Last Storm of the Winter?!

Snowstorms can mess with your plans - even in late March! Saturday, I was scheduled to take a workshop in soft pastels. But overnight a blustery snowstorm moved into our area. Visibility was poor as I headed off. Should I cancel my plans and stay home?!

I ended up going...

I'm glad I did! The instructor was inspiring.

(Here's a framed sample of his work.)














I haven't used pastels in years. Now I'm excited about them again! Indoors I forgot about the snow... hopefully the last of the season!

Bringing Heaven to Earth When We Pray

Prayer has been an important part of my life during my adult years. Setting out on my own to live in other places, there were times of loneliness and trepidation. I prayed and was comforted. In fact, I had a vivid sense that that God was with me, giving me the strength to go on.

Many years later, when my children were young, a book entitled, Let Prayer Change Your Life challenged me to make prayer a regular daily practice, not just during times of crisis.

I still often read about prayer. One idea I recently came across that has me thinking comes from Jesus' words in the Lord's Prayer:

"The Lord's Prayer says, 'Your will be done on earth even as it is done in heaven.'  When we pray that way we are partnering with God through prayer so that the purposes and plans He has in the spiritual realm will come to pass on earth - in our lives and in the lives of those around us. Through prayer we have the privilege of bringing heaven to earth!"

I never thought of prayer like that before. Earth definitely needs a touch of heaven! 

Dreaming of Warmer Weather

"Canadians have been flying south in record numbers to take a break from our cold weather," Terry tells me. "Airlines are having a hard time keeping up with the demand."

"That is a trend I understand... I have been thinking about a trip to Hawaii I took in January five years ago. It felt so good just to bask in the warmth. I'd like to go back!"

"Why Hawaii? Surely there are closer places that are warm."

"Those Elvis in Hawaii movies I saw in my youth have had a lasting effect!"

My Swedish Flower Seeds

I haven't planted seeds indoors for years. I used to have a vegetable garden when my children were young. Then I enjoyed planting tomato seeds in March and watching my seedlings grow. Eventually I stopped - when we started taking our family vacations in August and my neighbors ended up enjoying the fruit of my labor.

But I have been thinking of planting seedlings again - this time flowers. In particular I have been thinking of two packs of flower seeds my son brought back from a visit to a Swedish botanical garden almost a ten years ago, shortly after I began the front yard transformation from grass to flowers. I had no idea what kind they are. There was no picture on the packet - and all the writing is in Swedish.

The first winter I had the seeds, I kept them on a shelf near my favorite reading chair. But somehow I never planted them. Then I "tidied up" and moved the seeds! From then on, I could never find them in spring when I thought of planting them.

Time to hunt again!

I can hardly believe that I found them. A google search of the plant names (in Swedish) tells me that one is an apricot-colored poppy and the other is a purple Jacob's Ladder flower. They come from Botaniska Tradgard in Goteborgs, Sweden.

Hopefully they'll still grow - even though the seeds are 9 years old!

First Day of Spring?!!

Today is supposed to be the first day of spring!

That may be true in some places, but not in our part of Canada. We have no spring flowers.














Sidewalks and roads are mostly clear. But there is still a lot of ice and snow. To me, it still looks an awful lot like winter!

Wise Words

I stopped to read this plaque in the entrance to the pottery studio. They quote the words of Tommy Douglas, one of Canada's well know politicians, a man of my parents' generation.

It reads: "The measure of a nation's greatness does not lie in the conquest, or its Gross National Product, or the size of its gold reserves or the height of its skyscrapers. The real measure of a nation is the quality of its national life, what it does for the least fortunate of its citizens and the opportunities it provides for its youth to live useful and meaningful lives."

It hangs over a bin where potters can put unwanted mugs they have made, to donate them to a local shelter for the homeless. And some of the potters who come here are children and youth.

Painting Pots

Patience and persistence are prerequisites for potters: Every step forward starts with a challenge ... and a loss of confidence!

Inspired by this mug made by my instructor, I decided to try something different. Why not paint designs on my pots instead of simply dipping them in a colored liquid glaze..

Your pots have a textured surface, one of the experienced potters in the studio commented. A smooth surface is best for painting on. But try and see what happens.














So I did! But I think she was right... After the bisque firing, prior to painting, the pots are very dry and porous. Maybe I should have watered down the colors - or wet the area I was going to paint on first. Fortunately that was just my first coat. They say that three coats are needed for colors to come out bright. Then a clear glaze has to be added to make the pots shiny and food-safe.

(There is so much to learn. T and E - trial and error - are the best teacher in most things I do.)