Category Archives: Places I’ve been

Day 6 at the Art Retreat – Meow Wolf and an evening Art walk


After the rain and wind of yesterday, today dawns bright and sunny and warm. The amount of rain yesterday goes a long way towards explaining why there are so many eroded sections of land. When it rains in Santa Fe – it pours HARD. Great lighting and thunder effects too.

It’s Friday and to be honest – I only know because I looked at the calendar on my iphone. The time here has been distorted – periods of extreme focus while painting or visiting serious museums or Georgia O’Keeffe’s home – or times of relaxing and chatting. It seems that every day I learn something new about the BadAss ladies who are here on Retreat with me. I’m reminding of peeling onions – layers and layers…

Today is a ‘free’ day – Cat has chosen to spend the day at 1000 Waves – a local Spa (she’s getting a body massage, a foot massage, and enjoying the pools and hot tubs), and Dee, Carrie, Char and I have opted to visit Meow Woof. I can’t for the life of me remember what Xan and Tabetha have planned (painting I’m assuming), and of course Carol is flying home.

Meow Woof – this is an art installation that was created 8 years ago here in Santa Fe, and has now grown into a multi-city adventure. The original is housed in an abandoned bowling alley – offers free parking – and self-describes as an immersive Art/Fantasy/Mystery Adventure.

I’m so excited to go that I opt to arrive at opening time in order to explore by myself and see everything. I know that the Intrepid Traveler is nodding her head madly at this sentence. Yup – I need time to do a museum/art installation at my snail pace. I read everything.

Passing thru the ‘entrance’ portal where you are warned that bad behaviour will get you removed. To be sure you understand the importance of behaving properly – there’s a list of sins that are considered bad. You are also warned that cameras are in fact watching you!

But unlike most art installations – Touching is strongly encouraged – and in fact if you don’t touch – you won’t figure out what is going on. This is definitely a place where the occasional hand wash is a good idea.

Bottom line – touch but don’t run, don’t damage stuff, and don’t make it hard for others to enjoy.

Ok – past the entrance you walk into the front yard of a two story home – complete with a lovely front porch with rocker, a mail box, and curtains in the windows. It’s evening, it’s peaceful – maybe too peaceful – and the stars are out. To the left is a shed/workshop that begs to be investigated, but I decide to explore the house first.

Front entrance – check. Small office to the left, living room to the right, dining room straight ahead with the kitchen beyond. There’s also a lovely curving staircase leading up to the 2nd floor. The living room features a comfy sofa with an ipad showing videos released by one of the members of the family – a self styled life guru. There’s also a fireplace, a TV showing home videos of the family, and some marketing materials. There’s a diary, newspapers spread around, and other details that all create both an atmosphere and a very real physical presence.

Taking my time, I start reading all the available materials, watching the videos that show in time delay fashion the startling amazing success of the life style guru and then move sequentially thru his huge success, his rapid fall from grace, and his hope for the future that seems oddly focused on a young nephew. All of this sets up the mystery. Where has the family gone? Why is the house stuck in an old Bowling Alley? Why do other travelers pop in and out of odd places – angled doors hidden under the staircase, entrances thru the fireplace, normal looking closets that lead into other places? What is going on here?

And why is there a code for a safe I can’t see? Why are there videos of an old gentleman showing off his ‘Transducer’ and talking about a 500 year old Hamster?

I’m not going to ruin the story in this blog – that would be totally unfair – but trust me – if you aren’t dragging kids who just want to run thru touching things – this place has details upon details to explore! And the most detail – the slowest part – is inside the house.

Bathroom cabinets hide worm holes, Pictures on the walls swing open in odd ways, Clothes and jewelry fill baskets and drawers, floor creak and turn on videos. Even mirrors might suddenly come ‘alive’.

But the largest physical part is ‘beyond’ the house – in another dimension that has suddenly become linked with the house.

There are portals to those other dimension hidden everywhere – inside the fridge, inside the washing machine, beyond the workshop, past the clothes in the closet, behind a bookcase, inside a picture frame. Don’t take anything at face value…

My favorite spaces were the ones that encouraged me to dance – and there were three rooms that not everyone even found – let alone spent enough time in to understand what was going on.

The first was a laser harp set-up – floor to very high ceiling laser lights that when interrupted by moving your hands thru them (think plucking the strings) played music that made me dance around as the strings of light responded to my motions.

The second was a light show controlled by pressing on buttons scattered all around the room.

The third was a room with a desk. If you sat at the desk, a light/sound video began to play – explaining the story, why things were as they were and what had happened. I’m going to guess that I might have been one of the few folks that sat thru the entire explanation! At least I never saw anyone else sitting there in the 4-5 hours I was in the exhibit.

Other rooms feature a futuristic travel agent explaining the advantages of various vacation destinations… And you can even Visit those destinations! The workshop is also a place for exploration, as is the Cake and Candy rooms, the Black and White Room, and even just the walkways that connect the levels and the rooms.

Thank goodness there are places to sit and rest and watch. These tired legs needed those breaks from the action.

In the marketing they say – over 75 rooms – and I believe them. By about 2:00 I thought I’d visited everything, only to finally bump into Carrie, Char and Dee! And then together we found even more rooms.

