76:365 Tea Cupboard

Anna: We have a rather small kitchen, and it doesn't have a lot of cupboard space - a universal problem with kitchens, it seems. ;-) It wasn't much of an issue when we first moved, since I left so much behind, bringing just the essentials. So one cupboard for spices, baking supplies and teas worked out.

Since then, however, the girls and I have been trying out new types of tea. Before long, space became an issue. Every time I tried to find some spice or herb for cooking, I'd have boxes of tea falling all over the place. As our collection grew, I finally gave up. I took the stuff I had in the next cupboard over and moved them to a storage closet. I now have one cupboard completely dedicated to teas and mixes (you can't see them, but there are some cans of Gatorade powder hidden in the back corner), and another just for my baking supplies. If I want to use my blender or food processor, I'll just have to fetch them from the bedroom closet. *L*

Funny thing is, after all the teas were removed, my spice cupboard still looks crowded.

Anyone for a nice cup of tea? I recommend the Tetley Vanilla Rooibos or the Numi Chinese Breakfast. The African Red Black Tea, from Poland, is good, too - though I admit I got it because I found the name really funny.

75:365 Finished

Anna: Here it is! The project I wrote about here is now done. It's a very simple bag, large enough to hold a cell phone or PDA, a few cards and some cash. Not large enough for my set of keys, though, but I don't like to carry those in my purse anyways.

I'd originally intended to have only one button in the flap's centre, but as I worked it, I found the corners curled quite a lot, so I made two button holes in the flap, instead. It still curls a bit, but it's not as much of an issue. The bag itself is all one piece, reduced in width slightly for the flap, then folded and crocheted closed on the sides. The strap is made long enough to be worn across the chest, rather than on one shoulder. I find those are forever slipping off my shoulders.

I think it worked out rather well. :-)

74:365 Birds at the park

Anna: The birds at the park were once again quite co-operative today. :-D

I had been walking past this building, which has a dock in front of it. I went onto the dock to see if I might spot our resident turtle in the water again, when this goose suddenly flew out of the water and went straight for my head! It then swooped up to the roof and, moments later, I saw its head pop over the edge, watching me. This is one of several pictures I got of it as I continued on my way. It kept watching me the whole time.

Maybe it was mad I didn't feed it, like some other people had been. *L* I happened to be walking behind a couple with a bag of bread pieces they were tossing out (and yes, there are signs all over saying not to feed the birds), so when I went my, I had geese coming right up to me, waiting for their hand out.



There was a pair of mallards feeding right along the edge of the water; the path here is actually part of the edge, with a concrete barrier to prevent erosion. I don't know what was in the mud in that spot, but they really didn't want to leave it, allowing me to come much closer than usual to get this picture of the female. She was very shy, and kept hiding along the concrete edge while the male kept close watch on me.









I don't know what these birds are - it's the first time I've seen them at this park, though I've seen them elsewhere over the years.

This bird isn't about to fly away, nor is it trying to land. Every now and then it would suddenly start flapping its wings and lift itself out of the water, then let itself drop again. After seeing that a few times, I zoomed in, focused and just waited until it did it again. I love it when my subjects are so helpful! :-D

updated: Thanks, Sharon, for letting me know that these are Laughing Gulls.





My friend. the Yellowlegs, was back, and this time it was a lot more comfortable with me being there. This isn't the clearest of pictures, as it was moving its head as I took it, but I thought the water in its open bill was neat.












Here, it let me come even closer, but I didn't try to go any farther.

It was a bit of a challenge taking pictures today - one of those days where it's sunny one minute, cloudy the next, so I was frequently adjusting the settings on my camera. I think they still worked out rather well.











Philippe: I was nice and comfie on the park bench, and moving just didn't appeal to me. This guy was mooching for all he was worth, so he figured posing for a shot was a fair trade. The word 'gull' is so poetic; nothing like the name we gave them in the military.. (Sh##hawks).

