Leaving Ottawa

September 19, 2018.Reading time 2 minutes.

Canada’s capital city has lots to offer. Before leaving we took the scenic drive along the Rideau, stopping in at the various parks and places of note to take pictures. At the Remic Rapids, Muskoka chairs line the grassy banks, overlooking rock sculptures in the water. Apparently, artist John Felice Ceprano has been creating these […]

Photo A Week: Fruits of Labour

September 8, 2018.Reading time 2 minutes.

Finding an outlet to express myself creatively (beyond writing) has been my biggest accomplishment this year. Picking up a camera and a paint brush both happened simultaneously, as our adventures across country begged recording. Converting image to art, via watercolours, has become my passion, although to date, I’ve only had a few lessons, and each […]

I Wish My Art Would Quit Judging Me

August 22, 2018.Reading time 3 minutes.

A set of 150 watercolour pencils – a gift from my husband – challenges me to paint. In the busyness of moving, I have let this practice slip, and a number of sketches sit in my portfolio case waiting for me. Inspiration comes from the photos I take. The lone turtle (featured), for instance, begged […]

CFFC: Columns and Vertical Lines

June 13, 2018.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Arizona State University aiming skyward: Totem pole in Sydney, BC: San Antonio – look out below! (Photos in response to Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Columns and Vertical Lines.)

Brush Strokes (Fiction)

February 15, 2018.Reading time 6 minutes.

The brush felt awkward in Kate’s hand and she could feel her frustration mounting. The last time she had painted had been the twin’s room more than a year ago and that was because the boys had outgrown the pastels of the nursery. Now, here she sat, legs crossed on the floor with four other […]

Art (Life) Lessons

February 11, 2018.Reading time 3 minutes.

The how-to’s of watercolour, I am discovering, are applicable to other areas of our lives. Inspired by classes I took in Texas, I have continued to try my hand at this art form. This is what I have learned so far: Begin with a plan. We used carbon paper to trace the image’s outline, although […]

RV-Able: Awakening

December 18, 2017.Reading time 4 minutes.

We came away with the expectation of adventure. We freed ourselves of material anchors and set sail into the unknown with openness, excitement, and a modicum of healthy trepidation. I knew we would encounter new landscapes, experience different foods and cultures, but I did not anticipate how travel would effect my experience of self. It […]

Creativity or Insanity?

August 18, 2016.Reading time 3 minutes.

My oldest brother is a talented musician, who has been composing and recording works in his own studio for years. “I just can’t write lyrics worth a damn,” he once told me during a visit. “I write poetry,” I offered, “but have no musical aptitude.” “We should put your words and my music together!” So […]

I dream that I am teaching again, and having assigned the class independent work, I am spending time connecting with each student to see if they are grasping the material. It’s my favourite part of teaching, and I wake up wondering if I’ll ever have that feeling again. So rewarding. It is bittersweet, growing old. […]

Fatal Fury

Really wasn’t your faultthis fury that overcame –Words evoked onslaught,a raging river of pain. Didn’t mean to push you,miscalculated my aim,swimming in swamp watersnot a recommended game. You floundered, gurgled,cursed me by name –our love story, now viralbrought an alligator fame. (Image my own. Tale is totally fictional, I promise.)