My pal Charles

Charles Frederick Drinkwater

November 16, 1954 - January 2, 1997

Charlie was a powerful force in our lives; a special, happy, funny guy.
He was gentle, but no push-over, and as kind as he was, he
certainly wasn't a saint.

deliberate, passionate, literate, smart, creative, colourful,
happy, happy, joy, joy

He was my best friend and we had a lifetime of plans that we didn't get to walk through together.
Ten birthdays have passed since Charles died and we still miss him, laugh with him and celebrate all the wonderful, amazing times we had with him. This rose bush was given to Neil and I by Sue, who was also a dear of Charlie's. It survived the move from Toronto and we planted in our garden where it bloomed all summer; in fact, it's blooming still, stubbornly.

Charles would have loved these luscious, fragrant, slightly rebellious blooms, still blazing with colour, long after our first snow fall.

Our new (middle-aged) son

Yesterday, following a whirlwind of interviews and test “walkies”, we welcomed into our home our new son, Frankie, from Barkin Rescue.

He’s 8 doggy years young, which is slightly shy of middle-age for a poodle, he's even tempered, calm and cute as a lamb.

My Southern show

There are moments in your life when everything seems so warm and rich.

This past weekend was one
of those times.

Showing my own work is unavoidably stressful and it's always a surprise when we invite people to a display of my work, and they actually show up! I must say I truly have a wonderful group of friends and family. Many are cut-off from buying any more pieces - they could already open their own Grindley Gallery!

It was the first time we'd done a Toronto show since moving to St. Thomas, and most of the time we were too busy hugging and catching-up to even notice the red sale dots appearing here and there. It was so fitting that Southern Accent hosted my show since the restaurant was my second home for so many years. Neil has his own special memories from his time there and, for both of us, one of down-sides of our moving away was not being able to see Frances as often as we used to.

I loved seeing all my friends and meeting a few new ones, and it was particularly touching when our late friend Charlie's aunt Mabel walked in. Mabel is very special to us and Southern was always Charlie's favourite restaurant so the combination was particularly touching. Thanks so much to Nancy for making that happen.

Big hugs and thanks to Frances for doing all the stuff she does and being so greathearted. I wish our schedule had been a bit more generous; dining at Southern Accent is still one of our favourite parts of life (I love the piquant shrimp, Neil loves the Cajun Martini's and Bourbon Sours).
And as always, thanks to Dana for being our chauffeur and indulging us in our big city must-dos (Mountain Equipment Co-Op, SOMA Chocolates, Whole Foods). Next time we do this, we're thinking of combining it with a Cajun brunch so people could have something nice to look at and something great to eat. Yum - can't wait.

Another full circle moment

We were in Port Stanley yesterday sourcing rental cottages with pal Lorraine and decided to make a quick visit to the Lake Erie Beacon to say hi to Linda and Andrew. Linda and Andrew were my fantastic hosts during the Port Stanley Art Tour some months ago, and I like to drop-in whenever I'm in town.
When I walked in, Linda say "I guess you've heard" to which I said "huh?". She gestured to the wall of the office, and hanging there was the painting I'd donated to the art centre auction! I wasn't able to attend the auction and hadn't even heard if my painting had sold. What a great surprise, that my new friends at the Beacon had bought my painting.

"Works well under a deadline"

I guess I do work well when the pressure is on.
Typically, as a show-date gets closer (just a few days away now) I'd be spending the remaining time rushing about packing canvases, getting business cards ready, collecting easels and such. But this time I'm getting inspired to do more works! The colder and grayer it gets outside, the more flowers I have inside.