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December, 2007

  1. Goodbye 2007, Hello Butternut Squash Soup

    December 31, 2007 by Gail

    goodbye 2007, hello butternut squash soup :)

    I’m not one to make New Year’s resolutions, but as part of an overall personal objective of not procrastinating on doing things that are important to me I had an urge this afternoon to get home, have some butternut squash soup, and initiate a phone call that I’d been meaning to make for some time. (I’m really glad I did it, and sorry for the rambling! That’s what happens when I leave it too long — I don’t shut up!)

    I believe this is the start of something good, the act of reaching out in friendship and making a stronger connection. Now I just need to do it more often. I didn’t really want to ring in the new year with a bunch of strangers (although I was tempted to go back to Nathan Phillips Square and photograph/video the events there, as I am wont to do) when I’m acutely aware that I’ve been rather incommunicado this year with people who were already in my life. Part of building a new life for myself here in Toronto involves making new friends and putting down some roots, but I’ve thrown so much energy into that, that I feel I’ve been quite neglectful in other areas.

    So here’s to more phone calls (and not just promises to do so!), more timely responses to emails, more letter-writing, and being a better friend, sister, auntie, and daughter.

    Thanks to everyone who sent along a holiday card — I wasn’t expecting any because I said I wasn’t sending any! But they were much appreciated. As with last year I didn’t send out a single one, but I am currently working on a New Year card that will be sent out sometime in January. This is the one I made last year, after I got back from Cuba:


    Thanks for the scarf, Holly Yvonne, it’s very versatile

    I have some ideas for the 2008 card, but I haven’t taken the photos yet.

    I’m actually really looking forward to 2008 — it’s going to be a good one, I can feel it in my bones! 2007 wasn’t bad, it was actually pretty good in many ways (I’m writing a year in review), but I’m ready for it to be over. Jumping ahead to the turn of the lunar year, it’s the Year of the Rat according to the Chinese zodiac. It’s my year!

    Tomorrow morning I’m going to get outdoors for a bit and then meet with some people for breakfast — a good way to start 2008, methinks.

    Happy (and Safe) New Year to everyone! See you in 2008!

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    Posted in Gail at Large, House of Fielding | 2 Comments

  2. Released For Good Behaviour?

    December 31, 2007 by Gail

    I work in government, so we have to wait for The Phone Call to tell us we can go home. (I was in Vancouver on December 24, so I didn’t have to wait for it then!)

    Good grief, nobody told us we could’ve gone home an hour ago, but at least we’re released…!

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    Posted in Working Life | 3 Comments

  3. KT Tunstall

    December 31, 2007 by Gail

    You may have heard “Suddenly I See” on heavy rotation in 2006, but what really turned me on to KT Tunstall’s work is the foot-stomping song “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” from that first album, “Eye on the Telescope” (released 2005). Check out her live version here — she shows her singing/songwriting/performing chops on stage:

    On the strength of that song, I checked out the rest of her repertoire: two albums thus far, with this year’s release titled “Drastic Fantastic”. And it is fantastic, indeed. I purchased both albums!

    Tunstall does have her own sound, although I don’t know if she deserves to be relegated to the pop section of iTunes since her guitar hooks and riffs are much more rock ‘n’ roll. And I have no idea where the comparisons to Dido come from, because I have a lot of Dido’s music and their voices and songs don’t sound anything alike. Even when Tunstall goes down-tempo, she’s still more like a folksie Chrissie Hynde than any one of a number of pop princesses floating about these days. Not that Dido is part of that group, but she’s still an orange to Tunstall’s apple.

    (more…)

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    Posted in Linkage, Music, Videoclips | 4 Comments

  4. Auld Lang Syne

    December 30, 2007 by Gail

    Gumpa
    My dad, wearing a sweatshirt he’s very proud of

    2007 is nearly over, and this past visit to Vancouver was not only a reminder of how fast the Ms are growing, but how we are all growing older, too. My father will be 71 pretty soon, and the old chap’s only just stopped colouring his hair! He’s still in good health, but all this year I’ve been noticing his tremors and small signs of ageing with some apprehension.

    This coming year we will go to the Philippines together, my first trip there since 1984. Allan and Michael accompanied him on their trip in early 2005, but I didn’t go because David wanted to come with me — however, he didn’t have enough vacation time to cover our honeymoon plus a trip to Asia and we were saving up for our wedding.

    As you can imagine, it is more important to me than ever that I make this particular trip. I’ve been postponing it for years in favour of travels elsewhere, but I’m definitely going this time.

    I had my 12th birthday in the Philippines, that’s how long ago it was. Let’s see if anyone recognises me this time!

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    Posted in Family | 1 Comment

  5. PictoBrowser+Flickr Plugin For WordPress

    December 30, 2007 by Gail

    For any WordPress users out there who would prefer to show their Flickr photo sets directly on their site instead of opening up a separate window, this may be for you. The plugin can be modified to accommodate whatever width you require.

    WordPress plugin by Kumara Sastry
    PictoBrowser by Diego Bauducco & Co.

    Now, all I need to figure out is how to customise the plugin to accept either sets or tags. Right now it’s defaulted to tags sets (oops — see comment below).

    Here’s an example of how it looks using my Christmas ’07 in Vancouver set. Just click on the main photo to advance to the next one, or click on the individual thumbnails to select.

