Thursday, February 28, 2008

porn shortage

You can assume that the economy is really in the shits when poor folk, are forced to break-in to homes for their porn fix. It's a sad statement about our society. We should have a telethon - free porn for all!!

Woman finds half-naked man watching porn in her home

An Ottawa woman awoke early Wednesday morning to find a man with his pants down watching pornography on her home computer.

The woman in her 20s woke up around 4 a.m. to discover the partly-undressed stranger in her apartment on Langs Road, close to Montfort Hospital in the east end, according to an Ottawa police news release Thursday.

The man fled through the front door of her apartment after she confronted him.

Police are searching for a male about 30 years old, white, and about five foot six to five foot eight inches tall (168 to 173 centimetres), with a thin build.

He had pale skin, short dark hair, and thick glasses.

top drawer


top drawer
Originally uploaded by Julep67
It's really stupid cold outside right now. We had to go and grab some groceries at costco after work and in the hour we were in the store, the whole inside of the van frosted up. Crazy.

In other news, well there really isn't any I guess. The week has been flying by rather quickly, despite me bitching and moaning about the weather all the live-long day. I'm not alone though, lest you think it's just me complaining. I think it's an epidemic, winter-fatique. It might be a real disease for all we know!!

And because she loves to look at ladies' drawers, here ya go Carrie!

Drawer #2:

top drawer

Drawer #3:

top drawer

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

in my head

For some reason which I cannot quite figure out, I can't get this song out of my head. I also need to be listening to it a lot lately. It's weird. Maybe I secretly wish that really large, silver shoulder pads would come back in style. Whatever it is, I think that it is absolutely impossible to frown while listening to Earth Wind and Fire.

If it's in my head, it should probably be in yours. It's a better thing to have stuck than other songs I could mention, but won't, cuz then they will be sickly stuck in my noggin'

destroyed


destroyed
Originally uploaded by Julep67
Further evidence that one should not purchase doggy toys at a dollar store. Not even in that dollar store is in the middle of a no frills. Even a fancy no frills, the kind with a pharmacy.

How was your day? Mine was pretty good. Had a pretty useless meeting first thing this morning. At least it was a nice walk out and back to it. The walk was chilly though, very cold. Icy too. Almost wished I was wearing skates a couple of times. At least it was sunny, right?

Mark is feeling mucho bettero tonight. He went back to work today. Whatever bug he was hit with, fortunately, was a quick acting one. Splatted him out flat fast and left just as quickly.

I'm happy to report that while she did destroy a toy, Bella did not present us with any maimed or gross mice. I'm relieved about this. It wasn't something I wanted to have to face at 4:45 a.m.

Actually, it's not something I really ever want to face but if I do have to, someday, I hope I've at least had a coffee first.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

bugged out

Mark seems to have picked up something again.

Last night he felt a little achey and when he woke up this morning, he felt like hammered shit. I made him stay home and go back to bed. He slept for about 8 hours today. We went out for noodle soup at "our" little Vietnamese place around the corner. It seems to have cleared his head which is good.

As I type this, Bella seems to think that she has a mouse trapped behind the stove. If it is there (or was there), it's totally going to go back from whence it came (if it hasn't already). In the meantime, she's totally torturing herself trying to get at it. If she doesn't abandon it soon, she'll miss da Idol. Sheesh. Silly pup. Seriously though, if it is there, I really hope she doesn't catch it. I don't want to see a maimed mouse tonight.

Monday, February 25, 2008

McLovin' sings!

A few weeks ago, I posted a link to a very funny Sarah Silverman video.

Seems like Jimmy got his own back. Again it's all censored but it's funny all the same. I actually laughed out loud a couple of times and I thought it was nice to see that "McLovin'" dude from Superbad in the crowd. Bleeps and all, it's a good Monday chuckle.

crusty snow


moon rising
Originally uploaded by Julep67
A lot of snow melted today. The sun was out a fair bit but I didn't get a chance to get outside until 4 p.m. At some point this afternoon I noticed that there were muddy patches on the lawn in front of our building. It was encouraging to see although, I think that the grass is gone. A few weeks ago, the snow removal guys brought a plow up on the lawn to widen the walkway and they took some sod with it.

