birthdays

A big shout-out to my parents:  My dear Dad turned another year older and wiser last Friday, and my dear Mom follows suit today!  I didn't get to pass along wishes to my dad directly over the phone, because he had to work from early morning to late at night; let's see if I have better luck catching my mom.

Supposedly the Rockport Boat Cruise to Boldt Castle back on May 13 was our present to them for not only their 45th wedding anniversary (June), but also their birthdays.  That works well on my part, because I didn't send cards.  

On the boat ride to the castle.  Matching hoodies purchased
that cool, breezy morning at the Rockport General Store.

If only I lived closer, I could bake a cake and take it over.  Maybe sending virtual flowers will do: here's a photo of what's growing at my front stoop.

pansies, begonias, violas, hosta, coleus

post-Canada Day post

It was a mighty fine long weekend.

On Friday I'd arranged to accompany James to work so I could use the car.  I didn't actually drive it far, but I checked off the two most important things on my list for that day: buying strawberries from Shouldice Farms' stand along Woodroffe, and dropping off a box of donations at the Moodie Drive Thrift Store.  I told someone just recently that I prefer to leave stuff at that location, because the staff seem so appreciative, calling out a cheery "Thank you!" after donators.  Strangely, nobody was staffing the drop-off area this time.  Maybe because it was a special discount-with-Web-coupon day and every available person was required in the store.  Or maybe Salvation Army is still recovering from the strike earlier this year.  Other items of note:  I received and made phone calls to family members, and I sprayed leather protector on the coral-colored shoes I bought in May.  I'd used the special cleaner on them Thursday, to remove any remaining grit from our excursion to downtown Montreal during F1 Grand Prix weekend.  (More about that some other time.)

Saturday morning James and I had a breakfast date at IKEA around 9:00 a.m.  He hadn't seen the new and improved IKEA yet, so after our cheap very reasonably priced meal, we wandered through at a leisurely pace, moving off to the side of the arrowed path whenever serious shoppers approached from the rear.  When we got back home, he packed up to go to RC race practice.  I harnessed up the cats for a "time out" outdoors, vacuumed, cleaned bathrooms, did laundry--those domestic diva-type things.  Just managed to squeeze in a self-made mani & pedi before bedtime.  I used OPI's Cajun Shrimp, a coral red, on my toes for the first time.  I adore how smoothly brand new polish glides on.  The previous time I bothered with toes, I'd eked out the last of my L'Oreal B. Powerful, also a coral, but more towards the pink end of the sliding scale, which must have been at over 5 years old; I recall purchasing it at London Drugs in St. Vital.

Sunday morning came all too soon and all too early.  I didn't sleep well--lots of bizarre dreams, no details of which I could remember except for a punchline that involved tube socks.  (Your guess is as good as mine.)  I woke James up by laughing in my sleep, and his "What's happening?!" of course woke me up in turn.  He left home for the RC race, and I raced around the house so I'd be ready when a friend gave me a lift to church just before 10:00 a.m.  After the service we walked across the road along with other Sequoia congregants to volunteer at the Barrhaven Canada Day, held at Clarke Fields.  My friend and I had signed up for a 3-hour shift with the garbage and recycling team, which meant we circulated around the park, exchanging fresh, empty bags for full ones, and hauling the latter to the respective large bins bordering the access road.  I've been tanning (fake'n'bake) since February, but thanks to sun and sandals on Sunday, I finally sport tan lines on my feet.

There are times when I think it would be great to rent a kid for a day.  Canada Day was one of those times.  There were a lot of cool activities:  inflatable spheres (giant hamster balls for humans), face painting, etc.  Little Ray's Reptile Zoo had a tent set up, too, and I tried something I'd never done before: stroked a snake.  The Little Ray's rep said it was like touching a leather wallet, and I'd have to agree with her that that's the closest analogy I can think of.  I also touched a turtle. 

After a lemonade break at my new friend's place, she brought me home around 6:00 p.m.--shortly after James had pulled in, because he was still unloading his gear.  We barbecued a quick supper, and crashed on the basement couch.  He put on Senna, a documentary tracing the (arguably too-short) life of Ayrton Senna, three-time Formula One World Champion and uncle of Bruno Senna, current F1 driver.  I enjoyed watching it--I'm fascinated by the lives of other people in general, not just celebrities--but it left me in a melancholy mood.  The FIA has improved safety standards as a direct result, though, if one's looking to find the positive in his demise.

