Embrace Life

Sunday Morning | 004 Spring is Late

Spring seems to be late everywhere this year. The typical showers of April arrived in May and there is no sign in the forecast that the cold and wet stuff is going to give way to sunshine anytime soon. It won't keep me from taking photos, though!

 

Sunday Morning | 003 Mother's Day

Sunday Morning | 003 Mother's Day

My sweet baby brought his dad to the florist to be sure I had a bouquet of flowers in time for Mother's Day - so I received them on Saturday! Caden made sure to choose all of the colours I like since he didn't know what any of the flowers were called. The flowers are perfect and would have been no matter what flowers were chosen, but I'm tickled that he new not to include any blue!

Happy Mother's Day.

I hope yours is filled with family, flowers and lots of colour.

Be sure to join in.

Capture Your 365: Blog Hop!

Welcome!

This is my first time participating in the Capture Your 365 Blog Hop which is hosted by my good friend, Jill Conyers and inspired by the community at Capture Your 365. Such a great place. So much so, I've actually picked up my camera again and after much doubt and indecision have hopped back on the 365 bandwagon - I've even started a Project 365 - kinda. I know. Crazy.

I enjoy that Katrina Kennedy provides prompts for us through the month, though April was a bit wonky. The arrival of Spring in my world was very late in coming and in actual fact did not show up until late last week in the form of thunder storms, high winds and mud. In between I spent 1/3 of my month in southern Arizona with desert heat and barren yet inspiring landscape. These collection of photos were all taken during that trip. Enjoy!

APRIL PROMPT 03 - growth

APRIL PROMPT 13 - a bunny

APRIL PROMPT 15 - a flower

APRIL PROMPT 17 - a palm

APRIL PROMPT 20 - something blue

APRIL PROMPT 27 - up close

Here is a complete list of blogs participating in todays blog hop! (Note: the blog hop will go live by all participants no later than 8 AM EST).

1. Jill http://jillconyers.typepad.com/
2. Kate http://www.katehadfi...signs.com/blog/
3. Katrina http://captureyour365.com
4. Kathleen http://jkplusthree.blogspot.com
5. Christi http://randomactsofc...i.blogspot.com/
6. Tammy http://lens-and-pens.blogspot.com/
7. Anne http://limeblog.net
8. Tracy http://www.tracyannelittle.com/
9. Sharon http://sharonlinnefaulk.com/photo
10. Lee http://thelinarstudi...om/embracelife/ << YOU ARE HERE
11. Michelle http://www.ourhereandnow.blogspot.com/
12. Beth http://www.ourtypicallife.org/
13. Michele http://rhicarian.wordpress.com/
14. Christine http://christine-lifeorsomethinglikeit.blogspot.com/

Relax, grab a favorite beverage, and maybe a cookie and visit the blog hop participants for a just a small glimpse at the talent that is overflowing at Capture Your 365. Then when you're done with that, head on over and check out the May prompts as part of the May Merriment celebration and join in the community. Be sure to say "hi" - you'll find me with the really original board name: Lee!

Your next stop on the CY365 Blog Hop is Michelle at Our Here and Now. 

Photo Challenge | 30 Days | finishing up

A while back, I announced that I was going to dust off my camera and get back into the practice of taking photos every day by participating in Katie's 30-day photo challenge, a couple of months late. I posted my first fifteen photos, which were almost all taken by me. Based on the topics, these are the rest, most of which were not taken by me!

Day 16 | A picture of someone who inspires you.

I am inspired, every day, by MANY someones! I went online and snagged some photos of the top five who bring thoughtful positivity into my life. My life is better with them in it.

Day 17 | A picture of one that has made a huge impact on your life recently.

Without my sister, I wouldn't be confident in my future and my health. No, not a good photo, but as beautiful as she is, she is not a fan of the camera.

Day 18 | A picture of your biggest insecurity.

My biggest insecurity has always been my size - well, my weight. It has been for the last 15+ years. Now that I have the key and the plans in place to lose it all, I'll have to find another insecurity! I wonder what it used to be?

Day 19 | A picture of you when you were little.

I'm guessing this was taken when I was about three - so that would be 1967 - with my other younger sister.

Day 20 | A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel.

I've always wanted to go to Morocco. (Click on the photo for the source.)

Day 21 | A picture of something you wish you could forget.

It's already forgotten.

Day 22 | A picture of something you wish to try.

Ever since I saw it on one of my kids television shows, I've always wanted to go INDOOR SKYDIVING!

Day 23 | A picture of your favorite book.

This was HARD! I have so many which include CLASSIC Pride and Prejudice, YOUTH A Wrinkle in Time, RE-READ The Mitford Series, KICK IN THE PANTS Gifts of Imperfection, and ABOVE Lady of Hay which is filled with fantasy, history, scary, mystical, time travel and complete fiction, I think.

Day 24 | A picture of something you wish you could change.

I don't know how to take a photo of my children when their hearts have been bruised. I wish I could protect them, but it's all a part of the lessons life gives us. I just wish I could take away the pain.

Day 25 | A picture of your day.

Every day includes at least one load of laundry. It is the most consistent activity in my life.

Day 26 | A picture of the view out your back door.

Though not technically my "back door" as in opposite front door, our back yard is really our side yard. Love our wonky - and beautiful - location :)

Day 27 | A picture of your favourite hobby.

Photos + Words + Paper = JOY

Day 28 | A picture of something that inspires you.

I like this photo. It really appealed to me the minute I took it and I was happy to see, when I got home, that it was exactly as I expected: a prickly plant and angry looking cactus which, in the right light, is glorious. There are a few lessons in that, I think.

Day 29 | A picture that can always make you smile.

Any picture of any of my kids is guaranteed to make me smile.

Day 30 | A picture of looking forward.

A lot of this will be incorporated into my moving forward. Key word: MOVING.

I really enjoyed this exercise. Plenty to consider and capture.

Photo Challenge | 30 Days | the first half

A while back, I announced that I was going to dust off my camera and get back into the practice of taking photos every day. In order to facilitate that, I figured I'd participate in Katie's 30-day photo challenge, if a couple of months late! We're half way in and I'm keeping up:

Day 01 | A picture of yourself.

Not my current self, of course, but my 26-year-old self. My how 20 seemingly short years can change a person! And, in the smaller photo is a picture of me when I was four years old with my dad and some of his friends.

Day 02 | A picture of you and your children.

Courtesy of Louis who reluctantly figured out which button to push. We had about 20 minutes that all four of the kids were home - and awake! Cole, just barely as he grabbed one of my sweaters and tossed it over his pajamas! Caden clearly considers Tigey an integral member of the family - and I suppose he is :)

Day 03 | A picture of your most recent project.

I always have about a half dozen projects on the go. These are just two: organizing my desktop folders - again. I figure if I can't find stuff, it's not organized, right? Attempting yet another system! And, putting together Ali Edwards Scrapbook on the Road album for an upcoming trip.

Day 04 | A picture of your night.

This is a common sight, though soon with no snow! All dark out, but the lights are on to welcome us home. Almost every night we are coming in late from one activity or another.

Day 05 | A picture of a favorite memory.

I'm a bit fuzzy on the details, but I remember loving my time with the kids in Cape Cod when they were little. I used to take them down, by myself, for a month at a time. Sigh. Lovely. Looking forward to the next visit!

Day 06 | A picture of your morning start.

While the coffee drips I empty the dishwasher. Every morning. Well, the mornings someone (ahem) remembers to fill and start the dishwasher, otherwise, I'm doing just that!

Day 07 | A picture of your most treasured item.

