Tag: Canada

Fly On The Wall

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If you could be a “fly on the wall” anywhere and at any time in history, where and when would you choose?

Owing to my curiosity I was unable to decide on just one moment to spy on—too many options.  Instead I choose an acrostic poem with my various ideas—some are a little out there but the knowledge gained from each experience would have been amazing.

Flying with Amelia Earhart across the Atlantic Ocean as the first woman to go solo

Landing on the moon

Yellowstone’s super-volcano last eruption in 1350 BC

Observing Michelangelo paint the Sistine Chapel

Normans adventures and conquests

Titanic’s last day

Historic occasion of the Berlin Wall coming down

End of World War II

Womans movement development in the 1970’s

At Gander, Canada the day all planes en route to USA were forced to land there because American airspace was closed as a response to 9/11

Listening to Martin Luthur Kings “I have a dream” speech

Lunch with the royal family just being themselves—no protocol or formalities

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/fly-on-the-wall/

World’s Best Ice Cream

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Vanilla, chocolate, or something else entirely?

During our trip to Canada, in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island we discovered a secret—the world’s best ice cream. The brand was appropriately named Cows and decorated in a black and white cow print theme. The weather may have been cold, rainy and miserable outside but wasn’t going to stop us treating ourselves.

Cow's - The World's best Icecream

The names of the ice cream flavours were also a delight with an unusual twist on the cow theme.  I choose Cowie Wowie—vanilla ice cream, English toffee marble,chocolate flakes and moo crunch for my bottom level. On the top I had Moo York Cheesecake—cheesecake ice cream, Oreo and chocolate swirl. My husband choose Cowberry—vanilla ice cream, fresh PEI strawberries, PEI blueberries and raspberries for his bottom layer. He topped this off with Birthday Cake—cake batter base, blue frosting swirl and sprinkles.

 

 

The ice cream was amazing. Rich and smooth and you could tell the individual flavours that went into each cone. My regret is that I didn’t choose a chocolate flavour as I usually would which I think would have taken my choice to a new height. Cowie Wowie is their most popular flavour which is why I choose it and I am not sorry I did.

Upon leaving there was a sadness as we realised we wouldn’t be able to try it again as there is not a big chain of Cows stores around Canada. This was a one hit wonder and a highlight of our trip to Charlottetown.

The experience put new meaning to the old quote—”I sceam, you scream, we all scream for ice cream.”

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/32-flavors/

My Places

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Beach, mountain, forest, or somewhere else entirely?

To me connecting with nature is healing. I attempt to do it everyday even if only for 5 minutes. It clears my head. Any form of nature will do—smelling a flower on a short walk or a day trip to the beach or mountains. I love them all. As a child I spent many hours at the beach as well as walking in the bush so both have pleasant memories attach.

The higher my intensity of stress the more I will ensure that I take time out of my day to walk barefoot on the grass for 5 minutes. My other easy to go to places  are the river, Sydney harbour, local parks or wetlands—all are close to my work or home.  Half an hour in the silence does the trick of dealing with my stress nicely.

Last Christmas we wanted to experience nature in a different way and left sunny Australia for the cold winters of Canada. While we enjoyed our time there, it was only our last week that allowed us to experience the force of nature in this way—snow and ice. The first 5 weeks were above average temperatures and it was the first green Christmas in over a quarter century. Our proof that mother nature is to be enjoyed not controlled—she will always win.

 

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/places/

Weekly Photo Challenge: Wall

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Share an image of a wall that reveals something about a place, people, or you.

Mural of Quebecers

The mural of Quebecers has brought to life this wall in Old Quebec City. It is the most amazing mural I have ever seen.  Painted in 3D by several artists in 1999—it includes all significant events, architecture and people in the city’s colourful 400 year history.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/wall/

Weekly Photo Challenge: Orange

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Time for another multi-photo challenge! Wow us with punchy pops of orange.

Orange isn’t a colour usually found in my photos however, most of these were taken on our recent trip to Canada. Surprising how much colour could be found intermingled with the sky’s grey. The cake and biscuits were made by my niece Laura for our family ‘Sunshine’ themed Christmas.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/orange/

Our Journey

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Today’s assignment in Writing 201 Poetry is to write a limerick based around the theme of a journey. I chose a description of our failed attempt at a white Christmas last year.

