John's birthday!

Modelling his birthday gifts...

sunglasses, garden gloves and Mr. Muscle gloves for the gym!!

Sorting and chucking

In a real effort to downsize, prior to the sale of our house, I tackled the studio today with its stockpile of art, photo and craft supplies. OMG!! Some of the contents date back at least 40 years! There is even an electric eraser!

If any local artists are reading this blog I am planning a sale of everything: frames, watercolour paper, matt board, pens, pencils, paints, beads, printmaking tools, art papers, photo colouring inks, portfolios...even my large steel drafting/art table! Spread the word and let me know if you'd like to view the goodies.

Friday at the Gallery

On Friday at noon Octava (my writing group) participated in a writing/ reading exercise at our Art Gallery. We were joined by several community members for "quick"writings. Using the same trigger word, we wrote for 3 minutes and then shared our creative pieces with each other.

The Odd Socks knitting group meets in the gallery on Friday afternoons. Our current goal is to create a huge tree which will be the centre piece of an exhibition for September 2015.

This week the focus was on crafting a jumble of "tree roots" from a variety of yarns. We have also started the process of wrapping yarn and fabric strips around curly willow branches. This will be a psychedelic tree!!

The next day

While we were enjoying my birthday dinner the realtor called to arrange a showing for the next day. It was all hands on deck in the morning as we prepared the house for viewing. John had partially trimmed the hedge so he and my sister rushed outside to finish and cleanup. Inside I remade the beds with the "only for house showings" bedding and hung the "only for house showings" towels!! Toilets and sinks were scrubbed, floors washed and the old clothes dryer was loaded into my sister's vehicle. Whew!!

Around 11am we were finished. The dryer was dumped at Scrappy's, west of town. We shared coffees and juice at Java Jive before spending half an hour at The Matchbox reading hilarious greeting cards.

Last night we shared a potluck birthday dinner for our friend who had recently turned 65 years. Lots of laughter, great food and fun gifts before the birthday cake was carried into the living room where we were all gathered.

As he was posing with the cake, holding it in front of himself, I asked him to tilt it a bit. The cake fell face down onto the table!! Amazingly, when he flipped it over, the image was intact! Notice the angle of the candles. They obviously helped to blunt the fall!!!! The group went from stunned silence to relieved laughter! 

What a birthday!

What a birthday!!

John arrived home on Thursday afternoon with a gorgeous bouquet of roses.

On Friday morning we visited Java Jive for coffee. 

My favourite cranberry oatmeal muffin was served with a flaming candle.  

Jo and Allison serenaded me (how embarrassing) with "Happy Birthday".

After a wharf walk to check the osprey nest (the geese have abandoned the nest so the osprey pair have reclaimed their territory) we arrived home to find a birthday package at the front door. Diana left a gift of Oprah's Chai Tea. "Teavana and Oprah invite you to take a few moments to pause and reflect each day. Your own personal steep time." It smells delicious!!

My sisters arrived around noon, bringing a huge gift...a reconditioned clothes dryer!! What a pair! They managed to heft it into the house, move the old one (purchased 44 years ago by my parents) out of the laundry room and hook up the new one. They are amazing!!

The next day we loaded the old dryer into my sister's vehicle and

dropped it at Scrappy's, west of town.

After lunch Karen arrived with an absolutely beautiful floral arrangement.

I am truly blessed with loving sisters and friends!

The day wasn't over!

 

After lunch we toured the downtown streets

and stopped in at the Art Gallery to explore the "Storytelling" exhibition.

It had been my intention to photograph all of the events of my special day...but...I forgot to take photos of our dinner at Al Diamo. Wow!! It was so delicious!!...crab stuffed mushrooms, Italian salad and Fettucini Toscano (scallops & prawns in a creamy sundried tomato sauce). OMG!!! Dorothy and I shared a litre of red wine which resulted in a sleepless night but every bite and sip was worth it!

Thank you to all of my family and friends

for the cards, calls and gifts.

You made my transition into this new decade much easier.

Mothers' Day

Today's greetings from my children were a reflection of the times. A card arrived from our daughter via the traditional means...Canada Post. Our son, who lives in New York, sent a warm facebook message. Telephone was the option for the other two, calling to wish me a happy Mothers' Day. All of the greetings were very welcome on this day as I recall memories with my mother.

 May 1944

My mother was 17 years old when she married in June 1943. My father was about to be shipped overseas in August, toward the end of the war, and their marriage was urgently scheduled. In May of the following year, at the age of 18 years, she gave birth to me.

They had shared two months of marriage and it was unknown whether or not he would return.

A gallery visitor

An uninspired visitor to the gallery!

The Art of Storytelling in the 21st Century

"The Art of Storytelling in the 21st Century" opened at the Art Gallery last night. 

We entered the gallery under a flight of birdbooks.

There are activities for every age...a book tunnel for small children to crawl through, 

chairs and books for relaxed reading, magnetic poetry for impromptu creations, 

white boards for visitors to add lines of poetry and a series of original book covers 

by local artists that line the walls.

During the next two months there will be daily readings and storytellings by community writers 

and a living library which allows a borrower to "take out a person of interest". 

That person will share their history as an artist, writer, photographer, traveller, 

musician or craftsperson with the borrower. 

Check the list and pick a date to meet with your "person of interest".

James Murray shared his storytelling skills at last night's opening 

with a humorous tale from his childhood.

The exhibition continues into the downtown area with handcrafted chairs, specially designed books

and many opportunities to enjoy the written word. 

The "Word on the Lake" Writers Festival takes place in Salmon Arm on May 16-18. Guest authors include Diana Gabaldon and Gail Anderson-Dargatz. Our town, and our gallery, will host visitors from around the globe!