….thanks to Norm for hosting Thursday Doors
Walking through my neighbourhood last weekend while the weather was still nice I came across some interesting doors. The first one I’ve loved for a year or so because of the bright yellow colour and the second one is the entrance to the local bike shop but on the day I took the photo a metal grate covered the door because the shop was closed for business. Despite the security grate I still think it makes for an interesting door.
….despite coolish temperatures Spring has officially arrived
I mentioned in an earlier post that there were signs of spring here in Toronto if you take the time to look. On my walk today I purposely photographed as many signs of spring as I could. Enjoy!
….according to the Persian calendar the new year begins on the first day of spring
Iranians and Persians around the world are celebrating the new year on March 20. The day changes according to the positions of the sun. Nowruz is the day of the vernal equinox, and marks the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. Nowruz literally means ‘new day’. I’m not sure where my son got the number 1395 because Nowruz has been celebrated for over 3000 years. For more history about the Iranian New Year go here.
Last night our son and his fiancé sent us photos of their New Year’s Eve celebration with a group of Iranian friends in London. Clearly fish is a major part of the festivities.
Happy Nowruz!
….first day of spring here in Toronto but you wouldn’t know it from our trees
Even though we’ve had an unusually warm winter and March, after the initial snow storm in the first week, has been very spring like, our trees are still very barren. Other than that there are other signs of springs everywhere. Thanks to Becca Givens for hosting Sunday Trees.
….. I didn’t do much else but I did fill up one sketch book and am pretty close to filling a second one
Please don’t think that I filled up two new sketchbooks. My goal is to go back to older books and fill in the empty pages. The first book that I filled up was a small book to begin with and had only 8 pages left in it. On three of those pages I made journal notes.
In my second sketchbook, I’ve done more doodles, line drawings and portrait sketches.
Even though I’m on holidays my mind is never far from my next lesson at school. Before the break I started teaching the children how to make a simple 3D house out of paper. After folding the paper the children were encouraged to draw windows, doors, lights, numbers and any other details they wanted on their house. The last step is to apply watercolour and add more black line detail. While home I decided to finish the front and two sides of my sample.
So that was pretty much my week. Today we’re going to see the travel agent and book our flights to Italy this summer. So exciting!!!!!!!!
….my grade two class always embraces my lessons and can’t wait to start
This is the same assignment that I gave to my grade one classes but I asked the grade 2s to add some colourful doodles around their portraits. Dali, Picasso and Warhol never looked better.
…..these birds all know their place in this dance for their supper
This week’s WPC word is dance. Is it okay that I’ve used swans two weeks in a row? If it works with the theme, why not?
…..this week’s challenge asks us to post a photo that shows One Love
Initially I thought of posting photos of my loved ones but on my walk today I came across a couple of swan pairs. Swans mate for life. Here is my contribution to this WPC.
….thanks to Cee for hosting Share Your World
How many siblings do you have? What’s your birth order?
I have two younger sisters. I am the oldest child in the family.
The three Winkler sisters.
In a car would you rather drive or be a passenger?
I like to drive but I also like being a passenger. I guess it depends largely on who the other driver is. If I’m with my father I prefer to drive and if I’m in an unfamiliar city than my host can drive.
When you lose electricity in a storm, do you light the candles or turn on the flashlight? How many of each do you own?
We are well prepared for a blackout. We don’t have electricity at the cottage so we are well versed when it comes to using candles, oil lanterns, kerosene lamps and battery operated lights. We have flashlights that we use initially to light the candles. I couldn’t tell you how many candles we have, probably dozens because I buy the big packages of tea lights. At home we have two oil lamps and at the cottage we have at least twelve.
List at least five of your favorite types of animals? (any animal to domestic to wild to marine life)
My favourite animals are:
dogs
chipmunks
elephants
rabbits
panda bears
Our Prime Minister with the Panda cubs at the Toronto Zoo
photo courtesy of: http://www.flynewsonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/667.jpg
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 cold didn’t last very long. Lots of vitamin C, liquids and cold medicine and one day off work seemed to help. I’m also grateful for the week off, March Break, and being able to spend more time with my family. I’ve seen my granddaughter twice since Friday and all my daughters were over on Sunday.
My father had another fall last week and he didn’t tell me about it until Saturday. Luckily nothing is broken and he’s just bruised and sore. At least this time he seems to be in a much better mood and isn’t depressed like he was two years ago when he fell down a ravine. He turns 90 this year and is in remarkable good health. For that I am grateful as well.
This week I’m looking forward to lots of rest and relaxation. I’m hoping to visit my father and try to meet my oldest daughter for lunch one day this week. Last week was not a good walking week, partially due to my cold, so I’m aiming to get back to my daily goal of 10 000 steps. If the weather cooperates I’m hoping to get some good photographs on my walks.
….each week Hugh has a new photo challenge
This week Hugh’s challenge asks us to find pictures of things we stand behind. I’m always taking photos of people walking in front of me.
Mama Cormier 