TGIF - Goodbye August

Thank you to Dr Brene Brown for this meme & thanks to all those that follow along.  For many TGIF has meant Thank goodness it's Friday, but Dr Brene Brown has us think outside the box of what TGIF can mean ...

Trusting: that my decision not to renew my contract past Thanksgiving will allow The Universe space to present more enriched opportunities to me.  My boss had offered me a permanent full time position & was disappointed that I said no thank you.  I did waffle back & forth but in the end Mr Man & I felt this was not what we wanted for me/us right now.

Grateful: for the pdf file of Travel/Adventure cards, the gifted scrapbooker, Ruth  sent to me for my own use in my Summer Manifesto album.

Inspired: by a recent borrowing from the library's magazine rack of  Breathe.  Some very interesting & timely articles.  I also noticed a book on the "new table" at the library called "My Year of Rest & Relaxation".   Umm there could be a theme or message resting upon me! 

Fun: it's a long weekend coming up - Labour Day Monday - it's also the last official long weekend of the summer as many return to school & school related jobs.  There will be fireworks!

 

Take Notice Thursday - SPSH Single & Pretty

In an effort to notice more of the ordinary in my life, I have decided to share what I have noticed this week in Take Notice Thursday.   The idea is to take photos that are linked some how; by theme, by colour, by date, by moment,  by points of view. There is no formal link in but please feel free to join in. 
  
What have you noticed this week?

Noticing a few things that certainly fit the bill for one of the SPSH items - #2 Single & Pretty.


A Blue Heron that visits one of the neighbourhood catchmen ponds

 This beauty is too close to the road for my comfort, I worry that not all drivers will drive cautiously in case she or her family & friends jump out.  She's so pretty in her summer colours.

But my entry for SPSH is this beauty.  A lady at church gave me the chrysalis in a jar this past Sunday; it was black which meant it was hours away from becoming a butterfly & sure enough, it broke out & was a beautiful Monarch Butterfly - it stayed in our garden for about 3 hours before it felt strong enough to fly off.

Feeling quite blessed to have noticed these beauties.

Me On A Monday - August's Last Monday Hurrah

Good Morning Everyone!  Summer is quickly winding down & today is August's last Monday hurrah.  

Let's do a little catch up as August has proven to be a bit of a wandering off the path.

Cards:  I attended a card class earlier in the month & these are three that I made.  I was really very pleased with the way they all turned out.  Our card class instructor "cased" all from other Stampin Up Demonstrators.  Case means, copy and share everything, which is prevalent in the scrapping & card making realms & I for one I'm thankful for the sharing of others.

Reading:  Just finished reading, Bring Me Back, best book read in a long time. Not a scary thriller, but certainly an intriguing plot (thanks to Eileen for this recommendation).  Once I got started, I found it really difficult to put down & turn off the lights for sleep. Earlier in the month I read, The Last Romantics.  I liked, but not a happy book.  It was primarily about the impact of one event & how that spun to other events & the characters reaction to the primary event & life long impact.  Also read,  Leaving Church, ( thanks to Karen for the this recommendation),  which gave me an insight to the life of a minister. It had me pondering the question of when is it a good thing to end a situation, regardless of how much it is something you worked for & wanted.   But what has my undivided attention & of which I've read cover to cover, front to back & back to front,  is the Holiday Stampin Up catalogue!

Shopping & Gifting:  I've tried not to do too much (in spite of re-reading the holiday catalogue mentioned above).  For my birthday earlier in the month, I did get a new daytimer, one that started in August 2019 & goes through to December 2020.  While I already have my 2019 daytimer,  I'm going to use the tracking sheets from the new one for the rest of 2019. I find the tracking sheets really helpful.  Plus the cover of the new daytimer is in two of my favourite colours; pink & green.  And this topic spins into my next one ...

De-Cluttering, Sorting Project:  It has somewhat stalled for July & August.  We I did accomplish a lot of shredding of old files.  In the end, 4 bags of shredding!  I got through some of my closet sorting but I became so over whelmed with work that my mind heart was not in to making decisions.  I also read an article that said I wasn't really de-cluttering but rather I was sorting, tidying & organizing the stuff.  Maybe the article was right.  I'm leaving some of the bigger areas that require, must do, should do  decisions until cooler weather & when I have more time to do & I mean really to get down to the business of de-cluttering.  My crafting stash is neatly organized but it isn't reduced!   

"everyday is sort of like a jigsaw puzzle, slowly it all comes together piece by piece & in the end makes a lovely picture."  ...Mary-Lou

TGIF - August 23rd

Thank you Dr Brene Brown for this meme.

Trusting: that a decision I've made is the right one as it impacts several other people.  I'm such a waffler.

Grateful: that when I fell down the steps at work, nothing was broken or sprained, only damage done was my ego - oh so embarrassed.

Inspired:  by the simple letter exchange it takes one scary word to a most powerful word;   Chance becomes Change. 

