Colour me bad.
I ignored the number one rule of grocery shopping. Never shop when you’re hungry.
Of course it wasn’t entirely my fault. There was a guest speaker today so the class was moved to the morning so we could hear them too, so I was done school at lunch time, hence both the being hungry and the tardiness of this post.
I had to stop at the grocery store for bread on the way home from school and because I was hungry I also ended up with a bag of Doritos, a couple of boxes of cookies, and a braided apple pastry thing that tastes real yummy. And I should know, I’ve already eaten it. ;-)
Hmmm, cookies. Simple Pleasures Chocolate Thins. Thin, crispy cookie, big chocolately taste. I think I’m going to keep these in the office. Talk about an incentive to work at my desk!
Today I need the infusion of chocolate because after the speaker was done I had to get my picture taken for my student card. I was not expecting this so I was dressed in a white t-shirt (good quality, but still white) and because I don’t like hair dryers I had pulled my wet hair into a clip before going to school.
I took my half dry hair out of the clip and put on the beige jacket I had with me. Not much of an improvement, but I figured it was probably better than nothing. I was wrong. My hair looked greasy, not wet, and the beige (which I don’t normally wear) leeched what little colour I had out of my face.
I’m so glad no one ever has to see this picture.
This means you, Ciara!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
School Daze
I think my instructor is getting annoyed with me. She hands out assignments and I have mine finished before she’s finished droning on about how to do them. It’s not my fault I’m computer literate, why am I being punished for it?
And can someone tell me what is the point of timed typing tests when we aren’t even allowed to use the whole alphabet yet? I’m not bragging here, but while the girls in front of me were all excited to reach 35 words per minute with four or five mistakes, I’ve been typing 70 words a minute with no mistakes.
*sigh*
I was whining about the keyboarding exercises to the husband last night and he got quite the chuckle out of it, remembering his high school typing class (which obviously didn’t do him much good because he’s a two finger typist at work). But then he rhymed off some letters of the alphabet like I should know them.
Turns out he was trying to remember the letters for the home row. He asked me if he was right and I shrugged. How should I know? I didn’t learn to type in high school, I learned at business college where we did touch-typing.
We sat behind typewriters (yes, I’m so old that I learned to type on a typewriter!) that had no letters on the keys. The room was dark and we looked up at a projection on the wall for our lessons. So, no, I don’t know what the letters of the home row are. But put my fingers on the home row and I can type the alphabet without looking. In fact, I type faster when I keep focused on the copy instead of what I’m doing.
Meanwhile, back in school. I finished keyboarding lesson six yesterday while everyone else seems to be struggling with lesson three still.
The good news is, I have internet access at school.
The bad news is, I’m too intimidated to make use of it.
I’m sure this will change. :-)
And can someone tell me what is the point of timed typing tests when we aren’t even allowed to use the whole alphabet yet? I’m not bragging here, but while the girls in front of me were all excited to reach 35 words per minute with four or five mistakes, I’ve been typing 70 words a minute with no mistakes.
*sigh*
I was whining about the keyboarding exercises to the husband last night and he got quite the chuckle out of it, remembering his high school typing class (which obviously didn’t do him much good because he’s a two finger typist at work). But then he rhymed off some letters of the alphabet like I should know them.
Turns out he was trying to remember the letters for the home row. He asked me if he was right and I shrugged. How should I know? I didn’t learn to type in high school, I learned at business college where we did touch-typing.
We sat behind typewriters (yes, I’m so old that I learned to type on a typewriter!) that had no letters on the keys. The room was dark and we looked up at a projection on the wall for our lessons. So, no, I don’t know what the letters of the home row are. But put my fingers on the home row and I can type the alphabet without looking. In fact, I type faster when I keep focused on the copy instead of what I’m doing.
Meanwhile, back in school. I finished keyboarding lesson six yesterday while everyone else seems to be struggling with lesson three still.
The good news is, I have internet access at school.
The bad news is, I’m too intimidated to make use of it.
I’m sure this will change. :-)
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
I Iz Smrt!
So . . . What did I do in school yesterday? I started computer fundamentals.
*stop laughing Chippy and Ciara*
I learned how to open windows and create a folder on the computer. Then I started to learn keyboarding - you know, how to type.
fff jjj fff jjj
and sometimes, just for variety:
fjf fjf jfj jfj
The goal for the speed test is 10 words per minute.
*you can stop laughing too, Crazynance!*
Here’s the Learning Outcomes from the syllabus:
Upon successful completion of this course the student will be able to:
1. Start the computer and Windows.
2. Start and close the different Office programs.
3. Work with a window and used the Help tool.
4. Log off and shut down the computer.
5. Create, save and print a file.
6. Create shortcuts and folders on the desktop and work in their own folder.
7. Set folder options and organize desktop.
8. Copy, move and manage files and folders in different locations on the computer.
9. Work in Windows Explore.
10. Compress files, work with pictures and share files and folders.
11. Manage the recycle bin and recover files from the bin.
12. Change the desktop, manage the taskbar and customize the Start Menu
13. Search for lost files and folders.
And in case you missed it, check out number 9. That’s exactly the way it's written on the sheet.
I kid you not.
Today as well as more keyboarding fun I also get to learn how to log off the computer and basic controls.
Oh joy.
*stop laughing Chippy and Ciara*
I learned how to open windows and create a folder on the computer. Then I started to learn keyboarding - you know, how to type.
fff jjj fff jjj
and sometimes, just for variety:
fjf fjf jfj jfj
The goal for the speed test is 10 words per minute.
*you can stop laughing too, Crazynance!*
Here’s the Learning Outcomes from the syllabus:
Upon successful completion of this course the student will be able to:
1. Start the computer and Windows.
2. Start and close the different Office programs.
3. Work with a window and used the Help tool.
4. Log off and shut down the computer.
5. Create, save and print a file.
6. Create shortcuts and folders on the desktop and work in their own folder.
7. Set folder options and organize desktop.
8. Copy, move and manage files and folders in different locations on the computer.
9. Work in Windows Explore.
10. Compress files, work with pictures and share files and folders.
11. Manage the recycle bin and recover files from the bin.
12. Change the desktop, manage the taskbar and customize the Start Menu
13. Search for lost files and folders.
And in case you missed it, check out number 9. That’s exactly the way it's written on the sheet.
