Radically Retired

Category: Photography

  • Priceless

    Priceless

    Before we took my parents on their first road trip vacation with us, a cousin recommended getting a little handheld tape recorder to record the entire trip: conversations in the vehicle, what we were seeing, weather reports, time of day, hi-lights from each day, as well as interviews with strangers like waiters, bell staff, locals and other travellers.

    I took her advice and what a treasure these recordings are now. Listening to the conversations and the laughter is just like doing those trips all over again.

    This past week, I hauled out the box of tapes and the original tape player/recorder for the first time in years, and so many memories are flooding back. It’s amazing how much one forgets while remembering the hi-lights. These tapes bring back every single detail.

    Priceless.

  • June “Snow”

    June “Snow”

    Mid June here sees the pure white fluff/fuzz gently drifting down from the poplar/cottonwood trees like snowflakes.

    It always amazes me that it collects in drifts – also like snow.

  • 🎶Gee It’s Good to be Back Home Again🎶

    🎶Gee It’s Good to be Back Home Again🎶

    This past week, we were away for a few days, visiting friends and family in the place we called home for over 20 years.

    Whenever we round the curve in my feature photo, I breathe a big sigh of relief and have the same sense of “home” that I had when we first moved to the area.

    Even though I was raised on the southern prairies, I’m sure it was the proximity to the northern tree line that welcomed and comforted me.

  • Summer Switch

    Summer Switch

    A month ago, after checking our long range forecast (cold, damp, windy, and smokey), and assuming correctly that I’d be mostly housebound, I set out to post 31 days in a row, concluding with my Father’s Day post yesterday.

    Now that I’ve achieved that goal, I’ll be cutting back to two or three posts a week.

    Summer is arriving on June 20, and with our typically short duration of summer weather here on the Canadian prairies (I’m optimistic that it’ll improve), it’s time to get outside while the gettin’s good.

    Thanks, as always, for following along!

  • Remembering Dad

    Remembering Dad

    This photo was taken from the Statue of Liberty with NYC in the background.

    Our “East Trip”, as we refer to it, was one of many wonderful road trip vacations we were blessed to take Mom and Dad on.

    Dad’s comments, made with awe and wonderment in his voice, as he saw things he had thought he’d never see in his life, make up a big part of my fondest travel memories.

  • Necessary Indulgence

    Necessary Indulgence

    Because hubs has decided in recent years that he isn’t a steak lover (and even though I am), I make a steak meal maybe only twice or three times a year.

    The limited frequency actually makes it all the more enjoyable for me.

    Sometimes, as the old adage goes, “you just gotta do what you gotta do”.

  • Viva Las Vegas!

    Viva Las Vegas!

    At Madame Tussaud’s wax museum in Las Vegas, most of the figures are so life-like, that I actually excused myself when I bumped into one, thinking it was a real person.

    I knew that this guy was real in memory only, but I still enjoyed striking a pose with his wax doppelgänger.

  • Goofing Off

    Goofing Off

    Hubs and I had fun posing for this photo – pretending that were preparing to hike to the top of the tallest temple at the Altun Ha Mayan ruins in Belize.

    So many wonderful travel memories come back when reviewing old photos.

  • Inexplicable

    Inexplicable

    Yesterday, when I walked to my downtown physio appointment, I came across a new structure that has popped up right smack in front of a major bank. It’s around two vehicles in length and is quite narrow. There may be a plan for a little patio, but it’s at an intersection at what’s often a high traffic area, so it would be a less than pleasant place to stop for a coffee.

    Why this was allowed in an area that already has limited parking and in a spot that should be designated as handicapped parking, is way beyond me.

    I’m normally a person who is excited and positive about anything new in our little prairie city – this thing … not so much.

  • Mosaic Beauties

    Mosaic Beauties

    Wherever we travel, I’m always interested in seeing as much as possible of the local handmade goods. This, along with dining on local foods, gives me a sense of connection with the culture of the place we’re visiting.

    These mosaic pieces at a market in Curaçao caught my eye, and the eye of my camera. I didn’t purchase any of these, as my souvenirs are usually my photos – some of which I frame.

    Do you scout out local arts and crafts in your travels?