according.to.kim

Daily pic: 18 Nov 14

Dash turned 5 on November 14. (Photo taken on the 18th. We were out of town on the 14th and didn't see him that day. Thanks, Mom, for taking him to Yellow Grass and bringing him home again. So helpful to us!)

Daily pic: 29 Sep 14

It was good to see the girls playing with Dash when I got home from work. M was also taking pictures and video of him.

Daily pic: 08 Jul 14

This morning, I let Dash walk with me on my paper route without a leash for the first time -- and he was so well behaved! He paid no attention to joggers, people getting into vehicles, cars driving by... I never had to raise my voice, and I was confident he knew where I was at all times. He would sniff for a bit and then sprint past me. I'm sure he got more exercise this way. He knew every turn before I got there, and he loved it! I loved it. The leash is annoying when delivering papers.

I had been wanting to try this and am glad I finally took the chance. Of course I had a strong feeling he would stay with me, as it seems to be his Aussie instinct. Oddly, we encountered far more people than usual and no rabbits, squirrels, or cats. I did put the leash on him for a few minutes when I saw a lady walking two dogs.

Daily pic: 19 Jun 14

While S attended B's grade 8 farewell (grade 7s sang in the choir at mass), the rest of us took Daisy (our guest for a second time this month) and Dash for a walk around the park. It was a nice evening. Quite damp from yesterday's rain (about 1.5").

Daily pic: 20 May 14

Today's CY365 prompt was devotion. There were many dogs in the gallery, so I decided to go with our dog, too. Dash is 4 and a half, and 110% devoted to all 5 of us. He can't stand it if any one of us leaves the herd/house. I never worry about him running away. He lives to be with us.

Daily pic: 06 Apr 14

Well, not thrilled with this picture but it's the best of those I took on the 6th. Dash and his much smaller sister, Buffy. Dad picked up Buffy, Charlie, and Miley this afternoon. They were all good. We didn't mind having them here!

P.S.  I swapped out the original (in which they were looking outside), as I just wasn't happy with it. Reminder to myself: Just take another minute to make a good picture and you won't have this problem!

Daily pic: 01 Apr 14

I would have liked to improve on this (just a little), but I only got 3 shots and this was the best one by far. Taken at 6:50 pm - I love having light at this hour!

Daily pic: 25 Mar 14

M and Miley, the other dog we're keeping for 2.5 weeks. She's small and cuddly, which the girls appreciate! (Plus, starting today, Yogi will be here weekdays, during the day, for 3 weeks.)

28/12/12

We're dog sitting for my brother and his family while they're on vacation this week. Their dogs, Charlie and Miley, are on the couch, while our dog, Dash, is on a desk (where he very often lays looking out the window). I had wanted to get a picture of all three dogs, but wasn't sure I could get them all to sit still together. What luck that they did this on their own and all I had to do was say Dash's name to get him to look at me. :) We enjoy having these dogs at our house. The only problem we've had is with Dash getting mad when one of the girls gives attention to Charlie (the big guy).

A note about our retro sofa which I would prefer not capture in photos... As much as I'd like to have a more attractive couch, it makes perfect sense to keep this one for now when several children and dogs use it on a daily basis, and when the children do silly things such as leaving a full, but opened, drink bag (taken home from a party last evening) laying on the couch, where a dog will most certainly inspect it and squirt grape Kool-Aid on the cushions. Just one example. Why bother getting a nicer couch at this time?

P.S. I'm taking down the Christmas tree today!

Colour and composition

To get a few shots for The Art of Composition this week, Sophia and I went for a photo walk around the warehouse district while Madeline attended her dance class on Sunday afternoon. (Meanwhile, Neil took Georgia to a birthday party.) While this shot isn't very colourful (and I don't think it needs to be), I love it mostly because it captures a little piece of Sophia's personality (at 10, she still cannot resist puddles!) and her new winter boots, which I bought specifically for their waterproof quality. I know my child. And I really enjoyed our walk together. :)

On our walk, I took this picture for the colour combination of light blue and red, which I love. (I have a few red and turquoise images pinned on my Colour Combos board on Pinterest.) Sophia happened to throw some snow in the air just as I took this shot, and it seemed more interesting than another one I had taken without the white spots.

We happened upon Pat's Pets and Sophia insisted we go in to get a birthday present for Dash who was turning two the next day (Nov 14). I took this picture of a clown fish and later completed the assignment to pump up the colour in post processing (bottom photo). I think this simple adjustment improved the photo quite a bit, and the combination of orange, white, and deep blue is striking. If the background had been any other colour, it wouldn't work nearly as well.

