December 11, 2012

Jamie

Well, chaos has come to the studio and I haven't even got my new desk yet! I love the way it's showing me absolutely and concretely that the chaos and commotion is the first step to a new beginning. Sure, I'm working in this disarray but Justin is painting my cupboards for me to a beautiful shiny white. They're taking a long time and he's taking great care. I'm alreayd looking forward to the "after" picture of this major studio refresh.

Shannon
After a pretty long challenging day I decided to break open my 50-Horror Pack and start with the first film I'd never seen: Atom Age Vampire. I totally slept through the middle of it, but wow it was exactly what I was looking for: atmospheric, creepy, not too scary and totally easy to follow, even with the crazy dubbing.

Suzie

Yesterday I finally finished editing, exporting and uploading my éclairs video (thanks for the comment already Shannon!) and did two newsletters. I wanted to do something more craftsy but I just couldn't. So I went with productive instead. I put the outtakes at the beginning which I think is a fun way to get people to watch.

December 10, 2012

Jamie

What a touching goodbye to the Spice Kittens, all of whom found a home with avid watchers of the kitty cam. There was such a tender moment when the mom, Rosemary, licked away the tears of her Foster Dad John. Being able to watch these little lovelies was such a wonderful, nourishing treat over the past little while. I'll miss them a lot and look forward to the next group of kittens.

Shannon

I did a bunch of both relaxing, and cleaning this weekend and one of the things I went through and cleaned was my paint brushes.  Although I haven't used them for years and I'm not sure how much 'cleaner' any of them are here than they were before, one part of the process that I like but don't always do is shape the bristles to while they are still wet to the shape you want them to try in.  I didn't know this until I had painted for years!  It makes such a difference, especially for rounder brushes of the calligraphy-like ones.  I'm glad I took the time to try to sort them out this time.

Suzie

Our retro bathroom just got a little more retro. Our big project this weekend was to put plastic up on our windows to help save heat. Let's just say, we had some accidents along the way. And no, nobody makes harvest gold toilet seats anymore. The first one we bought ended up silver, which we had to take back. This was the best we could do. This took up so much of our energy, we still have two giant windows to do and the weekend is over. I think we are ready to become renters again!

Rewind: December 9, 2012

Jamie

I thought I'd do a little rewind to one of my earlier birthdays. That's me on the left, all excited that we're stringing garlands. Of course I'm all dressed up in a gown, that reaches all the way to the floor! And look at Robbie having a romantic moment kissing a friend of mine there at the front!

December 8, 2012

Jamie

What a fabulous birthday! Thank you so much for the great messages and fabulous pictures. That added such light and fun into the day. Thank you! Justin and I were on a birthday adventure for the entire day, including lunch at one of my favourite spots in the whole world, Kalendar. The food was wonderful, the coffee divine and the vibe, just cozy-right. We also had an amazing time at the Art Gallery and were able to take in the amazing Frida and Diego exhibit. What a joy!

Shannon
One of the nice side effects of having the curtains down, is I can see outside including the crazy bushy-tailed squirrel! I like when the squirrels come to visit, but I haven't seen this one before.

Suzie

Not a photo from yesterday but I thought you would like to see a photo from Reg's work's Christmas party. Here I am in my new peacoat. I tried to do "dancer eyes" make up for the party. Not happy with my new hair colour, too brassy so I got in touch with my hair dresser. It was fun to get all dressed up for the party though. Great food!

December 7, 2012

Jamie

We had an awesome pre-birthday celebration at our place - lasagne, Caesar salad and great company! Shannon brought me these beautiful white cyclamens - a total favourite, as you'll know from start. We had a fabulous time!

Shannon
Happy Birthday to Jamie Day! I thought this pic was particularly fitting as it shows Jamie with a celebratory chandelier birthday tiara!! I hope you are having an awesome birthday Jamie!

Suzie

If You Were Born Today, December 7: You are a quick study. Not only do you love to learn, you love to teach or at least share your knowledge. There is a youthful quality to you no matter your age.

Year Ahead: Creativity blossoms this year, and your relationships are subtly enhanced. Personal appeal and charisma are high. There can be a great focus on a particular project or endeavor that helps you to move your life forward in positive ways.

All sounds pretty perfect to me Jamie! Happy Birthday!!!! Enjoy the French Toast. Love and miss you!!!!

December 6, 2012

Jamie

Well, yesterday was a truly difficult day but it was also a really family day. I had a lovely breakfast with Dad as he was in for a visit. Justin and I spent the evening over at Shannon's helping with a wide range of things from using Justin's tall-boy skills to replace light bulbs to drawing on my earliest business savvy of cleaning doll clothes. I talked to Mom and there were emails with Suzie and with Jason. That's a moment of loving contact with everyone in the family and for that, I'm truly grateful.

Shannon

Wow. Yesterday was pretty rough. I did feel like the tide started to turn though, and it started with this little bottle of teatree oil which I ended up getting for free when it scanned at the wrong price. Not everything was sunshine and daisy's after that, but there still felt like a definitive shift.

Suzie

Yup, that was one for the books. Jamie, it means so much to see our Latvian doll here. That immediately made me feel better. I got up late today and feel like I can hardly move. BTW, if you use cucumbers for your eyelids (which did seem to help) make sure to thinly slice them and remove the peel. Otherwise they just hover on one spot like a UFO. That analogy was for you Shannon. 

I am grateful to have had so much contact with family during a crisis and know there were so many people I could talk to. We are very lucky we can do this and I adore and love all of you. 

December 5, 2012

Jamie

The Cthulu yarn has arrived! LOL, I love that I can share this online, with you guys and all our readers, and still keep it a secret from Justin! I'm not sure when I'm going to get the crocheting done without him seeing it though! I ordered a whole bunch of yarn and am shocked by some of the colours. I've bought tons of Bernat yarn before and don't remember anything being the kind of crazy bright neon vibe that so many of the colours I chose are. "Berry" makes Santa's outfit look tame! It's going to make for some kind of obnoxious booties, hehe. I hope someone will find them very entertaining!

Shannon

When in doubt... cute cat pic. Definitely best part of the day was coming home to a purring kitty!

Suzie

I thought this week was going to be a quiet and relaxed one. It's not going to be. Last night we had to go out to get Reg some clothes for a Christmas party we are suddenly going to. As I sat waiting for him to show off the new duds, I heard Simon Le Bon singing, "And as I try to make my way, to the ordinary world, I will learn to survive." It really resonated with me on many levels. Duran Duran got me through the worst time of my life and the recent mean comments I have gotten are stirring up old issues. Trying not to shut down...