just past midday

2 weeks of November Art Journalling

2011-11-15T23:07:00.000-05:00

Week 1 -- this week coincided with the start of Julie's 30 Days in your Journal online class, so I used some of the same tools and techniques we used in the first set of pages. Watercoloured and spattered the background. SU Halloween stamp in black and french script BG in copper. Added part of a new Starbucks coffee sleeve and a subway ticket that Marc brought home from Shanghai. Sharpie for journaling, as I was having trouble getting other pens to work on this surface. It happens from time to time. Pitt marker doodles around the coffee sleeve, dabs of green acrylic with Julie's punchinella stencil, circles and copper with the chicken wire shape.

Week 2 - Started with a background technique by Cuchy, featured on Julie's blog a couple of weeks ago. Misted colours, sprinkled with salt while still wet. Fun! As I wrote, my husband surprised me with a new, and much needed and appreciated, laptop. A protective fabric like piece was inside, between the screen and keyboard, and those two triangle shapes were in it. A ready made stencil! I sprayed with a dark brown walnut ink, dried my new stencil and added it to my stash. The cardboard sun was packagin material from a mug, brushed with yellow acrylic, then sponged with brown distress ink. Added some bits of paper from the week, wrote the big letters in black acrylic, journalled with a black Pitt marker, and coloured inside the heart with a pink chalk pen.

The Rest of October -- Art Journalling

2011-11-15T22:59:00.000-05:00

Week 3 - I knew I wanted to use this stencil, but didn't want to start with my plain gessoed pages. So I used gel medium to apply strips of newpaper. Then the orange. Then then stenciled image. Then . . . I didn't want to cover it! I added a few die cut shapes and stalled again. Pulled out Julie's words stamps, chose 5 randomly, and using those as my starting point for this week's journaling.

Week 4 - black gesso, Julie's circle stamps with orange acrylic, a white spider die cut, and more acrylic paint.

October Art Journaling

2011-10-23T23:49:00.000-04:00

October Week 1

Another one of those pages that started with leftover paint from the week before. I added the light blue with the intention of using black and the skyline stencil. The results weren't very crisp. I added a TH stamped image of a bug, and a couple of white rub ons. And our fortunes from Saturday's PF Chang dinner. Some Sakura pens for a bit more doodling, and the FC Pitt markers for most of the journaling.

October Week 2

It was an especially pink week in this pink month. I knew I wanted these pages to be pink. I used pink acrylic on gessoed pages, before the gesso was completely dry. I like how it turned out. I had picked up a pink chalk pen at Michael's -- it was among all of their BC Awareness stuff. I used it for all of my journaling. The white is a Sharpey paint pen.

Our October Colours

2011-10-23T00:37:00.003-04:00

At this time of year, the predominant colours around here are the colours of fall: orange, yellow, a blazing red. But in the Pelletier house, our colours fall outside of the typical autumn colour range.

Green. Nick picked up a green suit to wear, possibly for Halloween, but first, for an experiment for his Abnormal Psych class.

Off he went in his green suit, for a day at school. The experiment was to create a situation out of the norm, and study the reactions. And there were reactions!

Orange. Marking the start of Flyers season. Nick dresses for school in his game day attire, on most game days.

Red: UD Lightning, Gaby's soccer team. She's #25.

Camo: not technically a colour, but in abundance in October. Archery season begins for Marc. Last year, he started hunting locally, on a co-worker's property.

For the first time in my life, for the first time in all of our years together, I went with him. Five hours to get a 15 minute glimpse of a doe that, thankfully, Marc couldn't shoot, since his license was for a buck. Best part - the 45 minute drive together, each way. Worst part - tied. Not being able to talk for over 2 hours, losing feeling in my extremities while trying to sit still, or the bugs, especially deer ticks and skeeters.

Blue: the Philadelphia Union came out to our high school. Three players, one of whom is a junior at our school. They signed autographs for over an hour, graciously signing shirts, balls, photos, cards, whatever was presented. They were awesome!

More blue: Team Maryellen, formerly Team Buststop, participating in their 3rd 3Day walk for the Cure. They first walked two years ago in celebration of the end of treatment for Maryellen, who had been diagnosed with breast cancer the year before. Last year they walked without Maryellen as the cancer had returned. This year, with heavy hearts but heads held high, they walked in her honour and in her memory.

Gaby and I got up early to catch the 7:00 opening ceremonies and start, at WG Mall.

Gaby caught the bus in time for school, and I joined the crowd at Rosario's to wait for Team Maryellen.

Once again, it was amazing to see all of these walkers, and even more emotional when Team Maryellen arrived.

Of course there was plenty of pink, the colour for Breast Cancer Awareness month.

We wore pink most of the weekend in honour of the walkers. Carole and Mike gave me, and Gaby, pink Union scarves that were distributed at the game the evening before. Lucky us!

Red, white & blue: the colour of headgear at Gaby's school's Fall Festival. The kids receive tickets when playing games, and can redeem them for a variety of prizes. These hats were one of the popular choices.

And we cannot forget Gaby's favourite colour during soccer season: dirt!

In this state, these don't make it past the front door.

Last Week's AJED

2011-10-07T22:21:00.002-04:00

September Week Four and One Half

Last week, while I was working on these pages, Julie blogged about participating in a Sizzix blog hop, and shared the book she made for it. See it here. I love love love the colours she used, and that was my starting point for this week. I blended acrylics to get this bright red orange. The black on the left is actually the result of a sloppy stencil job, so I covered it up. Once it was dry, I used Julie's leaf frame stencil and I love the result. Her punchinella stencil was used on the right, I added some journaling lines with the edge of an old gift card, and a piece of 7Gypsies tape filled the space on the left. Getting close to the end of the book, the left hand pages are tougher to work on away from the edges, cuz the left side is fat and lumpty. I did my journaling with a black sharpy this time. The paint finish is quite smooth, but it still seems to suck the life out of most of my pens. A sharpy is easier and cheaper to replace.

Art Journaling - September in September

2011-09-28T18:21:00.000-04:00

Typos in paint -- I can't even be bothered trying to fix them. But I do know how to spell practice, just not how to paint it!

This is what I did last week.

These pages got their start with leftover paint from the week before. I squeezed out waay too much green for the stencil I was using, and didn't want to see it go to waste, so I turned the page and glopped on that green. Then I added bits of red and black that were also on the palette. I also flipped the stencil from the previous page and pressed it on these pages. Then I propped the book open, or so I thought. Not well enough, cuz the pages stuck a bit. Hence the white shmears.

Once dry, I stenciled across the top with some stencils I got in a book awhile ago. Black acrylic paint, of which I again squeezed out too much. That made my journaling decision for me. A small round brush and a bit of water. I want to work on script more with a brush. Printing is fairly easy but I need more practice writing with a brush in hand.

Those lovely green rhinestone flowers are Kaisercraft, and the cheese label is just something from my stash. It's delicious cheese!

September Art Journaling

2011-09-26T00:02:00.000-04:00

The idea is to blog about life, but life keeps getting in the way of blogging! I blame it on the rain. Its been a big time suck in so many ways and continued this weekend, wreaking havoc on soccer schedules and yardwork. Always something.
So once again, I'm playing catch up with my art journaling. October will be here in less than a week, and I'm finally sharing some September pages.
One of the problems with not sharing weekly, is that I can't quite remember how I did some of these.

September Week 1

Awaiting my Julie stencil order, I pulled out some CWS stencils that I already had, and played with a couple, using Adirondack wash, Perfect Pearls Mist and Glimmer Mist. Maya Road Things To Do list, AC Date sticker, and some decorative paper tape by Cavallini & Co.I didn't spend much time on these pages. This was our first full week back home and we had a lot to do as a result of being away for so long.

September Week 2

This background really evolved. I started out spraying some Adirondack wash and Perfect Pearls. I then sprayed water to create the drips. That also muted the colours. I gessoed the raindrops through my brand new JFFB stencil. Love these!

Now this is a place to play and learn and I learned that a sponge brush isn't the best applicator for my purpose. Between that and the curve in the pages, some of my raindrops lost their shape. Oh well! I used the stencil to trace the raindrop shapes from some of the week's photos, and included them. Journaled in the remaining teardrops using FC Pitt markers.

Forgot to mention that both of these were built on gessoed pages.

September Week 3

With all of the France business mostly behind us, I was able to spend a little more time on these pages. While the gessoed base was still wet, I added strips of a polka dotted fabricky paper that was in the box with sneakers I purchased a couple of months ago. I tore them, so there's no consistency. I used gel medium to make them stick. The gesso alone wasn't quite cutting it.

I signed up for Julie's Stenciling 101 and this page made me realize I need to visit it and learn how to build more brilliant and defined layers. I also need to develop patience. The background might look better had I let it dry, rather than dabbing at it with a paper towel. Couldn't help myself!!

I used Julie's chevron stencil on the right, with a heavy bodied acrylic. Same with the punchinella dots on the left, but there I went over it again with a different color and ultimately covered it with jockey stamps! I also used a home made stencil -- the packaging from a 6 pack of Trader Joe's yogurt. With my fingers, I applied a white acrylic to those 6 holes in the yogurt pack. I patiently waited before adding any journaling and doodles. I added the 3 Australian stamps, layering one of them on a blank Lisa Leonard tag that I had been hanging on to. A little distress ink around the edges of that tag and those stamps. Done.

Guatemala Sunday

2011-09-24T08:56:00.001-04:00

The Sunday on which our mission trip team offers a presentation of their trip to the congregation. This year is Guatemala Sunday. They went to Guatemala. Last year was West Virginia Sunday. They went to West Virginia. You get the idea!
Guatemala was Nick's third mission trip. According to him, it was the best yet, and the most fulfilling. Our mission trip leader Elise laughs about this, as she has returned from each trip declaring it to be the best. South Dakota, Costa Rica, Vermont, Alaska, with Guatemala now topping the list.
The mission trip is usually late June or July, and the team comes together in September to share their adventures with our church. A special service with shared photos and recollections, followed by a coffee hour. I've always made a point of try to attend these mission trip Sundays. I remember how moving it was to hear the kids talk about their time with the children of the Rose Bud Indian reservation in South Dakota. Beautiful photos to go along with their life changing stories. Every year I marveled at this amazing opportunity offered by our church and looked forward to the day when my children could participate.
This year, when Elise was organizing the presentation, Nick offered to be an usher, and play guitar. No mention of speaking. She always asks that 3 or 4 of the kids offer their reflections on the trip. He didn't offer. And then, a couple of weeks before Guatemala Sunday, Nick told me that Mrs. S (Elise) had asked him if he could be one of those 3 or 4 kids, and he agreed.
The next surprise came when Elise was asking the kids to forward their intended reflections, so that she could make sure there would be no repetition. Nick advised me that he had nothing written, nor was he planning to. He was just going to get up and speak. From the heart. Noteless. Wow.
And wow us he did! Twice. Nick spoke at both the 8:00 and 10:30 services. Equally composed, thoughtful and hilarious both times.

The team, both students and adult leaders, donned their Guatemala t-shirts. Some wore jackets they had picked up in Antigua, where the group spent their last day before returning home.

Nick spoke.

He played guitar.

And he made them smile. And laugh! Take a look at the others in the picture. All smiles!

He was funny, thoughtful, eloquent and composed. As someone who is not fond of public speaking, I marvelled at the ease at which he relayed his thoughts and feelings about Guatemala. He compared one week of Guatemala to six weeks in France, which is how his summer played out. How he enjoyed Guatemala so much more, for that one short week. The hard work, and very humble meals and housing more appealing than being a tourist, eating rich French food, showering daily and sleeping in a comfy bed. How much more welcomed he felt by the Guatemalans, as opposed to the French.

Nick might stand out in a crowd because of his choice of hairstyle. It's longer than most at his school, our neighborhood and our church. While I can't speak for what he's like at school, around here, he's pretty quiet. He surprised and impressed a lot of people last Sunday. In addition to the many accolades he received, a lot of people were surprised and impressed by his wit and sense of humour. Me, I was proud. Very proud. Way to go Nick!

A September Weekend

2011-09-23T20:45:00.000-04:00

Not typical, but I've come to realize that most aren't. There's always something. This time, the excessive rain we've been experiencing since August finally caught up with us. Everyone was in a panic for Hurricane Irene, which we were thankfully home for. Damp basement, yes. But with the power flowing throughout the storm, our sump pump ran almost nonstop and prevented anything more than a few puddles from forming in the basement. Different story the Wednesday after school started. The rain didn't let up all night. We received a 5 a.m. call from the school district that there was a 2 hour delayed start due to the weather. After shutting everyone's alarm, I went back to sleep. We were still hearing the pump running, and there was no evidence of a power failure so we were shocked to find signs of a greater volume of water in our basement. It was gone by the time we looked, at 8:30 or so. But the damage was done. Clothing in the dryer was soaked, stuff was moved and tipped over and rubbermaid containers that had always been 'tall' enough, weren't. I was heartbroken to come across a container of fully submerged cook books. Cook books dating back to the early 80's. Cook books that were there because I wasn't using them, but couldn't bear to part with them. Thirteen cook books, into the recycling bin. And then Marc discovered another rubbermaid container full of cook books, also saturated. These brought the grand total to over thirty. Again, I hadn't been using these recently, but there were several that I would have kept forever. Cook books from my days at MTS -- recipes submitted by employees. I enjoyed looking at them. Remembering people I no longer saw. A Martha Stewart cook book, her first, that I purchased in 1982. It soon made me realize I had no desire to be like her, but I enjoyed looking at the pictures! And several cook books that were gifts. Gone. A part of the high recycling points rewarded to us that week. (we're part of a program that gives points for recycling based on weight, and that bin was especially heavy that Friday!)

But the effects of the rain didn't end in our basement. Nick's School of Rock Funk and Reggae show was this weekend. Rehearsal Thursday evening, shows Friday and Saturday. But our Ft. Washington School of Rock flooded for the second, or was it the third, time this summer, which necessitated traveling to the not-so-nearby Main Line School of Rock location. For the rehearsal Thursday. For the show Friday. And for the show Saturday. It's a great venue, but the last minute change of plans kept us hopping all weekend. I had to remind myself that our inconvenience paled in comparison to what Steve at the SOR was going through. Again.

The show was fabulous, despite the last minute changes. We loved the show. It was quite possibly my favourite! I loved the music and loved that people were dancing instead of moshing. Yeah, I'm old!

