This month marks the sixth anniversary of A ‘lil Hoohaa‘s photo blogging challenge! And over those years, participation in the challenge has become the one “can’t miss” post i publish each month. Why?

• Externally imposed deadline. I’m more likely to let self-imposed deadlines slip if I’ve set too many goals in a particular month.
• Specific theme. This restriction sparks creativity as I work to interpret that theme in relevant and interesting ways.
• Flexibility. Aside from the requirement to include five photographs, the rest is up to participants: the amount of text, how to capture the theme in those images, etc.
• Community. The small, dedicated community of participants is positive and supportive. It’s always interesting to see how others interpret the same theme as they share photos from around the world. 🙂

So I really appreciate the time and energy PJ puts into hosting this challenge, month after month and year after year. Thanks! Here are my photos celebrating six years:

1. Six Stack

We’ve enjoyed semi-regular family game nights in 2019. Many of the newer games (Terraforming Mars, Gloomhaven, Root) don’t have dice. Instead, the actions you take during each round of play are directed by counters, cards or other instructions. I went to some of the older games in the closet to assemble this six tall stack of dice in various colours, with various dot colours, different numbering styles, and various sizes. The one thing they have in common? They’re all six sided.

2. Six of One…

A stop in the Easter aisle at the local grocery store was all it took to set up this photographic interpretation of the familiar phrase six of one, half a dozen of the other. There’s no disputing that different coloured Easter eggs of the same variety are equally delicious!

3. Next Six

While writing my post for January’s PBC theme, books, I calculated that I can expect to read about two thousand more books in my lifetime. I am surprised by how much that realization has influenced how carefully I select titles for my to be read (TBR) pile. Pictured are the next six books I plan to read – a mix of library books, loaners from friends, non-fiction and fiction, I aim to read at least these six books by the end of April.

4. Watch Your Six

Long-time readers know that I work to include at least one LEGO-based photograph in every PBC post. This month, dinosaurs were on my mind thanks extensive discussion of Dinosaurs, Attack! cards on the two most recent episodes of one of my favourite podcasts, Hello Internet. To set up this example of why you should always watch your back, I dug into a basement cabinet to retrieve some of the dinosaur-themed LEGO from when our boys amazed me with their ability to identify and speak the name of every dinosaur in every one of their dinosaur books.

5. Celebration Time

Yes, I baked chocolate cupcakes topped with fresh raspberry buttercream frosting, and lit a candle in celebration of this six-year milestone. After taking the shot, I enjoyed every bite!

That’s it for this month. Thanks again to PJ for hosting. To see what “six” means to other participants, head over to a ‘lil Hoohaa and look for the link up at the bottom of the page.

While you’re there, please consider joining us for (all or part of) the seventh year! Participation is like taking on a low-stress photo assignment, which you can use to refine your photography skills. Any camera will do: your phone, a pocket-sized point and shoot, the DSLR that’s been gathering dust somewhere or a film camera. For each month’s theme, you’re asked to share five photos; the amount of accompanying text is up to you. The next theme will be posted at a ‘lil Hoohaa in early April.