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 – Pernickety Pets

thanks to GC and Sue W for hosting Weekly Prompts Wednesday Challenge https://weeklyprompts.com/2022/09/28/weekly-prompts-wednesday-challenge-pernickety-pets/

A few years ago, before COVID, I looked after my neighbours cat while she was in the hospital. His name is Tober. My husband is allergic to cats so I went over to the house twice a day to feed him and I stayed for an hour to keep him company. I did this for six weeks. You’d think after all this time we’d have some kind of relationship but when he goes out he avoids me at all costs and heads straight for the neighbour across the street who used to leave him treats. How fickle.

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Even though we owned a cat for 12 years before my husband’s allergies kicked in, we’re definitely more dog people. Below is our daughter’s dog, Olive, who we dog sit periodically and our dog, Frances, is the last photo. Frances was a great dog, who loved the water and lived to the ripe old age of 15. We lost Frances almost a year ago.

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Cee’s Black and White Photo Challenge – Two of Anything

thanks Cee for hosting CBWC https://ceenphotography.com/2022/05/26/cbwc-two-of-anything/comment-page-1/#comment-321218

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Two medieval homes in Tours, France
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Two sculpted hands in museum in Tours, France
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Father daughter duo at the Chateau Royal in Amboise
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Two sculpted figures in the gardens at Chateau Royal in Bois
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Poppies
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White tulips from the Curve Garden in London
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Two gulls
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Two gulls and two ducks

Thursday Trios From My Travels – April 28, 2022

A trio of flags at the V &A
A trio of church steeples in Blois

A trio of sculptures by Yin Xiuzhen at the Tate Modern in London

If you have any trios you’d like to share just copy the link from this post, copy it into your post and when I get your ping back I will be sure to comment.

RIP Frances

I’ve been MIA for the last two days dealing with a very sick Frances

Frances was our beloved dog for over 14 years. It was just a few days ago that I announced that she turned 15 and little did I know that 5 days later she would be gone. It is never easy to have to make the decision to put down an animal. We both knew that the time would come when we would probably have to make that decision. Apparently very few dogs die naturally.

My husband always said that Frances was his dog but we had a special bond of our own. When I came home from work she would always greet me at the door and even in retirement she would come to me for walks. She loved going to the cottage with me, when Kevin couldn’t and she quickly learned that I had a soft touch when it came to doling out treats. Kevin always gave her liver treats before he retired for the evening but as soon as he went upstairs she would start on me. She knew she could break me down if she was persistent enough and she was persistent.

A couple of weeks ago I ran into a neighbour who was out walking her second dog. Her first dog had passed away a couple of years ago. Frances and Pichou were puppy friends. She was amazed that Frances was still with us and she declared that Frances was the last of the six or seven puppies that hung around together in the summer of 2007.

Every time we have a dog, my husband firmly announces that there will be no more dogs when the present one goes but this time he started thinking about the next dog he wants to own. This time I’m the one that says no more dogs (for now anyway). I was hoping that travel would be in the cards for us and having a dog just complicates that. It will seem odd though not having a dog in the house. We’ve had dogs for the last 38 years. Who do you think will win this argument?

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Frances, the semi-wonder dog
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Frances at the cottage this past summer

Sunday Stills: Fur and Feathers

….thanks to Terri from Second Wind Leisure for hosting Sunday Stills https://secondwindleisure.com/2021/11/07/sunday-stills-fur-tastic-paws-and-birds-of-a-feather/

With the time change Frances’ schedule is all out of whack today. When she started to cry at 4:00 this afternoon I couldn’t figure out why and then I realized that her internal clock was telling her it was dinner time. I decided to distract her a bit and I took her for a walk for as long and far as she would let me. As she approaches 15 years of age her walks are getting shorter all the time.

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Puppy Frances
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Teenager Frances
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Frances and her oldest friend, Lucy
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Senior Frances, still enjoying the water
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Newest friend, Olive as a puppy
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Olive at the cottage with Frances

My favourite photos of birds

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Blue Heron. at High Park
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Emu at High Park Zoo
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Sparrow in the park
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My owl watercolour
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Swan at Col. Sam Smith Park
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Baby Robin
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Our Old Trusted Friend

….on this day, August 26, International Dog Day I am dedicating this page to Frances

Frances came into our lives over 14 years ago when she was only two months old. My husband has always said the she is the best dog he’s ever owned. I say he because Frances is truly my husband’s dog but in the last few years when her energy levels dropped and she was only interested in short walks I’ve become the dog walker in the family.

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2007
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2012….she loves the water
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She also loves the snow
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Frances’ best friend, Lucy
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…and then along came this young whipper snapper about 4 1/2 years ago, Olive
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2019 ….she still loves the water
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2021 …. still loving the water
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2021 …. a little greyer around the muzzle…..chilling on the deck at the cottage