More

It's still tiny snowflaking out there.
Therefore, I'm still in my Pjs.

So much for that hockey game. Oops.

The dog is snoring in her bed.
Thankfully.

She died 3 times on Christmas Eve.

Just stopped breathing.

I was sad... but relieved for her. Then she sputtered back to life.... half an hour later I was sad.... but relieved for her. Then she sputtered back to life. Forty five minutes later I was sad... but relieved for her. Then she sputtered back to life. Then I was tired, drained, and a little annoyed. She may have died again that night, but I fell asleep around 4am.

She's been super peppy since then. Running into all the chairs.walls.tables.couches.

Breaking records

Yesterday I did something new.
It's good to do new things.

I watched 2 entire periods of Hockey. Not of the same game, and I called them "innings" until I was corrected.

I might even go watch an entire game today. Well, maybe, this is a really soft blanket on the couch...

There's a tournament... which mean hundreds of sweaty smelly boys. You'd think they'd have taken that into consideration when they built that new facility. I spent most of the time trying to breath thru my mouth to avoid the stank.

Tiny snowflakes

In honour of the tiny snowflakes today, and in effort to reach 200 posts by the end of the year (it's only cheating a little bit)... tiny tidbit posts all day long!

Someone asked me the other day for an update on the online dating stories... No great stories to share at this point... but I did get a "hi whats your cup size" message yesterday.
I really wish I had a witty reply for that one.

Clarification

I was going to write something today about the differences between being a good communicator in  the written form and being a good writer.

But then I figured that would defeat the purpose... the need to clarify.

Whatever.

To : the Myans.... HA.

I wish that I had a photo of the room that I walked into on December 21.

I mentioned that the "Pubcats and Jail Birds" were having an "end of the world" party awhile ago. Sadly, I had to arrive late due to work. I got a txt from Bobert asking that I txt them when I was on my way (suspicious)... and some lame excuse about Jenny wanting to know. I went along with it... half hoping that it was a super late surprise party, half knowing it wasn't.

I played along and sent a txt as I left the house. When I arrived there were a few little things waiting for me...

Taped to the front door was a note that read "Lesley, come in".

I entered the house.

Silence.

I walked down the hall.

A small table with kool-aid and in the room beyond it, my friends all laying passed out on the floor and draped over furniture. I babbled on for the next few moments, partly trying to get them to laugh and stop being fake dead, and partly trying to convince myself they weren't really dead. Sometime after my threat of eating all the rumballs myself and telling them what good actors they were, someone allowed themselves a death rattle... which then set of a series of giggles... children appeared out of nowhere and cried out "did you trick her?" And my friends, appalled that I'd stood there calmly and hadn't called 911 asked why I'd reacted the way that I did....

"You're my friends for a reason, it's totally something I would have tried to pull on you."

continued (or) there are days

Yesterday I posted from my phone again, I promise not to do that again.

In continuation of the story...

So, the front end of the car slid into the ditch. I figure every neighbour has been waiting years for this to happen- I park there nearly every day. As I generally have the shortest shifts, I don't like to park in the driveway for fear of getting blocked in. It's the rare occasion that I work a regular 8 hour shift and leave at a normal shift change time. I'll admit, I watched the cars driving by and cursed the drivers and passengers as they rubber necked and gave each other knowing glances.

Oh.My.Pride.

When my fury with myself had subsided a little I went back outside and tried to inch the car out of the ditch. No luck. It slid in further, till the front end was pointed into the ditch and the back pointed at the road... then it looked like I'd lost control of the car and driven straight into the ditch, instead of the fine driving I'd done in the dark, in a snow storm, with one hand holding my door closed.. driving standard.

Oh.my.pride.

So that happened.

Then I found out that in the confusion of the morning, my shift hadn't actually been a trade- so I was stuck at work for a 11 or 12 hour shift... probably just as well... As I discovered when pulling out my wallet, my CAA membership had expired.

The next 6 hours at work went quite smoothly... and as I stood up and walked to the door to leave, my hair elastic broke.

It's ok. I made it to the car before I started to cry.

**post script**

All joy was not lost, I had a lovely visit with friends and watched the Christmas Dr.Who special later that night.

how to ruin a perfectly good snowfall

Step one, get a 6am wake up call asking to start work early. step two, dog refuses to wake up (not dead yet) and has to be carried outside. Step three, car door breaks Step four, windshield wipers won't actually work Step five, can't get in the driveway at work, park on street Step six, plough traps car Step seven, while trying to move car onto newly cleared driveway, the front end slides into the culvert. Maybe a more appropriate title would be "reasons to walk to work".

The real Monday Bunday

An aside: I wonder when blogger will come out with a mobile version?

How do you catch a rabbit?

In much the same way that you would catch a cat.

Get a box- any size- and place it on the floor.

Wait.

(not very long)

bunday monday!

Having no idea of the days of the week lately.. yes I realize it's Christmas eve, but beyond that... if I didn't have a job where I had to write the date once in awhile, I'd be doomed.
Let's give posting from the smart phone a try ...

(5 mins later) It appears my phone is smarter than I am. Bunny photos to be posted later...

Sheesh

I generally pride myself in my abilities to form a (written*) sentence. This morning as I was waking up, I was laying in my bed visualizing "Their, They're, and There" and wondering out loud to JellyDog how people could get them mixed up. "Seriously, how do they mix them up? They're three different words" I even spelled out "they're" to The Dog.

So of course, when I arrived at my computer, there... lurking on my homepage, a sent message glared at me... with several "their/they're/there" confusions.  "DO YOU SEE THIS JELLY? Of course not... you're blind.... guh!" I scrolled down a little further only to find the cute comic above. I felt better. Then made the mistake of clicking on my inbox... only to discover I'd sent a message with one of my least favourite errors... MY ERROR... The dreaded "alot". **

Sheesh.



*Verbal Skillz? I don't have 'em. Ever tried to have me describe anything... ever? Double Sheesh.

** But then after "sheeshing", I started to giggle,  because then I remembered to use this system and it made the email alot better.***

***That was on purpose.

Self Promotion

I'm ok with it.

Though I promise this won't become a blog all about "badbunny".
For now though... I did successfully move the domain name over to a new host, and it's fantastic to work with.

It still needs a lot of work- the biggest thing being the photos, they need to tie together better- the lighting and boarders on each one are different... I find that visually offensive... I'm sure others will too.

Anyway, here she is! Stay tuned for more changes after Christmas... assuming we survive the end of the world tomorrow.

Last time it was the end of the world I survived.

New year's day 2000. January 1st.
Something like 6:20am
When everyone was asleep after partying because it was 1999 the night before...

The windows started to shake... the cat ran under my bed and I sat bolt upright as my bed started to rock...

My only thought? "What a great joke! God really IS coming back today!"
So I sat laughing on my bed till it stopped.

Turns out there was an earthquake in Thunderbay that could be felt as far away as Peterborough (where I was living at the time). 

