July 31, 2017

Jamie

We had another wonderful birthday celebration for Shannon yesterday! A great meal, wonderful snacks and a beautiful cake. Dad also took us through his picture-and-map journey of Italy, which I always love. Thanks for being such a great hostess, Shannon!

Suzie

Considering the stress we have been under I wanted to make a special dinner for us so I created this creamy chicken and mushroom lasagna rollup dish. Pasta is my total comfort food and I have a ton in the pantry that I would prefer to eat than pack up when we move so... Lasagna for the weekend! Which I spent completely alone at home working on purging stuff, prepping articles and making delicious food.

July 30, 2017

Jamie

I am finally on the other side of three weeks of busy and several weeks of sick too! Even though I was so tired, I was glad that Justin and I went out for a long, long walk and then had a great meal at a local favourite! I am going to have to make sure that both of you get to experienced the fried chicken here. Wow!

July 29, 2017

Jamie

The big event yesterday was closing and celebrating another wonderful season of Journal Club. Deer was our animal guide and wow, I don't think we've ever had so many sightings. It was a complete joy to experience her intuitive and gentle ways.

July 28, 2017

Jamie

Yesterday was all about creating the final lessons for The Art of the Altar. I think about how most people create their class in advance but I always feel like I want to stay connected to the energy of the students and the moment. Maybe it's the performer in me wanting to have opening night!

Shannon
Fun times of the day was definitely hanging out with Suzie for Horror in the Afternoon! So much fun to be able to watch movies together :)

Suzie

Had an awesome day watching a spooky creepy movie with you too Shannon and hanging out. It rocked! And we even got to do show and tell for each other as well. Awesome.

July 27, 2017

Shannon
Tried something new today! Streamed a vlog LIVE from my phone. Turned out way better than I expected, they even give you a moment to "smile for the camera" for a thumbnail. I think this might make doing videos a whole lot easier.

Suzie

Had a great time chatting with you both! Didn't have any other photos going on so here is the stART collage!

July 26, 2017

Shannon
I'm testing out a bit of a new schedule, with one of the goals being to have lunch at a normal-ish (for me) time. Today it worked out well and I had lunch while watching some gaming on Twitch. I feel like it's time to start a new game!

Suzie

A pretty stressful day but I can't believe I FINALLY found my bails!!! Now I can finish off some pendants, photograph them and get them ready for Etsy for the fall. Need to start making some food money.

July 25, 2017

Shannon
I know it's hard to see much here, but there is a birds nest that looks like it's very precariously semi-falling down. I hope it's already served it's purpose!

Suzie

Today was our last class and we had our work critiqued which was interesting. My teacher still could not remember my name for some reason but I think she will remember my work. Next week is open studio orientation and then that's it for summer classes. I'm quite sad about it actually. I keep wondering if I will be moving far away from here and no longer able to get to the studio. Got to enjoy it while I can.

July 24, 2017

Jamie 

Well, the celebration continued Sunday for Shannon's birthday. It started off just right - at the Sunset Grill for breakfast. We even made it down to the beach - and wow, the water levels are the hightest we've ever seen them! We watched movies, ate barbecue and had an ice cream cake. Celebrating Shannon is so much fun!

Shannon
Birthday TIME! It was great to hang out with Jamie and Justin from breakfast at Sunset Grill with, to hanging out at the beach, and shopping and movies and new place for burgers and an ice cream cake! It was a fun filled day from start to finish!

Shannon

Suzie

I tried to pack as much as I could into my Saturday and made risotto balls! OMG, so delicious. I thought the risotto was good and then I made these? Damn. Worked on jewelry, my book and Sunday we went to see Spiderman which I really enjoyed. Had a lot of heart.

July 23, 2017

Suzie

Happy Birthday Shannon! Hope you had the greatest most awesome birthday ever. Love you!!!

July 22, 2017

Shannon
I'm so excited that Jamie picked my first set of wrapped TBR Books! I can't wait to unwrap them and see what she picked, I am sooooooo curious!

July 21, 2017

Jamie 

Yesterday was awesome!! I had a busy day prepping for The Art of the Altar but was able to wrap up just in time for heading out to the aquarium to celebrate Shannon's birthday. It was magical! We had an amazing time, so much wonder and beauty. We even saw a sea turtle! I couldn't have been happier.

