Mosaic Monday

It's Mosaic Monday! I hope you'll join us - it's really easy! Just make a photo mosaic - you can use whatever photo editing software you like, or a website such as the mosaic maker & photos from Flickr - & then post it on your blog. Go ahead & pick a theme if you want, but don't feel like you have to. Have fun with it!

Make sure to include a link back to my blog so that everyone can participate. Then come back here & submit a link to your blog post (using the "add your link" button at the bottom). I'll be looking at & commenting on each one!

Here's mine for this week: Halloween finches - in memory of Michael, my little zebra finch.

1. finchy halloween, 2. Purple Finch #2 (Carpodacus purpureus), 3. Black Rosy-Finch Sandia Crest NM Nov 8th 2009, 4. house finch, carpodacus mexicanus

Here's the list of mosaics for this week. Once you've blogged, click the button below to add your blog post link.

Sunday Seven

This week ended sadly, with the loss of my little finch, Michael. As I mentioned last month, it was expected... but I'm still grieving. I miss his cheerful chirping - the apartment is just so quiet without him. I miss him splashing in the bath, playing on his swing or with his little beaded toy or just approaching the bars when I do. I keep glancing at his empty cage...

But still, I am so thankful - he had a long, full life. He started out in Verner & then moved down to Hamilton with me to keep me company when I lived alone. Ten years is a long time for a little bird & I am grateful.

Here's my Seven for this week:

1. Sunday: skating!
2. Monday: finishing a good book
3. Tuesday: picking up the sequel to a good book (& knowing there are more after that one too)
4. Wednesday: Tim Horton's French vanilla cappuccino
5. Thursday: new art book to stretch my creative wings
6. Friday: Michael letting me hold him near the end
7. Saturday: shopping for clothes

What were you grateful for this week?

Fall Decor 2011

I love seasonal decor. Nothing ushers in the changing seasons quite like the nature display you can probably see right outside your window. The budding greens of spring, the bright florals of summer, autumn's splendor & the pristine white of winter.

And just as the scenery changes outside, so does my day-to-day scenery inside. I get bored if my decor stays the same all year! I love the anticipation of unpacking boxes of things I haven't seen all year, remembering the stories behind each piece. Christmas is particularly exciting since I have at least 2 or 3 big plastic bins full (you know those large Rubbermaid ones, probably over 20L each)!

For autumn, I have one big box spilling over with pumpkins, acorns, leaves & ghosts! I've had my fall decorations up since mid-September... want to have a look?

My living room windowsill, displaying pumpkins from my mom:

The cute little glass people are from Andra & the flower arrangement is from Niki. The black vase is last year's Christmas gift from my supervisor.
It's amazing what you can find at the dollar store - like the leaves, flowers & acorns in this arrangement:
I recently rearranged this book shelf to hold a bunch of my interesting glassware & favourite pieces. These include an antique miniature iron, a vintage ceramic fawn & bunny, mini bowls, cloche jars, a funky pitcher & a handmade star I picked up at my last craft show (among others):
The "mountain" is from when we went out West - the 2 small vases with flowers on them were my mom's (& from one of her grandma's I think). The vase holding the pumpkin held a "get well soon" flower arrangement Pat got me when I had an operation on my wrist.... back in high school! The black pot is the first Christmas gift I received from my supervisor. The covered stone is from Margie & the acorns & hearts are from lilfishstudios.
These fabric pumpkins are from SeaPinks (I got this kiwi pincushion at the same time - it is ADORABLE!) & the painting is available in my shop:

There's more - an acorn hanging on my mug tree, another wooden one resting in a bowl - the wreath I made not so long ago - a ghost & some more pumpkins. If I get a chance, I'll try to capture a few more pictures before the snow starts coming & I pull out my Christmas decor!

Do you have any fall decorations up? I'd love to see them - just add your link to the comments so I can check them out!

My Creative Space

Lately, whenever I get a chance to sit down at my craft desk, it's been to work on a still-secret-special project that I may be revealing soon... or something just for me. Filling various sketchbooks, drawing, collaging, painting & generally making all kinds of art for myself.

Here's a look at the latest project I've started:

That's right, another notebook! Well, soon-to-be, I've only just started. I'm using the covers from 2 old books & transforming them into pages of an art book. The first step is to cover the pages with collage - here's the first one:

When deciding on scraps of paper to collage with, I went with 4 different colour themes. This is the brown one:

While I was waiting for these photos to upload, I went ahead & collaged an orange/green page, so I only have 2 more to do before I start the second step: adding some paint!

