Bit O Orange

We've been doing autumn colour here recently, and I was hoping to see more on our recent stroll along the trail bridge. Disappointment awaited, but I found a few small spots. Orange was the colour of the day.

Sue was also impressed with the orange leaves.

Even our shadows from the bridge landed in orange, but that colouring required a little help from your beloved photo editor to bring out the desired colour. 😉

This delightful car was waiting beside ours when we were done walking. What a delight: a vintage VW Beetle! There was a sticker indicating that it had been connected with a tour of Brasil.

I tried changing the colour to orange, but it seemed a tad sacrilegious to interfere with this little beauty. 😇

A Little Autumn Jaunt

On Friday we did get ourselves and out automobile in gear and took our almost annual, little colour trip. We passed some nice stands of colour here and there, but passed is the operative word. Sometimes we just have appreciate glimpses as we drive by because there is nowhere to stop.

Despite those colourful sections, much of our usual route was past peak. For example: we have stopped at this spot many times over the past few years, but this is the least amount of colour that we have seen. Nevertheless, I like the photos well enough.

From there we drove along a very woodsy road. Here and there, we spotted some colour back off the road in the bush although the first photo was more or less along the road.

We came out of the more woodsy section where there is a fork. We always keep going to the right, but the copse between the two roads is rather nice.

Now look at what Adobe's latest version of Photoshop can do — eliminate wires. We we more or less always could do this, but it could be quite a procedure. In this case, I just told the app to remove wires, and it did just that in probably a minute or less. It didn't remove the two poles: both to the left and one very small in the distance. It was another step to remove the poles but not a difficult one.

Even though we were late in the season and did not see autumn at its best, it was a grand day to be out and about. Besides, we have already had the trip to the sugar bush, and we'll still be seeing colour here and there for a little while.

Caturday 69: Sabine is a True Canadian Cat

Good Canadians watch hockey. Even better Canadians play hockey. Sabine watches and plays. Sabine is a very good Canadian Cat.

This clip is cute but watch the cat, not the game.

Colour in the Park

While we didn't manage to get out for an autumn drive yesterday (maybe today!), we did go for a walk in the park. It was a sunny day, and the colours were pretty darn ... uh ... pretty. The final two photos were my favs of the day.

The first thing that we saw when we exited the car.
I find the two colours appealing.

This tree still had a lot of leaves.

Taking a picture of Sue taking a picture of a picturesque scene.

Trees lining the walking path, at least on one side.

Pretty nice backlight on this section of the tree.
I was trying to highlight the lighted section.

I like being able to see the bones of the tree within the colours.

Awake and Playing the Furnace Game

This morning when I got up at 2:30 (don't ask), I checked the temperature. The outside temperature was 4C/40 F, but more critically for me, it was 15.5C/60 F inside the house – not balmy for sure. I don't know how much cooler it got afterward, but I did notice that the house temperature was down another half degree and hour or so later.

I did not turn on the furnace but doubled and even tripled layered my apparel, and I also turned on the little heater under my desk – the one that is usually in the bathroom and will be again soon to heat it up before I shower. Hot coffee helped too, and I am actually snuggy warm as I compose this. In point of fact, I am almost too warm, so I think I shall disengage the heater for now.

Lacey just appeared from her downstairs bed. She has another bed here in my den, but she usually spends the nights down there. Our odd feeding ritual begins, and I handfeed her kibble even though her dish is just across the hall. Soon, when she is sated, she will head back down until morning comes. Odd human and odd cat pairing we are . . . And as predicted off she goes, disdaining the last four kibbles that I dropped for her.

If you can't tell already, we (Sue and I, not Lacey) are playing the silly furnace game again. The object is to put off running the furnace for as long as possible. Every day delayed is a small victory, and by golly, if you make it all of the way to November, you've won the game.

While there is no official prize, you get to feel very Canadian-proud of yourself.

