Forever A Fangirl

Gone To Maple Lake

Heading out in the morning to spend Labour Day weekend at Maple Lake and to close the cottage up for the winter.
Despite the fact that we'll be driving as much as vacationing  we had such a great time there last month that we couldn't bear to have it be our only visit of the year.

If my Dad reads this he should rest assured that Uncle Jim will check the cottage after we've closed it up to make sure we've winter-proofed correctly--so no worries.

Forecast is for stellar weather so we should be able to get out on the Lake and for sure I'll be in the Lake as well.

Until later, y'all take care!

Do you own all the albums of any particular musical artist or group? If so, who?

 

 

I'm Free!

Mother Nature gave me the most awesome gift today--the sun!

I had to drive up to M's house for a haircut and colour-- a twenty-mile, mostly country drive--so I've been eye-balling the forecast in hopes of  a top-down drive. The initial forecast was for showers throughout the day which was a bummer given the record rainfall here this month.

Then a ray of hope shone through: the morning forecast was revised so that I might get a top down trip up. As it it turned out on the ride back home, despite skies that grew darker the further I drove southeast towards home, I was able to enjoy top-down goodness again.

There's no other word to describe the incredible feeling other than FREEEE!!!!

Ranting Away

The hardest part of writing online adverts isn't what I'd expected it to be.

It's not the writing of adverts that is kicking my butt. Usually they almost write themselves. ( Hold your comments here folks-- they are getting what they are paying for.)

No, what's making me rack my brains is trying to come up with fresh original content at a minimum of every other post for the non-advert posts.

One would think that it would be rather easy to just pick something and blather on about it for a couple paragraphs and call it a post and believe me, in the past month I've visited probably a hundred blogs and lots of people are writing about nothing. These people are not necessarily bad writers, they just have "random" ramblings about whatever pops into their heads.

Can I just say one thing? If I read that someone is writing about their " random ramblings" I'm going to immediately click to a new page, I don't care how highly touted the blog is. If you cannot come up with something more original to call your blog than Fluffy's Random Ramblings  then I don't want to read whatever else you've got to say.

Next rant I'll tell you why I would like to hunt down have some really strong words with the originator of the phrase "mommy blog."

Johnny Depp Sweeney Todd Update: From R to PG-13?

It was reported last week that The Warner Bros. people were apparently not pleased with the gruesome early footage from Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, according to a report from the Daily Mail. Early footage from the film was so extremely bloody it was said, that studio executives have requested that the film to be re-cut.

“Tim’s not happy that the studio is asking for so many cuts to the cutting, as it were,” someone connected to the film told the Daily Mail. “The thing is, the studio really likes the film and they want to make it accessible to as big an audience as possible - which means stemming the blood flow. But that’s a bit difficult for a story involving a guy who gets high slitting throats.”

Now comes word that the distributor--Dreamworks--have announced that they are releasing the film just before Christmas (12.21.07).

On set studio photo of Director Tim Burton and demi-god Johnny Depp.

It appears too that the movie poster has been re-worked for the holiday release:

Aww...I like this one so much better.

Ho, ho, ho?

QotD: Where do you get recommendations for new* books to read?

My first response would be,"from my youngest son" though he's not once uttered,"You should read this book." He tends towards fantasy reads and they tend to be made into films and invariably, we go see the film and he expresses his opinion based on both and I've only seen the film and I think I must be able to have an intelligent discussion with him about this which is why I'm currently reading Harry Potter and The Order of Phoenix. *exhale*

On this Harry Potter thing, he decided to reread the whole series from the beginning before reading the last installment, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. In contrast, I've now read "Deathly Hallows" and am working my way back-- as stated, now reading The Order of The Phoenix...after reading book 6, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. Years ago, when he first started reading the series I tried to read Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone but I couldn't get through it...not sure if I will try again.

I did beat him to the punch with the Lord of the Rings books. Again after viewing the first film, I read the books--though in this case, in order--each a couple of times.

Otherwise, I skim book reviews just about anywhere--in a local paper--The Chicago Tribune and The New York Times Book Review online are two. If I see a new book review on an author I like I'll consider reading it.

Another criteria that I use to use was if the book had the Oprah stamp of approval I would not read it. However, now it's my understanding that she includes nonfiction in her picks--and classics at that. I can't very well avoid them all. And the one time I read some of her nonfiction books list I realized that I'd read many in high school or college.

