rain or shine

Last night I popped up to Chapters bookstore to see Chris St. Clair of the Weather Network . He was here in Halifax to promote his new book and give a wee talk about the weather. I love my weather:) Cheery and charming, he was a pleasure to meet. It was also the perfect "weather-y" sort of night. This was taken in the parking lot above the bookstore just before the talk. I had to capture the light.


Also.... tonight is my gallery opening! If you are free from 6-8,
here is the info Would love to see you!

calm

Lately I have been wanting to sit down and write a lovely long lyrical post. These days I feel as though I have been popping in here and dashing off a quick note then rushing off again. Even now, I can feel deadlines looming, work is waiting, hurry, hurry, have to get THAT done, don't forget THIS, and what about THOSE? Realistically, there will always be things to be done and it is just a matter of carving out time and making a doable schedule and prioritizing. Right? Right.

This is a beach on the Northumberland Shore of Nova Scotia. If you look closely, those tiny specks of black in the middle of the water under the clouds are people! They are standing on a sand bar. It had been stormy and had rained all that day. I remember the sun popped out just after supper and created a most magical seascape. I want to get out and explore my province this summer. So often I take it for granted living here. It is a gorgeous place.

mystery solved:)

Look what I found on my doorstep this morning! I love daffodils. I plant them every year in memory of my dad.What a lovely surprise, but there was no note or indication of where they came from.... I was worried thinking that maybe they had been delivered by mistake. This is Cancer awareness month and these bunches are sold for fund-raising.

In my email, I found the solution to the mystery. A dear friend had dropped them off to me with instructions to share them. Spread Spring cheer. They were flowers left over from the fundraising campaign and rather than throw them out, they were to be enjoyed as gifts.

Soiree

You are all invited to Love, Me Boutique this Friday, April 30th from 6-8pm! Why not stop by to kick off your Friday night. I am happily showing off my paintings! Several other artists will be on hand to meet and greet also:) Wine and nibblies available. Hope to see you there:)
(1539 Birmingham Street, next to Woozles)

Relaxing

So the plan is to have a relaxing weekend. Although.....so much needs to be done always. We shall see, I'm not going to put any "have to get this done" constraints on myself.( ha ha, do you believe that?)

I have been painting more poppies and really enjoying it! One of the paintings at my show which just went up has been sold already. Yay! A couple from Ontario. I got an email a while ago from them asking if I had a studio or gallery where they could see my work. I often get emails like this and have to say no, because I have neither studio nor gallery but it was lovely to be able to direct them to a place where there was my art on the walls in a big way:)

Next week we are having an "official opening" with wine and everything:)

Hope you have a fun and relaxing weekend planned.

back at em:)

I am feeling almost normal! That cold sure kicked my #@!

Now...... nightdress story......I am lucky I lived to tell this tale. When I get a cold it feels as though my brain becomes full of sludge and I am only operating at half capacity. Staggering around the house like Frankenstein when I wasn't in bed. Well, a day or two into the worst of it, I decided to make a small stir fry to get something more substantial than toast and tea into myself.

I had the stir fry going on the back burner and on the front I had the burner on high for a pot of water for couscous. Needing some spices, I dragged over a chair and stood to rummage in the spice cupboard above the stove. While my head was stuck in the cupboard, I smelled smoke. (Amazing because my nose wasn't working) "That's odd, I thought........" When I looked down I saw were bright flames!!! YIKES! It was me!

I grabbed the material on either side and scrunched it over the flames managing to smother them. The bottom edge of my nightie had been resting on the burner. It was a bit of a wake up call. I couldn't believe I had done something so stupid. I also learned that pajama material burns quickly! Sheesh. Nothing like a hot flash to let you know you are alive:)

high noon or not

Hiya, have you been thinking it's been a while since a good Western has rolled around? Well, I have a treat for you! Gunless is about to hit theatres on April 30th. It looks like fun. Take a peek at the link! I love Westerns.
In brief..... a hardened American gunslinger is repeatedly thwarted in his attempts to mount a showdown in a friendly town in Canada where no one seems to understand or appreciate the brutal code of the American Wild West.

