Mountains and Movies (Morocco post 4 of 5)

I've been busy over the last few days - a hockey game and my first day back at work seemed to take up most of my free time. I've managed to come down with something stomach related, so I fell asleep early last night and slept right through until this morning. Hopefully a good 12 hours rest will cure whatever is going on.

At any rate, from the desert, our group headed out into Ait Benhaddou and the spectacular kasbah there. This location is just outside of Ouarzazate, which was featured on last week's episode of the Amazing Race. It's a region that has been featured in a ton of movies, including Gladiator and Jesus of Nazareth. The Kasbah here is still lived in by a couple of families, although most of the residents have moved into town.

We had dinner that night in the home of a local resident. His other profession is being an extra in all of the movies that take place accross the road, so he wanted to tell us about his movie roles. He was rather shocked that myself and the girl I was rooming with had never been married, and he offered us 10,000 camels in exchange for our hands. (Although part of the bargain was to come and help him make couscous, which I don't think is my idea of fun)

We then travelled into the High Atlas Mountains. Morocco is definitley a country of contrasts, and while the weather was very temperate in the cities, it was downright chilly in the mountains. I was glad I brought a fleece and warm clothes for this portion of the trip. We had spectacular weather for this period - the fall colours were beginning to appear, and we had a clear dry day to enjoy them with.

The Desert (Morocco Post 3 of 5)

Morocco - days 5 through 8 - The next part of the trip saw our group head into the desert after visiting the Imperial Cities in the north. (The complete itinerary for the trip is here if you're interested).

We left Fes and spent the next two days travelling to our Saharan campout. Our travels took us to the northern half of Morocco only, but we still had some serious ground to cover between locations. At the end of the two days, we were greeted with a spectacular Saharan sunset, as well as our travelling companions for the next two days - our camels!

For Christine and Shalini, that is me on the camel! I don't have many pictures of my self, as I don't really like being photographed, but that one came out not too badly. Our camel guides provided the desert headwear from scarves that we had purchased in Fes. To set the record straight - camel riding is not as glamourous as it sounds. Most of us discovered that we're not practiced in camel riding, and came home with a number of new aches and pains. That being said, I'm proud to say that I rode a camel in the Sahara.

After our camel riding adventure, we were off to climb the Todra Gorge. We spent the better part of a day driving to the gorge, and had a whole day to complete the climb. The climb took about 4 1/2 hours, and provided some spectacular scenery. No wonder that the rock climbing scene from Mission Impossible II was filmed here. You can see where it was filmed on the right side of the last photograph. (If you've seen the movie, Tom Cruise opens the movie by rock climbing).

Casa to Rabat to Meknes to Fes (Morocco Post 2 of 5)

The first load of laundry is in the washer, and I need to make a grocery store and post office run shortly, but I thought I'd try and make another post before doing so. This and the preceeding post will be posted in a short time frame, so if you've not read the post before this, have a look at that post too.

The first couple of days of the tour were full of sightseeing! We tracked along the imperial cities in the north, heading out on the train from Casablanca to Rabat. The train system is fairly well developed in Morocco, and most of the trains were on time.

Morocco shows influences from just about everywhere in Europe - the French, Spanish and Portuguese and Romans were all in Morocco, and there is definitley a strong Islamic influence in place as well. Rabat definitley shows the Portuguese influence well, with whitewashed walls and blue doors.





We only had part of the afternoon in Rabat before boarding another train and heading on to Meknes to stay the night. The next morning, we went out sightseeing. Meknes is home to a huge grainery which used to store grain for horses. Apparently 12,000 horses were fed from the grain stored in the vaults here, and it's no wonder considering the size of the place. I caught a taxi up to the graineries with the girl I was rooming with, and I was glad that there was someone else there, as we were the only two people in the place! If this place looks familiar, it was used as part of the set for the "Last Temptation of Christ".

Lunch in Meknes was camel burger! Our tour guide helped us buy camel meat from a butcher in the market, and had it ground up with spices. She then took us to a very small restaurant nearby where they shaped the meat into small balls and grilled them for us. The meat was put into a pita-like pocket for consmption later. Lunch, of course, came with a glass of mint tea.



After lunch, we boarded a mini-bus to take the group to Volubulous, a Roman ruin between Meknes and Fes. We had a private tour of the place, which was largely deserted when we were there. The joys of travelling in off season!







The bus then took us on to Fes. Fes is largely regarded as the cultural capital of Morocco, and they are proud of the cusine and local attractions there. Our group split into smaller groups in order to take advantage of a few local guides. Our guide took us to view the city of Fes, and to the mosaic factory and tannery located inside the city. If the tannery looks familiar, it's been shown on "The Amazing Race" before.



Our dinner that night was a Moroccan feast set in a riad. Riads are traditional accomodation which features rooms set around a central courtyard. This riad had been beautifully done up, and we all had an excellent meal there.

Typical Moroccan cuisine features tagine, cooked in a dish of the same name. It usually is meat accompanied by some vegitables and cooked in a small amount of liquid to make a stew-like consistency. Typical combinations include preserved lemons and chicken, meatballs and tomatoes, and beef and prunes. Its traditionally eaten using bread as a scoop, but fortunatley most restaurants also provide forks. Other dishes include brochettes, which are meat skewers, and couscous, which is a the name of a small grain, similar to polenta, as well as the name of a dish. The dish version of couscous has the grain plus vegitables and meat.

Jet Lag is nasty (Morocco post 1 of 5)

It took me 24 hours to navigate from Casablanca to Calgary, with 3 plane flights and a couple of short stopovers. I got home last night at 2am and was exhausted, but it's now 6 am and I'm wide awake. I've still got that dead tired headache and I'd love a couple hours sleep.

At any rate I thought I'd share a couple of photos of the trip. I started in Casablanca with a couple of days on my own. The tour left pretty much straight away, so I wanted a couple of days to tour Casablanca and do a few things before the tour left. There wasn't all that much to see in Casa, but I managed to get a few mint teas in before leaving the city.

Mint tea is a glorious beverage in Morocco - it's fresh mint leaves with a good shot of green tea and about as much sugar as can be saturated by a tiny cup of water. It's presented in high style - most of the time the tea is poured out of a teapot into a tiny glass cup from a great height. Pouring the tea this way perfumes the room with mint, and the whole thing is lovely to drink.

Casablanca shows lots of evidence of French architecture, even if it is from a different era. One of the photos below is of a hotel that is now in ruins, but the hotel is so iconic that it made the picture list anyways.





The first official day of the tour featured the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca. It's huge. Not just a little big, but huge as in could house St. Pauls or Notre Dame huge. And the grounds are enormous. It's also gorgeous and very modern at the same time. The floors are heated, the roof retracts and the doors are hydraulic. It's a real marvel.