I particularly liked sitting in the bus that has been thrust between dimensions – resulting in the front of the bus pointing towards the sky with the driver’s seat 25’ over your head- and the ‘passenger seat’ in the bus being on the ground floor sharply leaning backwards to complete the illusion – and the feeling of flying thru space.

Bottom line – I loved Meow Woof! What a smashing idea.

Around 5:00 we head out to rejoin the rest of our fellow ‘retreaters’. We first went to Canyon Road – very upscale art galleries to visit – some closed, some open – all very very expensive. Then we moved on to downtown Santa Fe where they were having a fiesta. It was fun walking around, but too noisy for most of us and very crowded. So we opted to try a New Mexico ‘Mexican’ Restaurant where we ate a lovely slow and pleasantly quiet dinner.

Back to the ranch – and you know who went gratefully to bed! I do love my room at the ranch – it’s my own personal space – and after all the intensity of the day – just the perfect place to relax. So ice cream and down time and bed.

Signing off

Leslie

Day 5 at an Art Retreat – Everyone needs time to just PAINT!


Today is our rest day – aka – focus on painting!

And it’s a break day that is well deserved. Physically I’m fine, but emotionally – Georgia O’Keeffe is overwhelming. So much to process in this old brain.

So we voted to spend the day hanging out here. Given the weather report – that turns out to be the very best idea. Around 4:00 PM it is supposed to get very very windy and rainy. So despite the beautifully sunny weather outside – we are hanging here at the Ranch.

Carrie makes scrambled eggs for the group for breakfast, and Dee champions the coffee pot.

I finished one of my paintings – and then work on doing some more greeting cards. This is a fun activity – I love picking a saying for inside, and then trying to imagine art for the outside of the card that fits… It’s a challenge. But after an hour – I want to focus more on doing what I came here to do – larger paintings!

I had taken a photo of a ladder leaning up against the wall of Georgia O’Keeffe’s home in Abiquiu – and the shadow was simply stunning – so I decided to paint that.

Dee helped me with my colors – she had a paint called ‘Terra Cotta’ – which when you add a bit of white and yellow looks like sunlit Adobe – and without the white – represents the darkness of Adobe in Shadow.

My fastest painting ever – it just came together! So check it out. I love the drama of it – and I adore the fact that it was FAST!

I don’t know if I’ve improved that dramatically – or this photo just rang a bell – or if having Dee help me with the color choices made it so much easier – but it was fast. And I love it.

Today is Carol’s last day – she has to get home for a funeral – and in true Tabetha fashion – is going to be doing a presentation on her Artist voyage for us tonight. I’m rather keen to hear how that goes. But meanwhile – I want to give her something to take home.

So after finishing my ‘Ladder to the sky’, I pick up some rocks from around the Ranch – and start painting them. Most come from a trash heap I found, some came from underneath plants – and some just jumped into my hands. I like rocks that call out to be painted – and all of these were obviously keen to be part of my Artistic Adventure. Each rock gets a layer of white, then I paint Santa Fe Art Retreat ‘24 with all our names – Tabetha, Carol, Dee, Cat, Char, Carrie, Leslie, Xan. And yes – to some I added a butterfly.

I make enough to give one to everyone – plus one for Leslie and Mitch (our hosts), and one more to hide somewhere on the Ranch – like an Easter Egg for other guests to find.

Dinner is another one of the delicious vegetarian offerings (with a Gluten Free section for Carol and a Dairy free section for Dee). For desert – my favorite – Ice Cream of course.

Then Carol does her presentation. She has been painting for years – took a bit of a time off because that happens – and is back at it hard as things have started to settle down in other parts of her life. That is a common back-story for most of us – Husbands, Divorces, Sick Kids – Emotional upheaval for which coming back to the focus of Art helps us cope.

I do like what Carol has done – particularly her Exploding Metal Grids in the windows. She sees things so differently – and isn’t afraid to capture her unique vision in paint.

I truly wish her the very best – she is a wonderful person to have gotten to know. I wonder which (if any) of these ladies I will ever meet again.

After the Artist show and tell, we sit down to chat and discover a card game hidden in the pile under the table. It’s called A Horrid Card Game – and the idea is very similar to Apples to Apples with a sexual bent! Everyone gets 5 or 10 cards – and one person – the Card Czar – gets a black card. It’s a fill-in the blank question to which each of us submits one of our cards. Then the Card Czar reads the entire thing – and some of these get us howling with laughter! Since Funniest gets the point – laughing is in fact the point of the game. It is really hard to think negatively when you are laughing so hard it hurts.

We laugh and laugh – then despite Dee’s attempt to get us to change games to Apples to Apples – I say good night. I definitely need my beauty sleep.

Another Art Retreat Day done!

Signing off – The Soup Lady

Day 4 at an Art Retreat – Ghost Ranch and Abiquiú


Getting to know a truly BadAss Woman!

Today we continue our insanely intense scrutiny of the work of Georgia O’Keeffe with a visit to her homes here in New Mexico.

But first it’s ’hello sunshine’, Yoga, Breakfast, and our lesson of the day – adding 3D to a flat shape. Texture, shading, shadows, highlights – all will make something flat appear round, spherical, diamond shape, detracted from the other surfaces.

