Life Lessons from a Kiwi

Sometimes life lessons are staring you in the face.

Take the kiwi for instance. Hairy and blah brown at first glance. Why did someone think to look further? Why not judge these little fruits by their cover and move on to prettier fruit like apples, pears, plums, and berries?

But somebody did look further. Or many people did.

Cut open the hairy, brown fruit and you’re met with gorgeous colour, fantastic taste and nutritious deliciousness!

Lessons: Look deeper. Don’t judge.Be open.  

Learn at every turn. 

Kiwis are happily brought to us by the letter K, as part of the A to Z Blogging Challenge. 

J is for Jos.

If you’re Canadian, you know what I’m talking about. Jos. Louis. 

The famous snack cake made by Vachon. For those of you who haven’t tempted your tastebuds with one, here’s what they are: two round red velvet cakes (that’s news to me, I never would have known to describe it as that. Thank you Wikipedia). Then between the layers is a cream filling, and the whole thing is encased in a chocolate coating.

As kids we always called them “Joe Louis” and ignored the “Jos.” I suppose we should have pronounced it “Joseph Louis” because Jos. is short for Joseph. Apparently, again my thanks to Wikipedia, Joseph and Louis were two of the Vachon sons.

Did anyone else eat them by slowly peeling the chocolatey coating off first? One of my childish methods of eating a Jos. Louis. I can’t be alone! Whether you eat the Jos. Louis by eating the coating first is an indication of your character, somewhat similar to whether you took apart your Oreos and Fudgie-O’s. Very telling, your sugar-eating habits, I tell you.

So if you’ve never had one, try a Jos. Louis or a ½ Jos. Louis as soon as possible. It’s likely you will not regret such a step. Personally I was always okay with the ½ size, other than the obvious shortcoming in pleasure. But I didn’t like the super Jos. Louis, a gargantuan version, when it came out. Seems counter-intuitive, but it was just too much for me. Thoughts?

To me though, the best thing ever made by Vachon were the Vachon cakes…the little cupcakes that came with either white, pink or chocolate icing. There were four of each per box. Heaven for your mouth. In recent years I’ve only ever seen them hit the stores around Christmas time, then this year, not at all. It’s a sad, sad day for Canada when the Vachon cupcakes can’t be found. Chalk up another loss to big business buying out family-run companies. Sorry to say. 

Today's trip down memory lane was inspired by the letter J, as part of the A to Z Blogging Challenge. 

F is for Fibre, not Fiber

I know, I know. You want to spell it ‘fibre’ not ‘fiber’. That is if you live below the 49^th parallel. Those of us above the 49^th parallel spell it ‘fibre’. 

Actually I’m lying. A good portion of Canada’s population lives below the 49^th parallel; myself I live at the 43.6339° N parallel. I didn’t use anything more sophisticated that Google to come up with that. Sorry if that spoils your image of me doing something highly techy to figure that out.

If you know me, you know I’m a fiercely proud Canadian and a stickler for spelling and grammar, hence the need to write a paragraph about the spelling of fibre. Now, let’s move on, shall we?

Yes, today’s blog post is sponsored by the letter F. Okay, not sponsored. That would imply that F has some funds (see what I did there?) and is spending it on my writing. As far as I know, F is flat broke. Today’s blog post is inspired by the letter F. Phew.

Fibre is fantastic. Fibre is fun. Fibre is….what I live for in actual fact. No I don’t mean that I calculate the fibre content of my diet, day in and day out. While I do enjoy fruits and vegetables and try to enjoy a very healthy diet, I’m not referring to that kind of fibre. To me, that’s not fun or fantastic. I live on that kind of fibre, not for it.

Fibre is wool, cotton, hair, silk, linen, thread, fabric, yardage, art, craft, and so much more. As a maker (I prefer to call myself a maker instead of getting into the overly discussed topic of crafter versus artist), I am moved, inspired and thrilled by fibre in all its many forms. I love fibre and the limitless opportunities for making with fibre. Natural fibres…all the way, baby.

On the subject of fibre, I finished hooking my “Bunny Warhol” piece* last night (shown above). Here it is in its unfinished glory. Finishing will happen. Eventually.

So to wrap up, for F's sake enjoy fibre in all its forms and spellings!

Today's post is my part in the A to Z Blogging Challenge, which I am not officially part of (long story). 

*For those of you that have been reading this blog longer than a week, you realize that Bunny Warhol will be considered part of the #16in16 challenge.