I'm sure true book people would object strongly to my reading habits--especially fiction. I just almost read Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by the guy that wrote Everything Is Illuminated. I read the whole thing except the last twenty pages because I wasn't getting anything out of it--meaning I wasn't enjoying it but for a few utterances by it's main character, a nine year old boy. I had been determined to just finish it but then finally decided I couldn't be arsed.

In general, I steer clear of fiction though since so much science fiction was lying around the house whilst I was growing up I have read a chunk of of the science fiction classics--but I'm totally not up on the current stuff. We also read a lot of superhero comic books for many years.

The most recent books that I've read that I related too or just plain liked a lot were Joan Didion's heartbreaking, "The Year of Magical Thinking" and the highly amusing "I Feel Bad About My Neck" by Nora Ephron. Oh, also in the "liked a lot category" the aforementioned "Half Blood Prince.' I'm a big Snape fan.

*I'm answering this as "new to me" books.

QotD: If I Had Guaranteed Success...

What would you attempt to do if you knew you could never fail? 

This reminds me of a question on an English essay that my son recounted having to write today: "Do you and your parents have an ideal plan for your life?"

Man, if he'd said "Yes, at age 15 my parents and I have my life mapped out in fine detail," I would've freaked. Breathing room, anyone?

When I "attempt to do" something I don't consider "failing." If that makes me impulsive than so be it.

I think  Edison said it best though:

I haven't failed. I've found 10,000 ways that don't work. ~Thomas Edison

Casa Loma Dark and Light

I hadn't been to Casa Loma, a _real_ castle in Toronto since I was a little girl.
I had planned to see it through an adult's eyes a few weeks ago but I hit a snag when I found we couldn't leave our dog, Raven alone for more than 10 minutes at a time at our hotel. So spouse and son went and thoughtfully snapped pics for me to muck up. Maybe I'll try to again visit when I'm an old woman.

I've been asked how I created  the effects shown here so:

Using Paint Shop Pro:

-"Adjust" category

-"Brightness & Contrast"

--"Curves" sub-category

---"Factory Defaults" (within Curves)

I've been told that "real" photographers do not alter their photographs but to that I say pffft! It was drizzling rain, it's a gray castle, and instead of making it look like a sunny day I did this instead. :)

Good News!

Well great news on the family front. My sister-in-law E, just hooked herself up with a position as an instructor at the Cortiva School of Massage Therapy in Phoenix!

I'm so happy for her!

She and my brother moved out to Mesa, Arizona barely a month ago and she was quite busy for the first few weeks with his medical school meet and greets and getting their new home set up. I believe she just started looking for a job in earnest in the past week or so.

The cool thing is that she's sort of worked for them before as they "absorbed" her alma mater and former place of employment, The Chicago School of Massage Therapy.

So pretty cool, huh?

Go E!

Ich bin ein Gummibär (I am a Gummi Bear)

First I'd like to extended a hearty "Thank you" to Frau Soto at Fremd High School. She introduced this video  yesterday in her German III class and my son in turn introduced it to me today.

I asked what the purpose of viewing it was and his response was "It was just a random thing."

Well yes, "random" would be a good way to describe it. It's also extremely catchy--so much so that the refrain "Ich bin ein Gummibär" is etched upon my brain.

Listen at your own peril.

EDIT/ I'm probably very late to the game as there are many versions of this in several languages--English included. Knock yourself out.

My favourite line: "Three times you can bite me." Uh, yeah.

QotD: Have, Need, Want

What do you have, what do you need and what do you want?
Submitted by Miss Scotch.

Leave it to Miss Scotch to submit one of the most thought-provoking QotDs yet.

I have all that I need.

Context is everything.

(It would be nice to not be a heart failure patient but that is out of my hands.)

What do I want? I want my youngest son to grow up to be happy, healthy, and productive. I have no doubt that he will find his way as he has his act together far more than many kids or adults. If you think I'm exaggerating, you should meet him. He will make this world a better place.

I think equal in importance to what I want for my son is what I want for my parents. I want them to move back to this state so I can be near them when the next situation occurs when families should be together.

I want the city of Chicago to stop thinking it's okay to dump raw sewage into Lake Michigan because we think nothing of destroying our natural resources and therefore ourselves. Similarly, I want the collective us--the world--to wake up and stop doing a million damaging things to ourselves and our environment because we are interconnected and that fact won't ever change no matter how we try to "spin" it.

I would like to stop being plagued by petty jealousies and insecurities that swim through my mind but never cross my lips.

