The Original Gangster

Well I have said it before but I am actually shit for never photographing my work. So now I am scouring my computer for neat images of my work because I just decided to apply for a craft show that's deadline is in 2 days. Anyways throughout this semi-manic process I stumbled across this photo and it made me smile. This little mud barn is where Lost Nation began. I used to find the concept embarrassing like...oh lets just say when I was working out of there but now I just think it is glorious. My little mud barn. My little 11` x 14` space. It is funny that when you are hell-bent on doing something you will always make it work. Even it means working in a building that was 500 years old and made of mud, gravel and horsehair without windows and heat. I am thankful that England doesn`t have Canadian winters. I am even more thankful that I don`t have to work out of there anymore but more than anything I am thankful that I had that space to get me started.

The (M)antler

Did anyone ever watch Rocket Robinhood as a young thing? I did. It was usually because I was utterly bored and there wasn't anything else on TV. I actually really hated the show and I never EVER wanted anyone at school to find out because they would make fun of me. Looking back now I bet they were all closet watchers too, secretly hating themselves for tuning into such a bad cartoon.

Okay okay okay okay okay, back on track. There is only one thing I remember about Rocket Robinhood. It took place during the opening sequence when the theme song was going and all the characters were being introduced. For Friar Tuck's introduction he was sitting at this huge table that was covered in food and he had a plate of chicken drumsticks in front of him. All I remember is this big beefy cartoon hand grabbing a drumstick and pulling it up towards his mouth, he then took one huge bite and threw the drumstick over his shoulder. And this just went on and on. Drumstick. Mouth. Toss. Drumstick. Mouth. Toss. Drumstick. Mouth. Toss. I remember thinking to myself that was how a Real Man ate. A Real Man has a 3 step approach to food: Drumstick. Mouth. Toss. I remember trying to eat pork chops like a Real Man when I was 7 or 8 and I just couldn't swing it. I needed to chew and swallow. I also couldn't just throw semi-eaten food over my shoulder. My mother would've hurt me for being so wasteful.

Now... I think what I am trying to say here is that I have got a new Antler that is so big and manly that I call it the (M)antler. The Humane Antler is smaller and much more delicate. The Humane Antler also chews it's food and would never ever toss away anything edible. The (M)antler on the other hand is big and strong and you know what it's table manners are like...Drumstick, Mouth, Toss.

New Chandelier

I am the worst for not photographing my work. I don't know why. It's just one of those annoying habits I have developed over time. Anyways, I want to try and change that. This is my photography effort for this fine day, the 31st of January Two Thousand and Eleven. Here is an Antler Chandelier I finished last week. Bon Appetit!

Yes Please

My friend Lisa has a folder on her computer that she has titled "Yes Please". It is filled with pictures of handsome men that our mothers once swooned over. I think we all need something nice to look at sometimes. My beloved one is my Yes Please pick for today .

Happy Thursday.

Retirement? Reshmirement

Last year I was forced to retire my favourite jeans. It truly was a heart breaker. This fall I took them out of retirement because I needed to have them in my life again. The reason is simple: I spend most of my life in work clothes looking a little on the asexual side. In November I was in my local coffee shop and some old fart actually thought I was a boy. I can't really blame him. I really do look boyish in my work clothes. But it hurt my feelings. Anyways, I decided to go home and put on the holy jeans. There is no way I can be mistaken for a boy in those jeans. As soon as I had them on I swear birds started singing, the clouds parted and the sun came out. Those jeans are magical and I am pretty sure they have super powers. I am going to continue wearing those jeans until they are just fibers hanging from my body.

Needless to say I have a few pieces of clothing in my repertoire (like the holy jeans) that I fall in love with and get bizarrely attached to. I have had a few plaid shirts that have had the same effect on me. In 2008 I realised I had the big 3. I gave them all names and in my mind they have reached Legendary Status.

Plaid Shirt 1: Paolo Nutini
Plaid Shirt 2: Ben Bruneau
Plaid Shirt 3: Jason Collett

Last year I gave Paolo to Hazzy because he looked sooooooooooooooooooooooo much hotter in it than I did (that was a hard pill to swallow but it was a fact). Ben Bruneau's still in England with half of my belongings. And I have to admit I really do miss those 2 foxes from time to time but they can't hold a candle to Plaid Shirt 3, Jason Collett. Jason Collett is by far the most beautiful and sexual shirt that I have ever seen. 70% of photo's of me I am wearing him. He is a light weight combed cotton with the traditional red and black lumber jack weave. My dad wore him in the 70's. My mom wore him in the 80's. He had a 10+ year holiday in the cupboard throughout the 90's and he has been my old reliable since 2007. I hate to admit it but he's getting old. I know the right thing to do is retire him. He is threadbare and every time I put him on now he rips a little bit. Mr. Collett is beginning to decline the same way my holy jeans did but retirement isn't an option. I don't even think I can swing a part-time position for him. I find it hard to not wear clothes when they make you feel so good, so powerful. So a Toast! To my wonderful threadbare clothes that rip and tear when I think about wearing them. I will never stop wearing you (unless I get arrested for public indecency) TCHIN TCHIN

Double Sixes

RISK. Hands down it is the best board game ever. I woke up this morning strategizing the best possible way I could manage world domination. I haven't played this game for almost a year. Now I am so itchy for it.

