Have you been reading?

I've been in the mood to read lately. I've always loved to read, but when things get busy it can take me a while to get through a book. Unlike Chris, who goes through a novel a week, I can't read on the way to and from work because I get sick. Once in a while I try again but I usually end up coming close to throwing up on the bus.

The other night I picked up three books, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, The Kite Runner and The Crossing.

I started The Curious Incident when I got home that evening, and finished it the next morning. This is a fun read! In case you're not familiar with it, it is written from the perspective of a young man who is autistic. It's funny, sad and enlightening. I've worked with autistic people in the past, and became familiar with behaviours that are typical of them. However, I never really understood why they did some of the things they did. For example, I became used to limits when it came to personal space and I knew with some individuals not to initiate physical contact because it seemed to cause a certain discomfort. But it remained unclear to me why touching someone even just lightly on the shoulder, could be such a big deal. This novel really helped illustrate how someone with autism sees the world. Plus there's a little mystery in there too...

I'm about two thirds of the way through The Kite Runner, and so far I have mixed feelings about it. I really enjoyed the first half but feel there's something lacking as the story progresses. The first half of the book was quite emotional and the plot moved pretty quickly, and so I think this may have made up for the author's so-so writing (I'm one to talk, eh, being so articulate myself :) I find myself getting a little frustrated at the simplicity of the writing and I find things a little overly-explained at times. I was actually a bit hesitant about buying this book because it was so popular and there's so much hype around it. I'm one of those people who doesn't want to read something just because everyone else is reading it... Silly, I know.

I'm curious about the Crossing. I have a feeling it may be more of a challenge than the other two.

Another book I finished recently, What Is the What, is worth reading. Written from the perspective of a Sudanese refugee, it's very eye-opening to say the least. If you're looking for something gritty and documentary in style though, this isn't it; it's rather polished and poetic, with a focus on story-telling. Actually, although I do appreciate these aspects of the novel, I felt at times that this detracted from the story--I sometimes felt separated from the events taking place, as though I was hearing the story from someone who had heard it from someone else. I really didn't feel like I was there with the main character.

Chris recently read a novel by Michael Chabon called Wonderboys and really liked it. I think he read it within a day or two.

I hope you have time to snuggle up and read too.

While we were there

A few things we saw while out in the country,



Chris and I were out on the deck looking at the rainbow when we noticed that Chris's brother in law had accidentally driven his mum's car into the ditch across the street,





A little squirrel running across the field,



I wish I had been there to see this pretty fox in the yard, but at least I have a photo.

Happy Holidays

I hope you're all having a nice holiday! We returned from Chris's family's place yesterday, and today I thought I would take a few pictures of the projects I've been working on secretly for weeks.

A few months ago Chris mentioned that a "space ship quilt" would be nice. At first I couldn't think of anything space-ship-like that would lend itself to a quilt. Then Chris drew me a zeppelin/blimp-like thing one day, and I was able to see how it might work. Many of the fabrics I used are thrifted and worn, so I thought I'd try and make it look a bit old-fashioned and old, like a family heirloom. The back is a white cotton sheet, and I added some white to the top to keep it light and airy. I mainly worked on it when he wasn't home, and told him it was for his mum, and I guess I really did fool him because Christmas morning he was surprised when I told him it was for him. Ha ha, gotcha.

I'm happy to have it done, and happy that Chris likes it. I think I will redo the binding at some point though, because it's really pretty sloppy.





It's impossible to see in this (horribly blurry) picture, but there's a little flag at the top that says "Chris's Blimp" written on it.



This sock monkey was a last minute thing, and I barely had time to finish it (I actually brought it to work with me the day I left for his parents' place so I could work on it before opening the store). He has a little back pack with a love letter in it from Sock Monkey Tere. This of course is Sock Monkey Chris. It was really important that he get this for Christmas because I wanted him to have it for when I--I mean Sock Monkey Tere-- leaves to go overseas.





