Artists in Action

Wouldn’t it be something if you could see a Van Gogh, Kandinsky, Monet, and Klimt painting all in one room?  Well on Monday you could have, if you had peeked in on the T-4s the group of women I get together with regularly for fun and friendship.  

Glenys works on Gustav Klimt’s Tree of Life

We met at my friend Glenys beautiful home to use the present she gave each of us for Christmas- an art kit called MasterKitz that would guide us through the making of a reproduction of a famous painting.  Each kit came complete with a story about the artist’s life, a set of instructions and inspirations and every single thing you would need to complete your work of art.  

Esther works on Van Gogh’s Starry Night.

Each of our pieces was very different and it was interesting to watch while some of us used oil pastels and others water colors or oil paints.  

Debbie works on Monet’s Water Lilies.

Some of the paintings required rollers, other sponges, and some brushes.    

I worked on Wassily Kandinsky’s Black Lines.

One painting had stickers to adorn the work while I put the finishing touches on my artwork with carbon paper and a pencil. 

We started off the afternoon with a celebration of our friend Debbie’s birthday and of course the art project moved along every so much more smoothly with the wine, fruit, cheeses and sweets Glenys had provided. 

We had a lovely time and we each went home with our masterpiece as well as enough supplies in our MasterKitz  to create another one if we wanted to.  

Due to my two months in Arizona I hadn’t seen the T-4s for quite some time so it was lovely to spend an afternoon catching up and being creative together. 

You can read about more T-4 adventures here.  

Happy Birthday with the T-4s

I celebrated my birthday with three good friends who I meet with regularly. We call ourselves the T-4s.  For our October party we were spending a crafty Saturday afternoon together. But……… we started with lunch.  We each made our own little pizzas on naan bread. 

Delicious!We had each brought projects to work on after lunch. Esther was using different pencil shadings to complete a picture in her English countryside colouring book, while Glenys was making plastic covers for take home reading books for her grade one classroom. 

My friend Debbie was helping me make a Christmas stocking for my new grandson. I had bought a kit but would never have been able to put the stocking together without Debbie’s expertise and sewing skills. My friend Esther and I both have fall birthdays and Glenys had made us a beautiful cake to share. There were gifts for both of us too. 

It was a perfect way to mark my birthday.  

On Sunday Dave and I hosted sixteen people from our family for a turkey dinner and we celebrated Thanksgiving and both my birthday and my Dad’s birthday. 

And so another year has begun! 

Other posts……..

Birthday’s Past

A Sunny Birthday on a Rainy Day

 

 

A Picture Perfect Afternoon

I’d always wanted to visit the Carol Shields labyrinth in Winnipeg’s King’s Park. On Victoria Day I did with my group of friends the T-4s.

We started our afternoon with a picnic lunch. My friend Esther had picked up all kinds of salads, feta cheese, pitas and humus at a Greek Deli. I’d made little desserts and brought an assortment of beverages. It was a picture perfect afternoon. Sunshine, blue sky, puffy clouds, blossoming trees and the scent of lilacs in the air. 

After lunch Debbie painted a watercolor while the rest of us did some sketching.  

Then it was off to walk the labyrinth in Kings Park built in honor of Pulitzer Prize winning Manitoba author Carol Shields perhaps best known for her novel Stone Diaries. 

At the entry to the maze is a billboard explaining who Carol was and the significance of the labyrinth. 

At the rear is a wall containing quotes from Carol’s writing.  

My favorite was…………

The whole thing about mazes is that they make perfect sense only when you look down on them from above. There can be one route or many. It means that are lives are open.- from the novel Larry’s Party

Before we started sketching Esther inspired us by reading the lyrics of a song about the creative process called  I Think A Thing from a musical about artist Emily Carr 

A picnic, some sketching, good friends, good food and walking a literature maze.  It WAS a picture perfect afternoon!

Other T-4 adventures…….

Welcoming Spring with the T-4s

Browsing

What’s Happening with the T-4s?

 

 

English Tea With The T-4s

Just look at this elegant English tea party arrangement!  On Saturday I got together with three former teaching colleagues.  We call ourselves the T-4s and about once a month or so we spend an afternoon or evening together. This time we enjoyed a real British tea at my friend Glenys’ beautiful home.  She and Debbie had pulled out all the stops to arrange for a fun afternoon complete with dainties to die for, two kinds of tea and a perfectly appointed tea table.  Decorations included my friend Debbie’s lovely collection of quaint David Winter cottages and……… a family heirloom from Glenys’ aunt, a musical teapot that played Tea for Two when you picked it up. We ended the afternoon with rounds of Password and Catch Phrase which sometimes involved such crazy clues that we were all laughing too hard to give an answer. 

Other posts……..

