after school special

Moving Blogs.. again

2010-12-31T15:55:00.001-08:00

Tofino, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

3 years and at least 100 posts ago I moved my first blog here - I had set it up on what turned out to be a very unstable site, my sister - who was at the same site as well - moved too . So both my sister and I started posting on blogger about the stuff we were doing.
As it turns out Mary and I do a lot of things we blog about together. As awesome as this is it leads a few double posts and information hunting (did mary post that?.. hmmmn maybe I should write something else).
So as of the start of the new year we are officially merging our two blogs.
We both will be blogging at http://bradshawgirls.blogspot.com/ and due to a nifty feature of blogger all of our old posts are there as well... mixed together and all in order.
I'll keep this blog up as I think there are a few links that will probably break if i delete it and that is more trouble than it's worth at the moment..
so head over and check out what my sister and I have to say!
xox
willa

Washington DC.. for a day

2010-12-30T14:30:00.000-08:00

Rally for Sanity/Fear, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Mary, my sister, came east for a meeting and had a four day window to visit me.
We took the opportunity to hop on a bus down to Washington DC to attend Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert's Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear.

Early in the Morining - Rally for Sanity/Fear, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

The bus trip, organized by the good people at the Torontoist and sponsored by Bud Lite, was a 36 hour whirlwind trip. The coverage by the Torontoist is here.
The rally was crazy.. so many people.. so many stars (I saw Cat Stevens perform Peace Train!)
But the best part, oddly enough, was visiting the Smithsonian National Museum of the Native American. That weekend they had Día de los Muertos celebrations, exhibits and activities. It was a lot of fun.

Nuit Blanche

2010-12-28T10:09:00.000-08:00

Nuit Blanche -Gladstone Hotel, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

I must admit I found this years Nuit Blanche a little underwhelming.

I don't know if it was the poor use of space or the weariness of traveling across town to get to most of the main exhibits.
Still it is nice to see the streets filled with so many people wandering about at 1 am appreciating art and the city.

Nuit Blanche - Later That Night At The Drive-In - Daniel Lanois, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Cottage Weekend

2010-12-28T00:48:00.000-08:00

Cottage Weekend, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

I didn't travel much this summer (actually I have only been out of the country for a day and a half this year!) so it was really lovely to be invited to my pal Katie's family's cottage on the Ottawa River (Quebec side).
It was a wonderful, relaxing girls weekend away.

Cottage Weekend, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Birthday Macarons

2010-12-22T10:44:00.000-08:00

My pal Ayalah has her birthday in the summer which was the perfect timing for a picnic!
Because she has a serious sweet tooth and also loves France I made her some macarons.

I picked up the cutest book (I heart macarons) at a cooking store in St. Johns and was itching to use it.
I made yellow with chocolate ganache filling and a cinnamon with cardamon milk tea filling. TASTY!

Trinity and back to St. John's - Newfoundland

2010-11-30T09:51:00.000-08:00

Trinity, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

We took a slightly more lazy route back to St. John's. We headed across the bulk of the island and spent a night at a B&B before heading to Trinity for a day and a half.
Trinity was awesome. We stayed in a little cabin that Mary and I imagined what vacationing was probably like in the 50's.. really cute!

Trinity Cabins - Vintage Awesomeness, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

It was really quiet in Trinity (we couldn't find a place to eat that was open) but we walked around the town taking in all the lovely buildings. The Shipping News was filmed in Trinity and nearby a whole fake fishing village was recreated for the filming of Remote Passage for the CBC. Mary and I, after finally finding somewhere to eat decided to check out the Maritime Museum in Bonavista.

Root cellar capital of the world?, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

On the way there I forced Mary to drive through Elliston, the root cellar captital of the world, which seemed a little unfriendly. Also we didn't see a lot of root cellars.

Bonavista - Harbour, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Bonavista was great though. While signing into the museum we noticed that another group of yukoners were in the museum (they had gone to the same conference as Mary and were really nice). So after a little hunting we found them and ended the evening with a lovely lobster and toutons with molasses (my favorite newfie food .. hard bread and salt cod - I recommend you pass on them).

Bonavista - Maritime Museum, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Back to St. John's for the last bit of shopping and wandering around (the Rooms! Viking demonstrations! Joe Fresh!).
Conclusion:
Newfoundland - highly recommended.

Western Brook Pond - Newfoundland

2010-11-03T09:40:00.000-07:00

Newfoundland - Western Brook Pond, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

The last day in Gros Morne National Park we went for a hike to Western Brook Pond. Another of the guided walks It was really cool to learn so much about the area.
The geography was really influenced by glaciation (it was carved out by glaciers and then, when they receeded the land rebounded cutting off the pond from the ocean). Also - the part I found really cool was the rippling of the bedrock which caused alternating bogs (pictured above) and limestone ridges which are forrested (below)
The guides from the park were really into showing off different parts of the bog and forrest, even to the extent of reaching into the bog to pull out peat. We also spotted an arctic hare and pitcher plants (the provincial flower). Very cool.

Newfoundland - Western Brook Pond, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

An acidic lake fed by the bog.

Newfoundland - Western Brook Pond, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Lime stone ridges.

Newfoundland - Western Brook Pond, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

The ultimate destination - Western Brook Pond.

Trails, Tales and Tunes - Newfoundland

2010-10-23T09:57:00.000-07:00

Lighthouse near Rocky Harbour Newfoundland, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Norris Point and the nearby (slightly larger) town of Rocky Harbour were amazing. t was like being home but with a different forrest.
We decided to go there for 2 reasons. The first was because Mary's friend from the conference was going to be there, and the second was because of the park. What sealed the deal though was the trails tales and tunes festival that was going on that weekend.
The festival is mostly for the locals - kind of a kick off to the tourist season. Almost all of the activities we participated in were outdoors. There were guided hikes every day - almost all of them ending in homemade pie and treats. So nice!
There were also live performances that we took in and listened to on the radio. It was really fun and we had a fantastic time.

We ended up renting a cabin and were amazed at how big it was (a bedroom each!).. We also discovered there wasn't really a proper grocery store in town. What we did find though was hard tack (which we attempted to cook), salted cod (that stunk up our cabin), and local jams (which we started a collection of).

Our time in Norris Point was really a highlight of our stay in Newfoundland and I would encourage anyone to go.

Hike to see birds - Gros Morne National Park, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

A lot (and I mean A LOT) of my photos are not uploaded yet as they are on my sisters computer - in Whitehorse. so this post (and possibly a few other posts) will be updated with more pictures from Norris Point, Rocky Harbour and Mary and my awesome take on the Discover Newfoundland ads.

Lighthouse near Rocky Harbour Newfoundland, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Travel - Newfoundland

2010-10-22T12:41:00.000-07:00

After the conference was complete Mary and I rented a car and headed across the island.

Our original plan was to go over to St. Pierre and Miquelon but that proved to be too difficult due to the time we were traveling (May is not high season).

So when I said we headed across the island I really do mean that literally. From St. John's it took two days of almost solid driving (by Mary - bless her) to get to Gros Morne National Park and the little cabin we rented in Norris Point.

View Larger Map

I seem to be missing a few pictures so I'll update this later if I can find a good shot of the highway - I remember taking a few :)

Around St. John's - Newfoundland

2010-10-20T13:00:00.000-07:00

Signal Hill - St. John's Nfld, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

The first few days we were in St. John's Mary was at her conference and I got to explore a little bit of the city.

Signal Hill - St. John's Nfld, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

I walked up and around signal hill - a little dangerous.

And Mary and I went on a few trips - to Ferryland an active archeological site which was very cool and whale watching in a huge windy storm (which resulted in the boat turning around and no wildlife being seen.

Newfoundland!

