55

 55....I turned 55 in January 2021....I decided that I needed to do something different..I decided I wanted to do 55 days of creativity....I had pinned up a sheet of newsprint to my wall and wrote happy birthday on it for my actual birthday day. Being in the midst of the pandemic, I celebrated alone in my house but on the phone/internet with family.  The next day I drew on some tulips, and then painted them....this lead to the idea for the painting/collage you see above. A story of sorts of a girl/woman sitting under a tree on a hill lost in the adventures of the book she is reading. 

I didn't start with the idea of adding collage to this story, but I was unhappy with the painted sky. I cut it out and put up another sheet of newsprint. With me and the tree and the tulips taped on the wall to the side, I thought and tested ideas for the sky...then I looked around and realized I had collected a few magazines and started looking through them. I excitedly started ripping out pages that might work for the sky and once I had collected a bunch, I started glueing... 

Once the sky was done I glued me, the tree and tulips on and then just added a few more small details and it was done!! My 55 day project which in reality took 85 days, turned out better than I even imagined.

This project was a lot of fun. 

What will I decide to do for my 56th birthday that is happening in a week?? I do have one idea, but it hasn't arrived yet so we'll have to see what else I can get up to..

Hugs, Suzanne

Random seasonal thought bubble

Excerpt from Suzanne's Brain

Twas the night before Christmas

and all through the house
Not a creature was stirring
not even a mouse
.......
Something was stirring though, shuffling?
Not sure what it could be
I've checked every corner
looked under every piece of furniture
Nope
can't see anything, still hear it though

....
hmmmmm
Maybe a house hippo?
You have to believe to see? or see to believe?
I do believe in house hippos, I do, I do!
.......
Nope, still nothing. And now the shuffling noise is gone.
......
Oh! There's a gift under my tree!
It must have been Santa! Santa Claus was here!
I must have been a good human this year.
.....
I guess they didn't hear about that incident with the Easter Bunny.
....
Well anyways, Yay, a gift!
Oh.... maybe its coal......;p

Original thought by Suzanne McCann

Fall/Autumn 2021

 Here it is again, Fall, or Autumn, which ever you prefer....it is my favourite time of year. The heat of summer is over and the crispy coolness of a new season is renewing for me. The smell of the fallen leaves piling up  is one of my favourite smells of all time. And the way the smell of those leaves wafts up when I walk through them is smile inducing...walking along, smiling ear to ear, seeing the leaves fly around my feet as I walk along....makes me feel much younger and lighter in spirit.

Fall

 "Life starts all over again

when it gets crisp in the fall."

F. Scott Fitzgerald

I was hurrying through my own soul.....Mary Oliver

MOCKINGBIRDS

by Mary Oliver


This morning
two mockingbirds
in the green field
were spinning and tossing

the white ribbons
of their songs
into the air.
I had nothing

better to do
than listen.
I mean this
seriously.

In Greece,
a long time ago,
an old couple
opened their door

to two strangers
who were,
it soon appeared,
not men at all,

but gods.
It is my favorite story--
how the old couple
had almost nothing to give

but their willingness
to be attentive--
but for this alone
the gods loved them

and blessed them--
when they rose
out of their mortal bodies,
like a million particles of water

from a fountain,
the light
swept into all the corners
of the cottage,

and the old couple,
shaken with understanding,
bowed down--
but still they asked for nothing

but the difficult life
which they had already.
And the gods smiled, as they vanished,
clapping their great wings.

Wherever it was
I was supposed to be
this morning--
whatever it was I said

I would be doing--
I was standing
at the edge of the field--
I was hurrying

through my own soul,
opening its dark doors--
I was leaning out;
I was listening.

Adding some green

  There is a comforting smell of cinnamon and baking coming from the oven. I have an abundance of carrots in my bin and this morning decided to use some up and make a carrot cake. I used a honey/brown sugar mix for my sweetness. I also had some raisins and cranberries so they went in as well.
    I look outside and snow is gently falling.  We so rarely see snow here on the island that it has me grinning ear to ear! I was outside at 9pm making a tiny snowman the first night. 

