Satisfaction

July 4 picnic, 1942, Maryland. Photograph by Majory Collins

Ah, I can take my shoes off and relax.......all 56 emails have been sent out.
Penpals matched, armed and ready! Let the writing begin:)
That was a lot of work but I hope that everyone involved gets enjoyment out of it:) I did.

I have not had a chance to pop around and visit any blogs lately but will do soon:)

Dragon Flower Tea

It was magical and tasted delicious too:))

Our workshop was in a very rough part of Dartmouth. In fact we had to interrupt the class at one point to call 911, as a fight was unfolding outside the windows with a baseball bat wielding madman and an equally wild lunatic
In the middle of the day, Mary and I had lunch at this tiny vegetarian tearoom in the most unlikely of places. Liu's Formosa Gift and Tea House.

Saturday

Flower Lane Cottage up for sale on eBay
I reworked this painting and prefer it much better now. Funny how just a few little things can alter the composition and make a picture more pleasing ( at least to me:)
The QiGong workshop is great. Continues all day today. Very interesting to hear the stories of some of the participants. A few have taken this course several times and continue their practice at home daily. Fibromyalgia sufferers who are almost pain free now. It has transformed their lives. Good stuff. There is a study ongoing at Dalhousie University looking into this that confirms what these people are saying. I am curious to see how it affects me, if I notice anything. I don't have Fibromyalgia but you know...there's always something:)

Sydney Crosby kissed the Stanley Cup! Our local boy, shining hockey star! He's actually the cousin of one of my daughter's close friends.

Hope you are having a great weekend:)

Tomorrow is the last day to sign on for Letter Revival!
"Letter Revival Festival" (until Sunday, June 14) If you like receiving interesting mail and don't mind sending a letter ...this is for you! Click on the banner to learn more:)

Busy weekend ahead

This was taken peeping into the window of one the houses in last year's garden tour. It is upon us again this weekend. I really want to go but have a busy few days ahead. It is a charity fundraiser, private houses open their gardens for viewing and some of them are wonderful! Sunday will be the day for that. Always very inspiring!

I am registered for a QiGong workshop starting this evening and running all day tomorrow. A bit nervous as it is a last minute thing and a big commitment in time and focus but I think it will be worth it. It is an Eastern energy system, sort of like Tai Chi. My friend Mary is going and thought I might enjoy it.

This weekend is also the Greek Festival! Opa!! Have to try to squeeze it in somehow. Not looking good though. Maybe some souvlaki for Sunday supper?

My letter festival closes on Sunday night. I am thrilled with the response! 62 writers at this point. I have my work cut out for me, but that is what I wanted:)
"Letter Revival Festival" (until Sunday, June 14) If you like receiving interesting mail and don't mind sending a letter ...this is for you! Click on the banner to learn more:)

Books

Today's haul from the library! I love libraries, so many books so little time. I think I've probably said that before:) When I was a little girl we used to go once a week and it was a big thrill to sit hidden in the stacks and pour over the piles of books I would gather. When it was time to go home, I could never decide which ones to check out. Dr. Seuss often found his way home with us as did George the Monkey and wonderful, wonderful Babar and his family. I continued the tradition with my daughter and those classic books found their way back into my home again:) Like welcoming old friends!
Busy day. Painted the outside garage door, side door and bits under the windows, went to the post office, library, bank, and VOTED, made some appointments, worked in the garden, cleaned kitchen and blogged. Now I am going to make an Asparagus Anise Soup recipe I found in the Washington Post. I have a fennel bulb hanging around and some fresh asparagus. Sounds interesting. Later I hope to get out for a walk and do some sketches for painting tomorrow:) More than you ever wanted to know about what I was up to today:))

There are about 46 people participating in this so far! Lots of letters:)
5 Days left to register! "Letter Revival Festival" (until Sunday, June 14) If you like receiving interesting mail and don't mind sending a letter ...this is for you! Click on the banner to learn more:) I would be happy if you could spread the word, you can use this wee banner .

