Good Things!

I have been invited to speak to the BC Chapter of the Canadian Association of Neuroscience Nurses (CANN) at the end of April about my experience with Neuromyelitis Optica (NMO). I am really excited to have the opportunity to share my story with health care provides who are working in the neurosciences field and help raise awareness. I will be speaking for about half an hour and then there will be a Q&A afterwards. I look forward to the conversations that will happen there.

In other news, I also got word that a small piece I wrote about a piece of clothing that has deep sentimental value to me is going to be included in Vancouver Artist & writer, Leanne Prain's new book, Strange Material: Storytelling Through Textiles will be released this autumn by Arsenal Pulp Press.

What's it about? Here's the scoop:

"Strange Material: Storytelling Through Textiles will explore the relationships between handmade textiles and stories. Through the text, the act of weaving a tale or dropping a thread will take on new meaning for those who may have previously only seen textiles as functional objects. The book will encourage storytelling to leap off the page and into the mediums of batik, stitching, dyeing, fabric painting, knitting, crochet or weaving. The artists that will be featured in the book create narratives with a needle, instead of a pen, dye rather than ink, weave i place of paper. Themed chapters will include fiction, poetry, wearable stories, manifestos, memoir, pictorial stories and humour."

I wrote the small piece in response to Leanne's call back in the summer and then promptly forgot all about it! That's the fun of long lead times with books-you submit work months, if not years in advance and by the time you get the news that your work has made the cut, it feels like a surprise out of the blue. I love those kinds of surprises! Leanne said there will be a book launch party in the fall and to expect an invitation. I'm in-it should be lots of fun!

Speaking of surprises out of the blue, I also received a "you're invited" email from the local curling club that I volunteered with for the 2014 BC Wheelchair Curling Championships last month. They are hosting a thank you dinner this Friday for those of us who volunteered to help host the event. It's super nice of them and it will be fun to talk about the incredible Olympic curling that team Canada played!