Merry Christmas!

To you and your family!
Thanks to everyone who visits here.
Have safe and fun holiday season!



Look at all the goodies! I'm pretty sure my mom makes the best butter tarts (and mincemeat tarts) on the planet!


Here's me, digging around under the Christmas tree:


...and what's Christmas without a photo of a cat with it's head in a stocking?

From the weekend

Saturday night:




Sunday afternoon:

Downtown Sunset

The Trouble with Photographing Cats

Last week, I decided to set up my small studio set and shoot some photos of the kitties. It sounds easy, sure. But the reality is, cats do exactly what they want to do, and they are very easily distracted. They soon grew tired of my fruitless attempts to sit them in a good position.











There were a few that turned out nice though:

Just because of the weather.

I haven't been updating my blog very much lately, and it's because of the weather. I like to do most of my photography outdoors. I haven't seen this much rain every day, since I moved here way back in the late 80's. I remember how miserable the weather was when I first started my job. I guess I've been spoilt by the relatively dry winter weather we've been enjoying on the west coast for the past few years, which caused me to forget that I live in a rainforest here. The rain really bums me out, having to work in it every day.

I did see the sunshine this morning though, so it's not all bad. I'm going to go out today with the camera and see what I can do.

Poor Little Guy!

This is 'Smokey Joe', a little stray kitten that was rescued by my sister and my parents. My sister's neighbor brought the kitten to my sister after finding it on the road. It was cold, starving and soaking wet, having been abandoned for days. My sister brought the kitten over to my parents home. My parents had to give this kitten some very intensive care, as it was suffering from malnutrition, dehydration and exposure from the cold, rainy weather. The poor thing was very close to death at that point.



My parents didn't think the kitten would even survive the night. My mom had to feed him with a special tube/dropper as it was difficult for it to eat.



Miraculously, it survived the night and his vital signs began to improve the next day.



I went there on Saturday afternoon and took these photos of him. He's still weak and so very tiny and thin, but he's come a long ways since they found him. He's a very sweet and affectionate little fellow, and he purrs a lot.





My mom told me he likes to curl up next to a heated pad that they have. The pad is one of those things you can put in the microwave oven for about a minute, and then it's nice and warm. So I warmed it up in the microwave, then I put the warm pad on the chair, and I carefully placed the kitten in it. Well, he loved it! He immediately curled up against the pad and shut his eyes.



Knowing how this little guy has suffered rips my heart out. I don't know how someone could so mercilessly leave a helpless kitten out in the cold and abandon it like that. If that person could only imagine the suffering it has endured.

My sister knows a guy who will take the kitten home on Tuesday. I hope his little life from now on is filled with love and caring.

Goodbye to Pie

Nobody loves apple pie more than I do. In fact, it may horrify you to know that I've been consuming a least 1 or 2 large apple pies a week on average.

Lately, there has been a lot of talk on the radio and in news papers about the dangers of hydrogenated oils in our food. I was curious, so I decided to see what all the fuss was about, by doing a google search. Well, I discovered there's good reason to fuss. The stuff is poison. The FDA knows it and so does the processed food industry. Yet it's still being used, and in many, many of the foods we eat.

But don't take my word for it, check it out here.

Today when I was grocery shopping, I found Hydrogenated or Partially Hydrogenated oil in every bakery product in the store. How lame is that?

So yeah, now I have to find some other tasty dessert to have with my after dinner tea. It'll be difficult to find something as lovely as apple pie. Perhaps I'll learn how to make my own.

Remembrance Day (Canada) November 11

I attended this year's November 11th Remembrance Day ceremonies again at Victory Square. This year I arrived there early and I was able to get a better view of the ceremony.

I don't think I need to say very much, as these photos speak for themselves, however, I will say that I am forever grateful to these men and women veterans, who fought to protect the freedom of all Canadians.











This is Pte. Ernest Alvia (Smokey) Smith. He is Canada's last surviving recipent of the Victoria Cross, awarded to only 94 Canadians for most conspicuous bravery or some daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self-sacrifice or extreme devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy. You can read his incredible story here.


























































Here is the lovely Mrs. Pamela Martin of CTV News (Vancouver) in a live interview during the Remembrance Day Ceremonies:




And one more of Pamela;