Slow News Week

Well after all the events of the last week and a half it is kind of nice to have a slow news week once more.

Cheryl and I ventured out last Sunday, I foolishly thought the weather forecast said minus 7, but in actual fact is was minus 17 and then some! I only wore the one pair of jeans and my legs were pretty much numb for most of the day! We went down to a local park called The Dingle and took a few shots there, then went on to Herring Cove and finally to The Heart Shaped Pond...Which was a tad tricky as I couldn't see where the snow ended and the pond began, thankfully I didn't fall in! After being out in all that cold air we had built up an appetite and headed off for a late brunch.

I was surprised to see the roads were still in quite bad shape as we traveled around the City, I think it is possibly the worse clean up job I have seen to date as usually they are pretty good at getting those ploughs out on the roads, I am guessing that with all the chaos on Friday it made it difficult for the ploughs to actually get out and about and do their stuff.

Talking of the City, Radio Station Q104 caused a bit of a stir this week. They ran an advert saying that HRM would be fining people on a per bulb basis if they didn't take down their Christmas lights by the end of the January. Many people, including me believed it, and I thought it was a great idea! I just cannot stand folk that leave up their Christmas lights all year round, it's just plain tacky in my opinion.

Sadly though the City officials had nothing to do with this ad and it was all a prank...But I think at least some people did take down the lights...lol

A quick word about Celebrity Big Brother. I loved this series and am gutted it has ended. Pleased that Denise won but was actually hoping that Frankie might win come the end. I couldn't stand that boy going in and I loved him by the end of it. Funny how in 3 weeks opinions can change eh?

I am a bit low on reality shows to watch right now which is making me a bit twitchy. I think new series of Survivor, The Voice and Dancing with Stars start soon, thank god!


The Dingle


A Bit Parky :o)


Beautiful Prospect!

Epic Journey

Well, from not much happening around here, it's been all change this week. It all started on Friday 12th January when I found out at work that there were going to be some redundancies and that I was possibly going to be one of them, but I was also told that they didn't want to lose me at all, which was nice!

The redundancies would affect not only the Halifax branch but the Dartmouth branch as well, and that there was a possibility that I may get transferred from Halifax to Dartmouth.

I took all the news in my stride surprisingly. My normal mode would be full on panic, but I think I had been expecting this since October of last year when Suzanne returned from maternity leave, so it wasn't really a shock, anyhow, I just decided to wait and see what would happen.

I had Monday off for my appointment at the hospital regarding my ankles, it was actually an ultrasound not a sonogram as I kept calling it. I asked the woman doing it if she could see what was wrong and she said it was a major thickening of the tendons, but the results will be passed on to my doctor and if it is something that needs addressing further he will call me...?

The same day I also signed up with a staffing agency in preparation for losing my job. They were really nice and hopeful of finding something for me even if it's temp work. I also started applying for new jobs online, as yet I have yet to hear anything from them.

Tuesday I went into work and was immediately told I was being transferred on Wednesday. This came as a shock to all of them in the office. Vickie I think was the most annoyed and upset by it as we have such a great working relationship. In truth though they were all upset, which was quite touching.

Wednesday I started in Dartmouth, I was nervous driving in as I didn't know what to expect. I already knew some of the people over there, so it wasn't like I was heading completely into the unknown. So far I have really enjoyed my first few days there getting to know people and finding my groove. I have my own little office and have been billing and helping out where I can. Their filing is in disarray, so I am sorting that out for them and as of next week I will also be helping out with large format B/W printing, this would involve finding the files in the database and sending them to print for the girls to collate and bind for rush orders.

Yesterday, Friday....it snowed quite a bit, I cleaned my car off around 4.30pm (in a blowing blizzard) and left work at 4.45pm to start my journey home, I kid you not, the journey to and from work normally takes no more that 10 minutes, but yesterday because a large percentage of Nova Scotian drivers cannot seem to drive properly, there were accidents just about everywhere on all major routes, and my 10 minute journey home turned into an epic 2 hours and 15 minutes.
I have no patience and I was literally going mad in the car! If I were a cartoon there would have been steam coming out of my ears.