After class we head out to Abiquiu – where Georgia O’Keeffe had her winter/spring home. Her summer/fall home is just a few miles away at Ghost Ranch – but the challenge for her was the isolation of Ghost Ranch. She feared being alone for the winter in such a deserted location – and I don’t blame her. When we did the drive from Abiquiu to Ghost Ranch – I was stunned by the drastic descent we made! Ghost Ranch is in bottom land. Towering around it on 3 sides are red stone cliffs reminiscent of Bryce Canyon. It’s Glorious – but not where you want to be isolated.

As per our brilliant guide – Frank – there was just a dirt road from Ghost Ranch back to Santa Fe in the 1940’s – and she had a driver. They went up a hill into the town of Abiquiu – and Georgia spotted a ruined adobe home on her left. Asking the driver to stop – she got out and explored – the view was astounding! Truly awe inspiring. She was determined to buy the ruins and to renovate them – but it took years of negotiation to get that to happen. Meanwhile she managed to buy a small plot of land inside of Ghost Ranch, and made that into her home – but her real love was to get that ruin in Abiquiu.

Eventually she managed the feat – and then her husband died. She returned to NYC to deal with the aftermath of that while her friend championed the renovation of the ruin into the home we visited.

Why was this particular site so special? Not only did it have an amazing view that could not be taken away – it had water rights. Dating from the 1700’s – it got water for two hours once a week.

Renovation done – she moved into her home in 1949.

It’s hard to imaging how critical that was in those days in this spot – but with water she could create a garden and a small orchard. Eventually she was able to grow and preserve enough food to feed herself year round – leaving only diary and meat to be purchased.

For a woman who left an estate of over $77 Million Dollars – she lived surprisingly frugally. But her taste was extradinordinary.

She only acquired things that spoke to her – and she loved modern furnishing – as our guide quipped – nope – these are not from IKEA!

Butterfly chairs, A dinning table of folded Plywood, Eames Chairs, Womb Chair, Womb Ottoman, Barcelona Table, clothes from Marimekko, and of course her paintings. Huge floor to ceiling windows – unique in an Adobe structure – graced every room. And there were skylights!

It was a home crafted to foster inspiration, contemplation, and artistic innovation.

She explained that moving her art around in the home at least seasonally helped her to see each painting anew.

The outside color palette dictated the inside palette – nowhere more evident than in the living room where she spent every evening enjoying music with only her dogs for company.

When Georgia decided in 1984 at age 96 that she needed to move to Santa Fe to be closer to medical help if needed – she intended to return. And everything was left exactly as it was on that day.

Walking thru the rooms felt like being part of her life, her energy, her determination, her artistic vision.

A humbling experience.

The home offers several ‘roofless’ courtyards – and across one of these is her studio and bedroom. The studio is of course the largest space in the home – most open, most airy, most windows, most view.

Our guide tells us that towards the end she had an aide living in this room so that she could get help as needed. She lost all vision out of the center of her eyes – and could only see out of the edges. So if she looked at you sideways – it was because she thought you were interesting, and worth really seeing!

Her bedroom was accessed thru the bathroom – maybe not my favorite layout – but clearly it worked for her. Her closet contains only a few of her favorite dresses – partly for display, partly for preservation. As per Frank, the trust rotates items in and out to keep them all well protected.

From the closet – you are in her bedroom – and the huge windows at the corner opposite the bed go a long way towards explaining why she picked this ruin to restore, with this view. Stunning.

She would start every day by getting up before dawn, making her coffee (in a ceremony worthy of green tea), and return to sit on the edge of the bed with her dogs, awaiting dawn.

I want that so bad!

Tour over, we returned to the welcome center, enjoyed a marvellous lunch – and recalled a few of her favorite sayings:

Painting is breaking up a flat surface in a beautiful way

Simplicity is the result of profound thought

Take Time to Look

Our next stop is Ghost Ranch – where Georgia spent her Summer/Fall months. This was a very popular for the period Ranch that hosted many famous folks (including Ansel Adams, Charles Lindbergh and John Wayne).

While the drive to and from was stunning – the visit was rather a disappointment after the glory of her home in Abiquiu. The home she lived in while at the ranch is off limits – even for a drive-by, and as a group we were so exhausted that walking in the heat didn’t seem logical. So we snapped a few shots – and checked out a log cabin that’s been used in City Slickers and the Ballad of Buster Scruggs.

Drive home, dinner, chat, and a bit more painting – I learned how to make greeting cards! Then bed.

Signing off – The Soup Lady

Day 2 at an Art Retreat


A glorious sunrise is peaking thru the window – and I’m glad to see it. The sky here on the ranch near Santa Fe is a huge blue bowl hung upside down over a landscape that is clearly NOT Montreal.

Dead trees, scrub brush, and even the occasional succulent are visible out my window – nothing man-made in view if you don’t look at the first 10 yards. And right now (almost 7:00 AM) there is a decidedly pinkish hue to the sky.

Good Morning World!

I start the day with Yoga, then head into the ‘common’ room for breakfast. There are lots of options – but this is a farming ranch so there are farm fresh eggs. You can easily imagine that the chickens just finished contributing their part – and I opt for just simple fried eggs with a slice of a Simolina Bread the host made yesterday. Yummy.

We sit around the outdoor stone table and chat. Most of my fellow artists (that gives me goose bumps..) had a former life as Councillors – and the conversation turns to the Myers Briggs Evaluation scale.

