Monet, Colour, and Choosing Paint

"Water Lilies is an extension of my life. Without water the lilies cannot live, as I am without art." (Claude Monet)

I recently went searching through photos for something (and I found it), but was enticed down a rabbit hole with photos from our trip to France and the UK in 2016. One of the highlights of the trip was a visit to Giverny where Monet lived, gardened, and painted. 

"I must have flowers. Always and always." (Claude Monet)

The garden was a riot of colour. Roses, poppies, sunflowers, agapanthus, phlox, hollyhocks - all the lovely flowers mingled together in generous beds between straight paths that led round to the house. 

"Everyday I discover more and more beautiful things. It's enough to drive one mad. I have such a desire to do everything; my head is bursting with it." (Claude Monet)

Although most of us would think a pink house with bright green shutters garish, it fit perfectly in Monet's garden. 

"Color is my daylong obsession, joy, and torment." (Claude Monet)

Most of the walls in Monet's house are cool neutral whites and pale shades. It was quite startling to walk into the dining room where vibrant, clear yellow dominates. Notice how even the furniture is painted the same colour.  And the red checkered floor. Blue and white tiles. Amazing. This is a room for lively conversation, for good food, for friends and family. One feels revitalized just walking into the space. 

"Everyone discusses my art and pretends to understand, as if it were necessary to understand, when it is simply necessary to love." (Claude Monet)

The kitchen is a riot of blue and white tiles, turquoise and white cabinets and those shiny copper pots that instill admiration and the desire to whip up a souffle or omelette. There have been a few books published about Monet's appreciation of good food, and how much he entertained his friends at Giverny. 

The photos of Monet's house got me thinking about my own. Like Monet I favour cool, clear colours. I have never liked the beiges and earth tones that were so popular a few years ago. Wherever we lived, if it was possible, I painted walls light and cool. The collage above is composed of photos from the Cotswolds and Wales, and you can see I have a tendency to blue. Clear blues of almost any shade are, and always have been, my favourite.

I even have a hard time taking photos of flowers that are orange or pale peach. They just don't appeal to me like the pink roses and blue delphiniums. Above is a collage of roses from the gardens at Sudeley Castle. I forced myself to take photos of those orange hues. 

This brings me to my current dilemma. Our living/dining room needs repainting. I've been thinking about it for a couple of years. It's very pale blue. When we lived in the jungle of Ecuador, the living room was painted white with the barest barest hint of pink - cool, clear pink, not swine-colour. I've been looking around and talking to paint experts and I think I'm ready to take the plunge.

"Try to forget what objects you have before you - a tree, a house, a field or whatever. Merely think, "Here is a little square of blue, here an oblong of pink, here a streak of yellow," and paint it just as it looks to you, the exact color and shape, until it gives you your own impression of the scene before you." (Claude Monet)

I painted a test splotch on the wall today and I think the colour will work (can't remember the name, but the clerk at Benjamin Moore said it was the palest pink they make). We have the best of guests for the weekend (Baby Iris and her parents) so painting will wait for awhile, but it feels good to start. 

I'm so happy the sun is shining this afternoon after a rainy, cloudy week. Hooray for summertime! 

Linking to Friday Bliss, hosted by Riitta of Floral Passions, where she mentions that Finland has also had a cool and rainy week.  

Summer Days at Home

The first week of summer vacation is almost over. It's been lovely, beginning with dinner with friends one evening, a quiet Canada Day celebration with family, and days alone at home. So lovely. I like to stay busy, but this week I've deliberately slowed down. I needed this.

I've weeded and clipped back the garden, cut many bouquets of flowers for the house, and had tea with a friend on the porch.

Our temperatures are cooler than normal and the skies are mostly overcast. I wish it were warmer, but since it isn't, I cuddle up with a blanket to sit outside. The cooler weather is also beneficial for the hydrangeas. They are sensational this year.

I'm picking raspberries and blueberries every few days, both to freeze and to eat now. I've been sewing, but have nothing finished to show at the moment. 

We're planning a trip to Europe this summer and for the past couple of months I've been thinking about how much I would just love to stay at home. However, after this week of quiet and solitude, I'm getting excited about traveling. Most of my sewing is targeted towards the trip - it's hot in Europe and linen will be my best friend. 

