Tag Archives: my pics

Things that make me very happy

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My very talented and very good friend Kimmy came over on Friday evening with her man to install my long-awaited and much-anticipated shelves she designed especially for me (as a belated birthday present and early Christmas gift). They had become an absolute necessity since I had a couple of huge boxes and many precarious towers of books strewn all over my living-room, because what shelf-space I already have is already completely crammed. I had fun putting together this composite image from the pics I took on my iPhone while there was a bit of light to work with, but I’ll take better ones soon for K to put in her portfolio, since she’s taking off in her career as an architectural designer. It couldn’t decide whether I should put it on this blog or on createthreesixty5, so I decided to do a dual posting, with a slideshow on the other site (click here to watch).  It makes me wish I had taken pics while they were actually putting the shelves up, and that I could do an animation of the whole process in a more sophisticated way with the proper software, but the point of this post is to say a big thank you to Kim (and to M!), and to show off a little too. Kim made me even happier (if that was even possible at that point) when she decided my as-yet unfinished painting Study in Reds just had to go there. I’m thrilled I can now display a portion of my books and some of my artwork so beautifully in what is now beyond a doubt my favourite part of the house. Note to Kim: that blank wall on the other side of the room is waiting for your next shelf project—whenever you’re ready—no pressure or anything! ;-)

A Historic Olympic Moment

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Joannie Rochette moments after she finished her bronze medal winning free skate at Vancouver’s Pacific Colliseum.

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From left: Mao Asada (Japan), Kim Yu-Na (Korea), Joannie Rochette (Canada)
More pics published soon!

Feels goofy applauding at the TV screen by myself, but it’s for a special occasion: not only does Joannie Rochette well deserve her Bronze medal on it’s own merit—under the circumstances her exploit seems almost superhuman— that makes her my new heroine (as in female hero obviously). Then there’s Mao Asada for Japan—completely deserving of her Silver medal—which she performed for like a true champion. And of course there reigns Queen Yu-Na with the gold. As Dick Button said, “she was lyrical on the ice”. And I say that all three were at the top of their form and delivered excellent performances, but Kim Yu-Na single-handedly elevated figure skating to a whole other level. I

It’s the greatest podium I’ve ever seen and had the excitement about it of a Nadia Comanecci Montreal Olympic moment all over again (the first Olympics I was old enough to watch!). Only this time not only are all three women on the podium exceptional athletes on many levels, but and all three also held up to unimaginable pressure and showed incredible fortitude and determination while delivering exceptional performances, even by Olympic standards. I’m not saying any of this because I’m necessarily partial to figure skating, which I often find contrived and just kind of silly. But it’s the fact that it’s a discipline that requires these women to put themselves out there on that hard ice and jump around half naked in ways that would leave most of us wearing body casts—if not paralyzed for life—all the while smiling and charming the crowd while trying to deliver an artistic experience as well (though most of them leave that behind with their visible, though understandable concern about making their jumps). Whith Kim Yu-Na, all of the athleticism and artistry is seamlessly integrated. It felt like watching an actual ballerina on skates dancing to a George Balanchine choeography. Ok, maybe George Balanchine is pushing it a little, but the spirit was there to be sure. Though here I also agree with Dick Button that Mao Asada is stronger than Yu-Na in many ways. Her flexibility is such that she can create sublime lines with her body in a way that (in Button’s own words) doesn’t make her look like a turkey leg being pulled off the carcass. Live pics coming up of the live medal ceremony and all three winning women’s performance! Press refresh for new moment-by-moment additions/edits to this post as I’ll be catching the late night rebroadcasting to catch and pixelize all the best moments!

Can’t leave out the Canadian Women’s Hockey Gold win today too of course! This makes it the third consecutive Gold win for Canada’s Women’s Hockey team. So very cool. And as it should be obviously.  ;:’)

These guys are so inspired—and inspiring!

Figures

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Ok, last one before I go. Just a few pics to show the latest cardboard structures my kitties have taken to. I got them this great Kittie Chalet at the Souk @ SAT for Christmas (note the cool cardboard deerhead, exchangeable options available). But of course what do they spend the better part of their time in? Some stupid cardboard piece that came in a box carrying a fan this summer. I can’t bring myself to get rid of it though. They just look so cool in there!

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Pics taken on my iPhone in bad lighting conditions.

Notes From the Cave

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It would seem that the cats and I have entered a state of hibernation this month. I’ve been on battery-saving mode for a while now, which is a good thing because I also happen to be completely broke for the next week or so. Which is actually quite funny considering I have a closet-full of cashmere, seriously gorgeous (and stupidly expensive) brand new Belstaff boots and some beautiful handmade Little Bowls by local artist Dorothy Deschamps, to name just those very few things. The bowls I got at the Souk @ SAT on an outing to look at affordable contemporary design with my lovely friend K last Friday, which is where I also found out my spending had finally reached it’s absolute limit. We both got jars of Ethiopian spiced coffee, I got myself a silk knot necklace and a tasteful do-it-yourself cardboard Canadian log cabin for the cats. And the little bowls (also known as pinch pots) of course. I was also very tempted by several very cool stuffed dolls, ultra-modern laser-cut wood hangers, a handmade pink-glazed ceramic figurine of a geisha with a deer head (which I thought could inspire quite a few paintings), letterpressed stationery, lots of great ceramic mugs and dishes and various small items—from salt shakers to side tables—for the house. K was much more reasonable than me and only got a pair of the miniature golden bowls to give to a much beloved auntie in Prague, which is where K and her family will be spending the holidays this year. I know auntie V will be pleased with the bowls.

