The Colour Purple

One of the first things I do every new year is look up the “Pantone Colour Of The Year”. When I am working on a project I will always try to incorporate that colour. It isn’t always easy. With each colour comes an explanation as to what that colour means. Usually it is lengthy and more than a little pretentious. People interpret colours in different ways. Some people think red is fiery, sexy and hot. Others consider it a warning of danger or an indication to stop what you are doing. Blue is supposed to be calming. I find it cold and standoffish. Yellow is associated with warmth, sunshine and happiness. It also symbolizes cowardice and betrayal. You get the idea. This year the Pantone Colour Of The Year is called “VeryPeri”.

“Very Peri displays a spritely, joyous attitude and dynamic presence that encourages courageous creativity and imaginative expression.”

That’s the short version. You can find the long version here.

Most people know that I am a fan of shades of purple/lilac. To me “VeryPeri” is a purple colour but they say it is blue. My other favourite colour is green, but not emerald or forest, I love a good olive green. You probably could have guessed my colour preferences just by looking at the top of this page, my logo, or my avatar.

There was a time when purple wasn’t all that popular. I didn’t really care. I love purple. When I was in my twenties I was walking by Le Château (a trendy clothing franchise that is now defunct) at the Pen Centre in St. Catharines, Ontario. From about 20 feet away I saw purple squished in one of the racks of winter coats. Curiosity got the better of me so I ventured inside and found this beautiful (in my eyes) purple wool coat lined with a shimmering purple satin. It was $50, a small fortune for me at the time. As soon as I put it on, I had to have it. I wore that coat with everything. It worked with jeans, it worked with dresses. It work over a t-shirt and it worked over six layers of sweaters. It served me well for many years and I was always sad when I had to put it away for the summer. I loved my Big Purple Coat.

When one of my sisters was nearing the end of her pregnancy she was freezing with the winter weather and did not want to invest in a maternity coat to wear for only a couple of weeks. I offered her my Big Purple Coat for the duration. She wasn’t thrilled, but when she put it on she and her big belly were warmly wrapped and comfortable. My Big Purple Coat was returned but it wasn’t long before a friend borrowed it to keep warm during her pregnancy.  After that it became the Big Purple Pregnancy Coat. Friends, family and even my boss used that coat when they were pregnant.  It got passed around more than a bottle of rum at a pirate’s convention. I can’t even tell you who had it last. It always perplexed me when someone would look at me funny and hesitate before they would accept my treasure to keep them warm. I loved that coat and always felt special whenever I wore it.

Recently, I shared these thoughts with someone who had actually borrowed my Big Purple Coat. After all, purple is the colour most often associated with rarity, royalty, magic and mystery. Her reply left me speechless.

“That may be so, but it was also the colour of Barney, the big purple dinosaur. You looked like Barney.”

_{^{Image from Wallpaper Safari}}

Read Full Post »

So That Happened

Labour Day has come and gone. The days are getting shorter. The air is getting cooler. The end of summer is finally upon us. Can I get an “Amen”?
For most, at the first sign of summer’s end, around the world you can hear a hear a resounding ,”no,no, no…say it ain’t so”. Not this girl! I couldn’t be happier to see the back end of this summer that never was.

To be honest I almost wish I was young so I could go back to school.  The first assignment of the semester would be “How I Spent My Summer Vacation“.

My summer started out with the spider bite that wouldn’t quit.  I’ve already told the tale here (Bite Me) so I will just remind you with this.

I know. Gross!

By the time our 1st of  July, Canada Day long weekend rolled around, I was able to use my hand well enough to shift gears in my car again.  I decided to head home to Niagara Falls to have some fun. Long weekends are not fun on the highways in Southern Ontario.  A drive that normally would take two hours can turn into four, six or even an eight hour drive.

I would like to say this was Holiday traffic but the reality is this is pretty much every day on the 401.

