Roberta V
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songbyrdy.bsky.social
Roberta V
@songbyrdy.bsky.social
37 followers 28 following 53 posts
Mediator, Conflict Specialist, Negotiator located in Eastern Ontario
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songbyrdy.bsky.social
AI: accepting that this is a biased position, at most right now I see its “creations” as regurgitations. There are a few studies where it’s drawing correlations in data sets that we aren’t catching but I’m not seeing “creation” so much as repackaging.

To be honest, I’ve seen good results, but! …
August 1, 2025 at 2:09 PM
songbyrdy.bsky.social
Just read the latest Your Local Epidemiologist re: how to respond to people who “do their own research.” Not mentioned there but I think critical - recognition that the whole medical system needs to SLOW DOWN when responding to patients.
June 18, 2025 at 12:56 PM
songbyrdy.bsky.social
Breaking News: in a stunning turn of events, previously without hope until around 6:30 AM this morning, Chippy discovered that she was not going to starve today. Indeed, by 6:38 AM, Chippy was pleased to receive wet food in her bowl.
June 15, 2025 at 10:46 AM
songbyrdy.bsky.social
Took a trip to a special place in Algonquin Park that holds ties for us to our deceased son. The smoke from the wildfires was there. Overall a very healing day.
In the foreground is a dirt bare small island with a fallen tree root ball visible. There are two standing trees on the edge of the gram. There is some greenery growing down a bank that leads to a very large lake in Algonquin Park. In the far distance is additional islands and trees shorelines. Above, a gray hazy day.
June 6, 2025 at 12:37 AM
songbyrdy.bsky.social
Took a trip to a special place in Algonquin Park that holds ties for us to our deceased son. The smoke from the wildfires was there. Overall a very healing day.
In the foreground is a dirt bare small island with a fallen tree root ball visible. There are two standing trees on the edge of the gram. There is some greenery growing down a bank that leads to a very large lake in Algonquin Park. In the far distance is additional islands and trees shorelines. Above, a gray hazy day.
June 6, 2025 at 12:37 AM
songbyrdy.bsky.social
The early, still Spring evening sun creating a beautiful study in light and shadow. The combination of the tree boughs outside, and the layers of the Bird of Paradise combined with the sparkling reflections of the water moving in the bay make for a delight.
The image narrowly captures the west most window in the bow tower Dinette section of my kitchen. Immediately visible is the narrow, white framed vinyl window. From just above the window (not actually visible) hangs a black clap pot with three jute strands. In it is a Rick Rack Cactus that is is only a few strands. They blend visually into the tree boughs visible in the yard just outside and to the left of the window view. In the middle of the bottom section of the window, you can see a pretty basic (and dilapidated) builder porch railing. On the deck and close to the house is a red Costco Adirondack chair. Behind the railing is a green lawn. Beyond that is the bay. It’s more visible this year as we cut down the dead tree that was pretty light blocking. A stump remains that is rather high. On the floor in front of the window is a black plant stand thing from Ikea. On it rests a white pot in the centre holding a Bird of Paradise Plant. One I haven’t killed yet. (My second). On the window ledge and just higher than the plant shelf are three Violets in white pots. Also on the plant stand are two more violets, also in white pots but then placed inside a riser that is gray and bronze coloured. Light is captured showing shadows and bright washed out areas.
May 27, 2025 at 11:15 PM
songbyrdy.bsky.social
The Tiny Kraken strikes again! Chippy wanted up too early. With my back to my alarm clock, I pointed at it and said: not yet, soon!
Next thing I hear my alarm clock gently rocking in its base and the clock of the snooze button.
Chippy says, no worries - she got this! Ragdoll magic 🐈
A beautiful seal point coloured Ragdoll cat sits on a pulled out kitchen drawer of linens. That time (last fall) she had really wanted to help put away laundry but I kept saying no. Then my daughter called and I turned to grab my phone. Turning back I saw the Tiny Kraken sitting on the drawer inquisitively listening to our call. No worries, she got it!
May 20, 2025 at 11:52 AM
songbyrdy.bsky.social
A meeting of the minds. Evidence of a knitter’s house - when you have more than one hat blocking head. Also, this is the fourth version of this hat, soon to be joined by at least two more. Pattern: Gro Hat. Unfortunately needs significant mods to get to reasonable size. 🧶
A light gray undyed wool knit hat is on the middle left of the picture. The wool was a souvenir of a friend’s trip to Scotland that I told her I would knit up into a toque just for her. The blocking hat is on a white head form made of cotton and wood over a light weight hollow centre. Facing it is a teal blue glass head with facial shapes, unlike the white and wooden form. In the background is my ubiquitous kitchenette window with the summer rooster stain-glass made by my mother in the background. You can slightly see the distressed dinnette table (really a bar height cafe table) along with a leather covered bar chair in the background. These allow me to sit up high to view the bay which is not visible in this picture. The room smells like wet wool washed win Soak, an earthy and musty smell. Audible is my husband listening to news on YouTube and a fan blowing on the head to assist it to dry faster.
