THIS IS THE BEST REASON OF ALL.
WE WON’T BE GOING OUT(OR IN!) TO ANY REMEMBRANCE DAY CEREMONIES THIS YEAR DUE TO THE PANDEMIC. BUT I’LL BE THINKING ABOUT THE GOOD MEN AND WOMEN OF OUR COUNTRY WHO FOUGHT TO PRESERVE THE FREEDOMS WE HAVE TODAY.
ABOVE IS A PHOTO OF MY DAD (MIDDLE GUY) DURING HIS YEARS IN THE R.A.F. AND ANOTHER OF MY MUM(ALSO IN THE MIDDLE)IN THE CADETS.
I AM GRATEFUL AND WEARING MY POPPY. SHARE THE STORIES…LEST WE FORGET.
YUP. IT SNOWED. WE KNEW IT WAS COMING. IT DID.
AND AS I LOOK AROUND AT MY NEW MONOCHROMATIC WORLD I AM NOT UPSET. I KNOW THAT ON THE EAST AND WEST COASTS OF CANADA (WHERE THE REST OF MY FAMILY LIVES) THEY ARE STILL HAVING A GORGEOUS, WARM AUTUMN. BUT I AM HAPPY HERE.
I AM HAPPY THAT I TOOK THE TIME TO GO ON SO MANY PICNICS. I AM HAPPY THAT I HAVE THIS COZY HOME. I AM HAPPY THAT THE SNOW HAS A BEAUTY ALL ITS OWN AND IS PUTTING ME IN THE MOOD TO START PREPARING FOR CHRISTMAS. I AM HAPPY THAT WE ALREADY PUT OUR SNOW TIRES ON. I AM HAPPY TO THINK ABOUT OUR NEW GRANDCHILD ARRIVING OH SO SOON.
MY WORLD SEEMS A BIT WASHED OF COLOUR RIGHT NOW. BUT I AM HAPPY TO HAVE AN ART ROOM WHERE I CAN USE ANY COLOURS I LIKE TO TRY AND CREATE AND IMITATE THE BEAUTY I SEE.
ANGELA ABRAHAM DESCRIBES IT THUS:
The winter is such crystalline joy, those brilliant rays that show the uniqueness of every snowflake. It is the time of puddles that become transient skating rinks and for my thoughts to remain cozy within a woollen hat. It is the time when the sunniest of days are warm even in when I can see my breath rise as neat and pure vapour. It is the days of quiet poetry forming in my soul as if it calls to the spring flowers that will soon blossom.
IT IS A TIME OF HIDDEN BEAUTIES. A TIME FOR HOT CHOCOLATE AND WARM BLANKETS BY THE FIRE. IT IS A SLOWING DOWN TIME.A TIME TO STAY IN AND WATCH THE GENTLE, UNIQUE SNOWFLAKES CASCADE DOWN WHILE WE PRAY FOR THOSE WHO DON’T HAVE A SAFE PLACE TO LAY THEIR HEAD. AND SURELY IT IS A TIME OF HOPE. HOPE…. BECAUSE THE NEXT SEASON IS SPRING! BUT DON’T RUSH WINTER. LET’S EMBRACE THIS ‘MONOCHROMATIC MAGNIFICENCE’ AND LOOK FOR ALL THE POSITIVE THINGS IN OUR WINTER WONDERLANDS. EVERY SEASON HAS ITS CHARMS.
I ALWAYS KNEW I WOULD LOVE TO BE AN ILLUSTRATOR.
EVER SINCE MY MUM PUT A PENCIL IN MY HAND AT ONE YEARS OLD I HAVE LOVED TO DRAW. I USED TO SKETCH CARICATURES OF MY CLASSMATES WHEN I SHOULD HAVE BEEN LOOKING FORWARD. I GOT ASKED TO PAINT CHRISTMAS VIGNETTES ON OUR SCHOOL WINDOWS EVERY YEAR WHEN I WAS IN EARLY GRADE SCHOOL. AND I STILL HAVE THE BINDER THAT MY DAD BROUGHT HOME FROM WORK FOR ME THAT WAS FILLED WITH RECYCLED PAPER. I USED THIS ALMOST DAILY TO DRAW MY CARTOONS AND IMAGES OF THINGS THAT INTERESTED ME.
I LOVED ART CLASS IN ALL MY SCHOOLING ALTHOUGH I DID HAVE SOME PRETTY WACKY TEACHERS. IN HIGH SCHOOL I DID AN OIL PAINTING OF A WOMAN PLAYING THE FLUTE. ONE DAY WHEN I ARRIVED TO CLASS OUR TEACHER TOLD ME THAT SOMEONE HAD STOLEN IT! YEARS LATER AN ADULT FORMER CLASSMATE OF MINE SAID SHE WENT TO DINNER AT THIS TEACHER’S HOME AND MY PAINTING WAS FRAMED AND UP ON HER WALL!
IN UNIVERSITY I HAD A PROFESSOR WHO DIDN’T LIKE MY PENCHANT FOR ‘REALISM’. HE DID SO MANY THINGS TO HUMILIATE ME THAT HE CERTAINLY WOULDN’T GET AWAY WITH TODAY. AT ONE POINT I WAS DOING AN OIL PAINTING OF A ‘STILL LIFE’ AND HE ASKED THE CLASS TO GATHER AROUND MY EASEL. THEN,AFTER ASKING ME TO STAND BACK, HE TOOK A JAR OF TURPENTINE AND THREW IT ON MY CANVAS. I WATCHED MY HARD WORK LITERALLY DISSOLVE AND THEN HE ANNOUNCED TO THE CLASS, “NOW THAT’S ART!”.
ANOTHER TIME HE TOOK MY (REALISTIC) DRAWING OFF OF MY EASEL AND TOLD THE CLASS TO FOLLOW HIM OUTSIDE. WE WALKED TO THE NEARBY (DETROIT) RIVER AND I WATCHED IN DISMAY AS HE FOLDED MY DRAWING INTO A LARGE, PAPER AIRPLANE AND THREW IT ACROSS THE WATER. I WASN’T STRONG ENOUGH TO COMPLAIN AT THE TIME…. JUST SORT OF MORTIFIED AND UPSET. THE CLASS LAUGHED.
SOMEHOW, I STAYED TRUE TO MY LOVE OF ARTISTIC EXPRESSION AND NOW SPEND AT LEAST ONE DAY A WEEK PAINTING.
I HAVE FULLY ILLUSTRATED A FEW BOOKS THAT NEVER MADE IT INTO PRINT. SOME AUTHORS COULDN’T FIND A PUBLISHER. SOME RAN OUT OF MONEY (MYSELF NOT BEING PAID IN EITHER CASE), AND SOME JUST HELD ONTO THE WORK AND WE LOST TOUCH.
BUT FAIRLY RECENTLY, I WAS APPROACHED BY A FEW WONDERFUL AUTHORS WHO COULD AFFORD OR DID VALUE MY WORK ENOUGH TO PAY FOR IT AND I HAVE HAD AN EXTRAORDINARY AMOUNT OF PLEASURE DRAWING OR PAINTING FOR THEM TOO.
I WAS PREPARED TO ILLUSTRATE ANOTHER ‘POLLY ASTOR’ BOOK WHEN COVID HIT SO THAT IS ONE ON THE BACK BURNER BUT I ENJOYED CREATING INK DRAWINGS FOR KATHY TANNAS‘S FIRST BOOK. I USED ALSO USED THIS TECHNIQUE FOR THE VIGNETTES IN CATHY HARVEY‘S WONDERFUL TRIBUTE TO CANADA’S 150TH BIRTHDAY, SANDY SMITH‘S “IF YOU’RE A DOG, BARK!”, AND FOR A SMALL BOOK WRITTEN BY MY (86 YEAR OLD) FATHER FOR HIS ‘KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS’ CHURCH GROUP.
IT WAS FUN DOING MY FIRST COLOURING BOOK FOR ELLIE ROBSON AND QUITE THE HONOUR TO BE ASKED TO DESIGN AND PAINT THE COVER FOR “THE HISTORY OF MINOR HOCKEY IN EDMONTON” BOOK FOR DARRELL DAVIS. I USED WATER COLOURS AND INK FOR THE SANDY SMITH BOOK,”I WANT MORE” AND EVERY SINGLE ILLUSTRATION IN “HEAVEN IS FOREVER” FOR SANDY WAS DONE WITH ACRYLIC ON MULTIPLE CANVASSES.
I LOVE THE FREEDOM THE AUTHORS GAVE ME TO DESIGN MY OWN ILLUSTRATIONS WITHIN THE PARAMETERS OF THEIR VISIONS FOR EACH PAGE. I MIGHT WRITE MY OWN CHILDREN’S BOOK SOMEDAY. THAT WOULD BE FUN TO ILLUSTRATE TOO! AND NOW OUR SON, DARREN, IS CURRENTLY ILLUSTRATING A BOOK THAT HIS LOVELY WIFE, JENNY, WROTE. HIS DRAWINGS ARE DIGITAL AND LOOK INCREDIBLE! OUR DAUGHTER, LANA, SELLS HER ORIGINAL, CHARCOAL DRAWINGS ON HER WEBSITE “CHARCOAL PORTRAITS AND NERD CULTURE” AT WWW.LANABACHYNSKI.COM
SO THE ARTISTIC GENE HAS BEEN PASSED ON. NEED AN ILLUSTRATOR? I’M AVAILABLE! PASS IT ON.
WE ARE BLESSED TO HAVE TWO FRIENDS IN OUR ‘BUBBLE’ WHO HAVE BIRTHDAYS ON THE VERY SAME DAY: OCTOBER 28! I HAD SOME GOOD NEWS AND SOME BAD NEWS AT THE END OF THAT WEEK.
THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT WE GOT TO SPEND SOME REALLY FUN TIMES WITH BOTH OF THESE FOLKS IN CELEBRATION OF THEIR LIVES. ‘JAZZ’ IS A THE NEW MOM OF OUR BEAUTIFUL GODSON, ‘NOAH’,AND WE HAVE KNOWN HER SINCE SHE WAS A WEE GIRL IN CALGARY. HER PARENTS ARE WONDERFUL FRIENDS OF OURS AS WELL.JAZZ IS ON ‘MAT’ LEAVE FROM HER GRADE SCHOOL TEACHING JOB.
THREE OF THE FRIENDS IN OUR BUBBLE ARE ACTUALLY FRONT LINE WORKERS(INCLUDING JAZZ) SO WE HAVE TO BE VERY VERY CAREFUL ABOUT COVID PROTOCOLS.(MY SISTER, PAULA, IS HIGH RISK DUE TO COMPLICATIONS STEMMING FROM CHEMO FROM YEARS PAST.)
NOAH’S DAD IS A POLICEMAN AND A LOVELY NEW FATHER. THE OTHER BIRTHDAY PERSON IS MY SISTER’S HUSBAND,’ALBERT’. HE WORKS IN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM AS A HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER AND HE HAS ALREADY HAD A FEW TESTS DONE TO MAKE SURE HE IS COVID NEGATIVE STEMMING FROM A COUPLE OF CASES IN HIS CLASS.
WE ENJOYED A LOVELY LUNCH AT OUR HOME WITH JAZZ’S FAMILY AND THEN A FUN TEA TIME AND MUSIC AFTERNOON WITH ALBERT’S FAMILY A FEW DAYS LATER.
OUR BUBBLE IS SMALL BUT SO LOVED AND APPRECIATED. I HOPE YOU ARE KEEPING YOUR ‘BUBBLES’ SMALL.
OH! THE BAD NEWS? AFTER ALL THAT BIRTHDAY CAKE DURING THE WEEK I GAINED ALL THE WEIGHT BACK THAT I HAD LOST THE WEEK BEFORE. DANG.
I’VE BEEN THINKING A LOT ABOUT HOW WE SEE THINGS BEFORE US.
YOU AND I CAN LOOK AT THE SAME SKY AND SEE VERY DIFFERENT THINGS. YOU MIGHT LOOK AT A CLOUD AND SAY, “THAT CLOUD IS WHITE”. AND I MIGHT LOOK AT THE SAME CLOUD AND SAY, “I SEE VIOLET, PINK, YELLOW AND CERULEAN BLUE.” AND IN FACT, YOU MIGHT NOT EVEN SEE THE CLOUD ITSELF. WE TEND TO LOOK DOWN AND NOT EVEN REALLY ‘LOOK’ . OUR MINDS ARE PREOCCUPIED WITH THE PLANS FOR THE DAY.
THIS SEASON MORE THAN ALL THE OTHERS CAN BE A ‘SYMPHONY OF COLOURS’. WE NEED TO LOOK UP AND AROUND WITH NEW EYES AND SEE THE BEAUTY IN OUR NEIGHBOURHOOD AND IN OUR NEIGHBOURS.
THE POLITICIANS AND QANON WOULD HAVE US BELIEVE THAT CERTAIN FOLKS ARE EVIL. WE ARE BOMBARDED THESE DAYS WITH ‘FAKE NEWS’ AND PEOPLE WHO CLAIM THAT REAL NEWS IS FAKE. WE ARE ENCOURAGED TO THINK IN ONLY BLACK AND WHITE TERMS. THERE IS NO ROOM FOR GREY AREAS AND SOME COLOURS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE BETTER THAN OTHERS. UGH!
I THINK APPRECIATING THE BEAUTY GOD CREATED IS A FORM OF PRAYER. CATHERINE DOHERTY WROTE IN THIS EXCERPT FROM “WELCOME PILGRIM” (1991) …
“One day when I was a child in Russia, an old woman, a pilgrim, came to our house. While I served her food in the warm kitchen of our big country house, she talked to me.
She told me about the joy of being a pilgrim, of walking on green grass and stopping to rest at a tree trunk. She said an old tree trunk had so many colours. Did I think a birch tree was white? No, she said, it was’t white. It had black spots all over it. Also, the white of the bark had many shades. One has only to look at it closely to know. And the same with pines and oaks.
Tree barks were a symphony of colour. And the green of the forest, she said, is of a thousand hues. As she was speaking, I could see all that she said actually taking shape before my eyes, for I loved nature, too.
But, she went on to explain, this quality of wonderment, of joy and of appreciation had to be a prayer, because of God. It was God who had created all this beauty. “
MY MUM SAYS THAT SINCE MY DAD STARTED PAINTING HE CONSTANTLY REMARKS ON THE BEAUTY OF THE SKIES . HE NEVER DID THAT BEFORE.
LET’S REALLY TAKE NOTICE OF THE ‘SYMPHONY’ TODAY. LET IT MAKE US SWAY WITH THE GLORIOUS , PERFECT RHYTHM AND HARMONY BEFORE US. LET US ADD OUR OWN PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING. AND LET’S COMMIT THESE AUTUMN COLOURS TO MEMORY BEFORE A NEW, WINTER SET OF COLOURS ARRIVE.
PEACE, FRIENDS.
I’M REALLY HAPPY WE MADE TIME TO PAINT YESTERDAY. IT WAS SUCH A NICE DAY (STILL PRETTY WARM) OUTSIDE THAT WE DIDN’T WANT TO STAY IN ALL DAY. SO WE CHOSE SMALL CANVASSES (16 X 20) AND DECIDED TO PAINT QUICKLY AND LOOSELY. NOW YOU MIGHT NOT THINK MY PAINTING ( OF THE HOAR FROST) LOOKS ‘LOOSE’ BUT IT WAS NOT MEASURED AT ALL AND I FEEL THAT I CAPTURED ‘THE GIST’ OF THE PHOTO FROM WHICH I WORKED.
TERRY WORKED FROM A PHOTO HE TOOK ON HIS PHONE THE OTHER DAY AT LAKE LOUISE. IT IS A PALETTE KNIFE WORK AND HE SAYS HE IS NOT DONE AND WANTS TO WORK ON THE GRASSES STILL. I LOVE IT ALREADY.
AFTER LUNCH WE DROVE TO KANANASKIS, A PLACE WE HAVEN’T VISITED IN YEARS! IT WAS LIGHTLY RAINING BUT WE GOT OUT AND HAD A NICE WALK AROUND MOUNT LORETTE POND. I CAN’T BELIEVE THERE IS(ALMOST) NO SNOW HERE YET. I WILL NEVER FORGET THE SNOW STORM WE HAD IN CANMORE 2 YEARS AGO WHERE WE WERE STUCK ON THE HIGHWAY FOR 13 HOURS! YOWZERS!