Spooked

My CD player is slowly dying.
Not surprising as it was purchased in the early 90's, one of those first multiple disk players... it looks like a record player, it's big, it's bulky, it only holds 5 disks.

It's current problem? The last song of most disks won't play without skipping, or, the first song of the  next disk doesn't play... well, it doesn't not play... it just takes it's time getting started.

Tonight I was sitting working away in silence.
For a good 10 or 15 minutes... when suddenly David Simard comes on (loudly).
Thankfully I love him.
So I was only scared for about half a second, then I started to sing along (loudly).

Go give him a listen. You won't be scared for even half a second.

Nerd(ish)

I'm feeling pretty good about myself right now- it might be dashed in a few hours, but I *think* I made the right changes and moved my domain name to a hosting site... we'll see. As I said, I could have done it wrong... and it takes a few hours for the changes to show up (up to 48!)  So, I'm going to try to be patient.


Hobbit- was fantastic. I'm not sure how I missed the memo that it was in 3 parts... I think I figured that since LOTR was 3 films and 3 books that the Hobbit would be 1. Not that I mind, I'm super glad for the attention to detail that it provides. But, I spent the first 40 mins of the movie being annoyed that they hadn't left Bilbo's kitchen. I think I may have shouted in my head a few times "get a move on, you're never going to make it to the mountain".

Seriously.

And it was a lovely visit with my dad too.

no.

I've JUST realized that there's only one week left till Christmas.

It made me swear when I realized it.

Guess who hasn't decorated or done much in the way of anything to make the house feel christmassy?
This gal.

The top 1/3 of my Christmas tree is sitting on my couch. I didn't want to move any furniture or put much effort into prep this year- I feel like most free moments are dedicated to sewing.

Maybe I'll plug the tree (top) in tomorrow.
Get some comfort and joy flowing.


One of the Friendlies* and I have the same birthday. We commented today on the fact that we didn't get snow for one of the first times in our lives.
WHERE'S MY SNOW?




*Friendlies aka hotfarmerboys aka victory garden boys. 

Monday Bunday

I nearly forgot that today is monday. So to make up for it, two for the price of one.
Disapproval bunny style- a lion's share... He's slightly annoyed with the pieces of felt that keep getting dropped on his head.

How to resolve that disapproval? Some bunny lovin' fixes it every time.

Those feet!!!! Look at that foot! I just want to squish it! 

That's a Wrap

I thought that starting to sing Christmas carols in August was overkill... but it turned out just right.

Tonight was our last show of "Christmas at the Park Theatre", and it's a bittersweet feeling. I didn't always appreciate the way rehearsals went, I had some differing opinions and general frustrations- almost all of them personality style related (my own and the director's aren't the greatest mix)*. But in the end it all came together. I'm always so sad to reach the end of a run.

This time more than ever.


The other night at work my boss turned to me and said "It's so nice that you do these [shows]. I'm always so impressed that you get out there and do [that] sort of thing, it's inspiring...and I know you love doing them". I replied, "I'm pretty sad because this is possibly my last one for quite awhile". She looked at me funny and said, "but why? You love it and you're really great at it!"

It took everything in me not to swear.
Not to spit out the words.
Not to sneer as I said them.
Not to say it too pointedly.

"I can't do any more shows because my hours have changed. I don't have a single consistent evening off, to do a play or musical- to commit to anything, I have to be able to commit to at least one evening rehearsal each week".


As usual I learned a HUGE amount working with Susan as the director of music. This was my third show working with her, someday I'll take regular lessons from her... it'll happen.


I'm going to go cry in a corner for awhile... post-show blues are setting in.**





*I adore this director, and as a friend- I'd do anything for him in a heart beat- and I love the finished product of his shows... it's just my personality style hates his organization style in the steps leading to that finished product. I'm grown up enough to admit I want to claw out my eyeballs during the blocking and reblocking of a show. I'm not perfect, I'm sure my eye rolling and sighing drive him to hysterics too.

**I love being on stage... I rarely get even a moment of nerves on stage, instead everything in me calms. Oh masks, you fit so well.

Little Fan

I loved watching the faces of the kids in the audience during this show. The excitement in their eyes when the dancers would take the stage... the CRAZY EXCITEMENT when Santa would walk out (even when Santa couldn't remember his lines) (every time)... I loved watching their little eyeballs track back and forth following the dancers, or the little ones who would lean over to squeal into the ear of their parent "can I take dance lessons?"

Those moments were the best part of this show.

I spent some time during today's matinee wondering what the kids were thinking during the show. How many of them will end up having this be a tradition? Each year coming back to watch the Parkettes and hear the carolers? How many of those kids will watch each year, waiting for the time when they'll be old enough to audition? How many will have this show to mark the moment that makes the Christmas season come alive for them?


The show ended and a million and twelve children rushed Santa. I wondered aloud to a cast member if Santa had the "pee proof" pants on that afternoon.

Then I saw a cast member lean down to scoop his adorable 8 year old cousin (my uke student) into his arms... only to watch her ignore him completely, push past him, and rush to give me a giant hug.
Love that girly.
Feels like Christmas!

sheesh..

So proud of myself and Badbunny.ca .. feeling like I'm getting back in control of things... annnnnnnd then....

First the rabbit has a bout of the runs, lots of scrubbing the floor and some serious pinning down of the bunny to get him cleaned up (honestly, how does he grow the giant dreadlocks on his butt?)

And then.... Miss. Jelly.

Finally paid off the vet bills from last month's eyeball injuries....

And now she's pawing away at her face after a full force run into the door frame/wall.

How? She needs momentum to get up the two back steps, so she runs open throttle .. except the eyesight isn't what it used to be... and she misjudged by at least 4 inches tonight. The clanging noise and watching her roll back down the stairs was almost too much for me. Thank goodness the vet gave us double the usual amount of meds after her last injury.

ohhh... colours!

Here's part of the pile I'm working on right now... on the right- fabric prepped and cut for market bags... on the left- fabric washed... and just sitting around looking pretty. There's another 3 prints and 2 solids drying now after being washed. Today's a sewing day for sure!

BadBunny.ca is about to get a whole lot better!

I mostly took the day off sewing yesterday- but made a trip up to fabric land and Michaels Crafts for some supplies... have you ever tried to find cotton yarn suitable for making Kippahs? Yeah, not a likely find in our little town.. thank goodness for larger city centres nearby. I had a sweet little visit with sicky Momma-to-be Mel, and a surprise visit from RaeRae... there was a whole lotta goodness packed into the day.

8 year olds

6-10 is my favourite age for all humans.
Seriously.
They're acquiring knowledge so fast their parents can't keep up, they're discovering amazing things... and hormones haven't gotten in the way and screwed everything up.

If every child could be between 6-10 forever, well... I'd have 30 children.

Anyway, there's an especially bright 8 year old that I have the honour of spending time with. She's one of my ukulele students, and this kid... she's super special. I have to try not to laugh at everything she says, try not to write down EVERYTHING she says- you can see the engines firing as she tries to sort out the world around her... she's making other kids look bad.

