My Paintings...

The semester is almost over. Next Friday (Dec 04th) is the last day of classes. Then Finals on Monday, Tuesday, and Saturday (2!).

I thought that I would post my paintings from my watercolor class that I am taking. Each week we had a different 'theme'.

I will post them from my first painting in class to my final painting.

1-Experimental

This was supposed to be an abstract,

but I really wanted to paint a tree...so I did.

2-- Reproduction

This was a painting that we had to reproduce from our text.

3--Abstract

We used a viewfinder (a small rectangular cutout of paper) and magazines to find an interesting design. Believe it or not, this used to be Maddona's Dress.

4--Floral


5-- Abstract
I don't really like abstracts, but the teacher loves them.
We were given geometric stensils to use for our design.



6--Landscape
Ryan and I were walking the dogs around the golfcourse one night, and I couldn't get over how beautiful it is at night. So, I tried to reproduce it.

7--Final Project

Painting the dogs wasn't even my idea. I had wated to paint a tree full of crows, but my teacher...upon hearing of how badly Ryan wanted me to choose them as my subjects, insisted upon it. I decided that this would be the one gift that I could give to Ryan for Christmas that he would actually be thankful for.

And that's it.

There are more little bits here and there of stuff that we did in class, but those were the "paintings".

Halloween

I got to dress up TWICE this year! Friday was the annual costume Dance for the Kids at my work, so I dressed up as butterfly. I will post a pic as soon as I am able. And on Halloween, the whole family dressed up and went trick-or-treating at the neighbors.

The girls were little pink ladybugs.

I was a Bride and Ryan was a biker...

And, Nevaeh was Captain Hook!

We stocked up on candy, as we do every year. I got three HUGE bags of chocolates, 28 mini-bags of Doritos, lays and cheeses, and 18 bottles of fruit punch.

This year, we got 6 trick-or-treators.

Funny thing is that those 6 trick-or-treators almost cleaned us out! Ryan made sure that they took "lots"....And, we had one group of 3 kids come back for seconds. They offered to take everything, but Ryan told them that his wife would be mighty mad if she didn't have some loot for herself at the end of the night. And, our kindness paid off, because all of our pumpkins were still on our front porch in the morning...and not smashed up along the road like some of our neighbors' jack-o-lanterns.

When will people learn that Halloween is not the time to be stingy?

I hope you had a wonderful Halloween!

Ours was Spooktakular!

Ryan and I spent our entire Halloween weekend cleaning! We had hired a guy to come and clean our carpets, which meant that we had to move EVERYTHING from the upstairs downstairs. And we moved everything--upon doing which, we decided that we were only going to move 1/2 of it back upstairs...which means that we spent the rest of the weekend deciding what we were going to purge and what we were going to keep.

I love cleaning, so this was my kind of weekend.

Above is a picture of our dining room. Our living room is just as bad.

We thought that we would be able to start moving things back up today, but, the guy did a crummy job on our carpets and so Ryan and I went to the store this morning and rented a steam cleaner. After 3 more hours of work, and barely a visible difference, we came to the conclusion that 5 years and 3 dogs are just detrimental to carpeting--especially Berber! And this is as good as it is probably going to look.

...at least we know our carpets are clean.

B00!

I can't believe it, but Halloween is almost here & October is almost over. How time flies when you keep yourself busy, busy, busy.

Today, Ryan and I were going to rake and bag our leaves, and then give the yard it's final mow. Sometime during the raking, I had ulterior motives to sneak off and prepare my flower gardens for their long sleep through winter. Then, I was going to build a "witch-crow" in the middle of my veggie garden...I have been so excited all week for this day....but, the day today was not having it....as it has been raining all day and Ryan is sick....

... so instead, I spent the day puttering around the house cleaning, organizing, and decorating for Halloween.

These are wall decals. They are sticky like stickers, but peel right off of the wall. You can't really tell in this picture, but the orange is all glitter... these are really neat!

Last month I got the Owl that's in the picture above. He is around 10" tall and is covered in black glitter. He is really cool...you can't actually see how cool he is in this picture, but he is really cool...(...and sparkly...)
I hung orange lights on the mirror behind him, so my little foyer glows and sparkles all at the same time!

Here is the Witch hanging on my front door. She is waiting for the rain to stop...(we all know what water will do to a witch...)

And, even though Thanksgiving was two weeks ago, here is a photo of the best Turkey that I have ever cooked! It was P-E-R-F-E-C-T-!

And, I promise that I will be back next weekend with pics of Ryan and I all dressed up for Halloween....as well as our three little babies....

Just some stuff....

I have so much fresh rosemary, sage, chives, oregano and thyme right now in my herb garden that I figured it a sin to let all that goodness go to waste....especially when the only time that I really cook with those herbs is during the fall and winter. So, I decided to make myself a window herb garden. I think I'm going to have to add a few more pots to the collection. Right now I have 6 pots, 2 rosemary, 1 thyme, 2 sage, & 1 oregano. I think I need one more for chives and another thyme because tyme is just so damn pretty to look at...

Last weekend I went to the first Christmas craft fair of the season. I got many cute little things, most of which are all tucked away, waiting for the proper time to come out and cheer up the house.

I got this handmade crow mat....Which I love!!!

I love crows so much...and this is the cutest little hand-stitched crow mat in the whole world. It is made out of wool. The vendor also had little matching chair toppers (half rounds), which I didn't get...but wish to god that I did. So, I am now on an obsessive mission to go to all craft fairs within the valley and find them.

...at least I didn't chintz out on this matching candle jar cover...which makes me happy.
(You can see my newly established herb garden sitting in the back window.)

I'll post some pics of the other stuff that I got at the craft fair as they come out of hiding.

BORSCH...

If you ever were curious of what Heaven would taste like...this is it! I have no idea how beets, carrot, turnip, and cabbage can taste so magnificent, but somehow it does.

This spring, I planted a borsch friendly garden...aka, lots of beets and lots of dill. Sadly, my lots of dill overshadowed my lots of beets....and I think that I will be lucky if I get another pot with the beets from my garden.




But, there is nothing better in the world than a fresh loaf of Rye, a block of Havarti, and a steaming bowl of borsch with sour cream and fresh dill....

(sausage and perogies were good, but their main purpose was to make the meal a manly meal for Ryan...)

Happy Birthday Marika!!!!

I hope you are having a wonderful day!

...if I was closer, I'd take you out for some best ever birthday drinks....however, mine would not be a martini...

talk soon...

October marks the official start of Fall decorating for me. Tomorrow I'll pull out my box of wonderful decorations from the basement and get to it!

I did these 'pumpkin nests' in my urns last weekend. It felt like such a waste to pull out all the perfectly good flowers in them--but I just couldn't wait any longer for them to die. They usually stay pretty till long after Thanksgiving being that they're on a covered porch.



I got some really pretty iron hanging baskets today for the front porch. They are cone shaped, and lined with coco-husk matting. I'm planning on doing them up with pumpkins and gourds and Indian corn this weekend when I finish decorating the outside of my house. I'll be sure to post a picture.


I hope you all get an apple pie this weekend! I'm going to make sure that I do...

Tonight it's Scrabble and Wine...

...Along with Spagetti and Meatballs and Sausage....and cheesecake!

What a wonderful ending to a super long week.

Tomorrow its the Annapolis Royal farmers market--and a quick trip to Ye Olde Time PUB.

(That is Elaines FaVoRitE place to eat when she comes. She always gets deep fried scallops)

Then, on Sunday, I'm doing a whale watching cruise for work....

Ryan sure is enjoying having his family out...he loves Tyson so much!

My Couches have Arrived!!

Sorry that it has been so long since my last post. I just started up my last semester of schooling last week, so I'm still setteling into the new schedule...now I know why they call them the lazy dayz of summer!

Anyhow, sometime between work and school and life...our new couches arrived! It took them 12 weeks to get to us.(6-8 weeks overdue...),but they finally made it. Well, part of the order did at least. The loveseat that we had ordered got beaten up pretty bad during shipping and so we sent it back right away. We have a whole new set on the way, however, that costco said we should be expecting in the next 3-4 weeks....which means that we will probobly get it sometime before Christmas.

Kyisha has laid claim to the chair, as that is her new favorite spot.

Ryan's mom is driving accross Canada right now as I type. She just called, and has just passed Montreal...so we'll be expecting her sometime tomorrow evening. She is traveling out with her dog, Tyson. Which means that we will now have 4 dogs to try and keep off the bare couches...good luck to us....

Project Chalkboard

I went shopping this past Saturday in hopes to find a large 2'x3' chalkboard that I could hang on my basement door. I found nothing...and I'm a pretty darn good shopper. (Let me clarify--I found no chalkboard. I did, however, find a very cute fall jacket! ....amongst other things...)

Everywhere I went, I was told "We have no chalkboards, but, we do have chalkboard paint.

So, I decided to giver a whack and make a chalkboard. I figured that it couldn't be all that hard. So, I went down to our local hardware store (Fraisers Pro!) and bought a sheet of ?-board (like peg-board without the holes), 2 strips of pretty moulding, 2 itty bitty "red gumball" wall paint samples, and a pint of chalkboard paint.