I want my brother to make it through med school with both him and my sil relatively unscathed. Then I want them to set up his practice within one day's driving distance of me.

I have lots of frivolous wants...

I want to travel. I want to return to Hawaii, see parts of Europe and Australia, the northwest coast of North America. I want to some day live close enough to the Pacific ocean that I can swim in it whenever I want and not be on vacation when I do.

I'd like a garage for my "third child" as my oldest son calls my Mustang GT convertible. This past month of record rain and yesterday's weird "massive gray wall" (of rain) that ripped through really makes me worry (all our people and our dog were accounted for).

After my son finishes college, which will be awhile since he just started sophomore year in high school, I'd like to return to college. This time around I'll probably take things that'll interest me at the time though I may turn around and go for that doctorate.

I'd like to introduce you...

... to two of my blog friends. One, MedQuest: My Life as a Middle-Aged Med Student,
is written by my brother who is currently out in Mesa, Arizona in his first year of med school. My brother is smart and funny though he does have the same genetics as I and therefore can be blunt, some would say even a bit abrasive at times. It's my opinion that the smart and funny aspects sort of counterbalance the other traits. Regardless, I'm looking forward to following along as he makes his way along the path to becoming an Osteopath. This is his first real blog and I hope med school leaves him a bit of time to keep writing.

Probably the friendliest blogger I know at Vox is at Dwelling Melville. My blogging friend is a unique woman who is not only pursing a Masters degree in Conservation Biology but also houses rescued animals, does pet behaviour/guardian counseling, and treats injured wildlife.

Her affinity for nature and it's creatures is very admirable and her blog is warm in tone, entertaining, and highly educational.

Both blogs are well worth a visit. Perhaps I'll see you there.

Poor me

I'm trying to write a "quality post" to conform to the dictates of the advert people I contract for and I'm stumped.
I gotta be driven to write. I need inspiration. I can't just pound out a few lines like (warning: going to get catty now) so many other people who do adverts do.
Stuff like "Today I was bored," "I had a fight with my boyfriend today." "Today sucked." " I love being a mom." I am not making this up!

I'm annoyed right now, I really am and I'm venting but I really do care about the quality of this blog and since I do I went looking at some older posts hoping to resurrect one as a sort of "best of" post and what I found before I quit in discouragement is that a whole lot of graphics have rexxed!

I was on a forum for a couple of years and I use to cross-post using their emoticons. The forum has now died (RIP Prometheus Free) and the emoticons have turned into words like "sleepy" and "bored" and one I really love to see sandwiched in a blog post, "drunk"--which I used for feeling sick or something 'cos I don't get drunk.

Anyway do I have a ton of blog housecleaning to do! I'm depressed! 
Crap. Now I sound exactly like the blogs I bad-mouthed.

QotD: Drivin' & Talkin'

Should driving while talking on a cell phone be outlawed? 

Depends where you live. Aren't many places in the US and Canada making it a ticketable offence?

As old-fogey-ish as this sounds I think keeping both hands on the wheel of a deadly weapon (moving vehicle) is a very good idea. Most cellphones have a speaker. It's the only way I can talk on the phone whilst in the car as I have to shift gears.

Twinstangs

Maybe I Enable (A Repost from 11/21/03)

This is a re-post. I wrote this almost four years ago.

My Dad and me circa 1963



I'm not sure if this means I'm an enabler or maybe even selfish, but I helped get my oldest son a job today.

One of my incarnations is as a book seller. I cruise various places--usually charity/thrift/re-sale/consignment stores, in search of the rare and/or unusual, and failing that, something brand new. I buy this stuff for a song, and resell it on-line. I've made a number of people happy with the rarer finds, but the best part of the job is the people I see a couple times a week at the venues I mentioned. They know me by name and I them, and I get the feeling that I'm well-liked. I chalk it up to my Canadian upbringing--I'm stereotypical--polite and cheery.

I noticed earlier in the week that the store that helps support the developmentally disabled had a help wanted sign in their window. It registered with me because currently my 20 y.o. son is living at home, after being under house arrest for a couple of months. He has not been able to secure legitimate employment and he has (had) a deadline of November 30 to get a job, or move out.