When my grandfather passed away my grandmother went out and bought herself a diamond ring. It wasn't expensive, but it meant the world to her. She wore that ring every single day. When she passed away that ring was given to me. I keep it at my kitchen window as a reminder of her. I think of her multiple times every day and miss her as much now as when she passed.

Day 08 | A picture that makes you laugh.

This was taken in the park in early fall of 2009. It was just at the start of the youngers understanding "bathroom humour" and their reaction to one of those words. My good friend, Barb Wong, was kind enough to scrapbook this occasion as I couldn't do it justice. Her interpretation of the day was perfect.

Day 09 | A picture of something you find intimidating.

Not only do I find the force of nature, especially water, intimidating; this photo was taken to represent the foggy unknown. The definition of my future as I see it today.

Day 10 | A picture of the person you do the silliest things with.

Because he's the silliest member of our household. Cracks me up. Every day.

Day 11 | A picture of something you can’t stand.

If you have to drown it in garlic or butter or cheese or all to make it as unhealthy as possible in order to choke it down, why eat it? Brussels sprouts are on the top of my list of something I can't stand! (Though, there is hope, I recently found this recipe.)

Day 12 | A picture of something you love.

Do you see that twinkle? Love that he is so competitive. Love that he finally won "shotgun" since his big sister almost always sits in the passenger seat. I also love that if she had flipped, he'd have given it up for her. Competitive and compassionate - a pretty good combination!

Day 13 | A picture of your favorite piece of furniture in your home.

We have a pair of overstuffed and tufted leather chairs. LOVE THEM.

Day 14 | A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without.

The start of it all, my Claire.

Day 15 | A picture of something you want to do before you die.

Since I've never been there I can't have my own photo, but I found this map online a while back (apologies as I can't direct you to the source) and thought it suited the prompt perfectly. I want to stop at all of the major ports of call along the Mediterranean Sea. Me, a couple of girlfriends and my camera. Doesn't that sound wonderful?

This has been a fun exercise. I'm looking forward to seeing what the rest of the month holds in store!

Photo Walk in Kingston

The end of winter is never a great time to take a photo walk. It's more than a little dirty and muddy, and often the skies are gray and dull. Unfortunately sometimes the timing of my travels are more dictated by hockey which takes me to some lovely places in some less than lovely weather.

In this case, last month, our travels took us off to a tournament in Kingston, Ontario. It is about a 3 hour drive East of where we live. I haven't been there in years but was quickly reminded that it is a beautiful small college town (population 117,000) with a rich history. I really enjoyed how they were able to marry the old and new throughout the town. Some urban planners could go and take notes ...

I have no idea where our travels will take us next year, but I will definitely be taking more walks, regardless of weather, when I don't have to be in a rink. Caden kept me good company through the walk and he was very interested in reading all of the historical plaques erected all along the waterfront.

A Million Little Pictures

Can I tell you how much I love this idea?

The Art House Coop comes up with some of the most creative and inclusive big-community ideas. They really make my head swirl with possibilities. So much so I bombed last year with my sketchbook project as I was so completely intimidated. I need to redeem myself (though, I have to admit, though the "characters of hockey" book is still in bits and pieces - it just has to be put together, it might just get finished!).

In the meantime, I'm turning my attention to taking 27 photographs.

The project concept is that I will receive an "authorized" disposable camera in order to capture 27 frames on a single theme and then send back the results. The photos will be collected in to a traveling exhibition which will go from coast to coast - of the U.S.. I love that the project is open to anyone - anywhere in the world. Who knows, with enough participation we might get the bus over the border!

Simplicity | Afternoon Tea
photo taken 12 January 2011
Lee Currie

Of the themes available, the one I chose is: SIMPLICITY. Not terribly daring given the choices:

• Surviving the end of the world
• Pictures in a minute
• From here to there
• The great adventures of?
• Sharp curve ahead.
• Lights and beams
• Meaning of a photograph
• Pictures and descriptions
• Creating a world
• The last thing I ever saw
• 27 days of ...
• The last thing I remember
• Watch
• The night before last
• Simplicity
• Captured in time
• Florescent lights and long stories
• The photograph that changed the world
• 27 ways to say ...
• Toothaches and heartaches
• 100 degrees in the shade
• Unidentified flying objects
• Pictures of people I know
• Breakfast, lunch and dinner
• In progress
• Pockets
• Neighbourhood characters
• Rain delay
• Crosstown traffic
• Comings and goings
• Signs and symbols
• Secret passages

Very creative, no? I will definitely be tackling some of these ideas - sooner rather than later!

I have to have the 27 little pictures post marked by June 15th and the tour starts in September. This is going to be fun. No delete button! *GASP* Whatever will I do with the shots I mess up? I hope I get more than a couple worthy of submission.

And that is the fun.

I can't wait to get my camera in the mail. It should be here soon and then I'll be on my quest to record 27 shots of simplicity. 

{easy like a} Sunday Morning ...

is the title of a new photo challenge, and I definitely have the song imbedded in my head!

My talented cyber-friend, Jack, is back! I've missed her greatly and am thrilled to be able to visit with her on a more regular basis. She has come up with a new weekly photography challenge:

Here is the scoop:

+ Wake up
+ Have your camera handy (doesn't need to be a fancy camera; a point and shoot or even your phone camera will do)
+ Wait for that perfect moment
+ And shoot, shoot, shoot away!
+ Post your Sunday morning shot on your site and tell us about it
+ Visit my Sunday morning post to add your link located at the bottom of my post

Simple.  Right?

I love that this challenge is starting now. My Sunday mornings in the summer are so very different from my Sunday mornings in the winter - with only the watching of CBS Sunday Morning in common - and I'm looking forward to participating in this challenge!

What shots am I looking forward to taking?

• Sipping coffee while out on the deck
• The view of the lake at dawn
• Sun streaming in bedroom windows
• Sleeping children
• Read newspapers scattered on the floor
• Kids out on kayaks
• Walking to Bronte
• Over in the park - swings, slides, monkey bars
• Raindrops on windows
• Heading to church
• In the rink
• Welcome relief from Pub Night
• On the road
• Making brunch

What about you? Any specific Sunday Morning photos you want to capture?

Here is mine, for today:

SUNDAY MORNING | 001 Sticks

Today was Cole's final practice with his current hockey team. Since September his sticks have been lined up by our front door so he has easy access to them: game stick, back up stick, road hockey stick, stick handling stick, tester stick, a stick for every possible purpose and more. Even though he doesn't stop hockey for the summer, he doesn't need as easy access so by the end of the day this sight will be gone and moved down to it's summer home, in the basement - or better - the garage!

. . . . .

Have some fun and be sure to join in!

Photo Challenge | 30 Days

Guess what? I found another great idea.

(Taken April 2010)

I'm settling into the reality that I don't originate much, but I do like discovering and then editing and moulding ideas to suit me - and then share it with you. This is one of those projects discovered over on Katie's blog in mid-January. I decided to wait for a 30-day month and it just happens to be April. As always, I've modified and will change things a bit more before the end of the month, but as it stands today, here it is:

Photo Challenge | 30 Days

Day 01 | A picture of yourself.

Day 02 | A picture of you and your children.

Day 03 | A picture of your most recent project.

Day 04 | A picture of your night.

Day 05 | A picture of a favorite memory.

Day 06 | A picture of your morning start.

Day 07 | A picture of your most treasured item.

Day 08 | A picture that makes you laugh.

Day 09 | A picture of something you find intimidating.

Day 10 | A picture of the person you do the silliest things with.

Day 11 | A picture of something you can’t stand.

Day 12 | A picture of something you love.

Day 13 | A picture of your favorite piece of furniture in your home.

Day 14 | A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without.

Day 15 | A picture of something you want to do before you die.

Day 16 | A picture of someone who inspires you.

