A Tale of Footprints

The snow fell, fat and sloppy on dimpled sidewalks, piling slush near the edges as occasional passersby splashed in their haste to get home for the evening, chins tucked into their collars and hands pushed deep into pockets.  I'd stood at the window, drink in hand, watching the sprites play an extreme game of team tag, zipping in between the six pointed stars and dodging the larger, dangerous flakes.  They'd flit over to the glowball hanging under the eaves by my door and warm their hands, trash-talking their competition all the while.

The city slept late and woke muzzily, drawing apart bedroom curtains to blink in the whiteness of a snow hushed morning.  Opening my door for the morning paper, I was dismayed to find it gone again.  For weeks now, it had intermittently gone missing, supposedly to a neighbour who rose earlier than I.   From the huge pine beside the house, Old Crow laughed raucously down at me.  She absolutely knew the culprit .. she never missed knowing where treasure was, even if it wasn't her idea of treasure.  This time, however, the weather worked with me, leaving evidence that lead through my back gardens and out to the cedar hedging.  I had to admire the intrepid nature of my paper thief, venturing out into a world that few in this area had experienced.

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All of which is a long way of saying ... I wonder who walked through my garden early this morning.  I suppose it was the neighbour's cat, but could have been anything.

A taste of home

Okay, so I said I'd been feeling nostalgic for Alberta. (That was before the big snow storms there, and our bit of snow shovelling adventures here)  Both Bruce and I have had our feet swept out from under us by a huge wave of missing people like Margie, Mel and  Sandy, and family.  But that's not all ... even our grocery shopping sometimes brings home little reminders of Alberta and the things we miss. 

Biting into this was a little bit of heaven.  Fireblossom honey just doesn't compare to clover honey.

A street of my own

Eat your heart out!

Welcome to Canada!

A far cry from sunny Singapore, Ilana and Elsa touched down in Vancouver this week and were met with a frigid snowfall.  This is Elsa's first experience with the snow.  Bruce and I are headed to Vancouver sometime this week in order to see them before they leave and will likely have pictures to share .. she's so adorable.

Huge congrats to Kent and Ilana on the impending May birth of a sister or brother for Elsa.  Their combined genes are doing wonders to beautify our planet!

Of birthdays

November is chock full on most people's birthday watch lists, perhaps due to February being chilly,partial to crackling fireplaces and being snowed in for days on end.  I'm attending a party this evening to celebrate some Bastion Dragons' birthdays .. Bev, Cheryl, Kelly, and Toni, in addition to myself and Karen.  Perhaps I'll be able to share some pictures tomorrow.   In return for Cheryl's masterful chef skills, we've been asked only to bring homemade birthday cards.  Ours are post-it notes.  Bruce has full intentions of bringing along another small pad to make up things as he goes along, so I expect at some point to find a 'kick me' sign on someone.

My day started yesterday with a glass of orange juice and champage, a combination that never ceases to delight and always tempts me back for a few more. It rounded off into bacon and French toast ... something we haven't had in probably a decade.  Cecile dropped by to share some strawberry shortcake that Bruce made from scratch, leaving behind some wonderful organic chocolate and Dutch licorice that Richard picked up on a recent trip there.  The evening meal was roast beef with mashed potatoes and gravy, along with broccoli and a lemony sauce.  All in all, a very fine day, food wise.  Bruce really knows how to treat me well :)

As for gifts, I was the recipient of two phone calls ... one from Dad who told me that he'd be visiting at some point during his off season :D :D :D, the other from Ralph who shared quite a few laughs over this blog.  I'm glad you're enjoying it Ralph .. I am having a great deal of fun with it.  [Edit:  Calls from Jamie, Ian, Mel and Sandy, Aunt Sandy, and an email from Larry too :D] Also on the gift list, not just one, but two different types of gaming mice ... one made by Razer (and much coveted by myself) ... and the other contributed by Mr. Tippy and Murray ...

This one has a place of honor on my desk

The evening ended with 4" of snow and a call from Toni asking if I ordered up the weather, perhaps missing Alberta.  Umm .. I was waxing nostalgic about Alberta earlier this week, but I'm over it now.  Dad told me it was -28° in Beaverlodge yesterday morning.  Yup, I'm over it.

This morning ... Christmas card outside my window!  So I shovelled snow on Bev and Toni's birthday .. I hope you two appreciate all that I do for you. :)

Lois Lane

It's a teeny tiny back alley in downtown Nanaimo ... does it live up to its name?  You decide.   :)

Here's a view of the alley, complete with a gent heading somewhere on an errand.

Hello, my name is Maureen and I'm a procrastinator.  It's been a week since my last post.  I'd like to tell you that my week has been chock full of interesting stuff, that I've jetted off to do this fabulous thing, to meet up with fascinating people, or even managed to make it out of the house for groceries.

Sadly, the week has been filled with none of those things.  I did, however, manage to completely rework my gaming user interface .. most of you would find that an eye-glazing topic.   But for a rainy week in November, it was perfect.  I caught up on some movies with Bruce and made some meals that were less than memorable - not that they were bad, just run of the mill and nothing stellar.

