Categories
Author: MCD
I'm a writer. I also bake. And knit. A lot. My novels are available anywhere ebooks/paperbacks/audiobooks are sold online. Find more info on my blog: http://www.madebymeghan.ca
It is a winter wonderland in Vancouver today and, with the forecast predicting pissing rain for the next couple of days, we decided a lunch time walk was in order. The photo opportunities were numerous and these are a few that I grabbed with the iPhone:
It is so strange – such a strange juxtaposition – to see snow on the beach. Beaches, even growing up here on the WetCoast, seem analogous with summer and sunshine specifically.
Here a fountain is almost completely crusted in ice… I imagine the city has the water on so the pipes don’t freeze…
Duck. Duck. Goose? I think this might be a goose – perhaps a domesticated type that was released into the “wilds” of Granville Island? Here he/she is chilling with the ducks. I have sent this photo to my Dad, who, I have no doubt, will be able to identity this water fowl.
Ah, a Great Blue Heron… while you can almost always spot these amazing birds down at Granville Island it is rare to get this close to one… at least for me… here he is eyeballing me pretty closely, but, based on the amount of water fowl we saw near shore on our walk, it must be a pretty good day for fishing so he put up with getting his picture taken.
Location: Spanish Banks, Vancouver, BC, Canada (Vancouver city pictured) – taken January 15, 2012 at approx. 2pm
Photo info: taken with a iPhone 4s, slightly zoomed, stitched together with Photoshop – no touch-ups or effects.
Categories
Clouds over water – A Panorama
Location: Kits Beach, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Photo info: captured on an iPhone 4s and stitched together in Photoshop (no effects added – those clouds are 100% natural!).
“A child has no trouble believing in the unbelievable, nor does the genius or the madman. It’s only you and I, with our big brains and tiny hearts, who doubt and overthink and hesitate.” – Steven Pressfield, Do The Work
This is not a review – yes I enjoyed the book, but, having just finished it, must let it distill, and distill and then? Spring into action! Just wanted to share the above quote.
Categories
Christmas Baking #FAIL
I just spent three weeks baking for Christmas – no, I am not exaggerating – I made the following goodies:
Fruit Cake
Sugar Cookies – iced and sugared
Santa Whiskers
Gingerbread – decorated, but tradition not as zombies, regular & mini
Shortbread – chocolate-dipped and un-dipped
Caramel – plain, chocolate-dipped, dipped & salted, and cashew turtles
Butter Tarts
Nanaimo Bars
Fake Fudge
Almond Bark
…I feel like I am forgetting something – not the point – the point is that this is all I have to show for all that baking:
One photo. Taken on my iPhone and posted to Facebook to tease my sister (who LOVES homemade turtles), and, yes, I do believe that blob on the right side is the shadow of my finger in the shot – sigh!
Categories
Yarn bombing…
It has been especially quiet around here for over a month, and while some of that time off was forced upon me (I was rather unwell through November into December), the later half of December was a self-imposed holiday filled with much baking and entertaining and holiday fun. Through all this the weather has been remarkable here in Vancouver and I have enjoyed a number of sunny (and windy!!) seawall walks.
While walking to Granville Island on December 31, I happened upon two great examples of yarn bombing a.k.a knitting graffitti… true, I have noted others while wandering around Vancouver’s Kitsilano area, but these were brand new and begging to be photographed (with the iPhone 4s, FYI).
Wikipedia (linked above) describes yarn bombing as such: Yarn bombing, yarnbombing, yarnstorming, guerrilla knitting, urban knitting or graffiti knitting is a type of graffiti or street art that employs colorful displays of knitted or crocheted cloth rather than paint or chalk.
- A fringed yarn bomb on the swing set at Kits Beach, Vancouver, BC, Canada
This, of course, got me wondering about yarn bombing and whether or not anyone was tracking such things… if I should be submitting the photos to a database or what not… and, upon Googling, I discovered that the writers behind yarnbombing.com were actually from Vancouver, BC, Canada, which I thought was more than a little cool! There are also a few Ravelry groups devoted to this subject.
- A flowered yarn bomb on a tree at the entrance of the seawall path of Vanier Park
There were no tags identifying the artist(s), but I suppose that isn’t the point. I hope to happen upon more installations, and may be moved to contribute my own some day…
“What? What are you talking about Feeder? A Christmas scarf for your sister? Your loom?!”
“Human insanity. This clearly a cat bed. With yarn toys conveniently attached. Now let me sleep in peace. Can’t you see the sunbeam I’m soaking?”
- After The Virus is the Kindle Sponsor of the Day over at David Wisehart’s blog, Kindle Author!
- 3 new 4 star reviews over at Amazon: “Great debut novel of a post apocalyptic world in which females are hunted” by Cheryl M-M, “Love among the post-apocalypse” by puggle, and “Good Book” by M. hampton.
- In other book publishing related news, Michelle Demers, who has generously answered many of my questions about self-publishing, has just released her book, The Global Indie Author. Grab it here in paperback or as an ebook! I will personally be scouring the pages about setting up a POD version (Print on Demand) for After The Virus (release date TBA).
I first stumbled across Suzie Ivy via her blog, Bad Luck Detective, and last week I was happy to see that she had released her first book, Bad Luck Cadet, which I believe is a collection of her early blog posts. I immediately bought and then, very soon after, read Suzie’s book.
I really liked it.
I knew I would, but still I am glad that that was the case, because — if you hang out with me at all regularly or if you’ve read any of my writing — you will already understand how unusual it is for me to like and follow a writer who is, in this particular incarnation, a memoirist.
Suzie Ivy is the Bad Luck Detective. She chose to become a police officer at the age 45 – it was a tough, male-dominated road (read her book). I don’t even know her and I think she is an amazing person. I really do love her stories. Actually, some times, I can’t believe they are “real life”.
So what exactly do I like about Suzie Ivy, and, in particular, the Bad Luck Cadet?
Beyond appreciating her as a person for the difficult lifestyle choice she made when becoming a police officer, I love how she has taken her police work and simply shared it with us all. She is insightful and humorous. I have actually laughed and then teared-up in the same chapter. Her writing is personal, but not overly dramatic. She details her real life in a completely accessible, and even charming, manner. She lets the poignant moments be, so you almost stumble upon them, rather than dressing everything up in flowery “look here” language.
The Bad Luck Cadet is a new, fresh character in the “cops & robbers” world, and I look forward to reading many more of her adventures.
Suzie’s next book is due out January 13, 2012!