hot stuff

This is where I should be. Right now. Where all Nova Scotians should be today. Whew. It is like a sauna, 38 with humidex and tomorrow will be warmer! I am sitting writing this in my bra and panties, trying not to move much. Was that TMI? Just kidding..... shorts and tee on (not really). What IS she wearing?? I think the heat is getting to my brain.

Just finished my 2011 cats calendar. Hooray! I am going to do a photographic one and a painted landscape one as well I think. What sort might you be interested in? Informal poll here.

My daughter is at the beach right now and later we are headed to a barbeque. Ribs! One thing I do love about about these hot days is the wonderful balmy nights that go with them. Sitting out on the front step nights. Feeling languid and dreamy nights. Thinking of the Mediterranean and exotic locales.
Hurricane Earl is still whirling away out in the ocean as I write. Moving steadily Northward. Should arrive in some form Saturday. Fiona is close behind him.

sun and storm

Wow, the heat, the sun, the weather!!! We are having an amazing summer :) I am buckling down to work today and my daughter is headed to the ocean. Ah, surf and sand and sun sparkles. It is this time of year that the water becomes warm and swimable. It has been heating in the sun for these past few months and it is warmer than usual this year. Good news for swimmers and unfortunately hurricanes too. Those storms get their strength from the temperature of the surface water.

This is Earl you see below. Eeek! Saturday it will approach Nova Scotia and appears to still be a category 2 storm. Blame those warm waters. It can still veer off to sea. We have six days to watch it. Click on the picture to be taken to Wunderground and track it yourself.

sunday

Back to our regularly scheduled programing. Those big posts are a lot of work! I did have a fun time though. Sorry for all the scrolling you had to do.

I lost a follower. I probably lose them all the time and gain new readers (hello to you!) but don't always notice:) Silly as it is, after all this is just a blog, and I don't know who my all readers are...... I always feel a little sad when I do notice somebody leaves. Although I started writing as an online journal just for me, it has evolved into something else. I do wonder "was it something I said?" I want to talk to them and find out why. Does it really matter? Of course not, not in the big scheme of things:) There are many great places online and people are exploring to find that perfect fit. I read people's blogs in google reader and so do many others, people are coming and going all the time and none of us has a clue. That is probably better.

.........we all determine how we want to spend our precious time based on our own needs. So, onward ho and may we all find our heart's desire:) I don't know why I even felt compelled to write about that topic, I sit down with a blank slate and am surprised by what I write sometimes:) I am happy and grateful with how things are!

I've been gearing up for autumn back to business. Waiting for new moo cards. Have some postcards on order. Starting to work on calendars. Did a huge painting of flowers yesterday that I have plans for:) All this and trying to squeeze the last ounce from summer. What glorious days we are having!

Halifax Big Day Downtown, part 3

Thanks to the genius people at the Halifax Downtown Business Comisssion, I was given $100 to spend as I liked in downtown Halifax. Nice huh? 29 other lucky bloggers were also given the same opportunity and you can read about their adventures here. If you want to win your own $100 Halifax downtown fun Visa you can follow the HDBC on twitter and Facebook:) to find out more! This is the final installment on my big day!

I decided to visit the south end of Barrington Street for the final part of my adventure downtown.

We stopped into Viewpoint Gallery, a place I have just discovered recently. You might walk past it if you weren't looking. Open 12-5 Wednesday to Sunday. It is the only gallery dedicated to photography in the city. Here are a couple of art fans, sitting on the other side of a divider, enjoying the pictures!

Viewpoint is a co-operative owned and operated by photographers whose work appears on the walls. They promote Nova Scotian artists and have a revolving mix of solo and group shows.

Next up is Carbonstok! Just across the street. A fabulous shop full of quirky and fun things.

The kind of place where you will find something and say to yourself, why didn't I think of that:?

Full of daylight and cool stuff to browse.

Lomo photography fun:)

I bought one of these..... look at the small illustration on the right to see what it is. I also walked away with a crazy head massager( daughter made me buy it!) and a funny book called Stuntology! We were reading it and laughing out loud. Very silly. Looking forward to trying some stunts:)

Hungry again and luckily, Uncommon Grounds is right next door!

I had a roasted veggie wrap and a chai latte and my daughter had a coffee. She was still full from that luscious cake a few hours ago. Yum, good stuff:)

This is a wifi hot spot and is often full of people on laptops.

So that brings to a close my epic day in downtown Halifax! I spent all my money, had a fabulous time, came home with some great goodies and a full tummy. The cool thing is, there is so much to do here that on any number of days, I could have COMPLETELY different adventures and not show you the same thing twice.

Big Day Downtown, part 1
Big Day Downtown, part 2

Big Day Downtown, part 2

Thanks to the genius people at the Halifax Downtown Business Comisssion, I was given $100 to spend as I liked in downtown Halifax. Nice huh? 29 other lucky bloggers were also given the same opportunity and you can read about their adventures here . If you want to win your own $100 Halifax downtown fun Visa you can follow the HDBC on twitter and Facebook:) to find out more!

