Massachusetts et al........

So....we are in Massachusetts.....and have been for the past week and a half. It's been a busy time, a time of some sleepless nights(what's new), a time of worry, a time of exploration and wonder, a time of exilaration, and a time of relief. The weather has been good, although we landed in Montreal in a snowstorm and had blowing snow on our drive down to Mass. However, since then, it's been cold and sunny with a bit of rain and a couple of warmish days. The air is very dry.....lots of moisturiser needed...on lips and skin....and lots of water needed to go into the body.

I have a few observations of Massachusetts......

• Lots of big houses and expensive cars (especially in small exclusive towns like Concord)....but the houses are nice, stylish and historic for the most part and lots of the cars are Volvos!!
• People are, for the most part, nice and friendly and usually have been north of the border or know someone who has been north of the border.....but there are some still, who don't have a clue about our wonderful country.
  
• Development of housing.....(at least in the outlying areas)...our leaders could learn a thing or two. Lots of trees, no clearcutting.....it's as though lots are sold and the homeowner clears only what he needs and leave trees around .....they are everywhere.....no clearcutting here. But then, that's the New England charm....the autumn colours....so they preserve it. But the concept is a good one. The housing is interesting, unique, fits with the landscape. None of these chicken coops of all the same shape and colour, that go on endlessly.
• Still with trees.....they are everywhere, especially along the highways.....we even found a huge Target store all by itself surrounded by trees with the roads in and out through trees. The DHL office was in a industrial park opposite a fairly exclusive residential area and the industrial park was landscaped and surrounded by .....TREES!! So much nicer!!
  
• U turns....they are legal here....people do it all the time....especially at advance left turn signals....in some places it's the only way to get where you want to go.
• Some of the driving habits here boggle the mind.....like....when you see that the traffic on the opposite side of the interesection is stopped and hasn't moved for some time....why would you travel through the intersection and end up stopped in the middle, thereby blocking traffic going the other way (we were one of the fuming blocked and of course, told ourselves that "We would never do that in Canada....would we???) We extricated ourselves by dashing across two lanes of traffic following a similar fuming motorist into a small opening in traffic when our light was green.....Yaayy!!!.

We are taking the day off heading into Boston tomorrow with Stella ....so I'm sure more observations will be forthcoming.

In the meantime....back to packing and sorting out last minute details.

Slainte!!

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Freedom ......and witterings....

So....today was a banner day....
After being housebound for a week and a half.....I finally went out!!
Yayyy!!!
....to get some more cold medicine and groceries and library books....

....you see.....I may be on the tail end of this NASTY cold/flu bug....but
DH is right in the middle of it!!

I so need this all to be over by February 13th....because I have heard that flying with a headful of "ick" is a most painful experience......and of course we have things to do.....a "list" of things to do before we go.

The upside of all of this is...I have lost 5 pounds. One can only hope that it will stay off.
I rather stumbled upon a solution to the "weight" problem. .....let my husband do the cooking.
You see I do the "mothering" type of cooking.....good, tasty food and lots of it.
He has the "don't overdo it" attitude to cooking dinners...single tasty portions ...at least I think they're tasty. Due to this D'd virus I have no smell or taste. It looks good and fills the stomach, so I can only assume it tastes as good as it looks. I am very much a visual person :-)
In any case, it works for the weight loss....we will see if that continues....although I'm doing the cooking tonite, being the least ill of the two of us! Chicken burgers here I come!!!!! *snirt!!*

So the agenda for the next week is to GET HEALTHY, lose another five pounds (I don't THINK so), get organized and prepare for a bit of a working holiday. Exciting hey???? I am SO looking forward to this trip mostly because Stella and Bastet will be coming home with us and secondly we will hopefully be able see a little bit of New England in the process.....oh....and I forgot.....we get to experience TRADER JOE'S.....Woohoo!!!!!

Ok...now I have to get the chicken burgers out of the freezer......;-)

Slainte!!!

Doggy Funk....

So our little Bichon is in a bit of a funk. We're not sure why. He gets this way now and then where he just drops his tail to "drag" position, doesn't eat (snacks or otherwise) and needs cuddles or goes into a corner by himself to mope.
.
He seemed fine this morning, but something has niggled him and so he's gone into a funk.

The cure for this is usually a walk with DH......which is what will probably happen this morning.
The scents around the neighbourhood get him into "move ahead" mode and when he returns his tail will be up and curled again and he will head to his pillow to munch on his morning snack.

Whatta dog!!

Slainte!!

Muddled and Settled.....

I have not posted for some time.....

I'm excited about my daughter returning and happy that my son-in-law returned safely

My life right now is a mixture of reading many books, organizing my workshop and talking to Stella and J'lil bro. .....and feeling the growing anticipation of our trip eastward to Massachusetts.....and lying awake at night going over everything in my head.

I'm presently fighting some kind of respiratory thing...probably a cold that can't get attached (yay Vitamin C!!) and so I rest....for now.

I really want to post something profound.....but my mind just isn't working that way.
Let's just say that...despite the muddled state of mind and current events.....I feel more settled than I have in a long time.

Life is good!! (Cough Cough!!)

Slainte!

Nappen??????

I was so pleased.....I managed 5 nights of good solid deep sleep.....I had hoped it would continue....
But...alas it is not to be.
It is presently 4:25 am and I have been up all night....
However, as is my habit, I will think positively of the new day ahead, try to get at least one thing done and of course there is always....NAPS!!

What WOULD I do without naps.....they are the glue that keeps my life together....

I rarely nap in the bed (only if I'm REALLY tired)....usually on the couch, or sitting up in a chair watching TV or looking out the window and sometimes even in front of my laptop, or on the couch beside my laptop, which I might add, I put there for that very purpose!! I nap in the tub and I even have been known to nap at the dining room table whilst reading after lunch. I seem to have the ability to close my eyes and drift off without any problem if I'm tired. It's a handy trick, especially on road trips.....put sun glasses on and no one knows your eyes are closed....(and no I'm NOT driving!!;-))

So I was interested on how the word nap originated....(I think of these things when I can't sleep...)
and I came up with the following......

nap. (n.d.). The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Retrieved January 03, 2007, from Dictionary.com website:

[Middle English, from nappen, to doze, from Old English hnappian.]

nap'per n.

Word History: The famous verse 4 of Psalm 121, rendered in the King James Version as "Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep," is rendered in a Middle English translation as "Loo, ha shal not nappen ne slepen that kepeth ireal." The word nappen is indeed the Middle English ancestor of our word nap. Lest it be thought undignified to say that God could nap, it must be realized that our word nap was at one time not associated only with the younger and older members of society nor simply with short periods of rest. The ancestors of our word, Old English hnappian and its descendant, Middle English nappen, could both refer to prolonged periods of sleep as well as short ones and also, as in the quotation from Psalm 121, to sleepiness. But these senses have been lost. Since the word has become less dignified, we would not find nap used in a modern translation of Psalm 121.

....all I can say is....who knew?????

On that note......to bed!!!

Slainte!

.....and then the day was done......

So, Christmas Day is over.....and the shopping madness begins (or continues?)

It was a quiet day....slow starting, slow moving, and slow ending.....
We webcamed with the travelling offspring to open presents and it was wonderful!! For the rest of the day I felt that I had actually spent time in the same room with them ....in person....and it was a good feeling.

Because it was a sleepless night for me on Christmas Eve, I napped for 2 hours in the afternoon and then we had our M & M dinner!! I must say that their Beef Wellington and frozen veggies are quite lovely. We had a huge turkey dinner last weekend, so turkey was NOT an option for us on Christmas Day. We decided to go the convenience route and bought 2 single serving Beef Wellingtons from M&M and a bag of assorted frozen veggies (so much fresher and tastier than the supermarket assorted veggies!!) and then we had potatoes. ....and that was our dinner ....with wine of course. After dinner we relaxed on the couch drinking wine and chatting (mostly reminiscing!) and then watched a VHS version of Holiday Inn. That was about it for me.....I headed to my bed to read and then snuggled up to sleep the night away.....and didn't emerge until 10:45 this morning. It's amazing what a couple of glasses of wine will do to you!!

Today, it's present wrapping for J'little bro's prezzies as he's arriving late on Thursday....and then tomorrow we just may attempt to tackle the crowds and pick up some last minute stocking stuffers for J.

We have snow on the ground and more to come today if the forecasts are right.....so I guess it's just stay at home day for sure.....time to make appetizers for New Years Eve......hmmmmmm.......or not. I'm going on gut feeling here.....do I feel up to it.....or is it just wrapping and reading today? We will see. Time seems to fly by so fast.....

