My cat, the duck.

Nine days after my previous post on the subject and the cat and I are still at-odds over the green corduroy chair. This is a major issue in our household lately. I don't know anymore that it's just a passing phase. Is the thing stuffed with cat-nip or something?

So today I came across a shocking sight, a bit of atonement on the cat's part really. I laughed out loud. I grabbed my camera. I needed a picture of this.

He looked like a duck!































I showed the pictures to Bruce and he says I'm nuts. Secretly I'm sure he knows what I mean. It's the way all of the cat's limbs are tucked under his body like that. The way he's sitting on the edge of the chair with his chest stuck out, too. Just picture it. A duck's head on that body. And you've got a duck!

Well. A fur covered duck with no wings, I guess....

So maybe I am a little nutty. It still makes me giggle though.



I took a few pictures until the cat-duck realized what was going on and I got the customary unimpressed glare.














Ha ha ha!!

How silly. So the cat and I have our hard times. So we're constantly at-odds over the green corduroy chair. But then he makes me laugh like he did today, and totally redeems himself. Cats. Gotta love em! :)

My desk.

I just love my desk. I love to decorate it. Maybe this doesn't come as much of a surprise... I've written about several items ending up there on display. Like my aloe vera plant, the vase I painted, and the ceramic turtle in his rectangle jar.

And of course there are plenty of other things I haven't mentioned as well... items placed before I started posting here.

Like this jar I painted a while ago.










I love painting jars.

Well anyway, I decided it was time to change things up a little bit earlier today. Rearrange the crap on my desk, tidy it up some. It's sort of an important space to me. It's where I sit to work at my writing. Atmosphere is important! It's my own, personal space, so I want it to look my own, personal way.

So here's another Before and After for ya. Gotta love Befores and Afters.

Before













and

After














A ha ha... okay, so I guess it doesn't look all that different. It's pretty much all the same crap in basically the same spot. It looks pretty different to me, though!

If you look closely enough, you might notice something on top of the desk in the After picture that isn't in the Before. I got it today at... you guessed it! The charity garage sale I'm always going on about.














For two dollars!

I have been keeping my eyes open for a clock to sit on my desk for ages now. It's what inspired me to do some rearranging today, actually.... I didn't have room for it! The one I got is pretty much exactly what I had in mind. I love it. And guess who spotted it? Bruce! Geez. He's good to have around!

And speaking of Bruce and desks and phenomenal purchases at the garage sale, I didn't mention the last thing we got there... about three weeks ago or so. A desk for Bruce, for 15 bucks.


















Pretty nice, huh? Lots of drawer space. He loves it.

Hah. Not hard to tell that desk belongs to a guy, huh? There's something about the decor he's chosen that gives it a far more "masculine" look than my own if you ask me. Maybe it's the sparseness. Maybe it's the cribbage board. The funny beer bottle, or the Batman figure. Nope. Not hard to tell that's Bruce's desk at all.

Ha ha ha!

Both sides now.

Rows and flows of angel hair

And ice cream castles in the air
And feather canyons everywhere
I've looked at clouds that way

But now they only block the sun
They rain and snow on everyone
So many things I would have done
But clouds got in my way

I've looked at clouds from both sides now
From up and down, and still somehow
It's cloud illusions I recall
I really don't know clouds at all

Pretty song lyrics, huh? They're from "Both Sides Now", written and performed by Canada's own Joni Mitchell. I love that song!! In case it's been a while, a 1970 performance of it can be viewed online here.

Pretty pictures of clouds make me think of "Both Sides Now". Like the one above I took last summer at work. I love clouds. They're like a painting in the sky.

Whenever I notice a particularly pretty looking sky and I have my camera handy, I'll snap a pic. So I have loads of cloud pictures.

Yup. Clouds are awesome. I even painted some on a couple of shelves in the bathroom a few months ago!

Painting furniture is fun. But that's a whole 'nother post.

