Since I have earned the chance to sit at the computer by......starting my day by slogging through wet underbrush and over slippery rocks, skinning my ankle to retrieve a truant 20 lb. feline, then heading off to the district facility until 3 p.m. Heading back to the bank to reset my PIN (as it had been killed by the prodigal son) and yes I know having someone else use your debit card is not allowed according to my banking daughter but who doesn't do this? We would have starved to death once the kids starting driving if they didn't stop for groceries, but I digress. I also picked up some US $ which only cost $10 extra on each $100 - this does NOT make the shore captain happy for marine exports so we don't discuss this at home. And I cashed in my rolls of coins which I am saving for the tropical medicine course in Peru one of these years - with the $58 so far I wouldn't even be able to renew my passport but every penny counts. I then spent $288 for groceries, stopped for gas, drove home and put away all the groceries, made supper, did two loads of laundry, ran the dishwasher, walked the dog and have just heard the breadmaker beep. So, when I announce that I'm going to scrapbooking tomorrow evening there had better not be any flak from people in this household.
I'm multitasking as I download v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y on dialup the photos for my PEI cruise presentation and update you as I'm waiting for the bread to cool so that I can drag my carcass off to bed.
Had a call on the weekend from the cruise travel partner who I think has figured out that she'll have to be the cheerleader if there's any enthusiasm to be whipped up for the two of us. The discussion ran to digital cameras (she got a new small one to pop in her pocket) and other such fun stuff which vacation planning is made of. She's heading to town for rughooking and lunch at a classy restaurant on Wednesday so was checking on my schedule. Needless to say I won't be having THAT kind of a retirement day myself but always have time to cruise plan for a few moments. She is heading off in a bit to rug hooking school for a week, back for two weeks and then.....we're off.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Saying goodbye
Supper is sitting in the oven, awaiting the arrival of drenched men folk as the boats were all due in today - running ahead of the latest tropical storm “Danny”. I’m off to take my turn working volunteer fire dept. bingo this evening which comes due every seven weeks but certainly seems sooner than that. Another drawback of not working shifts as that excuse is not available to me and my conscience won’t let me fabricate another.
It’s been a wet, dreary day spent thinking of my summer neighbours as we received a message last night that a good friend had passed away peacefully yesterday morning. Difficult when you know that someone has been suffering pain to wish them back but a shock just the same. A larger than life personality we will remember him fondly.
Tried a bit to get myself in gear with the cruise presentations and did put some PEI info together with some pics I ‘borrowed’ off Facebook from a friends vacation but am still recovering from my overland journey of 500 km for work yesterday. To think that was a regular work day just a decade ago. I’m reminded of my workmate’s quote when we were discussing how managers are working until 8 p.m. as he said “yeah, I used to do that too when I was that age”
Thinking of cruises, here is a very comprehensive site which arrived in an email announcement which I have had time to give only a cursory review, but it looks good:
http://allthingscruise.com/
I did put my energies into making a loaf of brown bread, a peach pie (although I ran out of peaches for the top) and getting supper ready. Didn’t want to overdo it what with the volunteer duty and all. Aside from reading the paper – found a great deal on a week Feb 7th in Villa Covarrubias for $838 – and having a chat with daughter # 1 who advises that the countdown to Nova Scotia arrival is 27 days!!!! that was about the extent of my activities. Not bad for a rainy Saturday as I celebrate post # 400 of this blog. Enjoy
It’s been a wet, dreary day spent thinking of my summer neighbours as we received a message last night that a good friend had passed away peacefully yesterday morning. Difficult when you know that someone has been suffering pain to wish them back but a shock just the same. A larger than life personality we will remember him fondly.
Tried a bit to get myself in gear with the cruise presentations and did put some PEI info together with some pics I ‘borrowed’ off Facebook from a friends vacation but am still recovering from my overland journey of 500 km for work yesterday. To think that was a regular work day just a decade ago. I’m reminded of my workmate’s quote when we were discussing how managers are working until 8 p.m. as he said “yeah, I used to do that too when I was that age”
Thinking of cruises, here is a very comprehensive site which arrived in an email announcement which I have had time to give only a cursory review, but it looks good:
http://allthingscruise.com/
I did put my energies into making a loaf of brown bread, a peach pie (although I ran out of peaches for the top) and getting supper ready. Didn’t want to overdo it what with the volunteer duty and all. Aside from reading the paper – found a great deal on a week Feb 7th in Villa Covarrubias for $838 – and having a chat with daughter # 1 who advises that the countdown to Nova Scotia arrival is 27 days!!!! that was about the extent of my activities. Not bad for a rainy Saturday as I celebrate post # 400 of this blog. Enjoy
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Bill
Hurricane Bill has arrived and moved on so all the weather channel drama has subsided and moved on to Newfoundland. We had a ring side seat this morning as the waves crashed on the shore. There was quite a bit of rain during the night and morning which means the flowers in the planters look pathetic but not as much wind as predicted however we still managed to have a totem pole in our yard as one of the dry standing spruces got snapped off midway. The seas were high and the tides quite full so lots of surf. And there was that weird warm hu
mid air that a co-worker described as “coming all the way from Co
sta Rica”.
On the left is the view from the best seat in the house in the morning when the tide was up and on the right is a shot a few hours later when the sun had come out but it was still .............. r-o-u-g-h!
This afternoon I had a call from my former cruise partner to go for a walk on the beach and it was quite a spectacle with the sun out but huge walls of surf just offshore while shorebirds scooted along.
mid air that a co-worker described as “coming all the way from Co
sta Rica”.On the left is the view from the best seat in the house in the morning when the tide was up and on the right is a shot a few hours later when the sun had come out but it was still .............. r-o-u-g-h!