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    Posted in gailatlarge.com, Unabashed Geekiness | 5 Comments

  6. Fresh Off The FedEx

    December 29, 2007 by Gail

    fresh off the FedEx

    I picked up my Christmas present from my brother today… and excellent timing, too, as I’m getting around to editing the Stanley Park Christmas train videos with the kids in Vancouver. There’s also a big digital pile of videos that haven’t been edited at all. And, of course, there are lots of Toronto Short Film Projects coming up!

    For quick editing, I use the super-cheap and basic Quicktime Pro. If I want to use transitions and certain effects, I use iMovie but it’s sluggish and drives me bananas. It’s a bit of a last resort. For short film editing, I’ve been using Adobe Premiere Pro on our producer’s PC, but I’ve been told Premiere Pro isn’t going to be supported on the Mac so it’s not really an option anymore.

    I went to the Apple store a week and a half ago and nearly bought this and Leopard — it’s a good thing I didn’t!

    Here’s some trivia about FedEx I only learned last year, something I’ve never noticed before LarimdaME pointed it out to me when I was in New York City. We were taking photos at the rooftop garden of at 230 Fifth when we came down to the lobby where there was a drop-off box and he showed me that there’s (purposely) an arrow between the E and X. See?

    I’ve been looking at that FedEx logo for donkeys years. I’m no good at those stare-hard-enough-and-see-a-deer pictures, so it’s no wonder I never saw that!

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    Posted in Acts of Kindness, Unabashed Geekiness | 2 Comments

  7. The Most Amazing, Freakishly Perfect Dumplings You’ll Ever See

    December 29, 2007 by Gail

    Since I’m so fond of posting photos of restaurant food online, I thought I would offer a more balanced look at my eating proclivities. I don’t eat out all the time, at least not in Toronto, though I’m sure it looks that way. But one thing is for certain: I never pass up a home-cooked meal. (Ask Helma, she’ll tell you I eat EVERYTHING she puts on my plate!) It’s not just the way I was raised, my own philosophy is if someone wants to take the time to cook something, you bet I’ll eat it. I’m likely the least picky eater around, but I also appreciate food aesthetics.

    Eliza’s been making these dumplings for years, and I’ve been lucky enough to enjoy them in Vancouver since probably 1999. Yes, that is a lot of dumplings. And I can tell you they not only look this perfect ALL THE TIME, they taste as good as they look. They deserve more than a mention, especially since it involves air travel to get them these days!

    Eliza's famous and freakishly perfect dumplings

    Eliza's famous and freakishly perfect dumplings

    Eliza's famous and freakishly perfect dumplings

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    Posted in Food + Drink | 4 Comments

  8. The Ms Onstage at Science World

    December 28, 2007 by Gail

    I’m working my way through the tonne of Science World photos sitting on my hard drive and thought I’d post a series of Maddy’s stint as a volunteer onstage during the balloon show. I’ve been taking the Ms to Science World since Melissa and Michael were toddlers, and my photos of them there have collected into a bit of a time capsule. It’s been a treat to watch all the Ms grow up and appreciate the exhibits a little more with each visit, as their understanding of the world around them increases and begins to catch up with their innate curiosity.

    It’s one of the most fascinating aspects of children — their sense of wonder and interest in the smallest things. Joy in discovery. Little by little it erodes as we get older, but I hope never to get so jaded that I can’t enjoy a trip to Science World. I plan to keep taking the Ms for a long time yet.

    More Science World photos from Boxing Day (or Dec 26 for the Americans and non-Commonwealth nationalities) can be viewed as thumbnails or a slideshow.

    Maddy onstage at Science World (1/4) Maddy onstage at Science World (2/4)
    Maddy onstage at Science World (3/4) Maddy onstage at Science World (4/4)

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    Posted in The Ms | No Comments

  9. At Fran’s

    December 28, 2007 by Gail

    with JMV at Fran's

    I came off the red-eye this morning from Vancouver to Toronto and went straight to work (for the fourth time this year–oof), and wondered if my day at the office would seem to go on forever. Then I remembered today I was to have a leisurely lunch with JMV, who I met in Vancouver in 2005 and happened to be here while I was there this week. We somehow managed to get together today in Toronto.

    I was fooling around with the two photos I took of him and moved them around in Photoshop when I stopped at this. I quite like it. I didn’t set it up like a diptych, but it turned out that way.

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    Posted in Vandigicam | No Comments

  10. Well, That Was Easy

    December 27, 2007 by Gail

    Last night’s flight at 10:35 was easy as pie, I slept the whole way, plane landed at 06:00, caught the bus right outside the doors at Terminal 1, didn’t wait at all for the subway, caught the streetcar right out of the subway station, and got in my front door at 07:25.

    Couldn’t have been any easier. But now I go to work!

    I leave you with my first attempt at a balloon dog, which begs mockery for its giant head and tiny body! Thanks to Auntie Eliza for the mileage we got out of a bunch of balloons!

    my first attempt at a balloon dog

    Maribeth’s attempt at blowing up a balloon without the pump:

    Maribeth's method of blowing up balloons

    What a clown!

    More balloon photos as thumbnails or a slideshow. I’ll add more of the photos later, plus our trip to Science World yesterday.

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    Posted in The Ms, Travel | 4 Comments

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