Just around the corner from the Granville Mall is the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, NSCAD, one of the anchors of downtown Halifax and an internationally recognized art institution. In fact, it was founded in 1887 by Anna Leonowens, famous as the governess in Anna and the King of Siam! This is where we went to find the Art Supply Store.

Located in the lower Granville mall, it is open to the public, and has a WONDERFUL variety of supplies and books. I was in creative heaven:) Very competitive prices too. I purchased some brushes, pens and a pot of cobalt blue paint! Say hi to Neil and tell him Shelagh sent you:)

Moleskinnery:)

Next we headed to the Gallery of Nova Scotia to visit the Art Sales and Rentals Society. My daughter is way ahead of me, we are walking down Hollis Street to the second sandstone building on the left.

Here it is!

Right across from Province House, Canada's oldest seat of government. This is where Joeseph Howe argued for six hours securing the right for freedom of the press on March 2,1835. It is a cool place to visit too, they have tours and anyone can pop in and have a look around.

But first, some refreshment is in order:) We sidled into Cheapside Cafe which is located in the lobby of the gallery . They have the most delectable desserts, soups and sandwiches!

So colourful and bright!

Daughter chose this delightful and delicious frilly concoction. Hiding behind the cake is a giant strawberry and puff of whipped cream:) I had a coffee and muffin.

Next stop was the Art Sales and Rental Society, just across the lobby. It is a non profit society and is a wonderful place to come and browse. They carry over 1,000 pieces from more than 200 Atlantic Canadian artists and are open seven days a week!

The concept here is that you can rent a piece of art and pay for it monthly for up to six months and if you decide you want to purchase it, the rental fee will be deducted OR you can return it and rent another piece. Rentals start as low as $14 depending on the size. Rent some art to see if you love it!
Friends of mine rented a large painting and then at the end of six months returned it to get another. They then discovered much to their surprise that they really missed the first piece and tried to get it back but it had been rented out again. Luckily, it was returned and not purchased by the second renter so they scooped it up and took it to it's forever home:)

Art Sales and Rental have a jury process for artists wanting to have art accepted and every two weeks they meet to go over the submissions. The society is run by volunteers.

Luckily, Zehava Power, one of the artists represented here just happened to be working this morning and kindly agreed to pose in front of some of her work~ I LOVE the Flamenco dancer on the right. I am thinking I might try to volunteer here. I know I would enjoy it:)


to be continued.....

Big DayDowntown,Part 3

Big Day Downtown, Part 1

Big Day Downtown, Part 1

Better late than never:) I've been so busy these last few weeks that I have not had time to put this together! Thanks to the genius people at the Halifax Downtown Business Comisssion, I was given $100 to spend as I liked in downtown Halifax. Nice huh? 29 other lucky bloggers were also given the same opportunity and you can read about their adventures here . If you want to win your own $100 Halifax downtown fun Visa you can follow the HDBC on twitter and Facebook:) to find out more!

This was harder than I thought it might be. I discovered that were too many places I wanted to visit and spend my money! I finally decided on art as a loose theme with some extras thrown in:) My first stop is a sadly neglected but lovely corner of downtown. Granville Street Mall, a small pedestrian area at the North End of the street.

This mall used to be full of thriving shops but is now half empty. One shop which I LOVED is in the process of moving out. Much to their dismay, PurAlternatives has seen foot traffic slow down to a crawl and cannot afford to keep their shop open there. A shame really. This is one of the owners, Stephanie Kincade and her adorable daughter.
The area is beautiful, I just don't know why there are not more folk about. Come on people! It is a great place sit and soak up the sun and enjoy the atmosphere of the old buildings. Pur Alternatives carry gorgeous lotions and soap and cleansers and baby stuff and acessories. All safe enough to eat! Nothing they sell is toxic or harmful. You can also order everything in their shop, online. I purchased a grapefruit & ginger soy travel candle and a bottle of Earth Safe, purifying fire conditioner! There's $16 gone:)

Next stop, is Page and Strange Gallery. Couldn't really afford anything here but had a lovely poke about this interesting gallery:) Great to be inspired and provoked and tantalised by art. I was also going to visit Argyle Fine Art near here but they have already been covered by another blogger so I'll leave it for another time.

Right next to the gallery is the Sawadee Tea House. Mie Mie Sein serves over 75 varieties of the finest loose teas from East India, China, Thailand, Japan, Indonesia and elsewhere. You can order over 250 varieties from their website!

and next to the teahouse is Brussels! A fabulous brasserie and bistro. I was going to have lunch here but another blogger has reviewed it so I will come back later:) Great spot.

To be continued...... so much more in store for you!

Big Day Downtown, part 2
Big Day Downtown, part 3

Green to gold

I can feel summer drawing to a close. I want to stretch it out a bit. Autumn, that wonderful season is fast approaching. Like saving the best part of a dessert for last, I want to savour the end of summer slowly. Soon enough we will launch into the crisp, cool, crunchy, golden, sleepy, winding down of this year's glorious heart of warmth and green.
I came across this game in a friend's blog, struck me as fun:)

Sunday drive

Headed here in a few moments! Perfect day for it. Good pal from out of province needs her fix:)