November 29/11

Woohoo...got our new house today!!  Let the renovations begin....

Old out...New in....

November 28/11

I liked these colourful leaves.  When I saw the picture on my computer I really noticed the new green leaves reaching out from the centre and I thought of us humans.  We age and get older but we also get wiser.  So while we have our outer selves that may appear older, or as I like to think "more colourful", we have more wisdom and love reaching out from the centre of us...our hearts.

When I can look Life in the eyes,
Grown calm and very coldly wise,
Life will have given me the Truth,
And taken in exchange - my youth.
~Sara Teasdale

By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest. ~ Confucius

Colourful

November 27/11

So I was upstairs in my office tonight and I looked over at the chandelier that hangs over our great room and thought how cool would that look using my star filter.  I've used it with sunlight before but not on bulbs like this.  I like it!!  This is an 8 point filter, I think a smaller point would look a bit better but it still makes it appear a little more magical than just the plain bulbs. I also like the way the light is reflected in the chandelier itself and the window behind...you have to look closely but it's there...

Points of Light

November 26/11

I had forgotten I had these crystal door knobs.  I bought them at a yard sale about 6 years ago and put them away.  Now that I'm looking at redoing our new house, I found these and can't wait to use them in our master bedroom.  So vintage and pretty...

Vintage

November 25/11

We have a vine in our backyard that has these berries on it.  I think it looks cool as the berries are drying up with the colder weather.  I still love close up shots!

Withering

November 24/11

So I decided to do my "me" picture for this month.  I didn't feel like getting my tripod out this morning so I shot this picture in a mirror.  Not bad, I don't love the lighting on my face, but it is certainly a learning process.  It was quite sunny this morning...next time I'll wait until I don't have sunshine hitting my face.
Anyway, it was fun trying!!

Self Portriat

November 23/11

I was just sitting in front of our fireplace and thought of my picture for the day!  I thought it would look cool taking it looking through a wire birdcage I have on the hearth.  I like taking shots with different perspectives...

Looking Through

November 22/11

I  CAN'T BELIEVE how fast this year has gone by.  I took this picture because in January when I started this blog I had one of my winter arrangements on my porch.  It's that time of year already,  when I have made another one.  Wow, this year has flown by....
Now I'm just waiting to put some white birch in it.  Our new house that we get next Tuesday has a white birch tree in the front yard that needs some trimming...  :)
And these always look better with some snow on the ground too, although I can wait a little longer for that.

Winter Arrangement

November 21/11

I'm so excited!!  Every year there is a manufacturer of paper goods, ribbons, boxes, etc that opens it's doors to the public for just a few weeks.  I went there today and picked up bags, ribbon, tags, wine boxes...I have my supplies for the next year.  May not sound exciting to some, but for those of us who love creating things out of paper...priceless!!  I think I may have to go back for some wrapping paper, but they have so many designs it may take me a while :)

Crafty

November 20/11

Today was a lazy day... a good day to make some cards.  I'm figuring that once we get our new house on November 29th, I'm not going to have as much time to do stuff like this.  We have a LOT to do at the new house. So anyway, here is my creation for today.  I love lazy Sundays...

Sunday Card

November 19/11

I went to my sister Kim's today after dropping our Mom off at the Toronto airport for her flight to California!  She is going to see my sister Cindy and my niece Crystal and their respective families...
Anyway, this is Kim's dog Kelsey...cute little thing.  They have another dog Kingston, but this was the best of the pictures I took.

Kelsey Dog

November 18/11

You know fall is here (and just about over) when leaves are sitting in your hanging chair instead of yourself!!  Time to put it away for the winter :(

Hanging Chair

November 17/11

We have had some snow flurries in the past week, so I wanted to make sure I got this picture before it snowed so much we couldn't see this yard.  It is one of the prettiest yards I know of.  A very old 2 story house sits on the lot and if it ever came up for sale (I've never seen it for sale) I would love to have it!!  It reminds me of a park...

Park Setting

November 16/11

This picture started out as a white spider mum.  I've said before that a lot of the fun of taking pictures is playing with them afterwards.  I used Adobe Lightroom to turn my white mum into this pretty pink.  Very cool...the message here is that you can never believe everything you see...

White to Pink

November 15/11

Sometimes it's just nice to go for a walk and appreciate all that is around you.  Here are a few things I saw on my walk today...  The colour and textures you see surrounding you are beautiful, even in the smallest things.

Out for a Walk

November 14/11

I posted this picture today because I love the colours and the glitter in the background!  It is just a picture that makes me happy.  Colour can do that... :)  And it makes sense that I like this picture because two of my favourite colours are blue and green... What are yours??

Colours

November 13/11

We had an open house today as our home is for sale.  I put fresh flowers around the house, and I just love how they look.  I'm also a certified floral arranger, so anytime I can get fresh flowers I do.  White lily's are one of my favourites as you don't need a lot of them to make a statement....

