A local Cafe

Brooklyn/Tribeca

Around Rockefeller

The tree is going up.

We found a Banksy!

Farmer's Market

This is a little farmer's market a block from our apartment in Morningside Heights.

BIG News

So, there is big news in my family. My bother is getting married!! And he is getting married to lovely Vicky!! And the wedding will be in Kenya!! And it will be on the beach!! And my whole family will be there - all together in one place!! Yay.

Yay! I'm rather excited about this!

Dear Winter,

It's time. I'm sorry, but you need to go. I thought I was managing quite well considering the rough relationship we'd had in the past. That was until yesterday morning when, as I was rushing to get to work, I crossed the intersection of 110 and 109 St in a grumpy mood because of the skating rink like conditions on the sidewalks, and felt my feet begin to move in a way I had not commanded. You see I told them to walk quickly across the street, and instead they both slid forward and directly up into the sky as the rest of me crashed backwards to the ground. In a daze I realized that the light had turned green, and I was lying in the intersection on my back. I jumped up in embarrassment, brushed myself off and kept walking. It was only when I was safe-ishly on the sidewalk that I noticed the bleeding gash in my hand. I wanted to turn around, go home and cry. But instead I limped along to school, bandaged up my hand and gave a presentation on struggling readers. It's time. I'm sorry, but you must go.

Love,
H.

Why You Should Go See 100 Mile House at 8:00 pm on Saturday, December 12th at Axis Cafe: (And bring your friends)

1. Because they sound good. And listening to good music on a Saturday night is a lovely thing to do. (Have a listen and see for yourself).

2. To get in on the Olympic vibe. 100 Mile House is booked to play the Olympics (a fact - ok not the opening ceremonies, but at the olympics nonetheless). So for those of you who won't be able to make it to Vancouver in February, just come see this show instead. It's pretty much like going to the Olympics.

3. This band used to live in London - as in London England. They left London last year and decided to move to Edmonton - as in Edmonton, Alberta. Don't make them regret this decision. Yeah Edmonton!

4. So that next time you hear them played on CBC or CKUA you can say "oh I know them" and maybe even sing along. It makes listening to the radio just that much more fun.

5. So I don't have to sit by myself. It just looks bad when you're married to a band member and don't have anyone to come along to the show. Help me out people. I know - with a little time they will soon have some fans who are not related to them, but until then, please come and sit with me.

6. There is a little something for everyone. As promised on their myspace page, "some songs will have you up and dancing after a few chords, others will leave you wanting to hug the stranger next to you." Aww.

7. Though Scott is a man of many talents (eco home renovating, fixing cars on ridiculously cold days - such as today when my car overheated!?, silk screening, playing badminton in mandarin, roasting his own coffee, talking tech), he just really loves playing music. And when friends and family come to show their support for what you really love to do - it's a nice feeling. I know it would be much appreciated.

8. To play a little game called "What Did He Just Say?" Being from London, Pete has a bit of an accent. Not a problem once you are used to it, but initially it can be a little confusing. That said, it makes for a great game during the in-between song banter. I once heard a woman loudly proclaim (during the last 5 min of the show) "Oh I get it! He has an accent! I haven't understood a word he said all night!" Hee hee. For those who do understand Pete, it is great fun to just watch the rest of the audience lean forward, and look puzzled. For a preview of the accent have a listen to the edpod challenge on CBC.

9. To create a little buzz. Ever walked past a line-up and stopped to figure out why people were lining up? We need you to be the line-up.

10. It's cold - and what better way to warm yourself and your spirits than to leave your house and venture out to a cozy little venue with drinks, lots of wonderful people, and beautiful music.

We'll see you there!

Havilah.

I will not attempt to catch up.

I will not make any attempts to catch up since the last time we posted. Instead I am just going to start from where we are at right now on a grey December day with mountains of snow around our house.

My most memorable accomplishments of the week have been:

1. Making mayonnaise from scratch.

It all started when my rather thrifty husband noted that we were out of mayo, and decided that it would be cheaper and better for the environment to make it ourselves rather than driving to the store to get some more. I was a little skeptical, but watched with interest as he found an online recipe, quickly scanned the ingredients list, dumped them all in a bowl and began whisking. After some significant whisking time he had a lovely looking oil and egg yolk soup. Thoroughly intrigued, and spurred on by my competitive tendencies, I took a closer look at the recipe and gave it a second try. The key - add the oil drop by drop. Time consuming? Yes. But the results are so exciting in a science experiment sort of way. And yummy. I think I could eat it with a spoon.

2. Finishing and sending off report cards.

I won't elaborate on this point. It's done. Thank goodness.

3. Staying warm.

I have a hard time at this point in the year. It gets so dark that I just want to hibernate in my bed all day, and when the first real cold hits I feel chilled for weeks even when I know I shouldn't be. I don't do well in the cold. This year has been better than most for a couple reasons. First of all, Scott has done an amazing job of re-insulating the house so that we are now snug as a bug at home without turning up the heat much. It's lovely. And secondly, I have decided to simply not allow myself to get cold. When going outside I take no chances. I pile on the sweaters, long underwear, 2 winter coats, scarf, mitts, hat and hood. I did learn a thing or two from living in the arctic. I am now warm. Do I look a little ridiculous? Yes. But I am warm.

4. Solo restaurant eating.

I recently had a conversation with a friend about things she had never done on her own. It got me thinking. There are a lot of things I have never done on my own. For those of us who are married, life can become a bit of a complicated ballroom dance where we navigate new experiences in life together - and while there can be great beauty in this when we are in time with each other, we can also find ourselves moving carefully so as not to step on the other's toes, or becoming outright clumsy as we try to navigate the other in a direction they may not want to go at all. What we don't realize is that it's ok to let go and try on our own. The key is knowing when to reach out and fall back into step. And so yesterday, while waiting for Scott to set up for a show, I took a cold walk through the snowy streets of whyte ave. As I passed by the window of a cozy looking restaurant it occurred to me that I have never eaten alone in a proper restaurant. Not a tim hortons, but a place where you get a real tablecloth and cutlery with some heft to it. So I went in. Being about 3 pm it was empty, but the sign said "Please wait to be seated" and I did. "A table for....?" "One" I responded. I pulled out a book while waiting and then ate slowly with my substantial cutlery, watching the snow swirl outside, savoring the simple beauty of being alone in that moment.

Sometimes we need to see it to believe it.

The picture above is from the photographer Chris Jordan. I stumbled across it on a website last week, and it sure made me think. Here is a closer look.


And a closer still...

Yes. It is made up of pop cans, and depicts 106,000 aluminum cans - the number used in the US every thirty seconds. Every thirty seconds!

In a skype conversation with my sister Kendrah on the weekend, she told me about seeing some art in Brussels and described what the artist did. It was the same guy. How connected our lives can sometimes be across the world. Take a look at more of his work here.