A Flea and a Fly

A flea and a fly in a flue

Were imprisoned, so what could they do?

Said the fly, "let us flee!"

"Let us fly!" said the flea.

So they flew through a flaw in the flue.

--Ogden Nash

JJ Hubby flew to Thunder Bay this morning on business, and while he was in the Toronto airport, he spotted a...... flea circus! I told him this was definitely blog-worthy :) Love the details - especially the high dive platform! 

I'm guessing the fleas were in the midst of a costume change.... ?

'Food' For Thought...

Some of the foods corn (or it's derivatives) may be found in:

cold cuts

cream

ice cream

yogurt

canned soup

processed cheese

nuts

candy

anything baked or fried

raisins

puddings

condiments

Not only in America - it's the same all over the world. Skip ahead 3:10 - 5:00

Have a great day, lol!

All Roads Lead Home

With the internet and social networking completely infiltrating our lives, it's truly become a small world after all. Six degrees of separation refers to the idea that everyone is on average approximately six steps away from any other person on Earth; a chain of "a friend of a friend" statements can be made, on average, to connect any two people in six steps or fewer.

Kevin Bacon once claimed that he had worked with everyone in Hollywood, 

and the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game was born; much to his chagrin.

This post came as a result of a little game I play all the time when surfing the net. Quite often, when I end up on a new blog either through following a link sent to me or one I follow while on a website, I try to get myself home - ie: back to Jane's Jewels (staying only within the trail of the 'followers'). Way more often than not,  I do - and in a surprisingly few number of moves! The blogging community is very inter-connected and I end up on your blogs (& then back to mine) through the most (seemingly) unlikeliest of routes. 

Have you ever played this game? Have you also been surprised by how small the internet actually is?

1950 as Envisioned in 1925

"Doc, we better back up. We don't have enough road to get up to 88.
Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads." 

~ Back to the Future ~

I stumbled across this a few weeks ago in my travels. 

Expand it for a closer better look. I think it's fascinating!

If I was...

A few days ago Martha from Plowing Through Life posted this interesting meme and challenged her readers to play along. It's a fun exercise and you can pick and choose if you don't want to do the entire list. Martha did them all and her answers were quite interesting; I think I learned a thing or two about her! ... Now here are seven things I think you should know about me :)

If I was a shoe, I’d be...

A hobbit slipper!!

I will knit these by end of winter and post the pics :)

If I was a hairstyle, I’d be...

LOL!

If I was a stone, I’d be...

If I was a scent, I’d be...

If I was a time of day, I’d be...

One of my all-time favourite songs.

If I was a mode of travel, I’d be...

If I was a day of the week, I’d be...

Have a good one!

Let me know if you do decide to play along.

I'd love to learn more about what makes you tick... lol!!

The full list is here.

Now Our Money Really IS Plastic!

Our new $100 dollar bills arrived yesterday. They're comprised of a polymer, developed specifically for the currency. By March 2012, a $50 bill will enter circulation followed by $20, $10 and $5 by the end of 2013. There are no plans to bring back the brown $2 bills.

The environmental impact of these new bills is noteworthy, as they are recyclable and 2.5 times more durable than their cotton and paper counterparts.

A Canadian focus group was commissioned to look at the bill and reported some amusing findings here. I've said it before and I'll say it again: we see what we want to see...!

A very interesting look at the numerous security devices imbedded in the new bills.

At Your Service!

I recently visited the store Artifacts here in Edmonton.

Great place, lots of imported furniture and eclectic pieces.

I couldn't help but notice a small theme happening:

Cat Butlers!

Wouldn't you like one of these by your front door :)

Like an Egyptian

 Love his cat pendant.

A Mercat!

"People who dislike cats in this life, will come back as mice..." ;)

Greetings earthlings! Today, June 15th is the full moon and skywatchers across much of the world are getting set for a total lunar eclipse that promises to shroud the moon in the darkest part of Earth's shadow for 100 minutes – the longest stretch of deep dimming in 11 years. Although we won't be able to see the eclipse here in North America, (no fair, and I do plan to place a formal complaint!) the moon will be brilliant nonetheless. There are different names given to the June full moon. In England, they refer to it as the Full Rose Moon. Algonquin tribes named it the Full Strawberry Moon because of the harvest of strawberries during this month. 

If interested, you can watch the eclipse live here. 

Speaking of celestial events, I received my first official message from The Universe today :) I followed a link on LaelShine's blog the other day to TUT and signed up to receive a personal daily "little reminder of your power, life's magic and how much you're loved" from The Universe. How enchanting is that?

WOW! Just checked in on your new dreams, Jane! Love all the "bells and whistles" you dreamed up! Smokin' hot!

Apparently, however, there's some confusion over where the bouncy seat is supposed to go. So I just told them to put it in your world headquarters executive office, in front of the aquarium... beside the hammock... behind the popcorn maker.

OK?

You're so cute,
The Universe

Lol, I love it haha!  

Tuesday Greetings! I don't know about you, but one of the true pleasures of summer for me, is opening the windows and letting the scents and sounds of the season permeate my house. I was reflecting on this while taking a bath by an open window one evening last week, all the while acutely aware of all the life just outside my window; the brisk breeze moving through the trees, numerous birds calling to and fro, frogs singing their own froggy songs of love in the pond behind our property! So many joys :)

At the time, I made a mental note to ask my readers if they would share one of their favorite things about summer. Let's celebrate it while it's here!