Everywhere is white today outside, it looks really pretty and tomorrow is supposed to be really sunny so I think Cheryl and myself are going to head out to Peggy's for some more picture taking, hence I am updating the blog early this week.


Bleak House - Terence Bay Lighthouse


Blue Rocks, Red Shack


Across the Rooftops at Peggy's

Weather and Not Much Else

Boy oh boy, this week has been boring. I don't really have any news for you sadly.

The weather has been weird, we had a load of snow this week on Thursday night, it started as I left work and went right through till the small hours, the snow was blowing all over the place, and you would would be forgiven for thinking we would be digging ourselves out in the morning, but no. It turned to rain before the sun came up and the temperature soared to a very pleasant 8 degrees. I say pleasant, as with the wind chill this week we have been down to minus 15 on some days. So the snow came and went very quickly.

I am off work on Monday as I have my long awaited appointment for my sonogram to find out about my ankles. I took the day off as I have some other errands to run and need to see my doctor as well for a repeat prescription. Such a faffing annoying system here compared to the UK. You can't just get a repeat prescription as far as I can tell you have to see the doctor every time which is a pain in the arse.

Rob and I bought an Acer Aspire One netbook this week. I wanted one so it's an early birthday present. I love it, it's just right for watching Netflix of a lunchtime! I do hope to use in a practical capacity as well, hopefully for showing clients straight from camera images as and when some jobs come in for Cheryl, Deb and I.

Just a quick note on Dancing on Ice...I was so excited about the new series and as much as the skating was okay week one, please tell me why oh why did the producers of the show think it would be a good idea to put that idiot Louis Spence on the Panel, I just cannot bare to listen to him!


Snow Capped Peggy's


Shaw's Landing

The Snow Cove

General Musings and a Publication

The Winter continues to surprise us here, mild one day, freezing cold the next, I think it was Tuesday that the temperature was just raw, it was only about minus eight, but the wind chill made it feel like minus 20, now that was harsh! Since then it has warmed up, snowed a little, frozen over night and warmed up again. Just as well I have a collection of coats to choose from now.

I am pleased to say that I have just had another on of my images published. This time the image was of the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi. I was contacted quite sometime ago by The Halcyon Gallery asking if they could use in their public art book. I was sent a copy of it this week, this Gallery exhibits and sells art all around the world and the book is stunning, there are some fantastic and unusual sculptures featured. My name and website has been included on the photo credits page at the back to the book.

I think my brother was quite surprised to hear about the crime we have here in the City during his visit, I myself was shocked this week when I heard about a lad of 16 being shot at the Dartmouth Bus Terminal...A place I frequent when the roads are bad and I get the bus to work. Thankfully the boy did survive, saved largely by his baseball cap of all things. The shooter gave himself up yesterday I read, but still it makes me a tad nervous now about getting the bus and is a reminder that I don't live in rural Somerset anymore.

Fact: Nova Scotia has the highest petty crime rate of any province in Canada.

The reason, I think is people are largely underpaid and drugs are rife. There seems to be on average 2 shootings or major incidents (i.e. armed robberies) of some sort every weekend. I know...Shocking isn't it. The best thing is of course to avoid the trouble spots. We know now where they are roughly, but it is hard to tell as unlike the UK and other places where you get very obviously defined dodgy areas, here you can literally walk from a trouble free zone into a criminal hot spot within yards of each other.

Anyway, enough of that...I headed for the dentist again this week as I have been having some pain in my teeth, I think it is where one of the fillings is, although it seems to be affecting the whole upper left side. Dr Sharma filed down a tiny bit of one filling and checked out my bite, it seems okay, but in truth I don't think it was the filling at all, I think for some reason I have developed a habit of clenching my teeth at night, I think it could be stress related. I have to keep an eye on it and may have to wear a guard in the future.

TV...A new year and thank god I have some reality shows to get me through the Winter. Celeb BB started Thursday, I am almost 100% sure that none of you reading this are watching, except perhaps you Sarah! But as you know I am the biggest BB fan. Not a bad line up, right of the bat I am routing for Natalie Cassidy and Denise Welsh to win.

Dancing on Ice returns tomorrow and I cannot wait. I trust at least a couple of you will be watching that one!

Icey Prospect


Peggy's Harbour - A Snowy Overview


Published - The Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi