jackey

when i first started out this month of blogging about friends, i seriously thought it would be the most fun thing ever.
well, it was, only sometimes your memory starts going places that aren't just happy. sometimes you start re-living memories that you don't want to re-live, or that make you sad for whatever reason, not always just because something tragic happened. sometimes you feel sad because you realize that distance keeps you away from people you love to spend time with, or circumstances have changed, bringing new friends to fill voids that old friends used to occupy; that you thought maybe would never be filled again.

jackey is a new friend.
she feels like an old friend. i lifted chose this picture because even though she's sick right now, i know that she would gladly recuperate in jamaica (even though it would be wrong because *I* am supposed to be getting ready for *my* fake trip to jamaica but i digress)
i love hanging out with her, shopping, talking, laughing, eating, texting
and especially watching her slowly shake her head whenever her man says something corny
i think jackey is the bomb
she's beautiful but doesn't believe me
she's an expert e-bay shopper (ha!)
she has the best dogs ever
she tolerates me most every friday
she makes me laugh
she thinks there is hope for me

she's another keeper

wordless weekend

CANDY!

ok, wow
i could not in a million years have surprised myself any better than i just did.
so i told youngest boy to suit up and go shovel because:
a. um, i'm not going to
b. he's broke and it's his brother's sixteenth tomorrow and i'll pay him
c. because i'm needed INside ... for something

so then i went into the bedroom and got instantly (more of a lingering constant, really, but i digress) cranky at my husband because he leaves all this crap lying around when there are, i am sure, perfectly good places to at least shove it out of my sight.
so i started cleaning up after him
this fuels my anger
this must be why i do it so often
anyway, i open up the door to his side table and see this cracker barrel bag with slim jims sticking out the top. i am half curious, half jealous because my first thought is why does he have a stash that i don't have? and, no, i do not like slim jims but that is totally not the point here. this goes back to my childhood, with my brother, when he would somehow make his candy etc last way longer than i ever could then taunt me with it when i was at my most desperate moment.
well, i just had to look inside that cracker barrel bag (yes, my husband keeps gifts for me at work because he also knows i am a brutal snoop)

score!

a bag of stocking stuffer candy we completely forgot about!

this is the best saturday in ever.

candy?
you are way my bestie

jarkko

my newest friend, jarkko, is a d.j., welder, carpenter, graphic artist, finn, pulla enthusiast and tattooist.
he understood what i wanted in my next piece even more clearly than i did. soft, subtle, vintage, black and grey with a hint of colour here and there, shoulder to elbow.

tonight he took 2 1/2 hours or so to outline my newest artwork.
i go back in a month for the shading and colour.
after hanging out virtually all afternoon (because after i removed my winter coat, he realized i was a might bit "slighter" than he originally presumed and we had to decrease the size of my design almost in half) we decided we are going to get together after all the ink is done, to talk music and art and all things cool.

i love getting inked
like jarkko says,
it hurts less than a broken heart and lasts longer than your teeth

i love making new friends.
and i love tattoo fund jars that are busting at the seams.

yah, baby, yah.

martin

we haven't been friends long, really, but i've known we were going to be for what feels like forever.
i think we met almost one year ago
something like that
i dunno
but he captivated me from the first sound and i just knew i had to have him around me all.the.time.
he comforts me when i'm out of sorts
he smells fantastic
he's not that tall but he is a bit dark and i happen to find him very, very handsome
i tried for six years to be this kind of friend to art but i could only hang out with him for like two hours, max. i mean, he was beautiful and everything, too, but we just weren't a great fit.
i didn't even seek martin out
no
my husband introduced us cause he could sense my growing frustration
and now?
i honestly doubt i could be happier ... though i'm not entirely convinced he's helping me with my smarts.

