Goodbye Nyac

Nyac one of the two famous otter-holding-hands YouTube stars and long-time resident of the Vancouver Aquarium died on September 23, 2008. She was one of the last surviving sea otters from the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. Nyac came to the Vancouver Aquarium in 1989 as one of the few young survivors of the oil spill. She not only survived the traumatic event, but she overcame incredible odds and became the only known survivor to have successfully had a pup. On November 9, 1993, Nyac gave birth to a healthy female pup, Kipnuk. This event was considered miraculous due to the internal damage she had sustained. During her 20 years of life, she won the hearts of members, visitors, volunteers and staff at the Vancouver Aquarium. She inspired many people as they learned about sea otters and the issues that face them in our waters today. She was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia a few days before her death. This cancer has not been previously reported in sea otters, but it is associated with contact with petroleum in other species. So even in death, Nyac will continue to provide vital information on the long-term effects of oil exposure.

Nyac one of the two famous otter-holding-hands YouTube stars and long-time resident of the Vancouver Aquarium died on September 23, 2008. She was one of the last surviving sea otters from the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. Nyac came to the Vancouver Aquarium in 1989 as one of the few young survivors of the oil spill. She not only survived the traumatic event, but she overcame incredible odds and became the only known survivor to have successfully had a pup. On November 9, 1993, Nyac gave birth to a healthy female pup, Kipnuk. This event was considered miraculous due to the internal damage she had sustained. During her 20 years of life, she won the hearts of members, visitors, volunteers and staff at the Vancouver Aquarium. She inspired many people as they learned about sea otters and the issues that face them in our waters today. She was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia a few days before her death. This cancer has not been previously reported in sea otters, but it is associated with contact with petroleum in other species. So even in death, Nyac will continue to provide vital information on the long-term effects of oil exposure.
We'll miss you little girl!

A walk in the park.

Here we are at Lighthouse Park last weekend. It's a gorgeous waterfont park in the community I grew up in, West Vancouver. It's hard to believe the beauty sometimes, of this place I am lucky enough to live in.

Silky Specialty

We went to the Silky Specialty dog show yesterday in Cloverdale. Henry's breeder's are pretty serious dog show people, and we like to go out and see Henry's sister and Grandpa who we knew would be there. It was a great time to see all of these funny little creatures together. It's amazing how different they all look! Well, Henry immediatley looks different because of his full tail and home made haircut, but if you ask me, he's still the cutest!

New Collage

Here are a couple of my newest pieces. You can find them in my Etsy shop, along with my cards and ACEO's. I'm looking forward to going to Toronto soon. My VERY favourite paper shop is there, The Paper Place. That's where I get my Japanese Chiyogami paper. They have an entire wall of it, there's probably 200 styles to choose from, AND you can get a 1/4, 1/2 or full sheet. It's heaven!

Black Sheep Yarns

This is my most recent Etsy purchase from Black Sheep Yarns. Now, I've had some things come to me from Etsy sellers that is packaged beautifully, but this one topped them all! It felt like it was my birthday! And the papers were even better than I expected. Thank you Black Sheep, I'll definitely be buying from you again!
If YOU want to check out the shop, it's here...
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5033945

These beautiful old ledger pages are from 1897, and are just gorgeous! If you look at my collage below you'll see how I use them. The old yellowed book pages were just a bonus! Thanks, I LOVE them!


This collage doesn't use the actual ledger papers I bought, but a very similar one from France. I'll be putting Black Sheep's into the mix very soon!

Sage Island

My friend Sam wrote a novel for her Masters program, and it was recently published by Brindle & Glass. I rushed out to Chapters to pick up my own copy and finally finished it this week. What a great read! I absolutely loved it, and am so proud to be friends with such an amazingly talented person!
Now, I'm not much of a writer myself. In fact, I kind of stink at it, but I do read. A lot. So I like to think I know good writing when I see it. Some of my favourite authors include Margaret Atwood, Timothy Findlay, Margaret Laurence and Ann-Marie MacDonald. I guess you could say I'm a little "Canadian author" obsessed.
Buy this book at Amazon.com or at your local book seller.
Sage Island by Samantha Warwick.