This afternoon I had a call from my former cruise partner to go for a walk on the beach and it was quite a spectacle with the sun out but huge walls of surf just offshore while shorebirds scooted along.
We debated about taking the dog but….she has panic attacks in the car, she’d be wet on the way back etc etc. I felt even guiltier when I shortened the canine after supper walk due to hordes of mosquitoes and I mean clouds – there were so many dragonflies out dive bombing them you’d think you were in a heliport. They must have all been taking advantage of the prime feeding conditions.
Speaking of feeding, it was a culinary weekend as the shore captain and I headed in to Lothar’s Café for supper. It’s been open two years and this is the first time we made it. We had planned to go to camp for the weekend but the weather forecast changed that plan and not just because of the rain and wind but it’s not a good idea to be a long ways from the wharf/boats in a hurricane. So, the alternate plan was supper out. Been a while since we were on a dinner date locally and it was wonderful. Lothar explained he’s going to spend January to March in Belize in a little place called Hopkins on the Toucan Trail so we told him we’ll come and visit him.
This morning I felt moved to try out Julia Child’s recipe for blender hollandaise sauce and whip up some Eggs Benedict. It only took three shopping trips to assemble the ingredients by the time I procured English muffins, back bacon and butter. Then this morning I discovered that the egg poacher which hasn’t been used for some time had only one cup in it so I improvised with a slightly larger custard cup to poach two at once for his majesty. But the recipe itself worked well despite the fact that my blender is a magic bullet so super charged and must be approached with caution. Since my life partner tends to being ‘detail orientated’ and doesn’t worry that he may sound negative, after I had created the culinary masterpiece he evaluated it as “too much lemon and the eggs poached firmer than he liked but it was okay”. So I explained the poacher modification led to the well done eggs as one would’ve been raw otherwise and that the lemon juice called for was 1 – 2 tbsp. so I split the difference at 1½ and for someone as lucky as himself he was being a tad on the brutally honest side. It may be a while before he gets the chance to eat/comment on them again. For those with a less critical audience here’s one link to the recipe:
http://lifewise.canoe.ca/FoodDrink/2009/07/31/10326756-ap.html
On the topic of recipes, I made an interesting dessert yesterday called Innkeeper Pie and it’s either a cake/pie or pie/cake depending on how you look at it. But we liked it and the man of the house stated it was somewhat like cheesecake and ate two pieces so with his food critique history that scores quite highly and will be in the ‘make again’ category.
Innkeeper Pie
Sauce - in saucepan stir together
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
1 cup water
Cook/stir over med. heat until boils x 1 min.
Remove from heat and stir in
1½ tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup butter
Filling - in small mixer bowl stir together
¾ cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
Add
¼ cup shortening
½ cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
Beat med. speed x 2 minutes
Add
1 egg and beat 2 minutes
Spoon batter into deep 9 in. pie crust
Stir chocolate mixture and pour gently over the top
Sprinkle top with
½ cup chopped nuts
Bake 1 hr. at 350 F or until tester comes out clean. Cool and serve with whipped cream.
However, I didn’t spend the whole weekend making or eating food as this evening I put the finishing touches on the Norwegian Fjord powerpoint for the MidWeek Break at the library next month. Always the optimist I can count it as one more towards the elusive 60 required for the world cruise. I happened upon an article about people traveling on freighters and a world cruise with them was still about ½ the cost of a regular cruise and they were bragging about it only costing $90 per day each. Hah! I thought, I’ve got you beat. Now to get started on the PEI presentation.
Speaking of feeding, it was a culinary weekend as the shore captain and I headed in to Lothar’s Café for supper. It’s been open two years and this is the first time we made it. We had planned to go to camp for the weekend but the weather forecast changed that plan and not just because of the rain and wind but it’s not a good idea to be a long ways from the wharf/boats in a hurricane. So, the alternate plan was supper out. Been a while since we were on a dinner date locally and it was wonderful. Lothar explained he’s going to spend January to March in Belize in a little place called Hopkins on the Toucan Trail so we told him we’ll come and visit him.
This morning I felt moved to try out Julia Child’s recipe for blender hollandaise sauce and whip up some Eggs Benedict. It only took three shopping trips to assemble the ingredients by the time I procured English muffins, back bacon and butter. Then this morning I discovered that the egg poacher which hasn’t been used for some time had only one cup in it so I improvised with a slightly larger custard cup to poach two at once for his majesty. But the recipe itself worked well despite the fact that my blender is a magic bullet so super charged and must be approached with caution. Since my life partner tends to being ‘detail orientated’ and doesn’t worry that he may sound negative, after I had created the culinary masterpiece he evaluated it as “too much lemon and the eggs poached firmer than he liked but it was okay”. So I explained the poacher modification led to the well done eggs as one would’ve been raw otherwise and that the lemon juice called for was 1 – 2 tbsp. so I split the difference at 1½ and for someone as lucky as himself he was being a tad on the brutally honest side. It may be a while before he gets the chance to eat/comment on them again. For those with a less critical audience here’s one link to the recipe:
http://lifewise.canoe.ca/FoodDrink/2009/07/31/10326756-ap.html
On the topic of recipes, I made an interesting dessert yesterday called Innkeeper Pie and it’s either a cake/pie or pie/cake depending on how you look at it. But we liked it and the man of the house stated it was somewhat like cheesecake and ate two pieces so with his food critique history that scores quite highly and will be in the ‘make again’ category.
Innkeeper Pie
Sauce - in saucepan stir together
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
1 cup water
Cook/stir over med. heat until boils x 1 min.
Remove from heat and stir in
1½ tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup butter
Filling - in small mixer bowl stir together
¾ cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
Add
¼ cup shortening
½ cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
Beat med. speed x 2 minutes
Add
1 egg and beat 2 minutes
Spoon batter into deep 9 in. pie crust
Stir chocolate mixture and pour gently over the top
Sprinkle top with
½ cup chopped nuts
Bake 1 hr. at 350 F or until tester comes out clean. Cool and serve with whipped cream.