2010-10-18T17:33:00.000-07:00

Signal Hill - St. John's Nfld, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

I know this is a little late but I'd still like to share some pics and stories from Mary and my trip to Newfoundland. Every year Mary attends a museums conference somewhere in Canada and I am lucky enough to often tag along. Trips to Ottawa, Victoria and err.. Toronto (we ended up going to Iceland after that one) have sprouted from these meetings and I love that every year we get to meet up and spend 2 weeks together.

Signal Hill - St. John's Nfld), originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Newfoundland was the last maritime province that I needed to visit, we didn't make it there with the family and I wish we had. Dad, I think, will love Newfoundland.. This trip also means that I only have one more province (Saskatchewan) to go and then I've been to them all (not including territories). I must say I wish I had gone to Newfoundland sooner. I really loved it there - lots of culture and energy - plus the whole province felt like a bigger east coast version of the Vancouver Island in my head (ie/ the 80's). I loved all the small towns and crazy food.

Hey Family!

2010-09-11T19:08:00.001-07:00

Family (Smith side), originally uploaded by girl from finito.

keep being awesome.

Chinese New Year cupcakes

2010-08-16T19:42:00.001-07:00

Chinese New Year cupcakes, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Wow - old pictures!
I made these the day I left for the west coast. Awesome Chinese New Years cupcakes for my friend Fran and her family (note for reading the story below.. this friend is Chinese)

Fran: thanks for coming by and dropping off some awesome cupcakes.
cats, eh?...or tigers?...damn! whatever!...they were awesome and cute...geez...i thought just icing was fancy...but noooooo...you had to go ALL out and put characters on mine...

i'm sure xavier will be like, "look! it's a cat...a cat...see...a cat...do you see the cat?"...
me: "yes xavier. it's a cat. it's very nice"...
x: "do you see it?...look right here! it's a cat...see A CAT!...seeeeee!"...
me: "yes...yes...i see it"...
x: "i'm going to eat the cat!...the cat, right here. see this cat!...on the cupcake there's a cat!"...
me: [shoots herself].

Me: They were tigers

Fran: yes...yes...i realized that now...

"happy lunar new year"....yes...yes...the asian got it wrong.

Chinese New Year cupcakes, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Birthday Flowers (2 months late in posting)

2010-07-24T20:51:00.001-07:00

Birthday Flowers, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

mom - did I ever send you pictures of what the flowers you sent looked like? They were beautiful!

Birthday Flowers, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

5 x July a full circle (almost)

2010-07-13T15:00:00.000-07:00

It's funny to see things come back around.

little italy, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

new hair!, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

lemonade, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Quilt doubles, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Hup Holland - at halftime, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

July 9, 2006
I could only afford to take off one afternoon in the middle of the final stretch of my masters project to watch the final game of the World Cup.

July 5, 2007
Major haircut - it stayed like this for quite a while.

July 6, 2008
In the middle of cooking and baking challenges.

July 12, 2009
The start of a new project - that I'm just getting back to.

July 11, 2010
World cup watching again... this time on the patio at the Drake. And check out all the Holland fans! I wasn't all alone all decked in orange (but I was all alone at my table).

EDIT.. this was all set to be published last week but somehow I dropped the ball.. oops

MYSTERY GIFT!

2010-07-12T20:17:00.001-07:00

MYSTERY GIFT!, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

well not really a mystery for me... but can you guess what's in the box?... I can lie down on my couch with room to spare for a size reference.

Bayeux Tapestry - William departs for England, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

annnd.. this was in the crate... A beautiful replica of part of the Bayeux Tapestry. THAT MY MOM MADE!

The original (in Bayeux, France) is 70 meters long and not technically a tapestry (it's embroidered cloth). It depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England (by William the Conqueror) as well as the events of the invasion itself.

I love this section with the ships and all the horses lined up inside of them.

It's hanging above the couch and looks oh so good.
Thanks mom!

Mary Mitchell in Mackenzie

2010-07-10T08:53:00.001-07:00

Mitch, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Right after the big Olympics trip I decided that enough time had passed and it was finally my turn to visit my best friend. She moved to Mackenzie BC while I was still living in Vancouver - so that has to be 6 or more years ago. I've seen her many times since then - but never up there.
As can be imagined it was the best ending to the trip possible. Mackenzie was a winter wonderland and any time I get to hang out with Mary is never long enough (yes, my best friend and my middle sister have the same name). We went for walks across frozen lakes, cross-country skiing (though the cross-country skiing was a TERRIBLE idea or well skiing on the hills was a terrible idea) and fixed things.. McGuiver style. The photo below is a terrible picture of our repair of the dishwasher, with a zip tie (the black one). It worked wonderfully!

tricky relations (clarified!)

2010-06-24T11:24:00.000-07:00

I had this problem come up a few times since I've moved to Ontario. How do I refer to some of my more distant and differently connected family when talking about them to other people? Living closer, and interacting more, with a greater array of my families relatives is really cool but ultimately brings up the problem that I never know the exact term for people. When I was younger I called most of them aunt and uncle (and still do with most of my dad's cousins who live in Tofino) but now that I am older, and my age is closer to some of these people, this won't work.

Just today I read a really cool post from Lifehacker (one of my favorite blogs). It talked about using the "computational knowledge engine" Wolfram-Alpha (similar to searching through a encyclopedia.. ?? but with the ability to do math or compare things?) to understand familial connections.. so I searched "mom's cousin's son" and got this:

Mystery solved.

1st day of Summer

2010-06-21T09:48:00.001-07:00

sprinkler fest, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

I can't imagine it getting so hot in Victoria that I would need to run through the sprinklers - but it apparently happened.
Happy summer everyone.

Olympics - Hockey!

2010-06-14T10:30:00.000-07:00

Hockey - Vancouver 2010, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Oh man! this was exciting - a round robin match between underdogs Latvia and the Czechs. Somehow we got amazing seats .. just to the side of the goal in the 6th row. The atmosphere in the arena was amazing an it was so cool to see the crowd erupt when Latvia finally scored.

Hockey - Vancouver 2010, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Though Latvia lost the game there was lots to celebrate.. That day they had won their first Olympic Medal ever! and later in the games they would come back to defeat the Czechs. Below is a little slide show of some of the pictures I took that day.

Practice Lines

2010-06-13T18:13:00.001-07:00

Vancouver Olympics - Curling practice lines
Originally uploaded by girl from finito

One of my favorite things that I didn't expect.. before the games start they run practice lines!
The men tended to do them more than the women -
very cool.

this video unfortunately is pretty shoddy - I shot it with my phone.

Olympics - curling

2010-06-07T15:55:00.001-07:00

Curling - Vancouver 2010, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

So I've finally gotten around to uploading my pictures from the Olympics. There will be more in the coming week now that things with the freelance work is becoming more relaxed.
This is one of my favorite shots that I've come across (so far I've only looked at a third of the photos I took).
This was the first day of curling we saw (round robin #4 for the men). The Canada v. Sweden game ended before the others that's why there is a page empty.

Jónsi

2010-04-29T12:20:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow night, as an early birthday present Jodi is taking me to see Jónsi (the side project of the lead singer of Sigur Ros)
From what I've heard so far I think It'll be fantastic!

Olympics - Outfits and fans

2010-03-01T11:27:00.001-08:00

Holy cow Vancouver was full of people. Mostly it was candians wandering around in toques and red mapleleaf mitts but there were people who stuck out in the sea of red and white.

Probably the most recognizable were the Dutch fans in their bright orange. Though there were a lot downtown you found most of the fans were at the Richmond speedskating oval. (these people were waiting for the skytrain)

The other really popular uniform was team Russia - and I must admit they looked really good.

Olympics - Curling

2010-02-28T16:22:00.001-08:00

Curling! I love curling!

This is a shot from the first of 3 curling games my family attended during the olympics... The 2nd page is Team Canada (Martin's rink) playing Team Sweden. (Norway is right beside them).
Later I will upload some video of the practice runs from this game.

