Frozen World

Winter here is snowy, cold, long, and beautiful.

NIght LIghts

Bitter cold and a couple of hours away from sunrise, this photo was taken from my step. Sometimes when the clouds are just right you can see a glow from the city an hours drive from here. Today is a day for change. My mom is traveling home and then we will go and help my husbands mother pack all her belongings and move to the city.

Christmas Morning

The festivity of Christmas affects everyone of the family, even the pets. All the paper and ribbon under the tree was just too inviting Christmas morning.
Christmas morning was pretty quiet at our house. I am having quite a time adapting to the new traditions. Having five kids always meant an exciting morning. Now, as it should be, the family is making new traditions with their children. Part of the new traditions is to come to Grandma's house for dinner. When the families get here, the quiet and my longing is replaced by hugs, laughter, singing , good natured teasing,piles of gift wrap, oohs and aahs of thanks, Over stimulated Grandkids playing with new toys and running through the house. Setting up tables and finding enough chairs. A flurry of stirring, mashing, mixing , bumping elbows in my small kitchen ... with those I love the most. The feast follows with mouthwatering dishes being passed from around the two tables. Negotiations follow.. "I'll trade you stuffing at our table for gravy at yours". And while we are filling our plates , we also fill our hearts. And when the meal is over , I am ushered away from the kitchen, But I can still hear the laughter while my kids and their spouses clear the aftermath of the feast.
All the wrapping paper in the world couldnt wrap my favorite gifts this year.
Merry Christmas to you.

Santa's Narrow Escape

Merry Christmas all.

Western Skies

The days are short... sunset was at 4:38 today. There was one full minute more of sunlight.

Mystical Events

Winter solstice... the longest night of the year.. a time for calling back the sun. This time of winter is one I relish. It means that the days will grow longer bit by bit. Oh it will take some time yet before it is noticeable but I know it's coming. This year something unusual happened.. a lunar eclipse at the same time. That has not happened for over 400 yrs.
I really wanted to get a good photo of it. But there were some technical difficulties I hadn't counted on... #1. COLD.. well I did think it might be cold but I wasn't really prepared for -27 . After standing around in that I came in to get more cloths.. difficulty #2 When I came in my lens fogged up.. it took a while to get it defogged. ( more standing in the cold) But I would have to say the worst by far was the fact that the moon was so high in the sky that my tripod kept tipping over.. Every time this happened I had would hold my breath as I inspected my equipment for damage and cleaned the snow off. This also made a cranky photographer . I soon resorted to leaning against a building and hand holding my camera. Well at least leaning against the building cut the wind. Hand holding during long exposures is not a good idea. I took over 200 photos and this is the best one. Well I guess I will know better next time.. 450 yrs from now.

P.S. It was all worth it and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Art Mode

How about a little break from Christmas? This is a glass bowl that I fused this fall. I am planning on doing more in the new year.

Blue Christmas

Every Christmas I think about those who have a hard time rejoicing during the Christmas season. I myself have felt the Grinchiness of Christmas a few times. And havnt each one of us felt that pressure for a perfect Christmas...the decorating, the cooking , the cleaning, spending too much money, not finding the perfect gift. Those are just some of the pressures that face all of us. Now what if you are feeling the pain of the loss of a loved one? What if you have lost your job? What if you just cant see the happiness in a season that has always been so sad for you?

YOU ARE NOT ALONE!, Feeling sad at Christmas time is perfectly normal. Not everyone is filled with joy at Christmas time. And for some trying to hide that Christmas sadness and put on a "Merry" face is hard work and can make you feel more alone.

These are a few of the things that I think would help get those Grinches through the season.

1. Start early so you dont have all those last minute pressures.


2. Get exercise.. I think it helps with the shorter days and colder weather.


3. Find a way to help someone needy.


4. Spend time with children.


5. Try to plan shopping trips on least busy days


6. Start new traditions and ditch some that cause you stress.


7. Stick to a budget


8. Bag your gifts instead of wrapping.


9. Dont over induldge on food and drink.. for some that just sets up more guilt.


10. Light a candle for a loved one or a situation that is causing you grief.


11. Attend a Blue Christmas service in your area.


12. Honour your inner Grinch while respecting others rights to be happy. You might find that by allowing those feelings instead of trying to stuff them down.. they might not be so overwelming.


13. Dont leave your humour packed up til after Christmas.. it's ok to laugh.

Now just a note to the people with your rose coloured Santa glasses on.... and you know who you are... Take it easy on Grinches and remember that while you are exuding your Happy ho ho everywhere , there are some that are feeling it less... and that's OK.