REAL BAD.

Tonight we were talking about the hatching eggs that I'd picked up the day before. Her mom was asking a little about the process, and of course... it's about chickens, so I'm more than happy to share what I know. I'd said moments before, that I'd had a rooster but ended up eating it- because roosters weren't welcome in the neighbourhood. And that I'd had to get my eggs from a friend who had roosters.

Without missing a beat she asked "oh, what do rooster eggs taste like?"
Quick recovery answer about eggs that were fertilized with a look of apology to her lovely parents.
And we all doubled over laughing.

Monday Bunday Flashback

Originally posted December 2007:

much packing going on around here.. the front hall is a maze of boxes.
While going thru boxes in the sunroom I found one little one... and decided to see if it could still be put to use....

at one point in time it WAS useful... He came home in it....

peep peep

I had a super visit with the Mackattacks this morning. 

I may have a spinning buddy! 

There was chasing and wrestling of sheep, some donkey scratches and kisses, eye to eye with a beautiful peacock, and a wicked game of tag between a red squirrel and the blue jays... which of course led to singing "green forrest". 

A very lovely morning.

AND, I brought home some hatching eggs. 

I'm very excited about the idea of hatching some chicks, and my girls are the broodiest birds in the land. "Start sitting on the nest the first week of August and never come off? Don't mind if I do!" Said two of my hens.... Until about 4 days ago. Which is good, Maria especially needed to get off the nest... but 4 days before I get my first hatching eggs??? 

Really?

I mean... really?

-made a comment about the lack of winter and the hate of "rainy season".... so of course it's freezing rain tonight.

- Also sold my Djembe, for way too low of a price, but I figured there was no sense in keeping it around if I wasn't going to use it, and if I was going to sell it- it needed to get out of the house right away before I changed my mind.

-12 pairs of slippers in the first 7 days of badbunny.ca , a pretty good start. Tonight I started cutting fabric for some market bags. I have an idea to make them a little stronger than the current design- so they will hold heavy loads like groceries. 

yup

The friendlies threw a party tonight... a housewarming/end of the world/Sagittarius birthday/Rob Ford's out of office type party... which was awesome.

I'm on my 5th bout of hiccups at the time of writing this - that's the sort of state of mind I've been at all day, so I didn't last very long... I wanted to, but I was toasted and peopled out even before getting there.

Anyway, one awesome moment of the night went like this...

Me: Hey, do you do karaoke?

Friendly: I don't.. well, I haven't.. I'm not against it, people have offered, I just haven't. I don't know if I'd like it...

Me: Oh, so like me with Pot?

Friendly: yeah... like that!

around the sun

I didn't get around to posting yesterday... I was busy celebrating my birthday.
Yay me... another year alive.

How did I celebrate?

By seeing some of the faces that I love.

Oh, and by buying fabric.

Which is awesome for a few reasons... When I was a teen, if I got grumpy I'd march out to fabricland and buy some fabric... no joke, "let's go buy some fabric" was pretty near code for "something teenaged drama-tragic has happened to me."
Another reason? Awesome because I got to see Manda.
Another reason? I was given birthday money.
Another reason? oh.my.gosh. you should see the fabric I bought.
Another reason? I'll eventually make back that money and more with my stash/market bags.

Something NOT awesome... the quilting/fabric store is closing in Milbrook. D and A are retiring. (Although the 35% off sale was pretty fantastic)

Uke it Up

NUkeO got together and filled our pub to the max last night.

Instead of trying to tell you about it, I'm going to steal PaSheff's photos. Some large group play-alongs, and some great solos, and instant bands... Much more happened, but then our resident photographer and his wife were hit by the flu bug and had to go home.

I love hosting this weird little group.

End of the world.

A group of friends spends every thursday night at a local pub. We've been doing it for 3 years now. whoa. 3 years.... that's a lot of beer and conversation.

So of course we have our own facebook group to coordinate our busy lives- there are days we don't actually make it to the pub, and end up in someone's backyard at a fire, or living room instead.

This week's conversation:

JR: So about that end of the world thing....
       We are willing to offer our house and do a pot luck.

JC: We're in, And we'll bring a crock pot of something.

JR: Awesome! And at midnight if we are still here we bring out bob's b-day cake.

Me: Oh right... what day is the end of the world again?



Tonight is the second annual NUkeO open mic at the Beamish House in Port Hope. 7pm, Ukes and non ukers are welcome.

Good bye November

Before I went to sleep I was thinking about how happy I was that Mo-vember was over. Seriously, as a single girl, Movember gives me the creeps- all those perviously handsome faces turned pedo face.

And because I was thinking about it, I had lovely dreams of kissing lots of sensitive-smooth-lipped men.

Thank you lucid dreams. Thank you.

Apparently I'm a 16 year old boy.

Some of my coworkers know that my mind is stuck in the gutter.

Like... the deepest gutter. And I can't get out of it, and I'm not trying very hard to get out either. Needless to say, I  get myself in trouble, and spend a whole lotta' time snickering like a 16 year old boy.

Yesterday before the show opened we had vocal warm ups.
I'm pretty sure that Susan was feeding us the lines on purpose.

Picture this with me- the upstairs room at the Park Theatre, everyone's dressed so nicely, we're singing our little hearts out... when...

You've got to get on top of it. Get on top! Stay there.
Now, caress each note. Gooooooood.
Push hard. Don't push so hard there.
Stay on top!
Keep it up.
And now bouncy... bounce bounce bounce.
Careful, you're starting to spread.

Ok, by the last line I wasn't singing anymore. I was in tears laughing. Trying hard to keep those tears from ruining my makeup.

Did anyone else notice what she was saying? Only the teen boy and the barely-out-of-his-teens boy in the choir. They were fighting back tears too.

Fun things

So there are a few fun things in the works, the big one- Christmas in the park opens tonight. Here's a teaser video shot last week- I'm the one forgetting what line we're singing then rolling my eyes at myself...



The other thing is a little online endeavor, I've been sewing under the name "Bad Bunny" for about a year now... you can probably guess why- this week he chewed the phone recharger- he's not generally a chewer. This was a new trick, along with that other new trick where he goes up on the kitchen table and pushes everything off of it? Ya.

Anyway, I'm trying to be a little more proactive in "selling myself" and the things I make. Soooo, I bought a domain name. I haven't paid for it to be hosted anywhere yet, so currently there's a simple free page that came with the domain purchase. For now it's a start. A big one for me.

Bad Bunny Fibre Arts can be found here. 

Dress

We've been running full dress all week for the opening of "Christmas at the Park Theatre". It's our version of the radio city Chirstmas special... with the previously mentioned "Parkettes" instead of the "Rockettes".

Um... I've been calling them the "Perkettes" (read the post from two days ago)

Last night we even had Santa (aka The Town Crier, aka Tom) in costume... he's just been lumbering out from the audience in past rehearsals in jeans and a sweatshirt.

