icebergs, 1894

from here

winter survival

A few things helping me get through February this year:

A new stack of Scandinavian/Nordic mysteries and Wallander on DVD - so good! 

I have ventured away from Sweden and on to Iceland and Norway. I'm savouring the last Wallander book now.

I haven't started the Jo Nesbo yet, but I've finished the three Icelandic mysteries by Indridason, and they were great.

Tulips from my valentine.

Beautiful old type drawer to display some of my collections (birthday present from my honey). 

Filling this up with tiny things will occupy me for a while.

Mail from far away friends.

Knitting my first baby sweater (for a cousin's forthcoming little one).

I've also been re-watching Veronica Mars, one of my favourite shows ever. So addictive! 

What has been helping you to survive this winter?

birthday #30

Yesterday was my 30th birthday. I took the day off work, slept in, got my hair trimmed (professionally for the first time in over a year - yikes!), bought some yarn and started a new knitting project (more about that later, hopefully), and went out for an amazing dinner with Andrew at Atlantic. It was a perfect day. My parents had these flowers delivered for me - so sweet! And my Dad sent me this photo on facebook. I think I was about 5 years old? Notice the rad tent trailer in the background. I love it! It is mini-me! It's funny how I seem to look more like my young-child-self now than I did at any other time in my teenagehood/adulthood. I guess it's the hair.

I feel pretty good about being 30. I don't really see why people make such a fuss about this number. I guess I'm pretty lucky to feel happy about where I'm at in my life right now.

first collection

This is my first rock collection. Well, not counting things I picked up off the ground. I've been looking for it for ages, and finally found it hidden in our cluttered apartment. I brought it for show-and-tell in kindergarten, and while it was sitting on the counter at the back of the classroom, waiting for show-and-tell time, some kid covered up my name with blue marker. So mean! He vandalized my rock collection! I was so upset. But I wrote my name again on the lid with some stars and hearts. And my mom wrote my name on the underside of the lid and on the bottom of the box with my address. It was clearly a precious possession. I'm not sure about the math equations on the back. I can't imagine that I would have written those there, since it was such a special object to me, so maybe someone else did that too? Curious. Anyways, I'm so happy I found it! It is definitely my most treasured childhood artifact.

dog-sitting

Andrew and I have his parents' dog Holly staying with us for the weekend. 

We took her for a walk at dusk this evening with our friend Clayton and tossed a stick around in a nearby field.

It sure is nice having a dog around. 

January and beyond

January is turning out to be a very busy month. Full time hours at my 'job' plus weekends painting. I'm hoping to finish off my brother's album art by the end of the month so I can get back to my own stuff. Luckily after January I'll be spending a little less time on 'job' work and more time on painting work, because I have to be VERY productive for the next seven months. In September I will be having my first solo exhibition at Narwhal Art Projects!  I've known for a while, but wasn't sure if I should announce it yet. It seems too good to be true. I've finished three and half paintings for the show so far, so I have a LOT more work to do before the Autumn. I'll try to show some bits and pieces here along the way, but I will try to save most of it for September. Maybe this can count as a New Years resolution: maintaining a rigorous painting schedule and being more disciplined about how I spend my time in general. I don't usually do the resolution thing, but this year will definitely require more focus and discipline than I normally feel capable of. I hope I'm up to the challenge.

Thunder Oak Cheese Farm

I finally made it out to the Thunder Oak Cheese Farm this Christmas holiday, while in Thunder Bay. They make fantastic gouda of all kinds. It is a really charming place which also sells various imported Dutch foods and sweet Delft pottery. We couldn't get a tour that day, but I did buy a whole bunch of cheese, including a huge chunk of extra old gouda, which is definitely one of my favourite types of cheese. I also ate my weight in cheese curds. Apparently Thunder Oak gouda is available in Toronto at Whole Foods or several specialty cheese shops. You can also order it online directly from the farm and they can ship within Canada.

a few moments at Ian & Julie's

While in Thunder Bay, I had the pleasure of catching up with a bunch of old dear friends at Ian & Julie's place (aka paradise). 

Olive (Ian & Julie's little one) and Kate.

Reuben the morning after.

Adam the morning after.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everybody! 

This photo was taken from the driveway of my friends Ian and Julie's beautiful new home in the woods near Thunder Bay. It was the morning after a great party, and every twig and pine needle was coated in white frost. So peaceful and absolutely gorgeous. It's hard not to dream about living in the country one day, after being in a place like that. More Thunder Bay holiday photos to come.

Happy (belated) Holidays!

Oh my, where have the days gone!? I just returned today from a week in Thunder Bay with my family for Christmas. It was lovely. I hope you all has a wonderful time with family and loved ones, or just taking a little time for yourself to rest and enjoy the season. xoxo

an orange canary and a vampire squid

This is the first time I've posted a video. I hope it works.

I just looove this video.

adam and the amethysts

I'm working on a very exciting project right now: cover art for my brother Adam's new album. You will have to wait until it is released to see the full artwork, but for now here is a sneak peak of some unfinished details. I am so happy to be doing this for him. He is the best brother ever, and I really love his music SO MUCH. His last album, Amethyst Amulet received some great critical praise:

The pop hit of the summer!
-TORONTO STAR

While evincing the intimacy of an apartment recording, it is also brimming with overlapping instruments, tempo changes and ambitious arrangements. The result resembles the precarious balance between innocence and sophistication that Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks have been known to strike.
-TORONTO STAR

I’ve fallen in love.
-NATIONAL POST

Montreal’s newest shimmering gem.
-SAID THE GRAMOPHONE

They meander quietly through ethereal psychedelic moments and a Neil Youngish understanding of the lyrical details that fill a songs with endearing personality. At 13 songs, Amulet could go on a while longer and still remain a beautiful piece of contemporary Canadiana.
-NOW MAGAZINE

The project has the pedigree, the creativity, and most importantly, the songs to make Amethyst Amulet the must have record for the summer. The songs are drenched in reverb, and sparkle like sun kissed water. Truthfully, I am not sure I’ve been as excited about a Canadian artist since I first heard Miracle Fortress. His understanding of what makes a pop song challenging and still enjoyable is incredible.
-HEROHILL

I'm so proud of him! You all have to check out his new album when it is ready. I'll be sure to let you know when it is available.