Travel

Reflection: We’re back from my 60^th Birthday Voyage. Our adventures took us from an overwater bungalow in Tahiti, to a South Seas cruise through French Polynesia, across the high seas to stops on four Hawaiian islands, then across the rest of the Pacific to spend a few days in San Francisco and the Napa Valley. It ended with a birthday party back here in our garden in Saskatoon.

It was a relaxing journey (ten days completely at sea will do that) with a few adventurous forays including: kayaking up the Faaroa River in Raiatea, snorkeling with the sharks and stingrays in Moorea, and diving to the sea floor in an Atlantis submarine off Kona.

I enjoyed the time away, AND I’m happy to be in your company once again. I hope that the month of May has treated you all very well.

The arrow of appreciation flies both ways. It’s a lesson in gratitude that revealed itself twice during our recent travels.

#1: During our stop on Oahu, a local hula dance troop, consisting mostly of youngsters (perhaps 6-10 years of age) danced and entertained on board ship. If you’ve ever been at a grade school concert, you know how charming those young’uns can be. This group was all that and more.

Of course, they got a standing ovation from the crowd at the end of their program. But they didn’t let things end there. As their troop leader commented on how much they appreciated the opportunity to perform for us, these young dancers moved through the lounge shaking hands with members of the audience, offering their personal thanks for being given the opportunity to share what they love to do. (more…)

REFLECTION:  It’s pretty easy for me to take a spin on my high horse when it comes to technology use and misuse. A while ago I found myself feeling self-righteous when a FB acquaintance posted a status update that read, “I’m really enjoying celebrating my xth anniversary – sharing dinner with my husband.” I thought to myself, you’re not really celebrating with your husband, you’re hanging with your FB pals and chatting with your Twitter buddies.

But, as they say, the chickens do come home to roost. Within days of the aforementioned FB post, my own husband and I were on vacation, lunching in Bar Harbor, Maine. These days, I always travel with my sketchbook, and have been known on occasion to lobby for a restaurant, or call dibs on a particular seat at a table, based on what there is to sketch while we’re waiting for lunch. This was one of those days.

No sooner had I placed an order for a lobster roll and a glass of wine, than I whipped out my art supplies, zeroed in on my target and started to sketch. About 5 minutes into the sketching, Dave posed this question, “So, tell me. How does a sketchbook differ from a Blackberry?”

As they say in the trade:  Busted!

What he was really saying – and what he did go on to say in the clearest and kindest way possible – is that it was lonely on the other side of the table.  (more…)

Montreal – always a unique experience. Here are a few bits from our recent 24 hour visit.

We stayed in Plateau Mont Royal area at Auberge de la Fontaine near Parc La Fontaine on Rue Rachel. The park and its green spaces are great for a stroll – and the whole area is uber bike friendly. Pictured here is the fountain itself – at the end of a broad walking boulevard.

Also, pictured here –  a little wildlife – in the form of a free range three year old intent on communing with a neighborhood squirrel.

Speaking of communing, I enjoyed my chat with the Whisperers. Les Chuchoteuses is the official name for this fabulous bronze sculpture by Rose-Aimee Belanger on Rue Saint Paul in Vieux Montreal.

If you’re down in the area, I highly recommend dropping info for lunch at Olive Et Gourmando – a sweet little bistro. I’ve eaten there several times over the years and never been disappointed.

Stumbled across this pint-size sculpture in a residential sidestreet. I call her InnukChick. Quite the wig! And if I’m not mistaken, that is a bonafide chicken foot on the end of her walking stick!

And, finally, a sketch I did from the balcony of our room – looking down on the balcony next door. While I did this sketch, 5 squirrels made forays up and down the staircase. Nervy little fellas!

Always something interesting to see and do in one of Canada’s great cities.

I spent a couple of days travelling to and working in Halifax last week. What a beautiful city with so much to explore.

I was greeted by a fabulous sunset on the day of my arrival. Have to say those Atlantic sunsets can easily rival the beauty we see on the prairies.

The next day, with a few daytime hours to spare before getting to work, I decided to adventure to an area that I had not visited before. Hydrostone Market is a block long village that was one of the first to be rebuilt after the Halifax explosion of 1917. It was originally designed with concrete bricks and tree lined avenues to recreate an English style suburban garden feel.

It was recently restored in 1993 and now you’ll find a vibrant community of shops and restaurants. I strolled a few of the bystreets – where an ivy covered veranda caught my attention. Set up my stool and my sketchbook and captured it in the morning sun.

Enjoyed an almond croissant and coffee at Julien’s Bakery. It was fun watching the locals come and go for their morning visits and errands.

Shopped the village strip, and then settled down at Epicurious Morsels for a late lunch of smoked salmon, seared scallops, on a bed of spinach with a bacon vinagrette. Gave me time to catch another sketch of the vibrant street scene.

