San Diego Squirrels

I got a commission to do a special-order chocolate brown cordoroy bag with a tan appliqued squirrel, a little bigger than the "normal" size I usually do, and with an adjustable strap.
I'd never done an adjustable strap before, but I think it turned out quite well.
You can adjust it to whatever strap length you'd like! :)
The customer said I could choose whatever lining I wanted, so I went with one of my favourites, this lovely "autumn trees" print.
I love that bird rack!
I threw in a little pencilcase/makeup bag as a bonus.

Anyone looking for some original Christmas presents, feel free to take a look at my Etsy shop. Still lots of time to get something before the big day if you order now! (hint hint, wink wink, nudge nudge as my Physics teacher used to say)

Dear Telemarketers

Unfortunately the "honeymoon period" of having a new phoneline has ended and now the telemarketers have my number.

I had a hard time this evening not sounding totally disgusted when some guy from Primus Canada called, but coincidentally, he had a hard time faking disbelief when I didn't want to "save money."

Friday Flashback: October 2003

October 2003, I was living with two housemates at school. These photos are from when in October that year, Jodi started playing Sims on her computer. The photo above is one of my very favourite photos of all time, taken at the start of our obsession. Jodi had gotten up Saturday morning, and actually wasn't cleaning as usual. And there Rachel is on the couch, with her breakfast, so excitedly watching Jodi and learning the ways of playing Sims.

It didn't take long until all of us were playing Sims. We couldn't go to bed without changing a few things around in our houses, and we talked constantly about the goings on in our families.

Rachel tending to her "Dorm Family." I had a family that I named completely after flowers, and I remember being heartbroken at the glitch in the game when Gardenia Lily Mae wouldn't and couldn't wake up and DIED. Died! Because she couldn't wake up to eat! Oh the tragedy!

I dont' know what I was thinking with that hairdo. But man, I miss that blanket. I think maybe I still have it at my parents' house in Alberta. It was $1.49 at Value Village in Regina.

With Coconuts, and Pineapples

Michelle: "Yeah, and we're having our Hawaiian Luau on Friday and...."

Joanne: "No seriously, where do you work?"

Lost, Still Missing

So I finally found my remote control that had been missing since my move. No, not a tv remote, I don't have a tv. Stereo remote. 54 days in the abyss of lostness, give or take a couple of days.

So now I'm just looking for my quote book, it's still lost. The little scrappies of paper I have all over my house with quotes on them gained since the move are starting to pile up. I have got to find that book.

Home

I just went to the biggest Wal*Mart in Canada. Well, technically it's tied with two others, but still. THE BIGGEST WAL*MART IN CANADA.

I just moved to what some consider a "smaller town", and the biggest Wal*Mart in Canada just opened here. What on earth do they need something that big for here?

When I first started coming here four years ago to spend the summer, it was still somewhat of a smaller town, cute streets, not quite suburbia. Wheatfields and cornfields around the outskirts of town. But the convenience was you could drive ten minutes to the south and hit city and all of the conveniences that that provides.

Then my next summer, south suburbia was creeping in. Some farmers' fields were gone and replaced by fields of houses upon houses upon houses. Every year it increased. It's growing more so now. Blah. Right now I'm at the library at what was once I think the edge of town, and directly outside the window in front of me behind the computer I'm sitting at, I can see several half-built houses in various stages of completion.

It takes longer to drive anywhere, there are people everywhere.

I'm not so sure this town's slogan of "Country Close to the City" is so apt any more.

Since moving here I've been trying to figure out how exactly I fit into this place. It's changed so much it's not the town or area that I fondly remembered.

A friend asked me this week what province I would choose to live in if I had that choice. I suppose we always do have that choice, but I did think about it for awhile. Having lived in four provinces, one territory, and two states, I've had a bit more experience living elsewhere than most others I know. I don't think I'd choose to move to a province I haven't lived in as my first choice. And I wouldn't pick Alberta. Ontario is has a lot of my favourite people and many good friends, but it still isn't home (sometimes I wonder if it will be). Saskatchewan was of course my birthplace and where I spend the first ten years of life, and returned for 5.5 years of schooling later on, but it was time to move on. I spent eight and half years in Manitoba, and sometimes I do miss it's endless fields, flat lands, and how you can see forever. But I'm not sure exactly what it would be like to return.

I've been thinking lately about what is it that people choose to move somewhere for when they really have the choice? Is it that they want to return to their childhood ideal of an area like the one that they lived in, or is it that they are searching for the complete polar opposite? They choose the country because they lived in the country (or city becuase of city), or they choose city because they lived in the country (or vice versa)... I suppose it's different for everyone.

The photo at the top of this entry is a self-portrait I took in Saskatchewan, in early September 2003. It encompassed for me, much of what I loved about that time period and Saskatchewan and somewhat of being trapped in or between two worlds. I knew that I was on the brink of change... beginning my last year of post-secondary education and not quite sure of what was to come after that, and at the same time having finished a complicated but wonderful summer.

The concept of "home" has always been an important one to me. Now, three years and a bit after that photograph was taken, I wonder really how much closer I am to finding it. Or creating it? Or is it possible that one can exist and never really find a true home in life? Or is the concept of home a fleeting ethereal one of sorts?

Flashback Friday: Thanksgiving 2002

In honour of American Thanksgiving, here is a Thanksgiving-y walk down memory lane for some of my old housemates... even thought these pictures were all taken the week of Canadian Thanksgiving, in October.

Earlier that week, my Mom had been on her way home from visiting my Gramma in Manitoba, and stopped in for a few days to see me in Saskatchewan. At the last minute, I drove with her to visit my sister and her husband in Taber, Alberta, and I think I just stayed the one night from what I recall. Sunday I took the bus back because my housemates had planned a grand Thanksgiving feast with friends and other assorted people whom to this day I have no idea how they ended up at our supper.

I got there right in the midst of supper being almost ready... and immediately I made gravy, because no one else knew how to (and really in all truth I had just learned how to the night before at my sister's) and you can't have whipped potatoes at Thanksgiving without gravy. It's just not right.

Please excuse my poor scrapbooking style, it was 2002:

See that girl on the left? I have no idea who she is. But I love Joanne's total nervous wave. Like to this day I know exactly how she's feeling ("What were we thinking? Who are these people? I hate parties! Let me out of here!").

And here is Joanne proudly showcasing our leftovers:
You can't read it, but I know one of those Post-It notes on the fridge says "Mr. Brita says 'FILL ME UP.'" And then there are a few other assorted good things up like copious pictures of Papa Mags, our college president.

Monday I think it was Joanne, Holly, and I borrowed Terry Terry's car and drove the three hours to Saskatoon to pick up our housemate Rachel from the bus depot, she had been in Edmonton visiting family. A road trip, and a car to drive, was a very novel idea to us.

Here's Joanne and Holly on the way to get the car. That's our huge brown house in the background that we lived in with Tamara and Kelly and later on Maria and Suzanne and Kaci and am I forgetting anyone?


And here me and Joanne are with the car and our cardboard sign:
From what I recall we didn't know what kind of a car Terry Terry had before we picked it up. It was a boat.

And here is Holly chuckling it up as I pumped gas for the first time:
I still have that jacket, my Mom gave it to me that week, but it was a tad too big so people alwasy asked me if it was my boyfriend's. I haven't worn it in a long time. Oh, and yeah, those are my fake Roots pants... I sewed a Roots label over the Nevada label (a Sears brand, definitely not cool) and Barclee always yelled "Are those your fake Roots pants?" every time I wore them.

Finally... at the bus depot. Rachel found us easy to spot with our handy-dandy sign. I remember her bus being late and being starving but for some reason I didn't have any change. I think we went to Burger King later.

We were cool. You can click on any of the pictures to biggie-size their cool-ness.

Bonjour!

I'm back from the Christian camp conference I was at Sunday-Wednesday in Quebec... sadly I did not take any pictures. So just pretend I posted one here of the ladies' room door that said "DAMES".

This Is The Story of My Life

If your life were a soundtrack, what would the music be?

Here’s how it works:

1. Open your library (iTunes, winamp, media player, iPod).
2. Put it on shuffle.
3. Press play.
4. For every question, type the song that’s playing.
5. New question– press the next button.
6. Don’t lie and try to pretend you’re cool.

Opening Credits"The Heart of Life", John Mayer

Waking Up "All Creature of Our God", Lowana Wallace

First Day of School "Crazy for This Girl", Evan and Jarron

Falling in Love "Imagination", Bethany Dillon

Breaking Up "83", John Mayer

Prom "That's What", Kip (Napoleon Dynamite soundbite)

Life’s Okay "Thousand Miles", Caedmon's Call

Mental Breakdown "Listen Closely", Corey Doak

Driving "Fly Farther", Jars of Clay

Flashback "Beautiful", Bethany Dillon

Getting Back Together "Art in Me", Jars of Clay

Wedding "Home", Michael Buble

Birth of a Child "Don't Tell Me", Avril Lavigne

Final Battle "Saffron Girl", Sweetsalt

Death Scene "Unbelieveable", downhere

Funeral Song "Come Back to Bed", John Mayer

End Credits "Holy", Lowana Wallace

Settling In

A few people have asked me how I'm doing, and trust me, a long post is coming on that. But I only have so many hours in front of a computer, so many with the internet, and so many, or lack there of, to compile coherent thoughts.

I'm still trying to figure my apartment out, still trying to make it home. It's kind of "modern"-ish I would say, and lacks the older charm character I loved in my old apartment. I think the older house charm reminds me of our summer trips to my Gramma's as a child. Her house was built in the early 30s. I like houses like that.

And it's a lot different furnishing a whole apartment (rather than just a room and a few other pieces here and there throughout) by yourself as opposed to with roommates. Something in me makes me think it should be easier. But then again, my entry/living room/studio/kitchen/dining space (one looooong room) are a whole lot bigger than my kitchen/dining/living room were in the old apartment that I shared (I'd say there is 2-3x the space even). And the walls are at weird angles in some places. I'm not quite sure what to do with them.

I was reading a couple of craft blogs today and I stumbled across this post from SouleMama with this picture of an "inspiration" or "ideas" thingy for your wall, and it reminded me of how a long time ago I was going to do that. I had thought about it awhile ago, and I even have a bunch of those mini clothes pins. I think I have a good chunk of wall I could put a few fun things up... horray for no more boring white walls.

My first year out of dorm in school I had a big bedroom, and above my desk area I had a whole mishmash of assorted things tacked up to the wall: green paint chips of the wall colour I really wanted (instead of the white that the room was, clippings of various illustrations from magazines, a poplar leaf, old cards I loved, drawings I had done, a few tree photos, design elements, quotes, etc. Sometimes I wish I still had all those things to hang up again. Somewhere in my college scrapbooks I have a few pictures. I loved that wall, it put me to sleep with ideas and dreams, and was there to greet me with joy each morning.

Part of me is somewhat lethargic (or maybe apathetic is a better word) towards putting things up and making it home-y in my new place, because I will only be living there until June 15th at the latest (this was the agreement when I moved in, the landlord's newlywed daughter will be moving in with her husband then). Sometime in the spring I'll probably start to get stressed out about where I'm going. Well, actually, I could see that happening in the winter already. Ah chuckle chuckle.

Anyways, for now, I'm still working on things. Having my studio area set up has helped immensely... I don't have to move my sewing machine off the kitchen table or work around it all the time. And I have a big empty kitchen counter that seems to be always covered with projects in motion. I love that.

Flashback Friday: 2003-2004

My last year of seminary, I lived in a 2-bedroom duplex apartment with two friends:

Jodi, whom I had been friends with for 4 years, and

Rachel, whom I had known of for probably just as long, but we weren't friends until we had lived in a house together the year before.

