Saturday, 24 September 2011

Year Two Day Eighty Two - New Desk

Dear all, 

Sorry about my delay in updating this post... I have working hard at becoming the keenest chick in Art School. I had to share this fabulous news - Darren bought me the coolest birthday present ever: This fabulous ( massive ) desk! 
I had been aggressively spilling out into all areas of our apartment and I sense that D knew he had to act early to try and contain the madness and keep my affairs in one place... He found this brilliant desk on Craiglist for *wait for it...* $100!!!! What a bargain! http://barrie.en.craigslist.ca/
 As you can see, I now have a huge 'work station' that I can paint, cut, file and bash around to my hearts content ( $100!!!!!!) - One of my first projects was a pastel design for my Interpretive Drawing class... (mutter will like this shot - pastel dust everywhere..) and it was fabulous.
I love my desk! Thank you Darren! xxx



Year Two Day Eighty One - Photo Booth


 Dear all,

I have discovered 'Photo Booth'! It is a magnificent feature on the MacBook Pro and (as you can see) I have been experimenting with a few 'images' during mini breaks from the homework.
I love the Warhol 'effect' and here a couple of examples. How cool is Photo Booth??? 

I managed to sneak a shot of Darren while he wasn't looking... 
Now back to my homework.. ! *yay*

Tuesday, 20 September 2011

Year Two Day Eighty - The Ridge Runner


Dear all, 

Another speedy entry - this time literally... a mountain coaster, here in Collingwood, HURRAY!
Darren, Annalise and I sampled the fabulous, Ridge Runner which is new this year at The Blue Mountain Ski Village. http://www.bluemountain.ca/ridge_runner.htm
 At $15 a ticket... we hoped it would match the Behemoth at Canada's Wonderland in terms of 'thrill factor' and as we were waiting in line, we were intrigued as to what adrenalin-seeking treat awaited us. The fact that we could 'control the speed' of the Luge was of great excitement to us all and and we debated how we could manipulate the accelerate button to our greatest speed-inducing advantage. 
We all had individual carts - i was in front and managed to grab a couple of pictures as we were waiting.... Darren is there (hiding behind Annalise)
 After a [very] brief introduction from a [very bored] looking chap at the gate, we were off... up and up and up the mountain, being pulled on a track and creeping higher and higher in altitude with the air becoming fresher and clearer the higher we climbed. 
After about 10 minutes ( I think... but couldn't be sure), The cart reached the summat, turned a corner and I was told by a nice man in a hut to 'push the accelarator' lever - I slammed it down and was off - down a VERTICAL SLOPE. It was AWESOME! I would have loved to have taken a photos but I would have probably lost an arm. This ride is wonderful and totally worth it - it is a long descent with drops, turns and keeps the adrenalin pumping right up until the end ( where Annalise tail-gated me by accident.. fortunately we didn't told off). I would highly recommend the Ridge Runner and will certainly hit that Luge again soon. We loved it!



And in other news:
1. We also stumbled across this on our travels around Blue Mountain... Collingwood's answer to the Tour De France" Tour de Blue (AKA Centurion) http://centurioncycling.com/canada/

Year Two Day Seventy Nine - The BLTE

Dear all, 

Another quick-fire post for you all in between paintings... Here is another fabulous lunch at the wonderful Mill Cafe in Thornbury (http://www.themillcafe.com/) where Annalise decided to sample the unusual and very intriguing, BLTE... 
I decided to go for the 'Tuna Nicoise' Baguette that also included 'Egg' and 'white potatoes' * in a sandwich*. Darren's choice was immediate and authoritative: the Angus Steak Sandwich with jalapeno relish... (a no brainer). 

The BLTE was calling Annalise's name - The 'E' was too much to ignore.. An 'E' in a BLT.... that is the stuff of legend, right there. 
And here it is... in all it's glory. And of course, the BLTE tasted fantastic. An Egg, Sunny Side up wedged onto Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato... *sigh*. 

We had an amazing lunch (see post on The Wason's) which most certainly set us up for an afternoon of  facebook fun and the long drive to Toronto. 

