Digging In The Closet

Drowsey-Monkey tagged me with a meme on what is in my closet and I told her that in my house I would have trouble opening the door let alone determining what is in it. Here goes ..... now if I can just prie it open.... look out ..... here comes a bag of junk.... whew ... not breakable.
Okay the rules for this meme are pretty simple: Name 8 things you have stuffed away in a back closet and tag three people.
1. A box of craft materials and patterns that have not seen the light of day for 10 years.
2. A box of old papers that I keep meaning to sort, file and get rid of but have not gotten to.
3. Oh my god... this is where the broom went to - thank heavens now I can actually sweep some of the dust off the floor of the closet when I am done.
4. There are let me see..... 10 coats and three hats- why on earth do I keep these most of them I hate and are old as the hills.
5. An old computer monitor... never know when my good one might crash! I wonder if it still works.... I think I got it about 12 years ago..hmmm I don't think it will hook up to my new computer. Oh well.
6. A box about 6 inches deep and 12 inches by 12 inches across that is our family time capsule from New Years 2000. We put pictures and mementos of our lives in the box and it is completely taped closed and not to be opened till the birth of the first grandchild. (In my house that may be never happen ... could be a good thing ... could be a bad thing)
7. Three well chewed tennis balls that Lucy obviously lost in here some how.
8. And last but not least a bag of ribbons, bows and wrapping paper used and new.

Well that is it ...nothing very exciting I'm afraid. The really good stuff is kinda lying all over my bedroom floor right now.... long story.

I get to tag three people:

1) GT281 - Now come on... which one of us does not want to know what he has in his closet!
2) Lorelei over at Musings because I know how organized her stuff is going to be and I just want to be jealous.
3)MomofK9's because I am sure she has a closet full of doggie stuff and Miss Lucy will be delighted to hear about it.

Katherine Hepburn

On FaerieKat's site she posted a quiz put together by a group of researchers that is supposed to let you know what movie star you are most like. FaerieKat was Elizabeth Taylor. I decided to try the quiz and was surprised to find that I was most like Katherine Hepburn. She was and is my all time favorite movie star. I liked her because she was her own person and she had an indomitable spirit. Life never seemed to overwhelm her. When she got Parkinson's disease she didn't let it stop her from continuing to make movies or live life. She just made it a part of the cards she was dealt in life and just carried on. She also never seemed to get caught up in the movie star lifestyle. She was a genuine artist preferring to spend time in her cottage writing, painting and riding her bike when she wasn't making movies.
My answers to the quiz were in the 43-50 range. Here is what the quiz had to say about my likeness to Katherine Hepburn.

43-50 points) You are KATHERINE HEPBURN:

You are smart, a real thinker. Every situation is approached with a plan. You are very healthy in mind and body. You don’t take crap from anyone. You have only a couple of individuals that you consider ‘real friends’. You teach strong family values. Keep your feet planted in them, but don’t overlook a bad situation when it does happen.


You can find the quiz on FaerieKat's post Which Movie Star are You?

Wear Pink and Say NO to Bullying!

Today I am wearing a pink shirt to show my support for anti- bullying in our world. That goes for teachers, (come on we have all had one who was a bully) employers, fellow employees or class mates. No one should have to put up with bullying.
Bullying causes incredible pain and in some cases that pain goes on to affect the person for the rest of their life. Worse - sometimes that pain is so intense that dying seems the only answer and many have taken their lives over it.
When did it become so terrible to be different? I think we should celebrate our uniqueness. What a boring world we would live in if we we are the same?
Rejoice if you walk to the tune of a different drummer. It is refreshing to meet people who think for themselves and are not afraid to show it. Some of the most intelligent creative people in history were thought to be different. Many famous people in history were considered to be eccentric - Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein and Andy Warhol.
Wearing pink was inspired by a couple of young men, from Nova Scotia, who seeing a fellow classmate being bullied for wearing a pink shirt to school decided to wear one themselves and convinced other classmates to do the same.
Our entire city has caught the bug and doctors, lawyers, paramedics and nurses just to name a few are wearing pink in solidarity with the cause. Over 120 thousand people have joined a Facebook group in support and there is also a website called Wear Pink.

