batch no. 1

I know the last thing y’all want to see right now is more of this white s***, especially since golden crocuses are (finally) poking their lovely little heads heads out of earth’s frozen grip, but I recently had a roll of holga film developed and on it were a few leftover shots from my trip to Brighton, which I couldn’t possibly not share because a) holga and b) england. So here they are.

And now that that’s settled, the answers to your questions… woop! (and a huge thank you, once again, for playing along.)

Susan asks: What is your favorite funniest video?

Oh dear. You’re talking to the girl who hears a joke in the morning and has forgotten it by night fall. And I’m also the one who cracked up so hard on the elevator this past Thursday for no reason what-so-ever. Total impromptu giggles. So I’m fairly easy to please in the humor department. That being said, given my propensity for forgetfulness, I can only share the most recent video that gave me a good chuckle. Context, of course, is important for this one. Imagine yourself in a situation where you’ve been working overtime for weeks on end and then imagine that state you get in when you’ve crossed the threshold of exhaustion and suddenly everything seems funny. And then imagine a friend sending you the following video with this message “Note: I truly believe that if our meetings reflected similar standards we would be far more satistifed with our positions within the company.” And then imagine spending the rest of the day shouting MERGER and BALANCE SHEET and MEMO to said friend via gchat. I preface this because sometimes humor is situational and perhaps I wouldn’t have thought it so hilarious had I watched it alone on a Sunday morning. But at the time, it sure felt like the funniest video of the century. (I now retract that statement as I watched Top Gear Saturday night and I haven’t laughed that hard in ages (granted, scotch was involved… WHOAYYYYYY!).

MWalker asks: My question is what are your interests aside from photography and travel? We hear about and see alot about those two things so I’m curious about other things you like to do.

Oh, the list is infinite. But if I were to name a few… running, exploring abandoned buildings and rooftops, rock climbing (indoors for now), hiking, sitting in coffee shops with a double espresso, a pastry, a notebook and a pen, seeing music shows, beach combing (when I’m near a beach), knitting (when it’s winter time), gardening (when I have land to tend), looking for new music online, meeting friends for drinks.

Liz asks: What are your three favorite ways to feed your soul?

1. Nature. I was raised in the country; first in the woods, which were thick with killer black flies (I don’t much miss the bloody things but I do miss the trees) and then down in the village, which was essentially farm land that smelled like manure 6 months out of the year (so much so that I could tell the difference between chicken, pig and cow shit… no word of a lie). But what it lacked in freshness, it more than made up for in glorious sunsets. I’ve since lived in the forests of BC , near the Atlantic ocean in Nova Scotia and just outside of the Rockies in Alberta. It’s no far stretch to say that I am a country girl at heart, no doubt about it. I now live in the city and don’t own a car, so escaping to the countryside isn’t always possible. And though I appreciate everything the city has to offer in culinary and cultural delights, I often crave the solace and tranquility of nature. Hearing nothing but the sound of a wood thrush calling in the distance and my feet crunching on a pine needled path. Or swimming in a lake at dusk. When everything… the sights, the smells, the sounds… have hushed.

2. Yoga. When I step onto the mat, I step away from everything else, whether it be for 10 minutes or an hour and a half. I claim those minutes as my own, as time to breathe, as time to find my way back.

3. And when I’m frazzled and need immediate relief, it doesn’t get much better than a hot bath, a good book and a glass of wine.

Natalie asks: What is your favorite breakfast to make and/or eat? and are you a morning or a night person?

Toast with almond butter and banana (and honey when I’m feeling extra fancy) has always been a staple. For as long as I can remember. Well, first it was white toast with butter and banana, which evolved to whole wheat toast with peanut butter and banana, and now I’ve gone all chichi with the whole grain or kamut toast, almond butter and organic bananas. On the weekends, however, I tend to go out for breakfast with friends and no matter how many items are on the menu, I always end up picking one of the omelettes.

And I am most definitely a morning person. It is my favorite time of the day. I even get up earlier than I have to (6am, sometimes 5am) just to have time to sip my coffee and watch the sun peek through the window and answer emails or write a blog post or read the news (this is a new thing for me… the news).

Rhiannon asks: favorite cheeses? … i’m not good at this game.

You are speaking to a French woman, darling. Cheese is always a hot topic of conversation around here. Best cheese I’ve ever had, I’m assuming was probably the first time I ever went to Paris. But that was years ago and though I can’t remember specifics, I’m pretty sure I remember saying, at some point during the trip: “OMG! This is the best cheese I’ve ever had!”. I do remember buying a spicy pecorino cheese from a shop in Siena a couple years ago (if you ever go, look for the shop with the wild boar head wearing spectacles). It’s a tangy hard cheese, not special by any means but it brings back memories of one of my favorite times in Italy. It’s not necessarily an epicurean choice as I’m sure the location made the cheese taste better than it actually did…. but it was certainly my most memorable fromage moment.

On home turf, I love sampling all sorts of cheeses from this fromagerie. And for wine and cheese nights with the girls, I usually come bearing a local Sauvagine.

Ashley asks: What is your favorite flavour of ice cream and your best memory associated with that flavour? (I added the last bit just to make your writing muscles workout a bit, you can ignore it if you want.) Personally, I waiver between mint chocolate chip and cookie dough.

Hmm. There seems to be a food theme going on here and it’s ‘a makin’ me hungry. I’m picky when it comes to desserts but ice cream is one of my all time favorite treats. I get the addiction from my gramps, I believe, whom I once saw eat three ice cream cones in a day. I used to love Haagen Dazs’ Cappuccino Commotion but they discontinued it in Canada some years ago, which is probably a good thing for my waistline as I could easily go through an entire pint of the stuff on a Tuesday night during my uni years.

Nowadays, I tend to gravitate towards small ice cream shops that either serve “homemade’ ice cream or gelato. If they have anything that remotely resembles coffee or vanilla ice cream with almonds, toffee and chocolate chunks, I am all over that cone like white on rice. But I’m sometimes quite civilized and have been known to rather enjoy a scoop of pear sorbet with intense dark chocolate gelato and I may even go so far as to say that it’s God’s gift to humans.

Next post…

Elevine asks: you are brave my dear, to give us such freedom! …so, I’ll might as well just try make a big step…?! as a young lady in this london town of mine, which I’ve understood that you also enjoy, I would like to know what you would like ME to do here for a day. like, to give you the possibility to request a little delightful list of to-gos and to-dos so that I can go on an expedition to enjoy this british city for YOU. if this sounds fun to you, and you want to give me this little adventure, I will of course be very happy to make you a report-post from the day on my blog in return, so you can get the experiences through my eyes as well

Oh Elevine! How I love this question! It deserves a post of its own. Next one is all yours.