I've puzzled over why this threat doesn't seem to motivate him more, and the best I can conclude is that something upstairs is amiss. He knows that we'll make good on our word as we have twice before. He descended into homelessness, coming back several times the first time in tears, begging for second chance, the second time he was brought by the county sheriff under home arrest, instead of being a guest of one of the most notorious county jails in the country (his infractions are rather minor--but he keeps skipping court dates and not his paying fines, resulting in warrants for his arrest). He's let his life spiral out of control for no apparent reason, other than he doesn't care to take care of himself.

The last thing I want is for him to be homeless as the weather gets more severe, and just in time for Christmas so I asked about the position--they were very interested in talking to him--as I guess no one has been beating down their door for the job--and they hired him today--essentially on the spot. The job entails working in the thrift shop, but it'll eventually turn into full-time with medical benefits, and there's room for him to advance if he's interested. I'm a clinical counselor by trade and my son was with me as a child of a single parent as I put myself through school. He absorbed a lot, and I know he's got an aptitude with people. In a word, he's compassionate. He's bright too, and I hope patient, 'cause he's going to have to be at this store. Part of it's staff are developmentally disabled and the volunteers are often people working off their community service either through high school or the courts. He'll be exposed to many behaviours and situations and my hope is that he'll excel at it and consider going back to school to make some kind of career of it.

If it sounds like I'm getting way ahead of myself--I am. But I'm a mom to a kid with no sense of direction, little belief in his potential, and barely any interest in his own welfare. I think he needs a job where each day he does charitable works.  And this job might be a chance for him to reclaim some pride and self-esteem and get on the path to getting his act together. Or at least I hope.

Shout Out To Raven

This is a shout out to my dog without whom I wouldn't have exploited an "opportunity" to make a video advertising...shrimp.

I am quite lucky that Raven throws dignity to the wind when tempted by T-Bonz dog treats.

Normally, I give her one treat a day based on a ritual she and I have that upon my waking she marches up to me and impatiently waits for me to get out the zip bag of T-Bonz, hook her up on her long leash tethered to our back deck, and toss a T-Bonz outside. She charges after it and while outside does whatever she needs to do on our little patch of grass.

This ritual started as a ruse that I used to get her to go outside, period.

As I've mentioned, Raven was adopted from a shelter and had been abused by her previous owners. Everything scared her including me trying to make her go outside whilst I brewed some coffee and put some clothes on. I keep a very different schedule than her other people. On a normal work/school day they've left the house by 7:45. I wake up about four hours later and my first concern used to be to get her outside as she was not housebroken.

At first I begged. No go.

Pleaded. Not happening.

Cajoled. Getting warmer.

Flung a treat out the door.

Bingo.

Now, even if she's been let out 2 minutes previous to my appearance ( like on the weekends) she still marches right up to me, and fixes her round, brown eyes upon me.

I cannot not give her a treat or she will quite literally hound me. So it's our little thing. No one else got duped as I did so she just gets the one small treat each day.

Tonight was an exception. As I mentioned above, I took an "opportunity" which paid $20 to write a 50-word advert touting shrimp. I was pretty pleased with myself as a 50-word advert is at most three sentences.

After accepting the job, I read a little closer. They wanted a 50-word advert alright but they also required a 30-second video. Gulp.

Helpfully, they recounted how last time when they put out a request for the touting of shrimp they received a short video that they really dug. They included the link because they were looking for something similarly "cute"--something with a "shrimp dance."

Anyone that knows me knows I don't--I can't do cute.

As is my way, I panicked for a few minutes, a zillion ideas running through my head--then I thought to take the path of least resistance--Raven. She's cute and will try to please anyone who she thinks may give her a treat (occasionally, one of her other people does so for me). So I found some super jumbo shrimp photographs, cut and taped them up, and pinned them to her harness. I got the bag of treats and broke several them into little bits.

Then I remembered.

I had not clue one as to what to do because I'd not ever taken a video with my camera.

I went riffling through the quick start manual and not unexpectedly they referred anyone wanting to go beyond snapping photos to the master manual. I'm not exactly sure where that is so I dithered around waiting for my son and spouse to get home from acquiring a fancy graphing calculator for Algebra II ( he started sophomore year today).

Chris has taken mini videos of Raven before though I'm pretty sure he did it accidently. Just the same he's ahead of me on the learning curve. Unfortunately, after he came home I got distracted and before I knew it he was showering, readying for school tomorrow. Shouted instructions through the door did not get me on the path to getting this video made so after I reached panic point (my deadline was looming) he finally emerged and showed me the button to press. One button for stop and start. I had already wasted a lot of time by trying to get the video made without any solid knowledge of what I was doing. But it turns out I accidentally did make a video.