How do you like to look at clouds? :)

It's snowing out.....

and we are not amused.

Day 14 and zombies.

Well, it's been 2 weeks since I carved up that Red Delicious apple and hung it in the bedroom to dry. Day 14 looks remarkably like Day 7....




























But with better lighting.

Hah! Actually, the apple has dried out quite a lot more since last week. It doesn't look all that different, it feels different. Last week it was still pretty spongy and there was some give to it when squeezed. Not now. It feels dry.

I'm going to give it 1 more week I think... and spend that time thinking of what I'm going to do for a body! Ahhh. Hopefully I'll come up with something.

See the painting on the wall I got in the Day 14 shot by mistake? It's a picture I painted last year for Bruce of the two of us as zombies. Yes, zombies. Here's the whole thing.














Bruce really likes zombie movies, see. So that's why I did this. Although I'm not sure why we're green. Or why Bruce has blond hair. That's okay though. I wasn't exactly going for a realistic look....

Hehehe. Apparently that wasn't foolish enough, so a few weeks later I painted him a picture of us as Zombies in Space.














Which hangs in the bedroom too, beside the regular ol' Earth Zombies and, temporarily, the apple doll head.

So there you have it. Day 14 and zombies for your viewing pleasure.

And that's all I have to say about that.

You know those lint roller pet hair grabber thingies?

Oh, surely you do... especially if you own a pet.

I'm talking about those rolls of sticky paper on a handle that's supposed to be really good for picking lint and pet hair up off your clothes and whatnot. We have one of these things and yeah, they work pretty good.

And yet, I've come to realize that there exists a material that does a much better job at picking up cat hair than mere sticky paper.

















AHHHHH!!!!

I meant to mention this in my post about the cat and his chair a couple of days ago; another decidedly less cute side of the tale that's definitely worth mentioning. Yup. To hell with sticky paper. It's all about the green corduroy, baby. That's what they should make those lint roller pet hair grabber thingies out of. The stuff is like a cat hair magnet.

To be honest I don't really know how it is that the poor guy has any hair left at all. Anyone out there looking for a cat? I'm sure I've thrown enough cat hair out by now to make one for ya....

It's really too bad. All that hair doesn't look very nice, and it's white so it really shows. Cats "molt" in the Spring, eh? So I'm hoping the severity of this problem is just temporary. I've been cleaning the chair off every day, and it's not an easy task. It really is like a magnet!

Next time I'm looking to buy a chair I'll have to bring the cat along to see if he sticks. Ah ha ha ha!

Mama mia!!

Boy. It's been a while since I last painted a picture. Not since the Log Driver's Waltz, and that was almost 2 months ago.

So today I decided that I really wanted to paint a picture. Of what, I wasn't sure. I knew that would come later. Thankfully I had a canvas on hand so I was able to do 'er up just as the urge struck.

I decided to make something to hang in the kitchen. It is the most neglected room in the apartment as far as decoration goes. But what would make sense in a kitchen? After a little consideration, I decided on a chef. Did a bit of online research and found a print to copy.

Here's how he turned out.























I showed it to Bruce when he got home, before it was framed or on the wall. After admiring it for a few moments he said, "Wait... isn't that the wallpaper in here?"

Yes it is!


















Ha!!

When we moved in, there was a small square of the wallpaper that's in the kitchen laying on top of the upper cupboards. As soon as I found it I knew I wanted to make some foolish kind of artwork with it to hang on the wall. Today it finally happened. And I like how it turned out.

And oh, nice frame, eh? Came from the Dollar Store. The canvas, too. Have I mentioned lately how much I love the Dollar Store? Hehehe. I love it a lot!

Cat fight!

Back in March I made a blog post about my new chair. The one that's green and corduroy and swivels and rocks, remember? "The cat loves it too", I recall reporting. And Wow. Little did I realize then just how much.

