Relay For Life - please consider sponsoring me?

My mom died of cancer in 1989; it's strange when I think that this happened when she was only seven years older than I am now. I've thought of her so many times since then, imagined so many conversations we would have had. I remember feeling so helpless, watching her die, frustrated that there was nothing I could do. Since then, I've seen other loved ones taken by cancer (like my Aunt Agnes and my grandmother) as well as those of friends and family.

This year, I've signed up for Relay For Life, an event run by The Canadian Cancer Society, intended to be a celebration of survival and a tribute to the lives of loved ones who have been touched by cancer. My cousin Daniel is organizing our team (Team Hope), and we'll be take turns running and walking for 12 hours in an overnight non-competitive relay on Friday, June 22nd, rain or shine.





My music group, Urban Tapestry, performed at Relay For Life in 2002, and we found the event emotionally moving as well as inspiring. Here's a photo that my friend Reid took at the event:



I'd be grateful if you'd consider sponsoring me. ANY donation amount, no matter how small, would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Here's more info about Relay For Life:





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The battle continues....

Our friends Trish and Walter were over this afternoon, and while describing my recent run-in with the local squirrels, Jeff found yet another abused seedling that the squirrels had dug up.

ARGH. The chipotle pepper did seem to be working until there was a thunderstorm and the rain washed the pepper away.

The battle in the garden continues...






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Self-referential signs

Above: Self-referential signage. Photo by Jeff.



I'm delighted to report that it looks like I may be writing for BlogTO. I'll be posting mainly in their Food & Drink and Books & Lit sections, occasionally in others.

For those not familiar with the site, BlogTO focuses on Toronto culture including the arts, music, film, fashion and food, supported by a collective of more than 20 contributors.



For Tanya Huff fans, my friend Walter has pointed out that Tanya will be at Bakka-Phoenix (697 Queen St. W, Toronto) today to promote her newly released hardcover, "The Heart of Valor", starting at 3 pm. Jeff and I are hoping to go, but we also have a family commitment later today which may conflict. In case you missed it, I recently interviewed Tanya for Inkygirl.

Links O' The Day

Artlogs.org: If you have a blog where you post art of any kind (not just drawings, but also music, comics, photos, videos, crafts, etc.), you can register your blog for free. For those who appreciate any of the above-mentioned activities, this site is a great place to find artsy blogs.

Google Maps Street View: I *so* hope they do this for Toronto! If you're outside of North America, here's how you can access this view.




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Demon squirrels strike again!

So I've spent about a month eagerly getting seeds, planting them carefully in mini peat pots (the kind that start as pellets but grow when you add water), watching excitedly for the first sprouts to appear, carefully nurturing the seedlings, hardening them off on the back deck to get them used to being outside, then transplanting them to lovingly-prepared beds and planters.

Only to find the seedlings dug up the next day, or even hours later, tossed cruelly aside to bake in the hot sun. Sometimes the seedlings disappear altogether, with the occasional bit of peat pot or a few pitiful roots left behind as a taunting reminder of what I once had.

I suspected squirrels, but wasn't sure until I actually caught one of them climbing into one of my outdoor herb planters and starting to dig. Grrr. A couple of days ago, I found the same plants dug up THREE TIMES ON THE SAME DAY(a mint and a morning glory seedling). I replanted the seedling each time. The third time, the seedling disappeared for good.

I have sprinkled some chipotle pepper powder around those plants; I've heard that bloodmeal also works, but it also stinks. One of my friends helpfully suggested that if we lived in medieval times, it might have helped to chop off one of the squirrel's heads that I could stick on a pike as a message to others.

Hopefully the chipotle pepper will do the trick.

We'll see...

(insert sound of pike sticks being sharpened here)

Link O' The Day: Nerd Jewellry!

I don't wear make-up or have the usual obsession with clothing or shoes that many women share, but I do confess a weakness for earrings, especially nerdy ones like those above. The description on Etsy starts off "Make sure you don't walk around without a properly formatted Head."

:-D

Anyway, they're sadly sold out, probably because they were popular on Digg (which is how I found out about them). But what a GREAT idea for jewellry.






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Cora the Adventure Doll, Tom Smith & Babylon Five

Cora, for those of you who don't know, is a doll that came with a Happy Meal I ordered from MacDonald's ages ago. She's very homely. Her hair is lopsided with unsightly stubble in places, and she has plastic undies. As soon as I saw her, I was immediately torn between (1) cherishing her forever, and (2) tossing her in the nearest waste bin. I opted for the former because well, we all have a little Cora in us, don't we?





Cora has accompanied me on many adventures. At the cottage, she nearly ended up in a watery grave when I accidentally (it was an accident! I swear!) dropped her in the lake. Jeff heroically rescued her:





Anyway, here are the latest Cora pics, all taken during FilKONtario weekend:

Video O' The Day: "Five Years"

I tried watching Babylon Five when the pilot was aired but hated it and never came back. So many people have raved about the series, though, that I think I'm going to give it another shot. Maybe then I'll be able to understand the references in this video:



:-D

The song is a parody of "One Week," words by the world's fastest filker, Tom Smith. Video courtesy OzShadow in Australia. You can find more info about Tom in his Web site, including a link to his Song A Week project. Tom's next concert is at Duckon in Chicago (June 8-10th).





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