What Faith Can Do- Kutless w/lyrics

I will be on a car trip with my family ♥ and wont be posting till beginning of August, Leaving you with this beautiful song of encouragement by Kutless.

Goodbye Ladies In Blue...Knossos Palace painting in Montreal will soon be gone!

Last summer my July 3, 2009 post I was delighted to show off this beautiful mural painting in a parking lot in Montreal's Greek part of town....now a building is going up in that spot:

Well at least we got to see her♥ Perhaps the muralist will adorn another bare concrete space with her gracefull figure♥

Tah-dah! Boutique, Galerie, Metiers d'art at Jean Talon Market!

This is a brand new delight at the farmers market in Montreal, Marche Jean Talon.

The owner is an enterprising young woman "Sabrina", who has artistic style and saavy.

Her store includes unique gift items that are hand selected by her and made by Montreal artists, myself included.

There is something for every price, and every price is something unique.

So if you are looking for a surprise, pass by her shop, you will be glad you did!

as she says; "Une surprise yous y attend!"

156 rue Jean-Talon est

metro station:Jean-Talon

I Hear You

The ear that hears the rebukes of life

Will abide among the wise.

Proverbs 15:31

Alfred Nobel - Sweet inspiration for second chances-A Do-Over

A change of heart can change how we are remembered.

Consider the Swedish chemist who was probably stunned when he read his own death notice

in the morning paper; it read,

"The inventor of dynamite, who died yesterday,

devised a way for more people to be killed in a war than ever before,

and he died a very rich man."

It was a mistake, his brother had died, but this obituary had a serious and far-reaching impact

on the way his legacy would be recorded.

He did not want to be known for developing an expedient, efficient way to massacre people

while garnering personal wealth in the process.

So to this end, he founded a series of awards for scientists, writers, leaders, and humanitarians whose achievements support the furtherance of peace.This is now recognized as the Nobel Prize.

Alfred Nobel once wrote: "Every man ought to have the chance to correct his epitaph in midstream and write a new one."

Source for this post: In Touch magazine, June 2010, part of the ministry of In Touch Ministries Inc. Atlanta GA.;

"Power on Loan,  What the rise and fall of Kings can teach us about the world's most temporary commodity. "by Dan Schaeffer pg 30. http://www.intouch.org/

Happy Belated 4th of July to my friends and followers in USA♥

Mercy Me - Finally Home

Deleted the video link, it takes too long to load my blog with video. Thanks for looking and your kind comments♥

On July 4th, it will be 19 years since my father went to be with Jesus.

The words of this song express the words I cannot say.
( earlier I said 20...but its only 19...)

Happy Canada Day!

My family came to this great country in 1948 from "the old country"...Greece♥

And I am proud to be Canadian, thanks Papou for choosing Canada!

Rotary International Convention 2010 - Montreal June 20-23

Rotary is a worldwide organization of more than 1.2 million business, professional, and community leaders. Members of Rotary clubs, known as Rotarians, provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world.

Montreal Rotary Club was host to the convention.

Greg Mortenson spoke on June 21st. He is the author of the book :"Three Cups of Tea" is one of the most remarkable adventure stories of our time. Greg Mortenson’s dangerous and difficult quest to build schools in the wildest parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan is not only a thrilling read, it’s proof that one ordinary person, with the right combination of character and determination, really can change the world.” -Tom Brokaw

Country music legend and philanthropist Dolly Parton spoke at the fourth plenary session on 23 June about the importance of early childhood reading.
She has founded an initiative called Dolly Parton's Imagination Library.
In 1996, Dolly Parton launched an exciting new effort to benefit the children of her home county in east Tennessee. Dolly wanted to foster a love of reading among her county’s preschool children and their families. She wanted children to be excited about books and to feel the magic that books can create. Moreover, she could insure that every child would have books, regardless of their family’s financial situation. To date they have distributed 25 MILLION books to children!


A few years ago, I had the honor of designing a new banner for The Rotary Club of Montreal.

The conference was a hit!

The Welcome address in the Dawson College Amphitheatre. The chairperson of the Illustration and Design Program donated the room to us. We had participants from Ontario and guest presenters from Vermont College of Fine Arts. where they have a MFA Writing for Children and Young Adults.

Shelley Tanaka presented two sessions:

1.A Master Class in Writing for Children

2.Strategies From the Editor's Desk

Shelley Tanaka is herself a tour de force.

She is a fiction editor at Canada's foremost publishing house. She is an award winning author of childrens non-fiction. She has translated picture books from German and French to English. And she is a professor at Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA Writing for Children and Young Adults.

We couldn't write fast enough to take in all that she imparted to us in such an excellent way. She was a most gracious speaker, involving her audience, and answering questions.

This is a panel discussion called:

Breaking Into the RedHot KidLit Market.

It was moderated by Raquel Rivera. The group of Montreal authors spoke about how they broke into the industry and are still flourishing. They also shared their experiences like dealing with the dreaded rejection letter, and researching publishers. It was very encouraging and very informative.

From Left to Right are:

Raquel Rivera, Lori Weber, Monique Polak, Joyce Scharf, Alan Silberberg, Jill Murray and Paul Bracegirdle.

There is much more that I cannot include cuz it would be so-o-o-o much to read...so next year come and join us!

