I Hope Absence Has Made...

the heart grow fonder. We moved into our new home last weekend!! As seems to be the way I do things, I also completed a bunch of new firsts in the midst of house renovations, packing, unpacking, cleaning, tripping over things, and trying to find toilet paper, a frying pan, and my underwear. I started a new job, working two days a week at my friend Pam's children's boutique, Silver Spoon (big bonus, Quin comes with me to work!); I taught a mosaic mirror making workshop for kids at the Banff Library (not the first time I teach this but the first time I teach a course for the library and it was awesome); I am working on a whole new body of work for a solo show in Ottawa in August at the d'OMMA Gallery (my first show of work containing mostly recycled materials, aside for adhesives and paints). And, as luck would have it, our internet, which should have been on at the new house as of Monday, was JUST CONNECTED TODAY, Friday, yes, 5 DAYS after it should have been. Needless to say, this has caused my blogging to grind to a screeching halt, and has made it quite difficult for me to answer all the emails I have received about booking photo sessions during our upcoming Ottawa/Maine trip. Sheesh. I guess with all the other things going on, it was better I could not hook up to the net. However, when I can't get on the net, that is when everything happens (when it rains it pours). In this case, everything is that Where Magazine in Ottawa, asked for images of my new work so they can feature me in their Hot Art Sections (Yippee!!) AND Jamie Ribisi featured me as one of her Fine Art Etsy Finds (Double Yippee!!) which lead to 6 new sales (Triple Yippee!!!). Thank goodness I am back, ahhhhhh, technology, I love ya!

Our Little Robin Family

I will have to say I was a bit concerned when I saw the pile of hay, string, and other choice nest building materials beside my front step. The next day, I looked outside and watched a diligent mommy and daddy robin expertly building a nest, high atop a brick column under our overhanging veranda. The concern I felt had not lessened. You see, as this couple were building the home where their wee little ones would be hatched, we were in the process of loading everything we own into boxes to move into our new home across town. Surely, we were going to cause this little family a whole lot of stress in the not-too-distant future (that and we live just feet from a very very busy and loud street in summertime Banff). I was thrilled to have these lovely creatures right outside the window beside our front door, aside from the worry. Everyday, Quin and I have watched "Momma Birdie" (Quin is too little to tell the daddy from the mommy). One day, my heart sunk, when I spotted the broken half of a robin's egg blue shell on the landing... "oh no, we did this", I thought. But Momma was still sitting on the nest so we decided to wait and see. I sighed with relief when I thought I could hear little birdie tweets a few days later. And it was a few days after that that we witnessed Momma and Papa feeding their little ones worms. Soon after I would see them from a window in the neighbor's backyard, scrounging for worms. Now, we can see the little babes' beaks and heads, stretching and searching for their meal. They still have their eyes shut and they look bald and naked. Their are three, maybe four. Now Quin runs to look at them as often as she remebers, which is countless times a day. And when we leave the house we open the door very slowly and whisper, "It's ok, Momma Birdie, don't be scared." Tomorrow is our last day of moving, and this little family has hung in there so far. I am so glad. I feel honored that they picked our house, and that they could help me teach my little birdy a bit more about our feathered friends...