I'VE MOVED

and the new address is...

http://grannyfiddler-northofsanity.blogspot.com/


with difficulties fromt the company filters, etc making photo downloads very tricky, and being now the proud mama of a beautiful Sony alpha 100 digital camera, i just can't NOT do pictures on my blog anymore.

so stop in for tea some time

Tis the Season

in blog-cruising over my morning cuppa, wandered past a site inviting a haiku for the season. not a particularly gifted poet myself, i don't often attempt this, but was struck by a bolt of (i thought) inspiration. all things being relative, we must keep in mind that inspiration for a non-poet does not rank highly among those gifted by the muse, but i like it, so here it is.


season's gluttony
wholistic oblivion
darkening my soul

where are Peace, Love, Joy?
few wise ones are wandering
with gifts not pillage

look to the children
gift them with ancient wisdom
love of man and earth



and on a less serious note, i've finally got my new Mac, AND the beautiful digital SLR i've been lusting after for just ages, so am hoping over the holidays to learn how to use the things well enough to update the look of my blog and post a few pictures

Merriest Christmas!
make your feast hunred-mile style
gifting from the heart

biofuel

we had our 2nd annual biofuels conference last weekend. one of the guest speakers was Lyle Estill, who made a big impression last year, and didn't let us down a bit when he returned for an encore. here's his site.


http://energy.biofuels.coop/

grief

several of my violin students yesterday evening were uncharactaristically low-key. i learned later from the last student - an adult - that there had been a motor vehicle casualty in the community. then this morning, i learned of another. the son-in-law of a good friend @ work was in a head-on collision last night after dark in freezing rain. the driver of the other vehicle was his mother. both were killed. can things get more macabre than that? what are the chances? this young man and his wife have a baby girl only a few weeks old.

the freezing rain continues to fall.

the alberta rednecks continue to drive in it, far to fast. because their trucks have 4 wheel drive and snow tires, and because they're invulnerable. it will never happen to them.

sometimes the universe is a scary place.

9 sleeps

only 9 more sleeps till the sold house (and lovely money for said sold house) changes hands. every penny within my reach screams for mercy till then. but the deep freeze and the jelly cupboard started the season full, and the cupboards were far from bare, so granny's no leaner than before.

the sky out my window is ash-grey and moodily dripping. there's a strip of pale blue rubbing its way through along the bottom, above soggy fields of dull gold stubble. the crops were good, i hear, and the rain has held off till most of our farmers had them harvested and the work of their labors in the bins, thanking the gods of technology for their grain driers. most of the grain is too wet to store for long, so now begins the long, noisy, messy, energy consumptive job of running it through these monsters to bring the moisture content down. they look a bit like beheamouth drums from clothes driers, and work the same way. the grain is tumbled and blasted with hot air till it's dry enough that it won't catch fire or ferment in the bins.

in something over 9 sleeps i'll be able to further illuminate you with digitally stored blinks worth a thousand words.

the repetetive stress injury is healing nicely; i'm looking forward to returning to my blogsite regularly.... soon.

happy autumn to those in the north - happy spring to those down under; wishing rainy blessings to those in need of heaven's tears.

nope

attachment didn't work

down time

during a 2 1/2 week stint as fill-in for the Payroll dept while someone was holiday, i seem to have developed a repetetive stress injury in my right hand. i guess working at someone else's station, which was not set up for me, was enough to do it. so i'm on 'modified duties', have a hand splint to wear, must take anti-inflamatory drugs, and won't be keyboarding much for a time. not that i've been posting much of late, but i won't be able to comment on the posts of others either, which i'll miss very much. so, for those who care, though you may not hear from me, i'll still be checking in on you, because life would just be too dull without you.



on the up side, i think i've just stumbled on a way to attach pictures from my computer files, so maybe i'll post some images instead of words

:o)

i miss chatting with you already

after several frosts

there's a snap in the air. a cold snap. we can no longer live in denial. it's autumn

autumn's a nice enough season... it would better loved if it stayed longer, and didn't precede winters that seem a century long... that would make me something over 5000 years old... hmmm... happily, i don't look my age.

so, with the intent of finding silver linings, seeing the cup half-full, walking on the sunny side of the street, etc i've made myself a list of things i love about autumn.

no bugs
the air smells like spring water tastes
it's not too warm for wooly sweaters and tights, corduroy, quilted fabrics, all of which i'm partial to
all the kids are excited about school, and wearing their funky new clothes
new pencils, crayons, pens, gadgets
new books
new friends
new things to learn
all the new seasonal clothes are everywhere. Everyone tries to look good
you don't get all sweaty and smelly going for a walk
you're actually looking forward to winter, just a little
scenery is spectacular
rivers lose their summer silt and run clear (till they freeze solid)
cranberries are ripe
you can see an end to the yard and garden work - don't have to mow the lawn every second day
farming's nearly over
fishing's over (memories of the Yukon - pulling the last of the salmon from nets crusted with ice)
Thanksgiving
Halloween
Christmas comes after Thanksgiving and Halloween
if you live in a tourist town, the tourists are gone
snuggling under a thick quilt with a hot cuppa and a good book
smells of good food cooking, as you walk from the cool outdoors to the warm indoors
sitting in the warm indoors, looking out at the cold outdoors, thankful for home
the light that shines from the window of your home, as you walk towards it in the dark
cold weather foods
stew with dumplings or mashed potatos
fresh baked pie, bread, muffins, biscuits
roasted meat
thick soups
cookies, still warm from the oven
hot mulled apple cider
hot chocolate
pasta with thick sauce and meatballs; lasagne
dolmathes
scalloped potatos
eggnog
hearty breakfasts - porridge, waffles, french toast, pancakes, bacon, sausage and eggs
the irish band i play with actually has time to get together for practices, because it's too cold to do anything else
i'm inspired with ideas for my violin students, after the summer break
sharing all the above with people we love