Ice . Ice . Baby

Lots of neighbourhood tree damage from the layers of ice, but all OK here. March is going out like a lion this year.... the same way he came in.

Up North

Would you like to live in this little house? The neighborhood looks a bit bleak, probably a long trek to the nearest grocery store for supplies. But lots of fresh air!

Imaginary landscape created from painted papers (yes, I have bins and bins of assorted bits of coloured paper, no piece is too small to keep) and little houses cut from an Arctic Adventure Cruise holiday book that arrives in the mail every year.  The cruises look like loads of fun but are far too expensive for me, and as the cruise company is kind enough to send the brochure, I make use of their nice illustrations. Waste not, want not.

Syrupy Sweet

It's been syrup making time at Younger Son's house country estate, with lots of help from the rest of the family.  Not maple syrup.... it's walnut syrup!   The driveway is lined with mature black walnut trees, so a full tap line was set up back in January with 48 taps, ready for the spring sap run.  It takes 40 litres of sap to boil down to 1 litre of syrup. The home made wood fired evaporator got lots of use!

20 litres of finished walnut syrup this year, I'm hoping one of those jars might have my name on it! 

Older Son also taps his trees in the spring, but his trees are sugar maples, and only 4 or 5 trees, so not so much syrup but enough for a pancake feast.

Congratulations, lots of hard work to do this, a job well done!

School's Out

 One more from the Altered Board Book.

There's always an individual who insists on swimming against the current, isn't there? I'm sure we all know someone like that.

Image created using acrylic paint, potato bag string, home made stencils printed on rice paper using the gelli plate, Japanese washi origami paper, and Goldfish Crackers ad from a magazine.

Mega Mansion

I pass this enormous building site every Thursday as I drive to my artist group meetings.... the house gets bigger and uglier and more ostentatious each week. Domes and turrets and what-not. I think this is just a single dwelling and it's hidden away on a narrow country road. But I suppose it won't be a narrow country road forever, the city is encroaching.

I can't hazard a guess as to the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and there's probably an indoor swimming pool in there somewhere. Would you like to live in a house like this?

Listen to the Music

Open House and a free concert at the Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra. All the familiar orchestral hit parade pieces.... Beethoven's Fifth, excerpts from Swan Lake, some Strauss waltzes, Pomp and Circumstance of course, Offenbach's "Can-Can", lots of foot tapping themes.  Finishing up with a rousing chorus of "O Canada", Elbows Up!

As well as the familiar classical music, North Atlantic Drift played some Celtic selections. Dan Macdonald on fiddle, Brian Taheny on guitar and banjo, Ross Griffiths on Uilleann pipes. The concert hall was full, I was there with Older Son and 17 year old grandson.

It was a Petting Zoo for instruments! Grandson tried out the drum kit, I investigated lots of different percussion rhythm instruments, and we both had a go on the trombone, it sounded pretty awful! I'm sure the trombone player's ears were hurting. There were lots of instruments to try; violin, cello, clarinet, trumpet, oboe, French horn.  This all took place at the Chinese Canadian Cultural Centre so some Chinese instruments were available too.

An enjoyable afternoon. Thank you CBSO.

My Furry Neighbour

Meet Billy the Squilly... sunning himself on my deck railings on one of the first above freezing sunny mornings for a long time. He's enjoying the warmth of the sun through his furry coat and through the wooden railing.

The cheeky chap's hoping for a yummy handout, better luck next time, Billy, nothing to spare today.

Traffic Jam

 Another one from the Altered Board Book.

A map of.... where? Looks like a busy place with all those vehicles heading across town.  Streets printed on rice paper using string from paper potato bags. The cars were cut from the CAA magazine that comes in my mailbox. Sort of like the AAA but further north.  

Creatures of the Forest

 Another page from the Altered Board Book.

Beware the wild creatures of the deep dark forest. The noble stags arrived from Scotland on a paper napkin from a Rabbie Burns dinner, and the Swedish Dala Horse was lurking on a sheet of Japanese tissue paper.

And now they are living together in a forest of Canadian maple leaves printed on Chinese rice paper. Quite international.

Wind Sculpture

The snow was snowing...
The wind was blowing...
And in the morning
Sunshine was showing.

