The last day of the year started with “rain coat weather” for the pups but by the time I am sitting down to update my blog one last time for 2020 the rain has stopped. I have an art consultation coming up shortly and after that I am off exploring the beach one more time.

The past week provided many joyful moments but also times to pause and reflect: I cannot even express in words how grateful we are to live where we do this year. I am always in touch with friends from around the globe but I had a reality check thanks to my oldest friend in Germany… we go way back: Day one of Grade 1… She was not impressed by our relocation and felt it was too far even for Canadian standards in relation to distances. When I asked her where here sense of adventure had disappeared to (she is the widest travelled friend I have) she reminded me of the dire situation everywhere due to Corona virus. I appreciated her reminder but I still cannot help myself for feeling so lucky.

The week between Christmas and New Year’s is always filled with various celebrations for us. Boxing Day my brother-in-law celebrates his birthday, the next day my sister and he have their anniversary which is followed by our anniversary on December 28th. My birthday is on the 29th and this year I had the most memorable birthday, my niece Nadine delivered a healthy baby girl. Her name is Leni and she is beautiful!

I went to Germany in 2016 to help our after her older sister Anni was born. This is not an option this time so I have to rely on regular updates from the family.

The days here are getting a little longer. I still have my hiking group every Wednesday and so far the weather has cooperated. I love to venture out on my own in rain and sunshine. Exploring the beaches to gather rocks, sea glass and inspiration has become a daily activity to shorten the waiting time till we can move into our house a week from today.

Here are some of the wonderful textures that have been presenting themselves. Apologies to those who are connected with me on FaceBook as many of these images have already been posted there.

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I particularly love the colours after the rain:

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We are spoiled… and we know it! I used to delight in icy reflection while exploring Buffalo Pound Lake this time of the year but those excursions were short depending on wind conditions. These days I have wind coming off the Bay of Fundy but it is less bone-chilling than what I experienced over the past 13 years.

The beaches are a constant source of inspiration and I am already planning the set up of my studio. In my mind it is all coming together seamlessly but when I do my reality check I know that it will be a while before I can push that “on” button on my sewing machine. On my birthday I treated myself to a trip to the local hardware store to pick up paint chips (exciting, right?). The space I will claim for my studio is currently a khaki colour that might be considered neutral by some but in my heart I know I cannot possibly spend much time in such a dark environment. So, the plan is to unpack the container first, pile all the boxes and studio furniture in the centre of the relatively large space and paint the walls before I situate the shelves and unpack fabrics and books. I am sure there will be some regular updates on my progress with images… I tend to keep a record of such situations.

I want to close the year out with an image I found on FaceBook that is share worthy. Wishing all of you a peaceful start to a new year. Stay safe, stay well and embrace health!

31 Dec This entry was published on December 31, 2020 at 10:55 am and is filed under Creativity Update. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.