Sorry!

It's twenty to eleven... I'm not done packing... and I haven't so much as looked at a paintbrush. Sigh.

I promise to get all caught up when we get back. Life has officially intervened!

Midnight Madness

I'm starting to think that sleep is just not in the cards this year. :) Who needs sleep anyway? Pshaw.

Tonight's painting is a big vase of daisies... but sort of wrapped around the canvas. It's hard to explain, and even harder a few minutes before midnight. I sure do love daisies though. :) It's a 5x5 canvas and I've called it "Husband & Wife" for reasons I'll explain later. Ooooh a mystery. You'll just have to keep reading to see what that's all about!

I'll keep my usual babble to a minimum tonight. The words are swimming around on the screen and I keep having to go back and fix my typos! See you tomorrow night... zzzzZZZZzzzzZZZ!

On an emotional rollercoaster...

The past week or so has been hard for me for some reason. It's not really raining constantly anymore so I can't blame the weather... but I can't figure out why I can't seem to stay happy. I'll be doing just fine and then suddenly down in a funk and feeling adrift. So bizarre. Today was like that... for example, I went to the bodycombat class at the gym (possibly my last one) and was quite happy. Left feeling ok, but by the time I got to the grocery store (in the same plaza) I was feeling all melancholy again. So strange... to be happy one minute and sad the next with no discernible reason? Just plain weird. Here's hoping the upcoming trip will jolt me out of my up and down blues. It's hard to be unhappy when visiting family. :)

I decided to call last night's painting "Spring Puddles"... just in case anyone was curious. Tonight I did a 4x5 painting that I'm calling "Winter Package" because it sort of reminds me of a birthday present with ribbons on it, but has cool colours and a base of white that I hope will keep the brushstroke textures. It made me think of a blanket of snow and I allowed some of the white to come through the ribbons.

I'm still foolishly reading articles on the CBC website... which wouldn't be so bad if I stopped at the end of the article. But... I keep looking at the comment section and becoming enraged and sickened at the sheer nastiness of so many of the people leaving comments. It's disgraceful. I don't know why people feel the need to spill their vitriol over the internet. My mom always said (and still does) "If you haven't got anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." I think that is a wonderful sentiment and we'd all do a lot better in life if we followed it. That and the golden rule... treat others the way you'd like to be treated. I figure that's a pretty good umbrella for all of life and if you aim for that then you should be doing ok. No one is perfect... but we can try our best. I would think that translates to not spewing out viciousness for no real reason. None of those comments is going to have a direct result on the postal situation... it's just hostility and nastiness in a world where quite enough of that already exists. No need to add more thanks.

So... on that note, here's a fun happy note... we've found a few schools that might be a good fit for our son. We'd like him to start school next year since the boy is already reading quite well and I think it would be good for him to have more opportunities than just daycare can provide. We were on the bus today and he was reading newspaper headlines. I tried to pick out the most neutral or positive ones... none of the ones about shootings or bombs! Not sure I want to try to explain that to my son just yet. Unfortunately, these schools are not in the public system, who absolutely refuse to consider taking him early, and who apparently do not offer any sort of gifted program. I know I sound just like all the other parents who think their child is mega smart and special... but I want to do the best for him and I think this is it. So, yay for reading and hopefully we find a good school and most importantly, that he is happy. I asked him today how he feels about reading and he said it makes him happy. That makes me happy too! Kind of pushes all that negativity back into the shadows. :)

I'm going to quit babbling now... went on quite the little rant there didn't I? Whoops. Oh well... it'll be interesting reading later when I revisit my year of painting A Canvas A Day. Good night all!

Much Better Monday

Aaaah... no distressing phone calls, no trips to the ER, no neighbours/friends to inconvenience (though the ones I asked for help last week are amazing and wonderful)... what an improvement over last week!

Instead, today, we went for a walk, had lunch, kids had good naps, I went shopping for some car toys (didn't find anything), had a playdate with the Hohns, had veggie chili for supper, put the kids to bed (my son took awhile mind you) then dyed my hair "light auburn", wrote my father-in-law an email, tidied the daylights out of my room, painted tonight's painting and got some inroads done on the wedding themed series, and basically had a pretty good day. Sure, there's lots more I could have done, and probably should have done... but there are only 24 hours in a day, and only half an hour left to this one. So.

