Vital Imagery Blog

Back to school brings many images to mind. Living in front of our local educational facility,  I watched the flock each September making its way back for another year — by bus and by foot. 

In more recent years, it was always the glimpses of  wee ones, heading to their first day of kindergarten,  hands firmly held by moms and/or dads though, that stirred strong memories.

Seeing my eldest at five, trekking off down the street, is as vivid a picture today for me as it was then. Fiercely independent, an old soul mature and wise beyond his years, he was determined to do this on his own.  To this day, I'm not sure he knows I had his back the whole way.

Knowing he was more than ready did make his walk away from being my little boy easier for me.  The same could not be said of my feelings about my other kids, however.  His younger sister  had walked hesitantly beside me to school her first day.  While I had worried  she might not be quite as keen to leave me, though, once inside she sen…

There's an event on its way that I've been trying not to think too much about.  It's a harbinger of summer's end and I look to it with dread and a determination to ignore. 

Others, on the other hand, are starting to prepare for the inevitable.

The time for back to school nears,  with varying numbers of days left,  depending on where you live.  In our neck of the woods there's a few weeks remaining before kids head off and parents breathe an exhausted sigh. But in the meantime there's work to be done.

For retailers of everything from educational supplies to children's fashions, it's a busy time of year. Promotional materials are making their way into print media and onto television. Images are needed for flyers,  advertisements, websites, etc.

Depending on what the needs might be, it's good to know that a diverse range of clipart can be found online through safe, inexpensive sources. Here are a few favourites to give your back-to-school projects a f…

It was many moons ago. My daughter was a college student in Toronto and we spent a good deal of time keeping in touch through email.  One day I noticed she had placed a colon and parenthesis at the end of a sentence. Assuming it to be a typo I said nothing. But then it happened again.

And again. And again. And again.

Finally it dawned on me that I was clearly out of the loop on something and decided that whether I'd look uncool or not I needed to ask what was up.  So, one weekend when she was home, I took a deep breath and exposed my ignorance.

She must have remembered all the things I taught her over the years and decided fair is fair.  There were no giggles or eye rolls.  More of an indulgent smile as she explain this was an emoticon that represented a smiling face. There were many others too she added.

Since then I've learned most of them. And if I can't remember the appropriate one,  everything from Facebook to my cellphone gives me a selection of emoticons from which…

Just back at the computer after a lovely extended weekend. It included attendance at a favourite outdoor event and much time on Friday night and Saturday morning spent hoping that the predicted thunderstorms would stay away.

That they did. Saturday and Sunday turned out to be an incredible two days of sunshine and soaring temperatures.  Feeling  heat soothe body,  sun brighten soul and atmosphere entertain mind, I couldn't help thinking that at some point I must have done something good. We couldn't have asked for more.

Today,  however,  I woke to dark clouds, a clap or two of thunder and rain.  Forecasters are promising it's going to stay around for a few days, which given the muggy weather we've been experiencing is certainly expected. 

When it comes to the weather we're never too sure what we're getting. Why should we know, when the meteorologists have problems getting it right? We live in a climate that takes us from blizzards to tropical temperatures, fro…