April 17 Photo: Something I do not like

It's sent out invitations and moved its family into every drawer of my dresser!

Ha! I once again wasn't sure about my opportunity to capture something I don't like in a photo. I was thinking about getting a picture of wind. I really don't like the wind and it is the main reason I left Southern Alberta. But it wasn't particularly windy today.

Then my work colleague came over to show me a page in a book. New books had come in again at work today and as she was looking at the selection, she flipped open directly to this page. If you know what I went through in December, you would understand why she HAD to bring the book to me.

I came home from a month traveling to a house that had been taken over by mice!! They left reminders of their visit EVERYWHERE! Particularly unsettling was finding nests they had created in my dresser drawers.

I got the news while cruising on the Mediterranean (if you have to get some bad new, I recommend getting it while sitting on a cruise ship balcony). Just a quick mention in an email - my nephew had dropped by to use my washing machine and saw some mouse droppings on the basement stairs. So I expected a mouse or two in the basement and wasn't too concerned.

I arrived home a couple days later for a short 6 hour stopover before flying out again for one last week away. I was deposited at my door missing a suitcase, over-tired from traveling for over 24 hours (that is a different tale of woe) and handed a bag of poison and mouse traps by my mom who is deathly afraid of mice. I've had mice before and never felt too bothered by it. Set traps and plug up the entry point. Easy Peasy.

I saw a few mouse droppings here and there - it was late and dark and I didn't look too hard. I was exhausted so I put down some poison on the basement landing and in the kitchen on the main floor and headed upstairs. More droppings. Just a few here and there. More poison and off to bed (after changing the bedding). As soon as the lights were out, and I began to nod off, I heard the scratchings in the walls. Then running back and forth. And then more and more and I switched on the light and one was sitting on the floor by my bed - I screamed and he ran and I freaked out. I knew he wasn't alone!

I really couldn't get to sleep now so I got up and packed up for trip number 2, noticed a LOT of the poison was already gone (how many were there???) and so I put some more out and I got out of there.

One week later, back home and in daylight, saw the full evidence of what they had been up to. In EVERY room, on EVERY piece of furniture and in EVERY cupboard and drawer. Nests! They shredded clothes and towels, a bit of tissue, and mixed in some of the poison pellets from all three floors (I had a couple of different brands) and rice (I had a bag of wild rice in the kitchen on the main floor but they moved it to the upstairs tower block which I call my dresser and the downstairs condo project which was a chest of drawers I used for storage)

I am grateful for the extra hands that helped me scour every surface and wash every piece of clothing, every bowl, dish and spoon. I had an exterminator come and he confirmed they were no longer in residence (whew!) and Dad found their likely entrance (the dryer hose was chewed through) so I feel like I can claim my home as my own again.  I've re-claimed the main and second floor but I haven't gone through my basement yet.  Anyone want to come hunt for mouse nests with me??

So - mice, especially a picture of one in a drawer, brings up some fairly strong emotions of DISLIKE.

Okay - keep calm and go to your happy place... before the infestation...

April 16 Photo: Flower

When I saw that the assignment was FLOWER, I had no idea that I would have such a photo opportunity present itself! Serendipity again.

The flowers are beautiful inside the renovated Conservatory at the Calgary Zoo.  It was a work day but I was lucky enough to be excused so that I could spend some time with family. We spent a lot of time enjoying the butterfly garden and some of the pictures  above were taken by my nieces.

My niece looking for butterflies.

It was a special occasion because my brother's wife and children were in town. I was excited to spend more time with my four nieces who live so far away.  So glad to get to know them better! Here they are (okay, the cute baby doesn't belong to my brother - she belongs to my sister Belinda)

My brother's sweet girls.

And not just those four but a whole crew of nieces and nephews also made up the ranks!  Getting them all to line up for a picture was a bit like herding cats, but we got most of them to stand still for a minute.  Lots of energy!!

A crew of nieces and nephews!

I enjoyed letting them show me all their discoveries as we looked around the conservatory. They pointed out all butterflies they could find and what they thought were the prettiest flowers.  And kids will be kids --they noticed all kinds of crazy features of the plants! How about this scary look underside of a plant?

Yikes!

But mostly a trip to the zoo is about the animals. They didn't disappoint.Although I think I saw more backsides than animals facing forward.

The highlight though had to be the new Penguin Plunge!!The line was moving well in the morning but we let groups go ahead of us as we collected everyone coming from different directions.  They let 60 people go in at a time which seems like a lot, but it has a good viewing area and didn't seem too crowded. You are right up next to the glass and I can see how some penguins could get some momentum and end up swimming/jumping right over the glass. We didn't get to see that happen though, but there was plenty of splashing going on - one penguin in particular is apparently a fan of directing a good splash at the visitors.There are four kinds of penguins at the zoo - King, Rock Hopper, Gentoo and Humboldt. All fun to watch!!

