pLuM LoCo? Or just plain crazy?

2009-12-17T13:15:00.000-08:00

NEW BLOG

For more current posts, please visit my new blog at

http://parallelimages.blogspot.com/

- Paula

2009-03-01T11:29:00.000-08:00

BOOK REVIEW: DEWEY The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched The World

On this chilly but bright Sunday afternoon, I am just about to sit down with a hot cup of tea and read the final chapter of "Dewey".

I received this book as a birthday gift from a dear friend who knows I am fanatical about cats and it was a good call on her part. I have read a chapter almost each evening since before going to sleep each night.

This book is as much about a cat who was adopted by a small-town library as it is about the author, Vicki Myron. Vicki doesn't have an easy life, nor does Dewey, but together they help each other through the rough parts.

From his discovery as a tiny kitten in the night book depository on the coldest night of the year (who could do that to an innocent creature??), through the 18 years he lorded over the Spencer Public Library and finally, to his passing, Vicki faithfully tells the tale of an ordinary orange tabby who became extraordinary not only to the library and small town he made his home, but to much of the world.

A good read for any cat lover.

Now I'm off to read the final chapter.

2009-02-28T07:32:00.000-08:00

Only in Canada, eh?

I actually used one of these little gadgets this morning on my daily decaf. It works great with one exception - it doesn't help you win, it just makes it easier to rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrroll up the rim!

Mine was a stocking stuffer this past Christmas, but I have seen them at Lee Valley.

A must on any serious Canuk Timmy's Rim Roller's key chain!

2008-05-20T18:24:00.000-07:00

ROAD TRIP!

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of spending 2 days taking photos of some of the most beautiful things mother nature has to offer with a dear friend who shares my passion for photography.

Jane and I departed on Saturday morning with a van load of photography equipment and a bin of fragile cargo - blueberry seedlings - bound for my brother's farm in Vineland.

Our first stop was Humber Nurseries where we were delighted to find that they had just watered the plants and there were water drops EVERYWHERE! A photographers dream come true!

Also at Humber Nurseries is a small butterfly conservatory. Although there weren't a lot of butterflies there, it was a good primer for our visit to the Niagara Butterfly Conservatory on Sunday.

Saturday evening, we arrived at my brother's house and got some sunset shots, but the highlight of the weekend for us both - certainly the most fun part - was after the sun went down. Being the Victoria day long weekend, I had brought sparklers for my neice and nephew and naturally, once it got dark, we got the out and had fun both with them and with the cameras.

From here, we progressed to "writing with light" and, although not predicted for the weekend, the moon made an appearance and we got some shots of it as well.

Sunday, we headed to Niagara Falls early to go to the Butterfly Conservatory in the pouring rain, which ruled out any photos in the stunning gardens there. Our second stop was Bird Kingdom which yielded no good photos for me.

Our final stop of the day was the Niagara Parks Greenhouse which was our favourite stop for several reasons... #1) it was quiet. We almost had the whole place to ourselves, #2) it was filled with stunning and unique plants, and #3) it was F R E E !

2008-05-20T18:09:00.000-07:00

A Tasty Trip Down Memory Lane...

I notice a few years ago that a little country store near my brother's house in Vineland sells pink elephant popcorn. Every time we go to visit them, we stop in at this store for fresh baked goods and I always say I want a box of pink elephant popcorn...and Darryl always talks me out of it and every time I kick myself for not getting a box.

Well, I was in Vineland this past weekend and I stopped into the store again but this time Darryl (a.k.a. my conscience) wasn't with me to talk me out of buying it.

It only took 2 pieces to transport me back 25 years ago. It was still as vibrant, sweet, and yes, stale, as I remember it being.

My tastes must have refined over the years as I daresay, as good at pink elephant popcorn is, I believe I now prefer cashew poppycock.

But it was nice to be 9 years old again... if only for a fleeting moment.

2008-04-14T20:28:00.000-07:00

Happy 10th Birthday, Monty!Before another day gets away from me, I have to take a moment and reflect on the last 10 years of my life that have been shared by the worlds greatest dog (I know...we all own the world's greatest dog, don't we?) but Monty sure is something else.

I can't imagine a day going by anymore without him in it. He is my starter dog and he got me off to one heck of a rocky start in both dog ownership and training but through it all we have both grown to be better together than either one of us could hope to be apart. He is my heart dog.

I thank the Van Dycks for trusting me with that little bundle of energy (and teeth!) all those years ago.
I treasure the people and dogs I've met and gotten to know because of him (Hello, moosedoggers!!).

If I hadn't fallen head over heels in love with him as an example of the breed, I wouldn't also now share my home and heart with two other not too shabby moosedogs, Quinn & Toby.

So here's to Wolfsheim's Kissing Buddy "Montana" CD, otherwise known as Monty, Bud and Horseface. I love you Buddy. Thanks for being a part of my world for the last 10 years and here's to many, many more years together.

(photos to follow soon...)

2008-04-07T15:44:00.000-07:00

it's almost time...

2008-03-30T06:50:00.000-07:00

How did YOU mark Earth Hour 2008?

We not only flipped switches off, we flipped breakers off. We left only the furnace, the fridge and the freezer running for one hour last night while we enjoyed a scintilating game of chesse by candlelight. (I lost, by the way, but it was a brutal game that took the entire hour!).

As we were going around the house lighting candles, I was both surprised and delighted to look out to the neighbours houses and see candles flickering in many of their windows, as well.

My question is, why only do this once a year? If the impact on greenhouse gas emmissions is so profound based on just ONE HOUR per year globally, why not do it monthly? Or even weekly?

It's something we intend to look at doing on our own in any event.

--------------------------------

From CBC Canada

Canadians go dark with world for Earth Hour
Sat Mar 29, 11:19 PM

Canadians joined communities around the world on Saturday in turning off the lights for this year's Earth Hour, a global campaign to raise awareness of climate change.

Canadians in about 150 communities including Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver, pledged to turn off their lights for 60 minutes at 8 p.m. local time Saturday night.

In Toronto, much of the downtown core went dark as Mayor David Miller pulled a ceremonial switch in Nathan Phillips Square to dim the lights at City Hall shortly before the hour approached.

Canadian singer Nelly Furtado then led the thousands gathered in the square in an acoustic version of her hit song Turn Out the Lights.

The CN Tower soon darkened in the city's skyline, along with highrises, sports arenas such as the Rogers Centre and Air Canada Centre.

Meanwhile, in restaurants across the city, people dined by candlelight.

In Ottawa, the Peace Tower and its four-faced clock above Canada's Parliament faded to black.

About 100,000 Canadians out of a total of 300,000 people worldwide registered online for the event - putting the country among top participants anywhere.

In Alberta, fire and oil put darkness on ice

But the evening was not marked by total darkness in Canada's energy capital.

Officially, Calgary is marking Earth Hour, but patrons and bar owners were quick to point out the event coincided with a more historic Alberta tradition - a provincial battle on the ice between hometown Flames and the Edmonton Oilers.

Wayne Leong, owner of Calgary's Melrose Cafe and Bar, told CBC News he was expecting a packed house, so he wasn't shutting down anything.

"Not a chance, I'm sorry to say," Leong said with a laugh. "Let's celebrate Earth Hour at four in the morning. That will be a lot better time, I think."

Sydney Opera House dims lights

The campaign, organized by the World Wildlife Fund, was kicked off hours earlier Saturday in New Zealand and Fiji.

In Christchurch, New Zealand, more than 100 businesses and thousands of homes were plunged into darkness, computers and televisions were switched off and dinners delayed for the hour-long period.

Suva, Fiji, in the same time zone, also turned off its lights.

Those cities were soon followed by others in Australia and Asia, as Sydney's iconic Opera House and Bangkok's famous Wat Arun Buddhist temple went dark. As the clock ticked forward, Asian cities to the west followed suit.

Hours later, darkness enveloped Rome's Colosseum, Dublin's Custom House, London's City Hall and other landmarks across Europe. But other countries - including France, Germany, Spain and European Union institutions - planned nothing to mark Earth Hour.

One of the last major cities to participate will be San Francisco - home to the soon-to-be dimmed Golden Gate Bridge.

Group aims 100 million participants

During the one-hour event, Sydney was noticeably darker, though it was not a complete blackout. The business district was mostly dark; organizers said 250 of the 350 commercial buildings there had pledged to shut off their lights completely, and 94 of the top 100 companies on the Australian stock exchange were also participating.

The number of participants was not immediately available, but organizers were hoping that this year's worldwide effort would eclipse last year's single-city debut, when 2.2 million people and more than 2,000 businesses in Sydney shut off lights and appliances, resulting in a 10.2 per cent reduction in local carbon emissions during that hour.

"I'm putting my neck on the line, but my hope is that we top 100 million people," Earth Hour Australia chief executive Greg Bourne said.

The effect of last year's Earth Hour was infectious. This year, 26 major world cities and more than 300 other cities and towns have signed up to participate.

The Thai branch of the WWF said the campaign in Bangkok reduced the load on the electrical system by 73.34 megawatts and cut carbon dioxide emissions by 41.6 tons.

Organizers see the event as a way to encourage the world to conserve energy. While all lights in participating cities are unlikely to be cut, it is the symbolic darkening of monuments, businesses and individual homes they are most eagerly anticipating.

Even popular internet search engine Google put its support behind Earth Hour, with a black background to its main page and the words: "We've turned the lights out. Now it's your turn."

With files from the Associated Press and the Canadian Press

2008-03-27T17:30:00.000-07:00

I FOUND IT!

Funny thing is, I didn't even know I was looking for it...

It's hard to believe that, until today, it had been 16 years since I've laid eyes on the above culvert.

I know, I know...hard to believe, isn't it? Don't we all have a favourite culvert or ditch or swail out there somewhere? Don't we? Ok, well perhaps I'm alone on this one.

I took the above photo in my first year of college for a photography assignment and something about it has stuck with me and in all my travels in the years since, I've never been by the spot again until today.

Not that I was looking for it, but whenever my travels took me down any of the side roads in Manvers, I would kind of subconsciously keep an eye out for it as I had long forgotten the exact location the photo was taken.

Imagine my suprise and delight today when I came upon this...

2008-03-22T18:56:00.000-07:00

What word is dirtier than the dreaded "S" word?

And by "S" word, I am, of course, referring to SNOW.

The only word in our house that's worse this time of year is MUD. As the snow recedes, all manner of ugly things are slowly revealed in our back yard...this is the one element of spring I could live without.

Having three dogs means I have almost as much mud and dirt INSIDE my house as OUTSIDE.

2008-03-21T19:00:00.000-07:00

Ah... Spring is in the air...

While it may not LOOK like it outside, it is beginning to smell, sound and feel like spring outside.

The thermometer may still be reading below 0, but the sun is stronger and the snow melts and receeds, albeit slowly.

I've heard robins and redwing blackbirds already (haven't yet seen them, but I know they are there). I spent some time last weekend at the McLaughlin Conservation area with Jane taking photos. We didn't quite get there in time for sun rise, but there was a lovely fog hanging over the bay as the sun came up through the clouds.

Jane is not what I would call an early riser, but I think even she was glad (eventually!) that she got up early that morning. We had a very fruitful (birdful??) day, as you can see from the photos.

Today, Darryl and I drove to visit his mom and my parents and it's a whole other world there - just a short half hours drive to the north. On either side of my parents driveway were 5' deep snow drifts...and it was the same in every other yard. There was 3-4' on the level still...yet the same sun shone strongly and you could see water undercutting the drifts at the road edge. It won't be long now...

2008-03-16T07:08:00.000-07:00

Canadian Geographic

Before I left for Las Vegas at the first of this month, a friend had emailed me a link to the Canadian Geographic website, insisting that "there are some really great shots on here, but I think we take some just as good or better!"...so I filed the link away for further investigation and promptly forgot all about it (Sorry Jane...but I was going to Vegas!).

Upon my return, she reminded me about the site and I finally checked it out. Indeed, there are some truly astonishing shots on the site and an equal, if not greater, number of not-so-much.

I just joined last night and I submitted a couple of photos to their "Shoot This" gallery - where they give you ideas & guidelines and you post photos of such and are critiqued and rated by other site members. It's a tool to get the creative juices flowing when you're stuck for ideas. The current subject is "3-D Curves" - any curve of any kind, but it must have depth. Here's my entry. This is the facade of the Planet Hollywood Casino in Las Vegas.

They also feature a "photo of the week" selected from member galleries - the two samples that were on the site blew me away. Credit where credit is due - clicking on these two photos will take you to the photographers own page on Canadian Geographic.

I'm excited about being a member of this site and will post some of my (in my opinion) best shots here in the future.

2008-03-08T06:53:00.001-08:00

2008-03-08T06:31:00.001-08:00

2008-03-07T20:11:00.000-08:00

Friday, March 7, 2008

Owww...again.

I should know better by now,but no, I walked the strip again - further this time than last Sunday.

I was up early - 6am here - and down in the casino by 7 - it's quiet that early in the morning and you have your pick of the slot machines. I played until 9:30 when I met Dianna and Ron for breakfast at the Grand buffet.

After which, we took a cab to the Fashion Mall, where I was finally able to pick up some souvenirs to take home. Not much else in the mall caught my eye, so I wandered over to Treasure Island to check it out.

A custom motorcycle in the Treasure Island Casino, the Siren:

After donating some money there, I came back to meet Dianna and Ron in Neiman Markus. While Dianna and I waited for Ron, I had my first celebrity sighting - if you can call it that. Carrot Top was shopping in Neiman Markus. I managed to take a covert snapshot of him and although it's not a great shot (I didn't want to be too obvious!), it is clear that it is him.

We spent the next 2 hours making our way back to the hotel. Along the way, we stopped for supper at a patio restaurant outside Planet Hollywood, where I had something that I suspect may have been sushi...although I didn't realize it until it arrived at the table and I started eating it...it wasn't bad, but I'm not in a hurry to try it again.

The restaurant (I don't recall the name) overlooked Las Vegas Blvd, and while we were eating, we could watch the traffic hustling up and down the strip. The majority of the vehicles were taxis and limos - but even amid the thousands of others, this one stood out above the crowd - I've done a little research since getting back to the hotel. Curious about Big Blue?

We also noticed that part of the Paris Casino's balloon sign was missing. One of the restaurant's employees said that it is being taken down!! I understand there is a place, acres in the desert, where old Vegas signs go to die. It's called the Neon Graveyard. Also, more info here. Here too, will the Paris balloon eventually come to rest.

Much to the delight of my abused feet, we made it back to the hotel. I couldn't walk another step, but rather than admit it, I instead said I was going to play the slots for a bit before going upstairs. Well, I should have forced myself to
crawl upstairs instead. I was, at one point, up $200 overall...now I'm down almost $500. I've saved a little bit for tomorrow morning, if I have time.

Right now, I'm uploading photos and starting to pack - although by the sounds of the weather back home, we may not be going anywhere tomorrow!!

2008-03-07T19:34:00.000-08:00

Thursday, March 6, 2008

We were in classes or lectures most of the day today and didn't really get out and about too much. We went for dinner at "Craftsteak"' - it was phenomenal. We had the surf and turf sampling menu between the 3 of us. I have had kobe beef before, but never this good... boneless spare ribs cooked for 18 hours. They just melted in your mouth. The lobster was tender and sweet in a saffron butter sauce. Everything was excellent (with the exception of the tab!). Afterwards, we hopped in a cab and drove up the strip to the Wynn - Ron had been wanting us to see it the whole time we''ve been here and it lived up to
expectations.

