Keep it Simple

One of my favorite pages to make is a black & white with a splash of color. I was playing around with one and  I added it to a recent challenge at SBF. 

I was so surprised when the challenges owner picked it for her choice award. It was so sweet of her.

WeekEnd From Hell!!!

What happened this weekend was clearly avoidable. One begs to question right from the onset; why the very heart of Toronto's entertainment, financial and shopping district??

Was not the impact and destruction predictable - of course it was!! Doesn't take an Einstein to figure this out especially given that there were the past experiences of other host countries to draw upon.

The hooligans could not have perpetrated the chaos and the extent of damage if the summit had been held in desolate field somewhere.The inclination would have been lessened where little mind or attention would be paid them.

Kudos to the great work of our fine men and women of the policing agencies here and those who came from across this country to assist. This was an undertaking unprecedented; they did their utmost to maintain security and the safety of the community at large.


Unfortunately many Torontonians will not forget these few days when their vibrant city was essentially taken from them and the businesses, their premises damaged and their revenue losses incurred before, during and after.

The Costs Of Vanity & Self Importance

Now one has to wonder just what it was that was really accomplished at these summits besides just another orchestrated photo op for Mr. H! I would hazard a guess that the fine folks to my left would have delivered an outcome with some substance at a cost substantially less than the billion plus spent by our gov’t to get the powers to be together for a think tank or is it photofest?!

Well this group of friendly protesters would get my vote any day. Not only are they entertaining but I bet they would keep their promises if our elected officials :)!

The Scent Of Wild Roses

Wild roses are one of my favorite flowers. I have a wild rose bush in my back yard that is in full bloom right now and simply stunning this year.  Their wonderful scent drift's right across the whole back yard.

It is so pleasant and peaceful sitting out there and smelling the roses :)!

Slow Down And Enjoy Life

When I see scenes like this, I yearn to go back to Alberta.  This mountain sheep contently ambles down the highway just outside Jasper, photo taken by my bro from his car.  Tho the May 24th weekend, it had snowed the night before blanketing the mountain tops and the untravelled areas.

Goes to show there are still places on earth where man and animal can share unrestricted.

Just Out Walking With My Daddy

Before I took up scrappin'  a few years ago, I always either deleted these shots or wondered what the heck do you do with them. Well I see some folks do just some awesome stuff and decided to take a stab at it using Carena's kit, (who's work I just love), - Walking in the Park". Thought it a perfect kit for this photo of one of our grandsons walking with his dad..

So We're Not Perfect!

Don't know who wrote this but thanks - it says like it is!! 

We never claimed to be perfect

That means we’ve learned to be humble

We say excuse me and I'm sorry…as well as please and thanks.

Even when its not our fault we apologize.

Sure one arm of the torch didn't rise,
But when the earthquake struck Haiti, Canadians raised their hands to say…”we’ll help”

And yah, there is a fence around the flaming torches,
But you can walk right up and shake hands with our prime minister and most famous Canadians.

We put Gretzky in the back of a pick up, in the rain, not surrounded by police…and he was okay.
By the way... the great one is Canadian…and HE wasn’t complaining!

We do have security at the games, of course, but most people don't even have a gun they have to leave at home.

The medals ARE under lock and key but our doors and our hearts are open to the world.

It has been pointed out that some buses broke down last week….but let’s not overlook the fact that our banking system didn't .

We didn't get the "green ice maker" right this time….but we will, eventually

Just like we did when we invented the zamboni.

Citius altius fortius

If you don't reach higher how do you get faster and stronger ?

Was the first quad jump perfect?
Should we not have given snowboarding to the world "in case" it didn’t take off?

So, big deal…one out of four torch arms didn't rise. Good thing we had 3 more! It’s called contingency planning!

But remember…the Canadarm works every time…in outerspace….and insulin turned out to be okay.

We couldn't change the weather but maybe we can help stop to global warming.

We don't have the tax base of the US or the power of the Chinese but, per capita, we ponied up for some pretty kick-ass venues in the worst global recession ever .

Sure, some folks couldn't afford tickets but our health care is universal.

We have shown the world that we can raise our voices in celebration and song but moments later stand in silence to respect a tragic event...together..spontaneously…and unrehearsed.

What's more, we don't need permission from anyone to have a slam poet, fiddlers with piercings and a lesbian singer tell our story to the world while our multilingual female haitian- born, black, head of state shares a box with her first nations equals


We’ve shown the world that it doesn’t always rain in Vancouver, that you can strive for excellence but not get hung up on perfection
And we’ve learned what it feels like to be picked on by some no name newspaper guy and we don’t have to take it lying down!

So the point is not the snow, or the hydraulics or a couple guys being 5 minutes late to a ceremony

We know we’re lucky that these are the biggest problems we had to deal with in the last couple weeks.

So take your cheap shots…... cynics of the world

We're bigger and better than that and what's more we're finally starting to believe it!"

Canada Is Golden

My one word to describe the games is "Monumental"! Canada finished with some pretty powerful hours in concluding the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games!! Our athletes, contributors & supporters are to be congratulated for their dedication, expertise & hard work in making these games a monumental success. Canada now assumes its rightful place as one of the leaders in the making of sporting history.

The closing ceremonies were also fabulous!! One thing that caught my eye several times though; most at the event embraced our national anthem with the exception of our PM & wifey. Not once when the cameras flashed to them was there even a miniscule movement of the mouths. But then it wasn't a Beatles tune and aww yes, a high profile photo opt couldn't get any better than this now could it!

Burton Rocks!!

Watched Burton Cummings' live performance from BC Place last nite & he rocked the place. No doubts he stills got it as he wooed the folks with his infamous "These Eyes" to " American Woman"!!

One of the all time Canadian Greats and one who's career I have followed since my younger prairie days - in fact Chad Allen and the Expressions even rings some bells. Geez, I still have the original Guess Who's Canned Wheat LP, now that a waaaay's back!!

Anyway Burton - ya rock my friend!!

Olympic Torch Run -2010

As the torch neared Toronto, you could feel the excitement in the air. I spent the afternoon at the Civic Centre  freezing my feet off - it was like -25, (freckin cold!!), to see the torch arrive in Scarborough. It was worth every minute however standing out in the cold. I love trying to animate,  tho not great at it, I did this as a memory page from a photo of the passing of the torch taken on the outskirts of town.