One of the amazing things about being on this trip was that there were only 12 of us, we could basically do what we liked a lot of the time and it was off-season in Morocco, and thus there weren't a lot of people at many of the sites we went to. This means that there aren't a lot of people in my photos. I don't really like people in photos, but in some places I've visited there are too many people to try and get them all out of the shot. We arrived early here - about an hour before the first tour, and basically there were only the 12 of us on the grounds that morning, and we got to take an hour of photos before any of the other tour groups showed up.

Homeward bound

I leave Marrakesh tommorrow to head home. I will miss a lot of things here, but am glad to be on the way home.

I love the fresh mint tea, and the ability to read my book in a cafe. I will miss hearing the call to prayer. I will miss the colours of the souks, with all of the pottery, leather and spices in them.

I have enjoyed the trip, but can't wait to be home again.

Still here....

I finally worked out how to change the keyboard back to an English one! It's amazing what having a few of the characters out of place can do to you. I'm still on holidays and loving every minute of it.

Today we tried a traditional moroccan hammam, which is a type of spa. The treatment was fantastic, and we all are feeling much better (and much cleaner) for having gone to the hammam.

We're on the coast, which is lovely. It's full of fresh fish and seafood, which is a welcome break from the traditional food that we've been having for the last week. I forget how much I miss living in a cosmopolitan city with so many dining options until I leave and my dining options are much more limited. That being said, the food here is wonderful and I'll try and cook some of it when I get home.

Greetings

I think I have the keyboard thing mostly worked out - it's quite slow to type as some of the characters have moved. (and I only just figured out the appostrophe)

I'm on holiday in Morocco, which has been fantastic and wonderful in ways that I didn't expect. I didn't expect to find the food so good (and so far safe). And I didn't expect to find such lovely people - the people on my tour and in the country have been wonderful and intellegent.

More later.....

Officially on holiday

It's been an interesting one - the hotel only gets the Real Madrid channel in English and I'm trying to type on a non-english keyboard. More later....

I am still here...

It's been a week since my major volunteer project was completed, and my schedule is still going strong - Saturday was mostly running around, and a hockey game afterwards. The Flames didn't win, but it was still nice to catch up with friends.

Sunday I went to meet the other bead making enthusiasts in town, and then had my parents over for dinner. I've got a wedding to go to this weekend, and am leaving soon to go on vacation, so I wanted to catch up with them before I left.

The exciting stuff that happened this week - I bought a new western shirt (which always makes me happy) and work is going smoothly, which always helps.

The busy-ness......

The last couple of weeks have been manic - I sometimes take on way too much for commitments and end up paying the price later.

I volunteer (and have volunteered for several years) with some of my favorite people - they're all lovely, but the work that I do sometimes takes a lot of time. And I'm in the middle of it at the moment. But it will be over soon.

At that point, I'm hoping to be able to get back to stitching. At least a little bit. And maybe making some beads.

In other news - tonight's hockey game rocked! Woohoo! The Flames actually scored (and on the power play, double yeah!).

The beginning of a new week

There are days that I wish Sunday would extend on forever - mostly because it goes by way too quickly, and the onset of Monday means that I have to go back to my day to day life.

I managed a quick visit to the zoo in town today - nothing really new, and none of the super-cute baby animals that happen in the spring, but nice to get out all the same.

The rest of the day was spent on a project that has to be done on Thursday. I think my part is almost done, but you never know. I've got the kind of day tomorrow where I honestly don't know where I'll find time for dinner, so I'd better not get too many questions on it. Either that or I'll hide. Actually, hiding doesn't seem like such a bad idea.

In other news, my winning streak seems to be continuing. Of course, now that I've written that down, I will not have a snowball's chance in heck of winning anything for the next millenium. But I did win a gift card at work on Friday - it was an off-site fun afternoon, and there were door prizes, and through some unknown miracle, they pulled my name.

A real post

It's been a crazy, insane week, but the insanity has to be done by Thursday, so I'm almost there.

I saw this on Christine and Patti's blog, and so I've shamelessly ripped it off.

1. FIRST NAME? Karin
2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Not that I know of.
3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? I can't remember - I usually cry at airports, but I haven't really had to leave anyone lately.
4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Yes.
5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? Roast Beef
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I think so - although I know I don't appeal to everyone.
7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? Not a paper one, just this blog
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? I'd only jump in New Zealand - I told myself I would if I ever make it back there.
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Cracklin' Oat Bran (which is not available in Canada)
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Not usually, although I don't have very many pairs that tie.
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? I think so - somedays it takes a lot just to make it through
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Chocolate Mint Chip
14. SHOE SIZE? 6
15. RED OR PINK? Dark Pink
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? I think I have huge thighs
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? I miss my old babysitter.
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Not if they didn't want to.
19. WHAT COLOR PANTS, SHIRT AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? I have a red tank top and blue and white pj pants on - they don't really match, but they are Pj's.
20. LAST THING YOU ATE? A really awesome german dinner with duck breast. I met friends for dinner.
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? The sound of Pirates of the Caribbean from the other room and the dishwasher
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Midnight blue
23. FAVORITE SMELL? Coconut
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My mom
25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Their chin
26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON YOU STOLE THIS FROM? Yes!
27. FAVORITE DRINK? Red wind
28. FAVORITE SPORT? Are there other sports besides Hockey?
29. EYE COLOR? Grey-blue
30. HAT SIZE? Um? Small?
31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Yes - sometimes glasses
32. FAVORITE FOOD? roast chicken
33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy endings
(Where'd #34 go?)
35. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer!!
36. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs
37. FAVORITE DESSERT? Sticky Toffee Pudding
38. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Not sure
39. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Not sure on that too
40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? A Thousand Barrels a Second (Peter Tzerkian)
41. WHAT’S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? One of the statues at Abu Simbel, Egypt
42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? I don't remember
43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? The purr of my kitties, the laughter of friends.
44. ROLLING STONE OR BEATLES? The Beatles
45. THE FURTHEST YOU’VE BEEN FROM HOME? I think it's Alice Springs, Australia
46. WHAT’S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? I'm completely boring and have none.
47. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? About 5 minutes from where I live now
48. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? I borrowed it from Christine and Patti

I'm still here...

And exhausted.

Off to bed.

I thought of you today

I did a personality test at work a while back, and it said that I was the kind of person that needed to think about things for a while before I acted on them. I suspect that this is where this post is coming from...

I thought about a friend of mine today - I was in his favorite city - the one he cheers for in hockey, and a city he loves. He and I haven't been close lately, but we used to be, and I thought about him yesterday as I was in the arena, and as I was in his favorite city. He's had a hard road, but I wish he knew how much I admired him for taking the hard road, the one not travelled. Actually, I wish he knew how much all of us admired him. So for you, D - cheers - from all of your friends.....

I'm back....

I've successfully been to Edmonton and back this weekend - a couple of friends and I saw Delirium by Cirque Du Soleil this weekend. It was their first show mounted for arenas, and it was quite good. All of their other shows have been in stand-alone theatres (i.e. Vegas) or have been under the big top, so it was neat to see the adaptations that they had made to the show to mount it in a sports arena.

It was sprinkling rain this morning, which didn't make the drive back any more fun. I at least got to stop in at the mall, to make sure that I wasn't missing anything new and exciting in the city 3 hours north. There's rumours of an H&M store opening in Alberta sometime in late 2006 or early 2007, and I'll be *all* over that. H&M is by far my favorite store, and considering the nearest store is several thousand miles away from me, it makes up an alarmingly high percentage of my wardrobe. But it's cute, and cheap, and I've been fortunate to buy the clothes in cities that are several seasons ahead of where I live now, so that the clothes are reasonably in style for a while. What more could a girl ask for?

I hadn't actually driven to Edmonton for ages, as I used to fly up when I went regularly. It think the last time I drove myself there was in 1997 for the U2 concert, and I forgot what a terribly boring drive it was. The problem was that the more bored I was, the faster I went, which wasn't really a helpful situation. Fortunatley the highway is mostly straight, and wasn't terribly crowded this weekend, so I could get away with doing that. (And the cops were no where to be seen, which also helped)

I leave on vacation in 4 weeks. It's scary, as I have a large number of things to sort out, and my calendar is hugely packed between now and then. I need advice in a bad way. I've been fortunate enough to have many friends and co-workers that have passed on their photo albums and such, but it's still a very daunting task.

Cheers,
Karin

It's Friday!

And I'm so glad! It's been a short week at work, but even then, it's felt way too long.

I hit the local food and wine festival tonight after work with some friends. We tried a couple of new liquers - a chai tea one, and a pomegranite one. Both were very good. The chai tea liquer was especially good - it's supposed to be out in the stores here shortly, but I guess it hasn't hit the shelves yet. I'll be on the look out for it when it does.

I got a bit of stitching in the other night, and I'm planning on stitching a bit before bed tonight too - Alhambra Garden is getting there slowly... very slowly!

It's almost the weekend.....

This week has been a busy one - I am still trying to recover from my cold of last week, plus I've had something almost everynight this week. Fortunatley, most of the stuff has been fun - I had tickets to the ballet tonight, and I have tickets to Cirque De Soleil on Saturday, which I'm very much looking forward to.

Tonight's ballet was wonderful - the ballet here gives tickets away to younger patrons to get them interested, and so I got tonight's performance for free! (Yeah for free!) It was a wonderful collection of short ballets, and I really enjoyed it.

Stitching Blogger's Question

It's been forever since I answered one of these, but I thought since I remembered this week, I would give it a go:


As we all know, stitching in the winter can really be rough on the hands. What do you do to treat your hands well in the cold winter months? Do you have any suggestions for creams or soaps? Or perhaps a special regimen that you would like to share?

I don't do anything special, but if I notice that my hands are getting really rough, I'll take a teaspoon of sugar and rub it into my hands with a little oil. I learned about this from a friend at university - mostly because you could get little packets of sugar at the cafeteria, and that would be enough to do this type of hand treatment. It was pretty much free and easy - the perfect thing for university students!

Alhambra Update

I realized I hadn't posted an Alhambra update in *forever*, so here it is. This weekend has been terrible for stitching, so I didn't get a lot done.

Good News

I've managed to get a nasty, awful cold over the last couple of days, and it's not making my life happy at the moment. It's a busy time at work, and I've had some volunteer commitments to take care of, so having a nasty head cold in the middle of it hasn't been much fun.

I did manage to get out to the Flames game on Saturday. I took a friend who had given me a pre-season ticket to the game. We had dinner at a restaurant near the arena before hand, and on the way out, we dropped our names in a bucket for a draw for a couple of tickets.

The restaurant called today, and I won the tickets! I have two tickets to a game two weeks from tonight. They're awesome seats - lower bowl and in the middle of the arena. I'm very excited about the whole thing. I can't even remember the last time I won something like this.

I also got taken to lunch today. Last week we had a big push on at work to collect money and items for a major charity in town. One of the contests was to collect the most goods for the drop-in centre. Our group managed to collect quite a number of items, and so the whole group got taken to lunch.

So its been a good day - free lunch and free tickets!

Thanksgiving - round 1

I'm starting out with new beadies, because that's been the most postive part of my day. They're a new colour combination that I was playing with, and I quite like it. I should be working on a scissor fob for a stitching exchange, and I'd like to incorporate some beads, but haven't quite decided how to do it yet - if I put the stitched part first, then beads then a tassle or if I put beads and the stitched part in place of a tassle.

In other news, I've attempted to make a pie crust twice this morning, and am about to give up and go on to pumpkin creme caramel, which doesn't require any crust. I'm a pretty decent baker, and have had good luck with pie crust before, so I wasn't that put out by making one.

The attempt at making pie crusts were a disaster, to put it mildly. I trust Cook's Illstrated implicitly, and pulled out "The Best Recipe" this morning to find a recipe for pie crust. I even had all of the right ingredients - unsalted butter, vegitable shortening, etc. The recipe called for 4-5 tablespoons of cold water, but by the time I'd put about 4 tablespoons in the food processor, it was clear that the crust was going to be glue. I can't even describe what this resembled - it was sticky, gooey, and it was clear that the mass of dough that I had was never going to be pie crust.

So I started again. This time I got about 1 tablespoon of water in before the dough became a ball, so I stopped. I refrigerated the dough, rolled it out, and somehow got it in the pan. It was soft, but at least the dough resembled pie crust. I chilled it again (as per the recipe) and started to bake it. The finished result was somewhere near shortbread, only not quite so nice. Most of it stuck to the foil which was supposed to be shielding it from the baking process. Needless to say, all of it is now in the garbage.

I think I will switch to pumpkin creme caramel. I love the recipe, and so does my Dad, who will also be at dinner tonight. It's easier, and most importantly, there's no crust.

All I have to say is

Go Flames Go!!!

The home opener was fantastic! Way to go Flames!

(if you haven't noticed by now - the Calgary Flames are my favourite hockey team - and they won tonight 2-1 over the Edmonton Oilers!)

I think I owe an explanation...

For my last post.

I take two dance classes on Mondays - back to back. The second one is particularly aerobic, and I've gulped most of the litre of water I bring with me by the time I hit the car on the way home.

