How Many Are Truly Needed?

How many silver shoes are too many?

I have a dressy event to attend this evening so I treated myself to a party dress.

Cute huh?


Then I decided that silver shoes would be the perfect accessory..of which I had 2 pair in my closet already. Was I happy? Apparently not. So, I took a little shopping trip to my local mega shoe emporium. There, much to my surprise, I found several pair that were simply calling my name. Only one being silver however.

But, you see, due to my rather large shoe size I feel that I must INVEST in any pair that I love and that fit me...so, that's what I did.

Did I really NEED either of these two pair? Hmmm, probably not. But, is it always really about need?

Silver pair #1, which I already owned

Silver pair #2, which I also already owned

Brand new silver pair #3- Which I just had to have.

And a very sexy pair of red ankle straps just for good measure. Hey, it has a silver platform and heel at any rate. And...it matches my mani/pedi.


Which do you think?

Now what ever am I to do about a bag?

HIDING MY TRUE SELF

As I was going back looking at older posts I realized how much my posting has changed.
I actually did become aware of this several months back when Mr. Bulletholes brought it to my attention.
However, now it seems remarkable that this should have changed so dramatically in only a few short months.

I feel as if I am hiding behind superficial, shallow posts that mostly include only photos that I've taken and poems or quotes stolen from someone else; Although, the photos have become more of who I am these days. Or, maybe they are representative of how I want others to think of me without giving anything of significance away.

The early days of this blog were chock full of my thoughts, feelings and angst. Now, well, none of that is revealed here. Maybe that is actually a positive step.Maybe those deep-seated negative thoughts no longer hold me hostage. Or..........

....maybe I am no longer doing any soul-searching? Am I no longer digging deep to reveal those pent up frustrations, wants or needs? Maybe.

I think this change has come about because of my fear of revealing anything not quite right about me to casual readers. Yet, when I read what others have written many seem not to have that worry.

Almost a year ago I felt that possibly I had found the perfect medium for my "therapy". Now, I'm not so sure.

We'll see how things progress from here.


Words to live by.

RED MAPLE

MAPLES

Leaves of fiery scarlet
reflect a crisp sun

rustle in a healthy mass
of autumn laughter

house an anarchy of crows
that screech at winters approach

until bare branches
balance snow

on slender
outstretched arms

Judith Pordon
C 1980

RARE INDEED

Your Personality is Somewhat Rare (ENFP)

Your personality type is enthusiastic, giving, cautious, and loyal. Only about 8% of all people have your personality, including 9% of all women and 6% of all men You are Extroverted, Intuitive, Feeling, and Perceiving.

How Rare Is Your Personality?

Autumn Reflections

I can see the tall, majestic trees
swaying in the distance,
their leaves gracefully
falling,
the ground becoming a fusion
of red, orange, yellow, and green.

the allure of the autumn day beckons me
to reflection.....



....yes, the tree will live on,
but the leaves -
while graceful in their descent -
will ultimately be
forgotten…

Adam Friedman


I took these shots last week during my morning walk - Such a pretty time of year here. It makes even these dreary, drizzly days- such as today- tolerable.

Halloween and Bittersweet

Two things I love about the Autumn- HALLOWEEN and Bittersweet.

Nothing says fall to me like the hunt for Bittersweet- an invasive weed that strangles trees and crawls over shrubs. It's gorgeous. This time of year I can't drive down a road, edged with woods, without keeping an eye out for this beautiful vine. I keep a pair of clippers in my car so that I can easily hop out- once it is spyed- and cut as much down as possible before the cops stop me.
I then proceed to bedeck every available surface on my porch with this vine.I often do get rude comments about the need for a machete to get into my house. That's how much I twine around the doorway, bannisters, lightposts and bench. But look, isn't it cool?


Then there are the pumpkins- I have 5 on my doorstep now- all different varieties. They sure have come a long way since plain old orange ones from my childhood.
I have one that looks like a very large green-speckled apple, a white one, a very tall, elongated orange and - my favorite- the HUGE but squatty peach one that looks just like cinderella's carriage pre Fairy Godmother.
And then, of course, is the one that we carved for Halloween. This one was done by my son last night. He asked all of the poor souls who came Trick-or-Treating if they liked his jack-o-lantern. He's a glutton for compliments.

We also had one of those cool new fake ones that you get at Michael's Craft store. This one I carved last year. And it hasn't rotted away yet.

And the last is a ceramic one that I light everytime we have company coming- all the way up to Thanksgiving. I just thinks it's fun.

Only problem now is that I have two bags of Twizzler's and Crunch bars to get rid of. It's a dirty job but somebody has to do it.

AN ENCHANTED EVENING AND ONE BIG-ASS FAIRY

AN ENCHANTED EVENING
An annual fundraiser for Meals on Wheels took place last week.
This is what I've been working on for months. I was the Design co-chair for this event that attracted over 300 guests.

It consists of a fabulous 5 course wine dinner- with local catering companies providing each course, and, local wine reps donating all of the wines.

This year we also included a design theme. ..... Fairytales.
We had 30 tables ,each designed by a different florist, event planner or caterer.

I have included a few photos of the event.

These are a couple of shots of the table which I designed. My fairy tale was the Snow Queen (I would be very surprised if any of you even knew the tale). It involved lots of snow flakes, ice crystals and snow coated red roses with icicle branches. I had menu cards printed on shimmery silver paper which I accented with 3 dimensional snowflakes and crystals. I even gave away hand-spun crystal snowflake ornaments to each guest that sat at my table.



This is a shot of one of the 2 Jack in the Beanstalk tables.

And here is The Princess and the Pea table. Very cleverly done- this one won the People's Choice Award.

This next one is the Ugly Duckling table- complete with a feather coated table cloth.

This is the Kama Sutra Table- not really a fairy tale but Enchanting at the very least- this actually won for best table. What you can't see is the fabulous canopy that the designer created over the whole table with dozens and dozens of lanterns suspended from above.

These last shots are of myself -with my co-chair Stephanie- being photographed by Baltimore InStyle magazine. Seeing as it was a fairytale theme we donned our wings.
After all, where else can a girl wear her fairy wings?


Now do you see what I mean about a big-ass fairy....And I don't mean Stephanie.

WHO TO BE...

With all of this talk going around in blogger land of choosing an avatar I decided to consider mine.

It was suggested that Jane Russell and Gina Lollobridgida would be perfect representations. I do suppose that we all three have a certain attribute in common,
uh-hum.


However, I think I can more closely relate to this one. After all there is a striking resemblance to my mother. Although I do look more like my Dad.
I think she's just VERY Italian-looking...as am I.

What do you think?

TEACH A MAN TO FISH......

On our last day in Alaska we decided to go on a salmon fishing trip.

Following are a few photos of the results.

Bringing the first silver in.

Me, proudly displaying my first catch!

This shot is some of the "loot" at the end of the day.


And this shot is of the same "loot" as it appeared on my doorstep.


Why do I mention this now you ask....well, because I just finished a dinner of our own caught salmon, grilled on cedar planks.

....And you feed him for a lifetime.
Chinese Proverb

5 A DAY

Time to get serious here...

After a summer of too much eating and drinking I have committed to changing my gluttonous ways.
So, Today I begin my 5 a day program.

A pretty good beginning, No?






These were all taken at the Vancouver Market on Granville Island.

Jellyfish, Smellyfish

What amazing creatures jellyfish can be.


These were quite artfully displayed at the Vancouver Aquarium. I tried to do them justice with my photography.




And one last shot of dancing anemones.

A CONSTANT CANVAS

The sky’s a constant canvas,
For nature’s subtle art,
As clouds perform their images
Before they drift apart.

Jim Jordan







“There is one spectacle grander than the sea, that is the sky; there is one spectacle grander than the sky, that is the interior of the soul”
Victor Hugo

All of these were taken in various locations throughout Alaska.