never turn down a free trip... If I'm choosing the destination, then I opt for a vacation down under in Australia. I believe the people there qualify as interesting wildlife. They have the exotic accent, and quirky vocabulary. Of course, flying to my country of choice will be an exercise in fortitude. It's located halfway 'round the globe, and I'll be airborne for the better part of a day. I suppose it beats travel by ship, and I most certainly cannot motor that expanse of major ocean. Hmm, I wonder how many in-flight movies will be shown? Okay, my adventure amigos will have to be my immediate family members, the hubby, the son, and the two daughters. They will make perfect and willing witnesses to anything I see, hear, taste, touch, and attempt to do. It goes without saying that I will reciprocate. Australia is sunny and extremely "warm", just as advertised. The locals are super-friendly and upbeat with their "G'day mates". Thank goodness not everyone is like 'Crocodile Dundee'. We fail to notice the carrying of large, sheathed knives, and the adornment with crocodile skin. Regular folk walk about in our idea of summer clothing. The life partner and the son happily ogle bathing beauties of the female persuasion in their various forms of beach wear. We females of the family do our own not-so-subtle staring. The beaches are incredible. There just happened to occur an incident at one beach.... in other words, something memorable happened. Our milieu is fresh water. The salty sea water surprised us. We were the weeping wonders clinging blindly to each other as the waves pummelled us. Oh, that salt stings the eyes! We may have appeared to be blubbering unnecessarily. We struggled to maintain our sea legs, but we stumbled and lurched. No, we were not drunken tourists. We attended a few safaris out into the bush. Yes, we spied kangaroos, wallabies, and crocodiles. Huh, they are so different than the moose, beaver, and wolves back home. The son's inadvertent wave was misconstrued as a jab, or feint. A blustering, alpha kangaroo assumed a solid boxing stance, and clearly challenged him to a fight. There was some thumping foot work, too, but the son ignored the bravado. We heeded the helpful public service announcements, and we did not poke, or provoke any crocodiles. Those that we observed lounged languidly in the sun. Let sleeping crocs lie... After our whirlwind ten-day tour, we learned to relax when we heard, "Throw a shrimp on the Barbie." We stopped looking for a poor woman named Barbie treated as a seafood sacrifice, and we stopped thanking our lucky stars that our names were not Barbie. It's strange, but the daughters and I were referred to as "Sheila" one too many times despite our introducing ourselves... |
| I remember that in school we did arts and crafts with Fall objects, like conkers and acorns . Have you ever been all artsy and crafty with nature? What did you make? And if not, think up something you could make with natural Fall objects. Well, when I lived in my family's first home as a youngster, I soon learned to avoid the "conkers", or chestnuts. You never forget the painful experience of stepping on a chestnut still trapped in its green, spiked shell. Oh, there was blood-letting and the application of bandages. There were two towering chestnut trees in the front yard, and they became a bounty to the neighbourhood kids. Everyone wanted a chestnut, or conker collection. Some kids opted to string the nuts together, piercing them with nails and threading thin rope through them. I never created a craft from them. Now I have fashioned artsy stuff from pine cones. They are so plentiful here in Ontario. In my Guiding days, the cones were scooped up during an autumn hike. Back at our meeting hall, the cones were stuffed with peanut butter, rolled in loose bird seed, and given a yarn loop. The new bird treats were taken home, or presented as gifts. They were hung from various tree branches, and they provided sustenance for our feathered friends. A few times, I created Christmas elves from pine cones. All I needed was a few wooden beads that I painted with markers to draw facial features. These were glued to the head of the cones. Wardrobe pieces such as vests, toques, boots, and mitts were cut from scraps of coloured felt. Arms and legs were formed from pipe cleaners with the mitts and boots suitably attached. Many of these merry fellows became Christmas tree ornaments. At Guides, we also converted our cones into an assortment of angels. Wings were created from feathers, pipe cleaners, paper, miniature doilies, aluminum foil, ribbons, or whatever. Again, the heads were small wooden beads. Oftentimes, they were left bald, but some artistes added wool hair. The halos could be made from a variety of supplies; tiny gold napkin rings, metallic pipe cleaners, garlands cut to size, aluminum foil, tiny stars, and more. One Christmas season, the Guides and I painted acorns to resemble itty-bitty Santa heads. The caps of the acorns were painted red to represent Santa's red hat. The rest of the nuts were painted with shades of peach to reflect skin tones, and white for the beards. Eyes were applied with black dots of paint. Ah, those were wonderful crafting times... Did I mention the miniature birch bark canoes we created? |