Yearning for the Desert

When I was a young woman I was lucky enough to travel to Death Valley. I had always been curious about what a desert really looked like as the only place we have a desert is in Osoyoos and it didn't look too spectacular to me and it looked nothing like the pictures I had seen in books about the desert. I thought that the desert would be colorless and drab, but I found that the desert was as fascinating to me as the snow covered mountains here in British Columbia. I have always wanted to go back there so it tweaked my interest this winter when I heard that there were incredible rains in the desert. Today I read that the rains have awakened long dormant wild flower seeds and the desert is alive with color. I wish I could see it. Even more - I wish I could photograph it. Here is a picture of it that I found.What a lucky photographer!

A Monday Funny - Lord Knows I Need It!

AMAZINGLY SIMPLE HOME REMEDIES

1. If you're choking on an ice cube simply pour a cup of boiling water down your throat. Presto! The blockage will instantly remove itself.

2. Avoid cutting yourself when slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold while you chop.

3. Avoid arguments with the Mrs. about lifting the toilet seat by using the sink.

4. For high blood pressure sufferers: simply cut yourself and bleed for a few minutes, thus reducing the pressure in your veins. Remember to use a timer.

5. A mouse trap, placed on top of your alarm clock, will prevent you from rolling over and going back to sleep after you hit the snooze button.

6. If you have a bad cough, take a large dose of laxatives, then you'll be afraid to cough.

7. You only need two tools in life - WD-40 and Duct Tape. If it doesn't move and should, use the WD-40. If it shouldn't move and does, use the duct tape.

8. Remember: Everyone seems normal until you get to know them.

Daily Thought: SOME PEOPLE ARE LIKE SLINKIES. NOT REALLY GOOD FOR ANYTHING BUT THEY BRING A SMILE TO YOUR FACE WHEN PUSHED DOWN THE STAIRS

If you can't fix it with a hammer, you've got an electrical problem.

A View from the Top

The sun was shining and warm here today something we have not seen for many months. You could almost believe that spring was just around the corner except that I have lived here long enough to know that we will still have some nasty cold and wet days ahead before we hit spring.
However, like everyone else who lives on the west coast I like to go out and pretend that a day like today is usual and that is why we live here. Actually a lot of us live here because we can't afford to retire and move to some place less crowded and traffic congested, but that is another story.
Today I had a hankering not just to look at mountains but to go and wander around one with Lucy so we headed to Burnaby Mountain and along with many other people enjoyed a day of sunshine and fresh air. There was very little haze over the city today so the pictures are fairly clear.
Miss Lucy found a patch of snow to roll in and a log to climb on. She had a great time and didn't object too much to coming home to a bath. I put some of her pictures on her blog.

There is a flikrbadge with the rest of them on the side for those who are interested.

Hooray for Amsterdam!

They found a way to potty train a man!

Those Crazy Brits!

The BBC did an article about a restaurant in England that has gotten itself in a bit of a pickle. Some employees, unhappy with being criticized for poor service, found a creative way to add a little note to let those customers know what they thought of them!Now ya gotta love that!

Having worked in restaurants when I was young I can tell you there were more than a few customers who I would like to have left a few pointed messages like this for myself.

Sunday ...

This Sunday the day was absolutely gorgeous and you all know where Miss Lucy and I want to head when the day is like that.
Yep - you guessed it we packed up and headed to the valley. This time we headed to Harrison Lake for an afternoon stroll.
I took my camera of course only to realize half way out that I did not take my memory card and I soon used my internal memory up. I stopped at London Drugs to buy a new one and while I was there decided to show my daughter the camera I have been lusting after for over a year. They were on sale the last time I looked at them in the same story, but this time they were even less money.
I fondled it and played with the buttons and even shot a few pictures of the store shelves all the while the clerk was being very patient with me. My daughter said "why don't you buy it instead of a new memory card for you camera" ? Good question? I hummed and hawed and almost bought it till I realized that I would have to charge the battery before I could take pictures with it so that would mean a day at Harrison with no pictures. Sadly I told Kim (very nice lady) not today, because I get so little time to around in the sunshine for a day that I hate to miss it. I can always get it on the way home. Then the clerk said well... there is not reason why we can't give you the battery that is in our demo camera. REALLY ?!? Well I couldn't turn down an offer like that. So for the next few hours I played with it and tried to figure all the settings out. This camera is a Nikon D40 and it is very nice to use. Have a look and tell me what you think.