The truth of the matter is that any journey that uses the Ontario 400 series of Highways is… well…hell!  At the best of times you are in for a situation that is much more like  a parking lot than a highway. Having conquered the 401 West and maneuvered my way through most of the 403 all I saw were break lights and more cars stopped as I approached the QEW to Niagara route,  which I consider my halfway point.  As I often do, I got off the highway looking for an alternative way to reach the QEW. Dundas Street across the top of Oakville was clear sailing all the way. Do not ask me why but there were few cars on the road.  All I can say is thank God!  As I approached the stop lights at Dundas and  Neyagawa Boulevard they turned yellow and I hit the brakes. Except…there were no brakes.  My foot went right to the floor and my car went right through a red light.  As I approached the next set of lights they were green and I was in the left lane.  Somehow I had to get off this road.  I made a left hand turn in front of cars approaching the intersection with my heart pumping and horns blaring in my ears. I was able to gear down and use my hand brake to come to a full stop. May I just say, “That was one of the scariest things that has ever happened in my life!”.  I was stranded half-way between here and there on a long weekend.  CAA came to the rescue. I was towed back to Pickering to a garage someone recommended.  The good news was that no one died. The bad news was that the brake lines did and the cost of fixing them was more than the car was worth.  Yes, that’s right folks. The girl who spends most of her spare time driving to Niagara Falls on both sides of the border no longer has a vehicle.

These are now my wheels.

It was time to practice my big sad eyes with He-Who now every time he wasn’t using his car so I could still cruise.  For the record, my big sad eyes have never worked on He-Who, I don’t know why I thought they would now.  It seemed there would be a lot of walking in my future.

Near the end of July I was happily starting training on a job I would be doing for a few weeks while someone was on vacation in Ireland.  The location of the job had their parking lot under construction so you had to park on the street and walk in.  I drove in with the woman training me  and we both walked from her vehicle . And then this happened…

Just be grateful I cleaned up all the blood before this shot.

I don’t remember a lot. Walking. Something catching my foot. S-l-o-w  m-o-t-i-o-n as I try to right myself a few times and then being surrounded by a lot of people.  As I lay on the ground trying to figure out what happened I could see the bent pole sticking out that had interrupted my stroll into work.  I was carrying files in my right hand and a camera bag over my shoulder so I wasn’t able to put my hands out to break my fall and I landed flat on the right side of my face.  A three-point face-plant,  if you will.  There have been x-rays and CT scans, Doctors and hospitals since then.  Broken glasses, chipped teeth, nerve trauma to my face and a pretty severe concussion.  Most have been fixed or healed or at least they will in time I’m told,  with the exception of the head injury. My memory is toying with me right now.  Concentration is difficult. Words are not my friend when I am talking, reading or writing. This  post has taken me a little over a month to sort out.  I’ve been having a really hard time keeping up with the blogs I follow. I have started commenting again and hopefully there aren’t too many mistakes.  He-Who has had to write some for me so I don’t miss a deadline. Fortunately, he is a better writer than I will ever be so that works. He will also look at this and edit it so I don’t embarrass myself too much with grammar, spelling or thought process.

It’s October now and everything seems so alive with colour.  We went for a wonderful drive yesterday and I took some pictures.  A sure sign that summer is over and I for one am glad of it.

Read Full Post »

A Colourful Day

Here in Canada we truly know it’s fall when Timmy’s starts serving their Pumpkin Spice Muffin and the leaves start to change colour. I have promised several of my readers that do not get to witness this (because of their lack of seasons where they live) that I would post some pictures for them. Sunday was the first day I actually saw any myself. I was a little further north than where I live and spent the day in Barrie and on Base Borden with family. Without further ado I give you colour…

What do you think was the most prominent colour of the day? Think pink. It was everywhere. Of course, that is because Sunday was the CIBC Run For The Cure held right across Canada every year. My sisters and I participate together and make a day of it. It is great fun to see everyone gathered before the start to see who has out pinked who this year.

The turn out was excellent.

Some wore stripes …

… a wedding dress or a grass skirt.

For some a simple pink boa was enough.

There were all kinds of hats …

… and various shades of pink hair.

This was my favourite team.

People like to warm up before they start to run or walk. Some do it like this.

Pat warms up like this.

Then it is time to begin.

We are all heroes this day — the organizers, the runners, the walkers, the survivors, the people we’ve lost to breast cancer and the people who support us every year as we try to find the cure.  We had raised over $304,000 by the time I left (the final total is still to come), just in this one town. Thank you to everyone who supported anyone in this cause. Most of all, I would like to thank everyone who supported me whether it was with a kind word or hard cash.

I hope you enjoyed the colours.

Read Full Post »