September 30, 2014

Jamie

The weather has been so awesome lately and the forecast said rain was on its way so I took my lunch hour to get out and plant bulbs! I'm so delighted that these have just sort of shown up on my path over the past week and perfectly in the colours that I love. I've carefully covered the plantings with chicken wire and weighted that down. In fact, I ran through the house yesterday looking for all of the rocks that I always bring home from the beach. See? I knew they would come in handy!

Shannon
I've been totally hooked on listening to the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack, almost constantly listening to it from a playlist on Grooveshark. But then I realized, it's been well over a month of listening to it almost daily and I thought...why don't I just buy it? And I did. And I continue love it, and now can listen to it wherever I go!

Suzie

Yesterday was hard. We went for two major shops yesterday. At the Superstore the pharmacy pickup for meds was a bit of a nightmare. I didn't want to go to Kin's but knew we had to get some fresh produce. I am so glad we went. I filled the entire container Reg is holding until it was falling over with product for just $50. I mean $1 snow peas and a bag of baby lemons for $2?! And get this. While we were there, Fur Elise was playing. Yes, classical music and not just that, the song I played infinitely at home. Again, it felt like Mom was there. I was so happy and feeling so great.

September 29, 2014

Jamie

We had another wonderful art day this week! Last week it was so much fun using non-traditional materials to print and paint that we did it again! I absolutely fell in love with printing leaves. Mushrooms were really fun to use to. Hydrangeas are great for adding a bit of random dots and splotches. Every time we do a lesson or experiment, it's amazing how much there is to learn, not only about technique, colour, etc., but also about our own style and preferences.

Shannon
Art Day! One of the weirdest, but cool, things about taking pictures throughout art day is that the images change so much, that you can snag a pic of an image that will now only exist as a picture and your memory of the moment. I love this moment, but it fleeted away and now lives underneath a lot of other layers of paint, and a lot of black, and you barely see this at all. Totally wild.

Suzie

Reg and I did a lot on the weekend but the most important part for me was to try and get a grasp on my crafts room. I moved all my journals (holy cow I have a lot), books and photography onto my new Billie and off the floor. I made enough floor space so I can more another bookcase where the easel is. It's been quite overwhelming but it's time to take on a bit of this chaos and start getting creative like you two!

September 28, 2014: Random

Jamie 

Well, this isn't so very random but so much happened this weekend I didn't want to miss out on sharing! On Saturday, Justin and I went to the Toronto Botanical Gardens. The weather was out of this world and the leaves just starting to turn. When we found this little spot, I was in heaven. I could have stayed here all day!

Shannon
This was a pretty good random, I was really wanting a new game to play on my phone and Jamie suggested Snap Attack! Which is scrabble-like and wow I got whisked away playing it and listening to Songza's Hauntingly Beautiful station. Time felt like it stopped. Totally cool. Next time I want to take down the new words so I can look up what they mean, in addition to finding out they exist.

Suzie

Reg and I went to Etsy's Marketplace Popup yesterday but while we were downtown we discovered the coolest vintage clothing store that has costumes and makes t-shirts. We got Reg a Futurama t-shirt but I also saw this design. I asked her if she could re-orientate the star to be upright and she said yes. I am seriously considering getting it.

September 27, 2014

Jamie 

Yesterday was actually a busy and productive day and other then a bit of a storm cloud mood that swept in late afternoon, it was great. I had a meeting with my interns, Shannon and I recorded the podaversary and we got out to the art store to take advantage of a sale on craft paints! Last week we noticed the dearth of green in the paint collection we have so it made sense to get some. Hilariously, Shannon and I were attracted to entirely different greens - hers pure colour, mine very tonal. At under a dollar, we bought some of each :)

Shannon
There is tons of new and returning TV to enjoy, and even though it starts off at 4 hours a week I absolutely loved watching The Voice. I love getting to hear the stories of the contestants, hearing new (or new-to-me) music, and the new judges this year are Gwen Stefani and Pharrell and they are both awesome. Fabulous way to start the weekend. And WAY better to watch via PVR!

Suzie

Another rainy day… Another trip to IKEA! Much easier with a car! We got two bookcases (we had built-ins in our house so we really needed to replace them) and got this cool cube unit for our games and it fits perfectly under our dining room window. Which is going to be our gaming area.

I was looking through the IKEA catalogue and man, Mom was so ahead of her time. They have all these cube units now that you can buy and stack… Just like she always envisioned and loved. I've been missing her a ton lately and kind of seeing things that remind me of her everywhere.

September 26, 2014

Jamie

Considering the beauty of the day and the construction on the street, I thought I would take my writing work down to the beach - what a great decision! One of my very favourite moments was when I was walking under these trees. It was very quiet, with almost no one around. And I kept hearing this loud sound, almost a cracking. It took me a moment to notice that what I was hearing was acorn after acorn after acorn falling from high above. I totally laughed out loud! I think all the squirrels are laughing too!

