odds and sods

1) it was VERY cold out. It's warming up a bit now with the storm getting closer... but it was so cold it couldn't snow. Instead, when I went outside (and it was near -20)  there wasn't snow.. it was more like being in a snow globe... the kind with sparkles in it. Not big enough to be flakes... not big enough to really even be seen... just enough to glisten... lovely.

2) My new official uniform of winter. My super comfy jean skirt (down to my toes- it acts like a tent keeping heat in- and works really well if I happen to stand over a vent...) with long johns and wool socks (with the socks pulled over the long johns so no draft gets to my ankles)

BEST outfit ever.

3) I whacked my knuckles making my bed yesterday. Insignificant at first glance, bloody mess the next second... one of those small cuts that bleeds and bleeds. It's more like a small scoop of skin pulled from my knuckle. In itself, that's not very interesting... mostly annoying each time I put my hand in my pocket to pull out my keys (which is often at work). BUT... I have a very tiny freckle on that knuckle. So tiny, and right in the crease- that sometimes I forget I have it and end up spending time trying to wash the dirt mark off my hand. Little Freckle has been scooped out of my knuckle. I'm excited to see if the cell memory is so deep that it comes back when my knuckle heals.. or if it's lost forever.

Someone remind me after Christmas to give an update.

4) Elven footwear. (more on this after Christmas)

5) I went to the 'Worth (tiny town North East of The 'Burg) today for an outing with work... and I've decided that somehow I need to live there.

6) This week I recognized, after doing some number crunching.. that at my current rate of pay- Unless I have two jobs- I will never be able to purchase a house. I am however a little frustrated with how much energy (emotional and otherwise) it takes, maintaining two jobs. And I'm REALLY not looking forward to tax time... because it looks like I've earned so much on paper... then I nearly started crying thinking about people I know who don't have jobs... or who are cut back in hours... or the single moms... or minimum wage earners... I'm not nearly the "working poor" ... but I just don't know HOW they do it!

7) Elven footwear. No really... I was weeping I was laughing so hard. (seriously, more after Christmas)

8) Very very sadly... The Good Lovelies' concert was cancelled due to the storm last night. Little Buddy and TravWho think that they don't really exist ... and that I've made them up- last year we bought tickets for a concert of theirs... and there was a storm... and it was cancelled. Mother Nature... you suck.

9) I should be sleeping.

lost

it's been nearly 2 weeks since I sat down to write. I've got about eight hundred random stories... lost to my sieve like mind.

so, instead I'll leave you with this....

The snow is falling, the wind is blowing, the twinkle lights are twinkling, the bunny is dancing- trying not to chew on the presents sitting under the tree, I've got a cup of tea steaming on the table, and a big ball of wool... it couldn't really get much better...

Christmas shopping is pretty much done, and now I just have to finish with this project and sew up the last few items...

life is good.

brrrrrrr

I am blessed. 

in the past week, I've only had to walk where I needed to get to 4 times. of those 4 trips, I was picked up halfway there twice.

quite lovely.

Also, my car is fixed.

which is quite lovely.

And my dad is quite lovely.

Thanks dad :)

not quite so lovely is how cold I am. 

and I just can't warm up!

I'm going to go sit on my fingers (some more)

with my own eyes

So my car is on the verge of death. But I'm ever so thankful, that at one point in my learning to drive, my dad told me it was possible to drive standard without using one's clutch. I took that as a challenge, and eventually perfected it. I rarely use my brakes for the same reason.
So yes, I'm thankful, because I was able to drive the verge of death vehicle across town twice (for two very important events) before eventually admitting to myself that maybe I shouldn't be driving such a vehicle.

When lovely repair man told me how much it was going to cost... I told him he was the opposite of Santa Claus.

anyway, that's not what I sat down to write.

I like to make positive-earth-friendly choices where I can, and I'd LOVE to have a hybrid, or even a little smart car- except I'd need a trailer for my giant casserole dish. And I'm always impressed when people go out of their way to spend the extra (money or time) to make a smaller impact. One of my neighbour's even has a grease car... he refit his little VW to run on recycled oil from the chip truck. Yes, it smells faintly of french fries. I'm pretty sure I even remember my dad taking a course on electric vehicles? (is that right dad?)

Anyway, I tried not to laugh too hard tonight, while I was walking home from the bank... Parked in front of the convenience store was a little smart car. It sat there for a good 5-8 mins (I could see it from down the street). It sat there idling for a good 5-8 mins.

lol, what's the point?

longest 4 hours of my life

So, today was my birthday.

ug.

I'm not into aging. at all.

anyway, last night I had the pleasure of spending the evening with my two lovelies (Travwho and Little Buddy) - and Mamma Blodgett.

We took in the sights and sounds of the Trans Siberian Orchestra. If you ever get the opportunity to see the show... GO. It's fantastic.

But that's not what this post is about. 

instead it's a tale of my poor bladder and the longest trip I've ever taken. Not that my bladder is poor. Or that it functions poorly, but rather, I felt bad for my bladder- and my bladder made me feel bad too.

Actually, the story isn't about my bladder at all. 

We left the Hammer at about 11pm. It's maybe a two hour drive home to the 'Burg late at night- no traffic thru the city to slow you down, night drives are great.

