bah. i was really looking forward to doing this challenge every day, but as with all fun in life, work got in the way. which in truth was fun also, but meant 6am starts and late evening finishes, not leaving much room for photo editing...
i took the photos on the right days, but haven't had a chance to get them up yet...well i suppose there were opportunities, but i spent them sleeping instead.

i don't have an iphone or instagram, but i don have a regular camera. i figured that would do. i don't think it really matters too much...

hopefully the next ones will be on time, but depending on schedules, they may have to be delivered in one hefty clump from time to time...

finally, my online shop is open again and i am producing a few more pieces of jewellery and art. things have been so up in the air recently, but now that i have my second visa, pete has a job and everything is a little bit more stable, we're getting back to normal...more or less...

there are only a few pieces available at the moment, but more on the way as i get into production mode. there are also a few more prints on the way, and some crockery featuring my illustrations, but it's a slow process. soon though!

all of these pieces are available from our etsy shop and can be shipped all over the world. take a look, share with friends, look forward to the summer...

pete and i went for a day trip over to the states on sunday after i got the ok from the Canadian government to stay in their country for another year. the drive down there is lovely on a clear day, and lucky for us it was the first sunny weekend we've had this year. beautiful.
there are things i love about the US that i wish Canada would copy, like cheap outlet malls, giant craft stores and $2 pints of beer....

it was a wonderful day trip, and i am now fully legal and able to work once more.back to the grindstone i guess...

i just discovered the Life Magazine archives online, and for the last two hours have been lost in a beautifully historical journey through time. i have always loved the images you can find in Life, it's always my go-to magazine when we go to the ABC used book store on granville/broadway. they just have this amazing way of capturing a perfect moment in time, and illustrating a generation in pictures. if you're into that sort of thing check it out, you'll fall in love. even if you're not it's worth a look, there are some really outstanding images to enjoy.

my favourite subject of choice today was London. In recent times I have lost a lot of love for my capital, so it was nice to get a little of that back by seeing it in a different age. it's almost like seeing it with new eyes...

these images are © Life Magazine

the blim market was a great success, thank you to everyone who came, and to those who took business cards and complimented my work. it means a lot to know that people like my products so much. we had a great spot too, right by the main entrance. although when it started to snow outside i did start to wish i was a little further away from the open door....

it was cool to see so many people with such varying talents. each stall had a very unique look and they were all displayed so beautifully. i love the variety and that there were so many things to look at. the only problem is i never really get time to have a proper look, i usually have to rush back to my own table.
but of the other vendors i did get to see and chat to, these guys were some of my favourites....

click on the logos to visit their websites

i spent a lot of time and effort preparing for the fair, and worrying about it too. yesterday i was pretty tired, it was like my body and brain just stopped to take a rest. i spent the entire day reading, which i haven't done since the last harry potter book came out. i also squeezed in a relaxing bath, a nice nap and a game of settlers of catan. the boys made me watch the film Immortals, which was so awful it made me a little angry. but if that was the low point of my day, i can't really complain...

next up on the agenda is getting the shop up and running again, plus fixing the screen on my god damn lap top so i can actually do some drawing. stay tuned...

we don't usually do anything for valentine's day, except for continue the tradition of eating pizza for dinner. this year was no exception, and we had a comfy day both sat in our bootie slippers and fleecy pjs. but as we had some cake mix left over in the cupboard from christmas, i thought i would express to pete how i truly feel through the medium of baked chocolate fudge and icing....

....happy valentine's!....

dad's back garden after the snow in england last week.i forgot how much i miss foxes...

yesterday started off as a beautiful, bright sunny day in vancouver. it definitely felt like spring was trying to arrive. pete and i went to the gym in the morning, and after a fire alarm kicked us out before we could finish, we went for a walk in the park in the sun.
pretty much as soon as we got back to the apartment the sun disappeared and this rolling fog came racing in from the mountains and engulfed the entire city. by the evening it was so thick it was as if vancouver had been swallowed into a black hole, you couldn't even see the lights of the city!
that's the thickest fog i've seen in a long time. it was pretty cool....

last week it was my birthday, and as a treat we decided to head up to Calgary to visit friends and have a good old time. the day had been planned for me, so I was unaware of what to expect, but very happy to be seeing somewhere new, and to hang out with good mates.
the day started with a surprise trip to the Calgary Zoo with ricky and pete. a good opportunity to take lots of photos as well as see some pretty cool animals...

from the zoo we moved on to dinner at a great pizza place that serves authentic italian style pizza. the waitress even assured us that they were backed by the Italian Pizza Association...if a thing exists. italians or no, it was amazing stuff, and i would highly reccommend a visit.
another surprise came after that, when I was taken to Ranchman's, a country western bar in the middle of nowhere, just around the corner from the third ugliest road in Canada (as voted by the people) and a club called 'the back alley'... i was a little nervous at first, but as it was ladies night and free entry, i pulled down my cowboy hat and got myself into a couple of triple shot spirits for $8.

