Culture — Page 46 — You are in My World Now

Bombarded by Holiday music and it’s only October!

October 25, 2008 by Tricia

Chris and I went out to a mall today to do some shopping. We were just getting some stuff for around the house and some pet supplies.

I was surprised to see that not only do most stores have decorations up for Halloween (expected given that it’s only a few days away) but also that they are starting to decorate for Christmas as well! I guess it’s started to become normal for most stores to start promoting Christmas sales even as early as September, but I think it’s too early.

Back in the day when I used to work across from one of the biggest malls in Toronto, I’d go shopping or walk through the mall several times a week and I’d say that by early November I was burned out on Christmas and Christmas music. I’m sure others feel the same way if they go to department stores or malls on a regular basis at this time of year.

One sure sign that the Holidays are fast approaching is the sight of personal and corporate holiday cards in the mail. Some of my blogs are becoming quite well known and as a result I get all these invites to blogging, promotional and even corporate events that are happening nearby. Why .. I don’t know. I’m not even sure how some of these companies get my address, but it is kind of nice to be invited to exclusive events like the LG Shine campaign a few months ago!

Are you starting to be bombarded by holiday decorations and music every time you walk into a store too? And … do you get invites to promotional events via your blogging either by email or by snail mail?

Sedum in Bloom

October 19, 2008 by Tricia

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Our Sedum is blooming and it’s developed lovely fall colors.

We have some in the back garden that has orangish colored blooms, but I think I like the one in the front garden the best as it has deep rose or magenta colored blooms.

Last week I mentioned on my gardening blog that the sedums are a lot shorter this year than they usually are. I think our slightly cooler than normal summer, plus all of the rain must have stunted their growth.

I’ve got the “it’s getting cold out” blues

October 17, 2008 by Tricia

Brrrr it’s getting cool here in Toronto! I guess it won’t be all that long before we start to get some snow. Perhaps a month at most. I just hate the thought. I like the look of snow – especially when it’s falling and when it’s freshly carpeting the ground, but shoveling it is another story.

Chris and I have talked about taking another trip to Las Vegas. We went last year in November for a blogging convention, but if we do go this year it will be pure vacation. Things are a little different this time round – money wise that is. Last year around this time the Canadian dollar was higher than the US dollar. In fact, by the time we went to Vegas in early November it was worth 1.12 US. Now though, our dollars taken a plunge and it’s only worth about .84 cents US.

If we do go we’ll have to watch our spending. Maybe I’ll start looking for a hotel in las vegas that has very reasonable prices. That way we’ll have a little more fun money!

I’m still not sure if we’ll go on vacation or not (when I say vacation I mean more like a long weekend). If we don’t (say our dollar drops even more!) then maybe we’ll try to plan something nice for early in the new year. I’d love to go to the Caribbean – especially when it’s freezing here!

Have you thought of going on a vacation in the Fall, perhaps just to get away for a while before winter sets in?

Flowers gone to seed

October 5, 2008 by Tricia

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Last Monday my husband and I took our dog for a walk through one of Toronto’s large city parks and I came across some lovely wild flowers and I thought you might be interested in seeing them this Green Thumb Sunday.

I have no idea what kind of flower or rather flowers seed head this is.

It’s lovely though. If you click on the picture you’ll be able to see a larger version of this picture on Flickr …

The whole seed head is composed of tiny tiny components.

Someone on my photoblog, Breath of Life Photography, stated that it looked a bit like groups of tiny spiders. It’s not, but if you take a close look it does kind of look like that.

This on the other hand is a weed that’s gone to seed ..

The seed head spikes sit above a cluster of roundish green leaves. I have these growing in my lawn but they never get close to maturity like this one has. Again, I don’t know the name of this plant / weed, but it’s interesting even if it’s extremely common and wants to take over my grass!

Trying to decide what to have for a late dinner

October 4, 2008 by Tricia

Chris and I went to an afternoon concert today. No it wasn’t a concert in the park … it was in a legion hall. LOL Now that was different.

The bands were really good, but I felt sorry for one of the lead singers. You could tell that he’d had really severe acne as a kid and his cheeks were pock-marked as a result. I always feel bad for people who’s faces are scarred like that when there are so many good treatments available to treat severe acne these days.

Anyway … now we’re going to have a late dinner. I’m trying to decide whether I should cook something or if we should continue to treat ourselves and order something out? Maybe Chinese food? I’ve kind of had a craving for Asian food lately.

What would you do if it was already 9 in the evening? Make dinner or order out?