Lesson in Abstract

September 28, 2025.Reading time 1 minute.

I signed up for a ten-day free painting course a while back. I compromised of 5 exercises and 5 zoom meetings to discuss the process. It was actually quite excellent. Lesson 1 was to tape off two large pieces of paper, each into six sections. Then setting a timer to 30 minutes, painting on the […]

A Bit of Whimsy

September 24, 2025.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Found this old photo and paired it with Yeats’ words to create this bit of whimsy.

A delicate farewell

September 21, 2025.Reading time less than 1 minute.

A hydrangea takes her place amongst the fading summer flowers – a delicate farewell to a season that bloomed early and is passing fast.

Focus

September 17, 2025.Reading time 1 minute.

We measure our days by appointments – his and mine. At a recent appointment, the doctor asks me if I’m prepared to do more tests or need a break. I appreciate his empathy but decide to go ahead with testing. Soon Winter will be upon us and getting around will be difficult. Maybe in Winter, […]

Doors

September 10, 2025.Reading time 1 minute.

Even at 67, I am discovering new insights about myself. One of them is that I protect myself with walls – as impenetrable as concrete, yet invisible. I like to tell myself they don’t exist. And yet when I think about my relationships, I feel the ache of distance. I alternate between warm and standoffish […]

Humming along

September 7, 2025.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Caught her! Such a joyful sight.

Magic

September 3, 2025.Reading time less than 1 minute.

My camera lens never tires of the sky. My heart strings don’t either. What part of nature/life sparks magic for you?

Colour at the feeders

August 31, 2025.Reading time less than 1 minute.

…And then there were four…

Childhood myths

August 27, 2025.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Decoding our childhood involves taking a second look at those things we considered norms: like my mom’s insistence that we didn’t need umbrellas. I carried that philosophy into adulthood, along with the habit of depriving myself of many common items. It took my husband’s insistence that I didn’t need to go without that helped me […]

Sunflowers

August 24, 2025.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Lesia, our Ukrainian roommate, planted five sunflowers in the garden below my bedroom window. They are now 8 feet tall and still growing! Our Ukrainian friends visit and marvel at these giant replicas of their national flower. The symbolism does not escape me.

Expectations

Expectations artificialliving in an urban junglelonging for nature’s calm – time moves too swiftlybarely registerlet alone participate We are guests in our ownexpectation’s dysfunctionlicensed for depression a smorgasbord for abuseintentions mislaid,disappointment unavoidable The ego pretends to be openbut she’s an actress off cueplaying out a sentence – condemned to basicspraying to escapethis dystopian malfunction. (Image […]

Overcast

Water mimics sky,withholds resplendent blue,dons grey overcoat. (Image my own, created from a photograph)

A Mother’s Grief

(Art my own. The drawing and the poem were in response to a documentary featuring a mother’s loss of her child by suicide. Please listen with care.) Sorrow lines her edgesin blue-hued shadowsgrief’s moss overpowering light Lines etched erasableshe is fragmented, hauntedpain a persistent noose She will rally to find orderlend her voice to causespeak […]