Sunshine on my Shoulders Makes me Happy

It seems like forever since the sun was shining around here but today it finally is. Flood warnings are in effect though as the Thames River has received a ton of rain recently. Not to mention that white stuff. See? I'm not going to mention it!

Life has been chugging along satisfactorily. I would say my only problem (if this can be called a problem) is that I need a few more hours in each day to get done the many things I want to get done. I complain frequently that there are not enough hours in the day. Years ago, before retirement, I imagined that most of my time would be spent lounging around reading from a big pile of books.

What I didn't imagine, but should have, is how much time my other hobbies/sports & recreational activities would consume in a day. If I had then I might have fewer hobbies and more reading time. So the point of this is do I try to be more efficient with my time, ditch a few hobbies or try to make reading a priority?

Perhaps a combination of all three:

• I have ditched, sort of, a couple of hobbies - I'm never going to be an expert crocheter or spool knitter. Now that I've put my outdoor bike in storage I spend time at night riding my stationary bike (and watching Netflix) to make up for the hours I had been spending cycling outside. Instead of long hikes I walk 2km twice a week to volleyball and then try to find ONE sunny day each week for walking in the forest. I also play volleyball on Friday nights. Each day I do 30 minutes or a bit more of yoga and stretching. My back has been giving me fits but I find yoga really helps. If you ever have lower back pain the cobra pose (start with baby cobra) provides instant relief!

BABY Cobra

Cobra

• Time management is not one of my strong suits. Today is genealogy day and Wednesday is workshop day.  So far I've done zero genealogy today. I've read the paper, made a meal plan, had breakfast and gone grocery shopping. And I have to say that the sunshine is compelling me to go to the forest. **just checked the forecast and tomorrow looks like a really nice day so I will delay the walk until tomorrow after volleyball and today I will do research all afternoon. There, that's solved!

• I guess instead of complaining I should be happy (I am) that I have so many choices of "things to do"!  On the bright side I finished a book during all of the rain and am partway through three others (part of the problem!!! I need to stick to one book til it's done - it's just that others beckon me with their wonderful covers and promises of what's inside!!). I'm reading a lot about Scotland especially the Isle of Skye. I am trying to find more times throughout the day when I can pick up a book. It's pretty much my most favourite thing to do yet I keep putting it off. No more!! 

See ya!

Hah, just kidding! Sort of.....first yoga, then reading while eating lunch and then research! 

See ya! 

Workshop Weather

4C this morning - YIKES! On Sunday it was 28C! I suggest a petition that the temperature only decrease by 1C a day...or week!! These sudden changes cause me seasonal anxiety! And also cause me to overuse exclamation marks!!!!!!!!

At least the sun is back. We had 5 or 6 straight days of rain. Which means no biking, no long walks through the forest...BUT...it does mean the workshop is now open for business!

From unpolished...

to polished!

 The leaf is a piece I snapped off a larger carving - I wasn't happy with it and this small piece didn't seem to belong. I turned it into a leaf and gave it to my artist brother who has recently named his studio "The Silver Branch". He put the leaf in his storefront window underneath a large vase holding a silver branch. It looks as though the leaf has fallen from the branch! :) I'll take my camera with me next time I visit him so you can see how it all looks.

Unpolished...

...polished!  * The base is made of soapstone as are the pieces above. Soapstone comes in a variety of colours - I really like the rich browns in this piece.  I didn't alter the quartz.

In progress...(this is the sculpture that I took the piece off of which became the leaf). More shaping to be done before I begin to polish...

This one is partially polished...will finish tomorrow. I am going to place this one in a shadow box as it is a thin relief sculpture and needs support. I like the other side better but didn't photograph it for some reason.

This one is partially shaped; will work on it more tomorrow.

Future works of art :) Both are quite large so I will be taking a hammer and chisel to them first to make several sculptures out of both - I prefer to work with small pieces.

