Autumn colours in Sant'Elena, Venice, Italy

I love my area of this planet, partly because we have all four seasons and we have them in spades. There's no doubt when each season arrives.
Each one shows up with a flourish.
Each one shows up, stomps her feet and announces her presence with trumpet fanfare.

I spent a few weeks in October in Venice a couple of years ago, and one of the things that surprised me was that autumn showed up right behind me. Followed me into town, literally.
Surprised me, because I never thought of a country in the Mediterranean having all four seasons as noticeably as we do in Canada.
But, in fact, Italy cycles through the seasons just like here.
Maybe not as radically announced, but nevertheless, present.

The first traces of autumn in Venice became very visible very quickly, as the leaves changed colour from green to russet to orange and red and gold. I particularly noticed the vines covering the walls by a cathedral in Sant'Elena...

Autumn leaves gracing the brick walls near the cathedral

As the vacation in Venice came to an end, I took a last long walk around the city, taking photos of the fall colours and letting the beauty of this city soak into my soul.

When I arrived home, I found that autumn had crept into the countryside around my home town while I was away! The colours weren't as brilliant as in Venice, they weren't as varied, but they were still breathtakingly beautiful. And, they were the colours of my home...

Autumn leaves beside Medicine Lake, near Jasper, AB ~ Jasper National Park

"Bittersweet October.
The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause between the opposing miseries of summer and winter." ~ Carol Bishop Hipps

Nope, I didn't disappear from the face of the earth, my peeps!
I know I've been absent from my beloved blog for a couple of months.
I sincerely appreciate everyone checking on me, phoning and e-mailing me to make sure I was alright. That was so sweet of you! It helped to know that you cared and that you missed me. Niiiice!

Just a few health issues that needed my full and undivided attention. I didn't have the energy left over to blog and so, along with a few other lovely things in my life, blogging was set on the back burner for awhile.

Now, I'm back with a vengeance and I'll be bothering you with my funny, slightly sarcastic and heartfelt stories again.

Wow! This has been an amazing summer, full of a rainbow of things for me to do.
I have been going for acupuncture on a regular basis. I highly recommend it.
Even to skerdy-cats like me, who tremble and faint when having blood work done in a lab.

Needles, lots of needles stuck into my body at various places.
The good thing is that these needles are hairlike and very thin.
They don't hurt.
Much.

I've been treating a few physical ailments with this ancient form of Eastern medicine and really truly, the needles work! It's a partnership between 3 people...my medical doctor, my doctor of acupuncture and me. Together, we've created a healthier human being. That's gotta be nothing but good.

The bottom line is this...I'm responsible for my own health and it is my job to get out there in the hard cruel world and find out what is available for me. There is a ton of information and help available, and all I had to do was get going and get discovering. I did, and so far, so good!

So, here I am, back on my blog and I promise to catch up with all of the articles I haven't written for you and all of the jokes I haven't told you, yet.
Thanks for your patience over the past couple of months and thanks for checking in!
You need to know...it helped me more than I can tell you.

One can pay back the loan of gold, but one dies forever in debt to those who are kind. ~Malayan Proverb

Recently, I posted a few cartoons by Simon...cartoons about cats.
This guy KNOWS cats inside and out. He draws their characteristics to perfection.
So, I was delighted, totally and completely, when a friend emailed me Simon's new cartoon!
Here you are...I love sharing these!

Rules for Cats Who Have A House To Run:
#78 When walking among the dishes on the dinner table, be prepared to look surprised and hurt when scolded. The idea is to force your humans to reveal that they tolerate this behavior when company is not there.

Well, this'll bring tears to your eyes...
Adam recorded this exquisite song for a friend of his, figure skater Nick LaRoche. Originally recorded by Five for Fighting, Nick wasn't crazy about the arrangement. He talked to Adam about it, and Adam offered to record the song for Nick.

Here is a video version of Adam's recording...and you can read the story of their collaboration right here.

Here's Nick skating to Adam's version of I Just Love You...

