apjournal

A Few Words

2005-10-11T06:33:00.000-06:00

Yesterday something kind of neat happened. I'm a fan of the bucolic lifestyle, or at least the idea of it. I imagine a place in the country with a big herb garden, a few chickens, some paints, lots of paper for writing, a couple of friendly, goofy dogs, and of course, cats curled up on cushions on sunny, wicker porch swings. Okay, okay. I know it's like something out of a bad Maeve Binchy novel, but sometimes ... sometimes ... you can actually get glimpses of this, even in the city. I was upstairs changing yesterday before heading out for a meeting, and I come out onto the landing and there's one of the cats at the bottom of the stairs curled up in the laundry basket. The laundry basket had been set not far from the front of the grand piano, which, truth be told, would have made the picture more complete had it been uncovered and had its lid been up. Meanwhile, I'd forgotten a classical music station I'd turned on was still on, and some nice, light baroque music drifted up at me. The cat gazed up at me sleepily, and I took in the scene, which was flooded with natural morning light (east facing room) and it hit me ... this is a page from a magazine! Very cool. You simply have to notice moments like that.

I've lost 22 pounds and still going strong. None of my clothes fits me anymore (boo hoo). Yoga continues to be wonderful. I find yoga creeping into my every day activities and mindset, though I'm not consciously trying to make it do that. Piano playing has slowed down since work started again full tilt in September, but I continue to make progress, and am still loving it. My only complaint at the moment is that I really, really miss writing. I've read so much good fiction lately and I feel bits of stories, images, characters, conversations, for stories creeping into my head on an almost continuous basis. I must create! Man, how to carve out the time to do so, though, is completely beyond me.

My last surviving grandparent (grandmother on my dad's side) died on September 23. I had not been close to her. She lived in Germany and the last time I saw her I was 10. Since then there've been a few phone calls and letters and cards, but nothing major. It left a curious hole, though, when she died. Sort of made me feel smaller. I think it's a combination of two things: it reminds me of my mortatlity, which I never like to be reminded of, because I've not yet dealt with the fact that I will not, um.... live forever; and the other thing is that, generation-wise, my parents are next, and that is a place I cannot go to in my mind, not at all. It terrifies me.

The same week, my husband's son's father-in-law died. He was only 52. Had a heart attack at work and died on the spot, and had never had any history of heart diesease.

Well, that brings you all up to date. I'll be by to visit your blogs soon. I miss you all ...

So flippin' busy

2005-09-26T08:54:00.000-06:00

Hey Chandira & other blogger friends. Thanks for dropping by, and sorry I haven't posted in ages. I'll be brief as I'm off to yoga. Updates: I've now lost 19 1/2 pounds. Woo-hoo! 10 1/2 more to go. Wow. Weight loss has never before been this successful. Yoga is fantastic. I'm now going twice a week for 90 minutes and STARTING to incorporate it at home, though not nearly enough. Music is going very well. I've learned Lord of the Rings music and am now learning "When I'm 64". That's so much fun. Been gardening, reading tons (recent books: The Kite Runner, The Poisonwood Bible, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, The Girl With the Pearl Earring). All fantastic. The horror in New Orelans (though I've never been there) had me mute with shock for a couple of weeks. Any comment on my blog I think would have been trite and not done my own sense of the horror there justice, so I stayed silent on the subject.

That's it for now. I've got to run. More soon, hopefully.

ohmigoshohmigosh

2005-08-22T07:10:00.000-06:00

Brad Pitt's been spotted in Calgary! And so has Angelina Jolie! Pity I live in the suburbs. Doubt my mortal self will get a glimpse of either of the gilded "pair", frequenting, as they do, the trendy spots as opposed to my local Tim Horton's. Is my life somehow less charmed as a result?

Question: are there are any famous people you'd go way out of your way just to catch a glimpse of? I will have to think if there are any for me. Certainly I don't think any Hollywood actors would make the list. Now, if they did a reconstruction of Lord of the Rings, with Aragorn and Legolas riding over the prairie plains on horseback, I might be induced to try to catch a glimpse. Doubt it, though. What is it with the fascination of the celebrity life? Who cares?

A Violation !($#&!

2005-08-20T07:48:00.000-06:00

My last post was terribly unexciting, so I didn't mind deleting the whole thing, but I want to know: how does one selectively delete other people's comments from a particular post, without disallowing future comments? Some ingrate put some dumb investing ad scheme on the comments section of my last post. As this person obviously has a blog (my site doesn't allow nonblogger comments), my plan was to go there and give him several nasty pieces of my mind, but there was no actual site, just an identity page with absolutely no info on it. Help! I am so mad. Is nothing sacrosanct? Now they're finding a way to put spam on our blogs!

A Little Scare

2005-08-17T09:58:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we noticed that Sam (our dog) was squinting a lot and seeming like he didn't want to open his eyes fully. It got worse as the day progressed, and it seemed he was sleeping a lot. Finally, at 9:00 last night, we'd decided enough was enough and we took him to the vet. Our clinic nearby is a 24-hour facility, and I don't think they charge a whole lot more for drop-in, after hours, "emergencies". Turns out our old vet, whom Mr. P and I both really liked, is back there again! (She had left there not long after we met her last year when Sam got his first shots and we were quite upset about it because I DO NOT like vets, generally I figure they're about as trustworthy as lawyers, and of as high integrity as well, but this one I really, really liked; so it was a major disappointment, but now she's back, and we didn't even know until she came out to say hello to us last night in the clinic, and she's there to stay. Whew. One less thing to worry about.)

Anyway, Sam had (has) a bit of inflammation in his eyes, and we think it's possible that it's from the sanding Mr. P was doing in the upstairs bedroom, getting it ready for painting. We got drops for him, etc., and he is almost back to his old self. What a relief. We were very, very worried last night. He was barely opening his eyes at all. I guess with his eyes that sore he really only wanted to sleep because it felt best just to keep them shut, but his energy level seems to be returning.

We have been watching a DVD called "House of Cards", a BBC miniseries with Ian Richardson (the one who plays Bill Hayden in John Le Carre's Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy, for those of you in the know). It is very, very, very good. We keep on seeing more and more BBC miniseries and we always marvel at how they continue to outdo themselves. This one is about political intrigue in the British House of Parliament early 1980's, I think.

I've been reading The Poinsonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. I must admit I thought Kingsolver was a Danielle Steele or Maeve Binchy-type author (apologies to Maeve Binchy, for I like her books from time to time), and I am not really into that sort of fiction. You know the Country Club, women-finding-themselves sort where deep friendships are forged in a mansion on the shores of Britian or Ireland, where people are always inheriting things and never seem to have to work. Like I said, I like them on occasion, but not that often. Anyway, Kingsolver is about as far from one of these authors as can be imagined. That I had not heard how good her writing is before now is bizarre. I pride myself on knowing my fiction: who's good, who's not, who's underrated, who's overrated. I keep an eye on all the lists, read reviews, and of course, read positively voraciously. How did Kingsolver escape my notice? With apologies to American authors, I do prefer the British ones, and this is possibly one explanation. Kingsolver is American, at least born there, and lives there now, though she has travelled and lived extensively in both Europe and Africa, which to my mind goes some way to setting her apart (in the literary sense) from her American compatriots. Anyway, the Poisonwood Bible may be the best book I have ever read. And I don't think it would be exaggerating to say I have read 500 books or more since my mid-teens. (I wish I had had the foresight years ago to list them all ... alas.) THE BEST BOOK of all of them. Strip away any categorical organization to listing a best book or favourite; remove genre-typing, etc. THE BEST BOOK. I can say that now, and I haven't even finished it yet. I've got about 150 pages to go. It is so good, and I am so sure I will read it again one day, we just ordered it from Amazon in hardcover. (Also the Lord of the Rings sheet music, from the first movie).

Just a few more holiday days left. Monday it's back to work. Where on earth did the summer go?

What a weird day

2005-08-12T16:51:00.000-06:00

Today we went to Ikea again. I bought a wrong sheet so had to return it, and I wanted a new bookcase. We got everything we wanted so that was good. We had two more stops planned afterwards, and got neither of them done. Instead of taking 15 minutes or so to get home, it probably took about 40 minutes. Our main route home was closed completely, probably due to a traffic fatality, and then there was more out-of-the-ordinary weirdness the whole afternoon, too. Hubby and I were nattering at each other (slightly) while we were stuck in traffic due to ... nothing at all. Sheesh. Makes the whole "living in the present moment" thing a challenge, let me tell you.

Met with the doctor yesterday whom I edit for. It went extremely well, but I am now in the throes of editing a book-in-progress which is about modernism, post-modernism, epistemology, critical realism and other philosophical intrigues, and to own the truth, I feel a bit out of my depth, though not horribly so. Luckily, the doctor is also a good friend and very kind, so he's patient with my misunderstandings.

Time for dinner ...

Summer's Already Waning

2005-08-11T21:07:00.000-06:00

I can't believe that summer is nearly over. Thanks to all of you who keep checking in ... given that there hasn't been much to check in with! Also, I've been remiss and have not visited anyone lately. It seems that all that extra time you think you'll end up with gets sucked up quickly by a vortex of activity and extra time vanishes.

Here's an update on what's been happening:

Yoga is going fantastically. I have decided to up my yoga to twice a week in September. It's been fun, hasn't it, K?
I have lost 13 1/2 pounds so far and going strong. Even with the holidays and Mr. Carnivore Man home.
Have read another Nabokov book since Lolita: Laughter in the Dark, which I thought was almost as hard to describe as Lolita, but not so much. It's a quick read and devatsatingly unflinching. I highly recommend it to anyone (especially anyone in a happy marriage whose eye occasionally wanders). And, no, B2, it's not simplistic to say that you liked them. In fact, my hubby feels as you do. The books did not evoke the same reactions from him that they did from me.
Gardening projects have not yet broken ground (haha). Neither has painting the upstairs bedrooms, but hopefully both will start over the weekend or Monday at latest.
I AM enjoying my summer. Thanks, Chandira!!
I have read the most incredible book; just finished it yesterday. It's medeaval (sp?) fiction. The book is called Shadows and Strongholds by Elizabeth Chadwick. This book is so good I actually did not touch my piano for an entire day. I couldn't put it down. Well, that's what holidays are for. Losing yourself in a good book is as good an activity as any.Now I am reading The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. I've never read any of her books before, but I think I'm in for a treat. So far I really like it.

Has anyone out there seen the miniseries Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy and Smiley's People? Both John Le Carre books. Excellent miniseries (both are BBC). I highly recommend them.

Okay, my hubby's been on the phone to his son, and I think I sense an end coming. I'm hoping we can get a few more minutes of our movie in tonight (The Great Escape: it's pretty good).

Talk to you all soon. I hope to be by to visit everyone soon.

A Different Sort of Book Review

2005-07-28T07:31:00.000-06:00

If you read Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov and someone asks you, “Is it a good book?” you will not know how to answer this question. Recently asked this question, regarding this book, by my husband, I was compelled to take a good ten minutes to answer. Not an answer full of effusive, superlative praise, but rather an answer that attempted to catch something of the incredible range of emotions I went through while reading the book.

Imagine it is a sunny day. You are on a lake in a boat drifting gently toward one end of the lake. You have few, if any, cares. There are a few fluffy white clouds, a warm, gentle breeze. If is neither too hot nor too cold and no insects mar your experience. You are comfortable, neither tired nor keyed up, but rather you are relaxed, alert and at complete ease. This is what reading the average (perhaps even the very good) book feels like.

Now imagine you reach the end of the lake and drift gently (you are still in your little rowboat) into a stream which drains the lake. Though you are perhaps somewhat surprised to find yourself in a new place, you don’t mind so very much. After all, it is still relaxing, it is still tranquil. (And you are still reading your book – perhaps now the story has taken an unexpected twist: if you had planned to put the book down in another page or two to see about making dinner, you might now readjust the pillow behind your back and decide that dinner can wait another half hour while you see what happens next).

But now let us assume that while your gaze was directed up at the clouds, floating gently downstream, your mind recalling perhaps an amusing, touching story, you suddenly become aware of a rushing sound in your ears. You look around and discover the gentle stream has become a swift-moving river. There are small rapids here and there because the landscape is changing. You take hold of the oars, intending to turn around because this isn’t what you were expecting at all. You desired tranquility and peace and a pleasurable experience. If adventure was a part of the afternoon, you meant for it to be safe.

But it is too late. The stream moves even faster than when you first found yourself to be in this unexpected situation. You look around rather helplessly. You have never come this way before. You are quite sure there are no massive waterfalls, but even of this you cannot be completely certain. The quality of the day, the time of day, (dinner) is forgotten, as you start to realize you are quite at the mercy of the stream. And, now, your yoga training kicks in and you realize surrendering to what IS, as what IS cannot be changed, is the wisest course, because you may as well as live this experience and enjoy it, as you are having this experience, whether you like it or not.

By now, the stream is a pounding river. The rapids turn your little rowboat to odd angles, lifting it high only to bring it crashing back down again, and now you abandon the oars, dropping them in your little boat. You grip the sides of the boat, plant your feet and surrender to the ride. Despite yourself, you are having starting to have fun, and it is exhilarating. You wonder where you’ll end up, finding you don’t attach a great deal of importance to the outcome.

Welcome, gentle readers. You are reading Lolita.

This describes my feelings until well past half-way through the book, when a single sentence prevented me from picking up the book for two whole days. Then, like the compulsive, out-of-control read that it is, you simply must pick it up again. You have to know how it will all come out.

How can an author so brilliantly evoke all this? How can an author create a narrator who is (from at least my own experience) the most egomaniacal individual ever created – living, dead, fictional, or real. A character you want so much to hate, and whom you often do, but mostly you are amused, and simultaneously you are horrified. You revile him. You sympathize with him. You understand him. You so completely fail to understand him. He is pathetically predictable yet impossible to figure out because he is so maddeningly complex. His monstrous ego does not prevent him from making up words in order to appeal to the reader’s sensibilities. Despite this massive ego, I think it is truly important to him that we understand his story, suggesting the narrator has some humility.

And so it goes until the final page. And when you finally close the book and your spouse asks, “Was it good?”, you answer in the manner I have because the book’s genius demands it. When they next ask, “Do you think I would enjoy it?”, you answer this question the only way you can, too: you’ll have to read it for yourself. That is Lolita.

Ikea ruled the day

2005-07-15T16:48:00.000-06:00

I found the shelves I was looking for and some bed linens - ohmigosh they're beautiful. The duvet cover has those old German-style buttons on it; they're fabric-covered, indistinguishable from the bed linens I inherited from my grandmother, real German bed linens 40 or 50 years old. And white. Pure white. Just like bed linens ought to be. Gorgeous. So I had to buy a set. So, a very successful afternoon shopping with a friend, together with iced tea in her back yard afterwards.

Big Behemoth Ikea or stay at home?

2005-07-15T11:09:00.000-06:00

What will it be this afternoon? I really need to get some shelves to organize my basement. The day before I hauled 420 kg of concrete and clay tiles to the dump, we hauled a pickup truck full of stuff from the basement to the dump. We cleaned out all the shelves on one wall of the basement, took down the shelves (they were so saggy they were embarassing) and, as I said, got rid of a lot of stuff at the dump, but there is a lot that needs to be gone through more thoroughly, and either shredded (old EATON's statements -- yes, the now-defunct department store which has been defunct for about five years, old phone bills, etc.) or reorganized, and I can't do that very well at all since I have no shelves. So, it's off to Ikea. I think. Maybe. Thing is, fortuitously, both my afternoon students cancelled, so I have this ocean of time to do something with.

And I'm not going to quit blogging. I have made too many wonderful friends this way. Who knows what surprise is in store next?

Alive & Kicking & we finally have a summer

2005-07-13T15:25:00.000-06:00

I am still considering quitting blogging. I like it. I really do. It's just that I'm now working half-time because the kids are out of school (not my kids, I don't have any, just kids -- students -- in general) and I still don't have any time to get all the things done I want to. I've also started journalling again (you remember what that is ... pen, paper, notebooks; yes, I AM a bit of a neo-luddite) and that takes a good 1/2 hour to 1 hour per day. I'm playing more piano and making great strides and tutoring, and leaving a little time for hubby in there, and it just doesn't leave much time for anything else. Sigh.

But I miss you all. I was surprised to see a comment from Chandira today. Don't even know when you left it it's been so long since I've blogged.

Well, we've got summer on the go, though. It's been beautiful weather, and a combination diet change and lots of walking has resulted in nine lost pounds. Yay! I still have a ways to go but I already feel so much better.

Not much to report other than what you see above. In-between yoga sessions right now; they don't start up again until next Thursday (i.e., not tomorrow, but a week tomorrow), and am looking forward to getting going with them again.

Oh, here's some news. The other day, I hauled all those bricks and tiles I pulled up in the backyard, like 1 1/2 months ago, to the dump. 420 kg worth; for my American friends, that's about a tonne. Yeah, no wonder I'm losing weight, right? All within a couple of feet of a wasp's nest. It turns out though, that wasps are good pests, and so I accorded them some respect and worked cautiously, and it was all good. They didn't sting me, though I had the feeling the longer I was there, the angrier they became. A nice guy dumping some stuff next to me helped me unload about half of my haul. That was nice because it was very hot. The cool shower I took when I got home never felt so good! Now, lots more gardening as I plan to plant about four trees and do some other major work.

