Check It Out!

Oh let me tell you a story. It is a story of a young woman, enamored with reading. Compulsive reading. Reading everything she could get her hands on, even bus timetable schedules when she didn't' have anything else to read. A woman whose Amazon wishlists extend to 30+ pages of books and movies, on both the .ca and .com sites. A woman who actually budgets money every month for books, even if she desperately needs clothes and can't afford them.
Enter this woman's birthday the past September (ok, ok, I know it took me a while, but at least I'm getting there now!). And enter one of the greatest creations known to human-kind.
The Kindle.
I have to say, I wasn't sure I wanted a Kindle. I like the feel of paper beneath my hands. I like to crack the spine that first time the book is opened and smell the paper. I even like the smell of certain library books. You know the smell, kind of musty and dusty, the smell that tells you it's an oldie but goodie. Makes you want to sneeze and read more.
But, I have to say, I have now filled more than 4 extra large bookshelves, even doubling, and in some cases, tripling books on shelves to get them all to fit.
And my VISA was threatening to disown me. Or give me a crown in honour of the interest I give them each month before paying off in full (jerks).
Brennan got me a Kindle for my birthday. Nothing crazy, just the entry level model with keyboard and 4" (or something) screen and a case, but I have to say it is amazing. I took it right outside (This was when temperatures were consistently in t-shirt level and the sun shone brightly, lulling us into a false sense of eternal summer) and the thing worked beautifully. No reflections, no having to shield my eyes from blinding white paper, and it is LIGHT. The case does add a bit of weight, but when reading outside, or in bed, when your hands start to get a little heavy and you just want to rest a read, the case comes off easily and the Kindle is so light you can read so much longer. Not to mention that, with no backlight, you won't interrupt your body's natural sleep hormones and you'll sleep better than if you'd read a backlit e-book. It is simply amazing.
Oh, and did I mention you can get literally thousands of free e-books? Classics like Bronte, Shakespeare, Austen and more. FREE. *insert evil giggle here* My VISA is going to get awfully lonely. I've been reading for at least an hour every day since I got my Kindle, and I haven't spent a PENNY! I've been reading Anne of Green Gables series (don't laugh, they're good), Jane Austen, Catharine Parr Trail, and so many more... FREE.
I looked at my wishlists, and realized that by downloading the e-versions of some of these books for free I've actually paid for the Kindle already. Most of the print versions cost anywhere from 2-20$ each and I've got them for free.
Highly recommended if you're looking for an e-reader of high quality.
And I've got one, nah nah nah boo boo! :P

A Little Inspiration, Because We All Need It Now and Again

I saw this today and I have to say, I needed it.
If you watch it, I think I'm in the "Waiting Place". Waiting to get well. Waiting for my next gluten free flour to come in. Waiting to get the energy to make a new piece of jewelry. I can't say I like it.
But I thought, as I watched, that at least I now know. I thought, as I watched, of the places I'll go, of the people I'll meet now that I know what I know. (A little Dr. Seuss got in me there, sorry).

I thought, as I watched, that I really needed the positive encouragement, and maybe you do too.

So here you are. With much care and love as only Dr. Seuss can give, and with a great reading by John Lithgow, though the audio isn't the best :)

Mystery Mondays - er - Thursdays Part 2

Ok, ok, I've been bad, I haven't posted in a while, but I've been busy. Here is the next installment of my book, Hidden. Please remember all work is copyright 2011 Meghann Gervais! For the first page, see here: http://meglittlestudio.blogspot.com/2011/03/mystery-mondays-part-1.html