We had a very nice and very fun holiday. It was very entertaining to have four little kids running around, one of which rolled down a flight of stairs and then later flew down the banister...:-)

Portraits at twilight

I love seeing other people's self portraits, since I'm always curious about them and what they look like, having "listened" to their voice on an almost daily basis. However, I've also been reluctant to post too many pictures of myself on my blog, I think for fear of seeming self absorbed. This is odd because I never think of people as self absorbed when they post self portraits.

I've read a few posts on others' blogs about self portraits lately though, and I'm intrigued. I'm interested in the value that these images can have when we look at them at a later date. In analyzing a portrait of yourself that you took, the way you would analyze someone else's for clues about that person's life and personality, I wonder what you would find.





I could spend hours looking at a photo of someone, even if I don't know them! It's as though I feel like if I'm careful I'll be able to find a hole in the photo, through which I can sneak into and discover exactly what they were thinking at that moment. I also find myself wondering about the mundane aspects of the person's life before the photo was taken; what did they eat for breakfast, did they select that outfit with the intention of being photographed early that morning, was the predominant thought of the day to do with a lingering headache...and did it cross their mind that at some moment twenty or fifty years later someone would be looking at this photo of them wondering these things? The mental space given to this small event having shrunk and shrunk until the memory of having had this photograph taken was all but pushed out of the person's mind all together as the days and years wore on.
And yet, it survives in this piece of paper, for me to look at!

Owls

"The Owl that lives in the old oak tree
Opens his eyes and cannot see, when it's clear to you and me;
But not long after the sun goes down
And the church clock strikes in Tarrytown
And Nora puts on her green nightgown,
He opens his big bespectacled eyes
And shuffles out of the hollow tree,
And flies and flies
and flies and flies
And flies and flies
and flies and flies."






Sometimes I get so excited about projects that I jump right in, doing things out of order and in not-so practical ways. I was all excited about making Christmas decorations and had decided to make felt stuffed trees...and then I saw these at Moonstitches I fell in love with them and made myself a garland. However, because of their bellies being made out of printed fabric, I decided the letter tags would look a bit busy, so I omitted them, and now I have a regular decoration and not a Christmas decoration!
Oh bother.

The little poem above is by Willam Jay Smith. I was actually hoping to find something owl-related by Leonard Cohen, but not luck. I've been thinking about Leonard Cohen lately. A few weeks ago I heard him speak on CBC radio and thought he was so modest and interesting to listen to. Then last week I decided to read some of his writing online, and thought of maybe getting one of his books at some point..and then, that same day as I was looking through the cooking section of the bookstore, I turned around and there was one of his books!
Weird.....

No flake white life

"WARNING:

May be harmful if swallowed. Cancer causing agent based on experimental data. Exposure may cause harm to the developing fetus. Exposure may cause damage to the testes or difficulty with reproduction (child bearing). Exposure may cause nervous system, kidney or bone marrow damage. Contains lead, soluble lead. "

I'm thinking of maybe switching to acrylic. Or gouache or ink. Believe it or not it has less to do with the toxicity of oil paint, than just needing a change. I've been painting with oil since I was a kid, being the Bob Ross fan that I was. Like so many things in life (in mine anyway) I think we do them because that's what we're used to. I'm realizing that I've been making the same kind of paintings because I figured if I stuck with it I'd get better, but maybe I'd be better at something else? I tell myself life is short, pick one thing. But the thing is, life is short and I can't afford to miss out on anything. I also think that when you work with a different medium, it inevitably influences how you work with another, which is interesting.

I've been inspired lately to try different things, and to just play, without worrying about there being a purpose or an end to what I'm doing. Hanna has reminded me how to do this. Her journals are so refreshing and inspiring, and her cat Smilla is so much fun to look at.

The mushrooms I've been working on are all done and will go to the gallery in the morning.






Next I've been thinking of continuing with the small canvases, and maybe doing monsters. I'll try them in acrylic and see how it goes. Besides painting, I've been doing a bit of sewing, and I'll post some of that tomorrow. I've also been working on a secret project (this time of year means lots of secrets and it's so much fun!) that hopefully I'll be able to post about soon.

I hope you're all having a nice evening : )