All in all.....a very satisfactory Christmas Day.

Best wishes to everyone and I hope your holidays are special and full of good things.....and as I recently heard one person say in his greetings.......just don't forget to laugh!!

It's all good !

Slainte!!

A pictoral essay....getting ready for Christmas...

The tree is up!! In it's little nook, surrounded by accumulated stockings draped on the railings.
It will sit like this for a few days "to let the branches fall into place"......or so they say. Who is "they" you ask??? Well....that would be the people who sold us the tree.
I miss the tree farms....:-(









Time to take a break and enjoy the snow falling in the back yard. The top picture is of an apricot tree stump that used to have a bird feeder on it that I haven't set up for this winter yet.....tsk tsk....I really must get to that. Poor birdies!!








This is looking out directly from our patio doors to the terraces in the back yard. The rocks are where the wee meeces hide out in the winter in the hopes of grabbing a few tiny seeds that the birds spill about! I took both of these pictures with a flash at night and the falling snow came up wonderfully....although I'm not sure you can see it in these pics.









Well....the lights are on the tree now, but not so visible in the daylight......mini-lights also went up around the front windows so we could view the North Thompson valley through a halo of slowly changing colours.












Whew....that was exhausting....time for a nap with the cat!!!
...note the bins of decorations...they will remain there for a few days.....keeping the lights on the tree company!!







Saturday was tree trimming day....a day of memories with each of the ornaments collected for J & T over the years. I believe there are at least two that T (Stella) cross-stitched for Grandma, which I inherited ......also little stockings with coins in them that were knitted and crocheted by Grandma for J & T...with their initials worked into the stockings.....a silver bell with J's name engraved on it.......and somewhere (not on the tree) there is an ancient Christmas card given to my Mom and Dad many years ago, with a little lad in his jammies and plaid dressing gown....singing...."Oh come ON all ye faithful". That card always sat on the piano when I was growing up....and always made me giggle!!





The finished product, taken at night without a flash. I do think that this is the nicest way to view a decorated lighted Christmas tree......don't you?? It glows!!





Slainte!!

A good evening.....

A good evening.....2 brothers, 1 husband, lots of Christmas food, wine, single malt scotch, and much conversation full of many memories.

Far exceeded expectations!!

We definitely must do this again sometime!!

Slainte!

A Sad Day....

Today has been a mixed day.....which has ended in sadness.
We started the day with excitement, planning our trip to Shrewbury, flights, car rentals, dates etc.....it was wonderful and we finally got it sorted....although nothing booked yet...but itinerary has been firmed up.
After this, I decided to make some more shortbread, still feeling pretty upbeat, thinking about Christmas and the upcoming visit with my brothers......then the phone rang.

My mate answered it and I knew from his voice that it was my dear aunt from the coast....and then I detected a note of distress and surprise in his voice. He mouthed to me that my cousin, whom I've only just over the last few years gotten to know again, had passed away this morning.

A huge weight has settled on my heart.....

My aunt (his mother) of 95 (whom I've blogged about previously) was remarkable. Apparently it was a lung cancer that travelled very fast - weeks rather than months and the end was days rather than weeks. She was grateful for that. He didn't suffer long and now he is at peace. She lost her husband four years ago after a long drawn out battle with cancer and she could not go through that again.
"My dear, I am so thankful that I had him for 73 years!!" was her response.

I didn't see my cousin that often, but we did send emails and cards, and my aunt kept us both up to date on each others comings and goings. He used to bring her out to visit us when we lived in Langley. I have memories of my childhood when he used to babysit me and my brothers. He was a bit wild at times, but always so much fun and he thought the world of my mom and dad.

There is a lot that I can say, but suffice to say that I will miss him, or rather I will miss knowing that he's there if I care to email him....I will miss hearing about his studies at SFU (just to keep his mind active)......I will miss hearing about the excursions that he and Auntie D. took to Steveston ....... I will miss hearing about the good natured ribbing between he and his brother.....and I will miss hearing about the close friendship between he and his lady D. that lasted for 50 years.

It has all become memories.......

It seems that, lately, so much of my childhood and past is being relegated to memories.

But as we get older I guess that's as it should be.

Rest well cuz...

Slainte

Funnel Dogs, Craft Fairs and Such......

