A Red Carpet Welcome

It has been a very long time since I acknowledged my many readers from around this awesome world, so… Here is a list of all the countries (some with provinces listed) where you, the appreciated readers of my blog live. Thank you all for taking a few minutes from your busy lives and stopping by to visit me. I hope you enjoy the posts and stop by regularly. For those of you who don’t “follow” my blog, and are not sure how often to visit in order to see new content, I sometimes succeed in posting once a week. Now that I am publishing my fiction novel, In Ravenscrag’s Shadow, I am trying harder than ever to maintain a weekly post – and so far I’ve been successful. Enjoy…

Countries of the World:

Albania, Argentina, Austria, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, China, Czech Republic, Chile, Colombia, Cote D'ivoire (Ivory Coast), Costa Rica, Denmark, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guam, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Islamic Republic Of Iran, Israel, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Kuwait, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Maldives, Mexico, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Philippines. Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Saint Vincent And The Grenadines, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, Venezuela, Vietnam, The Former Republic Of Yugoslav, Uruguay

Argentina: Distrito Federal, Buenos Aires,

Australia: Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia

Brazil: Minas Gerais, Rio De Janeiro, Rio Grande Do Sul, Parana, Pernambuco, Santa Catarina, Sao Paulo,

Canada: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Newfoundland And Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan, Quebec, Northwest Territories,

Chile: Region Metropolitana,

Germany: Nordrhein-westfalen, Niedersachsen, Bayern, Baden-wurttemberg, Schleswig-holstein,

India: Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh,

Mexico: Veracruz-llave, Jalisco, Distrito Federal,

United Kingdom: Devon, England, Isle of Man, Scotland, Bath And North East Somerset, Southampton, Nottinghamshire, Liverpool, Kent, Glasgow City, Cumbria, South Lanarkshire,

United States: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Washington D. C., Wisconsin

A New Day

Today is a holiday in Canada and I've spent some of the day tinkering with my blog. I added a few things and took some away. I changed colours and words. I added photos to the Pointer Island Showcase slideshow, and discovered a few spelling errors here and there along the way. It's been a great day so far! I appreciate the many who stop by from time to time to read and enjoy my blog. For those of you who wish to "follow" my blog, there is a new feature from Blogger (in the sidebar near the top) that will allow you to do so with a bit more ease. I haven't seen this feature on anyone else's blog yet, but I expect other bloggers will discover it soon enough. I wonder if you like the colour changes I have made to my blog? Please feel free to offer beefs or bouquets.

On February 12th I was waiting for Mike, a tired farmer, who had to clear enough snow so I could load some of his wheat. It took him and his tractor about two hours, and while I waited, I wandered out in his field in search of a photo opp. Wow, was I rewarded! Tiny patches and filigrees of ice on the stubble field were just far enough off the ground to fit my camera under them! This is nature's jewelry at its finest! I never knew you could grow gemstones in a wheat field. I wonder what other wonders I haven't seen yet??

My life, of late, has been rather hectic. I rarely seem to be able to squeeze out enough time to read the blogs of others and then there's the writing of my own posts that's mostly missing as well! (I do have a good excuse, but I find that excuses only satisfy the one who makes them. Here goes anyway...) For the past two months, my driving job has been inundated with visits to the repair shop. My truck is only two years old, but it has issues! Caterpillar (the maker of my engine) would not pay for warranty repairs unless they could prove that their workmanship was at fault. They sent me to a highly specialized test facility in Calgary - the nearest diagnostic facility with a Dyno (basically, a treadmill for large trucks). On February 5th, I left home at 4:45am and pulled back into my driveway at 10:20pm! Yee Haw! I was so tired!!! Here's the shot of my truck on the Dyno.

Now that the dust has nearly settled, Cat is repairing my semi under warranty and I am driving a rental unit in the interim. The first rental unit I had broke down, and now I have another one for a few more days. The first morning I tried to use the second rental unit, it wouldn't start and required a boost. I am feeling disillusioned and discouraged, since it takes me about an hour to move trucks, not to mention just starting the engine and then getting used to the way the unit handles. I really don't want to run over anyone by accident! (If you see me coming, just stay off the sidewalk and you'll probably be safe!) My unit should be done in two more days, but I'm not holding my breath quite yet. All the stress hasn't killed me (or anyone else) yet, so I think I'll be fine.

Photos and Links are here

Hi everyone,
This morning, I spent some time adding some links and photos to my blog. I have more photos to add, but want to add them as a link instead of filling up the home page. This blogging thing is new to me and I still have to figure out how to add a link to a photo album. All in good time. Thank you all for visiting. Please tell your friends about my blog and look for my new website. It will be ready soon. I may just put the photo album on the website, but we'll see. My data is still evolving, but extinction is not an option!!!
Later....