cvxn

Granny loooooooved Lawrence Welk. I remember when we visited when I was little, being all washed up on bath night (after Disney, obvs) and coming out into the TV room in my jammies to watch it with her. I’ll never forget the closing theme… 

“Good night, sleep tight and pleasant dreams to you / Here’s a wish, and a prayer that every dream comes true / And now, til we meet again…. Adios, au revoir, auf wiedersehn… GOOD NIGHT!”

I had a Magnum P.I. poster on the wall next to my bed from age 11 to 14, if you really want to start peeling my onion of issues.

“Candy Canada,” a red-headed slut ensemble I created one day upon discovering these INSANEBALLS gold lamé and denim chaps n’ shorts and a sassy red wig at the vintage store where I worked p/t during several busy Halloween slut-costuming seasons.

I think I am winning Throwback Thursday.

Throwback Thursday… Still proud of my self-draped toga design, but the Dina Lohan hair colour makes me cringe.

Actual GPOY

jamesurbaniak:

Tweeted October 29th, approximately 9 pm EST. Humanitarian.

Slightly off-topic, but remember that time a few years ago when I misdirected my anger at someone else because of an insensitive tweet during the disaster in Japan and I ended up sounding like a pretty big asshole myself? GETTING BETTER AT NOT DOING THAT. 

Loving this little post dedicated to the hand-lettered gold logotypes that are on practically every old apartment building in one of the many Vancouver neighbourhoods where I’ve lived over the years, South Granville.

standardgrey:

I don’t miss retail. Not one single bit. See earlier post about keeping a smirking “fuck you” defensiveness handy at all times. Big relief to not have to deploy that as much now. I feel for all my comrades who did time at McNally Robinson, Pulp Fiction, etc…

via PowellsBooks.Blog:

Here is how a book buyer sees your stupid store:

1. Hardcover Best-Seller Front Table: This is a coat rack and coffee holder. Never mind these other books, I just want to flip through the new Eggers, scoff at the price, and leave after spilling a little coffee on whatever book jacket looks the cleanest. No, I don’t need a napkin! Pssshhh! I’ll just push the coffee off the book with my hand. DUH! Why don’t you be a little more conscious about the environment?
2. Bookseller at Front Register: An idiot who’s wasting my time. NO! I don’t want your help. I’m just looking at your books so I can remember them and buy them at another store that’s cheaper. Oh, but I just remembered: Do you have that book with the green cover that came out in the 1960s? You know, the one about the guy who could see things? No? Well, you should really carry it. NOOOO! I DON’T WANT TO ORDER IT! I’m saying you should READ that book and KEEP it here so I can see it whenever I come in. Someone will buy it. It’s good for your store to keep the right books in stock. UUGHHGGHH, what is wrong with you?? No. I still don’t remember the name.
3. Cat: My favorite part of the store. The only reason I come in and the only being in the store worth talking to. I can tell you my secrets, can’t I, little guy? Now where is your café so I can complain to the Health Board that there shouldn’t be a cat here!!!
4. Chair: Ahhhh, a nice relaxing spot where I can crinkle up every magazine, then put them back on the shelf… Perhaps I can bring my niece here so she can climb all over this chair and break it.
5. Children’s Section: Oh! Look how beautiful these Sendak books are. I loved these soooooo much as a child. The only thing to do now is scatter them all over the floor so more people can remember how messy their childhood bedrooms were when these books were scattered on their floors. There. That’s better.
6. Countertop at Register: A space with no books! I must put my purse on it. You don’t mind if I leave a bunch of bags here with you for a while, do you? I just did a lot of shopping, and I can’t carry all these items I bought around with me while I run more errands. I will buy this 75-cent postcard and be on my way. I should be back in 10 or 15 days for my things. Thanks!
7. Back Office Where Bookseller Is Clearly on His Lunch Break: Here’s someone who can help me, even though I’m standing next to another employee on duty. Do you— oh, finish swallowing before you look at me, cretin! Do you have quarters for the meter outside?
8. Shelves: I will constantly run around these, doing figure eights for 20 minutes, insist that I’m not looking for anything, then finally ask for something, bring it to the front, and impatiently sigh when I’m not getting rung up immediately.
9. Owner: Someone whose business I can save with my book! Yes, that’s right. I’m an author. I wrote an instructional book about yoga that can only be done over the mouth of a volcano. It’s kind of niche, and I printed the copies by hand on recycled napkins. You know, the environment and all. You should carry my book. I’d love to do weekly events here! I know you don’t have a volcano to do the yoga over, but we can improvise. Maybe a small fire pit in the children’s section? Let me know!

3 years at the late great Duthie Books here! Made some amazing friends there!

travelthisworld:

Skopelos, Greece

Ummmm… I MAY have lost my virginity on this exact island (SPOILER ALERT: I totally did, with my HS boyfriend, with whom I also had a nice visit this summer, 26 years later!)

cavetocanvas:

Wanderer Over the Mists (Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog) - Caspar David Friedrich, 1818

AKA the cover of one of my romantic poetry texts in high school.

thevancouversun:

On this day in 1940, the Aristocratic restaurant chain opened a new branch at Broadway and Granville in Vancouver.

It became the chain’s landmark location until 1997, providing loyal customers with, as its slogan boasted, Courteous Service and Fine Food All Over Town. The retail spot is held by Chapters bookstore now, but a small piece of the Aristocratic remains. A replica of the old “Risty” neon sign is still on display in its window, a reminder of the location’s history. The original Risty sign is owned by the Vancouver Museum, but is so big that they couldn’t get it through the doors for the current neon display.

My great granny’s hat shop, Emerald Hats (I’m told she made hats for the Queen Mum) would be just a few doors down off to the left of this photo, in a little stretch called the Village Green Shops, where Restoration Hardware stands now. When my mom was a teenager, she used to work in great-granny’s shop on weekends and said she’d often have lunch at the Aristocratic. When the Village Green shops were being torn down to make room for the block that Chapters/Restoration Hardware is in, my brother went around and collected some of the original green tile that decorated the outside of the shop and shared some with me as a keepsake (you can see a piece of it in this photo!).