My Big News

As some of you already know, I have some  big news to share with you. Over the holidays, Dave proposed to me. It was perfect and amazing and I of course said yes. The story, since I have been asked so many times, goes like this:

On Thursday, December 30, 2010 Dave and I went to Upper Canada Village in Morrisburg to take night photos of the Alight at Night Festival. During our 2-3 hours there we walked around and took many photos of the night lights and even had fresh gingerbread, so yummy. We then got back to our car where Dave brought out the hot chocolate he had made for us and snuck in our thermos. We then drove back to Ottawa listening to the Glee soundtrack that he had so nicely downloaded and put on his new Google phone. When we got back to town he drove us towards downtown and I thought he was driving us to Parliament Hill as I had also wanted to take photos of the lights on the Parliament buildings. Instead he turned onto Sussex and parked overlooking the Ottawa River. He had music playing on his phone and had packed blankets and pillows for sitting in the back of the car - it was very nice. The evening was great and because it was so cold (it is Winter in Ottawa), the ring actually fit me.
It is now at the jewellery store being resized as even though Dave took his iron ring as a reference, it was still too small (only be about one size though). His iron ring fits my right hand but not my left unfortunately.
I am very happy and looking forward to all the planning and organization that is involved in getting a wedding set up. But first things first, Dave and I are still planning on getting a house this Spring.

Tulip Festival 2010

Yesterday was the first day of the tulip festival – my favourite festival in Ottawa.
I ventured out to Commissioners Park, the tulip site I visit the most during the festival, a week before it all started to see how the tulips were doing and was able to get some shots of the early bloomers. You see, like the tulips in my backyard, the Tulip Festival tulips also bloomed early, I suspect due to the odd weather we had at the end of winter/beginning of spring.
Dave and I went out on the starting day of the Festival as we had the day off from work (a nice reward for working 20 hours the weekend before – 14.5 of which were consecutive). There weren’t too many people out and about as it was a Friday, but there were enough that I actually had to be patient and wait for tourists to take photos with their iPhones and of course the obligatory self-portraits.
I was able to get a few good shots, though not as many as I would have liked.
Anyway, the point of this post was to direct you to my photography blog and my Flickr site as both will have numerous tulip shots from the festival for the next little while. Photos on my blog will be interspersed with 100 Possibilities shots and a few other things I have done recently, but worry not as the tulips are out in full force and my camera is more than ready for them.

Above Photo: White Stuff

Garden 2010 Part III

I spent a little while out in the backyard this past weekend getting to know this year’s tulips (I realize they are the same tulips bulbs as last year and are therefore the same colours in the same spots, but the quality of each is a little different). This is the latest photo of my backyard tulips. Other than the fact that there is little grass in the backyard, and there are giant thistle-y weeds present (I have to get some gloves before I can remove them), the backyard is once again a pleasant place.

Garden 2010 Part I & II

PART I

I wasn’t sure if they would make it through the winter, as they weren’t very deep in the ground when the snow finally came, but the tulips lived. I first noticed they were sprouting in early March.

As you can see from the photo above, the snow was still around when they started coming up. What you likely can’t see is the the flowers in the middle elliptical bed are not nearly as tall as the ones on the outer bed – likely because the snow took longer to leave that area.
I was really worried when they came up so early as a couple more nights of frost came after they had sprouted. But they made it through that too.
PART II
I unfortunately I didn’t get out in the garden until this past weekend to take some shots of the tulips. This photo was taken the second day of April – don’t they look much livelier?! I do love my tulips.

Commissioners Park

Dave and I made out to the Tulip Festival yesterday (during the opening weekend). We went out to Commissioners Park after a long day of driving and car shopping. It was nice and relaxing, just what the two of us needed. I obviously took a ton of photos but due to a spot on either my lens or within my camera itself, a large percentage of them are not as good as I would have wanted. I was also trying a few different things in terms of aperture settings, etc so some of the photos are a little over exposed. But they are not beyond repair and there will be tons of time to take more photos during the Tulip Festival so I am not discouraged in the least. There shouldn't be any problem with returning multiple times as the event is free and due to Dave's vast knowledge of the area, we are able to park without having to pay the large fees that the lots charge near the sites. I really enjoy the just walking around the Tulip Festival sites and spending time with Dave.