It's good to see the snow slowly melting but that crusty snow is harsh. If you fall into it, you can really cut yourself. Last winter I did just that. I was getting into the car and I lost my footing and fell into the snowbank along the side of our driveway. I scraped my shin and my wrist enough to draw blood. Nasty mean snow.

We stayed up a little later than normal last night to watch some of the Oscar broadcast. I love Jon Stewart that much you see. I will deprive myself of sleep for his jokes. It's sad in a way. I can't say that I was surprised by much of what I saw last night but I was a little disappointed by two particular awards. I really hoped that Julie Christie would have won for her role in "Away From Her." I have nothing against the lovely french woman who won for "la vie en rose" but I really thought that Julie was amazing. Ruby Dee was another disappointment for me. I love her so much and I thought that her performance in "American Gangster" was great. I also am a fan of Tilda Swinton but to be honest, "Michael Clayton" didn't do much for me. Oh well, I guess it makes up for her not winning one for "Orlando" all those years ago.

Sunday, February 24, 2008

not so lazy

I had intended to do very little today. Fortunately, I got bored very early on with doing nothing (by about 8:15 a.m.) and actually got off my butt and did a bunch of stuff around the house.

Now mind, it was stuff that needed doing and stuff that I was avoiding doing but, when you defeat the procrastination monster, that is a great feeling. I think so anyway. I got our room all cleaned up (properly, not just a quick surface clean like I sometimes do). I scrubbed the master bath like there is no tomorrow (I still have one bathroom left but you can almost eat off of the floor in the master - I wouldn't but...yanno).

The huge pile of papers I'd been shoving into a cubby on my desk has been dealt with. Massive amounts have been recycled, some stuff has been filed and there is a perfectly manageable pile of stuff "to deal with" is in a little tote bag. Nice huh?? Next weekend Mark and Andy are going to dissembling my office and drilling a hole in the wall (from my office into the living room - it'll create a conduit for the cables which connect my machine to the tv). I figured if I did this today, I wouldn't be running around like a headless chicken when they start ripping stuff apart.

So yeah, overall, a productive day. Feels good actually. The whole weekend was nice, foggy head and all. Hope you had a good one too!

Saturday, February 23, 2008

fogged up

This morning I got up pretty early. Last night after work, we were both pretty zonked out and while we needed to get a few things at the grocery store, neither of us felt up to it. We decided it would be better to try to get our errands done early today, which we did.

It felt pretty good. By 1 p.m. we'd done errands and I had laundry finished up and Mark had a couple of chores crossed of off his list. By 1:45 though, we were ready for a nap. When we returned from the stores, I had a wicked headache. Not sure what caused it but I felt really bleary-eyed. Fortunately, the nap and some advil seemed to knock it out. yay pills.

We've been keeping a pretty low profile the past few days. On Thursday afternoon, at the cab stand office, Mark fell on the ice. Fortunately he didn't break anything but his shoulder was pretty sore. It's stuff like that which makes you feel like you've really had enough of winter already.

Not too sure what we're doing this evening. We've got a couple of movies that we'd like to watch so we may do that, or have a Vivienne Vyle marathon. Either way, for me, less is better than more.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

two moons are better than one


two moons are better than one
Originally uploaded by Julep67
Many "dark side of the moon" jokes were made on our front porch last night.

"where is the big floating pig, mark?"

"oh wait, that's from Animals, right?"

"what about the space man?"

"oh heck, that's Amused to Death!"

All the same, it was a sight to behold. I was bone tired this morning though. We got to bed really late last night (for us, on a school night) and had a tough time waking up. It was worth it though, to see the eclipse. Even in the middle of the city, with street lights all over the place and lots of other light pollution, the view was amazing. I almost can't wait for 2010 to see it again.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

moon over alfred street


moon over alfred street
Originally uploaded by Julep67
the pets in our house have settled down a bit. Mark and I, on the other hand are quite excited about the lunar eclipse tonight.

