FREE Garage sale as in ALL ITEMS ARE FREE

Since I am moving and packing and purging I was very happy to come across this posting on the Ottawa Freecycle board. I have lots of stuff to get rid of. If you do too then consider dropping your things off at this "sale" (more like an exchange). I think this kind of thing should really be encouraged.

OFFER: February 27, Free Garage Sale! - Manordale Community Center

Free Garage Sale FINALLY! More free stuff and an opportunity for
you to get rid of your clutter! Bring your junk.
ps. When you donate to Value Village, they throw out a lot of things that they deem "unsuitable" . :)

WHEN: SUNDAY, February 27th, FROM 3:30 -5 PM. Insha'Allah.
WHERE: 68 Knoxdale (Mannordale Community Centre)
OCTRANSPO: take Bus route 172 direction Bayshore from Baseline. Arrive at stop KNOXDALE / CRAIG HENRY (4586) (5 min.). Walk over!

DESCRIPTION OF:

Bring items from your home that you don't want,
and you can take whatever you want for free! Just like a garage sale, except it's all FREE!



- - - Bring items you no longer want (clothes, small furniture,
decorations, kitchen items, toys, other kids items, electronics and everything else except huge items like mattresses, couches, etc)and then TAKE other people's stuff for FREE!

- - - There will also be a SADAQA Food Bank Donations accepted on site. Bring one or a few food items:). (No expired or broken items please!)

- - - The are two purposes for this event. One is to save the landfills from filling with more garbage. We have to save the Earth as it is our gift. We cannot trash our beautiful gift. We will also be saving trees and natural resources, as the person who takes your item won't have to buy it. The second purpose is for the community to benefit. So you clean your home and you can save money for your family by taking something you need from the garage sale instead of buying it! Then you can spend that money elsewhere!

- - - Invite your neighbors, and give a lift to a friend who doesn't have a car. Let's make this a charitable event. If you can't donate items for other people, then DONATE your time by bringing someone over to the event and taking them back home.

- - - At the very end of the event, all leftover items will be donated to Value Village after it has been posted to the FreeCycle Community (www.freecycle. org)
Last event, no items had to be donated to Value Village as they were all given away one by one through Kijiji Free Section.

- - - Click "Attending" on Facebook so I can let you know about our next spring event!
http://www.facebook .com/event. php?eid=15047661 4985324&ref= mf

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
For a FACEBOOK group of Free Stuff all year round with pictures:
http://www.facebook .com/group. php?gid=22323073 55

Groundhogs: Gentlemen Rodents of Science and Nature

It's Groundhog Day!
Yay!

These wonders of nature peek up out of their holes to look around and oh! see their shadow drat, six more weeks of winter, or oh! No shadow! Yippee! Early spring!

Apparently the localish land-beavers are predicting six more weeks of winter or is it an early spring? Gentlemen Scientists and Weatherpersons are saying we'll be lucky to only have 6 more weeks of winter. Who to believe?

Groundhogs say six more weeks of winter, experts say six weeks if we're lucky

Weather Journal: On Day of Ice, Only Groundhog Sees Spring

Groundhogs forecast an early spring - in the middle of a blizzard

Currently we are in the middle of a big winter snowstorm colourfully called Snowmageddon, Snowpocalypse or Blizzardzilla.




Here's Caesar coping with the severe lack of visibility out his favorite window due to the snowpocalypse.


And over here we can see the snowpocalypse dangerously at my doorstep!!! Look it's even on the doorknob! AHHHHHHHHH!





The Guardian newspaper in the UK amassed a data fact sheet concering how often groundhogs were correct in their prognostications vs how many times they were wrong.
That these rodents are predicting the weather at all seems to me an automatic pass and I am fine with "hoping they are right" if I like what they say or "hoping they are wrong" if they don't. But, alas, this is not enough for some who crave more facts than I, so we have now a statistical chart of groundhog successes and failures in the meterological realm

Here is the article: Groundhog day 2011: how well can groundhogs predict the weather?

and while it provides a spreadsheet there is a more detailed version here:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=0AonYZs4MzlZbdFNPRENhUGdDbkx4TkotSkx6TGZoQkE&hl=en&gid=0

The groundhog (Marmota monax), also known as a woodchuck, or in some areas as a land-beaver, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. Other marmots, such as the yellow-belliedhoary marmots, live in rocky and mountainous areas, but the woodchuck is a lowland creature. It is widely distributed in North America and common in the northeastern and central United States. Groundhogs are found as far north as Alaska, with their habitat extending southeast to Alabama

(from wikipedia)

Year of the Rabbit - Proof Studio Gallery, Toronto

Proof Studio Gallery is holding its
annual Chinese New Year Print Exhibition starting today with the vernissage set for tomorrow evening, Feb 3rd, from 6-9pm.

Their blog is filled with rabbit themed prints from all over the world. This is my fourth year participating in this print event. The best part is the print exchange held in March. I've got a good collection of prints from printmakers all over the world. I look forward to this year's bounty of bunnies!

The print I submitted is titled

The Dance of 2011. It measures 9" x 9" and is a linocut handprinted on blue handmade chinese mulberry paper with embedded gold flakes.

The design was inspired by Chinese chopmarks, or signature blocks. This was carved from the new rubber "linoblock" material I've wanted to try for awhile.

I found the rubber material very easy to carve but did not like the printing results, though I did get it to work. It tends to give too much when I press onto the back of my paper draped over the inked block to print my image. I do think the material would be fantastic for small stamps but this larger piece (image was about 8" x 8") was just too uneven and "soft" for my liking. Back to the usual battlegrade linoleum for me.

You can see ALL the rabbit submissions at
http://www.yearoftherabbitprintexhibition.blogspot.com/

or if you're in Toronto go see them in person:

Proof Studio Gallery Print Exhibition: Year of the Rabbit 2011
PROOF Studio Gallery
Studio 104, Case Goods Warehouse, Bldg. 74,
55 Mill Street, Distillery District
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Open Wed-Sun 12-5

Opening reception: February 3, 6-9PM - Chinese New Year!
Exhibition runs from February 2 - 13, 2011