However, I didn’t spend the whole weekend making or eating food as this evening I put the finishing touches on the Norwegian Fjord powerpoint for the MidWeek Break at the library next month. Always the optimist I can count it as one more towards the elusive 60 required for the world cruise. I happened upon an article about people traveling on freighters and a world cruise with them was still about ½ the cost of a regular cruise and they were bragging about it only costing $90 per day each. Hah! I thought, I’ve got you beat. Now to get started on the PEI presentation.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Jennifer Aniston
Well, let’s see…today is Thursday so getting closer to the weekend – even if Hurricane Bill is scheduled to arrive then. Mind you I spent most of Wednesday thinking it WAS Thursday, now it’s even becoming obvious to others at work that I’m losing it. Mind you, they’re all losing it as well if today’s interactions are any indication.
The aforementioned predicted bad weather is creating a hitch in our social plans for this weekend as we’d intended to go to camp. This is the week of full tides so the shore captain had penciled himself off for the weekend on the calendar at the plant (he’s wanted to do that all summer as his employees took time off) but really – how much fun is it travel through the woods in a hurricane? So, instead he’ll unload fish Friday evening and has acquiesced to a dinner date with me on Saturday. I will have some time to myself to get my powerpoint presentations in order as well.
Speaking of travel plans the cruise partner (who has highspeed and the patience to do some research) sent this message:
Hi,
Google Earthed the airport and the Cruise Port. close as you can get I think. 9.7 miles. They had a place to click on for public transit--should have put "forget it" only showed later in the afternoon and had transfers and 5 minute walks and suggested it would take over an hour and a half!. I was able to print the map and directions.
So glad she’s as independent and focused as last fall’s travelmate, makes it much easier for me to be totally immersed in hateful work and just get ready at the last minute. And it sure sounds like the airport/cruise pier are within striking distance by taxi.
And speaking of presentations reminds me of a bright spot in my work day (not difficult as there were a limited amount of positive events). I had a message from the IT person who is working on developing our new webpage – there’s a section for ‘Meet the OHNs’ and she sent a link for us to check out what she’d done so far. Since I’m the only one NOT on vacation I dutifully looked around and found in the section with our contact info where our photos will go one of Sandra Bullock for the district site OHN and mine was…..wait for it…..Jennifer Aniston. Made my day. I didn’t know the male pic (a hazard of being movie challenged) but he was very attractive.
The most exciting thing which happened to the shore captain this week was that he discovered cell phones don’t like to be dropped into salt fish pickle (the brine which forms when salt fish is being processed) as the chemical reaction fried (yet another) cell. This is how many? I’ve lost count. He should be put on a ‘not allowed to have a cell phone’ list I think. So he repossessed a cell from an employee (who apparently refused to turn it on) and since this is a new number he is very pleased with the reduced number of calls.
Well, time to do a last minute walk through for the cleaning lady arrival in the a.m. and drag these old bones to bed. Yeehaw it IS Friday tomorrow, there were times this week I wasn’t sure it would arrive.
The aforementioned predicted bad weather is creating a hitch in our social plans for this weekend as we’d intended to go to camp. This is the week of full tides so the shore captain had penciled himself off for the weekend on the calendar at the plant (he’s wanted to do that all summer as his employees took time off) but really – how much fun is it travel through the woods in a hurricane? So, instead he’ll unload fish Friday evening and has acquiesced to a dinner date with me on Saturday. I will have some time to myself to get my powerpoint presentations in order as well.
Speaking of travel plans the cruise partner (who has highspeed and the patience to do some research) sent this message:
Hi,
Google Earthed the airport and the Cruise Port. close as you can get I think. 9.7 miles. They had a place to click on for public transit--should have put "forget it" only showed later in the afternoon and had transfers and 5 minute walks and suggested it would take over an hour and a half!. I was able to print the map and directions.
So glad she’s as independent and focused as last fall’s travelmate, makes it much easier for me to be totally immersed in hateful work and just get ready at the last minute. And it sure sounds like the airport/cruise pier are within striking distance by taxi.
And speaking of presentations reminds me of a bright spot in my work day (not difficult as there were a limited amount of positive events). I had a message from the IT person who is working on developing our new webpage – there’s a section for ‘Meet the OHNs’ and she sent a link for us to check out what she’d done so far. Since I’m the only one NOT on vacation I dutifully looked around and found in the section with our contact info where our photos will go one of Sandra Bullock for the district site OHN and mine was…..wait for it…..Jennifer Aniston. Made my day. I didn’t know the male pic (a hazard of being movie challenged) but he was very attractive.
The most exciting thing which happened to the shore captain this week was that he discovered cell phones don’t like to be dropped into salt fish pickle (the brine which forms when salt fish is being processed) as the chemical reaction fried (yet another) cell. This is how many? I’ve lost count. He should be put on a ‘not allowed to have a cell phone’ list I think. So he repossessed a cell from an employee (who apparently refused to turn it on) and since this is a new number he is very pleased with the reduced number of calls.
Well, time to do a last minute walk through for the cleaning lady arrival in the a.m. and drag these old bones to bed. Yeehaw it IS Friday tomorrow, there were times this week I wasn’t sure it would arrive.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Engaging news
Well, an eventful weekend but in a positive way. And having a second weekend in a row with beautiful summer weather was a real gift. Today was one of our warmest yet with temperatures in the 30s, positively tropical. Had to wait until 8 p.m. to take the dog for her walk, but that is a statement not a complaint with all the yucky weather we’ve suffered.