Lonely, yeah that's the word
I leave my heart when I leave her
The days go on forever and the nights do too

One evening out on the road
A half a world away from home,
I thought she was sleeping
When the call came through...

I said, 'Darling, it's late, is everything ok?'
Silence took over the room,
Til she said,

'I... I just love you
I don't know why, I just do.
When are you coming home?'

'I'm coming home soon
And I just love you too.'

Five For Fighting - I Just Love You lyrics

Top 10 Finale ~ Los Angeles Staples Center ~ photo credit - Just Jared

A while back I wrote an emotional piece on this blog about the need to speak up and stand tall for Adam Lambert and his decision to talk openly and freely about his sexuality. At the time, I initially felt like it was completely irrelevant, that there was no need for him to feel like he had to talk about his life with anyone. I think I said something cavalier like, "Who cares?" What I meant was that I saw no reason in this 21st century for a person to be put in a position of explaining his or her life to anyone.

I also wrote about my own realization that as long as there is one person in the world who doesn't understand the basic human right of freedom to live one's life without criticism and judgment, then it is important for everyone to care for and to speak up in support of that person.

Fast forward to today.
I just learned that a small but vocal group of church-goers has published an incredibly offensive, viciously-worded brochure attacking the American Idols as a group and Adam Lambert as a fellow human being. I read the obscenely-worded handout that this group of so-called "Christians" has been distributing, and I was sickened to realize that there still are pockets of such ignorance and shocking narrowmindedness existing in my corner of the world.

Thank God for the intelligence and kindness of Adam's fellow Idols, because they have closed ranks around him, circled the wagons, so to speak. Michael Sarver, who finished in the Top 10, is a married father of two from Texas.
He writes on his Twitter page about the relationship between the ten Idols in the show, "We are together in this thing. You mess with one, you mess with all ten. We are strong and we are 1."

A few hours later, he writes, "Funny how people think it's a good idea to mess with a big Texan and his AI family. Lol! Adam is just fine, shakes it off and so should we."

I know that they are protected and kept safe.
I know that they have each other's backs and are supportive and loving with each other like a true family.
What I don't know is what the hell makes people think they have the right to attack some young kids who are doing nothing other than making music together for our benefit.

Music!
It's just music, people!
These amazing human beings are simply making music, not selling illegal drugs or smuggling weapons of mass destruction.
Where's the harm in this, I ask you?
They're singing their way across the continent, entertaining tens of thousands of people, putting on a show for fans from eight to eighty.
They're giving so much time and energy to give back to their fans that they are exhausted and running on fumes some days.

So, rather than organizing a string of protests, making picket signs and hurling obscenities across the Universe at these ten Idol winners, it seems to me that a much more productive and much less toxic way to change the world might be to feed the hungry, house the homeless and strengthen and support the weak.

The Idols are singing their way from city to city. Yet, at the same time. they are dealing with the same pressures and pain that we all deal with in our lives...the death of a beloved grandmother, a violent case of food poisoning, being away from a wife and 2 tiny children...everyday things for everyday people.

I wish for one thing...that those protestors learn how to channel their abundant energy towards a more productive cause, one that heals the world and not one that causes more pain than already exists. I know that I'm blowing air up a dead dog's butt in wishing for this...I know that nothing changes that type of mentality.

Here's the only thing I can offer to the Idols tonight...my favorite Irish blessing...

May those that love us, love us.
And those that don't love us,
May God turn their hearts.
And if He doesn't turn their hearts,
May He turn their ankles
So we will know them by their limping.

"God was just showing off when he made Adam Lambert!"
~ Source unknown

Top 10 Finale - Tacoma concert - photo credit unknown

You know you are living in 2009 when...

1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.

2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.

3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3.

4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.

5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses.

6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.

7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen.

8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't have the first 20 or 30 or 60 years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go back and get it.

10. You get up in the morning and go on-line before getting your coffee.

11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. : - )

12. You're reading this and nodding and laughing.

13. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this message.

14. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.

15. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #9 on this list.

