A quick note

Hello!

I know it's been a while since I posted...eeps...I don't usually wait this long between entries, but it has been a fairly busy few months. That, and I've been writing quite a bit more outside of here, so that has been a fairly significant focus which I'm excited/terrified about- and various other emotions, depending on the day or stage of development of what I'm trying to do:)

This post was started back in December...I think I'll write a fresh one though, because now the dates are all mixed up.

Ciao for now!

LOLAfest

Two weekends ago, here in London, we had a ripping good time in the form of London Ontario Live Arts festival. If you weren't there, you truly missed out, but you can come next year:) It was a delightful blend of visual art, sculpture, various forms of instrumental and vocal music, and all of these combined. What's great is it was all free, since they had a corporate sponsor as well.


In case you can't tell, I loved every minute of it!

I volunteered to show the art, and also at the info booth, and the rest of the time just enjoyed the shows and the people mingling around the stages. Some friends of mine that I get my organic produce from had a table there, and I visited them from time to time as well.

The first night kicked off with a show featuring Jamie Lidell and also Zeus. I love love love Jamie Lidell and find him to be a musical genius- you should check out his myspace. That man has style! A style all his own.

Throughout the weekend, I attended the shows of Leaf Bird, Land of Talk, Caribou, My Brightest Diamond, and others which I am not remembering at the moment. I felt very alive, standing there, alternately freezing and being really warm (on the different nights), surrounded by a crowd of hipsters in skinny jeans, toques, and plaid. Many were students, many had bicycles. There was a tremendous sense of energy in the crowd that warmed me up in spite of the evening chill, and even though I couldn't see the stage all the time, it was great to be there with friends old and new, and meet people who are so creative and artistic- it was inspiring overall.

I guess that's what I'm trying to say- rather than just be a great music festival that you look back on with fondness, it does so much to promote the arts in an ongoing sense, inspiring those involved to create, themselves. I went home and wrote some poems afterward, and still have some simmering under the surface that I need to flesh out.

The fun thing was I have a friend who played a huge role in the whole shebang and it was neat to hear about it ahead of time and then see what came to fruition after a ton of effort and hard work. And may I say, the committee has great taste:)

Well, that's enough of my ramblings...Photos to follow...

Ah, fall!

I've been taking another break from writing, but have now accumulated events to talk about:)


This past weekend, my friend Lisa and I participated in the Scotiabank Waterfront Half-Marathon in Toronto, where they block off a chunk of Lakeshore and some downtown streets. I was feeling pretty grim about the whole thing, because I've been injured for the past month, and didn't love this race the last time I did it.


We stayed with Lisa's family and they drove us to the start and watched us along the way, which was really thoughtful. It was Lisa's first half and I have to say, she did incredibly well!


I made the mistake of leaving my sports watch at her house so had NO watch the entire run! I was pretty stressed about this, because even though I wasn't expecting a personal best, I didn't want to be too slow just because I didn't know the time. The funny thing is, I beat my time from the other year by almost eight minutes and did quite well overall, so I was pleased with that. (It doesn't mean I'll leave my watch at home from now on, though!)


This Friday, my new roommate is moving in, and although we are still ironing out some tenant/landlord dynamics, it should be a go! It's all happening pretty quickly, but it will be good to have a roommate again I think, once I get used to the change. When I'm living alone, I love the quiet but sometimes it's too quiet; when I'm living with someone else, it's good to have them around but then I sometimes miss the quiet. It may take us a little while to find the middle ground, but I think it will turn out well.


Now I remember what I was going to write about- LOLA! Check out the next post for that:)

Family and Food

This past weekend, my dad and three younger brothers came to stay the night with us after dropping off our other brother at college on the way. The boys had never been here so it was exciting for them, and fun for me, too, to have them here.


On Saturday, I bought some organic veggies at the market that I'm hoping to cook up tonight- some kind of eggplant-tomato-cheese concoction, as I love that combination and it reminds me of Italy- and was given some tomatoes from some friends' garden as well. I have to cook them up in the space of a few days since, being organic, they go bad more quickly, so I have to stay on top of it better. Don't they look delicious?

Now for the fun stuff- I finally made another batch of macarons, which I've been thinking of for a while but got lazy when thinking of all the prep work. I don't have a food processor, so it takes a few steps to get the icing sugar and ground almonds fine enough to use, but I was very pleased with the results I got this time by sifting them through a colander.

I made a bittersweet chocolate toffee ganache that I have made previously, but the toffee bits must have been a bit old and I found it tasted kind of gross, so ended up caving and using PC Dulce de Leche. Originally I'd hoped to put together a salted butter caramel ganache, but by this time it was close to midnight and I went for the easy alternative. I'm looking forward to trying it next time, though.

