13 Items I'd Bring Along in Case of an Evacuation

The California situation makes me really sad. I was in San Diego at the beginning of the year and felt so good there (and the people were so nice), I feel for them. It made me think about how I'd react. Best of luck to all of you. I send you positive energy...

1. My laptop (I have so many photos in there, plus many years of work...)
2. My photo albums (from the pre-digital era, along with the newest ones)
3. A few of my jewels (sentimental value)
4. My daughters drawings boxes (it'd take much of the trunk space...)
5. My souvenirs box (okay, now we're squeezed in the car)
6. My digital camera and my batteries (that are always charged, ready to be used)
7. A few books (beautiful ones, some who make me feel good and 2-3 I haven't read yet)
8. A drawing, crafting, painting, collage-making kit (that would be my therapy in such a crisis) and my portfolio
9. A notebook (I have many waiting for a purpose) and a few pens to tell (exorcise?) what's happening to me
10. A few DVDs (those I like to watch again and again, that make me feel good)
11. My quilts (useful and full of great moments, I love sewing)
12. My recipes (some are very precious...)
13. My transverse flute (my first big purchase, at the age of 14)

(As you can see, nothing «essential» on my list. It would be easier to find, to buy them compared to my souvenirs...)

Halloween

I love Halloween. Not really the dressing up part, I don't really like that and I just don't see where my daughters got that passion for costumes. They have a room filled with stuff (jewels, scarves, wigs, hats, old clothes definitely "out") and they still use the costumes.

What I really like is giving candies to children. I'm done wandering through my neighborhood with the girls, to look for gold (candy?) mines. Now, I'm one of the sugar shacks! I like to talk to the kids, fool around with them. Some people are discouraged to see teens (well, almost adults in some cases!) still going trick or treat. I'm not, they make me laugh and I find them pretty courageous, knowing that one house out of two doesn't open their doors to them.

Every year, I wear an accessory though, to keep me in the spirit I guess. I don't know what it'll be this year but I'm so happy that I'm not away for work (like last year...), yay!

I don't live in a "kiddy" street so I have less visitors than if I'd lived a few streets west. That's why when monsters, princesses and vampires come to my door, they get the jackpot!

Update on "Messages for You"

I continued to distribute some today:

• One in the newspaper we read in the restaurant where we had breakfast.
• Another in the movie slot of a sex-shop (ma daughter was so ashamed).
• Finally, in a department store, in the pockets of over-sized pants.

Tomorrow, another region is targeted...
:-)

New Angle

Yesterday Elliot came for a new type of visit a photo «lesson», one of my new godmother - godchildren activity (Friday evening, it was Anaïs' turn). At a point, he was looking at the drawings he offered me a while ago that are posted on my armoire. He looked a little puzzled in front of this one:I told him I liked his truck, that it probably lost its three wheels, that's why they were on the side of the street. He came closer, turned the drawing upside down (still taped on the armoire) and said: "Now, that's better!

See, it's a birthday cake with candles and a present on its side..." Well, not too «quick» the godmother, hey?

13 Things I Like Doing For/With My Daughters

1. Do their hair (dry or flatten)
2. Watch a movie, TV series
3. Clear the table (much faster as a "group" and we take advantage of that time to chit-chat)
4. Drive them here and there. (My man likes it too)
5. Being able to give them an allowance (they learned a lot about money and saving because of that)
6. Listen to them
7. Talk to them
8. Share passions
9. Cuddle up
10. Go shopping (not for the buying part but for the time spent together)
11. Eat at the restaurant (we take a longer time to eat then)
12. Go on vacation (close or far away)
13. Take care of them when something is not going on too well (whatever it is)

Have I ever mentioned how much I adore them? :-)

A Message For You

I was inspired by an idea of Keri Smith's book Guerilla Art Kit but I didn't actually do it, I've let it simmered down, I guess. I have tons of projects in progress and I don't have enough time! Between sewing, the writing of the book, taking pictures, blogging, well, I work full time too!