Nope – I didn’t know what that was either – Dee had to explain. She also explained that she, Carrie and Char are trained Soul Councillors – and her last job before retiring was as a Professional Career Advisor. Carrie – the highest trained of the group – had been working with Trauma Patients who were considered suicide risks – but gave that up when it started effecting her personally.

Back to Myers Briggs – apparently there are 4 different characteristics that make up the scale. Introvert/Extrovert, Concrete/Intuitive, Thinker/Feeler, and Perceiver/Judger. Dee described each one in detail, and she has promised to let me know where I’m at on these scales – But after her explaining what they mean – I’m going to bet I’m an Extrovert/Concrete/Thinker/Perceiver. But we shall see – and I promise to report back!

Finally Tabatha calls us to order for a review of the Retreat Rules! That’s cool – there are Rules in a Retreat. Sounds a bit like Rules in a Gun Fight for those with an interest in old movies.

And yes – I wrote them down.

  1. Relax, No Stress, Have Fun
  2. There’s a quiet zone. No talking to the folks there until they are ready to re-join the group. We choose a table with 4 chairs away from the common area. I wonder if I’ll opt to use it – or just excuse myself and hide in my room. I’m guessing – hide in my room.
  3. Respect – No Judgement. Don’t let your uninvited Critic rule your feelings – put him/her/they into the passenger seat – and let them know you are driving this car.
  4. You are responsible for your own experience. If you are feeling lonely, overwhelmed, whatever – TELL Someone. Don’t assume that the group is ignoring you, judging you, etc. That’s your inner critic talking.
  5. Honor the best in each other and in yourself.
  6. Honest critique is tough – leave it to Tabatha. Your job is to go – you Rock!
  7. Practice Positive Feedback – Ask “what do you like best about what you’ve done” – and then support their opinion!
  8. Be gentle with your own inner artist
  9. Look out for each other

Whew – those are interesting rules, eh? I love the idea of putting the inner critic in their own seat in the bus. I’m prone to letting my inner critic be a bit too loud. So I’m going to work hard on saying to my inner critic – thanks, but I’ll work this out on my own.

Next we have our first ‘class’ – where we discuss Marks and Lines. Art starts by making a mark. And you can get that process started by making lines – even doodles are art.

Tabatha explains that before we arrived here we were in the Gathering Phase – putting the pieces we’d need together. Now we are beginning the Creation Phase – where the world is full of options – and we start to narrow our focus.

To this end, we as a group decide what our first painting focus will be – and we choose an area around a lovely adobe wall with a very bright blue chair and very bright blue windows to paint from different positions. Set-up is slow. I’ve never used my easel before, and I have to set-out the paint colors I’m going to use. Just thinking about creating a color for Adobe is a challenge. I muddle thru – and suddenly – There’s a break for lunch – then back to work.

Painting – just FYI – is hard work. And I’m slow. I did get the first paint layer done by Lunch time – then went back to work until it gets too dark to see my canvas clearly. We will get more time tomorrow. Xan deems her work done – Dee says her work has only 2 colors – and I’m thinking – oh dear – there’s a lot of detail to that blue chair!

We change for dinner (you don’t paint in something you care about staying clean – even if you are a ‘clean’ painter) – and drive into Santa Fe proper. Tabatha has reserved a table for 8 at The Shed – yummy New Mexico Mexican – and I splurge and have 14 of the best shrimp ever. Oh Yum.

We return to the ranch after a quick stop at grocery store to do our evening activity – a group painting.

There are 9 Canvas board squares – and Tabatha has sketched limbs on the squares. The limbs extend from one square to the next – and our job is to paint our square, keeping the parts of the limbs that leave our square in position to match the limbs in the squares that will border ours. If you’ve ever done a model railroad layout = you’ll immediately get the idea.

We start to work. It’s a lot of fun, and a lot of sharing. The group at the top of the table take a more collaborative approach – but I decide to treat my canvas as a flat rock with limbs. It ends up covered in Butterflies hiding behind the limbs Tabatha drew. The Butterflies are drawn with Metallic paints – Gold, and Silver, and Blue, and Magenta – and yes – even Pink.

Hours later (time definitely flies when you are doing art), we regroup by putting our squares into their correct positions in the larger piece. The result is rather cool. 8 unique paintings that interlock! My inner critic suggests that maybe we should have all had more direction – but I tell it to shut up!

It’s definitely bedtime – so we clear up the mess we’ve caused – told ya that painting is NOT a clean sport, wish each other good-night and head off to bed.

Tomorrow we go to the Georgia O’Keefe Museum. I’m excited.

Signing off

The Soup Lady

Day 1 at an Artist Retreat


I’m at a ranch near Santa Fe, New Mexico with a group of 7 other women on an art retreat.

For me – That is one truly wierd sentence. For starters – I can’t remember ever being with a group of only women before in my life. I’ve been just 2 or 3 with just women – when my sisters and I travel together without our sig others – and when I travel with the Intrepid Traveler – but 8 women. Just Women. First time.

Point 2 – It’s a ‘Art Retreat’. I knew I wanted to do a yoga retreat, and I’ve definitely done Bridge regionals and nationals – which I suppose are rather ‘retreat like’ in that you focus on one activity – but Art. Really? Nothing but Art? I mean – I love doing Art – but just Art… maybe that’s why I’m blogging – a retreat from an Art Retreat.