The video is quite awful but it's not worse than the one that the shrimp people really liked.*shrug*

The worst of it is that I stumbled over the word "cholesterol." ( Did I mention that it required a voiceover?)

Raven did fine though I would have really appreciated a bit more "dancing" for treats. Still, I'm quite grateful to her for allowing me to pin jumbo shrimp to her harness and for showing some spirit.

Another first tonight was my posting a self-made video. I've posted YouTube videos plenty of times but upload a video from my camera then somehow get it onto my blog and have it function? Improbable.

Despite the fact that I had to write some actual code I did it and made my deadline and now it's out there for all the shrimp lovers/fans of shrimp dancing to see.

On to the next "opportunity."

Extreme Pug Skydiving

Thanks to Gunderson Bee for sharing this video!

* I don't think it's really such a good idea to subject one's domestic companion to a skydive jump. The owner appeared to be clutching the dog tightly and the dive wasn't what I was really concerned about. It was the landing.

I actually clapped when they landed. Out of relief.

On a another subject entirely I'm going to speak up about something that I loathe discussing--body weight.

Again today someone who hasn't seen me in about 6 weeks remarked about how much weight I've lost. To my knowledge I haven't lost any weight never mind "how much."

I don't diet. I eat right about 80% of the time and I swim whenever I can and walk each night but I don't weigh myself and I do not consider it a compliment to have people bring up my weight in casual conversation.

If you think I look good, just tell me so. No weight talk, okay?

Thank you.

Isn't It Time For A New Johnny Depp Movie?

Why yes, soon I think it may be: 

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street

CAST: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, Jamie Campbell Bower, Jayne Wisener and Sacha Baron Cohen

SYNOPSIS: Johnny Depp and Tim Burton join forces again in a big-screen adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's award-winning musical thriller "Sweeney Todd." Depp stars in the title role as a man unjustly sent to prison who vows revenge, not only for that cruel punishment, but for the devastating consequences of what happened to his wife and daughter. When he returns to reopen his barber shop, Sweeney Todd becomes the Demon Barber of Fleet Street who "shaved the heads of gentlemen who never thereafter were heard from again." Joining Depp is Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett, Sweeney's amorous accomplice, who creates diabolical meat pies. The cast also includes Alan Rickman, who portrays the evil Judge Turpin, who sends Sweeney to prison and Timothy Spall as the Judge's wicked associate Beadle Bamford and Sacha Baron Cohen is a rival barber, the flamboyant Signor Adolfo Pirelli.

Official Sweeney Todd Film Site

Though my love for all things Depp is quite clear, Helena Bonham Carter seems a juicy-good choice to team up with him as does her life partner, director Tim Burton. Burton and Depp of course have worked together previously, Bonham has too, but in voice only.

Don't know of a release date but it looks like the promotion machine is going into high gear.

Gratuitous photos of Johnny Depp (with Vanessa Paradis) continue after the jump.

Hey Chris! It's Your Birthday!!!

p>Pretty much a good news post.

Birthday boy and I saw The Simpsons Movie. Funny--much like the teevee show. D'oh! Homer would probably not use "D'oh!" in this context but I am.

Plans were to go mini-golfing but the weather has been on and off thunder showers for days (weeks?) We drove top-down the 7-8 miles on open road to the theatre; by the time we came out it was raining. Again. Quick break at home, meet up with spouse (older brother worked tonight) head to Friday's for dinner. The skies are leaden but no actual rain. After dinner headed to a really fun mini golf place on a huge hill. They were barely open and ready to close upon the first rain. We had a good game--we all scored "47." Weird, no? Spouse played worse than his normal and the birthday boy played better than he usually does. I played normally  but I was getting eaten alive by mosquitoes. This mini golf place has a Jungle Safari theme and it backs up to a swampy area. I even got bitten on the face twice--which I can't recall ever happening. These guys were 10X as bad as anything at Maple Lake. And yes. we forgot the bug spray at home Yikes.

Home after. Son cannot use his big gift of a fancy graphics card because his computer is too puny. He supposes he needs a new one. D'oh!

Maple Lake Sunset, Casa Loma Flowers

More vacation photos-- first Casa Loma's Gardens:

I need my spouse to tell me what is what if he can. He took these flower shots. Above, I believe, is a rose, lol.

The three on the far right are Maple Lake at sunset.      