Day 17 | A picture of one that has made a huge impact on your life recently.

Day 18 | A picture of your biggest insecurity.

Day 19 | A picture of you when you were little.

Day 20 | A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel.

Day 21 | A picture of something you wish you could forget.

Day 22 | A picture of something you wish to try.

Day 23 | A picture of your favorite book.

Day 24 | A picture of something you wish you could change.

Day 25 | A picture of your day.

Day 26 | A picture of the view out your back door.

Day 27 | A picture of your favourite hobby.

Day 28 | A picture of something that inspires you.

Day 29 | A picture that can always make you smile.

Day 30 | A picture of looking forward.

I decided not to participate in a Project 365 this year and as a result I do believe I'm taking better, more thoughtful, more creative photos; but, I am now completely out of the habit of bringing my camera with me everywhere and feel like I'm missing some wonderful opportunities. I hope to get a bit of that back this month while maintaining the the lessons learned through the last few months of restraint and purpose.

(Note: I found by way of the ever-finding-great-stuff Jill Conyers, that Katrina Kennedy has started up a new site: CaptureYour365. Who knows? This month in combination with this wonderful site may just give me the nudge I need to get back on track. If you sign on, look me up! My user name is really original: Lee)

Batteries charged. Memory card cleared. I'm ready for my month of photos.

One Little Word | Captured | 07, 08 & 09

Oh my, I'm behind. Not in my photo taking, but certainly in my sharing!

| 07

THE STORY: Cole loves very few foods. It makes shopping for him very easy. He, along with the rest of the kids, need to learn how to fend for themselves as our schedules become less static and our lives become more fluid.

WHY DO? This particular food - pulled pork - is pretty labour intensive so I used it as a teaching opportunity - especially since he is the one who really loves it. It was time to teach him, start to finish, how to shop for and make his favourite foods. He learned how to choose the meat from the grocer, get the ingredients together (luckily there are only 3 or 4), how to set the crock pot, cook the meat, shred the meat, mix it all up and dish it up onto a fresh kaiser roll and make a side salad. Yum!

* * * * *

  

| 08

THE STORY: In early January my washer went on the fritz. I was wondering why the clothing was all soggy when I went to transfer it into the dryer. It kept coming up with an "F1" error code.

WHY DO? I figured out how to make it work by pushing a series of buttons, but it often shut down in mid-cycle and that was a pain to babysit each load, as I wash a lot of laundry during the course of the week. I went online and found a message board and on it I was informed that this code was indicative of a problem with the circuit board and it was a FREE FIX! Well, free as in parts and labour. I actually picked up the phone (ugh) and contacted Whirlpool who sent out two local repair guys. My "free" fix cost me the $90 service call, but hey, now I don't have to babysit the washing machine.

* * * * *

| 09

THE STORY: I used to hold regular gatherings with lovely, supportive, creative and empowering ladies, until a joy sucking hag made it miserable for everyone. I have lived the last couple of years desperately missing the interaction and good parts but in fear of history repeating itself. Though, how could there ever be two? (Knocking wood!)

WHY DO? The hardest part was forcing myself to reopen my heart to embrace a more social existence. This was hard. Really hard. Not to orchestrate, but to just do: send out an invitation, fingers crossed, and go for it, fingers crossed. So far our little group has enjoyed our second gathering and I have to say, so far so good. I'm thrilled to have put myself out there again. The ladies are wonderful, the laughter contageous, the stories empowering and the plans, oh the plans we are making are fantastic!

* * * * *

JOIN: I'm thrilled my friend Jill has offered us all an opportunity to keep on track! I don't know about you, but weekly accountability is good for me. One LIttle Word | Captured is the perfect way for me to incorporate my one little word in to my life. What about you?

Team Up Thursday: Simple Pleasures v2011

Following along with our list of Team Up Thursday topics and we've happened upon Simple Pleasures, again.

What simple pleasure am I craving? Simple - warmth! I know Shirley is the same. This has been a long winter and we're tired. (Mine is a bit of a cheat as it's a picture of the sunset in Cape Cod taken last summer - sigh).

Shirley's daughter is enjoying some quiet time with her horse, Caesar. I remember the days! You can clearly tell how she enjoys spending time with him.

Last year? In May this is what was bringing us simple pleasure:

I hope you take time to enjoy a simple pleasure or two today! Enjoy your Thursday.

On Thursdays, Shirley LeMay and I create a diptych based on a theme. You can view the other great diptychs at the Team Up Thursday Flickr group. Or, if you just want to see ours, they are all here. Grab a partner and join in!

Winter: Last Gasp

Oh, please let this be the last gasp. The first week of March and we've barely had a break from the snow covering everything.

I know I mentioned that Enviroment Canada announced we should expect three more months of winter, but holy smokes, I can't handle any more snow. I'm so tired of the white turning to black ground and the accompanying gray days. This is not normal for our particular area of the country.

Though, it has been fun to find photo opportunitites. These are the most recent photos from my memory card:

FOUND IN MY FRONT YARD

FOUND AT CORONATION PARK

I stopped by the park on my way from collecting Claire from timekeeping - she has been at the coldest rink in Oakville from 7AM to 11AM every Sunday since October - I'm learning to bring my camera as Coronation Park has some beautiful and often unexpected sights:

I have to say, as far as winters go, I'm happy we're prepared for the "bad" weather. I've spent the last few months seeing crazy weather - hail, ice and snow - in places like Texas and Florida where no one has snow tires or shovels and it has been more dangerous than simply inconvenient. It is startling to see full size vehicles play bumper cars on the evening news.

I'm ready to see the tail end of this inconvenience and have some warmth seep into my cold and damp old bones!

Team Up Thursday: Cloudy with a chance of ...

I continue to enjoy these Team Up Thursday challenges and it is great fun to join my friend and wonderful photographer, Shirley LeMay each week combining our interpretation of a theme. I'm always delighted to open my mail to see the final diptych. Check out many more on the Flickr group: Team Up Thursday.

This week the theme was a bit different: CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF ... and this his how we both captured it:

What in the world? The natural for me was "meatballs" so instead of taking a photo we caught the movie on DVD. (Observation: I love how "hero's" in animated features are a bit gawky and normal - with a larger than average schnozz and the females are all sadly the same - even the almost-gawky ones.) Anyway ...

My version: Cloudy with a chance of VEGETABLES in our stir fry; and, in Shirley's version: Cloudy with a chance of CHOCOLATE! This was a very yummy diptych this week :)

I gave up 365 because I can't count ...

This year I elected to not participate in Project 365 or Project Life. I have managed to fill my time with other things, but every once in a while I wonder if I made the right choice. After all, two or three years of the same patterns and behaviour makes it pretty hard to quit and start something new.

I found participating in Project 365 the last couple of years to be overwhelming. Not so much the photography part, I'm still taking at least one or two - if not 20 or 30 - photos every day, it was the uploading in simple upload or blog form that took it's toll.

As much as I admire Project Life, and I especially enjoy the many adjustments participants have made to adjust the burden of the "daily" aspect, I took a good look at my life and realized even with four active kids and so much going on every day, there were too many slots to fill - too much opportunity for blank space! I am not much of a consumer, I do not shop much nor do I care about or collect labels, tags or much ephemera. I spend a lot of time tossing this stuff out of my house, I cannot imagine putting it in a place of honour in a photo album.

(To be honest, for the longest time I didn't understand the difference between the two projects. I get it now.)

I used to get very frustrated with the whole counting. I know, it sounds so simple, but it was frustrating when I'd be posting my July - August - September photos and realized that at some point I had miscounted. Argh. I know a little bit of preparation would have gone a long way and I'm sure it would have taken less time to have manually found a calendar and counted out the days, but I didn't. I tried to find what I was looking for on-line. After all, how hard could it be? Hard.