Welcome to the electronic age, whether you want to be in it or not!

"Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain."
~ J.K. Rowling

Here's a funky thing for you to check out...odd shower curtains!
Weird, I know...but look, anyway!

“Everyone who's ever taken a shower has an idea.
It's the person who gets out of the shower, dries off and does something about it who makes a difference.” ~ Nolan Bushnell

Can you believe that I spent another night in Rickey.org's cellcast?
That's where I was a few days ago, along with a roomful of Glamberts, a few Matt Giraud lovers, a handful of girls4gokey and several Krisfans.

Great sound...the Blackberry Pearl was actually holding out, although we'd been warned that the battery might die.
All Allison, all Adam, as much of Kris as the battery will allow.

30 minutes later...
There was no sound, and no Adam.
No free concert via cellcast.
The vagaries of the esthers in the internet universe.

So, here are a few vids to tide you over, if you've been waiting for an Adam-fix.
Don't forget to doubleclick on the video, and that will take you to Youtube where you can click on the little window at the top right corner of the video and see this in full screen.

This opener for his set is Whole Lotta Love...hotter than a pepper sprout!

Lessons in Karma...

I love it when the world turns evenly on its axis and I get to see someone reaping the rewards of their own bad karma. A friend of mine calls it the Carousel Principle...what goes around, comes around. I call it schadenfreude.
Loosely translated, that word means taking heartfelt delight in the misfortune of others.
Philosopher and sociologist Theodor Adorno defined schadenfreude as “largely unanticipated delight in the suffering of another which is cognized as trivial and/or appropriate."
Translation: watching someone get what they so richly deserve.
The question is...who are we to decide what another person deserves?

I read an ancient story about a knight and his 12 year old son living in the time of King Arthur. They were sitting around the huge dinner table with the other knights of the castle having a bite to eat, when the father took a dislike to something the son said or did. With a huge mawl of a hand, he backhanded the young lad, sending him sprawling onto the rushes on the dirt floor. The son's nose was bloodied and began to swell immediately.

The child did not cry, did not make a sound.
He picked himself up, drew himself up to his full height with great dignity, returning to his place at the table.
He then turned to the knight seating on his other side, punched him a good one in the nose and then whispered to him, "Please pass it along, sir. It will get back to my father, soon enough!"

I love this story.
Karma has a funny way of returning again and again to the sender.
Sometimes it takes the long road home, but make no mistake about it, it always gets there.
Eventually.
That's one of the reasons that I do my very best to give out kind and loving energy to most people I meet.

It is said that karma returns tenfold to the sender.
If you give out good karma, you get it back tenfold.
If you give out bad karma...guess what you get back? Tenfold!
I would love to have that kind and loving energy returned tenfold to me, and I live in hope that it does.

I would not want to be standing within a country mile of those folks who send out dark karma when it is returned tenfold to them. I want to be on the other side of the Universe, so I don't get splashed with the tidal wave of their toxic backwash.

The Carousel Principle.
A very good principle, indeed!

My favorite inspirational Irish blessing seems to fit perfectly with this post...

May those that love us, love us.
And those that don't love us,
May God turn their hearts.
And if He doesn't turn their hearts,
May He turn their ankles
So we will know them by their limping.

"How people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours."
~ Wayne Dyer

Finally, there are Youtubes to burn of the Idol tour in Portland last night!
I've scanned through a stack of 'em and picked out the best of each song that Adam laid out for us last night. It's not the arena in Portland, but if you peel the lid from a cool one, put your feet up and press play, you can pretend you're at the real thing! Enlarge the video screen even...makes it more enjoyable.

One thing?
I think this boy's taken himself some choreography classes!
He's movin' it fine!

Sit down, take a deep breath and watch the show...even tho' the audio quality is spotty in places...
Not bad, considering no one was to be bringing cameras into the arena!

Whole Lotta Love...

Adam...jacket by Skingraft...image by idoltourbenches

The American Idol tour kicked off in Portland this evening.
I was there.

