Widow's Endorphins: Santa's Workshop and Snowflakes

Widow's Endorphins: Santa's Workshop and Snowflakes: At this time of year, my Toronto abode looks like Santa's workshop. Christmas cards and decorations in various stages of completi...

Santa's Workshop and Snowflakes

At this time of year, my Toronto abode looks like Santa's workshop. Christmas cards and decorations in various stages of completion, creating happy clutter everywhere!  With the first snow of the year, falling softly on the city, I took advantage of the subdued light, and took a few photos of this year's ornaments.

I've made handpainted glass ornaments every Christmas for more than a dozen years.  Some years, the orbs have been painted in rich jewel tones.  Last year, I introduced turquoise, copper, and gold to the collection.  This year, I've been playing with sugarplum colours.

No two are ever alike.  What's more, they change - evolve - every day until they're dry.  The magic happens when the painted glass is turned upside down, allowing the paint to slowly drip and dry.  The process takes five to seven days.  Not one to stand around watching paint dry?  Keep turning and swirling the glass orbs, creating new pathways for the paint to travel.  

One year, I had the brilliant idea of placing them all along the baseboard heaters to speed up the drying process.  Rivers of paint poured from the glass orbs, leaving them bare as light bulbs.  I had to start all over again.

Like the snowflakes falling outside the window, each ornament is uniquely different.  They're a metaphor for all that is great about living in a multi-cultural society.  My city is one of the most multi-cultural on the planet.

Yesterday, digital media shared a speech, which former Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau gave to the Canadian-Ukrainian Congress in Winnipeg, in 1971.  For young readers, he was Justin's Dad. Pierre Trudeau said,

"Uniformity is neither desirable nor possible in a country the size of Canada.  We should not even be able to agree upon the kind of Canadian to choose as a model, let alone persuade most people to emulate it.  There are few policies potentially more disastrous for Canada than to tell all Canadians that they must be alike.  There is no such thing as a model or ideal Canadian.  What could be more absurd than the concept of an "all-Canadian" boy or girl?"  

"A society which emphasizes uniformity is one which creates intolerance and hate.  A society which eulogizes the average citizen is one which breeds mediocrity.  What the world should be seeking and what in Canada we must continue to cherish are not concepts of uniformity, but human values: compassion, love and understanding."   

  

Working in Santa's Toronto workshop, I'm reminded of the heartfelt and powerful eulogy the current Prime Minister gave at his late Father's funeral.  He recounted how, on one of his Dad's Prime Ministerial trips to the military/research station in Alert, in Canada's far North, he was taken by jeep to a secret facility.  Little Justin was hoisted up to peer through a window of the only red building on the base.  He saw a man, hunched over a cluttered workbench.  He was wearing a red suit, with white fur trim.  At that moment, he knew how powerful his Dad was:  he knew Santa Claus!

Photographs Copyright of:  Ruth Adams, Widow's Endorphins Photographic Images Incorporated.    

Widow's Endorphins: White Orchids

Widow's Endorphins: White Orchids: It is a sad case of mistaken identity.  Beautiful, elegant  Phalaenopsis Orchids  are commonly known as Moth Orchids, all because of...

White Orchids

It is a sad case of mistaken identity.  Beautiful, elegant Phalaenopsis Orchids are commonly known as Moth Orchids, all because of what a South Pacific explorer thought he saw.  Back in the 1750's, a Swedish Naturalist, discovered the orchids on the Indonesian island of Java.  Peering through his field glasses, Peter Osbeck mistook the orchids for a swarm of moths, and the name Moth Orchid has remained for nearly 270 years.

The Victorians thought they were the very symbol of luxury and refinement - even, royalty.  Although a staple of modern supermarket floral departments, they are still thought of as a luxury.  In reality, they are one of the most economical flowering houseplants.  These orchids will bloom for four to six months, before going into a dormant stage for a year or two. With small sips of water (only 60cc or two ounces a week), they will live to bloom again.

The orchid's gracefully arching branches, create a sense that the blossoms are ballerinas leaping in mid-air.  I love the white orchids for their simple elegance.  They're also very colourful.  The Phalaenopsis Orchids come in a variety of colours and patterns, including deep magenta, soft pink and bright yellow, with tiny spots, or stripes.

These were photographed in the late afternoon sun, against a backdrop of my favourite Japanese paper.

Photographs Copyright of:  Ruth Adams, Widow's Endorphins Photographic Images Incorporated.