I had to pee when we left the Hammer- I'd even made a comment about wishing I could pee like a man as we walked to the car. Travwho wanted to get something to drink, we decided to find a spot to stop once we were on the main road home.

We got to the highway and started to fly along to find some sort of familiar land mark-stopping place. Then we saw a sign "express lanes closed at next exit". That was fine, there wasn't a ton of traffic, we were moving along fine, it was about 45 mins into our trip (why hadn't we stopped to pee yet????) and we were in Toronto. 

Suddenly, the traffic stopped. Strange, but we figured it would start moving pretty soon as cars sorted themselves out, going from 6 lanes to 3. 

I was pretty tired, I'd had a really early start to the day- and it had been pretty intense (story for another day) so I decided to close my eyes. I woke up an hour later. 

We still hadn't moved.

In the end, we moved something like .4 kms in an hour and a half.

sick.

and I had to pee.

still.

Eventually we start to move again. 

Only to see a sign.

"two right collectors closed at such and such a street"

traffic slows

again

we move along, only to see a sign

"lane closed"

we slow

now it's 2am

I still have to pee

And I haven't eaten since lunch.

we end up moving from the express to the collectors a few times, see very little in the way of actual construction, and no reason for NOT moving.

2:30am, Little Buddy finds an exit he's comfortable taking to find a bathroom.

we get stopped by the ride program.

I'm ready to LOOSE it.

on EVERYONE.

(so far, being 30 sucks)

I make a dash to the bathroom, buy an orange juice and pray that it helps restore blood sugar levels to a non-kill level ("non-kill everyone I encounter" I mean).

We hop back in the car... and hit another ride program. I'm still near hysterics, apparently the sugar hasn't hit my blood stream yet.

The car in front of us is stopped ... and eventually pulled over. every minute that passes makes me shake a little more.

We are finally on our way, 45 mins to home... totally doable. 

I start to calm... and take in my surroundings.

"hey guys?" (says I)

"are we suppose to be getting a snow storm sometime tomorrow?"

(guy) "I don't know, why?"

(me) "they sprayed that salt stuff on the roads again.. you can see the lines"

discussion ensues over the effectiveness of the dried salt spray on the roads vs. the granular salt.

(me) "ha ha, wouldn't it be funny if it started to snow? and then visibility got to zero, and we never got home? ha ha ha ha!" (I look and smirk at the clear cold sky)

... can you see where this is going?

the snow started about 5 mins later.

it got worse

we drove slower (80) (kms)

and slower (60)

we passed 7 snowplows (going in the opposite direction)

and it kept snowing, and it got harder to see... and steer. Eventually we got to the Port's exit, Little Buddy pulled off there, and we started to creep towards Travwho's home. (50)

more snow... moving slower (40)

Thank goodness we were driving so slow...  because after all that... at 3am, a block from Travwho's house.. a deer jumps out and nearly lands on the hood of the car.

Little Buddy keeps his cool and doesn't kill the beast... I'm again near hysterics.

Thankfully the Christmas lights are on at Who's house, and we're able to find it in the snow.  

Then we slip slide all the way into town... I half laugh, half cry most of the way.

I am safely deposited at home, and Little Buddy and Mamma Blodgett (who has to be at work in a few hours) continue on their way...

I get a txt message from Buddy about 20 mins later... his wheel wells had filled with so much snow the shocks stopped working, and he had to stop on the way home to knock it out....

what a night.

The Saddest Hibiscus

I was given the most luscious hibiscus tree... plant? this fall.
It sat in the sun porch, and just bloomed.
and bloomed.
and bloomed.
It was the happiest hibiscus of them all.

One day, I decided to bring the tree into the house, winter hit, and the sun porch was now more of a cold storage room, with it's night time frosty temperature dips threatening the well being of my dear Bloomy McBloomerson.

He still continued to bloom
and bloom.

but something sad happened.

He decided that he was depressed.
or got bored.
and to bring some action into his life... he decided to turn all his leaves yellow, and make them all fall off.

Now he's the saddest, most naked hibiscus of them all.
except for the blooms.

(ps. he's onto week three of being naked- sticks and flowers... today I noticed some leaf buds opening up)

time....

Know when all you want is for time to hurry up.. and then the next moment you just need it to stop?

I'm having a weekend like that.

Thursday nearly killed me, it took THAT long for the day to pass. Then Thursday night? oh, took about 12 seconds. I had dinner with a group of some of the most lovely people I know, then we took in a concert of the ever dreamy Justin Rutledge. so good. But the night passed so quickly, even though we stretched it out till 2:30.  

AM

The rest of the weekend.. was... fantastic. 

and though I may never catch up on the sleep, it was time well spent.

(How's that for a cop-out on capturing a weekend in words?)

-Yule Sing (two shows- awesome)

-Living room song circles

-three days of soup and cheese

-parades

-elf man

-thrift shops

-felt

-flowers

-art

-smiles

-felted sweater heads

-photos

-rehearsal

-"you're a dick"

-boxing santas

-clementines

-le sigh (I'll never remember it all)

laughing and crying

Ruth wrote yet another great entry this week about GTI.
I was crying by the end....

and as much fun as I'm having with the play... I'm really annoyed that I'm missing dinners now. That wasn't in the plan.... at all. In fact, I'm pretty sure the thing I said was "there's no rehersals on Wednesdays right?".

ho ho ho

Did I mention the Santa Clause parade?
Well, there's another one this weekend, Port of Hope has theirs on Saturday... watch for me there... crap. I just realized I forgot my costume at the firehall.


also. the last parade was lovely.
quite
lovely

plans for next year's new year's resolution is already in the works.
scale back on my main love language.