I kid you not.
Today as well as more keyboarding fun I also get to learn how to log off the computer and basic controls.
Oh joy.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Letter
Dear Cats,
I can understand the need to clean out your litter boxes and though it’s not my favorite job in the world I still do it because I love you. However, there’s a couple of issues we need to address.
Julius, don’t think I don’t know that it was you who emptied a mound of kitty litter onto the floor. I had just changed the kitty litter in the box so obviously it wasn’t a protest of some kind, you didn’t make use of the hole you dug in the box and you didn’t even use the kitty litter mountain on the floor. You just wanted to make a mess!
And Dante, I love you dearly but did you really have to use the hole Julius made to create a mind-numbing stench and then not even bother to cover it up?
The litter pan in the spare bedroom is larger, deeper, and just as clean (if not cleaner). Why do you guys have to fill up the litter pan outside my office door first? Look at all the time I spent cleaning up my office, I’d like to be able to use it without having my nose hairs singed.
I’m not asking for much, just a little consideration is all.
Your loving human.
* * * * * * * * * *
Dear Human,
We don’t care.
Give us more treats.
You don’t like our smell? We suggest using a clothespin on your nose.
And while you’re out buying clothespins, pick up some more treats.
Regards,
The Cats
I can understand the need to clean out your litter boxes and though it’s not my favorite job in the world I still do it because I love you. However, there’s a couple of issues we need to address.
Julius, don’t think I don’t know that it was you who emptied a mound of kitty litter onto the floor. I had just changed the kitty litter in the box so obviously it wasn’t a protest of some kind, you didn’t make use of the hole you dug in the box and you didn’t even use the kitty litter mountain on the floor. You just wanted to make a mess!
And Dante, I love you dearly but did you really have to use the hole Julius made to create a mind-numbing stench and then not even bother to cover it up?
The litter pan in the spare bedroom is larger, deeper, and just as clean (if not cleaner). Why do you guys have to fill up the litter pan outside my office door first? Look at all the time I spent cleaning up my office, I’d like to be able to use it without having my nose hairs singed.
I’m not asking for much, just a little consideration is all.
Your loving human.
* * * * * * * * * *
Dear Human,
We don’t care.
Give us more treats.
You don’t like our smell? We suggest using a clothespin on your nose.
And while you’re out buying clothespins, pick up some more treats.
Regards,
The Cats
Friday, May 22, 2009
Finally Friday!
I’m trying to get myself into the habit of shutting down the lap top by 11 p.m. so I have some time to read before bed. The shutting down of the lap top isn’t a problem, but stopping reading at a decent hour is. *sigh*
Yes, this means I'm still sleeping in later than I should.
Wednesday I had lunch with a friend, which is always nice. We don’t get together as often as we’d like, but when we do we make it count. :-)
Last night I went to the public poetry reading the group has every month. This month they invited local high school students to read. Some of these kids are quite talented, it was a very enjoyable evening.
I’ve been so busy this week (and today will be no exception) that I feel like the cartoon character that’s running so fast they run right off a cliff and their legs keep moving. So, for your amusement I have this cartoon the daughter passed on to me:
Have a good weekend everyone!
Yes, this means I'm still sleeping in later than I should.
Wednesday I had lunch with a friend, which is always nice. We don’t get together as often as we’d like, but when we do we make it count. :-)
Last night I went to the public poetry reading the group has every month. This month they invited local high school students to read. Some of these kids are quite talented, it was a very enjoyable evening.
I’ve been so busy this week (and today will be no exception) that I feel like the cartoon character that’s running so fast they run right off a cliff and their legs keep moving. So, for your amusement I have this cartoon the daughter passed on to me:
Have a good weekend everyone!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Mostly School
My first day of school (yesterday) wasn’t nearly as interesting as getting there. I had to deal with a mix-up over my unemployment because my school was delayed by two weeks, which put me way behind in other things I needed to get done before leaving. Fortunately, school didn’t start until 1:30, otherwise I would have been twenty minutes late for my first orientation class.
You should see the size of my first textbook. And this one’s only for the first week! Now I’m really glad I have the new bookcase. Apparently we’ll be getting a text book this size every couple of weeks.
Orientation was a little ho hum, it’s mostly learning how to train ourselves to learn more effectively.
When I got home I had a message on my answering machine from a friend of the husband’s who invited me to a meeting of the local poetry group. I figured I had nothing to lose, so I went. It wasn’t too scarey, although I chickened out of reading something of my own. Tomorrow night there’s an open poetry reading and I’ll probably go to that as well.
I got home from the poetry group meeting just in time for the season finale of Dancing With the Stars. What a disappointment! After the first couple of episodes I figured it would come down to Gille and L’il Kim, but she was eliminated the first week of the finals. And in the end Gille got beat out by the teen-aged gymnast. Just goes to show you that this is based more on popularity than talent.
Today, stomach cramps woke me up about two hours early and caused all kinds of bad things, but I think they’re pretty much under control now. My morning is more relaxing and I’m looking forward to school this afternoon. And I don’t have anything planned for this evening, which is nice for a change.
You should see the size of my first textbook. And this one’s only for the first week! Now I’m really glad I have the new bookcase. Apparently we’ll be getting a text book this size every couple of weeks.
Orientation was a little ho hum, it’s mostly learning how to train ourselves to learn more effectively.
When I got home I had a message on my answering machine from a friend of the husband’s who invited me to a meeting of the local poetry group. I figured I had nothing to lose, so I went. It wasn’t too scarey, although I chickened out of reading something of my own. Tomorrow night there’s an open poetry reading and I’ll probably go to that as well.
