Peaceful, Easy, Freezing

I spent the last couple of days down on the ocean for a couple of hours collecting sea glass. It was freezing! Oh what a sight I was. I had on my brother's coat which is 3 times too big for me (but warm), I had on an over sized pair of winter boots (so I could wear my homemade felted slippers inside), my dad's hat with the hood up and two pairs of mitts and my pants tucked into my boots. I reminded myself of the little boy in the snowsuit from the movie "The Christmas Story". I've walked that beach hundreds of times and had never come across a star fish before. He was still alive so I decided to let him remain. Are star fish males and females? I have no idea but will go look it up after posting this. The other picture is the frozen run off coming off the cliff. It was very beautiful but I don't think the photo really captured it. I found some great sea glass since I've been back in Cape Breton for the holidays. A very large blue piece, one orange, two yellow, two purple and hordes of white, green and brown. Tomorrow is another day, to find more treasure.

Stawberries, Cherries and an Angels Kiss in Spring.....

I have so much green sea glass and I needed to create something with it.......why not a Christmas Tree. It turned out pretty interesting actually. Because the glass is a bit frosted from the sea, it makes the tree look like it has a dusting of snow. I was a bit rushed decorating it, but wanted to be able to use it this holiday season. So after Christmas I'll change the decorations/gifts etc. I have some mini blow glass ornaments I'll use on it for next year. Now I just need to think what I want to do with the other 5 tons of sea glass. :)

I Guess I Can Swim Afterall

I'm not in the ocean....I'm on dry land and quite happy to have escaped the jellyfish colony. I was right....there were some great finds on the other side of the beach. Does that mean the grass is always greener on the other side? Or the sand is always....finer?

Selfish Me and the Sea

Well, I'm down visiting in Kenlock this weekend. I drove my mother back from the airport and decided to stick around until Monday. Yesterday I went to the ocean to collect some more sea glass. I had some great finds! Four purple pieces, twenty blue, one yellow and one strange piece that is green glass on one side and white on the other. It must be from some old dish. Today, I'm going to swim across a stream so I can go look for glass on the other side. It doesn't look like anyone is ever over there, so I might find some great pieces. I worry a little. The water is moving fairly fast........so if I should not make it back.....well....I'm in the ocean.

Butterfly kisses

The natural history museum had a butterfly exhibit going on this month. I had been inside the Calgary botanical gardens years ago, and visited something similar. The butterfly room is hot, moist and extremely hard to breath in...but beautiful all the same. I wish I had thought to charge the batteries for the camera I was using. I was only able to take a few pictures before it died. These are two of the nicer pictures I was able to take.

Green Tea to Please

Just another sea glass picture I made for a friend who has been kind enough to suffer through my sea glass obsession. For this mosaic, I made the chairs "lounging". I quite liked the results. I'm still working on the sea glass/watercolor dancing ladies pictures...I have the frame and just need to decide what I'd like to create.

Watercolors of The Dynamic Trio

A couple of months ago I set out to paint a watercolor portrait of each of my three dogs. Bisquit, Duncan and Willow. Willow is currently living with me, while Bisquit and Duncan share a home with their other "parent". I miss Bisquit and Duncan dearly but I know they are being well fed and loved...that is all I can ask. I suppose I just wanted to cherish the memories I have of them.

Rankin and Skaalid Clans

Over twelve years ago when I was in high school I painted these clan crests for my mom and dad outside their house on the stairs. It was a very old Victorian home with lots of character and charm. Even after all these years the crests remain. It amazes me that someone hasn't either painted over them or even tried to touch them up. I wish I had taken a picture of them in their glory, but it wasn't until years later...returning to the house to take a look that I thought about it.

3 days of Happiness

This Tuesday I just picked up and drove to Kenlock. It was a decision made in ten minutes, and the packing done in five. I threw some skirts, blouses and jeans in a bag....grabbed some dog food for Willow and hopped in the car. I'm really not sure what possessed me, but I just needed to get away. Perhaps my obsession lately with the ocean and sea glass. I don't think it is really the sea glass as much as it is in walking on the shore for peace of mind.

The drive was just over four hours. Four hours in blazing sun and cowboy boots. At a road detour I had to get out of the car and toss off my boots, sock and grab my sandals. The truck driver behind me was laughing. I must have looked a sweaty mess but who am I trying to impress anyway.

I arrived in Kenlock with a house full of strangers who were family. It has been years, perhaps over twenty since I've spoke to many of them. I felt awkward and just wanted to escape. I suppose my idea of going home for a visit didn't mean socializing. Sadly, I did escape whenever possible, making my way down to the ocean to find more glass.

When I'd go down to the beach, I'd bring Willow with me and tie her up on a long, long piece of rope so she would have lots of room to wander. She is such a lightweight that I tied her to my bag of glass....no worries about her dragging it along. I turn around to find she is swimming in the ocean...opening her mouth as she goes, taking in water. She has only swam in fresh water before, and she didn't realize it was salty. The look on her face was priceless and I cursed myself for forgetting my camera. All I can say is she was damn thirsty when we got home.

It was a good few days. Lots of sun for me, exercise walking on the beach, and great company visiting my mom and dad. I took after them so much in many, many ways. All three of us were thrilled once company was gone. I suppose we are just private people who don't require many of the common social aspects to survive. Give me a mountain or hill with a shack to survive and I'm sure I could find a way to be happy. OK...I might need a pen, some paper, paint, yarn....but I could be happy.

I Shouldn't Even Try to Make Sense

Why is it I feel compelled to explain myself or have some deep intellectual conversation when I've only had a few hours sleep. It really makes no sense. I'm certainly not smarter when I'm suffering from sleep deprivation. Maybe that is just when my most bothersome thoughts come out, or the things pressing on my mind. When I wake up and realize I'm having that conversation with my dog, I know I really need a few more hours of sleep. Instead, I'll just go get a shower and hope for the best, rational behavior possible.

The Dynamic Trio

These three will always be my babies. Bisquit, Duncan and Willow make up The Dynamic Trio. Yet The Dynamic Trio has become a Dynamic Duo. They are high strung, they get into garbage, they pee in places you don't find until it starts to stink, they argue, they fight, they get pissy like we do, they fart, they have bad breath, they chew the stuffing out of toys, they tear apart 10lb bags of rice, they hunt, they howl and I love the three of them regardless. They are pure joy in little overweight bodies of love and happiness.

Tea for Two Please........Sea Gulps

With 5 litres of sea glass and counting, I'm interested in knowing what else to do with the treasures. This is a smaller mosaic I did using some of my glass. It was a little hard to find a frame that would allow me to put the glass inside because I didn't want the thickness of a shadowbox. But after seaching and cutting my own matting, I seem to have come up with something that worked. I absoultely love the guy with the belly. I'm sure he is having a cinnamon bun with his coffee. : ) I really enjoyed making this, finding the perfect piece to create the not so perfect body. I was lucky to have four tiny little pieces of blue sea glass. I would have liked to add a flower vase in the center of the table, but my piece of red sea glass just didn't look like a flower or a vase. No worries, I can always make a second picture. I started another one the other day of five people dancing......every body shape possible.......it is on watercolor paper so I'll paint flowers in their hands and grass at their feet.

Easy Peasy, Please Me

Over the past 7 months I've started collecting sea glass. Picking up random pieces I found, not really paying attention. Realizing the beach was littered with the glass, I started carrying a coffee cup with me to fill. Later I had to move my way up to bags and buckets. The first time I found blue sea glass, you'd think I had stumbled upon a diamond I was that thrilled. To date I've only found one piece of red glass. Sitting down among the pebbles, I hadn't really been looking for glass. With my fingers I was tossing pebbles and just moving them around when I came across it. Not very big, nothing spectacular....but to me it might as well have been a ruby. Since then, I've found some nice colored glass, some aqua, black, moss green, and different blues. Just a cute memory that entered my mind. The other day, a friend of mine told me he was a diamond in the rough. Smiling widely I said I was more like cubic zirconium. Pretty, but fake and cheap. We had a great chuckle. I'd love to know what pieces I have that are the rarest. No matter what, they are treasures to me.