Ok I couldn't resist...

He's just too ridiculously cute in his goofy Christmas collar. Oh and here is a fuzzy one of the tree and of one of my favorite ornaments. : ) I will get better at this, I promise!

Thank*you

The universe has been pretty kind to me this week. I don't know if it's because I recently befriended Ganesh or because I had some good karma stored up or simply because the Christmas Spirit is overflowing. Whatever the reason, I am feeling very grateful. For one thing my loans are very nearly completely sorted out and I even got an unexpected bursary. For another, last week I received a Christmas box from home, so full of presents that they barely fit under my (enormous) tree. And the box included a rather hefty bag of what I believe are chocolate truffles - though I have thus far (quite admirably) resisted the temptation to gnaw open the shiny gold package for confirmation. Then yesterday I received another package, this time from my kindred friends Megan and Jason. They have very generously gifted me their digital camera... which is an incredibly thoughtfull and kind thing to do! They are upgrading to a new camera so they decided to pass on their old (not old at all actually) one to me and Adrien. Which means that not only do I now have a digital camera, I have one that is full of the energy and love of my friends. How cool is that?
Unfortunately I am crazy busy this week (week before Christmas... everyone is crazy busy), I'm working all week and doing *stuff* every evening (like writing exams and going to Christmas parties for work) so I will not actually get to play with my new toy until this weekend. But once I do: watch out! There will be photos of Griffin everywhere!
(well, he is the most photogenic subject I know of...)

Mon beau sapin, roi des forêts

I don't mean to blab on about the weather again, but really... how can I not? It is stunning to see so much snow fall. Yesterday's storm added to our last few snowfalls and now there are now drifts out there taller than me. Our car is just a lump with an antenae poking through next to what used to be a sidewalk. It is lovely and so strange to me, more so because today is all blue skies and glinting sunlight. Now and then the wind tosses handfulls of flakes from roof-tops and they spin through the air, glitter and dust.

Yesterday while it howled and gusted outside Adrien and I stayed burrowed in our little appartment and put up our tree. It was a two-day affair, begining on Saturday, owing to the fact that we were seduced into getting a biggish tree and then realized that it would not fit into our stand, with only 30mins to get to Canadian Tire. We made it but then had to go out and leave our naked tree in its new stand while we went to a friend's place for shabu-shabu (yum). On Sunday we got to sleep in and then decorate the tree at our leisure. The blizzard must have been terrible for anyone who needed to venture out, but I must say that it made for perfect tree-trimming weather.

Yesterday evening, sitting with tea and warm gingerbread, I oogled the tree and felt a considerable amount of gratitude. In part simply for the tree itself. It is my favorite yuletide symbol, and always seems like the focal point of the home during the holy-days. And o tannenbaum 2007 is a particularly gorgeous specimen if I do say so myself (although I fall in love with my trees every year, it is impossible not to when they are so alive and cheerfull and smell like a forest). In part I felt glad for the oodles of gifts crowded under the branches. But mainly I was feeling grateful for all the baubles and gems glittering away on the tree. The first time I celebrated Christmas away from home all I had was a tiny little tree (maybe a live one in a pot?) and a box of generic wooden toy ornaments. That was better than nothing, and very cute but still, not the same. It has now been ten years or so since I moved out and this year it really feels like I have my own grown up tree. For one thing it's big - 6.5 feet. For another, the adornments all have meaning to me. The wooden toys are still there, but after so many Decembers together, they have started to feel a lot less generic. There are the pale blue lantern-like glass ornaments I found at a hardware store (of all places) a few years ago. There is the silly sheep wearing stripy blue & white socks and stars on its head that I found when my brother and I went the the Christmas Shoppe in the Old Port when he came to visit. There are the lovely origami-paper-covered seashells from dear friends in Japan. There are the three silver stars that came from Andrea & Will's wedding. There is the airplane with a working propellar that my parents gave Adrien. There are all the elfish looking Santas I have collected here and there. There are the covorting ceramic snowmen (not actually on the tree, but near it, on my altar) which were painted by mom either when she was pregnant with me or when I was still just a wee thing. And there are this year's additions; sparkly mini-Christmas trees and hanging strings of beads made from the treasures mom gave me last time I was home. And so even though I was being a bit of a grouch yesterday (truth be told) I still ended the day gazing at a tree, encircled by dancing lights, and ladden with pleasant memories of my Christmases past.

I would love to post photos of my tree-of-wonder but alas my scanner is not working and so the photos I would be too lazy to get developed could not be transfered anyway. I have decided to splurge and get a digital camera soon, but I think I will wait for the post-holiday sales. Once I have my new camera I will be sure to take some pictures of the yule*tree before we take it down. Oh and some photos of Griffin in his Christmas collar (it is like a court jester's collar, green and red, with glittery stars and he LOVES it).

Photos: Snowtime in New York puzzle by Bill Bell; Montréal's Old Port in winter from Getty (Image Source Black?); Water drops on Spruce by Jon Tove Johansson (from Getty); Decorations on tree by VEER Ellen Denuto (from Getty); Candy cane and a Christmas bauble by Stefan Ek (from Getty); Christmas ball-girl by Patience Brewster; Santa dancing with the tree from Paper D'art; Christmas tree and stars by Michele Constantini (once again from Getty).

Smiling's my favorite

Whew! I think I am just as busy now as I was during my last two weeks of school, except that I am busy doing things that are thousands of times more enjoyable. I am working as hard as an Elf to get everything ready for Christmas. Since I have to mail my boxes (I hope that sending them tomorrow means they will make it!) that means I have to get all my shopping and handmade stuff done a bit earlier. Now, it is not like I am complaining. This is my favorite time of year! I have downloaded a ton of holiday movies and I have turned the living room into a craft-zone. I have more or less done my shopping already (did it yesterday), and at a time when there are a lot less grouchy, harried shoppers, so that is nice. Now I just have a few things left to do and then wrapping, boxing up and sending! I also did a bit of baking on Monday (I ♥ gingerbread) and tomorrow we get our tree. So from then on... well I can just relax and read a lot and enjoy the holidays! Well, and study for my exam next week, and take some extra shifts at work, and do that take-home-exam I have for next semester... man, can a snail-person ever get a break around here? : ) Obviously I could just do a lot less holiday stuff if I wanted more of a break, I don't HAVE to work like an elf. But where would the fun be in that?

Photo: Santa baking by Paper D'Art (they don't list the artist names on the website, but on the back of the cards I bought from them they list Reuben McHugh- he doesn't seem to have a webiste, but I think the Tim Burton-esque santas and snowmen he does are great).

My first Meme

I found this meme over at Boho girl's site, but it seems to have originated here at Colors on my mind.




Have you taken any dance classes in the past year that you loved?
I took ballet when I was little (hardly even remember it, although I do remember the five foot positions) and I signed up for belly dancing with a friend once but sadly we never ended up going. Like yoga, dance is one of the few forms of exercise that by body does not flat out reject. I enjoy dancing when I am home alone and sometimes I make Griffin (the cat) join in. Adrien is one of those people who has a panic attack if he is forced to dance in public, but we are working on it.

What is your favorite tea and where do you get it?
Right now my two favorite teas are green tea with jasmine and herbal orange spice. I am not that picky, I get my tea from the little market where I buy groceries or the yucky bigger stores when we end up there instead.

What is your favorite podcast? What do you love about it?
I have only ever listened to one podcast and that was to do with the last Harry Potter book this summer. Meh. Wasn't all that great, but it did help with my feverish need to hear what other HP geeks thought of the book.

What food did you love when you were a kid, that when you eat it as an adult it brings you back-carries so much more than just the flavor-but memories. And would you share a recipe?
Well... let's see. Barbecue salmon is one. Dad used to fish for salmon in the rivers near where I grew up (sometimes I would go too) and so we often had fresh salmon on the bbq. Snickerdoodles are another. And how could I ever eat chocolate without thinking of my mom? : )

What was the last thing you bought yourself?
As you can imagine, I haven't been doing a whole lot of consumer therapy lately. I think probably the last thing I bought myself that wasn't at least kind of a necessity was a book from a second-hand store. This book was a delightful serendipitous find, I had never heard of Carrie Mac before but now I am eager to read the rest of her stuff. Oh and some soft purple socks. I couldn't resist.
I am thinking of getting a digital camera once all of my student loans/bursaries are settled. I am quite jealous of all those gorgeous photo-filled blogs out there and I want to start posting my own photography too!

