….thanks to Pic and a Word Challenge for this week’s theme – Steps
Every day I walk
Ten thousand steps, sometimes more
Sometimes less – feels good
Pic and a Word Challenge – Steps
3
Tag Archives: family
Tuesday Photo Challenge – Memories
….thanks to Frank over at Dutch Goes the Photo for hosting Tuesday Photo Challenge
I know I’m a bit late for this week’s challenge but better late than never. I particularly liked this week’s theme because it’s so open ended. So I went back a year ago to see what memories I could stir up.
A year ago I spent quite a bit of time with my Dad (the oldest member of our family) and my granddaughter (the youngest member of our family). My Dad and the family attended a wonderful wedding together, the two of us went to the Royal Winter Fair and I accompanied Winnie to the park, lunch at a restaurant and the Hamilton Santa Claus Parade.
London – Day 4, Part 2
…..Diana’s Memorial Fountain, Albert Memorial in Kensington Gardens, the V & A and happy birthday to my sweetie
While walking along the Serpentine we came across Princess Diana’s Memorial Fountain. It was officially opened in 2004 by Queen Elizabeth and the opening was attended by Prince Charles, her two sons and her brother Charles Spencer. It was the first time in seven years that the Spencers and the Windsors came together to honour Diana.
The fountain itself was designed by an American, Kathryn Gustafson. She had wanted the fountain, which was built to the south of the Serpentine, to be accessible and to reflect Diana’s “inclusive” personality.
From the fountain we walked further west towards Kensington Gardens where we came across the Albert Memorial. From the size of the memorial you would have thought that Albert had been a king but it was commissioned by Queen Victoria in memory of her beloved husband Prince Albert, who died in 1861. The memorial was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott.
After Kensington Gardens we headed south to meet up with my husband Kevin and our son, Brendan. Brendan is a curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
The V&A is the world’s leading museum of art and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.3 million objects that span over 5,000 years of human creativity. The Museum holds many of the UK’s national collections and houses some of the greatest resources for the study of architecture, furniture, fashion, textiles, photography, sculpture, painting, jewellery, glass, ceramics, book arts, Asian art and design, theatre and performance. (copied from the V&A website – www.vam.ac.uk)
Brendan gave us a wonderful personal tour of some of his favourite rooms at the museum.
The last five photos were taken in the casting room. The gold leaf that you see here was used to cover the private parts of the statue, David, whenever Queen Victoria would come to visit the museum.
Opened in 1873, the Cast Courts display copies of some of the world’s most significant works of art reproduced in plaster, electrotype, photography, and digital media. The cast collection is famous for including reproductions of Michelangelo’s David, Trajan’s Column, and Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise, amongst many others.(copied from the V&A website).
Brendan explained to us that the whole idea of making these copies was to bring the world to the people at a time when most people couldn’t afford to travel to exotic places. Over the years these copies have become invaluable reproductions because many of the original pieces have been damaged or disappeared because of environmental factors or conflict.
It’s impossible to see everything in this museum in one visit. I went back a couple more times I was in London.
After an exhausting day of walking we went back to our apartment to rest and freshen up. October 2nd is Kevin’s birthday so Brendan and Azadeh booked a reservation at a restaurant in Central London called Polpo Smithfield. We had a wonderful time sharing numerous plates of delicious Venetian food. 
London – Day 2 (Part 2)
….Day 2 was jam packed with activity
We ended our site seeing day at Liberty London where we admired the beautiful fabrics that Liberty is so famous for and went upstairs to the Christmas Department. Yes, Christmas. October is the beginning of the Christmas season in England. I couldn’t help myself but I had to purchase a little Christmas gnome for our granddaughter’s Christmas tree. I wish I had taken a photo. Sorry about that.
One of my daughter-in-law’s must do items for this trip was to experience a Sunday roast. Our son booked a table at the pub where he and his wife celebrated their marriage after the civil ceremony over two years ago. Since none of us were at their party (we celebrated with a Persian wedding a month later with all the families in Italy) Brendan really wanted us to see the place and he pre-ordered a traditional Sunday roast for six.