73:365 skulldugery

Anna: Not quite the photos I expected to post for Mother's Day! *L*

We were just pulling into the garage entrance to our building after my Mother's Day dinner when we spotted a truck parked in front of the building, with this rather unique tail pipe decoration.











The truck stood out on its own, even without its grinning accessory. It was jacked up high, painted matte black with black tinted windows, even on the cover for the box. The only break from black was the skull and the sliver stars at the centre of all the tire rims, one of which you can see a bit in this picture.

I would drive something like this. I really would! *BG*

72:365 Freebies

Anna: Participants of the cancer society fundraiser all got a drawstring bag full of goodies as a thank you. There was a really nice button up shirt (which fits our elder daughter...) and an octagonal "brick." It turned out to be a vacuum packed t-shirt. I thought some pictures were taken of that before it got released from it's shape, but I guess they haven't been uploaded yet. I actually haven't seen it yet - I left for work before it was opened, and it was so wrinkled up, it went straight to the laundry. *L*

Then there were these things. The calculator has a screen cover that, at a push of the release button, slowly opens and flips to the back, to become a stand. The flashlight is not only a keychain, but a mini-screwdriver set. I didn't actually notice that until I started writing this post and wondered they there was an arrow at the end. If you pull and turn the black end cap, it uncovers two tiny double-ended screwdriver tips. The tips can be inserted into a holder in the light cover, where you see it sticks up a bit. Way cool!

The thing on the left, half folded, is a pen. Fully folded, it's a compact object that can be hung off a belt loop or something. When its unfolded, the nib pops out for writing. And the thing across the top is... uhm... I'm not sure what it's called. It's got a clasp for a belt loop, a key ring, and this funky flexible plastic bottle holder - the top of a water or pop bottle fits through the hole in the middle. They all have the logo for the government department Philippe is contracted to that was a sponsor for this event.

Freebies are always fun. :-D

71:365 The big shindig

Anna: So today was the official "take it off" day for those who were getting their heads shaved to raise money for the cancer society. It just happened to be held up the block from where Philippe works, so the girls and I met up with him along the way. Philippe lent his camera to our older daughter, and she did a fantastic job taking pictures. I'll only post a few here - I'm sure Philippe will post a whole series on his flicker account later on.


We got there early, so we sat around in the shade while they set up. My daughter got this picture. Does this man look insane, or what? *L*














One of the organizers had this ribbon shaved and dyed into his hair. It worked out quite well, I think.















There were two women who had really long hair cut off - this is one of them.


















My daughter captured this "now what do I do with it?" moment quite well, I think. *L*













The media was out in full force, of course. This is one of my pictures.















This woman came in with a hat and a hood covering her hair. She didn't reveal the dye job until she was called up for an interview with one of two radio personalities that took part in the event. Another one of my daughter's pictures.












Yeah, Philippe got interviewed, too. I happened to be in behind of all this, so my view wasn't good - I was able to snag most of the interview on my camera's video function, while my daughter got some good views from the hill she was on.

70:365 The hair

The Canadian Cancer Society has an annual 'take it all off' event.. Now, people have seen me without hair time and time again, so my take on it was "the highest pledge picks the haircut. Trevor from the Shampoo Hair Studio did a masterful job in translating the post-it note description into a final product :) The rest of the shots can be found here.


The start of this was shaping the hair.. As you can see, reality is starting to sink in for me. :)

















Of course, I had to take at least *one* pic of this.. Anna took the rest :D

















My hair bleached out in 20 minutes, and I mean bleached *right* out..
















Naturally curly hair does not make for a tall hawk... Straighten, we must.


































Anna took an awesome shot of my (now) hot-pink goatee.. well, most of a goatee anyway.

















Couldn't help but smile, as Trevor did an awesome job :)


















Though I look somewhat stunned, it's only because I'll be wearing this for the next 8 weeks.. :P


























This is the final product, after a clean off of the stubble (that I could reach.. not sure how I'll do the in-between stuff) :)