Dragonfly Afternoon

Dragonfly Afternoon, original for sale on eBAy. Print available here.

Sneak peek

Thanks for all the lovely Valentine purchases yesterday! It was fun.
This is a sneak peek of the house of a friend of mine. I will be posting more pics soon. I think you will find her home as inspiring as I do:)
Off to the market today. It's a blustery, snowy morning and the driving is bad. Slowy, slowly gets me there. Have a good one!

Valentine's Day half price sale

James Jowers, taken 1968, London

HappyValentine's Day! We need more than just Groundhog Day in February don't you think?

As a kiss from me to you, I am having a one day, Valentine's half-price sale in my Alice in Paris Etsy shop! Just type in smooch as the coupon code.

I'll be at the market all day, so cannot relist things as they are sold. If there is a print that has been sold that you would like, please send me an email and I will relist it for you when I get home. xoxox

Saturday at the Market

Today's sunrise from the market. Hope you are not getting tired of these. I absolutely love starting my day there out on the balcony, gazing at the horizon. It was @#%&* freezing out there, but gorgeous! Inside, some beautiful music. Yes! A harpist was playing. Behind me is a Java Blend Coffee bar and people were sitting, sipping their warm drinks, watching the sunrise and enjoying the music before starting their shopping:) Aaah, I guess there are some benefits to starting the day early.

Canada Games are here

This city is hopping! The Canada Games start today. This is the Canada Games center, a new sportsplex not too far from where I live. Lots of events will be held here.

As well as tons of sports there are lots of cultural events planned as well. Free concerts every day at noon and 7 pm in the Parade Square (named Celebration Square for the duration of the Games)

Here's the line up for the evening concerts

Feb. 14 The Joel Plaskett Emergency
Feb. 15 Sloan with special guest Grand Dérangement
Feb. 16 Hey Rosetta! with special guest The Novaks
Feb. 17 Matt Mays with special guest Christina Martin
Feb. 18 Hawksley Workman with special guest Dutch Robinson

Feb. 19 Great Big Sea with special guest Jeremy Fisher

Feb. 22 Rawlins Cross with special guest The Divorcees
Feb. 23 Old Man Luedecke with special guest The Stanfields
Feb. 24 Buck 65 with special guest Rich Aucoin
Feb. 25 Radio Radio with special guest Three Sheet

Feb. 26 City and Colour with special guest Amelia Curran in front of City Hall.

On Feb 14th a group is hoping to have a "flash mob" dance" to one of Joel Plaskett's tunes . Learn the moves here. If it works it will be loads of fun! If it doesn't, lots of people will still be dancing and having fun!


Also.....The Halifax Seaport Market will be open every day of the Canada Games! On Sunday there will be artists from the National Artist program creating dance art and music in conjunction with the Games. I'll be there from Saturday to Wednesday for each of the weeks.

busy

Work in progress. I've been using my time at the Halifax Seaport Market productively. What I do need is an easel. A table easel and an upright that is portable. I have a big sturdy one at home, but too cumbersome to move here and there. Any recommendations?

Also.....I have a gallery show coming up, yes!!!! A show that I will need 15-20 big pieces for. I am planning out a painting schedule for myself so I can be sure to have them done. Will let you know where and when closer to the date. It is in the summer. Exciting!

Today the sun is out but it is FREEZING. I'm feeling sorry for all the wee birds. I'm trying to feed them but the crows seem to be hanging around snatching seeds too. Must be a hard winter for them this year.

a bit of calm

Pretty in pink.
I finally feel like I can relax for a bit. Friday was prepping, Sat was audition, Sunday was market and today was a root canal. Ouch.

Root canals, one of the modern perils of dental fillings.
I asked if there was anything to be done to prevent a nerve from getting inflamed and decaying. Sadly no there isn't. If one has fillings, one is prone to eventual root canals. The nerve gets weakened from the trauma to the tooth and if your fillings are older, chances are they've been replaced or repaired and voila, trouble down the road:( Most young people have no fillings. Yay.!

Anyway......not the most pleasant way to spend and afternoon and the previous week was spent trying not to think about it.

This is something important I came across today. Worth reading and acting on if you are a Canadian, must be done before tomorrow . I sent my email in.