And one of my favourite of the night:

Dancing sibs. Adorable!!

Normally, we like to attend both of Nick's shows. But we had other plans for Saturday night and Nick's blessing. Gaby had the opportunity to be a player escort for our MLS team, the Philadelphia Union, at Saturday night's game. The way Nick put it, if he had the opportunity, he would miss Gaby's concert for it. So with our 3 tickets instead of 4, we headed to the Union game.

We were advised to be there at 6:15, to give the kids sufficient time to get changed and briefed. Our soccer club had held a random drawing of interested kids, eleven and under, and sent a group of eleven. We were thrilled to see our neighbor Abbey was one of the group.

The kids and three parent chaperones, of which I was one, were escorted into a locker room just for them. And the kids escorting the opposing team from Portland. And the ball kids. The player escorts were all provided with full uniforms -- shirts, shorts and socks -- which were hanging under their name. Very cool!

We continued the hurry up and wait game, with the kids donning their uniforms, and then waiting around til it was time.

Check out her name!

Gaby and Abbey.

Marc caught the action on video, and we parent escorts were allowed to hang at field level while the kids were out there.

Gaby with her player, #8, Torres.

After the national anthem, the kids ran off the field, back to the locker room, and we packed up and returned to our seats. To watch our Union hold Portland scoreless. Zero zero.

For our soccer crazy girl, it was an amazing experience -- one she'll remember for a long time. She's planning to be back at PPL Park in three years, when she'll be old enough to be a ball girl.

Being September 10th, there was a special tribute before the game, recognizing the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks. Earlier on Facebook, a friend had shared a post suggesting a way to mark the date would be to bake something to share with local police or firefighters. Gaby was on board, of course. So on Sunday morning, she baked brownies, I baked pumpkin bread, we packaged both, and took them to our local police department.

They were happy to receive it, and the next week I came home to the empty container between the front doors, with a lovely note of thanks attached. Nice of them!

First Day of School

2011-09-07T23:32:00.000-04:00

Was yesterday. Gaby in her first day outfit, and Nick in his boxers cuz he goes in later, obliged by stepping out front, even in the rain.

I will remember this as the year we had a paper house number on the front door, from the time Nick painted the trim, in April, til, uh, who knows!

My Hurricane Birthday

2011-09-07T23:20:00.001-04:00

All summer, I had believed I would be celebrating my 49th birthday in Paris. And right up until 4 days before my birthday, that was the plan. But because we came home early due to the unplanned occurences in our last week in France, the celebration would be in Oreland. The day Hurricane Irene was scheduled to settle into our area. My how plans have a way of changing!

Marc and I went out for breakfast, just the two of us. He was craving a steak, egg and cheese bagel, and I figured I could have an egg mcmuffin. On the way home we grabbed Starbucks coffees, something that we had enjoyed very little of over the summer. Neither of us are fans of French coffee.

Gaby baked and frosted red velvet cupcakes on Friday. I wasn't allowed in the kitchen at all!

And she made sure I blew out my candles while Claire was over.

Then the focus shifted from celebrating me, to celebrating the weather, once the rain started.

After six weeks of dining out, I was so thrilled to be back home and cooking in my own kitchen. Even on my birthday. But I let Marc do the honours on the grill. Besides, the rain was well underway by dinnertime!

Yummy food and a toast. No, we didn't get enough of the champagne in France. (It was much better there too!)

My focus shifted to the weather. The rain just kept coming. and thankfully, the sump pump just kept running in the basement. When high winds are a part of the forecast, I never mind the kids falling asleep downstairs. We have a lot of big trees in our yard, and well, I'm not the only person I who does this. I have several friends and acquaintances who keep their kids on the main floor during high winds.

There were also a couple of tornado warnings just after 11 p.m. And the power went out for , oh, perhaps 10 seconds. But that was enough for me to make sure there were tealights lit in most of the rooms in the house.

(See Marc sleeping on the couch -- not a care!)

Nick.

Gab.

It appears I was the only one concerned about the rain, possibility of flooding, high winds and tornados. No one else lost any sleep over it!

Six Weeks of Art Journaling on the Road

2011-09-07T20:57:00.000-04:00

I had taken the time to prepare to continue my art journaling on the road. I packed a travel kit with watercolours, scissors, adhesives, tape, markers, gel medium, among other things. I gessoed six sets of pages, one for each week we were scheduled to be away.

I saved all sorts of ephemera from our travels - brochures, ticket stubs, newspapers, napkins, menus, business cards. The gel medium was perfect for adhering these items to my pages. The first few weeks, my pages looked pretty similar.

July Week 3:

This week was a day in Paris, 2 days in Reims, 2 days in Paris, a day in Reims and then back to Paris for the weekend. Included bits of a Paris map, train ticket, napkin from a restaurant, newspaper, Reims map, Louvre brochure. And doodles with markers and watercolours.

July Week 4:

We were on the road, waking up in Germany Monday morning, spending Monday night in Munich, Tuesday in some Italian town just inside the border, Wedneday in Florence (delightful!) Thursday in the Cinque Terre coastal region of Italy, ending up in Monaco on Friday, for several days. These pages were more of the same: maps, business cards, menus, newspaper and brochure bits. Doodles and bits of journaling.

August Week 1:

We started the week with a couple more days in Monaco, then hit the road Wednesday for a leisurely drive through France. Nice, Aix en Provence, Lyon, Dijon, Troyes, and back in the Reims area for the weekend. More stuff from our travels. Menu, parking vouchers, cool foil packaging from a Monaco chocolate coin.

August Week 2:

Most of this stuff was odds and ends from a quiet week in Reims, and a quick weekend trip to Belgium - Brussels and Brugge. A cool business card from a not so delicious crepe restaurant, more maps, wrappers from the free chocolates in our Brussels hotel. Journaling. Doodles.

August Week 5:

An entire week in one place is reflected in these more simple pages. We stayed put. Played soccer. Walked. Fed the ducks at the park. Did laundry once. Visited the hospital once. (Nick's hand -- cut that wasn't healing well) and of course the Police Station, in Reims, called the Hotel de Police. We did discover that fabulous bakery with the crispy baguettes and yummy meat pies.

And the last week of journaling on the road, my August Week 4:

This one, start to finish, was completed at home. I didn't even look at these pages that last week, til we got home. I had it in my head to use clouds, and perhaps rain, to document the crap. But I realized that being my birthday week, it wasn't all bleakness and clouds. So I cut out cardboard clouds for the left side, and a cardboard sun and rays for the right side. After a quick wash of yellow watercolour, with the sun in place over top and the clouds on the other side, I spritzed the pages with a few different blues. Journaled the 'bad' stuff in the clouds and the good, on the sunny side. Along with my age. It's just a number, right!?

How to Ruin a Vacation

2011-09-07T20:32:00.001-04:00

Blogging, picture taking, photo editing, and journaling came to a screeching halt the day after I wrote my last post. On Friday August 19, overnight, our rental car was broken into. We discovered it Saturday morning. The broken glass and empty trunk were our first clues. Marc's golf bag, clubs, and extensive assortment of golf gadgets, gone. Golf attire, gone. Two pairs of roller blades belonging to Marc and Nick, gone. After a trip to the police and change of rental car, we tried to salvage the weekend. And we were doing pretty good til Tuesday night. The 23rd of August.

Marc and I had decided to take the train to Paris that evening, for a quick dinner, and to pick up a bigger rental car that we could return to Paris when we went home. After the car break in, Marc had moved up his return flight and was coming home with us. The new rental car we had picked up in Reims was too small and would have to be left in Reims. We thought we had found the perfect solution: combine a quick date night with picking up a new car. All good, right? Well, it didn't turn out that way.

We arrived in Paris at 6:00 after a 45 minute train ride. We walked from Paris Est to Paris Nord, where we would pick up the train to the airport, for our car pick up. We made a fateful decision to have dinner at a restaurant just outside the train station, before continuing on to the airport.

In retrospect, we did a lot of things differently. We sat outside, which we hadn't been doing too often, since smoking was allowed. But it wasn't too busy because it was still early, around 6:30. The waiter seated us at the end of a section of empty tables, beside a lone diner. We should have asked to sit in the middle of those empty tables. But we didn't.

What ended up happening, less than 15 minutes after we had sat down, was that the man next to us left, and walked off with Marc's backpack. And we didn't notice. Even after Marc's backpack had mysteriously found its way to that man's feet. Marc was a bit suspicious, but apologized, and returned the bag to it's place under his feet. But he didn't wrap the straps around his legs, as my seasoned traveler often does.

A few minutes later, the waiter asked Marc if he had his bag. We looked down and it was gone. What a horrible horrible feeling that is. The waiter said he saw the man cross the street and head for the train station. He and Marc made chase. Marc said he thought it was strange that the man wouldn't have entered the Metro station on our side of the street, rather than opting for the train station that was crawling with police and soldiers.

In retrospect, and we find ourselves saying that alot, we think the waiter was in on it. He seated us and continued to serve in between our tables, rather than from the empty side. That man, seated by himself, neither ate nor drank. While I believe I would recognize him, I remained focused on his unattractive hands and strange white phone, not his face. And obviously not focusing on him when I should have been.

That horrible horrible sick feeling was justified. In Marc's haste to take care of everything that busy Tuesday, he had traveled to Paris with his laptop, iPad, video camera, 2 external hard drives which he normally doesn't carry and which were his computer back up and waaaay too many of our photos, headphones, bluetooths, fancy computerized pens, you name it. The GPS we thought had been stolen from the car, which we later found in the hotel room, lost for real this time. Because Marc had met a colleague at the mechanic's that morning to give him a lift to work. The hard drives, normally in the hotel safe, were with him because he directly transferred data to someone who couldn't open the emailed version Marc had sent. And because the first colleague needed a ride again after work, Marc was rushing to make the 5:15 train. The thought of trying to leave his backpack behind had crossed his mind, but with an upcoming meeting in Ireland, he figured he might get some prep work done for that, during the train ride.

All things we should have done differently, but didn't. I was carrying a new purse that we had bought on the weekend, an early birthday gift for me. The zipper was all wonky, wouldn't close properly. So upon arrival in Paris, I gave Marc our passports. Thankfully, those, along with his wallet and cell phone, were in his pants pockets. Not so, my camera.

It was loose in my purse, and somewhat awkward, so when we were sitting down for dinner, I asked Marc to put it in his backpack. He obliged. So that too, was gone.

But having had a computer crash on me, and loosing a mere 3 weeks of photos several years ago, I now religiously back up photos before deleting them from memory cards, and I carry 6 CF cards for my camera, so that I can change them out every day or two. So I really lost nothing but the camera itself. I told Marc it would have been SO much better to lose my computer. Photos backed up on CD's and CF cards, both of which were in the hotel room safe. And not much else of importance. Yeah, it would have been an inconvenience, but I've backed up my computer before, so the recipes, files, contacts, are somewhere safe at home. Perhaps not completely up to date, but also not completely loss. With that hard drive gone, Marc lost templates, files, years and years of work. And between that and the computer, the three months of work that he'd done in Reims was lost. Not completely. But probably close to half.

The police in Paris were little help, advising us we'd have to wait for at least an hour to file a report, and explaining that it was not allowed, in France, to view security camera footage. Now we realize that there's a good chance our thief was not on the train station footage, but we didn't know that then.

We still had to take the train to Charles de Gaulle airport, pick up our car, and drive the hour back to Reims.

We were so done. Defeated. Deflated. Discouraged. Wanting so desperately to JUST GO HOME. This was Tuesday night and we had busy plans for the rest of the week. Drive 5 hours to Amsterdam on Wednesday. Marc was jetting off to Ireland from there Thursday, for his meeting, while the kids and I toured. He'd return Friday morning, we'd get back to France for Friday night, celebrate my birthday in Paris Saturday and fly home Sunday.

But we wanted none of that. We just wanted home.

Marc notified employers and colleagues and the short version is that we did make the decision to return home Thursday. Ireland was out of the question as Marc had nothing for that meeting, what with his computer being gone. We certainly didn't feel like a road trip. We were anxious to get home, more than a little concerned about our financial security being breeched with this theft. While Marc didn't use this computer for most of our financial stuff, when he was on the road, he would pay bills, view our accounts, that sort of thing, from this computer. We wanted to get home, notify the bank, credit card companies, credit reporting bureaus, and of course, our insurance company. So we paid a $1000. change fee to come home three days early.

But in all bad things there are always silver linings. As the immigration officer pointed out upon our arrival in Philly, we were all there, intact, no broken bones, physically unharmed. He said he'd seen a lot worse. Many times. This fellow was actually hilarious and lightened our mood significantly.

We caught the early train home. Our wonderful neighbors were able to have our car waiting for us at the train station, and because we were home so early, I managed to pick up accumulated mail before the post office closed.

Our house was still standing, the cars all there, and most importantly, the basement was dry! We were so anxious, with the excessive rain that made August an all time record month for our area. Certain that we would come home to a musty soggy basement. Damp yes, but never full of water. Again, our neighbors had checked everytime it rained, redirected downspouts, and all remained dry. They moved our cars around to make it look like we were around, and our home was just as we left it.

We got home two days before Hurricane Irene was scheduled to hit. In time to hunker down and defend our home! To celebrate my birthday by candlelight, as the lights waivered, but the power remained, enabling our pump to keep running and our basement to stay relatively dry. Our original return flight on the 28th was cancelled due to the hurricane. The airport was closed. The trains stopped running. So we would never have made it home that Sunday. Coming home early was a good thing.

We're knee deep in insurance claims right now. I really should be doing that instead of writing this. But I'm tired today, after a somewhat sleepless rainy night. The rain makes me nervous. I'm always afraid that the power will go out and the sump pump will stop running and our basement will fill. It's happened before; its not just my wild imagination! So I figured I could more easily write with a tired brain, than try to properly document everything required by the insurance company. That's tomorrow's job.

Small victories and good things happening, reminding us that all we've lost are things. The hard drives are actually the worst, especially for Marc. But he's rebounding. School's started, Nick has his Funk and Reggae show at the School of Rock this week, Gaby's soccer season starts Saturday, and her name was chosen to be one of eleven UD kids to walk our pro soccer team, the Union, onto the field for this Saturday's game.