Today we took our little Bichon, Chauncey, to the vet because he had been licking his right paw incessantly. Well...it appears he has a compulsion to do so...for whatever reason...and so to stop him and let it heal...he now wears one of those awful collars. So it looks like he has a funnel around his head....
He is not adjusting awfully well.....and we still have tonite to go through. I really hope that he gets used to it....it saddens me terribly to see him like that.

On to other things.....the craft fair.....that was

So after being so terribly organized (with the help of my mate) I was ready to go at 5pm on Saturday night....a totally new position for me to be in. My children will tell you that Mom always was up until 4am the night before trying to make that one last ornament which invariably didn't sell. So we relaxed on Saturday night and watched the temperature drop, the wind pick up and the snow turn horizontal and drift around our street. When we woke up Sunday morning we could not see the North Shore and the snow and wind were still horizontal and the temperature was hovering at -11 without the wind chill. However, not one to quit when committed, we loaded up the car and SLOWLY made our way over to the venue on the North Shore to find that many others had braved the elements to do the same thing. We crafters are a sturdy lot!!!
It was cold, but we managed to find our table and set up everything. Only 2 ornaments needed repair due to transportation damage, which was a miracle. A few changes had to be made on the table because I hadn't tried out the design in a practical fashion...mostly theoretical....but it was nothing that couldn't be changed on the fly.
After we set up....I got more coffee....and then I sat....and watched everyone.....chatted a bit....and the day wore on. I sold nothing....nada...not a thing. So I made a few observations....

• Kamloops is just not ready for me as an artist.
  
• what I do is not a craft anymore...it is art.
  
• what I do is unique
• several people loved my work, but didn't buy....and loved the idea of making a children's book out of what I do. (Encouragement is always good!)
  
• there is STILL no one in my area who does what I do.
  
• I am going to spend the next year improving, writing, experimenting and having fun
• I will target a higher end show and maybe small gift shops
  
• and finally....a comment was made to me that people in Kamloops will ALWAYS go to something that costs little or nothing to get into....as a form of entertainment....they don't go to buy so much as to see what's there. A different concept to be sure...but then it's the venue, large and full of a mixture of crafts and commercial ventures. One needs to have a show that specializes in nothing but handcrafted items....so we will see what we will see ....next year.

On the whole it was an interesting experience....I wasn't particularly upset about the non-sales....because I went into the fair with the attitude of experimentation....and if things sold... fine and if not...that was fine too. To see the new ornaments that I added to the mix, go here
and click on Nutfolkery II. The other work that was on my table is in the other folders on that site, with the exception of my Christmas photo cards. I would like to post them...just haven't figured out how to do it. I took photos of local snowy scenery around Kamloops (and my backyard!) and printed the photos onto glossy fronted cards and added original sentiments and non-original clipart appropriate to the pictures. I did the designing of them last year, but decided to try to sell them this year. I'm thinking that maybe I may not continue down that route....but time will tell.
So there you have it.....all the excitment....all the buildup....all the work....for nought...financially....but a true learning experience in showing direction.

And finally.....
All you Lower Mainland people ....for goodness sake....stop whinging about the snow and cold. Try being up here where it is presently -24 with snow on the ground....like this
and this.....
and you have to do this......
and it's STILL -24 outside....you know...that's when your NOSE HAIRS FREEZE!!! (However, I do sympathize with your power outages....but you know..it's all that WET snow!!) How can you tell I'm a former coastal resident.
..and I will not gloat to Stella and King D because their time is coming back there.....it's not a case of if the snow will come....but when....

On that note...the furnace is turned down for the night and my studio is getting cold....time to curl up under the duvet with DH with Funnel Dog on my feet!!

Slainte!!

Freak out time......aaahhhh!!

So I head to the computer this morning to check out the inventory of photo cards I have on file.....that I made last year and want to sell this year.
I bring up Printmaster ( the new version that I installed when we got the new computer) and go to Import.....and there is....... NOTHING!!!
It's one of those times when you absolutely KNOW that you did something, but can't figure out how you did it. I KNOW I saved the Project Files from the old version of Printmaster.....now did I save them to CD....or did I save them to the "Old E Drive" which is now on my new C Drive?? Ahhhh.... therein lies the question.

