We had a wonderful celebration yesterday. All of us together - perfect. We started the day with coffee and chat. Meg showed us all the gifts she had already receved from Jay's family down south. What a haul! But look at our loot! Aren't we spoiled!?
I took several photos, with my camera on Auto. Got some great keepers. A few of them were blurry, and some of the DOF was a bit off, but hey - they're still keepers!
Gracie was right in the middle of things like a bull in a china shop. She got several new toys and went from one to the other. A few of them are squeaky toys and she's not too sure about that. She starts to whine when it squeaks!
Here's one of Gracie opening another one!
Lauren and Meghan were side by side on the loveseat on their laptops. So nice to see my girls having fun together.
Tomorrow is MY side of the family's celebration. There will be 19 of us for fun, food and family good times! Can't wait.
Dec 28, 2007
Our Christmas
Dec 26, 2007
A few Christmas Moments
We don't celebrate our Christmas until tomorrow! The presents are still under the tree and the stockings have just been stuffed! My daughter is on the road, on her way home. She should be home by midnight, so I'm anxious to know when she'll be home safe. Hubby is working nights tonight, so once he gets up, we'll be having our traditional family Christmas - two days late! No problem though - as long as we're together.
We did have some great moments with extended family though. Here's some of my favourite shots from the last few days.
Dec 23, 2007
The Gingerbread Angel
A story of goodwill, cherished memories and what Christmas is all about. Please feel free to share it with your family, but please DO NOT PUBLISH.
I won a short story contest in 1993 with this story! Enjoy and MERRY CHRISTMAS!
[I tried to enlarge the font, but it wouldn't work. If it's too small to read, just press Ctrl +]
_____________________________________________________
THE GINGERBREAD ANGEL
1993 - © Deborah Pero
The old man picked up his cane from beside his chair. He grasped the handle and gently placed the cane's tip on the wooden floor. Before rising completely from the squeaky rocker, he paused briefly for balance and winced with pain as his knees quickly reminded him of his arthritis. Brutus was insistently scratching on the outside of the cottage door as the old man slipped his feet into his moccasins before going to let the small pug in.
"I must have fallen asleep," said the gentleman to himself as he glanced at the clock on the wall. "Poor 'ol Brutus has been out all this time. I'm comin' Brute!", he yelled from the hallway.
The old-timer propped his cane in the corner and gave his long grey beard a gentle massage before opening the wooden door. Standing before the outer screen door, he called for Brutus. The chubby pug wagged his curlicue tail vigorously when he saw his master through the screen. Frigid gusts of wind licked at the man's feet. He pulled his sweater tighter around himself and shivered. A fluffy layer of snowflakes was stuck to the canine's sandy coloured fur - from the tip of his tail to his little blacked pushed-in snout. The mutt gave himself a mighty shake to rid himself of the snowy burden. As the pup was about to climb the stoop to the warmth of the bungalow, a large mushy snowball whizzed through the crisp air and landed with a 'splat' just inches from the pooch's backside. The senior was just about unleash his pet when from the street he heard a chant.
"
Mr. Adams was used to the jeers and taunting now. Most of the neighbourhood children had ridiculed him at least once these past few weeks.
Unleashing Brutus, he led him into the protection of his home and closed the door to the coldness outside. It was December 18, the last day of school before Christmas holidays.
- - - - -
Jeremiah Adams thought he would never get over his wife's death. Just a few months earlier, Heather Adams was a lively, gentle woman full of zest and vitality.
Heather became a teacher when she and Jeremiah found out they could have no children of their own. For 30 years she taught kindergarten at the elementary school at the end of the street. She taught at that same school until the day she died.
Heather was walking home from classes one crisp autumn day when she was suddenly struck by a car, whose driver had lost control of the vehicle. Jeremiah was at his job as a carpenter when he received the call that his wife had been involved in a serious automobile accident. She never regained consciousness. Jeremiah's heart was broken. He would never smile again.
Things got even worse for the widower. The couple had not a great deal of money, so after funeral costs and endless debts, Jeremiah had barely enough to live on. He found it harder and harder every day to be able to work. His arthritis worsened.
Weeks passed slowly by as Jeremiah became more and more depressed. He neglected his household chores, inside and out. The leaves piled up beneath the trees that fall and remained there until the snow gently blanketed the ground. Not only was Jeremiah lax in the upkeep of his home, but his personal appearance suffered as well. Even though he rarely went outdoors, the children began to tease him as his beard grew longer, his clothes more ragged and his face more sullen.
