Summer blush

No it's not about the latest make up palette of a cosmetic company. Or the color that will dominate Paris/Milan/New York catwalks.

It's just the lovely muted shades of humble neighborhood flowers. But they hold this power to uplift our spirits and heal our hurts.

 Sometimes you feel like a nut (an almond, actually)

Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay

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... About a month ago, Mr. Grey stopped making an appearance in our backyard and we've actually missed him.

A lot.

We wonder if anything unfortunate had happened to him. Although we welcome each new day with renewed hope, it appears more and more that we would not see him again on our patio, his fluffy tail twitching behind him, and his paws poised to pluck some delectable almonds off the ground. 

But we always keep a fresh package of Mr. Grey's favorite nuts and our camera within reach, just in case...

Drawing houses

As you may know, I find great joy in drawing building facades. I started with those iconic heritage structures around the village such as the Steveston Museum, the Gulf of Georgia Cannery, Marine Garage, and the Steveston Church thrift shop. Not only do they keep our history alive but they also serve as anchors in times of great change.

Yes, change does happen. Even in our little corner of Richmond.

Lately though, I've decided to capture residential buildings instead. 

Sometimes I thread my way through Steveston streets with my Canon point-and-shoot around my neck; at other times, I clutch nothing but my camera phone in my hand - always on the lookout for that charming house with amateur landscaping in front yard and, may be, a cat sitting in the window.

Well, this turned out be more difficult than I had anticipated. 

As more and more smaller single family dwellings with a decent size front lawn are razed to build monster houses, it takes me twice as long to find those gems.

I suppose I could paint those mansions that seem to be overtaking our neighborhood. However, their lifeless exterior, lack of proportions, false sense of grandeur, and plain scary bristling metal fences just make me want to run away. May be that's the point though. 

Not to be deterred, however, I plan to continue featuring Steveston's more traditional homes in my future posts - at least before they all disappear. So stay tuned! You might just see yours.