Every time I go to an event to create a graphic recording, I learn about something new. But it's seldom that I get a two-day window on a subject so close to home.

It's been over a month since I travelled up to Edmonton to listen in on ECMap's Spring Gathering. But now I'm finally starting to find the time to get caught up and post a few pictures here on my blog. If you have children, you'll want to know about what these guys are doing - so read on!

The Early Child Development Mapping Project ("ECMap" - that's two syllables, "Eck- Map") was contracted by Alberta Education for a five-year period to conduct research on early childhood development in Alberta, and build community coalitions to respond to local needs.

The intent of the research has been to provide families, service providers, educators, communities and policy makers with a picture of how young children in Alberta are doing, so that they can work together to support healthy development. The five years are up, and participants from all over Alberta, representing 91 "coalitions" (regional groups), attended the Spring Gathering at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. Coalitions received updated results for their communities. The results are based on data for 70,206 kindergarten-aged children in Alberta, gathered over a five-year period from 2009 to 2013.

ECMap is made up of a group of agencies and individuals that have expertise in and a passionate commitment to early childhood development in Alberta. Take a look here to meet some of the members of the team, including Launa Clark and Line Perron, two event organizers who especially inspired me with their vision and energy. If only I had the time, I feel like I could write a great story about the way this project has come together through the diverse talents of a whole range of interesting people. And just in case you think this sounds like the kind of work that only attracts women, let me assure you that men are part of the story too - including Fahim Hassan, a U of A grad student originally from Bangladesh. I took a look at Fahim's website and you might like it too!

The conference kicked off with a presentation by ECMap's Project Director, Dr. Susan Lynch. Sue presented the attendees with an overview of the much-anticipated results of the five-year study. Although it sounded like there was still a bit of number-crunching to do, the presentation provided a great deal of food for thought for these dedicated volunteers who have been trying to make a difference for families in their communities. We also heard from government representatives David Woloshyn and Sheryl Fricke. As for me, I just tried to keep up - there was so much to learn!

Visionary ECMapper Launa Clark came up with the idea of a 10-foot-high map on the wall, which we could populate with stories about what's been happening all over the province. Here's how it filled up. And yes, I actually stood on a stepladder to reach the top!

People from all over Alberta came to this event to tell stories about what they'd been doing in their part of Alberta to help new parents and young children get the resources they needed to live healthy, happy lives. It was completely inspiring to me to hear how each region had created a plan that was unique to the needs of their community, based on their available resources - "roving gyms," home-based preschools, community fairs, and initiatives such as the following:

Family friendly businesses: Coalitions in Hanna and Rimbey launched campaigns to persuade local businesses to serve families better by providing, for example, change tables in washrooms, access for strollers and a welcoming environment.

Community outreach: The Calgary North of McKnight coalition translated its Early Development Instrument results, as well as tips on early development, into Punjabi, Hindi, Farsi, French, English, Arabic and Urdu to serve the needs of a large immigrant population. The Vegreville coalition has set up a family mentoring program that pairs active, well-connected families with those that are less engaged or newcomers to help overcome their isolation and encourage them to get involved with the community.

Isn't this inspiring? You can find many more stories on the ECMap website here.

There's me, listening to stories and trying to place them in spots near to where they actually happened! And here are some close-ups.

I loved this!! I only started using Twitter about a year and a half ago, but I have quickly become addicted to it. I thought this was a great way to get a conversation happening. As conference participants sat together in small groups, they tweeted their ideas, using the hashtag #championforchildren. The tweets were projected onto a big screen, and as they appeared, I recorded the ideas on a poster. Talk about a great way to use social media! One of the hardest things about graphic recording is finding a way to capture content when it's a really big group and everyone's talking at the same time. This was the way to do it!

I think my favourite part of this project was listening to the conversations people were having, and hearing them talk about the challenges and successes in their own communities. Here are some pictures from those conversations.