I'd invited the individuals (and accompanying staff) from where I work to come and watch the dress (rehearsal) last night. They gave us some really great energy while we were up there- singing loudly and clapping with excitement. I think there was some confusion when we started singing happy birthday to Santa (it was Tom's birthday), but they took it all in stride. I loved that every time I looked back to where they were sitting someone would start waving frantically at me.

Bitter sweet. This will have to be my last show due to the changes with work. I won't be able to attend any rehearsals with the new schedule. Unless I  find a director who's really lenient and allows me to show up an hour late every evening.

A shot from this week... I'm behind one of the pineappley things- (AMAZING headdresses by Lisa... based on one of the 12 days of Christmas! The girls have to walk sideways to fit thru the door!)

Toasty Toes

I'm in high gear for Christmas crafting.
Actually, maybe it's the coffee...

Either way, slippers are being hand sewn and YOU could give those slippers to your favourite persons. Just $25! A real deal!

So, if you live in Northumberland or Ptbo, you should email me at ladylesley at hotmail dot com and place an order.

Look how cute those are! Your loved ones NEED them.

When you start laughing and can't stop?

SHAKING WITH LAUGHTER

That's what I've been doing with this play. Oh, it's not a funny play... it's a Christmas cantata, or... rather, it's the 'Burg's version of the Rockettes... except that it's the "Parkettes" and they're like 13 years old, so we all feel pervy watching their legs.

Seriously, doesn't matter if you're into boys, you can't help but love the Parkettes' legs... well, until you remember again that they're 13.. Then you want to lock yourself up.... but even then it's like "oh my gosh lock me up, look at those gams!"

That's not why I've been laughing though. There are a few scenes where we're to be in our "family groups" while there's not much room on stage- those leggy colts take up a lot of room with their giant costumes and fancy moves. So, in order to keep the distance between the family groups and still give space to the dancers... we squish into a corner. The other night we squished, and the director could be heard from the back of the room "your family group is too wide". Which I took to be a direct statement about my hips. Then he comes flying onto the stage and shuffles us together, placing me in the neck pit of a fellow singer, my hands in the crotch of another singer, and pushes poor neck-pit back so she's totally body to body with me... so not only am I singing into the base of her scalp, but she can feel every breath. The music starts... and all I can do is stand there and laugh. Which of course makes poor neck-pit laugh... and we shake through the entire song.

We're just going to back up out of the way from now on.

seriously?

::note- yesterday I must have hit "save" instead of publish, the post was still sitting in the drafts folder when I signed in last night.... oops::

me: you want some of this carrot?

dog: food food food food food!

me: you're not going to eat it.

dog: gimme

dog proceeds to spit carrot slice onto the floor and walk away

me: glad I saved the rest for the rabbit

rabbit: grunt, munch, swallow, grunt

dog: I WANT THAT

rabbit: hey! come back here!


seriously? dog is now slobbering all over the stolen carrot while her piece of carrot lays where she spit it out.

Time to wash the floors.

dust bunnies

I had a bit of a nerdgaism this weekend...

Went into the wool shop with the intention of just picking up one bag of roving... and was GIVEN two extra bags... one is this super awesome dark green who-knows-what... and the other?????
oh gosh.
A cashmere sea cell blend.

I nearly suffocated myself a few times sticking my face in the bag to nuzzle it.

ps. knitters: the black lamb has a sale on yarns/woolies this month. GET IN THERE.

warmed

This was posted on my facebook page the other day.... it made me all grin-y grin-y.

isn't it cool when a girl from Ontario and a Brit living in Halifax can play a gig together in St. John's and the one from Toronto can say to the other "hey, didn't you play a house concert at Lesley's house?"

This however is not the grin. This is the face I make when David takes my picture.... then I immediately follow with "that's another for my funeral [slideshow]".

Hobbit Nation

Last night was just perfect!
A huge thanks to Kaye and Neil for opening their home to a gaggle of people they didn't even know... Actually, there were people at this show that I didn't know either. I love that the series has grown like that- true enough, most of the people I didn't know had come because it was Kerri playing, but I'm sure I'll see some of them again.

Another great thing about last night was the number of people new to house concerts! About one third of our 35 people had never been to a house concert before... that's pretty cool.

There were some glitches with the live streaming- the set up of the space made it kind of awkward to check the feed. I think I'll have to put someone in charge of that for me during a show. It's a little much hosting/organizing and doing techie type things, in the past I've wished there was some moderator on the chat too...

Kerri was adorable as always, but with this really sweet almost overwhelmed-with-gratitude thing... She made the audience feel like we were doing her this huge favour by being there- her face each time we sang along with the well known pieces, her reaction when we broke into harmonies with her new music was so touching...I nearly cried watching the joy in her face... meanwhile- it was we who were so thankful she could be there! Having good music come to a small space means so much to our little community.

Paul's songs were fabulous- what a welcome surprise. I loved his low mellow voice, and the tricky way his songs made me bob my head along happily to songs of heartbreak... haha, so funny when I think about it now. Having the two of them sing together was a real treat. Kerri's voice has this AMAZING resonance to it- near pitch perfect (if not dead on!)- so her tones have this cool way of rolling back into themselves... um... that might not make as much sense written down as it does in my head... anyway, her voice would stand alone so clearly and Paul's voice would sort of melt into the notes... it was really neat pairing...  like like like.

SO- if you have the chance to hear Kerri Ough's solo stuff, I recommend that you do... AND I recommend that you find a way to hear Paul Mathew's "happy sounding sad songs"... which, I think might be my new favourite genre. Seriously.

Hostess

Tonight's a Hobbit House Concert Series production ... being held at a slightly less hobbitish house, just so we can fit more people in! It's a sold out event (my second).

Kerri Ough of the Good Lovelies is getting ready to release her first solo album, and is coming to share her tunes with us.  For those able, you can tune in for a live broadcast (if everything goes well) at this fantastic site.  We should get the show started around 7:15ish PM EST if all goes well.

I really do love putting these shows together. I wish I had my own venue (I mean other than my little living room).

hope on the horizon

ha.
for those that caught it... that pun wasn't intended.


So, with the changes that are about to happen at work, I've been spending SO much time in my head trying to figure out how to make it work... how to make it work in a way I won't want to shoot myself after a month.

And I think I've got some things figured out. When I first left the monday-friday job, I had a plan in place that I never needed to put into action, but... I was a smart cookie and wrote it down. Mind you, I forgot about it and didn't even think of it till yesterday.

So, tonight I dig up what I've got written, tweak it a bit, and make the call tomorrow to see if it'll fly.
I'll let you know next week if it's all a go.

I wish I was brave enough to try one of my other ideas.
One of my friends has a simple sheet of paper taped to the frame of her living room door that says "what's the worst that could happen?"

If this plan doesn't work.. maybe... maybe I'll have to get brave.

adventures of a seeing eye human

On our walk last night Miss.Jelly ran head first into my legs twice, then tried to attack the neighbour's shrub.