These days, if the cat isn't eating or shitting, he's on the green corduroy chair. Asleep and content as could possibly be. Cats can smile, and our cat smiles when he's asleep on that chair.

And while this is really very cute at first glance, there's a far less cute side of this sordid tale.

I've hardly had a chance to enjoy the chair myself! Cat always in chair is one thing... incredibly possessive cat always in chair is something else all together. The cat thinks the chair is his, and that's the end of it.

Here's the look I usually get when I go to sit in it myself.

It doesn't impress him very much. I'll pick him up and set him on the floor anyway. And sometimes, if I'm not fast enough, he'll jump right back up there again!

So for the past month or so the cat and I have been fighting over the green corduroy chair. Even when I do manage to plop my ass in there, the cat fight isn't over yet. He wants his chair BACK! He'll jump up on the arm. Sit on the back. Misbehave. All a desperate ploy to get my ass outta there, and his back in it.

And he wouldn't even dream of sharing it. Oh, no.

It's really kind of silly. So a lot of the time, I don't even bother trying. It makes the cat happy, and at least he's not scratching it up or climbing the walls or getting himself into the usual cat shenanigans he would be otherwise.

I'm glad he likes it. Hopefully the novelty will wear off soon and I'll get the chance to enjoy it a little bit, too. Gah! Friggin cats.

Whip one up.

Our elementary school would hold a Science Fair in the gym every year. Coming up with a project was completely optional. And so the year my little brother was in grade 3 or 4, he decided not to do one.

Well, right up until around 8 pm the night before.

"We could just whip one up!", he argued his case to our mother. Ha! A Science Fair project isn't really something you can "whip up" an hour before bedtime! Needless to say, it did not happen.

So earlier this week I "whipped up" a little craft project and just as I sat down to talk about it here I thought of this story and it made me giggle. Fortunately for me, craft projects are far easier to whip up an hour before bedtime than Science Fair ones.

Well here's what I made.














A few weeks ago I had bought a package of 3 wooden "trinket boxes" at the Dollar Store. No idea what I was gonna end up doing with them. But they were way too cute to leave there. As it turns out, this one was the perfect little project to "whip up" an evening last week when I felt the urge to get crafty.

And it matches the Mary Poppins vase! Which is obviously all that counts here, because I still have no friggin idea what I'm actually going to use it for! Maybe some little trinkets after all. Or a couple pieces of jewelry perhaps.

I'll think of something. The end isn't important, it's all about getting there. Ya gotta love quick and easy craft projects like this that just make you grin. I had loads of fun whipping this one up!

Major brownie points.

Bruce managed to score some pretty major brownie points earlier today at the grocery store. On the way home in the car I proclaimed him "Hero of the Day", as a matter of fact. He really outdid himself. The Bruce really pulled through.

By now you're probably dying of curiosity. Well, here's what happened...

Last week I picked up a couple of multigrain rolls at the Superstore. They're baked in-store and are like 35cents a piece. It had been a long time since I had one and I had honestly forgotten how much I love them. They make a fine tuna sandwich, let me tell you.

Mmmmm.

So the two I bought were gone in a couple of days, and I spent the whole rest of the week looking forward to getting some more. We go grocery shopping on Saturdays. Today was the day.

I was really excited.

And they were all out!! I couldn't believe it. I gotta be honest.... I was actually pretty disappointed. So I resigned myself to settling for their plain ol' multigrain bread instead and started to continue on with the shopping. And that dear reader is when Bruce swooped in, and saved the day.

He went to the bakery counter. Asked for multigrain rolls (who woulda thunk it was just that easy, eh?). Apparently, he thought he spotted some back there among a bunch of other breads and rolls that hadn't made it to the shelves yet. Apparently, he was right!

So there I was, heading towards the meat isle, when I looked back towards the bakery. And there was Bruce, making his way towards me, a wonderful bag of my beloved multigrain rolls in tow. I squeeled "YAY!" and clapped my hands with glee.

I was that happy.