You may recall that I was in Kingston, Ontario a little over a week ago. My sister and I were fortunate enough to spend the better part of one morning and that afternoon downtown. It was a gorgeous day and Kingston is a beautiful city, something which I'm sure Martha from Plowing Through Life can attest to. This city was originally groomed as the possible future capital of Canada and as a result, the architecture throughout is a treat for the eyes.  Here are just a few highlights of our day. I confess that I sometimes wonder if I secretly drive the people I'm with bonkers by my incessant picture-taking... I hope not!

An interesting sidenote is that Kingston is home to the Kingston Penitentiary; (or more affectionately known as KP & Kingston Pen) one of the world's oldest prisons in continual use. Paul Bernardo (she shivers...) is currently incarcerated there and Wayne Boden, the Canadian "Vampire Rapist" was a recent past guest. I am alway amazed that this jail is located right in town - just a few blocks from Queen's University and with (if you're a model prisoner I guess) a lovely view of the scenic harbour lol!

No, this isn't part of the Kingston Pen lol!

The downtown is interlaced with these lovely shortcuts which intersect streets.

This is Cooke's, established 1865.

Teas, coffee, jams, and nibblies from all over the world.

You could spend hours just admiring all the interesting packaging.

This display and the one below are one of many that line the top of the shop.

This fountain is tucked in one of the paths which intersect streets.

We ate lunch on the patio at Le Chien Noir (The Black Dog)
 This was the charming view from my table :)

Cute flower cart and quote.

How much is that doggie in the window?
He was sitting just inside the front door when we first wandered in,
but by the time we left he'd flopped himself under the window display :)

Happy Friday :) A few jewels before we get to the second part of our African Lion Safari tour. A faithful reader forwarded me this video. I don't think I would have envisioned this design if I'd tried. Innovation never stops - I guess it is at the heart of man.

In science/space news, the uncanny resemblance of a galaxy about 30 million light years 

away from Earth, to our own Milky Way has astounded astronomers.

This is the best-yet picture of NGC 6744, a spiral galaxy described as a "sibling" of our own Milky Way.

The image was snapped by the European Southern Observatory's MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope in Chile.

The galaxy lies 30 million light-years away, in the constellation Pavo.

While it is almost twice as large as the Milky Way, it exhibits the same sharply-defined spiral arms and stretched central region.

There is even a small companion galaxy, visible at the lower right of the image, which is analogous to our own galactic neighbours the Magellanic Clouds.

Those arms host many star-forming regions; the glow coming from hydrogen gas in these active regions shows up as red in the image.

This is the second installment in our African Lion Safari tour
(a backrest on a chair in the restaurant)

Fyi: the monkey in the background is playing with someone's side mirror..!

Hate to admit it, but I am not the Monkey's biggest fan!

Perhaps we are the main attraction but don't realize it?

The ostrich above was chasing off one of these characters.

These guys made me kind of nervous...
They could make mincemeat out of any vehicle. 

After our lunch, we moved on to the petting zoo

I didn't try to pet this one lol!

This is our third day of light rain. We were just beginning to get dry and this is so perfect. It's slowly permeating everything. I thought I'd pass along this great video. Close your eyes and I think you'll be hard pressed to tell the difference.

Resource Furniture

Someone posted this on Facebook. It profiles amazing space saving furniture.

The debate continues. If you will recall, a few months ago I posted about the controversy surrounding the Oxford Dictionary's decision to include a number of slang terms in their 2011 online edition (including omg, tmi, wag and my personal favorite muffin top!) Well, yesterday morning CBC Radio One discussed reaction to the newest words accepted into the game of Scrabble. If you've ever played Scrabble with friends or family, no doubt you've had many an argument over whether something really is a word or not... I know I've been frustrated by other people's (who shall remain nameless!) nitpickiness more than a few times myself. Fyi: my spell check doesn't recognize the word nitpickiness, go figure :) 


A couple examples of the latest additions to the Collins Official Scrabble list include:

GRRL: 1. female internet user 2. term connoting strength, self-confidence

THANG: thing

BREDREN: brother

GOBI: cauliflower

INBOX: email folder for incoming mail

INNIT: isn't it

NANG: cool

PUNAANY: female sex organ

QIN: a Chinese zither

TWIGLET: wheat snack

VLOG: video blogging

WAGYU: a breed of cattle

Life is Like a Jigsaw Puzzle

I came across this cute write-up today in a Daytripping magazine and thought I'd share my favorite six points. Daytrippers are free in just about every community throughout Southern Ontario (I happen to be visiting here for the next week) and outline the best antique shops, artisans, craft shows, museums, events etc. worth taking in. While here, I am antiquing and hope to have interesting finds and pics to share once I return.

Everything I Needed To Know About Life 

I Learned From A Jigsaw Puzzle

1. Don't force a fit. If something is meant to be, it will come together naturally.

2. When things aren't going so well, take a break. Everything will look different when you return.

3. Be sure to look at the big picture. Getting hung up on the little pieces only leads to frustration.

4. Perseverance pays off. Every important puzzle went together bit by bit, piece by piece.

5. When one spot stops working, move to another. But be sure to come back later.

6. Establish the border first. Boundaries give a sense of security and order.

The Dandy Dandelion

The Battle

I'm not sure where this originates from; it was emailed to me earlier today.

TWO WOLVES

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson 

about a battle that goes on inside people.  He said, 

"My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all.

"One is Evil -  It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, 

regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, 

inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

"The other is Good -  It is joy, peace, love, 

hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence,

empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and

then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?" 


The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

                                    

Wildlife Photography of the Year

I thought our gift subscription had run out, but we are still receiving The Canadian Geographic magazine... I have enjoyed it so much I am seriously considering calling and renewing for another year. Here are some of my favorites from this year's Wildlife Photography contest. Check out the rest of the winners here

My personal favourite :)