Group W war games.

First... please.. please, take the time to watch the video.


There was a huge fight on the bench*. It took place online for all the world to see. Pieces of it were deleted by worried observers. It got mean. Names were called. People got concerned ... I had several people ask me in real life if things were ok... "Are you and Eve really in a fight? I thought she was so nice!" and "Are things going ok in Toronto? I've been following this fight online and it has me worried, are they going to keep [the jam] going?"

I got an email from a corktown member (who doesn't really know me) after I'd responded to part of the fight online... asking me if I'd been offended by what was being said.

Friends... it was a hoax. A little activity staged by the "Group W Bench and the Bench Warmers" to keep the winter doldrums away. So staged, that we often posted in our private group what our insults were going to be before they were made public. I haven't laughed (belly laughed) like that in a long time. I couldn't check things on my phone- I had to do it in the safety of my own home so as not to scare anyone with my LOUD guffaws.

Please watch the fantastic conclusion to the fight... I wish I could have been there to join them...
(and I'm sure the "elbow to cheekbone" bit was unintentional, but I still love it)

*Group W Bench is the amazing group of talented friends at Corktown Uke Jam. I love them to bits. While I can't be there very often, I'm pretty lucky to be included in their midst. So named for the line in Arlo Guthrie's song "Alice's Restaurant"... we're the Miscreants of the Ukulele, and we'll put you on a tee-shirt if you do something stupid.

ohhh... colours!

Here's part of the pile I'm working on right now... on the right- fabric prepped and cut for market bags... on the left- fabric washed... and just sitting around looking pretty. There's another 3 prints and 2 solids drying now after being washed. Today's a sewing day for sure!

BadBunny.ca is about to get a whole lot better!

I mostly took the day off sewing yesterday- but made a trip up to fabric land and Michaels Crafts for some supplies... have you ever tried to find cotton yarn suitable for making Kippahs? Yeah, not a likely find in our little town.. thank goodness for larger city centres nearby. I had a sweet little visit with sicky Momma-to-be Mel, and a surprise visit from RaeRae... there was a whole lotta goodness packed into the day.

Past and and re-thinks

I was just reading back in a notebook... I found something that I think made it into the blog a few years ago... At the time it was about something else, but there's a line in it that made me pause this morning ... in a huge way. I've been leaning a little on the selfish side, instead I need to take a look at some things and see what I can be doing differently.

"you can't make shit like this up"

what if your morning started with the nicest fruitiest granola, made by a friend, who called and said coffee was made and waiting for you?
what if you sent people to the wrong place for a parade, but they still came and you all had a great time? and you played your kazoo, and rode your bike in a pretty skirt and gave it your everything?
what if people you loved so deeply were there, along with all your favourites?
what if you drank pints on the patio, ate poutine, laughed, took pictures and moved your office over one space closer to a chocolate shop?
what if you set up your tent, blew up your air mat, and nearly had a nap in the sun?
what if you had the most adorable old man living beside you? and you spent the afternoon and evening walking back and forth to the neighbours- chatting and laughing? and they looked out for you?
what if your favourite people came and you loved them through the rough spots?         what if you dragged them to the waterfront through all the tourists?                                what if you ate too much pulled pork, cranked some ice cream to smooth vanilla perfection, then dolloped it on to a cobbler from heaven?                                                what if then maybe you laid in the sand on a blanket by the lake with the real town- not the imported one?                                                                                                               watched women hula-hoop with fire, campfire visited, then experienced some crazy enormous fireworks- so good that you clapped, and maybe teared up?                           what if when you got back you danced a jig under the glow of twinkle lights while the fiddle played for you?                                                                                                     would you even believe it happened?

25 things revisited part 4

Ok, so there are only 4 today.. I wanted to keep a few together that sort of tied into eachother. Tomorrow there'll be an extra...



16. I'd still love to : meet someone lovely, have kids, live in the country, get back into running, have a horse, write a book, write some music, create something lovely, make some sort of difference, go back to Africa, do a lot of great/wonderful/joyfilled things.

17. I'd be lost without my friends.

18. If you read this blog this one isn't too much of a surprise- My dreams are so vivid that sometimes I'd rather stay awake to get some rest. Thankfully, most of my dreams are lucid, so I'm able to control a lot of what's happening/ am able to decide the direction of my dreams. They're in colour. There's too much detail. I think this is why I don't like a lot of movies... movies aren't nearly as good. Most of my dreams are either based in part at the Ranch that I worked at, or underwater.

