Hmmm, there's something about a cloudy but warm day that always gets me into a 'dreamy' mood. So, I decided to take a walk at lunch and ended up at Chapters (dreamy moods always = books for me). Unfortunately, I spent another $50 (which makes me feel guilty) but I picked up two books that I absolutely NEEDED. One being a step-by-step guide for home repair, complete with shopping list, how long it takes to complete the 'project' and best of all, it's written by a woman. I don't mean to be one of those sissy girls who pretends she can't understand things in the 'man's view of the world' but, I have learned that my attention span is short, big tools scare me, and big manuals like the Black and Decker guide to home repair is just a waste of paper and ink in my case (because I honestly can't read it). The book I got doesn't cover a ton of things, but I'm just happy that I can at least go ahead with some of the fix-its on my list that involve things like repairing the siding on our house, (instead of putting a board over it and planting ferns infront of it, which was my first fix), changing the door knobs, and redoing the caulking around windows and in the bathrooms... :)

The other book I got was one recommended to me by my mother, and the reviews led me to realize that it's going to be my new bible once Tigger comes home. It's called 'How to be Your Dog's Best Friend', written by a bunch of monks (oddly enough), who raise German Shepherds (perfect). It doesn't bother with all that fluppy-wuppy BS where everything you want your dog to do is accompanied by a lot of grovelling and treat-stuffing, and everything bad he does is handled with a simple 'look the other way' approach. I can't have my dog going ape-wild in our new place, and he's too damn smart to assume he'll continue to repeat the same behavior flawlessly every time, cookie or no cookie. In my short time with him, I quickly learned that he will have a command nailed in about 5 minutes, after that, he's going to try to outsmart you, and if that fails, he'll bite you or jump on you. This book has more of the 'old way' approach, where a dog is treated as a 'pack member' (no I'm not about to start calling myself mother Wolf or anything so stop snickering). Anyway, so in understanding how he responds to situations naturally, you can get your messages across to him clearly and quickly by mimicking what a pack leader would do, more or less. (So yes, discipline is taught thoroughly so as not to be done improperly). So two good book purchases, if I do say so myself! Now the only thing is I actually have to read them. ;)
Anyway, I'm looking forward to a quiet night tonight. Luc will be in Montreal on a business trip, so I'm planning to do a bit of tidying up before heading out to Winners to (finally) spend my gift certificate that I got on my b-day. I need to find something to wear for the wedding that is coming up this weekend, but I have no clue what (it can't cost very much, that's for sure!)
Well, guess I better get back to work.
xo

Sigh... Well, I'm through with playing 'enthusiastic landlord extraordinaire', or rather, I was as of about 10:30 this morning, moments before our first 'potential tenants' of the day showed up. I can honestly tell you that owning apartments and renting them out is a fantastic investment, but it's a huge one, not only of money (which we are currently very short on!), but of time, of emotion, of risk.. We had several people through last week (I believe we showed it about 6 times over the week, with four of the showings occurring in one evening). All went well, but for the most part, it was young couples who either weren't comfortable with the price or were not really into some aspect of the neighbourhood or house. Luckily, we do have a beautiful little apartment, and we received tons of compliments on our decorating (yeh!), but that doesn't necessarily mean that people will rent (and sometimes, that's a good thing). We held our breath a few times, like when the 30-something divorcee who went through the house with a fine-toothed comb, and started commenting on things like 'hmmmm, I don't like open concept too much' and 'I think I could fit my daughter's bed in here with my queen sized bed' and 'so I would be able to store all my excess things in the crawl space until I find a house?' (read: I am moving out as soon as I can find something bigger)... Then there were a few others who were either incredibly finicky and nit-picky, or had a dog 'but he's such a good dog', or were 18 years old, etc... After four more showings today, we managed to finally luck in with a couple who have one baby, and who are extremely nice. Though I was put in the awkward position after talking to them on Friday evening (to schedule an appointment for this morning - dumb after a bachelorette/bachelor party evening last night), and right after I hung up the phone, got another call from a sweetheart of a girl (single mom to an 18 month old baby boy) who poured her life story out to me and had me chatting with her like we were old friends for HALF an HOUR. She told me she desperately wanted this apartment, she had fallen in love with the pictures, the idea sounded perfect, and she has to be out of her current apartment by July 1. She had me promising to store her stuff while she lived at her relatives while we fixed up the place, and pointing out day cares and things for her kid. We even discussed whether her duvet would match the paint in the bedroom (and it would, lol). She was so excited, she drove around the neighbourhood on Saturday (but looked at the wrong house), and then called Luc to tell him all about it while he was trying to bar-b-que (three sheets to the wind as well). She even told me this morning that she had found a garage sale on our street and she and her friend had bought all the guys' paintings, yadda yadda. Anyway, so naturally, she had wanted to see the apartment before I showed it to the nice couple, however I didn't want to do anything 'sneaky' incase it turned out we didn't want her to rent or something. So she showed up today and was severely disappointed when she learned that she probably didn't have the apartment as they had sat down right then and there and signed the reference forms. We were then stuck with the awkward and stressful task of trying to figure out which one to choose - her or the couple. We finally decided to do the 'right thing' and take the couple first, as they were really first in line. It did involve me having a semi-counselling session with my will-be 29 year old tenant (the husband) about exactly what apartment living is going to mean for them, and were they fully understanding that it will be a BIG transition from a huge house in the country to a small apartment in the city where they will definitely need to learn how to live with other people they don't know in the same house... Anyway, he assures me it's all fine. I'm now exhausted and am taking his word for it, and so we hopefully sign a lease tomorrow (woohoo!).

