I was finally settled in at Casa Vista Pacifica, and then it started to rain! Recalling that this is the tropics, we kept having tropical downpours which resulted in a lot of muddy side roads (of which we are on) and a lot of mildew and mold. There was also a leak in the roof which required several buckets being placed strategically!

Guess I should back up a bit with my timeline...

We packed up the truck, but David wanted to spend time on our property for the first 2 days of the Deer Hunt (saw tracks!), we then winterized and closed up the house and headed for the Border on November 4th. We were able to get to our place in 3 nights, which put us at Casa Vista Pacifica on Saturday just before siesta usually closes up the shops and businesses. A good thing too since we had to buy a new hot water tank!

Once the keys were found, the doors and windows opened, all the dishes etc washed and replaced into and onto cupboards, bed and bedding aired and made up, we were ready for a beverage and a bite to eat then bed! So good to be home!

David began early the next morning with the weed cutting and burning. He had three machetes on the go! I swear he drank gallons of water that first day alone. The humidity was high as well which didn't help with the burning of the weed piles. Then, the windows all had to be washed and the screens put back up. I keep telling myself we really did want big windows for The View but were we ever cursing having them those first couple of days.

Every day we would drive into town for supplies and for the all important checking of the email. We were waiting for the ok to start a renovation job that was taking forever for the paperwork to be finalized and David said we could wait in Mexico just as easy... who was I to argue? After 2 weeks the wait was over - David flew back to Ontario, missed his first flight (that's a whole other story!), got on the next one 3 hours later, at no charge, and has been there ever since.

While David was gone I vowed to cut down more weeds, put up the pool, wash the truck at home, clean more windows (the dreaded upstairs ones), slash the sides of the roadway etc etc.
Got weeds cleared from the pool area and cleaned out my flowers and shrubs from last year. Killed lots of scorpions and even one Black Widow spider. Saved 2 little snakes from the clutches of Blanca and Bob (cat and dog), released lots of moths and butterflies that kept coming inside through the wide open doors and windows (yeay, no mosquitoes!). Visited with friends in town for happy hour and dinner several times. While washing the truck at home I got 'chiggered' again. Man, do they itch! While having happy and dinner in town I got bit by mosquitoes. Three days later I came down with Dengue Fever. The only good thing about that was it was the mild form. The rain started the same day that the fever and chills and aches and misery came upon me. I couldn't have left the mountain even if I had been capable of driving! Thank goodness that my cel phone worked and I could keep in touch with friends who even offered to drive up to get me but I toughed it out. Bobbi and Blanca kept me warm and company that first miserable night. Couldn't believe I had to have on sweatshirt and pants, 2 blankets and a hot drink! This is where the story began, with the rain and drips. Enough of that. I recovered and am feeling much better.

Friends have gone to Copper Canyon for a week and I am housesitting for them in town. The dogs and Blanca the cat and I are readjusting to living in amongst people and cars and noise and firecrackers and buses and music and garbage all over again. But, its a nice change, a nice place, and a needed break from the mountain! Oh yeah, forgot to mention the generator going out on me up there too! It was an oil thing but got it straightened out with a phonecall to friend Charlie. Thanks Charlie for the logical and concise words of wisdom! Yuck though with all the spewed oil. While we enjoy living off the grid, its really good to have electricity on demand every now and then!

The long awaited first day of Painting Class was just this past week. I was thrilled to see dear and familiar faces once again. We have our Annual Christmas Show and Sale this Sunday already! Then, there is going to be a Mermaid themed Show at the local Gallery to which we have been invited to participate in. I have started several pieces for that and will post photos of the finished ones soon.

I am now into week 3 of waiting for my internet stick so I don't have to come down into town for emailing and writing in by Blog. The hoops to get this well advertised product is amazing. I won't jinx myself so suffice to say that the Manana mentality is alive and well down here still!

I am signing out here with wishes to everyone for a save and not too frustrating start to the winter season. Hear its a good one!
Hasta Luego Muchachos!