The T-4s Solve a Mystery

Make New Friends But Keep the Old

A Chocogasm

The T-4’s Solve a Mystery

On Saturday my friends and I met at Enigma Escapes a new kind of entertainment option in Winnipeg that is really fun.  We were locked in a room and had exactly one hour to find the lost jewel of Zanzibar. We had to unearth many different kinds of clues in the room and figure out how they all fit together.  We needed to follow maps, solve riddles, break codes and decipher puzzles to locate the jewel.  We were a pretty good team and even finished a few minutes before our hour was up.  I can’t tell you much more because I don’t want to spoil your experience if you decide to try to find the lost jewel of Zanzibar. 

Other posts……….

Make New Friends But Keep the Old

Browsing

Pine Ridge Hollow

 

Great Meal With Friends at Pine Ridge Hollow

After spending a couple hours meandering through the farmer’s market and gift shop at Pine Ridge Hollow the T-4’s, a group of my friends that meets every month, headed into the restaurant for a late lunch.

We were given a lovely spot on the patio and enjoyed visiting over our wonderful meal with a bunch of delicious shared dishes. 

Rosemary and sea salt beet chips served with a house made goat cheese ranch dipping sauce.

Pineridge House Salad. Mixed greens with smoked Gouda, crisp apple, candied pecans, and fig baslamic vinaigrette.

 

Lemon Meringue Torte. Frozen layers of crisp and light meringue with house made lemon curd and whipped cream.

A decadent nutella brownie served with Cornell Creme vanilla bean ice cream. Topped with toasted hazelnuts and chocolate sauce.

 

And as party favors chocolate bars our friend Glenys bought us in Kew Gardens on her recent trip to London. I got to take the Lime and Lavendar one home and Dave and I polished it off that very evening.

A delicious and delightful afternoon.

Other posts………
Chocogasm

Puzzling

Finding my Inner Artist

What’s Happening with the T-4s ?

I met a woman on our trip to Ontario last month who asked about the T-4s.  She has never met any of the other T-4s but is a regular reader of my blog and said she enjoys seeing what the T-4s are up to each month. Actually we got together last week to try out Cibo’s a restaurant on the river near my home.  We had a beautiful table looking out over the water with a great view of the Provencher Bridge.  

We met last month too, but it was a bit of a work bee to help one of the T-4s who was moving. There was time to grab a bite at a local drive-in after a day of packing and moving boxes.  

We are all having adventures in the next while- visiting family in other provinces,  exploring England and  planning a daughter’s wedding so there is sure to be lots to talk about when we meet next. 

Other posts….

The T-4s Welcome Spring

A Lovely Day in Steinbach

Finding the Inner Artist

 

 

The T4s Welcome Spring

It had been almost three months since the group of friends I meet with regularly had been together.  I was in Arizona and others had also traveled and been busy with work, planning weddings and all kinds of other interesting things. Luckily we had to wait for a table at the restaurant in Assiniboine Park so we could …. go for a walk through the Leo Mol Sculpture Garden and we had time to sit on the sunny patio near the duck pond and catch up on our lives in the warm sunshine.  Once in the restaurant we met our waitress Lorraine who was just a hoot!  She convinced us all to order her special very spicy Caesars. Very spicy is how I’d describe Lorraine too, full of fun and adventure, happy and life affirming. “I could just tell this group was special,” she said as she related details about her latest kayaking trip. We had a long leisurely lunch.  The restaurant had been packed when we arrived but as we talked and talked and talked the crowd thinned and even the lively Lorraine left, pulling out her pony tail and shaking her lovely white hair free, as she exited into the spring air. It was late in the afternoon before we finally paid our bill at the restaurant and headed over to the park conservatory. The place was all decked out for Easter and in one room the fragrance of the flowers washed over you as soon as you entered. It was heady!Such a perfect place for visiting. We only left when the security guard came around to tell us the conservatory was closing. But our day wasn’t over yet.  We drove over to La Cuisson on Corydon a new cafe featuring British and French pastries, teas and coffees. The waitress brought samples of all different kinds of teas and coffees to smell.  What to choose?I couldn’t resist the Sleigh Ride tea ( it just smelled so good) but the others had coffee and we were invited to watch while coffee master Hui Li created special hand crafted cups of coffee using the syphon method. It’s a unique technique Hui Li has been studying for two years. We finally settled on which desserts to order. The talented young pastry chef who made them was there to serve our beautifully presented plates. We all took bites of each others before enjoying our own selections.We were sitting in the cozy coffee table space at the back of La Cuisson  and so we had our own private spot to carry on with our conversation, till someone looked at their watch.  It was nearly 7:30!  Time to think about going home and to select a date for our next get together. It had been a great day.Welcoming spring in with friends. What could be better? 

Other posts about the T-4s……

Should the T-4s Get Tattoos or Go Skydiving? 

I’m Getting Crafty for Christmas

A Lovely Day in Steinbach