Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Photos from Ontario Trip - finally!

Hello Everyone,
So, I'll just post a handful without commentary. There will be more on my Facebook but if you have questions, just let me know!

Monday, October 05, 2009

A possibility

Hello Everyone,

So, we have viewed 4 houses so far.
1 - amazing perennial garden in back. House too small and poorly laid out
2 - great house, lots of people interested. I think landlord was looking for a family rather than a group of adults
3 - great for gardening. House small but do-able. Neighbourhood not so great - I'd be wanting a waist-high dog if we moved there
4 - great house, everything on our list. We meet with them again tonight to exchange more information.

So, hopefully everything goes well. It's empty so we could get it Oct 15 and do a slow move-in. Also would mean no u-haul rental. Cross your fingers for us please!

Otherwise, a longish weekend. It snowed off and on and was rather grey. Jerry's coming down with something so he was feeling under the weather. Did garden stuff. Lost the tomato plants (even though they were covered) but I picked the tomatoes so hopefully they'll still ripen. Pulled out the plants, transplanted some plants into pots for the move. Raked up leaves & apples. So, at this point, we just have the swiss chard in the garden. It can handle cooler temperatures so I hope it survives until the weekend. That way we can harvest it for thanksgiving with Jerry's family. We also need to pot the rhubarb and raspberries but I'll need Jerry's help for that. And after that, we just have one raised bed to remove and the garden is done for good. Overall, I was pleased with the results.

Continuing packing. Have all my boxes filled again (grabbed a few from work) so I'm at a standstill. At this point, I'm about 3/4 done. So if we get the place, I'll have my stuff moved first and unpacked so the guys can use my boxes. Depending on how everything goes, I may rent a car for the weekend of the 24th-25th to finish my move since that'll involve my house plants and the furry family.

Good news - Mike's showers seem to be helping. Jerry didn't react last visit and Mike even came up to him on the futon for petting. Mike's also enjoying this moving/packing. He's usually banned from the bedroom but with all the showings at my place, it didn't make sense to keep everything closed up. As well, the people upstairs have been blasting the heat so by keeping the door open, I don't need to run the more expensive electric heater in my bedroom.

A bit worried about Whiskers. Really noticing the grey show up in her fur. She's been fully shut in her cage (rather than her outer pen) for showings and she seems to be spending more time in there even with the door opened. Have been doing extra cuddle times with her in the evening. She's still eating though so I'm chalking it up to old age. She's nine which is extremely old for a bunny - especially a dwarf variety. Gilbert seems to be doing fine. He still has the growth on his foot but after a year, it still doesn't seem to be bothering him too much and he's a squeaky and cute as ever.

Have a great day!

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

House Hunting

Hello Everyone,

Ah, the search for a new place. We have a couple leads so far and I'm waiting for a call back to set up an appointment to see a house.

Our criteria:

- a house (rather than a suite, duplex etc. - I'm fine with a duplex but Jerry would prefer a house)
- under $1400/month (with the other 2 being more comfortable with under $1200/month but it would mean compromises in size, amenities)
- allows pets (non-negotiable, the furry family comes with me)
- garden
- garage (negotiable but would be nice)
- 2-4 bedrooms (depending on square footage. They'll be 3 of us in the house)
- basement for storage
- bikeable to downtown (and not too far away since winter can be tiring)
- nice, safe neighbourhood, with character
- reasonably close to grocery store or store on the way home from work
- available November 1 (can't afford rent at 2 places for October)

So, we've got our work cut out for us. Doing the search online as well as word of mouth from friends. There are a few in a neighbourhood that I like who are writing down phone numbers for us.

There has been one showing at my place already and another one set up for tomorrow. Have most of my boxes filled and I'm collecting more at work. I think that was what caused so much headaches last move. That and too small of a vehicle with Jerry's parents coming into town the same day I was moving. I have the truck booked - had to make 2 bookings since it was over a weekend at the end of the month. It's one of the huge 26' ones but it'll mean both households can be loaded and awkward items like cargo bikes can also be loaded with plenty of room.

But I'm feeling calm and I like the non-rush of packing.

Friday, September 25, 2009

harvest

Hello Everyone,

So, weather's been funky warm this week. We beat the year high temperature. The backyard was covered in apples and leaves so I spent last night (before Grey's Anatomy - yes Amy, I'm a fan too) doing yard work. Had the urge to dig out the potatoes. Filled a basin - I'll include photos later. Also dug up the onions & shallots that didn't do anything, removed wood from 3 beds and replanted my marigolds. Moved the dill to a pot.

We still have the raised bed, the tomato bed and the yellow beans and peas (both very tiny plants that refused to die). I'll harvest the carrots this weekend and maybe some beets. We did 2 plantings of beets so the extra room will be good for the new plants. I'm leaving the beans for Jerry to take care of. They're all of the variety that you dry so it won't harm them to stay on the plant.

The cucumber plant now has 2 - 1 is about an inch long and the other is about 2 inches. Silly cucumbers. The temperature is going to drop this weekend so I'll need to remember to cover them at night. We may get cucumbers yet - after 4 tries.

