They weren't kidding about the snow

Snowy day in Toronto
iPad drawing
8 x 10 inches
Barbara Muir © 2019

Today the snow in Toronto is not a joke.  The weather people
projected 15 1/2 inches of snow, and I think we've got at least

that.  We've shovelled, neighbourhood kids shovelled agaiin,
and still the snow on our sidewalk to the house is about a foot

deep.

We had a wonderful family pre-birthday nonetheless, and it
feels wonderful to come inside after being out in the deep
landscape.

Have a loving your life day!

Happy Monthaversary of our wedding day!

 

Steven and me in the lights
of Times Square in 2015.
We love New York City,
and hope to visit sometime
again when things change.  

Today is our Monthaversary of
our wedding day.

No we weren't in Times Square.

We were here in Toronto in

the freezing cold.

It's our Monthaversary of our wedding anniversary.  So what did we do?  
We went to the market this morning.  Our farmer we order everything
from is off for health reasons, so we met some new people.  The ride

through Rosedale Valley Road going home is exceptionally beautiful
with the trees and snow.

Thinking about happiness with so much frightening news, I found
this list of how I work on having a good day:

1.  Making a list of six things I want to accomplish in the day
really helps me to get them done.

2. If I write 2 - 3 pages in a journal, and do a sketch in my journal
I feel like the day has begun well.

3. Drinking a lot of coffee. Minimum 3, maximum 5.

4. Taking time to read.

5. Looking at what other people are doing creatively on Instagram, 

and YouTube.

6. Going into the studio, turning on music I like, and painting.

I have music I like on now while I write this.  So music helps
with so many things. 

Have a loving your life day!

Thursday in the freezing cold -- concentrating on being happy

 

The feeling of pink
Acrylic on birch panel 
5 x 7 inches
Barbara Muir © 2019

It seems like the ideal day to try an exercise I used to do with
my positive psychology class -- 10 reasons to be happy.

So here goes -- it's minus 15 Celsius here, feels like minus

25. That's cold my friends.

So here we go:

10 Reasons to be happy

1. I did a good drawing today.

2. Instead of walking I stayed inside reading and planning.
It was still a bit chilly.

3. Our brilliant red Amaryllis bloomed again. Two huge 
flowers opened up today.

4. I got a wonderful card from my friend in The Netherlands
to celebrate that we've been friends for 10 years.  We met at The
Florence Biennale, and we talk once a week.

5. I have a couple of great books to read.

6.  Our dinner was delicious.

7. We have heat and hydro.

8. I have a sweet husband who loves me.

9. I'm planning some art shows for this year, and feel so excited. 

10. It's time to go and watch our delightful TV show with our animal
family (a cat and a dog.)

Have a loving your life day!

Happy Anniversary to my sweet husband!

 Irises celebrate

Photo

Barbara Muir © 

Today is a special day for us, because we celebrate it
every month -- the date of our first date. 

What did we do on our first date? Steven and I went
out to dinner at a restaurant on Yonge Street south
of St. Clair that's no longer there. It featured a D.J.
and dancing.  

A friend of mine worked as a server there, and she brought us Singapore Slings -- which I don't think we ever had again. 
They were delicious, but when we drink it's mostly white
wine. 

Then Steven walked me home. And we have been "dating"
ever since. We married 11 months after our first date, and
the wedding Monthaversary is in two days on the 24th.

The photo today is of beautiful irises on the kitchen table.
I wish I knew where to buy them now. Our local flower

store isn't carrying them. So if you have any tips for
Toronto.  Let me know. 

Have a loving your life day!

Flowers lift us up

Cottage Flowers
Acrylic on canvas
24 x 24 inches

Barbara Muir © Revised 2024

Last night I had my first session this year with my art group, and I got a rough
portrait painted in the 35 minutes I had to paint.  (As I've said before -- Steven,

my husband drops me off, and picks me up exactly an hour later.) The model
Brian was wonderful, and it was good to see everyone again. Painting with
the group always makes me feel lucky, and like I want to keep painting.

So I wanted to share something happy tonight, because the news is grim
lately, and it's winter. This seemed perfect.  I've been working on a very
cheery painting of a bouquet from last summer, and that made me feel good.

It was a good day to notice what is beautiful -- a cold, dark and
snowy, but very beautiful day here in Toronto, Canada.  

Have a loving your lfie day!

 

Dreaming of the MoMA and New York City

 

 Salad Obsession

Acrylic on canvas

12 x 12 inches
Barbara Muir © 
SOLD ♥

There was a time when New York City felt like a second home.
I loved the gallery I showed with there, and the gallery curator
is a sweetheart.  I exhibited my work for 10 years in NYC
and loved every minute of being there.  But things are very
different in the U.S. now.  Big hopes for Mamdani, but even
so.  Here's what I said in a former post:

"If there were ever a time when an escape dream would help,

this is one.  And I saw this painting of a delicious lunch
in the wonderful restaurant in the MoMA. I remember 
not only the food -- awesome, but the wonderful people we
got to talk to in New York.  I was telling someone today

that New Yorkers are so warm, and loved a conversation --
And the conversations were always both funny and brainy.

Fingers crossed that what's happening now is what
Jeffrey Gitomer would call a "temporary situation."
So I wish you a great day.

Of course the temporary situation now has been going
on for a year, and it gets more grim by the day.
But here's to my artist friends, trying to bring some
cheer into a hard time.

Have a loving your life day!

Great meeting about our show The Colour of Light in April

 

Morning  in Korea

Acrylic on canvas

24 x 24 inches

Barbara Muir © 

(I love this Skype painting
based on a very rough Skype

photo from when my son and his
wife (then girlfriend) were 

teaching English in Korea for a year. 

 Even the though the connections were

sometimes sketchy -- Skype let us keep
in touch, and the Skype sessions 
seeing each other meant so
much to us.)

I took a taxi to a meeting at the Heliconian Hall where we talked about

the show happening in April with work by Henrietta Walmark, Vivian
East and me.  Henrietta and Vivian are wonderful artists and I'm so
looking foward to showing with them. When I have the dates I'll let you
know.

During the taxi ride the driver and I talked about the state of the world,

and how we all needed to become more loving, and the words of this

former post about love seemed right:

"The image tonight seems right because my son and his wife spent a
year teaching English in Korea, and loved their life there.  And
the painting shows how much they love each other.

It is a supremely frightening time in the world, and for some reason,

a line from a Beatles song I heard while waiting in line at the grocery
store keeps coming into my head over and over.

The line is "love is all you need." The world really needs us to work on
being more loving. That sounds corny as all get out, but it’s true.
We need to quit warring, and competing, and trying to be the best, and
start caring more for other people, other cultures, other countries, and
for the whole planet.

A tall order, I know. Unrealistic probably. Essential yes.

I feel lucky to have been able to teach people how to be kinder to 
themselves, and more cooperative with others at the college level.

And (as I said to the taxi driver) to have learned so much from my
students about their worlds -- what they loved, the different parts of
the world they'd seen.The benefits for all involved were dramatic.
The lesson learned -- caring about others helps your life."

Have a loving your life day!