A morning walk is a great thing all by itself …

… but when you also have lovely weather …

… and gorgeous scenery, you can be inspired to walk longer!
Happy Saturday.
A morning walk is a great thing all by itself …

… but when you also have lovely weather …

… and gorgeous scenery, you can be inspired to walk longer!
Happy Saturday.
Although we’re heading into September, there are still many, many late bloomers providing beauty, colour and scent. Here are some highlights from this week’s flower lovelies.





Happy long weekend.
It has been cooler over the last few days, with highs around 20C (68F) or so. It has been a nice break from months of high temperatures. But there’s been some wind, too, and it has a decidedly autumnal feel to it. There were even wind-driven whitecaps on the lake.

Temperatures are supposed to go back to 29-30C (84-86F) by Thursday or Friday and those might be our last warm days before the descent into autumn.

Although it was cooler and the wind was definitely brisk, there were a few people still taking pleasure from the beach. Seated in lawn chairs and wearing light jackets, the weather wasn’t going to stop them from enjoying the views over the lake.
Happy Wednesday.
The showers – and more recently, the good rainfall – have helped the vineyards enormously as they continue to recover from January’s nasty cold snap.

There is more healing to come, but in the meantime, it’s a lovely sight as we take a walking break to admire the view.

Happy Tuesday.
These trees are about 120 years old and continuing to do well, but you do have to stretch a bit to see their tops …

… look up, waaay up …

… and then from a distance …

… tree art (with a beloved friend in the foreground).
Happy Saturday.
So WordPress reminded me a couple of days ago that it was my anniversary! I’ve been blogging for a whole year! I think it’s time for a round-up!
October, 2012 – I started the year all serious. I was going to save the world from narcissists!
November – Still serious about the dreaded narcs. Was starting to realize that there was a lot more to write about, though, and a lot of interesting stuff to read, like why I shouldn’t fear potatoes and why google is better than yahoo. With names like that, recreational water torture is probably better.
December – I wrote a couple of rants about the holidays. I hate shopping, so shoot me now. Happy Thankshallowmas. Jenny Pellett thought this was great – thanks, Jenny :). Btw, there are lots of great writers around here named Jenny .
January – I was back at work after some medical leave and then got sick. Go figure. Water was a central feature of my life.
February – I did a couple of fairly well-received posts on narcissism and then moved on to other things.
March – I was back ranting and/or commenting again and began thinking about changing the name of my blog.
April – I changed my name! No more Mr. Narc Guy. Well, mostly.
May – I wrote a lot of random stuff. And then I wrote a post called Random Stuff.
June – I did some whining about how I’m not a morning person. You’d think that I would have this out of my system, but oh no. I just found out that non-morning types live shorter, unhealthier lives. If I wasn’t awake when I first started reading the article, I was certainly awake afterward. Since then, I have radically changed how I deal with sleep, I eat healthier, I exercise more … yeah, right.
July – I dipped my toe in the fictional waters again after a long absence.
August – M and I got married!
September – Waaahhh! I broke my computer! When it recovered, I started whining about the holidays again. Yup. That would be me.
October, 2013 – Only one post from me, because I’m monumentally busy with a change-of-career project that I’m working on. I’ve been reading all of you, though, and enjoying your posts thoroughly! 🙂
But this post together with a post from Rarasaur got me thinking. How long do we bloggers last? The shelf-life seems pretty short. Many people whom I started following last year don’t post anymore, even though they were doing well. Is keeping up the blogging harder than people anticipate? Do many not really understand what they’re getting into and how they are essentially making a commitment when they click that “follow” button? What do you think? Any thoughts about this?
In any case, I want to send a sincere thank you to all those who follow me or have clicked like – I appreciate you all. 🙂

I have been nominated for a couple of awards!
My thanks go out to Janice for the Liebster Award and Madeline Laughs for the Shine On Award.
Thank you! Your thoughtfulness and kind words are very much appreciated! 🙂
I don’t really accept awards but I do want to pass on the nominations. Please take a look – there might be someone you like!
From Janice:
From Madeline Laughs:
9. Subhan Zein
11. George Flores
12. Paro Express
Here are my suggestions – these are GREAT blogs! Some I’ve suggested before and some I haven’t:
1. Ramblings from a Mum – one of my favourite blog buddies!
2. One Old Sage – another of my favourite blog buddies!
3. Dust and Soul – a thought-provoking, eclectic blog.
4. Teeny Bikini – outrageously funny and warm. I so look forward to her posts!
5. Jenny Pellett – a funny, witty, engaging blog.
6. Luiana Njo – a very talented photographer and cook.
7. Frances Antoinette – she says that she can’t write, but she’s completely wrong!
8. Lori – Lori has gone back to school! Take a look at her adventures.
9. Rarasaur – an amazing writer.
10. Zen Doe – fabulous photography and writing.
I hope you find a blog among these that you really enjoy! 🙂