And there you have it!
This is week two in the shop - I am quite pleased with what I've accomplished so far. As they say...it keeps me off the streets!

Happy Days are Here Again

 The splint has come off!!  What to do? What to do? I have no physical restrictions other than to do 4 sets of 10 reps of making a fist, and a couple other exercises I can't name, every day. Woo hoo - it's like being freed from prison - a finger jail!

I've cleaned up the workshop so it's all set to go. I could go back to volleyball tomorrow but I'm going to give myself a week to do the daily strengthening exercises and will start back next Tuesday. It's so exciting!

And my eye is great so all is well....knock wood.... and my head! Must. not. over. do. it! Knock knock knock! My knee isn't too bad - no pain up and down stairs, no pain walking or riding my stationary bike. Going down on one knee or squatting is painful so I try not to do that too often, if at all. I have my own way of getting down onto the floor, if need be, and while it sure isn't graceful it does spare my knee somewhat.

Getting older is a pain in my (fill in the blanks) __________________, _________________ and ________________________.   😢

Ups and Downs

I should have mentioned when I posted on January 5th that so far in 2017 I hadn't spent any money! Five No Spend days in a row! I wondered how long I could go this month without spending anything at all and well it was Jan. 5th :)
My friend Julie was back from LA and had an empty fridge so I picked up food from Hong Ping and we had a feast! Definitely a money-worthy event.

And it was all downhill from there...as I checked in my local thrift shop for a warm brown hat. There were tons of hats but nothing that suited me or went with its intended brown coat. Oh well, might as well have a wander...

I love metal decor of all sorts and I like watching pieces get weathered.

This will go out on my patio to keep DREAM company.

Now I won't just be dreaming I'll be hoping and dreaming:)

I seem to be lucky lately finding silver filagree work. These 3 flowers are displayed in a shadow box.

Remember this one? Same store. 

And also for my patio - 2 cast iron birds/candle holders - extremely heavy. 

Okay, I'm ready for summer! Too bad it's about a hundred below zero today!

Speaking of the cold... 

I managed to finish a crocheted headband for Kazi.

It looks amazing on her, me not so much.

I'm making one for Hannah too; it's almost done except for 

sizing and sewing on the buttons.

I'm also back in the workshop and have 4 carvings under way - they still look like blobs at the moment so I'll wait til I get to the polishing stage before taking any photos.

Over all I'm happy with how the week went - played volleyball 3 days and rode my stationary bike a couple of times while watching "Trapped" on Netflix. I really love Scandinavian crime shows! This one takes place in Iceland.  And I did my stretches every day (for my sad knee) and my sun salutations as soon as I get up, even though it's still dark out! The result - less pain. Who knew? Well, I guess my physiotherapist...

Workshop Blues

I've got the workshop blues.....

There is nothing to show you from the workshop today.  I've taken a few days off from the fun stuff to get some of the household projects completed. I have a very long to do list and have knocked off a few things this week.

• first I painted the crown moulding in the living room. It has needed doing for a couple of years now (not exactly a speed demon am I?) I couldn't decide whether to continue the wall colour or paint it the ceiling colour - not that there's a huge difference. The walls are painted "White Swan" and the ceiling is also white - not sure it has a name. Finally, after consultation with my seester I painted them "White Swan." Such a non-exciting project - no wonder I kept putting it off. But I'm glad it's finally done.  CHECK
• Repaint the white kitchen shelf using the RIGHT paint this time so it doesn't flake off, get stained etc. I'm glad I have CAA as it took 20% off the cost of the paint! CHECK
• Remove wallpaper from a small hall wall hahaha! The other walls of the foyer had been re-wallpapered close to 2 years ago! I wasn't putting up wallpaper on this wall however, I was painting it ?  ............ yes WHITE!! You got it first try! ....to match the wall along the staircase. Put up hooks removed when I began redecorating 2 years ago. Put shelf back up above the hall tree. Put new batteries in door bell thingy. Put candle holders back up by foyer mirror.
• paint other kitchen shelf white. Started and will complete today!
• repainted powder room baseboards, foyer baseboards and small hall wall baseboards. No photos but you can trust me on that! CHECK

And here are the photos...