Sideshow Bob, Ned Flanders, Spider Pig Lyrics

SPIDER PIG

SPIDER PIG

Does whatever a SPIDER PIG does

Can he swing

From a web

No he cant

He's a pig

LOOK OOOUUUTTT!!!!

He is a SPIDER PIG!!

...is what my son's being singing to himself for weeks now and since tomorrow is his birthday I'm going to take him to see The Simpson's Movie one more time. We have other plans too though some of them have been rained out. :/

I've escaped The Simpson's Movie thus far--he's seen it twice. Once should be enough for me.

I do like the Simpson's--in half hour increments.

Taking my son to see The Simpsons Movie tomorrow--his 15th birthday. This is his third time but only my first. Quotes like this "Random Trivia" one:

4. Sideshow Bob

Memorable Quote: “Attempted murder? Now honestly, what is that? Do they give a Nobel Prize for attempted chemistry?”

Random Trivia: Sideshow Bob has a tattoo reading “Die Bart Die,” which he once helpfully explained to the Springfield parole board is German for “The Bart, The.”

...remind me why I suggested that he start watching the show.
More here.

Also this:

5. Ned Flanders

Memorable Quote: “I’ve done everything the Bible says — even the stuff that contradicts the other stuff!”

Random Trivia: Ned’s habit of inserting nonsensical phrases like “diddly” and “doodly” into his sentences is the result of psychological conditioning to suppress his childhood rage.

...explains why Homer wants to kill Flanders.

How Our Garden Grows~ 8.18.07

Somewhat neglected for the two weeks we were gone, it seems to have a bit of life left yet.

It rained pretty much all day today so no swimming (boo!) and bleh, flowers in the rain.

For tomorrow we were planning to go mini-golfing as part of Chris's birthday (Monday) and it's supposed to T-Storm  in the morning, afternoon, and evening. Bah.

Dazzler Violet Impatiens                                                                                                                            

         

Violet Impatiens, Brown-eyed Susans, Red Begonias

                                                   

            

Raven Hates The Rain

Pet Project

Raven

Do you have a pet? What kind of pet do you own, and why did you choose it? 

I'm not sure if we "own" Raven, our 12-pound Schipperke dog.

She's more a furry member of our family.

Raven has been part of our family since 2000, when we adopted her from a shelter. She had been abandoned, left in a cage in front of the shelter for the shelter workers to find when they came to work in the morning.

We picked her as she was on a list of dog types that I thought would be least allergenic and would fit other criteria such as being smaller due to our living in a condominium and being long-lived. I also wanted an intelligent, active breed that was good with families as our son was 7 years old at the time.

Schipperkes are described thusly: ...an agile, active watchdog and hunter of vermin. In his native Belgium the Schipperke was a ratter and riverboat watchdog, probably developed from the same roots as Belgian shepherd dogs. His name is Flemish for "little shepherd."

I was shocked to have found her as I was not looking for a purebred but there she was at the first shelter I visited.

She seemed sweet of temperament yet at the same time feisty. (When I returned to the shelter with my son in tow so he could meet her as per the shelter's rules he tried to pet her with his finger through her small wire cage. She promptly nipped him lightly. He was undeterred and very good with her.)

Raven (the name the shelter gave her and to which she answered after spending the enter summer there) turned out to be a bit of a basket case for the first two years we had her. She had obviously been abused. If one just picked up a newspaper or magazine she cowered in fear. Though estimated to be 2 years old, she was not house broken. She also grew terrified at the tiniest provocation so it took loads of patience to make her feel secure enough to become housebroken and less afraid.

Raven is still extremely high strung but being a watchdog that is bred into her. She's very loyal and loving--she will not fully relax unless all her people are home. In line with her watchdog status she barks a lot. Since I'm home the most I tend to tune it out though sometimes I appreciate it because she lets me know whomever is in the vicinity--like if I'm waiting on a package delivery, she gives me the heads up whilst they are still down the street.

Reading my blog you'll see that she gets mentioned quite often as she's much like another child. I find it very endearing that though my son is now 6'2" at age 14, she still recognizes him as the child of the family and goes the extra mile keeping an eye on him. ...............................

                                                                                                  Catching winter rays...

QotD: Kitchen Essentials

What are the 10 foods you must have in your refrigerator and/or your kitchen cabinet? 

Firstly, I don't cook. I know how and I like to make breakfast and bake a bit but otherwise I'm not interested. (Also, I'm a carbs freak.)

Soooo...

