The Week Leading Up to Christmas

…the furnace broke down, two more COVID tests, my nephew’s quarantine ended, a drive by gift exchange, preparing plates of goodies for the neighbours

I was pretty much absent for the the last couple of weeks. In the week before Christmas there were a lot preparations for our non traditional Christmas celebration and during Christmas there were Zoom calls, phone calls, dinner preparations for two of us and just taking it easy.

The Friday before Christmas our furnace decided to break down and all of a sudden we had no heat on the main floor and in the basement where my nephew was staying. The repair man came that same night when we discovered our problem but it just so happened that the part that was broken was not in stock and they weren’t able to get the part until Monday. So for three days we were bundled in extra sweater and blankets. We did have one working space heater and that did help somewhat.

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A good friend of ours has not been feeling well for awhile and because she is on her own our daughter who lives close by went over a couple of times to make sure she was alright. Unfortunately, her doctor suggested that she might have COVID so our daughter went and had the test to make sure that she wasn’t infected. Thank goodness it came back negative. Then our nephew who was quarantining in our basement didn’t feel well and he went for a COVID test. Again the test came back negative and he left to visit his mother on the farm near Chatham.

On Monday the furnace was repaired and I ran around getting last minute items for stockings and the gift platters that I prepared for the neighbours. The next two days are a blur. I filled the stockings, made soup and our granddaughter made art. Even though no one was coming inside the house I spent a lot of time tidying the place up.

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When Christmas Eve finally arrived we were ready. It was the first time in my life that I wasn’t wrapping gifts right up to the last minute. It actually felt great.

….to be continued.

More Seasonal Drawings for W&S

….“can’t let down my fans”

After seeing yesterday’s Monster Monday drawings our 5 year old granddaughter requested a painting of Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer and our daughter-in-law in London requested a painting for her daughter’s room.

Kevin wasted no time and on top of the snowman that he painted earlier he whipped up a Rudolph painting. He’s a little angry looking but I think he’s had enough of COVID as well. This morning the commissioned monster painting was done, sized to fit in an 8 x 10 frame. Not sure if that one is ready for publication but as soon as I get the green light I will post it.

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Intuitive Painting

….working small

I’m in love with intuitive painting. I never quite know where I’m going when I start but the process is very meditative. As I get into the painting I see some themes pop up and I go there but try to stay loose. I still need to work on that.

I’ve always wanted to paint gifts for friends but have lacked self confidence or run out of time or both. This year I made the time and dove in. I started with just laying down marks and then randomly layered colour all over the board. Once the first layer dried I layered another random selection of colour over the first and usually in opposite temperatures, i.e. cool vs warm colours.

Here are some examples of how the process starts.

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When I start into the final layer I tend to go to floral or landscape themes. After I’ve laid down the main shapes I start to add marks for interest.

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These are all 8 x 8 on wooden panels. Here are some close-up of the same work.

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Going Back to My Roots

….hair roots that is

Just before we went into lockdown back in March of this year I had highlights done in my hair and I got it cut. My colourist and I agreed that my natural colour was returning to the colour I had as a very young child and that I should let that natural colour come back. Now nine and a half months later I haven’t put a drop of colour in my hair and I’ve only had it cut once back at the end of August.

Many people think I still colour my hair, including some members of my family but my hair has grown at least six inches since March and there are no signs of dark roots at the front of my head. My hair is definitely darker underneath but then it always has been. In fact before I started colouring my hair in my forties my natural colour changed all the time. It always lightened in the summer and with each pregnancy my colour changed. The only reason that I started to colour my hair was because as the grey started to come in it looked mousy.

A lot of my friends are letting their grey hair come in. I never in a million years thought my hair would go back to being a white blonde but here it is……

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