baking is my passion

I was sitting outside Starbucks, killing time before meeting up with a friend, enjoying my blonde...

Sat, 18 May 2013 22:49:00 -0400

I was sitting outside Starbucks, killing time before meeting up with a friend, enjoying my blonde coffee and Zen and the Art of Happiness. There was a man waiting out front, bouncing a basketball while waiting for his daughter who had taken his son and son’s friend inside to get non-coffee frappuchinos (he was pretty specific about that).

I was trying really hard to ignore the two girls sitting behind me. Actresses, or something like that. Everything was “the worst” (“Lana Del Rey is the worst!” “You don’t like Lana Del Rey?” “I mean, her music is alright, but she’s not the driving force behind it. She’s the worst”). And in case you weren’t aware, the world apparently revolves around these two (“I hope this doesn’t sound too selfish – and tell me if it does because I know you will – but I’m ok with it being selfish because I just feel like a baby about to burst into tears!” (Apparently, she had an operation, and their joint friend didn’t stop in to visit her after, even though the FUNERAL WASN’T FOR FOUR DAYS! Heaven forbid the friend, who obviously just lost a family member, didn’t have the wherewithal to stop in to visit her friend who just had an obviously elective surgery. But who am I to judge?)).

It was all pretty hard to ignore. Until, that is, I heard the man say “Well that was a rather contemplative sigh”. A young Japanese woman had just walked out of Starbucks. She didn’t quite understand what he said, so he repeated himself, and said “that was a big, haaaaahhhhhhh”. She laughed, and told him something I couldn’t hear. They conversed back and forth for a bit. She was a student visiting Toronto for four months, and only had a week left. I heard her say “I’m missing this city already”. The man replied, “You should enjoy this last week as much as possible, then you can miss it when you get home. But not before.” She thanked him, and you could tell that she really meant it, and then went on her way.

It was like the Universe had hired these two people to demonstrate the philosophies written about in the book, and then brought them to life right in front of me. It was pretty fantastic.

"Everything that happens to us is for our complete benefit."

Sat, 18 May 2013 12:55:06 -0400

“Everything that happens to us is for our complete benefit.”

- Zen and the Art if Happiness

gemmacorrell: In 2012, I worked with Olivari Olive oil to...

Sat, 18 May 2013 09:54:00 -0400

gemmacorrell:

In 2012, I worked with Olivari Olive oil to create a year-long series of “How To…” cartoons for Facebook. Here’s one of them.

Avocado Fish

Sat, 18 May 2013 09:52:47 -0400

There was a little Japanese place across the street from where they parked. They went in and they sat together at the counter as they watched the chef mould the sushi rice with his hand. They watched as he sliced a block of red tuna with his sharp blade.

Sam was fascinated when he took a bamboo mat and a sheet of seaweed and rolled the seaweed around a cylinder of rice and cucumber.

When their food was ready, Sam stared at the small green plate in front of him. He picked up a piece of the tuna.

“My first sushi”, he said. He was beaming.

He took a tentative bite, and then he turned to his mother, his mouth was still full. “I don’t think it’s cooked enough for me.”

Morley showed him how to pour soya sauce into his little side dish and stir a little bit of the green wasabi paste into the soy. “Try dipping it first,” she said.

“Ok,” said Sam.

When they were finished she said “what do you think?”

“I think,” said Sam, “I think I like the avocado fish the best.”

[An excerpt from “Sam’s Underwear”, as heard on the Vinyl Café, May 11, 2013]

I got my hair cut on Saturday and she totally messed up my...

Fri, 17 May 2013 08:39:43 -0400

I got my hair cut on Saturday and she totally messed up my bangs, so much so that I cannot wear them down, and won’t be able to for at least another two weeks.

The Distance to the Moon

Mon, 13 May 2013 20:56:51 -0400

The Distance to the Moon:

Skip to 4:49 to start at the beginning of the story

thefrogman: Lessons from a Dog by Patrick Moberg [website |...

Sun, 12 May 2013 22:09:44 -0400

Patrick Moberg patrickmoberg.com/

Patrick Moberg patrickmoberg.com/

Patrick Moberg patrickmoberg.com/

Patrick Moberg patrickmoberg.com/

Patrick Moberg patrickmoberg.com/

Patrick Moberg patrickmoberg.com/

Patrick Moberg patrickmoberg.com/

thefrogman:

Lessons from a Dog by Patrick Moberg [website | tumblr | twitter]

[h/t: nevver]

jocktalk: This is how it happened to me, more or less

Sun, 12 May 2013 22:00:44 -0400

jocktalk:

This is how it happened to me, more or less

"Everything that happens to me is the best possible thing that can happen to me."

Sat, 11 May 2013 16:48:37 -0400

“Everything that happens to me is the best possible thing that can happen to me.”

- Zen And the Art of Happiness

That's What She Said.: Feminism: own that shit.

Wed, 08 May 2013 21:53:49 -0400

That's What She Said.: Feminism: own that shit.:

annetdonahue:

Today my friend Amanda got a message from an idiot. Here is that message:

Terrific. So first and foremost, let’s give Amanda 25925249248 rounds of applause for calling that shit out. Honestly? That takes guts. Guts I’m not sure I’d have if I were in the same position (he’s a promoter,…

THIS

somuchyarnsolittletime: (via Knitting / “I just want to go home...

Wed, 08 May 2013 21:43:07 -0400

somuchyarnsolittletime:

(via Knitting / “I just want to go home and knit.”)