True, it was a scary shrub... but I think it was minding it's own business at the time. 

my first world problem

I've got something weird going on with the hot tub controls... ok, since the spring when it last got a tune up- I should have noticed then, but I didn't till like a month after the repair.

So, the temp. control is a little off... it's suppose to be that you turn the dial up to the temp that you want, the light comes on when it's heating, and shuts off when it's reached that heat. Except that there are no numbers on the dial (nor have there ever been)... SO. in the past, I learned where 101 was... and the temp would fluxuate between 100 and 103 at that setting.

Since the spring, the temp can be set at 95 (with a range of 92-95) or... the last setting on the dial, where  it won't turn off and instead heats up to it's safety shut off at 107. So, I can leave the tub at 95, and turn it up half an hour before I go out... perfect timing for it to be at around 101.... or, I can forget and go out later when it's 107... OR forget completely, and it shuts off when it gets to 107- but I'm going out the next afternoon and suddenly it's 80 because the heater shut off the night before.

Last night was a night where I forgot and went out after it'd been on for an hour... 107... which, as a friend likes to call it is a "religious experience" being in there.
My first world problem?
My hot tub is too hot.
I had to stand out in my towel in the back yard afterwards for a few minutes because I was too hot to go in the house.

Saving money for the repair... but the dog who stole christmas decided to cut her eye again last week- so it might be awhile.

oh. crap.

guess what?
I'm sitting here watching Buffy (Vampire Slayer) and knitting (of course)... and I just realized something.
Something that makes me a little uncomfortable.
Ok.... more than a little uncomfortable...

I'm more attracted to Giles these days than I am to Xander.

When did I get so old?

the other shoe

So the time I talked about my job in a negative light resulted in a stern "talkin' to" from a manager, asking me to take down a posting. That was several years ago. To this day I feel that it should have been left there. At the time my name was nowhere to be found on the blog, and my employer wasn't mentioned by name.

But, someone who knew me had read it and showed it to a manager... blah blah blah blah... the post was removed.

All that to say, I'm having rather negative thoughts about something that's happened with work... and I can't write them here, and I can't say that I feel like the organization has lost it's way and sight of it's vision, but I can say that I've spent a great deal of time swearing and self-pity-crying about it.

*insert a sneer and an eye roll here*

Thankfully there are bunnies to be pet and good people in my life.

(it may be time to bring back Bunday Mondays)

Air Time

My first experience with radio voice overs came when I was in Kamapla. The church had it's own radio station- and it wasn't long till I'd been coaxed into doing some commercials and some tag lines... "you sound like Hollywood" the producer said....  I laughed, knowing full well how "unHollywood" I actually sounded... and knowing full well I could never pin down his accent to a part of his Continent either.
I'm pretty sure they're still using some of my material for the Top 20 program if you ever tune into KPC's radio station.

Anyway, flash forward to the other day- I've done some work for an ad company here in town before, but I was sent to the radio station to record my portion of the piece. New to me was the super awesome equipment he used... a great microphone, with the recorder built into it- SO SMART! Blah blah blah, we did the recordings. Afterwards the producer (I think that was his title there?) told me that I had a "bright, clear, and cheerful voice" and asked me if I was interested in doing some more regular recordings for them... THEN THE BEST PART!!! He said, "in return, we'd pay you 'in kind'" (this is my favourite kind of payment!!!) And of course, my brain started to wheel and wonder... what sort of "in kind" payment a radio station would give me.... maybe a FREE AD? For whatever I want? (goodbye dating sites!)

or maybe...

MY OWN PROGRAM!!!!

Ok, so I totally know that's not how it works, but that's where my brain went.

Turns out they give out certificates for free meals from some of the places that purchase advertising from them.

sigh.

Nearly had my own radio program.

less glamourous

Dump runs.

huhuhuh.... dump runs.

(I'm never going to grow up am I?)

Nearing the end of my basement cleaning adventure with a run to the dump to get rid of some of the bulky trash- Sure, I could have put it out at the end of the driveway, but here in the 'Burg we've got to pay by the bag for the things we throw out... It was so much cheaper to just drive to the garbage transfer. PLUS... it's always an adventure.

While you're not allowed to "dumpster dive" there anymore, it's a small County... so, of course I knew people at the dump.

(MandaManda- I saw Barry there! I nearly hugged him... but... it was the dump. He was dirty)

Speaking of a "small County".... Yesterday I got two fantastic messages.

So, I'm getting ready to head to the dump when the first message arrives- "are you available to do a voice over?" (radio ad) "head over to the radio station at such and such a time".
YAY!!!
Small towns means people remember you've said you've done something in the past (voice overs) and that you'd likely be the one to call when you need someone!

When Handsome J closed the recording studio, I figured my voice over days were over.... but after this afternoon, I'm now on the voice over list for one of the radio stations! That's a fun thing- more about this tomorrow.

Small towns ALSO mean that you're likely to get messages that say something like "hey, did you lose your owl pin? I just found one that looks really familiar the coffee shop".

Small town lovin' today.

oh dear sweet Gsus

I made the mistake of teaching myself how to make home made puff pastry the other day.

OH.

MY.

GOD.

Honestly, I've never tasted anything like it before. Now, I know I've got a long way to go, but I think I've found my new calling.. I mean, besides being an urban farmer/homesteader... homesteaders could have a focus on pastry right? Why not?  I'm going to need my own cow to supply me with all the butter I need for this adventure anyway.

thanks love

I have a big stupid grin on my face.
With everything swirling around me this week I shouldn't. But just in one of those moments where I'm feeling so very alone (in the giant sense of the word/world), someone's thought of me. Created something thoughtful.

So now, instead of sitting and worrying about X, Y, and Z... and all the letters before those...I'm sitting with a warm dog on my cold toes, knitting at the ready, and the kettle nearing a boil for my tea.
With that big stupid grin.


"I saw that you were knitting and thought you could use some music".


Tweet last night: 12:30am  Need a guy with size 11 shoes to visit the house... no way to make that sound like it's not a booty call. #knitting #mens #socks

uh

quick! something funny needs to happen...

Past and and re-thinks

I was just reading back in a notebook... I found something that I think made it into the blog a few years ago... At the time it was about something else, but there's a line in it that made me pause this morning ... in a huge way. I've been leaning a little on the selfish side, instead I need to take a look at some things and see what I can be doing differently.

