Valentine week in photos

"All walking is discovery. On foot we take the time to see things whole." -Hal Borland

Last Sunday was a stellar weather day. It was also the birthday of my sis and brother (twins). Brother lives halfway across the country but sis is nearby so we took her out for lunch then went for a walk at Crescent Beach.

 She showed off her plot in the community garden. The bottom photo is of kale, growing in a nearby bed. I thought it was stunning with its variegated coloring and fuchsia ribs.

Eagle sightings were good on Sunday. This eagle gallery is really only two birds. The mature bald eagle was obviously on the alert judging by how often he turned his head.  A little farther down the path, we saw a juvenile eagle, looking very hip and casual in tattery feathers.

Monday brought more signs of spring. These crocuses look ready to pop the minute they get some warmth and sun.
 

And how about this Valentine dessert hubby and I shared it at the end of our date on Thursday. It was the last course of a luscious Italian meal.

On our walk this morning we passed these Pine Siskins, all excited about their topped-up feeder.

All in all, it's been a photogenic week!

happy new year!

I feel sad that the sparkly nights of the Christmas season will soon be history. Last night, when they were all lit in honor of New Year's Eve, I tried out my new mini-tripod.

My camera has numerous presets, one for night scenery. I set it at that, attached it to the tripod, composed the shot, then put the camera on timer and voila, I had some clear shots of Christmas lights from various windows around the house. What an improvement on trying to photograph such night shots hand-held!

Now to learn how to use my other present (Photoshop Elements 11). I think I need a class!

hot

Birthday sparkler

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Thursday Challenge

Next week: WOODEN (Furniture, Buildings, Crafts, Trees,...)

made it! (971-1002 of 1000 gifts)

"Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out." - Robert Collier

If you've been reading my blog regularly or from time to time, you will realize I've been doing some strange count-my-blessings thing here. It originated with Ann Voskamp who, after accepting the challenge of finding and naming 1000 gifts/blessings/things for which to be thankful, found herself focusing on a life of gratefulness. She wrote a book about it and in the community that has grown up around her blog and that book, invites participants to share blessings. That's what my posts have been a part of.

At the beginning of this year she threw out a new challenge. To enable  people to reach 1000 blessings in one year she issued "The Joy Dare" which challenges folks to name three gifts a day.

She puts out a monthly prompt for these blessings. To help me reach my 1000 more quickly (and to discipline myself to look for something every day) I've been following May's prompts. And with that bit of help, TA-DA! I reach 1000 gifts this week, a journey I began on July 2010 with "a dose of thankfulness."

I will repeat the prompts from her May Joy Dare list, along with the blessings I found through it:

May 7th: Three gifts about my home:
971. The upstairs laundry.
972. A sunny kitchen.
973. Two decks and a patio—with lots of through-breezes, sun and fresh air.

May 8th: Three gifts inside a closet:
974. Our summer quilt, now out of the closet and on the bed.
975. My gardening shoes, now also often out of the closet and on my feet.
976. Summer T's and other light clothes for warming days.

May 9th. Three gifts in the dark:
977. The fridge  and the food it holds. It's always light when I ope the door and look inside, but most of the time the door is closed and it's dark.
978. Piano notes—hammered out in the dark.
979. God's secret plans. When I'm in the dark my faith is stretched.

May 10th A gift outside, one inside, one upside down:
980. Outside—my hanging baskets from Costco.

981. Inside—my quiet office. How much has been wrought here.
982. Upside-down—my feelings as I anticipate the journey ahead for my book: happy to be done but a little dismayed by the publicity/marketing job ahead.

May 11th three gifts from parents:
983. My mom's push to do things early, do things now.
984. My mom's love of plants.
985. The memory of Daddy talking to the farm animals.

May 12 - Three gifts held in hand:
986. A bowl of roses and baby's breath (a wifey Mother's Day present from hubby).

987. Ibuprofen.
988. Washrags, for cleaning up the patio furniture on a summery day.

May 13 - Three gifts in my mother:
989. Her creativity and how she encouraged us to be imaginative and resourceful.
990. Her kindness—she was very aware of hurting people's feelings and didn't often do it.
991. Her enthusiasm for her current project, showing us the attractiveness of a zest for life.

993. On Mother's Day, I'm so grateful for my family, who honoured me in many ways. Thank you, my lovely peeps!

May 14th - A gift picked, put away, and put back.
994. I picked up my white flower-painted enamel teapot, a daily pick-up I use all summer to water my patio baskets.
995. I put away folded and fragrant laundry.
996. At the end of the day I put back all my pens and pencils. They now rest in their respective mugs on my desk, waiting for tomorrow.

May 15th - Three gifts about me:
997. I'm usually on time.
998. I try to finish things
999. I'm healthy, more or less—mostly more.

May 16th - Three gifts about God's Word:
1000. It is the source of wisdom - James 3:13-16 gives a good definition.
1001. It gives direction - Proverbs 3:5-6.
1002. It gives us fodder for hopes and dreams - Zechariah 8:20-23.

I will stop at this point. But thankfulness doesn't end at 1000 (or 1002). I know that this project has sharpened my awareness  of how much good fills my life. So, though I won't continue to list any more of last week's gifts here, I don't know if I'll be able to completely kick the habit of broadcasting such lists on my blog.  I hope you'll indulge me if  I share more of  my gratefulnesses here from time to time.

