Thanks to the internets AND the Canucks, Sarah Harris found me while searching for some Canucks blogs (I think). The thing is, she lives in the UK and loves the hockey! I’ve never met Sarah in person, but she’s sent me cool stuff from Jolly Old England – like this awesome Will and Kate totebag – and we’re buddies online. One day I will meet her in person – I’m sure of it – but today, I got to see her sketchbook in The Sketchbook Project. It’s a tour of hundreds? Thousands? So many art books created by people all over the world.

I made the most of my half hour visit – they have a tight schedule and have to close up at 7 pm. I didn’t leave until 7:20, actually, so they gave me a break/I kept holding up the show. Would you like to see the books I got to see? Here you go!

You can see more beautiful pages out of the art books right here.

I just may stop on my way home from work tomorrow, too.

Lelainia met me at the event and I took her photo with her traveling sketchbook.

Her book is about to carry on to Los Angeles…Oakland…Toronto…Atlanta…

Glorious!

On my way back from taking some documents to their destination on Burrard Street, I spotted this horse and carriage and HOPED it was for a gypsy wedding! Finally! My dream of shooting a gypsy wedding would be realized and all I will have left on my dream wedding photo list will be a winter wedding where the bride and all the bridesmaids wear both capes AND muffs, like this! Please! If you’re out there! And you’re looking for the perfect photographer to shoot your capes and muffs wedding, PLEASE CALL ME! I’m standing by for your call!

Sadly, no gypsy wedding in sight for me. I think it was just for a movie because this horse ‘n buggy was parked right outside a government building. Ah boo. Oh man, if Johnny Depp was in this movie, I’m going to be so sad because I could have had my other photo dream paparazzi shoot fulfilled! In my dream, I wouldn’t be chasing him or anything, he just waves at me, makes direct eye contact and walks away. And that’s it. I wouldn’t have to talk to him or anything – perfect for me!

Dare to dream.

In other news, I accidentally created a photo of Howe Street that makes it look like I took it at least 60 years ago.

Whoa. My camera + computer = time machine!

It was a lovely day today. In fact, it’s time to get the fans out of the garage! It was pretty warmish in the house when I got home from work! Yeehaw! It’s summer time.

Strawberry season is right around the corner! Come on sunshine! We want big juicy ones!

It feels like SUMMER!

Today I opened up the balcony door in the kitchen, slid the screen door over, put the dishwasher and the laundry basket in front of the screen door so that I wouldn’t have any escapees to tend with and we all enjoyed the warm air and the sunbeams. Oscar found his favourite one and just laid there, only opening his eyes up when he thought I may be getting close to the treat drawer.

Ahhh…another leisurely weekend….

…only solutions” – John Lennon. Someone shared this quote with me today and I had never heard that before. I think this is a good perspective to have because I must confess…my craft room door has never been heavier. My sewing machine peddle has never been more stuck. And my crochet hooks and knitting needles have never been stiller. Time to get into the solution and finish up that big scrappy string quilt I started 3 or 4 months ago.

I took this photo tonight and I’m not sure why The Sails are all lit up in these colours – they’re usually just white. It must be fancy night at Canada Place!

I’ve spotted some Terracotta Warriors this week in various states of paintedness. They are a huge step up from those painted bears from years gone by.

If I were to paint a picture of Donner and Oscar swatting and batting each other, this is exactly how I would paint it – if I could paint, that is. Since I can’t, I sure am glad this artist painted these tigers slapping each other.

RAWR!

I should have taken a photo of the placard, but I’m pretty sure the artist is Kathy Zhang and the warrior is named “TWELVE”. I’ll verify this because I should be more diligent giving credit where credit is due. I’ll go back and do that.

In other news, I’m getting used to my new schedule – riding a half empty bus to and from work. It’s awesome. Even the streets are quieter just an hour or so after most people get off work. Tonight the weather was warm and smelled like almost summer. Fresh, warm, air.

At this time of year, I’m almost tulip-ed out, but I not where there’s a bowler hat involved in the background. I am REALLY enjoying seen the trendy men out and about these days. I cannot get enough of their bow ties, their high water pants, and their oldy-time hats. Quite enjoyable. Maybe an artist decorated a Terracotta Warrior as a groovy hipster. I will keep my eyes peeled for that one!

Yesterday, on our way back to the car, we spotted a gaggle of groovy hipsters walking across the street. I wished more than anything I had my long lens with me so I could get a close up of his jacket, but since the best camera is the one you have with you, I did my best with my short, manual focus lens. I also used the zoom function in the photo editing software. WE do have the technology.

Floods really are in style these days! Dude completely pulled this whole look off. I admire his confidence.

I think Don Cherry would want this jacket. And so does this guy’s friend. Why is she biting his sleeve? I can’t explain it.

Speaking of biting…this graffiti was on the wall (spotted by Lelainia – I walked right by it. GAH!) in the alley behind the Opus store.