Things went from bad to worse when the children that Heather loved so dearly, began to mock and tease him and throw rocks and snowballs at his home.
Jeremiah might have resorted to suicide that cold winder day in December had it not been for Marcy.
- - - -
It was love at first sight for Marcy on her very first day of Kindergarten that September. Ever since she was three years old, she had been looking forward to starting school. That first morning, she eagerly hopped into the bus, her green eyes full of excitement. Her naturally curly auburn tresses bobbed ever so gently as the bus took her to school. When she stepped into the large classroom full of toys and books and pictures and wonderful bright colours, she just knew she was going to love her teacher too. And sure enough, standing in the middle of the room, was a plump little woman with the warmest smile Marcy had ever seen.
"Hello Marcy. I'm Mrs. Adams. I sure hope you'll enjoy being in my class. Come with me and I'll show you around." At that moment, as Marcy clasped her tiny little hand in Heather's, they instantly became friends.
Each day was a wondrous joy for both teacher and student. Heather had never taught anyone quite so bubbly and sweet as Marcy. She was intelligent too. She sometimes forgot that the little girl was only five years old.
Mrs. Adams made learning fun for her students, but Marcy was like a sponge soaking up every little bit of knowledge with wonderment and amazement.
Their fondness for each other grew and blossomed every single day. The last thing Marcy saw when her school bus pulled away from the school on that fateful autumn day was the glowing smile on the best teacher in the whole world.
For a few days after the woman died, Marcy would remain in her room for several hours at a time. She would look at the books that Mrs. Adams liked to read. She would sing to herself the songs her class would sing everyday. And sometimes she would cry. When her mom and dad first told her that her teacher had died, Marcy did not cry right away. She began to sob only when she realized that Mrs. Adams would never again be her teacher.
Weeks passed. Marcy still liked school, and her new teacher was OK, but she didn't quite have the same enthusiasm as she once had.
On Christmas Eve, Marcy reluctantly pushed aside her sad thoughts to let in the magic of the day. She gleefully sang carols with her parents while helping decorate the tree. She secretly assisted her dad in wrapping a few gifts for her mom. Later, as Marcy's mother was removing a batch of gingerbread angel cookies from the oven, Marcy asked her, "Do you think Mrs. Adams is a Christmas angel up in Heaven?" Mother and daughter decided that a person so kind and wonderful as Mrs. Adams was, she just had to be an angel. In fact, they were positive that right at that very minute, she was gazing down at her loved ones from Heaven.
For just a brief instant, they though they could actually feel the feathery touch of the angel's great wings on their shoulders. "Mommy, Now that I know Mrs. Adams is a Christmas angel, she can be with me all of the time. I don't have to be sad anymore," the little girl exclaimed.
Later that afternoon, just before dusk, Marcy knocked loudly on Mr. Adams' door, as her mother waited for her near the street. As soon as the old man opened his door, the young girl began, "My nave is Marcy. I brought you a present."
The old man was puzzled. Who was this child? She continues, "Mrs. Adams was my teacher, and I miss her very much. I know I'll never see her again, but she'll always be with me!" With her mittened hands she thrust forward a delicate gingerbread angel. The angel's gown, painted with a frosty pink icing was adorned with gold and silver candy dragees. Its sugar crystal wings sparkled like snowflakes in the moonlight.
"This is for you," the tiny one said. "Now Mrs. Adams can always be with you too. Merry Christmas, sir."
The old man didn't know what to say. With a lump in his throat and a cold shiver in his veins, he reached for the wondrous gift. A soft sudden breath of air caressed the old man's face like a kiss as he held the Christmas Angel in the palm of his hand. An odd glow warmed his heart like a shining star within his breast. He turned his gaze to the skies and a moistness momentarily blurred his sight. A glorious beam of moonlight seemed to fill the world with light. Jeremiah heard a choir softly singing in the distance. He was sure he heard his wife's dear sweet voice echoing in the twilight. And he smiled.
Dec 7, 2007
HAPPY HOLIDAYS
It's been quite a while since I last posted. Partly due to health issues, partly due to total lack of motivation and inspiration! It's not that I haven't thought of blogging, I have - but from mind to computer is another thing altogether!!
Each year I like to take a family photo for Christmas. Last year's is HERE.
