Reaching My Limit

After a number of weeks away, I've returned home from a holiday to the Western most Canadian province of British Columbia. The trip was very enjoyable: most importantly we had a chance to visit with family that lives out west. We also did some sightseeing but didn't do as much hiking as I thought we would,  mostly because I came down with bronchitis and wasn't feeling ready to tackle any mountains. And I'm still getting over the chest infection, this time with the help of the right antibiotics. As my family doctor explained to me the other day, it's no wonder that I'm still coughing up unmentionable material because the doctor at the walk-in-clinic that I went to in B.C. prescribed me medicine that's meant for skin infections. Argh! I guess I now have first hand experience with the placebo effect. The antibiotics and puffer I received from my family doctor are unquestionably more effective. I know-- I have some nerve coming home from a wonderful holiday and whining about being sick but I theorize that a bit of complaining is therapeutic.

I'm eager to share some travel photos but the chord that connects the camera to the computer was forgotten at my mom-in-law's place. I'll be awaiting its return and eagerly checking the mail for the next week or so. Since I'm not occupied with going over the many pictures we took, I'm ruminating on how being away from home has a clarifying effect. An advantage of being out of your regular element and away from work is that the remove allows you to reflect on what you're doing at home and see what can be done differently. Aside from noticing how Clarence's toys can be better organized, I've realized that I should present the reproductions of my watercolour paintings as limited editions.

While I was in B.C. I saw a few open air art markets and it struck me that I don't want to make a gazillion prints of my work and that the ones that I've had made so far are of a reproduction quality that warrants their being individually numbered and signed. The one tricky thing with making my giclees limited editions is that the ones that I've already sold do not include that documentation. If you've already purchased a giclee from me and would like to have it numbered, signed, and dated please let me know and I will do that for you. My inventory and sales information is up to date so I'll know what number to give your image. For each of the paintings that I offer as giclees, the run will be limited to one-hundred prints.



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Home, Sweet Home

Day 14: A photo focusing on eyes

Day 17: A photo with street lights

Day 15: A photo of whatever you please

Day 18: A photo depicting an emotion

(hint...happiness)

Day 19: A photo that involves landscape
That's Webster's Falls in the backgound

Day 20: A photo of whatever you please

Clarence's handiwork.

 It was very important that all three kitties be riding the bulldozer.

Day 21: A photo of the sunset

I'm slowly but surely making my way through the photo challenge. However to speed up the process, I've skipped over Day 16: A photo experimenting with light trails. I have yet to master the exposure settings on my camera. I should really sit down with my camera's instruction manual but at the moment there's no time. My family and I are leaving for British Columbia tomorrow and I still need to pack. Gulp. I have till tomorrow afternoon, but still, who am I kidding, packing always takes way longer than I think it will. So when I return to Ontario, I'll revisit the elusive Day 16 and figure out how to take a photo with light trails.

Highlights of the week gone by included strawberry picking; the fruit of which I photographed in my kitchen sink just before I set out to wash 14 litres of strawberries. You would think having large amounts of fruit in your house is very healthy, but all those strawberries induced me to eat a great deal of whip cream and scones. It's simply wrong not to eat almost as much strawberry shortcake as you can while strawberries are in season. The scones are a byproduct of William and Kate's wedding. At the time they were married, all the attention on Britain made me want to eat something quintessentially British and scones seemed like the best option. I found a really nice scone recipe and haven't looked back since.

As for this week, it's only just begun, but it already has one highlight. I very much enjoyed strolling over to Sam Lawrence Park to photograph the sunset this evening. The park has a nice garden and provides a wonderful panorama of the escarpment and downtown Hamilton. Shucks, I'm going to make myself homesick and I haven't even left for holidays yet.