Returning

Longtime readers will have noticed that I have been mostly absent from this blog for a while now. I've been travelling and grieving and experiencing technology issues and just busy doing other things, all of which add up to not enough time to spend at the computer.  I shall attempt to remedy the situation over the next little while and for those of you who are still checking in to read what I write, thank you for your patience.

As of early evening yesterday, I am home from a trip to Mexico City.  I feel a bit like these Canada geese I saw out my window at work today:

I heard them honking and watched them nip at each other and move about on the roof, as if they were talking back and forth while surveying their surroundings, discovering that while they were still somewhat familiar, they were also changed since the last time they were here.

I suspect they may have been the same pair who built a nest on the neighbouring property last year, as I wrote about here and here.  Then again, there were three of them today - one on the ground of the parking lot next door, very near where the nest was built last year.

(apologies for the lack of a closeup, I find my iPhone isn't that great for taking pictures of things far away.) Perhaps one of their kids returned with them?  Or perhaps the one on the ground was one of the parents, deciding whether to build there again?

I am feeling the same way, being back at work today.  Things are familiar but changed.  It will take me a few or several days to read through all the emails that accumulated and clear off the piles of files that have collected in my absence, to sort out what happened while I was gone.

It also feels like changes have occurred within me that I can't yet identify.  The events of the past few weeks and months will take some time to absorb and process.  I'll be watching to see what develops, just like I'll be watching out my window to see what those geese will do next.

Stay tuned!

March 15th

I've been thinking about my brother Craig all day today, as it would have been his 52nd birthday.  He was telling us at Christmas how he had dreaded turning 50 and had been glad to tick over to 51 when the time came.  So very sad and still hard to believe he didn't live to see 52.

Haiku My Heart Friday: Sunrise

As dawn is breaking

We gather on the sand to

Witness the sun's rise.

I've been getting up early enough to see the sunrise most mornings since I've been here on the beach in Florida, but I'm not the only one. Like pagan worshipers of old, we watch as the sun climbs out of the horizon and into the sky, celebrating the birth of a new day.

For more Friday haiku, visit Rebecca's blog at corazon (dot) typepad (dot) com.

By The Beach

The Back 2 Back retreat weekend is over.  As these things always do, our three days together with Dina Wakley and Dyan Reaveley flew by much too fast.  I'll post more when I get home to my computer and can download the many photos I took but for now, here are just a few.

I'm relaxing at the beach now.  Figured I would treat myself to a few days of sun, sand and sea.  Spent yesterday getting here and running errands (simply had to get a pedicure to celebrate the freedom of wearing sandals again, wasn't possible to get it done before I left home, what with all the snow and bitter cold!), picking up groceries, etc.  Got settled into the condo I rented, which has this view out the front door.

Today was a relaxation day. I slept in a bit, had a walk on the beach, picked up some seashells. Then lunch, journaling, a movie to watch, followed by a dip in the pool, another beach walk, a quick trip to the grocery store and a stop at Dairy Queen. Exhausting, right?

My early morning beachcombing was going much better before this guy showed up with his bulldozer:

I think his job is to clear the seaweed but in doing so, he buries all the seashells! 

No worries, there will be more opportunities, although I might have to start a little earlier in the day. In the meantime, there will be more art to be made and journaling to be done. A daily dip in the pool will be mandatory. Some nappingay be required. I must say, it's going to be hard to decide what to do first!

Making Tracks

I had intended to post photos of the cards I made after last weekend's Stamp of the Month demonstration at Bizzy B but I wasn't able to download my photos.  I suspect my memory is a little overloaded and I need to do some computer maintenance, move some stuff onto my external hard drive, but I didn't have time for that.

Instead, I'm making tracks, heading off to Florida. Not only will I be escaping the snow and cold (it's minus 17 Celsius outside as I type this, with a windchill of minus 27, which equates to minus 17F - brrr!!!), I will also be enjoying a weekend of art making with Dyan Reaveley and Dina Wakley. Can't wait!

Stay tuned for posts from my travels...

Happy Valentine's Day (Belated)

Hope you spent yesterday with someone and/or doing something you love.  Me, I spent some time playing in my art journal and I also braved the not-as-cold as-I-thought weather to visit Bizzy B for their February Stamp of the Month event.  As always, the cards Daniza made with the featured stamp and die were quite lovely.

This month's stamp is an acrylic cling stamp of a woman's face, made by Joy Crafts. As always, the cards Daniza made with the featured stamp and die were quite lovely:

The die is a flourish that is also made by Joy Crafts.  Here is a card Daniza made using three of them layered on top of each other:

Very simple but effective, wouldn't you agree? Here are a few more of Daniza's delightful creations:

This design was my absolute favourite:

Stay tuned - next post, I'll show you some of the cards I made with my newly purchased SOTM items!

Haiku My Heart Friday: Grateful

Kind words of comfort
Help to ease the pain of loss;
Grateful for the love.

Two weeks ago tonight, I was sitting at this very computer composing a Friday haiku when my sister phoned to tell me our brother Craig had passed away.  The terminal cancer diagnosis he had received just before Christmas meant that this news was not completely unexpected but at the same time, it was a total shock to hear he had left us so soon.  Needless to say, that interrupted blog post didn't get published.

It has been a busy and emotional time since then.  I am so very grateful to all of those who have sent cards, emails, flowers, Facebook messages and texts and posted online offering words of comfort to myself and my family.  Anyone who has lost a loved one will tell you how much these messages mean to the recipients, each one a layer of warmth and love that wraps those of us who are suffering in a cocoon of caring.  Thank you all for your support at this difficult time.

The four of us: Janine, Jay, Craig and Cynthia

At the funeral last week, we didn't have very many pictures of us four siblings together (the older we got, the rarer it was to have us all together in front of a camera, unfortunately). I found a few more this week from the olden days (apologies for the not so perfect quality of these photos, I don't have a scanner, so they are photos of photos.)

First there were two of us, me and Craig:

Then Jay made three:

Love the angelic smile on baby Jay's face!

Then four:

With Grandpa Harrison

With Grandpa and Grandma Fawcett,
and the stockings she made (still being used all these years later!)

Grateful for old photographs, helping to preserve memories of days gone by and happier times.