National Sweater Day

Did you know it was today? I didn't either until we got a notice at work saying we were taking part in this initiative organized by Loblaws and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to "take action against climate change" by lowering the office temperature by 3 degrees today and encouraging us all to wear sweaters.  You can read more about it here.

I dug out this curling sweater that my grandmother had knitted for my dad once upon a time, probably a good 40 or 50 years ago.  It used to be bigger, to fit my dad, but I washed it once and it shrunk to the perfect size for me. I've had it stored in a box under my bed, I rarely wear it, probably because it's pretty darned warm.  Even with the heat turned down, I was cooking while wearing it.  But I like knowing that my grandmother knitted it herself, all those years ago. 

It was also the day that my sister Janine brought her Lia Sophia jewellery to my office at lunchtime for a show in the boardroom. 

What fun we had checking out all the pretty, sparkly stuff.  Even one of the guys was brave enough to come in and have a look (smart guy - Valentine's Day is just a week away!)!

Old Bones

I have to admit that I didn't realize the remains of King Richard III had been missing for the past 500 years until I read this story earlier this week advising that they had been found underneath a parking lot in Leicester, England.  I think the news had more prominence in Canadian newspapers this week because the DNA of one of his descendants living here in Ontario was used to identify the body.

Since then, the pundits have been busy, as evidenced by the jokes shared in this story (my favourite is "now is the winter tires of our discontent") and these photos:

Who knew a bunch of old bones could be so amusing?

Yahtzee!

I took this picture the other night when I was playing what turned out to be one of the longest games of my life (somehow it took us 3 hours to finish three rows!?!) with my cousins and my sister.

Pretty cool, eh?

A Nickel For Your Thoughts?

That was the joke going around today, as the Royal Canadian Mint officially retired the familiar copper one cent coin.

Today's Google doodle

As of today, pennies will no longer be distributed.  They are still legal tender (there are apparently still 35 million of them still in circulation!) and can be used for cash payments at the discretion of the recipient but they are no longer available at banks and stores will not be required to make change to the exact cent any more, they can either round up or round down.  Some retailers are advertising that they will only round down, others have signs posted by the cash registers advising that they will round down if your purchase ends with 1, 2, 6 or 7 cents and round up (i.e. to the nearest nickel increment) for all other amounts. 

Ironically, I actually found a penny on the ground today.  "Find a penny, pick it up and all the day, you will have good luck."   Guess we can't say that any more either.  :(

Inside My Beach Weekend Journal

Here are some photos of the pages inside the little journal I blogged about yesterday.  The pages are mostly made out of cardstock of various colours and designs but there are also a few made out of regular paper, a bridge/canasta score sheet, that sort of thing - papers that were on hand at the cottage while we were making our books.  Here's a picture my aunt took as we were making them, which is now in the journal:

I printed out my blog post about the family picnic from last July 31st and put it in the book:

 

as well as the group family photo that my cousin takes every summer picnic and every Xmas party:

The black and white photos on the top page in the photo above are from a real estate brochure I picked up that weekend, which are various shots of the area dating back to 1934 to 1948, which would have been about the time my grandparents first bought the cottage.

Here are some more of the finished pages, filled with photos from the weekend, things picked up on the beach (such as beach glass, seagull feathers and a picture of the Tasmanian Devil that was the wrapper on a used firecracker!), masking tape decorated by my one little cousin and drawings made by the other, tickets won at the arcade where we went for ice cream, etc.:

 

 

All in all, a great memento of a wonderful weekend with my family and memories of past visits.

A Finished Book

Some art projects don't get finished right away.  In some cases, it's due to procrastination and sometimes it's because you just don't have the right materials to finish the job.  Sometimes, it's a combination of both these factors. 

I started this book last summer when I went to my cousins' cottage for our annual family picnic and stayed over a few extra days to enjoy more time at the beach with my cousins.  I took the necessary art supplies with me and one morning, we all made little books.  I had fun teaching them how to make a journal, the kids thought it was a fun project and their mom was amazed that they stayed entertained and didn't get bored or distracted, as young kids often do.

