Tuesday, July 31, 2007

there's some bad news folks.


ok.. this is too good to pass up.. and you've probably already seen it, but now I have a link to it forever!!!!

Monday, July 30, 2007

things that go "squeek" just a little too loud.

Phynnius Fynn Findley is away at a um... errr... sleepover tonight.
So, Pontouf is trying out the bunny condo. I'm hoping that by being in a bigger cage, he'll discover how great a litter box really is! mmmph. we'll see about that.

So, there are new hydro/telephone poles being put up on the street where I start my walk. It's been a pretty interesting thing to watch each day. These things are HUGE! much taller than the old ones. I was really interested in how they got them to stay upright... and straight, so I've been watching them closely. They have all sorts of gizmo's to get that thing set up! A huge cherry picking truck, winches, leavers of all sorts, crazy measuring devices of all sorts.... it's a big production, including 6-8 men getting the pole into position, and two directing traffic... so it brought me to a complete halt the other day, when as a finishing measure, the guy who was most defiantly in charge brought out... by far the most impressive piece of equipment.....
he walked across the street, reached into his pocket.... and pulled out a piece of string with a bolt tied to the end of it.... and used it at a plumb line while he squinted with one eye shut and held it up to compare the pole to it.

As sweet Frances once said "Here, in Canada, they have technology!"

monday bunday


Sunday, July 29, 2007

memories

(written several days ago)

Today I was flooded with memories. And... today I realized the giant gaps with the things I've forgotten.

I parked in the parking lot of my primary school.... I was on my way to a funeral, and remembered vaguely in the corner of my mind that there was a back staircase from the school yard to the church.

I pulled into the yard and parked by an old cement retaining wall. The school is built on a hill, the yard at the bottom, one side of the yard is a steep embankment, tree roots the only thing keeping the neighbour's yards from tumbling down to the pavement below. In one or two places, at some point in time, someone decided to pour some cement to hold back the earth. When I was in grade three they were leaning... when I was there today they were leaning some more. The same foot path runs up beside them, up behind them and up to a big tree root, perfect for sitting on, and not too high that you might get in trouble for climbing the hill.
The school itself is built into the hill. To get to class, each grade had to line up, and class by class we were sent up the stairs. Of the two years I lined and waited at the bottom of the steps, then marched to the top... I can only remember one or two trips to the top... but running my hands along the railing, I could hear the conversations we'd had from countless others.
I looked back and pictured the bouncy balls and Frisbees that would collect on the roof, cleaned off for the summer.
I passed by the windows to one of my old class rooms... I can't remember what I learned there... but I remember the smell of the room, and the faded green feeling it had.
I climbed up past the school, and rounded my way to the church, I didn't remember the house being so close to the stairs, I couldn't remember a single instance of climbing the steps... but yet, I must have used it often, I instinctively lifted my foot a little higher on the last step, my mind remembering it's tendency to trip.
The church was smaller than I remembered, the paint new, the water damage gone, the frayed carpet replaced...
we sat, we stood, we sat, we stood, we kneeled, we stood, we sat. we sang songs tucked away in my memory, and the smell of incense filled the church. The service was beautiful.
Afterwards, I headed back down the stairs. More memories woke up, moments that had passed came back to life, games and gossip played out. Best friends were remembered and "life long" enemies were hated again... all in the few moments it took to get to my car.
I'm glad I parked in the school yard.

Saturday, July 28, 2007

D'oh!

I saw the Simpsons movie last night...
go see it!

ALSO yesterday I got to go to the zoo for work (yeah, I know, the zoo is pretty cool) (in fact... it IS my favorite place to be).
but guess what???

THEYS GOTS OTTERZ!!

yeah, I was happy.

Strange thing though yesterday, I have NEVER seen those animals quite so active. I've been going to the PTBO zoo for years, I went daily for a few years, and yesterday:: The Python was slithering, the reindeer were running, the otterz were swimming, the dholes were running, the wallabies were sleeping (ok, I'm pretty sure the zoo doesn't even have real ones, I've determined that these same 4 creatures have ALWAYS been in the same spot forever, perhaps they are yard decorations) the meercats were digging, the tortoises were humping, the goats were pacing, the lemur was hopping *whew*!
there was a lot of activity.
it was great.... I nearly even forgot I was at work for a moment.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

elder

uh... naked mole rats.

I have two beautiful (or so I've always believed) little moles on my left arm. Upper arm. Outer upper arm (and one in my arm pit.. I'll have to check the mirror to figure out which one it is, I can't remember right now). These little cuties have been with me for as long as I can remember. A number of years ago they each sprouted three hairs.
Three lovely dark hairs.
Which, when they have reached the appropriate length, I grasp and pull out.