Also congratulations to Team Martin and Team Bernard for excellent showings at the games (gold and silver respectivly).

Olympics - Vancouver

2010-02-27T22:02:00.000-08:00

Two years ago tickets for the Vancouver olympics went on sale. My family was lucky enough to get a few and made plans to attend. It feels like I have been planning on this forever, and giving people the most advanced notice I have ever given.
Mary and I found a place to rent in the west end - close to downtown and arranged extra event tickets.
Vancouver was amazing. It was like April or May. Trees and flowers blooming and warm enough to just wear a light coat.

It really was magical to be there and to be there with my family.
In the next few days I plan on putting together my photos from the trip but for now here is some early spring.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Taking advantage of Beaconsfieldville

2010-02-13T15:40:00.001-08:00

I must admit, I love living where I live. My neighbourhood is full of cafes and bars and art galleries. On any given night there is a plethora of things to do. I don't often take advantage of this-even when I know my house is around the corner and if I'm bored I can easily go home. Thankful (luckily? covienently? serendipitously?) my good friend Connie now works across the street from my apartment, so we can attend events together.

Last Friday we attended Powerpoint Karaoke.

What is Powerpoint karaoke you ask... Well basically it's where people improv speaches to match a series of PowerPoint slides they have never seen.

Overall analysis: funtimes!
On closer inspection: these things are better when they are less self-aware... Too much irony and too many hipsters (of which I would probably have to count myself).
I would have enjoyed more random slides.. Though I really did love the talk on grammar.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Freelancing, freelancing, freelancing

2010-02-01T14:35:00.001-08:00

Lungs, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Man! I was busy at the end of last year. It was good, flexing the little drawing muscle I have but it was a bit much.. a lot of running around trying to meet deadlines.
All in all I'm pretty pleased with what I accomplished.
The above shot is a a surfactant secreting cell that I drew as part of an illustration of the inner workings of the lung during development. I was nervous about the comic style but I think it turned out quite well.

The action of Warfarin, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

I also worked on a method of action illustration which was fun.. I kinda channeled the text books form my biochemistry days.

Ted Harrison Exhibit Kids guide, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Finally I got to do some work for Mary. These last two are kids guides for upcoming shows.
The one above is so cool - an exhibit of the original painting Ted Harrison did for the Cremation of Sam McGee and the Shooting of Dan McGrew... it's on in West Vancouver from Feb 9 to March 5th at the Ferry Building Gallery

this is from the front and back cover -- the dude is supposed to be Robert Service.

The one below is a paper doll illustrating some different outfits of the native people of the north...
This one accompanies an exhibit of Dolls for the Cultural Olympiad in Vancouver..

It was fun not having to be so strict with proportion and scale.. and the clothing is just so pretty...
also I am now skilled at drawing fur.. kinda

Paper Doll - Outfits from the North, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

CATS LET NOTHING DARKEN THEIR ROAR - January

2010-01-31T18:08:00.001-08:00

January, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

I have too many calendars. I do. But when I saw this one last year I had to have it. It's a Scandinavian typography calendar. Each month has a different phrase that spells out the month's name. I love it.

As a little challenge, to get me drawing more, I've decided to draw the phrase each month...

As you can see it's Jan 31st so this one took a while.. the idea and drawing didn't take too long to put together once I decided that the bunnies would not be pink. It is early for cherry blossoms, in fact it's snowing right now, but I am reminded of the Christmas card Mary got for me. She found some cards that brownies were selling at a Christmas bazaar... the outside said merry christmas and inside it said Spring is bound to come!.... so great!

Hikes...

2010-01-23T11:58:00.001-08:00

Dune grass - Radar Beach, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

The best thing, besides seeing my family, about being back in BC is the access to the outdoors. The thing I miss about living in Vancouver is that you can hop on a city bus and be in the woods in 30 minutes. The green space in Toronto and the east is quite different from BC. I find myself missing the mountains and rain forest quite a bit when I am in Toronto.

Top of Radar.. looking towards Tofino, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Part of the time I was back for Christmas my good friend Karen was in town as well. Karen is like me, grew up in Tofino and moved away for school, she now lives in London and works for the World Health Organization (I am amazed sometimes at the talent and accomplishments of my friends). One of the days before Christmas we decided to hike down to Radar Beach. The hike is a bit different from normal ones as you drive up to the top of Radar and hike down( and then hike back up). Radar Hill is so named because it was a lookout for invading armies from Asia during the war. Most of the grand views of the Pacific have grown over with trees (Radar Hill is now part of Pacific Rim National Park) but the view towards Tofino is still lovely I think. It turned out to be the perfect day to hike down... It started raining boxing day.

Radar Beach, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Christmas, New Years and Resolutions

2010-01-23T11:41:00.001-08:00

Incense burner, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

I'm not a person who's big into making resolutions.. mostly because I have a hard time keeping them. But as always I thought I'd try. so here is it, my resolution for 2010... 52 blog entries.. that is one for every week in the year. Note that I did not say 1 every week... though that, ultimately will be the aim. so 23 days into the new year I am starting... sounds about right.

As a note this little dude is a German incense burner that my mom got on our family trip to the Maritimes. You put a little cone of incense in the body and he "smokes", though this picture it kinda looks like his souls is escaping! The first time we did this we let the whole cone burn down and the house stunk! the next time we restricted mom to a short time .. and cracked a window.

Let's go to the EX!

2009-09-07T14:10:00.001-07:00

Let's go to the EX!, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Oh my goodness it's the CNE!
this seems more important to me because... I had never been! I know.. but the idea seemed pretty exciting..
It kinda wasn't.. a lot of carnie games and rides and bright flashing lights.. and people.. a lot of people.
But the experience of going was worth it... and there was a lot of food...horribly amazing food!
JD (flatmate) and I headed out with the express purpose of eating terrible food.. I had heard the rumour of deep fried oreos and we both were curious...
I only wish I had gotten a picture of our first food item.. chocolate covered bacon.. that was amazing.. possibly because bacon is amazing... we followed that up with a deep fried Mars bar (kinda disappointing) and deep fried Oreos (mega good) really it was a tie between the bacon and the oreos for best food of the night... mmmmn I can feel my ateries clogging as I remember...
Yum Yum

CNE.. home of greasy food... take 3, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Tomatoes!

2009-09-06T07:12:00.001-07:00

Tomatoes!, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

I grew these.
It's my first time growing tomatoes and I think I did ok. some of the plants now have a fungal or mold infection on their leaves.. i think because it's been a really wet summer. Other than that I've gotten quite a few lovely cherry tomatoes from my 3 little plants. Ya!

Quilting week three

2009-07-26T18:24:00.001-07:00

Quilt week three, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

So this week we sewed the pieces together and attached a border with a mitered edge.. not hard work as it was all sewing in straight lines. This is the first picture of the quilt top all assembled.. the lighting is pretty poor as I took the photo at night but I think it looks pretty good!!!!Last class tomorrow.. backing, binding and starting to quilt it ..
WOW!

Quilting... week two

2009-07-19T11:36:00.001-07:00

thread, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

OK so a lot got accomplished this week. we took our sewn arcs and appliqued them onto squares we cut out. then we cut out corner pieces and sewed them on..
I opted to make a larger quilt so there is a lot of homework to do. But got it done! ya ya ya! this is just some of the scrap thread from the sewing extravaganza that occurred this week.

The arcs are below.. they'll be assembled into intersecting circles this monday!

Quilt squares, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Finally, this week I also chose my backing and border fabrics. The backing fabric I'm going to keep a little bit of a secret for now, but trust me it's awesome! The fabric below is the border fabric.. it reminds me of Andrea.

Anna Griffin - Flora Collection, originally uploaded by the workroom.

