So it would seem that spring, summer and autumn all passed and I was too preoccupied (amongst other things, I had a few trips here and there and yes, I got married about a month ago) to bother to post anything to my blog. Now winter has arrived again and I'm readjusting to the snow and cold.



Winter is not my favourite of the seasons and typically I don't weather it well. But so far I haven't been feeling quite as dreary as I usually do. It helped that when the snow first arrived a few weeks ago the majority of it fell overnight. Like so many others I got caught up with how pretty my neighbourhood looked under a blanket of white. I find myself really loving the look of the city during the wintertime. 



This newfound affection for winter reminded me a Robert Frost poem.

 The way a crow
 Shook down on me
 The dust of snow
 From a hemlock tree

 Has given my heart
 A change of mood
 And saved some part
 Of a day I had rued. 

For the last four years a few of my friends and I have entered the Edmonton International Film Festivals 24/One film challenge. It is exactly what it sounds like. You have 24 hours to make a film that is no longer than 5 minutes. In those 24 hours you must script, film, edit, score and render your movie, which anyone will tell you is quite the exercise in restraint (particularly when you and your friends are prone to ridiculous and complex narratives).

Yet somehow we always manage to pull something together and for the past four years we have been lucky enough to have our films be screened in the Top 10 and pick up a couple awards for our work. 

So, for your viewing pleasure, I present to you, the Team Awesome Video Club Criterion Collection.


Best Original Score, Best Art Direction

Best Actress

Best Actress

Best Original Score

road trips in rural Alberta and a (partial) sibling reunion in Quebec

leisurely picnics in beautiful Montreal parks and spontaneous backyard dinners with friends     crashing a couple weddings so Chris could charm the ladies   kitchen parties and patio parties   letting the Olympics inspire athletic and spectator pursuits  
    cleaning the apartment during thunderstorms and visiting with faraway friends     celebrating my 30th birthday  

The first couple months of the year always seem to pass by so quickly that I hardly have the time to stop and reflect. It's probably a coping mechanism to get through the long stretch of winter. My days are spent working and attending to household matters (I'm much more of a winter clean type of person than a spring clean) with the occasional evening out with friends followed by frequent dreams of vacations in faraway lands.

The sweater, completed during dark January evenings in the company of Bones on Netflix.

Lucas being super cute!

As stated, there has been the occasional evening out with friends. More recently I indulged in a little recreational slumming at a bowling alley (10-pin is not my game), followed by a classier (dressed) affair at Halo where the Urban Monks were doing their dj thing.

Marc and Thomas' sets were early. Too early for me to dance.

Fellow ladies Christy and Lauren having fancy lady conversation.

Zach listens as the fancy ladies converse.

Later we added some more gentlemen to our party. Marc joined us after his set, and the gentleman made an appearance.

Hilarity ensued.

An appropriate ladylike response.

It was almost like the camera wasn't there at all.

 The evening out was the first time I had really taken any photos since Christmas (other than of yarn and knitting projects) and it was nice to resume taking photos after an unplanned photographic hiatus.
I had another delightful opportunity to take more photos when Sable asked me to take some portraits she could use for her choir headshots. I edited a few last night after a Family Day dinner with the gentleman's family.