On Vacation
….I’m leaving tonight for London, England
I’ve scheduled a few posts ahead of time so you’ll see some activity on my blog until Oct. 2. I’m not taking a laptop with me and I’m not sure I can post from my iPhone. I’m sure I will take a ton of photos but you might have to wait a couple of weeks before I can share them with you.
I’m very excited about this trip. It’s my first time to England and I’ll finally get to see where our son and daughter-in-law reside. My husband and I are travelling with our oldest daughter and her wife and we’ll be staying together for the first eight days. After that Andrea and Josie are taking the train to Scotland and we’ll stay in London.
The only thing that we’ve booked so far is a tour of Buckingham Palace and on the second of October we’re going out to a nice restaurant to celebrate my husband’s birthday. There are lots of places we want to see and and things we want to do in London. I expect that we’ll take some bus tours and definitely walking tours and of course we’ll check out the art galleries and museums.
We haven’t booked things ahead of time because of my husband’s condition. He never quite knows when he can leave the house safely without having to rush to a bathroom. With the time change and jet lag the first few days could be tricky. We’ve done this before and it’s not ideal but spending time with our son and his wife is more important.
The only thing I’ll miss when I’m away is being able to spend time with this sweetie:
Labour Day – The End of Summer?
….I think not
For many Labour Day signals the end of summer; children return to school, cottages are frequented less often, new TV seasons begin, fall classes are opening up and the days are becoming shorter. The weather, however, is anything but fall like. In fact, we’ve been experiencing very hot and humid conditions. I feel sorry for the teachers and students who returned to school this week without the benefit of air conditioning (most schools here don’t have it).
Traditionally the Labour Day is the final day of the CNE and the last day of the Air Show. I attended the CNE on opening day and I watched the Air Show from the park at the end of my street, along with dozens of people from the community. It wasn’t the best day to watch it but I had been at the cottage for most of the 4 day show.
Here are some photos from the last official weekend of summer (maybe not official, summer doesn’t end till Sept 21) from the cottage and the Air Show.
Cee’s Odd Ball Photo Challenge – August 26, 2018
…..thanks Cee for hosting the Odd Ball Photo Challenge
Just got back from a three day visit to the cottage where I managed to take some odd ball shots on the ferry, on the beach and around the cabin.
Doing the Tourist Thing – Part 2
….after Greek Town
The second place that my sister, brother-in-law and I went to see was Harbour Front. As you can probably guess from the name it is on the waterfront, close to the centre of the city. This is where you catch the ferry to go to the Toronto Islands and Porter Airport (also accessible via a tunnel).
When you look north of the harbour all you can see are high rises. The dome where many of our sporting events take place is almost invisible because of the numerous condo towers that surround it. Between buildings you can still get a glimpse of the CN Tower which is no longer the tallest man-made structure in the world. It held the record for over three decades, from 1975 to 2007.
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.
Share Your World – July 23, 2018
…thanks to Cee for hosting Share Your World
In regards to puzzle what’s your choice: jigsaw, crossword, word search, mazes, logic or numeric puzzles, something else, or nothing?
My favourite puzzle is Sudoku.
List at least five favorite treats and it doesn’t necessarily have to be food.
I like to treat myself to the following:
A premium ice-cream in a cup
A manicure and pedicure
A good movie
An evening out with friends
A nice glass of wine with my husband
A piece of torte with my father (he loves his cake)
A slice of freshly baked bread slathered with butter
What is your favorite type of dog? (can be anything from a specific breed, a stuffed animal or character in a movie)
My favourite dog is hands down a golden retriever. I’ve owned two in my lifetime. We now have a mutt who is definitely my husband’s dog. He’s always said that the goldens were my dogs and Frances is his. (Scully is 15 years old in this photo and Frances is going on 12)
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 was a very special week because my son was visiting from London, England. There was a lot of eating and drinking, touring museums and art galleries, visiting his sister in Hamilton and attending a rugby game.
At the AGO
At the ROM
Family
A Week of Food
At the Rugby Game
Mama Cormier 