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Post by grammadee on Dec 17, 2021 15:49:17 GMT
A pea I'm friends with from the craft thread sent me an advent calendar. It is filled with stitch markers for knitting/crochet projects. You use the little clip to mark a spot on the project. Some projects you must have a bunch of stitch markers and these are what I've discovered so far in my advent calendar. Ha ha! Hadn't thought of yarn projects. My only experience with stitch markers was those wheels on handles that look like pizza cutters but have little nubs you can run through chalk and then run over your project to mark where to hand or machine sew it. |
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Post by grammadee on Dec 18, 2021 15:37:07 GMT
One WEEK til Christmas! And I love today's prompt from sleepingbooty: December 18th: R E J O I C E
R E J O I C E /rɪˈdʒɔɪs/ verb: to feel or show great happiness about something. Photograph a moment of active joy or simply something that makes you feel very happy these days. You may need to set your camera up beforehand and make sure you're ready to shoot to get this prompt captured but it'll be worth the effort to remember the faces of utter delight of family or friends meeting again, how your children's eyes lit up when they found out you were treating them to an early gift, the goofy look your dog gave you when they realised they were getting a rare treat. If you are Christian, this prompt may take on an extra special meaning during Christmastide. Of course I won't feel much like rejoicing while I am making beds and vaccuming, but I AM happy there will be some little people in this house during the next few days. Doesn't have to be Christmas Day to celebrate family! |
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Post by grammadee on Dec 19, 2021 0:09:31 GMT
A lot of happiness in this video our dsil sent this afternoon. Watch with sound!  IMG_0405 by Gramma Dee, on Flickr |
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Post by jeremysgirl on Dec 19, 2021 12:57:56 GMT
Rejoice! We had family Christmas last night with my mom. And my daughter was proposed to by her boyfriend. And bonus picture. My niece was a riot during the opening of presents.    |
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Post by grammadee on Dec 19, 2021 16:39:43 GMT
An engagement is wonderful symbol of the Rejoice prompt, jeremysgirl. And your niece is a hoot! You need a "Making Spirits Bright" phrase for that pic in your book! Here is sleepingbooty's photo prompt for today: December 19th: H O P E
The pandemic is still here and life doesn't quite ever stop presenting hurdles and hiccups.
And yet, through all of this, hope surfaces over and over again, taking on different forms. Capture how
it is currently manifesting in your life. Have you received a wedding invitation or birth announcement
recently? Are you getting your booster shot? Has a new pet joined the family? Do you volunteer? Is a
loved one making important progress? Let's make hope appear through the lens to be forever
rememberedI have a love/hate relationship with HOPE. It is really hard to look forward to something you don't know will happen. And Covid has really driven it home that we actually can not count on ANYTHING to go the way we HOPE it will. So Hope is scary. But when I feel down about it, I think of a Canadian politician whose farewell letter, read to the Commons after his death, included "Hope is better than fear." A song I listen to at Christmas, Bellam Wood takes it just one step further: "Heaven's not beyond the clouds: it's just beyond the fear". Here is to HOPE. |
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Post by sleepingbooty on Dec 19, 2021 20:54:34 GMT
I finally got to go see my mother today, woohoo! And get my camera back after forgetting it at her place early in the month.  I don't want to post a big photo dump so I'm going to double up on photos daily instead. Here's one for #23 Underneath. We went to get some kissy portraits done in the parental garden in a very indie Instagram-style (circa 2018): everything in focus, a lot of nature included and strong vertical "aspiration" composition. There is a beautiful old Aleppo pine that I wanted as a backdrop. Of course, my mother had to butt in after we were done and decided to recreate our portraits out of sheer mockery (tsk tsk tsk). She went all in: took my knitted beanie and leaned in with kissy lips.  Joke's on her, I quickly grabbed the camera and took a few shots. Not great as I didn't have the time to adjust the settings but these silly portraits turned out super cute and I'm definitely getting one framed as a bonus Christmas gift now!  And I also retrieved #16 Floor from my memory card with a swift shot of one of the feral cats in the garden. They're very camera shy but I managed to snap Monsieur Moustache watching us from behind a leafy pile before he jumped up and went to hide under one of the cars...  |
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Post by grammadee on Dec 20, 2021 15:52:06 GMT
