Blog Guelph: Trapped In Winters Grip

urban trapping, a photo by blairware on Flickr.

Good Frosty Morning!

This image really sums up how I have been feeling about the return of winter. A proper winter that I remember from my youth. Temperatures like these build character! It toughens us up for when the temperatures start to rise. By the time the temperature gets to 0C, we will break out the shorts and flip flops and have dance parties on top of snow piles!!

Wishful thinking I know.

Cheers!
Bunny Safari

Ice-olated

Frozen Cherry, a photo by Diastu SB on Flickr.

I'm feeling somewhat ice-olated these days. How 'bout you?

- Kim 

Ice-olated

Icicile Shift, a photo by peterkelly on Flickr.

Ice-olated

Winter wonderland-Nick Mares-9747, a photo by fishwithme55 on Flickr.

Ice-olated

A Dangerous Predicament, a photo by BunnySafari on Flickr.

Blog Guelph: A Special Treat

Knuckle Sandwich, a photo by BunnySafari on Flickr.

Happy Music Monday! Today's photo was selected because of the special treat that was in fact, offered on the radio this morning -- in the form of a song dedication to a horse...

Did you hear Ian Reid as a guest on hoofbeats? If so, you also heard a brand new, never-before-played-in-public-song called Math. Wasn't it wonderful? What a treat!  For the horses listening and for us...

If you missed it, you can listen back in the archive at cfru.ca (select program schedule, hoofbeats, archive).

- Enjoy! Kim Logue-like-Vogue

Blog Guelph: Happy Colour

_DSC6241, a photo by Glooscap on Flickr.

Good Day!

Here is a blast of lovely colour to brighten your day. The freezing temps outside have slowed me right down. I want to crawl under the blankets and hide until spring. Let me know when that is, will you?

Cheers!
Bunny Safari

The winter blues

Was a cold but beautiful day today. I paused by the river to take this photo on my way home from work.

 

- Kim

In a fog

I'm "in a fog" today and can't think of anything to say. 

Found some lovely photos in the Blog Guelph group I wanted to share but the iPhone flickr app doesn't have a share to blogger option, so I've included a foggy shot of my own.

I'll do better next week, ok?

- Kim

Blog Guelph: A Perfect Day

A perfect day, a photo by downtownlynn on Flickr.

After all the unrelenting aspects of the recent storm(s), wasn't that a beautiful sunrise this morning?

It seems to me a perfect day to play a little music from Jessy Bell-Smith. Today's Pure Guelphishness playlist featured an old release with all instruments Jessy, 'cept Noel Webb on drums and piano & Alison Bell smith on backing vocals.

9:34 Jessy Bell-Smith, Tespasses, Tiny Lights, indie, 2005
9:42 Jessie Bell-Smith, Archie, Tiny Lights, indie, 2005
9:47 Deep Water, Tiny Lights, indie, 2005
9:57 Booze Blooze, Tiny Lights, indie, 2005

If you want to listen back in the CFRU archives, I suggest you select hoofbeats and right click the play arrow - if you save the file you can fast forward through the horse talk and take in the lovely music.

I wasn't able to find a casette she'd released in September, that I heard about another CFRU program, The Second Storey.  When I asked Jessy about where folks can buy her music or where the best bio about her is posted, she replied "Well, a lot of those things are underconstruction currently, in fact all of them! I'm releasing my first full length on Feb 14th, so everything should be ready to go at that time." She is a Guelph native, and has spent two years writing and recording her debut album, which is perhaps one of the best albums you will hear from an unsigned artist anywhere. Stay tuned until Valentines!

Kim Logue-Like-Vogue

Blog Guelph: Get Your Skates On

Meanwhile, Back in February......, a photo by BunnySafari on Flickr.

What better way to pull ourselves out of a deep freeze? That's right, show the ice who really is the boss! Slip into your skating booties and glide away. I will be there on the sidelines cheering you on and catching the newbies who fall. Coming from a family of Ice Capades skaters, I rebelled early and wanted to be a hockey player! Alas, back in the 70's, I wasn't one of the brave girls to try to skate with the boys in the local hockey world. A girl can be iced only so many times before she got the hint. Since my Mum wouldn't trade in my expensive Figure Skating skates for hockey skates, I hung them up for good.

