Friday Fam Jam ...

Hard to believe it's Friday already!

This morning was "Friday Fam Jam" ~ zoom call with the girls and grandsons to make either pancakes or waffles. I chose waffles with maple syrup and wild blueberries which were yummy, but what really made my morning was seeing my sweet grandsons enjoying the chocolate chip pancakes they had made. Can't wait to hug and kiss those sweet faces again! 

Loved listening to all the chatter in the background as they measured out all the ingredients (and checked, then double checked they had done it right). I was listening to Jewel 92 on the radio and even though I had it on softly in the background, I heard "I love your music LaLa" ;-) 

"Cooking with kids is not just about ingredients, recipes, and cooking.

It's about harnessing imagination, empowerment, and creativity"

~Guy Fieri~

"Cooking is like painting or writing a song.

Just as there are only so many notes or colors,

there are only so many flavours ~

it's how you combine them

that sets you apart"

~Wolfgang Puck~

 Archer found a spot under the kitchen table and enjoyed a little plain waffle too.

Have a wonderful weekend

d x

Groundhog day ...

Our Wiarton Willie here in Ontario did not see his shadow this morning. On this, the 65th prognostication, an early Spring has been promised. Just heard on the radio that  Shubenacadie Sam in Nova Scotia and Fred LaMarmotte in Quebec also predicted an early Spring. 

A little early morning baking before I head up to Sparrow Studio & something to take upstairs with me to enjoy with a mug of tea :-)

"It is more fun to talk with someone

who doesn't use long, difficult words

but rather short, easy words like

'what about lunch? ' "

~A.A. Milne~

today's choice ~ peanut butter

"I like a cook

who smiles out loud

when he tastes

his own work"

~Robert Farrar Capon~

Knowing my love of candles, my daughter Kate gave me this beautiful mulled cider candle in the prettiest holder. I normally only burn bees wax candles (she gave me some of those too :-)) so this one was a lovely change.

Bless the food before us,

the family beside us,

and the love between us.

kitch-en : noun

a gathering place for friends and family ~ a place where memories are homemade and seasoned with love!

~happy Tuesday~

d x

 

February ...

Happy February

The Calendar's have all been turned over to reveal a new month. I'm working on a 12" x 15"  canvas at the moment . As I type this post, I am looking over at it and it's revealing little images to me :-) things I hadn't spotted yesterday as I took off my painting apron and turned off the lights in Sparrow Studio for the evening. Looking forward to returning to it later today.

I have a loaf of Winter Wheat bread in the oven and the aroma coming from my kitchen is amazing. French onion soup is on tonight's menu.  I made a wild blueberry cobbler for dessert last night and there are left-overs so dessert is solved :-)

It's a cold, windy first of February with the slightest of snow falling. The bird feeders are emptying quicker than usual so as I was heading out into the garden to refill them all, I took my Nikon outside with the Tamron macro lens on to take some snowy garden pics. 

A tiny pussy willow branch poking though a wreath

unfurling bark from some white birch logs

"In nature,

nothing is perfect

and everything is perfect.

Trees can be contorted,

bent in weird ways,

and they're still beautiful"

~Alice Walker~

I see a little snow heart

and all the beautiful detail and markings 

"If we move too fast

we'll break things.

If we move too slow

we'll miss things.

And if we don't move at all,

we won't see how truly beautiful

they are"

~R.M. Drake~ 

 "Peace

it does not mean to be in a place

where there is no noise,

trouble or hard work.

It means to be in the midst of those things

and still be calm in your heart"

~Anon~

feathered friends ...

I have a little white china bowl that sits on my Sparrow Studio altar. A gift from my son Alexander a few Christmas's ago, it is in the shape of a nest with two little sparrow's sitting on branches.

Inside, I have tucked an assortment of found feathers gathered as I've walked through woods and forests and beaches. Some, have been given as gifts from friends and a few very special ones were from my grandsons, my wildlings. 

Whenever I switch lenses on my Nikon and put on the Macro lens, I find I walk around the house afterwards zooming in on all sorts of objects. I am always amazed when I view the photos of the beauty in the simplest things. 

"If you want to fly,

give up everything

that weighs you down"

"Stop the words now

open the window 

in the center of your chest

and let the spirits fly in and out"

~Rumi~

some of my 

feathered friends

enjoying today's treats

xx

 

All the windows of my heart ...

Another beautiful snowfall and after an afternoon of baking, the kitchen is warm and toasty and smells amazing. I've poured a big cup of tea, slathered some raspberry jam on a hot out of the oven raisin and walnut scone, moved the pillows around just so and got everything ready for a little window gazing , journaling and reading. 

Morning ritual ~ candles lit, meditation, journaling.

Looking into the garden, I noticed the feeders were low and could hear chirps coming from the tall cedars that line the back of our garden. As much as I love the snow, I always worry about the birds and squirrels. I gathered up some walnuts, dried fruit, sliced some fruit, and two big scoops of seed and headed out to the garden. It won't take long for it all to disappear. 

And while I watch the snow as the wind blows it from the branches, and the birds find their way to the feeders,  I'll jot down some "things to do" in my journal. I've been collecting jam jars so I can send family & friends home with little bouquets of flowers this summer, I want to create some bohemian style bird feeders from a box of mis-matched china I have, work on a new shade covering for our garden swing, hand stamp some spoons, create some jewelry from a few pieces of beach glass & as always, lots of ideas for paintings.

"All the windows

 of my heart

I open to the day"

~John Greenleaf Whittier~ 

 

Paint Palette

When I walked into my little Sparrow Studio this morning, I thought how pretty my well used painting cloth looked hanging up. Holding on to all those splashes of colour and memories of so many paintings. There is hardly a spot that doesn't have paint on it and I think maybe it's time to move on to a fresh cloth. Now ... what to turn it into? Maybe a paint brush roll, or a cushion cover for my studio.

~Different is beautiful~

"I found I could say things 

with color and shapes

that I couldn't say

any other way"

~Georgia O'Keefe~

 Happy Saturday

xx deb

Quiet January mornings ...

I've been easing into January.

Sketching, painting, journaling, feeding the birds, reading, playing my ukulele, baking, cooking lovely pots of soup and vegetable filled stews, listening to music and taking long meditative walks.

The weather has been cold and it's not unusual for a flake or two to fall as I walk.

Once home from walking, I put on a pot of coffee, light some candles and jot down my "walking thoughts". For the past few days, there has been a gorgeous Cooper's Hawk sitting in a tree. I hadn't spotted him, but his song had me searching the trees for him. I've seen many hawks - even in my own backyard, but had never heard one's mating song. Simply amazing! 

January always seems to represent new growth and new beginnings and I have a few jam jars with cuttings in them. I love to see the roots swimming in the water. 

The beginning of a new plant! Exciting.

January has been a month of crows! No matter where I walk, there is crow chatter to be heard.

One of the most magical moments for me however was spotting two crows sitting in a tree. I watched as they chatted and then, put their foreheads together and sat that way for a few moments until one flew away. It was a moment I will never forget. I knew they would become a painting.

~Just between Us~

All the subtle gestures

that speak louder than words

between like-minded creatures

like us two birds

~deb dunn~

"Your imagination

is your preview

of life's

coming attractions"

~Albert Einstein~