Saturday morning brought a call from daughter # 2 announcing that she had accepted an engagement ring and congratulations were in order. I told her that our future son-in-law who was at first painfully shy when he started coming to our house in grade 10 but over the past 7.5 years has become a part of the family used the wait and see strategy versus having to ask her father for her hand in marriage. Needless to say she was ‘pumped’. Will await further details and follow instructions as any good mother of the bride should.
I made a brief appearance at a neighbourhood wine and cheese party on Saturday night, bringing back goodies for the shore captain who was chasing boats. And today we had one of our summer neighbours over for supper and introduced her to the delicacy of smoked haddock. Tried out the maple syrup on apple pie suggestion on the side of her generous gift. Interesting.
And of course managed to sleep in and read my library book and think about doing other things but not do them. Ah, summer weekends.
But on a less selfish level….Not sure if you’ve ever heard of the micro lending organization called KIVA but here is the link:
http://www.kiva.org/
A letter to the editor in the paper called my attention to it with a story about having lent $25, having it repaid many times over and assisting + + people so I plan to check it out further.
And as well in the newspaper, but on a very different topic is this link:
http://hellofromearth.net/
A site where you can send a text message of 160 characters which will be broadcast by NASA into the universe. Extraterrestrials apparently will be looking for independent thinking humans so try to think of something edgy to say.
While browsing the cruise speaking offerings for the upcoming year I found a great gig which was roundtrip out of Buenos Aires (great for visiting in Mar del Plata) and included Falkland Islands and over to Antarctica the first two weeks of February but the shore captain didn't bite. I explained this was just to show him what was available but he wandered off in case I got that gleam in my eye and started looking for flights....one of these years.
Well, I must head off to bed as I am covering for everyone in my both of my work groups tomorrow and that’s really something to look forward to.
Saturday morning brought a call from daughter # 2 announcing that she had accepted an engagement ring and congratulations were in order. I told her that our future son-in-law who was at first painfully shy when he started coming to our house in grade 10 but over the past 7.5 years has become a part of the family used the wait and see strategy versus having to ask her father for her hand in marriage. Needless to say she was ‘pumped’. Will await further details and follow instructions as any good mother of the bride should.
I made a brief appearance at a neighbourhood wine and cheese party on Saturday night, bringing back goodies for the shore captain who was chasing boats. And today we had one of our summer neighbours over for supper and introduced her to the delicacy of smoked haddock. Tried out the maple syrup on apple pie suggestion on the side of her generous gift. Interesting.
And of course managed to sleep in and read my library book and think about doing other things but not do them. Ah, summer weekends.
But on a less selfish level….Not sure if you’ve ever heard of the micro lending organization called KIVA but here is the link:
http://www.kiva.org/
A letter to the editor in the paper called my attention to it with a story about having lent $25, having it repaid many times over and assisting + + people so I plan to check it out further.
And as well in the newspaper, but on a very different topic is this link:
http://hellofromearth.net/
A site where you can send a text message of 160 characters which will be broadcast by NASA into the universe. Extraterrestrials apparently will be looking for independent thinking humans so try to think of something edgy to say.
While browsing the cruise speaking offerings for the upcoming year I found a great gig which was roundtrip out of Buenos Aires (great for visiting in Mar del Plata) and included Falkland Islands and over to Antarctica the first two weeks of February but the shore captain didn't bite. I explained this was just to show him what was available but he wandered off in case I got that gleam in my eye and started looking for flights....one of these years.
Well, I must head off to bed as I am covering for everyone in my both of my work groups tomorrow and that’s really something to look forward to.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
I'm a celebrity....speaker that is
Have been getting myself together with the documentation for the cruise speaking gig in October. Yes, you read that correctly, the confirmation arrived for October 3 – 16 on Celebrity Constellation round trip from Cape Liberty, Bayonne, New Jersey with ports of call at Portland, Bar Harbour, Halifax, Quebec City and Charlottetown. As I mentioned the travel mate scooped a good seat sale – a direct flight, leaving at a reasonable time on Saturday morning which gets us to the ship as required at least two hours before sailaway – as neither Aeroplan or Air Miles worked out for the dates/times. So we’re pretty much set. We’ll have to look at accommodation at some point but it’s early days yet. Memo to self - first I have to tweak my presentations and make one on PEI.
I was a bit discouraged when reviewing her email as I wrote down retired in her occupation block and then she tells me that she’s going rug hooking today and back and forth to the sailboat and then literary workshops on the weekend. My roadblocks to getting signatures are that I have to travel for pandemic planning for work. Sigh. I attempted several ways at work to get my DVD from the cable company copied to submit to ‘my agent’ but have now left my self promotion DVD burning at friends to be copied and picked up tomorrow.
I’m sure we’ll be far from picky eaters at the buffet, specialty restaurants or sushi bar but I was listening to a piece on the radio during my afternoon commute which referred to SED which apparently is the acronym for…..selective eating disorder – you know, picky eaters. Apparently our brain makes us think we don’t like something and then we convince ourselves. The part where your kid says “I don’t like it, no I’ve never tried it but I don’t like it” now has a scientific reason behind it. No fear of that on a cruise ship and especially with 50% discount on specialty restaurant drinks etc. And for me it’ll be nice to try out another cruise line as the last three have been Princess line.
