First of all, as always - a few house keeping items:
- If you're NEW here (and there've been a lot of new additions to the party!) I'm working on creating some tutorials to help you out. You can click on the links above or: See "Getting Started" and "Tutorials"
- To see all the past weekly challenges - click the tabs above
- Please grab the button for the Weekly Challenge (on the right sidebar) to display on your blogs! share the fun!
- The limit of submissions to the slideshow is TWO, but please feel free to post as many as you like to your blogs. I will take the first two presented to each challenge.
I know that some of you have told me that the paypal button does not work, and some of you have had no trouble, i'm not sure why it's inconsistent, i've redone the code a few times... If all else fails you can donate to my paypal address which is madam_diva ( a t ) yahoo ( d o t ) com - also to those people who donated this week... THANK YOU SO MUCH.
Before i get on with my post today, i wanted to share something from Maria Vennekens, our guest blogger last week, in response to your submissions to last week's challenge.
I really was surprised by the different approaches to challenge #123. Some of you just started drawing and came up with lines that eventually became new patterns. Others searched for inspirations to create new patterns. All these efforts resulted in beautiful drawings. Almost everyone struggled with the problem where to begin and what to draw. This was also my own experience. After that struggle you end up with a Zentangle or a ZIA.Thank YOU Maria for your challenging challenge!
So my answer to the question “Is it a Zentangle?” would be: The product is a Zentangle but the process to get there was not.
Thank you all for your willingness to try this challenge and share your thoughts about the process.
Maria Vennekens CZT
Last weekend, i took the boys to Calgary, Alberta - to visit some friends and go to the zoo. here's some photos.
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Both boys loved the monkeys, but who doesn't love monkeys? |
luckily there are enough indoor things to do at the Calgary Zoo that we still managed to have fun.
the zoo in the rain |
This smiley boy enjoyed the butterfly house. |
what rain? |
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Artoo and Grampapa goin' for a ride |
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"Mom, i'm not even as tall as his knee!" |
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so cool |
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This statue is hollow, and you can climb to the top and look out the T-Rex's mouth |
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Inside the dino, so excited! |
Weekly Challenge #124: "We Are Calgary"
While we were in Calgary last weekend, i took the opportunity to drive my family through Bowness - the community in the North West of Calgary where B-rad and i lived during the first few years of our married life together. I showed my family my old house, the hill where B-rad proposed, all our old haunts and we all marveled at how much the community had grown and changed in the almost seven years we've been gone.
It's changed much more, now.
You may have seen some footage of the flooding in Calgary.
It's just heart breaking.
Bowness is the community shown in the beginning of this video. The whole community is just destroyed... and it's not the only one.
The water is on it's way to Saskatchewan - though i'm told the flooding won't be as bad.
As always, when disaster strikes - amidst the heart break you hear these amazing stories of how the people come together, how humanity rises to the occasion. This disaster has it's fair share of stories - one we were following closely was the evacuation and protection of the animals at the zoo, as the zoo is on an island on the Bow River. Luckily all the animals are safe and sound.
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I was inspired by Maria Thomas' tile on the cover of The Book of Zentangle - it reminded me of the people coming together like thousands of hugs |
If you would like to donate to the Canadian Red Cross' Fundraising Efforts, you can do so here.
If you have a blog, add the site-specific URL where your tile is posted to the linkey machine below! Don't forget to link back here so that others can join in the fun! (if you don't know how to find this, you can see my half assed tutorial here)
Also, please feel free to come back often and visit the links of those people on the linkey machine - don't forget to leave a comment or feedback, everyone loves feedback. ;)
If you don't have a blog but still want to participate, you can email your tile to me and i will post it here. (please email to weeklychallenge(at)mail(dot)com). I just ask that you put in the subject line: Challenge # ________
The deadline for each weekly challenge is Saturday night so that i can round everyone up by Sunday. What this means is that i will stop adding tiles to the slideshow on Sunday. You're still more than welcome to do the challenges and add your name to the linkey machine.
