Blue Velvet Sectional

When my alarm on my iPhone went off this morning, I reached over to tap "snooze", like I do every weekday.  I saw the screen had a notification from The Guardian .  Another war or plane crash, I assumed.  I struggled to keep one eye open long enough to read "Singer David Bowie has died of cancer aged 69". Well, wasn't expecting that. It seems to have hit people really hard, myself included.  For selfish reasons, like losing a favourite singer, or a piece of one's childhood, but there was more to it than that.  Tributes from other musicians emphasize what a fine man he was, as well as an inimitable artist. David Bowie seemed immortal because he was so damn timeless, and such a shapeshifter.  He was kind of terrifying when I was a kid! To wit, his Saturday Night Live appearance in 1979: This  awesome video  of The Man Who Sold the World, where he had to be carried out in his costume, then his other look was this: That was a little stran...

Obviously, I love islands, what with a blog called Briland Girl.  That name refers to Harbour Island , Bahamas, the top one on my list.  There are supposedly 700 islands in the Bahamas, and so far I've made it to Eleuthera (Harbour Island is part of it), Abaco, and New Providence (where Nassau is). Only 697 to go! Some days, don't you just wish you lived on a tiny, deserted island? Especially lately. Between ISIS and Donald Trump, I was more than happy to go a week without TV in the Bahamas over the Christmas break.  The news is almost impossibly dreary; I realize more and more that my life is cushy and privileged, and I have nothing to complain about, even if there is something I want, but can't seem to grasp.  At least I am in the position to try.  Anyway, here are some images from our very own  Toronto Islands . Not far enough from civilization on some days, but a lovely respite from the madness of downtown.  A few hundred people have clung...