There is a flickr badge Harrison Through a New Lens. Most of the pictures are not very good as I was not really sure what I was doing with this camera yet and they are repetitive, but have a look if you like.

Dinner

Just for Lorelei over on Musings

Books!

Ever since I was a kid I have loved books. I lived in the country with very few neighbors and even fewer children my age to play with. Books and the characters in them became my constant friends and companions. I remember when I got into high school and discovered they had a whole library and I could take out any of the books I wanted! There was this feeling of awe mixed with intense excitement. This room could take me anywhere in the world I wanted to go for a few hours. I still feel that way only Chapters-Indigo book store has replaced the high school library. Chapters keeps me stocked in books and I keep them from going in the red. This weekend I bought three books that look intriguing and I can hardly wait for a day to lay in bed and escape to some place more exciting than Vancouver.
The books I purchased were:

• The Curious Incident Of the Dog In The Night-Time by Mark Haddon
• Suite Francaise - by Irene Nemirovsky
• The Glass Castle - by Jeannette Walls
  

The Story of Work

Well the weekend went by all too quickly yet again! I was out in the valley and I started thinking about Lorelei over on Musings and her problems with her job and then Diane on Stellarlife this week put up a list of all the jobs she has done in her life. It made me think about work and its effect on our lives.

I remember when I first started looking for a job. I didn't really need a resume. Lets face it washing dishes amd scraping scum off the floor at the burger joint doesn't exactly require much in the way of a skill set. I remember stammering while I told your prospective boss how good I was and how much I really liked home economics - yeah right! I convinced myself and my boss that I could think of nothing I would like better than to wash those pots and pans not to mention 100's of dishes every shift. Yes indeed it was the job of my dreams. Then the magic words YOUR HIRED - I was so happy about those words I ran home and phoned all my friends and promised to take them out for colas on my first pay cheque . I dreamed of what I would do with ALL that money. For days I walked on cloud nine planning my outfit for my first day and what a first day that was. When I got finished my shift I was covered with left over food, my new hairdo was drooping like wet dog fur despite the half can of super hold hairspray I used and my body hurt so bad that I wasn't sure I would make it home to collapse in to bed.
However, there was one consolation and one thing that made me keep going back the paycheck! I remember when I got that first cheque - holy crap! I thought I was rich! I had just worked my ass off for two weeks for a whole....... $89.96 bucks. Whoowee was I lucky or what?!
I went out on my day off and celebrated. Took my friends out for colas as promised went to a movie and had popcorn and felt like I was a genuine contributor to society. Of course I was also very broke, but the good news was that after just two more weeks of hell I would get another paycheck. There begins the whole story of my life and most of everyone else's life too.
One day of course I realized that I needed a better job so I continued at school and soon with diploma in hand I got that better job. Oh boy! I can still remember when two weeks later I got a $300.00 paycheck I thought that the sky was the limit. That was of course until I realized that now I had to pay rent and buy food and clothes for work and transportation. All this before I could even think of buying those colas or going to that movie.
Today of course if I got a three hundred dollar paycheck I would have a nervous break down trying to figure out how to live on that. Because now the job is better, but the bills are even higher. Now I need a car to get to work and the clothes have to be better and the rent is higher and on and on it goes.
One day you wake up and realize that it is the same shit different day or year however you want to look at it and instead of being excited about that next job you begin to wonder how to survive the next ten years of enslavement. You realize that in many ways you are still washing those dishes only this sink is bigger. That my dear friends is truly the story of work in a nutshell.

For the Cynical Amongst Us

THE ZEN OF SARCASM

1. Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me either. Just pretty much leave me alone.

2. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a broken fan belt and leaky tire.

3. Its always darkest before dawn. So if you're going to steal your neighbor's newspaper, that's the time to do it.

4. Don't be irreplaceable. If you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted.

5. Always remember that you're unique. Just like everyone else.

6. Never test the depth of the water with both feet.

7. If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of car payments

8. Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes.That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes.

9. If at first you don't succeed, sky diving is probably not for you.

10. Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.

11. If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably a wise investment.

12. If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.

13. Some days you're the bug; some days you're the windshield.

14. Everyone seems normal until you get to know them.

15. The quickest way to double your money is to fold it in half and put it back in your pocket.

16. A closed mouth gathers no foot.

17. Duct tape is like 'The Force'. It has a light side and a dark side, and it holds the universe together.

18. There are two theories to arguing with women. Neither one works.

19. Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

20. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.