That means I can move on to stressing about everything else in our life - like where we're getting the money for the house, planning (and hopefully doing) all the repairs on this place, settling into our new place (and cleaning and painting and fence building), finding appliances and furniture both for here (to replace the washer/dryer that we're taking with us) and for there (new fridge and stove and furniture for the entire finished basement), plus bringing the dog back into our busy lives and dealing with his 'transition period' where he'll invariably piss on the floor infront of Luc who will have a heart-attack and probably try to kill him (with the help of our psycho cat who has to actually be drugged with anti-depressant 'stoner' meds to make him not jump on the dog's back and sink his teeth in as far as they will go), all the while I'll be upstairs crying on the phone to my mom and having a nervous breakdown... Sounds like fun eh? Welcome to the life of 'the smart thing to do' where all you have to do is be in a constant state of stress and someday, they assure you, it will ALL PAY OFF BABY!!! ;)

No seriously, I am doing alright with managing the stress, mostly because it still seems kind of like a 'dream' and not like we're actually moving. I was looking at our place this morning, thinking to myself how much I'm going to miss it. And I really will. When we bought it, I made a promise to myself not to get too attached as it WAS an investment property.. and I know that one day our new house will have the same feel for me, but right now, this is HOME. I love the paint colours, the neighbourhood, all the quirks of the house, our tenants, the location, everything. I'm going to miss it! But you have to make sacrifices in life to get where you want to go, so while I am finding it all a little scary right now, it will eventually all work out and we'll be smiling on our brand-new two-tiered deck overlooking the gardens and pool, while my well-trained dog lies at my feet and MAYBE two little kiddlets are playing in the yard... In like 15 years, lol... ;) (see how good I've become at the self-pep-talks? Makes you want to vomit, doesn't it?)

Anyway, I need sleep. I'm going to have to go cut the power wires leading into the trashy next door neighbours' house though because they have AWFUL music pumping out of their basement that is practically vibrating the walls (did I say I was going to miss this??) .... ;o)

xoxo

Okay, better late than never!


Beeeautiful Beltane: (excerpt from my Herbal) Celebrated April 20 and May 1, Beltane (or May Eve and May Day) is a time to revel in life's absurdities and have fun. The sun is gaining strength and thought to hold the characteristics of youth - playful and mischievous. Flowers abound, waiting for you to enjoy the beauty of life's physical pleasures. Smell the flowers or dance in a secluded part of overgrown wilderness, as you relish the light and laughter of faeries and children. Traditionally, the holiday represents the marriage of the divine masculine and divine feminine, as seen in the maypole dance. Weave together the magick of the male and female aspects of yourself. Honor the collaboration and patchwork that is you. Respect the soul's journey, and always remember to take teh ride of life lightly - it is only a dream, after all.
(Strawberries are a symbol of Beltane).
I found a neat site - (check out the pics) - the Beltane Fire Society (http://www.beltane.org/) puts on a festival every year at Beltane (of course) where they have a theatrical performance involving a lot of costumed people and dancing and fires - looks really cool - someday if I ever get to Scotland, you can bet I wanna see it! :)

So in keeping with the spirit of 'reveling in absurdities', we did just buy a new house and that was just brought on because I bought a dog that didn't fit in our apartment. Well, no there are many other more important reasons why we did, but it is crazy and exciting (and a little scary) all at the same time. The biggest thing I have to realize is that we will own it for a long time, so projects can be worked on slowly, and with thought, instead of being slapped together at a moment's notice (and thousands of dollars later having us realize we should have invested more thought and planning into it).

I definitely will have enough to keep me busy over the next few years though, between outdoor summer projects like gardens, patios, fencing and dog houses, plus the essentials like roofing, siding, and general maintenance, to inside projects like new flooring, painting, new furniture, refinishing our dining room table, and completely renovating the kitchen (including knocking out a wall), I'm sure we'll never run out of things to do (and sink our money into).

We were walking around the neighbourhood where we live now and I"m happy that we do still own a house here, because, honestly, there is something to be said for our quiet, small, older neighbourhood right smack in the middle of the city (though our neighbourhood in Aylmer is beautiful too). I will miss walking around our home and looking out over the river at Ottawa with all its buildings shining in the setting sunlight. I love looking at the city, with all its trees - it seems like there are no houses down there, but I know under the trees there are streets filled with people and garbage and houses and buildings and cars, but you can't see any of that from where I look at the top of the hill near our apartment, so it's really pretty. Always reminds me of when I first came to Ottawa after high school, how beautiful it was and how excited I felt, not knowing what was 'under all the trees' nor really caring anyway, just filled with joy and hope.. :)

Where we're moving is very pretty - we're kind of close to the river, (can't see it but it's a 15 minute walk to get there) surrounded by parkland, golf courses, and older 'Victorian' style neighbourhoods complete with a marina (looks like PEI!) and quaint shops. Our neighbourhood is more 1960's and 1970's houses, but the trees area all big and mature and there are parks everywhere, so it's also very pretty. I took a stroll down our street the other night when I bused from work, and everyone keeps their yards immaculately cleaned and manicured (ours is currently not, and I'm not typically known for my 'attention to detail and order'). Interesting side-note actually, the couple who live there right now are Pagan (from what they were wearing in their wedding photos - not that I looked ;) ), and they seemed to have planted a whole bunch of different things around the yard. So it'll be fun to see what all she has - I'm hoping maybe some herbs (though I'm hoping to move mine with me anyway). Not that being Pagan means you grow herbs, but hey, you never know... ;)

Anyway, lots to think about. It's getting harder and harder these days not to lose myself in a daydream, but soon enough we'll be in full work-mode, should be interesting to say the least.

Well off to do the dishes!

xo

So I was reading a borrowed copy of Harrowsmith Country magazine, and they have a whole section featuring long-forgotten and, in some cases, completely disappeared, heirloom seeds. Made me want to start up an apple orchard or something. One thing is for sure, garden-grown produce tastes WAY better that grocery store stuff (because grocery store veggies and fruits barely have a taste at all). I also read, interestingly enough, that the animals on farms, that a hundred years ago had been bred to withstand harsh seasons, drought, disease and could basically exist on their own with little to no human intervention, have all but disappeared as well. Replaced by cows that produce more milk (but are so inbred that 90% of Canada's herd of dairy cows were produced using 11 bulls, one of which has a severe defect which will no doubt affect all the rest of the offspring), and turkeys that carry so much breast meat that they suffer from heart-attacks if not slaughtered soon enough, and chickens that have no mother instincts left, and have to be inoculated constantly as their immune system is so weak. It's sad to see that we all depend so much on technology and modern medicine, etc., that even our ANIMALS now can't live without it. Apparently there's a movement to revive, or at least preserve, the bloodlines of those 'hardier' animals from yester-year, but big-time farmers won't give them a second thought. So I came off the the bus this morning wanting to buy some 'heirloom' laying hens for our new backyard (provided we get it), however I think the neighbours might have a problem seeing as we're buying in a suburb. :)

Maybe I can buy a few to keep at my Mom's or something. :)
While I'm on the whole 'rural' kick, there's another thing I'm interested to try. Apparently there is a movement to try to eat locally produced foods, as a way to support your local farmers, and as well, to try to slow life down a bit. I guess when you think of all the millions of imported foods available to us each day, we often don't really stop to think about what we're eating. I wonder (and it's been suggested that perhaps this is so), if we were to eat a diet of produce that could be grown locally, would we not be better off in terms of receiving the right nutrients for the right times of year? I know that in winter, I crave stews, chilis, cabbage, the 'winter' type foods that aren't available or desirable throughout the summer. Conversely, in the summer, the thought of stuffing myself with fresh baked bread, cheese and chili is enough to make me gag. Anyway, while I'm not ready to give up the foods I eat now, I was thinking maybe we could start trying to buy our summer veggies and fruits from roadside stands and/or the market, instead of the store. And if I get my wish and we have a new house this summer, I hope to plant a small garden (it'll be late in the season by the time I start) so maybe we can grow some yummy veggies ourselves.
Anyway, we're slowly slogging through another hectic, high stress, low money season. Last Spring was like this too. We haven't heard back from the accountant yet on the taxes we're going to owe (and I'd rather not know yet), we put in an offer on the house and are now trying to scrounge up enough money for the closing costs, down-payment, mortgages on both houses (for at least one month), and any repairs/decorating that needs to be done at both places. Gonna be a high-credit, high-interest, no spending cash kinda year I think! The good side is, once we get tenants in both apartments, that house will pay for itself, and we can focus on our new house, complete with two cats and our doggit. :) The other nice thing is we would be moving to Aylmer, which is 40% English speaking, filled with green space, along the waterfront, and full of quaint little shops and older houses. Very pretty area to live in. :)
So, as usual, I'm of course, finding it hard to concentrate on the tedious tasks at work, however, if I want to make this work for us, I guess I better get my head out of the clouds and do something semi-productive today. Keep your fingers crossed for us!!
xo

Introducing the long-awaited newest member of our family (drum-roll please) my new DOG!!!!! :) After a few years of dropped hints and continual scouring of humane society websites (so I could bombard poor Luc with pictures of cute doggies in the pound), I have finally lucked in, not only in that I got a dog, but I got a FABULOUS dog. He's an 11-month old purebred male German Shepherd, originally destined for the conformation show ring, and since (lucky for me!) headed for a pet home, from a well-respected breeder with an amazing line of dogs. I had the good fortune of a chance meeting with him two weeks ago when I was down visiting my parents, and he pretty much sealed the deal with me when he ran right up to me, gave me kisses and let me take him for a walk on his leash with no trouble at all. (In the past I have a bad history of German Shepherds taking one look at me and making a b-line in the opposite direction, so this was a promising start). :) He's not a huge dog, which is great, and he's gorgeous - with a plush coat and dark features (can you tell I'm in wuv with him already?).
Anyway, Luc has been kind enough to relent to my endless bugging, begging and pleading and has agreed to welcome him into our family. :) I can't wait to start obedience training him (in May) and now I have a companion to keep all the bad people away.
So continues my week of planning, e-mailing, shopping, arranging, half-angry trips to the store to lug oversized 100lb boxes of fencing home in my Cavalier, cancellations of many 'engagements' with friends (sorry guys!!) and general disarray which has caused me to be excited one minute and burst into tears the next. One thing I know for sure is that anything that takes this much work to prepare must definitely be worth something in the end, I'd almost feel 'weird' if it was as easy as 'order dog - dog comes home', however it has had its challenges over the last few days that have definitely tested my will to make this work. (And so far, I believe I'm doing alright - despite those people who have offered their two-cents worth of crappy unwarranted comments and negativity that have only served to reinforce the idea that people suck and dogs are wonderful). So starts my journey toward becoming a hermit dog-lady. :)

Here's an excerpt on Ostara (one of my new favorite holidays because it signifies a beginning to the end of all this snow!!!)

"Ostara: Celebrated between March 20 and 22, Ostara (or spring equinox) is one of the two times of the year when night and day are of equal duration; it is a holiday of balance. Ostara is a time to rebirth our new selves, clear away the clutter in our minds, and wipe the slate clean in our lives. See life in nonextreme terms - neither too terrible nor too fantastic. In nature, flowers are blooming and the world is abuzz with new life. Ostara rejoices in the beauty of our unique selves and in playing with impish delight. Find balance, plant individual expression, believe in abundance and fertility, face fears, cry and allow for all emotions. This sabat represents dawn on the Wheel of the Year..."