A Fall Day

What a beautiful day friend Andrea and I picked to spend photographing the lovely Fall colours that are surrounding us here in Victoria County. We packed a picnic (which we had at the Piers on Balsam Lake - the Trent Canal entrance from Mitchell Lake), we crossed a couple of fences, walked through a bit of mud, laughed a lot and just generally enjoyed rediscovering what an incredibly lovely area of the world (yes, that much!) that we live in. We also dropped off glass bottles to friend and fellow Studio Tour participant Heather Salzman for her to melt into fun gifts. More on that when I get them back.

Andrea couldn't believe the little enclaves of beauty that I showed her. The Dam near Victoria Road village (drains from Mitchell Lake at the east end). The Quarry which is flooded, near the Hydro station/Trent Canal near the Kirkfield Liftlocks. Old log farmhouses, shallow creeks with rushing waters, ponds with turtles basking in the sun (probably last day for that!), the causeway over Mitchell Lake and the High Level Bridge and the parkette by it, the Cemetery atop Pine Hill overlooking Kirkfield, Vasser's Hills across the lake (gorgeous colour!) where we used to Ski Doo from the Shallamar when we were kids, the old highway road that winds along the west side of Balsam Lake near Balsam Lake Provincial Park with its historical drystack limestone fence.

The end of our day was just as spectacular as the beginning - the Piers where we had our picnic lunch.We at on the concrete with Andy's mom's old quilt to cushion us against the cold. We were entertained for a couple minutes with the passage of the "Kawartha Spirit" tour boat cruising the Trent Severn Waterway which offers tours at this time of year to view the Fall Colours. What a great day for the few people who chose this mode to see them.

Following are photos from the day.

The last 2 photos are: The 3rd Conc, and then the end of the trail; our little cute cabin in the woods.

A picture of me with my art! Thanks again Andy!

The art of June Kenner with a customer looking it over while having brunch.

Hosts Sara and Kevin provided complimentary Mexican hot chocolate and a tasty humus and crackers for Touring folk to snack on as they wandered the Cafe and viewed the many different articles available for purchase.

VICTORIA COUNTY STUDIO TOUR

THIS weekend is the start of our local Tour. I am situated at a very "happening" venue, namely Harmony Cafe which is located just south of Kinmount on hwy 121.

The first day saw many eatery clientele, which also meant' many extra eyes perusing the art hanging on the walls.

Myself, and June Kenner - non objective artist in oils, have a large wall hung with our pieces, and I am at a table with my trusty laptop and miscellaneous smaller pieces that are bagged and available for purchase, photos, art prints, and notecards.

Thanks to girlfriend Andrea of Pandybear's Bed and Breakfast for taking the photos for me!

It was a great first day boost to have extra "girl power" to get me on my way.

David took me to the Toronto Zoo for my birthday and the second half of my present was to be able to take as long as I wanted while photographing the animals. The perfect day! I think I took over 200 photographs.

This Indian Rhino skin photo is so textured, almost looking like splats of mud (she did have mud all over her!) but the folds of skin and odd colouring were what really caught my eye.

The zebra foal is one of my original pieces of drawing I did while in Mexico last year. I used a China Grease pencil (marking pencil) to achieve the colour of black that I wanted. It took a long time as there is no erasing a grease pencil! This one I am keeping on my own wall, but will make available limited quantities printed on watercolour cold press stock, in 8 x 10 size which is just slightly smaller than the original. Each copy will have an unframed price of $75.00.

The photo of the Snow Leopard cat is one that I use as a desktop photo on my laptop. Her intense green eyes! I softened the edges because unfortunately she and her cubs were behind heavy wire caging and I didn't want that in my photo.

