ATC Quarterly #16

Issue #16 is hot off the presses. The fantastic cover is by San Jose, California artist C.Z. Lovecraft. I still have envelope stuffing to do, stamping, and all that so check your mail boxes next week or the week after. If you want a sneak peek, check out the fantastic Andy Warhol ATCs that make up the centrefold. Click here.

Seahorses in the Bathroom

A few years ago I gave my friend Rosemary this tile for Christmas. She loved it and has it on her bathroom counter.


She asked me to do some bathroom stuff (toothbrush holder, soap holder, glass) to go with the tile. I think they'll be happy in that bathroom. Kind of a fun set.

Curd Festival

On Saturday, Richard and I headed to St. Albert, about a 20 minute drive west of here to their annual Curd Festival.


The main attraction for us was the giant hay maze.


There were signs describing the historical background of the maze.


Richard went ahead of me to find his way through. He and I are easily lost so we figured this would be a good test of our directional skills.


There were several "creatures" on stilts walking around trying their best to confuse us.


This extra-tall gal grabbed my straw hat and wore it for a bit.


This tall fellow in green spent much of his time lying on top of the maze telling us various funny stories about this and that.


Beware of the minotaur signs could be seen in spots around the maze.


I decided rather than to be afraid of him, I'd make friends with him. He turned out to be a very friendly minotaur!


After we managed to make our way out of the maze, we decided to get our plate of free curds.


The lineups were too long and it was just way too hot. We went into the air conditioned store...


...and picked up a bag of fresh curds and ate them on the way home. They were very fresh and very squeeky. The best I've ever had.

Man, Was I Thirsty!

The summer heat is on! Is there a better way to cool yourself off than having a long, cool drink from a water fountain in a makeup-wearing lion's gaping maw? Okay, now that's silly!

Aux Gourmandises d'Hudson

Yesterday's visit to Hudson, QC wouldn't have been complete without a visit to their local French bakery.


I love these little mouse pastries which look like cannoli with ears and tails.


This mocha cake looks good and creamy.


Yum! Lemon tarts are my favourite.


Elegant apple tarts, les tartes aux pommes.


Tarts filled with marzipan stuff kinda like almond croissants I think.


I love the sculptural quality of these walnut tarts.


This was a neat idea I had never seen before. Fresh strawberries sitting in eclairs.


Okay, are these smiling, mini-cheesecakes too cute?


Since none of the pastries had names or descriptions, I don't know what these were. Any guesses?


Here's a self-portrait of the stealth photographer. It's kind of a double exposure of me with the two reflections. Very odd.

Messages in Hudson

Yesterday I drove to Hudson, QC, a charming town about 45 minutes east of where I live. I had a great visit with Kate who offered to demonstrate a few art techniques for a future issue of ATC Quarterly.


We had a delightful picnic lunch at her house. A salad and a slice of homemade onion tart. A perfect lunch for a very hot, summer day.


While walking through town, we came across the oddest thing. It was a tree with messages hanging from it.


At first we weren't sure how they got there but then we looked down and saw this box tied to a park bench. It read: Pick a ribbon inside this box, write your wish on it and tie it to the wish tree. Have a great day.


So we opened it up and it contained ribbons and a Sharpie marker.


We both wrote messages on colourful ribbons...


...and hung them in the wish tree.


Very sweet thoughts.

If You Build It...

Richard and two neighbours replaced the old, wooden soffits on part of the house the other day. Picture the scene from the flick "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" when they get together for the barn raising.


Just exactly like that but without the dancing and fightin' and no Howard Keel. Well Richard kinda looks like him in a way...?

Wild Turkeys

Richard and I went for a drive last Sunday to Grenville, QC and on one of the side roads we screeched to a halt when I saw a wild turkey.


I grabbed Richard's camera and then noticed there were turkey babies! (What are turkey babies called anyhow, turklets?)


They all took off once I started saying hello to them. "Hellooo turkeys, it's your Auntie Ronna!" Okay so next time I'll try to be more stealth-like.

Poutine Chronicles 2009 #4

No more poutine! No more! But as we drove past Chez Celine in Hawkesbury (no, not Celine Dion but another Celine) we were drawn to the place. (There's also a tanning salon above it, so while you're waiting for your fries, you can always grab a tan!)


Perhaps we wanted to go back because we had been there with Nancy in the summer of 2006 and for nostalgic purposes, we just had to revisit it.


We perused the menu board but it all was so overwhelming.


Celine has been working hard on that menu. Now they have beaver tails for sale.


We went for the old favourite: the Parasol poutine. Hamburger, mushrooms, green peppers and onions with gravy over some fries and a scant amount of curds. More like a stew than a poutine frankly.
Rating on the poutine scale: 3.5 curds out of 5. (The view of the Ottawa River gets a 10.)

Leafy Updates

With all the rain and cooler-than-normal weather, the lettuce in my garden has lasted a lot longer than usual. The leaf lettuce has been producing for a month or more.


This butter lettuce is just gorgeous and delicate.


And the romaine is incredible. I have two smallish gardens and had another row of romaine in the upper garden but the deer got it. How much lettuce do I need anyhow?


Needless to say, Caesar salads have been a staple around here.

Adventures in Brockville

I went to visit my friend Jennifer in Prescott today and we drove a little further west to visit Brockville.


Jen made delicious egg salad sandwiches and sparkling lemonade and we had a picnic in the park. at the waterfront.


She also made yummy blueberry scones for dessert.


We stopped at Canada's First Railway Tunnel.


Actually, pretty cool.


We also stopped at this old tower.


The best was when we stopped at this totally junky "antique" shop. It had an odd smell...but lots of treasures.