Sounds about right

TRUTH

Tue, 07 May 2013 11:34:31 -0400

TRUTH

gemmacorrell: Me right now. Me, always!

Thu, 02 May 2013 08:20:56 -0400

gemmacorrell:

Me right now.

Me, always!

At least the dog agrees (Taken with GifBoom)

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 21:46:08 -0400

At least the dog agrees (Taken with GifBoom)

You guys… Alabama Shakes!

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 08:25:20 -0400

You guys… Alabama Shakes!

Knitting & Public Transportation: A Guide

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 10:02:00 -0400

So I have been knitting myself to and from work on the TTC for a while now, and have come up with what I feel are five useful and practical tips for knitting on an often all-too-crowded subway, and I wanted to share them with all the fellow knitters (and crocheters, I don’t judge) out there!

Here goes…

1. Seating. You have to be prepared for impossibly tight, cramped situations. Of course, if you can tuck yourself into one of those lovely little two-seaters against the window, that’s fantastic and you can snug yourself in and get ready to knit. Also, the end of an open three-seater is also ideal, as if like me this morning, a rather plump lady decides to squeeze herself into the open middle seat, you can simply scooch over and hang ever so slightly over the edge of the seat. I often find that most people are respectful of your space while knitting, and try to leave you a little more room than they normally would if you were staring blankly into space, or playing sodoku on your iPhone. If, however, you have no other seating options, never fear… Following the next two points will help you no matter how cramped you are!

2. Form. Form is incredibly important when knitting on transit. And it’s quite simple. Tuck your elbows in. That’s it, that’s all. So long as your elbows stay glued to your rib cage, you’re all set.

3. Needles. Forget about those long straight needles we’re all used to. No matter how tightly you tuck your elbows in, if you’re going to knit with long straight needles, you’re only going to drive yourself and everyone else around you crazy. Circular needles my friends. Circular needles. Before I became a regular transit knitter I saw this girl knitting a regular scarf with circular needles, and I just had to ask her why, because I couldn’t figure it out. She told me it’s so she doesn’t bump the people beside her, and plus she can slide the scarf onto the wire when she puts it in her bag and no stitches will fall off. Genius! So yes, I am forever grateful to that lovely knitter for sharing her words of wisdom (as all knitters are likely to do if you take the time to ask us a simple question).

4. Pattern. Now of course what you ultimately chose to knit is completely up to you (as is everything else I’m recommending here, really), but I would strongly suggest you keep it simple. Simple here meaning nothing that requires you to constantly read a pattern for every stitch. For example, I’m currently knitting a sweater that has a somewhat complicated colour pattern. It’s a honeycomb pattern that alternates between two colours knit in the round, but it’s pretty repetitive so I only have to consult the pattern at the beginning of every other row or so. But it ultimately depends on your comfort level with what you’re working on.

5. Be friendly. The chances of a fellow knitter sitting down across from you on a crowded subway are slim, so in the rare instances when this does happen, look up and smile. The simple acknowledgment of each other will ease any awkwardness that you or people around you may be feeling. Also, if you catch someone consumed with your work, don’t be alarmed. I often glance up to find the man across from me staring intently at my hands, or a woman half a car down sideways-glancing at me, and when I catch their eye, I smile, because I want them to know that it’s ok. I know that what I’m doing is unconventional transit behaviour, but I’m extremely proud of my talent, and so I don’t mind if I can provide a little distraction for someone from the monotony of their morning commute. Also kids love to watch you knit. I once had a boy about 10 years old stop dead in front of me while I was working with double-pointed needles and ask how I was doing that. Turns out he is a knitter himself (cutest thing ever, btw), and so I slowed down my work and showed him how it’s done. His mother thanked me for taking the time to show him, because she is not a knitter herself, and he said he would go home and give it a try. So just be friendly, because you never know, you might just brighten someone’s day.

So there you have it! If you are lucky enough to not have to drive yourself to work every day, have the basic skills or desire to create lovely hand-knit things, I hope you find these five simple guidelines to knitting on public transit helpful, and that they inspire you to tuck your elbows in, get comfy and knit away!

Recognize this handsome woman?

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 22:46:35 -0400

Recognize this handsome woman?

As with everything else in life I start with extreme gusto, I seem to have fizzled out on writing....

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 22:07:34 -0400

As with everything else in life I start with extreme gusto, I seem to have fizzled out on writing.

I was all gung-ho, rah rah rah, go team go, read through that ‘Courage and Craft’ book, wrote out all the “to do’s”, even made a little booklet to keep in my journal as a reminder and for inspiration, and I haven’t written anything in what, 3 weeks? Longer?

Why do I do this? I mean, I thoroughly enjoy writing. I feel good when I write, and it helps me process things better than anything. And I think I have a (maybe not so unique way) of writing that people like reading.

Want to hear a really lame excuse that I actually ran through my head the other day when thinking about this? Ok here goes… I don’t have a pen that I like writing with.

Really. I picked up my journal and was about to start writing, but the pen didn’t feel right in the paper, so I proceeded to pull out every single pen from my coffee table and scribble things like “pen test” and “this pen sucks” and “maybe this one is ok” and all kinds of things like that, and never actually wrote anything worth anything.

The only thing to do really is just to write, and know that it doesn’t matter what it is, but it matters that I do it.

I'M IN LOVE!

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 12:56:54 -0400

With this little guy

YAY!!!

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 15:29:56 -0500