Happy Easter to my Friends in the Orthodox Community

some colourful Easter goodies from Eataly in Toronto

Before our trip to the ROM a couple of weeks ago we stopped in at Eataly for a bite to eat. The Easter goodies were on display and very tempting but the prices made us think twice. In fact we put the Easter chocolates back when a small bag (about 6 small Easter eggs) weighed in at $12.00. It was feast for the eyes only that day.

Happy Easter to all my Ukrainian friends.

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Happy Easter From Our Family to Your’s

this Easter weekend has involved painting, drawing, getting together with family and eating…lots of eating

Every family celebrates this time of year differently but it almost always includes food. In our house it also includes drawing and painting and getting outside to walk and take photos.

Food with Family

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Walking and Taking Photos

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Making Art….to be continued

Weekly Prompts Weekend Challenge – Old

….thanks to Sue W and GC for hosting Weekly Prompts https://weeklyprompts.com/2023/02/11/weekly-prompts-weekend-challenge-old/

Getting old is not just a number but it’s a state of mind and declining physical abilities. We need to work at staying in shape and it becomes harder as we get older but the benefits outweigh the aches and pains that may come with it. Not caring how you look is not embracing old age or aging gracefully. Even though my husband is suffering with pain and discomfort he would never think about going out, even to a doctor’s appointment without showering first and putting on clean clothes.

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Knight’s Armour
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Kevin’s 70th birthday
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My 70th birthday with friends and our grandkids

As plants get older they wither and dry up. Our pets get grey around the muzzle and they slow down and sleep more. My grandmother was very wrinkled but she stayed active right up to her last three years of her life. She walked everywhere, rode her bike and travelled. My father was the same. He was less wrinkled but he walked every day, worked on his crosswords and at 90 he made one last trip overseas to visit his younger brother. He wasn’t without his faults and as he got older he said things that could be hurtful but in his mind he was just being ‘honest’. He passed at 94.

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Frances at 14 1/2 years old
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Dad doing this civic duty right to the end
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Dad on his 93rd birthday

Furniture and paintings fade as they get older if they aren’t properly cared for. Books and papers yellow and can get musty and brittle. Old things in museums are stored in carefully crafted atmospheres to slow down the aging process and skilled hands can bring masterpieces back to life for future generations to experience and enjoy.

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Degas’s Ballerina
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The Mona Lisa
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A Cathedral in Paris
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The Medieval section of Tours, France
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The Cathedral in Tours, France
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The Chateau Amboise in France
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Furniture in the Chateau

Weekly Prompts Wednesday Challenge – Belonging

thanks to Sue W and GC for hosting Weekly Prompts https://weeklyprompts.com/2023/02/01/weekly-prompts-wednesday-challenge-belonging/

Before COVID I belonged to a group of bakers. Every week, twice a week, we got together to make dough and bake bread in the wood burning oven at Montgomery’s Inn, one of Toronto’s Historical Museums. When COVID hit in March 2020 all volunteer jobs were eliminated and bread baking ceased to exist for almost three years. I loved belonging to this group of men and women who came together every week and I look forward to the day that we can once again get together to make bread.

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I also belong to an organization of mostly women artists but also some men and that too has reduced it’s in person activities considerably since COVID hit. I love belonging to such a creative group that shares knowledge and ideas so freely and openly. It’s given me the confidence to pursue my art journey and I even hosted my first solo art show in 2022.

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I also belong to a lawn bowling club and this past year we’ve been able to get together in person to play ‘normal’ games where we can have three people per side and use all the lanes at the same time. We were also able to celebrate Canada Day and we had a year end dinner. A great group of people that I’m happy to call friends.

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The most precious of groups that I belong to is that of my family and friends. COVID has been difficult but thanks to ZOOM and WhatsApp, I’ve been able to stay connected. In the past year we’ve been able to travel again to visit family overseas and on the east coast and we’ve even gotten together for celebrations to acknowledge milestone birthdays.

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Christmas at the Centennial Park Conservatory

all decked out in red and white with poinsettias, amaryllis, kalanchoe and more

Every year the Centennial Park Conservatory decorates the north greenhouse with a Christmas theme. It is well worth a visit.

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