tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62089592681363881912024-03-14T12:34:40.087-07:00Musings of A Puddlist In B.C.Penelope Noteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01965692242969563279noreply@blogger.comBlogger438125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6208959268136388191.post-54092493546156646482023-07-03T07:00:00.006-07:002023-09-25T04:34:48.135-07:00The Magical Journey Continues
THE JOURNEY to Penelope Puddle and her umbrella-wand begins here, here and on Kindle. The updated physical book is now available with hands-on features to facilitate fun and curiosity about Penelope's world and vivid imagination:
Where does Penelope live and under what weather conditions
What seasonal and/or geographical changes are illustrated in the story
What causes Penelope toPenelope Noteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01965692242969563279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6208959268136388191.post-17898044644714215252020-12-01T11:27:00.043-08:002023-11-20T10:56:55.698-08:00Wishes For Bridges Each Step Of Your WayLove is the bridge between you and everything. Rumi
It was hot that day with a cooling breeze as we walked adjacent to the busy car traffic.
Crossing over the Granville Street Bridge in Vancouver, my daughter and I had a bird's eye view (pictured left) of the Granville Island Public Market and the bright canary yellow restaurant there.
What better name for the restaurant than Bridges?
There arePenelope Noteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01965692242969563279noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6208959268136388191.post-83315977850949347942019-03-01T14:27:00.011-08:002022-06-16T04:39:41.895-07:00There's Lots To Chew On About Apples
SWEET or bitter, its forebearer playing a prominent role in a biblical story about creation, the unblemished and apparently carefully selected rosy red apple somehow fell to the ground unbitten.
I was taught “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” and although I’m not sure that's true, there's much to chew on about this famous fruit as I get to its core in an earlier post HERE.
It's no wonder Penelope Noteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01965692242969563279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6208959268136388191.post-73267609655202142632019-01-30T09:59:00.009-08:002022-06-16T04:40:26.321-07:00Umbrella With Best Journey Yet To Unfold“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive ..." - Maya Angelou
A SCRUFFY umbrella in the corner by a doorway rested like a tousled survivor recovering from a blustery windstorm. It proved stronger than expected but less transparent than before the storm ... its best journey yet to unfold.
For more West Coast scenes and reflections see my latest photographic journal and online Penelope Noteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01965692242969563279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6208959268136388191.post-14709778490215812992019-01-12T06:43:00.005-08:002022-06-16T04:41:21.698-07:00The Unicorn ChaseDon't give up on your dreams or your dreams will give up on you. J. Wooden
Enlightenment can be found on the path to fulfilling one's possibilities and purpose.
That's why the cloud-bound unicorn on my shopping bag tells anyone who sees it to follow their dreams.
Even a bag full of dreams unrealized can awaken new creative sparks, if pursued with resolve and passion.
For West Coast Penelope Noteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01965692242969563279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6208959268136388191.post-60314359322269745022018-12-14T05:41:00.002-08:002020-07-21T07:41:58.003-07:00Sitting Pretty Without Us
WOBBLY but with elegant touches intact, the tattered old chair on the road seemed to suggest that I pause and digest what all those traffic fumes have been saying. Humankind is as capable of extinction as any creature and polluting ways need to end if we hope to survive. Sustainability on Earth is rapidly fraying but flowers still bloom and the sun rises and sets so we choose to forget that thePenelope Noteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01965692242969563279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6208959268136388191.post-52521599188449182702018-11-17T14:42:00.000-08:002020-02-03T06:15:42.604-08:00The True Heart Holds The Key"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart." - Helen Keller
Pictured left is the soon to be erased door-latch of the First United Church building in White Rock that is scheduled to be demolished.
I am grateful that a simple photograph can preserve the disappearing past.
For more West Coast scenes stay awhile and Penelope Noteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01965692242969563279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6208959268136388191.post-66787662876195082932018-10-20T12:51:00.000-07:002020-02-03T06:11:15.298-08:00Come Into My Web"Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect." Chief Seattle
STICKY STRINGS, barely visible, seem harmless to use as a bridge but can land a bug onto a hungry spider's dinner table. Nature's crocheted webs and catching-nets are everywhere this fall.