Above, just a couple of pictures I took while I played around with the QuadCamera application on my iPhone—you can see them all by clicking here. Below, my small collection of pinch pots.

5 Pinch Pots

Bathing Mimi

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Not very many visits here on the bloggedy-blog on my part lately. I’m saving up my words for the NaNoWriMo challenge, which is ending in just three days. I am woefully behind on the word count. At this point, I’ve decided to let go of my competitive tendencies and just write for the pleasure of it. Which means I may or may not reach the 50K goal this year. But then, as I write tonight and see the word count inevitably climb up, I’m thinking it’s an exercise I enjoy doing for it’s own sake. I had little energy to devote to much of anything at all this week and I had grown bored with my large cast of characters who were each living within their own stories, all of which had plenty of potential if it hadn’t been for the fact that I felt completely overwhelmed with all these people’ lives I had created and now had the responsibility to move forward and onward, for better or for worse. For a week or so I grew more and more discouraged until I was barely able to put together a couple of hundred words at a time, a sure sign of trouble for me considering I usually don’t have much trouble knocking out 3K+ of words at a time. Then I decided to do what you’re technically discouraged from doing when writing a first draft: I went back, started reading some of the things I had already written in the odd twenty-something chapters I had already produced and then, resolving to avoid the temptation of erasing everything and starting over, I started filling in the bits I had skipped over the first time around, as I was in a hurry to get down whatever train of thought my mind was taking me to at the time. It’s all a very involved process. Almost impossible to describe to someone who has never tried to write before, but even the most seasoned of writers will agree that the process of writing involves re-evaluating almost everything we tend to take for granted as individuals. No less.

On a much simpler note, here are a whole bunch of images from Mimi’s last bathing session which took place a couple of days ago. She was a dream and behaved incredibly well through what could have been an ordeal but turned out to be quite a pleasant grooming session. I could go all out and say I do believe she actually enjoyed the experience as she certainly didn’t seem in a big hurry for it to end as she didn’t struggle or try to leave until I was almost finished drying her off. I called M in to the kitchen to witness how incredibly well behave my little girl was being and we had plenty of time to take whole series of pics on my iPhone camera to share with other cat lovers and Mimi fans out there. Now presenting:

Mimi takes a Bath
(Click on images to view full size)

Mimi takes a Bath

Mimi takes a Bath

Mimi takes a Bath

Mimi takes a Bath

Mimi takes a Bath

Mimi takes a Bath

Mimi takes a Bath

Pics by Smiler & Mam taken on iPhone camera and QuadCamera applications.. Click on images to view full size.

Behind the Scenes

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“Art directing photo shoots is just like riding
a bicycle. Once you know how to do it, all you have
to do is just go with the flow.” ~ Smiler

Today, my friend Mam and I did another test shoot with a different model called Liz. Stunning girl with beautiful freckles, fine sculpted features and long wavy red hair—tied down on the following shots but big, loose and flowy on the other looks we did. We did without a stylist this time too but we had plenty to work with as Liz brought loads of her own great clothes and accessories, and Johanne, the makeup artist—other than doing a great job with hair and face—brought a bunch of jewellery for those added special touches. I had fun putting looks together and art directing the shoot, as M had asked me to do since after all, that’s one of the things I do best. Truly is like riding a bicycle. It comes so naturally to me and I love getting into that zone so much, I’d like to think this is something I’ll keep doing indefinitely (and maybe even keep getting paid for when I’m back in the saddle). Of course it helps that there were no deadlines, no clients, no budget, no pressure. The pleasure of creating beautiful images is it’s own reward. I wish I’d taken shots of each of the four looks we did (4 looks, 4 seasons; something you could never do with a typical editorial shoot) but I was so wrapped up in the process I only remembered my iPhone camera on the last shot we did and as Liz was getting ready to leave. Haven’t seen any of the ‘real’ shots yet, though I know we’ll have too many great shots to choose from (always a good problem to have). Here are my blurry/moody pics in the meantime.

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My personal fashion statement:
recently purchased Pretty Ballerina shoes in pony
from our new Montreal store. I already own a second
pair (black/pink/yellow/turquoise sequined paisley;
totally girlicious). Most definitely worth collecting.

Aimless, Designless & Desultory

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Arts & Crafts really is my favourite session each week. I’m discovering that I’m not all that resistant to creating art after all, it’s just that I seem to do better in a space that is devoted to such occupations, decently equipped, kept as safe as possible with plenty of positive encouragement and scheduled on a regular basis. All things, as it happens, I can’t presently find at home. This mosaic project I’m working on will ostensibly end up as a hot plate or trivet, but I don’t really care about the end result—to me it’s the process that counts—namely finding out how pleasant said process can be when the right conditions are present. As I mentioned before, I had all kinds of grand ideas at first on where I wanted to go with this mosaic project and then, finding that I was putting too much pressure on myself, I did what I do best, pressed on the random button and watched as something emerged which both surprised and delighted me. I can’t remember the last time something like that happened.

