Sunday, 13 September 2009
Friday, 11 September 2009
The Wonky Women have walked away!
The wonky women chairs (the mermaid and the Russian/ Oma/Mongolian reaching for the moon) have both sold. Their new home is The Well/La Source Women's Day Centre! And ... they will likely be ordering a third wonky woman that will incorporate their logo in in some way!
That means that all my chairs except the last cat chair have been sold!!! I had better start looking for more chairs! I have a lead on some that I will call this evening.
I didn't get the cradle finished today because Sarah, Lucas and Remi arrived and stayed for most of the day. We had a good long walk and lots of time to visit. The dogs were delighted to have each other for the whole day, and Lucas is perfectly comfortable being mobbed by licking dogs so he was happy too.
We met Tom and he said that Claire doesn't have much time left. I will get in to see her tomorrow. I hope she will know that I was there to say good bye.
That means that all my chairs except the last cat chair have been sold!!! I had better start looking for more chairs! I have a lead on some that I will call this evening.
I didn't get the cradle finished today because Sarah, Lucas and Remi arrived and stayed for most of the day. We had a good long walk and lots of time to visit. The dogs were delighted to have each other for the whole day, and Lucas is perfectly comfortable being mobbed by licking dogs so he was happy too.
We met Tom and he said that Claire doesn't have much time left. I will get in to see her tomorrow. I hope she will know that I was there to say good bye.
Lita Belle's Hope Chest
Lita Belle has a hope chest ... not one filled with linens and silver for her eventual marriage ... more like a safe place her mother will store mementoes as she grows from babyhood through childhood until she reaches an age when her mother will pass these precious memories onto her. The letter I wrote to accompany her chair is in there. I was touched ... and it gave me an idea.
All the pieces I make come with a short description ... a history. I looked at the little cradle that is still a work in progress and decided to take a break from painting to write the history. It turned into a story ... one that I hope some parent or grandparent will treasure and save for another little Lita Belle. Here it is.
This cradle came via friends from a garage sale in Old Hull ... one of those places that have sales every weekend. It is made of plywood and I imagine that some father or grandfather made this for a treasured child for her birthday or Christmas many years ago. It was stained dark and was quite rough around the edges. I decided that it needed to be lightened up. It needed a story.
I prepared the surfaces and painted on two coats of periwinkle blue. Then I began to think about the images. I wanted it to be a story for a little girl who resisted sleep, one that would encourage her to welcome bedtime.
Here is my story, but of course images create many stories, not just one. I imagined a little girl tucking her doll babies in before slipping into her own bed for the night. I hoped that this would become part of her own bedtime ritual, and that she would delve into the stories she heard and into her own imagination to create her own stories, ones that would help her to have sweet dreams.
Once, not so long ago, there lived three little sisters who hated to end their play when night fell. Daisy was six, Mandy was five, and Sam was four. Every night they talked and played (and sometime fought) long after their mother turned out the light. Their parents wondered how they could get them to go to sleep earlier.
They tried putting a night light in the room, but Sam said the light kept her awake.
They told the girls to count sheep till they fell asleep, but Sam was not very good at counting so that didn't work.
They tried giving the girls Hobbit tea with creamy dandelion honey in it before bed, but Sam didn't like the taste.
They tried putting them in separate rooms, but Mandy and Sam always found their way back to Daisy because they missed her. Even though they sometimes fought because they were so tired, they still wanted to snuggle up together at bedtime.
Then things changed. Daisy learned to read. She began to bring home wonderful books from the library, and every night, at bedtime, she read a story to Mandy and Sam. Sometimes, if their parents were tired too, everyone climbed into the big bed to read their bedtime stories.
Once in a while they still needed to count sheep, but not very often.
Now that they were hearing bedtime stories every evening, the girls were anxious to get to sleep so that the next adventure could begin, and it almost always did.
As soon as their eyes closed and their breathing slowed, the three little sisters would climb on the back of a beautiful white horse that visited almost every night. He would spread his wings and carry them as softly as a cloud out, out, off into the night sky. They saw wondrous sights as they skimmed the rooftops and floated over the church steeples of the towns on their way to the magic of Dreamland.
Sometimes the white horse would fly low enough for them to peek into the lighted windows of houses. Once they flew over the forest where Goldilocks and the Three Bears lived, and the horse swooped down low enough for them to see inside a little cottage.
Sam said, "Look! There's Papa Bear in his night cap."
Daisy said, "He must have fallen asleep reading."
And Mandy said, "I think his Hobbit tea put him to sleep."
Another time they flew up through dense clouds and discovered a whole other world they had not known existed ... and what do you think they saw there?
I hope that your little girl will enjoy playing with this doll cradle as much as I enjoyed creating it.
All the pieces I make come with a short description ... a history. I looked at the little cradle that is still a work in progress and decided to take a break from painting to write the history. It turned into a story ... one that I hope some parent or grandparent will treasure and save for another little Lita Belle. Here it is.
The Story of the Sleepytime Cradle
This cradle came via friends from a garage sale in Old Hull ... one of those places that have sales every weekend. It is made of plywood and I imagine that some father or grandfather made this for a treasured child for her birthday or Christmas many years ago. It was stained dark and was quite rough around the edges. I decided that it needed to be lightened up. It needed a story.
I prepared the surfaces and painted on two coats of periwinkle blue. Then I began to think about the images. I wanted it to be a story for a little girl who resisted sleep, one that would encourage her to welcome bedtime.
Here is my story, but of course images create many stories, not just one. I imagined a little girl tucking her doll babies in before slipping into her own bed for the night. I hoped that this would become part of her own bedtime ritual, and that she would delve into the stories she heard and into her own imagination to create her own stories, ones that would help her to have sweet dreams.
The Bedtime Story
Once, not so long ago, there lived three little sisters who hated to end their play when night fell. Daisy was six, Mandy was five, and Sam was four. Every night they talked and played (and sometime fought) long after their mother turned out the light. Their parents wondered how they could get them to go to sleep earlier.
They tried putting a night light in the room, but Sam said the light kept her awake.
They told the girls to count sheep till they fell asleep, but Sam was not very good at counting so that didn't work.
They tried giving the girls Hobbit tea with creamy dandelion honey in it before bed, but Sam didn't like the taste.
They tried putting them in separate rooms, but Mandy and Sam always found their way back to Daisy because they missed her. Even though they sometimes fought because they were so tired, they still wanted to snuggle up together at bedtime.
Then things changed. Daisy learned to read. She began to bring home wonderful books from the library, and every night, at bedtime, she read a story to Mandy and Sam. Sometimes, if their parents were tired too, everyone climbed into the big bed to read their bedtime stories.
Once in a while they still needed to count sheep, but not very often.
Now that they were hearing bedtime stories every evening, the girls were anxious to get to sleep so that the next adventure could begin, and it almost always did.
As soon as their eyes closed and their breathing slowed, the three little sisters would climb on the back of a beautiful white horse that visited almost every night. He would spread his wings and carry them as softly as a cloud out, out, off into the night sky. They saw wondrous sights as they skimmed the rooftops and floated over the church steeples of the towns on their way to the magic of Dreamland.
Sometimes the white horse would fly low enough for them to peek into the lighted windows of houses. Once they flew over the forest where Goldilocks and the Three Bears lived, and the horse swooped down low enough for them to see inside a little cottage.
Sam said, "Look! There's Papa Bear in his night cap."
Daisy said, "He must have fallen asleep reading."
And Mandy said, "I think his Hobbit tea put him to sleep."
Another time they flew up through dense clouds and discovered a whole other world they had not known existed ... and what do you think they saw there?
*****************
I hope that your little girl will enjoy playing with this doll cradle as much as I enjoyed creating it.
Oma at the Happy Hermitage, Pike Lake, Wakefield, Quebec.
Wednesday, 9 September 2009
Good News
Whoopee!! Kelly just called and asked me to paint faster please. The wonky house with sheep just walked out of the shop! That makes two adult chairs and two children's rocking chairs that have sold so far!
I still have to finish the cradle but maybe I will start preparing a couple of chairs for painting today.
Kenya and I just spent an hour out on the lake ... me in the kayak, Kenya swimming back and forth across the lake and then coming out to check on Tanya and me as we floated around.