Until soon, again, I hope.

gurgle, gurgle, glug ... we're drowning!!!!

2005-06-28T08:28:00.000-06:00

Hello from once-sunny Calgary. It is pouring again, which is not good as we've not recovered from the last two floods we had and there is now talk of more flooding. Still, we soldier on. Sam and I are going for our long walk come hell or high water (for once that expression actually means something).

Went to a new yoga studio yesterday. They practice the Ashtanga yoga, which is the flowing yoga, linking asanas, or postures, in a fluid way, for continuous movement. I like the other yoga much better, but this will be good for a workout and I think also for weight loss.

The mosquitos are the size of mutant bats. One came in the house with me; I think it was sitting on either Sam or me. I missed it the first time I tried to swat it, but got it later on. Man, they are HUGE. Scary monsters with big teeth and ... and... Well, you get the idea.

Back with more later.

I had a Fight with a Van and I won

2005-06-23T08:47:00.000-06:00

Last week, the day after Sam ran off and nearly got himself killed running across a 4-lane feeder road, the two of us nearly got hit by a van in a crosswalk. We were crossing on a green pedestrian light (I maybe should add it was the SAME feeder road) and we were nearing half-way across when a woman in a blue Ford Aerostar turning left came straight toward me. I stopped in shock and surprise, but I don't think she ever fully stopped. I jumped back a bit, I think, then, as she still didn't seem content to let me have the right-of-way, I leapt forward, yanked my dog out of the path of her van, and as soon as we'd cleared the front of her van, she roared off.

But I got the license plate number.

I was so furious. When I got to the other side of the street, I phoned my husband (had my cell phone on me) and just started bawling. I was angrier than I'd been in years; even now, recalling it, I can feel my whole body tense up. What made me so furious was that she didn't even look at me. Her face was no more than about two feet from mine as she went by me, and she didn't even turn to look at me. No, "Ohmygosh, I'm so sorry, I almost hit you. Are you ok?" Anything along those lines and I might have been prepared to let it go; but this was too much. As you all know I've had it up past my eyeballs with rudeness, inconsiderate behavior, thoughtlessness, and so I was determined that she should pay for this behavior.

When I got home I reported her. A nice young police officer came to my door, took my statement, and the $560 ticket was issued to her. The cop phoned me after he issued the ticket and told me that she didn't deny it. Said she'd got scared and didn't know what to do and that's why she drove off. Well, okay. I'm glad she didn't try to deny it. I think I would have been apoplectic. Plus, this means I won't have to go to court. The cop told me that it was very likely the judge wouldn't believe her anyway; that instead he'd believe me. Still, I'm relieved beyond words that I won't be subopoenaed. Obviously, if she admitted to the cop that she did it, she can hardly go to court now and contest it.

I felt vindicated and the anger dissipated alot. I'm a lot warier now as I cross any street, even little side streets.

My very busy time is done and hence this post. More to follow soon.

How to Justify Anything, or Life on the Sunny Side of the Street

2005-06-15T15:56:00.000-06:00

My silly dog, who is, honestly, normally very, very good, today took off after a coyote, and straight across a busy feeder road very near our home. Of course I freaked out. Haven't run that fast in years. We have a huge empty field at the end of our street, and on the other side of the road is a huge provincial park. He saw that coyote and he was gone. I knew exactly where the coyote was headed and so I ran like I've never run before and all I could do was pray that he wouldn't get hit by a car or get lured into a fight with a pack of coyotes. Luckily, neither happened and he is just fine. Once I got to the other side, he and the coyote were actually playing, which I thought was kind of funny, once the searing pain in my lungs had abated somewhat, and he actually came to me straight away, though he looked over his shoulder at the coyote once or twice as he came to me.

Whew. So I got home, shook a bit, phoned my hubby, said, guess what happened? And then K came for her lesson. Aside from having Mr. P here, I couldn't have wished for anyone better to be with me just then. It was scary. So anyway, K informed me that her mother, when she picked her up, would be bringing one of these very decadent Subway-like cookies. Well, I'm on a diet, so I received this news with mixed feelings. Then K said, of course she might forget to bring you the cookie ... Which I thought would be okay because I'm on the diet, But then we decided that it goes something like this: it's all good because if,

K's mom forgets the cookie then I don't blow my diet and;
If she remembers it, then I get to have a cookie!

See? It's easy if you just try. You'll be able to make good just about anything. And as for my dog, yeah, well, he won't be going off-leash within two miles of a road ever again. A lesson well learned if I learn it.

And the Downside of Rain

2005-06-11T09:23:00.000-06:00

Fish Creek Park, my favourite haunt, is closed due to flooding. I went down there on Thursday morning (before the close issue) and couldn't believe my eyes. I'd packed the camera and wanted to go down by the river. (I'm sensible, cautious, and revere life and limb so I would not have been one of these people they'd ended up having to rescue.) I couldn't get near the river (that's the Bow River for those of you who don't live around here). Everything was flooded. Rivers flowed across pathways, roads were flooded out, picnic areas were small lakes, meadows were ponds, old, dried-up creek beds were raging, bulging creeks. I could hardly believe it. RCMP mounted police (actually ON horseback) were in the park making sure people weren't getting themselves into trouble. I tried four different routes I knew of down to the river. No dice. Everything flooded out. Harumph. One of those situations where you go, oh well, either I won't be able to do it, or I'll have to come back with my gum boots.

Though the heavy rain has stopped, it rained some more overnight and this morning. I don't mind the rain. I suppose those who are in flood plains will file their insurance claims and life will move on.

It is now Monday morning (the above written Sunday) and we have since had more heavy rain flooding communities just a mile or two to the west of us. We saw heavy rain yesterday, but nothing compared to what just missed us. Basements flooded, roads impassible. Okay, that’s really enough now. A change in the weather would be welcome. And, to top it all off, (not that this is a surprise in any way), they are predicting a banner year for mosquitos in Calgary. Terrific. Mosquitos and I don’t get along. Just one bite and I welt up and cannot sleep because the itch is madenning. I am allergic, I suppose. I can be in a room with 50 people and one mosquito, and dollars-to-donuts that mosquito will be sitting on my shoulder.

We had a good weekend but I haven’t been sleeping well the past few nights and I’m not sure what to attribute it to. The rain? The humidity? The fact that I think I am fighting a virus? My diet? (which is sensible, reasonable and very healthy)? Over-fatigue from all the walking I’ve been doing? I really don’t know. It is possible that the long-ish naps I took both Saturday and Sunday didn’t help, but that doesn’t explain my bad evening on Friday night.

But, speaking of the weather, I am oh-so-happy not to be living in the Great Lakes region. That humidity out there would wilt me before I even had breakfast. I really don’t think I could live there.

Tomorrow or the next day I plan to respond to B2’s tag. I have been so busy and so overwhelmed (perhaps another reason for the sleeplessness) that I haven’t even had time for ordinary blogging, though plenty has come to mind that I want to share. It will all have to wait until the kids are done with their exams.

The Upside of Rain

2005-06-07T11:29:00.000-06:00

... is that there's nobody else out walking their dogs. I had the entire Weaselhead natural area to myself today. It's a lovely walk, though I was soaked through to my skin by the time I got back to my truck.

This just to let you all know I'm still alive, and still intend to get to B2's tag. Things are absolutely nuts right now with the kids as their exams are coming up, but at the end of next week, my schedule will be half as busy as it is now. I can't wait & I promise more news soon.

Few Minutes Between Students

2005-05-30T17:56:00.000-06:00

My 5:00 has rugby practice on Monday nights so I have a few minutes off as he has to leave early to be there on time. Hubby put a nail through his hand today. He called me from the hospital to calmly tell me this news. Sheesh. Well, he's back to work tomorrow, though he had to be stitched and his hand is bandaged up. He'll be just fine.

I am starting to really look forward to the lighter schedule that is due to begin in about three weeks' time. Of course, the income hit will hurt, but the extra sleep and time at my piano that I'll get will more than compensate.

I recently bought Vanilla Oreo cookies. They're sooooo goooood!!!!

Super, High-Powered Weeding

2005-05-28T07:24:00.000-06:00

The other day I went out into the yard to weed one of the flowerbeds. This is a major job, not just yanking out a few stray imposters. So I get the big, long-handled sharp-ended spade, gloves, and get to work. After a few shovelfuls, I pushed the spade down along the edge of the bed, and everything moved away from the edge along a nice straight line. I thought, hmmm. So I looked and it turns out there's a board there. So I yanked the board out. Then, the big 2' by 1' by 2" bricks that were laid by the previous owner in a haphazard manner right next to the bed started coming out. One after the other. The owner had also mixed and poured some concrete, right onto the grass, to try and smooth the steps the bricks made, or something... Not sure, it looked dreadful, anyway. I'd been thinking I'd have to get out there with a jackhammer to remove that concrete, but no! I lifted it all by hand! Now we have a small beach front in our yard ... with no lake. So now the gardening plans have been somewhat "inverted". I don't know whether we'll take out the beds in the middle of the yard now and put down sod or maybe just patch up the big hole I made. We'll see. The moral of the story is ... if there's something you want done, just DO IT.

Finally, an Update

2005-05-26T07:16:00.000-06:00

Lots to report. Two Pianos Four Hands was spectacular. I haven’t laughed so much in years, honestly. I highly, highly recommend it to anyone who’s lucky enough to have it run near their home. Go see it. Especially if you had piano lessons, or any sort of music lessons, as a child (or, like me, are having them now). You will howl. I cried through the whole first half I laughed so hard. The acting and the playing were both of the highest quality. We were Orchestra level, front row, so we were right below the stage, very, very close. In a way it was a tiny bit disappointing because we were actually below the level of the pianos and therefore couldn’t see their hands, but in the end I really didn’t miss that at all. For those of you interested, they played two beautiful Yamaha C3s. (Mine’s a C2.) During one part, they were both goofing around (scripted goofing) and the player I preferred was at the piano right in front of where we were sitting, and they were doing a sort of Medley, playing snatches of all these different tunes, and everybody was laughing pretty hard already, and then when they started to play the theme song for the Young & the Restless, everybody howled even louder. My laughter must have rang out the loudest, and because I was so close to this player, he looked right at me, winked, kept eye contact, winked again, before he looked away – all the while playing. It was really spectacular.

Home Improvement
We spent the long weekend on projects around the house. I recently bought a book on decorating (painting, to be specific), and am working on painting terra cotta plant pots, which took up quite a bit of time this weekend. Mr. P worked on staining the patio door and its frame, which we recently replaced. We had an ugly aluminum door in there, with a torn screen, and now we have a top-of-the-line Loewen triple glaze window in a wood frame. It’s gorgeous. I did help him a bit, but he did most of that, and it looks so nice.

And in the category of no-we-aren’t-really-made-of-money, we have a lady coming out this morning to help us select blinds and window coverings for the main floor windows. This after I dragged Mr. P around from place to place looking for ready-made tab panels, my first experiment with which didn’t go so well. Actually, it’s also because of that beautiful new patio door; we’d like to get rid of the metal blinds that hang there. They’re okay, but now with the wood door, they just don’t match anymore.

Gardening
Not much news here. Though I have big ambitions, as usual, my available time comes nowhere close to matching the ambitions I have. I have resigned myself to the fact that I will not get to the bulk of these projects for at least a few weeks – not until after the kids write their exams. I did, however, on the weekend, plant all the little bedding plants I bought in containers, and the patio looks so pretty now (through those pretty patio doors); we also managed to procure a couple of half whiskey barrels over the weekend. Only $10 each! On the internet you can buy them for $80 US (with a liner); we got ours at our local Home Depot. Score! Those get planted this coming weekend, hopefully.

And in my spare (lol) time, I continue to play piano and am trying hard to get back into the theory. It isn’t that I don’t like it (I actually like it quite a bit – it being so like math), it’s just that it’s less fun that actually sitting picking out melodies and harmonizing notes. It’s kind of like the difference between making the pie and eating it. One is necessary so the other is possible, unless you buy the pie ready-made, which probably isn’t the best pie you can eat … okay, that analogy is weak, so I’ll stop it there. I’m also yearning to get back to writing. Alice Munro’s stories can do that to you. I’m starting to realize that I’m really working way, way too much; but there’s not much to do be done about that, so I just have to suck it up. I also realize that the only way to keep from feeling burnt out is to spend at least half an hour at the piano every day, and preferrably, when time is limited, to spend that time composing. I feel a lot less grumpy, then.

And on that note, I’ll sign off for now. More soon, hopefully.

Sleepy Day Off

2005-05-20T10:01:00.000-06:00

Well, not quite. I have a few hours of work today, but not till later on. I have a big, yawning day off ahead of me. Lovely. And yawning is the operative word. I am so sleepy. I may take a little nap. And later do a little gardening. No need to worry about anything not getting done as a three-day weekend starts tonight at 7:30. And tomorrow, we are going to see Two Pianos, Four Hands. I can't wait!

And can I just say pfffttthhhhh!!!! to the Canadian government. I am soooooooo angry over how things have been going and feel deeply betrayed by Belinda Stronach, who defected to the dark side this week, and disgusted with the fact that liberals managed to shake off a non-confidence vote that would have triggered an election.

Miss Manners for Mayor

2005-05-18T07:34:00.000-06:00

How's everybody been doing? Thanks to those of you who continue to visit. I will try to be more regular about postings, I promise! We are shocked here in Canada today over the recent federal political developments. I won't go into the details as it's just too stupid to put into words. What's new? Well, my hairdresser woes continue. Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed that basic manners and consideration seem to have gone out the window. A please. A thank you. An honouring of commitments, promises? An apology when one is warranted? I KNOW we're all busy. Please. Don't give me the busy excuse. It's like Toner's recent entry on a guy eating a little tiny yoghurt in a cup on his way someplace. How sad. Doesn't the guy have a few minutes to eat it at home before leaving? Four minutes? Three? Having gotten back into yoga reminds me that we are woefully unaware our own selves, and most of us are overly eager to fill every single moment with activity, noise and distraction. In the long run this isn't good for our mental health. We need to slow down and stop the noise, the clutter, the doingness and just be, every now and again.

Okay, so anyway, I have (almost had) a new hairdresser. Recommended to me by one of my students. I phoned her. She seemed very nice. I made an appointment for last Thursday at 11:00 am for a color. I arrived at her house very punctually (I admit I am often running a few minutes behind myself with outside appointments; I think this is in part due to the fact that I rarely have to BE anywhere at a certain time anymore, because I work at home, and thus have lost the ability to judge how long it will take me to leave, get there, etc.). Anyway, I arrive at her house, ring the bell, and there is no one home. A dog is barking maniacally at me from the living room window. I ring the bell again. I risk a peek through the frosted glass next to the door (can't see anything anyway). I wait. Then I pull out my cell phone and dial her number. A recording answers and I leave a message, saying, I'm here, where are you? Did I get the day wrong? The time? Hope not. If you get this message phone me back on my cell, etc., etc. That was SIX DAYS AGO. I have not heard from her yet. Apart from being unpardonably unprofessional, it is extremely rude. If she deigns to call me now, I'll have to give her a piece of my mind, if I can manage it. I find it difficult to be "nasty" even when nastiness is called for.

And speaking of nastiness, BellExpressVu got a piece of both Mr. P's and my mind the other day. They sent us a bill. Nothing weird about that you say? Well, we don’t have satellite service … so, we really shouldn’t be getting a bill. We cancelled the service last November-ish, and then they phoned us in March and said, would you like to try us out again, no obligation, no charge, for two months? We thought, well, since there’s no charge, why not. So they hooked us up. We saw three days’ worth of TV and said, yeah, no. Not going back there. (God, TV is crap!). Mr. P phoned to cancel, and they said, hmmm, says here you were disconnected last November. We said (patiently), yes, but then we had this offer, blah, blah. So they said, well, we have no record of it, and so we thought, well, give them a few days to allow their departments to catch up to one another and then we’ll call back. A few days later we tried the dish again, and we had no service, and so we thought, well, that’s that. They’ve obviously figured it out. Then, two days ago, we get a bill. So Mr P calls and says, what’s up with the bill, explains the whole situation to the woman on the other end, who said, it says here that … She was cut off. By Mr. P. who used some fairly strong language. The poor person on the other end hung up, with a thank you very much. So then I called. Poor Mr. P’s patience is at an end with this company. I explained the whole thing and was put in touch with a “manager” who eventually (to make a long story short) said, okay, we’ll cancel your service. I said, we don’t HAVE a service (probably for the fourth or fifth time). Our receiver is in a box in the basement. We haven’t had service in months. Then she asked, may I know why you don’t want the service? And I said, because TV is crap. There’s nothing on. She didn’t miss a beat. Said, so, you don’t have any cable or sattelite provider? I said, well, it’s really none of your business, but no, we don’t. (that one felt good). So I think finally it’s clear to them. We were told to disregard the bill.

Music
I am doing some research into buying or renting a digital recorder and getting a microphone so I can start to record the music I am writing. Hopefully we are only a month or two away from music postings!

Well, that’s all for now. My current plea for the betterment of humanity is a return to basic decency, to manners, and consideration for others.