Happy Valentine's Day

For all my single friends out there.

Remember that being alone on Valentine's Day is not a sign of your worth only a sign that you are worthy of the right person at the right time.
Remember that loving yourself is the first step to finding love.
Remember to indulge yourself a little to day. Buy that new dress you have your eye on. Go to the spa and let yourself be pampered. Eat something rich and decadent without guilt.
Remember that you are more unique and wonderful than you can ever know.

For All the Ladies Without a Date on Valentine's Day

Are ya really missing much?

Heads Up Guys

The love day is here once again and we women all know the rules for this occasion, but somehow it escapes the guys. So here is a little heads up for ya'll:

1. Remember that Valentine's day is February 14th. Not the 15th and not the weekend after even if Thursday is your night out with the guys and the price of chocolate and everything red goes down.
   
2. Beer, Pizza and turning the lights out while you watch TV is not a romantic dinner for two.
   
3. Buying her dinner does not equal foreplay and McDonalds or Burger King is not a gourmet meal.
   
4. If you are going to buy the lady sexy lingerie make sure you get the right size. No woman likes to be reminded they have put on a few pounds since last year.
   
5. A couple of snickers bars from the gas station can not replace a box of gourmet chocolates.
   
6. If you are going to use a little wine to set the mood for the lady make sure you don't drink too much yourself while trying or you could find yourself sleeping with your head in the toilet bowl.
   
7. Talking about the football game you watched last weekend is not whispering sweet nothings in her ear.
   
8. Never give her a years membership to weight watchers no matter how many times since Christmas she has told you she wants to go.
   
9. Accept the fact the rules for this day are never fair.
   
10. Remember the rules always change.

Good Luck Guys! - You know you will need it!

Tuesday Already!?

I don't know about anyone else, but for me the days fly by far too quickly. This weekend seemed to just disappear. Saturday I went to an Indo Canadian dinner in a house that was so large you wanted to ask how many people actually lived there. I counted three kitchens on different floors and on the floor I was on there were no less than three living rooms! It was a good evening and I had a lot of fun.
I have come to the conclusion there are three deadly weekend sins:

• Too much food
• Too much booze
  
• Too little sleep

This weekend I indulged in all three leaving me with less energy instead of more for the start of the week. At the end of one of these weekends all I can think about is the next and how I am going to rest up and get organized. Oh Yeah right! Add that to my todo list that Canadians never get around to completing.

Friday Funny!

Gung Hay Fat Choy

Or in English "Best Wishes & Congratulations. Have a Prosperous and good year!"

Chinese Lunar New Year is such a vibrant and colorful time.

• Houses are decorated with red and gold decorations or couplets that carry messages of good luck,good health, prosperity, happiness and long life.

• Flowers, tangerines, oranges and pomelos are picked and displayed. The colors of these items symbolize good luck and joy.
  
• Blossoms symbolize longevity and courage.
• Candy trays of candied melon, coconut, lotus seed and watermelon seed are offered. They signify growth, good health, abundance and togetherness.
• On the seventh day of the New Year everyone adds a year to their age no matter when they were born. Traditional China individual birthdays are not as important as this New Year Date.
  

The time before the holiday is traditionally spent cleaning the house, settling family debts and buying new clothes. It always signals that end of winter and the beginning of spring and for me it really does seem that the days get longer and brighter. I love this holiday because every one of them that I have celebrated over the years with my Asian friends has been a delight. The table is loaded with wonderful traditional Chinese dishes and there is much joy and laughter shared around the table. I love it.
This year is the year of the Rat. The first sign in the Zodiak. People born in the Year of the Rat are noted for their charm and attraction for the opposite sex. They work hard to achieve their goals, acquire possessions, and are likely to be perfectionists. They are basically thrifty with money. Rat people are easily angered and love to gossip. Their ambitions are big, and they are usually very successful. They are most compatible with people born in the years of the Dragon, Monkey, and Ox.

Some famous people born in the year of the rat: Alyssa Milano, Cameron Diaz, Gwyneth Paltrow, Lauren Bacall, Ben Afflect, Samuel L. Jackson, William Shakespeare and Mozart!