vincensia

i will be forever indebted in my heart to mike and beth for introducing us to the place i never thought i would really go live in and will always want to go back to.
vincensia became a good friend to me as quickly as any other even though, at first, i couldn't speak her native language. well, actually, i will likely never speak her first language; even her husband can't speak it because they are from different tribes. her second language is tok pisin, which i eventually learned enough of to generally understand her and make her laugh (cool beans). her third language is english, so whenever i wasn't making sense, she would speak in english and help me find the right words.
vincensia is trained as a nurse but chose to stay at 'home' once she had her kids (she has six beautiful kids) as taking the pmv (public motor vehicle, read: big toyota van that seats around 11, depending on how many nationals felt like cramming in) like the time neal rode from town in a pmv marked to seat 15 but had 21 in it and one of the nationals decided to sleep on his shoulder. um, yah.
anyway, the cost of taking the pmv to the hospital and back wasn't really worth her time. what was cool was all the times she was able to diagnose our ills and let us know what meds to go pick up at the pharmacy next time we went in to town. (which is also kind of scary seeing as how you don't need a prescription you just tell them what you want and how many and they give it to you in a little plastic bag. wow). when evan's ear swelled shut and he was in pain, she told us it was otitis media and wrote down the name of the antibiotic he needed. we were thankful.
vincensia introduced me to greased rice, greased corn, kankon leaves, the most amazing smelling perfume, and real shell money.

i introduced her to homemade chocolate chip cookies, kool aid, tacos, pizza and american eagle skirts.
she kicked my butt at uno, the first time she had ever played it. that hurt. then she presented me with the most beautiful necklace ever for my birthday. that helped. we had many meals together, laughing about things white people think and say and do and i tried to learn as much about her culture as possible in the short time we had together, learning to laugh about the silly things nationals think and say and do, too.
she promised to write letters so i wouldn't forget my tok pisin but that isn't a simple thing to do. i treasure each one from her that i have.
she promised not to cry when i left, so i would leave with only good thoughts
we both broke down at the airport and cried anyway, cause that's what real friends do.
i miss her deeply, down in my core
i know that she misses me, too.
i can't prove it, by texting her, or sending her a message on facebook
but i can feel it
and for now that has to be enough


behain, mi laik go long hoskins gen, na go long haus bilong gebe, na sindaun wantaim olgeta poro bilong mi.
nau? mi driman, tasol.

one day ...

michelle

michelle (and erin) *sigh* i met michelle in second year, in sosh class. i was instantly taken with her beautiful looks and her confidence. i thought to myself "she is going to be my friend", and i don't remember exactly how long i waited to approach her but suffice it to say, she allowed me into her world and i have been forever blessed as a result.

michelle is another of my artist friends: a writer, a painter, a used.to.be. singer, amazing cook, actress, giggler and plunger into frigid water-er. she is funny, sarcastic and soulful. i hate that we live provinces away from each other. there are days when i just feel like i 'need' my meesh fix.

we used to skip classes study together, at university, because she and erin had gotten married and lived on campus. we would plan how we were going to live communally (but not like in a creepy i stopped shaving and wearing deoderant and started sharing your husband way). no. we were going to work together, listen to and create music together, and generally just hang out forever in harmony and bliss.

then we finished school and i got married ... to the man they tried for a year, unsuccessfully at first, to set me up with. then i had what i will refer to as my 'dark period' (and i don't mean i dressed goth) and we drifted separate ways, them moving to b.c. and us staying behind.

there are so many stories i could tell; it happens like that when you have known and loved someone for almost twenty years. we finally had a wonderful reunion this past summer, our boys getting along swimmingly, talking, laughing, eating and drinking together like old times. i never wanted it to end.
but they are where they need to be and have recently embarked on the adventure of a lifetime, here, and i truly hope and pray that we have the opportunity to partner with them, somehow, in it.

... i dreamed i saw dali, in a supamakachelli. he was trying to throw his arms around the world

ya, you are.

wordless weekend

jagjit

i know i already posted about juggie a while ago, but that was before i knew that january was going to be all about friends, and besides, i'm rarely done talking.
i met jagjit in grade five, in case i didn't already say that. her family came from england, which was super cool considering i lived in whitesville, ontario, and that my dad came from england, too.
she had the longest, prettiest braids and a dark green velvet dress that i totally envied.
and a new baby sister.
her mom brought her in for the class to see and though i asked my mom to make the same thing for me, it never happened.
sheesh.
i grew up listening to juggie's parents speak a language i didn't understand, dotted occasionally with "kris", usually when i had convinced juggie to do something she probably shouldn't have. i think they liked me well enough, though. i know they laughed when i tried samosas and curry at their house. (they provided lots of yogourt)
we would hang out listening to u2, duran duran, depeche mode (NOT menudo) reading calvin and hobbes, eating chicken sandwiches (which were infinitely better than anything kfc has ever come up with), fries that were actually fried, and watching days of our lives.
i wonder if stephano is still hiding in her basement?
she understands me better than most, having spent so much time at my house and me at hers. so much has happenend in the almost 30 years i've known her.
she is definitely family; she means as much to neal as she does to me, too. ... we just wish we had her tan.