Yesterday, while driving... I rubbed my arm and felt the familiar hairs greet my finger tips. I glanced down... and was shocked!

I'm so old that one of my mole hairs is WHITE!!!!



ps. Pontouf's feet are too big for her to run and jump and frolic! she starts... then trips!

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

wow

some things amaze me. dumbfounded.
end thought.

new
thoughts.

quote of the year goes to Will, with the astounding phrase (in reference to people reading archived blogs in the future)

"Note to digital archaeologists of the distant future:
Those cats could not actually has cheezburgers"

no really.. I LOL'd this one. so much so that I had to read it out loud to the roomie.
end thought.

new thought.
later.

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

everyday when your walkin' down the street

If you've ever lived with me at any point in the past few years, you know I've a bit of a soft spot for Arthur, and you've probably heard me yell randomly "cat on my head".
In university we didn't have all that many channels.. ok, we had three... and one was french. We'd often go over to "the unit" to watch cable, Thursday night held a standing date between our house and the one behind us...
Anyway, I'm getting away from my point. really, there is one today.

So, my favorite episode EVER of the Arthur series is the one where Francine's cat meets Pal (Arthur's dog). ...in later episodes they can talk (to each other) but that first contact resulted in the cat jumping up on Arthur's head, and him running randomly around in circles screaming "cat on my head, cat on my head, cat on my head!" with his hands waving in the air.
pretty funny.
ok, I'll admit, I laughed so hard I might have even peed a little. It was random.. and very Simpson's like in it's delivery.

no, really, I do have a point...

so, last night I was walking down the stairs, nearly at the bottom , with Fynn in my arms, and a phone in my hand.
Phone rings,
Fynn freaks,
he then scrambles up onto my shoulder, loses his balance, then ...
jumps on my head.
From there, he jumped onto the stairs.... scratching the beejebus out of my scalp.

what's my first thought?
"Fynn on my head, Fynn on my head, Fynn on my head!"

Monday, July 23, 2007

good thing I don't wear a watch

this weekend ended up being CRAZY.
but good.
I often wonder if I'd fit as much in if I wore a watch, or if I'd be so busy trying to encourage activities to fit within a certain time frame, I'd miss most of the fun?

any way...
after much waiting... much sorrow... much MORE waiting... I'd like to introduce you to a "little" friend of mine...

PONTOUF! (yes, like the imaginary kangaroo)



Now, it's kinda hard to tell... but this little fluffy is going to be a giant. A Flemish giant... at only 5 weeks, Pontouf is....



Nearly the same size as Fynn Fynn (who's now 5 months!)



As you can see, Fynn isn't so sure about this new addition, but I think it's mostly just hormonal. He's going for the almighty snip at the vet next month, so then I can bond the two of them.. and they'll be bestest buddies for ever and ever :)

Pontouf is still really light (body weight), but I'm sure that in the past two nights s/he's gained several ounces.... despite being so huge, s/he's still pretty little to accurately guess gender... The guy thought he had 2 males and 1 female... but they all looked like males to me, so he might have made a mistake too...
anyway.. VERY exciting.. but... also some sad news. Pontouf's dad was killed by that same German shepherd last week that killed the last litter and the doe.


Friday, July 20, 2007

in droves

funny, can't find something for forever, then they come flying at you in droves!

So, I got an email this week from the original person I'd contacted about the Flemish giants... not the German Shepherd ones. It said, "contacting the people on my waiting list, I have one doe, and one buck, light grey in colour, 7 weeks old, let me know right away" that was two days ago. SOOOO, of course, I hmmm and hawwwed for about 12 hours, then replied... "YES please" and gave both my phone numbers.
Turns out my answering machine, though it's plugged in, isn't recording messages (going to go buy a battery today to fix that issue... hopefully).
I haven't heard anything, haven't received an email... 7 weeks for a Flemy means it's going to be the same size if not bigger... than Fynn Fynn.

The phone rang just a few minutes ago... the German shepherd lady has 3 brown babies, cheaper price, and 5 weeks old.

I asked that I be given till tomorrow to decide...

eek.

I haz interveew

Ok, so last night I had this dream that I was dating this big burly (read:: teddy bear) garbage man. Having never seen said garbage man before, I made sure to be dressed in time to take out the garbage this morning...

in case it was a prophetic dream.


in other news.
~I have an interview this morning. Pray it goes well and that if it does go well... that the start date details would sort themselves out.

