Meditation Method 1

Self-Inquiry Meditation

This is something like what I did during one of the free meditations I attended last month at Yama Studio. A truly wonderful experience for me.

I think it would be a nice feature to include regular Meditation Method posts on the Delicately Animated blog. I look forward to writing and experiencing them!

Signing off from this post to do some yoga at home.

Namaste

A Welcomed Message

I am beautiful,

I am bountiful,

I am blissful.

via a Yogi Tea teabag paper hang tag (Tahitian Vanilla Hazelnut Tea, yum!)

Silos Reconstructed

Yet another reason the visit Amsterdam:

"Amsterdam City council recently held ‘The Silo Competition’ which involved the adaptive and reuse design for two former sewage treatment silos in the city’s Zeeburg district."

"For the competition NL Architects proposed silos dedicated to climbing, sports and culture. In their design the existing structures were extended to the maximum height to benefit from the views."

via Boing Boing via archiCentral

Life: Spring

Everything
Changes in this World
But flowers will open
Each spring
Just as usual.

-from A Zen Harvest: Japanese Folk Zen Sayings by Shigematsu

Weeeeee!

i could be dangling my legs over a highway.

amazing. i just remembered that i took many pictures while perched precariously over top of the gardiner expressway. the cops even came to talk to me to see if i was crazy. yes and no, i was a experimenting art student at the time. hellz yeah. but the photos and artwork are in a landfill now. my bro was so upset once that he tossed out a bunch of my art work that was stored at my parents home. bah. anyway, i would have tossed them too, eventually.

Best advice all weekend

Great tips that I will use all this week here, 33 Best Small Design Tips, even though our space isn't that small compared to our former digs, I'd still like to declutter.

I had a lovely Saturday out and about. Today, my morning was good. I went to a new yoga studio and did a wonderful class that I look forward to going back to next week. It was too good. The rest of the day after yoga was the worst. I just couldn't bring my morning yoga vibe into the rest of my life today.

Coffee Coffee Coffee - better for now

in development is another move, possibly to TX. we've got a few better places to be, like where we are now (it's easy, yes?) or back home in BC. all three locations are possibilities at this point.

i've been feeling sluggish and craving burgers lately (well yes, i am in the US). my eldest suggests it's the late nights that i've been keeping (brushing his teeth and reading together) that are tiring me.

i think i will clear out all my piled up and accumulated clutter and craft supplies in the "exercise" room to clear the space so that i can comfortably get on the elliptical trainer tonight. after all, warmer weather is calling and i'd like to be in better shape since i assume it's the egg hike we went on this past sunday that has wiped me out. i'm still recovering. though holding those wonderfully wet salamander and frog eggs from the pond in the woods was too much fun and so worth the slump in energy afterwards. next time i'd rather not be tired days after the hike. the next hike this weekend is a tree identification hike. looking forward to it. i'll plan a few dates with my elliptical trainer before then. yes yes.

once i upload pictures from my phone i'll post some images from our frog hike fun.

Uneasy - What's this in my drafts?

a surprise photo, above. it looks like one of the trees and buildings over near where we used to live on the mountain. what is it doing in my draft posts? i can't seem to remember the relevance of this photo. likely, it was taken two years ago.

well, i'm feeling a little uneasy these days about our near future here in the US. yes, we moved a while ago (it's been well over year). the company that my partner currently works for is closing in 60 days (or a little less now) if they don't find a buyer. they've got a potential buyer touring the office tomorrow. yes, i'm a little tense about all the uncertainty. like, will we remain in the US? will we move back to the mountain (if a job is found in vancouver)? will we be in toronto until suitable work is found? arghhh!!!

Perfect Day #1

- Wake up to a sunny day
- Lie there for about 30 minutes under covers looking out the window, birds fly by
- Lazily, walk downstairs to kitchen, make a latte
- Start to read backlog of yoga magazines while drinking coffee
- Put on very warm double breasted below the knee mohair coat, wool granny hat, long knitted brown scarf, 8 hole leather boots
- Walk down the street to pick up a fresh chocolate croissant at the cafe, notice breath in cold air, nose drips, tissue in pocket for comfort
- Bakery/cafe is busy, warm, familiar, ask for croissant then find table
- People watch while reading the free hip local weekly magazine, stay at cafe for a while
- Recognize someone walking by, run out of the cafe to chat/catch up
- Walk with friend to healthfood store, pick up almond milk
- Part ways with friend, walk to neighbourhood art gallery, chat with person there
- Make way home, it's getting dark
- Arrive home, cats greet, feed cats
- Make hot chocolate, eat takeout pizza
- Call friend to make plans for evening drink, dinner, or dancing
- End up staying home
- Open bottle of wine, drink a few glasses, listen to music
- Fall asleep on bed with 'Boards of Canada' on the stereo

Living Life to the fullest! Watch this!

Viewing this video each morning would set me up for each day quite nicely!

A very inspirational and uplifting video. Be at peace.



I needed to see this on a gloomy day like today.

Jewel-tone 2ply

my first skein of 2-ply wool! this was spun on a spindle months ago.

so proud of this and inspired to make more. maybe even get a spinning wheel to do so.

An upcoming return to Delicately Animated blogging?

I just reread some of my blog posts, and I still like it here. I took a minor hiatus from this blog when I got a little tired of it's content (while visiting facebook and two other blogs I started).

Well, fall is here and crafting is coming, so check back (I will too) and look for a post or two!