And we got our $1000 back from US Air. The day after we returned home, US Air announced they were waiving change fees for folks trying to reschedule their travel around the hurricane. So we sent them an email, asking if they would consider reversing the charges, given the situation. It took them over a week to get back to us, but it was worth the wait. That money will cover one of the deductibles for our two insurance claims!

Monaco

2011-08-22T12:36:00.002-04:00

We were so excited to arrive in Monaco on Friday, the 29th of July, as we had booked a hotel for 5 nights. We were going to be in one place for 5 nights! After 2 weeks of, at the most, 2 consecutive days anywhere, we were excited to leave our bags unpacked for awhile.

Of course it was also perfect weather, the best since we'd arrived in France almost 2 weeks ago. Out came the shorts and swimsuits. We hit the beach:

Beautiful and quiet, but more rocky than we're used to. We remedied that with some water shoes. We also picked up goggles. And bikinis for the girls.

Gaby and I had the same goggles, same water shoes, and same bikinis. Except that mine took considerably more fabric! I had brought a tankini, but actually felt more conspicious as the only women wearing some sort of one piece were probably over 70. It's been many years since my tummy has seen sunlight -- it felt good!

We swam in the hotel pool. That's Gaby, who was in there swimming laps every day.

The view from our room:

As we had done in Reims before we left, we shopped for our lunch at the local grocery store. And as in Reims, we were able to find delicious cheeses and pates to enjoy with fresh baguettes. Restaurants here have been expensive but the groceries are quite reasonable.

Picnic on the balcony.

Marc and I did some sightseeing. Lots of walking. The kids were content to stay at the hotel and we were fine with that. Every old church, every old building was starting to look the same to them.

But not to us. After shorter walks around our hotel, we took the hotel shuttle to the casino area, and walked around there. First stop was the Hotel de Paris. I had to photograph this for Gaby, as she and I had recently seen the Selena Gomez movie Monte Carlo, and many of the scenes took place in this hotel. The grand lobby:

And the no less grand exterior.

We saw a lot, and changed elevations frequently. There are so many levels. This is how the locals stay in shape!

Changing of the guard at the palace.

It's fascinating to tour Monaco, and imagine what it must have been like to build these roads, tunnels and exquisite structures. And without the modern conveniences and tools we have now. It all seems like part of the landscape, like it was always here.

We wrapped up our five days in Monaco with a football game. And found out about it quite by chance. Our hotel was right beside the stadium, and we had seen big posters advertising a Monaco football game on the Monday. We inquired about it on Sunday at our hotel, and besides information about Monday's match, the concierge told us that Marseilles was playing a friendly against Manchester United, THE Manchester United, on Tuesday. That's when we started noticing the posters everywhere for that match. They did mention that Rooney would be playing -- it was right on the poster. So we got three tickets - Marc stayed behind and caught up on work - and the kids and I set out, across the road, for the football match.

Pizza first, at the stadium's pizza restaurant.

The match didn't start til 8:45. We had decided to go for pizza at 6:30, but discovered it was closed til 7, and that we would need a reservation. They were able to guarantee us a table when we came back at 7. The fun part was, when we left our hotel, we had to get through throngs of people at the main entrance. We found out that the Marseilles team was staying at our hotel, so fans were waiting to catch a glimpse of them. We spent our 1/2 hour til 7 doing the same. The number of people increased, but the team didn't show up by the time we had to return to the pizza place. Not that we would have recognized any of them anyway. But it would have been fun to see them.

We could hear when they were departing the hotel though. The roar of the crowd was audible over at the pizza restaurant. We didn't miss them by much, but we missed them. But we'd see them on the field.

Without asking, we were sold tickets in the visitor's section, which is why it looks a bit empty.

The Marseilles supporters section. They've got nothing on Philly's Sons of Ben. Perhaps because it was a friendly, rather than a regular season match. But they were sparse and quiet.

During warm up, I'd been snap happy, getting photos of who I thought was Wayne Rooney. Turns out, he didn't play. Someone else was wearing his number. Well that just took the wind out of our sails. We were very disappointed.

But we thought we'd sit back, make the best of it and enjoy the match.

At the half, the score was tied 2-2. But Man U fell apart during the second half. With 5 minutes remaining and Marseilles up 7-2, yes 7-2, we left. As we were walking out, we heard Marseilles score another goal. The final score was 8-2. The half time show, with these kids juggling, might have been the best part!

Truthfully, even with the high scoring and absence of names, it was a fun evening. And certainly no trouble getting there!

More Italy

2011-08-22T09:00:00.002-04:00

Leaving Firenze, we still had 24 hours in Italy before our next destination Monaco. We just HAD to see the leaning tower of Pisa!

So we did!

And so did Elmo!

More gelati, of course.

I just love how these famous landmarks are just part of the scenery.

I think we paid for an hour of parking in Pisa, and we gave our ticket to someone to use the balance, so we were there less than an hour. Lucca was our next desination.

A pizza lunch.

A quick tour around this walled city, and then we walked on part of the wall.

They say you can walk on the wall 'round the city, but I'm not sure this is what they have in mind.

I was glad when we got to the end!

Back on the road, we had no destination in mind. We had been told by friend's of Marc's in Reims that the Cinque Terre coastal region of Italy was a must see, so we thought we would find out for ourselves. We had to be in Monaco the next day, Friday, the 29th of July, and it wasn't much farther, if we overnighted in Cinque Terre.

The mountains were spectacular and we marveled at how they used the steep hillside.

We also marveled at all of the tunnels. I'm sure in these two weeks on the road we've easily drive through more tunnels than our entire lives. Even combining all four of us. There's just not many tunnels where we come from.

We finally reached the coast.

No, Nick didn't take this picture. He had a headache since leaving Lucca, and had stayed in the car. Some kind fellow tourists snapped this for us.

By the time we arrived in the Cinque Terre region, we stopped at the town of Monterosso. After trying 2 hotels, the third try was a charm, and we found ourselves in a room at the Hotel Adrianna for the night. Everyone was already heading back from the beach. We took a quick stroll before looking for dinner.

This was the first time Nick has mussels on this trip, even though its one thing that Reims is known for.

After dinner, walking around, we came upon a football match, so we watched for awhile.

It was an enclosed field on the beach. They played 4 on 4 with a keeper. Looked like fun!

The morning view from our hotel room.

The morning view into our very green bathroom. And it had a bidet!

Some morning beach time.

I just love this picture. This cute Italian couple were readying for a day on the beach, and he was helping her with her swimcap. Are they not adorable?

Italy

2011-08-19T23:42:00.001-04:00

After our cable car adventure, we continued south, picking up a permit sticker to drive through Austria. And that's about all we did in Austria, was pass through. It didn't take long to reach Italy, and we started thinking about our destination for the night.

Marc had a conference call he was required to be on, so we wanted to be settling in around 6, for him to make his 7:00 call. We could have covered more distance had he not let me navigate. To my defense, he did ask me to look for a non-toll road that was a bit off of the beaten track. We ended up driving up and down a mountain, a slow and winding journey that reminded us of a mountain drive we took in Maui with Pier, Nathan, Manon and Nathan a few Christmases ago. Many of us ended up with upset stomaches. We were pretty close to that again this time. But again, it was beautiful. And we got to see some local livestock.

I can see how cowbells are necessary up in the mountains.

Our first gelato in Italy.

The Elefant Hotel, in Auer, where we spent Tuesday night.

We don't see these on the highways back home.

We arrived in Firenze late Wednesday afternoon. Despite the drizzle, the kids, and Marc, couldn't wait to try out the new soccer ball at the park around the corner.

I'm amazed at how, in so many places in Europe, there's little fanfare when it comes to statues, monuments and landmarks. You just round the corner and come across something fabulous.

Our first pizza in Italy.

Desserts were yummy too.

Check out the ceiling in our Arizona Hotel room.

The next morning we took another stroll.

Motorcycles seem to outnumber cars.

This bridge had buildings on it that housed a variety of shops.

Fabulous new art too. How could you not be inspired here?

Another statue busker.

An Unexpected Trip Up a Mountain

2011-08-19T08:20:00.000-04:00

We left Munich heading south, with no final destination other than Italy in mind. Before long, we were in the mountains. When you grow up in the prairies of Manitoba and live in the relatively flat, though nicely rolling hills of Pennsylvania, mountains take your breath away. At least they do mine. I go snap happy, not caring about the dirty windshield I'm shooting through. These images, these memories, are for me.

Gorgeous, isn't it? We saw many of these shacks in one area, with big woodpiles nearby. Not sure what they're for.

Paraglider, hanglider, whatever you call it.

Our decision to stop for lunch was cuz we saw a cable car heading up a mountain and wanted to check it out. One of those spontaneous decisions that paid off. It was the Karwendal cable car that took us up 2244 metres. All for the family rate of 44 euro. Not bad!

Another photo for Nick to share with Flyers fans.

Check it out. There's even an oom pa pa band at the top.

My handsome mountain man.

Nick had to prove it wasn't cold at the top. But it was cold at the top! We certainly weren't dressed for it. The downside of spontenaity.

We hiked along this trail, a bit treacherous for the 3 of 4 of us in flip flops!

It was worth it for the view.

While achtung means respect, that's the only translation I could get.

Our chilly toes. This is why people were smiling and staring. Obviously they had all planned this trip, in their long pants, hiking footwear, and some of them even had walking sticks. To them, we looked ridiculous!

A quick ride back down the mountain and our toes quickly thawed.

Now that was fun!

Germany

2011-08-19T06:22:00.000-04:00

We left Paris the evening of Sunday, July 24th, still on a high from the Tour de France. Our destination was Karlsruhe, Germany, a town just inside the border. We chose it for the distance that we felt we could cover that evening, and because it had a Marriott/Renaissance hotel with available rooms. With Marc traveling so much for work, he tries to stay with the same hotel chain whenever possible. Just like air miles programs, hotels have programs for loyal customers. Discounts, upgrades, free internet, and free breakfast are just a few of the benefits he receives, and with the cost of everything here being more than what we're used to, it's worth it to stick with Marriott whenever possible. This played a big part in the planning of our two weeks on the road.

We arrived in Karlsruhe after 11, so our only thought was sleep. We found the hotel fairly easily and settled into our two rooms. Yes, another hotel requiring us to take two rooms. But these were just down the hall from each other, and this hotel, unlike the last one in Paris, provided breakfast also. And free drinks in the mini bar. Gotta love that!

These pretty flowers were in our room.

After breakfast we packed up and were back on the road. There are stretches of highway in Germany with no posted speed limits. We were just keeping up with everyone else!

When you don't speak the language, signs like these are amusing.

A few more hours on the road and we were in Munich. One of those situations where we could see our hotel but couldn't reach our hotel. One wrong turn and you're 15 minutes away again. But we eventually found our way and were settled in to a lovely room, one this time, in a fabulous hotel.

This photo doesn't really do the room justice. We loved the decor, and there was a large sitting area off to the side, from where the photo was taken. Plenty of room for the 4 of us.

Had to share this photo. The hotel had a fabulous pool, spa and workout area, and Arnold photos and murals were everywhere. Apparently they still like him over here.

After a light lunch of yummy cheeses and bread, we drove to the edge of the Englischer Garten, a large public park in Munich. Its actually the largest city park in Europe. After just a few minutes walking, this is what we came upon:

Surfers. In the middle of Munich! How cool is that?

We watched for awhile as 5 or 6 surfers took turns riding the waves. Still unseasonably cold for summer, they all wore wetsuits.

I love all of the bicycles, motorbikes and scooters.

The first of several statue buskers, for lack of a better term. This guy was good!

Without maps handy, I can't recall the name of this area where we walked. It was crowded and spectacular. Besides enjoying the sights, we found a sporting goods stores where the kids picked up soccer balls. Gaby got a mini FC Barcelona ball and Nick picked up a UEFA Champions ball, replica of course.

We found a restaurant called The Hackerhaus for some authentic German fare. Nick and I had wienerschnitzel, which was fabulous, Marc had sauerbraten and Gaby, spaetzle. It was the best meal!

Some planking in Munich.

Every morning we got an earlier start than the last. We enjoyed another fabulous breakfast, and really good coffee, at our hotel. There's also a breakfast dish that Marc says he's had at German hotels, that was on the buffet Monday and Tuesday mornings. It's like a yogurt, but not as tangy, with grainy cereals and fruits mixed in. It's really really good, but I forgot to ask what it's called. And since this was our last night in Germany, this was the last time I had it.

As we were leaving Tuesday morning, we saw the signs for the Olympic Park, and remembered we had wanted to check it out. So we did.

Besides the easily recognizable structures, there was an amusement park of sorts, a swimming pool, and this:

It was 7 euro for Gaby and 10 for Nick and so worth it. They had a blast and it was just as much fun to watch!

I snapped this photo for Nick to share on the Flyers website, where fans share photos of themselves, in their Flyer wear, in locations all over the world.

Weekend in Paris

2011-08-17T16:33:00.000-04:00

Saturday July 23rd marked the first day of two weeks vacation for Marc, and 2 weeks of travel for us. The facility he's working at here in Reims shuts down during that time, so we're off!

We decided to start out in Paris, with the hopes of catching the finale of the Tour de France, Sunday. Marc chose a hotel near the Palace de Versailles, our plan for the rainy Saturday.

The golden gates at the palace, on yet another rainy day.

A picnic lunch in the car turned out to be a good idea, rather than looking for restaurants in the rain.

This was the most grand of the pipe organs in the palace.

Bigger than my dining room.

I should have had someone stand by this fireplace for scale. Those aren't logs laid out -- they're trees!

Of course Elmo came along.

The gardens looked exquisite. We didn't go through them. There was an additional admission for that.

Our Paris hotel had these cool chairs in the lobby. This was the first of several hotels that would not give one room for the four of us. The kids were thrilled to have their own room. Mama wasn't so thrilled, especially being on different floors. But no one else was bothered.

Sunday morning sunset from our hotel room window.

That sunrise was the perfect start to a perfect day for the final leg of the Tour de France. Marc studied the route inside Paris and found a spot near a park, but away from the chaos that would be the finish. We were just thrilled to have the opportunity to see the cyclists.

Marc also found out that prior to the bikes coming through, there's like a parade of sorts. All sorts of sponsors come through, tossing goodies to the waiting onlookers. Kind of like our annual 4th of July parade in Oreland, but much faster paced. We could not believe the speed at which vehicles came by. This first one we saw, from a distance, as we arrived.