The meaning of colour

Caught red-handed! Actually, he was framed -- this time. Dash is constantly taking toys and shoes and chewing on them. (Much to my chagrin.) How lucky to have this noise maker handy for the set up! We had fun with this. Neil chased him around while I took pictures. He must be so confused!

Ah, Thursday evening. It's my favourite time of the week -- especially in the summer when I have every Friday off (thanks to EDOs and vacation days). :) Even better when it's warm and sunny like this evening. We've waited a long time for this!

PI 2/52: Finding a little rhythm

Rhythm: Harmonious sequences or patterns... I spotted these ones on Georgia's mitten on Saturday.

Last weekend was pretty busy, but not overly crazy. I'll start with Thursday evening since Sophia had a ringette game. They played one of the top teams and lost 9-4. Sophia played goal.

I had Friday off work (the last of a good long stretch of Fridays off) and the kids had no school. Neil took Sophia to her piano lesson at 2:15 (moved from Saturday to accommodate ringette practice) and all three girls went to K4J in the evening. I managed to get a few things done that day, including my monthly photo tasks for February pictures. Very good to have that done so early in the month!

On Saturday, I took photos every waking hour, starting at 7:00 a.m. Why? Ella Publishing had issued a page call for a photo-an-hour layout to be submitted by March 17. I've never submitted a layout for anything before, so that wasn't the impetus for me; I just thought, yeah, it would be good to document a whole day again, so I'll do it! (I have "one day in my life" layouts from May 2006 and Nov 2009, and both are very detailed in words but not photos.) I chose Saturday since I knew we had a variety of things going on, and I set my calendar to email me every hour. Even with reminders, this was challenging! I managed to take over 280 photos on Saturday, but there was one hour in which I only took two photos. Happily, they turned out well. I am now working on my layout (digital), bit by bit, hoping to complete it by the 17th. It's good to have a deadline and I may as well send it in!

In the morning, we went to the Farmer's Market in the Cathedral Neighbourhood Centre to pick up eggs for my mom, and then to Sophia's ringette practice. I could have taken Sophia by myself, but the other girls really wanted to go, too, so we all went. Madeline and Georgia were bored the whole time. Why did they want to go? Why didn't we take something for them to do? Mysteries of the unexplained. The older sister of another player kindly let Georgia play games on her iPod Touch for a little while.

After lunch, we all went to my niece's ringette game. (This time, I grabbed two DSis on my way out the door and then learned they were both dead on the way to the game. Gah!) It was the Icebreaker's last regular season game (and B's last game since she'll be away during the play-offs) and it was a great one to watch. The Icebreakers came from behind and were up by one point with just a minute or two left, and then the other team tied the game with 5 seconds left on the clock!

After the game, we headed home and cleaned up the living room knowing our friend Steve and his dog, Chloe, were coming over at 4 p.m. for a doggie play date. Plus, all the girls showered or bathed to get ready for their evening dance performance. After supper, I spent some time getting the curly hair pieces attached to Sophia and Madeline's hair. With so much less hair on their heads now, it was quite a challenge! The hair pieces are designed to work with a bun, so I had to attach a fake bun (a doughnut-shaped form) to Madeline's head and then attach the curly hair piece to that. I used about 25 bobby pins in her hair alone, but it worked! The girls got dressed at home and we headed to Holy Trinity.

We arrived at 7:30 p.m. for the 8:00 p.m. dance performance. It was an Irish/St. Patrick's Day-themed fundraiser for the church. Sophia and Bronwyn performed three dances together (their new reel, single jig, and slip jig), and Madeline danced three times with various other students (light jig and beginner reel twice). The show was 30 minutes long which is very long for Irish dance because the dances are so short. Afterward, Sophia stayed overnight at L&B's.

Here's another photo representing rhythm (I distorted the girls' faces for public sharing). Madeline is on the far right.

Sunday afternoon, Madeline had her friend, Mattea, over for a play date. Madeline was thrilled about this as she hadn't had anyone over for a very long time. We all went to Sophia's ringette game mid-afternoon. It was their last regular season game. Mom and Dad came to watch the game on their way home from North Battleford. Laurel and Bronwyn were there, too. The Sticks of Fury won 7-5 and Sophia scored a hat trick (her second this year)! Great game to have extra fans in attendance! Madeline, Mattea, and Georgia didn't watch the game, but they had fun sipping hot chocolate, sharing a slushy drink, and playing with some other ringette siblings. After the game, Mom and Dad picked up their dog, Buffy, who had been at our house since Friday morning.

