today...

...is my nephew's birthday...he's SUCH a gorgeous little boy,turning 2 today!!!Happy Birthday little Mr.M!

The drawings above are for a series of canvases which I'm painting for a friend's Natural Health Centre in Toronto called Pure Health...she hosts Artists work on her walls...



We're all feeling a little under the weather here...probably not enough fresh air...(I can hear you Mum!!!) So today will be a quiet day, painting,drawing,lego building with the girls. Miss A sounds like a Seal with her cough...and she can't stomach much these past couple of days...
WHEN will Spring arrive here?

cloudy HUGS,
Char.x

Happy Birthday big Sis!

Happy Birthday Big Sis...it was SO wonderful to spend the day with you, your little M and your Hubbie M...

wishing ALL your Dreams come true.

love ya!

HUGS

Char.x.

Twas cold and blighty...

Well...we had a good day at the fayre...LOTS of school Mums and kids running around.

Fortunately for Sis and I the rain stopped 20 minutes before setup time....which was really a blessing seeing as our stand was outside...we however did NOT see the Sun which was behind the roof top of one of the school buildings...(that is also one of the school buildings behind moi in the picture...isn't it quaint!)

As you can see from the photo(or not...sorry I think 55 minutes to wait for the upload is WAY to crazy, we'll try again another day),rather cold I am...all bundled in my puffy jacket...having forgotten hats and mitts!

I sold a couple of prints, and my sister did a grand old job selling the Farm's wares.

I'm looking after him in the morning with the girls so...that will be FUN...lots of giggles. His Mummy, Sis, is going to the SUPER market to purchase ingredients for my Mama's Birthday tomorrow.

Lots of photos for tomorrow.(if I can upload then!)

It's been a good day, and I'm happy to be here with family ...but am missing my most beloved part of my Life...mucho. Hoping Canada is not too fridged tomorrow!

Last but not least...here is a photo of 2 portraits I painted for my parents of their parents a couple of years ago...again I had to imagine colours as the photos were black and white...I love having them hanging on my parents walls...yes,they live in a log cabin.

It's very warm and cozy.

HUGS....until tomorrow!(which is now until today...as this Internet connection is a disaster!!!!Still uploading photos...sorry)

20 minutes later and they are still loading...oh...I know I have said this in a previous post...but HOW I appreciate what speed we have in Canada!

Ok...I'm trying one at a time...seems to finally be working better...

Later today::Birthday Bonanza!!!

Char,ON

P.S. HAPPy BIRTHDAY Mummy!

Good to be home...

it really is good to be home...
Do you ever feel like you do so much and try to cram as much as you can in a weekend? Especially the last few of the Summer...because along comes Winter and so many weekends are spent at home.
Well the whole Summer has been crazy...and as much as I love our road trips, but I adore coming home.
The girls seem to relax more at home, they have all their toys and books...it's tough trying to gather items which will occupy them,toys,books,dolls,stickers,crafts...to bring with us every time we head out for the day.
Yesterday(Saturday) we went to the "drop Zone"...my husband had to pick up a rig(parachute) to practice packing on so he can complete his course.
So we were there a good 4 hours.
I ended up sketching my little nephew Morton...he looks a little Alien in this sketch, I haven't met him yet...but know from the pictures which I receive he has big piercing eyes...striking little fella! (I CAN'T WAIT to meet him at xmas)
The sketch is for Matt,my brother in-law...his Birthday was yesterday...Happy Birthday Matt!

Today we left for Picton,Ontario...where my husband had a couple of friends slalom racing their cars...and asked if he'd like to try it.

SO...up again,prepping for the whole day out...our girls are such great travellers...but they also knew that we were going to Bird House City!

We've been a few times, the last time was 2 years ago...so it was new and exciting for J...little miss A couldn't wait to see them again...it's a large conservation area where different artists have made replicas of historical buildings in and around Picton...and others such as this Horse...Miss J's fave.

Of course Miss A chose the castle as her favourite!

