Informal photo shoot at friends' house

I love taking pictures of kids. They SO don't have the hang-ups that grown-ups do about getting their photos taken. I had taken photos of the little girl above (let's call her "A") when she was an infant still in diapers: This time, A was shy at first; I can't blame her since I had only met her once before. She warmed up to me, though, once I sang her a couple of very silly songs and showed her a kids' book and a virtual fish pond on my iPad. Photos posted with permission of the parents. Taking photos of "E" (above) was actually somewhat more challenging because of the low light conditions. I love mySigma 30/1.4 lens! Partway through the evening, my friend asked me if I'd like to feed E. It's been many years since any of my nieces or nephews were babies, so I felt out of practice. E was very forgiving, though, and stole my heart with her soft little happybaby noises as she drank. *swoon*

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Arkham Horror boardgaming session

Had fun playing Arkham Horror with Errol, Hrach, Walter and Jeff last night. It was Errol's first time meeting Jeff and the other Friday night gamers. Not surprisingly, he fit in perfectly. I met Errol for the first time at FilKONtario, though I had heard of him earlier. As I was saying to Errol last night, I'm surprised that he and I hadn't crossed paths earlier...we have so much in common: we're both nerds, songwriters, boardgamers, writers. He loves social networks. He has a lot of hobbies. And the Asian thing, of course. :-D Jeff's Friday night gaming group had their session at our place last night because they're renovating the gaming basement. I love it when the group games at our place. Not only do I enjoy seeing everyone gaming, but I can participate as well. I'm not a night owl, but when the sessions are at our place, I can always crash whenever I want, going upstairs to collapse while the others continue into the wee hours. Arkham Horror is one of my favourite boardgames because it's co-op (we're all working together to save the world from EEEEVIL) and because of the narrative; the latter hugely appeals to the storyteller in my soul.

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Do you want to be in the Toronto Santa Claus Parade this year?

Photo by my friend Walter. For those in the Toronto area: If you're at least 11 yrs old, can walk 5 km, & are interested in marching in The Santa Claus Parade on Sun. Nov. 21st, please send me a private message. Just received my Marchers' Application form but I can't participate this year. You can see photos from my own parade experience here: Hugging policemen during the 2008 Toronto Santa Claus Parade Warning: you can't pick what costume you're given, and your costume may be changed at the last minute. I was originally assigned to be a Golden Fish but then was reassigned as a Greeter Clown instead. Greeter Clowns are pretty much the only Marchers who get to wander freely during the parade (to greet and high-five people in the crowd), while others march in formation. Also be warned that the parade takes place, rain or shine. Again, please send me a private message if you're interested; don't just post below. I'll put up a notice here when I've given the form away. Thanks!

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I'm a CD track on the new Bohnhoff CD, GRATED HITS!

Check out Track #5 above. You can listen to an excerpt on CDBaby; it's from Jeff and Maya Bohnhoff's newest CD, Grated Hits. Jeff and Maya were the Guests of Honour at FilKONtario last month. Being a fan of the Bohnhoffs, I eagerly bought their newest album at the CD launch party and even had it autographed WITHOUT NOTICING TRACK NUMBER FIVE until later in the weekend when my friend Walter made a comment about it. I'm still going to post more about FilKONtario, by the way, including details on various Devious Conspiracies that were enacted during that weekend. But I digress... If you're not familiar with Jeff and Maya Bohnhoff's music, I strongly recommend you check out their CDs, which are all available through CDBaby along with sample soundclips. Maya Bohnhoff is an sf/fantasy writer, and you can find out more about her work from her Wikipedia page. Their newest project is GRATED HITS, a collection of brilliant parodies. p.s. Revenge shall be mine. And don't think you're excluded, Vixy. (BWA HA haaaaa.)

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I hope squirrels can read

My dad gave me a couple of tomato seedlings, which I'm hoping will flourish under my tender care, rewarding me with beautiful and scrumptious tomatoes later this year. Wish me luck.

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