I got home from the poetry group meeting just in time for the season finale of Dancing With the Stars. What a disappointment! After the first couple of episodes I figured it would come down to Gille and L’il Kim, but she was eliminated the first week of the finals. And in the end Gille got beat out by the teen-aged gymnast. Just goes to show you that this is based more on popularity than talent.
Today, stomach cramps woke me up about two hours early and caused all kinds of bad things, but I think they’re pretty much under control now. My morning is more relaxing and I’m looking forward to school this afternoon. And I don’t have anything planned for this evening, which is nice for a change.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Argh!
I did switch the two bookcases after all. It looks much nicer and the difference in colour is pretty insignificant, but what a pain in the butt! I had to empty both bookcases before I could move them so I had books stacked up everywhere. The shorter bookcase is my “to be read” bookcase and three of the rows were doubled up with books.
If you want to see a layout of the room, check over in my writing blog.
I need two more shelves for the new bookcase, but there’s no rush because of my awesome organizing skills. Every time I thought I was done with books I’d find more that I’d forgotten about. I filled a box with books I decided I could part with, but these were mostly used books I’d gotten at sales.
I have a double row of paperbacks I bought new, a double row of paperbacks I bought at book sales, and two rows of over sized paper backs and hardback books. These are just my “to be read” books. I can’t even begin to tell you how many books are on my keeper shelves. Not counting the daughter’s room, there are fourteen bookcases in the house.
I would really like to get my books all catalogued. If we ever had a fire . . . *shudder* It doesn’t bear thinking about. And it’s not that I want them catalogued to keep track of how much money it would take to replace them, it’s because there’s no way I could ever remember all the titles.
There’s a lot of them that couldn’t be replaced - some are really old, some are autographed . . . One of the book cases upstairs is a massive wooden structure that holds most of my books from when I was a member of the Science Fiction book club.
Yeah, I definitely have a book addiction.
After organizing the bookcases in my office I decided to clean off my desk too, which meant putting away all the crap piled up everywhere. That pretty much took me the rest of the evening.
But the good news is, it’s all done now.
If you want to see a layout of the room, check over in my writing blog.
I need two more shelves for the new bookcase, but there’s no rush because of my awesome organizing skills. Every time I thought I was done with books I’d find more that I’d forgotten about. I filled a box with books I decided I could part with, but these were mostly used books I’d gotten at sales.
I have a double row of paperbacks I bought new, a double row of paperbacks I bought at book sales, and two rows of over sized paper backs and hardback books. These are just my “to be read” books. I can’t even begin to tell you how many books are on my keeper shelves. Not counting the daughter’s room, there are fourteen bookcases in the house.
I would really like to get my books all catalogued. If we ever had a fire . . . *shudder* It doesn’t bear thinking about. And it’s not that I want them catalogued to keep track of how much money it would take to replace them, it’s because there’s no way I could ever remember all the titles.
There’s a lot of them that couldn’t be replaced - some are really old, some are autographed . . . One of the book cases upstairs is a massive wooden structure that holds most of my books from when I was a member of the Science Fiction book club.
Yeah, I definitely have a book addiction.
After organizing the bookcases in my office I decided to clean off my desk too, which meant putting away all the crap piled up everywhere. That pretty much took me the rest of the evening.
But the good news is, it’s all done now.
Monday, May 18, 2009
The Queen's Birthday
Happy Victoria Day!
How was your weekend?
I feel like I spent more time in Wal Mart this weekend than anything else. Friday night we went to see about getting a new patio set. The girl we finally tracked down to help us claimed there were three sets left in the store. After an hour she was still unable to find even one of them. Finally she took our phone number and said they’d call when they found them.
Saturday morning Wal Mart phoned that they’d found two of the sets, so we trekked on over. An hour and a half (and five sales people) later they managed to find one of the sets and we ended up having to make two trips to get it all home.
Then Sunday I took the daughter and her fiancé to Oshawa to have their pictures taken (it was part of their wedding package). We had to be there early, especially for a Sunday morning. So early, in fact, that after dropping them off I drove around for awhile looking for something that was open. I ended up at Wal Mart where I cooled my heels for an hour or so.
I felt like I had a pretty productive day on Saturday, despite having to hang around Wal Mart. I bought my new bookcase Friday night, and Saturday morning, with the help of the cats, put it together. It needs a couple more shelves, and I’m still not sure I like where it is, so I’m sitting here “thinking” about it as I type.
I have two tall bookcases and a shorter one lining the west wall of my office. Underneath the wide, north facing window is a long bookcase (it pretty much goes from one side of the room to the other). Then on the east wall I have my new bookcase, which is the same size as the two tall ones opposite it.
Although size-wise it would look better to have the three tall ones together, there’s just a shade difference in colour. Apparently, they don’t sell the darker woodgrain any more. It’s not a big difference in colour, but it is a noticeable difference.
*sigh* Decisions, decisions.
I must say the long bookcase under the window is looking good though. I took everything off it, de-haired the books and cleaned off the shelves, then alphabetized the books as I put them back. I just wonder how long it’s going to stay looking that good.
Today I'd like to finish getting my office cleaned up and maybe even get some writing done. But first, I need to take something for the headache I woke up with.
I refuse to let the pain in my head ruin my day!
How was your weekend?
I feel like I spent more time in Wal Mart this weekend than anything else. Friday night we went to see about getting a new patio set. The girl we finally tracked down to help us claimed there were three sets left in the store. After an hour she was still unable to find even one of them. Finally she took our phone number and said they’d call when they found them.
Saturday morning Wal Mart phoned that they’d found two of the sets, so we trekked on over. An hour and a half (and five sales people) later they managed to find one of the sets and we ended up having to make two trips to get it all home.
Then Sunday I took the daughter and her fiancé to Oshawa to have their pictures taken (it was part of their wedding package). We had to be there early, especially for a Sunday morning. So early, in fact, that after dropping them off I drove around for awhile looking for something that was open. I ended up at Wal Mart where I cooled my heels for an hour or so.