It feels like fall in the air here this morning on the 3rd. I want to go swimming at least a dozen more times though! All the tree leaves are rustling, some have yellowed and fallen. David only had to cut the grass once in the last 10 days. Even the Blue Jays are flocking and squawking, sounding like they are constantly scolding someone (most likely my cat Blanca). Such a "Fall" sound. Our past determination as to when we would be leaving for the south came from David, his "when the butter gets hard" brought many laughs to our friends as they knew we were living in our trailer and hard butter is always such a reality with cold nights - who wants it? But now, I have come up with a saying as well; "when the snow plows are put onto the truck harnesses". I think that's a pretty good indication that snow is on the way!
But, it is too soon to be discussing snow, so outside I go to enjoy a lovely morning walk with the dogs and Blanca.
Should you like to contact me to discuss other artwork or photographs that are available for sale, please contact me via email; data1999@gmail.com I look forward to your comments, and critiques!

We have been spending a lot of time renovating our own home - well, David has anyway!

A reconfigured front deck (3rd and final time!) that now has a roof and soon to be screened in completely, all new siding, a garage door so it can be used as a garage, a new man door on the garage, new soffit and fascia, and my contribution - new paint around the windows!

As we relax this afternoon here on the 3rd, the humidity has the temperature feeling a lot warmer than the 32 Celsius listed on the thermostat. We went up to the Burnt River park for a swim with the dogs this morning and we had the place all to ourselves! That was nice as the dogs got a chance to run and swim to their hearts' content. Bob is becoming quite the water dog! He likes to be the first one in though he also likes to pretend I am his personal flotation device so have to break him of that!

I have been drawing and working on framing some of my pieces in anticipation of the Studio Tour at the end of September. I am looking forward to it! I will be co-showing at Harmony Cafe with Sara's mom, June Kenner. It will give a nice flair to show my art alongside her contemporary canvases.

Severe thunderstorms and tornadoes did not happen in our little area of paradise. Others were not so lucky. Our condolences to those who lost a little boy, and to those who lost cherished property and effects.

Off I go to photograph the finished house! Wishing everyone a great weekend - enjoy summer while we have it! The butter will be hard soon.

Good Morning! Everything is so shiny, fresh and lush! The 3rd is not dusty at least and I also am guessing that because of the rain, it's also fairly quiet in the ATV department.

The Canada Geese that live in the pond the other side of Ledge Hill Rd have finished molting, and the goslings look like geese. The nasty old Gander still is vigilant though, and attacked my car bumper the other day as I slowed down to take a look at his kids. The very first time he did this was 2 years ago - I thought he was going to fly right in at me through the open truck window! I did learn my lesson from that day, I don't drive by with open windows anymore!

Lately, we have seen several Great Blue Herons in the goose pond. They are braver than I am. The watercolour I did of a Great Blue was from an estero (small river running into the ocean) in the town of Guayabitos, Mexico. He was very fierce looking - perhaps to keep the crocodile away?

This piece is a watercolour done on cold press 140lb stock.

Currently unframed.

I am pricing it unframed at $79.00 CAD.

Painting is a very intense process for me. I painted with pal/mentor Sandy the other day for 5 hours and it was like some kind of time warp, because it sure went by quickly! Not only did she throw me a couple of new techniques to practice ... she video'd me! Uck! Much chewing on paint brush! But, I did frame up the three little paint sketches I did ... they look great. Thanks Sandy!

These two photos are from a series I did this spring. The barn is on Somerville Conc 9. I love the lines and the weathered wood. There is a nostalgic feeling for me in regards to these photos, my friends' that own this property have just sold it. I took a lot of photos there. Guess they will provide the memories of good meals, good laughs, and good friends!

I have set dates finally for artistic gatherings at Bob Burns Books, in Fenelon Falls. Tuesdays at 10 am. For approximately 2 hours, and of course weather permitting. Should you feel so inclined, you are welcome to bring your personal supplies and perhaps a chair, and come be creative! Plus, Bob makes a mean cup of cappuccino! Oh, the oatmeal cookies made by his mom Norma are a wonderful companion to coffee. Hmmm ... better get going!

