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Friday, July 30, 2010

Where, oh where, can she be?

Jade Museum, in China.

Mayan Riviera, Mexico.

Sedona, Arizona, "with John Wayne"!!

Off the coast of Costa Rica.

Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Canada.

Snorkeling in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador.

Miami, Florida, 2005, "with Shaq"!

Eating again ...fish soup at Rosita's, San Felipe, Baja Norte, Mexico.

The coast of Alaska, on a whale-watching trip during our Alaska cruise.

Having my shoes shined, which I really needed. Quito, Ecuador

Las Vegas, Nevada, being serenaded by Sammy Davis, Jr. imitator.

San Diego Wild Animal Park, California.
Photo by Kay, all others by Richard Schear.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Around the World in Eighteen Minutes

Above, winter in Redcliff, Alberta, Canada, and a wild rabbit posing in front of the car. "Hey, I can't escape this weather, but you people can!"
Iguana in a tree in Costa Rica. No snow, just show.
Land iguana in Ecuador's beautiful Galapagos Islands, on the equator.
Toucan in a tree in Costa Rica.
Sled dogs near Whitehorse, in Canada's Yukon.
Capuchin monkey in the rain in Costa Rica. Yes, tropical rain forest.
Above, we saw hundreds of these "blue morph" butterflies in Costa Rica.
Gao Gao, the daddy panda in California's San Diego Zoo, lies on his back and flirts with the tourists. He loves to be the center of attention.
Back in Alberta, Lindy, our lovely dog, with her best friend, our granddaughter Kiana.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Artificial wildlife we have known and loved







Of course, you've really gotta love the chocolate lions, but the dragon flying over the beach was beautiful to watch.

Uh-oh, photophobia (then and now)

Now I've discovered I don't know how to add photos to my blog since blogger.com changed the process. I chose some pictures and tried to add them here. I tried twice, both times to no avail. I've posted hundreds of pictures here, but something has changed, and I haven't changed with it. Cannot go with the flow no mo' ...too bad. Will have to seek help from my fellow bloggers and get backatcha.

Later...
PHOTOPHOBIA NO MORE
Thanks to my friend Maria for giving me a nudge, so I knew my old tried-and-true method still existed. I had made a switch myself, so as to have 'wysiwyg' previews (what you see is what you get) but, unbeknownst to me, the switch also changed the photo uploading process. Unclicked a certain little box, et voila, I'm able to do photos once more. "Sigh," as I have been known to say.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Writer's Block (or maybe Blogger's Block)

At the end of last year, and the beginning of this year, I was so excited about blogging I managed to find something new to add almost daily. Now, even though I have plenty to blog about, I've run up against the dreaded brick wall called Writer's Block. I don't know how it happens, and I don't know how to change it. I just hope it doesn't last much longer.
Once, in the 1980s, I hit a similar brick wall and actually sought professional help for it. Back then, even though I had computerized typesetting equipment at my day job, my "home work" was on an electric typewriter, and I had to make a carbon copy.
In desperation, I flew a friend in from a long distance to try something called Neurolinguistic Programming on my bad case of writer's block. I was sure it wouldn't help, but I was willing to try anything. After giving my friend the spare key to my apartment, I went to work as usual.
When I came home, and unlocked my apartment door, I was met with a "wall" of newspaper blocking the doorway. Facing me was a note reading "This is your brick wall, you have two minutes to break through it, sit down at your typewriter and write a paragraph." Or maybe it was "write a sentence" -- it was a long time ago, but I remember being so blocked I couldn't write a word, so I figured I might as well give it a try.
Once inside, I could see my typewriter had been moved and unplugged, and other things (chairs, if I recall correctly) had been piled upside down on top of the table where I usually sat. I managed to get my chair and the typewriter into place, sit down, insert two sheets of paper with carbon paper between, and write what was required of me within the specified two minutes.
So, okay, I didn't write The Great Canadian Novel, but something about the hustle and bustle of getting in, moving my chair, moving the typewriter and plugging it in, made me burst past or through my writer's block. I don't know if it was any sort of example of NLP or just a trick played on me by my friend, but it helped.
I doubt if such a thing would work for my present Blogger's Block. When I come home now, I don't burst through anything. I don't have the energy for bursting, so I'm glad there's no paper wall, but I do have to get past a bouncing golden retriever, over a pile of shoes in the hall, through an untidy kitchen, past a dining table piled high with teetering stacks of books and papers, then into my computer chair without twisting my ankle, breaking my neck, or developing muscle spasms in my chest. Once here, I'm so tired I can barely breathe, never mind write. It's a dog's life, I tell you, but stay tuned. The unfittie will be back, I really will.
The unfittie then and now. What a difference a day makes.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Beauty here at home

Above, redwinged blackbird high atop a tree.


Photos by Richard Schear.





Below, the prairie wind blows Lindy's golden curls until they're almost straight.

While we make plans to visit other parts of the world, we could easily forget the scenic beauty here at home if my husband didn't take his camera with him as he walks our golden retriever, Lindy. Following an unusually rainy May and June, the prairie desert of southeastern Alberta is lush and green in contrast with the wind-carved rock formations. Dick and Lindy are especially delighted when they spy wildlife. Lindy is fascinated by the deer, wants to chase the wild rabbits, and ignores the birds in the coulees west of our neighborhood.