Webs cling to thePenelope Noteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01965692242969563279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6208959268136388191.post-17854687423787355492018-09-16T13:56:00.000-07:002020-02-03T06:48:56.858-08:00Starry-Eyed Over Soggy End To Dry Summer"Designers want me to dress like Spring, in billowing things. I don't feel like Spring. I feel like a warm red Autumn." Marilyn Monroe
A blown leaf hit the soggy ground. The rain gave it a special glow ... as if it were a discarded garment that could have draped the shoulders of someone bathed in starlight.
The leaf twigged a memory that Marilyn Monroe and I do have one thing in common.
I Penelope Noteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01965692242969563279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6208959268136388191.post-5266240739774447082018-07-01T13:55:00.001-07:002018-11-17T14:46:48.385-08:00Super Wonderful Canada From Coast To Coast"Canada is like a bird, it likes to soar freely." - Unknown
Visit my latest photographic journal at UNDER MY UMBRELLA AND BEYOND.
It's a work in progress!Penelope Noteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01965692242969563279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6208959268136388191.post-80094074533091814042018-05-09T14:08:00.000-07:002018-11-17T14:48:35.236-08:00Sandy Trails For Healthy HeartsNever believe that a few caring people can't change the world. For, indeed, that's all who ever have. Margaret Mead
Some caring person put up a handmade sign at the bottom of a trail I often trek through in Crescent Beach.
Although you can't tell by the photo (above), the trail is steep and gets me puffing, which probably means the climb is good for the heart.
I was in my twenties when mom Penelope Noteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01965692242969563279noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6208959268136388191.post-6928624196749724092018-04-30T06:41:00.000-07:002018-07-18T03:58:31.575-07:00Laughter's The Best Prescription & It's FreeThe human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter. - Mark Twain
A NOTE taped to the front door made me laugh when I came home from shopping and realized I'd forgotten my keys. My husband wrote it. He hasn't lost his wit despite dealing with health issues. Life is unpredictable ... of that we can be sure. We count on the sun coming up every morning but the day can hold Penelope Noteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01965692242969563279noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6208959268136388191.post-13746731893558580692018-04-22T08:24:00.002-07:002018-04-30T06:40:09.622-07:00Tethered To A CloudSo we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:18
I ONCE WAS A bud so new there was nothing of "me" to contemplate. Although I couldn't put my earliest moments into words, they're stored in my memories somehow. Perhaps I was still tethered to the "unseen" as an infant, an intangible place beyond thePenelope Noteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01965692242969563279noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6208959268136388191.post-35367199485064210612018-04-15T15:25:00.001-07:002018-04-30T06:44:02.993-07:00Clean Meat Clear ConscienceIf slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be vegetarian. Linda and Paul McCartney
Something called “clean meat" came to my attention recently. It has me excited about a better future for farm animals living under harsh conditions and slaughtered on mass for human consumption. As someone who throughout the years has had minor success but mostly failures eating vegetarian meals Penelope Noteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01965692242969563279noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6208959268136388191.post-9411397593561375512018-04-08T05:22:00.001-07:002018-04-30T06:46:16.658-07:00It's A Non-refundable WorldHeaven is under our feet as well as over our heads. Henry David Thoreau
EARTH DAY is coming and I’ve been thinking about the billions-of-years-old blue marble we call home. It’s clear that in this current wink of time humankind is the biggest biological threat to all life on the planet. Ravaging resources and hooked on cheaply made products, polluting chemicals, fast fashions and throwaway Penelope Noteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01965692242969563279noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6208959268136388191.post-58630847468804212662018-02-19T11:45:00.000-08:002018-06-25T13:38:12.242-07:00Flowers In Winter"Where flowers bloom so does hope." - Lady Bird Johnson
"Flowers are restful to look at. They have neither emotions nor conflicts," said Sigmund Freud. Although that is likely correct, they inspire emotions. The cut and painted flowers brought the hope of spring and warmth to a home I visited recently. Meanwhile, icicle flowers (above) were quietly forming, as they often do in Penelope Noteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01965692242969563279noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6208959268136388191.post-36783721938579932162018-01-21T10:14:00.000-08:002018-02-05T13:31:42.219-08:00Time's Up, Women's March, Vancouver 2018IT WAS cold and raining off and on during the second Women's March in Vancouver, Canada, post the 2017 US election. My friend and I eagerly joined the throng at Jack Poole Plaza where people were gathering. There were impactful speeches that went on for some time prior to the March.