Demonic Intervals

2005-05-11T17:11:00.000-06:00

Okay, this is weird. I'm not Catholic, and yet I find myself respecting this anyhow. Apparently, augmented 4th intervals (eg., f to b-natural) was banned by the Catholic church for many centuries because its sound is considered demonic. When it's put together with chords, it sounds okay, I think, but when you play just the two notes, it does have an off-feel.

I am working on my song called "At the Beach House", working on varying some of the LH accompaniment. It's pretty. Everyone says it has a very soothing sound. My music teacher liked it too!

Snowstorms in May

2005-05-10T10:15:00.000-06:00

We are having a snowstorm. Though April is Calgary's snowiest month, and March is second on the list, it is not at all uncommon to have snowstorms any time in May. Last year we had a snowstorm on Mother's Day and I remember several years ago when we were living in the Foothills and my parents were visiting, they were due to leave to go back home sometime in May (they'd come out for Easter) and were prevented from leaving due to a few feet of snow that had fallen overnight.

I took Sam out to the Weaselhead area again this morning after my chiropractic and we braved the snow. It is actually sticking to the grass, rooftops, bushes and trees. hahahahah. Well, what can you do.

Tomorrow is the first anniversary of my beginning formal piano lessons. I can't believe it's been a whole year. On Saturday I wrote a song called "At the Beach House"; there are no lyrics; it's for solo piano. I love it!!!! Ohmigosh, I love composing. Thanks for your kind words about it, K! Mr. P loves it too. Today I get to play it for my piano instructor, F., and see what he thinks. I'm excited but also a little nervous. Now I'm reading books on songwriting, and am beginning to think about lyrics. Time to start journalling again. Yeah. I'll just fit that in between the piano playing, the long walks with the dog, the various appointments, yoga, tutoring, gardening (I have gardening plans that make my husband pale when he hears about them) and oh yes, having a life that includes Mr. P., and of course we must not forget blogging. Speaking of blogging, I have thought of quitting, but I find it enhances my creativity somewhat. I find myself out trying to think up titles to my postings and interesting words present themselves, linked in interesting ways, and sometimes bits of poems (or lyrics??) take shape. So I'll keep it up. Besides, I think I'd miss everyone way too much (that's all you people on my blog list).

Speaking of old friends ...

2005-05-06T12:34:00.000-06:00

I had a call a little while ago from an old friend. At least, old for me in this town, in this lifetime. We'd shared some good experiences, experiences that by their very nature brought us closer together. Then we had some that drove us apart. I won't go into details because I'd prefer not to dwell on the negative, but the final wedge was when her daughter was stillborn. I didn't feel that we were close enough to warrant my offering her support and company and so we drifted apart. The last time I saw her was going on two years ago, and the last time we spoke was a little more than a year ago. How time flies. She has a baby now!!!! A little baby boy (well, not so little, it turns out, he's off the scale for his age in both size and weight), but anyway, a little baby boy, born late February, so he's about two months old now. I will harbour no illusions about the possibility of us becoming close again simply because I don't think time will ever permit it (what I mean is, schedules ... how did everybody become so busy?). But it will be nice to reconnect with her and maybe try to rekindle a bit of what we once shared. I credit her with a soul-saving act (my soul) which to this day I am grateful to her for. I have though of her often over the past year or so, so it was very good to hear her voice again. Thanks for calling, K. I've missed you too, and I'm glad we'll be seeing one another soon.

You just can't get good help these days ...

2005-05-06T06:53:00.000-06:00

I have a new hairdresser! She sounded very nice on the phone, and my first appointment is next week, so I'm pleased. The massage therapy, yoga and chiropractic are going well, but I still have not found a housekeeper. Well, I haven't been looking that hard. It's weird trying to find someone to clean your house. It's somewhat intimate and a bit of a funny feeling. The only other time I had one I tried so hard to not make her feel subservient. Her name was Leslie, and I wish I could get hold of her because I really liked her but her number appears to be NIS. Anyway, she would apologize to me if we happened to pass in the hallway, like she was getting in my way and ought to have anticipated it. I felt like moaning, noooooo, don't apologize, please ... It's like they're apologizing not for getting in the way so much as their very existence at that moment. It made me feel very uncomfortable.

In Botswana (the setting of my much-revered No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books) it is considered selfish and mean to not employ at least one domestic individual, at least on a part-time basis, because, the theory goes, if you have the money, then you ought to be helping to make someone else's life easier by providing work for someone who needs it. I like this way of looking at it (not that I feel I need justification, though, for wanting to hire someone to clean my house -- I'd hire a near-full-time housekeeper AND a cook if I had that kind of money, with no qualms at all) ...

So, anyway, the search continues. I thought of placing an ad in my local community newsletter, where I place my tutoring ad each month, but I'm worried I'll get a flood of phone calls, so I'll maybe keep that as a last resort.

Oh, and great news! I found my yoga strap! Two years ago I bought a yoga strap which I put away one day and recently was trying to find it. It took two weeks to find, and I found some other things too when I finally located it!

And finally, prayers and good wishes go out to Chandira. Her good friend has suffered an accident and is in a coma. My prayers are with you and Nic both ...

So Tired

2005-05-04T15:45:00.000-06:00

Man am I tired today. So bone-weary, so bleary-eyed, I can barely stay awake to get through the tutoring. I have only two hours tonight. Wednesdays is my light day with only six hours total, decently spaced out, and with an early evening, and no outside commitments. So Wednesdays is my favourite weekday. It even tops Fridays, though Fridays is a near-tie as it's, well, Friday. So tired today that I don't even want to eat. I have no appetite, and I'm not hungry.

Okay, that's all I'll say for now. I had a wonderful, wonderful yoga session on Monday morning. It left me feeling the way I remember yoga leaving me feeling; relaxed, light, loose, fluid, but not wanting to go to sleep the way I feel after massage therapy (that's tomorrow). Feeling much better. The chiropractor said one more week and then I can go down to every two weeks and probably soon to once a month or so. yay. My mastercard is feeling the pinch.

God, Ontario Voters Are Stupid

2005-05-03T07:38:00.000-06:00

I am so steamed. The Liberal government of Canada (apologies to my US readers who don't care too much about this) has wasted, with its corruption and lies, millions of dollars of our money; it has been proven that this is the case; now they are delaying votes and the proper parliamentary process to delay the opposition government calling for a non-confidence vote to bring the government down, instead calling up old, dusty bills before the house that no one cares about and are clogging up the parliamentary process. This is a waste of time and money as there are far more important things they ought to be doing with the money we're paying them to run the country.

A few weeks ago, the conservatives were slightly ahead in the polls, but now it seems in Ontario, where the most seats in the country are located, the liberals are ahead again. Man, that is just stupid, stupid, stupid. I just can't believe that they so easily forget, forgive, resort to apathy, whatever it is they're doing. Us out west here seem to have a much better grasp on reality. Give your head a shake, Ontario!!!

Still Alive

2005-05-02T08:27:00.000-06:00

Back to yoga again this morning. Cross your fingers for me that I don't reinjure myself, though I am still not recovered from last week, where I overstretched my right side to the point where I have been limping all week. Sheeeesh. It's always something.

I haven't been blogging much because all my spare time is taken up by chiropractors, massage therapists and yoga practice; I also had a lot of work to do last week on top of my usual tutoring schedule. It leaves time for nothing extra; even piano playing has taken a big hit, though I got in several hours on Saturday and yesterday maybe an hour or so.

Saturday the carpet cleaners were supposed to come but they called and said they wouldn't make it because one of their "technicians" hadn't shown up that day. I had already removed all mats, carpet protectors (those plastic things for where you have rolling chairs) , etc., and so at least all the carpets got a thorough vaccuming. Yay! Now we do it all again in two weeks. It'll probably be better then as in two weeks it'll be warmer and we can leave the doors and windows open to hasten the carpets drying out.

I've been listening to CBC Radio Two every morning. Loving Music & Co. For my U.S. buddies, CBC is our national broadcaster; ridiculed by some, but I think it's quite good given their limited funding. I've taken an interest in Sibelius and have started listening to his CD's; so far I really like what I've heard. More soon, I promise!

A Quick Update

2005-04-22T20:30:00.000-06:00

Thanks for all your kind words, blogger friends! It means a lot to me! I am feeling much better. MD says it's just the muscle in the hip (thank God, no joints) and just have to stay the course: stretching, chiropractic; she said yoga will be really good for it. So things are better.

I am composing up a storm. I have a song now about half finished, another two sort of started. My music instructor gave me lots of advice and ideas when I saw him last. I will start posting my music once I figure out how to do it! and when I have my piece completed; it is tentatively titled "April Rain" (though we've had almost none).

Nothing else to report. Mr. P is waiting for me to watch cleopatra; we're about 2/3 of the way through. It's pretty good. My goodness, Elizabeth Taylor was beautiful in her youth. Can anyone think of another actress who has achieved her level of success?

Not superwoman after all

2005-04-19T08:08:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the long delay between posts. My back (actually my butt/hip on the right) has been giving me no end of trouble and I have finally learned the meaning of the phrase "taking care of yourself". It was one I pretty much ignored, figuring I was superwoman. It's true that for what seems like my whole life I have managed to juggle impossible schedules and diversity of demands. Yeah. I think I hit the wall. Left quite an impression too. Now I'm picking bits of brick out of my skin. Not fun. I know the problem comes from sitting so much, exacerbated last week by a gruelling work schedule (Friday was the killer) in which I sat for 99.9% of the day. I've missed my contact with you all, but I have really avoided sitting at all costs over the past few days. I am now employing (or beginning to employ) a plan, which includes a team of specialists, to put me back together again (I feel like Humpty Dumpty who ran into the wall, instead of falling off the wall).

I start yoga and massage therapy next week. I have an appointment with my GP this week. I am wondering if she might recommend physiotherapy. I am looking for a housekeeper. I may have to place an ad in our local community newsletter as by word of mouth I'm having no luck. Housekeepers are hard to find. I'm willing to pay them reasonably well, and I'm looking for someone to come in one half day per week. But they have to be a good housekeeper (obviously), trustworthy, careful (one scratch on that piano and they'll be sorry they set foot in the house; sorry, but that one's under the zero-tolerance rule); dependable and if they're friendly, that wouldn't hurt either.

So that's the news. Oh, on the piano I've mostly been composing!!!! I never expected anything could be so satisfying and rewarding. I have three pieces on the go. One's a sort of lullaby; the other two, don't know yet what form they'll eventually take. I'll figure out how to post sound once I have something "finished".

Snow Shovelling

2005-04-14T06:31:00.000-06:00

..... Well, not quite. But it is sleeting and the forecast is for periods of snow flurries. Ahhhhh. Only in Calgary. A few days ago it reached 24 degrees Celsius (that's about 72 degrees F); today it is snowing.

Okay, you know how dreams are so weird? Well, they say it's because it's all the things in your brain that are connecting together in non-cohesive ways (I'll say!) and it comes out all in a jumbled heap as you sleep. I used to dream much more than I do now, but when I do dream, it's still in glorious technicolor, with intricate plots and so forth. Last night I had a doozey. It would take more time than I have to recount it, but for once it didn't fall into one of the many theme dreams I seem to have. About 90% of my dreams have storylines that occur along similar lines, or themes. A sampling:

I dream of needing to move, or having moved, or being in the middle of moving, but never, ever wanting to. The packing is always either not even started and it's moving day, or I suddenly remember that place under the stairs or in the crawl space that is stuffed full of junk that I haven't even looked at yet. There is almost always sadness and anger accompanying these moves. For example, I dream of having to go back to Vancouver (I grew up there, but I don't want to go back there. Calgary is home. Or when I was living in the country and thought that was where I always wanted to live, I imagined having to leave my chickens behind (I was fond of my chickens; they were cool) and who was going to feed them? They'd die without care, without food & water.
I dream of losing my truck (where on earth did I park it???). This from someone who has NEVER had a vehicle towed.
I dream of deciding to walk to a place that is miles, miles, miles away. On route, I end up running so fast, my feet hardly seem to touch the ground.
This one's weird: I dream of a run-down old hotel in which for some reason I have to live; once my parents had to live there because they were bankrupt and poor (this is not likely to happen). But this run-down hotel is really quite filthy and yucky. Still, I have had to live there many times (i.e., many dreams), and it is always the SAME hotel. The SAME room.
I'll spare everyone the details of my bathroom dreams. Suffice it to say I am looking for a bidet and cannot find one suitable to use. I finally connected this with waking up and having to release the glass of water or can of pop I had shortly before bed (duh!).

Though I don't believe that dreams are all Freudian-style messages of our deep inner longings, true shortcomings, and real desires, I do wonder about dreams whose themes are the same and occur again and again and again. Anybody out there have similar recurring dreams? Anybody have a theory as to what they mean?

Gardening

2005-04-12T08:57:00.000-06:00

It's time! I'm going to go outside now and turn over a few clumps of dirt. I can hear the birds singing, and if I don't get outside now, I won't have the chance again today.

I have a sad feeling today. I don't know where it's coming from. Perhaps I'm just a bit overwhelmed; a bit burnt out. Time for a holiday, but I have to wait another good two months before the tutoring wanes a bit.

Marriage

2005-04-11T12:20:00.000-06:00

An article in our Calgary Herald today mused on how marriages last. It says, don't look for the right parter, be the right partner. It says that if you marry and then later decide you chose incorrectly, you'll part ways, find someone else, and you'll have new things to contend with. Apparently, every half of a couple has 10 irreconcilable things about their spouse; trade the old spouse in for a new one and you'll have 10 new things. I HONESTLY don't believe I could come up with a list of 10 things; maybe three or four. And since one or two people I know read this blog (including Mr. P., on occasion), I cannot, in good conscience, start a list about him. It would seem like a betrayal. However, all you blog-readers out there, feel free to post or comment with your list (short or long).

Dead, Deflated Reindeer
There is a house in our community, right on the main strip, whose owners always decorate like something out of A Christmas Vacation (Chevy Chase). There are 30-foot inflatable snowmen, reindeer pulling a sled, stuff on the roof, in the trees, a virgin Mary scene; massively huge plastic candy canes, enough lights to light up, oh, I don't know ... Rhode Island. This year, it was mid-February before they STARTED taking them down. This is just weird. If it were my house, I'd be embarassed to live there. I'd duck in my back door hoping no one ever saw me coming or going. Now all the Christmas decorations are gone, except for one dead, deflated reindeer on the roof of the garage. I think it's a sad statement on Christmas and on living in suburbia in general.

DVD Update
We are currently watching Elizabeth R. Glenda Jackson plays Queen Elizabeth. I would have to rate this BBC miniseries with an enthusiastic two thumbs up, a 10 out of 10. It is so good. The acting and costumes are incredible. A must-see for the history buffs out there. I'm not sure if it's better than I, Claudius. The jury's still out, but it may be.

I Shall Burn in Cholesterol Hell

2005-04-10T20:06:00.000-06:00

My diet today:

Breakfast: Bacon & eggs
Lunch: Pizza
Dinner: Turtle Cheesekcake with coffee

Now I'm eating an apple in an attempt to get at least a little nutrition out of the day.

Tomorrow, back to healthy food, I promise!

I don't know which is sadder ....

2005-04-09T08:23:00.000-06:00

... the pope's funeral, or Prince Charles's wedding.

I should have known better

2005-04-07T11:18:00.000-06:00

My hairdresser is obnoxious, opinionated, loud and crass. She swears too much, has little class, and laughs at all her own, crude jokes & comments on life. I am so tired of it. The whole business about being opinionated might not be so bad except that when we differ in opinion, it's usually a huge difference in opinion. And, not only does she express her opnion freely and loudly, she also refuses to acknowledge or respect another person's point of view. Hers is the only opinion, and that's that.

Steam ....

I have had dogs my entire life. Since I was five. She has her first dog now at the age of about 35. She NEVER fails to mention how dogs who are "intact" get beat up when they are at the off-leash dog park. For reasons that are none of her business (I certainly don't need to justify anything to her) we have decided not to neuter Sam. I made the mistake of mentioning how I was at the dog park earlier this week and Sam was playing with a cute little 8-month old Jack Russell pup. I should not mention my dog to her. It never, ever fails. What does she do? She tells me about an intact border collie male that got beat up by a bull terrier-type and how her dog would have beat up on it too, had she not fixed him with an electrocution collar. I told her, once again, as mildly as I could muster, that we have decided not to fix Sam and that we have never had any problems (this is the truth) with him at the dog park with other dogs. She said, in her loud voice, edged with sardonic humor, well, don't be surprised when it does happen, cuz it will! hahahahha...

Steam Steam Steam Steam It was the first time I reacted. I said, quietly, but in a tired voice that implied I'd heard it all before, "Yes, C., I know. You've told me."

I can't handle it anymore. I think I need to switch hairdressers. i can't take it. I said to my husband this morning that I don't even really want to go. I mean, a trip to the hairdressers ought to be an indulgence, a treat, but mine are just stressssssssful. Yes. Must do something about this.

