My "Sky" Collection

For the past few months, I've been part of a "creative circle" of painters, meeting once a week in a church basement in Almonte to do art.

We all work on different things - and it's fun!

What to paint?! Whatever we feel like!

One woman sketches the human body, another paints  flowers.

I've been drawn to the many sky pictures I have stored on my cell phone. I can't stop myself from taking pictures of beautiful skies.

Now I've been trying to replicate the sky's awesomeness in paintings - every week a different one...

There it is... lined up on the piano - my spring 2024 "sky collection."

(Hopefully, more to come...)

"Not Old"

I enjoy hanging out with my grandkids - though sometimes it's hard to keep up!

Recently, as I headed downstairs with them into their playroom, I urged them to go ahead of me on the stairs: Grandma's old, I said. I can't go as fast as you anymore.

Then later, after getting down on my hands and knees to crawl into their fort, it was a struggle for me to stand up again.

Why are you so slow, Grandma? Jericho asked.

I'm old, I replied. 

With a touch of impatience, he pooh-poohed my answer: Get up! You're not old!

(He's wrong! But that was the best compliment I've received in years!)

Free Lunch!

A few weeks ago, Terry and I stopped briefly in Kingston, en route to Niagara Falls.

As we walked into the historic downtown area, thinking of getting some food, we noticed burgers and hot dogs being served.

Where do we pay? we asked.

Oh, it's free, a soldier serving cake replied. We're celebrating the 110th anniversary of our military batallion. Join in the party - it's all free...

So we did!

My Orchid's Aerial Roots

Should I trim back the aerial roots on my orchid? I asked my daughter, who has a number of orchids, and seems very knowledgeable about all her plants.

(In the photo above, the plant is growing in the pot on the left - filled with above ground roots - while all the flowers are growing on a stem to the right.)

I sent her this picture of the roots...

Ask Google, she replied.

Glad I did!

All the articles that came up indicated that - as long as the aerial roots aren't turning brown or dying - they are an essential part of the plant and feed moisture to the plant through humidity in the air...

So - even though they may look messy - they're a healthy growth and should not be touched!

I'm not a fan of the aerial roots resting on the table, so I bought a basket that lifts them up a bit! (There's a solution to every problem!)

Just Cake

Last year's birthday was a quiet affair for our daughter, at her request. 

The only festive touch was this birthday cake, decorated with broken cookies instead of candles, (from a bakery called "Corner Peach.")

Perfect for a quiet - but tasty - celebration.

Beautiful Flowers - Indoors and Out

These days, I'm enjoying flowers indoors...

And out...

These peonies in our backyard are surrounded by so much greenery that I almost missed them.

There are two types - some lie flat - like daisies. Others are fuller. I think they're called single blooms and double blooms.

The white flowers behind the peonies are gout weed.

Nearby, almost finished blooming, are Persian cornflowers. More white gout weed flowers grow near them as well. Even the gout weed looks pretty at this time of the year!

Riding Lessons

One of the first local events our granddaughter participated in - when she moved to her rural Ottawa home from downtown Toronto - was horseback riding lessons.

As I recently watched her saddle up "Percy," I was reminded that my mother had to ride a horse to school in high school.

The school was too far away - and, in those days, there were no school buses!

She must have saddled the horse at home in the morning - and unsaddled it once she got to school. Did she tie the horse to a tree while she was in class? Or was there a hitching post? Where did she put the saddle?!

Was she the only student to come on horseback? Or were there others?

The only story I ever heard about her horseback riding days was the warm spring day the horse stopped and lay down on a flooded road. She jumped off, pulling on the reins, thinking he was dying. But he was just hot and wanted to cool off.

After a few minutes, the horse got up and they continued on their way. She was annoyed that she had to jump down into muddy water - and that her clean clothes and shoes were now dirty from the mud the horse was covered in!