I'm giving my notice today so I'm spending the weekend tidying the house for potential viewings in October. Plan to move at end of October since the 31st is a Saturday and the 1st is a Sunday. That way, none of us needs to take time off work and we'll have time to get the apartments cleaned. Nothing yet but since I've been looking, there seems to be a handful each month that suit our needs. The ideal would be a house with a garage but since $ is an issue, I suggested we may need to compromise and find a duplex.

And I still love my haircut. I fell asleep on the couch last night and all I needed to do was a quick brush and it fell back into place.

Have a great day!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

new hair cut

Hello Everyone,

So, with today being the first day of fall, I got my hair cut.




It works well with my bike helmet, I can tuck it behind my ears and it will be very easy to style in the morning. I'm happy!

Monday, September 21, 2009

crabapples

Hello Everyone,

So, there are 2 crabapple trees in my yard and they were loaded with fruit. Jerry & I spent 2 hours on Saturday picking apples and we ended up with approximately 60 lbs of fruit. So, Saturday night and all Sunday was making jellies, preserves and juice.

All I know is that it's less apples for me to pick up when raking leaves.

And a couple of Jerry's friends may be over for apples.

Have a great day!

Wednesday, September 09, 2009

Photos from camping

Castle Falls provincial campground. We were here on the last weekend of August for the Huckleberry Festival at Castle Mountain.

It wasn't a big waterfall but it was very pretty

Didn't catch anything. Jerry is (attempting) fly fishing and I have a spinner rod. Finally getting the hang of casting.












New Polly Photos




And here is Polly with the new bar tape.








Whisker's Enclosure

Hello Everyone!


So, here is her new set-up










Lots of room. She has 16 square feet.











She was acting like a rabbit today. When I fed her, she hopped into her cage and started eating hay. She's never done that before. And when I opened her treat container, she hopped over to say "Hello!"











Yes, she's more than capable of hopping over but she only did it once (on the first night) and hasn't done it since. Mike has not attempted to jump in either. I think she enjoys having her own territory

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

I passed my final exam!

Hello Everyone!

Happy dance!
Passed my final exam so I get my professional designation "Payroll Compliance Practitioner"
No more school that involves math in a while

Did up my study notes on the weekend. Basically retyped the review sections in my text books. I don't do well memorizing things and the only way I remember is to physically recopy info over and over again.
But it worked - 85% (needed 60% to pass)

So great mark and I'm very happy, relieved and tired.

Jerry got back from Toronto fine. We spent yesterday watching original Star Trek episodes and eating chocolate chip muffins. They had a viewer's choice top 10 countdown and then showed the Canadian premier of the original pilot. It was terrible!

My apartment can start going back to a regular dwelling rather than a student's place.

Whiskers has a new enclosure. I think Mike was bullying her too much. With the hardwood floor, she doesn't have as much grip to hop away and there were few hiding spots. So I bought some wire shelving (4' in length) and zip tied them together. She hopped over it once the first night. I put her back in and she hasn't come out since. And Mike hasn't tried to get in. I think both realize it is her territory. She seems a lot more relaxed. Lays down in the front corner so I can reach over and pet her. That way, I don't need to pick her up (which she dislikes). And she has toys in the pen. I've also been putting Gilbert in there for 5 minute intervals. I think it does them both some good.

Got Polly's new bar tape on. Will take pictures to show you. The colours tie everything in and she looks great.

Hope you have a fabulously wonderful day!

Thursday, September 03, 2009

Messenger killed in Toronto

Hello Everyone,

So, with Jerry being in Toronto this week, he's gotten all caught up with the issue. For those of you not reading the papers, there was an altercation between a bike messenger (courier) and a well-known business man/ex politician Monday night. The altercation escaladed and the bike messenger ended up dead after being dragged a couple blocks. Jerry's too close to the situation so I've been on the other end with logic and calm. Not an easy thing to do as both of us are passionate about cycling advocacy.

Whatever the final outcome is (let the court decide), in my opinion, fault lies with both parties. It should never have escaladed past the first incident. I still haven't read what that initial incident was but it likely involved vehicular contact between the two (and I'm not speculating to say who was at fault). In a perfect world, if it was two cars, drivers would have gotten out, exchanged information and depending on the situation, notified the police. Unfortunately, most bike couriers who were injured or had their bike damaged have not had a similar experience.

When Jerry got doored last year (driver opening door without looking and knocked him down), the guy tried to pull him off the road (was on conscious momentarily and yes, was wearing a helmet) and then tried to leave. Witnesses stopped him from leaving. Police refused to respond because the damage to Jerry's bike was less than $1000. He tried to file a police report but they refused. He can't sue the driver. Jerry was several months before back to full strength (bruised ribs), bike was in shop for few days, had day off work and had to take it easy for about a week while other injuries healed.