"you can't make shit like this up"

what if your morning started with the nicest fruitiest granola, made by a friend, who called and said coffee was made and waiting for you?
what if you sent people to the wrong place for a parade, but they still came and you all had a great time? and you played your kazoo, and rode your bike in a pretty skirt and gave it your everything?
what if people you loved so deeply were there, along with all your favourites?
what if you drank pints on the patio, ate poutine, laughed, took pictures and moved your office over one space closer to a chocolate shop?
what if you set up your tent, blew up your air mat, and nearly had a nap in the sun?
what if you had the most adorable old man living beside you? and you spent the afternoon and evening walking back and forth to the neighbours- chatting and laughing? and they looked out for you?
what if your favourite people came and you loved them through the rough spots?         what if you dragged them to the waterfront through all the tourists?                                what if you ate too much pulled pork, cranked some ice cream to smooth vanilla perfection, then dolloped it on to a cobbler from heaven?                                                what if then maybe you laid in the sand on a blanket by the lake with the real town- not the imported one?                                                                                                               watched women hula-hoop with fire, campfire visited, then experienced some crazy enormous fireworks- so good that you clapped, and maybe teared up?                           what if when you got back you danced a jig under the glow of twinkle lights while the fiddle played for you?                                                                                                     would you even believe it happened?

Toes

I'm on a sock knitting bender... I've given myself 2 weeks to knit 2 pairs of socks. Totally doable. Right?

A few nights ago GTI (I know, it goes by the name "Greenwood Coalition" now... I don't adapt well to name changes) Held it's second Johnny Cash Tribute night- a fund raiser, and all around good time.  It's an art show showcasing some of the work done by the GTI art group, and a whole bunch of amazingly talented musicians bringing Johnny's music to life.  I'm sorry if you missed it. Maybe next year I'll be in a place where I've got my head on right and think to share the info BEFORE the fact.

I've had some huge mixed emotions going into this one (the concert). Something in life ... in my circle... has shifted in the past 3-4 months, and I'm still learning to navigate the waters. It's nothing to worry about- not good, not bad.... just different.  I'm left feeling more observer than participant, and after the past couple of whirlwind years, maybe it's a really good thing.

HOW does any of that tie into a sock-knitting bender? Ah HA! One of the things you missed at the concert was a raffle... including one fantastic prize "2 pairs of custom knit socks"!

must stop typing must keep knitting must stop typing must keep knitting must stop typing must keep knitting must stop typing must keep knitting must stop typing must keep knitting must stop....

One pair down, one to go.

Things I Can See Without Turning My Head (or) items I need to remove from the kitchen table.

Note, the following items on the kitchen table are NOT items found while cleaning my basement... Those items are sitting in the middle of the living room floor with the hopes that Jelly doesn't fall into any of them.


Ukulele
ball of wool
Kazoo
Egg Shaker
skien of wool
Clown Nose
Pie Plate
Vase
bag of wool roving
3 binders (of Ukulele music)
teapot
a half knitted sock
2 mugs
a jar of homemade ketchup
couple of balls of sock wool
the wooden club thingy from my food mill
ball of yarn
my dinner (chili!)
and three purses.


just in case you were wondering.

Found items

So the basement acts like a time capsule... or a garbage heap... I'm not sure which is more true. The clean up process is still going.

The eventual goal is to clear out the old coal-bin area and build hanging shelves to place christmas decorations and crafting crap and whatever other items survive the purge (all those Ramona Quimby books I've been saving for my potential future children). Hanging shelves? The coal-bin space isn't paved... the entire basement is paved... except that strange square that's still filled with hunks of coal. I'm being honest with myself when I say - it'll never get cleaned out and paved. (At least as long as I'm the one living here). So, rather then waste the space, the wooden shelving units are going to be attached to the floor joists above and hang down. The rental place I was in before buying here had them... the basement floor was all wonky/uneven... BRILLIANT!

I'm rambling....

LOOK WHAT I FOUND IN THE BASEMENT!!!!!!

He was nestled in some insulation, all cute and dead like... LOOK at his adorable shoulder blade!!! If you squint- it looks like a baby mouse ear!  And HIS TOES!!!! eeeeeeeeeeek! Adorable. Dead.

super

I was SO excited when this happened.. mostly because I couldn't wait to write it down, to craft it into something awesome. Seriously... I even said out loud "I can't wait to blog about this". But, well...

So, I'd collected the eggs from the chickens and brought them into the house (actually a lot more than just that happened but for the sake of this being a short story...). I'd placed them in a bowl near the sink... somehow, Cheepers (one of the chickens) had managed to get in the house, hopped up beside the bowl, squatted and plunked another egg down and it landed in the sink.

ok.. so.. uh... here's the thing...

The bowl was on the floor. The egg bounced into the sink from the floor.
That's when I realized I was dreaming (in my dream) and said (out loud to the people in my dream) "oh never mind, I'm dreaming again." To which everyone in the dream frowned at me, because by announcing that they were actually dream-people, I'd essentially killed them. They all turned and left the room.

Once my brain realized what I'd just done, it whisked me off to another dream.

sit knit

So, it's knitting and podcast season again.

Build it.

In the past couple of months, two of my neighbours have built new garages.
Not the "attached to the house" kind, like in subdivisions, but the grand "coach house" style that they park their cars in front of and store random crap in.

Because, they still need us to be able to see what their cars look like.


I love my neighbourhood.
It's this quirky combination of giant century mansions tucked into corner lots, with tiny century homes (those built for the servants and children of the "big houses") scattered between tiny war time houses and a hodge-podge of 70's mid-sized homes.  THIS. This weird jumble is why I love downtown small towns.

Some of those giant homes have been turned into multiple family dwelling units (read: ghetto apartments), while some are B&Bs, every other is a single family home...

I realized today that both of those new garages are significantly larger than my home.

And I'm SO ok with that.

(photo credit: the lovely Jerry, taken moving day 2009)

stumbling

Inspired by my friend BethSheff, I'm taking on the basement... I went down there this morning armed with a recycling bag, a box for garbage and a few boxes for the local second hand store.

I didn't come back up for hours.

And when I did... things were worse than when I started.
The house is... um.... *sigh*

Let's just say that if my mother wasn't already dead, she'd have had a heart attack and died from the piles of random things. I've mentioned before how I'm an "Outie" organizer raised by "Innie" parents, right?  Their version of storage was "everything has a place, and everything in it's place".... my version is "I know which pile it's in".

I'm slowly learning that neither method is right... it's ok to be either way... there are good sides to each of the systems... it's the Catholic guilt that I deal with for having things in sight that really does me in....

Anyway... I've emptied more than half the boxes (those which were never unpacked after the move) into garbage/recycle/reuse piles... the things I've found!!! Seriously. AMAZING.

I've found a smoke detector... the one that started beeping 4 months ago.
My Social Security card... I didn't know it was missing!
Countless bottles of shampoo... all half used... weird.
So MANY binders.
(one of them was even my music binder from 1997) (hello "Lifeline" music team!)

Some of the things I've been bringing up and leaving where I'll see them- so I'll deal with them right away... um. except that the dog keeps tripping on them.

I'm not kidding... she fell into a mixing bowl tonight. It comes up to her knees... it's not small. It's in the middle of the floor... um. beside the spinning wheel. um... beside the autoharp.

On monday she ran into a wall. She didn't cut her eye this time... but she did bruise it... I think she's lost most of her vision now in the left eye.

Hence falling INTO the mixing bowl.

