KBF Golf Tournament 2013

It was a huge Birthday Party today as The Kaeden Brown Foundation put on the 4th Annual Kaeden Brown Foundation Golf Tournament.  The celebrations began with hundreds of bright orange balloons being released into the sunny blue sky, followed by fireworks to signal the tee off for the first hole.  Once again the tournament was a Huge success, filled to capacity, by friends and family out to support such a great cause.  This years scholarship recipient was Allison Nickles, receiving $5000 from The Kaeden Brown Foundation as she goes on to her post secondary education.  Congratulations to all!  As a side note, a personal thank you from myself for the surprise special treat – the big grin on Marty’s Dad’s face still brings a smile to my face as I realized what was going on and he sat there giggling!

The Legacy Centre Tour

Saturday, July 23rd, The Legacy Centre was opened at 4 o’clock for tours prior to the Grand Opening Celebrations.  The place was filled, and the smiles were everywhere.  The Legacy Centre was worth the wait.  Take a quick peak at the new Legacy Centre – with Arena, Community Hall, Library and Child Care Centre as you play the show below.  See all of the latest upgrades, from hydration centres to Dyson blade hand dryers.  A First Class Facility for Thedford and the surrounding communities.

PS.  For those getting married and looking for a hall, this is the place!  An amazing hall,

and a kitchen your caterer will love!

Thank You From Your Community - 24/7

With this weeks heat it is not surprising the Volunteer Arkona Firefighters where going to be kept busy.  Yesterday the guys had a total of three calls including a field fire and a house fire back to back.  Tim Horton’s were being delivered to the fire hall by 8PM as the men were cleaning up and got the trucks readied for their next call.  Thank you gentlemen!  We really appreciate your sacrifices as you are there for your community 24/7 !!

*above images taken 2009

Red Barn Fruit Farm- Ready For the Pickin’

If you are looking for a fun family outing with some sweet rewards – this is the time of year and the place to go!  Arkona is known for it’s fruit farms, with cherries, apples, peaches….and the list goes on.  But right now – it’s time for my favourite!  Sweet cherries!!    I remember as a kid my Dad taking us out to Marsh’s Fruit Farms – Now – Red Barn Fruit Farm, filling pales of cherries, and having a visit with the neighbours.  Today the same country hospitality is still going strong when you visit the Red Barn Fruit Farm as families come from miles around to visit the farm…which also has a  special treat - “secret door” that the kids will be sure to search out! 

Note: Old Country Charm is also easy to keep up with in the 21st Century – check out what’s In Season, or place an order online at www.RedBarnFruitFarm.com

Libro Fun Day This Monday!

It’s a P.D. Day for the kids in our area and Libro has something for your kids to do!  The local Libro Financial Group is having a kids day at the old Arkona School – And You Are Invited!!

Monday June 13th from 10am-11:30am.

 

Hail

 

 

The second time this year already I’ve seen hail come down.  With the changes in our environment, the natural disasters world wide it really doesn’t come as a major surprise – still, not something I want to be standing out in when it’s coming down!

Community Theatre

There are incredibly talented individuals around every corner.  Some with leadership skills, some with great intellectual skills, wood working skills, mechanical, electrical and plumbing skills, care givers, leadership and organizational skills, and in some cases even acting skills.  I am proud to be part of a giving community that not only posses these talents, but uses them to bring a smile to the face of others. Community theatre is just one of the ways talented actors and actresses share their talents with others, and coming up is a comedy at the Victoria Playhouse called Shootout at the Sacred Heart Saloon.  Check it out online HERE.  And to the two talented actresses that I know: Katie Komaricky and Lyn Faulds – thank you for sharing your talents!

Evening Glow

 

I always enjoy seeing the sunsets from our home, and tonight was especially colourful.  A great night to get out and enjoy the weather…and the colours!

The Winner

Many of you were curious to know the winner of the Turkey & Family Shoot – so here it is…Beth Woods from Forest area became the proud owner of a 15+ kg Turkey this past Christmas Eve, will post her family picture after she sets a date :D  Congratulations Beth!