So I get in the car on Monday, and start to drive, hitting the a major road in downtown Calgary - one that runs along the south end of downtown. And I see some one in the window of one of the apartments. He's moving rather oddly, and as I get closer, I realized he's got Dance, Dance Revolution on his home TV. And he's really giving it - not gracefully, but he's there nonetheless.

I have to pass by the same route on Tuesdays - about the same time. I notice that the same apartment now has two sheets tacked on to the windows - so Dance, Dance Revolution is no longer visible.....

Thought for the day.

If you *are* going to practice Dance,Dance,Revolution in the comfort of your own home, it would be best not to leave the blinds open in your second floor apartment, especially if it's on a major street.

How did it get to be Wednesday?

It's amazing how fast the week flies by - especially when you're busy! I take dance classes twice a week, plus play sports another, so it's often much later in the week before I even catch my breath.

My digital camera batteries died, and I need to do something about that, because I owe people pictures of beads. I should have some to post here too! I feel like it's been too long since a picture broke up the un-ending stream of text that goes here.

Oh - and I got two exciting things yesterday - one is the 2006 JCS issue! It's finally arrived in Canada. I have several stitching projects to get done in the next little while, and there are lots of great projects in the issue. I need Christmas ornies for the TWBB exchange, plus a fob for the Robin's Nest exchange. I'll have to get cracking on those! I have great plans for the fob, but we will see how everything turns out.

The second exciting thing was the new book "U2 by U2" - it's just drool worthy. I had no idea that it would be this fantastic, and that the memebers of U2 would be that open and honest about their lives. I've loved U2 for a long time and I feel like I've grown up with them to a large extent. I think I "discovered" them in high school sometime, and they've been a part of my life ever since. I went to the last concert of their North American tour in Portland, Oregon last year, and it honestly was one of the highlights of the year. I thought I was going to cry when they played "40".

It's Sunday....

And I'm up watching the bit of Coronation Street that I didn't watch during the week - we get it slightly delayed from the UK, so we're still on New Year's episodes here. I became addicted last summer when the CBC went on strike, and they needed to show something, so they filled the air with at least an hour of Corrie a night, which they replayed from 7am to 1pm on Sundays - it was a fantastic way to do nothing on Sunday morning. They're now on a half hour a night, plus 2 1/2 hours on Sunday - still not a bad way to start the week.

I also picked up this month' editions of both of my favorite cooking magazines - Cuisine at Home and Cook's Country. Cook's Country is put out by the authors of Cook's Illustrated, which is hands down, my favorite cook book ever. Cusine at Home is fantastic, but I get they feeling they put a lot of their best ideas in to their recent weeknight cooking magazine, and are now struggling for ideas. Last month one of the recipes called for a pint of blackberries to make a sauce. I'm all for having a nice meal, but blackberries around here are a fortune, and I'd rather not cook them beyond oblivion when I do get them. The cost of some ingredients is my major complaint with a few cookbooks that I own. For instance, you can now purchase passion fruit here (this is a recent development), but they cost enough that the grocery store cashier gives both you and the fruit funny looks when you check out. The cost of the fruit makes them a very rare treat in my household - not something that I would purchase for a recipe.

Spoilers from Grey's Anatomy - to tell you the truth, there weren't really that many spoilers. Meredeth does make a decision about Finn and Derek, but it's not what I would call a spoiler. (This will make sense when the episode is aired).

I also stitched on Alhambra last night. I finished another page! It's only one of the small corner pages, so it was mostly white space anyways, but it was a page nonetheless. My camera is currently out of batteries, so as soon as I buy some fresh one's, I'll post a piccie. I'm going to have to switch to Christmas ornaments soon, as I will need to get those completed and mail them out in the near future.

More than I bargained for

It turns out that the local Canadian affiliate accidentally aired the wrong episode of Grey's Anatomy last night - we got week two here in addition to week one. The minor gaffe was all over the news this morning, and a couple of people were quite upset about it. I'm quite surprised at the reaction the whole thing is getting - I mean it's only 7 days in advance, and there wasn't a huge amount of shocking stuff in the second episode. (Or maybe there was - I guess it depends on your perspective)

At any rate - it's Friday! I'm so glad the week is done!

Woo hoo - it's premiere time!

Tonight was the Grey's Anatomy premiere - great episode, and I can't wait to find out how this all plays out. It's one of only a few shows that I love on TV - Grey's Anatomy, Law and Order and Amazing Race have to be my favorites. I bought the Season 2 DVD last week, so I can catch up on anything I might have missed last season.

I'm supposed to be keeping a journal for ballet class on Monday. I go to ballet as my form of yoga - something to keep my mind and body in balance. For me, it's not about the end. I've known for a long time that I'm never going to dance professionally, having picked up my dance "career" at the age of 20-something, having left it off at the age of 8. And knowing that allows me a certain amount of freedom in dance class - its now about process, rather than perfection. It's about getting away for the evening, and doing something for myself, rather than about any specific acheivement that I have in mind.

If it's Tuesday it must be.....

Every now and again, I wonder why I take on as much as I do - activities, volunteer, other things. Today's schedule involved an 8 hour work day, 3 hours of meetings outside of work, 2 more hours of volunteer work, and a dance class. I love it all, and I'd hate to give any of it up, but somedays I wonder how I do it - and why I do it. I think volunteering in the community is one of the best things I do - I love it, and love the impact that it makes on people's lives. And I need to exercise - mostly because it keeps me sane, but also because it's a break from sitting on my backside for the other 13 hours a day. So I do it - and at somepoint tonight I'll sleep, and begin it all again tomorrow.

I forgot (duh!)

This is the latest Alhambra garden update - I managed to finish another page of the design this week, and complete a little bit of the next page!

I'm seriously behing in blogging.....

It's been a busy week, and I don't know quite where it's gone. All of the things I got to take a break from over the summer are now back. The break was nice, it left me refreshed, and it made me miss all of the things that I really enjoyed.

Dance classes started up Monday - I remembered how much I loved them, and watching everyone else the first class made me feel not quite so awkward and clumsy. I started dancing last spring, and there were a number of people in the class who had either taken dance before, or just were naturally gifted in dance, and I always felt like the ugly step-child - not quite as pretty or as graceful or as perfect as everyone else. This year's class brings a whole new group of people who are going through the same learning curve that I went through last year, and it's neat to see how far I've progressed.