 

Fun: a play date with one of my nieces has been planned for the Saturday.  She is one of the sweetness little souls.

Take Notice Thursday - A Comfory Place To Watch

In an effort to notice more of the ordinary in my life, I have decided to share what I have noticed this week in Take Notice Thursday.   The idea is to take photos that are linked some how; by theme, by colour, by date, by moment,  by points of view. There is no formal link in but please feel free to join in.   

What have you noticed this week?

 




On a recent visit 










to the neighbourhood of Mr Man's childhood, we went to the pier for a walk.  New to the area were all these amazingly colourful chairs.  The town's park committee invited individuals & businesses to purchase one of the chairs & paint it as they saw fit.  The results is at least 100 of these comfortable colourful chairs.  They are chained to posts & such so that they don't develop legs. 

I've picked a few of our favourites. 

Me On A Monday - August 19th

Gracious me it's Monday & it's mid-August already!  

Today I have a post-birthday celebration TGIF.  Thank you to Dr Brene Brown for this meme.  And thank you to the Internet from providing some lovely pink examples of perfect garden birthday teas.


Trusting: that in spite of the desire to be outside, the rain was very much appreciated & will do the gardens some good. The lawns are crispy & beige which doesn't really concern me too much, it's the flower beds that were looking droopy.

SOURCE: Internet

Grateful: that I get to celebrate another birthday , when so many don't.  

SOURCE: Internet

Inspired:  by all those treats at a new, not so local to me, bakery, where I purchased a few to host my own birthday tea party at home. There was also the perfect, just the right size, birthday cake!  Just me, Mr Man & the Fur Girls, the perfect guests.

SOURCE: Internet

Fun:  Tea Parties; Champagne, Birthdays & Cards, all of which feature heavily in pink!

SOURCE: Internet

Take Notice Thursday - A Place To Grow Dreams

In an effort to notice more of the ordinary in my life, I have decided to share what I have noticed this week in Take Notice Thursday.   The idea is to take photos that are linked some how; by theme, by colour, by date, by moment,  by points of view. There is no formal link in but please feel free to join in.   

What have you noticed this week?

On a recent walk through a neighbourhood that is not ours, I came across this Little Lending Library.  Not only are they providing books but a place to sit & maybe thumb through a book before you decide on a title.  Little Lending Libraries are popping up in many neighbourhoods.  There has been one at a home in the south end of our village & when the residents decided to sell, their first order of business was to find someone to take on the Little Lending Library, as their real estate agent advised that it was not a selling feature, so best to remove or move it.  Thankfully someone in the area was able to re-home it.  Yeah for community.

"a library is a house of hope, it's a place where we all, whatever our situations, can feed our ideas & develop our dreams."  Doug Welhelm

Me On A Monday - The Return

Good Morning.  What a glorious weekend it was - Saturday's weather was a perfect summer day, in my opinion; sunshine, with minimal to no humidity, a slight breeze to keep the insects away from the patio & mostly quiet in the neighbourhood.

We had a little adventure recently off the patio.  A friends of ours told us about this place they had discovered as a possible site for their wedding, so of course we had to check it out.  After visiting, we have our fingers crossed that this place wins out as their choice of venue.  The Paletta Mansion was once the home of a steel magnet. He built his home on the Burlington side of Lake Ontario so that he could look across the bay to Hamilton where his steel factory was.  The home has 3 areas for receptions.  The gardens & lawn are considered public park so that could be a small drawback for photos.  Anyone could possibility photo bomb your session.  

There's one room that opens to a beautiful large terrace over looking the lawns to the lake. Perfect!  I already see myself on the terrace next summer in a frothy summer dress with a glass of champagne toasting friends.

This is the view across the bay to Hamilton

TGIF - August 9th

Thank you Dr Brene Brown for this meme.


Trusting:  that this trail/pathway will be open for use soon.  I know that the township is working hard to get this all ready & more importantly, safe for the users.

Grateful:  that I have cats & that my fur girls celebrated their 5th birthday this week.  OK they didn't celebrate, we did ... any reason for cake.

Inspired:  by a recent sketch  to use some of my stash & do something more than just stick photos down.  Although as it lays right now, I'm thinking it just needs a little tweaking of sorts.

Fun:  watching this little beastie enjoy digging in my pots & then feasting upon the seed heads of some of the spent annual flowers.  Oh my I do find chipmunks so cute.

"A garden must combine the poetic & mysterious with a feeling of serenity & joy."  Luis Barragan

Take Notice Thursday - It's Corny

In an effort to notice more of the ordinary in my life, I have decided to share what I have noticed this week in Take Notice Thursday.   The idea is to take photos that are linked some how; by theme, by colour, by date, by moment,  by points of view. There is no formal link in but please feel free to join in.  What have you noticed this week?

