…..Cee has added verse 2 for inspiration
Cream colored ponies and crisp apple streudels, Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles, Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings, These are a few of my favorite things.
…..I can’t believe it
Thirty three months ago when I started this blog I couldn’t have imagined writing 1000 posts. When I first hit the keys I wanted to record and track my weight loss journey, write about my past, share recipes and have a platform to air my feelings about retirement. Well here I am almost three years later and I’m still going strong.
My focus has changed somewhat. I managed to lose 32 pounds and today I’ve kept a good chunk of it off but it’s a struggle every day.
I don’t share many recipes. Others do it much better. I’m still working and I don’t bring up retirement very often. My colleagues won’t hear of it but I have to admit that I am getting closer to that day. I don’t talk as much about my past and most of my personal posts reflect what’s happening in the present.
What is surprising is how my blog has morphed into an art and photography journal. I started teaching art to more classes shortly after starting the blog and I started to share my student’s work.
I also started to do more of my own art and I took a number of on-line art classes.
I’ve always liked taking photos but recently I discovered that I was pretty good at it. I enjoyed experimenting with my little digital camera and later my iPhone and I started to participate in a lot of photography challenges here on WordPress.
I also started to dabble in writing poetry. For someone who hated poetry in school I’m somewhat surprised that I enjoy writing free verse and Haiku as much as I do. I guess I like writing in general.
When I look back on my first dozen posts, I wonder what kept me going. There wasn’t a lot of feedback. Many of my first posts had no likes what so ever. Reading over them I couldn’t fault the writing but there were only a few photos in the beginning and I didn’t always ‘tag’ those pieces. Some of them I wrote for my children so they would have a record of their mother’s past (here, here, here, and here).
The one thing that I was pleased about was that many of my early followers are still with me. Hats off to Michael Lai, oneanna65, Domestic Diva, MD, Uthamz, The Ranting Chef, Lesley Carter, Ellis Nelson, Conor Cullen, Dorothy, Anne, Paul. Beth, Baz, Dina, Island Traveller, Bert, Lee, Jeanne, Maia, Frizz, TK Morin, Masqua,Leanne, Art Expectations, Rosemarie, Viveka, Donna, Michael, T.J., Melissa, Ann, Neal, Woolly, Mrs. Euken, Dan, Mark, Brenda, and in the last year many more followers have come my way. Here are some of the regulars: Cee, Megan, Lisa, Ab, Jennifer, Joe, Rachel, Chris, Geraint, Miranda, Trisha, Janaline, Hello, Fig, Elizabeth, Marsha, Ayse, Folly Girl, Judith, Sarah, Ronovan, Seb, Audrey, B, Kimmi, Conrad, CJ, Boeta, Peggy, Debbie, Colline,……
A special thanks goes to the people who like to comment on my blog, a lot,……Dorothy, Viveka, Rosemarie, Leanne, Colline, Judith, Cee, Elizabeth and Mark and my sister Chris. I know that my FaceBook friends also read my blog and when they comment it’s usually on FaceBook. I’m sure I’ve missed a few people and for that I apologize. I am about 40 people shy of reaching 1000 followers and I hope by my 3rd anniversary in April I can reach that goal as well.
Cheers!
….don’t want to miss another Sunday Trees
….I love wood in all forms (from its source to final product)
For more black and white photos of wood check out Cee’s Photography
….this week’s Daily Post Photo Challenge is Serenity
Nothing is more serene to me than sitting by or on the water on a hot summer’s day
….my youngest daughter has gone back to her first love
Forgive me, as I take a moment to gush over my daughter’s new blog. After high school she studied to become a chef. Three years later, she decided that she really didn’t want a career in a professional kitchen. Luckily her love of food and food preparation wasn’t totally extinguished. Four years later after graduating with a degree in photography she met her husband. He too was a foodie and their common interest in cooking and photography was literally a match made in heaven. Two years later they became engaged to be married and G started her first blog. A wedding blog.
To make a long story short, they were married a year later and the blog was rated as one of the top ten wedding blogs in Canada. Unfortunately it was difficult making a living from the blog alone so she gave it up and worked on editing other people’s blogs.
After taking a long hard look at what she really loved she has decided to return to food and created a food and recipe testing kitchen. This is where her new blog comes into play. She is producing about one recipe a week. So far I can vouch for every recipe. They are all delicious. I hope you take a minute to visit her site. She has added a subscription button so you can be notified whenever she posts a new recipe.
Enjoy!
…..thanks to Sue Llewellyn for this week’s word ‘pots’
One of my favourite photographs is of my husband standing on a ladder to stir down the tomato sauce that we were preparing for canning. The pot is huge and he couldn’t see over the top of it without elevating himself above the rim of the the pot.
….thanks Cee for 4 more great questions
Are you a hugger or a non-hugger?
I don’t come from a family of huggers but I’ve learned to hug over the years. I actually enjoy hugging family and friends but I’m a little put off by strangers who want to hug you. I’ve also become more careful as to whom and when I hug, especially students. Most children love to hug and usually initiate the action but over the years I’ve noticed that some just aren’t comfortable hugging and I have to respect their personal space. Unfortunately for male teachers it’s more risky to hug students and most of my male colleagues are very careful about any type of physical interaction with students
What’s your favorite ice-cream flavor?
I love all flavours of ice-cream but If I have to choose I’d say cinnamon or coffee flavoured ice-cream.
Do you prefer exercising your mind or your body? How frequently do you do either?
I love a bit of both but lately I think I do more exercising of the mind. I play scrabble daily and love the puzzles in the newspaper, especially Sudoko. When the weather isn’t too cold I love to walk and I do enjoy restorative Yoga.
Are you more of a dog person or a cat person? Why?
I’ve owned both cats and dogs but I am definitely more of a dog person. We currently own a dog named Frances and in the past we owned two Golden Retrievers for 23 years (back to back, not at the same time). 
I’m not sure why but all our dogs are and were females. As much as we loved our cat, the dogs were always more active and demanding of our time. For many people that would be a reason to prefer cats but the dogs get us out and walking and enjoying our surroundings. They also bring neighbours together. We may not know everybody’s name but they all know the dog’s name. 
Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?
I’m grateful that my husband’s surgery is over with and that it went well. He’s home now and is recovering quickly. 
This week I’m looking forward to going back to work and do more of my art assignments for Year of the Spark. So far I’ve only done a few of my one-line drawings and I’m anxious to elaborate on some of them.
Waiting
I sit here procrastinating
Waiting for tomorrow
Work surrounds me, waiting to be done
Things need to be sorted and put away
But I wait
Why?
Is it the unknown of what tomorrow brings
or do I need this time to reflect on happier times
or just be thankful for every precious moment
Waiting!
….time to get back to work
It will make the waiting go faster
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© rgb for “On Dragonfly Wings with Buttercup Tea”, 2011 – 2015
What are small stones?
A small stone is a short piece of writing (any style) that precisely captures a fully-engaged moment for you. The process of discovering small stones is as significant as the finished creation. Searching for small stones encourages you to keep your senses on the “alive and alert” status. Involve yourself with a new set of eyes, ears, nose, mouth, fingers, feelings and mind. In short … OPEN, OPEN, OPEN!
…this week’s Travel Theme: Laughter comes at a time where the world needs a little laughter amidst the grim news in Paris
Nothing like children’s art, silly faces and gestures and the perseverance of that squirrel to bring on a little chuckle. Hope these photos have lightened the mood for a brief moment in time. Carol
Mama Cormier 