a whole lota lovin'

hello people!

I can't remember if I shared these or not,
but if I did, i'm sharing again. :)
I don't watch much TV,
but when I do, I often sketch at the same time.
I keep a sketchbook nearby with pens & crayons
so if I feel like drawing, everything's there at my fingertips.

These sketches were done while I was watching

the movie, Saving Private Ryan. 

The ones above are of a church that had been blown up

and that the soldiers were using as shelter.

These are done quickly, 

because you only have a few minutes of a certain scene

on the tv screen.

I usually just sketch quickly

and add a bit of detail later on if I want.

And then this doodle below
I did while I was watching a show
on the Great Pyramids of Egypt.
The pyramids are so fascinating.
Another place i'd love to visit someday.

This is a bit different, 
because I'm not sketching something I see on TV,
I'm doodling while listening
so the drawing is really more imaginative
than figurative.

As I doodle, I lift my face now and then

to look at the TV

but mostly, I just listen and doodle what comes to mind.

I wonder if the brain absorbs more this way?

Either way, it is so meditative
to doodle something like this.
There's no right or wrong.
There's no rhyme or reason.
You make lines, draw circles or squares,
color certain parts in
and leave some white.
This is the kind of doodle you would do slowly.
It took me almost an hour of slow drawing,
and when I finished,
i called it a night
and had the deepest sleep.

We could wipe out so many prescription drugs in this world
if we all just made art. :)

Sketchers - my most comfortable shoes.
I am past the age of wearing sexy shoes.

Comfort is what it's all about, baby.

Added watercolor (even if it's not watercolor paper!)
so the paper buckled a bit, but whatever.

And guess what, peeps?

Today is my birthday!

(yes, another birthday!)

I turn 52 today, and I must say, it was a good one.

I did everything i love.

I went for a long walk this morning,

I read, I painted, I wrote...

I'm at that age now where once in a while,

reality sets in and I think to myself:

Is this it?

Is this my life?

Have I done everything I wanted to?

and the answer is always NO, of course not!

We always want more, don't we?

So I thought I'd share 52 things about me

that you may not know.

You may not care about them either - but what the hell.

I'm sharing them anyway cause

it's my birthday and I get to do what I want! Yay!

1. I was born in Massachusetts, US, but we moved to Canada when I was 7.

2. I backpacked in Europe by myself when I was 30. I would do it again in a heartbeat, only this time, I'd be smarter about it. 

3. I hate huge corporations. They treat people like numbers. I hate that.

4. I used to dream about working in 3rd world countries, helping others.

5. I want to go to India before I die.

6. I am not religious. (yes, i know most of you must know this already). :)

7. I am an introvert. (another "not so big surprise" to those who know me).

8. I am often alone but rarely lonely.

9. I love books. (surprise!!)

10. I once had a drink with my dad in an old fashion saloon in Great Falls, Montana, USA. The kind of saloon you see in movies - with swinging doors!

11. I lost my wallet in Paris and a kind stranger gave me $100. She was a nun.

12. I saw Prince (the performer) at the Charles de Gaulle airport.

13. I tented in the woods in Jasper where we hung our food in the trees to keep it away from the bears.

14. I believe pot (marijuana/cannabis) should be legalized.

15. I love being bare feet.

16. I hate wearing a bra (and I usually don't.)

17. Music moves me. Sometimes deeply.

18. Painting always makes me feel like i'm home.

19. I once went to Florida for 3 weeks with two girls I had just met one week before the trip. (We had a blast & became good friends).

20. I smoked my 1st cigarette when I was 12, hiding behind our garage. I never smoked another.

21. I was on the honour roll in high school, and my favorite subject was (ironically) Religious Studies. :)

22. I've made the trip across Canada by car twice. It's beautiful. And long.

23. I am a Maritimer, but I don't like lobster. They look too much like spiders to me. :)

24.  I've never had an entire beer. (Don't like the taste).

25.  I write everyday.

26.  I love history - in particular, Jewish history.

27.  I don't believe in life after death at this time in my life.

28.  I carry guilt about being the only one with mom when she died. I wished my two brothers had been there too.

29. Giving birth to my son was the most important and beautiful thing that ever happened to me.

30. When I was a child, I had a small, glow in the dark Buddha that I kept with me at all times - especially at night, when things were dark and creepy.

31. I'd rather drive a standard (transmission) car than an automatic.

32. I spent a lot of my teenage years horseback riding in Western Canada, rollerskating, tenting in the mountains and writing.

33. In the middle of a freezing winter, I fell through the ice while eel fishing and got pneumonia.

34. I don't go eel fishing anymore. :)

35. I only watched the BIG BANG THEORY once and didn't like it. Not funny to me.

36. I used to have pen pals around the world - including inmates who were serving life sentences.

37. I worked as a prison guard and trusted some of the inmates more than some of the other prison guards.

38. I played guitar when I was younger and wrote a few songs. I once sang one of my songs to a guy I was crazy about - and when I finished, he cried.

39. I can't stand people who cling to me.

40. I'd much rather live in a small home than a big one.

41. I believe politicians and athletes are paid far too much.

42. I believe teachers are paid far too little.

43. I need very little to be happy. Good coffee. Good music. Good books.

44. I have a soft spot for the homeless - and alcoholics.

45. When I was 13, I stayed on a teeter totter with my cousin for 5 hours. We could barely walk the next day, but after that, we felt like we could do anything!

46. I avoid big crowds and loud places. My senses just feel attacked.

47. We lived in so many different houses when I was growing up, my friends all thought I was an army brat (that my father was in the army). He wasn't.

48. When I was in grade 7, my friend and I won 1st place in a snow sculpting contest. We sculpted SNOOPY on his dog house, and we shared a trophy for an entire year. (she had it one week, I had it the other). giggle....

49. I once saved my dad from drowning in a hotel pool.

50. George Jones, the famous country singer, once sang me Happy Birthday at an outdoor concert in Maine, USA. He was sober. I wasn't. ;)

51. I once went on a weekend pilgrimage with mom and spent more time flirting with the cute bus drivers than praying. I was saved anyway. ;)

52. Being 52 is not so bad. Really. I'm happy to be here

To those of you who have read all the way through these useless tidbits -

thanks for being here with me. xx