we have our own secret code of sorts when we talk. it usually involves so much laughter that neither one of us can really understand what the other person is saying. it gets like that with true friends, no matter what.

i think she finally forgave me for melting her watch, too.

and last year, when both of our families finally got together to share a meal, they boys laughed and joked and talked like they had always known each other. jagjit and i just smiled. if only we lived closer, so the cycle could repeat itself in our kids.

sisters by choice

these friends came into my life about four years ago (or so) when I read in the local paper that auditions were being held for pollyanna. I love the stage ... no surprise, I'm sure ... so I decided to try out. danna was directing and she gave me the part of a church lady-spinster. I loved the role!
enter carol, who helped me immensely improve my movements, my facial expressions (though those of you who know me likely find it hard to believe I need help in that area) and my projection.

it wasn't until july, one and a half years ago, that carol defined our friendship by asking danna and myself to accompany her at an art in the park performance. we were "only" going to do backup vocals for her as she sang boogie woogie bugle boy.

who.knew.she.would.also.add.choreography

marion kernoghan came to hear carol perform and "signed us" on the spot, for one of her musical, vintage fashion shows and the rest has been happy history.
we squeeze ourselves into impossible dresses and shoes, jam more wigs and bobby pins into our heads than should be allowed, and dance like nobody's business on stage.
some of my most favourite times have been while driving in the wee hours of the morning, on the way to a show, watching the sun rise with my sisters. or sitting on marion's bed, picking out all the most sparkly things hoping carol finally gets to wear something other than pearls for a change.

sisters by choice is the name we settled on early in 2010 and like real sisters, we laugh, we fuss, we help each other up and we enjoy every show we have the privilege of performing together. we love to pick apart the music and put our own spin on it, often with carol re-writing it, note by note, line by line, on her piano.

never a dull moment, we always have something new up our sleeves ... so look out, 2011 ... we're ready!

eric

i'm really fortunate because I only have one brother ... no, seriously, I mean that in the best way possible. I don't have to share him with any siblings and he doesn't have to remember to love up on anyone but.sweet.ole.me

score

I will admit that things weren't always a bed of roses where our relationship is concerned. I will perhaps also admit that it was pretty much always my fault.
I'm the baby; what can I say?
like the time he set up an uber cool official politically incorrect Indian tent up in the backyard and I was strickly ordered to stay out but I, naturally, did not. in my defense I was younger than eight so that automatically rules out any fault on my part. my mom has pictures to show my brother pointing fingers at me in one scene, me running out of said tent in the next. classic kristina

then there were all those summers he was supposed to technically babysit me but would say things like:
kris, come up to the top bunk and check out the colours of this kitten"s eyes ... they are so cool!
(by the time I got up to the top bunk eric and gary were long gone)
or: kris, go inside and find out what time it is so we know how long we can keep playing tag for
(by the time I got back outside the yard was suspiciously devoid of "others")

there was also the time that I kept pushing the buttons on steve austin's exploding briefcase so that the mechanisms broke and it wouldn't go back to "not exploded" and I just put it back in his closet and didn't say a word. he got mad.
where was the grace there, huh?

or how about the time he hid a hair in his doorway so he would know that I had gone into his room after he had closed the door and specifically told me to stay out
(in my defense, he had an Indiana Jones replica hat that I just had to try on)
or the days before central air, when we would sleep on cots in the cool basement but I would never stop talking so mom would come downstairs, threatening to send whoever was making the trouble back upstairs to sleep in the heat and I always pretended to be little and cute and asleep so it was never me that got sent back up to my room.

