Friday, October 30, 2009

autumn

I took the kids out for a walk the other day by the river and I couldn't resist taking pictures of them. Autumn is my most favorite season of the year. Warm wool sweaters, crisp days, leaves that look like lanterns hanging on the trees (that's what my son calls them) and that magical energy in the air of transition. I love this picture, the kids look like Hansel and Gretel on their way to the gingerbread house. Only in this scenario their mother isn't trying to get rid of them and there is no scary witch trying to eat them.

Nature calms, it's magic out there.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

the woman in black

Stefan took me out last night on a date, something we don't do nearly enough of. Since I was a child, I have always loved a good ghost story, so when he asked me what I would like to do, I said let's go see "The Woman in Black"

I have to admit, when we got there, I knew that it would be a good play, they usually are at the Chemainus Theatre Festival. However, what I didn't know was how unbelievably freaked out I could get from watching live theater. The audience was screaming, even my husband was a bit jumpy. It was an amazingly well done play that has been selling to sold out audiences in London for the past 20 years and although I am still a bit creeped out, I would recommend it to anyone. Just don't take your kids, it's not that kind of play.

Nothing like a good ghost story to set the mood for Halloween.....

Friday, October 23, 2009

pumpkin day

My daughter has stopped napping. Well, she would still like a nap and I would still very much like her to have a nap. However, when she sleeps in the day, that means she doesn't sleep at night. And as much as I dearly miss my hour in the day to do work, post on my blog, breathe, I am not a fan of a 9:00 bedtime. Without a nap, she is usually asleep by 7:00 at the latest.

So the other day instead of coming home and spending the day doing chores in place of enjoying nap time, I attempted to be a more fun mum and took the kids to the pumpkin patch. It was really great. The weather was fantastic, there was a horse drawn wagon ride down to the pumpkin patch and we all got to pick one of those Halloween fruits for ourselves. I still miss the nap, but it was a great day.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

giving thanks

So, yesterday was Thanksgiving for us Canadians. This holiday, like many often brings back memories, not of Norman Rockwell dinner tables, but of stress, tears, too much food and at the end some kind of let down and disappointment. It's just too much pressure!

So this year we decided to do something different. Our dear friend who lives down the street, who also happens to be Polish, came over and we cooked dinner together. Not turkey, not even Chicken, we made...homemade perogies! Yep, that's right, homemade perogies with Sauerkraut that had bacon, onions and mushrooms and I made my first ever homemade pumpkin pie (crust too!)

The day was fun. It was full of laughter, good conversation and really good food. We even stuffed some of the perogies with chantrelle mushrooms that Stefan had bought at the farmer's market. It was a lot of work, I think we started at 1:30pm and didn't finish until 5:30pm, but it was well worth it! And the best part, no tears, no stress and certainly no disappointment. This was one of THE best Thanksgivings I have ever had.

So, in the spirit of giving thanks I thought I would share some of the things that I am truly thankful for this year:

*a beautiful family, they really are. I couldn't be more blessed than to have these two amazing children and fantastic husband

*a beautiful home to live in. It's not fancy, but it's perfect for us and I am truly grateful that we live here

*our health. We have some friends that are going through some pretty rough stuff with health, and it really is true, your health is everything.

*good friends. I have some amazing friends, really. Women that are so full of light and laughter, intellect and creativity. They all inspire me.

*creating The Ruby Slipper Project. Being able to reconnect with my artistic roots has breathed new life back into me. There has been a very real part of me that has been in hibernation until now, it's really a gift to be able to do this work.

What are you thankful for this year?

Friday, October 2, 2009

here we go!


So The Ruby Slipper Project began two weeks ago and it is THE most fun I have had since I was in my 20's. We have 8 women in the group, all from different walks of life, all come together to make this such a rich experience for everyone. Most of the women in the group will tell you that they are not artists, but once they each picked up their paintbrushes, it was magical to see what could happen.

The beauty of the art group, is that it is not an art class that promises to teach you how to paint trees. This is an art group that offers the freedom to play with paint, explore the creative impulse in each of us, in a totally non-judgmental space. There is laughter, stories, challenging our own beliefs about ourselves as well as the pure ecstasy of being able to have a quiet space once a week to just indulge in the creative spirit.

One woman asked last night, "What is art?" Some said that a creative work could be titled as such when seen or appreciated by others. Some thought the work wasn't art until it was worth something and worthy of purchase. Here's what I think art is: "When the creative impulse meets the moment of manifestation."

What I mean by that is, we all have an impulse to be creative. Some of us do it through fine art, other through craft, still others through cooking, gardening, home making....the list goes on. There is an amazing woman in our group who has worked with art for almost 4 decades, yet she had never painted herself. The moment this woman put the paint to paper, I swear you could feel the electricity in the air. This was the moment that her creative impulse, that had been there forever, met the moment of manifestation on her paper. I'm telling you it was magic.

Just as the women in this group are learning about themselves, I too am learning about myself. This is such an amazing journey and I feel so remarkably blessed to be able to do this work. So, if you were hesitating before to come, hesitate no longer. I will be offering another group soon, this may be the most fun that you have had in a long time too!