Check It Out!

Oh let me tell you a story. It is a story of a young woman, enamored with reading. Compulsive reading. Reading everything she could get her hands on, even bus timetable schedules when she didn't' have anything else to read. A woman whose Amazon wishlists extend to 30+ pages of books and movies, on both the .ca and .com sites. A woman who actually budgets money every month for books, even if she desperately needs clothes and can't afford them.
Enter this woman's birthday the past September (ok, ok, I know it took me a while, but at least I'm getting there now!). And enter one of the greatest creations known to human-kind.
The Kindle.
I have to say, I wasn't sure I wanted a Kindle. I like the feel of paper beneath my hands. I like to crack the spine that first time the book is opened and smell the paper. I even like the smell of certain library books. You know the smell, kind of musty and dusty, the smell that tells you it's an oldie but goodie. Makes you want to sneeze and read more.
But, I have to say, I have now filled more than 4 extra large bookshelves, even doubling, and in some cases, tripling books on shelves to get them all to fit.
And my VISA was threatening to disown me. Or give me a crown in honour of the interest I give them each month before paying off in full (jerks).
Brennan got me a Kindle for my birthday. Nothing crazy, just the entry level model with keyboard and 4" (or something) screen and a case, but I have to say it is amazing. I took it right outside (This was when temperatures were consistently in t-shirt level and the sun shone brightly, lulling us into a false sense of eternal summer) and the thing worked beautifully. No reflections, no having to shield my eyes from blinding white paper, and it is LIGHT. The case does add a bit of weight, but when reading outside, or in bed, when your hands start to get a little heavy and you just want to rest a read, the case comes off easily and the Kindle is so light you can read so much longer. Not to mention that, with no backlight, you won't interrupt your body's natural sleep hormones and you'll sleep better than if you'd read a backlit e-book. It is simply amazing.
Oh, and did I mention you can get literally thousands of free e-books? Classics like Bronte, Shakespeare, Austen and more. FREE. *insert evil giggle here* My VISA is going to get awfully lonely. I've been reading for at least an hour every day since I got my Kindle, and I haven't spent a PENNY! I've been reading Anne of Green Gables series (don't laugh, they're good), Jane Austen, Catharine Parr Trail, and so many more... FREE.
I looked at my wishlists, and realized that by downloading the e-versions of some of these books for free I've actually paid for the Kindle already. Most of the print versions cost anywhere from 2-20$ each and I've got them for free.
Highly recommended if you're looking for an e-reader of high quality.
And I've got one, nah nah nah boo boo! :P

A Little Inspiration, Because We All Need It Now and Again

I saw this today and I have to say, I needed it.
If you watch it, I think I'm in the "Waiting Place". Waiting to get well. Waiting for my next gluten free flour to come in. Waiting to get the energy to make a new piece of jewelry. I can't say I like it.
But I thought, as I watched, that at least I now know. I thought, as I watched, of the places I'll go, of the people I'll meet now that I know what I know. (A little Dr. Seuss got in me there, sorry).

I thought, as I watched, that I really needed the positive encouragement, and maybe you do too.

So here you are. With much care and love as only Dr. Seuss can give, and with a great reading by John Lithgow, though the audio isn't the best :)

Mystery Mondays - er - Thursdays Part 2

Ok, ok, I've been bad, I haven't posted in a while, but I've been busy. Here is the next installment of my book, Hidden. Please remember all work is copyright 2011 Meghann Gervais! For the first page, see here: http://meglittlestudio.blogspot.com/2011/03/mystery-mondays-part-1.html

“Michaela, you’ve got every i-Gadget known to the human race, why don’t you join the twenty-first century and get e-books?” I strike a horrified pose, eyes wide, mouth making an O-shape.
“Because I, unlike you, like to live in the Stone Age; I like the feel of the paper in my hands, you know that. And besides,” I tell him, hands-on-hips, in a mock battle stance, “not all books are published electronically, and there might be a good one that I haven’t read yet.” I walk away before he can make fun of me further and say that I already own almost every book ever published. It is a definite over-exaggeration, though I had managed to fill yet another tall bookcase... So I was addicted to reading, there were worse habits, right? At least I was always learning something new.
With these thoughts I am carried to the book rack at the airport canteen. I have read most of the books. Damn, my habit foils me again. I had just turned to the next rack when I feel as though I am being watched. Looking up, I can see a tall man with dark hair under a dark cap glaring at me. Kind of creepy, but it takes all kinds, I think and turn back to the books.
“Rachel? Rachel! Oh my God, how did you get here so fast? I was, like, turned around for two seconds and you’re all the way over here? Shit!” I noticed the glaring man turn around and leave the canteen from the corner of my eye, and when I turn and look at the girl speaking, I can sort of understand why.
She is a very tall, bleached blonde, skinny young woman wearing clothing more fit for a jeans fashion shoot than an airport. Sky high heels, low-slung, tight black jeans and a bubblegum pink shirt is really just the beginning. She has on enough makeup and jewellery to drown a drag queen, and a handbag in black-lacquered nailed hands that costs almost as much as some people’s cars. She is also now staring at me with her jaw dropped, and eyes comically wide.
“I’m sorry, were you talking to me?” Sounds odd, but this really does happen all the time. Toronto is a big city, and when you’re five foot eight, blonde, slim and blue-eyed, you get mistaken for other people, or at least I do. Maybe I just have one of those faces.
“Oh my God, HA!” This last was shrieked in an almost sonic note. “Holy shit, you look just like my best friend! Hold on one second, ‘kay? I gotta bring her here to show her. HA!” With that, she totters away, hand bag swinging wildly, to find the best friend, apparently named Rachel. Shrugging, I return to the books, almost immediately finding one that I have not read, and find interesting. I am paying for the book when the clattering of heels turns me around. I drop my change in astonishment.

