Jackets and blankets and sheets...the ongoing story of the things that cover us.

how we spent our sunday. everyone should really try the waffle bacon at the Starving Artist brunch/lunch spot on Lansdowne just north of Bloor St. It is the best way to feed a morning tummy.

It rained all Sunday. Kyle and I had to venture out into the winter wet for grocery basics. We both wore our running shoes, which was a poor decision. Also winter jackets don't always double as rain jackets. Lesson learned and banked for future reference.

Dream Jacket.

Which one is yours?

This was a supremely dreamy night. Shut into a tiny hall with sweet tunes and snowy storms bubbling up on all sides. The curtains were the same as they were twenty years prior. Flowers creeping around window sills, frozen in time, frozen to help us remember the warmer days.

i have put away all my spring and summer jackets. living in a puffy black pillow for the next four or five months. winter is ready to rule.

jack the fancy blanket...no explanation for this...he is just fancy.

getting ready to hibernate. quilts are coming out of the closet. fluffy socks are piling on. eating only stew and starches. i am ready.

i don't see too many snow blankets in toronto anymore, or at least nothing like the ones from my home town, which still invade my dreams, all thick and full, waiting to cover you up all the way to your waist.

trying to replicate the afghan blanket that used to live on my grandmother's couch. it was the worst combination of colours, but was so warm and cuddly.

Thinking of sky...

tonight i am off on a journal date with my good friend lindsay. i can't wait to cut and paste and scribble about. more to come...

The Sketch Book Project.
I signed up! Having a great time with this journal. My theme is jackets, blankets and sheets. Seems like a good one to ponder over the next few months with winter on it's way which usually results in me doubling up on all my jackets and blankets and sheets.

the beginning.

no sleep for me.

lost in the rain.

storm tears.

sunday laundry day.

twin jackets.

moving places.

the MF is in the middle of a move. this is exciting. a new office, a new location, and so many new things to see. i get to map a new bike route which will take me home through kensington market. this means new groceries, new recipes, and new experiments in the everyday. everyday experiments are important. i like to make little changes in my day to day and see where they lead. big vacations are great because they can help you to recharge, but a big vacation does not come around enough to keep me satisfied. That is why i like to make up these mini experiments for myself, just to keep things interesting.

Maybe i will make something totally wild for dinner, or try and make an angel food cake from scratch. I have been thinking of taking walks at dusk, around the unexplored streets in our neighborhood and of bringing my camera to snap the secrets that hide in that perfect light. Or maybe it's time to start early morning journalling...so many new things to try. i guess once all the dust has been wiped away moving isn't all that bad...it's a good kick in the butt.

Halloween.
You know those people that don't dress up when they go to a costume party...yeah...we aren't them.

Meet Pixelated Kyle and Rhya.

Cha-Cha!


Dancing our pixel hearts out!

Day 99

So I have finally broken the 100 day mark in my 365 days of Nintendo DS drawing, after taking a couple of months off during the summer. Next goal is 200!

Click the image to be taken to my flickr to see them all so far.

On my way to 365!

October...the crunchy month.

I spend most of October walking on leaves. First they are moist and slippery, then they get to that incredible crunchy stage. That is the best part...like walking on bubble wrap. The crumbling of oranges and reds under foot. It is a good sound.

I spent a weekend up north. walking through the back green of my old public school. everything was fluttering away in the wind. it was a natural mess. fall is such a strange season to me, i want to dislike it as it means the end of summer, my beloved swimming month, but the colours, the air and the general nostalgia of fall is quite overwhelming sweet. i guess it's not so bad, even if it did steal summer. I suppose fall is kind of like a love-able villain.

i like that green can hold it's own all the way through the dead seasons.

Noodles and Koshi have been extremely rambunctious this month. I think they are excited for all the halloween candy i am going to buy and then eat when no kids come to our door again this year...(our house is too far from the street...yet i still get candy...just in case).

Monster Mobile

I have been busy. Good busy. Moving the Monster Factory to a new location on November 1st, though we had to leave our old location on September 30th, so we have been temporarily working from home. It's actually a lovely break. I love my home office so much, with my plants and cat friends, though I wish my money tree would stop shedding.

I am still working on my DS Drawings, just haven't uploaded them up here yet and journalling when ever i get the chance. Most recently I made a mobile for my cousin who is expecting her first baby any day now.

I feel like it turned out alright. My next one I need to explore a better fastening method. I wanted them to have the option to of removing the little plushies for later use, maybe tree ornaments, but I think i could figure out a better way to make it look a little cleaner. This was super fun to make and now that I have made one, I can make more...

Fall Rose

The colours are falling from the flowers. Fall is coming on so fast.

On to fall...

back to the sketch book...keeping all the memories of green fields and forests in my back pocket, close to my hands so i can grab on if i need to escape to quiet spot, as the comfort cover of summer slowly falls away around me.

salt on the road.

wondering wanderer.

i may have finally discovered the XX.

in the event of a longing heart, throw a party!

it did!

lush dreams left at the edge of the bed...caught under pillows and sheets.

a list....must also remember the cicada incident!

zoo heat.

antique hunting.

bliss.

NOLA

i've been on vacation...i'm back now...still dreaming of steamy steamy sidewalks and sunny homes. i fell in love from the first taste. hugging palms and columns, growing shutter for eyelids, my heart humid and iron strong. i love this place.

the old ones.

bleached grounds...

i want to go back.

So close to 100...this guy is a lonely fellow!

it's been lonely around the blog these days as i have been too busy splashing around in pools. the weather is perfect for swimming and i just can't stop!

Happy Canada Day!

Doodles. Last weekend was surreal here in toronto, our downtown was turned upside down by the G20. I went for a cycle and toronto felt like a ghost town. Windows boarded up, empty streets and patios and lonely sidewalks. I never saw any of the major protests, though i did witness the one that seemed to pop out of thin air at queen and noble. I was watching a world cup game with friends at the Caddy Lounge, when I got there the streets were barren and then BLAM there were all these police and Parkdale residents blocking up the street. Very strange and very surreal.

Koshi the cat is keeping me company right now. He is trying to eat my plants again, he is kind of like a giant slug nipping away at the leaves here and there. Koshi = trouble.

Day 83

I love a good hair accessory and so do these two lovely friends.

i spent this weekend deep in pages...

kyle and i found a box of books lying on the curb. most of the books were soaked through and ruined, but there was on science text book from 1974, that was still in tact. we took it home and i went to town on the muddy pages.

hiding from sight.

characters that are coming to life...soon i hope.

space is great!

this was a ridiculous night. absolute silly. it needed to be recorded.