Fast forward to Christmas, when it was time for our annual seasonal gathering with all the cousins. I thought I'd get the book finished for that party and it just didn't happen, although I did finally get around to ordering the photos I wanted to put in the book and getting them printed.

Tonight, my sister and I are having dinner at my cousins' house and I knew I wanted to get the book finished this week.  But it wasn't until just yesterday, when I was shopping at Michaels and found these fabulous packages of ribbon trim, that I knew I had everything I needed to finish this book exactly the way it needed to be done.  Six types of trim, one yard of each for only $3.00.  Wrapped around a cute little cardboard bird cage.  I couldn't resist, I had to get one in every colour (how could I say no to those cute little baby pompoms!).

I woke up this morning realizing that the navy blue and turquoise trims would look really good on my little book. I had glued some decorated vellum paper onto the front and back covers last night, it just needed a little extra something to jazz up the spine.  So I layered on the two colours of pompoms and a bit of lace and voila!

Then I punched a couple of extra holes and added the rope trim as an extra binding, complete with a dangly bit made out of meat ration "coins" that my cousin had given me while we were at the cottage in the summer (there's a whole bunch of them there) and seashells found on the beach.

On the back cover, I cut out a picture of the walkway beside the boathouse to fit into the pattern on the vellum paper, which had been used as an advertisement in a local newspaper months ago (i knew I'd find a use for that paper some day!).

Inside is full of family photos from the weekend this past summer and pictures I have of the interior of the cottage from a few years ago when it was still decorated the way it was when my grandparents were still alive.  I like that the book is a mix of current and older photos and mementos of the family cottage where I have spent so many lovely days over these many years (dating back to my first visit when I was a mere 8 months old!).  Some things change (a year or two ago, my cousins replaced the ancient shag rug with a beautiful berber style carpet, such a treat for the toes!) but a lot of things are still very much the same as they were when I was a child there, and it remains a special place for us to visit. 

I can't wait to show the finished book to my cousins and my sister tonight, I'm sure they'll all get a kick out of seeing it.

Be Photographed!

The wonderful Kyle Cassidy (see link on the right hand side of this blog) posted a link to this special message on Facebook today.  I was blown away by what Teresa wrote.  So many of us can relate to what she is talking about (as evidenced by the many people who have left comments, myself included).

I certainly can, as a person of a larger size although I don't know that I have ever not had my picture taken because of my weight, I just don't always like how I look in the photo. 

But to give another example, I work with a woman who doesn't like her teeth so she rarely smiles when we take group photos. As a result, she always looks rather stern or grumpy in photos and it is so unfortunate, she is such a beautiful woman (I personally don't think there's anything wrong with her teeth or her smile, which I have repeatedly told her).  Plus I'm always having to explain to people when I show the photo, "oh no, she wasn't in a bad mood that day..." 

I have friends who will actually step out of the way when anyone pulls out a camera.  It's sad really, that we just don't see ourselves the way other people do.  The people who love us want us in their photos, regardless of whether we are big or small or have all the hair or teeth we used to have in high school.  The comments people have left about not having any photos taken with their kids or wishing they had taken more pictures of people who are now gone, it's heartbreaking to think of those lost opportunities that you just can't get back.

Sure, some photos are just baaaad photos, it's just the way things turned out when the shutter clicked. You blinked, you looked away, your brother put rabbit ears behind your head.  Of course, that's the beauty of digital photography in this day and age - the really bad photos can be deleted quickly and easily! But the reality is that the more pictures you have taken of you, the more likely you're going to end up with some you actually like.

I would suggest to you that you not be one of those people who avoids the camera.  Be photographed with your family and friends, leave them with visual memories of you.  Step out from behind the camera or the lamp or the table or the tree you've been hiding behind and be seen for who you really are, now, today.  In all your glory.

P.S.  I'm also amused by the reaction to Kyle's sharing of this post.  Kyle has quite the following online. When I read the message and left my comment around 4:20 this afternoon, 102 people had left comments.  It's now two hours later and 40 more people have posted.  Twenty minutes later, there were 20 more comments. That's the power of the Internet.