51:365 It's global warming, I tell you! (sorry, I couldn't resist...)

Anna: Last weekend, we hit temperatures above 20C. Today, we hit a low of -11C with wind chills of -19C. As I write this, we've got -9C with a wind chill of -16C.

Perhaps spring will finally arrive some time next month.

50:365 Lunch and Pink

Anna: Friday is the usual library day for the girls and I. Once done at the library, we like to go someplace at least for drinks. If the budget allows, we'll do lunch. Today, the budget allowed. ;-) We stopped at a place called The Three Bananas Cafe, where we got to sit and look through our library selections while waiting for our food. My younger daughter ordered a 3 cheese pizzette, while my older daughter and I had bowls of Boston Clam Chowder and shared a traditional (mushroom and pepperoni) pizzette. The crusts on the pizzette are a multi-grain flat bread I can't remember the name of, but really like. The grilled flatbread that comes with the soup is really nice, too.




I posted the blue building a couple of times. I posted the gold one. Today, I was after pink. After lunch, we headed for this nearby building, with its distinctively colored windows. I admit to a bit of photo manipulation, here. There are power lines all over the place and, even after cropping, I still had one running across the top left. So I got rid of it. :-D

The inside is also very interesting, and I've been wanting to get pictures. Especially in the food court area, where the pillars have murals of local wildflowers. The one time I did go in with a camera, I had a security guard come up and tell me pictures weren't allowed. I'm guessing because of all the government offices in there. Ah, well.

49:365 - Reflections - updated - Almost Done

Philippe: You know, I think this is my favourite tree in Edmonton. :). Took this shot twice; first at F1.8 (what you see here) and again at F: 8.0. I figured, since this is a scenery shot, it would benefit from a deeper depth of field, but the F8.0 shot slowed the shutter speed down to the point where the sky blew itself out.

Oh.. and in case you were wondering, I'm a morning person. :)














Anna: Our younger daughter does crochet, and she's been working on a scarf for her dad for some months now. None of us can remember if she started before or after Christmas, but it was around then. See that mass of yarn on the side? That's all that's left, and she's finished! The scarf itself is carefully rolled up so it's easier to flip. It's about 4 feet long now. We'll have to measure it when it's done.

Funny thing is, although I'm the one who taught her how to crochet, I can't duplicate her method. She holds her hook differently, which gives an extra twist of yarn. I hadn't actually noticed the difference in how she holds her hook for the longest time, but the result is a very solid fabric, with smaller gaps between the stitches. I rather like it, but it took me a while to figure out why hers looked so different.

When this is done, she plans to make another for her sister, who's already chosen purple and green colours for it. :-D

47 - 48:365 Yesterday and today - Updated

Anna: I did take pictures yesterday, but never even uploaded them off the camera before I had to leave for my first shift at the new job (which went well, by the way). I didn't even see them until today. *L*


Yesterday: Our elder daughter was on the hunt for sidewalk chalk. While chalk like what these folks use is more what she'd like, anything with a variety of colours was welcome. She found some, but it turned cold again. Yesterday, she and her sister decided, cold or no cold, they were going to use the new chalk on the balcony! *L* They both went on an eye theme. Our elder daughter drew this one, while our younger daughter drew 3 in another corner.

This concrete, though, is really rough. The walls work much better. :-D







Today: We have a weird cat. That's all there is to it! Mind you, I think all cats are weird. *L*

This can't be comfortable. :-D

(All shots below are Philippe; but he gets tired of typing his name.. )

You know, Blogger is just sucking right now, so you get top comments :P.. This one is a fuzzy on a tree, taken with my 18-55 (at 55) but in good light so it turned out nice.

There are a number of nice houses overlooking the river valley, and this one happens to have a neat fence.

This was what appears to be frost-damaged bark on one of the trees at the end of our walk. The light was a little wonky, so I've got my 50mm at F1.8 to get a hand-held shot.

K.. I'm forcing myself to stop here. I liked the fact that I could actually take this shot (it was getting a little dark) with my 50mm.. I *LOVE* my 50mm.. I can't afford the good version, but this one will do for now :D.

