Week 52: Something Abandoned

Kind of a fitting topic for this week, because we’ve come to the end of our year-long challenge. After today there will be no new posts – this blog will be more or less abandoned.

This challenge has been both frustrating and fun. It could be frustrating to come up with a topic for our picture taking, and also to find the right photo opportunity for the week’s topic. But it was also fun trying to come up with something different or surprising.

All in all I think we did pretty good with this challenge. Now it’s time to pass the baton. Why don’t you give it a try?

Debby

I have a tendency to get bored with a project and set it aside as my interest moves on to something new.

I’ve tried to go back and get those abandoned jobs finished as they take up room and are a depressing reminder that I leave things unfinished

These granny squares have taken up space in this drawer for more than five years. All I need to do is figure out the colour layout and sew them together.

One day, one day...lol...when I’m bored and have nothing else to do.

Carol

This is a picture of the “Shame of Cobourg.” This abandoned building was once a majestic home with acreage that went from King Street all the way to the shore of Lake Ontario. Designed by the same architect that designed our iconic town hall, it went from being a family home to a private hospital and finally it was abandoned by everyone.

It changed hands several times and there is some question of who actually owns it at this point. But that hasn’t stopped the town from turning a blind eye to what’s happening to it now – demolition by neglect. Because it’s designated a heritage building it can’t just be torn down, but once it falls in on itself . . .

I hope before that happens I win the lottery.

Week 51: Signs of Spring

Debby

A sure sign of spring...the end of the hockey season. I took this photo of the arena after my grandson’s game.

It was do or die. Last game of the playoffs unless they pulled off a win. End of regular play and a 6-6 tie. Ten minutes of overtime. A very tense ten minutes for sure. Thirty seconds to go, coach pulled the goalie and with 19 seconds left to play the opposing team scored the winner on an empty net. Those little guys played their hearts out and should be proud of their effort.

Carol

To me spring is represented by buds on the trees or flowers poking up through the snow in the gardens. Unfortunately, there was no sign of any of this when I went looking.

However, I lucked out because it’s March Break, and one of the activities the granddaughter and I participated in this week was a trip to the sugar bush with friends of hers. If the sap is running it must be spring!

This is a big pot of sap being rendered into syrup. Mmm, mmm, good!

Week 50: Something Snow Related (and then we’re done with winter!)

Debby

Snow and more snow. Two to four centimetres my ass.

Enough is enough. Mild and rainy on Sunday. Unbelievable.

Carol

I’ve been wanting to get a picture of the ice on the lake all winter. It was sunny when I finally braved the cold to go down there, but wouldn’t you know the second I got out of the car the clouds rolled in and it started to snow!

I think the ducks and geese are as sick of the winter as I am.

Week 49: Let’s See Some Colour!

Debby

Adult colouring books are very popular. They are said to be calming and I have quite a few. As they were gifts I wonder that friends and family think I’m stressed. They most likely believe I would enjoy the designs and colour.

I am not stressed people (lol). I have medication for that.

Carol

This winter has dragged on for so long, and most of it has been grey. I was hoping for some colour to the landscape, like bright yellow daffodils against a backdrop of white snow, but apparently the daffodils aren’t crazy. They’re staying put under ground until the snow is gone.

So instead I give you the bouquet of flowers my hubby gave me for Valentine’s Day. It may be looking a little ragged around the edges, but they’re still colourful enough to brighten up the gloomiest of days.

Week 48: “Rain, no snow, no rain. Mother Nature make up your mind.”

Debby

Weather warning. Snow followed by freezing rain followed by rain when temperatures rise above freezing. I think Mother Nature needs a holiday. How is one to adjust to all these extremes. My photo is from out back of my place. It’s snowing though it’s not real apparent except for the heavy looking white sky.

Carol

I swear, I can’t remember ever having such an up and down winter. In the space of five days we went from a wind chill warning, to a freezing rain warning, to an extreme wind warning. It seems like every time I go to the weather network site there’s a new red banner warning of extreme weather. Enough is enough!

Yes, I did take a picture of the weather network website. And yes, there was a banner at the top of the page, warning about freezing rain on the way.

Week 47: Inside Out

Debby

Inside out...my first thought was laundry and how I curse myself when I let clothes go in the wash inside out. Makes the folding more difficult.

So then I thought of book covers. How much fun to reverse all my book covers and start a reread with no idea what that book might be. Takes away all that reading according to mood.

And yes, Carol, these are my books from my bookshelf. Not one in a brown wrapper to hide the ‘forbidden’ content. LOL

Carol

I don’t know what I was thinking when I picked this week’s topic, I really don’t. I must have been wearing my hoodie that has seams and raw edges on the right side so it looks like you’re wearing it inside out. *shrugs*

In any case, here’s a picture of one of my potted plants that got left behind when I was moving plants back into the house in the fall. It grew so much there just wasn’t any room for it. I guess that makes it a case of a little bit of the inside being left out.