“Michaela, you’ve got every i-Gadget known to the human race, why don’t you join the twenty-first century and get e-books?” I strike a horrified pose, eyes wide, mouth making an O-shape.
“Because I, unlike you, like to live in the Stone Age; I like the feel of the paper in my hands, you know that. And besides,” I tell him, hands-on-hips, in a mock battle stance, “not all books are published electronically, and there might be a good one that I haven’t read yet.” I walk away before he can make fun of me further and say that I already own almost every book ever published. It is a definite over-exaggeration, though I had managed to fill yet another tall bookcase... So I was addicted to reading, there were worse habits, right? At least I was always learning something new.
With these thoughts I am carried to the book rack at the airport canteen. I have read most of the books. Damn, my habit foils me again. I had just turned to the next rack when I feel as though I am being watched. Looking up, I can see a tall man with dark hair under a dark cap glaring at me. Kind of creepy, but it takes all kinds, I think and turn back to the books.
“Rachel? Rachel! Oh my God, how did you get here so fast? I was, like, turned around for two seconds and you’re all the way over here? Shit!” I noticed the glaring man turn around and leave the canteen from the corner of my eye, and when I turn and look at the girl speaking, I can sort of understand why.
She is a very tall, bleached blonde, skinny young woman wearing clothing more fit for a jeans fashion shoot than an airport. Sky high heels, low-slung, tight black jeans and a bubblegum pink shirt is really just the beginning. She has on enough makeup and jewellery to drown a drag queen, and a handbag in black-lacquered nailed hands that costs almost as much as some people’s cars. She is also now staring at me with her jaw dropped, and eyes comically wide.
“I’m sorry, were you talking to me?” Sounds odd, but this really does happen all the time. Toronto is a big city, and when you’re five foot eight, blonde, slim and blue-eyed, you get mistaken for other people, or at least I do. Maybe I just have one of those faces.
“Oh my God, HA!” This last was shrieked in an almost sonic note. “Holy shit, you look just like my best friend! Hold on one second, ‘kay? I gotta bring her here to show her. HA!” With that, she totters away, hand bag swinging wildly, to find the best friend, apparently named Rachel. Shrugging, I return to the books, almost immediately finding one that I have not read, and find interesting. I am paying for the book when the clattering of heels turns me around. I drop my change in astonishment.

That's all for this week's page, tune in soon to see the next page!

Mystery Mondays Part 1

I posted last week that I was writing a little story and that I would share a bit of it with you. I'm going out on a limb here, as I've never written anything before, and I'm a little nervous sharing my possible ineptitudes (okay, probable ineptitudes) with my virtual friends and an entire world full of strangers, but here goes! I am going to publish a few paragraphs each week of my new story. It is a survivor story, tentatively titled, "Hidden". I'm in the early stages: I've written a bit (about 35 pages or so), know all the plot and where the characters are going to go and what they'll do, but I am still editing and re-editing the little bit that I've got done, and adding more here and there. There is MUCH more to do, I know, before I can call it even remotely done. Probably weeks and months to go. Still, I'd love to know what you think so far! Here are the first few paragraphs from chapter 1. I hope you enjoy it! Oh, and the foggy maple photo above is one I took last year, I just didn't know what to put at the top of this post and thought it looked suitably mysterious :)
Please note that all of this writing is copyright Meghann Gervais 2011.

HIDDEN

They say God only tests those he loves, and that you can’t truly know how strong you are until you’ve faces the fires of trials.
God, I wish you didn’t love me so much. I wish you’d never even looked in my general direction.


1
It all started, as the clichés go, so innocently. After years of saving, then more years of having hectic jobs that swallowed all of our spare time, my boyfriend and I were finally going on a vacation together. Not just any vacation, a luxury, five diamond, two-thousand dollars-per-day bliss fest. Ten days and nine nights of work-free time for us to unwind and spend some serious happy hours together in the British Virgin Islands.

“Stop worrying, the dog will be fine.” Grey sees me squinting out the car window and knows my thoughts without asking. He always does. He attributes this to the fact that his parents are poets. He says his upbringing made him hyper-aware and sensitive of everything. I tell him my face has always been an open book and all anyone has to do is look at me to know all of my brain’s inner workings.

“It’s a new kennel. She’s never been there before and she pines when I’m not around. What if she doesn’t eat? Ten days is a long time not to eat.” I know I baby my dog. I work from home as a web designer, how could I not baby my dog? Grey thinks I’m nuts.

“She will be fine; we’re paying almost as much for her as we would for a person in a hotel.” Grey takes his eyes off the road to stare at me in a mock-severe glare, “The vacation begins now. No more stress. Just you, me, and a few of those scraps of fabric I saw in your suitcase.” The glare turns into one of his devilish smiles, his grey eyes crinkling just a bit. For poets, I thought, his parents weren’t exactly original with the whole baby-naming thing. His eyes had been grey almost from birth, so his name was Grey. Genius.

“If all we’re wearing are my bikinis, you’re going to get some pretty odd looks – and I don’t think they’re your size, anyway.” I can’t help but grin, though I am disappointed - the bitty bikinis were supposed to be a secret. I’d worked out like a slave getting into shape for this trip, and when I’d gone vacation-clothing shopping and seen these bikinis in the store I’d blushed to my toes. I hadn’t worn a bathing suit in public for a long time. I’d had to pre-tan for weeks just to not glow in the dark. These weren’t just bikinis – wear them anywhere by the beach and I would probably get arrested, but this was a long time in coming. I wanted Grey’s eyes to bug out of his head when he saw me in them.

