Ontario Peaches

Tuesday, August 11, 2009 at 12:54 AM | Posted by Unknown

Peach Cobler, Peach Salsa, Peach Preserves, Peach Almond Tart--so many ways to serve them. The best way to enjoy a sweet, juicy Ontario peach is raw, washed clean, peeled if you must. Bite into one to experience fresh incredible taste! They are in season now! Oh so GOOD!

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First Tomato

Wednesday, August 5, 2009 at 8:32 PM | Posted by Unknown

I used to have a big garden, it was impressive--80 thriving tea rose bushes, a large vegetable garden, Big compost bins in the corner ner the cedars, a lovely rock garden across the front of my home, larger perennials along the side and a pretty plum tree right outside my dining room window. I was a stay-at-home mom and spent many happy hours in the garden while my sons played in the back yard and on our quiet street with neighbour children.

Over the years, my garden grew smaller and smaller as my sons grew bigger and my time and needs shrank. I am now reduced to container gardening; all my herbs and vegetables grow in a few pots on the patio. Today I was looking them over, wondering if there might be any sign of a ripe cherry tomato. A quick glance was disappointing but as I bent to look underneath the leaves I found one little bright red ripe tomato at the back. I plucked it, took a few photos (of course) and popped it into my mouth. The tender skin broke easily between my teeth and gave a delicious squirt of sweet tomato juice. I closed my eyes and savoured.

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First Tomato

at 8:29 PM | Posted by Unknown

I used to have a big garden, it was impressive--80 thriving tea rose bushes, a large vegetable garden, Big compost bins in the corner ner the cedars, a lovely rock garden across the front of my home, larger perennials along the side and a pretty plum tree right outside my dining room window. I was a stay-at-home mom and spent many happy hours in the garden while my sons played in the back yard and on our quiet street with neighbour children.

Over the years, my garden grew smaller and smaller as my sons grew bigger and my time and needs shrank. I am now reduced to container gardening; all my herbs and vegetables grow in a few pots on the patio. Today I was looking them over, wondering if there might be any sign of a ripe cherry tomato. A quick glance was disappointing but as I bent to look underneath the leaves I found one little bright red ripe tomato at the back. I plucked it, took a few photos (of course) and popped it into my mouth. The tender skin broke easily between my teeth and gave a delicious squirt of sweet tomato juice. I closed my eyes and savoured.

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Healing with Photoshop

Tuesday, August 4, 2009 at 11:27 PM | Posted by Unknown

Here is a full view of Lucy Maud Montgomery's house from across the street. When I got home and downloaded it to my laptop I saw the wires, a big horizontal hydro wire right in front of the house. I never noticed it when I shot the photo...I was distracted by the traffic and trying not to backup into a ditch, and my son insisting that I hurry up.

After a few tries, trying to find the right spot to use as a source, I "healed" that wire right out of the photo. How cool is that!

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The Home of Lucy Maud Montgomery

at 9:20 PM | Posted by Unknown

Daytripping again yesterday, I set out with no plans but to drive north on the back roads. Just north of Uxbridge Ontario, I discovered the small community of Leaksdale. I stopped to visit the home of Lucy Maud Montgomery where she lived for 15 years after she married and where she wrote 11 of her novels. I had always assumed she wrote them all in Prince Edward Island where she was born and grew up. As you can see, the house is not in very good repair but it is undergoing restoration. Across and down the street a little, is the church her husband pastored. It now hosts occasional weddings--how romantic-- and it has a gift shop.

My grandmother introduced me to Anne of Green Gables when I was a young girl. She brought the first book out one afternoon when I was visiting and told me a little about it--a teaser to whet my appetite. I took it home and loved it, actually, I think I began to read it while I was still at her house. She had the complete series and she shared them with me one at a time. We talked about each book when I returned it and then she gave me the next one.

This fond memory of my grandmother is bringing more of them back to me. Good feelings here!

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More shopping adventures

Sunday, August 2, 2009 at 4:38 PM | Posted by Unknown

This is a ceramic container I picked up at Costco years ago, it was full of candy or cookies--I forget which. I now use it sometimes as a cookie jar but mostly as a soup tureen. Today I am using it as my photoshop subject.

I wanted to blur the background, especially that window to the left but I didn't want the foreground or the jar blurred. I selected the area I wanted to keep sharp then made a new layer by copy. Then I selected the upper part of the background, excluding most of the counter, feathered the selection and added a gaussian blur. Now the problem is that there is some kind of glow behind the jar that makes me want rub my eyes. The upper part of the jar seems blurred but when I checked that layer alone, it was good. I couldn\t figure out how to fix it.

On the positive side, I am pleased that the counter foreground is clear and pleased with how it blends into the blurred part.

