The Road to Santiago CD Release Party [TO]

The Road to Santiago CD Release Party
DATE: WED July27/05
TIME: 8:30 pm
LOCATION: Hugh's Room
(2261 Dundas St. West, Toronto, ON, 416-531-6604; www.hughsroom.com)
TICKETS: $12 advance, $14 at the door
Call 416-531-6604 to reserve your tickets today!
Heather Dale is happy to announce the release of her 5th solo CD, The Road to Santiago. Join us for a full evening of music, laughter, food and celebration! Short opening set by Chris Picco, followed by two full sets by Heather Dale & her band. Toronto folk venue Hugh's Room has a stellar dinner menu; call 416-531-6604 to reserve your tickets today.

**Please bring non-perishable foods for the Daily Bread Food Bank; thanks for helping!



Heather Dale does modern music using traditional Celtic instruments. She sounds a bit like a cross between Sarah McLauchlin and Loreena McKennit. If you're able to get to Toronto (or are there already), you might enjoy her work. :-)

- Nam'ara,
- Amazon.

(Note: I've posted this in the Dark Ottawa journal as well).

Jewellery Making...

So... I've been thinking of trying to make my own necklaces.

I bring this up because I can get amethyst beads and grey-tinted pearls at Michael's for not horribly high prices -- I figure about $15-$20 worth of materials (including wire and possibly pliers, which I can use for more than one necklace) to get a necklace that would cost me $30-$40+ in a shop somewhere -- and I could make jewellery to go with specific outfits, or with specific colours in mind, or what-have-you.

[What is it with me and wanting to make my own stuff? Is it just some part of my creative drive kicking into over-time, or is it a desire for self-sufficiency, or what? Possibly both...?]

But, of course, I don't actually know what I'm doing, so I've decided to ask some questions.

1) Where is the cheapest place to get semi-precious stone beads (like those mentioned above) in Ottawa? And is it easy to get to by Bus or Foot (preferably) from either South Keys or Down Town?

2) How do I get the clasps to stay on the wires/fishing-line-lengths while still making things look professional? And which is better to use? Or is there something else that works even better than either of them (but is still inexpensive)?

3) How do I get the wires/fishing-line to lie flat against my skin rather than popping up and looking silly (in the case of a layered necklace, for example)?

4) How do I use cheap-metal-spacers? do I just pinch them where I want them to stay put? (So that they don't just space things by their own width but could act as "stoppers" so that beads on a "floating necklace" (which is what I'd like to try first) stay where they're supposed to stay -- e.g. an inch apart from each other -- rather than sliding together and looking wrong).

5) Is there anything else that I've missed or overlooked that will make my life as an attempting jewellery-maker that much easier?


Torrain, Shifter-Cat (anyone else who does beading), I'm looking to you folks for advice. :-) Help me please! :-) <*looks hopeful*>

- Nam'ara,
- Amazon. :-)

(no subject)

Continuing the jewellery theme, I had a wierd dream last night.

I dreamt that:
(A) Paul was mad at me (he even called me an idiot, quite angrily) for some reason -- how I was dressed, what I spent money on, something like that. We were going to meet his parents for some reason.
(B) After this nasty incident (but before meeting his parents for whatever-it-was) some random friendly aquaintence of mine (who I can't really remember...) decided to take me shopping.
(C) The store was on the corner of Bank and Slater, where there is currently a Second Cup. It was a funky jewellery and clothing store (sort of like the independent stores you get in Montreal, up on the Mountain) and there were black blouses and tops made of velvet and chiffone with lace and brocade(?) trim, and stuff.
(D) There was also an immense four-strand necklace made of blue pearls accented with disks of mother-of-pearl. It was awesome. The shortest of the strands hit just below my solar-plexus and the longest one was about level with my belly-button. (About four inches of space, basically). The longest one had a fringe of these pearls as well (about two inches accross, roughly), tipped with those same mother-of-pearl discs. I think it may have had an ornate/vintage clasp at the back, but I'm not sure.
(E) While looking at this loot with love in my eyes, and knowing that -- after what I spent at the Pagan Conference on jewellery this year -- I couldn't aford another $86 for that pearl necklace (which, frankly, is a pretty good deal, I expect), let alone the cost of the other three items I had my eye on, especially with Paul mad at me for some reason, my singing teacher, Juliette came in. She had her long hair back (which she hasn't had for a few years now).
(F) Shortly thereafter a bank-street-wide fire-alarm/air-syren went off. I had to rapidly unload the four items from the plastic bag I had put them in while picking out items I liked, before leaving the store. There was a general feeling of being rushed and not being able to get out of the shop in time.

