It’s a beautiful day in the neighbourhood. The smoke has gone, the sky is blue, and the leaves are golden. Who could ask for anything more?
Recent Posts
Newcomers Build Churches Part 2
I have previously posted some pictures of the many churches in my neighbourhood that are representative of the many different nationalities and faiths of the people who originally populated, and currently live in, Edmonton. Here are a few more.
California Smoke in Alberta
When I woke up this morning, the rising sun was orange. For the last few days we have been getting California’s wildfire smoke in Edmonton, Alberta, and it is expected to be worse this afternoon. It reminded me of the smoke we got from the Fort MacMurray fire in 2016, but this smoke has travelled […]
Thursday Doors: Tom’s Place
On 80th Street in Edmonton sits a large brick building on city land next to the light rail tracks. It is clearly disused now, but it still stands tall and stately. I first noticed it because I approached it from the north and my eye was first drawn to the graffiti above the loading bay […]
Arts On The Ave
While out and about this morning I came across a fabulous painting in an unexpected place. It was painted on a billboard in an otherwise ordinary convenience store parking lot and it took my breath away. I stood and looked at it for a long time. The image reminded me of rock formations I have […]
Newcomers Build Churches
The residential area close to the core of the city of Edmonton was first developed about a hundred years ago. Some of the houses in my street date back to the 1920s, and they were originally occupied by immigrants to Canada. Each group of newcomers settled close to each other and each new group built […]
Baby Steps in Courage
When we think about courage we are likely to imagine a big noble action: the athlete who performs a spectacular jump/dive/Hail Mary pass; the subordinate who stands up to the bad boss; the soldier who sacrifices their own safety for their platoon. Movies love this kind of courage, and it is often front-page news in […]
Falling For Autumn
The changing colours in the fall are always a delight. It’s nature’s way of softening us up before winter comes. Autumn is so beautiful we hardly even care that the summer is gone. This week is just the beginning of the lovely yellow leaves in my neighbourhood, and today was sunny and bright, so it […]
For All the Solo People
Covid-19 has given us all a new experiment in living. We are all (or most of us) trying to maintain social distances, wear masks, and wash our hands for twenty seconds. As the weeks and months have passed, we have gotten better at this. We now automatically make more space when we pass people on […]
Feels So Good
This morning I had a really good clear-out. Now, a bag of trash and two bags of recyclables are waiting for the garbage trucks. In addition, I just took to the thrift store two boxes full of miscellany, a bag of clothes, a recycling bin full of pots and pans, and a George Foreman grill. […]
Mixed Messages
A woman I don’t know just gave me the finger. The one-finger salute. She flipped me the bird. She flipped me off. She was walking past my driveway in the alley behind my house, and the security system whistled to let her know she had been seen. In response, she made that gesture towards the […]
Front Yard Fun
Some of my neighbours have a flair for three-dimensional imagery and whimsy. Here are some of the garden ornaments that have caught my eye in the last few months.
Northlands Urban Farm
A couple of weeks ago, when I was walking past the Northlands Urban Farm, I saw a woman leaving the farm with flowers peaking out from the top of her backpack. I asked her about the farm and if she had her own allotment; she explained that it was a shared community project. I wasn’t […]
Borden Park in Late Summer
It isn’t fall yet, but I can feel it coming. The sun is lower in the sky and I am seeing the first of the autumn leaves. Yesterday in Borden Park I was able to enjoy a lovely sunny morning walk among the trees. I also took a few photos of the flowers and one […]
What Do You Think?
Here are some of the things that made me wonder this week. I could try to come up with some reasonable explanations, but sometimes it’s more fun to think of unreasonable explanations.
The Power of Peace
Originally posted on Seclusion 101 with AnneMarie:
When I retired earlier this year I had plans for a grand and productive summer.?? My ‘to do’ list was impressive, to say the least.?? I also had high hopes that this would be my year for resolving major personal issues – health, family, finances.? Summer is coming to…
Biases Are Optical Illusions
Today I read something that made me stop and think. The behavioural economist Dan Ariely said: Behavioral biases affect everyone, including those of us who study them. Biases are like optical illusions: Even when we know what we’re seeing isn’t real, we can’t help seeing it. from Ask Ariely This goes a long way to […]
