….if you’d like to participate in the challenge the word is leisure
Children and dogs really know how to relax and enjoy some leisure time.
Word of the Day Challenge – Leisure
1
Category Archives: Frances
Share Your World – August 20, 2018
….thanks Cee for this week’s questions for Share Your World
Which tastes better: black or green olives?
When I first ate olives they had to be the black ones but now I prefer the green ones. My new favourite way of eating them is warmed up in a pan of olive oil.
What’s your favorite room in your home?
My favourite room has to be my art studio/bedroom. Ideally it would be nice if they were two separate rooms but when we built our addition we opted for a large bedroom at the front of the house instead of two smaller ones. The south side of the room was never really utilized properly and became a place to drop things that didn’t have a place to go. Now all the clutter has been cleared and the place is decked out with a desk, an art table and a wall unit for my art supplies. I love it.
Since these photos were taken there’s a new lamp on the drawing table and the wall over my desk it covered with art work.
What fictional family would you be a member of?
The Swiss Family Robinson. As a child I loved that movie and wanted to be part of that adventure, especially living in a treehouse.
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 past week has been very busy. Last Monday I hosted a BBQ to say farewell to my neighbour of 37 years. There were 12 of us and luckily the weather was perfect. I don’t know where everyone would have sat if we had to move inside.
On Tuesday my sister and brother-in-law from Calgary came to visit for five days. On Wednesday we drove to the Danforth for lunch and then to Harbour Front. That evening we had a lovely dinner at a local Italian restaurant and celebrated our 43rd wedding anniversary a day early.
On Thursday we took my father to the casino. My birthday is in August so the casino sent me a coupon for $100. to play with at the slots. It’s fun to play with money that’s not your own and I’m happy to say that I ended up returning home with more money than I left with.
On Friday we went to the CNE (Canadian National Exhibition) where we ate Japanese Street Food, saw the dog show, the lantern show, the robotics show and walked through the midway where we played a few games of chance and came home with two small stuffed toys.
When we got home my sister and I did a little shopping and then picked up pizza for dinner. We had Dad come up and join us for dinner. Since it was our last evening together we stayed up late drinking wine and sharing stories.
On Saturday Cathy and Geoff left for the airport and I walked over to the lawn bowling club where I participated in a tournament and enjoyed a BBQ lunch. The only downside to the week was that it was very hot and we don’t have air conditioning. I’ve put a call into the cooling and heating company and they’re coming this week to give us an estimate on an air conditioning unit. I think it’s time to bite the bullet and just do it.
On Sunday it cooled off a lot and it was a day to relax and do very little. Frances wanted to go for a walk (very unusual these days) so we walked down to the park and around the block. What a busy week but I loved it.
Sunday Stills: Macro or Close-up
….thanks to Second Wind Leisure for hosting Sunday Stills
Share Your World – January 29, 2018
….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…
- Watching my granddaughter playing
- A game of professional soccer, rugby or lacrosse
- The Olympic Games, summer and winter
- Live theatre
- On TV – Coronation Street, The View, Young Sheldon, Survivor, The Crown and most British detective stories
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!
Sunshine
….hooray, hooray!!!!
Today was the first day in a long time that I was able to go for a long walk and actually take photos. It was cold but the sun was so bright and beautiful that I hardly felt it. I managed to get in an extra 3000 steps and now only have another 4500 to meet my goal of 10 000 steps a day. I’ve been very bad as of late. I’ve just wanted to hunker down and veg in front of the TV or my computer screen.
Here are a few of the shots that I managed to take today.
The best part of the walk was that for the first time in almost two months I was able to take Frances with me. This is the farthest she’s walked with me willingly without my husband at our sides. Hopefully she’s turned a corner and I’ll be able to get her out more often now.
Travel Theme: Frozen
…..thanks to Where’s My Backpack for this week’s travel theme
People Watching
….something I’d like to get better at
Not just watching people but taking pictures of people going about their normal lives. I’m somewhat hesitant to take pictures of strangers but I getting better at it. As for the quality of the photos, well that’s another issue. I’m not likely to try to get a shot more than once if the first one isn’t to my liking. I’ve tried cropping some but sometimes using the zoom on the iPhone doesn’t always produce the best quality photo.
WPC – Friend
…..this week’s photo challenge is friend
Frances is ready to play with the newest ‘dog’ member of our family, sweet little Olive.
Sunday Morning Walk
….an exceptionally beautiful day
I knew that I would be indoors for most of the day trying to clean-up the two rooms upstairs so I went out for my walk early today. Frances and I headed out towards Col. Sam Smith Park. It was a glorious morning and the runners, dog walkers, nature photographers and cyclists were out early as well. With my iPhone in hand I took as many photos as Frances would allow.
A Backyard Visitor
…an opportunity to pull out the ‘zoom’ lens
As you know from previous posts I’ve inherited a zoom lens that I’ve been dying to use on wildlife. My moon photos were a complete bust but I’ll try again when the weather isn’t quite so frigid.
A few days ago, before the snow storm hit, a squirrel was darting around on my deck looking for water. I grabbed my camera and started shooting through the glass of the patio doors. The first few had too much glare because I was shooting at an angle. Then I was able to get a shot straight on and it made a big difference. I wanted to say ‘huge’ but I’m trying to avoid that word as much as possible.
I was hoping to open the doors so that I could get a shot that didn’t happen through a glass window (a dirty on at that) but as soon as I did that the squirrel took off and look who showed up (3rd photo). If the squirrel hadn’t run away when I opened the door , Frances’ presence would have scared him off for sure.
Mama Cormier 