Love your photos, sleepingbooty. Not sure if that kitty has the Christmas spirit... Here is today's photo prompt: December 20th: H A N D S They are our most used tools. They cut scrapbook papers, they press the shutter-release button, they write or type down the stories we want to look back on. Today, we celebrate them and everything they do. Holding a cup of hot coffee, carefully wrapping gifts, holding someone else's hand, kneading dough, working on your December album, putting on gloves before stepping outside, even expressing emotions. I think my own hands will be too busy getting ready for my ds's arrival today, but I do have a couple of pic's I have taken before and can share later to fit this prompt: one of my hand holding a Tim Hortons' festive coffee cup, and one of dgs's hands decorating cookies. Will look for other opportunities to get hand photos the rest of the season. |
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Post by jeremysgirl on Dec 21, 2021 11:25:59 GMT
Here is my photo for hands. I made this Christmas blanket with my hands. It's crocheted and I finished it this year. It's so cozy and I just love the way it came out.  |
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Post by sleepingbooty on Dec 21, 2021 18:22:26 GMT
Finally got #3 Green photographed: here's our minimalist wreath (on a white wall, of course  ). As city folks living in an apartment, there really aren't many opportunities to bring nature inside the home but we got this up so huzzah!  |
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Post by sleepingbooty on Dec 21, 2021 18:34:20 GMT
Here is my photo for hands. I made this Christmas blanket with my hands. It's crocheted and I finished it this year. Oh my, jeremysgirl , this is super pretty. I dig those Scandi vibes so much. Beautiful colour scheme, too. You're super talented. Can you tell us what's next to the potted Christmas trees? I can see a little something there but cannot make out what it is. A tiny bunny? I have a love/hate relationship with HOPE. It is really hard to look forward to something you don't know will happen. And Covid has really driven it home that we actually can not count on ANYTHING to go the way we HOPE it will. So Hope is scary. But when I feel down about it, I think of a Canadian politician whose farewell letter, read to the Commons after his death, included "Hope is better than fear." A song I listen to at Christmas, Bellam Wood takes it just one step further: "Heaven's not beyond the clouds: it's just beyond the fear". Here is to HOPE. I feel you, grammadee . This pandemic has brought so much uncertainty and punched through the comforting predictability of once certain markers like holidays and social habits. I wish you renewed faith in hope and many small joys on the daily. ❤️ Rejoice! We had family Christmas last night with my mom. And my daughter was proposed to by her boyfriend. Congratulations! What a wonderful pre-Christmas surprise. And such a lovely ring. Wishing your daughter and future SIL a wonderful engagement. That means you'll be scrapbooking wedding pictures in the not-so-distant future... 💍 A lot of happiness in this video our dsil sent this afternoon. Watch with sound! Oh, this is pure happiness. 😍 Somebody bottle it and sell it! Just wonderful. I was giggling out loud along to all the laughter by the end of it. Absolutely adore that protective doggy barking and running along. Lovely memories (and so much snow)... Thanks so much for sharing this with us, grammadee ! |
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Post by jeremysgirl on Dec 21, 2021 18:51:17 GMT
Can you tell us what's next to the potted Christmas trees? I can see a little something there but cannot make up what it is. A tiny bunny? It's actually just a triangle. It's just a place of pause common with this kind of mosaic technique. Thank you for the compliment. I really enjoyed making this blanket. And I already told DD I'm paying for the wedding photographer.  |
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Post by grammadee on Dec 21, 2021 21:05:55 GMT
Been busy with dgk's but here is the prompt from sleepingbooty 's list for today: December 21st: T E C H N I C O L O U R The brightest, the liveliest! Christmas is filled with colours and turns December into a feast for the eyes. As the Northern hemisphere grows sombre, the world is set ablaze with lights and decorations. Go hunt for a photograph of as many colours as possible. Play with your camera to let these colours come to life in different ways and don't shy away from a good ol' bokeh aesthetic.
Hang in there, Northern Hemisphere Peas. The days start getting LONGER tomorrow!
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Post by refugeepea on Dec 22, 2021 0:45:24 GMT
Wanted to add this today, because it's hilarious. I'll find a day it works with. No one impresses this child.  |
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Post by sleepingbooty on Dec 22, 2021 5:45:02 GMT
refugeepea Haha, his face is cracking me up. Krampus for him next year!
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Post by jeremysgirl on Dec 22, 2021 12:13:50 GMT
Does he believe in Santa refugeepea? My technicolor picture was my ice cream last night. I have a real thing for this seasonal ice cream from our dairy. It's not often you find these colors in ice cream...  |
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Post by grammadee on Dec 22, 2021 21:35:35 GMT
Just a quick drop-in to pass on today's clue, then off to the insanity of the rest of my house...
