The other day I was tying my shoes and I got to thinking. Shoelaces seem to be stronger than they used to be. I can't even recall the last time I was tying a shoe and the lace broke. It was always when you were in a hurry, and as you gave that final tug, the lace snapped and often the side of your hand would snap back and smack you in the face. If you were really young, you'd get a sinking, almost afraid feeling and moan out loud: "Oh nooooooo......moooooom, my shoelace broke....." It was almost worth crying over.  If you were older, you'd simpy swear: "faaaak. My faaaaking shoelace broke. Fak."

Then you'd have to hastily unlace it a bit, usually through a few holes so that you'd have enough lace to tie a quick knot and then re-thread it, and man, nothing was worse than when you held your breath and gave it a hesitant and gentle tug, and poof, it didn't hold, and you had to start all over. Or, you had to run out with it not fixed properly and your shoe would be flapping off your foot as you did that limping sort of  gallop to catch up with your friends.

That hasn't happened to me in a long, long time.

Do you think they make better quality shoelaces these days? Why would that be? Everything else, and I mean everything is made cheaper and crappier nowadays. Other than shoelaces it seems. Is there a shoelace cartel that we don't know about? A shoelace mafia?

Or maybe I just don't have the upper arm strength that I used to. Who knew there would be a benefit to that? My shoelaces now last forever.

Traveller or Tourist?

 I am going to Peru. It's been on my bucket list since before I knew what a bucket list was. I'm pretty excited.

Someone made a comment along the lines of "We will be travellers, not tourists." And I really wanted to say something, but we are meeting in Lima as a group, and we'll be travelling a lot of the time together, so I certainly don't want to alienate myself from the group already. But this is my take on that sentence:

"Are you a traveller or a tourist?" I just don't buy into this argument. I think those words are  a distinction used by pretentious people to make themselves seem superior to others. As far as the locals of anywhere are concerned, it doesn't matter how long you have been on the road or what your mindset is, if you're not local....you're a tourist.

The definition of tourist is "Someone who travels for pleasure". The definition of traveller is "A person who changes location.". Same thing in the long run.

When you arrive somewhere, you are a tourist, no matter how long it took you to get there, or how you got there. Everyone has the right to arrive at their destination as they wish...be it by helicopter or chicken bus.

Staying in a cheap hostel, drinking local beer on the roof at night and eating local food from a street vendor with other people, be they local or from another place, does not make you any less a tourist...you are still someone visiting from another country. If your pillow is in a hut in a back alley or in a Hilton Hotel, you are still a tourist.

It's how travel is experienced that counts, it's what each of us gains from our own adventure that counts. Who is to say that what you enjoy needs to be the same as what I enjoy? Do you really think that locals care why we are there? Whether we are there for spiritualistic reasons, or materialistic reasons? If we want to shop at local markets or big name stores?  See famous sights or discover an unknown street?  They don't care....however you spend your time or money, you are still a visitor...a tourist...in someone else's country.

The important thing is to enjoy yourself, and to respect the place you are visiting. Enjoy their culture and see the sights you want to see.

So please, don't tell me that your adventure was better than mine or anyone else's because you are a "traveller, not a tourist". Once we leave our house, we are all the same.

This argument needs to die.

There was a blue moon on Friday. Some people said it was on Thursday since it was actually at its very fullest in the wee hours of the morning, so depending on what you read, it was either Thursday night or Friday. Astronomers said Friday.

But, regardless (I always want to say "irregardless" because it's just so wrong that it amuses me) a blue moon is a special night, nine times more powerful than a regular full moon. It only occurs about every two and half years, and to happen on a clear summer night on the last day of the month is even rarer.

It's the most positive time for  charging, or infusing, or empowering crystals, quartz, and silver. It's energy can be summoned for protection, wisdom and love.

So I took advantage of this and I set out my silver necklace with some of Gypsy's ashes in it, under the moonbeams on Thursday night. The moon shines directly on my sundeck.

The following morning, I wore the necklace and went for a walk in the forest, following the trails that we most commonly took when I used to walk her. It was a hot, hot morning and as I walked I concentrated as hard as I could on her spirit as I held the necklace....I imagined her running through the bushes, chasing squirrels, digging frantically for gophers, and looking at me with those beautiful pitty eyes. The air had that hot, dry grass of August smell, and I breathed as deeply as I could, trying to inhale as much of that scent as I could, and I imagined the essence of her seeping into the necklace. 

