Bike Tour

This week, in my town, there is a bike tour called "La Tour d'Abitibi" 2006. It is a tour for juniors, but it is important in the fact that it is the only tour in North America where the points count towards ranking you for the Tour de France.

Luckily for me, the race against the clock brings the bikers right in front of my house. The best place for pictures, though, is at the top of the street. The bikers start the race at the bottom of an abandoned mine shaft and must climb close to 400 meters on a 17% incline. It takes powerful muscles to make the climb, and often the riders with heavier leg muscles seem do do better in this race. The wire-thin guys tend to do better in the long distance races.

Look at how cool this bike is:



Imagine how this guy must feel. Every biker leaves at 1 minute intervals... you have one kilometer to go before getting back and the person that left behind you is already on your tail!



A biker from Sweden... you can tell by his socks! ;-)



And what kind of race would it be if there weren't some Canadian rider sponsored by Tim Hortons Donuts! :-D

a movie, the weather etc.,

Last post here was "Eternal Sunshine" and yesterday, I finally saw the movie that everyone was talking about 2 years ago. Now, I understand the well-deserved hype.

Now, don't ask me why I haven't seen the movie that probably just about everyone that has access to a movie theatre, to a DVD store or even a VHS machine has seen. I just didn't and now I have and I loved it.

So many times you see a movie that tries to do something in a different way ... but just for the sake of being different and often leaving the audience confused and not sure what's going on. Here, they took an interesting approach and kept us interested during the whole movie, without for a moment having to scratch our heads and go...whaaaatttt???? I felt that they guided us and glided us through the movie in a way, where we were surprised, delighted but always intrigued and interested.

Clementine, Joel's girlfriend is very different from the quiet and overly polite Joel and after a fight, impulsively decided to get all memory of him deleted by a company called Lacuna. Joel, after finding out what she did, has a knee-jerk reaction and does the same... but while unconscious... realizes that he actually loves her and does not want to erase her from his mind. He wants to keep small bits that were emotionally fulfilling to him, and then goes on a journey mostly in his own mind of how to hide her from the data deleting machine..which we really are not sure how it works, but we don't really care, we don't need the explanation ... just know what the outcome is.

We then see the couple when they refind themselves later and realize that both have erased the other and why. Joel for being boring and Clementine for being too outrageous and crazy. They made me think about 2 magnets, how at a certain point (when they are very close, but not quite touching) you can feel the tension almost pushing away but ultimately they cannot help but end up attached to each other. It makes us wonder what attracts us to certain other human beings... especially when we find out that the Lacuna receptionist, (Kirsten Dunst) after also having her memory of an affair with her boss erased, still finds herself extremely attracted to him. Without knowing what will happen in a relationship, we can be eternally optimistic, and even knowing, we may not care. It's part of the dance.

---

Remember last week when I came home and felt horrible because of being out in the sun too long? Yesterday morning, I left home on my bike to go to the bank. On my way, I met up with Soni... a girl that used to live at the corner of my street. I had not seen her for perhaps 2 years, and we just stopped a few moments to chat. All of a sudden she started feeling badly..and sat down on the curb. She said she was feeling very hot and light-headed.

I told her about my sun-stroke and she brushed it off, saying she would be fine... but she wasn't and was getting worse. I saw a man across the street and asked if he could bring some water. His wife, very bronzed (ok, too bronzed and wrapped in a teeny tiny towel) came over and brought her a glass. She drank very little and kept splashing it over her face.

I tried to get her to give me the number of her boyfriend, so he could come and pick her up... but she was not being very cohesive and wasn't answering. I then got her to move off the hot sidewalk and unto the cooler grass. We ultimately called an ambulance and they came by and checked her out.

The weather here had been very hot for a week without any let up in the humidity at all. Seems that people were falling like flies all over the place. They got called twice while attending to her. They took her b.p. which was 89/50 .. pretty low, but after a general check up said it was heat stroke, to get her home and to get her to drink...and rest and she'd be fine. I supported her across the street, and the tanned lady brought her cookies and milk and we called her sister who came with a shiny red truck to pick her and her bike up.

It was now later and much hotter than when I left, but I really needed to go to the bank, but I assure you my experience from the week before was on my mind and what happened her too.. so I stopped at a store and got myself a bottle of fruit-flavored water and made sure I drank it. I wasn't going to take any chances.

When I came home it had started to rain, but not hard and I could hear some distant thunder. Later that afternoon, we had a couple pretty strong thunder storms. Really helped cool off and lighten the air which is a very good thing because this week we have the "Tour D'Abitibi" where bicyclists from all over the world come to race here.
On Thursday, there is a race against the clock where they each leave from under the mine at 1 minute intervals. These racers pass in front of my house and I will (weather permitting, of course) take pictures and post a few here.

Idiots!

I'm not one to easily call people idiots, especially a whole group of people...but today is the exception.

Many of you may not realize this, but when American Idol ends in the U.S., Canadian Idol starts here and carries us through summer. I must admit I had not followed it before, and this, the fourth season of the show was my introduction to the Canadian version of it.

To my surprise, there were some very interesting contenders and I and my guy would download and watch it a day or two after it aired. They started the whole the shebang pretty much the same way the American version does, showing us the cream of the crop and, of course, the deluded bottom of the barrel.

They quickly whittled the list of contenders down to 22. These were now separated into 2 groups (male/female) from which they would ultimately choose the final 10. It was really fun watching the process and we got to really root for certain singers that not only sang well but had a quirky fun side that made them capture our hearts.

This morning we watched the last elimination that let to the final 10 players.

Of these 14 hopefulls, 3 in my mind really were awesome talents and deserved to not only be in the 10 finalists but I could easily see them as the last three standing.

Chad Doucette is one of the three I really liked. He's this small guy with jet black hair and always clowing around, making funny remarks etc., When he auditionned he said: I like to sing in the bathroom, I want Canada to be my toilet. It sounds cheesy, but from this guy it was cute. He did surprise us though, by singing with such sincerity and a truly gorgeous voice. He has a really unique timber and tone which makes him sound very different.

He made the final round and is the only reason that I would continue to watch the show, hopefully to see him blow all the others away and get the final prize... a recording contract.

Keith MacPherson is a red-headed, a bit geekish looking young man that just seemed to always get it right. He seemed very down to earth and smart. I'm no music expert, but my boyfriend says it's called unpretentious singer/songwriter pop and I think that's a great label without trying to actually put a label on this guy. He just has the skills, is laid back and so pleasant to listen to. He also projects a sincerity when singing, as did Chad, that I really appreciate when listening and watching someone sing. Well, here is where my feelings about the Canadian Idol voters start to get shakey. He was voted off! Yes, these people are idiots. The only thing that I can say is that at least people got to hear him and will look him up on the net.

Several years ago he created a duo with Renée Lamoureux called Easily Amused. I strongly suggest you follow this link and discover this talented pair for yourself.

Last but certainly not least, Nancy Silverman. Here's is where I want to call all Canadian Idol voters IDIOTS (yes, in capital letters, no less). Quirky, smart, unique but most of all, the most kick-ass talented female singer I've heard in a long time.
She was certainly my favorite and my boyfriend's also. She was perhaps the judges pet also, but with good reason. She was simply fabulous! She had her own groove, exuded confidence without being arrogant and I just loved how she moved her body... no fakey moving around the stage and pandering for the camera.... it is more like the vibration is moving throughout her body looking for an outlet!

Here's a link to a Nancy Silverman My Space.com webpage. There are 4 of her songs there that you can both listen to and download. Please, please go and get these. You will not regret.


The judges on the show, who I would say always gave very fair and although sometimes not easy to hear advice to the singers, would often tell them to try and choose songs that they could actually see themselves singing. With all this advice, we've seen everything from 40's musical songs to country-western remakes... but these 3 always had their act together. They have a good sense of self and projected this when they sang. No hokey-pokey songs from them... only the real deal. Unfortunately, for Keith and Nancy they will not go on to the finals.

So..yes, I'm sorry but to all the Canadian Idol voters who by-passed these unique gems, you are all IDIOTS!

If I had a note to give the producers of the show it would be change the way that you allow people to vote. Do not make them vote for their favorites. They may think one person is safe and vote another that they wish to see go onto the finals. The smart way to do it would be to get people to vote for the singers they want to leave... this would always leave the cream of the crop until the end.

/rant

eternal sunshine or sunny side up

The day before yesterday, I decided to go to the duck pond and take pictures. The day was looking good, it was about 16C out... not hot, not cold, but nice for biking.

I usually take a certain route that passes partially through town and the rest beside a railroad track. I decided to hit the railroad tracks at an earlier point. Bad decision. I entered the route and everything seemed fine but then the craggy rocks started appearing. I thought it was surely just a short distance, but they just continued coming. There were also places where tree branches were down, that I had to get off my bike and lift it over them. There were bits of old railway tracks here and there, left over from a sloppy repair job. This new route had put me on an obstacle course. I finally got to a point where the path was hard packed sand and it was again as before.

There were 4 Amerindians just along side of the tracks having a morning beer and cigarettes.. They called out.. hi, miss! Good Morning. I'm not sure if they ride the trains and just drop off here and there... this was not anybody's backyard and there was no patio.. we were out in the woods. I felt a little apprehensive, but I guess the early morning hour sort of gave me confidence and I smiled, said hello and said the path was really bad. They laughed and said there was a different road I could have taken... went all the way to Chibougamou... yeah, like 200 miles away. They had really interesting faces, burnt by the sun, and my photographer's eye wished I could have sat with them and taken their pics... but even at this early hour, just me and 4 strange guys drinking in the wild... not the best idea.

When I finally got to the duck pond, I decided to go a bit further and visit the Maison Gabrielle. It's a home our town built a little over a year ago for people who were about to die. Yes, the only criteria for getting in, is that you must be diagnosed as terminally ill and going to die within the next 3 months. It's on the pond.. with the ducks etc., and trees. I thought I'd go and look at the small waterfall they have there. It is not really a waterfall, it's a tiny water drop... it's man-made and the water is deviated there and then passes into the woods. I took some pics and then went back to the duck pond.

Usually when you start throwing bread into the pond.. they come rushing over, but today was very quiet... very few ducks, even the gulls were rare. There were a couple of kids there with someone who appeared to be their grandmom, but then an even older lady arrived and they called her granny too, so who knows. They didn't have lots of bread, and I had tons of it. I freeze all left over ends from sandwich bread that everyone leaves in the bags and brought them all. They are still fresh when defrosted and it was cute to see the younger of the little boys ( a 15 month old) eating it instead of throwing it in the water.

There were a couple owners with dogs running around and I took my time and watched the kids, ducks, dogs and just relaxed. At one point I just took my sandals off and sat with my feet up on a bench and took in the sun and the pretty day.





After a while though, it started getting extremely hot. There were no clouds in the sky and I was starting to feel a little light-headed. I decided it was probably a good time to leave. After riding up the hill, I started feeling worse and met Martin, a guy I know. He was on his way to the Maison Gabrielle because his mom had died a couple of weeks earlier and he wanted to thank them properly. I was really not feeling good and hopefully not too rudely, told him I really had to go... I was now feeling even worse and by the time I got to town I was starting to feel nauseous and jittery. I just couldn't wait to get home. I was breaking out in a cold sweat and by the time I got home I had to lay down as I now was shivering from the top of my head all the way down my body. I lay covered in a blanket and still was shivering and felt absolutely horrible.

Lots of water and 2 hours later and I was feeling fine. I guess I had a touch of sun-stroke but I'm fine now. I had brought a bottle of water with me, but had already drank it earlier and it went by quickly.


Yesterday was very hot and warm... and today is even worse... it's crazy, stifling hot.

Cutesy Barcodes.

I love it when you take something that is normally boring, necessary and practical and give it a whimsical spin. It doesn't stop it from being practical, but can be a sweet surprise.

What's this all about? Barcodes! Yes, pain ol' boring barcodes. Well, boring no more if this design firm has it's druthers.



I was just reading this article on Springwise.com and thought the idea was very cool and wanted to share it with you.

There is a design firm in Japan called Design Barcodes that just won the Titanium Lions award in Cannes this past week for innovative thinking in Advertising.

Imagine, buying ramen noodles..and the barcode is chopsticks with noodles folded over... or an umbrella with the barcode raining on it.



I just think it's very clever and I think it's the kind of thing I would actually collect.

Toy Story

There is a fun photo technique that is all the rage on the net right now. It's taking photographs and making them look like fake models by making them look like close-up macro shots. Furthering the look is playing with the curves to make them bright and plastic looking. Now, does this have any really important applications? No... Is it art? Probably not... but it's really easy to do and lots of fun.