Star of Wonder?

At 630 am it is still very dark here. Well except for this morning when I saw this light in the east , shining through the morning fog. Hmmm a glowing light in the east? I wonder if I should send three guys over there to check it out? But where oh where am I going to find 3 wise men?

Finding Balance

This time of the year is hectic for most people and for me it's no different. I will have a houseful for Christmas day and a house guest a week over the holiday. Cooking , cleaning , shopping, etc.. That leaves little time for photography or coming here to share my world with you . Glad you have hung in there by the way. I was thinking that I would take a vignette of one of my windowsills , I think it's a great way to get a peek into the "real me". This little corner is my kitchen window. A jar full of beach stones from Texas reminds me of my friend Joy. Top it up with some shells and beach glass I collected from Vancouver Island to remind me of the ocean. Just a side here... the ocean always reminds me to breathe. A mason jar that once held homemade jam now holds my discarded paintbrushes , now tools for the creation of Grandkid masterpieces. And a little black stone that has the word "Balance" etched on it, to remind me to strive for balance in my life. Maybe tomorrow a peek into the laundry room.. nah that is way too real.

Hearts aglow.

The weather is cold here today. The school buses are shut down today.. snow day. I have been a busy little elf getting ready for Christmas. Today seems like a good day to get at some of that baking. Butter tarts mmmmm

Still cold

I have not been taking very many pics lately. After having a visit where we did some creating I felt a renewal. Up and out before the sun I tok some frosty photos. Until cold feet forced me home.

Decisions, decisions

I spent a good hour today in a paint store staring at the mryiad of colours.. trying to decide which colours to choose to paint my basement stairs. I settled on two colours and am going to try to get the painting done before Christmas.

Looking south

The snowy cold days leave me wishing for warmer climates. Somewhere south near the water.. sigh. This is the view out my livingroom window. I can see a long way to the south, but not far enough. As it is even too cold to venture out I took this photo from inside. Maybe it's a good day to do some baking. Perhaps some cookie pics before they are all gone.( clicking on this photo will enlarge it so maybe you can see that it is snowing.)

For Pat

In my mind this is her.. long flowing auburn locks and golden wings

Soap Angel

Still doing the soap photography. I love the way random images just appear. Although I am sure there is a science and a math that would tell me exactly how the soap will react. I prefer to have some mystery about it. I often seen humanesque figures like this soap angel.

Oh Starry Night

I thought I would try something different this year. I wanted to put a little more of 'us' on the tree . So away with the storebought decorations. And up with stars.... big ones, small ones, shiny ones , and rustic ones. All lovingly cut , pasted, stamped , embossed, coloured, or glittered by hand. Floyd really suprised me this year as he stamped, cut, pasted.. right along with me. A true tree of love.

Morning Glory

I am going to busy today so I thought I would get out early and get a photo for today. Glorious mornings like this would be so much nicer if the weather wasnt so cold. Mick doesnt seem to mind so much with his big fur coat. He even brought out a toy to play with.

Picher day

The party dresses are simply beautiful, gold and glittery. But as far as Reese was concerned that was not the best part. HIding from me so that she could give me the Tadaaa! moment, I heard her say about her shoes...." get ready for the magic!". Oh the joy of a new pair of shoes. P.S. those big red balls sure came in handy.

Twinkle Twinkle

Frosty's heart

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas... that song has been going through my head all week. And yesterday I did the exterior decorating. Lights, mini trees, wreath and my wooden snow men that greet you at the door. This photo is a close up of Frosty's hat. I hope this heart conveys my Christmas wishes to you.

Bubbly

I cant help it . I am in love.. in love with the soap images. I can take a couple of hundred photos and never tire of the magic that happens while soap does it's dance.

Check out my bum

The Bum stool , carved from willow by my friend Bill. It sits by my spot in the livingroom . The perfect perch for my coffee, glasses etc. It reminds me of him every day. Miss your smile, miss your laugh, miss our scrabble games with the heart to hearts. I hope you are in a better place.

Self Medicating

Thursday I went to town for the routine grocery trip. In the grocery store floral department I noticed this lonely little houseplant. It is covered with tiny little blossoms and fits nicely on my kitchen windowsill. Every time I look out to see the snow blowing and blustery I see this heartwarming display first.

On the edge

This morning I went to town but I took the long wandering way. This scene is down a road just a few miles from home ..but I have never gone down this road before. I will be going back when the snow really comes.

Hunka burnin love

Now that winter has come I was hoping to get some great snowy landscapes. But winter as cruel as he can be has brought us bitter cold temps and I dont get farther than the wood pile if I dont have to.

