She aint' heavy, she's my sister

Typical goings on when my three girls get together...if they're not scrapping fighting Irish, they're goofing off. This is clearly the latter. But it was so great to have them all together for a day. Trying to get a good picture of the three of them is not an easy undertaking. Partly because they all live in different cities. The saying, timing is everything, is just not for comedy. It really applies to photography as well. Especially if you have one of those cameras where there is a delay. I wonder if photoshop can remove a twig from someone's head. I probably could if I had some extra large tweezers. Yes I know that is a substandard joke, but 'tis the best I can muster right now.

More than 2 leaves and a leaf bud

My mom brought me up this gorgeous coleus plant a few weeks back. Unfortuneately I do not have a green thumb, and it has suffered from dehydration in the last few days. So it is losing some leaves and some of the smaller leaf buds as well. However it rather looks like I imagine a tea plant to look, with a little pink flush on the leaves. This particular variety is called russet. As to why the phrase 'two leaves and a bud' is bandied about so much, it actually refers to the picking of the leaves. The topmost inch, consisting of the proverbial 2 leaves and a leaf bud, is what they snap off to make our tea. It takes 22,000 of these to make a kg of tea! oh and by the way, the painting in the background is an oil I did when I was 20. That is a very long time ago!!! The inside frame has been painted a few times to match the walls, but the last time I did this, I rather botched it. (I used acrylic, bad choice). So next time I paint the kitchen, I'll change it again.

SynchroniciTEA

I'm always amazed and in awe of the coincidences and synchronicities that continually occur. You could call this a tea weak. Yes that's weak as I've been steeped in a virus and left weak. Weak tea as well as I have been drinking lots of it, and no coffee since Monday morning. But I digress. Last weekend I picked up this hardcover "Darjeeling" for a whopping $1 at a liquidation store. On Wednesay, I started reading it. It is a rich brew of love, loss, and the politics of tea. 2 days earlier, on Monday, I was naming a rooibos latte "red velvet cape". (I could go for one of those right now). On Sunday, the antique tea cups came out of the china cabinet while I had my family over for a turkey dinner. The week before, I found myself wondering why they always have on the tea bag label, 2 leaves and a bud, or the symbol for it. Now I know why. So you see I have received my answer, as the Universe ALWAYS hears my question. That is synchronicity.

Lovely Helping Hands

These beautiful helping hands came over to assist me in the unloading of a very heavy glass and oak divider I snagged at work for a mere $8. I don't know what I'd do without these helping hands; she always lifts a finger or two or three when I ask her to. There when I need her. I guess that's the beauty of family.

Flux Incapacitator

Flux aka Electrika flew home this past weekend from Vancouver. She hasn't been here in a very long time. So it was great to see her along with my other Helvie's. She's a girl after my own feet; here wearing her fluevog "bond girl" boots. Guess you could say she grew up knowing you can never go wrong with boots, even if your two and wearing your dad's work boots. And wearing a Black Sabbath t-shirt. Lately she's been lacing up her roller skates and joined the roller derby. Better watch out for Flux...and that's not reflux!

We'll ride them someday....

This drawing was done using the graffitti application on the old facebook. I found it very hard on the hand to use the mouse to draw it. There is some great art using graffiti and I wonder if these people are using stylus's or they're just great artists and well practised or all 3. Did you know there are wild horses in Saskatchewan? Recently, I happened to see an article about these horses, which I did not even know existed in this province.

http://www.canadiancowboy.ca/features/feb-mar05.html

Star of Wild Horse Canyon

This is a classic "Star of Wild Horse Canyon" drawing that I have probably done hundreds of times, as a child, using the picture on the cover of the "Scholastic" book as my inspiration. I guess my love affair with drawing horses began about that time, when I was no more than 8 or 9. Star was a white horse with a star on his forehead; imagine that. This black mare needs a name....Montrose de laFlamme....sounds fine to me.

What's in a Name?

It has been said that a rose, by any other name, will still smell as sweet. That is, a rose is a rose is a rose. And a horse is a horse of course of course. These beauties here are named wonderfully. Lyra, Dante and ........... I must leave a blank here as I'm afraid I'm drawing one for the other's name at the moment. Horses, not being subject to the same struggles as humans, are not likely to be so much affected by their given names. On the other hoof, Lyra is a name that suits this gorgeous animal. Dante is huge, strong, powerful! I really wonder, how does this happen? What chain of events, what energy is being manifested to draw a quality in a word to a person? And just how do we assign a quality to a word anyway? Sure, we have long and short vowels, and hard and soft consonents. But have you ever noticed that names have a propensity to affect your lot in life. Name a boy Peter, for example, and do you think perhaps he may end up in journalism? We certainly have a lot of Peter's there. Or driving dump trucks? What about Tom? A crusty alcoholic, perhaps a singer? Hmmmm... Strong names, weak names....I sometimes wonder...salt of the earth names, good solid trustworthy names that have stood the test of time? What about John? Now there is someone you can depend on. How about Mary? Same thing there, but some Mary's I have known, seem, well, a little shifty....Why are all the Julies and Julias extraverted? What will happen to the next generation of names when we'll have Apples and Oranges and Gangsta's running the country? What images are conjured up with the name Helvetica? What do you think?

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