2013 IN PHOTO REVIEW

2013 was a good year with ordinary moments and fun! From a trip to Niagara-

to winter images on my street in December.

Fun at the Ex in Toronto!

To fresh produce from many market and farm outings during the summer and fall.

To a new addition to the family. Reviewing many photo images of the year, reminds me of the moments that were enjoyed. Nothing over the top, nothing amazing, nothing larger than life-but just life. Moments in time! To end the year with a roof over my head-there were some bad weather moments, family intact from coast to coast, some money in the bank to pay the bills, and projects waiting to be finished gives encouragement and hope for the year to come. Many people thought with the 13 in the year it was ominous! How was your year? Do you have photo images to share? A picture does speak a thousand words! Go ahead and share!

LIFE IS LIKE THE AFTERMATH OF AN ICE STORM WITH THE ICE ON THE BRANCHES MELTING EVENTUALLY

The ice storm gave some moments of reflection. Many areas with tall trees with large branchers snapped off  them, looked like a mini war zone! Tops of trees bent over. The fear that more snow or wind would topple the trees completely. Hanging on! People being very careful not to walk under the trees for fear of another branch crashing! Then on Saturday, warmer temperatutres brought some melting. Hearing the crackle and bits of ice falling everywhere. The trees and the branches started to recover and become tall again. Like life-we all have ice storms and some parts of us can break never to recover. Some parts laden with ice just keep holding on until the crisis passes. Times in our lives where we are dealing with a job loss-finances become a nightmare; watching a loved one die-our hearts are broken; children leaving home-the empty nest or health problem-waiting for the answer after diagnostics. Well the list of life could go one. It can feel like a terrible storm has struck us. As I watched the various trees and bushes in and around my house recovering slowly as the ice melted, a warmth returned to me. The broken branches will be cleared away to make the paths safe again. Spring will let us know how well the vegetation really fared! Life can many storms. How we weather our personal storms allow us to be human! Some people do succumb to one broken branch! Others cut the whole tree down hopping new shoots will come from the base and go on! Life is a tree with branches, a trunk and roots! I reflected on how many "personal storms" I have experienced in my life. Starting in childhood to the last few years! Yes I have several broken branches-dreams not met but other parts of my tree are flourishing with the realization I am not sure how tall it will become. The seeds from my tree have flown with the wind so I am never sure what impact in life they have made. One thing I do know is that life does go on! The choice is-do you stay stopped in your tracks or do you pick yourself up and just keep growing!! How is your tree of life doing? Are you weathering your own personal storm right now? Can you wait until your ice melts and frees you up again?

CHRISTMAS 2013 REFLECTIONS

Christmas was festive and fun! A time to have family eat and enjoy too much food! A time to count our blessings and be glad we were together! A time to remember those no longer with us or who live far away and could not be with us! A day of little children running around and no wanting to eat the special meal but their usual daily food! A dessert table laden with Christmas cakes and cookies and one grandson wanting the simple packaged ones Nana always gives him!! A day to use as the culmination of all the preparations that went into the big event! Using the good dishes and platters and linens saved for Christmas! Time to call distant relatives in Italy and British Columbia to wish a Merry Christmas! At the end of the day-another sip of wine by the Christmas tree to reflect and be tired but with a joyous heart! To enjoy the quiet house when the grandchildren with all their noise leaves the buildings! But to know enjoying all that noise and excitement really does make Christmas special! Having those little ones in my life is the joy! Even the big ones too!! So what memories did this Christmas make for you? Are you missing someone? Did you add any new people to your life?