19. I had crazy-ass deja vu when I worked at the Ranch in my teens. It wasn't uncommon for it to last up to 20 seconds at a time... I wonder if this is related to #18

tubby

Next winter I'm not turning the hot tub off. (I know, the least green part of my life... we all have a vice).

Today however, after my massage, I'm headed to a friend's place to make use of their claw foot tub. Because, if you've ever been in the hobbit house, you know how un-tub-like my tub is.

I'm very grateful.

beautiful things in a week

-crispy snow

-friends having babies

-snowshoes

-friends coming for visits from far away

-laughter

-friends getting married

-warm blankets

-tea

-friends releasing beautiful things into the world (cds,books,art,words)

-indian food

-cuddly dogs

-warm eggs

-music

-creating

-garden planning

-happy coworkers

-hotwater bottles

-klenex

favourites

My favourite hobbits came home last night, which is lovely... but it meant their house sitter had to go back home. *sigh*

Since the hobbits were settling back into their schedule, and everyone else seemed to be doing other things... I found myself with no choice.

I put on an audio book, I opened a can of Rekorderlig (red berry), and I took down the Christmas tree.

The house looks funny now. And I miss the twinkle lights lighting... I may have to buy one of those paper lamps and fill it with twinkles... just for the glow.

based on actual events

The following is partly word for word, partly "close enough".
I'll let you figure out which part is which.

R: What about "x"?

M: put him on the list.

R: what about "y", would you date him?

M: (hesitantly) uh

R: why not?

M: I wouldn't say no if he asked me out.

R: That's all I wanted to hear.... I don't know if you've noticed, I'm not putting my all into this. I've got a vested interest in you staying single. Otherwise I have to share you. I think maybe we should just buy you a vibrator and forget about finding you a husband so we can hang out whenever I want".

M: *eye roll*

Fallin' fallin' fallin'

Three days ago we were hit by some snow.
The plow didn't bother to do our street till yesterday... which.. made it kinda slippery, and difficult to plow at all.

Last night we had a pretty great snow fall, so good that people were going door to door offering to shovel! In the past hour, the plow has driven up and down the street 6 times.

I'm headed to the cottage with the girls for the weekend (and JellyDog- the buns have a friend checking in on them) Technology free weekend, here I come!
(Unless I buy that new phone to replace the one I lost last month...)

hobbits

I have a lot to be thankful for....

a quick recap::
I got the keys to my hobbit house. a gaggle of people showed up to clean. hobbits and honorary hobbits helped to tear things down, rebuild them, patch them, sand them wash them again and paint them.
whew!

there is one completely livable room in the house.
and I have plumbing.
and the kitchen will be built next week.

and I haven't lost my sanity... completely... yet.

thank you hobbits. you really are the best.

sing

do you ever get so happy for someone your heart might burst?

my friend has been silent for a long time, their heart heavy. afraid to put things to life. but lately my friend has stood on top of fears. and is creating again.

*grin*

Swimming in Lakes

Tonight I'm headed North to spend some time with lovely people, listening to some lovely music. And I've been listening to the CDs so I can play the part of a good audience member, and hum along in the catchy parts, and smile big when I hear the opening notes of a favourite tune.

Yesterday I got sent this fantastic little email from a man who's part of NUkeO (our Uke Jam group) He'd been trying to figure out the chords the night before for "Skinamarink", and he'd found them, and sent them my way... then at the bottom of the page, a huge picture of the two of us, grinning like fools at the Uke Jam. The email made me smile so big, my coworker took one look at me and said... "that's your Ukulele smile, I can always tell".



this picture makes me laugh too much. One, because Jim asked if he bunny ears behind his head... before the picture was taken. And two, because my fingers look so long. It's because the Uke is so tiny... but when I first saw the pic, I immediately thought of my sister, who has these long graceful fingers- I've always been jealous of them... it's like when you hold those tiny tiny cans of pop they serve on some airlines... they make you feel like a giant.


Today a friend of mine is meeting some members of his birth family... I'm really excited (and nervous) for him. I can't imagine... really can't even begin to imagine, the pile and mix of emotions all of them must be feeling right now... praying for them today.

My heart is happy. 

Happier than it's been in a long time. I feel... mostly centred.. except where I take on the things that the people I love are dealing with. But I'm even learning to be centred there.

I should note:: my pad of paper has been snaffu'ed by festival comings and goings. an endless "to do" list. So, maybe I'm back to typing. Unless I can find myself a new lovely pad.

