Introducing Mr. Sexsmith

Anyone love Ron Sexsmith? If not, you should. He is probably one of the most talented contemporary singer-songwriters out there. His songs are sensitive, subtle, and all about the complexities of emotion. Plus, he is Canadian and has a wonderful, clear, sincere voice and delivery.

This weekend we saw the documentary 'Love Shines.', which had its premiere at the VIFF on Friday. Apparently the filmmakers followed Ron for seven years and this is the result. The film is fantastic - you get a real sense of Ron, and you glimpse into the artistic process and recording process quite a bit. It's really, really good, even for people who have never heard of Ron Sexsmith, I expect. The last showing is on October 15, and then it will be doing rounds on the film festival circuit before appearing on TV.

The wonderful thing about the show is that Ron and Douglas Arrowsmith, the filmmaker, appeared at the end of the screening for a Q&A. I was a little giddy!

Here are a couple of really bad shots from the balcony, where we were sitting. (Douglas Arrowsmith is on the left and Ron Sexsmith is in the centre.)

The Coquitlam Farmer's Market

I have lately become more aware of food systems and food security (especially through work). It is really important to support local growers, and with this in mind, we decided to get some groceries at the Coquitlam Farmer's Market today.

The market is located in the parking lots of the Coquitlam Recreation Centre, and continues until the end of October. There are a lot of produce growers, a few bakeries, a handful of meat sellers, and quite a number of crafts/arts stalls.

I am a huge fan of Gary's Kettlecorn. It is the best popcorn I've tasted: sweet, slightly salty, and most of all, tasting a lot like corn.

Here are our spoils: cauliflower, organic swiss chard and carrots, beats, heirloom tomatoes.

Apples

Green figs, cleverly stored in an egg carton. The inside is beautiful, almost like a pink sea anemone.

Some People Like to Fuel Obsession...

So last week was my last week at work. It was sad to say goodbye to everyone, but the goodbyes were pretty sweet, warm and fuzzy.

Mary, Allison and Brenda (who drove all the way to the States!) got me a couple of Fiestaware dishes as a going away present. The bowl is in 'Cobalt', and is a very deep blue. We used it this weekend to hold some glass noodle salad.

The long platter is in the delightful 'Buttercup'. It is perfectly in character with the Easter haul I got from work.

Thanks, dear lovelies! I miss you guys!

Mystical Boat

Odilon Redon is one of those artists I've loved for a long time. I used to hang out in the the art section of the library at university, just randomly browsing through books, and it was there that came across Odilon Redon. His paintings, charcoals and pastels are very dreamlike (some are even quite scary, Goya-like), and he addresses the internal mind and emotion in a most beautiful and intimate way.

This pastel image, "La Barque Mystique" (which I found here) seems to incapsulate where I am at the moment. It's a lovely image, quite optimistic in its golden sails and bright blue boat. The boat seems to be sailing sturdily on the sea--or is it resting, nestled by the meadow and green grass? Both seem to be true.

Last week I quit my job with a big company and accepted another job at a non-profit. It's something I've been contemplating for a while, but the opportunity never came up until now. I liked my old job (and loved my co-workers), but I feel I'm moving closer to 'rightness', that elusive feeling where you feel aligned with who you are....

Such a mysterious blue boat.

Blossoms and Blue Blue Sky

The cherry blossoms started blooming in February here in Vancouver--a month or two early. These trees line many streets in many neighborhoods in the city.

So gorgeous.

A Fiesta of Riches....

If you'd read my earlier post about Victoria, you'd know about my sudden interest in Fiestaware. For those of you unfamiliar with the brand of dishes, Fiestaware (made by Homer Laughlin China Company) are these vibrant and brightly coloured art-deco style dishes that was first made in the States in 1936 and discontinued in 1973. Fiestaware was then reissued in 1986 and is one of the most popular everyday dishware in the States.

After some research, I found out that it's really hard to find Fiestaware retailers in Canada. It's really popular in the US, but some how it didn't really cross the border.

But look! The lovely Brenda offered to pick up some Fiestaware when she went down to the States this weekend. Plus, the dishes were on sale! I was the happiest gal in the world.

They are more vibrant and colourful than I'd imagined. These colours make me so giggly and giddy. They are solid, with great weight and thickness. I'm sipping tea from a 'scarlet' cup right now.

Please allow the following indulgent pictures.....

dishes drying on the dish rack

my cupboard

Honestly, I can stare at them all day.

Thank you Brenda!

Pretty Paper

Essence du Papier is a popular paper store in Canada, with locations mostly in Quebec and Ontario. A few years back, they opened a branch in the Sears department store at Pacific Centre in downtown Vancouver. I remember first visiting the store and being amazed at the amount of goodies they had: envelopes of all colours of the rainbow--little striped paper clips--wrapping paper so beautiful you could frame it on your wall. I have spent a pretty penny at this place over the years.

Alas, the Vancouver location will be no more. Which brings me to sad and happy news: everything is 50% off!

