East of Enid Avenue...

Three Books...

I am currently in the midst of reading, have just finished reading or am just starting to peek through three books. While I won't give anything away in this post on the context of these books, I will tell you basically why I enjoyed them, am currently enjoying them, and possibly will enjoy them...with, of course, the reason being I haven't finished them all yet.  

The book I have finally finished reading and enjoyed muchly is Little Bee by Chris Cleave.  This is a beautifully unfolding story of hope and on the human spirit's ability to rise above the black-hearted and corrupt.  One of, if not the main character of this book is a Nigerian girl who is a runaway refugee from her native country and finds herself in England, immediately landing in a detention center for "illegal aliens".  The story goes on from there in interesting, clever and sobering ways, but it truly is a story of eternal optimism and perserverance and that made my heart glad for it.  My favourite line from this entire book was this, with the main character, Little Bee, as the narrator speaking in her mind to another young girl (refugee) in the detention centre:

...do those scars on your legs cover the whole of you, like the stars and the moons sitting on your dress? I thought that would be pretty too, and I ask you right here please to agree with me that a scar is never ugly.  That is what the scar makers want us to think.  But you and I, we must make an agreement to defy them.  We must see all scars as beauty.  Okay?  This will be our secret.  Because take it from me, a scar does not form on the dying.  A scar means "I survived"...

I have to say that in respects to Little Bee, personally, I completely agree with one of the (all of the) critic's excerpts on the back of my copy "an affecting story of human triumph...warm, witty and beautifully written".  

My current read and book of interest is The Paris Wife by Paula McLain.  I'm only about a quarter of the way through it so far and am enjoying its story...so far.  I chose this book for a few reasons.  One:  I've heard from two different friends that they had really enjoyed it.  Two:  I enjoy the works of Ernest Hemingway and so this book could potentially shed an imaginative light on his early life.  Even if it is fiction, it's still interesting to think of how and where he got started.  Three:  I really like the cover art...cover art can sell me on a book like no man's business.  Sad but true.  If it's got good cover art, it is likely I will read it even if it turns out to be a stinker.  I'm a cover art kind of girl.  In any event, I will be sure to let you know if I end up liking the book entire.  As far as I can tell, it's gotten very good reviews and I haven't been disappointed in it yet.  So it is promising!

Lastly is the book that I have lined up to read when The Paris Wife is completed.  Actually, it's an old book but one I have never read nor heard of, if you can believe it.  It's titled Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell.  One reason I am so interested in reading this book is because it keeps coming up as one of the best ten books to read before you die.  Or so google would have me convinced.  It sounds interesting enough and so I think I will give it a read.  If anyone has read this book, please let me know what your thoughts are on it.  I'd be interested to hear why you read it and why you loved/didn't love Nineteen Eighty-Four.

So there you have it.  My current read list.  I'm not sure about the rest of you but reading is such a great escape for what can be an all too hectic day (read life) sometimes.  It can be heaven to sit down with your book in hand, a cup of tea and cake to your side and a well lit room with a view.  Also, I have to say I enjoy journeying through someone else's imagination from time to time.  It can be delightfully exhilerating (also sometimes disturbing but even disturbing has its place and intrigue) and create a thought or feeling that we might never have experienced otherwise.  To the readers out there:  Enjoy whatever material it is you are taking in and make allowances for it to steep and settle should it need to, as in the case of Little Bee and me.  I needed to let it steep a little in my mind.  Settle.  While settling, I think it has allowed me to understand the strength of the human spirit a wee bit more than I may have before.  That is a marvelous feeling...

 

 

 

The Thing About Social Media Is...