Unrequieted Love and A Theory of Human Evolution

2005-04-07T08:50:00.000-06:00

Being somewhat of a dabbler education-wise, I know a little bit about a lot of things (in my defense, I have to point out that I also know a lot about a few things). Anyway, I seem to remember from either an anthropology or biology or psychology class that one of the theories of human evolution is that we were once apes (some of us still are) and that at one point we started standing more on our hind legs and walking more on our hind legs in order to see better across the vast African plains. I think this is a sound theory as theories go, but my own version is that humans evolved from Belgians Shepherds. My dog can stand perfectly vertical for at least five or six seconds at a time. He does this when he is trying to see another dog and there is a little hillock or tufts of tall grass in the way. This morning in the park he saw a man walking two little dogs a little ways off (and he didn't bark, good boy!) and after a bit he couldn't see them anymore and so, up he went on his hind legs to get a better look. What was really cute about all this is that the littler dog of the other two dogs did the same thing (only not as upright). He was like a little Norfolk Terrier, I think. So cute. So, there they were, the two of them, gazing longingly at each other across the grass, but not allowed to meet, not allowed to play. It seemed like unrequieted love. I could hear cheesy, forties-era love story music playing in the background a la Gone With the Wind.

Blonde Moments
Shortly, I make my way to my crazy hairdresser's for my every-five-weeks-on-the-dot grey hair reduction treatment. Blonde is good. I like blonde. What makes me mad is that my hair was white-blonde when I was a little girl, and slowly it turned darker and darker, until now (I think) it is a shade of brown somewhere between mousy and .... I don't know. Actually I really have very little idea of my actual natural color right now as I only get to see about 3/4 inch of it before I make it blonde again. Chemicals can be good, boys & girls, don't kid yourselves.

Happy Birthday, Mr. P!

2005-04-05T06:51:00.000-06:00

Today is Mr. P's birthday. How old is he, do you ask? Why, 39 again, of course!

I tend to be a bit of a worry wart (I take after my mother in many respects) and sometimes, when my tutoring waiting list isn't ridiculously long, I imagine that the demand is waning. So, now I am happy again as the waiting list is growing. I have about 5 or 6 students on it now. Whew. Yesterday alone I received three phone calls for new tutoring. Again, whew.

Took Sam to the off-leash yesterday morning and he's still tuckered out. He plays so hard and works himself up so much that it usually does him for a couple of days.

Okay. I have to run. I'm off to the chiropractor this morning and I have my music lesson today as well.

One last thing: you HAVE to check this out. This is too funny. You've never seen anything like it. Look for the boobs. Thanks, Claudblog.

Monday, Monday

2005-04-04T10:53:00.000-06:00

Well, I've had the dog to the off-leash already, worked out some calculus problems, done dishes, made lunch for hubby, done my daily bookkeeping and I still have half an hour to spare before my first student arrives.

Question of the day: Are you conscious of "class"? Do you find that those you choose to hang out with tend to be of the same socioeconomic background, roughly the same level of education? It isn't that we consciously choose these companions, it seems to me we are drawn to them, we gravitate toward them, without our even realizing it. Do we find (are we conscious of, if it is the case) that we don't warm up as quickly to people who would be of a different "class"? Or am I a snob? And, finally, what's your definition of "class"? In a woman? In a man? (Okay, questionssss of the day)

This business with Terri Schiavo is so hard to take a position on. Before she died, the letters to the editor were filled with letters for both sides of the argument: she should be allowed to live; she should be allowed to die. Now that she has died, there are no letters anymore from those that thought she should be allowed to die, only from those decrying the injustice and inhumanity of this entire business. I think it is sad, however, that her husband has so completely excluded her family from all the proceedings, and I find it somewhat suspicious, as well.

DVD Update
We finished watching The Six Wives of Henry VIII on the weekend and before we start the next mini-series (Elizabeth R), we decided to take a break from British-history-mini-series stuff and watch a movie. We chose Fargo, which we've not watched in a while. What a great movie Fargo is. Do people in that area of the US really talk that way? It's hilarious. I know that the movie was not meant to be funny; it is a tragic and very sad story; but somehow the writers made it almost a comic tragedy. Between the hapless and impotent planning of Mr. Lundegaard and the diction of the characters, there is a great deal of comedy. Francis McDormand is absolutely superb in her role of police chief, and I think one of the reasons I like this movie so much is because I love her marriage (Margie's) to Norm, the painter of mallards. Interestingly, the guy who plays possibly the worst baddie in the movie, Peter Stormare, also played Serge in Chocolat, another of our favourites. He was well cast in both roles. To totally digress, for lovers of Chocolat, I cannot recommend highly enough Bread & Tulips (in Italian with subtitles, but the subtitles do not in any way detract from the movie, for those not that fond of them).

I must go start my day now: happy Monday, everyone!

The Real Beginning of Spring

2005-04-03T12:55:00.000-06:00

It's Here! It's Here! Spring has sprung in Calgary. We saw our first Robin today, sitting high in the neighbour's tree. And, in true spring fashion, we are rearranging furniture, dusting, and vaccuming nooks and crannies, lightening up for the warmer weather. No other news, except that a trip to the furniture store is likely in order as we've just created a vacancy moving a never-watched-TV into storage. A nice black leather chair with ottoman which will make a great reading spot, right near the piano.

So much sadness

2005-04-01T06:57:00.000-07:00

I think if my hopes for any sort of meaningful life were not possible, I wouldn't want to live. When I think of the millions that die all the time of starvation, even now, in the world; women who die at the hands of disgruntled husbands or boyfriends; children who die at the hands of their parents, I find it hard to muster a great deal of outrage over the Schiavo case: where is this outrage for the millions of "weak" who are not protected by the "strong" (George Bush's words)? The millions who die needlessly all the time because we all choose to look the other way. I'm as bad as everyone else. We are hypocrites, deep down. I just find this whole thing incredibly sad, and her passing brings no peace.

More Sadness
Yesterday I took Sam into the wilderness park across the street from our house. It was a beautiful morning that didn't require heavy jackets or big boots (spring is finally here!!!) so I was in a fine mood as I set off. There is a road that runs through the park. It is a small two-lane, 30km/h (20 mp/h) speed road. There is lots of wildlife in the park: coyotes, hawks, owls, deer (two different kinds), apparently even moose have been spotted. A car appeared on this road, going rather more quickly than the speed limit, I thought, but then it came into a parking lot and I heard the driver gun its engines and suddenly two Canada geese fly off. He actually charged them with his car. I was so angry, so furious and so sad. The driver parked his car but did't get out and I passed within about 150 feet of it. You never know with a person like that so I tried to glance circumspectly at the car. How do I know it's not a violent person who will get out of his car with a gun or knife, shouting at me, "what're you looking at?" My sense of self-protectionism shifts into high gear in situations like this. It is rarely worth getting involved. Why do people behave this way? Why do they think it's funny? What would have happened if the geese had not been able to get out of the way in time?

Violence Against Women
A few days ago our paper ran an editorial by a fellow named Jeff Gailus. He is a Calgary-based writer. In his article, he reiterated some depressing statistics on violence against women; how we have made so very little progress and how 98% of it is perpetrated by men. How men apparently are doing nothing to stem this trend and that though women work on the issue, it is not enough. That nothing will change until men change their attitudes towards women. I agree with all this, and I'd like to add that not near enough is being done to publicize the issue either. Back when the Scott Peterson trial was in the papers, an article appeared in our paper that mused about why this story, in particular, should so enthrall the public. The reasons she listed are unimportant to my point, but what struck me as horrific and appalling in this article were the following words: "Since Laci disappeared on Christmas Eve 2002, hundreds of women have been killed by their spouses or lovers across this country [the U.S.]". That this line should be skimmed over without so much as a by-your-leave, without so much as a nod, or comment, on the prevalence of violence against women, suggests that we just don't care enough. I would argue that even women tend to be mysoginistic in our society. It's all too sad.

Lists of Things

2005-03-30T15:42:00.000-07:00

Due to the fact that I am always lamenting how I wish I had more time to do things, I thought it prudent to draw up a list of all the things that I wish I had more time to do. This way, if I do find myself with the time, I won't have that temporary indecision that comes with suddenly finding oneself in an unfamiliar state, and I can get just on with all those things I wish I had more time to do!!! The problem may be, however, that I will be forced to priorize my list when finding this elusive extra time, which may cause some delays, but that's a risk I'm willing to take. So, the following lists makes no claim to being in the correct order of priority (it is also subject to change; I am a woman, after all).

Piano playing.
Long walks in the wilderness park across the street from my house (weather cooperation-depending).
Reading (this one should actually have sub-lists, but I wont' go there just now).
Writing. I have one nearly-finished novel that currently stands at about 110,000 words. I like a lot of it, but I actually think most of it, let us say, needs a considerable amount of work. I also think of new storylines nearly daily; some for short stories, some for novels, some for rants-about-the-world essays, some for humor (Dave Barry has inspired me to write a humorous totally tongue-in-cheek math textbook), and some for serious reflections on the world type things. My problem with any and all writing is that I am a perfectionist and don't tend to start anything unless I know it can be properly researched, written, rewritten, proofed, edited, etc., etc.
Redecorating my house. It needs paint. Seriously.
Lounging at the local Chapters/Starbucks (for my American friends who aren't familiar with Chapters, it's a HUGE bookstore, the inventory of which is sometimes not great, but, hey, it's a bookstore, and it has a Starbucks right in the store! What more could a person want?!) discussing philosophy, world events, what-have-you, or just catching up with friends.
Going to the gym (that was an obligatory entry, given the monthly dues I'm STILL paying).
Knitting! Actually, getting STARTED on knitting and any and all other creative projects that have flitted through my mind over the years, including drawing, painting, beading and collaging (my personal favourite).
Doing math recreationally and furthering my abilities math-wise (i.e., working on my calculus, linear algebra, and working on writing a math textbook).
Cleaning my house (boring but necessary). Notice how this is absolutely last on my list. Even a priorizing of my list would undoubtedly see this entry remain where it is.

That's it! For now, anyways. Oh, I suppose I should add blogging (both posting and reading). Until later.

The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency Series of Books

2005-03-27T08:57:00.000-07:00

Before I even had a chance to add the latest book in the series The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, The Full Cupboard of Life, to my "Now reading" list, I had already finished it. I actually had my copy over a week and a half ago, but was saving it for the long weekend. These books are so good!!!! Once you begin one, it is very difficult to put it down before you have it finished. I believe I finished this latest one in two sittings. They are an easy-enough read, yes, but not in a mindless way. These books are like sitting down with an old friend over a cup of "bush tea" (readers of the series will understand) in the shade of a friendly tree on a warm day and catching up on all the news. Maybe one of the reasons I like the books so much is it gives me a taste of what it must feel like to be able to have that kind of down time, the sort where you're not checking your watch every few minutes because you have somewhere to be or deadlines to attend to. Not being good at time off, and in fact being somewhat of a workaholic, it allows me to feel that lazy-summer-day, on-summer-holidays-from-school feeling. That is a feeling that as an adult I think it is impossible to recapture. If there is a way, I don't know what it is. Does anyone out there?

Also, does anyone know what happened to writer's block? I'm still not getting her blog and am worried. If you're reading this, writer's block, please write!

Apologies in Advance

2005-03-24T06:46:00.000-07:00

Right now all I can think of are weather reports. The wind has stopped (thank God), but, guess what? It's snowing again. Okay, flurrying. You couldn't really call what's coming down snow. Still no writer's block. Where are you? What's happened? I can't say I'm not worried. It's like phoning someone you phone every day and suddenly without warning their phone's been disconnected and you have no way of finding out whether they're okay or not ...

I. AM. SICK. OF. WINTER.

2005-03-23T13:02:00.000-07:00

For me, this is saying a lot. I LIKE winter. I like cold weather better than hot weather. But enough already. I AM SO SICK OF WINTER. I want it to be spring. NOWWWW!!!

Wahhhhhh!!!

I want to walk in Fish Creek Park for hours (this morning I was doing a little birdwatching with one of my students out my patio door and he was telling me he's never really seen woodpeckers before; and I told him, oh, if you go into the park in spring/summer, you'll see at least one on every outing, and that made me think of the park, and want to whine, as I'm doing now).

HOWEVER, what can you do? YOu can't change the weather. By the way, it's snowing.

Does anyone know what happened to writer'sblock????? Her blog isn't coming up.

Shrouded in Mist, Covered in Snow

2005-03-22T06:39:00.000-07:00

The weather in Calgary has got to the be the weirdest ... Never lacks for interest, that's for sure. It's always a bit of an eerie feeling -- yesterday morning I couldn't see across the valley that is Fish Creek Park that we live on the edge of; where normally I can make out the individual roofs on the houses (not that it's that close, but because the air is so clean most of the time, especially in winter). Yesterday, there was no other side of the valley, and I had to ask myself -- has it disappeared? This morning, everything is covered in snow. The weather has been icky lately. I'm ready for SPRING already!!!! Hello?! Is anyone listening? Of course with spring come gardening duties and mosquitos, okay, the mosquitos don't actually come until later or mid-June depending on how wet/cool the spring has been. Talk about blathering.

Kudos to Toner Mishap on an excellent post about blogging. You should read it. Makes me feel rather inspired. Though I have to say I think if I had more time to write I'd probably get back to my fiction ... start writing some of these stories I have brewing in my brain (several new ideas pop into my head daily) and finish the novel which by now I realize needs A LOT of work, but which I've pretty much figured out how to fix (it's about 110,000 words and nearly done, in terms of the telling of the story, then, like all works of fiction, needs to be rewritten, and then rewritten again, and then rewritten again). Sigh. If I had ten lifetimes I sometimes doubt it would be enough time ...

Lazy and Busy

2005-03-21T06:53:00.000-07:00

Hello all! My apologies for being away so long. Besides having little new to say, I've also been:

recovering from that blasted cold and
too busy for words

Mr. P has started working some overtime; not an easy nor usual thing for him as he is Mr. Routine Extreme. That has made our weekends even more crazy than usual and so trying to find some down time has been tricky.

I ordered sheet music for Pirates of the Caribbean. AAAGHHHH! Most of it's pretty hard! But there is one piece, set in 12/8 time (yikes) which I'm going to tackle. I know what my music instructor will say when he sees it. I'll reason with him. I'll say, look, either you can help me or I'll just have to do it on my own. Either way, I'm going to learn it. See what he says to that! The piece in question for those who know the soundtrack is He's a Pirate (wish it were called She's a Pirate)!

I have a private golf club as one of my few leftover graphic design clients. I have my own graphic design company which I operated for about 12 years before blending that with writing freelance articles and books (I'm actually nationally published!!!) and before later abandoning it pretty much altogether for math tutoring. I'm getting more into Social Studies tutoring, too, now. It's endlessly fascinating, this study of history, I think. Anyway, I've had some work to do for the private golf club: their annual roster and annual report are on my desk and awaiting my production skills. Well, I got the roster done yesterday (the guts, though not the cover) and this morning before my first student arrives I have to try to do the guts of the annual report. So that's what I spent most of my Sunday doing. Blah. Boring.

We finished watching The First Churchills. A bit of an anticlimactic ending, but a very, very good show. I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys BBC productions. Next on the list, I think is The Six Wives of Henry VIII.

That's all for today. I must get to work. Long weekend next weekend!!!!

Source for Political Cartoons

2005-03-16T19:48:00.000-07:00

Does anyone know of an on-line source of political cartoons? They MUST be from the 17th or 18th century. Topics include the French Revolution, Napoleon, Europe in general, colonialism, etc. Nothing from the US, PLEASE! These seem to be in over-abundance. I thought maybe the Misanthrope could help me.???

Morbid History Books

2005-03-16T06:49:00.000-07:00

Because I do a little Social Studies tutoring, along with math (which is the vast majority, mind you), I've developed a more active interest in history, though I have to say that I've always had (to my detriment, I sometimes believe) a keen interest in virtually everthing (exceptions: architecture, "extreme" sports, almost all professional sports, virtually all so-called "modern" poetry; and the most recent addition to what might be a longer list if I cared right now to take the time to compile one -- television). Okay, that was a long sentence. There are certain types of history that have always interested me:

anything to do with the the royal families of Europe from about the 1600's to about the beginning of the 1900's;
modern Chinese history;
the "human" side of the Vietnam war;
all Russian history

In terms of current events, I now am avidly seeking out any knowledge of the people of the middle east, particularly Iran and Saudi Arabia (and particularly of women and human rights issues), two of the most repressive countries in that region (am I right?).

I am now in to my fourth nonfiction history book in a row. This one is about (I believe, mostly) the Stalinist regime in Russia. The writer is VERY good. I have only read a few pages of the introduction, but her writing is very balanced, modest and clear, a total change from the book I just finished, The Gate, the prose of which was, at times, overdone and often self-serving (though it is a good book and I would recommend it to anyone).

These books are all really quite morbid, though. Our history as a race is one of death, hatred, destruction, ambition, betrayal, fanatacism and greed. I think it is important to have a solid understanding of what has come before so that we don't go there again and so that we understand what we are all capable of, both good and bad.