With messengers not receiving justice when accidents happen, I can understand why things did escalate. I often hear about the aftermath - motorist and courier get into shouting match. Driver tries to take off - courier breaks window, mirror, scrapes side of car etc. Or, shouting match, driver gets out of car (which is automatically assault) and things get physical.

It's extremely frustrating that the police don't respond to these situations. For some people, if their bike is damaged, they can't work. I'm lucky to have a back-up but I have few choices of getting around. My place isn't well positioned for transit and it's over an hour walk to work. As well, although I have medical insurance through work, it doesn't cover everything. Without a police report, you can't sue for additional compensation and the driver's insurance does not go up (so no penalty for them).

Vigilante justice doesn't work either.

When the situation reached the point where the driver took off, the cyclist should have backed away from the situation, got the license plate and called 911. It would have meant still being alive.

For whatever reason, the cyclist ended up on foot and was dragged for two block. According to one witnesss, there were sparks coming from his shoes (cycling cleats). How do you go that far unless someone is hanging on to you?

And now in the media, there's a big hype that stirs up emotions and doesn't solve anything. The courier's being dragged through the press as a scumbag and the ex-politician as a clean family man. Their backgrounds have no bearing on what happened - why are they reporting so much on it?

There's tension between cyclists and motorist all the time and it looks like this incident has brought things to a head. Better education on both sides and adequate infrastructure is needed. Cycling is a viable (and often faster) means of transportation in a downtown or high density area. It's also very safe when you look at the statistics. Average rush hour speed in NA is 17km/hr. My average riding speed is 25 and I can bring it up to 33 when it's safe. Sidewalk riding is extremely dangerous because of the speed differential between cyclists and pedestrians, blind alleys, sidewalk conditions etc. Road riding is much safer.

We need to find a way to share the road.

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

...and that's why I love him

Jerry sent me an e-mail back. He understood, told me he didn't want Mike to leave and had a couple more suggestions to try. So, I'm happy again since I get to keep both males.

And yes, Jerry likes cats - it's just the allergy thing.

I'm too soft

Hello Everyone,

So, I couldn't do it. The ad lasted 12 hours before I pulled it. And I e-mailed Jerry about the struggle I had. And I'll try a couple more things.

Since my futon needs replacing anyways, a (used) leather couch may be easier to clean. And I could retry the allergy lotion. It was me that had a skin reaction to it (didn't bother Mike). I had put it on with my hands so if I try using gloves it might work. And a weekly shower. I'll try it out this week. Mike hates water but maybe he'll get use to it.

As well, something needs to be done with Whiskers. She had several accidents on the futon this weekend and Mike is starting to get more bossy with her. It's been getting worse over the summer. I think she needs a fence to reduce her play area and give her her own space. I could still pick her up for cuddle time and play time. By doing this, I could get rid of the rugs. I have them because she has trouble hopping on hardwood floor.

And I'll look at HEPA dust busters to augment the cleaning regime.

I don't know about allergy shots for Jerry. Not sure if he did them as a kid. It seemed very complicated and I don't know about side effects. Do you think I should bring it up?

September

Hello Everyone,

Wow, has time ever flown this summer. So much I wanted to get done and so many other things got in the way (but in a good way).

Computer is still acting up so I don't have vacation photos yet. I'm not sure if it's a virus or something else - it's not recognizing drivers, won't do the MS updates etc. And since I was thinking about it anyways, I've ordered a new netbook to replace her. She'll arrive today. Also got a new printer since my current one is over 8 years old and can't print photos.

I have my final exam next Tuesday and I'm a bit nervous. Need to get 60% to pass and get my certification. I squeaked through last time. Jerry's in Toronto this week so I've got the evenings to study and most of the weekend. He comes back on Sunday. He's very good about studying. I spent the weekend at his place with my books and he was completely nice about me ignoring him and his burrito adventures/rhubarb canning. I tend to focus better when not distracted by the furry family.

Speaking (or writing - lol), I have some happy/sad news. Jerry and I have decided to move in together in November. Jerry's also very allergic to cats. I've tried various things but short of Jerry taking antihistimines when he walks in the door, nothing has helped. Oil supplements, allergy baths, hardwood floors. So, Jerry's cheeks turn pink and his breathing changes when he comes to visit. Mike's unhappy because he can't curl up with us for a cuddle. I'm unhappy because both of them are. I've decided to see if I can find Mike a new home. Jerry and I have discussed it a couple times and he's told me he doesn't want me to get rid of Mike because of him. However, I don't see any other options to ensure both have a good quality of life. Do you have any other suggestions of things I could try?

So, I'm a bit down today (made the decision last night) and haven't told Jerry yet. I'll wait until I find a great home or until another option comes up. Mike's a senior but being indoors - he could easily live another 10 or so years. He doesn't have problems allergy-wise with Whiskers so he knows I come into any household with some fur with me.

Hope your day is better than mine!

Thursday, August 20, 2009

High School Math

For those who wonder why we studied ratios in school...