These are a few pictures from that year:

Playing Settlers of Cattan with a few of Jodi's guy friends. I hate Settlers. And I had forgotten about that weird shaped kitchen table that we had.

Choosing chicken is serious business. Jodi, you would be thrilled to know that this morning I considered wearing that shirt (your favourite), but then I reconsidered and wore a wool sweater instead. I'd also like to note how I think it was funny that my computer was in the eating area because our bedroom wasn't big enough for either of us to have a computer in there.

Greg would come over and head straight for the fridge poetry, I think it entertained he and Keith for hours. Jodi and Rachel, you will remember our "Ode to Men" photo collage on the fridge. And the "Gift from the Couch" wall sculpture in the background.

One day Jodi said "Let's do something fun!" so I busted out the change jar off the top of the fridge. I don't remember how much was in it, but we concluded it wasn't enough to do anything. Note Jodi's computer desk in the living room (again, no room in the tiny bedroom we shared) , the little Christmas tree Rachel bought, and the Inuit wall hanging Mr. Yoshiki gave me from the Arctic.

Heather and Jodi involved in a very intense Settlers game.

Scrapbooking on the futon in the living room in my celery shirt. I haven't scrapbooked since that year.

Now that I live alone I miss living with people, even though of course we did annoy each other at times. It's always nice to have someone around, or just to know someone will be coming home.

And I try and try to keep my apartment up to Jodi's cleanliness standards, but really it's close to impossible. I have no idea how she did it in the duplex.

This Virus, It's Spreading!

In case you haven't caught on, my new job is only three days a week. And my old job is still searching for someone to replace me. So I usually work Monday to Wednesday at my new job and then travel up north for two days at my old job.

I've told my colleague at my new job before that what I appreciate about coming back to my old job at the end of every week for a couple of days is the computer mouse.

At my new job the mouse would get all nutso on my and it would drive me crazy. The computers there, although better than what they had in the past, are old. Like 1998. Like they still aren't quite sure how to use a USB, and a few Word functions are strange (it took me a bit of time to figure out how to mail merge labels, as well as a few other tasks).

Anyways, back to the mouse. Or mice. Last week when I was at my old job my mouse there started to get a little sluggish.

And then this week it is completely out to lunch. It's a Kensington TurboRing. I had to check online how to take it a part... and once I did... it, uh, smelled like Doritos. And I don't even eat Doritos! Not sure who was using it. Anyways, nonetheless, it was full of all kinds of weird flakey brown stuff... dust and dirt I assume but I really can't be sure. I tracked down some spray air, and did my best, but it doesn't seem to have helped.

Anyone else with a TurboRing have any suggestions? It's driving me batty.

Flashback Friday: Age 3

Continuing along my Friday Flashback theme of sitting in laundry baskets, as seen in this previous episode.

This photo was taken when I was three, so sometime around 1981-82. I remember that laundry basket, we had it for a long time. And Slinky was around a long time too (I was 14 when he was 15 and got some sort of cancer), he put up with a lot from us four kids.

My Mom still calls my brother "Slinky" sometimes by mistake.

This Is The North

It snows more up here at my "old job" than it does at my "new job".

Long Pointless Mishmash Survey

I found this on Ramblings of An Ever Hungry Mind:

What were you doing this morning at 8 a.m.?
Thinking “do I really have to get up?”

What were you doing 15 minutes ago?
Searching through my work email to see if I had one on file from 2005 that would prove we had invoiced them.

Are you any good at math?
I’m okay at basic math.

Your prom night?
We didn’t have one, there were only 32 people in my grade.

Do you have any famous ancestors?
I’m distantly related to Ralph Waldo Emerson, but he’s not my ancestor per say. Other than that, I am not aware of any famous ones.

Have you ever taken out a loan to pay for school?
Uh, yes. Seven years of post-secondary education that I paid for solely by myself and will continue to pay for many more years. Feel free to send donations.

Last thing received in the mail?
A money order from a purchaser for my Etsy shop.

How many different beverages have you drunk today?
I actually haven’t yet drunk anything today, and it’s 11:34am

Do you ever leave messages on people's answering machine?
Yes. What kind of a question is that? I hate it when people don’t leave messages.