Quilting... aka I might be insane

2009-07-12T18:21:00.003-07:00

Quilt doubles, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

So I signed up for a double wedding ring quilting class at the excellent Workroom just down the street from my house.
I got super excited about picking fabric for the rings and am all excited for class... but I'm just going to say it..
It's a ton of work.
I want to make it big enough to fit on my bed but ummm... I was hoping to have a life this summer. the teacher would like us to make a 4x4 quilt... I have enough patches to make a 6x7 quilt.. almost triple the size...
I don't know what I've gotten myself into but here goes nothing.

sewn arcs!, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Iceland and Denmark - that's all folks!

2009-07-11T08:40:00.000-07:00

Denmark - Lego at Kronborg castle, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

man! it took me forever to get all these posts up! but here they are. YA! man looking at all this stuff makes me wish I was back there right now.

Blue Lagoon, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Tivoli

2009-07-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

April 10 - In and Outside of Copenhagen: Castle, Museum and Tivoli

2009-07-10T08:10:00.001-07:00

Denmark - Kronborg castle, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Just outside of Copenhagen stands one of the best known castles in Europe. Kronborg Slot in Helsingor otherwise known as Hamlet's Castle. We spent the morning exploring the castles many rooms and, while I can't speak for Mary, I was reciting bits of Hamlet the whole time (Ah! Yorik! I knew him well Horatio...). After a traditional lunch of Smørrebrød(open faced sandwiches) we headed back towards Copenhagen with a stop at Louisiana. Louisiana is the Danish MoMA - but bigger. It is set on a lovely sea side property donated to the modern art museum and named after the donors three wives all named Louise ... yes he married three different women with the same name.

Our last stop was Tivoli, the amusement park near the centre of Copenhagen. It is amazing. It is no wonder that Walt Disney based Disneyland on it and the Michael Jackson offered to buy it. We went back twice, once for dinner and the second time to see all the lights on. Tivoli is the perfect mix of rides and carnival games and food. There really was things for all ages.. fine dining next to candyfloss stands, carni games and rollercoasters.. and lots and lots of flowers in bloom! Mary and I got wonderful fresh brewed Chai tea and if we go again I will insist on gelato..mmmmn.

Denmark - Kronborg castle, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Denmark - Pulpit Kronborg castle, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

April 9 - Museums, Castles and Waterfront

2009-07-01T15:20:00.001-07:00

Copenhagen - Botanisk Have, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

We started the day a little late so that we could fully use the 72 hour Copenhagen Card. The card gets us entry into almost every museum in the city as well as free rides on all the city transportation. We wandered up from the hotel and into Botanisk Have, the botanical gardens. We came across the Palm house and took a look inside. I wasn't brave enough to make it up the circular viewing platform but Mary was. The plants in the gardens were really lovely and it was cool to see things like cinnamon and orange trees.

After that we made our way to the Satens Museum for Kunst. We saw some excellent Titians, Magrittes and Picassos as well as quite a number of Danish contemporaries. Right across the street was Rosenborg Slot, a summer castle for the monarchy that now is a museum and the housing for the crown jewels.

Copenhagen - Rosenborg Slot, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

The castle was beautiful - almost all of it containing thee original furnishing from Christian IV including his bloody clothes from when he lost an eye in a batttle. It was very impressive, I especially enjoyed the tapestries depicting the Dano-Swede naval battles.

Copenhagen - Anglican Church, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

We wandered up town but were unfortunately too late for the medical museum and too early for church service. we wandered around the battlements near the Anglican church for a while and then decided to walk along the water to go get dinner.

Copenhagen - Lagkagehuset Bakery, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

We ended up stopping at Lagkagehuset one of the oldest and premiere bakeries in Copenhagen. It all looked so delicious so we picked up desert.

April 8 - Copenhagen Shopping and Boat Tour

2009-07-01T14:57:00.001-07:00

Copenhagen - fisherwoman, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Being Easter it is opening weekend for Tivoli! We were greeted in the morning by the boys auxiliary (?) band playing outside the entrance to the amusement park.We carried on .. there was a lot of shopping to do and the shops would be closed thursday and friday for easter holidays. We did manage to sneak in a canal tour in between hunting for wool and the latest Danish trend.. crazy scarves. We ran into the band again while shopping, this time in a little parade down the main pedestrian street.

Copenhagen - Tivoli parade, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Easter in Copenhagen

2009-06-24T14:22:00.000-07:00

Europe knows how to celebrate Easter. Not only is every shop decorated with bunnies and eggs and chickens but they get Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Monday as stat holidays.

April 7 - Copenhagen and Spring

2009-06-24T14:01:00.000-07:00

Copenhagen - houses, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Mary and I were pretty excited to arrive in Copenhagen. Iceland was wonderful and the weather despite the gloomy forecasts was lovely. But Denmark is full of spring, we arrived to a flower market in the square beside our hotel, bikes everywhere and warm glorious sunshine.

Copenhagen - tulips, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

We even ate dinner outside (with blankets wrapped around our legs) at the terrific RizRaz.

Copenhagen - Riz Raz, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

April 7 - Skyr!

2009-06-05T13:45:00.000-07:00

Iceland - Skyr!, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

we thought it was yoghurt.. it's actually cheese. It's really tasty- all the flavours of yoghurt but not too sweet. delicious!

oh and watch this : It could be worse: Iceland

April 6 - Gullfoss and Geyser

2009-06-01T12:47:00.000-07:00

April 6 - Thingvalier

2009-06-01T12:37:00.000-07:00

April 6 - The Golden Circle

2009-06-01T12:17:00.000-07:00

the Golden Circle - the road to Thingvellir, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Today was our big "tourist day"; we rented a car and started out on a tour of the major geographic sites of the Reykjavik area. Before we hit those we made a very important stop at the Alafoss Outlet Store and bought unspun wool, something you can't buy in Canada. Then we were off. The countryside is a lot like northern Canada.. low tundra and snow capped mountains; except these mountains are volcanic.

the Golden Circle - Pingvellir, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

We stopped at Thingvalier for lunch and a walk around. It's the sight of the first Icelandic Parliament (the oldest in the world) and also marks the boundary of the North American and European plates. The split between the plates has created a rather dramatic looking rift beside a swiftly moving river. The plates are slowly moving apart and cause Iceland to grow by about 2 cm per year!

Oh, I mentioned lunch. It was here we decided to try some Icelandic "delicacies"

the Golden Circle - mmmmn.. haroifiskur, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Haroifiskur: dried fish with butter
Our verdict: a bit chewy, but good

Pingvellir - mary tries hakari, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Hakari: fermented (rotten) shark..
our verdict: I thought it was chewy and tolerable..like a very strong cheese. I could grow to like it.
Mary couldn't even swallow it.

the Golden Circle - on the way back to Reykjavik, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

We continued up the road to Geyser... yes the one that named all other geysers.. well actually we were more interested in Strokkur which is active - Geyser stopped being active many years ago. Further up the road the sleet started .. but being good Canadian girls, we still managed to run out and look at Gullfoss the waterfall nearby. The sleet and snow was pretty miserable so we didn't stay long. We drove home via Sulfoss in the south which is near where we went horse riding before. It seems Sulfoss has the worst weather (but does have pizza with bananas!).

April 5 - Reykjavik and the Blue Lagoon

2009-04-25T14:51:00.001-07:00

Reykjavik - Hallgrimur church, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Sunday and we made it to church. Well... not an english service, that's actually really hard to find. but we made it an Icelandic service in the beautiful Hallgrimur church. After that we cruised around to some museums. We saw the original Sagas written in Viking times chronically the exploits of Erik the Red and Leif Errikson. Many of them are still in Copenhagen, claimed by the Danish when they ruled over Iceland but a few have been returned. The Culture house had a good display of them as well as exhibits on Icelandic film and housing some of the Natural History Museum specimens.