April 21, 2025 at 10:22 PM
songbyrdy.bsky.social
My niece to the store owner as we are buying her a new toy: “This is the best store that I have ever been to in my whole life. I love it! But, I’m only 6 and I *may* end up going to a better store after this. But you can have this for now.”
April 19, 2025 at 1:19 PM
songbyrdy.bsky.social
After “sticking” snow yesterday, it’s lovely to see the lawn and sunshine today. [sticking snow: snow that doesn’t completely melt on the ground and lasts at least a few hours. Definition from my children.]
Picture taken inside the house looking outside. A tall slender window with a bottom push up slider and fully screened over looks a largish greenish lawn that faces a small bay along a Canadian waterway. A small white building appears in the middle right of the window, just a sliver of the back “boat garage.” A bare tree limb stretches out from the right to the left of the window, appearing to come from the top of the garage roof. There is a clear blue sky behind the bare tree branches. A round stain glass of a rooster with a green background hangs at the top of the window on a suction cup. Three small violet plants in white pots sit on the window sill. Not as easily visible is that about 10% of the bottom of the pots hangs over the edge of the window sill inside the house. This window, located to the left of the prior window, overlooks the same lawn but is set at about a 30 degree angle from the other window - in what is called a bow tower formation. This window you can see a very aged wooden deck closest to the window with two red Costco Adirondack chairs sitting on it in front of an equally old and risky porch railing. Two trees are located on the lawn, bare from winter. One is actually dead and if you look carefully you can see my risk taking husband walking around with a winter coat, ear protection and a chainsaw, attempting to, IMO, foolishly take down the tree which is at least 40-50 feet high. The same bay from the prior picture stretches behind the trees and lawn and risk taking husband. (At least he’s not wearing Birkenstocks today!) The bay is narrow and you can see a house with porch and yellow slides and small boat house, and, and, and across the bay. The sky is a lovely clear blue, with some visible variation due to horizon effect in colour. Someone has tied an old CD/DVD on one of the bare tree branches across the way which is creating an annoying reflective flicker in my view. I will survive. Odds suggest my spouse will too.
April 17, 2025 at 2:08 PM
songbyrdy.bsky.social
Sometimes the best thing you can do is take yourself with a grain of salt.
April 13, 2025 at 10:38 PM
songbyrdy.bsky.social
Some days the brain just wont be silent. Today I really wanted to put pen to paper rather than any other activity… but I also didn’t want to write. Time to Zentangle then!
A Zentangle: small 3.5” square piece of pressed paper covered with doodles that are anchored to a very faint pencil “squiggle” in the background. Squiggle is my word for what Zentanglers call a “string.” There are many traditional Zentangle designs here: poke root, crescent moon, fescu, hollibaugh, printemps, mooka, purk, flukes, variation on onamato, dyon, chainging, pepper, ynix, and then shading. Let’s just say my mind wasn’t very settled tonight. Initials RJV 2025-04-6 are along the bottom of the picture. The tangle string was a bit inspired by a chocolate easter egg, wheat and… a restless mind.
April 6, 2025 at 11:33 PM
songbyrdy.bsky.social
Given this is not my pattern and I’m working off pictures, I think I can share pictures of my recreation.This pattern is not at all available online. I spent 6 months searching. Contacted the original designer. Searched Ravelry. Asked for support from the original seller who sent the pictures.
Picture is of a knitting project as seen on the left side of the image. You can see a set of cabled knitting needles with silver tips and a navy royal blue colour. You can see a chart drafted on grid paper, with some hand writing across the sides of the image. Note dated 2025-04-01 reads: - skip 1 + 28 (chart has 28 columns). - use 26th / repeat; - have to block but potentially 5mm. Recommend 14 repeats @ 26 = 364 w/ crochet cast on. Under chart on the picture are faint pencil written meanings of DR, DL and CCD, which appear on the chart. ON the right side of the image is a boxed section which reads 12 repeats @ 28 sets = 336 sets cast on crochet hook method. Repeat rows 2 - 14 6 x’s crochet cast off.