don't feel too bad, though. he got me back by playing games he made up like: "digging for gold", meant to cure me of claustrophobia, involving me in a sleeping bag, him sitting on the opening, swearing that there was gold to be found at the zipped up end if I would stay digging long enough; or, "fart in the box", involving me in an empty refrigerator box, him farting then closing the opening; the classic "hide the cookie until kris is done eating hers then slowly bring yours out from under the couch cushion and eat it in front of her, dramatically" and "slide the kleenex box under kris' butt just as she sits down in the car"

Hasbro had nothing on my brother.

we didn't really become friends-friends until I was a minor niner and he was a mighty grade thirteen. after that year, he moved off to the big city and we didn't see each other as much, but he told me about good books to read, amazing music to listen to, fantastic food to try and other useful things like apologetics, poetry, philosopy and general esoteric thinking.
I may or may not have become slightly less bratty by that time.
when I went off to university, I took the bus to stay over, on weekends, so I could go to concerts, meet his friends, walk around the city and learn how to be cool (or at least try).
then I got married and eric gained someone reasonable finally a brother
and it has all come full circle ...
'cause I gave birth to two boys who are almost.exactly.like.him

i love my brudder

janice

so while this picture isn't of jan on her own, I believe that having her with her husband is just one indicator of all the good this woman has been able to accomplish in her lifetime. (only teasing, scott).
they are the sort of friends that really feel more like family and that is always a cool bonus whenever it comes around.

janice is quiet, even-tempered, serene, lovely to the core, beautiful, healthy and strong. people like janice are intriguing because you just know they have so much to offer if you will only ask. I have gotten to figure out a lot of what makes this girl tick. for instance, did you know that she is an extrememly talented artist? (i'm totally beginning to see a pattern here with my friends) not just wood-carving/printing, but sketching, sewing, quilting, pysanki and writing to name just a few. seriously. this girl has published a book, given heart-felt and inspiring presentations to crowds, written beautiful song lyrics, picked up the mandolin and played in a band in the last year alone.

if that isn't enough, she's a great resource for obtaining and maintaining health and I love that I have a friend who also likes to eat the kinds of things that not only taste amazing but don't make you feel like you just made a big gastrointestinal mistake.

jan loves to drive so we often take off on road trips when we get the itch and explore our surroundings. we don't always talk a lot when we're hanging out but she's the kind of friend that doesn't make silence feel like a bad thing. I think that is rare. becoming her friend was easy.

here's to a new year of making memories

aino

I'm not a gambling girl by nature, read: I went into a casino for the first time last summer, with five dollars, had to ask an attendant how to work the slots, got super excited when I was up 75 cents, then proceeded to watch my cash disappear faster than a nicolas cage film (i.e. gone in sixty seconds) but I'll take my chances on this lady:

my mom

I do believe I was born loving her, and she was certainly smitten with little old me, even if I did disturb her reading by being born, a fact she has yet to let me forget.
she calls me every birthday and for some reason chooses to sing happy birthday to me, even though her own mother asked her to "please stop" once. my mother isn't one to listen well when listening is deemed optional.
I get that from her.

and she is tenatious.

don't believe me? just go ahead and try telling her she "can't". she doesn't need amphetamines! my mom is seriously the best mom e.v.e.r.
lots of my childhood friends still call her just that: mom

my mom has always been my hero. I think it started the day I was swimming in our pool and had an impossible experience that I believed to be utterly and completely real: I.breathed.under.water.
I mean, really? there is just no way, but when I tore into the house to yell the facts to my mom and she could have, in that moment, totally burst my fantasy bubble she, instead, filled me up with imaginary helium by saying "if you think you did, then I believe you" and that has made all the difference.

my mom is super cool, too, in all her st.thomas-ness. she was wearing pj bottoms out in public loooooong before the rest of the crowd. and she insists that faded jean shirts are "back", so she can confidently pull hers out of the depths of her closet and I no longer get to have a say.

mom used to have these famous spreads for christmas day and any of our friends who were in the neighbourhood could stop in, have some cheer, visit, and be on their way again. many of my most special friends have done that over the years. I miss that.

