Camera Retirement

I've used a few different point and shoot models (my own and Rysio's) since I stopped using a 35mm in high school. They've almost always treated me well and I'm usually impressed with the results you can achieve on such inexpensive models.

I've been interested in shooting with a DSLR for a long time now and I was lucky enough to receive the Canon Rebel T2I as a graduation present a few weeks ago. So it is with sadness that I retire the sony point and shoot camera. I think we can all look forward to some higher quality photos in the near future. I thought it would be nice to share some of the photos I shot this month with Rysio's camera.

    

     

     

This month we went for a little walk around the Dundurn Castle grounds. The sun was setting and spring was just beginning to rear its lovely head. I also got to spend some time watching the Around the Bay road race, as it passed right by my house. It was a great afternoon, quite warm and there were many spectators along the route because I live near the finish line. It was fun to eavesdrop on what racers were talking about. My favourite was when a woman said to her running partner "I don't need to finish first." It's true, it's about getting out there, finishing the race and having fun. 

This month has been all about green. Rysio and I made a visit to Harper's garden centre to pick up seeds and seed starting soil. We ended up buying more than we usually do but it was well worth it, considering we'll have fresh veggies and colourful flowers all summer long. Standing in the nursery always makes me feel cheerful, seeing all of the potential lined up and organized like that. I wish my little growing table was so neat and tidy!

The colourful photos above are a mural on the side of a church in my neighbourhood. I have dubbed the alley on the left "The Alice in Wonderland alley" because you feel like you've eaten some strange potion as you walk towards the end until it becomes so narrow that you can't exit to the street. The photo on the right is a funny sign between our house and the Asian market that we sometimes shop at. I always want to take a picture of it, I guess I think it is a bit strange. Are people playing billiards so much that they're going back day after day? It would seem so. 

That's the last of the Sony photos for now. On to bigger and better things, I have a lot of learning and experimenting to do!

Life According to my Blackberry

I've been so busy planning, working, planting and spring cleaning that I've neglected to share my life around these parts. This spring has been really exciting for me, full of lots of firsts. I spend a lot of my free time reading, doing yoga, tending to my sprouting garden and learning Polish for my upcoming trip. I refuse to look like a flippant tourist with no interest in local culture or language but that takes a lot of time and dedication. I do stop to take photos now and again, mostly at work and at home. Here's a little update of things that peaked my interest.

    

    

I took these photos from the MacNab St. S. underpass mural, painted by Laura Zajacz and Becky Katz along with 30 volunteers. During winter and early spring I often think of Hamilton as a grey and dingy city (albeit with a great spirit) but it just takes some walking around to find bursts of colour throughout the year. That feisty chipmunk is currently my phone's wallpaper. 

This cheerful message is on the side of a church in our neighbourhood. I always smile when I walk by.  

    

    

Have a nice day is something I say pretty frequently at work. I decided to take my day job to another level and teach myself some latte art skills. It is a lot harder than it looks. Hopefully one day I can present you with some nicer designs. The fern leaf and the heart have been hard to master, usually I just try my best with abstract designs. 

Here are some of the fancy tip questions I came up with at work. My answers: 1) Yes, aliens probably exist. 2) I was born to be wild. 3) Dr. Frankenstein's monster, while mostly misunderstood, is made of dead people stitched together. I can't think of anything scarier than that!

My roommate Jesse and I saw this in a shop one day, we thought it was pretty funny looking... or avant garde. We couldn't decide.

I got some colourful new shoes.

    

On the left is a photo of my "old garden" of potted plants. I've been holding on to some of these plants for 3 or 4 years. My "new garden" or grow-op as I more affectionately call it, is on the right. On Monday, Jesse, Rysio and I spent a couple of hours filling containers with seed starting mix and planting all sorts of flowers and vegetables. I'll keep you updated as things begin to sprout. I've already spotted a few marigolds and radishes rearing their delicate heads. It is so exciting to see the fruits of your labour begin to develop!

