I've felt useless and hopeless and far away and until today, I've been doing a faithful ostrich impression to counter the uselessness and the hopelessness.

No more. On Monday, February 1, René of Fruity Fantastica and I are hosting an online auction of fantastic photography, art, papergoods, books, and crafts to benefit the St. Joseph's Family, a home for boys in Haiti with both Canadian and American roots.

St. Joseph's is a truly incredible group of people. What you see here has been hit hard, with many of their resources and buildings destroyed.

The auction will last one week only, a fundraising blitz to meet the deadline of the Canadian federal government for charitable fund-matching. Watch this space and twitter and facebook and all other means of yelling and cheering and stamping, and forgive me all of the above, but it's something I can do. It's something you can do. Pass it on, and make an offer, and get gorgeous loot in the mail for your effort. For Haiti.

Just a tease of what's to be listed on Monday, February 1 to benefit Haiti, starting top left: Everything is going to be alright photographic print by Dutch (a.k.a. James Griffioen) of Sweet Juniper, but you'll have to armwrestle me for it; a gorgeous print by painter Erin Darcy of Starving Artist Ink; a coveted pass for the sold-out Mondo Beyondo, the fabulous do-anything online workshop with my Shutter Sisters Jen Lemen and Andrea Scher; a flat of custom-made organic soaps from the Dominion Soap Company (shown: café au lait); and the Fortunes book of poetry and vintage-style photography by Brooklyn writer and photographer Jen Lee. Also to be included: one of the very last remaining copies of The Dread Crew, author-signed, as well as a few very limited-edition Dread Crew t-shirts, and big, juicy sweet | salty photo prints along with much, much more.

(This just in: my wonderful mother, founding member of the Nova Scotia handquilting mafia, is making another one of her swoon-worthy, multi-level bird mobiles. Ours hangs near our front door and spins in the breeze. The art coming in for this - really, I can't wait to show you.)

The To Haiti With Love auction site will be launched in the next day or two, with new items added (and accepted) daily. The incredible people at Squarespace (my elegant, robust, easy-to-use blogging platform) have agreed to host us, and so we're working feverishly to bring it all together in time to make Prime Minister Harper pony up as much as we (and you) do.

Heck. I'm even thinking of offering a one-night getaway in a one-room log cabin on Nova Scotia's beautiful south shore, complete with brunch of blackberry french toast and automatic morning wake-up call by way of double-toddler tackling. Any takers?