We watched the free show before spending several hours in the casino. I ended the evening up about $150. I actually had a $600 voucher from earlier in the evening on the $1 Wheel of Fortune.

I'm glad I took a photo of this, because it's looooong gone now. :o(

(We got in really late so I'm actually posting this entry on Friday)

2008-03-05T22:13:00.000-08:00

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Not much to blog about today - spent the majority of the day in lectures or courses - from 8:00am this morning until 3:30 this after noon, with a fashion show luncheon from 12-1 benefiting the Koman Breast Cancer Foundation.

I had about an hour to get all gussied up for the big awards show, at which Dianna accepted her Diamond Award.

I didn't have time to get out with the camera today, so all I have to post are a few a took at the awards this evening.

The lady of the hour herself, Dianna!

Dianna and her Broker, John

Although I realy don't like this photo, I'm including it to prove I was actually here. This is John, Dianna and myself at the RE/Max Night of Stars, Las Vegas, NV, March 5, 2008.

2008-03-04T20:43:00.000-08:00

March 4, 2008

Whoa...what a day!!!

I was awakened at 7:50 am this morning by a phone call from Ron announcing that we were moving rooms and I needed to be packed AND dressed for my day in a little over an hour.

After a furious flurry of activity, I was showered, dressed and packed in 1 hour. We schlepped our belongings to the Signature suites where we each now had our own suite. Well, for the 2 minutes I had to check out the suite, I was floored. There was no comparison. Our previous rooms were akin to highway motor hotel rooms compared to these. A full kitchen, complete with pots, pans, dishes, blender...even measuring cups! The bathroom has a separate room for the toilet, a glass shower, Jacuzzi tub, double sinks and a TV. The suite itself has a bar, the bed area and a separate living room and office area. I could spend the rest of my week here and be quite content...well, no, that's not 100% true!! There's still a lot of Vegas I want to see!

This mornings functions started out with the opening general session from 9:30-12:00, which was a nostalgic trip through the last 35 years with RE/Max and into the future. The highlight for me was without a doubt Terry Fader - I have been a fan since seeing him win America's Got Talent. I can't be the only person who thinks he's phenomenal, can I? I know Dianna wasn't impressed with him at first, but I think by the time he was done, he'd won her over - I think it was the Sonny & Cher impersonation. How does one man sing two parts at the same time so that you can distinguish two vocals??

I did get a little video of his performance before my camera batteries died. :o( He did about 6 songs - I got his intro and 2 songs.

At 1, my courses for the day started. I did 1 hour on contact management, 1 hour on digital marketing and 1 hour on changes in the real estate market.

This was followed by an "Ice Cream" social at the marquee ballroom featuring hagendaus ice cream and free drinks which led up to the Children's Miracle Network action. I watched some of the auction and bought myself a little bit of Las Vegas bling.

From there, I made my way to the Canadian Happy Hour reception where met a lovely couple from BC before finally meeting up with Dianna and Ron again.

Made my way back to my "suite" for a leisurely soak in the jacuzzi - which does wonders for abused tootsies - dried off with a HUGE snuggle soft towel and I'm now writing this blog while enjoying a cup of berry tea I brewed in my kitchen while listening to American Idol. Time to upload multimedia and call it a night - another big day ahead tomorrow. Courses until 3:30, then getting ready for the big awards night!!

Bon soir!

2008-03-03T21:19:00.000-08:00

March 3, 2008

As I sit here in my hotel room and watch the sun set behind the skyscrapers of New York, I find it astonishing that I have only to turn my head to the right to see the very same sun glinting off the Eiffel tower, and, if I wait a little longer and turn my head to the left, I can see the brilliant beam of light emitting from the peak of a Pharaohs temple. Ah...Las Vegas...how can you not love it??

In my wandering the last couple of days, I've been delighted to discover THREE Starbucks inside the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino. I haven't begun to try to count all of the restaurants - only one of which I've been to thus far as I seem to have left my appetite in Canada - which suits me just fine!

This morning, I awoke at 5:30am and decided to stay up. I spent some time online with my office this morning checking in on things. Dianna and Ron stopped in around 7:30 on their way down to Dianna's class. I took my time getting dressed and finally left my room around 9am.

I took a stroll through the hotel's main gift shop and bought (Darryl, skip this next bit) a beanie baby named "Aces" who holds a replica of the famous Las Vegas sign in his arms.

I tried my luck at the slots and donated more money to the casino (thank goodness I made a budget and I've almost managed to stick to it).

Around 10am, I took a cab to the Luxor hotel. This is one I have been wanting to see since I first heard that it had opened - I am fascinated by Egyptian history and artifacts. I was greatly disappointed in the hotel. I didn't have time to go through their display of King Tut's tomb - perhaps that might change my mind. I will try later this week to go again.

As long as I am up and moving, my feet don't hurt too badly, so I kept walking. There is a mall that connects the Luxor to the next hotel on the strip, Mandalay Bay, so I wandered through there and to their SharkReef Aquarium, where I spent $15 to go on a self-guided 30 minute tour. Due to the glass, not many of my photos turned out, but I also took a fair bit of video, some of which looks promising; I have posted 2 videos at the end of this entry.

At noon, I caught another cab back to the MGM Grand to get changed and over to the Convention Centre for my afternoon of courses.

My first course was on E-Marketing - a very enlightening hour that gave me pages and pages of notes and ideas. That was followed by a panel discussion with 2 top agents who use social networking/blogging as an integral component of their marketing plan. Again, lots of ideas.

My courses finished up around 4, so I had time to go through the RE/Max Market place and picked up a few little things.

While walking back to the hotel from the convention centre, I was pleasantly surprised to spot Dianna's boss and his wife having a late lunch in one of the restaurants so I had a brief visit with them and agreed to meet up with them later.

At 5, I came back to the room to freshen up and get ready for the Welcome Reception.

The Welcome Reception was themed around the 70's as RE/Max this year is celebrating 35 years. There were Go-Go dancers, funky light shows and a really amazing live band. There was plenty to eat and drink but the event was over all too soon.

Dianna and Ron decided to head out on the strip while I opted for a quiet night in. It's 9:30pm here now, but by the time I upload some of today's photos, it will be going on 11, if not 12, so that's it for today's narrative.

Until tomorrow....'night.

2008-03-02T15:54:00.000-08:00

March 2, 2008

*whimper*

My feet have never hurt this much in my life. I've just gotten back to the hotel from walking the strip. Not all of it, but damn close. I had to admit defeat at Caesar's Palace and instead of hailing Caesar, I found myself hailing a cab.

With the time change, I was awake at 4 this morning, but managed to get back to sleep and got out of bed at 7. Dianna was in a course today so Ron and I had the day to ourselves. This is something like Ron's 38th trip to Vegas and he delights in talking about the town in the 70's, when it was still run by the mob and classy - you'd never see anyone in shorts or jeans or sandles...suits were the attire of the day. Now, Vegas is corporate and they'll let anyone in...even me!

We had brunch at the Grand Buffet this morning - the great thing about Vegas being 24/7 is while we were having brunch, others were having dinner...complete with drinks! The couple at the table next to us were eating sushi and washing it down with Coronas with lime. Ugh...not appetizing that early in the day for me.

I had smoked salmon (again), bacon, eggs, fruit and cranberry juice.

At 11, just outside the Grand Buffet, we watched the MGM Lions in their habitat. These lions are descendants of the original MGM Lion. This morning, there were 2 young males on display and they were very, very playful. 3 handlers were in the exhibit with them and tossed gargantuan raw hide bones and rubber balls for them to play with.

Afterwards, we set out up the strip heading for Caesars Palace.

Along the way, we passed through New York & Paris. Passed by Bally's, the Bellagio, and the Flamingo. We toured through the Flamingo and out into their gardens where we saw koi the size of bed pillows - they were MASSIVE. The photos I took don't do them justice, so I didn't post them.

The Monte Carlo:

New York, New York:

The Bellagio:

Planet Hollywood:

Harley Davidson Cafe:

The Flamingo:

Paris:

Caesars Palace:

I had invested in a new camera bag for this trip and thank goodness I did. For anyone who travels and has a large DSLR camera, check out the Lowepro SlingShot (3 sizes,100, 200 & 300). I picked up the 300 and can carry my camera body and up to 5 lenses. It's a backpack style bag that rotates around your torso for top load access to the bag without having to remove it and it also keeps both of your hands free.

Right now, everything from my waist down is on fire - my feet have blisters on top of blisters (I've already had to go buy moleskin for my poor tootsies) and for some reason, pain has settled into my right hip like you would not believe. I suggested Ron take Dianna out for dinner...just the two of them...because I really don't think I'll be going too far. Room service, anyone??

We didn't make it to the Nascar Race here, but I've been able to listen to the last 100 laps while sitting here typing this blog.

These photos are for Darryl - in the Caesars Palace Shopping Mall, there was an FAO Schwartz toy store. Aside from the undeniably impressive trojan horse in the store (2 STOREY horse), there was also a huge stuffed moose...since I didn't bring a second suitcase, I'm goin to buy the moose for $1200 and check it as baggage and bring it home for Monty, Quinn & Toby, ok?

2008-03-01T21:53:00.000-08:00

March 1, 2008

Greetings from 38626 ft over Lincoln Nebraska! It's 8:30am Nevada time – I've no idea what time it is locally...

I'm no jet-setting world traveler by any means, but I can't say enough how much I'm enjoying the service on WestJet.

Such personal, personable, delightful service from everyone from the baggage clerk to the pilot. Comfortabe seats with lots of legroom, a variety of in-flight movies. I watched Enchanted...poor choice. Not even McDreamy could save that train wreck. My viewing experience was redeemed by catching the hound group from the recent Westminster Kennel Club Dog show rebroadcast and seeing not one elkhound, but the entire entry!!

At 11:00am local time, we landed in Vegas without incident and were greeted by 24C temps and sunny skies. We were off the plane, had claimed our baggage and were on our way to the hotel in under 20 minutes – a shocking and delightful pleasure! As an interesting sidebar, immediately upon disembarking the plane, we were greeted by banks and banks of...yup, you guessed it...slot machines! Before you even get to restrooms, there are slot machines.

Welcome to Lost Wages, Nevada!

After checking in to the hotel, we headed up to our rooms on the 13^th floor...yes...the THIRTEETH floor. In a land ripe with superstition, apparently no-one told the powers that be that designed the MGM Grand that 13 is an UNlucky number...notwithstanding the issue of being in a casino!

Once the pressing matters of unpacking and showering were taken care of, I arranged to meet up with Dianna and Ron in the elevator lobby on the main floor...which was where I went....and waited...and wandered looking for them...where could they be?

I searched the slots, the lobby, the convenience store, a lounge, several restaurants (by the way, google map the MGM Grand...it's MASSIVE...particularly when you're searching for 2 people in thousands). In my wanderings, I took in the shopping, theaters, restaurants, facilities, pool, spa, and eventually found myself in the convention centre, so I scouted out were we will need to go for courses and events over the course of the week.

I even made my first official purchase in Las Vegas....a Starbucks coffee :o) (Did I do you proud, Jane?)

Eventually, I did find Dianna and Ron and after trying our luck for a few minutes on the one-armed bandits (current tally, -$10) we hoped into a cab and in minutes we were transported half a world away to Venice, Italy. The murals were astonishing...I don't know why there aren't more personal injuries in their lobby since every person walks around the cavernous space with their head cranked back soaking in the beauty above. And it starts even before you enter the main doors. The ceiling of the taxi stand/valet parking area is painted with massive circular murals, too.

Gold leaf – REAL gold leaf – covers almost every surface. Murals adorn the ceilings and walls everywhere you look...but this was not to be the most impressive that the Venician had to offer to us.... we rounded a corner and passed through an archway and into an open-air plaza in Venice – complete with canals and gondolas piloted expertly by Gondoliers. Street performers entertained with juggling, acrobatics, stilt-walking, opera singing, and, most amazing of all, a living statue.

We dined at Wolfgang Puck's restaurant; I enjoyed smoked salmon and a mixed baby green salad with pine nuts and goat cheese. Excellent.

We rounded off our first evening in Vegas with some live entertainment in the form of the “Blue Man Group”. For anyone who enjoys high energy, colourful, artsy entertainment, I highly recommend it – just don't go see it when all you can think about is how tired you are and how you long for a cozy bed...and your companions are even worse off and snooze through most of the show!!

It's 10:21 pm now local time, which means it's well past 1am and time for me to get some sleep. Not sure yet what tomorrow has in store!

'night

2008-02-28T00:05:00.000-08:00

Ah to sleep...perchance to dream...

It's 3am on Thursday morning. Bronwyn, me and my newest little cool gadget, my Eee PC, are sitting in the quiet, dark den keeping each other company on yet another sleepless night.

What a week this has been. Seriously... I never could have imagined. It started last Friday when I realized I was coming down with my first cold of this winter season -- and what a doozie it's turned out to be. It has now kept me up or 4 of the last 7 nights with 3 or less hours of sleep a night. On Tuesday night, I was working late when I got a call that my boss had been in a serious car accident. I spent hours that night driving around trying to find where her car had been towed to get her personal items and client files out of it. I was able to speak with my boss moments after the accident so I knew she was ok, but when I finally saw the mangled remains of her car, I realized that she was one mighty lucky lady and that had she been driving a smaller car, the evenings events would have been much more tragic. Her car is a total loss,, but other than a few scrapes and bruises an d being VERY stiff, my boss is otherwise ok. She is laying low for a few days to recover.

Wednesday was Quinn's 5th birthday and my only night this week that I would have time to finish packing for Las Vegas. Well, by the time I got home from work, I was so tired it was all I could do to change out of my work clothes. I did manage to cook her, Monty & Toby a stew of chicken thighs, green beans & egg noodles for dinner.

Here is a photo of the birthday girl waiting patiently for her special supper. As a point of interest, while the dogs enjoyed their delectable supper, Darryl and I dined on kraft dinner and nuked hot dogs. :o/

So, here it is, just into the early hours of Thursday...only a little past hump day, and already I'm ready for this week to be over, I still have so much packing to do to get ready to leave for Vegas early Saturday. Today is my birth mom's birthday and I promised I would take her out for coffee this evening, I also have an appointment to have the oil changed in the van as it's looong overdue. Tomorrow, I''m taking Darryl out for dinner before I have to leave him for a week which I'm so not looking forward to (being apart for a week, not the dinner) and things at the office aren't going well either not even taking into account the accident.

It's now 3:40am and I'm going to try to get some sleep. The coughing has let up and the headache that originally woke me has eased somewhat.

My Eee PC and I are going to attempt to faithfully blog each day from Vegas with photos, so I will be back soon with more news.

Until then, or my next sleepless night, bon soir, mes amis.

2008-02-23T05:26:00.000-08:00

TESTING....TESTING...Is this thing on?

In preparation for my trip to Las Vegas for the International RE/Max Convention (I leave in one week from today!), I treated myself to a new "toy" last night - an Eee PC.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASUS_Eee_PC

I got the cadillac version with all the bells and whistles and it was still only $400CDN!

Within minutes of taking it out of the box last night, I was surfing online via the wireless modem (I also discovered that there are at least 2 neighbours with wireless internet as I had 3 choices for logging on wirelessly).

At only 2 lbs and tiny enough to slip into my purse, I'm far more excited about taking this to vegas than the 50 lb toshiba ancient notebook we have at the office! This will also allow me now to take my Rebel camera as I can fit both in carry-on; something that was impossible when I was going to take the toshiba.

Although small, the keyboard is easy to navigate with only a small learning curve with respect to the function keys, which are sensible and clearly marked.

