Duck Dash

I am a member of a Facebook group of local photographers. I went out yesterday to the Rotary Club's annual Duck Dash! People purchase tickets on a rubber duckie. Each ticket represents one duckie. They are all released into Lily Creek at once and the winner of the race, wins the prize!! Proceeds all go to charitable organizations! Over 13,000 duckies were sold this year, [I think at $5 each!!]

Duckies in the Pool

Balloon animal maker

Spectators on the bridge

I think these guys are called the Soggy Bottom Boys [not sure]

Waiting for the Race to begin

Release the DUCKIES -- all 13,000 of them!

The firemen helped the duckies along with their hose!

Go DUCKIES, GO!

Making sure no duckies get left behind

Git along, little Duckies

New Dance Company

My daughter has started an independent Modern Dance company. Together with her sister and another dancer, they are starting out to gain exposure, raise funds and show the city that Modern Dance is alive and well!! I am so proud!!
elle Q dance company debuts this summer at our annual Northern Lights Festival Boreal. They needed a photo for some media coverage and for the NLFB program, so I got to shoot the trio last weekend.

I learned a lot on this shoot:

1. My kit lens came through and proved to be a darn good lens.
2. Lighting in an OLD house basement can be awesome
3. After setting CWB, don't forget to switch your focus back to Auto. I learned this the hard way as some of the shots were kinda blurry. DUH
4. A tripod is my friend
5. 160 shots isn't too many. Out of that many shots, I managed to get a really good selection of decent shots!!

So, if you live in Sudbury, be on the lookout for this amazing dance company!

earthdancers 2008

Just a few of the shots from the earthdancers performance 2008!

[My #1 daughter is in the first and last photo!]

HAPPY SPRING!!

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There's something about this image I just love. The sun peeking through the trees, the snow blowing off the roof of the shed, the shadows, the trees. Once in a while a photo just grabs me and this one did. It's so peaceful.

Folk Art

We finally got some tongue and groove Pine installed at camp. I was getting tired of looking at yellow and pink insulation for the past three years!!
Since we've had so many mouse problems in the past, I wanted to paint a faux mousey on one of the boards in hopes that the fake one is the only one we'll ever have! As well, I painted a bird/nest on the peak boards!!
Just thought I'd share how they turned out! I love them! Now I want to do another tole painting in the other room! Any suggestions??

Another beautiful day on Lake Panache

Winter can't get any better than this. Okay, for those of you that know I hate winter, you must wonder if I've lost my mind. I'm not a winter lover in general. I hate driving on snowy, slippery roads. I hate slush. I hate how dirty the snowbanks get and it makes the whole city look icky. I admit that I love shoveling, so that part of winter is okay!! I hate being cold. In summer, there's always a place you can go to cool off - like the basement, or a cool shower, or an air conditioned mall, or to the lake. But in winter, it's not so easy to warm up when you've got that deep-down chill.
BUT, at camp - winter is amazing. The snow couldn't be any whiter. The quiet is so quiet, you can practically hear your own heart beat. The birds flit from one feeder to the next and they are quite mesmerizing to watch. The snow seems to stay on the trees longer at camp and the branches are heavy with the white stuff. It even smells better.
As always, food tastes better at camp -- no matter what it is. Even a hot dog can taste gourmet - and I LOVE hot dogs.

Welcome to our camp....

I've been Tagged!

Heather, from CottageBlogger tagged me to list 7 Strange-but-true things about me! I'm always up for a challenge, so here goes:

1. I am really, really, really, really fastidious about waste reduction. I CAN'T throw something in the trash that can be recycled or reused, etc. I just can't. You might say that's a good thing, but it can be very annoying to friends and family members. I have been known [on many occasions] to take things OUT of the garbage that shouldn't be there. I am constantly razzing people for not following MY good habits!! I've also been known to pick fights about the importance of environmental issues. Oh, I could go on....

