april

geranium / rainbow / thyme / daphne / handsome Sam / lunch with collage / I love tiny worlds / Oliver / my sweet Dee

18 c

my Missy D and her nasal investigations / beautiful / windswept Dee / beautiful blue / poplar / shaggalicious love

It's warm, really warm 18 Celsius + it's really windy. Warm, wild, wind. This morning on our walk the sky above us raced and tumbled and boiled along faster then we were walking, we strolled along with black threatening clouds, then moments of blue, then white and grey - an unsettled stormy sky. There's rain in the forecast but the windows are all open a crack & the second floor of this old brick house feels like a tree house again, sheets and pillowcases flap madly on the line and I have a big lovely list of to-dos. Happy weekend !

mostly cats & other good things

les recent recent photographs - Betty* - next up in the spay-a-thon / from the boat ramp near the big dock / rose hips / Sweet Bee (I can hardly stand to look at her photo I miss her so much) / Missy D / the old & very tall elm across the street / sedum (I think) / Monty's window - Emporium of Vintage Goodness / Virgil on a faux fur spread / moi - who doesn't loves a chocolate brown turtle neck ?  / the Dude taking a power nap / & super sweet Nessie Ness our 14+ black velvet chicelet ;-) / and Betty again - catnapping could occur - shhhhhhhhh.

It's just past noon here and I'm suffering an unbearable wave of happiness - it's not unbearable, I kid ! It's lovely. I just finished a pro-bono job, illustrated poster(s) for our local Communities in Bloom a large, time consuming project (well at least I made it that way) 'cause I just felt like throwing myself into and I did. You can visit the results over at my portfolio blog here - once a graphic designer, kind of always a graphic designer ... or so it seems.

I've begun a little early morning power walking activity and ooh it feels good, after it's done. Missy D and I have our usual 20-30 min stroll which mainly involves nasal investigations along the boardwalk of the most intense kind. We saunter, Miss D and I. These days that's her biggest thrill, when she was a much younger dog muskrat hunting & crab tolling extraordinaire were top of her list but now that's she's a very senior girl some intense sniffing along a well worn dog trail seems to give her the deepest satisfaction. So after our walk  I drop Winnie off and I power walk for about 23 minutes (of course I time myself) around and up and down a few nearby streets, a couple of hills to climb, around the elementary school and home again before 9am.  Each and every morning while I'm leisurely sipping my coffee in bed I try to think of reasons why NOT to do this fast walk (I'm guessing that's just part of the game with exercise). No ! demon girl whines ... we're lazy we don't want to power walk this morning ! Just do it  ! says the new girl, whoever she is, she's new around here and she's a tough freakin' cookie. OK we whine but let me tell ya once my brand new springy walking shoes/runners hit the darn pavement, & those arms start a swingin' it feels terrific - it makes me feel invincible again.

And, AND, a-n-d - after 5+ years, and much rumination, fussin & a fumin' worrying too much about the money while spending far too much of my time lately staring at the rainbow wheel a spinnin' on my imac (as it tries laboriously to do what I've asked of it) I have ordered a brand new computer - delivery date April 26th (sung by - you guessed it that darn sweet chorus of angels) Hallelujah ! my big concession I did not order the giant 27" screen but settled instead for the much more demure 21". I currently am using a 23" - and it's BIG - I'm thinking I can can easily adapt down a few inches, but up a few inches I don't know - I think it would have been harder adjustment to make and after all - I am downsizin' dontcha know :-)

making Mario Batali's Chicken Marengo for dinner tonight

* Someone, named the Prince, is very keen to adopt sweet petite Miss Betty. She's very independent though she's thinking about our offer and she'll get back to us. Currently she is nursing kittens (and in heat). We feed her delicious food on the windowsill every day so that's she's sure to stop by. 

04/17

Winnie and me / our beautiful little harbour / best desk companion / sandwich with collage-arama / I don't think you can see me / lichen love / dear Virgil / crow / brave intuitive painting by sweet Bee *

*my friend & explorer pal sweet Bee moved to British Columbia (the other side of Canada) I miss her so much but I'm hoping she & I will become big time snail mail pals ! + her grandmother still lives here so future visits are a sure thing. I love her.

carrying on

Remember this from the beginning of 2012* my mission statement for life ... I'm always aiming for this 

I suppose it may seem a bit intense to some, but let's not kid around ... I am intense ;-)

It's not only a bit intense but it's setting the bar pretty darn high for how I want to feel, how I want to approach life. But that's OK too, I like my bar high. Doug's always teasing me saying my approach to life is one of constant bold & persistent experimentation. I consider that quite a compliment because really, that's how I want to live my life and that's how I'd like someone to see me. Brave. Always trying & not giving up just because one way didn't work, or feel right or turn out the way I had hoped and expected. I don't want to be afraid of anything. I don't want little things (or big things) too disappoint me for long. I want to get back up in that saddle and carry on. Today (it's now 3:30 my time) I had big plans, big to-dos. I always do and I'm realizing at this point in the day that I've failed miserably at both of today's work related plans. I had planned to create 2 new illustrations, self promo pieces. I thought I'd try something new - just painting, watercolour only, no black line crutch, no collage crutch - just paint and paper & Boo ! I don't like either one. I will be trashing both and starting fresh. Oh well ... & I mean it. Seriously.

I have plans for this evening and it's time to prepare dinner. So it was in many ways a failed day in my books, though I did take one absolute sweetie female cat to the vet to be spayed early this morning, I'm about to walk Miss D in sunshine, then I'll make a potato scallop for tonight's dinner ... I'm carrying on with some fearless wonder & a lil' heartfelt joy here at 29 Black Street.

I can't say the words "carry on" without thinking about this anthem of hope by Fun - a favourite of mine.

* part of the amazing KellyRae Roberts & Beth Nicolls Hello Soul, Hello Business e-course

les garcons etc.

les garcons, Oliver & Virg / frosty, snowy branches this morning / lichenography - the giant elm across the street / sweet paws, sweet cat / Miss D on our snowy habourside walk  / puddle / lunch time pre-dressing* / more icy branches / sigh ... Virgil in a fav cozy cat comfort spot / orange rose, snow covered yard /  for the lichenographers, love this colour of green

We, and the rest of Canada, had another wintry spring weekend - Happy Sunday ! but the birds are back -Hooray !

* I'm currently in a creamy (Ranch, Peppercorn Ranch ...) dressing phase