Monday Bunday

Since I got the door knob fixed, poor Pontouff has had to hang out with me... he can't just push the door open and hide in the bedroom (read:: sleep in the suitcase under my bed).

You're doomed.

Don't lay on the floor.

fix it

Another thought for the collage party, I need a new tool box.

Yes, those two thoughts are related.

My current tool box is lovely, lovely but broken. I podged it about 10 years ago with pictures of tools and sparkly things... because, you know... I wouldn't want it to look too manly or anything. Anyway, it wasn't till I typed the previous sentence that I realized how old the tool box was. And I was feeling bad that the tray was broken in it and that my tools were sort of breaking it from being too heavy and whatever.... but just realized 10 years is a long time to NOT break something like that... and I don't feel bad at all.

So, for the collage party, I may be collage-ing on a new tool box! Maybe a strong metal one. I was pricing them tonight when I was at Canadian Tire (that would be the hardware store for you non-Canadians).

Driving home, I decided to pull out the tool box. My door knob has been broken for some time now- to the point that I couldn't close my door, as I couldn't open it from the outside.. and could barely open it from the inside... I got locked out a few times, but I was able to break in from the sun porch.

I don't know how door knobs work. So I took it apart. That didn't help, but I was able to put it back together... and for some reason... it now works.

I'm very happy to have a door that closes.

And one that opens.

So I don't die in a fire.

paper

I'm going to a collage party (not college party).. and I'm very excited. 

I'm sure I've ranted on and on about my fascination with paper... but being as I can't get the blogger search bar to work, I'm not going to give you links to old boring stories... stories about my "pretty paper" hoarding problem.. or how the perfect paper makes for perfect journaling... 

So, a joint idea came about the other night while talking about ideas for a collage.. I think I'm going to try to put together some of my favourite facebook status lines into something... I do like the status lines...

all grown up

I splurged.

I've been intending to make this purchase for the past few years, and each year I put it off till it's too late, and they are all sold out..

I am a grown up, with matching Christmas decorations, accented by family favourites and childhood silliness. 

Just when I was thinking I'd like to get rid of all my "stuff"... I find some stuff makes me happy.

how do you do? Part 2

I know I've posted this link before, but really, it fascinates me... I reload it as often as I can...

How do the interwebs feel today?

light

it's amazing how a little light can change everything.

I'm not talking in metaphors here... though, feel free to use it if you must.

(idea thieves)

Old roomie has moved out... she'll now be called... um... Doula... cause that makes sense... and current roomie shall inherit the name "roomie". Clear? good.

Roomie bought two lamps awhile back at the Blue Box (Beyond the Blue Box is the best store ever- a second hand shop that rivals all others).  She had a vision... spray paint them, give them new shades... give them new life.... 

I have no vision. 

I see two old lamps, and write it off as crazy talk.

Our house has a very harsh front sitting room. It's tiny, the ceiling high, the furniture is ugly (I really need to find slip covers or something!), and the window is just feet from the street. 

Roomie has transformed the room!

with just one little light standing in the corner, the room is a place where you WANT to sit now... a welcome addition to the cozy basement corner. 

Our home is growing up!

stuffs

We have SNOW.

Because it was the first snowfall of the season, most surfaces aren't already coated in a frosting of salt. Instead, there's quite a bit of ice around. 

And it's COLD.

I'd warmed up my car in the morning a little by driving from job 1 to home, then off to job 2. But I'd trudged thru the snow, and my shoes were wet. They've got pretty deep grooves in them, so they hold a lot of moisture. 

I got out of my car, and was standing beside a vehicle waiting for the person to get out, when I noticed... my shoes were frozen to the ground!!!!

Not frozen like "I'm stuck here till spring" but more like "my shoes are in bubble gum".

I hate cold.

Bunday Monday

Please... I'm just trying to enjoy the last bit of sunlight... 

ROYALness

Have I mentioned how much I love the royal?

Well, I do.

And every year I run into at least one person I know while I'm there.. which I think is pretty random. Because really... how many of my friends are into the Royal? And seriously, what's the likelihood we'll pick the same day.. or be in the same building/exhibit?

And yet.. it never fails.

I saw 5 people I knew this year. Including the bobsey twins... the couple that volunteers at SVFF and wear matching outfits every day. They are the ones that have caused me to become a garlic snob.

And I'm ok with that.

ALSO usually when I'm at the Royal, but more often when I visit "Quarterama" (it's a huge Quarter horse show that happens in the same building later in the year) I run into someone from the ranch. My first two years (aside from trips with my family) to the Royal and Quarterama were with the ranch, running a booth, answering questions about the camp/facilities... you meet a lot of people that way. I miss doing that... 

Anyway, there are two people in particular that I often run into... I kept my eyes open, and I didn't see either of them, BUT I'm pretty sure that one of them WAS there, and that he was watching one of the shows (the international jumper competition) ... but he was on the far side of the ring.. and I didn't have a camera so I could zoom in and be certain... 

oh horses.

set the alarm for next year

could someone please remind me that I want to be Bubz for Halloween next year? Please and thank you.

