Local treasures (for your lips)

Since I have a few new favourites, I thought I'd recomend some more lip balms. This is a bit of a local edition, which wasn't planned, but is nice if you happen to live near me. Which most of my (five) readers don't. Oh well! If you ask me I will probably send you one as a gift. Sending out gifty packages is almost as much fun as receiving them.

So, as for the lip balm.

Honey Pie Hives & Herbals ~ Chai

This spicy treat was purchased on a vacation to Sand Banks and Prince Edward County, Ontario. I'm pretty sure it was from the Bean Counter Café but it has been a while and I forget. So this isn't really a new favourite, but rather a tried-and-true old favourite. It's light, fragrant, spicy and smooth. I've had my little pot for a while now (I hardly ever use up a lip balm, since I have so much of the stuff... which is sort of wasteful of me) and it still smells and feels great. Not that I recommend holding onto it for a long time. I recommend using it up and then trying other flavours like Fennel, Cinnamon Hearts, or Rosemary! Maybe I will have to go on another vacation. Actually I don't have to go that far, their wares are sold right here in Montreal, and I plan to go scout out that café very soon. Not just for lip balm either, I wouldn't mind some beeswax candles or trying out their loose leaf teas. But I still think I should go on vacation.

Naturally Upper Canada Warm Honey Nectar and Sweet Vanilla Fig

(but mostly the honey one)

I got these at the Jean-Coutu so I am betting that they are more widely available than the others I'm mentioning. The Vanilla Fig one is pretty good, but it does have a kind of shimmery white-lip thing going on, which I don't always (ever?) want. It is subtle though. I wouldn't classify this as lip gloss or anything. Still, the Honey version is a lot nicer. It really is a lip balm, no other secret sparkly agendas. The smell reminds me of the Burt's Bees Honey Lip Balm (not their original pepperminty one, which is what started my whole thing with lip balm in the first place, but this one). They both smell good, almost floral (like you can smell the flowers that made the honey or something) but the Burt's Bees one has a rough, crumbly texture that I've never really liked. This one has a perfectly smooth texture, so it is the winner. In the honey-flavoured lip balm contest. Incidentally I also tried the Vanilla Fig hand lotion, which feels nice, but is a little perfumy for me. Even though it's all NATURAL! and paraben-free etc, I still wouldn't use it around my (asthma-prone) mother.

Amarille ~ Crème Vanille

I bought this one from a table at a craft sale that I stumbled upon in Mile End a few weeks ago. Now I wish I'd bought more, and other stuff too, like cream and bath salts! Not that I have the budget to outfit myself with a bathroom full of such luxuries, but still.

I have to admit that this one is my (current) absolute favourite. It smells exactly like real vanilla beans. Not sugary like vanilla cookies or perfumy or wrong in anyway. I want them to make perfume that smells exactly like this. I know they make scented oils, but I want perfume. Spray, or rollerball, I'm not picky, I just want to smell this smell all the time.

The one small problem I have with it is that the product is not as solid as it could be. It seems prone to cracking or breaking off (and as enthusiastic as I am about lip balm, I am not exactly vigorous in my application of it). Since it smells effing awesome and feels great on my lips, if a tiny piece does break off, I smoosh it back on top (lest I loose some) and it seems to stay put. Probably this is one of the problems of homemade goods, sometimes things are not always as uniform as they are when made in commercial proportions. But that is a tiny complaint, and has not deterred me from using it nor from opening it just to sniff it. So vanilla-y. Next time I come across their stuff I will be tempted to try the Lune de miel too, but I find it hard to imagine that it will beat out this one!

Wanted: Handmade Writers

While my readership is on the petite side, it is also heavy on writers. So when I received an email from Amy Spencer asking me to let my friends know about her online writing class, Handmade Writer, I thought it seemed like a good idea.

Here is an excerpt from the letter she sent:

"The Handmade Writer e-course has been inspired by the strength of craft
communities and brings a crafty approach to creative writing. I am a writer
and also a crafter and I know lots of other people are too. I see
similarities between the two creative forms and that’s what this e-course
is all about. I will encourage students to gather material from every
source imaginable and use the fabric of their lives to tell extraordinary
stories."

In the spirit of full disclosure, I will admit that she is offering up a chance to win a spot in the course to those of us who help to promote it, and I will also admit that I'd be pretty happy to scoop that prize! (Not that I have time for it... but I'd make time!) The course sounds great, and is definitely the kind of thing I would consider doing, if I wasn't already a diligent Library Tech. student. I like that she is combining craftiness with writing, in that sometimes through crafting we take the pressure off ourselves to create "high art" and then create it by accident anyway. There is nothing so beautiful as a hand-knit scarf, a splotchy collage, a scrappy poem. There is nothing so lovely as an unselfconscious foray into imagination.