Rock Hopper and Gentoo Penguins

Feeding the Humboldt Penguins in the outside viewing area

One last flower to end the post. The orchids in the Conservatory are gorgeous!

April 15 Photo: Sunset

Yep - this is a NON sunset picture. The sky was just grey - then a darker grey, then black. No sign of the sun setting at all - just a loss of light somewhere behind all the cloud coverage.

Days like this make me yearn for a fireplace, a good book and a blanket in a comfy chair. It wasn't how I spent it though.  I did get to spend some time with extended family today. More on that tomorrow. And time on my computer. The marking didn't get completed but I made a good dent. More time this week will need to be spent on that. Almost there!

April 14 Photo: How I Feel Today

Today I feel Pfanntastic! Actually, the word I had decided on was Optimistic as I was having a yummy breakfast with a friend on a snowy morning in April but I saw Pfanntastic on the menu and decided it fit just as well. And even though it doesn't necessarily fit the reality of my schedule today, it really does capture my mood.

It has been a crazy week and my life has its own share of challenges right now.  Nothing earth-shattering but enough to create some obstacles and hold me back in some of the things I would rather be pursuing. And there are people I love and care about in my life who are dealing with some much bigger battles and they are in my thoughts and prayers.  So not all smooth sailing.

The here and now has its own specific demands on my time and energy. I have a crazy amount of marking to plow through this weekend and my eyes are not cooperating. It would be easier with better lenses but that involves money and priorities don't include that right now. So I approached the weekend knowing that I would spend it tied to my laptop and not able to do much else.

But in spite of the bad weather, the heavy work load, other personal challenges going on, I am calm, relaxed, and feeling positive and optimistic. It's been my mood for a while. Maybe ever since the great start to the month with four wonderful sessions of conference. Maybe extended by the Easter weekend which included service, friendships, family and accomplishing a few personal goals. Maybe it was the positive energy I felt during the round of student interviews the past two weeks and hearing some amazing and interesting students share their own goals and dreams that brought them to study English with us. Maybe it was the unsolicited complimentary feedback I've had from students in the Education Technology course I wrote and teach as I had been somewhat less than confident in how their experience had been going. And then reviewing and grading that work and seeing some great  and creative examples of what they have been able to achieve this term.

The challenges are still there and very real and I have to deal with those at some point but today, life is good. I'm tired but with a smile.  And when a day begins with hot chocolate and whipped cream, it really helps!

April 13 Photo: Something I Found

Since my day was pretty much spent on my computer, I wasn't very hopeful of getting a good shot for the theme "Something I Found".  But there came a point in the evening on my laptop when I realized I was running out of memory on my laptop and needed to clear some space. So in rummaging around some very old folders and I found some forgotten little .wav files made one night when I had my nephews and niece for a sleepover.

This is back when I was playing around with customizing all the bells and whistles on the old computer and wanted to replace the old Windows operating system audio files with something a bit more personal. So the intent was, have some fun audio clips that would play when I turned the computer on and off.

I'm not sure what the point of Nana and Popsicle were as audio choices but I probably had some other cues that I was planning on replacing as well. The voices you hear on the fotobabble below start with my little niece in the top right corner (using my nickname "Eah") and then a stern "Go to Bed" from her older brother and then a somewhat enthusiastic "This is Fun!" from the middle boy. Then a Goodnight from all three in the same order. Fun to find after so many years.  Just click play on the photo below to hear the clips.

I'm sure that after this, we went to the kitchen for a warm brownie just out of the oven and a cold glass of milk before they climbed into their sleeping bags for their sleepover at Eah's house.

 

Saturday's Smile: Caine's Arcade

Caine's Arcade from Nirvan Mullick on Vimeo.

This is another great video on how amazing it is when you support a kid's curiosity and creativity.

 Caine made his dream come true in cardboard as he hung out at his dad's spare parts garage on the weekends. His first customer, Nirvan Mullick, a kid at heart and a film maker, helped share it with the world. It has been picked up by broadcasters, noticed by top decision makers in the US Department of Education and shared over and over again so you may have already heard all about Caine.

The video was able to raise over $125,000 for Caine's future education in just three days. My favourite message on Twitter is someone thanking Caine's dad George for not using up all the tape!

Friday's NON Failure - Audri's Success

This is a great illustration of the adage, if at first you don't succeed, try, try again! What a smart kid. Audri plans on becoming a theoretical physicist when he grows up. At seven years old, I had no idea that a theoretical physicist was even a real thing. 

He saw a video made by the band OK GO (the guys who danced on treadmills - remember them?) with a Rube Goldberg machine and that was the inspiration for his creation.




