ART JOURNAL PAGE

I was sitting looking at this yellow page in my art journal a couple of days ago and thought it needed a green apple on it. Then I thought of a pear and then the cockney rhyming slang "up the apple and pears", popped into my head. Up the apples and pears means stairs. Just a bit of silly fun!!! I lived in England for fourteen years, five of which was spent in Haverhill, Suffolk which isn't too far from London.

I got my Christmas decorations out of storage today ready to decorate tomorrow. I look forward to having my tree and lights up this year, some years I don't feel quite so in to it.

Hope you are all having a great week.

CHRISTMAS IS NOT FAR AWAY!

There is a great folk art give-away at http://dianesalter.blogspot.com/ Pop over and enter your name.

Yes, I have been gone for a few days - over a week again - I don't know what is up with me lately I just get distracted.

I have continued to do my walk workout and my daughter started me on weights earlier this week. I have lost 7 pounds and about 10 inches. I feel so much better and have so much more energy. I able to go from morning until night now, it is great!

We had some snow on Thursday but it has all been washed away by our rain forest rain. It was very pretty at the time though. The weather was also very cold at the beginning of the week and we are such sissies here in Vancouver -4 freaks us out. LOL

I have bought some white birds, red birds and white butterflies to decorate for Christmas, which I will be doing over the weekend. I made my Christmas wreath for my door the other day with a white boa, red birds, red ribbon, poinsettias and one white bird. It looks very Christmassy!!
So I have been creative after all!

MUSHROOMS

This is my latest mushroom picture:

Still enjoying the watercolours. I came up with my own colours for this one and wonder if it is a bit boring and needed more colour. But it is all practice.

Went to visit my friend today and go for a walk with him. We had word today that he is being moved to a care home close by here, which was his first choice so I hope it turns out to be better than the one he is in. It will certainly be better for me because I will be able to walk there rather than have to take two or three buses.

I working my way up to a twenty minute challenge, I think it will be a very good exercise for me. I will have to get a timer.

REMEMBRANCE DAY OXYMORON

The eleventh month
day, hour, leaden grey skies weep
killing to bring peace

THE FLY BY

The old planes that used to fly overhead when I was a child and we would run out shouting and pointing, it was so unusual to see a plane in those days. How things have changed!!

URBAN WILDLIFE

During the early Fall, a friend and I went to Stanley Park and wandered around all afternoon. It was a beautiful day and we were fortunate enough to see some swans:

and about nine raccoons. Someone was feeding them and one by one they crept

out of the bushes. There was a mixture of babies and adults, obviously several

families:

I have been painting off and on for the past four days but I haven't finished anything yet. I have also been doing a little embroidery on my purse. I am slow but I get there eventually.

I worked out hard this morning and it was raining and cold and windy - such dedication!!!

The cold finally inspired me to go to my storage locker and get my winter clothes out. It has been so warm here up until today that I haven't needed my sweaters. I guess Fall is well and truly here now.

I am off to have a hot bath and get ready for bed.

NO REFLECTIONS TODAY

It was dreary and rainy most of the day.
A late bloomer:

Granville Island: Crystal Ark

And the Kid's Market:

I painted two more mushrooms today and thoroughly enjoyed myself. It is so nice to just get lost for hours in colour.

I had a delicious morning sleeping in and just dozing and reading and I feel much better for it. The exhaustion has passed and now I have two days off from exercising to look forward to. I went for my walk - I was ordered to have an easy day today because I worked hard all week - and enjoyed being out in the misty rain, it wasn't cold so it was a pleasant autumn day.

AUTUMN REFLECTIONS

Another beautiful autumn day, I took this on my early morning walk.

I was going to paint today and got a picture drawn but I had to do four loads of laundry and that took me all afternoon. Now I am really tired. I find with the radical change in my schedule and the exercise I get tired early in the evening. I have been going to bed around 10:30pm, unheard of for me, and am asleep just after 11:00pm and then wake up a about 6:30am. I haven't kept these hours for many years. I guess I will get used to it sooner or later.

These are a couple of Zendalas that I drew over the past couple of months when I wasn't blogging.

URBAN SUNRISE

Can you believe I'm sitting here at 7:30 am waiting for it to get light so I can go for my walk? This is the person who hasn't got out of bed before 10:00 am for months. Amazing how a little encouragement and support can help us change our lives! My whole eating, sleeping, creating schedule has changed in the past three weeks.

What a treat watching the sunrise while I walk. I was sorry I hadn't take my camera yesterday as the mist rolled in and out while my daughter and I walked, it was very mysterious and mystical.

FORESTY THINGS

I love mushrooms and bought a book about a year ago so it will come in handy to paint lots of different mushrooms:

I painted these two pictures today, one to make up for missing yesterday. I was really busy yesterday and just didn't feel like painting when I got home. I went to bed early.

My DD came this morning for my training, I pulled something in my upper thigh yesterday and it is kind of sore tonight so I hope it feels better tomorrow so I can do my walking.

I'm still liking the watercolours, no clean-up to speak of and no mess while I'm doing it - that works really well for me.

I have been staying home a lot lately, I am really fed up with the traffic and noise and grumpy people. I live in a quiet oasis in the middle of the city so it is very nice to be at home. I'm feeling quite content these days, unlike my usual anxious, needing to go out and do something sort of energy. I don't know what brought about the change but it is good.