arthur

Ice Cream Shop Folk Art Outsider Original by Arthur Simo

Any of you who are familiar at all with the land of etsy know that it is a virtual paradise of beauty and craft, design and innovation. A place for finding incredibly affordable and often one of a kind items. Amazingly talented entrepreneurs, all with their own shops, selling their own unique wares. It's so easy to be totally swept away, in a kind of domino effect, perusing around this wonderland. You're in one shop and you think I wonder who their favourites are ? so you check that out and then you wonder who else has chosen that shop as a favourite ? ... you fall into one shop and the next thing you know you are being gently led down amazing paths and through a gigantic maze of goodness and delight ... leading you on to more and more.

And that's how I found Arthur Simo yesterday. Wow ! He's 16 and I think his work is amazing. His paintings are all so incredible rich with details and imagination and so wonderfully colourful. Wow ! I love them all. And it turns out Arthur and I have a lot of the same interests (sharks, Egypt, the Universe & space, fossils and dinosaurs). Here's his profile from his etsy shop

My name is Arthur Simo, I'm a teenager, 16 (2008) and I have Autism. I love to paint because I have fun creating each picture. Also I love to play nintendo, watch movies and read about sharks, space, Universe, dinosaurs, aliens, cattles, Egypt and love to collect fossils. I skate, ride horses and bike. I am taking a Tai Kwon Do class and I am a green belt.

Arthur has an amazing Mom, Adriana, who helps him with his etsy shop, she loads up the photos and writes his incredible descriptions out for him. Each painting is a story that Arthur's telling through his art. Please stop by and check out all of his incredible paintings. Rock On Arthur !


Locks and Keys Folk Art Outsider Original by Arthur Simo

and oh yeh ! I guess I would be remiss if I didn't mention today's Canadian federal election. All I'll say is ...

Dear God and the Universe,
Please grant Stephen Harper a first class ticket on the next slow boat to Loser's Island where he can wait patiently in a chaise lounge, Pina Colada in hand, for John & Sarah's boat to arrive.

Merci, All the Best,
your friend Susan

thankful

rosemary & lemon

A few of the ingredients for our Thanksgiving dinner - Mlou's recipe for

lemon rosemary roast chicken

1 chicken (3 1/2lb)
2 lemons
bunch of fresh rosemary
butter
salt & pepper

Slice one of the lemons and push slices underneath the skin of the chicken wherever possible. Poke holes in the other lemon with a skewer or paring knife and put this lemon and the rosemary inside the cavity of the chicken. Brush entire chicken with melted butter, season with salt and pepper and roast 1.5 hours at 350-375. Cover loosely with foil for first hour, remove foil, baste and cook for the final 30 minutes. Yum.

This was our dinner the first evening dans le cottage on our weekend get away to that Magical Island. MLou served this roast chicken with a salad of greens (arugula would be great) sliced pears and scallions and a simple vinaigrette dressing and this totally yummy side by Dorie Greenspan - Pumpkin packed with Bread & Cheese - like a savoury bread pudding that's baked in a pumpkin. I fought her for the last spoonful - it was that good. (ps she added sauted onions and chunks of ham to her version).

Yesterday I puttered around all day. I finally made chili sauce which involved much standing in the kitchen chopping, (chopping, chopping and more chopping) and all day I listened to my favourite CBC radio 1 station. Sunday's a great line up of programs and yesterday the theme running through the day's schedule of programming was thankfulness and gratitude. Anya recently mentioned on her blog the concept of receiving "messages". Messages from the Universe, from animals, from God, or sometimes from your own internal M. Invincible (you know how I'm a big believer in Animal Totem messages - scroll down to the bottom of this page and click on an animal that has recently visited you). These messages are meant just for us and we need to be aware and in a receptive mood to notice them, to pay attention and to understand their meaning and hopefully to learn and grow a little from them.

I was reminded of my own reasons to be thankful these last few days, by many messages I've recently received - Dr. Oz on Oprah talking about dealing with the stress of the recent financial crash and what it means and feels like for many of us to watch our money and savings dwindle away. He reminded us of the value of breathing and stretching to help to deal with the physical symptoms of stress and to try instead to focus on what's really important in our life - and really, it's not the things, the stuff, the houses ... is it ? it's having people (and animals) around you that love you and that you love back. MLou and I often say as long as we had a library and a park filled with nature nearby to walk our dogs, some sort of roof above our head, a warm cozy nest to sleep in and some food - what more do we really need ? And so many others don't even have these basic things.

