
This painting from a few years ago seems now quite unintentionally to capture the times we are living through with hope and light expressed in the colours battling the surrounding swirling darkness, as petals fall. Tell me I’m wrong and it’s just another lovely bouquet.
Painting
“reflections and thanks” revisited
I posted this photograph six years ago today in response to The Weekly Photo Challenge that so many of us used to be part of. Given how we are all supporting each other in the blogosphere, the world’s safest place to practice social distancing during these challenging times, my thanks today are for all the heroes and heroines working so hard to save us all.

The photo was taken early one summer’s evening from the Youth Hostel in Cortona, Italy and shows the bells of the Chiesa del Torreone reflected in our bedroom window with Lake Trasimeno seen shimmering in the distance; a moment of pure magic.

My little watercolour shows reflections in the window of another Italian youth hostel in Finale Ligure, the magnificent Castello Vuillerman, recorded in my Journal on July 2, 1999. We’ll never forget climbing the more than three hundred steps, with packs on our backs, to the Castello where the view of the city, seen in this window reflection, was well worth the climb.

I hope this raises your spirits just a little. Be well and stay safe.
thank heavens for FaceTime
Pooh’s palette
Pooh paints the park
that’s what friends are for
a painting a day
A bouquet for the first day of spring…
…but also to say thank you to all my friends, colleagues, nurses, students, residents and indeed all the health care workers here in British Columbia and around the world who are on the front line working so hard to keep us all safe. They are heroes all and I thank them from the bottom of my heart.
But our hearts are also broken to know of those who are losing their lives every day as I send my condolences to all their grieving families around the world.
To help ease the pain we are all feeling and to give some purpose to my self-isolation my plan now is to post either a new or sometimes older painting each day during these difficult times, inspired by my WordPress friend Kelly who started a Daily Dose of Beauty yesterday on her wonderful CompassAndCamera blog to help us “feel and understand our shared humanity.” Thank you Kelly for inspiring us all with your words and photos.
Stay safe and well everyone.
Lookback Vancouver 2010 🇨🇦
The Winter Olympics in Vancouver took place 10 years ago last month with the lighting of the Olympic Cauldron on February 12th 2010. Over the past three weeks I have been celebrating all the amazing athletes and events in the studio bringing back so many great memories. Here is a selection of some of those moments and remarkable athletic achievements.
🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦
Yuja
Yuja Wang
What a night! What a privilege! No words just total awe. Yuja Wang, perhaps the worlds greatest living pianist, thrilled us all last night with a never-to-be-forgotten recital at the UBC Chan Centre here in Vancouver. She wrote in the program, “This recital will hopefully lift all of your spirits, sharing music written by many of the great souls who have lived before us.”
Be assured Yuja all of our spirits could not have been lifted any higher.
mogul magic

Remembering the start of Vancouver’s Winter Olympics when 10 years ago today Alex Bilodeau came flying down Cypress Mountain to win the Men’s Moguls Gold Medal.

Then in 2014 at the Sochi Games he became the first Olympian in history to successfully defend his gold medal in any free style skiing event. Congratulations once again to a true Canadian Olympic hero. 🇨🇦








