First Snow Today in Montreal!

The video I am sharing for this post....Ben Bernie and his Orchestra "Swinging Down the Lane" (1923).  :)  I enjoyed the song and the images in the video brought back good memories of my childhood.  Very nice video and song!

We had our first snowfall today.  I found it really nice.  The weather was mild, as it usually is here when it snows, and the air smelled fresh and clean.  When I left home to go for my walk...it was not snowing at that point, so I had my running shoes on.  However, throughout my walk it had started snowing and the snow actually stayed a bit in some areas;  however, we did not get a lot of snow so there was pretty much no accumulation.  

The photos I am sharing...one of them is actually part of the floor of a mall.  I found the design on it so pretty I took a photo of it.  Another photo is a sign on a sidewalk that says: "Je traverse quand c'est le temps!"  In English:  "I cross when it's the time!"  It refers to the fact that many pedestrians do not cross at the pedestrian crosswalks...or at green lights.  Police here have been campaigning to make the roads safer for everyone, so they have been handing out tickets to speeding drivers as well as pedestrians who don't respect crossing at the proper places and times.  
The other two photos are self explanatory.  They are of a Christmas tree in a mall I liked;  however, I thus far cannot figure out how to flip the photos so that you can see it upright.  Sorry about that.  Here are my Photos

Thank you all so much for visiting me here.  I really appreciate and enjoy reading your kind thoughts, which you can always share by clicking on the 'comments' link at the end of my post.

Tour Around Berlin In 1929

Hi everyone!  I decided to leave the title of my post for today as is, as it is the name of the video I am sharing.  It is a neat and short video of 3 minutes, and it has nice music and gives a tour around Berlin in 1929.  I hope you all enjoy this journey into the past.  I thought the video was very well done.

I went for my walk today...I found it actually warmer today than yesterday, even though I wore gloves in the beginning, I ended up taking them off, as the sun was warm and nice.  Although I took a nice long walk, I didn't take many photos, as I didn't find very much that I felt worth photographing.  LOL!  :)  Two of the photos are of a catholic church that is decked out for Christmas, and the other two photos are of a funeral home (exterior).  Hope you enjoy them.
A Cool Sunny Day

Thank you all so much for stopping by!  I really appreciate and enjoy reading your thoughts, which you can always share by clicking on the 'comments' link at the end of my post.

Soothing Music and Photos

Hi everyone!  Thank you so much for stopping by!  The music I have chosen for this post is TRON Syversen - Lullaby to Love from Peaceful Journey.  It is a relaxing piece which I hope you will all enjoy.  

It was very cold today, but the sun was shining.  I took a walk and will share the photos I took today with you all.  One of the photos is KFC = Kentucky Fried Chicken.  Here in Quebec it is PFK = Poulet Frit a la Kentucky.  :)  Another photo is of some granite monuments...it was outside of a retailer that sells headstones.  The others are pretty self explanatory, I guess.  :)  As far as the photo of the school bus goes I was a bit disappointed in that the sun caused a glare...but I am sharing it nonetheless, as you can still see it.  If you click on one of the photos you will see a larger size of them, then just use the arrows to go through the album.
Today's Walk

Thank you all so much for visiting me here!  I always appreciate and enjoy reading your thoughts, which you can always share by clicking on the 'comments' link at the end of my post.

Man, goose odd-couple update

Hi dear friends!  For those of you who follow my blog on a very regular basis, you will recall the video I shared the other day about an "odd couple" relationship between a man named Dominic and a goose named Maria.  Here is an update on them.  It turns out that Maria is Mario.  Dominic seems to have much in common with me in the way of relating to animals and birds.  It seems that everywhere I go I have my own "entourage" of pigeons, seagulls, ducks, geese and squirrels...and recently as you have all noticed in my photos, cats as well.

I have always loved animals and feel that they do so much to teach us how to interact with one another.  They love unconditionally and are able to look at us and things (and each other) at a very deep level.

