Things Not to Hate About Summer

I love living on the West Coast of Canada and being able to witness all seasonal changes. I derive immense pleasure observing earthly cycles complete with varied colours, scents, and temperatures.
Each season has its own magic which I embrace and appreciate.
However, when my energy level has been obliterated by the summer heat and I am covered in sticky damp sweat then I find myself cursing summer and counting the days until Autumn. Summer is the only time you will ever hear me complaining about the weather. In an effort to be more proactive about the rapidly approaching season I thought I would make a list about some of the positives of Summer:


Things I Love Like Tolerate Like About Summer


1.  Ladybugs

2.  Raspberries

3.  Smell of freshly mown grass

4.  Hanging baskets

5.  The feel of the evening air

6. Autumn is around the corner

7. Anytime is Mojito time

8. Leaves swaying in a light breeze

9. Blueberries

10. Blossoms, buds, petals - garden poetry

11. Fresh local garden produce

12.  Sunshine (not the withering energy-sapping sweat inducing kind but the pleasant warm life affirming type)

13. It's light out late

14. The feel of sun on my face

15.  Autumn is approaching

16.  Evening picnics

17.  How the sun makes chocolate soft and even more delectable

18.  Summer skies

19.  Watching dragonflies dart through the air

20.  No jackets!

A Penny for Your Thoughts???

Now that the Canadian Government will cease minting pennies later this year, will the following sayings become redundant or can some of them be amended to reflect current currencies?:-

1.  A Penny for Your Thoughts?
Will this be missed? Truly? C'mon admit it. . . you're pretty sure your thoughts are worth a heck of  lot more than a mere penny.

2.  My Two Cents Worth
Hmmmmm, usually when people say they want to give their two cents worth, you're glad they stopped there, and not given you the full dollar.

3.  He Was a Bad Penny
What is a 'bad' penny anyways and how do you know if you have one? Does it bully the other pennies and tell them their heads are too big? Does it make inappropriate comments about getting a piece of 'tail'  in front of the queen?

4.  See a penny
     Pick it up
    And all the day
    You'll have good luck,

   See a penny
   And let it lay
   And bad luck
   Will come your way.

Really??!  Last time I bent over to pick up a penny I was almost flattened by a speeding truck.

5.  A Penny Earned is a Penny Saved.
Okay, good advice. But where's the fun in that???

6.  In For a Penny; In For a Pound
Much more current is 'Go Big or Go Home' which isn't restricted to any one country's monetary system.

7.  Penny Wise; Pound Foolish
A keeper!!!! Any saying that gives me an excuse to spend more money is worth preserving!

8.  When the Penny Drops
Most people don't even notice/care when they drop a penny. Now maybe if that was amended to a loonie..........(or better yet - a chocolate loonie).

9.  He Was Bright as a Penny
Only applicable if you are talking about someone 12 months or younger. Look at your loose change.... do you even see a 'bright' penny?

10.  Cost a Pretty Penny
What they'd buy? A single caramel? An unwrapped previously licked lifesaver? A rusty nail at a garage sale?
This one definitely needs to be amended to: 'Cost a Pretty Grand'.

11. .....Don't Have Two Pennies to Rub Together

Ouch! They needed to heed #5 a bit more carefully.

12.  A Penny is a Lot of Money if You Haven't Got a Penny

Yeah, because that rusty nail and half sucked life saver aren't going to buy themselves.

              - If you offer him a penny for his thoughts you'll get change back -

What Not to Wear

Things I Have Inadvertently Worn in Public:

1)   Two different earrings. Long dangly ones. With short hair. In other words a near-sighted-eye-patch-wearing pirate with a cataract could have spotted them a mile away. Wore them throughout an entire shift at work and did not notice until I arrived home. Not ONE customer or co-worker mentioned it. Am I that weird that the public just figures it is part of my 'fashion' sense?

2a)  A t-shirt front-to-back. And not one of those plain t-shirts where it might be hard to distinguish. Oh no. This had a pocket on the front. Which now was on my back. Where a sign saying, 'Help! I Cannot Dress Myself!' was placed by a bystander.

2b)  To complete the above outfit I was also wearing my yoga pants inside out. With tags, seam stitching, etc, visible for the entire public to see. And yes, it was a day that required me to do errands after leaving the gym.

3)  Two different shoes to work. And no I wasn't wearing pants that may have covered them. . . I was wearing a dress.
And a red face when I finally noticed.

4) You know those sizing strips that you see on some garments? Long skinny tags that denote the size? You could have seen them on my new jeans.....size XL....when I was out doing errands all. day. long.

5) Price tags. On various garments throughout the years. Interestingly no law enforcements types ever stopped me on suspicion of shoplifting but I always wondered why people would say, 'Hey, you got a new top!' and then be able to tell me where I bought it and what I paid for it.

I could be an entire season for Stacey and Clinton.

A Walk on the Beach

Last autumn, while walking along Siesta beach Florida, Jeff Hindman discovered a 100-lb. 8 foot fiberglass Lego man washed up on the shore. The bright yellow, green, and red figure had the slogan, 'NO REAL THAN YOU ARE' emblazoned on his front and the name EGO LEONARD with the number 8 on its back.


Initially it was thought that this was a publicity stunt by Lego Land which had recently opened a new publicity theme park in Orlando but Julie Estrada, spokeswoman for Lego Land said Lego Land could take no credit for the stunt and is not involved in any way with Ego Leonard.

Ego Leonard has  his own site and here is where the largest clue as to who the creator of Ego lies. I will let you don your own Sherlock Holmes hat and figure it out for yourself.

There have been other discoveries of Lego men washing up on beaches including a 2007 discovery in the Netherlands and later in England.

Ego was apprehended by authorities (yes really!) and held in detention for 90 days and then if not claimed was to be released to Jeff Hindman.

This leads me to wonder what other quirky things could wash up on a beach? An 8 foot Barbie? Of course she wouldn't weigh 100 lbs like Ego Leonard but a more Barbie-happy weight of 40 lbs and would be clad in a metallic gold bikini with rhinestone sunglasses perched on top of her blond head.

How about a gigantic fiberglass shark? With a bitten-off surf board extending from his jaws? Certainly would be more meaningful than those 'Danger. Sharks in area' signs.

What about a colossal-sized Stephen Harper?
Maybe on that aforementioned surf board.