And now for the last time:

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If  you'd like to join me and many others collecting One Thousand  
Gifts,  please do. Some members of this gratefulness community post  
their gifts  on blogs, while others list them in private journals.  
Instructions on  how to join are here.

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back to work (#659-669 of 1000 gifts)

"The great composer does not set to work because he is inspired, but becomes inspired because he is working. Beethoven, Wagner, Bach and Mozart settled down day after day to the job in hand with as much regularity as an accountant settles down each day to his figures. They didn't waste time waiting for inspiration" - Ernest Newman (from Onwards and Upwards, a collection of quotes edited by Julian Ross p. 68).

The quote above, from the British music critic Ernest Newman seems perfect for Labor Day, this last hurrah of the summer holidays. A Happy Labor Day to you!

...and the list of gifts continues:


659. Whoever landscaped the grounds of our townhouse complex did a lovely job of filling the beds with beauties. In this season we are greeted by these hardy sedum...

and drifts of coneflowers.

660. My poetry benches, where I park for a while during my afternoon leg-stretch, and let my thoughts settle in my notebook.

661. And then nibble on a few blackberries before heading back home. 

662. Have you discovered Tim Challies' monthly wallpapers? I downloaded five of September's onto the laptop and have set them to change every 30 minutes. It's such an inspiration to open my computer to a decorative rendering of Ephesians 1:7, Psalm 23:5, or Romans 8:26.

663. Every day on our morning walk we pass an exotic-looking castor bean plant. The other day I noticed some action in its upper regions.

664. On Saturday we went to buy more blueberries at Krause Berry Farms. Of course we let ourselves be lured by the fresh pastries in the restaurant, treating ourselves to peach-blackberry pie, ice-cream and coffee. Yum! (Does this bring back memories, Chris & Jane?)

665. I am making steady progress on my fall assignment.


666.  When the news is mostly bad, God's word has reassurance

667. I'm thankful for a book I'm reading that's educating me on who's who in the "sinister" world of Christian right-wing political activists in Canada, delivered in the voice of a conspiracy theorist. (To M. McDonald Christians are scary...very scary!!)


668. The long weekend weather has been stellar so far. Yesterday we took a walk at Derby's Reach park (here we're looking at Maple Ridge across the Fraser River).

669. This bunny either had a love for the camera or thought he was invisible under all the dapple. He let me get incredibly close before slipping into the grasses and blackberry canes.

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If you'd like to join me and many others collecting One Thousand Gifts, please do. Some members of this gratefulness community post their gifts on blogs, while others list them in private journals. Instructions on how to join are here.

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Happy Canada Day!

Today is Canada Day. It's a day I've celebrated as far back as I can remember. My mom was a Canadian patriot through and through. She made sure Canada Day always held something special when we were kids — even if it meant just a picnic at the Log Cabin Bush on the farm, which it did the year Daddy was in hospital with a broken leg and she was heavily pregnant with her seventh child.

Perhaps it's appropriate that five years ago, she departed this life on June 30th, the eve of Canada Day. We had fun fantasizing how she would bring a distinctly Canadian flavour to heaven on her first day there.

In honour of the day, I've made a collage of some of my recent memorable Canada Days.

 HAPPY CANADA DAY!

still trying (#535 - 549 of 1000 gifts)

"You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try." - Beverly Sills

I think we are experiencing the longest spring ever! The peonies that were tight little balls over a week ago are still clenched and waiting for the sun. We're all waiting for the sun which, of course, makes it much easier to tidy up writing loose ends in preparation for summer...


535. In that vein, I finished a big project, first begun almost two years ago and sent it on its first outing. It has anchored me in duty for so long I now feel like my balloon has finally filled with helium and I'm taking off!


536. A little poem I wrote got featured in TS Poetry Press's daily newsletter. So honoured.

537. Drifts of wildflowers.

538. A Word Guild Writing award for a book review I wrote. Most very grateful and honoured. And a big congratulations to all other winners!


539. Two dozen roses to celebrate the week of our anniversary.


540. A fun book launch. The Violet Flash by Mike Mason is second in the series following The Blue Umbrella. Here is Mrs. Mike in her little book shop.

541. I met Luci Shaw!! Here she is talking with Mike Mason and Ron Reed (they are all in the same writer's group — a modern version of the Inklings I'm sure!).

542. Here is Mike under his magical blue umbrella.

543. Hubby and me, 30 years ago yesterday. 

544. To celebrate our anniversary yesterday we went for a walk along the White Rock promenade and then for a Greek lunch. As you can see, the UV index was very tolerable.

545. Enjoyed a little drama between some crows hassling a bald eagle.

546. I love all the flower boxes along the walk. Every restaurant has different flowers presented in different ways. I was so charmed by these delicate pansies.

547. And how about these black and yellow petunias! 

548. Have been reading heavy-ish non-fiction lately, so yesterday dipped into something lighter. I am enjoying Angela Hunt's The Fine Art of Insincerity (a free gift from her sister's contest - thanks so much, Angela!).

549. For my husband and father of our kids - a true man of God. Hubby - you're the best!!

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If you'd like to join me and many others collecting One Thousand Gifts, please do. Some members of this gratefulness community post their gifts on blogs, while others list them in private journals. Instructions on how to join are here.

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