So the other day, while venturing from one blog to another to another, clicking on links I FOUND IT!! I figured just because I'm not participating in the project doesn't mean YOU aren't so here's the link: Basic Calendar Creator. Now this is the important part:

See the bottom box? Show day number of the year. CLICK IT and voila!

I wonder if I can start again? Or go back and figure where I messed up the last two years?! Time wasted? Worth it?

We'll never know. But I'm happy if I can send someone else, equally as frustrated as I was, in the right direction. I hope it helps and makes life easier for someone else who can't count - I can't be the only one, can I? :)

Team Up Thursday: Sign

I enjoy these Team Up Thursday challenges and it has been great fun to join my friend and wonderful photographer, Shirley LeMay each week combining our interpretation of a theme. I'm always delighted to open my mail to see the final diptych. Check out many more on the Flickr group: Team Up Thursday.

This week the theme was SIGN and this his how we both captured it:

My SIGN: Caden snuck into my bed at some point during the night. This is usually a sign that he is coming down with something or he needs to talk. This particular morning my little boy simply wanted a bit of mama time. Thank goodness it wasn't followed up with a cold - worse, it was the flu!

Shirley's SIGN: Frost on the inside of the windows definitely signals that it is cold as the dickens outside. When I took the picture, it was 0 degF or -18 degC. That was on Monday and it hasn't warmed up much since. Another "good sign" from the picture - it's no longer dark when I get downstairs to the kitchen at 6:45. The days are getting longer, so warmer days will be here soon.

I have to agree with Shirley. I am greatly enjoying the longer days. For me the realization came at the other end of the day. Claire and Cole are usually collected from school around 5PM and I realized yesterday that I was driving in daylight. Warmer days! Oh, I'm so looking forward to their inevitable arrival. I hope it is sooner rather than later. This year I feel chilled to the bone.

the simple things | 11

garlic

i am not much into using spices or other flavour "enhancers", as i find they often mask the real taste of food. though, you can always find some, er, a lot of fresh garlic in my kitchen. it is the perfect accompaniment to almost everything i cook. even better? it's oh so good for all of us.

Creative Catch Up

I have joined a number of challenges for 2011. Some have gone well, others not as well as planned. At some point I'll figure out why ... and fix! But for now, I'm just going to post what I've missed sharing here:

Team Up Thursday

Shirley and I have done a pretty good job keeping up with our Team Up assignments, so far. This week th theme we chose was Homemade:

This week my photo is the remains of Cole's birthday cake. He turned 14 and left very little on the  plate! Shirley's daughter, Erica, made a homemade birthday card for a friend.

Joy of Love

For the month of February, the talented Kelly Willette has started a photography course where she sends an e-mail each day with an assignment and some great photography tips and advice. Each photo is of a person (or pet) we love and a theme is followed. I am terrible at taking photos of those I love because they are more than fed up with me taking their picture! This month I will not be deterred.

Day 1 DOING

Day 2 ESSENCE

I'm working on Day 3 - Then and Now; and 4 - What They Wear. I have to dig into the archives for Day 3; and for Day 4, I need a cooperative loved one. Clearly I'm being deterred ... maybe I should stick to nature shots!

LOAD 211

I've lost count at how many times I've done a Layout A Day but I think I've perfected the imperfect process. Like I said while participating in the blog hop, I'm a binge scrapper and this works pretty well for me.

Day 1 Learn Through Play

Cardstock: Bazzill
Printed Paper: Little Yellow Bicycle
Stickers: Basic Grey, Heidi Swapp
Font: VT Portable Remington

Day 2 Mini Me

Cardstock: Bazzill
Printed Paper: We R Memory Keepers
Stickers: Kaisercraft
Chipboard: American Crafts
Font: Arial Narrow
Inspiration: Jody Wenke

Day 3 She Plays Hard

 

Cardstock: Bazzill
Printed Paper: My Minds Eye
Stickers: Heidi Swapp
Chipboard: American Crafts
Brads: Bo Bunny
Font: District Thin

Day 4 Our Funny Boy

Cardstock: Bazzill, Dotted Swiss
Chipboard: American Crafts
Brads: Bo Bunny
Font: American Typewriter

I'm struggling with the 52 Weeks Challenge and, a previous favourite, Celebrate Mondays. Picture Winter over at BPC was an epic fail and I really am disappointed in myself. I think it is due to the specific-assignment nature of the challenges. Still working out the kinks and hope to be back at is soon. I've been pretty good posting my Happiness Captured, The Simple Things and One Little Word Captured. The only difference I see on those assignments I manage and those I do not, are my successful photos are less structured and forced. I'm better with a more free-flowing theme.

What about you? Are you keeping up with the ideas you discovered at the start of the year? Which have you fallen off - or fallen on?

the simple things | 10

glow

it has been dingy and gray around here for what feels like weeks on end. we were given about a half hour of sunlight, just before dusk, as dinner was being planned, and didn't have the heart to complain that it was shining in my eyes. my lovely claire went over to the window to block it for me and it was then i realized how she glowed in the light.

the most beautiful part? not only was it a play on light, but glow is part of her generous teenage personality, most of the time. for that i am always grateful.

One Little Word | Captured | 04

This really should be version 05 rather than 04 but last week was chaotic with multiple trips to Stratford. Though I'm a week behind, this DO is actually about that trip.

THE STORY: A short week ago, I blogged about what a privilege it was for my son Cole, and his team, to be invited to play in the Nations Cup hockey tournament. Perhaps a once in a lifetime opportunity to wear the uniform and represent our country. If this event doesn't warrant an album, I don't know what does! 

WHY DO? As is my custom, I brought my camera and took oodles of photos. 1,400+ which I managed to edit (I know, can you believe it?) to the 101 uploaded to Flickr all brighter, cropped and sharpened. This was done by Tuesday. Bonus? Once the photos were selected, I found a digital template to use - a re-purposed December Daily square layered template from Ali Edwards. I found some gorgeous Michelle Martin papers already purchased and just waiting in my iPhoto files. The piece de resistance? An old - I mean OLD - 8x8 Creative Memories album I've been wanting to use! The only cost of the album is the photo developing. Not only were all of the materials selected, but the pages were just sent over to the photo developer. I'm no longer "hoarding" pretty things to be used "later" or for something "better". After all, the whole idea is for these pretty things to be used!

Bonus? It is Cole's 14th birthday today. This is his gift. I was greatly motivated to get this done for him.

Now I just have to take photos of it all ... and maybe post them :) My next do?

* * * * *

JOIN: I'm thrilled my friend Jill has offered us all an opportunity to keep on track! I don't know about you, but weekly accountability is good for me. One LIttle Word | Captured is the perfect way for me to incorporate my one little word in to my life. What about you?

Team Up Thursday: Comfort

Each Thursday the plan is to show what my friend and wonderful photographer, Shirley LeMay and I have combined to participate in Team Up Thursday. I enjoy these challenges and am always delighted when I open my mail to see the final diptych.

This week the theme was COMFORT and this is how we both captured it:

I like it!

Check out the other diptychs over on the Team Up Thursday Flickr Group. Grab a friend and join in!

Happiness Captured :: Week 04

Again Jill and I are capturing our happiness moments through the lens and sharing ...

Jill :: Venti Hot Green Tea and a Grande Skinny Latte Extra Hot with scones. One hour at Starbucks with Chad. A much needed one hour for just the 2 of us.

Me :: Normally Chloe is far more comfortable on a singing team (aka choir) than a team sport. She is so thrilled for the opportunity to play on her school team she just beams when she is on the court. I am thrilled that our girl is exploring other activities and even more thrilled that she has found a love of volleyball enjoyed by both her older sister and her mama. (The quality is not the best, but a fuzzy happy is better than no happy capture at all!)

