Wednesday, April 2, 2014

tiny birds and big branches

**note**
i was writing the post (below) last Sunday evening,
while it snowed and hailed outside
and just as i was gonna click "PUBLISH",
the power went out!
And it stayed out - until today - Wednesday.
Rather than go into a long drawn out story
about how many storms we've been getting lately,
and about freezing rain & hail
and broken trees and downed power lines,
and how much i enjoyed my tea tonight - 
i thought i'd just show you a few photos my son took,
and then go on with the post i was GOING to send on Sunday.
check these out.
Beauty & devastation, all in one...







(and here's my post from last Sunday - PRE storm)

hello everyone! 
i'm gonna be all over the place in this post,
so bear with me, ok?
It's just that kinda day, week, month. :-)
I bought this mini urn for some of mom's ashes...
(it feels strange to even write those words)
mom loved birds
and i just thought this was so appropriate.
I love how tiny and simple it is.
There are some things you just can't do right away
after the loss of a loved one.
Thinking about urns was one of them for me.
When the time is right, you'll know.
ok, big week of books!
Ordered these on Amazon and they came last week.
Wooo hoooo! 
Now if spring can get here, 
i can enjoy coffee on the deck with these lovelies. :-)

something else came this week too...
this beautiful print by the lovely Stephanie Guimond -
I so love it.
Stephanie is one of those people
who is exactly the same in person as she is on-line.
Adorable.

She and i met on-line a few years ago,
and when she came to visit her family
in eastern Canada two summers ago,
we met in person for coffee.
Clicked right away,
as if we had known each other for years.
I love who she is,
and how she does what she does.
On another note,
we got a blizzard this week.
Couldn't see across the street.
i've given up on wishing it was over.
It'll end when it ends.
In the meantime, i'm appreciating the beauty
as much as i can
and staying warm.
The day after the storm.
You gotta admit, this is pretty, right?
a snow drift on our front lawn
(which incidentally, is USUALLY grass by now...)
and this little surprise when we opened the garage doors...
the snow blew in somehow from a tiny crack in the doors,
and created this cute little blob of what looks like
shaving cream, or cool whip!
...or a big nose!
there's beauty all around us.
It's just that sometimes,
it's found in unlikely places
and i'll be honest -
after 4 months of winter, 
snow is the LAST place we wanna look for beauty!
Then a bit of painting...
 (watercolour on paper)
Oh look! Dots & lines! 
How refreshing! ;-)
 And then this one...
watercolour on paper again,
from an image in a book filled
with the most beautiful photography.
 I wanted to keep it just one tone,
or at least close to one tone.
Simple.
Uncomplicated.
I just love these photos.
Full of deep meaning and mystery.
We may think of ourselves as a rich country,
but sometimes, when i see photos like this one,
i think we have our priorities all wrong.
I think we could learn so much
by letting go of the idea that "having more"
means "being more".
It doesn't.
There are more ways than one
to feel caged in or suffocated,
just like there are more ways than one
to know freedom.
Wishing you all a wonderful week ahead!
Thanks for being here. xx




10 comments:

  1. I really like this post Pauline. so many avenues of beauty...and winter. xo

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  2. Hi, Pauline, beauty is relative, we know.
    Who decides what is beautiful and what is not?
    But from the point of view of current conventions about the beauty, the photos you show are beautiful,
    though, a tree has fallen, for me it was a sad picture. Sadly beautiful, I could say
    do you know what I think when I see the photo of the snow (in front of your house?) is a wave of the sea stopped in time.
    OK. I hope that, finally, spring comes to there!
    Bye, Pauline!

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  3. Merci Pauline, for such kind words. I love everything about this post - the beauty, the sadness, everything.

    I'm happy the power is back, and that snowdrift in your yard is INCREDIBLE. I also wish you sunshine.

    I can't wait to meet for coffee again. : )

    Stephanie
    xox

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  4. congrats on your beautiful art being featured at PPF! So much snow you have for April!

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  5. Beautiful work you're sharing. I simply love the waves and dot piece, my favs too. Enjoy your weekend, with or without snow.

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  6. Hello Pauline, what a winter you've had! So much snow! Your words and art are always a pleasure to visit dear friend, so great to see you featured on PPF this week,
    hugs
    Kat

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  7. Oh WOW! what an amazing set of pictures!! We have been having a rather hot end of winter reaching the 8 already, (don't want to imagine how hot summer will be!)
    All your snow and ice photos are awesome, tell your son i enjoyed immensely, specially the one with the hand ♥
    Sorry you were out of electricity so long!
    And I totally agree.... beauty is everywhere!
    Congrats on the PPF!

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  8. Wow...the snow! For a moment I thought I was looking at a Christo piece of art...stuff clad in white sheets...then I saw all of it was snow...beautiful and impressive! Love your in-house snow blob! The Kleon book is really nice. Do you have the first one too? Steal like an artist? I think they are the best books on being an artist...so down to earth, so doable, so real. Have fun reading the books! Or maybe you already have...with the power having been off for so long...

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  9. that snow blob is awesome; plus i luv the dots and layers

    have a nice weekend

    much love...

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  10. I just sent you a video you will be able to relate to. Just like relatives visiting, snow is a beautiful thing until it stays too long. Wow it has been a difficult winter, I hope summer is more gracious. Beautiful art and photos! I love that snow NOSE with a white mustache....that's how my quirky mind sees it!!I love Austen Kleon's quotes... very inspirational!
    Good to see you featured on ppf!!

    Big hugs and wishes for some better weather!

    Giggles

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