I'm not sure I have ever laughed harder or watched more movies with anyone than I have with my mom, either. wowsa. my memories and my bladder will never be the same. I absolutely know that I can never watch kujo again or be allowed to listen to stupid rooster calls with her. this is a fact.

my mom even gave me those beautiful but you can never really wear them earrings I played dress-up with, so I didn't have to wait until she was gone to enjoy them myself. I don't care what anyone says, they ARE SO vintage and would have gone perfectly with that dress for my role in it's a wonderful life. my mom just happens to agree.

in any case, I never have to finish a sentence (or, as my friends have witnessed, really even start one for that matter) with my mom; she just "gets it" every time. she's my interpreter, my confidante, my supporter, my encourager, my all around most highly esteemed and bestest oldest friend.

she's crazy in all the right ways, and if you've never met her, you totally should.
she's my mom, and I hope I never grow up, so I can be just like her.

few words weekend

I tried to break the egg and use only the white. this has never happened before ... all I managed to do was peel off the shell from the membrane.
weird.
and I'm bored
so that's what you get.

laura

I think it is important to surround yourself with beautiful things. clearly. laura is one of those.

when I first started working at the book store I found it hard to keep everyone's names straight ... except laura's. she was instantly "lavender laura" in my head. weird. so I looked it up:

Lavender symbolizes femininity, grace and elegance.

yep, that sounds exactly right. laura is brilliant. she makes me feel empowered and confident. laura has one of the best laughs ever! it fills the room with warmth and reassuance and just plain joy. laura is cool and suave and most definitely a go-getter. this girl has so many unrealized things stuffed up her sleeves. she writes fantastic poetry, songs (has recorded a cd), plays the flute, is incredibly well-read, loves great music, is a great conversationalist and likes to drink tea and gin (but not at the same time). need I say more? talent literally oozes from her pores, but she's also humble. I like that.

Lavender is the color of equilibrium.

must be why I always feel refreshed after spending time with laura, whether working or just hanging out. she inspires me to think new thoughts, and mull over ones I thought had gone away. I never tire of her. I hope she never tires of me.

Lavender is the color of replenishing and rebuilding.

laura has an amazing future ahead of her; I can feel it in my bones.

whatever it is that you are dreaming up, laura, go for it ... as much as possible, I'll have your back.

ho cho

... I have the greatest of affinities for you

vinyl love

this friend used to be super special to me. I didn't pay attention to him every single day, but it was definitely one of those every.now.and.then.on.my.mind.yah friendships. some days there were tears. some days just pile upon pile of misunderstanding, confusion, and wondering why. other days it was laughter til your sides seriously felt like they would split, or you would honestly stop breathing ... you were never quite sure which would come first.

this friend made me feel warm, alive and very, very sure of myself. This friend understood what no one else could have. This friend invaded the very fibre of my being. This friend spoke volumes in his silences and his serenades. It didn’t really matter which … I was affected just the same. around him I knew, deeply, who I was and exactly what I wanted, or at least my memory tells me this.

It’s been a long time since I heard from this friend. I lost track for a while. a short eternity, really, in light of everything that once was. I remembered it like a perfectly drawn bath, surrounded by candlelight, soothing every ache in your tired, worn body.

touching you places you never knew existed.

calming your spirit until you could almost count the muscles and vertebrae as they loosened and stilled themselves under the spell.
like that perfect morsel of food; sustenance that continues to both fuel your appetite and satiate it.

bliss

then, one day, while searching for something entirely different, I re-discovered my old friend. I reminisced in the silence, crouched in the storage room, instantly surrounded by memories, thick like molasses and sweet to my soul. and there I lingered until, in sadness, I walked away.

I have no idea where my friend is now. I have tried in vain to find him again. It isn’t always possible to replace something so rare even if it was both taken and given away with the best of intentions.

Sometimes we just have to trust, consoling ourselves in the memories, knowing that if it's meant to be, we will find each other again.

craig

I have already posted this picture, but I have to re-post it because it is the only one I have of the two of us. even more oddly, though, I find that neal has NO pictures of past girlfriends. strange. (ahem). when I try to find a blog-worthy photo (or just a picture in general) I am faced with the reality that the few I have are either hideous (especially of me … oh my word, how am I so talented in that area?) or totally, embarrassingly outdated. why? It’s probably because I talk so much I forget that I also mean to chronicle things, for posterity. *sigh* at least my memory hasn’t failed me.

yet.

though I do find that any time I discuss things with craig, he has a very different memory of our relationship. (he is absolutely wrong, by the way, in case you ever happen to meet him and the subject of me being a spastic girlfriend comes up. I am sure you wouldn’t believe that anyway).
I first saw craig on the staircase of the infamous seven dwarfs restaurant in picturesque lambeth. Oh my but he was the hottest thing I had ever had the pleasure of setting my eyes on. I believe I fell in love at first sight. he was such an amazing stair cleaner-er.

so, as I sat at the table with my parents and my brother, one of the waitresses came over to talk with us. she was friends with my mom and dad, so I thought nothing of it … until they started discussing the.boy.in.the.kitchen.who.wondered.if.he.could.give.me.his.number.

oh my word. mom and dad asked the waitress/friend many, many questions. apparently the fact that craig’s parents were british made him ok to date. I do remember that he asked if I was over 16. I believe that I stretched the truth a bit. maybe. things are foggy in that area.

I do remember calling him later, sitting on my futon, beside kim, and asking him a million and one questions. none were likely of any real consequence, but he liked the right music so, for me, it was a done deal, because, really, what else matters?

In any case, we dated happily for what feels like years, but he would have to try to help me remember how long, exactly, it was until it was all over … until that fateful valentine’s day when I wrecked everything. what can I say? I had a lot to learn. years and years later, at university, on the city bus, I looked out the window and thought I saw craig. for the briefest of moments I contemplated getting off the bus and seeing if it really was him, but alas, I stayed in my seat. life is like that sometimes.

no regrets. he was my first boyfriend and I chose dang well. he never had a negative word to say about me, my character, my face or anything else about me. he taught me to let my yes be yes and my no be no. (because twice I groveled and begged him to take me back but he wouldn’t) yep, he helped shape me into who I am today, and I am so glad I got to know him and be known, once, as his girlfriend. plus, he NEVER wore mesh shoes like subsequent not so well chosen boyfriends. craig was real cool beans.

AND writing about our breakup got me published, for the first time ever. so,craig, for the millionth time, I’m sorry I dumped you because you fell asleep on the couch after eating my pasta. and I’m forever sorry that I made fun of your brown car (which is ironic considering all I had was a white and red norco bike from crappy tire). It came back to bite me the summer neal and I had to borrow a van that was carpeted from floor to ceiling … and the heat was on full blast with no hope of turning it off or down. oh yeah, the shaggin’ wagon was an ego buster for sure and for certain.

craig, I wish you only the best. and if I ever make it to your restaurant and I eat the pasta, and my eyelids start to droop, feel free to give me the big what goes around comes around boot!

lindsay

let me start, first, by saying that mondays are always a bit weird for me. I am, no doubt, not going to articulate this is a way that anyone will grasp, but I must attempt it. it's my nature.
mondays always leave me feeling like I have to somehow reconfigure everything. there is never enough time on a monday. my thoughts start flowing in such random disarray I often experience a general malaise of sorts on mondays. it's a very good thing that I have clients in the afternoon and evening because I love working with kids. kids ground me. so does this girl, even though we barely ever get to spend time together.

how do I love thee? let me count the ways.

lindsay is crazy talented. I mean CRAZY. she paints, she writes, she sings, she plays guitar and piano (don't discount this, lindsay). she sketches, she designs tattoos, she creates masterpieces with her hands out of hair, faces and bodies. the ideas that come out of her head blow my mind. I can only imagine what she keeps locked inside.