I didn't dress up this year.
Did you?

mister tambourine man

ok, so the thing that had the potential of being the most embarrassing element of the play for me (um... aside from that other thing) has been resolved. 

And I am SO totally ok with it now.

ok?

In other news... I'm on my way to the royal winter fair tomorrow, and I know you wish you were going.

oops

I started my mini vacation today.

I had big plans for getting things done.

instead, I ate many carbs,

watched lots of TV,

ate clementines,

and lurked all of you on facebook.

today is the opposite of Marathon Wednesday!

the great eternal mystery.

have any clue what that is?

That's me.. after I've finished my laundry. I own a number of pairs of socks and underwear. It all stems from living in an apartment that didn't have laundry facilities ... and having a lifestyle that didn't fit sitting around in a laundromat for hours on end... at least, not often!

So... I can go a few weeks without doing laundry.

This picture shows what happens when you put off doing laundry- and allow yourself to wear mismatching socks when you don't take the time to wash everything at the same time....

yeah... 14 socks with no mates.

not cool.

back in time... waaaaaay back

for years I've been looking for a certain Christmas special.

seriously for years... I started when I was around 18... checking in at the local video store, asking the owners if they remembered it. (They did, but didn't know the name of it)

This was in the days before Google.

These are the days of Google, so for the past few years, I've been googling "Christmas specials old" "Disney Christmas specials night before Christmas" and "mama dolls decorate the tree"

all for naught.

Growing up, we'd watch all the Christmas specials we could find. Grinch was right up there. The animated Rudolf, old saint nick, chipmunks, Micky, Muppet's.... the list goes on. But the one I loved most was the one where the night before Christmas played... Santa went down the chimney, and let loose the bag of toys who proceeded to decorate the tree while a dozen little kids slept. Images that stuck out in my mind the most... the dolls that say "mama" marching along (floppy falling over) in time to the tin solders playing their trumpets.... the fire engine pumping fake snow onto the branches.... Santa using a tiny umbrella in the toe of a torn stocking so it would hold the toys... and the blimp dropping the star on the Christmas tree....

It was remembering the blimp that helped me find it on Friday night... "Christmas special Disney night before Christmas blimp" went into the google bar... and I came face to face with the 1932 Merry Melodies Night Before Christmas.

It was taken off the air because of one scene where a little boy looks up into the fireplace and gets covered in soot from Santa squirming out... the result is the little boy looking like he's in black face until a puppy licks his face clean. It was considered "ethnic humour" and a little too racy for TV.

Enjoy! Seriously, this brings me back... (click the pic)

long time no see.

Dear Blog.
I'm sorry I've neglected you.
The calendar says that I should have 308 posts written by today....
(or so my other new year's resolution says...)

Saturday night I was blessed with a ticket for a concert from an old friend... we went to see someone who has influenced me (musically) more than any other single person has. I'm lucky in that I get to see him perform at least once every two years- and I realised on my way there... that I've been listening to him for more than half my life- and still LOVE his work.

His song writing is simple. His delivery is honest. He's not cocky, he's not out singing to prove a point- not even to himself. He doesn't stick to the same trends, he doesn't get gimmicky with his music or style. He's humble. And he's kind. And... theologically sound! This was the first time I've seen him with a full band, and he spent so much time building up the people playing with them, encouraging them and mentioning what they've been working on...
Plus.. his voice is awesome. Not in that "oh wow, that's totally awesome" type awesome, but in that "his voice brings me to awe".

I also realized at the concert that I'm a big thief.

I have never once come up with an original harmony line.... everything I've ever learned has been from singing along to his work.

Seriously.

I've had people say to me "hmmm, that is such a great harmony line... I never would have heard that in that piece, where did you get your training? did you grow up in the *insert obscure musical tradition here*?"
I've never had an answer to that. But singing along at the concert it hit me. The lilts, the funny crossovers from tenor to alto to tenor to soprano and back again... all his fault. (um... Melinda, Tony, thank you for putting up with me all those years- you know what I mean).

I wanted to thank him.
But I chickened out.
So I just shook his hand like I do every year.
And smiled really big.

t minus crap

Marathon Wednesday is only 28 minutes away.
Good night!

too too

I started writing about the weekend during the weekend.
And erased it.
Then started writing about it after it finished.
And erased it.
Then started writing about it on Monday.
And erased it.


You just had to be there.

Ain't Got No:: Reprise

ok, the marathon of all marathons... 

I can barely even read it without my mouth tripping up and over itself.

You'll have to hear (here) it to fully get it.... it's my favourite song in the show... but it's (so far) the hardest.

Vietnam, Johnson, high school, sex, coffee, books, food, scissors,
magazines, news, cigarettes, Hollywood, T.V. Tuesday Weld,
Burton-Taylor, pop art, pop off, popcorn, Popsicle, Andy Warpop, pop
paper, pop up, Popeye, poppers, napalm, England, outer space, astronauts, Jesus,
air, air, air, air, air, air... 

Try to sing that!

Marathon Wednesday

Marathon ... but of my own making.... please don't think this complaining- just a quick recap of how Wednesdays work now.