The other good news ... I have two places on the lake to stay next summer while Orley has my house ... Tanya needs a house and cat sitter when she goes to Scotland ... and Barry has a sleeping shack I can camp in when necessary ...
Life is good.
I still have to finish the cradle but maybe I will start preparing a couple of chairs for painting today.
Kenya and I just spent an hour out on the lake ... me in the kayak, Kenya swimming back and forth across the lake and then coming out to check on Tanya and me as we floated around.
The other good news ... I have two places on the lake to stay next summer while Orley has my house ... Tanya needs a house and cat sitter when she goes to Scotland ... and Barry has a sleeping shack I can camp in when necessary ...
Life is good.
Monday, 7 September 2009
Tid Bits on Labour Day
On my way home from garage saling on Saturday morning (I spent $2 and got two great gourds, a picture frame and a display shelf for painting) I saw three deer. The two young ones were very curious ... too curious ... and their mother had to return mid-flight to remind them to get off the road. After telling them, she leapt over the fence into the safety of the field. The little ones did what little ones often do ... started after her (under the fence) but then came back out onto the road for one last look. I wonder if they will survive the next year.
Still on the subject of very relaxed wildlife: a black bear and her cub came to my neighbour's yard to eat apples. The sow reared up and pulled the branches down to mouth level and ate till satisfied. Then ... she lay down on the ground under the tree and fell asleep while her cub played nearby. That is very odd behaviour for a black bear when people are nearby.
Corey, the very sad Golden, was picked up on Saturday afternoon, and changed from depressive, near suicidal state into bouncy happy dog as soon as he laid eyes on his daddy. He shed five years in an instant. That is the first time I have seen that but I seldom look after Golden Retrievers who are said to be the most loyal dogs anywhere.
Zeke left the following day at noon. I will miss his warm little body snuggled into bed with me at night, but I won't miss the alarm barking that kept me awake most of the three nights he was here.
The corn roast: The horseshoe tournament was almost interminable, and as a result, I drank too much before the food finally arrived, but I arranged to have the siding installed by the carpenter who installed our pine floors (and a good friend of Erin's), I met a couple of people I didn't know before, and our old next door neighbours arrived to chat for a few minutes ... so I had a good time.
I finished the pair of adult socks in Congo colours I have been working on. I measured the last sock in movies: it took 71/2 movies to knit it. Quick reviews: The White Countess VG;Captain Corelli's Mandolin VVG; Pretty Woman S(sucky but satisfying for someone who wants happy endings);Sylvia VG but depressing; The Hours Excellent but also depressing;Paper Moon Affair VG; The Squid and the Whale VG; Shall We Dance (the Japanese version) VVG. That is 810 minutes per sock ... or 1620 minutes for a pair. So ... 27 hours to knit a pair of adult's fine wool socks. The wool cost me about $10. I will receive $28 if they sell, so I will receive $18 for 27 hours of knitting. Hmmmn! 66 cents per hour ... maybe I should start wearing the socks I am making!
After Zeke left, I resumed work on the cradle. It is always scary for me to take the first step drawing something, especially something new. My first thought is that I don't know how to draw so I will screw up. Then I have to keep on reassuring myself that no screw-up is irrevocable; that there is always sandpaper and more paint for repair jobs. Only then (and it often takes days) will I pick up the chalk and begin. Anyway I have now done the drawing of the main image: a horse with three children on his back flying through the sky to dreamland. The other images will be of counting sheep and of animals snuggled into bed reading their bedtime stories.
This morning I received word that an old friend and colleague had died. She was my age. I seem to be hearing about far too many deaths or impending deaths lately. I guess it is inevitable at my age, but I am reminded of a poem about a single leaf hanging on at the end of fall. "He" was feeling bereft but was still unable to let go and join "his" fellows.
Still on the subject of very relaxed wildlife: a black bear and her cub came to my neighbour's yard to eat apples. The sow reared up and pulled the branches down to mouth level and ate till satisfied. Then ... she lay down on the ground under the tree and fell asleep while her cub played nearby. That is very odd behaviour for a black bear when people are nearby.
Corey, the very sad Golden, was picked up on Saturday afternoon, and changed from depressive, near suicidal state into bouncy happy dog as soon as he laid eyes on his daddy. He shed five years in an instant. That is the first time I have seen that but I seldom look after Golden Retrievers who are said to be the most loyal dogs anywhere.
Zeke left the following day at noon. I will miss his warm little body snuggled into bed with me at night, but I won't miss the alarm barking that kept me awake most of the three nights he was here.
The corn roast: The horseshoe tournament was almost interminable, and as a result, I drank too much before the food finally arrived, but I arranged to have the siding installed by the carpenter who installed our pine floors (and a good friend of Erin's), I met a couple of people I didn't know before, and our old next door neighbours arrived to chat for a few minutes ... so I had a good time.
I finished the pair of adult socks in Congo colours I have been working on. I measured the last sock in movies: it took 71/2 movies to knit it. Quick reviews: The White Countess VG;Captain Corelli's Mandolin VVG; Pretty Woman S(sucky but satisfying for someone who wants happy endings);Sylvia VG but depressing; The Hours Excellent but also depressing;Paper Moon Affair VG; The Squid and the Whale VG; Shall We Dance (the Japanese version) VVG. That is 810 minutes per sock ... or 1620 minutes for a pair. So ... 27 hours to knit a pair of adult's fine wool socks. The wool cost me about $10. I will receive $28 if they sell, so I will receive $18 for 27 hours of knitting. Hmmmn! 66 cents per hour ... maybe I should start wearing the socks I am making!
After Zeke left, I resumed work on the cradle. It is always scary for me to take the first step drawing something, especially something new. My first thought is that I don't know how to draw so I will screw up. Then I have to keep on reassuring myself that no screw-up is irrevocable; that there is always sandpaper and more paint for repair jobs. Only then (and it often takes days) will I pick up the chalk and begin. Anyway I have now done the drawing of the main image: a horse with three children on his back flying through the sky to dreamland. The other images will be of counting sheep and of animals snuggled into bed reading their bedtime stories.
This morning I received word that an old friend and colleague had died. She was my age. I seem to be hearing about far too many deaths or impending deaths lately. I guess it is inevitable at my age, but I am reminded of a poem about a single leaf hanging on at the end of fall. "He" was feeling bereft but was still unable to let go and join "his" fellows.
Saturday, 5 September 2009
Neurotic Dogs and Drug-induced Madness
One of my dog guests this weekend has never in the seven years of his life been away from his home and family. That wouldn't be completely unheard of but he has also led a life quite secluded from other dogs, I think ... and he's never seen a collar or leash till this weekend. It has presented quite a challenge.
He can't be allowed to run off-leash here because he heads straight down the road in pursuit of his daddy's car. I use Kenya's leather collar and leash, but when I try to get him in the house he can be very stubborn ... appearing to attack me and then stiffening up and refusing to move. Kenya gets really ticked off when this happens ... and that is not a pretty sight ( all noise but nasty).
He is terrified every time Kenya yells at him and I have been spending a good bit of time reassuring him that he is just fine, and keeping him separated from the other dogs ... even taking him with me in the car when possible. But he is not happy.
Yesterday I took the three dogs for a long walk. Zeke, who has been remarkably well behaved this time (except for barking all night the first night he was here), walked between Kenya and Corey. When Zeke made friendly overtures to Corey, Corey just didn't get it. He got quite huffy.
Corey's dad called yesterday and said he was coming home early ... likely by five today ... and I breathed a great sigh of relief.
This has not been an easy job ... and I have put in all that time, worry and energy for about $35! Good grief! That's even less pay than knitting socks!
I visited Claire yesterday. Her mind has been dramatically affected by the drugs she is taking. Yesterday she spoke nothing but French and I asked her daughter whether French was her first language. No ... but Claire believes that she once spoke French in a former life. Her son said he believed she had once been the Queen of France, and Claire smiled as beatifically as she had during my last visit when she told me that a world renowned conductor and the best musicians in the world were performing a symphony just for her. I see only the happy moments of her madness ... but those who love her best have to deal with her irrational anger as well. I wish I could do more than bring chocolate cookies.
He can't be allowed to run off-leash here because he heads straight down the road in pursuit of his daddy's car. I use Kenya's leather collar and leash, but when I try to get him in the house he can be very stubborn ... appearing to attack me and then stiffening up and refusing to move. Kenya gets really ticked off when this happens ... and that is not a pretty sight ( all noise but nasty).
He is terrified every time Kenya yells at him and I have been spending a good bit of time reassuring him that he is just fine, and keeping him separated from the other dogs ... even taking him with me in the car when possible. But he is not happy.
Yesterday I took the three dogs for a long walk. Zeke, who has been remarkably well behaved this time (except for barking all night the first night he was here), walked between Kenya and Corey. When Zeke made friendly overtures to Corey, Corey just didn't get it. He got quite huffy.
Corey's dad called yesterday and said he was coming home early ... likely by five today ... and I breathed a great sigh of relief.
This has not been an easy job ... and I have put in all that time, worry and energy for about $35! Good grief! That's even less pay than knitting socks!
I visited Claire yesterday. Her mind has been dramatically affected by the drugs she is taking. Yesterday she spoke nothing but French and I asked her daughter whether French was her first language. No ... but Claire believes that she once spoke French in a former life. Her son said he believed she had once been the Queen of France, and Claire smiled as beatifically as she had during my last visit when she told me that a world renowned conductor and the best musicians in the world were performing a symphony just for her. I see only the happy moments of her madness ... but those who love her best have to deal with her irrational anger as well. I wish I could do more than bring chocolate cookies.
Friday, 4 September 2009
First Cheque
I just received my very first cheque for my folk art chairs and my hand knit socks. I have spent about $2500 getting ready for this ... books, brushes, paint, cleaners, furniture and yarn ... OMG ... the price of yarn! And the temptation of it.
I have learned NOT to buy too many new books and patterns. I only purchase what is necessary for the painting, but I have gone way overboard on the patterns and yarn.
I have placed in the shop, Marche des Artisans: UPDATED LIST
4 normal sized chairs
2 children's rocking chairs
1 child's straight backed chair
1 doll crib
several pairs of children's socks
2 pairs of adult socks
FORGOT THE TWO CAROUSELS, THE APPLE BOWL, AND THE QUILT PATTERNED BOX ... LIKELY ADDS UP TO ANOTHER WEEK OR SO OF PAINTING.
That is about 7 weeks of painting and 160 hours of knitting.
I have sold 1 adult-sized chair, 2 children's rockers, and 1 pair of adult sized socks.
My cheque was for $234.25. Maybe 80 hours of work? About $3 an hour. But of course I also worked on all those that did not sell!
But then I think ... I was enjoying myself. At least most of the time. Sometimes I was just challenging myself. But that also reaped benefits. And ... if I compare it to some other non- saleable hobbies like reading or writing or watching good films where I spend money and never retrieve any of it ... I've done pretty well this month, haven't I?
Right now I have two new projects underway ... the periwinkle cradle that I have a good idea for ... and the little bedside table I primed this morning ... not sure whether to put the black hinges etc. back on or start fresh with something else. The black limits my colour choices and the style ... on the other hand those black bits of metal create a different kind of challenge.
Lita Belle's mom loved the new chair ... better than the frog pond chair!
And now I am going back out to visit Claire ... last trip I had to take Corey with me because he was too afraid to stay with the other dogs. And it was too warm today to leave him in a car. In seven years he has never been babysat by anyone!
I have learned NOT to buy too many new books and patterns. I only purchase what is necessary for the painting, but I have gone way overboard on the patterns and yarn.
I have placed in the shop, Marche des Artisans: UPDATED LIST
4 normal sized chairs
2 children's rocking chairs
1 child's straight backed chair
1 doll crib
several pairs of children's socks
2 pairs of adult socks
FORGOT THE TWO CAROUSELS, THE APPLE BOWL, AND THE QUILT PATTERNED BOX ... LIKELY ADDS UP TO ANOTHER WEEK OR SO OF PAINTING.
That is about 7 weeks of painting and 160 hours of knitting.
I have sold 1 adult-sized chair, 2 children's rockers, and 1 pair of adult sized socks.
My cheque was for $234.25. Maybe 80 hours of work? About $3 an hour. But of course I also worked on all those that did not sell!
But then I think ... I was enjoying myself. At least most of the time. Sometimes I was just challenging myself. But that also reaped benefits. And ... if I compare it to some other non- saleable hobbies like reading or writing or watching good films where I spend money and never retrieve any of it ... I've done pretty well this month, haven't I?
Right now I have two new projects underway ... the periwinkle cradle that I have a good idea for ... and the little bedside table I primed this morning ... not sure whether to put the black hinges etc. back on or start fresh with something else. The black limits my colour choices and the style ... on the other hand those black bits of metal create a different kind of challenge.
Lita Belle's mom loved the new chair ... better than the frog pond chair!
And now I am going back out to visit Claire ... last trip I had to take Corey with me because he was too afraid to stay with the other dogs. And it was too warm today to leave him in a car. In seven years he has never been babysat by anyone!
Thursday, 3 September 2009
Lita Belle's Happy Chair
Lita Belle's Happy Chair
I hope you like your happy chair, Lita. It came from my daughter,Susan, who got it from her next door neighbours who had five children under five years of age! I tried to make this chair all about you by making it contain as many words that start with L as I could think of.
You can hunt for all the things that start with the same letter as your name, L.
L is for Lita and ...
lambs
laughter
lions with curly manes
leaves
letters
loops
laundry
lizards
lightning
ladders in apple trees
lines
links
lakes where ducks swim
lads
lassies
love symbols like hearts and hugs and kisses
lucky symbols like 4 leaf clovers and elephants with their trunks held high
I hope that you will be happy as you
live, love, laugh
and rock your way through childhood in this little chair.
with love and laughter,
Oma at the Happy Hermitage
lambs
laughter
lions with curly manes
leaves
letters
loops
laundry
lizards
lightning
ladders in apple trees
lines
links
lakes where ducks swim
lads
lassies
love symbols like hearts and hugs and kisses
lucky symbols like 4 leaf clovers and elephants with their trunks held high
I hope that you will be happy as you
live, love, laugh
and rock your way through childhood in this little chair.
with love and laughter,
Oma at the Happy Hermitage
Catch-up Time
I have been working on Lida's rocker and am finally beginning to like it, despite a few false starts and cover-ups.
The weather is glorious and I will take Kenya out in a few minutes for exercise and to get the mail ... likely by kayak.
Not a lot of news ... I spent Monday cleaning the porch so that there will be access to chairs and room to store firewood ... Tuesday and Wednesday sweeping and mopping up dog hair, painting and knitting ... and this morning, before resuming painting, I sorted out all my different needles by size and put them into labeled jars which are now sitting innocuously and tidily on a shelf in my den closet instead of tangled together in the livingroom.
I have to make some phone calls today ... I hope I get to them.
My first dog boarder will arrive this evening and the second tomorrow at noon.
After they are both settled in, I will deliver more socks and the little rocking chair, and pick up my first pay cheque at the shop. I will also stop in to visit Claire at the hospital.
And then it will be the Labour day weekend ... we will have a horseshoe tournament on Saturday afternoon, and a wiener and corn roast in the evening. I am looking forward to it this year.
Have a great weekend whatever you do to celebrate the end of the shortest summer on record!
The weather is glorious and I will take Kenya out in a few minutes for exercise and to get the mail ... likely by kayak.
Not a lot of news ... I spent Monday cleaning the porch so that there will be access to chairs and room to store firewood ... Tuesday and Wednesday sweeping and mopping up dog hair, painting and knitting ... and this morning, before resuming painting, I sorted out all my different needles by size and put them into labeled jars which are now sitting innocuously and tidily on a shelf in my den closet instead of tangled together in the livingroom.
I have to make some phone calls today ... I hope I get to them.
My first dog boarder will arrive this evening and the second tomorrow at noon.
After they are both settled in, I will deliver more socks and the little rocking chair, and pick up my first pay cheque at the shop. I will also stop in to visit Claire at the hospital.
