Aquarium Trip

The Mountainview volunteers were invited on another behind-the-scenes tour, this time of the Aquarium. We got to see the new facilities and some of the research labs. We were there 3 hours and it wasn't enough time. It's been well over 10 years since I was last at the Aquarium and the new building and exhibits are outstanding. I'll definitely have to go back again on another day. Here are a few of my favourite photos from the day. The first beauty I spotted before I even arrived at the Aquarium building was a picture-perfect Blue Heron.





The jellyfish were mesmerizing and they absolutely glowed under the display lights in their tanks.








Spinnaker was one of several dolphins they have in a large pool and the male Sea Lion was pretty impressive, as well. He swam out of the frame of my photo, however, I actually like how the shot turned out.
















Of course, everyone's favourite including mine, are the Otters. This one was grooming herself leisurely while a couple of young ones cavorted around her.



It was the first beautifully sunny and hot day after several days of cold and rain, so it couldn't have been a better day.

Personal Expression

With the start of a new year, I'm finding that I'm feeling driven to modify my outer environment to better reflect my inner environment and all the internal work I've done in the past 5 years since my divorce.

I'm feeling the need to fully claim my space as my own. Not to mention that I have a serious case of spring fever!

My home has always been my sanctuary. So, I want to create a space that feels tranquil, yet polished, and feels like a vacation home, providing a break from the worry and stress of the outside world.

I'm prepared for the process to unfold as time and money allow, however I'd like to have a plan in place, so I can make the changes I want when I'm able to, knowing that I'm working with a specific goal in mind.

I've been in my condo about 11 years and the entire place needs to be spruced up, including some handyman jobs that I'll work into the entire process, as well.

I work on commission and my income can be unpredictable, so I have a very limited budget that's subject to my financial situation in any given month. To help keep costs down, I'll be doing the work myself, except for the odd job that will need more expertise, like plumbing upgrades.

I'd like to start with the job that will provide the biggest immediate impact, which I believe to be the colour of my walls.

Ultimately, I'd like to change some of my furniture, do something with window treatments, add a new area rug and new sheets & towels.

By then, I'll probably be ready to move. *grin*

I'm not prepared to make any structural changes or changes to my flooring. The changes I'm making are primarily aesthetic. The value of my condo unit will be affected a great deal by the overall building. If I was living in a house, I might approach it differently.

My biggest challenge right now, is that I LOVE colour. So, I'm having difficulty refining my choices to include something that meets my criteria, still satisfies my desire for colour, yet doesn't end up looking like a dog's breakfast.

I'm feeling overwhelmed with all the choices and I had arranged to have an interior designer meet with me this weekend to help me sort through all that, however, she cancelled at the last minute.

In any event, I think I'm on the right track. I just need to edit myself and then I'll be off to the races.

I'm feeling quite obsessed & excited to get started on this new project, so some of the other things on my 101 Things to Do List may have to be deferred for a while.

Degrees of Separation

I was speaking, via e-mail, to a client of mine yesterday and he happened to mention that a friend/colleague of his has been invited to spend 3 months working on the International Space Station. Impressive! That got me to wondering how many degrees of separation I am from knowing an astronaut. Which, in turn, had me thinking about other amazing people I've had brushes with and what degrees of separation those are. I soon realized that I'm surrounded by some amazing people who are, in some cases, only one degree of separation away from me.

- Two astronauts: 2 degrees of separation
- A Nobel Prize winner: 2 degrees of separation
- An Order of Canada recipient: 1 degree of separation
- Another Order of Canada recipient: 2 degrees of separation
- Recipient of the Governor General's Award for Non-Fiction: 0 degrees of separation
- Artist whose work was produced on both a $2 coin and a $200 gold coin: 3 degrees of separation
- Numerous artists whose work has been published in books: 0, 1 & 2 degrees of separation
- Artist whose artwork was used on the tails of British Airways airplanes: 0 degree of separation
- British Artist Damien Hurst: 2 degrees of separation
- A Gemini Award winning documentary film producer: 0 degrees of separation

I've also met and spoken with, and in some cases done business with:

- Actor Tom Selleck

- Actor Patrick Stewart

- John Walsh (America's Most Wanted)

- Rick Hansen (Man in Motion)

Then, I got to thinking of all the other amazing people I know personally who may not have received public recognition for their contributions, gifts, and talents (yet). Those are truly too numerous to count, however, included among them, yet not limited to these are:

- numerous PhD's
- 2 documentary film producers
- an RCMP Sargeant
- The Ontario Coroner
- numerous Triathletes
- Wildlife Conservationists

- the heir to the Rubbermaid estate
- another bonafide millionaire

- a professional ballet dancer

Add to these, all the small business owners, teachers, parents, volunteers, nurses, doctors, artists, pastors, musicians, gemmologists, architects, animal advocates, and other unsung heroes and the list grows exponentially.

Presents

A little while ago I received an e-mail from a friend that was filled with photos of clouds that looked like teddy bears, mountains that looked like sleeping cats, etc. You get the idea. The photos were reputed to be untouched and authentic glimpses of God's hand at work in a fun, playful manner. I was quite taken by the images and let God know that I would love to witness things like that personally, if He would show them to me. For my part, I agreed to be more aware and to take more notice of my surroundings. This is something I used to do as a part of my everyday existence while I was growing up. I loved then, and still do, the micro part of our world. Nevertheless, somewhere along my way to becoming an adult, I lost sight of that.

God gives me presents all the time. He knows what delights me because He put those feelings in my heart. So, the raccoon who frequently sleeps in the bird's nest outside my window is a gift. It feels like a treasure I've discovered and I'm thrilled everytime I see him peacefully curled up there. (Although, my raccoon seems to be outgrowing his perch). My love of animals in general, and of bunnies in particular, is a deep part of who I am because He made me that way.

Everytime I receive a gift like this from Him, I feel like a favoured child who has received a surprise from her Dad. It's very personal, unexpected, and speaks directly to who I am and the personal relationship I have with my God. And, I know he delights in the joy I feel.

The other day I turned on the light in my kitchen and noticed another of these gifts from God, more along the lines of teddybear shaped clouds. Notice the shadow cast by the mouse figurine....proving once again, that there's a bunny lurking inside each of us!