This year I wanted to do something funny. I had in my mind to do this outside, because we were having a very mild November. Of course, just before we planned to do the shoot, we got dumped with several inches of snow and it turned COLD. I don't have a lot of room in my living room, but it's the nicest room in the house so I set up there. Not a lot of room for good depth of field either, but you do what you can! We made some fun and unusual clothing choices and had a total HOOT taking these! I had some issues with backlighting, but I think I managed to deal with it okay. Hope you enjoy them!
Tuning up for a Jingle Jamboree!!
Thanks for looking!
HAVE A FUN AND GROOVY HOLIDAY SEASON!!
Oct 27, 2007
My Prince Charming ?
We closed up the cottage the other day. It's always a sad time, saying goodbye to the place for the next few months. Besides getting the chores done - packing up the perishables, the freezeables, bedding and clothing, etc., we turned off the power, winterized the water pump and put away all the water toys and canoe. We hung up the snow shovels in a tree. [One winter we got to camp to find they were frozen solid into the ground. We had to 'shovel' with our feet!]
It was quite cool outside, but not raining, so we had a campfire and just sat and stared at the flames for awhile, neither of us talking. It amazes me how long we can stare at dancing flames and jumping sparks. Very mezmerizing.
By the time our campfire had turned to coals, the camp was warm enough to go inside. We took the wood-stove out when we were doing our renovations, so until next summer all we have for heat is a construction heater. It works great, but it takes awhile to heat up the whole camp.
I bought some Roman style, roll-up blinds for the four new windows. Each window is 6x4'- that's a lot of window! I didn't want our place to look like an aquarium with the possibilities for looky-loos and shady snoopers to peek inside - [ not that there any such characters on our lake!!]. So, we installed the blinds mainly for privacy. Also, because there's so much window I didn't want the cute little chickadees and nuthatches to break their necks thinking they could fly through them! So, after the blinds were installed we took a walk in the bush. Our last one of the year. The smell was divine! There is nothing like the fresh, damp, biodegrading smell of fallen leaves and moose poop. No really, it smells like nature. I'd love to bottle that smell and in the middle of winter take the cap off the bottle and take a good whif - so it can take me back to the middle of the bush, at least in my mind.
I took a few photos of water droplets on the leaves. Just a few of them turned out. I was feeling very uncreative lately in the photography department. Must be the rain. Or the lack of GREEN. Or the lack of anything ALIVE!! But, just as we were ready to pack up the recyclables and the empty beer bottles we saw a big, honking TOAD!! This dude's body [or dudette - how can you tell?] was about the size of my fist. I thought for sure he was going to scurry [do toads scurry?] under the camp, but he hopped up onto a rock as if to say, "I'm here for my photo shoot". He sat for me and posed while I took shots from several angles. What a guy!! Don't you wish your guys were that cooperative?
I named him George. Anyway, I started thinking it was a sign. This guy was my good luck charm. First of all, I thought toads and frogs would have already hunkered down for the season, here this one was right out there enjoying the near zero temps! I just kinda knew that it was going to be a great autumn and an even better winter. I knew that our camp would fare the loneliness just fine until we next returned when the ice is safe for crossing. I felt that I was going to have a better year, healthwise. I can't explain it, but George made things feel right.
That evening, back at home there was a clear sky and a gorgeous full moon. I went to Google and look what I found on the first hit!!
The ancient Chinese revered a mythical creature known as the Chan Chu or "Toad God". This toad is believed to be bring good luck, prosperity and wealth to its owner. Frogs have traditionally symbolized good luck and prosperity.
The Chan Chu is said to appear every full moon close to the people who are about to receive good luck regarding money!! 
Maybe I should have kissed George!
Oct 19, 2007
My Bad Day
I had one of those days. You know the kind -- when nothing goes right and you just wish you could either start all over again or fast forward to bedtime.
It started out fine, good breakfast, great latté, finished a great novel.
My daughter Lauren called and asked if I could drive her to work today. She's leaving for Ottawa with a friend right after work and she needed to bring her bags to work. She usually walks or takes her bike and couldn't do so with her suitcases. "No prob", I say! So, five minutes before I had to leave to pick her up I went to get the car keys and.... no car keys!! We have two for the car. DH has one [on his key chain - at work] and guess who had the other one? Lauren! Arrggh. So, she had to walk to work afterall, bags and all.
