Sunday, April 19, 2015

Scotland

Mum and I just spent the afternoon booking our '2nd annual' trip to Scotland. For 2 weeks in September, we will be spending time in Aberdeen, where mum and dad grew up, and where many in our extended family still live. As well, we will be visiting family and friends in the Bristol and London areas of England. How exciting!

Mum started talking about and planning this holiday about 2 days after we returned from Scotland Part 1 last fall! Last year, the trip was inspired by an invitation to a Thanksgiving weekend family wedding in Edinburgh. We had a wonderful time at Kirstie and Andy's wedding and really enjoyed reconnecting with family - many of whom I had not seen since we were all little kids! It was such fun! While we were there, we spent time with my cousin Pat, Alan and Fyvie at their home in Larkhall, did city tours of Edinburgh (Edinburgh Castle above) and Glasgow, and thoroughly enjoyed a three-day tour of the Isle of Skye. Mum had never been to Skye and this was one of her wishes for this trip. It was amazing! The weather was gorgeous, skies were blue and the sights unbelievable! We had a such a great time on the holiday that, like I said, this year's trip became a topic of conversation about 2 days after we returned home last year!

Our timeline was a little tight last year because I was still working, which meant taking some time off in order to make the trip happen. This year will be a little different, given the anticipated freedoms of retirement! Mum is pleased that we can take more time, and has plans to do all the things we didn't really have time to do last year. Aberdeen is her childhood home - many family are there so we have lots of people to connect with. There are also plenty of sights and side-trips in that area that we are both looking forward to. Mum and Dad took us there as kids; I have really vivid memories of month-long summer holidays when I was 8 and then again when I was 11. Aberdeen for me is memories of family visits, giant plates of mince and tatties at the Scott home in Portsoy, rowies at Aunt Chris' (YUM - I am already dreaming of these and plan to have at least one a day while I'm there!), frigid water on beautiful North Sea beaches, visiting elderly aunties in lovely stone cottages in country villages, and much more. Those were definitely happy times and I look forward to seeing this part of Scotland again. I have never been to England so that will be a brand new adventure.

Mum says this will be her last trip to Scotland. I'm not so sure of that. She's 83, in great health, and seems to have lots of adventure in her yet! I'll do my best to be a good travel companion once again, which means carrying heavy stuff, handling the mess of documents and bookings, pretending like I know where I'm going in airports, and generally doing my best to keep up with her!

I am really grateful for this opportunity, for so many reasons. I'll be retired - yay!! I'll also be travelling again with mum, and to the place of our family roots. I am so lucky. What a way to spend my first retired September!

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Art is Life; Life is Art

About 15 years ago, Trish bought me a beautiful set of artist's pencils and a sketch book and challenged me to sketch every day while I was away on a summer vacation. Trish was the art lover. I was the musician. Our shared love of the arts made gallery visits one of our favorite pastimes in our early days. Trish saw and felt things in art that I had never really experienced before. "Art is Life; Life is Art" was one of her favorite phrases. She opened my eyes. And that's what inspired her challenge - for me to not just look at the art, but to become the artist. Like so many adults, somewhere along the way, I had come to believe that I was not artistic, that I had no talent for drawing or any other type of creative expression. Trish felt otherwise and convinced me to accept her challenge. So I did, and I managed to fill that little sketch book that summer - hands, fingers, chairs, flowers, books, album covers, all kinds of things - I still have it and it brings me right back to that magical summer every time I look at it. It was a new world for me.

That fall, I took my first painting lessons in a group class at the then new Cambridge gallery in downtown Galt. It was a beginner acrylics class and I was very nervous to start but I was instantly hooked. I bought an easel, my own paints and brushes and claimed a spot in the house and time in the day to do my 'homework' and experiment. One of my McQuarrie colleagues who was herself an accomplished artist told me to frame my new creations and hang them around the house. She said don't worry if they're not good - if you don't like them, paint something better and replace them! I took her advice and put a couple of paintings on display. They weren't good, but they were my art and I loved them!

I did take the occasional class and painted casually for about 3 or 4 years. The image in this post is a small painting I did from a photo I took at Victoria Park one 'school snow day' in January about 12 years ago. It may have been the last one I finished. I didn't intend to stop painting - it's just one of those things that happens. I have blamed my new technology job a bit for that - I was so excited in my new role that it did kind of take over my life for a while. Painting, sadly, fell by the wayside.

But, this is one of the thrills of my upcoming retirement. I can hardly wait to sign up for a painting class in the fall! It'll be a beginner class and I'm just going to start all over again! Already, when I'm out shopping or in restaurants, I find myself looking at giant canvases covered in brilliant colours and thinking "I could try that!".  I've started taking pictures of fabulous abstracts and crazy wild flowers. I have a little collection of things I want to paint! It won't be long now!

Come for tea next fall and I'll show you what I'm working on.