And then it will be the Labour day weekend ... we will have a horseshoe tournament on Saturday afternoon, and a wiener and corn roast in the evening. I am looking forward to it this year.
Have a great weekend whatever you do to celebrate the end of the shortest summer on record!
Tuesday, 1 September 2009
Barbara Carlson's Homemade Highrise
Here is the photo of the front of Barbara Carlson's homemade highrise ... I am having trouble with the back view but will post it separately if I can. it is easier to show than to tell ... Thanks, Barbara for sending them to me.
A perfectly loverly time ...
Yesterday I had an appointment for a mammogram at 1:20. I was not anticipating a sociable day filled with good things. I would have considered it a good day if the mammogram machine did not squish me too brutally. Instead I was treated to a lovely series of things.
I stopped at Thyme and Time Again, an eclectic shop on Beechwood, to see the children's chairs. They were, as Barbara had said, expensive, too expensive for me to consider, but I ended up having a delightful conversation with the owner of the shop, and I enjoyed my brief time poking about among her treasures.
Next stop, the Montfort. Then tea with Barbara.
Barbara Carlson has some new work ... The Secret Garden ... and some great house interiors, including a doll house and a wonky house. Barbara photographs objects and then manipulates them on her computer to use as elements in her pictures. In the garden, the pieces from a friend's garden were layered to create the scene. It is meticulous work and I love the art that emerges. I have a print of the rear view of her high rise created from photographs of houses with character. I wish that architects creating their concrete monstrosities would learn about what home means to real people. Barbara could teach them a great deal.
On my way home I took a detour so that I could stop at my favourite thrift shop where I bought two sturdy wooden boxes for $5 total ... and then I came home through the traffic to Kenya.
I have a week of sunshine and warm days to look forward to ... and the only times I intend to leave home are to walk the three dogs I will have here this coming weekend (Corey, a big Golden, Zeke, the Nova Scotia Duck Toller, and Kenya of course). I will also make a couple of trips in to Wakefield to visit Claire, buy groceries, and deliver finished pieces to the shop, and I will likely attend the annual Horseshoe Tournament and Corn Roast that the Pike Lake association puts on every Labour Day weekend.
The rest of the week I just want to paint ... and play with images ... and perhaps try out some experiments with writing style as suggested by Brian Doyle, and reiterated by Robert Genn in this week's art letter. He mentioned a book I want to buy: Exercises in Style by Raymond Queneau written in 1947.
I hope we all enjoy this second short burst of summer.
I stopped at Thyme and Time Again, an eclectic shop on Beechwood, to see the children's chairs. They were, as Barbara had said, expensive, too expensive for me to consider, but I ended up having a delightful conversation with the owner of the shop, and I enjoyed my brief time poking about among her treasures.
Next stop, the Montfort. Then tea with Barbara.
Barbara Carlson has some new work ... The Secret Garden ... and some great house interiors, including a doll house and a wonky house. Barbara photographs objects and then manipulates them on her computer to use as elements in her pictures. In the garden, the pieces from a friend's garden were layered to create the scene. It is meticulous work and I love the art that emerges. I have a print of the rear view of her high rise created from photographs of houses with character. I wish that architects creating their concrete monstrosities would learn about what home means to real people. Barbara could teach them a great deal.
On my way home I took a detour so that I could stop at my favourite thrift shop where I bought two sturdy wooden boxes for $5 total ... and then I came home through the traffic to Kenya.
I have a week of sunshine and warm days to look forward to ... and the only times I intend to leave home are to walk the three dogs I will have here this coming weekend (Corey, a big Golden, Zeke, the Nova Scotia Duck Toller, and Kenya of course). I will also make a couple of trips in to Wakefield to visit Claire, buy groceries, and deliver finished pieces to the shop, and I will likely attend the annual Horseshoe Tournament and Corn Roast that the Pike Lake association puts on every Labour Day weekend.
The rest of the week I just want to paint ... and play with images ... and perhaps try out some experiments with writing style as suggested by Brian Doyle, and reiterated by Robert Genn in this week's art letter. He mentioned a book I want to buy: Exercises in Style by Raymond Queneau written in 1947.
I hope we all enjoy this second short burst of summer.
Sunday, 30 August 2009
Good Dog, Kenya ... and catch-up news
On Friday afternoon I decided to have a snooze after an early supper (It was Wakefest weekend and I intended to go out later.) I awoke to the strangest half howls and pleading noises I have ever heard Kenya emit. I called down something soothing and we had a very strange five minute conversation consisting of desperate "Please, oh please, NOW"s, and sleepy "Just wait. It's All right. I'll be there in a minute," responses from me.
When I went downstairs, there she was, sitting in front of the stove looking up at the left over fish cakes in the iron frying pan.
She wanted them very badly but she wouldn't take any without permission. Anyone who owns a dog will realize just how heartfelt my "Good dog, Kenya" was.
Of course I prepared her dinner and broke one of the fishcakes onto it for her.
I didn't go to Wakefest that evening, but on Saturday I attended an author reading and writing workshop with a name forgotten author whose workshop was totally unprepared and disjointed, and an excellent one given by Brian Doyle who was well organized, intelligent, respectful of his audience, empathetic and kindly.
I cannot say enough good things about his part of the afternoon. He worked on how to apprentice yourself to the writers you admire and used two exercises based on the styles of Dickens and Steinbeck.
I suppose in all fairness I should add that Brian is a former teacher, whereas the woman who was too arrogant to prepare, was a lawyer in her last life.
When I went downstairs, there she was, sitting in front of the stove looking up at the left over fish cakes in the iron frying pan.
She wanted them very badly but she wouldn't take any without permission. Anyone who owns a dog will realize just how heartfelt my "Good dog, Kenya" was.
Of course I prepared her dinner and broke one of the fishcakes onto it for her.
*****************
I didn't go to Wakefest that evening, but on Saturday I attended an author reading and writing workshop with a name forgotten author whose workshop was totally unprepared and disjointed, and an excellent one given by Brian Doyle who was well organized, intelligent, respectful of his audience, empathetic and kindly.
I cannot say enough good things about his part of the afternoon. He worked on how to apprentice yourself to the writers you admire and used two exercises based on the styles of Dickens and Steinbeck.
I suppose in all fairness I should add that Brian is a former teacher, whereas the woman who was too arrogant to prepare, was a lawyer in her last life.
****************
On my way home I dropped into the shop to deliver the history of the second Wonky Woman, "Reaching for the Moon", and discovered Kelly shivering in the damp cold. I suggested she put on a pair of the socks I was selling, and she told me the only adult pair had sold. My second suggestion came in the form of a question, "Why don't you close the door?" She looked startled and then laughed. I closed the door on my way out with a bunch of WONDERFUL organic arugula in my hands, went home to Kenya and my own cold house, made a cozy fire and started work on the second sock of the second pair of adult socks.
******************
Today I intend to stay here in my cozy house looking out at the greyness of the lake while I work on the doll's cradle and the already sold brightly coloured chair. I hope the rest of your weekend will be as happy as I expect mine to be.
Friday, 28 August 2009
Thursday, 27 August 2009
I'm Back ...
Long Hiatus ... busier than usual ...
I have been busy being sociable, looking after two extra dogs, writing a letter to Sears, doing laundry at Tamarak's, attempting to volunteer at Wakefest, making arrangements to help Claire and Tom by staying with Claire while Tom gets out occasionally, and painting ... and knitting.
Painting News: I have sold another chair ... actually the same chair twice. The shop owner allowed a customer to buy the chair intended for her own daughter so that I would be guaranteed two child's rocker sales. She has given me free rein but would like the same colours as the very first chair ... bright primary colours plus green. I bought a baby-safe bright red and lovely spring leaf green yesterday and primed that little rocker and the doll's cradle that Tamarak and Carlos unearthed the other day. I have almost finished painting the second Wonky Woman chair. I'll post photos before I take her to the shop.