I went to a friend's henna party last week - she got married last Thursday, and the wedding was out of town, so very few people were actually attending the ceremony. Last week she had everyone over as she had her hands and feet henna'd, and most of us got our hands or feet done a little bit too. I'm now very glad that I did the design on my foot - my skin and hair take dyes and chemicals very well, and a week later, the henna shows no sign of fading. I love the design, but I'm very glad that it's the kind of thing that I can hide easily, and not have to go through 3 or 4 weeks of people asking about it every time I turn around. I was surprised about how little time the henna takes - the young lady who came to do it was obviously accomplished, and she did most people freehand in no time at all.

It was 5 years ago today

I remember the morning well - I had just got out of the shower, and the TV in my room was turned to CNN, just like any other morning. I remember that it was showing pictures of New York - the towers. The first plane had just hit, and the second one was on it's way in. I remember getting a call from my roommate, telling me to turn on the TV, and I knew it was real.

It turned into a strange morning - like anything on a small island, news turned into gossip and then into pure speculation. But I remember how quiet the island was. The flight path for the airport was right over the island, and after living there for more than 2 years, I knew the entire plane schedule by heart. But that week, there weren't any planes, just quiet. The roads were quiet. The island was quiet.

Many of my colleagues didn't make it - I'd never met them, and in ordinary circumstances, I wouldn't know that they'd exist. We all worked for a global company with thousands of employees. But now, they were among the people who'd gone to work early in the towers on Tuesday. They were among those that didn't make it out. The first plane flew into the floors where one of our offices was located.

It doesn't seem possible that 5 years have gone by. 5 years of living a changed life. 5 years of losing an innocence. But it has. And with this, I send my thoughts to those that are left - the rescue workers, the families, the loved ones and those left behind.

It's been a busy week....

The end of ball arrived - we ended up in 6th place in one league and 3rd in the other, which I don't think is too bad. I've played with one team for the last 4 years, and you can definitley see the difference between the first year and the most recent year on that team. I think we came in dead last in the first year, and we came in 3rd this year, so it's been a big improvement.

It's still *so* nice in Calgary - it doesn't feel like fall at all. Usually the weather turns right after labour day, and it starts to feel like fall. This year, it's still high 20's or low 30's.

It's been a long week at work - I was thankful to get some very mindless TV for Friday night. The video company I rent from sent the first disc from Laguna Beach. It was terribly mindless, but didn't require any actual thought, so it was perfect for a Friday night.

Yesterday I got my nails done, and bought some new dance clothes for dance class on Monday. The one studio I took classes from last year didn't really care what you wore to class, so I just wore leggings and a t-shirt most days. The studio was good, but there were so few students in the class that you could tell the instructors were a bit disappointed that there weren't more people there. They didn't offer the Saturday morning class I was in again, so I switched to a studio that's closer. I also like the second studio's philosophy better. For adult clases, I think dance is really about fitness and movement, and not so much about recitals and competition, so I'm glad that I found a studio that's more in line with that view.

Last night was dinner with friends - we try and eat out at different ethnic restaurants each month. When we were first out of university, it was a great way to try some different food, and to have a good meal with the paycheuqes we were just getting used to. Several years on, it's a great way to see old friends and to eat some delicious food. The group has been cancelled over the summer, largely because the organizer just had a new baby. The restaurant was picked to be quite near their house, and so they had us all over for dessert afterwards. It was also a chance to see their new baby, who's now two months old and an absolute delight!

More new beads....

I had a few more beads kicking around that I forgot to photograph. These and a few of the others are up at Etsy. Other than that, it's been a lazy kinda day - I watched Moulin Rouge last night. I hadn't seen it before, and it was quite good. It was definitley a movie where suspension of disbelief was required. I love movies that have great detail in the costumes and in the sets, so I now have lots of great ideas running through my head. Oh - and I made my first ever froggie! He (or she) is super cute. Not perfect, but at least looks like a frog. More pics of him (or her) shortly.

I also love the fact that it's a long weekend, although this weekend signals the end of summer. It's nice to have an extra day tacked on though! I was very busy at work on Friday covering another employee's vacation, but at least I went into it knowing that I wouln't have to work for 3 days.

I think everything is *almost* booked for Morocco! I can't wait - a little over 3 months! I booked the tour yesterday and the flights today. I understand why tours prefer to leave from one city and then end in someplace else - it means you get to do more, and the tour company doesn't have to deal with the expense of getting you back to whereever you're going. But at the same time, it's a pain in the backside to book. At least airlines are letting you book one way tickets now - I remember the days when they weren't so flexible.

New Beads

I got several bead back today from the class last weekend - they were in the kiln when I left, so I picked them up today. The first one is probably the biggest bead I've ever made - it's huge!! (My hands aren't big by any stretch of the imagination, so when you look at the comparison, keep that in mind).

I also finished up a few similar beads, plus a couple of focals while I was up at the studio. - I think they turned out well.

Oh - and I booked my trip to Morocco today!! I leave in November, and I'm *so* exited!

The end of summer

I played ball twice this week - it's now "playoffs" and they're attempting to squeeze a couple more games in before the end of the season. Games this week started a half hour earlier than normal - which means an extra busy evening as I rush home, grab clothes and a mit, scarf something down for supper and head back out to fight traffic. They're a half hour earlier than normal because the sun is going down earlier. It's definitley the end of summer, and what passes for fall here is right around the corner.

Summer in Canada is a funny thing - the nights are really light, which makes it perfect for something like ball, as you can play a full game, and then head out for some beverages. If you're really lucky, you might even get to sit on a patio.

However, there are nights like last night. It's August. It's also 6 degrees celcius and spitting rain. There might be a thunder cloud in the distance somewhere. But apparently it's still ball weather. So we play on. And when we're done, we end up going to 3 different pubs before finding somewhere that we can all sit. Apparently everyone with some sense in them has spent the last 2 hours inside, enjoying their beverage, instead of in a wet field, catching balls (and probably a cold).

Welcome to summer in Canada.

To answer a couple of questions

I got a couple of questions on my comments last post, and I thought I take a crack at answering some of them.

First - what would I do with a focal like this? I've generally seen them made up into pendants - the size of the bead doesn't really lend itself to smaller things. A lot of people also just collect beads, without really having any intention of doing anything with them.

Second - making focals this size. I have to say that I probably wouldn't have made the focal this size if it wasn't for the class. It's tough to get that much glass to stay warm and to keep it's shape. The studio that I usually use also only keeps the kiln on during classes. The process of slow cooling a bead is called annealing, and it involves heating a kiln up, and then letting the beads and the kiln slowly cool. If you cool a bead too quickly, it breaks. Without being able to put beads directly into a hot kiln, the larger focals would break. There are a couple of other ways of cooling smaller beads, but the kiln method is best for larger beads.

On other topics....

I've been annoyed all day by small things - the mosquito bites on my arm, people taking elevators a single floor, people riding bikes in the dark without lights. Maybe tomorrow will get better.....