I especially liked the random sound bytes I heard, like the comment illustrated opposite. It just hits so close to home for me! If you read my post from a few months back entitled, "How the Playgroup Saved My Life," you'll know why!

As I've mentioned elsewhere, I think my favourite thing about working as a graphic recorder is having the opportunity to listen in on so many fascinating talks. I learn so much about so many different things. The ECMap team invited Vancouver-based Paul Kershaw (an associate director of the Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP) and a policy professor at UBC) to speak at their conference, and I loved hearing his talk and learning about the project he is passionately advocating for - "Generation Squeeze."

The Canada-wide Generation Squeeze project is working to close what they call the generational spending gap in Canada. It sounds as though Canadian governments spend a great deal more on caring for our country's elderly citizens, than investing in our young ones. An interesting statistic from the GenSqueeze website: "Canadian governments spend as much subsidizing livestock and agriculture as child care and parental time at home with a new baby."

As a GenSqueezer myself (helping aging parents while trying to work and raise a young family at the same time), it definitely resonates with me when I hear about new parents needing more resources!

However, it's not just true from the point of view of someone in the middle of the squeeze. My 97-year-old grandfather, whom I've written about elsewhere, has been talking with me for years about the importance of investing in programs that allow new parents to spend time at home with their young children.

How (he asks) will these children be set up to live fruitful, fulfilled lives, if they don't have the opportunity to learn from their parents about what families are like, what they do, how they work? New parents - mothers included - can and should be able to work, too, of course. But according to my grandfather - and GenSqueeze - the government could be doing a better job to make things easier for them. Here's what they suggest:

And you can become part of what ECMap is doing, too, by joining your local Coalition and getting involved in how you can help parents and young children in your area to thrive. Of course there are lots of great local volunteer opportunities around, but you'd be hard pressed to find a more inspiring one than this!

And now I'm switching my focus to get ready for graphic recording at some upcoming talks hosted by Calgary's Chic Geek. One of the speakers is Mary Anne Moser of Beakerhead. I have a feeling Mary Anne and the Chic Geeks might like this comment from an ECMap participant (illustrated below)! Hope to see you at this next event, entitled "Fierce Conversations" - tickets are $25 and anyone can attend. It's happening tomorrow evening, Wednesday, June 25th, at The Commons, a really unique coworking facility in my own little hood, Ramsay (yes - Ramsay is the coolest). See you soon!

And - as promised (and please tell me if I've posted this before) - my piece for the Comics Expo on the theme of "Fantastic Adventures." Real life definitely provides all the fantastic adventures I can handle!

In this month's Ramsay newsletter comic, a nod to a couple of other local storytellers - neither of whom I've actually met in real life, by the way - Jeremy Klaszus and Amy Jo Espetveidt. Check them out - they write great stuff about the things that are going on in Calgary! And then make sure you take a look at this month's Ramsay Community Association newsletter, which is where this comic strip appears. The newsletter is full (as ever) of stories about what's going on in my neighbourhood, Ramsay. Enjoy!

Here is Jeremy Klaszus's Bridgeland story, and here is Amy Jo Espetveidt's twitter feed, full of renovation updates!

I just realized that I didn't post last month's Ramsay strip - so here it is. Last month's newsletter (which was a particularly fun read, by the way) tipped its proverbial hat to the dogs and dog-walkers of our neighbourhood, so the comic strip ended up with a doggy theme as well. However, my real dog days were spent in Bridgeland, of which more after the comic strip... read on!

Re-reading that comic strip made me want to put up some Bridgeland comics for a change. I used to write and post some online comics back when I lived in Bridgeland, in a little house just off 1st Avenue SE that has since been demolished. Here are a few bits and pieces from that old comic strip. You can see more of that little online comics series here.