The moon was rising in a glorious fashion when we arrived home tonight. I managed to get a couple of photos of it and I hope to be bundled up and out on the porch in a little while, taking more photos when the eclipse happens.

For the first time in almost 2 weeks, I actually felt pretty good today. Last night before bed, I felt really horrible and was absolutely starving. I went to bed hungry and woke up feeling better. I told Mark that I may have starved whatever bug I had, to death, last night. I hope so. 2 weeks of feeling like shit was quite enough, thanks all the same. So basically, today has been a great day so far and I have no reason to think it won't continue to be great.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

critter craziness

Today was a very very long day. I went back to work this morning after a particularly lazy long weekend and didn't feel well. I've had a bug for about a week now. Over the weekend, it decided to attack my digestive system and it's still bothering me right now.

At work today, I was not able to get comfortable or to concentrate much. I kept having to stop what I was doing and step outside for some air. I think I've had a bit of a fever today too. Hopefully a good night's rest will kick the bug's ass. I've been trying to drink as much water as I can handle (which isn't as much as I normally drink) to flush it out. No fun.

I think that the critters in our house are either buggy too or they are feeling the impending lunar eclipse's power. Bella (the lovely hound we are dog sitting) sort went silly tonight. I won't say crazy because it wasn't that. After dinner, I went to the washroom. I was in the washroom and could hear what sounded like Bella and Mark, wrestling. This didn't seem normal to me because Mark wouldn't wrestle with the dog and, if by some chance he was wrestling with her, it wouldn't be in the kitchen (which is where I thought the sound was coming from). Turns out, she'd followed me into our bedroom (the washroom is off our bedroom) and was "fighting" with the other dog in our room. She's been here almost 3 weeks and for the first time (tonight) she got weirded out by her reflection in our closet doors (which are those mirrored doors). I just noticed that she's back in there now, having a stare-off with the "other dog."

The fish are a little wigged out too but that may just be the changes in the atmospheric pressure we've been experiencing over the past couple of days. It isn't easy to tell with fish.

Anyway, thought I'd share some dog antics with you, courtesy of Mr Louis CK:

Monday, February 18, 2008

a true gentleman

Mark and I are both a little shocked to hear about Willie's passing. When I think of Willie, I think about what a class act he was. A huge void will be felt in the Canadian music scene now that he is gone. Rest in Peace Willie P.

Canadian folksinger Willie P. Bennett dies

Canadian folksinger Willie P. Bennett, a highly-respected musician who preferred being a backup player for many of the country's top singers, has died at his home in Peterborough, Ont.

Bennett's official website confirmed on Sunday that the Juno Award-winning singer passed away peacefully at age 56 on Friday.

No cause of death has been given, but Bennett suffered a heart attack last year. His agent, Robin MacIntyre, said the musician was looking forward to a busy roster of solo shows this year.

Despite having a solo career, Bennett was satisfied with the role of background player, often strumming the mandolin or playing the harmonica for roots artist Fred Eaglesmith as well as dozens of other artists.

"He was a reluctant hero ... he would step back and let other people shine," MacIntyre told the Globe and Mail newspaper.

Bennett nabbed a Juno for Best Solo Roots and Traditional Album for 1998's Heartstrings, his first solo recording in nine years.
Continue Article

Many well-known musicians collaborated on the album. They included Bruce Cockburn, Melanie Doane, Stephen Fearing and members of Prairie Oyster.
Supportive and encouraging

Born in Toronto on Oct. 26, 1951, Bennett began his musical career as a choir boy at his junior high, later emerging on the folk scene as a songwriter and performer in the late 1960s at Rochdale College.

He played at universities, clubs and coffee houses throughout southern Ontario in the 1970s and 1980s, first with a folk group called the Bone China Band and then later as a solo act.

Bennett's song, White Line, was recorded in 1973 by singer David Wiffen and in later years was covered by other artists, such as Jonathan Edwards and Pure Prairie League.

Musician Colin Linden recalls hearing that song as a 13-year-old watching Bennett play a coffeehouse in Don Mills in 1973. He approached Bennett after the show and recalls the singer treating him with respect.

"He was incredibly encouraging," said Linden, who would launch his own career nine years later.