Am I over thinking this?

Yesterday was my travel day. I woke at 3:00 AM in a hotel near the Toronto Airport having eaten a lovely dinner the night before with my husband. We said our good-byes before bed – knowing that I had to be at the airport so very early it wasn’t a good plan to wake him up.

So – I’m up, I didn’t do my Yoga – hard to do that without disturbing my husband, and got dressed in the dark. I had mostly prepared the night before – so it went quickly – and I’m pretty sure I didn’t forget anything.

The trip to the airport in the shuttle was painless – but surprisingly crowded. Lots of airline crew starting their days – and a few other travellers. My fellow voyagers are clearly Japanese heading home. Neatly dressed, with their suitcases carefully over-wrapped in flashy cover-ups to make them easy to spot on the carrousels. Organized travellers. In comparison I feel like a flake – a very senior hippy heading out to see the world.

My ‘Safari bag’ suitcase is a hold-over from our first trip to Africa. Soft sided, but with wheels, it’s easy to over fill, and has no structure. So I’ve put in all my paints and art supplies – including the 10 canvases I’m hoping will be filled with art on my way back home. Right now they are white and unprepared – Full of potential – but very empty.

The airports were airports – large, packed with people with very specific destinations – and busy. The trip itself, while long, was uneventful. Not Adventure travel, unless you count arriving at my connecting flight just as they called my group # to board! I think that’s just great timing. I will admit I wondered if my big suitcase packed with the art supplies would make the connection – just 50 minutes, and Dallas is a huge airport – but yup – it was safely riding around in Baggage Claim in Albuquerque.

Getting the rental car was super easy. There are clear signs to ‘Rental Cars’ near Baggage Claim – and they have just one bus that takes all folks picking up Rental Cars to an off the airport Rental Car Building. Go right for one group of agencies, go left for the other. Hard to get lost – easy to find your agency!

Got my car – a small SUV – that to my eyes looks like a huge truck. And drives like one too! The agent proudly explained that it was a 2024 model – one of the newest they had on the lot. Hmmm.

I’ll grant you it was huge – although when Char (76) and Carol (58) and I put all out luggage in – we had to use the 4th seat for extra storage. I think the issue is all the art supplies. We all were told to come prepare to paint not shop – and it’s hard to judge what you’ll need. Just picking the colors is a challenge – what works in Montreal might not be appealing to paint with in Santa Fe. The light is different, the air is different – and I think the colors will be very different. We shall see.

We meet up with Carrie (1/4 Cherokee and 79) and Dee (my age, 4’11” and super nice) – and agree to follow them as we head out to the Turquoise Road – a scenic bypass between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Painless trip – broken up by stopping for lunch at a decrepit looking old Coal Mining town that has been turned into a terribly cutesy Western themed Art community.

We all agree that the wide-open spaces around us are both lovely, and conducive to folks doing big sculpture. We pass several ‘art studios’ that feature old car frames that have been repurposed into ‘art’. Some painted, some left to continue rusting. There’s even an Origami Garden with the largest Metal Origami structures I’ve ever seen. They tower over the landscape looking like huge folding paper Birds and Horses. Unfortunately – it’s closed, and we can only peak in from the entrance.

We chat over lunch – I learn that Carol is Gluten Free – and suffers badly if she even eats the tiniest bit of Gluten, and Dee has a dairy free diet that it turns out to include all Cheese made with goat, sheep or cow milk. Well – I knew that – but the folks at the ranch did not – and they had carefully added cheese to both the salad and the ‘Gratin’ dish at dinner time. I know – dealing with ‘food issues’ isn’t fun – but hey, at least we are all getting better at saying ‘No’ – rather then eating and suffering, or not eating and just pushing the food around the plate to make it look like we ate.

The Ranch is a 10 acre field with a large low adobe building forming the main ranch house, and a heavily renovated ‘barn’ acting as the home of the hosts. We have the entire run of the place – all rooms are huge – all the furniture is huge and well worn – and there are tons of ‘spaces’ where folks can gather or be alone. I like it.

My room is a small suite. Huge bedroom with lots of storage spots but not much furniture and a mini-kitchen/desk area. Bathroom too. I have windows on 2 sides – one with a lovely view of the sunrise – that I admired greatly while writing this post, and one leading to a ‘private’ porch with a hammock I shall never use.

After getting our gear into our rooms – I help move the suitcases of several of the other guests – who thought that at 76 I’d be the strongest… (Thank you Mona) – then we gather for a quick chat and orientation.

We play a name game – which clearly didn’t help me because I’ve forgotten names already – but I’m going to write them down over breakfast so I get them right in the blog.

We spend time introducing our selves, and describing where we are ‘art’ wise. Outside of Tabatha (58) – our leader – Cat (68) and Xan (54 and the youngest) are the only ones actually making a living from doing ‘art’. Char explains that she is a newbie – but learning constantly, Xan is a friend of Tabatha – and has been doing art for a long time – although I don’t think she makes a living painting – it’s creating jewelry that she sells on line that provides some income.

Some of the women are married – although for all of us – while our husbands support our desire to do ‘art’ – they didn’t come on the retreat. Most of the women are single and unattached. Two never had kids, One has only one daughter who at 24 is still living at home and has health issues.

