Merry Christmas!

Regardless of where you are and how you plan to spend it, have a safe Christmas and enjoy yourselves!  I'll have some photos to post once they have been edited.  By the way, this image is one of a series that I took in Surrey, BC after a weekend snowstorm.  The header spot currently used is from the same time period (November 2006).  Have a wonderful holiday season, and spread that warmth and hospitality around!!! - V

winter is nearing but...

Although winter is nearing we haven't seen any snow on the ground here in the valley, well, anything that's going to stay that is.  This is how Queens Park looked like after a snowfall but this was a couple of years ago.  The best we can do now is a few frosty nights.  Well, we know Jack Frost has been busy!  The mountains on the other hand have had plenty of snow.

Friday evening after work I stopped by the pharmacy in downtown Vancouver to pick up the rest of my meds. Then it was a quick stop at Chapters before starting the homeward journey.  On the train I saw this cute blond-haired guy with green eyes sitting in the opposite row of seats, you know, a dark brown leather jacket, blue denim jeans and the hair swept forward.  I got off at Sapperton station to head over to the grocery store and he stayed on likely heading over to Lougheed station like a lot of other hotties!

Today has been spent taking it easy, not doing anything especially straining or stressful.  I bought another small tree to dress the dining room table for the season, a cypress with a lighter green foliage than the one I have had for a couple of years.  I once had an Italian cypress tree that was bought as a small 8 inch tree in 2000.  It had blue-green foliage and was re-potted twice before I sold the house and left it with the new owners.  I would leave the tree outside from early spring until late autumn (usually October) and then bring it inside for the winter to spent its time in the front bay window.  It was around 3 feet tall when I gave it away, like I did with my other plants, though I should have given some of them to my cousin, as I later found out.  He and his wife would have appreciated them.

So, how's your weekend been? - V

snow!

There's snow in the forecast for us here on the west coast, more in the upper elevations and just a dusting for the valley, but we will see how this all translates in reality.  It may be a different world by Monday evening but then the rest of the country has had its share of the white stuff, so its our turn.  With Cypress Mountain resort open early and likely others to follow soon, the skiers should be very happy!

Meanwhile, as the weeks go by it is getting colder and colder at night and the day time not as warm.  We've had a few frosty nights this month so far and can expect more.  I was just checking The Weather Network and temperatures on the prairies are cold, extremely cold, in the -20 to -30 range.  All this is on top of the snow they've had over the weekend.  For us it won't get as cold as all that but we have heard that our winter will be drier and colder than most winters previous.  Let's see what happens!

Good Night, guys! - V

another December image

Here's another photo I took in a series of shots from December 1988.  The scene is a second floor apartment in a house owned by a friend of mine from high school.  I shared the apartment with a friend from my high school days and a student from Newfoundland.  We all seemed to get along.  Then our landlord wanted to move into that unit because it had three bedrooms while his only had two.  His wife was expecting a child and the extra room was needed.  He offered his unit or another one for my friend and I but my friend wanted nothing to do with it, so no agreement was possible.  If I had known that from the beginning, I would have looked for another apartment.   As it was, this one was a short bus trip to work or a 20 - 25 minute walk away.  It was handy as far as the laundromat was concerned and shopping.  As with a lot of images, there are a lot of memories with this and the other one.

Like my previous image from the same period this one was taken on the second Advent in December, which in our case, that month is just around the corner.  My how quickly the year has passed.  I know the Christmas season will soon be upon us but have you made thoughts of what resolutions you might make for the coming new year, 2012? - V