The touchpad is responsive and easy to use.

It has an integrated webcam, 2 stereo speakers built-in on either side of the 7" colour monitor which produce surprisingly good sound. There is also a jack for external speakers should you require fuller sound when you are gaming or watching movies.

There are ports for ethernet & phone connectivity, microphone & external speakers, 1 firewire port and 2 usb ports, a serial port for a monitor, should you feel you need a larger display, and a 7 in 1 flash card reader, which I'm going to test now.

Yes, it works. The webcam also works, but I'm not posting what it's seeing this morning. Scarma!

Overall, I'm immensely impressed with my purchase, which later today will have an upgrade to 2 gb internal memory and also has 8gb external via a compact flash card.

Kudos to the Eee PC; Easy to Learn, Easy to work, Easy to play!

2007-07-17T06:47:00.000-07:00

2007 NECC National Specialty

What a weekend we've just had. I need a weekend to recuperate from my weekend!

First off, let me state that I didn't have a camera in hand at all, all weekend. Very strange for me! I am relying on the photos of others to chronical the weekend's events. Since I was there solo Friday, there are no photos. Towards the end you will find pictures along with the story.

It all started on Thursday evening. I was supposed to leave home by 6pm but at 6:30, I was still at the office frantically trying to get things wrapped up so I wouldn't feel guilty about taking Friday off.

I so hate being behind schedule - there's nothing worse than feeling rushed & stressed - especially at the beginning of what is going to be a very intense, stressful experience on it's own.

I finally got Monty, Quinn, myself and the stuff I would need until Friday night loaded in the PT (this is the first and ONLY time the dogs have/will ever ride in the PT) (EVER) and we were on the road around 7:00 to head to Woodstock. The drive was good - the GPS made the trip feel more or less effortless. So nice not to have to think ahead when you're driving. You can deal with what's going on around you and kind of take a little time to yourself. Some good tunes, flowing traffic...it was a good trip for the most part.

On the far side of Toronto, I knew I was coming into some bad weather. It was about 8:30pm and I had the most amazing sunset on my right, ribbons of rain in the distance ahead and bruised purple-black clouds alive with lightening to my left. When I did finally get into the rain, it was horrible but thankfully short-lived. By the time I arrived in Woodstock around 9:15pm, the rain had passed and it was a lovely night.

I unloaded the dogs and our things and settled into our room for what I hoped would be a restful night's sleep.

Alas, it was not to be. Monty has spent a fair bit of time in hotel rooms in his 9 years so not much phases him, but Quinn, on the other hand, hasn't had as much travel time. She barked at EVERY little noise right through the night. And I'm not talking just a little "woof" this was an all out BARKBARKBARKBARKBARKBARK!!! I was so tired and frustrated by morning... I had ordered a wake up call at 5:30am which turned out to be unnecessary as I was already up, showered and dressed waiting for breakfast to start at 6.

I left the dogs in the room while I went for breakfast then came back to collect Quinn to take her to the show grounds for 8am.

Monty was not entered in anything on Friday so he stayed in the room all day and caught up on his beauty sleep.

I really enjoy competing at the Woodstock show, which is hosted by the Oxford County Kennel Club. This is billed as Ontario's largest outdoor show and let me tell you, there are more dogs there than I would care to shake a stick at (probably not a good idea at a dog show anyways!).

It's especially nice when it's a specialty to see all of the elkhounds in attendance. For a rare breed, to see 50 or more of them in one place is almost mind boggling. The conformation dogs are gorgeous - gleaming silver and black coats, soft as cotton - prancing at the end of dental floss thin show leads.

I registered for Open A obedience, got my armband (#50) and waited for our turn.

I warmed Quinn up a little. Practicing with her dumb bell - which she hates. I knew the first few trials would be difficult and wasn't expecting to accomplish much. Out of the 6 trials we were entered in over the course of the weekend, I was hoping for 3 qualifying scores.

At about 9:30, they finally got to my class, we were the only entry in Open A. It was as I expected. Nothing to write home about.

In CKC Obedience, a perfect score is 200. Every dog and handler enters the ring with 200 and points are deducted for each error. In order to receive a "leg", a minimum score of 170 is required. Anything above 170 is a qualifying score and a "leg" towards your title is earned. 3 legs are required for a title under at least 2 different judges.

If I remember correctly, our score in the first trial was 134. Again, this was expected. I wanted to use the 2 trials on Friday to judge where I needed to work with her to get things polished for Saturday and Sunday's trials.

I had about 45 minutes between that trial and her second trial, during which I took her off the grounds and practiced on the problem areas. Her heeling was bad, her figure 8 was bad, she went around the high jump...so much work to do!!

In the second trial, her score was about the same, but interestingly (and this made things so much harder for me) the things she screwed up on in the first trial, were ok this time. The things she did right the first time, she screwed up this time!! Boy, did I have my work cut out for me!

We were done at the show site for the day around 11:30 on Friday so we went back to the hotel where I hoped to catch a nap before the NECC Wine & Cheese reception at 4. I did manage to doze a couple of times, but because I was also in charge of the silent auction at the banquet Saturday, I had people coming to the room to drop off late donations. At 3 I gave up hope of any real sleep and got changed for the reception.

Once at the reception, I was pleasantly surprised to see Monty's Breeders there earlier than I had expected them. Maria & Jan are retired from breeding and showing elkhounds, but Jan graciously agreed to show Monty in conformation for me so I was anxious for them to all get together so that Monty would be comfortable with them when it came time to show.

You have to understand something about this relationship between Monty and his breeders. I can't explain why this is the way it is and it blows my mind, quite frankly. We got Monty when he was 12 weeks old. 4 weeks older than when most puppies go to their new homes. He had already been sold, but the people that bought him were transferred overseas and couldn't take him, so he was back at the breeders all alone. His dam had already gone back to the states to her owner so here he was in this HUGE pen all alone. How could we not fall in love with him and take him home? Point of this is, he spent the most impressionable bonding time with the breeders and not with us (kind of unfortunate, really), but as a result, he remembers them to this day and goes absolutely NUTS whenever he sees or hears them, so I wanted to ensure he got to spend as much time with them as possible to desensitize him to them. I took Maria & Jan back to the room and Monty did something he's never done...

I let Monty out of the crate and yes, he was being a stupid silly ass, but Jan sat down on the corner of the bed and Monty all but crawled up into his lap - but it was gentle and slow - not like he normally would have done it - full speed ahead consequences be damned! It very nice to see that.

We took him out to the parking lot to let Jan take him around a few times and figure out what pace would be best for him. After dropping Monty back off in the room with Quinn we returned to the wine and cheese reception. I took bidder registrations for the auction over the course of the evening and returned to my room at 8:30 to catalogue the newly received items. Darryl arrived around 9:30 and we had supper and then he helped me work on the auction stuff until midnight. The whole time we were in the room, Quinn was trying to sleep but we were having none of that. She wasn't going to sleep until we were ready to sleep! We wanted that mouthpiece good and tired in hopes that we would all get to sleep through the night. Thankfully, it worked for the most part. She barked once at about 2:30am but otherwise we all slept through until 6.

"Quinn HEEL!"

Again we were in the ring around 8:30 Saturday morning and again we failed to qualify. Now the pressure was REALLY on. Only 3 trials left in the weekend and 3 qualifying scores needed. This one in particular frustrated me as she was SOOOO close to qualifying. She rapped the broad jump with her back feet and then something happened on her long sit - I don't know what it was as I didn't see it (in Open obedience for the long group exercises, the handlers have to go out of sight). But she got a 0 on that exercise.

"Call your dog!"

My mom & Jane arrived at the show around 9:30 and just missed Quinn in the ring for her first trial.

FINALLY in her second attempt on Saturday, we had success. Everything gelled and she got her first qualifying score and first Open leg!! It was touch and go on the retrieve over the high jump. She went out on the first command and picked up the dumb bell (yay!) then started to come around the right side of the jump (OH NO!) but with less than a foot to spare, she changed course and came over the jump to me (HOORAY!). My heart was in my throat at that point because up until then, she had been doing FANTASTIC.

Final score on that one 185. This trial, although only the 4th of the weekend, was pivotal for us. The NECC was offering an award for high scoring Norwegian Elkhound in obedience, but in order to win that, we had to qualify!! So by getting 185 in Saturday's #4 trial, we also won that award, which was really nice. It was presented to us by the Norwegian Specialty Judge at the end of the conformation shows.

The long 3 minute down with handler (Me!) out of sight!

By the time I came back to the ring, she'd made herself quite comfy - note the hind leg...

"Return to your dogs."

"Exercise finished!"

Once Quinn and I finished in the obedience ring, we had enough time to watch Jan show Monty in the sexually altered conformation class, which he won by default, being the only entry. Still and all, I will take that - this was a once in a lifetime chance for him. We had always planned to show him from the time we first got him, but for a variety of reasons there's no need to go into here, it didn't happen. Rarely are classes offered for neutered/spayed dogs, so when I heard they were going to be offering a class here, I thought "Why not?". Then to find out it would be judged by Ralph Campbell from Norway... well, that's not to be missed! The icing on the top was Monty's breeder agreeing to handle him in the show ring. So another mittful of ribbons and a small trophy for him. Saturday was turning out to be a very good day!

Monty says "Do I hafta go with them, Mom?"

Judge Ralph Campbell, Monty & Jan VanDyck

L-R Ralph Campbell (Norwegian Judge), Barbara Innes (NECC Club President), Me, Jan VanDyck and Monty.

L-R Judge Ralph Campbell, Barbara Innes, myself & Quinn

Quinn getting some lovin' from Norwegian Judge Ralph Campbell.

Darryl, my mom, Jane & myself we in charge of the silent auction at the banquet for Saturday evening and we were opening up the bidding at 3pm on Saturday afternoon. By the time we were finished at the show grounds, it was already 1:30, so we flew back to the hotel to start packing things up to take the the banquet hall. Most of the items were already on a luggage trolley ready to go from the night before, so that saved a lot of time, but we were still very rushed. So much so that none of us had changed or cleaned up before people started to arrive for the auction. We took turns going back to the hotel room to get cleaned up before the dinner started at 5.

I worked right through at the table on paperwork trying to keep ahead of things until I had to stop and get something to eat before they started putting everything away. What a mad rush the whole evening was!!

It was a pleasant surprise to be acknowledged in the speeches for our accomplishment in the obedience ring earlier in the day.

At the NECC Banquet. L-R Jan Van Dyck, Darryl Kennedy, Dominique Merciruo (at the auction table in the background), Me, not sure, Maria Van Dyck in the pink, not sure, not sure, Jane Mackay seated at the table.

Things with the auction really started to heat up around 8pm with bidding on some items going fast and furious (just what we wanted to see!). At 8:30, we shut the auction down so we could sort through everything and let people pick up and pay for their items before it got too late. We had a few glitches in things, and upset one or two people, but we did the best we could under crazy circumstances. Trust me, things will be done differently in the future should we do a silent auction again!!

L-R Donna Weeks (standing), Darryl Kennedy aka "The Bean Counter" (seated), Jane Mackay, me, Dee Queen.

By 11, we had all but a couple of items picked up, so we packed up and headed back to the room... at which time we decided that it was actually time for a drink at the bar before sorting though the money. So back we all went and just chilled for a half an hour and talked about how the weekend had gone thus far.

Back at the room, we counted money until the week hours, finally collapsing into bed around 3am. Mom & Jane were still up past that until I don't know when...but I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow and didn't stir until the alarm went off at 6am. *GROAN*

Breakfast and coffee taken care of, it was off to the show grounds for day #3. 2 trials left and 2 legs needed. The odds sounded pretty good to me, after her performance on Saturday, I was cautiously optimistic.

She was on FIRE in her first trial Sunday morning!! Still lagging a little in the heeling. She scared me half to death on the retrieve on flat when she ran out and stood over her dumb bell and took a good minute to check out the scenery at the other side of the ring - not sniffing - just casually looking around - before finally picking it up and bringing it back to me. *WHEW*!

Another qualifying score of 191 1/2!!

I had spent some time talking to Ralph Campbell on Saturday about obedience and he seemed to take quite a shine to Quinn and asked me when we were in the ring on Sunday as he wanted to watch. He saw the tail end of this stellar performance and stayed to watch her second run of the day, which wasn't as good. She was very distracted and failed to qualify. I spoke with Ralph after outside the ring and we compared how obedience is done in Norway vs here and he was very surprised that we would do 2 trials in one day, let alone 6 in 3. He thought she did very well considering such a demand in a strange place with so many distractions.

Well, that is the weekend in a ginormous nutshell. I'm now trying to find another show close to us to enter for that last elusive leg...

L-R Paula Kennedy, Monty, Quinn & Darryl Kennedy.

2007-05-27T17:06:00.000-07:00

Durham Region Humane Society People for Pets Walkathon at Heber Down Conservation Area

Today, Darryl, Monty & Quinn and myself joined my friend Sarah, her daughter, Michela and their new dog, Angel, for the People for Pets Walkathon to raise money for the Durham Region Humane Society.

The walk took place at Heber Downs Conservation area in Whitby, a place I'd never been to before, but certainly will go back to.

Despite it being a very wet day, we had an excellent time and enjoyed the 5 km walk immensely. The walk was followed by hotdogs and pop and doggie games. Quinn took first prize for best pet trick with her ability to sneeze on command!

Here are some photos from the day...

(I don't know what this is either, but someone claimed it was a dog... I thought perhaps Ewok)

2007-04-28T06:07:00.000-07:00

It's been a rough week on my Moosedog e-group...

U-CD Buddy O-NAC-V, NJC-V, NGC-V, O-TN-N, CGC

December 1992 - April 27, 2007

Member Val Thompson writes:

"Yesterday, my husband had to take Buddy for his final trip to the vet. An ultrasound earlier in the week revealed that he had cancer. It had already metastisized.

We adopted Buddy in Sept 1993, Labor Day weekend. He was about 10 months old. Buddy loved to chase his toys in the backyard and run like the wind. We tried agility, but the obstacles just got in his way and slowed him down. I will miss my golden boy. He is at The Bridge, running fast in a straight line."

2007-04-26T14:00:00.000-07:00

RIP Brottsjo

1-20-95 to 4-26-2007

UACHX, UOTCH, CAN OTCH, AKC/UKC CH LONGSHIPS ICEBREAKER UDX2, ASCA & SKC UD, TD, RAE, MX, AXP, MXJ, OJP, NCG, TDI, HIC, O-VCCX, O-VNEX, VX- AOM, VCD2

Brottsjo belonged to Kari Olsen of Longships Elkhounds. She lost him today at 12 years old after a brief but courageous battle with mast cell cancer.

2007-04-22T05:00:00.000-07:00

What a GORGEOUS WEEKEND!!

I actually took the dogs out in the yard for the first time since winter (we block off part of the yard to keep it clean and to prevent them from tearing it up when the ground is soft).

As always, Quinn proved to be exceptionally photogenic...

As long as she was standing still! Talk about "Spring Fever"!!

Here she was tauning Monty trying to get him to play.

She succeeded, and got a love nip for her efforts!

---------------------------------------------------

My very own "rug dog"

http://www.mccartneysdogs.com/detail-product_id=2801.asp#ProductImage

This is Quinn's "Oooooooh!! Daddy's coming!!" look. How sweet can you get?

Monty says: "There's nothing quite like a vigorous rub in warm spring grass!"

All this fun in the sun made Monty & Quinn very sleepy. When we finally came in yesterday, they crashed hard for the evening.

2007-04-20T23:59:00.000-07:00

Another photography job...