Reykjavik - hot dogs!!, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

We wandered back to the Flea Market to get me an Icelandic sweater (ya!) and ate dinner at the famous Baedarius Beztu hot-dog stand. I don't really know what was on our hot-dogs what we guessed was: raw onions, cooked (crunchy) onions, ketchup, mayonnaise with pickles??? and gravy??? Despite the unknown condiments they were quite good! We had to eat early becasue we were off to the blue lagoon.

Blue Lagoon, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

The water really is blue, but amazingly it didn't smell terribly of sulphur (like the surrounding area did). we slathered the white silt on our faces (sorry no pictures!) and lounged around in the warm waters. when it started to get dark we hopped on the bus and headed back into Reykjavik.

Blue Lagoon, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

April 4 - Reykjavik - Weekend Flea Market

2009-04-16T04:59:00.001-07:00

Reykjavik - Weekend Flea Market, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

We were supposed to go to the museums today but spent the day shopping. We cruised the flea market which is not to be missed. from the stalls you can buy all sorts of things, from locally designed jewelry to junk jewels; icelandic sweaters, delicacies such as dried fish and shark. We ate lunch in the small cafe area and listened to a group of friends playing Beatles tunes on their guitars.

April 3 - Reykjavik and Around

2009-04-15T16:50:00.001-07:00

Reyjkavik -, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

I was shocked when my sister didn't put up a fight when I suggested this activity. Mary is not a fan or horses but Saying the magic word PONIES! many many times somehow convinced her. We couldn't have picked a worse day for it.. blowing sleet for half the ride. Thankfully the riding company we went with had snow suits and rain gear for us. The rain stopped as we crossed over some low mountains and it was a pleasant ride from there on but both mary and my butts are sore an I think I will be trying to make up for this excursion for a little while.

Reyjkavik - the Perlan, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Back in town we decided to go for a walk around town and found our way up to the Perlan. The Perlan is the storehouse for a lot of the geothermically heated water supplied to reykjavik. Actually almost 90% of houses in the capital are heated geothermically. The Perlan is also a museum and a cafe that sits on the top of a mountain overlooking all of Reykjavik. There was some lovely views and some bunnies spotted. The bunnies apparently survive the winter by snuggling up the the hot water pipes. After all the riding and walking we opted for a relaxing swim at one of the 7 swimming pools in the city. All the pools are minimally chlorinated (so you have to shower before you enter) and geothermcally heated.

April 2: Reykjavik

2009-04-14T19:06:00.001-07:00

Reykjavik - The Grey Cat, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

What do you do after not sleeping on a red eye from Toronto to Reykjavik? I mean besides wondering what the smell is (sulphur) and stopping in the duty free to impulse buy vodka and salted licorice (and then put the super salty thing in your mouth and reel back).. no, after all that you eat breakfast. yummy yummy breakfast at the Grei Kotturinn (Grey Cat) my new favorite little cafe. it was a big breakfast in the oddest little relaxed shop.

Reykjavik - Sun Craft, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

So we have arrived. and have the pictures to prove it. We did a little walking tour that ended at the suncraft sculpture down near the harbour.

Iceland & Denmark

2009-04-10T10:08:00.001-07:00

Reykjavik - Leif Eríkson, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

If you came for posts on our trip.. they are coming... My computer ran into a little power problem in Reykjavik and we have no wifi in Copenhagen so I have been forced to shun the internet. But I have been keeping a little bit of a diary and taking a ton of pictures so I'll have a lot show you all very soon.
Back in Canada on Sunday.

Easter Eggs

2009-03-17T18:08:00.001-07:00

Jars full of dye, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

I have never been so on top of things. This year I have finished 5 eggs! .. I managed to finish off the last two yesterday while I was waiting to go to the vet.

red background, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

fleur, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

I'm not entirely pleased with how the first 3 came out.. all on brown eggs.

diagonal, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

48 triangles, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

The last two turned out well..I can't believe I had never done a 48 triangle egg before

Ayalah's Egg, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

My friend Ayalah even came over and made one too! I love this. She's defiantly inspired me to do a non-geometric design.

Happy St.Patricks Day

2009-03-17T17:40:00.001-07:00

St.Patricks Day, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

An excellent pin from mom and some Guinness for the holiday

Cinnamon roooooollllls

2009-03-03T09:13:00.001-08:00

Cinnamon roooooollllls, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Been doing more baking and cooking as of late. These have been made twice. They are really good and - learning to be a bit more patient - they have risen and worked out really nicely. ahhhh hot fresh cinnamon buns. lovely. They have one extra step which makes them a bit more unique than others - when you roll out the dough you fold in a layer of cream cheese and then re-roll.. oooh so tasty.
The recipe come from Saveur magazine.. yum!

Things of note.. today

2009-02-11T06:48:00.000-08:00

firstly..

look at what's coming to the iPhone/ touch...
YES! This game (and the slightly more awesome counterpart Cross Country Canada) was a big part of me getting into computers. I cannot wait!

And on a rather sad note. Craft magazine is the latest victim of the economic downturn. Hopefully the website and blog will live on.

A short post on Christmas

2009-02-03T09:46:00.001-08:00

Andrea's gingerbread house, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

oh hai!
so i've been a busy bee trying to get updated on all the stuff that has gone on the past year. It's been fun finding all my pictures, uploading them and writing little bits of the trip. I've done this all because I received the nicest loveliest camera for Christmas and it's inspired me to take more pictures. So I will have more to share.. I just want to get caught up a little before that.
that's all

Lunenburg

2009-02-03T09:32:00.001-08:00

Lunenburg - Bluenose II, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Lunenburg is where the battery in my camera died.. I managed to get these shots done and then "borrowed" my sisters camera for the rest of the trip.
Lunenburg was a Germanic settlement and all the churches around town attest to it. We did a fair bit of walking and exploring around this UNESCO world heritage site.. making the necessary stops at the Bluenose II and the Maritime Museum. More pictures and posts from the trip will happen in March when my sister comes to town with her pictures.
so I'll leave you with these.

Lunenburg - Lennox Inn, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Mary and I got really excited about staying in this Inn - the oldest continuously operating Inn in Canada and the most original eighteenth century Inn in North America. Our parents were not as impressed with the lack of central heating.

Lunenburg - St. John's Anglican Church, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Peggy's Cove

2009-02-02T10:28:00.001-08:00

Peggy's Cove - Family Shot, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

We rented a car in Halifax and drove down the coast to Peggy's Cove. If we paid any attention to the guide books we would have gotten there earlier. This small, very small town, bursts with tourists! It's like a tiny Tofino with the same amount of tourists.The lighthouse is totally accessible which is cool and it's also a post office!

Peggy's Cove - Glacier's work, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

I wish I had gotten a shot on the bog of all the erratics (perched boulders) that were left by the glaciers retreat and melt. The whole area was like a moon-scape.

Peggy's Cove - Lobster Traps, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Peggy's Cove - Bouys, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Peggy's Cove - Warning, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

and finally... Tofino need some of these

Halifax (round 1)

2009-01-31T19:07:00.001-08:00

Halifax - looking toward the citadel, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Our trip through the maritimes began and ended with Halifax.
We spent a few days when we first arrived going to the Maritime museum, pier 21 and to the citadel.
I had my first proper lobster dinner in Halifax.. and I must say fresh lobster is really very good. Almost as good as crab.

Halifax - Theodore Tugboat, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

In the harbour we ran into this guy... do you remember Theodore Tugboat? I do, what I didn't know was that it was set and made in halifax! This was a harbor cruise boat but we also saw the original set and characters in the Maritime Museum

Halifax - Cogswell Street, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Up by the citadel... we had to walk a little ways to find it.. but there it was.. a very important street

The Train

2009-01-31T15:45:00.001-08:00

Quebec City - Train route, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

From Quebec we went east to the Maritimes. Can you believe none of us had been there? The train ride was really relaxing and awesome actually.
We opted for the excellent "Easterly class" which included meals, sleeper cars, a park car and tour guides and naturalists.. well worth it.

