Spring Lambs and Sunshine

Apologies for the late update, I just simply ran out of time at the weekend.

Spring must finally be in the air because I did some cleaning :o) Rob and I hung a couple of pictures in the hallway and we finally got round to getting some much needed coat hooks on the wall as well.

Saturday, Rachael popped over. I promised I would give her a quick lesson in Photoshop and prove to her it's not as hard as she thinks...I think I convinced her. She brought her youngest son Dean with her and while we were talking tech upstairs we left him and Rob watching The Inbetweeners downstairs...Just as well she is broad minded and doesn't mind what he watches. I never watched The Inbetweeners in the UK, no doubt I was too busy watching something else on the other side, but now it's on Netflix I have caught up with it and both Rob and I have been in stitches watching it. For anyone reading that doesn't know what it is, I will recommend it to you, but only if you are not offended easily!

Sunday Anne, Smiffy and I went out for the day. Rob stayed at home (he was invited, just in case you were wondering), but wanted to stay home to study for his up coming Gas exam in May. The weather on Sunday was positively gorgeous, beautifully sunny without a cloud in the sky and the temperature reached the heady heights of 17 degrees. I think we might have finally turned a corner on the weather front. Anyway, Anne, Smiffy and I headed out to visit a work colleague of Anne's. Doug and Heidi have a hobby farm in the Avondale area, although I am not sure I would call it a hobby with 100 acres to deal with...(They have jobs in the city as well!) We went to see there to see the new lambs that have just been born and just how adorable were they!!?? Very lively and nibbley thinking were were going to bottle feed them :o) We spent ages taking photos in the barn (most of which were a shambles on my part sadly, I got more blur than sheep for the most part). It was great fun.

Upon leaving there (quite sometime later) we headed to a spot that Smiffy new for lunch, a rather odd little 'one shop does all' kind of a place, it's a B&B, Gift/Craft shop, restaurant and hardware shop. The food was very good, homemade and tasty. As we were leaving I needed to use the loo and wandered through the hardware shop to get to it, on my return I was admiring a garden rake (I don't have one and there are a lot of leaves in the back yard (to date I have always borrowed one from neighbours and friends). The owner shouted out to me I could have it as she was getting rid of the hardware shop...I was thrilled, and proceeded to pick up a broom and asked her if I could have that too, (cheeky....I know)...She said yes...Bargain! While I was there I did also buy 3 wool balls which apparently are revelation when tumble drying. They supposedly cut down on energy by 20% as the wool absorbs the moisture more quickly hence the drying time required is reduced. I shall let you know how that goes when I test it out. I shall leave you with a couple of images of the sheep and lambs. Click to view larger.

Just as cute as can be!

The adult sheep were so friendly and just wanted fussing

What no milk?

 

A Right Rural Outing

Busy week this week, once again I been working late on various projects, I really don't mind if it means bumping up my time off, always a good thing in my book.

Wednesday I went to the camera club, had a catch up with a few people. I must confess I love seeing everyone there, but sometimes it gets a bit hectic trying to get round everyone and cram the conversations into a short space of time. I found the content of the meeting to be utterly boring this week, and nearly dropped off a couple of times as the guest speaker (nice chap) meandered on and on and on about the ins and outs of taking sports/hockey shots. Something I doubt I will ever do much of.

During the meeting Anne got some great news from Smiffy, he finally got a job, so pleased for him as I know the last few months of searching have proved difficult and frustrating. Now he has a job in a position that suits his skill set in an reputable Architects firm in down town Halifax. Well done Smiffy!!

Thursday I went out to lunch with my friend Lucia, who is looking to recruit my services for her firm on a freelance basis for her marketing dept. This is something that I could do as well as the full time job I already have (and enjoy).  I am still undecided what I should do about this as having heard more about what may be involved I am not sure if I am suited to some of the work. I am going to meet her again this week and hopefully find out more.

Saturday I went out with Rachael to ride shotgun on a stakeout...It's a very long story, but basically some guy sold her a car (bought for her teenage son). It had a current MVI (MOT) and looked okay for a runaround, old but in fairly good nick. Well it turns out that the MVI was well dodgy, and the vehicle should not have had a certificate at all, It was stripped of it last week and she is stuck with the car and now needs to sue the fella. She wasn't sure if the address he gave was fake or not, so we went to investigate on Saturday. Turns out the bloke is a complete dumb ass, we found the place, big old garage next to a mobile home with a red truck for sale at the end of the driveway, with details and matching phone number to the one Rachael had for him...Job done, I took some photos and off we went, he will be served with papers hopefully next week.

Today, Rachael, Cheryl and I went out for the day...a long day...We left at 9 am and got back around 7.30pm this evening. I wasn't sure how fruitful the day would be in terms of photographs, we headed for the general area of Truro and deviated a fair few times on route. Found some old homes, one of which we struck gold with as the woman who owned it said we could go inside and take photos...It was so good, peeling paint moldy, bits and bobs everywhere...Great stuff. We also shot a lot of farms including Shady Lane, which was the Farm B& B Rob and I stayed at two years running when we were on holiday here back in 2005/2006. I have always stayed in touch with Betty and John and they were kind enough to let us wander round and also let us up to their old barn in the top field for a poke around. Definitely my kinda day. Loved it.

