I'm getting anxious...

to get back up to Waskesiu.  I want to see how much ice is still on the lake or if it has even begun the thaw.  With the above normal temperatures, I think it may be similar to the pic above.  This one was taken the long weekend in May last year...the year my man and I went for a picnic on the shore.  It was cold.

We saw some birch bark amongst the leaves and some pretty fungal growths.  The geese were back and nesting too.

                                                                                                                                                                                   

It won't be long now before everything changes and the warmth of summer revives this old body for another year.

Perhaps this year we will get more luxurious days like this one and I will be quite satisfied.

Compliments....

It's good to give compliments to folks, to appreciate them in some form or another.  Perhaps they have done well in a particular job or they look quite fashionable on a particular day.  Maybe they just received a stylish haircut or have acted in a very professional manner when they could have done otherwise.

Yes, it is good to compliment people when you feel they are deserving of this type of recognition.

It is however, difficult to receive compliments, I think.  I tend not to receive them well.  I think that is because I feel I'm really not deserving...and that it is simply flattery.  Other times I shy away from the attention.  In the past several years I have become much more reserved than when I was in my 30's and 40's.  I'm not sure why this has happened, it just has....perhaps as one ages, wisdom and truth plays a more important role in ones life than the frivolousness of youth....speaking personally, of course.

I need to learn the art of accepting a compliment graciously....with a sincere "thank you".  When I can do that properly, I will have become a bit more wise.

My friend at work grew this orchid.  I think tomorrow I shall compliment her on her accomplishments in getting something so lovely to grow, and in doing so, I could photograph its beauty.

I'd like to compliment God too.....and so I will this night.  His creativeness continues to amaze me daily.

Light...

There were columns of lights everywhere in the Manitoba Legislative Building.  Extremely impressive!

Here are the doors to the inner sanctum, the room of  power-wielding decision-makers and the place where the fate of the people of Manitoba lies.  I wonder how many politicians who have walked through those doors are people of great integrity, wanting the best for their constituents and the best for their province and country...not just for their own egotistical gain of power and wealth....a rhetorical question, to be sure.

But throughout the building I couldn't help but notice the light....everywhere!  I guess so the politicians can find their way around and not get lost in the maze of doors and stairs and upper and lower rooms and hall ways.  Light reflected from marble is pretty spectacular and it was beautiful to see.

Even the basement hallway to the bathrooms shone like the noonday sun.  Not a speck of dust anywhere...I should bring that cleaning agency over to my place...

Anyway, light makes all the difference doesn't it!  It gives depth and shape to everything. It allows shadows to form and for even the shadows to become a thing of beauty.

I wonder sometimes about the unseen world...what it looks like.  Enjoy the light...and the gift of sight...who knows what tomorrow will bring...actually, I think it will be raining!

I don't get tired....

of architecture, that is...the legislative building in Winnipeg captured my photographic heart and I couldn't
stop attempting to capture it's beauty.  With the greek nude influence, it was quite fascinating!

Marble staircases up...and up....and up.....

The beauty of the rotunda from the inside.

A fresco in all its splendor.

More tomorrow.....

The yellow rose...

Val bought us roses for Administrative Professionals Day...or whatever the catch phrase is these days for those on the lowest end of the totem pole.  I would prefer to call it "Grunt Day" and it would be totally fine with me!  I do jobs that I have been trained for.  I have a piece of paper that tells me that I have a certain skill set for the particular position I am in.  This paper that I received tells me that I should never end a sentence with a preposition, it says that I can use a calculator at a certain speed, that my shorthand skills were of a certain level and that I am capable of preparing and typing a letter of excellent quality.  Well, the paper says it but I'm not so sure I'm really great at any of those things.  And if the truth be known, those things aren't as important as the people I do the work for!  (see, I ended a sentence with a preposition!!)

The older I get, the more I realize how important people are in any workplace....whether they are my co-workers or the people I meet at the grocery till or those serving me in a restaurant.  How I respond to them and how I show grace to them are far more important than the jobs they are doing.

The fellow from the office supply store gave us four stems of tiny pink orchids too, for our special day.

It is good to be thought of and appreciated and those flowers were a wonderful example of  showing that our jobs as admin staff do not go unnoticed.

Thanks Val and Burt!!!

Funky Corydon Avenue....

We all ate at the "Fresh cafe" where everything is organic...even the eggs!!!  I had mushroom soup...awesome!!  Some had veggie wraps, others had unusual things with sea weed and sprouts or whatever they were.  Husband had a grilled cinnamon bun!  We ate on the second floor on the left.  Outdoor patio was filled up.  Very cool place.

This Cocoon shop was opposite the cafe.  They did body wraps (at least that is what my thought was on the little place).....so on one side of the avenue you could eat wraps and on the other side you could cover yourself in them.  If Corydon Avenue, which was where these little shops were located, could be summed up in today's language, it would be "funky"....in the '60's it would have been "Hippysville".  It gave you a different feeling being there.  Nice in a weird way...

Of course, to stay within the realm of normalcy, husband had to make a stop at Cabela's, the store  where men shopped....well, hunter/gatherers at least.

Then I was fortunate to capture a lovely magenta orchid being displayed at Kim's place.  Beauty.

We had tea at Kim's place too, and met one of her roommates, Jennie.  A full day it was.

Winnipeg continued:....

I tend to enjoy the black and white pics. 

The top is the new footbridge at The Forks.  Next is the dome of the legislative building.  Then we have a  busker singing his heart out.  The remaining pics are of the legislative building and its unusual but spectacular architecture...Greek, Roman, and Free Mason influences throughout.

The last of course, is the best.  Son in deep thought...which is not too unusual for him...

A tour...

We took a trip over to the Forks Market.  First one sees fruit and vegetables. It's a market afterall!!

Then the sweets come and tempt our eyeballs and noses with various shapes, colors, textures and smells. We stayed quite a time at the chocolate counter...just looking, of course.  There were also jugs, bottles and cans of various sizes...all full to the brim with Maple Syrup.  Quite a site!

There was much salivating happening....especially at the Portugese home-made baking table!

There was a special presentation set up advertising the next phases of development for properties at the Forks in Winnipeg.  It included several condo developments as well...

And then, O Happy Day!!!.  I found a year-round Christmas boutique!!  Guess where I spent quite a long time?

We'll continue on with the trip tomorrow night. 

The Peg...

The Manitoba capital has some exquisite architecture and of course a dream for anyone carrying any kind of camera.  There were skylines, bridges, modern art form, older generation buildings, the legislative building (inside and out) and some pretty nifty looking people too, to photograph!

I'll just keep posting some of these pictures as the week progresses.