Well as the countdown to the arrival of daughter # 1 gets into the ‘only about a month now’ mode the reason for her visit – the wedding of her friend – is approaching as well. So when a co-worker sent along this link I just had to share it. Make sure your speakers are on as it has to be viewed with the sound for full effect:
http://www.wimp.com/weddingentrance/
The shore captain was bragging that he gets to sleep in tomorrow morning until 4:30 a.m. so that is going to be a real treat after his schedule this week. They’ve been having a scramble to find crew to go fishing as two quit on one longliner and one on another as they “weren’t making any money” yet when 58 hrs of work gets divided into the $1300 they earned it equals $22 per hour – not bad for folks with a grade 8 education and lots of educated people working at land jobs would like that kind of pay. The biggest problem is they want to go camping and draw unemployment – no wonder we get such a bad rep in the east with this kind of behavior. The prodigal son is left with one fellow who will go but only for two day trips as the eczema on his hands is so bad. So, the temporary solution is that the boy captain (who has never been afraid of work) will go with the larger boat this one trip. He asked me “why do I have to be the captain out of the wheelhouse and on deck?” and I told him “because you’re likely the only one that will physically survive that exchange and it’s only for the one trip”. Apparently the lad is having quite a week for himself as last night at supper he told me, while slapping his knee, that the highlight of his day had been seeing his father wearing oil pants and a hair net. When I questioned a beard net as the man has more beard than hair he gasped “oh don’t, don’t I’m going to lose my breath”. So I guess a photo on the cell phone was out of the question. Well, my HR recruitment efforts on Facebook haven’t been successful for the fishing industry so I should call it a night.
I was a bit discouraged when reviewing her email as I wrote down retired in her occupation block and then she tells me that she’s going rug hooking today and back and forth to the sailboat and then literary workshops on the weekend. My roadblocks to getting signatures are that I have to travel for pandemic planning for work. Sigh. I attempted several ways at work to get my DVD from the cable company copied to submit to ‘my agent’ but have now left my self promotion DVD burning at friends to be copied and picked up tomorrow.
I’m sure we’ll be far from picky eaters at the buffet, specialty restaurants or sushi bar but I was listening to a piece on the radio during my afternoon commute which referred to SED which apparently is the acronym for…..selective eating disorder – you know, picky eaters. Apparently our brain makes us think we don’t like something and then we convince ourselves. The part where your kid says “I don’t like it, no I’ve never tried it but I don’t like it” now has a scientific reason behind it. No fear of that on a cruise ship and especially with 50% discount on specialty restaurant drinks etc. And for me it’ll be nice to try out another cruise line as the last three have been Princess line.
Well as the countdown to the arrival of daughter # 1 gets into the ‘only about a month now’ mode the reason for her visit – the wedding of her friend – is approaching as well. So when a co-worker sent along this link I just had to share it. Make sure your speakers are on as it has to be viewed with the sound for full effect:
http://www.wimp.com/weddingentrance/
The shore captain was bragging that he gets to sleep in tomorrow morning until 4:30 a.m. so that is going to be a real treat after his schedule this week. They’ve been having a scramble to find crew to go fishing as two quit on one longliner and one on another as they “weren’t making any money” yet when 58 hrs of work gets divided into the $1300 they earned it equals $22 per hour – not bad for folks with a grade 8 education and lots of educated people working at land jobs would like that kind of pay. The biggest problem is they want to go camping and draw unemployment – no wonder we get such a bad rep in the east with this kind of behavior. The prodigal son is left with one fellow who will go but only for two day trips as the eczema on his hands is so bad. So, the temporary solution is that the boy captain (who has never been afraid of work) will go with the larger boat this one trip. He asked me “why do I have to be the captain out of the wheelhouse and on deck?” and I told him “because you’re likely the only one that will physically survive that exchange and it’s only for the one trip”. Apparently the lad is having quite a week for himself as last night at supper he told me, while slapping his knee, that the highlight of his day had been seeing his father wearing oil pants and a hair net. When I questioned a beard net as the man has more beard than hair he gasped “oh don’t, don’t I’m going to lose my breath”. So I guess a photo on the cell phone was out of the question. Well, my HR recruitment efforts on Facebook haven’t been successful for the fishing industry so I should call it a night.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Looking at Monday again
The end of a lovely sunny weekend and although it wasn’t a three day one it was glorious. Began on Friday after work with a massage, finding the latest copy of Creating Keepsakes in my mailbox, that the cleaning lady had done an admirable job of catching up on her 3 wk absence and having supper provided by the Laundromat guest with a great chicken dish and cake for dessert. The sun has been shining BOTH days with enough of a breeze so there are no bugs, the car hasn’t moved out of the yard except to go pick up the coffee table and antique hooked mats I found at an estate sale while walking the dog, I’ve had visits with a few of the neighbours while having this place mostly to myself from my housemates so have gotten half way through the latest (disturbing but excellent) book Wally Lamb has written. And here I sit updating you and drinking Lady Hannah tea. Now what is not to like in that eh? Well, I guess that fact that all good things must come to an end for those who aren’t retired.
Have secured a decent seat sale for round trip tickets to New York, courtesy of the travel partner with high-speed internet, and no that doesn’t narrow down the individual as it could be just about anyone else in the world BUT me. The original travel partner has taken a rain check for this fall as she’ll be getting ready to welcome her first grandchild but once she gets that out of her system, she’ll be back on the list again. So now…the planning for Celebrity Constellation sailaway on October 3rd begins in earnest now. Not too much work in the presentation department, hopefully just a bit of tweaking of previously created PowerPoints and perhaps one new presentation on PEI. I put my creative talents to work to devise a netbook travel pouch when I dropped by the post office to pick up a plastic padded mailer envelope, used stick on Velcro for the flaps and voila, I can pop the travel computer in my purse without worrying. If I was REALLY creative I would decorate the pouch a bit, but perhaps I’ll wait for the arrival of the really creative daughter in 40 something days for that. And of course some trips to Frenchy’s while she’s here for some cruise wear for the fall for me and some new duds for her.
I have also agreed to do a Mid Week Break talk at the library on Norway for September 16th so will have to put the slides together for that. How could I refuse as they were the gig which gave me my start in show biz eh? The clerk has asked for my publicity blurb – they do know how to play to my ego eh? And of course, each presentation is one to add to my world cruise list. At this rate I’ll only be 85 when I manage to get that act together.