We'd already agreed beforehand that we would not head downtown for the Parliament Hill fireworks.  The time (or is it times?) that we went, getting there has been fine, but coming back on public transit (free after 10:00 p.m.) has not been pleasant.  Packed in like sardines, with lots of raunchy teens and twenty-somethings talking about partying and puking.  And OC Transpo is the recommended way--and pretty much only rational way--to cope with all the road closures and on-street parking bans.  However, there are quite a few alternatives to downtown when it comes to fireworks displays:  Barrhaven, Kanata, Andrew Hayden Park, etc.  At 8:30 p.m. I was all too happy to stay curled up on the couch in our dimly lit basement.  By 9:55 p.m., having heard a few crackles and pops around the neighborhood (quite a few somebodies have their own backyard shows), I changed my mind.  I begged James to drive us to the Strandherd Park & Ride/Parc-o-bus (which is where I watched them in 2011) to watch the tail end of the Barrhaven fireworks.  He chose the Home Depot parking lot instead.  I was satisfied, although it seemed to me that the federal government might have rerouted some of the budget to the (controversial) War of 1812 commemorative events.  I was certain that they'd lasted for 30 minutes last year; this year it was over at 10:17 p.m.  Only one thing detracted from the delightful pyrotechnics (the streamers are my fave):  the person listening to the mournful ballad in the neighboring vehicle with the windows down.  (!)  So it goes.

Monday morning also dawned bright and early, relatively speaking.  Ellen & Dale K. & family had arrived in Ottawa for Canada Day and had just enough time to fit in a brunch with us at Zak's Diner in the ByWard Market before their next appointment.  The food, ordered off the "Canada Day" menu, was good, if overpriced.  (We figure Zak's hid their regular menus purely for profit--nothing like declaring "open season" on tourists.)  We had a great visit.  I've never seen such well-behaved kids!

The rest of the day was anticlimactic.  If I'd have been in Winnipeg, I would have done my best to persuade Jacquie to spend a day at the beach.  Instead, I dredged deep and found just enough will power to put together some strawberry shortcake for a deferred dessert.  Duane & Celina telephoned from their dock to catch us up on all the latest in their lives, so we concluded our day similarly to how we'd commenced it: with an enjoyable visit with friends.

It was a mighty fine long weekend, mighty fine indeed.

nobody's scapegoat

My goat's gotten.

Ninety percent of the time I enjoy my job--facilitating communication for persons with hearing disabilities, and scheduling others who provide these services. The other ten percent of the time I want to rant and rail at a handful of email messages that rustle their way into my inbox. I'm convinced that the sole purpose of some of my colleagues--the whole reason, I say, why God put them on this earth--is to teach those who come into contact with them diplomacy and patience.

Of the dozen or so freelancers impacted, only two have expressed dissatisfaction with the scheduling arrangements. They seem to delight in contentiousness. So I get emails along the lines of "Maybe you should send out a message to the entire list for every course and find out who's available and equitably distribute them...blah blah blah."

I had half a mind to respond that life is not fair; to retort that if they find my scheduling unsatisfactory, they are welcome to contact other post-secondary institutions in the area for opportunities; and to remind them (perhaps obliquely threateningly) of the scripture that reads, "For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath" (Matthew 13:12, KJV).

So far all our correspondence has taken place via email, which is good: I can respond to conflict much better in writing, when I have a bit of time to contemplate and compose my answers, to try and find just the right tone--a tone that projects "I'm taking the high road." My intention is to be, as the late Vic Cowie was fond of quoting, "wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." Just in case, however, I'm going to resume rehearsing a phrase that my mother-in-law shared with me: "I'm sorry you feel that way, but...."

If that doesn't work, there's always the Shakespearean insult generators: "Begone, thou rancorous earth-vexing scullions!"

There now. I feel much lighter in spirit.

gastronomical adventures

First, Happy Birthday to my Dad! His birthday was yesterday and he was still celebrating when I called him at 10pm EDT. My mom had invited all his siblings and their spouses over for a BBQ.

I am a big fan of barbecues, because there is nothing quite so satisfying as finding shortcuts to preparing meals. I like to eat, I just don't like to figure out what to make. Speaking of food, you may be wondering what I'm eating these days. Two years ago, I went to see a dietitian whose services were available to me through my doctor's office. I talked to her about going vegetarian, and she gave me a number of resources--the Vegetarian Food Guide Rainbow*, for one--and helpful pointers. I've been slowly incorporating a few new foods into my diet, to make it more vegetarian and even more vegan, and thought I'd share what I've found. (Individual tastes and preferences vary so greatly, there's really no way to know if you'll like something unless you try it, and sometimes you'll need to try it more than once.)

