Twenty Four Hours To Go

Honeymoon, here we come!! Okay, so it's officially 24 hours until we check in at the airport. My husband and I are off to London for one week, and then to India!! Our first week in India we'll be staying with a family that has a farm in Gujarat. They grow potatoes, tobacco and mangoes. I will get to eat a perfectly ripe mango right off the tree! After the farm we'll be heading off to see the rest of India. We'll go North then all the way East and then all the way South and then back up North to Mumbai. We're not entirely sure the root we'll take, but we do know we'll be going into the jungle on elephants to see Bengal Tigers and rhinos and lions! We're hoping to see baby sea turtles hatching too. There have been blue whale sitings in Orissa! What I would do to see a blue whale...they are like the brontosaurus of today...sooooooo big! Aside from the landscapes and wildlife (which is my favourite part) we'll get a taste of the big overwhelming cities. I have been to Buenos Aries, I have been and lived in London...but I hear that Mumbai is something else. I can't wait. The people, the bright colours, the culture, the food, the warmth!! It's all too much. I will update with photos and stories when I can!

H.

Photo taken by Bertha Sawatzky with a Holga using 120 film.

A Whole New World.

For Christmas I received a Blythe doll from my Mum and Dad. Now, I know I am almost 28 and I should be over dolls, but I have learned that this isn't just any old doll...she is beautifully photogenic, and sorta creepy. Here's a photo I took with our new point and shoot camera and with a cute needle felted retro toaster with 2 pieces of toast that have heart-shaped jam on them. I made them with 100% wool, and they are available in my Etsy store! I'll needle felt more props for her (that will also be for sale), so stay tuned!
www.heatherbays.etsy.com

Wanna Wear My Photographs!?

Well, now you can!
www.heatherbays.etsy.com
I make beautiful glass pendants and I would gladly make you one of your favourite picture.
View a collection of my photographs HERE.
OR, if you are logged on to Facebook, click HERE and become a fan!

The Power of Illusion.

This world makes me wanna scream sometimes?! Why are humans so smart and so dumb? I think it's because we're easily fooled by illusions. Illusion is the worlds most powerful persuader. For example, we were at Superstore the other day and we were trying to figure out which toilet paper to buy. I saw Superstores brand called 'Green', which claims to sell environmentally friendly products. If you read all the writing on the packaging of the toilet paper it goes on and on about how the toilet paper is made from recycled paper and they don't bleach it and by buying this product you are supporting a good thing. But, the 24 rolls of TP is being held together in a HUGE PLASTIC wrapping, saying nowhere anywhere on the packaging that that was made from recycled goods. They choose their words very carefully as to not claim they do either. Smart. I am sure that it's still better then buying a brand of TP that doesn't even use recycled paper, but com'mon, if you are going to claim to care for the earth and go through all the trouble of using recycled goods, why stop at the plastic, the most important part...plastics don't decompose!

We used to buy organic milk. It's like $6.00 for 2 litres...it's expensive, but I was willing to pay for it knowing that there's no antibiotics, steroids and/or chemicals that will come back and bite me in the ass one day...there are consequences to consuming poorly prepared food ya know. BUT...they recently started selling their milk in PLASTIC cartons which are FULL OF CHEMICALS. So much for organic milk.

Baby diapers have been a landfill nightmare since people got lazy and stopped using cloth diapers. But don't worry, I bet every parent feels better knowing that "Huggies is pure and natural" now! Okay what was that...natural?? Pure?? How? It's a disposable diaper! Oh, but the packaging is green and earthy with babies outside in green grass and leaves. Ummmm, keep using those and that green grass won't be there anymore. Seriously, if they really care about being "pure and natural", why don't they make cloth diapers?? Better yet, if YOU really care about being "pure and natural" why aren't YOU using cloth diapers?! It would save the landfills about 2500 diapers that one child creates and it would save you like $2000 and it would save the baby from getting many diaper rashes, lol. Everyone wins! And with the new cloth diapers that are out there these days, there's really NO excuse.
http://www.ampdiaperstore.com/

I wonder what would happen if the label that told you what country a product was made in was changed to WHERE/HOW it was made?! So, for insistence, at Wal-Mart a lot of tags would say "Made in a sweatshop by 3 year olds" or "Made in a filthy factory by a women who works 90 hours a week for $36 a month." Would you still shop there and buy the products? Why do you shop there now knowing that this is what happens? And it's NOT just Wal-Mart!! What about Disney? Ya know, Disney tries to make sure that every single child at Christmas time has a gift to open...providing they live in the states. How nice and thoughtful of them. But what about children and families that make the toys and clothes for Disney? How come they have to go to bed without food?? Well, we all know and have known the answer for a while. Slave labour!

"Disney repeatedly states that, despite vigorous and numerous attempts to investigate conditions, it can find no violations at its contractor plants in Haiti. The enclosed letter, to which we have received no formal reply, tells a different story..."
Read the letter by clicking HERE and scroll down that page just a little. It's worth reading, especially if you are a Disney supporter.

So, why do humans do the things they do even though we know the consequences? Well, I think it's one of 2 things, you just don't care (...which would mean, you suck), and the power of illusion, though it's up to you whether you want to fall for it or not. It's easy to point fingers and blame others for things that we clearly do ourselves, so just know that everyone is a culprit of this. And in the great words of Carl (from Ricky Gervais' podcasts), "do your bit". When something sounds to good to be true, it probably is, so research it. Google it! Stop turning a blind eye! And if you want your kids and grandkids to literally clean up after us, then keep filling those landfills with disposable products like, diapers, swiffers, dusters, pads and tampons. Someone WILL have to deal with it one day, maybe not you and maybe not today...

Winter Never Ends...

See, 'Out My Apartment Window'.



www.heatherbays.artfire.com

Adorable!

I started an Artfire account, check it out! www.heatherbays.artfire.com



Clicking the photo makes it more adorable!

Hot Live Guys, Part 3.

Ta-da! The hottest liveliest guys ever!
You MUST click the photo, it makes the picture BIGGER!
http://www.hotliveguys.ca/

Hot Live Guys, Part 2.

Here is the 2nd part of the photo shoot...a room FULL of Styrofoam was found and the Hot Live Guys entered and destroyed! You will see the beautiful outcome in part 3...so come back!
http://www.hotliveguys.ca/

Sweet Sweet Tuesdays.

My fiance plays floor hockey every Tuesday at the community center. They have penny candies! Julian always brings me home a little bag or 2...it all depends on how the lady feels. Today he asked for 300! She was not amused. Now I have a berry salad! This is the reason I love Tuesdays!

Click the photograph to make it BIGGER!

Hot Live Guys, Part 1.

Here is Winnipeg's greatest band, Hot Live Guys!
We had a very fun photo shoot, so I have decided to release them in parts! So come back soon to see the rest...they get really awesome!
http://www.hotliveguys.ca/