Sharon's Week 47: Crisscross Applesauce

A good Sunday morning to you all.  I am beside myself with happiness that I slept until 8:00 this morning (apart from a short awake period at some point during the night but during which I refused to look at my clock).  You see, for the past two weeks, I have woken for the day between 3:30 and 5:00.  Do you know how absolutely aggravating that is?  I would lie in bed becoming angrier and angrier and that made falling back to sleep more impossible, so last weekend I decided to take advantage of the extra hours in the day.  I got up each morning and did something useful and that seemed to keep my overwhelming grumpiness with my crappy sleep at bay (at least I think so...you'd have to ask the kids I work with if that is in fact true.  The week before, I found myself apologizing to a couple of my more challenging kids for being grumpy with them.  I don't recall having to do that this past week so I think I'm right.).

Well, self-congratulations on my night of sleep aside, I was lazy with the photography again this week.  All photos were taken yesterday but at least I had fun with it.  A little walk in the biting damp wind at Whitefish Island found me half of the photos and the other half were indoors and required flash (there just is NO sun in these parts lately and I don't have a lot of windows to let the limited light in).  I can't wait to have more indoor shooting equipment to make more lighting options available.  I did a bit of searching on Black Friday but photography equipment doesn't seem to be a discounted thing (at least not what I was looking for).  

Here we go...

drizzle

Oh my goodness, these apple crisp donuts are to die for and not only is there a drizzle of caramel sauce on them, they are from a website called Drizzle Me Skinny.

K

This is not a letter that is easy to find out there in the world.  I photographed the big K in front of my old high school when I did a 365 project in 2014 so that option was out.  I used my academic letter Ks in a nostalgia photo a couple of weeks ago so they were out too.  All that was left was to look for a K at Whitefish Island (see above re: procrastinating).  This isn't very pretty but I think it approximates a K.

a collection

I was thinking about my photography books and my canisters of  DAVIDs TEA but I have photographed both of those in the recent past.  As I was chopping apples to make applesauce in the crock pot yesterday, I realized that the variety of apples I was using (honeycrisp, macintosh, granny smith, pink lady and gala) qualified as a collection.  Here they are ready to go.

a game

We have so many to choose from although we have fewer this weekend than we did last weekend.  Levi and I purged the game cupboard of games we never enjoyed or don't play or that just aren't interesting to us.  I brought those to Christmas Cheer but I'm not sure that anybody really wants to receive them for Christmas.  People just don't play games any more.  Levi insisted on keeping a few of his favourite games that I refuse to play (Stratego and Chess - I hate the long term strategy required) because he actually plays them on his own, playing both sides.  Yesterday I saw him playing a four-hand game of War by himself.  At those times, I feel like a bad mom (not as bad as those in the movies though 😉).  Anyway, I grabbed the first game I saw - the travel version of Mastermind.  Remember this game?

in my hand

As I was heading out to Whitefish yesterday, I had the brilliant idea of a chickadee feeding in my hand.  Forgetting of course that my left shoulder and right elbow are currently dysfunctional, I decided that was the photo I wanted for this (replacing a photo of me holding my old flip phone that I found in the junk drawer when I cleaned it out at 6:00am last Sunday morning).  I wasn't able to hold my arm out or hold the camera one-handed for very long so I am so glad one of the photos I got was in focus.

starts with M

These poor mallards seem to be very hungry already this year.  In the summer, they are pretty snooty about the bird seed I offer them.  Yesterday however, was a different story.  Look at them...it was a complete feeding frenzy.  I feel like I need to go back today and give them some more food.  I think I have some wilty vegetables in the fridge that they would enjoy.

wild card

Since I left everything until the last minute again, I was short on photos to include as a wild card.  In my travels I stopped in at Bulk Barn to see if anything appealed to me there (I always enjoy photographing candy).  As I was walking up and down the aisles, Christmas candies jumped out at me telling me to change my Facebook profile pictures to something more seasonal.  So I bought these mints.  I'm hesitant to be Christmassy since it's not yet December but since I am sitting here listening to Christmas music, I guess it's okay.  'Tis the season.

That's it for me. 

Pam, please come back and finish this year with me 🙏.

Sharon's Week 46: In the Nick of Time

Well, I left it until the last minute this week and I'm pretty sure it shows 😕.  I don't know what's up but these past two weeks have felt extremely busy at work and at home.  It doesn't help that it's just past dawn when I head to work in the morning and almost dark when I head home at night...that doesn't leave any decent light for photography.  I didn't even try to come up with ideas until this morning so it was all last minute.  It was gorgeous out this morning after a skiff of overnight snow so after I put the groceries away I grabbed Hermione and headed out.  The temperature was just above zero and there were a few minutes of sun so it was a very enjoyable morning.