I needed the car today for some errands and a hair cut. So, I thought this would be a good excuse for me to take the dog for a long walk, listen to my mp3 player and pick up the key from my Lauren's work. Twenty five minutes there and back, sunshine and fresh air sounded good. I was tired of the tunes on my player, so I wanted to delete them and add some of Stuart McLean's Vinyl Cafe stories. Love listening to him! First of all, I couldn't find the USB cord for my mp3 player. Finally found it, but couldn't remember how to upload new stuff to it. Finally figured that out but it was taking FOREVER to upload just a few stories. I gave up after 3. No problem - that would give me a good start - about 45 minutes worth of listening.
I loaded up my pack-sack with pooper-scooper, wallet, umbrella and mp3 player. Good to go. Now, Gracie loves going for walks, but without her Halti [gentle, leader collar] she's a complete idiot on the leash. I usually put it on her because she's way more easier to control with it on, especially if we meet up with other dogs, however she HATES it so much and is always trying to rub it off somehow. She flops down on the ground, snout on the grass/gravel/ground and with her butt in the air pushes her self along with her back legs as she slides her face on the ground. I told you - idiot. So, to spare her the discomfort of the Halti today I decided to to just go with the regular collar. Bad idea. The walk was not pleasant. Tug, pull, tug, pull, yank, tug, pull. That annoys me. And to add insult to injury it was windy today. I HATE the wind. And this wasn't just a gentle breeze - it was full gale force in-your-face winds. After walking in it for an hour I felt like I had just been abused. Now I was really annoyed, wind-blown and sweaty, [it is unseasonably warm today, 20ºc and I was overdressed] and I was now getting an ear-ache and headache from the wind.
But, back home once again with the key I could now go do my errands with the car. Had to take some acetamin for my headache first. And change my clothes. I left for the the mall with the intention to buy blinds for the four windows at camp. I planned my time so I could buy the blinds and then go to my appointment for my hair cut. I found the blinds, but there were only two sets, not the four I needed. I had to struggle to get them out of the racks. They're 6' blinds and they were stacked at the BACK of the racks. I stumbled my way to the cash with them, [they were heavy and awkward] I asked if there were two more sets of blinds anywhere in the store? Nope, but the other store in the Valley has them. Good, they will transfer them to this store for me. I went to pay for the two that I had. NO WALLET. I had left it in the pack-sack from my walk earlier. OMG. Could my day get any worse?
I had to leave the blinds at the store, on hold so I could pick them up tomorrow. Good thing that parking is free at the mall, so I was able to leave fairly quickly.
I got back in the car and rushed home to get my wallet so I could make my 3pm appointment. I saw an empty meter on the street, turned into a driveway so I could back up into the parking spot and just as I was backing up, a van drove up from the other way and took my spot!!! I'm normally a pretty laid back person. I don't get excited or frustrated easily. I'm usually quite calm. It took a lot of self restraint not to back right up into that van.
So, I put my money in the meter and go to the salon. I get there and my stylist is running 1/2 hour late and would I mind waiting?
N-O P-R-O-B-L-E-M!!
The salon is next door to where Lauren works, so I gathered my wits and enjoyed an espresso and cookie while I waited. By the way my day had gone so far I was sure I was going to either choke on my cookie or bite my tongue or something. [the caffeine actually calmed my nerves!]
Fast forward an hour and I left the salon with a brand new, radically different haircut and style! I'm still not sure what happened. I'm usually not that brave when it comes to my hair. I've had longish hair for as long as I remember and today I bit the bullet and said "do what you think would look good"! OMG what was I thinking? But really, it's not so bad. It'll take a little getting used to, but it's okay. Hair grows back, right?
I had 5 minutes to spare on the parking meter and I made it back home in one piece!
There's 6 hours I'll never get back!
I know this pic doesn't have anything to do with my day, but it makes me smile!!
Oct 10, 2007
Bear!
This is the time of year for bears. There have been a lot of nuisance bears in town. There was one in my neighbour's yard a few weeks ago.
Since we've had our cottage, we've sighted a few bears, but never on our own property. I know they're out there, but thankfully, they haven't come around. When we walk back in the bush, we're sure to make lots of noise. At camp, I always freeze my meat scraps until we go home and I always rinse the recyclables and NEVER leave garbage out.
The cottage across from us is on an island. There seems to be more bears over there as we've seen them in their yard a few times. The bears never seem to be there when the neighbours are. I don't know if that's a cooincidence or if they stay away if there are people near by.
