Mists of Pandaria

If I've been quiet this week, blame it on Blizzard Entertainment.  I've been immersed in the  World of Warcraft, Mists of Pandaria.

I've been blown away by the story, by the textures and graphics, by the entire expansion so far.  

The forecourt of the
Temple of the Jade Serpent

Questing near the Temple of the Jade Serpent with its namesake

The brooding qualities of the ominous Shado-Pan Monastery gave me chills the first time I saw it

So yea .. if you're looking for me for the next while .. I'll be in Pandaria.

This Ain't No Place

Stuck in my brain today ...

I've been watching a show on Showcase called Strike Back .. and this is the song over the slick opening credits.   Its "Short Change Hero" by a band called The Heavy.  In case you're interested, here's a link to a synopsis of the show "Strike Back."

I can't see where you comin' from
But I know just what you runnin' from:
And what matters ain't the "who's baddest" but
The ones who stop you fallin' from your ladder, baby

And you feel like you feelin' now
Doin' things just to please your crowd,
But I love you like the way I love you,
And I suffer, but I ain't gonna cut you cus

This ain't no place for no hero.
This ain't no place for no better man.
This ain't no place for no hero
To call "home."

This ain't no place for no hero.
This ain't no place for no better man.
This ain't no place for no hero
To call "home."

Every time I close my eyes, I think,
I think about you inside,
And your mother, givin' up on askin' why -
Why you lie, and you cheat, and you try to make
A fool outta she...

I can't see where you comin' from,
But I know just what you're runnin' from.
And what matters ain't the "who's baddest," but the
Ones who stop you fallin' from your ladder, cos

This ain't no place for no hero.
This ain't no place for no better man.
This ain't no place for no hero
To call "home."

A final salute

I love my husband for ... well, for many reasons.  Today, it was this note.

Rest in peace, General Electric;
good & faithful soldier of the top drawer.

Bruce is the person who breaks things in this house ... I cannot count the number of chipped dishes I've found .. but I don't think this knife really owes us anything.  Since we arrived in Nanaimo, its been employed many times every week for Bruce to slice fresh Italian bread .. there's just something so deliciously wonderful about bread you slice yourself.  And I think we received the knife as a wedding gift .. so yea ... it deserves a final salute.

Mornings

I've never been the best at mornings.  It seems to me that a body should lie abed until a decent hour of day ... at least until after the clock reads 8:00 or 9:00 .. possibly 10:00 if you're feeling especially sluggish.  Although I've been known to do the last, I really prefer to be up and about before 9:00 .. gives me time to quietly sip my morning tea and read email and online forums before hitting the shower and getting my day solidly going.

Once I lather and rinse, my next half hour comes in tubes, bottles, sprays, oils, sticks and perfumes.  These are the shapes of my morning.

A quiet moment

Murray loves to be combed and usually rolls over to show off his tummy when Bruce wanders into his line of vision, comb in hand.  On this particular day, Murray was drowsing in Bruce's favourite chair and couldn't be bothered to wake up enough to roll over.  That didn't, however, stop him from enjoying simple pleasures.

The essence of peace

I was messing about in the kitchen .. and believe me, that's the right term .. when I turned around and caught our normally rambunctious Mr. Tippy simply enjoying a beam of sunshine.  This is a bit out of character for him ... I have a hard time catching him with my lens because he moves too fast.  My camera happened to be in range, so I took a couple of shots.

And then he pounced at the window screen and attempted to gnaw at a fly caught between the screen and outside window.

I really should have known.

Fractured Lily

I love the way the windows in my front door create multiple images of the outdoors.  Here's a picture of the lilies in the vase on the front step.

Labour of Love?

Deep in my bones I know that Labour Day is all about taking time off from your labours to enjoy friends and family.  So why did I go crazy and buy paint and brushes?  No idea, but I like the results!

Before

After

I thought this would be simple.  Pop the door off, paint it a couple of times, let it dry all day .. put it back on and you know .. Bob's your uncle.  It was a long day to do two doors and their trim, starting with washing and rinsing and getting garage and drop cloths ready.  Ending with fiddling around with  reluctant handles and hinges that during the day became like two depolarized magnets.

The back door took only two coats, but this front one took five.

Two more doors to go, only one with trim, so it should go faster.  Famous last words right there, folks.