~big bunny is coming home this week (end?) pray that it isn't eaten by a german shepherd before I get to pick it up.

~there was no big burly garbage man, just some little guys. I wonder if I modeled the guy after the 'burg bushman/construction guy? you know who I mean?

~ I found a post that I forgot to drag out of drafts from this week... I'll fix the post date so it can be read... lol... as if anyone's waiting.

Thursday, July 19, 2007

WET

although the camping was cancelled, it was for a good reason. Please pray for my friend T who's Dad just passed away, it's going to be rough for the next bit for her....

BUT... because camping is cancelled, many other things have sprung up in it's place. Including, but not limited to .... A concert tonight (never turn down the opportunity to hear two men passionate about their ukuleles), a JOB INTERVIEW Friday morning... which, as my program manager said "I hope you get it, it's doing the same job you're doing now, but you'll be able to focus on the individuals without all the extra stuff here, I'm sorry that I wasn't able to do that for you." (WOW!). BBQ Friday night with the house group rats, SVFF meeting type thingy sometime this weekend, camping in the Baltimore valley perhaps... I was told I could make pancakes on the campfire, so I may set my tent up (if the rain stops) if the rain doesn't stop, I have some movies to catch up on. A "church at our house" dinner, three mornings to sleep in, the possibility to go pick up my Flemish giant bunny (wondering if I should wait for the next litter as Fynn-Fynn isn't fixed yet) And hopefully a visit to Kaw and Caleb who are home from China for the month.
PHEW!!!
There's more, but it's slipped my mind.


ok, so this isn't one of the guys, but for those of you mocking the uke.....


Monday, July 16, 2007

stuff

there are days when you just want to scream.
there are days when you just need to cry.

the past couple of weeks have been pretty emotional.
and pretty hard.

I've been holding out for this camping weekend for awhile, knowing that it'd be a great time away, with some trusted friends. Spiritually, emotionally recharged, I'd be ready to face anything.

It's been cancelled.

So, today, we're going to talk about the practicalities vs the impracticalities of a little thing I like to call "ditch camping".

Ditch camping is when all else has failed, so you find a nice ditch somewhere in the country.
Choice spots should be relatively dry, and unditch-like :: there shouldn't be too much garbage, avoid dead animals and hobos.
Ditches provide shelter in wind and dust storms, and in the case of a tornado, you'll be below ground level and safer than most. Ditches DO often flood. So don't camp in the rain.
You don't have to actually put your tent up in a ditch.. you can just lay the tent over you while you sleep if that's easier. Also, you don't have to go far to use the bathroom, as more than likely, you'll be in some sort of biological mess/waste.

Saturday, July 14, 2007

that whole thousand word thing....

So, today at work we stopped by the Heinkle Farm (home to Shelter Valley Folk Festival) where there was a yard sale/ auction / bake sale/ music/ kids events thingy going on.
A fundraiser.... for a barn.... not just any barn mind you, money to replace the barn for the Weirsma's, who's barn burnt down Easter morning this spring.
How fantastic, that we live in a community that is willing to put together events to support each other when their luck is down!
I am blown away by the kindness of people.

There was a small bulletin board set up with some pictures of their barn, before the fire, events, parties, work, daily life, and some pictures of the results of the fire...
But the picture that wrecked me was, one of their daughters.... walking away from the barn, snow on the ground, eyes brimming with tears, pain across her face.... the barn in flames in the background.

Friday, July 13, 2007

and more

in following with yesterday's post::

here's an excerpt from my favorite section of our local paper... It's the part I look forward to the most each day....

TODAY IN HISTORY (July 11th- I held on to this one...)

1919 - Six carloads of Gypsies showed up in Cobourg. Gypsy caravans had been a common sight, but now, automobiles had driven their wagons off the roads, so the Gypsies switched to cars too. They were still met with distrust. When one gypsy began to tell fortunes, Chief Ruse escorted the bunch out of town.

(lol, now they pay them to come to the waterfront festival?)

1935 - The Superior Store on Ontario Street in Port Hope had Aylmer peas on sale (who records this stuff?????) two tins for 21 cents. Sunkist oranges were 25 cents a dozen.



so, I'm thinking of heading down to the archive place to see what other gems I can dig up!!!

Thursday, July 12, 2007

read all about it

discover all the news...
comon' and read all about it...
discover all the clues ....

