Just listed on Etsy...

I finally found some time, this morning, to photograph and list these.

A post featuring my jewelry...

Great news this morning!
Laura Trevey is featuring some of my jewelry on her great blog, "Bright, Bold, and Beautiful" with a link to my Etsy shop!
It sure makes my day!
Thanks Laura!

My dogs and me.

Last but not least, here is Maya.

She is a cross between a Labrador and a Bernese Mountain Dog.

We bought her at a regular farm for $50.00! She was the runt of the litter, and that's what made us take her.

A little before her adoption, my sister had given us a kitten who had tried really, really hard to befriend our old cat, without ever succeeding. So, when we arrived with this puppy, who at that point was the same size has he was, it was such a celebration! They started to play right away, and they did so until their adulthood.

Maya is probably the best dog I ever had; she's smart, she obeys and she loves kids.


Then there was Zoé with her beautiful brindle patterned robe. I adopted her at the SPCA. She was a very loving dog, but very nervous, scared of everything, and a glutton!
She died at eleven.

This was Albert, a great dog that was given to me as a baby when I was 25. He died at the age of sixteen.
Here is a photo of this serious and courageous (he would climb ladders amongst other things) dog that I always liked very much.

A green bouquet

Illustration © Luc Normandin

We're back!

While doing my taichi, last night, on my driveway, I realized that the mosquitoes really are back, and hungry as ever!
This is an illustration that I made for Muskol, a few years ago .

Illustration©Luc Normandin

While twittering...

I just was managing my follows on Twitter and I fell on this photography site "Instants suspendus" by Mylène Bressan, that really touched me, so I want to share.
Here are but a few of these shallow depth of field images...

Smell this!

Today was a glorious day!
With smells of lilac and lilies of the valley, a cloudless sky, gardening, cooking, reading a great book, enjoying life...
What more can you ask for?

Planting potatoes

Today's a magnificent day: 30˚c (86˚F), sunny, somewhat windy (no mosquitoes!), so it's perfect for planting!

Lorraine, my friendly neighbour, who has access to a reliable potato tubers pusher, has been so kind as to give me, again this year, a good amount of Ratte potato tubers.

These small oblong potatoes, of french or danish origin, are absolutely delicious.

They are, with their unique nutty taste, a favorite of french chefs.

I plant them about 18 inches apart, with bone meal and wood ashes.

For some facts about potatoes.

A lovely afternoon at Montreal's Botanical Garden

Yesterday was a holiday here in Quebec, so I enjoyed a beautiful afternoon with my daughter at Montreal's Botanical Garden.
The orchids greenhouse was particularly interesting.
Here are some photos that I took:

A few given pieces

A formula, a mantra, a prayer?

This formula has been passed to me by my father.
He used to read psychic books, amongst others (he was an avid reader), and I believe that it comes from one of those "spiritual books".
I have said it everyday for over thirty years now:

"I know definitely, that the right thing will come into my life, at the right time for my peace of mind, because I have all doors open wide, and I am in right thinking".

Giveaway for photoshop users

This is a two picture faux-matte to be printed on your inkjet printer.
It consists of different layers and can accomodate any digital images.
Here, I have used it with old botanical watercolor images. You can see it in it's frame.
The main color (green here) can be changed to fit the subject, the frame or your environment.

You can download the (zipped) photoshop file by clicking on the ornate flowery frame.

My first portfolio illustration...in 1977!

Scilla siberica

Mean beauty

This beast is over a year old.
Last fall, it was over one meter across, and, since it's in an untamed part of our land, I let it grow.
I wonder how large it will get!

Beautiful flowers, beautiful people...

This is about my neighbours, Lorraine and Michel, who have been cultivating Hemerocallis for over nine years now.
They have over 400 varieties of these. They offer a visit of their garden, which is beautiful, for a mere $4,00, and they also sell online.
They are very sweet people and dear friends of ours.
Photos Michel Servant

A few long necklaces that I sold recently