I'm very excited that Spring is on its way, but I'm also trying not to get TOO excited because winter is still pelting us with snow and icy winds. I took a walk this evening, and it was pleasant enough, being that it was 0 degrees outside, but with the wind it was a lot colder, and as I was walking along looking at people's trees and gardens, etc all covered in snow, and the warm glow of the lights in their houses shining out into the cold blue night-time air, it seemed a whole lot more like we were about to hit December. (Shiver). I'm so ready for Spring.

I can feel that I am getting restless too - I spend countless hours a day doing mind-numbing tasks at work, and between times am sneaking to read gardening articles, look at lawn care stuff, dream up projects for decorating our rooms inside, drooling at the new spring and summer fashions, and today spent quite a bit of time looking at the activities this rollerblading club in Ottawa offers (I signed up - can't wait!)

So I am trying to remind myself that winter's not done yet, and I'm forcing myself to try to relax and enjoy the cozy down-time we have right now because it won't be long before we're working on a million things at once around here. I have big plans to redo a couple rooms that have been bothering me in the house, and Luc and I both want to tackle the lawns and stain the deck and fences (not to mention adding a section of fence, you know, just incase I ever get a DOG).

We definitely have our work cut out for us, but I'm soooo looking forward to it. The downside is that I have been hearing that we're in for an abnormally cool spring and summer. I hate cold summers. We had one three summers ago, I remember, there were few days that I could take a walk at lunch and not have to bring a jacket because the wind was so cold, and out on the river we couldn't swim it was so cold.

So here's hoping it's warmer than they say... (Fingers crossed).

Anyway, until it's warm outside, I have a ton of stuff to get through inside - like Mom's site (yes, I still plan to redo it!!), some sewing projects if I ever get off my arse and into a fabric store, and lots of cleaning because every closet and drawer in this house is jam-packed with junk. For the first time ever I feel like I need to 'purge' the house of unnecessary things. This is not at all common for me, I normally hoard things like there's no tomorrow (Luc can attest to that), but for some reason, I can feel the junk behind those cupboard doors (I"m going crazy, yes) and it bothers me, so I have to clean it out!

Anyway, my spirits are slowly lifting because, as my excerpt eludes to, I see this as a new beginning in the year, where things start fresh and life kind of picks up. There's a lot to look forward to - from a painting course I found that takes place at different outdoor locations around Ottawa, to our yard projects, to rollerblading and BBQing on our back deck with our (hopefully) new BBQ. :) I think this is going to be a fun summer, regardless of the temperature as we had another couple of friends just move into an apartment near our neighbourhood, so summer dinner parties on the deck, here we come! :)

I've been pretty stressed out lately. I need a good vacation or at least a little break from work I think! One nice thing though, is that on weekends, I get to relax and do whatever I want, which includes standing on a kitchen chair with Zappa climbing up the back of my jeans with his damn claws(!!) and taking pictures of my cozy home that I love so much. :) It's nice to remember there are corners of the world that are all your own, where work stops at the door and sanity returns (or, like me, you can run around in circles, displaying your INSANITY and not have to worry about it). :)
Zappa cuddling with his budddies, and Cricket hanging out in the living room, listening to some Norah Jones. :)

Going to see '300' tonight. Should be an interesting movie - it was filmed near Montreal, with no scenery whatsoever, all green-screen. Well, gotta go cook some steak and taters!! :)

xo

So another b-day has come and gone and I am finally 1/4 of a century old - 'over the hill' as Jessica Simpson would say. ;)

Yesterday was a nice day in a way because I was tired, (as usual!) and it decided to dump a crap-load of snow on us, so there was literally NO ONE at work, so I could afford to relax a wee bit.

Luc had a basket of flowers delivered to my office (sweet boy that he is) - it has mini hostas, african violets, ferns, those cute pink winter flowers that I can NEVER remember the name of, etc. in it. So I moved 'Octavius' the testing worm into his new gigantic home (the plants are growing in soil, not cut, so it will hopefully last a nice long time!). Very nice to add some greenery to my office anyway. :)

So at 2:00 my boss said 'well I am going to go bike shopping' so I said 'well, I'm going home' and that I did - to take a glorious nap (naps are always glorious on a week-day afternoon). Then we went out for dinner with friends. Myranda made a 'luscious' chocolate cake (that girl has the magic touch in the kitchen, I swear), and the restaurant gave me a $25 gift certificate, which was a lot nicer than a bunch of waiters banging on pots and pans and singing at the top of their lungs or whatever. The place we went to, George's, was really nice too - very 'posh' - it's new. I wouldn't have chosen the name 'George' as it doesn't represent 'posh' or up-beat, or modern to me, but oh well.

Anyway, I guess that's it (I just finished entering plant-related ramblings on my garden blog so I'm feeling all blogged out).

One last thing before I go - I decided to wash up this old 'Crown' fruit jar that I'd found in the shed. It has the original glass top with a really old rubber seal and the big metal screw-on top. When I got it clean, I realized it's really nice, and probably an antique. I wish I could figure out how old it is - the bottom says: 1932 with a D inside a diamond (I did learn that E inside a diamond represented Eatons, so this must have been sold in a store that started with a D maybe?) and the # 13. I read too that jars with #13 on them are supposed to be rare because superstitious people apparently would smash them or throw them out. The numbers can represent anything from the machine number, to the number of jars the particular worker made that day, etc. No site I've found has explained how to figure out the year, but 1932 would be wicked cool. ;) Anyway, so it's now my seed-packet holder. :)

Sorry for the rather 'lame' post, but I need some zzzz's.

xo

I made blueberry muffins the other day. Have to say they turned out alright, definitely 'old fashioned' in a way (ie: heavy) but I prefer my blueberry pancakes I think - will post the recipe next time!!

So I have tons to write about but my eyes have all but dried up into my head from staring at a computer screen all day and all night. So I think I'll save my 'woes' about turning 25 for another day. :) (You're all spared for now!)

