Paint Party Friday

I miss Paint Party Friday. Some bloggers burn out, get bored or too busy, or move on, which is what one expects. I've met some lovely people (virtually) through this PPF artistic blog. Rain has been an inspiration with her Thursday's Art Date, living remotely as she does, she sketches, makes cheese, grows her own veggies (I have so failed at that recently), and teaches people what she knows.  

We took a drive last week. I spotted this little barn. 

First stab at it.

I was similarly inspired by Landscape Artist of the Year, created by BBC. We've been watching them at dinner time, as we settle into the evening. As I researched this, I found there is a Canadian version! 

Anyway, I finally managed to sit down and sketch. I am happy with myself.

 

Now, you may wonder what we retirees need to relax from... watching relaxing art shows. The news is discouraging, of course. We are feeling like hermits, but I'm happy with that. We still do not feel comfortable eating indoors in a restaurant, and will continue to mask. This thing isn't done. 

What else weighs us down? We've switched banks, and it's taken a month to get that going and convert things over. I've been banging my head on the wall trying to get this done, having dealt with CRA tax issues – I was triggered by the whole process. I was in no state of mind to do it a few months ago. I worked so hard on this online, it almost defeated me, but the CRA stuff is settled and our medical deductions were finally accepted for 2020. 

We felt that we would get better benefits from a new bank. I've made progress, having managed to switch over my CPP and OAS automatic payments to the new bank account, as the government web site won't allow this right now. 

JB went into the local federal government office to switch over his CPP and OAS to the new account. This was our last resort. A big, burly security guard (there were 2 of them, and 2 employees) asked his purpose in the foyer of the local, and he stated his goal. He sat and waited for service. All was done by a clerk who lives just down the road from us. Yea small towns!

Anyway, JB headed home after picking up some groceries, looking for the snapping turtle he'd seen at the side of the road on the way in to town. It was still there. Traffic was brisk, he was brave and he guarded it, trying to get people to avoid it, hoping for help. He cannot bend and lift with his back issues. They were heroes. Look for the helpers, said Mr. Rogers. 

Snapping turtle heroes!.mp4 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Finally, speaking of paintings: Caitlin was in Toronto for a two-day work conference. She was meant to get on the 18:10 flight back to Ottawa last night. The flight prior to theirs didn't leave until 18:45, nearly 2 hours late. The incoming plane, the one she was to get on, didn't arrive until 19:40. They cleaned it up, they boarded, and waited for take off. The thunderstorm rolled in! Another delay.

They had to wait, for safety reasons. The sky was a painting. They finally left at 21:00 hours, only three hours late. We were all watching her progress, texting back and forth. She was happy to get home, having done some great networking, and socializing with folks she either hasn't seen in years, or on on Zoom!

Have a wonderful weekend, all! 

Life cycles fascinate me: Monarch, Tussock Moth!

From my teaching days, when mind maps were the thing, I've kept up my skills using my own critter photos and research.

My inspiration

My cyberfriend, The Weaver of Grass, asked her regular readers to reflect on who inspires us. Click on her name to visit others.
I began to reflect on this assignment. Maya Angelou came to mind: fry cook, dancer, actress, journalist, educator, television producer, and film director, as well as author and poet. But she is well-lauded elsewhere.

In adversity, my blogger friends rise above their daily lives; they inspire me:

• A 24-year old, fighting cancer.
• Latane, who placed her husband with dementia, whom she's loved for 60 years, in a secure LTC home.
• Mog ("You hear some funny things when you are deaf"), who is sharing her story of hearing implants
• Rob, who in the twinkling of an eye, was transplanted and uprooted from Canada to the UK
  

All of the bloggers I follow inspire with their photo images and reflections on life.
The people I follow show me that every person is special, that beauty exists in everyone, in everything, and in every part of the world. They show it is a small world.

I am inspired by people, places and things: a beautiful piece of art, a photo, a precious turn of phrase, bodies of water, a reflection on life that illuminates the human condition.

Many people I see in the media have been singled out for awards and recognition after inspiring others. Everyone says nice things about these influential, public, high achievers. Of course, at your funeral you are home free. They find good things to say about you then. You're sure to win some good words, even Michael Jackson had some good press!

I am inspired by my husband who had the dignity to provide personal care for my father, while I was working, when Dad could not longer determine the function of a knife or fork. I lauded him in my book!

I am inspired by my adult children, who have made their way in this difficult world. They educate me, teach me how to be a better person. Collectively, they have fought ignorance, pollution, failure, bullies, and all found jobs in a difficult economic climate.

My heroes, too, are the single women who carry on in adversity. Alone, impoverished, uneducated, on hourly wages, no benefits, without enough money for basics for themselves, let alone their children. Yet, they get up every day and fight for their lives. I have taught many of their children and, I hope, made a difference. I remember them all.

My career over, I seek inspiration in the creatures that surround me. You can read about them at My Muskoka! I believe that the universe sends us who or what we need at the time. Every day you will find inspiration around you. You just have to open your eyes.
~~~~~~~~~~~

Appears a hero in our eyes.
--Jonathan Swift, satirist (1667-1745)

"No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main."
--John Donne, from Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions, 1624