Many repeating patterns inside the Cooperators Centre.

 

On Monday, Laurel called me after lunch and reminded me that she was taking me to see Sarah McLachlan that evening! I had forgotten completely, so that was a nice surprise. (Note to self: Always email important info to myself!) We ate supper at our house, then Neil took all the girls to Sophia and Bronwyn's dance class, while Laurel and I went to the concert. It was a great evening and concert. Sarah shared the stage with two other singers, Melissa McClelland and Butterfly Boucher, for nearly three hours. Rather than having a separate opening act, the three women sang and played back-up for each other throughout the entire concert. That was cool and they worked very well together. I also enjoyed Sarah's Q&A segments, in which she answered questions written down by audience members before the show and during intermission. My favourite part of the concert was Sarah's encore performance of Angel. (Surfacing is the only album of hers that I'm familiar with, and I listened to it a lot back in the day.)

I don't know why, but I was in a bit of funk over the past week. Nothing major; just feeling a little weary and lackluster. Perhaps it was a touch of the winter blues. While I'm not a fan of the cold weather (hot summer days are my favourite!), it usually doesn't bother me -- I have good warm clothes and I don't have to spend a lot of time outside -- but on Monday morning when I heard the wind chill was -37, I was totally disgusted. I thought, 'are you kidding me?! this winter is never going to end!' And I grumbled as I left the house.

Well, I'm already feeling better. Spring is just around the corner, right? Sophia has her first play-off game tonight, and I'm looking forward to this weekend with only one activity on the calendar (Sophia's piano lesson). Amazing!

Week 1 layout for BSS

This is the layout I made from the first week of Bite-sized Scrapbooking instructions. I don't get the surprise factor on Friday like everyone else, but I had fun making it and love how it turned out. I'm definitely planning to play along every week! In the Flickr gallery this week, I asked members how the first week went and I'm getting wonderful feedback. :)

P.S. Layout design based on Girltime by Paula Gilarde.
(I'm sorry I forgot to mention this originally. I guess that's what happens when I try to post something 10 minutes before I have to catch the bus for work!)

Jan 29: Your name in lights

Madeline made this large envelope to enclose her made-at-school Christmas gift to us. She was still in her phase of writing our names rather than mom and dad. I "lve" how she spelled love, too. :) (Sugarplum Paperie Painted Edges CU Overlays)

Sophia had ringette practice at 8:00 a.m. this morning and I was thankful that Neil took her (especially since she forgot her helmet at home and he had to drive back to get it!). I took Sophia to her piano lesson after that. Otherwise, it was a day of BSS work (fun!) and house work. Mom and dad brought Buffy (Dash's sister) to our house for the whole afternoon while they attended bison meetings. Neil also took Dash and the girls to our friends' house for a playdate with Chloe (dog) and Maren.

We're going to have to go out to get birthday gifts this evening, as both Madeline and Georgia have parties to attend tomorrow. I really wish I had dealt with the gifts earlier!

Happy Birthday Dash & Buffy!

Dash and Buffy turned one year old yesterday, and Mom took this awesome picture of them at her house. (She kept Dash while we went to Edmonton for the weekend. Thanks Mom!) These dogs have been a wonderful addition to our lives for the past 10 months. Look how much they've changed!

Photos taken on December 13, 2009 and January 30, 2010.

Oct 20: Connections

Connections between a dog and his master, and between obedience and reward. Neil has been spending a lot of time this month working with Dash, training him to heel, sit, stay, lay down, shake left, shake right, bow, crawl, and (most importantly) not bark at people.