I found the following in the Thesaurus section on Merriam-Webster.com. What struck me first is how pejorative the word “random” can be, according to different interpretation:

“Synonyms: aimless, designless, desultory, haphazard, hit-or-miss, indiscriminate, irregular, objectless, promiscuous, purposeless, slapdash, spot, unaimed, unconsidered, unplanned; compare ACCIDENTAL
Related Word: contingent, fluky, fortuitous, incidental, odd
Contrasted Words: arranged, organized, planned; methodical, systematic; deliberate, purposeful
Antonyms: purposive”

When I think of randomness I think about the fortuitous aspect of it. Granted in the example provided above, the colours here don’t look anything like the original, which makes it hard to appreciate their subtlety or artistry. It’s also a fact that I spent a considerable amount of time painstakingly choosing each tile and that I eventually came up with a simple grid system to bring a little sense of order to the whole, which I guess can’t be said to be completely random methods (if there were such a thing). I had to make a deliberate choice to put a deadline on it so I can start making something else, otherwise I could all too well imagine myself spending countless hours fine-tuning the piece in some blind quest for perceived “perfection”. Perfection is overrated, bring on the flukes!

Pic by Smiler taken with my iPhone

Finally, Summer.

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Today’s summer dress pattern. Found in a vintage store in Australia.

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For the full effect, picture each flower bigger than your head.

We’ve finally been getting summer weather for the past couple of days—it’s been in the low 30s which feels more like 36ish (97F)—which means a summer dress was the smartest choice to make today. I couldn’t wait to dive into the pool during our scheduled hour which was around 11 a.m. We have an hour twice a week reserved for us patients at the Day Hospital and I’m always assuming other pool users will also be mentally challenged people like us. I keep forgetting the pool is open to anyone for just $5.00. This particular outdoor swimming pool is one of the nicest I’ve ever seen as we’re already on the mountain and the backdrop is more mountain and countless trees on one side, and sunshine on the other. I’ve tried taking pictures which didn’t give the full effect but trust me, this is a swimming pool even public swimming pool haters would love to swim in. What I didn’t expect was that it would turn into Daytona Beach, with blonde buff guys sucking in their guts and skinny big breasted gals wearing barely there shimmering bikinis and plenty of nipple show. Oh my. For the first time in my life I think, I was actually happy to NOT be skinny because for the most part I just thought most of those girls were emaciated and sickly-like. Those times when I’ve been skinny and buff myself I fit right in with that crowd. But otherwise I feel I may as well come from another planet and all that preening and showing of goods just made me feel like the biggest prude and really uncomfortable. Who’d ever have thunk it? But there you go, that’s what a complete loss of libido will do for you. I’d love to go to that pool this weekend as we’re expecting more of this gorgeous—and stifling-hot—summer weather but if it’s the same cruising crowd hanging out there you can count me out. Just makes me feel way too anxious and it’s just not worth it, especially as finding a new boyfriend is just about last thing on my list of priorities these days.

More evidence of summer on the way home. It was almost shocking to see the giant stalks in the middle of the urban setting I live in, but sure enough, one of the locals is growing sunflowers right there out on the sidewalk. They look almost surreal out there. I did my best to capture them with my iphone, which of course doesn’t do them justice. But you get the general idea.

The weekend is upon us, which always makes me a bit nervous—all that unscheduled time and so little willpower—I’ve been feeling lonely too these past few weekends, which is a new thing and rather troublesome. I may not have had the guts to contact old friends, but at least I had the presence of mind to book myself a mani/pedi tomorrow in the early afternoon which means I’ll be up before nightfall, I’ll make sure to take a shower and make myself smell good, and most importantly, I’ll get out of the house. You’d think all that would come automatically by now, but no, it’s still a struggle. Sigh. They say small steps, they say slow and easy, and thank God they say those things or otherwise I’d feel really inadequate… but I guess by those measures I’m doing rather well, so Yay!

Pics by Smiler using an iPhone camera

Along the Way

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I try to vary my route when I walk home from the hospital. Having lived in this city for so long it’s kind of exciting when I discover previously undiscovered areas. Especially when they also happen to be interesting, well cared for places like Baile street. It’s smack in the middle of downtown with the highway entrance and tenement housing on one end, and the beautiful CCA (Canandian Centre of Architecture) taking up the whole length of the street on the South side. People take pride in their well-kept greystones and front gardens. The architecture made me feel as though I’d just landed somewhere in London. Judging by a couple of signs posted among the flowers and one local homeowner’s say-so, flower and plant thieves abound and have no qualms about stealing a flower shrub in it’s entirety. I won’t get started on what kind of fate I think should be reserved for these shameless lowlives. All things considered I felt pretty sure nobody would mind me stealing a few shots.