I borrowed these snazzy Doggles to help protect her eyes... except her head is too big for them... Bubble wrap is the next option.

Last but not least, 25 things part 5

Ha. I actually followed thru on something.


20. I inherited my mom's stinky feet. So gross.

21. I like the way my dog's feet smell....  they're sort of like Fritos.

22. My mom died 9 years ago, I miss her every day.

23. I've started to read James A. Michner's "The Source" 8 times. each time I start it, I get a little further into the book and like it a little more... but I've never finished it. I have this idea in my mind that it's a really long book- but I think it's just the first copy of it I owned was printed in a strange way as to make it seem like the longest book ever. I've read longer books.
23.b. I've started to read "The Lord of the Rings" 4 times and never gotten past chapter 2 of the first book. I think if the characters in the book were each named things like Mike, Ralph, or Fred... I'd be more likely to read it- there are too many names that my brain can't translate into distinguishable characters.

24. I like to grow my food, can and preserve, cook amazing meals.... but I also love processed foods.... so so much.

25. I have a number of friends who are strictly "online" friends- People I've never met in person but whom I've gotten to know over the years thru a variety of forums and blogs. I have a few friends in real life that I've met through the same means... The first "forum" (other than the chat rooms in the 90's.. I never stayed with one of those for long enough) I was a part of was created because of a portly cat named Buddy who liked to monorail pose on the back of a couch. Thank you Cute Overload. Maybe I'll tell the whole story some time. I have a number of crew members from my puzzle pirate days on facebook...

Hopefully I haven't scared off friends by posting these... if you're feeling up to the challenge, please let me know where I can find your list!

Oh, right.

So, I just filled in an online form and had a melt down on it.
It kept showing my age as one year too old.

As a December baby, I like to hold on to the youth that year provides for as long as I can, just because my birthdate is such and such a year, does not mean that I am such and such an age.  So, I'm sitting on the couch swearing at the screen, because it's cheaped me of the last month before my birthday- and it's already embarrassing enough that I'm filling out this stupid online form... for yet another dating website... so how DARE it make me older... I can't be that age and signing up for another FRICKIN dating site!!!

Then I sit there.
On the couch.
Glaring at the computer.
And I do the math out loud ... on my fingers... for the computer, so it will know... it's being an ass.

And then I realize that I'm actually a year older than I've been saying I am for the past few months.
And I feel a little sick.
And I'm going to have to sign up on the seniors' dating site.

25 things revisited part 4

Ok, so there are only 4 today.. I wanted to keep a few together that sort of tied into eachother. Tomorrow there'll be an extra...



16. I'd still love to : meet someone lovely, have kids, live in the country, get back into running, have a horse, write a book, write some music, create something lovely, make some sort of difference, go back to Africa, do a lot of great/wonderful/joyfilled things.

17. I'd be lost without my friends.

18. If you read this blog this one isn't too much of a surprise- My dreams are so vivid that sometimes I'd rather stay awake to get some rest. Thankfully, most of my dreams are lucid, so I'm able to control a lot of what's happening/ am able to decide the direction of my dreams. They're in colour. There's too much detail. I think this is why I don't like a lot of movies... movies aren't nearly as good. Most of my dreams are either based in part at the Ranch that I worked at, or underwater.

19. I had crazy-ass deja vu when I worked at the Ranch in my teens. It wasn't uncommon for it to last up to 20 seconds at a time... I wonder if this is related to #18

Heart Sick

(a quick break from the 25 things project)

We pulled up to dinner, I hadn't been there in weeks... pulled into my normal parking space, looked up and saw Sue in her usual place, smoking on the transformer, or whatever that big metal box is.

And then my heart stopped.
And my eyes welled up.
And I couldn't even breathe.

Because everything was normal, but there was a giant Little Sue shaped hole in my heart.

It wasn't Sue sitting on that box. She's been gone now for 2 months. But, as the way things go around here, her favourite coat had been washed and put out in the pile "free to anyone who needs it".

I don't think the woman wearing it knew it was ever Sue's.
If she even knew Sue.
The woman holds herself differently, proudly, tall. The jacket is clean. Most people might not even recognize it. But I did, in that moment when she stooped over, small, protecting a flame.

I didn't think something like that would effect me so strongly.

25 things revisited part 3

Ha... this project is always so fun to do... I think I need to make it a yearly activity....

11. I like to eat hickory sticks one by one.

12. I'm overly self conscious and aware of other people's reactions face to face. I notice the slightest  changes in their mood and body language. I could probably do really well as a con artist or help in hostage situations.

13. I'm so afraid of junebugs and earwigs, the thought of them makes me want to vomit.

14. I vomit when I'm anxious. Or overtired.

15. Also when I'm anxious, or stressed- I geta case of the hicups. They're a great gauge for me as to how I'm doing on any given day. I had hiccups for most of grade 9, Father Brian (Catholic High School) would send me out of the class nearly every afternoon till I had them under control... I hiccup a a single hiccup least once every other day (this is new, it used to be once a day) but I've been known to get a full blown case 4 or more times in a day. I've had 1 case today (so far).

happy weekend

How I've been spending my weekends...

beer and spinning.

I suppose it's good that I'm not spinning from the beer?

(how have I JUST now created a "beer" tag for this blog? #howdoesonemeetboys)

25 things part 2

6. I've "fake raptured" housemates as a prank.  - In university my housemates and I read the "Left Behind" series. One day I left random piles of clothing around the house for my roommates to find. These ladies put up with a lot of strange pranks (orajel on the toothbrushes!) and random quirks (the infamous "concentration whistle").

7. I trained myself to be a 7:15pm pooper while on the road with Watoto. Shows started at 6:30 or 7, so while everyone was busy watching the show/was in the show, I had a few minutes to myself for "the long call". I'm not a 7:15pm pooper any more.

8. I'd like to be a singer... For a career. Currently there's a little too much emphasis on people being "singer-songwriters". Maybe someday. Reading that thing J.Byrd posted, and some things said at last year's OCFF has pushed me think a little more about this.

9. The first time I saw the words "pubic hair" written, I totally read "public hair". Not only that, but I read it out loud to a huddled group of friends in grade 7 from a copy of "The Valley of Horses". I'd  borrowed the book from my Dad's collection, and spent the next 4 years hoping he wouldn't reread the series or remember how much sex was in it.

10. I'm really good at starting things.... not so good with follow thru.

25 things revisited

When I was rereading some old posts I found my first list of "25 random things about me" and posted it last week. I figured it was time to come up with another 25 things.... but 25 things are hard to come up with all at once, so I'm cheating and doing them in sets of 5.


1. I've always been a journaler (journalizer?), and I've kept most of them. I've had 7 blogs in the past. 3 of them were "secret blogs" with no way to trace them back to me... I was too honest in them, and it scared me a little, so I've long since erased them. I need to set up some sort of burning party for old journals- teenage hormones and overreactions are not something to hang on to.