Shannon
Journal and coffee-ing time! Funny how it was really errand day, but I only care about the journalling. I know that piling that on top of errands is pushing it, and it does make me a tired Shannon, but sometimes that's the only time I have to get out to journal. And I need that. Big time. So...YAY.

Suzie

Yesterday Reg and I went out to some thrift stores on what is called "The Drive" here in Vancouver. They are on Commercial Drive which is a very hip area and I LOVED these stores! Especially this one called Mis'cel'la'ny. They did not have furniture which is what we are looking for (we NEED bookcases desperately) but I did buy a cute little copper-bottom measuring cup that is used probably for melting sugar. The store is the coolest! I could have hung out there all day.

September 25, 2014

Jamie

Yesterday I forgot an ingredient on the shopping list and that sent me to the store - harumph - but it turned out to be awesome because when I got there I saw they had white tulip and white daffodil bulbs!! And as if that wasn't good enough I bumped into one of my all-time favourite cats in the hood on the way home, Shortie the Tortie. We had a very good cuddle! It's wonderful when lemons turn to lemonade!

Shannon
It's feels officially summer to fall crossover day when it's the night of the Big Brother Finale. I won't say more because..you know all how I feel about spoilers!

Suzie

Reg and I went out for a couple of walks yesterday and one of them took us to a local butcher shop and I bought this chicken pot pie. Which I totally baked wrong! Raw dough on the bottom, scorched on the top. Despite screwing that up (totally my fault) it was awesome getting to know one of the many butchers in the hood.

September 24, 2014

Jamie

We are back at guitar - yay! I was worried getting out and about when I'm just starting to feel better but it was fine. In fact, we had a pretty good class and feel like we're making pretty good progress. We're loving playing classical duets! I am going to go and look for a 3/4 classical guitar though. I have a feeling it would be much easier for my wee hands!

Shannon
Doing some multitasking and watching YouTube videos on my phone and transcribing the last couple of cable square patterns for the blanket. One of the patterns had me seeing stars, it was so crazy! I think I finally figured it out, although until I start to knit it I won't know for sure. And watching the video instructions helped. Here is hoping it's all good!

Suzie

Reg and I spent a rainy yesterday at the mall twice yesterday to get Reg's licence renewed. I thought this was the coolest piece of functional art I have seen in a long time. It creates a semi-transparent blind. It's just random pieces of paper embedded in a fuzzy kind of resin.

September 23, 2014

Jamie

I have been doodling non-stop in my journal while I've been sick. I was so excited that these flowers actually looked like my geraniums! I can't believe that a little note in May Sarton's Journal of a Solitude brought to my attention that I can bring these beauties from the garden inside over the winter in a pot! I'm delighted and we'll see how it goes! Thanks, May Sarton!

Shannon

It's a week of major returns and beginnings for TV (18 shows this week that I'm tracking...). I usually organize all my TV stuff on the weekend, but this time it carried over to Monday and wow it was a bit overwhelming to do all the organizing. I look forward to actually watching some of the new shows, now that everything else finally got put in it's place!

Suzie

Made the first REAL homemade meal in our kitchen last night. It was absolute madness figuring out where I put everything but it worked out awesome. I officially love my kitchen. And flank steak!

September 22, 2014

Jamie 

I've been feeling slightly better and more than slightly restless so I thought it was time to get back to art day! Shannon and I really enjoyed Flora Bowley's lesson in Life Book. It was all about layering and using unconventional materials instead of brushes. Everything here was used to put paint on our page. I'm excited about continuing to work with all I learned from Flora.

Shannon
Art Day! These 2 pieces turned out so different than I expected, especially the dark one. I was a little resistant to using black (and definitely resistant to using white), but I really like how it turned out. Fun times.

Suzie

Reg and I took a day off and went down to Granville Island to check out some tug boats that were at the harbour. Reg noticed this woman rowing with her dog working so diligently keeping an eye on the bridge. It was so cute, I am glad I got a photo of it!

September 21, 2014

Jamie 

So, not exactly random because I took this yesterday but totally random because this little beauty walked up to Shannon and I last night out of the blue. I wanted to just go for a walk around the block and get some fresh air and amazingly we had 3 cat encounters, all who came for a visit. This one's getting some love from Shannon and is truly delighted! And that's how I feel being back under the willow tree. I have been so sick I've had no pictures but hopefully I'm on the mend!

Shannon
I've been having so much fun with my new fun, including this game Marble Legend. It's one where you try and get 3 or more in a row, and then they disappear. I got stuck on one level for a few days and that drove me loony, but otherwise it's been a lot of fun. Then I was playing and noticed the level was super easy....and I realized I had actually played through all 120 levels and went right back to 1! Time for a new game. The hunt is back on.

Suzie

Reg and I saw this board at a dollar-ish store when we were out for our anniversary dinner. You can see Reg in the reflection of the quote and he is a big fan of Lao Tzu. I found the quote quite helpful.

September 20, 2014

Shannon
I had a HUGE find at the dollar store: sparkly notebooks with plastic coil for the spiral binding. I almost wanted to buy them out. I use notebooks all the time, but sometimes the wire coil gets caught on stuff but the plastic ones never seem to. I am really looking forward to writing in these ones. And I will be for a long time, because it's a lot of freaking pages, woohoo!

