Happy Halloween 2005
Here's a photo from last year's Halloween!
Have a fairly groovy night!
October 30, 2005
This is a photo of my dad. I think it's Christmas 1973. It's taken in the living room of our brand new house-built just for us and daddy sits proudly at the fireplace on the very 'in' green shag rug (the velvet gold and brown wallpaper would be up within weeks). I think he's 27 years old in this picture and I think he's handsome-with his sideburns and all around 70's casual suit look.
He passed away on October 27, 1974 and was buried on October 30, 1974, also his birthday. I was 7.
Happy Birthday Daddy:)
Lola and Daddy circa 1970ish
Lola and Mommy circa 1968ish
October 29, 2005
Does anyone else remember knit magic (Rob?). I loved my Knit Magic. I was super excited to receive it for Christmas one year after watching lots of commercials about this exciting machine. Visions of sweaters, ponchos, funky hats and socks danced in my head. I was going to be a creator of all things knit. And I was. I knit all kinds of tubes of knit and in all sorts of colours. I guess you could say tubes were my thing, my specialty, until I ran out of wool....
I wonder if my daughter would like one for Christmas this year?
October 25, 2005
This is a photo of my mother. I may have shown it before but now I own my own copy and find myself reflecting.
Caption reads 'bare midriff shows with skirt and tops
Pardon the poor quality. It's from the newspaper-the Toronto Star in April of 1973 I think. It took me almost 11 years to find this pic. When my grandmother passed away, my mom's last boyfriend before she died mentioned that she had her picture taken for the fashion page of some Toronto publication. He didn't know the year or the name of the paper or magazine. A needle in a haystack was an understatement when it comes to describing my search. White gloves and gravol led me through the archives at the National Library. Microfiche is naughty and should be outlawed. At first, it was hard to search and the help at the library wasn't really that helpful until I shared that I was looking for the last known picture of my mother before she died at the early age of 24 in 1974, when I was 7.
Still, no luck and I gave up for a bit. I didn't really give up but I stopped looking for awhile. It's a tiring and emotional process-all this digging. Then, a little over a year ago, said last boyfriend had a revelation and blurted out the year that the photo was taken. It was like he had a moment and remembered or chose to remember. Whatever the case, I am eternally grateful. Then I went to the Toronto Star site and paid a fee and started looking on my own. No luck, no luck, no luck and then, just when my four hour usage was ending and I would have to pay again, I decided to do what I always do when I can't find something I am looking for concerning my mother. I typed in one of her aliases or 'other names' and there it was. The name Carol Wilson matched the database. Excited yet nervous I clicked for more information and the up until now elusive photo. I was part afraid and part hyper. Finally I would know for myself whether the resemblance to my mother was as strong and powerful as I was often told. From some relatives shrieking 'Carol from the dead, Carol from the dead' in a foreign language at me when I was merely 15, to the last boyfriend looking at me like I'm a ghost all the time. Turning me away for so long. Saying that it was difficult to be in my presence because I am so like her-looks, mannerisms, voice.
So, with all this in mind, I bring up the page and start scrolling-it's a newspaper size so there's a bit of scrolling. And then, I come to the hair and then the eyes and I just know and I start crying and I don't know why. A powerful yet scary moment. Am I just seeing myself in her because I want to-because I need to so badly? Other than the fact that she is very skinny in the photo (for other reasons to discuss later), it's there-the resemblance and I am excited to update the snapshots that I have of my mother at 17 and 18 years old. I call the Toronto Star in a blubbery and hyper voice and a really, really nice girl talks to me politely and with what seems to be genuine interest, listens to my manic story. She explains the $60 a 1/2 hour or so fee to search the archives for the negative and I give her the go ahead with my credit card number even though I am warned that there is a chance that there isn't a negative. Sometimes this is the case I am told. So, I cross my fingers and wait and then get the email and the call, no negative. The photographer was a staff photographer but they don't have a negative. Turns out, through my research that Frank Lennon was a great photographer and took one of the great photos of the Canada vs. Soviet game in 1972.
Anyways, no negative means no photo but for $110 I can get a page reprint from the paper which won't be the best quality and will include all the photos and Big Steel Man sale ad. What can I do? Cry, get frustrated and say I will get back to them. I do get back to them, almost a year later and again give my credit card number to a lady who also goes by the name Carol and I find out after we chuckle about the Big Steel ad, is close to my mother's age if she were alive. Then I wait. But not for long as the cylinder arrives a few days later in the mail and as I unravel it I try to prepare myself so that I am not disappointed-so that I don't unravel myself in the process. But I am. I want a beautiful 5x7 glossy that makes my mom look like a runway model but instead my eyes are greeted by a reproduction copy of a newspaper page, copied from a newspaper that makes my mom look more like a runaway than a runway model.