Do you draw your name in the sand when you go to the beach?
Yes. That and other words.

What's the most painful dental procedure you've had?
I had my wisdom teeth out in September. It wasn’t painful due to the knocking me out and all, but afterwards I wasn’t feeling so hot for a couple of days.

What is out your back door?
I don’t actually have a back door.

Any plans for Friday night?
Tonight? I’m driving 2.25 hours home and then I’m unpacking and probably sleeping.

Do you like what the ocean does to your hair?
I’ve only been swimming in the ocean once or twice (I think it was too cold in Maine, but I did go in Texas)… and I recall my hair feeling gritty afterwards. I don’t like gritty hair.

Have you ever received one of those big tins of 3 different kinds of popcorn for Christmas?
No. Have you?

Have you ever been to a planetarium?
Yes, at the Museum of Man and Nature in Winnipeg, on class trips in grade 6 and grade 9.

Do you re-use towels after you shower?
Who asks that? I like to think that most people do. You can leave it hanging up to dry and use it a couple of more times after that.

Some things you are excited about?
Saturday I’m going to St Catharines and Niagara Falls with a friend to see a friend. In a couple of weeks I’m going to Quebec for a camping conference.

What is your favorite flavor of JELLO?
I don’t like Jell-o.

Are any of your great-grandparents still alive?
The only one I ever knew died in 1986.

Where do you keep your change?
My wallet, a change purse, bottom of my purse, an owl-shaped piggy bank I have in my bathroom, and dimes I keep in a glass penguin and a glass on a dresser in my living room. And I found this change compartment in my car about a year and a half after I bought it. And it had money in it!

When was the last time you spoke in front of a large group of people?
Hmm... I don't remember.

What kind of winter coat do you have?
I have several… 1 navy blue long peacoat, 1 shorter red peacoat, a black NorthFace jacket, and a blue and off-white jacket of some other sort.

What was the weather like on your graduation day?
Which one? I think it was hot the day I graduated from high school. My two college graduations were nice days. My seminary graduation day it rained.

Do you sleep with the door to your room open or closed?
When I lived with people I kept it closed. Now that I live alone I sleep with it open. That and the fact that there is no heating register in it, I would freeze if I kept the door closed.

8 lasts --

8.] last kiss: Beats me.
7.] last beverage: I had a cranberry Canada Dry last night.
6.] last movie watched: American Dreamz (blah!)
5.] last phone call: I talked to a teacher this morning coming on a class trip.
4.] last cd played: I think John Mayer’s Continuum
3.] last "i love you": ?
2.] last time you cried: Can’t remember
1.] last alcoholic drink: Never


6 have you evers --

6.] have you ever dated someone twice: No
5.] have you ever been cheated on: No
4.] have you ever kissed someone: Does this mean real kissing, or as in kiss-you-goodbye kissing?
3.] have you ever kissed someone you regret: no
2.] have you ever been depressed: yes
1.] have you ever been drunk and thrown up: No. Gross.

6 things you've done today
1.] Got up
2.] Showered
3.] Cleaned the ice and snow off my car
4.] Drove to work
5.] Checked my email
6.] Wrote a few contracts

4 places you've lived--
1.] Green Lake, Saskatchewan
2.] Sudbury, Ontario
3.] Teslin, Yukon
4.] Huntsville, Ontario

3 favorite colors --
1.] Green
2.] Brown
3.] Blue

2 things you want to do before you die --
1.] Get married
2.] Pay off my student loans

Q 01: is there a person who is on your mind right now?
A 01: No, I’m doing this survey.

Q 02: Where is the last place you went?
A 02: I went to work this morning. I’m still here.

Q 03: who is the last person who called you?
A 03: The aforementioned teacher I talked to on the phone.

Q 04: do you have any siblings?
A 04: Yes. Three.

Q 05: do you smile often?
A 05: Yes.

Q 06: do you think that someone is thinking about you right now?
A 06: Right now as I’m typing this... no. Right now as they’re reading this... yes.

