WWC: Orange & "N"

Well once again it is Tuesday and time for Tink's Weekly Word Challenge. This week the words are Orange & the letter "N".


Orange: Nothing rhymes with the word orange.


I don't imagine the maker of this fabric had that in mind when they created it though. In my mind, someone has to really like orange to wear this.

















This orange sign was in another shop window, I can honestly say I have never seen an orange apple though!










This orange sign may hold the clue as to why our neighbourhood is going to pot!





















And presenting the worst pizza in the city - and they have orange for their colour scheme! Coincidence? I think not.










Of course we can't do orange without the traffic cones!
















This is an outright lie! Obviously they are limited, they can't even keep their own sign lit! There are two "N's" there. Too bad it wasn't Neon too ;)








November - yeah, spring hasn't even arrived, we'll leave it at that!








N is for numbers too!
















Nitty Gritty Dirt Band!













Traffic rules have lots of "N's", I'll only show you one though.











That's all for today kids! If you would like to join the group, drop over and see Tink at Pickled Beef, she'll send you in the right direction.

Have a good day all.

The Name Game

I came across this at Dianne's blog, Forks off the Moment and thought it was kinda fun, so thought I would give it a shot.


1.Your rock star name (first pet, current car) - Patches Grand Prix

2.Your gangsta name (favourite ice cream flavour, favourite type of shoe) – Chocolate Stilletto

3.Your Native American name (favourite colour, favourite animal) – Lavender Jaguar

4.Your soap opera name (middle name, city where you were born) – Lynn Edmonton

5.Your Star Wars name (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 of your first name) Utare

6.Superhero name (2nd favourite colour, favourite drink) – Yellow Vodka

7.NASCAR name (the first names of your grandfathers) – John Edward

8.Dancer name (the name of your favourite perfume/cologne/scent, favourite candy) Sandalwood Bliss

9.TV weather anchor name (your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter) Barabash Beijing (I don't know if she was my teacher, but she is the only name I can remember that taught elementary school)

10.Spy name (your favourite season/holiday, flower) – Autumn Lilacs

11.Cartoon name:(favourite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now) – Apple PJ's

12.Hippie name (what you ate for breakfast, your favourite tree) – Cereal Willow

13.Movie (or porn) star name (first pet, first street where you lived) – Patches 107th Street


The porn name has never worked for me - we have always lived on numbered streets or avenues which is a bit boring. Some of the rest worked quite well though ;)

Have a good day all.

WWC: Black & Natural World

Wow, talk about tough assignments! This week's challenge is Black & "Natural World", as my natural world is still hibernating, I had to dig into the archives for a couple. Click on any to enlarge.



Why do we not paint houses black? We use black on trim and on roofs, but not the whole house?
You could go the the Behr site and play with colours yourself though, it looks not bad really ;)









We use black on cars and trucks too - as Henry Ford said "you can have any colour you want as long as it is black". (of course that is a dodge)












Black dirt is starting to show through in the natural world.










My Sister has a couple of black cows in her natural world.











The natural world has a use for black in places like this tree trunk.




















Sometimes man and the natural world are at odds....there is a frozen drain under all that water.













My Sister's clematis from her natural world.

















This evenings sunset with man imposed again on the natural world.









I like how the natural world chooses to light things in the evening.
















So, my prose was lame today, I apologise - I hope you enjoyed the photos though ;) If you would like to see more interpretations of the words or would like to join us, drop by and visit Tink at Pickled Beef, she is our talented host.

Have a good day all.

MTM: Old Strathcona - Part ... who knows?

This will probably be my last post on Old Strathcona. In my mind, I have saved the best for last, the old post office building.

Please click on any photo to enlarge.

It was started one year before Strathcona amalgamated with Edmonton in 1912, but not completed until the following year as Strathcona's Post Office and offices for Customs and Inland Revenue. The Strathcona Public Building was designed in the Edwardian Classical Revival style and was declared a Provincial Historic Resource in 1985.