Now I really need to get some sleep, I think I am wind burnt and so tired! Below just three images from our outing today. More to come next week. Click on the images to view larger in full HDR!

Footsteps on Old Floors...
There couldn't have been a more apt title in the pile!

I think that sofa's going to need a clean!

Home and The Range :o)

Social Media Junkie!

Not much to report this week, mainly as the weather has been crappy again this weekend which in turn has led to me doing pretty much nothing.

Got a call from Lucia (if you remember way back I met her whilst being delayed at Gatwick airport after my trip back to the UK in 2011). In all honesty I thought perhaps her and her other half had left Canada and moved elsewhere, but it turned out she has just been experiencing an unfortunate turn of events which left her out of touch with everyone for a year or so. Anyway, she wanted to know how I was doing and if I would be interested in some Marketing and Communications consulting work for the company she works for. I am of course thrilled that she would think of me, and it would be something I could possibly consider as an extra role to current position on freelance basis. The money would be excellent double my hourly wage now or more.. Just a couple of things to consider...Can I do it? And paying taxes on the extra income...Would it be worth my while or would I lose more than I would gain as seems the norm round here with taxes! I hope to meet up with her next week sometime to find out more about  the requirements.

I have spent most of this week creating signage and marketing material for work, I don't know where the time has gone, I have been putting in some extra hours as well.

On the home front, I have been updating my website and adding to my online presence by jazzing up my Twitter page and my YouTube channel. I think it's now fair to say I am a social media junkie...BUT...I stay firm on my never having a Facebook Page!

2 months today off the smokes...It feels so much longer. In truth I have had a couple of puffs on my more stressy days. I have found that the odd puff (maybe half a cigarette) keeps my angst at bay. But the great thing about this is, one doesn't lead to two ...So I am pretty sure now I can control it and just have to odd puff if I need to. Of course the cravings are still bad, I am beginning to wonder if they will ever subside!

The key to this whole thing is having cigarettes in the house...That must sound crazy right? But that fact is, it's not so much that I have given up, it's more the case that I choose not to and knowing that I have the cigarettes in the house helps. If they weren't there, I think psychologically I would find this much harder. So if anyone reading this is still a smoker and wants to quit. Try it my way...No patches required. Although in the first stages an electronic cigarette is a great tool.

Instead of a whole thwack of photos this week, I have put together a slide show of my photographic endeavours from the Lumber Yard last weekend. I am so pleased with the results from this trip. There definitely is Art in Industry! Also below is a video that I stumbled across on YouTube which cat owners amongst us may find very familiar and entertaining. I am now completely hooked on Simon's Cat.

Getting Creative

A super busy week this week for me. I have been working some extra hours and getting to grips with a new project I am working on which involves writing copy and creating images for part of the company website focusing on the printing side of things. It's something I will definitely enjoy doing, but it will take up quite a bit of my time and I have to co-ordinate all the information with other parties involved.

My brother Clive sent across his old Windows 7 smart phone this week for Rob to use as his antique Motorola flip phone was about ready for the knackers yard. After getting over the fact that the dear customs people had opened the parcel and charged him $40 tax on a second hand phone (not bought or reconditioned as the paperwork stated), he then proceeded to try and start using the phone...OMG the ultimate definition of frustration...Rob and that phone! All I heard for the first day was a never ending torrent of swear words, and I thought I was bad with mine! Anyway after a bumpy start he fixed himself up with a plan from Bell and has now got to grips with most of the features. Even took some photos with it yesterday and tweeted one!

Yesterday, Rob and I joined several other camera club members on a field trip to
Baratts (decommissioned) Lumber Yard. It was very cold the wind was biting and we had snow intermittently which was nice...NOT! Luckily most of what I was interested in was inside rather than out. Had a blast with all the left behind tools and equipment all covered in sawdust. Great photo fodder. Would absolutely love to go back there again better weather. Photos to follow next week from this outing.

As the weather has been so crappy lately I haven't really been out and about much, which has made me somewhat depressed and grumpy, although I do believe the not smoking is partly to do with this as well. The good thing to come out of my dark frame of mind, is the fact that it has forced me to be more creative. So I have been turning my hand more and more to indoor photography. You have already seen examples of the Easter collection, next on my list was Cool Britannia, using items that my friend Sarah had sent to me, I created a mini series of UK themed minimal art pieces which I am pretty pleased with (See below). If you are reading this and would like to buy any of my work you can check out my website.

Finally birthday wishes go out to my brother Clive this week. I hope you had a wonderful day!



After the Party






Wooden Heart



Home is where the heart is

 

Happy Easter

Just a very quick update today as it is really late and I should have bee in bed hours ago.

The sun came out for the long weekend here and the temperatures have been very Spring-like, I just hope this is the shape of things to come!