There are several websites that explain how to do this. Receding Hairline is such a site.

I haven't gone out and specifically shot for this type of image so you could probably do a better job than I did, simply by making sure your shots were taken from a higher vantage point, which would, of course, help with the illusion, as we would tend to look at fake models on some sort of table and standing up.

Still these were definitely fun

A picture of a train ... geez, how I wish I had the whole caboose.. too bad, maybe another time.



This one is of a small house in the mining village. It's cool to know what it looks like and to see it looking almost plastic.



The last one is of these funny contraptions in front of the old mine. I'm sure someone who has worked in a mine could tell me what they actually are as I have no idea. What I think works about them, even though they are pretty much eye-level is the fact that they are freshly painted.. which helps with illusion of them not being real.




One thing is for sure, I'm most certainly going to run a "Bonus Contest" on Worth 1000 very soon, just because I think it's a fun thing for everyone to try.

P & P (Pasta and Peonies)

I love pasta, especially fresh pasta. I don't know about where you live but fresh pasta is very expensive where I live. To wrap your head around the numbers a bit, a package of dried pasta of good quality is very inexpensive, 900gr (about 2lbs) for about 1.30 and fresh pasta runs for about 4.50 for 300-350gr... not even a pound!! I don't get it... they don't even have to dry it...and they sell it for about 10 times as much.

Anyways, my boyfriend and I have talked about trying to make some ourselves, not because of the cost, but just to see if it was hard to make and if it would taste good, (the price would be icing on the cake).

Well, yesterday we did... and it's so easy to make.

1 egg, 1 cup of flour, 1/2 tsp salt... and a couple tbsps of water if you need it.. you probably won't. that's it..

take a bowl, mix flour with salt, make a well, throw in the egg..and scramble with your fingers until all together. Knead a few minutes, roll out, cut and presto... almost instant homemade pasta:

See...here it is before cooking...(I made fettuccini) looks great doesn't it?:



This morning I took a few pictures of my peonies. They have just started blooming, and they are just so luscious I had to show you.







I can't help thinking of a remark Meowza made on some of my previous flowers... on how they looked good enough to eat. Well, these really do look so good, I think I could just put them on an icecream cone and take the biggest bite... they even smell good!

St-Jean

Not much happened that is bloggable..

this is the little I have:

I love being barefoot. Unless it's really cold and I'm freezing, I am always barefoot. The other day, I was leaving to go to some stores, and I was just out the back door and had locked it, when I looked down and realized I didn't have any shoes on.. lol!

---

My finger is slowly healing. I'm trying to go plasterless more and more, but tend to jab it on everything, which feels like a spike going through the top of my thumb. It also looks quite horrible. The top part has gone completely black and dry around the edges, and is shrinking. It's very hard. It looks a bit like I have a baby turtle on the top of my thumb.. just sitting there. Also, the part of the thumb that wasn't cut and is still alive, is peeling away, because of the detachment of the skin... so now I have a pink and very tender thumb. When I slide my finger across it, it is very sensitive..and just below where there is a layer of protective skin, you can still feel but the difference in sensitivity is striking. Kind of makes me feel bad for guys having to wear condoms.

---


Today is St-Jean, Quebec's provincial holiday. Last night there were celebrations, nothing very elaborate, but you could hear fireworks being set off here and there and then about 11:30 at night, the town also sets off some fireworks too. It was quite cold out and I sat on my porch with a warm sweater, a jean jacket and a warm blanket around my shoulders. I could partially see the fireworks on the front porch of my home. A few years ago, we could see them pretty well, but the neighbour's trees have grown since then and from my viewpoint always end up smack dab in the middle of the fireworks.

An awful fireworks shot: :-P


and another :


As you can see, nothing very exciting.

Early this morning, when the sun was just creeping up over the horizon, I got up and took a pic of my neighbour's porch, where they hung up a couple flags to commemorate the day.

when the heat is on...

oh... boy, yesterday was quite a doozie of a day. It was again over 30C. What do you do when the weather is that hot? Heh, well, you bake of course! :-D. I know, I know... but when it's that hot, your brain doesn't function properly and well, you understand, it is a dry heat. ;-)

Anways. I made something called wienerbrod which probably started off as a recipe to wrap around little wieners, but now it was posted on the net as a puff pastry dessert type of deal. You start by making a dough, and then smashing as much butter as you can get your hands on between layers of it. It's crazy the amount of butter that goes into this! It's not only crazy, it's almost scary!... I swear you are literally putting slabs of hard, cold fat and then folding it over and over into what turns out to be a very flaky dough, which in french we call "mille feuilles" (a thousand leaves or pages).

The recipe calls for 1 egg, that you separate and add the yolk to the dough part and reserve the white for a glaze. My recipe however changes that to 3 eggs, as after putting the yolk in the dough, you must absolutely knock over your container with the egg white and let it drip all over you counter. Then you must crack open another egg... separate that and then step back and think...hmmm.... what would it take for me to actually wipe down these cabinets... well, heck, I think if I dripped something on them, that would give me enough incentive... so then you put your second egg white in a small saucer and set it on the rounded edge of your counter so it will dutifully slide off and all along the the surface of your cabinet door beneath... of course, you just need a bit of glaze so you'd think there would be enough left in the saucer... but no!... the gooey whites band together and slip and slide as one. So that's why my recipe takes 3.

When you finally are ready to put them in the oven, you do brush on your white egg-wash and then because what looks like 14kgs of butter is just not calorie intensive enough, you sprinkle on a bunch of pearl sugar. Pearl sugar tastes like regular sugar but is in balls that look like little styrofoam beads, exactly like those found in bean bags. Sprinkled on pastries, it makes them sweet but also gives them a very nice crunchy texture.

Here is what they turn out to look like:

more flower pics

Well, it's the weekend and I 'm just taking it easy, spending time with someone I care for deeply and relaxing. The weather yesterday was crazy hot again... 30C .. let's just say, that's hot! We are expecting much of the same today. Who says it's cold up north?

Well, I thought I'd show you some of my flowers as they come and go quickly.


Here is a very pretty iris that only blooms for a week to disappear for another year. It's called "Steppin' Out" and cleary, is dressed to the 9's!



As I was leaving to do groceries on Friday, I was just locking the door when out of the corner of my eye, I saw this butterfly fluttering amid my lilacs. I immediately went to get my camera... and took a few shots. It was a bit difficult, the darn flutterby just wouldn't stand still for a pose.



