We got up quite early for a Sunday and went into town for breakfast...we ran into Costco and picked up my pictures and a few other bits and pieces then we drove over to the John Janzen Centre to hand in my entries for the nature photography contest.....I entered three pictures but I'm not happy with the ones I chose (no surprise there lol!) and I now wish I had entered my beaver pictures (ha ha Lloyd says it isn't THAT kind of photography contest omg his jokes are soooooo hilarious NOT lol!)
We had a look around at the centre and admired all the other contestants pictures.....I have to say though that some of them were very obviously cropped a LOT more than the 20% that is in the rules...which is a real shame for those who stuck to the rules........I especially liked one of the butterfly pictures there .....squirrels were popular...as were flowers........
As we drove into the parking lot a beautiful bird flew just above our car and then landed ona tree beside us.....it was a Pileated Woodpecker.....it had a gorgeous red crest.......Pileated Woodpeckers are the ones that inspired the cartoon character Woody Woodpecker!!!!! They aren't very common in Alberta but the Whitemud Ravine is one of the best places to see them.......
After the John Janzen Centre we drove home via the BMW garage as Lloyd wanted to find out how many M3's are still available new in Canada...they aren't making any more until 2008 so there aren't many left........he is fed up with his Infiniti because of issues with the gear box so he's thinking of going with BMW........
When we got home I dropped Lloyd and Sam off and took the others to a garage sale close by....I bought 4 pairs of jeans and a sweatshirt for Sam at $1 each...like new :) except they smelt horribly of cigarettes so I came home and threw them in the washing machine.......now they smell good :) Susie and Laurie bought a playstation handset thingy for $4 which they needed and Abigail bought an electronic pinball machine.......it is VERY noisy and drives Lloyd nuts lol but I couldn't figure out why I liked the noise.....then I realised its because it sounds like the arcades back home.......at Weymouth!!!!! I guess it just reminds me of good times...I used to LOVE going in the arcades with a bag full of 2 pence pieces that I would put in the slots....those machines that you put the coins in and hope they push the piles of coins over the edge.......I would win lots but always ended up putting them all back in!!! My Dad used to save all his 2p coins through the year so we could take them all to the arcades.........
I was tellingt he children yesterday that Dad also used to save 1/2 p pieces in an old brandy or sherry bottle.....we'd use them for playing cards and then in November we would take them to Yeovil Carnival and throw them on the carnival floats as they went by.......... I wonder what year they stopped using 1/2 p pieces..........
Back home we have been pottering about......Lloyd and Sam cut some of the grass and then Laurie cut the rest. Lloyd sorted out his workshop and I was in there sanding. A few months back I bought a child sized rocking chair at a yard sale for $5......I want to fix it and repaint it with a crackle glaze so it looks aged and then want to stencil some flowers on the top.......For Mothers Day I was given a lovely teddy bear dressed as an old lady especially to sit in this chair........once the extension is built, what is now the kitchen will be an office/ study/ library type room and I want the rocking chair in one corner somewhere......for now it can go in the corner of Sams room........
So I got to use some power tools :) the electric sander etc :) I had fun but my hand aches from all the vibration. I have small hands so holding an electric sander is hard work!
I went for a walk around the yard taking pictures of various things....flowers, trees.....views.....
What else have I done today????? Hmmmmm.......I washed the front windows inside and out after Sam had kindly 'helped' wash them the other day and left them all mucky and smeared.......I did two loads of laundry.....washed and boxed 4 dozen eggs.......
Now I have to think of something quick for dinner...which is fine as no one is very hungry so it doesn't have to be much at all.......two more busy days ahead of us........we can collapse and relax on Wednesday before another few busy days.....
I hope everyone had a great weekend...what have you all been up to?