I have no photos to share this time, as it was a down day for me.  However, thankfully it wasn't as down as the last time I shared with you all.  I am trying to take it in my stride now;  one day at a time.  Everyone has down days.  I think perhaps people with depression may have them more often and more profoundly.  I really find it so therapeutic to have this blog, it is a great avenue where I can be myself and share my thoughts.  

Thank you all so much for being here!  I really appreciate your visits and always look forward to reading your thoughts...which you can always share by clicking on the 'comments' link at the end of my post.

My Blog has a New Template!

The song I am sharing for today's post is a 1934  song by Don Bestor - Little Dutch Mill.

I also  made a new post on my other blog...Linda's Porch of Light

Hi everyone, I didn't go on my walk today because I made today a cleaning day.  I cleaned my kitchen, oven, bathroom and got as much done as I could.  :)  

As far as the new template goes, I want to thank my good friend Stella Stenroos for her kind help!  I did try to put in a template myself but unfortunately the template I tried to put here was not possible due to the fact that the particular template I wanted was geared for the old format of Blogger.  Since I am new to Blogger since February of this year, I had no idea about this.  That, plus the fact that templates are kind of...O.K., REALLY advanced for me at this learning stage.  So Stella asked me if I wanted a template similar to the one I showed her and I said "Yes," so she kindly made one for me.  I am really grateful to her, and I love this template much better than the one I had shown her.  A heartfelt thanks to you, dear Stella.  I really appreciate your time and help!  I have "known" Stella online for 10 years now, as I recall.  We "met" back in 2002.  If I remember accurately, she had a website and I found it and left a comment in her guestbook.  She returned the favour and came to visit me at a discussion forum I was running back then.  Since then we have been good friends and have remained in contact.  Stella is originally from Helsinki, Finland, and has been living permanently in Ireland since 1997.  Stella and I share the same birthday...October 27th.  The year is different, though, mine is 1956 and Stella's is 1971.  Once again, a heartfelt thanks to you, Stella!  :)

I will continue playing and will try to do a new template for my newer blog.  So stay tuned, dear friends.  :)

Since I have no photos to share in this post I thought I would, along with the song I am posting, share touching story that was sent to me by a friend in an e-mail a while back.

Touching life story..... 

A young man was getting ready to graduate college. For 
     many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer's 
     showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told 
him that was all he wanted. 

     As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited 
     signs that his father had purchased the car. Finally, on the 
morning  of his graduation his father called him into his private 
  study. His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine 
son, and  told him how much he loved him. He handed his son 
a beautiful   wrapped gift box. 

     Curious, but somewhat disappointed the young man 
     opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible. Angrily, 
he raised his voice at his father and said, "With all your money you 
give  me  a Bible?" and stormed out of the house, leaving the holy 
book. 

     Many years passed and the young man was very successful in 
business. 
     He had a beautiful home and wonderful family, but realized his 
     father was very old, and thought perhaps he should go to him. He 
had   not seen him since that graduation day. Before he could make 
     arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had 
     passed away, and willed all of his possessions to his son. He 
needed   to come home immediately and take care things. 
When he arrived at  his father's house, sudden sadness and 
regret filled his heart. 

     He began to search his father's important papers and 
     saw the still new Bible, just as he had left it years ago. With 
tears,  he opened the Bible and began to turn the pages. As he 
read those   words, a car key dropped from an envelope 
taped behind the Bible. 
It  had a tag with the dealer's name, the same dealer who had the 
sports  car he had desired. On the tag was the date of his graduation, 
     and the words...PAID IN FULL. 

Thank you all so much for visiting me here!  I really appreciate and enjoy reading your thoughts, which you can always share by clicking on the 'comments' link at the end of my post.

Windy, Rainy & Chilly Today!