Finally, it's Andrea (aka Hula) who gave me a little boost to give the mini messages project priority number one.

The idea is simple: leave small strips of paper on which a simple message, a lovely note is written. It's an anonymous gift to strangers: to inspire them, to make them smile, even to have them think. An example? Well something like:

• Life is great, isn't it?
• You're an extraordinary person.
• Use recycling bags when you run errands. It's good for me. Thanks, Your Planet xx
• Be nice to people you love.
• Happiness is contagious
Etc...

I started leaving my messages yesterday: in a mailbox slot, between page 1 and 2 of the local newspaper at the gas station, and a last one at my daughter's school stuck in the fence.

I still have a basket full of messages to distribute, but I'm not rushing it. I've decided not to go on an expedition like Andrea; I'll have some with me and will leave them whenever I'm inspired. Tomorrow, I have to go to Montreal for work (meeting + filming) so watch out big city, I'm coming!

Miranda's Bed

A bedroom is a shelter, a very private place, especially if you don't have to share it. My daughters have that feeling of a personnal space. That's cool. And if we are restricted by the available space (old houses for average incomes have rooms that are quite small...), imagination has all the necessary space. On her bed (yes, it was done that day, yay!), we usually find lots of animals, well organized, well behaved, no fighting around here. A few weeks ago, though, she got rid of most of the plush toys (they're hidden somewhere...) and kept the "green" ones (okay, okay, the polar bear isn't green...) with hippopotamuses in the middle of the bed.

Hippopotamuses are synonyms of a lot of souvenirs, the most important being the nickname Miranda gave them when she was very young. Even if she started talking at a very young age, she sometimes had to modify the most difficult words. (and hippopotamus, between the age of 2, well, that's something...). She called them "petits potames» (meaning little tamuses, in French). Too cute, hey? We kept the name... I offered a «petit potame» to Eliane last year. A new tradition is born!

Imagini

Found this on a blog (can't remember which one) and remembered by another blog. I've finally decided to put this visual portrait representing me on my blog.

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Photo Swap +1

You like photography?
You like receiving interesting out-of-the-ordinary stuff in the "snail" mail?
Feel like trying something new (or not that new)?

Well, come here... Ani gives the details of a photo swap +1 (+1 being an element to include in the package; a leaf, a postcard, a recipe, etc...)

I looooooove swaps!

13 Things I've Seen on the Road This Morning

1. Road work
2. People in a hurry
3. People not in a hurry
4. Traffic jam
5. A bridge
6. An overpass that is being rebuilt
7. Huge trucks
8. Impolite drivers
9. Car rears
10. Corn fields
11. Stores, restaurants, gas stations
12. Policemen (very little, in fact)
13. Fog, rain, drizzle (and my wipers going left, right, left, right...)

Fooling Around

Spending time with children, it's the gift of fooling around. Nice, sweet fooling around, nothing wild or dangerous. With my godchildren (who are twins), I'm rediscovering simple pleasures, my daughters being teenagers, I no longer fool around much (well, sometimes we still do...). So, last Friday, I picked them up at school and we did crafts, took a snack (not a healthy one, I'm the godmother, remember!) and we played outside (basketball and jump rope).

They blew in their straw to make their juice pop, picked ice cubes from their Christmas glass (much more fun in October than in December!) with their fingers, put them in their mouth, let them melt a little (of course they had water on their chin and the table was a mess...) just for the fun of it. They would never be allowed to do that at the restaurant, during family meals, but with their godmother, come on, let's get crazy!

Me? Well, I watch them, I laugh a little, I take loads of pictures (85 in 90 minutes!) and I remember the good times, when my daughters were younger, when I was a child. So, fantastic quality time with great kids... They do know how to behave too!

Thanks Anaïs, thanks Elliot.

