The warmth of photos and memories

In the midst of a winter with more snow that the previous 3 winters combined I have been working on material for a digital photography course that a friend and I are developing and I came across this one of a Grey Heron fishing in the marsh located near a Cuban resort. It always nice to go through old photos and pass a bit time remembering the experiences, people, and, in this case, warmth of the sun, of the past. Take some time and dig deep into some old photo boxes. Have a laugh at what you and your friends used to look like. Remember people who you may not have seen in a while. Maybe even give them a call. Photos are what keep our memories alive, and there's a some pretty good times locked up in all those albums.

We're connected to the real world again!

Let the bells ring, we've got highish speed again! After months of research and trying a few different technologies we've finally got a way to stay connected with the 21st Century. It's called mobile wireless, and it's less expensive than satellite, and a lot more flexible. We can actually take the laptop with us and connect anywhere that there's a Bell network. Sweet!

Now, which movie trailers do I want to watch? Oh yeah, my nephew David's movie is just sitting there waiting for me to watch. Now that's awesome!

BTW - while I've been writing this I'm listening to Radio Paradise, an internet radio station out of Paradise California, and searching for the image attached to this entry. Oh how I've missed that radio station - they play awesome music. The best part of all is that it's cheaper than satellite with no long term contract, unlike satellite, and it's unlimited, also unlike satellite, with a latency as low as 100 ms (for you techno-types out there).

Very picturesque, when you don't have to shovel it.

A blanket of clean white snow, shimmering in the sunlight can make winter a much warmer place to be. Within a few footsteps of our door there are lots of scenes worthy of the camera lens, artists brush, or just an appreciative eye.

There is also a great spot with a long sweeping hill for tobagganing, and as I was out taking these pictures a few fun loving New Year's revellers hiked out and rode the snow into the valley of farmers fields.

The New Year is all about the celebration.

What better way to bring in the New Year than with good food cooked to order in a fondue, good friends around you, and all brought together with an awesome fireworks show courtesy of Richard and Val, and the Davis'. In true battle fashion, Richard and Val began the show with some strong launches of colour and sound, but the Davis' were not to be out-done. They fired back an incredible display of lights and explosive force, and were poised to take the crown when a few volleys from the rival backyard forced a re-grouping.

The Davis', rather than duking it out, chose to join in the festivities by cheering on Richard and Val, even launching a few well timed streams of light in support of the gargantuan effort. In the end, and only after a singing of Oh Canada! and a few selective Christmas carols, all were victorious for having witnessed an awesome show to ring in the new year.

Well done, Martha and Maurice, Richard and Val, and the Davis'. Happy New Year!

The nice thing about digital is that you can post your pictures right away.

The not so nice thing about working long hours and having dial-up is that you may not always post things right way. So...here are a couple of pictures from Christmas night, when we were lucky to have a few close neighbours over to help us celebrate the day.

The evening was capped off with some Wii bowling, karaoke (Y..M..C..A will never be the same now that we all know the words), and a little car racing for the boys. Sharon, Phil, Sarah, Roxanne, and Jason joined us for some holiday cheer and it was the best Christmas that anyone could have asked for.