Tonight's painting has a mixture of blues for the background. I used a hefty amount of paint and a knife to sort of smooth it all out and then create some interesting layers. Then I spattered sandstone, green, white, and a lighter blue over all of it. Chris said the background reminded him of a pond. I was thinking of a sky or a puddle... and the spatter is supposed to be rain... either falling or landing depending on your perspective. Maybe that's a glass half full/empty debate. :) I haven't named it yet... it was getting late and I couldn't think of anything. I will though. You know, before Friday. I haven't had any suggestions yet for last week's painting that is untitled. Hoping to get some in. :)

OH.... and before I forget... Malaysia is now on the map! That was a very pleasant surprise. So, hello out there! Thanks to everyone for reading. :) Have a great night and see you tomorrow!

Happy Father's Day!

To all the fathers out there who have earned the title "Dad"... I wish you a very happy Father's Day. To my Dad, my Father-in-Law, and especially to my husband, Chris, you have all earned that title a million times over and I am lucky to have all of you in my life. Thank you.

Another thing that makes me super happy.... Russia is lit up on the map again! Hello Russia!! I used to know a few words in Russian thanks to a very lovely Russian lady, but I've no idea how to spell them. Maybe I can find the ones I know and cut and paste the Russian. Even though I don't know many words, I can say hello at any rate... Привет.

Tonight's painting is similar to "Raindrop" and I've continued with the nature theme in the title. I've called it "Tornado" because of the shape and the colour. Apparently the sky can turn green before a big storm. Chris suggested doing a series and I'm thinking about it. Some feedback would be great to see if people like them enough to paint more like them. So... maybe let me know?

I didn't get around to finishing up one of the paintings for while we're away... so I think I'm going to have my work cut out for me this week. We've got to do the rest of our trip preparation... mostly ready to go, but you know there are always last minute things that we forget about. Here's hoping I've got my ducks in a row! For now... off to sleep. Chris will be up bright and early for another stint on the picket line so I should turn off the light and let him sleep. Good night everyone... and one of my favourite Russian phrases, because it just sounds nice and is fun to say, До свидания!

Start of a New Week

I really like Saturdays for a few reasons. One, my husband is home and we get to have fun as a family all day long. Two, I start a new week of paintings... and hopefully I have a good idea or two. Three, we are often quite productive.

Today was a good Saturday. We were going to go to a friend's yard sale as they are moving again. They came here from Germany about a year ago, and are now off to Sweden. I think it's sometimes hard to see the silver lining when big changes come and they're not of your choosing, but if you can find the good in the adventure then it can be very rewarding. I think they are going to make friends and have a good time there. It'll be hard at first, but they are such nice, warm, caring people I think they'll make friends anywhere life takes them. Anyway... we were going to their yard sale and so decided to hit a few others on the way. We found some great stuff for cheap and packed our car so full Chris had to walk home carrying a shelf. We did have our largest stroller in the car, so it's not like we bought an insane amount of stuff. :) I did have an unfortunate incident with our roof rack. I was putting my daughter in her car seat when I stood up and turned a bit to check on my son. Smash. My poor nose went right into the roof rack. I saw white, doubled over in tears and it took a few minutes for me to pull it together. I felt like it must be bleeding... it wasn't. It still hurts at 11pm and I did it mid-morning! Well, at least now, if I wasn't before, I'm very aware of exactly where the roof rack is! This afternoon the kids had a short nap (should have been longer, but what can you do?). Then we went to a potluck going away party for the same friends. That was quite a lot of fun... even though we didn't know many of the people there. We had to get going earlier than we would have liked as the wee girl was fading fast and tired baby is no fun in a crowded space. Both kids dropped off to sleep quite fast once they were in bed. Oh my gosh... almost forgot the toilet! This makes sense I promise. Our friend Josh brought by a toilet that he had replaced in his place so that we could use it in our bathroom. Our old toilet had a big crack/hole in the bowl. It didn't leak or anything, but it was ugly and we probably should have replaced it by now. However... So, he came by and did the switch with Chris watching his every move for pointers. It did leak a little later on, but Chris, feeling confident in his handyman abilities, did some magic and now it doesn't leak. The super nice part of this is that Josh was willing to come back and try to fix it. So nice of him!