The moon was still faintly visible, the pale white daytime moon, so imagined that there was still good energy in the air.

Then I went for lunch with a friend who is one of the strongest, most positive and happy people that I know. That lunch  table had nothing but good vibes! I spent the rest of the day thinking happy and positive thoughts, staying clear of negativity, watching no news, all the while wearing Miss Gypsy.

All this story telling does have a point, and I'll get to it soon, but I feel like this background info is a crucial part of the story.

That night was the "real" full moon, even though it had been full during the day, now it was visible  and not a cloud in the sky, so the moonbeams were so bright that they lit up the table where I set the necklace. I wrapped it around a pine cone that I had brought home from the forest years ago, when Gypsy was still here.

And that was that. This morning, Saturday September 1st, I put it on (slept terribly all night long, worried that crows would steal it during the night) and off I went, back to the bush.

Now, you know, I don't think it matters what a person believes, as far as a greater power goes, as long as you actually believe. I'm not going to get caught up in the semantics of religion here, suffice it to say I have my own beliefs, as I'm sure you have yours too. As the saying goes, "your beliefs don't make you a better person, your behavior does." And this is my story.

I'm walking the trail, knowing that my talisman is as powerful as it's ever going to be. The forest is quiet and still. So still. Not a blade of grass is moving, not a leaf on a tree is stirring. Not the tiniest breath of air is moving. I'm concentrating on receiving a sign....any sign....any proof.

I stop every few minutes, listening for a crack or rustle in the bush. Actually, I always hear noises, generally the wind blowing, or a squirrel dropping a pinecone, or running along a branch. Sometimes I hear a tiny "snap" as a deer steps on a branch. Sometimes I even hear large bangs and crashes as someone elses dog runs out of the underbrush, tongue lolling and eyes sparkling as it sees me, hoping for pats or treats and leaving generous dollops of slobber on my pants.

Today, however was just so silent. Every few minutes I give the two tone whistle that Shane used when he called her, but I can't whistle very loudly, so I also gave the horsey sort of click that I used to call her. Stop dead...listen...nothing. A few more times....nothing.

I'm wondering what to say if I see someone, if they hear me calling a dog. I can't really say I'm looking for a sign from beyond, nor do I want to pretend I have a real dog in the woods, but luckily I see no one, so it's a moot worry.

About half way through the walk I'm on a part of the path that was Gypsy's least favorite. There is a fork in the path, one way goes home and she always wanted to go that way and when I kept going straight she would slump down and look dejected and thump along behind me, you could just hear her heaving a huge sigh of resignation. Such a drama queen.

Now I hear a crackle in the bush. I stop and hear it again. I want to turn and look, but if it's a squirrel, I'll be so disappointed. But if I keep going, and don't turn, then I can pretend it was her, but I'll never know. And I'll always regret not turning. But if I turn, and it's nothing, I'll wish I had just kept going. Ack! What to do?

I turn.

 I see a squirrel run out of the underbrush. I can almost taste the disappointment. I bite my lip. The squirrel looks and me and I look at it. It's holding a pinecone in its little paws, so sweet. Then it drops the pinecone and scampers about two feet up the tree, chattering loudly....scolding me for startling it I assume.

Then, and I swear on my mother's grave, I swear on my children's lives, the grasses beside the path start to move and I see a "whoosh" or a ripple of movement from the path to the tree, the grasses move as if something is dashing towards the tree. It lasts only a second or two...it lasts as long as...well, as long as it would take a small dog to dash from beside my legs to the base of the tree.

My heart sort of stopped. I stood as still as I could. There is not another leaf or grass or hair on my head that is moving. There is not the slightest bit of breeze anywhere...the world is still.

And I start to cry.

I can't believe how long it's been since I've written anything...oh, it's just been so hot and even though I like the heat more now than I used to, it still just wears me out.

But today's weather is quite cool compared to the last month or and as things cross my mind, instead of filing them away for future consideration, I've been feeling more and more like jotting them down. 

Something I've been thinking about is security at airports. I went to Victoria a few weeks ago, and I was "randomly chosen" at the Cranbrook airport to be searched.

I had feared that I was in trouble for bringing a 4 ounce container into a 3 ounce world, but it was apparently was a genuine random search since nothing was confiscated.

