Happy Friday, happy weekend. 🙂
Tag Archives: happiness
Wordless Wednesday
Well, almost.
Happy Wednesday. 🙂
Southern Greetings
I hope your last Monday of the year …
… is a terrific one.
Warm New Year’s greetings to everyone. 🙂
Iconic Vancouver Island Scenes
A trip to Vancouver Island wouldn’t be complete without a couple of shots of its iconic coastline. These enormous logs (above) washed up during the terrific surfs that can occur during winter storms. The logs themselves probably escaped from logging pens or “booms.”
The weather was a comfortable 10C with rain showers and a few sunny periods. The rain was a strong reminder of the fact that Vancouver Island is home to ancient “old growth” rain forest. First Nations peoples and many others have worked hard to save these forests from logging companies. Typically, the forests grow right up to the edge of the ocean.
This stump has likely been there for a long time; people have carved their names and initials into its deteriorating surface. I can’t help but wonder if this stump is what was left after the tree was cut down for lumber.
The tree itself must have been very old and very magnificient before it died and its remains were washed into the sea. I couldn’t count the rings because of the surf and also because of how worn it is, but I could see many of them, perhaps a hundred. It’s still magnificient, still standing up to the elements that will eventually take it completely.
Things I Learned from Rudy
After a short illness, our darling Rudy passed away this morning. We love you, sweetie dog.
My sweetie Rudy
Rudy is my dog. Well, he’s technically my son’s dog, but he has lived with me for most of his life. Rudy readily adopted M into his pack and now hates it when M is away. Recently, he also adopted B, M’s son.
Rudy is an amazing dog. And he’s about to turn 15. We’re not sure exactly when he’s turning 15 because he was an SPCA dog. But it’s within the next three months, most likely around the end of February or beginning of March. Rudy is in excellent health and is still living a full life. His hearing and eyesight are not quite what they used to be and he’s got a little arthritis, but those things aren’t holding him back at all.
So in honour of Rudy’s 15th birthday, and in honour of the fabulous guy that he is, I’m going to share with…
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Things I Learned from Rudy
Rudy is my dog. Well, he’s technically my son’s dog, but he has lived with me for most of his life. Rudy readily adopted M into his pack and now hates it when M is away. Recently, he also adopted B, M’s son.
Rudy is an amazing dog. And he’s about to turn 15. We’re not sure exactly when he’s turning 15 because he was an SPCA dog. But it’s within the next three months, most likely around the end of February or beginning of March. Rudy is in excellent health and is still living a full life. His hearing and eyesight are not quite what they used to be and he’s got a little arthritis, but those things aren’t holding him back at all.
So in honour of Rudy’s 15th birthday, and in honour of the fabulous guy that he is, I’m going to share with you some of the wisdom that I’ve learned from Rudy over the years.
1. Go for a walk every day. If there’s mud, snow, or deer poo, play in it. (Actually, you can skip the deer poo.)
2. Â You sleep better when you’re with your pack.
3. Grow your pack whenever you can.
4. Always wag your tail and show your pack how much you missed them.
5. Be sure to use your bark sparingly, but don’t be afraid to use it if the zombies come.
6. One invitation can negate seven rejections. (No matter how often Rudy is kicked out of the kitchen, he completely forgets the moment he’s invited in for a tasty tidbit!)
7. Demonstrate your loyalty without reservation.
8. Enjoy your food, especially your vegetables. (Rudy loves broccoli, asparagus and peas.)
9. Â Roll over and get your tummy scratched as often as you can.
10. Be polite to the other dogs, even if you don’t like them.
11. Going somewhere, anywhere, is a wonderful thing.
12. If someone tells you you’re great, lap it up and wag your tail in appreciation.
13. Grumble if you think the humans are being unfair. They might change their minds. 😉
14. If you need to lick your butt, don’t worry about what others might think.
15. Remember that you bring great joy and pleasure to life. 💜
You’ve brought great joy and pleasure to my  life.
A Little Thanks for Good Wine and Other Things
Last weekend – Oct 12 – 14 – which was Thanksgiving weekend in Canada, M and I went to the Okanagan Valley, an area renowned for its fruit and wine. We in indulged in both and had a wonderful little mini-holiday!
The above photo will give you an idea of what it’s like. We stayed in Penticton, from which we launched our wine tasting adventure. I took the “featured image” photo at the top of the page from a winery on the Naramata Bench. You can tell that the weather was fabulous. I’ve borrowed the photo below, but it also can give you an idea of what this landscape is like – forested and rugged with lots of grapes!
I took the next photo from quite an elevation. If you enlarge it, you can see many of the plots of grapes.
We attended a major wine tasting where I learned to stick to just one kind to avoid getting a confused palate. Mine got confused anyway – typical!
M and I had a great dinner at the Borrowing Owl winery where I had my favourite dessert, creme brulee. Here is the photo I took. Yum!
The Okanagan produces some rather wonderful reds, such as the Black Hills Note Bene, a blend that I am in love with. M and I aren’t into the whole wine snobbery bit but we like to have fun with it and we also like to drink it! After all, for me, it’s an important part of my cultural history!
It was also important to remember to give thanks. Not only for the great wine, but also for each other, for our families, for our friends, and for many other things.
Do you have a wine experience you would like to share?
