Shopping and Rain

 Just a short report from here .- rain!!! it looks the same and feels the same and does the same. Thank goodness there is at least one thing we can rely as being the same - in essence wherever we find it, and being British I have a reputation to maintain  as to my  tolerance and acceptance of the stuff. 

As for the price of parsnips, we all need to watch our backs pretty carefully because those tariffs are almost here and we are going to be slammed!!! Parsnips in a different store today were marked at $3.60 CAD per lb today but i can't even begin factor this all with all the other mayhem, coming out of DC. 

Due to the rain and forecast snow, I asked new friend Jane if she could take me if she was going to shop .  I was very fortunate that she took me to a good store with good fresh produce. However, It transpires that  alcohol can only be sold in liquor stores, not even Costco !!! So still not wine for me. The other shop Jane introduced me to was the amazing Bulk Barn !!! This shop sells, in bulk every possible food item you can think of , from curry powder , to fruit pie fllling , to mixed nuts, and almond flour . It has rows and rows of large bins of loose food products where the bags etc are provided and weighed at check out as usual . Jane has it figured though - instead of all those plastic bags for each food, she takes jars from home, pre-weighs the jars and fills them with her purchases . We can also be  learning the Canadian way with bottles and jars, whereby they are all returned to the shop from whence they were purchased and a deposit is refunded. No big deal, no stress with trash. 

On the topic of shopping etc . US issues are hitting hard already and the longest undefended border in the world is seeing change. New  friend Jane told me that she, like those in her circle, are determined not to  buy US goods. Consequently our grocery shopping took longer because of the search for food not from USA. This was especially challenging with fresh vegatables where so much is imported from the States. Perhaps the tariffs could generate a need for import/ export to go directly from Mexico to Canada with  reciprocal plans for lumber and metal - all container ships sailing up the Atlantic and down the pacific coast !!

Despite the rain and cold i was determined to start painting today and not delay any longer, now the primed gesso was complete on two panels. So i began some underpainting, then realised that I must resolve the pallette issue and also not waste precious paint so this will be worked on for a better solution in the next day or so.


rainy day view to the east.
My first Canadian deer, dining outside . This is a whitetail deer but it has a genetic remodelling, making the tail shorter than deer in VA.



working on two painting at once so that not to waste paint .

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