 Our small airport doesn't have the scanner, so my choices were either right there, in front of everyone, or behind a curtain. I didn't really want to know what was behind Curtain #1, does someone sit back there all day, waiting for his chosen one? To me it was a simple case of "the devil you know", and the woman who said she would check me right there seemed grandma-ish and friendly. 

Plus, I didn't really want anyone to see me being led away....

So, it was nothing, she ran the wand all over me, patted me down, took an extreme interest in my shoes, the whole thing took less than 3 minutes. Not a big deal. Not like being searched in Amsterdam....that's another story for another day.

I'm sure they are trained in how to do the pat-down, I mean, I'm sure they do it the same way to everyone, regardless of the airport, so it made me wonder why people get so upset and irate and consider it to be so invasive. And in bigger airports you can chose the scanner. And people get upset about that too, which makes me say "Really? After 9/11 and shoe bombers and underwear bombers and people with box cutters in their pockets, you want to complain about the fact that security is tight?  You'd rather just chance it? Tell ya what, why don't we have two types of flights, one where anybody can get on, and one where there are random checks...I'll bet my flights have more passengers than yours."

I mean, yes, people still get through the check points with contraband, and there will still be hijackings and bombings, but I think that because that statement is true, it proves that we probably need those security measures.

And please...don't tell me that you're uncomfortable with your child being scanned....whoever is looking at the X-ray (for lack of whatever they call it...the picture) didn't take that job for any perverse reason...they don't see your child in person;  they are in a different area totally; the face is blurred out; they see this X-ray picture of your kid for approximately TWO seconds,  and they see far more adults than children.

Its likea slightly fuzzy negative.

Any sicko who wants a thrill  is going to see way more at a public beach or a swimming pool rather than sitting in a booth for 8 hours hoping that today is the day that a child is pulled aside and that they will get a 2 second glimpse of some bones . I mean, I know that people want to protect their kids, but its a new world out there...not everyone is wanting to view your child...lighten up. If you are truly that afraid of an airport scanner tech looking at your child, then you may as well wrap that kid up in blankets and store them away.

you walk in, you stand two seconds, you walk out.

I guess what it's all about is the fact that you don't have to fly. You can drive, take a train, bus, or you can stay home. if you want to fly...you pay the price, literally and figuratively.

U.S. of A. Yay and Nay.

First of all, let me say, I have a lot of American friends whom I adore. As well as friends from other countries. All of us discuss our various governemnts and we all complain. I don't think any of us has a government to be proud of, except perhaps Sweden, Denmark, Finland and the like. The rest of us put up with crap and corruption, lies and laziness, dolts and dumbasses.

One of the things I like best about going to the States is going to the grocery stores. For a country so similar to ours, I cannot  believe the wonderful things they stock on their shelves! Things I just never see around here...new and exciting cereals, packaged foods that I've never heard of, canned goods that boggle my mind, and the prices....whoa...the prices.....



Soup varieties I've never seen!



GIANT jars af Vlasic for $1.98. We pay $6.00 for half this size.

I could spend hours wandering through the aisles. I saw pickled watermelon rind, I saw powdered goat milk, I saw canned crawfish and brown tomatoes called "kumatos". I saw gold and silver spray "paint" that you actually spray on your food. I wonder if that makes your poop sparkle?

We get bothered by mosquitos up here, and we can buy all sorts of mosquito and bug repellent, but I've never seen this before, damn pesky birds:

And outside the store, I almost bought one of these:

I don't know why this came out sideways.  Boo.

But some of the "freedoms" allowed in the USA, I think go too far.
We went to The Black Sheep, which is a sporting goods/hunting/camping place. Steven buys almost all his hunting stuff here, the people are great and the prices are rock bottom. Cheaper than anywhere else, and they have three huge stores, one with the hunting/camping gear, from guns and knives and fishing supplies...everything you could need for the outdoors, one with clothes for the aforementioned sports, and a liquidation place.In other words, its not some rinky-dink Mom & Pop place.

So, I'm wandering around and I see some posters. I thought for a second they were Justin Beiber, and I wondered why he  would be here. Then I realized it was someone else, but I didnt recognize who, perhaps a hunting icon? I wandered over, and to my shock, I realized it wasn't a poster, but a target. A target of a kid. A kid in a hoodie.
A target of a kid in a hoodie that you are supposed to practice shooting at.
Really? Really?
There were actually 2, they were attatched and you got them both for .99. The second one had the prime kill zones, so you'd know where to shoot.
Seriously? I honestly felt my stomach lurch.
I thought to myself "No one is going to believe this." So I picked one up and went to the till. The clerk was a young girl, maybe late teens, early twenties and and when I said "Is this a shooting target?" She smiled and said "Yeah, crazy hey? We can hardly keep them in stock, especially after that whole Treyvan thing. We also had zombies and President Obama." and she happily rang up my purchase.

