A family of romantics -- even the dog

Sally, our dog with red tulips
Photo
Barbara Muir © 2022

 I took this photo of our dog Sally because I was sending a friend
pictures of our cats with beautiful irises, and the friend said, "what
about Sally?"  By that time the irises had gone to compost, and 
we had tulips, so here she is. The look is right for the Month of
Love.

Sally's one big love, other than snow, and food, and us --
is singing Happy Birthday.  We can't even say the words or she'll
start to bark.  Barking is her singing.  She's definitely got our family's
vibe of a love of celebration.  And yes she gets a dog cookie after she
drives everyone nuts with loud barking for the duration of the song.

Happy weekend everyone in the Month of Love.

Love and sleep

Studio cherries

Acrylic on cradled birch panel

5 x 7 inches

Barbara Muir © 2

Funny thing about love—it works better if you get enough sleep.
Hard challenge if you’re a parent of young children, or babies who wake
up during the night, or wake up early, when you’ve gone to bed late
for work.

I am in recent years definitely a night owl. This started when I began teaching
 a once a week evening course. To stay awake I drank coffee. Yes it works,
but to shut off my excited brain is a challenge.  I notice that if my 
sweetheart and I are well rested, we have a wonderful time together.
And if not -- we don't stop loving each other -- but arguments happen
that wouldn't if we got enough sleep.

One pretty simple answer I've discovered is that drinking pure, tart,
unsweetened cherry juice before bed helps me go to sleep.  Who gave
me that recommendation? I don't know, but thank you.  And if I also
eat cherries -- fresh in season, or frozen when we can't buy them here
in Toronto -- the effect is doubled and I sleep like a baby.  

My point is that if both of us sleep well we have a great time. And
I may have known that unconsciously forever, but now I know it for
a fact. 

So my image tonight for the Month of Love is of a bowl of
cherries. 

Wishing you a joyous day in the Month of Love. Sleep well.

What makes you happy in the Month of Love?

Loving the kitchen china
Acrylic on canvas
24" x 48"
Barbara Muir ©
SOLD ♥ 

Working on being happy has never been more important,
or more difficult.  I am a fan of Neil Pasricha who wrote
The Happiness Equation. And I have a friend, very sick with
cancer that has metastasized who says,"happiness is a choice."
When we talked about it, I said that not everyone can get there.
But if you can work on being happy, what makes you happy?

Today there are tulips, and the red hearts I stuck up on the wall
for Steven, and thinking about making white hearts for our red
hallway.  And a conversation with a funny friend. Oh boy, funny
is vital!  And I am going to solve my long-in-the-works painting. 
I am lucky to be able to make myself laugh.

If you are sad it's completely understandable.  I send out hope
for you to feel happy again soon.  I heard a conversation 
recently saying that trying to be happy was a meaningless goal --
that if we're happy we won't work on solving the world's
serious problems, but I disagree.  I think that without joy,  we
won't have the energy to fix our problems.

Wishing you joy, happiness, optimism, fun in the Month of
Love. 

Happy Month of Love

 

A Lovebird acting as a banner.

The original (on the left) is 

Acrylic on canvas

8 x 8 inches

Barbara Muir © 2018

What a Happy Day! The first day of the Month of Love. A few
years ago, I was thinking about Valentine's Day happening in the
middle of February, and decided that I would start thinking about
February as the Month of Love.

Last year on February first I gave Steven a Valentine's Card on his
lunch break. This year a card is not enough. I did not get those
T-shirts printed for my friends and family saying "Enough Already!"
but I might have to.  This year requires more! We're going into year
3 of a worldwide pandemic.  So I began the month of love with a
sticky note campaign -- hearts of course, Happy Month of Love, and
a pun about February. The goal -- make Steven happy. And it worked. 
So I am still crazy about this month of love.  

We still have our Holiday wreaths -- and I'll have to switch them up
with our heart wreaths.  The Christmas tree went out in the backyard
two weeks ago, and Steven covers it with birdseed. The birds love it.
We had our first major snowfall, which made the tree look part of the
landscape,, and it is always filled with birds. I hate seeing the tree leave
the house, but my sadness disappears when I look out the back door
and see the tree filled with happy birds. 