I have a passel of free passes for two I am going to give away - showtime 7 pm April 29th, Halifax Empire8 ParkLane Theatres

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post telling why you love Paul Gross or Westerns or want to see this movie or whatever you feel like saying:) and first three people win a pass:)
*note*To be eligible, you MUST have an email available for me to contact you. Comments here will be open until Thursday April 22.

still here

2.5 boxes of kleenex
4 extra strength tylenol ( I really try to hold off on painkillers)
20+ cups of hot lemon and honey and garlic and variations of...
15 zinc lozenges
Lots of ColdFX
.5 bottle of Thai chili sauce used on everything I ate
1 burnt nightdress ( to be continued)
1 set of very rumpled sheets
Nothing accomplished at all
Occasional net surfing
4 books later.........still sick

I AM getting better but sheesh. This cold has knocked me for a loop. Now I am at the coughing nonstop phase. Any cough drops you highly recommend?

Picture above is JohnWDoull's bookstore in Halifax. Click and read, it is a charming into.

inhale,exhale

Breathe.......battling with my spring cold.
Be gone!

Battle of Culloden

April 16, 1746, the Scots lost their right to wear tartan and almost 2000 men died within 40 minutes. The English wanted the land for sheep, which was more profitable. The Battle of Culloden was fought 271 years ago today. Bonnie Prince Charlie was up against the Duke of Cumberland, known as "the butcher", fighting for the survival of Scotland.

The only other memorial cairn commemorating that battle exists here in Nova Scotia at a tiny community called Knoydart near Antigonish. Many displaced Scots moved to Nova Scotia to start new lives after the fallout and each year a service is still held here to honor their fallen ancestors.

Here is a youtube clip of Makem and Clancey singing Sound the Pibroch

New print and transformed dust bunnies

Southwest Sunflowers, new print in my shop:) My mom has the original of this painting. I really love it. A friend asked me if it was available as a print and I realized that no it wasn't, but it is now:) The image on the etsy page is all blurred and I don't know why but the print is sharp and lovely. PS. If it comes up as sold, don't worry, it will be relisted pronto.
I am battling my first bug of the season. I was boasting that I had not been sick all winter! Bad move:) My daughter has been ill and caretaking often makes one run down and vulnerable. Not to worry, ColdFX, hot drinks, vitamin C and rest will take care of it.

My fridge is also on the blink, needs a new compressor which = new fridge :( There's always something isn't there. I was so glad I had just cleaned my fridge last week. I would have been very embarrassed had the repair guy looked into it seven days ago. Queen of the condiments, that's me. As it was, when he pulled it away from the wall.........holy cow, the dust bunnies had grown into gorillas and were clutching dried bits of food in their hands and were growling! Yep, my face was red. Needless to say, that corner has now been scrubbed out within an inch of it's life.

Suryachandra

Last night's adventure was fun. The show started at seven thirty so we popped into Satisfaction Feast for a quick bite to eat. This vegetarian restaurant has been in operation for over 20 years! It has a new location and now resides next to Cousins in the North end of the city. A bright, cheerful eatery tucked into an old neighborhood. Yummy food too, I feel like I am giving my body a gift when I eat there.

We then made our way downtown to the SuryaChandra show. I really did not know what to expect but I really enjoyed it! There was a small crowd in a darkened setting and the music started and was mesmerizing.



Suryachandra is a local spiritual/world music ensemble that explores sounds, visuals, lyrics and movements from various languages, cultures and spiritual traditions around the globe. It was quite fascinating to watch and listen to. On either side of the musicians were small projection screens and the images were beautiful and constantly changing.

Two of the performers were dancers and they stepped in front of the screens to perform. It created a gorgeous and otherworldly effect. Genie Bright has studied dance in India and Maryce Thuot is the driving force behind yogictranceformation.net. At one point they stepped behind the screens and a totally different mood was created.