I felt like I had a pretty productive day on Saturday, despite having to hang around Wal Mart. I bought my new bookcase Friday night, and Saturday morning, with the help of the cats, put it together. It needs a couple more shelves, and I’m still not sure I like where it is, so I’m sitting here “thinking” about it as I type.
I have two tall bookcases and a shorter one lining the west wall of my office. Underneath the wide, north facing window is a long bookcase (it pretty much goes from one side of the room to the other). Then on the east wall I have my new bookcase, which is the same size as the two tall ones opposite it.
Although size-wise it would look better to have the three tall ones together, there’s just a shade difference in colour. Apparently, they don’t sell the darker woodgrain any more. It’s not a big difference in colour, but it is a noticeable difference.
*sigh* Decisions, decisions.
I must say the long bookcase under the window is looking good though. I took everything off it, de-haired the books and cleaned off the shelves, then alphabetized the books as I put them back. I just wonder how long it’s going to stay looking that good.
Today I'd like to finish getting my office cleaned up and maybe even get some writing done. But first, I need to take something for the headache I woke up with.
I refuse to let the pain in my head ruin my day!
Friday, May 15, 2009
Friday, Again?
Boy this week went fast. And I have precious little to show for my time.
I've been getting up earlier, but the last couple of days I've made up for it by having a nap in the afternoon. Wednesday I napped trying to get rid of a migraine, and Thursday I napped because the sinus medication I was taking made me so sleepy I couldn't focus on the computer screen.
Writing-wise I spent a lot of time struggling with a poem I want to submit to a horror anthology. It's a themed anthology and I thought it would be fun. I was wrong. It felt like for every three words I wrote down I deleted five. I've never had to struggle with a poem the way I did this one. Not even the sestina from the PAD challenge gave me this kind of grief.
I also focused on my short stories and picked one to edit over the course of the week. You can see the finished product over on my writing blog .
By hook or by crook I'm getting a new bookcase this weekend. It really drives me crazy seeing all those books stacked up and bagged up and boxed up. I want them out where I can see them.
Wow. Talk about distracting. I just saw a cement truck go by. What on earth would a cement truck be doing in this neighborhood? This is an older, quiet neighborhood with well established homes - there's no room for new construction. Maybe he got lost. Maybe it's a sign that the next story I should work on is my horror story about a basement (the scarey part had to do with the cement).
Maybe I'll start working on it right now.
Have a good weekend. :-)
I've been getting up earlier, but the last couple of days I've made up for it by having a nap in the afternoon. Wednesday I napped trying to get rid of a migraine, and Thursday I napped because the sinus medication I was taking made me so sleepy I couldn't focus on the computer screen.
Writing-wise I spent a lot of time struggling with a poem I want to submit to a horror anthology. It's a themed anthology and I thought it would be fun. I was wrong. It felt like for every three words I wrote down I deleted five. I've never had to struggle with a poem the way I did this one. Not even the sestina from the PAD challenge gave me this kind of grief.
I also focused on my short stories and picked one to edit over the course of the week. You can see the finished product over on my writing blog .
By hook or by crook I'm getting a new bookcase this weekend. It really drives me crazy seeing all those books stacked up and bagged up and boxed up. I want them out where I can see them.
Wow. Talk about distracting. I just saw a cement truck go by. What on earth would a cement truck be doing in this neighborhood? This is an older, quiet neighborhood with well established homes - there's no room for new construction. Maybe he got lost. Maybe it's a sign that the next story I should work on is my horror story about a basement (the scarey part had to do with the cement).
Maybe I'll start working on it right now.
Have a good weekend. :-)
Thursday, May 14, 2009
One of Those Days
Yesterday was another one of those days. I woke up with a bit of a headache and things went downhill from there.
I don’t feel that I accomplished much, other than updating my blogs, which I did first thing in the morning. After that I read other people’s updates and then decided that since I couldn’t concentrate anyway, I might as well run some errands.
First stop was the dollar store, where I hoped to find one of those little date books so I could keep track of things I’ve committed to (like driving the daughter somewhere, meeting a friend, etc.). I didn’t find a date book, but I did find five dollars worth of other . . . stuff.
Next I went to Wal Mart to buy a new bookcase, only Wal Mart didn’t have the one I wanted. They had the right size, but in the wrong colour. So then I went to Zellers who had my book case in the right colour, but wanted thirty-four dollars more for it. *sigh* Zero for two.
By this time my headache was starting to develop into a migraine, so I went home and had some lunch and then, because I couldn’t concentrate on my writing, I tried having a nap. It didn’t help. I did some work on my blogs, removing a couple of widgets that were too distracting and updating my Blog list. I was out of sinus medication, which sometimes helps, so I went out again to get some.
The sinus medicine started kicking in after supper, and reduced the headache to something I could live with. Unfortunately, it was just in time to watch the season finale of America’s Next Top Model and the two hour season finale of LOST.
LOST was excellent, as always. We got to meet the mysterious Jacob and we learned just how long he’s been on the island (although not why). There were connections made with several of the other characters, but none of the loose ends were tied up. The ending was sufficient to keep me guessing until the next season.
Needless to say, I didn’t get a whole lot of writing done last night.
I don’t feel that I accomplished much, other than updating my blogs, which I did first thing in the morning. After that I read other people’s updates and then decided that since I couldn’t concentrate anyway, I might as well run some errands.
First stop was the dollar store, where I hoped to find one of those little date books so I could keep track of things I’ve committed to (like driving the daughter somewhere, meeting a friend, etc.). I didn’t find a date book, but I did find five dollars worth of other . . . stuff.
Next I went to Wal Mart to buy a new bookcase, only Wal Mart didn’t have the one I wanted. They had the right size, but in the wrong colour. So then I went to Zellers who had my book case in the right colour, but wanted thirty-four dollars more for it. *sigh* Zero for two.