I also have roses. Now, I know I told you I'm not a roses type of girl... but that's not entirely true. I'm not crazy about the formal type of roses, you know the ones that come in a box of 12...sure they are pretty..butI prefer the more lush ones that actually smell spicy and are much more feminine. Here is one that's just a biddy, buddy baby!:



but will turn out to be as glorious as this one:



and finally a pink lobelia, which I think has such a cool shape!

I'm so over it.. I'm happy

Well, yesterday ... after over a year, I finally decided to clean out the garage. When my ex left, he took whatever he wanted.. well, I didn't exactly stop him, I was a sobbing wet rag that couldn't see farther than the blur of tears in my eyes.

He took all his tools, and he had plenty of them, duplicates, triplicates... and left me with nothing but a bunch of junk, some shovels, gardening tools, the lawn mower and our freezer. The garage is full of junk though.. left over bits of wood, of wool isolation (let's just say, it's yellow and it's very itchy). There is stuff in the rafters, but I 'm going to have to search through all that... I hate going up in a ladder but I don't have much choice.

The night before I went out to the garage and found the light was burned out, so I brought in 2 different bulbs, mostly because one looked a little grey and I figured it might already be blown, and I guess I was too lazy to do 2 trips. So I set up the ladder to the side.. and barefoot (yes, you heard me right... you'd think someone who recently had chopped off the top of her thumb would be more careful, but hey... I'm reckless... a real James Dean ;-) ) Anyways, I climbed up a few rungs... it hurt quite a bit as the rungs are round...and holding on with one hand (which incidentally was holding on to the second bulb) and outstretched in the opposite direction, I tried out the grey bulb first. Yay!... it worked.. then I dropped the other bulb which exploded with a soft shatter on the cement floor. Heh.. of course ,you remember that I'm barefoot right.. well.. I did get down and manage to get out without cutting myself.

Last summer, I was not ready to clean out the garage. To start with, I had no energy... and emotionally, I just couldn't deal with it. Everything that was his, that was ours... it was just too much to deal with. I wasn't sure what my reaction would be now, but I was pretty secure in the fact that I would be alright. Since several months now, I feel very happy, very strong.. (ok, not confident about everything... but strong in a different way, in a quiet way, which is hard for me to explain). I truly knew that I was alright though when 2 incidents happened that really showed me I was on to my own life now and I had really turned the corner.

Last thursday, I went downtown and stopped into an office supply store and one of the women that works there, was all.."Maggie... it's so good to see you, I haven't seen you in ages, you look well... bla, bla"..and I explained to her that I was no longer with my husband... and a short synopsis of what happened..and she said, you know what? I just saw him the other day and he looked embarassed to see me, and odd... and I was wondering what was wrong with him that he looked unhappy. And it just didn't bother me.. didn't make me happy, didn't make me sad... I just felt very indifferent about it. Then on Monday night, as I was bringing the garbage to the curb, my neighbor from across the street started to talk to me. I went over to see their new porch they built and we were talking. Edith starts with.. you know, we saw Sylvain the other day... and Alain and I were remarking that he didn't exchange for better.. bla, bla.. that his new partner works as a cashier and that she doesn't smile and she's "bête comme ses pieds".. an expression to say that someone is unhuman, and not friendly etc., and so different from you that is always friendly, and smiling etc., and I just thought.. I just don't care! ... you'd think I'd get some satisfaction out of that, but it just didn't affect me at all.. I had no sense of revenge or YAY!! .. I know that seems implausible.. but I swear that's just how it felt.

If you are out there in a similar situation.. feeling that your life is over because someone left you like you were a piece of trash... I promise you... you'll be happier and much better for it. Anyone who could leave you that way, without trying to work it out, without any remorse, without any caring for being together for years... never really loved or appreciated you... you are better off without them. I couldn't see that last year. I do now.

So, anyways, I haven't cleaned much of the garage..there is a ton of stuff that's got to go.. if I find anything that is good, I'll try and sell it in a garage sale later this summer. It was actually quite liberating.. taking back "MY" space.

When I came in I was pretty pooped, and a bit tired, but started watching a show called "So you think you can dance?" I thought .. ok, cheezy..but actually , these people could really dance.. they could move to the groove, push their tush... swing those hips. They were paired in couples and each had a different style to do...there was everything from ballroom dancing, 80's disco and hiphop. Heck, even the ones the judges said were not so good, were pretty amazing to me. I was very tired, my eyes.. just wanted to close... but I couldn't stop watching. Anyways, I don't care what anyone says.. I was very entertained. I was literally cheering them on.

Well, that's it for today... if you stopped by.. please leave a word.

Oh, I updated my list of blogs, but there may be a few I haven't added yet, if I missed you and you'd like to be added..please let me know.

signing off for now, see you all soon :-)

little bit of this, a little bit of that

First of all, I have to thank all of you that visited and left comments. What a great way to have people stop by. You tell them about your day, it's short and sweet (well, most of the time) and heck, you don't even have to clean the house before they get here.

Either later tonight or tomorrow, I'm going to update my list of blogs. If I miss yours and want it to be included, just leave me a note about it and I will add you.

Oh, and if you dropped by today, don't be shy!! Say hello! :-)

--
The weather here has been really very erratic. Huge extremes of temperatures means one day you have the neighbor kids screaming and having fun in their pool, and the next morning it's so darn cold, there are tiny snowflakes falling from the sky. We've had over 32 (that's 90F) and then -1 (31F)! What's up with that?

It was cold and rainy and I just didn't want to go out at all during the weekend. On Sunday I started having a craving for black licorice and the weather was just so awful, I didn't go out and get any. I thought that would be the end of it, but then on Monday, I still had the craving... but the weather was again cold and wet. Well, today, I just couldn't stand it any more. The weather has started to warm up a bit and I decided I couldn't live without them anymore and went to the store to get some. I bought a huge bag and well, I'm munching on some right now. I just love them.

---
I took a few pics in my garden today... and I know everyone has their fill of flowers and are tired of seeing them, but I just had to show you at least one of my irises. They only last a few days and then are gone for the rest of the summer. I do love their sweeping, swaying leaves though... as they bend and dance in the wind, flowers or no.. they are still pretty.

Siberian Iris:


Tonight for supper I had a something my boyfriend showed me how to make and I just love it so much, I have it at least once a week since. I thought I'd share it with you.

