a peek inside the fishbowl

If you’ve been struggling with old man Winter I suggest you should check out Wall Space gallery in Westboro. I poked my head in there the other day and was greeted by a generous serving of Spring.

Tomorrow (the 22nd) is the last day of a show featuring the work of Nathalie Mantha and Alison Fowler. (Alison is the amazing lady behind a painting I admire every single day.)

Nathalie and Alison’s work is enchanting and inspiring, with just the right amount of bright. A lot of the paintings are florals, but there are no sissies to be found here…. just strong, bold blooms that grab you by the lapel and give you a shake and say “DON’T MESS WITH ME BUB. I’M A TULIP”. 

I was especially enamoured with a couple of Nathalie’s tulip paintings which are painted from this perspective… similar to ones I photographed and hung in my living room. (Pictured about halfway down this post.) 

I promised myself to return Wall Space before the end of the month. They’re having a big sale on framing: order a custom frame you pay only for materials. (“Whether its extra openings in mats, shadowbox work, oil painting or needlework stretching, the savings are tremendous during our Free Labour Sale.”) I have a few pieces that desperately need frames, so timing is pretty good.

{WHOOPS. I messed up the dates.  Please check the dates as edited below.]

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Alternate title: “What’s better than a large cardboard box?” ;)

I saw the FedEx truck this morning and sighed. WHAT NOW?

Happily, I tore into the package to find a whole bunch of movie passes to an advance screening of “One Week” with Joshua Jackson. (Surely I can’t be the only one who watched Dawson’s Creek around here?)

I have 29 (YES, TWENTY NINE) passes to give away. (Thank you Mongrel Media!)

• The screening is at the Coliseum (3090 Carling Ave.) in Ottawa.
• Each pass admits two.
• I have 15 passes for two for the Thursday Feb 26th show at 7:00 p.m. and 15 for Thursday March 5 at 7:00 p.m. Please let me know which you want to attend. I’ll keep track at the bottom of this post.
• I  *very much* recommend showing up super early (say 45 minutes or so) because organizers give piles of these passes things away and there is always a lineup and seating is not guaranteed. 
• I’m not sure what this film is rated, but it is oriented to adults. So please leave the children at home (with adult supervision of course!)

I do think this would make a perfect bloggy playdate. So how about it Ottawa mommybloggers…  who wants to come to the movies with me? :)

I’m not exactly sure how I’m going to hand these tickets over to you (I will have to cross that bridge when I come to it) but ETA: For the first showing I’ll come to the theatre, meet the first group and hand out the tickets. (Should I wear a sandwich board? Put a red rose in my hair? *snort*)

** ETA: For the Thursday 26th group.
I’ll be standing at the front of the lobby somewhere inside the front doors at 6:00 p.m. I know this sounds early, but it’ll give everyone a chance to arrive, find the group, get popcorn etc. (I want to stay and chat for a couple of minutes before I have to depart and I really have no idea what the line-up situation will be!) I’ll be the tall girl with the black coat, blondy brown bedhead and big shiny black/blue bag. I will be looking around most awkwardly. :)

I will be attending the March 5 show.  

ETA: for the Thursday March 5 group.
Same as above!  I’ll be there around 6:00, hanging out just inside the front doors. Please don’t arrive later than 6:30 or you won’t get your tickets!

Please let me know if you’re bringing a date. I heartily encourage singledom! That way you can buddy up with another blogger and we can squeeze more people in if we need to.

ETA: I’m updating as I go. Unfortunately lots of people can’t attend. Please let me know if I’ve forgotten anyone!

Thursday February 26th at 7:00 p.m.

1. 1. BeachMama … and maybe her sister! :)
2. 2. Chantal
3. 3. Lynn and Krista
4. 4. Ms. Luckysevens

Thursday March 5th at 7:00 p.m.

1. 1. Me!
2. 2. Karen (Virtually There) Karen is sick :(
3. 3. LO
4. 4. Stephanie (aka Hellcat13) plus husband
5. 5. Jennifer W (plus another Jen)
6. 6. Jenn’s friend
7. 7. Erica P (plus husband)
8. 8. Lara
9. 9. Shannon
10. 10. Marci
11. 11. Lala

So much to write. So little time.

I received the nicest email the other day and it has made this week seem a little easier to handle. It’s such a simple thing to do, isn’t it, to write an email to someone who has meant something to you. Small thing, big impact. Something to think about during Kindness Week here in Ottawa.

I just got back from Social Media Breakfast Ottawa. This is the place to be if you want to talk to some interesting people and hear about cutting edge projects. The guest speaker was Stuart MacDonald, CEO and Founder of Tripharbour and the founder of Expedia.ca. My head is swimming and I am excited about the great things happening around me.

In the meantime … I am home with a sick kid. Deadlines looming. Headache pounding. Please tell me it’s Friday and someone else is making dinner tonight.