We took a nice long walk tonight with Myranda and Pogo, which was a co-incidental thing that was nice. We were all set to go take the movies back to Blockbuster on foot (about a 15-20 minute walk to get there I guess) and Myranda came in the front door and asked for the movies. Turned out they were going for a walk too, so we all went together.

One sad thing, they discussed how they're going to look at a house on Saturday. It's a rent-to-own offer (which makes me suspicious - note to self, pull a Ginny-Chonga and investigate thoroughly)... ;) I told them they're not allowed to go too far, because I'd miss them, and I would. For some silly reason, as I hit 25, and I look back on my short life filled with good and bad memories and a pile of 'don't do that again' lessons, I have a strong urge to gather all my friends and family closer. I don't know why, but it seems like I'm crossing the 'threshold' into my late 20's with some regrets about losing touch with various people along the way, or maybe not apologizing for things when I should have, and I don't want to continue the trend.

I guess I have facebook.com to blame for it mostly, as I was happy in my own little universe until I realized how many people are out there, who I have shared some piece of history with, that I still consider a friend and who I never talk to. It's funny to think that one day they might not be there, and where will that leave me? I think strong bonds with friends and family are the 'riches' of life - you can't get better than a good conversation over five cups of coffee and two giant pieces of chocolate cake with a girlfriend, or feel as comfortable and relaxed as you are when you're making dinner with your Mom. I just think we sometimes need to stop and appreciate that we have people in our lives that, no matter what their 'role' is, good or bad, make it colourful and interesting, and I for one tend to neglect it out of shyness, laziness and lack of confidence in myself. People are also wonderfully complicated and often-times disappointing, but it's one of those can't live with em, can't live without em kinds of things I think. I think it's time I try to make a bigger effort, so people watch out, you're about to be hounded! (Or not?)

Speaking of hounded, a weird thing today, someone from a company I've never heard of e-mailed me personally and asked if I was still interested in a Quality Engineer opportunity. I had no clue who they were and really don't remember ever sending something to them, so I wrote them back and asked them for more info, not bothering to mention that I have no clue who they are. Nice to have people do the leg-work for you though I guess! Though I looked at their site and it's like a family-run consulting business or something: http://marlerassociates.com/ Not too sure about that one, and I'm happy where I am. I wonder if they're trying to 'poach' resources from other firms? Gutsy... Wonder how much they pay... ;)

Well, I think I need to get some early shut-eye.. Apparently there's a huge winter storm watch in effect for tomorrow (I have mixed feelings - I love a good storm any time of year, but I'm kind of on this "SPRING" kick now.. ;) ) Anyway, I should take the day off, but there's a guy coming in to look at how we do our jobs and make 'suggestions', wouldn't want mine to be 'should show up for work'... ;)

xo

Well, I feel like I probably should have a lot to say, considering I haven't been on in a few days. But I'm so tired today, it's almost too much effort to try to string coherent thoughts together.

So here are two pictures that I finally was able to take (our camera's batteries are shot, and last only for about 5 minutes, and of course are rarely charged, so picture taking opportunities are few and far between these days). Here is my finished painting of my girl.

And here is my beeeautiful (soon to be properly restored) sterling silver bracelet. :)

Anyway, we had a nice evening last night - the guys had their "guys' night out" at the White Cowbell concert, and we gracious girls drove them into Ottawa and dropped them off, then went back and picked their sorry arses up (even though they were SUPPOSED to have taken a cab).

We rented chick flicks and ate grapes and brie and crackers and strawberries and cookies and popcorn and pretty much anything else we could think of (oh yeah there was french bread and paté)... And all that that was after we ordered pizza. ;) Anyway, astonishingly (and we eventually figured out you have to decide when to make it stop) the one who ate the most food was the 1 1/2 year old little girl that my friend Myranda was looking after. It was actually a bit surprising that, after the first few awkward minutes, I got over my 'fear' of her, and actually had an enjoyable evening playing with her. For once I got to speak French to someone who a) can't speak back so she HAD to listen to me, and b) was pretty much on par with my own vocabulary level. ;)

It was funny too, at one point, not too long after she'd gotten here, Luc came out of his room, looked around the living room and said 'wow, that's a LOT of mess for such a little thing!' - she'd found every cat toy, every stuffed animal, every blanket and pillow, and, along with her own toys and blankets, had tossed them all over the room - it looked like a small tornado had gone through there. ;) Anyway, she was cute, and kept us busy throughout the evening. She was very good with my cats, which impressed me a lot (thanks to Myranda's 'parenting' - her real mother is a 21-year old party-girl that dumps the poor kid off on anyone she can find pretty much, so Myranda tries to look after her as much as she can).

I thought I'd make my own contribution to her young life, so I taught her how to brew a pot of coffee (a useful skill if I may say so myself), ;) but brewing coffee with a 20lb giggling baby on one arm makes the task a bit more difficult. It was funny - I smelled the open can of Tim Hortons coffee, (mmmmm :) ) and she smelled it and wrinkled her nose - so Becky taught her her first English word, which was 'yuck'.

All in all, a fun evening. I certainly don't want kids at the moment, but renting other people's would be a fun idea now and then. ;)

Well, off to take a nap now, I'm exhausted...!

xo

Well, I am in a very good mood today. I just got back from Zellers (see my garden blog to hear all about the neat stuff they have for the garden!). I am getting sooo excited for winter to be over! Becky and I discussed our plans to go rollerblading three times a week along the canal this time. At least now that I have a car, I can make sure we do it, because my only argument against it last year was that I had to take the bus with my rollerblades there and back, which added over an hour of travelling time to my already short evenings.