I had to do it today for work. I knew how much money someone made on a weekly basis but the vp was totaled biweekly. I had to find the ratio numbers and figure out how much vp was earned each week.

eg
week 1 earned 1643
week 2 earned 2201
vp over 2 weeks 79.36

1643:3844 = x:79.36
x=33.92 (vp earned in week 1)
y=45.44 (vp earned in week 2)

...and I would like to thank Mr. Brown for trying his best to teach us math (and for playing guitar when we needed it)

This was a common question I had for him, "Why do we need to learn this? What will we use it for in the future?"

So, ratios is something I use quite often. And I used triganomitry (sin, co-sin, tangent) when doing manual calculations for marine navigation. And I've used algebra when building stuff. For anyone still in school, pay attention to your math teacher - it will help you in the long run.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Last post until after vacation

Hello Everyone,

Last day of work before vacation. I have 1 more payroll to process, a bit of filing and then I'm done!

Busy weekend. Got my bottom bracket changed before polo. Polo was fun but tiring. Since my brake is on the right side, I had to place left-handed (and I'm not omni-dexterious). Easy to oversteer and fall over. A bit sore - my hands, chest.

Saturday, we had Jerry's friend's car for the weekend so he picked up donuts after dropping them off at the airport. Ate donuts and lounged in the hammock during the morning. Went to the farmer's market in the afternoon.

Sunday I went in to work for a couple hours. Had date night in the evening. Went to Chuck-E Cheese and learned how to play skeetball followed by movie. G-Force was fun and the 3-D was odd. A bit dizzying at first.

So, a lovely weekend. Got everything ready to go. Just need to clean the apartment.

Have a great day!

Friday, July 24, 2009

Poor Polly

Hello Everyone!

Polly got her first flat tire last night. It was a slow leak so I didn't notice anything was wrong until I was a block away from home. Piece of glass. Removed the glass (damage small enough I don't need to replace it altogether), patched the tube (first time I've done it for real). When I did the repairs, I was in the comfort of my livingroom but it was also after midnight and I fell asleep on the futon.

Furry family angry at me since I fell asleep before feeding them and then I slept in so didn't have time for cuddles.

I was going to replace her bottom bracket last night but Jerry forgot the part at work. So, I'm going there once I'm done today, do a quick replacement and then head to polo. So, for non-bike people, the pedals are connected to the cranks which are connected to the bottom bracket. The bottom bracket is the part that goes through your frame so it looks like a cylinder with 2 square rods sticking out at the end (which is what the cranks attach to). It should be a quick job as the steps are still fresh in my mind. I had to remove the cranks Wednesday night to measure the size of the replacement.

Bike polo tonight! Girls only intro night. Should be fun. They play on an outdoor hockey rink, 3 players on a team and no goalie. You have a mallet and you can't put your foot down on the ground. If you do, you're out of the play and have to go back to the centre line. Fast, exciting and you develop some amazing bike handling skills. At one point in time, it was even an Olympic sport!

Saturday morning is lounging in the hammock, eating breakfast outside, working in the garden. I'll do major cleaning/organizing on Sunday.

Oh, and Jerry finally came to the realization of how big my family is last night. I've warned him several times (his is really small - maybe 20 people on both sides in total - mine is around 70) but it was really funny to watch his face when it finally clicked. So, he might be a bit overwhelmed - but he still wants to meet you.

Have a great day!

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

hump day

Hello Everyone,

What an unfocused week I've had so far. But things are still looking good workwise so when I go on holidays, it will be a proper holidays.

We have a few tomato flowers! Very exciting - I saw them for the first time this morning. One of Jerry's friends is looking after my place while we're gone and although there isn't a lot of produce, he'll be able to have fresh lettuce, spinach, swiss chard and herbs.

Some busy evenings ahead of me. Tonight I have Ranger patrol (ride on the City's pathways), tomorrow is plasma, Friday is polo (first time - they're putting on a girls intro night), Saturday is date night and Monday night is a salon appointment. I'm taking Jerry to see G-Force (in 3-D). lol - it should be amusing. And it's an action movie with lasers and explosions!

Have a great day!

Monday, July 20, 2009

Mondays grrrr

Hello Everyone,

"I don't like Mondays..." - yep, I can relate to that song.

Tired this morning. Had a busy, sun filled weekend.

Friday night - school work
Saturday - rafting (floating) down the Bow River (relaxing), school work
Sunday - school work, mid-term exam, Sun & Salsa Festival

My mid-term went really well. I did it open book but even the questions were easier than I was expecting. Luckily, the stuff that was covered is stuff I actually do as part of my payroll process so it made a lot more sense to me. In the last course, the computer does all the calculations so I don't see where it gets that data from.

Tonight is a political event with Jerry. We get to meet Tony Clement (Minister of Industry) at some function. Was told about it last night so I don't know any details. I've never met him before so it should be interesting. Jerry wants to know about bikes and carbon credits.

Have my packing list pretty well done so I'll start putting my stuff together this week. Need to do a thorough cleaning/organizing of the apartment. Also need to get the pet stuff together (instructions, food labels etc).

Have a great day!