But of course all this vacation planning is much more fun than the daily grind of H1N1 activities that has become my, and many others, work situation. So a pleasant diversion may be just the thing to keep me going and of course rain when it's time to go back to work helps too, not that we need any more of that this summer.
Have secured a decent seat sale for round trip tickets to New York, courtesy of the travel partner with high-speed internet, and no that doesn’t narrow down the individual as it could be just about anyone else in the world BUT me. The original travel partner has taken a rain check for this fall as she’ll be getting ready to welcome her first grandchild but once she gets that out of her system, she’ll be back on the list again. So now…the planning for Celebrity Constellation sailaway on October 3rd begins in earnest now. Not too much work in the presentation department, hopefully just a bit of tweaking of previously created PowerPoints and perhaps one new presentation on PEI. I put my creative talents to work to devise a netbook travel pouch when I dropped by the post office to pick up a plastic padded mailer envelope, used stick on Velcro for the flaps and voila, I can pop the travel computer in my purse without worrying. If I was REALLY creative I would decorate the pouch a bit, but perhaps I’ll wait for the arrival of the really creative daughter in 40 something days for that. And of course some trips to Frenchy’s while she’s here for some cruise wear for the fall for me and some new duds for her.
I have also agreed to do a Mid Week Break talk at the library on Norway for September 16th so will have to put the slides together for that. How could I refuse as they were the gig which gave me my start in show biz eh? The clerk has asked for my publicity blurb – they do know how to play to my ego eh? And of course, each presentation is one to add to my world cruise list. At this rate I’ll only be 85 when I manage to get that act together.
But of course all this vacation planning is much more fun than the daily grind of H1N1 activities that has become my, and many others, work situation. So a pleasant diversion may be just the thing to keep me going and of course rain when it's time to go back to work helps too, not that we need any more of that this summer.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Dreaming, dreaming
Today was my first day back at work in my own home base and it was one where I felt like I was ‘chasing my tail’ all day. So you can imagine there was not much sense of accomplishment to go with that! The general consensus among my peer group is that the important issues are perhaps being overlooked and the inconsequential have been elevated to top priority. Speaking of priorities, I’ve decided that I am taking a lunch break unless the facility is on fire because this insanity is not going away anytime soon.
I was most pleased to see a request from the librarian to do a presentation on Norway in the fall at the Mid Week Break and so I chose September 16th thinking that later will get more frantic. It will be a good chance to put together a talk for an encore of my debut cruise speaking as we’ve decided a return trip would be great. Not going to be this year for MANY reasons (lack of $, time and short notice being paramount but not the least that eight presentations are required and I could at this point muster one) but this one sure got me drooling and the icing was that it was even ½ off my agent’s fee. Ah to dream.
ITINERARY
1New York City (Manhattan or Brooklyn), New York
2At Sea
3Halifax, Nova Scotia
4At Sea
5St Anthony, Newfoundland
6At Sea
7Qaqortoq, Greenland
8Nanortalik, Greenland
9At Sea
10At Sea
11Grundarfjordur, Iceland
12Isafjordur, Iceland
13Akureyri, Iceland
14At Sea
15Shetland Islands (Lerwick), Scotland
16Bergen, Norway
17Kristiansand, Norway
18At Sea
19London (Dover), England
Doing the calculations for the 60+ presentations required for a world cruise. So lets see… 60 - 15 = ? Oh never mind, a ways to go yet!
Speaking of cruise speaking I’m in the contemplative mode about a Canada/New England run out of New York for 13 days. Here’s the itinerary and those of you with highspeed internet which would be EVERYONE ELS E BUT ME can just Google the Celebrity Constellation to see the ship – it’s Millenium class and about the same size (though newer and spiffier) than the Sea Princess which I sailed on twice last year.
13 Night Canada & New England Cruise on board Celebrity Constellation
Destination:
Canada/New England on 03-Oct-2009
Cruise Ports:
Cape Liberty, Bayonne, N.J., Boston, Massachusetts, Portland, Maine, Bar Harbor, Maine, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Quebec City, Quebec, Charlottetown, P.E.I., Cape Liberty, Bayonne, N.J.
Mostly I’m considering because the agent specifically targeted me as a local speaker and that’s good for my ego. There are some pluses – it’s with Celebrity so is the next tier up (read more expensive) in cruise lines which I can do now after doing entry level Princess gigs, I’ve already got the presentations done as it is a close itinerary to last fall, it would certainly be about the ship not the ports so very low stress and the shore captain isn’t interested as he’s into the hunting and gathering activities that time of year, it is a bit earlier than last time so would likely / hopefully be a bit warmer, I have the week before already booked off to visit with daughter # 1 so can get ready, it’s round trip airfare not two one ways so easier and cheaper. On the negative side there is still a cost, air miles to use etc., it’s a more domestic itinerary, I’ll have to leave two days before the daughter heads back to western land although she’s given me permission and it will mean three weeks off work in a row and things are getting a bit wild, however coming back is always frantic no matter the absence. But tempting, tempting and if it all comes together by the end of the week, it’s meant to be; if not well….there’s always another chance.
Off to rest my head as I’ve been staying up late enough so my mind doesn’t race when I lie down but….this is not conducive to getting up in the a.m. and heading in to set my mind racing again.
I was most pleased to see a request from the librarian to do a presentation on Norway in the fall at the Mid Week Break and so I chose September 16th thinking that later will get more frantic. It will be a good chance to put together a talk for an encore of my debut cruise speaking as we’ve decided a return trip would be great. Not going to be this year for MANY reasons (lack of $, time and short notice being paramount but not the least that eight presentations are required and I could at this point muster one) but this one sure got me drooling and the icing was that it was even ½ off my agent’s fee. Ah to dream.