Again with the help of my lovely assistant, Lori, I took two more professional portraits this afternoon.

These ladies are both real estate agents and were looking for new photos for their business cards.

Lori does double duty as not only my assistant, but my model while I set up the lighting and the camera (all the more exceptional when you consider how much difficulty she has with the lights and the flashes - what a one in a million gal!)

Isn't she a gorgeous creature?

Of course, I have the most fun in post-production playing...

Gawd it's been a long day...

2007-04-15T08:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, as usual, was a busy day here at Casa Kennedy.

I got up early and went in to work at 6am and worked until 11. Came home and had a client here for 2 1/2 hrs for a business card photo shoot. When that finished up, Darryl and I snuck Monty out of the house without Quinn noticing and took him for a leisurely afternoon drive to all of his favourite haunts...we went to Sue's Pet Value where Sue and her daughter fussed over him and gave him treats and rubs and lots of love.
From there we went to Petsmart where we ran into another elkhound!! UNHEARD of around here...

At Petsmart, we let Monty pick out a toy...he picked a large green loofa dog. Good news for Quinn since he'd stollen her smaller purple loofa dog she got for her b'day in February!

Birthdays here mean an out of this world supper and yesterday was no exception...

We stopped at the butchers and got some bison (!!) for supper.

We came home and I made bison stew with rosemary, garlic, parsley, whole wheat pasta, peas, carrots & green beans. It smelled DIVINE. Darryl wanted a bowl, too!!

While dinner cooled on the counter, I took advantage of the studio equipment still being set up from the afternoon photo shoot to take some photos of the b'day boy.

Poor Monty was so tuckered out from his day that not too long after that great supper, he crashed out for the night.

What an amazing dog he's become. We've have good times and bad over the years. He was very headstrong and willful in his youth - a challenge to train - but worth every single moment of it for the mellow, loving, sweet boy he's become.

So happy 9th, Horseface...here's to many, MANY more.

2007-04-14T15:09:00.000-07:00

My Second Offical Photo Assignment!!

I got call last week from a friend of mine needing a professional portrait for her new business cards as she launches the next phase in her career as a real estate agent.

Tara has been a wonderful friend over the years since I met her at work almost 10 years ago and I was thrilled that she would think of me for this important job.

I hope she's a pleased with the results as I am.

With the help of Lori, over about an hour, I snapped about 250 photos, of which we were able to weed them down to about 12 really outstanding ones. Here are a few of those (unretouced at this point - isn't she a gorgeous thing?!)

2007-04-13T06:09:00.000-07:00

Amazing yet Simple Home Remedies...

1. A mouse trap, placed on top of your alarm clock, will prevent you from rolling over and going back to sleep after you hit the snooze button.

2. If you have a bad cough, take a large dose of laxatives, then you will be afraid to cough.

3. Clumsy? Avoid cutting yourself while slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold them while you chop away.

4. Avoid arguments with the Mrs. about lifting the toilet seat by simply using the sink.

5. For high blood pressure sufferers: simply cut yourself and bleed for a three minutes, thus reducing the pressure in your veins. Remember to use a timer.

6. Have a bad headache? Smash your thumb with a hammer and you will forget about the headache.

Sometimes, we just need to remember what the rules of life really are:
You only need two tools: WD-40 and Duct Tape. If it doesn't move and should, use the WD-40. If it shouldn't move and does, use the duct tape.

When all else fails, toss down a good shot of whiskey and take a nap.

Remember...Everyone seems normal until you get to know them.

Never pass up an opportunity to go to the bathroom. If you woke up breathing, congratulations! You get another chance.

And finally, be really nice to your family and friends; you never know when you might need them to empty your bedpan.

2007-03-19T17:03:00.000-07:00

I should be happy this is finally behind me, but for some reason, all I am is horribly depressed.

2007-03-19T16:30:00.000-07:00

Guilty.

Upon arriving at the courthouse today, I met with my representative, and had almost 45 minutes to chat with him before my appointed time of 2pm. That chat went a long way towards making me feel a lot more comfortable with the process...not better...but more comfortable.

I learned that the other driver/witness was there and that the police officer was on his way but could be up to an hour late. In the end, rather than try my chances, I decided to plead guilty to a lesser charge of failing to turn left to avoid a collision. Paid my fine and left. I was in and out in about 2 hours.

Want to hear the most ironic part?? Turns out the guy that not only ran off with my money also lied to me about the deal I was offered in January 2006. They offered me the same lesser charge then (he told me they offered following too close, which is more points and a heftier fine; so I turned it down). Had I known that, and accepted it then, I would have had the exact same record then as I do now, but I would have not paid the additional $750 to the new company AND all of this would have been well behind me over a year ago.

What a piss off.

In any event, it is now officially behind me, for better or for worse.

Now I just have to deal with the boss returning from 2 weeks vacation tomorrow.

*sigh*

2007-03-19T05:08:00.000-07:00

Judgement Day.

2007-03-15T10:22:00.000-07:00

251??

I recently switched over to the new version of Blogger and hadn't checked to make sure all of my info transferred correctly...until now.

I pull up my profile and under age it says "251"

251???

Holy crap!

Checked my DOB and sure enough, it seems I was born in 1756.

Well whaddaya know?! Guess I'm actually looking good...you know...for my age.

;oÞ

2007-03-15T07:12:00.000-07:00

Melissa and I were uneasy friends as young children growing up in Pontypool. We initially met in Brownies and later played on many sports teams together. "Guss", as we call called her, was one gal you didn't f**k with. She grew up in a tough family with three tough brothers. In life and in sports, if you had a choice, you wanted Guss to be on your team, cause if she was on the other team, guaranteed you were going to get your ass whiped.

Once we moved on to high school and our world expanded beyond our own little town, Guss went one way and I went another and other than running into her one rare occassion when we both happened to be back home at the same time, I hadn't thought too much about her. I only heard recently that she was ill. She died of cancer this past Sunday. I hope she's in a better place.

R.I.P. Guss.

Melissa Lynn “Guss“ Blight

BLIGHT, Melissa Lynn “Guss“ - Peacefully at Lakeridge Health Oshawa on Sunday, March 11th, 2007, at the age of 32 years. Melissa, beloved wife and best friend of Mike Knelangen. Loving mother of Racheal Knelangen. Precious daughter of Linda Blight and the late Merv Blight. Survived by her brothers Aaron, Jason and predeceased by Mervy. Special friend of Dora, Dwain, Lori and Laurie. Dear aunt of Justin, Jes, Riley and Sammy. Friends may pay their respects at the MORRIS FUNERAL CHAPEL, 4 Division Street, Bowmanville on Wednesday, March 14th, 2007 from 7 to 9 p.m. Funeral service complete in the Morris Chapel on Thursday, March 15th at 1:00 p.m. Visitation from 11:30 a.m. until time of service. Spring interment Pontypool Cemetery. Donations to the Ontario Brain Injury Association in Melissa's memory would be gratefully appreciated.

2007-03-12T08:11:00.000-07:00

UH OH...

It's the big

HAPPY 40th BIRTHDAY TO MY BIG BROTHER!

Love you!

2007-03-11T20:02:00.000-07:00

Another Flashback to my Youth - Watership Down

I remember watching this movie in the gymnasium at my public school when I was no more than 5 or 6 and being so upset by it. In fact, I think it was after watching this movie that I first began to comprehend what "death" was.

It's become a favourite in the years since that I enjoy pulling out and watching once a year or so. Occassionally, you will hear S&G's "Bright Eyes" on the radio - that always makes me stop dead in my tracks (no pun intended) and listen to the entire song before resuming whatever I was doing.

Here's another clip from the movie. This is the opening sequence. They sure don't make movies like this anymore. *sigh*

2007-03-06T23:52:00.000-08:00

Another day, another logo.

I wish they only took me a day!

My big brother, of all things, has become a raspberry farmer in the Niagara Region of Ontario and he's now venturing into fruit wines.

I've been hearing for quite some time now how great the batch is that's being made as a collaboration between his "Raspberry Retreat" farm and a local Jordan Vineyard.

He has asked me last fall if I would design a label for the bottles and I, in my usual fashion, said "sure!". Dispite having months to work on them, true to form, only weeks away from the actual date that he will need them, I finished the label design this past weekend.

I can be forgiven for the length of time it took though since part of the design required me to do a pen and ink drawing of the farm house which in itself took several months (not straight - I just have a hard time finding a solid block of time to sit down and get into working on anything!)

Hope the wine lives up the the label, K!

(Kidding...can't wait to try it...send a case or two my way, wouldja??)

Your very proud little sister,

2007-03-06T18:52:00.000-08:00

I seem to be spending a lot of time lately wondering what the hell just hit me. Stuff keeps coming at me from out of no where and knocking the wind completely out of me.

Right now, I'm cursing my own work ethic that doesn't allow me to run screaming for the hills when the big hand is on the 12 and the little hand is on the 5 lately. Here it is 7pm and I'm still at it...let alone the fact that I was here at 7am this morning.

Damn this dogged work ethic! I want to know where it came from and who I can blame for it! Considering there are people with a similar genetic makeup that are content to coast through life I can say without a doubt it's not genetic.

Off to put out another fire...

2007-02-28T13:41:00.000-08:00

WTF?

I'm baffled. Completely befuddled.

How do people do it?

No matter what my DH and I do, no matter how hard we work (and man, do we work hard), we just never seem to be able to get ahead.

We're no better off now than we were 10 years ago.

Ok, well, that's not totally true, but it sure feels like it!

When we bought our first home in '96, it was with the intent to fix it up, live there for a few years, then sell it and move to the country; keeping the original house and turning it in to an office for his business.

Well, we're on the right track being in the midst of renovations that, when completed, will modernize a 60+ year old house to today's standards in terms of "smart wiring" for electricity, cable, internet & telephone.

However, even with that in mind, without selling the current house, there is no way we can afford to move, so we're stuck still.

Don't get me wrong. I love my house...I just abhor the location. If I could pick that house up and move it just about anywhere, I would (with a few minor changes!).

We have friends who are in their second or third home since we've been married. Each one progressively bigger and better than the last. Are they in debt up to their eyeballs and just really good at hiding it? I don't know...

I just don't get it. If someone knows the secret, please, enlighten me!

2007-02-24T08:08:00.000-08:00

Am I a bad wife?

As my 10th wedding anniversary draws near, I wonder, "Am I a bad wife?"

My DH, bless him, takes care of 99% of the house work. I couldn't tell you the last time I did a load of laundry. I emptied the dishwasher last week and loaded it up again...first time I've done that in recent memory. We have a lady come in every second Wednesday to vacuum and dust (I have allergies & asthma and can't be in the house when that's being done, so she comes in the morning on a week day).

Our Christmas tree is still up!! It's nearly the first of March and our damn tree is still up and decorated! How pathetic is that? Pretty soon, I can stop being embarrassed that it's STILL up and brag about how early I got it up for Christmas this year!

One of our dogs just had major surgery and in the three days that she's been home, I've only hot packed her sutures 3 times (out of a possible 9-15), given her her meds 4 times (out of a possible 12).

Sounds pretty bad, doesn't it?

Now consider...

Since early December, I have been working 60+ hours a week (the last four weeks have been 70+). I am so freaking tired. All I feel like I do is get up in the morning, go to work in the dark, come home at night in the dark, eat something out of necessity that I have no recollection of 5 minutes later, try to unwind for half an hour doing something mindless, fall into bed, lather, rinse and repeat...day after day.

Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't dream of working the hours I have been - even I think it's beyond ridiculous. I'm a contract worker, so I only get paid if I work. I don't take vacations for the same reason (last "vacation" was in 2003!). I'm having surgery later this spring and will require minimum 4 weeks off of work to recover. That's 4 weeks without pay. That's a substantial chunk of change for me. I have put off this surgery for years because of excuses like I can't afford the time off work. Things are finally falling in to place where I can now feel like I CAN take the time to do something that needed to be done years ago. I'm putting money away now to help carry through that time, there are people in the office that can take over some of the work I do while I'm away, so I don't have to feel completely guilty about leaving for that long.

Marriage is supposed to be "give and take", but lately it seems I'm doing all the taking and not very much of the giving in terms of the daily running of the household, but I don't know how to change it. It's so bad that he called me an "ungrateful bitch" last night. *sigh*

There is nothing I would love more than to stay home and take care of the house and him, but based on our current situation, that will never happen, and so it's "I owe, I owe, so off to work I go".

If anyone out there ever runs into my doppelganger, please give her my number. I could sure use a couple of extra hands...

On another note, in retrospect, perhaps I should have taken home ec in High School instead of shop!

2007-02-11T16:27:00.000-08:00

Combining two of my favourite things...

...photography and pets.

There is nothing better than a sliver of late afternoon winter sunshine as far as I'm concerned for candid pet photos.

This is Simon the Simian lounging in the kitchen.

Simon is a special fellow - a stray we adopted in 2000 when we found him cowering on our back patio in a horrific summer thunderstorm.

He has the most incredible green eyes and a genuinely sweet personality and on top of that, he's very photogenic!

2007-01-17T18:43:00.000-08:00

Today I had the most wonderful surprise.

I had to come in to work long before the sun came up and I was feeling pretty miserable about that since the one thing I love to do on my birthday is sleep in. Tough to do on a weekday, to be sure, but I would have been thrilled to roll out of bed at 8am. Alas, that was not to be today.

However, at 9:45 this morning, a delivery came to the door for me.

I long white box of a certain style that can only mean one thing...ROSES!! My DH sent me a dozen long-stem red roses for my birthday.

I've also had calls and visits from family and friends scattered over the course of the day and shortly, I will be going out with said DH for dinner at a surprise restaurant.

Yes, there. I said it. Today is my birthday. I'm officially 29 and holding strong. Just like I have been for the past 4 years.

I was talking with a co-worker late last week, while we were still in the grips of unseasonably mild temps, and I told her that we would have an ice storm next Wednesday (today). Of course, she thought I was off my rocker, but it's like death and taxes. Either on, or very close to my birthday, there is an ice storm every year.

Guess what we got on Monday. Yup. An ice storm. Although today was nice and sunny and milder than recent days, there was still a lot of ice everywhere to contend with. Frozen vehicles, icy sideroads, power crews still out fixing damaged lines. I hate to say I told you so. But, "I told you so!".

The other thing I've been doing recently is reflecting on past birthdays. There were a lot of great ones and a few not so great. One of the more memorable now is one that I was less than thrilled with at the time. I think I was about 13 or 14 and my birthday was on a weekday so I would have had to go to school. Well, I would have, had I been able to get out of the house.

We'd had an ice storm (naturally) the night before and not only were the buses cancelled, but we couldn't even get out of the house as the front door was frozen solid. This also meant that my mom wasn't able to get out to pick up the cake she'd ordered from the Orono Bakery for dinner that night.

That night for supper, I had caesar salad with a candle poked precariously in the middle of it for my birthday feast. Admittedly, I was less than impressed at the time, but I gotta give kudos to my mom who made do as best she could with what was on hand.

Thanks for the amazing memory, mom!

2007-01-15T19:50:00.000-08:00

Not that I didn't already have enough on my plate right now, but I volunteered to design the logo for the NECC Specialy this summer.

The NECC (Norwegian Elkhound Club of Canada) hosts a specialty every other year and this is the second time I've done the logo for the event (although the first time it was for a regional club called ONE - Ontario Norwegian Elkhounders).

This is one of the elements I incorporated into the final image.

The executive asked for a logo that encompassed all of the events that the dogs would be competing in at the specialty; obedience, conformation and agility...AND they wanted one on a mountie's horse wearing a mounties hat!

