Wednesday 1 October 2014

Colours of Fall


Somehow the sun rises with more brilliance in the fall
(minor exposure and contrast adjustments to photos not identified as SOOC, which are unprocessed) 






SOOC

SOOC




The harvest is rich in taste, colour and quantity...







Blooms and leaves also seem to reflect the rich colours of the morning skies...

















Janetxo  

Friday 11 April 2014

Hello, Friday...it's been a while

I have learned a few random things since my last post...

ONE
Sometimes, when life throws you a curve ball
you curl up into a ball until you can deal with it...
Often, with more clarity and a more positive perspective...
Sometimes, you just need to move forward,
a moment at a time...

Always, it brings you back to 'the moment'
THIS moment
the only moment we truly have...

TWO
The kind of moment that is found in a sunrise 
the day of an important doctor's appointment


or the beautiful sky at dusk 
after getting somewhat encouraging news at that appointment


I am choosing to take that as a good omen!

THREE

The kind of moment that surprises you...
when neighbours bring a pot of daffodils, those sunny harbingers of spring.
They bloomed on the windowsill earlier this week, despite the snow outside...


It is almost like those blooms, or that wonderful sunshine, 
made all the snow disappear this week!!

FOUR

The moment when you realize that spring is really,  really here...
and the ice is gone from the pond!!
(and it is even warm enough to go outside without a coat to take a photo)


FIVE

The moment when you are toiling away at a mindless task 
and you unearth wonderful memories! 

A perfectly wonderful Friday Find!!

  
Both photos processed with Kim Klassen's 'kk_Barelycolor' Lightroom preset


March was a long and eventful month...
April brings sunshine, and hope and an opportunity for renewal

.... an opportunity to pay attention to the reminder
 to always be present to the moments in our life...

Janetxo  


* * * * *
Sharing with 
Nancy's Random 5 Friday

Kim's Friday Finds
Kim Klassen dot Com

and
SkyWatch Friday
SkyWatchFriday




Friday 28 February 2014

Random Five and Friday Finds 28.2.14


Happy Friday!!

Jumping right in to Random Five Friday...

ONE

The SUN is seriously shining today! 
This has been the most brutal winter here and that I can recall
in my 60+ years on this planet!
Frequent waves of temperatures in the -30 Celcius range
- they call it a Polar Vortex
More snow than I have seen since I lived in ‘the snow belt’
with drifts taller than me
- okay so I am a bit short (5’4”) but not THAT short…


I am happy to see the sun making shadows!
(I think it has been a darker winter too!)
But I need more….which leads me to..

TWO

I am packing for a tropical destination vacation!!
Not going for a while yet
but it makes me feel warmer just pulling out the summer clothes!
We couldn’t get what we were looking for
(it is called ‘you snooze, you lose’ for waiting too long)
at our much loved Curacao
so we are heading to Barbados for the first time…
I am soooo looking forward to it!



THREE

This week while going through boxes in the basement to get ready for renos,
I found some of my childhood books that my father had given me years ago…
I am not sure why I had separated them, at the time,
from Winnie the Pooh and Ferdinand the Bull
which have always resided on my shelf...
but they are together now



but now that Dad is gone
it was very moving to have found the inscription in this particular one…
my Great Grandfather was also like a father to my Dad
as my Grandmother was a single mother
from the time my father was four years old...



FOUR

Kitchen Report….
still thrilled with my CSA bins…
today I am making maple glazed carrots and pork chops,
roasted garlic and creamy smashed baked potatoes
with double cheddar bread..
oh yeah…



FIVE

20 more sleeps until the official first day of spring and I have flowers!!!
 Okay…so they are INSIDE…but just seeing these pretty pink blooms
has lifted my spirits and renewed my hope and faith
that the universe will unfold as it should…




Wishing everyone a wonderful (& warm) weekend and a good week ahead!

Please pop over to A Rural Journal
and see what Random Five things others have to share!!

...and don’t miss all the fabulous finds at Kim’s Friday Finds

 Thank You, to both of these wonderful women
for their time and for providing the space
for all the wonderful sharing that goes on...

Janetxo  



    Kim Klassen dot Com

Friday 14 February 2014

Random Five and Friday Finds

Sometimes,
when you are going through 80 some odd years of 
your parent's memories
you just have to take a break...

I have tried to scatter little bits of sorting
throughout my week 
rather than spending entire days
going through things...
I thought it might be emotionally easier.
I am not sure if that is the case
but this week held many joys.
...and this was one

ONE

My father was one of the founders
of Capital Records Canada
back in the late 40s and early 50s.
When I was born in 1953 
my parents thought it would be 'fun'
to record my birth.
This, 
at a time when fathers weren't even allowed 
in the delivery room!

This week I came across the product of that recording session.


I am not sure how many labels were printed
but they glued them onto white cards and sent them out
as birth announcements

See how the details of my birth are displayed 
like song title, producer, length of song etc...
Weren't they clever! 



TWO

I know a lot of farm folk follow Nancy's blog over at A Rural Journal
and contribute to Random Five Friday
so this may seem weird to them...
but
having grown up in a big city and then moving 
to a small town surrounded by farms in my retirement,
I get pretty excited about having real fresh eggs and produce!
Every other Thursday (during the winter)
I get a lovely CSA bin filled with delicious fresh food
from a local farm.
I can't begin to tell you how excited I get about that!


I brag to my city friends and they are so envious!
Especially when I tell them that I will never buy eggs at the grocery store again!