To digress, Mr. P. and I are both feeling much better but the cold still lingers for both of us and we are not yet completely over it. Monday night I cancelled all my students and I have to be really sick to do that. I worked my full day yesterday but didn't go to my music lesson. I've been a bit frustrated with the piano this past couple of weeks. Between being sick and all my chiropractic appointments, I haven't had as much time to practice, and then the Canon, which I feel ought to be done now, is frustrating me somewhat, because I still have trouble with certain spots and I feel that I shouldn't be. So I took a week off that one and am now going back to it, hands separate, short sections, slow and easy.

That's all for today. I wish you all a wonderful day.

We Passed The Test

2005-03-13T19:26:00.000-07:00

Regular readers of my blog will know that Mr. P and I recently cancellend our satellite dish (about 2 1/2 months ago now). The other day, Friday, I think it was, a guy from Bell XPressVu called, and mispronounced our name as he asked for my husband (grrrr). He offered us two months absolutely free, the same exact channels we had before. If, within the first 30 days, we decide we don't want it, we call to cancel, we still get the second 30 days, and it's still absolutely free. If we decide to keep it, it's also still free. I guess they are hoping that we will realize how much we missed it and end up keeping it when the two months are up.

That's not gonna happen.

Mr. P. watched a NASCAR race this afternoon. He is a fan and I think he was looking forward to it. He slept through a lot of it (we're still both really sick) and when it was over he shut it off and said, no, he likes the house better without the TV. I'd been thinking the same thing all day, just didn't want to spout off about it. Now, we had FOX on, which is never a treat, but the whole thing just struck me as so loud (and the volume wasn't up high at all), so crass, so celebrity-worshipping ( I intensely dislike the whole celebrity culture), so without any class at all. I felt like my home, my peace, my solitude, my contendness was being invaded and shattered. I'm SOOOOOO glad we both agree that it's not going to stay. Mr. P. thinks he'll call to cancel right away: why wait 30 days? 60 days? I have not had any desire whatsoever to even scan channels to see what's one. Zero.

So, it's going again! Hurray! Halleluja!

The Middle East
I've just finished reading two books that took place in the middle east. One in Iran and one in Saudi Arabia. They were both fascinating books and almost impossible to put down, especially "Inside the Kingdom - My Life in Saudi Arabia" by Carmen Bin Ladin (this is not a misspelling of her name; the clan is spelled Bin Laden, but for some reason some members of the family take the spelling Bin Ladin. Anyway, what a book. Unbelievable. This woman has an Iranian mother and Swiss father and she met a man who happened to be a younger brother of Osama Bin Laden. She didn't talk too much about him, but of course 9/11 was mentioned more than once. Mostly it was an account of life inside Saudi Arabia. This is beyond imagining. We in the west, especially us women, can scarcely even conceive of how women are treated in this, the centre of Islam. The book I read before, "Reading Lolita in Tehran" by Azir Nafisi, was a little less shocking and heart-wrending, but it was interesting to note the parallels between the two; the latter book mentioning what occurred in the former, so it was interesting to have the extra background.

I am looking for a blog of someone in one of these countries. It must be a woman. I am intensely interested in this whole thing now. Can anyone out there recommend one?

Restless

2005-03-11T06:52:00.000-07:00

Those who know Calgary will know that the wind can howl here for days on end, bringing with it warm temperatures and something that, for me, is hard to define. I don't dislike wind as a rule. I don't find it upsetting or spooky or scary. It doesn't bother me. But it unsettles me. Every time another gust rocks the house or I can hear it whistling in the chimney I feel the need to look around, to glance outside to gauge its strength. What is that exactly? I haven't figured it out yet.

Mr. P and I are both sick AGAIN. Mr. P's got it worse this time. His colds usually settle in his joints and give him headaches; mine are the noisy, messy kind, with need of at least one family-size box of kleenexes and a fresh bottle of Otrivin. This time he's got the messy cold and mine is still evolving; hard to know what type it will be, but strangely it started out as a cough, and that's unusual for me. I've started taking my vitamins again. I confess I worry about this global flu pandemic they are predicting. So I am taking what measures I can now to build up the immune system.

I have had four visits to the chiropractor and a massage since last Saturday. I am feeling better though not perfect by a long shot. A few more visits and I should be back to normal again.

That's it. Nothing too exciting to report. Waiting for spring and a few days off at Easter.

Wondering if anyone out there knows of any Oriental Shorthair / Siamese breeders in the Vancouver Lower Mainland area. My mom is looking for a kitten. I've so far found one breeder (in Delta) but haven't been able to make contact yet. Any connections would be appreciated.

This is How Much it Rains in Calgary

2005-03-07T11:24:00.000-07:00

Regular readers of my blog will know that I have a "new" dog. He is now going on a year old and has been with us eight months. He arrived last year on exactly July 1. Today I took him out for one of his usual bathroom walks and ... it was raining (well, spitting). Our next door neighbors have a boat in their driveway with one of those tarps over it, and the rain hitting it made a rather loud noise. The dog was all, what's that? What's that noise? I suspect, I think, (can it be?) he's never experienced rain before!!! Ha. I love Calgary. Vancouverites (it's where I'm from, so I can say this ...) Eat your heart out!

A Crimeless Victim

2005-03-05T13:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I phoned my chiropractor for an appointment. It was sorely needed (no pun intended). I had not visited my chiropractor in nearly two years. The nice lady who answered the phone said, hmm, you haven't heard, have you? The doctor was killed in a car accident last summer. A What? Are you Serious? Of course you're serious, etc. etc. Turns out he was on his way to Calgary from Lethbridge where he and his wife had bought a house for their daughter who was going to U of L. He was the passenger in the car driven by his daugher on (I think) a small, two lane highway with no divider when they were hit head-on by a young man coming the other way. I don't recall if I was told what injuries the young man sustained; apparently, though, he was exhausted after many long vigils at his father's bedside (his father had cancer) and fell asleep at the wheel on his way home from the hospital. The doctor's daughter sustained injuries to bones in her foot, but nothing more serious than that, and the doctor died in hospital about four days after the crash.

Apparently they tried to tell all the patients, but as there had been about 7,000 in total over the years, they sort of cut it off at any patient who'd been in to see him in the previous year, and so I didn't make the cut. It was quite a shock.

I booked my appointment with the other doctor (I'll call him Dr. C.) who had been working with my doctor (Dr. W.) for a number of years and who has since taken over the practice. He was very kind, and very gentle and I believe I trust him as much as I did the other one. What a loss, though. Dr. W. also was very active in third world countries, taking his medical skills there and working with people who most need help.

The kicker is that Dr. W. was born in the same year as Mr. P. I have taken a lesson from this that I've told to every student since I heard the news. Life is too short for minor irritations and stupid reality tv shows and arguments and fighting. We never know when our number is up ...

A Victimless Crime?

2005-03-04T06:41:00.000-07:00

Being well out of the "partying" years, and never having been one much for parties anyway, it's been a long time since I've been around the whole marijuana culture. I don't pretend now that I don't approve of its use, though, as with the alcohol, I keep my mouth shut and don't pass judgment on others who imbibe (the difference, being, of course, that one is legal while the other is not; perhaps this can be viewed as merely arbitrary -- a case could be made for that, I think). However, the death of four RCMPs while busting a grow-op in Myerthorpe, Alberta, deserves a mention, and some musing. Surely many individuals who smoke a joint now and then consider it a "victimless crime". Who's it hurting? they argue. It's my lungs, after all. Well, sure, but what is also true is that the pot being grown nowadays is far more potent than what was grown 20 or 30 years ago, and it is grown by criminals that live just down the street. The pot people smoke at parties and in their living rooms at night to wind down is grown by these people -- people with big guns who aren't afraid to use them, people with big, vicious dogs who are taught to attack.

Question of the day: is there such a thing as a victimless crime? If such a thing exists, why is it deemed a crime in the first place, when it hurts no one?

Pirate Update
Hubby was home for a few more days and this altered the routine around here; one of the many reasons I haven't blogged all week (sory!!). But he's on the mend; back to work and all that so things are returning to normal.

While my energy level seems to be returning, the condition of my lower back is another matter. It hurts!!! No matter what I do it seems to make no difference. I think a few fix-me-up visits to the chiropractor are in order. I don't, as a rule, trust chiropractors. They always make me feel good when I go, but I always have some trepidation about going. I think I can't put it off any longer, though.

The music's going well. I'm learning two new pieces and the learning is coming more quickly. I'm also being a bit harder on myself in terms of perfecting the pieces. I now am more apt to break the piece down into a few bars or a line and work it, work it, work it, until it's very smooth. Flawlessness may not come for some time.

Eggs & Personal Space
Okay, last Sunday we were at the grocery store doing our usual weekly routine. I was NOT in a good mood and NOT feeling well. Just one of those days. First I lost Mr. P. in the store. At the Superstore (newly enlarged) this is not a good thing. It must have taken us near ten minutes to find each other. Next time we'll each take our cell phones. Then THAT can't happen again ... :)

Then I went to pick out some eggs to buy. I picked up a carton, rested one end against my sweater to open it up and make sure none of the eggs were cracked, when one right at the end of the carton I had resting on my shirt was literally sheared in half. The top half of the shell was missing. My sweater now had egg white all over it. Growwwwwwwl.

Then when we were done shopping I had to go back over to the first part of the store to pick up a prescription I'd dropped off. Mr. P. went through the checkout while I went to pick up the prescription. It took a while to get it. I must have been waiting for ten minuts or more. None of this is a big deal, but you know how when you're in a bad mood everything just pisses you off more? Yeah, like that. Anyway, I'm waiting, and the two women behind the counter were off to the side, behind the glass, not "receiving" any new customers for the moment while they finished off my prescription, when this woman came up behind me, wondering, where are the pharmacists? Why don't they come and serve me? She wasn't being obnoxious, just somewhat daft. They'll come, lady, when they're ready. Quit looking around for signs about where you should be lining up and BACK OFF! She was standing way too close to me behind me and she was chewing Juicy Fruit gum. Agghhhhh! I felt my stomach grow queasy and lurch I felt so sick. Plus I was too warm and had egg on my sweater!!!

Okay, I'm done now. That was Sunday. The week has gone well. I've had lots of time to play the piano (well, not lots, but enough). My music lessons continue to go well.

We are getting estimates on having the sliding glass doors that lead from our kitchen onto the back deck replaced. They are so hot (the door faces west) that even now the temperature in the kitchen by about 4 in the afternoon can soar to 24 degrees. We were going to replace the doors last year, but didn't get on it quickly enough. We want to get the kind with the lowE coating and argon gas, which insulates against both heat and cold, but they're pricey! We're going to pay at least 3 grand for this door. Sheesh.

Last but not least, we have received two of the four boxed DVD sets we ordered: The First Churchills and Edward the King; we're still waiting for Elizabeth R. and The Six Wives of Henry VIII. We have started watching The First Churchills this week. It's very good so far! Frank Churchill and Sarah Jennings are excellent characters and the acting is superb. More updates forthcoming.

Hoping to Get Back to Normal

2005-02-27T06:35:00.000-07:00

Things just haven't been "normal" lately. I can't get over this low-level feeling of just not feeling well, not 100%. I'm waiting for spring so that I can get back to long morning walks in Fish Creek Park with the dog. I want to smell the spring earth. I want my usual level of energy back. This in particular bothers me ... it seems to have fled sometime around Christmas and has yet to return.

I have about a million things to do today. The physician that I edit papers for has once again been clamouring for my time and attention. In January I promised him five hours a week, which I think I've managed to do twice. The thing is, the more I avoid the work, or put it off, (it's not that I don't want to do it, or don't enjoy doing it, it's just that I have so little time) the harder it becomes to do because I have to reorient myself as to what paper is in what stage of editing, which paper was sent where, and should we have heard by now? ... that kind of thing.

I also have some music papers to copy (time to start on new pieces) and a couple of exams to write, a few phone calls to make, and the usual shopping to do. I finally finished Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell!!!!! What ought I to say about this book. The Misanthrope was reading it and recently asked whether I thought it worth going back to, as he'd abandoned it (too slow-moving). I suggested that he give it another go. Hmmmmm ... well, the book does take a great deal of commitment. It is a heavy book in certain ways; Misanthrope is right -- it doesn't move along quickly. It's also slightly uneven, though not badly. I also think that some of the supporting plots could have been done with fewer words (fewer paragraphs, fewer chapters). It's a bit overlong. However, for those who enjoy academic writing, it's sure to please as it has an academic feel; the writer also has a deliciously, typically British, dry, droll sense of humour and it was this I particularly liked. Do I recommend it? With caution. It is NOT, as I at first suspected, Harry Potter for adults. It's not nearly so entertaining. I recommend it to those who like well-crafted prose and dialogue and who enjoy the subject matter. Far from being just about magic, it drifts into the ethereal at times, and this has a spooky effect. This aspect is well done.

Deepest condolences to blogdog who lost her beloved Doogie yesterday. Boy, do I know what you are going through, blogdog. It has got to be one of the hardest things in the world to do. You were on my mind constantly yesterday. I hope you're doing okay. Remember, in the end we know what's best for them, and they know that everything you do, you do because you love them.

Mr. P, the Human Forklift

2005-02-23T16:46:00.000-07:00

Hello all. My illustrious hubby, Mr. P., today tried to single-handedly keep a stack of nine 3/4 inch sheets of plywood from falling onto the floor from where they'd been stacked up against a wall. He failed. This of course after he tried to pry out something from behind the stack of plywood and holding the stack of plywood with one arm while attempting said feat with the other arm. As I said, this failed. The stack started slipping, and he used his head (literally) to keep them from falling, but only for a moment or two. Then the whole works came down, first on his head, then on his leg. So he's off work for a day or two. Sheesh. He's all bumped and bruised but he drove himself home so no big worries.

Also, this is a big day. This is the 10-year anniversary of when Mr. P and I met. If I've never mentioned it, he sold me my Ford Ranger (still in pristine condition and in our garage), and later he asked me to marry him. I figured the after sales service would have to be good, so I agreed.

The Asked for Sanity

2005-02-23T07:12:00.000-07:00

Canadoam Prime Minister Paul Martin has finally made a decision (he has earned the reputation of Mr. Dithers in Canada, particularly among those who keep an eye on what our politicians are doing; in his case not doing) regarding the U.S. missile defence plan which Martin said months ago (i.e., at election time) he would be not willing to endorse, and then said, well, maybe, worried about alienating powerhouse conservative voters. Apparently Martin has finally done something right. Seventy-five percent of Canadians oppose participation in continental missile defence, and he will deliver a firm 'no' in reponse to Mr. Bush's asked-for participation of earlier this year (or was it last year; gosh, these things have a way of dragging along, don't they?). It's funny, though, when I read the news (believe me, I was relieved: what the world needs is fewer weapons, not more), there was also a small part of me that wondered, will Bush retaliate in some way? What will this do to relations between our two countries?

Also apparently, though I'm not sure why (it must have to do with corrupt spending; everything does) the budget which is being delivered today will be "fatal" to Martin and his ilk. If anyone has any comments on why this should be the case, I'd be interested to know the reasons ...

People will buy anything

2005-02-23T07:04:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Dave Barry's blog for this jem of an item for sale. What's really scary is the large print beneath the pictures. Oh, for some sanity in the world ... (I notice that as of this posting 0 bids have been made. Gosh ... I wonder why).

Also thanks to Dave for more evidence of our collective order of priorities. A good collection of body parts will always bring out the long lenses.

A Familiar Fear

2005-02-22T08:23:00.000-07:00

When I was a teenager in high school and also on into my 20's, I remember a sort of low-level buzz, like the hum of neon lights in an office building, which was with me all the time, a sort of nameless apprehension which when I stopped to consider its source, was fear of the possibility of nuclear war. I took part in anti-war demonstrations in Vancouver, B.C. I still have pictures of all the neo-hippies in their Birks dancing, filing past little booths set up by the NDP and groups like Greenpeace and PETA. Of course, as you get older, you swing to the conservative side. I thought it would never happen, but there you have it.

I read the news with trepidation, at best. I often wonder if we're meant to know things (this on a philosophical level, in a how-the-world-has-evolved sense) that happen half way around the world and that the vast majority are (1) not in in a position to do anything about and (2) couldn't change even if we had the will or motivation or energy or time or money or all of the above to do so. However, a story I read this morning about Bush's recent visit to Europe raises familiar fears I'd managed to forget since a lit professor mentioned it a few years ago in one of my classes (we are the same age, him and I). Apparently Russia is selling nuclear fuel to Iran and Russia is also "consolidating" power, while at the same time limiting press freedom. This is a dangerous sign. I am not one to fret about the news too much, for reasons already mentioned, but this gives me pause. Another worrying news bit is that apparently the embargo on sales of weapons to China is about to be lifted. What does THAT mean? What COULD it mean?

Not so Sudsy Anymore
My husband and I don't drink. At all. We have our reasons, but none are of a fundamentally moralistic bent. However, when you don't drink, you begin to see in perspective just how damaging alcohol is in our society. You see how many car wrecks are alcohol related; that alcohol-soaked individuals are more violent, more apt to beat children, spouses, parents; that it accounts for countless days off, illness and disease. While I don't go around telling people they shouldn't drink, I think the world would be better off without alcohol. A story in this morning's paper made me smile (call me nasty, I don't care). Apparently beer sales are down and breweries blame the NHL strike! Surely this comes under the category of "Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining".

Vegans a Little Too Strict?
A new study has found that vegans who force their young children to adopt a vegan diet (i.e., free of all meat, eggs or dairy products) affect and endanger their health in a permanent way and that feeding such a diet is being called unethical.

Question: What do you think of this? Is it a little like vegetarian pet owners refusing to feed their dog meat and endangering their lives in the process?

Shakespeare, anyone?

2005-02-21T07:34:00.000-07:00

I must tell everyone about the unbelievable performances by all those in the DVD Henry V. This movie is a must-see for anyone who is a lover of history, and in particular history seen from a Shakespearean perspective. Kenneth Branagh is absolutely superb in the lead role of Henry V, Katherine is played by Emma Thompson, though it is a small role, by comparison. It is hard to follow at times due to the unaltered Shakespearean language used throughout the film and of course often has the feel of play, rather than a movie, but what power! This movie reaches out of your TV screen with both hands, grabs onto your collar and doesn't let go until the final credits are rolling. The music is a must-have, too. I have always been a lover of choir music, in particular men's choirs, and the main theme, of which there are two complete cuts in slightly different forms, makes my whole body run with goose bumps.

We are also just finishing up I, Claudius, which is about the best thing I've ever watched, in any genre, ever.

Finishing up learning the Canon now. Almost got it. A student gave me a copy of a fantasy game theme song for piano solo which I think my piano teacher would approve of as it is an excellent reading exercise, and I think I may add that to my list, once the Canon is done.

No rants about the news today. Happy Family Day, all those in Alberta, and happy Monday to all my US friends.

A Little Rant and a Little Rave

2005-02-16T07:53:00.000-07:00

Regular readers of my blog may or may not remember that Mr. P and I cancelled our satellite dish approximately two months ago. With my tutoring in the evenings, our mutual TV watching had dwindled to nearly nothing, and with no NHL season (hockey games being the only thing Mr. P might watch without me there beside him -- he says tv's just not as much fun when you're watching it by yourself), the only thing left to have cable or satellite service for vanished. So we have no TV, but of course we have DVDs, which means we're always watching what we choose to watch; never do we 'scan' a bunch of channels and settle for something just because it happens to be on. I think this is a good thing. As I may have said in a previous post, it is amazing what happens when you take people's TV away. When Mom and Dad were here (avid TV watchers, particularly news), they were forced to do other things, including ... reading!!! Piano playing!!!

Anyway, the point of all this is to throw in my two cents' worth in this fiasco situation that the NHL season, indeed the league, has become. Can I just say, DIE ALREADY!!!!! I feel like getting out a gun and shooting some poor, thrashing animal that has been in its death throes for months while people fought over the rights to the publicity by pretending they were trying to save it. What a joke. What a sad, stupid joke. It's all the lawyers' fault, who are the scummiest of scum anyway (apologies to the handful of lawyers out there who are upright, honest, dignified individuals). Also the players, who are such a bunch of whining, snivelling, prima donna, overpaid brats, that it defies description (well, not really, I've made a valiant attempt at it anyway). I couldn't care less about the NHL season now and haven't for a very long time (and I used to be a big fan; we had what was called an NHL package on our satellite service, and we watched every single Vancouver Canucks game that was broadcast ... sigh ...). The league will find out, if and when it ever gets back on its feet, that many people watched hockey out of habit, not out of passion. It will never, ever be what it was. What a shame.

Gay Penguins
Did anyone else hear about this? Up here in Canada, there is a raging debate going on about allowing or not allowing gays to marry. I don't have particularly strong opinions on the subject one way or the other, but unlike so many others, I am not threatened by the prospect of gays marrying (though to own the truth, it feels a bit weird, the thought of it), but let me go on the record by saying, why not? Who does it hurt? Public declarations of love and the commitment that marriage entails are what the world needs more, not less of. And, please, I'll hear none of the "let's use a different word" argument. After all, a rose by any other name ...

Could this be any sillier, though? Could this be a case of a group of people, or a "few" groups of people, taking themselves far, far too seriously? Apparently there is a particular species of penguin which has, and always has had, homosexual tendencies. In Bremerhafen, Germany, there is a zoo. In this zoo, they have several pairs of these penguins. Turns out, though, all the pairs are male. Now, the zoo, in its effort to save the species from extinction (remember, this is ostensibly what zoos are for) wish to mate the males with, ahem, females. Sounds reasonable, no? They have flown in females to see whether the males might mate with them.

Oh boy, bad news. How dare they!, rage the gay rights groups. They are outraged! Letters and threats via all media have been bombarding the zoo. How dare they not allow the penguins to mate with whom they wish? How dare they try to break up these happy unions!!!

Are you serious?????? Give me a flippin' break. I read this story with only slightly more increduility than the one about the neighbour who sued over cookies left on her doorstep (by the way, this one has a happy ending: apparently a radio station in their hometown raised enough money so the girls wouldn't be out of pocket on the damages; also the woman who sued has received so many harassing threats and phone calls that she is considering moving!!! HA! Thanks, K, for this news).

Anyway, I'm done ranting for now. Opening the newspaper is hardly worth it anymore. It may soon go the way of the satellite dish ...

Glenn Gould on the CD Player

2005-02-13T08:44:00.000-07:00

Man! Could this guy play piano! Extraordinary ability and talent. I have a book about him my piano instructor has lent me, which I'll have to try and get through at some point.

Just finished The Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander McCall Smith. I'd recommend these books to ANYONE who takes pleasure in life lived the old-fashioned way -- where people respected one another, were kind to one another and acted with dignity and integrity. See a previous post for the series of the books (the first is called The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency), and the series now goes by that name. They are absolutely delightful. Like visiting with an old friend, curling up in a comfy chair on a spring day on a porch somewhere, without care of the time, and just chatting and relaxing.

Don't have too much to report. Busy. Busy. Busy. I have a full complement of students again, complete with a waiting list. But life is good. That's all for now. No knitting projets just yet, blogdog. Hopefully I'll have the time ?!?!? to start one soon.

At Sixes and Sevens today

2005-02-10T10:06:00.000-07:00

I am lost without my music sheets. Tuesday I went to my lesson and inadvertently left several music sheets behind which I have yet to get back. I feel incomplete and a little sad without them. I need them back! My music teacher was not up yet when I called this morning. Darned late sleepers. I'll have to work on old pieces and out of my Enya books until I get them back. I need my Canon!!!

Had several weird dreams lately. Have been sleeping extremely deeply the last few nights. Still recovering from the cold, I think.

DVD Report

Yesterday, Mr. P and I started watching I, Claudius, the BBC production (about 10 hours long, I think). It's good so far; we're into it about 90 minutes, but it has the feel of a staged set, like a soap opera, not like that of real life. I think it was originally written as a play (or was it originally a book? I don't even know now); it definitely has the feel of a play rather than of a movie. But the acting is SOOOOOO good. The woman who plays Caesar's wife is the same woman who played Smiley's wife in the BBC production of Smiley's People and Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy. Derek Jacobi his not made his entrance yet. We also recently got Henvy V, which I'm really looking forward to. British productions are such a nice break from the Hollywood ones. Troy, in particular, I found VERY disappointing. A lot of extras, huge sets, big budgets, big name actors, and it all added up to ... nothing. It was just a nothing movie. Boring and pointless. Oh well.

Getting the Facts Straight

2005-02-07T15:40:00.000-07:00

My apologies. It turns out the girls in question referred to in my last post were 18 and 19, not around 10, as I'd said. Boy, this just steams me. I would like to have that woman and her lawyer alone in a room for an hour. Then again, what on earth could I say? These people are clearly beyond hope. No sane person would do this ...

Went for a long walk in the park with the pooch today. It was a beautiful day for it. Blue sky, about -10 (that's Celcius, Misanthrope), and no wind. A great day for a long walk. Lots of crisp snow to crunch through. Very nice.

Scum of the Earth

2005-02-07T08:46:00.000-07:00

If we needed any more convincing that lawyers are the scum of the earth, a story out of Colorado ought to do it.

A girl and her friend, aged about 10, baked chocolate chip and sugar cookies for a neighbour. They went to the neighbour's house, set the cookies, along with a card, on the neighbour's porch, as a surpirse, rang the doorbell and left. The woman in the house was apparently so terrified at the sound of the doorbell and the sight of the fleeing girls that she was sick to her stomach and "had to spend the night at a relatives." Guess what? She actually found a lawyer willing to sue the girls (does this make her or the laywer scummier? hard to tell). After winning the case and $900 in damages, she said she hoped the girls learned their lesson.

This leaves me speechless. (a rare occurrence)

The ONLY lesson the girls ought to take from this is that lawyers will sue for just about anything (wonder how much the lawyer's contingency fee was?). The only lesson they are likely to take is that kindness doesn't pay, after all. What a shame.

Update
I am feeling better after my rotten cold; yesterday I spent the entire day reading and playing piano. Didn't even go out grocery shopping, as is the usual routine on Sundays. What a nice day. Very relaxing and rejuvenating. The Canon is coming along. I now have two pages fairly solidly, as long as I don't try to play it too quickly.

Life is back to normal with the parental units having returned home. The house is quiet and peaceful and a new semester is in full swing. I am getting more boy students now, and more and more calls for junior high math. Either it's getting harder or kids are having a harder time concentrating or teachers are having a harder time teaching. In Alberta, I think it is that the curriculum is getting harder. More and more is getting pushed down through the grades to the point where what was once late grade 10 material is now being taught in grade 9, and what was once not touched until university is now taken for granted as being part of the grade 12 curriculum.

I want to answer the Misanthrope's question from a couple of weeks ago about whether I intend to compose music. The answer is yes. I have snippets of melodies popping up in my mind all the time. I now have to get in the habit of going to the piano, playing them, and jotting down the notes. I guess the rest will develop from there.

More from Morality for Beautiful Girls

2005-02-06T17:33:00.000-07:00

This about Mma Ramotswe:

She finished her tea and then ate a large meat sandwich which Rose [her maid] had prepared for her. Mma Ramotswe had got out of the habit of a cooked lunch, except at weekends, and was happy with a snack or a glass of milk. She had a taste for sugar, however, and this meant that a doughnut or a cake might follow the sandwich. She was a traditionally built lady, after all, and she did not have to worry about dress size, unlike those poor, neurotic people who were always looking in mirrors and thinking that they were too big. What was too big, anyway? Who was to tell another person what size they should be? It was a form of dictatorship, by the thin, and she was not having any of it. If these thin people became any more insistent, then the more generously sized people would just have to sit on them. Yes that would teach them! Hah!

--------------

Need I say more? Read these books! The first is called "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency", the second is "Tears of the Giraffe", the third "Morality for Beautiful Girls", the fourth "The Kalahari Typing School for Men" and the fifth "The Full Cupboard of Life". He has another series, too, set in Scotland, which is excellent as well. I just finished this book and had to share this passage. This is a link to the author's web site.

You are looking very beautiful. Very fat.

2005-02-06T16:06:00.000-07:00

This line is from "Morality for Beautiful Girls" by Alexander McCall Smith. I really love this guy's books. For all women who carry a few too many pounds for the painfully-thin image portrayed by "celebs" (and men, too -- apparently, anorexia in men is on the rise; 1 in 5 anorexics are now men; used to be 1 in 20), you should read these books. They are set in Botswana, and the main character is Precious Ramotswe, head of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. There are five books in the series, this line is from the third.

Mma Ramotswe meets an old friend on the street. A man.

"Dumela, Rra," she said politely. "Are you well?"

Mr Pilai looked down. "Mma Ramotswe," he said. "Please let me look at you. I have just been given these new spectacles, and I can see the world clearly for the first time in years. Ow! It is a wonderful thing. I had forgotten what it was like to see clearly. And there you are, Mma. You are looking very beautiful. Very fat."

"Thank you, Rra."

----------------

This really is a compliment in this part of the world. Woo-hoo!!! All us normally built women should move there and leave the skinny minnies behind in North America.

Shocking News: Woman Seen at Hockey Arena!

2005-02-04T07:33:00.000-07:00

With apologies to those who are (a) sick of this or (b) don’t know about it (most people will fall in one of the two categories), haven’t we had enough of Dar Heatherington’s picture large as life on the front page of our morning newspaper? Can the Calgary Herald really think of nothing better to report on with one-inch headlines than that this poor woman (who, admittedly, is hard to like) broke house arrest to take her kid to the local arena for an afternoon ice skating session? This Lethbridge woman and the mischievous and irresponsible decisions she continues to make are not front page news. She gets more press than homeless people who are beaten, stabbed, degraded. She gets more press than the wife beaters and people who get their kicks assaulting or killing prostitutes. Do we really care more about the comings and goings of a 40-year old Lethbridge woman than we do about the fact that people in our own cities go to bed hungry, cold, or in fear each night? What is it with society?

I guess we are all a bit voyeuristic. I remember when the murder trial of Laci Peterson was in the newspapers, there was an editorial that sought to answer the question: why has this captured the public so? Numerous reasons were given as possible explanations (we’ve all heard them), but what struck me as absolutely unbelieveable was a line embedded deep in the story that said, “Hundreds of women in the United States die each year at the hands of their husbands; why has this story in particular, captured the public imagination to such a degree?” (I may be paraphrasing the last part, but not the first.) I was appalled, shocked and somewhat numbed to read the casual nature the writer used to refer to the “other” hundreds of women who die each year, killed by their spouses.

Anyway, what a maudlin way to start the day. I have a super rotten cold and EIGHT hours of tutoring today. There is a winter storm warning for Calgary. Yay. Oh well. I shall endure.

Mom leaves tomorrow (unless her flight is cancelled) and then life returns to a normal routine. The piano is wonderful and I love it; and of course I don’t have enough hours in the day to play it.

Since questions in blogs seem to be becoming more and more popular, here’s mine today:

What’s the one thing you wish you had more time to do?

Weekend Update

2005-01-29T05:56:00.000-07:00

I have not been feeling well this week, hence the lazy blogging. The other day I sat down to post, and not a single interesting thing came into my head so I abandoned the idea.

(I like pudding).

That's a private joke.

Okay, so anyway. Today is Mrs P Sr.'s birthday. My music instructor is coming over this afternoon with his wife. And he gets to try out my piano! I know he'll love it. I have been working on the Canon. I found the beginning extremely difficult (though it's a faily easy arrangement) and didn't feel comfortable moving past the first couple of lines, and then yesterday I had a breakthrough and am now getting through the first whole page without too much difficulty at all. It sounds so nice. Man I love that piano. Love it. Love it. Love it. I could just play it all the time. Now I have to find a new song to add to my learning repertoire. Three on the go is about right.

I have to bake a cake this morning -- a good, old fashioned German marble cake and then a bit of shopping before the afternoon festivities. Tomorrow Dad flies home again and Mom stays on until next Saturday.

Yesterday I tried my hand at knitting. I can do it! I can purl and knit and even cast off. Woo-hoo. Know I can knit scarves and other ... flat things that don't require a pattern.

Okay, enough drivel. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Trouble Yesterday

2005-01-26T06:49:00.000-07:00

Had a nice post all ready to go yesterday and then something happened and the site kept telling me the document contained no data when I tried to publish it. I didn't have time to fix it so had to abandon it.

Not much to report. The parental units have been here since Saturday and it's going pretty well. Dad is actually playing the piano!!! He hasn't played in more than 20 years, but he must have been pretty good (I remember that he was) because it sure doesn't sound like 20 years has gone by.

Mom (in her sometimes dry wit) asked me the other day whether I planned on knitting while I play the piano. This, I take it, is a reference to how little time I have.

haha

I'll show her. I'll ... I'll ... I'll ... um, find time?

It's been a light week tutoring-wise. The high school students are between semesters, so only have the junior high kids this week and my more adult, day-time students. It's nice to have a little break. My music lesson went extremely well yesterday. My music teacher is very happy with my progress on Largo, says it's much improved, and says my playing of the Moonlight Sonata is the best thing I've played yet. He didn't stop with the superlatives. I was in bliss ...

Now I turn my attention to the Canon which has been slow starting due to the fact that I was spending all my time on Largo.

Can anybody recommend a good academic (but not too dry) book on the history of China and in particular the spread (or attempted spread) of imperalism into China at about the end of the 1800's? I am in particularly interested in something that was called the "open door policy". Any suggested links or books would be most appreciated.

Teddy Bears that just don't belong

2005-01-22T15:34:00.000-07:00

If I have time to make my bed, it usually consists of throwing back the covers and smoothing them down so I can see the clock from the other bathroom so I can keep an eye on the time as I dry my hair (still not sure whether I can hear the doorbell with the blow dryer right by my ear). I have a pretty nifty collection of stuffed bears (I particularly like Boyd's) and normally keep them on top of the armoire in the bedroom. Today I made the bed! Woo-hoo! The parental units arrive this afternoon so the house is looking spiffy and my back feels like it's about to break in two. (Can't someone find a way to make vacuuming easier?) I thought of a bumper sticker I need to get for my truck: "I'd rather be playing my piano".

Anyway, I made the bed, and selected two of the stuffed bears to put on the bed, and when Sam came in he barked at them, thinking they just didn't belong there. Then when he realized they weren't alive he wanted to play with them. It was too cute.