What color is your bedroom? Is it the nicest room in the house?
I don't have one! lol. We live in what is known by Montrealers as a two-and-a-half. Which is a large bachelor suite to most other folks. It is pretty big for what it is, we have a large living room/bedroom, a long hallway full of closets, a large kitchen (with room for a washer/dryer and a small table by the window) and a bathroom. Our "bedroom" consists of our bed (which Adrien designed and made by hand for us - so that is awe*fully neat) and a small black fabric room divider to separate it from the rest of the room. I guess you could say we have a bed-nook. As it is part of the living room, and that is the room I have spent the most time making cozy with wooden bookshelves and richly coloured throw pillows, yes it is the nicest.

Are you a better cook or baker?
I would have to say that I am a better cook, though I yearn to be an excellent baker. I think it is in the attitude. I see cooking as a necessary daily activity (we've all got to eat) and so I think of it as being "easy" to throw tasty meals together. I like eating and that makes it feel like creating good food should be intuitive (I know it isn't always). I rarely ever follow recipes, if only for the fact that I don't always have all the ingredients on hand. I do have a shelf full of luscious cook-books for inspiration though.
As for baking... I adore baked good. Especially cookies. And pie. And cake's not so bad either. Chocolate croissants... oooh and pudding! Ok, anyway. I love it, but you have to be a bit more precise about it for it to work properly. I improvise too much and sometimes that ends in disaster.
I adore reading good food blogs like Foodbeam (I am looking forward to trying out these coconut balls soon) and watching food-based tv like River Cottage, which is especially nice to watch because it is about his transformation from London Chef to Dorset small-holder.

What time do you go to bed usually and when do you wake up?
It depends, but generally during the week we go to bed around 11 and we get up around 7 or 8. On weekends we stay out a bit later so don't make to bed until around 1 or 2 and sleep in until 9 or 10. Sometimes Griffin objects and dances on our heads until we get up to wring his neck. Which of course we can never do because he is far too cute.

What sign are you? Do you know your rising and moon? When is your birthday?

I am a January 28 Aquarius, with my moon in Taurus. I have an Aquarian brain and a Taurean heart. So I am spacy, smart, imaginative and quirky but I am also stubborn, sensitive, defensive and kind. What was the last thing you said no to that felt like you were taking good care of yourself?

Well.... I had to say "no" to visiting my dear chum Andrea next week, mainly due to on-going money obstacles. Which doesn't quite feel like it qualifies, but I suppose in the sense that I am taking care of my finances it does. I also said "no" to doing my library volunteer work for the past two weeks in order to free up some time to get my school work done. That totally counts.

What is your happy place you go to in your mind when you need to close your eyes and take a moment for peace and calm?
The one that pops into my mind is what I think of when I am feeling car-sick. I think about the fizzy fireworks over-top of a freshly poured glass of 7up/sprite. I actually NEVER drink pop (except for a bit of ginger ale or ginger beer when I am sick) but the idea of that popping and sparkling from clear lemony soda seems to calm my tummy.
Otherwise, when I am picturing peacefulness and calm I imagine the coastal rainforests back home, and the sound of rain dripping from the deep green outstretched fingers of cedar giants onto a forest floor alive with moss and mushroom villages.

What is the thing that you are most interested in learning about right now?

You would think that, as a student, the last thing I want to do over the holidays is try to put something else in my already overflowing brain. But I do! I have been wanting for a while to learn the history of the British Isles. Sort of learning about my own ancestral history I suppose... and I know how much stuff gets left out of the history books, and how much is written from the perspective of the conquerors and all... but still. I would like to know a bit more about people like Empress Matilda and of course good Queen Bess and who doesn't want to know about Mary Queen of Scots. I'd like to know more about my family tree, and I'd like to learn about pre-historic Britain too.



