Happy New Year!

It's already the new year in the Southern Hemisphere, so Happy New Year to those in Australia, New Zealand, and any other countries down there.

If you're in the Northern Hemisphere, have a great night. I'll be back on tomorrow to tinker on this little blog. Cheers.

Here's the best fireworks scene in a movie. I think you'll agree.

Erin

Christmas Thrifts

I hope everyone had a swell Christmas. The week between Christmas and the new year is always one of my favourites. Many people are still away in the city and our street is a semi-quiet oasis. All the cars parked on people's "parking pads" have vanished and you can almost imagine what the street looked like back in the 1920s. I always try to read the very old English story Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. It's a seasonal story that takes me back to a wonderful course I took at university. If you're not working this week, I suggest that you surround yourself with the things that interest you, block out the noise, read a good book, and enjoy the season.

I received many wonderful gifts from my family. My niece was kind enough to give me this Friendship Pyrex dish, which I don't have. Wonderful!
On Boxing Day, we went to the Value Village in Niagara Falls. There wasn't much there for me, but I did clean up on vintage tins. They were .99 each.

Above and below: English fruit cake tins.

Pretty tea tins. I like that they're hinged and a bit rusty.

This one is textured. I like touching the bumps.

Merry Christmas Pogues Style

Merry Christmas to all my blogging buddies. You know who you are. Mom Wald, thanks for the crochet pointer. I'm not exactly sure what you meant, but I'll ponder it over the holidays. Why don't I have people like you as next door neighbours? Can't you just imagine it. Ding-dong. "Oh, it's Erin again. She's trying to make a blanket, but it looks like a cloak worn by Stevie Nicks after being slammed in a car door."

And thanks to those who randomly pop by for a gander at what I'm discovering. Oh yeah, thanks to my mother for being the only person in my family who reads this blog. Here's a little James Garner circa The Rockford Files for you, Mom. Go on. Have a moment.

Here's a funny story. I was just washing the dishes listening to Q with Jian Ghomeshi on CBC Radio. He was interviewing the son of the man who invented the Yule Log. The son introduced his father by saying that he was born in the year that China abolished slavery. I was thinking: "Hmm, that seems totally out of context" and snickered to myself. When it was over, Jian and comedian Elvira Kurt completely lost it on air. I love it when TV and Radio personalities crack up. Remember my beloved German weather lady who couldn't stop laughing?

Merry Christmas to you all. Here's my traditional Christmas song which I'll play every year until I expire or stop blogging. It's Ireland's The Pogues, with the late Kirsty MacColl. Enjoy!

Lover Erin

Isabella Blow

* I mistakingly wrote that Isabella Blow was a milliner in my original post. She did indeed wear many amazing hats in her life, but she didn't design hats herself:)

I first learned about fashion editor Isabella Blow when designer Alexander McQueen died earlier this year. She was his muse by all accounts. I wanted to find out more about this genuine English eccentric, so I Googled her name only to find out that several years ago, she had committed suicide. McQueen also took his own life. Last week, I read a book review in the Toronto Star about Blow by her widowed husband Detmar Blow, appropriately titled Blow by Blow. Today, I decided to use an Indigo gift card and buy this book as a little Christmas gift to myself. Problem was, I couldn't think of Isabella Blow's name at the time. I managed to convince a clerk to Google "McQueen muse" and sure enough, he discovered that they had one copy of the book in the fashion section.

Of course, I couldn't find the book in the fashion section, so I had to ask another clerk. The conversation went something like this:

Me: "Oh, hello. I was told that you have one copy left of Blow by Blow. Could you help me find it?"

Clerk: "Who is the author?"

Me: "Blow."

Clerk: "Who is it about?"

Me: "Isabella Blow. She was a hat designer. English. Very famous in those circles."

Clerk: (scanning section) "Blow, Blow, Blow..."

Me: "It's called Blow by Blow, it's by a guy called Blow, about Isabella - his wife. But she's dead now."

