I applied to be an Oktoberfest waitress. In the mean time, I think I may make more money busking than anything, so today I wrote a song about my friend's favorite dog, Oon Blackie Schmidt. This makes me very happy. Now I just need to learn to play the ukulele.
Baked: chocolate chip cookies with hemp seeds.
Thinking about baking: Scottish Flap Jacks because I'm writing a piece about foods you carry in your pocket. What do you carry in your pocket smorgasbord?
Reading: Getting the Point. : A Panic Free Guide to English Punctuation for adults by Jenny Haddon and Elizabeth Hawksley. Because you can never know too much about punctuation. For that back to school feeling even if you're not going back to school because you couldn't afford it in a million years and what's the point because you'd end up being an Oktoberfest waitress with an MFA.
Watched: The Lady in the Water written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. Well, this movie had cool CGI effects and lots of good actors, but it stunk. There was a big piece of the story missing, ie the life of the main character before he finds The Lady. What makes him drop into this fantasy so easily? I had trouble with that acceptance of suspension of disbelief with most of the characters. And the plot? Some events seemed really hastily tacked on to the story.
Craving: Some kind of chocolate cake with coconut icing.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
Overcast and Cool
Well, I am glad it has cooled down today. I'm not a big fan of the heat when I'm not in immediate proximity of the beach or a pool.
I'm reading the novels of Jim Kelly, a British writer I hadn't hear of. I've dipped into both of his series and I'm enjoying his work, even though his characters have terrible eating habits and disfunctional relationships with food.
I've been watching more of Tony Shaloub in Monk, which is my favorite comedy show ever.
Dye Pot: I dyed an over shirt a deep purple with the yellow iris flag roots and iron. I tried to create the ombre effect, which is tricky with a hot dye.
Thanks so much for everyone for their suggestions and support in my search for a part time job. I haven't had any luck so far. The market is incredibly competitive and according to one friend it's like you have to be incredibly over-qualified for a job otherwise you don't get a call at all. Anyway, the search continues.
I had my last tea party as part of MOPARRC and celebrated by downing a half bottle of blush. "The times they are a'changing."
I'm reading the novels of Jim Kelly, a British writer I hadn't hear of. I've dipped into both of his series and I'm enjoying his work, even though his characters have terrible eating habits and disfunctional relationships with food.
I've been watching more of Tony Shaloub in Monk, which is my favorite comedy show ever.
Dye Pot: I dyed an over shirt a deep purple with the yellow iris flag roots and iron. I tried to create the ombre effect, which is tricky with a hot dye.
Thanks so much for everyone for their suggestions and support in my search for a part time job. I haven't had any luck so far. The market is incredibly competitive and according to one friend it's like you have to be incredibly over-qualified for a job otherwise you don't get a call at all. Anyway, the search continues.
I had my last tea party as part of MOPARRC and celebrated by downing a half bottle of blush. "The times they are a'changing."
Monday, August 22, 2011
August Rain
"The gardens are dry," I think as I fall asleep. Wake up with a sore back and the cool jazz of rain coming in my open window. The radio tells me Jack has died. I console myself with sour cherry pie and ice cream for breakfast.
Read: Seasons of Darkness by Maureen Jennings--a wartime mystery by a Canadian author.
Watched: The Prestige with Hugh Jackman is a film with very choppy editing resulting in a film with an unwieldy narrative arc and unsympathetic main characters. The female actors shine in this tale of dueling magicians.
Dye Pot: Amaranth was a bust, but I bought a crock pot for dyeing and mordants based on a idea from another artist.
Baked: Banana chocolate chip muffins with hemp and another sour cherry rustic tart.
Had a great whirlwind visit with my sister: power shopping (Anthropologie, Kids Books, etc.), power eating (Pied-a -Terre, Thomas Haas and Trafalgars), and spa time (Footworks). We started forming our bucket list. Do you have one? Sis wants to go to Paris. I want to go to Japan.
