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It’s never to early to start your holiday planning!
In October, I’ll be offering several workshops that focus on holiday decor, planning and gift-making. Here’s a preview:
Check out the Events and Workshops page for full details.
I’m addicted to podcasts and love listening to them while I’m bookbinding, cleaning the apartment, during the commute to work…
I’m always on the lookout for new and interesting podcasts, and for this reason I created the following swap on Swap-Bot:
If you want to share some of your favourite podcasts or to discover some new ones, consider joining this swap!
Deadline to sign up is July 18, so don’t delay!
I just found this great video through Smashing Magazine.
I used to extensively practice calligraphy about 10 years ago…and since it’s such a great fit with book arts, I should really get back into it…
what a strange day. Farrah Fawcett AND Michael Jackson? Wow.
Just read this news:
Romeo LeBlanc, Canada’s first Acadian governor general, dies at 81
If you scroll down the article and read about Acadian history, you’ll understand why this is a big deal…
I am thrilled to be offering some new workshops at Urban Scrapyard – yay!
Piano-Hinged Album – Saturday, June 13, 11 am-1 pm
Tied Up In Knots…On Steroids! – Saturday, June 27, 11 am-1 pm
For details about the workshops, visit the Events & Workshops page.
I will also be participating in the 5th Annual Leslieville Tree Festival on Saturday, June 20 – be sure to stop by the booth I’ll be sharing with nathalie-roze & co. and say hi!
The (almost) summer is already off to a great start!!!
These past three days, I’ve made no less than 9 books – seven of which I’ve completely forgotten to photograph (they were LP journals).
The other two have been photographed, but for whatever reason the laptop won’t allow me to upload them to this blog. Shall attempt it again in the next day or two…
Once this photo uploading issue is resolved, I also plan to post a neat tutorial explaining how to make a super-easy, eco-friendly notebook from recycled paper…stay tuned!
Happy Tuesday, everyone!
I just finished watching the Canada Day concert on Parliament Hill broadcast on Rogers Cable… I have to admit it was a bittersweet experience for me, for several reasons. I used to organize part of the Canada Day festivities in Ottawa, and although it is a great event in itself, my memories are not all positive ones… If only the public knew what really happens behind the scenes at these events!
I can’t help feeling bitter/melancholic that my absolute favourite band, Blue Rodeo, performed at this year’s event. Throughout the years I worked at the event, I hoped they would perform so that I could schmooze with them. Alas, it was not to be. The powers that be waited until I left to hire the band to perform…
I can’t help being impressed with Blue Rodeo’s performance, however. They are as fantastic as ever, and Jim Cuddy was painfully handsome as usual. Sigh.
I always had an amazing vantage point for the fireworks display, backstage, away from the crowds. Unfortunately, mostly as a result of working for Canada Day festivities, I’ve developed a hatred of crowds and can’t stand being amongst hoards of people. I guess being surrounded by 300,000 drunken partygoers one too many times will have that effect on you.
All in all, I was impressed with the lineup on the Hill – Diane Dufresne excepted. Then again, maybe that’s just me.
Nowadays, I prefer celebrating Canada Day quietly, at home, watching the festivities on TV, which is exactly how I spent my evening. Everything is now well with the world.
The past week or so have been full of frustration and despair – I’ve been on vacation for nearly two weeks, of which I’ve been sick for the past 10 days with a fever, cold sweats, extreme fatigue, coughing fits and even laryngitis (I haven’t been able to speak in 8 days!).
Plans to spend my vacation time painting, cleaning and preparing my new loft apartment have gone to hell. I haven’t even had the energy to start culling/organizing my stuff for the big move. There is no way I’ll ever be ready to move out by June 1st.
Although this past week has been frustrating for me, it has also been a humbling experience. As someone who is always planning, making to-do lists, organizing, etc. every aspect of my life, I had no control over my body or my health this past week. When I tried to push myself while I wasn’t completely healed, I suffered a major relapse. Someone is definitely telling me I need to sit down and rest. I think it’s about time I listen.
And so for the past several days, no new projects have been created in this household. I’ve had to sit still and watch movies, surf the ‘net, or read (I’m now re-reading one of my all-time favourite novels, “Possession” by A.S. Byatt). Anytime I’d attempt any amount of physical work, a hacking-up-a-lung coughing fit would start.
I finally get it. Sit still. Relax. Enjoy the down time.
I have the rest of my life to get things done.
I made it back from Switzerland yesterday, after travelling for more than 24 hours…quite the feat, considering how I really don’t travel well. (Nausea is my middle name.)
The trip was amazing, though much too short, of course. I’m still suffering from serious jetlag (I was up at 4:30 this morning, so I’m really struggling to stay away now, even though it’s only 8:30 pm). I’ll post in detail this weekend, once I catch up on my sleep and am able to put together a coherent sentence.
The return to Toronto was quite a shock – what’s with the deep freeze in the city?!! Where did all the mild weather go??? It could be worse, I guess – my dad was telling me last night that they’ve had 4 snow storms in the past 8 days in New Brunswick! Moncton got the brunt of it too. If it’s any consolation to Monctonians, at least they can celebrate this news:
Moncton earns reputation as most polite city in Canada
I can certainly vouch for that myself (Moncton was the last place I lived in before moving to Toronto) – everyone there is warm, friendly, polite, and knows how to have a great time. I’m convinced it’s due to the abundant amounts of lobster… As much as I miss all my friends in Moncton, I certainly don’t miss the snow!
I’ll be back soon with lots of photos of the Swiss trip…
Make travel journal for Switzerland trip. Check.
Finish Christmas shopping. Check.
Pack bags. Check.
I think I’m ready. At least, I hope so. The anal retentive part of me (which, by the way, is about 90% of me) keeps remembering things I need to do before my big trip. Getting up early tomorrow morning to drive to Buffalo, NY to catch my flight to Geneva. I’m very excited about this trip, and nervous too, although I don’t really know why…
I promise to provide a detailed report upon my return to Canada. I will definitely want to show off the super duper travel journal I made specifically for this trip.
Until then, dear friends, best wishes for the holiday season. Have a safe and happy Christmas!
See you all in 2008!
I’ve had really, really good intentions of answering the one-question-a-day from my advent book…unfortunately the peskt day job has taken a complete hold over my life. I’ve been working 12-hour days, in addition to travel and weekend work. I’m an exhausted mess. Thankfully, my last event of the year takes place on Monday, after which I hope to rest ever so slightly before the new year brings on a whole new series of events to plan (5 in January, 6 in February – brutal).
I’ve nonetheless managed to fill all my custom orders and even make a few extra books for sale at nathalie-roze & co. I’ll also be working on some craft kits which will be available at Urban Scrapyard in the next few days. No workshops though, at least not for several more weeks…
I probably won’t be posting again until things slow down for me next week. Please be patient – I’ll be back soon!
I am very happy to announce that Papermusings has been accepted as a Delightful Blog!
Check it out:
Link to Papermusings
You can also click on the Delightful Blogs button on the sidebar…while you’re there, check out the other blogs. I’ve discovered some pretty amazing blogs and bloggers through this site.
Happy surfing!
I found this list here and love it.
Look at the list of books below:
- Bold the ones you’ve read
- Italicize the ones you want to read
- If you are reading this (and haven’t participated yet), tag, you’re it! (But only if you want to be it!)
1984 (George Orwell)
A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
Anna Karenina (Leo Tolstoy)
Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
Blindness (Jose Saramago)
Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
Bridget Jones’ Diary (Helen Fielding)
Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
Dune (Frank Herbert)
East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
Emma (Jane Austen)
Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald) (*my favourite book in the world!)
Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
Great Expectations (Charles Dickens)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (J.K. Rowling)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (J.K. Rowling)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (J.K. Rowling)
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (J.K. Rowling)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (J.K. Rowling)
I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
In The Skin Of A Lion (Michael Ondaatje)
Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
Les Miserables (Victor Hugo)
Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
Lord of the Flies (William Golding)
Love in the Time of Cholera (Gabriel García Márquez)
Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
Of Mice And Men (John Steinbeck)
One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
Shogun (James Clavell)
The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
The Bible …well most of it
The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
The DaVinci Code (Dan Brown)
The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
The Hobbit (J.R.R. Tolkien)
The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (J.R.R. Tolkien)
The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (J.R.R. Tolkien)
The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (J.R.R. Tolkien)
The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Ann Brashares)
The Stand (Stephen King)
The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
The World According to Garp (John Irving)
To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
Ulysses (James Joyce)
War and Peace (Leo Tolstoy)
Watership Down (Richard Adams)
White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
Was happy to notice a good number of books by Canadian authors here…
Now it’s your turn!
Thanks for the great run. You’re still the best in my eyes.
We’ll get ‘em next time.
Check out the Events and Workshops page (in the top right corner) – it looks like June is going to be a very busy month for me!
I have several workshops booked at Urban Scrapyard, as well as a mini craft fair at nathalie-roze & co. Should be lots of fun!
If you’re in or near Toronto, be sure to stop by!
Next time, don’t wait until the grass is waist-high before you decide to cut it. Otherwise, a job that should take you 15 minutes ends up taking over 1.5 hours, with mediocre results. This is what I’m talking about:
The bottom part is what I managed to cut last night, when I finally got around to putting the lawn mover together. The middle part of the picture is halfway through the process, when I’ve only gone over it once with the mower. The back part is really about waist high, and was torture to get through. But I persevered, dammit, and paved a path of destruction. Which is exactly what it looks like.
One happy thing that happened during the lawn-mowing episode was a huge flock of Canada geese flying right above me. It was awesome; there must have been about 30 of them and they were flying so low that I could clearly see their underbellies… I was surprised to see them as it’s quite late in the year for them to be in the area. B would have loved it; however, he is currently up north hunting snow geese as I write this…
Okay, I have to show my true colours here: GO SENS GO!!! I can’t believe they finally made it to the finals! When I lived in Ottawa, I had the amazing opportunity to organize a few events with the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club, back in 1999 to 2001 or so. Believe it or not, back then Yashin was COOL and much loved by the Sens fans… Incredibly enough, I was even invited to a private ceremony once to launch the 1999-2000 season, and managed to win a jersey autographed by THE WHOLE TEAM! I can only imagine how much it’s worth to collectors… When people asked me where I got the jersey, I used to joke that I dated the whole team. Some people actually believed me.
Anyway, I wish the Sens best of luck during the playoff finals. They certainly deserve to win the Stanley Cup, especially if I’m going out of my way to actually WATCH a game BY MYSELF. You must understand this: I live with a hockey nut who will watch this sport every single night and will not shut up about it. He can bore me for hours and hours talking about why the Toronto Maple Leafs’ general manager should be fired. So much so that I’ve decided to boycott all games (except, of course, those involving the Sens in the finals).
Another anecdote about brushes with celebritydom: You know Jon Dore, Ben Mulroney’s annoying sidekick on Canadian Idol? He was a waiter at my local pub just before he got the Idol gig. He actually served me and my roommate one day, and flirted shamelessly with both of us. We thought we were in love…until I saw him on Idol and he annoyed the crap out of me. I can’t believe I even considered him the slightest bit attractive! What was I thinking???
Have a look at the “Events and Workshops” page on the top right-hand corner for a list of bookbinding workshops I’ll be teaching in Toronto this month…
If you live in Toronto (or anywhere in Canada with a good newsstand), pick up today’s copy of the Toronto Star. Take out the Shopping section (discard the rest if you so desire), and flip to page 6. This is what you’ll find:
Yeah, those are my LP books in the bottom left corner. How cool is that?!! (Unfortunately this article doesn’t seem to be on the online version of the Star, hence the bad photo).
I received an email from nathalie-roze & co earlier this week about a columnist for the Star possibly mentioning my books in one of her articles for Earth Day. I really didn’t want to get my hopes up too high, in case it didn’t happen.
When I rushed out to buy the paper this morning and found the article, I was flabbergasted – never did I expect my books to be so prominently displayed! Wow!
nathalie-roze is anticipating an increased demand in my books as a result of this amazing (free) exposure, so I’ve set aside today and part of tomorrow to produce, produce, produce!
