thanks for..

IMGP5442, originally uploaded by jill y.

1. Art Nouveau- it's waves and swirls comfort my soul
2. Paris's cheese shops- for awakening a sleeping passion
3. Flowers in black buckets in front of Vancouver corner stores- constant color no matter how gray the sky
4. flannel bedsheets
5. Feather duvets with feather pillows and small purring white cats- self explanatory, I think
6. Bergamont Rooiboos tea with honey and milk-how can this be wrong ever?
7. Hostels and boutique hotels- you give me hope.
8. Letterboxes- you are beautiful and seriously need to be reborn in 21st century architecture.
9. Wheat fields and prairie roses- what great tattoos are made of
10. The women in my life- my aunts, MY MOTHER, my sister, my grandmother, my friends Sonia and Bess- you remind me of my innate strength, the pull between being a girl and not so girly, and along side you, we are so beautiful.

11. No I don't think I'm 'missing anybody', but I suppose I could give thanks for my father but that's another post altogether.

is it butter or is it margarine?

Ever have one of those days when all of a sudden it feels as though you have no idea what you are doing or where you are going and suddenly the future looks dark and scary instead of bright and sunny??

I think I have too much water in my ears.

Brasserie

Brasserie, originally uploaded by jill y.

One of my fondest photos from the last time I went to Paris.

I have been asked to be a part of a show in one of the art galleries in Vancouver's Yaletown. Means I have to go through the 900+ photos I took and edit them for a show. Bit nervous about it all. I really blew through Europe in March-April, snapped all I could and have avoided looking at the shots since. My 1st meeting with the curator is on the 15th.

big.deap.breath.in.

kitchen adventures

What do you do when you make a pumpkin pie and forget to add the eggs and find that after 35 minutes of cooking it's still soupy?

You pour out the pie into a bowl and whip in 2 eggs and pour it back in the shell and recook it.

At least that's Michel's bright idea.

I still say we should stop at a bakery and buy a proper pumpkin pie.

call me waterlogged

Something about buying an expensive bicycle has made me feel guilty about the thought of hanging it in the laundry room for winter. Neither did I like the idea of putting away my nifty (and matching) riding shoes with clips that attach to the pedals. It didn't make any sense to me. But then again, neither did riding in the rain. Unprotected at least.

So another trip to the local MEC was in order to kit myself for the impending winter rains. To go along with the silk long johns and rain coat I bought to travel in Europe earlier this year, I got a few more things to make my commute a little bit nicer.

-A pair of bizarre looking gloves that are actually intended for paddling in water. They won't keep my hands dry but they will keep them warm.

- A pair of riding pants. Pretty self explanatory. Not at all fashionable and actually quite ugly but they are roomy enough for layering and will probably make the ride slightly more comfortable if my legs aren't soaking wet.

-And for the fancy riding shoes- a pair of shoe covers to keep them dry and my feet warmer. They also complete the look and make me look as though I have suited up for a journey into toxic waste.

That's what riding in the Vancouver rain will be like though.

The last thing I did was but a new one of these. Michael got my old black one that served me for 2 winters and it looks damn hot on him too.

Wish me luck. The goal is to commute 2-3 times each week by bike and if I survive, this may be my reward.

giving thanks for You Tube

Lately, I'm obsessed.

give thanks for having teetth

look out here she comes

It was only a matter of time and frankly I'm surprised it didn't happen a bit sooner. Another member of my family has joined the online revolution and started blogging. You know, it's frankly a bit surprising that it's taken this long. A have a few friends who have blogging siblings, cousins and even mothers.

Well I am the first one to have A BLOGGING AUNT.

Welcome to the blogosphere, Jane. I hope to be a regular visitor and commenter.

Why did you do it? Why haven't others?

I wonder what compels people to have a blog or to put random things on the Internet. I do it for the novelty. The fact that I could register a domain and put things somewhere where other people could read them or that I could look back on what I had done. I do it for a place to put the random things that cross my path that I think are interesting.

I do it, because, unbeknown to me at the time I started this little creation, all the people in Tehran who Google "More Kisses", can find me and wonder why aren't there more pictures.

yours truly

leave the car at home

You know, this just doesn't happen when you drive a car. I don't care how many people car pool with you. You just will not get a group of people who will beat box Phil Collin's "In the Air Tonight". And on the off chance that it does happen, there sure won't be an audience to video tape it.

something blowing in the wind

The full moon which rises closest to the Autumn Equinox is called the Harvest Moon.

It's tonight and luckily for us it's rising in Aries- which means to take a fresh start. So have one.

Like a breath mint after a night of debauchery.





Come a little bit closer
Hear what I have to say
Just like children sleepin
We could dream this night away.

But theres a full moon risin
Lets go dancin in the light
We know where the musics playin
Lets go out and feel the night.