I am loving the sound and the feel of the rain, but I had an awful sleep so I am feeling quite cranky.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Gleaning Amaranth
Dye Pot: Today I hit the UBC Farm market and bought some salad greens, potatoes and sour cherries. I wanted to try an amaranth dye experiment and so I gleaned some cuttings the gardeners had left on the ground between the rows. It's steeping in the pot right now. I've got some silk I'm going to dye with it. Tomorrow I'm going to pluck invasives with Evergreen at Jericho Park and hopefully score some yellow flag iris rhizomes to dye with.
Watched: I've Loved You So Long written and directed by Philippe Claudel starring Kristin Scott Thomas. What a fabulous movie! It is subtle, elegant, and restrained and it is a rare case where you really see an actress transform a character over the course of a movie. I loved it.
Read: The House Sitter by Peter Lovesey. This was a good mystery with a very satisfying narrative arc.
Job Wanted: For the first time in over a decade I find myself looking for a part time job to keep body and soul together while I do some shifting around in my art practice. I'm looking for 2 days a week or about 16 hours if you hear of anything. I want something non stressful, and preferably even pleasant!
Watched: I've Loved You So Long written and directed by Philippe Claudel starring Kristin Scott Thomas. What a fabulous movie! It is subtle, elegant, and restrained and it is a rare case where you really see an actress transform a character over the course of a movie. I loved it.
Read: The House Sitter by Peter Lovesey. This was a good mystery with a very satisfying narrative arc.
Job Wanted: For the first time in over a decade I find myself looking for a part time job to keep body and soul together while I do some shifting around in my art practice. I'm looking for 2 days a week or about 16 hours if you hear of anything. I want something non stressful, and preferably even pleasant!
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Migraine Days
Yes, the evil migraine cluster has returned. It's made me very tired, but the good thing is that I have been able to do some reading in spite of it.
Read: The Secret Hangman and Skeleton Hill by Peter Lovesy--Contemporary murder mysteries set in Bath and its environs. I thought Skeleton Hill had an original plot with some good twists and turns. The Secret Hangman was too predictable. Also read The Vows of Silence by Susan Hill. I like Hill's prose style and her characters, although sometimes her novels get a bit soapy for my taste. Her oeuvre would work well as a television series.
Watched: The Secret Life of Bees. I've read the novel a couple of times and although I think the human story came through, the real magic of the Black Madonna was missing. I think they could have focused more time in the movie on the Boatwright sisters. I also think that a couple of actors should have been cast differently--Jennifer Hudson lacked gravitas and that British actress who played May, although I admire much of her work, was OTT in this.
Once Upon a Time in the Midlands, directed by Shane Meadows. This was disappointing because of the stereotypical characters. A hard-assed Glaswegian f-up played by Robert Carlyle? Ho hum. A Welsh ninny played by Rhys Ifans? Quel surprise. Kathy Burke is great, she always is, but is that a Brummy accent Shirley Henderson is attempting to purr out? That's a stretch. There is one great comic moment (almost thrown away) involving Ricky Tomlinson's cowboy hat. That is all.
In the dye pot: iris roots and cotton mordanted with tannin as well as silk eco-prints steamed and then put in ice dye bath jars of violas.
Read: The Secret Hangman and Skeleton Hill by Peter Lovesy--Contemporary murder mysteries set in Bath and its environs. I thought Skeleton Hill had an original plot with some good twists and turns. The Secret Hangman was too predictable. Also read The Vows of Silence by Susan Hill. I like Hill's prose style and her characters, although sometimes her novels get a bit soapy for my taste. Her oeuvre would work well as a television series.
Watched: The Secret Life of Bees. I've read the novel a couple of times and although I think the human story came through, the real magic of the Black Madonna was missing. I think they could have focused more time in the movie on the Boatwright sisters. I also think that a couple of actors should have been cast differently--Jennifer Hudson lacked gravitas and that British actress who played May, although I admire much of her work, was OTT in this.