2. I can't read music.

3. No matter how many times I re-teach myself, I can't remember my seven times tables. "Seven times tables" is an awkward phrase. Maybe it should be "seven's times tables"?

4. If I drink too much (which isn't often), my left eye starts to turn in, but then... if I keep drinking, my lips go numb. It's around the same time that I start walking around the room announcing "I can't feel my lips, could you help me test them?" I blame Fireball. It's a great line, and it always works.

5. Due to #4, I'm sad to say I've kissed nearly all my friends on the lips.

Watch out!

Last night was the first in a long series of Tuesday nights... The most perfect night of the week thru the winter... Pubstumpers Trivia night!!!

The Knitwits gathered both their knitting and their wits and settled into a respectable 4th place for the first quiz night. I'm pretty sure we would have gotten 1st place, but we were missing our music guru. It's amazing how much weight music carries in this thing. Which is terrible, because I know that I know the song when it comes on (we get 6 bars generally) ... but I have no idea of the name, or the singer.

When in doubt, guess Paula (Abdul) or Penis.

(photo is from last month when I returned the trophy to the pub, we won last season... actually we OWNED last season)

The "other" Lovelies

At Amber and Shawn's wedding a week ago, I had the pleasure of singing with two sweet girlies.

There's something really wonderful about being included in your friends' special day.. and it's the first time I've sung at a wedding where the music playing the bride down the aisle has gotten applause! Click for the video...

(thanks to Roshan for the video!)

(I'd blame the camera angle for my twelve hundred chins... but that would be a lie)

haha. I love how when she gets in place at the front we start to rush the song... it just seemed like such a long time!

Record Breaking Speed

My dog is getting older by the second.


Our walk around the block usually takes us about 10 minutes. Yesterday afternoon we made it in 25 minutes.. that's right... 25 minutes. And I pulled on her for a good portion of that time!

Her eyesight has gotten so bad that she can't see things at her feet... so she trips, or she tries to jump over things. Things like shadows. Which... is really funny.
Her newest thing is walking with her nose on the ground, so she can see where she's going.... except then she smells EVERYTHING and has to stop every few feet to check it out.

At one point I nearly picked her up to carry her home- I could see the house.
But then she jumped over a leaf and I decided it was totally worth the walk.


update: having just related this story to Jen, she suggests I get a vest and be Jelly's "seeing eye person".
I wonder if it would mean she could go into stores with me?

Time shift

A look back in time... next week- a newer version!

SUNDAY, JANUARY 25, 2009

25 Random Things About Me

Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. 

(A meme that's going around within the Hair cast.... I'm playing along for once)

1) I was Born at Kingston General Hospital. There was a little boy born the same day as me, when we were 11 he made it on to the cover of Canadian Living Magazine. I was really really mad that he was cooler than I was.

2) I started to learn to write (cursive) on September 9 1985. I remember this because it was the last day the teacher let us print the date at the top of our pages while we did our work. I still default to the September 9th 1985 date when I'm writing distractedly. It must have been very traumatic. Or something.

3-4) when I was little I was facinated with light bulbs. It's a wonder I didn't burn down the house. I'd take the little plastic magnets from a writing board I had- all the letters in all different colours, and set them on the light bulb and try to bend them into different shapes as they started to melt. I also used to play house in my grandma's basement- and I'd "cook" dinner (hold a mini frying pan of water) on the exposed light bulb in the playhouse under her basement stairs. I broke several light bulbs by spilling "dinner" on the bulb.

5) I once misheard my parents telling me that sugar cubes are something that horses like to eat, and something about horses pooping a lot. I spent all of grade 3 defending the idea that sugar cubes were made of refined horse crap.

6) I lost 3 of my baby teeth at pioneer villages (black creek I believe)

7) I hate raw tomatoes. but I'll eat them cooked. or even warm. I ate a plate of raw chicken and didn't have as big of a problem as I had with the plate of sliced raw tomatoes beside it.

8) I lived on a ranch for 3.5 years of my life... spread out over the course of 8 summers and 2 winters... teaching little kidlets how to ride horses and care for them.

9) I took a year off between high school and university and worked as a "chicken sexer". I had several other jobs, but that one's a show-stopper in an interview.

10) I love tulips and lilly of the valley. and hate carnations. I think it's partly because there are no great songs about carnations... and carnations are grown in too many pesticides.

11) I slept thru most of Anthro 101. But blamed it on my "eyes blinking and forgetting to open again". Strangely enough, I remember most of the lectures, and still quote the videos. I also went on to graduate with a Bsc in Anthro and Psych (joint major). I couldn't tell you anything I learned in Psych.

12) EVERY roommate I've ever lived with has gotten married. I'm currently devising a plan to move out from myself... just to increase my odds of getting hitched.

13) I didn't sing (apart from along with the radio) till I was in my mid teens. When I did for the first time- my Mom asked me if I was lip synching. Someone tried to complement me once on my singing prior to that (at a youth conference) ... I told them they had the wrong person, they must have been hearing the girl beside me. They gave me a dirty look. I honestly thought they couldn't have ment me.

14) the best sound in the entire world is the low "wooonnnnnnt"  (not quite a nicker, not quite a snort) of a horse in the morning as it looks for treats you've got hidden in your pocket. second best sound is that collective gasp from the house after an increadible song or piece of music finishes... people trying to regain their ground after being lost in the piece.

15) I've always wanted a dog. One day when I was 5 a dog was hit by a car near our house, he wandered into our back yard and we took care of him till the animal shelter came to get him. I fed him ritz crackers, and I think about him every time I eat them still. My parents wanted a pet that would die a little quicker so we wouldn't be tied-down for as long. We got my first rabbit when I was 6. He died  my last year of high school. 

16) I jumped away from my bed getting out of it (better to avoid whatever evil creature was living under it) until I moved away from home. When I stay in my old room, I still take a large step away from it.

17) I've never broken a bone that deserved a cast. 

18) I don't hear melody.

19) tacos and mangos (freshly picked) and fene and passion fruit and coir sol and sweet potatoes and hot dogs and chicken parma and wings are my favourite foods.

20) The idea of fish touching my feet freaks me out so much, I'm likely going to have nightmares tonight just from thinking about it.

21) I love scarey movies and nightmares

22) My mom died 5 1/2 years ago. I miss her every day.

23) I have a life list, and I cross things off of it as often as I can. Even if it means sometimes writing things on it as I do them.

24) I've lived and worked in both East and West Africa. Though it was easier living in Uganda (no serious language barriers) I liked tiny Togo better. I'd move back in a heart beat. most days. except I really like being clean. And it's near impossible to stay clean where I've lived. And I really like being cool at night. and I really like people being on time. and I like being able to turn on the tap and drink my water... and I like not having to dip my fruit and veggies in bleach. ok, MOST days.

25) I'm not a people person by nature, but I hate being alone, so I get really involved so I don't have time to be alone. I'm also not a morning person.... but I learned to get over it. I'm actually really awkward in general. Thankfully my friends love me anyway.