I love: » nostalgia

My Farm

Laura — Fri, 13 May 2011 15:51:08 +0000

I grew up on a diary farm. It was the best, my own small universe was huge and sparsely populated—just they way I like it. The lawn was large and had giant peony plants at one end. Two red maples were in front of the house that had been planted when my dad was little. Summers where humid, green and introspective. (Yes, even when I was six I was looking into myself and asking big questions.)

In the winter all the snow from the laneway would be dumped into a giant pile and my dad would carve out the best forts ever.

We only had five channels, no internet and my mom made us go outside all the time. I credit this for my imagination, my independence and my love of outdoors.

Thank Goodness for Spring

Laura — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 21:36:13 +0000

When I was a kid, living on a farm, I used to wander around alone a lot outside.

Just now, when outside with my dog, I could smell spring—cold mud, melting snow—and there were actually crocuses poking out through the dirt in front of our building. It gave me flashbacks to spring on the farm, and I remembered taking photos of streams made of melted snow running over the stones in the laneway. For some reason it struck me as so beautiful that here I am, twenty years later, remembering it. The changing seasons always give me a good, tingly belly.

The photos of course didn’t do the scene justice, I have never had a talent for photography, and probably my excitement for spring coloured the moment. It would be nice to still have them though.

The Halloween Tree

Laura — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 17:28:35 +0000

I cannot tell you how much I love this book. Anything eerie (not thriller, psycho murderer stuff) is so great to me. I remember first finding this book on my classroom shelf when I was in grade four and eating it up, not even knowing who Ray Bradbury was at the time. If anybody knows anywhere online I can buy a copy with the cover on the left, please let me know!

Jem!

Laura — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 02:30:41 +0000

I don’t think this needs any explanation. Enjoy.

Newfoundland!

Laura — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 19:05:46 +0000

Okay, it’s not really online. My mom is from there and tonnes of my family live there and I love it so much. Should you ever have the chance you should definitely visit. Here are some things to wet your whistle.

Cheers Newfoundland A snowboarding video filmed in St. Johns (my husband is a crazy snowboarder, he goes every weekend in the winter)
Getting Screeched In People with no Newfie blood in them have to get screeched in. It seems to vary from town to town but usually the ceremony always involves kissing a cod fish and taking a shot of Screech
http://www.newfoundlandlabrador.com/ Official tourism site

This is where my grandparents used to live. One summer a chunk of iceberg broke off and floated into the cove where we could touch it. It was the size of a washing machine by the time it reached us but my siblings and I were still super excited because we were 10ish years old.

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The Internet of the 90′s

Laura — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 02:36:35 +0000

I remember the first time a friend and I went to a chat room and pretended to be someone else. When only 1 in 5 friends even had the internet, and you had to choose between using the phone or hooking up to the internet. Now sometimes I look up and realize I’m coding on my laptop, streaming Netflix on the little computer hooked up to the tv, and playing Words With Friends on my iPhone all at the same time. Gluttons!

But when the internet was becoming an everyday thing in the 90′s, Hollywood had a good time with it. These movies are hilarious and awesome.

My favourite is when they are ‘surfing the internet’ in Hackers and everything is neon and circut boards.

Things In Canada

Laura — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 22:08:25 +0000

It has been almost two years since I moved from Canada to the US. I did it for my husband—worth it. But there are many customs and things I miss.

taking your shoes off when you come in the door
Cadbury chocolate bars
three feet of fluffy snow for Christmas
public health care
May 24 weekend
Zellers
Tim Hortons — I don’t like the coffee but I like doughnuts!
a salad bowl of people instead of a melting pot
decriminalized marijuana
gay marriage across the nation!

Great Power Ballads

Laura — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 20:38:44 +0000

These are of course, subjective. But I bet you end up wanting to sing along to most of them.

Best Music From My Pre-Teen’s

Laura — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 21:32:31 +0000

About 1993-1996. Some good songs from the artists I listened to A LOT.

Nirvana – Come As You Are
Hole – Miss World
The Cranberries – Linger
Beck – Loser
Smashing Pumpkins - Bullet With Butterfly Wings
Tool - Ænima

10 Japanese Ghost Towns

Laura — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:24:52 +0000

Osarizawa Factory and Mine, Sports World Ruins

This is an amazing article by Michael John Grist, a freelance photographer and novelist. I always feel the urge to pull over and explore when I see run down houses or buildings from the road, and seeing vegetation overtake a forgotten structure is a nice reminder of how resilient and tenacious nature actually is.

Edit: Grist has a Vimeo account! So good: http://vimeo.com/user464007