Week 46: Do You Know What This Is?

Debby

I was finishing a crocheted hat for my granddaughter, just needed to weave the ends of yarn in. I asked her to hand me the darning needle. She was surprised at how big the needle was and I explained it was used for darning. Of course the next question was “What is darning?”

I may be old, but I know what darning is, and will admit it’s not something I ever learned to do.

How times change. I too toss out socks when they have a hole. Another sign of the times. I match up the remaining sock with the one left over after the dryer ate its mate. There’s a reason I buy them in multi packs of the same colour.

Carol

Throughout the week I keep my eye peeled for something that might be hard to identify, but given the weather was either super cold, or super wet, I really didn’t get out much. Nor could I really find something around the house, other than an old rotary phone.

Of course after Debby showed me her picture I realized I had a couple of things that might not be easily recognized, like a tatting shuttle or a button hook. And for the record, I do know how to darn, but it’s really only worth the trouble on wool socks.

At any rate, I’d already chosen a picture of my granddaughter’s latest gift to me and saw no point in changing. I feel sorry for the people who have never had kids, or grandkids, because they’ve never known the joy of trying to figure out “what is it” when it comes to home made gifts. For the record, this was a dragon she made me in preschool, because she knows I love dragons and they were celebrating the Chinese New Year.

Week 45: Winter Wonderland

Debby

Freezing cold, blustery winds and piles of fresh white snow. My neighbour has bright yellow flowers on her door, optimistically looking for spring. Alas, our winter wonderland is far from over.

Carol

It’s cold outside. I mean really cold. It is so cold that it’s sucked all the wonder out of winter for me. The granddaughter, however, doesn’t care a bit how cold it is. As long as there’s snow, winter is definitely a wonderland for her.

Week 44: Something Blue . . .

Debby

I miss making stuff for babies and toddlers. It’s so much fun to use colour and cute animals. I made a series of “bear” hats and had one white, one brown and three in shades of blue...one of my favourite colours. My something blue.

Carol

Like the letter “D”, there are a lot of blue things to choose from. Blue happens to be the grandbaby’s favourite colour, so in a way it’s only fitting that she should be featured in my picture. I have yet to master putting my hair up with one of those donuts, but obviously one of her parents have mastered the art. The blue pony-tail holder used to be mine – I think it looks much prettier on her.

Week 43: D is For . . .

Debby

D is for deceptive. The sun is shining, skies are blue but it is freaking cold out there.

Carol

D can be for a lot of things, but for anyone who knows me, D is definitely for dragons. I love dragons and have a pretty large collection of them. This one is the latest one that I got for Christmas.

Week 42: Winter Sun

Debby

My grandson actually took this photo with my phone while I was driving. He knows I love skies. Today it is grey and strange looking. Wild winds blowing through the trees. I think we’re in for some bad weather.

Carol

Sun? It’s been so long since I’ve seen the sun I forget what it looks like. The best I could manage was a hint of sun through the clouds over the stormy lake. Great White North my foot – for the last several weeks this has been the Great Grey North!

Week 41: Out With the Old; In With the New

Debby

Out with all the old containers, all the Becel, sour cream, yogurt and dip containers.

Gone all the mismatched plastic as I got a new set for Christmas with see through bottoms so I can actually see what might be in my fridge.

We’ll see how long this set lasts.

Carol

Call me superstitious, but I believe it’s bad luck to have a calendar showing the wrong month. So the first thing I do in the new year is take down the old calendar and put up the new one.

And I make sure the page is turned each time an old month ends and the new one starts, too. :-)

Week 40: The Joy of Christmas

Debby

Family is the joy of Christmas as is giving and sharing. Crocheted gifts for charity, food items for the food bank and letters to soldiers overseas. Time spent with old friends. All of that is my joy.

Carol

The grandbaby asked for three things from Santa: an Elsa doll, cookies, and books. Needless to say, her wishes came true. There was a lot of joy to be had on Christmas morning but I think this smile says it all.

Week 39: Merry and Bright

Debby

Out for lunch with “My Girls”. Makes me think of the movie White Christmas. Remember that song and dance routine......Sisters, sisters?

This is what is merry and bright for me this week and always.

Carol

Between family feuds and a very sick senior cat, the “Merry” has been sucked right out of the holiday for me, but at least I can show you my Christmas tree to make things a little brighter.

Yes, that is a hat on the top of it. The granddaughter insisted. And one should never argue with a three-year-old (almost four!) at Christmas!