This is a better shot of the clock tower.



I think I like the building so much because my eldest brother had a hand in having the building declared an historical resource.

I had hoped to get back and take some interior shots for this post, but ...the best laid plans. I will go ahead and post this today anyway as it is G's birthday!








Looking North along 105 street you can see the details that make this such an attractive building.

After the first re-purposing of the building, it housed a fabulous Italian eatery and several little boutique shops.















Looking east along Whyte Avenue, you can see the glass along the side walk, I believe it's purpose was to bring natural light into the basement.


The Italian eatery became so popular that it has now taken over the entire main floor of the building.




Short and sweet his week. Hope you enjoyed and if G reads this, maybe he can throw in a few facts for us. Happy Birthday brother dear.

If you would like to read more My Town Monday posts from around the world, please drop by Travis Erwin's blog, he is the mastermind behind all this.

Have a good day all.


Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV

I can eat again!

I'm home and all is well. Now I am going to sleep and eat. Maybe not in that order ;)

Have a good weekend all.

Making myself "camera ready"

WARNING: THIS IS A TMI POST

Today is going to be a shitty day! I can't eat anything solid, I have to drink juices and water and a vile concoction (that I can still taste), just to be ready for tomorrow. I still won't be able to eat tomorrow, at least until the afternoon sometime, so I imagine, I will be a bit cranky later.

Yes, you guessed it, tomorrow is the colonoscopy! Good thing it is only every five years, I don't think I could do this any more frequently. Having been though this three other times, I know there is nothing to it, but this time will be different. I have already had cancer once, this time I am thinking "what if they find more cancer". I never thought they would find cancer any of the other times. I am pretty sure they won't find it this time either, but...

The other weird thing going into tomorrow is that my friend won't be there to pick me up from hospital. He is the one that has picked me up every other time I have had this done. Ironically he died from undiagnosed colon cancer the same year I was diagnosed with breast cancer.

So, I have no idea how I will be getting home tomorrow, I assume they will want to make sure I have a ride from someone I know. In which case, I will be there until late afternoon as the only people I know with cars these days have to work - I wonder if they will feed me?

I will post on Saturday, don't expect to hear from me tomorrow.


Have a good day all.

Edit: got a call from a friend, she is able to take off of work a couple of hours early and retrieve me.

WWC: Diamonds & 1

The wildly wonderful colourful Tink is the host of the Weekly Word Challenge and this week she has assigned us the number 1 and the word Diamond. Now, never let it be said that I don't take my assignments seriously, I do research and put lots of thought and study into each and ...okay, so you're not buying that. Here we go, click to enlarge if you dare ;)



One got lonely, so he added a couple of friends.














Good thing the cop was busy, I am not sure they like having people take photos of their cars! "But, but, Officer, your car has a one on it and I do this thing on the net..."













The school sign board, my old standby, has something going on and the date has a one in it.
















Diamonds are everywhere, you just have to look for them, especially in ... parking lots?


















This is over the emergency exit of the school gym, I think it is one of those hazardous materials diamonds - sweaty kids inside!










We all know that diamonds are a girls best friend, but these diamonds appeal to guys too. Yes, under all that snow there is a ball diamond, you can just see the tops of the benches.



While doing my intensive research on this assignment (over at my friends for supper tonight) I happened discovered an article in the local newspaper indicating that the diamond mines in the Arctic are having some troubles, well, even in Africa I understand. The article is here, but the actual print edition had a very cool graphic of a diamond split in half. I took a photo of it, but alas, I only had my phone with me - I haven't yet loaded it onto my newish computer, so, it is still on the phone. What it boils down to is our government now owns three holes in the frozen tundra.





Diamonds? Maybe not, but this photo got a really cool flare.














Alas, these aren't diamonds either.








These wee little princess cut diamonds are the real thing though and my favourite cut for a diamond.















If you would like to join the wildly wacky crew of photogs, drop by and see Tink at Pickled Beef and she will set you on track.

Have a good day all.

My First Born!