He calls it kebab, but it's nothing like shish-kebab... and I had never eaten it before. It's tender curried meat, with either crème-fraîche, or sour cream if you can't find that. You add curry spices, mayonnaise and lemon juice to your sauce and then mix that with a bunch of thinly sliced veggies.. I normally use thinly sliced lettuce (ice-berg for the crunchiness)red peppers, cucumber, green onion, tomatoes and then some marinated banana peppers that are cut up in tiny slices. Different kinds of hot peppers can be used but these are available where I live so I use them. They also come with red, orange and yellow ones in the same jar, which makes them very pretty in the dish. You mix these veggies with your sauce.

You take either porc or chicken, I guess you could also make them meatless, but I like the meat. You heat up some curry spices and add garlic and your meat. Takes only a minute or two to fry as you have cut your meat into really very small tender pieces.

Now, he and I make these differently, he makes his own tortilla bread. I guess I'm lazy, cause I just use the ones from the grocery store. He also makes them on his stove, and I make them in a George Forman grill. It just happens to be the perfect size.

I put a tiny bit of butter on the outside of the tortilla so that it doesn't burn and it gets those really nice golden grill marks. I then flip it.. put a bit of meat, the veggies and sauce mixture and then fold the sides in and roll it.. put it in the grill for only about 2 minutes and TADA!! instant amazingly tasty and spicy food. Yum.

You have to try these ... they are just SO good! :-)

dishes and stuff

Well, ELBradenabra posted a thread in the Worth1000.com forum archiving members blogs. I think it's an awesome idea, and decided I wanted to participate. Heck, like the "Field of Dreams" people may actually come by.

Unlike everyone else, I did not post on June 10th, ... gah.. even Galoot said that everyone posted so they wouldn't look like total slackers!! Well, guess that makes me one!

Most of you know that my dad died this year. Well, my mom died oh..geez.. 23 years ago and she had some pretty dishes and stuff but nobody took anything ... simply because my dad was still alive and even though he might not use them ever, it just didn't feel right to have leave him with emptiness anywhere, when there was already this huge void in his life, losing his wife at such a young age.

Well, a couple of weeks ago, my brothers and I and their wives and kids all gathered and each took a few momentos. I wanted a few things that were my mom's. She had some nice cups and saucers that I just adored. I will probably never have occasion to drink out of such fancy cups and saucers, but she bought them on a trip to Germany and I always thought they were gorgeous.

Here is one of the sets... It's simply a small coffee cup (or tea) with a saucer and a cake plate. It's full of gold but somehow doesn't look in the least bit garrish... it's very art deco.. with it's black and gold design.



Another of the sets is a deep raspberry pink with gold stripes. It is also very much of the same style but not as sleek I guess, softer looking but still very gorgeous.



The third set is a round cup with flowers both on the inside and outside of the cup. This one is more feminine and soft looking with a very pretty handle.



Besides these cups and saucers, I didn't take very much. A nice tablecloth, simple yet summery and fresh looking and a crystal vase. I'm not sure exactly how old I was when my parents bought it while on vacation in Europe, but I remember distinctly always caressing the cut ridges with my fingertips... it fascinated me somehow... the feeling of it, the texture. I always loved that vase. Now, I am not the type of person that would go into a store looking for a crystal vase, it's just not my style, but this is different. It's nostalgic. Funny how the first thing I did when I saw the vase, that was up in one of the bedrooms, was to drag the tip of my finger down it, just like I used to do as a kid.

I filled her with lilacs, irises, bleeding hearts and a small of forget-me-nots. She's so beautiful.





And a closeup where you can see a bit of the cut ridges:



While I was at it I took some pics of my bleeding hearts.. they are spring flowers that are very typical here in the north. Further down south they would just wilt and disappear underground. These flowers are so pretty. They are a brilliant pink heart.. which opens up just like a small locket and appears to let drop a tear. If you look at them very closely, you can often see a drop of water in that white section.. which only goes to prove they really are crying. I've always loved these kinds of flowers.. swooping, swaying.. lilacs, daffodils, daisies, very friendly flowers. I know, that most people love tea roses and orchids, but I just prefer the more informal ones. I guess they ressemble me more, more my style.



I did however take a pic of roses. These are roses from my dad's funeral. I put them upside down and let them dry.



----

Besides that, well, I've been the shoulder for Carmen lately. Her husband left her several weeks ago and this week she just found out that he left her for a girl that was someone they had gone out with as 2 couples, someone who she entertained in her house, and a person who she told about what had happened when she met her at the grocery store...who held her and told it "I'm so sorry for you"... can you imagine?

She is so distraught. I wish I could do more for her, but all I can do is listen and try to keep her calm. I make her look at me.. and say... LOOK! I'm fine.. I'm better than ever! I was so broken up a year ago, I never thought I would be able to say those words, but I am much better, happier and stronger. She will be too, it 's just so hard for her to see right now.

I went to see her the other night, yes.. the night I should have blogged... (see, I have a great excuse ;-) ). She called and was really very upset. Her son was supposed to come to her after school and he never showed up. She then found out that not only did he not come over, but that the new-girlfriend had picked him up from school and brought him to her house. See, the thing is she has a boy that is the same age. They play soccer together, and this is actually how her husband and this woman met. Oh... she was a wreck. I stayed with her until she was calm and then got her to bed.

She's started smoking again, after having quit, gosh over 10 years ago... maybe even more. I didn't say anything though.. she's got enough on her mind.

Talking about smoking... my boyfriend sort of half-quit smoking on the weekend. He had no cigs and didn't smoke all weekend. It was a tough weekend, let me tell you. He actually physically was ill. I remember many years ago, when I used to smoke and I quit. Oh, it's over 10 years now and I don't even count how long ago it was anymore, but I never had a reaction like he did. I was tempted to smoke but I would just simply distract myself and I would be fine. I didn't get muscle pain, or stomach-ache etc., I don't know if he will tough out the no-smoking or not. It's just so hard... I know we all say 'cold-turkey' is the way to go... just don't take another and never turn back, but wow.. this was really not easy for him. He probably really needs some sort of help like a nicotine patch to help him get through as it just seems too difficult this way. Saturday he was very ansy without any and although Sunday was better, he was not feeling well all day long. Tomorrow is another day, a new day... whatever happens, I just want him to feel good again.