Here's the final logo that will be printed on literature promoting the event, t-shirts, mugs, etc...

2007-01-15T16:10:00.000-08:00

A certain special someone is celebrating a milestone event today...

40 Isn't So Bad!

1. Getting old is now chick. The rustic look is in.
2. Remember, the tea kettle still whistles at you.
3. You'll still get a little action when your prune juice starts working.
4. Your supply of brain cells is finally down to a manageable size.
5. Senility is a good thing. You're always meeting new friends.
6. You're now somewhere between the Young and the Restless and the Old and the Senseless.
7. Your secrets are safe with your friends because they can't remember them either.
8. You can now quit trying to hold your stomach in, no matter who walks into the room.
9. Your joints are more accurate meteorologists than the national weather service.
10. Wrinkles are just antique smiles. You're very valuable.
11. At your age, you've seen it all, done it all and heard it all. Luckily you can't remember most of it.
12. Just because you're getting older that doesn't mean you have to grow up.
13. One good thing about forgetting is that you can no longer worry about whatever it was you forgot.
14. Look on the bright side. At least wrinkles don't hurt. Unless you trip over them!
15. Middle age is all the rage.
16. Age isn't important unless you're cheese or wine.
17. You're aged to perfection!
18. At least it is a hill and not a mountain.
19. Hang in there, retirement is only 25 years away!
20. Finally things will start clicking for you. . . your back, neck, elbows, knees.
21. Now you start thinking about the hereafter... you go somewhere to get something, and then wonder what am I here after!
22. Forty is not old – if you’re a California Redwood.
23. Now it's early to bed, early to rise, 'til you get so old you have to do otherwise.
24. You don't need to avoid temptation. It now avoids you.
25. You don't have to worry about the police telling you to slow down now, just the doctor.
26. You're just 18 with 22 years experience.
27. Age doesn't matter. It's ugly you have to watch out for.
28. You're entering the metallic years: Silver in your hair, gold in your teeth and lead in your bottom.
29. Don't worry about senility. When it hits you, you won't know it.
30. Age is a matter of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.
31. Hang on! You've reached that age when everything either wears out, spreads out or falls out.
32. Old age and treachery easily beat out youth and vigor any day.
33. You're not old. You just became a classic.
34. Your belt may not buckle but your knees will.
35. Your actions now creak louder than words.
36. Like a prune, you are not getting any better looking, but you are getting sweeter.
37. No more health foods. You now need all the preservatives you can get.
38. Be nice to your kids. They pick your nursing home.
39. You're not old. You're vintage!
40. You are only old once -- enjoy it!

Many happy returns of the day, H!

Love ya!
P.

2007-01-08T18:14:00.000-08:00

Synchronized swimming...swan style!

I only wish I'd been on the other bank for this...

2007-01-07T17:19:00.000-08:00

Gettin' me an edumacashun...

Well, not in the literary sense, at least. I took a 4 hour photography course today to learn more advanced features on my new toy, a Canon digital Rebel XTi. Learned lots of new things, however, BEFORE going to the class, I met Jane at our local nature haunt, Lynde Shores, for a brief foray and took some of these.

It couldn't have been a nicer day today (considering that it's the "middle" of winter!) for being outside taking photos...unless perhaps we could have had a bit more sun. It was a bit overcast earlier this morning.

I wish it hadn't have been dark when the class finished. I would have loved to go back and take more photos and incorporate some of what I had just learned.

I think I will wait until we actually have some snow before I go again. Even though it is the 7th of January today, there were lots of tiny green things growing - fiddle head ferns, grasses, moss, etc...but overall the area is still very drab and brown. The last two times I've been look very much the same, even though we found another entrance into the area that has paths that take you right to the shores of Lake Ontario this time, which was a pleasant discovery.

2007-01-01T12:37:00.000-08:00

January 1, 2007 - above is our annual photo of Quinn (almost 4yrs), Monty (8 3/4yrs) & Thor (8 1/2yrs).

More holiday updates to come. I'm still in relax mode which means I'm not allowed to be here at the computer!! Hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable holiday season!

2006-12-16T05:27:00.000-08:00

A bird in the hand...

... is worth dozens in the bush!

Last Sunday I finally found a few spare minutes and met my dear friend Jane at Lynde Shores Conservation Area for a couple of hours or so of photography. I bought a Canon Rebel XTi almost a month ago now and haven't really had a chance to try it out until then.

The camera is phenominal, as you can see from the photos.

I was shocked to see that there were several robins in the woods - very unusal this late in the year although since talking with some other people "in the know" this past week, it seems it has been too mild for them to get the urge to migrate, so they may stay right through now.

This is a downey woodpecker, I believe.

Here's Jane and a wee friend. There were so many Chickadee's in the woods that if you so much as stood still, they were on you looking for food - and I don't think it had anything to do with being hungry. These little suckers were plenty plump already!

Check out the top of his hat :o)

I'm hoping we get some snow soon. I'd like to go back and get some winter photos early one morning.

Off now to try to finish my Christmas shopping!!

2006-12-07T19:21:00.000-08:00

This was sooooo me last week!

2006-12-07T06:43:00.000-08:00

In an attempt to get out of the blue funk I've been in lately, I thought I'd try one of these inane surveys that people email around from time to time. This one's a little different than most I've seen previously.

1. When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought?
Good God it's way too early to be awake.
2. How much cash do you have on you?
About $100 US that I still haven't put back in the safe from my trip to the US in early Nov.
3. What's a word that rhymes with "DOOR?"
Four
4. Favorite planet?
Have to go with Earth since I've nothing else to compare it to and Pluto isn't a planet anymore.
5. Who is the 4th person on your missed call list on your mobile telephone?
Probably Dianna. She's the only one who calls me all the time and claims I never answer my phone.
6. What is your favourite ring tone on your mobile telephone?
It's playing a funky version of "Jingle Bells" right now that I'm kinda liking... but I think it will get annoying really soon. Otherwise, the "Mission:Impossible" theme kind of suites my life.
7. What shirt are you wearing?
Deep purple snuggle sweater with a big collar.
8. Do you "label" yourself?
Yes, but I'm not wearing it today. ;oP
9. Name the brand of the shoes you're currently wearing?
Dr. Scholes.
10. Bright or dark room?
Medium. Lots of wood paneling (way too much, in fact)
11. What do you think about the person who took this survey before you?
I don't know the person who took it before me.
12. What does your watch look like?
Like a gold and silver Andrew Fezza watch.
13. What were you doing at midnight last night?
Trying to get my mind to shut down so I could go to sleep.
14. What did your last text message you received on your cell say?
Would have been from 411 Directory assistance since I don't use text messaging.
15. Where is your nearest 7-11?
No idea, but there's a Mac's within spitting distance. Ask me where the nearest Tim Horton's is though. That'll get you an interesting answer.
16. What's a word that you say a lot?
Crap.
17. Who told you he/she loved you last?
My husband.
18. Last furry thing you touched?
My dh. ;oP
19. How many drugs have you done in the last three days?
One kind but a lot of it. Advil for a headache that was off the charts.
20. How many rolls of film do you need to get developed?
Zero. Gone digital and never lookin' back.
21. Favorite age you have been so far?
17
22. Your worst enemy?
Time
23. What is your current desktop picture?
Blue carpet. Not kidding. I goofed processing house photos the other day and instead of deleting a photo meant to separate pictures of two houses, I clicked "Set as Desktop Background", so now I have a photo of dark blue carpet and my camera strap as my desktop background and it's been like that for 3 days now...
24. What was the last thing you said to someone?
Good bye.
25. If you had to choose between a million bucks or to be able to fly what would it be?
No question...the cash.
26. Do you like someone?
Yes.
27. The last song you listened to?
It's Beginning to Look A lot Like Christmas
28. What time of day were you born?
Not sure.
29. What's your favorite number?
2
30. Where did you live in 1987?
Pontypool, Ontario.
31. Are you jealous of anyone?
Yes, several people, actually.
32. Is anyone jealous of you?
Doubtful.
33. Where were you when 9/11 happened?
At work. I watched everything on CityTV online with my boss.
34. What do you do when vending machines steal your money?
I don't use vending machines as a general rule.
35. Do you consider yourself kind?
Most of the time, but I can be quite a b*tch at times, too.
36. If you had to get a tattoo, where would it be?
Ankle or shoulder blade.
37. If you could be fluent in any other language, what would it be?
Spanish
38. Would you move for the person you loved?
Did that already.
39. Are you touchy feely?
Not really.
40. What's your life motto?

41. Name three things that you have on you at all times?
Out in public: watch, wedding ring, glasses
42. What's your favorite town/city?
Cobourg, but I also really, REALLY enjoyed San Diego, CA.
43. What was the last thing you paid for with cash?
Oil change
44. When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper and mailed it?
Last Christmas
45. Can you change the oil on a car?
Actually, I can! And then some...
46. Your first love: what is the last thing you heard about him/her?
In jail!
47. How far back do you know about your ancestry?
Not very.
48. The last time you dressed fancy, what did you wear and why did you dress fancy?
To go to an opera in Buffalo. Black carwash pants and a really (really) sparkley green/gold top/jacket (I'm still finding sparkles EVERYWHERE).
49. Does anything hurt on your body right now?
Actually no. And that's unusual. Oh...wait...I just got a twinge in my knee. Par for the course.
50. Have you been burned by love?
Yep, but I got even.

2006-12-04T18:40:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time...

... I was young and carefree.

Once upon a time...

I was intelligent, pretty & thin... I was confident. The world was mine for the taking.

Once upon a time...

... I knew without a doubt what I would be when I grew up.

The reality...

...I am approaching middle-age and lost.

2006-12-02T00:14:00.000-08:00

Birthday Blessings to my dearest friend, Lori
(and her sister Christie, too)!!

Birthday Wishes For My Friend

On your birthday,
I wish for you the fulfillment
of all your fondest dreams.
I hope that for every candle
on your cake
you get a wonderful surprise.
I wish for you that
whatever you want most in life,
it comes to you,
just the way you imagined it,
or better.
I hope you get as much pleasure
from our friendship as I do.
I wish we were sisters,
so I could have known you
from the beginning.
I look forward to
enjoying our friendship
for many more of your birthdays.
I'm so glad you were born,
because you brighten my life
and fill it with joy.

Happy Birthday!

2006-12-01T23:56:00.000-08:00

Where were you?

25 years ago...

- 25 years ago I was 7 years old. I lived in a little village called Pontypool and I went to Grandview School. I would have been in grade 1 or 2 that year. I certainly was in Brownies. Likely was already taking piano lessons, skating lessons, swimming lessons, etc... My parents had a pool - summers were great. I had lots of friends. I had My Little Ponies and Cabbage Patch dolls (3 of them!) and I lived for Saturday morning cartoons (remember when it was actually worth getting up early on a Saturday morning??). Life was simple, good & carefree.

20 years ago...

- 20 years ago I was 12 years old. I vividly remember proclaiming to my parents on a drive to Peterborough in my dad's grey truck with the maroon seats that I was going to be a teenager soon and how excited the prospect of that made me feel (I also remember that I wasn't wearing a seatbelt at the time - but I don't think it was such a huge deal then like it is now). I played baseball in the summer at the park on a team and I was pretty good at it (having a much older brother was a big influence on that). I was a bean pole with long dark brown hair - not as dark as when I got older, but much darker than the sandy blonde it was when I was young. I was in grade 6. I was in Girl Guides by then. I was on every sports team and club I could possibly fit in. I had even managed to be the only girl in a group of 4 who was on the Gause Math team (I've still never figured that one out since I despise math and really wasn't all that good at it, or so I thought). I somehow managed to be smart AND cool at the same time. No small feat. I had already had several boyfriends and crushes. My brother had already threatened one of them with bodily harm (ah, brotherly love, ain't it grand?). I was a packrat and a slob. I was hard on my parents, especially my mom. A lot of what I said to her usually started or ended with "Make me".

15 years ago...

- 15 years ago I was 17. My brother had married (and divorced) the previous year. I had dumped my highschool sweetheart (to my parents delight) and I was already dating the man who would eventually become my husband. I was in grade 12 at Weldon. No longer into sports as much as I was in public school. I was fast tracking through highschool and would finish 5 years of course material in 4. I was the only girl in my shop classes (wood/metal/drafting) which I took all through highschool. I was Victoria County Female Technical Student of the Year 2 years in a row. I had entered several juried art competitions (Buckhorn and Fenlon to name a couple) and was winning awards with my work. I was chosen one of 5 students to paint a mural in the school. All were on the second floor. Mine was at the top of the main stairs and the first you saw when you came up stairs. I was also student liaison with the town's local art gallery. I was working as a waitress at a restaurant on Hwy 35 called Kimberly's. My larger group of friends from public school had become a smaller tighter group that lasted through highschool and for a few very special ones to this day.

10 years ago...

- 10 years ago I was 22 and a new bride as well as a new home owner. I had been to college and decided it didn't agree with me. Although I had had many jobs, I had just started my first full time 40 hr week minimum job (a job I still hold today). I still had my first, and to this day still favourite, car, the 1986 Cougar that my grandfather had bought for me to drive back and forth to college. I got 3 cats of my very own and lost the cat that had grown up with me at the age of 18. I had become friends with Lori who over the years has come to be like a sister to me.

5 years ago...

- 5 years ago I was 27 years old. The Twin Towers fell that year and had a profound effect on the world. Life and responsibility had beaten some of the fun out of me. I no longer cared to dance, hadn't been to a bar in years. I had lost touch with people who were once important to me. I had my first PT Cruiser and the insanity that is Cruzin' was just starting to afflict me.

1 year ago...

- 1 year ago I was 31 and feeling a little more at peace with myself. I had a bit of a personal crisis about turning 30 because I wasn't happy with where I was in my life (interestingly enough, as I look back on this, things are pretty much the same today as they were then). In the last 5 years I had lost both of my grandparents. Losing my grandfather was especially difficult for me. It was sudden and as I was very close to him, I took it very hard. I had found my birth mother and half sister and was surprised to learn that they live very close to me (within BLOCKS). I was in a minor car accident and was charged with careless driving. It was a snowy night in December and the car I slid into was backing up and I got the lion's share of the damage (minor though it is). My parents were down for dinner the weekend of the accident and I couldn't tell them what had happened. I KNEW without a doubt I wasn't at fault but I was embarrassed that it had happened at all. As I type this, I am still waiting to go to trial to fight the charge. 14 months later and still counting... There's so much more to that story, but it's already been covered before - I see no point in rehashing it again.

1 week ago...

- 1 week ago today I was wrapping up a long week of work and looking forward to a "Crop til you Drop" event in Kendal on Saturday from 9am-midnight. The week preceding had been so busy that I hadn't packed anything so Friday was a late night sorting, figuring out what I was going to work on and packing it all up.

Yesterday

- Yesterday I worked from 8am to 7pm. Went home to feed my animals. Darryl and I had our routine Thursday night feed of pasta and watched our TV shows and I fell into bed at 11:30pm. I am so tired.

And where do you see yourself 5 years from now?

I'll have to think about that one. For now, it's late and I'm tired. It's been a long week. Fodder for another post perhaps.

2006-11-30T21:50:00.000-08:00

You be the judge -

Here's the San Francisco one I mentioned.

2006-11-30T21:45:00.000-08:00

These guys rock!

There have been a lot of people who have tried to copy this, some more successfully than others (there's one in San Francisco that's almost equally impressive). I'm not a huge fan of the wreaths in the windows (looks too much like eyes to me) but as for the rest of it - WOW.

2006-11-27T06:28:00.000-08:00

You say it's your birthday....it's my birthday too!