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Moon the Balloon

Saturday, August 1, 2009 at 4:31 AM | Posted by Unknown

A powerful surveillance camera-fitted balloon hovers 244 metres in the air near Sarnia, Ontario, a Canadian border city. The camera is powerful enough to read the name on a ship 9 miles away. What is it doing up there over Sarnia? Is it spying on peaceful, hardworking Canadians?

Kiss my...

Outraged residents are planning a cheeky protest against Sierra Nevada Corp., the American electronic firm that's testing its newest technology from across the border in Port Huron, Michigan. "Moon the Balloon" is scheduled for 5 p.m. Aug. 15 at Centennial Park in Sarnia. Any Canadian with two cheeks and a sense of indignation is invited to join in.

I may drive up for the event myself, not to participate mind you, but just to see some good old fashioned Canadian outrage, with a touch of humour!

Gull Shopping

Friday, July 31, 2009 at 4:27 PM | Posted by Unknown

Learning lots about selection in Photoshop these past few days . This gull I 'shopped is a bit rough, well ok...very rough, but I am learning and getting the hang of selecting objects in a photo. I look at this and see where it is rough, where I forgot things, and forgot to smooth things but all in all, I learned a bit and I 'm getting a tiny bit more comfortable.

Here you see the before and after photo. The original had a little boy right behind the gull, I didn't know any of the people in the photo and you could hardly see the gull. It took me about an hour to get the results I show here. I may try this one again and get it right next time.

Two things, I keep forgetting where things are, and I forget how to do something I have done before but the secret is to do less, and do the same thing more often adding new things very slowly. This is the absolute most challenging software I have ever tackled.

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Wedding Party Entrance

at 2:44 PM | Posted by Unknown

Hey Grace and Glenn, too bad you didn't think of doing this at your wedding in May!

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With a knick-knack paddy-whack give a dog a bone...

Wednesday, July 29, 2009 at 11:37 PM | Posted by Unknown

Ben enjoyed a bone last night. I took many shots but could not get even one in focus because he was working on it so diligently. It was just a rawhide bone; he eats them so we took it away from him after he had eaten half of it...too much gives him gas! Too much information, hmm?

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Playing with a doll

at 10:52 PM | Posted by Unknown

I have been playing with this doll in Photoshop all evening. Not really satisfied with the results but at least it is something. My eyes are sore and my neck hurts! It must be time to stop. ;)

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At the florist shop

at 8:15 PM | Posted by Unknown

There has been such a lack of sun in Toronto this summer, my own flower baskets have stopped blooming. Walking out of the office this evening I noticed the flowers there are not blooming very much either, some have stopped completely. The plants are healthy enough, just need sunshine to make flowers. When gardens are not so colourful a walk by the florist shop cheers me.

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Sunflowers on Queen Street

at 8:08 PM | Posted by Unknown

Took this one outside a florist on one of my walks along Queen Street.

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Shiney red shoe in a shop window

at 8:03 PM | Posted by Unknown

via outdoors.webshots.com

This photo is from one of my Webshots albums and I got it here using Posterous bookmarklet. I found the bookmarklet at Posterous FAQ page. Cool huh? We can grab almost anything with this little tool and post it on Posterous.

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Blonde Groundhog

at 5:55 PM | Posted by Unknown

This blonde groundhog lives on the east side of our building at work. Lilliana called me to her office when she appeared the other day. The quality of this video is not so great because of the extreme zoom, dirty windows and rain outside. I have never seen a blonde groundhog, but perhaps she is not really blonde...after all, only her hairdresser knows for sure!

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Blonde Groundhog

Sunday, July 26, 2009 at 5:10 PM | Posted by Unknown

This blonde groundhog lives on the east side of our building at work. Lilliana called me to her office when she appeared the other day. The quality of this video is not so great because of the extreme zoom, dirty windows and rain outside. I have never seen a blonde groundhog, but perhaps she is not really blonde...after all, only her hairdresser knows for sure!

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Trying to Capture Gull in Flight

Saturday, July 25, 2009 at 6:32 PM | Posted by Unknown

Those darn birds just WON'T stay still, they are too fast. Here is today's best shot, I will keep trying until I get it just right.

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Dead Penguins

Monday, July 20, 2009 at 6:15 PM | Posted by Unknown

Here’s something for you to ponder.Did you ever wonder why there are no dead penguins on the ice in Antarctica - where do they go? Well, wonder no more...it is a known fact that the penguin is a very ritualistic bird which lives an extremely ordered and complex life. The penguin is very committed to its family and will mate for life. As well as maintaining a form of compassionate contact with its offspring throughout its life. If a penguin is found dead on the ice surface other members of the family and social circle have been known to dig holes in the ice, using their vestigial wings and beaks, until the hole is deep enough for the dead bird to be rolled into and buried. The male penguins then gather in a circle around the fresh grave and sing "Freeze A Jolly Good Fellow!"