I don't know how we got so lucky in life... but we really truly are.

So, tonight's attempt to pay it forward... I did a little water creature, kind of like a goblin/fairy thingy coming up out of the water. That's not the best description... especially since every attempt at the water was a fail. Not an epic fail, but a fail nonetheless. So, it's pretty plain in the background and I focused on trying to contour the face and hands. I like it... I called it "Trapped". It's a 5x5 canvas.

So... Chris is off to join the picket line in the morning... won't be cooking him his Father's Day breakfast... but will maybe plan a little something else for him for when he gets home. Will see what kind of mood the kids are in. :) Happy Father's Day to my wonderful husband, to my amazing Dad, and to all the dads out there in the world.

24 Weeks of Painting!

Oh I am so late tonight... um, I mean this morning... yeah oops. We had guests over this evening and had a wonderful time, so I was a little late starting to edit the pictures and do this post. Then I had to peek at some of the pictures we took of the kids today. Sigh... love love love. :)

Anyway... tonight's painting is called "Umbrella Tree" and it's a 5x7 board. I won't get into a lot of chat tonight because, believe me it's bedtime. Here are the pictures and their links. :)

Oh, just a reminder... taking suggestions for June 14th's painting. :)

June 11 - Dusk

June 12 - Uranus

June 13 - ...No Evil

June 14 - Untitled... make a suggestion!

June 15 - Raindrop

June 16 - Monarch

June 17 - Umbrella Tree

Clean Up vs Riots

Something good to say about the people of Vancouver who did not behave atrociously after the Stanley Cup game. Congratulations to Boston... I didn't watch the game, not a hockey fan per se, but the decent thing to do is to congratulate a winner and not be a sore loser. So... I'm sure you guys played well. I know my neighbour is a fan... we've been looking at Bruins stuff in his windows for awhile now. :) Anyway here's the Positive News Story. 

Tonight's painting is for my sister-in-law Alexis who has been a great supporter throughout this project... and life in general really! She's a new mom this year as well so every now and then we get to have a good long chat about our kiddies. :) Anyway, it was her birthday on Monday (the day Chris went to the hospital) and I totally forgot about my intention to (finally) paint some butterflies. This is inexcusable. ;) Now... keep in mind, I am not good at butterflies. Not even a little! I did my best though... I did an orange/yellow background and some cutaway butterflies that I then painted in the cut parts with black. I liked it better in my head... but it's ok on canvas too. I think. I hope she likes it... and if not I will keep trying over the year to paint some decent butterflies. I just don't do symmetry very well! Anyway... happy birthday Alexis!

In other, general news, we had a lovely playdate this morning with some good friends who are unfortunately moving soon. Our loss, Sweden's gain. Maybe someday we can visit. Who wouldn't want to go to the birthplace of Pippi Longstocking and IKEA? I'd like to check out some Northern Lights as well. :) And later this evening I finally got my hair cut. I did it quite short three months ago and haven't cut it since... so overdue. Going to a wedding so I figured I'd better attempt to be presentable! So, all in all, a pretty good day. The family is still sick, but in good spirits. I don't know where I get my immunity from (knock on wood) but I'm grateful for it! Have a great night everyone!!

I Love the Rain

No, really, I do. I like the way it smells, I like the sound of it at night on the windows, I have a fond memory of chatting with Chris in a van and suddenly stopping just to listen to the rain, and I especially love that you do not have to shovel it. Now, with that said... 51 out of the last 57 days is a little too much rain, even for me.

Tonight's painting is a 5x5 stretched canvas called "Raindrop". It's black and white (and gray) and is sort of like the concentric circles you'd see from a raindrop hitting a puddle or a body of water. I am really quite pleased with it and I hope you all will be too.