Arkona Seniors Support Red Fridays

It was coffee hour in Arkona out at Orchard View Apartments this morning; and everyone was dressed in Red.  The seniors are doing their part by supporting, and showing their appreciation for the troops by getting decked out in red for  Red Fridays.   It was a beautiful site to see as I walked into the common room this morning, not one person there without red on!  To learn more about Red Fridays, visit the website at RedFridays.ca and see some of the ways you can support Red Fridays below as well.

Here are some of the ways you can help spread the word of Red Fridays.

1.) Learn as much as you can about supporting our national treasure - our Canadian Troops. Visit us often.

2.) Wear a red shirt or display a ribbon. It doesn't have to be ours, it can be any.

3.) Join our SUPPORTER LIST and exchange links with your website.

4.) Get us to help your event/organization/rally

4.) If you're a corporation, we need your support - Contact Us!

5.) Organize a Red Fridays day at work or school or in your community. Let us know so we can help!

6.) Wear RED on FRIDAYS and every Friday share with others the reason why!

7.) Attend Red Friday Events and meet the people and military people behind the scenes.

8.) Most importantly, spread the email story to your friends and associates. Share  this wonderful website with others.

Remembering

All This Week on the blog I would like to post on our personal war heroes.
Please Send Me your stories and an image of someone you know or knew who has or is serving their country. Heather@capturedinnocence.ca

Grateful…

November + Arkona + Snow

You remember the Great Dumping of snow we received in Arkona only a couple of years ago – the record breaking one!  Well, it just seems like Arkona and November, and Snow go well together.  I was driving home last night only to find that the closer I got to Arkona, the more thoroughly the snow was coming down.  This morning when we got up, there was more than a little blanket of snow on the ground.  And if you have any doubt, take a look…

ps.  Just to add a photography learning aspect to this post.  If you are ever curious about the date an image was taken (say for instance you didn’t believe these pictures actually were taken only a few hours ago) You can check out the “meta data” on your images.  The meta data on a digital image will tell you the day, and time, along with the settings used to take your image.  Very Useful Information!

        

 

Beach Day

The beach is such a beautiful place to go for pictures, and even though I’ve lived in this area all my life, I am always surprised to find new beautiful locations!  This one – a beach I had never been too.  There was a really cool piece of driftwood out right at the edge of the water as well, our only issue – it was REALLY windy!  The wind didn’t seem to detract from the active curiosity of one little red head cutie though.  She loved her flowers, the sand, the birds and the water…but most of all, she loved her Mommy and Daddy!

Moon Shoot – The Cheater Method

Let me start by saying, in no way do I have the best lens for getting the best detail for a moon shot – I would love to have a nice 400mm+ Canon L lens, but, I’m sure you must realize by now, that these types of shots are not my specialty :D  That said, I just thought I would pass along one of the fastest ways to get a shot like this.  First, set up your tripod, put your camera on manual settings, and be prepared to use either a remote, or in my case, I used the camera’s timer.  My settings were 400mm lens on my camera, 1/60  F29  ISO 320.  Yes, you read correctly, 1/60 F29 ISO 320.  Seems like an awfully fast shutter speed and small aperture for a moon shot doesn’t it?  Well, the fact is, you don’t have to wait until it’s pitch black outside to make this shot; a matter a fact, according to my metadata, I took this picture at 7:37pm at dusk.  So why does it look like it was taken at 10:30 or 11 o’clock?  I simply shut out the majority of my ambient light by using a very small f-stop.  By doing so, I was able to use a low ISO setting and average shutter speed – which also removes  a lot of the grainy look you would get otherwise.  So, if you see the moon up in the sky, but it’s not quite dark out – head out for the shot anyway. You may wish to start with the settings I have listed, and then just tweak them to what works best in your situation – have fun!  I’d love to see your shots!

