She kilted her lily

The goat is the Capricorn.  And yes, that's her kilt.  Where on earth did this come from?  Um, the creative genius that crawled from the fireplace.

signed, the willow

Kilted Lily

She's a Kilted Lily.  She's a Lady of the Lake.

So, my challenge again will to pull my creative genius from within the wall and create a piece of art from this inspiration.  Look at that dress...it's oh so familiar....


signed, the willow

@ the lake

This summer we went to the lake.  

*insert lake photo right about here*

Some grampas had naps during the Olympic coverage

Some grammas read bird books

Some kid made a snack

and even a fashion show!

back to the lake again....

Ah, the gratuitous sunset photo.

We made friends with a duck

We made some art

and sandcastles

We went for a boat ride and let the teenager drive (he had the boating licence)

Some of us went in a tube

...and most of us went to a party!

 and the best part is cousins and grandmothers and aunts and uncles....otherwise known as family.

My heart longs for home every moment, it cures all ailments.

signed, the willow

3 generations; same page

More often than not, my mother and I find ourselves doing/saying/thinking/dreaming the same things.  We think we're psychic.  Outsiders think we're psycho.  We don't care.

But get this, now my daughter, *Mila* is in on the act.

Last month, we all created art in our own ways.  Separately, yet simultaneously.

Beatles songs came forth.  Check us out.

Gramma [Golden Slumbers]

Willow [Hey, Bulldog!]

*Mila* [hybrid of Golden Slumbers]:

signed, the willow

My Mom Can Make Better Paper Things Than Your Mom

mom, issuing you another challenge! 

here is the link for you

eat drink chic

have fun

love, me

xxx

signed, the willow

Winning Big with your Ice Cream Recipes!!!

Now that I am in trouble with 'Lady of the Lake' I am not going to indulge you with any more of her anecdotes. For this week, anyhow. Here we go again with my boring stories about my vacation this summer.

This mansion atop an island all to itself is just slightly famous in my hometown. Riss' Island, as it was know, was owned by the Riss family for many years. Legend be told that Jimmy Hoffa's body was disposed of here. Whether or not that is true or not, I did have the luxury of playing pool on the billiards table there once with Jimmy Hoffa's pool cue. Enough already!

Here we have *Steve* and our charming daughter *Mila*, who insists on wearing that undersized life jacket because it is pink, swimming in Abram Lake.




Making sandcastles with gardening tools and sticks. We're primitive.



Making new friends is so important in the Sioux Lookout summers. Somehow, I always envied the kids that visited Sioux Lookout each summer. Each summer they would enjoy the beaches, lakes and blueberries and each winter they could get the hell out of there and enjoy city life. Now my kid is one of them, a 'citiot'. My brother and sister-in-law take full credit for inventing the word 'citiot". If you have to look it up, you might just be one.



All good things must come to an end. Maybe we should have had another child, just to see if he/she would look like me. *Mila* is the spitting image of her dad, and acts just like me. Aren't I lucky? It's like having *mini-Steve* scream her demands at me. Yay!
Now that we are home, we finally bought that ice cream maker. Yeah, I know. Now the challenge is going to be finding great ice cream recipes that involve little fat, little egg yolks and tons of flavour. Here's my challenge to you: Comment here on what your favourite flavour of ice cream is and if you have a great recipe and name it after me, then I'll make up a custom prize for you. Really!


On the topic of making things up, *Steve* made up this google sports calendar blog and I have to share with you.


signed, the willow

Overheard in the Bush

There is a fable in the land of Sioux Lookout that if you drink the water of Pelican Lake, you will always return to Pelican Lake.

And here is the proof:

Pelican Lake

Pelican Lake

Pelican Lake


I'm having trouble getting away from you Pelican Lake.

And now for something completely different.

A true story. Overheard in the bushes with some blueberry picking going on.

A couple from Sioux Lookout were out doing some berry picking when out of nowhere a dude walks along and strikes up a conversation. Remember, this is the middle of nowhere, just outside of Sioux Lookout. The couple are from Sioux Lookout or, as we'll refer to it here, SL. Ready? Set. Go!

Green Bay Dude (retells the story of his life): I'm from Green Bay, Wisconsin. Do you know where that is?

SL man (speaking in perfect English): Of course we do.

Green Bay Dude: Where are y'all from?

SL man and woman: Sioux Lookout.

Green Bay Dude: Never heard of it.

SL man: Well, you're in Sioux Lookout right now. How did you get here?

The SL man has to now describe Sioux Lookout to Green Bay Dude.

Green Bay Dude: Oh! SOO Lookout. Y'all must be French! I didn't understand the accent.

And then off he went, on his merry way, through the backroads of Blueberry country in Sioux Lookout. Imagine the tales he will tell his countrymen about the French people he met in the bushes of Soo Lookout! By the way Wisconsin Dude, the language spoken to you in the bushes of Sioux Lookout was in fact ENGLISH. It is derived from the country of ENGLAND and spoken in Canada as a legitimate language. It has not been bastardized into the "American" language spoken by y'all that does not include the phrase "eh", eh?

signed, the willow

The Summer that Never Came

Internet, meet the summer that never happened.

Well, there was this one day when the sun shone bright and so we all dropped what we were doing and hopped in the boat for a ride.

Meet our Captain:

His First Mate:

The Event Planner:

The Passenger:

More of Vacation '09 to come.

signed, the willow

When Summer Finally Arrives, I promise to take off this parka

Hayley, who is 13 (making her 91 in human years), is both blind and deaf. What fun to see her walk past an axe.