It started out this morning as sunny and mild...then the clouds came in, the wind picked up and the rain started.  Nonetheless, I still enjoyed my walk, even in the rain!  I took my camera with me and took some photos on this walk, which I hope you will all enjoy.  I chose a 1940's song for this post which I also hope you will all enjoy.

Here are my photos...Rain

I called my album 'Rain', because most of my walk was taken in the rain.  As you will see when you check out my photos, I ran across two cats on my walk...and both were black and white, like the last one I took a photo of in my previous post.  The two cats I met today were both outside of their houses.  :)

Thank you all so much for visiting me here!  I really appreciate and enjoy reading your thoughts, which you can always share by clicking on the 'comments' link at the end of my post.

My Farm Visit

Hi everyone!  The video I am sharing today is about a friendship between a man named Dominic and a goose named Maria.  Really sweet story!  The video is just 3 minutes long.  Hope you all enjoy it.

I had a really nice walk today and it was beautiful and sunny again.  I visited a farm and of course brought my camera with me and took some photos.  I will be posting my photos on a photo sharing site, but providing the link here.  This farm was great, there were horses and goats, and a donkey. Hope you all enjoy my photos, which you can find here...
My Farm Visit

Thank you all so much for visiting me here!  I really enjoy and appreciate reading your thoughts, which you can always share by clicking on the 'comments' link at the end of my post.

Unbelievable Weather in Montreal!

Hi dear friends, thanks so much for stopping by!  The video I have chosen for this post is a 1939 song by Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians...the song is called "Bluebirds in the Moonlight."  Hope you all enjoy it.  :)

The weather for the past week and some has been sunny and mild, almost unheard of here for this time in November.
I went out for a walk with my camera and took some photos.
However, I am unable to share them with you all, as it seems as though I have used up my quota for photos.  I know that I can purchase extra space but I just don't have the funds to do that, so I am trying to figure out how I can continue to  share my photos free of charge.  In the meantime, I will continue to make posts here, I just won't be sharing any photos.  :(  

O.K., I have managed to share my photos from today's walk with you all.  However, it is via another website.  I created an account on Photobucket.  Here is the link to my photos.  Hope you all enjoy them.  I did manage to get the sunset today as well.  :)
Photos from Today's Walk!

Thank you all so much for visiting me here!  I really appreciate and enjoy reading your thoughts...which you can always share by clicking on the 'comments' link at the end of my post.

Jazz for Cows

I decided to leave the title of my blog as is, it is of the video I am sharing.  You all know how much I love animals.  This is a two minute video of some musicians serenading a herd of cows!  I must say that the cows are very gracious and attentive...even more than some humans are!  :)  They came over to listen to the music and really enjoyed the serenade.  Hope you all enjoy this video!

I went out for a nice walk again today.  This time it was partly cloudy and partly sunny and still mild.  Here are the photos I took on my walk today.  I actually came across a cat!  I managed to get a photo of him/her as well.  :)  I was happily surrounded by animals and birds on this walk, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This first photo is of the cat...look up and you will see it, it is a black and white one.  :)

These next two photos are of squirrels that I came across in trees...and captured them on my camera.

I also made a post on my other blog, which I will post on occasionally.  Linda's Porch of Light

Thank you all so much for visiting me here!  I hope you all enjoyed the photos here that I took on my walk today.  

I really enjoy and appreciate reading your comments.  Please feel free to share your thoughts.

Childhood Memories

Haydn Quartet - Sweet Adeline (You're the Flower of My Heart) (1904)

Hi everyone!  The song I chose for this post is from 1904, and hit the charts as #1 back then.  Hope you all enjoy it.  I do love old music.  :)

I took a really nice walk today.  It was again sunny and mild, just beautiful.  

I entitled this post "childhood memories", as my walk today sparked some great childhood memories for me.  I am referring to my photos of the park slides that I took.  All the slides now are plastic, so I was surprised to see one metal one still around.  I also took a couple of photos of the views I had on my walk by the waterfront.  Hope you all enjoy my photos from today's walk.

