And so another year ends

I received this email this morning from a total stranger, but they couldn’t have hit the nail on the head any more accurate than what they did!

What a year 2013 has been and I can’t say I’m happy to see it over with and a new year starting. For a year that started in heartache with the laying to rest my former mother in law and the loss of very special aunts, uncles, cousins, friends and acquaintances it has been tough but all in all there were many lessons learned and more new friends and family found for which I am forever grateful! 🙂

2013 opened up a whole new world for me, a world I knew was there all a long and had skirted the outskirts of it but in 2013 I jumped in with both feet. (and fell back out shortly afterward). But it showed me that I can do it, that I can make a difference and I am making a difference in life. I’m worthwhile, and the causes I believe in are worthwhile. For those of you that don’t know me I participated in an event this year, not just any event but one that actually makes a difference in the lives of children living with cancer. I was to travel coast to coast with the Sears National Kids Cancer Ride, but after a slight mishap I couldn’t make the whole trip. However with the support of family and friends I was able to come home rest for a week and head back out again. I can’t explain to you how the support of a family like this can help to heal, can pull you out of rut and make you believe again, that is something you really have to experience for yourself! And I encourage you to do so! (I suggest you leave the mishap out of it though LOL).

I’m not going to share any pictures today, just the note I received to from  the Brave Girls Club. A very special follower introduced me to this club although she doesn’t know it yet I’m sure she’ll figure it out if she reads this! (It’s amazing how social media can connect people.) She too has shown me to continue on when things aren’t they way you want them to be and for that I thank her! I have a whole new family of friends or community and I wear pink, blue, orange and most importantly gold on my wrist to remind me that there are champions that are angels that want me to continue making a difference and there are champions among us that are fighting battles they may not win but never the less they are fighting them. Stayed tuned and I will share my story of 2013 with you and all the new ones beginning in 2014. I have a new camera so the pictures will once again flow! It’s going to be a great year!

Happy New Year Everyone!

(And happy birthday to my wonderful son Nicholas! To Lyndsey, Monica & Natalie and to all my family I love you a bushel and a peck and a squeeze around the neck. To the moon and back again I will love you forever and always and forever hold you in my heart ❤ 🙂 )

Your daily truth from the Brave Girls Club Dear Phenomenal Girl, This was a year that you made huge strides that you won’t even recognize for a while. You touched people’s lives that you don’t even know about. You were protected from situations that you never saw coming, and so you don’t even know how big that protection was. You overcame things that you weren’t expecting and you made it through days that sometimes you weren’t sure you could make it through. You woke up almost every day and decided to make the most of that day….and you did. You saw beautiful things, met beautiful people, and shared your beauty too.This might be a chapter that you are thankful is over, and it might be one that made you laugh and that you will fondly remember. This year might be right in the middle of a chapter and the story of it has not played out yet…..your story goes on from here!This year you grew. This year you learned. This year you had 12 whole months of brand new experiences that are a part of YOUR story. This year your story was rich with ups and downs and tragedy and triumph. This year you made it through. Sounds like a pretty fantastic year to me. You are so loved…now and forever. xoxo

The results are in!!!!!

I’m a little late in posting this, as by now most of  you know the results but anyway…..

In my previous blog I showed you the pictures I took during the Downtown PhotoWalk. Each of us were to submitted 3 photos of the walk to a contest. 1st place would be chosen by the judges, 2nd and 3rd would be determined by votes on Facebook. With some pretty awesome photographers like Amanda Bobbitt, Danny Sheppard and Phil Norton and the County Photographers on the walk competition was bound to be good. Not to mention the  A total of 15 photos were posted on the Discover Downtown Belleville Fan page and the voting began! I have to say thanks to my friends and family that took the time to vote, without you I wouldn’t have accomplished that many likes!

First place went to Danny Sheppard with an amazing photo of an alley. Congrats Danny!

Here are my photos that I entered.

Fan Choice with 62 votes

35 votes

34 votes

The other amazing photos can be seen at https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.553292224708925.1073741829.174843135887171&type=1

I can’t wait for the next photowalk opportunity! Nothing better than spending a Saturday morning with people who love photography, looking for that perfect shot together!

Thanks again to my friends and family for the continued support and encouragement!

Downtown Photo Walk – May 2013

A chilly but glorious early morning to be out walking with friends and taking pictures. Never thought I would be saying “I should have brought my gloves” the end of May but dang wished I had of until about an hour in.

On May 25th a group of us met at Market Square and walked along the Waterfront Trail to the north and back down Front St. In my opinion Front St sometimes gets a bum rap, there are so many beautiful things to see downtown but everyone dwells on the negative!  So today I’ll focus on the positive and share with you some of the beauty we saw that early morning during our walk.