I haven't really done anything this week so I don't have much news at all. I have been practicing more of my indoor still life photography just to see what I could come up with for an Easter theme. A couple of these I did post on my last entry and here you can see some more. I don't want to be regarded as a one trick pony when it comes to photography as I would like to think I am capable of more than a pretty landscape shot.

Robert helped move Smiffy from his Elmsdale Apartment to Anne's house on Thursday, I didn't go along to help as I feel I would have been about as much use as a chocolate fireguard with my limp bingo wings. Tonight we were invited over for a lovely dinner, which was much appreciated and hit the spot! My appetite is still raging thanks to me not smoking....6 weeks and 3 days today!

I hope you all enjoyed and are enjoying the long weekend over in the UK. Belated birthday wishes go out to Sarah B this weekend, I hope you had a lovely birthday.

Fresh Eggs for Breakfast

Arty Eggs - Hand coloured in Photoshop

Taxes & Houses

A late update this week, I just don't know where the time went.
I had so much planned around the house and accomplished very little. On both Friday and Saturday night I was up working late on a commissioned logo, it was one of those scenarios where I just couldn't stop until it was done, so as night turned into day I was just heading to bed.

On Saturday we had an appointment to file our taxes at H&R Block. Once again, as last year, we came out scratching our heads and were bloody annoyed at the fact we ended up owing nearly a grand in taxes. How in gods name does this happen?, we hardly have a pot to piss in income-wise and yet we end up owing money. Anyway, that's it now, I think it's fair to say it would be unlikely that we file our taxes there again. I am going to enlist some proper advise from an accountant and find out what it is we are doing wrong.

Any Canadian readers of the blog out there, I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences on H&R Block via the message board. They charged us $357 in filing fees alone!

After we had finished being fleeced there, we went for a drive around Dartmouth looking at houses. Rob and I have been thinking more and more about buying a house, but have failed to agree on price and style. Admittedly, I am thinking higher end, best neighbourhoods, with no regards to budget or what is realistic and Rob is totally the other end of the spectrum. That said we did find one that we both liked the look of in an nice area that we both like...And that in itself is 'what I call' progress, as I am very particular.

We went back to check out the inside on Sunday at the Open House...I then fell in love! By the time we had finished looking around I had practically moved our stuff in mentally. Rob reminded me that I was jumping the gun somewhat, to which I got very snippy...As is the norm of late since quitting the cigarettes...Yes I am still off them but going quietly insane, as I have no nicotine release for those stressy situations. 

Sorry, I digressed for a moment there. The next thing we need to do, is find out what we are eligible for mortgage-wise and possibly aim to get somewhere by the end of the year or early next year. The good news about the house we liked is the fact it's a new build and if it sells in the meantime we could have one built the same in the same area as they are still expanding that subdivision.

As Easter is around the corner here's some edible offerings

You gotta love edible props!

The Weekly Round-Up!

Another week closer to Spring...I hope!

So I begin where I left off last week, Rob and I actually ventured out last Sunday to Shubie Park as the sun was shining. I took a few shots mostly of ducks and squirrels. It was nice to signs of life after the long Winter. I loved watching the ducks coming in to land on the (still iced over) lake, some of them had a pretty skiddy and bumpy landing, but there were no major injuries I am pleased to report.

It was Spring break this week here, so all the kids have been off school and the things are generally quiet as families tend to get away, so the week has gone by pretty slowly as business has been a little slower.

Friday the snow made another appearance which I was of course thrilled about...NOT! Still it was only a little bit and it pretty much melted as soon as it came.

I am still off the cigarettes but finding my temper very, very short. Those that know me reading this, will already vouch that I have no patience anyway, but imagine that but three times worse! Poor Rob only has to look at me wrong right now and I am spouting venom.

Saturday night we went out with Anne and Smiffy, along with Anne's friend Kat and a host of other folk (mostly British Ex Pats) who Smiffy knows from the Elmsdale area. We were all meeting up to celebrate Smiffy's birthday and also Kat's birthday which are both this week on Monday and Tuesday. After the meal we went...Bowling! This time there were no embarrassing incidents of Brits putting their shoes on the counter. We ended up bowling Boys vs Girls. As the boys were one player down on the girls, although it looked like we won on paper, we actually lost I believe, however on a positive note, I actually bowled okay this time, even got a spare once...That has never happened before, here or in the UK. It was a highly enjoyable evening and we really enjoyed meeting everyone.
Happy Birthday Smiffy for Tuesday!!

Today I woke up aching a bit from the bowling. I took a trip out with Rachel, the weather started off okay but got progressively colder as the day went on, we went down to Fisherman's Wharf at Eastern Passage then across to Halifax for a wander around. It was so nice to get out and take some photos again, I don't feel I have been doing nearly enough of it lately.

Finally birthday wishes this weekend got to Marjorie!! Happy Birthday!

This duck had the right idea, a sun spot and no ice

A tentative squirrel makes a move towards some bird seed

Fisherman's Wharf, Eastern Passage, taken today.

Fisherman's Buckets in the window of a shack
at Fisherman's Wharf

Some of the bowling posse...Left to right, Kat, Rebecca,
 Me, Rose, Mel & sneaking into frame, Smiffy and Dudley