After dinner there is more chatting until I excuse myself. I’m way past my expiry date… I need to wind down, straighten my room and go to bed.

Signing off to do Yoga – eat Breakfast – record names – and start painting…

The Soup Lady

Shaw Festival 2025 – 2 Don’t Miss Plays


“Snow in Midsummer” and “The Orphan of Chao” are two short but quite stunning offerings at the Shaw in Niagara on the Lake this summer.

And we have Season Tickets! So of course we went to see both – and good news – saw them both in 2 days – not quite back to back, but close enough to both compare and contrast them.

All 6 of the Actors in The Orphan of Chao also appear in Snow in Midsummer (12 Cast in total) – not a surprise perhaps for a repertoire theatre company like Shaw – and even less of a surprise given that both plays are taken from Chinese Stories that date back hundreds (thousands?) of years. So while not all of the surprisingly excellent cast is clearly Asian – there is a decidedly Asian bent! Logical I suppose – and it must have made casting easier to have two plays for these actors to perform!

But cast excellence aside – it’s the stories and the dramatic nature of the setting and staging that made these plays so stunning. Thank you Directors!

Both stories are tales of revenge and redemption. Both Plays feature minimal staging to maximum effect, and both Plays have women cast members playing the strongest roles.

“The Orphan of Chao” tells the story of the rise, fall and rise again of a family in China during the Jin Dynasty – c.145 – 86 BCE. Given that history has a way of repeating itself – the play relates the not so unique story of a corrupt High Official at court who decides his safest strategy is just to get rid of his major opponent – and since this is China – that means killing off every person related in to him. 300 people get murdered quickly – leaving only one infant – saved from death by the suicide of his mother, a guard who knows too much, and the extreme sacrifice of a doctor of his only child. It’s not easy to hide an infant, let alone raise the infant, under the watchful eyes of a malevolent man with a great deal of power.

The staging was truly remarkable. There is a high movable fence that serves as the entrance to a palace, the entrance to a hovel, the barrier against attack, and the background. The players use paper hats, paper costumes, and some effective props including a medicine chest that the Doctor uses to hide the infant to convey the impression of soldiers, court officials, scared parents, Evil Dictators, and young challengers.

I was never lost in the story – every set change was done with clear explanations as to where we were now, and what was happening. There wasn’t actually much text – most of the story gets told by people dramatically interpreting what is happening. My clear favorite – the mother of the Orphan giving birth! A second favorite – the Doctor trying to escape with the infant – and doing a very bad job of it.

I was left with an emotional high – perhaps there is hope for the future, that the ‘good’ guys can actually end up ahead.

“Snow in MidSummer” was a modern re-writing of another old Chinese Story. In the program notes it explains that you can’t risk re-telling these stories in today’s China – so the author is based in the US – along with all her family. Unlike “The Orphan of Chao”, the author takes great liberties with the story – revising the love interest, making it more of a murder mystery than the simple retelling of a convoluted, but clear good vs bad story.

And the changes make the story much more ‘acceptable’ to our modern ideas. It isn’t clear who is right and who is wrong, who is good and who is bad in “Snow in MidSummer” – although the sprit crying out for redemption/revenge has a solid plan.

Again – the minimum set – a partially ruined brick wall becomes a bar, a court room, a torture chamber, and an execution ground. Waving flags and minimal props generate mood, and move the story along. The steps leading up thru the audience are the stairways to heaven, at least the Buddhist version of it, and rapid changes of small bits of clothing (including gas masks and full animal head puppetry) allow the audience to quickly understand who is who.

I particularly was intrigued by the wordless funeral held for one of the main characters – showing how things thrown into the fire become a part of the spirt world – an orange, some money, a flower – all go from the hands of the funeral party thru the burning fire into the hands of the spirts. Stunningly beautiful and completely wordless.

Without spoiling the play for those who have yet to see it – again we have a tale where the name of the game is Redemption/Revenge, Forgiveness, Moving Forward, and having hope for the future – of a person, of a town, of a tree.

I loved both. I would gleefully see both again.

Signing off to go see My Fair Lady for the 2nd time… Shaw does it all!

The Soup Lady

Ice Cream in Turin – aka La Romana


I Love Ice Cream – and I’m particularly fond of Pistachio Ice Cream/Gelato. And I adore the Ice Creams of Italy.

During my quick visit to Turin (July 2024) – I definitely intended to eat Ice Cream in as many places as possible.

But things got difficult. I was in Turin to do a Regency Weekend that included tours of several of the historical Palaces/Museums that related to Napoleon’s visits to the city, a dance practice, a Ball, and a night at a Turkish Bath. Squeezing in time to try Ice Cream was a challenge.

In the end – I only got to eat Ice Cream at La Romana. It was described as the best ice cream in Turin by the Receptionist at our hotel – and that was enough to make sure I found time to get some.

So – morning of the day we were to fly home turned out to be the only chance to get Ice Cream – and after breakfast we stored our luggage in the hotel and walked the 5 minutes to Piazza San Carlo.

La Romana is – for an ice cream shop – a magnificent store front. High ceilings, a long counter on one side, multiple tables in and around the displays of Ice Cream Confectionary, and a generally ‘yummy’ buzz of people enjoying the simple, but oh so good, offerings.

