May Photo-a-Day

It's the end of May, which means I must MARK ALL the THINGS! Every year I say "this is the year I stay on top of the marking and don't have a huge pile to mark at the end."

This is not that year.

I shouldn't be taking time out to work on photos or anything silly like that. Naturally, that's just what I am doing. Here are my May Photo-a-Day challenges. If you wait long enough, you will see the previous months' pictures.

June's list is here if you want to play along.

Now excuse me; I need to replenish my supply of red pens.

In Which PhysicsGirl creates shade

One of the things I love about my apartment is the deck. It's pretty big relative to the amount of inside space, so there is enough room for me to sit, drink tea, mark, and pretend to be an urban gardener^*.

One of the things I love about my deck is that it gets the east, south, and west sun. Full sun? I has it. It's also one of the problems with my deck because I am a delicate flower, sun-wise. Terrific for plants, less so for my skin. I had an umbrella, but it was square and required much constant revolving of chairs around the table to stay shaded. It's also really windy on my deck and leaving the umbrella open could get... exciting. Let's just say that the umbrella has been known to take flight. Also, several years of neglect and leaving the umbrella outside in the winter to the elements and squirrels have been unkind to the thing. It was time for the umbrella to go. But how to create shade? In a way that would also keep off a (light) rain?

The solution to this shade problem was, naturally, to build a canopy.

In which PhysicsGirl makes a prediction

I'm so in love with the Lizzie Bennet Diaries. Ashley Clements is a perfect modern-day Lizzie. I think if knew Lydia in person she would drive me nuts, but as a character she's hysterically funny. Mondays and Thursdays are so great now.

I'm really hoping the off-screen characters' Twitter streams are where we get to see Darcy's feelings evolve and Caroline's bitchy comments about Lizzie. And everyone else. You can follow the story on all platforms here.

I've been trying to think how they're going to handle the "proposal" and letter scene, and I'm going to call it now: Lizzie will be live-vlogging when Darcy unexpectedly comes in to... ask her out, since in this day and age proposing would be a bit much right off... insulting her in the process. She replies, and we get to see the resulting fight. The famous letter will take the form of Darcy's video response.

You heard it here first.

Live from the ROM, it's Friday Night!

Last Friday, DC and I went to the ROM for their new Friday Night Live events. For $9, you can mix and mingle with the young and hip, tour the exhibits, drink, eat, and be merry. Since I am a grown-up and enjoy things unironically, it was a lot of fun.^*

If you recall, DC and I went to the ROM on a snowy day in February, and I complained about the lack of bike posts on Bloor but suggested there might be more on the Queen's Park Circle/Avenue/University^** side. It turns out that the ROM put out a few of those wheel-bender racks on the Bloor side and there are a lot of very pretty but not exactly practical posts on the Queen's... other side.

They're all different shapes and they're really nifty-looking, but I had to walk down quite a bit before I could find a free space that could also accommodate the basket. And then I was glad to have my Abus lock, because I'm not sure how I would have fared with a u-lock and the unconventional shape. Nevertheless, the Opus was finally secured and DC and I bought our tickets and our ROMbucks and went in.

Oh please, wait a minute Ms. Postal Worker...*

I had a not-so-fun day today, but when I got home, this was waiting for me!

It's the badge for completing Chasing Mailboxes's Utilitaire-1214. What a lovely thing! Cheered me right up. I won swag!

It reminded me that something else nice came in the mail a few days ago:

I love reading The Julie Blog. She's living a fun life biking around New York City on her bike Kate Middleton -- she has tonnes of style and oomph and I kinda think I'd like to be her when I grow up.

She is riding the 5 Borough Bike Tour May 6 and to fundraise, she is selling (at least, I assume she is still selling) her homemade silk & wood bead necklaces. You should buy one, because you will receive many compliments. Except that last southwest print? Is mine! Insert maniacal laugh.

I'm not the only lady in Toronto sporting this beauty: Hyedie from the Cupcake Ride got hers a few weeks ago. But she doesn't have the badge. Hee.

I usually get credit card bills in the mail. These? Are quite the improvement.

^*Hmmm, that doesn't quite scan...

April Photo a Day, plus flotsam

The weather and I have been a bit in sync lately; it seems like Mother Nature just realized she skipped regular March weather in March, so she played catch-up by giving it to us in April. The same has sort of been true of my photo-a-day challenge.

I will admit to having missed more than a few days and had to play catch-up. Catch up I did, though, and here are the pix. If you watch the slide-show long enough, you will see the previous month's pictures. Here is May's list if you want to play along.



In other news, I have various posts to write up, but it's getting near the end of the school year and stuff's getting crazy. However, I have gone on not one but two cupcake rides as well as the Vintage Easter Parade.

Also, I made bread. It was awesome.