I spent the better part of 2 hours searching through my files (and everyone elses!!), my laptop files, and any CD that had been burned as backup during the transfer to the new 'puter. I was beginning to feel desperate......even thoughts of backing out of the craft fair had entered my mind....I mean these cards make up a good portion of my stock. There was a short period of euphoria when we discovered that several CD's had been knocked down behind the filing cabinet....but that was dashed when they were all what they purported to be on the outside label....darn!!

My mate tried to get me to leave the chair and let him look, but I declined vehemently.......I KNEW they were somewhere.....they just had to be......didn't they?
I was on the verge of tears.....(I get that way sometimes )...

I glanced down between the filing cabinet and the desk and there was something there....."D., can you come and reach in and see what this is??" I called.
Sigh...it was just a slip of paper.....but wait!!
D. says "Oh look, there's a couple of CD's back here as well......(as he pulled them out) ...and one of them says PRINTMASTER PROJECTS!!" Yaaaaayyyy!!!

Crisis averted......panic attack quelled......NOW I can go and get dressed!!!

Slainte

Coming up for air.....gasp!!

I have spent the last little while, buried in my workshop, surfacing this past weekend to play a concert with the KSO. However, I am buried again and I have finally sorted out a few things.

• a refurbished design for my table at the craft fair this weekend. Suffice to say it involves a vase with branches, berries, and lots of glue...oh...and a basket with rocks and moss.....and 2 tableclothes, a Christmas table runner with tassels and a lovely crystal bowl engraved with First Nations artwork....and a lazy Susan. Now that should get the imaginations working overtime!! I will post a picture after the craft fair, as I plan to get my mate to take pics of it for posterity!!!
• I have taken stock and have a good many ornaments of the Nutfolkery variety that are on pedestals or clamp to tree branches.....so I am presently making more of the hanging variety. (You know....to hang on those branches in the vase...with the berries and the glue..in the basket with the rocks and moss.....etc. etc. etc....?). After I get all the ornaments done, I plan having my mate take pics for my Picture Trail page...so I will mention here when the new pics are posted. Hopefully it won't be long.
  
• I will work tomorrow and Thursday and then leave Friday for getting things organized and in order...and packed up. Whatever is left undone on Thursday night will remain undone. I have learned over the years that last minute late night projects invariably NEVER sell and were a waste of time and energy not to mention the lack of sleep involved. I have been averaging around 4-5 hours or more of work daily... spread throughout the day and evening (I even have my TV shows on in my workshop ....thanks to the travelling offspring...and yes, I do watch some of them....although I can listen a lot and figure out what's going on without watching).

So....I blog tonite to say that although I haven't blogged for a while, I plan on making observations of my craft fair experiences after the weekend. I will be glad when it's all done....I'm tired and I want to just be able to sit and read for a while without feeling that I have to rush downstairs and start working. Don't get me wrong, I love what I do.....but as it gets closer to show time....it gets more stressful....one never feels that enough is done.

So I'm finished for tonite and I will be down tomorrow morning to start again.

Off to the teapot!!!

Slainte!!

Happy Birthday Mom.....

So....I noticed as I was posting the previous blog that the date had turned to November 11.

To most people this is Remembrance Day...or Armistice Day as it was when I grew up.

To me...it is my mother's birthday....she would have been 95 this year. She died October 29, 2003.

She always remembered her birthday as the 11th day of the 11th month of the 11th year.

She was a gracious lady whose smile and generosity was legendary.

I miss her. Happy Birthday Mom.

I am woman......I am calm.....

I discovered something about myself today.
I am calm.....or so it seems.....
I have been working for a week or so on two tiny penguins and an even tinier baby....making them just as good as I possibly can....
Tonight I dropped one....the daddy penguin....and broke off his beak.
....and I can't find it.....
I managed to find a piece of cooked clay and reformed his beak and glued it back on.....
I sanded it....and it came off again......
So I glued it back on.....and there he sits on his back with his beak in the air....awaiting a paint job....
I am calm.....
I am amazed that I am calm...
Who knew????

Slainte

Pain, Pain go away......(in a whining mode)

For about 2 years now, I have been routinely taking 2 Tylenol Arthritis every morning for pain, both FM and arthritis pain. I have to take it on an empty stomach because of the way it works....apparently.....so ....as soon as I get up, I take it, along with a Glucosamine supplement.