It's Just Hair!

One of the disadvantage's to living waaayyy out it the sticks , is not having easy access to things like hairdressers. My roots were getting a bit on the long side. And as I have not seen my "natural" hair colour for a very long time, curiosity got the better of my. I decided to take matters into my own hands. Now I know just how grey er mature I really am.

Lessons of Love in the Kitchen

Today the grands got some lessons in the kitchen... Making cake

How to make a great Orange float.

Using the cheese planer

And best of all .. doing dishes.

Molten Magic

This photo is of a peice of glass that I fused in a method called a pot melt. Basically put some coloured glass in a clay pot and melt it in a kiln until it runs out the bottom creating random beautiful swirls of colour and pattern. I found great delight in isolating these abstract shapes with my lens. This one reminds me of a mother and child.. anyone else get that?

Indoor activities

The snow has come and with it the cold and wind. I wish I could show you the snow but I am not going out there if I dont have to. I did venture out to get wood and feed the birds. Until the weather breaks I will be here in front of the fire blowing soap bubbles.

That's right these lovely photos are of soap.. I am so intriqued by them. I will be doing something like this all winter I suspect.

Bigger is better.

I know, I know, I in a way I feel as though the big commercial Christmas machine got me early too. But who could resist a 5 foot tube of giant red Christmas balls. I feel so much more giving and loving at this time of the year if I dont have to deal with the crowds , the stores and all the other hype. With a big family I have always felt alot of pressure at this time of the year. So I try to minimize the stress factor by having the shopping done early. Note to self .. stick to the list

Sometimes my mind wanders

Sunday is a perfect day for some experimental photography. This is straight photography... no photoediting tricks besides cropping and nudging the contrast a bit. I am very excited about the play of colours and abstract shapes. More ideas to try.

Moving

Last summer I photographed a womans garden. She was moving and taking with her all the little touches that made her garden home. I wonder what the birds will think when they come in the spring. sheesh landlords hey?

The creek

I took this photo a week or two ago. Now the creek is frozen over and I think our snow is about to come. We have been lucky as I took some pic last year at this time and looking back I see they were pretty snowy.

A whole new world

Ok .. did you guess? Yesterday the images were of drops of olive oil in water. I put a glass of water on a cd and hovered over it taking my photos. Today I got a little more techincal and as you can see the results were worth it. Today I used a pan of water supported by two piles of books. with a piece of coloured paper underneath and a lamp shining on the paper. Anyone can do this. I think this could open up a new world of photography for me. I love the results.

Experimental photography

I was inspired by some images I saw on the net... I love the interweb. Anyway I thought I would give it a try can you guess what this is. Not much editing just cropping and nudging the levels. I had alot of fun and will be trying more of these. I will let you know the answer to today's skill testing question tomorrow.

A simple kind of love

The carnations with their heavenly scent and their ruffled skirts, feeling right at home in a Mason jar on my kitchen table. Thank you Jeff and Trish , I feel special.

Was really only a few weeks ago?

I havn't touched my camera for a few days. Today I decided to torture myself a little and went over some photos that I took this summer. This shady lane on our property is now barren of leaves and the dead grass crunches when walked on. Well it may look good again with a blanket of snow... gee I cant wait ( pulling sweater around tighter).

Vince ... is that you?

This is the scene I saw as I was headed into town yesterday morning. I knew I had to stop and try to get it. I was meeting my daughter for some playhouse shopping so I just snapped a few and moved on. This morning when I loaded the pics on my computer.. I said .. WOW just like a Van Gogh painting! Funny thing was yesterday I saw a guy that looked so much like Vincent that I mused about it all day. I dont think Vinnie would be driving a white utility van though.. or would he?

In the heat of the night

Imagine the look on my face when I crested the hill to find the whole hillside ablaze. Fortunatly it was brush piles that my husband had pushed up. He had contacted the fire dept and gotten permission.

Now imagine my husbands face when he saw four firetrucks roaring up our driveway, with lights ablazin'. Apparently the folks in the fire dept. dont all talk to one another.

BIg Dipper

Last night while I was standing outside waving our visitors off , I noticed that it was a good night for the northern lights. They are very unpredictable , one minute they are there dancing accross the sky and the next they are gone. Yikes my tripod is broken. I know this is not a good picture "technically speaking" but given that I was hand holding my camera at exposures of 20 seconds or more . Add to that all the shivering I was just glad to get anything. I am heading into town today and hopefully I will find a great deal on a tripod... then maybe I will tell you about my love affair with the Big Dipper.