Just a little busy these days...

...and will be closing down this blog soon.

Thanks for stopping by!!!

A few competitions to ponder

http://www.designboom.com/competitions.html

Good to Know: Six makeup chemicals to avoid

You've likely seen the names of the following chemicals in the list below; they're ingredients contained in a variety of widely available beauty products. Read here to see why you might want to seek alternatives to the products you may currently have in your very own bathroom. Of course, weigh the pros and cons (ie. price, availability, family health history), verify information, and assess how these products affect your lifestyle and health, then make your choices in what you consume. I personally have been slacking and have been buying what is readily available at the supermarket, so for hair maintenance we're currently using "Down Under Naturals" products to wash and condition our hair. After reading this article, I think we'll go back to our Jason's and Nature's Gate hair washing products.

Six makeup chemicals to avoid:

1. Phthatale family or di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) and di(2-ehtylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP)

2. Lauryl sulfate(SLS), Sodium laureth sulfate(SLES)

3. Paraben preservatives or alkyl-p-hydroxybenzoates (methyl, propyl, butyl, and ethyl)

4. Formaldehyde family or Diazolidinyl urea, 3-diol Imidazolidinyl urea, DMDM Hydantoin , Quaternium-15, Nitropropane-1, Formalin , Methanal , Methyl aldehyde, Methylene oxide, Morbicid acid, Oxymethylene

5. Amine family Diethanolamine (DEA), triethanolamine (TEA), amonoethanolamine (MEA)

6. Propylene / Butylene Glycol (PG)

Article here: http://www.greenlivingonline.com/HealthNutrition/six-makeup-chemicals-to-avoid/

new mineral makeup from physician's formula

yes, it's a blurry photo.

love this makeup line! even though i'm pretty crunchy, i still love my makeup.

btw, i just read that physician's formula is on sale (40% off) at shoppers drug this week. (for all you local lovelies)

mac is even coming out with mineral makeup (so i've heard). good news! i can replace my (old) mac w. their new talc-free products!

Fantastic news for Torontonians!

I am happy to provide a link to some wonderful news! Here: http://archrecord.construction.com/news/daily/archives/070514toronto.asp

News: "Van Valkenburgh to Remake 2,400 Acres in Toronto"

Why does this news please me?


Reason 1: I studied architecture at Ryerson for a year, before I went back to art college where I had already attended for two years (I was really eager to go back, and anticipated that I'd return to arch. school, which it looks like is potentially in the works). Basically, I have a deep appreciation for sound design, and both good landscape design and urban planning. I am critical of architectural, urban planning, and landscaping 'mistakes', like the Toronto waterfront.


Reason 2: I grew up in a city that is a 45 mins. drive from downtown Toronto. When I started studying at art college (I went to OCAD, but there was no "D" when I began my studies there, heh) I moved to Toronto. First I lived just off Queen and Dufferin (the nicer part of it, which was not exactly dingy Parkdale, but near enough), then moved slightly east of Dufferin onto Queen (which is now an extremely 'hip' area with progressive galleries/restaurants/etc. Afterwards, I moved to the heart of Little Italy and adopted two cats Toni and Cleo (btw, hello Sneaky Dees! I spent a lot of time there), and then moved eastward to the Beaches neighbourhood, and then after that, just south of the gay village of Church St. Then, I found a place with my then boyfriend (now husband) in a house that was immediately beside Trinity Park. After a few years, we bought a house in East York (close to my beloved Beaches) and lived there for about 2 years before we moved to BC.

I moved around a lot within the city, I wanted to experience each neighbourhood, I guess. This has left me with a deep connection with the city as I spent my 20s there studying, working, partying, exploring, and socializing.

Hopefully, I will be able to visit Toronto when the waterfront project is completed. I'll be keeping a close eye on how it's development progresses.

No more dents in my bottle

i'm working on a bottle cosy for my stainless steel water bottle. when full this bottle can get heavy (it holds 40 oz.) and yes, it is then prone to getting dented when dropped. luckily, the bottle hasn't fallen onto anyone, it's only fallen to the ground and this is when the bottom dents. so far, i have two slight dents in the bottom edge of the bottle.

pictured here, is an inside out view of the cozy i'm crocheting with wool of two different dye lots of shades of narnia sprinkle dyed roving that i had spindle spun.


i'm using the shades of lavender/purple skein for the top portion of the cosy. this is the skein as seen to the right. details on this skein in this blog post here.

the bluish wool used for the bottom of the cosy is pictured to the left on the spindle. this is how the wool looks on the spindle as it is wound up on an Ashford Turkish spindle. the two piece of wood that cross can be taken apart and out of the ball of wool then off the centre of the spindle, leaving a lovely centre pull ball! at first i thought this was an unnessessary perk, but then as i've come to use the spindle more, i've noticed that i'm enjoying this feature as it keeps the spinning process that much neater.

Good Vibes...Thom and the Sunset

This evening's sunset and view of crane (from my bedroom). The kids are busy crafting and we are listening to Thom on The Hype Machine.

knitted cowl

it was rainy on my daughters' birthday just this past thursday.

this is me just before i went out to buy party treats (and cake) on that day. i'm wearing a newly knitted (by me) cowl made with single ply wool (spindle spun by me - my first skein done up a few months ago!, it's made from roving dyed by shades of narnia). cowls are really fun to make and circular knitting is awesome.