Hopefully none of our fellow grocery shoppers around us were paying attention. But ya know what? I don't really give a crap either way. I have multigrain rolls this week, when I was absolutely sure I had none.

I ate one of them today with tuna salad for lunch and it was great. Thanks again, Bruce. You saved the day!

Apple head doll: 1 week later.

Since it's been a week since I last talked about the big apple head doll attempt, I thought I'd give a little progress update. The faithful reader will be pleased to learn that it has yet to mold over as I had originally feared. In fact, it seems to be drying out rather nicely.

To refresh your memory, here's what the apple looked like just after I carved a face out and hung it to dry.














And here's how it's looking now!














Ain't it great? Check out the stem in both the pics. Wow! The apple has really shriveled up quite a bit already. And still with a couple more weeks of drying left, according to my online sources. Pretty neat!

Yep. So far, so good. I had originally hung it in the kitchen... probably not the driest room in the joint what with all of the steam from cooking and dishes and stuff. I clued in to this on Day 2. So I made an executive decision and moved it to the bedroom beside the window. And it seems to be working out pretty good so far.

That's one week down....... stay tuned!

Free food for supper.

No, I didn't have to steal to get it. I didn't have to do any "dumpster diving", either. It was a gift. A kind, generous offering from one Jolly Green Giant, straight from the bottom of his giant, green heart.So here's the scoop. Inside every 1 kg bag of Green Giant's "young and tender" mixed vegetables, there is a coupon. But here's the catch. It doesn't say anywhere on the bag that there's a coupon in there. I discovered this a month or two ago as I was dumping some veggies into a pot on the stove. Huh? I immediately fished it out and investigated. It was for one free Green Giant "Simply Steam". Simply Steam? I had never heard of such a thing.

Well I was intrigued. I actually set the coupon aside and somehow remembered that I had it the following Saturday when we went grocery shopping. Come to find out, "Simply Steam" is a pouch of "lightly seasoned garden vegetable medley" that you stick in the microwave and steam. The picture on the box looks good. Sells for $1.99. But I had a coupon! I picked it up.

This stuff is quite friggin good. Since then, we've gone through two more bags of the frozen vegetables, so I've had two more of these deliciously free sides.

I had one of them tonight.















To accompany a whole wheat pita with chopped chicken boob, celery, onion and shredded cheese. Yum!

These "Simply Steam" pouches include sugar snap peas, roasted potatoes, red peppers, and 'garden herbs'. Which, as it turns out, seems to be a crap load of salt among a few other choice ingredients I'm not sure how to pronounce. Hm. Certainly not ideal as far as vegetables go I suppose, but what can I say? It's friggin free.

But you know, I'm sure that someday there will be no more coupons. Even the Jolly Green Giant can only give so much. And when that day comes, I think I might just pick one of these things up now and again anyway. Yup. They're pretty good.

I really don't think I would have tried such a thing had it not been for those coupons. Thank you, Jolly Green Giant. Wow. What a guy!!

My latest food obsession.

Homemade chicken stir-fry. Mmmm....

About a week ago I talked about "tonight's supper" and how I should really "let my hair down" a little more often. And so here we are. I never tried making chicken stir-fry before my little improvisation the other week. I guess "tonight's supper" ended up being a bit of a confidence booster, not tasting like total crap and all.

So I made chicken stir-fry again last night, the second time in a week! It's so good. The above pictured deliciousness included celery, peppers, onions, mushrooms, brown rice, chicken breast, soy sauce and bean sprouts.

Bean sprouts! I bought a bag of them last week. Know the last time I bought bean sprouts? Try never! I'm just letting my hair down all over the place lately, eh?

And oh. For those of you who might be worried that poor Bruce starved to death last night (the Bruce isn't much of a fan of the chicken stir-fry, in case you didn't know....), I decided to cook him a nice steak with some mixed veggies and potatoes instead. One of his favourites. Awww. Ain't that sweet.

Spoonful of sugar.

After finishing off a jar of pickles or salsa or mayo, I'll sometimes wash it out and take off the label and save it under the sink. Whenever I feel like getting crafty, I've got a nice little collection of jars under there waiting to be made pretty. Painting glass jars is fun. I love practical art pieces. And I love finding a new use for something that would have otherwise ended up in the trash.

So a couple of weeks ago I finished off a jar of plum sauce. I had been itching to add the empty jar to my stash under the sink even before the sauce inside was gone. It's tall and thin and looks just perfect to use as a flower vase.

Last night I finally decided to paint it. Here's what I ended up with!



















I'd know that silhouette anywhere. Mary Poppins! :)

I love Mary Poppins, in case you didn't know. Ever since I was a kid. I've been thinking about the Disney film a lot lately... Julie Andrews has an autobiography out and I've caught a couple of different interviews with her on tv.

So yes. I decided to paint Mary Poppins. I went online and found an image of her silhouette to use as a guide. Went with purple because that's just the colour I think of when I think of her. Tied some blue and black yarn around the rim. Done.

Overall, I'm pleased with the way it came out. I think it'll end up going on the bookshelf in the bedroom. Seems like a good fit there. Some white flowers would look nice! Maybe an assorted bunch of wild flowers too...

Yes, Bruce. That's a hint! Hee hee.

Who woulda thunk?

Who woulda thunk that just 1 little nail














could cause this much trouble?















I love how you can even see some of the sock fibers sticking to the nail in that first picture.

Yes indeed. In the floor between the living room and the bedroom and bathroom, there is a nail that sticks up a little. Slowly but surely, every single last sock that I own is being destroyed by this silent, unimposing menace.

It's really quite ridiculous. And outrageously annoying. There I'll be, walking along, minding my own business. And BAM. It snags me. I actually have to stop and take a step back to unhook my sock from its vicious grip. It's really quite nasty.

Why not fix it? Well, that's the real kicker. I don't really know! Because we're both a little lazy I guess is what it all boils down to. And besides. It's not like the nail is right in the middle of a heavy traffic area or anything. It's kind of off to the side. The thing is completely avoidable so long as the walker pays attention to where she is walking.

And yet, here we are. Taking the time out to make a blog post about it instead of, oh you know, trying to fix the friggin thing! The worst part of the entire ordeal is that this nail seems to be particularly hard on wool socks. My favorites!

Hm. With all of that being said, it looks like you all know what to get me for Christmas this year. Nope, not a hammer. A truckload of socks! ;)

Apple head doll: the beginnings.

Earlier today I was doing some cleaning in the kitchen and came across the last of a bag of Red Delicious apples from a couple of weeks ago. Apparently it got crammed behind some other food item on the shelf and forgotten about, because we've bought apples several times since. There was just one left in the bag and it looked old and slightly soggy and quite pathetic. I knew it wasn't going to get eaten, so I was about to toss it.

But I didn't end up throwing it out after all. I decided to try to make an apple head doll with it instead. Yay!

I can only assume that most readers have seen one of these things before. If you haven't, google it! I love apple head dolls. They're really special and so interesting to look at. My mom had two of them on a shelf in the living room when I was little. The image of those dolls are one of my earliest memories. I never actually thought of trying to craft one myself until I saw one that my brother had made a while back. He did a great job. He really inspired me to give it a try myself.

Now of course I really have no friggin clue what I'm doing with this. So I'm not sure how it's going to work out. I did a little bit of research online beforehand... and apparently it takes the apple "several weeks" to dry! That is not good news for someone as impatient as I am! So I thought it might be neat to post a little update now and then to show how it's coming along.

Here's how the apple looks today, hanging by a piece of yarn on a nail in the wall to dry.

















Yup. There it is alright. I can't wait to see what it looks like as it dries and wrinkles up. Hopefully it won't mold over and be a total flop!