White Lily

November 12/11

It was a beautiful sunset tonight.  I took this picture while Mark was driving...not too bad for not being at a standstill...
I can't wait to move to our new house...the back faces the west, so we should have some pretty nice sunsets...

November Sunset

November 11/11

I know this is another picture of flowers, but honestly I'm amazed that on November 11th I could still be taking this kind of picture.  It has been an unseasonably warm November but I was still surprised to see flowers blooming.  I'm sure it will be my last picture of outside blooms.
It snowed for the first time today!!  For those of you who may look at my blog that don't see snow, you are never quite prepared for it.  It just comes too fast after a nice warm summer and fall.  It brings reminders of what is to come...brrrr.... Oh well, winter is a really pretty season too.  I can't believe how fast this year is going. I started my blog on January 11th this year...2 months to go...

Final Fall Flowers

November 10/11

This is just a weed...milkweed...but it is so cool looking.  It looks so soft, like cotton or something.  I can't put into words what it reminds me of...any suggestions?  The way it comes out of it's seeds, it makes almost a flower shape.  It was blowing in the wind today and caught my eye, so I had to take a picture.  Funny how the smallest things can get your attention...I've never looked at milkweed this way before...

New way of seeing something...

November 9/11

Ugghhh...I feel terrible...
I'll be back tomorrow...

I have a cold....

November 8/11

I've posted before that I love different doorways, so when I saw this one I thought it was interesting enough to show you.  Just look at all the different elements surrounding the door, above the door, and at the sides.  So cool...

Cool Doorway

November 7/11

I had a few hours to waste this afternoon as I was off work at 2pm and had an appointment at 4pm.  I took a few minutes to go to the downtown area of the city I work in and shot some pictures of the amazing architecture.  They just don't do this anymore...I love to see the workmanship of years ago. Amazing...

Architecture of long ago

November 6/11

Today we turned the clocks back, so Mark and I were up quite early at Ty & Dayna's.  It was a bright sunny morning and there were lots of chickadees in the trees.  I waited until one went to the top and I love how he looks against the clear blue sky.

Clear Blue Sky

November 5/11

We are at Tyler and Dayna's house this weekend in Windsor and I forgot my card reader, so...I can't post my picture for today :(  But I will post it tomorrow. 
We just got back from a fabulous Italian meal at Koolini's....good food and even better company!

So we are back from Tyler and Dayna's, and this is a picture of their cat Steve.  I know I've posted one before, but he is just so cute!  I love how his whiskers are caught in the light.  Every time I go there I think he is starting to like me better, but then he puts me in my place and lets me know it is HIS house.  He really loves Tyler and Dayna though so that's what counts...he will eventually get to like me, I just know it... :)

Steve Yzercat

November 4/11

This is a different picture today.  I took a picture of a painting that my good friend Peg created.  She is so talented and I think of her every time I look at this.  She donates proceeds from selling her paintings to the Canadian Cancer Society.  Peg has such a positive outlook and it shows in her paintings!  I love the colours in this creation and know it will look great anywhere I put it...I just had to show everyone how talented she is!!

Peg's Picture

November 3/11

I've seen a lot of animals in the past year that you don't see often around here.  Llama's being the most recent one and these Buffalo that are next to my mother in law's (they also have deer).  Anyway, just thought it was kind of interesting and it shows that until you start taking pictures everyday, you may just miss all these kind of things...

Buffalo

November 2/11

It was an absolutely beautiful day today for November.  I was walking at work on my lunch and the way the sun was hitting the back of these branches just looked great!  I'm so glad I caught this image...

I said yesterday I wanted to go back for that green gourd...the stand had been closed down for the year when I went back today :(

Capturing Sunlight

November 1/11

I see this stand everyday on my way to work, but have never stopped as it's not on my road to work.  I decided to stop today.  They paint their pumpkins and gourds so nicely!!  That's what I think this time of year should be about, not ghosts, spirits, witches, blood & gore...Just my thoughts, but how much nicer are these pumpkins & gourds with their happy faces and nice designs.  I'm going to stop tomorrow and see if the green gourd with the black design is still there.  I love it!!

Happy Pumpkins!!

October 31/11

I got home late tonight, so just a quick picture I took this morning.  I was looking for pencil crayons this morning and when I got some together I thought they would make a cool picture.  I like all the colours...they remind me of when I was little.  Every year when school started we had to have a new box of pencil crayons.

Colourful Crayons

October 30/11

I find it so interesting to see things somewhere they shouldn't be.  I was driving and looked down a roadway and this chair was just sitting at the end of the road in front of a field.  I again turned my car around and took the picture...I love finding things in weird places...


“You’ll miss the best things if you keep your eyes shut.” 
― Dr. Seuss, I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!

Things in weird places...

October 29/11

I drove down my road and had to do a double take!  I saw these llama's and turned my car around to take their picture.  I had no idea there were llama's in our area...
There was a big ditch between me and them, but they seemed as intrigued with me as I was with them.  I wish I had of had my zoom lens...

