June 30, 2017

Jamie

Yesterday I started to feel a bit better. Good thing too because we had our eye appointments. We had thought we would go out for dinner after the fact but our pupils were so dilated and it was so sunny that we just squinted our way home! Later in the evening we did manage to go out for a walk and spent some time in a lovely little park with spectacular trees and flower treasures. It was good to be outside and feeling more like myself.

Shannon
Another day where I almost took no pictures! I did get this one in though, and it was good to gets some art in the day.

Suzie

I tried. I picked up Phil Collin's autobiography and tried to read and I just can't. I even tried reading in bed which is a real no-no for insomniacs and nope. I am bored. Just too bored to sit and read. Can't do it. Bloody hell, it's really starting to upset me. It's like I just don't care about anything anymore.

June 29, 2017

Shannon
Thank you both for chatting with me yesterday about my book wrapping project. I am really happy that I decided to go ahead with it. Big key now will be not to overdo it terms of the actual wrapping. And the weird thing is that none of these will be unwrapped for weeks! I am using this project also as incentive to finish off so many of the partially read books. That's is something I can do INSTEAD of wrapping! hehehe..

Suzie

When we lived in Vancouver in 2000 I went on this really long winding walk and ended up at a farm. I could not believe it. It was not in operation at the time but it was a farm, nonetheless. Last year I was determined to find it again and discovered the land had been sold for development. Back then all that was there was a tattered farm house and giant pits to be turned into homes. Tonight we went for a bit of a walk and I discovered the houses are almost done and they referred the original farm house so it is technically still there, which I was happy to see.

June 28, 2017

Jamie

I'm sick but at least I have good company. All of the cats seem to love it when I spend the day resting and hanging out with them.

Shannon
Anytime I do this, I instantly think of The Great British Baking Show or Masterchef. Waiting, waiting, waiting and resisting to open the door unless you are sure it's time. Now, I was only making a frozen pizza... but still it feels pretty fun to pretend it is something more exciting!

Suzie

I went to a meeting at the studio to help with something and it ended up being a bit of a waste of my time. I keep trying to get some rest and then get interrupted which is very frustrating so I spent the afternoon working really hard on my Lemon-Infused Instant Pot Iced Tea post. Michelle has been teaching me a lot about Lightroom and how it can improve photos and it's wonderful. I love it when you can tweak it so the image is how you remembered it, accurately, and not how the camera captured it. I am not into special effects at all but trying to totally recapture how I saw everything as I was taking the photos and in this case, making incredible iced tea.

June 27, 2017

Shannon
After a very exciting day on Sunday, I did my best to take it easy today and as such didn't take many pictures. But I did start my day with Morning Pages (and took a break halfway through), and got some good stuff done along with resting.

Suzie

Monday was too busy. It ended up being both more and less busy than I was expecting but it was too much. Plus, I am frustrated in my mixed media class. It is a stART topic for sure but I am feeling way too simple and boring in my approach to art and it is starting to hurt. And I am starting to bore myself which just will not do.

June 26, 2017

Jamie

It was such a treat to be able to go with Shannon to sing with Choir! Choir! Choir! and Sarah Harmer! We sang Neil Young's Lotta Love and it was so much fun.

Shannon
It was so much fun to get out to my first Choir! Choir! Choir! event with Jamie! It was so cool to see what it was like and get to SING with Sarah freaking Harmer! I still can't quite believe it. It was absolutely wild.

Suzie

It's been a rough week and now the heat is here. I got out to lunch with a friend from the studio which was awesome but spent most of the rest of the weekend at home. I did get out to the Value Village sale and bought a couple of items but I am grateful for Creative Bug which I am burning through today. Hope it cools off soon. I really don't do well in this heat.

June 25, 2017

Jamie

Despite the incident on the streetcar, which I shared on Facebook, Justin and I had a really lovely day out and about on Queen West. The weather was beautiful and we just hopped along, enjoying coffee, brunch out and then a few shops. I even came home with some washi tape!

June 24, 2017

Suzie

My turn!!! And I cried. I cried a lot. Meant so much to me. Of course I had to come home and nap afterwards but I channelled goddess energy when I did yoga and bellydancing before we went. We are all Wonder Woman in our own ways.

June 23, 2017

Jamie

Wow, I am so glad we got to see Wonder Woman. Words cannot express what it means to see a female hero in this way. 

Shannon
So happy to get out to see Wonder Woman!!! Really enjoyed it :)

Suzie

Finally had a day without any scheduled, well, anything so Reg and I did the long walk over to this cafe that had live folk music. That's Reg friend Leah Barley with the banjo who was fantastic, as always!This is the third time we have seen her perform. She's going to think we're stalking her soon!