Tulip Festival 2009

The Ottawa Tulip Festival starts this weekend and runs until the 18th of May. It is quite possibly my favourite festival that Ottawa runs throughout the year. It is mostly free, has beautiful flowers and art displays and allows me to really focus on my photography.
This year I want to try and take in other aspects of the festival (other than just photographing the flowers that is). There is a presentation about Karsh on May 7 that I am hoping to go to but my attendance depends on a few things.
I can't wait to get out there and really start moving forward with my Tulip photo collection - and this year I can even take photos in my own backyard when I am too lazy or tired to go to one of the festival sites. I am obviously very excited.

One Minute Writer #4

If you could choose to put all your tax money toward one area of spending, what would it be?
I have thought about this and can't decide. I have two ideas - both pretty predictable when it comes to me: camera equipment and travel. I want to purchase multiple pieces of equipment for my photography, the big ones right now are a macro lens and a flash attachment. I am planning on getting the macro lens before the Tulip Festival starts as a belated birthday present to myself (and partially my parents and Dave).
I also want to go to Montreal soon and would really enjoy spending the money on that.
When it comes right down to it, I intend on doing both things and the tax return is just a bonus. I will be buying camera equipment and I will be travelling this spring/summer. That makes me happy.

Tulip Arrival

On Wednesday I went to check the temperature outside to see if I needed my winter coat or not - as I stepped out the back door I saw that the tulips Dave and I had planted literally just before winter hit, were beginning to sprout. It made me so happy. I love flowers in general but tulips are so pretty and so extremely photogenic. I showed them to Dave when he got home last night and he seemed pleasantly surprised that our last minute planting had worked. I spent some time out there this afternoon taking pictures of the little guys as I want to document their growth.
This is what the backyard looks like right now:
I want to get some grass seed as moving into the house and the planting of the tulips has destroyed the little bits of grass that we used to have. I also want to get some marigolds or other 'easy' flowers to have in some planters around the yard. I was also thinking of some rocks to put around the edges of the flower beds as they are currently blending in with the ground. I am so excited for Spring to be coming and even more excited to have my own backyard (well sort of) that I can make pretty and photogenic.

I am not okay with this!!

So I got up just now to use the restroom and on my way back noticed something horrifying --- it is snowing. Today is April 6 and it is snowing. I am 100% NOT okay with this. April is the time of rain and the onsets of Spring - the snow turns that disgusting grey colour and slowly disappears. It does not accumulate. This snow better not last because if it does I am going to snap and be outside with a hair dryer.

Today...

Today is officially the first day of spring and to reward us for a long, cold winter Mother Nature has delivered us ... a freaking cold Spring day. Anyway, the spring equinox is basically the day when both sides of the Earth receive the same amount of light, in other words the Earth isn't tilting above or below the equator. Neato huh?!


Spring is not my favourite season, as discussed in a previous post, but it is up there. I am not a huge fan of the heat in the summer, or the blistering cold of the Ottawa winter. Spring leads to the tulips and other flowers and generally pretty things, which I love so much as it is slowly but surely getting to the point where I can go outside and take photos pretty much whenever I want.

Today is also the 40th anniversary of the Hungry Caterpillar, the book by Eric Carle. Admittedly I didn't know his name until Google told me, but I definitely remember this book. It was everywhere when I was growing up. My family didn't own a copy that I know of, but it was at school and daycare and most of the babysitters had it as did the majority of my friends. The book follows a little caterpillar growing from egg to cocoon to a beautiful butterfly as it munches away all the time teaching children good nutrition and other valuable information.