Now it's time for hearts, and lots of them. I made some paper ones 
tonight with a stash of red paper.  I love, love, love hearts. (You
probably noticed.)

I recognize that I'm a romantic, and am lucky to live with someone
I love, but I do believe that love is the most important force in
our lives. Let's use it to honour Black History Month. And Happy Lunar
New Year!

Wishing you a month filled with love.  Stay safe, stay 
healthy, and stay happy!

Farewell to January

The backyard celebrates winter
Acrylic on canvas
8 x 8 inches
Barbara Muir © 2022

Well there it goes people -- the first month of the year.  I felt a bit
sad tonight that it was over.  Despite quite awful news, the month
was packed with small things happening, that had meaning for me,
and Steven, and the friends I have in the city, and in the blog world.

The sunsets were miraculous, and I've photographed enough of
those down by the lake to make a sunset picture book, or
video.  Steven and I are entranced by sunsets, and the return of
the light.  To help this magic along we had between 20 and 30 inches
of snow all of a sudden about two weeks ago.  The day before
it fell we were walking on grass in our favourite park.

What I won't miss about January is that our Siamese Tortie Point
cats -- Fiona 14 years old, and Monet, 15 weeks old,
both stopped eating, and we were afraid they wouldn't make it.
We were heart broken. 

Fabulous vet care has saved both of them -- Fiona with an
antibiotic for her infected teeth, and Monet from gastroenteritis.
We were so happy when Fiona the 14 year old started eating after
stopping completely for 3 days, and when our 15 week old cat started eating
voluntarily after one whole week.  We were hand feeding her with 
a special syringe, and were ecstatic when that was over a day ago,
and she began eating on her own again.

This painting was started 8 years ago, and may not be completely
finished, but I really like it now. I changed what wasn't working for
me, (mostly the colour) and it feels appropriately jubilant. Despite
the incredible cold, and deep snow, on sunny days January was a
beautiful month.

Have a loving what you see day.

A wonderful day

Friends
Black marker on 
Moleskine paper
8 1/2 x 11 3/4 inches
Barbara Muir © 

It’s been a great weekend. We went out to our favourite park and fed the
ducks and geese on Saturday. Plus we found a spot off the Lakeshore
where we could watch the waves crash against the breakwater. I’ve never
seen such high waves in Lake Ontario. And the spray was arching into the
 air -- up to 20 feet white against the beautiful blue of the lake.

Looking through a sketchbook for a space to draw I found this drawing that
I love – not just because I like the style in it, but because it’s of me and a
childhood friend, and I’m wearing a brooch of palm trees that was given to me
by my aunt Ida. The drawing is based on a photo my father took when he was
the doing what looked like pro photography in his spare time.

But what I loved looking at the drawing was the memory of this wonderful aunt
who ignored all the popular adult provisos of the time about spoiling children
with too many gifts. She used to holiday in Florida every winter (there was no
COVID then).  So my aunt, who lived alone, visited Florida every year and always
brought back presents. What a sweetheart! I don’t think I knew as a child how lucky
I was to have her as part of my family.

Have an enjoying your good memories day.

Delight in what happened!

Before the Dance in the red dress

Acrylic on canvas

36 x 48 inches

© Barbara Muir 2008

I am working on a portrait today, which is slowly becoming what
I hoped for.  It seems almost magical that three of my favourite 
portraits came up on my Facebook memories -- as if to say,
"Girl you've got this."  At the very beginning of blogging I was
working on a series that lasted for quite a few years called
The Dance Series.

The Promise Acrylic on canvas 36 x 48 inches

Barbara Muir © 2009

(available)

There were different parts to the series -- Before the Dance, which
featured young people on the edge of growing up -- about to step
onto the dance floor of life.  If you follow me on Instagram,
you'll know that I frequently feature my favourite dancers' videos
in my story.  I love the joy and exuberance they display.

Before the dance with the cat Acrylic on canvas 36 x 48 inches Barbara Muir © 2009,

But the dance series showed both the beauty, and nervousness
young people have when they are stepping into their futures.
I also did paintings of adults who were part of At the Dance,
or After The Dance. So these three beauties came up for me
today, and I hear their message -- "Keep painting, and 
keep on dancing."

Have a doing what you love day.