good rules

Sunday, March 31, 2013

















































Good rules for living found on Pinterest !  my boards here - by Julie Hendrickson - Happy Sunday !

& Brenda Jones can you email me please with your address - you won a pack of greeting cards Hooray !

a current mo

Saturday, March 30, 2013




































Missy D in all her glory / spruce / ducks & pack ice looking out into the strait / dried seed heads in Eaton Park / egg salad with celery & onion on an English muffin / on the salt mine road / along the boardwalk / early morning frost on our grassy hill at Thinker's Lodge 

my current mo (mild obsession) ... or should I say a* current mo - plain white English muffins with butter, cheese, eggs ....

* I've usually got a whole gang of mild obsessions at any given time like liking lichen for example ;-) Sybil  fellow lichenologist

lichenography etc.

Friday, March 29, 2013








avec most loyal & patient lichenologist's assistant Mme Winniefred Dixon

lichenologist

Thursday, March 28, 2013








































beautiful pack ice / a very old poplar / the view from the end of Water St. / fir branch with freshly fallen snow / Winnie, Juice, Bee & me early morning explorin' / lichenologist 1 / Juicy / beautiful & terrifying / lichenologist 2 / dusk and the ice has left on the receding tide / Winnie Dixon / I love her  with all my heart, sweet Bee

It's official - beginning today I have become a Lichenologist, got my papers in the mail ... just sayin'

Currently reading Brené Brown's book Daring Greatly if you haven't watched Oprah & Brené yet go here

The dark does not destroy the light; it defines it. 
It's our fear of the dark that casts our joy into the shadows. Brene Brown - The Gifts of Imperfection

cropping & dog love

Wednesday, March 27, 2013













































isn't cropping interesting ? details from A Meadow // Let Your Mind Go Blank // Love's Sweet Song

And more on dog love ... 
could there ever be too much on dog love ?

Dogs possess a quality that's rare among humans--the ability to make you feel valued just by being you--and it was something of a miracle to me to be on the receiving end of all that acceptance. The dog didn't care what I looked like, or what I did for a living, or what a train wreck of a life I'd led before I got her, or what we did from day to day. She just wanted to be with me, and that awareness gave me a singular sensation of delight. I kept her in a crate at night until she was housebroken, and in the mornings I'd let her up onto the bed with me. She'd writhe with joy at that. She'd wag her tail and squirm all over me, lick my neck and face and eyes and ears, get her paws all tangled in my braid, and I'd just lie there, and I'd feel those oceans of loss from my past ebbing back, ebbing away, and I'd hear myself laugh out loud.

from A Pack Of Two: The Intricate Bond Between People and Dogs - Caroline Knapp


hey thanks waldo

Tuesday, March 26, 2013




Live in sunshine
Drink the wild air 
Swim the sea 

Waldo Emerson inspirational quote 

this quote means so much to me - it's how I wish to live my life and here are my crazy collage versions* of each line 'cause ya know I just wanna keep living in sunshine, drinkin' the wild air and swimming the sea.

*they're my hey! I just figured out how to use photoshop layers and it's blowin' my mind just a little  - 
watch out ! who know's what's next !

thought you might like to see the first tiny, scratchy thumbnails ideas I drew in my morning journal


vulnerability = authenticity

Thursday, March 21, 2013





































the harbour from the boat ramp / dead Redpoll portrait / Bella, Winnie, Juicy, Sam & Bee / lilac buds / yesterday's spicy shrimp salad / a full nest avec bedside (my side) book & magazine pit / March break explorer friends / breakfast / xoxo Missy D

Authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make every day. 
It's about the choice to show up and be real. 
The choice to be honest. The choice to let our true selves be seen.
Brene Brown from The Gifts of Imperfection

omg !! watch this now  ... amazing

Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change.
Brene Brown author of Daring Greatly

oh yeah ! & can I have a hallelujah please ;-)


and another hallelujah for this beautiful song Lippy Kids by Elbow - heard first on Q - CBC radio 1

a smidge of sweet

Wednesday, March 20, 2013






































today's early morning blizzard walk / new blue powder room / dried blossoms looking out to sea / explorer extraordinaire / shrimp dinner salad fixins / Virgil snuggled up in my studio-office chair / we  lichen / another view of new first floor 1/2 bath / oh my Missy D I love you / chili spiced shrimp salad

the secret, or at least my secret to delicious never fail vinaigrette is always a smidge of sweet

I hear so many people say they can't seem to make a vinaigrette dressing that they love - I bet they're not adding any sweet. Maple syrup, honey, brown sugar, orange juice, stevia, splenda .... here's my current favourite which I always mix up with a whisk in the bottom of our tres utilitarian dented & dinged stainless steel salad bowl.

Susan's fav vinaigrette
olive oil (or any oil you like)
apple cider vinegar (or any vinegar you like, or lemon juice)
one crushed clove of garlic
1-2 tsp maple syrup (to taste)
a good plop of best Dijon mustard
cracked pepper
salt

chili spiced shrimp
thaw & peel 10-12 large shrimp, pat dry & dust with a mixture of 1 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp smoked paprika and another smidge of sweet - 1/2 tsp brown sugar. Toss the shrimp 'til well coated and sear ina non stick pan with a lil' grapeseed or canola oil.

salad
1/2  thinly sliced small sweet onion (add the onion to the dressing in the bowl to marinate)
1/4 cup crumbled Feta cheese
12 or so Kalamata olives pitted & sliced
1 cup frozen peas thawed & drained well
8-10 spears of raw young asparagus sliced thin on the diagonal
1/2 a medium zucchini sliced
2-3 small Kirby or mini cucumbers sliced
1/2 a small red, yellow or orange pepper sliced
a big pile of the best baby green mix you can find (we love a spicy mix with lots of arugula) 

I chop the shrimp into bite size pieces toss everything well & enjoy !

* oops I forgot the nuts I sometimes add chopped unsalted cashews, toasted sliced almonds ... any nut you like ;-)