Frames!

Oh what a fantastic day of post! (UPS actually, so maybe not technically Canada Post..)

My custom frames from DAcustomframes on etsy came today!

*excitement dance*

My paintings finally have a proper home.. I almost want to build little roof frame additions for them..

Now it just might be time to approach the gallery downstairs.

-Benny

Oh yes.. vegan cupcakes.

Free advertising always rocks my socks. When it comes along with a great product review from the vegan cupcake goddess of my blog world.. heavenly.

http://bakeanddestroy.net/

Natalie did a super job on her annual "Mother's Day Gift Guide" this year.. full of great suggestions for those moms with tattooed knuckles AND for those without. What an equal-opportunity kind of gal.

I myself just hope that this finally settles the score with my own mother over the large "Dad" heart tattoo on my arm... *grin*

Happy almost Mother's Day!

I'm Baaaack!

Whew! After a very full week in PEI, I've returned home with my organic crop inspectors certification and a head chock full of tasty new knowledge. Boots that are full of red dirt are yet another up side.. a little reminder to gaze upon through the coming days, until the rains hit Halifax once again.

While I was in PEI, I had access to a car.. which of course means access to the greatest toy store of all time... Owls Hollow! <---- click for the cutest site ever. With a spouse-imposed time limit, we wove our way through the shop, dodging small children at every step.. looking for the real goods. He picked up a new Carcasonne game (SwEeeeT!.. it's the ocean version.. "the discovery) and I found some solar print paper. Oh lucky day!! I used to play around with this stuff when I was young.. a product of having teacher parents I suppose.. :D But really.. this paper is amazing.. almost as great as polaroid. It comes sealed in a black-out bag.. you have to pull one sheet out in a dark place & then place all kinds of delightful "found" items on it.. expose it to sunlight for 1-5 minutes (depending on strength of sun) and then rinse with water to hold the image.. The blue paper will have turned white in the sun, with the space under your items staying blue.. when you rinse it, the white parts turn blue again and the blue parts turn white!

that's not a very good explanation.. I've included a picture to help explain myself a bit better.

Nothing like a little childhood memory game to turn me into an excited elf.

Lotus Crowns and Spring Colour..

Finally... a new record!

Only because it lets me semi-productively avoid studying for my upcoming crop-course...

I love this one.. the colours are so fresh.. the little blue flowers in the center are so spring-like with their tiny yellow pollen dusters.. *grin*. Metallic gold is one of my favourite paint colours right now.. it also behaves the best. Great coverage with only one coat and flows without clumping.. always a bane to the painter's existence.

Just wanted to share this great shot before I lose myself in soil biology.

There's a mess..

On my floor, "desk", couch and countertop..

Spring was supposed to have sprung.. and now instead we have a full-blown winter storm on our hands again. So, today, on this marvelous day off.. I paint!

But, what to paint.. with one custom order (really, a wedding gift for a friend), two Etsy randoms and a massive five-vinyl series dedicated to "how do you like your coffee?".. I'm surrounded by symmetrical art and my hands are covered in paint splotches. If only I was born this way, I would've saved more than my fair share of tattoo money..

So.. how do YOU like your coffee??

-Benny

Saturday Blogging..

Well, it seems like a tradition now that I sit with coffee and market-treat in hand on Saturday mornings and check up on the internet world. Etsy shop usually comes first (I'm addicted.. this usually branches off to the Craftcult Heartomatic too..).. then twitter, where I catch up on other's blog lives (trying to enter some giveaways and such there too.. you never know!).. and after all is said and done, sit back and type up a little something about the market for y'all.

It was -16 degrees this morning with the windchill factor.. it's supposed to be spring! Temperature aside, the sun is starting to stick around a bit more.. and shine just that much brighter in the sky.. I can feel the little sprouts and shoots pushing around in the soil.. the time for renewal and rebirth is here. I'm working on a new painting with this as the theme... & hope to have it up here by next weekend.

On a completely different note, I was accepted into a one-week intensive course on Prince Edward Island called Certified Organic Crop Inspection.. the basic certification needed to inspect land and crops to ensure Certified Organic status. I need to buy rubber boots (I left my old, really nice ones, on the dairy farm). It's an amazing opportunity and step forward in life for me.. I've been feeling so stifled in my seemingly endless chain of cheffing jobs. This will be a way to get back into the farming life again somewhat and assist those who want to get into organics. As an inspector, I'll be in a consulting and support role as well... helping out new farms trying to get established and also working with those transitioning to certified status. My Mother is already calling me the crop cop. Priceless.

As an aside.. it seems like more and more people in their late 20's and early 30's are feeling the pull of the land. Young couples and even young single mothers are starting up small, organic farms all over the country. I can't say how happy this makes me feel... makes it seem like our dream of doing the same thing (while maintaining necessary off-farm income as well) might actually be attainable. My hands are itching to plant right now with the ground thawing out... I wonder if we could break out onto the roof of this apartment building and set up some soil platforms.. ? *grin*

Cheers & have a great day!
-Benny

Beeswax candles, more turnovers and cucumbers!

Cucumbers! We found cucumbers at the market!

Ohhhh boyyy... you know what this means.. in a few short weeks (ok, maybe several), there'll be green crunchy things of all sorts. Then colourful things of all sorts! My mouth is watering thinking of fruits and spicy arugula and tomatoes and melon..

I was lucky enough to spend all of last summer in paradise (Salt Spring Island, BC) apprenticing on an organic farm, cheesemaking. My best friend was the daughter (and chief worker) of the greatest organic produce farm and orchard on the island.. this meant many trades of cheese for veggies and cider and cantaloupe. Honestly, I've never had cantaloupe taste like honey until then.. dripping down my arms as I snuck samples (traded samples) from their stand all season.

The sun is just starting to shine above the business towers of downtown Halifax and the spring bug has it's fangs deep into my ankle.. too bad that it's minus 15 here today.

The market today was a bit slow, even for 7:30 am.. I heard rumours that it's because it's March break... BAH.. if I had kids running around, I'd be dragging them up to the market before sunrise to fill their mouths with turnovers and their eyes with delight.

Cheers,
-Benny