Found Art

Sometimes I come across an image of a painting that I totally forgot I created. This was one of them. I kind of like it :)

I've got a Bogo sale on until next week. Take a look here!

 

BOGO Sale!

BOGO SALE! in my Etsy shop!   AliceinParis

Buy one, get one FREE! Just in the nick of time!

 *Important instructions* Buy your print or prints and then tell me in "NOTES TO SELLER" which print/prints you want for FREE. Sale ends on Wednesday November 23!! 

BUY HERE-----> https://www.etsy.com/shop/AliceinParis

Flow

....and one day in November, everything changed...

Courage

There is a tree I visit..... a tree that fills me with optimism. A tree that confounds and inspires. It is a beautiful example of the tenacity of life. It prevails given the tiniest opportunity.This tree is a living testament to strength and determination.

No matter where we stand on the spectrum of our time here, we are stronger than we realize. 

Everyone wants to feel safe. Nobody wants to be scared. In our lives there will always be times when we need to dig deep to discover what we are capable of. “Courage is not having the strength to go on; it is going on when you don't have the strength.” -Theodore Roosevelt

So, hold on.....when you feel you cannot hang on a minute longer......you can. xo

“If you meet the darkest moment of life, strive valiantly through it with courage and never retreat, for you shall surely meet light afterwards. If you meet the muddy stream of life, swim across it with tenacity to the very end for there is a clearer stream that shall wash your dirt away afterwards. If people reject you in the mid of the arduous race of life, dare to smile and move on for there are people who await you to embrace you in the end” - Ernest Agyemang Yeboah

Autumn Streetscapes

Halifax city stroll in mid November....

I love finding contrasting colours of plants and buildings. Here many of our homes are painted with bright colours and the variety of combinations is endless.

Dinner as decor!

This porch appealed to me...maybe it was the bicycle...

Check out THIS door!
 
 and this beautiful detail work...

and this is our beautiful Halifax Central Library! Not quite in the same theme as the other pics but I took it today and loved it and love that library so much I thought i would share:)

Make it up as you go Soup!

Feeling headachy and off today:(  So I made some soup! You can too....

This is a make it up as you go soup. There is really no recipe, just use what you have in your house. Here's what I used today... 1 large chopped carrot, 1 large onion chopped (not in above pic) 4 cloves garlic minced, 3 Tablespoons curry powder, 1 bay leaf, 2 kaffir lime leaves ( I got a bag of them at a local Indian grocery store, they impart a lovely flavour but not necessary), 3 cardamon pods, 1/2 cup of red lentils, 1 cup of lentils rice and bean mix ( they were in a bag together), 1 Tablespoon grated ginger, 1 cup of frozen mixed veggies, 6 cups of veggie broth.

First I sauteed the onions in my new Christmas present cast iron pot, you can use oil but I don't...I just stir them and as they start to stick I add a bit of broth to unstick them. When they are golden, stop.

Next step is to just dump in the rest of the ingredients,  and add the rest of the broth

Throw in a handful of mixed frozen veggies. Of course you can add some fresh veggies, anything goes. I just didn't have anything on hand today.

Add some grated fresh ginger and simmer for about 40 minutes. If you are lucky enough to find some coconut milk in your cupboard you can add that too:)

Et voila!! So yummy !!. Enjoy.

November 5. Bits and Bobs...

From the archives! Taken 4 years ago today, November 5, 2012. 7:12am Point Pleasant Park, Halifax. 

Swedish movie I want to see!

Fictitious Dishes. Meals from novels.... recreated

Writers retreat in Iceland. Imagine!

My 2017 CAT calendar  >..<

Memory tricks!!  A cool Ted talk.

Writing advice from Alan W Watts.......

“Advice? I don’t have advice. Stop aspiring and start writing. If you’re writing, you’re a writer. Write like you’re a goddamn death row inmate and the governor is out of the country and there’s no chance for a pardon. Write like you’re clinging to the edge of a cliff, white knuckles, on your last breath, and you’ve got just one last thing to say, like you’re a bird flying over us and you can see everything, and please, for God’s sake, tell us something that will save us from ourselves. Take a deep breath and tell us your deepest, darkest secret, so we can wipe our brow and know that we’re not alone. Write like you have a message from the king. Or don’t. Who knows, maybe you’re one of the lucky ones who doesn’t have to.”