Apparently - it's this.  If you are going to be utilizing social media as a communicative and building tool in your business, whatever it may be, you have to commit to it.  Excuse me while I rant but...that's a lot of pressure! Pressure to keep up, pressure to keep updated, pressure to keep your place in cyber space...pressure!!!  The fact that social networking is "the wave of the future" is actually a little old school now, in a sense.  Because of course there will be something new coming out soon - there always is. A newer, faster, more efficient and prettier version of whatever it was before.  VHS to DVD, film photography to digital photography, rotary phone to itty bitty cell phone that fits in your pocket and annoyingly pocket dials everyone without your knowledge.  Newer...faster...more efficient blah.  A newer, faster, more efficient form of Twitter maybe.  Zodcasting instead of podcasting, as an example.  What is zodcasting - who knows but it could be very true that some tech nerd is dreaming it up as I write.  It would appear technology is constantly (even by the second) exceeding itself in breaking new ground.  Iphone 4 now.  Iphone 50 in three years.  Nikon D7000 now.  Nikon D8billion in 5 years.  Always changing, always evolving into something "better" (although I question the "better" at times).  I currently use a few forms of social networking in my business(es) and while it can be challenging to commit to posting everyday and updating everyday, at some point, because this is the way the world is going, I'm hoping it  will pay off if done correctly and also if it is done in some sort of interesting niche-y somewhat revolutionary fashion.  I think that social media is a very effective tool if committed to, but like all worthwhile and sometimes difficult relationships, it does need commitment and it does mean work.  I suppose the question is do I want to commit to it?  And where does my commitment level get capped?  See...pressure.  For now, mayhaps, I think will commit.  I suspect my scenario might go like this:  Current user:  Jillian Model#2011 - currently utilizing full force social media networking to her full advantage as best she can on an almost daily basis.  In 5 years: Jillian Model#1985?  In this scenario, it is possible and my hope, I think, that Jillian Model#1985 five years from now might be the reverting back to a simpler time.  A time like 1985 where computer cares were those of the people who operated the giant beasts. Who knows.  Maybe Jillian Model#1985 will shun technology on a daily basis and use it only when necessary.  Technology is certainly something I don't want to get sucked into...like in Tron.  Cool idea but I'm good here on planet Earth and don't want to have to worry about getting disced into tiny micro glassy bits.  But can it be avoided?  Not getting shattered into tiny glassy bits, but I mean, technology on a constant, everyday, all the time basis?  To sum that ridiculous little scenario up - in the end, I'm hoping there will be no Jillian Model#four four forty four bye bye brain you're out the door computer does the thinking now so type type type you silly cow.  I don't think I'd like that Jillian.

And so on and so forth...

For now, in order to grow my businesses, I will commit and hopefully this will result with me seeing my business grow.  I cannot, however, imagine doing this for the rest of my working days.  While it might be fruitful it would also be fruitless, you know? Missing out on the inherent joys in life because I'm clickity-clacking away in front of giant screen while also managing the physical aspects of my business all the while hoping that someone notices the cyber side of me or my www address.  Nope nope.  I'm good for now and we'll see for later.

It's quite possible that I've just scared myself into changing my mind on social media networking.  Will keep you posted.  Irony at its best right there.  Keep you posted.  Ha!  Roger that...over and out.

Thought For Today...

Today's thoughts - July 27th, 2011 - are purely this:

Who are you allowing yourself to be inspired by today?

Contrary wise:

Who are you inspiring today? 

You know that saying where if God closes a door, somewhere He'll open a window?  Mayhaps it could also be deduced in this fashion:  Never close the door on being inspired and influenced by any good and great thing and when so inspired, perhaps you'll find yourself being someone's window of inspiration and influence.

Spend wisely the day.  Embrace and employ good inspiration that comes your way and then throw it forward.  You may never know its reach or ripple effect but you may find felicity in being an agent of influence.

What is really quite lovely is that any one thing, any one person (of any age), any one situation and any one cirucumstance can ignite and emblazen and serve as our spark of inspiration.  We simply have to be open to it, aware of its possibilites and utilize it to its full capacity in a positive way and for the good and betterment of humanity, and in fact, for the betterment of our own self.  Always learn.  Always be inspired.

Be the change you wish to see in the world...Mahatma Gandhi

 

Poetic Food For Thought - Volume Three...

My latest poetic infatuation.  Pablo Neruda.  No intention of saying much except for this, I find his poetry exceedingly tranquil and yet vivdly stirring at the same time.  Heartily recommend a read or two (or scads) of his work.  He's an engaging kind of splendid actually.

Here is Tonight I Can Write the Saddest Lines...

 

Tonight I can Write the Saddest Lines.

Write, for example, 'The night is shattered
and the blue stars shiver in the distance.'

The night wind revolves in the sky and sings.

Tonight I can write the saddest lines.
I loved her, and sometimes she loved me too.

Through nights like this one I held her in my arms
I kissed her again and again under the endless sky.

She loved me sometimes, and I loved her too.
How could one not have loved her great still eyes.

Tonight I can write the saddest lines.
To think that I do not have her. To feel that I have lost her.

To hear the immense night, still more immense without her.
And the verse falls to the soul like dew to the pasture.

What does it matter that my love could not keep her.
The night is shattered and she is not with me.

This is all. In the distance someone is singing. In the distance.
My soul is not satisfied that it has lost her.

My sight searches for her as though to go to her.
My heart looks for her, and she is not with me.

The same night whitening the same trees.
We, of that time, are no longer the same.

I no longer love her, that's certain, but how I loved her.
My voice tried to find the wind to touch her hearing.

Anothers. She will be anothers. Like my kisses before.
Her void. Her bright body. Her inifinite eyes.

I no longer love her, that's certain, but maybe I love her. 
Love is so short, forgetting is so long.

Because through nights like this one I held her in my arms
my soul is not satisfied that it has lost her.

Though this be the last pain that she makes me suffer
and these the last verses that I write for her. 

 

Lovely BC Cherries...

This will be a short post...like a telegram but longer, so essentially not like a telegram at all.  Basically it is a post on the absolute brilliance and delightfulness of the BC cherry.  And no, I'm not referring to every horny little monsters dream - the perverbial poppable cherry.  I'm talking about the actual pieces of fruit that grow on a rather awesome tree.  Luckily for moi, I currently reside in the province that neighbors on what I can only believe to be the  best producer of giantly delicious fresh cherries...and apricots, plums, blackberries, grapes...well, pretty much anything that can grow in the fabulous Okanogan climate.  Short nonsense story even shorter, it means this: I have fairly constant access to the awesomeness of the fresh goodness that grows within beautiful British Columbia.  Huzzah!!!  I am fortunate enough to be able to eat my fill of all of BC's lovely fruit and berry harvests in the summertime (not to mention drink my fill of their dessert wines that are also combinations of the lovely fruit they produce - yum)!!!  Absolutely delicious.  And the cherries!!!  Fresh BC cherries...there literally is nothing like them.   And so, this post is simply to tell you that when British Columbia's fresh cherries finally arrive in Alberta, it paints me a perfectly happy shade of orange with barely controlled glee.  They can be farthings more than anyone might wish to pay but I heartily think they are well worth every penny.  Every hay penny for that matter.  Indeed.

Three cheers for fresh BC cherries!!! 

 

Finally...

I've been waiting for what would seem absolute eons for labels that I had ordered well over two months ago.  Three months ago even.  Glurg.  Double glurg.  But finally!!! They are here!  And I can now attach them to the infinity scarves I've been making and ship them out to the five lovely ladies who responded to a social network status stating that they would recieve a free scarf if they were one of the first five to respond to said status thus creating for me free advertising of the scarves in a few different provinces across Canada.  Well, that was a fun sentence.  Fun indeed.  In any event, misspelled labels, returns, cancellations, reorders and Canada Post strikes notwithstanding, my labels are finally here and I can send out these scarves to those sweet and lovely ladies and get the rest ready for Etsy and local selling.  The Etsy site won't be ready for a few weeks or so (already set up, but have to finesse) but for now, I've already promised to post pictures of the various colours of the infinity scarves being modelled so that they ladies can be certain to choose the one they want and also - I already have orders from others and have directed them to see my blog.  So!!!  In no particular order, except for that they are in a particular order...so nevermind...here are the scarves!  I had some of my absolutely beautiful friends and my lovely Mum model them for me and snapped up a few different poses and variations of scarf-wear (not a word but it is now).  Margaret, who is wearing the black and grey scarf, basically modelled a good portion of the different ways you could wear the scarves and so she gets photo posted the mostest.  Then you'll see the other girls in the other colours but the variations of wearability pretty much apply to all.  