December 22nd: A C C I D E N T
Oops, did something just go wrong? Of course it did. We're only human after all.
Document evidence of imperfection and brush it off as a memory as good as any other. Life is also
made up of wrong turns and unexpected obstacles we trip over. Did you burn a batch of cookies? Did
your dog go a little wild as you were away? Muddy boot prints in the entrance after an afternoon
outside? Children's finger prints all over the glass after putting up some seasonal window stickers? It's
all good and worth capturing. Bigger stories also come in flawed, small details.
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Post by refugeepea on Dec 22, 2021 21:39:24 GMT
Probably not. I think we did Santa just one year with him. By the time he was two, I could tell he likely had Autism. He's non verbal and Christmas is sensory overload for him. We don't wrap presents. Everything gets dumped into a gift bag, he dumps it and we are done. The Santa photos are for my own enjoyment.
It's not often you find these colors in ice cream... My favorite flavor! Which reminds we there's a university that sells their own ice cream and they do this seasonal flavor. Theirs is the best! |
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Post by jeremysgirl on Dec 22, 2021 23:03:39 GMT
Probably not. I think we did Santa just one year with him. By the time he was two, I could tell he likely had Autism. He's non verbal and Christmas is sensory overload for him. We don't wrap presents. Everything gets dumped into a gift bag, he dumps it and we are done. The Santa photos are for my own enjoyment.
It's not often you find these colors in ice cream... My favorite flavor! Which reminds we there's a university that sells their own ice cream and they do this seasonal flavor. Theirs is the best! My child has pretty high functioning autism and we were never able to do Santa. She just simply could not wrap her brain around him. |
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Post by sleepingbooty on Dec 23, 2021 13:08:59 GMT
I was cropping some photos for my square mini album and realised I hadn't popped them in here yet! Here's my #11 First with my first gingerbread latte of the year which I managed to not finish so I could let my SO have a few sips when I got home:  The half-lit tree for #1 Starry-eyed. (Apologies for the poor picture but I can't be bothered to go out super early in the morning to catch it lit without a bunch of people around to take another photo. Too cold!) For some reason, we're not worthy of a longer or second garland. For years now, they keep lighting the tree with just the one short garland... Considering the yearly cost of the fresh tree, it makes no sense not to invest in some more lights but oh well. I'm documenting the injustice this year (the other trees in surrounding neighbourhoods get the fully lit treatment).  |
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Post by grammadee on Dec 23, 2021 18:52:11 GMT
Here is my technicolour pic. Dgs received these gloves from after school care.  |
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Post by grammadee on Dec 23, 2021 19:08:57 GMT
That blanket is gorgeous, jeremysgirl; such a labour of love. That candy cane ice cream looks delicious. That is a sweet photo, refugeepea. Glad he consented to posing with Santa even if he is not the kind of dude you run into any day. That seems like a victory for you that he did this to please you, and for him to have the courage to do it at all. Glad you have your camera back, sleepingbooty. That wreath is pretty, and represents not only green but also circle. Love how it looks against the white wall. That half lit tree is hilarious! And mmmm.... Christmas lattes... And now for today's prompt: December 23rd: U N D E R N E A T H
It's not all about the obvious, in-your-face sparkle 'n dazzle! Let's reveal what is hidden beneath today. Gifts under the tree, little feet kicking under the table, a festive ugly sweater under a winter coat, a finger pressed down to help make a perfect bow, a seasonal kissing portrait underneath the mistletoe, a furry face peeking out from under a warm blanket |
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Post by grammadee on Dec 25, 2021 4:47:14 GMT
Today got away from me, baking pies, and making ahead salads for tomorrow as well as trying to accommodate other people's traditions.
Don't think tomorrow is going to be any less crazy, so I am posting both photo prompts now.
December 24th: C O N N E C T
'Tis the season of connecting, of joining your family to celebrate together, of calling
friends to wish them well, of Zooming when you can't be physically present. Think of all the ways you
are connecting through the month. Maybe it's in the smaller things like connecting the different
spheres that make up the body of a snowman? Building Lego? Connecting puzzle pieces? A print-out
with the Wi-Fi information for your Christmas house guests so they can connect to the internet? Is one
of your (grand)kids sending you selfies with seasonal Snapchat filters? Do you celebrate religiously or
spiritually by joining hands perhaps?
December 25th: O P E N
Although it's the month closing the year, December is filled with openings. Be it of gifts, of
tearing through wrapping paper to discover what Santa brought. Or of a book as you take some time to
escape from the world around you. Perhaps of a window overlooking a garden filled with snow (or
pretty summer flowers down under). The open car trunk filled with food and gifts to drive over to a
loved one. Open arms embracing someone.
