13/52

Ran into someone I'd met at the last cookoff at the pub, ended up staying for four hours talking with him and his friend over beers. Weeded the garden. Made cupcakes. Ate waffles and went to the movies with Jeff on a rare Sunday off together, then had beers at Portland Craft while talking about the movie (12 Years a Slave).

12/52

A stray cat was coming around our yard for a few days; he was really skinny and sad looking so Tamara gave him some food. Before calling a shelter I decided to check craigslist for lost cats in the area and found one that fit the description. He was 17 years old and escaped from a house about a block away and had been gone for 12 days! His owner had pretty much lost home, so when she came to pick him up she was so happy she cried and hugged me. It felt amazing to be able to help someone get their lost pet back!

Other things: coconut cookoff, watching 90s movies, spring equinox, tattoo work, meeting new friends, hockey sadness/rage, culling and donating awful cookbooks in our collection.

11/52

Jeff & I went to the Alibi Room for their 500th menu celebration. The menu was a veritable BOOK of beers! In order to not get smashed on a work night, I managed to limit myself to three (it was tough though). Later in the week I met some new friends and got some more work done on my sleeve. Still a ways to go, but it's coming together now at least.

10/52

Excitement for spring. Daylight savings time hits and a lot of people seem to get tired — not me; my mood improves by at least 50%. I desire a beautiful yard, fewer possessions, the ability to fix broken things. Also I am learning to drive, which is terrifying! Jeff's car is a stick shift so in addition to everything else about cars, I'm learning that as well. He says I'm doing well, but I'm not sure if that's actually true or if he's just trying to keep me motivated (either way I appreciate it).

9/52

How Jeff often winds down after work.

12x12: February

At Amanda's in Robert's Creek. She laughed when she saw me taking pictures of these socks; some of them have been there since the summer, when they got so covered in burrs & dirt during some adventure that she hasn't been able to get them clean.

February first — those are some keen cherry blossoms!

Amanda admiring the blossoms; Ian getting some love from the cat.


Amanda remembered that this was my favourite mug to use when she lived at Flatland, so she gave me my morning coffee in it without me even asking.




The front window at Amanda's; the marina in Gibsons, on my way to the ferry home.

It's hard to tell, but this is Natalie at her baby shower. I lost a bunch of photos on this roll due to distractedly opening the camera without winding the film back first, which is why I'm forced to share all these ones with light leaks. Some turned out nice, others were... a little disappointing. But those are the risks of film — I'm just glad I didn't wreck the whole roll.

8/52

I stayed home Thursday and Friday with a tiresome cold, and while it was shitty to lose out on two days' worth of dollars, I DID get the joy of watching the Canadian women's hockey team win a gold medal in epic fashion. We also, on Sunday, hosted a very early (4am!) viewing of the men's gold medal game, with lots of coffee and donuts. But after the intensity of the women's game, the men's seemed a bit underwhelming, even though Canada won. (maybe it's because trash-talking Sweden is not that fun?) Also, it snowed for three days! But the accumulation was only a couple of inches in my neighbourhood, and almost nothing in the rest of Vancouver.

7/52

Maddie at the cookoff, petting this tree after I told her to (because I knew she would like it). Amanda was in town for the cookoff, which was nice, and she won with a delicious earl grey oatmeal & poached pear with lavender and candied almonds.
The previous Friday was Valentine's day, which has never been a big deal for me or Jeff. After work I went to buy a couple of pairs of leggings (and ended up also buying a new sweater and a fancy top but whatever), and I stopped by Cartem's, figuring when I was done shopping I'd go to the Mill and bring a donut to Jeff at work. I gave it to him and he sheepishly presented a box of salted caramels he'd picked up before his shift. It's funny that we both decided to get the other something sweet when we've never done so in the past and definitely didn't discuss doing it this year.

6/52

The end of my roll got exposed, but some were still salvageable. Maybe not this one, but as it's the only non-iphone portrait I took, I'm posting it anyway. This is Natalie at her baby shower. Tyrion is 8 months old (and wearing 18-month baby clothes), but since she was in Korea when she had him, and when they moved back things were hectic with their new house in Victoria, a shower never really happened in a timely fashion. I had a surprisingly good time despite it being just me, Nat, Yvonne, and a bunch of Yvonne's retired friends. After the shower I went over to Steph's to watch the game with a few people, and the Leafs won which I guess was a long time coming, but it was still lame.

12x12: January

My aim is to shoot 24 film exposures per month, and share the best twelve of them. Here are January's, though they were all taken on the 31st, when I went to the Sunshine Coast to visit Amanda. Click on any of the photos to view larger.

On the ferry.


Amanda's yard in Roberts Creek.

I don't know if this is true for the other cabins on the property as well, but the tub & shower at Amanda's are outside. For most of the year, solar panels heat the water for the shower, but in the winter there's not enough energy so there is no hot water running out of the tap. She keeps a pot of water on top of the fire for washing dishes, and in the winter warms her bath using the fire pit below it (the tub is built into a slab of rock, and two large rocks can be moved to cover the opening to keep the heat of the fire in). We heated the bathtub while we cooked & ate dinner (using the fire to roast some vegetables wrapped in foil), and put our towels to warm on top of the stove. I also discovered I'm actually pretty good at chopping firewood! I admit I was apprehensive about the idea of having an outdoor bath in the winter, but sitting in the warm tub out under the stars with a cool glass of beer was actually fantastic.




Various spots in Sechelt, where we went for groceries. The buses don't run very often, so while we waited I filled my coat pockets with nice rocks at the beach and we watched the sun set.