IF - Swim

Hello!  Whew!  I wasn't sure if I was going to get this one finished in time, but here I am, scraping in under the wire a little bit, but finished all the same.  The Illustration Friday word of the week is "Swim".  I had a million different ideas, and a whole lot of sketches.  I couldn't decide what to do.  Jai said, "Why don't you just do a mermaid?"  Of course - the one thing I didn't sketch.  I realized that I hadn't done a mermaid because I didn't think I could.  So then I had to try.

My first mermaid.  But probably not my last.

A Moment

I have this moment where Holly is napping, and Griffin is busy with his Lego, and I feel like there's just a million things that I could/should be doing, but also I just have this moment, before I won't have any choice in the matter, and so this is what I'm doing.  

 I mean, really, how nice, how rare, to have this little moment.  I feel like I should name it.  George.  I name this moment George. 

  Lunch has been made and cleaned up.  Holly has been put down for her nap.  Griffin and I have painted and glued sparkles already.  Griffin has used the potty.  Check check check.

Holly is sleeping restlessly - crying every once in a while, but still lying down (that is the test).  She has been into everything today - she's especially delighted with herself for discovering ways to get into the ash bucket beside the fireplace.  Griffin just came in and demanded a glass of milk - just a sec.

A glass of milk, a little bowl of peanuts later, and I am back.  I think I'll go now, though, I only have a few more minutes before I have to start getting us ready to go out the door for our Community Kitchen night.  Wonder what we'll make tonight?
How blessed I am, really, to be worn out by the things that have been wearing me out lately.

IF - Eye Glasses 2

Happy Spring Equinox!  We had a big snow storm here last night, and are once again buried in snow.  It doesn't feel much like Spring today.  Nevertheless, here it is!  And frogs are so very Spring-like, don't you think?
 This is my second piece for Illustration Friday this week.  "Eye Glasses."

I also tried it with a word bubble.

Indeed.

IF - Eye Glasses 1

Hello! I had a little bit of time today to sit down and paint.  The Illustration Friday topic this week is "Eye Glasses", and this is the first piece I did for it.  I wanted to do something cute this week, and what could be cuter than a little bird wearing glasses?  Not too much.

Next post, I will show you the second piece I managed to fit in - it's pretty fun, too!

A Winter Day

Oh no!  Winter came back!  I know, I know, March is like that.  March is supposed to be like that.  Whatever.

It's hard to believe today, but these pictures were taken one week ago, on our first trip to the beach, of 2013.  And yes, we are all wearing our snow gear, but it really wasn't that cold.  We stayed at the beach for over an hour, climbing around on the rocks and exploring the tide pools.

This time of year has the biggest tides at our Bay of Fundy beach, and we see bits of beach that aren't visible at any other time of year.

Today, the wind is bitter, and no one is asking to go outside.  Holly, Griffin, and I have once again come down with colds.  Winter.  Blech.

Still, there are signs that Spring is definitely approaching.  People with maple trees are out tapping.  The birds are singing a little more these days.  We've seen quite a few flocks of geese, flying and honking, over our house.  Those little snowdrops are poking out more and more, ready to blossom, even under the snow.

And so we must learn to do the same  :)

IF - Yesterday

Hello!  I've got another Illustration Friday painting to share.  The word this week is "Yesterday", and anyone who can read that as a title, without getting the Beatles song stuck in their head deserves a medal, in my humble opinion.  Anyway, I digress.
Here's my piece for the week:

Nowhere Special

 Hello!  I can't believe it's been over a week already.  Somehow, I have lost touch with the days.  Perhaps it has to do with the time change.  We are all a little out of whack.

 These photos were all taken at the same time, in this order.  These two sure have a lot of fun together.

 Mostly they get along like gangbusters.  Once in a while, one of them makes the other one cry, but never real tears.  I get excited for them, thinking of all the things they will teach each other in this life.  Things about sharing, things about fun, things about fairness, things about love - things I can't even imagine.

 We've been enjoying being able to get outside a little more this week.  We discovered all the snow drops coming up in the backyard, and checked on all the trees.  Griffin had a great time re-greeting all his outside trucks, emerging from the snow, and Holly had a blast getting very, very dirty.  I can tell they are going to be a big help in the garden this year.  (As in all things!)

 It's Spring Break here in Nova Scotia this week, so we're enjoying a bit of a quiet week, with many of our usual activities cancelled for the week.  I had been thinking we would try and get out for something special, but actually, it has been a bit of a relief to NOT need to be anywhere.  Especially with us being not adjusted to the new time.

 Somehow, we manage to fill up the days so they're over almost before they've started.

 I guess that's life when you're 16 months and almost 4.

IF - Talent

Hello! Illustration Friday is here again.  The word this week is "talent."  I've been watching a lot of farm videos on YouTube lately, and wanted to do something with a more country feel to it.  Here is a talent I wish I possessed - sheep shearing.  This person won a prize!
My mind kept skipping more in the direction of what you might call "skill" versus a more traditional "talent" - but really, I have trouble with the distinction.  What is talent without skill?  Everything takes work, I say.  Practice, practice, practice.  And to that end, it took me a few tries.

 First off, I tried the oil pastels.  Griffin was really interested in this, and kept drawing on my page.  He did the first layer of sky, the black sheep, and some of the grass, which is lovely, but also frustrating.  Anyway, I like this - I wanted something bright and child-like, but then I thought maybe it was too messy, and a little bit overworked.

 Next I took out the pencil crayons.  Griffin was at pre-school, but Holly really wanted to help.  I like this, but am not sure how clear it is just what is going on.

Lastly, I did one with charcoal and watercolour.  I put the people closer together, so it (hopefully) is a little bit clearer what has happened. I like this one, too, I like how I was able to keep it light and not too overworked.  Ha!  

And once again, I can't make up my mind.  What about you?  Which one do you like best?

Hibernation Station

Hello!  What a week we had!  Griffin had a tummy ache Thursday morning, and then threw up all afternoon, and all night long.  We were all a little tired on Friday, but everyone felt all right.  Griffin was much better, and no one else was sick... until Friday night.  Holly and I started Friday night, right after bedtime, and Jai started a few hours later.  Oh dear.  There followed several hellish days, and a veritable mountain of horrible laundry.  The kids, of course, bounced back almost immediately, but the same cannot be said for Jai and I.  Not at all.  Over a week later, and I still can't think of it without shuddering.  Enough said about that.

 

We're all back to normal now, and life is settling back down.  Spring is in the air.  There's tulips on the table, and I can start to imagine them out there, under all that snow.  It will be months before we see any tulips in the garden, but there's a certain promise in the air.  Soon, we will start to dream of this year's garden.  But for now, we are enjoying these days of winter - days where we can give ourselves permission to be completely lazy, to burrow down, to hibernate.  With snacks.  There's something sweet in that.