May has been a propitious month for gifts and tasty things and people generally being much nicer to me than I remotely deserve (though I’ve spent the second half of it pretty exclusively hiding under my bed covers, reading the Game of Thrones books and avoiding my email). I’m even too abashed to go on at length about how my birthday is in two weeks, and I want five thousand things including several devoted pie thralls and at least one wish-granting pony. I’ve gotten out of the habit of carrying my camera everywhere, but here’s what my memory card has yielded thus far.

When I was in Toronto, I met Jho. She used to belong to James and Marley, but I plan to steal her forever. She is my food soulmate, I think. She bought me and Marley macarons and the best chocolate I’ve ever had in my life, bar none. Come to Vancouver, woman, so I can ply you with pastries!

These are shinies I got in a shiny trade. A shiny trade! Most pleasing thing ever. I’ve been collecting green ones in particular, so this worked out doubly well – thank you, Hollie.

This chocolate, brought by British boys Marcel and Andrew and Joe who hung out in Vancouver for a few days, was probably meant to be shared around, but I sort of claimed it as my own before anybody else could intervene. I’m like some kind of pirate chief, sat on a dais full of treasure and surrounded by nubile young women holding palm fronds, and everyone who passes through my domain has to lay some new treasure or tasty thing at my bejeweled pirate feet or they will be butchered by my minions. So I like to imagine. Anyway, this chocolate has something called Dragon Ginger in it, and it was as good as its name.

This pie wasn’t really given to me, I stole it from Brandon. Stolen pie tastes better.

This wasn’t given to me either, but it was on my camera, and also shiny.

This wasn’t even taken in May. I’d like to be there right now, though.

Regular posting will resume shortly. In the meantime, Robin McConnell is selling pages and cover artwork by me and Brandon and our people up on his website, so have a look at that.