….my first attempt at Floral Friday
I saw this beauty during my walk on Mother’s Day. This lovely tulip was fully opened and probably on it’s last legs but I loved the contrast of the white petals against the dark shady setting.
For more Floral Friday photos check out Woolly Muses Floral Friday.
….this week’s answers are sweet and short
Do you prefer shopping or going to a park?
I guess it depends on the park. I do like to shop but going to the park is definitely more relaxing and easier on the pocketbook.
What is the highest score you’ve ever made in bowling? Actual or virtually played.
It’s been awhile since I’ve gone bowling and five pin and ten pin bowling scores would also be different. Sorry, I just don’t recall how I scored. I just know that I’m not the best or the worst.
Name the foreign countries you’ve been to.
The U.S.A., Ireland, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands. I need to get out in the world more. Next on the list? Iceland and Italy.
Describe your own outlook on life in seven words or less.
Laugh, love, learn, share, explore, play.
Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?
I’m grateful for spending time with my family, in person and over the airwaves. This week I’m looking forward to going to the Blue Jays game with the school choir. They were chosen to sing the national anthems at Wednesday’s game.
For more Share Your World posts check out Cee’s Photography.
….in Canada we’re honouring our Mothers today
My daughters and their significant others treated me to a wonderful day on Ward’s Island yesterday. G made a fantastic meal that included a rabbit and apricot terrine, homemade sour dough bread, cured salmon infused with beet juice and cheese cups with hot pepper jelly and those delights were the appetizers.
After a bit of nourishment we went for a long walk and explored the beaches and neighbourhoods of Ward’s Island. I’ll post more about this amazing community in the coming week. When we returned to the little cottage that G’s mother-in-law was renting we enjoyed part two of our Mother’s Day Extravaganza.
For the main course we were treated to chicken legs, a faro salad and green beans and snow peas garnished with chopped hazelnuts. Dessert was a delicious panna cotta topped with rhubarb.
At the end of the meal the table was cleared and we played a family game of Apples to Apples. It was a lot of fun but apparently I’m not very good at it. Either my answers weren’t clever enough or they were too embarrassing.
This morning my husband surprised me with a very special present…..a brand new ukulele. What a nice surprise. I guess I’d better learn to play better than I play now. After a nice breakfast, also prepared by my husband, I connected with my son and his fiancé in the Netherlands via Skype. After some minor glitches with the volume we spent 35 minutes catching up on the news and sharing plans for the future.
All in all it was a perfect way to spend Mother’s Day weekend!
…..for a recent art assignment I had to use these eyes any way that I saw fit
Week 11
For more odd ball photos check out Cee’s Odd Ball Photo Challenge – week 11.
…..the trees are finally starting to turn green here
Both trees weathered the ice storm this past winter without too much damage. In the first photo you can seen the CN Tower in the background. Not too much green on this tree yet but upon closer inspection one can see the buds beginning to appear. In the second photo this grand old willow is bringing forth a blanket of spring greens. In a couple of weeks the foliage on this tree will obscure all views of the homes in the background. Both trees are situated on Ward’s Island, off the shores of Toronto.
For more Sunday Trees, check out Becca Givens blog.
…..all the classes in the school are preparing an item to be sold at this year’s Fun Fair
For the 15th Anniversary of our annual Fun Fair the parents have asked all the teachers to prepare an art piece to be auctioned off at the Silent Auctions on May 31st. Since I teach art a couple of the teachers asked me to help them come up with something for their classes.
My grade 3 class agreed to come up with some designs for a simple abstract piece where every child in the glass would have a section that they could paint. One student had finished all his work and set about to come up with a plan. When he finished the class agreed that they wanted to use his design and apply it to the 24 x 24 inch canvas.
On painting day we looked at the paints and changed the original colour scheme. We mixed colours and tried them out side by side. We finally decided to use grey, white, yellow green and fuchsia. Here is where we started and how far we’ve come. Next week we’ll finish this project and maybe even start a second one.
….one week later, down 4 pounds and off mushy food
One week ago today I had gum surgery for crown lengthening so that I can have my broken tooth capped. Today I went for my check-up to make sure that the incisions were healing properly and to have the dressings removed and replaced with new, smaller dressings.
Everything looks good. The stitches have dissolved, there’s no infection and I can start to eat more normally. Still no hard foods like crusty bread, croutons, biscotti and celery and chewing can only take place on the opposite side of my mouth away from the dressing. I am still restricted in the exercise department (no push-ups, sit ups, trampoline, bench pressing, cardio, etc.) but I can start walking further and faster and even go for a leisurely bike ride.
Here is my dilemma. I’m happy that I’m down four pounds and I’d like to keep them off and take off more. Being able to get out more will help but going back to ‘normal eating’ scares me. One thing that I’ve been forced to do and will have to do for another few weeks is eat on one side of my mouth. The good thing about that is that it forces me to eat more slowly and as a result I’m probably not eating as much because I get full before I finish my plate.
For a long time now I’ve convinced myself that I need more protein than most people and that carbohydrates are my enemy. Funny thing is that I’ve eaten very little meat this past week and a whole lot of pasta, creamed soups and mashed vegetables and still managed to lose 4 pounds. Tonight I had a bowl of vegetarian chill and a slice of sour dough bread with butter. I feel very satisfied and won’t need to eat later this evening. I’ll probably have a cup of tea.
I think what I need to do is start recording what I eat for awhile and see if I can see a pattern with what I eat, how much and in combination with what foods and see how my weight loss is affected. I suspect that how I combine foods will make a difference and not eating at night will also prove beneficial.
So I’m still down 20 pounds but my goal is to lose the other 10 before the end of the school year. It should be doable. I have 8 weeks to go. One and a half to two pounds a week is a very reasonable and achievable. I’ll keep you posted.
Cheers!
Before my 30 pound weight loss. I never want to go back to this again.
My after picture in the same blouse. 10 pounds to get back to this.
…..another set of great questions from Cee
What object do you always have with you when traveling and why?
I always have my camera with me. I love recording all the wonderful sights that I see and being able to share my experiences with family and friends when I come home again. In fact I’m never without my camera, regardless of where I am.
What subject would you like to study in depth, if given the time to do so?
I would study art in depth. I’ve learned over the last few years that there is so much that I don’t know about the art world. I would also like to try new and different art techniques, such as encaustic painting. I’ve been considering going back to university when I retire and study art just for fun or at least take a lot of courses from experts in a variety of fields.
Which would you prefer: a wild, turbulent life filled with joy, sorrow, passion, and adventure–intoxicating successes and stunning setbacks; or a contented bordering on happy, secure, predictable life surrounded by friends and family without such wide swings of fortune and mood?
This is a tough question. When I was younger I would probably have chosen the first option but as I get older I’m happy to live a contented life. Family and friends are more important to me than ‘wild, turbulent’ adventure and who needs stunning setbacks at this stage in life. I think I would like the best of both options. A life filled with joy, passion and some adventure while being happy and secure in the company of family and friends.
What are your favorite spices?
My favourite spice is cinnamon and most spices that complement it, such as ginger, cardamon, allspice, cloves and nutmeg. Is that too many? I love ginger cookies, spice cake, chai tea, mulled wine and spicy apple crisp.
Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?
I’m grateful that my oral gum surgery went well and that the recovery has been a breeze. I’m looking forward to having the dressing removed and being able to eat more than soft bland food. I’m also looking forward to spending time with my daughters and their significant others on the weekend for Mother’s Day.
For more Share Your World stories go to Cee’s Photography