June 22, 2017

Jamie

Happy Summer! Yesterday was an incredibly busy day but I really, really wanted my summer yearbook, which is a good sign that there is something that is really working about it. I managed to finish it off as best I could and take it into the printer. I am also going to see about getting some sample orders that are closer to the form I'm hoping it will eventually be in. I stayed home last night instead of going to choir but it felt good to get things done, get to bed early for a busy day today too.

Shannon
It was quite an all-over-the-place energy day, and I didn't end up taking many pictures but I did end up making healthy dinner! I could have gone with a slightly smaller portion, but I love this salad so much it's hard to restrain myself!

Suzie

Got to Opus and finally got some of my very own Indian ink for just over $2. It is a small container which is fine. I already have a brush. This was in the window.

June 21, 2017

Jamie

Yesterday was my second last paper-cutting and collage class. Even though it's made my work week a bit tight to give up a whole morning to art study, it has been awesome. I am going to really miss it when I'm done and am considering another course for the summer.

Shannon
It was nice to get out for coffee and journal, and get some art in too with imaginary flowers inspired by non-flower things ... like hot pants! I had a great time. It was a long day overall, but had some great moments.

Suzie

There's the culprit! Although it didn't start today until 9 am but went until 9 pm! Ugh... I hope they will be done soon. Spent the entire day going to the market for produce, then Superstore for groceries, came home, made dinner... Exhausted. Wanted to see Wonder Woman but there was no way.

June 20, 2017

Jamie

Yesterday I worked and worked. I focused on some to-dos that have been following me week to week and got many of them off the list. Yay!! At the end of the day, Justin and I went out for what turned into a very long walk. Along the way, we saw this little boo just sitting in the park, hanging out :)

Shannon
Whelp, another readathon has come and gone. I did a wrap up video, and I am not sure how I feel about how this one went. I ended up switching out a bunch of titles so that I could meet the challenges including reading 7 books (I ended up reading several novellas and short stories mostly), but no I have a bunch of half read stuff. So weird, the energy was just off this time around. BUT I did get a bunch of stuff read so...I guess that's good.

Suzie

Ugh. Fatigue overload and I had to get out to the post office, return library books, pick up food so we don't starve and then go to mixed media class. I didn't think I was going to make it but somehow I did and my artwork wasn't great (I seem to no longer be caring about results which I am not sure is a good thing) but I really connected with people which was pretty awesome. That said, I'm so tired. Damn crane outside our house starts making huge noise starting at 7 am. Bastards!

June 19, 2017

Jamie

I went out for a walk yesterday and kept at it even when it was raining. I just needed the space, the air, the movement - and I happened to see some beauty along the way. (PS Whoa!! The colour story of these succulents and Shannon's room and TV shot are identical!!!)

Shannon
This weekend I spent a lot of time putting my new journal together. There were so many pages to create! If I keep doing these magazine style journals, I think I should give myself lots of lead time to get the next one in order because it always takes longer than I expect. Good thing there was Safari Live and good company for a good part of it :)

Suzie

I actually had a bit of a weekend! A friend took me to a restaurant that is closing and then Reg and I went to Shakespeare Improv which was a lot of fun. Sadly after being at the doctor's three times during the week and two things on Saturday, I could not do anything Sunday but rest. Hoping I get enough so I can do something productive tomorrow.

June 17, 2017

Suzie

Returned the heart monitor on Friday (OMG, three days at the doctor's office is too much in one week), picked up a donut from Tim Horton's and then went to the studio to make lots of molds from charms I ordered a while back. Was hoping to be in a better mood but all the medical stuff just steals the life out of me which is why I made molds. No creativity required.

June 16, 2016

Jamie

Well, not surprisingly, Shannon and my pictures look similar, LOL. It was such a treat to go to the Art Gallery and experience Georgia O'Keeffe together, decades of amazing work. Once again I was hungry for more details about the artist, her view on her world and the work. I'm definitely going to be exploring more.

Shannon
It was so wonderful to go to the Georgia O'Keeffe exhibit with Jamie! Seeing so much amazing art, decades upon decades of work, was absolutely extraordinary.

Suzie

I know you probably saw this on FB already but it really does sum up my day. I am trying to be brave with my photos, my posts and my truth. If I could raise just a little awareness of the importance of heart health and that getting it monitored is no big deal so someone else does it too, it is worth it. Same with my 13 Reasons Why post. I had a friend connect with me privately about that time period and it really helped heal my spirit a little more. I am glad I put myself out there.

June 15, 2017

Jamie

Because the air conditioner was broken at the regular place, we had choir at the Dance Cave last night. I haven't been there for years! It was hilarious that I got carded on the way in. We were singing How Will I Know by Whitney Houston.