POWER MEANS WARMTH-MORE THOUGHTS ON THE ICE STORM 2013

Do you have power? We often think of power as the ability to control our lives. But lately in Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick it means electricity, hydro or "power". The Ice Storm has brought so much disruption to people's lives. Trying to stay in a cold house or apartment for days has been a test of strength. Some people succumbed and went to a hotel. Forget the warming centers set up! My daughter said not to treat someone like a "homeless person". Not shelters really so there is a difference. We were lucky. Only one daughter had no power for 1/2 day last Sunday. Many people in our area are still without electricity and spent Christmas day in jackets and hats opening presents. We are told to prepare for disasters with water, flashlights, a generator and other non-perishables-make sure to have a can opener. No one really tells people how to prepare emotionally! It does take a toll emotionally no matter how invincible everyone thinks they may be. Luckily many of our gadgets can be wireless or use batteries! But still trying to read a cell phone by candlelight wears after a few days. Not being able to flip the stations on the TV. One piece of advice I heard was to get a wood burning stove-sure on the 15th floor of an apartment building in downtown Toronto that would really work. Those unaffected have those gems of advice. When a disaster happens, advice can be great. However, no matter how prepared we think we may be, when there is destruction it is unbearable. Going down streets locally and seeing tree branches everywhere and the tops of trees with "spikes" where the branches have been is a little unnerving. Seeing your street differently! Like in tornados when whole subdivisions are taken out! All the preparation honestly does very little. I usually walk around my house when there is a warning with my purse over my arm and my camera. I figure I have my ID and insurance information if needed. Oh yes if the power goes out and everything is intact that is different. A few hours, a few days we do survive. Do we learn some priorities in our lives? Yes making sure the people we love are safe. Bringing friends and family into our homes for meals, warmth and a hot bath. Anger does set in. Why does one area have heat and others do not? Angry at the mayor, the utilities, the services and even God-why can't you work faster! Even knowing that it may be one tree branch cut at a time and one wire reattached at a time that well takes time sees a person thinking it is not enough when they are cold! It really is the darkest before the dawn. To those hanging in there, the power will return. To us lucky ones, inviting others has become a new norm! Sharing has a new meaning- warmth in a cold season! Do you think anyone will ever complain again if there is a power outage in the summer of being too hot??? We'll see!!!

ICE STORM 2013 IN THE GREATER TORONTO AREA

Early morning December 22 brought the reality of the Ice Storm. Tree branches laden with ice snapped and on the ground. In Toronto, many branches taking down hydro wires. In my neighbourhood the lines are underground. My hydro grid is on the hospital grid-Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital-Mackenzie Health! Many areas in Richmond Hill are still without power as I write this. Many of work colleagues do not have power and the joke at work is they can bring their stuff and use showers there. 70,000 customers had been without power in York Region which equates to more people as there are family groups. Many people in Toronto-an estimate of 250,000++ customers- will not have power until the end of the week. So who cooks Christmas dinner for many will  have changed. With all the ice on the trees still very frozen, the worst is not over. A snowfall or wind or both will bring many more branches crashing down. All the streets have little piles of branches. We have some branches down. The good news is my neighbour cut many long branches that were hanging into my property back in September so I still have a roof!! What is always amazing is how we prepare! Even myself being through other acts of nature could have done a better job. Only 1/4 tank of gas in the car, 1 bag of milk, and could have had more salt and all my flashlights in working order. Of course, Adolph just shrugs it off since we were one of the lucky ones who only had the power off for 20 minutes then 10 minutes. If it was day 3 without power like many in the GTA perhaps he would not be shrugging!  Luckily the schools are out, many people have taken time off work for the Christmas week, less cars. Pearson Airport with the largest de-icing system in the world has been getting as many people on their way. We may need Hydro crews from the States as we do have reciprocal agreements with them-we helped with Hurricane Sandy for example. So here's to the service providers-hydro, cable, phone, road and all the other crews working 24 hours non-stop to restore services to us. An added note-seeing the sky light up with a transformer blowing is a little eerie. Early Sunday morning since I awakened at 4 am I witnessed those flashes in the sky both south and north of us- lightening bolts can bring interesting imagery but transformers blowing really do not!

Will the trees survive all their breakage? Only time will tell. Anyone need some ice! There's plenty in the GTA!