So, check it out! And if anyones signs up, I'd love to hear how it goes! There will come a day when I am no longer a student, and when the panic of that sets in, I will certainly want to sign up for creative writing classes like this one. 

*Update: I won! Such good luck I'm having lately! At least when it comes to contests (I also won a book recently). I'm really looking forward to taking this, my first writing class. If nothing else, at least the quality of my posts here should improve ; )

Snail City

Two Snails by Jacek Yerka

Snail House by rorylanelutter

Snail City found here (I don't know if that is the artist or not)

Considering the series of misadventures I've been through of late (nothing serious, just allergic reactions, the flu, a chest cold, generalized grumpiness) I'm in a great mood this week. Could be that my shoulders are lighter as these calamities finally scatter and leave me be. Could be that a good friend just had a baby boy! Could be that I am watching the mailbox for some books that are coming to me from several little shops in the UK. Could be that it is SPRING! here in Montreal. I know that the west coast is being showered with cherry blossoms but most Montreal Marchs are snow-covered. This one is April-like in its snowlessness. And I am glad. I am a fairweather friend to snow (no pun intended), loving it in November, hating it by February. Actually, no. That's a lie. I still like snow, even in the darkest February days. What I hate is sleet, ice chips hitting my face, bitter cold wind and skating rink sidewalks. But those are worries now cast aside until NEXT winter! Can you believe it? I can't. I'm tempted to go all doom-and-global-warming-gloom but I won't. I will put away my heavy coat and sigh with relief instead.

Things I have recently been enjoying:

• Castles in the Air ~ all about living in and restoring a crumbling castle in Wales, so far quite funny and charming. Also, I see from the website that after restoring it, they made it into a bed & breakfast of sorts. I am so tempted to go. Alissa, I would recomend that you check it out next time you swing through the UK, except that you have chateau ennui. ; ) 
• Old episodes of Da Vinci's Inquest. He's such a quirky trouble-maker.
• Homemade yogurt. Not homemade by me! A certain handsome housemate of mine has taken up this hobby and I just get to sit back and reap the creamy benefits. My favourite is getting to open a new jar and take the first, almost frothy, scoop. (Apparently the process is quite easy. Perhaps, if he is reading, he will post the instructions in a comment for the curious).
• Miss Endicott ~ A serendipitous find at the library. A comic about a young woman who is a governess by day and a solver-of-problems by night. The description claims that it is steampunk, which it may yet be, but I haven't gotten that far yet. Even without steam or punk, it is already pretty awesome.
• David Sedaris on audiobook. Recommended for those who do not mind laughing like loons on public transport. Also, makes the workday zip past.

Ewok dreamhomes

 

These images were all from this article, and in turn are originally from the book: New Treehouses of the World. Which looks very pretty. I recognize the sphereical tree-pod from Free Spirit Spheres, who live on Vancouver Island. How neat would it be to stay there? Very neat, I'm sure.

Actually, I am not descended from monkeys either, but we do share a common ancestor

Ever since I discovered comics (aka web comics / graphic novels / bandes desinées) I've been desperately jealous. This is my usual reaction to things I like, actually. 

"I LOVE this! I HATE you for for making of it instead of me!" 

Not very healthy, really. 


I still can't believe it took me so long to discover them because the combination of drawings + stories (not just for kids!) + angst/melancholy/anxious introverted nerdy artists = right up my alley. 

Anyway. So now, naturally, I want to make my own. I'm not at all sure how this will pan out as the people whose work I admire have like Studied Art and stuff... like they have actually worked at it, and my entire artistic education consists of a) a 4-week water-colour painting class that I took with my grandmother and b) fine arts 101 (or something) that I took in college which resulted in the following critical analyses: 
"Well..." (derisive laughter) "I forrr one am not deescended frrom zee monkeeeys!"
[I'd done a wire sculpture of the human family tree, over time]
and: 
"Why are all of your pieces so small and so close to the ground? I think you lack confidence."
Um... right. 


However. These are but distant memories, and I do still like to draw & paint, and am prone to the odd fit of creativity. So I may pull out a sketchbook and give it a go. In the meantime I will entertain myself by brainstorming and imagining my future brilliance. And coming up with names for this as-yet non-existent project!