That's all for this week's page, tune in soon to see the next page!

Mystery Mondays Part 1

I posted last week that I was writing a little story and that I would share a bit of it with you. I'm going out on a limb here, as I've never written anything before, and I'm a little nervous sharing my possible ineptitudes (okay, probable ineptitudes) with my virtual friends and an entire world full of strangers, but here goes! I am going to publish a few paragraphs each week of my new story. It is a survivor story, tentatively titled, "Hidden". I'm in the early stages: I've written a bit (about 35 pages or so), know all the plot and where the characters are going to go and what they'll do, but I am still editing and re-editing the little bit that I've got done, and adding more here and there. There is MUCH more to do, I know, before I can call it even remotely done. Probably weeks and months to go. Still, I'd love to know what you think so far! Here are the first few paragraphs from chapter 1. I hope you enjoy it! Oh, and the foggy maple photo above is one I took last year, I just didn't know what to put at the top of this post and thought it looked suitably mysterious :)
Please note that all of this writing is copyright Meghann Gervais 2011.

HIDDEN

They say God only tests those he loves, and that you can’t truly know how strong you are until you’ve faces the fires of trials.
God, I wish you didn’t love me so much. I wish you’d never even looked in my general direction.


1
It all started, as the clichés go, so innocently. After years of saving, then more years of having hectic jobs that swallowed all of our spare time, my boyfriend and I were finally going on a vacation together. Not just any vacation, a luxury, five diamond, two-thousand dollars-per-day bliss fest. Ten days and nine nights of work-free time for us to unwind and spend some serious happy hours together in the British Virgin Islands.

“Stop worrying, the dog will be fine.” Grey sees me squinting out the car window and knows my thoughts without asking. He always does. He attributes this to the fact that his parents are poets. He says his upbringing made him hyper-aware and sensitive of everything. I tell him my face has always been an open book and all anyone has to do is look at me to know all of my brain’s inner workings.

“It’s a new kennel. She’s never been there before and she pines when I’m not around. What if she doesn’t eat? Ten days is a long time not to eat.” I know I baby my dog. I work from home as a web designer, how could I not baby my dog? Grey thinks I’m nuts.

“She will be fine; we’re paying almost as much for her as we would for a person in a hotel.” Grey takes his eyes off the road to stare at me in a mock-severe glare, “The vacation begins now. No more stress. Just you, me, and a few of those scraps of fabric I saw in your suitcase.” The glare turns into one of his devilish smiles, his grey eyes crinkling just a bit. For poets, I thought, his parents weren’t exactly original with the whole baby-naming thing. His eyes had been grey almost from birth, so his name was Grey. Genius.

“If all we’re wearing are my bikinis, you’re going to get some pretty odd looks – and I don’t think they’re your size, anyway.” I can’t help but grin, though I am disappointed - the bitty bikinis were supposed to be a secret. I’d worked out like a slave getting into shape for this trip, and when I’d gone vacation-clothing shopping and seen these bikinis in the store I’d blushed to my toes. I hadn’t worn a bathing suit in public for a long time. I’d had to pre-tan for weeks just to not glow in the dark. These weren’t just bikinis – wear them anywhere by the beach and I would probably get arrested, but this was a long time in coming. I wanted Grey’s eyes to bug out of his head when he saw me in them.

“Oh, I always get funny looks, but I think I’ll be going naked most of the time anyway,” another of his devilish smiles flashes. “Our house is supposed to be private after all. I can’t be getting tan lines on this perfect skin.”

“Perfectly pasty, you’re almost as white as I was!”

“Almost, but not quite; you still take the cake for that one. Don’t roll your eyes at me; be mad at your Irish-Canadian ancestors. They’re the ones you have to blame for your glow-worm effect, babe!” The easy banter relaxes me, as he knows it will. We arrive at the airport with time to kill, and after checking our luggage I say I’m going to look at some books at the nearby airport store.

Okay, so I gave you a page, but I didn't want to skimp on you, it will get VERY interesting soon, I promise :)
Hope this brightens up your Monday a bit, be sure to check back next Monday for a new paragraph or two (or three)!
Arwen is snoring, but I know she wants to say hi, so I am going to say Hi for her.
and Arwen, the Snoring Wonder Dog

Friday's Favorites: Spring is Coming

Top, from left to right: Golden Faceted Amethyst Ring from Kyleannemetals, Wicker Fruit Basket from Johntoftbasketry, Sea Grass Organic Baby Quilt from Organicquiltcompany

Happy Friday everyone! The weather is warming here and it is showing signs of wanting to be spring (we've had torrential rains for almost 2 days straight, and my sump pump is going off ever 3-5 minutes right now!). In honor of the warmer weather, I thought I'd show you a few of my favorite Etsy items right now that remind me of spring and warmer days. Enjoy!

Bottom row, from left to right: Vinyl Wall Sticker from Expressingyou, Floral Tea Party Dress from Priscilladawn, I Am A Cow Painting from Becca26

Also, I am working on getting healthy, as I said in my last post, so I have been rather remiss in keeping my Etsy store up to date over the last few months. I am working on that, as well as the new website and new blog layout (baby steps!), and I am also currently writing a fictional survival story, which I will be publishing in pieces here. I'll only put up a few paragraphs once a week, but I would LOVE to get your feedback on it. I've never really written anything before, so be nice, but I am very excited to share my little story with you all. Keep your eyes open for that next week!

I hope you all have a great weekend, try to stay dry for those of you getting weather like mine, and I hope to see you very soon. Oh, Arwen also says hi :)

Take care,