Friday, July 17, 2009

Women's Ski Jumping

Hello Everyone,

It's been a while since I've gotten p*ssed of at something but this fight has been going on for a while and it's difficult to watch the struggles these girls are going through. I don't know the first thing about ski jumping and I think these athletes are rather crazy to hurl themselves down a hill off a ramp.

Nevertheless, I think they should be included, based on principle.

This is from the website, "Let Women Ski Jump in 2010!" www.wsj2010.com

WHEREAS ski jumping is the only activity in the Olympic Winter Games that does not allow women to compete, and

WHEREAS women from all over the world currently compete in an international women's tour (FIS Continental Cup) comprised of competitions in Asia, Europe, and North America on regulation Olympic ski jumps, and

WHEREAS the International Federation for ski jumping, the FIS, overwhelmingly voted to add women's ski jumping to the FIS World Championships and request the International Olympic Committee include a women's ski jumping event in the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, and

WHEREAS events for women have been added to the Olympic program in recent years which have had less participating athletes, nations, and universality in competitions than women's ski jumping, and

WHEREAS women's ski jumping is unique from all other candidate new entrant events as it is only requesting a women's event be added to the already existing Olympic event of ski jumping, and

WHEREAS the Olympic Charter specifically states as a mission and role of the IOC "to encourage and support the promotion of women in sport at all levels and in all structures with a view to implementing the principle of equality of men and women", and

WHEREAS the Olympic Charter also specifically states "Any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement" as a fundamental principle of Olympism

THEREFORE the citizens of the world ask the International Olympic Committee to uphold the true spirit and intent of the Olympic Games and work with Canada to add a women's ski jumping event to the 2010 Olympic Games.

There is an on-line petition you can choose to sign if you wish. There is also a fact sheet.

Other notes on the website include: "On January 5, 2008, at the Whistler Olympic ski jumps, a woman set the overall normal hill record." and "In Canada it is against Federal and Provincial Law for the Government to use public funds for venues that exclude women."

Here is the fact sheet:

Should women be allwoed to ski jump in the 2010 Olympics?
You Decide

Myth: There are not enough women ski jumping for it to be included in the Olympic Winter Games.

Fact: Over 130 women from 16 nations are registered as international competitors with the International Ski Federation (FIS). Hundreds more compete in their own countries at the national and club levels.
http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/disciplines/skijumping/competitorbiographies.html

Myth: Women are not good enough to compete at the World Cup level.

Fact: The FIS Continental Cup format is used for the elite level of women's international competition. In 2004 organizers from ski jumping nations chose to forgo asking the FIS for a Women's World Cup tour in order to reduce production costs and facilitate growth in the sport.

Myth: Women's ski jumping is not developed enough. There is not enough "universality"

Fact: 16 Nations (AUT, CAN, CZE, FIN, FRA, GER, ITA, JAP, NED, NOR, POL, RUS, SLO, SWE, SUI & USA) have women registered as international competitors with the FIS. This season's Continental Cup tour will include 25 events hosted by 8 coiuntries in Europe, North America, and Asia.

Myth: Only a few women athletes can jump respectably.

Fact: 35 different athletes from 9 nations have placed within the top 10 in FIS Continental Cup competition during the past two seasons. The depth of field parallels the men's tour.

Myth: There must be two World Championship competitions held before an event can be included in the Olympics.

Fact: This crierion has had exceptions made to it in the past. The most notable being the inclusion of the women's marathon even in the th 1984 Los Angeles Olympics after a single World Championship in 1983. The first Women's Ski Jumping World Champtionship will be held in Liberec, Czech Republic in 2009. By 2010 there will have been four World Junior Championships.

Myth: There is not enough room on the 2010 program to incude the women jumpers.

Fact: Currently there are six men's ski jumping medal events (three ski jumping and three Nordic Combined) planned over six days. A single women's event could be schedules on available days.

Myth: The cost of including a women's event on the 2010 program would be prohibitive.

Fact: Women ski jump on the identical jumps that Men use. The venue would not be required to be modified in any way.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Rain

Hello Everyone,

Day 2 of rain. And not just a little bit - rainfall warning rain. I've been wanting to weed the garden this week and I don't think it'll dry out in time before the weekend.

I've been busy at work. Got 2 weeks to go before I'm on holidays. Starting to tie up loose ends and get my filing done.

So, I may be riding on a big adventure next year. There's a 3 day tour that raises money for a kids cancer camp in Alberta and it should be an epic ride. Day 1 is 100 or 165 km, day 2 is 100, 180 or 230 and day 3 is 100 or 160. Starting in Banff, riding up the west side of Alberta and looping around. It would mean 6 months of training and a new bike. She already has a name - Sasha. Problem is that she's would be the equivalence of 2 months rent. But I'll start saving now and hopefully will get a previous years' model in the winter. I told Jerry about the ride and he got super excited. I think it would be a huge challenge but it sounds exciting. I'll let you know more about it when I have details about next years ride - after all, I'll need your money!