Your godmother xx

New Label

Inspired by her, I've decided to start new posts under the label: «Home, sweet home». We all have in our house nice little coves, inspiring spots that make the different between living somewhere and being home. So, here and there, posts about my little home...

When I bought the house, it belonged to a man who worked with wood. He left his worktable behind. After painting it, sanding the countertop and oiling it, well, the result was quite satisfying. Since we don't have a lot of work space in the kitchen, this solves our problem temporarily. Practical, simple and country-style, love it!

13 Things I Find Disgusting

1. Slimy, crawly, flying, stinky creatures
2. The smell of sewers in a big city
3. Children who don't blow their nose when it's obvious they really need to
4. Adults who do the same
5. Water on counters in public restrooms (and toilet paper on the floor)
6. The smell of perspiration
7. The texture of raisins (too swooshy)
8. A fish plate with the head still there (fish in general, I must admit)
9. The smell of children's hair after a warm day, especially if they played in a sandbox
10. Dirty nails
11. People eating with their mouth open (except if it's for a joke, then I find it quite funny)
12. People who spit on the ground (come on... grow up!)
13. Children who scratch their boo-boos

Mother and Daughter(s)

Being a mother, is big. Being the mother of a daughter is bigger.

I mean... From the moment a little heart beats in our womb, we suffer from fatigue, nausea, etc. And this is the body only! Because emotion switches are present and our brain puts itself in warp speed: will I be a good mother, am I ready for this, is this the right time, and so on.

Changes, questions, emotions all over the place and that's what they call the happiness of expecting! Well, it's true... It's just that it comes with all those "difficulties» mentionned above. 9 months is a long time and that time is spent figuring out answers to those questions, it gives us the time to get used to the idea of thinking about someone else before us, it allows us to be in the "mommy" mode.

I had a first daughter in conditions that were not ideal. Well, no, they were ideal, but no father in the portrait: my family was present and supportive, my friends understood and were supportive, I was healthy (I gave a concert 2 days before delivering and I was still going dancing the last few days) and I was in a very good mood.
When the nurse gave me my baby after many hours of labor (but a rapid delivery), I couldn't see if the baby was a boy or a girl, even if it was obvious. I was in a weird state of mind, my brain couldn't process the information. That's when I became a mother, that I had a daughter.

Having a daughter is not a burden, it's not complicated, it's not a lot of problems (which is not the case in India where -I heard this on the radio this morning- some people get rid of female foetuses to avoid bankruptcy, because there you still have to pay a lot of money for your daughter to marry). Having a daughter, when you're a woman it's having the possibility to have a close relationship with someone who is going to go through the same steps, phases, stuff you've gone through in a different world, with different influences, with a little bit of you.

Ok, let me explain. When I was a child, I went through girls' stuff, phases in an "x" world. Because I lived with my daughter, I guided her, influenced her and she's going throught the same stuff, phases in a "y" world. She's using what I've given her in her life. And I chose to give her the best of what I myself received from my mother. I guess we're hoping to improve the education we give our daughters. Promote the best and avoid the worst.

However, girls go through the worst anyway. It might even be necessary: difficulties probably make use stronger, more equipped. We can still guide them, talk to them, prepare them for the "worst".

Without promoting anything here, there's a company that sells beauty (the message is interesting, but we're talking money, right?) in a healthier, more appropriate way...

Lonely

My love is away and I miss him... No panic, he'll be back very soon. It's crazy, a while ago, I would have been so happy to be on my own at home for a couple of days. Falling in love does that to people, they get goo goo when their love is away for a few hours, days. Can't possibly imagine what it would be if he had to go for weeks!

We're trying to act like big girls, Ali and I. I work more (evenings as well), I cook meals (gotta eat), I watch TV without looking on my left (where Claude usually sits) and I sleep with a pillow in my arms (no comments...). And, uh tomorrow my friend Tanja is coming so we can continue working on our great project.

Good night my love, sweet dreams!