6:40am- alarm
6:47am- alarm
6:54am- alarm
6:55am- roll up bedding, stumble to shorty's room, turn on his lights, go pee, brush teeth.
6:59am- try to convince shorty to get out of his bed, or at least put both of his feet on the floor
7:04am- satisfied that shorty is awake, stumble to the office to get dressed
(for the next hour and a half pretend to like people while trying to gain full wakefulness)

fast forward....
8:30am- go home (cause, unless you didn't guess it, I was at work) wash face, eat breakfast, (maybe)comb hair.
8:45am- go to work.
4pm- home from work... and cooking for GTI
6pm- GTI dinner (yummy!)
7pm- rehearsal..... (this is making my week bearable)
10pm-finish rehearsal, get home, shower(maybe), pack
11pm- go to work.

It's not likely you'll catch me on a Wednesday.

stay tuned for tonight's "marathon song"....pop-cicle pop-up pop-art Andy war pop pop-a-per......
whew.

the best thing ev-er... or, sometimes I'm still a little slow

Tonight for dinner... I splurged.. both the calories, and the (relatively low cost... high when you consider I've been living off of cabbage and beans and sweet potatoes)(because I LIKE cabbage and beans and sweet potatoes)

This is what I had.

It tasted like heaven.

The package called it "stuffed scallop". (and here's the testament to the speed of my mind...)

the following is my actual thought process...

Oh! this is cute, it's some processed seafoody thing IN a shell! mmm, I haven't had processed seafoody type food in awhile....  (inspects the nutrition label) ... hmmm.. not too bad...

(proceeds to the checkout)

I wonder if there's actually scallops in it? or maybe they just called it that for fun. I'll have to google what type of shell that is.... it's got a scalloped edge to the shell...

wait.

scalloped edge? scallop? scallop shell?   

really?

so, yeah... I'd never really thought about the fact that "scalloped edge" came from looking like the edge of a scallop shell... and.... I'd never bothered to check to see what a scallop shell looked like.

Yes, there was scallop meat in there.

and yes it was the tastiest processed food I've eaten in months.

Which leads me to Saturday morning.

On Saturday mornings at work, I watch home improvement type shows with the men (if they're awake) (oh heck.. I watch them waiting for them to wake up too).

We watch "This Old House" and the others...  at some point in the day, we switch to the discovery channel, and watch "Myth Busters".

So, on Myth Busters, there's a dummy that they use for all their stunts that might cause bodily harm to an actual participant. This dummy has gone thru so many reincarnations, and yet, he continues on... His name is "Buster"... and it didn't dawn on me until I heard the name of the new dummy ("Ted") why his name was Buster.

cause I'm awesome.

and my co-worker laughed at me.

But I'm ok with being slow.

Bunday Monday

the best part of this picture... and totally unintended, was when I hit the button to take the photo- the commercial on tv was doing a count down at the same time as my computer. Fluke.

The Men In My Life

there are a few faces on the street that I watch for each day. people who I don’t know well, but I need to watch for... if only to reassure myself that I didn’t make them up in the first place. There are three that catch my attention more than the others...

quirky men...* They’re all around the same age... 65-70... I guess that’s why the little things they are doing stick out so much... you don’t think you’d see someone quite like them doing the things they do... the way they do them.

Coffee man.

I started noticing him around the bean about 3 years ago. smoke in one hand, coffee in the other, giant headphones plugged into his walkman (that’s right folks... walkman). He still sits hunched over... reading his paper. sometimes he’s bearded, sometimes long haired. always the coffee smokes. I say hi to him each time I pass. it’s taken all three years, but now he knows my name. I tell Jenny that I’m going to marry him. No one really knows much about him... I want to know where he’s been. What brought him here? How is he able to drink so much coffee? Why those awful headphones? Where is his family?**

Hitch Hiker

He’s fairly new. Or maybe his need to hitch hike is new? A lost license? A broken car? A desire to meet new people? I pass him at least once a week. Today I passed him twice. I like to pick up hitch hikers, but when I pass him, I turn onto the next street for work... his sign reads “Graphtown Please” *** after work I passed him while I was headed home (in the wrong direction), walking to where he usually waits to find a ride, sign tucked under his arm. I was tempted to turn around and offer him the ride.

Biker.

Mostly I’m in awe of the Biker. He’s the oldest of the three men. He has a lovely little road style bike. A wire basket on the front to carry his ... belongings. I most often see him resting under a tree near one of the churches. There’s a convenient bench. Across the road sits the man with the two spaniel crosses- he walks them every day at the same time, and sits to rest with a friend. Sometimes they shout across the street to greet the Biker. 

The most extraordinary thing about the Biker is what he carries in his bike basket. 
His oxygen tank. 

No joke. 

I’ve seen him slowly peddling down the street, lines from the basket running to his nose...

*.. maybe there’s an abundance of quirky men- are there no quirky women? or do I only choose to see the men?

** I’m typing this in the Coffee shop... he just walked in, got his coffee, and went to sit out front. I’m in the front window just over his right shoulder.. and I don’t mean to... but I’m watching him out of the corner of my eye. He’s rolling a smoke, one made from the last bits of tobacco clinging to the butts from the ashtray... 

*** name changed to protect the innocent.

more colour

although it's dreary... and the leaves have almost all blown off the trees... and really- it looks like it's going to start snowing AGAIN... I'd like to remember why this is my favourite season.... I mean, other than the fact I can wear sweaters again. 

fall colours

well... the view from my sun roof... the day before it started SNOWING!

