Week 30~Catch the Sun

It's been quite a lovely week, weatherwise, here this last...we've had a little break from the oppressive heat and humidity of the last several weeks and have actually had a chance to ENJOY the sun instead of wilting under it. 

That made Sally's prompt for this week especially enjoyable! Here it is:

"Catch the beauty of the sun as it glistens off of the skin, sparkles and dances over the water, or shines on the beauty of the day! This week, focus on catching the sun!"

....and I did! Thoroughly enjoyed a walk on the edge of the water....and caught these folks enjoying it as well...well, OK, they're enjoying the SHADE LOL....but they're definitely enjoying the day! 

.....and then, of course, I have to add one of my sunset pictures....the other end of the "sun"day...can you see the little guy on the fence, at the right? He was just singing his little heart out to that sunset!

Hope you all had a wonderful week as well...and one to come! See more sun fun HERE on Sally's blog! 

Week 29~Routine

Another busy week!! 

I knew right away what I was going to use to satisfy Sally's prompt this week:

"This week focus on the beauty and comfort of your everyday routine"

I know lots of people that don't "do" breakfast...before the advent of old age and medication, I used to be one of them. Now, the necessity of having to have something substantial in my stomach prior to downing the pain meds makes breakfast a priority. However....that's not to say I don't enjoy it!

I have the same thing every day....for several years now, in fact. I'm thinking on it, though...one of these days I may go totally crazy and do English muffins instead of whole grain toast...or waffles!!...hmmm, no, too sweet...

In the meantime, my peaceful hour before I head to work or off on the day....

.....whole grain toast, coffee in one of my many souvenir mugs, a BIG glass of water...and a meeting with my "friends in the box". 

Today I made a coffee toast to YOU all! 

Let's see what everyone else is up to HERE

Week 28~Pretty Patterns!

Once again, our mentor Sally at The Studio Sublime has come up with a thought-provoking prompt for our photo challenge; this week focuses on "pretty patterns", natural or mechanical.

This week, unfortunately, has been an extremely busy one for me, and I'm going to have to post early and link late, as I will be AWOIA (away without internet access!) until Sunday morning....

So, although I am surrounded by pattern daily, nothing really spoke to me; I decided, though, that I would work with what was in front of me at the time...and play with it a bit! 

Here's a little bit of fun with chainmaille and Pixlr Express:

Hope everyone else has had a good week! I'll be back on Sunday to see all your beautiful photos and link up. 

Focus on Life Wk 27~Texture

Here we already are more than halfway through our 52 week challenge! This week, Sally's challenge was:

"This week focus on how things feel...then snap a shot of that texture!"

I love living in Ontario...I'm a major history nerd, and the proximity to opportunities to learn about our earlier days is something I really appreciate. We decided to celebrate Canada Day by going to Sainte Marie among the Hurons: 

Texture! Texture everywhere!

We weren't even in the gates before I noticed this:

It's just a rock...but what a cool rock! It felt reassuringly solid, and as if it had withstood many storms in its home on the shores of Georgian Bay. Chances are it's been there since 1639 when the community was established. Its layers show many years of changing climates and tides. 

Just inside the gates was a display of these.....

Now, you must remember, this is historic fur-trading country; one of the original purposes for the colonization of the area, was because of the fur trade, and the demand for beaver pelts in particular to make the beaver hats which were fashionable at the time. 

This is a fox pelt...it felt soft and warm and at the same time rugged. Quite a contrast to that rock!

When we arrived, we hurried off to a demonstration about to take place in one of the Long Houses. 

Here's the door leading into the Long House....you can see the hand-chiseled planks which make it up, and also the authentic square head nails which hold it together. 

Surprisingly, it felt quite soft and welcoming...not rough at all, not even the nails. 

Outside the Long House was a Tipi set up for lunch, with a campfire and water in birch bark buckets, hand shaped and sewn and decorated with reed lacing:

The birch bark is tough, and much thicker than I imagined...it held water very well!

Hope you enjoyed YOUR texture journey to Sainte-Marie! Let's see the textures the others found HERE.

Worth Looking at....

This duo is one of the honorees at our 2013 Champions of Change Gala in Charlotte, NC.

Their new website will give you an excellent idea of the kind of thing you're going to see!

Team Long Brothers

Regular tickets for the Gala available July 17th, 2013. VIP tickets are available now...we'd love you to join us!