Making some sort of a body for the thing is going to be pretty interesting. I guess I have a few weeks to give it some thought so I'm not too worried about that part yet....

Watch for more about this Stuff in upcoming weeks! :)

I baked cookies!

And now that those of you who know me well have picked yourselves up off the floor, here's a picture.

I do not normally bake. Anything. I can't even remember the last time I tried. It's been at least five years... probably even longer. A few bad baking experiences when I was younger pretty much turned me off of the whole idea all together. Always seemed like an awful lot of work to go through just to end up with something that really sucked.

I'm not sure what made me decide to give it another go after all this time. I got a recipe for shortbread and icing from my mom, acquired a few ingredients I didn't already have here, and baked up a storm.

I think I saw poor Bruce do a bit of a double take when he came home and saw what I had been up to. Best part is, they turned out good! And Bruce agrees. We're not sure what the cat thinks of the whole ordeal. I don't picture a cat having much to say about a batch of shortbread cookies either way.

I actually had a lot of fun doing this. I'm gonna give this baking thing a try again sometime! Maybe even warn Bruce beforehand, too. No one deserves a shock like that without fair warning ahead of time. That's just mean!

Holy crap, it's Spring!

Is it ever freakin' beautiful outside today! Wow. The Weather Network is saying 6°C, but it feels way warmer. The sun is shining and finally, FINALLY, it's starting to feel like Spring.

Ahhhhhhhh. :)

Earlier this afternoon I decided to head out for a long walk and enjoy the day. No definite destination in mind. As it turns out, I ended up at the Salvation Army Thrift Store.

Look at what I got!






















For a phenomenal $3.99, no less!

Besides the glass bowl, the whole thing is made out of wood. Guts and all. The wooden dowel that you would put the penny in will turn, but it turns hard. So I'm not sure whether or not the thing will actually work. There's a little groove cut out in the base on the right hand side where the gum ball would roll out. It's just adorable.

I haven't decided if I'm actually going to put gum balls in it or not. I'm thinking I should, but I guess we'll see. I'm not even sure where it's going to end up yet!

How exciting. I love the Salvation Army Thrift Store. And I love Spring even more. :)

Magnificent magnets.

It's been a little while since I last crafted. I've just been too busy doing other things; namely, writing. Which I guess is a craft in and of itself! My article on Jupiter was accepted for publication in a kid's magazine last week. The second piece I've had accepted now. It's scheduled to come out in January, and I'm pretty excited.

So the faithful reader might remember me having mentioned that I picked up Scrabble at the charity garage sale yesterday. Despite the fact that we already own Scrabble! Why? I bought it for a craft project I've had in mind for months now, patiently awaiting the day that I'd spot a second-hand Scrabble board for dirt cheap. Well, yesterday was the day.


















I made fridge magnets!

Months back I had picked up a couple of magnetic sheets at the Dollar Store. I've made magnets with the stuff once before. It's sticky on one side and really easy to use. This craft project took me about an hour... no waiting for glue to dry or anything at all. Perfect.

I had some of the sheet left over so I decided to make some old photo booth pictures of my brother and sister into magnets, too.















This craft project was really easy, and a lot of fun. A great welcome back to the kind of crafting I haven't made much time for lately, but really enjoy anyway. And for dirt friggin cheap too! Heehee. Gotta love it. :)

More mugs?!

You know, this is really starting to become a problem. I don't have room for any more mugs!! But did that stop me today? Did I listen to that little voice of reason inside my head, and restrain myself?

HA! Not friggin likely.














Anyone who has enjoyed a cup of coffee at my parents' house in the last 20 years or so might very well recognize this set. I saw them this morning at the charity garage sale, and had to have them. Simple as that. They remind me of home. They make me happy.

Aww.

Now I just have to figure out where the hell I'm going to put them. It's just gonna take a bit of re-arranging in my kitchen cupboards, I believe. Surely I'll fit them in there somehow.

I picked this one up too!