I will admit that watching all of the skaters on the rink out front of City Hall has been inspiring. Watching my son improve each time he circles the rink nudges me into thinking that I should take some lessons. Who knows? I may be the woman wrapped in bubble wrap gliding around the rink......

A cautionary word, please save the texting for when you have finished your lovely skate and are off the ice. We bystanders see it all.

Happy 2014!
Cheers!
Bunny Safari

Blog Guelph: Get Your Skates On

Bend the Knees and Glide....., a photo by BunnySafari on Flickr.

Blog Guelph: Get Your Skates On

Grand Opening Market Square Skating Rink for 2013-2014 Season, a photo by Bruce Shapka on Flickr.

Blog Guelph: Winter at the Arboretum

Over the bridge, a photo by @klawrenc on Flickr.

Boxing Day brought us a beautiful snow day. Inspired by the view from my window I headed to the Arboretum for a morning photo walk. While I was there my mom called, and I asked if she'd like to walk with me. "I'd love to", she said. So we "walked" - me on my phone describing the beauty of my surroundings - she in her bed at St Joseph's Health Centre.

My mom was disabled, you see - bedridden, for many years, with Multiple Sclerosis - and we often "walked" this way. I showed her the photos I'd taken at the Arboretum later that day. "We walked here", I'd say, "and here..." and she was so happy to see what we'd "seen".

Little did I know that would be our last walk. The next morning I received a call advising that my mom had passed away. She didn't feel quite right on Christmas Day but seemed better when I saw her on Boxing Day. Her death came as a surprise.

The photos I've shared here today are a few I took that day. 

My mom was an inspiration and a wonderful companion to all who had the pleasure of knowing her. She loved her family and friends dearly. In spite of the discomfort inherent with being bedridden she maintained a positive attitude, had a real thirst for learning and was a challenging scrabble opponent. She ate healthy food - rarely any "junk", drank 8 glasses of water a day, refrained from taking medications (and flu shots), and strongly believed in the importance of exercise having exercised regularly herself as long as she was able to. Sadly, at St Joseph's she only received 15 minutes of physiotherapy a week.

Considering my mom's circumstances, it's amazing that she lived as long as she did... a true testimonial to the power of love, friendship, healthy habits, continuous learning and a strong will. 

And while I never understood how anyone could say someone was in a better place after they died, I do now. My mom faced many challenges - on a daily basis - that hopefully none of us will ever have to face.

Rest in peace, my dear, sweet mom... I'll always love you.

- Kim

Other photos included with this post are: Snowy shed, On the boardwalk, Winter at the Arboretum and Winter textures

Blog Guelph: Winter at the Arboretum

Snowy shed, a photo by @klawrenc on Flickr.

Blog Guelph: Winter at the Arboretum

On the boardwalk, a photo by @klawrenc on Flickr.

Blog Guelph: Winter at the Arboretum

Winter at the Arboretum, a photo by @klawrenc on Flickr.

Blog Guelph: Winter at the Arboretum

Winter textures, a photo by @klawrenc on Flickr.

Blog Guelph: A Call to Local Musicians! And photographers!

Happy New Year!  What a winter we are having...

This post is to call out to local musicians.  Is your catalogue up to date in the CFRU local library?  I would like to know about your local music, and to find it at the radio station for the Pure Guelphishness Playlist.  Let me know if I can offer you a hand to make your music available at 93.3fm in Guelph, on hoofbeats and other programs!

This post should feature some lovely photos of the ice storm.  But it doesn't, because I couldn't find any on the flicker site we draw from.  Why don't you upload your works and add them to the Blog Guelph group?  I am wondering if I should do so.  But instead/in the meantime, I am posting a quick snap taken on my iphone, of a few friends, taken on a day between Christmas and New Year's.

Enjoy! Kim Logue-like-Vogue