March 30 Photo: Toy

Small toys from the Toy Tin

I keep a round tin of small toys for when I have younger visitors to my home. There is a selection of larger toys for even younger visitors but it has been quite a while since I have pulled that one out. It is amazing to see the kinds of stories and play that can come out of such a random collection. A little tin of imagination.

March 29 Photo: Feet

March 28 Photo: Trash

It is the end of another semester. Time to total up the grades, prepare the report cards, file away teaching materials and clear out the dated materials in archives. The bin holds the evidence of a busy semester now at a close. I miss this process. As all the teachers are busy wrapping up the term and packing up before a short break. I am in high gear. Consulting, assisting, and planning. Interviewing incoming students, so eager for the spring semester to start. Looking ahead, not looking back.

March 27 Photo: Your Name

Letters taken from signs at the university on my lunch hour.

So today's photo assignment is 'your name'. I'm not particularly fond of my name. I don't like the songs I've heard with my name in it. Definitely not The Four Seasons with "Sherry Baby" or Journey's "Oh Sherrie". Ugh. Now I do appreciate how it is spelled though. Sorry if you have the 'rry' at the end of your name, but I like the one 'r' followed by an 'i'. That part Mom and Dad, you got right.

The other part you got right is my middle name. Diann. Named after an awesome lady, my aunt! I love the spelling of my middle name as well but mostly that I share it with Aunt DaVeeda who lived with us as she attended University.

I was almost Sheriann, Sheri Ann, Sherry Ann, Shelley Diane, or Sheri Ann Emilie. Now the Emilie part would have been good - I would have shared that with my mom and great grandmother. But of all the choices on the list below, I guess the name I got was the right one.

The original list - and the winner is...

March 26 Photo: Key

I can actually find my keys now.

I seem to be rough on key chains. They don't last long. So you don't see the keychain from Germany of an ampelmann from my trip to Europe with my nephew or the keychain from Mexico of some Mayan hieroglyphs that my niece gave me from her family vacation. But you can see the keychain from the Cirque du Soleil tribute show to the Beatle's  'Love' from a trip with my sister!

I guess I need to go on another trip soon. :-)

March 25 Photo: Breakfast (and upcoming conference weekend!)

Breakfast on Fast Sunday (thanks for the tulips Mom!!)

Today's photo assignment is breakfast but it fell on Fast Sunday. So what would have been a picture of yogurt, fruit, eggs and a plunkett (is that how it is spelled?) from mom turned out to be a photo of an empty plate. As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, once a month we forego two meals and make a contribution equal to or above the value of the meals to the Fast Offering fund.

Typically this Sunday falls on the first Sunday of each month but next weekend is special because it our Semi-annual General Conference, held in Salt Lake City and broadcast to members of the church world-wide.With all the interest in what being a 'Mormon' means in the USA with Mitt Romney's run for the 2012 presidential nomination, it may be a conference that gets more attention than ever by those outside the faith. 

We are lucky to have local television broadcast the four sessions of conference so that we can enjoy the speakers from the comfort of our couches. And those without the television broadcast can now use their computers to watch conference live. And the solution that many still rely on is to head over to the local meetinghouse where the conference session is received by satellite. And within 8 hours, these sessions are available online in 70 different languages!

I know that there are a lot of families with traditions around watching conference.  Some have special conference activity booklets for the children, bingo cards or even special foods (I remember cheese and cracker trays). Others contribute to shared notes on Google Docs or tweet quotes and highlights with the hashtag #ldsconf for those unable to watch the conference live. You may even see a repeat of what happened last October, when the names of speakers started trending on Twitter during the sessions!  What are your plans or traditions for Conference weekend??

March 24 Photo: an animal

Okay, now I remember why I questioned the wisdom of sharing a personal blog. Is the polite word to describe me "quirky"?  Here is a small part of my miniature menagerie. I collect small things. Mostly small animals and birds. Mostly sheep, cats and birds of all kinds. The sheep are just an extension of my sheep postcard collection. (so if you are ever anywhere that you see a sheep postcard, please keep me in mind!)  The cat - well I can't have the real thing and don't intend to go the hairless cat route (shiver!), so I have a few. And the birds. Aren't they fun! But small and I don't want this to become a "thing". You know how you find out someone likes monkeys so then every time they have a birthday or it's Christmas, you buy them something else MONKEY. And then how what was a small monkey statue becomes monkey pajamas and monkey backpacks and monkey dishware and monkey towel sets? Yeah, like that.

Because this is just something I do. And it is small. And when I do get the OCCASIONAL small animal, I can be happy, instead of thinking - "oh not another one... where will I put it and will he like the other monkeys".

That said, this little collection above as most things in my home, comes with some stories. Only I've forgotton some of them. So if you gave me either of these two sheep, please remind me of the story because I remember the stories of the sheep from Sam and the sheep I bought in Jerusalum at Jimmie's Bazaar (not pictured). 

The cat is from a bazaar in Egypt - just as we were leaving Alexandria, I spied it in a corner of the shop in a cubby hole with packing materials and some pricier - out of reach items. It was so tiny and looked like just the kind of treasure I would like to take home. Who knows where it came from. The shop keeper kind of scratched his head and said it was very old and had been there a long time but it could just be the kind of story they tell a tourist. I was already buying papyrus and pens as souvenirs for the nieces and nephews and I asked if he could just add it in to the price I had already negotiated. He did and I slipped it in my pocket to be my own Egyptian good luck charm. 

The little felted owl was a special Christmas present from my niece. (or should I say my sister?) It was a fun thing Madi and I had found as we were browsing around Etsy together and she remembered and got her mom to order it for me for Christmas. Isn't he great? Made by Lauren Alane who has all kinds of sweet birds and other crafts that you can check out on her blog (which will lead you to her shop) Take a look at the little valentine owls! They go SUPER fast so if you want one, you have to be quick!

Oh no, I can't remember the story of my little orange bird. Utah? Seattle? Banff? As I go to write this, the memory just snuck off to have a peanut butter sandwich and got stuck somewhere in the back of my brain. Oh well, he's awesome too.

Tomorrow's challenge is Breakfast. Better go grocery shopping or all you will be seeing is Cheerios!

March 23 Photo: Moon

Cloud cover tonight and no moon to take a picture of. So here is a moon that is on my living room wall. It is from a pair of pictures that used to hang in my grandparent's farmhouse. I smile when I see these too.

March 22 Photo: the kitchen sink

March 21: Delicious

Photo challenge today was "delicious" and I figured that I would have to be creative since I was going to be eating pretty simply after that buffet the night before. But you can always count on the kitchen island at work. Our office is pretty consistent in having temptations close at hand but this is over the top. A student had brought these to class (her husband had made them!!) and the extras made it back to the office. I resisted but it fit my photo assignment perfectly. If you are wondering - mango mousse deliciousness in a marble chocolate cup. How tempting is that!!

March 20 Photo: Before / After

Photo assignment - before and after was perfect for our Stage West night out and the dessert buffet. Only this isn't really the after, the staff replenished the food so that there was never a truly "After" shot for me to get. And I wasn't going to wait next to the food to see the end result because the play was starting!  (Photo note: taken with my iPhone and then set up using an app called PicFrames. I also use Instagram for many of my photos taken on the go)

The play was The 39 Steps - a favourite of mine since I saw it in London and then again at Vertigo theatre last season. This was the same cast as Vertigo - 4 actors playing 150 roles and a lot of fun. I enjoyed picking out all the Hitchcock references - most were fairly in your face.... but I am a fan and it was fun to make note of them throughout!

One of my favourite scenes for the physical comedy below!



March 19 Photo: Funny

Photo assignment: Something funny - and boy I love hearing the fun things that kids say. This one - on Facebook today as I was trying to think of something to take a picture of - is my witty niece. I love that I can share in these moments when their moms post it on facebook. Love it!

March 18 Photo: a corner of my house

Photo for today is a corner of my house. The art on the bottom right is from our girl's roadtrip to Vancouver Island - "Jodi in Disguise". The picture is stitched and then the frame is painted (stylized sunglasses). That was a fun trip! I keep my necklaces on the wrought iron hook and the tin pail is holding magazines - Anthology, Mingle and Uppercase.

March 17 Photo: Green



Participants in the Parade





A birthday party of parade participants



Today's photo challenge was green. Pretty obvious, eh?

Is the Smallest St. Patrick's Day parade is in Carmangay, Alberta?? Or is it in Enterprise, Alabama.  Well, the fact that their parade is only one person - I guess you could say smallest, but then Carmangay must be the Shortest. Shorter than 98 feet - which is the distance of the parade over a bridge in Hot Springs, Arkansas? Or is it shorter than 72 feet, 8 inches? That is the distance of the parade in Bemidji, Minnesota.

Well, this parade has been going on for 26 years now and locals insist its status as the shortest parade is uncontested. For 2012, it had more participants in the parade than ever before. I think the press coverage helped as well as the fact that St. Patrick's day fell on a Saturday.  I was visiting in Magrath the night before and heard about it. Since I was heading to Champion in the morning, the next town over, I knew I had to stop! 

Participants began in front of the post office and walked the 100 metres to the Grange Hotel for a green beer if you so choose. The parade consisted of musicians including bagpipes and a bodhran, followed by every town member who put on some green and then a green truck labelled "The Paddy Wagon" and a pair of miniature ponies pulling a wagon with hay bales (the kids enjoyed a ride after the 1.5 minute parade).

Shortest in the world or not - it was certainly a fun stop on my drive. 

Some wee participants!

The CBC Lawnchairs

March 16 Photo: Sunglasses

Sunglasses are the assignment today. Shall I now step up on my soapbox and talk about the dangers of NOT wearing sunglasses? It isn't the reason I have the challenges I now have but I know that for a couple of years I went without and it was during this time that my symptons appeared. 

I have worn eyeglasses since I was eight. For a while in junior high I even had some of the older version of treated lenses that went darker in the sun and then lightened again when you went inside. Only in the past, they didn't work that well and they always looked a bit orange. Then I started with contact lenses. And with the contacts, I could wear fun sunglasses. I never paid for prescription sunglasses and so if I knew I would be outside for extended periods of time or would be driving into the sun, contact lenses went in. And then I got old. And I got my first pair of progressive lenses. I bought them with a friend on a two for one deal to help with the cost, not thinking that that would have been smart to use for a pair of prescription sunglasses.

Two years later and the spots begin to appear. My left eye was really having problems focusing and the spots actually impeded reading. I go to have it checked out and in time learn from the specialist that I have macular degeneration - in both eyes but the left is the one causing the most problems now. And that while I can't reverse the damage that has been done, I can work on slowing down the process. SUNGLASSES are key. I find when my eyes are sensitive, I even get some relief wearing them indoors. I think of all the years as a kid before I got contacts when I never wore sunglasses and then the extra damage I did when I got my progressive lenses. I know it is more complex than just wearing sunglasses and that the real cause of my MD is the shape of my eyeball (so genetics - what do you do?) but I don't go anywhere without my sunglasses now! Lesson learned!

March 15 Photo: Car

Another photo assignment which was well timed. I planned on washing my car today for my drive south and so I could take this picture without you having to squint through the dirt to see the lovely detail in the stitching on my back bumper!

A couple of years ago - on a snowy and extremely cold evening, I backed out of our Condo AGM and my bumper hit into a pile of snow. I didn't think anything of it - the snow was packed but I hadn't hit hard and it was just snow, right? Nope - there was a metal post in that snow and the cold temperature shattered the bumper.

That April, when I drove out to visit my Dad on his birthday, he did the Dad thing and came out to look at my sad car. "I can fix that" and he grabbed his drill and was off. The main focus was to stop the bottom piece from sagging and getting broken off any more but once that was tied up, he kept at it, piecing together and stitching up any two broken sides that he could find. It is VERY secure now. And I smile every time I see it. It may not be the most attractive look for my Honda but it sure has personality. And a new name. Meet Frank! Short for Frankencar.

March 14 Photo: Clouds

Sometimes these photo assignments are lining up perfectly!  Today's assignment was "clouds" and I was scheduled to give a presentation at the University on using Soundcloud.  It is a way to record and share audio and others can make comments on your audio track using either a mobile device or a computer. I can think of a lot of ways it can be used with students learning a language and this is what I shared.about.  On my ESL blog "The ESL Tickle Trunk" I will post the essense of the presentation (it's not up there yet.) but for now - it is my daily photo (the screenshot of my iPhone).

http://soundcloud.com/whistlepunch/audio-sample

March 13 Photo: A Sign

The day's photo assignment was "a sign". I immediately thought of the time when I was driving from Calgary to Jasper to Edmonton and back with my cousin Lalainia and we weren't absolutely certain of the road. (no maps in the car and first time taking this trip). I had figured it would be fairly simple. Go west, go north, go east, go south. How hard is that? On day one, we had managed to miss the turn off to the Icefields Parkway completely and only realized as we neared Golden in B.C. that something was wrong. We shouldn't have been leaving the mountains, should we?  So after correcting that, we were finally on our way to Jasper. The next morning we headed out to Edmonton. Without a map. We had been driving for a good amount of time and hadn't had any confirmation that we were on the right road. We began to feel less confident as time passed. Had we made another error in our navigation? Was this road going to get us to Edmonton? As we discussed our concerns, we called upon the heavens, please send us a sign! Around the very next bend, our sign appeared.  "Jesus Saves!"  

The sign in my picture was a Christmas present a few years back. A very happy present. It lives in my upstairs hallway.  If you have not seen the television show "Coronation Street", do not suppose it has much of any resemblance to American soap operas. Well, sure, it has the extreme elements of the occasional murder or the revolving door on relationships on the cobbles, but in 51 years of storylines, a television program rsometimes falls back on these types of events once in a while. Mostly though, it is that you become a part of the neighbourhood on the street. Ask any Corrie fan which family they would most like to join, and they can probably tell you who they most identify with. Who they would be friends with. Who causes them "aggro". Corrie fans are fiercely loyal to the show. I have been watching since I was a little girl (so a few years then). Whenever I spent my summer vacation on the family farm, all work in the fields stopped so that lunch could be eaten during that afternoon broadcast of Corrie. When I lived in Lethbridge with Lalainia (the cousin in my story above), we would settle in on Sunday nights to watch the omnibus episode for the week. And one of my favourite conversations with my Uncle David would be to talk ahead of the Canadian schedule about what was happening on the British episodes.  (Aunt Myrna would always cover her ears - she never wanted to hear what was coming up next!)

I have family roots in the US since the Mayflower, in Ireland, Scotland and Sweden. But my English heritage is the most profound influence on my life. Most of my introduction to English television happened when I visited the farm. And my first big trip away from home was to England with Lalainia and included a visit with the Gillhams, family friends from England who spent some time in Calgary and were back home in Weston-Super-Mare.  I've made it back there a couple of times now and wish I could spend more time there. Especially to do more family research!

My love of this country comes from early inculcation which is even documented in film. The pictures below are of me talking onto a tape recorder making a tape to send to my Uncle David while he served his mission in Great Britain. I know - I had not much hair for the longest time! The second is of me with my Uncle before he left. (Don't you just love the barn in the background!)  Indoctrinated early!



Tuesday Top Ten: Titles

Reading in Paris... with a cat. (Taken at Shakespeare and Company)

I shared some of my favourite novels with my online Resolutionary Challenge group a few weeks ago and ever since then I keep thinking of other books I'd also add to the list. Then a friend asked me to share the list so in no particular order, here are books that I have loved to read and recommend.(if you think we have anything similar in our taste at all, that is.)

1. I'm counting the Harry Potter series as one since I wouldn't be able to add anything else if I didn't! LOVED these. And so glad to hear she is planning on writing more.  I don't think I need to describe these. (And just in case you were wondering - read the Twilight series and discouraged my niece from doing the same but enjoyed (not nearly as much though) the Hunger Games series.)


2. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett - since you may not know this one - I'll include the wikipedia description.

Based on the Lima Crisis, this book is about a group of terrorists who hold high executives and people of high political standing hostage. It explores how the terrorists and hostages cope with living in a house together for several months. Many of the characters form unbreakable bonds of friendship, while some fall in love.

3. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens - such a great classic! My mother's favourite from her childhood and now it is one of mine.

4. The Canticle of Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr. - one of my all time favourites!

Set in a Catholic monastery in the desert of the southwestern United States after a devastating nuclear war, the story spans thousands of years as civilization rebuilds itself. The monks of the fictional Albertian Order of Leibowitz take up the mission of preserving the surviving remnants of man's scientific knowledge until the day the outside world is again ready for it.
Okay that is the wikipedia description. I just became fascinated with the idea of how knowledge is valued and shared. The power it gives and the threat it poses. This was Walter Miller's only novel published in his lifetime.

5. The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbury - I've read this more recently and was so moved. Lovely characters - challenging writing.

The book follows events in the life of a concierge, Renée Michel, whose deliberately concealed intelligence is uncovered by an unstable but intellectually precocious girl named Paloma Josse. Paloma is the daughter of an upper-class family living in the upscale Parisian apartment building where Renée works.
 
6. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Not what I expected at all. After all, I grew up with the Munsters and the Hilarious House of Frightenstein. And while these are comedies, I knew that they were based on  much scarier tales of fantastic monsters. This is not that kind of book. It is deep and philosophical, handling topics of creation, destiny, alienation, religion, obligation, family... so much within a tragic tale.
 
7. Agatha Christie novels. Again - how to narrow it down?? I remember reading "4:50 from Paddington" in junior high and becoming hooked! (Also known as "What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw!" or later on as "Murder, She Said". I now love the BBC dramatizations of these great detective novels and listen to them often.
 
8. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series and Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency - both by Douglas Adams. Brilliant comic writing and classic references I think of in many situations. The Vogon poetry and that scene with Arthur and Fenchurch and Dire Straits. And the reference to penguins sitting on suitcases in Dirk Gently...
 
9. Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. Epic novels. The Fountainhead added flame to the spark of interest I had in architecture and both novels brought to life some of the political and philosophical debates that made up my university experience.
 
10.  The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas. (the abridged version!!)
 
Okay I cheated and slipped in multiple titles in some which were in a series or by the same author. This list doesn't even mention the novels I became obsessed with in my China period, my German period,  my Russian period, the novels I read for my cultural anthropology studies from South America, the Caribbean, India, and the Middle East. And the Canadian authors I love. Only some of the novels from my historic fiction period. From my "I can only find Penguin novels in Korea" period. I only mentioned a few relatively recent novels - and I'm not sure they will stand the test of time  - and missed entirely "Suite Francaise" and "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" and how these two present a very interesting picture of WWII when read side by side. (Okay - now I've slipped those in there - whew). I didn't include non-fiction books - that would be a different list of titles that opened my mind and taught me about myself and the world I live in.
 
I was watching the TED video on the power of introverts and in part she describes her family of readers. It made me consider how I became this way. I packed a suitcase of books on every family camping trip as well. I know my mom and grandmother, both being teachers, instilled that love of books early but I didn't really have this behaviour modelled for me.  I know my mom loved to read as a girl and talks about disappearing on the farm in order to spend time reading undisturbed.  I'm grateful for a family that allowed me to be that introverted kid with the suitcase of books.  And for the record, still the best Christmas present in the world!

March 12 Photo: Fork

Nothing to say about this other than the fact that I didn't need one for anything I ate today.