After that, I came home to do my weekly meal prep.  I tried two new recipes and both turned out to be winners (Sloppy Joe Baked Sweet Potatoes and Chicken Pot Pie).  I am already looking forward to the leftovers tomorrow and Monday and Tuesday...  The problem with most recipes is that they make way too many servings for me.  Because of this I tend to only make things that I think will freeze well.  I'm sure both of these will freeze well.

Speaking of food, I have decided that my personal photography project for 2018 will be to create a cookbook for myself, to include all of my favourite recipes.  I am tired of all the loose papers falling out of my binders.  I have bought a couple of food photography books (of course I have!) and I am likely going to sign up for a four week on-line course about food photography at my favourite on-line photography school in Jamuary.  I will need to gather an interesting assortment of dishes, glasses and utensils so if you have stuff you are willing to part with (temporarily or permanently), let me know.  I think the biggest part of this project is going to be deciding what foods I want in the book.

Now that I put it in print, I guess I have to follow through. 

Here we go with this week's photos.

wild card

I drive past this little pond all the time and I always think that it's so pretty - during all of the seasons - but I have never photographed it because there is nowhere to stop.  This morning I parked at a nearby conservation area and walked up the hill only to find that there are all kinds of trees in the way.  Luckily the branches were pretty with the snow on them. 

how it works

Can you say LAZY?  I'm sure that when I put this on the list, I had in mind that I would photograph something in a process or the inner working of an object.  Instead, while I was wandering around Bellevue Park this morning, I saw this on one of the play structures.  The cogs reminded me of how something might work.

contrast

I meandered into the greenhouse and after waiting about twenty minutes for my camera to stop fogging up, I noticed this flower and I loved the contrast between the bright pink and yellow.

smile

I admire people who can take nice selfies...just lift up the phone, point it at themselves, smile and voila!  A beautiful self-portrait with a nice smile, interesting composition and eye-catching features.  Me?  Not so much.  I don't seem to be able to smile on command for one thing and for another, I can't for the life of me make a selfie interesting.  When I try those different poses or angles, I look like a goofball, and not in a good way.  So here is my smile (as much as I could force at the time) at Fort Creek this morning.  P.S.  If you can believe it, this is the best of about 30 attempts!

Aaaaaand, it appears that it's time to colour my hair again and perhaps try some teeth whitener!

starts with D

If you know me at all, you know that I love ice cream.  I really love Magnum bars and I am so jealous that my sister got to make her own Magnum bar in Rome two weeks ago.  For the most part, my ice cream has to have stuff in it and usually that has to include chocolate in some form.  Several years ago, President's Choice started making a Candy Cane Fudge Crackle ice cream of which I generally devour several litres each Christmas season.  This morning I discovered that this ice cream is out for another season.  I stared at it for a while but being the dedicated Weight Watcher that I have become, I looked away (I didn't think I could refrain from gobbling it up embarrassingly fast).  Beside the tubs of ice cream however were boxes of mini ice cream bars made with the candy cane ice cream and dipped in the fudge crackle chocolate.  I picked up a box and I am going to try to make it last until Christmas.  I had a bar this afternoon and I can tell you that it was Delicious (way more delicious than the photo - see why I needed those books?).

F

I found this at the newest Bellevue Park playground this morning.  Can you tell that I had to flip the photo upside down?

diamond

There was a bit of melting snow on the fence at Fort Creek.  I caught this drip but I wish there had been something colourful in behind to reflect in the water.

And that's the end of that.

Sharon's Week 45: In Flanders fields the poppies blow

 Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

These poppies were not photographed this week.  It is a photo from my trip to China but I thought it matched my title today and it brightens up a rather serious theme that runs through the post.

Remembrance Day didn't mean much to me as a kid growing up...we had the standard assemblies in school but I didn't really give them much thought.  I remember in high school standing in class during the playing of the Last Post and watching my teacher cry.  I couldn't for the life of me understand why he was crying.  Now, I can only attend Remembrance Day ceremonies while wearing sunglasses, regardless of the weather, to hide my own tears.  I do not have relatives that were killed in the wars but I have read enough books, watched enough news stories and, in a short period of working for Veterans' Affairs, spoken with enough people who have experienced the horrors of war, that I can more readily appreciate the sacrifices that ordinary people have made to keep our country safe, independent and at peace.

Thank you to all who have served or continue to serve your country.

And on to the photos...

sunset

This topic was supposed to be last week but since we hadn't seen the sun, there was a little switcheroo.  It wasn't much better this week...we had two evenings where the sun was visible.  On Monday, I was driving home from work at about 4:40 and I noticed that there was a break in the clouds down at the horizon.  I popped into the house, picked up Hermione and drove out to Gros Cap where I arrived exactly five minutes before sunset.  It was freezing cold and the waves were smashing up against the rocks.  I wished I had brought the tripod but I wouldn't have had enough time to set it up even if I had (and I don't think I could have stayed outside that long).  I tried some longer exposures without the tripod but as you can see in the photo, I wasn't steady enough - the rocks are a bit blurry at the edges.  I chose this photo even though it is not in perfect focus because I like all the little hexagons that were created from the droplets on my lens that were left there by the previous wave.

starts with U

I do plan ahead and I had an appointment to get my winter tires on the car yesterday.  My routine is to get them on around Remembrance Day and off again around Mother's Day.  I am usually safe with this plan but not this year.  Our first snow was a snow squall with blowing snow leading to snow and ice covered roads.  That was Thursday.  My day to travel to Elliot Lake.  I made it there and back safely but it took an extra forty-five minutes each way.  

