Illustration Friday, Ninja dolls and sewing classes

I created the above comic for Illustration Friday. This week's topic: "Punchline." I've put this cartoon (minus the Illustration Friday text) on a blank greeting card in my Cafepress Card Shop. I figure it would be a good card for situations where you don't know whether to laugh or cry. :-)

Thanks to Mo Sew for featuring my Menagerie paintings from my Etsy shop in his blog, by the way.

Speaking of Etsy shops...




Woohoo, Ryan Couldrey has finally launched his Ninjadolls Etsy site! Now for sale: Infected Pink Ninja (pictured above), Sad Yellow Ninja, Baby Blue 3D Monster Movie Lover Ninja, and Grey Piratized Ninja. $25-30 plus $5 shipping.



Above: Peter, underwater.

There seems to be something going around, yikes. I had already mentioned that Tom Smith had a bad fall. I just found out that my friend Peter fell off a ladder and ended up in the hospital with a bad concussion. Fortunately it looks like he's ok.



Hey, look what I discovered about Google Maps. I have to make the time to fully explore all the cool stuff in Google one of these days. I discovered that I can view my map via Photos in addition to the other views. How cool. Photos were uploaded via Panoramio, which I had never heard of before. I'd be tempted to sign up except I really REALLY don't need another timesink in my life. I wish there was some way to hook up my Flickr photos instead, ah well.

Anyway, I'm past Buffalo in my Virtual Con Walk and am now beelining for Columbus, OH.

Had fun in my second sewing class last night...only one more to go. I sewed the bigger pieces of my altered dress together and did a fitting in front of the class. Lo and behold, the dress actually fits. Altering the pattern BEFORE I sew rather than after the piece is finished is definitely the way to go. I just hope I can do it on my own, when my instructor isn't coaching me along the way.

I'm thinking of eventually taking the Alterations course once I have more experience. The instructor says I'm definitely ready for the Intermediate course, so I may do that later this year. Anyway, I'll post a photo of the dress once I've finished it.

I'm learning a ton in this class, mainly from the little tips and shortcuts that my instructor does naturally as she answers questions and helps us. I'm sure you experienced sewing types out there know them already, but I feel like a sponge right now, soaking up as much as I can.

It's also fun being in the same room as other people who are sewing. The sound of all the sewing machines and sergers (we did SERGING last night, too!) is comforting, I find. There's music playing in the background and friendly chitchat, plus the occasional cursing (when we screw up).

If you're in the Toronto area and interested in taking sewing classes, you should definitely check out the Sew Be It Studio website. I notice that they also offer specialty courses in topics like beading applique, corset making, leatherwork (!!! tempting !!!!), bra making, coat couture, among others. I walk to and from class; it's a good 5k walk and I listen to audiobooks and podcasts en route.




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Niagara-on-the-Lake trip

Every year for the past 14 years, Ginny has treated Jeff and me to a Niagara-on-the-Lake trip that includes a play at the Shawfest in Niagara-on-the-Lake. We always stay at the same bed and breakfast, a lovely house with a gorgeous back garden, run by an older couple. Sadly, the husband passed away since our last visit but his wife was just as gracious as hostess as always.



This year we saw "Getting Married" by Bernard Shaw. I enjoyed the play, though not as much as some of the others we've seen in the past. The production has some clever and fast-pasted dialogue, I especially liked a vibrant and fascinating character played by Laurie Paton.

There's something about live plays that can't be duplicated by watching a movie. It's not just the play itself, but intimacy of the whole experience...the sets and costumes (with no help from computer graphics!) and live actors performing right in front of you, knowing there's no chance to re-do a scene or fix a flubbed line after the fact.



I wore the new butterfly top that I made recently, with the beads sewn in by hand. I ended up adding some black bias tape to the neckline and armholes for a neater finish, and was quite pleased with how it turned out. I wish I had remembered to ask Ginny or Jeff to take a photo. :-(

After the play, we strolled down the main street and peeked into some of the shops. I found myself fingering some of the clothes to try to figure out how they were made, examining the seams and stitching. I'm such a sewing nerd.



For dinner, Ginny took us to Peller Estates, where we all decided to have the Red Wine Tasting meal. Six courses, with five of them paired with a different wine. Each course consisted of a small but exquisitely presented portion:



1. Baco Noir Cured Elk Bresaola: Pear, Endive and Chevre Noir Salad. Wine: Baco Noir "Private Reserve" 2006. Really liked this wine!

2. Smoked Char on Rye: Smoked Arctic Char, Cured Bacon, Asparagus Tarar with Toasted Rye. Wine: Gamay Noir "Private Reserve" 2006.

3. Slow Roasted Magret Duck Breast: Grape Mustard, Mushroom Ravioli and Glazed Savagine. Wine: Merlot "Andrew Peller" 2002.

4. Frost (a delicious and refreshing crushed ice flavoured with a type of ice wine whose name I forget plus cardamom -- supposed to clear the palate)

5. Cabernet Braised Beef: Niagara Spring Vegetable Meritage, Bone Marrow Jus. Wine: Cabernet Savignon "Andrew Peller" 2002. My favourite course, though the duck was a close second. The beef was soooooo tender!