Until then you can join YesOuiCanscaip in the fall, its free and enriching! And you can meet these authors, illustrators, and be part of our growing KidLit Community.

Imagine A Story Conference May 29th, 2010 Saturday in Montreal !

Is a one-day conference for emerging and established creators of works for childrenOn Saturday, May 29th, 2010, Yes Oui CANSCAIP hosts "Imagine a Story, a one-day conference for emerging and established creators of works for children." The event will take place at Dawson College (3040 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal), in Room 4C1 (Amphitheater) from 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Marche Jean Talon Market....

I am working on a watercolor inspired by Jean Talon market. This was a piece of watercolor paper I used to work out my palette- I liked it somuch I couldnt throw it out so i doodled...

And am surprised how nice it turned out. I struggle with Abstraction, but what i love about it is its spontaneity.

Let me know what you think...should i do more of this?

Montreal got Snowed!

It snowed all day, and 30-35 cm of wet snow fell on Montreal when it was all said and done.
Thankfully today (April 28) the sun came out and its almost all gone.
Here are a few snapshots I took in the morning, what you see is just the beginning.
There was alot more after that.

Kids were making snowmen!

A Lovely Message from Yayo

I opened my email today to discover this thoughtful reminder from Yayo:

Bonne Journée mondiale du livre et du droit d'auteur !

Happy World Day of the Book and Authors' Rights !

An Evening with Sheree Fitch!

Children's Literature Roundtable of Montreal hosts An Evening with Sheree Fitch

Wednesday, April 14th @ 7 p.m.

Beaconsfield Library, 303 Beaconsfield Blvd., Beaconsfield

Don't miss this rare chance to catch this award-winning Nova Scotia poet and author!

The ebullient and energetic wordsmith is best known for her rhyming picture books such as Sleeping Dragons All Around which was re-released in a 20th anniversary edition in 2009.

Fitch's novels for teens include The Gravesavers (2005) and One More Step (2002).

Her adult works are the novel Kiss the Joy as it Flies (2008) and poetry collection In This House There are Many Women (2005).

Visit the author's website (http://www.shereefitch.com/) to learn more about her and her work.

Personally, I have fun re-reading to my now teenage kids:

There Were Monkeys In My Kitchen

Its a delightfully illustrated picture book that rhymes so perfectly you can almost dance to it! Its zany and every mom can have so much fun with this! I think that I enjoy it more than my kids!

Today is Greek Independence Day ♥

Greece is my country of origin. The economics of this place is not very uplifting these days. Yet there is the Greek Etsy Street Team. These exceptionally gifted artists are committed to creating beauty everyday. No matter what is going on out there. Have a look at their blog post today.

I chat regularly with a handful of the women behind this enthusiastic and compassionate team. From 3000 miles away they have become my friends, we recently exchanged gifts for Easter. The gifts are on a special FlickR account. And let me tell you these women are uber generous with their gifts! Their shops create masterpieces, imagine them creating one just for you! It is heartwarming, and selfless.

They encourage, and always put a smile on my face. Greek humor is really precious, and I am glad that I speak the language. Never mind the 7 hour time difference. For a special treat some mornings, I will pick up a second cup of coffee and sit down to read the Greek Etsy Street Team forums and chat-Greek Style. OPA!

Almond Blossom

by Gogo Korongiannou

From the island of Poros

ERGANIweaving

she made my Easter gift:

and last but not least:

Maroulina's creations

Saumon Cubic Zirconia sterling silver ring

My dear sweet Greek Etsy Street Team, you are much loved♥

Get a International Giveaway!

Here is a great place to pick up some fine items: International Giveaways

There are many Giveaways there, including moi! I am giving away 3 ACEO's!

Just click here and click on my image on the page, then scroll all the way down the page to participate.

There is a new interview and some more personal info too.

In addition, if you participate according to the conditions in this Giveaway, I am offering more freebies from my shop :)

Montreal Bus Stop...snow is almost gone!

Isnt this cute? Even the bus stops have hats on!

To my friends of Greek Etsy Street Team...send us some more sunshine! Wait I have a better idea...why don't I just come visit you instead and go for coffee by the ocean in Glyfada?

Some Montreal Scenes

Last week, on my way to an appointment downtown, I took some pics. Seen these all my life, but never photographed them.

Along McGill College Avenue in Montreal, there is a sculpture called The Illuminated Crowd It stands at the base of the BNP Tower-Laurentian Bank Tower. This unique piece of art was created by Raymond Mason and has stood at the entrance to these glass skyscrapers since 1985.

This is a group of 66 people with their own personalized facial expressions.The faces on the figures at the front of the Illuminated Crowd are filled with joy and amazement, the middle portion of the crowd have people talking amongst each other and the last part of the group have good and bad emotions coming from their expressions.

Paul Lancz’s sculpture called "TENDERNESS" depicting mother and child in white carrera marble, has in a short time become the most favorably talked about piece of art in the city.Paul Lancz's representation is unique, in that the mother is not holding the child, rather the figures depict two equally significant entities expressing devotion to one another. The child kisses the mother's hand, the mother the child's forehead.

Color my world!

As the season changes over from the grays of winter to spring, there is an explosion of color that soaks into my soul! Another treasury (cli ck to see treasury)curated by the talented lady behind a delightful  Etsy shop:

MindHeartArt

She makes so many different types of jewelry, look at these: hand knit flower earrings made with organic wool!