New Beadie

I'm going to be a total thread hog today - there's three pictures of the bead I made in class this weekend, plus one of the most recent progress on Alhambra Garden.

The three pictures of the bead show both sides, plus a size comparison with my hand - this bead is *big*! Honestly, it's probably the largest bead I've ever made. The instructor calls this one "Galaxy" and I can see why. But I think it turned out well. It's always tough with class beads - inevitably don't do something right in the process of making the bead, and it doesn't look just the way it's supposed to - but its all part of the learning process. I would have liked to shape the bead a bit more - it's pretty close to being on centre, but the ends are slightly crooked.

It's been a while since I posted an Alhambra update too - it's definitley coming, if I can only do this much 4 more times, I should be close to being done :).

The bead class

The bead class is going well! I feel like I'm learning a lot, and we're making cool beads. The instructor has some really fantastic samples, and overall, I'm pretty happy about the whole thing. My first beads come out of the kiln tomorrow, and we'll see what they look like then. This weekend we're learning something that looks like the bead in the second row of her website, on the far left.

The frustrating thing about classes is that you want to learn lots of technique, but your first try on a bead doesn't always look quite right. It's always kind of frustrating to have someone ask you what your learnt, and only have a handful of mis-shapen wonkies to look at.

I'll post piccies after I get home tomorrow.

Day two....

I'm still finishing the reconciliation from yesterday, and it seems to be going better. It's always a long haul, and I know it's only another couple of weeks before there's more to do.

I'm terribly excited about the weekend - I have a full two day torch class! I haven't even been near glass or a torch for 2 weeks with everything going on, so I'm excited to spend a couple full days doing nothing but watching glass melt. I think there will be some cool things come out of this - the instructor is from the states, and is quite well known, so I'm looking forward to learning some new stuff. I think the outline for the class involves sawing through glass to reveal different layers and playing with different metals within the beads.

I know I haven't blogged in forever.....

For a long while the blogging muse wasn't there. But I think it's back.

I'm reconciling volunteer stuff tonight. And it's not pretty. Somedays I wonder how hard it is to code *all* of the items on one spreadsheet to one account. Just one. Not two different accounts.

I know Calgary labour is scarce, and accountants are like gold in this city. But at the same time - this isn't hard. Code everything on one spreadsheet to one account, everything on another to somewhere else. I'm going to scream soon.

I'm making good progress on Alhambra - I should have piccies soon.

Alhambra Garden Update

I've been stitching and beading lots lately, and I finally have something to show for it. I finished one whole chart page on Alhambra Garden, and I still like the project!

The SBQ of the week

The Stitching Blogger Question of the week is:

For those of you who use hand or over-dyed floss, how do you store it?

I use "Floss-away" bags - the mini-ziplock kind. I have silk overdyed floss on one ring, and cottons on another, sorted by manufacture. It seems to be working so far!

Urban camouflage

I ran across this picture yesterday when I was sorting through some of my vacation pictures, and thought he'd be a great addition to the blog. The picture was taken in a parking lot in Mexico, when I was on vacation there in March. The little guy obviously had the right idea, as he's a perfect blend of grey and the bright yellow used to paint the meridians.

Yeah for Holidays

Today is a bank holiday in Canada - and I'm celebrating by doing nothing. Well, actually, I'm stitching and watching Law & Order on DVD, but besides that, I'm doing nothing. I was in a stitching slump earlier in the year, and have almost nothing for Christmas Ornaments! I finished one today, and am starting work on another. (I would post piccies, but they're likely to be used for an exchange, so I'll keep everyone in suspense for a while).

When did adulthood hit?

It's been a tough week at work - lots of not so good stuff going on. I've fortunatley managed to stay out of most of it, but it hasn't left me in the best mood.

All I want to do is have a nice dinner, a glass of wine, and maybe a treat - ice cream would be nice. Oh - and a chick flick - something not too taxing on the brain.

I get a phone call from some friends tonight - they want me to go to the bar. There's a band playing there that I actually quite like, and considering the week I've had, a little alcohol wouldn't hurt either.

But I'm honestly not in the mood - I'm tired, and the prospect of hanging out with in a loud and smoky bar doesn't really thrill me. And it's always just stupid to get a cab at the end of the night - average wait times on a Friday or Saturday night can be at least a couple of hours because the city is so busy.

It struck me as I was trying to decline the invite to the bar that somewhere in the last few years, I became an adult. The prospect of heading to a bar on a Friday or Saturday night used to thrill me. In university, it didn't even have to be Friday or Saturday - any night there was some thing going on was an excuse to get out and party. But not anymore - I've become a fan of quality over quanitity in alcohol, and the prospect of washing smoke out of my hair at the end of the night isn't thrilling either.

So tonight, I'll relish being an adult.

Mail Call

I got the bestest thing in the mail yesterday - a wonderful present - the pattern to Gaia! It's so pretty, and I can't wait to start on it. I'm still working on Pyra, and have made a few more rows progress, but it's sometimes slow going. I *love* all of the beads though - they are just gorgeous on their own. I've been beading for years, and I never realized why Delica's were worth it until I saw them worked up, and then it's obvious. The colours are gorgeous, and they just catch the light.

Oh - and kudos to Stephanie for the prezzie!! Thanks again!!

I never understand....

I'm constantly in awe of how people manage through life without a clue. I'm taking an aerobic dance class that starts this weekend - it's at a studio that a friend of mine dances at, and its kind of a filler class until my dance classes start in earnest this fall. I really liked the weight I lost this spring and I'd like to keep it up, but time spent on a treadmill/elliptical trainer gets old fast. So I signed up for a dance class.

So I signed up, and I emailed to find out what I should wear - I figured that workout wear was good, but footwear was a bit of a mystery to me. I know some places are picky about footwear, so I thought I'd ask. And all I got back was "that will be fine". Umm...ok.... so *what* exactly is fine - sneakers? barefeet? ballet shoes?

Sigh....

The week that was..

It's been quite a week - I played softball twice this week, and the Monday night game was eventful, if nothing else. I'm playing with people I don't really know all that well on Mondays, and so it's a little harder to use the powers of moral persuasion to convince them to do things.

At any rate, there was a disputed call during the 3rd inning. The opposing team's third base thought he heard a call one way, and got very upset when everyone else thought the opposite. He stormed off the field, but not before he threw the softball *at* our player and towards the bench.

I like to play sports - it gets me out of the house and acts as a distraction from the twenty other things that are either blowing up or out of my control. But I never understand why some people take life so seriously. Is a bad call in one inning of a rec ball game going to so drastically affect your life that you feel the need to throw things at other people? Give me a break - it's freaking *rec* ball - as far as I know, rec leagues have never created world peace, fed starving people or created a ceasefire in a country where there is strife. So why stress yourself out about it.

