I took the picture of the forsythia on Monday and the cherry blossoms today. Aaaaah, spring is really here!

Canadian women owned the podium today. A gold and silver for the bobsled, gold for hockey and bronze for figure skating. WOMAN POWER!! Canadian Women have also won eleven and a half of the fifteen medals Canada has won - that was before todays wins. (The half is for the skating dance). Women really do rock!

Stop by http://inkspillersattic.blogspot.com/ for a great giveaway.

I have been neglecting my blog lately, I really like to post something every day but I feel like my life is so uninteresting and boring that I often don't know what to say. Well, boring is not the word, actually, it is far from boring but the things that happen are frustrating and just plain negative so I don't want to write about those things. I have said before that I live in a building that is mismanaged and problems are not resolved so they get bigger and bigger until something happens. There is so much unrest and frustration and some downright angry people it is hard to stay positive, so I am struggling to stay positive amidst all the drama. The caretaker is really incompetent and ineffective and so people come to me to ask me questions and ask what is going on and how to deal with things. I don't mind that so much but I resent doing the caretakers job half the time. As I have said before I have written to the landlord and the property manager but am met with indifference and stonewalling and so it goes on. I don't want this to be the focus of my life or my blog so my goal for this year is to not get caught up in the drama but it is very difficult when every second person I talk to is upset about something and is asking for advice on what to do, I guess because I have written a couple of letters they see me as an authority figure and someone who knows what to do.

So my dilemma is how to be more focused on the positive side of my life which is my creativity and my blog. I will attempt to post something positive every day just to keep myself focused on my creativity.

I am working on one of my crazy quilt blocks - the mermaid one - and I find it very relaxing. Go my other blog http://secretgardencrazyquilting.blogspot.com/ to see the mermaid block I am working on. It's the turquoise and coral one.

On the bright side, we have had the most amazing weather for the past week and the cherry blossoms are out already. This is my friend and neighbor Shirley.

The pictures were actually taken a couple of years ago and the close-ups were taken in my neighbours garden. There is a cherry blossom festival every years in March/April so we are really early this year.

Last night I made some sculpy seahorses. I had some tiny plastic seahorses and shells from the dollar store some time ago and made a mold from one of them so I can make seahorses when I need them. They are one of my favourite things, they are so cute.

This picture is from the internet.

Thanks to everyone who has continued to visit me over the past few months, your comments and visits mean a lot and even though I haven't blogged everyday, I have visited you all almost every day.

Today's message from Sarah Ban Breathnach in Simple Abundance is entitled "Making Your Own Imprint." "Making your own imprint on life implies that you know exactly how to express your own inimitable style." She says that "the soap in the bathroom, the flowers in the garen, the book on the bedside table are all strong symbols of a life in progress, you look at these details and a world unfolds".

I have had this book for many years and have read it over and over. There is a post for each day of the year. It doesn't always apply to me - I wish there was one for retired women - but a lot of it reminds me to continue to renew my life and to discover new or unacknowledged parts of myself and express them in my everyday life. This is another one of my goals for this year - to make my own imprint on my day to day life.

Herb loved the view from his window which is the same as mine.

I have just learned that my neighbour and weekend relief manager, Herb Gee, passed away at 4:40 this afternoon. He was a man that I admired very much and who was always ready and willing to help his neighbours. Last September he won six gold medals for sprinting even though he was suffering from a cough that the doctor told him was nothing to worry about. By the end of October he was diagnosed with a very aggressive lung cancer. It has been very difficult to watch this strong vibrant man's health deteriorate so quickly and very difficult to process that it is happening. I am glad that he is at peace now and did not suffer for too long. I have missed his presence in the building since he went into respite care a month ago. He just turned 69 on January 5th.

I got organized today, picking out threads and embellishments and dying some cheesecloth with acrylic ink for my first crazy quilt bag. I also finished a watercolour I started a while back. I'm not too happy with the blackberries but the rest I feel good about.

I put some daffodils and crocuses on my patio on the weekend so it looks very springlike, the colours are so bright and cheery. The snowdrops are out as well.

Canada has won two gold medals, I guess you've already heard they are the first two gold medals won in Canada. Very exciting.