By this time my headache was starting to develop into a migraine, so I went home and had some lunch and then, because I couldn’t concentrate on my writing, I tried having a nap. It didn’t help. I did some work on my blogs, removing a couple of widgets that were too distracting and updating my Blog list. I was out of sinus medication, which sometimes helps, so I went out again to get some.
The sinus medicine started kicking in after supper, and reduced the headache to something I could live with. Unfortunately, it was just in time to watch the season finale of America’s Next Top Model and the two hour season finale of LOST.
LOST was excellent, as always. We got to meet the mysterious Jacob and we learned just how long he’s been on the island (although not why). There were connections made with several of the other characters, but none of the loose ends were tied up. The ending was sufficient to keep me guessing until the next season.
Needless to say, I didn’t get a whole lot of writing done last night.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Movies and Nature
First of all I have to say I love the Cineplex. Multiple movies with different start times - what a great idea! I'd already arranged to so see an early showing Wolverine with a friend, and then as my Mother's Day present, the daughter took me to see the new Star Trek movie. Excellent movies, both of them.
Wolverine answered many questions about Logan, including where he came from and how he got his name. I know rabid X-men comic fans had a few problems with the story-line but they need to get over it. It's still a great movie.
Of course I can sympathize a little more with the X-men comic fans after seeing Star Trek. I'm a big time Trekkie, and although I loved the movie there were a couple of inconsistancies that bugged me. The casting of Kirk and Spock was perfect. And they took us right to the action, instead of dwelling on Kirk's years in the Starfleet Academy.
I'd definitely see both of them again!
* * * * * * * * * *
I was sitting in my office yesterday, merrily typing away (okay, so I was chatting with my bff online) and all of a sudden BANG! Right into the window.
It startled Taz who was sleeping on the bookcase below the window, but it totally freaked out two of the other cats who were across the hall in the spare bedroom. They went tearing down the hall like furry little bats out of hell and then immediately started washing themselves to pretend they hadn’t been scared witless.
And what was it that scared them so badly?
This little guy:
He’s a Gray Catbird. How appropriate is that?
Wolverine answered many questions about Logan, including where he came from and how he got his name. I know rabid X-men comic fans had a few problems with the story-line but they need to get over it. It's still a great movie.
Of course I can sympathize a little more with the X-men comic fans after seeing Star Trek. I'm a big time Trekkie, and although I loved the movie there were a couple of inconsistancies that bugged me. The casting of Kirk and Spock was perfect. And they took us right to the action, instead of dwelling on Kirk's years in the Starfleet Academy.
I'd definitely see both of them again!
* * * * * * * * * *
I was sitting in my office yesterday, merrily typing away (okay, so I was chatting with my bff online) and all of a sudden BANG! Right into the window.
It startled Taz who was sleeping on the bookcase below the window, but it totally freaked out two of the other cats who were across the hall in the spare bedroom. They went tearing down the hall like furry little bats out of hell and then immediately started washing themselves to pretend they hadn’t been scared witless.
And what was it that scared them so badly?
This little guy:
He’s a Gray Catbird. How appropriate is that?
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Spring Has Sprung
Yesterday I played catch-up with all things computery. I made sure I had all the essentials on my lap top, set up my MSN again, and checked my e-mails where I discovered a notification that I’d won second place in a poetry contest I entered a few weeks ago.
Okay, and now I’m distracted by these two little nuthatches outside my window that are busy checking out the birch tree on our front lawn. They’re so little, and cute. Of course Panda thinks they just look yummy. She’s crouched on top of the book case making clicking noises, her tail whipping back and forth . . . One of these days I’m going to come home and find a Panda shaped hole in the glass.
I have green things coming up in my garden. Yes, I know that’s what’s supposed to happen this time of year, but these green things are coming up in the wrong place! Along the front of the house we have a two tiered garden that used to have tiger lilies and lily-of-the-valley in the top, and bedding plants in the bottom. Anyone who’s ever grown either plant knows how insidious they can be, so a couple of years ago the husband transplanted the tiger lilies to the back fence, and most of the lily-of-the-valley. We kept a narrow band of l-o-t-v along the back of the bottom tier.
The following year we were still able to put the bedding plants in the bottom tier, and in the upper one we laid down that black gardening cloth, put in five, evenly spaced shrubs, and covered the cloth with bark chips. That whole summer it looked really nice.
It looked nice last year, even though the narrow line of lily-of-the-valley thickened. This year? There’s a mystery green plant coming up in the bottom tier - it’s too well organized to be a weed, so I’m waiting until it gets bigger before I pass judgement on it - and the lilies are popping up wherever they damn well please.
They’re all over the lower tier. They’re poking up through the gardening cloth and bark chips. They’re even coming up in the lawn. I don’t want to get rid of them entirely, but I also don’t want to have a garden full of lily-of-the-valley. I’m pretty sure they’ve choked out my Stars of Bethlehem - haven’t seen a sign of them so far.
*grumble* Stupidly agressive plants!
Okay, and now I’m distracted by these two little nuthatches outside my window that are busy checking out the birch tree on our front lawn. They’re so little, and cute. Of course Panda thinks they just look yummy. She’s crouched on top of the book case making clicking noises, her tail whipping back and forth . . . One of these days I’m going to come home and find a Panda shaped hole in the glass.
I have green things coming up in my garden. Yes, I know that’s what’s supposed to happen this time of year, but these green things are coming up in the wrong place! Along the front of the house we have a two tiered garden that used to have tiger lilies and lily-of-the-valley in the top, and bedding plants in the bottom. Anyone who’s ever grown either plant knows how insidious they can be, so a couple of years ago the husband transplanted the tiger lilies to the back fence, and most of the lily-of-the-valley. We kept a narrow band of l-o-t-v along the back of the bottom tier.
The following year we were still able to put the bedding plants in the bottom tier, and in the upper one we laid down that black gardening cloth, put in five, evenly spaced shrubs, and covered the cloth with bark chips. That whole summer it looked really nice.
