Archive for March 2020
blue shadows
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blue shadows
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crawl across the snow
reflect trunks and branches
tufts of lichen
curves of bracket fungi
curls of bark
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blue shadows
nuanced in ultramarine
and pthalo
a dab of violet
but never grey
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sinuous, diagonal
gaps of light
slow alteration
with angle of sun
no flicker of foliage
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All my best,
Jane
writing the next mystery
Although I am working to assemble a new book of poetry this week, my mind is straying to my next novel, mostly unwritten. This book will be the third in the Kaye Eliot Mystery Series. The title, ‘No Stone Unturned.’ It may seem odd to already know the title but I usually start with a title in my head. I also know the general progress of the story.
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Kaye Eliot, my main character, is on the track of another mystery, this time the whereabouts of a lost gemstone. She and her kids have found the ruins of an old stone house on their property, Daniel the stonemason is romancing Kaye’s friend Kelly, and a visitor from Ireland is asking a lot of questions about the community.
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This is the point in a new book I most love to be as a writer: filling out the story, imagining the dialogue and building in a few twists and turns.
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The story and its title began, for me, 40 years ago when a colleague and I were doing a study of hardwood growth in the Poplar Grove area of Nova Scotia. At that time there were the remains of an old stone house in the community and my love of story started the wheels turning. The stone house in Poplar Grove has since been restored by a well-known photographer and has been in the news. To read about the real stone house, check here: https://www.thechronicleherald.ca/news/provincial/the-mystery-of-the-hants-stone-house-255258/
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If you haven’t read any of the Kaye Eliot Mysteries, there is still time to catch up!
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How Her Garden Grew takes place on the north shore of Nova Scotia, and explores the mystery of a sea captain who once lived in Kaye’s old home place, keeping a garden and a lost collection of seashells. Kaye and her kids try to solve the mystery, thwarted at every turn by nosy neighbours and a local gang of thieves.
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07RTMN6WD
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Something the Sundial Said takes place on Nova Scotia’s west coast. When Kaye’s family buys an old estate, they also gain a mystery. They find an old diary describing a century-old murder beside a missing sundial. When Kaye and her kids try to solve the mystery they encounter a local genealogist who will do anything to protect her great-uncle’s good name.
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B085QQ3RGF
I’ll keep you up to date on the progress I make writing the new story!
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All my best,
Jane
crystal ball
During these incredible days of isolation, our writing group has begun a series of prompts to help stimulate writing. One of our members suggested ‘weird phrases’ as the prompt category. So far we have had ‘ear hair,’ ‘under the fridge,’ ‘spider web’ and ‘crystal ball.’
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I have two ‘crystal balls,’ both small and both more properly called ‘glass spheres.’ But they are as close to a crystal ball as I will ever have. I am certain neither sees the ‘future’ but both show an interesting ‘present’ and both remind me of the ‘past.’
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clairvoyance
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my crystal ball
is a glass sphere
from a claw-footed
piano stool I sat on
to practice my scales
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chipped, it never
snags the sun
will not scry or clarify
occludes
forecasting fog
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it has a past
Chopin’s Butterfly Étude
in half-time
and a furry
Für Elise
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but gaze
though I may
it never resonates
with a note
about tomorrow
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although it has
guessed, after
damaging percussion,
I will never play
Carnegie Hall
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All my best,
Jane
spider web
My writing group has been sharing writing prompts in this time of isolation.
The most recent prompt was ‘spider web.’
Took me an hour to find a spider photo since I am spider-averse.
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spider web
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web enlarges spider
her domain, her coefficient of creep
extends her occupation of space
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trap for unwary
blue-bottle flies
beetles on the wing
and gnats, nattering
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all of the cobwebs
I have brushed from my face
would not weigh a gram
but they take up
a fair chunk
of brainscape
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just as the spider
is sensitive to vibration
my skin notices
the sub-threshold of touch
the tiniest occupant
of my domain
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All my best,
Jane
a quilting story: lemons and lemonade
I am going to share the long, twisty story of my poppy quilt.
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First, I am not a great quilter, but I have made many quilts. To illustrate, a friend once asked if I was ‘basting’ the quilt together first. I was not; I just quilt with long, uneven stitches.
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The story begins last Christmas when I ordered, on-line, a draft-stopper made from a row of stuffed sheep. It was adorable, well-constructed and perfect.
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So this Christmas I decided a cute lap-quilt with a sheep motif would be nice for the easy chair near the draft-stopper. So I looked on-line and ordered this cute little quilt.
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Something went wrong with the order (I think I ordered from a knock-off site) and when the quilt arrived I was beyond disappointed. Someone had taken a photo of the above quilt or one like it, had it printed on rayon fabric and sewed the ‘quilt’ together with a machine stitch.
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Meanwhile, I was planning to make a small quilt for our bedroom which is decorated with a poppy motif. I had some of the fabric, left over from other projects. I looked on- line and found the perfect fabric, in ready-to-quilt 5″ by 5″ squares. 42 squares, just enough for my quilt. Disappointment number 2. The fabric, when it arrived was beautiful. But, only 8 of the 42 squares were in the poppy motif! Grrrrr.
