Diva, guilt-tripping.
Alright, so these posts aren’t exactly chronologically ordered, sue me. In fact, they’re a bit reversed, as I reminisce over the past few weeks and take stock of the many photos that we’ve been snapping. For the moment I’d like to tell you about my cats, like every good blogger should.
Cats are a pain in the kiester when it comes to overseas travel, let me tell you that right here, right now. Not only did we have to get their vaccines up to date, we had to make sure the dutch government knows that Diva and Doolittle are not rabies-infested from all of their furniture-romping and encounters with angry dust bunnies. We had to take them to the vet too many times, causing the Diva to turn her nose up at us and scratch at the mere hint of physical contact, and causing Doolittle to hide and flop down unhappily behind furniture. Such mean owners that we are, we caged them up and sent them on a ludicrously expensive international journey. For quite a while they sulked and sneered in my mom-in-law’s house. Now, with cat’s milk and fancy wet food as a bribe, they’ve finally given in some what and are showing tiny amounts of affection… I’m not entirely sure how they’ll treat us when we step into that house on Monday. Probably like the mean ol’ abandoning owners they think we must be. Or like strangers. Or like angels, if we feed them fast enough.
Outside, de-stressing.
- Fragile baggage.
Elly and Steven at the check-in counter.
For a nice four days, Steven and I had the pleasure of escaping from our upturned apartment. We drove off to Delhi, a little farming town in Norfolk County, with our good friends Wade and Amanda, and her mother Leslie. The car was packed solid with our computers (we’re nerdy like that), some of my recently purchased artwork, and our suitcase. We spent the rest of that Canada day relaxing and catching up, taking a late-night stroll to watch fireworks displays intended for other people.
Sitting on the porch, having just unfolded ourselves from the stuffed orange HR.
The next morning, sitting around on my first lazy morning in a while, drinking coffee with friends, we picked apart a day-old Toronto Star and made fun of the shallow Canada Day articles. The pool glittered impossible blue in their big back yard. Their dog flopped down in a curly mass by the door, and my husband snoozing in his own curly mass in the pullout couch in downstairs.
- Eating outside makes the food taste better.
Their dogs are characters in themselves… Dallas is short a few cookie crumbs in her jar, and divides her time between ramming her head into the ground chasing shadows, and trying desperately to save leisurely swimmers. Wally, the big curly dog (labradoodle?) takes the opportunity to headbutt his barking lifeguard pal headfirst into the water, bully that he is. He also enjoys stealing Frisbees and slobbering.
Dallas vs. Shadow
Wally's conundrum.
Aside from lazing about, we took a little trip to Port Dover, passing the “Dover Cliffs retirement home”, a field which offered us a great view of the big coal plant and it’s flaming smokestacks. We had fish and chips in a delightfully inexpensive eatery, and took a little walk down the pier. We visited a shop called the “Circle Game” in which Wade insulted the owner by buying the two most ridiculous sculptures – a nose-picking gargoyle and a well-endowed African drummer.
Amanda as a giant trying not to squash the poor villagers.
Amanda, Coco and Steven on the Port Dover Pier
We partied, we LAN-partied, we board game-partied, we drinking-partied. It was a bit of a last hurrah. Our friends have been so supportive, cheering us on in this crazy life change. I don’t remember when I’ve laughed as hard as I did that weekend. Or ate that much. I’m really going to miss my friends.
In merely a week from now, I will be embarking on a whole new stage of my life, my career, my relationships… I will be moving to the clog-wearing, cheese-eating, soccer-playing Netherlands. So really, it’s about time to start updating my blog again. What’s it been, a year? Pitiful. Well, now I’ll have much more incentive. How else am I going to rant about the surprising lack of maple syrup and the trials and tribulations of living with the dutch? In this one, easy place, I’m going to try to give updates and pictures, even if they’ll usually be brief.
Holland? I’ll see you on July 12.
The day has come. The long-awaited day. Ever since Steven was a young adolescent boy, a little rebel with an attitude. And now, while he’s still a big rebel with a big attitude, he at least looks a bit clean cut. It actually really suits him, which I’m glad about because I was the one who egged him into doing it. I think the best part of the adventure was when his ponytail was snipped off and removed to be donated… what a change! Needless to say, he has a much nicer time getting his hair ready in the morning… wash, tousle, done. I’m the only one who breaks hairbrushes anymore.