6. Chocolate Cherry "Potsticker": Chocolate soup, Pastry Pops. Wine: Cabernet Franc Icewine "Andrew Peller" 2006. The Pastry Pops were actually pop rocks (!) that we were supposed to sprinkle into the small cup of chilled chocolate soup before drinking it. Great fun. :-D We all -loved- the icewine; Jeff and I ended up buying two bottles as well as a bottle of the Baco Noir from the first course, and some Chardonnay.

It was an excellent meal with fantastic service, and Chef Jason Parsons graciously agreed to sign a copy of the menu for me afterward.

Thanks so much for a wonderful trip, Ginny!





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Tom Smith

Just found out that my friend Tom Smith badly injured his leg this past weekend and had to be operated on. The surgery went fine, but he's out of commission for a while. :-(

As I've mentioned in an earlier post, Tom makes his living as a full-time songwriter and musician. Unfortunately because of this accident, he's had to cancel a bunch of upcoming gigs...this is exactly the sort of thing a fulltime musician DREADS happening. And Tom has no health insurance.

Please do visit Tom's 'Buy Stuff' page and consider downloading and paying for some of his music, which ranges from 75c up to $9.99. The page has lots of sample excerpts you can listen to for free. Most individual songs are 99 cents each.

If you don't want to buy anything but would like to show your support, even in a very small way, please do consider throwing something into Tom's Virtual Open Guitar Case.

Leslie is posting updates in Tom's Livejournal, for those interested, and his LJ also gives details on what happened.



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Rainjoy

Yay for rain! Hopefully it'll take the edge off the recent heat wave. I went out yesterday in the fiercest part of the downpour, on the way to the subway station. I had an umbrella but a few minutes later I was soaked anyway; a car speeding through a nearby puddle sent a big sheet of water that hit me full on. I gasped...then started laughing; I'm sure the people huddled in a nearby bus shelter must have thought I was crazy.

But at that point I figured, what's the point of getting mad? The water was warm and actually quite refreshing after the damp mugginess earlier in the day. With an extra change of clothes in my backpack (which was covered by a waterproof cover recently given to me by my Dad from Japan), I figured I might as well enjoy the experience.

So I didn't bother trying to find a way around the huge rushing streams of water as I crossed the road; I just waded through it all in my sandals. It was a tad damp sitting in the subway car, but I was wearing my camping shorts from Mountain Co-op and they were almost dry by the time I got downtown and met Jeff. I had on the top I wore in Urban Tapestry's concert at Balticon, which is actually a quick-dry sports top that my sister bought me for my birthday. I -love- clothes that are comfortable and practical as they are nice-looking.

Jeff's dad and our friend Harry hadn't arrived at Starfish yet, so I took a few minutes to change into a swirly black skirt I had rolled up in my backpack, and drag a comb through my hair. Ta-dah! Ready for an evening out. I am so not a normal Girly-Girl. My sandals were still damp but an appetizer plate of oysters distracted me. Mmmm.



Note for non-writer types: SASE - "Self Addressed Stamped Envelope"



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Virtual Buffalo visit

Scorcher of a weekend in Toronto. I did do some walking, however; I'm trying very hard to not let bad weather and temperature interfere. I find that much of it is a mental game. When I'm starting to feel uncomfortable (whether it's in a downpour or a heat wave, etc.), I try to put myself in "outdoors camping mode."

By this, I mean getting myself into a headspace where minor (or sometimes major) discomforts fall by the wayside, and I can therefore focus on and enjoy working toward the bigger goal. It's almost a meditative state, I find, but it's also a good mental exercise that helps build stamina as well as being good for life perspective.



Anyway, I got further on my Virtual Con Walk and reached Buffalo! After browsing Rust Belt Books, Rand, Erin and I went for a virtual dinner at Fat Bob's Smokehouse; I had Fat Bob's Tenderloin Tip Sandwich w/Peppers, Onions & Melted Cheese. Afterward we strolled around Allentown and ended up having drinks at Nietzche's.

Many thanks to Erin and Rand for their help with my virtual visit. :-)



I had mentioned recently that I've been listening to audiobooks on my walks. My current read/listen: French Women For All Seasons by Mireille Guiliano. Though I find some of her ideas a tad impractical, I do like one of her basic messages: make the most of every moment, savour every enjoyable sensation. I agree with her idea that most of us tend to rush through meals and also eat too much, for example.

Yes, the idea is an old one -- eat more slowly and you'll likely eat less. But she expresses this so eloquently and so sensually ... she could spend about ten minutes describing how to eat a BANANA, for example, but it's fascinating throughout. Her book is especially good as an audio experience on a walk because I find myself looking around more, being more aware of physical sensations (sweat running down my back, cool rain on my face, etc.) in a good way.



Inevitably, I get home and immediately want to write a poem, or work on my fiction writing. And then eat a banana, of course. :-)



Above: "Baby" for Illustration Friday last week.




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