Hands

Dear My Hands,

Best of luck in the new year. You guys are really nice and I appreciate all your hard work. Stay safe on the job, bundle up in the cold, easy on flipping the bird at pervy strangers, fabulous work on getting coffee into my mouth in the mornings. You two are a great team and I am really excited about another great year working with you.

Several X's

KT

The Review

Well well well, 2010. I cannot believe you are almost finished. I no longer have to stress about whether or not I should say 2010 or Twenty-Ten. I always opted for 2010 because Twenty-Ten was a bit too left field. In the spirit of being totally clichè I have decided to do a mini review of a few things that had an impact on me this year. So here you go, Two Thousand and Ten in a nutshell.

Music Awards

1. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros (Best Live Show)
Honestly if you are only going to one more thing in your life...this should be it
2. Local Natives (Percussion and Harmonies)

They hurt my heart in a way that makes sore hearts feel really really good

3. Dan Mangan (Best Legs on the Canadian Music Scene)

I can't stop thinking about them. It is kind of becoming a problem

My Lover

I would like to thank my lova (the wood shop) for being the such a good boyfriend. In fact old boy-I gotta say you gave Toronto a good run for it's money this year in the boyfriend department and you know what wood shop- you came out numero uno. If only I could somehow combine you and Toronto into one magical-lover-super-entity....I may break my cardinal rule and perhaps even consider one day getting married (to you, of course).

Best Place on Earth

I have an abnormal obsession with my cottage. I always have. I still cry when I have to leave it. My roots are there and so is my heart and soul. My dad built this place with a handsaw and chainsaw when he was my age and I know I have probably said that close to 1000 times but I like to repeat myself. My cottage is the greatest place on earth and everyone who comes up there falls in love. My main goal in life is to make enough money so I can take the summer off and live there.

HMS Toronto Friendship

I love these people. They make me happy. I don't know what else to say. I have some very very incredible friends and I think I finally got it this year...I am so lucky to have these awesome shakers in my life. Yay! Knotty Buoys and Co. I HEART YOU

The Kolapore

When I was being a hermit in the spring and summer and living up at the farm I spent a lot of time hiking the Kolapore. I have very strong feeling for these trails. To me they are magic. I honestly think this is a place that needs to be visited by everyone. I would recommend in the early spring or late fall because every 100 meters you enter a new ecosystem and it is very evident when the trees are beginning to bud and when they are just about to drop their leaves. It really is one of the loveliest places I have ever been. Oh, and if you can, do it solo. The forest really opens it's self to soloists.

My Guardian There is no way to say this without sounding a little odd. But I think anyone who has shared even a brief sentence with me knows I am slightly odd. The Kestrel is my guardian. In the last year this little bird has kept a pretty close eye on me. I would like to thank this bird for choosing me to look after.

Allen Gordon

I am who I am because of this guy. Thank you sir for exposing me to the forest when I was tiny. Thank you for teaching me to respect nature. Thank you for showing me how to build things. Thank you for always giving me sound advice. 2010 actually knocked the wind out of my families sail when my dad was diagnosed with a very rare type of cancer. Cancer is a real bastard when you have no real options to fight it. I just want to tip my hat to my daddy for being incredibly strong and being a very fierce fighter. I Love You

Thanks Friends

Well after months of hard work, little sleep and the errr....occasional cry...the One of a Kind Show has been and gone. I just want to thank all my fantastic friends for helping me out leading up to, during and after the show. I am a really lucky girl to have so many fantastic people in my life. I don't even think there are words for this-I met a lot of incredible people at the show and I just gotta thank them for rejuvenating my spirits.

I arrived back to Thornbury to a very happy dog and an insane amount of snow. At the moment it's waist high (the snow, not the Boat, he's still knee high). I've spent the last 2 days on the computer trying to get on top of work that's kinda fallen by the wayside. I hate computers. I actually hate them. Today my laptop decide to shift all the windows 90degrees clockwise. I got vertigo trying to figure out how to fix the problem. Tomorrow I will be reunited with my lover, the wood shop, where production will begin after a 2.5 week hiatus.

Okay. Now. I. Am. Boring. Myself. So I think that means I need to sign off. I think this is what the computer does to me. It makes me boring.