Where did you find your happiness this week?

the simple things | 09

warm

this past weekend much of my time was spent driving back and forth from stratford to oakville - normally the trip takes about 100 minutes, each way. we were there for a hockey tournament in what turned out to be the coldest rinks i have ever experienced. the one part i forgot was that stratford happens to be in what is referred to as the "snow belt" and boy did that ever prove to be true! not only that, but two of those trips were made in blizzard conditions with either snow falling or blowing at a frightening rate making those trips even longer than planned.

i appreciated the warmth of not only the volunteers who were running the tournament, but the lobby which provided a much appreciated respite from the weather outside.

Team Up Thursday: Sweet

Each Thursday the plan is to show what my friend and wonderful photographer, Shirley LeMay and I have combined to participate in Team Up Thursday. I enjoy these challenges and am always delighted when I open my mail to see the final diptych.

This week the theme was SWEET and this his how we both captured it (click to enlarge):

Check out the other diptychs over on the Team Up Thursday Flickr Group. Grab a friend and join in!

Happiness Captured :: Week 03

I know it is Blue Monday, but instead of dwelling on this being the most depressing day of the year, lets focus on the good stuff winter brings! Again Jill and I are capturing our happiness moments through the lens and sharing ...

Jill :: Wearing 2 shoes! No airsoft cast (aka "the boot"), no post op shoe, and no crutches. After about 3 months of healing from a stress fracture and recovering from surgery the joy of wearing 2 shoes simply makes me smile. 

Me :: In essence, my happiness is untouched snow on a sunshine filled day. It almost never happens. It did today! The sunshine means no warmth of cloud cover, but boy was it ever brilliant.

Where did you find happiness this week?

Team Up Thursday: Hats

I have teamed up with my friend, and wonderful photographer, Shirley LeMay, to participate in Team Up Thursday. I enjoy these challenges and am always surprised when I open my mail to see the final diptych.

This week the theme was HATS and this his how we both captured it (click to enlarge):

Check out the other diptychs over on the Team Up Thursday Flickr Group. Grab a friend and join in!

One Little Word | Captured | 02

A little over a week into the New Year and I'm very happy with my choice of words! So far I've been rocking the DO. I enjoy the accountability in this challenge of Jill's and am already in the middle of project plans to share by this time next week.

This is how I captured DO this week:

THE STORY: I blogged about it when I posted the project earlier this week. A quick summary? I participated in #reverb10 and put a lot of effort into the process. I didn't want to see that effort lost in the ether of the internet so decided that since I have oodles of supplies - doing nothing in their packages, why not print it out and put it in an album?

WHY DO? I didn't just think about the idea of putting an album together; I put an album together. In a tangible real sense. My words and effort are no longer lost. Not only that, Louis (who never reads my blog) read my album, and he liked it! Even better? I have put together the outlines of a "DO" album which will incorporate not just the photos for this challenge, the stories behind the photos, but lists and posts that support my effort to DO through the year. This album is largely based on Ali Edwards' project over at Big Picture Classes. So glad I signed up! My "job" has deadlines, but there is not much consistent accountability and I'm enjoying this process. Here's to 51 more weeks of DO!

* * * * *

JOIN: I'm thrilled my friend Jill has offered us all an opportunity to keep on track! I don't know about you, but weekly accountability is good for me. One LIttle Word | Captured is the perfect way for me to incorporate my one little word in to my life. What about you?

Team Up Thursday: New

My friend, and wonderful photographer, Shirley LeMay, and I are going to continue to participate in Team Up Thursday again this year. I enjoy these challenges and am always surprised when I open my mail to see the final diptych.

This week the theme was NEW and this his how we both captured it:

Recognize my tree? I love my tree. It is the first sunrise of the New Year, though a bit late. There as no sunrise because of rain and dreary weather skies until January 3rd!

As for Shirley, in her note to me she said: We bought a new treadmill on Sunday and the kids were breaking it in. It is the new "toy" in the house. We only bought it because Erica wanted one. I hate using a treadmill - it's a last resort for me!

Not only is this photo very indicative of both of us, it saves me sending a note to Shirley about which brand of treadmill to buy for me! She may not like a treadmill and opt for running outside (brr) I would just be happy to move - and transporting and folding laundry isn't enough!

I hope you are enjoying your NEW. Check out the other diptychs over on the Team Up Thursday Flickr Group.

2011 Photography Challenges

Are you looking for something to challenge your photography skills? I am amazed at the number of opportunities available on the www - themed challenges, blog link ups, Flickr groups - everywhere I look I find a new and exciting challenge! The real challenge? Paring it down so that I can manage it all. You know the mindful thing I've been harping about? :) Oh, and of course: DO.

I have participated - to various degrees of success - in Project 365 for the last couple of years. I often found it to be pretty cumbersome, though it did train me to bring my camera with me and I no longer feel the need to apologise or feel embarassed by using it wherever I might be. I think I learned what I needed to learn and it's time to move on.

Yes, onward.

This year, my plan is to participate in:

52 Photos in 52 Weeks hosted by Monika Wright and Elisabet Ottosson on Flickr. Challenges are posted on THURSDAYS. I even managed to post my first photo, on time!

P52 | 52 photos of 2011 | a less ambitious version of P365 hosted by Darcy of Life With My 3 Boybarians on Flickr. It's all brand new and the kinks are being worked out. Join the conversation on Flickr if you want to get involved.

Celebrate Monday which I thought was defunct is not! Today Jennifer over at Simple Scrapper announced that things are back on! It looks like there is now a theme component. I don't know how well I'll manage with a quick turnaround. We'll have to see.

Simple Things will continue over with Rebecca Cooper on her blog via a direct link system. A relaxed weekly challenge celebrating ... simple things.

I'll be teaming up with friends for two challenges:

Team Up Thursday will continue with Shirley LeMay with with more consistency, I hope (totally my fault last year ... I don't do well with quick turn-around). We've put together a plan and I'm sure between us we can pull it off!

Happiness Project with Jill Conyers and we are still fleshing out all of the details, but I'm excited about this. Our first diptych:

I know, a photo of me, on my blog. Shocking!

To improve my "less is more" photo approach to this year, I'm taking two expert-lead courses:

Picture Winter over at Big Picture Classes is lead by Tracy Clark of Shutter Sisters fame. I participated in My Best Shot Monday which is how I got to know Tracy and her great talent and kindness.

Joy of Love with Willett Designs that runs from February 1st - 28th. Last year I bought a posing guide and it has proven invaluable!

In order to keep me on-track with my guiding word for 2011: DO I've joined in with Jill again as she is hosting a weekly challenge - a photographic interpretation of our word. I was so excited about this particular challenge, I put my album together before I took my first shot!

Certainly some of these challenge may go by the wayside, and new ones embraced, as 2011 goes on, but as of this very moment, these are the photography challenges I'm hoping to participate in. What is challenging you? Did I miss something fabulous?

One Little Word | Captured | 01

I have long admired my online friend, Jill Conyers, for many reasons. Those reasons will become apparent when you join her, along with me, on her journey to capture her one little word for 2011. The idea of this photo challenge is to honour your word each week of 2011 and post it. My word? DO. Her word? Embrace. Your word? Join in and let us know!

This is how I captured DO this week:

THE STORY: First thing on Thursday morning I was running behind and had to rush our Norwegian friends to the rink for their semi-final game. The drive to the rink was breathtaking - we slowed down to take in all of the sparkling monochromatic landscape of gray, silver and white frost on all of the trees, bushes, and grasses on the side of the road on our journey. Guess what? No camera!