Two hours in the wet and cold for people of all ages, including children and the elderly, was a bit much so many Penelope Noteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01965692242969563279noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6208959268136388191.post-1809220030990485062018-01-08T05:20:00.001-08:002020-02-04T03:55:25.198-08:00A Painterly Eye On The Wall
WHIMSY is to the imagination what an irrepressible giggle is to the soul. Whimsical, or any, interesting art on the wall gives us something to ponder on days when the landscape is a blank canvas of gray or when it's too damp and cold outdoors to feast on Mother Nature's beauty. Recently I visited a local library where I found work by IRENA SHKLOVER displayed. With her permission I've posted Penelope Noteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01965692242969563279noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6208959268136388191.post-92137616560385386752018-01-01T14:32:00.000-08:002018-01-03T06:06:20.688-08:00A Kurios End To A Curious YearWE WERE in luck despite dire warnings from the weatherman. Not a single flake fell during our drive to Vancouver to cash in on our Christmas gift, prime seats at the Cirque du Soleil. The sun shone and excitement built as we waited to see what was inside the trademark blue and yellow striped tent.
The show succeeded in crafting a world of wonders. The costumed characters were sublime in a Penelope Noteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01965692242969563279noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6208959268136388191.post-85956757173814957292017-12-03T08:25:00.002-08:002019-04-07T10:14:43.372-07:00Second Generation TrudeaumaniaRAIN POURED down relentlessly as people who came to see Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Gordon Hogg at a high school stood patiently under their umbrellas. A stream of people had been forming since early morning. When the doors opened, I, as well as hundreds of others, squeezed inside the building to find security checks and a place to put our soggy umbrellas. I imagine it was a bit hard to letPenelope Noteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01965692242969563279noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6208959268136388191.post-84550865837483245112017-11-06T05:38:00.000-08:002017-11-07T06:48:29.753-08:00Some Sunny Day ...WE WAITED at St. Mark's Anglican Church in Surrey, hosting a choir from neighboring Langley, to hear the songs of World Wars I and II. These were written when the fight for good over evil seemed more clear than the conflicts that followed. I wondered if those earlier wars ever really ended. Many battles boiling up today stem from territories split and grudges formed decades ago.
The ability to Penelope Noteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01965692242969563279noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6208959268136388191.post-14621269027818877752017-10-13T04:34:00.000-07:002017-11-07T15:14:46.836-08:00Autumn Creeping"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns." George Eliot
MOTHER NATURE is sweeping away summer and like Eliot I'm loving it. Petals are scrambling, leaves are drooping, crumbling, swirling in gusts of wind, sliding down slippery wet roads into sewers never to be seen again.
The Virginia Creeper is the Penelope Noteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01965692242969563279noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6208959268136388191.post-369101907357716952017-09-23T07:52:00.001-07:002017-10-09T05:08:39.856-07:00Chiming In To Make Things Better
"Live for moments you can't put into words," chimed an ornament adjacent to a railway track at Crescent Beach.
The wise advice, meant to inspire, was likely put there by locals wanting to create a serene space for passersby.
The wind-chime decoration dangling from an ornate garden arbor was barely audible as tanks with chemicals and loaded coal cars groaned and hissed, snaking along the Penelope Noteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01965692242969563279noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6208959268136388191.post-14744674182323652612017-09-17T05:39:00.002-07:002018-09-21T04:54:59.716-07:00Yes, You Can Lead A Horse To WaterANIMAL LOVERS know that best friends aren't always human. I spent countless hours imagining my own horse as a girl. This graceful creature with soulful eyes and long swishing tail was my perfect companion and confidant, galloping us off into great adventures. Since my opportunities to ride (let alone own) a horse were limited, I could only pretend, unlike the youngsters I recently spotted at Penelope Noteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01965692242969563279noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6208959268136388191.post-51546127144396334682017-09-07T06:23:00.000-07:002017-09-07T06:23:22.821-07:00Ball Of Fire"If you want to see the sunshine, you have to weather the storm," Frank Lane
NORMALLY you wouldn't view the sun directly but last Tuesday morning the atmosphere bordered on apocalyptic so I had to look. The orb's glow was blunted by a smoky haze that settled eerily, yet again, over Greater Vancouver, resulting from persistent forest fires in the interior of BC and nearby Washington. Air quality Penelope Noteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01965692242969563279noreply@blogger.com16