I used to have a couple "drinking jars" just like it years ago but they ended up getting dropped and breaking. I loved them. I mourned their passing. And I'm pretty sure I squealed a little bit when I spotted this one there today. Are you kidding me? Room or no room, I had to have it, too.

SO. We got the mugs, the drinking jar, a Sesame Street 25 Greatest Hits record, and Scrabble..... for two dollars. How sweet is that?

And thus I have concluded that I'm all done buying mugs. For a little while, at least. It's either that or have some more kitchen cupboards installed! Sheesh.

:)

Tonight's supper.

Tonight's supper was really good. So good, in fact, that I simply had to drop everything mid-stog, grab my camera, and snap a picture. I knew I'd want to talk about it here. Always thinking ahead, eh?

So here it is.















I had 2 veggie eggrolls and plum sauce with a side of a bunch of shit I threw into a pan and cooked up.

Yes, that's right. I took what I had in my fridge, and I improvised. Shockingly, it turned out to be rather edible. Nay. It was good.

I'm pretty proud of myself. This is, truthfully, the first time I've been so adventurious with a meal. I always know exactly what I'm going to make. I buy the ingredients specifically to make it.

But not tonight. I had some left over brown rice in the fridge that I wanted to use up, and didn't really feel like having it plain. So what the hell? I decided to let my hair down, and go wild.

I put some red and green peppers, yellow onions, mushrooms and pepper in a pan with a drop of oil. Let that cook a bit. Then my rice. I poured some water in the pan too and added some chicken bouillon. Let is simmer until it thickened and voilà. Rice a la Smel.

I almost fell over when I took a bite and it didn't taste like crap. Maybe I should start letting my hair down in the kitchen a little more often!

Portrait of a bug.

Earlier today I got thinking about a bunch of pictures I took with my mom's camera when I was home for a month shearing trees last summer. I guess the weather outside is what made me think of them. Tomorrow is supposed to get up to 10°C! (... who else but a Maritimer would get excited about that??) Ahh... it's going to be glorious. Finally, there is an end in sight to this cold, hellish winter. Summer is slowly - but surely - on its merry way. I'm so excited.

Anyway, thinking about nice weather made me think of last summer and all those pictures I took. Here's one of my favorite ones. Check it out.

I took it in the vegetable garden, while my mom was pulling weeds. That was the moment I was attempting to capture, I suppose.

It would seem, however, that I managed to capture a bug instead. Front and dead centre, in total focus.


Teehee. How utterly foolish. Not even intentionally so!

I love this picture. It makes me giggle. And it makes me look forward to beautiful summer weather. It's on its way, folks. 10°C tomorrow!!! Woooohooooo! :)

I got April Fooled.

So guess who won our game of candlelit crib?

Me! :)

Obviously then, Earth Hour ended up being an outrageous success in our household.


But it happened 3 days ago. It's ancient news now. Let's fast-forward to today: April 1st. Did you get April Fooled? Well, I did.

I was watching Canada AM this morning when I had about a million other things I should have been doing instead. I wasn't thinking about April Fool's Day at all. And that's how the bastards got me.

It was the end of the show and they started talking about a BBC documentary on a newly discovered colony of penguins that can fly.

You know, I probably shouldn't be telling this to anybody, much less broadcasting it online. But it's the truth. For about half of the segment, my mouth hung open in total awe of these amazing, flying penguins.

The clip they showed was a spot created by the BBC for April Fool's Day. It's really well done. Especially when they show the penguins "taking off". In case you haven't seen it, it can be viewed online here.

About half way through, I started to get suspicious. They fly thousands of miles every year to the Amazonian rainforest to find winter sun? Wait.... what? Reverse evolution??

Oh God.

Just before the segment (and the show) ended, Jeff Hutchenson exclaimed, "And it's April 1st, ladies and gentlemen!" and then I was certain.


AH! I got April Fooled... bad. Flying penguins?? Gee whiz.