This weekend, the lovely Catherine (and her PEI all stars) came to town. An impromptu concert, held in the Sheff's backyard. And it couldn't have been done better. It was a little piece of heaven. Perfect weather, great mix of talent, green soft grass, a few new hobbits, SVFF style pot luck (for those who've never had the opportunity to try eating with a bunch of true foodies, here's a direct quote from my room mate- a long sufferer of the church pot lucks and crock pots.... " I have NEVER eaten food like that at a pot luck! I couldn't believe it! Who made all that?"). 

The perfect collection of moments. 

cute rats.

I've had some squirrel issues in the past.

big ones.

1  and    2  and   3     

seems those "issues" have followed me to this house too. Perhaps it's the same squirrel all grown up? How long do squirrels live? This is nearly 4 years to the week since that first squirrel encounter.... Now, if you're reading this as a note on facebook- and not in my blog, you've probably been following the updates about the squirrels to date, and you're probably thinking this is redundant... get over it. I need something to complain about.

I've decided that since the landlord isn't selling the house out from under us, that I'd like to take a little time to work in the garden... and more specifically, grow some food for the bunnies and I.  I've managed (with a lot of help from the garden hobbit party*) to get the garden in working order- enough so that I've been able to move a bunch of the perennials out of the central bed- and have started a few veggies... combine that with the planters, and I've got a mini kitchen garden. (nearly a mini farm**)

last week the trouble started.

the squirrels dug up my lettuce. and chomped and dug up my cantaloupe plants. then just dug a bunch of holes in the beets and spinach. thanks.

yesterday, and twice today.... all of my beans have been eaten (they'd just been put in the ground)(I know, a little late, but the temps have been sooo cold) my zucchini seeds got eaten. the new cantaloupe plants were ripped out of their soil. chomped on the hubburd squash seedlings. The little broccoli plants had been tunnelled under... the fancy "fractal" broccoli seeds were dug up (uneaten) and the morning glories ripped out of the soil.

the only things they didn't touch (yet) were the winter squash, cauliflower, two types of carrots, and the pea plants.

I hate squirrels. 

* garden hobbit party:: a lovely group of people travelling from garden to garden, sharing the work load and some good food. I love my hobbits.

**there are mini cows to be had. I'm doomed.

no really.. just picture it... mini cows, babydoll sheep, pygmy goats... and giant bunnies.

 

funny little spot (OR) gotta love the mirror ball

There's a lot going down at GTI lately. and it's so frustrating. 

Yesterday I had some girlfriends over, and I kept saying about random things "I just love this" or "this brings me joy". One of them, not knowing what's going on in the rest of life said to me... "man, we need to find you something that doesn't make you happy... there are too many things that you're listing". And it's true. most of them were the most random of things or events that I was talking about.. but when you're seeing terrible things, experiencing even a taste of the injustice that our friends at GTI are experiencing on a daily basis... you need to find joy in everything else.

One of our team members always says it's no wonder our friends drink the way they do... it's the only escape they can find. 

Anyway, that's not the point of what I was going to write.... 

The other night as an escape, I headed to the land of milk and honey with a friend. 

substitute "milk and honey" with "chocolate, cheese and baked goods" and you'll find Campbellford. mmmm. yummy.

But, that's not why we went. No Sir-ee Bob, we went to go see lovely Catherine (and Steven Fearing). 

At the Legion.

no jokes.

Mirror ball and beer. Ladies Auxiliary and rows of spider plant topiary. Hanging from the window for a cigarette. Tables set up for a bingo. Dance floor down the centre. Table one, please stop talking, I'm trying to do a concert here. Tables that fall over and eyes open as wide as they can for a camera. Day glow bracelets half an hour after you've arrived and found your seat... and wood panelling. 

don't forget the wood panelling.

The perfect way to forget trouble, wrap yourself in a moment so far removed and just be there for a bit.

To put you in my Pocket

Sometimes there are lovely people that I wish I could have with me all the time.

People who have lovely hearts and ooze awesome.

These are the people that I want to put in my pocket.

Carry them around with me.

So I can just look in on them while they do their thing in my pocket any time I need a smile.

But then I'd be using them... but I'd be using them for good- not evil.

Most recently is a woman from the play.

She takes the time to connect with everyone, is super level headed, ultra artsy, writes children's literature... and as I just recently found out... acted as a surrogate for a couple she's friends with.

seriously... she's fantastic.