Thank you all so much for visiting me here!  I really appreciate and enjoy reading your thoughts, even if I don't always reply.  Hope you all have a wonder filled day!

Another Sunny Day in the Neighbourhood!

It is really amazing.  It has been a beautiful week of mild and sunny temperatures here in Montreal.  I enjoyed a lovely walk today and this time, unlike yesterday, I had recharged my batteries for my camera and so...I took my camera with me.  

These first two photos are of the Christmas display window of a store that sells...Christmas trees! (and some accessories)

This is another donation box in Montreal.  I posted one of the Goodwill organization on a past post...this one is for a diabetic organization.  "dons de vetements" is a French term for "donations of clothing".

Since I have heard from many people that public phone booths are almost becoming a thing of a past, I have been taking photos of the ones around Montreal...there are still many.  (including full sized ones).

This is one of our local free newspaper receptacles.  The name of this newspaper is "24 Heures", or "24 Hours".  It is an all French newspaper.  There are a few free newspapers in Montreal, in fact, several, and this is one of them.  You can also find canvassers handing them out at metro stations here and on streets.  Do any of you have these items in your area?  I am not meaning these specific ones, but for any free newspapers in your area?  

This is an emergency defibrillator. They can be found at certain areas in Montreal, and can be a help to emergency personnel on ambulances as well.  This one was in a bus terminal station.

And last but not least for today's post.  I found a tree full of happy, chirping birds and couldn't resist photographing them.  You can see how beautiful and blue the sky was today, and has been for a week now.  

The video/song I chose for today's post is a relaxing one played on harp.  I hope you have all enjoyed the video and my photos from today's walk.

Thank you all so much for visiting me here!  I always appreciate and enjoy reading your comments.  Much love and hugs to you all!

A Heartfelt Thanks to you all!

My new blog link...for those who are interested.  This will always be my main blog, the other one is one I created for the purpose of encouraging others.  
Linda's Porch Light


Hi dear friends!  I did take a walk today, but hadn't recharged my batteries so I did not take my camera with me this time.  It is O.K., though, I got to take a nice walk on yet another sunny and mild day here in Montreal!  

I hope you all enjoy the video I have chosen for this post...it is a lovely Yves Montand song with great photos of Autumn scenes.  Quite pretty and relaxing, actually.  

I want to tell you all how much your heartfelt posts and outpouring of love and support means to me!  Even though I had hesitated to make that post because I was embarrassed, I now realize that I made the right decision.  Thanks to your responses, I actually feel happy and relieved that I shared that, and I don't feel alone!  I had a good cry last night and again today;  although I was very sad as I was crying, it seems to have helped to release the tension and sadness that I was feeling!

I also had a great heart to heart chat with a very dear friend of mine...she knows who she is.  :)  It felt good to be able to let out my fears, my sadness, my feelings, emotions....and to cry and just get it out.  My friend said that she thought that my blog is more therapeutic for me than the medication.  I really think it is.  As well, getting out for my walks and taking my photos and being in nature watching the squirrels, ducks, birds, etc., seems to help a lot.  I think without realizing it I was holding it in and not wanting to share it with anyone, as I was afraid that perhaps by sharing it that I might have brought someone else down with me, which I did not want to do.  Now that I have shared it openly, and with all your kind and loving responses, I feel as if I can breathe a sigh of relief and focus on who I really am...not a shadow of myself, which seems that I was by holding back the sadness and not sharing it.

I have to say that people who know me well are aware that I really don't like to take medication.  If I feel a cold coming on or have a cough, I never buy cough medicine.  I will make my own with a little juice from some fresh ginger and some honey and mix it together.  When I was prescribed the medication for depression by a doctor, I was at my lowest...and this particular medication was fast, I noticed a difference within just a couple of days.  However, over time it seems to have lost its effectiveness.  I do take Vitamin D and calcium supplements.

