Week 26 Body

Yeuch!  We all hate our bodies, right?

It's too flat, thick, bulbous, small, grey, dry - all sounds rather horrible!

You can change it and rearrange it.  But it's still you.

I'm a firm believer in leaving what Mother Nature gave you.  It may not fit the "norm" of the latest trends of someone else's view of beauty, but it's still you.

Just look at these toes!  Too long according to some.  Too thin according to others.  The second and third are longer than the first. Not perfect.  But it is me.  And they look fabulous in deep purple polish!

Celebrate who you are, not what you are supposed to be.

Week 25 Tradition

Tradition in my house is something we do once.  Really!  Once the Easter Bunny left a note with treasure hunt instructions and the next year ... he had to do it again.  Once I set the table with cool Hallowe'en stuff and the next year .... "what's on the table this year, mum?" Kids are like that.  Their world is predicated on routine and the same-ness of events.  Well, my kids are! It's great  because there is an anticipation for the tradition whether it be hiding the Christmas pickle (a "tradition" from this past Christmas!) or Friday night pizza.

I also like how things become instant traditions. It means more flexibility when designing, implementing and subscribing to that particular tradition!

Now, to think of next September ... and the tradition of 1st day of school notes in lunchbags!

Week 24 Blue

This week's word prompt is blue.  Rather than dive into a blue (aka sad) diatribe, I want to show a happy blue! That's also what I call the more upbeat musical style of blues.  Happy Blues!

Blue is my boy's favourite colour and has been for as long as he's been around.  One birthday, my gal painted this wooden letter a shiney happy blue and covered it with the birthday boys' favourite things: ice cream, pokemon, lego, dinsaurs and his most favourite animal, the elephant.  It was an instant hit!

Colours definitely reflect our attitudes, moods and well being. Unfortunately blue has an almost negative connotation, when not dealing with rainbows.

I'd rather think of rainbows and all the shades and hues of happy blues!

Welcome to Little Orphan Annie!

Here's Annie!

My friend and neighbour, Kristine has a wonderful blog :

http://bloomingreverend.wordpress.com/author/bloomingreverend/

As I read through her last post, I knew that little orphan Annie, the mystery tomato plant was destined to come home to me!  I plan to post regularly on Annie's adventures as the tale of the travelling tomato!

Here's Gabby checkin' her out!

Week 21 Map

Lorraine in Wonderland!

This is a map of Canada's Wonderland - a fabulous theme park just north of Toronto. I was there with my daughter's school band. The band played for about 10 minutes, was critiqued then the kids had the park for the whole day!

They had a blast!

I succumbed to peer pressure (see blog entry below) but despite my stomach landing in my throat for about an hour, I also had a blast!

Theme parks bring out the kid in you,
who is still itching to get out of that adult body!

Roller Coaster Mama!

Before we resume with the 52in52 challenge, take a look a this video.  I was on this roller coaster yesterday and I still feel ill!

See how narrow the track is???  See how fast the flippin' thing rolls down the hill at what seemed like a 90 degree drop??  What you don't see is that there is NO shoulder harness!!  All there is is a piece of plastic on your LAP!! 

I succumbed to peer pressure (even at 50, there's peer pressure!)

and bit the bullet and went on this thing.

Never, never, never,  never again.

Gotta go lie down now.

Week 20 Vintage

The Lorraine V801

The word "vintage" creates an image, to me, of something good that is old. It's a warm, fuzzy word.  On the other hand, old is just old! Now, what about antique?  Before I delve into the dictionary to find the difference between old, vintage and antique, here's my take on it:

Old - past its prime and of no use.

Vintage - past its prime but still of some use.

Antique - past its prime and collectable.

My dad loves antiques. I think it reflects a bygone age where life was much simpler, though much tougher. From him I have acquired a love too of all things antique. For me, it brings to life the past, and illustrates the future; both of which can be taken from us in an instant, just as a teacup can be broken in bits - the fragility of our presence on earth.

OK.  That's just a little too profound for me!

This little cup is of the pattern The Lorraine, V801. It was made by Royal Doulton (yes, Doulton, not Albert) in the 1930's. I consider it to be vintage - old enough but still useful.  Hmmm .... that definition would suit a lot of people I know!

I'm heading out to Clappison's Corners soon - the antique dealer there has a whole lot of pieces and  I feel the need to indulge!