Clerk: "Here it is" (shoves it in my hands).

Me: "Thanks."

I can't wait to read it. Do Google Isabella Blow in the meanwhile if you're interested in modern-day surrealist fashion design. Here are some pictures from the book.






Oh, on a totally different note, my scarf is looking a little better. I pulled out my seriously wonky stitching and started again. It's still not perfectly straight at the sides, but it's not looking like Krusty the Clown's tie anymore. I figure, it's my first project and I can stretch it out to make it look more even if necessary. I'm sure Martha Stewart would scold me if she heard of such poor craftsmanship.

Sorry about the photo quality. Right now in Toronto we seem to go from harsh light to no light at all.

Erin

My D-List Life As A D-List Canadian Celebrity Spotter

Earlier in the week, I had to withdraw some money from my local east-end bank. I noticed a man skulking around by the window. He was wearing a pseudo hipster casual suit and his hair was bottle black. He looked familiar, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. It was my turn to use the machine, so as I was pressing the buttons, I turned around to see if this man had left yet. He hadn't. He was beginning to creep me out a little because he was trying so hard not to be noticed that he stood out like someone dressed up as a hotdog at a funeral. I can only assume that the woman at the other machine was his girlfriend and he was waiting for her. I finally realized who it was. It was the "Simon Cowell" judge from Canadian Idol. I couldn't believe that he was trying so hard not to get noticed. He should be so lucky that someone would actually stop and say something like: "Oh, aren't you that wiener who willingly got paid to listen to teenagers singing Phil Collins' power ballads and then complained about their song choice?"

Definitely D-list Canadian celebrity, rapidly descending into obscurity. Watch the clip of manufactured tantrums below. The judge that was skulking around bank machines in East York is the wanker in the leather jacket, not the wanker in the bad sweater. Meeeow.

This reminds me of the time we took our son to an after-hour children's walk-in clinic for pink eye. Like all the parents there, I was kept waiting for an eternity. Who else was waiting forever? It was none other than the premier purveyor of the most over-rated, boring films in Canada. I think only film critics have actually made it through any of his films and only because they have to. Like the Canadian Idol judge, this gentleman was doing everything in his power not to be noticed by the common people. He had his back awkwardly turned away from everyone and had his head down, when he wasn't on his cellphone. His poor son had to come and tell him when it was his turn to go in. Maybe I'm being too harsh. Perhaps he was hunched over his final revision of a scene from a film that was being filmed the next day.

When I told a table of teachers at my school about it, they didn't even know who I was talking about. Who am I talking about?

On a happier note, I saw a cool Canadian DIY celebrity today. I only know about Jim Caruk (of HGTV's "Real Renos") because my husband watches the show. I find the show boring, but Jim is funny. You get the feeling he spends 90% of his time on his cellphone and the other 10% he rides around on a forklift and they get the action shots for the show. Anyway, I was working on my crochet at a Tim Hortons up at Yonge and Eglinton in the lunch hour today. As I gnawed on my cheese bagel, I noticed a manly man dashing across the street. He needed a good haircut, but was wearing his "touch of grey" quite well otherwise. It was Jim. He doesn't care that everyone knows he goes out in public and crosses public streets. Good for you Jim! He actually smiled at me, or perhaps looked in bewilderment at a woman hooking and chewing at the same time.

Yeah baby! The closest thing we Canadians have to a Mike Rowe dude. I bet he uses a two-in-one shampoo and never has his hair touched by a stylist.

D-List Canadian Celebrity Sightings

Within the past five days, I've spotted two very D-list Canadian celebrities, one who acted awkwardly and the other who seemed like the cool dude that I thought he'd be. This reminds me of a time a few years ago when a B-List Canadian celebrity was at the same after hours children's walk-in clinic.

Should I dish or be professional? Bear in mind I don't have enough money to hire a lawyer, so if I get taken to court, I may have to pass the tin can around. LOL

I'm going stocking stuffer shopping. Will respond later.

Erin