(I'll never win the Nobel Prize for Poetry!)

Tea for Two?

 Another image from the Altered Board Book.  

My collection of fancy paper napkins is far too large, but so useful when looking for images to use. The zebras and the lizards are napkin animals released from their paper jungle.... did you know that all paper napkins (or serviettes if you prefer) consist of three layers of very thin paper that have to be separated before using the image in a collage?

I'm not sure where the teapot came from, but the background is a print of maple leaves on rice paper.  The zebras look quite puzzled, they are wondering where the teapot came from too.

Snowfall

 Around 40cm of white fluffy snow arrived from the sky between Saturday and Sunday... that's just about 16" deep.  And that was added to more snow that fell earlier in the week, the total being more like 63cm. Definitely a Winter Wonderland.... but not everyone appreciates it. Driving was horrible, nobody slows down to accommodate the weather conditions, and there were loads of fender benders and cars getting stuck in the snow.  Toronto police issued 2,393 tickets to vehicles parked on snow routes.

I was visiting Younger Son and family for a couple of days, so I just stayed where I was for an extra night and avoided the chaos, driving home on relatively clear highways in the morning.

The big arse snowblower!

There's a car under there somewhere.

The deck behind my house when I got home.

Bloomin'

 I'd like to introduce Phyllis the Amaryllis.

She came to live with me back in December when she was just a dried up bulb in a box er.... I mean cute fat little baby with lots of growth potential. 

Liberal applications of encouraging words, TLC and H2O and look what happened.

Phyllis certainly warms up a cold snowy day with her bright smile. And it's Saint Valentine's Day soon.... the perfect day to wear red, Phyllis's favourite colour.

Scary?

She was a gelli print transfer from a fashion magazine, acrylic on rice paper.  A bargain packet of assorted Japanese origami papers found at the local thrift shop provided the floral arrangement, with some black tissue paper.  

I put my scissors and glue stick to work and this was the result, I never really plan, I just let it happen.

Scary? Possibly. What do you think?

Fantasy Streetscape.

I've heard of a watchdog but this is definitely a watchcat.  

The girl came from a fashion magazine, Vogue or perhaps Elle, and the moggie was advertising cat food.  The streetscape is a page from one of those European River Cruise brochures that mysteriously arrive in the mail, even though I have never actually ordered one.   The sky is gelli print on rice paper. 

Suggestions for a title, anyone?

Flower Power.

Another page from the Altered Baby Board Book. 

Background is acrylic gelli print created with a home made stencil. Flowers were cut from homestyle magazines... Chatelaine and Style At Home.... and the balustrade came from Vogue, minus the model who was leaning on it, somewhere in Paris I think.

Altered Baby Book

 No I didn't alter a Baby, just some Baby Books.

You know the ones I mean... those colourful story books with board pages, about 6 inches (15.25cm) square, meant for little people to enjoy,  almost non-destructible. I like to remove the images (medium sandpaper does a thorough job) and add my own artwork.

So I'll post some of my refangled pages. I use all sorts of media and collage, lino prints, gelli prints, pages from magazines, origami paper, tissue paper, grocery flyers, whatever I can find.

This one uses origami paper, gelli print background, the sun is hand made wrapping paper from India, the lady arrived from a gardening magazine. Anyone got a title for this?

Marmalade Day

Yes, it's Marmalade Day. My last remaining jar of home made marmalade was eaten up well before Christmas so it was time for a new batch, and there's nothing better than home made on toast for breakfast. Commercial marmalade is far too sweet, so I like to make my own.  A little bit sour, with a Zing! that wakes me up in the morning.

8 bitter Seville oranges, 4 Meyer lemons, another sour lemon, and a sweet orange, 2 bags of sugar... chop, slice, soak, boil, stir, cool, and into the jars it goes.

Shredding Frenzy

Th arrival of a new year means getting rid of all the paperwork that is no longer required, like old electric and gas bills and outdated bank statements and grocery receipts. I admit.... this wasn't all shredded in the last couple of days in my frenzied 2025 clean up.... this bag took most of the year to fill. Out it goes on recycling day. I don't accumulate much paper now as most of my household bills arrive on line. However, I've already started on filling the next bag.  I love my shredder!