Just a few days ago we saw one at another cottage on the island. It was chowing down on grass or something. I hung around for a good 20 minutes or more.
I got DH to take me over in the boat so I could take some photos of it. I had my 50-200mm lens with a 1.5x teleconverter. I didn't get the greatest focus, but I was glad to get the shots I did. This was the closest I have ever been to a bear. We were about 30 feet away I think. You can see in the eyes that it's looking right at me!! I took about a dozen photos, and these were the best.
After we got back to camp, we saw it right across from us at the neighbours again, munching on her potted mums and Mountain Ash tree. Then it made it's way to the next camp. No hurry, no rush. Just searching for something more to eat.
Oct 9, 2007
Thanksgiving, Banana Boats and Fun!
I love spending Thanksgiving at camp. We've had some great temps, but no sunshine this year. It was overcast and cloudy, but no rain. We started a campfire Sunday morning before our guests arrived. Sipped coffee and enjoyed the warmth of the fire. Usually in the summer, we don't have campfires that often for fear of forest fires. But the wind was calm and the bush was already damp from a few days of rain, so it was nice not to have to worry about sparks. We gathered benches and chairs and circled them around the fire pit.
Doug had to take several boat trips to and from the Marina to pick up our friends and family. [We NEED a new boat!!] With only 5 life-jackets and comfortable seating for 4, it makes it tough! There was 14 of us all together for a wonderful Thanksgiving day.
I took lots of pictures, so I'll post more in a day or two.
We made banana boats in the hot coals. This was our lunch! We didn't want to be too full for turkey dinner!
Oct 5, 2007
It's Thanksgiving weekend and I love turkey!
We're having our turkey dinner at the cottage on Sunday. Fourteen of our family and friends will be joining us and the forecast is for WARM temps!! I can't wait.
My little oven at camp isn't very reliable, temperature wise, so I didn't want to take any chances in ruining a turkey so I'm cooking a 15 lb one here at home today. It smells heavenly in here right now. I'll slice it all up here, then wrap it nice and tightly. Then on Sunday I'll warm it up slowly just before we eat. I'll do the potatoes there. I think I'll mash up a sweet potato with the spuds this year and whip them with lots of butter! Mmmm. My sister is bringing her famous buttery, candied carrots. Others are bringing more veggies, V8 juice and snacks. My girls are bringing a bottle of Chai liqueur. That should go nicely with the Pumpkin Crappe dessert I'm going to make. I also bought the cutest little, tiny apples [Paula Red] that I'll be making Candy Apples with for everyone!
I'm hoping to have a campfire where we'll roast some marshmallows and make banana boats!
If the weather holds out, I'd like to set up the table outside. It'll be so nice to enjoy our meal in such peaceful surroundings. There are hardly any people on the lake this time of year, so it's the breeze, some birds and us!! Just hope the smell of the turkey and fixings don't attract any unwanted critters!!
Decisions, decisions...
I get tired of my furniture very quickly. In the 29 years of our marriage, D & I have had 7 different living room sets. That's an average change of 1 in 4.2 years!!
I've gone from plush to pastel, from plain to plaid, from sofa-bed to reclining. Looking back, I have to wonder 'what was I thinking?' I guess at the time, I thought I had made a sound choice.
When I get a new sofa, I LOVE it. I sit in it, I read in it, I admire it. But after a short time, I don't care if I eat food on it, or drink red wine on it. Then I get to the point where I start trying to disguise it with throws or pillows!
I also have a bad habit of changing the layout of my furniture. I do this pretty often. I get tired of the same ol' and need to rearrange things. DH has to laugh, he'll come home from work and find things anew once again.
Well, I'm at that stage again. We're looking for new furniture and it's so HARD!! We just brought our old loveseat to the cottage. The sofa is going to go in our rec-room in the basement. The old cart we were using as a coffe table also went to camp, so at the moment my living room has a recliner, a TV cabinet and the dog's bed!! I need to find something new soon.
I've been to every [affordable] furniture store in town, twice and three times! I keep going back to McQueens. They have the nicest selection. But that's the problem - I like so much! So now I have to decide what is going to suit me best for the next, oh, 4.2 years.
We've got a traditional dining room set in a dark walnut colour. I think I'd like to match something with that. I'd like to get two love seats and one recliner. Maybe an accent colour like dark burgundy for the lamps and recliner.
Oh, the decisions.....
This is the one I'm leaning towards now, [but in loveseat, not sofa]....