This weekend is our 2nd anniversary of dating. I think we're either camping or going up to Edmonton. At any rate, I'll have my books with me since I'm going to be writing my mid-term next Tuesday.

Will chat with you later. Just wanted you to know I didn't run off with a cowboy!
Have a great day!

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

New toy

Hello everyone,

So, I'm having fun with my new bike computer. First time I've ever used one so in the past, I only had a vague idea how fast I was going.

It's actually a great tool. I patrol on the bike paths that have a speed limit of 20 km/hr in most places. 10 km/hr in high congested place. 20 is a reasonable speed if you're out for a relaxing afternoon. Not reasonable for commuting. And 10 is ridiculous. Joggers will pass you. You're going to slow to keep your manoeuverability. The speed limit in the parkcade at work is 7 km/hr. My walking speed is 6.

But, I've had a couple chances to open her up and I've had some fun. Got her up to 38 on my commute in this morning. My average/comfortable speed is 25. The 38 was on a wide road with a very slight downhill grade. I don't often get the chance to go down on my drops so I'm not sure how fast I can get her. But, it's still fun to do those little sprints.

My top speed was last year during the MS Tour. Amazingly strong wind gusts got me into the 50s on Charlotte. Weirdly enough, it didn't feel like I was going all that fast since I couldn't feel the wind.

So, my message is that yes, bicycles are a viables means of transportation. When you're passing us, give us lots of room since those high speeds mean a lot of hurt if you stop suddenly, cut us off or even the wind shifts. I've almost went down a number of times because of wind gusts from vehicles passing too close, creating the lee and then smacking you once they've cleared you.

As well, think about how long you're sitting in a vehicle vs how you could get there by bike. If you take that time and add it to your workout/gym time, biking starts to sound a lot more appealing. Plus the $ savings. And, if you're worried about your business clothes getting messy, I change at work (there's a shower too but I don't get myself worked into a sweat) and the influx of cruiser style bikes makes it easy to carry a briefcase or purse. And cycling is safe - despite what the helmet people say. Yes, I wear a helmet. Yes, I wear gloves - but it's because they're blue with white bubbles on them.

Have a great day!

Have a great day!

Monday, July 06, 2009

too much deep-fried...and candy

Hello Everyone,

Ah, Stampede...

We went on Sunday and had a lot of fun. Both of us were tired as we had a long day on Saturday. Jerry helped make pancakes for his MP's breakfast and I had to meander all the way down the hill to eat them. I then spent the afternoon studying at the park. That night, we went to a politically orientated party filled with the movers and shakers of the Calgary region. It was actually a pretty good time but it went on rather late.

We got to the grounds by 8:30 so we could get free admission. Otherwise, admission was $14/adult. Didn't stand in the super long line for free pancakes but we did go into the grandstand for free juice and ice-cream. Watched the stock dogs in the Saddledome although the sheep were the clear winners. Went on the swings (the rides were super-expensive so we limited ourselves to one ride) and did lots of people watching.

So...
mini donuts: too much oil first thing in the morning. And then they sprinkle icing sugar on them. We ordered a bucket of them (think kid's sized popcorn bucket)

milk/wagon wheel: best deal on the grounds $1

lunch: ate off the grounds so we could have a proper sit down meal

deep fried macaroni & cheese: yum

deep fried jelly beans: not as good as they sound. I was expecting battered jelly beans but
these were just donuts with jelly beans added to the batter. And then sprinkled with icing sugar

candy floss: yum! and they had green! new flavour for me - and very tasty

It was a good time and it was also the first time that Jerry and I were at Stampede together. Last year he got pulled away for a political function the night we were suppose to see the Evening Show. And we didn't start dating until the week after Stampede the previous year. He was very patient with me - went through all the infomercial boothes with me, helped me eat the cotton candy (so I wouldn't get a tummy ache - it just doesn't taste the same the next day) and he didn't laugh at me when I found the swings ride very high and a bit scary. Oh, and it's still one of my favourite rides. We went on the newer one where it's 2 people per swing and it goes higher than the traditional single seat one.

So that's it for Stampede this year for me. Prices were expensive and I'm budgetting for Ontario. Very different feel this year than in the past - people very hesitant about spending money. Not the super packed bars and parties. Even clothing is more subdued. Yep, the recession came to Alberta late but when it did hit, it hit hard.

Thursday, July 02, 2009

26 days...

Hello Everyone!

26 days until vacation! Getting excited. It's going to be vacation on the super cheap but it will still be lots of fun.

Busy week but short at work. Had my meeting in Nisku on Monday and I'm getting my procedure for ROEs and terminations. So, have to do up a memo explaining what to do and it becomes effective immediately. I've been working on this for almost a year so I'm quite pleased.

Tuesday was a half day because of a computer system upgrade. Spent the afternoon studying.

Wednesday was a day of sleep. Brought breakfast over to Jerry and then went back home and fell asleep until the afternoon. Tried to do a bit more studying but couldn't get motivated. Went back over to Jerry's so we could watch the fireworks. Because of timing, we only saw about 30 seconds but that's ok since next week will have fireworks every night.

