Packing

I'm taking a short break...... I've started making long lists and collecting things that need to go into the suitcase.

Yep.... there are piles of clothes all over the place, and I'm busy doing laundry, clearing out the food in the fridge, changing money, making phone calls, arranging a ride to the airport.
I'll be in England for a week, then Scotland for 12 days with the Men of Note Concert Tour.  I'm definitely not singing, I'm just a hanger on.
I bought a new rain jacket as it always rains in Scotland, but the weather forecast for the area in England where I'll be is HOT! I hope it's not too hot, I wilt in the heat.

Mrs Henny Penny

Here's Mrs Henny Penny and her 3 chicks....

.... created from wire, aluminum foil, masking tape, paper, glue, gesso, paint and googly eyes from the dollar store! All sitting on an egg-shaped field of daisies.

Painting en Plein Air

Yesterday I joined some of my painting group and we went into the green Ontario countryside, armed with chairs, easels, water bottles, paints and canvases to do some outdoor painting, something I'd never tried before.
We went to a secluded spot which used to be farmland before the Federal Government took it over to build an airport that never happened (and I hope it never will, long story!). The trees have grown tall in the past 30 years, and the land is overgrown.
I set up my chair and easel in the shade, put on my big floppy sunhat, and stated to sketch, and then paint. Our instructor said only use 6 colours (a warm blue, red and yellow, and a cool blue, red and yellow) and white.
It wasn't easy, so much detail, so many shades of green, so many trees to choose from, how to fit those huge trees into a small canvas. And then there are the bugs, mosquitoes, ants, the breeze, the sun drying the paints, the moving shadows, so different from painting indoors.
But the sunshine, the clouds, the birdsong all combined to make it a fun experience. I'd do it again. Here's my basic painting.... lots more to do on it.

On the Roof

When I first moved here, the cable TV from the previous occupants was still hooked up and working, so I continued to use it for over a year until the cable company came knocking on my door and disconnected it. Spoilsports!
So I decided that cable TV was far too expensive to pay for all those channels showing TV programmes that I don't want to watch, so up went the antenna on the roof.

It's connected through my TiVo, and I  have a choice of about 25 channels.... most of which I never turn on, they are either religious, or in a different language, or ancient American TV shows that I'm not interested in.
CBC, CTV, PBS and TVO provide everything that I want to watch.
I share Netflix with OlderSon.
And I can follow the sadly dwindling fortunes of the BlueJays on MLB.TV via Chromecast.
So I have lots to entertain me.

Next was the internet.... which I can get through a private internet provider for less than half price of my previous monthly bill. Then it was time to get rid of the land phone line and sign up for VOIP internet phone..... after an initial outlay of money to get started, just top up the account two or three times a year. Definitely a lot cheaper than any of the major phone companies.

I've been successfully using these innovative systems for 3 or 4 years now. It all works just fine! Thank goodness for YoungerSon who has helped me connect all this technical stuff, I would have never been able to negotiate through this minefield by myself.