Here's a link to the Sunday morning show on CBC (scroll down to mid way on the page and click on the small red square "listen to the most recent broadcast") it's three hours long and it's the last hour that I found most inspiring - an hour long show on being thankful and about appreciating the things in life that are REALLY important. Not always following along on that busy consumer freeway that we've all been on, speeding along fairly unconsciously like lemmings to the shopping mall with everyone else, and not getting so caught up with money. Also another favourite afternoon show - Tapestry and an interview with Margaret Visser on her new book The Gift of Thanks.

It's a funny thing, this recent financial mess - I've been stressing and worrying about money for what seems like forever and suddenly through all this recent crashing and burning I actually feel a bit better in a strange way. Suddenly I don't feel so alone, I feel like I have this huge community of people who now feel just like me, who worry about losing their homes, or not being able to pay their bills. I think in the long run there is a huge silver lining to all this big mess. It's time we all woke up. We (the big we) need to learn to be thankful for what we have (and we have SO much) and not be so concerned all the time with always wanting more.

Long winded & big deep thoughts this early Thanksgiving morning. Wink.

Not sure if you checked out last week's blog of the week here at 29 Black Street - a blog called Down to Earth - this woman should have a book and her blog is like an amazing book - completely chock full of ideas, inspiration and information on living a much more simple and conscious life and also here simple • green • frugal

thrilled

cosmos and nasturtiums

Cheery happy colours this morning. I am head spinning-ly happy and excited this morning. Way more thrilled than I actually thought I would be (and I knew I'd be pretty thrilled). Any of you who have been following along with the Saga of Susan know that my etsy shop opening has been in the works now for ... oh for ... well truthfully ... all year. Lots of big talk in July, then more talk in Aug. And I know all that doesn't matter 'cause ... it's open now ! Many thanks to yesterdays shoppers and all of you who stopped by to check things out and send congrats my way. This early morning with my second cup o'java on hand, my bubbles with citrus & patchouli awaiting I'm realizing that my excitement is not just about a job accomplished, a goal, a wish and a dream scratched off that huge master list of mine - but it's really excitement about tons of potential and big future dreams.

This has been the hardest year that I can ever remember ... I have felt like I would surely die of sadness and longing, and anyone who knows this kind of grief knows that you feel as if it just would be so much easier if you could just give up ... or give in to it. Tears fall as I write this, I still can't think about him - Jake the big red dog that stole my heart and all of my love - without tears. I was, and still am, madly in love with that dog - a dog that changed my heart forever, what can I tell ya.

This morning I feel so invigorated, my head is truly spinning with ideas and plans for new items for les shop (in time for Christmas shopping), prints, small posters and lots more cards (more art print cards and much less expensive greeting cards as well). Both photography and illustration, collage and paintings ... Building my own creative empire means eventually not depending on other customers to provide my income ... and art direction - to really be in charge of my own destiny and to be completely doin' my own thing - what's not to be excited about ?

And Madam Invincible is thinking of renting my spare bedroom, she and I chatted a bit about it last night. She loves animals and loves the seaside and she travels a lot, internationally for business, so there will be spells when she's away for weeks at a time... but she'd like to make 29 Black Street her home base and I am totally cool with that.

Happy Sunday mon amis !

shop's open !

Oh my goodness ... finally 29 Black Street les shop is open. It has taken me all day from 9:30 am until now 4:55 pm to tweak and preen, to size and load photos and add descriptive details, tags and the like. Phew ! I'm off now for a well deserved walk on the beach with my gal Miss D. and then home to make a cream of spinach soup with garlic croutons and melted cheddar cheese for my dinner. Yum. And ... Antiques Road show ce soir. Wink.

more pink & red

pink peonies

More shameless self promotion this early morning. Phew what a busy day yesterday - on the fly continually with Madam Invincible tagging along beside me the entire time. She's decided to play it by ear. I'd love for her to stay the whole weekend but I realize, she's a very free spirit and she may just pack up and leave at a moments notice. That's just who she is. My meetings all went very well ... lots of lovely's and beautiful's, a few ooh's and ahh's were bandied around, M. Invincible and I both beamed, a little, with pride. And I most definitely drummed up lots of potential business. Now I can't wait to work on the series of larger size art prints. Matted 8x10 size. Many of my images need to be a bit bigger - like this one.