2. I can pick up almost anything with my toes!

3. I have an uncanny ability to harmonize to songs - even to ones that I'm hearing for the first time! Now, that in no means says I'm a GOOD singer, just that I can do it!

4. I secretly hoard chocolate.

5. I probably shouldn't admit this, but I like to peek into people's medicine cabinets! Once, at a party I hosted, I posted a sign inside my medicine cabinet that said, "I just caught you peeking inside my medicine cabinet. If you are reading this, you have WON - come to see me for a prize." Nobody claimed the prize!!! Hmmm, either no body looked, or they were afraid to admit it!!

6. I can't stand the sound of windshield wipers. When I'm driving, I set it to the slowest speed I can possibly tolerate. If Doug is driving, he usually puts them at the highest speed and I grit my teeth and seethe inside. I especially go nuts when it's stopped raining or slowed down and the wipers are still on high. Once, he got upset with me for telling him to turn them off, so now I have to grin and bear it and anxiously wait for the rain to stop. If he happens to run into a store or something, I quickly reach over and turn them down. If the wipers squeak -- it's even worse!! I can't explain it but they drive me NUTS!!!

7. When using the microwave, I have to stop the timer when the seconds read :09 or :13. It's a thing.

While I'm at it, I figure I'll post some photos from the cottage!



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January Blahs

I heard on the news yesterday that the third monday of January is known as Blue Monday. It's apparently the saddest day of the year for a lot of people. Resolutions are broken, holiday bills are pouring in, the weather is depressing and cold. This year things are even worse with rising gas prices and even worse for some because of the crash of the TSE yesterday!! Yikes!
I'm glad I don't suffer from S.A.D.

I can't say I love winter, or slushy driving conditions or frigid temperatures. I don't love having to wear layers of clothes inside because our house is so cold. I don't like that it gets dark so early. But, I am proud be a Canadian and I live in a wonderful city that is surrounded by lakes and forests and clean, fresh air.

They say that the cure for the saddest day of the year is exercise!! I can't say that I love exercise either, but I do love the fresh air and the outdoors.

So, I bundled up in my parka, snow boots, Hot Paws mitts, Penguin hat and took the dog for a walk. I didn't want to bring my dSLR because it was way too cold out, so I grabbed my old 3mp Sony P&S and went out on Lake Ramsey. The sun was getting low in the sky and it was dull and grey, but what a beautiful day!! The skating path was plowed and ready for eager skaters, but this day it was just me, Gracie, one ice-fisher dude and one skater... on the whole lake and on the boardwalk beside it!!

So, where was everyone? If exercise is supposed to be the cure, why weren't there more people out there walking, skating, skiing?

Hmmm, I guess Blue Monday didn't affect anyone in Sudbury!! Not only are we the Nickel Capitol of the world, I guess we're also the happiest! ha ha

Memory Ornaments

When I was un-decorating today, I decided it was time to get rid of some old stuff. A wreath, some small metal trees, a bunch of gift bags, some ornaments and more. As I took items off the trees, I started to have a nostalgia attack!

Just looking at some of the ornaments brought me back to my childhood. Remember those big, honking light sets we used to have? Big thick electrical cord and bulb glass so thick you couldn't break it without stepping on it! Mom and Dad had the most beautiful garland that I used to love to touch because it was so soft. It was a deep red rope of velour. I still have a small piece of it, about 2 feet long. It's over 50 years old! I turned 50 yesterday, and it hit home. 50!! That's a LONG time!

I remember how fragile the glass balls were and I stuck my fingers through many with my little 5 year old hands. Like the velour rope, I have a few of the original tree ornaments that my Mom and Dad had. They have to be at least 50 years old as well, but likely older. They are getting thin and more fragile every year and I thought it was time to take a photo of them, just in case I lost them.

These are the oldest baubles

This was made by me after my dad died in 2002.
I used some flowers from the funeral arrangement.

These were found in the attic of the first house we bought.
We also found old magazines and newspapers from the '30s and '40s!
Not sure how old these ones are.