Q 07: do you wish on stars?
A 07: No.

Q 08: do you untie your shoes every time you take them off?
A 08: No.

Q 9: do you like your handwriting?
A 9: Yes.

Q 10: Who's bed did you sleep in last night?
A 10: Ah, that’s a hilarious question. I slept on a pull-out mattress on the floor because I’m not at home.

Q 11: what color shirt are you wearing?
A 11: Navy blue.

Q 12: do you have any pets?
A 12: Not unless you count the spiders. Oh, but wouldn't a cat be nice. But getting a cat is kind of like resigning yourself to being a spinster.

Q 13: what is the color of your bedsheets?
A 13: I have several sets, they are all grey or light blue.

Q 14: What were you doing at 9 last night?
A 14: Watching CSI.

Q 15: I can't wait until..
A 15: The aforementioned conference I’m going to in a couple of weeks. I think it will be good.

Q 16: Look to your right. What's there?
A 16: Telephone, pile of files, pile of papers, stapler, phone list.

Q 17: Ever cried yourself to sleep?
A 17: I don’t think so.

Q 18: Song that makes you cry?
A 18: None.

Has anyone ever thrown you a suprise party?
No.

Are you easily excited?
No. Well, I suppose it depends on what it is.

What event is coming up that you're most excited about?
Haven’t I already answered that?

If you won a million dollars what would be your first thought?
You’re kidding me… then oh my goodness I can pay off my student loans and actually buy groceries.

If you could have anything right now what would it be?
I’m not answering that.

What was your latest dream?
If they mean sleeping dreams, I don’t remember.

Do any of your dreams come true?
If they mean life dreams, yes, if they mean like night-time dreams, I don’t think so.

What was the weirdest dream you've ever had?
In grade 3 I had this dream that there were emeralds and rubies in the snowbanks and they were huge. The most recurring dream I have is one where I'm back at my high school and I can't remember where my locker is. We didn't have locks on our lockers, so getting into it wasn't the problem, but finding it was.

Do you usually remember your dreams?
Sometimes.

Covering All The Essential News

Mad eprops to Sympatico/MSN for covering all the essential news day in and day out, and for informing me daily when I sign out of Hotmail.

October in Photos

My empty room, with a view of the beautiful Muskoka autumn out the window.


The house I called home for the last 23 months. That was my room up through the top right window.

Driving along behind the van and trailer full of my stuff... it's amazing how much you can accumulate.


Still not sure what on earth this creature was doing in my bathroom! Ontario has weird bugs.


The day before Thanksgiving, I got all excited and bought turkey breasts. I had a lovely one stuffed with homemade stuffing and broccoli with cheese. Mmmm....


Sunrise, or sunset? They're both beautiful times of day, especially in the country.


A dawny foggy Muskoka fall day. Driving back.


Driving back south from Muskoka after a couple of days up.


Snow in October. Not so great for driving.


From my Ikea trip. Lingonberry jam is one of my new favourite things.


A trip to the ROM to meet Becky, Peter, and Catherine. More photos of their trip here.

With Becky after a lovely supper at IndoChine. It was great to finally meet you three! :)


Driving home through downtown Toronto after meeting the Woods.

Not So Uniquely Me After All

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 381 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Foundation? Eyeliner? Concealer?

So... I'm at the library, and the LOUDSPEAKER just came on. What the? How is that normal? This town is a weird place. Anyways, if you're here for the Shopper's DrugMart make-up presentation, it's starting in that room over there in 5 mins.

Holiday Ornament Swap

Two great design & craft blogs, Freshly Blended and Cake + Pie have joined forces to create the 1st Annual Holiday Ornament Swap.

They're inviting all designers, artists, crafters, etc. to sign up to create 8-10 original holiday ornaments to swap. The swap is international, and with good response, it will be an annual event. Sign-ups are from now until November 1st, and Ornaments should be mailed by December 1st. The medium for the ornaments is completely open. Click here or here for more info. and to sign up!

-from Oh Joy!