Telegram

Worked today stop Weather coolish and pleasant stop Need to get groceries stop Thinking of you stop Wish you were here stop

[photo: Looking south from my balcony. Behind the skyline is Lake Ontario]

Friday's child

I watched the film, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee on the French channel. It didn't suffer from being dubbed (good job, French dubbers), but it was very difficult to watch. But I did because one has to face history, and certainly Canada's history is heavily influenced and shaped by aboriginal ideas: egalitarianism, a proper balance between individual and group, and a penchant for negotiation over violence are all aboriginal values that Canada has absorbed.

A book I've been reading, by John Ralston Saul, one of Canada's great thinkers, is A Fair Country, in which Saul makes that argument. He also says that Canada has an increasingly ineffective elite, a colonial non-intellectual business elite that doesn’t believe in Canada, and this has to be re-thought in order to move forward.

"The jacket drawing of John Ralston Saul's A Fair Country is both simple and wonderfully complex. To anyone who recognizes the Anishnabek world view of Turtle Island, the illustration is a perfect summation of Saul's thesis. Canada is, indeed, a Métis nation. Saul's carefully constructed and illuminating argument offers us a new way of viewing ourselves, an argument with roots that stretch back centuries before Confederation. Our ties to the aboriginal, Saul argues, are far stronger than our ties to the European. Clearly, this makes some more than a touch uncomfortable, even angry, which will certainly lead to good debate. And isn't that the point of a great book? There's no denying Saul is one of our nation's most lucid, commanding and progressive thinkers.
It's the rare book that offers its readers epiphanies that are at once startling and obvious. These Aha! moments are to be cherished. A Fair Country will change the way we view ourselves as a nation." -- Joseph Boyden

Going with the flow

It started with thoughts of Venice and I started a rough sketch of Venetian facades. I was going to layer and texture and build it up, when the mischievous storyteller took over. Before I knew it, there were people and a gossipy bird and somehow they took over. and who am I to deny them? I go with the flow.

[vintage photos from Arteology]

In memoriam

I met him at a dinner at the JFK Library in Boston about 10 years ago. What impressed me about him was his approachability and down-to-earth manner, and how genuine he was. I've always admired him for turning his life around and living it so well and in tremendous service to his huge family and his country.

RIP Senator Edward Kennedy.

Calendar girl

I mentioned in an earlier post about Stampington's new calendars...here is the Somerset Studio calendar. Just call me Miss July! My mother's birthday, and my sister's and a gone but not forgotten dear friend's birthdays are in July, so I'm very happy to illustrate that month!

And am I ever in good company!

The new Holidays & Celebrations is here!

My humble little tags are also featured in this issue (but you'll have to get it to see them!!!!).

Whopple.com

Featured artist on Whopple.com

Read all about it!

Click on the above image

This is not a book

Keri Smith has a new book coming out. I've admired her for a long time, especially her energy and zest for "guerilla art." I love the cover of her new book, and that alone may get me to buy it.

"...I felt a bit teary when I learned that I have been added to wikipedia. I giggled when I saw it is filed under "American writer". *cough* Canadian." -- Keri Smith

Yes, she is Canadian.

Omit needless words

“A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell.” -- William Strunk Jr.

The stitching continues

I continue to find interesting ways to use the french knot.

I'm practicing something new (for me): When I get overwhelmed because I have ideas swirling in my mind and I want to do 63 different things at one, I withdraw immediately. It's a very strange feeling and not entirely pleasant. I take a deep breath and tell myself that I cannot paint, stitch, draw and collage all once. And I do something else altogether different -- like chop up some field tomatoes -- 'tis the season -- for an Italian bread salad.

Today and tomorrow, I'm holding the fort at the bookstore. I'm hoping there will be new books in to while away the time between customers.......

More stitching

French knots are tedious to make, especially when you want to fill a design with them. But I love them, I love how they look, I love what you can do with them. So I patiently sit and twirl my threads around the needle 20, 50, 100 times if need be because the end result is so pleasing.

I was watching a program last night about women who have made it in business against all odds, and one of them said, "It's harder than you can even imagine. There are no shortcuts. If you pay attention you can do anything you want to do." I loved her honesty -- there are no shortcuts.

No shortcuts; just a lot of hard work, a lot of passion, and belief in yourself -- and attention to detail. And when you're knocked down, get up again and keep going!

Trimarchi Hair Studio

Roberto Trimarchi is an old and dear friend of mine. We go back about 25 years when I first came across a hair salon in Cumberland Mall and had my first haircut in years. Roberto worked there as a stylist. He did such a good job that I stayed with him over the years as he moved to other salons, had his heart broken, and went through a horrific experience that almost took him from us but, thankfully, it wasn't his time and he lived. He took a year off and went to Italy to travel, work, mend. He came back a stronger man, but always with that infectious love of life and gregariousness. Eventually he met his soulmate, the beautiful Rosa, and there was no one happier than I to see him happily married -- except maybe his mother!!