Suzie

Reg and I stopped by Value Village yesterday and I picked up this ceramic dish to replace my popcorn bowl as a utility dish. It isn't quite big enough but it will do for now. Love being able to go to VV when I need something!

September 19, 2014

Shannon
I finally finished A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews. It's a "Those Books" book, from the Canadian list and I absolutely loved it. It took me way longer to read than other books on the list, and I have a feeling Canadian books might be like that. Oddly, I felt like I enjoyed it more by taking my time with it. I loved the perspective of the protagonist and that it reads like a memoir. One of the best books I've read this year, and the most enjoyable read of the Those Books project so far. Happy book sigh.

Suzie

Reg and I were on the search for particular household items and went to a Canadian Tire and at first I thought it was the smallest one I had ever been to. Until I realized we were just on ONE of the floors! Also went to Home Sense to try and find a popcorn/utility bowl replacement but no. This one is going to take a while.

September 18, 2014

Shannon
Having a little cuddle time with the cat! These pictures are almost always fuzzy and really hard to take, but I was happy with how this one turned out!

Suzie

Yesterday morning we still did not have internet access but the guy came in the afternoon and now we do! Feels so much better. Although we still don't have TV and won't until next week which is a bummer.

September 17, 2014

Shannon
I finished my October calendar image, it's funny that doing these always ahead of time make me feel like I'm in 2 months at the same time. This one turned out different than I expected. i knew there would be a pumpkin image, but other than the rest just sort of happened as the page started to fill up. I'm pretty happy with it, and happy to have it done before the new month begins.

Suzie

Went out and celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary last night! Gordon Ramsay would be proud. I got the scallop salad. Delicious! We weren't going to go, so tired, but I am glad we did.

September 16, 2014

Shannon
Yesterday was the first day in a long where I didn't take any pictures (poor garden, I wonder if it misses me already!), so here is a pic from Sunday and watching 2012. Or at least the first 10 minutes before promptly falling asleep. I also watched the last 40 minutes. There are so many recognizable actors in this, I felt like I was playing some kind of game to spot everyone. And if I ever see the other 2 hrs, I get there will be even more people to spot!

September 15, 2014

Jamie

We're home safe and sound! We had an amazing trip and still it is lovely to come home, especially when there is coffee and chicken soup waiting. Thank you, Shannon! Right at the end I came down with a fever so I'll be resting up today and taking it gently for the rest of the week. It's the perfect time to cozy up with these cuddly bears that Chris gave us to take home.

Shannon
I'm sure I have oodles and oodles of pictures of a pot of what-will-soon-be-soup, but that doesn't mean I won't take another one the next time I make soup. I can't help it! Soup for the win. Especially given that the it actually started to get cold, which is perfect time to make soup.

September 14, 2014: Random

Jamie 

Once again I put the date into my photo folder to see what would randomly come up! I may take this as a sign that it's time to sit down and do some planning because that's what I was doing last year at this time! Sounds good to me!

 

Shannon
I have no idea what this image is, which makes it the absolutely perfect selection for random day pic!

Suzie

Reg and I walked through various neighbourhoods last weekend and each palm tree made Reg very happy and finding a parrot in someone's palm tree REALLY made him happy.

September 13, 2014

Shannon
I'm including this one for an odd reason. I don't quite remember taking it. It's just breakfast & my MP journal, but still. I thought I instagram'd it not took the pic with my camera. Too weird!

Suzie

I am happy to report all my little vials of flavourings, extracts and scents made the trip OK. Reg was worried about them being in my luggage but I did everything I could to protect them and it looks like it payed off.

September 12, 2014

Shannon
Sometimes you just never know if a show is going to be completely crazy, or completely amazing. I felt that way when I read about the premise for The Quest, which pairs fantastical storyline and a reality competition. It kind of sounded like Survivor LARP style, and in some ways it is, but it had the premise of that the participant were working towards being the One True Hero. It took me a while to get around to watching it, but I was hooked from the intro, and then by the amazing contestants as well as the characters within the story that brought the world to life. I love every minute of it.

Suzie

I forgot my camera at the apartment so I am using a photo from the other day. Here Reg is taping plastic over the KD-coloured wainscotting and today we took it down because the room is all painted. We painted the crafts room today and it is going to require two coats thanks to the blue paint. What is it about people painting their rooms blue? This time it's baby blue and still is rough to paint over.

September 11, 2014

Shannon
I was going to post yet another pic of me, and thought...whoa...didn't realized I've done that a few days in a row! Why not shake things up and share a pic of a furry friend instead? One of her calm moments, she was pretty vocal today!

Suzie

Today was painting day! We did not pack painting clothes so we bought painting overalls and they did not last long. Totally unbreathable except for the fact the pants totally ripped from me Plié-ing, trying to help protect my back. We got Reg's den painted and hopefully tomorrow we'll get to my crafts room. Just semi-gloss white, want to amp up the lighting as much as possible.