If you're from Worth and stopped by because of the thread, would be awesome if you left me a note! :-)

Off the top of my head... errr... I mean thumb!

It's been several weeks since the last time I blogged.

It's been a weird month for me. I've been really having a pity party and feeling down
about not being really a good artist. I've always drawn and done things manually and always felt I was good at it. It's just so darn hard for me though to know that I'm not great at it. This has been bothering me quite a bit lately. I've been drawing in photoshop and although I spend lots of time and effort, it just feels like I'll never be really good. I participated in an illustration contest at Worth and although I came away with a silver trophy, I felt very discouraged. Just once, it would be nice to hear a ... wow..that's awesome! I wanted to get a feeling across ... but didn't succeed. Instead got, nice curtains, nice color scheme... gah! I want to cry and chuck it all.
Same thing goes for photography... I can pull off a well-composed image, but that's it. I want to blame it on not having a fancy camera and lenses, but I know as well as everyone that the artist is behind the camera; the camera is only our tool.

I'm such a big baby... I then turn on myself and feel guilty about being this self-centered and wanting all this attention.

My boyfriend has helped me enormously here.. he's got a good head on his shoulders and his feet firmly planted on the ground..and well, he helps ground me, brings me back... let's me see how foolish I am.

---
My new bike.. I love her. Even though I almost killed myself on her, I still love her. It's not her fault though... I had a bit of an accident, but it was entirely my own fault. I went downtown and bought several items to put in my basket and thought to myself how easy it would be to attach my camera case to the packet holder at the back of my bike... it would mean that I would be freer to ride without the camera case strapped across my shoulder. I attached the case to the back and took the strap and stuffed it inside the flap of the case.. secured it and started on my return journey home. As I approached the last hill before getting to my house, I moved into the highest gear, hoping to gain lots of momentum to get up the hill with not too much effort on my part (yeah, hills have been the tough part of starting to bike again). I cranked the pedals as fast as I could and a car whizzed past me and I pedalled and pedalled as hard as I could and started to go up the hill when all of a sudden my bike was breaking on it's own..hard...and I was skidding literally across the whole road. I didn't understand what was going on... I wasn't breaking..what was happening? Well, it seems that the strap from my camera bag, came slipping out of the place I attached it and ended up running through the spokes of my back wheel..and this caused me to break like that. I'm really lucky it was not 20 minutes later, when everyone would be coming home for lunch..and I would have probably skidded right into an oncoming car. Physically, I'm fine.. I'm still walking around with some bruises on my legs.. not the most attractive sight, believe me.

Night before last, I did a painting. Yes, I know I said I should chuck it all, but then I have never been able to not create something.. and I decided to finally put some paint on that plain white canvas that has been staring at me for months. I did a painting in a style that I enjoy.. juxtaposing clear bright colors with dirtier, muddy ones. It is almost abstract in style. I have done many realistic paintings in years past, but this type is more enjoyable for me.. simply because it's so freeing. I just paint and paint until I get it out of my system.



I painted the sides by continuing the painting there.. which allows the painting to be mounted on a wall without a frame, it looks finished and it's nice to keep it's more modern style. I had only painted the sides, and not the top and bottom, as this was done with oil paints and takes time to dry.

Last night I was going to turn the painting on it's side to do the top and bottom, but was feeling a little peckish and decided to make coffee and a slice of freshy baked bread with some cheese. I took out the gouda, and started to slice it with a cheese slicer. The cheese was a bit hard being in the fridge and all, and I tugged hard with the knife and it finally went through the cheese and .... all the way through the top of my thumb and nail. It was scary a bit.. cause I've cut myself before, but never this deep and now I was standing there and the top of my thumb had come off and was hanging by a thread. Oh.. this didn't feel very good. I put tissue paper on it and held it tight and went to the emergency room. The nurse put some alcohol on it.. and took the tissue off and kept saying, don't look at it.. don't look at it.

Although it had just happened, the top was already missing oxygen and it was decided that it would do no good to give me stitches as I would lose it anyways. So they taped me up, ordered me not to get it wet for at least a week, told me to take extra strength tylenol, stuck me with a needle in my upper right arm for a tetanos shot and sent me on my merry way with some cheery words about how in a year I wouldn't be able to tell that I lost the top of my thumb.

My new baby

Not much here.. just bragging..

She's cute, she's sweet and she's all mine!

for the birds!

Well, I've been out a few times to see the ducks... it's such a long walk. I'm looking to buy myself a bike. I would be able to get fresh air, a bit of exercise and not have to walk 3 miles to get there. I'm just not sure what bike I want. There is a Schwinn at Canadian tires that looks pretty nice, but I have no info on it.. and as far as I can see, it may be just a cheap version that Schwinn makes in huge quantities just for Canadian Tire. I also saw one I like at Walmart's... yes, yes, I know.. the big conglomerate that will eat up all of the stores here... but for me, I just cannot afford a 500$ bike.. so if I can get a really nice one for 200$ I'll be quite happy. They have a cruiser style bike that I like with schimano brakes and speeds. I want to have a basket on it.. so I can bring stuff.. like bread for the birds, my camera, of course.. some water. Both of these bikes are really very cute, the one at Canadian tires is more mountain-type bike and the one at Walmart's is gorgeous.. it is black and white, very retro looking and has white wall tires and fenders!!! I love those... it's really very pretty.

Oh.. and a couple of pics of birds, cause Jago passed by yesterday and said how much he liked birds, so I thought I'd upload a few I took the other day.

This gull is of course doing it's morning gargling!



and including this one, cause I like how from quite a distance, I got quite a sharp detail in his eye!:

out of place but really cool!

I've been really not doing as much photography as I would like. I 've had all the excuses but now is the time to start again. I guess I'm a little afraid of staring back at my monitor and just seeing the mediocrity of the photos... don't take any, don't have to worry about how good you are.

Well, anyways, last week I went into the woods that are really very very close to here
and it was blistering cold. I was only out for about an hour and the whole while my fingertips were very cold.

Here are a few of the photos taken that day:






Yesterday, I went with Carmen to Legal Aid, then the bank, the town hall, to her Lawyer's office then for a coffee.

