Widow's Endorphins: Lassie, Come Home

Widow's Endorphins: Lassie, Come Home: I took myself for a long walk around the old neighbourhood...a farewell tour.  I'm moving next month.  After nearly a quarter cen...

Lassie, Come Home

I took myself for a long walk around the old neighbourhood...a farewell tour.  I'm moving next month.  After nearly a quarter century in Toronto, I am moving back home, to Vancouver!  Of course, Toronto has never looked more beautiful than it did on this magnificent Autumn day. 

I stopped outside a church on Yonge Street, and photographed the beautiful, delicate colours of the garden.  Pink and mauve are not thought to be Autumn colours...and yet, here they are in all their glory...

The Chrysanthemums weren't the only colourful Fall plants in the garden.  Ornamental Cabbage and Kale were also putting on a show.  They look similar, however, the floral cabbage has smooth leaves, while the kale has frilly leaves (now you know).  

They look good enough to eat.  Just don't.  They're disappointingly bitter.  It's better to buy or grow the edible varieties of cabbage and kale, and leave the ornamental ones as a feast for the eyes.

Lavender is still growing in the late October garden.  It looks amazing standing tall alongside a blazing red shrub.  The shrub is called, Burning Bush.  The gardener who planted it in front of the church, must have had a chuckle.

On my way back, I passed a beautiful Sheltie, quietly waiting outside a grocery store near the busy intersection of Yonge and St. Clair.  I stopped in mid step, turned, and walked back to ask the woman holding his leash, if I could photograph him.

You can do that in Toronto...approach a stranger to ask a question, or in my case, a favour.  Toronto may be bitterly cold, but the people of this city are warm and friendly.  I'll miss them.

The call to Vancouver is strong...it's saying, "Lassie, come home!"

 

Alas, Lassie was a Collie, not a Sheltie.  This beautiful dog is smaller than a Collie, standing about 14 to 16 inches from shoulder to ground, and is, according to a friend who used to raise and show them, a fine Sheltie.  Collies are much bigger.  I took a little poetic license!  Even more so, when you consider that I am the lass, in Lassie come home!  

Photographs Copyright of:  Ruth Adams, Widow's Endorphins Photographic Images Inc.

Widow's Endorphins: Giving Thanks for Friends and Family

Widow's Endorphins: Giving Thanks for Friends and Family: I can still see the sunlight pouring into the large hospice room at Toronto's Princess Margaret Hospital, and hear the music of Q...

Giving Thanks for Friends and Family

I can still see the sunlight pouring into the large hospice room at Toronto's Princess Margaret Hospital, and hear the music of Quebec icon Felix Leclerc playing softly.  Five years ago today, I was alone in that room, as my husband quietly drew his last breath.  

In the days, weeks, months and years which have followed, I have never been alone.  I have been blessed with loving, kind and thoughtful friends and family members - old and new - who, no matter where in the world they live, are there for me, offering their guidance, encouragement, support, hugs and humour!   

It is the beginning of Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, and I am deeply grateful for the people in my life.  Each of you, in your own special way, makes a difference in my life.  I love you all. 

Photographs Copyright of:  Ruth Adams, Widow's Endorphins Photographic Images Incorporated. 

Widow's Endorphins: Dried Up and Refreshed

Widow's Endorphins: Dried Up and Refreshed: True confession:  I have bags of this stuff.  Dried rose petals.  Decades of decayed roses.  Take a good, long look because they&#...

Dried Up and Refreshed

True confession:  I have bags of this stuff.  Dried rose petals.  Decades of decayed roses.  Take a good, long look because they're going into the garbage.   My sentimentality regained it's sanity, when I realized that I no longer remembered which dried rose petals came from which bouquet, or why I'd preserved them in the first place.  Which birthday was this from?  Who gave me these?  Was this from Christmas, or Valentine's Day?  Did I grow this rose on my balcony? 

Their colours have faded over time, and my sentimental petals have lost their scent.  Their time is up.  It's not as if they haven't been useful.  I've scattered the petals across dining tables, sprinkled them with essential oils, and even used them in photo shoots -  quelle surprise! 

 

While scattered rose petals herald the arrival of a bride down the aisle, these dried petals will be unceremoniously dumped into the disposal bin of my building.  I feel no remorse.

It is the memories of happy times, not the keepsakes which are important.  I am keeping that in mind, as I declutter my home.  Change is coming, and I am embracing change! 

Photographs Copyright of:  Ruth Adams, Widow's Endorphins Photographic Images Incorporated.

Widow's Endorphins: I Heard It Through the Grapevine

Widow's Endorphins: I Heard It Through the Grapevine: I heard it through the grapevine that 5.13 Billion people have mobile devices.  That's more than 66% of the world's populati...