Friday Fill-ins

And...here we go! 

1. Pardon me, but this was your choice - didn't you think about the consequences???

2. The Prairie Gardens Coupon was SUCH a good deal.

3. I was surprised to find that I really like driving downtown and being able to get to all those places I used to have to get the LRT or get driven to. I love having my independence!!

4. Facebook is one of my favorite forms of entertainment. 

5. Hi, my name is Jane Fernandez and I'm an artist.

6. I love hanging with my kids and listening to them play happily at the pool or lake or playground on summer afternoons.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to maybe seeing Samantha or watching a movie with the kids....maybe Tangled! Then chatting with Mr TDH for a while before bed, tomorrow my plans include Going to the Prairie Gardens to enjoy their Easter festivities with the discount coupon I got and am soooo pleased with :)   Sunday, I want to enjoy an Easter brunch on the deck, hunt for our big eggs and also have an easter egg hunt for mini eggs inside, and take Rosie out for a lovely walk before having our big Easter dinner  and Monday I want to head to the Zoo...and catch up with Mr TDH in case our weekends have been too busy to be in touch with each other....

Sunset tonight...

The sunset from our road as we drove home....

Train Crossing!!

After Chris's play I drove us to South Edmonton Common for us to get things we needed for our Easter Weekend.  Laurence then drove us home form there along Ellerslie Road, and came upon his first train since driving :)  I snapped these two pictures :)

Chris performs on stage.....

Chris was in a  play tonight at his school, so we all went to watch him.  It was called The Shirkers, and was a one act play.  It was REALLY good - sad and quite similar to Romeo and Juliet in a way...but very good!!!  Chris played a character called Dick Murray....he looked so grown up and tall and mature up there on the stage...he looked like a man...which of course he is....but still, it's hard to see.....and hard to face....I still think of him as my little boy....he did REALLY well though and I was very proud - even Sam sat in silence through the whole thing and enjoyed it :)  

It was excellent :)  

Brave girl :)

Yes, this is me.....driving in downtown Edmonton....in rush hour :)  

Easy peasy :)  

And I love it :)  I love that I can drive anywhere now and I don't even think about it and don't even worry about it ever....I just go :)  Sooo hard to believe that just 12 months ago I was such a different person!!!  

Delicious!!

Susannah baked Easter shaped sugar cookies at school today - and they were amazing and delicious!!!  Soft and yummy :)  Mmmmmm  :)

Bounce!!

Rosie sat waiting patiently for her turn :)  

Stages of a canvas creation...

Deciding what to do with the canvas - deciding on the design/ elements/ colours etc etc:

Creating the background and prepping it for painting:

Painting the background over the prepped canvas:

Adding the girls and elements....arranging them and deciding where to put everything before sticking everything down:

Almost finished:

Close up of the girls:

Close up of the Truthteller and his message (I actually outlined the wording in pink before finishing:

Tag time for Wednesday...

What's your current obsession?   She-art canvases...using SR themes...

What are you wearing today?  pj bottoms and a grey top - I'm relaxed and comfortable to create art in :)

What's for dinner?  We had fishcakes and fries...or pizza and fries...depending if you liked fish or pizza....there was salad or vegetables too.

What would you eat for your last meal?  I think I'd like to  go to a buffet of all my favourite foods :)  Try a bit of everything :)

What's the last thing you bought?  soup (Sam), Turkey sandwich (Abby) and bagel (me) for lunch at Tims today before we headed to the dog park with Rosie for a lovely long walk :)

What are you listening to right now  nothing but Rosie breathing and me typing...

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?  I'm quite happy here actually..I'm tired and will be happy t go sleep when I finish this tag :)  Tomorrow is going to be a busy and long day!!  :)  Fun though!!

Which language do you want to learn?  I would like to learn Spanish...although at the moment there is the possibility of me learning Italian from a certain tall dark and handsome stranger hahaha!

What do you love most about where you currently live?    The changing seasons, the cosiness, the views, the privacy, the silence, the stars, the space, not feeling claustrophobic, it just feels like home.

What is your favorite color?  turquoise.  

Chocolate or vanilla?  chocolate - although if it's ice cream I like really good vanilla bean ice cream :)

What were you doing 10 years ago  I'd just moved up to Scotland to be with Lloyd...the children came to stay for Easter and we went to Edinburgh zoo with them.  Susie ended up staying with us but the boys went back to finish school until the Summer. 

If you had $100 now, what would you spend it on?  A spare $100???  I'd go to DeSerres and buy canvases and maybe to Whyte Ave and pay for a place at Art on Whyte.  Or maybe I'd just be sensible and stick  it in my savings account.

What are you going to do after this?  go to sleep.

What are your favorite films?  I watched 'When A Man Loves a Woman' on Monday night, and I have to say that that is STILL one of my favourite movies of all time....and Andy Garcia is still gorgeous....which is kind of funny because Mr TDH looks a bit like him lol!!  :)  Which is kind of why I watched it ;)  I also like 'You've Got Mail'....'The Wizard of Oz'....and 'Going The Distance' :)  .....and 'Paul' is fantastic too :)  oh and 'Up' is also brilliant :)  

Do you collect anything?   I have a collection of Willow Tree Angels - several of which my wonderful friend Val has given me.  Many of them have special meaning!!  I recently started collecting swans - just certain ones I see that I love - glass ornament ones, crystal ones etc...I only have a few, but if I see them in thrift stores and like them, I will get them.  Swans almost always mate for life.  Thats come to represent something important to me - something I thought I had and something I hope to one day have.  I also have a collection of Kelly Rae Roberts artwork - prints and canvases, including one original piece!!  :)  

What makes you follow a blog?  If it inspires me and interests me.  If I learn something from it.  If it makes me laugh or has beautiful photography....