The winner of my faerie pouch is Icela at http://icelas-world.blogspot.com I wish I could send one to each and every one of you who entered but, obviously, that is not possible. Thank you to everyone who took the time to stop by and visit me, I enjoyed visiting your blogs and meeting all of you.

This is the Olympic torch going up False Creek in a canoe. Not very good pictures unfortunately, not sure why.

There were fireworks again tonight just across the Creek, it was a really great display, but Jazmine kitty was not happy as usual.

I spent the afternoon finishing up my crazy quilt blocks ready for embroidery and embellishment. You can see them at http://secretgardencrazyquilting.blogspot.com/ Now that my sewing machine is put away I will paint toomorrow. It would be so nice to have a studio with a station for each thing I do: sewing, painting etc., however, I must remember gratitude for what I do have and I have a great view, and everything I need. Who could ask for more!!

At 7:40 this evening I watched the Olympic Flame going over the Burrard Street bridge. I had to use my binoculars and it was very tiny but I did see it. I was hoping to see it going into David Lam Park across the creek from me but unfortunately there are too many fences in the way. I had a great view of the fireworks though - Jazmine was not impressed and hunched down staring out the window with a disgusted pussycat look on her face! Princesses are not supposed to be frightened and disturbed!!

I received a parcel this morning, a lovely start to my day. Silk ribbons, beads and little vintage photos on fabric to make more crazyquilts. I ordered them from Pat Winter on February 1st. She made up a nice package and added a couple of items which was very thoughtful of her.

Tomorrow I am going to sew my last three crazyquilt blocks and then start on my fairy land painting. I am plodding along slowly!

The days do fly by. I have just discovered this blog and there is a very generous giveaway on it. Debbie is a new blogger so maybe you'd like to stop by and visit her. http://debbie-mylife-myloves-mystuff.blogspot.com/

I spent yesterday sewing some crazy quilt patches together, it took me all afternoon to do three. I have four more ready to go but I find that I change my choice of colours part way through so it takes quite a bit of time and that's okay.

I stopped by Book Warehouse earlier this week just to wander around and immediately found a book called How To Draw & Paint Fairyland by Linda Ravenscroft. I wrote a post last year about wanting to paint faeries but didn't know quite where to start. This book is great for this. It shows how to create different weather moods and seasons and how to build up a composition. It has some exercises where you can trace a picture and paint it for practice. I have been gathering the equipment I need and will start soon. I realized after looking though the book that I have loved doing this type of thing since I was a child. I have often bought children's books for the illustrations and liked to draw snails, butterflies, dragonflies, toadstools, etc. When my girls were small I used to make a candyland at Christmas with little pixies and faeries with gumdrops on straws stuck in foam that was covered in cotton wool. Linda suggests taking a camera and going on nature walks, taking pictures from a fairie point of view, sketching and collecting bits and pieces to use for inspiration and to draw from. I have always collected bits and pieces of driftwood, conkers (chestnuts), acorns, snail shells (empty ones only) and anything else that looks interesting. I am looking forward to this new direction. I think the faeries I bought last year were the beginning of this.

The Olympics are almost here. No snow at all on one of the mountains and the weather is very much like Spring. I saw some snowdrops today and a couple of crocuses. Apparently it is very busy in downtown Vancouver but it was very quiet on Granville Island and along Broadway and 4th Avenue today. Helicopters have been flying around pretty regularly because I live near the Olympic village and there are searchlights in English Bay that you can see around the city, every night. Someone said the torch was coming by here on Thursday or Friday so I'll have to find out where and when and watch for it. I am not terribly excited about the Olympics because it is a corporate money-grab and money that should be spent on needed resources for people (health care, education and support services for the disadvantage) is being spent in the billions on this two week event. It is no longer about the athletes and also with so many athletes taking drugs it has taken the shine off of it for me. Anyway, it is going on so I may as well stop by some of the free events and I think I will go downtown tomorrow and see what's going on down there.
I can actually see one of the sites from my window where they will be showing the events on a huge TV screen.

I am doing an ATC trade with my granddaughter and a friend from blogland so I am looking forward to that - I love getting mail, especially when it is something creative.

That's it for today, sleep well and may tomorrow be filled with grace and love.