Bennett also co-wrote the song Goodbye, So Long, Hello with Russell deCarle of Prairie Oyster. It was named the 1990 Canadian Country Music Association's Song of the Year.

His contributions to Canada's folk scene were highlighted in 1996 when Fearing, Colin Linden and Tom Wilson formed Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, a group named after Bennett's 1978 album.

They recorded a tribute album to Bennett, using 14 of his songs.

"His songs are so strong, they're going to keep on resonating," declares Linden.

Bennett leaves his partner, Linda Duemo, his mother and three siblings.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

pink grapefruit

Yesterday, I bought myself a big pink grapefruit. I think I will eat it for breakfast this morning. I purchased only one because, while I love them a lot, if I eat too many of them I'll get a canker and I don't want that to happen. I just mention it here because it seems to be a particularly nice grapefruit and I haven't had one in a while.

Today, so far, I'm feeling marginally better than I did yesterday. Whatever bug I had been attacked by earlier in the week seemed to creep up on me again and I felt off all day. At times, I felt downright nauseous. I dragged Mark out and around the shoppes with me as I needed to do a bunch of errands but didn't trust myself to drive.

He's a good sport about that sort of thing. Over the next couple of weeks, I have some care packages to send off and some pregnant ladies to shower gifts on so I needed to get started on that. The care package items and the baby things made think about spring. I think that this year I'm looking forward to it more than I have in a while. The many feet of snow on the ground is contributing to that I believe. We are currently huddled in the house, waiting for some freezing rain to fall upon us. Freezing rain warnings make thoughts of tulips all the more sweet, don't you think?

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Mrs Angus

I was saddened to read about the passing of Mrs Angus this morning. I had the good fortune to meet her several times over the past 15 years and I thought that she was a grand lady. A few years ago, I transcribed a interview she did as part of an oral history project that was happening at the University. She led a fascinating life and will be greatly missed.

Kingston loses an 'Old Stone'; Margaret Angus was passionate defender of historic architecture

Margaret Angus wasn't born in Kingston, but she embraced the city as tightly as any Old Stone.

And that term - generally reserved for anyone who has at least five generations of predecessors buried in Cataraqui Cemetery - was one that she adopted for her own with the publication in 1966 of her legendary book, The Old Stones of Kingston, and a lifetime spent preserving the old stones that make up the cityscape.

Angus, a passionate defender of Kingston's historic architecture from the days when few people gave it a second thought, died yesterday morning, three months shy of her 100th birthday. Her landmark book on Kingston's history is still generating royalties; her passion for the city, its buildings and citizens is still fondly remembered.

"Mrs. Angus's great forte was making history come alive by telling people about the stories and the families, not just the buildings that they lived in," said architect Lily Inglis, who knew her for more than 40 years.

"She was a voice crying in the wilderness, a great many years by herself."

Angus, the grand-niece of former Civil War general and U.S. president Ulysses S. Grant, came to Kingston in 1937 with her husband William and was instantly taken with the city's architecture and history.

She grew up in Chinook, Mont., just south of the the Saskatchewan border and earned her BA in history from the University of Montana, where she met a young drama professor and her future husband, William Angus.

The Anguses had two children, as well as seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Her husband William, who died in 1996, also at the age of 99, moved to Kingston to work in the drama department of Queen's, which he eventually headed. Between 1941 and 1957, Margaret Angus made all the costumes for the department. A number of them are currently on display at the Agnes Etherington Arts Centre, where she served as curator of the costume collection from 1968 to 1985.

Angus also served as director of the campus radio station for nine years. In recognition of her achievements, she received a slew of medals, awards and other honours, including the Order of Canada, a lifetime achievement award from the Ontario Heritage Foundation and a research chair named after her at the Museum of Health Care in Kingston.

Her daughter, Barbara Morgan, remembers her mother as a woman who was enchanted with Kingston and who took on the job of heritage preservation at a time when it was not fashionable. Sixty years ago, the ethos of Kingston was not to protect old buildings but to tear them down and build new in the name of progress. Some people took issue with what they saw as an outsider coming in to tell them what they should be doing with their buildings, but her mother was undeterred, Morgan said.

