Wednesday, 3 September 2014

Birthdeh party!

Today is our dear friend 1smartcanerican's birthday. We need a theme, as usual... I chose Canada and granola as the themes for this one.

Happy birthday to a smart, health conscious Canadian!







[We're going on a virtual visit tomorrow!]

Tuesday, 2 September 2014

Good memories

I came across the work of a childhood friend with whom I lost contact many decades ago. There was a little gang of four, two boys and two girls. The boys were brothers and the girl was another neighbour. All our parents worked in television, as actors or writers, producers and directors, which rubbed on us, so we were always dreaming up new scenarios for our adventures.

The older brother and I used to produce magazines together when we were between 7 and 10 years old. We would spend hours drawing, colouring and doing all the text by hand. Our magazines had only one very precious copy of each issue. My friend pursued a career as an artist.

The younger brother was killed in a road accident when he was 13, the family moved away and that's how we lost contact. I'm still in touch with the girl, but we grew in totally different directions, so we're not bosom buddies anymore.

My friend is very versatile and illustrates children's books, but he also has some collections on other themes. Here are some examples of his "Vases" collection. I really like them and had to share them with you...






Monday, 1 September 2014

News about our next virtual visit and some pretty things

I have received some lovely photos for our next virtual visit. I'll post them when I feel a bit more energetic. Posts with loads of photos are time consuming and I can't stay up at the computer for very long stretches. I've been posting single pics from the i-Pad...

Today I'll step it up to three pictures. I find these really pretty and imaginative:




Sunday, 31 August 2014

Oops! I fell asleep and didn't post anything...

I had a bad night, with a sore throat, horrible cough and a very blocked nose. I had forgotten what a pain the neck a cold can be! I fell asleep after lunch and missed my self-imposed deadline for posts. Thank you for all the get well wishes. I'm getting better, but a bit impatient with the slow progress. Here is a cheeky photo. Laughing always helps...



Saturday, 30 August 2014

Not feeling well...

I finally caught a bad cold after nearly seven years! The last time I "tried" to catch a cold, I managed to nip it in the bud with a couple of doses of echinacea. I wasn't so lucky this time and ended up at the doctor's office this morning. I'm now medicated, but still feel dreadful. 

As you may have guessed, this is a quick "one picture" post, just to keep things going. 


 I can't remember where I saw this picture, but I like it. 

Friday, 29 August 2014

GrannyJ, here we go!

What a glorious day to pay GrannyJ a visit!

We'll start at the little beach:




What a very handsome couple!


These photos are of the large park, and waterfront area along the St. Lawrence Seaway.
The cement monuments depict some of the buildings pre-Seaway. The whole downtown core of the village was flooded when the seaway was built about 1954.






The United Church of Canada:


Main Street:


An eccentric guy's haunted house (suspense music... LOL!):


GrannyJ's flourishing new front garden:


Finally, the geese getting ready to head south. They almost look like they are planning to walk... they are actually looking south!


Thank you for your hospitality, GJ. We had a lovely time!

Who's next?

Thursday, 28 August 2014

Le Lac de Viam

Our new hobby is taking us to very interesting places. Yesterday we explored the area around the Lac de Viam.

















[GrannyJ had a great idea: we should all photograph the area where we live and share them on the blog (not in the comments; send them to me by email). I have received her photos, but the captions didn't show up. As soon as I have both the captions and the photos together, we're going to visit GrannyJ!]

Wednesday, 27 August 2014

Modern baby

This little guy has a very particular taste in music...

Tuesday, 26 August 2014

Old photos

Mrsgunka sent me two emails with several old photographs. I selected the most interesting from the combined collections. Thanks, MrsG.

The Statue of Liberty's torch is parked in front of the western side of Madison Square in 1876

Women welders at Lincoln Motor Company, 1918

Times Square, 1922

Greyhound, 1923

The dedication of the Washington Monument, 1885

The first photo of the Earth from the moon taken by Lunar Orbiter, 1966

Southwest Airlines stewardesses, 1962


The funeral of Victor Hugo, 1885

Hannah Stilley, born 1746, photographed in 1840. Possibly the earliest 
born person captured on film

"Högertrafikomläggningen" - the day Sweden switched from driving 
on the left to driving on the right, 1967

The Dalai Lama at age 2 in 1937

The London Underground in 1890

Smuggling beer during prohibition sometime between 1920 and 1933

Illuminated tires invented by Goodyear in 1961

Directional sound finders used to detect incoming enemy planes in 1917

Construction of The Lincoln Memorial, 1921

Arnold Schwarzenegger in New York for the first time, 1968

Paul McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison performing at a wedding, 1958

Ernest Hemingway's passport photo, 1923

Robin Williams as a cheerleader, 1980

Cameramen recording the lion roar for the MGM logo

Mt Rushmore construction, 1939

Construction of the Eiffel Tower, 1880

William Harley and Arthur Davidson, 1914

Frank Sinatra asks Lou Gehrig for an autograph, 1939
[Gehrig's disease inspired the ice bucket challenges]