Here's a picture of my dog looking out at that old mama rabbit in my front yard. And right across the street from that yard you can see the parking lot of the Bridgeland 7-11. Since we're on the subject, I might as well add another picture in here, too - a picture I drew at this year's Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo. One of the people who came to visit me at my table in Artist Alley was Dan, who worked at that 7-11 back when I went there seemingly every day (to the point that my boyfriend - now husband - said to me, "I could save you $200 a month if you'd just let me buy you your chocolate and grapefruit juice from the grocery store, instead of getting it from the 7-11 every time!").

Well, artists need chocolate and grapefruit juice, and money management has never been my strong suit. However, I'm proud to say that, twelve years after recklessly throwing away my money on so many individually packaged juice bottles and chocolate bars, I now buy that kind of thing at Superstore (sometimes) and, more importantly, I'm currently taking a business class - the Women's Venture Accelerator program offered by awesome local non-profit Momentum. I'm looking forward to blogging about that soon, too. Anyway, I am supposed to be doing my homework for the class right this minute instead of writing this blog. So that is all for now!!

I've been snapping pictures here and there throughout the last month or so, and here they are. Click on the pictures to see the full images and to read my comments about them. Quite a few of them seem to be of things that made me say, "what??!!"

I haven't posted anything in a while, so I thought I'd put up this "sneak preview" of my most recent collaboration, with yet another truly awesome group.

I will quote their website: "The Early Child Development Mapping Project (ECMap) was contracted by Alberta Education for a five-year period to conduct research on early childhood development in Alberta and build community coalitions to respond to local needs. ECMap is part of the Government of Alberta's Early Child Development (ECD) Mapping Initiative, which will use the research results to support communities and families in ensuring that all children have the best possible start in life."

Since my real job these days (when I'm not drawing pictures) is parenting, you can imagine that the work these inspiring people have been doing hits pretty close to home for me. (Yes, I am nursing a baby while I type this!)

Not only have they been compiling data about Alberta's children, these folks have also been tirelessly (and creatively!!) providing resources to parents and communities in order to help the children of this province thrive. I attended their two-day Spring Gathering in Edmonton a couple of weeks back, and one of the things we did was collect some of the inspiring stories about local projects onto an enormous map. I actually stood on a stepladder to draw the top parts. Here are a couple of pictures from that event.

And here's just one story from a community on the map: a very cool-sounding lady in Calgary's North East (she sounds like what my German host mother used to call a "Power-Frau") operates a preschool in her home, for children whose families don't have the resources (transportation, time, cultural familiarity, etc.) to get them to school. This sounds like a pretty fabulous home-grown initiative to me.

I am looking forward to writing more about this group, since (as I've written elsewhere - here, for example) Early Child Development is uppermost in my mind just about all the time! But things have been too busy and now I'm in Edmonton again to draw some more pictures tomorrow for another interesting group of movers and shakers. Stay tuned!

I had a blast attending the  2014 Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo and drawing sketchy little comic strips about what was going on there. Unfortunately, I won't be able to come for the last day, because I have another drawing project coming up (watch this space!). But, my table will still be there, with a friend of mine to look after things, in case you'd still like to come by (and buy one of the original tweeted pictures, if you feel like it!).

Of course, it may also have been the powerful presence of Max von Sydow's Ming (whom I painted, nearly life-sized, on the wall of my bedroom as a teenager. I'm not making this up. But I'm too sleepy to go and hunt down a photograph of that just now).

"Gordon's alive!??!!" "Get your toothbrush and whatever! He's at the Expo!!!"

"Long live Flash. Have a nice day!"

Here's a quick post to say that it's the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo this weekend!

I've been busy writing quick sketchy comics about what's going on around me on the Expo grounds. I'm posting these on Twitter (and the Calgary Herald is re-tweeting them... I feel like a real comics journalist!). I did this last year, too, and you can see some of those pictures here. I'll put this year's pictures up here when I have a chance (i.e. after I've had some sleep... and I have the feeling that isn't going to happen much during the next few days!).

If you're coming out to the Expo, please come and say hi - I'm at table G 10 in Artist Alley. Just so you know, I won't be able to come on Sunday (although a friend of mine will be at my table) - so I hope I'll get to see you before then!

