The Ground Returns

It's been a shorter winter than normal, but it's always good to see the ground again. The remains of my roommate's boyfriend's Snow Fort/Firepit is quickly disappearing.

Fun Fact: The concrete in our yard used to be the floor of a chainsaw repair shop.

birds and snow and potatoes hooray!

i was losing daylight quickly. just barely enough to handhold this if i fiddled with the settings.

in the summer our backyard houses half the cities birds, i'm convinced.

Big Cat loves birds. it's going to be amusing to watch him go nuts from the patio door.

we broke 1000 visitors tonight. hooray!

also: i'm craving potatoes & sour cream. just thought i'd let you know.

snow! oh my!

we got a snowstorm today! it's perfect for snowshoeing! i can't find anyone to go with me, though, and i haven't the ambition to go myself. didn't get much sleep, so i'm a bit tired today. i need some motivation.

...maybe i'll just take a nap instead.

i hope this snow stays. i want to go jumping into snow hills! and use my crazy carpets! (hmm.. if i can find them.. they were likely given away behind my back. grr!)

i previously mentioned and art gallery i'm participating in for music pei week. the reception was tonight, and i have to say, it went better than i ever expected.

a few people came up to me to make comments about my work. it was really nice, and really positive. i left with a pretty big smile on my face.

i've been stressing about my presentation of my work. i guess it was pretty decent, though.

i still see places that could use improvement, of course. lessons learned for next time.

it started to snow those awesome flakes on the way home. big enough to have a shadow just before they touch the ground.. looking up, my lashes became covered in snowflakes...

i purposely left this next bit for the last, and not the first. i find when i send someone more than one question, they almost always only answer the last one.

i've noticed there are a lot of benefits for haiti. it's been amazing watching them all crop up. it almost seems like the whole world came together. it's been cited as the worst natural disaster in the western hemisphere.

ever.

i don't know a whole lot about haiti. i should know more. i do know that they've had way more than their share of struggles. and that most of us could not possibly comprehend the level of devastation haiti is facing right now.

anyway. i came across this post on cbc radio 3, and thought it was really neat. just check your speaker volume before clicking on it. they also have a link to a list of great places to donate to. (if you click on anything here, please let it be that. lets spread the word!)

there is also this happening at baba's

and this happening at the alibi

and this happening at the charlottetown seaport

there is also a list over at NxEW of benefit shows all across canada. if you know of one happening in your area, feel free to post a comment there to add it to the list.

donating to a registered charity will be matched by the government. i know the red cross is involved in this.
information about the governments plan to match donations.

Novels

My turn again already, huh?

I found out about the Novels project earlier today via twitter, it's a new EP from 5 Canadian indie musicians who got together and recorded it over a 24 hour period last January.

The idea is that it's not be sold in-store or online, but to be shared freely, and then photos of the sharing are to be posted on their blog. To quote their site:

NOVELS won't be sold in CD stores, on the internet, or anywhere else. Instead, we'll give them away, or put them places. Maybe you'll find a copy sitting on a park bench. Maybe a masked man will hand you one as he passes you on the street. Maybe none of these things will happen. But we'll make sure that everyone gets a chance to listen if they want to.

So as soon as I heard about it it became my project today to give a copy away to a random stranger. The first person I approached was the mail lady as she was delivering the mail. I think she thought I was creepy, because she wouldn't let me take her photo and she wouldn't take the CD, and she left in a hurry! Oh well, I can get that. It is kind of a weird thing to do.

I walked around the neighborhood for a bit, and I noticed how many people don't walk around here. Lots of cars out and about but almost no pedestrians. I was resigned to leaving the CD sitting on a fence, but as I was taking photos of it sitting there I noticed someone coming up the path behind me.

I asked her if she liked music, the answer of course was yes, so I explained the concept and gave her the disc, and she was happy to have the photo taken. Her name is Naomi. It was actually kind of fun to go way outside of my comfort zone for a bit - I'm not one to randomly talk to strangers, usually, but the Novels idea really inspired me! I think the portrait turned out pretty darn good, too.