Simplicity

 

Tomorrow is the last day of January already.   Thursday is Groundhog day.   If the weather keeps up this week at temperatures above 0 and rain he will not be seeing his shadow.   Is that 6 more weeks of winter?   I found these berries hanging on a bush the other day.  I’m not sure if they are highbush cranberries or not.   They seem to suit the texture today called”natures beauty” from Kim Klassen.    Kim’s Texture Tuesday challenge this week is simplicity and so I kept it simple.   I used a layer of the texture and used the blending mode of multiply and then added another layer of the same texture at blending mode soft light.  I used layer masks to remove the some of the texture from the berries. 

I am also joining Lisa Gordon for The Creative Exchange.   Valerie

One,Two and Three Little Ducks

 

My husband informed me that there were some ducks in the little stream that runs through a park just beside the Regional Offices in Newmarket.  I decided to investigate one day last week.   I found these few Mallards in the open waters below a bridge.  My identification book tells me the two with blue on them are molting. Such a pretty blue.

Mondays I link up with Mary for Mosaic Monday a long running meme for showing off collages and mosaics.    I hope you have a wonderful week.   We are having the most unusual winter so far.  The weather people tell us it is going to be 7 or 8 degrees Celsius this wee.   A normal winter would be minus 15 at this time of the year.  We have very little snow cover on the plants too.   Valerie

Little Ole Me

 

 

I don’t like taking pictures of myself.   I spent over an hour  getting this one and then in post processing I needed Coffeeshop Rita and the action Perfectportrait 3 to get rid of a lot of wrinkles.   I am participating in Darcy’s Project 52 where each week we are to contribute a set photo. This week was self-portrait.   Next week is shadows.

Stories to be Told

 

If there are stories to be told this Brownie Hawkeye could tell us a few.  He has been here and there and seen a lot of things. If only he could talk.

Kim Klassen gave us a prompt of “story” this week for Texture Tuesday.  I am also joining Lisa Gordon for The Creative Exchange.   Valerie

A Box of Colour

 

A button has been off my coat for a couple of weeks.   I finally thought I should sew it back on so I went off to the sewing caddy to get a needle and thread.   I opened up the box that held the spools of thread and lost track of the button.  I eventually did sew the button back on the coat but in the mean time I had some fun with photography.

I am joining Mary for Mosaic Monday.    Have a great day.   Valerie

Open

 

 

I am a bookworm.   If I am without something to read I am not happy.  Sometime I have two or three different books on the go at one time.   Kim Klassen’s Texture Tuesday challenge this week was “Open”.  When I get a word in my head I will begin to hear lyrics to a song with those words in them.  I had to search Google to find the this song that was rattling around in my head.   The textures I used were Kim’s Evolve and Evolve 2.

I will also be joining Lisa Gordon for The Creative Exchange.   Valerie

 

Old Britain Castles for Mosaic Monday

 

My husband’s mother collected a set of china by Johnson Bros. called Old Britain Castles.   I remember the whole set being on display in her china cabinet in their home.  As my husband is an only child we inherited it.   The box of china sat in boxes in our basement for a few years before I took it out and displayed it on the hutch in our dining room that my husband made for me.  I guess I was slow to appreciate it.  Transfer ware is a term I did not know anything about until I watched Martha Stewart on the TV and she often talked about it and showed off her collections.  I now look for transfer ware when I am looking at dishes and happen to love it in a brown colour.   The colour pallet that I gravitate to is in earthy colours.   A few years ago while shopping in Williams and Sonoma I latched on to a box of their transfer ware that had a thanksgiving pattern on it.   I could only afford the box of 6 desert plates.   Every Thanksgiving I get them out just to put on the hutch because I do not have enough for everyone to have their pumpkin pie served on them.   This morning I thought I would just photograph my mother-in-law’s pretty blue and cream set of teapot, sugar container and creamer for Mosaic Monday.

