A suprise visit

On Monday we had a lovely surprise visit from our son Paul.

While Henk and I were gardening, Rachel my daughter picked Paul from Nelson airport and they walked up our drive together. We live 800 km apart and we don't see each other often, so this visit was very special for us.

The weather was great, sunny and warm for winter and as a family we went for coffee on the Mapua warf and on Tuesday for a picnic in Tapu Bay.

We had a lovely family time together.

I didn't have a lot of time for painting, but made a quick sketch of  winter flowers and grasses from our garden.

Winter bouquet 

  

Mapua warf

My water colours

Father and son

Winter picnic

Every Sunday I am part of Sunday Sketch

Nearly Spring

Spring is not far away, only a month, but for now it feels far away.

Spring Birds nest

The South Island is in the grip of winter and it has been snowing in many places.

The top of the South Island were we live has a more tempered climate, so snow is not common,but frosts are and last night was one of the coldest nights we had this winter.

Oke, I find it cold, but minus 5 is for many places in the world a bit of a laugh, I know!

But in the garden the tops of Spring bulbs are appearing and the snow drops are flowering. 

I make up little Spring posies to sell at my plant stall and they sell well, I think a lot of my neighbours are waiting for the beginning of Spring just as much as I am.

I painted a little birdsnest with eggs to remind me that warmer weather is on its way.

Honor

Also I painted a little water colour portrait of Honor I send to Paul and Emma, as a memory keepsake for them.

A few weeks ago I taught a mixed medium workshop at a drop in center for people with mental health illness and we made collages with old magazines.

I was really impressed with the collages, not all the work is finished, but I post some examples.

Some collages took three sessions to finish, but we hope to work towards an exhibition in the near future.

Flowers in vase

All blacks Rugby player

Cup cake

I am part of bluechairdiary.blogspot.nl/2016/05/sunday-sketches-pocketful-of-memories.html

All about dogs

drawings of honor

What a week;it started with the sad news that Honor the dog from my son Paul and his fiancee Emma was very sick. Honor is the most beautiful and adoring Golden Retriever, she is funny, stubborn and extremely loving to everyone she meets.

This year Honor played the roll as Sandy the dog in the musical Annie in Queenstown and she was the star of the show.

Only two weeks ago Honor started to refuse food and water and she went down hill very fast, the vet put her on intravenous fluid, but after an ultrasound the vet found out Honor had severe kidney disease and her kidneys were failing.

For a whole week she stayed on the IV and  Honor went home to Paul and Emma on Monday.

Honor and Ollie swimming together

Beautiful Honor, we will remember her

But sadly Honor lasted only a few more days and then on Friday this week Honor was put to sleep.

We all feel very sad and especially this loss is very hard for Paul and Emma, because Honor was only four years old and they loved her to bits.

A few years ago I did a drawing of Honor and this was a Christmas present to Paul and Emma, I did another drawing today to send to them as a memory of Honor.

On Wednesday I went with Ollie, my dog to the rest home and hospital, Ollie was the happy therapy dog again and we visited the hospital, dementia ward and the rest home wing.

In the dementia ward Ollie helps to connect people with the world again, even if it is just for a moment.

The nurse took me into one of the residents rooms, Brian was asleep in his bed and dementia patients seem to sleep more and more. Ollie put his nose in his hand and just for a moment Brian reacted slightly, but not enough to wake him up. Ollie lies down next to his bed and just is there in the moment with Brian.

One of the other residents has hardly any facial expressions anymore and doesn't talk, but when he noticed Ollie he smiles, just a little.

Ollie has this gentle influence on people, they come up and like to stroke him.

Honor was the same, she made a difference in peoples life and we will remember this beautiful Goldie.

I am part of Sunday Sketches