my friend is driving again after a 5 year hiatus and needed practice driving on highways (the average speed limit for ontario highways are 110km/hr, a nice change from the 80km/hr in the gvrd hey?). so yesterday we took a rental car and visited niagara falls (a sad, sad commercialized tourist spot) and niagara-on-the-lake.

niagara-on-the-lake is a tourist site as well but not commercialized with american companies the way niagara falls is. (doesn't the name itself sound so nice?) the heritage district is lined with touristy craft stores, bakeries, flower shops and cafes all housed in heritage buildings. luckily during our lunch the skies cleared and we were able to walk around the district in wonderful, warm sun. the highlight, for me, was the greaves jam store. there i purchased some really yummy sounding jams: pure rhubarb and strawberry jam, pure crab apple jelly, blackcurrent jam and plum jelly.

i was also able to score blueberry and apricot/peach mlesna tea at the jam store. i've been searching for this tea for ages since my friend gave me some samples. unlike tisane fruity teas that are tart and tangy, the mlesna fruit teas are black ceylon teas infused with fruit aroma. mmmm so yummy.

we then went on to visit 3 out of the numerous wineries that are located in niagara-on-the-lake. each winery made quite an effort to distinguish itself with architecture and interior design. the jackson-triggs estate went for an industrial, concrete and exposed beams modern look whereas peller estates went for a warm, tuscany look lending itself to the image of warmer climates. i am no expert of wine and i really wish i had a better appreciation for it, but trying all the ice wines was a definite treat. i really have to go back, if not only for the sipping of the ice wines with prices in the $90 range.

aquatic

aquatic
Originally uploaded by happy d.

illustration friday: aquatic

lalala~ tomorrow is friday and i now get summer hours at work! if you opt for summer hours, you work at extra 30 minutes everyday and not take lunch on friday but get to leave at 1pm on friday! lalala~

my shuffle uffle arrived yesterday (from the 'bring me a dim bra' promotion, which i mentioned earlier was a little dumb) but nonetheless got me a new shuffle. i've made an initial fill up with songs that i have on this computer but i still have a little more than 300mb free. i don't know how people fill up 40gb worth of stuff.

i do have some issues with this product (i can't adjust the eq, no display, etc.) but hey! it was free, so i can't really complain about it.

good bye trusty old md. perhaps you knew you had fulfilled your purpose in my life, since you were starting to get sketchy when playing music. you were a good friend, though, and accompanied me on many trips abroad and helped me drown out annoying conversations that people have on public transit.

illo friday: mischief

illo friday: mischief
Originally uploaded by happy d.

ugh. you know when you have something in mind and you can't execute it exactly the way you want it to? ya. this one is it. (please click on the image for a bigger view)

self crit: wrong brushes for the outline, colour scheme isn't the greatest. i really like my concept though.

... at least i'm keeping up with my year of 27s. i haven't missed a day of sketching/drawing yet!

i-fri topic: ambition

i-fri topic: ambition
Originally uploaded by happy d.

o.m.g. it's 3am and i gotta go to work tomorrow. i really need to purchase some heavy duty eye cream; the bags under my eyes need a magic cure.

aaah nice evening. i hosted a book club meeting tonight and although yesterday i was scrambling around cooking and prepping all the while cleaning the loft w/ 'a', the whole event went very smoothly! so, today i picked up some wine (red masi wine is easy on the wallet and nice and fruity and sweet) and welcomed my book club members to my humble abode.

it was a great evening, discussing our book, gossiping, bitching, eating and drinking. wine, food and great convos, i feel like such an adult! and i'm proud to say that all the prepping last night paid off and my choice of serving veggie lasagna worked too. i could spend time w/ my book club members while the dish baked in the oven - along with some garlic bread (i'll share my recipe, like b did today, when i'm a bit more sober).

so how am i going to end this relaxing evening? with some left over white wine, listening to feist and smoke and miho and colouring my illo friday. i'm all smiles.

although my 1 year anniversary for my life in toronto was on january 9th, it wasn't until at the bell walk for kids help phone yesterday, walking the same 10km route that i walked last year, that it dawned on me - i'm starting my 2nd annual cycle of events in toronto.

i realized that annual events like the contact photography festival, taste of the danforth, the outdoor art exhibition, the beaches jazz festival and celebrate toronto will all feel a lot more familiar and a lot less new and fresh. making me feel more like a citizen of this city and less like a tourist. and just like the way the symphony of fire or the powell street festival in vancouver brings back specific and happy memories, hopefully soon these toronto festivals will trigger similar nostalgia.

ps - thank you to everybody to pledged me (again) this year! we were able to beat our national goal of $2 million by $100,000. thank you so much for your support.

... and so it begins!