The previous redecorating of the front foyer - ignore the messy floor.

Stripping off the really old wallpaper.

This shows the hooks I put back up to hold hats and scarves. Also the shelf above the hall tree.

This is just a dead space that I've given a purpose. 

My hat and scarf hooks - don't remember where I bought them.

On the shelf - a beautiful pot I bought while on holiday with Kazi in Quebec and one of my soapstone pieces. Above is the painting I bought from my artist brother, Kim, last November - it finally has a home!

The view from the dining room.

The kitchen shelf painted in extreme white melamine paint.

To the left is the other shelf that will be painted Extreme White.

The final transformation with 2 baskets for hats and gloves. Oh, and a Lily.

A close up reveals a gargoyle hanging over the ledge.

There, that's better.

 

Once I've had lunch I'll get back to work!

 Are we having fun yet?? Do you have any redecorating projects in the offing?

Mid Month Money

Sooooo,  yesterday I got the computer all set up and a title on my post and somehow I ended up in the workshop!  I'm one of those people who starts a lot of things all at the same time, instead of doing one thing at a time until completion. I might decide to vacuum but on my way to get the vacuum cleaner I see a lot of cat toys everywhere so I start picking them up and forget about the vacuum. Then I remember I need something from the truck so I head out to the truck and end up driving to Timmy's and buying a coffee.

Then, oh yeah, I need to vacuum; but I should pick up some milk since I'm out. Home again and guess what...it's time for lunch! I'll just take a minute to get the mail from my mailbox. Ooooooh! Flyers! I'll make lunch and look at the flyers while I eat - MULTI-TASKING!! Where did all of those dishes come from? I'll just do them first and then I'll vacuum! Oh wait, what are we going to have for dinner?  And so my day goes...

Obviously I'm much better at budgeting than I am at getting things done around the house! Which I guess is a good thing. March is one of those months that really seems to last a verrrrry loooooooong time! Perhaps because February is usually 3 days shorter.  Whatever the reason I would be happy if March was over, but alas, still two weeks plus a day left. Will I make it? Or more to the point will the money end before the end of the month? Possibly.

• my Misc budget stands at $230, it should be at $290. I accidentally downloaded a bunch of music from iTunes, about $33 worth.  But that's fun, right? It's the UN-fun uses of my Misc $$ that I resent. Like $27 for a prescription yesterday and the $7 I spent on the useless artsy craftsy get together but on the bright side it doesn't affect my bottom line by much. I visited a friend last Saturday and stopped to buy snacks on the way - I tried to be virtuous by going into the health food store instead of the grocery store and purchased some "nutritious" snacks HAH!! Two bags of handmade potato chips made with coconut oil instead of the usual - soooo good! And a container of those yummy stove-top chocolate/coconut cookies made with NATURAL RAW sugar! I felt so health conscious that we proceeded to eat all of it!!!!
• my GAS budget is doing well again this month - I have spent just $76/$160 (just filled up 2 days ago so might make it til the end of the month.)
• my FOOD budget is a bit low - I've spent $210/$280 with a big shop done Monday. I think I can make it on $70 for the rest of the month. 
• my small emergency SNOWFLAKE box is sitting at $49 which I can use if I need to. 
• That's it for my variables; everything else stays the same from month to month except, of course, utilities. So far I've underestimated my utility bills for Jan., Feb., and March by approx. $35 - $40. 