Zombies...OK, whatever. But this?

I'm actually at a loss for words.

Clean up your mess.

 I have a good idea.

You know how ICBC, or whatever car insurance place you deal with, will either pay to have your vehicle fixed after an accident, or it will pay you out if your vehicle is non-fixable?

Well, I think that the person responsible should have to clean up the mess before they get their money.

Another car went off the road up by where we walk, and all the glass and metal pieces are strewn all over. And you know its going to stay there forever, literally, since it's all nonbiodegradable.

So, before you get your car fixed, or your money...you should have to clean it up. Oh, but you're in the hospital? That's OK, we'll hang on to your money until you''re better. Oh, but you'll never be able to walk or bend over again? That's OK, pay someone else to do it, and then you'll get your money. We'll even deduct it from what you're getting, just to help you out. Oh...you died? Still OK, before your estate or family gets the money, they can pay someone to clean it up. Not your fault at all? Hey...that happens, some accidents are really no-fault. But, you know what? Life sucks, be a decent member of the human race and clean it up anyway.

As I was standing there, spouting my words of wisdom, Steven was gathering up some of the sharper metal pieces as this is a prime dog walking area. I confess, I took home nothing, but tomorrow I'll bring a sturdy bag and gather some of the mess. People that live in glass houses.....

How smart?

So, we got a letter from BC Hydro the other day, saying that we will soon be getting a new Smart Meter. And that got me thinking about some of the articles I've seen but have not really paid much attention to, about said Smart Meters, so I did a bit of googling and browsing, and I have a few concerns.

First, it isn't very easy to find good, reliable, unbiased pros and cons. I found a lot of proponents and a lot of opponents. I'd read the articles of the people who were for the Smart Meters and find myself nodding and agreeing, then I'd read the against articles and I'd find myself siding with them. I read and read until my head was spinning with both information and misinformation.

 If they were genuinely going to save money, I'd be all for it, but from what I can see, that just ain't gonna happen. The installation of them will be, and this is according to government figures......$930 million...yes, million dollars. I can't wrap my mind around that kind of money. How long will it take to recoup that?

 I'd be curious as to who has the contract to supply these meters to the government.

But, here's the thing, apparently, in a nutshell, this is how the system is supposed to work: it tracks the high period of usage and the low period, and you pay more if you use more during the high period. You pay less if you use less. So if everyone runs their dishwasher, for example, between 5 and 7 PM, the amount of electricity being used is high, thus you will pay more.

So, what? I'm supposed to run my dishwasher at 8PM when no one else is? Makes sense, except won't everyone do that? Then that makes 8PM the 'bad' time. Should I set my alarm and get up at 3AM and run it then, and maybe throw in a quick load of laundry? Why don't we do that? Oh, because most people use electricity when they do, for valid reasons, like cooking dinner at dinner time, and getting up to go to work in the morning , and getting the kids off to school. That's why.

Or maybe 'they' can set it up like watering your yard, even numbered houses can use their dishwashers and washers and dryers on even numbered days.

 And what about huge electricity consumers, like the air conditioner? We're all gonna be using that at the same time...man, that smart meter is gonna be whirlin' and BC Hydro will be just agrinnin'....maybe that's their whole plan? Because, come on, you KNOW that they would not be spending $930,000,000 if they were not going to be making beaucoup dollars. I mean, really, let's be serious.

The BC Public Interest Advocacy Centre says that the smart meter will increase our Hydro bills by about 8.3%. Hydro then gave these tips on how to reduce your bill:

1. Change how you use your air conditioner, turn it off when you're not home, set it to 77, use a ceiling or portable fan as they use much less electricity.

2. Don't run your pool pump all the time.

3. Don't operate your appliances at peak hours, and maybe purchase Energy Star efficient ones.

4.Cook efficiently, (ie) put more than one dish in the oven at a time and freeze one for later use, use an electric frying pan instead of a burner or oven.

5. Replace your light bulbs with CFL's.

6. Turn off electric devices when not in use.

And so on.... These are all excellent ideas and we should all try to incorporate them in our daily lives, but hey, BC Hydro....how about we continue to do this, as most of us already are, and you DON'T install the new meters and you just continue to bill us as you already are? Because you don't seem to have a problem with sending out those bills and collecting our money, and raising your prices.