The pictures have an odd quality to them because it was an electronic projection and colour and images were a bit buzzy. Did not look like that while watching but when trying to capture it on digital camera you can see it.

I had a hard time choosing just a couple of pictures so I popped them all in:) Hope you don't mind.

Sunday..........

Gosh I have been so busy!
You have probably guessed by my absence:)
I have been working madly on getting some paintings done for a wee show!
This is a sneak preview.
It happened by accident because my favourite proprietor was in need and I thought hmm, I could probably pull it together and I did. I am!

Things to do :
Today is a gloriously sunny one and I can hardly wait to get outside and start clearing up.
I also have started reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for my bookclub. We are late coming to that show. I've heard it is a great book.Want to get to it today.
Make Keith Urban's quiche
More painting....
A good friend is taking me to see SuryaChandra tonight ......should be interesting!
Walk!

blooming

Ah, spring.......
I'm cheating, this is a picture from last year but so pretty.
I've been busy painting some new small flower canvases for Love,Me Boutique. Such a cool wee store, if you have not been....time for a visit!
Also, I have some lovely new round magnets in which I am really pleased with. Have not put them in the shop yet but they are available in a couple of places in Halifax.
Ooh and having a swell time with the Sensational Snap Society! Really fun to see everybodys snapshots:)

Tuesday

Had lunch at my new neighborhood Wok Box the other day with my pal Sara who drove in from the south shore. She has just finished putting together this years Paws for Charity book and it is absolutely lovely!Full of dogs and cats:) 75 pages, 65 artists, 96 images. Yours truly is in there too) The money goes towards breast cancer research. Click on the picture for ordering details.!

Who is this?

Her name is Emily Forrest and I just met her today. She might not like this picture but I love it:)
She is taking on the province of Nova Scotia step by step! This summer she plans on walking the coastline of Nova Scotia, all 2995 kms of it and visiting about 80 communities. Starting day is May 13th. You can read about it on her facebook page and become a fan. Last year she walked around Prince Edward Island.

Her goals are many...
To inspire Nova Scotians to form walking groups and journey to better health and well-being.
To encourage Nova Scotians to explore and enjoy new places to walk in their communities.
To prompt people to keep track of their walks and log their steps at www.walkaboutns.ca.
To promote Heart & Stroke Walkabout for the Heart & Stroke Foundation.
To raise awareness of Brigadoon, a year-round facility being built in Nova Scotia for children and youth living with a chronic illness.

A friend of mine happened to bring Emily's facebook page to my attention and I noticed that her training walk today would bring her almost to my door and as luck would have it the timing was perfect, so I grabbed my camera and headed out the door just in time to catch her. We walked for a bit and had a great chat. She was walking from the Spring Garden Library to the Chickenburger in Bedford and back for today's training! During her walkabout she hopes to do about 40 km a day.

For those of you around the province who might be interested in hosting Emily for a night, you can contact her at Forrest Walkabout. Here are her maps and dates for the entire walkabout. can also find Emily on twitter @forrestwalk Off she goes headed to Bedford!

Happy Easter

Baaah. -Nickolas Muray 1946

space wrangling

This is what my home feels like to me these days! I have been making progress at de-cluttering, Spring cleaning and paring down. Always a good feeling, but slow going because of all the other jobs distracting me! That pesky thing called making a living:) Hmm and today I think the sun is going to shine......another distraction but a welcome one! Picture taken at a shop in Mahone Bay.

Enjoy this quiet Good Friday.

Pansy in the Poppies

Original available on eBay

April Fool

The bold Monty! You haven't seen him here for a bit, thought I would show him off, my handsome boy:) Guarding our hearth and home or is he just dreaming about tuna?
I am very excited today.... my Sensational Snapshot Society officially launches tomorrow! We have an eclectic group of photographers from around the globe:) Really looking forward to getting it started. (Calicocat....if you are reading this, please contact me:)