Tomorrow, I will be looking for a sign. (oh ye of little faith)

March 11 Photo: Someone you talked to

Good friends at Stake Conference with Elder Quentin L. Cook. It was a great meeting and I was glad to have a seat saved for me so I didn't have to be seated way in the back - it was a FULL house. No doubt the word got out that we had one of the latter-day apostles visiting with us this Sunday. I had left my notebook at home so practiced by keyboarding skills on my iPhone to record the thoughts and impressions shared through the meeting.

There were great messages from everyone who spoke. We were challenged to pray and read scriptures daily in order to receive personal revelation and direction for our lives. To follow the direction of inspired leaders and to pay attention to the words of prophets. Their messages are intended for us now and in the future and Elder Cook gave examples of how prophetic priorities  from the past have deeper meaning in today's context. After the meeting, there was lots of catching up wth friends and plans for a birthday this week! A great day.

March 10 Photo: Loud



Photo of the day: Loud! Well - what do you expect with a 6 year old and an 8 year old all hopped up on SUGAR!

 Saturday fell somewhere in between Bowen's birthday and Ashton's birthday. (My cousin's boys) I've missed having them as neighbours since they moved across the city and so it seemed like a good idea to have them both over for a movie party to celebrate. I had a wide selection of movies to pick from - half were mine and half were from the public library. After reviewing all the choices (and it was looking like a difficult decision when every choice was a strong YES!!) it settled out quite easily on two favourites - Jumanji and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. We had a bit of lunch first - had to put some healthier food into them before all the treats and then moved into the "cinema" to dish up at the concession table and settle in for the movies.

An early mishap (my fault!) with rootbeer on the sofa was not so bad since I had covered it with a sheet (and caught most of the rootbeer in my lap!) They were basically bouncy throughout both shows - but it was fun and since we had all seen both movies, it was more of an ongoing commentary on the plot and frequent breaks to sample different items from the table.

The party ended with some heart rate raising Oompa Loompa dances and the singing of Happy Birthday with our "party" Oreos.  I was happy to send home as many of the leftovers as I could with them. I doubt they wanted any dinner - sorry for sending them back home in that state but we had a GREAT time together! Love these boys! Enjoy the rest of the pictures!

Welcome to the cinema - treats and movies all afternoon!



The movie "Concession table"!

Love this one! The little Korean 'yogurt' drinks are a MUST when we get together!

All smiles!

Ready to learn the Oompa Loompa dances!

No cake - Birthday oreos instead! (I don't even think they ate them!)

A little too much sugar, do you think? And I sent all the leftovers home with them as well. Sorry cuz!

March 9 Photo: Red

Red is a rather dominant colour in my home - along with orange and green. My living room furniture is red. Many walls are red. And in the pictures in my next blog post (coming soon), you will see a lot of red featured there as well.

But something that is red that I particularly love is my red ESPE bag. This is my second bag from ESPE - my first was red but I traded it with a friend when she could only find purple and green (awesome!) and was very sad she didn't find the red bag that she had admired of mine. I loved my purple bag - (I should probably be calling it aubergine or eggplant or something more upscale than purple but it is what it is). But last Christmas I bought a larger carryall in red and it has become my bag of choice since I am usually carrying around what ought to be in a small suitcase most days. It fits a selection of folders, books, various tech tools, sunglasses, notepads, lipgloss tubes, mints and unexplainably at least 10 and possibly upwards of 15 writing implements. (That explains why I never have a pen on my desk - they are all in my bag!) This is my bag in an unusual state - it is empty and waiting to be called into action again.
You can check out this season's bags at ESPE online.

March 8 Photo: Window

Like my blue bear? A souvenir from my trip to TESOL 2009 in Denver, he stands looking out of my 2nd floor hallway window onto my backyard. It makes me smile every time I pass him.

Here is the original looking into the Denver Convention Center as a snow storm was descending on the city. By Lawrence Argent - this sculpture is called "I See What You Mean".