ITINERARY
1New York City (Manhattan or Brooklyn), New York
2At Sea
3Halifax, Nova Scotia
4At Sea
5St Anthony, Newfoundland
6At Sea
7Qaqortoq, Greenland
8Nanortalik, Greenland
9At Sea
10At Sea
11Grundarfjordur, Iceland
12Isafjordur, Iceland
13Akureyri, Iceland
14At Sea
15Shetland Islands (Lerwick), Scotland
16Bergen, Norway
17Kristiansand, Norway
18At Sea
19London (Dover), England
Doing the calculations for the 60+ presentations required for a world cruise. So lets see… 60 - 15 = ? Oh never mind, a ways to go yet!
Speaking of cruise speaking I’m in the contemplative mode about a Canada/New England run out of New York for 13 days. Here’s the itinerary and those of you with highspeed internet which would be EVERYONE ELS E BUT ME can just Google the Celebrity Constellation to see the ship – it’s Millenium class and about the same size (though newer and spiffier) than the Sea Princess which I sailed on twice last year.
13 Night Canada & New England Cruise on board Celebrity Constellation
Destination:
Canada/New England on 03-Oct-2009
Cruise Ports:
Cape Liberty, Bayonne, N.J., Boston, Massachusetts, Portland, Maine, Bar Harbor, Maine, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Quebec City, Quebec, Charlottetown, P.E.I., Cape Liberty, Bayonne, N.J.
Mostly I’m considering because the agent specifically targeted me as a local speaker and that’s good for my ego. There are some pluses – it’s with Celebrity so is the next tier up (read more expensive) in cruise lines which I can do now after doing entry level Princess gigs, I’ve already got the presentations done as it is a close itinerary to last fall, it would certainly be about the ship not the ports so very low stress and the shore captain isn’t interested as he’s into the hunting and gathering activities that time of year, it is a bit earlier than last time so would likely / hopefully be a bit warmer, I have the week before already booked off to visit with daughter # 1 so can get ready, it’s round trip airfare not two one ways so easier and cheaper. On the negative side there is still a cost, air miles to use etc., it’s a more domestic itinerary, I’ll have to leave two days before the daughter heads back to western land although she’s given me permission and it will mean three weeks off work in a row and things are getting a bit wild, however coming back is always frantic no matter the absence. But tempting, tempting and if it all comes together by the end of the week, it’s meant to be; if not well….there’s always another chance.
Off to rest my head as I’ve been staying up late enough so my mind doesn’t race when I lie down but….this is not conducive to getting up in the a.m. and heading in to set my mind racing again.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Now THAT was a long weekend
If only I could work a four day week and get paid for five, now that would suit me perfectly. Well, actually not working at all would be closer to perfection, but you have to start somewhere. And having two, four day workweeks are nice. After the long weekend, it’s already Tuesday tomorrow – yeehaw!
On Saturday I was up and off to the farmers market in town where I located fresh strawberries and raspberries, thus the following recipe which I modified from one on allrecipes.com submitted by Jackie Cooper:
Raspberry and Strawberry Buckle
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup nonfat yogurt
1 pint fresh strawberries
1 pint fresh raspberries
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease one 11x7 inch glass baking dish.
Cream 1/2 cup of the butter or margarine with 1/2 cup of the white sugar until light, beat in the egg. Add the baking powder and the salt. Stir in the 2 cups of flour one cup at a time alternating with the yogurt. Spread batter into the prepared pan. Arrange fruit over top of batter. Sprinkle topping over fruit.
To Make Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup white sugar, 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup butter or margarine, and the cinnamon until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the cake is top is puffed and nicely browned. Allow cake to cool. You can serve it directly from the baking dish or for a more attractive presentation, I cut it up into squares and arrange them on a platter
On Sunday when I made it, the shore captain suggested that sliced strawberries on the top would be a nice addition since I had a quart not a pint of those and whipped cream wouldn’t be too bad either. So, the concoction got the ‘make it again’ nod from the family and friends who sampled it.
While running errands on Saturday, I stumbled across a yard sale where I picked up a great pair of New Balance sneakers for $2, a mug from St Lucia for a$1 (so glad I didn’t pay $10 this spring for the same one) and a cribbage board which apparently would only suit those with ADD as it had about ¼ the amount of holes required for a regular game – guess that’s why it was in the yard sale – well, two out of three ain’t bad. And by the time I’d made my way home and through the laundry, summer had arrived. It was so warm we were able to sit out in the sun in front of the house on the water side, imagine.
On Sunday, I stayed up to finish my library book and it is a highly recommended (if lengthy) read – The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski. A real page turner. I’m starting Wally Lamb’s latest one – The Hour I First Believed - which is an even lengthier 750 page plus, but if he keeps up to his usual standard will be worth pushing it to get it back without late fees.
Today I had good visits but for bad reasons. First my cruise mate of last fall was welcomed to use the laundry facilities before she heads into two night shifts as her washer is ill and awaiting a transplant. Since we’ve both been held hostage previously by this plumber/appliance repairman, neither of us is holding our breath. It was nice to have a cup of a tea and a chat as we’re usually just passing each other in a doorway somewhere. Getting up to speed on the wedding plans from the mother of the groom is a nice diversion. And a nice yard chat with one of my summer neighbours who has become a temporary halfway house for canines as she dog sits her fur nephews (two Airedales) in addition to her own Standard Poodle due to their owners heading stateside for an unexpected jaunt. We discussed retirement – mine as she is already in that category. To my whining about the healthcare system she mentioned that infection control /occupational health must be an interesting job especially with the H1N1 situation etc. and I thought later to myself ‘so is a tattoo to look at but I don’t plan on getting one as it’s painful and relatively permanent’. The target is still freedom 55, even if it’s not retirement but a step down to something else as the answer to “are we still having fun?” is pretty obvious these days.
