Wednesday, April 30, 2008 ~ 0 Comments

10,000 steps

Theoretically, walking 10,000 steps a day will make you a healthier person. Although there hasn't been a rigourous study to prove this, I doubt it would actually hurt anyone, so I've got a pedometer and I'm counting off the steps every day. Makes me feel productive, even if I'm just walking in circles.

Monday, April 28, 2008 ~ 0 Comments

Pinned

It became pretty obvious after I started this blog that I'm a bit of a pack rat. OK, that's not really a surprise to anyone who knows me - especially anyone who has lived with me...

So this leather hair pin made sense two years ago - when my hair was down past my shoulders. Then I cut my hair off. It's been too short to pin up for at least 18 months. But I'm growing it long again - perhaps I should keep it? Or maybe I'm just rationalizing.

Either way, it's taking up space, and I can't use it.

You'll notice I'm still not throwing it out, either.

Sunday, April 27, 2008 ~ 0 Comments

More Kitchen Stuff


Nothing terribly special about this - an plastic orange vegetable peeler from Dominion. I keep losing vegetable peelers - but unlike the hats, mitts, tuperware containers, etc., etc., I don't take my vegetable peelers out of the house - so somehow I've lost them IN MY OWN HOUSE. I have no idea how I manage to do that.


I also have no idea how to get the illusion of clear plastic in a pencil drawing. I guess I'll have to keep working at it.

Saturday, April 26, 2008 ~ 1 Comment

Best paring knife


Actually, my only paring knife - but how many vegetables can you peel at one time anyway? My mother gave this to me for Christmas several years ago - with a penny taped to the blade. Apparently, it's an old tradition to give money when you give someone a knive - so it doesn't look like a threat.

~ 1 Comment

What happens in Vegas...


This was a lot more colorful when we got it in Vegas, but the colors faded - I keep throwing it in the dishwasher instead of washing it by hand. It's also my excuse for not posting yesterday, as I used it to make Long Island Iced Teas...

Wednesday, April 23, 2008 ~ 0 Comments

Small but deadly


A keychain with a small, heavy, green rock attached (it doesn't look quite so much like a potato in real life). Could hold keys. Could be used as a weapon. Depends how hostile I'm feeling.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008 ~ 0 Comments

Mini-duck

I can't hold onto my hat or mittens for 4 months of winter - but somehow I managed to carry this little guy (and I do mean little - he's less than an inch tall) across three continents, and through 4 moves. He was attached to a free toothbrush on a Virgin Atlantic flight to London - now he's perched on top of my computer monitor. I'm not even sure why I've kept him, except that he's kind of cute, and after 8 years of faithfully following me around, I'd feel bad if I just tossed him out. Perhaps it's my own sort of heirloom.

Monday, April 21, 2008 ~ 1 Comment

For the recycling bin


The offending notebook from last Wednesday's post. I'm using it for notes instead of sketches now - as long as I write in pen I'm OK. Yes, I know I could use a pen to draw - I prefer a pencil. I make mistakes.


I need a Moleskine.

Sunday, April 20, 2008 ~ 0 Comments

It must be spring...

... I'm buying stuff to go biking with - specifically a pair of velcro pant clips to keep my jeans from getting caught in my bike chain. This is because I'm more of a commuter cyclist than a racing cyclist - I'm usually wearing street clothes when I ride, not specialized biking gear.


Besides, none of the big cycling companies want to sponsor my trip to the store.

Thursday, April 17, 2008 ~ 0 Comments

Multi-tool




OK, it's just a pair of Fiskars scissors, but I use them for everything - cutting paper, cloth & wire, prying off lids, emergency screwdriver, etc., etc. This despite my mother spending years trying to teach me the difference between "good" (cloth-cutting), and everyday scissors. If it's sharp, I cut with it. Sometimes I'll try to cut with it even if it's not sharp. I have the scars to prove it.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008 ~ 0 Comments

Well, this is annoying.

Health Canada will probably soon declare Bisphenol A a "dangerous substance"

Which means this water bottle is, on some level, poisoning me. And I don't think I'll get extra karma points for having one that supports a good cause, or for being environmentally friendly.
So I thought I should draw the bottle before I.... ummm.... recycle it? I guess it can be melted down to make CD covers, as making it into another water bottle seems silly.
And in drawing it, I've discovered that my new sketchbook, for some reason, smears my pencil lines. Perhaps I'll recycle the sketchbook, too. But I'll have to draw it first.


It's been a bad day for consumerism.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008 ~ 0 Comments

Lost and Found (soon to be lost again)

I lose hats. And mitts. And gloves. Scarves, umbrellas, books, sunglasses, grocery lists, and tupperware containers. My friend W. thinks I should wear a velcro suit so everything can be attached to it. J. has gotten into the habit of checking under chairs and tables everytime we leave a restaurant so he can rescue whatever I've forgotten. I've just resigned myself to a certain amount of attrition over time - so I try to buy my hats (and mitts, and scarves, etc., etc.) from places like Ten Thousand Villages or Raising the Roof - I figure if I have to keep replacing them, the money might as well be going to a good cause.

I lost this hat in early February - but miracle of miracles, actually found it in the GO lost and found a week later. I'm hoping to hold onto it until at least October.


Update: April 21, 2008
Well, the picture will be lost soon - I spilled some linseed oil on it, and it's slowly dissolving....

Monday, April 14, 2008 ~ 0 Comments

Runaway Gingerbread Man!

This little guy is a red plastic cookie cutter - probably from the early 60's . We had one just like it when I was growing up, and we used it all the time to make soft gingerbread cookies (sort of like these ones). A few years ago, I found out Mom had lost her gingerbread man cookie cutter, so I went on an Ebay search to find a replacement. After several months of searching - bingo! There he was (along with several other ones of the same vintage). Mom told me I could keep them, though - they're actually really hard to use, because the dough gets stuck in all the little corners.

I still think it's the best-looking gingerbread man cookie cutter - even if it's not the best designed.