Knitting News: a beautiful self patterning sock in black, greens and reds the colour is called Congo) in my favourite fine sock yarn, Heart and Sole with aloe, is almost half finished. I am using #2 American needles and it seems to be going a little faster but I have still spent 10 hours so far. I am measuring my time by the movies I watch. These five have been The Constant Gardener, Mostly Martha, First Do No Harm, Finding Forrester, and Nowhere in Africa. I think perhaps I knit faster while entertained ... sort of like exercising to music, but it still takes a very long time to knit a pair of women's socks in a fine wool, even when the colours make you happy and you use a slightly larger needle. If I make $1 per hour on kids' socks, I figure I make about 50 cents on women's. And that, of course, works on the assumption that someone will actually buy a pair! If no one does, then each pair of socks is costing me money to knit!
I will be looking after Claire this Friday morning and next Thursday afternoon plus every Wednesday morning as long as she is able to stay at home. I have told Tom that I will be available whenever he needs me. I am very glad I will have this time with her.
I have been busy being sociable, looking after two extra dogs, writing a letter to Sears, doing laundry at Tamarak's, attempting to volunteer at Wakefest, making arrangements to help Claire and Tom by staying with Claire while Tom gets out occasionally, and painting ... and knitting.
Painting News: I have sold another chair ... actually the same chair twice. The shop owner allowed a customer to buy the chair intended for her own daughter so that I would be guaranteed two child's rocker sales. She has given me free rein but would like the same colours as the very first chair ... bright primary colours plus green. I bought a baby-safe bright red and lovely spring leaf green yesterday and primed that little rocker and the doll's cradle that Tamarak and Carlos unearthed the other day. I have almost finished painting the second Wonky Woman chair. I'll post photos before I take her to the shop.
Knitting News: a beautiful self patterning sock in black, greens and reds the colour is called Congo) in my favourite fine sock yarn, Heart and Sole with aloe, is almost half finished. I am using #2 American needles and it seems to be going a little faster but I have still spent 10 hours so far. I am measuring my time by the movies I watch. These five have been The Constant Gardener, Mostly Martha, First Do No Harm, Finding Forrester, and Nowhere in Africa. I think perhaps I knit faster while entertained ... sort of like exercising to music, but it still takes a very long time to knit a pair of women's socks in a fine wool, even when the colours make you happy and you use a slightly larger needle. If I make $1 per hour on kids' socks, I figure I make about 50 cents on women's. And that, of course, works on the assumption that someone will actually buy a pair! If no one does, then each pair of socks is costing me money to knit!
I will be looking after Claire this Friday morning and next Thursday afternoon plus every Wednesday morning as long as she is able to stay at home. I have told Tom that I will be available whenever he needs me. I am very glad I will have this time with her.
Saturday, 22 August 2009
My dog is a tattle tale ...
Kenya and Olive were outside playing and then Kenya began that high pitched insistent barking that means "I need in NOW". When I got to the door, Kenya threw herself at Olive giving her that bossy "Don't do that" snarly bark and then immediately left Olive alone and raced back to a freshly dug hole in the dirt and gravel and looked from me to Olive and back again. And just in case I didn't get the message, she pawed at the hole a couple of times and ran back to Olive giving her hell again.
She is a very smart dog, my Kenya, and I am glad she is using her words better than she used to.
She is a very smart dog, my Kenya, and I am glad she is using her words better than she used to.
Thursday, 20 August 2009
I keep checking to see if someone has pasted a kick me sign on my back
Yesterday after my post I received another unpayable tax bill ... a new one from the federal tax people ... this follows a whole raft of similarly unpayable ones from both Quebec and the federal tax departments. All are the result of the cost of building this house and all of these missives have been the direct result of cashing in RRSPs to do so. If I had it to do over again, I would never again put my savings into RRSPs ... Too late wise of course ... I have no money to put into savings anywhere.
Then this morning the Sears technician phoned to tell me that the part he broke won't be in till Monday but the next available service call to repair the machine is scheduled for Friday, August 28th.
DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT buy appliances from Sears. They break way before they should and their repair service is obviously under-manned. They used to be a reliable source of appliances, but not any more if my experience is typical, and I suspect it is since the technician told me that another customer he talked to this morning has been waiting 8 days for a service call.
i am almost afraid to go out and check the mail this afternoon.
Then this morning the Sears technician phoned to tell me that the part he broke won't be in till Monday but the next available service call to repair the machine is scheduled for Friday, August 28th.
DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT buy appliances from Sears. They break way before they should and their repair service is obviously under-manned. They used to be a reliable source of appliances, but not any more if my experience is typical, and I suspect it is since the technician told me that another customer he talked to this morning has been waiting 8 days for a service call.
i am almost afraid to go out and check the mail this afternoon.
Wednesday, 19 August 2009
A Woe is Me Wednesday Lament
Well, the Sears technician showed up today and gave me the bad news. One of the washing machine's computers exploded. Likely causes: a lightning hit or a power drop (opposite of surge) or the extremely high humidity. Cost to repair: about $400. Last year the one year old dryer cost $358 to repair. Is this normal? These machines are two years old and are being driven by a little old lady!
I bought the more expensive energy efficient models this time and thought they would be better quality. Together with the shipping fee for Wakefield I paid over $1800 for the two appliances. Should I automatically purchase the extended warranties on every appliance I buy? I've never bought those warranties in the past, and washers and dryers lasted forever.
It would likely have been cheaper than paying an extra $758 in the first two years!
What do you do?
Oh ... did I mention? The technician broke another part when he was installing the computer ... and that part won't be available till next week so I will be without a machine till then.
To end this on a more positive note:
The dehumidifier worked like a charm and cost under $200.
Maureen and Jeff came up on Tuesday morning and left this afternoon. It was good to have their company, and Kenya was delighted with the extra attention. Jeff was somewhat less delighted with her attentiveness to him. She always made sure that she shook all over him and his book.
AND ... Late this afternoon I went out with the sodden load of towels and bathmats that had been trapped in the washer for two days. I was hanging them on the sagging line when a hummingbird alighted on the line to watch me.
I bought the more expensive energy efficient models this time and thought they would be better quality. Together with the shipping fee for Wakefield I paid over $1800 for the two appliances. Should I automatically purchase the extended warranties on every appliance I buy? I've never bought those warranties in the past, and washers and dryers lasted forever.
It would likely have been cheaper than paying an extra $758 in the first two years!
What do you do?
Oh ... did I mention? The technician broke another part when he was installing the computer ... and that part won't be available till next week so I will be without a machine till then.
To end this on a more positive note:
The dehumidifier worked like a charm and cost under $200.
Maureen and Jeff came up on Tuesday morning and left this afternoon. It was good to have their company, and Kenya was delighted with the extra attention. Jeff was somewhat less delighted with her attentiveness to him. She always made sure that she shook all over him and his book.
AND ... Late this afternoon I went out with the sodden load of towels and bathmats that had been trapped in the washer for two days. I was hanging them on the sagging line when a hummingbird alighted on the line to watch me.
Tuesday, 18 August 2009
What are you afraid of?
I have been doing a lot of thinking lately about what makes me tick.
Yesterday the humidity was so high that the floors downstairs were absolutely wet with sweat ... as was the refrigerator. No amount of wiping dry lasted more than a minute or so. I dug out the fan and when I went to bed, I turned it and the one in the downstairs bathroom on to try to dry things up overnight.
This morning things were a little drier but not much. I will have to get a dehumidifier today before my company arrives. Otherwise they will be slipping and falling on the slick slate floors.
This morning I was washing the towels I had used to wipe up the water and my washer stopped dead saying there was a problem with the electrical system. There was a brief hydro outage but it could have been the heavy load that caused the brain fart. Damn! Another service call.
I don't sleep well when I am alone, but I don't fear the things most people, especially women living alone in an isolated place, would fear. I don't worry about intruders of either the two- or four-legged kind, for example. I seldom think about getting sick or having accidents while I am here alone. What I fear is that this house will fail in some way.
That fear is not unfounded ... the roof failed, for instance ... and I had the flood in the spring. So I think what happens to me is that whenever things are not quite right I begin to fear that the big bad wolf will blow my house down.
What sorts of things do you fear?
Yesterday the humidity was so high that the floors downstairs were absolutely wet with sweat ... as was the refrigerator. No amount of wiping dry lasted more than a minute or so. I dug out the fan and when I went to bed, I turned it and the one in the downstairs bathroom on to try to dry things up overnight.