Hello Llama's !!

October 28/11

I emptied my outside flower pots the other day :(  All my summer flowers are gone.
I love the colours of the pots and enjoy planting them each year.  Can't wait to pick out flowers for them next year at our new home...but they will be in storage until then...

No flowers until Spring again...

October 27/11

I cross this bridge everyday on my way to work.  And I have always wanted to stop and take a picture, but there is quite a lot of traffic on it and "no parking" signs.  But today I just had to stop!!  The way the sun was hitting the trees was awesome.  And I figured it might be one of my last pictures of fall colours as the leaves are falling off the trees now.  It's supposed to be -4C tonight...so I figure a lot more leaves will be dropping!!  Anyway, I'm glad I took the time to stop...

Crossing the Bridge

October 26/11

One of the most important things you can have and give in your life...enough said...

All you need is...

October 25/11

I found this picture interesting today... I just liked the subject...

Graffiti

October 24/11

I find Fall foliage so beautiful.  The red leaves on this burning bush are outstanding!! My favourite colours this time of year are the vibrant oranges and reds...what are yours?

October 23/11

I saw these roses at Ashley & Braden's house tonight.  What makes them special is that when we did their landscaping this spring, we never thought this tiny rosebush would survive.  It was so small, we forgot to replant it for a day, and it just looked like it would not live.  Going there tonight, the rosebush is at least 3 feet tall with 5-6 roses on it.  And being close to the end of October, I would have thought the roses would be done and finished blooming.
Then I got to thinking about the meaning of yellow roses...today yellow roses are commonly associated with joy and friendship. Yellow roses bring to mind all of the sunny, cheerful feelings of warmth, happiness and friends.
Like the roses I saw tonight that survived when we thought they would not, true friendships and love can survive anything if cultivated and given the right conditions.  Both are beautiful and will bloom with care.

Warmth, Happiness and Friendship

October 22/11

I wanted to take another picture of our cat Gizzmo.  He is about 14 years old (not exactly sure as we got him when he was grown) and he is slowing down so much.  He sleeps a lot now...  I hate to see him getting older...He is a great cat :)

Gizzmo

October 21/11

We have had these grasses for years in our back yard, but I don't remember them ever blooming with the pinkish tops.  Maybe I just never paid attention before.  The wind was blowing a bit when I took this picture which gives them almost a graceful appearance.  Love it...

Fall Grasses

October 20/11

I was off of work today not feeling well, so my post today is quite short.  I wasn't outside at all today, so I had to find something in the house I thought was worth posting.  Everyone must know by now how much I love texture and design...here's both...

October 19/11

Now that I'm done my holidays, I have quite a few cards to make.  I got out some of my stamps and just love all the different sentiments.  I love being able to make my own cards and make them unique.

What shall I say??

October 18/11

One more picture from Florida!!  We are back in Ontario, but it's colder and going to be rainy tomorrow. This is the last picture I took...this was growing in the garden...so colourful!!

So Colourful

October 17/11

My Nanny & Grampy taught me how to play cribbage.  It brings back such good memories...
We played this a lot on vacation and Cindy & I got our butts kicked by Mark & Russell.  It was fun though!

Memories of Nanny & Grampy

October 16/11

When we travelled, Mark and I used to take sugar, and find creamers, try to pack them and keep them cold.  Well...we have left that behind as the best coffee on vacation is coffee with Irish Cream or Baileys. We no longer pack anything, just buy a bottle at the airport and take it with us!  So easy and oh so good!!

We had this every morning for coffee and since there were 4 of us...we went through 3 bottles!!  No cream and sugar required...

Best Coffee Ever

October 15/11

This little frog was outside...although he looks big in this picture, he was only less than an inch long.  So cute and didn't care that we were around at all...

Little Frog

October 14/11

We swam a lot at the house we were at.  I saw all these bathing suits hanging to dry and again all the colours caught my eye.  And it's such a Florida, warm weather thing!!

Swimming

October 13/11

This was a bulletin board at the house we stayed at.  I just liked the colours and it is something I don't have at home.  I love close ups...it just makes things seem more interesting...

Bulletin Board Pins

October 12/11

So...I'm back from Florida and we had a great trip.  I didn't post as much as I wanted to as we didn't have internet access where we were staying.  That's ok though!  I'm going to post the pictures from the week...
I should have posted this picture before, but I still wanted to as it really is a natural wonder of the world.  For any of you who have not seen Niagara Falls it is absolutely beautiful.  I took this picture from the car on our way to the airport.  I would have liked to get out but didn't have time.  We live only about an hour or so from the Falls.  It is definitely something to see if you are in Ontario.

Niagara Falls, ON

October 11/11

This is a flower outside the house we are staying.  Possibly a type of hibiscus...love the pink colour.

October 11 is a special day.  27 years ago today I had my son Tyler.  Thinking about you today Tyler and love you!!