I wrote this last year, thinking I'd post it before the birth of my new baby in October. Well, that didn't happen. But since it's kind of an Easter-themed post, I thought I'd put it out there now....

Recently I was asked if I'd be part of a panel about "Women in Comics" for the Edmonton Comic & Entertainment Expo. That's just the kind of thing I'd usually love to be part of. But I had to say no, for the same reason I'm missing the whole Expo this year: I'm expecting a baby that's due in just a few more days. What a classic "Women in Comics" situation - or "Women in Anything," really! Babies show up when they want to, throw your career out of whack and teach you how to juggle work and life!

In anticipation of a bit of a hiatus from blogging (and everything else I usually do), there's one thing I've been wanting to write about. Well, actually two things. One is a new book called "Work/Life 3." And the other is an old book called "The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes."

Work/Life 3 is the third in a series of books created by local publishing house UPPERCASE Press. Here's what UPPERCASE has to say about the series:

"When the first edition of Work/Life was published back in 2008, UPPERCASE was a fledgling publishing house. In 2009, our eponymous quarterly magazine was born, growing into a celebrated publication with readers around the world. In 2011, the second edition of Work/Life was released and featured 100 international illustrators. It was met with much enthusiasm, not only from art and illustration buyers who appreciated the book's quality content and curated talent, but also from other illustrators and aspiring artists who were inspired by the stories shared within. [...] The Work/Life series has developed into something even greater than a promotional publication—these books are educational, inspirational and beautiful; books that have value beyond just a directory of talent."

This year I've been writing lots of comics and doing lots of graphic recording. I was intrigued by the opportunity to be part of an illustration directory, particularly one that was the product of a Calgary business. I also liked the theme of "Work/Life" - that's been my own theme song for a while now, even before I quit my day job a little under two years ago (best decision ever) to start taking this juggling act seriously!

So I headed down to Art Central to meet UPPERCASE publisher Janine Vangool and find out a bit more about this little local powerhouse of all of things print. (With the impending demise of Art Central, UPPERCASE has since moved to a new space in the Devenish Building.)

And a few months later, I received Work/Life 3 - a very cool compilation showcasing 100 illustrators from around the world: not just samples of their work, but stories and images from their lives. (Take a look!)

What a cliffhanger ending!! And all true! So much for my plans to launch my brilliant full-time freelance art career. It'll have to remain a juggling act for a while longer. And I wouldn't have it any other way. Which brings us to the Country Bunny!

But first: a note from April, 2014. (Remember, this whole post was written in Sept. 2013!) That last panel above was the first time new baby Henry made an "appearance" in a comic strip - but it won't be the last! I'll be at the 2014 Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo next week (April 24-27) with the latest in my "mom comics" series, "Alec's 5th Year Book." Henry steals the show!

But more on that later. For now, back to September 2013 and the aforementioned Country Bunny.

So you'd think that that would be the end of the story right there, wouldn't you? (I love the little wrinkle under her eye that just hints at the exhaustion of early parenthood.) When I rediscovered this book a year or two ago, I didn't have any clue about its context or history. All I knew was what it said in the book: published in 1939. Sounds like a time in which the career goals of a young lady rabbit would be forgotten with the arrival of one, much less twenty-one, children! And indeed, this resilient young mother puts aside her dreams and throws herself wholeheartedly into her new "career" - with great results:

OK, so if you happen to have a child (or a houseful of children), I know you're already fantasizing about the gloriously well-kept house of the Country Bunny and her brood. (And just where is Mr. Bunny, by the way? More on him later.)

Anyway, it turns out that auditions are being held for the post of Easter Bunny (one of five - apparently there are actually five of them, since it's a pretty big job), and Mrs. Bunny heads out with her children to watch the contest (again - where's Mr. Bunny?!). She ends up impressing the "old, kind, wise, Grandfather Bunny" who is doing the choosing. He wonders if she could possibly be swift enough for the job, but she proves herself by sending her children hopping off in all directions...