If there were no weather relief in sight, I would be tempted to give up, give in, and put the furnace on, but starting later today, it looks like we are in for a warm week in which temperatures will reach the high teens C (or the mid 60s F). That is quite livable for us, at least in the short term.

When I picked up the thanksgiving pies on the weekend, I took a slight detour through the hamlet of Appleton and found a few sports of colour.

The next day, on my way to the grocery store, I took a photo of these trees around the corner from us.

Our plan for today is to take a a little colour trip into the more rural areas to see what we shall see. Our hope is to find some colour, even though it shall be past peak, which, in point of fact, was not actually all that peakish this year.

Hanging onto the Moments

We did our quasi daily stroll yesterday, just around the block, but a good-sized block, I guess you'd say.

It was nippy in the 7℃ (45F) weather, especially with a very stiff breeze blowing, but it was a good walk. As we neared the end, I actually felt almost exultant, for I was feeling less leg pain than I have in some time. Yes, there was pain, but no, it wasn't overbearing. Physio seems to be finally helping. Even my chronic foot, which is beyond help, was not at its worst on that day. Yay!

Dragging my leg along after me all summer has not been fun, but it was much less of a drag yesterday, and the diminution of pain buoyed my spirits.

It pleased me so much to be able to walk with less difficulty. I guess, for me it was Thanksgiving, just a day late. While I am not a candidate for the Appalachian Trail, it did feel good to walk more freely.

Maybe it was a one-off, and maybe the next walk will not go so well, but one grabs and hangs onto the moments that life offers.

I am thinking that it really is appreciating the little things that make a life a good life. I am mindful that even in the difficult phases of life, there may be brief moments when the sun chooses to shine and that those are the moments to hang on to.

A Thankless Thanksgiving Sleep but a Good but Messy Thanksgiving Nevertheless

Let us begin by considering why it came to be that I was puzzling over my finger whilst I was abluting in my Thanksgiving Day shower.

I was cogitating on my finger because I had just checked Sleepwatch, and it confirmed that my night wasn't the best when it reported that I had experienced only 4.2 hours of sleep. 

I know that I do go on and on about sleep or rather lack of same, but that was an unusual night, which I shall now explicate by telling you what my flippin finger has to do my sleeplessness, for on this occasion, it is my finger which is to blame.

Finger? you ask. How does that work AC?

Well . . . I was just settling in for the my Thanksgiving Eve repose when my ring finger decided that  would be a fine time to assert itself and wreck my night. I know it sounds stupid, but oh brother! how that finger attacked me. The sudden pain was quite fierce, and just when it it would abate for a few seconds and I would begin to relax, it would return with a vengeance. The sharpness and irregularity made sleep impossible for hours. 

Who can say why my own finger would decide to attack sweet, innocent me out of the blue like that, but attack me it defiantly did. I don't understand, for I think I've always been as nice to it as possible. I mean, we really do need each other. In point of fact, it needs me more than I need it. Are you listening, finger? So why it decided to attack me at bedtime must remain a deep mystery.

It's difficult to sleep when pain erupts like that, especially when you feel that you are getting some momentary respite but the pain then returns strongly and at length. I know that it is just a finger and that it sounds silly, but man-oh-man, it was so sharp and painful.

I actually handled the next day pretty well. I helped Sue with our Thanksgiving preparation by chopping the stuffing ingredients and stirring the gravy. We then ported our half of the meal over to the kids'. We would normally have it here but Sha was expecting a repair guy (who never showed), so off we went.

Sue did the turkey and stuffing and I brought the pies that I had purchased from the Ashton Church ladies' group. Meanwhile Sha and the kids had cooked the creamy, cheesy potatoes and roasted carrots. Everyone did a fine job, and the meal was quite superb.

The only hitch, and it wasn't a hitch for others, was that rather that sitting at a table as we would have done here, we ate from our laps because space is tight over there. At my advanced age and dodderiness, I think I am the only one who currently has a gravy-stained shirt in the wash.

Hoo boy! This post went in unexpected directions. I will have to see if there are any snaps worth sharing with you. I will look later today.