because this is a picture blog

My dad had very little in his apartment worth saving, but I did pick up four or five small items. Top of my list was this ceramic dish, sort of half bowl/half plate that I've always liked. And isn't that the weirdest looking gourd? I found it at a farm market last weekend. The tomatoes are still coming out of my garden every day. For years I've thought the 'drought bed' at the front of the house would be good for tomatoes and this year finally planted three little plants. Well, they went wild, completely taking over, and have been providing us with these delectable little beauties for over a month now. Why did I wait so long?

It's been an interesting summer creatively. Before June I had used coloured pencils only rarely. Since then I've been using them almost exclusively. I've been looking for something appropriate in which to store them the past month or so and when Michelle was here she went over to Victoria. While there, she found this old, wooden silverware box for $5 at a junk shop. I ripped out the old, grungy lining and relined it with black flannel, making the dividers from bits of cardboard box covered in more flannel. The hinges look art deco and now I must go to Lee Valley and see if they have any nifty cabinet hardware for a clasp.

And speaking of Michelle, she wanted to play with coloured pencils, black paper, etc., while here and, being an equine artist, here's what she came up with:

Finally, here's a flounder wannabe courtesy of this bottom feeder: