I can haz interweb?

I just set up our wireless internet sandwich, and we're broadcasting live about the place, with passwords and everything!
J is on the web on the laptop while sitting on the couch.
I am on too, at the same time.
Ooh lala!
I feel so posh.
I've wanted wireless net for ages...now we can actually put the computer somewhere else in the house and not just where you can run a cable to it. We've saved up and had it for a bit, but just got around to setting it up.
Squeeeee!

Sun sun sun here it comes...

Why, say now. It's -22, -32 with the wind.
That's positively balmy out compared to the last few days.

Here comes the sun and I say....
It's alright....


Hurray for sunlight :)

Blinky withdrawal

I've taken down all the Christmas stuff...the house seems so empty.
I kept putting it off, but it was getting rather silly so we dechristmasized the place and now it's just plain old normal again.

Oh well...
*sniff*

Oh no not I! I will survive!

Well, after having the car towed to an outdoor garage (it is illegal to tow to a heated one apparently) and letting it sit an hour or so out of the wind, the wheels loosened up enough to spin of their own accord, so it could be driven to a mall with heated underground parking and a theater. Mucho thanks to my amazing friend who crawled form her cozy apartment on a day off to drive me to the mall to meet J there and then even hung out with our cranky asses for supper and a movie after (I am Legend is a good film BTW - check it out. Will Smith is a scientist and everything...). With 4 hours in a warm garage, with a bit of poking and driving around the place, the snow packed in and around and inside our wheels finally melted off, so our wheels won't refreeze again.

That was truly weird. I've never known anyone else who has had their wheels freeze up ever. (and no...do *not* tell me about how ebrakes freeze up in the winter. Yes I *know*. About 5000 people asked me if that was the problem yesterday. it wasn't. (seriously Trent...don't or I *will* drive to Tumbler and whop your ass... :) )). Our wheels were so packed with snow from driving thru the alley after the blizzard to park it just all froze up in a big ice ball, what with it being colder than space outside and all. And I'd rather not do all that again...and I really didn't do much. Poor J spent most of his day waiting here or there...1 1/2 hours in Superstore waiting for the wheels to thaw a bit to get to a "real" heated garage...we just met him there later. He now knows how many paces it is to go across the back of Superstore, how many DVDs there are and many other useless things about it from his time there. He hates shopping to begin with, so he was really glad to get out of there and get to...well...another mall - but at least it was different one with other things to look at (and me). And he said it is amazing how many people walk around stores with their mouths open while looking at things...I'm going to watch for it when we get groceries next...

Today is a *bit* warmer...only -33 with less wind...so just over -40. I donned my snow gear and goggles and came in to work today. The car drove fine for J and I do actually have important meetings today, so I'm out in the frozen world. It truly is insane how it gets here each January.

Spring just can't come soon enough...

I *said* it was cold

So yeah...J is stuck at work because the WHEELS OF OUR CAR ARE FROZEN AND WILL NOT TURN.
Yes, they are frozen. After driving through an alley of snow the wheels are indeed frozen...most likely the brakes are just full of snow and iced up into big useless round bricks.
I SAID it was too cold!
Stupidity...
And the poor man has to sit at work and wait for a tow for the car to get it to a garage somewhere to warm up and melt off.
We have no garage...so hopefully he's not stuck at work all night...as he has to stay with the car for when they can come get it.
Retarded...even if we had it towed home it would freeze up again. It needs a garage overnight to all melt off. And I'm miserable phone company...I can't talk on teh phone at the best of times, and in a crisis, I'm useless company.

Annoying. After bring up since 4:15 AM he just wants to come home to a warm house, and relax. Maybe watch a movie or something...poor guy.

Yup. It's official. I've reached the I hate winter point again...

Frozen LOLscience blogging

Reader's Poll - how silly am I really?

It is -38. With the windchill it is -51.

So...naturally, today I'm working from home.
And this may sound crazy, but I actually had to bicker a bit with my supervisor as to why I should be able to stay home to work on some computer and data work I was going to do on my work computer today. If I lived out of town it would be OK for some reason, but being in town...well everyone *else* is coming in, so why not me? Bah. I'm still not sure if they'll make me take a sick day or holiday day or not...but frankly I don't care. It's minus fifty one freaking degrees...and it will get colder as the day goes on before warming up overnight. I have to walk 15 minutes in this and then wait for a bus, which may or may not be running to get to work, to do things I can easily do at home today on the computer. And I honestly am working hard here at home (OK I'm taking a coffee break now). I actually am getting more done, strangely enough, as there's noone bugging me.
As far as I'm concerned, -40 is my "I'm not going in to work unless I have something critical to do" temperature.
If I could die going in to work, and my car (even while plugged in) barely started with the tires feeling slightly squared when J went to work...well, I'm staying home. And I really defy them saying I shouldn't.

Sometimes we get so caught up in working and doing things that we forget that maybe when it's so cold you could die...you should just take the day off. I mean in BC and Ontario if it snows they get a snow day. What does a blizzard with arctic temperatures the next morning fall under? It's gotta be worth something.

It's warmer here at home..
I've got coffee and work and a cat on my lap. And honestly - I have nothing in the lab planned that couldn't be postponed for a day.

So - opinion poll? Do you readers think I'm being whiney and should have gone into work, or is a cold/snow day justifiable?

Anyone up for a winter expedition?

46%

Come on...what could possibly go wrong?

It's the first big blizzard of winter. Many inches of snow and stupidly cold.
You've got to keep yourself amused somehow...

Too posh to make sense

OK...it's' been bugging me all day and I'm too lazy to look it up.
I need to know: How many pounds are in a stone?

I keep hearing the british researcher down the hall exclaim about how her husband msut have put on a stone over the holidays. Like it's bad.
Now that word is bouncing about in my head (mostly as I have no idea what it means...*ahem*) and I must know...what stone? Was it once based on a stone? Was it a *shiny* stone? A valuable one at least?
Did it have teeth?
What?
Is it just a polite way of making a weight seem smaller than it is?
I imagine it's linked to what some King did once with a rock or weighed or threw at someone before he died...am I getting warmer?

At least try the METRIC people.
Come on. Kilos maybe?
A whiffin of a tonne?
Sheesh!




But, Seriously tho. Anyone?
I'm dead curious...

Swinging hipster

I'm much happier today I must say.

It will be a long day, but since J is working nights (his last one!) I'm staying late at work to do some genetic alignment and analysis I've been meaning to get to on a project.
Swinging hipster that I am...friday nights are the night to cut loose for me!

Actually...tomorrow I have to help out for a CFCR fundraiser and on sunday is the Alzheimer's walk, so I don't feel too frumpy doing geeky science work on a friday night.
OK, just a little...

Bloody Hell

Just to warn you, I'm in a right foul mood.
I've just learned that I spent all f*cking week working and struggling on a project where most of my work was unnecessary as the info I *really* needed to do something useful was with someone else...who never bothered to give it to me, despite asking me to do this for them before they buggered off to leave me to it with no way of contacting them for info or help. I've tried to do many things I've never done before with no information or help, and noone can be bothered to help me, despite me *always* making a point of helping them.

And I'm tired.
And it's still retardedly cold.
AND my husband is on nights and I haven't seen him in days (except asleep)...

Bloody hell I'm feeling rather c*ntish today.
Talk amongst yourselves. I've a start of a headache so I'm off for some coffee. Maybe that will cheer my ass up...

*mumble mumble*

Extreme living

It's a positively warm and sunny day out...only -35 with the wind.
Think I'll go for a swim...there's a tiny part of the river that isn't frozen solid yet...how lovely.

Your legs should not freeze pins and needles solid while waiting for the bus is all I'm saying. It's just not polite for the world to be so chilly unless it's a weekend. Then I could just stay in and drink tea and watch movies all day.

Working when it's this cold is rather silly...I'm just not that important I'm afraid! It's odd how you get used to the extreme cold and life goes on regardless. If we were smarter we'd all declare it a stay home day.

I'd be up for it.
Who's with me?

Hamsters ahoy

nataliedee.com

I like Natalie Dee.
She's so very oooodd. In a good way.
Really!


nataliedee.com

Forget Me Not

On a more edifying note...
My family and I are helping raise money for the Alzheimer's Society. If you'd like to donate to the fundraising walk my family and I are involved in this weekend, go here.
Search for my name (my real one) to get to my pledge page and have at it my good peeps.
If you don't know me and still feel generous...well, hey! Feel free to donate anonymously to the Alzheimer's Society of Saskatchewan. It supports research and helps families cope with how Alzheimer's Disease slowly takes our loved ones from us...

We're walking for our Nana and remembering our happy times with her...for her...

Yeeehaw! Welcome to Saskatchewan!

Ah yes...we were all gripped with concern watching the news a few days ago as the city and province workers were hunting for a man caught in an overturned vehicle outside the city, caught in -30 weather and needing rescue before he froze during a snowstorm.
"Well hurray!" we thought as he was rescued after many hours of searching and assistance form emergency workers. After all, he could have frozen to death! What a lucky man!

And as the days go by and we learn more about his amazing rescue we do learn that it is indeed a miracle he was rescued before he froze to death.

Why?

Well, because he was wearing nothing but a pair of pants.
Yessir. Middle of a prairie winter and the man is clad in nothing but jeans. No shirt. No shoes. Nada.

Oh, just wait - it gets better.

The reason he couldn't tell rescue workers where he was in the storm was because he honestly didn't know.

Why?
Well, he wasn't just lost in a storm...he REALLY didn't know. You see, he didn't drive much as he's had a suspended license for 10 years. BUT, really, the main reason that this gleaming example of gentlmanly charm was lost was because he had gotten blind drunk that afternoon and had an argument with his neighbor, after which he stormed out to a vehicle (wearing only pants) in the middle of a snowstorm and proceeded to drive off in a drunken rage until he passed out at the wheel...

Oh yes.

And the vehicle swerved off the road and rolled over. This man woke up a few hours later upside down in the ditch, in freezing weather (wearing only pants), finding he was freezing to death...*somewhere*.
He frantically called for help to the emergency number and asked for rescue - by some stroke of luck, he had a cell phone. Emergency crews sent out a wide search all over the area around the city...putting their own lives at risk, systematically checking all the nearby roads and grid roads (and believe me...in this province, that's a *lot* of road), as the idiot could see no landmarks or signs of interest to tell where he was. He couldn't even go around the car to *look* for possible landmarks or signs, as...you guessed it - no *shoes*. Phone workers helped him cannabilize his vehicle for insulation to try and keep his drunken ass from freezing to death until he was finally rescued before he succumbed to the cold.

Now this, to me, would be something to put me off drinking forever and be utterly humiliated. Not this guy. He was on local radio being interviewed about it, joking like it was some Jerry Springer episode. His wife was interviewed too. These idiots are amused about what he did -think it was fine and enjoying their bit of fame. After all - noone got hurt!

sigh

I know that when I tell this story, people will giggle (wearing only pants?)...as on the prairies, well, sometimes we get the wierdos. I *would* just like to say that there are a lot of us here still worth getting to know...most of us can be quite *nice* actually.
Except for No Pants Guy...He's a *special* kind of something - I personally wish I could nominate him for the Darwin award, except he survived.
At least he's going to have to pay for all the costs of his rescue...though, not surprisingly, *he* doesn't think he should have to.

Ah. I can just feel the hometown pride swelling deep within me.
Or maybe it's that second taco I had for supper...

I'm a big wimp

I've been back at working out this week.

Ow.

I suppose stopping for December and the start of January was not the best idea.
Soon I'll adjust again, but man...I used to be able to do all this (more actually) and *not* ache all over like an old lady!
I've signed up for a Alzheimer's Walk on Jan 27. Luckily it's a walk and not a run...as I don't think I could do the whole thing running...but it's given me the kick in the butt to get back at being healthy again. I can barely handle 30 minutes of cardio every other day and exercise ball weight training on the other days. I used to do more than this without batting an eye...

If only there was a way I could work out in my sleep and not know it...

Eeeeeexcellent

So guess who is producing the upcoming Coldplay album?
Just guess...go on.

Brian Eno.

OH.

Yeah.

Happy times for me...but I must wait til May.
Patience is a virtue right?

Life is Good

I just found out that my friend Pete and his lovely wife Deanna just had a cute little (well OK 10 lb 10 oz) baby boy Nicholas late sunday night.
YAY!
Mom and the baby a re doing great and the twins are excited at this new squeaky little guy that's come home to be with them.
Congratulations Pete.
That is WONDERFUL :)
I am so very happy for you.

Reaching for that thing

I've been watching a lot of Harvey Birdman lately.
I borrowed season 3 from a friend and I'm once again walking about with quotes like "To die, to sleep. To sleep, perchance to dream. Aye, there's the rub. Ha ha!...rub" in my head.
I just discovered they're making a Harvey Birdman game for the Playstation and Wii. I have no idea what it could possibly be about, and unfortunately Steven Colbert is the only person not voicing their character in the game (probably tired of people asking him to go "Haha!" all the time). Still... I could do with trying it out. If it's anywhere half as wierd as the show, I'm in.
(maybe you get to steal the crrrrrrrest on Birdman's helmet?)
I have to say though..."Ha! HA! *insert random word here* on dowels!" still makes me crack up in a fit of giggles...it never gets old.
If you've never seen an episode...it's by the great people at Adult Swim who brought out the Brak Show and Space Ghost Coast to Coast. Check it out.
Or not.
Y'know.

Random linkage

More times a wastin...

Feast your eyes on:

Things that look like a duck
A letter by a zombie full of love
Mount Rushmore made of cheese

and last but not least...Watch a homestarrunner classic cartoon... (probably makes no sense without knowing a bit about Homestar Runner

So there you go...
FINALLY my incubations are done. Now I'll do a little dance...
Buhbye

A meme for a dull sunday

Because it's very dull to not only work on the weekends, but because watching an acrylamide gel stain and destain is the equivalent of paint drying...I give you my monthly what is up over here meme to fill in a bit of time:

Current clothes: Lime green tshirt, black specs, jeans, blue fuzzy socks and boots. My underwear colour is none of your concern.

Current mood: Bored. I've done a lot of work this weekend, which is good, but I'm in the final stretch of things that is a lot of doing and waiting...and I'm not very good at amusing myself.

Current music: Endangered Species - Nickodemus. Great CD. I recommend it. I dare you to listen to it without dancing or at least tapping your foot to one of the songs. This guy is good.

Current annoyance: This weekend work thing. I volunteered, as we're behind from the strike and I do get paid for it...I'd just rather be at home. J took me out for lunch which was nice, but I'm still stuck here for another hour or so. Boo.

Current thing: Marvelling at the normality of everything. It's been rush rush crazy wierd and now all of a sudden it's all back to slow normal. I don't quite know what to do about it. It's nice...it's just been so long since I've thought "I'm bored" I don't quite know what to do about it.

Current desktop picture: A picture of minimoose and a gift.

Current book: Just starting the Golden Compass.

Current song in head: Funky in the Middle - Nickodemus.

Current DVD in player: Logan's Run. I picked it up a while back in the $5 bin and got around to watching it last night. I remember it being way cooler when I was small. It suffers from 1970s dear-god-this-is-painfully-slow-in-the-middle-itis, but effects and ideas? Still cool. And it has a rambling old man with cats and a space pod city blowing up at the end, so it ain't all bad..

Current refreshment: Cool. Clear. Water.

Current worry: Will the gels I run work out so I don't have to come in and do more overtime. I hope so. I'd so like to be done this project...

Current thought: I wonder if the hospital cafeteria is open...I could use a cup of coffee.

MOUSE

J's Dad bought up a bunch of old Radio Enthusiast, TV Repair and Popular Science type magazines at an auction that are from the late 1930s up to the late 60s. Reading through them has been great...just seeing the whole attitudes towards science and technology back then...It was so completely different. And reading about the wondrous technology of radio tubes and the future coming of satellites is marvellous. I feel like I should wear a flapper dress and be smoking a cigarello or something...
The most interesting article so far was from a 1956 article talking about something I'd never heard of. At a time, a few months before sputnik went up in to the air, there was an article about the US's upcoming planned first satellite: the MOUSE (m-something orbital unmanned satellite earth) .The article had spec drawings and wild speculations about the future use of satellites in our lives. Some were spot on, like weather mapping and communications...but there was a whole sense of mild disbelief and wonder about it all...as though it was just too futuristic. I'm a bit disappointed I can't find references to it online. It was the first mention I'd ever seen about it...I've looked online and I can't find anything about it...I guess Sputnik really put an end to it.
There's also interesting things to read about that time in history. President Eisenhower made a lot of comments about the possible errors of the future that are coming true...comments about being wary of feeding too much power to the Industrial Military Complex and how the US should not make it their policy to inflict peace about the world...that it was not their role.
How times have changed.

I am thinking about all this as I'm stuck working this weekend to finish up an overdue project. It's behind from being on strike, and the extra $$ will perhaps go towards buying my very own satellite that I've always wanted. I believe I will have to come up with some catchy name for it before I launch it off...any suggestions?

Friday Favorites - My Life In the Bush Of Ghosts

Holy freaking cow.



this album
What can I even begin to say about this album. It was made in 1979. NINETEEN SEVENTY NINE PEOPLE!
And know what?
It sounds BETTER than most of the electronic music I listen to now...it's as though Brian Eno and David Byrne said "hey! this is what electronic ambient music with ethnic influences will sound like in 25 years...lets make it early." It is one of the albums that inspired the Orb to form and do their thing.

This album is one I've just heard.
And seriously...instant favorite. I have a love of Brian Eno...all he touches turns to gold, and some of his solo stuff is brilliant.
This album however exceeds all manner of good things and simply must be heard. It is some of the first occurrences of sampling. They took vocal clips from various places and synced them up with music. Amazing percussion...and altho quite experimental, very good. It is the music I love NOW...only from 25 years ago. Track 2 is my favourite. The releleased version has a few tracks that are rather experimental added on, but the insert that comes with it is full of a lot of information about the album being made and how they came to decide to do this kind of music...which in 1979 was just not done really. It took them a while before they could actually release the album in the early 80s because they had to get all the copyright releases from all the samples as people were a bit leery...as it just wasn't done back then. And they did it all with analog tech and tape loops. Perhaps that is what amazes me so much about this album...it's like it is out of time...and better in production quality and originality than a lot of electronic stuff produced now.

Get Mr. Eno and Mr. Talking Heads together...and wow.
They have warped my fragile little mind!

Busy

Too much to bloody do here in the lab.
If I can figure out how to get work done for 5 people all at once I will win a prize!
Albeit the prize is more work...but hey. You go with what you can get...

Sweeny Todd

OH...and by the way...go see Sweeny Todd.
It's Tim Burtony and full of great acting and it's a musical...that's rated R for gore and violence. That doesn't happen often kiddies. The music (with a few exceptions) should've been Mr. Elfman...but I guess when you start with a musical already written you go with what is there. Too bad - I bet he'd have done better. I love musicals so it was an extra morbid treat for me...the scene of them on a beach in turn of the century swimwear and the song about who to turn into pies first were my favorite bits.

The K stands for Kwality

Garmin - you suck.
I was all excited over the coolness of this doohicky - a watch with backlit display and dual time/alarm, combined with a GPS, pedometer, heart rate monitor, calories, speed, pace and lap time tracker that automatically updates your run data to your computer as soon as you are near it. It even has cool touch controls and comes in 2 colours. Sounded fantastic - as I need a new watch soon and I've been looking into a doohicky to do all these other things for me (well pedometer and heart rate anyways) for running in the spring..."Wow, Only $320" I thought. "I could save up for that and use it well".

BUT the more I looked into it, Garmin played the increasingly prevalent "some conditions apply, some accessories required" card. Turns out the heart rate monitor and strap you need to ad to the watch to make it work is ~$80 and the pedometer you mount on your shoe is another $115...and there are varying levels of software that go with the watch to log and download your run data in your computer...most of which are ~$50 to do any geeky analysis of it.
Bastards.

I was honestly excited about a useful doohicky...that doesn't happen much to me anymore. And now? Well I can't honestly justify over $500 on a fitness watch...when the base watch without accessories does nearly all my current watch does (but doesn't look as cool). I suppose I'll have to get back at looking at a boring strap on heart rate/pedometer thingy.

I just can't help feeling like I am 6 years old, I opened my gift from Santa and it has socks inside.
And I have to pee.
Blast it...

Cool clear water

Keep a movin' Dan
Don't you listen to him Dan'
He's a devil of a man
and he's filled the burning sands with water (water)
Dan can't you see that big green tree
Where the water's running free
and it's waiting there for you and meeee?
That water?
Cool. Clear. Water. (water)

My dad had some OLD stuff on vinyl when I was a kid...some 88s and such and one of them was by Hank Snow, who sang old westernish ballads (not cheesy ones). A song I'll always remember was the song I quoted above about people lost in the desert dreaming about water, called (oh so appropriately) Cool Water.
To this day, it pops in my head uninvited whenever I focus on drinking more water....as I am at the moment.
Over Christmas (well pretty much all December after the striking ended actually) I did bugger all for exercise, ate whatever I pleased and was a total vegetable. It was nice...but I found I got sluggish and my stomach was not into eating unhealthy fatty foods anymore (heartburn...bleah...I never get heartburn anymore). And after holidays, where all manner of deliciousness was all around me I didn't eat everything I saw...but I sure made a dent in it.
Consequently, I am rather less in shape than I was a month ago. I don't like it. Not for appearances (don't look too much different really) but I have no muscle tone, strength is diminished and it wasn't until I worked out yesterday for the first time since last year I realised just how much BETTER I feel when I do...and that I need to get at it.
I also need to drink more water.
Cool. Clear. Water.
(water)
I've gotten used to drinking whatever is closest to my body...over the holidays that meant wine, eggnog and such (woot) but now it means coffee. I realised yesterday I drank no less than 6 cups of coffee yesterday. SIX! That's WAY too much. And water? None. At all. Sure I had some juice for breakfast and a healthy lunch and supper, but no water...nada. This is not good.
And so my resolution for January is to drink 5 glasses of water a day.

Let the pee breaks begin!

If you play defender I could be your hyperspace

"Now let me get some action from the back section
We need body rockin' not perfection
Let your back bone flip but don't slip a disc
And let your spine unwind just take a risk
I wanna' do the freak until the break of dawn
Tell me party people is that so wrong
The ship is docking inter-lockin
And up-rockin' electro-shocking
We're getting down computer action
Do the robotic satisfaction
Now all of y'all ah get off the wall
Have a ball and get involved with

Body movin' body movin'
A1 sound' sound so soothing
Body movin' body movin'
We be getting down and you know we're crush groovin'

Flame on, I'm gone
I'm so sweet like a nice bon bon
Came out rapping when I was born
Mom said rock it 'til the break of dawn
Puttin bodies in motion 'cause I got the notion
Well like Roy Cormier with the coconut lotion
The sound of the music makin' you insane
You can't explain to people this type of mind frame
And like a bottle of Chateau Neuf Du Pap
I'm fine like wine when I start to rap
We need body rockin' not perfection
Let me get some action from the back section

Body movin' body movin'
A1 sound' sound so soothing
Body movin' body movin'
We be getting down and you know we're crush groovin'

Mike D with the master plan
I said ooh my my and thank you ma'am
And when I grab the mic you scream ooh, goddamn
The creme de la creme is who I am
MCA where have you been
Packed like sardines in the tin..tin
So kick off your shoes and put on your swim fins
'Cause when it comes to quarries I'm known to swim
And Adrock light up the place
And if you pull my card you pull the ace
And if you ask me turn up the bass
And if you play defender I could be your hyper space so

Body movin' body movin'
A1 sound' sound so soothing
Body movin' body movin'
We be getting down and you know we're crush groovin'

Mee hee.
Had this song in my head when I woke up...and it fits my day.
I worked out today for the first time since before christmas insanity began...man do I feel great! Perhaps it's part of getting back to it all...:)

Blah Vol. 7

Blah blah blah...it's cold out...blah blah, something about cheese, blah blah blah, I need a nap, blah blah blah, erm...hey. Look at the needle move up and down when I talk! Pah! Pah! Buh! Bel Biv Devoh!
Hmmm...is this thing on?

*cough*

Riiiiiiiicoollaaaaaaaaaaaah!

*insert shuffly monkey dancing here *

*ahem*
Um...yeah.

Soooo, sorry about the lack of blogging as of late. Perhaps it's the back to work blahs, but I really can't seem to sit down and do it at the moment...sorry. Every post I start seems silly and dull and I've deleted I don't know how many of them in the quest of "the next big thing".

All I can think about is how I'd love another week off...AND that I'd like to sit and read the Golden Compass in it's entirety without my coworkers telling me all about how their kids "just loved it", and *insert major plot revelation here* was so amazing, with little nudges of how I should have children so I can share the joy of it with them. Grrrr. Yes it's a kids book. What of it? Just because your inner child is sedated...

Hmmmm...I'm getting snarky. More than a bit.
Best be off to the lab break room for a gallon of coffee and a lobotomy then.
Back later when I'm in more of a "butterflies, zebras and moonbeams" sort of mood.

Cheerio my good peeps.

Toasty

It's above zero today...and will be tommorrow!
So nice to come out of hibernation for a bit before th ebig long freeze.

Hippy New Year

You know it's wierd -I was away at a winter camp for New Years in the woods with lots of wonderful people, eating amazing food from a chef of the gods, learning cool things like contact juggling and firespinning, dancing all night to great music and meeting new and old friends in the wilderness and generally refilling my brain again...and I find I have nothing concrete to write about my time there since I've gotten back. It all seems so mundane to try and describe my holiday. It wasn't earth shattering or orgasmic or some sort of epiphany or anything...it's just as tho I can't really describe it and you all don't really need to know (or care? :P ) about the many details of my New Year's time away with my friends at Maskepetoon.

So to fill the gaps, here are some random key words from experiences of the weekend. I am curious if these words will invoke as much strange appreciation and joy in you as the times, words and experiences did in me the past week...

(ahem)

Ghastly, McGuffins, portal, poi, bodyrolling, smoking fireplaces, fairylights, ice lanterns, curried shortbread, glwoing crystalline altars, blinking, wattage, too many jiggawatts, glacial rebound, wedded bliss, pumpkin pie shooters, frozen lakes, northern lights, inquisitive coyote fur, fuzzy wristicuffs, Charlotte's web, discoball hammock, celtic myths, vision quest, dogs fetching and losing giant sticks, moroccan mint tea, palming a deck of cards, saffron rice pudding, endless hugs and relaxing from the inside out.

So...um...yeah...that's my New Year's in nutshell. I've a few resultions to come, but that's all that's coming out right now.
Hope you are all well and this new year is as intriguing to you as it is to me.