Late Gifts

I worked on a painting this weekend of a small bouquet of violas I picked as I was emptying some pots in the garden.  I never have the heart to toss anything out if it's still remotely in bloom.  There are some people who tend to their gardens according to their watches and calendars.  I will wait as long as some flowers are there which means occasionally I can get backed into a wall of snow.

Here's the mug of violas in progress alongside a pansy painting I did a while ago

As I was working on my painting, I was thinking that for sure it was the last bouquet of the season. Then yesterday, I found a bunch of verbena still growing in a pot that I usually abandon outside all winter.  There was enough for not just one bouquet, but two! Talk about late garden gifts.

I think it points to what a temperate November we have had.  I would have enjoyed a little more light some days but it's hard to complain when I am still gathering flowers in late November! The temperatures are definitely changing.  The high didn't go above zero yesterday and tonight they are calling for freezing rain.

I have spent more time indoors than outdoors this week.  I have been working hard on converting my paintings into prints and have added a few more to my Etsy store.  Here's one of them:

I received a couple more orders on the weekend. When you open a new shop, it's hard waiting for the orders but so exciting when they do start coming in.  My youngest daughter Chloé saw how happy I was and, spur of the moment, decided to make me this cake to celebrate. (I posted this photo on my Facebook page, but decided to share it here for those who don't go on Facebook.)   She was limited by what we had in our kitchen drawer so my Etsy celebration cake was decorated with Winnie the Pooh candles, smurf-blue icing and sugar pearls we bought in Paris this past summer.  It was beautiful and delicious!

Here's a funny little story. A few days ago, Chloé asked me if we were going to have any guests at our place for Thanksgiving.  I said 'Pardon?'--not because I hadn't heard her, but because I wanted her to repeat the question to see if she realized what she had said.

You see we live in Canada and we celebrate our Thanksgiving in October!  It shows you what a big impact the U.S. celebration has on us. Chloé is not a kid who gets confused easily. We see the American Thanksgiving mentioned on cooking shows, in magazines, on blogs and on television shows to the point that we feel that we are celebrating along with you!

To all of my U.S. readers, good luck with all of your preparations, travel and celebrations.  I will be offering a special in my Etsy shop over the weekend, so be sure to have a look!