Finally, the above cookies are eight of the giant batch of sugar cookies I baked today. It was my first time testing out royal icing, it was fun but challenging. It's hard to get those super fine lines! I had a fleeting moment where I thought I could do this as a career but I'd prefer to keep on enjoying baking instead of seeing it as a tedious chore (the way work can sometimes seem). 

I'm off to wander around the city and take pictures in the glorious springtime light! 

Where the Sawgrass Meets the Sky

Florida's state anthem begins "Where the sawgrass meets the sky." Sand, seashells, sawgrass and tourists were all things we found in abundance last month in the sunshine state. Things we didn't find: decent coffee, people our age or giant conch shells you could mime telephone calls on. 

Our hotel was in Orlando but we spent a lot of time on the coast. We went to Cocoa Beach on the Atlantic Ocean and Clearwater Beach on the Gulf of Mexico. Our favourite was easily Clearwater, at one point we were on a busy beach and a bunch of people started pointing and walking towards the water, when we looked out we saw several dolphins swimming 100 metres from shore. It was beautiful, I thought that sort of thing only happened in commercials and movies. 

We were also surprised by the forests in Colt Creek State Park. We walked through a forest of palm tress, which I didn't even think was possible. The state has an obvious overabundance of shells that are used for filler almost everywhere you go. Forest path, parking lots and garden beds were common places to feel the crunch of small white shells beneath your feet. To think I was trawling the beach and coveting them like treasure! Obvious tourist right here!

   

    

We didn't just sit on the beach the whole time we were there. We also went to a Winnipeg Jets game (against the Tampa Bay Lightning). We spent a day at Seaworld and I went on my first rollercoaster ride. We ate delicious Mexican food and strolled around the city of Tampa. We mini golfed twice and I scored 3 hole-in-ones, no word of a lie! We took a ride on an airboat through swamps and sawgrass to see alligators and tons of fish and fowl. It was an exciting vacation full of firsts for me. Being in Florida was the furthest south I've ever been, earlier this year I also went the furthest west and the furthest north I've ever been, I am feeling like a pretty lucky lady right now! I'm really expanding my travel horizons. 

I didn't really know what to expect in Florida. Of course, if you stay in one spot and spend all of your time in the land of theme parks you're going to get a certain type of vacation. I'm glad we branched out and tried a bunch of things. We didn't make any plans before we left, we just arrived with open minds, this is a pretty good travel plan (or lack thereof) for Rysio and I but it probably doesn't work for everyone. My recommendation is to get out of your comfort zone, try new things and definitely go on an airboat! If you have an extremely healthy lifestyle you'll probably have a hard time finding things to eat, so it's probably best to hit up a grocery store at the beginning of your stay. 

  

Here's to hoping for a sunny spring. 

Vacation research: Wycinanki

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I'm very excited to share that I will be travelling to Poland this spring. I am beyond blessed to be vacationing there and I can't wait to explore the streets, food, art and fashion. I have been slowly learning Polish with the help of Rysio, his family and two sweet street style blogs (Cajmel and MAFFASHION). While I don't yet know how to order lunch, I could easily waltz into a shop and buy a sveter and a pair of buty. Clearly you can see where my priorities lie.

Over the next few months I plan to do some extensive research to make sure I make the most of my time overseas. I would like to share some of the interesting things I find along the way. Recently, I have been captivated by wycinanki, the Polish papercutting art. I first became interested in papercutting when Kris Atomic blogged about it ages ago and I've seen it popping up all over the place ever since. Wycinanki is intricate, beautiful and often mesmerizing. I hope to have the opportunity to see some pieces in person during my travels.

Here are some medallions (gwiazdy) that had my fingers itching for scissors:

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Here are a few papercutting extras I came along in my internet meanderings:
Lisa Hannigan music video
All About Papercutting: A visual blog
Nikki McClure's Portfolio