Because Im still in love with you
I want to see you dance again
Because Im still in love with you
On this harvest moon.

When we were strangers
I watched you from afar
When we were lovers
I loved you with all my heart.

But now its gettin late
And the moon is climbin high
I want to celebrate
See it shinin in your eye.

Because Im still in love with you
I want to see you dance again
Because Im still in love with you
On this harvest moon.

back in the day

Back in the day, I used to love to dance.

Back then, I used to ride my bike across the High Level Bridge and the North Saskatchewan River to Edmonton's Southside to dance the night away at the Commercial Hotel and listen to blues. I used go and drink water and dance and not much else. A few joints in the back alley and then I'd just stay and dance for song after song after song. I knew other people like me who just wanted to dance. If we sat one out it was on the steps of the dance floor.

Back then dancing was my only real form of exercise. That and smoking kept my 5'5 frame lean and svelte.

This video from french electro-pop band Yelle, makes me love it again.

Check this out.

lots of lilies on homecoming

ripples

The little box in the sky. A false cocoon against against the city down below. Lights flash in the horizon. Lightning strikes off in the distance. The big bolts of electricity jolt down from the sky. Boom. Boom. Floor to ceiling windows shudder from the sound. The rain swipes at the window in long sweeping strokes. Like a child with a whip too long to handle. Swish. Swish. Tiny pins tinkle against the glass. Sounds like ice crackling on frosty winter nights. Sheets woven from water distort the view causing the candy colored dots stream down and away like liquid ribbons of tail lights; swirling and oulining the arteries. The city thumps and beats. High above it all, the little box in the sky groans.

jet plane

I'm off to Toronto for the week to do work stuff. No personal laptop will be traveling with me so, updates are unlikely.

xo
Jill

redemtion

I take it all back. Call it a growing pain or a learning curve or maybe just a settling in to new digs.. but Dadeo's has made good with me and we're friends again.

I gave them another go and they came through in the ways I remembered. Accommodating friendly service where I felt like if I found 2 ingredients on the menu and asked if they would put them together and barter for a price, this could be a possibility. Doncha hate it when you see a restaurant with ice cream and orange pop but they don't have float and you ask them if they'll do one and they look at you blankly and say it isn't possible (and it's basically it's because it isn't programmed into their till service). Doesn't that just irk you? Well I've never found Dadeo's-Edmonton to be like that.

Dadeo's-Cambie didn't blink when I put my bike against the front window, walked in the "other door"; saying 'I hope you don't mind, I just want to be able to watch my bike and have a carefree dinner.' That's what we're all about, they said. And I felt it.

I ordered a Philly Cheese steak Po'boy with sweet potato fries. I opted away from the coleslaw and potato hash fearing a disappointment from before. I did talk to the owner about my previous visit and he apologized and quickly left to investigate the freshness. My Po'boy was fresh and yummy and delicious. A little bit soggy from the sauce but excusable. The fries were spicy and soft inside, perfectly partnered with herbed mayo but not quite enough to make it through all the fries.

I was welcome to sit as long as I wanted. The coffee was replenished, the table water tasted fresh and I had a yummy satisfying meal at Dadeo's. Along with a nice chat with the owner, they're coming along to being my favorite comfort food restaurant.

get on top

cream, originally uploaded by jill y.

runs in the family

cowlicks, crewcuts, stubbornness..and plaid shirts

triumph

From my apartment to my job is precisely 10.87 km by bicycle.

I have, in this week, cycled a total of:

10 commutes, or 108.72 km

or burned approximately 3,109.39 cal

or saved the planet of 25.66 kg of carbon dioxide had I driven a car or taken the bus.

My reward? A 1 hr massage on Sunday.

rawr

I bike to work most mornings. I set off sometimes on the same route. Sometimes I meander through neighborhoods. Today I was coming up a slight hill and I saw something run across the street about 1/2 a block up. It was large. I casually thought, 'was that a cougar? Nah'. But when I got up to the end of the street and a small SUV was driving slowly along the street, I saw what they were watching and what I had 'seen'.

It was a somewhat timid or cautious young female coyote walking along the sidewalk, who looked like she would give good chase and take a bite out of my leg if she caught up. Mesmerising, in the funny way you wouldn't expect to see an elephant walking down the residential streets.

All I could think of was poor little Ruby being carted away for some thing's breakfast.

high expectations

I went to Dadeo's and it didn't cut it. I thought about trying something new on the menu but I went with my old favorite- the blackened chicken po'boy.

The French roll was dry and not the 'so soft it will melt in your mouth' memory of the one's in Edmonton. The chicken was nothing special and god how I hate manufactured beefsteak tomatoes and their mealy texture. The potato hash had an odd indescribable taste, like the potatoes had been boiled in dirty water. Worst of all was the coleslaw which tasted like it was a week old or had been left out for 3 days. It was definitely off. Telling the staff only caused me to be marked and later avoided. I tried to salvage the experience by having key lime pie for dessert.

