a little bit of country in the city

This past weekend, we went to visit the PNE (Pacific National Exhibition), which is the big end of summer fair here in Vancouver. One of the highlights (besides the amusement rides... more on that tomorrow) was the farm country pavilion which showcased a diverse bunch of animals. My faves were the giant pair of oxen named Zorro and Zeldo. Seriously... in that first picture, I would have come up to his chin... it was that massive. Am also a fan of the mini horses too. If it weren't frowned upon, I would use one as an alternative mode of transportation. I wonder if they put the mini horse and giant oxen in the same pen, if both would be really confused or weirded out by each other.... hmmm. More pics coming tomorrow!

buzz buzz buzz

I have been stung by a bee twice in my life... once led to a a swollen foot the size of a ski boot when I was a little kid (I had stepped on it by accident). The other time, was just a few years ago while I was eating lunch inside of a restaurant...  yes, I got stung while indoors, what are the odds!. While out to lunch on a patio last week, Roger captured this amazing close-up photo of this cute waspy little guy... not sure how he got so up close and personal without being kissed by the stinger. Luckily I was in the washroom, while all this was happening... so third sting averted.

collage: catching butterflies

It's the last few days of August, and autumn is coming up fast... so perfect day to enjoy a summer collage while we can! I have never tried to catch butterflies before... the idea of it always makes me think of Jane Austen-type scenarios where girls in hoop skirts gallivant through tall grass and laugh in the shimmering sun, as they unsuccessfully chase dozens of the colorful winged creatures, whilst taking breaks for tea and cakes. Hmmm... doesn't sound half bad... anyone up for some butterfly catching this afternoon?

ps. some more blog features this week - thanks to Carol for featuring one of my birdy collage on her blog That is Charming and also thanks to Gay for featuring my bookplates on her blog I Dreamed I Saw.

kum ba yah

It's been quite a busy week and I finally had a chance to organize our pics from our weekend camping trip for show and tell. Our camping adventure took us up to Kamloops for two nights at Lac Le Jeune Provincial Park... here are some pics!

This is our little tent... actually it's not too little, since we had a doubles sized air mattress in there with quite a bit of room leftover. And since I am on the short side (five foot one inches to be exact), I can stand up in the tent without hunching over... yay! 
Here is our artery clogging breakfast. We usually eat really healthy when we are at home, but all rules seem to go out the window when we are camping or on road trips. If it is any consolation, we washed this down with fruit juice and home made blueberry muffins.
Here is Lac Le Jeune. (Insert your "oooohs" and "ahhhhhhs" here).
This is a pic of us on the dock by the lake making gansta signs... I think the ducks and geese quite enjoyed it. (And just to clarify, for those who's sarcasm detectors are on low today, we aren't actually in a gang).
Some pretty wildflowers we saw along one of the trails - a pretty pic Roger took. (Yah, my man likes to take pics of pretty flowers sometimes... got a problem with that?)
The sun setting. (Insert more "oooohs" and "ahhhhhhs" here).
And the last pic is at Logan Lake, which was on our drive home. I believe this machine is used for mining... but I just wanted to take a pic with it, since it made me feel like a teeny tiny sprite.

anniversary day!

Happy day! Today is our third wedding anniversary! Roger and I got married here in Vancouver at Heritage Hall in 2006... wow, seems like only yesterday (insert dreamy sigh here). Here is a pic of our wedding card that we illustrated together and the mini button magnet sets we made as wedding favors.... the whole event had a pink and chocolate brown theme. We googled to see what the traditional third anniversary theme would be (1st is paper, 2nd is cotton), and found out year #3 is... leather?! I know everyone is snickering right now... 'cause that's what we did too. Anyhoo, we will be heading out to a nice dinner tonight to celebrate... can't wait! 

ps. thanks to Lori for featuring one of my prints on her blog So I was Thinking today!

mystery owl revealed!

Last month I posted  some pics of a mystery project that Roger and I were working on together. Well, the time has finally come for the big reveal... and no, it's not a jewelry box, or a bread board (as a few had guessed)... it is a skate deck! Merging our two styles into one (which would mean, of course, that it would be woodburned and have awesome skulls), the deck is our entry for my hubby's company Crooked Walker. The deck is part of Contributor's Smile On Your Brother Art Show, where a selection of international artists and designers were asked to create art boards. All the boards are up for auction online (Aug 24th - Oct. 25th) to help raise funds towards donating 100 skateboards to disadvantaged youth across Canada. Check out the auction here if you want to see some of the other boards, or perhaps make a bid (hint hint).

Also, if you want to see the boards in person... they will be touring in a traveling exhibit across Canada. We snapped some pics at the exhibit opening in Vancouver last night (at Livestock in Gastown, August 24th - 26th). The show will carry forth to Calgary, Saskatchewan, Toronto, Montreal and Quebec City.... so check it out if it's in your neighborhood.

hooray for the giveaway!

Hooray for the giveaway... over 130 entries this month! It was great to read about everyone's favorite subjects in school... pretty much representing almost every subject you could think of... how fun it would have been to all be in the same school!

Ok, ok... you are thinking... just get to the winner already... enough with the build-up! Who is it?! The random draw was made from the tacky trophy cup and the winner of the fabulous prize is... Khristi! And here is her response to what her fave subject was: "I worked as a library assistant my senior year... It counted as a class credit and I got to sit around and play on the internet. By far.. the best class ever!" Wow... I wish there was a class like that at our school... that does sound like one of the best classes ever.

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway! And don't fret if you didn't win this time... there will be another exciting giveaway in September... so stay tuned! ;)