Meet and greet

ok, tonight went REALLY really well... I'll tell you more about it later. right now, I've got some sleeping to do.

But first... a link for you.

At GTI breakfasts Ruth usually tells a story after the meal, here's where you'll find the stories... and I have a story about the stories coming up too... need to digest it more first.

Bunday Monday

No more hand-me-downs

They just don't fit.. sooooo, I bought him his very own outfit.

ummm... for halloween... yeah... that's it..... Halloween.

Just for reference... that's a dog size medium. litter tray size too small.

**I had two other photos to go with this one... as it's blurry and dumb... but blogger was being blurry and dumb too.

not quite the 4-H

In my haste to not lose my train of thought, I loosed it from the caboose, and left thoughts behind... or ahead... or at the very least... lost.

Remember how I always say I wish my life was a musical? And then I proceed to sing for the next hour (month)?

So, I may or may not have said: "theoretically" if one were to try out for a musical what should one sing as an audition piece? (and I may or may not have said that just a few weeks ago). But I'm here today to dispel any rumour, any thought to the contrary...

I did indeed try out for a musical. 

And I did sing "Patricia" at the top of my lungs, from the bottom of my toes.

And I was given a part in the play.

And I did decide to do it.

And I did go to the first rehearsal yesterday after first meeting a chunk of the cast and crew at the director's place for a little par-tay earlier in the weekend.

And that was a run-on sentence (though small)

And I may have much love for most of the cast/crew already.

GTI and all that Jazz

There's a particular restaurant around the corner from my house... in the window is a little sign on the weekend that states "jazz brunch Sundays". When the weather is nice, the doors are open and sounds float out. syncopated. unresolved. quick. quick. slow. tap. tap. 

and the horn.

Someday I'll go in, and listen to the whole show.

This morning at GTI was a "jazz brunch Sunday". 

5 dictionary results for: jazz

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

jazz        [jaz] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation

–noun

1.

music originating in New Orleans around the beginning of the 20th century and subsequently developing through various increasingly complex styles, generally marked by intricate, propulsive rhythms, polyphonic ensemble playing, improvisatory, virtuosic solos, melodic freedom, and a harmonic idiom ranging from simple diatonicism through chromaticism to atonality.

Who knew music could change so fast? Who knew so many emotions could be felt at the same time?

It started with a story... part something of many. And it hit a little too close to home for some. And there was the joy of an old friend, the relief of a familiar face, the pain of pride, the sadness of pain, the anger of exploitation, contentment and recognition of grace and order, the laughter with friends, the sting of grief, and the shock of distrust.

noise, or intricate notes?

sometimes I'm not sure.

instead of sleeping

So, I'm sitting half heartedly watching tv, mostly just playing online. Reading blogs, checking facebook photos... the usual.

Then it hits me.

(be forewarned... I'm about to swear)

"Shit. I'm old"

Here's what's happened.... I'm cruising thru some photos from high school friends... and I start to notice something... my friends look like they are in their 30's. 

Then I remember... it's because they are.

See that guy? He looks like.... gulp.... a man.

My friends are MEN? My friends are looking suspiciously like their parents?

We're.... aging? 

I don't think I can handle this.

No... really....

I'm sitting in a mild state of shock.

With maybe a little throw up in my mouth.

Pony posted this, and I thought I'd take part... what are your thoughts on this for yourself?

So here's the dealio: I want to learn about worry. You can help by offering some info to me.

1. Why do you think we worry so much?
2. What do you find yourself worrying about?
3. What time of the day do you worry the most?
4. How do you combat your worrisomeness?
5. If you could spend time doing anything other than worrying, what would you do?

ok... my response was this.

Fear. or maybe pride? 
so prideful that I figure "well, my problems aren't worth God taking care of- I'll deal with it myself" which then results in something for me to worry about...I'm not saying that the thought is a conscious one or a decision, but just a general inability to let God do His job. One that I struggle with all the time!

2)what do I worry about? money. no- about the things that need money. Like rent. or more specifically- the mortgage I don't have. 
again, it's something bigger than the money. (or the mortgage that doesn't yet exist) it's the pride again... I worry that I won't be able to make it- to do well, to be self sufficient- I worry that I won't find the man of my dreams and I'll have to pay rent forever with a roommate who doesn't wash their dishes and too many cats, or have a mortgage that I can't afford on my own- and I'll fail and have to have help from someone... 
(** note** I don't have any money problems... far from it... it's just a needless worry)

3) What time of the day do you worry the most?  Evening. or, when I'm alone.

4. How do you combat your worrisomeness? 
oh, I don't. 

worry is something I'm really good at. I can come up with all sorts of spiraling pits of worry... worst case scenarios. I could write a doomsday book. it'd make millions from it's entertainment value. 
THATS IT! I need to write a book! That'll solve everything.

ok... so I like to delve into a fantasy world.... that's how I combat it for the most part.

and prayer helps. and getting involved in things bigger than my own little world.

5. If you could spend time doing anything other than worrying, what would you do? I'd really like to learn to sail.

ear worm

this song has been eating my brain ever since I first heard it.

(chart 107 on R3-30.. it likely made it out before then... but I'm kinda sporadic in my listening... I'll listen to the same chart for like 4 weeks)

you might have seen me dancing when you've walked past the house.

you'll probably like it.

K'naan - in the beginning 

(you'll have to scroll down a bit on the dial for that page)

give it a try.