More pink and red, peonies and poppies. I have many duos in my shop of art prints/greeting cards, pairs of images, mostly flowers to start that go together. The same subject matter shot from two different perspectives. And these are two of my favourite duos. Red oriental poppies - is there a flower more grand ? and a bouquet of peonies in various shades of pink. All Polaroid prints.

My shop will open later in the day today as I still have all my postings left to do (eek!) this morning. Little photos to tweak and preen in photo shop before uploading to etsy, descriptions to finish writing up etc... I'm hoping that everything will be said and done, and my shop will be open, finally ... by 2pm my time, Atlantic time. Sigh.

Lots of general weekend stuff to take care of, another 11 frame drawings chosen from my last batch of thumbnails for customer No Uno (yeah! les bills are paid for another month). A roast chicken dinner (recipe and details to follow) to make for Miss D, Les Chats and moi, lots of walking in sunshine and crunching leaves with my gal Winnie Dixon, I'll make chili sauce, and maybe a big apple pear crisp to have with scoops of vanilla ice cream. I guess I should try and run that vacuum cleaner around and some of that other house cleaning stuff. I'd so much rather cook and putter, read or draw - I am a terrible house keeper I do confess. Always too many other things that I'd like to be doing ... one day ... good things come. Wink.

Those darn to-do lists reminds of this ... must order a few of these brilliant memo pads. And thank you all again SO much for your ongoing love & support, it means the world. Now I'm off to enjoy my second cup of coffee and do some day plannin' with Madam I and Miss D.


red poppies

photo art print greeting cards

still life vignette with Stephanie

Oh my. How I have been bogged down with getting perfect images of all my etsy wares to load into my shop, not to mention general figuring out of all the details of a proper shop opening, writing descriptions, details of tags, shipping options etc. I realize that all these details likely should not be so daunting but what can I tell ya ... I've been creating a few more of my infamous mountain ranges in these last few days preparing for tomorrows Grand Opening. Wink.

I have appointments late this afternoon to show off my cards (and drum up business hopefully) with two local gift shops and one friend Deb, who's been like my own personal patron, cheering squad, encourager etc ... By 3pm today all 41 of these little beasts must be signed on the back and tucked safely into their cellophane sleeves avec envelopes, sealed and put away in my special art-print-greeting-card-box with a lid for transportation around the village dans le teal green Ford Escort wagon.

Yesterday I shot vignettes (see top photo) of all 26 or 27 (but who's counting) different images. There will be doubles of a few favourite images to start and all the images have been seen here, at 29 Black Street the blog, first. Upon loading all these vignettes shots into iphoto late in the afternoon I realized that the focus was off in many of the shots, and the light by then was severely fading. Sad face. It's important to me that all these little still life vignettes, avec framed photo art print greeting cards, are photographed with the same light so ... I will reshoot this morning ... which reminds me I must check to see if my trusted photo assistant Oliver is available. Madam Invincible arrived last night and I'm trying to persuade her to stay for the long weekend. It's Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada.

ps I will be adding illustrated cards, art prints and new photo prints in a larger (small poster) size in time for Christmas shopping and here's a sneak peek of two forget-me-not images below

les girls and a big bridge

a perfect October day




The Confederation Bridge

Cape Tormentine, New Brunswick looking out into the Northumberland Strait

And les girls - MLou and her Miss J - Jigs and me and my girl Missie D - Miss Winnie Dixon and one big ol' bridge and architectural marvel - The Confederation Bridge which joins Prince Edward Island to the mainland. When I was young there used to be a ferry crossing here, a 45 minute ship ride to that magical island. I do so miss that part and you still can cross this Strait by ferry from Caribou, Nova Scotia. Although dogs must remain locked in the car while crossing (for their safety I'm sure). A noisy, busy ferry crossing with lots of people yelling and milling about at the very beginning of our big weekend adventure would have sent Miss D over the edge I'm afraid ... so it's just as well that we traveled by big ol' bridge.