Angus was also a driving force behind the establishment of Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committees across Ontario.

"When she wanted something done, it got done," Morgan recalled.

Sewing was also one of her mother's passions, and that led to her collection of historical costumes, which she developed by getting to know the older women in the community. When her husband staged a play, Angus would add a line to the program appealing for anyone who had old dresses or other clothes to contact her. In return, she literally received trunks of corsets, dresses and other items that local women didn't want or that didn't fit them anymore. Many of the items have been preserved in the collection that bears her name.

Her passion for costumes led to her interest in the families who lived and raised their families in the old houses of Kingston.

Angus was a pioneer in adding a social history component to architectural history. Those who study architecture alone either discount - or are deeply suspicious of - such elements as they often exaggerate family tales that surround old buildings, despite the fact that how a building looks and works is more based on the needs of the people who own and occupy it than on purely architectural considerations.

"She was ahead of her time," said Kingston architectural historian Jennifer McKendry, who in many ways has picked up Angus's torch.

She notes that Angus's book remains one of the authoritative texts on Kingston architecture more than 40 years after it was published. Helen Finley knew Angus for decades and said her efforts not only preserved many pre-Confederation buildings in Kingston, but inspired an interest and an understanding of them among local residents.

"The thing I remember best about her was her passion about Kingston and area, and how she inspired other people to look at the buildings around them," she said.

"She really made people realize what a wonderful wealth of fabulous architecture there was in this city."

Her daughter remembers her mother giving a commencement speech after receiving an honorary law degree and as her diminutive mother peered over the podium, she instantly put an auditorium of people at ease with her self-deprecating humour.

"She said, 'If all the historians who gave convocation speeches were laid end to end, it would be good thing,' " Morgan recalled with a laugh.

"She was a great lady."

Angus earned dozens of honours and awards during her lifetime, including the Order of Canada, the Silver Jubilee Medal, Citizen of the Year, an Honorary Doctor of Laws, the Montreal Medal, the Kingston Historical Society Award and the Distinguished Service Award from Kingston General Hospital.

She was also a prolific writer. In addition to the Old Stones of Kingston, she wrote The Story of Bellevue House, The Old Stones of Queen's, Kingston City Hall, John A. Lived Here, The History of Kingston General Hospital, and countless essays and articles.

Fittingly, Angus will be laid to rest in Cataraqui Cemetery, among many of the Stones whose stories she chronicled. Visitation will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. on Monday at the James Reid downtown chapel. A funeral service will be held at St. James Anglican Church, 10 Union St. W., on Tuesday beginning at 2 p.m.

A memorial celebration will also be held at Memorial Hall in City Hall on Wednesday, Feb. 27 at 4 p.m.

ielliot@thewhig.com

Thursday, February 14, 2008

happy love day

I've written on these here pages before how we don't really celebrate the big "V-Day" in our house cuz. I joke that it's because "every day is valentine's day in our house" but that's probably right. I don't think you need to have a special holiday to inspire you to show affection to the folks you care about. It just should be an everyday thing. Also, it seems like this whole holiday is a set up to make single folks feel bad.

Having said that, I love this song. Mark and I listened to this a lot during the summer we met. Our second "date" was a trip to a Fred Picnic and we spent a lot of hours in the car that summer, listening to Fred. This song in particular speaks to me and I love Fred's stories about Dar Williams' cover it. This little video is pretty cool. The fellow who made it did a really nice job on it I think.

So, yeah, happy February 14th everyone.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

ick

Today was a sick day for me. I didn't sleep that well last night and when I finally did get up and start moving around, my head felt like it weighed 100 pounds. I called in and left messages for the girls in my office and went back to bed. I always feel a tremendous amount of guilt about sick days but I always know that I'd feel worse if I go in and make everyone else sick.

Other than sleep and watch tv, I didn't do much today. We had another dump of snow overnight last night so our lovely neighbour Tommy was over and cleaned up the driveway for us again today. Mark did the steps and laneway. I'm so thankful that we have Tommy to help us out, the amount of snow on the ground this year is just unreal. I don't remember seeing this much accumulation in 5 years or more. It's a real Canadian winter out there for sure.