Spiral Bound (although that's already taken. which is totally unfair because his isn't even remotely about snails!)
Green Eyed Monster (because I have green eyes, can be monstrous and am often jealous! so it works on LOTS OF LEVELS) (ok, two)
{unrelated comment: Andie, ever since we talked/wrote about ALL CAPS in literature I've been feeling the urge to use ALL CAPS way more often. I am a rebel?}
ALL CAPS (except it won't be)
I am a Rebel! (er.... maybe?)
Indecisive Much? (har har)
Right Up My Alley (hmmm... that one sounds... dirty?)
Descended From Monkeys
Snail Trailz (please, do not let me call my comic this)
Total Daydream (because that's likely what it will stay!) (that sounds kind of negative, but really I'm just poking fun at myself)
Daydream Believer (monkeys again ... er Monkees, sorry)


Isn't it funny how when you are trying to think of a name for something, suddenly everything around you starts to sound like a clever title? 
I know I'll call it.... Messy Kitchen! Or no, wait, Procrastination Central! Oh!, I've got it, Homework That Is Waiting To Be Done! Oooh, how about Chocolate Covered Almonds. Sigh. 

Lucy Knisley who is very talented & clever and whose book French Milk is really lovely.

 

Cookery p*rn

My birthday gift this year from my Montréal bffs (I don't actually say things like "bff" in real life... but oh, typing is so different, isn't it?) was a seat in a cooking class/demo at Appetite for Books. If you live in the Paris of North America like I do, I whole-heartedly recommend this experience. Each class is based out of a different cookbook, and the one I attended was for the latest River Cottage offering, River Cottage Everyday. Well, as I am an unashamed RC fan-girl (see below) this was a truly lovely gift. We, the "students" (aka walking stomachs) sat around the kitchen work-table and drank wine while our host made recipe after mouth-watering recipe before our very eyes. We had beet soup with spiced yogurt, white bean salad with warm leeks on greens in a mustard vinegrette, a main course of slow-cooked shin of beef in an apple-soy-ginger sauce on mashed potatoes with caramelized onions and withered greens, and for dessert... apple-almond cake, hot out of the oven, with whipped cream. Here is the chef's version of the evening.

And while we are on the topic of food/cookbooks, I thought I might share a few of my favs from my kitchen. Cookbooks are so popular these days (thanks to The Food Network probably! Not that I would know because I don't HAVE a TV.) and they are making some very pretty ones. At the library new cookbooks go out before we even get a chance to set them down on the shelf. Even if the recipe is for... I don't know, grilled cheese... it doesn't matter. The books are gorgeous, glossy and salivatory. While I actually do make some of the recipes hidden in mine (I do! I really do!) I am certainly guilty of spending more time drooling over pictures than slaving over the stove. I can hardly be blamed though, as I have some real beauties. 

1. River Cottage Everyday & The River Cottage Year ~ I really shouldn't be as big a fan of these as I am. Really, I love the shows. I do also love the books, but he does like his meat, doesn't he? As a quasi-not-really-but-mostly-vegetarian, there are lots of recipes I'll likely not use. However, Hugh's ideologies about farming practices, especially as they related to animals raised for meat, are ones I fully share so I can't really get uppity about this. And anyway, on the rare occasions that I do decide to cook up something meaty, I have some lovely recipes to use. And there are tons of veggie-friendly offerings. And the desserts, well, those aren't too shabby either.

2. A Fling in the Kitchen. Remember when kids used to do these to raise money for different activities? Maybe they still do? I know that I used to collect pop bottles for my Jeannettes troupe (is that the only reference I can find? really?) and sell chocolates for the school band. But this was for a friend's Scottish Dance troupe. And I still use it! I really do! Not only are some of the recipes long-time favourites, but there are lots of useful conversion charts and the like in it.

3. Rebar Modern Food Cookbook. This comes from a restaurant of the same name, in Victoria BC. I've never been but the next time I visit fair Vancouver Island I will be sure to check them out. Everything I've tried from this book is great (although some ingredients are a bit granola-health-food-store-y which makes them harder to source, but usually worth the effort for the new flavours). The most successful by far (if we go by number of times cooked) is their Chocolate Mousse Blackout cake (p.209). Holy mother of pearl. It's sort of like a vegan cheesecake, but it's actually better than cheesecake. Seriously. Even non-vegans love it, I promise.

4. Apples for Jam. This was an unintentional birthday gift from a couple of weeks ago. I say unintentional because they had picked out one I already had and so I got to pick this pretty one out myself. How could I resist those red mary-janes? It is a beautiful book (full of Tessa Kiros' recollections too) and the honey cake (p. 279) became my birthday cake.