I decided that this early snowstorm (which preceded the installation of my winter tires) was uncalled for (it took a while but I got to the U).  This is what Blind River looked like just after the sun came up.

remembrance

These poor cadets had to stand there in not enough clothing in the bitter winds for far too long.

gravestone

As I was driving through the cemetery yesterday, I was looking for a stone that had a wreath on it.  We don't have a military section but I thought I might find a veteran somewhere.  I didn't.  Maybe there are wreaths there today but I was too chilled from being at the cenotaph this morning to head back out again.  I chose this marker because it is so different from the rest...just a wooden cross with the angel nearby.  I'm sure there must be a name beneath the snow but it remains unknown to me.

sunrise

This was a really bad week for both sunrise and sunset to be on the list.  After the snowfall on Thursday, the forecast was calling for sunny skies yesterday.  The problem is that the sun came with cold...

But, being the dedicated person that I am, I bundled up and headed to the river.  I assumed that there would be fog on the water since is was so freaking cold.  I was right.  This photo was taken about ten minutes after the sun came up.

uniform

The colour guard from the ceremony this morning.  Sadly, there were only five or six veterans behind them.

wild card

I know, I know, I seem to have a thing for the International Bridge but the sunrise was making it so pretty!

That's it for this week.

Sharon's Week 44: Dear Mother Nature

Would it kill you to send us some sun???

I know that I complained about the weather last week but seriously, it has not improved!  On Sunday we had a few hours of sun early in the morning but it has been grey and gloomy with rain and snow ever since then.  I am thankful that I had caffeinated coffee Sunday morning and as a result was feeling restless, because that made me get out with the camera to take advantage of the lovely light.  I should have headed out again later when the sun started to set (it was not great but there was at least what could be called a sunset) but I was comfy and stayed in.  That was a bad decision since "sunset" was on the list this week and the sun has not put in another appearance.  Last night I texted Pam and suggested that we switch with a topic from next week.  Here's hoping the sun comes out really soon because we also have sunrise on the list next week.  Fingers and toes crossed.

Here we go with the photos...

layered

The St. Mary's River is running very high these days.  Half of the trails at Whitefish Island are closed from flooding and have been since the beginning of the summer.  It's unfortunate because the flooded part really is a nice part of the park.  Anyway, when Pam and I walked there last Sunday, there was fog on the river and creepy clouds in the sky.  I really liked the layered look in this photo.

7

There was some awesome light in a little alcove by the side of the trail.  Pam was patiently (or impatiently, I don't know) waiting for chickadees to land on the moss covered branches and I was just standing there trying to attract them with birdseed in my hand.  I was there long enough to find this 7 in the trees.

unusual

I needed a few thing at the Bulk Barn last night and I came across these Jelly Belly "icicle jelly beans."  I thought that they were quite unusual.  I haven't yet tried them...I wonder if they taste cool and minty.  

C

I recently found a website that has a whole bunch of recipes for homemade donuts.  I bought a donut pan and decided to start with this one.  It is called an apple crumb yum donut.  It was okay but not fantastic...I wouldn't call it yum.

starts with L

I tried to photograph a lime in fizzy water again but for some reason it wouldn't work today.  No matter what I did, I couldn't get the bubbles in focus.  Maxine called while I was doing this and she broke out the dictionary to help with alternate L words.  While she was listing off words that I didn't think I could photograph this afternoon, I noticed all the bubbles at the bottom of the container.  I pointed the camera at them instead and Maxine found a word basically meaning "lots."  I cannot for the life of me remember what the word was but lots also starts with L so here you are...lots of bubbles.

guilty pleasure

I love a Saturday when I can spend lots of time with a good book and a yummy cup of tea.  I am also pretty happy to be wearing my Smartwool socks during this damp and icky weather.  I can tell you with certainty that it takes exactly ten seconds to press the shutter, sit on the couch, pick up and open the book, cross my legs and try to look relaxed all while not spilling my cinnamon rooibis chai tea.

wild card

We have had a few frosty mornings lately.  This is from the only morning that also had some sun.

Have a great extra hour of sleep tonight!  I am curious to find out if my new vehicle, with all of its automatic features, knows about the time change and will change the time itself.  I really hope so because if not, it will likely take me at least 15 minutes to figure it out in the morning.