At one point today, I was snoozing on the sofa with the dog and heard some noises outside. Our crazy gravel stealing neighbours have listed their home with an estate agent yet again. This time they actually put a sign on the lawn. It should be interesting. I've been reading about tough it is to sell a house at this time of the year, particularly this year with all of the snow. The other day, I saw an interview on tv with a guy who does home inspections and he was saying how tough it is to look at roofs and foundations right now. I must say, if I couldn't get a solid report on those two things, I wouldn't buy a house.

Anyway, I must say that I'm feeling better tonight than I have in a few days. I'm a little groggy but I'm not aching and feeling lousy which is really good. Tomorrow I'll be back at work. Daytime television will just have to make do without me.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

baby bok choy


baby bok choy
Originally uploaded by Julep67
I left work a little bit early today, it was midday but I'd been in early so I guess I'd been there for a little longer than half the day.

The past two nights I didn't sleep well. I kept waking up, which is not like me. Sunday night I figured it was the wind storm but last night, well I had no excuse. It's distressing and frustrating when you are exhausted and are wide awake.

This morning I went into the office to help complete a report. It was due by the end of the day today. There is a big meeting on Thursday and this report needed to be incorporated into a slide show. When it was done and sent off to the person who is compiling everything, I was done.

Mark picked me up and we stopped off at the store for some supplies on the way home. I was so happy to get home. I didn't sleep this afternoon, just hung out on the sofa. I have a bunch of symptoms but nothing specific. I don't know if I have a cold or the flu. I have sore knees and a stiff neck and my ears hurt and I cough sometimes and then there is the not sleeping thing.

I feel like if I could sleep, everything else would be fine. I'm not sure when that will happen though.

Monday, February 11, 2008

one for the kids

Wow, this is a blast from the past. I can't remember when I saw this last, probably 30 years? Yikes saying that makes me feel really old. Not as old as the Bear but old nonetheless.

bella helps with dinner


bella helps with dinner
Originally uploaded by Julep67
Primarily, Bella's role in dinner preparation is that of floor inspector. She likes to spend as much time between Mark and the stove as possible. If something splatters or drops onto the floor, she's there to make sure it doesn't make a mess.

She's been such a good houseguest. I can't believe that she'll have been here 2 weeks on Wednesday. On the weekend, in the middle of some snow flurries, we took her out with us to do some errands. She's a country dog and I don't think she spends a lot of time in town so driving around the city, stopping at different spots while one or the other of us ran in and out seemed to amuse her.

On our way out of the house, I threw a couple of doggie treats into a ziplock bag and placed it in my purse. I figured if she got away from us somehow, she'd come back for the cookie (cuz she's a whore like that). It didn't happen that she ran away but boy, she sure picked up the cookie scent after a few minutes in the van. Ever since then, she looks at my bag with a hungry stare whenever I pick it up.

We had a really quiet weekend which was nice. Mark was working on the computers yesterday while I did laundry. On Saturday, besides errands, we ripped the living room apart. We wanted to reconfigure our entertainment unit thing. When we bought our new TV in December, we just threw it on the shelf. We didn't want to tear everything apart until some cables came in for it (I'd ordered some from eBay). Anyway, this weekend we finally got it sorted out. It was a huge job but it was well worth it. I was able to do a proper clean in the corner where the unit is (the kind you can only do when the furniture is moved) and we're really happy about the height of the tv now.

So yeah, that's the news. Exciting stuff huh??

Friday, February 08, 2008

mid-day news

I was supposed to have a lunch date but my date had to leave work early to tend to her sick daughter. It's a good excuse I suppose. The last time she ditched me for lunch it was to go to an ultrasound appointment (she's pregnant) so, yeah, she doesn't ditch without good reasons.

In the end, it worked out okay anyway because I have a bunch of little things I'm trying to get off my "to do" list today and it's been slow going. All week, I've been getting stuff done but not necessarily the things I really wanted to do. I really truly feel like this is my job now (after almost 5 weeks). Once you know what you're supposed to be doing and you know when it's not happening, that is when you know the job is truly yours.