But what really made me think twice were all the articles (and there were many, many, many) written by BC Hydro officials and government officials touting the safety of the new meters, since the main concern seems to be the amount of radiation that they emit.

There are a number of prominent doctors, scientists, members of the World Health Organization, members of various governments who claim that the smart meters are not safe. There are an equal number who claim that they are. There seems to be just as many who say that there have not been enough studies done to decide either way. We havent lived with smart meters in our homes for long enough, or in neighbourhoods where there are hundreds of them emitting their small bits a radiation.

 And that, my friends, to me, is the deciding factor. "Not enough studies done." Let's just take a quick look at a few things that our government, the FDA, the WHO and other groups have told us were safe, shall we? Bear in  mind that all of these were supposed to be perfectly safe/good for us.

1. Thalidomide.  No further words needed.

2. Cigarettes. My parents each used to get a carton with their paychecks, as a bonus, from the government. My parents are now dead. Cancer. In their lungs.

3. Something as innocuous as living beneath a power line. Who would have ever thought that could be a health hazard to your children?

4. Aspartame...approved by the FDA as a "healthy alternative" to sugar.

5. fen-phen.. Better than being fat, but being fat is better than being dead.

6. Bisphenol A in baby bottles.

7. Mercury fillings.

8. Silicone breast implants. And what's with this anyhow....banned and withdrawn in 1992, yet back on the market in 2006?

9.DDT. Agent Orange. Again, no words needed. But if you google Agent Orange birth defects and look at images, I guarantee you'll cry, and if you ever trust anything the government says again, you're a fool.

10. Lead paint. How many babies do you think chewed on the rails of their cribs that were painted in lead based paint? But that's OK, the government told us it was safe.

11. Here's a big one...asbestos.

12. Glow in the dark watch dials.  I had one, and I'll bet you or your parents did too. Read the book "Radium Halos" by Shelly Stout. They were female factory workers who died of radiation poisoning from painting watch dials with supposedly safe glow in the dark paint. An estimated 4000 women were hired by large corporations in both the US and Canadian factories to paint the watch dials and hands. The US company was a defence contractor, supplying glow in the dark watches to the military. We all know the secrets the military tried to keep.

    We don't really know how many women died of radiation poisoning...and do you know why? Because the deaths of the women were attributed to syphilis, to smear their reputation so that the ones who did insist that the paint was causing their deaths and illnesses would not be believed. And why were the deaths attributed to syphilis? At the urging of the companies and the government.  Doctors and dentists were urged to destroy information. Sounds a bit far-fetched and ludicuous, I know, but its true. There was litigation and court cases, and the end result was a huge factor in the establishment of labour standards and occupational hazard laws.

But, guess what? That happened in 1928 and raduim paint was used in watch making until the 1960's. Why? Because the government said it was safe.


And this is a tiny, minuscule, small list of all the things that we were once told were safe for ourselves and our families.

Its not that I think the governments/industries/huge corporations are necessarily lying...but the thing is, they don't know for sure...they have never known for sure....so why take a chance?

I don't speak Starbuckian

I think I'm either channeling Andy Rooney or turning into him. I even found a long eyebrow hair today. Things annoy me and I feel the need to shout my annoyance out loud.

Today's rant is Starbucks. I have many reasons for disliking Starbucks, some are good reasons, some are just things that grate on my nerves.

~They tend to squeeze out the independent coffee shops.

~They contribute to litter
.
~They are less than cooperative when it comes to implementing the purchase of Fair Trade coffee. Come on...it's true... they claim that they're one of the largest purchasers of Fair Trade coffee yet the amount they purchase is less than 6% of their total coffee purchases. Either buy all your coffee via Fair Trade, or just come right out and admit that you only buy some of it.  No one expects you to be a perfect corporation, so please don't try to fool us into thinking that you are something that you're not.

~And they refuse to guarantee that their chocolate, baked goods and ice-cream are from non-GMO sources.

Those are all serious accusations, but my biggest annoyance with Starbucks? The teeth grinding pretentiousness of them. I feel my teeth grinding even right now.

First, their faux drink sizes. What is that all about? A small is a tall? A medium is a Grande? A large is a Venti? And speaking of venti....Starbucks has actually trademarked that term. Do you know that venti is simply the Italian word for 20...you get 20 ounces in a venti. It's a word...and yet they trademarked it. How absolutely annoying is that?

And the way you are expected to order. If you don't ask for a "double, skinny, triple, frappy, cappy, frothy, venti with sprinkles" the hipster sheep rolls his eyes and heaves a huge sigh at your lack of coolness.

I've only been to Starbucks maybe 3 or 4 times. I like to order a large coffee. You can see their veins start to throb as they prepare for yet another middle aged, middle classed, non-yuppie person invading their world.
"Venti?" they say, daring me to not use the correct terminology.
"No, just one" I answer, cooly staring back.
They give the Starbucks approved chest heave and huff out another sigh.
"The size... you want a venti? And what type of roast...medium, blond, bold, coffee of the day?"
"Just a large coffee, medium roast."

And then, they'll repeat it to you, but I think it's company policy that they get the last word in, in Starbuckian:

"All right then, one venti, italiano", and they run away before you get a chance to holler: "One large medium roast damn you..."

And their food. Yes, it looks delicious, and I imagine it tastes good too. Actually I had a slice of something once, and it was wonderful. I hope it wasn't their Real Zucchini Muffin Baked into Wholesome Fluffy Goodness, a Wonderful Alternative For Breakfast with 490 calories, 28 grams of fat, 28 grams of sugar, 480 mg of sodium, along with a few trans fats.

And then the whole issue with the vegan smoothies. Starbucks was so proud of the fact that were offering vegan strawberry smoothies, until it came to light that they had changed the recipe without telling anyone. They were using cochineal extract, which is the juice from small beetles for red colouring. Or maybe the whole beetle, ground up. Either way....

After a huge outcry from their customers, they changed the recipe, they now use lycopene, a tomato based extract. They (smugly) announced the change was due to customer request...but come on, you know they only reason they changed it was because they got caught! From an employee who was the Whistle Blower, no less.. Google it and see for yourself. Why didn't they just use beet juice in the first place? Or, hey, here's a thought, how about flavoring your strawberry smoothie with, I don't know...strawberies?

And that's what I hate. I hate a corporation that uses lies and deceit to make money. I hate it. And I hate it even more when they get caught and then they are so sorry. You know they're only sorry because they got caught.

And don't even get me started on the customers...not all of them, but the ones that think they are  hipsterish themselves, and they are buying Fair Trade items, and they are Living with One with Mother Earth, and they walk in the forest in their Rancourt-Hickories and their Uggs as they leave their trash behind. It's "ugh" All right. This was just this morning, while I was walking.

I saw 2 moms,  hopping out of their massive SUV's, with their designer dogs and their 2.5 children named Muffy and Molasses, holding their Starbucks cups as they put their children into their fancy strollers. They went one way, I went the other, and when I came back to my vehicle, this was left behind.

Thanks moms, for teaching your children how to care for our forests. Good job. Starbucks thanks you too.

So if you want to go for coffee, and you want to go to Starbucks. I'll go. I just won't be a model customer, that's all.

Healthy and not so much....

Today is a "picture is worth a thousand words" day. I know I am so far behind in blogging, and I have no excuse. None.

Today I made cookies. A healthy cookie that is supposed to help rid your body of toxins, via eating dandelions. As you may, or may not know, dandelions are chock full of antioxidants, and a half cup of them have more iron than spinach, and a whole ton of vitamins A, C and K, plus all sorts of other magical properties.

They're also a diuretic, which is the part that helps cleanse the body I guess. i ate four, so we'll see how many times I get up tonight. I'll let you know! Then, to defeat the whole purpose of eating healthy, I purchased these cupcakes. Because, well, LOOK at them! One has rhubarb though, and that's healthy. Right?

But then I made a very healthy dinner. Chicken breast wrapped around roasted red pepper, a piece of cheddar and a slice of bacon. Yeah, I know, but the chicken and pepper part was healthy. Right?

And look at the salad...spinach, kale, arugula, a bit of feta, sunflower seeds, Asian sesame dressing. Well, the greens are healthy. Right?

*sigh* Why is it so hard to eat healthy?

 So, we went for a ride the other day, on the side-by-side, and we travelled waaay up into the bush, as a matter of fact we went right to the end of the road. Literally, the road went no further.

