How I Spent My Summer Vacation

I started out the summer chasing rabbits in our courtyard. See "Minx Corners Bunny".

In North America the kids generally get the entire summer off from school. A tradition grown from farming where families needed the kids home to slave. Everybody is a lackey to the totalitarian agriculture we seem addicted to. No child left behind. From this teachers often had a first day of school assignment. The following I thought would be a great way to work in my Thursday Thirteen. This is my first month participating in the activity of Thursday Thirteen, a group activity that aims to introduce tons of participants to each other and help them get to know each other. I figured this is a good way to recap the past couple of months and let the Thirsday Thirteen participants see WAY MORE than they bargained for about my life. Ha ha. I've tried to select a few photos I haven't posted here before as much as possible, so hopefully it's not too boring. Warning this is another famous LONG Candy post. I can't seem to keep them small, sorry. Not! :)

Thirteen Things I did this summer...

1) Enjoyed family and friends. That's Mister Anchovy cooking up a southern feast with his new toy. Below you see Tuffy P and Tim. Lots of food and laughing all summer.


Above are Tuffy P, Stagg and Mister Anchovy the night before they were performing on the street. Yep, a rehersal for busking and showcasing their musical stylings. Below is Tiffany, we had a great time in her new apartment, watching movies and unpacking her stuff. I even had my own room to sleep in where I set up a wall to paint.


2) Got inspired by my boyfriends artwork. This is huge for me. I love seeing what he is up to, what his next ideas are...he is a very commited artist and makes art so differently than me. It's a real treat to share a studio with him.


3) Hung out in Millenium Park. Regular visitors here already know I am CRAZY about this urban sculpture garden. From the Cloud Gate sculpture you see above the outdoor patio behind of Stagg, to the water sculpture in photo below to Frank Gehry's outdoor theatre/stage. Chicago tax payers paid a fortune for this park, and some of them resent it, but Im telling you...this alone is worth a visit to Chicago. It's so stunning. Below you see Stagg, Tiffany and David. David is doing his best Paris Hilton strike a pose.


4) Saw Madonna!

Part of #1) "Friends and Family category" Spent a lot of time with Nicolette and George in photo above. They are amazing cooks and so good to me. We had some wonderful evenings drinking wine on their deck, some great bbqs, swimming and hanging out. I did most of my blogging this summer on their computers.

5) Took Stagg all over Toronto and gave him lots of loving! Tuffy P took this photo, we are all urban in front of the chain link fence huh?

6) Stagg and I went to the Toronto Gay Pride Parade. Long live freedom to be who we are and love who we want!


7) Got together with our Swedish friends. Canadians Jill and Scott, BFF, were in Europe hitch-hiking after they finished university. They met a couple from Sweden. For twenty years they have met them around Europe or in Canada, staying at each others places or renting houses in France or Spain. I first met them in Toronto in 1988. We all went up north to cabins with no electricity and a memory is climbing in the car to listen to Ben Johnson win the gold during summer Olympics.. Then two days later listening to him be demoted for steroid use. They are hockey fans and often we will phone each other during hockey playoffs or taunt each others teams. The Swedes were in Canada this summer and I was very happy to hook up with them again. Kids, soccer, walking, beer and what music are you listening to now through broken English. Lots of fun!


8) Visited the Art Gallery of Ontario. I thought this was a great idea. The paintings on the wall are done by Julian Opie and they are stick figure stripper girl images. I like how they play around the somber and archaeological sculptures of Henry Moore.



The painting on the right of the red haired woman is a kind of personal fave. I only went blonde in 1990, was always a red head and this painting was said, by several friends to have a uncanny resemblance to me. The dark eyeliner, the feisty look on her face, the hair cut. Sometimes secrutity guards would walk up to me and say I looked like the woman in the painting. I loved it! The security guards at the Met in NYC used to do the same thing with some paintings there too. My friend Andrew used to love that. I think they were the Corbier ladies of the night? ha ha. So, Cappy The Kid, consider my homework late, but at last submitted.


9) Watched the World Cup. The photo above is in the kitchen of art school friends etc. We have known each other since 1985. Ill huh? I don't know why they put up with me. Below is us all packed into the basement because they built a new tv room and the heatwave was on so it was the coolest place to watch the final game. Many kids, many highways later these are my family remade in our own image.


10) Helped a beautiful friend through a sad sad break-up. There she is up there. Who in their right mind would dump a chick like that? About 8 of us spotted her for a week while she packed up her belongings and cried and don't worry lots of times we had some awesome laughs. We should all laugh at men who don't have the balls to stick with a good woman.

11) I joined the Circus. No kidding. I worked with Zero Gravity Circus as an Advice busker. I had a sign and some chairs and answered hundreds of questions. I also hung out back stage and took tons of photos which you can also find on this blog.


12) I had marathon drinking adventures, with world class drinkers, who I count among my dear friends.. That is Patrick up there, and Dr.K is below. Both are bosom buddies of mine. Both are single ladies if you live in the Toronto area and like what you see, let me know. I love playing matchmaker. Not that either of these savvy boys need my help. Patrick is artsy and very tall he is funny as hell and loves to hang out on the beach. Dr. K is a poet, was an apprentice to Allen ginsberg. He loves to talk about books has an incredible first edition book collection and hangs with writers and is a horror movie afficinado. You need to be well read and culture vulture and able to hold your liquor with either of these men. Ha ha, they are gonna kill me.


13) Worked on a painting. I am an artist. Here is a painting I've been working on all summer. It's inspired by Sean who is pledging to lose 250 pounds and donate a load of money to Diabetes Foundation. I hope to sell this painting and send some money to Sean's fundraising program. Below is a photo of the painting back in my studio. I have worked on the painting while I am traveling this summer...but here it is taped up this morning in my studio. See, other people unpack their suitcases when they get home. I unpack my studio! On the floor is a dvd of SUBLIME that Stagg got me while I was away. I can't wait to watch it. We watcha lot of music and band dvds around here. The large bag on the floor with my name on it is full of videos of he has recored including LL Cool J, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Marley, Red Hot Chili Peppers, well you get the drift. Good to be back! It's beena great summer but I am glad to be here right now and back to some serious work and loving! (Stagg is STILL sleeping!)