Shannon
I think I may be a little out of practice with outdoor selfies, but even so I think this is a fun one! I had so much fun going to Ripley's Aquarium with Jamie and Justin to celebrate my birthday! So many fishes! Sharks! Jelly fish! And more. Wow. I'm still amazing by all that we saw. What a treat!!!

 

Suzie

Took more stuff to Value Village, printed out letters, forms, filled some forms out, baked cinnamon buns for the volunteers are the studio party/sale tomorrow, made a risotto for lunch... Keeping busy so I try not to panic about life.

July 20, 2017

Shannon
Another drawing... oh my... I have to start taking pictures of other things too! Anyhow, I'm really glad I did this one (The cast of Trainspotting 2 as if they were Vikings). The idea came up right at the beginning of the month and I really wanted to try it out, so I'm glad I got to it. It was way harder than I expected, didn't turn out as I expected, but I'm taking it as a win because I DID it and for today... that's good enough.

Suzie

My candy house is done and ready for the sale on Friday and it turns out I am the only one who made one. Not sure what to do with it. Saw the doc today, lots of tests ahead. I'm so stressed I can hardly eat. Feeling rough.

July 19, 2017

Jamie

Yesterday was a really active day. I got back to the gym after quite a break away, worked on The Art of the Altar and then did some yoga. Probably not the smartest idea after also going to the gym but hey, Scout was entertained!

Shannon
I didn't take a lot of pictures as I was out and about, but this was my lunch! The cherries were amazing. I am so glad I bought some, it can be a challenge when they package them already in bags I always feel a bit weird if I re-distribute so I don't take so many but these were so good I am glad I have lots to enjoy!

Suzie

Had a day to myself and was super productive. Got out to buy some food, came home and made real Pad Thai (I'm getting there) and did a ton of paper work for applying to co-ops. Which is exhausting and I am spending way too much time on the computer so I am glad I got a cooking break and made this fantastic treat.

July 18, 2017

Shannon
I'm continuing to play along with Sketchbook Summer, but a recent prompt of Rocks, and using a big marker was a bit of a challenge! I thought this would be easy, but without shading or context... it's hard to know a rock is a rock! Continual learning is happening, and I consider that a good thing! :)

Suzie

Because I had completed my mixed media piece that week I brought in a crappy canvas to do another one. I finally made my strawberry milk in a bottle reboot for my book and wanted to do a piece as an homage to it. I really like it and wanted to protect it. My teacher told us how a guy used other people's instagram images to make lots of money and apparently get away with it so that inspired me to find a watermark app just in case. Not that anyone would appreciate my art like I do, LOL.

July 17, 2017

Jamie

On Sundays I try to take some time to read. Yesterday I was so tired though I just fell asleep. Looks like Scout's got me covered though. Thanks, Scout! I'll look forward to hearing all about it!

July 15, 2017

Shannon
One of the things I love about having all my books wrapped up on my shelf is that I can look for (or create) fun moments between the books and see how the images on the spines match up. It's kind of ridiculously fun.

Suzie

Life has been more than a little frustrating and disappointing, like these potatoes that did not cook in time for dinner. Spent most of the weekend getting together all the stuff I have to give away because we have to move. I feel like I have hardly made a dent and that we're screwed.

July 14, 2017

Jamie

For the next ciuple of weeks, I am going to be immersed in The Art of the Altar, which I am thoroughly enjoying. It was a rich day exploring and then I took a break and went over to a friend's house for the evening. We had a great time chatting for hours at her kitchen table.

Shannon
I didn't take many pictures yesterday as I was doing a bunch of organizing and that would just be piles of different kinds of mess, and who needs to see that? Instead... here is an app I tried out that's like a colouring book. It's pretty cool, you choose a colour and than tap anywhere you want to be that colour. Fun!

Suzie

Made space on my desk for altar items for Jamie's class including my own holy moon water from the other night. I also made sticky toffee pudding which was unbelievably delicious. A good day.

July 13, 2017

Shannon
What a day! I couldn't choose one pic. It was great to all get a chance to say Hi and check in! Suzie and I missed you at Art and Netflix, Jamie! That said.. the movie was a bit... hard to follow? Maybe because I was also drawing superheroes based on gesture drawings, hehe.

July 12, 2017

Jamie

Yesterday was all Art of the Altar all the time! I've loved getting ready for this class, even if I've created a rather assertive schedule! I made sure to go for a walk at the end of the day to get some fresh air and clear my head so I am ready for a new day and a new journey today!