“Oh, I always get funny looks, but I think I’ll be going naked most of the time anyway,” another of his devilish smiles flashes. “Our house is supposed to be private after all. I can’t be getting tan lines on this perfect skin.”

“Perfectly pasty, you’re almost as white as I was!”

“Almost, but not quite; you still take the cake for that one. Don’t roll your eyes at me; be mad at your Irish-Canadian ancestors. They’re the ones you have to blame for your glow-worm effect, babe!” The easy banter relaxes me, as he knows it will. We arrive at the airport with time to kill, and after checking our luggage I say I’m going to look at some books at the nearby airport store.

Okay, so I gave you a page, but I didn't want to skimp on you, it will get VERY interesting soon, I promise :)
Hope this brightens up your Monday a bit, be sure to check back next Monday for a new paragraph or two (or three)!
Arwen is snoring, but I know she wants to say hi, so I am going to say Hi for her.
and Arwen, the Snoring Wonder Dog

Friday's Favorites: Spring is Coming

Top, from left to right: Golden Faceted Amethyst Ring from Kyleannemetals, Wicker Fruit Basket from Johntoftbasketry, Sea Grass Organic Baby Quilt from Organicquiltcompany

Happy Friday everyone! The weather is warming here and it is showing signs of wanting to be spring (we've had torrential rains for almost 2 days straight, and my sump pump is going off ever 3-5 minutes right now!). In honor of the warmer weather, I thought I'd show you a few of my favorite Etsy items right now that remind me of spring and warmer days. Enjoy!

Bottom row, from left to right: Vinyl Wall Sticker from Expressingyou, Floral Tea Party Dress from Priscilladawn, I Am A Cow Painting from Becca26

Also, I am working on getting healthy, as I said in my last post, so I have been rather remiss in keeping my Etsy store up to date over the last few months. I am working on that, as well as the new website and new blog layout (baby steps!), and I am also currently writing a fictional survival story, which I will be publishing in pieces here. I'll only put up a few paragraphs once a week, but I would LOVE to get your feedback on it. I've never really written anything before, so be nice, but I am very excited to share my little story with you all. Keep your eyes open for that next week!

I hope you all have a great weekend, try to stay dry for those of you getting weather like mine, and I hope to see you very soon. Oh, Arwen also says hi :)

Take care,

Monday Update on the Bead Show!

I am interrupting Monday's normal "Monday's Methods" posts to bring you news of a fantastic show I went to over the weekend. On Saturday I took my mom to the Ottawa Glass Bead Artists Show in Ottawa, Ontario. It was fantastic! I didn't take many photos as it was crawling with people, and I didn't want to be jostling everyone, but I did get some great handouts from various glass bead makers.
I was also very, very good in that I only bought 2 strands of faceted onyx briolettes at half price. I stayed away from the Baltic Amber chips at $22 per strand...though I really, really wanted it!
I also bought a book on chain mail work! I am SO excited as I have had this on my Amazon.ca wish list for almost a year. This is a great book as it has great chain mail designs that are also added on to with beads:
It is fabulous and I can't wait to make some new creations with it, stay tuned for that!
I also saw my good friend Louise, who owns and runs Fireseed, her own private lamp work glass studio. She makes the most amazing beads and it was to see her and her newest creations in person that I really went to the show. She makes the most adorable Monkee beads - monkeys with different hats, different outfits, all out of glass! She even has a new Viking Monkee in honor of her newest endeavor - creating beads that are recreations of historical beads...some of them dating back thousands of years! Louise is on the right, and her good friend Jane is on the left.
I was, again, very good and didn't buy anything from Louise, though I am going to buy a Viking Monkee from her...she only had one at the show and I didn't want to take the only one and not let her clients see it. I will, however be buying it, or one like it if the original sold. That being said...
...I do already have quite a few "Fireseed By Louise Ingram" beads...I think I have an addiction...no, wait, I DO have an addiction. But really, after looking at these beads, how could I not?

I had a great time at the show, seeing so many different artists, being inspired, I will DEFINITELY be back next year, and I highly recommend that you go to...you need a vacation, right? See you there next year!

Tune in tomorrow for the FINISHED bracelet I've been working on!

Arwendnesdays With Arwen the Wonder Dog: Treat Time!