Ordering was simple – but required an explanation that clearly is given multiple times a day. First you pick a size and pay – only then do you get to taste and then select your flavours. This is the reverse of how it generally works in North America – because the hope is that upon tasting, you’ll order more. But – hey – when in Turin, do as the Turinians do!

So both my husband and I lined up to select a Medium sized Cup. Paid our 4 Euro’s each – and then lined up to select flavours. The team behind the counter cheerfully provided tastes – and in hindsight I should have done some tasting – but instead I just opted for the 3 flavours I thought sounded right.

Pistachio for sure, Sabayon, and a third that featured whole Hazelnuts and a name I can’t quite remember.

My husband also had several different flavours – but the Sorbet called Stratelli con More – Raspberry and Blackberry with Dark Chocolate pieces was not just his favorite – he went back for seconds.

Just how good was this Ice Cream? How about the best I ever had?

I actually started wondering if I could open a franchise in NOTL…

And I’m planning another trip to Turin. I definitely want more of that Ice Cream.

Signing off – The Soup Lady

Dr. Google and Leg Cramps


So – I just crossed the Pond – aka the Atlantic Ocean – and I’m in Paris for a quick overnight before flying on to Turin for a weekend Regency Party! The problem – I’m having Leg Cramps

And they hurt. Really really hurt.

I did everything right (I thought). I got up relatively often during the flight, I drank a LOT of water and I drank no alcohol, and I moved around. But after I got off the Plane in Paris – my legs let me know that they were not happy campers.

The pain was specific and it hurt! So of course I used Dr. Google

Possible cures for leg pain after flying include:

Rub the spot (did that)

Heat the area (no heating pad)

Drink water (Did that – didn’t help)

Keep feet raised above your head – now that sounds reasonable and do able. So when the leg cramps woke me that night – I grabbed pillows and piled them on the bed, under the covers and then rested my feet on them.

Surprise, Surprise – It worked! Yeah team.

Off to explore Turin – with no leg cramps – The Soup Lady signing off.

Kefalonia vs St. Croix – Which Island reigns Supreme?


I’m currently on Kefalonia – one of the larger Greek Islands – smaller than Crete, bigger than Rhodes – and having a blast.

We have German friends, their daughter is having Greek Destination Wedding – and we’re here to celebrate! There are just 20 of us total – a small intimate gathering – and a wonderful opportunity to discover an island I’d never even heard of until the wedding invite arrived!

Kefalonia – I looked it up – is 304 sq miles, with a population density of 55 people per sq mile and a total population (2023) of about 35,000.

In comparison – St. Croix is just 81 sq miles with a population density of 604 people per sq mile and a total population (2023) of about 50,000.

So for practical purposes – Kefalonia should feel a lot less crowded. But that’s not the case. The towns – and I’ve really only explored Argostoli – are small in footprint, but very crowded. Cars everywhere, lots of restaurants, lots of cafes, lots of stores, lots of hotels – the feeling is ‘mobbed’ – and not in a good way. I was just trying to back out of a parking spot – and no one would let me pull out. In fact, I was 1/2 way out and a taxi actually swerved around me to avoid having to stop.

And this is not yet high season. I can’t imagine what it must be like here when the tourists are here in significant numbers.

On St. Croix folk are amazingly polite. They will pause to let you turn right (on St. Croix, we drive on the left – so it’s the right turn that’s a challenge), and if you don’t immediately move when a light turns green – you might get a gentle beep, although most folks will just patiently wait until you notice the light has changed. Not so here in Kefalonia. You Pause – They lean on the horn! On St. Croix – a honk is a hello to a friend, a beep is a reminder to check the light, and waves are common.

Folks on St. Croix smile at you – even if just walking past. Here on Kefalonia – it’s a head down – I’m on a mission walk. That is a very different feeling let me tell you. But I can understand why the women tend to have that ‘I’m ignoring you, please ignore me’ attitude. I like to walk head up and smiling – and I have lost track of the number of men here in Kefalonia who have called out to me. “Looking Good”, “Nice”, “Hey Babe”. For a 75 year old Grand-mother – It’s kinda flattering – but not the general warmth of greetings on St. Croix where folks call out Morning, Morning to everyone that passes by! Here it’s clearly a form of marketing – not just a way to say hello.

I find myself reflecting the surroundings. Here on Kefalonia, I’m more ‘in a rush’, less likely to let folks in when they are stopped waiting, more likely to drive quickly, less likely to admire my surroundings. Interesting, eh?

Another big difference relates to Shade. On St. Croix – beaches have trees – mostly Palm trees, but also Mangroves and soft woods – and there’s shade a plenty. Here on the Beaches of Kefalonia – which I will admit have a lot more sand than the beaches of St. Croix – there is no shade. None. If you need shade, you are going to pay for it – Major Beaches here have ‘Beach Chair and Umbrella Stands’. On St. Croix – the norm is for folks to carry their own chairs – and put them under a Palm Tree for shade. On Kefalonia – Shade costs! 30 Euros for two Beach lounge chairs and a permanent wooden umbrella like structure.

Like St. Croix, Kefalonia has only short buildings – I don’t think there’s a law on building height here, but just as in St. Croix, I have yet to see anything that towers over the church steeples. That’s nice.

