for auld lang syne

All in all, an amazing year of being in new places, meeting new people (thus making new friends), re-connecting with old ones, keeping old bonds & making them stronger, learning from my mistakes and applying myself to activities and endeavors in positive ways.

Here's to always improving, having a good attitude, and working hard - but not just because it's the new year!

vegemite

Here are shots of my sister sampling a bit of Vegemite on toast! Tastes and smells a like a blend of ale and soy sauce. I guess that's what the whole yeast extract thing's all about. Oddly delicious! Courtesy of two visiting Aussies, friends of a friend.

sunday with mama

This morning, I sewed back on one of the gold buttons that had fallen off a brown cashmere cardigan (made in Scotland!) that I've been wearing constantly these days. Cashmere is soo cozy.

Walked the dogs, then went to the Fairfax flea market where, put-off by the lame boutique stalls and vintage clothing/shoe stalls overrun by eager hipsters, I moseyed over to a used-book stall, full of Bukowski, Kafka, Hunter S. Thompson, Huxley, Whitman... etc. all arranged in neat rows and labeled with awesome prices. I snapped up The Trial, as I had discussed Kafka with Dan last night, as well as Tropic of Cancer, which I've been looking for for months now. The vendor looked at the books I handed him and said "Wow! Isn't this something! You know what's crazy? Not too long ago a fella came by and bought these two exact books like you are right now! What d'you know about this one (he taps Tropic of Cancer)" I tell him "It was banned!" and he goes "Yeah! For ten years or so! That guy didn't know that so he bought it when I told him, haha." I have a plan now, to read my books and then go back every week for more! Screw cute vintage clothing/shoes/accessories - I'll go to the Salvation Army for that :)

Dan lent me this amazing tome (it holds 50 Janus films, obviously) of which I've watched about 1/10, which I'm going to devour starting tonight. I smell an end-of-year movie marathon - hooray!

breakfast on x-mas

Mushroom soup from last night's dinner and a mini pumpkin pie. Holidays = good food.

merry christmas!

1. My sister holding a picture of herself as a preschooler during Christmastime.
2. BB and Max hunting for treats.
3. Presents! Wrapped and ready for delivery.
4. More pumpkin pies! delicious...
5. A painting of BB and Max I made for my stepdad, he liked it!

I hope everyone is enjoying their Christmas/winter break/holiday season! The warmth of the holiday comes about by food, friends, family and dogs!

die, elf hat!

Some shots of Max wreaking havoc on the elf hat I put on him yesterday. Poor thing, I will never attempt to do that again! Christmas Eve was great, with last-minute shopping for mom, delivering gifts and cooking Christmas dinner! It feels weird that I have nothing to get done now, so maybe that's why I am blogging...

legacy(?)

I asked my mom where my old water polo parka was. She said that she gave it to a fellow teacher whose daughter in high school started taking up water polo this year. My old coach spotted it on her and asked her how she came about it. The girl explained, and he apparently told her "That's a legacy parka you've got there." I was stunned. I was never the most skilled player on the team, but I worked my tail off to improve, swimming all the sets, blocking shots, eggbeater-ing like there was no tomorrow. I made captain my senior year, which was a total surprise to me, but coach said I showed extraordinary passion and dedication, and that he wanted me to lead by example. Now that I think about it, that's all I really worked hard for during my time in high school. It'd be great to get that drive back for my upcoming endeavors. Just an interesting anecdote that made me think of deeper things.

4:32 am friday december 4th, 48ºF outside and I'm inside wearing a big baggy thermal, flannel pj pants, wooly socks, & oversized moccasins while wrapped in my snowflake fleece blanket. My digits are cold, my eyes bleary, I have a handful of renderings to show for my project but I'm still working on the technical drawings... damn. can you say unmotivated? designing all the way up to the last minute and still not really sure what this thing is about. this is going to be disastrous unless I crank out some good, solid diagrams but right now, all I can think about it curling up on the couch or on my bed for a quick little nap. my back hurts and my neck's stiff, a little nap can't hurt, right? time to set three alarms and after I finish this rendering maybe I will settle for a tiny bit of shut-eye...