So now I invite anyone who so desires to fill out this meme on their blog. The rule is that you have to add one question at the end, of your own invention. Of course I know that the majority of my readers don't actually have blogs and they don't even leave comments to let me know they are there! : P So if you don't have a blog but want to answer any or all of the questions above, please feel free to leave a comment with your juicy responses. (You don't have to have a blog to leave comments by the way.)

Photos: Snow falling on Christmas trees from Getty; Snickerdoodles by Redglassfire; Aquarius and Taurus by Susan Seddon Boulet; Camelot in winter by Bill Bell.

Blizzard

I woke up this morning inside a snow globe. How is it possible for the sky to ever drop enough of those minuscule flakes to so completely envelop the world? How many snowflakes fell last night and all throughout the day? It must be an impossible number.
When it snows this much it always makes me think of The Long Winter and all of the other Little House books. I can remember reading them, from a place where snow is rare and never copious, and finding it hard to truly envision a storm so bad that you have to tie a rope from the front door to your waist so that you don't get lost walking to the barn and back. Not that Montreal is Wisconsin in the 1800s or anything. Still. I should maybe be over Quebec/Ontario winters by now, this will be my 7th one out here after all... but I do not seem to be. I am always thrilled at the beginning of the season, like today, just so in awe of the way it keeps piling up and up and up, the way the world is transformed into an image like the one above by Bill Bell (titled, appropriately enough, December Snow), the way a whole row of parked cars can disappear into a snow-bank overnight ... the way it all has to be plowed, scooped up and trucked out of the city. (Where do they take it? The river?)
Earlier tonight I went downtown for class and I wrote a little on a scrap of paper I had handy:
"I am sitting by the window of a 2nd floor cafe and looking out at the city. I am in the heart of the shopping district so it is bustling and glittering out there. The building across the street has greenery framing the store-front windows, twined throughout with red and gold baubles, so gaudy that they are actually rather festive. Snow skims the lamp posts, carried on the breath of winter, throwing itself on rolling drifts below."
It always takes a few trips out to the bus-stop to remember the unique challenges of traveling short distances after heavy snows. It all depends on whether or not the sidewalks have been plowed. You may be walking in a glittery trough, between yards piled high on one side and car-sized snow mounts on the other. This is the best case scenario. If they haven't been plowed then you either have the choice of plunging into the mashed-potato snow half-way up your shins or else taking your chances walking in the road. If you don't want snow-crusted pants you will likely go with option two. Which is fine on a clear day, but if it is still blowing snow then you will not be able to open your eyes. But you might do it anyway, because the sidewalks are impassible, especially when the plows for the road use them as dumping grounds. And there you are... walking down the middle of an icy street with your eyes closed. lol.
But I digress... here I am almost complaining. This is still the time of year when the snow delights me. I far prefer this to the frigid cold, and I have been told that this winter will be colder by far than most. Eeeep.
I think my favorite time to walk through the snow is at night. This evening, thankfully, the sidewalks to my door had been plowed. The snow had blown back across them, making a rippling pathway that made me think of a sandy beach. It is cold enough that the snow squeaks a bit underfoot, and it glitters as you pass under the lamp-light.

The Season of Solstice Begins

Now that it is officially December I can finally embrace Solstice Fever. I actually think that NaBloPoMo should be in December, since I think I could easily write something everyday, or at least post one of the zillions of imagination-tickling pieces of holiday art I have collected on my hard-drive. Like the one here of elves and gnomes riding on a skate by David Wenzel. I will fully admit to my appreciation (read:obsession) of holiday themed creations, although I think I am a bit particular and if something seems overly saccharine (kittens with bows) I am generally not interested. Of course that is completely subjective, and so one person's "perfect!" is the next person's "gag!". None the less... I have collected lots of sites and pictures full of holiday cheer, and now that I have a blog I finally have something to do with them all (besides using them as my desktop backgrounds, which I hardly ever see anyway!). So. I am just letting you know that this will be a CHRISTMAS FRIENDLY ZONE for the next month or so. If you are of the Scrooge or Grinch variety of folk, you are still of course welcome but don't say I didn't warn you.