A day early, but couldn’t resist posting my favourite muppet rendition of Oh Danny Boy for St. Patrick’s day.  Beaker’s song always cracks me up!  So, raise a Guinness my friends and enjoy.  Slainte!

Just discovered soulpancake – perfect for this Pancake Tuesday!!   I like their tag: “Our brain batter of art, culture, science, philosophy, spirituality and humoris designed to open your mind, challenge your friends, and feel damn good.”  Here’s a video that will give you a little lift for the day…enjoy!

This weekend was amazing!  As one who is greatly affected by the weather, it was wonderful to be able to get outside and enjoy the thaw.  I was even able to go biking around Cootes Paradise.  In January!  I was also challenged by a friend to hunt down some photos for some fun.  It was so beautiful outside, I couldn’t help but wander around and take advantage of the beautiful weather by engaging on a photographic excursion around the neighbourhood. I received a list of some bizarre words to spark my imagination and off I set to capture images based on the random words.  The first photo here is a bit of a cheat though… I found it on my memory card, but I think it captures the essence of a fuzzy dizzle-winkle, don’t you?

The other words were: crack, former festive, thaw, water, up, communication, out of place, unexpected colour, and St. Francis’ place of prayer…there’s a whole list yet to explore, but it sure was nice to go photogging for fun this past weekend!

Unexpected colour:

Out of Place:

Water:

St. Francis’ Place of Prayer:

Communication:

Thaw:

Crack:

(another) Crack:

Former Festive:

This week has been a bit all over the place.  Intense conversations. Silly laughs. Stress. Forced relaxation. Work.  Sleep.  On Monday, I lost a coin toss with my sweetie and was bound by the code of the coin to make supper for us.  Having a lot of veggies left from my good food box, I made up some salad and manicotti…and threw in a couple of glasses of whiskey for us as an aperatif for good measure.  Did I mention that we had been participating in a spiritual fast that day?  So no food  all day + whiskey made for a very giggly Jen. Then it was on to The Commons to make some music and practice some original material by the commons collective.  So fun!  Yet, still challenging for me as I continue to re-learn how to play and try to strengthen my sound.  Things are still forced, but in time, the natural cadence of the music will come through.  I will learn to trust my instincts and feel the music more and more, rather than clumsily remember which notes go where.  When life gets hard and really, really sucks at times, I cling to that knowledge that though tough now, in time, the soul of the music of my life will one day be played with ease.  I just need patience and practice. And sometimes whiskey induced giggles help it along too.  The challenge is to find the laugh along the way. Like today for example.  It’s 12:12:12.  ‘So what?’ some might argue.  ‘Not a big deal.’  I know it’s not really,  but we should take any opportunity we can get to celebrate.  So make sure you do something to mark today and celebrate for no good reason.

It’s time for another road trip!  I’m packing up my gear and hitting the road.  A little music.  A little Guinness.  A LOT of sunshine. And hopefully a whole bunch of laughs as we travel the highways of life.  We’re outta here  for a little break to enjoy the summer for a few days – hope you enjoy it too.

This weekend was a very special one for me.  Not only was it a fabulously gorgeous long weekend, but it was the one year anniversary of the dreaded “dog bite incident” of 2011.   In true Jen style, I wasn’t about to let a bad experience get me down.  If I did, I probably wouldn’t leave the house!  As one young friend of mine recently noticed, “bad things happen when you’re with Jen.”  So, while on the way to see some wonderful community fireworks, I stopped at the Mary St. bridge to remember the day and challenge the old memory with the redemption of a fun excursion.  Victory!  While the bite was scary and painful at the time, it’s now a cherished part of my story that I’ll carry with me.  And I’ve got really cool scars now to prove it.  🙂

Yes, it is today!  National High Five Day is finally here!  So, get your palms up and make some new friends.

I did it!  Finally!  Though it was shaky and teary for a bit, I managed to climb on top of the roof!  Last year I tried it, but was so panicked from the height and the certainty that I would plummet to my demise, that I chickened out.  But not today.  After last year’s crutchy experience, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to try again.  But today on this beautiful, sunny day, old leftie came through for me and gripped those shingles without fail.  It was so worth the moments of panic to experience the serene beauty of the city from up there. I wasn’t sure I could get down, but thanks to a very patient Pete, who was my safety and cheerleader, I descended successfully.   Sadly, I couldn’t carry my camera up as I had a death grip on the slopey roof, but Pete was able to snap this pic of me.  They say you should do something you fear everyday…. check!