This morning things were a little drier but not much. I will have to get a dehumidifier today before my company arrives. Otherwise they will be slipping and falling on the slick slate floors.
This morning I was washing the towels I had used to wipe up the water and my washer stopped dead saying there was a problem with the electrical system. There was a brief hydro outage but it could have been the heavy load that caused the brain fart. Damn! Another service call.
I don't sleep well when I am alone, but I don't fear the things most people, especially women living alone in an isolated place, would fear. I don't worry about intruders of either the two- or four-legged kind, for example. I seldom think about getting sick or having accidents while I am here alone. What I fear is that this house will fail in some way.
That fear is not unfounded ... the roof failed, for instance ... and I had the flood in the spring. So I think what happens to me is that whenever things are not quite right I begin to fear that the big bad wolf will blow my house down.
What sorts of things do you fear?
Monday, 17 August 2009
These Lazy Hazy Days ...
Whew! What a weekend. Kenya and I spent almost all of it in and on the water. She just keeps on swimming and swimming even when I stop and pull the kayak up on shore or climb the ladder and dry off.
Last night she had a special treat. Erin and Aidan dropped in and so she had a BOY ... and not only a boy but a boy who is really a FISH and not only a boy who is really a fish but a BOY who is really a FISH who speaks DOG to play with.
Earlier in the day my nice neighbours who have two husky friends for Kenya to visit returned to the city leaving their cottage occupied by friends. I was painting a base coat of primer on a piece of furniture when I heard a woman's voice: "There's a big black bear under the deck. Oh, it's a dog. It's wagging its tail."
I went outside, paint brush in hand and called over, "Her name's Kenya. Just tell her to go home." They did and she did.
Even the raucous neighbours on the other side finally chilled out and calmed down after two solid days of partying. Yesterday they floated quietly around on air mattresses instead of shouting and drinking, shattering the tranquillity, and transforming the lake into a bar scene.
I am finally enjoying playing with the second cat chair ... that is because the dreary work is finished and I am applying decorative touches. The little crib has been fun to work with because all the surfaces are flat. When Tamarak and Carlos were here on Saturday I mentioned that it had been much easier to paint the small canvas for my business card than to paint the furniture, and Tamarak said (laconically), "Well, yeah. It's a flat surface." She refrained from saying, "DUH." Thank you Tammy!
I just read about a movie that sounds as if I would like it: Julia and Julie ... about Julia Child and a blogger called Julie. I have decided that I will go to town on the next day that is not wonderfully warm, or the first day I tire of the lake, and I will watch movies all afternoon. First Julia and Julie ... then The Time Traveler's Wife ... a whole afternoon of chick flicks. I haven't done that for a long time.
Last night she had a special treat. Erin and Aidan dropped in and so she had a BOY ... and not only a boy but a boy who is really a FISH and not only a boy who is really a fish but a BOY who is really a FISH who speaks DOG to play with.
Earlier in the day my nice neighbours who have two husky friends for Kenya to visit returned to the city leaving their cottage occupied by friends. I was painting a base coat of primer on a piece of furniture when I heard a woman's voice: "There's a big black bear under the deck. Oh, it's a dog. It's wagging its tail."
I went outside, paint brush in hand and called over, "Her name's Kenya. Just tell her to go home." They did and she did.
Even the raucous neighbours on the other side finally chilled out and calmed down after two solid days of partying. Yesterday they floated quietly around on air mattresses instead of shouting and drinking, shattering the tranquillity, and transforming the lake into a bar scene.
I am finally enjoying playing with the second cat chair ... that is because the dreary work is finished and I am applying decorative touches. The little crib has been fun to work with because all the surfaces are flat. When Tamarak and Carlos were here on Saturday I mentioned that it had been much easier to paint the small canvas for my business card than to paint the furniture, and Tamarak said (laconically), "Well, yeah. It's a flat surface." She refrained from saying, "DUH." Thank you Tammy!
I just read about a movie that sounds as if I would like it: Julia and Julie ... about Julia Child and a blogger called Julie. I have decided that I will go to town on the next day that is not wonderfully warm, or the first day I tire of the lake, and I will watch movies all afternoon. First Julia and Julie ... then The Time Traveler's Wife ... a whole afternoon of chick flicks. I haven't done that for a long time.
Sunday, 16 August 2009
Foghorn on Halifax Common
I have posted a new-old piece on my site, A Writer Blogs, called Foghorn on Halifax Common.
A friend shared some youthful memories of Montreal and I looked back over my memories to share this with him ... and now with you.
A friend shared some youthful memories of Montreal and I looked back over my memories to share this with him ... and now with you.
Saturday, 15 August 2009
A Quiet Blog
Most blogs seem quieter in the summer. My excuse is that my computer is in the only part of my house that is hot during the day. I could switch over to the laptop but it requires a good bit of organization and I don't feel up to it these lazy hazy days. And, of course, I'd rather be painting or playing in the water with my dog and my kayak.
This morning I got up bright and early and headed off while it was still cool to catch the last days of the business card sale. I would pick up fresh veggies at my favourite fresh produce store and then come home to relax at the lake. I got about two kilometres when I realized I really didn't want to waste a single day of this late summer, and I could always get produce a little more expensively in Wakefield, and the business card saving, while substantial, was not worth driving to town in sweltering heat. So ... I turned around and came home. Kenya was confused. I felt relieved and much freer than I had an hour earlier.
Later I will drive into Wakefield for the produce and stop at the library to use their computer to attempt to create the order on-line ... an impossibility on my dial-up system.
And ... the other reason for my failure to blog regularly is that I have been preoccupied with living life rather than blogging about it. One of these days I will likely blog about that too, but not just yet.
So, what will I do with the time and energy I have saved by staying home today?
I will complete the picky painting on the second cat chair. I am getting strong hints from the shop to get it finished.
I will start the decorative painting on the little periwinkle doll's crib. I have decided to use an image from Swaziland ... whimsical and sweet for a child's toy. It is a whole bunch of Africam animals snuggled into bed with a night sky behind them. I will likely complete the project with other African-inspired designs ... but in colours that will complement the periwinkle. Then I will put a little cotton mattress and pillow in to complete the effect. And maybe include a sleeping baby animal. I am having fun with this one.
Tomorrow I will continue that work and perhaps even get the polyurethaning started on the cat chair.
Tamarak and Carlos are coming to visit today and I am looking forward to that. The lake is now Carlos temperature so maybe he will join the women and dogs this time instead of staying on the deck shivering in sympathy.
I hope you all enjoy your first real summer weekend.
This morning I got up bright and early and headed off while it was still cool to catch the last days of the business card sale. I would pick up fresh veggies at my favourite fresh produce store and then come home to relax at the lake. I got about two kilometres when I realized I really didn't want to waste a single day of this late summer, and I could always get produce a little more expensively in Wakefield, and the business card saving, while substantial, was not worth driving to town in sweltering heat. So ... I turned around and came home. Kenya was confused. I felt relieved and much freer than I had an hour earlier.
Later I will drive into Wakefield for the produce and stop at the library to use their computer to attempt to create the order on-line ... an impossibility on my dial-up system.
And ... the other reason for my failure to blog regularly is that I have been preoccupied with living life rather than blogging about it. One of these days I will likely blog about that too, but not just yet.
So, what will I do with the time and energy I have saved by staying home today?
I will complete the picky painting on the second cat chair. I am getting strong hints from the shop to get it finished.
I will start the decorative painting on the little periwinkle doll's crib. I have decided to use an image from Swaziland ... whimsical and sweet for a child's toy. It is a whole bunch of Africam animals snuggled into bed with a night sky behind them. I will likely complete the project with other African-inspired designs ... but in colours that will complement the periwinkle. Then I will put a little cotton mattress and pillow in to complete the effect. And maybe include a sleeping baby animal. I am having fun with this one.
Tomorrow I will continue that work and perhaps even get the polyurethaning started on the cat chair.
Tamarak and Carlos are coming to visit today and I am looking forward to that. The lake is now Carlos temperature so maybe he will join the women and dogs this time instead of staying on the deck shivering in sympathy.
I hope you all enjoy your first real summer weekend.
Friday, 14 August 2009
Tuesday, 11 August 2009
Moving Right Along
This post will be just a little of this and a little of that ...