Saturday Adventure

This is what we had for lunch on Saturday before the Cirque show. It was delicious. Need I say more? We ate at a place I'd never been before, Durty Nelly's and it was fab! Atmosphere and food. The pic below is my mum and daughter with excited grins, awaiting our meal and the fun activity that was to follow!

After lunch, we popped into the Freak Lunchbox to stock up on munchies for intermission. It is one of our family traditions.They sell every candy that you ever grew up with. A sweetie retro palace!

As I suspected, no photos were allowed during the show. Suffice to say, it was WONDERFUL!
Another wonderful event that transpired was that our best friends happened to have seats directly behind us, a big surprise for all of us. We did not know that the other was going and of all the shows and seats available (x1000s) we managed to sit together!!! So we got to enjoy it as a group:)

Ongoing is my "Letter Revival Festival" (until Sunday, June 14) If you like receiving interesting mail and don't mind sending a letter ...this is for you! Click on the banner to learn more:) I would be happy if you could spread the word, you can use this wee banner .

Extravagant

I am going to see Cirque du Soleil this afternoon! Alegria. Very excited. These tulips look like they could have been the inspiration for some of the costumes! I am going to bring my camera and hope I can manage to grab something but I am thinking photos are probably not allowed.

We are going for lunch first in one of the many pubs scattered through downtown Halifax. This is a great city for pub crawls of which there are many, because the downtown area is basically squeezed between the harbour and the Citadel fortress on the hill. A perfect sailor's city for hundreds of years. Get drunk and roll yourself down the hill back to your boat.

Ongoing is my "Letter Revival Festival"(until June 14) 9 days left. If you like receiving interesting mail and don't mind sending a letter ...this is for you! Click on the picture to learn more:) I would be happy if you could spread the word, you can use this wee banner
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Fuschia!

Remember these wings? Created by Susanna Gordon, photographed by me:) I've taken them out again to have some fun. I love this message. "You will be okay". Something we all need to hear.
This morning I dropped my daughter off early at the local Recreation Centre. She is helping to supervise the "Kiddie Caper" graduations. Even the wee ones have their day now. I took advantage of the location and went for a lovely walk along the Northwest Arm. The water was as still as glass and some seagulls were wheeling about. Passing the yacht club I could hear the familiar tinkling sound of the metal bits and pieces clanking against the masts as the boats gently swayed. Great walk. Revved my spirit.
How lucky am I to have this glorious tree blooming just off my back deck! I love June.



Ongoing is my "Letter Revival Festival"(until June 14) If you like receiving interesting mail and don't mind sending a letter ...this is for you! Click on the picture to learn more:) I would be happy if you could spread the word, you can use this wee banner
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Flower Power

Garden Cats original now available now on eBay
Just a quick hi today:) Did this little painting yesterday. It looks dark here, hmm, the real thing is brighter, maybe it is just my monitor. I have a gorgeous old rocking chair that my mom found at a flea market full of bumps and curlicues that I can hardly wait to start painting. There are a bazillion projects I have lined up to be done and sometimes I have a hard time deciding what to do first:) Too many choices is not always a good thing!

Expression

Ohmmmm... My good pal Mary. We had a great time on Sunday morning taking pictures for her portfolio. She is a terrific yoga teacher and trainer. This is my 80 year old neighbor's backyard. Isn't it lovely! She leaves it until the forget-me-nots have finished blooming and then mows. A perfect backdrop. I really enjoyed myself taking the pictures, we had such fun. Lots of silliness.

I am thinking I would like to do some portfolios for people like this as a small business. It is something I really, really enjoy. Did I say really? Here she is smiling in my front garden:)


Later in the day, I went on the walk for Darfur, organized by a friend of my daughter's. It was a gorgeous day. I had a great time walking and chatting with Megan Leslie, the NDP Member of Parliament for Halifax. Learned some interesting and sad things about the situation in the Congo and innovative ways help the women there. There is much to do in this world.


Today will be a painting day. I have been neglecting my brushes.


Ongoing is my "Letter Revival Festival"(until June 14) If you like receiving interesting mail and don't mind sending a letter ...this is for you! Click on the banner to learn more:) I would be happy if you could spread the word, you can use this wee banner .