Wordless Wednesday - 143

Ms Snarky Pants says That's just lovely! And a little lonely looking.

Janet says I can't see my waterview this morning (fogged in, don't ya know), but I have your lovely picture to remind me of why I moved here :)

Brooke says Beautiful and peaceful.... although it could also be a perfect Eeyore day at the shore.

Thursday Thirteen - 121 - 13 Views of Hurricane Bill

Last Sunday, Hurricane Bill hit Atlantic shores. Never experienced a hurricane before? Settle in...

1 - Footage taken by cpirie and posted on YouTube. The spot where the camera is positioned is on a road next to the Sou'Wester Restaurant, which is normally a great deal higher than the waterline. The ocean in this footage is scary-high. Beneath all the white froth are rocks which are normally dry where you can walk.





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This is a normal day out at Peggy's Cove, taken by me on the same strip of road. And this is the size of normal wave action.














3 - Footage taken by emacx09 and posted on YouTube. "Around noon August 23rd 2009, just prior to the RCMP asking everyone to leave the beach area, due to safety concerns."





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This is a normal day at Lawrencetown Beach, taken by me from the same vantage point. This is my friend Lisa when she visited here last August, along with my mom. And this is the size of normal wave action.














The rest of the photos were taken by me from the safety of our home. Hurricane Bill turned out to be much, much milder than Hurricane Juan, which hit us six years ago. No complaints here!



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Thomma Lyn Grindstaff says I've never been in a hurricane, but a friend of mine rode one out last year.

Susan Helene Gottfried says We've had remnants of hurricanes pass through, but we're too far inland to have to face a real storm.

Dorothy says When I lived on the Florida and Georgia coastlines we had several. I was younger then and don't remember much about them, just that we had them and mom would get all frantic.

Thursday Thoughts - 3 - Life as I Love to Live It

1 - The writers' retreat organized by my local chapter of Romance Writers of America is a huge highlight of my year.















2 - A visit to my friend Donna's in Toronto. What could be more lovely? I used to be her daughter's live-in nanny, and now her daughter is 23. Time flies, doesn't it? But it always feels good to sit and catch up, enjoy coffee together and eat her homemade cookies with edible gold.












3 - One of best things when we lived in Toronto was the availabilty of cult movies. On a recent trip to The Big City my husband made sure he stocked up on the essentials.


















4 - Hanging out on Queen Street West is also a must when we're in Toronto. Especially because my good friend Chris manages Bakka-Phoenix Books at Queen and Spadina. The city was tearing up the intersection during that visit.














5 - Is there any place I'd rather be than in the lobby of the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, a glass of champagne in my hand, my dear friend Jacquie by my side and a performance of the Sleeping Beauty ballet just moments away...?

Not really, no.














6 - Well...there's always meeting friends at a funky coffee shop and whiling away an hour or two over cafe au laits and delectable yummies. That's good, too.













7 - It's always exciting to discover the creative things my friends get up to. Like these fun tea cozies my friend Pam knitted, as well as little hats that looked like pumpkins and strawberries.














8 - Since I haven't been invited to the Oscars yet, last year's evening on the town at Haliwood - a Halifax Oscar-themed fundraiser - felt like the next best thing.


















9 - My gram's funeral was held this summer in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. This was a beautiful angel candelabra behind the altar. It was a perfect service officiated by a handsome young priest of whom my gram would have heartily approved. A clear, blue-sky day, surrounded by family and uplifted by love - no one could ask for a better farewell.














10 - My dog Xena is a light in my life that can't really be explained. I just love her.















11 - Last year was a particularly sad year for saying final goodbyes - but it was also an odd dream-come-true year where so many things on my wish list came to me. I'm a life-long horse lover without a horse. But I had a serious Barbie horse with a horse trailer and realistic tack, and I had pretend horses I rode whenever we went for a family walk in a park or in the woods. I even groomed these pretend horses in their pretend stable in the backyard.

I've always wanted to go to Vienna to see the Lippizan stallions at the Spanish Riding School. And what do you know - the Lippizans came to me, here in Halifax!
















12 - Another thing I've always longed to do was see the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Musical Ride. Once again, who showed up right here in my fair city? You guessed it!

I've always had a thing for war horses and cavalry, and both the Lippizans and the RCMP Musical Ride are basically cavalry maneuvers.



The RCMP unit even did a charge at the end. A total thrill! In this next clip (which has no audio) the Charge comes at the 1:15 mark.
















13 - I took this shot of a sunset at Lawrencetown Beach in very chilly November, a year ago. This is a beach on the Atlantic Ocean, 20 minutes' drive from my house. I played here as a child, and I head out there as an adult because it's one of my favorite places on earth. Ten minutes of walking this beach, and I promise you - all is right with the world.

Happy Birthday My Friend

I've been very lucky to have my friend Lisa here with me for the whole week - and especially today, her 46th birthday.



We met 20 - count 'em - 20 years ago when we both worked in the children's shoe department at the Queen Street Simpson's store in Toronto. It's now The Bay.


Here we are all these years later and overjoyed to share this celebration together. A few years ago I was able to spend my own birthday in Cobourg, Ontario with Lisa, her husband and son.





We started the day off with a trip to the fabled Frenchy's. My family has always shopped at this chain of secondhand stores. When I lived in Toronto, my mom would send me boxes of clothes she'd picked up at her regular Frenchy runs. Lisa had always heard of Frenchy's, but on several trips to Nova Scotia had never been able to get to one - until today. Mom and I brought her to her inaugural Frenchy visit.


Here's Lisa checking out a blouse which didn't end up fitting, but her other finds were perfect.




For lunch we went to Bedford's landmark Chickenburger.




























Then we drove out to Lawrencetown Beach so she could get some Atlantic Ocean time. This is my mom and Lisa.


Some beach rocks.


Some wave action.


My mom's addiction to beach rocks knows no bounds.


Back at the homestead, Mom put on a huge spaghetti spread in honor of Lisa's special day.


Lisa chats with my sister and Mom while my dog hangs out. My husband also joined us for the fun.


Happy Birthday, Lisa! You've made my world a spectacular place.

Wordless Wednesday - 39