Once Upon a Time in the Midlands, directed by Shane Meadows. This was disappointing because of the stereotypical characters. A hard-assed Glaswegian f-up played by Robert Carlyle? Ho hum. A Welsh ninny played by Rhys Ifans? Quel surprise. Kathy Burke is great, she always is, but is that a Brummy accent Shirley Henderson is attempting to purr out? That's a stretch. There is one great comic moment (almost thrown away) involving Ricky Tomlinson's cowboy hat. That is all.
In the dye pot: iris roots and cotton mordanted with tannin as well as silk eco-prints steamed and then put in ice dye bath jars of violas.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Off to the Farm
We're just about to head off to UBC Farm for the market. Yay!
Reading: Clara and Mr. Tiffany by Susan Vreeland--a historical novel about the woman who invented the Tiffany lamp and designed the first prototypes. It's fascinating to read about how the stained glass process works, including the creation of all the colors of glass. The novel is starting to talk about the change from the Art Nouveau aesthetic to a less ornate style, Art Deco.
Watched: The forth season of The Ghost Whisperer: Love Never Dies. This is my least favorite season. Spoiler: Melinda's husband dies and comes back in another man's body. It's a plot twist that's really hard to take and neither of the main actors wring any truth out of it. At least the show makes fun of itself by focussing on one episode with a soap opera, a genre where the death of a character who keeps coming back to life is a standard plot device. I am really fascinated by the clothes Melinda Gordan wears. They are often ill-fitting, unflattering and wildly inappropriate. Who dressed this woman? And why does she always have false hair pieces and outlandish false eyelashes? I much prefer Alison Dubois in that other psychic show.
In the dye pot: Just finished experimenting with osage and now I've got to mordant some more fabric and if the blackberries are ripe, maybe I'll cook up some of those for dye. I also did some eco-prints with smoke bush, which is a dye plant known as young fustic.
Reading: Clara and Mr. Tiffany by Susan Vreeland--a historical novel about the woman who invented the Tiffany lamp and designed the first prototypes. It's fascinating to read about how the stained glass process works, including the creation of all the colors of glass. The novel is starting to talk about the change from the Art Nouveau aesthetic to a less ornate style, Art Deco.
Watched: The forth season of The Ghost Whisperer: Love Never Dies. This is my least favorite season. Spoiler: Melinda's husband dies and comes back in another man's body. It's a plot twist that's really hard to take and neither of the main actors wring any truth out of it. At least the show makes fun of itself by focussing on one episode with a soap opera, a genre where the death of a character who keeps coming back to life is a standard plot device. I am really fascinated by the clothes Melinda Gordan wears. They are often ill-fitting, unflattering and wildly inappropriate. Who dressed this woman? And why does she always have false hair pieces and outlandish false eyelashes? I much prefer Alison Dubois in that other psychic show.
In the dye pot: Just finished experimenting with osage and now I've got to mordant some more fabric and if the blackberries are ripe, maybe I'll cook up some of those for dye. I also did some eco-prints with smoke bush, which is a dye plant known as young fustic.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
August Blues
I watched a fabulous documentary called In Search of Lost Colour: the Story of Natural Dyes produced by Maiwa. The history of colour is fascinating and I am amazed how much culture and ethnobotanical practise has been lost by the invention of synthetic dyes.
I just finished a classic Ngaio Marsh mystery: Clutch of Constables. I think it's actually more interesting than the others in the series I've read because of the focus on Troy Allen as opposed to her husband.
I'm sad that summer vacation is half over. Feeling very blue today and out of sorts.
I just finished a classic Ngaio Marsh mystery: Clutch of Constables. I think it's actually more interesting than the others in the series I've read because of the focus on Troy Allen as opposed to her husband.
I'm sad that summer vacation is half over. Feeling very blue today and out of sorts.
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