Lady in Blue

My sister's boyfriend, Jeff, is a very talented artist and he's started practicing portraits, since he doesn't often draw them. This lady in blue is my sister and I can definitely see her in this drawing. It also reminds me of Joni Michell's, Blue.

I think there's something romantic about having your portrait drawn, don't you?

Keep it up, Jeff!

Hiss & Crunch

The hiss of gas meters feeding furnaces. The crunch of snow, underfoot, when it's oh-so cold out.

The sounds of winter.

(Photo: New Year's Day, 2008)

Apartment Hunting

I'm currently in the process of finding a little corner of the world for D and I to share and while it's exciting, the process of apartment hunting can be somewhat discouraging at times. For example, we found our dream apartment as soon as we starting looking, only to have the people who saw it first decide that it was their dream apartment too. Now, every apartment we see will be compared to the unobtainable apartment...so the search continues.

Anyway, this got me thinking about the very first apartment I ever had and the list that Kirsty (then residence mate)and I made describing our dream apartment together. Here are some of the things on that list:

- lots of pillows (no clue)
- portraits of women we admired (Frida, Joni, Patti)
- paint and the tools to paint with
- typewriters
- first editions of our favourite books (Demian, Little Women)

Basically it was a list of things we wanted. Now, being a little older and wiser than I was at 19, I think more about the actual building I want to live in and the furnishings. Though I still love that creativity to was central to my and Kirsty's dream apartment and I know that it will be an important element of my future dream house. Here are some of my current "must haves:"

- hardwood floors
- a working fireplace
- minimum 2 bedrooms (for now...)
- space for guests (it's going to have to be a big house)
- lots of light
- warm!
- a spacious kitchen
- closet space
- nice old touches (the moldings, doorknobs, bathroom fixtures, etc.)
- some yard space for a garden
- a porch
- character

Oh, how the list has changed! It would be wonderful if we could find all of the things above in our new apartment; if not, I know that we'll find them in our dream home one day soon. And we will dance in the living room.

(Photo: view from my bedroom in apartment #2, 2005.)

I wish...

I wish Prime Minister Harper was more like President Obama.

Exhibit A:

Blackberry Pictures

So. My boss has bestowed a (dreaded, vile) Blackberry upon me. It's taking some getting used to and I'm determined not to become one of "those people." Sometimes, I can't believe that I'm the one making the clicky typing noise I dislike so much.

However! I have discovered the fun that is taking pictures of my daily life throughout the city and sending them to people, particularly Kirsty in Ottawa.

Below are some highlights from the past week:


This is me talking to D about having a Blackberry on Day 1. Clearly, I'm already stressed out.


Just some beautiful flowers for sale at the market near my house.


Pumpkins piled high in the back of a vintage pickup truck parked in front of the same market.


Toronto at sunset on the Autumnal Equinox.


Where Queen St. passes over the Don River.


Looking North over the Don Valley Parkway. That's how you get to Peterborough.

Letters of Note

I came across this blog, Letters of Note, a few months ago. I instantly loved it and got lost in the many letters published on the blog. Just as I was about to post some of my favourite entries, I was distracted, only to revisit the blog this evening.

Not only are the letters incredible themselves, but I like seeing the handwriting and letterhead of people such as Steve McQueen, Hugh Hefner, Harper Lee, Wil Wheaton and Johnny Cash to name a few.

Fall is here, hear the yell*

Although fall officially begins on September 23rd this year, the season is already here. Whenever Labour Day passes and the new school year starts, everyone feels the pull towards fall and inevitably winter, even if it's still 30 degrees outside.

Though it's not quite over yet, let's take a little look back over the summer:


To kick things off, D opened his new business! Hooray!


We went to the drive-in during the last weekend in May (as mentioned before.) We also got our first sunburns of the summer that weekend.


We had not one, not two, but three garage sales in Peterborough and I believe the above photo is from garage sale number two. This is the most talented Jeff, drawing, while his beautiful art is on display and for sale. (Complete with unicorn head paperweights!)


I witnessed hundreds of teenagers spend 4 days and three nights camped out on Toronto sidewalks for advance tickets to the Much Music Video Award tickets. This meant a whole lot of screaming and mess right outside my office. It also resulted in me feeling old as I stood at the windows, declaring to my co-workers "that I would never let my kids do that." I'm sure fate will get me for that one.


My lovely grandmother turned 86. 86!


We went to the cottage a couple of times. And both times it was lovely to be away from the smelly city and the noise and the attitudes and the heat and, and, and...I could go on forever. We also went to an auction, watched my mother's dog hunt relentlessly for spiders on the dock and attended my aunt's 60th birthday party.


August flew by with a metal band from Timmins, craziness at work, lots of lap swimming at the local (free!) pool near by and some of the hottest weather Toronto has seen since the 50's. Then, at the end of it, M came home (at last) and she gave me this tote bag, among other lovely gifts. The print on the bag is by Mucha, an artist that my Mom, M and I love.

And here we are now, two weeks into September already. The weather is sunny, but cool and it makes for the best sleeping, with the windows thrown wide open.

*This song always reminds me of fall, for obvious and not so obvious reasons.