*****************************

In other news, the media in Canada has been filled with reports of how badly stranded citizens in Lebanon are being treated. One person even complained that they didn't have a pillow to use at the embassy when they showed up to be rescued.

I'm not totally sure what to make of this one - I don't think I want to pay for the kind of "stand-by" facilities that some are suggesting that the Canadian government should have had in place. To move potentially tens of thousands of people out of a country in war conditions in a day or two would require a large contingent of infrastructure, and I'm just not sure that it's something I want tax money spent on. And I've spent plenty of time travelling, and sometimes I have to wait, and sometimes the facilities aren't to my liking. I've spent several hours asleep on various airport floors, and while it isn't my preference, I know that it's all part of travelling. And what ever people went through in Lebanon, it's all part of being rescued.

That, and I think there's a huge difference between rescuing the "residents" of your country and rescuing the "citizens" of your country. It's not unusual to have citizenship in two or three countries these days, and Canada's never been opposed to having people with dual citizenship. However, if you're going to want to to be rescued out of your place of ordinary residence by any or all of the countries that you have citizensip in - well.... that one might require a re-think.


The SBQ (that I have't got around to answering) this week was:

Many of us have a few pairs of embroidery scissors and some even have a “collection”. How many pairs of scissors do you have? Feel free to share a photo of your favorite pair or pairs with us!

My scissor collection is below, and of course, most of them have sparklie fobs attached. The blue one is a fob from ages ago - the middle bead is soapstone, and I don't even know what the rest are. But it's on my usual pair of scissors, and it's the one I usually reach for. The bottom pair of scissors has a "scissor bracelet" on it - mostly comprised of early versions of my beads. I like the bracelet, and the attached cap for the scissors, and it's always neat to look back on something and realize how far you've come. The other two pairs have my lampworked beads on them as well - with various combinations of crystals and bali silver.









I've also decided to try and up my "Random Acts of Kindness" to once a week - it might be something small, and it might not be for someone on the internet, but I thought it would be a good thing to remember to do something nice for someone else at least once a week. I'll be sending a package out this week, but as a teaser, I thought I'd offer this:

A couple more progress pictures

I haven't felt like writing much lately - life just seems to be filled with uninteresting details that don't make for very good blogging. I did get a bead order in this week, and I started on Pyra this week. What you see in the piccie is her hair, and she'll soon have the start of a forehead. I've also got another progress pic of Alhambra garden - I love looking back at my progress pics to see how far I've come. When you're in the middle of a huge project, it's nice to see that there is progress being made!

The un-rat race

I met friends for lunch today - one of whom is taking a break from working, and the others of us readily admitted that we're planning to downshift rather early in our working lives. Maybe not necessarily retire early, but likely shift down to a less stressful existence. All of us are the kind of people who are perceived to have our lives together - have good jobs, volunteer, and are generally productive members of society.

It struck me that none of us really wanted to pursue the traditional version of success as none of us were really interested in making a gazillion dollars and working 80 hours a week. And I know many other people who are taking breaks along their career, or who have taken on less stressful positions in order to do what was right for themselves and their families.

I'm not totally sure if this is a local phenomenon - the local economy is booming, and it's pretty easy to be complacent at the moment - or if this is a generational thing. But I'll be very curious as to what the next 15 or 20 years looks like in the working world.

New Bracelet

It's actually an old bracelet, but I remade the centre bead this weekend, so I thought I'd share. It's Mostly italian glass - there's very few pinks that are made in italian glass, so the light pink and the bright pink are pretty much all that's available. The clear pink beads are Japanese glass, which is so soft that I have a hard time doing anything with it, and I generally don't turn my torch up very high. I added some crystals and some sterling silver beads to make the whole thing pretty!

Finally catching up...

I finally feel semi-human again - it's been a heck of a two or three week stretch. It's been really busy at work, and I've been busy with volunteer work. Living next to the greatest outdoor show on earth means that I don't sleep alot. It's too noisy to keep the windows open and too hot not to have the windows open during most of the festival. The combination of not sleeping and being really busy and not eating well left me completely out of sorts by the end of last week, and I finally feel like myself again.

So tonight I did laundry, and cleaned, and threw out spoiled food and a few other things. And I finally got Suzemo's scissor fob packed up and ready to go. I drew names for the fob a while back, and I'd like to run another drawing soon, but I haven't decided whether to do a pendant, scissor fob or something else. If you have an opinion and want to leave me a comment, by all means!

Today's Stitching Blogger Question:

When you get a project professionally framed do you get glass inserted into the frame? Why or why not?

I've had a few things framed - mostly gifts, and I like the look that glass gives the finished piece. To me, not putting glass on things doesn't look right, but hey, thay's me!

Oh - and I realized my mistake on Alhambra Garden - all the green in the steps is now back to the proper shade of purple.

Alhambra Garden Progress Pic

I know I haven't written much - I've been really busy, and a few other things have taken over my life lately.

At any rate, I thought I'd share a piccie of Alhambra Garden - I'm going to try and sneak in another hour on it this morning.

Sunday Photo Gallery

I haven't shared photos of new beadies for a while, so I thought that this morning would be a good chance to do so. I plan on putting some up on Etsy later in the week, so if you're interested, check back.

The strange things that happen

It's Stampede. And there are 2 1/2 days left.

So... I'm at a bar at lunch today (and I'm completely sober) - and in walks one of the gorgeous Anheuser-Bush Clydesdales and a dalmation dog. Into the bar. A real, live clydesdale horse weighing several tonnes - and his dog pal stroll into the middle of the bar.

I should mention that the bar in question is actually a large tent in a parking lot that doubles as a very popular bar, so the tent is slightly more feasable for clydesdale entry than most bars. But it is located in a large downtown core, and there really isn't a good way of getting the horse between where he is normally stationed and this bar without walking (or riding) the horse through about 15 city blocks.

Ahh...Stampede.

*** Just a quick note *** for anyone thinking of trying the scissor fobs, the plastic coated wire is an important step in the process - fishing line and regular wire won't work, even though the plastic coated wire looks like a combination of the two things. You're looking for either Beadalon or Tigertail to make the fobs.

The scissor fob question....

I forgot what an all encompasing event stampede is - I'm dead tired - to the point where everything is just generally sore and my body is cranky with me.

So I thought I'd stick with an easy one tonight - Lelia asked how scissor fobs are strung.