The story of origination.  Quite right.  Basically, the scarves got dreamt up when I was lacking a light scarf for a sunny warmish-cool spring day.  I have all kinds of lovely bulkier scarves but nothing that suited my need or fancy as I wanted something lighter and not as wide to wear with my blazers.  So I went to the my favourite fabric store and this is what came of it.  Kind-of-every-season infinity scarves that you could wear with a light jacket or a blazer.  Even pretty great for late cool summer evenings to help prevent getting chilly.  Personally, I'll even wear them in the winter with my outfits. For me, I like to have something around my neck, in the summer on a cool night by the lake or sitting at my desk in the winter, because I get chilled pretty easily.  But I also like something versatile that can get worn a few different ways basically giving me the ability to change it up each time I wear it.  And also...I just really love scarves...all of them - love.  So yeah...that's pretty much the story of the origination of the long-label-wait infinity scarves.  Can you dig it?  They are just a little part of my brain come forth in scarf form, pretty much.  Also, because it was just too much fun posing all the girls, and because they are all such beautiful women, you get to see lots of pictures!  T'was a fun day and these are fun times.  Just a cotton jersey lycra combination come to life in an cute infinity scarf or two! 

 

Lovely Margaret modelling the black and grey scarf infinity style...see more pictures below

 

The Repurposed Retiree...

My father in law is your typical boomer.  He's retired from his long running career in pharmacy, catching up on things he never had time for when he was working and meeting up with old and new friends alike to find out what's new in their worlds.  He loves to cook, try new recipes, chat, visit, talk about economy, talk about travel, travel, find out where others have travelled and where did they love to eat while traveling (he's a lover of fine cuisines et al).  He's a friendly friendly chap!  He loves going for coffee!  And like most boomers, he does his best to keep up with technology and enjoys it.  He emails, searches the net and even has a smart phone!  You might call him "the friendly boomer" and he is.  He loves reaching out to people.  It's his nature.  I wanted to do something for him to make it easier for him to meet new people or keep in touch with old acquaintances he comes across and hasn't seen in a while.  Boomers, as you know, are very familiar with the passing along of business cards.  Before palm pilots and the present day smart phones came along, business cards were all you needed to exchange contact information.  And they worked well (and they still do) in most business people's worlds.  Why, I have an old school rolodex sitting on my little white desk as I write, and I love it.  Business cards are classic!  So I've created for him what I like to call the Baby Boomer Card.  Or the BBC.  Essentially, his present day business card, post retirement.  The business card for the repurposed retiree!  It has his contact info on it complete with email to pass along to old friends and acquaintances etc. that he might run into and wish to be in contact with or to possibly finally go for that coffee they've been meaning to go for - for the last 15 years.  And my FIL knows A LOT of people.  He's constantly running into someone pretty much wherever we are!  Very popular fellow!  So why not, I say!  You're in the prime of life - you've paid your dues and earned your retirement - enjoy it with those you know and those you wish to know better!  What better way to stay young and young at heart than to enjoy everything life may have to offer with those around you, starting with a good cup of joe and a conversation.

 

Sweet Etsy Finds...

Etsy is so freaking inspirational!!! I am always so jazzed (insert jazz hands here, for real) when I go onto that site.  It is absolutely teaming with creativity and imagination! Endless ingenuity and a delightfully entrepreneurial spirit! love love LOVE.  It happens that I am writing this post at about 3 o'clocker in the morning.  Glurg.  And I will likely post tomorrow between meetings because I'm certain there are bonkers amounts of spelling and grammar issues. BUT, I literally could stay up far longer and search the Etsy site like a bat searches for fear...oh they know you're scared of them...they can smell it and they find you and make you run like a tiny mouse from a hawk.  From a hawk I tell you!!!  I hate bats...bleh.  Sorry...3 o'clock in the morning random tangent. Anyway. Who needs sleep, or bats for that matter, when such a site exists. It's so motivational it makes you want to find something brilliant and turn it into something even more brilliant.  Love Etsy.  So here are my 3 a.m. finds.   Enjoy!

 

1: Absolutely sweet hat - love this chicks stuff.

2: LEG WARMERS!!! Mine, that I've had since I lived in Montreal, bit the dust early last winter.  So these may just be my new pair of leg warmers.  Check these out here.

3: Love this painted scarf...color, pattern. Love.

4: Sweet hot pink necklace - hot pink and I love each other deeply.