Well, actually, I was home in my 'jammies, sick as hell with a flu of some kind.
But, thanks to the esthers of the internet universe, I was linked with rickey.org's cellcast, so I heard the concert on my laptop, along with 3800 other Twitter fans. The audio was a little crackly and broken up, at times, but I actually listened to the entire concert.

I then went to Idol Forums, signed on to their Adam Lambert topic and spent the next couple of hours talking about the concert with a few hundred fans online, while we listened to the distorted audio of the cellcast.

So, did I actually GO to the concert in Portland? Not physically.
But, for all intents and purposes, I was right there with my blue Glo-stik and my glam-eyes done to a T.

Photo Credit - Maple Key Camp

Happy Canada Day!
Today is my country's 142nd birthday.
Barely a teenager, compared to other countries.

One of the joys for me on Canada Day is watching the televised celebration from Ottawa, our country's capital. Besides the hundreds of thousands of people who show up festooned in red and white from top to bottom, there is always a group of new citizens to our country who want to be sworn in on that day, becoming Canadian citizens on Canada's birthday.

This year, there were 2,000 people who were sworn in, in various cities and towns across the country. In Ottawa, 142 people from 42 different countries became new citizens on Canada's birthday. I love this kind of story...people who choose to live here, who want to live here and feel blessed to be a part of this country.

Those of us born in Canada often take for granted the physical beauty of this country and the amazing freedom we enjoy, in living our lives as we wish. Only someone who has experienced a difficult life in another country can truly appreciate the lifestyle they enjoy when they move here. So, the best parts of any Canada Day celebration for me are the televised swearing-in ceremonies across the country for all of Canada's new citizens.

Photo credit - Banff, AB Canada Day

There are other lovely traditions that are a part of the annual Canada Day party in my home town...we have an all-day blow-out party complete with a parade, a free BBQ for all of the people who are a part of the celebrations and an opening ceremony with the Royal Canadian Legion veterans. There are pony rides, a petting zoo, the local celebrities' dunk tank and kids' games for every age.

I have provided Canada's birthday cake for the past 7 years. Cutting and serving a line-up of delicious chocolate, lemon and vanilla layer cakes to the hundreds of people crowding around my table is a fabulous part of the day for me. Wishing every single person, "Happy Canada Day!" as I hand them their choice of cake is totally cool for me. Cutting and serving so much cake is a huge chore, so I've switched to cuppycakes in the last couple of years. Much easier to serve to my hungry guests!

This year, we added an art show to our Canada Day. The organizers were concerned that no one would participate, but they found themselves swamped with gorgeous pieces at the last minute. I schlepped four of my large framed watercolour paintings to the gallery, and was blown away by the quality of the art on display. Everything from photography to oil paintings, watercolours and scratchboard work, exotic masks and jeweled bonsai trees...amazing!

I'm home, with 'jammies on and my slippers warming my feet. The crowd is just now warming up for the evening, ready to kick up their heels at the family dance and enjoy the midnight fireworks...I can already hear the band from my house! Later, just as I'm about to fall asleep, the fireworks will explode and wake me for a moment. Tomorrow, the town crew will clean up the party area and take down our huge blue and white tent, packing it away for another year. Then, there will be no signs left of the fabulous party that took place today.

Next year, we'll do it all over again.
More people will be sworn in as new citizens and I'll hand out another few hundred cuppycakes. Canada will be another year older and hopefully, we'll all still be here, healthy and happy, ready to enjoy the party!

"What is a Canadian?
A Canadian is a fellow wearing English tweeds, a Hong Kong shirt and Spanish shoes, who sips Brazilian coffee sweetened with Philippine sugar from a Bavarian cup while nibbling Swiss cheese, sitting at a Danish desk over a Persian rug, after coming home in a German car from an Italian movie... and then writes his Member of Parliament with a Japanese ballpoint pen on French paper, demanding that he do something about foreigners taking away our Canadian jobs."
~ Anonymous

Photo credit - AOL News

Demetrios Demetriou and his son, Lagi - mirror.uk

Britain's Got Talent...
She certainly does!
If these videos don't make you laugh til you pee yourself, then you're not awake at all!