Yes, it's here! After many hard years of labour, I have cut my first album and this is it!


Cover art to the left.


The band's name is:

Trithemis Pruinata
(a species of dragonfly)

The album title is:

Work on in Despair





You can make your own album by following these simple steps, it's actually fun and very silly.


1. BAND NAME: Go to "wikipedia." Hit "random article" or click HERE The first random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2. ALBUM TITLE: Go to "Random quotations"or click HERE The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.

3. COVER ART: Go to flickr, click "explore the last seven days" or click HERE The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

Have a good day all.

WWC: Nine & Desire

Tuesday is Weekly Words Challenge time, this weeks words are the number NINE (9) and DESIRE. I can consider myself fortunate in that I really don't find too much lacking in my life so my desires are fairly simple. As far as nine goes, it seems to keep popping up in my life ;)




For example, I can show you nine nails! Or digits if you prefer ;)















I stuff my feet into size 9's



















This is the ninth place I have lived on my own and it has the number 9 in the address.













This box has nine holes in it.
(me either, but, it had nine holes)



And just as a bonus, I was born in the ninth month ;)













I so desire spring this year, I had to show you a photo from last spring :(














I also desire to see flowers in the ground, not in vases.












I desire a road trip - to the mountains would just be a bonus.














My biggest desire right now is for my own transportation, I am not picky about what type either!













That's it! If you would like to join in the WWC you can drop by Tink's blog at Pickled Beef and she will set you on the road.

Have a good day all.

MTM: Old Strathcona - Part IV

If you recall I have done a few other posts on a district called Old Strathcona, it is a wonderful funky, area on the south side of the river in Edmonton that used to be, many years ago, a town in it's own right. The links for the other posts are at the bottom of the page. Please click on any photo to enlarge.

Strathcona Public Library

From old buildings declared heritage sites to new buildings designed to look like they are from the same era, Old Strathcona is a bustling busy place filled with people of every type.

We have jocks during hockey play-offs in spite of the arena being on the far north end of the city.

Being so close to the University we have all the students trying out various persona's, deciding who they want to be.

Historical designation

Off the main drag, it is a bit quieter and we find places like the public library.
















This is a mural painted on the back of a newer building, that depicts what the area might have been like back in the days of yore.

The artist is in fact someone my sister and I went to school with and he is quite well known throughout Alberta for his murals, his name is Tim Heimdal and this article on him, is pretty accurate.

Connaught Armory

Connaught Armoury was built in 1911-12 in the then separate city of Strathcona. It served as the base for one of Alberta's most famous regiments, the 19th Alberta Dragoons. The regiment served with great distinction in the First and Second World Wars. Like many cavalry regiments it was reorganized as an armoured regiment, and after 1945 it became known as the 19th Alberta Armoured Car Regiment. The building is a fine example of military building in Alberta, and presents a formidable, fortress-like appearance with its stylized roof crenellations, heavy brick and masonry walls, and formal entry porch.

Unfortunately the above is the only information I can find on the Armoury aside from plans to turn it into something else and a news article denying the Legion the building to house their hall, instead it was to be used as a youth shelter.

It is a great building, I hope they don't screw it up.








However, the entire area is taken over for the Fringe festival and many of these structures are turned into impromptu theatres.















Some of the old buildings have been re-purposed far from the original intent as seen here.














Some, are still being used as offices as they might have been when they were built.












New construction is being done in such a manner as to blend in with the old. Sometimes better than other times.








The Art Walk is held on Whyte Avenue and down 104 St, artists showcase their works on the street and show passersby what they are working on, or how they achieve certain results.








The bank even went as far as to have the date inscribed in a plaque on the front of the building ;)














I think that is quite enough for today. There is much, much more to know about Old Strathcona though, so look for more posts on it in the future. If you would like to revisit the other posts, they are linked here:

Part I
Part II
Part III


Have a good day all.

For more My Town Monday posts, drop by Travis Erwins blog, he is the genius that started us on this journey and many people from all round the world join us.