(Everyone knows that nothing moves faster than a parent chasing a child!)

But no! She explains how she's trained her amazing children to take care of the house even better than she can do herself. And this was in the days in which you could actually just go out and deliver Easter eggs all night, leaving your youngsters at home, without even needing a babysitter, a baby monitor, or a cell phone (Or a husband, apparently, because he still hasn't made an appearance). So technically there is nothing to keep her away. And the old Grandfather Bunny says: "I see that you are wise also..."

I just loved the above picture (a double spread in the book) that shows all those eggs piled up in the cavernous halls of the palace.

I won't give away the adventures that befall our valiant Mrs. Bunny on Easter night. Suffice to say, her efforts win her the magical pair of golden shoes. And then she hops home...

As a child, I only loved the story, but re-reading this as an adult, I saw two other things: one, that I think I want twenty-one well-trained rabbit children to clean my house, and two, that there's more to this story than I'd realized. There's actually a pretty strong message of racial equality in the tale of the "little brown bunny" who rises to the coveted post of Easter Bunny, despite the put-downs of narrow-minded, wealthy, snooty white bunnies (whom I didn't show in this post). Indeed, I discovered that the story has been widely acclaimed for its place in the social justice movement. Years later, it was (almost!) made into a ballet - this would have been incredible - produced by Ismail Merchant of Merchant Ivory fame (take a look here to read an article about that astounding project, which seems to have been truncated upon Merchant's sudden death).

But what really struck me was that it was a story of female empowerment. At a time when many women weren't even allowed to work - at least not in the careers of their choice - the Country Bunny takes her twenty-one children to the job interview and gets the job, without apparently even consulting her spouse, much less receiving his permission!

Yes, the absence of Mr. Bunny really surprises me. Either he's working up in Fort Mac, or he's out of the picture completely. But whatever the case, the Country Bunny doesn't seem to be suffering from it. She's completely independent. And she's complex: realistic, but still harbouring dreams.

You'd think that the story of a lady who puts aside her childhood dreams while raising her family, and then goes on to have a brilliant career after the kids are old enough to look after themselves, sounds like a story that would resonate with readers today. It is amazing this feminist-friendly book was written in 1939, and not only that,  written by a man. DuBose Heyward (pictured here) was the startlingly ahead-of-his-time South Carolina writer who penned this little tale.

I'm tipping my Easter bonnet to the Country Bunny, that heroine of a bygone generation who apparently wrote the book on balancing work and life!

Would I have chosen to start a very fun and exciting new career in the same year I was having a baby, if I'd had a choice? No! But am I still loving every minute of this balancing act? Well, yes, although typing this with my left hand while nursing Henry at 1 AM is not exactly the ideal scenario for work or life. But since it is actually what I'm doing, I'm going to wrap this up and go off in hopes of getting some sleep. Happy Easter!

I live in Calgary. But when I was invited, a few months back, to contribute some graphic recording to a City of Edmonton initiative, I was really pleased to do so - and not only because it meant I'd be able to count on free babysitting from my in-laws. (That's my baby under the "welcome" sign!)

I was actually excited to learn about Evolving Infill, a City-led "collaborative project that is aiming to create an Infill Action Plan to shape the City’s plan to advance Infill." Infill housing is happening, whether people like it or not (and not just in Edmonton). The City of Edmonton is hosting a conversation between citizens from every different side of the story, gathering up as much information as possible from real people, in order to make the process better for everyone.

That's my short version of what the Evolving Infill team is doing - but you can find out much more about it on their website.

I happen to love this kind of project. I love civic engagement (one word: VoteKit!!!), and I love good urban design that makes for walkable and multi-generational neighbourhoods (if you actually make it through this whole post, you'll see a comic strip I wrote on this subject a while back - from which, a little snippet here). And, well, I love eavesdropping on interesting conversations.