We found our spot and settled in for the show.

And what a show it was.

We got this nifty brella hat.

These folks tossed another type of chapeau that I ended up wearing. It was welcome on this, the first sunny day since we had arrived.

Dancers too!

Friendly gendarme, happy to pose with the tourists.

These were tossed our way too, and when inflated and banged together, they got everyone's attention.

It was probably almost an hour of this steady stream of vehicles tossing goods our way. We also got some bic pens and a lanyard. Not bad for just standing around.

We had to wait another hour and a half before the cyclists came through and we weren't about to give up our front row seats.

Finally, about 15 minutes later than scheduled, the cyclists. Still riding in a pack.

What a sight!

If you look closely, I did get one shot of yellow jersey guy, this year's first time Australian winner, Cadel Evans. When I realized he wasn't out front, I forgot to keep looking for him and almost missed him.

Big thrill for him. Big thrill for Australia. And a big thrill for us too!

Cathedrale Notre-Dame de Reims

2011-08-17T08:35:00.000-04:00

May through to October, there is a fabulous light show on the front facade of the Cathedrale, Thursday through Sunday. Friday, the 22nd, we were able to catch it. Starting at 11, it repeats twice. We were able to catch the second show of the evening. These pictures don't really do it justice.

About 20 minutes to half an hour long, set to music, its something that must be seen. I hope to catch it again before we return home.

Two Days in Paris

2011-08-17T08:01:00.002-04:00

We decided to make an overnight trip to Paris Wednesday the 20th of July. Two reasons: 1. Nick's friend Lane arrived in Paris Tuesday and was going to be there for a couple of days. 2. Marc could golf guilt free!

Picked up the train tickets on Tuesday, and found out that, despite me calling the credit card companies to advise of this trip, two of my credit cards were rejected. Thankfully, I had a third, for which I had also provided notification, and it worked. And thank goodness for skype. I was able to call the credit card companies, again, to confirm my travel. We've since had occasional problems with both mine and Marc's credit cards, but it's just due to the way some merchants are set up. Most credit cards in Europe have a microchip, and most credit cards in N.A. do not. Some merchants, and toll booths, are only able to process the chipped cards. And so it goes.

The ride from Reims to Paris Est is 45 minutes. Enough time for a few rounds of a card game the kids called Egyptian Rat something or other. They didn't play that when I was a kid.

I think our favourite thing about strolling the Champ Elysees was the fountains en route to the Louvre. They're encircled with chairs, and over the lunch hours they're full of people enjoying their long midday break.

Elmo came along, of course.

We decided to visit the Louvre Thursday, as there was rain in the forecast. But I made Nick pose for a picture with me, very similar to the last and only time that I've been here. When I was pregnant with Nick. I'll have to get the photo from Marc and see them side by side. We ARE in both photos!

Marc booked us a lovely room, right on the Champ Elysees, and this lovely cheese plate was waiting for us. There are definitely some benefits to the traveling Marc endures.

Before we could get in our room, we used the computer in the business centre to contact Lane. Gaby was intrigued by the difference in the keyboard. A French keyboard is difficult to use, when you're not used to it!

Thursday, we set out for the Louvre.

And so did hundreds of others, perhaps also escaping the rain. Not the best plan I suppose. It was so crowded, but we put up with the crowds to get close to the Mona Lisa. We were there, so we had to see her.

Packed in so tight, I could probably have lifted my feet and stayed upright. Insane! And all for this:

We saw her!

And so did Elmo.

The Louvre was fabulous. Overwhelming. And so crowded that we probably only saw half of what was there. But it was enough for that day. One more stop at the fountains after lunch, and we were on our way back to Reims.

By Metro.

And of course, the train. We were entertained by more pigeons at Paris Est, while we waited. We had fun, but were never able to meet up with Lane.

Thursday evening we had another dinner invitation. This was at the home of Catherine and Patrick, friends of Marc's from the golf course. Catherine is a fabulous cook. I should have photographed the appetizer, which was a sardine mousse served in individual sardine cans. It was light and delicious. The beef and carrot stew, the main course, was perfect for the fall-like weather. And also SO good! Dessert was mascarpone cheese and berries served in individual jars. Beautiful and yummy.

I meant to get both of them -- Patrick was in the kitchen when I snapped this.

A couple of their friends also joined us. No English this evening, which was fun and enlightening. I realize that Nick's 4 years of French have given him better comprehension than I have, though he's not comfortable speaking. I was impressed!

Of course by the time we finished dinner it was past 10:30. We're in France, remember?

Two Days in Reims

2011-08-17T05:47:00.001-04:00

When packing, one should take seriously the weather forecast of the destination. The weather at home had been so unseasonably hot, for so long, that I packed with that in mind. I could not bring myself to pack jeans, long sleeves, warm jackets, anything like that. The best I did was one pair of light weight pants, one long sleeve tee, and a long sleeve sheer shirt, which is not that warm. I brought a heavier weight hoody mostly for the plane. Of course we did all bring rain jackets, thankfully. Cuz the first week in Reims was unseasonably cool, around 18 C, overcast, and rain at some point every day.

That didn't stop us from setting out on our first day, a Monday. We slept late, Marc met us for lunch, and we continued on to do a bit of sightseeing.

Planking in Reims.

The Chagall windows at the Cathedrale de Notre Dame. Many French cities have a Cathedrale de Notre Dame, but I think this is one of the most spectacular. It was repaired to its original magificence after sustaining heavy damage during World War II, and is celebrating it's 800th year this year.

Words just cannot describe.

Monday evening we were invited to dine at the home of Patrick and Claire.Patrick is a work colleague of Marc's. Stefan was also invited, and so were about 20 other people. Their home was beautiful, their family and the company, delightful, and the food was fabulous! We were invited to arrive after 7:30 and the meal was put out around 9. We did enjoy some snacks and plenty of champagne, of course. Tastes much better here than at home!

A trampoline and ping pong table kept the kids entertained. The adults joined in for some sort of round the table ping pong game. Fast and fun!

Claire, Guimette and Gaby

Marc & Guimette, Patrick and Claire's children, Nick and Gaby.

Rainy Tuesday and a late start, again.

The French do love their chocolate cereal!

Lunch. Groceries are quite reasonable, so most of our lunches here in Reims will be at 'home'. Baguette, a variety of cheeses, pate, and some mushroom filled crepes hit the spot.

They call this a Chinese massage. My kids, that is. Apparently, when Nick's back is sore, Gaby walking on it provides relief. Here, or at home!

Arriving in Paris

2011-08-17T03:52:00.000-04:00

We arrived the morning of Sunday July 17th, weary, loaded down with waaaay too much luggage (I overpacked, as usual!) and lucky to have Marc's smiling face waiting for us on the other side of the glass at baggage claim. He'd arrived 2 weeks earlier. Since Reims, where he stays/works, is almost an hour's drive, he took an airport hotel room Saturday night and took the hotel shuttle to the airport to meet and assist us. Back to his hotel, we regrouped, showered, some of us slept, and then set out for a quicky tour of Paris in the afternoon.

First stop: Le Tour Eiffel, of course!

Gaby brought a little Elmo along to share in her adventures.

You can't escape the souvenir sellers!

Planking in Paris!

A rare photo of the 4 of us.

We drove to Reims in time for dinner (which is so unbelievably late here -- just can't get used to finishing by 10!) and to catch the Women's World Cup final game, the US and Japan. Marc had looked into getting us tickets, as the game was in Frankfurt. We decided against it because of the late start time of the game, 8:45 local time. The roughly 6 hour drive home would have been ridiculous. So we watched Japan defeat the US while dining at the James Joyce Pub, with Marc's colleague Stefan, who had just arrived himself, from Quebec.

Back in Business!

2011-08-15T05:48:00.001-04:00

I'm baaaaccckkk! And hopefuly, to stay! Not back home. Yet. But back online. We've been fortunate to be in France, where Marc is working. What hasn't been working is my computer. Specifically, my power cord. The connection to my computer is loose, so the battery drains and then I can't use it. Even with all of the gadgets we're traveling with, I really can't get any blogging done if MY computer is down. Marc needs his computer for work, so I can't muck around on it. My Nook, an e reader, has a web browser, but its function is limited and I can't download photos to it with my camera's big CF cards. It doesn't have a usb port either. Then there's the ipods. Embarassingly, three, in our family. Everyone but me, and that's just fine. The kids have theirs as a result of Marc's upgrading his. And Marc also has an ipad, but that's his too.

We're actually traveling with our own router and a big power bar. The router works in locations where the free internet is hardwired, or the wifi doesn't work well, and the power bar is great for plugging in everything that needs charging -- all of these devices plus cell phones, cameras/batteries, you name it. We haven't camped for a couple of years and it would be fun to see how we would manage without electricity!

For now, my computer seems to be connecting to the power source properly. I'm handling it like an explosives expert attempting to detonate a bomb, and driving everyone else crazy with it! They know to steer clear of the cord and to not touch my computer. We're in one spot for a few days, so I'm hoping to catch up and share some photos soon. Marc was off the second and third weeks that we were here, so we travelled to Germany, Austria, Italy and the south of France. Back in Reims now, where he's working, we're still able to take small side trips. We just returned from a weekend in Belgium.

And I have been art journaling, though not 10 minutes a day. Just minutes, here and there, when I can find the time. I'll have to get those pages photographed, so I can share them.

Here are the last pages photographed, started back home and finished in Reims. My week 2 for July:

I picked up these stamps at my LSS, which sadly, is now closed. They were clearing out stock so I got a great deal, but I'd rather they were still open. On gessoed pages, I stamped, using Palette Noir ink. I watercoloured the background, coloured the stamped images with FC fine Pitt markers, which I also used to add colour elsewhere. I finished up the journaling with black Pitt markers, and some of the colours that I'm traveling with.

I prepped 6 sets of pages with gesso before we left, so that I could keep up with my art journaling. Its been more collaging than anything else, as I've been saving a lot of ephemera from our travels. I'll get those photographed soon.

Ready for the road!

Finishing Up June

2011-07-12T20:28:00.000-04:00

I call this - June week 4 and a half.

I first glued a few bits of the week's ephemera to the pages: a tag from a bag Gaby purchased, the tag from Nick's hiking boots for Guatemala, and the menu from Five Guys, where we had a delicious lunch of freshly made burgers and Cajun fries. Mmmmmmm. Gessoed the pages, lightly in some spots so the stuff underneath would show through. I stamped around the edges with Julie's ticket stamps. Love these too -- her freehand style translates so well to stamps.I tried out some new FC pens that I got -- the combo packs that come with the fat marker, gelato, watercolour pencil and marker. Went over them with a wet brush. Used watercolour crayons on the tickets themselves. Journalled with the Pitt markers.

July week 1.

Inspired by TH. He created a card on his blog for the 4th, and I used his stamps and duplicated his design. I used the FC fat markers on both stamps. I like the effect on these gessoed pages -- watercoloury. I used grey on the stars, where TH used white. The red and blue stripes are FC Aquarelle watercolour pencils. Like these too! The 4th stamp is SU, inked up with the same fat markers. Journaling is the pitt markers too.

Art Journaling for June - and it's now July!

2011-07-01T15:04:00.000-04:00

I accomplished half of what I set out to do with my art journaling, in finishing up weekly pages for that week. But I obviously found it difficult to share them here. Not sure why, though summer did start off with a bang!

School was finished on Friday the 17th, and the following week, we were busy every day with VBS. Nick and Gaby were both counselors this year, and I got to be the official photographer. We all loved our jobs!

So I guess that's how I fell behind in posting my art journaling every day. Here's the rest of June:

June, week 3. Gessoed the pages, and then stamped all over with an SU Pattern Pieces stamp that I came across while tidying up my desk. I am not sure why I did this. As soon as I was done, I found myself staring at the pages, asking that very question. Why had I covered the pages with these itty bitty pattern piece shapes, and what was I gonna do next?

I ended up pulling out my SU watercolours and trying out different colour groupings on each set of pieces. I liked how it looked when completed, but I wasn't sure where I could/should journal. So I cut out the letters for the words 'School is out!', adhered those, and journaled on them with my fabulous FC Pitt markers.

June, week 4, I decided to cover my pages with bits of this lovely brown tissue I received with a recent purchase. Gel medium works so well for this and the result is much less sticky than with mod podge. And that's important during the humid season here, which can be April - October!

I also finally got my JFFB stamps, and I tried out the butterflies on these pages. The first images were a bit cloudy, as I had forgotten how bumpy the pages were. I got better as I stamped more. I watercoloured the wings, added a peacock feather rub on (Dove of the East, I believe) a recent fortune, the cap from the first bottle of Woodchuck cider for this season, and a TH journaling ticket. Again, the journaling was done using FC Pitt markers, which work well on so many surfaces.

Done!

Art Journaling Every Day - June in June!

2011-06-14T08:03:00.000-04:00

June, week 2 pages:

With a glue stick, I adhered strips of ribbon on the pages. I journaled and doodled in the squares, added colour with water colour, white dots with a new marvy pen. Most of the journaling was done with the signo pens, the rest with fine black micron pens. There's also a Dove of the East rub on in one of the squares. Setting up pages this way makes it easier to add to it daily, at least for me. I can't seem stop with just a small bit each day. I often find myself starting my pages, and allowing myself just a bit more. Then just a bit more. And before I know it the pages are full.

Perhaps by the end of the year I'll be better at pacing myself. We'll see

Art Journaling for June

2011-06-10T09:30:00.000-04:00

My son left for his last full day of school today. Exams next week, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, make ups Thursday and last day Friday. The year has certainly flown by. My daughter has loved her teacher and classmates so much this year, that she's not ready for it to end.

I, as usual, am so far behind on my to-do list, on what I thought I'd have completed as the end of the first half of 2011 looms. But I am keeping up with my art journaling! For now. Summer may change that. But since it's not officially summer yet, here's my first week of June pages:

The foundation for these pages is SU watercolour crayon circles. Doodled the stripey background with my FC Pitt markers. And filled in the circles with some lame doodles and journaling. Started journaling with the gel pens, but finished with the Pitt markers. I think the white laundry marker random doodles caused more of a problem for the gel pens than the markers.

I've even worked on this week's pages, but have nothing to share right now. Started out with a ribbon grid. We'll see how it turns out!