Polarizing Lenses

So today I picked up a new pair of sunglasses – polarizing sunglasses – I Really like polarizing lenses – it’s almost like you are wearing perscription lenses because it makes everything look so much sharper.    Well, the same is true when it comes to adding a polarizing filter to your camera lens.  The benefits of using a polarizing filter are obvious, removing the glare from light reflecting on an object in your image, and getting more dramatic colouring are just a couple of the advantages you will find.  Take a few moments to watch the video below by DSLR Tips.com on polarizing filters, it is very informative, and worth the 6 minutes.  ps.  my new glasses – Arkona Gas Station 2 for $5…I Really like my new sunglasses :D

Libro Get’s Hi–5’s with the kids…and parents!

A fun morning out at the Arkona Playground!  Libro Financial offered a special outing in the community including games, prizes, gifts, snack, and…a visit with Bill The Duck!  It was a great turn out and the kids had a blast between activities and playing on the playground equipment.  Thank You Libro !

 

 

Piano Recital

 

 

This past Saturday our little girl had the opportunity to participate in her first ever piano recital.  I can’t really say a lot about the recital as I wasn’t there since I had a wedding this day.  What I can say is that we have been More Than Impressed with Amy’s piano teacher.   I don’t remember piano lessons ever being so fun!

Now Playing

Now Playing At The Forest Kineto Theatre

Shrek Forever After

June 4,5,6,8

All Tickets $5  Show Time 8PM

Hydro Bill ???

For those of you who picked up your notice regarding your upcoming hydro bills yesterday you are very likely frustrated, and wondering how you can possibly add this into your budget.  All in all, there is an increase by approximately 21%.  The implementers of this are counting on us  acting like Canadians and simply accepting it – but do you realize there is still time to stop it?  Less than 30 seconds of your day, and you can make a difference.  Please take a moment, take a stand!  Click Here

Harmonized Sales Tax will mean a significant increase in cost for Ontario Consumers.

Some examples:

Alarm Monitoring Services – the effective cost to a consumer will increase by 8% -  Yes commercial and industrial customers will see the same increase but they are able to claim the increase back as an input tax credit.

When you get your hair cut – price goes up by 8% as this is a “service” that was previously subject only to the GST.

I bought gas at my favourite PetroCanada Station – City Centre Car Wash.  The wash and wax and Armour-all – extras - cost me $1.00 GST.  After July 1 that same $20.00 worth of extras will cost $ 2.60.

Remember that Dalton promised no tax increases.  He lied.  He has increased taxes.  But the Harmonized Sales Tax is so much more of a tax increase compared to all his other taxes.

Most people do not realize just how much HST is going to cost.  HST = Harmful Significant Tax

It is not too late!

As you are aware, the HST is coming into effect July 1, 2010, and will apply to services that usually only charge GST.  If you would like to oppose this new tax, then please sign the Petition in the website listed below.  We need signatures of 10 percent of Ontario's population to call a referendum.  Perhaps you may know of someone you could forward it to.

http://www.hstpetition.com/petition/sign.php

Fire Proof

Daniel and Ashley are one of the sweetest couples I have ever met.  Their love for each other is so evident, and the support of their parents is unquestionable.  Yesterday Daniel and Ashley were married at Ashley’s home church Elim Bible Chapel right here in Arkona.  The congregation were invited to come to the ceremony, followed by a mini reception in the beautifully decorated church gymnasium.  Thanks to Mr. Kaz, we were able to have an appearance by the Arkona Fire Department’s fire truck from across the street, symbolizing Daniel’s chosen profession.   Additional pictures and the reception where then held at the Beautiful Saw Mill Creek in Camlachi between Sarnia and London.  A gorgeous site, and a reception room that any photographer would love!  The staff were excellent, and the guests were treated wonderfully.   I also had the opportunity to have Kelly Easter drive up from Indiana, Indianapolis, to second shoot with me which is sure to give one very large collection of memories for the couple, their family and friends !  Enjoy a recap of the day…