(another cheesy tv song, I loved the show though)
Today, the NEWS!

but first, a word from our sponsors... errr.. actually not really

CBF~ if you're reading this, my home computer keeps freezing when I go to type on buddy's page, but I'll set up a vox so we can chat more about the Snoezelen room stuffs, I got some ideas :)

and now, back to regular programming

errr, have you lost it?

did I ever have it?

right.....

ok, so our local newspaper is generally lacking in any "news", so I turn to the Bean nearly daily- paper and a coffee? what better a way to end a day? (I'd start the day like that, but no way am I getting up any earlier!!!) Today, not a Toronto Star to be seen... and nary a Globe and Mail... and so, I settled on the NY Times... bad choice. It took my misery from low to sub-low (ok, it's late) ... the articles were breaking my heart. I won't even go into details about most of the stuff I read... oh!! but this one article-(which made me laugh more than anything) people in Manhattan are paying the same per square footage as they're paying for condos ... as for their parking spaces!!!
So... I'm miserable. miserable-er?
And grabed a Link magazine instead.
After just two article, the world is a great place to live again... a land of benevolence (in the true meaning of the acted out word), a land with a six string nation guitar... go grab one when you can, there's a stack at the train station, at the Bean... and a few other places....

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

700 club

Growing up, I was a big fan of the sesame St scene.
I'd get SOOOOOO grumpy when the 700 club came on, marking the end of children's television for another morning...

I'd like to welcome you to post number 700.

I don't know if they count the drafts that will eternally sit in the draft box.
Those posts would be the ones with to much swearing or slamming of people.

That said... welcome to slamswear-fest

Today was horrible. I feel like shit. I feel abused, I feel walked on, and I feel unsupported.
Please pray that I don't stoop to the level some people feel the need to walk on, pray that I'd be gracious, grin, and remember to pray for them...
errr... is it wrong that I pray just so that God will heap tonnes of fiery coal on their heads and their heads will catch on fire and they'll stink of smoke?

tiny stage... giant fun











Tuesday, July 10, 2007

still no titles....
comm'on blogger... little help?

"who do you think you are?
you better take a look
who do you think you are?
you better read a book
who do you think you are....."

Cheesy little ditty I sometimes get stuck in my head... either some old "Smitty" or a piece from TVO... I can't remember now, but it gets in my head quite a bit... anyone remember what it's from?

anyway...

A little while ago, someone asked me what my family thought about the fact I was(am) so independent.
The question came from someone that I view as quite independent in her own right... the question surprised and scared(?) me.... I'd never even really thought of myself as independent.. so for this person to ask... after knowing me for such a short period of time, and with no real provocation... well.. I wasn't sure how to answer...
It's been a long time since someone asked me a question that made me question so much about me. I'd never thought of myself as being overly independent, but I guess I'm going to have to rethink that whole idea.
In fact.. I'm not sure that I'm even able to finish this post.

Monday, July 09, 2007

title?
errr. blogger seems to be having some technical difficulties... and if you've ever tried to report an error to them before... you know I'm not going to bother!
(side note:: I've spent a good hour trying to report an error, only to find my self sent in circles!)
in addition to the title bar not working... this post has posted itself... errrr... confused?

SOOOO, today's topic "self centred OR self centred"

ever have one of those moments? When everything is ok, and you don't have a worry or a thought of what you're suppose to be doing... where you're suppose to be .... what you should have done earlier? When you don't even think about what might be on the news.... or think about your blog...
I had a few moments like that this weekend.
And it was refreshing, but made me want more... when did life get so busy?

self.... centred.... centred in what? on what?
is that being self centred?

Friday, July 06, 2007

well, I WAS warned

um... chickens and cows....
eggs and butter
hemp and tie dye...

I was warned by a few before I came to visit Mandamanda to not get too caught up in it all... but.

After learning HOW to milk a cow (by hand and by machine) and after chasing the turkeys and moving the chickens and churning some butter, and meeting someone who lives off the grid, hauls her own water and all... after watching the trees and the lakes.....

I'm putting a sign in the back window of my car that reads

"ask me, I'll join your commune"

Monday, July 02, 2007

summer sounds

This weekend was the big "Soiree Au Revoir" for the Sheff's house... It's not sold yet, and after this weekend's activities, I think there's more sadness to it's sale... it's just a matter of time.

Everything went off without a hitch, and I spent some time just taking it all in.
I watched and I listened.

The campfire's pop, Melwood strumming, singing... the brat pack's giggles and Jacky's rumbling, people resting... enjoying each other's company, crickets, poetry, a small tousled head poking out from a sleeping bag, clinking of glasses .... fireflies playing in the willow branches.

summer.