Hello, and welcome to another Arwendnesday with me, Arwen the Wonder Dog! Today is all about Treats. I LOVE TREATS!! Mommy always tries to buy the best quality treats, but paws down, I love the ones mommy makes for me the best! She bought a really good book a few years back called, "Natural Health for Dogs and Cats" by Dr. Pitcairn, and it is really good. Mommy tried feeding me the natural diets for a while, and though I liked them, I eat so much food that mommy had to stop before they went broke, Ha Roo! She still buys the very best pre-made food that she can afford, which I love, and the vet says it is really good too, so that is fine.
Anyways, the book also has some really good TREAT recipes in there. Mommy changes a few of the ingredients so that they don't have wheat in them, so the recipe isn't exactly the same, but it is still drool-a-licious! Here they are before baking. Mommy wanted to use her bone shaped cookie cutter, but these are a little sticky for it, so she rolls them into small balls and presses them flat. She makes each one a two-serving treat, so they can be broken in half, or given whole when I am a REALLY good girl!
Mommy tried half of one of my biscuits to make sure they taste okay, and to make sure they weren't too hot to eat. Mommy said they are a little bland, but still kind of tasty! They are more like a savory cookie for people, but HEY! Let me try mommy!! Here is the taste test - I'm trying to be careful not to take mommy's fingers with the cookie, I don't think she'd like that.....
NOM, NOM, NOM! I LOVE MY TREATS!!! I think I might have licked some of the finish off of the floor in my attempts to get all of the crumbs!

These are really tasty and I recommend this book for anyone interested in knowing more about feeding and general care for dogs and cats.

That's all for now, I am going to try and get a few more treats before my mid-morning nap!
and Arwen

Sweet Saturday: A Wonderful Gift From a Wonderful Woman

Click on the image above to go to Amazon.ca's website to purchase this wonderful book!

Yesterday I received a wonderful gift from my friend Renee of Circling My Head! We have been exchanging emails for a while now and have exchanged a few little gifts as well. After hearing that during one of her ongoing hospital treatments she only has a parking lot to look at, I sent her a few of my old gardening magazines so that she would have something pretty to look at instead of cars and hot pavement.

It was only a few magazines, and though I hoped she would enjoy them, I didn't expect anything in return. Imagine my surprise when I got a notice saying that the post office had a package for me! When I received the parcel (special thanks to Brennan for picking it up!) I opened it and found this beautiful little book called, "Mayfly Day" by Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross. It is about a Mayfly and her journey in her whole 24 hour lifespan. The images are sweet, and though the writing is for children, it really struck a chord with me, as I am sure it will with many people.

It is not just a story about a Mayfly, it is a story about life and how we live it. Do we always wait for tomorrow? As Meredith Willson said, "You pile up enough tomorrows and you'll be left with nothing but a bunch of empty yesterdays. I don't know about you, but I'd like to make today worth remembering.".

This story is about living TODAY, and it is wonderful. I highly recommend it to anyone, children and adults alike to show you that no matter how long or short your life is, you must live it all everyday.

Thank you Renee, you are the raindrops on my roses :)

Melodious Monday - New Jewelry Books, Oh My Gosh!

To research a new line of jewelry I am going to make (more on that to come, keep tuning in!), I decided to REALLY research jewelry of the past, and so I went on a wonderful search for books. Now, anyone who knows me knows that books are (aside from family and hubby) the MOST important things in my life. I love books more than just about anything! The search was amazing, and I decided to get 2 books (of the hundreds I would like, that is!) on jewelry throughout history.
These are the books I purchased: "7000 Years of Jewelry", edited by Hugh Tate (now deceased, unfortunately, as he really knew his stuff!), and I also purchased, "Masterpieces of Ancient Jewelry - Exquisite Objects from the Cradle of Civilization" by Judith Price. These are an amazing, well-researched starting point. Though I may need to get books on certain time periods if I want very detailed information, these books more than cover the basics, going back over 7000 years of jewelry throughout our various civilizations. Covering materials, processes, styles and trends, these books are an amazing read even if you aren't interested in making jewelry. The photographs are simply stunning and the authors really know what they are talking about.
What really amazes me is that the styles, materials and processes haven't changed all that much, we have simply refined them over the millenia with better technology and lighting. I cannot imagine being a Celtic goldsmith 2000 years ago, trying to melt gold during the slim 4 hours of good daylight in England, yet they did it, and created some of the most spectacular gold work!
More on my new collection soon, I can't wait to get started!

Sweet Saturday - A Bookmark for the Horse Lover!

As an avid reader and confessed horse fanatic, I think this is just about the best gift I can get, aside from books! This is a handmade bookmark from my friend Jen at Epic Farms - made with heavy paper and a jute tie, this stamp is done with indelible ink so that you can leave it black and white, or color it to match your favorite horses! AND it is a steal at under $3. I know I'm going to be getting a few for myself - after all, you can never have enough bookmarks :)