The sweater for the great grand babe whose name keeps changing:
I was all set to block the pieces when I looked at the sleeves and decided I wanted to re-knit them ... so the blocking will happen tonight or tomorrow ... and then I can put it together and take a photo to post here. I used baby Bamboo which is a silky soft yarn that is fun to knit with.
Her blanket is 25 rows from the end. Thank goodness. It was all garter stitch and I had to start each row afresh and then braid in the loose strands to create the edges. It seemed to go on forever. It is good to see the end in sight!
Funky Furniture etc: I spent yesterday working on the administrative stuff ... putting together the blurbs bilingues with business cards. I will take them in to the shop with the apple bowl and the box which I polyurethaned as soon as the varnish sets. It is so darned damp here today I may have to light a fire to get the drying done.
I also started the cat drawings on the second Happy Cat chair. I find it impossible to enjoy doing pieces that are too similar. I loved doing the first cat chair and am finding this one a drag. I remember asking a wonderful sculptor down in the Eastern Townships if she could make me a goddess later when I could afford one. Her response now makes complete sense: she could never produce two the same; she worked through inspiration. So she gave me a special price. That goddess is still living with me and I love her as much as I did the day I brought her home.
Today I must take care of making proper business cards through Staples on-line.
And I have to get photos ready for printing so that I can have a portfolio at the shop.
Just Life:
Yesterday was a great day for swimming and Kenya and I took our breaks in the lake. We met a couple swimming around the lake ... not once but three times. I felt like a bit of a piker just swimming around purposelessly with my dog.
I have a lunch date tomorrow with someone who plays with language and makes jokes in Franglais. I will visit Zoom before going to Les Fougeres.
Friends from Montreal are coming to visit early next week and will stay a few days.
I have to fit in all my social activities before the 21st because I will be dogsitting for a few days ... Chelsea and Olive again ... and I have agreed to help out at Wakefest the following weekend, and then the one after that I will be looking after a new dog. And then it is already September!
I want to try to visit Mud Mama in September and Lindsay's baby shower is September 27. I may have to leave the Nova Scotia trip till October.
It is hard to be a hermit when I am so busy socially! It's also hard to keep stopping and starting the work on the chairs especially. The small pieces are easier that way.
The sweater for the great grand babe whose name keeps changing:
I was all set to block the pieces when I looked at the sleeves and decided I wanted to re-knit them ... so the blocking will happen tonight or tomorrow ... and then I can put it together and take a photo to post here. I used baby Bamboo which is a silky soft yarn that is fun to knit with.
Her blanket is 25 rows from the end. Thank goodness. It was all garter stitch and I had to start each row afresh and then braid in the loose strands to create the edges. It seemed to go on forever. It is good to see the end in sight!
Funky Furniture etc: I spent yesterday working on the administrative stuff ... putting together the blurbs bilingues with business cards. I will take them in to the shop with the apple bowl and the box which I polyurethaned as soon as the varnish sets. It is so darned damp here today I may have to light a fire to get the drying done.
I also started the cat drawings on the second Happy Cat chair. I find it impossible to enjoy doing pieces that are too similar. I loved doing the first cat chair and am finding this one a drag. I remember asking a wonderful sculptor down in the Eastern Townships if she could make me a goddess later when I could afford one. Her response now makes complete sense: she could never produce two the same; she worked through inspiration. So she gave me a special price. That goddess is still living with me and I love her as much as I did the day I brought her home.
Today I must take care of making proper business cards through Staples on-line.
And I have to get photos ready for printing so that I can have a portfolio at the shop.
Just Life:
Yesterday was a great day for swimming and Kenya and I took our breaks in the lake. We met a couple swimming around the lake ... not once but three times. I felt like a bit of a piker just swimming around purposelessly with my dog.
I have a lunch date tomorrow with someone who plays with language and makes jokes in Franglais. I will visit Zoom before going to Les Fougeres.
Friends from Montreal are coming to visit early next week and will stay a few days.
I have to fit in all my social activities before the 21st because I will be dogsitting for a few days ... Chelsea and Olive again ... and I have agreed to help out at Wakefest the following weekend, and then the one after that I will be looking after a new dog. And then it is already September!
I want to try to visit Mud Mama in September and Lindsay's baby shower is September 27. I may have to leave the Nova Scotia trip till October.
It is hard to be a hermit when I am so busy socially! It's also hard to keep stopping and starting the work on the chairs especially. The small pieces are easier that way.
Monday, 10 August 2009
Selling in Quebec is Hard Work!
I am discovering the downside to selling my wares in Quebec. Because each piece is accompanied by a short blurb on its history (and I have been told this makes it more interesting to customers) I now need to make sure sure that these little histories are translated into French. Fortunately I have a truly bilingual ... and generous ... friend who translates for a living. Thank you, Julie!
I am not sure how ... or whether ... to approach the woman running this shop with my real concerns. I don't want to appear critical, but there are several things she is doing or not doing that I think must affect sales.
The signage is all wrong and cluttered. I feel as if I am walking through a forest of signs to get to her place ... signs for antiques dominate,but there are several signs for spiritual arts and for life without plastics (on a plastic sign!). If I were looking for art or the work of local artisans I wouldn't even bother to go in.
And it isn't open all the time which is a really bad thing for any shop. If you can't count on it being open people simply stop going there.
Once inside the place appears cluttered, and the rooms off the main room are dark and musty. Pottery and paintings are invisible in the dark, and the smell of rotting wood is not inviting.
And then there is her little girl, 14 months and very cute ... but always carrying food in her hands and touching things.
There's more, but you get the idea.
What to do? Maybe suggest that she ask all the people who have things in her shop for input? Put out a questionnaire?
I am not sure how ... or whether ... to approach the woman running this shop with my real concerns. I don't want to appear critical, but there are several things she is doing or not doing that I think must affect sales.
The signage is all wrong and cluttered. I feel as if I am walking through a forest of signs to get to her place ... signs for antiques dominate,but there are several signs for spiritual arts and for life without plastics (on a plastic sign!). If I were looking for art or the work of local artisans I wouldn't even bother to go in.
And it isn't open all the time which is a really bad thing for any shop. If you can't count on it being open people simply stop going there.
Once inside the place appears cluttered, and the rooms off the main room are dark and musty. Pottery and paintings are invisible in the dark, and the smell of rotting wood is not inviting.
And then there is her little girl, 14 months and very cute ... but always carrying food in her hands and touching things.
There's more, but you get the idea.
What to do? Maybe suggest that she ask all the people who have things in her shop for input? Put out a questionnaire?
Sunday, 9 August 2009
Grey Sunday
I began my day by working on the small items ... polyurethaning ... and then decided to take a break and go to the Rupert auction. Everything was being sold in mystery boxes. You got a long distance peek at one or two items in each box. I wanted the flour sifter in one box so I got a lot of odd stuff I didn't want as well for $2. At least the price was right. Then for another $2 I got two boxes of lighting parts ... shades and bases and fixtures. Again ... a great price ... and I think I can definitely use several of them in places like the utility and laundry rooms and in a closet in my den.
If anyone wants to sift through my cast-offs you are welcome to take whatever I can't use ... for an even better price than I paid. Free to the first people who show up!
I find this kind of day depressing and I can't even work up an interest in painting. I am still at the spindle stage of the two chairs and feel a bit as if I am working on an assembly line. I think I will finish one chair completely and then move on to the second one.
Kenya had a great day yesterday. She went over to help my neighbour who was, with friends, moving over 3000 pounds of broken concrete under his deck. He's been having work done on his two cottages and they left a helluva mess. I know the feeling of looking at over a ton of stuff to move ... I felt overwhelmed when they dropped off 2100 pounds of eco wood last year up by my car! This year the owner's son has agreed to bring my wood in winter and move it down the hill by sled as he did two winters ago. He isn't bound by labour regulation laid down by the Workman's Compensation Board because it is a family business. I was delighted when he offered.
But back to Kenya. She chased sticks all morning with the guys and then went swimming with them afterwards. They told me she was a great diversion. And she was delighted to have three playmates.
If anyone wants to sift through my cast-offs you are welcome to take whatever I can't use ... for an even better price than I paid. Free to the first people who show up!