Today is a full day. Have a free reflexology appointment (15 minutes from my massage place) and plasma donation tonight. My only full work day this week.

Tomorrow is Stampede parade. Office closed until the afternoon so we can watch the parade. Yee-Haw!

Saturday is a pancake breakfast for my MP. Jerry's a volunteer. Will go eat free pancakes and then take my text books down to Prince's Island to study under the trees. On Sunday we're going to the grounds since if you get there before 9:00am, you get free admission and you get free breakfast. So, we'll go for breakfast, get a re-entry stamp and return later in the day. It's just too long if you're there right from 9am to 11:30pm (for fireworks). We're old - we need nap time.

Have a great day!

PS - we have little potato plants!

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Finally sunny Calgary

Hello Everyone,

For the past few days, it was overcast for at least part of the day. Today was the first all day sunny day in a while. Lots of wind over the past few days so the garden needed a lot of water.

Thank you all for your support this week. Excited for tomorrow night. Will have dinner ready for Jerry when he gets home and we're going fishing on the weekend. A weekend of relaxing and no real plans. That way he can decompress and review work stuff and I get to spend time with him. Oh - nice thing about Calgary - you can fish the river that runs through the city and the fish are edible. Lots of great trout spots on the Bow.

Have a great day!

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

A bit better today

Hello Everyone,

I'm still down but it's getting better. I find it's the little things I miss. It's odd since we don't spend all our time together although our communication is regular.

Yep, little things

No kiss "good morning" from him when I stop by his house for coffee. He even gets the coffee ready just right for me. Sugar and a bit of water to cool it down. Yesterday, the door was locked so there was no coffee. Today, his ex-roommate put on a pot so I chatted with him. It's a routine we have. Jerry's roommate puts on coffee when he leaves for work. Jerry gets up. Ex-roommate shows up for coffee. I show up for coffee. I chat as they get their paperwork ready for the day.

No response back to my morning e-mail wishing him a good day. I usually send a cute e-mail (like a note in a lunch bag if he had one) but since it's going to his other e-mail account (this is temporary), it gets lost in the jumble.

No e-mail/phone call to see about meeting up at the park for lunch.

No messaging after work to see how our afternoons went. With the time zone difference, it puts us out of sync. And he needs his evenings for networking.

So, I'm a bit lost when I get home. Mike's enjoying the extra attention. I'm not focusing well. I need to get some housework and schoolwork done. Hopefully I can get myself snapped out of this tonight. I've got things going on tomorrow and Thursday which will help with the long evenings.

And I'm busy at work. Working on changes in processes. Created a new time sheet for my salaried payroll. Looking at possibilities of a new time sheet for my hourly payroll. Creating a procedure for terminations. And, I'm heading up to Nisku (where our operations office is - near Edmonton) on Monday for a meeting. It's the first time I've been invited and I will be presenting the termination procedure, discussing the new time sheets as well as general payroll explanations.

Well, I've got a busy day ahead of me. Have a great day!

Sunday, June 21, 2009

A saddish sort of weekend

Hello everyone,

It's been an up and down weekend and wanted to share. Most of it involves Jerry.

And it's not a bad thing - just something different in our relationship.

Among Jerry's business ventures is being the majority shareholder in a courier company in Toronto. It's still a new company and they've run in to personnel problems. There was (and still is) a chance he was going to head out there for an extended period of time. So far, it's at a best case scenario and it means likely monthly visits to Toronto for a week at a time. Jerry got word on Wednesday that he needed to be out there this week. So, I saw him off at the airport this morning.

I think this will be the longest we've been apart since we started dating (I know, a whole 5 1/2 days) so I feel pretty foolish for feeling sad. I did very good to not cry at the airport, even though it looked like both of us were going to at any moment. And I also know this business venture is very important to him. If everything works out, there's a chance he can start getting out of the day-to-day courier business in a couple years. And it means a possibility of a more stable future financially. With the ups and downs of the economy plus the dangerous side of his line of work, I have the stable long-term employment. He didn't even want me to think about considering going with him to Toronto in the event of him being there long term. Silly man - we'd cross that bridge only if it arrives.

So we're trying to make the best of the situation and I've been told hiccups like this can make relationships stronger. We're looking at living situations, financial issues, geographic location and even what both of us want for the future. It's really opened our communication level.

I still miss him though, even if it's been only a day. And he's back late Friday night.

The other thing is Friday was our 23rd month anniversary. Ok - you can laugh about that one.

So we celebrated our relationship but still had his departure in the back our of minds the whole night. We went to the movies (a proper date) and saw Up. Not a kid's movie. I cried within a couple minutes of watching it. Hallmark sad. But a great movie, positive message. Just very sedimental. Which probably started me in this mood.

Jerry completely understands that I cry over stupid sappy stuff. So does his sister. And I was even laughing at myself for crying.