1. 8-grain bread
2. Lo Salt Wheat Thins
3. Deli-sliced Swiss cheese 4.
Mocha Java coffee
5. Dole Strawberry-Kiwi 100% juice
6. Arizona Green Tea w/ Ginseng
7. Mixed greens/ baby carrots
8. Creamy Poppyseed Dressing
9. Newman's Own Blueberry Pecan Cluster cereal
10. Low-fat milk

Finally, since our water comes from Lake Michigan it doesn't really taste...right.
So I drink more than anything else on the list, bottled water.

Post Secret Video

Thanks, Frank. This video gave me the kick in the ass I needed today. My life can be hard but so many other people's are so much more difficult. The spirit shown on these little postcards is astounding.

CN Tower, Toronto--The World's Biggest Disappointment

I was born in Toronto, Canada many moons ago but left when my father, due to work, was transfered to the United States.
Since then there have been many changes  in Canada including a population jump of about 14,000,000  to  33, 390, 141 (July, 2007 est.).

I visit Ontario with my son and spouse at least once a year, traveling to the oft-mentioned Maple Lake. However, I rarely make it back to the metro Toronto area. This trip though we squeezed in a bit of time in an effort to see some of the city--most of which has changed drastically or did not exist when I resided there.

One of the most hyped attractions in Toronto is the CN Tower which at at 1815 feet in height, is arguably the world's tallest free-standing structure.

Though in no way an aesthetic wonder, The Canadian National Tower was near our hotel and seemed a good choice to attempt to view the sunset over Lake Ontario (it had rained that day with clearing in the early evening).

The ride up to the Indoor Observation deck was uneventful. When we got to the deck the sun was just sinking behind some lingering clouds so no spectacular sunset this time.

When one purchases tickets (about $30 CDN each) to enjoy the views of the CN Tower the agents urge tourists to to fork over another $5 to fully experience the wonder of the view by traveling higher to the Sky Pod, "the World's Highest Public Observation Deck... located at a dizzying 447 m (1,465 ft.)."

We agreed to go though we were told that there was a 40-minute wait to board the Pod once one had ascended to the Indoor deck.

The wait turned out to be about 2.5 hours. If we'd known this we'd not have chosen to go as when one is "that" high a couple hundred more feet is almost not discernible.

What ticked me off and what I find patently ridiculous is that the sole elevator to the Sky Pod can only hold 9 people at a time. Nine. Tourists are not informed of this when purchasing tickets.

Whomever thought up this ruse to empty tourists of  another finn(sp) should be strung up by their thumbs. Seriously. We had a very limited amount of time in Toronto. Spending all that time in line to see something that we pretty much saw already after a much shorter wait was just ludicrous.

I've always been a no-questions-asked supporter of Toronto/Ontario but I learned a big lesson here.

Canadians can be as crass and money-grubbing as anyone. The CN Tower is nothing special. The views I saw (taking the slight cloudiness into consideration) were no better than what I'd see from the plane. Almost a hundred dollars lighter in the pockets and so much time lost left me feeling that my "perfect" city  is anything but.

Though there are many great sights to see in Ontario, simply stated, the CN Tower is a tourist trap.

For the Folks

My folks usually spend several months at Maple Lake each year but they cannot this year. Here's a few shots of the Lake for them, plus a bonus shot or two taken from the CN Tower of their hometown, Toronto.

(Photoshopped the boats out)                                                                                                

                                                                        

                                                                                                                     

Toronto at sunset from the CN Tower. Some interesting architecture going on, especially with some "smaller" buildings (keep in mind, all is being viewed from one of the tallest buildings um, on the planet). I'd have to study up to name anything here, though.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Part of the harbor, a bit of Lake Ontario
(Toronto)                                                                                     

"Bonus" shot of my son at Casa Loma in Toronto.
I have a ton of Casa Loma shots to sort through as both spouse and son had cameras.                                                                                                                   

Maple Lake, Ontario~ 2007

Surprise! I have scads of photographs.

But first...
We bought our first boat,  a 15.5 foot red canoe. I had grand plans for quality family time in it but it seems that though he easily navigated the choppy waters of the Pacific in a kayak last summer, canoing on Maple Lake is not my son's "thing."

He swamped us...in the black water...with Raven along for the ride.
It wasn't so bad because we were not far from our beach and he was very shaky from the get-go
so we were more or less waiting for it to happen (though I murmured reassuringly any time he seemed to relax a bit).