Train Tracks

Some minor adjustments or perhaps some maintenance required to the mechanism for opening and shutting the train crossing warning lights. Commuter GO trains cross this Main Street many times a day, so traffic safety is a concern. 

Drama in the Sky

 
The morning sky a couple of weeks ago. The whole world outside seemed to glow with a golden light. I dashed out onto the deck with my camera. Within a couple of minutes the sun had risen just a little bit more, the clouds had rearranged themselves, and the sky was grey for the rest of the day.

Morning Light

 
The sky this morning, as I sipped the first cup of coffee of the day. The weather was very cold last week.... -16C at night.... but much milder now. A little bit of snow on the ground, just enough to cover the squirrel superhighway that runs along the top of the fence.

2024 Books

The list of books read during 2024.... as usual Canadian authors shown in RED, British authors in BLUE, American authors in GREEN.

For previous years' reading lists go here:    

2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010. 

That's a lot of books, many of them have been enjoyed twice.... Thank goodness for our local library.

January
Moral Disorder - Margaret Atwood
The Huntress - Kate Quinn

Hotel Silence - Audur Ava Olafsdottir

The Testaments - Margaret Atwood

Forty Autumns - Nina Willner (loved this book)

February

Hag-Seed - Margaret Atwood

The Alice Network - Kate Quinn

Madhouse at the End of the Earth - Julian Sancton (fascinating book, enjoyed it)

Soundings, Journeys in the Company of Whales - Doreen Cunningham

March
Franklin's Lost Ship, The Historic Discovery of HMS Erebus - John Geiger and Alannah Mitchell

Erebus - Michael Palin (very good book)

The Bettencourt Affair - Tom Sancton (DNF, got halfway through)

Breakfasts and Eggs - Mieko Kawakami (DNF, too weird)

The Reckoning - Ken McGoogan

Sir John Franklin's Erebus and Terror Expedition - Gillian Hutchinson

The Magician - Colm Toibin

The Couple Next Door - Shari Lapena (weak, rubbishy)

April

All Our Shimmering Skies - Trent Dalton (Australian author)

The Social Life of Ink - Ted Bishop

May
The Lost Man - Jane Harper

Exiles - Jane Harper

The Postcard - Anne Berest (a great book)

Old God's Time - Sebastian Barry (wow, great book! I started out doubtful but loved it.)

The Van Gogh Sisters - Willem-Jan Verlinden

June
Days Without End - Sebastian Barry

Klara and the Sun - Kazuo Ishiguro

A Thousand Moons - Sebastian Barry

The Mystery of Mrs. Christie - Marie Benedict

The Final Case - David Guterson

July

Paper Cuts - Colin Bateman

The Princess of Las Vegas - Chris Bohjalian

Looking for Jane - Heather Marshall

The Secret Scripture - Sebastian Barry (loved this book)

When We Were Young - Richard Roper

August
Where my Heart used to Beat - Sebastian Faulks

The Other Einstein - Marie Benedict

Sweetland - Michael Crummey (great book)

The Clockmaker's Daughter - Kate Morton

The Truth - Michael Palin

September
The Innocents - Michael Crummey (loved this book)

Children of the Stars - Mario Escobar (DNF, very basic)

The Cactus - Sarah Haywood

The Adversary - Michael Crummey (you can't go wrong with this Newfoundland author)

Above the Ether - Eric Barnes (DNF, too chilling)

Behind You is the Sea - Susan Muaddi Darraj

East of the Mountains - David Guterson (liked this book)

The Wreckage - Michael Crummey

October
Galore - Michael Crummey

Caught - Lisa Moore

The Buried Giant - Kazuo Ishiguro

The Boleyn Inheritance - Philippa Gregory

We'll All be Burnt in our Beds Some Night - Joel Thomas Hynes

November
The Paris Library - Janet Skeslien Charles (DNF)

The Taste of Ginger - Mansi Shah

A Slow Fire Burning - Paula Hawkins

The Last Tudor - Philippa Gregory

December

Everyone who can Forgive me is Dead - Jenny Hollander (Very strange, not a good read)

Lola in the Mirror - Trent Dalton (great book, love all 3 books by this Australian author)

The Virgin's Lover - Philippa Gregory

Sweet Tooth - Ian McEwan