We Love You Roxi

2011-06-03T14:06:00.003-04:00

Roxi, February 2008

We're approaching the one week mark of Roxi's departure, and it has been an adjustment. So strange. So quiet. Backbreaking too, having to bend over to pick up those bits of food that fall to the floor. Having to dispose of the apple cores and carrot ends instead of tossing them her way. Returning to a quiet house each morning after getting Gaby on the bus. It's all so strange. Equally as strange is leaving food on the counter/table/anywhere! I baked cookies last Sunday afternoon, after Roxi left, and was able to leave them to cool on the island instead of guarding them during the baking process and moving them up to the top of the kitchen armoire. I took bacon out of the freezer and automatically put it atop the fridge to defrost for a bit. I was reminded by Marc that I didn't have to do that anymore. Nor worry about the pantry door being open. Or boogery tissues in the open trash cans. Why do dogs love to eat those anyway?!

Roxi & Abby, spring 2008

Puppy Training Graduate, spring 2008

While I don't have to think about rushing home on days that I'm out, as Roxi isn't used to my absence on a regular basis, I'd rather have to. Soon, there'll be no black dog hair tumbleweeds blowing across the floors when the windows are open. Still finding some today, but they're diminishing in number and in size. I'd rather be finding them and complaining, than to have Roxi gone.

But gone she is. Happily, she's with another family, so eager to have her join theirs that they made the return trip from the Pittsburgh area, over 5 hours each way, last Sunday. This, to have time with her at home before returning to their work and school routine.

Why no more Roxi? Well, it's a sad and somewhat tragic story. One that we can tell, but not completely understand. But it happened.

While I was in Winnipeg enjoying time with family and friends and looking forward to my high school's 50th anniversary celebrations, Roxi had a run in with another dog. A much smaller dog. Maybe one tenth her size.

Roxi weighed in at a trim 124 pounds at her vet visit in April. Down from a high of 137, which the vet advised was a bit too big for her breed. Now, she is big for a Bernese Mtn dog, especially a female, but she's long and tall so at 124, she's at an ideal weight.

We don't know why Roxi attacked the much smaller dog that was minding it's own business, strolling by with its young owner. We know that Roxi felt left out, with Nick, his friend, and Gaby, out front. And if she could find a way to join us, she always did. Roxi burst out the front door, which she was able to open on her own, and attacked the smaller Bichon. Had they been more equally matched, the injuries of the other dog wouldn't have been nearly as severe. But in large part due to that size difference, the smaller dog suffered deep puncture wounds and required extensive medical intervention to survive.

Our original plan for the weekend that this occurred was for Marc to leave for San Fran on Saturday and me to return from Canada on Sunday. The kids were covered for all of their daytime activities, and they were to spend the night at the neighbors. Our awesome neighbors! But after I found out that this had occurred, I changed my flights to return Saturday instead of Sunday.

No adults were involved in this incident. Marc was not yet home from work. The kids let him know what was going on, and I went back and forth between him and the kids, from my parents' home phone.

However this may sound, Marc's first reaction was to have Roxi put down. He seriously thought that would be our only option. Our vet's office was closed, and three area vets refused his request. They advised that this was out of character for the breed, and they wouldn't do it. Marc ended up contacting a rescue group instead.

When I returned home on Saturday, it was to a sad and somber welcome. I think the kids were pretty traumatized by what they witnessed. And sad that the wheels had been put in motion to remove Roxi from our home.

Being a bit of a coward, I waited til Sunday evening to call the other dog owner. It is awful to have an incident like this happen and have this poor dog suffering and be responsible for it. Most people, especially those who know Roxi, are surprised that this happened, and of course we were too. We can't figure out why.

In speaking to the other owner, she seemed calm and understanding, advising that she had paid the vet bills with her credit card, so that issue was on the back burner for now. She mentioned that her dog would still require more attention from the vet and that she would have to return with him, several times. She also gave the impression that she was sad that we were making arrangements for Roxi to leave us.

Something else she told me, that I found interesting, was that her vet stated they had seen a larger than usual number of dogs come in after being attacked by other dogs. The explanation? None. Now, it WAS a full moon, and also the eve of May 21st, the doomsday forecast by some crazy fanatic. It was already May 21st in the eastern hemisphere. We seriously don't know why this happened and can't speculate. We do know that it was out of character for Roxi. When we board her, she's turned out with other dogs of varying breeds and sizes on a regular basis and she's fine. They always love to have her spend time there.

Whatever the reason, we knew we couldn't keep her any longer. The rescue group called back on Monday, and didn't see any reason why they couldn't assist in finding Roxi a new home. But the earliest they could get out to assess her would be the following Sunday. While we weren't happy with this, that was the best they could do.

Of course our neighbors were brought up to speed on what had happened with my premature return and were as surprised as us at what had happened. Sue, being the Roxi fan that she is, told the story at work. She's a nurse, and works at a location where temporary nurses are brought in occasionally. In telling the story to Gina, one of these nurses, Gina recalled a nurse she had worked with in the Pittsburgh area who expressed an interest in having a Bernese Mtn dog. Sue told me and agreed to pass along our contact info. Short story is that we emailed back and forth, spoke on the phone, and made arrangements for them to travel to pick up Roxi last Sunday. I just had a really good feeling, between our emails and conversations, that Roxi was going to a wonderful home where she would be happy and loved. We're so thankful to Sue for the role she played in Roxi finding a new home. Karma.

In some ways, it seemed to happen so fast. We spoke late Saturday afternoon, and Missy advised they'd leave early Sunday morning, to facilitate the long round trip. We gave Roxi a bath Saturday, no small feat with a pup that size, and spent Sunday morning packing up her things and just staring at her.

I would usually insist that Roxi get off of the couch, but on her last night with us, I backed off. She was happy cuddling Marc, oblivious to what was coming.

Nick had his weekly rehearsal at SOR Sunday morning, so he bid her farewell before he left.

Gaby's goodbye kisses were well before Roxi's new family arrived. She didn't want to be a part of those goodbyes. Can't say that I blame her.

Missy and her family showed up around noonish, stayed for half an hour or so, then packed Roxi up for the long trip home. They were as nice in person as on the phone. Their youngest son, who is Nick's age, came as well and I was reassured by his enthusiasm and excitement. We told them as much as we could and we all agreed to stay in touch. We loaded up Roxi's dog bed, food, toys, papers, meds (heartworm, flea & tick) and Roxi herself jumped up into their SUV. The second row seats were half up and half down, so Roxi could hang with her new young owner. We said our tearful goodbyes to both Roxi and her new family, and I was touched that Missy was tearful also. It was emotional for all of us, except for Roxi. She wasn't the least bit bothered about driving away in a new vehicle!

We texted on their return trip and received word that Roxi did well on the drive. Missy sent a picture then next day of Roxi relaxing in the yard, looking right at home. She did mention that their cat and Roxi had yet to warm to each other, but we all figured that would take time!

And a couple of days ago, I received word that the other dog was on the mend, which is a big relief to us. It would have been enough tougher to part with Roxi had the outcome been different. We're glad that only one family has to be without their beloved dog.

(Mother's Day 2011)

We love you Roxi.

The end of May

2011-06-03T07:10:00.000-04:00

Finished up the last of my pages for May. Week 4:

Watercoloured on gessoed pages. Added the postcard invite for Carole's opening, which is tonight. Our boys are busy, so Gaby and I are attending! I also added some bits from a package, and a picture of our Roxi dog, who is now living with her new family. I'll have to share that story soon. Its heartbreaking and still has me in a funk. We miss her.

Pages that I started this week:

No gesso. Used SU watercolour crayons to draw circles all over the pages. FC Pitt markers to do the background lines, and a bit of white laundry marker dabbed here and there. That's all I've got so far. Went with the brighter colours for a new month!

More Art Journaling for May

2011-05-27T11:13:00.000-04:00

May week 2:

Gessoed these pages, then stamped images from an Autumn Leaves set that I just had to have when it came out, oh, 5 years ago, and have NEVER USED! Can't believe that. This was when acrylic stamps were first hitting the market and I found this one especially appealing. Had to have it! Never used it til now. So when I peeled the stamps off of their backing, they were quite gummy. I find that with acrylic stamps that sit before I get around to using them. They are either gummy, or difficult to remove from the backing -- they often tear. Obviously, if I'm not using them when I first get them, I don't really need them. I have a serious stamp habit.

It was fun to finally use these, even if the image wasn't as dark as I would have liked, due to the gumminess. I used watercolor and my FC Pitt markers to colour the images. The hearts and the journaling were actually done with some new Signo uniball pens I picked up a couple of weeks ago. I like them.

May week 3:

I finished up these pages upon my return from Canada. I left on Tuesday, solo, for my high school's 50th anniversary celebration, and was also there to celebrate my Dad's 75th birthday. Bonus!

I used some bits and pieces from my travels -- business cards, a coaster, piece from a bakery box, a Canada post envelope, baggage tags -- and adhered them with gel medium. Unified them with a light brushing of gesso, sprayed some Adirondack color wash in butterscotch, red pepper, and sunset orange.. The flowers are SU stamps, watercoloured. The letters I journaled inside are outlined with Pitt brush marker, the journaling is the Signo black pen again. A few more dabs of paint and white laundry pen, and done.

And for this week:

My pages in progress. Gessoed and waiting to add these bits that were among the mail waiting for me. Packaging from wool I received for Nicole's online class, and the postcard is an invite to a friend's gallery opening next week. The piece is called OISEAU ROUGE. Isn't it fabulous?! Here's the link to the invite on FB: Carole's Opening If you're in the Philly area, its next week, First Friday.

Art Journaling for April & May

2011-05-25T03:45:00.000-04:00

Traveled to Canada last week, armed with, among other things, a flash drive with these two photos. I had every intention of writing this post while I was there, using my parents' computer. However, the usb port on their computer was loose and wiggly, so those photos came back home the way they went, and never saw the light of day!

Here's what I did the last week of April:

No gesso on these pages. Just watercoloured a background, tried my hand at a face, painted some circles, stamped some elephants (and the word lucky, which was part of the set) and journaled with my FC markers. I have since watched one of Julie's many AJ video clips where she created a face, and I must try her techniques. Many more layers of colour before she added the features. Mine is flat and boring, but it's my first attempt at freehanding with paint, so I'll keep it!

The first week of May:

Two weeks in a row with no gesso?! I'm happy to report that the pages are sturdy enough to stand up to this treatment. This is a Moleskine sketchbook, so I suppose that's why.

I watercoloured the pages blue, cut the pennant shapes from a small BG paper pack, included a photo of the birthday boy with his cookie cake, and the rest is FC markers. Oh, and the frame stamp around the photo is Autumn Leaves.

The Birthday Boy

2011-05-09T22:19:00.000-04:00

Nick and Gaby's birthdays always start with them opening their family gifts when they get up. If it's not on a weekend, they do that before school. And since Nick started high school, that's pretty early. He's out the door by 6:40. So we were up with him, around six, to watch him open his gifties!

Truthfully, I think Nick would just as soon sleep in a bit and do this after school. But right now, I'm sure Gaby wouldn't hear of it. I think she was up before Nick was!

He doesn't look too awake here, does he?!

A Team Canada jersey from Dad.

A Claude Giroux jersey from Gaby. Sensing a theme here?

Big Flyers fan, our boy. And I can tell you for a fact that this is his favourite gift. Giroux is his favourite player. Gaby, knowing that, informed me months ago that she wanted to use her own money to get Nick this jersey. Locally, they're really expensive. But thanks to the wonders of the internet, we were able to find something more affordable, more within Gaby's budget. And Nick loved it!

The birthday boy had his choice of meal and cake. He requested a cookie cake, and home made pizza for supper.

If you look closely, you'll see that Nick is holding a thermometer in his left hand. While the reading isn't legible in the photo, he was showing us his temperature of over 101 F. Not the way you want to spend your 16th birthday, poor guy! Jess, Nick's girlfriend, left right after dinner, and Nick had a long hot bath and watched the Flyers lose their game 3. Calls from Manon, Nathan and Pier were the highlight of the evening -- fantastic hearing from all of them!

And don't you know, the day after Nick's birthday, I found the files that I was looking for, with the baby and toddler photos that I had wanted to use in my last post. Couldn't resist -- one more of my sweetie pie!

Too cute!

Happy 16 Nick!!

2011-05-04T15:02:00.000-04:00

Every year, I relive these special days, the night before my children's birthdays. The story of their birth has been told to Nick and Gaby every year on the eve of their day, for as long as they've been old enough to understand. Up to last year, Nick was still interested in sharing it. This year, he was tired, so we didn't spend any time going over the details. He did inform me that he could tell ME the story of his birth, if I was interested! I'm thrilled that he now has a memory of something that he couldn't possibly have recalled on his own!

From this:

(bad scan -- sorry!)

To this:

(7 year old at the zoo)

To this:

In the blink of an eye. Truly.

What an honour and blessing to have been chosen to be your mother Nick. You make life richer, infinitely better. I am so proud to call you my son. How'd I get to be so lucky?

You rock Nick!

In SO many ways!

Big big big love!

Where Did April Go?

2011-05-02T22:34:00.000-04:00

At this time last year I had been diagnosed with breast cancer and was facing surgery, and I still blogged. Actually started a second blog about that journey, which I refer to as my Lemonade Blog Went through chemo and radiation, and still blogged fairly regularly, on both. Finished treatment just before Thanksgiving, have been on tamoxifen for 5 months now, and have really dropped the ball here. The only excuse that I can come up with is that the tamoxifen causes intense hot flashes, day and night, and I don't sleep well anymore. So I find myself being less productive in the evenings, which is when I would usually blog.

And now, May 2nd finds me catching up with posting some art journaling. I've been adding to the Flickr Group fairly regularly, but it's been more than a month since I've shared here.

Starting with March, week 4:

Working on a canvas for Emily's Got Paint class at the same time, I started these pages in a similar manner, bits of patterned paper lightly gessoed. TP roll circles with acrylic paint, bubble wrap circles, also with acrylic paint,a birdie and branch punched from scraps of masking taped and painted paper. A small doily touched up with distress ink, a feather from our budgie and a Starbucks gift card take up all of the space that isn't journaling. FC Pitt markers for journaling.