So over we went and boy, was it a lesson in every living thing for him or herself.  Our 12-pound dog immediately took off, dog paddling her way towards the wrong beach (any beach in a swamping, I suppose). We are all strong swimmers so I swam after Raven and collared her, steering her towards our beach. Also in our favour was the very low water level this year so we did not have far to go before we were in the shallows. We reached shore to find Raven awaiting us on our beach looking none-too-pleased about the situation.
I love the canoe though and can't wait to go again. Spouse likes it as well so perhaps we'll have Chris and Raven travel this way---->


next time.

For ages now, I've wanted a safer way to have a campfire in the evening so I was happy to find a portable copper fire pit. It's on legs and has a screen cover to cover it once the fire dies down a bit. Of course, one always has a bucket of water handy just the same.

                                                                                                         

This pic was taken prior to my spouse trimming the bank, bushes, and taking  down a tree damaged in last year's tornadoes. I spent a lovely afternoon sitting here listening to the soft lapping of the waves on the beach, relaxing and reading. :)

We're Home...

...as of about midnight.
Everyone--even our dog Raven is wiped out.
Thankfully, the trip home was uneventful save for the awful time we had with the traffic getting out of the city of Toronto. It reminded me of  Chicago gridlock--and it was mid-morning--not the time that I'd have expected such a jam.

We stayed in Chinatown for our last two nights in Canada. I've heard that there are four Chinatown's in TO--we were in the one about 6 blocks in from the CN Tower.

We stayed at a Hotel Super 8 in the Chinatown Centre Shopping Mall complex. It was so new that they hadn't yet installed all the services but it was a lovely place just the same. Our room was sumptuous with cherry wood furniture throughout, scads of space, and very firm mattresses on the beds. Both son and spouse seemed to really like that touch.

The neat thing was that there was a Chinatown street festival just below our 3rd floor digs so we were able to walk right out and have abundant choices in Chinese notions, souvenirs, and best of all, food.

I'd picked our hotel it for it's proximity to the CN Tower and The Hockey Hall of Fame. We'd also planned to go to Casa Loma--a real castle-- in the one day visit. Unfortunately, two things got in the way way of being able to do all that we wanted.

One, due to the festival and construction closing down many roads in the areas of the hotel, we spent a great deal of time on the night of arrival just trying to access the hotel which we kept driving by, looking in vain for any way to park near it. Just as in many American cities there were plenty of one way and no turn streets and it made it all the more challenging.

The other cog in the machinery was that though the hotel accepted "animal guests" one could not leave said guest alone in the room for more than 10 minutes.
With the temperatures predicted to soar in the the high eighties with high humidity there was no way we could've brought Raven with us to Casa Loma which was where all three of us wanted to go the most.

So while the guys were sleeping I decided that I would stay at the room with Raven. By the morning there was a steady drizzle outside which was fine for roaming the castle. Raven and I stayed behind, sleeping, then reading Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows (more on that in a post to come).

***All photos of Casa Loma by my son.

Ducks~

                       

   

       

                

                                            

            

               

Maplelake.08.07

            

           

   

The water level was very low for the first few days of our time at the Lake. The beach was much wider than normal, though the water gradually rose to almost-normal levels over the time we vacationed there.

   

       

                

                                            

            

               

Maplelakeducks.08.07

            

           

   

As I was just getting out of the water and on to the beach, a whole flock of ducks swam up within a few feet of me. Though I was quite surprised,  I managed to get off a few snaps.
                       

   

       

                

                                            

            

               

Maplelakeducks2-08.07

            

           

   

                       

   

       

                

                                            

            

               

Duckmania.08.07

            

           

   

Holy cow! Cool bill! And I love her markings. Her feathers almost match the colour of the sand-bottom lake perfectly!

                                                                

                       
                    

 

 

Every Picture Tells A Story, Don't It?

Little to no Internet.
It's effing HOT.
You really should spend two days of your vacation in Cambridge, Ontario getting your poor, ancient sedan repaired because your spouse thinks nothing of making incredibly severe u-turns whilst toting a tonne of stuff in the car- top carrier.
Did I mention that it is effing hot?
Highlight thus far: We have a brand-new canoe which if it cools off below 34C, we'll take out on the lake this evening. 

I feel cranky about: loud things*
*large dogs
*people
*motorboats
*jet skies

H and K's,
She Who Shall Not Be Named
(Yes, I'm reading Harry Potter.)

Originally posted on theloveumake.vox.com