fame :-)

Sorry, only a quick blathering because we're leaving in a few minutes. Got my contributor's copy of the 1999 Writer's Market today. Woohoo! Check out my photo and profile on p95 under "Tips For Tapping Online Writing Markets". Also, Inkspot got a nice review in the most recent issue of Yahoo!Internet Life (Sept/98, p114) and was also mentioned in Poet and Writer's magazine (haven't seen this yet, but was told about it). Have a great weekend, everyone!

cottage

Loads of fun at the cottage with Ruth, Kaarel & kids. Both Sara (4) and Annie (1) looooved it. Sara caught her first fish! Sara asked Jeff to teach her how to fish on their first night, and Jeff showed her how to fish off the dock. She used a lure, and shocked everyone when she actually got a bite! While Jeff finished reeling the fish in, Sara ran around excitedly looking for the bucket. They put the fish (a small bass) into the pail and everyone admired it, then Sara put it back into the lake. She was very into the fishing thing for the rest of the weekend, pretending she was a fish while Uncle Jeff used a string tied onto the end of a piece of kindling to try to catch her, etc. Annie loooved the motorboat. She hated having to wear a life jacket until she saw Sara wearing one...she's very into copying Sara these days. She still calls me BeeBee. Annie uses a lot of one-word sentences now, some two-word. Her favourite game with me was for me to lift her into the air, Superman style, with her arms and legs sticking out while she yelled, "FLY! FLY!" Then she'd say, "Down", which was my cue to gently lower her to the floor. Sara's favourite weekend game with me was the "princess leaving the castle, much to the dismay of her father, the king" game.

Example:

SARA: My dear family, I must go, never to return.

ME: Oh my darling daughter! Please don't go!

SARA (dramatically): I must.

ME (sobbing dramatically): Oh please no! I will miss you so much!

SARA: I am going now...

ME: My daughter!

SARA: There, I'm gone. I'm here in this house with the door closed.

ME: Oh, let me open the door...

SARA: Sorry, it's locked.

ME: Good thing I have the key!

SARA (grabbing 'key' in delight): No, you don't!

ME: Then I will have to use the window...

SARA (making slamming motions): The window's shut!

ME: Then I'll have to use this rock to break it open...

SARA (giggling furiously now): No, I'm taking the rock away from you!

HER FATHER (who is watching amusedly nearby): Here, Debbie, you can use this axe...

SARA: No! I'm taking the axe away!

etc.etc.

More cottage stories later this week.

Going to the Film Festival with my friend Craig tonight...we're seeing a film called "The Siege".

Officemusic: Jimmy Buffet's FRUITCAKE.

ookla/ut concert

Allison's Confusion Report is online!
The pic above is from the Ookla/UT concert (thanks to Scott Snyder for taking the picture).
Scott, by the way, is going to be my Official Inkspot Web Guru Guy, helping me keep Inkspot updated. I was getting desperate for help...so Scott wins this week's TECHNOHERO AWARD, with all the fame and glory that entails (if you're not sure what that means, ask David Goulden :-) ).

Had dinner at my sister's and her husband's last night. Sara is really into Ariel these days (the Little Mermaid). She finished dinner early and spent the rest of it pretending to be Ariel, swimming under the table. A bit earlier I had presented her with her own Ariel mermaid doll (I saw the other doll that Sara had been mooning over...$60! She was in a wedding dress and had a flower girl and probably wouldn't last for more than a week or so, I'd wager). Sara looooved it and insisted on clutching the package all the way home in the car, even after she fell asleep.

UT practice tonight...we're going to start going over repertoire for our concert at the North York Public Library next month (Downsview branch, Sat. Feb. 21, 2-2:45 pm, (416) 395-5720).

jeff and adele

Sorry for the lack of blatherings yesterday...I'm feeling a wee bit overwhelmed by work these days. :-( Hoping to be able to go out for dinner with Jeff and his friend Adele tonight, but depends on how things go today. On a more positive note: looks like I'm going to be able to upgrade to a G3 soon!

toronto film festival

Decided to go out last night anyway. :) We ate at Forkchops near Bloor and Yonge, then joined Craig and other friends at the theatre to see WAKING NED DEVINE. Really enjoyed this flick! Reminded me a lot of Local Hero. It should be coming out in regular theatres in late November; I'll probably go see it again. The Q&A session was great, both Kirk Jones (director) and Ian Bennan (sp? lead actor in the movie, played Robert the Bruce's evil father in BRAVEHEART) were highly entertaining. Craig ran into Drew Barrymore in the lobby! By the way, also enjoyed the movie I saw with Craig on Monday. It was renamed BESEIGED (formerly THE SIEGE) shortly before coming to the Festival because Bernardo Bertolucci found out that an action movie was coming out called THE SIEGE. Very unusual love story, like the last half more than the first half. Bernardo and his screenwriter wife gave a Q&A after. I believe that David Cronenberg was in the audience. I kind of regret only signing up for two films at the Toronto Film Festival...will probably sign up for more next year. Craig is going to be seeing about FORTY in ten days. His film festival reports (highly entertaining! even Ebert likes them!) will be posted on his website eventually.

Adam English is in town with a friend! Jodi and Allison are coming downtown and we're all going out for dinner.