March Week 5 (a couple of months are gonna have a week 5 and this is one of them!):

Sometimes you do a page you don't like and this is one of those times! I was painting the bathroom this week and used the wall colour for the base of my pages. I used a mask and some spray mist, but can't recall exactly what. The photo is from a day spent with friends I used to work with 14 years ago. I hadn't seen one of them since I left that job, so it was a special day. They were having a girl's week in NYC, and came down my way for the day -- fabulous!! Back to the page, those two patterned pieces are the tops of tissue boxes. I saw them at Target and figured they'd go well in the bathroom, so I stocked up. They were on sale! Journaled with those reliable FC Pitt markers.

April week 1:

Chose pink over my gessoed pages because I had a mammogram this week. All good, thankfully! The quote was one that a friend had recently posted as her FB status. I like it. I coloured the letters with Pitt markers, painted the heart with some water colours, and doodled and journaled with the markers. The red ticket is from the raffle held at our neighborhood 5K, and the card from LLD was included in an order I received that week. Magic wands for the bubs for their birthdays. I love LL's stuff!

April week 2:

Gessoed the pages, folded the book closed when it was still wet and opened it to let it dry with some interesting textures. Green acrylic, and when dry, a CW template sprayed with PP mist. The turtle is from Turtles, one of my steady and favourite snacks of all time! Mmmmmm, I love Turtles. (that was a song featured in a Turtles commercial, back in the day, in Canada) Doodling and journaling with the Pitt markers.

April week 3:

Spring break, so these pages had to be green! The kids were home all week and we enjoyed some down time. Green acrylic over gesso. I stamped several flowers on the pages, stamped a few on cardstock, and watercoloured all. I also added a couple of flowers made using embosslit folders, and a couple that were punched from the cover of a CAbi catalog. I had used Stazon to stamp the images, but after watercolouring, the outlines were muted, so I went over all of the stamped images with a brush Pitt marker. All of the punches, folders and stamps are SU.

Thinking that perhaps I should schedule blogging days, to try to get back on track. We'll see how THAT goes!! I should also get rid of the frozen tree in my blog header and look for something more spring like. Though my Mom said they saw snow it Winnipeg last weekend. In May! Wacky weather everywhere.

More Art Journaling for March

2011-03-22T21:28:00.001-04:00

Catching up with a couple of week's worth of Art Journaling. During the second week of March, I've been doing some painting for Emily's online class, Got Paint. Had this green leftover, so I decided to use it for this week's pages. We were also stamping with paint. That's where the blue flowers came from, and I added the colour with SU watercolour crayons. This was also the week that Starbucks officially introduced their new logo, and the sleeve worked well on the green background, as did the bracelet from Gaby's school's talent show. The Asian lady is part of a glassine bag from Chinese takeout we had for supper Sunday. Coloured her with FC Pitt markers. Used fine black for the journaling.

Should have saved the green for this week, with it being St. Patrick's Day Thursday! Nick and Gaby got into the green, picking up some items at the dollar store to enhance their outfits for school that day.

These pages were first gessoed, then burnt sienna acrylic. I stamped off some colour using the cut out bottom of a styrofoam meat tray. It had a cool grid pattern, so I saved it for something just like this! I also added a bit of blue paint using the same styrofoam 'stamp'. I like the way it looks.

The Chinese Proverb is a quote I was using to make a card for someone special. I still need to practice 'writing with paint' so I made two backgrounds. Just in case. I used textured cardstock and a bamboo background stamp. After the painted words dried, I used a white Chinese laundry pencil, and have Julie to thank for that. She mentioned it in a recent blog post, and I added it to a Dick Blick order I was ready to place. Love it! Thanks Julie!!

I had also made a green background for a birthday card, and used the scraps to punch hearts to make a shamrock to recognize this St. Patrick's Day week. The hands are rubs ons from Dove of the East. Not sure if Dove of the East is still around. I do love these rub ons and should use them more. The little blue leafy piece is punched from paper that I had covered in masking tape and then painted. Another technique from Emily. Studio G mini alpha stamps for the Rita's title and FC Pitt markers for the rest.

And this is the second attempt at the Chinese Proverb, that was made into a card. The only difference between this and the first one is that I used a Pitt marker to write at the bottom, and I added some white scribbles with that wonderful white pencil!

Art Journaling for March

2011-03-17T11:58:00.000-04:00

February and March, actually. These are pages I did the week that Julien left. And speaking of Julien, I don't know why the post I wrote about his visit came out so wonky. Everytime I created a subtitle, the first paragraph that followed was blank on the actual post. Not sure why that happened. If anyone has more blogger expertise and might know why, I'd love to know!

For these pages, I used gel medium as per Julie, who recently mentioned using it for collage. It's similar to mod podge but doesn't dry sticky, so I think that will be my go-to product for collaging also. Thanks for that Julie! I attached a ticket that Marc had brought home from his recent travels, and some torn pieces of newspaper. I added colour with Grumbacher transluscent water colours and I like the way the colours looked on the gel medium. I didn't cover the entire page with the gel medium. There was just residue from adhering the pieces and the paint over that residue left an interesting finish. I also used a couple of stamps from ElvieStudio I found Lori through Julie's AJED group and ordered several of her stamps from her etsy shop. I also used some TH stamps on this page. Some FC Pitt pens for colouring and journaling. Done.

Two Weeks of Julien

2011-03-09T13:40:00.007-05:00

We recently had the honour and pleasure of hosting a French exchange student, Julien, for a quick two weeks. Quick, because the time absolutely flew by. Its now been a week since a piece of my heart left for France.

While I can't say many positive things about the organization of the exchange, I can't say enough about how wonderful Julien, and our time with him, was. Those two weeks were filled with fun and memories that we'll keep in our hearts forever.

Nick had come home just before Christmas telling me that I would be receiving an email or phone call soon about hosting a French exchange student. He was interested, and I reminded him that he would have to be 'on' for those two weeks, and would likely have to give up his room. We have three bedrooms and recently changed out his bunk beds for a queen, so sharing the room wasn't really an option.

I printed out the emailed application and mailed it, and heard nothing. We returned home from PR late on the 23rd of January, and I remember thinking, well, I guess we weren't chosen. The students were scheduled to arrive from France on the 16th of February, so surely we would have received confirmation by then. I was a bit surprised to received an email on Tuesday the 25th of January, confirming our selection as a host family. An email followed, with the profiles of 3 students. I printed them out and took them along with me to Nick's weekly allergy shots appointment. Before we got home, Nick had already zeroed in on Julien and asked if we were allowed to choose. I wasn't really certain, but I emailed the coordinator with that request, and he confirmed the next day that Julien would be our student! Three weeks til his arrival.

I emailed him, including some photos, and he wrote back, with the same upbeat enthusiasm that was so evident in the letter included in his profile. He and Nick became FB friends, and he Iand continued to write back and forth, to work out some of the details of his visit. Important things, like, what kind of birthday cake he would prefer! And proposing and verifying activities, that sort of thing. We also became FB friends.

The time before his arrival flew by too, mostly because I was in a panic about getting things cleaned up around the house. Anyone who knows me knows I'm not big on cleaning. My family knows that if the house has been cleaned, we must be having guests! Now, while I'm used to tidying up closets and cupboards for the regular family member visits, I was trying to see our home through the eyes of our student. And I was a bit horrified! Now, if you ask Julien, he might still confirm that my housekeeping skills are lacking, but my goal was to make him comfortable enough to sleep at night, and not be afaid to eat and hang out in our home!

Julien's Arrival

Ready or not, Julien was set to arrive on Wednesday, February 16th. While I hadn't been able to cross the attic off of my to-do list, I was satisfied that I had accomplished most of the cleaning and preparation that I had set out to do.

We were to meet the bus at the high school at 6:30, but since we weren't clear on where, we left early. Checked the front, checked the back, and then, as we were returning to the front, the bus rolled up. We raced out with our welcome sign and red, white and blue balloons. Our school was only hosting 10 of the 50 students, and only 3 of them were boys. So the odds were in our favour that we'd be able to easily spot Julien. And we did! And packed him up and whisked him off home, to dinner that Marc had agreed to cook. Hamburgers. I figured that would be a good American choice for Julien's first meal with us. Except that multitasking Marc had turned his back on the burgers for a bit too long, and they were burnt! Quite the ice breaker, but not the most delicious! We were able to salvage enough to call it dinner, and if anyone was still hungry, there were plenty of chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

It didn't take long for us to see Julien's determination and sense of humour. Those twinkling eyes spoke volumes and he was a good sport about that fine first meal we put in front of him. Even though he was at the end of a long day, he carefully thought out all of his contributions to conversation, and responded in English. Whether spoken to in French or English. I thought that was brave and admirable and was immediately impressed.

Before the balloons deflated, we grabbed a shot of them, the sign, and the kids.

Gaby is our queen of signs and posters, and created this one on the whiteboard in Marc's office. She also did another welcome sign on the chalkboard on her bedroom door.

After supper, we watched the Flyers game for awhile. While Julien insisted he wasn't tired, his body was approaching sunrise in his Alsace time zone, and he conked out around 10:00. I was surprised he lasted as long as he did!!

His first full day, he rode the bus to school with Nick, where the French students were then shuttled off to their first excursion, shopping at the Willow Grove Mall! The students were returned to their respective schools in time to ride home with their host students. If you take a close look at this photo, while they look like two boys returning home from school, you'll also see the shopping bag Julien has in hand. This was the first of several successful shopping excursions. He enjoyed shopping while he was here, and was very good at finding great deals for himself!

Despite the snow, the weather was unseasonably warm, so after school, the boys headed to the playground for some basketball. That evening, Nick and Julien attended a high school hockey game, while Gaby played a rare weekday basketball game.

Washington DC

Our French students had several day trips planned for them, to Philly and NYC, but DC was not on their itinerary. So we had decided we would spend a couple of days and nights in DC. Julien was on board, as we had discussed this via email prior to his arrival.

Another family down the street was also hosting a French student, they too were heading to DC, and they had put the idea of a Capitol tour in my head. So we dropped Roxi off at Petsmart and hit the highway for DC, intending to eat on the road, check in, and make it to the Capitol for our mid afternoon scheduled tour.

Julien

We made our tour, actually getting in on an earlier one. And we ran into the family from down our street, who passed along their passes for the House Gallery, so we got a peek at DC in action.

From the Capitol, we enjoyed a stroll down to the Washington Monument. The weather was unseasonably warm. Many were wearing shorts. It was definitely too hot for the boots I was wearing. Yeah, they were comfy for walking, but not in 70 degree weather!

This seemed to be the thing to do at the base of the monument, so our kids did it too. With the wind whipping the clouds past the monument, the illusion of movement was present. Very cool!

We found an Italian place for dinner, then returned to our hotel for time in the pool and hot tub.

Since we're less than a 3 hour drive to DC, we thought that Julien should have the say in our activities for the weekend. We had agreed upon The Smithsonian, and Julien narrowed down his preferences and then prioritized them. His choices, in order: American Art Museum, which is adjacent to the Portrait Museum, Air and Space Museum, Native American Museum and Natural History Museum. So our first stop, after breakfast at the hotel, was the American Art Museum and the Portrait Museum.

Julien

Julien, Nick and Gab

Gaby and Julien were armed with cameras and between the two of them, snapped several hundred photos at these first two museums. While the art was fascinating, and I'm glad I have those images, there's no point in even trying to share them here. As the day wore on, fewer photos were taken at each subsequent museum.

Plenty of interesting sights along the way!

By the time we got to our 3rd/4th museum, everyone was pretty tired. Besides fewer photos, that last stop was a lot shorter than the first! This was our last stop for Saturday, the Native American Museum.

Tex Mex for lunch. Burgers on the menu, of course!

We all needed to soak and relax after a long day of walking.

And, my favourite picture of our DC adventure:

At the first museums, the American Art and Portrait Museums, a family fun day was being held, I'm guessing because it was President's Day weekend. One of the activities was dressing up for a portrait with George Washington, and Julien was all for it! It was his FB profile photo for a few days. Love his spirit!

Sunday was our last day in DC, and we chose to walk over to the local McDonald's for breakfast. Marc joined us, but returned to the hotel to finish up some work while we headed for our final Smithsonian Museum, Natural History.

A favourite of many, I have photos of Nick in front of this elephant when he was about three years old.

He's grown up a bit since then!

DinoGab!

This 'coral reef' is a piecing together of knitting and crochet. The photo does not do it justice!

We returned to the hotel, picked up Marc, and walked over to the White House. When we had visited two years ago, we were told access to the front was limited and we could view from the rear only. Because there were barricades in place en route to the front of the White House, I assumed the same. I was disappointed to find out after the fact that we could have view the White House from the front. Just would have had to take the long way there. I apologized to Julien, who was very nice about it.

One of many cool buildings in DC. This one was en route to the White House.

We packed up the car and headed for home around 1. We stopped at another Tex Mex place on the way home. Chevy's. A place where Marc had previously eaten. Yummmeee!

Julien's Birthday!

As an added bonus for all of us, Julien's 15th birthday fell on the Monday of President's Day weekend, February 21st! The day had been planned out, based on our email communications prior to his arrival. The kids and I had shopped for his gifts, Gaby had made a sign the week before he arrived, and I spent Sunday night baking and frosting a chocolate birthday cake. Gaby also blew up many balloons, another one of her signature birthday celebration traditions. We put the sign up in the dining room, along with Julien's gifts, and waited for him to wake.

He was likely still functioning between both time zones, as he was up pretty early. Even though pancakes were on the birthday menu, he had a bowl of cereal while waiting for the others to wake. Once everyone was up, Julien opened his gifts and modeled some of them for us!

A Flyers toque from Gaby . . .

A Flyers Bobrovsky tee from Nick.

We decided on a monetary gift, so that Julien could shop for himself and find the perfect something.

Mid morning we had pancakes, then prepared to head out. First stop, Target. Then, lunch at Manhattan Bagel, and finally , a movie. Julien's choice. We saw The Green Hornet, which was a great choice for all of us. The only thing we could have changed about the afternoon was to allow more time at Target! Among other things, Julien picked up a Twinkies shirt for himself. Love it!

Dinner was also the birthday boy's choice. And he chose pizza. Homemade pizza recommended by Nick. Thanks for the endorsement bud!

For cake, we were joined by our neighbor and her French student.

Cake, cupcakes and cookies. Mmmmmmm!

And another favourite photo:

Love that he's such a good sport, wearing Gaby's birthday 'hat'. Love that his FB status for this day read: 'Mon anniversaire magnifique'. Love that smile!

