Travel

Highly recommend the dining room at Sooke Harbor House, just an hour drive west of Victoria, BC. Arrived early enough before our reservation to stroll and explore the grounds, enjoy the excitement of a wedding in progress on the lawn overlooking the sea, and do a quick sketch of Sooke East Point across the bay. Seated for dinner at a table with a spectacular view – and savored every mouthful of the Dungeness Crab.

REFLECTION: We’re just back from a four day weekend get away to Victoria. Amongst the many people we encountered were Susanne, Mauro, and a handful of Harbor Ferry pilots.

Susanne served us in the restaurant at the Laurel Point Inn. Though business was brisk for both Saturday breakfast and Sunday brunch, Susanne made the time for conversation. She remembered our names from one day to the next, asked about our plans each day, tossed in a few bits of info about herself, and we shared more than a few laughs in the process. I almost stopped to apologize for deserting her on morning three, as I headed off to breakfast elsewhere. (more…)

There are at least a handful of Saskatonians who really know how to celebrate Canada Day in style.

This boatload spent the sunny afternoon cruisin’ the South Saskatchewan River. Traffic is much lighter on the river than the road!

This duo knows there’s nothing more Canadian for holding up your flag than a hockey stick!

Thanks to friend, Barbara McNichol, for the snaps. Barbara (a former Saskie herself) and hubby, Byron, from Tucson shared a beautiful Canada Day with us here in Saskatoon

Lakes, rivers, trees, skies, spring – such inspiration for the artist’s eye and soul. 

The first – Along the South Saskatchewan – near Riverside Country Club. I’d really rather paint than golf!

The second – Birch Bay – on the northern shore of Waskesiu Lake in Saskatchewan’s boreal forest.

Both beautiful spots on two different warm spring days.

These snow men and women sprang to life many miles from each other. Still, they share the same DNA and an indefatigable spirit of playfulness.

We encountered this Snow Siren in Vancouver in January. She was just barely hanging on to her dignity in the face of the rising west coast temperatures.

This couple proudly greets passersby here on Saskatoon’s Seventh Avenue.

Clearly a couple of characters out for a good time!

A few weeks ago, I posted to the blog a painting of the gondolas in the Grand Canal of Venice, inspired by a photo that I took from the vaporetto on the day of our arrival in the magic city.

If you’re interested in art, yourself, you might enjoy the backstory in the process of transforming the inspiration into a final product.

So, here are three images that tell the tale.

Firstly, the original photo snapped from the vaporetto as we floated our way towards our hotel.

Secondly, the pencil values sketch in black and white and shades of grey that I used to rough out a more edited composition and to work out the relative values of the darks and lights.

Thirdly, the final product – which of course contains a few surprises and diversions that unfolded as the paint went on the paper.

What better way to wile away a few hours on a cold Saskatchewan winter evening than by painting up a little main street Venice.

This painting: The Grand Canal – Waiting For The Gondoliers.

REFLECTION: So here we are in Vancouver, strolling along the walkway on English Bay near the Sylvia Hotel, headed to catch a ferry to Granville Island. Although it’s an overcast day and a bit on the cool side, there’s no rain and very little wind. It’s a great day to be alive and a fabulous day to be at liberty.

No sooner do I lift my eyes to the sky in appreciation, than … whack…smack…splat!  I’m assaulted full on (hair, cheek, chin, and neck) by a king-sized slimy torpedo of sea gull poop.

Apparently the gull was travelling at Mach One. The impact resembled a high-velocity stealth attack with a soaking wet dishrag. Any of you who recall having fought with siblings while you were supposed to be washing the supper dishes know exactly what I’m talking about!

It took me by surprise, to say the least. Sure, I’d noticed there were plenty of gulls in the air and pigeons in the trees. The possibility that one of them might have a contract out on me had never crossed my mind. (more…)

As someone prairie born and prairie raised, there is a certain set of sounds I associate with the middle of winter. The squeak of the snow under your feet at minus forty degrees. The sound of the wind howling around the corners of the eaves in the midst of a blizzard. The electrical whoosh of the Northern Lights in the still of the night.

Today I find myself on the west coast, enjoying Vancouver, in the deep of winter – learning a whole new set of sounds. As I walk the sea wall around Stanley Park, I am intrigued by a cracking and clacking.

It takes me a while to realize it’s the sound of the crows picking clams off the beach at low tide and dropping them on the sidewalk. The shells crack as they roll, opening up to provide a tasty lunch for the inventive birds.

Now that’s a sound I’ll never hear in wintry Saskatoon.

There’s nothing like a few hours spent with the paint brush recapturing the atmosphere of a Sweet September evening in Provencale France to spirit one away from the January snows of Saskatchewan.

As I recall, we strolled down Boulevard Marceau in St Remy de Provence past Espace Anikado just as the sun was dropping to the horizon. There was plenty of time to soak up the sites as we were really going nowhere in particular – just putting in time before the hour of our dinner reservation rolled around.

The Europeans eat later in the evening than we do here on the Canadian prairies. Perhaps it’s for just this reason – to give themselves the space of grace to relax and stroll the street, window shopping and people watching, in anticipation of a leisurely hour or two at table.

As I write this, I see the weather forecast for tomorrow in St Remy is sunny and 10 degrees Celsius. Perfect conditions for a stroll before dinner. Hmmm… certainly gives one pause.