And I have to say, speaking as a Calgarian who came to love Calgary by the long way around (here's a bit on that subject, in this post about Calgary books), I kind of love Edmonton, too.

I mean, it's cold, it's got a layout that's more messed-up than you'd think would be possible considering it's on a grid, it's full of all these passionate small-L (and big-L, I guess) liberal thinking artsy unpretentious educated culture-loving citizens, it's famous for its potholes, there's that insane bridge, and it's got the best Indian food outside of Bradford, UK (although its most beloved local dish is apparently the green onion cake). What's not to love?

Throughout the four days I've spent so far with Edmonton's Infill Action Collaborative (of whom more below), I found myself wishing I knew more about the nuances of Edmonton's city scene. A lot of what I heard sounds like what's going on in Calgary, too (although, interestingly enough, there are some big differences - for example, in Calgary there's still this ongoing debate about legalizing secondary suites (here's a passionate contribution to the debate by blogger Mike Morrison), whereas in Edmonton, these are accepted fare).

Anyway - here's my fly-on-the-wall view of this very cool Edmonton project.

In "Step 1" of Evolving Infill (last year), project leaders gathered "infill stories" from citizens. Right now they're in the middle of "Step 2," and here's what their website says about that:

That's City Planner Jeff Chase up there, speaking to the Infill Action Collaborative at their first workshop. Next, everyone introduced themselves, and while they were at it, mentioned their favourite kitchen utensil. I managed to catch most of them!

Dave Robertson, by the way, who's the principal at Calgary's Mistri Consulting, is leading these workshops, and he is the person who invited me to collaborate with him in doing so. Thanks Dave!

By the end of our second workshop, the group had worked through a lot of information. Here's Dave (above) leading a discussion about all of the stuff on the posters you can see behind him! Group participants discussed various "infill stories" (some that they came up with themselves, and others that had been contributed by Edmontonians during "Step 1" of the project).

They talked about challenges and obstacles for the infill process - from many points of view (i.e. speaking as neighbours, developers, realtors, architects, planners, builders, you name it!)

Oh, and another point of view that was pretty important in these discussions was that of "Community League" members. I had no idea that these neighbourhood organizations, which in Calgary are known as "Community Associations," are called "Leagues" in Edmonton.

I couldn't stop thinking of "The Adventure of the Red-Headed (Community) League" - ha ha.

Anyway, the group worked through infill stories, challenges and obstacles to the current process, and also listed their hopes and aspirations for the infill system. Plus, they drafted eight statements that they felt summed up what was happening in Edmonton infill currently. And all of this went on to a poster - details below.

I really love sketchnotes. As a total aside, I recently took a look at some other great sketchnotes by Dave Wittekind from Chicago. And take a look at these truly amazing sketchnotes by Vancouver-based Brad Ovenell-Carter! If you can believe it, I'm actually supposed to do a graphic recording of a talk he'll be giving in Calgary in May (at the InnovateWest Conference). Um, just a little intimidating!!!

But now, back to Evolving Infill for a few pictures from our amazing venue: the former McKay Avenue School in downtown Edmonton, which now houses the Edmonton Public Schools Archives & Museum.

Notes about the photos below: The golden-doored elevator reminded me of the elevator in the Calgary Public Building (there's a photo of it in this post). The pink couch was in the "powder room!" And what's with the painting in the hinged frame? Is it just so you can slide the picture into the frame? Or is it so that you can hide some classified document in there? (Shades of "The Secret Adversary.")

On my way to one workshop I listened to some glorious organ music on the radio (thanks, CKUA) and was delighted to find an actual organ at the venue when I arrived. The placard says it was donated by the grandson of William F. Puffer, Member of the erstwhile Alberta Provincial Parliament. I looked him up just because I liked his name (I liked the organ, too) - sounds like he was quite a progressive fellow. Ah, so much Edmonton history, so little time!