Flyers Game

Back to routine after a four day weekend, Julien and the French students spent Tuesday in Philly. The day was cut short by late arrival due to snow. Tuesday evening we made it to Montgomery Mall for more shopping! Wednesday, the students made the long trek to NYC for the day. We didn't see Julien 'til after eight. Thursday, a short day hanging with Nick at his school, in his classes. And Thursday night, the Flyers game!

Nick was probably the most excited of all of us, as he's become a big Flyers fan, and had never attended a game! We picked Gaby up at school and ate at Chickie and Pete's. We met Marc, who was just returning from PR and he took the kids to the game, which they won!

The kids made a sign, and all three were wearing Flyers colours along with peel and stick Flyers tattoos!

Julien wore his new Flyers shirt.

And Gaby snapped about a million pictures at the game. But none of them. At the game. Oh well! That's what I get for not being there myself!

Sixers Game

Friday was another day trip to Philly for the French students, and Friday evening the five of us took in a Sixers game. While the Sixers aren't selling out these days, the way the Flyers are, we still had a great time.

And I got the photo I wanted!

The Sixers won, and beat the Detroit Pistons while scoring over 100 points. Apparently, anytime the Sixers score over 100, your game ticket is good at McDonalds the next day, for a free Big Mac. Who knew?! Julien thought this was fabulous!

Equally as fabulous, was hanging out at Marc's office before and after the game.

Since his office is en route to the Wells Fargo Centre, we had decided to pick him up on the way to the game. The kids didn't have that much time before the game, but had enough fun that they all decided we'd hang out for awhile on the way home. After all, it was Friday night!

We found out that Julien excels at most sports, it seems. We had already witnessed his skills with a soccer ball. He was also very adept with a ping pong paddle!

Marc's office is a giant playground. Besides the table tennis, weights and weight machine, there are several scooters that people apparently use to get around. You can't see the dart board in Marc's office, but you'll notice Gaby is practicing her putting. And they're all big into nerf guns and RC toys which have plenty of room to fly in this high ceiling space.

Knowing Marc was leaving for China Saturday morning, this was our last chance to get a group photo. Not our best, but at least we're all in it!

Four Days Left

The time was flying by. We couldn't believe that we just had a weekend and a couple of days before Julien's return to France. Wanting to make the most of it, I asked Julien what he'd like to do Saturday afternoon, the biggest block of time we had that weekend, with Gaby's basketball and soccer games. After some thought, he asked how much time we would have. From the end of one game to the beginning of another, we had about six hours. Julien asked if that would be enough time to visit the Amish outlets!

I would have loved to take him there, but being in Lancaster county, we'd be looking at over an hour's drive each way. I told him I'd explore other options, which included Peddlers Village and the new Philadelphia outlets. At the suggestion of one of the parents at Gaby's basketball game, we decided to go to Franklin Mills, a short 1/2 drive. Its an outlet mall, but closed in, like a regular mall. I had Julien look over the list of stores to make sure he could maximize his shopping, and he was good with it.

So Gaby went home with her friend Ashton after basketball, and the boys and I visited the McDonald's drive thru on our way to Franklin Mills.

One Big Mac for Nick, and two for Julien!

More success at Franklin Mills. Julien found himself shirts, another pair of jeans, and a pair of Vans.

We had hoagies for supper, but they weren't a favourite.

And then on to Gaby's indoor soccer game. These games have generally been on Saturday nights, and this one was no exception, at 7:42.

They lost, which might explain the look on Gaby's face, but we all enjoyed watching, and Julien told Gaby she was a good keeper. We stopped by Dairy Queen on the way home. It wasn't really blizzard weather, but we wanted Julien to have a taste for himself. He liked them better than the hoagies!

Sunday we all slept in. A bit. I had planned to play hookey from Sunday school once again, so all we had to worry about was getting Nick to his 11:00 rehearsal. Julien opted not to go. He still had postcards to write, and FB to catch up on. I was glad to see him being so comfortable, behaving just like one of my own. Right down to wearing his hoody instead of a jacket, to NYC. Nick would have done the same!

Just like one of my own!

Sunday afternoon, Julien, Gaby and I stopped in at Barnes and Noble. We were going to be celebrating Gaby's friend Julia's birthday that evening. Julia's family is the family down the street also hosting a French student, and they had invited us all to join the celebration. And there was pizza on the menu! So we had wanted to pick up a gift card at B&N. We also made stops at Five Below and Sam's Club, before meeting up with Nick at home.

We all had a lovely evening celebrating Julia's birthday, and the kids had fun playing rock band. With Monday being a school day, and the French students facing another long day in NYC, it wasn't a late night.

Julien got home from NYC around 8:30, and was up for a S'more dessert!

While roasting marshmallows was nothing new to him, building and eating a s'more was not only new, but delicious!

Mmmmm mmmmmm good!

And the long day took its toll. While we tried to watch Avatar, which we had found on cable, it didn't take long before Julien found his way to dreamland!

One of the photos I had wanted to get was Julien eating breakfast. Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Not only his breakfast of choice, but a late night snack, most every night!

Gotcha!

On their way, Tuesday morning. To see them, walking down the street, you wouldn't know they've grown up on two different continents, speaking two different languages, living two different lives.

Julien had to take care of some last minute post cards, and preferred to mail them in envelopes.

We had both homemade pizza and burgers for supper. Those were Julien's two favourite foods while he was here, though I suppose we could have also served Cinnamon Toast Crunch!

Clara, the French student down the street had prepared dinner for her family on Tuesday, and we teased Julien a bit about that! Crepes were on the menu for their dessert, and Julien, Nick and Gaby joined them. They stayed for more rock band and were home just after 10. Late for a school night!

Nick and Gaby went to bed, but Julien stayed, up, packing and preparing for his trip home. We agreed the time had flown by, and he said he wasn't ready to go home. The trip was too short. I second that!

He presented me with a couple of special gifts, in addition to those he gave us upon his arrival. The first, two keychains that he had picked up in NYC. For now, they're on my desk. Not sure what I'll do with them . The second gift, even more treasured and personal, was the green/blue belt he earned in karate, which he's been taking for five years. When he gave me that, I couldn't hold back the tears. The sadness I was feeling at his impending departure. Two weeks in our life. But a lifetime in our hearts.

More Art Journaling for February

2011-03-08T09:43:00.001-05:00

The last half of February was all about our French exchange student, Julien. He arrived on the 16th, a Wednesday, and we headed to DC on the Friday, which was the start of a 4 day weekend for President's Day. During their two week visit, the French students had several excursions to Philly and NYC, so we thought Washington would be a good choice for the weekend. That's how my pages for this week ended up so very red, white and blue!

On my gessoed foundation, I used some Golden Fluid acrylics left from a Donna D class I had taken before Christmas. Quinacridone Crimson and Turquois (Phthalo) to be exact. The stars were painted with the same turquois (tough to spell it without the 'e'!), outlines with a white Sharpie, and then India ink. I used the white sharpie and India ink for most of the journaling, except for the blue and red. That was done with FC's Pitt Artist Pens, brush tip. AC Moore has been carrying them, so, with a 50% coupon, I picked up a couple of assorted packs. I think I mentioned before how I like that the colour stays fairly true on my backgrounds.

The rest of the page has bits of stuff from the weekend, like the room card envelope from the hotel, and, from a restaurant we had lunch at, a bit of the paper used to wrap the cutlery and napkin. The heart was punched from a coffee sleeve and dabbed with some white acrylic paint. The red patterned tape is from a roll gifted to me by Stacy, my dear Flickr buddy!

My page for the last week of February was definitely created with Julien in mind! It didn't take long to realize that turquoise blue was one of his favourite colours, at least to wear. He brought a couple of shirts in this colour/shade, and purchased a couple more when he was here. So I knew my background would be that same blue that I used last week.

Not much else to explain here. I took Julien's baggage tag from his trip here, and a tag from a pair of jeans he purchased, and included both. The photo is from the 21st, Julien's 15th birthday. It was fun to celebrate his birthday with him, and even better that his birthday fell on the Monday of President's Day weekend, so the kids had no school. He's wearing a Flyers shirt in the photo, which is NOT blue, cuz that was one of his birthday gifts! And he's wearing Gaby's birthday hat, because he's a good sport! All of the journaling and doodling is with India ink and the FC Pitt markers.

Some February Art Journaling

2011-03-03T00:14:00.000-05:00

It is now March. I realize that I posted once in February. ONCE! So much for my goal of ,at the very least, posting weekly about my art journaling. I have a great excuse, which will be explained at great length in a post to follow shortly. Our French exchange student, Julien, with us for the last two weeks, returned to France Wednesday. Yesterday, though since I haven't slept yet, for me, he left us this morning. We had so much fun with him and are so sad that he's gone.

While I've again done a fair job of journaling regularly, photographing and sharing it has fallen to the bottom of my to do list.

Here's a couple of my pages for February:

I covered these pages with gesso, as I've been doing with most of my pages. I've been starting out with a coat of paint most weeks, and be it water colour or acrylic, I prefer to paint over the gesso. On these pages, when the gesso was still wet, I carved out the heart shapes using the handle end of a paint brush. The hearts were all painted using water colours and some water colour crayons. I glued a few bits down and used India ink to outline and journal and dot.

This is an idea I've had brewing for awhile. Ha ha, brewing! Read on and you'll understand why I think I'm so clever! These two pages are covered with the tags from Yogi brand tea bags. They have a variety of inspiring and uplifting words and sayings, and I'd never been able to dispose of them. I've saved them for awhile, but never been sure what to do with them. Displaying them here, I can enjoy them and even refer to them for quotes on other pieces.

This is a rare, non-gessoed spread. I knew I was covering most of the pages with these tags, so I didn't see it necessary to gesso. Though I do prefer the look of the paint on the gesso -- this one looks a bit dull to me. I watercoloured the pages , adhered the tags, and dabbed more watercolours on each tag. India ink for a bit of journaling for the week.

Promise to share more before April!!

Art Journaling for 2011

2011-02-11T10:54:00.002-05:00

While I have been meeting my goal of weekly art journaling, I've fallen a bit behind on sharing it here.

January is always a good excuse for falling behind. Putting away Christmas, planning and celebrating Gaby's birthday, Marc's annual trip to PR, sometimes with us, sometimes not, these are the events that are always part of our January. And for the past 2 years Nick has had his winter School of Rock show smack in the middle of it all. So things like finishing up my December Daily (December 23rd and holding!) and keeping up art journaling and blogging just seem to fall by the wayside.

My intention is to share my weekly art journaling. Weekly, of course! To catch up, here's what I did in January:

I played around with my new cheapy watercolours on the inside cover. No gesso. Black India Ink, white Sharpey, TH stamps, 7 Gypsies tape, ticket - also TH, and a fortune I had hung to. Fun and done!

Gesso, then blue water colour. These are Claudine Hellmuth foam and acrylic stamps. Used acrylic paint and black Stazon. Freehand cut the January letters from some MM packaging, and of course the catalyst for this, Julie's Art Journal Every Day button. Random journaling about the week, and fortunes from lunch with Marc.

The birthday/SOR week. Gessoed these pages, added colour with Distress Ink. Used Tattered Angels masks and Glimmer Mist over the DI colour. The rest is bits and pieces from the week, including photos of both kids. Disclaimer: Nick does NOT have a Mother tat - that's just doodling! Some of the doodling and journaling was done in India Ink and some using FC Pitt pens. The colour from these pens stayed pretty true on the background colour. I like that!

A crazy week, starting with Gab's birthday sleepover, MLK Day of service, and two sick kids. Despite that, we made it to PR for the last 4 days. Marc had challenged me to travel without my laptop, so I made sure I had an art journaling kit put together to bring along. I'll have to photograph and share that in another post.

I gessoed these pages prior to leaving home. On a sunny Saturday when the sunburns kept us inside, Gaby and I worked on these pages together. All of the colour is Prang watercolours. I drew out a grid, painted it in black, and Gaby and I filled in the one inch squares with whatever popped into our heads. She ended up painting more of them than I did! I cut out the letters for Puerto Rico from a business card I picked up at a dive shop on Isla de Culebra. The business card was from a fabulous restaurant that Marc and I visited Thursday, the tag is from sunglasses we picked up for Nick, and the red sticker is the USDA inspection sticker we got at check in, on our way home.

Since January had already seen its share of snow days/late arrivals/early dismissals, I was inspired to do a snowy spread. Gessoed, added punched snowflakes, painted over in white acrylic, then inked with blue. I then added a variety of snowflakes from my stash - chipboard, felt, stickers, whatever. And some distress stickles for sparkle. I journaled in the spaces between the snowflakes. The "just the facts" stamp is from Lori, a fellow member of Julie's Art Journal Every Day group. Check out her etsy shop ElvieStudio -- goodness!!

This journal, my first real art journal, is a Moleskine Sketchbook, 5 1/4 X 8 1/4, 104 pages. Perfect for 52 weeks! I picked mine up at Barnes and Noble I had a gift card, a coupon and I have a B&N membership, which gives you 10% off. I picked up another one for Gaby when she expressed an interest in having her own. I lucked out searching B&N online cuz a couple of weeks ago they were featuring 30% off of their moleskines. With my memberhip I also got free shipping, and we had it within a week.

If you're on the fence about art journaling, don't be. Get off the fence, jump right in. Julie has organized all of the posts related to this year long art journaling journey, on her blog Once there, scroll down a bit and you'll find the Art Journal Every Day logo. Click on that, and all of the posts are at your fingertips. Thoughts on content, products, finding the time, it's all there. There is also a Flickr Group with over 200 members. You can find images of a variety of pages, and ongoing discussion on this topic.

It's fun, it's additive, it's therapeutic, it's creative, it's satisfying.

A Brief Escape

2011-01-30T23:29:00.001-05:00

Every January, Marc attends a conference in Puerto Rico. When the kids were younger, we would join him for part of the trip. Nick and Gaby used to have no trouble missing 2 or 3 days of school. That changed when Nick hit middle school. He found it more difficult to be absent from school and get back on track, having a different teacher for each subject. So, the last time we tagged along with Marc was 4 years ago.

This year, we decided to give it a go again. With a few years of changing classes/teachers and managing his school schedule under his belt, Nick was confident he'd have no trouble with a 2 day absence from school.

