Light

Allowing light to pour into me and through me to that which is around me is what I want. Without the source of the powerful sunlight filling and shining through the glass, this bulb would not be near so beautiful. The light, it is beautiful.

Winter's Covering

The thick winter covering is pulled over top after a damp and foggy dawn. Chilled through, this blanket is held tight in place, at least until the sun shares its warmth. Then, the layer will be tossed aside for another day.

I Still Do

Twenty-five years ago today, Rod and I were married. It was a cold November day. There was a whole bunch of snow on the ground as we had recently been through a snow storm that shut down the city a couple of weeks prior. Our wedding was an evening candlelit ceremony. Of course there would be things I'd change about our day now (dresses, shoes, colours, dancing...) but I would not change up the man I married. Not a chance.

I love you Rod.

This is the night we got engaged. We're in the apartment I shared with some great gal pals in Osborne Village.

I had to include this. Next to me, this was Rod's baby. Many a day, while still in my apartment, I could hear him drive up River Avenue to pick me up. We drove around a lot in his Challenger...and parked too.

I still do.

Our wedding party.

One year anniversary.

Still loving each other 25 years later.

Interest and Enjoyment

Here's a little bit of an aside...

This past weekend we celebrated my son's 20th birthday. My daughter has been living out at a camp taking a discipleship program but she found her way home to surprise her brother for his birthday. It is a wonderful thing to watch our kids begin to take a real interest in each other. Their enjoyment becomes ours.

The Element of Surprise

On my walks, I keep my eyes open for all sorts of things that might reveal themselves to me. Sometimes it is the expected, sometimes the ordinary (which is not necessarily the same thing as the expected) and sometimes it is the unusual, the surprise.

Seeing something that wouldn't normally belong can conjure up a lot of different thoughts and responses, depending on who is observing and the mood they are in. Like it or leave it, if you notice it, a response is won.

For today, it is pretty.

As anticipated, the snow has returned. It is a winter wonderland out there this morning. The temperature is still mild with no bite of windchill in the air. For today, the snow is pretty. After shoveling for a couple of months, I may not have the same thoughts about it, but today, it is lovely.

Echo

The echo is always a little lighter, perhaps a little clearer in its simplicity than its source. It says the same thing but without the noise.

On Guard

Like soldiers all in a row, the iron spears stand guard. Regal and strong, they are unified in purpose. Their presence hints at another. I wonder...

Red Scarves and Winter Berries

Today is such a beautiful day - no scarf necessary for my walk this morning. The weather is mild, exceptionally so for this time of year. The snow is all but gone.

We've recently had some pretty chilly days and more are around the corner. When the cold comes I will pull my scarf out of the basket that sits by my door and zip up my parka as high as the zipper will allow before I head out on the trail. Of course, I'll have my camera and I will snap pictures of the winter berries and frosty branches...and anything else that catches my eye.

Laundry Line

The laundry was hung out on the line to dry. Unable to get the wash in before a cold blast of winter came, it froze solid. Maybe when the sun warms up...

The Snowflake

Do you remember making snowflakes with scissors and white paper when you were little? We folded the paper again and again and then cut out little triangles and squares along the edges. When unfolded a beautiful detailed snowflake was revealed that we were sure to tape to our fridge or hang from the ceiling. It was magical!

Those handcrafted snowflakes were not so far off the real thing. Though, I doubt God had to fold and cut to create these delicate beauties!

 

Snowflake Tree

Can they really grow on trees? Can I simply walk outside and see these delicate creations growing in abundance from branches? It hardly seems possible...but maybe it is.

Christmas on Main Street

We drove downtown this evening to get to and from our son's first art show (which was great, by the way!).  Seeing the Christmas lights through the falling snow really added to the festive feel of the day. How does your city "deck the halls" for Christmas?

Oh Christmas Tree

I made it to the store right around opening this morning. I was on the hunt for a tree, a Christmas tree. The one we've had over the past years has been dying a slow death and it was time to replace it.

Spotting a tree about the size we've been looking for in the flyer yesterday, I decided it was time to get serious about replacing the tree. At half price, there was even greater incentive.

There were still a few of the trees I was looking for. They hadn't been snatched up yet. At first I wasn't sure if this was a good thing or not but decided in the end it was very good. I loaded it into the cart and bought it.

The tree remains in the box, unopened. We won't put it up for awhile yet but at least we have it. It makes me think about our Christmas ornaments and decorating the tree together with the family while listening to Christmas tunes and eating some great food. It is a special time together.

Here are some shots of our ornaments taken over the last couple of years.

Golden Sea

Like a golden sea, the fields rolled and swelled. Not static but moving, surely moving...I could see it...I could feel it. The clouds, also moving,  cast their shadows, burnishing the gold as they passed over.

Hope

I took this photo just over two years ago and called it Hope. Our family was going through some rough stuff during that time. When I look back and realize that I did see light and I did have hope during a dark time, it sure encourages me today. What a gift to be able to thumb through my archives and pull out hope!

Learning

There is so much more to this life and living than I know. There are many things I will never understand while I live on this earth but heaven forbid I quit trying, quit learning.

Sometimes something will happen to immediately stretch my thinking. Sometimes it is a conversation with a friend, sometimes a comment on one of my posts, sometimes it is a truth in the Bible that shines light on my life in a way it had not before. Sometimes it is the act of photography.

Taking a photo of the moon this morning reminded me of my smallness and creation's grand scale. It enlarged my capacity, even if only for a short while, to imagine how much more there is to know, to learn, and made me hungry to grow.

Keyed Up

She Waits

The Why of the Shot

Here is why I took this picture:
1. The first obvious reason is the beautiful colours in the sunrise.
2. I like the lines of the wires. I am often drawn to linear compositions.
3. I also like the strong lines of the light standards but what I like more about them is their opposing directions and the fact that one light is on and one is off.
4. The surprising twist of an urban subject in a sunrise is sometimes more engaging than the natural choice of trees.

And the winner is...

...Janis Banman!!! Congratulations to you! Give me a week or so to complete workmanship on the block and then I will get it out to you.

Thank you all for sharing your traditions with me. What a blessing it has been to hear your stories!

Winter Caught in Summer

The snow looks like cotton tufts, caught in between and around the green blades, like winter getting caught in summer.

The mix of two seasons is always so interesting to me. Capturing their intertwining is a great deal of fun.

Caramel Sunrise

I can hardly contain myself when I see sights like this golden sunrise coating the fields with a caramel topping. Each morning, the light seems unique to the day. The morning of this shot was no exception. When I am late to the day, I wonder what I missed.

Attention to Detail

Creation is spectacular. Leaves left to freeze then fall are beautifully coated in icy crystals and remind me of how much attention to detail God gave to his creation. It does me well to take notice of this same detail.

(Don't forget to enter to win a photo block by sharing your Christmas traditions with me on my
Christmas Give-Away post.)

Trading and Settling

As the seasons trade but before they settle, we have winter's snow one day and a spring melt the next.

Here, time stops, as though the seasons are holding their breath, waiting to see what comes next, who will stay and who will go.

The sun catches the frozen drops, echoing their shape and chill across the surface of the leaf.

(Don't forget to enter to win a photo block by sharing your Christmas traditions with me on my

Christmas Give-Away post.)