I've had it in Edmonton- a tasteful wedge of luscious lime on a light graham crust, decorated with shavings of lime zest. Light, fruity and not too sweet. This one? It was nearly a quarter of a pie, tasted like lime jello mixed with whipping cream and set in a soggy wafer crust, half of which had broken off. A measly dollop of warm soupy whipping cream decorated the plate. It was so sugary, it was a defining moment when I seriously thought my future my include diabetes.

Worst of all- after an evening of fairly inattentive service, was the cheque. They didn't take anything off for serving me sour coleslaw.

I'm afraid to say it folks, but I don't know how soon I'll go back to DaDeO's on Cambie.

opening the floodgates

Are you one of those people who just has to stay the hell away from Ebay or Etsy because you just shouldn't be left alone late at night with a credit card?

Are you one of those people who gets a 5 day adrenalin rush just waiting for the mail to arrive because you've bought something.

And are you one of those people that sees a pretty picture and then fantasizes being inside the pretty picture so much that you can't stand it and you go out of your way to make it happen?

Well if you are.. you don't want to see this.

a balancing act

trio, originally uploaded by jill y.

po'boy heaven

po'boy heaven, originally uploaded by jill y.

oh boy oh boy oh boy!!

I have just found out my favorite restaurant has come to Vancouver.

This is an unexpected serendipity as just the other day I was salivating at the memory of blackened chicken po'boy's and chicory coffee. I was fantasizing about sweet potato and corn fritters and St.Louis ribs. Don't even get me started on thinking about the Bananas Foster or southern bread pudding drenched in rum sauce.

Such a craving I was having, thought of a quick trip back to Edmonton was a serious consideration. This restaurant is definitely on the top 5 reasons why I would move back there. Now, I only foresee my boyfriend taking me out to dinner in the very near future but so delectable is this cuisine, a whole party might be in order.

my boyfriend has me addicted to ACDC

can you judge a bookshelf by the books??

1. On Photography- Susan Sontag
2. The World Encyclopedia of Cheese
3. Do It!- Jerry Rubin
4. Diane Arbus- Patricia Bosworth
5. Janis- David Dalton
6. Weegee's World- Miles Barth
7. History of Art- 5th edition
8. The Crack Up- F. Scott Fitzgerald
9. The Tao of Pooh- Benjamin Hoff
10. Johnny Got His Gun- Dalton Trumbo

The days went by like a blur. She reflected on a moment's thought and was she was glad it wasn't through the end of a bottle.

blur, originally uploaded by jill y.

switched sides

I have made a monumental choice in my personal computing status. Michael pushed me into it with the offer to offset the cost by buying the old one. Visions of headaches and Craigslist danced in my head. Other visions of transporting airily light and thin computing possibilities circled like vultures in my imagination. All of a sudden I realized that I too could be someone in a cafe, happily blogging away behind the glowing apple, because you know, this is an important thing in life. How I've longed to have eye glasses that make me look smart, a ironic tshirt, and a table in a window in a cafe where i can spend hours pretending that I "work from wherever". God I hope you know I'm kidding.

But the idea of matching my laptop to my ipod (insert more sarcasm) was too much too bear for much longer. I jumped and I jumped hard.

I am now the proud owner of a brand new sleek, pretty, stylish, light, user friendly, matches my Ipod, black macbook.

It let's me take pictures.

Like this one.How fun.

it's the little things

homemade hummous with cumin and currants
hummous eaten with homemade pita chips with fresh cracked pepper and rock salt
just me, the cat and an a good movie
putting my bike on the bus to ride up the hill after work
riding down unfamiliar streets on a cool morning
lavender in the laundry detergent
new cookbooks and spicy spices
fresh flowers on the porch instead of the kitchen table
the farmer's market in the park across the street
bergamont rooiboos

better to eat you with

Sorry for the lack of updates lately.

There just hasn't been that much for me to sink my teeth into.



But don't you just love the marvel of modern technology? When has it ever been that you could have digital x-rays done and have them emailed to you before you got home. How many times have I wanted those little tiny teeth x-rays that the dentist would put up on the little light box on the wall. Geez- never mind those, how bought that one of my foot with the hairline fracture, or my knee, or my arm with the snapped bone? The art that could've been made.

speaking of food

I bought a new cookbook. I gave a favorite away to my favorite mother and felt the gaping hole on the cookbook shelf. Thinking about the foods I like to eat (salad, soup) and then using it as a criteria for a new book of recipes, I found Raising the Salad Bar by Catherine Walthers.