This peonie was in my sister's in law's backyard near Mitchell Lake.
I was totally thrilled that the noon day sun created deep enough shadows with the resulting background becoming almost completely black.
So far, this is my favourite photo of the summer. I will be featuring this photo at the Victoria County Studio Tour in the fall - but, it will also be available on note cards and as an 8x10 photograph.
My husband and I are considering severing some of our property up here on the 3rd. We are interested in building a new house that will be totally off the grid! So happens that where we are geographically located here in the "City", that the development charges are the least expensive! Guess there will be more blogging about this in the future!
Today I painted in the garden of Bob Burn's Books in Fenelon Falls (multi tasked as I was also doing laundry next door at the Solar Heated Laundromat!) and people who chatted with me were happy to see someone doing this, they all politely asked if they could disturb me, which I thought was so great, and so Canadian that I loved it. Was working on a piece with lots of cumulonimbus clouds in it. Seems to be all I'm seeing lately.
Let's keep wishing really hard for NICE summer weather!
Over and out, Tosia

The wonders of digital photography and other electronics have opened up many opportunities for myself. I can capture on "film" any subject that interests me, then download them to my laptop, and there I use a software program to edit and or discard with the greatest of ease. And, if those pictures really do something for me, I can then print them out onto photographic paper and instantly see a color hard copy. The same goes for my artwork - this is a bit more of a process as I currently no longer have a scanner, but thanks to friends (or Staples Business Depot) I can have my artwork scanned and save them to disc, or have them kindly emailed to me! (Can you guess what this picture is of?)

Of course I could also photograph my art then download directly to my camera but that doesn't quite capture the images as I would prefer. Now, I can give you a quick look at a piece of artwork I just finished.

With the guidance of friend Sandy and her excellent manner of passing along instruction to me, I did a quick sketch of her shed and then used the technique of laying down the dark colours first (oh! - that's a light bulb flashing in my brain), and very deliberately leaving white space.

I always want to paint the whole canvas, no little spot uncovered. Hmmm...

Sandy, thanks a lot for the help - can't wait for the next "flash"!

Today I am off for more camera fodder - that is, a 4H show that is being hosted by the owners of my old farm near Bobcaygeon. Here is a picture from previous horse show endeavours.

Software gives me the ability to play with the way a picture can be viewed as - in this case it is called "cut out".

I am offering my notecards with customized photos or copies of artwork. Discounted prices will be given to orders of 6 or more. Email me to discuss this.

Beside this paragraph is a photo of some of my work, and example pieces that are available for sale.

Currently, my art and photographs are available at Harmony Cafe, on Hwy 121 just south of Kinmount. A lovely drive for great food and an eclectic gift shop!

Wishing shiny happy thoughts to everyone.

OK, time to go enjoy the sun!

VICTORIA COUNTY STUDIO TOUR

Today I attended a Studio Tour meeting. We covered some interesting ground - in part; the Legion in Fenelon Falls has very graciously offered us space to display art at key times of the year (Christmas, Easter, Mother's Day) for Shows and Sales. This is something I feel should be utilized - it's free! My thought is any time that is given to an artist to show their "stuff", should be used. It makes me as an artist have: a goal date, concentration for a specific project, face time with the public (buying and otherwise), helps me understand what people are looking for in the way of purchases...

This meeting has also given me a chance to interact with several local artists, which is something I also feel is important to my personal artistic growth.

As another way to interact with other artists and the public, I put forth the idea of painting with other artists at a local intown business garden - where we were invited to partake of the tables and just hang out and do art. Again, for free! I am definitely up for this. Any other artists of any media that can easily be done out of doors with a minimum of space requirements is welcome to join me in Fenelon Falls. Dates are yet to be determined. Please contact me to discuss dates and the location.

Today I decided to finally make a blog to promote myself in cyberspace! This is a large decision, to display one's self so to speak, and it is with great expectations that my self published book/watercolours/photographs are enjoyed by people that I hope will want to obtain a permanent momento of my efforts.

This blog will show copies of some of my artwork, photographs, and random thoughts and Views. All the art and photos, as well as my book, are available for sale. I am currently making some of my photos available on notecards - these photos show local flora, architecture, locales, and also some from my travels in Mexico.

Welcome, and enjoy!