Walking, the Bike Show, Drawing and More Walking

….Saturday was a great walking day

The temperatures are starting to rise but not enough for the snow to become a slushy mess. That will happen later today and definitely tomorrow as we head into double digits above the freezing mark.

Saturday was perfect for a long walk with the dog. Frances loves the snow. We did walk through the field with her but for the most part we stayed on the paths where the snow had been shovelled or had already melted away. It was a fun morning and I was able to play with my new camera. We came across a sad little snowman and I tried shooting it from different angles.

When we got home I checked my fitness device and discovered we had walked about 6000 steps. Not our longest walk but it was a good start to the day. I made us a hardy breakfast that I knew would sustain us through lunch and then we got ready to take a trip to the bike show.

Every year at this time, The Toronto Bike Show takes place at the CNE grounds. It’s a very busy show and we had to park a fair distance from the building but that was okay because we knew we were going to rack up a lot more steps. My husband was a little disappointed in the show. He felt that there wasn’t as much to see this year. The show certainly is quite large and if you’re in the market for a new bike there were some deals to be had. I think because we had been at the show last year it felt like there wasn’t as much in the way of new products or at least things that were significantly different from the year before.

There were lots of bikes with large attached carriers, Dutch style, fat bikes, racing bikes, electric assist bikes, bicycle accessories, booths promoting bicycle tours and races and bikes for the littlest of riders. We came across a little boy (11 months old) who was checking out a bike that he could be riding in a couple of years.

As we walked back to the car my Jawbone Up signalled me that I had reached my goal of 10,000 steps for the day and it was only mid-afternoon. We rang up our oldest daughter and found out that she was home and happy for some company so we headed over to her house. We had a nice visit with her. At one point I suggested we go for a walk in her neighbourhood but my husband was content to just sit for a bit.

After a couple of hours, we continued on our way home and arrived just in time to take the dog for another walk. Correction…. I took her for another walk. This one was considerably shorter and I would be doing this at least one more time before I went to bed.

We enjoyed a simple supper of left overs and then started watching the new season of House of Cards with Kevin Spacey. I can only do this for couple of hours before I need a change of scene. I made my way to my sketch books and art materials which at the moment are on my dining room table. I watched a few more art lessons on my computer and then I cracked open my sketch book and got my ink and pen ready to draw. I came across a photo of a cow on one of the blogs I follow and decided that would be my subject for the day. I’ve always wanted to draw cows so today was the day.

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After posting this sketch on Facebook for my daily sketching challenge I took the dog for one last walk and then did the dishes. I can never leave dishes overnight so no matter how late it gets I end up cleaning before crawling into bed. I checked my walking progress and was happy to see that for the day I had taken 14 270 steps. Ten days in a row now I’ve reached my 10 000 steps/day goal.

How was your weekend? Did you reach any goals or do something interesting?

Time to get ready to visit our other daughter in Hamilton. We’re babysitting today. Yay!

 

 

Full Moon Over the City

….actually the moon was to the right of the city tonight

When I was out earlier this evening the moon was a beautiful golden ball sitting just above the horizon line with a wispy cloud crossing in front of it. I didn’t have my camera with me and when I returned home dinner was on the table. A half hour later the moon was much higher in the sky and the colour had changed from amber yellow to silver.

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WPC – Seasons

….no two years are the same

This week’s photo challenge asks us to take photos of what the season looks like where we live. February in Toronto is usually cold and white. At least the two years before this one were like that. Today the temperatures were mild and the only snow came from the skating rink after being cleaned. Here are photos from two years ago in February at Col. Samuel Smith Park and today in the same place.

 

Share Your World 2016 – Week 7

….thanks Cee for hosting Share Your World

What are you a “natural” at doing?

I think I’m a natural at teaching art to young children and reading stories to them.

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Would you prefer a one floor house or multiple levels?

I like multiple levels in a house. I find climbing stairs helps keep me fit. Maybe as I get older I’ll prefer a one floor house.

What was your favorite subject in school?

In school my favourite subject was Family studies. I’ve always loved practical hands on classes.

Complete this sentence: If only the rain..

….would happen only at night.

What are you grateful for from last week and what do you look forward to this week?