Dreaming last night, those repetitive, busy, often somewhat futile feeling, task dreams. Dreams of zillions of 1000 x 1000 pixel images, little square perfect images of my etsy shop wares for my shop's grand opening this Saturday. I have 26 different art print cards so ... three of these little square photos per art print card 1.) showing the card with it's envelope, 2.) a close up of the photo art print and 3.) the art print framed and styled - a wee vignette of a possible future life for these little much loved images of mine. Sigh.

Other little bits & pieces to get my shop ready (descriptions to write, shipping costs to calculate, a profile to pen, etc...), more thumbnails for customer No Uno, finished technical drawings from another bunch of thumbnails, from last week (techs=$$=smiles) ... always SO much to do. I want to make fruit chili sauce this weekend and BFF Harry dropped of a big box of crab apples yesterday because he knows I've been wanting to make crab apple jelly. I plan to roast a chicken with lemon and rosemary for Miss D, Les Chats and me this Canadian Thanksgiving weekend (recipe courtesy of MLou to follow) and of course my house is a total mess ... but hey, that's not news. Wink.

Second cup of java and bubbles with lavender awaits ...


les girls of fleece and denim

I love how happy and relaxed my Miss D looks in this photo

Miss D goes to the Island

Miss D safe and snug in our cottage nest

My girl Winnie Dixon, as you may remember, has some issues with her nerves. She was not properly socialized as a young dog and can be very afraid of new situations especially if they involve people. I was so proud of her this past weekend, she was very brave and she did amazingly well on our fantastic weekend trip to the Island. MLou has visited us here at 29 Black Street many times and on those times Winnie basically just skulks from room to room, from dog bed to dog bed, staying out of our way. MLou had never patted Winnie or been in close physical contact with Winnie at all, Miss D always made sure of that. This big old brick house is her big ol' den and she doesn't like anyone else in it and she is always thrilled when they finally leave. Our weekend holiday away from the big den she did allow MLou to give her lots of pats and scratches all around her neck and ears - she's a funny girl my Miss D. she's got some issues ... much like her Mama and boy O' boy I sure do love her.







Although she didn't eat and barely slept the entire weekend we were away, on our off leash walks with MLou and Miss J in the provincial park she ran and sniffed and smiled like she didn't have a care in the world. Most of our touring & sightseeing around the Island by car, Winnie sat up front with MLou, and I sat in the back with Jigs. She's a front seat girl - my girl. The very first time that I took her in the car with Em & Jake she hopped immediately into the front passenger seat. Em & Jake, always the most chilled out retriever sweetie dogs, didn't mind at all and she's been travelling around in the front seat ever since. I guess that's where she's the most comfortable. I think she had a good time and I know that it was good for both of us to get outta dodge for a few days.



I have a fire on in the living room this morning and I think I'll take my second cup of coffee downstairs, I'll snug in close beside Miss D on the sofa and I'll make a plan for this day. You know how I love a plan.

ps - please don't fall over in your chairs but it's looking like my etsy shop will finely open (with some stuff in it - wink) this Sat. morning. Shut Up ! no you Shut Up !

red clay cliffs

the cavendish limited

Miss D & Miss J enjoying the windy scenery

Designer gal and best girlfriend MLou created our petite pocket size laminated itinerary The Cavendish Limited (for those of you who have seen the movie The Darjeeling Limited and don't you just LOVE Owen Wilson). And we did stick to our itinerary almost perfectly, two full days of chatting - chatting while sightseeing, driving in the car, walking Miss D and Miss J, taking photographs, eating ... Eat, sightsee, walk, chat - repeat. Perfection.

A perfect weekend in a perfectly magical place and avec les chiens. The landscape of this small island is absolutely spectacular from the rolling deep valleys and hills of farmland, like patchwork quilts of golds and greens, to the wind swept beaches and dunes dotted with tiny gangs of Sandpipers, to the steep red clay cliffs which are continually carved by the wild Atlantic ocean. It is all breathtakingly beautiful.