I have never known someone to literally wring out every second of a day like she does, but she'd be the last one to admit when she's exhausted.
you don't simply "know" someone like lindsay; you breathe her in. lindsay is an experience.
you don't meet lindsay once then walk away, forgetting.
lindsay is part of my soul. I believe one should be careful who they allow into that part of their life, but I have never regretted her.
I met her at the theatre. she did my hair and makeup. I watched her silently for a while but couldn't escape the pull she had in my life. I had an undeniable desire to become friends with her (as happens with a lot of people in my life. there are just some people in this world that I would be incomplete without and I cannot explain it). turns out she was cool with that.
I have known her over half a decade, but I have yet to share the stage with her. someday.
for now, I get to share in her happiness at having opened her own salon, released her first full cd and married an amazing man ... all in one year.
lindsay is beautiful both inside and out. she will go to the ends of the earth for you if what you need is something she can provide.
she is deep and wise and exotic and loyal.
people like lindsay have the ability to move mountains.
I absolutely cannot wait to see what the new year holds for this most rooted bohemian.
no matter where my gypsy heart takes me, I will always be here for you

too many words weekend

hairmakeoverapp.com

wow.

wow, wow, wow.

I should seriously not be allowed to randomly download free apps.

kerrie

*sigh*
this girl I have known for a long while now, thanks to a job my husband had many moons ago. I got to know her though him and, voila ... the rest is very happy history.
we do the craziest things together just because we can.
I love hanging out with her and her very cool daughter (she puts up with a lot and doesn't make too much fun of us "old people")
kerrie feels like family.
she introduced me to gilmore girls and I will forever thank her for that piece of glorious hilarity in my life. I actually text her quotes and she can pretty much always tell me what episode it was from. and she never spoils the plot.
now that is a friend.
she dances with me in the garden, eats copious amounts of chocolate when we really should be in bed already, tolerates more rice and meatballs than anyone should probably eat in a year, leaves me gifties to discover long after she's left my house, and listens to all my garbage.
... and there's been a lot of garbage over the years.

we scrap every now and again, too, but only in the best way ;)
we have a few rituals, as friends, that only we share and that is pretty cool in and of itself if you think about it. kind of like shared family traditions. I wouldn't trade them for the world.
I wouldn't trade her, either.
I love that she drives here whenever she can, just so we can hang.
I love that we share books
I love that she loves to text me as much as I love to text her.
I love that she bakes (and shares)
I love that she loves tea. really. that is huge to me.
I love that I have an audio recording of her screaming. priceless.
I love that she made magnets out of the most retarded picture of us ever.
I love that she simply laughs at me, instead of running away.

kerrie is just plain the bomb.

sarah

Kant said that we require three things by which to measure happiness: someone to love, something we like to do, and something to look forward to. Who do you love, what do you like to do, and what are you looking forward to this year?

first off, I am not looking forward to anything this year, meaning, simply, that I am not holding myself up to ridiculous standards or expectations.  I am free-falling it this year.  I'ma let the chips fall where they may and deal with things as I'm forced to  faced with them.  not in a I.don't.give.a.rat's.ass way; just in a I'm going to go with the flow and be less spastic this year way.   so maybe that is something I'm looking forward to, then ... growing out of my spasticness.

so.not.gonna.happen.in.ever.

but one can dream.

what I like to do is tutoring, therapy and eat out.  I will determine to do all of those with much gusto and with oftenness.  gilmore girls is almost finished now, only four hours left, so I will soon have a short period of let-down, but am confident that the thinking about eating out "like" will fill the void in short order.  I'm a relatively simple girl.

who I love?  man ... I love hard, and lots, but today I want to write about sarah.  it's so weird in so many ways to have to say I have only known her for a few years because in reality, it feels like I have shared my life with her since Uni, which is impossible, but when I look at her pictures and hear her stories I am convinced I was there, like a fly on the wall shomehow.  I am so glad I met her, even if some people think it's creepy how we met. she's the one on the right, in the coral shirt.

we met online.
for real
and her family invited our family to come live with them for a whole week
and we went
and people said we were crazy

sarah is the coolest thing since avacados.  and I LOVE love avacados. 
sarah is the most amazing writer, deep, insightful, funny, sarcastic, brilliant, laid-back, comfortable in an old favourite pair of socks way.  I love her reflections.  I love the books she loves.  I love the way she spends an evening.  I love her home.  I love her kids.  I love her randy.  (incidentally, I have heard that I would love his guacamole and  I know I love his fried rice.  these things add to the mix beautifully).  I love her friends, at least the ones crazy enough to meet us and stay friends with us.  I love her state.  I love being her canadian.

