☀Sunlit Sunday: Our Final Week

Having been asked where my foster puss was last week, Claire is back for our final ☀Sunlit Sunday gathering for the year.

I hope that, like Claire, you've enjoyed keeping your eyes open for some sunbeams over the past few months.

Thank you for catching some of them and sharing the light here.

With our pooled effort, we've all been able to soak up a few more rays than the climate, at least in my part of the world, would generally provide during the winter months.

Here's hoping you've made a few new friends and plan to keep visiting them. Please remember to "follow" their blogs if you haven't yet done so.

Have you any comments/observations regarding this meme?

Wishing you all well,
Karen

Bring on those sunlit posts!

☀Sunlit Sunday: The Second-to-Last Week

Welcome to the second-to-last week of ☀Sunlit Sunday for 2014. 

I'd be thrilled to tell you that these are my daffodils next to the rushing spring stream.

It would also be fun to say that my stone table with its meandering rivulet (similar to yours, I'm sure), was set and ready for you to join me, but I can't. Judith from Lavender Cottage and Linda from The Crafty Gardener would be able to call me on these fibs; I know that, like me, they recently visited Canada Blooms in Toronto.

All of the "sunny" photos I'm sharing today were shot indoors. My own garden, by the way, received a light dusting of springtime snow overnight. Doesn't Mother Nature have a sense of humour! Maybe I will knit those socks after all . . .

When the weather does warm up, you'll find me sporting one of these outfits when I pop out to the local grocery or hardware store. Perhaps the dress in the upper left corner? It'll be a change of pace from blue jeans and a shirt, don't you think?

It's your turn.

☀Sunlit Sunday: Season 3, Week 11

Welcome to ☀Sunlit Sunday.

This week has had sunshine, cloud cover, temperatures well above freezing that warranted a spring coat one day, and a snowstorm the next that had me back in a warm parka, wielding a shovel.


For those who follow along regularly, look what I found in my backyard on the very warm day, before the big dump of snow. You remember the story.

Indoors, the Christmas cactus has a few blossoms and a bouquet of tulips has been adding some soft colour for just over a week.

Claire decided they were worth closer inspection.

My foster puss has been here for just over a month.

Please cross your fingers that a good home is soon found for her,

one that can provide tummy rubs on demand.

Your turn!

☀Sunlit Sunday: Season 3, Week 10

Including this week, there are four ☀Sunlit Sunday gatherings left. If you haven't done so already, you might want to start following the blogs that you've discovered and are enjoying. My sincere thanks to those people who follow mine.

For the readers who responded so positively to seeing some paintings from the AGO last week, a few more may be found in my post from yesterday. One work in particular will be appreciated by knitters and spinners.

Moving along, Claire looked quite charming in the sunshine this week.  My foster girl has taken to entertaining herself, when not snoozing or looking for attention from yours truly. There was a round of very energetic toy mouse hunting this morning; yesterday found a small mat being attacked and moved from the hall to my living room. Not by me. I take all of this activity as a positive sign that Claire feels safe and comfortable here.

On a quieter front, and in anticipation of St. Patrick's day, my shamrock is blooming. The Christmas cactus has less remarkable timing and only a few buds, but I'm pleased to see them.

Am I becoming a tad obsessed with photos of Claire? That faraway look in her green eyes, the delicate positioning of her front feet and the swoop of the tail seem to say, "I'm ready for my photo session."

Who will adopt her and when? 

I wonder.

It's time to link your "sunlit" posts. New participants are always welcome; just follow the instructions below.

More from the AGO

"By Ward Market", Ottawa by Franklin Brownell (c. 1915)

The temperature rose to 1 °C today, much warmer than it has been and much less like the day depicted in the painting shown above. While at the AGO last week, I discovered this work. The By Ward (generally known today as ByWard) Market still exists in Ottawa (my home town) and is a popular spot for locals and tourists.

"Drawing Lots" by George Agnew Reid (c. 1888-1902)

I've been doing my best to relish each day, but the call of sunny, coatless ones is growing increasingly appealing.

"Gossip" by George A. Reid (c. 1888)

While I wait for the days when gardening calls, I've set myself goals to get a couple of knitting projects completed and one started. This was the winter I was going to learn how to make socks and here it is with winter down to its final weeks. That being said, I didn't pick up the needles today, but spent a few hours with a friend, chatting and enjoying her company. Perhaps a little knitting will occur this evening, both for me and the young woman seated above.

Note: All of the Canadian paintings shown in this post and my previous one may be found in the Georgia Ridley Salon of the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO). Photography was permitted.

I'll be back Saturday evening to welcome the early birds for ☀Sunlit Sunday. There are just four more opportunities to participate before the meme winds up for another season at the end of March. Newcomers are always welcome; the guidelines may be found here.

☀Sunlit Sunday: Season 3, Week 9

Welcome to the final month of ☀Sunlit Sunday.

Some experiences are "sunny" ones, like a trip to the Art Gallery of Ontario. My friend was under the weather, so it was a solo excursion. After taking the GO Train into Toronto, I opted to walk the 20 or so minutes from Union Station to the AGO, thankful for the sunshine and my warm parka on a frigid morning.

I saw "The Great Upheaval: Masterpieces from the Guggenheim Collection, 1910-1918 ". Works by many artists were featured: Brancusi, Chagall, Duchamp, Kandinsky, Leger, Marc, Matisse, Miró, Modigliani, Mondrian and Picasso, to name some of them. Photos of the exhibition were not permitted.

Photographs are allowed, however, in the rest of the gallery. These are some of the paintings in the Georgia Ridley Salon.

``Oriental Poppies" by Laura Muntz Lyall (c. 1915)

It will be months until my poppies bloom, but with some warmth and sunlight I hope they are as lovely as these. While looking at this painting, I got lost in the quiet moment that was captured by the artist.

"The Little Worker" by Helen McNicoll (c. 1907)

The young girl, in a sunny field, also caught my eye. I don't have the vocabulary to describe it, but the use of colour and brush strokes drew me into the scene of waving grasses and flowers.

Untitled (Cows on a Hillside) by Kathleen Munn (c. 1916)

This vibrant, pastoral scene (painted almost 100 years ago) almost jumped off the wall.

I enjoy visiting galleries and seeing what appeals to me, makes me think, brightens my day. The names of these three Canadian artists were new to me. Oh, for a background in art history! I'll share one or two more paintings later this week.

Your turn: