SNAP - Snapped

Linking In With Helena's group at:  Snap

Helena's idea for Snap is a visually linked set of between 2 and 4 photo images.  The set can be based on colour, shape or subject.

My Snap group today is of the trees that had ice induced damage from the damaging ice storm that hit Ontario, Wednesday 23rd - Thursday 24th.  Thankfully our trees survived with only a few small branches snapping off.  Many trees around us did not fare well.  All day Saturday you could hear chain saws being used.  I promise this is the end of my ice storm sagas.

Willow At Riverside Park

Downed Poplar At Riverside Park

Manitoba Maple Snapped At Riverside Park

Old Ash Broken Across The Roadway

Dear Me ...

I follow a particular blog of a Canadian woman, who writes with the most amazing talent, passion & ideas. I saw this posted on her blog today.   I cannot wait to see her daily posts in this theme.

I am very tempted, although I do not think I would do as a daily blog posting but rather a daily journal writing exercise.  Several topics I think would be quite revealing to one's self; Day 11; Day 15; Day 22 & Day 27.    Which days do you think would challenge you the most?

More can be found here: April Love Letters

 

Have you ever written yourself a letter?  

There is a website set up for writing your future self a letter.  The framework can be found here: Dear Future Me

I have a few days left to ponder this idea before I have to decide. I have a couple of pretty journals that I could use for this specific exercise...

Memorandum Monday - March 28th

Linking in with Sian at:  From High In The Sky

Lakeside Encrusted In Ice

So what is new from the patio;  we survived the ice storm & several long power outages.  The ice storm rolled in Wednesday late afternoon & stayed around until Thursday afternoon.  We lost power for several hours on Wednesday & most of all day Thursday & again for a few hours on Friday.  Thankfully the ice did not cause damage to our trees other than a few branches down. On my walk Sunday there was a lot of chain saw noise.  Ice has melted off the trees, now to clean up the debris.

The newly returned Robins are really struggling in the cold & one blog group I follow along with were asking people to put out berries such as blueberry & raspberry for the Robins, which I was happy to do.
 

Canadian Robin Red Breast

 New movie; The Danish Girl, which I quite liked & it made me cry.  Eddy Redmayne is an amazing actor, HE totally disappears into the characters he plays. Alicia Vikander certainly deserved the Oscar for B.S.A.

Yew Jewelled With Ice

New recipe for Easter Sunday pudding - Hot Cross Bun Bread Pudding.  It had cranberries & chocolate bits in it.  I got the base recipe from Eagle Brand Condensed Milk advert in a cooking magazine. Their recipe called for Egg Bread.  I got the idea for using hot cross buns in a bread pudding from Mel at My Silvery Moon
 

Pine Tree In Ice

New to me book series I have started is The Morland Dynasty by Cynthia Harrod Eagles.  This series starts with a family in 1434 & the author is supposedly taking the Morland family right up to the present day. Currently there are 35 books in the series.  She originally started to write the series as a commission for teaching students (in GB) history in a connecting / interesting way.  I am a huge fan of history & historical novels & I am missing Downton Abbey. I need a fictional family drama to follow.  I have just finished book 1 of this series, The Founding  & ready to start book 2, The Dark Rose.   The Morland Dynasty has a Wikipedia page.
 

Sunset

 "As the light approaches the earth, it takes shape like clay pressed beneath a seal; it is robed in brilliant colours"    
                              ... Job 38:14

I hope that everyone has a brilliant colourful week ahead.









  

One Photo, 6 Words - March 25th: Cool

Linking in with Miriam's short story tellers at: One Photo, 6 Words

This week's word is Cool.

Ice Storm, Not Cool, But Damaging

Snap - Digging Up The Dirt

Linking in with some other very snappy folks at Helena's : Snap

This week my Snap collection is of the big earth movers & shakers, of which I would really like to drive.  In our area there is a lot of working going on to redesign farm fields & wood lots.  Two of the farmers are tiling their fields for better drainage.  One is expanding space for crops.  It makes me very sad to see so many trees being bulldozed down.  Rumour has it that one reworking of a field is making space for a communication relay tower.    Anyway, I give you Digging Up The Dirt.


 

Memorandum Monday - March 21st

Linking in with Sian & the other memo writers at: From High In The Sky

What's new with you this fair but chilly Monday morning?  

A quiet week except for the nasty storm that blew through the area bringing in hail, damaging winds, thunder & lightening.  North of us there was a recorded tornado touch down.  At 5:05pm the lightening struck a hydro pole down the street from us, knocking out power for over 10 hours. Out come all the flash lights & battery powered candles.  Thankfully we have a gas fireplace that does not require hydro to turn on/run.  Once the power was back on at 3:15am - we needed to reset all clocks & electronics which was quite a task.  We do have a lot of clocks in the house.  Thankfully the food in the freezer & refrigerator was fine.
 