I am born in the year of the Dragon. The Dragon and the Rat are good buddies ( this should come as no surprise to gt281) and that makes this year a good year for Dragons. I am told that this is the year to pursue my dreams and that 2008 should be a positive year.

I Know For Sure....

One of these camels is smiling!

Street Slang

• Seagull manager -A manager who flies in, makes a lot of noise, craps on everything, and then leaves.
• SITCOMs-Single Income, Two Children, Oppressive Mortgage. What yuppies turn into when they have children and one of them stops working to stay home with the kids or start a ‘home business’.
• 404-Someone who’s clueless. From the World Wide Web error message ‘404 Not Found’ meaning that the requested document could not be located.
• ASSMOSIS.-The process by which people seem to absorb success and advancement by
  sucking up to the boss rather than working hard.
  

• SALMON DAY The experience of spending an entire day swimming upstream only to get screwed and die.

• PICASSO BUM -A woman whose knickers are too small for her, so she looks like she's got 4 buttocks
• GREYHOUND. -A very short skirt, only an inch from the hare.

AND LAST BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST!

• AUSSIE KISS. -Similar to a French Kiss, but given down under.

Changing Templates like Changing My Undies!

Every day a new one! Not by choice. At home I use firefox for my browser and I love it I might add. At work I am forced to use IE and today when I checked my blog (on my lunch hour of course) my blog was all messed up. I thought it was that way because of the computers at work so when I got home and checked voila everything seemed to be okay until I decided to fire up IE and see if it was still okay there. NOPE! It was all messed up so I changed yet again and I am not very happy about it let me tell you. I am determined to find a design that I actually like one day and leave it that way for ... oh at least a month!

A Stolen Day With the Mountains

Saturday we awoke to cold temperatures, but beautiful sunshine. Sometimes here on the coast we see so little sunshine in the winter that when we get a day like this I can hardly wait to get out in the country. Lucy and I headed out to the valley and spent a day with the mountains.

Mountains have always made me feel at home. I remember when I lived in Florida one of the things I missed the most about home was the mountains. I have grown up surrounded by mountains and I delight in their magnificence. I especially love it when they are covered with snow. We drove around all over the valley stopping and looking up at the mountains and the snow covered trees. Lucy had a run at her favorite beach, only this time it was covered with snow instead of sand. So I have put up a flick'r badge for those who also love to lose themselves in the snow covered mountains.

And then of course there are always the sweet surprises in the trees.

Biggest Heart Award

DrowseyMonkey awarded me the Biggest Heart Award and I feel very honored. Thanks so much Drowsey!

I would like to pass the award on to K9-Mom as she has the biggest heart for animals of anyone I know. I would also like to award this to FaerieKat as after reading some of her older post and stories I think she has a huge heart for others.

From the Heart Tag

Drowsey has tagged me with a "From the heart Tag". This is a nice tag and one that I hope keeps going. You can read Drowsey's quote on her memes and tags page.

"Post a quote that speaks from and to your heart and dedicate it to at least three other bloggers."

Maybe because there were a lot of people in my life who I needed to forgive I have always loved this quote by Mark Twain

"Forgiveness is the fragrance the violet leaves on the heel that has crushed it."


I dedicate my quote to:

Faerie Kat

Musings


K-9 Mom

Remember the good o'l days?

The world has just changed too much for me. Every day there are new sayings, new words, new meanings for old words. For example do you have any idea what Merriam Websters word of the year for 2007 was? w00t - yes w00t and yes I have spelled it correctly with numbers instead of o's. Now I have never used this word and most of the people I know have never used this word. The word is an expression of joy apparently and is used by gamers. Some of the other words that made the list;

• blamestorm -discussing in a group who is to blame for missing a deadline. Usually where I work it is called passing the buck
  
• sardoodledom - mechanically contrived plot or structure or unrealistic characterization. I think we call this TV
  
• Pecksniffian - unctuously hypocritical - Hmmm I think self -centered pretty much covered it.

I remember the good old days when you said what you meant for example:
When I was in high school and someone said their rabbit died it meant they were pregnant. Now it means their batteries died.
When some one said they were looking for a ho we thought they didn't know how to spell the word for the gardening tool.
A hook up was just getting together to have coffee to go to a movie or just hang out.
And Mary Jane was just the name of the girl next door.
Coke Head was some one who drank to much coca cola.

I don't know about you, but things seemed so much simpler back then.