It looked nice last year, even though the narrow line of lily-of-the-valley thickened. This year? There’s a mystery green plant coming up in the bottom tier - it’s too well organized to be a weed, so I’m waiting until it gets bigger before I pass judgement on it - and the lilies are popping up wherever they damn well please.
They’re all over the lower tier. They’re poking up through the gardening cloth and bark chips. They’re even coming up in the lawn. I don’t want to get rid of them entirely, but I also don’t want to have a garden full of lily-of-the-valley. I’m pretty sure they’ve choked out my Stars of Bethlehem - haven’t seen a sign of them so far.
*grumble* Stupidly agressive plants!
Monday, May 11, 2009
Good Gnus Monday
I have my lap top back! What, did you think I’d actually sold something I’d written? That wouldn’t just be good news, that’d be awesome news!
I’m just happy I have my baby back, and it’s working again. And I think I discovered the source of the virus and you know what? I totally deserved a virus.
Last Monday, on my writing blog, I made some silly reference to setting goals and since I fell short of those goals I decided to move back into my office on Tuesday. Only one problem, my office was bursting with books, papers, cat hair, etc.
So on Tuesday I went into my office, took one look at all the junk piled up, and went: “Ewww!”
Tempting as it was to just shut the door and forget about it, I showed great restraint and didn’t. But neither did I want to spend all day cleaning it up. So I compromised. I found temporary homes for the books I brought home from the book sale, moved some papers off the desk, and set up the new router so I could get that box out of the way.
Which, when you think about it, wasn’t really a priority job because if I’m working in my office then I can always plug directly into the router or the modem if the connection is crappy. However, it’s done and it wasn’t hard at all. In fact, it was embarrassingly simple. Are you proud of me, Chippy? I even remembered to write down my password and security code and network name. I have the piece of paper right . . . uh . . . well . . . . somewhere. :-)
Then I did my normal routine of e-mail and blog reading, and then . . . nothing. I sat and stared out the window, my mind blank. So then I thought maybe some music would help, only my CD player is still in the spare bedroom and I was too lazy to unhook it and hook it back up.
So then I decided to just listen to the radio on my computer. Wow, there’s a lot of radio stations out there. The husband is pretty narrow minded when it comes to music. For him it’s classic rock all the way, with maybe a little metal or blues thrown in just to keep it interesting.
Despite her father’s influence, the daughter listens to a much broader range of music, everything from Japanese anime soundtracks to Frank Sinatra, although she’s not a fan of classical, country, or celtic. Myself, I’ll give just about any music a try. You should see my CD collection - soundtracks, Celtic, Gregorian Chants, Whale Songs, Classical, Pop and Rock . . . the list goes on.
These radio stations were so cool! All kinds of music from all over the world! I was like a kid in a candy shop. Bet you can’t bookmark just one! I finally settled on listening to a Native Music station and then surfed on over to AW for inspiration.
Not much going on over there, so I checked my e-mail again and found a junk mail message had made it past the filter and into my inbox in hotmail. It looked like some kind of newsletter. Instead of just clicking on “delete and block” like I’d normally do, I clicked on the handy little link that said “to unsubscribe from this newsletter, click here”. And then my lap top started freezing up.
*sigh* Like I said, it’s my own fault.
I’m just happy I have my baby back, and it’s working again. And I think I discovered the source of the virus and you know what? I totally deserved a virus.
Last Monday, on my writing blog, I made some silly reference to setting goals and since I fell short of those goals I decided to move back into my office on Tuesday. Only one problem, my office was bursting with books, papers, cat hair, etc.
So on Tuesday I went into my office, took one look at all the junk piled up, and went: “Ewww!”
Tempting as it was to just shut the door and forget about it, I showed great restraint and didn’t. But neither did I want to spend all day cleaning it up. So I compromised. I found temporary homes for the books I brought home from the book sale, moved some papers off the desk, and set up the new router so I could get that box out of the way.
Which, when you think about it, wasn’t really a priority job because if I’m working in my office then I can always plug directly into the router or the modem if the connection is crappy. However, it’s done and it wasn’t hard at all. In fact, it was embarrassingly simple. Are you proud of me, Chippy? I even remembered to write down my password and security code and network name. I have the piece of paper right . . . uh . . . well . . . . somewhere. :-)
Then I did my normal routine of e-mail and blog reading, and then . . . nothing. I sat and stared out the window, my mind blank. So then I thought maybe some music would help, only my CD player is still in the spare bedroom and I was too lazy to unhook it and hook it back up.
So then I decided to just listen to the radio on my computer. Wow, there’s a lot of radio stations out there. The husband is pretty narrow minded when it comes to music. For him it’s classic rock all the way, with maybe a little metal or blues thrown in just to keep it interesting.
Despite her father’s influence, the daughter listens to a much broader range of music, everything from Japanese anime soundtracks to Frank Sinatra, although she’s not a fan of classical, country, or celtic. Myself, I’ll give just about any music a try. You should see my CD collection - soundtracks, Celtic, Gregorian Chants, Whale Songs, Classical, Pop and Rock . . . the list goes on.
These radio stations were so cool! All kinds of music from all over the world! I was like a kid in a candy shop. Bet you can’t bookmark just one! I finally settled on listening to a Native Music station and then surfed on over to AW for inspiration.
Not much going on over there, so I checked my e-mail again and found a junk mail message had made it past the filter and into my inbox in hotmail. It looked like some kind of newsletter. Instead of just clicking on “delete and block” like I’d normally do, I clicked on the handy little link that said “to unsubscribe from this newsletter, click here”. And then my lap top started freezing up.
*sigh* Like I said, it’s my own fault.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Frustrating Friday
First of all, I would like to say that I deserve a medal of some kind. The daughter and I were in Peterborough yesterday and we stopped at Chapters (of course) and I DIDN'T BUY ANYTHING! Are you shocked? Yeah, me too!