Other criteria used were:
-does it have good photographs? check
-is it easy to read? pretty font? check, check
-does it have a glossary or side pages of interesting info? check
-does it fall on at least 3 recipes you want to make when you flip through it? check

1. Arugula, celery and date salad with balsamic vinaigrette
2.Pesto pasta salad with chicken and oven roasted tomatoes.
3.Curried wheat berry salad with pistachio nuts and coconut (complete with curry-lime dressing recipe)

Ah, ya, don't even get me started on the back section of vinaigrette recipes..

add to the list

published photographer

Not really a huge deal but Schmap Guides, decided to publish a photograph of I took of Pioneer Plaza in Dallas for their map guide. When I am a paid published photographer, then that would be something to sneeze at.

Pack Rat Central- aka Rideau Antiques in Ontario

children of the corn

children of the corn, originally uploaded by jill y.

rural Ontario wildlife

rural Ontario wildlife, originally uploaded by jill y.

A snap with a little extra snap.

Hi,

I am writing to let you know that one of your photos has
been short-listed for inclusion in the third edition of our
Schmap Dallas Guide, to be published at the end of this month.

While we offer no payment for publication, many
photographers are pleased to submit their photos, as Schmap
Guides give their work recognition and wide exposure, and
are free of charge to readers. Photos are published at a
maximum width of 150 pixels, are clearly attributed, and
link to high-resolution originals at Flickr.

Best regards,

Luke Ritchie,
Managing Editor, Schmap Guides


Well, what ya know. Here's the pic being considered..

the thing to do

When you're 4000 miles from home, it's imperative that you buy a chair.

windows

I'm surprised that it didn't spread like a delicate plague.

Those little black spots of mold that took hold underneath the girly floral patterned wallpaper. They clustered there overtime growing larger and darker and more ominous. Pretty underneath the faded blue rose florals. Ominous where the plastered paper peeled back on itself. It didn't leave the room. The little dolls with the wobbly eyes and tattered handmade dresses, dusty despite all the water jugs didn't leave either.

I'm surprised at at that.

Surprised that the stories of rooms filled to the brim, the tiny but deliberate carved and carpeted paths have only mustered a shushed whisper maybe over coffee at the local Tim Horton's. Of a graveyard for antiques, had they once been living would have filled a city. Now, just gathered in little groups of friends, waiting. Something inside the walls of the yard and brittle slatted house, that keeps the secrets from leaving. It's as if a tiny wind blows from all sides, gently keeping all those possessions inside the gate and possibly bringing more with them.

Bringing another pile of window frames, another row of bottles. Stack up the pots. We'll fill them with food one day. Chairs piled so thick it was like walking into a wooden cobweb. A giant spider sitting in the corner waiting for it's next meal is just an old dresser with the drawers open like giant hands. The gentle prairie wind blows. Bringing with it the sorrows and losses from the times of war. From the times when it was painful to loose something so much that you held on tight to it all. Just put it over there. We'll make use of it one day. Someone will need it.

The wind with its secrets keeps all the dolls from speaking. They sit staring at the little tiny black spots forming, envying the books and magazines carefully in bags.



windows, originally uploaded by onecreativesource.

bent out of shape

He takes regular everyday things and with a few tools, a bit of time, and a wryly sense of humour, turns them into something completely different. These were early favorites but there are so many more so you should go look-see.

T to the O

I don't know about this town.

Then again, what I have seen of it has been from a passenger side window or a hotel room. Kind of reminds me the big apple though.

Lots of smog.
Lot's of people.
Cool subway signs and entrances that disappear off the surface of the sidewalk.
Lots of people in cars with lots of hands on horns.
Lots of garbage piled up on street curbs.
Those quaint little kooky shops and funky neighborhoods grazing under the shadows of high rise office buildings.

Rumour has it, this weekend I'll be going to visit a farmhouse with Catherine that's neighbours with an apple orchard and is "suffering" from a near by vintage shop infestation. I'll be going with my a pocket full of "pesticide" and a camera.

jack drives away after climbing the beanstalk

jack drives away after climbing the beanstalk, originally uploaded by jill y.

IMG_3492 1.jpg, originally uploaded by jakedobkin.

misadventure

April 3, 2007 Journal entry

"It's going to be one brutal 14 hr trip to Paris. I feel like I'm in a 3rd or 4th world. Back of the bus, back pack with me. Dodgey Moroccans or slimy Czech men all around. Sweaty and the air heavy with cheap cologne. Sketchy. And there's a baby right behind my seat. At least the seat next to me is free. Paris- here I come."

When the bus started to pull away from the curb, that's when I realized I was actually on a bus headed for Romania.

beauty is in the details

beauty in the details, originally uploaded by jill y.