I also went online and found a TON of things to do on weekends in the summer, from giant community garage sales, to gardening shows, to Tulip Festival and the Festival of Lights. Plus, we're planning to do a lot of short trips this year. We'll be going to Toronto to the zoo in May (baby animals!), possibly to the Rocky Horror Picture Show in Toronto (who doesn't love parading around the streets in lingerie? - Note to self, better get off your ass and start exercising or you'll be the only 'Janet' in 'fat pants'), and hopefully to the East Coast in the summer for a week. :)

So speaking of 'fat pants', today is 'Fat Tuesday' or 'Mardi Gras'. It's the day of 'gluttony' and reckless abandon, where people get to over-indulge in all their sinful-icious behaviours before abstaining from them totally during Lent. I am neither Catholic nor Christian, however I am going to give this Lent thing a try, but I've put in some 'clauses' to ensure I am not going to kill myself here. ;) First, I am going to give up swearing (or at least cut back), and I'm going to give up eating junk food during the week (with the hope that once I've weaned myself off it during the week, I won't crave it on the weekends). I've also started my walks again in the evening, which I love (went by Benjamen Moore's again tonight to drool over the wall-coverings :) ).

So hurry up Spring, I'm done with hibernating!

xo

Oh, I almost forgot, I received the nicest gift I've ever been given for my birthday on the weekend from my Mom and Dad. It's a beautiful silver bracelet (engraved with flowers) that is over 120 years old!! It was given to my great Grandma for her 21st birthday back in 1885. I almost cried when I unwrapped it! My camera's not working right now but once I get it all polished up, I'll put a pic up to show it off. :) Thanks Mom!!

TGIF! So, once again, I'm all dressed up on a Friday where everyone else is in jeans. I have another interview this afternoon with one of our clients. I guess the one okay thing about a Friday afternoon meeting is that people are generally a bit more relaxed because they know the weekend starts pretty much as soon as we leave the boardroom. Anyway, I would have prefered to wear jeans, but what can you do... Actually, I really need to, yet again, update my wardrobe. This is a never-ending cycle for me which I thoroughly resent. I may have mentioned it before, but when I was in PEI, things were so SIMPLE - there was no pressure to wear the latest designer anything, everyone was very casual, very friendly, very laid-back. None of this constant evaluating what I'm wearing that day, how my makeup looks that day, how tall/short I am, whether my footwear truly does match my shirt colour, etc that I put up with on a daily basis here in downtown Ottawa (which, laughably, is known for it's total LACK of 'chick style' that Montreal seems to flaunt effortlessly). Anyway, I hate trying to find the balance between office-preppy (suits, dress pants and frumpy blousses), modern fashion diva (you should see all the nice jeans, cute boots, fabulous woolen coats with pretty designs and cashmere scarves all these girlies are wearing - I keep telling myself they're the ones who make $60,000/year and still live at home with Mom - and I do know a few like that), and then there's my natural 'bum' side where I love to curl up in a pair of faded jeans, a few layered t-shirts and a comfy sweater with a pony-tail. Unfortunately, unless you make $150,000/year I am not sure how you're expected to afford all that. Not to mention we have a closet that is half the size of a normal closet and which is shared by both of us. We also don't own a dresser of any kind so EVERYTHING is piled in the closet. I buy new clothes and the closet 'eats' them - they get swallowed up in the never-ending mess that is my wardrobe. It's frustrating too, that no matter how much I buy, I never have things that 'go' together and it's impossible to see what you own.

~Sigh~... So once again I'm making mental notes about the 'essentials' that I need. Unfortunately, there are about 3 new 'essentials' I come up with each day. My sister says I'm just in a 'I want' phase, and shouldn't buy anything until I snap out of it. Maybe so - last night we went shopping for a b-day present for my Dad. Every store was filled with things that called to me from the shelves - pretty blue dishes (I've been wanting some), all the new gardening stuff and seed-starting kits, paper pots you can plant directly into the ground, flower pots in every different colour (I caved and bought three on sale for $1 each), etc. etc. Then there's the fabric stores, the Home Sense store, Benjamen Moore (I took a walk in -25 the other night just so I could go stare in their window and dream of redecorating our terrible bedroom), and so much more... I can't help it! I think I have held off buying things for too long and now I want/need EVERYTHING!

Anyway, so this weekend I'm staying out of the stores. Good thing for me, I'm going to Napanee, (though my shop-aholic mother is there) to celebrate my Dad's b-day and visit with the family. Should be fun, we haven't had Steve and Luc and the family together for over a year. We're going to yuk yuks too, which is fun. :) Anyway, it's good timing, I think I could use a little fresh country air and 'simple' living for a couple of days. Horsies, here we come! (It is especially welcoming after listening to my boss pitch to yet another person his idea of outsourcing my f***ing job to INDIA. I'm going to buy a potato farm, in PEI, where no one can find me (hard to hide there maybe but who cares) and then at least I won't have to deal with idiots anymore).

:)

Hm, seems that they've released a movie 'Bridge to Terabithia', based upon the novel by Katherine Paterson which was what my site-title was based upon. Here I figured I was being original (I read the book way back in grade 6 and actually remembered it which is unusual), and when I tried various combinations of words with 'Terabithia', all the blog urls were taken already! Well, I tried... :)