Other updates: Chris is feeling better today too... and probably would go to work tomorrow if the company would let him. Ugh. Conflict of interest: The government crafting back-to-work legislation for a crown corporation. Somehow I don't see impartiality or fairness working in here. Here's hoping. My suggestion, fine, legislate back-to-work action... but in the form of ending the lockout and the strikes, reinstating benefits (ex. sick days) so that no one else goes through what Chris did, continuing negotiations between CPC and CUPW until at least the end of the month, and if no agreement can be reached, sending the negotiations to a truly impartial arbitrator. That... I think, would be fair.

Breathing Easier

First, a quick Chris update... he is doing much better today. He slept from about 4:30pm yesterday until 7am this morning... with a quick break for some food. So, combine a huge amount of sleep with no work in the rain today, and me nagging him to sit down and rest and drink so much water he referred to himself as a water balloon, he is feeling a bit better. No more scary pressure in his chest anyway so that's a plus.

Second... oh the rain... so much rain! Our car has a roof rack on it right now in preparation for our trip... but it leaks water into the passenger side of the car. Not good! I went out with garbage bags tonight to put over the already soaked seats. Here's hoping it helps a little... and that we don't see a drop of rain for those two weeks!

Otherwise, I think the rain will help the gardens. Come on veggies, start growing!

Tonight I painted a swirly sort of painting on an 8x10. I haven't thought of a name for it yet, so maybe I'll try something new... I'm going to post the pictures, and I'm going to see if anyone suggests a name for it. That could be fun... interactive if nothing else. :)

Thank you very sincerely to the viewers in Canada, the United States and Germany. Thank you for sticking with me here... I appreciate the continued support. I know it is a bit hard to maintain year-long interest... but we're certainly going to try! I think I might also try to set up a local sale in August. Just to see what happens. :)

Ok... I'm off to bed. Good night!!

Drama, Emotions & the ER

I want to start this out with: Chris is ok. He is sick... got an infection... but he is ok. Now I breathe a huge sigh of relief.

Today was not a particularly fun day... Chris has been sick for about a week and a half. Started with a cold, and over the weekend ended up with tummy troubles. Unfortunately, with the strike, he doesn't get paid for sick leave... so he's been going to work sick and subsequently not getting any better. Well, today it kind of peaked... he was feeling terrible again this morning but felt we couldn't afford to lose a day's pay so went in anyway... I spoke with him in the morning and he was "feeling pretty bad, but ok to work" and so it went. Around lunchtime the posties were having a meeting so thankfully he was in lots of company. He started feeling really awful and had a bunch of symptoms that were in common with a heart attack. He's a young, healthy, strong guy so it probably wasn't anything to do with his heart (and wasn't as it turned out) but there was enough worry that an ambulance was called and he did eventually go with the paramedics to the ER. One of his co-workers and a supervisor called me at home to let me know. Well wasn't that just a joy. I, of course, freaked out... and quickly made arrangements to join him at the hospital. Remember we have two small kids, one of whom was still asleep from her morning nap... the other should have been heading off for quiet time. So... I called my wonderful and awesome neighbour who immediately dropped everything and came over. Helped to calm me down a bit and did a fantastic job juggling my kids (my little girl was so not happy to wake up and find Mommy missing!). Then I called my friend Nikki who has never ever let me down. She also paused her life (apparently we had good timing because her son had just finished lunch) and they came to pick me up and drive me into Halifax. She stayed outside in the car until I let her know I was staying. So, stayed with Chris in the ER for a few hours while a bunch of tests were run and we were let out. Chris is not supposed to work for the rest of the week and must get rest. It's ironic because just this morning I was nagging him (my wifely duty) to go see a doctor today since it's a bit nuts how awful he was feeling and how long it was lasting. He had agreed. Guess it was that time after all! Anyway... bottom line, yes he is definitely sick and should be resting up. Better to go get things checked out and find out it's not a "heart event" after all. We have the best friends and the cookies I baked tonight to say thanks don't ever measure up to the gratitude I feel for the support and help those two amazing ladies sent my way today. Without hesitation.

How many of us have those people? How many of us can honestly say we are those people? There's a lyric in a Bruno Mars song "Count on Me" that says we "Find out what we're made of, When we are called to help our friends in need". I hope I am that person. Life is hard... but it's a little easier when we have a friend.

Anyway... that was my day in a nutshell... tonight I asked my son what I should paint and he said lots of Frogbots. So... I did a spin on the See No Evil etc monkeys with three Frogbots and called it "...No Evil". I think it's rather cute. :) It was nice to do something lighthearted at the end of the day. Oh, and I delivered a tub of cookies to my neighbours. Chocolate chip cookies (from scratch) are my thank you currency of choice. That and hoping that they know I'd do the same for them.

Well, it's late (again) and I'm going to collapse into bed. I won't even elbow Chris to make him stop snoring... because, well, that'd be mean. Maybe just a gentle nudge. ;) Good night everyone... look on the bright side of life, thank your friends, be a friend, and the world will be a better place.

Planets without Pluto?

I haven't yet decided if I'm going to include Pluto in my planet series. As I grew up there were 9 planets in our solar system. It was quite a shock to find out poor Pluto was demoted. I was rather fond of the little underdog so far from the sun. On the flip side... I haven't got any idea how to visually represent it without painting a wee tiny dot. So... perhaps I'll let it slide and go with the 8 scientifically designated 'planets'. "Uranus" was tonight's painting.

I also kept up with my planning ahead project and started three 3x5 boards with a wedding theme. Since we'll be traveling to go to a wedding it seemed appropriate. :) Hopefully they turn out!

Anyway... it's wonderful to see Germany back on the map... Guten Tag!! We're going to miss our German friends when they move to Sweden. You guys are great and it's a shame you're leaving. We'll stay in touch though. :)

Ok, I'm off to bed... but will make a detour to try to wash some paint off my sweatshirt. Oops. Good night!

Where Did Everybody Go?

Just last week the world map was all patchwork quilt-like with green lighting up the countries where this blog was viewed. Now... we're pretty much down to Canada and the US. Not that I'm complaining about those two countries... believe me I'm very grateful... just wondering where the sudden decline in international views came from. Any ideas?

Tonight was another productive night... I painted the rest of the one I started last night and called it "Dusk". It's got an out of focus background with a branch and flower foreground. Sort of like macro photography. Anyway... I think it's cute and delicate. Then, I did a  planet painting... "Uranus". That one will be saved for later. I'm trying to get a little ahead of myself since there will be two weeks where I will be unable to paint. If anyone would like to volunteer to contribute a painting for the project I'd be thrilled to hear from you! Also, I was asked today how to go about calling dibs on a painting. You can reach me for any reason, feedback, donation, reservations etc at my email address: jcope18@yahoo.com  I'm always happy to hear from people!

I'm going to keep it short since I've been three nights with next to no sleep and I'm off to day two of a first aid/CPR course tomorrow. Must not fall asleep! Hope you all have a lovely evening and remainder of the weekend. Here's hoping for no rain! Good night!!

23 Weeks... Almost Half Way!

I finally made it out to buy some more 8x10 canvasses... so tonight I painted "Mercury" as part of my ongoing planet series. I must admit, the photo doesn't look quite right... and the paint was still quite wet, so take that into consideration. :)

Today was a pretty good day... haven't been sleeping as well the past few nights so this morning I was a little irritable... but as the day progressed, and a visit from a friend, things got better. I went to the gym while the kids were napping... had a really great workout there... and then we all went out this afternoon. I took my girl to pick up canvasses and the boys went to the park.Came home to some leftover veggie chili (still tasty the second night) and did the whole bedtime routine. Sadly our friends couldn't make it tonight after all, but the silver lining to that is I got a chance to paint a fair bit. I finished the painting I started last night (for while we're away), did the Mercury painting, and prepped another one for while we're gone. Feeling pretty productive all together. :)

Anyway... here are the week's photos... hope you enjoy. I'm particularly proud of June 9th. :)

June 4 - Venus

June 5 - Neptune

June 6 - Earth

June 7 - Mars

June 8 - Carnival

June 9 - Grand Lake

June 10 - Mercury

Very Productive Night

Phew! I had a very productive painting evening. I did skip my trip to the gym... but I think it was worth it. :)

First, I fixed up my second painting from last night (the one for while we're away). I like it a lot better now! Second, I painted a landscape scene inspired by a photo in a real estate magazine... it's supposed to be Grand Lake, NS. So, it's called "Grand Lake". Third, I started a painting that will also be for while we're away. It's a pair of roses... I didn't get too far in it, but it was getting late so I decided to stop when the stopping was good.

I did pick up some canvasses today... but not the 8x10s I was looking for. I have an idea where to get some tomorrow... if I plan the day properly. I could take the kids and go by bus, but it's a bit of a pain. We'll just have to play it by ear and do the best we can. :)

In other news... my son is on the mend... and may have had a sleepwalking episode this afternoon. He was found in his closet whimpering by Chris... but my son says he doesn't remember being in the closet. Chris had picked him up and carried him downstairs. My little girl is still sick... and teething... but was very affectionate today (in between bouts of unhappiness due to those pesky teeth). I think Chris is on the mend as well... and likely won't be on strike tomorrow either. Strangely Halifax hasn't gone on strike yet... it came as far East as Moncton and then went West again. Who knows... I just hope it all gets worked out soon.

Ok... off to bed for me! Good night!

Oops... Poor Planning!

Well, I did not do a planet painting today because I ran out of 8x10 canvasses! I had thought to do all eight on 8x10s for uniformity. I guess I'll have to go shopping tomorrow! (oh darn) :)

I didn't have any great ideas tonight, sadly... it was a long day and by the time I got started I really just didn't know what to paint. It was a night where I started with a colour and just sort of went with whatever popped into my head. I ended up with two 5x7 boards... both with a blue background. Tonight's painting I called "Carnival" although it also made me think of Aztec sort of designs... that is probably not even remotely accurate, but I was watching a movie that had a bunch of scenes in Central Mexico. Anyway... I also did a painting with daisies... but I really don't like it so far. I think if I add to it and try some more stuff tomorrow I might change my mind. It's one of the ones for when we're away... so I don't feel bad about not finishing it yet.

I'm not sure if I'm running out of ideas, or if I'm just starting too late in the day... but I haven't been overly happy about how some of these paintings are turning out. I think I need a spark of something... I'm not sure. It could just be because the family is under the weather and it's a little stressful thinking of all the tasks and changes that are coming up. I'm sure to many our worries are small and petty... but it's hard to feel that way when you're in the middle of the worry. Later, yes, they don't seem quite so monumental. That lovely hindsight again! Anyway... here's hoping tomorrow brings some fresh ideas... and new canvasses! Good night. :)

The Red Planet

Tonight's painting, "Mars" sort of reminds me of a tomato. I used the gel medium and five different shades of red to get some longer lasting texture. I then decided to add a little polar ice cap. After I finished that I kind of thought it looked like a tomato with a white stem thing. Ah well... guess it could go either way! Whatever strikes your fancy. That's one nice thing about abstract... it can be all sorts of different things to different people... or change depending on your mood.

I was struck with a memory of high school earlier today. Not a time period I tend to dwell on (as it goes for many people I'm sure)... but our grade 12 art class did self-portraits for one of the main units. I did mine sort of realistically, but yet not. Some people went for hyper realism.... and the really talented ones (two girls I really remember, Kate and Bonnie) had paintings that I swear I thought were enlarged photographs they were that real. Others went for abstract/surreal/etc... it was a very cool project. I still have my self-portrait... not that I'd probably show it to anyone. It's a project that has the potential to make one very uncomfortable. I remember feeling very awkward and self-conscious trying to paint myself. Some parts I think I got right, others, well, not so much. Maybe sometime this year I'll give it another go... maybe not. I'd have to buy that one and stash it with the high school attempt! Can't say I really like photos of me much either. I'm usually the one holding the camera! Anyway... part of the memory made me wonder whatever happened to the other people in my art class... the ones who went on to OCAD or other art schools... sometimes I randomly google a name I remember. Just to see.

Well, that's my ramble for the evening... thanks to the loyal few who keep peeking at my musings. It's always nice to see that someone other than me has popped by. :) What can I say? I'm easy to please. Good night!

3rd Rock From The Sun

I probably shouldn't admit this... as it makes me look a bit clueless... but it was a fair bit of time before I figured out the joke of the reference on the tv show. Yup... Earth is the third planet from the sun. Hoo boy.

Earth is also the title and subject of tonight's painting... although I think I have to agree with Chris that my Neptune painting was a bit more Earth like... ah well... Tonight's started well, and then ended up more green than blue (obviously not a good comparison with our lovely planet). Then I started to cut away some of the green/white to show the blue underneath. Since I've done more of a macro approach to the other planets I figured this could represent a land mass that happened to have lots of water/rivers on it. Why not?

Trying to get a good night's sleep tonight as every other member of my family has come down with a head cold. My poor boy just got over an ear infection and then a stomach bug, and now he has a cold? So not fair. On the other hand, life's not fair. My daughter is teething (she has two at last!) so she's not been to happy or comfy, and poor Chris is in the middle of the strike/negotiation business and so won't get paid if he takes sick time. Triple sucky. Me... well, I'm just baffled as to why I'm not sick. Guess I have that Mommy Immunity. :) Someone's got to take care of everyone, eh? Off to bed with me... have a good night!

Someone in Italy is Reading!

Awesome!! I love Italy. Literally... I would so go back there in a heartbeat! Chris and I went for our first anniversary (before kids, ie when we had some money!). We did the bus tour thing and spent two fabulous weeks traveling around Italy. Hmm... maybe I should use some of my photos from the trip for some paintings. I took 44 rolls of film (some 36ers) when we were there. Spent more developing the film than I did for my camera! So worth it though. :)

Anyway... thanks for visiting and I hope you come again (often).

Tonight's painting is called "Neptune". It's the first one of my planets that Chris didn't guess correctly on the first try. He thought it was Earth... after looking at it again I can see why he might think that... but I was shooting for Neptune so that's what I called it. :) Actually it reminds me of my turntable paintings a bit... but I did it free hand.

Quick family update... my daughter has two teeth now and is very uncomfortable... poor girl. It's a good thing we don't remember that stuff later on... My son is feeling better today so that's good. Hoping for a full recovery by tomorrow! Keep your fingers crossed. :) Oh, and finally, Chris is not on strike yet (he's a letter carrier with Canada Post) and we're really hoping things get resolved before the strikes hit Halifax. Whatever your opinion on strikes or unions or big corporations, I can tell you that Chris works very hard and really cares about the people he delivers to. He, and many posties like him, are really good people and deserve fairness and an open mind. Just saying.

Ok... well, that's it for me for now... off to bed... before 11! :) Good night world!

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

Today is my little girl's first birthday! Part of me cannot believe a whole year has gone by, and another part only dimly remembers the early days of her life. I think I'll chalk that up to exhaustion! I spent a bit of time today looking through old pictures and all day I was checking the clock and thinking about where I was and what we were doing at that time last year. It's just amazing how much of an impact a teeny tiny little human can make. I'm so full of love for my family and I really do believe I'm one of the most lucky people on Earth.

Tonight I continued with my planets and painted "Venus". It's another 8x10 and is supposed to make you think of clouds and gasses swirling about. Well, that's what I was going for anyway. :)

It's too bad that the pictures don't quite capture the paintings as well as I'd like. It's pretty hard to get a good shot... so, apologies for the less than stellar camera work. If you could see them in person you'd probably like some better... or maybe not... art is so subjective. Anyway... I know I like some paintings a whole lot more when I'm not looking at them through a lens so I figure I'm probably not alone.

This time last  year I think I was probably feeding an infant... probably a rather unhappy one. She did just get evicted from her swimming pool after all. She's a beautiful, wonderful, very loved little girl. And she's One!

Have a great evening... and if you have kids of any age, love them more than all the stars in the sky!