So I want to thank all you amazing farmers & farmettes!
I know you work so hard from daybreak until long after dark
and I, for one, greatly appreciate your efforts!

THREE

A few weeks ago I joined a Facebook group
There are 10,000 people out there globally
who are abandoning their art for others to find!
...and now I am one of them!
Can I tell you how exhilarating it was to
sneakily drop a few pieces of my "art"
at the movie theatre?

I think I am already addicted!!





FOUR

I have been participating in a month long playful online workshop. 
Deb Taylor's Mish Mash has been packed full of fun and creative ideas!
I have (finally) learned how to use my iPhone to take and edit photos!




So far we have explored photography and food in some very interesting ways 
and I am looking forward to the upcoming multimedia exploration & projects 
over the next few weeks!

FIVE

Saving the best for last!
The Mister is creating a NEW studio for me!!
I am currently using an old workbench in the basement for an art table,
my sewing machine is in our guest room (mostly put away)
and my desk/computer is upstairs in our living room...
We are insulating and finishing the basement this summer
so he put a nice big studio in the plans for me.
With room for my art table, desk and sewing machine all in one space!
We will be emptying the basement to do the work but
just to be sure I would like the space he has put up 
a spiffy new table for me to try out.
Right under a window and beside the fireplace!
He got these angle adjusting legs from Ikea...


and a beautiful glass table top!
I don't want to get too used to it 
because it will have to come down in the spring when we begin the renovations...
but for now I am in heaven!

Well that was a very random five for this Friday...
Hope to see you next week!


Janetxo  

  
    Kim Klassen dot Com   

Tuesday 4 February 2014

Re-entry

Or perhaps I should title this post
RE-re-entry...

Just a whole lotta stuff
calling out for my attention
these days...

Re-entering the blogosphere 
was not as easy as I thought it would be...

I have decided to stop beating myself up 
about neglecting this space...
it makes me avoid it,
rather than working harder to be here.

I clearly am not cut out to be a daily blogger.
...and that is what it is!

So, from here on in
I shall post when and what I can
until such time as 
"normal"
has been redefined in my life!

It seemed appropriate, for Texture Tuesday over at 
to use her 'kk_re-entry' texture...


My kudos to Kim!
She is one of the strongest people I know and
is working on her own re-entry,
much larger than my own
and so much more successfully.


Until next time...


Janetxo

kimklassencafe

Thursday 23 January 2014

14 in 2014

Feeling a bit overwhelmed with executrix duties and such lately
and falling behind here and with my 2B challenges
but determined to get caught up!

I promised myself I would complete this challenge on Kim Klassen's blog
before the end of the month
and the items for my 'list' have been flying around in my head
for weeks...
so when I woke up at 4:30 this morning 
and they were making themselves heard, begging not to be forgotten
I decided to get up and put them on paper 
via my "morning pages"!
(a la Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way)

It was interesting to watch them flow on to the paper 
and flesh out as they arrived on the page.
I could edit, reorganize, explain...
but in keeping with the spirit of morning pages
I am leaving them as they are,
typing them from the page without changing a thing...
Consider that an apology for random, scattered and unintelligible
thoughts you may come across...
I know what I meant!

First...my 'intention' phrase for this year



14 in 2014
  1. Schedule some time each day for my creative activities! Experiment more in photography software, mixed media, and craftwork…with the same approach I have always used with cooking! 
  2. Cull and organize my photos; grow my portfolio and business, get comfy with promoting myself…
  3. Get out of my photography comfort zone and go further afield for photos now that I am more mobile
  4. Get back to my pre-diagnosis yoga and Tai Chi routines and continue to deepen my meditative practices…keep up the daily walks and check out the local pools for swimming schedules until I can get the bike out!
  5. Get back to regular blogging…even if it is a scaled down version! I miss it!
  6. Increase my volunteer hours in 2014 either with more time at Inn from the Cold or teaching computers at the Senior’s Centre
  7. Grow that ideal garden that is in my head but not yet in the ground! Also re-evaluate that plan in my head to increase the amount and kind of food we grow 
  8. Grow myself…take new & different courses, read some different kinds of books…been hooked on history/culture for too long…explore something new! 
  9. Get out and about in my new community…explore the local events, amenities and history
  10. Doodle more
  11. Travel someplace different… like China or Tuscany! At least plan the trip and be happy with Arizona or Curacao if I can’t afford the big trip this year!
  12. Create book, virtual or otherwise, for my family, with the treasures I am finding in my parent’s belongings? Plan a "1st annual” family event to continue the spirit of the gatherings we’ve always had around Mom & Dad’s birthdays and anniversaries 
  13. Increase my commitment of random acts of kindness from once a month (last year’s goal) to once a week…because once a month was way too easy!
  14. Entertain more. Something else I have missed!…Get out that calendar, send out invitations in advance, have theme parties and game nights again!
This has been a great exercise 
to help me focus on where I want to put my energy this year!
Between my health issues and the loss of a sibling and both my parents
in such a short period of time I have been floundering...
I want to make this the year to
Get it Together!

Now, perhaps I can get caught up on my 2B work!!
...and what better inspiration than a photo of the first blooms of 2014?
(indoor plant of course...it is -28C outside!!)

Using kk_sybil & kk_cora textures by Kim Klassen
Wishing you all (belatedly) a wonderful year ahead and
much success in accomplishing your 14 in 2014!!


Janetxo  

Beyond Layers