Saturday, November 04, 2006

Don'tcha Love Winter?

This is why I no longer live in the prairies.

Last Trip to Vancouver

Lions Gate bridge, heading to North Vancouver.



Sunset in beautiful Vancouver, taken from hotel window.



Ferry boat on False Creek. They are fun to ride!


Vancouver from Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver.


A friend took this shot in the fog on the Sunshine Coast.

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

A Friend Goes Whale Watching July 29/06

These photos were taking near a small rubbing beach called Camp Bay. These were three or four known pods of Resident Orca Whales. The trip was with McKay Whale Watching on their boat the Naiad.







Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Bed Sized Quilts

This queen sized quilt is the Monkey Wrench design made from fabrics from my scrap bin. Scrap quilts are a favourite of mine. When it was completed, I sold it. Machine pieced and hand quilted.



This design is known as a Sampler Quilt as it is a sampling of several quilt block designs and is a favourite used for teaching new quilters. This one was made as a sample for my 8 week beginner class which I have taught 54 times. It would fit a double to a queen size bed. Machine pieced.



This queen sized cat design quilt was commissioned as a retirement gift. Machine pieced and hand quilted.



This queen sized Dresden Plate design quilt was commissioned as a retirement gift. Machine pieced, hand appliqued and hand quilted.



This king sized Lone Star design quilt was completed as a gift for my mother. Machine pieced and hand quilted. The hand quilting alone in each of the cream coloured corner squares of the background of the star represents about forty hours of work.

Sunday, October 15, 2006

Miniature Quilts

These are just a few of the miniature quilts I've created. I enjoy making them because though they require all of the same skills of making a bed size quilt, they can usually be completed in a single day.

This is a miniature Amishish Lone Star quilt; machine pieced and hand quilted.



This is a hand pieced, hand quilted bow tie quilt.



This is a miniature Amishish hand pieced, hand quilted bow tie quilt.

Rainey's Family

I think this photo of Rainey, Keely, Ellys and Joe was taken at the Kootenay Lake Ferry landing in 1994.



Grandma Marlaine and her three grandbabies was taken in Lethbridge, probably the summer of 1995.

Saturday, October 14, 2006

Handsome Ken

This photo is Ken holding his first nephew Carver.



This is Ken holding his second nephew Joe.



This is a youthful Ken. Photo taken when we were living at UBC.



Ken, all dressed up with no place to go. He makes a very cute bunny.



This is Ken's beautiful daughter Hazel.

Monday, October 09, 2006

Beautiful Evening Sky

Almost every evening there is a beautiful sunset in this part of the world. Notice the ghost moon in the top photo. This scene is looking toward Malcolm Island and over Broughton Strait. The mountains in the distance are on the mainland.

Click on photo to enlarge.




Tuesday, October 03, 2006

More Antique Family Photos

This photograph is my Grandparents, Catherine and Charlie. (They are the seated couple.) The standing couple are Mr. & Mrs May. (Click on the image to enlarge.)




This photo is my Great Grandfather; Catherine's father. I have no idea of his age in this photo but I do know that he was in his 90's when I was a little girl and I was born in 1949.

Monday, October 02, 2006

Antique Family Photos

This photo is my (paternal) Grandmother Catherine and was taken in about 1917 when she was 17. The child with her is one of her cousins, Angela.



This photo is my father Ken (the smaller boy) and his brother Archie. They were the two oldest of six brothers. My father was born in 1921 and I think he is about 3 or 4 in this photo. Amazing to me that his face is pretty much the same as an adult. No doubt it's him.

Black and White Photos

I've always enjoyed black and white photography and these are just a few of mine.

The first is an ocean scape off of Texada Island. The second is what I call Folk Art in the Kootenays and the third was taken at Queens Park in New Westminster when the "carney" came to town.

(Click on the image to see the full size version.)



Sunday, October 01, 2006

Eagles Perched

One more reason why I love living where I do. These two photos of eagles sitting in a tree were taken from my living room. I just slid open the patio door and took them. How blessed I am! (Click on the image to see the ful size photo so that you can actually see the eagles!)


Friday, September 29, 2006

The Blues

As I dearly love the Blues, I thought I'd share links to a couple of videos that I've enjoyed.

The first is Joe Bonamassa at the Montreal Jazz Festival.
Joe Bonamassa

And if you want to know more about Joe, check this out:
Joe's Bio

The next is Walter Trout playing Dust My Broom.
Walter Trout

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

My Daughter Rainey

This is my beautiful daughter Rainey and her family: Ellys, Tom, Rainey, Joe and Keely, on the beach in New Jersey.

Community Garden

I planted two cherry tomato plants in my small box and they've produced most abundantly. The third photo is a close up of the delicious little morsels. Don't forget that you can click on the image to see the full size version.



Evening Sky

The evening sky, just before sunset. How beautiful is the palette of colours that nature creates.


Monday, September 25, 2006

My Son Ken

The handsome fella in these photos is my youngest, my son Ken. In the most recent photo I have of him, you see him realizing a dream behind the wheel of a fire engine. He was a volunteer with our local volunteer fire department and had just gotten his air brake endorsement. The middle photo is about two years old and the bottom photo is a collage I created of Ken and his daughter Hazel.





Sunday, September 24, 2006

Fog Lingers

Though the fog has lingered all day, you can see that most of it has burned off and the sky and ocean are a beautiful brilliant blue. The view is looking towards Sointula on Malcolm Island. Also a close up of the ferry heading out.





Jonny Lang

Wikipedia says this about Jonny Lang:

"Jonny Lang (born Jon Gordon Langseth, Jr. in Fargo, North Dakota, January 29, 1981) is an American blues guitarist and singer. In 1995, at the age of 14, his first album was released; Smokin by Kid Jonny Lang and the Big Bang. At age 15, Lang released his debut solo album Lie to Me. Part of this success is due to a voice that sounds like that of 40 year old blues veteran, containing a harshness tempered by a fine falsetto that has taken prominence in his newest albums. Part of it is his scorching guitar solos, which display a prodigious natural talent honed by years of practice and playing. Whatever the secret to his success, the youngster has quickly become a fixture in the blues world, drawing crowds wherever he goes. He has been recognized by famous guitarists all over the world, and was recognized in 2004 by Eric Clapton. Clapton asked Lang to play at the 2004 Crossroads Guitar Festival to raise money for the Crossroads Centre Antigua."

If you go to his Website you can hear several cuts from his newest album, "Turn Around," which just was released September 19, 2006. Well worth a listen.

Stevie Ray Vaughn

I mentioned in my profile that SRV's version of Little Wing is my favourite song. If you haven't heard it, there are two video versions available online that you can check out.

One is a Tribute to all guitar players.

The second is an 8 minute Video of SRV.

Both of these videos can be downloaded free in a format that can be played on your computer or Video iPod.

Many musicians and singers have covered Jimi Hendrix's Little Wing and Stevie's is absoluetly my favourite, however an acoustic version by Ottmar Liebert is a close second.

The Fog Bank

I love it when it's foggy like it is today. Low flying clouds of fog are hanging on the trees and swirling just above the silvery ocean, making the world feel eerie and magical. Here are two photos to show you what I mean. The first is a view of Ledge Point which is directly across from the town harbour. The second looks toward Haddington Island where the ferry is about to vanish into the fog. If you click on the image, you'll be taken to a full screen version.