Here's the first appearance of Stavros Flatley and his son...

Stavros Flatley

Here they are, again...hil-freakin'-larious! They made it to the Final of Britain's Got Talent:

This is an interview with the Flatley father and son team....just good ol' salt-of-the-earth folks:

Here's their website...enjoy!

“I'm not an egomaniac like a lot of people say. But I am the world's best dancer, that's for sure.”
~ Michael Flatley

Why is it so difficult to stand up for myself in some situations?
I'm not sure, but I do know that it is.
Today, I had to speak my mind with a couple of people with whom I work, and it was the toughest thing for me to do.

I've been sorting through the day to see what the trigger was for me, and I think I've figured out.
I've been working with this guy who not only wants to have everything go his way, but also wants everyone else to agree with him, have all of us tell him that he is right. Then, and only then can he finally relax. Only then will he finally stop...stop talking, stop trying to convince others of his position and stop pushing, pushing, pushing.

Today, I pushed back.
It may not have been the most graceful self-defence in the world, but at least I did it.
We were discussing the way to bring a project to completion and there was one sticking point. I personally didn't care what the solution was, so all I wanted was to make a decision and get it over with.

There were several times during this long phone call that I felt like I was being treated very disrespectfully and dismissively whenI was sharing my opinion with them. I took a deep breath and said so. Although no one responded to me, and truly, I believe that no one heard me, the point for me was in saying it out loud for myself. I was not saying it for anyone else's benefit, simply for my own.

After over an hour, I gave up. Telling the others on the phone that I had to go, I assured them that I'd be fine with whatever decision they made. Then, I said goodbye very nicely...and hung up.

Later on, I received an email from the guy who had arranged the call and who was looking for universal agreement with his perspective. Apparently, the phone call continued for another half hour before everyone agreed with him. Then, and only then, was he content to end the call and go away happily.

The moral of this story?
Pick the hills you want to die on.
Today, this was not one of those hills.
Rather than getting into a disagreement, I recognized the futility of that path, chose to leave the discussion quietly and with no fuss, and let the dust settle anywhere but on me.

Was that the right decision? For me, it was.
I felt stronger, peaceful, more relaxed and very much alive after making this decision, so that tells me it was right for me.

I'm sure there are folks who will disagree with my way of dealing with an unsolvable situation. That's fine.
I'm ok with that. What I'm also ok with is that I did what was right for me and that makes me feel very good inside my soul right now.
Very good, indeed.

"But you now, you wear your soul on your sleeve, exhausting your energy, propping yourself up on a tree, mumbling, or bent over your desk, asleep.
Heaven gives you a form and you wear it out by pointless argument.
The perfect man of old looked after himself first before looking to help others."
~ Chuang Tzu

Nobody makes me laugh more than Bill Maher, when he's on a fantastic roll.
Whether he's on his soapbox on his own show or cracking up Larry King...he's just a fabulous satirist.
I might not always agree with him but I always cheer loudly for his right to speak his mind.

Tonight, he was goading a guest because of her wiffle-waffle ways.
Then, as fast as you can blink, he did a complete 180, twisted his opinion about and played devil's advocate! Too funny. Blew her furry little mind!

"We need more people speaking out. This country is not overrun with rebels and free thinkers. It's overrun with sheep and conformists." ~ Bill Maher

I struggled to find quotes of Bill's that wouldn't offend the delicate ears of you, my faithful readers.
I gave up after 10 minutes.
There aren't any.

"The jury could get the case as early as next week, but the defense says they just want to introduce one last-minute load of crap." ~ Bill Maher

He's a huge Obama supporter, but he hesitates not to give him a kick in the butt if he thinks it is deserved.
He's not wacky-religious, he's very opinionated and he's a truthteller.
The world could use a lot more Bill Maher's.
That's my opinion, for what its worth.
A lot more.

"If you think you have it tough, read history books."
~ Bill Maher