Dappled Air

After 8 years of listening to Hawaiian music online ( KKCR-Kaua'i & Hawaiian105 -Honolulu) I started to understand some words. Now after 10 years I decided that it was time to get a Hawaiian Dictionary. Given the fact that I live in Nova Scotia it wasn't that simple. I didn't want to buy one unseen, so I went to the local Chapters bookstore to see what they had available. That's when I found out that there were none in the store, but I could order through the instore kiosk or online. I checked what was available and ordered 3 to be sent to the store. So when I was notified yesterday that they had arrived it was time to have a look. This morning I showed up at the store with picture ID and opened the bag and looked at each dictionary to find the one that I wanted. It turned out to be quite easy. The first one was not indepth enough, the second I didn't like either, but the 3rd one was exactly what I had in mind. Now, I can start off the New Year with my Hawaiian...

My beading calendar for December 16 had the pattern for this Christmas star as earrings. I did not have the beads the pattern called for and decided to experiment with the beads I had at hand. I ended up with a 2 inch star that was very easy and simple to make.

The cold air has arrived much earlier than usual and yesterday it felt with the windchill like it was below -20°C. I decided not to venture outside, but the birds did not have that advantage. Around lunch time I was looking out my kitchen window and saw this blue jay all puffed up sitting in a pine tree trying to stay warm. I grabbed my camera and put it on full zoom which turned out to be 24x digital. Trying to find the bird at that zoom was no easy task then the next step was to stay still and not shake to take the picture. To my big surprise the picture turned out very well.

Last Sunday we were invited to an open house and exhibition of paintings by a neighbour on our street. I had heard that Helen was a painter, but had never seen her work. I fell in love with her beautiful paintings. Many of them of the scenery of the Canadian Maritimes. The one thing that struck me the most were her unusual painted light switch plates in the shape of cats. I found out that she and her husband love cats, much to my detriment, I am allergic to them. I went looking for paintings by Helen Tupper online and just happened to come across this article from November of this year about her. Talking about light switch plates, in 1998 I started painting my plain switch plate covers and one thing led to another. Eventually, my father-in-law suggested that I paint a 'boy' switch plate, which I did with the boy strategically placed on the cover.

I have been so busy that I haven't had the time to put up new posts, but I have been taking pictures. I don't leave the house without my camera any more, because just when I think there is nothing new to capture, you guessed it, there is something. I took this picture a week ago. There was no snow in sight and it looked lovely even with the green grass. Now a week later it is a totally different story.

I don't really keep track when the ice forms on Oat Hill Lake. I seem to remember that last year it was at the end of November, this year I just noticed today that on the Western end of the lake, the shallowest part, the ice is starting to form. Also when walking on the grass, the earth does not have any give any longer and is freezing up also. I remember one year the lake was still open on February 14, but eventually froze up and the ice was thick enough to skate on it after all.