A few months ago, we came full circle. Roberto bought the Cumberland salon and is now his own boss. I am so very happy and proud for him.



At the north end of the mall, you turn left




And maybe you'll see this bright and cheery face. Here he's opening a box of biscotti made by his aunt; one of the benefits of a large Italian family....

But he'll probably be doing this, working his magic. His greatest magic, for me, is in the cut. When he cuts your hair, it stays fabulous even when it's growing out -- the ultimate test.



You can sit outside while you're waiting, this is the only salon I know of that has a private outdoor patio right on Yorkville Ave.

When I saw the back of his T-shirt, I thought: textile art!!!

Trimarchi Hair Studio

31 Yorkville Ave., Toronto

Ph. (416) 967-0824

Another week....

....another seven days of choices. I hope we all make good ones. As the quotation from Saint-Exupéry says, look with your heart.

Recording my new haircut because it will never look like this again. Roberto's straightening-the-hair magic will vanish with my first shampoo! And the humidity won't help. [edit: I don't have straight hair...the secret is a hair iron.]

Have a prodigious week.

Weekend update

Having put out all the little fires (caused by little things going wrong, one after the other, like dominoes collapsing, and although not of my making, they affected my life and had to be dealt with!) yesterday, I'm feeling much better, and it makes me appreciate order even more. One of them was at Anthropologie. I bought a pair of cups which were on sale, and watched one of the crack under my very eyes....very strange. So I had to go back and return it. Then I had to go to the bank and get them to correct a glitch in their computer... like that.

I finished a quilt, and a commission, and have almost finished a GreenCraft assignment. I like a little order in my life!

I'll be at the bookstore this afternoon/evening, spending far too much time in the Children's section, as you can see from my sketchbook. It's not just the books that draw me there, it's mostly that I have to keep tidying up after the tots and their parents.

Friday's child

Work, and a few little fires to put out, have kept me from my blog. It's ironic that I have to rush around just when the weather decides to go all hot and .... never mind. Everything gets done, and that's the important thing.

Have a happy Friday!

Suddenly it's summer

Summer has returned to Toronto, the old-fashioned kind -- subtropical. (At least, this year, we cut down on air-conditioning costs.) I can't say I've missed it much; I seem to feel better in cooler weather. End of obligatory Canadian weather talk.

I am happy to report that for all my working the last couple of days on some projects, my work area is still respectable and that's solely due to the new shelving, especially the cabinets. Everything has its place, and after use it all goes back into its place. Bliss!

A nod to Martha Stewart: I've been wanting to make fabric strawberries, but couldn't figure out the how until I found the pattern and instructions on Martha Stewart's website. I practised with a couple, then started cutting into my red velvet. A little wonky, to be sure...

Art Calendars

A collection of luscious art calendars is now available at Stampington & Company, and I'm thrilled to say I'm in one of them -- the Somerset Studio calendar.

Take a look here. You will be dazzled!

[photo courtesy of Stampington & Company]

In the sticky, humid aftermath of last night's spectacular thunderstorm, or as the CBC News put it: "a thunderstorm of operatic proportions," with more to come, it seems, I went out and did my chores, all of them.

Tomorrow I'm going to see Julie and Julia. This is one movie I would have wanted to see with my friend Julie, and old friend and foodie buddy with whom I worked on several food magazines a lifetime ago. But Julie lives in Santa Barbara -- wait, I was cleaning out some boxes filled with old correspondence and I came across a letter from mystery writer Sue Grafton (a fantastic person I met in New Orleans...but that's another story), and I see her return address is...Santa Barbara!

Back to the topic. I am making it official here so that I don't get sidetracked and decide not to go to the movie. I need to do something nice for myself!

Day of leisure

La passion No. 840938: Pasta! (new listing on eBay)


I'm savouring a day free of all obligations, and since it's wet outside -- my day began with a thunderstorm, and now the mists hang low over the landscape -- I'm enjoying being home. The kitchen is being organized today and groceries will have to be bought very soon. I've been winging it all week, using up the contents of fridge and larder to put together quick meals. Quick, not thoughtless: matching up good ingredients for both taste and nutrition. Here's one of my favorites:

Cook some pasta al dente (I use pappardelle a lot -- like very wide fettucine -- which come in nests). While that's happening, heat a little olive oil in a pan, throw in some diced tomatoes and cook until it thickens. Season with salt and pepper and some crushed herbs. Add to the drained pasta, stir and....add that last bit of camembert or brie that's lingering in the fridge. It will disappear in the heat of the dish and turn your tomatoes into a velvety sauce.

Bon appétit!

Yes, I intend to see Julia and Julie (or is it the other way around?)