For some reason they didn't turn out very round...maybe I should just invest in a pastry bag instead of cutting a corner from a Ziploc freezer bag :)

I hope you all had a great Labour Day weekend!

The last whiffs of summer

It's been ages since I posted, but mostly I didn't have much to write about other than the everyday, mundane (to some) tellings of everyday life.

In the last few weeks, though, the pace has picked up and a lot has been going on. I finally have some photos, too, which means I have no more excuses not to post:)

A week and a half ago, I took off on a road trip to PEI with my friend Laura, ready for a grand adventure, some sun, and some serious effort at relaxation. We brought copious numbers of books between us, and music to accompany the visual diorama around us.

I'd never been east of Quebec city, so this was exciting for me to foray into the east coast!

We stayed at a cute B&B in New Brunswick to break up the driving, and were in Charlottetown the following day.

Overall, we spent the time with the perfect mix of relaxation/reading/sightseeing. Some highlights were Island Chocolates in Victoria-by-the-Sea, the Anne and Gilbert musical in Summerside, and browsing the shops in Charlottetown, not to mention a trip to Green Gables.

I left early, heading back to Ontario to visit with my family. Liz, Jeremy and I competed in a local race, with Liz and I both qualifying in the top three of our age category, which was a personal goal I'd been aiming for, so that felt wonderful.

Now I'm back home, preparing for another full year, but a different one, with roommate details a bit iffy, and a year without Liz in London:( I'm not thrilled, but trying to prepare myself ahead of time, knowing I don't tend to deal well with these dramatic changes. I hope her move goes well and she loves where she will be living, but we will all miss her here.

I'm looking forward to a long weekend before the busyness begins again in earnest. I hope you all have a good one, too!

Big news

It's not really my news but it affects me, too...my sister Liz is ENGAGED!!! Can you believe it? Wowowow. I was buzzing with the news when she and her fiancé told me, and it took a few days for it to properly sink in. In fact, I'm not sure it fully has, yet.


This past week, Jeremy was up visiting, then he and Liz headed to a wedding in New York that he was in, and that's the weekend he proposed. She has the ring now and everything, it's really true! Yikes.


Congrats to Liz and Jeremy:)

Beets and bravery

Well. It's been a while since I posted, so I thought I should say something:) I have no new pictures, although maybe I'll post one of my haircut when I got my hair straightened. (Yes, the summer has been that exciting!) heheh.

Really, though, I am enjoying the more relaxed pace. Some days, it makes me restless and I have to get outside and walk about or something, and other days, I revel in the summertime spirit and just take my time about everything. I find I'm either rushing about, or walking quickly to get somewhere, or else I'm a complete slowpoke, wandering around the market or spending time at the library.

This weekend, I headed to the farmer's market and was treated to freshly-squeezed juice of organic veggies and fruits- a delicious mixture that zinged and kept me satiated for a good while. (That's where the beets come in.) I visited with a friend and made some new friends that day, and really I was all-around happy to be where I was. The rain was pouring steadily down, on and off throughout the day, but inside I was feeling cozy and bookish and quite pleased with poking around everything at the farmer's market. I headed to the library and discovered a newly-published book by my favourite author and I've been slowly taking it in, so as not to read it too fast, as is my wont:)

I know by now you are all riveted...hahah...but alas, I have to admit, there's not much bravery to speak of. I just wanted another "b" word in the title. I suppose there's a bit of bravery involved though, in daring to live life daily and fully; unashamed and with strength.

What do I mean by that? Essentially, that I have been waffling back and forth between various career decisions and ideas, personal/relational issues, and contentment in general. It's the constant tension between being content in one's situation and self, and striving to change or meet certain goals. I'm having a hard time with that balance and probably spend far too much time in introspection over it, but I'm getting through it. It's hard not having answers quick at hand- how many times have I rehashed that one lately?- but I'm continually learning to appreciate the time I am in now, and the friendships I have now.

Yesterday, after church, I walked to the market from my house, armed with a notebook and pencil. On the way, some guy called out my name from the back of a pickup truck, and I've no idea who it was, pretty funny. I lingered at the market, bought two truffles and some vitamins, and sat outside writing for a bit, at a table in the shade of a tree. Eventually the shadows shifted and I was sitting in persistent sunshine, so I headed for home. On the way back, a man on a bicycle called me "beauty." I was really amused and heartened by the moments of a day that you just couldn't plan:) and sometimes don't know how to interpret, but hey, I'll take the compliment:)

So, that's my daily dose of introspection (introspectiveness? hmm). I hope I haven't bored you to tears, and I'll try to post photos soon to make up for it:)

Nos bemos pronto. (I'm taking weekly Spanish lessons from my Mexican friends, so now I can say a couple other words other than just la ciruela - the plum- heheh)