Singing Students

One of my students is a 20-year old young man. He is upgrading his math to get into university and is in many ways a typical 20-year old. Works construction; parents have a bit of money, I think. In Calgary fashion, his family lives just on the edge of town and they have a couple of horses and he drives a pickup. He's a nice guy with a great sense of humour. (He's getting better at math, too.)

He's been talking about how I have to learn Beatles songs and John Lennon (Imagine) on the piano and then we'll "rock down" together (I believe were his words). So when he came the other day I played Hey Jude, though I'm a bit rusty with it because I haven't played it in a while. He started singing as he stood behind me and I managed to get through the piece without too many errors. Okay, this was too much fun. Very cool. Today a student listened as I played about three selections and I got through them. Very little hands shaking! Very little nerves.

It may be a time between posts as M & D will be at the airport soon (well, late, as it turns out; way to go, Air Canada). Hope everyone has a lovely Sunday.

The Cats Hate it; The Dog Loves it

2005-01-19T05:37:00.000-07:00

Until the cats learn that the piano is so off-limits as to be not even in the house as far as they are concerned, they are being confined more than usual and zero tolerance is employed should they so much as even look at it. This doesn't make them happy. The dog, however, is rather smug about it all. I'd never do anything to the piano, he seems to say. Which is true, because he likes to lie under it while I'm playing. Though last night I had a level 9/10 Royal Conservatory student here at my house (she is my math student) and she played the piano and he kept backing away from it, because she was producing volumes out of the piano that Sam had never heard it produce. (BOY, SHE's GOOD!!!!!)

Yes, the piano keeps me extremely busy, ergo little time for blogging. I want to say, however, that it is not just the piano. It is exam time, so my students are keeping me hopping as well. Next week is a bit lighter student-wise, but the parental units arrive in just ... egads ... three more sleeps and so any REAL relaxing will probably not take place at least for a few days after they're here.

Because there's never anything on the tube, and because we have little time to watch, we cancelled our dish. Now Mom and Dad are coming out, and they're bemoaning the fact that they won't be able to watch the rest of the Aussie open. So have to phone the satellite provider today and ask them if we can hook it up for a month. They'll probably say, oh, we can hook you up right away, but to cancel you'll have to phone us back (where they'll put me on hold forever no doubt), which you can't do until you've had the service for a month, and then you can ask to cancel, but we'll require 30 days notice. Ohhhh, they make me so mad. If you want to upgrade your satellite package, they can do it next day. If you want to downgrade, they can't do it until the end of the "current billing cycle". If you want to cancel, they need 30 days' notice, and then they call you several times to see if maybe they could change your mind. They make you offers like 10% off for a year, or a month free, if you don't quit. That sort of thing.

Anywho, thought I'd just let everyone know what I was up to. I will post pictures of the lovely piano soon. I thought I'd name it. Anyone got any ideas?

Ohh, and, blogdog, just thought I'd let you know that I've ordered Knitting for Dummies, and with Mom coming out, I should be knitting at least scarves if nothing more complicated, very soon.

The Sound of Music

2005-01-16T06:09:00.000-07:00

Hmmmmm. I don't think words will do justice to how I'm feeling, nor to how I felt when the piano was set up in my living room yesterday, nor to how it sounds, nor to how it looks. There simply aren't words that could do it justice. While I waited for the piano to come up to room temperature yesterday, after it was delivered, I just sat at the bottom of the stairs and stared at it. Not in my wildest imagining, could I have come close to how unbelievable it actually looks in that room. The room's size is perfect. The lights we put in are perfectly placed. The positioning and angle of the piano is perfect. It looks absolutely stunning.

As it weighs 650 pounds, the strong Bulgarian movers who brought it were doing a great deal of huffing and puffing and at one point, I just couldn't watch (I think it was when they were attaching the legs), and so I left the room for a moment. I was so afraid it would be dropped or jarred or something. When I came back in the room, there it was, all set up and it just took my breath away.

It has a lovely, lovely sound. I played more than two hours last night and was back at it again at 5:30 this morning. (When will I shop? Eat? Clean the house????)

Ah well, it's all good. I don't think the novely will EVER wear off, though.

Oh, what a lovely day

2005-01-14T22:04:00.000-07:00

Played my piano today for the very first time. It is still in the store, and they deliver it tomorrow. Words couldn't possibly do justice to how I am feeling. I am in shock, I think. It is far more beautiful and elegant than I could have imagined. It is absolutely gorgeous and it has the loveliest sound. Tomorrow will not come soon enough, and since it's going to be about -20, I have to wait two or three hours after it arrives before I'm allowed to play it!!!! Well, I guess I've waited this long ...

I'll post some news tomorrow on how my first playing session went. Now it's time for a hot chocolate & off to bed. Thanks, blogdog, for your wonderful comments.

There oughta be a law

2005-01-14T09:15:00.000-07:00

I have a proposal. Let's make a law that says that the second a woman's first grey hair appears, that she will never again get a zit. Wouldn't that be fair? Who can I sue?

Oh Baby, Oh Baby

2005-01-13T14:33:00.000-07:00

My piano is all set up in the store, it is due to be tuned tomorrow and barring temperatures below -20 to -25 celsius on Saturday afternoon, it'll be delivered on ... Saturday afternoon!!!!! How will I sleep Friday night? How will I get through four hours of teaching on Saturday morning????!!!

(For all you measuring in imperial units, -25 C is about 10 below zero farenheit.)

Sorry I haven't been around

2005-01-13T06:44:00.000-07:00

I've been a lazy blogger lately. My apologies. All is well here. Mr P got the room ready for the piano Tuesday night but with -35 degree temperatures they won't deliver it, I don't think, until it warms up a bit. Have been getting in my required minimum 5 hours a week working for a doctor of philosophy and medicine, for whom I edit/proofread/manage/submit papers. That's been taking up a great deal of time, as well. And then I have about seven layers to pull on each time I take the dog out because it's so FLIPPIN COLD. But I'm not complaining. Well, yes I am. I want my piano!

I received a knitting pattern in the mail the other day that I'd sent away for (it's a poncho) and I look at it and actually it's all Greek to me. Hopefully Mrs P senior can help when she comes out for a visit in, ohmygod, just 9 more sleeps. I really wanted to get the upstairs two bedrooms (the "guest" rooms) painted before M & D come out, but there's no way I'll get it done now. Just no time. I'll be lucky if I can vaccum up all the dust bunnies before they get here.

It seems I'm famous at one of the local high schools. Last year I wrote a grade 11 Math Pure final practice exam/review. It's 19 pages long -- egads. I kind of went overboard. My students have been showing it to the math resource person at the school, and she looks at it and sort of goes, "Ya, well, that's the exam, in a nutshell. Who is this tutor? What's her name?" My student thought she was impressed, as opposed to PO'd, though it could have been a bit of both. If I ever get some time I'll have to write some math workbooks. I'd like to do that.

Belgians in the Neighbourhood
The other day I was coming home with the boy and I see a guy with a Belgian coming down our street. I'd seen this guy before. He has a beagle, as well, but I never connected that the big dog was a Belgian. You just see so few of them that I didn't go, hey, that's a Belgian! But it was! His name is Cedar and he's three. Sam and him started playing there on the frozen, snow-covered street, so I invited the guy into the backyard and the two dogs romped for about half an hour. I took a bunch of pictures, and in many of them it's hard to tell which dog is which.

Sam won't be a Samantha after all

2005-01-09T19:19:00.000-07:00

Our dog was set to be neutered tomorrow. We weighed all the pros and cons and decided that it was the best thing to do. But Mr P needed his mind put at ease, I think, and so this morning I phoned the breeder and said, you know, what do you think? Is it the right thing to do, given all the circumstances? She did set both our minds at ease, and said she'd email over some articles so that we'd be armed with information when bringing him into the vet's in the morning. (It perhaps needs to be said that I trust vets about as far as I can throw them and like most of them even less, but that's a story for another blog, another day).

I know the breeder meant well, but the articles she sent convinced me unequivocally that it was absolutely NOT the thing to do. The articles were about anathesia and Belgian shepherds in particular (that's what Sam is). I was horrified to read these articles and there's no way I'd put him through it (anathesia) unless I had to. I was in tears just at the thought of any one of the listed adverse reactions happening to my boy. Mr P was having doubts all along about having it done, not because he didn't want him neutered, particularly, but because he was worried about him having to go under. One of the problems, apparently, is that because Belgians are relatively rare, many surgeons/vets haven't ever even had one in their practice. And Belgians are particularly sensitive; extra caution is required. So no, no, no. No way. We won't go. Our boy will remain intact, and other boys be damned. If he gets in a fight, well, better to have him a little scarred up than to have his health damaged for life (or to lose him completely) as a result of a botched anaesthesia. I couldn't bear it.

Note to K: if the birthday genie does appear (belatedly), my third wish won't be a study in irony after all!

BRRRRRRRR

2005-01-08T20:18:00.000-07:00

Though winter is my favourite season, I have to say that today I've been freakin' cold. Went for dinner with a student and her parents tonight. The student has become a close friend and I love her like a niece or sister. We had fun watching the fish in the big tank, giving them names and discussing which famous person in history they most resembled.

Now we are frantically searching through the house for hot chocolate. Darn. I think we're out. Guess it'll be herbal tea to keep us warm tonight. On the agenda for tonight is the remainder of Bandits, which we started watching last night. Tomorrow I'm doing some editing work and the usual weekly round of shopping.

Hope those of you in the frozen north are managing to stay warm tonight ...

Funeral Bouncers

2005-01-07T16:39:00.000-07:00

A little while ago I came from RD's memorial service. There must have been 5 and 600 people packed into this funeral chapel. I wish I'd known the man everyone was there to honour. I attended to support my student, who is a lovely young woman. But I actually did not know RD. He must have been a wonderful man. Though I felt somewhat awkward at first (I knew no one aside from those closest to him, and those people were carefully being shielded from all attendees, at least before the service began), I'm glad I went. If nothing else, it felt like a human coming together, a recognition that we all share similar feelings, fears & fates. There wasn't a dry eye in the house, and that included me, and I didn't even know him.

I arrived about ten minutes before it began and those who arrived around the same time I did and those after were all herded into an anteroom because the main chapel was full. I saw C and her cousin finally, in this anteroom, as we were being shown where the seats were and I headed over to them to say hello and this big funeral bouncer guy blocked my way and said, in a deep baritone, "Could you have a seat over here, please," and I said, yes, but I just want to say hello to---. He cut me off and said again, "Could you have a seat over here, please". I was embarassed. I felt the heat rise to my face, but I did as I was told. After my embarassment wore off, I thought, this must be what they do. Shield those closest to the deceased before the service so that they can keep their composure. Later Mr P told me the reason he thought they did it was so they could keep things on schedule. I think the truth is a blend of both. Anyway.

I heard C's laughter from the front of the hall whenever a funny anecdote of her father was shared. She's a strong girl. I doubt I'll be as strong when it's my own father's memorial service.

I'm not good with the whole concept of death actually. It scares the bejeezus out of me. I suppose when it takes us then we just go, and there are no more cares for us, and depending on your beliefs, maybe there is a peaceful place where we go when we're done here on earth. As the years go by, I'm starting to reconcile the fact that I am indeed mortal, but this adolescent sense of immortality hasn't left me completely yet.

Goodbye, RD. Hang in there, C. You're going to be fine.

Goodbye to RD

2005-01-06T13:39:00.000-07:00

My heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends of RD, father to one of my students. Though I never met him, I think he must have been an awesome person, the least evidence of this being the lovely daughter he raised. He had cancer and had been very ill for more than a year. He passed peacefully listening to solo piano music last Sunday evening. The memorial service is tomorrow. I think I will attend and pay my respects.

Can't Wait Can't Wait Can't Wait

2005-01-05T14:21:00.000-07:00

Today being my birthday, I feel somewhat floopy. Not quite grounded. Sort of floaty and weird. I received a phone call today from a childhood sort-of friend. She is my sister's age (7 years older than I) and so she was my sister's friend. But the way it worked, was her family was friends with my family: the two parent-couples, and the two girls in each family were the same age. Plus they were German (we were fresh over here from Germany) and so it was a fast, but not always easy, friendship. My sister may have found the deepest friendship with her counterpart, R., out of all of us. S. (my counterpart) and I didn't really get along all that well (we didn't click), though we were forced to spend every single weekend, bible camp, Sunday school, and sleepovers together, for what amounted to probably about 7 years. We did what all 8, 9, 10 year olds did, we fought over what we'd play, play, get in trouble together, etc., etc. When I was about 13 our families literally split up. They wanted nothing more to do with us, nor us with them. I don't really remember the details. I have not spoken to S. since then. Apparently she has renounced ties with her entire family and has zero contact with any of them. It turns out the parents were quite abusive (which we all suspected, but never really could pinpoint).

Recently, R. has taken up a renewed friendship with my parents, and my Mom tells me what a sweet and lovely woman she is. Very warm and loving. This morning she phoned me for my birthday and I have to say if my own sister could muster just 5% of this sincerity, I would be beside myself with delight (though I have to say also somewhat suspicious). I think I shall adopt her.

And what is it that I can't wait for? My piano! It arrives sometime next week, probably more toward the end.

Back to Work

2005-01-03T06:47:00.000-07:00

First day back, and how lucky we are we have lives to go back to, unlike those in South Asia affected by the Tsunami, and how lucky we are if we are healthy. One of my student's grandmother died last week, so the mother, who is my good friend, was off to Vancouver Island over this past week laying her mother to rest. Another one of my student's father is dying of cancer. He has been moved to a hospice and it is now a day-to-day thing. I spoke to my student last night, and she cancelled her session for today because they were saying (again) that her father may not live out the night. I have heard this a number of times from her and I can only imagine (having never had anyone very close to me die) how exhausting this must all be. Through this she tries to finish a math course by correspondence, and that can't be easy.

I work for a doctor of philosophy (and medical doctor), editing and managing his papers and readying them for submission to the academic journals. With my schedule, he has never had nearly the time from me that the work demands ... until now. I have made a commitment to him to give him at minimum five hours a week and have decided that the only way to ensure he gets that time is to schedule the hours the way I schedule my students' arrival for tutoring. In this way it will get done. My first task this morning is to try to reach a publisher in the Netherlands, and, checking the time, I had better go do that before they leave the offices for the day.

... and Siblings

2005-01-02T18:15:00.000-07:00

Though my relationship with my parents (as stated) is excellent, my relationship with my only sister is not so much. How sad. She has no interest in my life. I suppose this is nothing new and many of you out there may be bemused at my naivetee, but we were once so very close, so though it comes as no surprise because it's been building for years, it still is sad. I can't go into details, but it feels good to get out at least this much. Every telephone conversation occurs only because it's a special occasion (an anniversary, birthday or Christmas/new Year's) and every conversation sounds as though entirely scripted. Certainly the conversations are without heart. I feel closer to my blogger buddies than I do to her. Sigh. However, will not let her ruin what was an otherwise perfect start to the new year. The piano is (conservatively speaking -- it could be sooner) about 14 sleeps away. The living room has been readied, and now I just have to try to be patient.

Condolences to writer's block on the loss of your friend.

Parents

2005-01-02T11:47:00.000-07:00

How does one ever predict how parents will react? My parents expert worriers (particularly Mom), and I thought when I told them about the piano purchase they'd freak out. But they in fact did not and instead congratulated me. I was so happy to tell them (have been humming and hawing for days about how best to tell them I bought another "car") because I've just been busting with the news. We're very close so not to tell them was bothering me. Now Dad may have changed his mind about coming out for at least part of the two weeks that Mom is coming (he's still working so wants to limit his time away from work until he retires for good) as he used to play when he was younger and I know he'll want to try it out.

The year's starting out fine ...

Happy New Year

2005-01-02T05:53:00.000-07:00

January 2 already. With all the excitement over the piano purchase, we have had to move around a bunch of furniture and that included the computer so I haven't had as much leisure to sit at it as I normally do (little time as that is) and so have just been keeping up on my blog roll, particularly blogdog and writer's block.

Things are good. Couldn't be better. We spent New Year's as we always do. Went to bed at our usual time, rang in the new year in the most peaceful way imaginable, deep asleep tucked into our feather bed. Yesterday seemed an exercise in keeping warm. Though I like winter, I have my days where I just feel cold, whether inside or out, and yesterday was one of those days. Winter is actually my favourite season, and I know I don't keep much company in that sentiment, but I know at least a couple of other people who feel the same way.

I expect the piano will be here and playable by the end of NEXT week, so about the 15th. (I say playable because it has to sit for about a day, eight hours or so, before I can even touch it. I think it's supposed to stay covered up, too, especially if it has been delivered in cold weather.) I have a student who is at level 9/10 piano and a wonderful girl. I have a real soft spot in my heart for her. I told her weeks ago that we were considering buying a grand piano. I asked her what kind she had, and she said a Young Chang. Then I told her I was considering a Yamaha, and she said, "Oh I LOVE Yamahas. They're my favourite! I love the sound of them. My teacher has one. I love them!" She's going to whig when I tell her. I don't know whether I'll be able to keep it from her until she walks in for her (math) lesson (lest some of you get the idea I'm teaching piano, I'm not ... I'm just a beginner) and sees it there.