This morning I heard that they have finally filled my old job. The person who got it is someone I know and I'm happy for her. She was on a contract and this is a "continuing appointment" for her. I'm really happy for her although it seemed to take forever to get the job filled. I gave them 6 weeks notice and have been in my job for 5 weeks so...

In other news, it seems to be snowing again. Snowing still? It's been very snowy here lately and really, it looks very "Canadian" outside. I guess this is a good thing because hey, we are in Canada afterall.

Thursday, February 07, 2008

stacked up lunch


stacked up lunch
Originally uploaded by Julep67
Folks are dropping like flies this week. Over in our central admin building (where I don't have to be much anymore), I keep hearing about folks getting sick. Some of them have had a bizarre stomach bug, others have suffered terrible colds, pneumonia, serious shit.

Around our little office today, I kept hearing "I think I'm getting sick." I'd holler across the room "no you're not" and shove the anti-bacterial gel at them. Sometimes the bugs really do get you but other times, you let yourself get got.

I've been sneezing a bit lately, been feeling stuffed up a bit too. I'm not giving into it though. I just try to keep my fluids up and sleep as much as I can. It seems to be helping. I eat a lot of carrots too. Not sure if that helps but they are crunchy and sweet and are full of good stuff so they can't hurt, right?

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

etouffee


etouffee
Originally uploaded by Julep67
Oh, by the way, did I mention that Mark cooked up an amazing Mardi Gras dinner last night?

It was so yummy. He made etouffee with shrimp and chicken. It was just amazing, very tasty. It was a perfect meal to warm us right up after a cold yucky day.

We'd both almost forgotten that it was Fat Tuesday yesterday because it's happening so early this year.

I have to say, we joked about pancakes last night but this was just so much better than a pancake could have ever been!!

snow day


better butthead
Originally uploaded by Julep67
Today was not a snow day for me but all of the buses (school buses anyway) were cancelled here in town.

Earlier today, I spoke with a friend of mine on the phone. She lives in the country and normally drives her children to school (it's on her way to work). This morning, her husband's 10 minute drive to work took 45 minutes so she stayed home.

She called me at the office to see how the roads were in town. I could hear in her voice that she'd really rather have taken the kids to school. Her sons had been asked to clean up their rooms before they could go outside and play in the snow.

They were throwing such a fit in the background that I had to laugh. Her children are normally very well behaved so it was somewhat amusing and somewhat surprising. Sort of made me feel relieved that this wasn't something I have to deal with.

In the long run too, the freezing rain we were supposed to get (which is why the buses stayed off of the roads) never happened so they could have probably gone to school.

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

really? Texas!?


digging out
Originally uploaded by Julep67
Disgust is a strong word I guess. Disappointment might be better. I just turned off the Weather Channel after hearing about another winter storm watch/warning/thingy.

This time, Texas is sending some nasty stuff our way. Apparently, we could see rain, freezing rain and snow overnight.

Don't get me wrong now, I love living where I do. I like the change in the seasons and I think that nothing is prettier than a fresh blanket of snow. Right now though, there are brown mounds of melting slushy mess everywhere. It's tough to walk around the huge puddles from the melting snow and it'll probably be worse tomorrow.

I kind of wish that winter would stay wintery. I wish that things would be pretty and crisp and clean. I wish that the canal would stay frozen in Ottawa so folks could skate safely. I guess I wish that we'd have a normal winter for once. that would be nice.

/bitchy moan

concession street action


concession street action
Originally uploaded by Julep67
We're not really sure what was happening at Lansdowne and Concession last night but the fire department were involved. Tonight we drove by (as we do) on our way home and the place didn't seem fire damaged so I'm guessing it must have been something else, like a gas leak or other weirdness.

This house is a odd one. Last summer, I called it the "trailer park boys" house because the lads who were living in it had a giant flag of Nova Scotia hanging from the porch, as well as several items which looked like they could have been purchased a head shop. It's a stereotype I know but there you go.

The banners and flags came down before Christmas so there may be new tennants in the place. Either way, it didn't seem like much damage had happened and I didn't hear today that anyone had been hurt so that's something.

