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

finally got around to installing the new tablet pete bought me for christmas...it's taken a while...

it's pretty exciting, i haven't really explored it's full potential but i'm eager to start. this means hopefully i'll stop putting off doing any actual drawing. it's been quite a while since i did anything that warranted the use of the computer.
I have some projects in mind that i really want to get cracking with, it just depends how much i get done for this craft fair coming up. it's very easy to get distracted...

look out for some new illustrations coming soon, and the shop should be up and running again in March, look out for that too.

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...