It's hard to make out the date on this photo but it's Friday, June 18, 2004. I was sitting out front at Joe's Cafe on Commercial Drive. I've always fancied their lattes and the effort they put into layering the coffee and milk. So esthetically pleasing, so worth photographing. I noticed this clever headline and snapped the shot.

What makes this such a memorable shot for me is the remembering the person who sat down beside me. We had met a week a so ago though mutual friends and recognized him. I remember feeling slightly put off by the constant phone calls he was making on his cell. Put off because I was waiting for the opening to say hello.

Oh brother, I remember thinking. Screw him. I was trying to not be so interested in guys. They'd brought me a bunch of trouble in the recent past and I was a bit fed up. I almost left but the opportunity came and I said hello. We chatted, I think we exchanged numbers, and I called them a week or so later. I remember feeling none to impressed but it was that phase where I was pretty much thinking 'fuck him' to any guy who crossed my path- my path of "I don't want or need you". But then this guy said something about having a degree in Art History and liking photography and suddenly there was something, something maybe in common.

Something that would open me up to the beauty in his details.

He never reads this blog because he says he hears all about the things I post anyway. Maybe I'll tell him about this and maybe I won't.

Happy 3rd year anniversary Michael. Thanks for all little details that are just between you and me.

defiantly religious

defiantly religious, originally uploaded by jill y.

Kids sure have changed since the last time I was in Alberta. You can look at the rest of my photos and see the proof that a pail of Borscht is still only $19,

Who is this man?

??, originally uploaded by revertebrate.

Somewhere out there, someone knows this creature who 's drum beats loudly for him.

Do tell, readers, do tell....

pumphouse

le house de pump, originally uploaded by jill y.

I collect photos of this little house. It's up the road from "the farm". When I was little, when we would drive by it, I hoped one day it would be mine. Like a little cottage. Of course it is was too small. But then again, so was I.

I went there today. I had a an hour with my mother's car. I always cautiously approach, thinking a skunk will run out from underneath or there will be a pack of rabid dogs waiting inside. Or I hope to find a hidden treasure. All I ever find is a couple of birds, a rusted bundle of barbedwire and a couple of dirty cans.

And another picture to the collection.

Home tomorrow morning, or rather back to Vancouver and straight back to work from the airport.

lucky me

Today I am off to the "undisputed home of Canada’s largest six-day rodeo". Immediately, I wonder where is the home of the largest 7 day rodeo? Would that be Calgary? Carstairs? How about the little town of Rosebud, Alberta?

No, I'm off to Ponoka and at least one full day of "rodeo action with the best two and four-legged rodeo athletes in the world".

side note: Actually Rosebud is famous for Alberta's only opera house and not much else. A bunch of year's ago when I lived in Calgary, my boyfriend and I would get out the map and drive to all sorts of obscure prairie Alberta towns. One day we found Rosebud and obviously because of it's quaint name, we had to go. Thinking we would find treasure and hidden gems in Mom and Pop antique stores, sit on worn wooden stools in sunny corner pop shops and stroll down beaten wooden walkways, we hit the road. Instead, we found a sleepy hamlet of dirt bikes and Ford pick-up trucks. Kid size mountain bikes leaning up against white vinyl siding houses, and a worn baseball field. The closest we came to a soda pop shop was the local post office-slash-food store-slash-dentist office. And the opera house.

Some other time, I'll tell you about the time I went to the "world famous" Okotoks roadside hootenanny.

prairie air

duo, originally uploaded by jill y.

It's dry. You can feel it almost immediatly. You realize you have been climatized to the salty dew of Vancouver without even knowing it. The altitude is diffferent in Alberta. You can't seem to get quite the same amount of air. But maybe it's because your nose and throat are drying up.

I love it though. Flat, patchwork quilts, unrecognizable until you get above them. Farmland and abandoned granaries. Wheat. Wild roses growing in ditches. Dry air and country folk. Small towns and simplicity.

I'd like to find the store that sold the paint cans called 'barn wood red'.

Maybe this trip.

without a shadow of a doubt

One of the more interesting and captivating forms of art I've seen recently- shaping garbage or objects into recognizable shadows. It's right up there with graffiti 'washed' into sooty subway walls. Of course, the idea of creating something to look like something else is not new but using different forms in unique ways is always good for a wow, look at that moment. Good or bad or even when bizarre.

a meeting

a meeting, originally uploaded by jill y.

the strongest smartest woman I know

My grandparents, Agnes and Edwin shared a 10 year age difference. I think the 1st time my grandmother saw my grandfather she was something like 12 years old when he brought the Christmas tree into her classroom. The rest is pretty much history when they married when she was 20 and they built the farm on a piece of land bought in 1945 just outside of Olds. I as well as so many others in the family are so fortunate that my grandmother has written the family history down. So, I can retrieve quotes like, "We had electricity installed in 1945 a first in rural Alberta, as Edwin wrote in his memories he signed up for Calgary Power in July of 1945, signing a cheque for $100, leaving a balance of $39 in the bank." Wow.

