I’m still mulling over my visit to Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside – I’ll write Part II of that post once I figure out what I think. In the meantime…here’s something fun for you to do on May 1st if you happen to be in Ottawa. Gil’s Hootenanny, an evening of “Songs
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knitnut.net: Duncan meets his match
We have a bird perch in the shower – Simon showers with me, Kazoo showers with GC, and Oboe is versatile. Anyway, yesterday, after Simon and I finished our shower, we saw that Duncan was crouched in the doorway looking profoundly disturbed. A few weeks ago, a hinge for one
Continue readingknitnut.net: Curated Castoffs
We went to a great little event the other night at Patrick Gordon Framing. It was called Curated Castoffs: Art & Decor Edition. It was kind of like a collaborative garage sale where everything’s free. It works like this: At 7:00 pm everybody shows up with five art + decor
Continue readingknitnut.net: Human rights all round
Ever have one of those days when all the good stuff is happening at the same time but you can’t be everywhere at once? Last night was like that for me. I had to decide between going to my writing class, going to Irene’s Pub for the Chopper McKinnon tribute,
Continue readingknitnut.net: First visit to the Nordik Spa
GC and I went to the Nordik Spa up in Chelsea. It’s about a 20-minute drive from downtown Ottawa. Neither of us had ever been there before, or to any spa for that matter. We went for The Baths, which are a set of indoor saunas and outdoor pools of
Continue readingknitnut.net: We know how to have fun
GC got a sliver in his foot from the hardwood floor. He said it felt like a long, skinny sliver. There wasn’t much to see, but he was limping and wincing. Later, when we were getting ready for bed, we saw that his foot was swollen. I insisted we go
Continue readingknitnut.net: Gender Failure
I’ve set up a google alert for ‘transgender’ so I can keep abreast of transgender news and activity on the internet, since my favourite part of my new job is about transgender stuff.
So, on my first day with the new Google alert, I was google-alerted that Ivan Coyote and Rae Spoon were playing a FREE […]
Continue readingknitnut.net: Aliens, Duncan, and the Baby of Science
This was a busy weekend – we went to a friend’s for dinner on Friday, then breakfast club and a vet appointment for Duncan on Saturday, and the vintage clothing sale and the Ottawa Parrot Club birdie garage sale on Sunday. Plus, you know, the not-so-much-fun things like laundry, grocery shopping, meals and housework (ha […]
Continue readingknitnut.net: I got a job!
I had the interview on Friday afternoon, and then on Saturday, when I was at Duncan’s vet’s office, I got the call offering me the job. I announced to a waiting room full of strangers “I got the job!” and they all cheered. It’s not just any job, either –
Continue readingknitnut.net: An apple gadget infomercial with GC, Duncan and Simon
GC made an apple pie a couple of weeks ago, and being the clever guy he is, he went gadget-shopping first. Then we prepared our very own infomercial, complete with cameo appearances by some of our animal friends. (My favourite part is the last five seconds.) Incidentally, since making this
Continue readingknitnut.net: Melancholy Autumn
They said it was going to be a drab autumn, on account of the drought, but it was actually quite dramatic. My friend Nancy says every autumn has its own dominant colour, and I think this year it was orange. I don’t know if there actually were more orange trees
Continue readingknitnut.net: Throwing things off balconies
There’s this three-storey apartment building at the corner of Caldwell and Merivale, on the edge of the Experimental Farm, right by the path where I go for walks. There are nine balconies facing the Farm, and sometimes, if I’m lucky, I catch glimpses of people living their lives. There used
Continue readingknitnut.net: The lowdown on substance use
Last night I attended a free session at our local mental health facility. It was called Getting the Low Down on Substance Use, and was presented by Michael Coughlin, a registered nurse with the Royal’s Substance Use and Concurrent Disorders program. I was interested because I have a young friend
Continue readingknitnut.net: Astronaut Love Triangle thrills audiences!
Astronaut Love Triangle was brilliant and superb and I love them more each time I see them. They’ve added a couple more pieces to their repertoire (I especially liked the Roller Derby Girls) and they’ve modified at least one piece to reflect changes in the composition of the band (the
Continue readingknitnut.net: Nasty old lady kills swap box
Yesterday I watched a nasty old lady beat my swap box to death with her cane. Rosie and I were out for an afternoon walk in the Enchanted Forest. As we rounded the curve in the path, I saw the tree upon which the swap box lives. And there was
Continue readingknitnut.net: I won 62 socks!
I won the grand prize in the MoxyMaüs draw! 62 socks! Every pair of socks in their collection! I’m celebrating my good fortune by having a little contest of my own. MoxyMaüs is a local sock company. The socks are designed here in Ottawa, but made in Turkey, which, apparently, is
Continue readingknitnut.net: Cockroaches, cemeteries and space punk
I tried to be philosophical when I got home from my walk yesterday morning and discovered the Internet was down. “I’ll work on my sewing project,” I thought. But first I needed to find out the average waist size of a three year old, as that was the next step
Continue readingknitnut.net: Justice vs. Verdict
I’ve been following the sex assault trial of Steve Desjourdy, the Ottawa police officer who cut off the t-shirt and bra of a young woman while she was pinned to the cell block floor by several other officers. This case made headlines a few years ago, and I blogged about
Continue readingknitnut.net: Our first swap box
GC and Rosie and I installed a swap box in the Enchanted Forest in honour of Elmaks. Turns out none of us are especially handy with a drill. Rosie played the opposable thumb card (again), but GC and I didn’t really have an excuse. On the plus side, you learn
Continue readingknitnut.net: Remembering Elmaks
It was on this day, a year ago, that Ottawa’s favourite street artist hiked into the forest, lay down under a tree, and died. His parents recently sent me a photograph of his headstone, along with an explanation of the symbols, and kindly gave me permission to share it here.
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