Beans, Beans, Beans!

Oh my goodness but the garden is producing!!  I went out to pick the yellow wax beans. Lots of them!  Then I decided to check the green beans. Usually they are a little behind the yellow beans. But no!  They are right ready too!

Guess what is on the menu for the next few days??

Joan and Norbert's Garden

All the moisture we have received this year has been wonderful for the outdoor flower gardens. I strolled through Norbert and Joan's garden which looks glorious right now.

The lilies are outstanding!  Multiple blossoms in one stem. Clematis and other perennials look magnificent too!

View on the north side of the house.

Up close view of Star Gazer lily.

The climatis is in full bloom.

Joan's model of Aunt Zoe's garden.

Succulents in a log.

The Quilt Art of Heather Lair

Through the Eye of the Needle, an exhibit of Heather Lairs work, is on exhibit in Gimli this summer at the New Iceland Heritage Museum.

The artistic vision of Heather Lair is rooted in tradition and expressed with innovation.  Her background was in traditional quilting, and she had instinctive as well as a trained appreciation for the techniques and inventiveness of those legions of women for whom beautiful quilts and skillful sewing were a virtue of necessity.

Heather was from the Maritimes (PEI), and the many-coloured sea, the strewn shore and the distant horizon were a never-ending thread in her life and work.  Later, living by Lake Winnipeg under the big bright sky took her further on her artistic journey.  Experience and vista were constants in her concepts and fibre art.  Heather said, "Colour, process and landscape inspire me.  How colours interact - the spectrum of hues and intensities - is fascinating.  Lake Winnipeg, with the changing colours of the rocks, water and sky inspire me as the seasons progress.  My attachment to my world can be quite literal."

I was fortunate enough to have known Heather and to have taken a few workshops with her.  I miss her serene gaze and her charming smile.  Her art work keeps her memory alive.

Islands, Lake Winnipeg

Details - Heather attached rocks with embroidery cotton.
Notice her hand quilting stitches.

Celtic Dreams

One wall devoted to Heather Lair's original landscapes.
I love how she incorporates landscape art with traditional blocks as frames.

Another wall showing Heather's Celtic Banners.
Gorgeous hand applique work.

Enjoying the GFF

Don and I have already seen 5 films at the Gimli FilmFestival. Very interest variety.

Program

The beach screen during the day shows the frame with the screen rolled up.

Watching the River Runs Through It on the beach on Thursday night.

The A-Spire Theatre is a decommissioned church turned into a arts theatre.

Aaron and I.
Aaron is having a blast!  We get to see him in his element!!

Sioux Narrows

Don and I drove to Sioux Narrows to visit Donna and Craig for a couple of days. We has beautiful dock weather and went out on the pontoon boat each afternoon. Blissful!!

The water in the Lake of the Woods is higher than I have ever seen. About 3 feet more than usual!!  Image three feet more water over that baste area. That is a lot of water!!  Many boathouses are submerged and damaged. We saw one boathouse that had totally collapsed. Donna and Craig's is underwater, but is withstanding the water logging. 

Don and Craig on the pontoon boat.

Donna enjoying her pontoon boat!

Sioux Narrows Icon - the wooden bridge, now rebuilt out of steel, but kept the wooden bridge look.

This boat dock is destroyed by the high water level. 

Donna and Craig's cottage, boat house and floating dock.

The boat house is under about 3 feet of water!

Henderson Invitational Golf Tournament

Jan and Dave invited a bunch of the Mesa friends to play golf and have supper in Morden. Only Shayne and Mel, and Din and I could make it for golf. Harry and Caroline joined us for supper. It was a gorgeous day for golf!!

Breckfast on the patio before we head out to golf.

The gang at the first tee off.

Looking from the tee off - I almost got it to the green!!  Wow!

Manitoba Craft Museum

I finally got to Winnipeg to visit the Manitoba Craft Museum. It is just off Kennedy Street among a lot of one way streets. Luckily, Yvonne knew where to go.

The museum has a library and a small exhibit  area. Yvonne was able to borrow three books on bobbin lace, as she is a member. I enjoyed looking at the displays and trying out a loom. Lots of fun!!

Sit down loom.  Just the right size.

Here is a sample of what I was able to weave in about 5 minutes.
(The part above the white horizontal stripe.)

Putting the shuttle through the warp threads.
Fun!  Addictive!  Meditative?!

The Furniture Wizard

I took a sea grass woven rocking chair to the Furniture Wizard to be repaired. It was originally my Great Auntie Gertrude's.  The wizard figured it was made before the First World War. Sometime around 1914. It is a real antique and a special piece of furniture because of it being Auntie Gertie's. I sure hope he can fix it!

The furniture wizard with my sea grass rocking chair in need of repair.

Double Vision Exhibit

I went to the Portage and District Arts Centre to view an exhibit by twin sisters called Double Vision. Debbie Richards is a quilt artist from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.  Her twin sister, Diane Stewart, a textile painting artist, is from Blind River, Ontario. For this exhibit they chose various photographs for inspiration and each created a piece based on that subject matter. They did not see each others work during the process, so would not be influenced by the others concept. The results are amazing!  The exhibit is on display until August 1, 2014. Try to get to see it; it is wonderful

!

Tomorrow We'll Be Skating
The bottom art is by Diane the textile artist.
The top abstract interpretation is by her twin sister, Debbie, the quilt artist.
Both are gorgeous; perfect to be hung in a grouping! 

Reaching - two different depictions of the reaching giant trees of the forest.

Canadian Icon

Getting Ready

Frozen Interlude

Detail - Showing hand-done thread stitching of grasses

A Day of Promise

Detail - Showing intricate cutting of pieces, including some pinking shear cuts.

Music of the Forest

Detail - Amazing amount of cutting of fabric to make the leaves in the forest!!
My hand hurts just looking at it!!

Spraying Fungicide

Don was out spraying wheat with fungicide. All this moisture will be great for the fungus to grow on the plants.

Everything is very automated now a days. The sprayer gets filled with water and the chemical is put in a special machine that opens the bottom of the chemical bottle and even rinses it out. No need for the farmer to open containers, splash chemical on themselves or anything. A great improvement!!

Unloading a box of two jugs of fungicide.

Putting a jug of fungicide in the mixer.

Jug is punctured through the bottom by the mixer and rinse the jug too.
No handling of the fungicide required; rather it is all done by the mixer.

Wheat looks great, but all this moisture will be a boon to the fungi as well!

Spray coming out of the boom.

Don driving the tractor.

GPS auto-steering maintains the direction of the tractor so the spraying is even in coverage.
Don uses the auto-steering on the lengths of the field, but has to take it off to do the turns.