I love you Annalise! Come again soon xxxxxx

Year Two, Day Seventy Four - The Wasonry Hand Shake

Dear all, 

Many apologies for my brief hiatus. I have been thrown into a new realm of advanced multi-tasking due to a sudden and unrepentant work load from Art School *LOVE*, Birthdays, TIFF and an amazing (yet brief *sob*) visit from one of my best friends in the World, Annalise. I will post updates and am considering a power point presentation for you all, but in the meantime, a little taster.... 

During Lunch at the fabulous, Mill in Thornbury, http://www.themillcafe.com/, Annalise, Darren and I decided, after a fascinating discussion about Astronauts to form our own 'specialized' group called 'The Wasons'. There are currently three members ( but we are hoping to enlist The Jolie-Pitts) and anyone else who feels it is 'the right place for them'. 

I would like to introduce the all-new 'Wasonry Handshake' developed using our best researchers to allow us to remain 'stealth' yet express our devotion to the Wasons at the same time. Darren was kind enough to film these two videos for all to enjoy. 




Long Live the Wasons!

Wednesday, 7 September 2011

Year Two, Day Seventy Three - First Day of School

Dear all,

This is a post-within a post.... It's the first day of school ( aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaag) - to try and verbalize my excitement would be a challenge. I am in heaven. I caught wind of a competition to find a 'blogger on campus'.. 'my my', I thought, "could it be... could it be my chance to shine online???".

So this is what I came up with... I am still thinking though... maybe a theme??? Unusual Things That Happen To Me At Georgian College?

It's the First Day of School! The melting pot of feverish students cascades onto Campus, after basking in oodles of weeks of summer sun. I arrived, with my lovely friend Jenny, at 8:30 to discover that the idle threat of traffic delays had developed into a rather grim reality and after weaving through the dedicated picketer's, I found a parking spot while Jenny ran off into the haze to find her orientation.
I had a couple of hours to kill and while drifting through the college found myself joining the gym (and at $30 a semester: this is a sensational deal), failing to purchase a parking permit (more on this later) and finally settled in the library to review the situation and check Facebook. Once in the library ( feeling serene and also studious), I started to probe deeper into Georgian College using the almighty 'Blackboard' and 'Banner' system ( EVERYTHING is now online.. a big change from the late 90's where we had a 'computer lab' in the 'library' that was intended to service all 20,000 students in Full Time education at The University... my my have times changed.


I then tootled off to the main orientation where we all sat in the expansive gym listening to important bullet points about Georgian from the energetic staff and singing a Bumchalakakaka song. Throughout all this, I was aware of the increasing number of students milling around the campus in particular, the size of the queues that were protruding from various key offices ( Registrar; Parking; Finance). The strike is of great importance to all the support staff and I am firmly supporting them in light of the long term future at Georgian but Goddy God, it's causing a severe bottle neck with admin starting to shoot out of the college like an erupting volcano. 

After the colour-coordinated bonanza in the gym, ( we all had to wear t-shirts according to our course. Mine was black *phew*, [I have never been able to pull off lime green]) we were syphoned off to the department of Art and Design where I sat, bathing in the glory of the Gallery, the Studios and the Faculty as we were given our formal introduction from the Dean.
We were then whisked off into smaller groups with just our fellow course members in the drawing studio. It was wonderful. I was totally inspired. I absolutely cannot wait to get started!!!!!!!


It's chaos out there.. but I am in heaven. I am back at school.. and studying Fine Art. I can think of very few places I would rather be.. 

Tuesday, 6 September 2011

Year Two, Seventy Two - Skot's Wedding Shower

Dear all, 

It's Skots Wedding Shower! My fabulous hairdresser is getting married to Douglas ( in 26 days!!) and Strands threw him a huge shower to celebrate! http://www.strandssalonandspa.ca/
It was a fantastic evening! I just popped in to drop off a gift and say hello ( Darren had chicken on the BBQ.. it's too good to miss) and had a fabulous time seeing Skot and all the Strands Crew. 


They had made an amazing effort - There was a beautiful spread with food and drinks everywhere. Skot looked like a movie star and was in his element at the party. I was also very pleased to meet Douglas after hearing so much about him and ( of course) he was wonderful. I also got to meet Gilda - their gorgeous Shitzu pup... here modelling a new short crop and pink tail. She was a total delight!