I did read some rather disturbing stuff in the paper today though. A girl I went all through school with, died in the summer of 2006. She'd been having some trouble with drugs and she died under suspicious circumstances. Today in the paper, they ran an article about a man they charged in connection with her death. He plead guilty to negligence causing death. Apparently, she'd asked to be taken to the hospital and the guy didn't do it. Reading the account of her final weeks in the paper made me feel sad and angry. I know that she wasn't perfect but she didn't really deserve to be left like she was, no one does. 38 years old is way too young to die, no matter what the circumstances of your life.

Monday, February 04, 2008

frozen banana anyone?

how excellent would this be if it actually happened?


Arrested Development movie planned?


Popular US sitcom 'Arrested Development' is to be made into a movie, according to the shows star Jason Bateman.

Bateman told US TV show E! News that plans are underway for a movie version of the cancelled show.

Rumours of a big-screen adaptation of the cult show began to circulate last year after the actor was reported to have met with series creator Mitch Hurwitz.
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Now Bateman, who currently stars in 'Juno', has confirmed the cast has received calls from executives asking if they would be interested in reviving their roles once the ongoing Hollywood writers strike is over.

He told E! News: "I can confirm that a round of sniffing has started. Any talk is targeting a post-strike situation, of course.

"I think, as always, that it's a question of whether the people with the money are willing to give our leader, Mitch Hurwitz, what he deserves for his participation. And I can speak for the cast when I say our fingers are crossed."

Saturday, February 02, 2008

disbelief


disbelief
Originally uploaded by Julep67
We had another huge dumping of snow overnight last night.

I was a little surprised to see how deep it was when I got up this morning. You couldn't even tell that we'd been all dug out yesterday, it looked like we had been sitting around on duffs just watching it fall.

I got out early and did the front porch and our little walk way. It seemed to take me forever to get just that much done because the bottom half of the snow was really icy and frozen because of the freezing rain we'd received.

Our lovely neighbour plowed us out and Mark got the van out onto the road. Tommy (our plowing neighbour) did an amazing job on our house and he even got all of the snow away from our house and our next door neighbour's house. When it melts, it shouldn't be flowing into our basement now!

It was kind of cool actually, this morning, seeing everyone in the neighbourhood helping dig each other out. A crappy storm does seem to bring out the best in folks.

Friday, February 01, 2008

something about this corner


something about this corner
Originally uploaded by Julep67
did you have a good snowday?

I went out and shoveled twice but it was just the porch, steps and walkway out front and the deck out back. Normally, I don't worry about the deck but we're in an out of there right now, with the dog so it needed some attention or it would have literally frozen closed today. the snow was up over the bottom part of the door when I cleared it up. This afternoon we have been experiencing some freezing rain action so it definitely would been impossible to get outside.

As it is, we cannot see out of the windows that are located on the northern and eastern sides of the house. It's sort of interesting. Our fabutastic neighbour Tommy plowed out the driveway so we're in pretty good shape.

As snowdays go, this was a good one. We did very little, watched some tv, vegged out mostly. It was nice. I also didn't do one thing that was on my weekend "to do" list but I still have 2 more days of weekend left to worry about that.

I really wish that they didn't have to bleep this (cuz it's just weird watching Sarah and hearing the bleeps - oh, and I because I think that censorship sucks) but it's still pretty funny.


stormin'

Well, that snow has arrived, some of it anyway.

The visibility is so bad that you can barely see across the street. I'm not working today as it happens and I'm glad about that. I had booked today off as I had one carry-over day left from last year. I thought I would do some errands, maybe visit a couple of people but alas, I am home.

I am happy to be here too. I hate driving in this weather.

Mark is home too. He got home about an hour ago. Things were nuts in the cab so he packed it in. I'm glad that he's home if I'm honest. I always worry about him on days like this. I got really freaked earlier when I went out to retrieve our garbage can and recycle box from the end of the driveway and realized that it was a sheet of glass under the snow. I almost wiped out. The roads are just as bad he said so, yeah, we're home and safe and dry.