……do you have a favourite place?
Thanks to WordPress for this week’s photo challenge, favourite place.
It’s so hard to choose just one place but if I must I think my favourite place to hang out would be at my cottage on Georgian Bay.
….the last time I posted 365 days of art was 10 days ago
I’m feeling very stressed about not posting art projects that I’ve been working on. The truth is I’ve been doing very little art but I’ve been busy using my hands to create other projects.
A couple of weeks ago I signed up for beginner’s crochet class. So I wouldn’t forget what I’d learned I proceeded to use up yarn to make coffee cup holders and dish rags. I think I’m ready now for the next level.
Before I tackle
a new crochet project I decided I needed to finish some knitting projects. I started a complicated lacy shawl and I’ve taken it apart now four times because each time I found a mistake that completely messed up the pattern. The problem with this project is that you have to cast on 361 stitches and if you don’t discover the mistake until you’ve gone on for two or more rows it means having to undo over 700 stitches. I tried doing that a couple of times but then I was dropping stitches and after hours of work I was ripping it all out anyway. Today I’ve started this project for the 5th time. Wish me luck.
My father also asked to borrow my sewing machine so that he could hem his jeans. By the time I pulled it out, found the thread he needed and lugged it down two flights of stairs I offered to sew them myself. It took me some time to clean off my art table but now I feel that when the machine comes down I’ll have a clean surface to start painting again. After I hemmed his pants I found a pair of my own that needed hemming and then I made curtains for my Dad’s apartment.
The last 10 days haven’t been an art free zone. Every day I go on-line and open Carla Sonheim’s daily posts and I signed up for a class given by Lendon Noe called Inspired by Lives and Letters. In this class Lendon has taught us how to create two kinds of envelopes that can hold messages written on art squares that we create with watercolour paper and ink or plaster. Here are some of the envelopes that I’ve made so far.
Day 54
One of the things that I purchased for this class was Walnut ink. Actually I purchased the walnut ink crystals to make my own ink. When I saw the price of a small bottle of walnut ink I just about fainted ($46.00) so the store owner showed me the crystals at 6.95 a bag. I only need 1 tsp. for every 1/2 cup of water. There’s probably enough crystals in the bag for 3 or 4 cups of ink. When all is said and done the cost of one bottle will probably be $1.00. Stay tuned for the next 365 Days of Art post when I’ll show you how I use the ink.
….thanks to Cee for hosting Share Your World
If a distant uncle dies and you were always his favorite and leaves you $50,000 (any currency) in his will, what would you do?
I think I would use some of the money to do some repairs around the cottage and then take a chunk to travel to London, England. With any money left over I would divide it amongst my children.
What sound or sounds do you love?
I love the sound of birds in the morning, cicadas on a hot summer day and the laughter of children.
What’s your middle name? Why?
My middle name is Hildegard. I was named after my maternal grandmother. I always hated the name and wouldn’t tell any of my friends for fear of being teased. I actually never realized until much later that I was named after my grandmother. I knew her name was Hilde but I never realized that it was shortened from Hildegard. I wouldn’t have had a problem telling people that my middle name was Hilde.
What did you appreciate or what made you smile this past week? Feel free to use a quote, a photo, a story, or even a combination.
This past week I attended two wonderful concerts with friends. The first was an afternoon concert featuring the Elias String Quartet and the second one was Tan Dun’s Water Passion After St. Matthew.
On Saturday my husband and I drove to Hamilton to spend the day with our daughter and granddaughter. Of course that brought huge smiles to our faces. As she gets older we find that we can actually carry on conversations with her and she happily instructs us on how to play with her. 
…thanks to Cee for hosting the Which Way Photo Challenge
Anything with signs, bridges, pathways, roads, stairs and sidewalks qualifies for this challenge. Yesterday’s trip to the Royal Botanical Gardens was a photographer’s delight.
…..this week’s theme for WordPress’ Photo Challenge is story
Photos tell a story all on their own. Today we visited the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington and we walked through an outdoor area that my granddaughter loves to explore in hopes of finding gnomes.
….fond memories of the High Park Zoo
When I was very young, about three to be exact, I remember going to the High Park
Zoo with my parents and little sister. I loved feeding the ducks and seeing what I thought at the time were exotic animals. Those exotic animals would have been bison, deer and camels. I remember bringing bags of carrots and I can still feel the pull that the deer exerted when nibbling on the these treats as I held them through the wire fence.
I recall going there quite often because we lived fairly close by. I loved walking on the stone ledges pretending to balance on a precarious cliff. In the warm weather my parents would dress us in our Sunday best and we would walk down by Grenadier Pond and around the beautiful gardens. It was also a favourite place to take visitors.
Last Sunday my husband and I drove to High Park (it’s a bit far to walk to now), parked the car and started to walk along the pathways. When we got to the top of one hill I made a request to head down towards the zoo. I felt like a kid again. The camels are no longer there but the deer and bison still reside in this zoo. Feeding the animals is now completely forbidden.
Do you visit a place that brings back fond memories from when you were a child?
….this week’s theme focuses on photographing strangers or a A Face in the Crowd
It’s not about capturing any one face or even a group of faces in the crowd but more about capturing a moment. It could be a silhouette, the back of a person or just a crowd.
…..what a perfect prompt for Valentine’s Day
My little Valentine, rice and all.
….thanks Cee for hosting the Fun Foto Challenge
This week we can post any photo that has words with Z in them or shots of people or animals catching some ZZZs.
Blizzard Conditions
Zoo (then and now)
Me at the High Park Zoo in 1955
The Toronto Zoo in 2017
Catching Some ZZZs
…..today’s prompt needs to start or end with the letter Y or start with the word Why?
A Gallery of Yellow
My Mini Yoda
Mama Cormier 