Winter Hodge Podge

Photo taken by my brother, I believe it is the view from one of my parent's windows, some winter past.

1. Recipes! Sort of. Lazy ones.

• Apple Pie for breakfast: chop one apple into a saucepan (I leave the skin on, why not?), add a tbsp or so of butter, dash of cinnamon, tbsp of brown sugar, handful of raisins. Cook until apples are soft-ish. Add 1 cup oatmeal (I have the regular kind, not the quick kind, but I'm sure any hot cereal would do), add appropriate amount of water (for my oats that was 2 cups), cook for 15 mins or so until water is soaked up. Serve with milk. And lovely French press coffee, if you have it. [photos to follow, maybe]

• Mushrooms = delicious. For 2 mushroom loving people: Slice up some little new potatoes (oh... lets say about 7?) into quarters. Place on cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil, salt & pepper, herb of your choice (rosemary is good, so is oregano). Goes in hot oven (for mine, around 425F) for about 10 mins. During that time, take two large portabello mushrooms, turn upside down, remove stem. Drizzle with olive oil. Dress with toppings of your choice. Any of the following are tasty (not necessarily all at once): avocado, olives, garlic, onions, tomatoes (fresh and/or sundried), pine nuts, spinach, more chopped up mushrooms, and then of course CHEESE. You really can't go wrong there. We just tried halloumi cheese this week and the verdict is yum. Quite salty, a bit like a cross between feta and mozarella. Works beautifully for this. Take oven fries out, shuffle them around a bit, add the two be-topping-ed mushrooms to the pan, put back in for a further 7-10 mins or so, until the cheese is melted and possibly even a little browned on top. Fries should be browned/crisp on the outside, still soft inside. Remove, serve with ketchup for the fries (or mayo if you live in Quebec) and some raw veggies for a crunchy contrast. The mushrooms are least messily eaten with a fork & knife.

2. Wintertime rememberings:

* Did anyone else used to stand over the forced air heaters in their nightgowns, allowing them to bell out with all the hot air trapped against your legs? That was a nice feeling.

* Being 10 and night skiing with my dad, then drinking hot chocolate in the lodge. I was never a very good skiier, but I liked that hot chocolate! Except when it burned my tongue.

* I have all these bits of memories of being in various elementary school Christmas productions (I believe there is a certain former Mrs Claus in my readership?). I loved the pagentery and being in the school gymnasium at night (a contrast to my total dread of the gymnasium for P.E. purposes). I loved the gaudy-ness, the construction paper chains, the glue & glitter, the holly and the hand-made Christmas trees. I didn't really have any desire to be a star (set design was more my thing), I just wanted to participate in the bustle of opening night. I liked being in the chorus (no one can actually hear me sing, right?) and getting to watch the play so close to the stage.

* Snow day! I remember getting up, noticing right away the quality of the light, the reflections off the snow making my bedroom brighter than usual (or darker, if it was still falling) and then racing to the living room to turn on the radio. Any minute... any minute they would announce school clossures... ok here it is and there are some and is mine closed? YES! A whole day for reading, tv, drawing, playing and generally not being at school.

3. Christmas may be over but the Candy Cane Lane Tea is not! I can't seem to get enough of it. Even better with an extra splash of vanilla. I don't even like candy canes! Or at least... I thought I didn't. Hmmmm. 

4. Word of the Year. I'm not much into resolutions (I still think yours, M. to floss more, was the best, simplest one yet!) but I like the idea of calling forth a kind of theme for the year. A thread to weave through the calendar and to return to again and again. I've seen others choose discipline/focus and expand as their words. The one that came to mind for me, though, was aim.

From dictionary.com:

"...something intended or desired to be attained by

one's efforts; purpose: whatever his aim in life may be."

I was thinking goals and direction and things along those lines... but I liked the simple little word aim. It's just a small reminder, to ask myself in any given situation "what is my aim?"; what do I want out of this? Why am I doing it? Interesting how asking that shifts my attitude about doing it, whether that is cleaning out a closet-of-impenetrable-gloom or going to work or doing assignments. Or, hopefully, most importantly, writing. Maybe my word should have been WRITE. Well, anyway, one of my aims is to write.

5. A reminder: for those of you (unlike me!) who prefer summery days to wintery ones, remember that we are now almost a month past the solstice. The days are already getting longer. And I'm already looking forward to next autumn!

"Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all.”     ~Stanely Horowitz