Today was one of those days, (I'm sure most of us have had them) where you have to fast from 10pm in order to have a blood test at 8am (or later). So I packaged up my pills to take before we had brekkers at Denny's after the bloodletting. Needless to say, I forgot to take them....thereby causing me to wait until my stomach tells me it's empty....(you know...that aching, growly feeling) before I can take the pills again.

We decided to do some errands while we were out....Save On (for prescription drop off) Costco, Home Hardware and then back to Save On (for prescription pick-up) and shopping.

It has been a long time since I had forgotten to take my pills in the morning, but it has happened and I've managed ok. However....this morning, it hit home just how debilitated I have become without the Tylenol. By the time we reached home again, I was moving VERY slowly, with a cane, wincing, and generally in total agony from shoulder to foot.

If there is ANYTHING that will encourage me to keep changing my lifestyle and losing weight etc., etc., etc., it should be the memory of this morning. It MUST get better, because, quite frankly, it can't get any worse.....or maybe it can.....but maybe the wording is MUST NOT get any worse.

So, I will take the pills shortly and then life will improve markedly

Here endeth my whine....

Slainte!

A New Season starts...for me.

So...my symphony season starts today at four o'clock with one of two rehearsals today, followed by another rehearsal and two concerts tomorrow and Saturday. I'm looking forward to it, getting back into the swing of regular practice and seeing the orchestra members again after the summer break. I have been practicing myself fairly regularly and it's always nice to have something toward which you can direct your practice......a goal as it were. The season goes until May, once a month. The music is good and challenging for the most part, forcing me to keep my practice level up to a reasonable standard

The other new start is that I have finally gone full circle and landed right back where I started, creatively, working with my nutfolk, full of new unique ideas. Having taken that break from them, I now have decided to take time and really CREATE them....not just throw them together. For those of you who don't know what I do or have done.....I have them on a site at picturetrail
They are combined with other work, but the main creations are under Nutfolkery.
The ones that are posted are done as non-hanging ornaments.....I now plan to go back to hanging ornaments....and therein lies of the story of their beginning.

Quite a few years ago, I was searching around for some "crafty" thing to do and found these two books on making Christmas ornaments out of nuts. So I started using the directions from the books. However, as time went on, I realized that there were much further directions I could go in. So I put the book aside and proceeded to create people, and animals in different situations ....all as hanging ornaments....except for the cows (which are entirely my own creation). As I became familiar with polymer clay, I thought that I would use it to make some of the accessories of my little nut people. It worked, but took more time....time that I didn't have....so I reverted back to using felt and popsicle sticks and pre made accessories.

The last time I had them in a craft fair (one I had been in for years!)...I didn't sell a one...first time ever... so I decided that someone was trying to tell me something and I haven't been in a craft fair since. That was 4 years ago. In the meantime, I had been encouraged to write stories about my little people....for children. At the time I thought it was a marvellous idea....and I have copyrighted the name of my people and work.

When we retired to Kamloops, I decided that this would be a good opportunity to make good on the story idea....so I started trying to write stories of the varied little guys that inhabit my workroom. However, as some may know....stories don't just appear...they have to creep up on you and niggle your imagination and force you to sit down and put pen to paper (or finger to keyboard!) I managed to get a few stories done, but then life intervened and they have sat....despite enumerable efforts on my part to get motivated. I had intermittently been working with my little guys and managed to photograph them, put them on pedestals, take them from being hanging ornaments to just ornaments and then published them on Picturetrail. Finally, I decided to put everything aside and just let something happen....

So.... I started trying out different artistic pursuits...sketching, watercolours, getting interested in vintage fabric, textile art, sewing, and I even bought a tatting shuttle to try to learn that almost lost and delicate art. No nutfolk...and no polymer clay.

One night about two weeks ago, I got an epiphany and shot up out of bed and headed down stairs to my workroom. I hauled out all my half made ornaments and set them up on my work table, put on the "daylight" light and just stared at them. The ideas just came fast and furious....about everything.

