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The Bolen Books Fashion Extravaganza!

(No, I don't mean people who lived in the time of Queen Victoria. I mean all you people who live in and around Victoria, BC.)

I will be at Bolen Books at 7:30 PM on August 24th. I'm going to read from Miss Smithers and then you can compete for prizes in the Miss Smithers Trivia Quiz! And after that I'm going to (take a deep breath now!) host a Fabulous Faux-Fashion Extravaganza! OMG! This calls for every-sentence exclamation points!

Categories and Events

Runway Extravaganza!
Create an article of clothing (any style, any material), show it off on the Faux Fashion Runway, and compete for fabulous prizes. Impress everyone with your imaginative creations and gain notoriety in the local faux fashion scene. Don't limit yourself to plain old cotton. How about a duct tape tuxedo? A pie-tin and toothpick hat? A skirt made of paper flowers? A newspaper overcoat? Create a wearable outfit (from scratch or modify a piece of existing clothing) and join me (fashion design school dropout) for an evening of questionable fashion, prizes, makeovers, music, and refreshments!

Travelling Pants faux-fashion!
Free your inner fashion designer! Don't like to create alone? Team up with at least one other designer and create the most amazing pair ofTravelling Pants* ever seen. Are contestants allowed to wear their Travelling Pants in the runway competition? Nope. You have to create a whole new ensemble to compete in the runway contest. We are practically talking about designing a whole fall line here!

*What are Travelling Pants, anyway? Read The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants or itssequel, The Second Summer of the Sisterhood by AnnBrashares.

Contestants must be 17 years old or younger.

Prizes will be awarded in several categories, so let your imagination run wild. Young designers interested in strutting their own anti-fashion creations should call 658-5448 for more information and to pre-register.

The Station Agent

I loved this movie. It was odd and heartwarming. What I loved most about it was the character of Joe Oramas played by Bobby Cannavale. Joe is this extraordinarily friendly guy who is never discouraged by rejection. He is unfailingly enthusiastic to see people. He draws people out, even the most difficult ones.

Everyone should have a Joe Oramas parked in a refreshment truck outside their house. We all need someone who isn't put off by rudeness and standoffishness. We could all use someone to jolly us out of our moods and get interested in our weird hobbies. Someone who enjoys food and helps us meet people.

So many people who need a Joe, so few Joes.

But wait! That's not quite true. It occurs to me that there is a Joe in every dog.

Let's see:

Selflessness: check.

Affection: check.

Enthusiasm: check!

It turns out that we have a Joe and his name is Frank.

 

But Seriously

If you'd like to get involved in helping to save Mount Benson here is some more information:

http://www.nalt.bc.ca/documents/newsletterjun04.rtf

http://www.nalt.bc.ca/mount_benson.htm

We are trying to collect 10,000 signatures by July 31st. Thank you to the hundreds of people who signed their support while I sat at the booth on Saturday.

And for those of you who were wondering, here's a picture of Edward the Grey, a true gentleman (except for his tendency to lunge for a bite of grass when going through the gate -- even gentlemen get hungry).






And I bet this is what Fantasia Barrino thinks about when she sings "Summertime".



Juby out. Ahem.

Sign this!

Some scenes from the "Save Mount Benson" booth at Country Club Mall.

Me: Excuse me, would you like to sign a petition to help save Mount Benson?

Passerby #1: (Scurries away. Avoids eye contact.)



Me: Help save Mount Benson?

Passerby #2: My dad's a logger. I wouldn't feel right.

Me: That's okay. This is BC. Everyone's got a logger in the family. That doesn't mean every inch of the province has to be logged.

Passerby #2: Well, okay. But do I have to use my real name? Because my dad would be really mad.



Me: Help save Mount Benson?

Passerby #3: (Speeding up.) I don't have my wallet.

Me: (To their retreating back.) But we only need a signature...



Me: Sign a petition to save Mount Benson?

Passerby #4: You'd get more signatures if you were more outgoing.

Me: Oh.

Passerby #4: Yeah. Just go like this. (Starts yelling at other passersby.) HEY! SAVE MOUNT BENSON!

(Other passersby crowd into booth to avoid Passerby #4.)

Passerby #4: (To people huddling in booth.) I told her she had to be more aggressive! Because I'm in school for marketing and so I know how to do this! (Spots another group of hapless passersby) HEY! YOU! SAVE MOUNT BENSON! (To me): See! This is how you do it!

That I just can’t hide it!

Yesterday I bought (second hand) riding clothes in preparation for my first dressage lesson in almost 15 years. Needless to say, I’m so excited!

As some of you may know, I’m working on a new book about a young man who becomes a dressage rider. (Dressage is form of English riding. The word simply means “training”. At the highest levels it looks like dancing on horseback. At my level, it’s like riding around in a ring, going from point A to point B and hoping for the best.)

In the course of working on this book, I’ve been hanging around horses and horse people and surprise, surprise; I’ve caught the riding bug again. It’s the same bug that caused me to spend much of my childhood dreaming of horses; the bug that led me to gallop around on my hands and knees long past when I should have been making my way on two feet. This bug is the reason I only know how to draw horses and the explanation for my ability to make a convincing galloping noise with my mouth. (Useful skills, all!)

When I was ten years old I spent every penny I’d ever received to buy my first horse. His name was Echo’s Little Wonder. He was a 16’2 Appaloosa and he seemed to feel that it was his mission to teach me to fall off. He bore a striking resemblance to Edward, the grey Percheron/Thoroughbred cross who has kindly agreed to allow me to take dressage lessons on him. I’m hoping the Edward is a bit less committed to the me-falling-off project.

I will keep you posted. And in the meantime, if you see some oddball driving, walking the dog, or cooking dinner in full English riding regalia — breeches, helmet and halfchaps — that someone is probably so excited that she just can’t hide it.

The Conversation About Skirts Continues

Thanks to Lauren, http://smartypants.blog-city.com for sending along a contribution to the ongoing conversation between the sexes about pillowcase skirts:

"Last year I was consumed with making (ok, making my mother do all the sewing parts) pillowcase skirts. I talked about them all the time to everyone who would listen. Women were fascinated and wanted one of their own. My otherwise fantastic boyfriend Steve was confused.

S: A pillowcase?

L: Yes! Isn't that cool? And cheap! And perfect!

S: Which way does it go?

L: What do you mean? You wear it as if you are the pillow.

S: But surely one won't be enough!

He has since come around and is a huge fan of my ex-pillowcases, but he is still amazed that they are big enough for people to wear."

Double thanks to Lauren for sending along the following link:
http://orgs.l3.drake.edu/drake-mag/html/sp04%20html/skirtSP.html

Confession: several of the pillowcases I auditioned didn't fit. They were more pillowcase legwarmers. So Steve: your instincts were not incorrect!

Happy Canada Day all.