 This lake isn't the end, we went about another hour past this, and even though its a place that Steven goes hunting now and then, there are never any signs of anyone else...no fresh tire tracks, no empty bottles or fire pits. We always feel sort of smug, and think that it's "our" spot.
We stopped for a rest and to stretch out legs, I hop out for pee, and what do I find?

Really?

One potato, two potato....

 I should pay more attention to my oven. Or my nose. Or both. *sigh* here's what happened: I made baked potatoes about 10 days ago and that should be the end of the story. Meanwhile, I thought maybe something was wrong with my electric frying pan (which I love, and would be lost without) because every time I was using it, I was smelling an odd "burn-y" smell. (I usually use both the oven and the electric frying pan during the prep of meal. Well, maybe not usually, but often.) I knew it wasn't anything in the oven because I opened the oven door and used my eyes to look inside. I'd put a pot or dish in there, and continue on my culinary adventure, running down the basement every now and then to make sure that things weren't burning down there. All was well. So, tonight I was roasting some asparagus, and when I pushed the cookie sheet into the oven I heard  rustling noise. This time I actually bent over to look inside, and lo & behold...a silvery nugget of burned potato was smooshed up against the back of the oven. When I unwrapped it, it looked like a black truffle, and when I touched it, it was hollow and hard and crumbled away.  What can I say? When you check your oven, bend over and check it properly. Or count your potatoes.

Three things

As I was doing a bit more cleaning today I decided to share three things with you.  The first is this beer can holder, and what a great idea this is. Nothing is worse than holding a cold can of beer in the winter, your hands get so chilled, and nothing is worse than holding a cold can in the hot summer 'cause then your beer gets warm. So here is the perfect invention, it so appeals to my sense of whimsy. I know you can get those "beer cozies" but it's harder than you would think to try and jam a cold & clammy can into a tight fitting cozy. They are actually called "coozies", but that just seems like a dirty word to me. Anyhow, stuffing your can into a coozie (see? Doesn't that sound vulgar?) is not unlike Ross trying to get  into those leather pants in that infamous "Friends" episode. This is much more fun.                                                       
Next are the wonderfully tiny Milk Bones® (I just learned how to make the Registered symbol, so I had to use it) These are only 5 calories each, and since we seem to have a lot of friends with overweight dogs, they are perfect to carry around with me, as well as small enough to fit in a jean pocket. (Because yes, I am the type of person with a pocket full of dog treats, as opposed to the type of person with a pocket full of Werthers™ (I can also make the Trademark symbol, not sure which is the correct one to use, but I impress myself with knowing how to make any and all of them) I'd rather run into people with dogs in the forest than people with children.) (can you use brackets within brackets? Does anyone care?)
And finally,  I found 2 lotto tickets that my Dad bought 6 months before he died. I'm not going to ever check the numbers because they expire after, I think, a year and can you imagine if they had been huge winners? Yikes! I hid the last number just in case any of you are curious (as I would be if I were reading this on someone else's blog) I don't want to know....instead I have tucked them in my wallet as good luck tokens. Maybe I'll use the numbers the next time I buy a ticket. Wouldn't that be sweet if they won something? My Dad always said two things about the lotto...one was it was the best "bang for your buck" ever...he said where else can you get a weeks worth of dreams for a dollar? I like that thought, it touches me. He would buy a ticket once a week, for the following weeks draw, and he would plan all the things he'd do if he won. "A weeks worth of dreams." The other thing he told me was a bit funnier. He would check his ticket during the TV draw (I don't know if they even do that anymore) but he would stand in front of the TV with his ticket and watch the winning numbers be drawn. He always said he would probably have a heart attack if he won, so he'd tuck the ticket under the rug in front of the TV as he fell, so he told me to make sure I checked under the rug when I came to his home, once he died.
    And you know what? When I went there, I looked around, feeling somewhat foolish, and said "Just following your orders Dad..." and I peeked under the corner of the rug, I found what I expected, which was just a dust bunny, but I always did what my Dad told me too.

Hot 'n Cold.

What a gorgeous day it was today. It snowed last night, a massive amount, must have been close to a foot. It was the light and fluffy kind, not too hard to walk in. I went for a walk up to Idlewild Park, and I was the first one there today...it was so silent and peaceful.
     The snow on the branches was just starting to get too heavy and the trees were dropping loads of snow, it was a pretty amazing thing to watch...one tree would start to lose all the snow and I could hear a grainy sounding "whooooooosh" and then the next tree would start and so on, like a domino effect.

I'll see if I can upload a little video clip of it.