Well, actually it's not my birthday yet, but yesterday was my friend Chris' 31st!

Chris and I go waaaay back... I think I have photos of us together at 5 or 6 years old. Our mom's are best friends so we grew up together. Although we grew apart in our teens, we've recently reconnected and I couldn't be more thrilled.

Chris, I am so proud of who you have become and continue to evolve into. I never realized how much I missed you until you came back into my life. Even though our moms are pretty good at keeping us both up to date on each other's important news, it's not the same as getting the info first hand. :o)

I hope you had a fantastic birthday and I wish you continued success in the year to come!

xxoo

2006-11-15T07:20:00.000-08:00

Nighty night. Sleep tight...

Boy am I ever behind this year. Thanks in part to a more hectic than usual fall market at work, plans every weekend and a winter beater that was in and out of the shop for more than 3 weeks, I am almost a month late putting the PT away for the winter.

On the bonus side, even though I'm behind, we still haven't had any snow to speak of, so all is good.

Aside from a little waxing and still having to put the car cover on, this is the last I will see it until April.

C'mon spring!!

2006-11-09T07:24:00.000-08:00

No, this isn't one of my dogs...but it could be! I could see either one of them (or a blend of both) pulling off this stunt!

2006-11-08T07:23:00.000-08:00

Just the "Wright" thing for a Surprise Birthday Weekend Getaway...

This past weekend, I whisked Darryl away on a surprise weekend in Buffalo. It was an early birthday gift for him as he celebrates a milestone birthday in December. Yes, we could have gone in December, but I was concerned about travel that time of year, so we went earlier, and I'm glad we did. What little that we did outdoors was cold enough now. I can't imagine doing the same tour in the chill of December.

Our 3 day weekend, a package tour assembled by Sandy Starkes & Marge Sgroi of Ashton Drye Associates, was packed full of cultural and architectural treats to delight all the senses (with the exception of touch - don't touch ANYTHING!!)

For months I have been emailing back and forth with Sandy & Marge to bring this weekend to fruition. Darryl had no idea what was in store for him until we got to the hotel on Friday and our welcome package with the weekends' itinerary was waiting there in addition to a "Happy Birthday" basket brimming with Frank Lloyd Wright goodies. To say he was excited just might be the understatement of the year.

We arrived in Buffalo and checked into the hotel at about 3:30 Friday afternoon and at 5 we assembled with Sandy, Marge and the other 4 people in our small intimate group for our first outing.

We were taken to the Buffalo Market Arcade for a background talk about Buffalo architecture and Frank Lloyd Wright. After which, we had an amazing dinner at the Bijou Grill in the heart of the theater district and were able to get to know each other a bit better. In our group were Marsha & Charlie (writer & architect, respectively), Toni & Marty (two delightful woman who get together for these little excursions frequently, I understand), Darryl and myself, Sandy & her husband Michael and Marge & her friend George.

After dinner, drinks and delightful conversation, we were taken back to the hotel where we settled in for the night.

Both Darryl and I were up before the alarm on Saturday morning at 5:45am - we were both very excited about the day's coming events!

We had breakfast at the hotel and met up with the rest of the group in the lounge at 9am.

One of the very first things we noticed was the amount of devastation still from the surprise early snow storm three weeks earlier that had dumped up to 2' of heavy wet snow on the area. Because the storm was so early in the season, most trees hadn't yet lost their leaves, so the snow stuck to them even more and as a result, there were trees of every size toppled, bent and broken everywhere you looked.

Our first stop of the day was "Graycliff". Mrs. Martin's home on the shore of Lake Erie. Graycliff is in the midst of major restoration, however, we were able to view most of the main house. We were not able to see the garage.

I'm going to provide a lot of external links here...if I wrote the background on each of the sites we visited this entry would be massive! Trying to tell Frank Lloyd Wright's tale or that of any of his creations can not be abbreviated and still do any of them true justice!

After Graycliff, we had lunch at a quaint seafood restaurant overlooking Lake Erie.

After lunch, we drove through Buffalo on a driving tour of some of the more significant architecture sights.

One of the sights we were scheduled to visit was the Forest Lawn Cemetery and the Blue Sky Mausoleum, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, however, due to the storm and the amount of trees down in the cemetery, it was closed to the public while clean up crews tended to the mess, so we were only able to drive by and catch a glimpse of the structure through the fence.

Another site we were scheduled to see, but had been closed to the public for renovations, was the Louis Sullivan Guaranty Building. Thanks to Sandy, we were able to get in and have a brief look around. This was a building Darryl had visited on a previous trip 15 years earlier and had been anxious to show me. I was very happy that we were able to get in as it had been something I'd been looking forward to seeing personally having heard him mention it several times over the years. After seeing it for myself, I can see why it has stuck with him all these years.

At 3:45, we were dropped off at the hotel to get ready for the Gala and Opera. At 4:50, Marge & Sandy picked us up again and it was off to Kleinhan's Music Hall for a gala reception, dinner and opera "Shining Brow" based on the life of Frank Lloyd Wright.

The meal, prepared by Oliver's, was designed around four distinct periods of time in Frank Lloyd Wright's life; the American Heartland (1900-1910), Japan's Sublime Allure (1914-1922), Modern in Form & Function (1950's), and, On The Desert (1938).

Although the premise of the entire weekend was planned around the Opera, the Opera itself was not the highlight of the weekend for most of us, I'm sure.

Saturday was a late night and after such a full day, we were glad to get back to the hotel and fall into bed at 12:30am.

Sunday, again, we were up before the alarm at 5:45am. We dressed for the day, packed up & loaded everything into the truck, had breakfast and met the rest of the group in the lobby at 8:50am. We all drove in our private vehicles for Sunday's events since we would be parting ways after lunch and it would be out of the way to come back to the hotel from our last stop.

Fortunately, also in attendance at the gala Saturday night was one of the head people from Forest Lawn Cemetery. She graciously invited us to come early the next morning and they would let us in to the cemetery. We were able to see, and to WALK ON, the Blue Sky Mausoleum (pictured at right), which Wright designed for the Martin family (it was ultimately not built by them, however).

Our next scheduled stop was at the Darwin Martin Complex. We spent several hours touring this amazing site. This was the primary reason I wanted to bring Darryl on this weekend get away. When he was attending Humber College for architecture in the late 80's, they took a class day trip to Buffalo and toured what was then only the Darwin Martin House in the very early stages of restoration. The rest of the original complex had been torn down (with the exception of the Barton house and the Gardener's Cottage, which had been sold off as private homes) and were replaced with 3 apartment buildings, so the site looked a lot different on this visit.

The apartment buildings are gone, replaced by the original structures rebuilt to the original specifications. The Barton House and the Gardeners Cottage have been acquired and are rejoined with the original complex. Construction of the pergola and carriage house was nearing completion but we were not able to view them as final occupancy permits had not been obtained. We were able to view nearly all of the Martin House itself and the Barton House, including sections that will not be open to the public once the restoration is complete.

Sunday concluded with lunch at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in their restaurant "Muse", after which we bid our new friends goodbye, promised to come back again, and started on our way home.

There was literally no idle time the entire weekend. Sandy & Marge packed the weekend so there was not a moment spent wasted. Kudos & grateful thanks to them for excellent planning!

For more info on Frank Lloyd Wright in Buffalo, please visit the following links:

Frank Lloyd Wright Biography

Wright Now In Buffalo

Barton House

Buffalo Architecture

Buffalo Architecture (different site)

Buffalo Architecture (yet another different site)

The Arts and Crafts movement in Buffalo

Buffalo Nigara Convention & Visitors Bureau

For more photos, please visit my photo gallery on my website (photos will be posted over the next couple of days).

Skidboot the Dog

2006-11-03T06:25:00.000-08:00


A heart-warming segment from Texas Country Reporter, with Bob Phillips. For more information visit www.TexasCountryReporter.com or www.skidboot.com

2006-11-01T07:11:00.000-08:00

The votes are in...

Another successful Howloween fundraiser is finished for another year! More than $2000US was raised for Elkhound Rescue.

We want to thank everyone for their help - we placed a very respectible 2nd place out of 40 entries.

Here is the winner with 17% of the total votes:

Our second place entry, with 11% of the votes, featured Monty as the mount for the super scary "Headless Norseman"

To see the rest of the entries, please visit www.elkhoundrescue.org and follow the links to the contest pages.

Hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween, and just a friendly reminder that chocoloate is toxic to your dogs so please be mindful of where you stash your hard-earned treats!

2006-10-26T07:47:00.000-07:00

Madison is my Hero!!!

Last night, Lori's daughter, Madison, had a very special outting. For the last several months, she's been raising money for Cancer research and had decided she was going to get her lovely, loooong blonde hair cut off and donate it to be made into wigs for children suffering from cancer.

She managed to raise over $1200 and donated 13" of silky blonde hair.

If you would like to know more about donating hair to make wigs for people suffering from the effects of cancer treatments, please click here.

Maddy, you ROCK!

2006-10-23T06:28:00.000-07:00

“However rare true love is, true friendship is rarer.” – La Rochefoucauld

Life continues to get busier and busier, it seems. Another year has nearly passed us by. Soon, the snow will begin to fly and we'll tuck into our cosy homes for the winter.

In the hectic day to day chaos, it's difficult for Lori and I to find time for just the two of us, so it was an exceptionally special treat when we spent the day together Saturday getting pampered and preened.

As an early birthday present, I booked a surprise mini spa day at Aquilibrium for both of us. We had our hair cut and styled, a scalp massage, eyebrows waxed (ouch!), makeup and a manicure (ahhhh.....). After which, we came by my office and took photos of ourselves (I'm bound and determined to have at least one photo of the two of us together at least once each year!).

The photos turned out quite well (see above) until for some odd reason Lori decided to clobber me! Kidding...she swears she was just adjusting her necklace... too bad I don't have a followup shot!

Later in the evening, we joined up with our hubbies and had a nice dinner followed by games.

We've shared so much laughter,

And more than a few tears,

We have a special bond

that grows stronger with each year.

We're not sisters by birth,

But we knew right from the start,

God put us together

to be Sisters of the Heart!

2006-10-13T09:05:00.000-07:00

Remembering...

I miss Taffy. I found these photos (along with many others) last night while doing some organizing.

Taffy was my cat as a child. Here we are in the innocence of our shared youth...I was 6 years old, she was likely about 6 weeks old.

She wasn't an overly affectionate cat. She appreciated her space, but on occassion, she could be caught sharing a tender moment with me or with someone else in the family (usually my dad - who "hated" cats...um...yeah...sure)

Fast forward 16 years and here is Taffy still with me on my wedding day. Frail at the time, yet we made sure she was part of the day. She sadly left us for the Bridge the following March at 17+ years old.

I have 4 cats now, not to mention the 2 dogs, and they are different, unique and equally as lovable as Taffy was in their own ways, but none of them are her.

I miss you, old friend.

2006-10-11T06:14:00.000-07:00

IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN!

TIME FOR THE ANNUAL JNMRF HOWL O WEEN CONTEST!

As you may or may not be aware, I am active in Norwegian Elkhound rescue in Ontario and Quebec. A non-profit organization out of the US assists me financially with the rescues I'm involved in. Without their assistance, there is no way that I would be able to do what I do when it comes to rescuing, fostering and rehoming homeless elkhounds.

Once each year, this organization (JNMRF) holds a costume contest to raise funds for rescue. This is their one main source of funds for the coming year, so it's a pretty big deal.

Each year, for the last 4 years, I have entered my dog(s) into the contest. 2 years ago, we were thrilled to win!

Above is this year's entry - the Headless Norseman (pun intended - Norwegian Elkhounds are obviously from Norway and were the dogs of the Vikings). This is 8 1/2 year old Monty and a lot of CGI magic!

Check out the contest. Please don't vote unless you intend to pay (cost is $1 US per vote), but in any event, check it out - it's well worth a look!

http://www.elkhoundrescue.org/contest1.htm

2006-10-05T06:24:00.000-07:00

I've been a negligent blogger lately, but it's for good reason. I've been working on Elby's catching up on back orders. By the time I put a few hours in on them in the evenings, my poor hands are so cramped and stiff, even thinking about typing makes me wimper.

This is "Stormy" Williamson. Very shortly, he will be winging off on his way to his permanent home in sunny southern California with my dear friend Maragret.

Quinn demonstrates the typical pose that inspired "Elby".

2006-09-24T12:57:00.000-07:00

"PHENOMENAL COSMIC POWER...

...itty bitty living space"

The Genie - Disney's "Aladdin"

I don't have anything new to report today but that quote flashed through my mind this morning and it made me smile. It always does. I love Robin Williams - especially what he brought to the Genie in Aladdin.

Ok - I lied. I do have some news. Our friends, Brian & Heather, we married in a lovely ceremony yesterday in Havelock followed by one of the most enjoyable, casual, relaxed receptions I've ever attended. Probably the first one I wasn't in a hurry to leave. :)

Congrats, Brian & Heather!!!

2006-09-19T08:09:00.000-07:00

10 Things you might be surprised to know about me:

1) I often have a mug of warm milk before I go to bed because I have difficulty sleeping.
2) I don’t know how to say no and as a result I often find myself spread very thin because I try to do too much to please too many people.
3) I know people in my office think I’m a snob because I don’t socialize with them, but it’s really because I’m very shy.
4) I have never in my life tried recreational drugs of any kind (despite MANY opportunities to do so) and I am very proud of that. I am, however, sadly addicted to beanie babies!
5) Public displays of affection make me uncomfortable.
6) I have a hard time telling people that I care about how I feel about them.
7) I miss my Grandparents terribly, especially my Grandfather, who I never got a chance to say goodbye to.
8) I STILL don’t know what I want to be when I grow up.
9) I had turned in feet as a child & wore “special shoes” to correct it. I still find my feet turn in when I’m walking and either not paying attention or very tired.
10) My favourite filmmaker is Jan Svankmayer. Not because his films are entertaining (they're actually very convoluted and sometimes difficult to follow), but because I admire the process with which they are created.

2006-09-15T07:44:00.000-07:00

"The Silence was the loudest thing I ever heard."
- Great Big Sea "Clearest Indication"

Earlier this week, my DH and I were at odds and not speaking for a couple of days. It happens from time to time and we're past it now and all is good and right in our world.

But that, combined with another strange event, produced one of the most surreal moments I have experienced in recent memory.

On Wednesday evening, at about 11:30pm, I was debating whether or not I was still pissed enough to sleep on the couch, so I was sitting in the den in the dark in a completely silent house and the "noise" was almost unbearable. Whether it was just the sound of blood rushing through my veins, or perhaps just the underlying hum of electricity around me and throughout the house, I don't know, but I remember thinking "For the house to be so quiet, I can't believe how loud it is!"

And then, if you can believe it, I heard a cricket chirping. All the windows were closed, no traffic was going by the house and there's this "reet" "reet" "reet" "reet" noise splitting the darkness. That sucker was in the house...it was on the second floor and it was BIG.

The entire "moment" was just that, no more than a moment, but it seemed to last for much longer while all kinds of thoughts tumbled around in my mind.

Then, the light at the intersection in front of the house must have changed because then the sound of traffic drowned everything else out. And like that, the moment was over, and I went off in search of the interloping cricket, who I discovered had taken up residence under the floor boards in our still-under-renovation main bathroom. I could see him, through a crack in the boards, larger than life and twice as ugly, but couldn't come up with a way to dispatch him without the potential of burning the house to the ground, so I grudgingly went to bed while he chirped on and on throughout the night.

