Well, It's My Birthday Month, Too!

Knit Witch is sponsoring a contest this month, because it is her birthday, so she gives the presents!

Well, it's my birthday month, too. Saturday, January 19th will be seeing out the end of my 52nd year on this planet, and the ushering in of Birthday Number Fifty-F*cking-Three (that ongoing family joke, which I should really explain at some time, it's not nearly as obscene as one might think!).

So Knit Witch has asked contestants to send her the story of their most embarassing moment in life. I have several which could qualify. Oy.

Like the time I was at the Brimfield, Massachusetts antique fair, and found TWO Bill Reid prints priced at $30.00 each. What a deal! I whipped out my wallet when asked how I was going to pay for them. "Why, cash, of course." I mean, what's $60 for a pair of Bill Reid prints?

(If you ever hang out at Vancouver International Airport (YVR) and need a place to avoid being tasered, then check out his huge sculpture there. Bill Reid was an amazing human being, and an incredible artist.)

Just then my companion walked in. It was about the same time the seller of the prints informed me they were $3000 each, NOT $30.00 each. (Although if he wanted that much for them, he should have had them up off the damp ground, and at least cleaned off the glass so a person could SEE the decimal point between the zeroes!)

Ok, so I should have had reading glasses on. Or maybe the dude selling them should have had the price tags more clearly printed. Regardless, I was embarassed and this story continues to be one that my family loves to hear (jerks, eh? ;-).

I have since developed a passion for First Nations art, and have several originals and prints hanging in my living room. They help remind me that a good humiliation can last a lifetime.

And then there's the time I smeared chapstick all over my mouth, only to be told about half an hour later that I had mistakenly grabbed my frosted blackberry lipstick instead of the chapstick. The half hour in between putting it on and being told included a walk around a very crowded fair grounds, and being on the local school board, at the time, meant that I was meeting and greeting lots of folks that I knew.

If YOU ever have lipstick where it shouldn't be, or your sweater is mis-buttoned, or you have spinach in your teeth, I will always tell you ... gently and discreetly, but I will always tell you!

Anyway, now I'm going to send Knit Witch an email and let her know to check for my entries into her contest.

I think us January babies should stick .... or in this case, stitch ... together, right?

Another Trip to Vancouver, and Snowy Rainforest Pictures!

January 17th, a friend and I will catch the 8:30 ferry and head over to the Big City, and while she's tied up with her commitments, I'll be wandering back down to that magazine store to see if there are any new Anna magazines! I'll keep you posted on that.

The following day, my sweetie and I are heading down to Victoria for my birthday. It's the birthday after 52 and before 54. Egad ... I almost said it. The upside is that I still have no need to colour my great dark brown hair (genetics can be a good thing!), the downside is that all those great genes haven't kept the years from marching on.

This is a west coast rain forest, temporarily disguised as a snow forest. Needless to say (but I will anyway!), Doggie of the North absolutely loved it! Innu romped and played as much as he could, grabbing mouthfuls of snow and tossing them in the air, running nose first into the snow, throwing himself into piles of snow like a kid landing on freshly-raked leaves. Now does that look like a happy Malamute, or what?

And what a handsome boy he is! Oh, and the dog is cute, too. ;-)






These pictures were taken along a well-used walkway here in Port Alberni, known as Kitsuksis Creek walkway. Innu and Dorne take the 45 minute full circle walk nearly every day. I walk as often as my foot will permit (still recovering from plantar's fasciitis, which somewhat limits the thrashing it can take every day).

A couple more pictures of my beautiful part of the world, rarely seen with snow, and then I'm off to bed!

Ok, so instead of rain forest, here's a picture of my youngest great-nephew, his mum, and her mum (my sister).

I love watching my niece with her two sons, partly because it reminds me of how great it is to raise a boy, and partly because she's such a great mother! (and the boys' dada is a pretty cool guy, too!). And, I must admit, I love those two little guys as if they were my own grandchildren. Can't wait to see them again!

Family loving each other and enjoying each other's company is worth more than just about anything I can think of.

A house without love is just a building. A home is filled with love.

I'm so glad to be home.