Thank you

A heartfelt thank you to all who comment on my blog. I wanted you to know how much I appreciate you!

Love, Colette

One thing at a time

I've come to realize that I do not like multi-tasking. I've been doing it for years without thinking about it. Doing several things at once, or seemingly at once. When did it become some kind of virtue and get the respectable-sounding name of "multi-tasking"? I don't know. Perhaps it was invented to counteract procrastination.

I do know though, that I will breathe deeply and stop doing it. It's exhausting and most of the time it's unnecessary.

I think I find this activity soothing because both hands are busy and I can't do anything else while I'm stitching.

Friday's child

My workspace is still tidy, thanks to the new bookcases and reorganization, although it could also be because I've been working at the bookstore all week. Today is my busiest day as I go from the downtown store straight to the bookstore, and stay there until 9 p.m. Next week things will go back to normal, at least temporarily, and we'll see how tidy my workspace stays...

Meanwhile, the first of two summer weddings took place in Ireland, and as soon as I received the photos in the mail, I made this collage.

To Adrian and Lynne, a long and happy life!

Books I live with

There are a number of books that have been with me most of my adult life. They are books that have touched me in different ways and hold many memories. They number, perhaps, 20, and these are 10 of them in no particular order. Most of them are in paperback -- for easy transporting.

E stato cosi, by Natalia Ginzburg

The Moviegoer, by Walker Percy

Wide Sargasso Sea, by Jean Rhys

Le Spleen de Paris, by Charles Baudelaire

Zazie dans le métro, by Raymond Queneau

Afternoon Men, by Anthony Powell

The Viceroy of Ouidah, by Bruce Chatwin

L'Exile et le Royaume, by Albert Camus

The Beastly Beatitudes of Balthazar B, by J.P. Donleavy

A Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole

One of these books brought back memories of my university days and a student from Trinity College Cambridge (sister college to Trinity College Dublin), David Gwyn Rhys, who introduced me to tea on the lawn and Evelyn Waugh. Here we are in the grounds of Trinity College Dublin, David in his bow tie and me in my ... penny loafers (I favored Bass Weejuns).

A little bird told me

There's a fun giveaway on Isabelle Kessedjian's blog. Isabelle is a French artist living in Paris who recently celebrated her birthday, hence the giveaway. She asks that you post the link on your blog and comment on that post. The deadline is August 10.

Chez le suèdois (French for Ikea)

I'd been thinking about some shelves from Ikea (in a charcoal black to go with everything) but hesitating over getting there, bringing them back, assembling, etc. etc., when I saw a notice in the laundry room of a moving-out sale.

Two Ikea Billy bookcases.

I called, I saw, they conquered.

Today, Jamie, the tenant who is moving, and I, moved them down to my apartment. In fairness, Jamie did most of the moving/lifting, for which I am eternally grateful. My old table (long banquet table) was consigned to the balcony to wait for Martha who is taking it off my hands. I'd tried folding the legs but they wouldn't budge. Jamie managed to fold them with a single blow. He told me he used to be a caterer so he knew these tables; I told him I used to be a food writer, and of course it turned out that we knew a lot of the same people in the foodie business. But I digress.

I spent the next few hours sorting and putting things away. The result was organization and space, blessed space. I can work with the mess because when I'm working, I'm focused and I don't notice it. The problem has been the rest of the time; when I'm not working. And it used to drag me down a bit.

No more. Now, when I'm not working, my eyes don't get assaulted every time I look there. Quite the opposite.

Weekend update

Friday was crammed. His Nibs fell off his bike and I took over his shift at the bookstore. Not the way I want to get work, but.... at least he's recovering nicely. This also means I'll be at the bookstore all week. I may not blog as often in the coming week, but I will be taking my stitching with me.

The past can sometimes rush in full-speed to remind you of long-forgotten happy things: An old friend of mine sent me a link to a book she thought I would love. When I saw the book, I was stunned, in a very happy way: It was The Beastly Beatitudes of Balthazar B, by J.P. Donleavy, an Irish New Yorker and Trinity College Dublin alumnus (though long before my time at TCD) who wrote the classic TCD novel. I loved that book, and in the evenings I would read excerpts aloud to my husband and we would both split our sides laughing. I'd completely forgotten about it, so I searched my books and there it was! I think I'm going to be buried with that book.

As if to bolster that, a customer came into the bookstore yesterday evening and it went like this:

Him: I'm looking for a book that was being discusssed on CBC Radio. It's called A Confederacy....

Me: ...of Dunces.

Him: Yes, that's it. I don't know the author's name...

Me: John Kennedy Toole.

I launched into the story of how the book was published, and recommended it highly (we didn't have a copy), and resisted the urge to tell this stranger about The Beastly Beatitudes of Balthazar B. Because in my mind these two books are similar though very different. Naturally I have my own copy. I will probably be buried with this book too!