April 1, 2025 at 4:07 PM
songbyrdy.bsky.social
I’ve been working away on that recreation of a former felted project. I ended up accepting one variation from the original because I just couldn’t math it to fit. I’m quite happy with the results. Not shown here is the 1” of frogging that occurred and was knit back last night to “catch-up.”
Quick summary is a knitting project arranged over my dinette table. It looks to be a darkish olive green but is more 80’s hunter green than olive green. The stitches in this pattern (of my own recreation) are all twisted in a K1, P1 (in twist) pattern. The pattern is of three columns on either side of a centre column that come together slanting toward the middle, crossing over an other 3 columns on either side. The cast on edge of the project has a gentle wave as the travelling 3 columns on either side cause the pattern to pull in. On the top left hand corner is a white planter that holds an unseen Bird of Paradise plant that was seemingly unable to live in my house, but has decided to throw up a new leaf just as I was going to admit that I can no longer grow this plant. Project is knit on KP circular needles with swivel joins - bloody marvellous!
April 1, 2025 at 3:50 PM
songbyrdy.bsky.social
It’s a beautiful moody morning looking out over the bay. Will the cloud cover move along? Who knows. Glimmers of open sky and white clouds peeking through… the beautiful subtle colours of winter still available for enjoyment. #liveinthismomentfirst #hopefortomorrowafter
Foreground is a grassy area that is lightly covered with snow. The grass is still wintered in colour and the snow highlights the areas of the yard that get less sun and are therefore colder. Across the middle of the picture is a bay. Except for the left side, there is a large sheet of ice covered in a light layer of snow floating on the bay. The bay is not extremely wide, so you can see a few larger houses on the other side, with trees behind them. Far less visible is a rural highway. Above the trees are ribbons of clouds and sky. They play in coloured ombré from a dark robins blue, to a pale dusty pink beige to darker blue. Then a narrow strip of pale blue sky, a wider band of gray ish blue brushed cloud, followed by an open area with a light smattering of marshmallow puff white clouds coming in covering a triangle area. More pale blue sky, lightly defined, followed by the top portion of the picture completely covered with grayish, white, blue and textured shelf of cloud cover. The scene is very moody. Not pictured or heard are the morning birds chirping and calling back and forth with the occasional car speeding by in the distance at a speed greater than 80 km/h.
March 26, 2025 at 12:11 PM
songbyrdy.bsky.social
I’ve been trying to recreate one of my earliest projects, accidentally felted. Not knowing better, pattern was in a knitting club. Was given high quality pictures, the stitch tutorials, cast on #’s but no chart. Winging it hasn’t worked, so I’ve been reading the images. 🧶 #determined #attempt6
March 24, 2025 at 5:55 PM
songbyrdy.bsky.social
Feeling the rising overwhelm of external chaos and perceived mayhem, I’m pulling forward a practice of Gratitude Journaling learned at one of the hardest times in my life - after I nearly died in childbirth. This isn’t about ignoring, rather about deeply connecting with now in all ways. Join me?
Pictured against a faux oak sit-stand desktop, on the left is a 4”x6” small journal with a 3”x5” notecard on top of it. On the notecards are 7 boxed bullets with the following points: - weather, news, events - today I feel & I’m grateful for - spiritual I … - people in my thoughts … - moments of comfort, peace + love … - acts of kindness, sharing, caring & forgiveness … - towards a better tomorrow …
March 21, 2025 at 5:58 PM
songbyrdy.bsky.social
Found so much in this book. Highly recommend reading this now. @prentishemphill.bsky.social
Front cover of the book What it Takes to Heal by Prentis Hemphill. Cover is a warm gray with the words in black with a burst of what looks like sun rays emanating from the centre. The yellow of the rays cut through the black letters. The subtitle reads: How Transforming Ourselves Can Change the World.
March 20, 2025 at 11:51 PM
songbyrdy.bsky.social
A black credenza with a wooden type top runs from left front corner to right. On it are several potted plants. Tucked into the greenery is a bud vase with two lego sunflowers. A stained glass pane (made by my mother) of a geometric pattern in olive green and rose is on the upper centre to right of the image. Hanging in the top right of the image is a coconut shell coir plant basket with a succulent inside. The sun shines into the window, playing with the shadows in the in light dining room where this tableau sits. Title on the picture reads: spot the lego. Two smaller clay snails (also painted by my mother) sit on the bottom left corner of the image in front of the plants.
March 18, 2025 at 5:01 PM
songbyrdy.bsky.social
I live next to the border. Sirens going off all afternoon. Yes, I hear the helicopter some days too. Oh Canada!
March 16, 2025 at 11:34 PM