Once again, a heartfelt thanks to you all, it really means so much to me and I truly appreciate you all.  Sending you all love and hugs.  

I really appreciate and enjoy reading your thoughts, which you can always share by clicking on the 'comments' link at the end of my post.

Requesting your Prayers and Thoughts

This may be the longest post I have ever made since I began blogging, which was late February of this year...so please bear with me.  :)

First of all, I am asking for your prayers and thoughts on my behalf.  I am in tears as I write this post.  I am 56 years old, a baby boomer....and it seems to get worse as I get older.  I suffer from depression and am on medication for it  that are not helping.  It is so easy for people to say "Cheer up." to others when they themselves are not depressed, but those of us who suffer from depression know that it isn't something that just goes away.  Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts, I really appreciate it.  I hesitated to share this, but I figured...hey, how else are people going to know who I am if I try to keep a smile on my face all the time?  :)  Sure, I try to be an upbeat, happy and encouraging person, but it is hard to be this way when I am feeling as down as I have been these days.  As a result of this downness, I am finding myself much more sensitive than usual.  Normally I am a sensitive person, but when I am NOT depressed I am more able to let things slide and don't take things to heart as much.  These days it doesn't take much to bring me to tears.  My thoughts are distorted and I just can't seem to shake the sadness.  The weather may be a factor, but I am not sure of this, since I have never been diagnosed with SAD (seasonal affected disorder). I am going to see a doctor about this next week...yes, a doctor, not my family doctor, as, sadly, he has been sick (physically) for the past few months.  I was told by the secretary this week that she has no idea if or when he will be back.  Thank you for listening, I really needed to get this off my chest.  I have to admit that I am a little embarrassed to post this, as I don't often share this much, but there it is.

Maya Angelou said, "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."  

Thank you for listening, and thank you so much for reading my blog.

The photos I am sharing here are ones that I took today on one of my walks.  

I was surprised to see this in English, as you don't often see English in Montreal.  LOL!  So there is no need for me to translate this.  Renaissance is the same thing as Goodwill.  It is called Renaissance in Quebec, which means "rebirth".  It is an organization that helps people to reintegrate into the work force.  People can donate clothing, household items and furniture.  The bins are found around Montreal to enable people to donate their used clothing.  For larger items such as furniture, the organization can come to your home to pick up usable items.

Thank you all so much for visiting me here.  I really appreciate your responses to my posts, which you can always do by clicking on the 'comments' link at the end of posts.

Christmas Displays from Last Year

I have been hesitant to share my night photos thus far, because I am, for the most part, disappointed in them.  I don't have a lot of experience taking photos at night, but I have taken several.  The photos I am sharing in this post are from last Christmas...and I took them all at night.  They were Christmas displays of some homes as well as a store window one.  I have chosen the best ones, so I hope you all enjoy them.

The video I have chosen for this post is a Berenice Abbott 1898.  Hope you all enjoy the journey back in time both with the video and my year old photos.  :)

This first photo was of the Christmas display of a city hall.

Thank you all so much for visiting me here!  I really appreciate and enjoy reading your thoughts...which you can always share by clicking on the 'comments' link at the end of my post.

Henri 2, Paw de Deux

Hi everyone, I decided to leave the video I am posting as the title of my post for today.  LOL!  It is a short, two minute cat video with pleasant music.  :)  Kind of cute.

I went to a mall today and took some photos, which I hope you will enjoy.  

These last two photos...they are of the (what I call) accordion model of one of the Montreal buses.  These two photos...I took them a couple of years ago.  Since I mentioned about these buses in my last post I thought I would included them here.  I got a photo of the exterior of the bus as well as the interior.  Note that the middle of the bus resembles an accordion, hence the name I give it.  I am not the only one who calls them by this name, either.  There are three doors in this model, one at the front, one in the middle and one at the back.

Thank you all so much for visiting me here!  I really appreciate reading your thoughts, which you can always share by clicking on the 'comments' link at the end of my post.