At the third workshop, the Infill Action Collaborative spent a lot of time in breakout groups coming up with strategies for supporting the evolution of established neighbourhoods through infill development.

Here is something else I noticed while drawing all these folks: almost all the women were wearing scarves. It seemed as though every time I turned around to draw someone, I'd see another scarf! And this was the case, not only on the three different days I worked with this group, but with all the women at the Infill Action Review (coming up below). What's the deal, Edmonton women? I know it's cold in your city (and yes, it was kinda chilly in the McKay Avenue School, too), but what about cardigans, turtlenecks, shawls? I have been to other cold cities, but I didn't notice anything like this.

Is the scarf a ubiquitous Edmonton winter fashion element I just didn't know about? A civic statement that says "Edmonton" just like the green onion cake? I'm kind of intrigued.

Anyway, here is the poster that came out of the group presentations about infill strategies.

By now, I was getting into the routine of these Evolving Infill workshops. My Edmonton day started with a drive downtown from my in-laws' home in the distant suburbs. These drives confirmed for me (yet again) an apparent fact about the Edmonton radio scene: namely, that CKUA is an oasis in a desert of heavy metal and dance mixes. Just sayin'.

The Infill Action Initiative organizers promised back at the beginning of the first workshop: "All of the work we're doing, we'll be sharing with the public!" And they have certainly kept their word. On March 22nd, they hosted a public event - the Infill Action Review - inviting Edmontonians to come in and see what they've been doing.

As before, the event was held at the wonderful McKay Avenue School building. I was too busy drawing during the event to take any pictures of the participants, or of the really great visuals the organizing team brought along to show what they've been up to.

Here's Kim of Dialogue Partners welcoming everyone to the event. (Notice: she too is wearing a scarf! See what I mean?!)

Participants sat around tables and talked about different aspects of the Edmonton infill situation. And I walked around with an easel listening in on their conversation. Here's what I came up with:

Now what? The Infill Action Collaborative is meeting again in April, and I'll be there to record what they come up with. After that, the project organizers will be working with all this material to (in their words) "develop an Infill Action Plan that identifies actions and priorities and serves as a road map for the City's work to support more new housing in established communities." That sounds great!

I'll put up pictures from the last workshop in April. For now, here's an insight that really resonated with me:

Here's to more workshops like this! Thanks for inviting me along for the ride, Evolving Infill team! (pictured above, with me: City of Edmonton Planners Jeff Chase, Lisa Larson and Yvonne Pronovost)

As it happens, I have some strong opinions about the importance of supporting community-friendly inner-city developments such as good infill housing. Here's a comic strip I wrote for my community newsletter last year on the subject. And if this piques your interest, here's a blog post I wrote that takes this subject a bit further (i.e. it's a rant). Ok - all for now!

As I write this, he's on his way back to his home in Toronto from a trip to California. So you can see he's still just as active as ever. And that's not all.

He's recently published a book, entitled "A Broader Vision." It's a memoir of his life growing up in Canada, raising a family, and working as a scientist and entrepreneur. (You can check out his book - and buy it online - here.)

The book is full of fascinating tales and anecdotes about his very eventful life (and it's also full of his wise and witty commentary on all those events. I always knew my grandfather was a successful businessman and scientist. But the more I read his books  - he's got another one, too, and it's called "Applying the Scientific Method to the Understanding of Existence" (!) - the more I'm impressed by his great writing, as well! For the 2013 Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo Artbook (which featured the theme "Weird Tales", I wrote a strip based on one of the anecdotes from "A Broader Vision." Here it is! Happy birthday!

The 2014 Calgary Comics Expo is fast approaching (it's at the end of April) - so I'll let you know if I'll have a page in the Artbook for this year, when I find out. Stay tuned!

Here's my comic strip for this month's Ramsay Community newsletter. You can see my comics from previous newsletters here. (But really, you should just read the newsletter because it is always fun - a great team of volunteers putting something together to reach out to a great community!)

I stared that woodpecker down and he didn't come back!