overdue update

Today I felt like I really should post an update. It's been a while since I did. I guess I haven't felt much like writing lately. I've been spending my writing time reading blogs from folks who are down in Haiti. The situation down there just doesn't seem to be improving at a pace that I figured it would. I know that there are always hiccups and weirdness which mess up the best laid plans of governments, aid groups and everyone else who wants to help. I almost cried yesterday when I read about the Brazilian soldiers who pepper sprayed the group of Haitians who were waiting in a food line. For the life of me I cannot even begin to fathom how you would cope in a situation like that, on either side of the line.

Over the weekend I had a weird bug. A couple of the gals I work with had a version of the Norwalk virus last week and I thought that maybe I was coming down with that but fortunately I never had the vomiting thing going on so I don't think that was what it was. I went home from work a little early on Friday and slept. All afternoon. Sweet sweet sleep with the puppies. They curled up on the bed with me while I drooled on my pillow. Saturday I still felt wonky but I managed to go out to the grocery store with Mark for half an hour and do some shopping. Mostly I felt foggy and nauseous. I still feel a little foggy/groggy this week. This morning I could not get my head to unfog so I resorted to drinking coffee at work (something I almost never do), it helped a bit but not totally.

I feel fortunate to report that there is really no drama happening in our lives. When I read the news from Haiti, hear about planes crashing or learn about friends losing jobs or being struck ill, I realize how truly lucky we are. We have a nice roof over our heads and groceries in the fridge. Also, we're both gainfully employed and relatively healthy. Can't really complain about anything, can I? Drama is more exciting and interesting to read and write about than a boring, ordinary life but it's also way stressful so I'm happy to be boring for a while.

Oh, if you're in the Kingston area this week, the Reel Out Film & Video festival happens this weekend and Ferron will be there!!

Help Haiti

Hey Canadians, if you want to help the folks in Haiti but aren't sure how to go about it, why not make a donation through the Canadian Red Cross. Click here to make a donation to their Haiti Earthquake Relief fund. It doesn't have to be a huge amount (goodness knows that our donation wasn't huge), they can take as little as $5 online. It literally takes 2 minutes and the money will help those who need it the most. It's less than the cost of lunch at Tim Horton's. C'mon Canada, what are you waiting for?

For those of you who are non-Canucks, I'm sure your local Red Cross has a similar deal going on.

frozen

snow covered led lights
Originally uploaded by Julep67

We're still living in a winter wonderland in these parts, over a week after the snow first fell. Now that the snow has finally stopped and the sun is shining, I don't mind it as much. It's bright and pretty and the roads are generally good so, yay winter.

Of course, the wind is an issue at times. Over the weekend, we took the dogs to the dog park and I don't know if we were there for 10 minutes before we ran for the van. The park is in an open field near our house and the day was really frigid. My glasses completed iced over within a few minutes of being there. When you can no longer see the poop in the snow (to pick up), it's time to go!

The week so far has been busy. Last week we sort of eased back into things and I'm glad I was here (many colleagues took it off) to have that ease-in period. The students returned to campus yesterday so things are moving a bit more when I have a chance to look out the window. Winter terms always feels shorter than fall term although I don't think it is. Maybe time just passes quickly as we look forward to spring. It'll be here in 67 days if you're counting!

fires and tigers

One of the things I hate most about this time of the year is the increase in the number of house fires you hear about. Most of them seem to be caused by faulty or overused space heaters. I have been shocked at the number of fires I've read about this week and saddened by the number of people who have been killed in them. While my heart goes out to the members of families who have lost loved ones and possessions, not to mention their homes, I'm always shocked by the number who do not have any kind of tenant's insurance, particularly in apartments and attached housing. A fire in your unit could damage another unit and if you're responsible for the fire, you'd be responsible for damages in some cases. I know that for some folks, it might be a financial stretch but the cost of having to replace all of your household items would be more expensive if you were to have a fire.

On another note, the WWF was able to capture this video of Sumatra tigers. It saddens me that there are so few of them left on the planet and soon, they may be gone.

arbor daze

I like that Tim Allen has a sense of humour about his movies and television shows. They suck big time, in my opinion anyway. enjoy!

Arbor Daze with Tim Allen from Tim Allen