5&6: Absolutely delightful ever blooming flower plates for your garden...brilliant no?! So sweet they get two pictures!!!

7: Lovely quilt-as-you-like-it idea.  I love this gal's material selections!

Poetic Food For Thought - Volume Two...

Another poet I have been pondering of late is Robert Frost.  Pondering poems could literally take up a day for me.  The human mind is a fascinating thing, the human heart even more so and the human spirit...well, that can never truly be discerned or understood, it is not academic.  Nor can the human spirit truly be broken, at least I don't think so, if we can truly make ourselves aware of its strength, its force, its endless capability...its magic even.  The human spirit has a muchness to it that we can never truly comprehend because I believe that it doesn't begin in this world where our minds and hearts have their beginnings.  It is our life's star, as William Wordsworth states, and it rises with us but has elsewhere had its setting.  Ah.

I love how poetry portrays, or is sometimes in essence of, the human spirit.  Here is to the human spirit:  may it never be torn down or ripped apart by anyone as no one has that right and conversely may the human spirit in you always be aware that it can never be broken and may you always have the ability to feed your spirit - your life's star - in a brilliantly fierce fashion according to your heart and mind and the dreams, aspirations and delights that lie therein.  

Robert Frost.  You do so well sir to stir the inquisitive chambers in my mind and in my heart and in my soul.  Your works - resplendent.  Your sharing of your gift - muchly appreciated.  

Here is Reluctance by Robert Frost, written in 1913.  It is a beauty and a brilliance.

Reluctance Out through the fields and the woods And over the walls I have wended; I have climbed the hills of view And looked at the world, and descended; I have come by the highway home, And lo, it is ended.   The leaves are all dead on the ground, Save those that the oak is keeping To ravel them one by one And let them go scraping and creeping Out over the crusted snow, When others are sleeping.   And the dead leaves lie huddled and still, No longer blown hither and thither; The last lone aster is gone; The flowers of the witch hazel wither; The heart is still aching to seek, But the feet question "Whither?"   Ah, when to the heart of man Was it ever less than a treason To go with the drift of things, To yield with a grace to reason, And bow and accept the end Of a love or a season?   Robert Frost

 

To The Scotch Drinkers...

Not every day, but every more than once in a while, I like to sit down with a good book and a nice tumbler (or two) of Scotch.  Scotch isn't every ones cup of tea, mainly because it's Scotch...not tea.  But if you give it a bit of time, effort and somewhat regular attention, you may come to find that a glass or two goes down as smooth as silken spun ice, if there is in fact such a thing as silken spun ice...and in my world, there is.  I'm definitely not a seasoned Scotch drinker but I enjoy it enough now that I could easily become a certified Scotch fanatic (emphasis on the certified...or is that certifiable...hmmm).

The Vue Weekly recently posted some interesting facts on Scotch.  I thought I'd post.  Possibly I have a reader or two that is a Scotch lover too...or very soon to be...

1) Not surprisingly, Scotch finds its origin in its namesake country, Scotland. The first written record of Scotch dates to June 1, 1495, when it appears in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland, records which keep track of royal revenues.

2) Scotch has been distilled in Scotland for centuries, possibly dating back to the ancient Celts. The Gaelic word usquebaugh, or "water of life," became "usky" and later "whisky" in English.

3) It wasn't until the mid-18th century that someone discovered that Scotch tastes better if given a chance to age and mellow. Scotch from before this period was a harsh, brutal drink and could even put the imbiber in danger. It's thought that the technique of aging Scotch came about by accident—someone had the guts to drink from a barrel they'd forgotten about.

4) Scotch that hasn't been aged is as clear as vodka. The spirit gets its colour from the oak barrels it's aged in for a minimum of three years. As it gets hot in the summer, the liquid expands and seeps into the wood. As it gets cold in the winter it contracts from the wood, bringing with it colour and flavour.

5) Unlike wine, Scotch does not continue to age in the bottle—it'll taste the same no matter when you drink it.

6) The most expensive bottle of Scotch ever was sold at a Sotheby's charity auction in 2010 for $460 000—a 64-year-old bottle of Macallan Scotch in a specially designed crystal decanter. All of the money went to charity: water, a non-profit organization providing clean drinking water to people in developing countries.