March 7 Photo: Something you wore

Camelbone bracelet

The "something you wore" assignment was causing me stress, as I got ready for work and wasn't going to be wearing anything worthy of the daily picture. Then I saw this camelbone bracelet on my dresser and thought it might do. It was a gift from a dear friend who lived in Aswan, Egypt for a year and is something quite unique for me. A few months after her return, I was able to stop in Egypt myself and got up close to a few camels. I didn't take the opportunity to ride one but I certainly won't forget soon what they smell like! Glad I don't have to deal with that when I wear this lovely bracelet.

Wednesday Wisdom

Frost crystals, originally uploaded by whistlepunch.

"We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand-and melting like a snowflake." ~Francis Bacon

March 6 Photo: 5 p.m.

The sun begins its descent - windows in my office.

EB Bissett Hallway

Five p.m. and still at work. Actually - I was still at work until 9 p.m. A very long day and the reason I am posting this late.

There were a few students and teachers still around at 5 - just behind me are the stairs down to the second floor lounge where some dedicated students were quietly reading textbooks. And about 30 minutes after this picture, the class at the end of this hallway let out and the students filled the hall.

Today's assignment - something I wore. No idea what that will be yet.

Tuesday Trivia: The Oreo

In honour of the 100th birthday of the Oreo cookie, here's a little Lonnie Mack and Stevie Ray Vaughan. I used to play this song on my radio show at the CKUL.  After a little punk, new wave, world music, I'd move on to a jazz set and finally I would break out the blues. And if it was getting too heavy, I'd throw this in. A favourite.

March 5 Photo: Smile

I ended up working from home and not finding a suitable subject for my assignment today, I made my plan. In my Resolutionary Challenge (now in week 8), our wildcard assignment for the week is to pamper ourselves. I was looking forward to gathering all the lovely lotions, bath soaps and other pampering gift items that I enjoy receiving but never seem to make use of! So with a night in planned, I figured an easy way to get a smile was to wait for the steamed up mirror after my candlelit bubblebath. Only if you put all the candles along the counter, the mirror stays warm and no steam appears. I didn't think that through very well!  It was a lovely way to end my evening, only now I didn't have the picture I intended.

So on went the snow boots and coat with my hair still wet and I ran out into the backyard to capture a smile. The snowfall has turned the back yard into a zen Christmas card - lovely branches covered in snow-- so peaceful. And back inside for a cup of tea before bed.  I know most of the others doing this photo challenge are in Australia, but this is what March 5 looks like in Canada.  Goodnight!

Monday Musical Interlude

Working at a computer is not nearly this much fun! (Full disclosure: I found this on Saturday and time dated the post for Monday mid afternoon break. I am actually working right now.)

March 4 Photo: Bedside



Bedside table

 This was an appropriate assignment today since I felt under the weather and spent most of the day next to it. My bedside table is a little worn... a treasure with a missing history. I found it in the very very back of my grandparents' attic and my uncle kindly let me claim it as my own. It is missing a drawer pull and I think it once had a mirror but I don't mind.  I cleaned off all the years of accumulated dust and dirt and have been using it ever since. I found a similar piece of furniture when I visited the Stephansson House Historic Site just south of Red Deer. I asked about the furniture and they believed other than a few special pieces, most were the typical furniture of the day purchased from a mail order catalogue and so this was probably the same.

On it are a few of my favourite things.Starting on the left:

• a small sunstone replica from our trip to Nauvoo, Illinois,
• a beautiful vase from a good friend with gerbera daisies as my flowers for this week, 
• a phrenology head (I've been fascinated ever since I found the report on my great great grandfather's examination!)
• a doily and bird statue that were my grandmother's,
• a photo of my grandfather as a young boy with his parents in a cart pulled by an ostrich,
• a mother of pearl inlay box from Cairo,
• and a small Eiffel Tower from my trip to Paris with my nephew.
• The alarm clock is the same clock I purchased before going to live and serve in South Korea as a missionary.
• No special story for the lamps - both from IKEA.
• The empty space is where I put magazines, books, scriptures - all my reading material which for the sake of the picture is still piled up in the bed where I was using it.