In terms of vegetarian/vegan meat products, I'm sold on Sol Cuisine Spicy Bean Burgers; their packaging labels them "Tex-Mex vegetarian burgers" on the front, but indicates on the back that they are "100% Vegan." They're also free of gluten and wheat. I eat these burgers with the usual lettuce, tomato, mustard, ketchup, but use Vegenaise spread or hummus (both are vegan) as additional condiments. Sometimes I'll add cheese (dairy cheese, therefore not vegan, but it provides me with some necessary B12).

Other burgers I've tried and not cared for much: Yves Veggie Cuisine's Good Veggie Burger (I'll have to try the other Yves offerings before I write off the brand), Gardenburger's Veggie Medley, and M&M Meat's veggie burgers.

In terms of hummus, which I use as a dip with crackers, vegetables, and even tortilla chips, or as a spread for sandwiches and wraps, I've been buying either Summer Fresh Spicy Hummus or Fresh2Go Chipotle Hummus at my local Metro grocery store (whichever's lower-priced in any given week).

I also relish Veggie Patch Meatless Buffalo Wings; they contain egg whites (so they're not vegan), as well as soy, wheat, and possibly sesame, according to the label. Kraft's Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing makes a great dipping sauce, its sweetness counterbalancing the spiciness of the buffalo seasoning.

Rice Dream Enriched Vanilla rice milk has become a staple for my Kellogg's Special K 5 Grains cereal at breakfast. According to the serving suggestion, 3/4 cup of cereal provides me with 40% of my daily iron requirement. The rice milk is a bit sweeter than dairy milk, so there's no need to add any sugar to the bowl. (Credit here to my sis-in-law for mentioning that my niece uses rice milk for her breakfast cereal; that's how I got started.)

To my great delight, I discovered packages of daiya mozzarella style shreds in my local Independent Grocer's last Saturday. I'm quite pleased with this product: the flavor and texture is not identical to that of dairy cheese, but it comes close. My only concern is the sodium content, which seems a bit high.

As for desserts, I've tried Soyummi's lime pudding (haven't seen the other flavors at Superstore in Kanata), which is fine as puddings go, but it's the hexagonal cardboard cylinder it comes in that signals "fun to buy"! More recently, in the non-dairy frozen category, I've had Organic So Delicious lactose-free Strawberry (the content at the link shows "Soy," but my tub says "So"; I checked) and Good Karma's Organic Rice Divine Mudd Pie. Rice milk tends to look and taste more watery than soy milk, so the Strawberry stuff better simulates ice cream; still, if one comes to it with the mindset that it absolutely won't taste like ice cream, the Mudd Pie is pretty good with its nuts and chocolate chunks. (I wasn't keen on the Mudd Pie the first time I had it, but enjoyed it the second time. "If at first you don't succeed...") Best to purchase non-dairy frozen desserts on sale, since they are pricey. Come to think of it, so are ice creams, which is why I tend to stock up on Breyers for James when I see sales.

So that's a sampling for now. I hope to write a few more posts as I continue my experimentation.


*I'd have linked to a Website, but all my searches turn up broken links right now. Wonder if this means the Vegetarian Food Guide Rainbow is undergoing revision?

O Canada!

Hope everyone had a Happy Canada Day!

We had a low-key day, with just the right mix of sun and cloud. We did not bother ourselves with William and Kate's itinerary. Instead, we slept in, puttered a bit, then went to Broadway's for breakfast after James mowed the lawn. Unfortunately, we were at least an hour too early to sit out on the patio, which only opens at 11:30 a.m. After we returned home, we went for a walk along Crestway, via the new transit station that's still under construction, and then towards the future Strandherd-Armstrong Bridge (also under construction; see our MP's self-congratulating video), across Prince of Wales, and along part of the Chapman Mills Conservation Area trail. On our way back, we saw the Snowbirds fly past.

Once home, we went our separate ways. James did James-type activities, involving computers and RC cars, while I harnessed up the cats in the backyard and read a book. We had dinner together over an episode of Battlestar Galactica (since we're caught up on our other shows right now), then parted company again.

It's always a bit of a toss-up at our house whether or not to attend Canada Day fireworks. We've gone downtown once or twice, but crushing against 50,000 others during and cramming into buses with what feels like that same amount of bodies afterward is not a picnic. The city encourages everyone to use public transit because so many streets are closed to traffic. Andrew Haydon Park offers a great view of its own pyrotechnics as well as Parliament Hill's (a two-for-one show), but then we have to contend with all the families flooding to AHP for the "festival": midway, petting zoo, etc. Kanata is a short drive for dinner and a movie, but seems too long a drive to take in fireworks. Barrhaven's festivities begin at 11 a.m., but streets around Clarke Fields are also blocked off for the evening, making parking nearby virtually impossible. So we'd decided to stay home (which made my husband very happy, because he had a date with his computer).