Country music is an interesting thing. it's sometimes fun and crazy, othertimes depressing and lonely, but always manages to sound exactly the same. it also draws a very dedicated following, and I have to admit the tramps in the country bar were about 2 or 3 points ahead of the tramps in an english bar...
it was surprisingly fun watching people dance to that music, and when the line dancing started i figured it'd be rude not to. more fun than it looks, and by the end of each song i eventually got the hang of it...
and of course what country bar would be complete without a go on the mechanical bull? obviously after signing the waiver...

needless to say i was pretty hung over the next day, just in time to sit in the car for four hours and head to Radium hot springs for a weekend getaway...
the car journey wasn't actually that bad, after a few stops for greasy junk food and gatorade. driving through the mountains was particularly lovely, despite the weather being grey. you could still see the Rockies, and mile after mile of dense forest as far as you could see. 
we got to radium when it was pretty dark, so not much scenery to take in, and we spent most of the evening trying to unfreeze the lock box that held the key to our rented apartment. that in itself was lush, and after a long stint in the hot tub, we all sat lazily around the fire, drinking 50 ¢ cans of coke and gorging ourselves on chcolate pretzels... but i think i have to say my favourite part of that evening was hiding patiently in the broom closet for a full 15 minutes to jump out at jess. it was totally worth it...

the next day we had a well deserved lie in and pancake breakfast, and headed up into the mountains to take advantage of the hot springs. it would have been cool to see them as they occur naturally, but by the 50s they had already been turned into a fairly concrete public space, and chlorine had been added to the water to prevent pink eye, verrucas and the like. for the best i imagine, noticing the amount of sticky children there were in the water...
this is the first time i've actually taken advantage of my camera being waterproof to take some cool photos. usually that's just a healthy reminder that i can't damage this one like i have the other four...

our last day in the mountains had another birthday surprise in store. we drove out into the middle of the forest and i was blindfolded so i couldn't read any signs on the way. i was a little bit suspicious and wondered more than once if they were going to take me out into the woods and kill me... but they didn't. instead we went to the northern lights wolf centre, and i got to learn a lot about and even see my favourite animals. it was an amazing gift, although coming just after lunch meant that we left with the smell of dead deer in our clothes...

our last stop before heading back to calgary was to Lake Louise, which is usually a bright and dazzling blue from the glacier waters, but at this time of year the whole thing was frozen solid. this brought a lot of snow shoers and ice skaters to the scene, as well as some awesome ice sculptures right on the lake itself. the ice was so thick there was a fire on it to keep people warm, although pete wouldn't go near it for fear of falling through like a bugs bunny cartoon...
we had a spot of hot chocolate in the ice bar, then headed back to the long drive home.

that night we ate more junk food and lounged about watching trashy tv. although america's funniest home movies was a blast, i think we all got the most enjoyment from both hoarders and extreme couponers. reality television at it's best.
our flight was early the next day, and after heartfelt goodbyes and thank yous we hopped aboard our tiny plane home to vancouver.
calgary was interesting and fun, but i have never touched down in a more beautiful place than van city. it was good to be home, and after one final junk food stop at fresh slice for lunch, we arrived back in our apartment.
i put up my cards on the coffee table and found a place for my presents.

pete had got me an amazingly thoughtful gift this year, which surprised me because as well intentioned as he is, he never can quite hit the target when it comes to giving presents. i think it's a boy thing to be fair. but this year i got some crystals, which each possess the power to do different things. one is for creativity, one is for preventing creative block, and the other is to promote calm. the three together make for a wonderful working environment, and are beautiful.
i also received a hand bound leather sketchbook from ricky and a cuddly wolf from jess. i am also currently sporting very comfortable fleecey trousers from pete's mum, and obviously can't wait for the opportunity to use my new drawing supplies too. most other gifts came in the form of money, what with it costing an arm and a leg to post things, but i did get a lovely bouquet and balloon from my dad, which i was very happy to receive...

all in all i had such an amazing birthday this year. pretty much a whole week long event. i would like to say a very big thank you to jess and ricky for hosting us, taking us places, organising surprises and putting up with a lot of bullying and childish behaviour. well that last one is specifically to jess, as ricky and i both have a tendency to act out like six year olds when we're together...
also thank you to everyone who sent me a card and/or presents, and thank you to pete, for loving me so much i guess...

good birthday. on to the rest of the year...