We decided to stop at the grocery store before finally going home and I'm so glad we did. There is a small park just in front of the grocery store where people like to sit and chat or people watch and I could hear "Allo! Allo! "

To my surprise, up in a cedar tree.. was a beautiful parrot. It was saying Hello. It then continued with some slang.. saying "Salut, Mec, viens-tu?" the equivalent in English of "Hey, dude, you comin'? "

When people laughed it would mimic and laugh also. I asked where it's owner was as it was just sitting there in the tree.. no explanation how it got there. It seems his owner was gone for a coffee with a friend. He obviously wasn't too worried that someone would walk off with his gorgeous bird. I took several pictures ... perhaps 50-60.

Here are a couple.




What a pleasant surprise!

Spring is in the air.. but not quite!

Well, it's been ages since I've posted so I guess it's time to let you know how I am.

Spring is supposedly here, but it's still cold outside. We had a few really nice days last week, but there is still plenty of snow on the grass although the streets are for the most part clean and dry. This morning however, I woke up to streets covered in snow.. the white stuff was falling from the sky very heavily and it was cold. I must admit though, that it was very pretty; it covered up the dirt and grime that marks the melting snow and makes everything look dirty and grungy. Tomorrow, we are expecting more of the same.

On a sad note, one of my girlfriends is going through exactly what I did last year. Her husband has met someone new at his job and now after being together since 21 years.. all of her adult life... he's told her that he no longer finds her exciting and likes her now just as a friend...and he's leaving. Her life is more complicated than mine was too, she has two children.. and her son is just entering puberty. She also has multiple sclerosis. She's been very lucky that it was found early and has only had 2 really bad bouts with the disease in the last 15 years... but I can see this being a really scary time for her.. and now she feels like she's only been a burden all this time. I wish I knew how to fix things for her.. but there is no fixing to do. He doesn't want to get any kind of counselling..and has for the last month been trying to relive his teen years. He, all of a sudden wants several tattoos.. one on his ring finger, a dragon on his chest and some aboriginal tattoos that go from his upper arm to his shoulder. He has been taking his cell phone into his bathtub with him every night. They went out of town on the weekend for their son had some indoor soccer game and he had taken off his wedding ring and put another kind of ring in it's place. She's devastated. I can only hold her and let her know that it will get better. I know she can't see that right now. She's too full of pain.

As much as I would like to be able to fix it, I cannot but I know (through experience) that she will come out of this, like me, happier, stronger ... a better person.

I guess you could say this is the reason why I can say this:

Last time I posted, I talked a bit about a guy I liked and how he was amazing and smart and talented he was. I'm not sure how much I should talk about him, but I must say, I'm almost ready to burst at the seams with joy! He is, of course, still in my life and I couldn't be happier. He treats me with love and respect and is very sweet. Yes, he's a NICE guy. You all remember the phrase: Nice Guys finish last!.. Girls want Bad Boys!.. Well, when your nice guy is smart and funny and exciting.. he doesn't have to be disrespectful or condescending as many bad guys are. He has enough confidence in himself not to have to play that 'macho' crap role. Now, I'm not saying he's a wuss... cause he's far from that. He's just really upfront about who he is and doesn't play mind games with me.

When I'm with him I feel so good... everything seems wonderful. Sometimes, when he isn't around... I worry. Am I good enough? What does he see in me? How can I hold on to this precious person when I have nothing really to offer. They say time heals all wounds... but the scars are the reminder. These are my scars. Not truly believing it is possible to have someone love me ... just for me. I have had my share of being needy with him. I've expressed my doubts...how my fears creep up on me and make me afraid. I'm really comfortable with him though and have felt free to tell him all this crap and let him see me vulnerable and scared and unsure of myself. Here is where amazing comes in. He's very gentle with me and helps me see that I am a person of value. That I'm fun and smart too. He makes me feel pretty and good about myself.
That he enjoys being with me.

We are also very much alike in many ways. We like so much of the same things and we get along so well. We also seem to have a very similar sense of what is important to us and what is not.

There is so much more to this story, that I wish I could tell you all...but at the moment, circumstances are that I cannot. No, it has nothing to do with him being attached or any other bad thing you may be conjuring up. Everything between us is very kosher and perhaps one day in the future I'll be able to reveal all and you will understand. I can say this though. I love him and I'm also 'in love' with him. Everyday is an exciting day for me. When I wake up, the first person I want to talk to is him. When I go to sleep, I want to hear his breath on my neck. Yes, I breathe this person... sometimes it's like he's in my body ... such is how close I feel to him.

Intelligence wise... he's always fun to talk to. He's brilliant and clever and always interesting, never, ever boring. Talent-wise.. he's just so darn talented... I'm simply awed by how talented he is... in so many domains, too. Looks like he got more than his fair share.

Emotionally wise.. he's supportive and tender and funny and incredibly patient.

Character wise.. he's a mensch. Very honest, very upfront but never hurtful. Sometimes when I over complicate what's going on around me about things I shouldn't .. he helps to make it simple and shows me how silly I'm being to worry about such things. He reminds me that I'm strong and helps me be brave. When I reach out into the future and speculate how things might be for us... he lets me know that we are on the same page.. that I'm not being pushy and that we are moving in a similar direction.

and yeah.. he's kind of gorgeous too... :-) and well, I'm not sure if they have invented a word for how crazy and excited we can get together... and maybe that's a good thing.. cause that word would be so 'hot' it would cause the books that contained it to literally burst into flames! lol... :-D

We've known each other a little while now.. but really were only acquaintances until last spring. We started really to get to know each other this fall, and in late November, finally broke down and declared how we were feeling for each other. It's like this mutual thing that just grew and exploded. Now it's been over 5 months and the fireworks are more brilliant and wonderful than ever.

Almost a year ago.. my life felt like it had fallen apart. I was so hurt..and people.. many of you were so supportive and let me know that something better would be just around the corner. I couldn't believe it. I couldn't see through the fog.. I put myself down (and I still have my moments of self-doubt) and I had a hard time to see anything good in my future. Well, it is true.. this is better. I'm much happier, I feel like I can be myself. I don't have to walk around on eggshells not being able to express who I am and what I enjoy.

You guys were here to share in my pain, now you can share in my joy!

Finally, an update

I don't know if anyone still reads this but this is an update on what's happened in the last few months.

My life really has been up and down a lot in the last few months.

Since November of 2005, my dad was extremely sick and was in the hospital 3 times. It was pretty rough to see my dad like that, and on January 29, 2006.. my dad died.
Although I was kind of expecting it, you are never truly prepared. Since last year he had been in the hospital 6 times. Once for a minor stroke and 5 times with pneumonia and lung problems.