Things I haven't mentioned

• All three girls enjoyed going to K4J Vacation Bible School last week. Surprisingly (as it's unusual for her), Georgia was upset after Neil left the first morning. Sophia immediately stepped in and stayed with Georgia the entire morning, rather than going with her own age group. What a good big sister! Georgia was just fine for the next four days of VBS.
• Quick recap of the girls' summer activities: swimming lessons for the first two weeks (mornings), Summer Sports School for the next two weeks (afternoons), three weeks off, VBS for one week (mornings), and then a week and a half off. Plus, Sophia had bagpipe lessons for one week in July. This seemed like a nice, not-too- full summer schedule, and the girls were happy.
• The girls and I enjoyed our scrapbooking class, Kidding Around, at BPS. We did many of the activities -- going for ice cream, blowing bubbles, drawing with sidewalk chalk, making a pillow fort, making lemonade from scratch -- but didn't have much time for scrapbooking. I didn't make any pages, but the girls made four or five each (which was pretty labour-intensive for me as I was busy spelling out words, cutting papers, printing things out, cleaning stamps, and so on). After posting her bubble layout in the online gallery, Madeline won a prize draw! In the mail, all the way from California, she received a package containing some bubble liquid, bubble stickers, a package of Kool-Aid, and a BPS button. Madeline was very excited about her prize and she happily shared it with her sisters.
• I have signed up for a couple more BPS classes beginning in early September: Use Your Stash with May Flaum and Book of Stories with Karen Grunberg. Both of these teachers get rave reviews from past students and I'm really looking forward to learning from them! I try not to take more than one class at a time, but these are very different classes and both are in line with current goals -- to use my stash (i.e., not buy new supplies except staples I run out of) and to have a ready supply of stories and journaling ideas. Both should serve me well into the future.
• We purchased all of the girls' school supplies a couple weeks ago. They also got new backpacks (Sophia & Madeline), lunch kits, and shoes. Sophia and Madeline were so obsessed with their supplies the first couple days, they were driving me nuts! They had them in and out of their backpacks several times, and they bugged me to label their supplies until I couldn't stand it anymore. I wasn't planning to do it until the following weekend (alone!), but I gave up and labeled everything under their watchful eyes.
• We are now putting Dash into his crate before we set the table for supper and we don't let him out until the table is completely cleared and wiped. He is a pretty good dog -- except when it comes to the dining room table! If there was even a speck of food on the table, someone would have to be guarding it diligently every second, and that proved to be a challenge we weren't up to. Plus, he was just too annoying during a meal, always trying to get to the food. It's so much better now that he's in the crate. He barks for the first few minutes and then stops. I'm sure that eventually he won't bark at all (it's only been a week or so).
• Starting in September, Neil is going to provide child care a few days each month for one of Georgia's preschool classmates. This little boy and Georgia were the closest of pals at preschool last year, and I'm sure they'll have fun together when he comes to our house this fall. I think it'll be great. He is a sweet boy and his parents are very nice, too.
• I just started reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. I've enjoyed reading her blog for about a year and a half now, and I'm certain I'll enjoy the book, too. Perhaps I'll begin my own Happiness Project! I'm not unhappy, but I'm sure I could be happier. If I do make any resolutions, I'll share my progress here.
• Last Saturday, we went to the Mercury Cafe and Grill on 13th Avenue for supper. We had received gift certificates as a thank you for dog-sitting in July. It was a fun outing. We all enjoyed this little 50s-diner-style restaurant, and the burgers were great! The girls were completely delighted with their cream soda floats which were served in those big metal cups used for making milk shakes. I took pictures. :)
• I've been wrestling with what extra-curricular activities the girls will take this year. Sophia and Madeline are interested in many things and I think if it were up to them, they'd be in far more activities than any of us could handle. I have made the decision that they cannot do more than three each, not counting K4J which is only once a month, and not counting free school-based sports such as Cross Country (Sophia is now old enough and wants to do this). This is the same number of activities as last year, but some will be more time consuming. And Georgia still won't be in any evening or weekend activities except K4J -- thank goodness! Last year, we had nothing on weekends and I LOVED it. I was really hoping to continue having free weekends, but I think I'm going to have to give up on that. I will update on the specific activities once we decide.

Dash and Chloe

We pup-sat for friends from Friday to Saturday afternoon. Chloe is a Golden Retriever, six weeks younger than Dash. These two have had almost-weekly play dates for the past several months and they play extremely well together. Chloe is a great dog and we enjoyed having her here this weekend! Plus, Dash is nicely tuckered out this evening.

July 19: Jump shot

(1) Dash is a great jumper! I chose this for today's prompt just to be a bit different. I didn't see many pets in the gallery.

(2) Willing subjects for the jump shot (Auntie Laurel in the middle). Someday, I'll get all of my girls to jump for me!

(3) Mr. Dash at eight months old.

(4) It was Laurel and Shauna's birthday today and we celebrated with two cakes at L&B's house!

(5) A butterfly on Sophia's hand, taken by Neil this morning.

July 12: Simple solitude

(1) Back alley. To find anything resembling solitude today, I took a quick walk around the block by myself.

(2) Sophia started two things today: bagpipe lessons (90 min x 5 days) and Summer Sports School (afternoons for two weeks). Sounds like she really enjoyed both! The other girls started Summer Sports School as well.

(3) 'Little Blue' hot pepper plant.

(4) Dash, with a chew stick he's not supposed to have outside. I can't believe how good the new grass at the far end of our back yard looks!

(5) Lilac bloom. There's only a couple on the whole bush.