I’m grateful for my daughter’s wonderful wedding a week ago today. It was a beautiful and simple ceremony at City Hall. Afterwards we walked to a very nice bar down the street and toasted the girls with Prosecco. Dinner wasn’t until 6:00 so we stayed at Drake 150 for about an hour and then we headed to Terroni’s for the reception. The guest list was very intimate with only 26 family members and very close friends in attendance. The food was fabulous and a wonderful time was had by all.

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On Saturday I paid a visit to my friend Maria and brought her some goodies for her birthday, Valentine’s Day and Family Day. On Sunday my husband treated me to a very nice lunch at Snug Harbour in Port Credit to celebrate Valentine’s Day. The meal was fantastic.

This week I’m looking forward to pyjama day at school, the dance for the kids on Friday and hopefully seeing my granddaughter on the weekend.

Back to Normal

….what a productive day!

Yesterday I started the day with a very long walk with my husband and Frances, our Super Dog. It was extremely cold but we extended our walk and when we finally got back home, I had already exceeded my goal of 10 000 steps for the day. We were suppose to go to Hamilton to visit with our daughter and her family but the plans changed and they were coming to us instead.

Time to clean-up. I started in the kitchen, moved to the bathroom and washed the floors. I was hoping to get to the living room but they arrived early. We enjoyed a simple lunch together and then they had to leave to visit family on his side. B’s dad had not met Winnie yet so we volunteered to look after Lucy (their Bassett hound). This meant a another  walk, albeit a short one. When that dog doesn’t want to go any further she puts on the brakes and there’s no budging her.

When the two dogs settled into their own quiet spaces I decided it might be a good time to clear away the remaining Christmas ornaments that were piled on top of the coffee table in the living room and on top of the piano. I pulled out all the boxes from under the stairs and started to reorganize the stockings, ornaments, lights, candles and Christmas cloths and skirts back into their preselected bins. When I returned the boxes to their place under the stairs I must have hit my head at least three times when I was backing out of the closet.

Once the decorations were all put away I vacuumed up any remaining pine needles from the carpet and washed the hardwood. I also decided to polish the piano. Seeing that I’ve haven’t done this in years the wood practically drank up the polishing cream. When I was done it felt good to get so much accomplished.

After I took Lucy for her ‘short’ walk I noticed the most amazing moon hanging over the city so when I returned home I took my new camera, set it on ‘hand held night shots’ and returned to the park, without the dog, and tried to capture that image. I posted a few of these shots on WPC.

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Later in the evening, G and her husband and the baby returned. We spent some more time together. While B helped me with my camera and cleaned up my computer, my husband played with the baby. She gets stronger every time we see her and she desperately wants to crawl and loves to stand when you hold on to her.

I now know a little bit more about my new camera and I was given some very useful tips about keeping my computer virus free. I updated some of my software after our company left and I was able to write a post for this blog before I went to bed. By the time I did finally go to bed I had logged 17 000 steps for the day. Not bad. All being said and done, I had a very productive day despite a nagging headache. Wonder where that came from? Haha!

Optimistic

….this week’s WPC theme is optimistic

How do you portray optimism in a photograph? That was the question that I immediately asked myself when I saw this week’s challenge.

As some of you may know I received a new camera for Christmas. I have to admit that I was very optimistic about all the wonderful things that I would be able to do with this camera but it hasn’t been easy to manoeuvre this new device. I’ve actually been overwhelmed with all the new functions.

Tonight when I took one of the dogs for a short walk I noticed how beautiful the first full moon of the year was. It was early in the evening and it wasn’t even completely dark but the moon hung low in the sky and it cast a beautiful reflection on the lake. The lights of the city were exceptionally bright and I was optimistic that the moon, its reflection and the city skyline would make a wonderful photo.

I hurried back home for my camera and set the function for hand held night shots. It was bitterly cold but I played around by the lake’s edge, gloves off, to get the perfect shot. The final product is better than any shot I’ve ever gotten before but I’m optimistic that when I purchase a zoom lens for this camera my night photos of the moon over the city will be even better.

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Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Yellow or Orange Flowers

…..one of my favourite things to photograph are flowers

Do you have any photos of yellow orange flowers? If so, you should consider joining Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge.