Whew!

Wow, another week gone.  How can that be?  Seems I had something on every day!  

Monday - Don and I traveled to Warren to get special winter seed wheat.  Just a quick turn around trip.  Did take time to stop in Elie to see the Dutsons (but they weren't home) and Jim and Alison Gladstone.  Visited with Alison (Jim aka Shavey, away at a BlueGrass event) on their back deck that looks over the LaSalle River - beautiful and very restfull!

Tuesday - Dropped off parts in Notre Dame that needed to be fixed for Don.  Went to THAA for hot dog lunch, had iced coffee with Joan and Shirley on our deck, and then to meetings later in the day.

Wednesday - Drove to Wpg, to drop off a quilt challenge with Yvonne Carlson.  Saw Leah and Aaron.  Took Leah to lunch.  Then she, Yvonne and I played with some 'discharging', a technique of decorating cloth by bleaching it using any variety of objects to block the bleach and leave an image.  We had fun in the afternoon heat before Leah had to leave for her evening class.  Then I met up with Aaon and took him out for a quick snack after he was done work.

                                           Picture of my quilt challenge for Carellen Sewing Centre.

Yvonne and I ready with the bleach

Here I am spraying the bleach over my fabric.

Before bleach is applied, notice various plants used as stencils.

After bleach is applied and the plants are removed, you can see the action of the bleach turning the fabric orangy.

Thursday - Traveled to Morden with Joan Hutlet and Shirley Tate.  Joan had an eye doctor appt.  We drove her home as she wasn't to drive for awhile due to eye drops.  Stopped at Morden Nurseries and got a couple of shrubs and a few new perennials.

Friday - Subbed at TCI.  Saw the staff and students.  Felt okay about being away for the year.  Nice to visit with the students.  Realized that the staff is VERY small!

Saturday - Went to the Pembina Valley Artists' Studio Tour with Joan, Shirley and Catheryn.  We drove to Morden - visited a wood worker (bought a small table for the sunroom); two painters set up their work on a wood chip path in a beautiful backyard garden setting; and saw various quilters' works at the Quilters' Den.  Lunch in Winkler at the Gingerwood Tea House. 

Photo of Bert the  woodworker and the multi-coloured table I bought from him.

Checking out the quilt on the outside of the Quilters Den.

Then on the way to Altona we visited Jake Guertzen, sculptor, metal worker extraordinaire!  He is amazing!  Saw the life sized metal bison he is currently working on.  I bought a garden sculpture of a bull rush for my raised flower bed.  We also visited Barb Weibe's pottery studio on her farm.  It is near her beautifully renovated heritage farmhouse in an old barn surrounded by the most beautiful gardens you could ever imagine.  I don't know how these artists have time to garden like this!!

Jake showing us how he enlarges his image from a smaller wax sculpture into the large bison.   

You can see the beginning of the head on which he has already welded pieces of iron.

Our selection of pottery pieces to buy.  

We are sitting upstairs in the barn that Barb uses as her studio (on ground level) and display area.  

Relaxing outside Barb's studio on a rock bench, with boxes and bags of pottery purchases!

In Altona we stopped at a quilter and paper worker, husband and wife duo studio.  It was great.  The duo combine their artistic talents and come up with amazing designs!!  We also stopped at a batik and painting artist's home.  When we got there I realized we were related.  Here it was the home of Jill Ferris, Aubrey Ferris' daughter!!  (We are connected through my grandmother Norma MacDonald, nee Ferris.)  Small world.

Amazing quilt designed and quilted by the artistic duo.

The last stop was in Gretna at the Buhler Centre where a painter displayed his work and was working on some of his paintings.   (The Buhler Centre is attached to the Mennonite Collegiate Institute.  A large high school for the area that houses boarding students from locations all across Manitoba as well as out of the province/country.)  To finish the day we went to Nora's Diner for supper.  The food was exquisitely prepared by a gourmet chef and served to us by his friendly wife.  Blackened tilapia and salmon linguini were the favorites of the evening.

Enjoying a wonderful meal at Nora's Diner in Gretna.

Phew, being on a leave from work is exhausting!