I paid a visit yesterday and got two thick notebooks: a red cloth bound one (is anything more wonderful than a red notebook?), and a most unusual one with a wood cover.

Plus, a couple of packages of my favourite G. Lalo Vierge de France envelopes, in cream and blue. These are made of beautifully thick paper that is lovely and nice to touch, and these envelopes are also neatly lined in white.

And yes, I do write letters...!

Under the Umbrella

In Vancouver we’ve had a pretty warm summer, with minimal rain. But the past few weeks saw a return to the Vancouver we’re used to: those gloomy, cloudy days, and those days that drop and drop with water. I don’t mind it too much though, ‘cause I guess I’m pretty much used to the wetness. The sound of the rain really helps me sleep at night and I especially like the sharp dings and plops of the water drops hitting my umbrella—when it rains really hard, that’s about the only sound you can hear, so it becomes a kind of silence almost, drowning out the noise of the traffic, and trains. It would feel like a meditation if your feet weren’t completely wet.

I lose a lot of things, namely earrings and umbrellas. A while ago I misplaced (?), dropped (?), or left (?) my black folding umbrella somewhere, and have been making do with the long, red, hooked umbrella, which is a perfectly wonderful umbrella, except on crowded skytrains, where you’re liable to poke innocent sitting someone in the head with the sharp pointy bit.

So a couple of weeks ago we visited the Vancouver Art Gallery (right now it's North American Landscapes, and a very interesting photography installation by local artist Owen Kydd), and I got this wonderful looking umbrella at the gift shop. It’s pretty neat, because the umbrella comes with its own pouch that can be turned into a shopping bag, and the umbrella pouch has a side zipper opening, which is so much more convenient than the vertical slip-on ones. The company is possum, and is the brain child of local designer Estella Lum. Umbrellas are her new thing, but she’s been selling her beautifully graphic and colourful bags that can be folded into the wallet-sized pouch for a while now. The umbrella sells for $40, and it’s pretty rockin’. It is a bright and cheerful bird print, and the waterproof material feels much thicker than any other umbrella I’ve had, with real solid spines.

Speaking of umbrellas, one of my favourite umbrellas EVER is one from MOMA, designed by Timor Kalman in 1992 called Sky Umbrella. On the outside, the object is just a stern-looking black umbrella with a curved wooden handle, but oh!, when you open it up, suddenly you’re under bright blue sky with gentle white clouds. It’s awesome, and very Magritte-like. We actually bought this as a birthday gift to one of our friends, and I hope he liked it as much as I do.

Miniature Nature

I was browsing through Apartment Therapy and stumbled upon this entry, which more or less opened the door to a fantasy from childhood: dollhouses! I wouldn't consider myself to be a girly-girly as a child, but I did have a particular fondness for Barbies (my favorites were the non-blond ones, heh heh). I fashioned Barbies' house out of stacks of plastic milk crates; I sewed clothing for them and made them furniture from my dad's Gitane cigarette packages. I also for some reason loved going to the cheesy and touristy Miniature World in Victoria, which remains a happy memory for me.

When I saw some of these images I was amazed and awed. These rooms and houses are incredible works of art.

This, of course, is a whole other world....

These are a couple sites I admire....

The above pictures are from the beautiful Mini Modern. Mini Modern's houses and rooms are contemporary, clean and amazingly well put together. I would love to live in a full-sized version of any of these houses!

The Call of the Small has a wonderful retro aesthetic. Call's rooms are colourful and fun. You can imagine having a party there and listening to records while you're lying on the floor.

It's down the rabbit hole from there, folks. Enjoy.

Sunday is Mad Men Day

don, always in the foreground

Sunday evenings are always filled with dread for me. That’s when I painfully realize that my two days of freedom are over and that I have to go back to work the next morning. I makes me want to cover my head in blankets and hide. I’m sure many people feel this way. It’s an awful feeling.

But that feeling is no more, thanks to....Mad Men!

Ever since I’ve started watching the Sunday evening broadcast (airing on the west coast at 7pm), this day has been a delight. I look forward to it all day, and think about it after it’s over. It soothes and simulates my noggin.

the ladies: betty, joan and peggy

Unfortunately, I didn’t catch the show when it first came on, and I was kind of suspicious of the hype the show had been getting, but by chance I happened upon a rerun of the first season on Bravo, and I found it so unusual for a TV show. It’s slow at times, the shots are lingering, and people don’t really say what they seem to feel; there is such a depth of character and subtlety in what you see, and you know there are thoughts/feelings going on there that are a little hidden to the us and the characters themselves. The stylish era is sumptuous in its detail, and the clothes are gorgeous. It’s simply a beautiful show to look at, and so deep that you can watch and rewatch each episode (as...ahem...I’ve done).