The display rotates frequently as I move my treasures around the house often. Sometimes there are a lot more birds. And occasionally a small sheep.

Tomorrow's assignment is a smile. Who will be my model?

March 3 Photo: Your Neighbourhood



Photo collage: From top left clockwise: Pearl Express - local Chinese takeout; Saigon Palace - tasty Vietnamese; Sushi Bar Ren - Japanese;  and E-Mart -the Korean grocery

I didn't make it out until after sundown to get my daily photo. While I went out to wash the car and drop off the recycling, I was on the look out for a good photo for the theme "Your Neighbourhood". One of the things I love about my neighbourhood is the convenient access to great Asian food. Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean and Japanese. I took pictures of the 4 closest leaving out one Vietnamese since there are two just across the street from each other. I included Sushi Bar Ren when in fact, I actually don't eat Japanese often and when I do, typically go a few blocks further to a place by the University. But all of these are within a 5-10 minute walk - really close and I take advantage of that whenever I have a craving. I've been visiting the Korean grocery the most lately and cooking at home. Yum!  Now if only a Thai restaurant would move in! 

March 2 Photo: Fruit

Red Apple against a Green Apple wall

With a bit of cheese? With peanut butter? Any way you like it! Yum!

March 1 Photo: Up

Up

Ascending to the theatre.

Tonight was "The Comedy of Errors" broadcast from the National Theatre in London with the hilarious Lenny Henry in the lead role of Antipholus of Syracuse. So much fun! Loved the frenetic finger snaps whenever The Syracuse duo became spooked and the Romany minstrels playing Tears for Fears and other great Brit bands between scenes. 

Even though this is an early comedy of William Shakespeare and could be considered "frothy", the director found a way to bring issues forward and create touching moments in the reunion of the family.

A fun night out and I am excited about upcoming shows - including a double  rescreening of Frankenstein with Benedict Cumberbatch and Johnny Lee Miller swapping the two lead roles on alternate nights.




Enjoy this promotional clip!

March Photo Challenge

From the blog: fat mum slim

Found this on pinterest (yes, I am one of those "pinheads" now). I haven't done anything with my camera for a while. I haven't even posted my pictures from my Mediterranean cruise to Flickr yet! So since I missed doing the 365 366 day photo challenge, starting out with just one month may be doable. Although last time I attempted a photo challenge, I made it all the way to day FOUR before I gave up. Oh well. Here we go again. Let's see how I can do.

Click on the image or caption link above to see the original post. I'll be posting to Flickr with the tag "Marchphotoaday".  A few may even make it here. Join me if you like!

Time Enough at last!

No, it's not fair...

The Periodic Table Table - finally!

Back in the day when I was a science geek (my brain has obviously atrophied in that respect) I was in an advanced high school option for chemistry. It allowed me to attend a University of Calgary chemistry class while still in grade 12. Actually, the project was to work with the professor and my science partner, Anne Kondo, to build a physical representation of the periodic table. We studied the different properties of the elements, researched some of the storage issues that would need to be considered and worked on a physical design of the layout to house these elements. And in between working on this, we prepared solutions, cleaned beakers, and attended the first year class. We never did see our display through to fruition - the semester ended and we had had more problems than we could address in the one term but I always remember the fun we had leaving Sir Winston Churchill to "play" at being research assistants and University students.

After high school, I was still thinking about pursuing Chemistry, or Chemical Engineering, as a profession. At least that was until I ended up in my first year Chemistry class at the University of Lethbridge. It ended there. On a broken chair in the largest lecture hall, I lost my love of science. But that is a different story.

Today, as I was going through my Google reader, I came across Theo Gray and his Periodic Table Table. And I remembered how much fun high school chemistry was all over again. Our table was white - we did get it built, and it had tiers. It was "spacey". This one is beautiful. I'm glad I found this. It makes me happy.