Blame it on the Garden

My dear blogging friends.  I hope that you will forgive me.  I promised to draw for my giveaway on Sunday...and I did.....really I did!   However, I made the fatal mistake of not sitting down right then and there and writing a blog post to announce.  My gardens were calling my name.  This is the first weekend that we've had sunshine and I just couldn't resist reacquainting myself with all of my old friends and new (and not always welcome) arrivals.   So, without further adieu, the winner of the altered tin is Bev!   Do check out her blog for some amazing artwork!  Congratulations and thank you to everyone who left such lovely comments on my new look and my new attitude.

Medical Advances

I'm in the process of reading a book called "A Fierce Radiance" by Lauren Belfer.   I'm finding it to be a fascinating read.   Here's the description provided by Harper Collins:

In the anxious days after Pearl Harbor, Life photojournalist Claire Shipley finds herself covering one of the nation's most important stories. At New York City's renowned Rockefeller Institute, researchers are racing to save thousands of wounded American soldiers and countless others by developing a miraculous new drug they call penicillin. For Claire, a single mother haunted by the loss of her young daughter—a death the miracle drug could have prevented—the story is cuttingly personal, especially after she unexpectedly begins to fall in love with the shy and brilliant head physician, James Stanton. But Claire isn't the only one interested in the secret cure. When a researcher dies under suspicious circumstances, the stakes become starkly clear: someone understands just how profitable the new drug could be—and will stop at nothing to get it. Now, with lives and a new love hanging in the balance, Claire will throw herself into harm's way to find a killer—no matter what price she may have to pay.
What has really struck a chord with me personally is the fact that at the time when this novel was set, a person could die from a scratch on the skin.   I knew that but hadn't really given it much more than a passing thought.  Heck  I periodically trip and fall on my face while running, ending up with nasty looking knees and hands.   What if penicillin hadn't been invented?  What if we weren't  immunized against the terrible diseases that claimed so many people in the past?    My Grandmother's Sister, Grace, died from a scrape that she received when she was riding her bike down their family farm's lane to retrieve the mail.  She was only 8 years old and is pictured in the photograph above.   She's the little one on the left at the front.  I, for one, am grateful for the amazing medical advances and dedicated researchers who discover them.

New Beginnings and a Giveaway

No stop....you've come to the right place.   Really you have!   It just has a new look thanks to my talented and wonderful friend Trudi from Two Dresses Studio.   As you may or may not know, I took a LONG hiatus from my blog.   I was feeling burnt out, dispirited and downright ambivalent.   I was hoping for that lightning bolt of genius to strike me and tell me what was wrong.   This came in the form of a post by Lenna Andrews.   Lenna had created skinny pages for me on a "Woman Who Dared", Martha Graham and had written a very personal story about her connection with this great woman.   That post nudged me into realizing that I needed to write blog posts about what was going on in my life, in my heart and in my head.  AND I had to be kind to myself and allow time in between posts if that was what I needed to do.

Enter dear Trudi.   Trudi and I have known one another for a while and really "clicked" right from the beginning.   We've had wonderful conversations via email and have exchanged art in groups.   Trudi is an amazing artist and designs blogs as part of her artistry.  For the past week or so, we have been exchanging email messages fast and furiously.  Trudi had seen my photograph of the baby robin and asked if she could play with it.   I was amazed at the depth of our friendship and how well Trudi knew me as a person and wove what she knew into the blog header with symbolism.

So without further adieu, I present to you my new look and my new lease on blogging....oh, and a new piece that I created on the weekend.  I'm giving this altered tin away in celebration so please just leave me a comment if you'd like a chance to win it.   I'll draw on Sunday.

Voting Day

It's federal election day here in Canada.   Over the past few weeks the parties running have bickered and toured and tried to win voters over with issues and promises.   It's difficult to burrow through all of the rhetoric and to decide what is actually best for the country but that will not stop me from showing up to the polling station.   I feel very strongly that we, as women, cannot let down people like Nellie McClung and the Valiant Five who fought for our rights to be regarded and treated as people.  Here is an excerpt from "Canadian Encyclopedia" on this great woman:

In 1911 the McClungs and their 4 children moved to Winnipeg, where their fifth child was born. The Winnipeg women's rights and reform movement welcomed Nellie as an effective speaker who won audiences with humorous arguments. She played a leading role in the 1914 Liberal campaign against Sir Rodmond ROBLIN's Conservative government, which had refused women suffrage, but moved to Edmonton before the Liberals won in Manitoba in 1915. In Alberta she continued the fight for female suffrage and for PROHIBITION, dower rights for women, factory safety legislation and many other reforms. She gained wide prominence from addresses in Britain at the Methodist Ecumenical Conference and elsewhere (1921) and from speaking tours throughout Canada and the US, and was a Liberal MLA for Edmonton, 1921-26. 

Forgotten for a decade, she was rediscovered by feminists in the 1960s. Although some criticized her maternalistic support of the traditional family structure, most credited her with advancing the feminist cause in her day and recognizing the need for further progress such as the economic independence of women.

A Sweet Exchange

My DH recounted a conversation that he had with his friend and I had to share the details.  DH was introducing his mate to our bevy of birds (5 in all).   Some turned on their charm as they do when meeting new people and others  studied the intruder warily from corners of their cages.   This prompted DH's friend to talk about his pet cat.  He said something like this:   "You know I sometimes can't believe how much I love that cat.   I think about him about 4 or 5 times a day with a smile on my face."    Yup, so do I!  I feel grateful for the joy that they bring to our lives.   I know when I get home from work I listen for their chirps and whistles to welcome me.   They even respond to my raspy morning cough heard outside after my morning run.  Their antics and cuddling make both my DH and I laugh and feel cherished.    So indulge yourselves in thinking about your beloved pets as you scurry through your days.

These journal pages were created as a tribute to my feathered family members, one of whom, Smidgeon,   is featured.               

Smidgeon making herself at home.