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Spinach, Strawberry & Walnut Salad

Sunday, July 19, 2009 at 6:55 AM | Posted by Unknown

Served with surf n turf last night. This salad was tasty with Rene's Pear and Blue Cheese Vinagrette. Mmmm! Note for next time--the only thing that might have improved this salad would have been crisp homemade salty bacon crumbled on top.

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Groundhog

Friday, July 17, 2009 at 6:11 AM | Posted by Unknown

We see lots of animals outside the office window in the green space between our building and Highway 401. A ravine runs along one side of the property so I am sure this is where they all live. We have sighted deer, rabbits, foxes and even a wolf a few years ago! We also share the parking lot with a new family of geese every spring.

When any animal is seen, people usually announce it and we all quickly run to have a look. This groundhog lives right on the lawn, his hole is under a tree right outside my boss's window. We see him fairly often. I took this shot through the window,

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Indispensable?

Thursday, July 16, 2009 at 6:14 PM | Posted by Unknown

My aunt used to quote this poem to us often. She was a storehouse of this kind of verse and I loved it. She is with the Lord now and I wonder if she ever knew what an impact she had on me.

I came across a blog with a title to the effect that the writer had been gone for a week and no one had noticed. Not to be unkind to this lady, but the statement did bring my aunt's poem to mind instantly and I had forgotten it for many years.

The Indispensible Man
by Saxon White Kessinger

Sometimes when you're feeling important
Sometimes when your ego's in bloom
Sometimes when you think that you are
The best qualified man in the room

Sometimes when you think that your absense
Would leave an unfillable hole
Just follow these simple instructions
And see how they humble your soul

Take a bucket and fill it with water
Put your hand in it up to your wrist
Then take it back out and the hole that remains
Is the measure of how you'll be missed

Now you can splash as much as you want to
You can stir up the water for sure
Then stop and you see in a moment
That the water's the same as before

Now the moral to this is quite simple
You must do the best that you can
But you'll always be wise to remember
There is no indispensible man

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Did you ever purchase something just to get the bag?

at 5:25 PM | Posted by Unknown

I did at lululemons...and now I have a really cool, red, inspirational lunchbag. I had the sales girl stuff a large tshirt into this lunch size bag because I didn't want a bigger bag.

Someone at the office tells me lululemon got into a bit of trouble with their 'sayings' but these seem ok, don't they? My favourite quote is Creativity is maximized when you are living in the moment. Also Dance, Sing, Floss and Travel. And Life is full of setbacks--success is determined by how you handle set-backs. The world is changing at such a rapid rate that waiting to implement changes will leave you 2 steps behind. Do it now, do it now, do it now.

I just love the bag and encourage you to shop at lululemons and get yourself a bag too!

I did the same thing at Jacob, bought a scarf because they have a pretty cool bag too! I saw one at the office, inquired where she got it and went right over to get one. (I like the scarf I bought too) This one is so elegant, isn't it?

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The Indispensable Man

at 1:49 PM | Posted by Unknown

My aunt used to quote this poem to us often. She was a storehouse of this kind of verse and I loved it. She is with the Lord now and I wonder if she ever knew what an impact she had on me.
I came across a blog here with a title to the effect that this personhad been gone for a week and no one had noticed. Not to be unkind to this lady, but the statement did bring my aunt's poem to mind instantly and I had forgotten it for many years.

The Indispensible Man

by Saxon White Kessinger

Sometimes when you're feeling important
Sometimes when your ego's in bloom
Sometimes when you think that you are
The best qualified man in the room

Sometimes when you think that your absence
Would leave an unfillable hole
Just follow these simple instructions
And see how they humble your soul

Take a bucket and fill it with water
Put your hand in it up to your wrist
Then take it back out and the hole that remains
Is the measure of how you'll be missed

Now you can splash as much as you want to
You can stir up the water for sure
Then stop and you see in a moment
That the water's the same as before

Now the moral to this is quite simple
You must do the best that you can
But you'll always be wise to remember
There is no indispensible man

Something stinks!

at 12:08 AM | Posted by Unknown

This was taken last night at Queen and Yonge. We are in day 25 of a garbage strike in Toronto so this pile of garbage will be picked up by private contractors. Citizens are getting fed up and today demonstrated in Nathan Philips Square outside City Hall; they carried signs and taunted city workers who were also picketing there, telling them to get back to work, they should be thankful they have jobs in this economy.