CHRISTMAS MAGICAL MOMENTS

Christmas magic happens because adults make it happen. The recent Toy Mountain Drive in the GTA went over its number to get 150,000 toys donated. The CHUM Christmas wish is doing well. Food bank drives and adopting a family drives for Christmas are in full swing. In every area across Canada, adults are helping local people with their special Christmas collections and efforts to feel some magic! Santa and all the Santas out there that make sure the children in their lives have magical moments! Some of my work colleagues went together to make magic happen for a couple of little girls that wanted some new bedding for their new place. Me-I did my own thing and made some magic of my own! Grandparents are able to fill some gaps in the wish lists for the grandchildren at the relief of the parents! Helps to fill the spaces under the tree! The fun with making magical moments-like a living room with music boxes, singing snowmen, santas to touch and boxes to rearrange- is the adults can revisit all the magic of Christmas. I sometimes watch from another room my grandchildren enjoying Nana and Granpa's things! A home with the preferred family decorations or theme with lights bring a joy, coziness and room to create memories. Every Christmas tree decorated to the owner's special effort! I love decorated trees and often spend time just looking at all the ornaments and things on them to appreciate the care and effort that went into it! Yes the season with all the fuss and hoopla can make many adults really tired! After the tired comes the magic and those magical moments with little children on Christmas morning thrilled that Santa came. For the big children looking through that Christmas stocking for all the little things that arrived by magic! But honestly there are no magicians just a lot of busy elves with various names like Mommy, Daddy, auntie, uncle, grandpa, grandmother-well you get the picture! To all that make the magic happen, enjoy the moments!!

CHRISTMAS PHOTOGRAPHY TAKES PLANNING

Christmas photos take some planning and creativity. In the midst of present opening and eating and children running around photos may seem like they are easy to get but often not. The larger the crowd the harder it is to get everyone in one spot or willing to have the picture taken. Everyone has their strategy on trying to get the shots!!! I have learnt from my past mistakes. One year several of us wore a black sweater so in the picture we are merged as one big blob!! So a variety of colours between the same colour can distinguish each person. One of my daughters suggested several years ago to take the family shots between courses. Eat the dinner then pause for pictures before having dessert and coffee! It works as everyone is more willing after the tummies are full. Do you have a good spot with a fun background? Sometimes we use the fireplace and other times the living room couch with teddy bears in the background. I have a favourite shot of Adolph, the girls and me all holding a teddy bear.  Trying to get the grandchildren in one shot is like trying to herd cats! I have several Christmas hats so maybe yell everyone put on a hat and snap, snap, snap! So sometimes if I see all the grandchildren in one spot or area, quickly tell them-look at Nana and get a shot or two. Sometimes it is not easy to take adult pictures-two of my adult family can be a pain in getting their pictures. If there are several events happening, I try to make sure I get a picture with my husband, each of my girls, each grandchild alone and different family group shots. With a recent Sip n See and two family dinners approaching, I make an effort to keep track of what shots have not occurred! Actually the Christmas pictures started with the Santa Claus parade. For any photographer out there, the rule of thumb is take lots of pictures. For me as long as I have the preferred groupings it does not matter at which event it occurs! The girls are good with taking the annual Christmas pictures with an outside photographer so they are added to the scrapbooked photo album or added to a frame to see year round! So as a Nana I often grab a kid and say take my picture quickly! Although group shots are fun, those one on one with the loved ones in my life have meaning too. You see-I have some long range projects in mind. Each grandchild may get their own scrapbooked album from Nana one day in the distant future. I make sure Granpa has a photo with each grandchild too! I know it sounds lame but I often walk around family or other social events with my camera on my shoulder ready to click the photos as I see them! As any photographer can tell you that elusive 5 seconds to grab the camera and the moment has passed!! Digital lets us all take lots and edit or delete what we do not want! I often wonder during this season how many photos are occurring every minute or hour! Happy photographing and to all a good pose! Smile-let me take your picture!