Ahhh, sweet February 14th... Just oozing 'wuv' and 'CONSUMERISM'... ;) Luc and I have decided that we are not going to fall prey to the whole Valentines Day brainwashing that the media and retail stores inflict upon us all every year. If you think about it, who have you heard say anything about Valentines Day recently? Bet you saw it in a shop window, in an ad on TV, or maybe the morning news had a segment on 'better not forget to buy those roses' like mine did this morning. I bet you didn't hear coworkers, friends and family going around excitedly whispering their plans to surprise their loved one(s) with some expensive 'sweet nothings'. Why? Because, as I see it, no one really looks forward to Valentines Day. At least not for the sake of the day itself. Sure, people look forward to the gifts that guilt-stricken, peer-pressured partners buy for them, but only because the media works it up to be 'if you receive gifts, and thus are in a relationship, you are a member of some 'elite' group of people' which is of course total BS. As far as I'm concerned, it's not any more special than any other day. Infact, those days where you spontaneously do something nice for someone rank far higher on the scale of importance than all those Feb. 14ths where you went running into the nearest Laura Secord at lunch time to join the mile-long line-up of people who are all scrambling to get something, anything to avoid the 'You forgot! You must not care about me!' episode... I figure that doing anything on V-Day because you 'have to', really undoes any meaning behind the gesture(s).
That's not to say that showing your loved one that you care for them on any given day (including V-Day) is a bad thing. Infact, I did buy some home-made chocolates for us to share, but the proceeds help the Alzheimer's society. We will probably make dinner together too (but we do that often), and maybe watch a movie. I think that, handled properly, V-Day can serve as a special day where you take time out of your busy schedules to celebrate and acknowledge all the special people in your life. With that in mind, making a meal together, listening to a favorite cd together, maybe taking a walk or going to a movie together, in a sense, giving the gift of TIME (which is the most precious of our resources) over some tacky diamond-'whatever' is the best way to both really get something out of the day. If you want to give something tangeable, do the dishes and let your loved one curl up on the couch for an hour, or make them a card (don't let Hallmark do the talking for you). Either way, I'm glad that Luc and I share the same viewpoint about this day. No stress here! ;)

When I listen to Norah Jones, I think green fields, bumble bees, white cotton sun-dress, old weathered back porch, blues music and iced tea. So now I'm sooo excited because she's coming to Montreal in May!! I have her newest CD and it's just as great as all the ones before it (actually I find each one she puts out is a little better than the last). Honestly, I love all different kinds of music, and many different artists, but Norah is my favorite for relaxing in the evening (I'm sure my neighbours wish it wasn't because I usually feel the need to add a howl or two of my own to her songs). Listening to her takes me out of the city and plops me smack in the middle of the deep south (not that I have a clue what the deep south really is like, but it has to be sweet, slow, romantic country compared to busy concrete boring that is the city). Actually, PEI captured a lot of that feeling too. And Saskatchewan. There's just something so beautiful about those places. Like the grass is greener (isn't it always?), the sky is bigger and bluer (and not obstructed), you can actually SEE the stars at night, and when you sit and daydream on a sunny afternoon, time seems like it stops for a moment. I don't find that here. Maybe it's just because I own an house now and there's always something to do, so sitting and doing nothing is usually rudely interrupted with thoughts of 'oh, crap I have to do that, and that, and I forgot about that...' and within minutes I'm running for a day-planner or a scrap of paper to jot down yet another job list... But also there's usually something around - neighbours, kids, dogs, cars, whatever, that break that 'moment'. I need a country home someday!
Anyway, so yet another thing to look forward to in May. Along with that of course is SPRING!! I noticed yesterday, and today, that you can see it in the sunshine. It's shining a little warmer than before maybe, I don't know, but when I look at it, instead of that pale winter sun that makes me want to hibernate, it's a warm yellow sun that whispers 'go buy a pretty skirt for spring'... and maybe some matching shoes... ;)
I can't wait until we can go home and open the doors and windows and let fresh air flow through the house, and eat out on the back deck, and dig around in the garden in the evenings, and take long walks after dinner with the sun still UP... I'm just making myself full of hope and we have two more months to go before it's really any warmer, but I checked the Farmer's Almanac yesterday and they say that it's supposed to be unseasonably hot and dry this spring with a cooler and dry summer. Sounds good to me! We were discussing too that we may be doing a road-trip with our friends to the East Coast again this summer. I hope so!
Anyway, until then, it's back to the daily grind, and hurrying from one building, through the freezing cold, and into the next. But the green is coming, it's definitely in the sun... :)

So Groundhog Day, (or Imbolc for those that care), has come and gone, and passed quite nicely with lots of clouds and snow. This supposedly should mark the end of our Winter and the dawning of a new Spring... Naturally, because we live in the freezing North, winter is only just getting started, and today is proof, after a weekend of a comfortable -6 to -13, we're now sitting somewhere in the -20's with windchill warnings of up to -40.




Anyway, so after my 'down-time month' (January), I tried to get a list together of things I hope to accomplish in the coming year. It's already two pages long and growing all the time. Half of it I probably won't even get to, but at least I've written it somewhere to acknowledge it I guess. :)

This is the 'holiday' where you are supposed to think of a way to introduce something new into your life (because two feet under the snow, supposedly somewhere, there is new life beginning). However, I haven't been able to choose just one thing that I want to introduce into my life really. I figure I have time though, since our spring doesn't really start until April. ;) Yes I'm cheating already. I think I'd like to get back into doing yoga. The studio I used to go to also has classes that teach you how to meditate, which would be neat. Apparently (according to one of those scientific mags that Luc always reads), it actually helps develop parts of your brain that otherwise would never get used when you meditate. I like the 'zoning out' factor. Heavenly.... ;)

Well, back to hibernating for now- maybe I'll go finish massacring my new pants for work.. (ie: attempt to hem them).

xx

Dog Rant

Dog Rant

So, my biggest 'want' in life at the moment is a dog. Well I've always wanted a dog, but now that I've been thinking more about it, I think we really could make living with a dog WORK and it would be great for me! I could finally take walks outside in the evenings without being afraid, I could go to dog classes, and meet people, and have a devoted companion to keep me company!