 

White Christmas

This year we wanted to grow

Excited by the opportunity to show

What we had seen

But alas it was green

So we couldn’t experience the snow

 

Share Your World – 2015 Week 6

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What was the last time you went to a new place?

At the end of last year, my husband and I left sunny Sydney Australia to spent 6 weeks exploring Eastern Canada. We were hoping for our first white Christmas. But no,  unseasonably high temperatures meant we are still waiting. Many people in Quebec City—where we spent Christmas—because it was one of the top places in the world to have snow falling from the sky as well as snow on the ground— said it was the first green Christmas they had had. They had lived in the city for over twenty years. However, to my excitement, we did receive a very light snowfall walking home from Christmas dinner—so I made my husband turn around and walk in the snow until it stopped.

View over Montreal from Mont Royal

If you were or are a writer do you prefer writing short stories, poems or novels, other?  And what type of genre would you prefer?

I am a writer. I am in the final stages of editing my non-fiction self-help book—Inspiring Hope: How Eating Disorder Recovery Is Possible. It has been along journey and I have enjoyed learning about every step. At some time in the future, however I would love to use my creative ability and write fiction—although I don’t know what genre I would write in although I would like it to appeal to both sexes like Janet Evanovich.

Out of your five senses (touch, taste, sight, smell, hearing) which is your favorite?

I am a visual person. I must see something to understand and remember it. I am attracted to the beauty of things, even the beauty of the less attractive things of this world.

If 100 people your age were chosen at random, how many do you think you’d find leading a more satisfying life than yours?

Despite my daily commute to work, I find my life and job very satisfying. I work with a great team helping people with recovery from an eating disorder, which is rewarding work. I spent my weekend with family or if I am really lucky alone doing the things I love to do—writing and blogging. Every holidays I get to travel and explore the world. For these reasons I think probably only about 10% would lead a more satisfying life than I. When my life doesn’t satisfy me for a period of time, I get to the bottom of it and fix the problem.

Bonus question:  What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

Last week we had two separate visits from extended family. It was great seeing them and catching up on the latest gossip.

Yesterday my daughter brought home a new member of the family—a kitten she calls Toast. I look forward to getting to know him and possibly coming up with my own name to match his personality.

http://ceenphotography.com/2015/02/09/share-your-world-2015-week-6/

Rideau Canal

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What was the last picture you took? Tell us the story behind it. (No story behind the photo? Make one up, or choose the last picture you took that had one.)

We have just returned from six weeks in Canada, where we took literally thousands of photos. It was a fun time. However a little disappointing as the lack of snow meant many of the things we had planned were not doable. Our last planned event was to skate on the Rideau Canal—the world’s longest skateway. It opened 4 days after we left, so we only got to see the preparation and dream.

 

Oh and experience our coldest temperatures ever, -18 feels like -29. The other problem we had to content with was the frostbite warning. We were attempting to take photos but had to limit them because our fingers were going numb and the cameras couldn’t cope with the cold.  One passerby heard our accents as we were taking our last photos and stopped to advise us get inside as quickly as possible. Our solution as it was a bright sunny day despite the cold, was to stop taking photos regularly and as long as we were warm to continue exploring what Ottawa had to show us.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/moment-in-time/

Weekly Photo Challenge: Serenity

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For this photo challenge, publish an image that conveys serenity.

Last month we enjoyed the serenity and pristine beauty of Pourvoirie Du Lac Beauport, Quebec. It was so different to life in Australia. An amazing experience.

 

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/serenity/

Weekly Photo Challenge: New

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Possibility. Opportunity. Potential. As another year gets underway, let’s celebrate the new.

Today we had our serious day of winter weather. The first day of real snow in our 5 weeks in Canada. Whilst on the odd occasion it has snowed before never was it like this. When we left our motel this morning the streets were clear. By the time we returned home there was 15 cm of snow. It was awesome. Fine powdery snow that was fun to walk in, although I am sure I found muscles I didn’t know I had. I have never not seen the streets not cleared before, so it was difficult at times to tell where the footpath ended and the road started.

Winter Fun in Ottawa

I am hoping it continues to snow tomorrow as the prospect of freezing rain, another new experience actually doesn’t excitement me. But que sera sera, whatever will be will be. It’s all part of understanding what it is like to live in Canada, which is why we traveled from Australia in the first place.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/new/