I am giving thanks…

Just little bits of sweet joy from a long Thanksgiving weekend in Quebec…

We got to meet Patine, my friend Suzanne’s new baby Old English Sheep dog.

Man, is she cute !!!

Chica was a great older auntie dog to her, playing a lot but also showing that little one some limits.

So much fun to watch !

Sunday, we traveled to my sister Kristina’s in La Conception. Quebec (near Mont Tremblant).

There we got to see this little cutie, Miss Kate, who Uncle Dave and I adore !

Dave loves her so much, he even lets her decorate him.

I am sure he won’t mind me sharing this pic of him on the internet.

Right, Honey ?

Along with Katie, her brilliant bro and fire keeper, Thomas, and their mom and dad, we had a Thanksgiving feast with 18 other lovely members of our family !

Such an amazing group of people. So much good conversation, great food, hugs, laughter and good family loving !

 

I was too busy soaking it all in to take too many pics, but I did capture a few, like my shiny Mom and and sister,  Kristina, Natalie squeezing her daughter Jessica tight, and Miss Katie hanging with her other aunt, Natalie.

Along with Thanksgiving, there was a continuation of the birthday festival for me !

I am so blessed !

These are just some of the sweet and loving birthday gifts I received !

I think the glow from this wonderful weekend will last for a long while…

Happy Tuesday, Beautiful Ones !

Enjoy the gifts of this fine Fall day !

It’s March Break here !

Some of my companions this week…

Thomas, my bright nephew full of imagination and curiosity.

We will be doing some art together for sure !

The fabulous Katie Cupcake, Boogie-Queen extraordinaire !

We will be dancing together for sure!

Then there is this sweet boy, Logan with his stuffed namesake close by.

My sister and her sweet family are dogsitting this awesome pup for a few weeks

and enjoying all the fun of having a big fluffy love bug in your house !

We will be snuggling together and romping in the snow a bit for sure !

It’s March break and time for a Auntie Kimmy visit !

So good for my heart and soul !

I hope you have a great week, Beautiful Ones !

Fun down at the old swimming hole...

So it is Friday am and my pal Suzanne and her sweet pooch, Sam, just left. It was such fun to have them here. Suzanne is a friend from Montreal. We know each other so well. We used to be room mates way back when and she was also my mentor and cheerleader when I went back to school at 28 to do my teaching degree. We really "get" each other.

This week was about hanging out, doing the usual shopping trips (ie: house wares, book and craft stores) and spending time with the hounds. Suzanne adopted 6 year old Sam last summer when she bought her very own, first house. This was Sam's first trip to NH in the summer so a trip to Our Favorite Doggie Friendly Swimming Hole was a must !

Chica has a blast with her new buddy. She also in madly in love with her ball.

Chica goes after the ball...

And Sam herds Chica, fine Old English Sheepdog that he is !

The two dogs are developing a friendship, becoming a pack if you will,

And puppy love is so very fun to watch happen !

I am missing my paints and my toys, even though it was so great to have my friend here for the week. My fingers are itching to use my dip pen and my Indian ink. I think I will put in some art journal time this morning and then get the house tidy again for a Friday night dinner with my other friend, Christine who lives her in Manchester. Poor Dave - he is a "chick time" widower again ! That's okay, we will catch up with each other on the weekend. It feels like summer here today - FINALLY ! Sunny, humid and the temps in the 80's. Dinner and drinks out on the deck tonight! Yippee !

Hope you are getting the most out of your summer Friday !

You know I had to include this ! Oh, how I used to sway to this one when I was a teeny-bopper ! Here's to "Puppy Love !" :)

Easter Sunday Soggy Doggy Adventures and Sneak Peak

So my pal Suzanne, the dogs and I had a lovely weekend together, with my sweet hubby popping in and out of the picture as he worked on a big project that will be named later in the basement. Saturday was supposed to be our "going to the beach day" but the weather was so raw, cold and rainy that we did what we do best instead...shopped, of course !

Easter Sunday was bright and sunny but still cold (30 DEGREES IN THE AM !) so it looked like we were going to miss out on the beach. Then I thought, you know what ? We are both Canadian chicks who have braved a lot worse cold than this and the dogs don't mind the cold. Let'd bundle up and go ! So go we did !