So I went online and started looking for used dog runs, etc. and stumbled across the SADDEST bunch of ads I've seen in a long time.
Pictures of people holding their puppies (who are for sale) up by the front legs, just dangling them in the air, people getting rid of their 10 or 11 year old, sweet-eyed golden lab because they had a baby (and the pic there broke my heart too - it has a b-day hat and some hawaaian lays on, you can tell it was once a truly LOVED dog), people giving away their kid's best friend (the dog who sleeps in Johnny's bed each night) because hubby is too lazy to take allergy medications to stop his sneezing, posts by ignorant jerks who say things like 'we bought a puppy from a mill the other day - it was so sad, the dogs were all in very bad shape. We noticed the one the guy showed us had a gash on its leg, and when we asked about it, he put it back and grabbed another one. We took the one with the gash because we felt sorry for it'... Why the HELL are you buying from a MILL!!!???
For all of you ignorant people out there, please please please educate yourselves: http://www.nopuppymillscanada.ca/home_page_2.htm
And if you are looking to buy a dog, do not buy from a back-yard breeder - those people posting in the free-ads papers (and online) who claim they have 'champion bloodlines' and 'CKC registered' dogs, may have that, but that doesn't mean they're a reputable breeder. It means they found out their dogs decend from some noteable bloodline somewhere (and many do), and decided to pay the $50 fee to register themselves as a kennel. I know, I did it for my sheltie puppy's former home, so I could show him. The people knew NOTHING about the breed but that they were both shelties.And finally, before you go to the petstore and drop upwards of $1000 on a dog, who probably came from a back-yard breeder and is an epilepsy patient (etc) waiting to happen, go to your local shelter and check out the sweet adult dogs who probably started out the same way, as a cute puppy in a petstore window, loved and then abandoned, or never loved at all. Look into their eyes and make sure you mean it when you promise to keep them forever, or go home and get yourself a video game or some other form of expensive amusement, as this is surely all you're looking for in a pet. At least when you throw THAT into the corner, it won't care.
Okay, I'm done. :)

Blue Monday

Blue Monday

So, apparently it's "Blue Monday" today, according to A-Channel Morning (annoying people but I have a habit of watching it religiously every morning). It's supposed to be the most depressing day, and I can see why it might because it's smack in the middle of the colder season(s), the bills are piled up high after xmas, resolutions are starting to be broken, and tax time is looming... Lucky for us, it was also a nice sunny day, which put me in very good spirits, I don't have a lot of bills really left over, tax time is tax time, I try to pretend it doesn't exist until a week before the deadline, and the days are slowly but surely getting longer, which signifies an end to the cold (though it really hasn't been that cold). SO!! I have decided to start a new tradition for my 'Blue Monday', I'm going to buy myself a nice potted plant for my office on this day every year (if I remember) because I was very nicely rewarded today when I decided to take a trip to the grocery store on my lunch break and discovered the Gardenia. The lady in that section was attempting to unpack all the boxes of plants, and it caught my eye (so GREEN!) so I dove in there and grabbed this pretty little shrub with big white flowers on it. It's now sitting on my shelf over my computer, and every so often I get a whiff of it's beeeautiful perfumey scent and it makes me smile. :)

I also found this site today, which led me to discover the book (named the same) and I'm going to pick it up tonight: www.yougrowgirl.com. I'm starting to try to plan out a garden of shade-loving plants for this year, with some large herb containers on my sunny deck. I can clearly use all the help I can get and this book seems to be exactly what I need... :)

Hopefully tonight I'll also get time to write down a 'guide to not killing my houseplants' as it occurred to me that my plants are all looking sad (or dead altogether) and it's really due to my total negligance ( I don't even know what kinds of plants they all are). That'll go on my fridge and hopefully things will start picking up.

Oh, and an interesting thing I learned this weekend, while we're on the topic of plants, don't put plants in your bedroom! During the day, when there's light, they breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen. Overnight, when it's dark, they do the opposite and breathe out carbon dioxide and IN oxygen! Not only that, but they're hard on anyone with asthma or allergies. I was surprised to learn all that when I've read so many articles in magazines that say 'want to purify your air? Grow plants in your home!'. I never would have guessed that my stocking up on plants, to help clean the air for Luc (who is an allergy AND asthma sufferer), would actually be hurting him.

Well, happy Blue Monday, go get yourself something green!!

xx

Soap

Soap

So I was home alone tonight, and decided to finally try my hand at making soap. So here are a few of the finished product. I am saving my 'special' soap making for the weekend. I'm hoping to use honey, ginger, cloves and oatmeal to make more 'natural' soaps. These ones here were made with special dyes and essential oils. The eucalyptus/mint has mint leaves in it and the chamomile/jasmine has chamomile in it. Fun! :)

2007

2007

Well, we rang in the new year last night with some 15 or so people in our house. It was a nice gathering, lots of new faces, free-flowing booze and piles of food. The shooter chess game was a definite hit too. :)

So this year is starting off a little 'strange', I guess. I went for a walk today and it was beautiful out, the sun was shining, everything was melting, it felt like a warm spring day, you'd never guess it's Jan. 1. My poor day-lillies are again starting to send up shoots along the foundation of our house. They'll be in for a rude awakening when they realize they have about four more months to be 'frozen' before they should be trying to grow.

I took down our tree today too, which always makes me a little sad. I comprimised by allowing myself some 'winter' decorations like my winter wreath, the lights outside, and a few candles and ornaments here and there on shelves, to stay until the spring time. We had a really nice, quiet, family-oriented Christmas (I even went to church with Mom and Becky which was quite nice), and a good New Year party with new and old friends alike. It was an interesting mix of French and English as well, but at least I got to practice some of my French as there were a couple people here who didn't speak a word of English. Anyway, I'm hoping the nice end to 2006 signifies that 2007 will be a good year.

Well, as it is my intention to NOT make this into a 'journal', I think I'll quit before I launch into some long-winded story about nothing and say 'Happy New Year to all', I hope we all find good fortune and love and friendship in life this year. :)

S