Amazing things.... and my own creations

Etsy is full of pretty things, useful things, and a few really amazing things, like this Anax Imperator Machina made of silver and gold. It looks like something between a dragonfly and an alien helicopter and I just love it.

My creations aren't anywhere near so intricate.... but I do hope they amuse people just a little.



I decided to try and promote my shop a little more broadly this weekend so I created a Facebook Page for Cheryl's Creative Miscellany. If you are on Facebook and like my creations, please consider becoming a fan.

this, that and the other...

this: Artist Chris Jordan hurts my brain. He has produced a series called Running the Numbers: An American Self-Portrait which adds a visual component to statistics of consumption. The one that really got me? "Plastic Bottles, 2007" which depicts two million plastic beverage bottles, the number used in the US every five minutes. It's enough to make me want to climb on a soapbox and start pointing at people yelling "WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?" except that eventually I would get around to pointing at myself and then I would really look crazy....

that: Hubby and I have been getting angsty over unfinished projects again... however he has managed to build some really amazing things online this week, and I finally finished putting together the travel colouring kits that I prototyped years ago (when Kiddo was about 2 or 3 years old!) -- one, featuring drawings of my plush monsters, is now for sale in my etsy shop.

the other: the reality of moving must be setting in (not that we have found a place or listed our place, or really even started looking... ) because I am drawn to articles like Prepare Your Home for a Perfect Showing and Chunks of homebuying wisdom from the hive mind, even as I dream almost every night about moving, househunting, renovating, and everything about each of those things that might go wrong. It is not making for restful nights of sleep.

MUA-HA-HA-HA!

beaconhill_water2
Originally uploaded by triviaqueen

We do a lot of evil/maniacal laughing in our house -- even Kiddo has it down pat. However, if you don't regularly let fly with evil laughter -- or, if you've never tried it -- DIY Life has some helpful instructions.

Now that's funny.

oh what a beautiful mooooorning...

pink_rhodos
Originally uploaded by triviaqueen

(You're welcome for the earworm...)

Yes, it was a lovely day this morning in Victoria... crisp, clear, and rather spring-like. I left the house early enough to get the first bus and grab a fresh coffee downtown between buses. When I got close to campus, I got off the bus a stop early and walked in through the gardens. I was hoping for crocuses (and was not disappointed) but I was pleasantly surprised to see several varieties of rhododendrons in full bloom!

Ooooh. Ahhhh. So pretty.

And if that weren't enough to put me in a good mood, I was mistaken for a student while on my way for coffee today (i.e., I was approached by someone running for the UVSS) -- an undergraduate student at that! Woo! (I love it when I successfully deploy campus camouflage!)

Couple-time

rosiesdiner
Originally uploaded by triviaqueen

Kiddo spent the night at her Nana's Friday night so that they could get an early start for the Be a Tourist in Your Own Hometown events, leaving Hubby and I with the evening and most of Saturday to ourselves.

Friday night, we got out to see a movie -- we finally got to see Juno which accomplished a rare feat: getting me to leave a theatre feeling happy and restoring a little bit of my faith in humanity (the last film that did that was V for Vendetta, oddly enough).

Saturday morning, we opted for breakfast out. It took us a while to decide on a location, but we settled on Rosie's Diner in Cook Street Village -- Hubby had smoked salmon eggs benedict and I had Nadene's Benny (eggs benedict with grilled mushrooms, onions and swiss cheese).

After breakfast we debated our options and settled on wandering through town. We went to Munro's Books, Lens and Shutter, Cherry Bomb Toys, and "the geexus" -- an area centered around Curious Comics that is laden with geek-friendly shopping.

Amid our (mostly window) shopping, I took a lot of photos -- the weather was almost ideal, very sunny and crisp but not unbearably cold.

Before we left town, we grabbed lunch at "Pig: bbq joint" on View -- home of very yummy pulled pork sandwiches, corn bread, baked beans and other simple but tasty fare.

It really was a lovely day together and a nice chance to reflect on the 12th anniversary of our first date. Dawwww.