So there you have it. My budget lines are a bit low for this point of the month but the truck is full of gas and the fridge is overflowing so I'm not worried. I'm really hoping I can tsf another $50 to savings to make for some nice round numbers - I like my savings to end in nice round zeroes. We'll see. I know that I'm working with small numbers here which I am really happy about. I'm one of those people who plugs away very methodically with my budget (not like household chores!!) I can look down the road and see where I'm going to be financially. Saving $400 per month is pocket change to many people but over a year that's almost $5000 - more than enough for another fantastic trip and some household renovations!  I never go on shopping sprees except at my local thrift store :)

I finished that sculpture that was causing me grief - it's all sanded and polished and ready for the camera. It's not my best work but I like it. I'll take some photos and show you tomorrow.

In the meantime I hope your "Mid Month Money" situation is in good shape! 

Wednesday in the Workshop

First I want to complain about the weather!! I just had a weather alert sent to my phone telling me that north London is under a snow squall warning. So IF I lived in south London I wouldn't be getting this additional whack of snow that I just cleaned off my truck?! Poo. Unless the band is moving south, it's a little hard to tell. The crappy part was the 2 inches of frozen rain that lay hidden underneath the 8 inches of snow - SURPRISE!!

Okay, I'm done. Sort of. I'm bitter because I went on a fantastic hike on Sunday when it was sunny and +14c and now THIS! Oh well, March came in like a lion so I EXPECT it to go out like a lamb. Ya hear me Mother Nature??

Sunday in Kilally Meadows - the snow was almost gone!

Something I can't complain about is my heating bill!! Again the bill only came to $52.00!! I checked my Union Gas bill online so I could compare to last year's bill - and last year I paid $83.00!! Looking at the average temperature showed why - last year the average temperature for February was -13c compared to a balmy +3c this year. El Nino, I thank you.

Ok, on to the workshop....this sculpture has been giving me all kinds of grief. I've been slimming down the rounded sections trying to get away from the phallic weird shape that evolved over the first week or two...

...I've worked in a spiral at the one end thinking maybe if I looked at it from another angle I would be inspired...but no, still not digging it.

 ...but now I think I'm getting somewhere - I am liking the swooping curves that are developing. I think it's on its way, finally! Stay tuned for sanding and polishing!

Work in Progress Wednesday

Yes, it is indeed time for a workshop update. Over the past few weeks I haven't been in the workshop nearly as much as I'd like to so this Wednesday Workshop update post (WIP - work in progress) will hopefully spur me on to become more productive.

I just find that time gets away from me and before I know it it's time to make dinner. This is another busy week, though all of my activities are in the evening. Which is good because then at least I have my mornings and afternoons to be productive.

Last night I went to my book club and I got a FREE book! The leader of the book club is a librarian and gets advance copies of books before they are published - yippeeeeee! I chose a book about England's "flower sellers" at the turn of the 20th century - it looks really good :)!! Tonight I am learning about proportional representation at our monthly Council of Canadians meeting. (sounds a little dry but there are SNACKS!) Tomorrow night is yoga and group meditation, Friday is volleyball, Saturday I'm hopefully getting together with 2 friends for dinner and a movie and Sunday night I'm going to the "Blue Rodeo" concert.

None of that explains why I'm not getting into the workshop more often. Last week I did spend 3 afternoons in the workshop as the weather was horrendous. Which reminds me that the week before last the weather was up above 10c (setting record highs around here) and so I was outside hiking a lot. OK, that explains things somewhat.

There are just so many choices of things to do around here - recently I've been doing the weekly Los Angeles crossword puzzle which can really take up a LOT of time. And I'm reading a huge trilogy blah blah blah...OK, enough excuses - here's what I've been working on...
...oh, but first a photo of a junco on my fence! Isn't it sweet?

Ok, getting back on track again...I completed the soapstone carving below - it was a thin scrap of soapstone so the back of it is flat. I was trying to figure out how to display it - it could just sit flat on a table or shelf but then I had the idea of putting it into a shadow box...

...so that's what I did! Though I have to say it's extremely hard to get a decent photo once it's in the box! You'll just have to take my word for it that it looks freaking AWESOME!! (hee hee!)