So the upshot of all of this is.....I have applied for a craft fair and if it's available, I will be in it on Nov. 26. I have mentally decided what I'm going to do and I have started work on some new ideas for creating nutfolk. As to the writing...ideas always occur to me as I'm working, so I will jot them down and hopefully it will help to create stories. I will still use polymer clay, but organize it so that one day will be put aside for claywork (like penguin flippers, top hats, penguin feet and beaks, mouse tails...etc....) because claywork requires cooking and that takes time...so best to heat my little convection oven all on one day (or maybe two) and get it all done at once. Then I can just put my little guys together and the fun begins...dressing them....the ladies in lace and velvet and the men in toques, top hats, skiis, scarves etc. I don't think that I will totally limit them to Christmas, but make them so that they can be used at Christmas or just hung from a lamp stand or something similar!!

You see.....I finally realized after all my whinging....that what I do is unique....it sounds somewhat odd...."nut ornaments"....but I make them special and I do it well...and I have never see anything like what I do. So I think here the old adage applies...albeit somewhat changed for my purposes...."if it ain't broke, don't fix it" ....and my addition is "just gently improve it!!"

So there you have it....my mojo is BACK!!

......and while I work...I listen to RTE Lyric FM out of Ireland....and hear what life is like 8 hours ahead and over the pond!!

Slainte

.....Is that sunshine??

Things are coming to me.....ideas.....direction.....insight.....and occasionally joy!!

I feel that I have been in a somewhat bleak area of my mind in the past months and I think now the sun is starting to break through. The light is beginning to glimmer and my mind is beginning to work the way it was meant to.

Time and again, I am suddenly struck with a thought to which I respond by saying (in my head) "That's it...of course....that's it, now why didn't I think of that before?" I try not to get too enthusiastic because, of course, one doesn't want to "jinx" it :-).

However, there are times when I just smile and think YES!!!

I just wanted to blog that along!!

Slainte!

A Special Lady.....

This is about a very special lady in my life. She is 95 years old, a free spirit, a mother, an artist in so many ways, a writer, and a musician . She is not my mother, but she is the closest thing to my mother. (My mom died in 2003). I love her to bits.

We talk on the phone regularly and we giggle, laugh uproariously, discuss and exchange ideas, news about the family and she is a sounding board for me and my life. I always feel so good after talking to her.

An example of part of our conversation....a somewhat trivial part, but nevertheless a funny, happy and delicious part....we were discussing the differences between Tickleberry's Ice Cream in Okanagan Falls (where we both have visited) and an ice cream stand in her area .......especially the double and triple cones. This conversation lasted for a good five to ten minutes filled with much laughter!! She enjoyed remembering Okanagan Falls and I enjoyed....well....I enjoyed talking about ice cream!!!

She also recounts stories of her life in Victoria in the early years of the 20th century, clear, descriptive and if you've any imagination at all, you live it as she tells it. She speaks with humour and compassion about her early life and it's a fascinating way to spend time....on the phone or in person.

She is in a wheelchair, but still keeps her own spacious apartment. She cooks and bakes, entertains, plays the piano, sends email on the computer (she has a laptop), writes children's stories and then illustrates them in her own unique way and her apartment is a gallery of her paintings and sculptures. She can talk about anything, she reads voraciously, keeping up with world events. She is bound and determined to live to be 100.....and I think she will do it.
She has an enthusiasm for life that I can only hope that I would have at that age.

She is my mentor, she is my role model, she is everything that I want to be when I grow up!!

Slainte!

Pickin' & strippin' basil....musings....

So I found out today that pulling up basil (or pickin' it) and stripping the leaves off the plants is a process that provides a good deal of time for musing...reflection...or whatever!!

