Busy Times!

Where does the time go? I've been quite busy over the past few weeks.

First we went to Corner Brook to attend the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Hospital Auxiliaries Convention. The Labrador Health Centre Auxiliary newsletter that I edit, The Auxiliary News, won first place in the national CAHA contest for the "100 bed and under" category. Here's the award that was presented at the convention:

The next weekend, I attended an art show. It was good exposure for me. I'm known locally as a writer and craft producer (among other things!), but not that well-known as an artist yet. Here is my first art show:

The weekend following that I went to St. John's to attend a union convention. The best asset, by far, of The Battery Hotel, is the view from the dining room window. It has a fantastic panoramic view of St. John's Harbour. Even though the weather was rainy (can you believe it?), the view was breathtaking. I was lucky to have my daughter, Nadine, join me for breakfast the next morning when the weather was starting to clear. Can you see that small patch of blue sky?

After breakfast we went to visit The Rooms where the view is just as spectacular. This view from The Rooms looks back towards The Battery Hotel. Can you see Cabot Tower sitting atop Signal Hill on the horizon?

A Walk in the Woods

It was just too nice to stay indoors this weekend, so after doing our chores we headed off for a walk in the woods. It's one of my favorite things to do. Here are some of the scenes we saw along the way:

Here's an interesting tree we found. My buddy thought it was a nice spot to build a cabin.

Farther on we found a place to have a rest and a drink. We also found some fungus for my collection.

This was the highlight of my Thanksgiving weekend!

Beautiful Fall Colors

Wow! What beautiful fall weather we are having! This is the first morning I had to scrape the frost off my car before I went to work - and if I didn't have it parked in the shade, the sun would have melted it by then. When I went to work at 8 a.m. the melted frost was dripping off the building. We have a beautiful sunny day - not a cloud in the clear blue sky. It's now 20 degrees and a great day on clothes. Amazing for this time of year.

Yesterday I was out and about and took some picures of the beautiful fall colors. It was partly cloudy yesterday, which means the colors are not as vivid, but beautiful just the same.

It's just beautiful all around town!

Congratulations Nadine!

Congratulations to our beautiful daughter, Nadine a fourth year university nursing student, who has been named to the Director's List for 2005-06. We're so proud of you. You go girl! We love you very much!

Fall

Something happened over the weekend - Fall arrived! Yep, it's officially fall, but we've been having beautiful fall weather for a while now. Actually, a week ago we had our first frost and on September 16th I started bringing in my plants. I wasn't quick enough though because I left a few on the patio and Jack Frost nipped a couple of them. A few months outside really gave my plants a boost though. Because my yard and my house have a lot of shaded areas, I use plants that thrive well in those areas, like impatients and begonias. Here's the first begonia that I brought in:

It had been sitting in this corner of my patio:

While the days seem much shorter now ( it's dark when I get up at 6:30 a.m.), day and night are about equal length. This morning the sun rose at 6:52 a.m. and will set at 6:53 this evening. Yep, no more puttering around the garden after supper. Pretty soon my garden bench will be hidden with snow. Believe it or not snowflakes are in the forecast already. Each season brings its own joys. The week after next we'll celebrate Thanksgiving. We must enjoy each season and each day as it comes. Hope you enjoy your day!

What did you do on the Labour Day Weekend?

The first thing people usually ask when you go back to work after a long weekend is, "So what did you do this weekend?" Usually we give very little detail. "Oh I went to a wedding," or "I went to the cabin." We usually just tell the highlights.

You wanna know what I did this weekend? Now I bet you're curious. You think I did something extra-ordinary, don't you? Actually, I had a very nice weekend, nothing special - just life!

First, my partner and I took a hike through the woods looking for fungus for me to paint. We walked about a half hour into the woods before we found the first one, and in about an hour we had more than 50. By that time we had stirred up enough mosquitoes so we trekked back to the truck with our bags full. Then we ordered pizza for supper. Yum!

Besides cleaning some fungus, during the weekend I also made bread, filled my clotheslines with laundry a few times, tidied and cleaned the house somewhat. I like to keep my abode clean enough to the healthy, but dirty enough to be happy. I attended the funeral of a friend and several church services - one of which was at the Paddon Seniors Home where I stayed and socialized with the residents for a while.

Since we had beautiful weather, bright sunny skies with temperatures reaching 27 degrees Celsius, I did some puttering in my garden, painted a couple of doorsteps and my 'park bench'

where I sometimes sip mugs of tea or chat over the fence with my neighbour, Judy. I also found time to read, check email, play computer games, chat on the phone, play with my cats in the grass and paint a few pictures.

You know what was so special about the weekend for me? I did what I wanted, when I wanted to do it. I didn't have to watch the clock. Just another weekend. Nothing special - just life! So what did you do this weekend?

Nadine & Chris's Visit

The second highlight of my summer - my other daughter and her boyfriend came for a weekend visit before they go back to school again. The young lovers were only here for a flying visit - literally!


Since Chris is allergic to cats and we have three of them, we didn't spend much time hanging around the house. We went for a visit to Sheshatshiu and North West River. The view of Grand Lake from Sunday Hill is spectacular.




We saw this tree on Sunday Hill and dubbed it "the love tree."



We also had time for a helicopter ride...

















a good look at Muskrat Falls...

and at home base we check the email while waiting for the pot to boil...














In that pot on the stove is salt beef, cabbage and pease pudding along with fresh turnip greens, turnip, carrots and blue potatoes from Joe Battcock's garden. Of course there's a roaster full of chicken in the oven...mmm...

And of course the visit was much too short. Miss you Nadine!

Latest Acrylic Paintings

The inspiration for painting is everywhere. Wanna see some pics of my recent work?

These are framed canvas panels - similar to previous works, but different. Popular favourites!



This is my interpretation of a sunset:





These are some rock paintings. I'm in awe of God's creation and try to capture some of it's beauty in paint.



When Nattie was here, we found this rock that had a pointed face and indents where the eyes should go. It was an eagle face waiting to be exposed.




Doesn't everybody want to lie in a shaded hammock next to the ocean?



I've also painted a few more fungus......winter...



and summer...



Some of my work can be viewed at the Drumdancer Arts & Crafts Shop and at the Labrador Handicraft Store.

Nattie & Geoff's Visit

It's been so long since I've blogged! We've had a busy summer highlighted by our daughter's visit. The couple of weeks flew by so fast, but here are a couple of the many pictures we took while we made memories.



There was some work... a long weekend fishing...




...time for a hike...even a helicopter ride...


And before we knew it, time to say goodbye again.


Miss you Nattie!

Cherry Blossom Time!

It's Cherry Blossom Time! The cherry trees around the yard are in full bloom.

...as are the Forget-Me-Nots, Bleeding Hearts & Columbine...

but would you believe it? We had a hail storm today, with ice pellets the size of green peas! Can you see them on the patio? On the grass?