I've put the last touches on a couple of paintings. I am enjoying adding some
green to the somewhat limited palette of colours that I like to play with. I layered up the paint
using the envelopes from my mom's letters. (as mentioned in previous post). I really
enjoy adding a colour and then walking away, looking back at it and deciding what colour
to add next. The hardest part is deciding when to stop adding and just let it be.

Hugs til next time.
Suzanne

Letters from my Mom

  Once a week I open my mailbox and inside is a little 4" X 5 1/2" surprise.
Sometimes its bright and colourful, and other times its standard white.
I smile when I see the cursive writing on the front knowing its another letter from my mom.
That's right, my mom and I write back and forth once a week, on paper, slide it into an envelope and put a stamp on it. Sometimes its just talking about the weather, a recipe, sometimes its a funny joke or  sharing some pictures we've taken.
  My mom lives in a small town, and the post office employees there have said
that she receives the most mail of anyone in town. We laughed at this and I definately  tease
her about being so famous.
  I love exchanging letters because it is so nice to receive something that you can hold in your hand.  I still only read books in their natural form...paper.
  Last year, or maybe the year before I was playing around with some paint, and I grabbed one
of mom's envelopes, folded it up and used it to move the paint around on my canvas. I really liked
the texture and coverage I was getting. I have used it quite a few times since. In the pictures below
you can see a canvas that I am playing with and the folded up envelope being used. What is it
about the envelopes from my moms letters? I only save the colourful ones. Its definitely
another connection to her from the other side of the country.
  So, does anyone out there hand write letters or notes to anyone? Let me know, and if you want
to I could write to you too.
;) Suzanne

 

 

2020

  Another year has gone by. The last hours of 2019 were literally blown away with the howling winds and driving rain of winter on the West Coast of Canada. 2020 has started the same. Blowing away the crap, and allowing in the awesome!!

   In a few days I will be 54!  Yikes! Over half of a century of my life has been lived....When I was 10, 50 seemed ancient, and now, at 53, it feels like I'm only half way through my life. What will I do with the other half? What sort of adventures am I going to get up to?

  For this years reflection I am not going to moan and groan about my aches and pains, or about my limitations because of them, but I will try to be thankful for what I do have, thankful for my family and friends. 

     I have a childhood friend and we like to count down the years left to retirement and knowing that I still have at least 11, I need to be able to enjoy my life til then and long after. At the top of my list this year, and only thing, is to take care of my body so it will keep going, at least another half century.

  I will continue to try new things and things that I haven't played with for awhile creatively.
Being creative as often as possible is definitely my zen zone.

  Some things I've already played with.....

I embroidered this butterfly a couple of months ago. Last night I turned it into a broach.

Between Christmas and New Years I took a sheet of paper that I had painted and cut it into strips and made an ornament.

And January 1st just for fun, I did a potato stamp.

Let me know what you are up to this year. And as the first pic says....wishing all of you a peaceful and healthy 2020. Lets be kind to each other.


Suzanne

I am at home among the trees...JRR Tolkien

 

This is so true. 

I do not personally know the artist of this 

poster but wanted to include the link.

September already

I took this photo last weekend as I walked around a golf course with visiting family.

September already.

Where has this year gone? It is crazy that

in just over a week we will be in the last 3 months of this year.

It has felt like summer vacation as a kid....2 months feeling like 2 weeks.

I thought it might be an age thing, but everyone of all ages around

me are feeling the same.

Are we maybe trying to rush to 2020?

Does it sound exciting to be heading into a year that seems quite

futuristic? Especially if I think back to when I was a kid growing up

in the 70"s....2020 was definately a number I probably would have

thought of as way way way way off in the future....with hover craft,

and tri-corders and instant food materializers.

Yes I watched Star Trek and dreamed of a future like that.

Makes me wonder what I've done this year.

Have I changed anything?

Have I been happy staying the same?

Plenty to think about.

How about you?

Random thoughts from me, Suzanne