What do you think??
Sep 14, 2007
We are so lucky to have such a wonderful place to go to. Our cottage, [camp] brings such peace and tranquility in our lives. When we're there, our hearts are content and free from worry.
The weather has been so cool this week, well below normal for this time of year. But even a bad day at camp is better than any day at home! It rained a few times, but we had lots of inside work to do. Our addition is almost complete and we opened up the wall between the main camp and the new room. It's awesome!
I did a lot of brushing again. Give me an axe and I go nuts. I love cutting dead branches and lower limbs on trees. It opens things up and looks so neat and tidy. [I think it's an OCD thing of mine.] Had a few campfires and burned some of the brush. But first I had to cut up all the pieces to just the right size. I'm picky about that.
And I'm so anal about things being out of place or untidy. I even pick up the acorns that fall because they're scattered all over the place like specks of dirt on a floor. If I could, I would even sweep the ground! That's another story though...
The water temperature has gotten too cold for swimming. Gracie only went in once, although it's probably fine for her - it's just that it was so rainy anyway. Doug jumped in after a sauna, but not me. I wasn't brave enough.
We went for a walk on the Shoe Tree Trail. I brought the GPS with me and then I marked the trail with fluorescent tape on branches. I'm usually pretty good with my internal compass and have a good sense of direction, but we often get turned around back on our trail. Now with the markers, it's easy! It's so pretty back there, deep in the woods. The leaves are just beginning to fall and the sun dapples through the trees in spots. It's so quiet back in the bush. Saw one partridge, but that's it!
So, we're back in town for a few days to get some more groceries and building supplies. Having high-speed internet here at home is SO nice after dealing with dial-up at camp. When I'm there I can't even check out the gallery at TwoPeas because photos take forever to upload!
Thanks for dropping by and for those of you that take the time to comment, I appreciate it!
I took quite a few pics but none that I was overly thrilled with. I'm still struggling with my macro shots taken with my 100mm. I seem to have better success using it without the 1:1 adapter. Perhaps I need to use a tripod more, but I just hate lugging it around with me. This one was taken with that lens.
Sep 10, 2007
I'm THRIFTY, not cheap!
I am cheap. There, I said it. Actually, I like to consider myself thrifty, frugal, prudent or even conserving, but somehow the word cheap sounds so, well, cheap! My family has accused me of this trait for many years and razzes me about it constantly. Well, geez, they're going to thank me some day, I know it.
I took out a whole whack of old slides the other day. Most of them are from my Mom's collection, over a thousand I'm sure. Then a few boxes from my M-I-L's. They had been sitting in my closet collecting dust for so many years and I felt it was time to dig them out to have them copied to DVD. Being the ever thrifty person I am, I wanted to save myself a buck and try to do it myself. I did some research to see if it was possible to scan them on my flatbed scanner. I found a few directions, went out and bought the necessary supplies, all to find that it did not work. I wasted a lot of time, but spent only $9 on a fluorescent light, [which I returned]! No biggy.
After that initial failure, I figured I would bite the bullet and have them copied professionally. Walmart could have done each slide for pennies each, but my slides were so old, they would not fit in their scanner. Bummer. Costco doesn't do slides anymore. Bummer. Black's Photography does slides for $1.99 [wow, pricey] but my slides wouldn't fit in their scanner. Bummer. So, I found a place downtown that could do them for $2.00 per slide. I figured it would cost me at least $200 to do the ones I wanted. Only problem is my slides are so old and dirty, I had to disassemble each one to clean the glass inserts. Big job, but I figured worth it. So I began the task of cleaning old slides. For those of you over 50 years old, you might remember the slides I'm talking about. Thick plastic case, two glass inserts and the slide.
As I was having lunch one day with my daughter's boyfriend the other day, he said to me, "couldn't you just take a picture of them while displayed on the projector?" What a genius!! Why didn't I think of that? Long story short [ya, right] that's exactly what I did! I saved myself a couple of hundred dollars by doing it myself! I think they turned out wonderfully! I'm in the process of editing them now [hundreds] but thought I'd show you a few of my favourites.
So these are essentially, SOOC from the original camera and then from my camera after taking the picture on the screen. With a little tweaking in Photoshop, I think the results are pretty darn good! And I saved a buck again! You wouldn't call that cheap would you??
This is me, about 45 years ago at Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario
SOOC
My dad, sisters and me - circa 1962
CIAO, and thanks for visiting!
