deakat

1. I have a drafting table! A local artist put up a notice that she was giving away her old one, and I was first in line! It's enormous, and when we went to pick it up today, I feared that we wouldn't be able to get it into my car. The friend who offered to help me move it, though, took out her toolkit and worked miracles. It's now in my house, and will be reassembled in my office/studio next week, so that I can celebrate my 50th birthday on the 11th by making art!


2. The original plan was to set it up in the office/studio today, so yesterday I set out to prepare the room by cleaning and moving my desk away from the window in order to make space for the table. Somehow that morphed into moving furniture in my bedroom (which I've been meaning to do since last April), interspersed with cleaning the bathroom fan and scrubbing/soaking the grease out of the fan filter in the range hood. Note to self: buy gloves for next cleaning binge. Hands are not happy.


3. When power was once again applied to the satellite receiver and television post-furniture-move, the satellite receiver was not able to acquire a signal. All cables were verified, but still no joy. Rather than troubleshoot further at this time, I decided to take a break from the eye of doom, so have suspended my satellite service for the next seven months. At the end of that period, I'll re-evaluate and decide whether I really need it. In the meantime, more time for everything else, such as reading! And writing! And whatever else would otherwise go by the wayside when I normally turn off my brain for network programming.


4. Tomorrow's activities may include baking.


5. I'm feeling a bit lost and lonely, even more so than last xmas, but I have invitations and plans to join friends over the holidays, and my big dog to cuddle, so I think I'll be okay.

deakat

Originally published at deanne.ca. You can comment here or there.

Lioness kills man invoking God

He shouted “‘God will save me, if he exists” before the lioness opened his carotid. The question remains: was he trying to prove, or disprove, the existence of a god?

Thanks go to RogueLurker for directing me to this fine example of darwinism at work.

deakat

Originally published at deanne.ca. You can comment here or there.

There was a time when I talked about taking my vacation during the week of March the 8th, so that I could have plenty of time for all of the women-centred events taking place. This year, I haven’t even checked to see if there’s a women’s dance, not that we go dancing anymore, anyway.

Feeling sorry for myself, I see. Hmmm… must check what’s happening locally, and find something fun to do.

deakat

Originally published at deanne.ca. You can comment here or there.

What Subversive Alternative Paradigm Are You?
created with QuizFarm.com

(Thanks to Marcia Barrett Nice for pointing me to this quiz.)

deakat

Originally published at deanne.ca. You can comment here or there.

CBC News: Canadians ‘liberal and hedonistic’ but can change, U.S. right-winger says

Yeah, but what if us pot-smokin’, same-sex-lovin’, abortion-gettin’, socialized-medicine-cravin’ folks don’t want to change, eh?

In other news, I got my very first parking ticket today! Yeehaw! Now I feel like a real driver. Or parker, that would be, I guess.

Dropped the workaholic MC off at the office this morning, and Freya expressed an interest in getting out of the car, so we swung by Jack Purcell Park for a short jaunt. I parked in an area that my friends used years ago when visiting the late-lamented Eddie’s Diner on Elgin Street, and we joined a few other dogs for, maybe, half an hour. Got back to the car just as the security guard (”On Contract to the City of Ottawa”, it said on his car) had just moved on to the next vehicle in line. $50 for half an hour of dog-play… a little steep. Next time I’ll cruise the neighbourhood for a parallel-parking spot… have to be careful there, though, because there’s a limit of one hour, even on weekends. Sheesh! I begin to understand why a lot of suburbanites don’t visit Centretown all that often.

deakat

Originally published at deanne.ca. You can comment here or there.

A little late, but as a confirmed procrastinator, that’s only to be expected, n’est-ce pas?

Life is very good, although I have finally stopped spreading the word about how wonderful it is to be alive, after my brush with the alternative last month. MC surprised me with a planned trip to San Francisco for my birthday! She didn’t go so far as to buy the tickets and call my boss to book the time off, but she put together a book with suggestions for hotels, restaurants, shows, etc. Sweet, eh?

We’re looking at the end of March/beginning of April, because things are kind of hectic at work next month. Can’t wait!

In other news at home, Freya has started school. Some people have suggested that she might be a little old, but I just point out that she’s 4 and a half, an appropriate age. Of course, she does appear to be the senior student, that being a tad aged in doggy years. There’s a teeny Sheltie puppy in the class, a couple of beautiful Portuguese Water Dogs, a Boxer, miniature (I think) Schnauzer, Malamute, a Collie/Border Collie mix and a Doodle. I think the Doodle is older, also, but probably not as old as Freya. We’re in Doggy Manners 1 until the end of February. Freya’s buddy Zool may be joining us if we sign up for Doggy Manners 2 later on.

deakat

Originally published at deanne.ca. You can comment here or there.

I haven’t had much spare time to write, but I’ve decided that it just looks a little too ominous… blogging about my new car and then dropping off the face of the planet, the way I did.

Still driving… and loving it, to boot! I have the occasional twinge of guilt about burning those nasty hydrocarbons, but I think I did a pretty good job of protecting the environment by waiting until I was 45 to buy and drive a car. Admittedly, it was largely fear that kept me off the roads, and being a cheapskate who was unwilling to spend the money required to be a member of the motoring crowd.

Fear has been conquered, happily. Oh, I still worry about the wackos who think it’s fine to ride my bumper at 80 clicks, but if I drop it down a few notches when there’s room for them to pass, they do so, and I get back to enjoying my ride.

The money is another matter, but my little Accent is pretty good on gas, so I’m spending less than $100/month on fuel. Quality of life has improved for all of us, I’d say, but most particularly for the dog. We’ve been taking her to Bruce Pit (an old sand quarry that’s now an off-leash dog park) almost every Saturday and Sunday where she has the time of her life. It’s not too bad for MC and me, either. Love walking through the trees, crushing the pine needles under our feet.

More later… hopefully before another two months have passed, this time.

deakat

Originally published at deanne.ca. You can comment here or there.

I did it. I bought my very first car. And then I drove by myself for the very first time. All the way to work and back. Without having a panic attack.

And then I did it all over again today.

We’re not giving up on public transit alltogether, though. MC works downtown, so it makes sense for her to continue to bus in, but this will make our lives so much easier. Shaved at least an hour off my transit time today alone, and that will improve as I get more accustomed to the routes, not to speak of the errands that I can run on the way home, saving hours of bus travel on the weekends.

Here we are:

deakat

Originally published at deanne.ca. You can comment here or there.

You must read this. Have tissues ready.