You'll need plastic coated jewellery wire, a couple of metal crimp beads to make up an actual fob - plus a tassle (or charm) for one end, some beads for the middle, and a lobster claw clasp for the other. Any large crafty store sells the wire, crimps and clasps - the wire is generally known as tigertail or beadalon. The instructions to string the whole thing together are here - you have to pretend that the little tag thingie in the diagram is actually a tassle, but I'm sure that the idea is there.

You want something that looks like [clasp][crimp][beadsbeadsbeadsbeadsbeads][crimp][tassletassletassle] at the end of it all. The picture several posts down gives a better idea - the little silver metal beads on the very outside of the glass beads are the crimp beads.

Hope this helps,

The Sunday Night Files

First up this evening - the scissor fob. I drew names out of a little bowl, and Suz is the fob winner! I've enjoyed reading everyone's comments in the last week, and hope to do offer up something else in the near future.

In other news, could someone please explain to me what would posess a mother to take a *newborn* to a large fair? I'm not talking about a several month old baby - the two very tiny babies I saw today were likely under a week, and one woman admitted that her baby was only 5 days old! I should mention that Stampede today was terribly hot today, and certainly hot enough that I was damp and needed a drink by the time I walked across the grounds. It defintitley wasn't small child weather, and certainly not small baby weather. And it's not like a fair would be the best place to be at the best of times - it's crowded and busy and a lot of other things that (IMHO) aren't really 5-day old newborn material.

I shouldn't be surprised really - people do things at Stampede that they would never get away with at any other time of year. Last year, I was on my way home from the park and noticed that enterprising young neighbours decided to have a rock concert on the top of a large delivery truck - in their front garden! It was, at the very least, a novel approach to marketing their band.

New Beads...

I actually got to make beads yesterday - and I'm pretty happy with a couple of the things that came out - these ones are some of my favorites.

Also, just a quick plug for the scissor fob drawing a couple of posts down. I'll pull names after 6pm tomorrow night, so if you're interested, drop me a comment on last weekends post.

The latest....

This is the latest in the bead creations - a lariat style necklace.

And so it begins.....

Welcome to the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth. The first set of fireworks have just started to go off, and there will be many more in the 10 days to come

Today marks the unofficial start to the Calgary Stampede - tomorrow is the big parade and the official start to the Stampede. I actually have tomorrow off work because fighting a quarter million people to get to work is apparently considered cruel and unusual punishment, and well, making employees show up to work on Friday afternoon only is also apparently considered cruel and unusual as well.

The next 10 days mark some of fashion highlights and lowlights of the year. Last year (and I kid you not) - the highlight had to have been a full Stormtrouper costume at 7am. I was waiting at the train platform, and a gentleman got off with with a complete costume. I figured it must have been custom made, because it fit too perfectly not to have been. The lowlights - well.... there were many - tutus, fishnets, and other unmentionables. One of my co-workers commented that it's Mardi Gras with a western theme.

Stripping Away the Layers

I'm on a weight-loss kick again, which happens every so often, and continues until I get busy with something else. I managed to lose about 10 pounds this spring, thanks mostly to an Irish dance class. The instructor was very good, but also very demanding, and for someone who'd never really even seen Irish dance before (save for a couple of Riverdance showings over 5 years ago), the choreography was tough. Which mean that I actually went! To every class - except the one that I was out of town for. It helped that the class was Monday, and I generally didn't develop other things to do, or have plans that early in the week.

The 10 pounds was put on over the last couple of years, and for most of the pounds, I can remember why they were added to my weight in the first place. At least a couple of the pounds were from the stress of a bad boss, a couple more for a bad job, and a few more beyond that for break-ups and bad relationships. I feel like I'm through most of the crazy stuff - my current job and boss appear to be mostly sane, and I'm in a much better place in my personal life. It's kind of nice to be finally rid of the pounds, as well as the memories associated with them.

Rant of the Week

I haven't had a good rant on here for a while, so grab a cup of tea and prepare yourself. I've had occasion to witness people lacking so terribly much common sense over the last couple of days, and I don't think I can hold it in any longer.

Rant #1 - I frequent a large Canadian coffee shop - the one named after a hockey player. It sells coffee, tea, and a limited variety of baked goods - and they have pretty much the same baked goods every week. They have bagels, donuts, cookies and a few other things, but really, there aren't a lot of suprises when you show up. There is always a monster line at the one near me - like 30 or 40 people deep. So why, oh, why do people stand in the line, but wait until they are actually at the counter to make up their mind as to what they are going to have? It's not like any of this is a surprise. And it's not like any of this changes drastically from week to week. And the one near me is generally well stocked, so it's not like you have to wait until you get up to the counter to see what they have left. Sigh.....

Rant #2 - I work out at a large fitness facility - pool, gyms, aerobic area - all of the good stuff. Change rooms are double sided - entry to the gyms and aerobics area (and the common area) on one side, entry to the pool on the other side. I'll admit that I'm not all that well versed on gym change rooms, but this seems like a pretty common layout. Knowing that the change rooms are going to be shared among all users of the facility, why do the swimmers choose the change area closest to the gyms? They have to drag their wet bodies, swimsuit and whatever *all* the way through the change room, and then enter what should be the least wet area - the row of lockers closest to the gyms. After they've finished dripping all over the floor (yuck), they usually put their swimsuit and towel on the row of benches (also yuck
). You'd think that common sense would, at some point, prevail, and everyone would clue into the fact that there are lockers closer to the pool.


Sigh......

A giveaway!!

I've decided to run a little giveaway!! I was playing around with some beads yesterday, and came up with the scissor fob that's beside the post, and thought it might be fun to give it away to someone I know (or at least that reads the blog). So if you're interested, just comment below (preferably with either an email or a blog name, so I can contact you), and I'll draw a name next Sunday to pick a lucky winner. The fob has a lampworked focal, a couple of lampworked spacers, and some crystal and silver beads to compliment the whole thing.

If you're lurking or stumbled across the blog by accident, and are interested in the scissor fob, by all means leave me a comment :).

If you want to be sure of getting one of the fobs, or if turquoise isn't your thing, there are a couple of others for sale here.

Other Sunday stuff - I actually got to stitch this morning, so the other pic is my progress on Alhambra Garden. It's coming along quite well - I can't wait to start beading it!! The centre space is all beaded, but I'm using q-snaps and don't want to crush the poor thing, so it's currently void of any colour.

Happy Canada Day!

It's July first, meaning we get a bit of a break on our taxes - the government here has decided to reduce GST (sales tax) by 1%. I'm still trying to get a new credit card out of my bank (long story), so I probably won't go wild this weekend with purchases. July 1st is also Canada's birthday - so happy 139th!!

I did list a couple of sets of stitch markers over at Etsy, and may have some more to list later on. It's been to hot to sit in front of a torch this week, so I haven't done a huge amount, but I thought I'd try and get a few things done.