Little Iris is almost a month old already. I wish she lived on this side of the water, but we'll see her (and she's bringing her parents) in a couple of weeks. Such a sweet, sweet bundle. 

It's time to fold a bit of laundry, put clean sheets on the bed, and think about dinner. I'm so enjoying the lovely slow rhythm to these beginning summer days. 

How about you? How's summer in your corner?

Linking with Friday Bliss, hosted by Riitta of Floral Passions.  

Friday Five - Friday Bliss

Today is rather blissful - I came home from school, made a cup of tea and put my feet up - it's Spring Break! Two weeks of a more relaxed pace ahead. We have a short trip planned, not too far, and I'd like to do some gardening. Also reading, sewing, relaxing, seeing family. All good things. 

In spite of the cold weather that far outstayed its welcome, I put away the red dishes and brought out a few spring things. I'm happy to say that the cold is now gone and we're looking forward to some sunny warm weather in the next week. 

My daughter gave me the turquoise deviled egg plate, a vintage piece. My mother has such a plate, and they are so useful for ... deviled eggs. I've not been able to think of another use for the plate. Do you have one, and do you use it for anything else? 

Under the soil, life emerges in the garden. Crinkled rhubarb leaves unfold towards the sun and will soon stretch long stalks upwards. I like stewed rhubarb with plain yogurt; my husband prefers his with ice cream. There's also a Rhubarb Cheesecake Pie that I make in the spring. Yummy things ahead!

Elsewhere, Tete-a-tete Daffodils bloom alongside blue Muscari. Almost every day there's something new to see in the garden. Lilac buds swell. Pointy spikes of tulip leaves poke up through the earth. The party is starting! 

Brenda of It's a Beautiful Life shared a quote from Gwendolyn Brooks on Facebook a week or so ago.

"What she like was candy buttons, 
      and books,
      and painted music (deep blue or delicate silver)
      and the west sky;
      so altering, 
      views from the steps of the back porch;
      and dandelions." 

Someone commented on the post that it didn't make sense because you can't see music. That reminded me of Sara Teasdale's poem "Barter" in which she uses the metaphor "music like a curve of gold." 

There's a word for crossing senses: synesthesia. Seeing sounds, associating numbers with colours, etc. Some people have it in spades. I don't think I do, but Teasdale's idea of music as gold has grated me from the first time I heard it. To me, music is silver, and now, after reading Brooks' quote I can probably add dark blue, too. Gold, never.

Do you think of anything as a colour? I have a few other things that I think of in the same way. 
   

Some of my reading material. I finished The Dressmaker - not that great, and I've barely begun the Susan Hill novel - a mystery. The others are patiently waiting their turn.

We're looking forward to seeing our Vancouver children this evening and getting together with the whole gang for a walk and a meal on Saturday. 

Linking with Friday Bliss hosted by Riitta of Floral Passions. 

Late Thursday at the end of February

We're two months into the year now. They fly by so quickly, yet a lot of living is packed into a month, even one with only 28 days. In March we can look forward to spring while holding back our enthusiasm for it can be a fickle month. 

I've read more in February than in most months. Eight novels, one cooking/memoire, and a dabble in the gardening book above, plus some dipping in and out of travel books. We're planning a trip later in the year and are beginning to decide just what we want to do and see. 

I've begun another quilt, this one in greys and yellows. I love the bee theme there and hope the recipient will love it as well. 

Tim and I took a walk along the water this week. The air is brisk in spite of the increasing sunshine that aided the glowing colours of the Midwinter Fire (Cornus Sanguinea) along the path. 

Two Anna's Hummingbirds sat very still as we walked by. These tiny creatures that must have a difficult time staying warm these days. 

While reading Nigel Slater's "Notes from the Larder" one evening, I had the urge to bake something. Lemon seemed like just the thing, so Lemon Squares it was. They came out of the oven just before bed, so we didn't even try them that night. I covered them with a tea towel and cut them in the morning. I had one with a cup of tea about an hour after breakfast. Very indulgent. 

This weekend will be a fairly quiet one of puttering around the house, a little sewing, some visiting, and gentle cooking. How about you? Any plans?