Take a stroll with me and my camera!

It’s not good-bye, it only till we meet again!

On December 29th I received a call informing me my ex mother in law had passed. The word ex in front of her title doesn’t make the hurt any less. She was a very important part of my life for many years and she remained the beloved  grandmother to my children and great-grandmother to my grandchildren.
For the last few years she has been locked in the shell of her body living in a nursing home unable to communicate with the ones she loved. Although I dropped by to see her a couple of times it was very hard to see such a hard-working, boisterous lively woman locked inside the shell that remained. So for those reasons I choose to remember her as she was and perhaps not visit as often as I should have and that decision weighs heavy on my heart.

She was a loving and caring mother that worked hard looking after her family with what resources she had. I choose to remember her with her friends laughing and enjoying their company on a Friday or Saturday night, the way she always welcomed my family into her home and treated them as her family as well. The bountiful meals she cooked for special occasions and how she was always there when we needed her to look after grandchildren. For those memories I’m thankful we had what time we had together. As I sat here last night I wrote these few words ……

A week ago today we got that frightful call, we knew your days were numbered and there was nothing we could do. It broke my heart to see the look of loss in the eyes of your grandchildren. The kind of loss they’ve experienced before but always had you, their Gramma, to fall back on. The feeling of the loss that was impending and a hurt that a Mom can’t kiss and make better.

Although we haven’t always seen eye to eye there was one thing that was always the same and that was the love of  our family, a family we had built together.

It’s clear my children love you with all their hearts and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Their memories of you will be forever cherished in their hearts as well as mine. Together we will ensure your great-grandchildren remember you with the same kind of love.

Forever in my heart you will always be. Mom B

On Friday we didn’t say goodbye we only said until we meet again. We remembered her with laughter as that was the way you would have wanted it. Bill did a wonderful job describing how you lived your life and how everyone felt about you. There was never any doubt what was on your mind or if any one was in trouble you had better get it together or else! That was without a doubt one of the things every one loved about you!  As your family and friends remembered together the special times they had shared with you one thing was clear, that was, each of us will carry our memories of you in our hearts and forever have you with us!

I found this verse tonight and I think it says it all. Until we meet again Doris ………….

I Am Always With You
When I am gone, release me, let me go.
I have so many things to see and do,
You mustn’t tie yourself to me with too many tears,
But be thankful we had so many good years.
I gave you my love, and you can only guess
How much you’ve given me in happiness.
I thank you for the love that you have shown,
But now it is time I travelled on alone.
So grieve for me a while, if grieve you must
Then let your grief be comforted by trust
That it is only for a while that we must part,
So treasure the memories within your heart.
I won’t be far away, for life goes on.
And if you need me, call and I will come.
Though you can’t see or touch me, I will be near
And if you listen with your heart, you’ll hear
All my love around you soft and clear
And then, when you come this way alone,
I’ll greet you with a smile and a “Welcome Home”.
Unknown

2012 Favourites

Wow I can’t believe 2012 has come and essentially gone already! And worse yet is I haven’t posted anything in 6 months!! Of course that doesn’t mean I haven’t been taking pictures I have actually although not so many recently. I did manage to get my hands on an older Canon this year and I have enjoyed taking pictures with my big zoom lens again! Lets see what else has happened this year? It’s been a pretty quiet year actually no major life changing events. I did lose a dear friend at the beginning of the year. She hadn’t been a friend for long (just about 3 years) but she was very dear to me. It broke my heart to lose her even if I know she is in a better place. A quiet soul that never left her home but I looked forward to our weekly visits and sharing my life adventures with her. She always encouraged me to be my best and strive for the best.  I’ve thought a lot about Catherine this Christmas season, I miss her  so! I’m thankful for the her lovely painting that hangs on my wall reminding me daily of the simple beauty in life.

On that note I thought I would make my closing post (or what might be) for 2012  a few of my favourite shots that I captured this year. Given the fact that we are in a winter storm warning today I’m sure there will be some winter shots coming soon in 2013!

I hope you enjoy my choices and if I missed any you think I should have included please let me know and I will add.

Thank you all for your support over the year and I look forward to hearing from you in 2013 and to future posts from my fellow bloggers!

Happy New Year and all the best in 2013! 🙂

 

 

50 Posts, a few followers and huge amounts of gratitude

I’ve hit my 50th post!

Actually this is my 51st blog! What a great feeling to have reached that goal! It seemed so far away and all of a sudden it’s here! Wow! I want to take this time to thank everyone that has joined me along the way. Your support and kind words have inspired me to continue to share.