I guess the highlight of the week was purchasing a new casserole dish and then having the inevitable husband/wife discussion about where in the cupboards it should be located so that I can also reach it.  Did I tell you I dislike my cupboards?  No? Consider it done.  I intensely dislike them.  Anything on the second shelf has to be right at the front or I can't reach it.  What good are cupboards if you only reach one shelf?  Exxxxactly!  I think cupboards are mostly built by tall young men who really don't have a clue about setting them up properly. There's the lazy susan in the corner by the stove that threatens to light your hair on fire if you need something from it while you're cooking, which incidentally, is the new home for the casserole dish.  There's also the deep, narrow pantry design that really leaves one shelf useable for me .. and one for Bruce.  In all my years, I've never seen such a poorly designed cupboard system .. and yet, I see these same damn cupboards all over.  The good news is that I love the kitchen island. 

And rather than continuing on that sad sort of line, I'll share a beautiful weather picture with you.  Not everything that has to do with rain is ugly.   When Bruce went off to paddle on Sunday morning, I came downstairs with a cup of tea intending to watch a little TV ... I glanced outside and was really quite inspired by the Japanese maple I can see from the big comfy chair that I get to use only when Bruce is not home. Okay, that was bad of me.  He'll most happily let me use it .. but we all know that the chair really belongs to Bruce and Murray.

Say Yes to the Dress (Part One)

Samantha .. it's that time.  I know, I know .. you've been hiding, thinking I might have let this wedding craziness just go away.  Ummmm .. no.  Way too much fun.

I'm thinking that a non-traditional bride ... and you're very much a non-traditional kind of woman ... should go for something that really sets the tone for the marriage ... lets him know that you're you're own woman, damnit, and you will not conform to societal expectations .. and he should be so lucky to be seen with you no matter what you're wearing.  Okay, with this in mind, I present to you some ideas for dressing up your big day.  Hang on!

This first one is somewhat in line with your love of racing ... what could be better than flames?  Which also works with that whole "you're my flame" mushy cornball thing in which lovers like to particpate.  Maybe instead of rings, you could exchange pink slips.  Just a thought ...

This second dress is all about the bouquet.  Hmm ... better make that plural.  Those pockets would be completely convenient for hiding other stuff as well like, say, a cellphone .. that can conveniently go off when you've had to stand and smile at Aunt Milred's hour long stories about her pet Schnauzer.

By now, you're probably thinking that this is all kinda tame, right?  My thoughts too!!  Here's a novel idea that involves the man of your dreams ... body paint!

Hmm ... Dad's not having convulsions yet, is he?  Let's see if we can kick-start his heart, shall we?  This next dress is also all about the flowers.  Not much else either.

And lastly for today .. how about something that's sure to make a dramatic statement?

How's your heart, Ralph?

I want this address

I like to imagine that the people who live out here rather imagine themselves somewhat caught up in Beatrix Potter's world.  I'm fairly certain that I would be unable to resist a great number of flights of fancy with an address on this street.  To do something crazily creative would be almost fore-ordained, were you to have grown up on Twiggly Wiggly Road, doncha think?

Yesterday's Glory

Every once in a while, I succumb to the temptation to write a bit of haiku.  As a poetry form, I love its simplicity. Today's rather contemplative study in rain got me a bit creative, which is one way to combat those rainy day blues. 

Rainy Day

I had meant to include a shot of sleeping cats in my collage because they epitomize rainy days, but they were all "Hey Mom, what's up with the camera?"  Maybe another day, Kristen :)

Froot Loops

"Froot Loops!  Your soap smells like Froot Loops," declared my niece Trina.   Hmm .. well, okay ... I'd kinda been thinking that the Bergamot and Grapefruit soap that sits in our hall bathroom was reminiscent of lazy Sunday mornings that start with fruit, a steaming hot cup of tea and the weekend crossword.

A good book, a few large mugs of steaming tea, my favorite reading chair and feet up on a cushion .. that's how I'd kinda planned to spend my day Tuesday.   Instead, I spent it being charmed by Kelly's daughter who called out of the blue.  Not only was Trina good company, she was game for hunting down some of those signposts I've been talking to you about here, and since she brought along her GPS, we traipsed all over the city.

Alberta, you may have to give her to BC.  You know she's a vegetarian??  In addition to being charming.  Oh, and beautiful.  Let's not forget that.  Note the dimple in the chin!  

 

We took a ride out to Eyelash Drive and shot some pictures.  Besides having a funny name, the strret itself is short and ends rather oddly ... have a look.

This is the entire length of Eyelash Drive leading directly into Diver's Lake. 
Good thing there's a road to show you how to do that safely.

So Kelly .. you can lend us your daughter anytime you want.  Did I mention she was charming?   Oh, and I double-checked.  That soap does smell like Froot Loops.

Toms Turnabout

Toms Turnabout .. no apostrophe.   Is this the story of a boat belonging to Tom, or an area to turn your vehicle around in front of Tom's place on a small jut of a street off of Hammand Bay Road?  (there is a largish area for a turnabout which is not at the end of the the street).  Not sure of any of these, and again, I'll toss this out to you who may be 'in the know' to provide some clarification.

Totally beside the point, but this is what our cedar hedging will look like when it matures.