Apparently, it was also annoying others in the house, since it was discovered yesterday morning deceased in the kitchen minus one leg. No one has confessed to the crime yet, but I suspect Quinn since she has a history of insecticide (she spends hours outside in the summer, laying on the patio, squishing ants with her nose).

2006-09-14T07:20:00.000-07:00

Cool little game. Try it out! Gone to the Dogs ---- Click on "Game"

gone2thedogs.com

I'm a Norwegian Buhund...not quite an elkhound, but pretty close!

gone2thedogs.com

2006-09-12T07:33:00.000-07:00

Wolfsheim's Kissing Buddy CD is coming out of retirement for another kick at the cat, so to speak

"Monty" is 8 1/2 years old now and has always been a challenge to train. He acts more like he's 8 months old sometimes (which I'll gladly tollerate!!). He does sleep a lot more these days and he's slow to get moving when he does wake up, but man does he get excited when it's time to work!

All summer, I have been taking Quinn out a couple of times a week to agility classes and poor Monty would get soooo excited thinking he was going and I would feel like such a first-class heel for leaving him at home dancing at the door with a big "Do I get to go this time, mom? Do I?! PLEASE!!" look on his face.

Well, this time, he gets to come and Quinn stays home! Monty has done obedience and has his CD title, but will never be able to get his CDX nor do agility since jumping is required and his arthritic hips no longer allow him to jump, however, he can do Rally-O.

So this evening, we're starting a new adventure for both of us into Rally-O... more info to come!

(Photo on the right was taken 3 years ago when he was training for his CDX title)

2006-09-11T07:08:00.000-07:00

What is a picture worth?

In my daily 9-5 life, I work as a real estate assistant (unlicensed), and one of my many jobs is to take (attractive!!) photos of all of the houses that we list for sale. I've been doing this for many years and I quite enjoy it.

Over the last couple of years, I have turned this interest in photography into one of my hobbies away from the office - I don't specialize in any one specific genre. I dabble in many fields - even recently taking on the daunting task of shooting a wedding!

I was just doing some organizing on my computer and came across a couple of photos that show the spectrum of my interest from one end to the other; macro to landscape...

Above is a photo I took in Watkins Glen, NY in July early in the morning on a cool day. My subject was having a bath in the early morning sun on the hood of a car.

Below, again taken in the early morning hours, is a field of hay bales. This was taken in mid-August at about 6:30am in Bowmanville, Ontario.

Right now, my camera is the Canon Rebel EOS but I have my eye on the Rebel XTi...I'm hoping Santa gives me a gift card for Henry's again this Christmas!!

2006-09-11T06:46:00.000-07:00

PT's ONLY CANADA/US CHALLENGE
September 10, 2006 in beautiful Gananoque, Ontario

The show is just a memory now. After all of the anticipation and the rush to get the new bumper painted and installed in time, it was all worth it.

We came away with first place in the mild custom division!

I have to say, what an awesome event. Well organized, great location, great people - who else would close down the main street of a bustling tourist town for a PT Cruiser show? Thanks Nick!! You're awesome! And a special thanks for the "purple" star! ;o)

We got to spend a fantastic day with a great group of people who we look forward to seeing again in the spring, as this was most likely our last show for the year. What a note to go out on!

I also have to give a big shout out to my DH - those tires didn't get that shiny all by themselves! I promise, we'll find a mustang club for you for next year...

This year's challenge went to the US folks. Congratulations!! Next year, the plaque will be Canada's!!

2006-09-08T12:58:00.000-07:00

...UPDATE...UPDATE...UPDATE...UPDATE...

I have news. It's neither good, nor bad, just news.

Late last evening, I got a call from the new team representing me in court and I have a new trial date - March 19, 2007.

That will be 15 months and 10 days from the date of the original accident.

How's that for expedited court service??

Well, at least I don't have to think about it now for another 3 months, then I get to get all stressed out again.

*sigh*

2006-09-07T07:24:00.000-07:00

Eureka!

I remembered at least one thing I had been meaning to put in the blog.

Lately, I've been moaning a lot about how a small-minded paralegal prick took off with my retainer and left me hanging high and dry less than 3 weeks before my court date.

Well, I'm absolutely tickled to report that things are looking up. Not perfect, but definitely looking up.

Goes to prove that old adage, it's not what you know, it's who you know (had I known that little gem when I was in school, I would have spent far more time schmoozing and less time with my nose in a text book). But I digress...

I got a call Tuesday afternoon from a friend who had originally referred a lawyer friend of his to me, who in turn had referred the aforementioned paralegal to me (try to keep up with me here, I'm going to do this without mentioning any names, so it's going to get rather convoluted from time to time). He (the friend), suggested I call the lawyer who had recommended the paralegal.

Not having anything more to lose, I called the lawyer. He apologized profusely for the lousy referral and promised me he was going to get my retainer back. He would take the paralegal to small claims on my behalf and would waive his fee for doing so.

It's only $500 bucks, and I'd pretty much given up any hope of ever getting it back, so this was a really pleasant surprise. If this all works out, that $500 should cover the cost of the remaining repairs that my car needs!!

As far as the progress with court, there was supposed to be a hearing on the 5th to request a new trial date but it was delayed until today at 1. If they don't permit the new trial date, the trial is still scheduled for tomorrow at 2:30.

Fingers and toes crossed and hoping this will all be over soon....

2006-09-05T15:40:00.000-07:00

I'm going to have to start carrying a notepad & pen with me...

There was something this morning. A fleeting thought that crossed my mind more than once. I distinctly remember saying to myself "Wow, that would make a really interesting blog entry!", but amid all the other crud I've mentally processed over the course of the last 12 hours, it's gone. *POOF*

Haven't a clue what it was.

But it was good.

That I do know.

Ah, you hadda be there.

2006-09-04T10:09:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we journeyed to Brantford Ontario to visit relatives and while there, we also took a short side-trip to see their horses. Of course, as usual, I had the camera with me, so took the opportunity to fire off several hundred (no kidding!) photos of this gorgeous creature. Here are the 3 (again, no kidding!) worth sharing. Oh, and one of "Jake" the dog who watched everything with interest.

Does the phrase "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse" come to mind here?

2006-09-03T06:33:00.000-07:00

R.I.P Gale

Gale was my Siamese Fighting Fish (Beta). I've had him for close to three years (would have been 3 in November). In the summer, he lived on my desk at the office and kept me company. In the winter, he came home to live on my kitchen counter and keep a watchful eye on the comings and goings of our family. Gale got his name because I brought him home the day of our first winter storm in 2003.

Yesterday, I went to feed him, and he was in his usual spot under his favourite plant, but when I opened the lid to his tank (which usually he responds to by dashing up to the top in the middle - "got food???!") he did nothing. Not so much as a fin fliker.

I knew he was gone right away. It mustn't have been very long as his eyes hadn't started to cloud over yet.

See ya little buddy.

Talking cat

2006-09-02T07:02:00.000-07:00


Although most of this clip is amusing, the cat at the end always makes me laugh so hard I cry. "Why I eyes ya...all the live long day" tee hee

2006-08-31T07:41:00.000-07:00

Ok, I'll be the first to admit it...

...I'm a freak of nature.

Not only do I dress my poor dogs up in costumes (albeit for a great cause - fundraising for Elkhound Rescue), but here it is not even the first of September, and I'm already listening to Christmas carols.

I'm one of those people who's generally done their Christmas shopping by the end of August (not this year though). I hate malls. I get mall rage in crowded malls.

I'm listening to Christmas carols for a few reasons. I need to get inspired to shoot some photos for the annual Howl'o'ween contest to raise money for elkhound rescue, and, since I've already got all my crap out for costume photos, I also do my Christmas card photo at the same time, featuring those long-suffering, ever patient pups, Monty & Quinn. Additionally, I really need to start making my Christmas cards and get at some shopping.

Above is my 2005 entry into the Howl'o'ween contest 'Captain Grey Beard and his Faithful First Mate on the High Seas" and below that, the 2004 Christmas card photo - 'Santa Paws and his Moosedog".

I'm hoping over the course of the upcoming long weekend to get lots of photos done for both events and also to be able to put a good dent in something related to the renovation.

Here's hoping!

2006-08-30T08:49:00.000-07:00

A woman of many hats...

In my life, I've worn many "hats". I've been a waitress, worked in a variety store, a liquor store, an artisan, managed a video store, helped run a gift/craft shoppe, dog obedience trainer and, currently, I'm a real estate assistant. That's not even mentioning the endeavors I've undertaken on my own - I was a muralist, a sign painter, and I'm still an artist in many mediums - notably acrylic pet portraiture and recently soft sculpture and now I'm also dabbling in webdesign.

Sometimes I wear myself out just thinking about everything I do.

Some people have called me a "renaissance woman", but I'm more inclined to go with "Jill of all trades, master of none".

Each job has awarded it's own unique set of challenges and rewards.

The job I have now pays the bills. My bliss in life would be to just be able to paint and make a living at it.

Perhaps one day when the house is paid off, and the cars are paid off, and the credit cards are paid off...

Ah...to dream...

2006-08-28T12:42:00.000-07:00

"Happy Monday"

The mother of all oxymorons.

I vividly remember, as a teen, telling people that "Stress didn't bother me". Nothing bothered me. Like water off a ducks back, as it were.

Oh, how I long for those days.

I am so stressed right now I am physically ill.

This all goes back to a little fender bender before last Christmas (!!).

As of right now, I'm scheduled for court Sept 8, but I have a new agent going to a hearing on Sept 5 to file a motion for a new date to allow them time to go through my file and prepare my defense.

So, here I was getting all geared up to have this behind me, for better or worse, on Sept 9. That was until last week when I discovered that my previous agent has vanished with my file and my retainer!

So this is going to go on a little longer yet and is costing me more and more.

*sigh*

2006-08-25T06:55:00.000-07:00

I am humbled...

Last night I took my dear friend Tonya out for dinner for her birthday (Happy Birthday!!). After dinner at J.P. Fitzpatricks pub, we headed over to the AMC 24 more or less intending to see "World Trade Centre", however we did waiver at one point between that and "John Tucker Must Die". WTC won out because we felt that it was one that needed to be seen on the big screen to do it any kind of justice...

Earlier this week I was kvetching about how much life sucks for me right now, and yeah, it isn't perfect, far from it...but in the grander scheme of things, I really don't have a lot to complain about.

With the 5th (!!!) anniversary of 9/11 approaching in just a couple of weeks, this movie was a powerful, sobering reminder of the cost paid by thousands of innocent people and heroic emergency services people. I was at work that fateful morning, and Dianna and I watched the towers fall live on Citypulse online.

I have never, in my life, experienced what I did last night at the end of that movie.

There were likely 80-100 people in the theater, and when the movie ended, no one moved. No one spoke. You could have heard the proverbial pin drop and it would have echoed. Eventually people began to make their way out of the theater and still the only sound was the soft shuffle of feet on the carpet and the occassional quiet sniffle.

2,749 people perished in the collapse of the Twin Towers.
343 of the victims were firefighters.
Only 20 people were pulled out alive.

Wow.

I took this photo in August of 1987 while on an exchange trip to the States with a Kodak Diskman camera.

As a 13 year old girl from small-town Ontario, I was awed by the sheer overwhelming size of the twin towers, never comprehending the mind-boggling number of people they contained on any given day.

2006-08-23T21:35:00.000-07:00

TONIGHT I SAW THE STRANGEST THING...

As usual, I got home from work around 7 and was in a rush to get changed and get back out the door to take Quinn to agility class.

While standing in the kitchen catching up on the day's events with Darryl, I happened to look out and notice that the black walnut tree in our back yard was ALIVE with hundreds of Monarch butterflies!!

Not that I had time, but I grabbed my camera and ran out to see if I could get some photos. It was raining so I took the old digital out and although the photos aren't great, you can see that there were sure a lot of them.

In the 10 years we've lived in this house, I've never seen anything like this. What a fantastic sight to see first hand. I hope that there will be more tomorrow night and that it's not raining so I can get some better photos with the Rebel!

It was, by far, the highlight in an otherwise crappy, crappy day.

P.S. other lowlights this week - the new girl who's been on vacation for 10 days came back and quit. There go my weekends off.

P.S.S. the camera course I've been waiting to take for over a year that was finally coming up this weekend was cancelled.

P.S.S.S. The paralegal I hired to help me fight a rediculous traffic charge from an accident last December has vanished with my file and my $500 retainer less than 3 weeks before my trial and the new lawyer is going to cost me another $750. Can you say "sucks to be you?" Um...yeah.

P.S.S.S.S. (yes, there's more) Quinn got attacked by another dog at class tonite. She wasn't hurt, but she spent most of the class being jumpy, irritable and not enjoying herself one bit. I put her in agility to help her confidence (which, up until now, it had been) not destroy it! The dog in question should never have been permitted to advance to level 3, in my opinion.

P.S.S.S.S.S. Ok, I'm done venting now. Time to call it a day.

2006-08-18T07:25:00.000-07:00

Unless you have to go to the dentist first thing in the morning to have a lost filling replaced...

2006-08-17T16:52:00.000-07:00

SIGNS OF PROGRESS!!

I'm speechless...

Once again, I worked late tonite and pulled in the driveway at 7:15pm and what to my wondering eyes should I see, but Darryl unloading 2x4's off the truck!

I rubbed my eyes and looked again and yes, there he was in all his manliness schlepping lumber from the truck to the basement.

Still not completely convinced, I actually had to stop and ASK him what he was doing.

"Um...working on the house." (said in the tone of "Duh, isn't it obvious?")

I tentatively ventured downstairs (which, until now has been relatively intact) to find that our storage room at the bottom of the stairs is no more!

Forgive me for not getting more excited, but in our UNFINISHED basement, which we RARELY use, he decides to get motivated???

*even bigger sigh than posted earlier*

Have patience, grasshopper...

Oh well... at least the outside looks good!

PS the photos taken inside the house were taken when there was progress being made inside the house back in the spring. One is my studio/office and the other is the remnants of our old cast bath tub - good riddance!!

2006-08-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

Anniversaries & Milestones

It's been an interesting week here so far. I'm back on the diet bandwagon and so far, so good. 2 days and counting and 3lbs lost (I know, I know...it's just water weight...but it sure looks good on the scale in the mornings!).

The "NEW GIRL" has been away from the office on holidays this week and strangely, it's been a very good week overall. I could get used to this...it feels oddly familiar and comfortable.

Oh, yeah...this is how it was for NINE years before she came along. Right.

Monday was my dear friend Tonya's birthday. I won't say which birthday, but hope it was a good one! We're going out next Thursday to celebrate (assuming her company doesn't wisk her off to some far off port of call on business).

Tuesday marked 10 years to the day since we took possession of our first home. The one we said we'd only live in for 5 years before selling it and moving on to something in the country with land for me to work with the dogs.

Did anyone do the math there?

Yup...10 years and we're still there and not only that, we're in the midst of a renovation that's going no where fast. There has not been a lick of work done on the house since...oh...May, I think?!

*sigh*

I'm thinking it'll be another 5 years bef0re the reno's done enough that we wouldn't be embarassed to have prospective buyers come through the house.

*bigger sigh*

Tuesday also unofficially marked 16 years that Darryl and I have been together. Wow. SIXTEEN years. That's exactly half my my life. The day passed quietly without comment and I'm sure he didn't remember, but it's not important. Other, more "official" anniversaries have taken up more important positions in our lives. Next May will be our 10th wedding anniversary (and I'm just sayin' now, he better not forget that one...)