Shannon
I'm at the halfway point of the readathon and I'm a little stumped. I am reading my normal amount, but can see that's not enough to finish the challenges for the readathon. I've already swapped out one book, but I can see that I will either need to dedicated many more hours to reading than I had planned, or swap out to some super short titles, or not meet the goals. I know that I want to enjoy the marathon, and part of what makes it fun *is* that it's a challenge, but .... it kind of feels hopeless. I feel like if I can't complete the challenges, I don't know if I want to do it. I'm totally aware this is one of those "the way you handle one thing, is the way you handle all things" moments. Grr.

Suzie

My crafting space is driving me crazy so during Art & Netflix I also did a little cleanup so it wouldn't keep me away from the room so much. Having such a hard time being in there and I love that space so thank you for inspiring me to watch movies with you there, I love that.

June 14, 2017

Jamie

Yesterday was a very art-full day. I had my class in the morning and spent some time later int he day working on the next lesson in Making Faces. This is one of the pics from that class. I've been struggling a bit with what my big assignment is going to be for my Paper Cutting and Collage class but I finally think I have an idea and it has nothing to do with animals!

Shannon
I got caught in the rain for a little bit today - but at least I got outside!

Suzie

I had a chance to get to one of my favourite thrift stores since I got to my doctor's appointment a little early. I bought Reg something but am really trying not to spend money. There is a new Tim Horton's next door and I am proud I did not go in and get an Iced Capp. It was quite chilly here though, had it been warm that might have ended up being a different story.

June 13, 2017

Jamie

It didn't take long before my little helper got tired and had to have a lie-down. Still, it was lovely to have her as company at work! Monday's are very focused on clients and today I also conducted an interview for the podcast. It was a very productive day so a little helper was a treat!

Shannon
The Readorama readathon is back! I thought they weren't having another round until August but hey, that's okay with me. I was more than happy to put together a reading list of 7 books to meet their 7 challenges. One of my library holds hasn't come in yet, but I might just buy it instead. Day 1 was a little slow, but that is likely because I picked a harder text of Icelandic sagas. Heh. I hope I read more Day 2 but mostly I want to have fun. Here's hoping I do!

Suzie

Got back to art class and OMG, love gouache paint! Blew my mind away with making colours for the colour week like you can make blue?! Painting did not go as great. I am still having issues with being too literal but my head was hurting by the end of class so I will blame the headache.

June 12, 2017

Jamie

What a lovely day yesterday. It was a great balance between being productive, creating and relaxing - just the kind of day I love. I got some crappy tasks out of the way, some plants planted and some drawing done. Plus Shannon came over to watch some shows and we had a yummy dinner - jerk chicken, coleslaw and beans.

Suzie

OMG I love that photo!!! Reg and I were brave enough to go to Italian Day on the Drive which is so infamous for being one of the craziest events in Vancouver. Some years it is absolute chaos because of the THOUSANDS of people who come out to walk down Commercial and just hang out. We could not stay long so only got halfway down the street before turning back. Reg had to work so there wasn't enough time for food or treats but it was fun to see so many people but it was just a tad claustrophobic, so many people crammed onto one street. At least we got out and did something on a lovely day in Vancouver.
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June 10, 2017

Suzie

I got out for a walk and to the studio. Even got a nap in before heading out to see the new Alien movie. I had free passes but couldn't use them for Wonder Woman and I am glad I went. Not sure if you two would like it because it reminded me a lot of Prometheus which you two didn't like but I did. I might be the only one who enjoyed it but it was important for me to go. I don't know why these movies are important to me but they are.

June 9, 2017

Jamie 

The other day I heard Cloudbusting on the radio and it got stuck in my head, especially, "I just know that something good is going to happen!" I wanted to hear it again and so took a break and played it on YouTube. Shibumi loved it. She watched the whole video. Clealry, she has good taste!

 

Suzie

Day started with getting the embroidery machine to the shop and what a lovely shop it is and the woman there remembered the error message and even my name when I came into the store! It is going to take a few weeks to fix but fingers are crossed. When I came home I pulled the Star card and am starting to feel a little more hopeful about life.

June 8, 2017

Jamie

It was a sunny day and the cats were really loving hanging out in the studio chair. I thought it was hilarious that Scout made an appearanc ein stART too! Thank goodness that didn't contineu though, lol.

Shannon
Salad success! I am so glad I was able to stick to my cooking and meal plan and make a salad, especially after a rather full day. And it turned out to be a pretty good salad, which is a bonus because I'll be having it a few times this week!

Suzie

What a whirlwind day! Videotaping in the morning, filming stART in the early afternoon and then I walked all the way to Dollarama (not close) so I could get malt balls for my Milk Chocolate Malt Ice Cream. I was so tired I ran out of energy to make the ice cream but I am all set tomorrow and snuck a couple of them as a treat today.