VIA Rail through the maritimes, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

VIA Rail through the maritimes - salt marshes, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

OK, I'm going to geek out a little. I just found this really interesting.
These are some of the salt marshes of the Bay of Fundy. The Acadians settled here and constructed dykes with system of one way valves called aboiteaux, that allowed fresh water from the marsh to drain out but preventing salt water from entering. But here is the really cool part.. on the opposite side of the track (the area I didn't take a picture of) there was all these tall thin poles.. Radio towers! the salt in the ground made for excellent conduction and amplification .. This is the site of the Radio Canada International broadcasting! cool.

Quebec City - Day Two

2009-01-31T13:21:00.001-08:00

Quebec City - Family pic!, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

The second day we took to go to the Citadel and the Plains of Abraham. I had no clue that they would be so integrated within the city.

Quebec City - gates of la Citadelle, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

The day started with a tour of the Citadel home of the Van Doo's. With Canada being at war in Afghanistan we had all heard of the Van Doo regiment what we didn't know was that Van Doo is a anglophone pronunciation of the regiment number Vent Deux (22). From the citadels top wall you could see all of the plains of Abraham as well as the St. Laurence and the city.

Quebec City - Plains of Abraham, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

The rest of the day we wandered though the Plains of Abraham. Most (ALL) Canadians should know about the battle(s) fought here and really everyone should visit them. It was one of the most memorable places of the whole trip. Seeing the spot where Wolfe received his mortal wound, imagining what the battle must have been like. The plains are rightly now a national park, but did you know that the plains of Abraham were named that because a guy named Abraham rented them to pasture his animals?
I would have never guessed!

Quebec City - city tour

2009-01-31T13:00:00.001-08:00

Quebec City - Chateau Frontenac, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

I love Quebec City. Love it. It has enough Europe flair to make me feel chique being there and enough Canada to make me feel at home. If I spoke French even a little bit better I would move there. The old city is tight knit and comfortable. Lots of hills (not surprising) and views of the water. We did a few things in the city but I think the best thing we did was a walking tour. The tour started at Chateau Frontenac, once the governor's residence and now a luxury hotel. We then wandered down through the Seminaire de Quebec. It was full of school kids and so quite loud and full of echos but really beautiful.

Quebec City - Seminaire de Quebec, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

We wandered down outside the city walls and into Place Royal. Almost all of the land beneath the city walls is reclaimed land. The area we wandered into was built to recreate what the city would have looked like in Champlains time. This was a requirement the city fulfilled in order to receive UNESCO world heritage classification.

Quebec City - Rue Petit-Champlain, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

We ended with some shopping (of course) the main tourist-y shopping street was directly below the chateau and was extremely busy.

Montreal!

2008-11-10T08:25:00.001-08:00

Altar in Notre Dame Basilica, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Man my updates about our trip are pretty lackluster .. few and far between. Party I blame my sister. but that only can go so far as.. well... the first group of pictures were taken on my camera and it's my job to upload them.
This is the altar in Notre Dame Basilica in Montreal. Mom and I ducked in here after wandering around in the morning checking out old Montreal. It was one of the only days that was overcast and rainy. We were just so lucky.

Expo 67 site, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

We also did a little wander down by the waterfront and checked out the old expo site. I think the last time my dad was in Montreal he as attending Expo 67... Crazy!

candles in Notre Dame Basilica, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

also on a side note... found Montreal's Trudeau airport highly confusing and the airport shuttle very vexing.

the cup!!

2008-10-21T09:48:00.001-07:00

the cup!!, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

So it's taken me a while to start this but I wanted to blog a few posts about mom and dad's trip out here to visit me and our family trip around the east coast.
It was amazing! I could not have asked for a better trip.
And really what a better way to start the trip then sightseeing in Toronto. I've not done a lot of touristy things since moving here - and I saved up a few things for when they came.
Top of the list had to be seeing the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Just let me say - WAY more interesting than I thought. There were lots of interactive things and of course - the cup.
way cool.

12 questions

2008-09-09T13:34:00.001-07:00

12 questions, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

This is borrowed from mary as a time killer for a slow day at the office.
if you click on the picture it will link back to my flickr page with all the source pictures. I was amused / disturbed by all the answers that we had in common and so changed a few (they are noted)

The Questions:

1. What is your name? willa
2. What is your favorite food? salmon
3. What elementary school did you go to? wickaninnish
4. What is your favorite color? green
5. Who is your celebrity crush? errol flynn (easily could be fred astaire)
6. What is your favorite drink? whiskey sour (i went alcoholic instead of tea)
7. Dream vacation? manchu picchu
8. Favorite dessert? bread pudding (tied with rhubarb pie and strawberry shortcake)
9. What do you want to be when you grow up? medical illustrator
10. What do you love most in life? family
11. One word to describe you? hostess
12. Your flickr name? girl from finito

... simple questions, pretty answers. Here is how you play:

* type your answer to each question above into Flickr Search
* using only the first page of results, pick an image
* copy and paste each URL into fd's mosaic maker
* blog it!

Fun. Thanks for the idea mar.... see you sunday!

Hey! look at that!

2008-08-25T10:03:00.001-07:00

After much more swearing than probably necessary my new website is up and running!
i'd like to consider it in beta mode as i haven't really tried to break the code. but i like how it's turned out.. heavily influenced by the folks over at AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts) and their design archive.. ahh le sigh.

Olympic Fever

2008-08-21T11:06:00.000-07:00

I'm not a big sports fan. My days watching sports are confined to the big competitions: The Stanley Cup, the Grey Cup, the euro/ world cup and the odd Calgary v. Vancouver/Edmonton game and for those I generally head out to a pub and enjoy the game surrounded by like-minded people. But man, the Olympics, there's something different. I scan the morning paper for highlights, watch recaps and read blogs on my computer, listen to the rankings on the radio and have ruined my sleeping pattern to watch them on tv. alone. on my couch.

So what is different?it's defiantly easier to get into the events when your country and pride is at stake. Then there is the hint of connection: I obsessively watched the triathlon remembering the Simon Witfield plaque outside the running room store near my old place in Victoria. I used to pass it on my way to get groceries and think about that race in 2000. yep. i did.

but the weird thing is I'll watch the Olympics when Canada isn't even in contention. I pick teams or athletes I want to win and root for them or just enjoy the show these people put on.

This Olympics I've been all about the equestrian (haha yes I like the horses). I would probably change the channel if it was any other competition but these days I've been wondering why I don't get "bold" (the cbc channel that is showing the jumping). I watched the recaps on my computer at lunch - too amazing.
Go Canada!

Caribana Festival... Parade Day

2008-08-14T10:19:00.001-07:00

1st sight, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Caribana - the Caribbean cultural festival is a big thing around these parts. Living in Toronto for almost 4 years now it's a little embarrassing that I have never checked it out. I have heard a few bad things about the parade, it's history of violence and the unruly crowds but Connie and I decided to brave it - just to see what was happening.
It was busy and loud and I got soaked on the way over. The weird thing was for being the huge event the parade route was all but impossible to find online and there was no information on when the parade started and where to go. We just followed the crowd (thankfully connie had arrived earlier and sussed things out). The barricades proved another problem - so high that it was impossible to get a good view of what was happening.
I must admit, I was a little disappointed.
But the colours were cool and fun and I would go again, just with lower expectations and later in the day.

caribana costumes, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Vegan Peach Cobbler

2008-08-03T05:40:00.001-07:00

Vegan Peach Cobbler, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Horrah for peach season! I had a few friends over on tuesday and whipped up a vegan cobbler for them. I replaced the butter with all vegetable shortening, the whipping cream with soy milk and omitted the blueberries (which I admit would have been really nice).. I cooked it in ramekins in a water bath as an alternative to serving it in one dish which worked out quite well.... yummy yummy yummy.