• I have this pain in my pinny (as my mother used to say) and I've learned that it usually means that I'm stressed over something. So...I think tonight, I will carefully go over the landscape that is my life and try to figure out what the problem is. In the meantime.... I drink water....lots of it!!
• The neighbours have their back door open and their voices are carrying over to our yard. This is a new experience for me as our previous house was on 3/4 acre and we either didn't hear our neighbours or weren't around when they spoke loudly enough for us to hear. In any case, I can't really hear what's being said apart from the fact that the father seems to be on the phone a lot (I keep hearing him say things like "See ya Monday" "Is that all good then, See ya later" etc, etc, etc, ). The dog keeps wanting out and then when they let him out he turns around and wants back in again, so the screen door is opened by an unseen hand and he's back in again....and then it happens all over again.
• We have these unusual little bugs that have arrived on our deck....they fly, and they're red, and they crawl....sometimes on my foot!! We have a container on the deck that we use for water for the dog and cats and it has become unwittingly a receptacle for bugs who have "drownded"....I try to deter the animals from drinking before I can empty it, but my mate says...."Ah, don't worry...just more meat" Eeeewwwww!!
• My fingers are greeny brown and smell deliciously of basil....
• Why does our patio table get a coating of something dirty on it that you can't see unless you feel it and/or wipe it? Where does it come from....is it something to do with the mill that spews that atrocious odour which we get if the wind is blowing the wrong way? Is this something that we are breathing?? Scary......
• Nice new computer....reeeeally reeeeally fast....keyboard doesn't stick and we finally figured out (with nephew's help) that our optical mouse skips because it needs a texture surface, not a smooth mousepad surface. I guess that's why my laptop one worked really well when I was blogging in the car in Osoyoos and using it on my leg!!!
• Lady on t'other side of us has emptied her swimming pool. It's quite a process....at least we think it is...we watched surreptitiously and intermittently (from our bathroom window) as she cleaned the pool with that long pole thingie and then she fiddled with the pump and then she covered the pool with the winter tarp....and put the weights around the edge. So, over the past few days we have watched the water level descend slowly and I expect if I looked now or tommorrow it will be empty. My question is....where does it go....does it go so slowly that it doesn't affect the city's sewer system? In any case, when her pool is empty, you just KNOW that summer is over, even if the temperature is 27 deg. outside.
• I have started practicing again.....concert at the end of the month. It wasn't as horrible as I had imagined...I expect that the interim practice sessions that I had during the summer kept the embouchure from totally withering!!
• Going to the coast and staying at J Little Bro's place on Friday and Saturday nights. We are heading to Victoria for the day on Saturday for a 75th birthday celebration. Yes, Travelling Offspring...we will say hi to Victoria for you!! Chauncey's in the kennel to catch up with little friends during our stay. They say that dogs don't have any sense of time and that when we return to pick him up, he doesn't really realize how long we've been gone. It's nice to believe that...cuts down on the guilt a little.
  
• So, one thing about the new computer....my mate has been able to install his Age of Empires III. My question.....when will the novelty wear off??

OK, my musings are scattered and somewhat disjointed....but then that's the condition of my mind. I have basil left in the garden (purple variety, which is hardier) so I expect at a future date more things will be contemplated, blogged or not . Now it's time to go up and try to grind up the leaves that I have so studiously picked and sorted, add the oil and put in the freezer for winter pesto..
Mmmmmm....

Slainte!!

As requested......PLATZ!!

• The recipe isn't the original one that I got from Country Woman that was sent in by a lady in Yarrow, BC (I lost that in the move!).....however, it is virtually identical and I have cut and pasted it as posted by a lady from UVIC.
  
• I apologize for the metrics...although I know that those of you MUCH younger than me will have no problems with that....I did...... so... I'll let you figure out the equivalents!!
• She does give you full rein on the fruit you can use.....I have used blueberries, blackberries, plums, apricots, apples, peaches and actually mixed several types of fruit, sometimes blueberries fill in the gaps between the big fruit quite nicely.
  
• It fits into a jellyroll pan and when cut into sections freezes great. Travelling offspring and J little bro used to eat it for breakfast regularly.....as do I. I presently have a peach platz in the fridge AND freezer.
  
• You can double the quantity of topping to totally cover the fruit or you can use it sparingly...whichever takes your fancy. I have never grilled the top....but I think that's "taste" thing....whatever suits you.
  

Fruit Platz

Batter

125 mL butter or margarine
125 mL sugar
2 eggs
5 mL vanilla
500 mL flour
10 mL baking powder
180 mL milk
1 L fruit (sour cherries or apricots are recommended)

The batter should be thick but not really pourable.

Topping

250 mL flour
250 mL sugar
125 mL butter or margarine

- Spread the batter on a baking sheet (about 1 cm thick)
- lay the fruit on the batter
- top with the topping
- bake at 175 C for 30 minutes.
You might want to grill the top a bit (carefully).
- I recommend sour cherries, apricots or plums for the
filling. Apple would also work well. Try any fruit
you like! Apparently the South American Mennonites use
bananas or other tropical fruit.
- Using canned apricots will not give you a good result.
I freeze a bunch in July and ration them all winter.
Home canned, fresh or frozen sour cherries work really
well.

So.....enjoy!!

...and feel free to ask questions!!

Slainte!!