Sep 9, 2007
Words
I like words. Words are my friends. I think I discovered my love for words when I was 11 years old and wrote my first poem. I was hooked. Thirty-eight years later, and I'm still fascinated with the written word.
I love to read, I love to do crosswords, I love to write poems and stories, I keep a daily journal and I like to think I'm pretty good at grammar and spelling. Nothing drives me more crazy than words used incorrectly, spelled wrong or with poor grammar. I'm no english major, and I don't care if someone doesn't speak right, but if you're going to write it down for other people to see - make it right!! Look it up in the dictionary if you have to, but make it right!
As much as I enjoy reading a good book, I'm not into classic literature like Shakespeare. Dostoevsky, Orwell, or Bronte. I've never read Crime and Punishment, War and Peace or Wuthering Heights. Sure, I've heard of those timeless authors and famous books, but give me a good Dean Koontz, [my fav], J.K. Rowling, [she's a genius I say!!], Johnathan Kellerman or Patricia Cornwell novel and I'm consumed for hours in their tales! I don't like Romance books or Sci-Fi. I don't care for Non-Fiction unless it's about True Crime or Forensics, [another one of my interests]. I like characters like Kay Scarpetta, Lincoln Rhymes, Alex Delaware or HARRY POTTER!
My favourite poets are Rod McKuen and Emily Dickinson.
I enjoy doing a Crossword puzzle while sitting on the dock at camp in the early morning. Listening to the birds and the sound of the waves is so tranquil - great place for thinking! I like word games like Password and Balderdash and Scattergories, oh, and I LOVE Scrabble. No one else in my family is a fan of Scrabble, so I don't get to play it as often as I'd like!
When I first started writing poetry, I was totally into free verse. Reading back over some of my poems now, it seems I was into weird as well! What was I thinking?? Now I have fun writing in rhyme! Maybe it's because when I was younger, my vocabulary was smaller and I couldn't think of enough words that rhymed!
As some of you may know already, my favourite poem of all time and such an inspiration to me is DESIDERATA, by Max Ehrmann. When I first read his words when I was about 13 years old, they had a profound impact on me. It all made so much sens!! Does anyone remember the recording of this song by Les Crane in 1971? Kinda cheesy, but I love it!
To this day, I'll often turn to those words to remind me that the universe truly is unfolding as it should. And as Max says,
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Thanks for visiting Cheers!!
Sep 8, 2007
And you've got to have friends....
It has always intrigued me how easily some people make friends. I know that some people forge a friendship in grade school and remain close with that/those people well into their adult lives. Some people meet in a casual capacity later in life and strike a bond and become close friends for the remainder of their years. Other people make dozens of friends throughout their lifetime. Some close, some casual, some fleeting. Friends come and go.... and for me, they mostly go! I don't know how I've had such bad luck with friends. I'm easy to get along with. I'm kind and compassionate. I think I'm funny. Since I was very young, I have lost touch with so many of my friends, mainly because they have moved away. Some of the closest and 'bestest' friends I had as a youngster moved to other cities with their families. That was way back in the day before email or MSN or instant messaging. As young children, our only means of communicating over the miles was through snail mail. [Long distance phone calls were expensive and reserved for family only]. And as young kids often are, we weren't very reliable in keeping each other up to date and before you know it, we had lost touch and moved on.. At least 3 of my Grade school 'best friends' moved away.
Once in high school I had many buddies that I would spend my free time with, chat with on the phone, go shopping with and do girly things with. Two of those friends were particularly close, but one I considered to be a best friend. But once again we lost touch. It's a long story but it is still today one of the biggest regrets I've ever had.
Some psychologists might be able to give me insight as to why I've never been able to secure a lasting, close bond with a friend. I know I couldn't have helped it if someone moved away, but with relocation, strained relationships, and having some weird friends along the way, I have since become very hesitant to open up my heart to just any body. Don't get me wrong, I've got many acquaintances and many social friends that fulfill both DH's and my lives but I will always regret losing that one, best, do-anything-for friend.
If you have one of those friends, tell him/her how much they mean to you. You never know what tomorrow will bring.
*ETA - just found out today that two of our closest friends are calling it quits. I am so saddened by this news.
Sep 6, 2007
My FURRY Friends
First and foremost, our darling Vegas Grace [Gracie] who is our BEST friend! I don't have enough room in this post to brag about her!!