In fact, the entire trip to Peterborough, including a visit to Fabricland, I didn't buy anything. The daughter even bought me a Chai Tea Frappa-something from Starbucks that tasted like a little piece of heaven.
* * * * * * * * * *
Late Tuesday my lap top had a melt-down. Or to be more accurate, it contracted a whole slue of nasty viruses and I had the melt down.
I never realized how attached I'd become to my lap top. It didn't really hit me until Wednesday night when the husband came home and said: "Oh, look, she's reading."
I thought he was being sarcastic, but he was serious. After thinking about it I saw that he was right, usually I'm on the lap top at night. Looking back, I realize I got into this habit during NaNoWriMo - I'd end up writing in front of the television at night to make my daily word count, usually some where in the wee small hours.
After NaNo I kept the habit of having my lap top in front of me while I was watching T.V., but I'd be surfing or playing games, not writing. In fact, my production has seriously slackened off since NaNo.
As my cognative therapist would have said, "Look for the good in bad situations." The bad situation, of course, being that my lap top has caught the swine flu and will probably be returned to me emptied of all it once held.
ON the bad side:
** lost several awesome blog posts that I had written and saved in WordPerfect
** lost a couple of days' worth of writing
** lost my precious book marks
** have to use the funky desktop with its head-ache inducing monitor, sticky keyboard, and craptacular mouse
ON the good side:
** backed up the majority of my important files only a couple of days prior to the melt-down.
** I have gone through game withdrawl and come out on the other side a stronger person.
** I'm forced to use my home office and I find I like it
** I've rediscovered the pen and paper and find I like that too.
** I'm rediscovering my short stories - most of which were never on the computer in the first place.
** I finally cleared off the mess of paperwork I've had laying around my office
Though it would be nice to get my lap top back today, I can probably wait until Monday if I have to. I'll be away this weekend anyway and it's not like I'd be taking it with me.
We'll see how I am if I have to wait past Monday for my precious to be returned. I may have to go Gollum on the computer doctor. :-)
In fact, the entire trip to Peterborough, including a visit to Fabricland, I didn't buy anything. The daughter even bought me a Chai Tea Frappa-something from Starbucks that tasted like a little piece of heaven.
* * * * * * * * * *
Late Tuesday my lap top had a melt-down. Or to be more accurate, it contracted a whole slue of nasty viruses and I had the melt down.
I never realized how attached I'd become to my lap top. It didn't really hit me until Wednesday night when the husband came home and said: "Oh, look, she's reading."
I thought he was being sarcastic, but he was serious. After thinking about it I saw that he was right, usually I'm on the lap top at night. Looking back, I realize I got into this habit during NaNoWriMo - I'd end up writing in front of the television at night to make my daily word count, usually some where in the wee small hours.
After NaNo I kept the habit of having my lap top in front of me while I was watching T.V., but I'd be surfing or playing games, not writing. In fact, my production has seriously slackened off since NaNo.
As my cognative therapist would have said, "Look for the good in bad situations." The bad situation, of course, being that my lap top has caught the swine flu and will probably be returned to me emptied of all it once held.
ON the bad side:
** lost several awesome blog posts that I had written and saved in WordPerfect
** lost a couple of days' worth of writing
** lost my precious book marks
** have to use the funky desktop with its head-ache inducing monitor, sticky keyboard, and craptacular mouse
ON the good side:
** backed up the majority of my important files only a couple of days prior to the melt-down.
** I have gone through game withdrawl and come out on the other side a stronger person.
** I'm forced to use my home office and I find I like it
** I've rediscovered the pen and paper and find I like that too.
** I'm rediscovering my short stories - most of which were never on the computer in the first place.
** I finally cleared off the mess of paperwork I've had laying around my office
Though it would be nice to get my lap top back today, I can probably wait until Monday if I have to. I'll be away this weekend anyway and it's not like I'd be taking it with me.
We'll see how I am if I have to wait past Monday for my precious to be returned. I may have to go Gollum on the computer doctor. :-)
Monday, May 4, 2009
Books? I Haz ‘Em!
Did I mention that the Saint Peter’s Book Sale is a two day event? Yes, I went both days.
Day one I went with the daughter. Between us we spent $45 and had to have help carrying out books to the car. I think the best buy was the set of military history books - twenty volumes for $15.00.
We’re old pros at the sale. We get there early and know exactly where we’re going. First is the individually priced books - there’s always a few treasure to be had there. Next we work our way around the outer edge of the room where the hardbacks are divided into sections. Then last, we go up and down the rows looking at the novels. We were loaded up and headed out again in about half an hour.
Day two I went by myself. The nice thing about day two is that the books are spread out a little more so it’s easier to see what’s what. I spent under twenty dollars and still managed to fill two shopping bags. One of the books I bought for my sister: An Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Computers. This will be perfect for her, and save her a bundle in long distance charges (she’s always phoning me up in the middle of the day with computer questions. Usually it’s telling her something needs to be updated).
I still have a shopping bag of books in my front hall. Why, you ask? Because I’m sorta, kinda, out of room in my office. Seriously. I need another bookcase - ASAP! My “to be read” bookcase is already over flowing and there’s no room left in the case under the window. I think I need a 12 step program to beat my book buying addiction.
Saturday afternoon the daughter and her fiancé went to Home Despot . . . oops! I meant Home Depot to help choose plants for the garden around the pond. The fiancé has much gardening knowledge and I wanted his opinion on some of the plants I wanted.
The husband has been complaining the last couple of years about the way the hostas have kind of taken over the garden, so I moved most of them out and planted a bunch of different, rock garden type plants. Don’t ask me what they’re all called. I saved the little information sticks that came in the pots. The only one I recognized was the hen and chickens.
Other than that, it was a pretty quiet weekend. The husband had a bowling tournament in Oakville on Sunday, and I had an attack of lazy-itis. This is where I have lots of stuff I could be doing, I just don’t feel like doing it.