Saturday was getting him ready for his trip. He needed business clothes so he picked up a plaid navy sportcoat to go with a couple pairs of pants he already owns. He also got a couple shirts - light green (complete surprise how well it looked) and cream. The cream has french cuffs so he can wear the bicycle cuff links I bought him for his birthday. He plans to wear this outfit for his first business meeting out there. Also got a colourful tie. It was fun shopping with him and he's actually a lot of fun to clothes shop with. Gravitates toward colour and isn't afraid to try new looks.

But since he's not the most organized person, we were up until 4am getting everything ready. We left at 5:50 for the airport (roommate drove) and got there in lots of time for his 7am flight. So, we got about an hour of sleep. After I got dropped off at home, I curled up on the futon with the furry family and slept until 5. Felt much refreshed when I got up. Mike slept on my feet and Whiskers stayed up by my shoulder. Both kept me warm and were cuddly soft.

Oh, off topic - on Saturday we also stopped at a couple garage sales and I picked up a red winter jacket ($5), a white wooden chair (7) and a retro stewardess bag ($4 - as a bike bag). We also picked up travel Yatszi for a donation. Jerry wanted it so we could play while on the train when we travel from Ottawa to Toronto. He's so sweet.

So, I need some advice. How do you handle short but regular separation from your significant other? We've got messaging and e-mail to keep in contact but do you do anything else? Any special routines? What about the emotional toll? Does it get easier after a while?

I'll work on schoolwork this week to keep busy and I know the time will go by quickly. And I'll try not to feel sorry for myself. Have a great day!

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Spock Days

Hello Everyone,

So, it was a fun but tiring weekend. We drove out Friday night and camped for the weekend in Vulcan, AB. They had their big Spock Days festival. Here are some pictures:


Here I am in costume. I made it myself since it was next to impossible to get a uniform here on time. It's a red t-shirt dress from American Apparel (super comfy), black undershirt from MEC, boots from Walmart (got last year) and I ordered the patch on eBay.






Jerry and his friends were dressed as tribbles (original Star Trek tv series) and Lara was a Vulcan. Here we are in the parade, and after in front of one of the floats.





Here is the statue in front of the information centre.




Here we are playing dress-up inside the visitor's centre. They also have cut-outs you can get your picture taken with. There is a simulator where you can manoeuver a Starship and lots of fan memorabilia.

They put on a great festival. Free pancake breakfast, long parade, festival activities on Saturday, slo-pitch tournament and a couple dances. The town was very welcoming and I was a bit surprised not to see more weirdo-fans all dressed up. It was relaxing and low key.

And finally, here is a nice photo of us.

Friday, June 12, 2009

le sigh

Hello Everyone,

I'm so lucky to be with such a great person.

So, yesterday I was looking at the forecast and thought, "we really need to get the rest of the garden in". This, after having snow last week. The weather is finally becoming spring and it should be a great weekend. We're off to Vulcan tonight for Spock Days and were not planning to get the rest of the garden done until next week.

But, I got the gardening urge and decided to dig. I knew Jerry was busy and I would have to dig into crappy, clay heavy soil. But I did, my hands are rough and the rest of the beds are done. I created 3 more - 2 are 5'x2' and 1 is 5'x1. Jerry arrived just as I was finishing. We then planted our little seedlings and the rest of the plants.

This is why I'm so lucky - Jerry called me from the garden centre to see if we needed anything else. I mentioned (jokingly) that if he saw some flowers that caught his eye, to pick some up. And he did. He chose 2 poppies that he liked (Oriental and Himilayan), some marigolds (for pest control) and then bought me some cosmos. I had mentioned a couple times that I really like them but they have an uncommon name so I wasn't expecting him to remember. They're such a pretty flower - bright cheerful flowers and feathery leaves.

We only have a couple things left to plant. I need to plant 2 corn seeds and we're going to pick up some cucumber, squash and melon plants (some didn't germinate and the rest were taken care of by Mike). Then we'll be all set.

There's quite a lot - by the time everything got done.

peas
beans - 4 varieties
carrots - 3 varieties
swiss chard
onions
shallots (I prefer them over onions)
garlic
corn
tomatoes (7 varieties)
potatoes
beets
herbs
raspberries
strawberries
rhubarb (there was one plant already there and we also planted a patch passed down from Jerry's grandmother's farm)
lettuce (in my tiered salad bowl)
nastriums (yummy for salad and pretty flowers)

didn't germinate - made me sad :-(
radish
parnip

All are being grown in square foot style, the main bed and trellis beds are raised. The beds I dug last night were not but I put wood around the edge to create an organized barrier. And I won the battle with the potatoes. Jerry wanted to do the tire method and I said that would look ugly. So, the potatoes are in the ground at my place and he will try the tires at his place.

I'll have pictures next week and will keep you posted with our progress. Have a great weekend!

Friday, June 05, 2009

Backyard photos

Hello Everyone










So, here are some photos of the backyard. My new outdoor furniture.















And some of the garden. I have salad and container carrots growing in the 3 tier planter.

And our raspberry bushes.

This is the set-up for the waterbarrel. And Polly.