They built up their little farm with lots and lots of love, starting with a little 2 room house with 2 children (my mom and her brother Ron) and slowing growing, digging the basement by horse and plow, carefully planting the 'shelter belt', adding sheds for pigs and chickens, pens for cows, a garage, a barn, a big garden bigger than the size of most city house lots and eventually a bigger family.

Together they grew, endured tragedies, travelled and loved one another. My most cherished childhood memories are of my grandparents on the farm. But tragedy struck hard and took my beloved grandfather when he was only 64, when I was only 5. My grandmother could have made so many choices but the one she chose was to carry on and make the very best of life.

And that's what she did. After having spent the last 35 years as a farm wife and a mother, she went back to school. Travelling the 1hr to Calgary to take a 2-year course at SAIT, boarding during the week and then travelling home on the weekend. THEN at, 57 she got her FIRST JOB. I'm sorry, but if that doesn't make her your hero, what does?? She continued to work until retirement, but that didn't exactly stop her either.

I remember once travelling to Europe and phoning home to let my mother know I was going to Morocco on my own. I asked her if anybody else in the family had been there before. "Oh yeah, your grandmother has been there." was the response. Well my grandmother has been to the Great Wall of China, the top of the World Trade Towers in NYC, walked down Bourbon Street in New Orleans, travelled on a camel at the Great Pyramids, and seen the polar bears in Churchill. I think she's been to the 7 wonders of the world and back around again. Incidentally, I am going home at the end of June only to find she'll be off exploring Labrador!

And while she wasn't travelling, she was maintaining the farm. She stayed there for another 30 years and I had an idyllic childhood because of her. For all the other 'stuff' that was going on, there was always the farm. And it was filled with lessons in making bread and cinnamon buns. Learning to sew, to knit, and to crotchet. I had handmade dolls and sweaters, hand knitted blankets and socks, sewn quilts and lessons in making slippers. Lessons in learning to drive on country roads just like my mother and I stayed in the same room my mother grew up in. Woke up to the perfect porridge in the morning, had the creamiest shortbread the night before. Summers of wheat fields and peonies blooming in the garden, family gatherings and reunions. I have had a lifetime of more than excellent memories and lessons, and love rolled up in one perfect Grandmother.

Now, she has moved on to a new chapter. A condo in town, a gathering place downstairs, a downsizing of furniture and a new view. I know I spent all last week doing 'ode to my mom' segments but none of that would be at all possible if it hadn't been for her mom. This is Agnes. My Grandmother. The smartest, strongest, most independent, creative, courageous, travelled and wonderful person I know. She has bravely embraced all of life's adventures, took the road of strength, resilience and patience whenever she could. She is by biggest hero, my best example, and without a doubt the most beautiful woman I have ever known.

Happy Birthday Grandma, I love you very very much.

new cars on the drive

It's that time again to revel in the streets. To experience those by-gone days again when streets were boulevards full of strolling happy people rather than disguised secondary highways coursing through neighborhoods. Leave the car keys at home and come to Commercial Drive for the 2nd annual Car Free Commercial Drive Days. And if you can't make this one, there's another one next month!!

the new cars on the drive, originally uploaded by jill y.

sad 'cause she can't eat poutine

sad 'cause she can't eat poutine, originally uploaded by bess grant.

This my friend Bess' adorable baby Desiree. Bess, on the other hand, is starting her own business on how to name a photo so you bust your gut laughing.

the dress

smokin

I'm sorry for the crimpled and ratty condition of this photo. I've been sleeping with it under my pillow, gazing wistfully at it at night.

Haha. Not really.

This is my gorgeous mother at her high school graduation. My sister and I used to play dress up in the dress and those heels, which were dyed robin egg blue-to match the dress. We used to tramp down the gravel driveway of the farm in my mother's old shoes and clothes to the secondary highway and wave at people as they drove by. I'd really like to find one of those people that witnessed that spectacle.


Really, it's a godsend that dress survived and luckily I still have it. I measured the waist recently.

My mother had a 22" waist at her high school graduation.
I don't know what happened to the taira or the gloves but if I had them now, boy oh boy..

Anyway, this is the last of my 'ode to my mom' posts in celebration of her birthday this past June 6th. Thanks Mom for being:
-so gorgeous
-so smart
-so playful
-so adventurous
and
-so perfect

REALLY!

Lots of love,
me

mother's know best

I hope Mom is OK with me blogging this. It's just too wholesome not to share.

Cook brown rice as follows:

1:4 ratio of brown rice to water with a little salt in the oven at 350 degrees for 1 hour. (1 cup of rice)

Sauté some garlic and onion in olive oil, add some spinach, the cooked rice, and 1/2 can of kidney beans and a little curry powder. Enjoy for lunch all week.

