Pam's Week 36: Somewhere Over the Rainbow....

Well, one week down and so far, the kids and I have pretty much stuck to our organization plan - a 10 minute tidy after dinner, we pack our lunches, Duncan wipes down the bathroom counters and takes out any garbage/recycling while Danica does the kitchen counters and that garbage/recycling.  They actually seem excited about doing their "responsibilities" (Danica just asked me whether she can clean the kitchen now).  Here's hoping this lasts once all their activities start back up next week and we are in even more desperate need of the organization!

I have been rather proud of my attempts to capture all the requisite photos this week.  I didn't even have to spend tonight and tomorrow scrambling to get them all done!  Gosh, maybe this little life organization will be beneficial in other areas of my life too!  Fingers crossed.... I wouldn't even say that the topics were easy; it was a bit of a challenge to think of some creative ways to interpret the photos.  Did I succeed?  Isn't that just the million dollar question....

6

You may not realize this but "6"s aren't all that easy to find in nature.  They aren't all the easy to stumble across accidentally either.  I spent loads of time gazing at the clouds trying to find one I could use but no luck.  I found Hudson's Bay and a cruise ship.  I even found Quebec and Labrador (of course, perhaps that was because Sharon has gotten me hooked on a series of books set in Quebec and I am currently halfway through the 4th book in the series; I started them on Saturday...)

From a certain angle, I thought this old lighthouse apparatus on Topsail Island (did everyone see that on the Amazing Race Canada this week?) resembled a "6".  It doesn't look quite as 6-like in the photo but you will have to trust me.

Stress

Maybe Google would have had some ideas for this picture but I didn't ask.  All I could picture was a stressed out person, which is hardly photogenic.  And then Sharon and I took a walk on Whitefish Island and ventured out to the 2nd island to see if it was still flooded.  To cut the suspense - it was.  Now this may be a rather liberal interpretation of "stress" but I figured since the island is flooded since they opened the gates to relieve the stress of the high water levels, then this could represent stress!

Back to School

Much to their dismay, my kids headed back to school on Tuesday.  Many of their friends, who attend the Catholic schools, didn't have to go back until Wednesday.  They were quite excited to be back at the same school again, finally, and to be able to walk to and from school (at least until the snow comes).  This worked well on Tuesday but when they were 35 minutes late on Wednesday, this momma got a little nervous.  I drove to the park, prepared to instruct them that they are not to go to the park before coming home, to find out they weren't there.  Luckily, they then called to tell me they had arrived home safely.  Apparently Duncan decided to be a gentleman and walk his friend partway home.  After they parted, however, the kids turned the wrong way and ended up "partially lost".  As someone posted in response to my facebook post, they took the "long cut".   Luckily, they made it home in one piece, Danica didn't pee her pants (her brother gave her permission to do so while they were lost), and they are once again on speaking terms (Danica was FURIOUS with her brother and was initially refusing to ever walk home with him again).

Silly Face

The most obvious option was to ask the kids to make silly faces.  Just in case you were wondering, that's way easier said than done.  Most of the time, they have goofy expressions on, especially if I have the camera out.  When it is a request?  Forget it.  Luckily I stumbled across this silly face in a tree during one of our treks to Bellevue Park this week.

Then I also felt the need to photograph Porter the train too.  His face may not be particularly silly but the fact that there are now fences around him and he is off limits to generations of children is silly, in my humble opinion.  I have so many fond memories of playing in and on Porter as a child, as do many other "kids" my age.  No one I know ever got hurt playing on him but many of us sprained ankles, broke arms, and dislocated elbows on traditional playground equipment and it's still allowed.

H

I found quite a few "h" possibilities but on my way off Whitefish Island last night, this one caught my fancy.  Please tell me you can see it too.

Harvest

I had plenty of ideas for this but do you think any of them panned out?  I really wanted to pick up some of that decorative corn (I think it's actually called Indian corn but that seems culturally insensitive) but couldn't find any!  I then ventured up to Farmer Bob's this morning before work and was excited to see that his market table was already set up so I took some photos.  On my way to work from there, though, I saw this field and loved the look of it with the low-lying fog and the light of the rising sun.  It may not be a field that they will harvest but too bad.

Wildcard

Unlike the past few weeks where I was trying desperately to find a wildcard, I have a few options this week.

I liked this little chickadee on Whitefish Island.  It was amazing how active they have been again lately.

If you look closely, you can see a rainbow in the clouds behind these sailboats at the Marina.

Now I must run and change as Sharon will be picking us up soon to head out to Farmer Bob's to actually visit (I guess she isn't done her assignments this week).  Maybe we can pick up an ice cream later.... Then tomorrow morning we head off to Sudbury for the night to celebrate our friend's upcoming 50th birthday!  Have a good weekend!