While the beach is still covered up in water, why not have a glass of wine while roasting marshmallows over the hibachi!

You can see the lake through the trees. You can probably see our reflection in the picture too, since we keep taking pictures of the outdoors from inside since it's only +9 outside.
(all photos come from *Mila's* camera)

signed, the willow

Happy Mother's Day Yesterday

Yesterday, I was so damn busy going to playgrounds from Oakville to Waterdown that I was unable to post a Happy Mother's Day message to my mom. That's her above. Both pictures are of her. If you know what I look like you'll know that my mom and I look a lot alike. Except our baby pictures. Turns out, I was "lightbulb head" like my dad.

My mom is indescribable. She worked so hard at looking after my brother and I. She never let things stand in her way, she just trudged on. Now, I am making her sound like a soldier. It's not like that. She is both modest and kind, she went out of her way to do things for us that I don't know that I do as a mother. I'm far more selfish. In fact, my whole generation is and ironically we are all becoming parents later in life. So what IS our excuse?

Every Mother's Day I flop out on a gift for her. What can I get her that is meaningful, stylish, cool, useful, functional, artsy-fartsy and sentimental? I give up, what? This year she wanted an antique barn star. One of those old tin barn stars? I can't find one anywhere. I guess I live in the land of urban conventionalism, my brother might be able to help out as he lives in the land of rustic and wild. Instead, I got her this:

What the hell is it, you are asking yourself. It is a letter "L". Now that I look at it, I probably could have made one myself. Here I go again. But it is faux snakeskin and I don't know where on earth I could buy faux snakeskin vinyl paper. The problem lies in the initial "L". She bears no initial with the letter L. Although, she does get nicknamed Lainie or Lady of the Lake. I bought it to symbolize LAKE. She could put it down at her beach and it would stand in for the word LAKE. Because in case you haven't noticed there is a vast body of water down at the beach, it is called a LAKE. This is why I give up on myself. There is too much insanity in my wee brain to process anything other than LAAAKE.

Here are some other important mothers of the day. My Gran. She's my mom's mom. And that is my mom in her lap, with a wet nappie.In this picture, you have my Dad's family. That's my Dad with his lightbulb shaped noggin in the front row (striped shirt) and my grandmother is second from the right.
Happy Mother's Day to my mother, and my grandmother, and all the mothers across the globe. You are all sweet even if you do let your children watch Dora and use their outside voices in indoor venues.

signed, the willow

One of these things is not like the others

Why did the Ken dolls always lose their heads?

signed, the willow

I'm too shy to tell you how shy I am

I'm working up the courage to take a huge leap forward with my artwork. That step is to sell it. To let it go. To release it to the world and expose myself to all sorts of criticism, judgement and honesty. To reveal my reasoning, logic, emotions and my soul to the world. Or rather, that small corner of the world who will actually see it. Then I found Gatochy's eloquent expression of how I felt and more importantly, how I need to let go of my magical imaginary friend who will never ever unlock my drawer of creations. If you ever feel shy or can't understand how others may feel when they describe themselves as shy, read this. Go! Now. Read it, dammit.

This January 1st when we ring in the new year what will you resolve to do better or different this year? I've decided to take *Gatochy's* advice and let go of the ideal I have of my wonderful magical friend who will rescue me and unlock my castle doors and release me and my talents to the world. For I have my own Prince Charming who believes in me. I also have my biggest fan, Lady of the Lake, who can offer me no criticism - since she gave me life and sees no harm in calling me an Artist. My newest fan, the little keyholder in my life, *Mila* can unlock my doors. For she can see in behind all those castle walls I have built and erected around myself. She believes in me, the way I believe in my mother. The love that I crave is there. My "knight in shining armour" has been the realization that I can let the fantasy, of the knight taking my canvasses to an art show, go. Thank you *Steve*, *Lady of the Lake*, *Mila* and *Gatochy* (Mariana) for expressing what I need to do...let go. Two Thousand and Nine will be the year I resolve to release myself from my chrysalis and create a new ideal for who I can be, rather than who I can't.

signed, the willow

Snowy Cupcake

I love a good cupcake photo. Thanks Lady of the Lake.

signed, the willow

Would the Author of this Book Please Step Forward?

On my fabulous vacation this summer, I am sharing space with my mentor and fabulous artist, Lady of the Lake. She's so marvelous and so are her altered books. You can look, but you can't touch.

signed, the willow (from the lake)

The View From Here

On Thursday morning, Lady of the Lake woke up to this at 6 a.m.

On that same Thursday morning, Willow Of The Wood woke up (at 6 a.m.) to this (at 7 a.m.).

Let's go back to that lake again.....

Then this came along and perturbed the Lady of the Lake with it's noise and the ripples that would cause the waves to kiss her toes at the shoreline.

And Willow Of the Wood?

Yes, she gets a "Johnny-on-the-spot" within earshot behind her house. Yep. And it faces her when she washes dishes, wakes up and looks out her bedroom window, runs on the treadmill, sits on her new deck, picks up dog poo in the backyard, eats her dinner and teaches *Mila* how to read. Oh and she looooves how there is no hand washing going on in there, but there is newspaper reading! Only men would think that it would be perfectly acceptable to take a newspaper into the porta-potty with them. Thank you "Mighty Machine Men". Lady of the Lake, your lake is calling the Willow's name and she's coming over!!!!

signed, the willow