But Kefalonia is much much much hillier. In town the houses stack up upon each other, with narrow roads with no sidewalks dividing the living spaces. And you are either going up or down – I’ve seen very little level ground! And it’s steep. You aren’t casually strolling here – you are hiking up or down.

Strikingly, the one level section I’ve seen is the Harbor in Argostoli – and it has a concrete boardwalk – at least 30’ wide – that bend and turns following the contours of the shoreline for several Kilometres. And it has NO SHADE. Given the heat and humidity here – it’s a challenge to enjoy a stroll without getting sunstroke.

Beaches in Kefalonia seem to be surrounded by Rock Walls – conveniently pierced with stone staircases that you can use to access the beach. This creates very dramatic scenery. I have spotted some beaches with easier access points – but they are less dramatic. I admit to loving the towering boulders – but some of the staircases do feel very treacherous. I’ve been grasping hand rails – when they exist – with a feeling of relief and gratitude to the builders.

The weather in Kefalonia is quite different from that on the island of St. Croix. Currently we are getting Sand/Dust from the Sahara Desert, so there is a haze in the sky and the air feels heavy. In comparison, St. Croix has a fairly (8 months of the year) constant breeze from the East across the Atlantic Ocean. Lovely, fresh, and a Blue Blue Sky is the norm. Here in Kefalonia, the breeze is far less consistent. And right now – there’s no breeze to speak of at all. So there are a great deal more insects of the flying small variety (yes – Mosquitos – but also no-see-em and flys). I do long for my lazy meals outdoors on my balcony.. Here we can eat outside – no problem – but fly nets are ubiquitous.

And Kefalonia can be cold. It was quite cool here when we arrived, and I know Greece does experience winter. That’s a big difference from the 85 degrees year round in St. Croix.

Shopping – despite the lower population here on Kefalonia – there are a lot more shops – particularly for home goods, clothing, and ‘beach junk’. This is a tourist destination – so you’d expect shops to cater to tourists – and the number of blown up huge floaties I’ve spotted is considerable. On St. Croix – I have never seen a shop selling only huge floaties – although you can find them – and the gas stations have air pumps to blow them up. There is clearly a different mentality at play.

On the other hand – in Argostoli I spotted a yarn shop – on St. Croix there are places to get yarn – but no designated store. That actually sums up the differences in shopping on the two islands. Despite the smaller population, shops on Kefalonia can and do offer huge inventories often extremely focused. On St. Croix – there are shops with lots of inventory – but it’s all hidden. You need to know where to go – window displays are considered a waste of time and resources.

Because neither my husband nor I speak or read Greek, we’re sensitive to the language on signs. In St. Croix of course – it’s all English. Here it’s first Greek, then perhaps English. This makes navigation a bit challenging if you don’t know where you are going. I ended up having to make several loops to get onto the right road this morning because I didn’t have a co-pilot and our rental car doesn’t link up to my cell phone.

Other differences – generally the coffee is better here in Kefalonia, and I’ve had some very yummy cakes and great tasting bread. Both cakes and bread are hard to find on St. Croix – the lack of AC makes laminating dough a challenge, so shortbread pasty the go-to option. But I’ve also had great meals on St. Croix – so I’d rate the food as very similar. With the edge to Kefalonia for fruits… The fruit salads made fresh daily here have been outstanding.

Bottom line – I’m rather live on St. Croix with is slow, slow pace, relaxed locals, friendly smiles, and casual approach to living, then here on Kefalonia with it’s stifling humidity and more ‘driven’ approach to life. But Kefalonia is well worth a visit… so do drop in!

Signing off to go the wedding… The Soup Lady

Watching the Tide Roll In


I’m currently on the island of St. Croix in the USVI – watching as the title suggests – the tide roll in.

I mean – someone has to do it – right?

Lately I’ve been thinking about my parents – who reached a stage in their lives where watching the tide roll in and roll out seemed like a reasonable thing to do. I never thought I’d get there – but I’m guessing that 75 is about right.

It’s not that I’m not busy! I decided to be an artist – and that’s a serious challenge if you’ve ever tried to paint or draw or create something new. I’ve always felt that I was best at moving ideas from one place to another. Of saying – well that idea worked well for learning to play bridge – let’s try it to learn to do something else. That’s not really being creative though you know. That’s just moving ideas around.

Being creative – coming up with something new – that’s a whole lot harder – and I do love a challenge.

So Being an Artist…

I have a very dear friend – Thea – who is what I’d call the ultimate artist. She sees things I can’t see – applies them to places I can only see the barest outlines of – and I’ve always thought she did it effortlessly.

Image my surprise when she admitted to me that it wasn’t effortless. Wow – I never knew that.

On a similar note – my sister has also decided to paint. She’s doing watercolours – to my acrylic efforts – and the results are dramatically different – and quite stunning. To my eye – effortless. But apparently that’s not true either.

I suppose it’s reasonable to recognize that we all see our internal efforts differently from how they appear to the outside world. Unless I hear your grunt and groan – It’s natural to imagine that for you – that was easy to do.

Well – I can tell you that for me – the only thing I find easy to do is smile. Writing my blog, painting pictures, even doing Yoga isn’t easy. It’s hard. I have to mentally say – ok – I’m going to do this. And sometimes it takes several encouraging internal monologues to get me started.

Anyway – right now – I’m watching the tide roll in….

Have a totally wonderful day! Signing off – the Soup Lady