What was the most enjoyable thing you did today?  Going to the dog park with Sam and Abby, splashing in the puddles, watching Sam having so much fun in the water...watching Abby playing with Rosie on the hill.  

What is on the top of your to-do list?  Make the phone calls on the list I have!!

What's your favorite time of day and why?  Late evening.  I have plenty of energy and time to myself and almost always feel at my most inspired to create art :)

My Truth Teller knows :)

On Monday I met my wonderful friend JoAnne for coffee...and to complain about the fact that her Son had NOT sneaked me in his case when he had gone to Hawaii - or brought back any hot weather with him!!!  ;)  It was like Christmas when we saw her though as she had gifts for us all - a lovely frog holder for Abigail - the frog is full of beans and sits on a table and holds a pouch that hangs down to hold bits and pieces for you - Abigail uses it beside her bed to hold her DS :)  

Sam had two calendars which he LOVES - one has an ice cream theme and the other has animals and birds - wildlife of Canada and he has been crossing off the days and looking at all the pictures and getting us to read it all to him :)

JoAnne gave me this GORGEOUS wall plaque and hook that I had seen at the garden centre a few weeks ago.  It has a bird on it, and birds are my Truthteller symbol :)  I choose to listen to them and the truth I REALLY know about myself than the lies I have been fed by others and society and even by my weaker self over my lifetime....I'm also collecting hooks of all kinds to go in the mudroom - all unusual hooks - although I'm not sure I'm going to put this one in the mudroom because it's too beautiful - I think I might put it in either the main hallway or my craft room....

Thank you JoAnne - it was so thoughtful of you - and I especially love that you wrote on the back of it!! I will treasure it - and it came during such a difficult couple of weeks.

I treasure your friendship too!

xxxxx

Tonights canvas :)

The birds on her dress represent my Truthteller :)

Isn't she a cutie??  :)  

I found the windmill rubber stamp in the cheap aisle at Michaels and thought it was fabulous!!  The messy circles are also a rubber stamp from the cheap aisle - Both $1.50 each!!!  I can't find Punchinella anywhere but this circle stamp leaves the same circle effect as punchinella or bubble wrap, and is in fact easier to use, so I think I am going to get quite a lot of use out of both of these sweet stamps :)

A drive to Miquelon....

This evening we took a drive out to Miquelon Lake so that Laurence could practice his driving - getting up to speeds of 100 on single lane highways without worrying about too much traffic around him.  Nice easy straight roads where his only problem was boredom and going off into a daze because of it!!!

Visit to the dog park....

We packed up our welly boots, some bottles of water, and Rosie Posie, and after running some errands in town, we headed off to the dog park to give Rosie a run with some other dogs...there were only a few there but it gave her a chance to socialise which is always a good thing :)

It was VERY wet and muddy at the park, which was WONDERFUL, and Sam and Abigail has sooooo much fun playing in the rivers and lakes created by the melting snow :)  Even Rosie had a blast running through all the huge puddles :)  chasing sticks and splashing about!!

They climbed on rocks and huge piles of wood chips...climbed trees and chatted with the people we met along the way and it was a lovely warm and sunny day :)  

For Today......

Outside My Window... I can hear a plane flying overhead into Edmonton International....it snowed a little earlier but it was still just above freezing at the time and I don't think it's going to be too much of an issue - they say it could be 15c for Easter Day - although it will just be a wet and muddy mess outside and no good for an outside egg hunt this year!!  There are big puddles everywhere and mud mud mud!!!  :)

I am thinking... about Mr TDH....the possibility of going to Calgary next week and seeing him.  Of looking into those incredible dark eyes and hearing his adorable mixed up accent :)

I am thankful for... possibility.  hope.  honesty.  good friends.  love.

From the kitchen...  Abigails amazing brownies.  Yummy!!  Susannah's ginger cake, The excitement of next months yorkshire pudding cook off :)

I am wearing... my nightie as I'm in bed.

I am creating...  she-art from a class I'm taking, art journal pages, refinished furniture for the house.

I am going...  to be busy on the phone tomorrow!!  To Calgary next week :)  To see Chris in his play on Thursday, to see my Son graduate in a few short weeks :)  
I am reading...books and articles on mixed media art techniques.

I am hoping...life calms down and the inflow lessens...I agree with the article from 'Journaling Saves'...it isn't too much outflow that can be overwhelming for me, but too much inflow!!  I need to switch off from it.

I am hearing... Rosies gentle snoring as she sleeps....my fingers on the laptop keys....Laurence in his bedroom.

Around the house...I have moved the kitchen/ dining room furniture around for Summer.  I have started to clear out the garage...I will finish that when the thaw is over and I can sweep it all out properly once and for all.

One of my favorite things... Seeing Sam's brain work things out - like math - he can work out change really well and count money up...and he can play games like Blokus really well - he can see patterns in things easily - it seems to suit his brain - he has a math brain for sure...all that playing with Lego has really paid off!  he sees patterns in things...he loves the game Mastermind and can figure it out really fast....and sees where shapes fit...it's amazing to watch :)

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...taking Rosie to the dog park, Christophers school play, rollerskating, the zoo, egg hunts, library, brunch outside on the deck on Easter Day :)  Laurence driving us to Miquelon...

Stormy skies on the way home tonight...