I got the hardware store to cut up my big sheet of ?-board into 2 - 2'x3' sections, leaving me with a HUGE 5'x4' piece (which I somehow managed to stuff in the back of the jeep amongst a whole shopping day's worth of purchases...). I cut the moulding at home into two 2' & 3' pieces.

..and voila!

...it's amazing what a little bit of caulk & paint can do for poor carpentry skills. Not to mention liquid nails, and a roll of double sided sticky tape.

My Tomatoes are almost ripe!

...the big ones that is. My sweet millions have been steady for the past few weeks, but I have never grown a big & juicy & ripe red tomato since I started vegetable gardening. This year I planted Roma's...and today I saw that one is almost ready to pluck! I think I'll make it up into some fresh salsa--along with some of the peppers from the garden.

The shame is, now that the bounty is here, I am the only one around to enjoy it.

I guess I'll be needing some advice on how to preserve vegetables....that, or the neighbors will each be getting a bountiful basket.

Ryan....I wish you were here. I'd make gazpacho and salsa thrice a week if you were!

My Clothesline Up and Running!

Thank You so much, Ryan!

I have always wanted one...

Blueberry Grunt

Before going into the oven....

....and after!

But best of all is when it's all served up with Vanilla Ice Cream....

Todays Finds...

We woke up to rain this morning, and it hasn't stopped pouring. Mother Nature has given us an entire day of relentless rain. So, Ryan and I decided to make the best of a no-good rainy day and pilfer through the $5 movie bin at Wal-Mart. I was allowed one stop of my choosing...so I chose a little antique shop in Kingston. And I am so glad that I did...

I found this cute little cast iron teapot... #5 for the collection! (...and only $5)

...and I found these hand painted porcelain napkin rings. (a steal at $5)!

But, the absolute best find of the day was this cute-as-a-button set of plates (a Frenchy's find). They are Homer Laughlin China, and they are thick, like resturaunt-ware.

Ryan "advised" me to put them back, but how could I? I had fallen in love with all 4 of them. And, at only 50 cents each, I would never be able to forgive myself had I not given them a loving home...

Best of all--they are a perfect match to turquoise plates that I already have!

(another steal...from CAD Tire @ 1.99 each).

Thank God for rainy days!

Our quick trip to PEI...

Since both Ryan's Mom and Grandma were up in Prince Edward Island this weekend, we decided to make a quick trip up and say hello. If nothing else, all we wanted was to enjoy ourselves on the beach--despite the hurricane that the media was hyping up all over the maritimes. We left our home around 4:30 pm and the drive up was beautiful, as it was one of the warmest evenings all summer...


We were able to catch the 8:30 ferry with time to spare--meaning that we timed our departure perfectly! To add to an already perfect travel experience, we accidently stumbled upon an empty level of the ferry, seen in the picture above. Though we weren't actually supposed to be there, the ferry worker said he'd turn a blind eye. I guess he figured that was the best place for our furry friends. And, it turned out that it was. We were able to walk circuts around the deck for the majority of the 1 1/2 hour crossing....and just enjoy the beauty of the night as a family.


We got to our motel at 10:44 pm...

We were up early on Sunday, and up to Ryan's Uncle Ken's cottage (where Elaine, Grandma Helen, and Estelle (Elaine's first cousin and a wonderful woman) were staying), by 8:30 am. These nice ladies made us breakfast, then it was off to the 'singing sands' beach...the nicest beach that I have ever been to. The dogs thought this was the best part of the trip--they were finally out of the jeep and able to run around and swim!

Ryan and I went swimming in the pre-hurricane waves--it was very FuN! We got all the dogs to join us as well....including Kyisha.

We then said our goodbyes...

...and headed for home around 1:00. Unfourtantly, ferry service between PEI and Nova Scotia was cancelled because of the hurricane...which also meant that instead of an hour drive, an hour & 1/2 on the ferry, followed by three hours drive home; we were now forced to drive an hour & 1/2 to the bridge, followed by four more hours of driving. Too much driving, and too little sleep!

We had to drive straight to the bridge, in fear that it would also get shut down because of the hurricane. And, after you leave PEI, there aren't a whole lot of interesting places to stop.

Above is a picture of the 1 billion dollar bridge -- Confederation Bridge. The bridge is 8 miles long and connects PEI to New Brunswick. You can just make out how the bridge curves up and around...and then keeps on going if you follow the yellow centre line in the above picture. It is a really cool bridge...I wanted to stop and get a photo, but you can't stop!

Our trip was short but sweet. We got home around 8:30...and I fell right into bed. Nothing cures me of my desire to travel like a mini trip!

This one's for you, mom. Luv Ya!