I find this kind of day depressing and I can't even work up an interest in painting. I am still at the spindle stage of the two chairs and feel a bit as if I am working on an assembly line. I think I will finish one chair completely and then move on to the second one.
Kenya had a great day yesterday. She went over to help my neighbour who was, with friends, moving over 3000 pounds of broken concrete under his deck. He's been having work done on his two cottages and they left a helluva mess. I know the feeling of looking at over a ton of stuff to move ... I felt overwhelmed when they dropped off 2100 pounds of eco wood last year up by my car! This year the owner's son has agreed to bring my wood in winter and move it down the hill by sled as he did two winters ago. He isn't bound by labour regulation laid down by the Workman's Compensation Board because it is a family business. I was delighted when he offered.
But back to Kenya. She chased sticks all morning with the guys and then went swimming with them afterwards. They told me she was a great diversion. And she was delighted to have three playmates.
Saturday, 8 August 2009
Friday, 7 August 2009
Rocking Chairs, Sensitive Men and Hospital Horror Stories
Sorry I haven't been blogging. Life has been catching up with me ... Mud Mama's visit, a doctor's appointment and now I am starting to paint again. I am working on four things right now ... a wooden bowl, a small hinged-top box, and two partly finished chairs.
Claire and Tom just gave me another beautiful rocking chair to play with. Tom had repaired it and prepared it as far as putting on the first coat of white acrylic enamel. It has lovely spindles and a very classic design. I think this one will be a keeper rather than a seller. But that will allow me to paint my least favourite rocker and put it up for sale. I think rocking chairs are very special.
And the other big news is that I just had a date with my first new age sensitive man ... and found the experience terrifying. I am used to strong silent types ... men who use language to get things done or to discuss ideas, not for telling me how they feel about me. My first instinct was to run the proverbial mile in the opposite direction. Second thoughts are becoming a little less drastic.
You all know my feelings about the Hull and Gatineau Hospitals ... well yesterday I heard a horror story about CHEO. My own GP took her daughter in there repeatedly for what she knew were attacks of appendicitis, and was told over and over again that it was nothing. They wanted to give her some therapy for pain control (starting early to tell her that her pain was all in her head). Meanwhile the kid lost 8 pounds off a small athletic frame and missed 40 days of school. Finally my doctor's colleague got in touch with a friend at St. Justine's in Montreal who told her to bring the little girl in immediately. She did and they diagnosed it as appendicitis and removed the damned thing. My doctor says she has lost all faith in CHEO. That's an even worse position to be in than mine. CHEO is the only children's hospital in the area.
Claire and Tom just gave me another beautiful rocking chair to play with. Tom had repaired it and prepared it as far as putting on the first coat of white acrylic enamel. It has lovely spindles and a very classic design. I think this one will be a keeper rather than a seller. But that will allow me to paint my least favourite rocker and put it up for sale. I think rocking chairs are very special.
And the other big news is that I just had a date with my first new age sensitive man ... and found the experience terrifying. I am used to strong silent types ... men who use language to get things done or to discuss ideas, not for telling me how they feel about me. My first instinct was to run the proverbial mile in the opposite direction. Second thoughts are becoming a little less drastic.
You all know my feelings about the Hull and Gatineau Hospitals ... well yesterday I heard a horror story about CHEO. My own GP took her daughter in there repeatedly for what she knew were attacks of appendicitis, and was told over and over again that it was nothing. They wanted to give her some therapy for pain control (starting early to tell her that her pain was all in her head). Meanwhile the kid lost 8 pounds off a small athletic frame and missed 40 days of school. Finally my doctor's colleague got in touch with a friend at St. Justine's in Montreal who told her to bring the little girl in immediately. She did and they diagnosed it as appendicitis and removed the damned thing. My doctor says she has lost all faith in CHEO. That's an even worse position to be in than mine. CHEO is the only children's hospital in the area.
Monday, 3 August 2009
Mixed Blessings
August 3, 2009
When the house empties ...
It happens every time. I feel as if I am drowning in noise while they are here and when they climb into the van, they leave behind a vaccuum that I fill with tears.
Mud Mama is the only one of my children who still has young kids. And she has a passel of ‘em ... six all told ranging for almost two to just turned eighteen.
Usually life here proceeds by inches measured in silence.
When Mud Mama visits, the hermitage vibrates with shrieks from the pre-verbal Sprout who know exactly what he wants to say but can't form the words, gleeful noise from happy kids, and wails from one or the other when a hurt, either physical or emotional occurs. Then there are all the adult sounds that are also so foreign here. This time we had a birthday party on their last day, so Zoom and GC, Erin, Emma and Aidan, and the Arch Angel joined Mud Mama, Maurice, Sprout, Nature Girl, Wild Thing and Dark Mirror.
I feel as if my life went on hold for the week. I don't have a studio to escape to; my living space is also my working space ... and it was impossible with a toddler around to have paints and projects in various stages out where he could hurt himself or them.
Today I cleaned and did laundry after my little weep, and then I went to pick up some chairs Nature Girl and I purchased at a garage sale coming home from our three hour jaunt to Cumberland to get fresh corn for the party. I still have a line filled with laundry to bring in. By tomorrow I will be ready to start working on the two chairs I have started ... another wonky woman and another happy cat. In between times I think I will work away at the smaller projects I've been picking up ... boxes ... a bread box ... a shelf ... a mirror ... children's chairs ... a little pine bedside stand ... a wooden bowl ... more carousels.
My life is really too quiet. I need to see my kids and all my grandchildren, including these young ones more often. But it doesn't work to try to fit several months of absence into one short week. The stresses and strains of living together in a house set up for one old hermit and her dog, are not conducive to good visits. I think we are going to have to figure out a better way.
I am thinking of driving to Nova Scotia in September. I wish I could afford to fly people up for a few days so that we could have small sane visits. But I can't, so we will have to figure out something that will work.
Life will get back to normal by tomorrow ... my kind of normal, at least. I wish my life could have some kind of sane balance. I don't think it has had that since I left an eighteen year relationship in 1995.
When the house empties ...
It happens every time. I feel as if I am drowning in noise while they are here and when they climb into the van, they leave behind a vaccuum that I fill with tears.
Mud Mama is the only one of my children who still has young kids. And she has a passel of ‘em ... six all told ranging for almost two to just turned eighteen.
Usually life here proceeds by inches measured in silence.
When Mud Mama visits, the hermitage vibrates with shrieks from the pre-verbal Sprout who know exactly what he wants to say but can't form the words, gleeful noise from happy kids, and wails from one or the other when a hurt, either physical or emotional occurs. Then there are all the adult sounds that are also so foreign here. This time we had a birthday party on their last day, so Zoom and GC, Erin, Emma and Aidan, and the Arch Angel joined Mud Mama, Maurice, Sprout, Nature Girl, Wild Thing and Dark Mirror.
I feel as if my life went on hold for the week. I don't have a studio to escape to; my living space is also my working space ... and it was impossible with a toddler around to have paints and projects in various stages out where he could hurt himself or them.
Today I cleaned and did laundry after my little weep, and then I went to pick up some chairs Nature Girl and I purchased at a garage sale coming home from our three hour jaunt to Cumberland to get fresh corn for the party. I still have a line filled with laundry to bring in. By tomorrow I will be ready to start working on the two chairs I have started ... another wonky woman and another happy cat. In between times I think I will work away at the smaller projects I've been picking up ... boxes ... a bread box ... a shelf ... a mirror ... children's chairs ... a little pine bedside stand ... a wooden bowl ... more carousels.
My life is really too quiet. I need to see my kids and all my grandchildren, including these young ones more often. But it doesn't work to try to fit several months of absence into one short week. The stresses and strains of living together in a house set up for one old hermit and her dog, are not conducive to good visits. I think we are going to have to figure out a better way.
I am thinking of driving to Nova Scotia in September. I wish I could afford to fly people up for a few days so that we could have small sane visits. But I can't, so we will have to figure out something that will work.
Life will get back to normal by tomorrow ... my kind of normal, at least. I wish my life could have some kind of sane balance. I don't think it has had that since I left an eighteen year relationship in 1995.
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