Labour day weekend marks 2 other anniversaries - we officially moved into the house 10 years ago, and we brought home our eldest feline, Devlin, that same weekend. We don't know exactly when his birthday is because he was rescued. He was just a tiny bit of black fluff with huge emerald green eyes that weekend 10 years ago, so we celebrate his birthday Labour day weekend, too.

Devlin

2006-08-15T08:07:00.000-07:00

If Wishes Were Dress-sizes...

Once again, I'm starting a diet...er...lifestyle change.

I've known for MONTHS already that I needed to drop at least 30lbs before the middle of October (50 would be better, but who am I kidding?). Well, here we are smack dab in the middle of August and I've lost...oh...8 lbs I think?

64 days and counting...

2006-08-09T15:36:00.000-07:00

Seems like everybody's on vacation...except for me.

2006-08-06T07:10:00.000-07:00

We brought home another one!

We spent a wonderful day yesterday at Mosport Race Track north of Bowmanville, Ontario at the Super Car Show with 400+ other car fanatics and Darryl came away with a top 20 plaque in our class. I stood out like a sore thumb as one of only 2 newer Chryslers at the show which was sponsored by UAW/CAW (although PTs are technically domestic, they are assembled in Mexico and not by UAW/CAW workers). I wasn't expecting anything today for myself but it was a great treat for Darryl to come away with a plaque at his very first show with the mustang! Additionally, winners from the show got to do a victory lap (actually it was more like 12 laps!) around the Mosport Oval at half-time during last evenings races.

2006-08-05T05:43:00.000-07:00

Addendum to a rebel yell...

I'm alleviating myself of some of the guilt I feel over my uncharacteristic behaviour yesterday. I'm now convinced it must have been something in the air - it wasn't only just me.

I didn't get home from work last night until almost 7:30 pm and by the time I'd fed all the animals, it was past 8 pm and I was in no mood to cook dinner for Darryl and I. I ended up at the local KFC for chicken and salads at 8:30 pm as did apparently everyone else in the neighbourhood judging by the line up.

Whilst in line, an obviously irate man came into the restaurant and shoved his way to the counter to confront an employee. He demanded his money back, claiming he'd been ripped off - that they had charged him for 2 dinners and he'd only ordered 1. I can't vouch for the validity of his claim, not having been there when he ordered, but when it became apparent that he was not going to get his money back, he unleashed a barrage of colourful language best not repeated here.

He may have been justified in his ire, but that was not the way to handle it. There were dozens and dozens of people in the restaurant at the time - including many families with children seated eating their dinner.

So I wasn't the only person exercising poor judgment yesterday.

2006-08-04T17:48:00.000-07:00

With a rebel yell...

I knew it was rude and I just didn't care. It ticks me off when other people do it, so why did I do it myself today?

I was in a hurry. Heck, I'm never NOT in a hurry to be somewhere else.

I was out running an errand and just happened to be driving by my bank and thought I'd save myself another trip later today so I pulled in and parked at the curb (a definite no-no). On rare occassions, when the problem has been excessive and/or people are complaining, the mall brings in a rent-a-cop to try to scare people into not stopping at the curb and today was one such day. As I stopped and threw the car into park an elderly fellow in a smart uniform approached me and told me I was not permitted to park at the curb.

This is where my evil alter-ego took over and I just kept on walking. As I got closer to him, he gestured angrilly at the car and asked "You want a ticket?" and I, knowing I would be in and out of the bank in less than a minute (I have the ABM deposit thing down to a calculated science) replied, "How fast can you write?" and continued on into the bank.

Of course, when I came back out there was no ticket on my windshield and the rent-a-cop had moved on to another offender.

I knew it was rude...and a felt bad for talking back to the rent-a-cop...just a little but at the same time I got a little rush from my defiancy. Not that I'm going to make a habit out of such behaviour, but

SO THERE!

(K, I'll behave again....for now...)

2006-08-03T07:50:00.000-07:00

Oh what a night!

As anyone in southern & central Ontario and the north eastern US is aware, yesterday was a wicked day for weather.

We have had a blistering few days here with unheard of high temps and extreme heat & humidity alerts - it was only just a matter of time before the storms would come that would break the heat and last night, they came with a vengeance.

I was at agility class with Quinn when they hit. It was about quarter to 9 and everyone seemed to be getting very restless - dogs and people alike. Several commented that it seemed to be getting dark awfully early. Where our classes are held, we are in a clearing of tall pines so the view of the sky is somewhat limited, but by 8:45 there was no mistaking there was trouble on the horizon. A black cloud with a razor-sharp defined edge swept over the trees and brought with it gusting winds that blew over our jumps and whipped the words away from our mouths as we spoke them.

Lightening flashed to the north as a line of storms skirted by us. Although obviously nervous, Quinn stayed steady with me. I think she was picking up on the nervousness of the people, as were the other dogs.

By 5 to 9, I apologized to the instructor but said we were beating a retreat for home before the storm hit us full on and I got Quinn and I into the car not a moment too soon as huge rain drops started pelting all around us. By the time I got settled into the car and got moving, the rain was coming down in sheets and the wind was rocking the car from side to side as it seemed to come from every direction at once. I KNOW I was the first one to get in my car, so I also KNOW that the other students and dogs got at least a little wet as they dashed for the safety of their vehicles.

Not much makes me nervous when it comes to weather, and I actually enjoy watching a good electrical storm, but that one last night put me on edge.

I called home and asked that the front door be unlocked so Quinn and I could make a run for it but we were still drenched by the time we ran from the driveway to the house (note to self: next house MUST have more than a single garage & must have access to the house!!!).

Poor storm-phobic Monty was just about out of his skin when we got home. Darryl and I stood in the dark kitchen for a while watching the most amazing light show over Lake Ontario while another cell passed us by to the south.

All in all, we were skirted on 3 sides by the storm but didn't sustain a direct hit. We were a lot luckier than other places in the province where tornadoes touched down or high winds and hail caused widespread damage.

2006-07-31T07:47:00.000-07:00

Don't know what you've got until it's gone...

A beautiful ballad by heavy metal band Cinderella, by the same title, used to be one of my favourite songs as a teen and the phrase has so many applications. Today, I'm thinking of it in terms of a silly little thing like internet access as I type this entry...

We had a brown out or power surge at home early on Saturday morning and, at the time, we didn't think much of it. The lights flickered, one of the computers rebooted but the other two didn't show any affect. Until, that is, we tried to do something online and there was no internet.

OH NO!!! No internet?? Say it isn't so?!!

About an hour later after much experimentation and cursing, we resigned ourselves to admitting that that itsy bitsy brown out had fried our highspeed modem.

We spent several hours either on the phone or in person at local stores trying to procure a replacement modem to no avail. No one stocks highspeed modems. We've ordered one from our ISP and should have it by Wednesday.

It wasn't until later Sunday afternoon that I realized I had all kinds of spare time on my hands and was actually bored (a real rarity for me). While I puttered around the house, I was thinking what I should be doing was working on the computer.

I know I spend a lot of time at my desk. I manage 3 websites, edit thousands of digital photos for both work & pleasure, I dabble on ebay and msn with family & close friends but I had no idea it was such a huge element in my day to day life.

I think, when the new modem comes, I may just have to disconnect it from time to time and take a break from virtual reality and take time to smell the real roses.

2006-07-24T09:07:00.000-07:00

Boggity Boggity Boggity!

Or as my DH put it, "WoooHooo! Watkins Glen!"

We've officially driven on the Watkins Glen, NY NASCAR road track.

Note I said "driven" vs "raced" as there was no racing involved nor permitted, but let me back up a little before that...

I've just returned home from 3 days away at various locations and attractions around Watkins Glen, New York where we went for a PT Cruiser event - "Cruise the Glen 4". Despite Mother Nature's lack of co-operation on Saturday (it POORED rain - with flash flood warnings, no less!), the overall weekend was a great success and the weather was perfect when it really counted for Sunday's track time.

Darryl and I left late Friday morning (much later than we'd planned) to drive down. We got to the Queenston/Lewiston border crossing around 11:30am and FINALLY got through at almost 2pm!! We will NEVER cross at Lewiston again. Unbelievable.

Darryl took over driving and I dozed for a couple of hours as I'd had very little sleep Thursday night (fell asleep at 4 and was up at 5 showering and packing up the car!) so I can't comment on much of the drive down except for when we approached Geneva.

We never found out for sure, but there must be a University in Geneva. We noticed gorgeous huge homes lined up along both sides of the tree-lined highway with Seneca Lake in the background all with either Greek characters above the doors or names like "Hampton House" or "Frey House" or somesuch thing.

Once we got south of Geneva, we drove along side Seneca Lake through some of the most beautiful countryside I've seen in a good long while. There were vineyards on either side of the road everywhere we looked.

We picked out a vineyard/resort to check out on a future trip.

We arrived in Watkins Glen proper around 6pm and drove straight to the track (a little south east of town) only to realize when we got there that Friday and Saturday's events were being held at a park right in town on the south shore of Seneca Lake, so we turned 'round and headed back, arriving around 6:30pm. There were dozens and dozens of PTs there already and the host club had a nice spread of food out for everyone. We registered and went to find Maggie at the Race & Street booth to pick up my big ticket item of the weekend (which I'd ordered some time ago), a new PTeazer smoothie rollpan bumper...now I just have to find someone to paint and install it for me ;o) Oh - and decide if I'm going to retain the factory single exhaust or finally bite the bullet and go with the dual.

I have no photos from Saturday because it rained ALL day. We spent the day under the tent fly trying to stay somewhat dry. I can't even tell you how many cars were there since many came in the morning, but didn't stay when it became apparent that the weather wasn't about to improve anytime soon. There were even flash flood warnings! We also connected with some people we know through Moosedog (Hi Carl, Meg, Elkie & Burliegh!) and they told us that the park we are in sometimes completely floods in heavy rains!! I could just about envision all the poor happless PT's floating away down Lake Seneca!! Yikes!

The event organizers kind of sped the day along and we did the draws and trophies early and we were able to leave the park by 1pm.

I can't confirm for 100% certain, but I overheard that we placed 4th in our class (not too shabby!). They gave out trophies to 1st-3rd place. Maybe next time!

My favourite of the show was a plum convertible with the nicest flame job I've seen in a long while that came all the way from Las Vagas. She took home quite a bit of hardware.

Saturday afternoon we braved the drizzle to explore Watkins Glen. We hit the local souvenir shops - including a large one filled just with NASCAR stuff. Took Darryl a looooong time to decide what he wanted! He finally settled on a special edition IRL hat (of course, it would be a hat - was just a matter of WHICH hat!). I picked up a hat pin to commemorate our visit on my PT cap.

We also went to the Watkins Glen state park, which I'm told is a must to see if you're ever in the area - true even in the rain! I did take a chance with the camera to snap a few photos there. I figured it was worth it! Unfortunately, I'm now having trouble with loading photos so will try to add some from the park later. We didn't walk too far into the gorge as my sandle broke and it was pretty trecherous hiking on the wet rocks let alone doing it with a broken shoe, so we came back down and hit Wal-mart for a new pair of shoes for me.

Saturday night was the banquet and auction at the clubhouse at the track. Dinner was amazing and we stuffed ourselves silly. Didn't quite drink enough to actually bid on anything at the auction although there were a couple of nice items. We called it a night early and headed back to the hotel in Corning, which was about a 20 minute drive further south for us.

Sunday morning I was up rediculously early and already showered before Darryl surfaced. We packed up the car and headed to Bob Evans for breakfast. That is my only hard and fast rule when in the US...at some point, I MUST eat at a Bob Evans restaurant!! This was only Darryl's second time at one but he's as addicted as I am (what do they put in the sausages to make them sooooo addictive???)
At 10am we were at the Winner's Circle (an Ice Cream place near the track) to meet up with fellow PTers who were heading to the "Lunch & Laps" at the race track. At 11, about 100 cars caravaned to the Nascar track. Again, I have lots of photos and videos, but not able to upload them for some reason. :o(

From 12-1, we watched cars racing on the track and at 1 we finally had our turn. We did 3 laps with a pace car. I think the fastest we got going was maybe 80 mph (frankly, driving on the 401 is more nerve-wracking/exciting at times!). We stopped in 3 lines for a photo op at the start/finish line, then headed off the track to the clubhouse for an amazing lunch (can't complain about the food at all all weekend). By three we were on the road heading home.

We stopped in Geneva to take some photos of the houses I mentioned earlier and while I was pulled over on the shoulder, a group of PTs heading back to Ontario went by. Once Darryl was done taking his photos, we scrambled to catch up with the others cars and finally did about a half hour later and we drove right through to Fort Erie with them were we stopped for a coffee and a visit before we all went our separate ways. We finally arrived home around 9pm to be greeted by two very happy puppies. It was nice to sleep in my own bed but man did it hurt getting up the next morning knowing I had to go to work.

Gotta make the money to pay for the toys I guess, huh?

2006-07-19T06:42:00.000-07:00

Two more sleeps to go...

I can't wait for Friday. Such is the norm pretty much every week here at the office, but this Friday in particular I can't wait for.

I'm finally getting out of town, even if it's only for a couple of days.

This weekend is Cruz the Glen 4 in Watkins Glen NY and we depart bright and early Friday morning to drive down for the 3 day show. The festivities start at 5 on Friday night and run right through until mid-afternoon Sunday.

Did I mention I can't wait to go??

Did I mention I get to drive on the NASCAR track?

Sure, there are plenty of other, more productive things I could be doing with my time, but I don't wanna. I wanna go cruisin'! And cruisin' I shall go! Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

2006-07-17T18:12:00.000-07:00

The Bride-to-be wore white...

We survived the vultures... er... mosquitoes on Saturday night and had a pretty good time. It was a very woodsey, remote location and the mosquitoes were as bad as I expected. Upon arrival, we each poured a bottle of "OFF" on each other (remind me again why I bothered to shower and put on perfume before we left??) and hiked back in to the pond and the party where we were welcomed by the sight of already happily inebriated revelers shooting bow & arrows and paint ball guns (thankfully, at targets on the side of a shed)!!

The theme of the Jack & Jill was "Survivor" and there were all kinds of Survivor-themed games and even the path from the road in to the pond was lit by dozens of bamboo torches (citronella torches, thank goodness, every little bit helps!).

We were greeted by a very soggy bride-to-be who informed us that she and her beau had thought it would be romantic to take a paddle boat ride around the pond at dusk...forgetting that they had yet to use the stockpile of water balloons that had been previously prepared for another event.

Funny that the line of grinning people on the bank didn't tip them off, but as they paddled closer, it became apparent what was about to happen. I understand it was a total balloon bath. The two in the boat never had a chance. Unfortunate that the bride-to-be wore a white top...

On Sunday, I got up bright and early (yes, it hurt) and took the Cruiser over to the car wash and then on to the Mopar show at a local Chrysler dealership for their 15th annual show and shine (although, with the weather on Sunday, it was really more of a bake and glare). I met up with my friend Phil, who also had a Cruiser, there (that's his blue PT on my right in the photo).

This was my second time at this event and I have to say, it was much improved over the first time.

Final tally was around 90 cars (I think there were maybe 20 at the one 2 years ago - but it was raining then too). It was hot (oh so hot) and the sun shone all day (I'm soooo fried).

At the end of it all, we walked away with a trophy for best front wheel drive - a nifty little desk clock with a plaque on it. The vast majority of cars there were older so I was maybe competing against 10 other entries, one of which was a neon green neon with a Canadian Tire special paint job (a la spray cans - complete with overspray!!)

After the show ended around 2:30, Darryl and I went home, changed into our bathing suits and drove up to my parents for a swim and bbq supper. A perfect end to a fabulous day.