TIME TO HEAD HOME. COUNTING MY BLESSINGS ONCE AGAIN.
AFTER A PRETTY LEISURELY MORNING OF FRUIT/YOGURT BREAKFASTS, PRAYERS, CHECKING EMAILS AND THE LIKE, WE DECIDED TO HEAD FARTHER WEST YESTERDAY TO DISCOVER MORE ALBERTA BEAUTY.
ALTHOUGH THE CLOUDS ROLLED IN LATE AFTERNOON WE STILL COMPLETELY ENJOYED THE GORGEOUS MOUNTAIN /LAKE VIEWS OF TWO JACK LAKE, LAKE MINNEWANKA, AND LAKE LOUISE. IT WAS QUITE COOL COMPARED TO THE DAY BEFORE SO WE WERE GLAD WE BROUGHT LAYERS TO KEEP US WARM.
IT WAS QUITE ICY AT LAKE LOUISE AND IT TOOK US 3 TRIES TO FIND A PATH TO THE LAKE SAFE ENOUGH FOR ME TO TRAVERSE BUT WITH TERRY’S STEADY ARM WE FINALLY MADE IT CLOSE TO THE WATER AT THIS WORLD RENOWNED “TREASURE”.
WE KNOW THAT THIS WILL MOST LIKELY BE OUR LAST CHANCE TO TRAVEL TO THE MOUNTAINS THIS YEAR SO WE ARE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF ‘PLAYING TOURIST’ . NO REGRETS. NOT SURE IF WE’LL GET TO OUR PAINTING SUPPLIES BUT WE WILL CERTAINLY HAVE LOTS OF IDEAS FOR PAINTINGS AFTER THIS QUICK 5 DAY HOLIDAY.
IT’S STILL AMAZING TO ME THAT THIS BEAUTY IS ‘IN OUR OWN BACKYARD’ . FEELING BLESSED INDEED!
TERRY AND I DECIDED TO SLIP IN A GETAWAY BEFORE THE SNOWS COME FOR THE NEXT 6 MONTHS OR SO AND I AM SO HAPPY WE DID!
IT WAS LIKE GOD WELCOMED US WITH BEAUTIFUL PAINTINGS IN THE SKY. THE SUNSET WAS SO BEAUTIFUL ON THE WAY HERE THAT I HAD TO PULL OVER ON THE HIGHWAY AND SNAP A FEW SHOTS. WOW!
WE FOUND A LOVELY AFFORDABLE VRBO ONLINE AND FOR A CHANGE OF PACE WE DECIDED TO HEAD TO CANMORE, ALBERTA, INSTEAD OF JASPER THIS TIME. THIS FELLOW’S ONE BEDROOM APARTMENT IS LOVELY, LARGE, AND WELL APPOINTED. SINCE COVID WE ALWAYS BRING ALL OF OUR OWN FOOD AND AVOID RESTAURANTS. WE ALSO BROUGHT ONE GUITAR AND ENOUGH ART SUPPLIES TO PAINT 2 PAINTINGS EACH IF WE WANT.
YESTERDAY WAS INCREDIBLY WARM FOR NOVEMBER IN ALBERTA. WE DECIDED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE 17 DEGREE WEATHER AND HEAD OUT TO PHOTOGRAPH THE MOUNTAINS. WE WERE AGAIN REWARDED WITH THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CLOUDS THAT DANCED AND BALANCED ON THE MOUNTAIN TOPS. AT ONE POINT WE JUST SAT TOGETHER ON A ROCK AND SOAKED UP THE SUN .
LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING WHAT GIFTS TODAY WILL BRING…..
(THIS IS ALSO A GOOD DISTRACTION FROM THE BOMBARDMENT OF ELECTION DAY NEWS COVERAGE. WE’LL KNOW SOON ENOUGH WHOM THE U.S. CHOSE TO LEAD THEM.)
All Souls’ Day is marked on 2nd November (or the 3rd if the 2nd is a Sunday), directly following All Saints’ Day, and is an opportunity for Roman Catholics and Anglo-Catholic churches to commemorate the faithful departed. They remember and pray for the souls of people who are in Purgatory – the place (or state) in which those who have died atone for their less grave sins before being granted the vision of God in Heaven (called Beatific vision).
Reasoning behind this stems from the notion that when a soul leaves the body, it is not entirely cleansed from venial (minor) sins. However, through the power of prayer and self-denial, the faithful left on earth may be able to help these souls gain the Beatific Vision they seek, bringing the soul eternal sublime happiness.
A 7/8th century AD prayer The Office of the Dead is read out in churches on All Souls’ Day. Other rituals include the offering of Requiem Mass for the dead, visiting family graves and reflecting on lost loved ones. In Mexico, on el dia de los muertos (Day of the Dead), people take picnics to their family graves and leave food out for their dead relatives.
Whilst praying for the dead is an ancient Christian tradition, it was Odilo, Abbot of Cluny (France) who, in 998AD, designated a specific day for remembering and praying for those in the process of purification. This started as a local feast in his monasteries and gradually spread throughout the Catholic Church towards the end of the 10th century AD.
For the souls in purgatory, waiting for eternal happiness and for meeting the Beloved is a source of suffering, because of the punishment due to sin which separates them from God. But there is also the certitude that once the time of purification is over, the souls will go to meet the One it desires.
Letter of Pope John Paul II for Millennium of All Souls’ Day
I HAVE A PARTICULAR AFFINITY FOR PRAYING FOR THE SOULS OF MY FRIENDS AND RELATIVES WHO HAVE PASSED ON. I ESPECIALLY TRY AND PRAY FOR THOSE WHO MIGHT HAVE NO ONE TO PRAY FOR THEM.
OUR LORD TOLD ST. GERTRUDE THE GREAT THAT THE FOLLOWING PRAYER WOULD RELEASE 1,000 SOULS FROM PURGATORY EACH TIME IT IS SAID. (THE PRAYER WAS EXTENDED TO INCLUDE LIVING SINNERS AS WELL)…
“ETERNAL FATHER, I OFFER THEE THE MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD OF THY DIVINE SON, JESUS, IN UNION WITH THE MASSES SAID THROUGHOUT THE WORLD TODAY, FOR ALL THE HOLY SOULS IN PURGATORY, FOR SINNERS EVERYWHERE, FOR SINNERS IN THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH, THOSE IN MY OWN HOME AND WITHIN MY FAMILY. AMEN.”
I TRY TO REMEMBER TO PRAY THIS AS OFTEN AS I CAN. LET US REMEMBER OUR LOVED ONES WHO HAVE PASSED ON AND ASK THEM TO PRAY FOR US TOO!
DESPITE HAVING AN EXTRA HOUR OF SLEEP , IT BEING A RARE ‘BLUE MOON’, AND HALLOWE’EN LAST NIGHT….TODAY MARKS ANOTHER SPECIAL OCCASION : ALL SAINT’S DAY.
All Saints’ Day (also known as All Hallows’ Day or Hallowmas) is the day after All Hallows’ Eve (Hallowe’en). It is a feast day celebrated on 1st November by Anglicans and Roman Catholics.
It is an opportunity for believers to remember all saints and martyrs, known and unknown, throughout Christian history. As part of this day of obligation, believers are required to attend church and try not to do any servile work.
Remembering saints and martyrs and dedicating a specific day to them each year has been a Christian tradition since the 4th century AD, but it wasn’t until 609AD that Pope Boniface IV decided to remember all martyrs. Originally 13th May ( my birthday!)was designated as the Feast of All Holy Martyrs. Later, in 837AD, Pope Gregory IV extended the festival to remember all the saints, changed its name to Feast of All Saints and changed the date to 1st November.
We celebrate today the solemnity of All Saints. This invites us to turn our gaze to the immense multitude of those who have already reached the blessed land, and points us on the path that will lead us to that destination.
Pope John Paul II, All Saints’ Day 2003
SO WE HONOUR THOSE MARTYRS WHO GAVE THEIR LIFE FOR GOD AND THOSE SAINTS WHO LIVED THEIR LIFE SO WE COULD FIND OUR WAY TO HIM.
DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE SAINT? THESE ARE SOME OF MINE……