Here are some stills from the home video:
Innit he puurdy?
We also finally went out and got the poor, deprived fellow a summer wardrobe. I don’t know how long he’s gone without shorts and been juggling only two pairs of freying pants, but it certainly has been too long.
Hello hello, all you lovely folks that I have been neglecting for such a long time. Forgive me, but real life called and requred some attention for a while.
One of the many things that took up my time was setting myself up as more of a presence in internet-land. I’ve made prints of my work available at imagekind.com, a lovely website that allows artists not only to network, but also to sell some of their work. Online galleries are definately a unique opportunity, and I’m glad they are getting more attention.
Original painted in Acrylic, 2009
If you are interested in having a print of my work to yourself, check out my gallery. The images start at $17.45USD (it’s an American website that deals through PayPal), depending on what size you choose and whether or not you order the piece with a frame. Most of the originals are still for sale at my website if you are looking for something more substantial. Also drop me a line anytime if you’re interested in hiring me for a commission. Continue reading »
I want this so badly… isn’t it adorable?
The object of the “game” is to get faster and faster at saving these little chick beans from their bowl. There are girl beans and boy beans, and they come in four different shapes, the triange being the hardest. The kit comes with a little “Manners” book that illustrates how you should NOT treat the little beans. Don’t poke them, don’t dual wield, etc. They come with the little bowl and chopsticks as well, so you’re set to go.
If you haven’t already been a good little reader and clicked the link for this website (which I so conveniently placed in my links over there on the right), then do so now. It’s a great review site, and it’s growing and growing. It will grow faster if you visit it, if you join it, and if you think you might want to submit reviews for it. I’m represented there (see Tofu’s Corner, a mini-blog about nerdiness and creativity featured on the main page) and so are other cool people like my significant other, the Subjective Gamer himself. Who, might I add, has well-expressed, helpful and often humourous opinions about the games he plays. And it won’t just be about PC games for long… very soon Board Games, Music, Console games, Books, Movies… they might all become topics reviewed on this great website. So I’m plugging it. That’s right. The Subjective Gamer.
This reminds me a bit of the strange requests book store employees sometimes receive (especially by patrons named James…)
Here we have a man playing Christmas carols with a homemade Broccoli Ocarina, producing quite beautiful sound and helping to instill a love of green veggies in the hearts of his children.
More formal, but also more impressive in some ways, is this Carrot Clarinet. Just drill some holes in a carrot, add a clarinet mouthpiece, and a funnel. Wet the reed and play beautiful music!
In the wake of my super, mind-numbingly busy schedule that is only now clearing up, my blogs have been suffering. That’s inevitable, of course, as real life takes priority over my self-reflective blabbering and my internet surfing. I think now, though, I finally can get back to it.
My university is in the midst of a TA strike, thanks to the administration’s increasing corporate behaviour and insensitivity. The poor TA’s don’t make enough on an annual basis for them to be over the poverty line, and York had the nerve to offer them less than they already have as some bizarre bargaining tactic. I’m all for the strike, since I believe any action against what I consider the unethical treatment of workers– especially those on the front lines of education– is noble and just. Of course, it also helps me in a more selfish way, since the readings and the homework were piling up in the days before the strike’s end, causing me enough stress to cause a breakdown. Now I have some time to pick up the pieces, sweep out the dirt, and try to build more healthy habits.
So far, in this time of the University’s inactivity, a few interesting things have happened. The first, and most amazing, is that my husband has quit smoking. Today is day 7 of the effort, and he’s doing excellently. I’m so proud of him, and thankful for the drugs he’s been taking to ease the physical suffering involved. There are already little signs that he’s getting healthier.
The second bit of news is the new job. Both Steven and I were hired for Parking Services and have been going about our shadow shifts this week. During the strike, that essentially amounts to sitting in a booth (or a room, depending) and catching up on reading. I’m sitting in one right now, typing away, as we’ve only had one patron talk to us in two hours. This might end up being a very productive occupation.