Head on over to Our Creative Spaces for more!

Mosaic Monday

It's Mosaic Monday! I hope you'll join us - it's really easy! Just make a photo mosaic - you can use whatever photo editing software you like, or a website such as the mosaic maker & photos from Flickr - & then post it on your blog. Go ahead & pick a theme if you want, but don't feel like you have to. Have fun with it!

Make sure to include a link back to my blog so that everyone can participate. Then come back here & submit a link to your blog post (using the "add your link" button at the bottom). I'll be looking at & commenting on each one!

Here's mine for this week: A Game of Thrones. I just finished the George R.R. Martin book today... I'm very tempted to go get the second in the series tomorrow!

1. legs and armor, 2. Dragon, 3. GAME OF THRONES No 4, 4. Artic Wolf Glare

Here's the list of mosaics for this week. Once you've blogged, click the button below to add your blog post link.

New Boots

So I think time for a little update on my life. It feels like it's been a while... but that may just be because lots of things are happening around here!

I'm still looking for a job & spending lots of time at home, lounging around & catching up on my reading. Currently, I'm enjoying A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin: an epic, almost-historical, fantasy series - my favourite! I'll definitely be reading the other books in the series! I love reading & missed being able to devour novels, doing nothing else all day. That was a bit hard to do while I was trying to finish up my Master's, but now that I'm done, nothing's stopping me!

Well... nothing but the job searching.

I heard back from that place I interviewed at twice & completed a writing test for..... they went with someone who had more experience. I felt so comfortable there & the fit was so right, I was actually a little surprised. But of course experience trumps no experience when everything else is equal.

*sigh*

I can't lie & say that I wasn't discouraged. How am I supposed to gain experience if I need experience to get a job? Arg.

But I haven't given up & applied to 2 jobs today - both entry level positions I am more than qualified for, so here's hoping I hear back for an interview. I have a few more lined up to apply for on Monday & a lot more searching to do.

Keep your fingers crossed for me? Thanks!

Besides that, I bought some new books last weekend. They're really cute:

I'll try to get a good picture of me from head to toe in them. They make me smile & feel really good about myself. This is the first pair of boots I own that I can actually tuck pants into & look cute with a skirt... so I'm pretty excited! Now I just need a new pair of nice shoes since the soles are falling off the ones I've been wearing for the past 8 years!

Lastly, did you see? I updated the picture I used as my blog "profile" photo. I wanted a change because I felt like I was hiding too much under my cloche in the previous picture. Do you like it?

I was playing around in the gimp while editing that photo & came up with this "old style" photo:

Not bad, eh? Do you think I could've survived the "olden days," like the 20-30s? Maybe I should put that beloved cloche back on after all!

Do you ever imagine yourself in the past? I do! I love thinking about the part & feel especially connected with some of the eras. If I had lived in the 20-30s, I would definitely have been a flapper & a suffragette. I strongly believe in woman's equality & promote it whenever I can! What about you?

What era would you like to experience the most? You know, if you had a time travel machine? I'd love to live through the 1920's as well as the 1700's and ancient Rome/Greece. Sometimes I dream or read about these eras & they seem much more real than the time I'm living in... perhaps there is some truth to reincarnation after all? What do you think?

Wordless Wednesday

Cutting Wood

While I was home for Thanksgiving, my dad was working his way through a big pile of logs. The forest on my parents property not only provides hours of enjoyment & family togetherness, but also heat for the winter months.

The task is a big one - but the more wood piled up, the less they have to rely on the electric furnace, which is very cost effective in the long run.

There's also nothing quite as comforting as the smell & crackle of a wood fire to ward off the chill. Many happy memories were made around the hot wood stove nestled in the corner of my parents kitchen... Almost makes me look forward to winter!

Mosaic Monday

It's Mosaic Monday! I hope you'll join us - it's really easy! Just make a photo mosaic - you can use whatever photo editing software you like, or a website such as the mosaic maker & photos from Flickr - & then post it on your blog. Go ahead & pick a theme if you want, but don't feel like you have to. Have fun with it!

Make sure to include a link back to my blog so that everyone can participate. Then come back here & submit a link to your blog post (using the "add your link" button at the bottom). I'll be looking at & commenting on each one!