A Sunny but Chilly and Windy Day

I chose a very short, one minute video for today's post...it is the sound of the ocean and seagulls.

It was a lovely day today for taking photos, as I was properly dressed with a warm jacket and scarf.  :)  I had a nice walk and took my camera with me.  Here are the photos I took on my walk.

The first few photos are of a house I saw that is already decked out for Christmas.  Some may say it is too soon, but I prefer not to judge people, as each person has his or her preference.  I just decided to savour the moment and takes photos of the display.  :)  The reindeer you see is on the roof of the house.

I took this photo because I liked the colours and the sky and clouds.

Here in Montreal, for public transit users, we have what is called an OPUS card.  It is the size of a credit card and contains a microchip.  It can, and needs to be, recharged depending on the amount of time you need it for.  You can get 6 trips on it, or for a week, or month.  I think you can get two trips on it as well if that is all you need. For example, I get my card recharged on a monthly basis, as I use only the public transit...and often.  This photo below is of a machine where you can get your OPUS card recharged.  It is a self serve machine.  You can also get it recharged in stores that will do it, in which case the cashier recharges it for you and gives you the receipt.  When you use this machine and recharge the card yourself, it will give you a receipt as well.  Here in Montreal, people keep their receipts for income tax purposes and file it each year.

Not sure if any of you have this contraption in your city...but it is something where smokers can discard their cigarette butts by pushing it into the small holes.

This is a basic idea of what Montreal area buses look like.  Some buses are what I call the accordion models...which is almost double the size of this one.  Those look like an accordion in the middle, sort of separating two buses into one, in a way.

Thank you all so much for visiting me here!  I really appreciate and enjoy reading your thoughts, which you can always share by clicking on the 'comments' link at the end of my post.

Amazingly Mild Weather in Montreal!

Hi everyone!  For this post I have chosen a really sweet video of less than two minutes in length.  It is a beautiful black cat soothing a crying baby to sleep.  I thought it was adorable and wanted to share it with you all.

Today was an amazingly mild day....16 celsius, which is in the upper 50's fahrenheit.

This first photo is of a hairdresser.

This photo is of a fresh vegetable market.

This is a sign outside of an Italian restaurant.  "Apportez votre vin" is a French term for "Bring your own wine."  You see this a lot in Montreal, many restaurants offer this choice.

And this is how the restaurant looks...I like the barn like shape to it.

Here is the sign outside of the front of the restaurant.

This next photo is of a fire station.

The last two photos I took are of some Canada geese that I saw in a field.  As I approached them, though, they had other ideas...but they managed to stay long enough for me to zoom in and get a shot of them.  I got one last shot of them flying away in the sky.  :)

Thank you all so much for visiting me here!  I really appreciate and enjoy reading your thoughts, which you can always share by clicking on the 'comments' link at the end of my post.

A Peaceful Journey

I decided to entitle my post "a peaceful journey", because firstly, I enjoyed a peaceful walk today and took some photos, and secondly, because I am hoping that this post will be a peaceful journey for you all as well!  I chose a calming piece of music entitled "Virtual Serenity: The Journey Within."  It is a beautiful video that you can listen to while you look at my photos and while you surf the web.  I hope you all enjoy the music, the photos and a couple of quotations that I am sharing with you all today.  :)

This first photo is of a delivery car for a restaurant which used to be called "Au Coq".  "coq" is the French word for "rooster".  It is a barbecue chicken restaurant that has been around since 1960.

This second photo is of the sign outside the restaurant.  "service au volant" is the French term for "drive-thru".  "maitre rotisseurs depuis 1960" is French for "master roasters since 1960."

These last photos...I took a relaxing walk by the water.

Quotations:

"A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song." - Lou Holtz

"Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it." - William Arthur Ward

Thank you all so much for visiting me here!  I really appreciate reading your thoughts, which you can always share by clicking on the 'comments' link at the end of my post.