I love his expression at 00:18! Great job Audri!!

April 12 Photo: Stairs

MRU Stairs in the rain

MRU Stairs at Recreation Services

MRU Stairs in the EA Knuckle

Another view of MRU Stairs in the EA Knuckle

Other stairs around MRU

Stairs are all over this campus! So picking just one set was a hard choice. I managed to send one email and make a handful of decisions this morning in time to take a break over lunch and a walk around the campus. My ultimate goal was the stairwell in the EA building - I love the shape of the stairs and the stained glass windows hanging on the second level. But I took the long way around. Into the main building, and down past the E wing where I got the shot of the outdoor courtyard stairs in the rain. Then through the back hallways of the campus over to Recreation Services which also had an interesting staircase. Back through and some random shots including some poky little stairwells in hidden corners.  Then over to the final staircase in EA which doesn't show off as well on such a grey and rainy day (which is actually now a snowy white day).

A few other distractions along the way included the visit to the campus by our Mayor (moved to a larger venue I see) and some artworks that I hadn't run across before.

That is as interesting as I can make the topic of STAIRS.  Tomorrow's assignment is something I found so I'll have my eyes peeled.

April 11 Photo: Where I Ate Breakfast

I typically eat breakfast at my desk at work. I'm not someone who wants to jump out of bed and eat and by the time I get ready for work, I just want to get out the door. Because usually it is later than it should be. So I pack up my yogurt and a piece of fruit and I'm off.  Today I grabbed some granola to toss into the vanilla yogurt. I sometimes add a hard-boiled egg or a piece of whole wheat bread with some peanut butter. Oh, and you can't forget the peppermint tea. If you have not tried peppermint tea and vanilla yogurt, I highly recommend it!

But the assignment today is not WHAT you eat but WHERE you eat and that is where the desk comes in. The office is open area, so I plug in my headphones and stream Tempo on CBC Radio 2 as I review my morning email and my calendar while I eat. Right now, Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 is playing. On my desk you can see my computer wallpaper is the Puzey barn - I rotate images fairly often and wanted something that made me think of fresh air in the country. Also on the wall behind the phone I have a calendar, postcards and photos, also routinely rotated. Under my monitor are a wire ladybug, a bobble-head turtle and a small painted clay jar with paperclips. What you can't see in the top picture is what is to the right of my monitor - my Indonesian puppet. I used to have him sitting in a corner of my house, on the stairwell landing and I remember my nephews and niece weren't too happy to have to pass by him - not the most pleasant looking fellow. So he came to school, where he has made numerous appearances within our International Education Week displays. He was a garage sale find for $5 - I remember that garage sale. Great townhouse in the Kensington area with a lot of finds from travels around the world.

And speaking of stairs - that is tomorrow's assignment. I have a set of stairs at the University that I like so I think they will be my photo of the day. If I can pull myself away from my desk, that is.

April 10 Photo: Cold

Funny, it seems like a cold drink is the most popular photo for today's assignment! I like to drink my water COLD. Cold from the tap is NEVER cold enough. I keep a pitcher of water in the fridge so I always have cold water and now we have a Brita pitcher at work as well so I don't need to keep up with the ice cube trays to enjoy cold water throughout the day. In Korea, in the heat of the summer, everyone wanted to serve me hot drinks, hot soup. I just didn't get it. I heard lots of reasons but I don't really care if there is some scientific reason for this - cold is the way I want my water, any season!

April 9 Photo: Younger Me

Younger me at the Calgary Zoo. Wasn't I cute? I have always loved going to the zoo. I especially loved seeing Dinny the Dinosaur. He was so amazingly BIG to little me.  My favourite animals were the elephants and monkeys. I had seen a picture of my cousins' spider monkey (they were living in Guyana at the time) and also loved reading Curious George so it just made sense that a monkey would be a wonderful pet. When I think back, I don't like the small cages the lions, cats and bears were in. But I didn't know any better at the time. And even though I thought it was boring, I looked forward to going into the Conservatory and getting a soft icecream cone.

The zoo has had a lot of changes over the years and now we have PENGUINS!! I haven't been yet but hope to get there soon. Any one want to lend me some little ones to take?

April 8 Photo: Inside My Wallet

My wallet REALLY needed to be cleaned out - this is not even half of what I found in there. There were also a handful of receipts, more change, more cards, coupons, more change, a cheque I need to deposit (sorry Jo!) and some phone numbers. The twoonies and loonies will now move to my "Whatever" bank, and the tickets to Sweeney Todd at Vertigo Theatre will go in the tickler file for June. The cards will be reviewed for relevance - do I need to carry this many every day?? My trusty orange wallet has been around for almost a decade now but it still does the job!

April 7 Photo: Shadow

The sun streaming through the front room window cast shadows of my terra cotta soldiers from Xi'an, China.