Here's mine for this week: fall forest. In particular, I used this picture of mine as colour inspiration for this mosaic - pale blue-green lichen, brown ferns, rusty blueberry bushes, dark green conifers & hints of bright orange & red leaves.

1. A blue green color I could not define, 2. Rust, 3. Blue green mushrooms, 4. beautiful lichen, 5. ready to melt into the eternal ocean, 6. forest ripple, 7. rust and brown, 8. Rusted Metal, 9. form, 10. Tan and Pale Blue, 11. [1] Girl, where are you taking me?, 12. Rust, 13. Brown Fern

Here's the list of mosaics for this week. Once you've blogged, click the button below to add your blog post link.

Sunday Seven

This week just flew by - short weeks always do. It was hard to be thoughtful each day, to slow down & appreciate the little things. Here are few moments I do remember enjoying last week:

1. Sunday: late night drives down dirt roads, just me & Pat
2. Monday: reading to make the drive through heavy traffic go by faster
3. Tuesday: the dentist being able to see Pat right away
4. Wednesday: sleeping in to catch up on some much needed sleep
5. Thursday: getting into a good book
6. Friday: being productive & cleaning up - there's nothing quite as satisfying as a clean house
7. Saturday: trying & loving a new recipe

What were you thankful for this week?

Fall Foliage (Part 2)

Here's the last big batch of photos from when I went home for Thanksgiving. These ones focus a bit more on texture & details.

The minty colour of this lichen was especially vibrant & contrasted nicely with the brown ferns:

After walking around for a bit in the forest, I sat down in a shady spot. When I looked down, I was awed to see this clear line between the bright green moss & cool minty lichen:

Every time I look, nature never fails to amaze me!

Fall Foliage

Alright, here are the promised photos displaying the autumn splendor of the North.

Well... some of them. I've split them in 2 since there are so many. These ones will focus on the colour:

The next few are taken along the road my parents live on whereas the previous ones were taken at the bush. Here's a little pond just up the road:

This maple is right across the road from my parents' place:

Finally, a few shots of the river - so peaceful, decked out in leaves:

Tomorrow: some more fall foliage photos, with a focus on texture.

Edward & Grandma

This post is about Edward, my nephew, & his grandma (my mom).

Edward loves his grandma. My mom dotes on him & the fact that my brother & his family live down the road from my parents means that grandma is often just a short walk away. You can see my parents' house in the middle of the horizon in the photo below. My brother's house is just visible at the left of the frame. On weekends especially, walking up to grandma's is a daily occurrence.

While I was there, Edward was eager to show everyone his Halloween costume. I think my mom was just as excited.

My mom found it & couldn't resist - Spongebob Squarepants is a bit of a celebrity in our house. My dad in particular gets a kick out of him, so Spongebob is often the theme of gag gifts for him. There's even a Spongebob ornament for the Christmas tree. Now we also have a little Spongebob trick-or-treater:

Isn't he adorable? It'll look especially cute all poofy with his winter coat underneath, which he'll need when they go out October 31st.

One of our walks this weekend was all the way to the bush - a forest at one end of my parents property. It's a bit of a walk, about 20 minutes or so, but so worth it. Walking around on the rocks & through the paths, crunching through the leaves & lichen is always so rewarding. I'll show you pictures of the foliage tomorrow - today I wanted to showcase a boy & his grandma.

You'll notice our guard dog Buster was never too far away. There are lots of cars & there have been bears & other wild animals - I think it's apparent that Buster knows this. He was watching us closely.

Well, by us I mean them. He didn't pay much attention to me. I'm just around every so often.

This walk was actually all Edward's idea. He wanted to walk up to the bush with grandma. And that's because grandma makes it fun - she packs water bottles & a snack in her little bag & will stay for as long as he wants.

We walked around, climbed rocks, collected leaves, balanced on logs & drank a lot of water - it was hot that day!

My mom asked me to take their picture. This one & the one at the beginning of this post are the best ones. I like the story they tell. Buster, at attention. Edward, captured as the sweet little boy he is - holding a rock & showing off his little truck.

He decided he wanted to run through the field on the way back, so grandma went with him. I stuck to the road & caught them traipsing through gold.

There's a lot of love to be found on these dirt roads.

That's just one of the reasons I love to visit as often as I can.