Linking to Friday Bliss, hosted by Riitta of Floral Passions.   

Friday Bliss: Tea, cookies, and SNOW

Bunches of ranunculus appeared in the store this week. Tight buds that will open into layers of pink. I couldn't resist and a small bouquet made its way home with me. 

The big news this week has been the weather. Snow, snow, snow - and more snow. It's been beautiful. School was cancelled for an unprecedented three days in a row. I went for long walks on my own to enjoy the transformed landscape. It's not cold, and so lovely out there.

On Wednesday, I took two grandchildren to visit their cousin, about 15 minutes away. The snow was all the entertainment they needed. 

Driving was fine on the main roads, but our town has few snowplows and side streets were slippery and messy. Coming home I lost traction on the hill on our street, backed up to a clear patch of pavement for traction and set off again, this time with a heavier foot. I made it, but just barely. Later, I saw some of our neighbours out shoveling the street because they could not make it, either.

My father taught me how to drive in all kinds of weather. He drove big trucks and trailers when I was young. To this day he is a good driver. We lived in the north where there is plenty of winter driving, and I feel quite comfortable in the snow.  

This fat robin is probably wondering when the snow will disappear. In the tall tree outside my daughter's dining room window a varied group of birds arrived - flickers, robins, varied thrush, red-headed woodpecker, juncos - all at once, to chatter and feed. 

I stitched a quilted heart to use as a hot mat for a teapot on the coffee table.

Tim and I celebrated Valentine's Day at home, simply, on the 13th. I made dinner, he brought me roses. I baked heart-shaped cookies, a family tradition. Tea and cookies are a lovely way to spend time chatting with a friend, a child, a husband, or anyone.

I hope you've all had a sweet Valentine's Day, celebrating positive and loving relationships in your life. 

Linking to Friday Bliss, hosted by Riitta of Floral Passions.  

Of Light and Shadow on a Friday Morning

Children and children-at-heart are impatiently watching the skies this dark morning. We are waiting for snow. A few lazy flakes drift to the ground as I write. Not enough for a snow-day from school! Ah well, perhaps we'll be able to play in the snow this weekend. I'm hoping so.

Last Saturday we went for lunch with some friends. Our view included a boat-builders' dock and the old boat above. It doesn't look like the best advertisement for the business, but certainly has plenty of character. The day was gloomy with clouds and that's certainly reflected in the photo. 
  

On another day this week, I drove out to Island View Beach for a walk. The late afternoon light was so clear with temperatures hovering around the freezing mark. (That's cold for us.) Mount Baker, in Washington State, glowed white and blue.

The light transformed rose hips into almost translucent orbs of colour. Soon they will all fall and be replaced by fresh wild blossoms. 

Storms and waves toss up huge piles of driftwood along the shorelines. Beach visitors are almost compelled to create something from them - shelters, sculptures, artful arrangements. I don't know if the placement of arching branch was an affair of nature, or deliberate.

Oh, the light, beautiful as it fades.

On another day, light streamed in the window to dance on the frame photo of Hailes Abbey, taken almost 3 years ago now. 

A number of readers posed a question about what I teach in Grade 8 Foods. We run a program called RAFT - Robotics, Art, Food, Tech Ed (aka Woodworking) - for our 13-year-old students. This semester, February through June, is divided into 4 blocks with the students rotating through each of the four options. There are 3 groups of students, so I will have one block free. Our goal is to give students the opportunity to explore a variety of applied arts. It's just a taste - I think I have them for 25 class days. 

My goal is to help them see how they can learn skills that will enable them to eat well and to be mindful of what they eat. We begin with breakfast - Pancakes with Berry Sauce, followed by Banana Muffins. So they've learned how to mix two types of doughs, and thicken a sauce with cornstarch, cook on the stove top and use the oven. 

Next is lunch, and yesterday they prepared the pizza dough (yeast) and tomato sauce. Today they will roll out the crust, add the sauce, grate the cheese and bake it. Alongside, we're serving carrot sticks and cucumber slices, so those will be prepared while the pizza bakes. 

It's a busy, busy class - there are 24 students in 6 kitchens. Students come with a very wide range of experience. Some never cook at home; others prepare entire meals. We intersperse the cooking days with discussions and lessons about theory and nutrition. 

I demonstrated how to make the pizza dough on Wednesday and stressed a number of times to NOT squish the dough but to use a push and fold and pull method. Some students don't listen well. I was called to two kitchens where the "kneader's" hands were coated with sticky dough because they had picked it up and squished it through their fingers. What a mess! We scraped the dough off and I showed them, once again, how to knead. 

Of course, the best part of the course is eating the food they've prepared, and I don't think anyone has ever produced something utterly inedible. Cooking is very forgiving. 

Linking to Friday Bliss, hosted by Riitta of Floral Passions. 

Happy weekend!  

Five for Friday, at the end of January

Schools here began Semester 2 this week. Both of my classes (I teach part time) are in the afternoon, a change from last semester where one was in the morning and one after lunch. I'm finding a wonderful spaciousness of time in having my mornings free. This semester I'm teaching Spanish 10 and Foods 8, an introduction to cooking. 

The flame-coloured tulips brightened the room for almost two weeks, then drooped and began to dry. I left them on the windowsill because I enjoy watching the petals curl and twist. This particular bloom seems to have been swaying to music and just stopped in position. They've now been relegated to the compost bin. 

Two loaves - date and banana cooling on the counter last weekend. I asked Tim which one I should wrap and freeze, and he chose the banana. Date loaf is his favourite. It's mostly gone now. 

These are the books I've been dipping in and out of this week. I finished The Chilbury Ladies' Choir last night - a thoroughly enjoyable read set in the south of England in the first year of World War II. The two cookbooks are from the library and I hope to spend some time with them this coming weekend. The poet Mary Oliver passed away recently. Her question "What will you do with your one wild and precious life?" along with her amazing capacity for imagery based on the natural world captivated me years ago. 

Two other books I've read recently, in very different genres, are Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese, and Left Neglected by Lisa Genova. Indian Horse is the story of a young First Nations boy taken from his family and culture and put into a residential school. It's not easy to read, and I wept several times while reading it. It's simply and elegantly written, with flicks of humour that save it from being depressing.

Left Neglected tells the story of a young woman, busy with family and a career path who suffers a brain injury that "completely erases the left side of her world. Without an awareness of the food on the left side of her plate or even her own left hand, she is forced to search for answers in the void of this strange hemi-world..." Left neglected is a medical condition that I previously knew nothing about. I found the protagonist, Sarah, somewhat unlikable at first, but I became more sympathetic to her as the story progressed.  

January is a particularly good month to drink tea, just like all of the other 11 months. I pulled out an old teapot and cups the other night. I bought this in Ecuador; the pottery is from there, although I believe the designs are from Europe. 

I'm binding another quilt in the evenings. I started well, but have left it for a few days - I'll get back to it this weekend. At the same time, I've started sewing a skirt for myself and hope to finish that soon, now that I have time in the mornings to accomplish a few things. 

While most of Canada has experienced intense cold this week, we've continued with mild days and mostly blue skies with a few clouds. Yesterday afternoon, while walking, I noticed grey sweeps across the blue and white, signalling a change in the air. This morning is dull and rain is forecast. More exciting is the possibility of snow early next week. I do enjoy a bit of snow and hope that we will see some of the white stuff! That's not a universally popular opinion here on the west coast. 

Now, shall I read or sew for the next couple of hours before going to school? How lovely to have a choice. Stay warm and cozy in the winter freeze. 

Linking with Friday Bliss hosted by Riitta of Floral Passions. 

Mid-winter Musings

"Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the

touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire; 

it is the time for home." 

Edith Sitwell

I'm sitting on the floor in front of the fire looking out at the blue-patched clouds scudding across the sky. Another rainy front is moving in, but oh my, have we ever enjoyed the recent sunshine. At the end of each day, though, we return home, whether from work or leisure activities. 

January is an appropriate month for home comforts, as Dame Edith Sitwell expressed. Here, copious amounts of tea are drunk, with an occasional hot chocolate indulgence before bedtime. The calendar is mostly empty, and in the evenings we read books, place stitches, and talk about plans for later in the year. 

Tidying up happens in a desultory fashion. The other day I sorted my scarf drawer, refolding the ones that had been tossed in in a hurry, and removing a few that are never worn. 

The pile of linens on the chair above were those used during the holidays, now laundered and either stacked neatly (napkins) or in long folds draped over hangers in an upstairs closet (tablecloths). I learned to store them that way from my mom and it certainly aids in lessening wrinkles. 

I keep a fairly deep pantry. My daughter-in-law once said that in case of an emergency she's bringing her family here because there would always be something to eat. Each year I freeze berries and produce and now is the time to ensure that it all gets eaten. 

A couple of times a year I announce that we will be "living off the hump" referring to the fat stored in a camel's hump that enables it to live when food is scarce. I think I read that in a book by Peg Bracken many years ago. I try to whittle down the freezer contents and make sure that I'm using the staples in my cupboards. The other day I made a peach-blackberry cobbler for friends using frozen fruit. 

Grocery shopping consists mostly of fresh foods like citrus, so sweet and juicy just now. I made a lemon loaf last weekend, and this weekend I think I'll put together a Sour Cream Lemon Pie from a recipe on Brenda's blog. I also hope to make some Lemon Curd and freeze it in small jars to pull out when needed. 
  

Our winter has been extremely mild thus far and the Swiss Chard and kale are thriving. I picked a bunch of chard and made a rustic bean dip with it. I portion it in half-pint jars and take it to school for lunch, to eat with cucumber slices and wedges of sweet bell peppers. Some of the chard will go into a soup I'm making tonight. 

A year or so ago I purchased some Tilda fabric, along with a book of Tilda projects. I've done little with the fabric and since one of my intentions this year is to be more creative, I started small with this cushion cover. The piecing went together in a couple of Saturday afternoon hours, and the rest in small chunks of time here and there. Now a little cottage in the woods rests on the bed and makes me smile to see it. 

The Granny Square quilt I began a couple of years ago is now finished. Choosing the fabrics, cutting the squares, and sewing them together is the fun part of quilting for me. When it comes down to the actual sandwich part of quilting, I procrastinate. Recently, however, my sister and her daughter purchased a long-arm quilting machine. My mom is an expert quilter and while here in September volunteered to get two tops ready for quilting. She cut the batting and backing and sandwiched them together for quilting, took them to the mainland and gave them to my niece. Yay! All that was left for me to do was cut and stitch the binding. I enjoy the last step of hand stitching the binding to the back. There is great satisfaction in having another project finished.

This is turning into a very long post. I'll tell you about a couple of books I read recently later. Now I'll leave you with a bright bouquet of tulips that are cheering up the dining room. Pops of colour in January are most welcome, don't you think? 

Linking with Friday Bliss, hosted by Riitta of Floral Passions.

Celebrating here and there

There were presents. Wonderful handmade and thoughtful gifts. Woodworking, embroidery, sewing, cooking, crocheting were all represented. 

There was food. Lots and lots of delicious things to eat. Our dinner culminated in an eggnog cheesecake with a raspberry sauce and whipped cream. Oh, so delectable. 

There was a lot of fun. The marshmallow shooters were a hit with young and not-so-young folks. Tim and I were last home from church on Christmas Eve because we stayed to talk to out-of-town friends for a bit. When we opened the door to the house, we were bombarded with mini marshmallows shooting at us from every angle. So much fun! We're still finding those little white balls in the oddest spots. 

There was a trip on the ferry to the mainland to see my parents and siblings. Rain fell, coming and going. It didn't stop the merriment.

Everything appeared rather ghostly through the rain. We were glad to arrive home last night. 

I determined to do very little today, and I met my goal. When the rain eased to a mizzle I went out for a walk. Lovely fresh air cleared my head. Bright moss coated this rocky spot with cheerful colour. 

More grey over the rooftops and into the distance. A few hours later, a strip of pale pink showed above the horizon.

Most of the day has been spent here, in front of the fire, with copious cups of tea and a few cookies, along with a new book. This evening will be the same, with perhaps a switch to a movie instead of a book. 

Are you finding time for walks and peaceful moments in this week between the years?

Linking with Friday Bliss, hosted by Ritta of Floral Passions.