Danger Sharks, indeed! Shark Week in the alley off Hastings!

I’ve been no a real streak of fun, lovely, and happy adventures lately. I attended Vivienne‘s demo today where she shared her Polaroids and showed us how she tricked the cameras into making double exposures. All that means is that you take two photos in one frame. The results are dreamy, overexposed and a bit ghostly. This is my favourite double exposure I made today.

That’s the Woodwards Condo building mixed with some graffiti from a nearby alley.

Vivienne also let us use a Polaroid with some black and white film. I’ve never used that before. I gave it a whirl. I liked the results, but I somehow made the photos underexposed, so all my photos came out very dark.

Are they chairs? Or is this art? It’s chairs, double exposed. I like how it turned out. I think it turned out dark because I took this inside. But I can’t explain why this one turned out so dark.

Graffiti in the dark? Or in the shade, I guess.

I also learned how I can turn my digital camera into, well, basically, a pinhole camera, which is cool and ridiculous at the same time. I didn’t try too many of those photos today, the Polaroids were way too much fun. I’ll try those photos with my own camera later.

After the demo was over, Lelainia and I roamed the nearby alley and I took two photos to mix together on Photoshop once I got home.

This isn’t a real double exposure, but 2 photos layered on top of each other. But I’ll remember to use this technique more often! It’s fun!

And here I am in ghostly, double exposure Polaroid style.

Booo! I make a spooky, smiley ghost!

I’ve been having a great couple of days and this evening was a complete surprise. I was invited by Lelainia to go to a book signing and I met her at a cute little tea shop in Vancouver after work. They had a lovely spread of French bread, cheese and salamis and I met the author of this book called, The Pulse of Mixed Media. Seth was so friendly, it seemed like I’d known him for much longer that the few minutes I spoke with him.

I’m so glad Lalainia invited me, because not only did I meet Seth, I also met a photographer, Vivienne McMaster, and laughed and chatted and totally networked! By accident! And it was most excellent. I picked up a copy of the book and will read it on the bus tomorrow.

Added bonus – Attention Sarah Harris! Seth Apter told me to tell you, Hello! He really did!

ADDED, ADDED BONUS:

The May desktop calendars are ready!

Here’s mine:

Here’s Cynthia’s:

Here’s Scout’s:

Enjoy!

In a surprise move at the job today, I was asked if I’d consider working from 10 am to 6:30 pm. YES PLEASE! Woohoo! I start my new schedule tomorrow morning, so I celebrated tonight by going out for sushi with my buddy Iris, had some birthday cake with another pal, and then toodled off to pick up Mike for his 10:30 pick up and now I’m up way past my usual bedtime. It’s okay! I don’t have to be on the bus until 9:10 tomorrow morning. Hooray!

As my friend, Iris, put it, “That job really suits your circadian rhythm.” Boy howdy, does it ever.

Speaking of circadian rhythms, we solved the mystery of the thumping at 5:30 in the morning. One morning it was so loud, Mike thought someone was trying to break into the garage. He got up to check, but everything was safe and sound. It happened a few days in a row…and then, Mike sent me the link to this video and I put it all together.

Oscar hadn’t gotten into the full run and smash mode when we figured this out, but he was definitely bulldozing the kitty robot with his head – I had seen him doing that before. The running full throttle would be the next phase of his attack on the food dispenser, I’m sure. I’ve seen him run straight at the laundry basket and push it until it nearly tips over, so I’m pretty sure he was just in training for kitty robut bust of 2012. SO, the kitty robut has been put behind closed doors and now there’s no punching in the mornings.

Now he just rubs his paws on the closest door he can find and makes crying sounds for his breakfast. So that’s much better.

At 6:00 am.

Oscar is going to have to learn to sleep in a little bit.

I finally mowed the front lawn after work today. It looked like it could rain any minute, so I thought I may have to stop mid-way through. But no such luck. I had to do the whole thing.

But I did find some good luck out in the back “yard”. I use that word lightly because the back area of the house is mostly driveway and a long patch of overgrown plants and weeds and dead organic material. Every time I park the car I think I should really get out the weed whacker and just mow it down to the dirt. But not after what I spotted today amongst the Horsetails. These plants have been around since the dinosaurs. KOOL! Old school plants! I noticed a few last year, but this year? They’re taking over. It’s fine by me because when I was pulling the lawn mower out of the garage, a hummingbird flew out of those Horsetails! I had heard there were hummingbirds around our part of Burnaby, but I never expected to see one in our driveway!

So, while the back area looks like a jungle, I’m going to barely clean it up and see if I can spot the little hummingbird again. I think this means I should pick up a hummingbird feeder and start to camp out in the back area. I didn’t get a photo of the bird today – she was FAST – and I think it was a she because it was all brown, no fancy colours.

I also found this pretty plant in amongst the vines and stuff out back.

There were other small birds in the plants back there today – bigger than hummingbirds and smaller than chickadees. Maybe they are finches? We’ll find out soon enough!