Week 38: Comfy Clothes

Debby

I absolutely love my old denim jacket. I always thought of it as a “dressier” style of denim because of the styling. It has zipper accents at the wrist and zipper pockets on the front.

I have worn this jacket for years, even in winter in lieu of a winter coat.

I knew it was getting frayed at the cuffs and the denim was faded but I had not realized exactly how worn it was until the other day.

The one shoulder is worn almost white from the ongoing friction of carrying a purse with a shoulder strap. Not something that is noticeable when hanging on a hook at the door. Maybe if I ever hung it on a hanger I might have seen it sooner.

I think the time has come for me to buy a proper winter coat. And I might just look at the denim while I’m at it.

Carol

Comfy is an oversized shirt and leggings. And as you can see, I really like being comfy. LOL

Yes, there are a lot of plaid shirts in that closet, although not all of them are oversized. A lot of them are flannel though, which is the ultimate in comfy-ness.

Week 37: Deck the Halls…

Debby

I don’t do any decorating for the holidays so I love to see the stores all bright and full of cheer.

Found this little fellow and couldn’t resist. A Canadian moose in his best dressed Christmas finery.

Carol

To be honest, when I came up with the idea for “deck the halls” I had the idea of going to a store and taking a picture of some of their “boughs of holly”. Unfortunately, nobody had any. LOL

So instead here’s a picture of the wreath I got for our front door.

Week 35: Comfort Zone

Debby

Temperatures are dropping and snow is on the forecast. My cupboards are full of groceries so I can play hermit because my place is my comfort zone, full of yarn and paint supplies to keep me occupied.

“Oh the weather outside is frightful but inside is so delightful...”. The words may not be correct but you get my meaning.

Carol

My comfort zone used to be my recliner – I could sit up or recline, watch T.V. or work on a hobby. I recently replaced my recliner with a cuddle chair turning that whole corner of the living room into a comfort zone. It’s every bit as comfortable, but has a lot more space around it.

When the granddaughter comes to visit, she turns it into her comfort zone. But at least she doesn’t have to fight the cats for her corner. LOL

Week 34: Something Used

Debby

Something well used. For sure that would be my paint brushes. There are usually brushes lying beside my sink along with dirty dishes. After all, I firmly believe creativity comes first. There’s even a magnet on my fridge that attests “Creative minds are seldom tidy”.

That’s my excuse and I’m sticking with it.

Carol

We’ve lived in this house for 40 years, and that’s a lot of years to collect well used “stuff.” Recently, the hubby decided to purge the basement of stuff we no longer used/wanted. Some of it went back on the shelves to be re-evaluated at a later date, some of it was donated, a lot of it went right into the trash.

This is the second pile that’s to be taken to the dump – all of it well used, all of it having outlived its usefulness.

Week 32: Signs That Winter’s Coming

Debby

In the spring I had the good timing to be at the Marina as a couple of large sailboats were being put in the water. It was always a sign of summer to see the marina full, with the show of masts.

The reverse is also true I realized as I drove by the marina and saw the stark emptiness, the empty docks leading out into the water, leading to nothing.

Another season is done, as the grey skies, the rain and the cooler temperatures will attest. Winter is not far off. What does it have in store for us this year?

Carol

Normally I love the fall. I love the changing colour of the leaves and the bright sunshine with the cooler temperatures making the air feel crisp and fresh.

Unfortunately, this fall has been cold and windy, dismal and wet – not typical at all. And the trees are telling conflicting stories. The chestnut and walnut trees were virtually empty this year, a sure sign of a mild winter. However, the pine trees are loaded down with cones, a sign of an intense winter.

In the meantime, the pool has been covered and there’s a carpet of leaves on the ground, still to be dealt with. Signs for sure that winter’s coming. Only time will tell which of the trees are correct in their prediction of how bad it’s going to be.

Week 31: C is For . . .

Debby

Nothing like a drive on a sunny day down a country road. This is from a couple of weeks ago, as we’ve not had sunny days, and I’ve been without my car.

I hope to get out again, this time for the colour, before the cold sets in. The weather channel predicted that our days of double digit, and that’s Celsius, temperatures are done. Oh joy. I’m not ready.

Carol

C is for . . . cats!

I can remember only one year in my life, the year I was first married that we lived in an apartment, when I didn’t share space with at least one cat. And even then I could go to my father’s house to visit my cats any time I wished.

I have a friend who has something like eight cats currently – at one time she’s had as many as ten, most of whom were feral cats that she made friends with then adopted. The most I’ve ever managed is six, and that was two adult cats and four kittens (we also had a dog and three rats at that time).

Pictured here are two of my three remaining furry overlords, waiting for their supper. I think it would be in my best interest to feed them, don’t you think? LOL