…46 years ago Kevin ran in this race and yesterday our daughter took part at the High Park Spring Run Off Race
Back in the day my husband was an elite runner. When the kids were little we used to bundle them up, strap them into their car seats and drive off to races all over Ontario and New York State. One of the races that was closer to home was the High Park Spring Run Off. When it first started back in 1978 it attracted an impressive 1200 runners and yesterday’s race saw over 5000 men, women and children running in the 8k, 5k and children’s race.
This is not the first year that our daughter, Andrea ran in this race but it was certainly her best performance. She placed 1st in her age category for women. Kevin and I arrived after the race started but we managed to find a prime spot just at the top of the hill so we had a great vantage point for taking photos and caught her just steps in front of the finish line.
…the name of my new series of paintings for my solo show
The Joy of Making is the name of my solo show in May. I not only wanted to highlight my love of painting and making art but I also wanted to pay tribute to my family’s talents and the things that my Mom taught me when I was younger. From a very young age my Mom taught me how to make doll clothes with hand stitching and later how to use a sewing machine. She also taught me how to mend socks and sew on buttons.
As I got older I taught Family Studies and taught 11 to 13 year olds how to cook and sew. They learned how to embroider, quilt and sew clothes. I continued to learn and practise other needle crafts such as knitting, cross stitch, weaving, basketmaking and more. In my 50s I learned how to use watercolour and later I ventured into abstract painting using acrylics and collage.
Here are the first three pieces of my Needle and Thread series.
Mending a Broken HeartThose ‘Darn’ HolesMom’s Button Box
When I thought of the word ‘content’ my mind went immediately to the meaning, ‘a state of pleasure or being satisfied’. Of course it also means ‘subject matter’. Which do you think I chose to represent?
Today we attended College Royal at the University of Guelph. In the Food Science building the students made milkshakes. This has always been a popular event but we have not seen it since 2019 because of COVID-19. Clearly people were happy to see it come back. The line-up was huge. We heard that the students were prepared to sell 4000 shakes.
Children are spellbound with carnivals and fairs. At the CNE last summer our granddaughter was ‘spellbound’ by the sights and smells of last year’s Exhibition in Toronto.
I appear to be spellbound by the dessert in front of me. I think I was more gobsmacked by the price of this classic cake.
Treasure for me is not my jewellery or furnishing or even my house. I learned a long time ago that ‘things’ don’t bring happiness, certainly not for a sustained period of time. My treasures are more life experiences that I’ve had and the memories that they evoke. My wedding day, giving birth and watching my children grow up are my greatest treasures. Now I can also add my grandchildren to that list.
If I started to post all my favourite memories I would be posting dozens of pictures. Instead I’ve decided to post some of my favourite ‘treasured’ photos from the past. I love these old photos.
My father, his sister and my grandparents in the 1930sMy mother and me when I was 1 year oldOur wedding day, August 16, 1975