April 7, 2023
After a few short weeks of preparing, planning and packing, we have moved to our new home. And in between the process of unpacking and reorganising, I make it a point to venture out and explore our new surroundings regularly. There is much to discover. How about our new ‘back yard’? The charming municipal beach of Port Stanley. I already put some footsteps down there and plan to add more as we move in to the much anticipated season of summer!
(Click the pic to see a larger copy).
This whole area keeps triggering memories of the many good times I had at the Dutch coastline of the province of Noord-Holland as a child. My maternal grandparents lived there and as a child there was no nicer place to be. The sand dunes, the smell of pine and fir, the ever present sea breeze, the many small and pittoresk houses… Port Stanley brings me right back to that. And with a bit of wind I can imagine Lake Erie being the North Sea…
A signed Edith Eger book!
The very first thing to arrive at our new house was a package from the States. Very exciting! It was a signed copy of the book ‘The Choice’ by the magnificent nonagenarian Edith Eger. I painted a portrait of this extraordinary 95-years young Auschwitz survivor and helped organise a birthday present for her a while ago. This was how she thanked me. My paintings were the first objects to arrive in the new house, so of course I made a selfie with her portrait in the background.
My new studio: next on the to-do list
I will soon start setting up my new studio space. It has been in use up until now as a transitioning room for our two cats. A ‘Catelier’ instead of an ‘Atelier’, for those of you who speak French 🙂 It was their basecamp for a week, where they felt safe from all the strange noises and smells. By now, they have ventured out into the house and our biggest surprise was in Suzi, our timid ginger. She is more playful than ever and we see that Mitsy, our rescue, takes her cues from Suzi when it comes to exploring the many new spaces in the house. At first quickly retreating to basecamp when things looked too scary. But gradually staying out longer. So that now frees up Basecamp for the conversion to my studio. With windows facing North, yippyahay! it will soon be time to think about where to put my easles and my paints and give free reign to the creative juices that have been steeping in my soul during the past 6 weeks or so. I am looking forward to that!
In the meantime, here is a short (no sound) video of the very first steps of Suzi and Mitsy out of basecamp. Aren’t they just the most courageous souls, or what!