Very healthy - a complete protein.

quality care aka my 500th post!

Mom, originally uploaded by jill y.

Nobody really looks like this in person, I'm guessing. I mean, I wasn't there when this was taken and I wasn't even born then, but I can't imagine this is how my mother looked in real life. It's kind of surreal how narrow her shoulders are and how she doesn't really seem to have any arms. Really, I think she looks like a mannequin from a Sears catalogue circa 1967, modeling the latest designer nurse fashions.

Ha ha. Sorry Mom, I know you'll read this.

Ok. On to more serious matters. As the ongoing ode to my mother in honor of her birthday last week, I'd like to publicly mention that my mother has her RN, BSc and MA and graduated from the University of Alberta with distinction. That means she is really really good and really really smart. And she did this while raising me and my sister and possibly my father as well (I can say that because my father doesn't read my blog.) AND she was working full time. Yes, I meant it when I said she is really really good and really really smart.

One fond memory is that my mother, who despite ALL the things she had going on, would take me and my sister (we were probably 4 & 7 years old) to Hub Mall for cheesey hot dogs after torturing us with sitting quietly at one of the University library's (she was studying for her BSc at the time). I remember all the colored shuttered doors of all the apartment windows that lined the 'mall' on both sides, and getting that cheese dog with relish. I remember her in her 70's leather trench coat with fur colar bending down to hand me the cheese dog and it was all that mattered to me. But now I know that what mattered to my mom was making sure her daughters had dinner and were happy and that she got her photocopying done.

Thank you mom. For the lifelong years of patience, making sure I was fed and happy and never letting those things keep you from doing the things that were important to you. You're the best mom to me for it.

Lots of love, Jill

snowmates

snowmates, originally uploaded by jill y.

Sometimes when I look at these old pictures of my mother, I find it hard to believe she was a rambunctious child that got covered in mud or snow. But thankfully for early photography, her inner child has been documented and I have the truth.

So thanks Mom. For being all that you are. Studious and smart in horn rimmed glasses and playful in mud and snow. Sometimes, it helps to make the rest of life make sense.

xoxo
Jill

Bonnie and Clyde

Bonnie and Clyde, originally uploaded by jill y.

That's my mom and her older brother Ronald. My grandfather was building their new house and started digging the basement in one spot. He changed his mind and moved to a new spot. The hole was filled with water and well..the rest has been documented here.

Now, my mother wouldn't dream of a mud bath.

Hi Mom!! I love you!

Jill

ode to my mom #2

To get rid of useful things when discarding inessential things, you throw the baby out with the bath water. My mother, bless her heart, has chucked the baby at least once in my life.

My mother is not sentimental for a lot of things.

She once explained the reason for this from having grown up on a farm. You see, there were always chickens getting their head's lopped off and cow's being sold to the butcher. Baby kittens and baby birds regularly fell ill and died. At some point you just don't care anymore, I guess.

Well, this unsentimentality for some things landed our household under fire every Spring. It was like the cull of random items and her sweep of the house was ruthless and unforgiving. I have been particularly tortured and traumatized by one particular clutter detox when my mother threw out a favored and adored sandal that was separated by it's mate that was safely ensconced in my room. These were no ordinary sandals. They were flat and had criss-criss leather straps over the top of your foot and then criss-crossed up your ankles. I loved them. And because I left one at the front door and one in my room, the baby was thrown out with the bath water. I think I held on to the surviving one, sleeping with it under my pillow (crying myself to sleep), hoping and praying each night that it's mate would miraculously return

But I digress for now I am blessed with the same skill and unrepentant eye to toss out the riff raff, the unused, the under appreciated quickly and swiftly to the curb or at least to the nearest thrift store. I do it now without remorse or reflection. Haven't looked at that in 6 months? GONE! And today, my possessions are dearer, more appreciated and valued. So, Mom, while I longed for my gladiator sandals, misguided that they were a ticket to my popularity or value, I thank you now for the ability to cut my losses and move on.

xoxo
Jill

By the way, my mother is 1 year old in this photo. I'm not sure why she's having a bath in a giant tin bucket but I hope it wasn't something they did all year round. It can get pretty cold in Alberta in December. Update: Apparently that giant tin bucket was the family bathtub. See my mother's comment. Now I am utterly surprised there isn't a picture floating around of my mother in hunting gear with her fresh killed dinner.

ode to my mom #1

I think my mom was so cool.

She had those horned rimmed glasses and wore sweater sets and Capri pants. And look at that skin. And those features!! I'd like to publicly thank my mother for taking the time to pass on her good genes. Because, you know if she hadn't.. well there's no telling the calamity that wouldn't have occurred had I not been born.

She also went to a high school in the country and lived on a farm and back in those days, after she was done feeding the chickens and milking the cows, she'd ride to school on one of those kind's of bikes that are so cool now because they're so retro. God, she must have been such a sight- riding down the country road with her little straw basket, packed lunch, milk in a glass bottle and those black and white shoes you always see in old movies. And just so, you know, despite her age, she is not vintage or retro and is as hip as she ever could be. However, thank god she's changed her hairstyle. That would really date her.

Thanks Mom, for being so fabulous.
xoxo Jill

eco friendly mother's rule!!

you can take the girl off the farm, originally uploaded by jill y.

just so you know, my mom looks GREAT for her age

Happy Birthday Mom!

You’ve planted all the good things
that gave our lives a start.
You’ve given lots of sunshine
and nurtured us with heart.
Now you’re taking courses
where the plant names might be tough.
With all the tests you’ve taken
you might have said “enough!”
But you made the very best grade
with not one answer wrong.
A true test of your passions
which will last a lifetime long.
We think you’re super fabulous
you’re following a dream.
You have the best ‘mom qualities’
and encourage self-esteem.
Our mother kept a garden
And hardly seemed to fuss
Hope today you feel the love
reflected back from us.

Love from the daughters!

We have a gift certificate for you at Parkland Nurseries and Garden Centre to help set up your first semi-professional garden.

Go crazy!

PS. Catherine gets the credit for being the poetic one. Stay tuned all week for the "Tribute to You" posts.

and carry a big bag

We had a glass of red wine on the Art Gallery patio. I guess it went straight to our heads. We went into the Art Gallery gift shop and in less than 5 minutes both walked out with Matt & Nat handbags. Hers is called Queen, which is ironically very fitting.

And before anybody thinks that a small herd of cattle were sacrificed for our wanton fashion pleasures, these beauties are made of synthetic leathers and they are entirely vegan.

So there.

fashion disaffectation

Disaffectation, originally uploaded by jill y.

take off your top hat and gloves

top hat and gloves, originally uploaded by jill y.

I got an email today saying the Hat was closing. The Hat, as was generally known, was the longest operating restaurant in Edmonton, having opened its art deco door in 1912. According to this, it was also the longest cafe in Alberta. And I believe it having schlepped burgers and milkshakes there for a while. I wish I had a good shot of the inside. It went straight back. Booths lined the wall each with a little juke box. Back then they also had all these original old movie posters that they restaurant would get from the Paramount theatre next door. I bet it was really something something back in the 40's and 50's. Go see a flick at the Paramount and then grab a booth at the Hat. Jeannie was the tea leaf reader for probably 20 years. And that was the thing to do: Go to the Hat and have a plate of fries and get your leaves read.

I was a waitress there when I was about 19 or 20. I had the back 20 booths or so. It was dive. A real sketchy sketcherama. I remember these insanely steep stairs that went down into the basement where the bathrooms were. No amount of scrubbing would ever get that place clean. Even the spoons were greasy but people ate there all the time. Regulars would come in for coffee. Punk and teenagers sharing plates of fries and ketchup. Breakfast was served all day. I'll never forget the time I ate a burger on my break and ended up in the hospital a week later with E-Coli bacteria. I got fired for being "unreliable" because I had been sedated with Demerol, close to death and unable to call in.

I used to know these 2 guys that would come in and have fried egg sandwiches and a side of pancakes every Saturday. Once they wrote me a poem on a napkin as a tip. I kept it all these years:

Ode to the Hat

Haven, sweet haven
this chicken tastes like raven.
And the soup, oh the soup
such a swill, I am craving'.
Pour me a coffee.
Cut me a pie.
Fill my troph in this sty.
Let the music fill my heart
as I vomit up a tart.
No, but really we just jest
for in our eternal restaurant quest
for fine cuisine and service best:
We found a place our soul may rest.
But that was never so before,
this place pack then was such a bore.
A dreary luncheon it sure was
and that is so because because
there wasn't Jill and her cute fuzz
Oh, such a girly there never was.
Thank you Silk, for your warm magnesium milk.

Kisses, Brett and Geoff

and on the back:

In a world that can do nothing but hurt,
these pancakes will exist with a quick squirt.

That pretty much sums it up. So long Silk Hat.

travel plans

transportation, originally uploaded by jill y.

I'd like to start June off by saying my legs really hurt. Today I woke up to find they had been reconstructed out of Popsicle sticks and rocks. Very inflexible and heavy. However, according to my commute logs on The Bike to Work website, I have travelled 64.63 km this week. So, I'll try to ignore the fact that my joints feel like they've been glued shut.

Wish list: a pair of cyling gloves to ward off the gallons of sweat pouring out between my fingers and the useless attempts to wipe them off on my shorts.

tiny worlds

tiny worlds, originally uploaded by jill y.