I will be more diligent with the linkey machine - by editing out the ones that don't work, the doubles, the links that lead to nowhere, the links that go just to blog home pages (this is why we need those site specific urls), and the spam. And there is some spam. PLEASE do not put your *home* page in the linkey machine... please? for me??
It's indeed heartbreaking and we can only hope and pray that people and animals survive.
ReplyDeleteI don't what I'll come up with this week, but you can be sure that I think of them.
Take care!
Loveley photos from your road trips! It seems that you guys had a great time.
ReplyDeleteThe flood looks horrible. We have/had a lot of water ourselves in Germany (mostly in the south and east of Germany) this past few weeks. For weeks the news were full of horrible reports, pictures, videos and information which cities needed to be evacuated next. And like you said - there are always stories about people helping each other. A quite big radio station broadcastet that every little help is appreciated and what you needed to consider if you wanted to help buildung dikes with sandbags for example. Via internet they created lists for people offering help, searching for help and many people drove hours to help, to give out water and food for the ones carring the sandbags. So between all those terrifying reports there were news of sympathy, generosity and helpfulness.
I'm not quite sure what I will do but I sure wanna participate and creating something this week while thinking of all those who are affected by the floods is a great idea.
Laura, looks like you had a great trip and just in time to miss the flood. I live in Calgary and it has been an amazing 3 days. Calgarians are so generous in times of need opening houses for places to sleep and food donations to the shelters that were set up. Thankfully people were able to return to their homes yesterday. I have family in Bowness and their yards now look like dump sites. It will takes months, and lots of work to get things back in order. We all wait to see how our beloved and world famous Calgary Stampede sets up to start in 2 weeks. Thank you so much for this challenge, keeping Calgary in your hearts as you tangle this week! Sandra Chatelain CZT
ReplyDeleteArtoo is looking like a little boy! It is amazing how suddenly the baby curves angle out into little kid. Darling photos! Mama is looking good too!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you got to Calgary when you did. I was born there and it breaks my heart to see areas evacuated and destroyed that were a part of my youth. Thanks for sharing your trip (and life) with us - I always look forward to hearing about what you are up to. Thanks also for the challenges each week - this one is particularly thoughtful and I'm looking forward to seeing what is submitted.
ReplyDeleteLaura, I enjoyed your post of photos and the fun you had in Calgary. I am sorry to hear about the flooding, water is so necessary and can be such a destructive force. I am sure that those who live their will again beautify their city and hopefully we can all help with aid and prayers.
ReplyDeleteA very heartfelt post Laura, thank you. Your tile is divine.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Laura, for the thought-provoking impulse by this challenge!
ReplyDeleteLoved doing this challenge...water is life giving
ReplyDeleteThanks Laura for the heartfelt challenge. I love your tile and your trip pictures!
ReplyDeleteMuch Love to Calgary!
ReplyDeleteKia Kaha from New Zealand
My prayers to the people of Calgary - thanks for this challenge Laura, your tile is beautiful and serene.
ReplyDeleteThanks Laura for this week's challenge. Seeing all the destruction just makes me so sad and also count my blessings. Thanks for sharing your beautiful boys with us -- they are adorable -- and so fortunate to have a mother like you! Your tile is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteIt has been a really long time since I have participated openly. I have done several of the challenges but I have been working and just not a chance to always post. I am not sure if I made it in time, but here goes.
ReplyDeleteI haven't been doing the weekly zentangles since #100, but have been following your blog! I always enjoy seeing what you and your family have been up to..This week's topic touched me so personally that I wanted to participate. Thanks for continuing to give me an opportunity to express my self!!
ReplyDeleteLaura, thank you for keeping Calgary and all of the parts of Alberta hit by the flood in everyone's minds. Happy Canada Day! One of these days I'm going to get the courage required to actually try a challenge. I always love looking at everyone's entries! Keep up the great work, it's such a lovely blog and a lovely way to get this who love Zentangle networking and connecting! You're the best!
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