WHY DO? I had to go back home to collect my kids to attend the game. Normally I would be so focused on getting them to the game on time, combined with the knowledge that the later it got, the more things would melt, that I would have figured "I'll get it next time".  Next time never comes. With that in mind, I grabbed my camera along with my kids and my fingers crossed and we headed to the rink. As we travelled north most of the stunning frost had melted. My heart sank. Just as we were reaching Dundas and Bronte there was a huge field, full of frost. I pulled onto a little side street, grabbed the camera and captured the photo I wanted! (Not only that, I encouraged Claire to bring along her camera and she got some great shots too. No use in just one of us benefitting from my word!) Two things accomplished: I didn't wait for next time and I actually pulled over. I've never just pulled over to get the shot -I've always wanted to but was afraid I'd annoy someone at best or cause an accident at worst! It really is the little things.

* * * * *

JOIN: I'm thrilled my friend Jill has offered us all an opportunity to keep on track! I don't know about you, but weekly accountability is good for me. One LIttle Word | Captured is the perfect way for me to incorporate my one little word in to my life. What about you?

Team Up Thursday: December

Remember Team Up Thursday? That project I participate in with my uber-talented friend Shirley? Well, we've been busy, as mums of teens and almost teens, tend to be and we were waylayed by life. Hopefully we get back on track now that the busy holidays are over!

My Nutcrackers are the definition of December for me. I wish I could have taken a gentle snowy photo like the one captured by Shirley, but alas, there was little snow to record around here - she had snowfall records broken!

Check out the other diptych's on the Team Up Thursday Flickr Group.

Mistakes that lead to Creativity + Giveaway

I'm a great believer that there are two things that make me more creative: less choice and making mistakes.

Sounds a bit counterintuitive, but it works. For me.

This is one (of many) examples where making a mistake forced me to think and perhaps come up with something a bit more creative than originally planned. In this case it was my plan to showcase some of my many photos and create a calendar to give, to my sisters and maybe to a few friends over the holiday, in anticipation of 2011.

What a process!

I managed to narrow down the 25,000+ photos taken this year to 12; one to represent the month it was captured. The images are those that resonate the most with me, and perhaps to my family who are of very few who would recognize where some of those photos were taken.

I then went into my collection of freebie digi downloads to find a layered calendar template. I found one only to realize now, when I decided to post, that I have no idea where it is from. The original download files have no reference to it's origin. If you see it and recognize it: 1. Thank you and 2. LABEL your work so you can receive credit! (Then I realized, when searching for the reference to the freebie download, that I had PURCHASED a download which I didn't use! Gah.)

The plan was to print the finished files off:

to fit in:

Wrong. They DID NOT FIT!!

So out came the key tools to creativity: Centering ruler, jump rings, crop-o-dile, black cardstock, bone folder:

With those tools, my tape runner and my trimmer, I managed to put a few of these together:

The best part? Once I finished, I realized that using this structure, through 2011, I can print off a 5x7 print that best represents each month as it happens, write up a 5x7 piece of cardstock to record the small everyday happenings of the month and by the end of next year, voila, a mini book of memories!

My sisters do not scrapbook, but who knows, this is easy enough. I think I'll have to suggest it :)

Let me know if you want to win one of my mistakes :) I have one left to give away! I'll draw for names on Sunday, December 19th at 7PM Eastern.

Getting Unstuck

A while back I signed up for Picture the Holidays and expected to really enjoy it. I was right. I do. My problem? Me! I want to capture the prompts in order. Why? Because I think the order is important - the creator of the course, in this case Tracy Clark, designed it with thoughtful deliberation. Who am I to mess things up?

We're now into week 2 and I'm stuck on Day 3. DAY 3!! Why? Hearts. I got the prompt and mulled for a while and am now stuck on the idea that I want to draw a heart, in a dusting of snow, with a shallow depth of field, while snow continues to fall. The problem? No snow! (Well, I could drive about an hour away, but wouldn't you think Mother Nature would just give me a sprinkle? Here at home? Enough for one little capture?)

It was time to get creative. Shake off the idea of the perfect plan and just get on with it. 

A while back I read something about shaping bokeh. I took some rather cryptic notes and then filed it away. I dug out those notes.

This is what I managed to do:

A 2" strip of black carstock and a circle which matched up with the diametre of my Canon 50mm 1.4 lens.

I then cut 1cm slices into the 2" wide strip of cardstock. The slices were spaced 1cm apart.

Then, on the circle previously cut, I cut out a heart shape. The original heart shape was cut out, using a paper punch, from Kraft paper. It was adhered with a glue dot to the centre of the circle and with an exacto blade, I cut out the heart shape using the paper punch as a template.

I then ran a tape runner along the 1cm slices on the 2" strip of black cardstock.

The narrow slices made it easy to adhere the strip to the disk with the heart shape. The hood now fit snugly on the lens. Now to try it out:

Whoot!

It worked!

Once I figured it out, I then went back and changed the disk. I replaced the small heart shape with a large circle. Then I made a set of small disks with hearts, butterflies and stars which I can use on future projects!

Now I can move on and finish some assignments!

the simple things | 05

gesture

claire is always finding something to learn: photography, writing, drawing and now it is sewing. though, i don't think when she signed up for the theatre costuming club at school that it would result in her putting a patch on her baby brother's hockey jersey, but she offered in order to get some "practice". it is the simple gestures my children make toward each other that make me so happy! what can beat curiosity, talent and kindness? nothing. that's my girl :)

Autumn Goodness

We are just at the point where flowers and leaves are spent. Autumn is almost over and I see on the news that many communities are preparing for or have already received their first snowstorm of the season. Brr. Life in southern Ontario is often quite mild and I'm happy for it. Though, with hockey I do get to drive out of my warm bubble often enough to make sure I have a shovel and salt in the truck!

I will miss the colour of the season, but I'm happy to have captured a few bright images on wet and dull days:

Isn't that rose spectacular? I'm told it's an Iceberg Rose and it blooms from May through November. I hope to plant some here in the spring!

The result of taking a photo-a-day for the last two years is that my camera is never too far away. I'm able to get some great shots. Now if I could only figure out how to get some lovely foggy landscape shots while driving on the highway!

Grab your camera. Capture some autumn before it's gone!

the simple things | 03

the re-wrap

for years i've been watching cole wrap his stick. a few times each week. it is an art and he has mastered it. he takes this quiet routine time to reflect on his game and focus on what he needs to work on to be the best player he can be. a lot of good talks have happened while sitting there in the kitchen watching him methodically remove the old tape, check for damage, re-wrap and wax his stick.

like when this photo was taken.

the simple things | 02

the break of dawn

 

 

Especially appreciated on a busy Sunday:

06:00 time to start the day = coffee, oatmeal, wake oldest girl

07:00 oldest girl to timekeeping

09:30 oldest boy to on ice practice

10:15 go train into toronto with both girls, sister (another one) and niece (another one)

12:00 baby shower for another sister and new niece

14:00 oldest boy to see doctor

15:30 urban outfitters (in toronto) for shoes oldest girl "needs"

16:00 go train back to oakville with girls

17:00 make carb filled dinner

18:00 youngest boy on ice training

19:00 oldest boy to rink

20:30 oldest boy plays in hockey game

23:00 all oldests and youngests home

23:01 tucked in and tuckered out!

love my life, but sometimes it feels a tad out of control. i wouldn't trade it for anything. except maybe some sleep.

the simple things | 01

On my blog journey this morning, the lovely Valerie over at Paper & Cookies posted about a photo challenge she is participating in. The oh so inspiring Rebecca Cooper is hosting:

The idea is to take a photo each week of something simple that makes you happy; a little thing that brings you joy, something that makes you smile. Simple, right?