Shannon
I'm continuing on the journey of Sketchbook Summer, and recently there was a prompt to do Informal Subdivision, which was something I had never heard of before. I am very thankful that they did a video to explain it. It's drawing lines on the page before you start as a way to jump start a composition, in a slightly imperfect way. One of the big things this highlighted for me was that I never consider the entire page before I start something. I usually don't even fill the whole page! It was very challenging to do, but it was very engaging to have something completely new to try to work and add to the artistic toolkit. Oh, and the theme for this one was ... Aliens. A little more clear for the bottom drawing...at least I hope so.

Suzie

What a totally crazy day. Got all sorts of errands done (including sending the dresses back to Old Navy darn it) and then out to get groceries and just have time to put a frozen lasagne in the oven for dinner. Tomorrow is going to be even more busy! But I did get a free Slurpee today at 7/11 because it's July 11th.

July 11, 2017

Shannon
In mid-June I set myself the challenge of finishing ALL the books I was in the middle of, which was 15 books! I don't mind reading more than one thing at time, but 15 was a bit much even for me! I split the books up and am working towards finishing all but one of them by the end of the summer (the last one is a 1000+ anthology and for that I'm giving myself until the end of the year). I have now finished 5 of the 15 books and it feels so good!

Oh, and how the visual system works if that the ones on the left are the finished books, and the ones on the right are the ones I'm still working on.

Suzie

I know you both probably saw this on Facebook already but it really is the photograph of the day. I totally threw myself into our final project. We get two classes to complete it and I was done by the first day. No minimalism going on here and I am going to add more 3D elements to it once it dries. I felt bad because the rest of the class was still gathering images and elements or putting their canvases together. I was the only one who had a piece with any art of it! And I am almost done. I think I might do another one next week. Nobody can say I am a slow poke!

July 10, 2017

Jamie

On Sundays I try and make some time for art. Yesterday I had this little bowl of water on the table to clean my fingers because I was working with so much glue. Then I noticed the reflection of the curtains in the surface. Beautiful.

Shannon
I did it!!! I wrapped all of my unread book, and I got the majority of them on my shelves but there was one pile you can see that didn't quite make it. But that's okay. I'm sure as I start reading them I will free up some space. I can't wait to see what Jamie picks as my first set of books!! Weeeeeee!!!!

Suzie

What a weekend! Well I wasn't bored this time. Epic weekend on The Drive including Car Free Day. Went out to lunch with a friend and walked almost the entire Drive. I am getting stingy with money and ended up not spending anything on Sunday. It was fun but I am exhausted.
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July 8, 2017

Suzie

I suddenly had an entire day to myself and some time before the studio so I made a video giving advice on buying an ice cream maker. It wasn't easy for me. Especially when I watched the video and saw my skin all discoloured and awful even with lots of makeup so I added a special effect that made me glow. Far from the truth of how I look but it was better than just deleting it. I really have been gathering points on buying an ice cream maker and wanted to share them so if I have to add special effects to do so? Fine. It is the message, not the face that matters.

July 7, 2017

Jamie

Well, it's not quite a foodie-level picture, lol, but it was a foodie kind of dish! I'm feeling very inspired right now to really figure out food that is just right for me and for Justin. In the past, I've found the prospect a bit overwhelming but right now I am feeling motivated and optimistic. I just want us to focus on delicious nutrition rich food and be able to work with our distinct needs. (He needs distinctly more meat than I do!) Yesterday we tried Pinch of Yum's Spring Roll Bowls with Sweet Garlic Lime Sauce. Though we clearly didn't master the cooking of rice noodles, dinner was delicious! It's a keeper. 

Shannon
Amazing how today I said I didn't know how to draw a horse...and one showed up on what I was watching that evening! I had a great time chatting and catching up today!

Suzie

Other than stART the big thing today with a large delicious delivery from President's Choice and I finally got to try their new maple marshmallows. OMG!!!

July 6, 2017

Shannon
This is actually from 2 days ago, but I took the picture later than I touched base on Willow Tree! I am having a lot of fun doing Sketchbook Summer, which is people getting together and for the month of July planning on filling a sketchbook start to finish. They do prompts, and this one was focus of Cave Man, and suggestion of Chicken Nuggets (which I didn't really know what that meant...but I just went with it). I'm sure I will share more on stART!

Suzie

I always admire this house when I walk to my doctor's office. The amount of pink and white flowers in the yard took my breath away. It was a hot walk there and back. Had zero energy for anything else but at least now I know about my weird heart.