I do not share her love of janet evanovich but I can live with it.
I love that we can laugh about not wearing bold colours and gout and alpaca ponchos.
I love that when we get drenched in the rain, in the mountains, she agrees that picture taking is not on the list.
I especially love that she touched the art, and got yelled at.

I love that I have some of her old towels in my linen closet.

I love sarah
and now I sound really, really creepy.

friend or foe?

today's prompt is to tell about the day I was born ... except I already did just a little while ago, here.
and really all I can think about is the teaser I was tentatively promised, by e-mail, today.
I hope it comes.
Oh I hope it comes.
and when and if it comes, I might share it with you, too.  I haven't decided.

it was a fantastic day at work even though the drive in was kind of crappy in some places, what with the ice and all, so I had to drive extra smartly because I have somehow misplaced  totally lost my license. 
Incidentally, I love it when people ask, in all seriousness, where did you lose it?
because, um, yah ... if i KNEW ... hello!
so, I can only drive to places that are not far away right now.  which is all I ever really do anyway, unless you are in kitchener-waterloo.  then I will drive to see you because kitchener-waterloo is pretty much my new favourite.

which brings me to the friend I wish to talk about today because the whole month is about friends.  in actuality, this is my least favourite friend of ever.  my fake friend's name is future shop.  let's face it, we are not friends at all.  not even close.  today I found out that the stupid $10 a month protection plan I stupidly signed up for doesn't give me any stupid protection from anything at all.  that is so stupid.  AND there ain't no way out, bucko.  I'm locked in for like a billion and a half more years, completely unprotected.  future shop is my worst friend.

so, now I have to find a fixer-upper kit on the internets and fix.the.cracked.glass.myself.good.luck.with.that.
in the meanwhile, I get to use a phone which I accidentally made look really stupid, matching, at least, the protection plan that it came with.

at least I now have january 27 to look forward to! 

kim

Who was your best friend when you were 10? Did you still know him or her when you were 20?

that was 1981.  in 1981, I lived in St. Thomas, surrounded by a ton of kids.  My best friends were boys.  not likely a surprise to anyone who knows me.  we played dinky cars all day.  made roads in robin's mom's garden.  she was not impressed.
when we got yelled at, we would all run to tim's yard until the lady who lived in between the two of our houses would yell at us.
we never went into my house.  I think my mom had a rule about no boys in the house.
smart woman.
occasionally we would all be allowed to swim at ryan's house.  he lived on the other side of me, and sometimes, I would go inside ryan's house with him and we would eat plates of turkey and mayo.  when his parents noticed what we were into we got yelled at.

eventually I learned where the girls in my neighbourhood lived.
kim was the one who captured my heart.  we became fast friends, spending every available minute together roller skating, bike riding, playing leap frog, making awesome barbie sets (which always included a make shift pool, filled with water, and we got yelled at), playing "blind people", having sleepovers and dreaming about boys.  10 was stellar.  kim wrote the most amazing poetry, taught me about salting my apples, put up with my argumentative spirit AND had a waterbed.  whoa! I was supposed to learn my times tables the year we met, but I didn't.  I got caught with a bunch of them written on my hands.  I got yelled at.  kim learned hers.  we also took two years of confirmation classes together, a little later.  our pastor had to settle a lot of petty fights before class could begin.

and here it is: kim and me at 22.  she had recently had another surgery and I was 8 months pregnant.  I took this picture out of my christmas scrapbook.  it's fantastic.  we kind of look like bobble heads, or like we are standing at some weird angle so the top parts of our bodies are in the foreground.  I swear it's all just a perspective issue.
I can imagine just how pleased kim is going to be when she sees it. 
yep.
writing about my friends is going to be my new favourite.

friends

the theme for this month is friends. 
best friends, worst friends, friends of the family . . . how many do you have, how many do you need, and where are they when you need them?

I thought that for today I would describe what kind of a friend I think I am.  well, at least I will list some of the adjectives my friends have used to describe me.  here goes:
spaz
nut
crazy
(crazy legs has also been mentioned but not sure that is a character trait)
bombastic
deep
blunt
honest
real
funny (though this may be a patronizing "oh my word, you are so funny", read: how do you survive?)
not funny (4 year old son, many moons ago)
sweet
intense
loyal