Last night was another thunder/lightening and monsoon night which resolved itself to thick fog during the day so…..since I wasn’t going to miss anything by sitting indoors I headed to the Archelaus Smith Museum to do some genealogy research. I make myself a solemn promise that I’m going to get over several times during the summer but it usual results in a single annual visit. I’ve graduated to taking the laptop with Family Treemaker loaded with me and entering the data directly, much more efficient and greater chance of accuracy than transcribing scribbled notes as the program tells me ‘please check as that date would make his mother over 50, or this means she was born after her mother died’ in response to my math dyslexia of reversing numbers. The volunteer told me that she’ll be there until first of October so there is hope of a return visit. Very therapeutic to be sitting in the quiet, funky old museum concentrating on the ancestors. And in addition I spotted a garage sale on my way and scored a set of electric beaters and four plastic tumblers for the soon to be apartment dwelling baby daughter as well as a pan for baking the aforementioned buckle.
Had couple of emails from folks who are loyal blog readers which is always great because although they’re keeping up all the fun there is to have here, I’m in the dark as to their whereabouts.
Nice quiet house as the men folks have been keeping early hours with trawl baiting for the heir apparent to the fishing throne and HRH of the plant himself chasing boats leaving at 5 a.m. So, a trip to the district facility tomorrow for myself and then hump day.
On Saturday I was up and off to the farmers market in town where I located fresh strawberries and raspberries, thus the following recipe which I modified from one on allrecipes.com submitted by Jackie Cooper:
Raspberry and Strawberry Buckle
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup nonfat yogurt
1 pint fresh strawberries
1 pint fresh raspberries
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease one 11x7 inch glass baking dish.
Cream 1/2 cup of the butter or margarine with 1/2 cup of the white sugar until light, beat in the egg. Add the baking powder and the salt. Stir in the 2 cups of flour one cup at a time alternating with the yogurt. Spread batter into the prepared pan. Arrange fruit over top of batter. Sprinkle topping over fruit.
To Make Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup white sugar, 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup butter or margarine, and the cinnamon until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the cake is top is puffed and nicely browned. Allow cake to cool. You can serve it directly from the baking dish or for a more attractive presentation, I cut it up into squares and arrange them on a platter
On Sunday when I made it, the shore captain suggested that sliced strawberries on the top would be a nice addition since I had a quart not a pint of those and whipped cream wouldn’t be too bad either. So, the concoction got the ‘make it again’ nod from the family and friends who sampled it.
While running errands on Saturday, I stumbled across a yard sale where I picked up a great pair of New Balance sneakers for $2, a mug from St Lucia for a$1 (so glad I didn’t pay $10 this spring for the same one) and a cribbage board which apparently would only suit those with ADD as it had about ¼ the amount of holes required for a regular game – guess that’s why it was in the yard sale – well, two out of three ain’t bad. And by the time I’d made my way home and through the laundry, summer had arrived. It was so warm we were able to sit out in the sun in front of the house on the water side, imagine.
On Sunday, I stayed up to finish my library book and it is a highly recommended (if lengthy) read – The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski. A real page turner. I’m starting Wally Lamb’s latest one – The Hour I First Believed - which is an even lengthier 750 page plus, but if he keeps up to his usual standard will be worth pushing it to get it back without late fees.
Today I had good visits but for bad reasons. First my cruise mate of last fall was welcomed to use the laundry facilities before she heads into two night shifts as her washer is ill and awaiting a transplant. Since we’ve both been held hostage previously by this plumber/appliance repairman, neither of us is holding our breath. It was nice to have a cup of a tea and a chat as we’re usually just passing each other in a doorway somewhere. Getting up to speed on the wedding plans from the mother of the groom is a nice diversion. And a nice yard chat with one of my summer neighbours who has become a temporary halfway house for canines as she dog sits her fur nephews (two Airedales) in addition to her own Standard Poodle due to their owners heading stateside for an unexpected jaunt. We discussed retirement – mine as she is already in that category. To my whining about the healthcare system she mentioned that infection control /occupational health must be an interesting job especially with the H1N1 situation etc. and I thought later to myself ‘so is a tattoo to look at but I don’t plan on getting one as it’s painful and relatively permanent’. The target is still freedom 55, even if it’s not retirement but a step down to something else as the answer to “are we still having fun?” is pretty obvious these days.
Last night was another thunder/lightening and monsoon night which resolved itself to thick fog during the day so…..since I wasn’t going to miss anything by sitting indoors I headed to the Archelaus Smith Museum to do some genealogy research. I make myself a solemn promise that I’m going to get over several times during the summer but it usual results in a single annual visit. I’ve graduated to taking the laptop with Family Treemaker loaded with me and entering the data directly, much more efficient and greater chance of accuracy than transcribing scribbled notes as the program tells me ‘please check as that date would make his mother over 50, or this means she was born after her mother died’ in response to my math dyslexia of reversing numbers. The volunteer told me that she’ll be there until first of October so there is hope of a return visit. Very therapeutic to be sitting in the quiet, funky old museum concentrating on the ancestors. And in addition I spotted a garage sale on my way and scored a set of electric beaters and four plastic tumblers for the soon to be apartment dwelling baby daughter as well as a pan for baking the aforementioned buckle.
Had couple of emails from folks who are loyal blog readers which is always great because although they’re keeping up all the fun there is to have here, I’m in the dark as to their whereabouts.
Nice quiet house as the men folks have been keeping early hours with trawl baiting for the heir apparent to the fishing throne and HRH of the plant himself chasing boats leaving at 5 a.m. So, a trip to the district facility tomorrow for myself and then hump day.
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