The Old and the Restless

On November 6 we were invited to Daryl and Jane's for a lovely lunch and a walk in Niagara-on-the-Lake. We left Toronto in the sun but the closer we got to the lake, the more we found fog. Jane and her garden for all seasons. The fog did not extend as far as Daryl and Jane's house. Daryl and Paul in deep conversation. No sun, some fog, but still a good walk. The path ahead. Looking down towards the Niagara River. Even though the sun was not out, there was still lots of leaf colour in the "banana belt".

No new photos; however here are the results of some things I learned at a Photoshop Elements course this week. Here is the original photo of Michael at the Thanksgiving dinner. What is missing? The background could be improved. Eliminate the refrigerator and toaster. An original picture of Joshua with the flash shadow. Besides being cropped, what else is missing in this picture? I have been trying to discover how to get rid of a shadow like this for a long time.   No shadow and a better colour. An original picture of Daryl. Here is Daryl minus a few wrinkles, with a bit of a haircut, and without the shadow.

Mark and Margot were invited to their friends' place for dinner and to play a murder mystery.  Joshua enjoyed wheeling around my suitcase. Ella was fine just as long as she didn't have to go to bed.  Time for a hug. Since Ella refuses to take a bottle, Margot had to come back to feed her between dinner and the murder mystery. She readily went to sleep after Margot put her to bed. Ella was glad to have her Mom back the next day. Meanwhile Joshua decided to read himself a story.

Thanksgiving dinner was at Mark and Margot's this year. It's time for Ella to go to bed. Night night, Joshua. The kids are asleep.  Dinner was good. "Chip" and "Old Block" Hmmm. Not so good. Another picture? I think this one's better.

The camera club of the R.T.O meets monthly at various places around the city. I was able to get to this meeting by a 10 minute uphill bike ride from where we are living right now. A view of the CN Tower from Lady Pellat's bedroom. Lady Pellat's sitting room has been nicely redecorated in the period style. Sir Henry was forced to auction off most of the original furniture.  It was such a beautiful day that we spent most of our time in the garden. A couple of monarchs were flitting around. This one stayed still long enough for me to try a macro shot. Trying out the "super macro" on my new camera. A discussion about where we should take the next photo? Jeannie and Jim. Jeannie belongs to the Don Mills Camera Club which sound like an interesting group to join. Jim organizes the R.T.O. camera club outings. The yellow flowers go with the bike jacket.

On Friday, Paul's former partner Charles, from Barbados, and his wife, Linda, invited us to visit them and their friend, JoAnn, who lives near Creemore.   A view of JoAnn's house from the pond. When JoAnn bought the property 35 years ago it was all field. Now there are two ponds, several gardens, many varying trees and wind-breaks. Frogs leaped away when I put my hand in the water. Earlier in the week, Linda went swimming in the pond The second of the two ponds had a spectacular view over the Nottawasaga valley. The waterlilies were an unusual red colour. JoAnn has many gardens on her property, some dedicated to important people in her life. A close-up of one of the sunflowers. Paul and Charles appear to be having a very serious discussion. More relaxed now? With such a view, why hurry the discussion?  After lunch we planned to do a hike on the Bruce Trail. Here, Linda and JoAnn are in the kitchen, almost ready for the hike. JoAnn is an artist. Her drawings and paintings are th...