…thanks to Cee for hosting the Fun Foto Challenge
I had lots of photos of yellow and lots of photos of blue but the two colours together proved challenging.
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Yellow and Blue
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Category Archives: About Me
Looking Back to a Warm Autumn Day in Regent’s Park
….another day in London
As the temperatures dip below freezing this week I long for the warm sunny days we had in London, England. On day seven we walked to Ottolenghi’s restaurant on Upper Street and purchased a picnic lunch for the four of us. Then we hopped onto a double decker bus and made our way to Regent’s Park.
Regent’s Park is one of the Royal Parks of London. It lies within north-west London. It is home to Queen Mary’s Gardens and the London Zoo. There are numerous facilities and amenities, including gardens; a lake with a heronry, waterfowl and a boating area; sports pitches; and children’s playgrounds.
One of the highlights for me was Queen Mary’s Gardens. I’ve posted numerous photos of the thousands of roses that have been cultivated her in previous posts. Here are some of the other lovely sites we enjoyed that day.
The park is also home to numerous events. When we were there we had a quick glimpse of the sculpture exhibit.
As you can see we were blessed with beautiful weather that day and every day up to this point of our trip. Unfortunately the next day the skies opened up and our trip to Brighton Beach was cancelled.
Weekly Photo Challenge – Under Cloudy Skies
…thanks to Traveling at Wits End for this week’s photo challenge Under Cloudy Skies
It almost looked like the city was burning but the dark cloud over the waterfront just left a dusting of snow.
Number One of Eight
….the first one is finished
I’m not sure I’ll get all eight done and that isn’t the goal anyway. This one just spoke to me more than the others. I started with the bird, added the music notes and went from there.
Collage Grid #1
….the first assignment from Carla Sonheim’s Year of Collage
After dividing a page in my sketchbook into equal squares I took a handful of small bits of paper from magazines and my own art papers and thoughtfully placed them on the grid. Here is my finished piece.
The second part of this assignment is to take eight pages in my sketch book and glue one medium sized piece of paper on each page. Then we’re so suppose to go back and add some line and/or another piece of paper. We keep doing this to all eight pages until we feel we’re done. It’s okay to skip some pages and come back later. This is proving to be more challenging for me.
One More Christmas Celebration
….just when I thought I was done
I mentioned in one of my recent posts about Christmas that a very good friend of ours who almost always spends Christmas Eve with us couldn’t come over this past year. My daughter arranged for the three of us to get together last week for lunch.
I packed up all the gifts that I had for her, put them in my car and then headed out for Montgomery’s Inn where I volunteered to help put up an art show. I’ve never done a professional exhibit before and I found it exciting helping the artist decide where and how to hang her work. The artist’s name is Sharon McManus and I will probably share more about her work after the official opening this Saturday.
When we finished hanging all the pieces I made my way to Arlene’s place. We met in her condo where she still had up all her Christmas decorations, including her white tree that she’s had since the 60s.
Andrea arrived soon after and we all went down the street to the local Sushi restaurant. We toasted in the New Year with a little saki and warmed our tummies with a bowl of ramen.
When we went back to the condo and Arlene opened her gifts. She loves Henkel Trocken and it’s become a tradition to place a bottle in her Christmas stocking. 
Before we left she made us coffee and we shared a muffin and some cookies. Andrea also taught her how to use her camera on her phone so we played around posing for pictures.
I think this is pretty much the end of our Christmas season, although my niece and her husband celebrated Orthodox Christmas a couple of days ago.
There are still a few remnants of Christmas around the neighbourhoods and some of the lights will stay up well past Valentine’s Day but for the most part the decorations are starting to come down and the greenery is starting to whither. Some people are sad that the holiday season is now over. As for me I’m looking forward to some rest and returning to a more normal routine of eating. How about you?
Introducing Me Through Collage
….my introductory assignment for my year long Collage class
Before we start our course we are suppose to create a collage with our name. Here is my assignment completed. I’ve also incorporated some mixed media as well to make it more interesting. I took some tips from my other class, Abstract Mixed Media, by Karin Husty.
What Constitutes a Failure?
….is producing 177 pieces of art in one year a failure?
Last year I had decided to produce one piece of art a day or at least work on an art piece every day for 365 days. I created my own personal challenge of 365 Days of Art. In the middle of November I stopped drawing and painting. Was I discouraged by the fact that I was very much behind my goal or was it something else?
I think that being so far behind was part of it but life just seemed to get in the way, especially in November and December. There were things that I hadn’t planned on like getting ill, my father going into the hospital, the plumbing breaking down and my sister coming for a visit. Then there were the things that just happen, like Christmas parties, concerts and trying to get ready for Christmas.
I recognize that all of these things are just excuses because I see people out there who manage to create a piece of art every day but I’ve decided that I should rejoice in the 177 pieces that I did create. Here are some of my favourites from 2018:
So what is my art goal for this year? I will definitely continue making art but the question is how much and should I even put a number on it. What do you think I should do? I have some ideas that I will share later today.
Cheers!
Sunday Trees – 373
….thanks to Becca Givens for hosting Sunday Trees
My neighbour’s tree is getting a trim. I watched this guy maneuvering his cherry picker for over an hour.
Digging up the Yard on New Year’s Eve
….actually the neighbour’s driveway
A few days ago I told you about our plumbing problems that occurred on Boxing Day. Well our plumber finally arrived early in the morning on New Year’s Eve and I mean early. At 7:00 a.m. I woke up to the sounds of a shovel hitting the asphalt on my neighbour’s driveway.
I knew that Joe the Plumber was going to start as early as 8:00 but my husband and I and our neighbour were surprised to see him out there digging up the dirt by hand an hour earlier than expected. The sun had barely risen and according to my husband his truck was in front of our house quite a bit before 7:00.
In case you had forgotten we had water backing up through the sewer pipe every time we used the washing machine, the dishwasher or took long showers. When the camera went down the pipe we were informed that the pipe at the Y junction had collapsed and needed to be replaced. Only small amounts of water got through and all the waste materials were building up in the pipe. The unfortunate part of all of this was that the break was under my neighbours driveway.
After about five hours of digging by hand the problem was resolved. The broken pipe was removed and replaced with a new piece and the hole refilled. In the spring we’ll have to repair the asphalt on our neighbour’s driveway but for now it looks neat and clean. It was a very costly but necessary repair. What a way to end 2018 but we’re grateful to guys like Joe who come out to do that kind of work all year long.
Mama Cormier 