Is it cold your way?  It was minus 15C here this morning.   Not a day to go out and do any photographing outside.  I am off to a cooking class this afternoon.  We will be learning to make artisanal bread.  I will try out the new camera feature on my new iPhone.   Have a great day.   Valerie

Made with Love by Mother Nature

 

We haven’t had a lot of sun this week.   When I was doing my groceries I picked up a bouquet of Chrysanthemums to add some colour now that all the Christmas decorations were put away.   I then ended up playing with them in various ways using my nifty fifty or 50mm lens on a white board.  

I have decided to join Darcy on Fridays for Project 52.  This week’s theme was made with love.     Valerie

Pinecones in Abstract

 

I have been playing around with a little homemade lightbox that I made.   The instructions came from Rosie at Leavesnblooms Studio.  I just went around the house grabbing items to photograph.   The little pinecones were part of a Christmas display.   I added the texture called Abstract from Kim Klassen.

I am joining Kim Klassen at Texture Tuesday and also Lisa Gordon at The Creative Exchange.    Have a great day.   Valerie

Looking for Eagles

 

This weekend Hubby and I went along with a fellow who knew where to find the Bald Eagles on Lake Simcoe.  I had heard last year that there were some that had been seen up that way.  I really wanted to see one.   It was an off and on day weather wise with a little sun and then a little sleet and then sun again but was very windy by the lake.   We did see many ducks out in the open water such as Mallards, Common Merganser, and Bufflehead.  We did see the Eagles flying overhead and we got one shot.

Today we went back on our own to see if we could get a better look at the Eagles.  There were hundreds of ducks out in the open water.  At one point I was standing looking over the water and my husband went back to the car to get the camera and just then this large bird rose from somewhere below me and came flying up and all I could do was quietly call for Paul and watch with my mouth agape as he flew past me.   Missed the shot again.   All I can say was that it was magnificent with a huge wingspan and a large yellow beak.   So I am told they birds will stay as long as the water stays open and the ducks are available for their food source.   If the weather stays as mild as it has been we will go looking again. 

I will be joining Mary for Mosaic Monday.   Have a great week.   Valerie

Favourite Photo of the Year

 

I was so impressed with myself for this photo and as I look at it now I can see a large boo boo.  It is a bulls eye shot and it does not hit any of the intersections of  the rule of thirds.  I just loved the colours in it and with the texture from French Kiss called purple prose I made me happy.   

I am joining Lisa for the first 2012 edition of The Creative Exchange.   Valerie

Gardening in the Sandbox Year End

 

Life in the Sandbox had some highs and lows this year.   We were excited last Christmas when our youngest became engaged to a lovely young lady and then tied the knot in a blissfully happy marriage in October of this year. She is easy to love and we do.

The Sandbox was asked to be on a garden tour in the early summer and so there was a flurry of activity to get the gardens just ship shape for our visitors.  We started a garden in a place that was just a catch-all and it turned out just spectacular.  We planted some red zinnias from Renee Seeds in California and they grew so well and performed so well in the garden that I will try more of her seeds this year.  The summer was just perfect this year for the garden with not too hot and dry temperatures.

I took an online Photography class with Bryan Peterson on Exposure and really learned quite a lot.  We had assignments each week that were critiqued by Brian and fellow teacher Chris so I really had to put the work into a decent photo.  The other classmates could also give us feedback.  It helped so much.   I stood beside a busy highway one Sunday panning cars for some great shots.   It was fun.  We did painting with our camera when we zoomed out and in while holding down the shutter button.   You get some colourful and wild shots.   I took my first HDR pictures too.  

This fall I received my ten year pin as a member of my Master Gardener group.

At the moment my husband is awaiting a test to see why he is unable to swallow. This has been getting progressively worse over the last few months.  His diet mainly consists of Boost or Ensure and sometimes some soup.  He has his test on Friday.  I am trying to be optimistic rather but he has has been feeling rather low. 

Hopefully 2012 will be good to us all.   Valerie

I am joining Mary for Mosaic Monday