The piece below was also a thin slab of soapstone - I used the stone to the best advantage that I could
the front...

...the back...

...and the cross section...you can see how thin it is - if it juts out on one side it indents on the other!

This is my current piece and I am not happy with its shape at all so will get back to it after I eat some lunch.

Does it look phallic to you because it does to me!!!

Back to the workshop I go!! Unless anyone is interested in a phallic shaped piece of soapstone?!?

Are you getting creative these cold winter days?

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2016!!

Hello my friends! We made it through 2015 relatively intact (the last half being MUCH better for me than the first half) - now on to 2016!! The year I turn 60!  Yippee - the Canada Pension Plan, that I've been paying into since I was a teenager, finally kicks in - should be millions of dollars coming my way - hah!!

In the really OLD photo below I'm turning 6! Two of those girls, Liane and Martha, moved away that year and broke my heart. Two of us still have contact through our "Class of '75" facebook page.

I'm looking forward to going on another trip this year - Ireland perhaps. I love the hiking format as you may have already guessed. There is just no better way of getting to see and know an area intimately. And it seems more like an adventure and while I sometimes get scared or overwhelmed there is great satisfaction in conquering my fears. More to come as the year progresses!

 Hopefully everyone enjoyed seeing in the new year. There may have been some melancholy or joy in seeing the last of 2015.  I spent New Year's Eve and day here at home with a good friend, Julie. We indulged in General Tso's chicken and sesame shrimp topped off with wine and chocolate. I rented several movies - "Rosewater", "A Walk in the Woods", and "Far from the Madding Crowd" and we managed to pause momentarily to clink our glasses at midnight in the middle of "Far from the Madding Crowd"!

The best movie by far was "A Walk in the Woods" based on a book by Bill Bryson about his adventures hiking the Appalachian Trail. This is the book I read and loudly guffawed over while Annie and I hiked Hadrian's Wall. The movie was wonderfully funny (perhaps enhanced by a few glasses of red wine?) and starred Robert Redford and Nick Nolte. They were hilarious!! I highly recommend it!

I forgot about the bottle of champagne chilling in the fridge so the next morning we had a couple of mimosas - absolutely perfect along with our breakfast sandwiches and yummy blend of fried potatoes and turkey stuffing :)

We spent the day on one of my favourite holiday pastimes - the New York Times crossword puzzle (I'm still working on it!) and noshing down on more chocolate and cashew brittle. A very relaxed day. Luna and Lily had so much fun with the empty gift bags and truly enjoyed covering Julie's black top and pants with cat hair!

I was just looking around for Luna a few minutes ago when I spotted....

....a lump on the love seat....I took a little peak....and found beautiful Luna...apparently I don't keep the house warm enough for her! Suck it up kitty! The real cold hasn't even begun yet!

So then of course I needed to get a photo of Lily to keep things fair...but Lily doesn't sit well for photos - she's always on the move - yes, the complete opposite of the lovely Luna, affectionately called the Chunky Monkey!

Lily: "I think I saw a squirrel!"

"Nope, just a leaf...Ok...take my pic..."

"WAIT...what was that noise?"...

"I just know there's a squirrel out there...somewhere..."

Sorry, have to get her when she's sleepy!

I've been spending wonderful hours in my workshop. It took me awhile to get back into the swing of things but have produced 4 soapstone sculptures over the past couple of weeks with such enjoyment and contentment that I haven't felt in quite some time. Here's a couple photos...

I have picked out my next piece so will be heading down to my workshop at some point today. In 2016 I hope to continue my artistic pursuits with more carving, more crocheting and rug hooking. I've also bought a book on watercolour painting - I'll give that a try this year too.

No resolutions except to enjoy each day as much as I can. If that means I devour a full box of peppermint patties, so be it! I'll just walk further the next day :)

Do you make New Year's resolutions?

Time to get busy!