GTI making the news... for good things

welly well well, it looks as though we've got a little fame going on.

ok, not so much fame.

But we did make page 2 in the news.

Turkey Day '08

We had thanksgiving this weekend here in the 'Burg and the Port of Hope and the Greater Nap Area ... (well, all of Canada really). Many birds lost their lives. I enjoyed eating two of them.

There was some wine and laughs. (Even though it was a rough weekend) (God bless Peaches and Gale)

Yes, the turkey WAS covered in bacon.... it may have been filled with sasuage (God bless Toby for his turkey porking skills)

True, we didn't eat pumpkin pie, but the maple glazed pumpkin cheese cake kicked a$$- (Toby is demonstrating ass kicking here). (God Bless Bethy for her cake building skills)

We played some bocce ball. Dad and I won (God Bless my awesome skills).

The tree avoided damages... there were some casualties along the way... (God bless that old flower pot and the giant lava head that now sport cracks and dimples respectively)

I'm thankful for friends and family.

How did you spend your weekend?

Monday Bunday

Going in.....

Going out....

Make up your mind 'Touff!

Thankful

Thanksgiving...

Sometimes being thankful is hard. 

We have so much, and ... well, we have so much.

It's a rough year for some people.. keep them in your prayers.

Thanks

flip the pages.....

When reposting, please link to http://www.neabigread.org/

The Big Read reckons that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books they've printed. Well let's see....

1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Underline the books you LOVE, and strikeout the books you read but didn't like.


1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien (I only read half... but I read that half twice...)
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling (2 down.. how many to go?)
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6. The Bible
7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11. Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12. Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14. Complete Works of Shakespeare
15. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18. Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19. The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger ( I think I've read this.. but not sure...)
20. Middlemarch - George Eliot
21. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23. Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh .
27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33. Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34. Emma - Jane Austen
35. Persuasion - Jane Austen
36. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38. Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40. Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41. Animal Farm - George Orwell
42. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44. A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50. Atonement - Ian McEwan .
51. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52. Dune - Frank Herbert
53. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60. Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov Nabokov
63. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66. On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68. Bridget Jones' Diary - Helen Fielding
69. Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70. Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72. Dracula - Bram Stoker
73. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74. Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75. Ulysses - James Joyce
76. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath (another that I think I already read...)
77. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78. Germinal - Emile Zola
79. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80. Possession - AS Byatt
81. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry .
87. Charlotte's Web - EB White
88. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90. The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94. Watership Down - Richard Adams
95. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98. Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo



not too shabby.
I don't think that would be my list of 100 classics/must reads. .. but interesting that they are the top 100 books they've published...

(I stole this from Laney. 'cause she's got great ideas)

ug, again I say.. ug

so, apparently I'm still confused.

I just put the garbage out.

Garbage goes out THURSDAY nights dummy.

today is the day... uh... what day?

So, I went home sick from work today. 

I took yesterday off, and spent all day Sunday on the couch. 

I thought I was feeling better, but by about 10am I'd lost all energy. My boss even said to me "you look ill."

So home I went, to the comfort of the couch, and enjoyed a day at tvshack. So great.

I'm still achy... I'm pretty sure it was the flu- I had a fever on Sunday, it wasn't all bad- just no energy at all. 

And... I keep forgetting what day it is... 

Monday Bunday

Me: Hey Fynn Pants, want to go play outside? The sun is shy-ning! (singingly)

The FP: You're joking right?

100 mile diet revisited

Ok, so maybe one shouldn't be stealing their 100 mile diet food... I'd contemplated putting a quarter into their mailbox, and still may. ;)

Here's a little glimpse into the Folklore B&B (that's where I was staying the other day)

100 meter diet

cooking up some grub... Shelter Valley style

10 mile diet ... living off of Popcorn and cider.. mmmm

Have you ever looked at the 100 mile diet in terms of what that means for you? I think we're super spoiled here in the 'Burg... taking in consideration that it's 100 MILES.. not 100 KILOMETERS... so, that takes us down to the Niagara area, and over to the edge of the Ottawa valley... that's HUGE. We have Bison, Boar, Emu, Cattle, Pork, Poultry, and every type of growing dream land. 

There's got to be some way (short of opening up a 100 mile diet store) to make it easier to do the challenge... hmmmm.....

running running running

Ok, so I'm in love with running.

I'm not doing as badly as I was in the beginning, it's not like I'm "falling forward" anymore. Not that I'm fast. Not that I'm ready for a marathon. But I feel good.

Out at the B&B I wasn't so comfortable running at night - ok, I was scared being outside at night. It was SO dark- only starlight .. and skunks... but since skunks don't give light... weeeeeeellllll.. I was staying inside.  

Instead, last week I ventured into the world of early morning running.

You've seen them haven't you? Those people up at an ungodly hour of the day, hair swept into a pony, running down the road as you try to get the coffee INTO the cup and not all over the counter. I hate those people. But now I think I get them.

sick.

Anyway, a perk to early morning running in the country- farmers fields. more specifically... the apple trees.

Bunday Monday

So, while I was house sitting, I found some other little bunnies to love....

home again!

that's right, I'm officially home... as of 8:30 this morning... but I um.. have to go to work now.


but I did compose several hundred blog posts in my head this week.
And forgot all of them.

so let me leave you with this.

