Monochrome Madness – Nature’s Textures Highlighted

thanks to Leanne Cole for hosting Monochrome Madness https://leannecole.com.au/monochrome-madness-phillip-island-in-monochrome/

Black and white photography seems to emphasize the textures on flowers and plant materials and the sharp contrast between black and white pulls out details to the forefront.

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Day 27 – Favourite Toy

…thanks to Leanne Cole for hosting the 30 Day at Home Challenge

All my favourite toys from childhood are gone. I once asked my mother what happened to our toys and she very matter of factly said that we weren’t playing with them anymore so she threw them away. I remember being somewhat shocked but on the other hand my mother did not like clutter and the decorations around the house were very minimal.

Decades ago I started collecting teddy bears. The collection grew very quickly when people learned of my new found hobby. Many of those bears have been put aside and only my favourite are now on display.

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Day 26 – Books Waiting to be Read

thanks to Leanne Cole for hosting the 30 Day at Home Challenge

I thought I would get a lot of reading done during this pandemic but I seem to be busy doing other things, like baking, cleaning, blogging, playing piano, making art, walking the dog, connecting on-line through WhatsApp, Zoom and House Party and watching TV. I better get busy because I have to read at least one of these books before May 8 which is when our next on-line book club meeting is.

The first set of books are some of my art reference books, which I look at periodically.594-ACBEE-FCD4-4193-B365-8-F6149-CD9-F5-C
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Day 25 – Not Forgotten

….April 25th is ANZAC Day in Australia and New Zealand, similar to our Remembrance Day

Thanks to Leanne Cole for hosting the 30 Day at Home Challenge. 

On this day the theme is ‘not forgotten’. The past 9 days have been very difficult for all Canadians and for me personally. On April 18th and 19th a madman went on a rampage and gunned downed 22 innocent people in Nova Scotia. Dressed as an RCMP officer and driving a car made to look like an official police car this monster went on a killing spree that lasted 13 hours. One of the ways he got people out of their homes was by setting houses on fire and naturally in this small rural community this prompted people to go outside to see if they could help their neighbours. Instead they walked straight into the path of this killer.

One of my friends and colleagues was one of the victims. Lisa McCully safely put her children in the basement of her house and walked outside to see what was going on. As she rounded the corner of her house she was shot. I waited over a week to find out when and how she was killed. I feared for her children.

I knew Lisa over 14 years ago when she was a teacher at our school. She was only with us for a year but in that time we got to know each other well and we frequently went out together. I was with her when she met her husband and Kevin and I had them to our home for dinner. Unfortunately Lisa was declared surplus at our school and moved to another school closer to my home. My neighbour’s daughter had her as her grade three teacher that year.

When Lisa moved back to Nova Scotia we kept in touch through Facebook. She got married there and had her two children there. At some point her marriage broke up and she discontinued her Facebook page. I thought of her often and in fact she came to mind just a couple of days before this tragedy hit.

My heart is broken. I feel for her family and for all the families of the other victims. It’s been difficult to grieve in the normal way because of COVID-19 but Nova Scotians and Canadians have been sending videos, text messages, making music and laying flowers and making tributes on makeshift memorials.

Lisa was a mom, a teacher, a sister, a friend and a beloved member of her community. We will all miss her. Difficult times are ahead for her students and her family.

Rest in Peace my friend.

Love, Carol

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Day 23 – Food

….thanks to Leanne Cole for hosting the 30 Day at Home Challenge

On day 23 my husband and I were inspired by Jamie Oliver’s 30 Minute Meals and together we made a wonderful meal for the two of us. It consisted of a Wacky Summer Pasta, Arugula and Watercress Salad with Warm Pancetta and a Pear Meringue Tart.
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Day 22 – Bubbles

….thanks to Leanne Cole for hosting the 30 Day at Home Challenge

Taking photos of bubbles is not an easy task. Leanne has a beautiful shot on her site and clearly she set it up very professionally. I, on the other hand, photographed the only bubbles in my house at the moment and they came from the kitchen sink.8-C8-D0123-DF12-4684-8-B4-A-7-D2-F53-F5-D769

Day 21 – Today’s Dinner

…thanks to Leanne Cole for hosting the 30 Day at Home Challenge

Today’s theme is What’s for Dinner? I didn’t see this prompt until just now but luckily we took photos of our dinner because it was pizza night at Chez Cormier and we like to share with our family. Unfortunately this year we’re only able to share from a distance with photos.11018-DA5-EE69-4-C3-B-AC09-D921581138-FA
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