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So I said, dang the price and sent for another 42 (that is 8) squares. Now I still had to purchase a padding for the quilt. Hmmm. I have that ugly sheep quilt.
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So I used the sheep quilt for the backing, sewing individual poppy squares over the sheep in rows. Very pretty although the colours are probably the result of my flower-child years.
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Once I had the top completed, I sent for some fabric to do the underside. The first order was cancelled because the fabric did not print correctly, but, frustration aside, the final fabric is soft and beautiful. You can see my ‘basting’ stitches if you look closely!
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Now I will do a wide band for the edges, this time in a bright California poppy fabric. My quilt will be colourful and warm, and, somewhere within the layers of fabric, sleep 25 ugly sheep!
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All my best and may your quilting projects be without frustration!
Jane
watching you …
A couple of years ago, I did a set of five small acrylic paintings to reflect my love of mythical dragons.
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Dragons can be nasty creatures. They hoard gold, breathe fire and frighten the villagers. But they have a good side. They provide hours of entertainment, they helped explain comets in the skies for centuries and they have soulful eyes!
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Just to say, there is some good in every situation.
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All my best,
Jane
Ball’s Bridge’
In southern Ontario, the Maitland River winds through fields and woodlands before it empties into Lake Huron at Goderich.
When we visited the area two summers ago, we discovered the Ball’s Bridge on the Little Lakes Road.
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Ball’s bridge was built over the Maitland River in 1885. It is a rare example of a two-span pin-connected Pratt through-truss iron bridge and one of the oldest wrought-iron Pratt bridges in the US and Canada. The bridge was built at a time when horse-drawn carriages and carts were its only traffic. In 2006 the bridge was declared unsafe for the weight of modern vehicles. In 2008, the bridge was saved from further deterioration and eventual destruction by the Friends of Ball’s Bridge.
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The poem below tries to capture the interplay of light and shadow as we crossed Ball’s Bridge and drove the local roads.
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Ball’s Bridge, Maitland River
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on the first day of fall
landscape is criss-crossed
in lattice and wire
spider web and the flight paths
of pigeon-flutter
to the high lines
of the iron bridge
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rays of light
find solar panels
and the backs of turtles
sunning on river logs
the inter-lacing
of dark water and light
the shadows of metal and truss
intercepting wire
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cornfields
and winter wheat
embedded rows
a river and its valley
and a hawk follows
panels of air, first frost
and meltwater collects
on oval lily pads
yellowed leaves
rusted wire
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This is the second metal bridge we have visited in Ontario. A few years ago we photographed the South Nation River Bridge, in Glengarry County, not far from Cornwall. That bridge has been removed, another loss from our built landscape. For the story of our visit to the South Nation River metal bridge click here
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All my best,
Jane Tims
Watercolour lessons #3
If you are staying at home more than usual in the coming weeks, I hope you have an interest to pursue, one to relax and involve you.
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I have been taking watercolour painting lessons. As part of our recent practice of self-isolation, the lessons themselves have been postponed. But, with what I have learned, I can practice and enjoy what I find very relaxing. There is something calming about watching the colour flow from the brush to the paper, especially when using the wet on wet technique (paper is wetted prior to adding colour).
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This afternoon I painted two studies of the Teton mountains which we visited in 2001 (totally from memory). I thought the first painting could use improvement, especially with respect to the trees on the right side and the water in the lower half of the painting. Actually, I don’t think painting 2 is an improvement. Copying watercolour is more difficult since the paint has a mind of its own. Also, the second painting lacks the spontaneity of the first.
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As a result of this post, I give you two possible activities to help you during isolation:
1. have a look at the two and tell me which you think is best and in what respects.
2. pick up the tools for an activity you love and spend some time doing.
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We are a social species. Although social-distancing and self-isolation are different for us, we are also a thinking species. We can understand that success against the coronavirus requires a community response. I have faith that we will soon be able to return to our normal activities.
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All my best,
Jane
‘Something the Sundial Said’ — a new cozy mystery
Now available in paperback and ebook on Amazon – the next book in the Kaye Eliot Mystery Series: ‘Something the Sundial Said.‘ This book follows the adventures of Kaye and her family after they buy a new house in rural Nova Scotia.
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In 1995, Kaye and her young family attend a country auction, never dreaming the stone sundial in the garden is the site of a century-old murder. They end up buying the house and property but someone else buys the sundial. Then Kaye finds a diary written in 1880, chronicling the days leading up to the murder.
When Kaye reads the diary, she decides to search for the sundial and return it to the property. And she follows clues in the diary to discover who shot Rodney in the sundial garden.
At every corner, she is outmaneuvered by a local genealogist who is anxious to obtain the diary and keep information damaging to her family hidden. The woman will go to ridiculous lengths to obtain the diary, even stalking Katie, Kaye’s teenaged daughter. As Kaye discovers someone is entering her house at night to find the diary, she wonders who she can trust.
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If you love cozy mysteries, this book is for you!
To get your copy of the book, click here.
For people in the Fredericton area, I will be launching the book in April.
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All my best,
Jane
https://www.amazon.com/Something-Sundial-Said-Eliot-Mysteries/dp/1700091344
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