Hydrostone is a bit off the beaten path – but  a great place to spend a few hours in the autumn leaves and sunshine. Thank you Halifax.

I’m spending the week here in Bend, Oregon, at the Art In The Mountains program. Taking a watercolor class from well known Wisconsin artist, Karlyn Holman.

Bend is a beautiful high desert location. Too bad we’re not spending time painting plein air. There are such beautiful landscapes around us.

I flew in a day early to have some time to explore and did get out to see a waterfall on the Deschutes River and some of the countryside around. Bend, itself, is a sweet city – very walkable and picturesque in the downtown and Old Mill areas.

The class is quite experimental in nature – in addition to watercolor, ink, prints, collage. All kinds of new materials and ideas in the mix. Good for stretching the creative mind and spirit. Thought you might like to see a couple of bits from the first couple of days.

Following our time in the Cotswolds and London, we spent a week in the south of France and another week in Paris. Here are a sampling of sketches from our journeys in France.

This window balcony was one of many on the buildings directly across the street (Rue Bernadine) from our room in the Abbatial Saint Germain in Paris. I love the flower pots on the window sills and balconies throughout the city.

It was fun to watch an older lady in her curlers and housecoat tending her geraniums each morning – watering with care, but pulling off dead leaves and blossoms and tossing them into the street below.

This is the entrance to Chez Pauline, the suite that was our main home for our week in Provence. This is one of many gites available for rent at Mas St Antoine in Rognonas near Avignon.

The gardens are beautiful and always changing – tended with care by the Kiwi owner-managers, Kerryn and Kerrin. You can see more comments about our stay and about the Mas itself on my Trip Advisor review.

This sketch was done on a sunny morning in Paris. We perched in the shade of one of Paris’ secret parks on Ile de la Cite:  Square de Vert-Galant.

This is looking down the Seine towards Pont Des Arts and the Institute of France. Houseboats are anchored along the edge, and the River Cruise Boats (les bateaux) ply their way up and down the waterway from morning through night.

In April of this year, I took a painting class from watercolor artist, Judi Whitton, in the Cotswolds area of England. The weather was outstanding – one of the warmest pre-Easter weeks on record for that part of the world. And the scenery is superb. Every time you turned around – an interesting vista, an engaging building, a painting in the making. Here are several of the images that I captured on my visit.

The first image is Brook House in South Cerney – the village where the class was held. This home was just next door to the town hall which was home base for us for the week. Most every house in the Cotswolds has a name – not just a number. What a cool way of honoring the geography and those who came before. Must drive pizza delivery guys crazy!

The second image is from the Cisely Hill neighborhood in Cirencester.

The vine crawling up and across the front of this home is a wisteria.

We were just a shade too early to see it in full bloom.

Although we got a taste of what that might be like as the wisteria on the house across on the sunny side of the street was spectacular.

Picture purple and lilac blossoms draped generously across the cotswold stone.

The third image was painted on a sunny Sunday afternoon in London.

This building is on the edge of Kensington Gardens in Hyde Park.

We had just strolled the open air art market on Bayswater Road, admiring the paintings on offer, chatting with the artists, and picking up a couple of sweet petite watercolor treasures to bring home with us.

A faithful Pause Blog reader commented yesterday that she hadn’t seen much of my painting in recent Pause Blog postings.

And I realized that, although I have often posted sketches to my Facebook Photo Albums, I really haven’t shared that much through the blog lately.

So, for those of you who are interested in what’s happening on the Pauseworks Art Front, I’m going to attempt to rectify that.

Today, I’m posting a couple of sketches from our recent lakeside get-away to Waskesiu.

Over the next few days, I’ll post a few sketches from our spring travels to England and France.

Hope you enjoy them all!

REFLECTION & ACTION: Over the years, most of our family vacations have included an emotional meltdown by one member or another at some point during the trip. Our most “memorable” vacations have featured multiple meltdowns, triggered by lapses in communication or thwarted expectations.

One vacation meltdown occurred over something my traveling partner couldn’t control. Really, what are the chances he would consciously choose to have a killer cold coupled with zero enthusiasm on our only day on the beautiful Greek island of Mykonos?

Nevertheless, there I was-stuck in a snit-actively making a rough day worse. The speaker in me tried to talk it out. The writer in me grabbed my journal and scratched out my frustrations on paper. Neither approach tempered my bad humor.

It was only a change in my frame of reference that turned my mood around. (more…)

Not all parks are manicured and green. This Court of Honour space in the Jardins du Palais Royal in Paris is unlike any public play ground I’ve seen anywhere.

The entire courtyard is ‘paved’ with stone and concrete. ‘Planted’ throughout the area are black and white striped posts and pillars, varying in height and width.

On the day we visited, the place was literally teeming with life. Adults reading, resting, and soaking up the sun.

Children racing and chasing each other in their self-invented games or enjoying solo moments with books or their own thoughts. Not  a tree or flower in sight – but extraordinary all the same.