Food, Fame no Fortune....yet.

This is where I spent my day yesterday, the Delta Halifax Hotel. I was a contestant on Recipe to Riches. A cooking reality show looking for the best recipe in Canada. Top prize is $250.000 and the recipe gets turned into a frozen product for sale nationally by SuperStore grocery chain. The winner of each category(entrees, appetizers etc.) gets $25,00 . I couldn't resist.

First we spent most of our time in a holding room, waiting for our numbers to be called. I had been asked to arrive at 3:30. I met some great people and the time passed quickly. Here is Dana and his wife. He submitted a killer appetizer of seared scallops on crostini with an AMAZING stilton wine garlic sauce. How do I know? I had a taste of it when I got upstairs.

This is where we waited next. Upstairs in the second holding room after our food was delivered to the kitchen. Quite a few people were let go throughout the day much to their disappointment, but it did say in the info that being at the auditions did not guarantee a tasting. The lucky ones were....

....... handed one of these! Yay.
This meant I next had to go into the final holding room. I was miked and then had to excitedly wait for my turn. Unfortunately I did not bring my camera with me so no pictures of the next few steps.

Once called, I had to go into the kitchen where the culinary team had been preparing my food according to heating specs. Each contestant got to do their own plating and garnish. (this is when I tasted Dana's scallops, he was upstairs too)

Next, I was then asked to pop to the "Kiss and Cry" to do a pre -judges interview on camera. I have no idea what I said. I'm sure I embarrassed myself but I have no recollection of the words that passed my lips.

Then on to the frontline! My perfectly plated food was taken out to the judges. I had to stand on an x in the wings and then when I was introduced, follow the arrows to stand on a mark precisely front and center of the judging table. EEK! No turning back now. I wish I had asked their names beforehand because I have no idea who they were, only one looked familiar. * Laura Calder, host of French Food at Home on Food Network Canada, marketer Tony Chapman and cookbook author Dana McCauley.*

They smiled and asked me some questions and then it was taste time. Did I mention that I was the fourth last person to be seen after an entire day of tastings. Amazing they had any taste buds left. I have to say they did look weary but gamely poked forks into my offering and gave it a chew. First impressions good. They liked it!

One judge thought maybe it lacked a "high note", the other was curious if it was vegan and the marketing man was concerned that it would be too hard to sell. Too many ingredients to put on the box. Too many opportunities for people to say they don't like coconut, sweet potato, apple etc. Oh well. They did say they liked my "style" I was then whisked out for a post-judging interview. I'm POSITIVE I embarrassed myself again. But we will have to wait until September to see:)

The "winners" got a gold card that said their recipe would be under consideration. Only 3 in each category from across Canada will make it to the final show. Two recipes that got "consideration" status that I know of were a sparkling strawberry pie and a steak sandwich that was served with a shot of Guiness on the side.

This is one of the contestants in the Kiss and Cry. Oh and my recipe? It was a variation of my curried coconut sweet potato soup turned into a stew with a few tweaks!

Friday stuff

Well it's here! A ton of snow:)
I spent yesterday running around getting ready for my audition tomorrow! Yes, audition! I'm trying out for this show. They are auditioning, in Toronto, Calgary Vancouver and Montreal too.

Thinking about Saturday, I suddenly felt insecure about my current wardrobe and felt the need to dash about looking for something to wear. Something not white or black or bright red. No big patterns..... you know, just the perfect sort of television contestant outfit. Ack. Well I did manage to pick up a few things and will return those that don't work. I even scored some stuff at Value Village. (Don't tell anyone)
Today I am having a couple of trusted advisers over for lunch and they will sample my meal and I will do some modeling for them. A mini "What Not to Wear", I don't trust my own judgement.
I will be taking pictures and will report back about the event.
If you want to come and cheer me on, send me an email and I'll let you know the time and place.

Patchwork Quilt

Patchwork Quilt original painting available on eBay. Print available on Etsy. I'm dreaming of summer:)
We are about to be walloped with a huge snow storm. Tonight it is snowing but this is just a prelude to tomorrow's event. This is the same storm that has travelled across a lot of the United States. Today the grocery stores were busy with people stocking up on food and supplies. Myself included.