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So much green here, and so hard to match, for me. I find I’ve been spinning so fast from school that I’m missing soaking in the green. We don’t change our clocks here and the light is only about half an hour different. By 7pm it is pretty dark. Feeling the winter coming. Thank you for sharing this Heather!

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I’m thinking the ocean would be your go to inspiration :-) I do hear you about green however !

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I waited for my morning coffee to read your 'delicious' essay Heather. :D As always, your writing connects to my experiences. This year I am also finding it harder to adjust to the time change (I'm glad there is a movement to let it go sometime soon). I, too, have furbabies reminding me of their internal clock which does not accept superficial time changes. And I have the time to reflect that they are correct - when we are hungry we should eat; when we are tired we should sleep: etc lol At this time of year, I feel the urge to hibernate, slow down and reflect. As my past trip to Europe continues to bring a smile to my face, I am currently creating a collage display of my experiences - bike riding on Île de Ré; eating croissants and café au lait with only the crows as companions in Les Tuileries; a beautiful and special wedding in Hackney; a boat ride along the canal from Little Venice to Camden Market... I love that your travels show up so often in your artworks Heather. All that we are truly encompasses all our experiences - so let's focus daily on what makes us breathe deeply. <3

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I know Jody !We are on the same wavelength with our furbabies!

I know it makes sense that we just follow the signs our bodies offer us re time change. ..Sigh These grey November days definitely prompt us to hunker down and settle in too . I love to hear you are making a collage display of your travel experiences too :-)

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Sometimes, if the insomnia is too powerful, I just get up say, 4am in the morning - get on the computer and do some browsing. As the hours go by and I feel sleepy again, I then take a nap and that helps get me through the rest of the day.

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That sounds like you have it cracked Jamenta :-)

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It's not as good as a full night's sleep, but as you get older, you have to adapt best you can. 0.0

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Agreed!!

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Like you I'm a total morning person. I've been in Czechia for the past few days, so I struggled with jet lag and my weird morning schedule too. As for natural settings, I love bare fields and sky, and water.

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I hear ya Lydia! I think it takes me at least a week to recover when home from the UK with that 5 hour difference (It must be similar with Czechia ?) and then the silly time change here! I love the way you capture such brilliant vistas in your paintings

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Thanks for sharing Heather! My quiet read with my morning coffee.

Saturday in Ottawa, clear blue skies and the promise of a warm day - 12C. Sleeping through the night has been elusive for me since my chemo treatment 5 years ago, it's never returned to normal. I did a "sleep" boot camp which did help me realize that I am getting more sleep than I thought. Sometimes I will listen to a very boring podcast to put me back to sleep; although I'm trying to simply relax, breathe deeply and move back into rest land. If all else fails, I will read and sometimes bake muffins!

Love your Scotland influenced art work Heather, the fall colours resonate with me, all those moody browns and siennas. I collect dried wild flowers along our road, dry them and put them in vases along with cuttings of pine and cedar and brown hydrangeas. I think I will post a note now with a picture as they are quite lovely when they dry and deepen their colour. Somehow they project more richness than their delicate pink and cream summer beauty!

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Nora! I cannot imagine what a sleep bootcamp might involve ! I think it's the broken sleep that might be the worst for me..Just when you are in a deep sleep..or a vivid dream to be rudely awakened ..by something !(in my case excessive meowing) Reading sometimes works for me ..a podcast is a good idea! Your flower preservation and creativity sound quite lovely ..

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Love these new pieces. There’s a way the light is some days in the fall where those moody, deep browns, mustards and greys seem a little surreal and richer against the muted landscape. You’ve captured that in some of these pieces. I also love how those moments in our local landscape can instantly transport you somewhere else. I feel that often in the spring, about the rolling hills and dales around the Saugeen and Ireland.

Hopefully your cat has settled back in. Our new, little guy also has a habit of waking up and wanting fed & let out at 4, 5, 6 am. It’s at least closer to morning. This morning he’s still sleeping comfortable though at 8 am so maybe we’ve turned a corner. 🤞

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Thank you Jen . I find with each new season I am paying deeper attention to the everchanging minutiae in my rural world. I see now how it dovetails with my paints and colour choices ..and even my themes. All the best with your new kitty -I'm sure his behaviour is temporary as he adjusts to your rhythms..We are both doing night shifts with Gus which is helping a bit !

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