This week's photos are of the corn field behind us.  It has been a very good growing season for corn this year.  Lots of heat & humidity mingled with rain.  I have always said you can hear the corn growing & now there's scientific evidence that says yes indeed you can hear corn grow, you just have to have the right type of listening equipment.

From late June:

From mid July:

From Late July:

From August 7th - you can not see anything over the corn now, even standing on my garden bench.

"A light wind swept over the corn, and all nature laughed in the sunshine"

What Do We Call This Day?!

Happy Monday - It's a holiday for most of us.  This is one holiday that has multiply names so depending on where you live in Canada, heck where you are in the province, the holiday name changes.  So confusing. 

In the Western provinces: British Columbia, it's known as British Columbia Day;  Alberta calls their holiday, Heritage Day; Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan Day,  In Manitoba it's known as Terry Fox Day, which honours an amazing young man, a renowned athlete who loss his life too early in a battle with cancer. 

In the Maritime provinces:  New Brunswick= New Brunswick Day. Nova Scotia varied a little, Natal Day, which commemorates the founding of Halifax (capital of NS);  & Prince Edward Island,  Newfoundland & Labrador don't recognize the day as a holiday at all, to say nothing of Quebec recognizing the day (they celebrate a holiday in June that the rest of Canada doesn't).  The 3 territories don't recognize the day but like Newfoundland they also have other days of holiday & celebration in August.

Ontario's Provincial Flag (Source:Internet)

 But we in province of Ontario cannot agree on a single name for the holiday. In Toronto (captial of Ontario)= Simcoe Day; Ottawa (capital of Canada) = Colonel By Day; Hamilton = George Hamilton Day; Burlington = Joseph Brant Day; Brantford = Founder's Day;  Oshawa = McLaughlin Day; Sarnia = Alexander Mackenzie Day; Cobourg = James Cockburn Day; Peterborough = Peter Robinson Day and finally in Guelph = John Galt Day.

What a confused nation we are!  No matter, it's a holiday, a paid day off work in my part of Ontario & I call that good! 

TGIF - Fully Quoting August 2nd

Thank you to Dr Brene Brown for this meme ...  TGIF = Trusting, Grateful, Inspiring & Fun.

Trusting: 

that this is a good question to ask yourself;  "does this support the life I am trying to create."

Grateful:  

"When ever you are feeling unsure, unimportant, insecure, remember to whom you belong."  Ecclesiastes 2 V19-22

Inspiring:  

"As you are shifting, you will begin to realize that you are not the same person you used to be.  The things you used to tolerate have become intolerable.  When you once remained quiet, you are now speaking your truth.  You are beginning to understand the value of your voice & there are situations that no longer deserve your time focus or energy."

  Fun:  

"I didn't see anyone today, so I'm totally wearing this again tomorrow."

SPSH - Second Link In

Here's the list of those linking in to SPSH.  I hope everyone gets a chance to go visit the other's blogs to see what they have found for the search.  

Remember the idea & fun of SPSH is to use photos you have taken during the time of May 1st to September 30th.  Our last link in will be on Monday September 30th.

In no particular order & if I have missed your link please let me know in the comments & I will add you.  
 
Ruth:This West London Life  
Deb:Deb's World  
Eileen: A Bracelet of Days  
Maggie: Farmer's Wife Day by Day  
Karen W: Random Reflections  
Melissa: Daily Life Bits & Pieces  
Bless: My Two Cents
Joy: Diary of A Retired Teacher  
Karen: Karen's 365 Photos
 Jane:  Jane's Journal  
Susanne: Snaps & Snippets  
Tanya: Of Sowing & Growing  
Sharon: My New Uneventful Life   
: Live and Learn  
Amanda: Amanda's Scrapbook Pages

Here are a few of my recent SPSH finds:  

#3 Repetition: not only the yellow school buses but the shadows from their rear/side mirror.

#7 A Curved Path:  from one of our wandering adventures.

 #8 Shells:  I struggled with this one & Mr Man suggested thinking outside of the "norm"  "the box". These are the shells from sunflowers that the squirrels leave behind.  At least the chipmunks take the whole seed.

 #10 Something Made of Stone:  this is a flower planter at one of the parks we recently visited.

#12 Something Crooked: one of the trees in a group of dead pines.

 

#14 A Hand Written Sign:  this was in our village recently.  We often have movies, commericals or TV shows filmed here.  Our church hall often is used for the crew's lunch/break room.  In this case I think the BG is for the back ground actors.

#20 A Favourite Summer Scent:  Fresh cut hay.  Luckily we have several farms that have lots of fields with hay & they all cut at different times.  Most farmers cut at least 3 times a season.  This particular field is just behind & to the right of us - the hay had been cut in the morning & then it had sprinkling of rain in the afternoon - oh so sweet. 

I had previously posted my #6, Umbrella either open or closed.  It was a photo that I take almost every year of the yellow umbrella showing just above the hedge of grasses.  This is my re-entry for #6 - it's the same scene, one day closed, one day open ...