A Rainbow

I was riding home on the subway tonight just as the sun was setting. I'd been downtown to get my hair cut and underground for most of the time, so hadn't realized it had rained out in the west end of the city until the train was riding through the suburbs above ground and I could see the drying asphalt.  I looked up and saw a rainbow, just as the train was pulling into the next station, cutting off my view of the outdoors.  They are so rare, it is always so magical to see one.

When I got to the final station, I took this photo of the clouds that had formed the backdrop for the rainbow, which was all but invisible in this shot (at least as far as my cell phone camera was concerned!). But as you can see, somewhere in the middle of that formation, it was still raining.

Never A Dull Moment

When you're still a kitten at heart, everything is a toy.  Even a roll of paper towels.

Who needs a roll of masking tape to chase when there are paper towels to be unrolled?

First I walk casually past:

Next thing you know, it's a whirlwind of excitement!

Like I told you, I'm not just a pretty face. But I am pretty darned cute.

Starry, Starry Night

It's a special night.  Not only are we witnessing a celestial event that won't be seen again in our lifetime, the transit of Venus (is it just me or does that sound like the title of a porn movie?), but here in Canada, we are also being treated to a broadcast of the concert last night held in London, England to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth.   These photos have all been taken in the past few days. I especially love the one of her laughing, we don't see that side of her too often.

Photo courtesy of tressugar.com

Big names like Sir Elton, Sir Paul, Sir Tom Jones, Annie Lennox and Stevie Wonder are all going to be performing and according to my friends in England who watched it live last night, it was a great show.

60 years on the job. Can you imagine? Certainly Liz should be commended, she has done a great job through the years.  She does us proud.  I'm pretty sure we won't see anyone who can hold a candle to her in our lifetimes, either.  Long may she reign.

Scrub, Scrub

Am I the last one to know about this??! Why didn't anyone tell me before?  I just bought this totally cool gadget at a local art store (Curry's, for my local Torontonians) for a mere 99 cents and it is fantastic!  The best 99 cents I ever spent!  How did I ever live without before? And how did my paint brushes get clean before?

Here's what it looks like (the one I bought is round, not heart-shaped, but this was the closest match I could find on Google):

Photo courtesy of artistsclub.com

You just rub the bristles of your brush against the little pointy bits (the other side is flat so it sits comfortably in your hand) and voila, paint or glue or whatever is removed, quickly and easily.  Incredible.  Kudos to the inventor!

Stamp Carving

Doing a little practice carving:

Not keen on the way the "Fabriano" stamp turned out, might try that one again.  Or learn to accept the imperfection.

A Busy One

It has been one of those non-stop busy days where nothing seems to have been finished but lots got done.  I am hoping that by this time tomorrow, everything will have magically come together in a more complete fashion, but in the meantime, I definitely feel like progress was made.

I decorated the cover of my daily journal and pasted in some images that have been lying around for a while waiting to find their place.  Cats have been fed, watered, brushed and cuddled.  I tidied up and put away all the rest of the kitchen stuff that got shuffled about last night.  More stuff was collected for the Goodwill box.  Online class notes were sorted into binders, labelled and put on an easy to reach shelf for quick reference.

The biggest job today was cleaning off my desk and rearranging the computer, printer and storage compartment that sit on it, as well as dusting and reorganizing the top 3 shelves of the bookcase beside it.  It doesn't look all that exciting and it seems rather too linear or something at the moment with everything lined up along the wall like that but practically speaking, it will be more efficient, because the cables have all been rearranged (who knew that would be so time consuming?) and I'll be able to reach the printer more easily on the right hand side now that the filing cabinet on the left isn't blocking my access. 

That Paris picture? Finally hung it today, after leaning it against the wall for the past year since I bought it.  Wasn't sure the table would support my weight, finally brave enough today to try it and no problem!

Notice the phone is raised up on top of the little storage compartment? That's because there have been a couple of instances in recent weeks where a cat has knocked the phone off the hook and then stepped on a speed dial button.  Usually I just hear that annoying dial tone beeping noise but there was one occasion when my brother in Jasper wanted to know why I called him in the middle of a weekday from home when I should have been at work (he doesn't have voicemail, just saw my number on the call display).  I had to explain that I didn't call him, the cat did! :)

I'm weary now though. I was tired when I woke up this morning, after a week of not getting to bed early enough, last night included, but I've been ignoring it all day. It's starting to catch up to me now though and my back is telling me that all that clambering about on top of and under the desk was a bit much. Think I'll watch a bit of TV and then head to bed.  There's more organizing, cleaning and pre-packing preparation to be done tomorrow!

Things To Be Done

You know how it is when a vacation trip approaches, there is always so much to be done.  I've been making lists and collecting things I plan to take with me into piles, shopping for sunscreen, travel sized toothpaste and art supplies, considering what clothes to take, making arrangements for accommodations and cat sitting, that sort of thing.  Which is why I had to spend some time tonight sorting out the bookcase in my kitchen...

Okay, dealing with a slightly damaged bookcase wasn't originally on my list of things to do before my trip (did I mention I'm going to Italy?!) but last night I noticed, really became aware, that this particular bookcase was coming apart on one side.  So naturally, it had to be fixed.  Tonight. As soon as I came home from work. 

It was a simple job - I would just need to take everything out, push or hammer the pieces back into place and put the contents back onto the shelves.  I gave myself an hour to do it.  In the end, it only took an hour and a half, and the extra time was needed only because I decided once I'd emptied the bookcase and put it back together properly that maybe I'd rearrange the furniture a little bit, try something different.  Which involved moving around the contents of the bookcase and some things from my dining room, so it took a little bit longer.

But I'm glad I did it, because I'm quite pleased with how everything turned out.  My recipe books are now tucked into the top shelf of one of my kitchen cupboards for when I need them (which is rarely, I don't cook from a recipe that often).

I have a small pile of very large, heavy, never referred to in the past 20 years cookbooks by the front door, ready to be taken to Goodwill in the next day or two.  Why I'd kept them all these years, I don't know but I'm ready to let them go now.

I moved my $2.00 worth of bookcases to the space previously occupied by the falling apart bookcase, where they seem quite happy to be side by side instead of sitting apart as they were previously.  They fit into the space by the stove perfectly, with just enough room left over to tuck the broom.  They are holding several of my art supplies, including last week's antique show treasures, the rubber stamps in their holder and the cheque writing machine.

I put the now holding together quite nicely bookcase against the opposite wall and filled it with more art supplies, so they are close at hand for when I need them but not cluttering up the table when not being used.  There is also lots of room for some of the books from the bookcases in the dining room, which will then clear some much needed space in that room for other things to be tucked neatly into place (but that's a job for another day).

Man, it feels good when things are organized and in the place where they belong! And I'll be able to enjoy Italy that much more just knowing my bookcase back home isn't falling apart while I'm gone! ;)