Anyway. That was my dream. I'm not sure what it means, if anything. :-) Any thoughts? :-)

- Nam'ara,
- Amazon.

Invasive Actions

I can't decide whether doing half a dozen short posts in a row is more or less annoying to find on one's friends' page than one really, really long one that is not LJ-cut.

But it appears I'm doing the multiple short-posts today.

So. On the irritating boss front:

I have mailed off my letter notifying (sp) the general manager of Cleo that my Assistant Manager at the store is being invasive, intimidating, and slightly dishonest to boot.

Surprisingly I feel slightly empowered. Woohoo. :-)

- Nam'ara
- Amazon.

Project Bathroom. :-)

First thing's first: I have no pictures. (Sorry). So you'll have to use your imaginations.

Okay. So the bathroom makeover that I've been talking about for about two months now is pretty much finished.

There's still the wall-paper border to put up, and some touch-ups on the walls around the towel-racks, but those are getting done this weekend, so I'm not too worried about "spilling the beans" early. :-)

So.

The "Before 'Picture'".: A fairly standard bathroom vanity featuring brown fake-marble melamene(?) counter-top and "fake wood" cupboard doors with those ubiquitous-in-1974 burnished brass/bronze door-handles.
The towel racks and electrical outlet plates are brass. There is a wall-paper border around the top of the room that is done in an abstract pattern of beiges and brows accented with burgundies and the odd hint of turqoisite blue-green.
The walls of the bath-tub stall are cream-tile with ornate burgundy-and-beige designs all over them. Quite a sight when you first pull back the shower cutain. The shower-curtain support bar is wrapped in pinky-beige plastic that is coming appart ever-so-slightly.
The wite shower curtain is too small (because I was dumb and got one for a shower stall rather than for a bath-tub stall). The beige shower-curtain liner has ripped in a number of places along the top.
The curtain and liner are held up with brown plastic shower-curtain hooks (that don't close and so the liner occasionally has to be re-attached to the curtain hooks).
Gorgeous, no? ;-)



The "After 'Picture'".: The fairly standard bathroom vanity now features a pewter-coloured counter-top (with a "hammered metal" look), and the cupboards (not just the doors, the whole thing) are a semi-gloss forget-me-not blue. The door handles are the shape, but they are now done in the same hammered pewter finish as the counter-top.
The towel racks and outlet plates are now also finished in hammered pewter. (Although I may switch the outlet plate out for a white one, I confess).
The wall-paper border has been taken down and has been (read: will be) replaced by a new border of pale blue "tiles" (vinyl-heavy wall-paper, easy to scrub, made to look like tiles) featuring a large silver spiral on every other "tile".
The bathmat is baby blue (although it looks almost turquoise next to the cupboards).
The walls of the bath-tub stall are now plain white (painted with plastic-enamel paint appropriate for use on boats).
The shower-curtain support bar has been shorn of its ugly plastic casing and is now just a plain metal bar. (I may wind up having to cover this in a clear top-coat or something, but I don't think so).
The too-small shower curtain and cheap, ripped liner have been replaced by a white liner that is (A) the right size, and (B) reinforced with metal gromits so that it won't fall appart so easily.
The curtain is held up with plain white rings (that close, so that it won't just fall off the way it used to do).


Blue, white, and pewter. :-)
And that is the new bathroom. :-)
Hurrah! :-)

Eventually (read: When we can register in January) I'm hoping to get bathroom linens in forget-me-not blue and black (and possibly grey, but probably not), as well as a black bath-mat (or two), and some black and chrome accessories (tooth-brush holder, garbage bin, etc.) to complete the look. As it stands, I think I'll keep an eye out for black metal tea-light/votive holders that I can use to dress up the counter-top. :-)

- Nam'ara,
- Amazon. :-)

Sad side-note: I discovered, while painting the tiles that, bugger-bugger-bugger, it appears that some of the drywall behind a couple of the tiles is beginning (sp) to rot. So in a couple of years when, in theory, we have more money to spend, we will have to re-do the bath-tub stall. (And this is when the decorative black and forget-me-not blue tile border will get to go in. ;-)