And I must confess I'm feeling a bit bummed out to be back in my real world again this morning. Back in the world of lists and worries, to-do's and must-do's. I'll leave you this early am with some photos from the beaches and dunes of the National Park, situated on the North, the wild Atlantic side, of the Island and a few of those sweet tiny Sandpipers.




with a big ol' nod to Wes Anderson and the movie The Darjeeling Limited




MLou & Miss J amid the dunes

off to the land of Anne

October

Off to Anne's Land this morning - Anne of Green Gables and of course, typically me I still have many things to check off that darn master list. Sigh. Thankfully I am an early bird. Enjoyed a little Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert with my 4 (something) am coffee tucked into the nest (a broadcast from the west coast of Canada) and also managed to see reruns of last nights vice presidential debates on CNN (I fell fast asleep too soon last night). Hey, did Sarah win ? I guess they're calling it a draw (oh oh). It's terrible but I almost forgot about the Canadian (yawn) debates and from what I can glean from around the net this early morning, it seems like I'm not the only Canadian who's way more interested in the US election than our own.

I must get myself going, cross a few more things off that list, a bit more tidying up, packing to do and it's nearly time to wake up Thrilled & Excited.

I had both photo assistants working with me on this latest shoot. Wink.

Here's a lovely web site (found at daily haunt Poppytalk) I'll leave you with - beauty, beauty, beauty. Big happy sigh.


sweet Ver (Oliver)


and always elusive, rarely seen in dayight - Gussie Gus

une petite funk

a beach on the North shore of Prince Edward Island

Probably my most favourite place in the world ... and maybe, dare I wish and dream, where my next home will be. I've fallen into a little funk these last few days. A funk that even my ongoing practice this week of Shallow Thinking can't seem to keep at bay. I'm trying not to analyze it too much as I'm quite determined to carry on my practice of not questioning every friggin' little emotion & feeling that I have.

But ... I think it may have something to do with my upcoming Designer Gals Scenic Food Filled Fall Road Trip to this marvelous island. I know that there is a little tiny part of me that is still absolutely thrilled and excited about tomorrow's road trip and wee vacance. Maybe thrilled and excited just feels too foreign to this little dark cloud. Perhaps I'm beginning The Worry, the long list of catastrophic things that could or may happen to Les Boys (Bleet, Oliver & Gus) in my absence, I'm leaving home and them for 2 1/2 days - anyone who's friends with Anxiety knows what I mean, perhaps I'm feeling undeserving of a holiday, or maybe I just cannot get out of my own way (after being in my one way for such a very long time), it could be hormonal, my biorhythms may be off (actually they are fine-o - I checked). Whatever... I am in a petite funk ...

I do know, thankfully, that tomorrow sometime before lunch, when the last list has the last item checked off and we (MLou & I) have piled Miss J & Miss D, les chiens, into the car and we pull away from 29 Black Street - Funk will stay behind in this old brick house, I know it won't want to come to the Island with us. And Thrilled and Excited will have piled into the back seat with the dogs.

and some political chat - can't help myself
Don't know if you knew this but we, up here in Canada, are also having a federal election (yawn), and compared to the US of A's (edge of my seat) election - ours truly pales. Tonight our leadership candidates will debate on national television - at the same time as the vice presidential debates. Wow ! my remote's previous channel button will be put to good use. I don't know about you but I'm not sure if I can even stand to watch Sarah Palin fumble and stumble on her words one more time. When glued to the Katie Couric interviews last week with the governor of Alaska I found I had to look away ... often. It's so painfully obvious that she is in WAY, WAY over her head ... I guess the very scary question is ... will that matter ?

pool

Maureen - Alexandra Park Pool - Queen & Bathurst

More Polaroids from the archives. I'm up an hour earlier than usual this morning. The smell of coffee waking me up this early morning at 4:10am. It seems, while getting the coffee ready last evening, I accidentally hit a button on my coffee maker's timer causing my coffee to brew at 4am instead of 5am. Sigh. Oh well.

Summer's in Toronto would often feel terribly stifling - hot and sticky humid. My friend Maureen and I would pack up our troubles in a big beach bag. Towels, cameras, swimming goggles, and large plastic bottles filled halfway with frozen water and we'd head to the public swimming pool at Alexandra Park, just up from Queen & Bathurst. We'd pretend we were kids and we'd have so much fun.

My Buddha Boy Oliver is keeping me company as I type this. His favourite pose - sitting up straight, eyes closed, in deep sweet feline meditation and I'm just off to the land of lavender & bubbles.