I participate in a number of photographic challenges. I am trying to train my eyes to see what I'm looking at and focus on that which is right in front of me. I have noticed that though almost all of the challenges are in celebration of "every day" I am not focusing enough on the PEOPLE in my life. I tend to take photos of places and things. Mostly because they don't move or give me the stink eye when I'm trying to catch them in action!

This challenge appeals to me, because it's not really a challenge at all, it is a reminder to appreciate the small, the ordinary, the simple of my life. I'm going to use it to focus on the simple things people around me do that brings a smile.

Like this morning, I had taken Claire to her timekeeping job and came home to see that Caden had managed to occupy himself with a bowl of Honeycomb cereal and my iPad where he has discovered We Rule Quest:

Gotta love a guy who is happy to be happy. And can feed himself!

What about you? Do you take the time to record the things that bring you simple joy? This is something I'm definitely going to enjoy. Join me?

Time is a great photo editor + winner announced!

I often wait to edit photos.

I find time makes for a great editor. Often better than my eye. Time provides context where my eye dwells on composition.

So often, especially with my Project 365, I find I choose a photo to represent the day and by the time I'm ready to put my collection together - often MONTHS later - I realize I chose the wrong photo, or more accurately, the not-quite-right photo. I'm happy that I am not alone!

All this being said to assure anyone out there who is not "caught up". Sometimes that is a good thing!

Below are a selection of photos taken to represent our Hallowe'en day. I wonder which will make the actual album? We'll see, in a couple of months, when I'm putting the album together. They all have a great story, but the one I choose will be the one that evolks the freshest, most vivid memory of the day:

The best part is knowing that no matter which photo is chosen, it will be the perfect one to represent our day of change. My pick today? The photo of Chloé with the pumpkin rind smile. We'll have to wait see what actually makes it into the album.

What about you? Do you find time is a great photo editor - by mistake or by design? Or are you able to choose the perfect photo right away?

* * * * *

Thank you to everyone who participated in my first Ella Giveaway! You do have stories to tell and I'm glad to have an opportunity to help you do so. The winner is:

CATE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Congratulations Cate! Send me an e-mail to linarstudio.lc at gmail dot com and I'll send you the code. Thanks to everyone for participating. You have important stories to write, I can't wait to read them!

SOOC Saturday: Raindrop

Another "blast from the past" meme that I miss doing. I can't believe I have not shared a SOOC Saturday since June!

It's been wet and blustery - sunny and windy - here in southern Ontario with the temperature all over the place. When you leave the house you never know what to bring: an umbrella or sunscreen! There was a break in some wet weather for a few minutes mid-week and I noticed that my lilac tree was glowing in tiny raindrops. The effect was brilliant and I could not capture it - or, at least, I could not do it justice. I did manage to get some nice droplet shots, though.

What is your favourite SOOC (Straight Out Of Camera) shot today? You can join in: here!

My Best Shot Monday: Free Skate

My boy, Caden, is forever asking to go to the Appleby Rink for the family free skate on Sunday afternoons. More often than not life gets in the way and I often find I have to disappoint him and we end up somewhere other than where he wants to be. Not yesterday!

Look at that face, so happy! Not only did he get to skate, his cousin Justin met him over at the rink. I sat outside and chatted with my sister while the boys enjoyed themselves chasing each other - forwards and backwards - all over the ice surface.

What is your best shot this Monday? Do you have a photo to showcase? Be sure to join in My Best Shot Monday, go here for details :) And, be sure to check out Celebrate Monday over on Flickr. So much fun!

Team Up Thursday: Laces

This week I chose the theme LACES. I was inspired by Claire's new Converse, they go all the way up to her knees! Shirley, like most of us, has interesting ephemera in her car - in this case, laces from a company gathering in 2007 :)

I think it turned out pretty well. Thanks Shirley, even though I'm often late, I love participating in Team Up Thursday with you!

Each Thursday,or somewhere thereabouts, Shirley and I create a diptych based on a theme. The Team Up Thursday challenge was started by Megan and Melody. You can view the other great diptychs at the Team Up Thursday Flickr group.

My Best Shot Monday: Comfort Food

One of the best aspects of cooler weather arriving is welcoming the food that comes with it. Rainy days often call for my favourite comfort food: tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.

More yummy sandwiches I look forward to enjoying, with soup:

• Tuna Melt (tuna, mayo, shredded cheddar, on an english muffin, topped with dill and broiled)
• Salmon Bagel (smoked salmon, cream cheese, toasted bagel with capers)
• Montreal Smoked Meat (on light rye with yellow mustard, heated - sometimes with melted swiss)
• Monte Cristo (ham, turkey and swiss cheese on rye bread - grilled and served with 1000 island dressing)
• Beef Dip (roast beef sliced thin, carmelized onions - served on toasted sourdough baguette with jus for dipping)
• Toasted Turkey (smoked turkey slices with sliced tomato, lettuce and bacon - served on toasted grain bread with mayo and dijon)

What is your favourite comfort sandwich? Alas, with my newfound intolerance for cheese, I will have to amend my list, but only just a bit!

Don't forget to go here and enter to win your copy of the Fall edition of Canadian Scrapbooker. You just have to answer one question: Why do YOU scrapbook? Hey, if you want, answer Why do you NOT scrapbook? That would be great to know, too :)

Team Up Thursday: Water & more ...

The super talented Shirley LeMay has been very patient with me, as always. We've been a bit scattered in our (read: my) timing and consistency, but have managed a few Team Up Thursday dyptichs lately.

Water:

Transportation:

Signs of Change:

Garden:

Micro:

If you are enjoying these assignments and want to see more, head on over to the Team-Up Thursday Flickr Gallery and check out oodles of creative and fun diptych examples.

 

Celebrate Monday: Photo Challenge

There are so many wonderful challenges on line and I don't join anywhere near the number that appeal to me. To change things up a bit, I wanted to see if I'd "stick" with this one before I gave it a big "ta da" here on the blog.

Well, TA DA!

I joined Celebrate Monday, hosted by the inspiring Jennifer Wilson at Simple Scrapper. I've chosen to use this challenge as a photo - taken on Monday, my most favourite and inspiring day of the week … 52 opportunities for a fresh start - as opposed to my Best Shot Monday which is what I consider to be the best capture of the previous week. As always, all photos are SOOC :)

For the last couple of months, I have been posting my contributions over on Flickr. Oh how I love Flickr!

Here is a quick look at the last eight weeks:

 
Clearly, my beautiful Chloe has to stop hiding from the camera! At least on Monday. I have plenty of shots of her, but not early in the week.

Each Celebrate Monday photo has the corresponding "every day" journaling over on Flickr. This will be converted to a whole album, or mini, when I've collected enough stories. I don't know that I can do a third year of Project 365 and this may be the more manageable replacement.

The ninth Monday, today:  Got her!

What about you? How do you capture your every day?

My Best Shot Monday: Water Drops

Our weather has been typical of autumn - breezy, gray and wet one minute and bright and sunny the next. The skies are always changing and the leaves have just started giving way from green to the more brilliant red and yellow. We've had to pack sweaters and raincoats and t-shirts just to keep up with the temperature changes.

What is your best shot this Monday? Do you have a photo to showcase? Be sure to join in My Best Shot Monday, go here for details :)

Picture: the one in my head

I take hundreds if not thousands of photographs a month. I have many challenges in which I participate. More than a few assignments. Many reasons to document, pictorially, the events of my kids lives.

I find amid the chaos and crazy of our life that my most vivid memories are the snippets I have no actual photos of ... they are locked in my head. I am sure I'm like many mums, on the camera side of the photo. Unlike the photos, most of my memories have me as a central part of the activities.