Special thanks to https://momsideup.wordpress.com/ and http://jamsideup.ca/blog/ without you there would be no blog for it was you guys that first invited me to join your challenge and start a blog! My heartfelt thanks!

 Thanks to my everyday friends and family that follow me via Facebook and Twitter your support and encouragement is appreciated. And thank you to my new followers, I look forward to reading your future posts and your comments on my posts. If you have time you should drop by their sites, I’m sure there are things of interest there for you as well. Here is a list of some of the blogs I follow (and some who follow me) go check them out when you have minute please.

http://70degreeswest-explore.com/

http://allthingsboys.wordpress.com/

http://anaturemom.com/

http://gardeninginthelines.wordpress.com/

http://hikingphoto.wordpress.com/

http://hikingphoto.wordpress.com/

http://photonatureblog.wordpress.com/

http://photosbyshew.wordpress.com/

http://sarahtakesapicture.wordpress.com/

http://seasonsgirl.wordpress.com/

http://themiddleagedwomanwholivedinashoe.blogspot.ca/

http://wordsfromanneli.wordpress.com/

http://badpuppetproductionz.com/

http://cancerkillingrecipe.wordpress.com/

http://smediaworker.wordpress.com/

Sincerely

Shari 

dragonfly diaries

Better Shacks and Sheds II

Another rainy day here in the Quinte area so I decided I would just revisit some old photos and share with you. These were taken along County Rd 28 (?) between the Hamburg Rd and the Bath Rd and along the York Rd in Shannonville. I love to find old long forgotten homes, barns and sheds and preserve their memory in a photograph. I know each of them has many stories to tell, some good ones and probably some bad or sad ones but stories none the less. So let your imagination run wild as you look at these pictures and you decide what the story is that goes with each of these! 

Peonies, cotton candy and rainbows, everything was pink yesterday

I’m more than a little disappointed in the quality of these photos! They certainly aren’t my best work but I so wanted to share with you what the skies here looked like last night.

When I got home from work yesterday I noticed that the peonies had started blooming in the garden behind the building. I love peonies! Nothing reminds me more of home than pink peonies! There were always peonies in Mom’s garden and Gramma’s too. And just before sunset last night my son noticed there was a rainbow and the sky was sooooo pink I thought the clouds looked like cotton candy (another favourite thing from childhood). I rushed to the water tower to get some sunset pictures but it was too late and the camera really didn’t want to focus. I hope you enjoy the pictures even if they aren’t the best quality.
And on another note, I want to wish my beautiful granddaughter Monica a very happy 8th birthday! I hope you are having a great day and all your wishes come true! Love you sweetie! And Natalie Gramma loves you too! 

Another beautiful May weekend

Another beautiful weekend is under way in the Quinte area! I noticed this evening as my son and I returned from supper that there were beautiful red flowers in the neighbour’s yard! Oh boy, I’ve never taken pictures of poppies before! Needless to say I wasn’t long getting the camera. I know most of these look the same but I just couldn’t decide which ones to share so I’m sharing them all! 

Beautiful red poppies, and remembering those that fought for my freedom and right to be able to stop and take pictures of a strangers flowers! Thank a soldier everyday, it doesn’t have to be Remembrance Day!

 

   

Some facts about the poppy from Wikipedia …….

Poppies have long been used as a symbol of sleep, peace, and death: sleep because of the opium extracted from them, and death because of the common blood-red color of the red poppy in particular. In Greek and Roman myths, poppies were used as offerings to the dead. Poppies used as emblems on tombstones symbolize eternal sleep. This symbolism was evoked in the children’s novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, in which a magical poppy field threatened to make the protagonists sleep forever.

The poppy of wartime remembrance is Papaver rhoeas, the red-flowered corn poppy. This poppy is a common weed in Europe and is found in many locations, including Flanders, the setting of the famous poem “In Flanders Fields,” by the Canadian surgeon and soldier John McCrae. In Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, artificial poppies (plastic in Canada, paper in the UK, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand) are worn to commemorate those who died in war. This form of commemoration is associated with Remembrance Day, which falls on November 11. In Canada, Australia and the UK, poppies are often worn from the beginning of November through to the 11th, or Remembrance Sunday if that falls on a later date (November 13 in 2011). Wearing of poppies was once a custom in the United States as well, and attempts have been made to revive the tradition in the US in connection with Memorial Day. 

Happy Memorial Day!

Project 52 – A Photography Project – 21/52 – Starts with an “S”

Well the first thing I thought of was to take a self-portrait (self or Shari) but then my niece reminded me of a project we had spoken about previously. The project consists of taking pictures that resemble letters and using them to build words (like your family name etc) so for this project  I’ve combined them into one!

This was the best and most suitable photo that I could think of that starts with an “S” LOL!