46:365 - Morning - updated - Afternoon

Philippe: This is one of the paths we trod down :)... Though frankly, at this stage of the game, by the time we hit this path we're mostly walking; getting back into running might take a while before it's smooth ;)
















Anna: The girls and I left early for our weekly get together at the park so I could see what photos I could get before things got busy. It turned out to be one of those great days where photos I wasn't sure of, turned out to be fantastic once loaded on the computer. I managed to reduce my favorites to only 4 photos. *L*



This time of year, the geese have chosen their nesting spots, mostly on one of two islands on the lake. Some, however, choose busier locations. Like this planter next to the parking lot.

This is one of those situations that remind me why I love digital photography so much. Although the goose let me come quite close, I didn't want to disturb her, so I stayed back and used maximum zoom. Once uploaded, I found details I simply couldn't see otherwise, like the droplets of water on her back.





Normally, I don't really try for seagulls. Not my favorite bird. When this one obligingly posed for me on one of the rails, I gave it a go, and was really surprised by how well it turned out. Again, I found details I couldn't see as I took the picture, like the bright red around the eye.










As I was getting pictures of the gull, a pair of mallards swam by. Right now, the only open water is all along the edge of the lake, so they didn't have too much choice but to come close to me. I love how the colours in the feathers showed up, and being able to see her legs in the water.









As we were leaving, we found another pair of birds. I'm told they're called Common Goldeneyes by my kids. They know these things better than I do. *L* I was really tempted to post a picture of the female glaring at me, but in the end, it was the male's "expression" in this photo that won me over. The head isn't as clear as it could be because of the movement, but gosh he looks funny!

45:365 The eyes have it...

Anna: Today was a very productive photo day.

Since moving to our current city, one of the things I quickly discovered is that there's a *lot* of public art. I've been slowly working on what I've creatively dubbed "The Art Project," getting pictures of as much of the public art that I can find. This afternoon I went for a walk towards the downtown area and finally got photos of a bunch of murals I've been meaning to get for almost 2 years now. This is one of them. It's called the Moseyeic Mural, put together by a team of youth street artists (I'm not sure what that means) for a 2002 art festival.

Sadly, it's not on the best of areas. This wall is the side of an empty pawn shop, one of many in the area (though most of the others are still running). It's an area of contradictions, actually. It includes Chinatown, some beautifully well maintained homes, modern office buildings, the local police station, 24 hour XXX peep shows, run down buildings, both private and commercial, a great many boarded up businesses, some wonderful murals, and a couple of blocks so questionable, even the two tattoo parlors left, though the murals where they used to be still remain. There's also a mission, a Chinese Christian church, and The Church of Scientology, with its windows filled with giant posters advertising how Scientology will answer every problem a person might have.

A truly colourful area.

44:365 - Morning run - updated: Reflections

Philippe: I think this is my favourite shot, then again, I've got a thing for sunlight and water. This one is simply a closeup of the sun shot below.

Philippe: This is by far, one of my favourite benefits of morning jaunts (in this case, a run). I've lucked out in that the sling bag I've got for the camera has a waist strap as well and, when tightened properly, doesn't hinder the run at all. :)

The 'saucer' effect is a known issue with the D70 and direct sun shots.. I don't mind it too much as it adds to the mood :P.

Philippe: This one would need trimming to make it pretty, but I like the wide feel of the shot.

Anna: One of the interesting things about our city is the pedway system in the downtown core. Pedestrian walkways run through buildings, below street level and, as in this picture, above street level. This picture was taken from a 4th level pedway, which is actually 3 floors above street level. There's another pedway directly below us, similar to the one visible in here, running from a parkade to a shopping mall. The mall is actually in two buildings, joined by above and below ground pedways. With the exception of 1 or 2 blocks, a person can travel through the major downtown complexes and LRT stations without ever stepping foot outside. A handy thing in inclement weather!

Aside from it being really neat to watch traffic pass below us, I like the reflections in the blue glassed building.