Eventually a smile comes over my face and I am happy to have the photo, the memory, a glimpse into what was probably a great day, afternoon or at least moment, in my mother's short life! I remember the old boyfriend telling me that they were walking down the street in what is now swanky Yorkville and a photographer approached my mother to take a fashion photo of her. Apparently this tickled her and for the time it takes to take a snapshot, Carol Anderson aka Wilson, was on top of the world.
October 23, 3005
And the rain, rain, rain came pouring down and Laurel started sinking.....Lots of stuff to do when all I want to do is snuggle up with a book and some Ghirardelli Hot Chocolate!
Oh, btw, our Ottawa Senators rock! 6 wins (in a row) and 0 losses including a date with those nasty Leafs!
Go Sens!
I'm reading A Million Little Pieces by James Frey right now. I thought I would start reading and not be able to put it down (that's what I was reading was happening to other readers) but I HAVE to put it down. Too much pain, misery and disgustingness! It's raw, it's honest and the hardest part to swallow, it's true. So, my older and more sensitive heart as of late, needs a breather from this raw truth and so I plug away chapter by chapter, hoping for the happy ending I need!
October 18, 2005
Did I tell you about my roomba? It's a UFO disguised as a vacuum cleaner. It's so cool. I wouldn't believe that it worked unless I saw it myself. We'd been contemplating this purchase for awhile but obviously the price and skepticism regarding whether it could really vacuum the house without help was holding us back. Oh, and did I mention the price? But once we realized that it would be cheaper than many visits to therapy due to 'not wanting to clean issues' we dove right in when Canadian Tire had a sale on the little critters. And let me tell you, life doesn't get much better than sitting and reading the paper while the vacuuming takes care of itself.
October 14, 2005
Blah, to blog or not to??!??! Tis the question of the day and the extent of my Shakespearean rant. I know that others (you know who you are even if I don't) contemplate the same thing from time to time. Maybe I just need to spiff things up a bit more. It's like when you have to study or do some task you don't really want to do, instead you do something else not on the list (but probably needs doing nonetheless) like cleaning out a closet and arranging your sweaters in the order of the rainbow. Things like that-things that have no bearing on the overall look or cleanliness factor of your home or home office!!!But still, you feel calm and centered, even if just for a moment. I think one of my problems (goodness sakes, of course I won't bother you with all of my problems, especially not all in one blog) is the honesty thing. Sometimes what I want to write or more importantly, how I want to write, doesn't always come out. It's the same with the book writing. Sure, the central topic is still present but nothing else......
Something to think about over a rainy weekend. Even more, something to 'do about.'
October 11, 2005
It's turkey time here. Canadian Thanksgiving is upon us and the majority of revelers eat, drink and be merry on Sunday, Monday affords a nice day off for most! Bucking tradition as we often do at this house, we chose to have a roast of beast this holiday. I'm always thankful for prime rib and so I thought, hey, let's make it official and be thankful for beef on turkey day. Worked for us!
And, speaking of cooking and all things holiday-like, we recently made the appliance plunge! After ten years of 'hurry up and quick, the landlord is no longer supplying appliances' we decided it was time for an appliance makeover. So, after weighing our options 10 years ago which were made more difficult by the 'no money' syndrome that was going around back then, we ran to Price Club and bought inexpensive but functional white appliances. Our stove was becoming an antique right before our eyes as it has the real coils and the burner dishes that you line with foil (eBay here I come) and the fridge was basic but did have the clear vegetable and fruit bins which I will admit, did make watching the greens spoil and liquefy all that more interesting.
Anyways, it's usually big or stay home with us and after researching READ bugging lots of sales people and helping ourselves to big, expensive and glossy Maytag and Jen Air magazines and then going to Sears to buy everything because of the 'no tax' event (hey, when are they going to have that sale on property taxes?), we are now the proud and a little bit afraid owners of a Maytag Jen Air dual stove which means gas on top and electric double ovens with convection on the bottom one. That's all I know right now other than that it looks good in our kitchen and actually makes our ugly cupboards look not so bad. Now we're learning to cook with gas and trying not to sniff it too much-kidding, it's not THAT kind of gas whatever you were thinking!
And the fridge, much bigger than the other and the two features that I am most in love with are the deli drawer and the ice cube maker. Oh and the new appliances are platinum oops, I mean stainless steel. I'm getting the price mixed up with the colour. Oh well, I don't plan to buy appliances again for a really long time.....
Oh and beware of range tipping. Apparently it's all the range oops I mean rage! According to the literature that came with the new stove, along with the safety strap that I'm going to use for yoga, we were warned of this phenomena called 'range tipping.'
I'm wondering if this activity is at all similar or related to cow tipping..........
October 3, 2005
If you love someone, love them harder. If you hug someone, hug them harder. If you often forget to tell someone you love them or don't give enough hugs, start because life is too short.