April 6 Photo: Lunch

This morning I headed over to a friend's house to help paint her living room. I got most of the paint on the walls but not all of it. The 'professionals' were painting in the kitchen and hallways. It will look good when it is all done and is making me more determined to FINALLY get around to painting my place. Lunch was a nice treat after we finished the first coat.

April 5 Photo: Tiny

This is my tiny cat. So tiny that my iPhone can't focus in so I had to use my Canon. This little cat usually lives with a little dog inside a little tin box in the shape of a car. It wasn't a very good home since both the tiny cat and the tiny dog have lost their tails from rattling around inside the toy tin with all the other small toys.

April 4 Photo: Someone who makes you happy

Lots of people make me happy and choosing just one is like having a favourite. But I didn't have to make the tough call because I only saw one member of my family today and he does make me happy!

This is my nephew, Sam. Or Sammy. I've been so lucky to have him on my campus as a student these past four years. His university career started with him needing me a lot more than he does these days. I was a sounding board and an editor for his early papers. As the years have passed, he has learned how to punctuate much better and has a pretty good head on his shoulders for making decisions about classes and topics. And he will soon graduate University.

Back when he was shorter than me, he used to come by my downtown office for tutoring. My colleagues remember that little kid who was learning math and can't believe it is the same young man who towers over me now! He hasn't had to call me for much help this year (well there still is the occasionally request for a second set of eyes on a paper) but he always appreciates a free lunch! I knew the photo assignment so yesterday I texted him to invite him for lunch today and he had turned me down because of a group presentation meeting but at the last minute today I got the text - "I think I can come now.. if it's not too late". Yeah! I always enjoy a visit with him and today was no exception.

Tomorrow's assignment is tiny.  Easy for me with my penchant for small things.  And I think I am actually posting this before my cousin!

April 3 Photo: Mail

Today's mail at work - JUST LIKE CHRISTMAS!

Mail is fun to receive. Well, not bills, but real mail. Do you get much real mail these days? Even families with missionaries often use e-mail now - how fun is that?

At Christmas time, some people send Christmas cards by mail. I really do plan to do that someday. I even had it all organized that I would make 2011 the year of sending Christmas cards, but then something happened to completely derail Christmas at my house. Or at least the cards and baking and decorating parts of Christmas. Maybe 2012??

Yesterday was a fun mail day because I have a neighbour who put a little surprise in my mailbox. Not your typical mail though.

Today's mail at work was just like Christmas. BOOKS!! Love getting new books. Even if they are about Grammar.

April 2 Photo: Colour

I used to make Artist Trading Cards. And then I would meet with a group of creative individuals once a month to make some trades and bring home some even better cards.

Today I got a lovely e-mail reassuring me that although it has been some time since I've been able to join in, I am still welcome and on the mailing list. I think I need to pull out my supplies and make some more cards. A four day weekend is coming up. Is it a possibility? How busy will I be? 

April 1 Photo: Reflection

This weekend is the LDS Semi-Annual General Conference, broadcast around the world. And so I have pretty much spent it in front of the TV watching the Saturday and Sunday sessions. And not trying to look presentable to the world so this is as much of a reflection of me as you are going to get.

 I have this picture upstairs in my house. The picture is of the First Presidency of the Church - President Thomas S. Monson, Elder Henry B. Eyring and Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf.  These men are apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ and have shared some inspiring and important messages this weekend. The assignment is appropriate because that really is a big part of attending conference. Spending some time reflecting on how you are living your life, what your priorities are and what changes you want to make moving forward.  A great way to spend a spring weekend. Lots to think about! They post the talks online at the link above if you want to check out what was shared.

April Photo a day Challenge

Okay - The March Challenge is over and I had fun with it. So here we go with April. And I know I'm posting this three days late, but I've had a fair share of technical issues over the past 5 days. So although I've been taking my assigned photo everyday, I just haven't been able to share them. I'm catching up now.

I've been happy to follow along with my cousin's photos though! She has a great blog here and has been faithfully posting her picture each day. Guilt! But I'm glad to see what creative ways she puts her new camera to use.

You can still join in! I mean - really - I obviously don't have a problem with playing catch-up so why should you? :-)

If you share your photos on Pinterest or Instagram or Flickr or... any of the social media where you tag things (including here) you should tag your photos with #photoadayApril

Or just go to one of those social media sites and search for that tag.  Here's the results for a search of pictures on Instagram. There are A LOT of people doing this as well! And because it is a world-wide activity, some posts will be for the day before and others will be a day ahead.

Okay, I need to stop writing and get to the photos...

March 31 Photo: Where I Relax

Where I relax with my books, movies and music.

This weekend is all about relaxing in front of the TV - more in the next post!

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??