Off Script by Marci Ien

Whenever I happen to open Overdrive right after all the new arrivals have been added and see AVAILABLE AVAILABLE AVAILABLE some deep-seated competitive spirit kicks in and I start greedily downloading titles I wouldn’t usually bother placing on hold if they weren’t immediately available. I never learn. Clearly this hoarding behaviour can be traced back to my hunter-gatherer ancestors, and not just that one in particular who can spot jigsaw puzzles at a garage sale from fifty paces.

Anyway, this is my rude and roundabout way of saying that’s how I ended up reading Off Script: Living Out Loud by Marci Ien. No offence to Marci, who seems like a very nice person, but I have never watched Canada AM or The Social and had only the vaguest idea of who she was. Well, now I know.

She writes clearly and openly and I found her thoughts on being a woman of colour in Canadian journalism to be especially compelling. Anyone who is a fan of morning television would doubtless enjoy it even more.

a poncho for me

This is why photos in magazines are created by a team of stylists, lighting experts and professional photographers with good equipment.

I made simple ponchos for the girls when they were little, but I’ve never made one for myself. I think they’re the kind of thing that only look decent if you’re tall and willowy, which I most decidedly am not, but I’ve been wanting something quick and easy to throw on when I’m at my desk and throw off again when I do something more active.

Note for future me if I want to make another: this took three skeins of Lion Brand Homespun. I used 5.5 mm needles for a fairly firm fabric that I hope will help resist drooping from gravity. You will know if this worked.