Then there's Finnigan [aka Mr. Finn, aka Finny], my daughter's cat. He just left our house to move in with her in her new apartment!! When he was a kitten, he and Gracie would cuddle and snooze together. They'd play fight and chase each other all over the house. So cute.
And this is Mally, my sister's Shitzu/Maltese. Mally is a little shy and insecure. She mostly sits on my sister's lap and watches life from up high!
This is Indy, DH's buddy's dog. Poor Indy had some issues as a young dog [snapping, biting, barking] but he's okay now! Whew.
Now, Spencer is a friends dog. He's old and crotchety. In the first minute he visited us at camp he chomped down on Gracie's nose, gave her a good bite as if to say, "this might be your place, but I'm boss around here." Poor Gracie, being the ever gentle soul she is didn't know what the heck was going on. Needless to say, she let him be boss and totally ignored him the rest of the weekend. He's actually a sweet dog - and still loves swimming, for hours!!!
Sadie-Lynn is Spencer's little [adopted] sister!! She doesn't like swimming so much.
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2. I am ANAL about recycling. I will NOT throw anything away that belongs in the Blue Box.
3. I hardly ever wear socks. I hate how hot my feet get. Even in winter, I usually only wear moccasins inside, with no socks.
4. I hate white noise. I don't like the sound of fans, heaters, blowers, etc., or any noise that is persistent and steady. Drives me INSANE. I don't like listening to radios or music before bed either.
5. I have three tattoos. The initial 'D' right above my cleavage. A sun/star on the nape of my neck. A design on my right calf. I designed the first two and my daughters designed the other.
6. I desperately wanted a third child ... probably until only a few years ago!
7. I skipped Grade 2. Being a New Year's baby, I didn't start school until I was almost 6 years old. [There was no such thing as Junior K back in my day and you had to be 5 to start Kindergarten]
8. For as long as I remember I have had a secret desire to be a TV or Movie actress. hee hee.
That's all for now! Thanks for visiting.
Sep 5, 2007
The Men in my Family... [err, the MAN]
I didn't realize at first that I had posted only women in my last Blog post! [BTW, thanks for the nice comments. My mom is always thrilled when someone comments on her photos! I'll be sure to tell her about these comments too!] And I'd also like to say that this week's theme is fun. I'm enjoying looking at everyone's posts.
So today, the men in my life. Both my Dad and my DH's Dad have passed away,and we have more women than men in our family. Besides one brother-in-law, the only guys in our family are two nephews, two nephews by marriage and 4 great-nephews. I don't get a chance to capture the guys very often because they're either not at the family events, or they're off doing their hunter-gatherer huddles around the BBQ grill! You know, where they stand in a circle around the meat and grunt! ha ha. In winter, you can usually find them in front of the TV or hovering over the food in the kitchen. Because I have no pictures of the other men in my family, I'm going to post of few of my darling DH!
Speaking of grunting by the grill......
Almost looks like he's trying to grill his face!
Doug is a musician. One day, when he was 31 years old, he said, "I'm going to learn how to play the guitar!" The rest is history! He plays lead guitar in a local band. I took this when he was jamming by the campfire and applied a filter to it!
I don't know if it was a midlife thing or what, but he bought himself a Yamaha VStar Classic motorcycle for this 50th birthday! Somehow, I never pictured him as a biker -- but one look at this photo and you can tell he's definitely not your average biker dude!! What a guy!
And this one from today is DH trying to change the oil filter. One thing led to another and he ended up with broken parts and even an extra part!! Needless to say he was not a happy camper, uh... biker! Not sure if he'll get it back together for his road trip on Sunday. 
Thanks for stopping by.
Sep 4, 2007
My Family [well, a few of them!!]
I am so fortunate to have almost all my family living in the same city as me! Out of an extended family of 26 people, only 2 live across country and another 6 live about 5 hours away. Even though we all live close by, we don't get together very often, so when we do it's usually quite an event. But even then, we're always missing somebody! Busy schedules prevent us from always being able to be at the same place at the same time! At Christmastime, we try to all gather on one day for a family dinner. It's hard to plan for a day when everyone can be there, so when that does happen, it makes it an even more special event!
We had a nice gathering this summer for a BBQ and party. Most of these photos are from that day. I imagine the next time we'll be together will be Thanksgiving and/or Christmas!
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This is my Mamma! She's 83.
My big sister...!
My niece...
My nephew's girlfriend...
My great-niece...