So...I'm not sure if you've all noticed the AMOUNT of bugs this year....but when we were at the raceway this afternoon...we were surrounded by crickets and grasshoppers...

One landed on J's hand..."Look Mummy" she said...followed by...

her completely freaking out because it wasn't going anywhere and was making itself quite comfortable on her body...I'm so glad I caught it on camera...because she was pretty upset...but know she will be talking about it for months.(that's just what she does)
Somebody caught a pic of me sketching...haha...see how I hold my pen...I always have and always will...teachers at school would be constantly trying to correct it...as I do with little miss A...as she has the same issue...funny what gets passed down.

I don't think I have ever drawn a car before...makes me chuckle a little...as I had to add miss A's little baby she pushes or carries everywhere with her...just to pretty it up a little. I like this sketch and am happy with the wonky,wobbly lines...I wasn't concerned too much about precision...it was a fun exercise.

AND...finally, from the bugs eye view...our girls watching the cars zig-zag through the slalom course. LOVE this shot...am going to get it printed for sure.

Wow...that was a long post...if you got through it...thanks for hanging in there!

How was your weekend? Did you get up to much?

OH...

Make sure you enter the 500+Giveaway I have going on if you haven't yet!!!

AND remember we have another Tell All Tuesday happening this week...check back to see who it is!

I'm off to get me some chicken soup...

Bye,

Char,On

English cousins...

we miss them all terribly!
It's funny to think that one day all their age differences won't determine their relative size.
I have a feeling Tristan (far left) and our Jordan (with the pompoms) will tower over all the other cousins.
Things could change...my brother was always tiny, very similar to Ashley's frame...and at 15 he sprouted to 6ft 2inches...we have a lot of height in our Family...Scandinavians seem to be naturally tall. My Dad is 6ft 2 and Mum is 5,11, Aunt is 6,2...my grandparents were tall too...and what did my sister and I get...a mere 5ft 4.5 inches.
Stick around...hey, in a few years this sketch could look VERY different.

We had a wonderful weekend...celebrating Birthdays, visiting wonderful cities...and spending quality time together...my kind of weekend!
We went to Kingston again because hubbie was scuba diving out there.
Kingston is one of the oldest cities in Canada, and has so many beautiful Century homes...I would have loved to have taken pictures but it poured yesterday...the girls and I spent most of the morning running for cover from those OH so LARGE raindrops...you know the ones where if you step out in the rain you feel like someone just dumped a bucket full of water on you...
We still managed to catch the Antique's market and buy a few TinTin comic books and a few Dr.Suess books for the girls. Classics seem to be treasured here in this home. Ashley loves comics...and the TinTin books captured her imagination for a good few hours on our trip yesterday...that's when you know you've bought something worthwhile.

I'm cleaning the house today, getting ready for the start of school next week...I feel like I need to purge a little.
I realized that I use maybe a 1/3 of my wardrobe(I have T-shirts still from 9 years ago), and the girls are growing out of their clothes...
I'd like to keep some of the girls fabrics for future craft projects...but what to do?

Any ideas friends? Have you saved your kids pretty dresses or tops because you couldn't part with the memory?
I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Char,On

Once Upon a Time for Morton...

This is a gift for my little nephew Morton.He's new to our World and I won't see him for a few months, so perhaps this little painting could represent a little part of me...always thinking of him.

DON'T forget to enter my giveaway...tonight at 11pm is the deadline-I'll be picking a winner tomorrow!
Good luck to you all!
Charlotte,Ontario

Once Upon a Horse

Once Upon a Time "Horse" is dedicated to my little nephew "Morton" who was born this morning in England. A big CONGRATS to my Sis(well done Boo) and her Husband...I am working on a special one just for Morton...but for now...Welcome to our World little guy-you have entered into a family full of love and you will always be treasured each and every day of your long and healthy Life-I can't wait to meet you...although I know it may be a while :-(

EVERYONE....Don't FORGET to enter my April Giveaway!
Only 24 hours left to enter!!!
See the post below the Polar Bear to leave your entry.
Ciao for now...I may be posting my Rhino later.
Charlotte,Ontario