This was Sam's first trip to the ocean. Chica showed him how it is done !

After a little bit of trepidation,

he got the hang of things just fine !

And my girl kept us busy throwing that yellow ball into

the surf every ten seconds, like usual !

It was a nice adventure for all of us ! I feel really lucky to have the Hampton Beach just a half hour away from us. I am not into the summer time crowds there but the off-season allows for soggy doggy fun that I really love. It ended up to be not so cold either, as long as we were bundled up like the good Canadian Chicks we are ! I think we have a new Beach-lover convert in Sam now, too !

Besides the wonderful girlfriend time this weekend, I have been busily working on a very special project for a swap with my gang of Canadian Artist Chicks. We are about to exchange our aprons for "The Mother of All Aprons" exchange for this Mother's Day. We only had to make one apron (A good thing for slow sewer novice that I am!) for one partner in thie swap. I am paired up with the lovely Arlene from ArtdeMe who is my blogfriend that brought me into this great group of talented ladies !

I can't show you the whole apron yet as it is a surprise for Arlene ! I have some finishing sewing left and then it will be in the mail, on it's way to Arlene by Wednesday. Here is a cropped sneak peak from two different areas on the apron :

I am so excited about this exchange ! The apron is turning out a million times better than I ever could have imagined ! I know Arlene will love it. I want one for myself now but this one is one of a kind ! Plus, I am lucky enough to be receiving my very own Mother of All Aprons from Arlene in return. Such fun !

So off to do some sewing... Meditation class tonight too, which is turning out to be a great gift to myself ! Happy Monday, all, and remember to take the time to breathe...

It's a Good Friday !

(An oldie but a goodie - Rebirth Collage from 2007)

No new art to show as I was struck down by the dreaded Stomach Flu this week. Man, that has to be one of the worst ! Thankfully, I am feeling a lot better today and have enough energy to get the house ready for an Easter weekend visit from my pal Suzanne from Montreal.

She is bringing her 100 pound Old English Sheepdog, Sam, with her. So between Chica who is shedding her winter coat like crazy, and Sam, who brings back in every speck of dirt possible with him every time he goes outside, I don't think I will be worrying too much about house cleaning until things go back to normal on Monday. Just some fresh linens on the guest bed, a shiny bathroom, some spring flowers on the dining room table and a well-stocked fridge and we should be all set for a lovely weekend !

Wishing you a Happy and Blessed Easter to those who celebrate the holiday, and a wonderful spring weekend to those who don't ! Either way, I hope you find many moments of rebirth to celebrate !

Lots of love from the Queen who is so thankful her insides are back where they belong !

An Grrl Inspired Artwalk

So a while back, I participated in a discussion on grrl + dog's blog and was the lucky winner of some goodies traveling to me all the way from Sydney, Australia. They arrived last week !

And here is what was inside. The great zine "pasticcio" and a note from grrl to "go forth and create" !

Also in the envelope were these great, colorful tags and stickers with "art" quotes on them !

So the happy Queen had a plan !

I grabbed my dog snack pouch, the tags, some "Rock your World" rocks, my camera and put the beautiful Chica on her leash and headed out into a gorgeous fall day in Manchester, New Hampshire !

The first tag went on here :

It seemed kind of appropriate, don't you think ? grrl + dog, me walking the dog, me beautifying the ordinary a little ?

So the second tag went here, about a block away ! (see Chica checking out the neighbourhood news ?;-))

But I decorated other places too !

There was also some world rocking going on (like I promised Julie)...

With all that decorating work, I made sure I look the time to look up...

as well as down...

(How's that for a grrl+dog pose !)

All in all, a very wonderful artwalk. I think grrl would approve of how I used her treasures, don't you ? Thanks again, grrl !

In other news, the Queen will soon be revealing what she has been working feverishly at behind the scenes, aided by her magnificent and studly Computer Geek ! Hint : It may be a place to sell her wares !!!! (I know, I suck at hints ! I always give too much away !!!!) Stay tuned !

Happy Monday !