Thirty Days of Noticing

Joining the River of Small Stones today - writing about small things I notice each day for thirty days

If you are new to Fiona's Small Stones, click on the graphic at right - then join us if you wish or just read along.

January 1, 2011

Isn't it interesting if you write the date in shortened form, it looks like this: 1/1/11

January 2

new computer - where the heck is the delete key?

January 3

slowly, slowly, the thick frost on the roof across the lane disappears in the afternoon sunlight.

January 4

the old grey raccoon makes his morning rounds through the brown stubble and weeds

January 5

at the Seniors' Centre this morning, doing my weekly volunteer shift, I saw this message scribbled on the inside of the door of one of the toilet cubicles - "if you sprinkle when you tinkle, be a sweetie and wipe the seatie"

January 6

they keep trying to convince me that my morning star is not a star, but the planet Venus - but they won't succeed

January 7

oh no, in this morning's mail - a reminder to make an appointment for my next mammogram - ouch!

January 8

after just two days of sunshine, the daffodil bulbs have popped out of the ground

January 9

David picked all the raisins out of his morning oatmeal porridge - he said they were tormented grapes - I think he saw that on an old movie

Haida Gwaii

Just back from the Queen Charlottes with a sketch of this magnificent totem. Haida Gwaii means "Islands of the People".

I recently read a book by China Galland called Longing for Darkness, subtitled Tara and the Black Madonna in which she described her ten-year journey to discover the meaning of darkness in the mysterious black images of divinity. She conducted a deeply personal investigation taking her from New Mexico through Nepal, India, Switzerland, France, Yugoslavia, and Poland - places where gods like Tara, the female Buddha of the Tibetan tradition, and the Black Madonna are venerated today.

I hope she is able soon to visit the totems at Masset where she might find another Black Madonna.

Picasso said

Lunch at San Remo

To our favorite Greek restaurant for souvlakis and ouzo. Dino came to Canada from a small village near Olympia 25 years ago.



Here he is with friends back in Greece

Canada Day

We traveled across the country by train. In Halifax, there is a wonderful Immigration Museum at Pier 1 ... stories and old pictures of folks coming into the country by boat. I guess people arrive here at an airport now.

There was a very old woman sitting on a bench nearby, and she was sobbing and sobbing. They spoke a language I didn't understand, but I think it was Polish. Apparently she'd arrived here in the 40's during WWII

Sketches in an Old Book

I found a set of four old books from my childhood hidden at the bottom of a box is the store room. I was going to give them to the neighborhood thrift store, but now I'm so glad I didn't.

The pages are thick and creamy - taking pen and ink and light watercolor.

The first one I've starting using for doodling and sketches is Old Swedish Fairy Tales by Anna Wahlenberg, translated by Antoinette DeCoursey Patterson. Published in 1925 (I think) - my memory of Roman Numerals is a bit shaky




There are three more - all with wonderful watercolor illustrations

Tanglewood Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne 1921

Old French Fairy Tales by Comtesse DeSegur 1920

The Book of Fables edited by Frederic Taber Cooper 1921


I suspect this is a project that will keep me going for a long long time

Poppies

in my neighbor's garden