Cee’s Odd Ball Photo Challenge – Week 6

…..we stopped to see what the dog was so distracted by and discovered a group of squirrels chasing each other up and down this massive tree

IMG_7451IMG_7452IMG_7454

For more odd ball photos check out Cee’s blog.

Share Your World 2016 – Week 5

…..thank you Cee for four more thought provoking questions

If you had a shelf for your three most special possessions (not including photos, electronic devices and things stored on them, people or animals), what would you put on it?

I don’t own many family heirlooms. My mother was very much a bare bones kind of person when it came to decorating the house. She, herself, didn’t own a lot of special possessions because so much of what they owned was lost in the war so growing up the only things I remember my mother cherishing were her photo albums. When I got married my grandmother gifted me a blue decanter that she managed to save from the bombings and when my mother passed the only thing that I wanted was an old silver serving spoon with the date 1909 stamped on it and the initials WS. The third item would be a collection of things my children made over the years, such as, paintings, photography assignments and hand made toys. IMGP0035

If you had a box labelled ‘happiness’, what would you put in it? 

I would fill it with photos of my family, music, paintings and art supplies and books.

What do you want more of in your life?

I want to travel more, spend more time painting and take classes to learn new art techniques. I also want to spend more time with my family. If I had unlimited resources I would travel with my family and visit my family across the ocean.

Daily Life List: What do you do on an average day? Make a list of your usual activities you do each day.

  1. My husband wakes me up at 6:30 and brings me a cup of coffee.
  2. I shower and get ready for work.
  3. I eat breakfast.
  4. I leave the house between 7:25 and 7:50 (earlier when I have basketball practice).
  5. I arrive at school between 7:45 and 8:10.
  6. I have another cup of coffee and socialize with colleagues before the school day begins at 8:30.
  7. My first period is usually a prep and then I have my first library class of the day.
  8. During recess children help me in the library putting books away.
  9. After recess I have another class or I do library administration work (labelling books, ordering books, putting books away, straightening shelves, removing damaged and old books for recycling, etc.)
  10. Lunch is at 11:15 and I usually bring a lunch from home.
  11. Lunch ends at 12:10 and my afternoon is usually filled teaching library and art.
  12. 3:00 the school day ends but twice a week I do bus duty at this time.
  13. 3:15 to 4:00 I work in the library or during report card time I’m in the office printing and reprinting report cards for the staff.
  14. Anywhere from 4:30 to 5:00 or later I leave for home.
  15. My husband usually makes dinner so when I get home I have a cup of tea or coffee and we talk about our day while he cooks.
  16. At this time I’ll also check my emails.
  17. Dinner is usually around 6:00. Afterwards I usually wash the dishes or we do them together.
  18. My husband goes to watch TV and I spend time on the computer reading and answering more emails and writing new posts for the blog.
  19. On certain nights I will watch some TV and I have started to knit. I also like to read so if there isn’t anything I like on TV I’ll read a book.
  20. At some point in the evening I take the dog for a walk
  21. Anywhere between 11:00 and 12:00 I get ready for bed.

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 for a wonderful day spent with my granddaughter. The weather has been warm and there is no snow and on the weekend I managed to get in 30 000 steps over two days. I’m also pleased that I’ve finished proof-reading report cards. On Sunday I met up with 7 friends from high school and we had a great lunch at a Thai restaurant. Then two days later I went out for Winterlicious and enjoyed a scrumptious dinner of South American fusion food.

I’m looking forward to a quiet weekend. I’m hoping to relax, buy a dress for my daughter’s wedding and clean a small corner of my bedroom. The thing I’m looking most forward to is the wedding which takes place next Wednesday.

WPC – Time

….nothing demonstrates the passage of time more vividly than watching how quickly a baby grows and develops

It seems like only yesterday when we anxiously awaited the arrival of our first grandchild. Now, a mere four months later, we are stunned at her rapid development. What happened to that helpless infant back in October?

Share Your World 2016 – Week 4

…..a cave or glass dome,  focusing on today or tomorrow?….just two of the things that Cee has me thinking about today

What one thing are you really glad you did yesterday?

When this post first came out and I started to think about this question I was really glad that I made the effort to get in my 10 000 steps. Unfortunately I wasn’t as diligent yesterday and today isn’t looking much better.

Are you generally focused on today or tomorrow?

I like to be in the moment but I have to admit that I can’t help but think about tomorrow.

Would you want to have as a guardian angel/mentor? What would they tell you right now?

I believe that I have a guardian angel that looks out for me. Years ago I had a nasty fall from a 10 foot drop and came away with barely a scratch. Someone was definitely looking out over me that day. I think that today they would tell me to enjoy my family, take care of my health and don’t put off till tomorrow what I can do today.

Would you rather live in a cave house or a dome house made out of glass? (photos of the houses found on google search)

I think I would like both if they had the following:

Cave House

• enough natural light so that I wouldn’t feel claustrophobic

• dry smooth walls

• in a warm climate – the cave would be nice and cool

• a deck or porch where I could sit outside

Glass Dome House

• a room where I could get away for some privacy

• situated high up in the trees for privacy from the outside world

• window coverings to keep out the hot noon day sun or a canopy of leaves

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 I was able to finish my report cards last Friday during the PD day. It was nice and quiet at school. I don’t like taking home my work if I don’t have to. I was also able to spend an hour at the Olympian pool and watch a former student compete in a synchronized swimming routine. I had never been to one before and I found it quite interesting.

I was also happy to spend some more time with my daughter’s family and I was very grateful for the time my son-in-law spent with me to help me with some of my issues with the new camera. I also got all my Christmas decorations put away and I did a thorough cleaning around the main floor of the house. I always feel so good when my house is company ready.

I’m also grateful for all the photos my daughter sends me of Miss Winnie. She’s growing so quickly.

IMG_7401

Cee’s Black and White Photo Challenge – Lines and Angles

…..I love seeking out interesting lines and angles when I’m on a photo journey

IMG_4489IMG_4829IMG_5687IMG_5838IMG_5889IMG_5890IMG_7303

For more interesting black and white photos of lines and angles check out Cee’s blog.

Back to Normal

….what a productive day!

Yesterday I started the day with a very long walk with my husband and Frances, our Super Dog. It was extremely cold but we extended our walk and when we finally got back home, I had already exceeded my goal of 10 000 steps for the day. We were suppose to go to Hamilton to visit with our daughter and her family but the plans changed and they were coming to us instead.

Time to clean-up. I started in the kitchen, moved to the bathroom and washed the floors. I was hoping to get to the living room but they arrived early. We enjoyed a simple lunch together and then they had to leave to visit family on his side. B’s dad had not met Winnie yet so we volunteered to look after Lucy (their Bassett hound). This meant a another  walk, albeit a short one. When that dog doesn’t want to go any further she puts on the brakes and there’s no budging her.

When the two dogs settled into their own quiet spaces I decided it might be a good time to clear away the remaining Christmas ornaments that were piled on top of the coffee table in the living room and on top of the piano. I pulled out all the boxes from under the stairs and started to reorganize the stockings, ornaments, lights, candles and Christmas cloths and skirts back into their preselected bins. When I returned the boxes to their place under the stairs I must have hit my head at least three times when I was backing out of the closet.

Once the decorations were all put away I vacuumed up any remaining pine needles from the carpet and washed the hardwood. I also decided to polish the piano. Seeing that I’ve haven’t done this in years the wood practically drank up the polishing cream. When I was done it felt good to get so much accomplished.

After I took Lucy for her ‘short’ walk I noticed the most amazing moon hanging over the city so when I returned home I took my new camera, set it on ‘hand held night shots’ and returned to the park, without the dog, and tried to capture that image. I posted a few of these shots on WPC.

P1000142

Later in the evening, G and her husband and the baby returned. We spent some more time together. While B helped me with my camera and cleaned up my computer, my husband played with the baby. She gets stronger every time we see her and she desperately wants to crawl and loves to stand when you hold on to her.

I now know a little bit more about my new camera and I was given some very useful tips about keeping my computer virus free. I updated some of my software after our company left and I was able to write a post for this blog before I went to bed. By the time I did finally go to bed I had logged 17 000 steps for the day. Not bad. All being said and done, I had a very productive day despite a nagging headache. Wonder where that came from? Haha!