Hail On The Patio - Blown Away Light Lid

So to the new.  A new season started on Sunday; Welcome Spring 2016,  although you arrived with a frost & a nippy wind, I am glad to call you home.  Everything is still quite dull & not a single sign of my snow drops.   The male cardinals are singing to welcome a new mate.  The first day of spring does not mean the first spring like day.  If you are in the southern hemisphere, Welcome Autumn.
 

New season means an end of the Winter Photo Scavenger Hunt, organized by Eileen & Joy - thank you ladies. Link Here: WPSH  Because we have had a mild winter & a promise of an early spring, the Robins are back early, so just in time I was able to get a photo of Item #1 - Robin Red Breast. 
  
I showed my friend a method of using the chopping board, which was new to her, but I have always done. The opening at the end of the chopping board I use to push off all my chopped veggies into the pan/pot, it keeps things from going all over - my friend thought the opening was just for holding or hanging the board.  She learnt something new from me!  That's carrots, celery & onion, the holy trinity of cooking,  sliding into a pot.

A new season of Formula One racing began in Melbourne Australia; it was an exciting start to a long race season with lots of passing, a rather horrendous crash, thankfully no one hurt.  Well done Nico.

Sending all of you some wonderful thoughts as we slide into the renewal festivities of spring. 

 

One Photo, 6 Words - March 18th: Moon

Linking in With All The Short Story Tellers at: Miriam

This week's word is Moon.  I must admit I struggled with finding a photo & coming up with just 6 words, then I had one, but after seeing the fabulous photos by Helena, Maggie & Miriam, I had to rethink my entry.  But rather than not participate, this is all that was in the purse this week ...

 

Not over the Moon for either.

SNAP - Trumpets Away

Linking in With Helena & where you can also link in with the other participants at:  Snap

This week my Snap is 4 photos of one object.  During our Adventure outing on Saturday the 11th, we came across this art installation.  It was quite large & I doubt my photos convey how large it really is.  Art amazes me, art inspires me & art also baffles me, but I think everyone can agree that this is quite a show piece. There was no explanation of why this art is on the outside of a building.

Sheba is a monument piece of work, created by Gabrielle Horvath by plaster bandage casting a live elephant, then rendering it in bronze in an abstract pattern of negative & positive space.  The lacy, almost filgree-like texture stands in stark contrast to the enormous mass it implies.  The actual elephant was not harmed in any way during the plaster bandage casting.

Sheba in Bronze

Close up of Sheba's foot - the artist has signed the piece in the toe nail

Close Up Of The Bronze Work

Elephant art pieces,  I have heard are lucky & must be turned to face the east, especially if their trunks are raised, Sheba is facing east with her trunk raised.

Memorandum Monday - March 14th

Linking in with Sian & the other Monday wavers at : From High In The Sky

New to me this weekend was what Mr Man calls an adventure.  We have both been feeling a little house bound & winter blah, so I pulled out one of the suggestions from our file of  Adventures To Be Had  & off we set  Saturday afternoon.  Of course all the errands & house duties had been seen to first.  Adventure guilt free!

We headed east of us, to a little hamlet called Glen Williams, or as the residences call it, The Glen.  Glen Williams lies quite close in a valley to the Credit River & has many hiking / walking trails. 

Glen Oven Bakery / Cafe in Glen Williams

I knew there was a bakery / cafe in The Glen,  which was our primary destination.  The sun was shining,  afternoon temperatures were on the rise to 14+ (c) so that when we arrived at Glen Oven Bakery, their patio was open &  filled with walkers from the near by conservation area out for an afternoon adventure.  The bakery part had a steady stream of regular customers buying their weekly bread needs.  The fresh baking smells were wonderful & I drew in deep breaths of carb delights & exhaled lost resolve.

The cafe section of the bakery was small with a few tables & chairs still available, so we chose the window table to sit at.  We shared a pot of tea, Mr Man had a blueberry scone & I a lemon cranberry scone.  The young lady at the counter had offered to warm the scones up & I was so glad, as the butter & jam just melted right into the flaky goodness.  Flaky but not crumbly & we both agreed that the scones tasted like more - so we did.

Tea & The First Lemon Cranberry Scone

After our second scone & draining the pot of tea, we headed out to wander.  First up an antique bookshop.  As soon as we walked in we both inhaled that old but clean book smell.  We rummaged upstairs & downstairs with the aid of the shop owner, who had lots of interesting stories about the books & local history.  There were two very detailed front window displays; on the left in celebration of upcoming St Patrick's Day, Irish authors & Irish history & general information books; on the right a beautiful display about Lucy Maud Montgomery, author of Anne of Green Gables.  Lucy lived in neighbouring village, Norval, for about 6 years, writing several books while there.  A visit to Lucy's home & gardens are one of the Adventures To Be Had.

 Bookshop - Beaumont Mill Antiques & Collectibles

Upstairs in the bookshop

We then walked up the street to an artist mill which housed about 30 different talented folks.  There was glass blowing; jewelry making, fabric creations, painters in ink, pastels, oil & sketch; stone sculptors, meal works & photographers.  The piece that had us in awe was a very large metal elephant on the side of the building.  I will be using this piece of art later in the week for another blog post.

Entrance With Two Mill Buildings Housing The Artisans

Of all the art we had seen the one artist we most liked was Michele Rose,  While she was not present, she had several pieces of her works on display.  We both found her paintings to be very relaxing.  Our two favourite pieces.

Essex Village

Another Essex Village

After a couple hours of wandering through the artist mill,  we wandered the main street, to look at some of the many stately heritage homes & cottages, beautifully refurbished & tended to. Glen Williams downtown is an intersection of 3 roads & the majority of Glen Williams lies behind this intersection.  It is an area that has seen a lot of recent large home/lot development, so all the homes have gone up in value. It is very expensive to live here.

The Charles William Historical House

Main Street Cottage

Once back to the car, we decided to take the leisurely country roads drive home, feeling quite refreshed. A definite revisit to the bakery for another afternoon tea & single scone outing.

I do hope everyone has some adventures in joy planned for the week ahead.     

"I wandered everywhere, through cities & countries wide, & everywhere I went, the world was on my side."  Roman Payne

One Photo, 6 Words - March 11th:Day

Linking in with the other short story tellers at : Miriam's

This week's one word is Day.

You, Work Day, Us Play Date!

Snap - Fly Me To The Moon & Back

Snap Sagas Can Be Linked Through Helena

There is a small airport close by & they have a wonderful little cafe that we like to have breakfast at.  There are a lot of small planes coming & going in every season, it is particularly busy in the Autumn when many of the small planes are taking sight seers up to view the gorgeous Autumn colours of the surrounding countryside. There is also an air school teaching flying for the brave of heart with deep pockets.

On this winter day, there was a lot of activity to keep the runways open & clear for the air school's class of take off & landing practice.

Memorandum Monday - March 7th

Linking in with Sian & all the other memo writers of the day at : From High In The Sky
  
Sending belated wishes of Happy Mothering Sunday to all my British Friends.  This side of the pond we will celebrate Mother's Day on May 8th (always the 2nd Sunday of May).

Too Cold To Sit & Watch The World Go By

 What’s new from the patio?  Well the view from the patio is one of winter white (again).  There are lots of empty peanut shells that the squirrels & blue jays have left behind.  The new from the patio is that the bird song is changing, more of it & definitely more noisy.  The daylight  hours are increasing, earlier sun rises, longer to get to sunsets.  New hope.

 

One Of My Cheeky Blue Jays

Not a lot of new activity this week for me.  On Tuesday of last week, I was to attend a new group of ladies that would have been meeting for the first time, but was cancelled due to a snow storm that rolled in March 1^st – in like a Lion. Brrrr

View From The Window Looking West Across The Fields

I came across this from Andrea Scher’s blog & although I have not enrolled, I am intrigued. “I fiercely believe that blogging is still the best way to grow your audience and find your tribe. So it is in the spirit of community, of not having to go it alone, of being able to share our work with a group of open-hearted souls that this course was born.”  .  This is the link to learn more about the workshop: Brave Blogging

I hope that everyone has wonderful, enriching adventures in the week ahead. "when ever I have a problem, I sing, which makes me realize that my singing is worse than my problem"

View From The Patio Looking West Through The Garden To The Fields

One Photo, 6 Words - March 4th; Write

Each Friday from Miriam's list of words, the idea is to make a six word story with one photo. You can link in with the other short story tellers at : miriam's

This week's word is Write.

Write to understand, then give thanks.

 

Snap - Crazy Leaping Socks

Linking in With Helena at: Snap
Have a look see what others have snapped in a collection of 2-4 photos.

Monday, February 29th was Crazy Sock Day at the clinic I work at.  It was our way of celebrating Leap Year Day.  

I give you four pairs of my crazy socks;

Cat Socks

Heart Socks

Glowing Pink Socks

Jazzy Dot Socks

WPSH - Round 3

Linking in with Eileen & Joy's Winter Photo Scavenger Hunt at:  WPSH

My entries today are:

#10 - Windy Day: Charlie really struggled this day to not get blown over in the high winds.

#12 - Fancy Button(s):  I bought with no idea as to where I would use

#13- Street Art:  I am not a fan of street art, although I think there are some real talented people doing this, I still see it as vandalization of property that does not belong to them.

#14 - Afternoon Tea: my new teapot that Santa brought for me - Be Awesome Today

#17 - Ladder(s);  The ladder in the woods made me laugh; it is chained to the tree along with a wheelbarrow, on some abandoned property, but the ladder in the stairwell was a really big ladder.

  #20 - Cutlery:  from Christmas dinner