However, I exercised my prerogative as a woman to change my mind. A Googlemaps search had indicated that it would take me approx. an hour to walk to Clarke Fields; frankly, I wasn't keen on that destination, because it would have involved walking past some deep ditches, and there have been a number of skunks in that area, judging by the pungent odors and signs of roadkill. So I decided to check out the Strandherd Park'n'Ride, to see what I could see. It was actually a great vantage point. A few groups of people had gathered there already by the time I arrived. The kids in the bunch were stoked, chanting "Can-a-da, Can-a-da," waving their glow sticks, and, at one point, singing K'naan's "Wavin' Flag." They did a decent job of it, too.

I identified with their excitement: there's just something about fireworks that thrills me! (My favorites are the ones that burst and trail streamer-like glowing bits behind them.) I like them even better from a distance. For one thing, they're not as loud (so less risk of hearing loss--very important). Second, there's lots more personal space. Third, no worries about traffic tie-ups. The added bonuses for me tonight were not only that I got exercise, but also that I witnessed a few private/personal light shows here and there along my route. Very cool. In fact, some backyard displays came close to challenging the public one.

All in all, my kind of day.

Celina's birthday and a lost cell phone

Happy Belated Birthday, Celina! Hope you had a splendiferous day on Monday!

I know: we are bad, bad friends. Our card will be late once again. I had written down the date as the 22nd, yet somehow my faulty memory convinced me I was aiming for the 26th.

My excuse is really quite simple: I am aging rapidly.

As an example, today I lost our cell phone. I carried it with me, tucked safely in my purse all day. I always ensure the ring tone is muted, because I do not want to receive glares such as the ones I dole out to students whose cell phones play Human League's "Don't You Want Me, Baby?" halfway through a lecture. I'm kidding. They're more likely to have "You Spin Me Round" (The Chipmunks version) or the voice of Stewie from Family Guy.

After work, James agreed to meet me at the Quizno's at Fallowfield for takeout. At home, I couldn't for the life of me figure out what had happened to the phone. I remembered checking it for the correct time at about 6:30pm, before entering the resto. I couldn't find it in my coat pockets, my purse, the canvas bag containing my dress shoes, or my backpack. I even called to Quizno's to ask them to check the counters, but not a phone was in sight. Fearing that some hoodlum might have picked it up, downloaded Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi" as the new ringtone, and text-messaged each of his 563 Facebook friends, I called Telus to suspend services.

I was feeling low. I mean, I generally do not lose things. I try to return items to the exact same location I took them from and kinda give heck to those who don't. It was all the same to James: our contract was up, so he was meaning to pick out a new handset anyway.

Less than an hour after I spoke with Erika at the call centre, James discovered the cell on the dresser in our room. Ooops.

I recall reading articles (I just don't recall where, exactly) that suggest one should regularly do puzzles like crosswords to exercise the leetle grey cells. I'm already scrambling to do a Sudoku a day; guess I'll have to up it to two.

Maybe our new phone will come with a Sudoku app. Maybe I should look for one that comes with a birthday reminder app, too.

don't kiss me: i'm not Irish

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

'twas a gorgeous day out here, perfect for all the leprechauns to ditch work and part with their pots of gold while acquiring pots of ale.

Ontario primary and secondary school kids are on Spring Break this week: a good time to steer clear of the malls. I didn't take my own advice. The afternoon class I usually work was cancelled today, so I strolled over to the ByWard Market and down Sparks Street via Rideau Centre, noting that at least 90% of the population had donned their greenery for today. All the Irish pubs (and even the non-Irish ones) were overflowing with patrons on patios. Personally, I figured it was a little premature for the flipflops, shorts, and miniskirt/thigh-high boots/white legs sans pantyhose combos; on second thought, remembering last summer...

With so many residents claiming Irish ancestry, it's surprising that St. Paddy's isn't a municipal holiday. They might as well make it one: employees were bailing early this afternoon, and my guess is a number of people will be calling in sick tomorrow.

Who wouldn't want a holiday honoring a man who piped the rats out of Ireland, then celebrated by buying rounds of green Guinness, Starbucks green tea lattes, and shamrock shakes (grimace) for his friends, eh?

In parting, let me share a choice expression from this site: "May the Lord keep you in his hand / and never close his fist too tight."