Last night, I dreamt that I was part of a crew flying a space ship. We didn't bother to hide it from people around- just let them think it was some big joke. Joke was on them. except that we didn't go anywhere, we kept planning to go somewhere, we were about to go on some mission. at one point the sail that attached to us decided to leave and go over the lake without us, and we had to run and get it- but then when we were on the beach, the guy running our ship ran into this super famous physicist and we got his help putting the sail away. Then they physicist asked me a question... but somehow knew my name? I guess I was really famous. in physics circles.
It was a fluke I knew the answer to his question.
So then we decided to stop for tea at this woman's house- she helped invent the ship at some point. And then I went on a mission to get supplies- but then no one wanted the stuff I'd picked up- items would drop out of the clouds - like a video game we had to run into them to get them... I picked lots of juice boxes. And doughnuts.
Then when we decided that we were actually going to go somewhere... we all had to hold down the trinkets that were sitting on the shelves in the den... inside our ship.
One of them was a carving of Farley.

Farley showed up on my "friends you might know" list on face book over a week ago. (this is real life now.. not my dream) I want to add him. Even though I've never met him face to face... I figure I've read all his books- so really we are friends....

Monday Bunday.

I'll be returning to the interwebs tonight or tomorrow :)

so sad to leave the B&B.

they'd have been better off with lost mittens

poor little kittens.

Yesterday I was putzing around the kitchen, when the doorbell rang.
That in itself was odd- people don't ring our doorbell! They come in. Generally, they come in while I'm in the bathroom. On the toilet. It's like magic.
So this young guy (grade nine maybe?) was standing at the door looking nervous, and I open the door, and he asks me if I have a cat.
I look at him a little confused and tell him that I don't. Now he looks confused.
He then said "well, you've got kittens".

Turns out, the funny noise I'd heard earlier wasn't a squawky bird.. it was two tiny new little black kittens. Sitting on the cement walkway beside the house. Kittens shouldn't be laying on the walkway like that... I knew something wasn't right. Big ugly flies were buzzing around them.

I thanked the boy and walked around the kittens- I didn't see or hear any others- so they hadn't just scooted their way out from their little home- and I'd heard the funny noise about an hour before- so I figured it was a safe bet they'd been abandoned by mom. I scooped them up and carried them into the house to find a box and a towel for them.... I put them in the towel, and that's when I noticed the blood.
We zoomed off to the vet right away... but it was too late for the little guys. The flies had been laying eggs on and in them.... the one was being eaten alive, a big hole went nearly right through him... the other didn't look like it would do much better... The vets were great, they said they'd look after the expense of putting them down, they were very realistic about how much time and money it would take to try to save the one- and how very real it was that he'd probably be dead in the next hour or so...
I don't like cats.
But I love kittens.
The whole ordeal made me very sad.
Do what Bob Barker says.
Get your pets neutered people!

Noseday Wednesday

ok, pictures ON the computer!

I came home the other night, walked down the street... and my neighbour stops me along the way - "I just met your giant bunny" she says.

I look at her strangely and she says "well, I'm helping your roomie move out, and he was hanging out in the sun porch"

guess who figured out how to open his cage?

yeah, there he is, sitting in the sun porch, gazing out the windows, deciding if it's worth chewing my boots.

ah ha... ha ha

Just to let you know, I'm kinda without the interwebs reliably this week.

I'm back at the B and B though. And I like life slow like that.

Bunday Monday

whew! have I got bunny pictures for you! on my camera.



Great ideas for audition pieces there folks! I wish I'd asked earlier, I wouldn't have been so lost... um.. hypotectically lost I mean.. IF I'd been trying out for a musical I mean.

uh....


yeah...

so... bunny pictures... right...

good question

hypothetically speaking of course.....

what would you sing if you were trying out for a musical?

Envy

Tonight when I got home from work, FNT (Friendly Neighbour Tom) and his wife called me over to the front porch.

"We want to introduce you to our newest addition" Bab's said

I wandered over, wondering what they'd gotten- I'd seen Tom feeding a pigeon earlier in the week... it died, so I figured FNT had really fallen in love with this pigeon, and needed to replace it with another. 

I was wrong.

I walked up the first step and heard a loud... deep... rumbly "WOOF".

There was a giant 11 month old black, sleek, dorky, lovely GREAT DANE!!!!

ok, so they didn't get one (if they had I would have asked them to adopt me on the spot) it belongs to Bab's sister... I may have to move in with her and Newman (the dog).

multi-talented

I'm eating dessert with Lynn Miles.

Ok, think "6 degrees of separation" type dessert- but think fewer steps.
Shall we back the train up a little further so this all makes sense?

I have a friend who has a bed and breakfast. I'm sure I've gloated about this before.
I have a friend who has a bed and breakfast, and I'm house sitting for her again. I will be gloating about this more.
I have a friend who has a bed and breakfast, and each year during the festival she has some of the musicians stay at her bed and breakfast- so they don't have to camp out on the hill (though, some of them do, and they have the right to gloat).

Anyway, this year, Miss Lynn Miles stayed at the B&B (again) and this year, as a little thank you gift, she left a little box of the cutest ever chocolate shortbread cookies for the hostess. I just ate some for dessert. And... I've got a few for my lunch. Along with a cookie that the hostess herself made- think apple crisp crumble.... but handheld.