Thursday, November 30, 2006

funky & tasty open house!


My friend Teresa who is a funky jewelry designer and a delish cook will be hosting an open house selling her jewelry creations and some kitchen wares at the Wired Monk. The Wired Monk is a fabulous place to mingle and hang -- there's a lotta love in that place especially due to shop owners/hosts Timothy and Leah (also friends of ours). If I lived in Kits, I'd be at there all the time... My roommate Dilys and I were wishing for a coffee watering hole near our place to hang comfortably, that's not Starbucks!

Anyway, I was glad for this opportunity to help make this invitation for Teresa...I've been playing a lot with circles lately (my Christmas card is totally circular -- coming soon to a snail mailbox near you!). Circles are more of a challenge to layout, but they are definitely fun!

It's so cool to see creativity in so many different expressions coming together for an event like this, from the jewelry, to the decor and atmostphere of the Wired Monk and promo materials!

If you can make it, come on out for the open house and support a local artist and business! It promises to be a fabulous time (I've never once had an un-fun time at The Wired Monk...) Unfortunately I will be back in Saskatchewan already and will be missing out :(

Monday, November 27, 2006

snowy sunday

Yippeee! I was squealing with delight and quite excited when it began to snow. I know it's hell to drive in, but it's just such a novelty in Vancouver that I miss. I love the blanketed rooftops and the brightness the snow brings. The grey skies just don't seem so grey anymore... This is the perfect snow for playing -- just the right consistency and stickyness for snowmen and snowball fights without being too cold. Good thing I bought boots while I was in Toronto (first pair in years!). I went snap-happy last night and this morning.
This is the earliest snowfall I've experienced in Vancouver! We'll see how long it lasts before the rain reigns again. For now, I'll enjoy the Christmas-like atmosphere in the air... speaking of which, our doors are open for our Christmas party (see next post below). Hope you can make it!

Friday, November 24, 2006

xmas party just around the corner


December is just around the corner which 'tis the season for parties! Click on the image for details and ask me for specific digits.

Friday, November 17, 2006

a typical justine pose



Ai-yaaahh... (my favourite Chinese expression of exclamation) I've totally gotten myself even worse off than my usual 3am bedtime this week, averaging about 6am each night (or morning, depending on how you look at it). Crazy I know!

In cleaning up and organizing all my files this week, I came across this classic photo of how you typically would find me -- at the computer, with my trusty canteen of hot water, papers strewn about like a tornado just passed through, burning my midnight lamp... I'd completely forgotten Florence had taken it! :P

I still swear though, that if the world was operating on a night schedule as its norm, I'd be a day person. I like the quietness that comes from the time when the rest of the world is not stirring. I like breaking the norm.

Sunday, November 12, 2006

thoughts on giving & taking


Another successful RJD party. Thanks Becks for the practical idea of giving gifts to kids in needy countries by packing shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. It was a great way to catch up, have fun and share a meaningful purpose in our gathering.


Ta daa! Don't the boxes look so pretty... I don't know why, but in my head I thought we were wrapping all the individual gifts up so there'd be more fun to unwrap. Naive of me to forget that we live in a world where wrapped gifts are a threat while en route to international destinations. So we had fun wrapping the boxes instead (uh, correction, Dilys, Lynn and Jeff diligently wrapped the boxes -- not as easy as you might think! Thanks guys!)


Once the boxes were wrapped, the men left (I figure because the task was done :) and the women began another activity... knitting! Lynn was ambitiously knitting a teddy bear! He was so cute that we all wanted her to knit one for us! :) Apparently knitting is quite popular in populations that are not necessarily the stereotypical granny-type of person. My aunt taught me to knit years ago, but I never learned how to start a project or finish. I just know the stitches. Oh well, I don't think I'll be picking that up again -- I simply don't have the patience to finish any project!

Ironically we bought most of our gifts at the dollar store down the street. Ironic, I think, because I can't help but wonder if some of the very items we bought were made by the very children we are seeking to bless with our gifts. My sister borrowed a book from the library while she was here that I felt compelled to add to my collection of books. It's called Take It Personally: How to Make Conscious Choices to Change the World and is quite eye-opening about ethical and fair trade business, globalization and other related issues.

I realized a little while ago that I worship the mighty dollar in a different kind of way than the typical "earn lots and save/hoard lots." Rather, my expression of worshipping the dollar is more like, "I want the lowest cost possible on services and products -- at any cost," which is an illusion because while I may be getting a cheap price, you can almost bet it's coming at the cost of something or someone:
  • It could be costing me health safety or the environment damage, if it's a product that's been produced by a company that cuts corners in its production practices (check out this site that shows detailed info on the safety of the personal care products we use -- interestingly the cheapest brands are often the highest hazard, but expensive labels are also producing toxic products).
  • It could be a product made using cheap child labour in some country far away.
  • It could be the 3 year old daughter who never sees his father who slaves away at the print shop I use (I've been there at 3am, 8am, 3pm... there is only once of the dozens of times I have been there when Dave, the owner, is not there).
To stop taking from others (and myself!) in these subtle ways is hard and intentional work for this slow-reader -- I can barely keep up with daily news let alone research some of these crucial issues. Seeing the implications of our choices are not as easy as I'd like. Ignorance can be bliss, but I can't ignore that part of God's mandate to human beings is to be good stewards of creation (which includes this beautiful world we live in, but more imporant, people!).

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

RJD doors are open again!

Come one, come all... Rebecca, Justine and Dilys are opening the doors to the RJD pad again for the following two events:

Almost time for our second games night on Nov. 7!


And, at Beck's thoughtful and festive suggestion, we're having a shoebox party! We've changed it to Sunday 5pm. Ask me for more details if you're serious about coming...