I was recently talking to a lovely man who has been integral to my time here in Oakville. He is such a kind hearted and lovely person. He loves me and my kids. No, not my husband, but Cole and Caden's "supplemental hockey coach". The man to whom I took my boys - and even Chloe for a time - to learn how to skate, to learn how to shoot, all the basics of hockey. All the basics of being team members. He was an example of great patience accompanied by great life lessons.

It must be this time of year, but the picture in my head, the one I cannot shake, is that of me with Claire holding a diaper bag and Cole holding his hockey stick walking ahead through the parking lot and me with a double-stroller and hockey bag slung over my shoulder trying to maneuver our way out of the overstuffed van, into the massive 4-plex rink and down to the changeroom - almost always #8, the last one.

(Have I mentioned I had 4 kids in 5 years, and Louis was out of town 5-to-7-days a week for months at a time, er, 7 years?)

Now I look back and shake my head. I find it funny and endearing that others shake their head too. I love that others who were so incredibly kind at the time, are still with me, with great humour, laughing with me about how crazy my life was way back then.

I wish I had a photo.

I'd give anything to have just one.

Proof of crazy! Proof of survival. Proof of great people.

Photography: The little things I've learned

I am very thankful to have many comments, and compliments, made on my photos. I am a lifetime amateur and plan to stay that way. I'm not terribly interested in metering, white balance or ISO, essentially, the math component of photography. My brain shuts down and I don't want to hear it, way too complicated! I take what I like.

How hard can it be to replicate a memory, an experience, a mood? Well, really hard. But, since I want to replicate, rather than distort, there are a few basic techniques and practices I've learned in my people and place photos, my focus is on capturing the memory. The experience.

In order to do that well, I've managed to figure out a few things to produce decent photos for my friends, parents on my kids teams and activities, for my family and for myself:

• Have your subject look at the LENS not the photographer
• If your subject cannot see the lens, the lens cannot see them
• Bend your knees
• Turn off your flash
• Focus, sounds basic, but really ... it can make or break a shot, meh or marvelous!
• You don't have to get in THAT close! Take a step back and get some context.
• Natural catchlights really do make a photo. Figure out how to capture them and your people photos will dramatically improve.
• Unless I'm taking a comical photo with a wide angle lens, I never shoot down at a child. Up, yes. Down, no.
• Take the photos YOU like, not only those that are trendy. I like timeless photos. Not all of my photos are over-exposed with tons of bokeh, and my mid-day skies are generally blue, not yellow.
• Get a different perspective. I can't tell you how many photos I take of Caden from behind. He has such a joyful swagger and I love trying to capture it. (Example above: perfect? Maybe not, but I think I captured the feel.)
• Find what you like and try to replicate it. Take a visit to some online galleries, Flickr is a favourite of mine, and just see what's out there. DPS has a very good inspiration list: here.
• I have the "perfect" spot at my house for capturing photos. I'm very fortunate to have a house filled with windows, but even at that, the best shots are taken outside the front door. It is a North exposure which, when shooting toward the South, gives the most gorgeous light on every subject. It's like everyone uses a bottle of "wrinkle-and-blemish-away" and I love it!
• Practice your technique photos on subjects with no opinion or ability to wiggle: I use nature and place photos to study light and composition.
• I generally do not leave the house without some kind of camera but, sometimes it makes sense to take a break. So, TAKE A BREAK. I'm a big fan of letting ideas percolate. Sometimes by leaving the camera in the bag or on the counter gives you a chance to unconsciously consider new ideas.
• SOOC is my favourite kind of shot.

On that point, about editing photos:

• I am often surprised at the amount of time other amateur photographers spend editing photos! They are Adobe geniuses! I am not. Nor do I have endless hours to spend enhancing photos. I do my best to just take the photograph the way I want it to look in the first place. Saves a lot of headache and time.
• As for what I know how to do, I resize, crop, straighten, change orientation, flip to sepia or b&w and add text. Not often, but I have the technology :)
• Time is a great editor. I often wait to edit photos as time can be better than my eye. Time provides context where my eye dwells on composition. Time adds to the story. So often (especially with my Project 365) I find I choose a photo to represent the day and by the time I'm ready to pull my collection together - often MONTHS later - I realize chose the wrong photo. I'm happy I'm not alone.
• There are advantages to not being "caught up". And, besides, only you know if you're caught up or not, or if you changed a photo or not. Don't agonize over it and move on. Sometimes your biggest "mistakes" are just masterpieces waiting to be seen!

Printing frustrations:

I often take full-frame photos. Every element has been taken into consideration and not one millimetre of the photo is meant to be cropped. Some would be gorgeous framed. The problem? My photos enlarge from 4x6 to 8x12 to 16x24 - not the traditional 5x7 or 8x10. I am trying to remember, but I spent a lot of time learning to frame my photos that I have to un-learn!

* * * * *

And with that you have all of my photography knowledge and current frustrations :) Was that helpful? It certainly clarified a few things for me! What quick and easy techniques work best for you?

My Best Shot Monday: Open My Eyes

Last week, while waiting for Cole at his off ice training, I took a walk around the arena facility - around the outside. For the first time in six years I ventured past the parking lot and into the vast area of wild flowers and weeds that inhabit the space behind the back parking lot.

My best shot is one I've been trying to capture for a long time but couldn't find the plant - who knew I'd find it in a place I visit at least four or five times each week? Clearly a lesson in OPEN MY EYES.

This was my favourite:

Now that my eyes have been opened, I'll head back and take photos at a better time during the day ... high noon does not make for the best lighting, but not too bad.

My Best Shot Monday: Wheel

My best shot of the week is actually Claire's best shot:

She and Louis were on their way down the 400, on their way home from watching Cole play hockey in Alliston, and they saw the sites of the Barrie Fair. Of course they couldn't resist. Claire had my camera with her, and this is the shot she captured. Nice work!

I enjoy My Best Shot Monday as it makes me look critically at my photos and I can choose what is the best of the week. "Best" is subjective, of course. Composition. Balance. Subject. Story. What is the best of those parts. This challenge really makes me LOOK.

What is your best shot this Monday? Do you have a photo to showcase? Be sure to join in My Best Shot Monday, go here for details :)

Now, alternatively, you all know how much I LOVE MONDAYS. I really do. To me Monday represents a new beginning and each Monday I celebrate that within one year, I have 52 fresh starts. It is, to me, a very optimistic day.

The savvy and smart Jennifer Wilson over at Simple Scrapper has started a challenge: Celebrate Monday. How could I resist?

Instead of choosing my best shot of the week, I'm using this challenge to take a photo on Monday: an average, everyday photo which would be considered optimistic or light hearted. In keeping with my attitude toward the day. As has been my habit of late, I'm participating in this challenge over on Flickr and linking my photo to the Simple Scrapper blog. If you are interested, check out my submissions from my last couple of weeks. Who knows, this might become a 52-page mini book of Mondays. Or not. We'll have to see!

I'll be looking for your submissions in the Simple Scrapper website!

 

SOOC Saturday: Feels Official

SOOC or otherwise, this is by no means the best photo I've ever taken (I chalk it up to sleep in my eyes, and Claire absconding with my 50mm lens) but it may be the most meaningful. I made Cole take off his new 97AAA warm-up jacket in order to eat - and not chance a spill on it. He received the coveted jacket earlier this week and slept with it on the first night. This is the next morning, eating his Vector cereal, getting ready to head back out to the rink. 

This morning he leaves for a week of training camp at Olympia Sports Camp with his new teammates. He's anxious to go, especially since they found out it is "cheerleading camp" week, too. Oh, the stories he'll have upon his return!

What is your favourite SOOC (Straight Out Of Camera) shot today? You can join in: here!