| You've decided that someone's got to find Bigfoot (or Nessie), and it might as well be you. How will you go about it? Do you find them? If so, how does the meeting go? I must admit the huge foot prints I discovered in the forest piqued my curiosity. They appeared to have been pressed into the ground with bare feet. I could clearly see the impressions made by large toes and an equally large instep. No animal I knew could've made those tracks.. They were impressive. I asked questions of my neighbours, and they convinced me that Bigfoot had been prowling about. According to their folk lore, this creature towered as high as some trees, and it preferred to hide amongst them too. It sported a muscular body covered in long, unkempt hair. No one seemed to know what this creature liked to eat. What did it hunt, or harvest? Could it be lured, and tempted by a certain something? If I wished to meet Bigfoot, I believed I needed a strategy to arrange a meeting. I decided that Bigfoot just might enjoy the allure of sugar. Many of us like it, so why not him? My plan involved leaving delicious cupcakes in a clearing. Nearby, I'd set up a motion-sensor camera capable of shooting whatever discovered the baked goods. The first sets of pictures were far from definitive. They were blurry in fact. Whoever snatched the cupcakes failed to make a photogenic impression. Over time, okay, the space of a few weeks, I baked many of those treats. Crumbs were scattered throughout the clearing, but they did not form a clear trail. Clumps of hair also mingled with the crumbs, and hovered in the breeze. More of the out-sized foot prints marred the earth. Bigfoot seemed to be lingering, and developing a taste for sweets. I had to be patient. It takes time to build an addiction, and a dependence. Bigfoot became a sugar junkie. He learned that what he craved would be available at the same time every day without fail. As he gorged, I found I could camouflage my self in the bushes and watch him. I even managed to snap photos without the aid of a noisy flash. Finally, I felt ready to reveal my presence to Bigfoot. While he savoured a particularly decadent chocolate cupcake, I stepped out from my bush, and snuck up on him. I reached out and tapped him on the shoulder which involved me standing on tip toe. He shrieked, spun on his heels, and gaped open-mouthed at me. I smiled and waved, but he startled. The last I saw of him, he was skedaddling as quick as a deer through the trees.. Bigfoot found me to be scary. |
once went camping in the Fall (it was a school thing). It wasn't the best experience I have ever had. Do you have any camping experiences, either good or bad? And if not, what do you think it would be like if you went camping? Oh, yes, I certainly have camping experience. No matter the weather, or season I have camped. I've stayed in tents, big and small, plus trailers. For the most part, all my experiences have been memorable and enjoyable. Camping in the winter with its cold temperatures, snow and ice is not for the faint of heart. Basically, you are always dressed, and your clothing is donned in layers. You learn to appreciate water proof outerwear, and warm boots. Your movements become measured and deliberate because of the bulk. Setting and igniting a campfire is possible. It takes more planning than a summer effort. I've survived camping disasters such as tent cave-ins, tent collapses, leaking tents, torn tents, and tents billowing in the wind. Luckily, I've never had to share my tent with wildlife. A friend once awoke to a sensation of something slowly crawling up her body as she lay on the ground rolled into her sleeping bag. She opened her eyes to see a baby skunk staring at her, nose to nose. All she could think to do was hold her breath and wait. The "skunkster" sniffed and peed on her before waddling away. Years ago, when I was a kid, one of the family dogs argued with a skunk, and lost. There's nothing quite like the strong smell of a "perfumed" canine in the close quarters of a canvas tent. Inevitably, there have been personal injuries, too. Accidents range from burns and stitches to fractures and sprains. The outdoors is so rough with uneven terrain. Tree roots and rocks constantly trip me, as does the fire pit. During one exceptionally memorable weekend, my eldest daughter inadvertently struck her friend with a baseball bat, causing a horrific scalp injury. On another outing, my son became trapped/stuck inside an army tank, and his rescue involved a campground of off-duty firefighters. There was even a third camping weekend in which my youngest fell off a moored boat into deep water. My hubby also fell in attempting to rescue her. She and he were desperate to warm themselves afterwards, but they'd soaked their only jackets and shoes. Sigh, camping does have its moments. I have mentioned camping before...
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| It’s often said that when you enter university, at any time, you can only have 2 of the “3 Ss”- sleep, school, and social. Which two do you choose, and why? Huh, really? I've never heard of this. My experience remembers enjoying all three of these, sleep, school work, and social activities. The actual time spent in a classroom was minimal, and barely filled a few hours of a day. Yes, there was homework, assignments, research, and the like, but they didn't account for every hour in a day either. Socializing was possible, and yes, sometimes, I opted to skip certain activities, or events. I never chose to adopt the pub-crawling scene, so my nights didn't pass in a blur. I believe it's more than possible to balance all three of the prompt's subjects. Yes, there will be days when one of the above requires more time and effort, but it's manageable. But, okay, if I had to choose amongst the three in order to survive...... I pick sleep and school. First of all, a university education ain't cheap. If I'm paying for my degree, I want to succeed and earn one. I want my hard-earned money to be spent on something worthwhile, and I wouldn't be in the mood to fritter it away with aimless partying. Partying also costs. It wastes time, focus, resources, and more. Socializing may be expensive depending upon the circumstances and locale. Dancing, drinking, bowling, skiing, whatever all have a price. Most students struggle to survive. Well, if I am to study and earn a degree, it only makes sense that I sleep. I'll need a clear head unfogged by exhaustion. To learn, and create essays, projects, experiments, and the like, I need to be alert. I will fit in socializing during classes, lab times, shared meals, joint presentations, study groups, etcetera. |
| Universities around the US all have different start dates to their academic year, but one common factor to them all is their “Week 0,” or “Welcome Week,” to ease returning students back into the swing of school, and give first year students a general idea of the school and its surroundings. Choose a college or university near you and design a welcome week (7 days) for your fellow bloggers! Grr! My first draft of the response to this prompt disappeared.... I clicked "save" and, poof, no more blog entry... Sigh, it's gone...Okay, attempt number two... The closest campus to my residence is in North Bay, Ontario, Canada. Both Nipissing University and Canadore College share this campus. North Bay is a town that bills itself as The Gateway to the North, and it's situated on lovely Lake Nipissing. Day 1 will be a six-hour cruise of the lake aboard the Chief Commanda. Day 2 will be a charity car wash with the students strategically located about the town. Day 3 will see a volunteer fair in which students will be introduced to local organizations that need volunteers. This could be combined with a community barbecue. Day 4 will be a day full of intra-mural activities and fun. Teams will be formed based upon course enrolment. There will be various races, relays, and more. Day 5 will be an introduction to the local indigenous community with a pow-wow, and blessing. Day 6 there will be a street hockey tournament pitting the staff against the students. Day 7 will be a pub crawl starting with the campus pub. Students will learn about local bus routes and taxi companies. Of course, the local police force will be in attendance to enforce safety. |
| We are discussing the evolutionists and creationists in my biology class. Whose side are you on? Why? Make sure to explain why the other side is wrong. If you are an evolutionist, write your own version of Darwin’s theory of evolution. If you are a creationist, come up with an even better theory of creationism. This is too deep and philosophical for me! I'm not an expert on either philosophy/ theory. I've never claimed to be particularly religious, so I'm not firmly rooted in creationism. It does seem fantastical that this big ,beautiful, complex world was created in seven days. Were these days comprised of a much longer format than the 24-hour days we know? I never accomplish quite this amount in a typical week. On the other hand, did we people evolve from apes? Evolution does appear to make sense. Nature is always evolving, changing, mutating, altering.... Nothing is stagnant. Mankind is adaptable. There seems to be proof that we existed in different forms in the past. Our structure is similar to apes. I've not studied either evolution, or creationism in great detail. I am aware of only the basic principles. Much of nature does appear to be miraculous and mind-boggling. |
If you were to teach a subject in school, what would it be and why? Make sure you include the grade level! I believe I'd like to teach English and reading studies. I've always enjoyed reading, books of many subjects. many authors, and many stories. I'd like to encourage children to learn to read. If they grow to like reading, they will continue to be self-taught. They will be guaranteed entertainment. I suppose I'd prefer to teach the younger elementary students, those in pre-kindergarten to Grade four, or five. At this age, children are eager to learn and try new things. Their minds are like sponges, and they absorb so much, almost effortlessly. |
| October 6th Prompt: Apple or pumpkin pie? Awwww, must I choose? Both of these desserts are decadent. Each one has its merits. Sigh.? Since the grandgirl and I baked pumpkin pies the other day, I will cast my votes for delicious pumpkin pie. |
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