Week 22 - Pictures & Fun

Hello again! It's Friday... so aside from all that lovely weekend business... it's Picture Day!! Good news all 'round. :)

Tonight I continued my planet series with "Saturn"... all icy goodness. See picture below. :)

I'm going to keep this very short as tomorrow is my little girl's first birthday and I'm exhausted from cleaning and tidying and all that stuff that goes with having company. Sadly none of the family are able to make it, but I'm hoping a friend or two (with small kids) will be able to pop in. If not... she's turning one and so won't likely know what's going on anyway. The tissue paper will probably be the highlight. :)

So... on to the pictures... hope you like them!

May 28 - Little Kitty

May 29 - Ink

May 30 - What a Hoot

May 31 - Jealousy

June 1 - Plotting

June 2 - Jupiter

June 3 - Saturn

New Series Idea

I'm going to try to do a planet series. I started with tonight's painting which I called "Jupiter". It's an 8x10 stretched canvas and I think it reminds me of the colours of Jupiter. It's not a sphere... just sort of a sample of it. Oh, it's so hard to try to explain what these paintings look like. I know you'll see it tomorrow so I'm not to stressed about it. Hopefully you agree with me, but if not you can always enjoy it for whatever it makes you think of. Chris said it made him think of sunsets, or fruit, or something warm and tropical. When I said Jupiter he was with me on that one too... so at least I'm not way out on left field or anything.

Why do they call it that anyway? Way out on left field? Hmm... I'm sure there's a reason. I had another one of those weird thoughts this afternoon and I've gone and forgotten what it was. You know the kind... the ones that are completely random, hit you and make you go "hmmm... why is that?" and then later you sit and try to remember what it was and why it seemed so amusing/interesting/profound. Well, anyway.

Just a short post tonight... ironically, I finished my painting this afternoon and I'm somehow still awake and blogging at 11pm. Sigh. I think I need a keeper or something. Someone to make me go to bed on time! Ah well... live and learn. Good night!! Oh, and don't forget that pics go up tomorrow. :)

Starting Month Six

Hoo boy... what a day! It started with me coming downstairs with my kids and finding my missing gnomes on my kitchen counter. Chris found them on the doorstep this morning as he was heading off to work. He brought them in and left me a note (so I wouldn't think someone had broken in). Wow! I had pretty much given up hope of having them returned... but there they were! So... I figure, boo to the stealing of them, but thanks for bringing them back! I immediately posted a big thank you sign in my living room window. I had previously put up a missing sign there, so I figured I'd post a thank you so whoever returned them can see how grateful I am. So, from there we had a good but quick breakfast and headed out to preschool. Dropped my son off, and us girls headed out to do some fun errands. I bought my daughter a couple of birthday presents (inexpensive ones mind you) and then we all went to meet Chris for lunch. He was finished his work for the day (yay early day!) so we all got to go home. My daughter had an excellent nap, my son was at least cheerful even though he was tired but didn't sleep, and then we headed back out to hunt for a car seat. Sadly we had terrible service at Sears and did not find a car seat, but we had a good time together anyway. Home to play outside a bit, chat with some neighbours, and then inside for supper. My son even ate it all! Popped the kids in bed and I went off for a walk with my friend and neighbour. Then of course, more painting!

Which brings us to the painting for tonight... sorry for the long ramble, but it was a good day and I figured I'd document it so the next time I have a less than perfect day I can read about this one and have good memories. :) Tonight's painting is another goblin. It's on a 5x7 stretched canvas and has a full-body pose. I called it "Plotting" because he kind of looks like he's up to no good (probably) and/or celebrating (anticipation?). I'm pleased with it. Hope you guys will enjoy it too. Lots of bright colours too.

Oh, and the blog views are up to 3291 so I'm hopeful that we'll hit 3300 by tomorrow. :) Very exciting to see where everyone is reading. Thanks to everyone for their continued support in this project. It is so wonderful to see that this blog is being read. Makes me happy!

That's probably enough out of me for tonight... really must get to bed before eleven at least once in awhile! Good night everyone!