The Colours of November...

November has always been a month of grey and gold to me. A solemn month. Shedding cloaks of autumn, it settles into simple homespun and subdued colour. Closing into itself

Days shorter and nights darker. I am one of the few that enjoy November. I like the stillness and the winding down. A quiet month. Settling into new routines, preparing for the harsh months hovering so uncomfortably near. 

 November smells of cinnamon and pumpkin and earthy leaves and wood smoke. Sullen dove soft skies and breathless air. November is also wild storms and damp days, intense sunsets and stark blue skies. Winds that shear away  remaining leaves and send them tumbling across the landscape. There is a restrained turbulence to the month of November. Come close and warm your hands by the fire....

“November--with uncanny witchery in its changed trees. With murky red sunsets flaming in smoky crimson behind the westering hills. With dear days when the austere woods were beautiful and gracious in a dignified serenity of folded hands and closed eyes--days full of a fine, pale sunshine that sifted through the late, leafless gold of the juniper-trees and glimmered among the grey beeches, lighting up evergreen banks of moss and washing the colonnades of the pines. Days with a high-sprung sky of flawless turquoise. Days when an exquisite melancholy seemed to hang over the landscape and dream about the lake. But days, too, of the wild blackness of great autumn storms, followed by dank, wet, streaming nights when there was witch-laughter in the pines and fitful moans among the mainland trees. What cared they? Old Tom had built his roof well, and his chimney drew.” - L.M. Montgomery

Paint Day "Holiday Version!" November 13

 Paint Day! "Holiday Version" Sunday November 13

 

Hey! Come join me on Sunday Nov 13! We are painting this festive scene. Make it your own, add extra birdhouses, birds, change what you want....... I will guide you. NO experience needed. Lunch and all supplies included. Hosted at Fruition Cafe on Coburg Road and Oxford Street in Halifax. Treat yourself to a really fun afternoon!

 For more information and to register, click here
JOIN ME! "THE HOLIDAY VERSION!" PAINT DAY NOVEMBER 13

or...click here ->
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/paint-day-with-shelagh-duffett-sunday-november-13-tickets-28580871155?aff=ehomecard 

 and then tah dah! Something to take home and hang on the wall or gift to someone:)

 

Wednesday quote....

10,000 Steps

Soooooo..... 10,000 steps. At first glance you think jeeze that's a lot and then when you figure it out it hmmm, that doesn't seem so difficult...... but getting it done is! The breakdown is approximately 1000 steps for ten minutes of walking. 100 minutes of walking = 10,000 steps! 10,000 steps roughly equals 5 miles/8 km  a day. That is throughout your entire day. Putting it into practice is a whole other ball game! I thought I was active but when I looked back on my steps over the year..it averages out to 4500 daily! Yikes. (I am happy to say I've since managed bumped it up to 9,000) Now I just have to keep it there!

Side note: I don't have a fitbit or jawbone or any of those devices. I have an iPhone! My friend has a fitbit and one day we were discussing how it has transformed her activity level in a very positive way. She asked if I had an iPhone and then told me that there is a health app that comes with the phone, that tracks your steps! I had no idea! I had never even looked at that app. Well I had a look and was so surprised to see it had been counting all along. I realize I don't have it on me all the time but even adding an extra 1-2000 steps to compensate for that did not bring me to what is considered the minimum for good activity.

 This is a view snapped on my phone while walking on the Bayers Lake rails to trails path right in the heart of a busy Industrial/shopping area. I was doing some errands and squeezed in a 10 minute walk. They add up.

So I have been more mindful of my personal activity levels and am trying to get out for a good walk every day, parking farther from the grocery store, getting up from my computer and moving and generally squeezing in action where I can. I am feeling the benefits all ready. This site explains some of the advantages too. Really though.... it is just about moving more. We need to shake that booty! xo