Skot and Douglas (and Guilda) started to open their gifts while the eager crowd watched on - it was such a great evening and MAJOR congratulations to Skot and Douglas on their impending wedding!



Sunday, 4 September 2011

Year Two, Day Seventy Nine - Devilled Eggs

Dear all, 

For some reason, we have ended up with two cartons of eggs in the fridge so (and on Darren's request) I used this opportunity to make up some 'Devilled' Eggs. 
I found a very useful website dedicated solely to the making of devilled eggs - http://www.deviledeggs.com/ so got to work straight away.. This, I might add, involved retrieving the eggs from the fridge and leaving them out for one hour to establish room temperature - I realized quickly that this was not a 'quick fire' recipe. 

First up, I covered the eggs in cold water and bought them to the boil - Once they reached boiling point, I removed the eggs from the heat and covered... for 30 minutes.. (in the interim, I watered our newly housed plants as seen below - our Jasmin found herself face down on the floor a couple of days ago so I took the opportunity to re-pot and re-house **i.e. bring inside before the snow falls).


I also added a tablespoon of vinegar to the eggs ( apparently it helps with the peeling of the egg shell).
After 30 minutes, I transferred the eggs to a bowl of cold water - I was supposed to use some ice but sadly we didn't have any.. so I had to make do with plain water. 
After 20 minutes of cooling, I started to peel the eggs shells - they slipped off like a dream and meant I could them slice the eggs into neat halves while gently squeezing the whites to allow the egg yolk to fall out into a separate bowl. Everything was going so well, I thought something was wrong.. (but I charged on regardless). 

To make the filling, I forked through the yolks to form an 'egg crumble' and then added mayonnaise and mustard. I then added some chives (from the garden!), paprika, hot sauce and seasoned with salt and pepper. 
I mixed everything together and then spooned the yellow paste back into the egg white shells. 
 It worked! I couldn't believe it! Darren loved them ( although next time, I will veer away from too much salt) and, as you can see, they have nearly disappeared! Hurray!

Saturday, 3 September 2011

Year Two, Day Seventy Seven - Winkler Sausages and Strange Bunker-House

Dear all, 

Darren and I took a wonderful whistle stop tour down to Simcoe to visit Bob and Mary Lou! After stopping off at 'Len's Automotive' in Jarvis (More on this to come... http://lensauto.ca/) we arrived home to a fabulous feast of Winkler Sausages!! http://www.winklermeats.ca/home

They had the most AMAZING flavor, quite honesty, the best sausages I have ever had and fresh from Winnpeg. Such a treat! We had an absolutely lovely lovely evening with Bob and Mary Lou - I wish we could have stayed longer!
The next morning, Bob took us to the site of his new project - it was one of the most fascinating buildings I have ever laid eyes on. The story was quite tragic - the couple that owned the property died in two separate incidents and the house had been left derelict. But this was no normal house... oh no, this was INSANE! It was like a bunker in the forest... long and narrow and virtually all underground, built in the hillside. The building was made from layers and layers of cement and even had a tree growing from the roof. 
 
The inside was like something out of a horror film: mould had covered everything wall to wall and the place was chaos having been ransacked by intruders searching for treasure. The most bizarre element to all this was the rows and rows of shelves full of home made ceramics - pots, urns and figurines.. They had a professional kiln and one other kiln as well as at least 200 ceramic moulds that lined the walls of the window-less bunk house. It was surreal!


It is hidden in a beautiful wood full of bountiful walnut trees ( *see above) and these strange webs full of caterpillars. We also had to watch our footing for the dreaded Poison Ivy.. but Bob will go in soon and blast them all with a weed wacker. It was the most peculiar house I have ever seen and I am keen to see how the work will progress with it - it's the most incredible project to undertake!

Thank you Bob and Mary Lou for an absolutely lovely stay - we will be back soon!


And in other news:
1. Just a couple more pics from the cottage folks... we have been chopping a LOT of wood of late.. 

 I am building various log piles... here is Darren's 'axe-trail' ( i am useless at splitting logs..) and one of my many log piles that are springing up over the property


D dug out the fire pit in order to make room for more brush... that lasted about 10 minutes.. it just keeps on coming!