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Post by grammadee on Dec 25, 2021 4:55:37 GMT
For today’s prompt, our dd and dgs connecting with the cat that has moved onto our deck and sleeps in our basement on cold nights  |
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Post by grammadee on Dec 26, 2021 19:52:04 GMT
Happy Boxing Day! My favourite holiday of the year: no cooking, no cleaning, no prepping or wrapping. Hangin' out with family, eating snacks and leftovers, playing with our new toys, or playing card or board games. Here is sleepingbooty's prompt for today: December 26th: S I L E N C E All good and chaotic things must come to an end. Reflect on the quietness of the season today. Can you find it easily? Do you get up early to enjoy some alone time? Do you go on hush- hush, stay-at-home movie dates with your SO when the kids have gone to bed? Do you use noise- cancelling headphones to block out the noise of a full house for the holidays? Does your family follow a no-phone policy for Christmas dinner perhaps? Can you catch your loved ones snoozing away on the couch for an afternoon nap after all the excitement? |
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Post by grammadee on Dec 28, 2021 22:45:56 GMT
Prompts from sleepingbooty's list for yesterday and today: December 27th: M O V E In this month of running around to find the last gifts and getting all the ingredients for the big family celebration, of get-togethers we've longed for all year long, of high spiritual meaning for some, moving and being moved is at the centre of our lives. Whether it's the holiday buzz getting us up and going or an emotional moment, photograph how this season stirs and strays you from your usual everyday life. Are you participating in a Christmas-themed run or polar bear dive? Are you going on a ski trip? Do you have your phone or camera out just at the right moment of someone being touched by reuniting with loved ones or getting a sentimental surprise? December 28th: C O N T R A S T Complementary colours – like the very seasonal red and green, opposites of some sort, black and white photography, today's project is all about capturing two premises seemingly at odds. Try to think of very December thematics like nice and naughty or warm and cold. Document your new ornaments mixed in with the old ones, snowfall from the comfort of your cosy home, photograph a high contrast silhouette portrait against the sunlight. After all, it is the season of coming together, no matter how different we may be... |
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Post by grammadee on Dec 28, 2021 23:49:11 GMT
I have a couple of photos. For Silence:  And for CONTRAST(red & green; dark & light)  |
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Post by grammadee on Dec 29, 2021 1:33:26 GMT
And here is my fav photo for Open:  |
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Post by grammadee on Dec 30, 2021 2:24:51 GMT
And today's photo prompt was...
December 29th: R E F L E C T I O N
A selfie in the mirror, light bouncing off shiny ornaments, flames of candles cast
on a window, the sun's crisp light on bright snow, but also a loved one pensively poring over a book,
your kiddo thinking hard to come up with their list for Santa or finishing up your One Little Word album.
Take today's noun and interpret it as you deem fit. This season is filled with all kinds of reflecting...
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Post by grammadee on Dec 31, 2021 20:21:05 GMT
Last two prompts:
December 30th: C A R E
This time of year, we are reminded of how we protect and provide for one another as we
do big and small gestures of care. Grandparents leaving a little extra cash for the college students of the
family, a bigger sibling helping a smaller one put on their shoes, your neighbour who left a plate of
sweet treats, the nursing staff at an elderly relative's care home, etc. Take delight and document how
much we all care for each other. There is no more beautiful reminder of the resilience of us, as a
collective, through cold weather and difficult pandemic days. There is no more touching way to start
closing the chapter of this nearly finished year.
December 31st: F R E S H
Endings are beginnings. As this year is laid to rest, we also start afresh. For this final
prompt, take a good look around you to discover the symbolic premises of the new year to come as we
say goodbye to 2021. A bouquet of flowers on the table, new socks you bought as stocking fillers,
picking up fresh seafood from the local market for New Year's Eve, changing out the Christmas décor
after the celebrations, going for a walk to get some fresh air, anything goes. The world around you is
already basking in the glow of 2022, go capture it and join us as we welcome the hopes and promises
of the new year.
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I don't want to post a big photo dump so I'm going to double up on photos daily instead.
Joke's on her, I quickly grabbed the camera and took a few shots. Not great as I didn't have the time to adjust the settings but these silly portraits turned out super cute and I'm definitely getting one framed as a bonus Christmas gift now! 
). As city folks living in an apartment, there really aren't many opportunities to bring nature inside the home but we got this up so huzzah! 
