nipigon nylons

One highlight of my visit to Thunder Bay was my best friend Sarah's 4th Annual Long John Party. Somehow parties seem a lot more fun when everyone is wearing saggy bummed long underwear.

snow and love in thunder bay

My 10 days in Thunder Bay were great. Lots of eating, sleeping, snow and love. One day my brother Adam and I took a walk down the river path at the college campus near our parent's house. I took lots of pictures of snowy trees and we took pictures of each other. Oh, that hat I'm wearing is the one I made earlier this winter. I never did take a good picture of it to post here, so here it is finally.

back to life

I'm sorry I disappeared for so long. I've been in Thunder Bay with my family and have barely touched the computer for almost two weeks. I'm back now, and have some new pictures from the snowy north, but I'm at work today and don't have my laptop with me. Until I have a chance to post some photos, here's something I treated myself to over the holidays. It is a Marimekko tea towel in what is supposed to be a Christmas pattern, but I think I can get away with having it up all year. Thunder Bay has a huge Finnish population and a Marimekko selection to match. I couldn't resist getting a few things for myself. I also got this and this.

winter at the farm

We had a lovely visit with Terence at his farm near Thornbury last weekend. It was just perfect. Hiking through the snowy woods, cooking and eating piles of amazing food, and the best company... I have so many pictures, but no time to go through them all yet. Here's a couple for now, and I'll post some more soon.

new boots

ok. so... I just made my biggest Etsy purchase ever. I think they were worth it. I don't really NEED new boots, but aren't they lovely? I've sold a few paintings this month, so I feel like I can afford to treat myself.

I think this purchase is a sign that my woven leather obsession is officially out of control. Not long after buying my woven leather tote (which I love), I decided I also needed a small bag for nights out and other times when I don't need to be carrying a ton of stuff. So I got this one. I love the woven strap and how it attaches to the bag through one grommet on each side diagonally across from each other (you can only see one grommet in the picture, but you get what I'm saying right?).

nice

I love this APC wool dress. I think I would live in it all winter if I had one.

So cute and comfy.

minerals, coral - 1766

last two

Multicoloured Tourmaline ~ oil on masonite ~ 5" x 6.5"

Hessonite, Asbestos ~ oil on masonite ~ 6" x 6"

Hope to see you tonight at Narwhal!

polarlight

bornite

bornite ~ oil on masonite ~ 7" x 6.5"  The common name of this is peacock ore.

ice caves

more christmasy

I picked up a little potted Christmas tree on Monday (literally picked it up and carried it home - my arms hurt a little today). I also did a little more decorating around the mantle and doorways with some paper snowflakes Alissa and I made to decorate for our birthday party last year. I made some new little ones with patterned origami paper for the tree, as well as some tiny origami cranes. The copper glass balls are from Andrew's grandma and the red and white egg shaped glass ornaments are from Ikea. I love their Swedishy Christmas stuff. The paper I wrapped around the tree's ugly plastic pot is the same pattern. I improvised a gold cellophane pompom for the top. My favourite thing on the tree is the popcorn garland. The only problem is that the tree smells more like popcorn than like a tree.

amethyst 2

This whole 'one painting a day' thing is kind of silly, since most of them are on the Narwhal website, and on Design*Sponge today (thanks Grace!), but I'm going to stick with it anyways.  Here's Amethyst 2 ~ oil on masonite ~ 5.5" x 7".

smoky quartz 2

Ok... I changed my mind about not posting images of the paintings until the show opens. There are five, and I think I'll post one per day until the opening on Friday night. Here's Smoky Quartz 2 ~ oil on masonite ~ 4.75" x 7".

bismuth crystals

These are lab-grown Bismuth crystals. They pretty much blow my mind. The only disappointing thing is that they don't look like this in nature. These are known as 'Hopper' crystals. This is what Wikipedia has to say about them. Supposedly you can even grow these yourself at home.

Photos from Wikimedia Commons.

a real tree

I put up some lights in the house last weekend to set the mood for Christmas. This year Andrew's grandma just gave us a TON of lights and an artificial tree, but I really have my heart set on a real one. I'm thinking about getting one of these little potted guys from the plant shop around the corner. I really want it to last a while, since I'll be away in Thunder Bay for a chunk of the holiday season, and I figure one of these would last longer than a cut tree.

Dec. 2 and still no snow

These are images of snow through a Low Temperature Scanning Electron Microscope (LT-SEM).