…..what a perfect prompt for Valentine’s Day
My little Valentine, rice and all.

…..what a perfect prompt for Valentine’s Day
My little Valentine, rice and all.

….thanks Cee for hosting the Fun Foto Challenge
This week we can post any photo that has words with Z in them or shots of people or animals catching some ZZZs.
Blizzard Conditions
Zoo (then and now)
Me at the High Park Zoo in 1955

The Toronto Zoo in 2017

Catching Some ZZZs
…..today’s prompt needs to start or end with the letter Y or start with the word Why?
A Gallery of Yellow
My Mini Yoda

…..how would you interpret beloved?
On our 42nd wedding anniversary.

Sisters-in-law

Mother and Daughter

Newly Weds

More Newly Weds

Fathers and Daughters



Puppy Love
….thanks to Cee for bringing us the letter x for the fun foto challenge
Texture
Exhausted
Sandbox
Mixing

….thanks to Cee for posting more interesting questions on Share Your World
If you had an unlimited shopping spree at only one store, which one would you choose? Why?
I would choose a store where I could buy a variety of items, like clothing, household items, accessories, toys, and make-up. Even though I’d have unlimited amounts of money (I’m assuming that’s what an unlimited shopping spree means) I still think of Marshall’s first. Maybe I should be adventurous and say Nordstrom’s.
What is the worst thing you ate recently?
I tend to avoid foods that I don’t like and there aren’t too many of those. I would have to choose something that was badly prepared or didn’t meet my expectations. The only thing I can think of is the oatmeal my father made and he wanted me to try it because he had some left over. Is it possible for something to be too salty and too sweet at the same time? Well it was and I politely declined to eat the rest. My Dad doesn’t read this blog so I’m not too worried that he’ll be offended.
Name five things you like watching…
What did you appreciate or what made you smile this past week? Feel free to use a quote, a photo, a story, or even a combination.
This week I managed two visits to Hamilton to visit my daughter and granddaughter and my oldest daughter came over with her Frenchie, Olive on Sunday. Time with my family always makes me smile.

Photo credit goes to my daughter-in-law who took this photo back in November.
On Sunday Olive and Frances had a great time playing together and we were able to go for a nice long walk.
I’m also happy that I finally got my art studio in working order last week. I put together the last piece of furniture and started filling up the drawers. Even though I’ve been doing art almost every day since the beginning of the month, I can now do it in a neater and more organized space. 
In conclusion I need to thank my husband for taking me on one of his business trips this week. It was only up to Collingwood but I had an opportunity to take some photographs of the town and together we enjoyed a wonderful meal before heading home. We had such a nice time that we’re thinking of doing this once a week or at least twice a month. Any suggestions where we should go next? No more than two hours from Toronto, please.
Cheers!
…..wisdom comes from reading
You can never start too early, even if it’s reading what’s on your iPhone.




Photo credits go to me, my brother-in-law and my daughter.
How would you interpret wisdom.
…..Day 26
After taking numerous photos of Lucy, the Bassett hound, my granddaughter wanted me to take some photos of her. Funny how the dog was easier to photograph. Winnie makes a lot of sudden moves whereas the dog was happy to just sleep on the couch. Nonetheless it was fun taking shots from different angles and Winnie loved looking at the photos.

…..day 25
In Carla Sonheim’s year-long on-line class the prompt today was to take 11 photos of the same object. My granddaughter and I decided to should use Lucy, their basset hound, as my subject. This is a slight departure from the drawings and paintings that I do but I do consider photography an art form as well.
…..day 18
Today I drove to Hamilton to spend the day with my granddaughter, Winnie and her mother, Gaelan. I brought some apples with me and together we made applesauce. I peeled and quartered the apples and Winnie’s job was to put them into the pot. She did a great job and she included her own version of quality control by tasting every piece before dropping them into the pot.
When the apples were stewing, Gaelan and I continued to get the ingredients ready to make an apple cake that Jodi from The Creative Life In Between posted yesterday. We made it almost exactly as written except that we didn’t add the glaze because we thought there was more than enough sugar in the cake. While the cake baked I played with Winnie in her playroom.
One of the things that she desperately wanted to do was finger paint. To my daughter’s credit, she has a very strict rule when it comes to painting and that is that everything in the playroom has to be put back where it belongs so that there’s a nice big empty space on the floor for painting. Winnie was very reluctant to do this so the paints didn’t come out. When it was time for me go home she was quite upset because she didn’t get to paint with her Oma. Gaelan told her one more time that she had to clean up first and this time she listened. With our help the floor was emptied of all her toys, a plastic sheet laid out and she was undressed and covered with a plastic paint jumper. Gaelan spread out finger-paint paper and scooped out four colours of paint onto individual paper plates.
We had so much fun. I know why Gaelan completely undresses her before starting this activity, including her socks. Of course she wanted Oma to get right in there with her and I managed to get paint on my sweater but it washed out pretty easily. We worked on one painting together where I painted the flowers and she painted the ground. The other paintings were done solely by her.





Of course when we were done, Winnie went straight into the bath tub and we said our good-byes, this time without any tears.
P.S. The cake was delicious by the way. Thanks for the recipe, Jodi!