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Ceramic Windbell

Wednesday, July 15, 2009 at 11:40 PM | Posted by Unknown

I used to bring my sons a gift, something unique to the area, when I returned from being away; tonight Craig brought me one. He brought me this ceramic windchime when he was at a conference in Phoenix recently. These bells are designed by Paolo Soleri, embellished by artisans at Arcosanti, which is an experimental town in the desert of Arizona, built to embody Paolo Soleri's concept of arcology - the fusion of architecture with ecology. This is a new concept to me!

The clay is excavated from hills nearby and cast in silt molds (molds of fine riverbed sediment). This method of casting was developed from Soleri's original approach of simply digging holes in the desert and casting the slip. Clay mixed with water (slip) is poured into molds that slowly absorb the water as the bell dries.

Silt cast bells take with them a little of the silt, which adds uique colour and texture. The bells are hand carved with a design while still damp. When completely dry they are fired in a kiln.

Proceeds from the worldwide sales of these bells are a major source of funding for the construction efforts at Arcosanti.

It has a pretty sound when the wind hits the windcatcher. I have to pick up a hook and some additional chain to hang it on my patio tomorrow. I am delighted with it.

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Ant on Meyer Lemon Bloom

Sunday, July 12, 2009 at 11:28 AM | Posted by Unknown

So this is how blooms turn into lemons! The ant is gathering sweet nectar to take back to the nest and in so doing he spreads the pollen grains that fertilize the flower. Just to the left of the ant you can see where a bloom has been fertilized and fallen, the lemon (small green thing hardly swelling yet) is beginning to form at the base of the stamen.

I breathe deeply when I walk by this fragrant little tree. Come on little ants, I want lots of lemons...I have 9 so and many blooms have opened this week.

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Leftovers for lunch today

Saturday, July 11, 2009 at 12:40 PM | Posted by Unknown

Craig and Glenn came for dinner after work last night. Grace was sick and in bed but Glenn came anyway just to eat and then he went right home--at my urging--to take care of her. This is the first time she has been sick since the wedding and he is a germaphobe. His phobia developed slowly over a few years--and it is annoying.

I tried to send this plate home with him but he said she wouldn't be able to eat it. I think he should have let her decide. Anyway, I am eating it for lunch today. I will call this afternoon to see how she is doing.

It has been raining all morning and all my houseplants are outside getting a good shower. I will bring them back in later. The ficus benjamina gets so dusty during the winter--a good rain shower makes the leaves shine again.

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Caught in the act!

Friday, July 10, 2009 at 11:55 PM | Posted by Unknown

The Drudge Report has satirically labeled the picture a “second stimulus package.”

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The Mandelbrot Set. Math like you never imagined!

at 11:05 PM | Posted by Unknown

I showed Craig a mysterious hole in the earth in one of my patio plants, it looked like a small animal had dug it. Actually, there was a little mess around two of my pots this morning. He looked for info on the internet and we decided it must be squirrels and I can spray the pots with apple cider vinegar. I will try this.

While he had my laptop open, Craig showed me this video, and a few others, about the Madelbrot set, (definition here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandelbrot_set ) I can hardly get my head around it but it is nevertheless, visually fascinating...like an endless universe expanding inwards rather than outwards. There are many videos on Mandlebrot set, the following is a pretty good introduction, part 1 of a series of six. As one presenter of this video series said, "Hope this rocks your world like it did mine.
Enjoy the mysteries of defined infinity!"

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BIRD VS SWINE FLU

Wednesday, July 8, 2009 at 9:40 PM | Posted by Unknown

What is the difference between Bird Flu and Swine Flu?

For bird flu you need tweetment and for swine flu you need oinkment.

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Ben Has Come For A Visit

at 5:48 PM | Posted by Unknown

He loves the car--can you see how happy he is to be in the back seat? Craig and Ben arrived a few minutes ago. I am going to find us some dinner, hope there is something quick in the freezer!

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Beautiful Mind, Stephen Wiltshire

Tuesday, July 7, 2009 at 10:48 PM | Posted by Unknown

He is like a human camera; autistic, Stephen Wiltshire never spoke a word until he was five years old. Given one ride in a helicopter over Rome, he then proceeds to sketch the city from memory! Watch and be amazed.

http://video.stumbleupon.com/#p=0k4lsi1dql

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Swans Marina at Sunset

at 9:20 PM | Posted by Unknown

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Swans Marina at Sunset

at 9:00 PM | Posted by Unknown

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Cure for depression and more

at 7:40 PM | Posted by Unknown

Deep brain stimulation therapy, this video is a fascinating look at new directions in brain disorders. Is it good? Really? Can you see any problems with it?

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