i only have a few moments before i'm too tired to form a sentence. but it's been a magnificent day. wonderful energy has been cocooning me lately and it seemed to climax today. tracy has turned off the wax until the trees are green again and although i'll miss seeing new pieces sprouting from her wax womb, there is an excitement about what newness is coming from her. i've begun making reversible children's tunics that work 4 ways and i'm growing ideas for the adult version. today i worked in the studio from 8 a.m. until 11.20 p.m. i only came home a few minutes ago because i knew i must sleep....although i wanted to keep going further into the night. the verve is non-stop in there right now. friends i've been missing stopped by today. and brought their bright beautiful creative children. and my parents came with pomegranates for our lunch. a full and lively day it was.

tomorrow we are having an evening sale. come and drink in the energy. it's going to be a great night. tracy is selling her last batch of encaustic that will be available until the warmer weather. and i have the fun new tunics. as well as all the other beauties we offer. tomorrow, february 29th from 3 until 8. 55 mowat avenue in portsmouth village.

so as the winter drones on i realize that the simple little life i lead has many moments of nothingness. but i love these moments. there is a ceremony and celebration to these moments. like tracy and edgar going for a walk around the yard together. or the morning lemon water. or the cats facing off with a window between them. these are all the little glimpses i share here. and they grow from a quick passing moment to a memory. the brevity and flash of emotion that i share is locked into something a little more special because it was shared. this little blog and the people who read it, gilds my life and the moments i find special enough to photograph or write about or both. thank you!

oops, i almost forgot to mention....our midweek sale is on it's way. this wednesday february 29th from 3 until 8. at 55 mowat ave in portsmouth village. i am hoping to have some adorable children's tunic dresses ready.....but i might be jumping the gun here. tracy has new paintings and the energy is electric.....so stop by.

starting the day with a gorgeous carafe of lemon water is beginning to make me feel just a little cleaner inside. tracy and lisa were talking about it a couple of weeks ago in the studio. and i thought it was just simple enough for me to add to my routine. so i slice a lemon in my favorite 1/2 litre carafe and fill it with water before i head up to bed, cover it with a saucer and leave it in the fridge overnight. and in the morning it's a clean and slightly tangy start to the day. i refill it and sip away throughout the day using the same lemon. and since i'm drawn as surely to the beauty of the glass and the yellow circles and the little opaque floaty pieces, it keeps me coming back. as always, the visual is my strongest draw, but it's good on so many other levels too!!

there are days when the studio is tumbling with extra pizzazz. and today was one of them. the snow fell hard and the lovely laura came for a visit in the midst of the storm. i love the glow she brings. she lay on the bed upstairs in the quilt room tucked under the slanting ceiling while i laid out layers for two big bed quilts. we gossiped and giggled and coloured everything with our irreverent attitudes. i miss her.....she's in montreal now for the school year, but is home for reading week. and regardless of the huge age difference (decades...) we always have such fun.

there was sewing and painting and much hypothesizing today. planning. arranging space and time. cuddles with charlie. all swirling around the little white house.

i have a lip balm i found last week in a drawer or a pocket or the bottom of an abandoned bag. a tiny glass jar with a twisty metal lid. and i've loved using it every morning since i found it. there is a flavor a scent a citrusy fresh combination that takes me back decades. but i'm not even sure to where. i don't know if it's the same flavor as a bonne bell lipsmackers from grade 5 that i loved. or a more sophisticated college version. of if it's the exact lemony-ness of the lemon crepes i would crave in paris. i don't know if i'm flushed with the freshness of a lotion i used when i was with a certain boy who made my heart sing. or a pie i shared with someone somewhere. but this lip balm takes me on a little trip every time it touches my lips. and it's a good and happy and very familiar place that rushes through me, i just don't know the details.

all winter we have had ghost cats staring in our windows. they just watch me as i work in the kitchen. or as i write my blog. they settle on the wide stone windowsills and usually startle me. and there are often interactions with our cats, sometimes noisy brawls throwing their little bodies at the glass. our neighborhood is full of cats. it seems everyone has at least two cats and they wander freely amongst the yards. i guess our little lady cats who like to stay in during the colder months are being wooed by the braver winter wanderers. stella and telulah accept their windowsill visitors and periodically venture out to the back porch, but they'll stay in for another month or so, even though the weather is so mild.
and as for crabby....our odd little cat that annoys and lashes out and creates havoc wherever she goes, but for some reason is everyone's favorite.... just a few months ago we took her to the vet expecting to put her to sleep because of her horrible bowel problems......and now she has gone from skin and bones to plump and happy and as healthy as i've ever known her to be. and yes, this is her, settled in the bowl i have on the counter full of our napkins, thinking i set it out for her and she belongs there entirely.

now there is light in the sky when i open my eyes in the morning. the days are swiftly becoming longer. there may be quilts on the line again soon. edgar and i are venturing out on morning walks again. but it's still cold. and the lake is open....it didn't freeze at all this winter....and in 8 sundays or so, we'll probably have screens on the windows. and the sounds of summer beginning to tune up.
today i'm making quilts. for orders. quite a few. i took the weekend off and now i'm feeling a bit stressed. i had hoped they would all be done by mid-week, but that's tomorrow and i don't see that as even remotely possible. so the holiday was lovely, but i must find my groove again.
while edgar slurps his water and the garbage trucks rumble past and the sun sits up straight for this new day, i am happy for this new and shorter week.