Missing Megan

Here's a medium size painting I did a few years ago of Megan, my son's girlfriend, sitting in the restaurant
The Stork on The Roof. The restaurant was recommended
to us by Diana Fisher, and we always enjoyed our meals there.
It had a Netherlands feel, and there were Dutch dishes from time to time. I like the abstract waitress in this work, who I can picture from the few smudges I made to represent her.

Unfortunately the Stork is gone now, but the mood of dining out on a hot night remains in this image.

Megan and Christopher are in Korea, and although
we've spoken to both of them on Skype, I miss
having them drop in in person to share a meal
and some laughs.

Have a great eating night!

Soaring seaward

The first hot day hit like an exhaust fume from hell.
We didn't have the air conditioners in (yes we use
portables - and yes we use air conditioners), and the heat
in the house was stupefying. Last night Steven and I
hardly slept, and tonight I find myself yearning like
a trapped bird for Nova Scotia. The
pull to get in the car and go is
strong. Vruumm, Vrummm,
Vrrrrummmm as my sons would say gunning their trucks when they were little (toys not ride ons, you guys are touchy tonight!).

Fuel of course is prohibitive. Flying isn't an option, and... I just want to go.Out there we live in our little one room school house, (two if you count the makeshift second floor)
we read, play cards, and plan the
next meal. We go to a fabulous beach in a nearby provincial park
every day. We visit our wonderful friends, and get restored back to something approaching warm,
positive and human. For me summer = Nova Scotia = schoolhouse = beach = friends = fun.

Photos: The schoolhouse,
the hill running down to the beach,
the beach, playing volleyball at
our friends' party, our dog Zoey (left)
with her friend, Kujo.


Have a flying away night.

Missing Pugwash

I'm too tired to write much tonight.
I'm marking to get ready for my
class tomorrow, but I found this picture of Claudia walking along my favorite strip of beach
in Nova Scotia, near Pugwash. The photo was the backdrop for my computer's desktop for three or four years. It isn't a particularly good image, and it doesn't show the beach at it's best -- (at low tide it's spectacular), but it brought back one particular summer vividly. So I kept it for sentimental reasons. It seems fitting today. Claudia and her cousin Veronica
made everyone cry at their grandmother's funeral this morning, when they choked up doing
the readings.

These two cousins are like very close sisters. They stood
together comforting each other in their loss, and walked
back to their families holding hands. They were honest
and moving in their grief.

Back to the beach... it's too bad Nova Scotia is so far away.

Have a summer thoughts day.

Sprouting spring

Outside the March winds are howling. Inside, in a bread pan that was headed for the Sally Ann, in reused soil saved from last month's tulip bulbs, I am growing poppies in a plastic lettuce container greenhouse. I put the ground pepper sized seeds in the pots on Monday night and presto. The trouble with poppies is that they hate to be transplanted, so I will have to thin them, then take the soil and carefully lower it into a new and larger pot. The results in Steven's lush photos taken in our little garden are worth it. Next I think I'll start on Morning Glories. Ya Mama. Mike Dooley says,"Think Big!" I say "Think Big Pleasure!

Have a growing day!