We watched the first and second seasons on DVD, and each season has a different flavour. The first season is more centered on the main protagonist, Don Draper, and the mysteries that lie within that grey suit. The second season is more effuse in its focus, with storylines with Betty Draper, Don’s wife, and Peggy Olsen (my favourite), a young secretary-turned copywriter, as well as Don; the people in the show generally become a lot more rounded. Plus, the extras on the DVDS are also great: two commentary tracks for each episode, features about the advertising age, women’s movement, costume, and little historical snippets that give the show cultural context.

the men of mad men (harry, paul, pete, ken and sal)

So far we love the 3^rd season. The show is dealing a lot more with the bourgeoning civil rights movement (in the past, the black people on the show have been just in the background—ie. Clara the maid/nanny, Hollis the elevator operator, the waiter Don has a conversation with about Lucky Strike in the Pilot episode), and the role of women in that world. Don is shown to be more and more flawed...the show has done a little more experimentation in form, with film noir influences, bizarre dream sequences, singing & dancing. In my opinion, it’s the best season yet!

If you are a fan, there are several sources to fuel the obsession. Here is a list of great places to visit:

• AMC, the network that airs Mad Men, has a great site and blog—lots of bonus pictures (fyi, all of the photos on this page are from there), discussion about costumes, props, sets, interviews, and behind the scenes videos. One of my favourites is their ‘scrapbook’ for each season—here you see papers, documents, and other stuff that you only glimpse in each episode (wanna see Joan’s drivers license? How about the organizational chart from season three?)

• Footnotes of Madmen is a great site where you get information on the historical and social context of each episode of Mad Men. If you’ve ever wondered about Patio cola, or the Bubble Cut Barbie, here’s the place.

• Basket of Kisses is a very well written blog, devoted to every minutiae of Mad Men, written by two devoted female fans.

• For episode reaction and summary, there are several mainstream news sites that follow Mad Men. Slate’s TV club has entries discussing the latest episodes (so far this season, there have been 42 articles). Their back and forth articles are rather entertaining. The NY Times also discusses each episode of Mad Men in their Arts Beat blog.

Rain and Tea

It's been raining here in Vancouver for the past few days--the skies are a dark grey, the air has turned cool and you can really smell the fresh, wet earth. After a week of hot summer weather, the change has been pretty welcome.

I love to drink tea anytime, but on days and night like this there is nothing more comforting than a hot mug of tea in your hands.

My favorite is this Japanese green tea from Yamamotoyama, green tea with brown rice. The roasted rice gives a really nutty warm flavor to the tea, and it smells earthy and divine. It makes a good cup. Don't you love the green packaging and design?

Slick Lips

I am what you might call a lip balm addict. Like when I don’t have lip balm in my pocket or bag I get PANICKY. The times I’ve actually forgotten to pack one of the lil’ suckers I’ve had to go to the drug store to buy a jar or a tube of the stuff. Like my lips feel cracked and shriveled when I don’t have lip balm on. The slippery film, the greasy slide of rubbing lips together, that makes my day. I go through them like nobody’s business. My addiction is one thing, but another thing is that I’m allergic to most lip balms. My lips gets bumpy and swells to a red blimpy mess. Tragic, right? I can’t do the Chapstick or Lobello, and I even react to Carmex if I use it too often (sad, since I like that sweet, mediciney Carmex smell).

But I consider myself lucky because I’ve found my best friend lip balms. First, the ubiquitous classic Burt’s Bees.

This lip balm is beeswax based, and contains peppermint oil and rosemary extract, which give it a bracing tingly minty sensation to the lips (a lot of people find it too harsh, but not me!). I have about 6 or 7 of these lying around in my desk at the office, my bag, apartment, and various random jacket pockets. Why so many? Well, like with earrings, I have a habit of losing my lip balms. They appear and disappear, like stray cats. Burt’s comes in the jar or the stick. I prefer the jar, even though I’ve heard it said that it’s unhygienic. But I’ve had sticks that twist up on its own, smooshing itself to the lid of the balm. It’s unpleasant. Plus, weirdly, I like rubbing my index finger in the jar, them vigorously rubbing my lips. Burt’s Bees also come in Honey and Pomegranate types, but I’m not so fond of those. I am so happy Burt’s is so widely available here in Canada. It used to be that only organic stores have it, but now you can get it everywhere. Hurrah!

My other best friend is a bit pricer, posher and luxurious: Rêve de Miel, which means ‘Dream of Honey’ in French. How romantic, right?

The company that makes it is called Nuxe and it was founded in 1957 in Paris. I purchased this at Shopper’s Drug Mart , for about $16 for 15 grams. It’s comes in a frosted glass jar with a white lid, and it’s rather heavy so it’s not too portable(but it has a good heft to the hand, feels like a cool stone in your palm). The smell is fantastic, faint honey mixed with grapefruit, and it goes on really thick. Sometimes you might find beeswax granules, but with a little rubbing it melts rather quickly. It feels very ‘present’ on your lips, if you know what I mean, but it’s a good feeling because you feel like your lips are protected somehow. It’s especially good used at night because it stays on a while and absorbs and makes your lips feel soft in the middle of the night so you don’t have obsessively reach out to your bedside table. I only have two of these jars, one at work and one next to my bed.

Lip Balm Love! I know I’m not alone out there.