PEACH AND BLUEBERRY COBBLER
from A Matter of Taste .. Waverman and Chatto
filling....
4 cups sliced peeled peaches
1 cup blueberries
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp brown sugar to taste
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp butter
topping....
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cup butter, diced
1/4 cup whipping cream

preheat oven to 350
combine peaches blueberries, lemon juice, brown sugar, and cornstarch.
place in a buttered 8in square baking dish and dot with butter
combine flour, cornmeal, brown sugar and nutmeg for topping. cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. stir in cream until mixture is just moistened.
drop batter by heaping spoonfuls onto fruit mixture. Topping will spread slightly during baking.
bake for 30 minutes, or until topping is golden and fruit is bubbling. serve warm.

Chickpea flour pasta

2008-07-31T10:25:00.001-07:00

Chickpea flour pasta, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

I love fresh pasta.. but man is flour, water, oil and egg expensive. Sunday I decided to take matters into my own hands and made pasta for the first time. I made this vegan friendly pasta with chickpea flour which binds a lot like egg. The conclusion: pretty amazing .. other than the kneading.. my arms were sore the next day. The first batch i made to wet and had a soggy dinner but the second batch turned out well. It's been dried and frozen for later nom-ing.
advice to future me: get a pasta crank-thing and omit the rolling out by hand part

a nice little day

2008-07-25T08:20:00.001-07:00

distillery district, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

I was thinking about where I could take my parents when they come to visit me.. a place that was out of the way and reflected the Toronto that I have grown to like (not love.. but like). In this spirit I visited the distillery district with my pals Naseem and Kean. It's a nice place but... well considering the tours are given on segways it was a little pretentious. As Kean described it - it was like Granville Island (except without the great market and the crowds of people bustling around). I think it has the potential to be awesome - but there is a lack of shade on hot days and (I think it's real downfall) the buildings are too far apart to make the place look busy. The area lacks the energy of Granville. Distillery District... Fail. I will not be taking my family to visit you.

In other news fun times!

Award Winning

2008-07-22T09:48:00.001-07:00

I posted a while back about what I am doing at my job in Toronto.

This weekend a co-worker and I were acknowledged for our work with Awards of Merit from the Association of Medical Illustrators. There were only three people who received awards in the professional interactive media category (the category we entered) so we were very pleased.

What won was my work on Periopertive Patient Simulations
and Michael's work on Trans-esophageal Echocardiology (specifically the standard views).

UPDATE 7/25/08:
this afternoon... after spending the day panicking that i might have left the stove on (i didn't.. i knew i didn't but somehow was filled with a sense of dread anyway) i walk up to my place to find these in front of my door. what nice neighbours to receive the flowers and leave them out for me. What an amazing set of parents to send me congratulation flowers.. I am so happy right now.

flowers from mom, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

fleurs, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

It's Summer!

2008-07-08T09:36:00.000-07:00

lemonade, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

It's finally gotten really hot and lovely out here and the summer garden is growing nicely.
I made a really simple lemonade this weekend and loved it.. so sour and refreshing

1st blooms of summer.., originally uploaded by girl from finito.

in other news my sweet peas have started to bloom.

New bed...wallpaper

2008-06-14T09:31:00.000-07:00

new bed...wallpaper, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Mary and I both bought wall paper when we were in Montreal last year. It has taken me almost a full year to put it up. I think it looks beautiful.. and my friends have started to tease me that my new bedroom is very "french country" or as Naseem put it "Muskoka Chic"

many thanks to Frances for helping me put it up.

ella, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Rainy day cooking

2008-05-22T09:18:00.000-07:00

atichokes are a waste, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

in a bold, somewhat stupid move, i decided that biking home in the rain was not enough and i should stop and pick up all the ingredients for a huge meal and spend all day cooking ... the results...
1. atichokes are a waste and i hate cleaning them

Veggie stuffing, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

2. whole grain veggie stuffing!!

sauteed fennel, artichoke hearts and leeks, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

3. sauteed fennel, artichoke hearts and leeks

red lentil soup, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

4. red lentil soup

tofu spanikopita, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

5. awesome tofu spanikopita

here comes the sun, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

6. and a break in the clouds and rain

blackberry apple crisp

2008-05-19T08:55:00.000-07:00

blackberry apple crisp, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Ever feel like making desert at 7 at night.. defrost your fruit and get everything ready only to find the store is closed and you are short a cup.. thank goodness for friends around the corner who have apples.. yeah katie!

Birthday!

2008-05-19T07:44:00.000-07:00

ouefs en cocotte, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Wow! I'm 29....
I had a really low key birthday this year. Just some friends over for wine and snacks. My camera had a dead battery so that day I took no photos. These are from the day after.
Andrea gave me a book for Christmas - Julie and Julia - about a woman who decided to cook all the recipes in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. She mentioned Ouefs en Cocotte and I just had to try them... and oh they are ever so good.

tulips from Katie, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

there is nothing i can think of at the moment that i like better than getting flowers.. good thing my friends know this (or they like getting them too and are clever).. these came from Katie.. i love tulips.. stunning!

flowers from Jen and Tusche, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

A Birthday Theme.. Flowers and how pretty are these.. and it's a living plant.. so it will continue to be beautiful.

birthday flowers, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

and lovely ones from mom and dad.

Tofino..

2008-04-22T07:17:00.000-07:00

barnacles.. woot woot, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

I have been massively lucky to get as much vacation time as I want. Right when I got back from Cuba Mary called me up and floated the idea of joining her when she went to Victoria for a conference. Being Mary's birthday as well it seemed like a good idea. While we were celebrating mom thought it would be a good time for a little unbirthday for me! how could I resist!

unbirthday, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

In another lucky happenstance my friend Diana was in BC from Beijing visiting some friends. I convinced her to come up for a few days as well. I love introducing my hometown to my pals - it's the most beautiful place in the world.

diana and I at the BEACH, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

sa sa sa sand, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Bike Trip Day 5 ... Havana

2008-03-22T20:41:00.000-07:00

Havana - Karen and I at the Water, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

The next day we returned to Havana and took a walking tour to the old city. I had such a fabulous time I really didn’t want to go back to Canada, especially since it was 28 degrees in Cuba and –28 in Toronto. Oh well.

Bike Trip Day 4 ...one more thing

2008-03-21T20:14:00.000-07:00

town outside of San Cristobal (day4)
Originally uploaded by girl from finito

Who knows where this was shot...
we at just biked through San Cristobal on our way to our last stop...
make sure to notice the awesome nurse and horse drawn cart..

Bike Trip Day 4 ... a few more pics

2008-03-13T20:02:00.000-07:00

The road to San Diego, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

I took the best pictures this day.. most while speeding along on my bike. I think I was probably more relaxed and could go a little slower and take more because it was the last day.

mind the poo...

man there are vultures everywhere in cuba. alot of the time Karen and I would imagine the vultures waiting for us to wipe out/ pass out from exhaustion on our bikes so they could sweep down and eat us.

Bike Trip Day 4 ... Victory!

2008-03-01T19:55:00.000-08:00

Victory!, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

The last day of cycling we traveled about 70 km back to San Diego. Checked into our hotel and had massages. Well worth it! Before dinner we went on a tour of a cigar factory which we had missed the day before. That night we had a little band all to ourselves and we danced until we were too tired to move. We didn't last too long.

Bike Trip Day 3 ... Las Terrazas

2008-02-21T19:38:00.000-08:00

Last stop, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

By the third day we all though we were insane but the cycle trip, though longer (about 65 km), it was an easier cycle from Vinales to San Diego and then we bussed to Las Terrazas. Las Terrazas is a project set up by Castro of sustainable rural economy based on the rational use of its natural resources for tourism. The buildings were designed to blend with their surroundings. Many of the people that live there are farmers whose fields are located a short distance away and others are artists. Before checking into the hotel we went swimming in the natural waterfalls at Banyos de San Juan. The pools and waterfalls was used as a spa when the Spanish first came to the island. There is only one hotel in the city and it was gorgeous.

