Holiday Wishes

I confess that up until a few days ago I found it difficult to get into the "Christmas spirit". Between work and trying to navigate family challenges, I didn't have a lot of energy left over to do shopping and decorating, especially on a tighter budget.


However, there is something magical about this time of year that seems to lighten one’s spirit and watching our home transform with Christmas lights, gifts under the tree and a cheerful fire in the woodstove helped to create the mood.



































With these cards I designed I hope to capture those same feelings.

















The best thing to giving is the giving of ourselves and I wish everyone a wonderful holiday season and all the best in the coming year.

Moving On

After being snowed in for a few days we finally ventured out to town. I forgot to bring my camera but took some shots with my cell phone as we drove through Bracebridge.















I couldn't believe the size of the banks alongside the main streets. There are still many side streets not yet plowed.

Buried Day Two

This morning we climbed onto the car port roof and started shovelling. The highway was still closed in both directions and I lost phone service for a number of hours. When I climbed onto the roof I could barely move! There was more than three feet of snow to clear.

This was my view of the roof. We were on opposite sides of each other, I'm facing the Muskoka Room.

Later we heard on the news that the Bracebridge, Huntsville area received 60-100 cm of snow in two days!

Briefly the sun came out and we enjoyed patches of blue sky, creating a winter wonderland.

Snow Day

The Muskoka region has been hit hard with snow these past few days. Huntsville received almost 70 cm of the “fluffy stuff” overnight. Our area has received at least 50 cm of snow and we’re supposed to receive another 30 cm today! I got up early and took a few pictures. This is looking out from under the car port.

A few hours later, from the same vantage point. This is after I had my driveway cleared.

Across the street my neighbour is blowing out his driveway, and you can barely see his house.

For two days I drove in white-out conditions to and from work. Thankfully today I am off but my heart goes out to those who still have to travel in treacherous conditions, especially those who need to get to the hospital for treatment.

As I write this, I've just heard that the highway is closed in both directions, so we are snowed in for sure!

Halfway Lake

Near where we live is a small lake that flows into another larger body of water. For many years I have skied it in the winter and canoed it in the summer. This fall, we enjoyed an unseasonably warm day as we spent a wonderful afternoon exploring Halfway Lake.

As we paddled across Stoneleigh Lake into Halfway Lake we came across clusters of the aquatic herb Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata). These elegant plants are edible; the young leaf stalks can be cooked as greens and the seeds eaten as nuts.

There were also the elegant fragrant water lilies (Nymphaea odorata) which I enjoyed capturing in my sketches and on camera. Without a doubt they are one of my favourite aquatic plants.

Below are some sketches I did while we canoed and then another watercolour sketch I completed at home.