My dad was a tough guy.. and if anyone has ever read back through my blog, not at all an easy man. I can say though, that after Sylvain left... he was there for me. I guess it was easier for him to be my dad at that stage, I needed him and we solidified our relationship. I'm glad too...when he left this earth, we had no unfinished business.. no unresolved anything. He is no longer was in pain ... and I no longer have to worry about him living on his own, as he wanted. He didn't want to go to an old age home, to him that meant he would lose all his freedom. So now, he is truly free.

As many of you know, I filed for divorce and the first stage is done and over with.. the financial stuff is all worked out and final. This was a huge thing for me, because I was afraid of losing my house. As small as it is, it is still Home Sweet Home to me.. the roof over my head and the bed under my back at night.

Now, all that is left is the divorce papers, because I don't want to have to wait another year or so before going back to court. I could have had a legal separation and gone that route, but I'm not the type of person that is going to lay around for a year hoping he will come back.. I've mourned and it's over now and I've turned the page.

I've also someone in my life that is amazing, intelligent and incredibly awesome. It's exciting yet scary, but I'm taking it one day at a time.

I'm also finding myself again.. the person I truly am and I like me.. a lot.

The Treasure Chest

Last weekend we had our first concert. We have to arrive 2:30 hours early to have time to get dressed, made up, vocal exercises, sound checks with the orchestra. There is excitement in the air.. our first night out.. how will people like it.. will they like it? will they hate it, fall asleep!

Putting on makeup is quite an ordeal. It's fun though, like playing when your a kid.. You cannot believe the amount of makeup you have to wear. A beige foundation, a deep muddy clay color for cheek-hollows, upper side of brows, sides of the nose, under your chin and jaw..and a bit on the indentation in your chin..
then yellow ochre on both sides of all that. White lines around your eyes, black lines around the black lines.. White foundation.. funnily called "Clown's Sperm" (I wonder how many people will be visiting this blog because they googled those 2 words together. :-) ) You put this white and very thick and sticky base along your nose, the center of your brow, top of you cheeks and tip of chin. Now a brown pencil line on your brows, around your nostrils and around your lips. Fill in the mouth with lipstick quite far inside so it isn't lighter when you open your mouth to sing..and you've almost completed your makeup. When that's done you hold your breath while someone pumps translucent powder from a small rubber pear and vapourizes your entire face. A coat of mascara and you are finally and truly "made up". Actually these are the way the peasants put on their makeup.. the citizens had a cooler palette and darker black around their eyes etc.,

The 3 scenes just flew by.. the audience loved it and when it was over we received a spontaneous standing ovation. Lots of WOO!!! etc., which always make you feel really great.

We did it all over yesterday and I have to say, someone we made more errors than the week before ..but the crowd was even more enthusiastic.. you tend to feed from that.. and it become even better. Some parts were so funny.. there is a place where we are going to make a magic potion.. and we need the someone's tooth.. so when the magician takes the tooth.. he exaggerates.. and even put his foot on the J.F.'s belly to pull it out.. he pulled so hard, J.F. fell down.. but that made it really extremely funny.. i don't know if the crowd thought it was on purpose or not.. but it was quite funny.

Next weekend.. I have 2 concerts .. both out of town. We are all crammed up in a school bus.. but it's fun.. everyone laughs and jokes around.. and usually on the way back.. there is lots of singing. We usually go to the restaurant to decompress.. but it'll be so late when we get back.. we will go directly home and hit the pillow.. cause Saturday it starts all over again.

This weekend I was talking with jinx about writing a song.. and he was giving me ideas.. and was saying how about something about 'winter rain'.. using it as a metaphor for life etc., I thought that was a great idea and sat down to try and write something for it.. but I just kept getting deviated and instead wrote a poem. I tried to pull the winter rain theme into it.. but it was like it didn't want to go there.. so I let it go where it wanted and it created a wonderful pretty story.

I showed it to Jinx, and asked me to record it and he would put it to music. I sent him the recording and he composed the most beautiful and haunting music to accompany it.. it just transforms the poem into a mystical and wonderful story. I'm putting the text here.. but wish I could put the recording with the music as it truly makes it magical. Thank you Jinx! :-) I showed it to Kitten and she told me it gave her goosebumps... and said I must put it on my blog to share with all of you.

so here it is:



I hope you like it


The Treasure box

A maiden through the garden ran
to hide her broken heart;
she ripped it from her aching chest
the pain so strong,
she could not rest
and underneath the rosewood tree
she bent down on one knee.
With trembling hands
she held it close;
one last time, did she,
then put it in a treasure box
and threw away the key.
the winds at once began to stir
whilst she read her magic spell;
the sky drew dark
and then her tears
like silent diamonds fell.
"My heart within this treasure box
safekeep for me, shall thee,
until my true love will be found
you shall not set it free"
for only he with true of heart
can find both box and key.
and with these words.. descended a chill,
embraced her to the bone
it blew through her
and through the box
and turned her into stone.
For many years she knelt there still
beneath the rosewood tree,
in her hands the treasure box,
awaiting it's destiny.
until one day
per chance arrived
a traveller from afar,
he walked a thousand
miles at least
to find the gate ajar
it was a scene
like in a dream
from many a year gone by,
that set him on his journey,
one he just could not deny
it pulled him here
from far away;
the stars were his guide
to this very garden
to find his future bride.
And there beneath the rosewood tree
a beautiful statue on one knee
and in her hands, an offering
a treasure box as he had seen
so many times
whilst he was dreaming,
and in the sky
something gleaming.
a bird swooped down
from the rosewood tree
and in his beak a golden key.
He looked upon the statue's face
his heart, it swelled
to see such grace
and by her beauty,
he was taken aback
and with his fingers,
her lips he traced
then in the lock the key he placed.
In dreams he knew just what to do
to break the solemn spell
"your heart within this treasure box
safe kept from all, lest me
I am your true love from afar
I've come to set you free."
the winds at once began to stir
the box it slowy opened
he placed her heart upon her chest
and soon it beat within her breast
and then the stone to flesh did turn
Her eyes they opened and looked at his
and she saw the love within
she knew he was her destiny
for he had found both box and key
and then she looked upon his face
and on his lips a kiss did place.

If you would like the recorded version with Jinx's amazing musical background,(complete with swelling violins and cellos)
follow this link to Jinx's Blog While you are there, take a look around, he is not only a talented musician, he is an incredible artist!