The Hotel Moka was 4 star and deservedly so. We ate that night at a converted coffee plantation on the top of a nearby mountain.

Bike Trip Day 2 ... a few more pics

2008-02-11T19:07:00.000-08:00

Just thought I would add a few more pictures.. I can't find them on flickr.. but will post them anyway
here..
once I upload them...

UPDATE! I think there should be more but I can't seem to find them.. I think they weren't scanned in?? oh well, follow the link for some more pics.

moooooo, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

La Palma - Martyrs Remembered, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Lunch Stop - The kindness of strangers, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Bike Trip Day 2 ...Outside of La Palma

2008-02-11T19:05:00.000-08:00

Outside of La Palma (day 2)
Originally uploaded by girl from finito

a little video shot while i was cycling along the road in the hills just outside of La Palma.

Bike Trip Day 2 ... La Palma and back

2008-02-10T18:47:00.000-08:00

Tobacco field, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

The next day we did a round trip from Vinales to La Palma and back that was about 60 km. There were massive hills to climb up in the morning half of the cycle and I had trouble with all of them. The first was steep and "short" (read "shorter"), the second was "flat" and long (read "not quite as steep") and the last was steep and long (this mother of a hill is what everything else was compared to.. and it was horrid). When we stopped in the main square in La Palma they actually laughed at us when we told them what direction we were traveling in.
At midday we stopped at a farmer’s home at the top of the longest steepest hill and had the most delicious lunch. Pork rinds, pork stew, chicken soup and yucca, rice and beans and white cake. There seems to be only one cake recipe in Cuba, something we learned at the Blau. This food was miles above anything else we ate in Cuba. The family feeds the farmers that work on the land nearby and take it upon themselves to feed travelers and passers by. They were the most lovely inviting family.
After that we cycled very quickly downhill to a river where we went for a quick swim and then back to the hotel.

MONSTER JAM! .. go us!

2008-02-03T06:52:00.000-08:00

MONSTER JAM! .. go us!, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

My friend Naseem is one of the best people I know. She's always suggesting weird fun things to do. Last weekend was a monster truck jam/ demolition derby. We sat way high up in the rogers centre and watch cars hit each other.. and had so much fun. I sat there alternatly knitting and yelling (note the earplugs-- essential).

Ladies!, originally uploaded by chipzdarsky.

Afterward we headed to a friends birthday party at a gay bar in town. Running serendipitously into our good pal Chip we followed him to a pan sexual club for a night of dancing. Oh did I mention Chip was writing a story for the National Post and so was dressed in drag? yeah, he was.

awesome!

Bike Trip ...Cayo Jutias

2008-01-30T18:24:00.000-08:00

The first real day of cycling I found out why you wear bike gloves. My hands were so sweaty from biking in the heat and humidity that I couldn't change gears. That was a problem, thankfully, easily remedied. Our first trip was a day trip to Cayo Jutias about 55km away from Vale de Vinales. We were rewarded with a secluded white sand beach and a swim in the ocean.

Cayo Jutias - the 1st beach, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

The bike trip begins

2008-01-28T18:07:00.000-08:00

Vale de Vinales, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

After a few daysin Habana we started a bike tour of the Pinar Del Rio province. Pinar del Rio province is just north west of Havana and is one of the best tobacco growing regions of the country. It is known for it’s beautiful scenery and pincushion mountains. (The mountains were formed from a high bed of limestone that was eroded underneath by the sea and then collapsed.)
There were 12 of us on the bike tour with a Cuban guide and bus driver. The rest of the group was mainly from Australia with a few others from England and Canada. The first day of the tour I almost crashed on the gravel traveling down too quickly on the steep mountain roads, not such a good start but that was the only near miss minus one. The fist night out we headed to a Salsa club in Vinales. It was great, another live band, lots of dancing and lots of mojitos!

Habana

2008-01-21T17:42:00.000-08:00

After a few days at the resort we traveled by bus to Havana. It was a little bit of a trial as we didn't realize we needed to reserve our spot on the bus the day before. Luckily there was a second bus, and some other travellers who spoke a little spanish to help us get on. There we stayed in a beautiful hotel that overlooked the Macelon, the seaside road.

At night we went to live music concerts including the Buena Vista Social Club. Cuba has such excellent musicians and we were impressed unfortunatly the food left a lot to be desired... a lot of pork and beans and rice.. all a little dry. We had a great time exploring the city and I took a lot of photos of the old cars for my dad.

antenna, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

on the set of star trek

2008-01-18T14:36:00.001-08:00

on the star trek set, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

so I've been waiting a little while to start this post because.. well I don't really know how to start it.
my plan is to chronologically go through my trip to Cuba -- but the first thing we did was go to an all inclusive.. and it was the boring part of the trip.
This is the best photo of the hotel we stayed at... the Blau. It's a giant monster of a building sticking out above the tree line... the inside filled with "cascading vines".. a total look of an abandoned cardassian outpost ("a what?" you ask .. i respond: "never mind").

The Blau was filled with vacationing 1st year undergraduate students and vacationing families all embarrassingly from Canada. Karen and I were a little misplaced. But despite the horror of an all inclusive it was a funny building with a lot of bars. Actually drinking was about the only activity offered 24 hours. The food was beautifully presented but terrible.
Blau became a synonym for an overly pretentious presentation of sub-par goods; equally relevant for the food, the hotel and for some of the reading materials we had there.
The saving grace was the ocean and beach both of which were amazing testaments to nature. (pictures below)
We spent new years here.. salsa-ing the night away and recovering the next day. After that we packed our stuff and headed to Havana (yea!)

obviously I come from a family of geniuses

2007-12-05T13:02:00.002-08:00

yeah i don't get it either...
have they really looked at my posts..
i make up words
... seriously

frans mittens

2007-11-17T14:06:00.001-08:00

frans mittens, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

I knit mittens!!
and it was totally easier than i thought it would be!
These mitts are for my friend frances, part of her birthday gift. i'm thinking of lining them with micro fleece for a bit more warmth.
but yea mittens!

The Onion - bullshit most important issue

2007-10-27T09:07:00.001-07:00

Poll: Bullshit Is Most Important Issue For 2008 Voters

apartment deemed perfect

2007-10-24T19:39:00.000-07:00

tonight, when i got my self all ready for bed and finished brushing my teeth and shut off the light in my room i noticed the most perfect thing. my room has a window that gets moonlight.. a perfect moonlight window impression that drapes across my bed. not so high that it blinds me but close enough that i can shuffle down and see the moon if I want.
it was like in a movie, but better than that because it was real.

what I do

2007-10-18T07:22:00.000-07:00

many people ask what I do.
I tend to fudge around and try to explain everything. Truthfully I am part of a great group at Toronto General Hospital called Peri-operative Interactive Education (PIE). I work with two other amazing medical illustrators and have a great boss who lets us take our projects in interesting directions. But enough of me fudging around... you can find about all of this at our new website!

ps. I'm famous!

Colbert for President

2007-10-18T05:19:00.000-07:00

some announcements...
1. Colbert appeared on the daily show and mused about running for president.. falling short of announcing his run:

2. After, on the same network, but apparently a "more prestigious show" (his own), he announced his candidacy... in south carolina..

amazing!

brunch invite

2007-10-17T11:24:00.001-07:00

brunch, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

my place is finally ready for people to see it... and visit ..
and eat yummy food!

motivational posters

2007-10-12T06:49:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to outfit my new place with art work. These two posters jumped out at me. maybe because they are directed at the viewer. They are both from companies in the states-- I don't know if the post family (stay up) ships to Canada but 20x200 (you're impossible) doesn't yet - maybe that's a good thing.