However, getting away wasn't easy. After a busy weekend of Nick's SOR shows and Gaby's birthday celebration, and of course, MLK Day of service, both kids were sick. Nick had a lingering headache that had started Friday, and Gaby appeared to be experiencing her second bout of strep throat in as many months.

Tuesday started with a late arrival due to freezing rain, and Gaby home with a sore throat and temperature of 102. Even the call to the pediatrician's office was futile. Routed to their answering service, I found that the weather had also delayed the opening of the pediatrician's office!

While things didn't look too promising Tuesday night, we got it all sorted out for our Wednesday evening departure. Antibiotics for Gaby's confirmed strep throat, Roxi to Petsmart, Jessie bird to Marc's co-worker Brigette, and best of all, when Nick came home on Wednesday, his headache was finally gone!!

Of course our departure out of Philly was delayed when a passenger became ill before take off and left the plane. It took them quite awhile to dig out their checked luggage, and by the time we got underway, the delay had stretched to over an hour.

But we made it, with the pictures to prove it!

Gaby had asked before we arrived if the two of us could get up early and go for a walk on the beach. I was only too happy to oblige!

Some beach time.

Early morning ferry to Isla de Culebra.

Flamenco Beach, apparently rated #2 on the top ten beach list. Beaches of the world.

It was breathtaking!

Heading for snorkeling waters.

It was a long and buggy walk to find the beach that was suitable for snorkeling.

Soooooo worth it!

We returned to Flamenco Beach after snorkeling, and lunch. We settled at a shady table since we all had a bit of sunburn. I was relaxing on the sand and Nick was on the bench above.

Our last day on the beach.

We didn't venture out much on Saturday cuz of our sunburns, so I was able to work on some art journaling. Gaby actually painted more of those little squares than I did.

Love this picture! We grabbed a late lunch on Sunday before heading for the airport. Nick ordered the whole fried fish. It was delicious!!

Martin Luther King Day of Service at CLC

2011-01-18T19:34:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was either the 8th or 9th year that our church has participated in service projects for MLK Day.

We always start with lunch for everyone, a short presentation about the man and his mission and dreams, and then we do five or six service projects. This year, we made ugly blankets for homeless folks (called ugly cuz they're made ugly to reduce the possibility of theft), peppermint bark (can't remember who this was made for, but the kids loved taking a hammer to bags of candy canes), play doh for a group that supports single mothers, letters to those serving in the military, valentine cards for residents of a local nursing home, and hand painted tiles for Habitat homes.

We always wind up with a group shot of the volunteers in their shirts. This year, we ran a bit late and many people seemed to have left before we got the photo.

Can you spot Gaby in this shot?!

Celebrating 10 With Friends

2011-01-18T19:24:00.001-05:00

This past Sunday was the day for partying. With Monday being the MLK holiday, Sunday night was perfect for a sleepover. Which is what Gaby wanted, among other things.

She invited 4 friends, 2 from soccer, 2 from school. Three of the four were able to make it.

First stop: our house, around 3 in the afternoon. The plan: swim, dine out, and sleepover.

The pool we chose is in a neighboring township. Same place the girls swam at for Gab's birthday last year, but with a difference. Last year, we were kicked out around 3:30 as there was a special swim party scheduled. The Neon Splash Party, which was open to anyone, but sold out by the time we found out about it. This year, with that experience under our belts, we were able to get tickets for the Neon Splash Party. Low lighting, glow necklaces, a DJ and prizes. While the glow necklaces got in the way, they all loved the music (except for Justin Beiber!) and Gaby received a water bottle prize when her friends let the DJ know it was her birthday.

Rockin' out to the Village People.

There was a cool BIG waterslide.

And a smaller kiddie slide that the girls would hop on now and then -- shorter line!

OOKA, for dinner and a show -- and what a show it was!

Nick and Jess didn't swim, but joined us for dinner.

Sharing those yummy bananas for dessert.

Apples to Apples and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel rounded out the night. And chips and cheetos, of course!

Gaby's the chief pancake maker in our house, so she prepared breakfast for her girlfriends.

This time 'round, the birthday cake was a puffed wheat cake.

For the last couple of years, I had gently suggested to Gaby that she consider asking her guests to make a charitable donation in celebration of her birthday, rather than bringing a gift. This year, she decided it was a good idea, and chose the Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House as her charity of choice. We're going to package up those donations with a lovely letter and send it off to where it can do some good. Cheers to you Gaby girl!! XO

Thank You Julie!

2011-01-18T00:39:00.001-05:00

Last Friday I had the honour and pleasure of guest posting on Julie Fei-Fan Balzer's blog, Balzer Designs . Shortly after signing on to participate in Julie's Art Journal Every Day I received an email from her, asking if I would be interested in a guest post on the subject of my 52 lists that I was finishing up last month. I was thrilled! Not sure what I was doing, but I was thrilled! I'd never done a guest post before -- this was my first.

The process of creating the post was enjoyable, and what a thrill to see it Friday morning. And the comments. The comments were the frosting! So kind and sweet and supportive and from so many different places. Very cool, though I'm not sure why. I mean, I read blogs written by people in Australia, England, The Netherlands. So why is it so exciting to read comments and find out they're from people in places like Australia and Europe? I dunno, but is really is pretty cool!

I haven't taken as much time as I would like on all of the new blogs that I've discovered, both through guest posting and participating in AJED. I could learn from Julie, who wrote today that she had already visited 300 of the 400 or so blogs of the participants. Isn't that incredible?!

She's so involved and giving so much time to this. Those of us joining her on this journey are so fortunate to have her at the helm. We're not even a month into it and we're already forging a cohesive and supportive group for our art journaling. It's so much more fun to have places like the flickr group to share and discuss and encourage and learn and be inspired.

So grateful. Thanks again Julie!!

(inside front cover of my art journal)

Oh yeah, my guest post !

Bit of Music in our Week

2011-01-18T00:07:00.001-05:00

Good things, like the kids' concerts, are never nicely and evenly spaced and scheduled. Just doesn't happen that way.

We first had the pleasure of Gaby's beginner band concert on Thursday. Or should I say I had the pleasure. Because Marc was out of town overnight and Nick had his own music rehearsal at the School of Rock. So I juggled Marc's video camera in my right hand, slung my camera around my neck and did the best I could using my left hand. This was the best I could do!

We did a bit better Friday night. Marc was back, so he handled video and I could concentrate on stills. Being back down to only one camera didn't improve the quality of the images I captured. The shows are set up more for the kids to enjoy, not for parents to get the pictures they'd like. But it doesn't stop them from trying. Unless you're sitting in the front row, it's pretty tough to get a shot that doesn't include the glowing screen of someone else's camera or phone, or the glare off of a bald head. Now, having been recently bald myself, I'm not singling out bald folks. OK, bald men. I just seem to have the misfortune of always having one in my line of fire when I'm trying to get a photo!

Nick's show this season was Black Sabbath. Never having been a big fan of theirs, I only recognized a handful of songs. But even if you don't know the music, you can't help but marvel at the way these teens come together onstage, so confidently and professionally. Uhmazing!

My son the rock star.

I so wish I could get better pictures, but I'm always concerned about drawing attention to myself, and consequently, Nick.

Did I mention how much fun these shows are? For the kids too!

A Snow Day Birthday

2011-01-17T23:21:00.001-05:00

Our first snow day of the school year couldn't have fallen on a more perfect day -- Gaby's 10th birthday!

The autodialled call from the school superintendent came in around 5:45 a.m. They weren't messing around! No late arrival for Gaby's special day. This was a full blown snow day.

I snuck into the kids' rooms to shut off their alarms. Nick, being the light sleeper that he is, heard me, but easily went back to sleep when he heard the news.

Of course I forgot to shut off our alarms, which are set for both kids' get up times! No biggie. It's always nice to shut off the alarm knowing you can go back to bed.

We all got up in time for Gaby to open her gifts before Marc had to leave for work.

It was nice to have the time for a leisurely pancake breakfast. Chocolate chip for Nick and half-baked for Gab. (don't ask!!)

A bit of indoor fun on the wii.

Check out this adorable cupcake floral arrangement that Gaby received from Pier, Nate, Hailey and Kai. Isn't it just the cutest?

But even those beautiful flowers and a family dinner at PF Chang the evening of Gab's birthday couldn't compete with spending the afternoon sledding and playing with her BFF Claire. Gaby thought that was the best part of her Snow Day birthday!

Happy Birthday Gaby Girl!!

2011-01-12T01:18:00.000-05:00

Evidence that time flies. From this:

To this:

In ten short, fast, wonderful years. Happy 10th Birthday Gaby!! Double digits now.

Your presence continues to be life changing. I'm so lucky to be your Mom!! Looking forward to a wonderful celebration of you, today, and everyday. You rock Gaby Girl! Love you lots!

One more cuz I just love love love this face!

(sorry about the black and white -- I had scanned them this way a few years back, for a page, I believe)

Wrapping Up My 52 Lists!

2011-01-09T00:01:00.001-05:00

Happy to say they are done, bound, and in their new home, a basket that holds a few mini albums and my 52Q from 2009.

Love this little glimpse of each list.

That's one fat stack of lists! I tried different ways of binding them together. While working on the lists last year, I used binder rings to keep them together, but didn't care for that as the pile of lists grew. I used rope through the two holes I had punched in each, first looping the rope in a fashion similar to the binder rings. Not crazy about that. Then I tried tying the ends together, top and bottom, on the front and back of the stack. Didn't like how it covered some of my art. So I finally just knotted the ends of both the top and bottom ropes, tight against the pages. I like that best for now.

With my 52 lists done, and the Christmas boxes packed up and waiting to be stowed in the crawl space for another year, I can work at wrapping up my December Daily, which I kept up with til December 19th. And I'm really looking forward to putting more time into Julie's Art Journal Every Day Julie came up with this great idea/challenge, and there are already over 300 people on board! Of course there's a flickr group for this one too -- check it out. I also strongly recommend Julie's blog. She posts frequent inspiring posts filled with great photos, tutorials, ideas, everything. Love everything she does!!

52 Lists for 2010 - List 52

2010-12-30T10:15:00.000-05:00

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! We did and are enjoying a White Christmas Week here in Winnipeg. The only complaint I have is the super duper slooooowww internet, which is one of the reasons I'm posting this so late. I should have written the post before we left, rather than planning on doing it here. Crossing my fingers and hoping I'll be able to share this, the last list for 2010!

Gessoed a piece of Christmas advertising from Bath and Body Works, wrote the title with a soft charcoal pencil, then went over it with wet brush to intensify the colour. Thanks to Donna D for that one. I did the stripes in water colours, then went over it with shimmery water colours that I used on the back side. I like the shimmer on the back, but not as crazy about it on the front.

My list, both past and present. I like this side better, with the shimmery water colours. Inspiration to paint from Julie FFB -- thanks Julie!!

Speaking of Julie, she's starting "Art Journal Every Day" in the new year and invites everyone to play along. I'll post the link soon. Any downloads are taking me forever right now -- should check into an upgrade for the internet here.

Happy New Year everyone!

52 Lists for 2010 - List 51

2010-12-21T22:47:00.000-05:00

This is just about it! The second last list for this year -- that went pretty fast, ya know!

My favourite Christmas memories.

Used more cool Starbucks Christmas stuff. Did little else here: MM journaling tag and stars, Asher's chocolate sticker, Hershey's kiss tag, and tied it up with some SU tinsel.

I used some 7 Gypsies tape on this side to hold down the pieces that were folded over. And left space for more memories, as they come to me!

52 Lists for 2010 - List 50

2010-12-15T00:01:00.000-05:00

My list of favourite movies.

The base is a piece of cardboard embossed with a TH woodgrain die. The bird and heart are both made using SU punches, and both are cut from Starbucks coffe sleeves. The bird punch wouldn't go through the sleeve as is, so I took the layers apart before punching. Lots of inking ot bring out detail and definition, the ADORE ticket is also TH, the bitty letters MM. The little paper tag strip is from a Hershey's candy cane kiss.

I wrote my list on a MM journaling page. I realize I don't have very sophisticated taste when it comes to movies -- these are the movies I would, and have, watched more than once!

52 Lists for 2010 - List 49

2010-12-07T22:36:00.000-05:00

Every week I think this is gonna be the week that I post more than lists here. I still have a chance this week, but you'll notice that this post follows last week's list post. I just cannot seem to get it together. Its been 2 weeks since I finished radiation, and I truly thought that I would then get into more regular and frequent posts. Not so. Not yet. I hope soon though, cuz I've been having fun getting ready for Christmas, enjoying Emily and Nicole's online felting class, Jasmine's monthly photo challenge here, and am in the midst of my 3rd December Daily. Check out this year's flickr group

For now, this week's list:

American cities I've visited.

I found some paper I had been saving -- freebies included in some of the Stampington publications -- and used it as the base. The skyline is a TH stamp, the compass is a rub on from MME, the journaling bit from BG and the letters are stamped onto tape. I found it wouldn't dry fast enough, so I covered the letters with another piece of tape! And I used a Fiskars punch for the edge.

I ran out of room cuz I started my list too big! I tried to narrow it down to cities that I had actually visited. It takes us 3 days one way to drive to see our family in Canada, and we pass through a lot of cities. So I tried to stick with cities I have actually visited at one time or another. The list was longer than I had anticipated. Obviously!

This could be done with a different country or continent, and I just might have to try that.

52 Lists for 2010 - List 48

2010-11-29T23:33:00.000-05:00

My list of my favourite bands.

My favourite thing about this week's list is the wet felted flowers I made in Emily and Nicole's online class. (I promise a post on that soon, to share the yummy things we've been creating!)

I used a scrap of cardboard for the base, gessoed, then a coat of blue acrylic paint. Tattered angels mask, glimmer mist in silver and a couple of greens. The butterflies were made using a SU embossing folder. The label shape is a SU punch. I used ribbon scraps for the stems of my pretty flowers. Did I mention they're my favourite part?

I dusted off my ipod (actually had to charge it first) to use in the making of this list. Couldn't think of many bands off the top of my head. Perhaps it's the Christmas music I'm listening to 24/7 -- by choice, of course. I love Christmas music. In the house, in the car, in the stores. Bring it on! But I think it created a mental block. Couldn't think of the bands for this list.

The labels I used on the back of my list are from a package of AC journaling labels.

Four more to go and then we'll have to come up with something for next year!