Interesting Stuff

New Necklace

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I was shopping with my friend Karen this morning – she needed a gift for another friend of hers having a 70th birthday. I had tagged along as company – with no intention of buying anything! 

I regret I didn’t get a photo of the shop itself – I don’t think I have ever seen so much “stuff” in such a small space – much of it didn’t interest me. But there was a small “manikin” with a display of necklaces by Israeli artists and they fascinated me. 

The one I bought was created by Ayala Bar. I just loved the colours and symmetry of the piece. I didn’t even bother to have it wrapped. Paid for it and wore it for the rest of the day.

A souvenir of the San Francisco/Toronto trip.

Ornithogalum

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As I was leaving Superstore yesterday I walked past a display of potted plants and this one caught my eye. It’s not like I need another plant! But this one was so interesting I couldn’t resist it – it looks as if it should keep blooming for quite a while.

When I got home I looked it up: Ornithogalum. It’s a plant from the Asparagus family native to South Africa. I realize I have some white Ornithogalum growing in my side garden bed – the problem is the leaves all end up drooping and I don’t think I’ve had too many flowers.

This plant is a perennial bulb so once it’s finished flowering I will try to keep it going until the leaves die back and then put it in a cool spot (outdoors in the evening during the early fall) and see if I can’t get it to flower again next winter!

 

Spring? – No Definitely Winter!

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2:30 – There’s a hint of sunlight – the snow has lightened – time to clear out the trench I dug this morning between my house and Joan’s. 

I get the front step cleared and decide to head toward the parking lot, somewhere on the other side of some deep drifts. 



I dig straight out from the house – a single shovel width, then I have to make a right turn, into the drift! I keep digging, each foot forward is six shovelsfull – a little off the top, dig a bit deeper until I finally reach the pavement.

I’m about 2/3 of the way to the parking lot (that’s filled with drifted snow), when Vern comes by on the way to his backyard (can’t get his back door open) to shovel a path for Sophie, his golden lab. 



I persuade him it’s futile, he should help me finish my trench, then I’ll help him dig out his front door so Sophie can get out into the parking lot. 

We get my trench dug, then start on Vern’s – Donna comes out to join the shovelling gang. 



We dig our way from their front doors, past my car (that’s what’s peeking out of the snow on the left) .



This is me, in my snowsuit, in my trench – you can see the snow has drifted well above Donna’s and my heads! God knows where the snow plow will put the snow! There is simply nowhere for it to go. And I don’t expect we’ll get dug out tomorrow – probably not for a couple of days. And the weatherman’s calling for more snow on Saturday.

Shovelling My Front Door Open

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I was able to push my storm door (which opens out) wide enough to squeeze through. Dressed in my one-piece ski suit (which I bought at Frenchy’s for $6 several years ago), shovel in hand, I began moving snow off the stoop, then the step, then the pavement. That’s as much as I did – a narrow path to my neighbour Joan’s to clear away the snow from  her front door, too. Although we’d not get far, I felt we should be able to get out the front door!

It took me 15 minutes to shovel this small path – you can see how deep the drifts are. Later today (should we be lucky enough that the snowfall stops) I will have to shovel my way around the drifts to get to my car which is nearly buried now so I can clean it off. I don’t imagine we’ll see a snow plough around here anytime soon.

In the meantime I will work at keeping that small path from filling in with blown snow.



Spring?

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Here we are two days away from spring and the snow on my back deck now reaches a quarter of the way up my living room window; the drift is nearly to the top of the fence and no end in sight. I’d open my back door and use the snow as a refrigerator except I’d not be able to close the door again!

The snow is still coming down heavily, blowing and swirling and the drifting is increasing in depth. I haven’t looked out my front door – I could see my car nearly buried from one of my upstairs windows. 

Ok, this is my view from the front door!





It’s going to take days to dig out! And we’re expecting more snow on the weekend. 

Can you imagine being down south and arriving home to this – not even being able to get in the house.

It’s a great day for sewing!

Another Winter Snow Fall

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It snowed again last night – a light, dry snow which drifted onto my back deck. When I tried to open my back door this morning to see how much drifting had occurred I could open it just about 2″ – that was it. The drift came about a third of the way up the door!

You can see my shed is being buried – I love the “hat” on the roof; I just hope the roof will bear all that added weight.
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The drifts would be over my waist were I to try to come from around the side of the house. I decided I couldn’t get to my back door to shovel it myself.

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My neighbour Verne did it for me around noon. So now I can open the door. However, I’d have to be determined to “plough” my way through the drift if heaven forbid I had to get out.

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A Walk in the Sun

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OK. so I went for that walk in my neighbourhood. There are a couple of locations I visit and revisit through the seasons to photograph the trees and shrubs. I love these five trees -I have a collection of pictures of them through the years – I loved the diagonal shadows they were casting today.
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At one point, I stopped and looked back – there were my footprints in the fresh snow.

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-8 But a Glorious Day!

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It’s a minus 8 outside but the day is simply gorgeous.
I sit here enjoying the view from my living room window, my Amaryllis in full bloom, the drifted snow on my back deck, and I feel happy.
My neighbours have been complaining about the weather, but I learned many years ago while living in Winnipeg to dress warmly and head out to enjoy the sunshine. Just what I’m going to next.

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Making a Flat Knot in a Scarf

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My friend Kathleen was wearing a colourful scarf at lunch today. She just had it wrapped around her neck but it was a perfect scarf for tying a new knot that I learned recently. So I showed her how to do it.

Here’s how:

1. Make a loop in the middle of the scarf

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2. Put the loop over your head

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3. Make a second small loop at the front

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4. Pull one of the long ends through from behind the loop

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5. Push the second end down from the front of the loop

Photo on 2015-01-12 at 5.08 PM #2  6. There you have it – a nice flat knot that stays in place!

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By Jon Anderson – Fimo Artist

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Below are pieces created by Jon Anderson – Fimo (Polymer Clay) Artist in Bali. He did a workshop for us in Ubud, showing us how he assembled a “cane” then cut it and reassembled it many times to create very complex sculptures.

I bought one oval shaped piece (fimo embedded in acrylic) with the intention of turning it into a pendant.

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Today I finally got around to drilling a hole in one end of the piece, adding a bail and hanging it on a chain to make the pendant.

I also bought four round ones which I always intended to be buttons. I wasn’t enamoured by the “horses” (although beautifully executed, I must say) — I thought if I drilled holes in the middle of the horse the pieces would downplay the horses. When I saw them I knew they were the perfect colours for my batik quilted jacket — just too large.

I drilled two holes in each of the round ones to make my buttons:

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Here is one on the quilted batik – when it’s placed against the garment you can see how the shades of bronze, mauve  and teal blend beautifully with the fabric.

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I drilled all four buttons which I’ve stashed in my button box — sometime I will create a garment to showcase them. Don’t know what yet but one day something will jump out at me and I’ll have four perfect buttons to put on whatever it is.

I also bought one of Jon’s small animal pieces — iguana. At this point in my life I’m divesting but I couldn’t resist this iguana. Click through the images on Jon’s site and you’ll be amazed at the beauty and complexity of his work.iguana-jonAnderson