After hiking through the snow, which was almost to my knee, I was somewhat exhausted...it's tough walking through snow, even the fluffy kind. Anyhow, it was now close to lunch time and I was getting a bit peckish, as my Mom used to say, so I scurried home and made some tasty grilled cheese sandwiches...Laughing Cow Jalapano cheese, cappicola, black forest ham and fresh whole wheat bread. Mmmm....nice and warm after a cold winter walk. Ahhhhhh...retired life....worth the wait....

New Puppy

My neighbours are getting a new puppy. "Just a baby" they have informed me. The little one was telling me that they had to wait to get the puppy until she wasn't drinking from her mama anymore, and was able to eat puppy food from a dish. That steered the conversation to animals in general, and how they ate.

 He told me that all 'aminals' drink milk from their mothers. He then proceeded to stare me up and down, asking "I know how it works with 'aminals', but how does it work with people?"
 
I lost all courage and told him that he should probably ask his mom about that...she'd know the answer.
 
*sigh*

Cranky

What Makes a Person Cranky?
Well, I guess lately what makes me cranky is time. Time marching by way too quickly; not having enough time. It's truly amazing how time does seem to go by more and more quickly the older you get. The other thing that's making me cranky lately is that there seem to be so many things that one has to do, even if you don't want to do them. Not that these observations are new or unique. I think everyone probably has the same observations at some point. It's just that it makes me cranky.

Mexico Christmas Eve

What to do on Christmas Eve? The resort was having a turkey dinner for all the guests, all the theme restaurants and the two huge buffets were serving the same meal, and while it probably would be sort of fun to have a turkey dinner in Mexico, the idea of Mexican staff cooking turkey and all the trimmings for some three or four thousand people, all to be served at pretty much the same time...well, we were all a bit hesitant as to how good it would actually be. Plus, the resort had given everyone "appointment times" for dinner...meet in the lobby at 7:30 and they'll tell you where your dinner is at.....meh, I'm too cranky for that sort of thing.

"Besides" as everyone said, "Besides, we can have turkey any time."

"Well" I muttered under my breath "Yeah.. if I make it you can...did it occur to anyone that maybe I might want someone else to cook me a turkey dinner?"

And then I laughed, because it's a well known fact in our house that I'll go out for a bag of chips if someone else is opening it....I am a good cook, but I can't say that I enjoy cooking.  Actually, that's not quite true...I don't mind the cooking part, but I despise trying to decide what to cook and then the grocery buying aspect of it all is equally repugnant to me. If I ever win a big lottery, that would be one of the things I'd do...hire a planner to make my menus and buy all the ingredients. I'd happily cook, and I don't even mind the clean-up. Just tell me what to do.

But, as they say, I digress.

Scott had asked our concierge for another suggestion and was told that we had to try ALUX, pronounced "aloosh". She said it was in a cave, and we thought that sounded interesting, so we got our taxi fellas to take us there. It's a little off the beaten path, a few blocks off the main tourist street, but in a kind of dicey area...not sure I'd want to walk there at night.

But what a treat it was...a really large cavern, complete with stalactites and stalagmites and pools of water. When you enter, you go down small flight of stairs and a large-ish dining area and bar are there, which is where we ate. But, after dinner we walked around and there are all sorts of small 'private' dining areas, a tiny disco and  little rooms tucked into small nooks and crannies...it was like something from Star Wars, or a Hobbit movie.

The food was amazing as well, I think the bill for 5 of us, appetizers, dinner and drinks(one person had steak & lobster...) was about $50 Cdn each, that included a decent tip, so while it wasn't cheap, it wasn't horribly pricey.\

After our dinner, we decided to stroll down 5th Ave again, about half of the  places were closed, being Christmas Eve and all, but  there was still enough open shops to browse through, and pick up a few more souvenirs.

 I always wanted to try one of these 'fish spas", but I chickened out...who knows what might be in that tank?

More Festive decorations!

We eventually headed back to the resort, and before bed I had a few "flat" presents for everyone that I had packed, bookmarks, lotto tickets and some gift certificates, as well as a little tree that I had tucked in my suitcase as well. We opened our gifts, and then hit the sack. Tomorrow we were heading home.
I left the doily and tree, along with an envelope with a nice tip (and a Feliz Navidad card) for the fellow who had taken care of our room for us...he was a funny little man who hugged us whenever he saw us, and tried to learn some English phrases as well.