The daughter requested meatloaf for Sunday dinner, which I never really think of as special enough for Sunday, but it’s not something she’ll ever be making herself. She has a phobia about touching raw meat. I swear, I did not traumatize her with raw meat when she was little! :-)
I also threw off my sleeping schedule again. I’ve been getting to bed a little earlier and then getting up earlier, but I stayed in bed too long Sunday morning and ended up falling back asleep. I think this is what caused my lazy-itis - too much sleep.
Oh, well. I’ve got two more weeks to keep practicing the getting up early thing. Trust me, it’s not as easy as it sounds!
Day one I went with the daughter. Between us we spent $45 and had to have help carrying out books to the car. I think the best buy was the set of military history books - twenty volumes for $15.00.
We’re old pros at the sale. We get there early and know exactly where we’re going. First is the individually priced books - there’s always a few treasure to be had there. Next we work our way around the outer edge of the room where the hardbacks are divided into sections. Then last, we go up and down the rows looking at the novels. We were loaded up and headed out again in about half an hour.
Day two I went by myself. The nice thing about day two is that the books are spread out a little more so it’s easier to see what’s what. I spent under twenty dollars and still managed to fill two shopping bags. One of the books I bought for my sister: An Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Computers. This will be perfect for her, and save her a bundle in long distance charges (she’s always phoning me up in the middle of the day with computer questions. Usually it’s telling her something needs to be updated).
I still have a shopping bag of books in my front hall. Why, you ask? Because I’m sorta, kinda, out of room in my office. Seriously. I need another bookcase - ASAP! My “to be read” bookcase is already over flowing and there’s no room left in the case under the window. I think I need a 12 step program to beat my book buying addiction.
Saturday afternoon the daughter and her fiancé went to Home Despot . . . oops! I meant Home Depot to help choose plants for the garden around the pond. The fiancé has much gardening knowledge and I wanted his opinion on some of the plants I wanted.
The husband has been complaining the last couple of years about the way the hostas have kind of taken over the garden, so I moved most of them out and planted a bunch of different, rock garden type plants. Don’t ask me what they’re all called. I saved the little information sticks that came in the pots. The only one I recognized was the hen and chickens.
Other than that, it was a pretty quiet weekend. The husband had a bowling tournament in Oakville on Sunday, and I had an attack of lazy-itis. This is where I have lots of stuff I could be doing, I just don’t feel like doing it.
The daughter requested meatloaf for Sunday dinner, which I never really think of as special enough for Sunday, but it’s not something she’ll ever be making herself. She has a phobia about touching raw meat. I swear, I did not traumatize her with raw meat when she was little! :-)
I also threw off my sleeping schedule again. I’ve been getting to bed a little earlier and then getting up earlier, but I stayed in bed too long Sunday morning and ended up falling back asleep. I think this is what caused my lazy-itis - too much sleep.
Oh, well. I’ve got two more weeks to keep practicing the getting up early thing. Trust me, it’s not as easy as it sounds!
Friday, May 1, 2009
Good News and Bad News
First, the good news:
I have officially finished the PAD Challenge. Yea me! Some days it was more of a struggle than others, but I prevailed, through thick and thin, haiku and sestina. I revitalized myself as a poet and stretched myself as a writer. All in all, a very good month. Pop on over to my writing blog for the final sampling of PAD poems and enter my contest to win a free book.
Now, the bad news:
My school called me yesterday with the news that my start date has been pushed back to May 18th. It’s disappointing, but there’s not much I can do about it. And I guess if I look on the bright side, it gives me another two weeks to adjust to getting up early in the morning.
Getting up earlier would be easier if the Space Channel wasn’t running the Star Trek movies Sunday through Thursday nights in honour of the new Star Trek movie being released. Yes, I do have all of them (except for Generations) on DVD, but I still can’t resist watching them with the commercials. Yes, I’m a mega Trekkie.
As you can see by the lack of posting, it’s been a pretty quiet week. The weather has alternated grey and dismal with sort of sunny, so my mood has more or less reflected this. I honestly don’t know where the time went this week, I’ve been making a valiant effort to stay away from those soul-sucking games and I don’t watch television during the day.
I’ve been doing a lot of online reading. I’ve been trying to read the poems other people posted for the challenge but it’s a losing battle, there’s so many of them! Also, Samhain Publishing has offered another handful of free stories. Click on the name to check them out.
I’m off now to the Saint Peter’s Book Sale. The one event I look forward to every spring. Books, glorious books. Would it be too much to ask for them to have shopping carts this year?
I have officially finished the PAD Challenge. Yea me! Some days it was more of a struggle than others, but I prevailed, through thick and thin, haiku and sestina. I revitalized myself as a poet and stretched myself as a writer. All in all, a very good month. Pop on over to my writing blog for the final sampling of PAD poems and enter my contest to win a free book.
Now, the bad news:
My school called me yesterday with the news that my start date has been pushed back to May 18th. It’s disappointing, but there’s not much I can do about it. And I guess if I look on the bright side, it gives me another two weeks to adjust to getting up early in the morning.
Getting up earlier would be easier if the Space Channel wasn’t running the Star Trek movies Sunday through Thursday nights in honour of the new Star Trek movie being released. Yes, I do have all of them (except for Generations) on DVD, but I still can’t resist watching them with the commercials. Yes, I’m a mega Trekkie.
As you can see by the lack of posting, it’s been a pretty quiet week. The weather has alternated grey and dismal with sort of sunny, so my mood has more or less reflected this. I honestly don’t know where the time went this week, I’ve been making a valiant effort to stay away from those soul-sucking games and I don’t watch television during the day.
I’ve been doing a lot of online reading. I’ve been trying to read the poems other people posted for the challenge but it’s a losing battle, there’s so many of them! Also, Samhain Publishing has offered another handful of free stories. Click on the name to check them out.
I’m off now to the Saint Peter’s Book Sale. The one event I look forward to every spring. Books, glorious books. Would it be too much to ask for them to have shopping carts this year?
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