Did anyone read about the moose rescue in Alaska? I've been trying to find a link, but haven't been able to yet. Will post it if I find one. Some hikers saw what appeared to be a boulder in a lake, but upon investigation they found it was actually a moose that had fallen through thin ice. Its front legs were folded and on the ice surface, and that was all that was holding it up, keeping it alive. A wildlife expert later said if the hikers hadn't happened along the moose likely would have been dead within the hour. Anyway, the hikers used a pulley system to haul the moose up out of its icy grave, then they massaged it, and a while later it was up and on its way, grazing on whatever green it could find, I guess. What a neat story.

Tomorrow it's back to the grind. Full tilt, in fact. It has been too cold to take the boy to the off-leash, and I suspect that today won't warm up enough either. I'm keeping my fingers crossed either tomorrow or at the latest Tuesday will warm up some. He's getting a bit of cabin fever, I think.

Nobody's got any advice on fungus gnats?

About Two Weeks Away

2004-12-30T16:48:00.000-07:00

The Grand Piano will be in my living room in about two weeks. It hasn't sunk in yet, though on occasion I remember that it really has happened -- we really did buy this piano -- and then I get so excited I can barely stand it. We phoned the dealer and they said they wouldn't have taken our deposit had the whole purchase not been approved, so ... it's approved. Woo-hoo! I can't believe it! Like I said, it hasn't sunk in yet, it's like a dream. I've been working diligently in my theory book since last night (renewed enthusiasm) but now I find myself so tired that I can't think too straight.

Tomorrow night Mr P and I are staying in. We always do on new Year's. I've never been a new year's eve fan myself. I think the main reason is that I am a very emotional person, and also tend to be nostalgic, so I think New Year's Eve for me is more of a lament and sadness at the year gone by than a looking forward to the year ahead. I always sob when I hear Auld Lang Syne. So it's early to bed and then the new year doesn't start groggy and stupid. We also don't drink alcohol at all (I once saw a bumper sticker by MADD that said "It's OK not to drink" -- it's sort of one of the little slogans I live my life by), and so we'll probably watch a movie or two, and head to bed. It's a peaceful ringing in of the new year when you're tucked up warm and snug in bed.

Does anyone out there have any suggestions (other than nearly killing your plants from starving them of water) to get rid of these blasted fungus gnats????? They drive me batty. The first year we moved in this house I'd routinely kill a couple of dozen a day, then we were told in a garden centre to cut down on the watering, which I did, and we also stuck those sticky yellow things in the plants. This helped a lot. We were down to nearly none pretty quickly and then last year we didn't have any; this year they are back again, though not as bad as the first year. I have a LOT of plants -- mostly figs and spider plants, and I hate to see them going yellow and limp from lack of watering. Anybody have any ideas?

The Ink is Drying on a purchase contract for a C2 Acoustic Grand

2004-12-29T18:19:00.000-07:00

Yes. We actually did it. With a whole lot down and a bit each month for some time to come, I'll have my grand. Oh, it is lovely. Lovely, lovely, lovely. I can picture it in my bay window now. The financing hasn't been "officially" approved yet, but I don't foresee any problems (cross your fingers, everyone). Now the furniture has to be rearranged (jeez, that's going to be hard .... NOT!). The sales guy figured that it would be in their shop in about a week and then after that I go and tinkle on it to make sure it's all okey dokey, then they ship it to our house!!!!!

It hasn't sunk in yet and I don't want to celebrate just yet because you never know, the financing may fall through, but oh, oh, oh, oh .... I can't say more than that. I'll have to just wait and see.

We took our boy to the off-leash this morning and he played with a lovely young lady, a Rhodesian Ridgeback named Halo. Very pretty dog ('course, not as pretty as our boy!), but I may be somewhat biased. Then we came home and I had a few hours of tutoring ... nothing too taxing; tomorrow I've got four hours and then another three days off before the rubber meets the road again. End of January, there's a bit of a break and then, the new semester begins.

I have a story idea in mind; it involves a world where women rule the roost, only women are in government, and there are only women soldiers. Sort of a Lord of the Rings, but with women in charge. I've worked out some of the details with a student friend of mind who is into fantasy writing and all the fantasy stories like Lord of the Rings, Pirates, HarryPotter, etc.

Anyway, should run.

Piano Shopping

2004-12-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

Those familiar with my recent posts may be interested to know that today I actually am going out to look at pianos. There's a Yamaha dealer in town that has some good prices until Dec 31 and my music teacher has consented to visit the store with me and Mr P on Friday and vet whatever strikes my fancy, giving me his most expert opinion. I'm excited, to say the least, but there is also a measure of trepidation at making such a big commitment financially.

Celebrity Stuff
I love to hate the celebrity culture. I find it distasteful at the best of times. The idea that certain people's lives should be "celebrated" more than others simply due to the fact that they have piles of money, often very little talent, many of whom made their fortunes and came to fame because they had "relatives" in the biz or had shrewd business managers, is repugnant to me. Still, it can be a bit "titillating" ... you'll excuse the pun as I carry on. A story in today's paper told how celeb parents are now boasting about, among other things, their daughter's bra sizes (more accurately, cup sizes). Just when we thought JenLo had given hope to millions of women with bottoms bigger than a pair of Granny Smith apples, we have "ample" reason (oh, God, sorry everyone, for all the terrible puns) to groan anew at the commercialization of the female body, held up for show like so much cattle at an auction, to be rated, criticized, stamped, and finally bought by the person with the mostest money. Sigh ...

Okay, enough about that. We are off to the dog park. Mr P is back to work next Monday so we have to take advantage of the trips we can take down there together, and I have a few hours of tutoring, and then ... some SERIOUS shopping.

After Christmas Resolutions

2004-12-27T09:26:00.000-07:00

Yes. I'm as guilty of them as anyone. But I was reading in this morning's paper that by the end of January 36% have given up (forgotten) their resolutions, which means that the other 64% are still hacking away at them. The key is not to be vague about your goals. Be specific. The story in the paper also recommended that instead of saying, I'm going to lose 20 pounds, make a resolution instead to get out into nature more, and take your camera with you -- the photography is your passion, the side benefit is greater health and maybe a few pounds off.

But there are other resolutions we might make besides losing weight. We focus so much on how we look (living in a celebrity culture, which I think is damaging to our self image at the best of times), that we forget that our worries are nothing compared to those living in the other half of the world, the half where clean water is considered a luxury. Have you seen those pictures of kids in places like Nepal and Bangladesh receiving shoeboxes from Western countries? Have you seen the delight on their faces at the gift of a toothbrush and toothpaste? This is slammed home all the more now in the wake of the tsunami that has killed tens of thousands ...

We need to take our message from that. Instead of making a resolution to lose weight this year, make a resolution instead to give more to those who need it. Carry the Christmas message into the new year and beyond, and keep it alive as long as possible. There is so much sadness on the planet, and everyone can make a difference, even if a very small one.

Having said that, my new year's hopes are as follows:

1. That I will find some time to spend with friends.
2. That I stay healthy, and that all my loved ones do as well.
3. That I manage, at least some of the time, to stay in the moment, to live in the present.
4. That I do a little more housework, eat a little less junk food, and get back to long walks with the dog, now that he's older.

That's it. I won't try to be more ambitious than that.

Happy New Year, in advance, everyone. Go easy with the resolutions.

Elvis on the CD Player

2004-12-25T08:36:00.000-07:00

Few can do Christmas carols like Elvis could. Later will have to listen to the Messiah and then watch (both) of either Alistair Sim or George C. Scott in A Christms Carol, and It's a Wonderful Life. Also have to find a half hour to watch the Boris Karloff cartoon version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The dog in the show (Max) reminds me so much of a little sheltie cross I used to have, whose name was also coincidentally Max. Same personality, same facial expressions. I LOVE the Grinch (well, the show). Didn't think much of the movie, though.

I've finished unwrapping all the gifts from my students (thanks, you guys; it means so much!!!). It's a beautiful Christmas morning. My husband and I are going to have breakfast now and then it's off to the off leash with the pooch (that'll be his Christmas present). I wonder whether it will be busy or dead down there ... my feeling is that it will be one or the other. The snow is supposed to hit later today and then I'd rather not drive there, so it's a good time to go ... poop him out so we can rest for a couple of days.

Well, best run and get breakfast on. Hope you all have a wonderful, restful, peaceful, happy day.

Merry Christmas

2004-12-24T17:59:00.000-07:00

It's brown in Calgary tonight, but tomorrow the snow is supposed to hit, hard and heavy, and it's going to get cold.

Perfect.

Wishing you all a safe, merry Christmas and a very happy new Year.

Last Day Before the big break

2004-12-23T07:36:00.000-07:00

Greetings all. Just one more day of tutoring then nearly 10 days off in a row, though am working a few hours on two days next week -- between Christmas and New Year's. It's been cold here in Calgary the last day or two. Minus 27 C with the windchill. Brrrrr. Makes walking the dog not so much fun. Today it's supposed to be warmer, so then I'll be off to the off-leash and my boy can have a good run before the lethargy of the holiday days sets in.

One of my students knit me a scarf as a Christmas present (thanks, Kaitlin!). Last night I was so cold watching Lord of the Rings in our living room (though the heat was up to 23), that I sat with the scarf wrapped up over my ears and head in an attempt to get warm. Just one of those days.

Days are getting longer again

2004-12-22T07:13:00.000-07:00

December 21st is always a day for celebration. Living in Alberta, the winters are long and winter days are very short. I love winter. It is actually my favourite season (no bugs), but I don't like the short days much. So it is always a cause for celebration when December 21st rolls around. Starting after that day, the days are starting to get longer.

Those of you who take issue with the U.S.'s war on Iraq will want to check out http://costofwar.com/. Quite an eye-opener. Thanks, blogdog, http://saltysheepdog.blogspot.com/ for the link.

Spoke to a neighbour yesterday about my piano purchase dilemma. When I told him we were considering an electronic, he wrinkled his nose, and wondered, why on earth would we do that? I shrugged my shoulders -- cost? What else? And he said, yes, but people invest in boats and RVs for their middle years enjoyment (middle years is my term, not his -- that's what he meant); why wouldn't you do the same with a piano if that's what you want to be spending your time doing? I don't know ... Actually, I think he's right, and we are leaning more and more towards the acoustic grand.

Today tutoring is a bit lighter; winding down for the holidays. Merry Christmas everyone.

Should I buy a Yamaha GC1 or C2 acoustic grand piano?

2004-12-21T06:23:00.000-07:00

Those who read yesterday's entry may still be thinking of a way to formulate a response; while I, today, am leaning closer to that acoustic grand again. Sheeshh. Talk about a tough decision (not really, only the cold hard cash stands in the way). Sigh. We shall see. I think between Christmas and New Year's my husband and I will visit the Yamaha dealer and have a look at that C2 he was telling us about. All the online reviews say it is a wonderful piano. Even the GC1, which is considerably less expensive, may be worth a look at, though the reviews say its bass tones are just acceptable (at 5'3" it's hard to get decent bass tones, I think; though, being a more-than-novice piano buyer, what do I know?)

Meanwhile, I had 7 tutoring hours booked yesterday and only four made it. This is most unusual, but not for the time of year, perhaps. I don't care so much about the loss in income as I do how it throws a wrench in my day. With the dog, I can't run out if I suddenly find myself with a few extra minutes. Trips away from home when the dog is left alone (at least at this stage of his life) must be planned in advance. So it carves up my day needlessly when I could have been getting things done. Oh well. A bit frustrating. Thursday is my last tutoring day and then .... freedom for a few days. No math. (Though I will probably work on brushing up my calculus to prepare for the next semester beginning at the end of January as I have consented to tutor ONE of my students in calculus).

Anyway, all this is rather drivellish, so I'll depart. Anyone out there have any comments on the benefits of the Yamaha C2 over the GC1? Anybody own one or the other? Tried both?

The Trials of Buying a Piano

2004-12-20T14:15:00.000-07:00

Okay. I've outgrown my keyboard. Though it is a lovely keyboard and I'm fond of it (it has lots of neat features and has been good as a starter unit), I'm ready to move on. The biggest problem is the action of the keys and the limited working of the sustain pedal. I really wanted a grand piano, but the cost is prohibitive. The minimum model I'd be interested in is about $15000 Cdn. A fair chunk of change. I spoke to a Yamaha dealer who was SOOOOO helpful and he has suggested a whole range of different types of pianos, including a series of electronic ones, whose touch is virtually indistinguishable from that of a real piano, and with the new sound sampling, etc., there is also no way to tell the sounds of the two apart. I first started thinking about an electronic piano on my husband's suggestion. I REALLY want a grand, and I think he'd really like me to have one, but we're both realistic in that ... can we afford it? I think he wants me to have the piano and is looking for a way for me to have it sooner, ... ergo the electronic models.

On the plus side, with an electronic piano, I'm paying A LOT less but I don't have the grandeur of a beautiful grand piano (which I'd have room to put in my house; in fact, it would look awesome in my living room), also there are no maintenance fees like tuning.

On the minus side, well, I um, don't ... have ... a grand piano! The Yamaha dealer was very nice and of course he is looking to sell his products but I got the impression he wouldn't sell me anything I didn't need or wouldn't be happy with.

Then my music instructor tells me that the $4,000 or so I'd spend on the electronic piano the Yamaha dealer recommended is way too much money and I could get one that would suit for about $1,500. To further complicate matters, there are lovely units that you can program to accompany your playing and that will record you and act as karaoke units, neat for me because I'd also like to get back to singing. So .... what on earth to do????

My head is spinning from all the information. Anyone out there got any advice? Looking for feedback.

I've been away and I've lost you

2004-12-10T07:58:00.000-07:00

Bloggers take note. If you like certain sites, don't save bookmarks for them in only one place. I lost all my blog bookmarks when my browser crashed one day. I have just recently started blogging but had found several blogs that I'd quite liked. One was in New Jersey (can't remember your name); two were in Alberta (one of these in Edmonton, but not sure where the other was). One of you recently wrote about your son listening to Vince Gauraldi Christmas music and helping with the writing of Christmas cards. If you read this, please respond as I am looking for you! I really enjoyed your site. Shooting parrots, you were easy to find with a quick google search, and lastly, Dysfunctional thoughts: you were, what, Writer's block? AAAAHHH!! If you guys know who you are, please post a comment so that I can start reading your blogs again.

That's it for now. I have just over an hour before my first student arrives and I must feed my pooch. Merry ho ho to you all.

Encore! Encore!

2004-11-30T14:48:00.000-07:00

Had my music lesson yesterday. I learned to play when I was a kid and now have taken it up again (piano). I absolutely love it and have enough commitment to it to eventually trade in the electronic keyboard I have (though it's a nice one, don't misunderstand and I'll keep it because it has so many cool voices and its digitial and I record my playing, etc., etc.) for a grand piano, which we've started to look around for. I have a bay window in the front of my living room and it will look absolutely perfect there. Can't wait.

My music instructor was talking today about a student of his who is "musically challenged", shall we say, and who is, despite this, taking voice lessons. Well, i can hum a bar or two, so I thought, well that would be fun and we got to talking about it, so now I may start doing some voice with him as well, though it wouldn't be classical training but rather more like coaching and practice.

I'm scared to death.

However, you know, you never know what you can do until you just jump in and try it.

I took my blinds in recently to have them cleaned. I think I get them back tomorrow, but it is weird sitting here and having the front windows completely open to the street (and it's dark out). I live on a quiet street, but still, I can't help but feel I'm living in a fishbowl.

A sad farewell to Pierre Berton who died today at the age of 84. I really like his books and have read quite a few, and my favourite is definitely Klondike. Being a Canadian patriot and lover of snow, cold and the north, his books always appealed to me.

Until next time.

Testing, Testing

2004-11-28T06:45:00.000-07:00

Sorry about this. Just want to see what happens.

Breakthrough with my dog

2004-11-26T14:59:00.000-07:00

I have a wonderful Belgian Shepherd, about eight months old. He is perfect in very nearly every way but has always pulled on the leash to varying degrees (from downright horribly pulling to simply having it taut -- a bit of tension). I have worked with him and worked with him to correct this. (You can't yank on a Belgian to make them behave; you have to earn and ask for their cooperation.) Though Belgians are among the smartest of the breeds, I was worried that he simply wasn't learning what I wanted from him -- simply not to pull on the leash. I don't expect him to be in heel position all the time, but ... well, you know. Anyway, every time I had him out, there seemed to be very little progress and the the other day oh! it was something else!!! About 2/3 of the way into the trip he seemed to suddenly think, Oh NOW I get what you want! And he walked nicely all the way home. I'm not beating the drums yet, but am crossing my fingers that he really did finally understand what I want of him.

Well, it's early Sunday morning, my hubby is still in bed, and I don't quite know what to do with myself for the next while. I'm reading a book called The Sudden Weight of Snow by Laisha Rosnau. As I love snow and all things stark-feeling, I picked it up at the library and decided to give it a go. It's a coming-of-age story (I think) of a girl who grew up in a tiny lumber town in the B.C. interior where, of course, they get lots of snow. The first 50 pages or so I wasn't really sure, but last night before bed when I was reading I had a hard time putting it down. So I think I'll curl up on the couch with my coffee and read a bit more of it before hubby gets up.