In front of our motel room

Somewhere in New York state, on the asphalt before the door:



Mysterious wishbone.

I considered picking up and pulling it with Greg, but then I realized I didn't really want to touch someone else's nasty old chicken bone.

It was probably my one magic chance at having a wish come true. It was still there in the morning.

Letter

Greg's father sent us a great letter!



With a picture enclosed that he took in the backyard of his home in Powell River, British Columbia.



"RAAAWWWROOWRR!" [gnaw gnaw gnaw]

Maybe stay inside for a while, Mom and Dad?!?!?

Tomatoes

Remember these little dudes?

Now check out these crazy plants (height indicated for your convenience)!





Yum yum.

Regardez

More toof marks of a skorl.

How to be an asshole

When traveling in rural eastern Ontario, be sure to bring your Starbucks coffee into the local diner.



Also: wear a bright-blue embroidered Mexican dress and try to style your hair in multiple buns.



Then you might want to joke loudly about your "monochromatic" breakfast.



Try it! It works!

Staff sale!

So, at my work the retail department has a sale every year, of samples, returns, and other items they have lying around the department.

It is basically the best day of the ENTIRE YEAR!

I got:



Stationery, with matching stickers!



Stamp pad.



































Van Gogh stamps—cuz why not?



Powder-coated steel wall hooks (Greg is against them).



More stickers!



Little mugs.



A wack of little photography books!



A wack of big books!



Bookends!

Fifteen dollars total!!

YAY!

Embrace mediocrity

Especially when you find it in the trash!!!!!

Fiberglass (?) plant pot:



Ceramic bowl:





Nuthin' special, but functional.

Also: free.

Post–Canada trip ritual

The sorting of the quarters.

Canada!

Have you heard of Value Village, the Canadian chain of thrift stores? Nothing like it exists in the New York area (that I can find). Organized, huge, and cheap! Even though we were only in Toronto for ten hours this weekend, we spent two hours at VV.

Check out my treasures!

Hand-embroidered white cotton napkins:





Linen napkins with maroon stripe:



Yaller stripe napkins:



Seersucker tablecloth!



Pierre Cardin placemats!





Whoa!

Some wool yarn:



(For a minute I was actually like, "Hey, cool! Yarn from emu wool!" Errrr. . .)

Vintage wrapping paper (my weakness):



And . . . one of these tube knitting dealios (which I had totally been wanting!):



Sigh. So so so happy.

It ain't for nuthin' that Canada's my home and native land.

Canada long weekend!

Bye everyone!

Found on trash night!

In my neighborhood, by visiting Canadians:

Awesome old-school awning-striped canvas-n-wood hammock!



Totally worth hauling home just for the fabric!

And . . .



A light box!

You dudes got so lucky!

Turkey in the straw, ha ha ha

Pillow in the tree, hee hee hee?

Whoa!

Shake-up in the ice cream world.



Dang!!!!!

Salad bar fridge update!

Sold! (Or no longer for sale.)

Sutton Street graffiti cleanup

Geometric.



When they chose the color at the paint store, did they think it matched the blue on the wall?

Next time bring a paint chip!

The French

They are not like you and me.



Somehow brushing their teeth involves email?

McCarron Park mushrooms

Icky on several levels.

Kitty hobo friend!

Haunting the concrete jungle.



Eating lunch from a billy can.



Missing part of an ear. Wearing dirty socks.



Sponge bath.

Then—moving on. Meow, bye!

The most beautiful breakfast ever photographed?

And with friends, to boot!



On a related note, I would like to mention that I love grits! But do you understand the enigma they presented to a girl growing up in Atlantic Canada? They came up now and again in books I was reading, and I imagined them as something sort of "gritty," dry and fried. The truth came as a pleasant surprise!

Note the godly light illuminating them, above. God loves grits too!

Inexplicable

It seems that when I wasn't paying attention, something took a big bite out of my shoe.





LIFE IS SO FULL OF MYSTERIES!

Graham Ave. emergency phone—repaired!

Let's start at the bottom, shall we?



Up.



Muchos duct tape.



And . . . more duct tape.



Made it to the phone line!

Yay, municipal infrastructure!