Thursday, August 26, 2004

Reflections on Seperation

Michele is leaving her husband after 20 years...
20 years...she said they stayed together for the kids, but they knew 10 years ago.
She married him at 30 - she wanted children and figured that he would be a good father. He was, but a terrible husband...for twenty years.

She said she was tired.
Tired of waiting to be important enough to him for him to want to make an effort...
Tired of being the only one that thought there was something worng...
Tired of feeling like she was his parent....waiting up for him to get home from having fun with his buddies...
Tired of lowering her expectations...
Tired of being dissaponted...
Tired of carrying him for so long...
and growing resentful and feeling invisible...

He would have been happy if nothing changed in his marriage...she was invisible.
She is buying out his share of the house and sending him on his way...

How awful to spend that long with someone who didn't have fun with you, that didn't share with you, didn't have the same dream with you.

I am told that when women reach their 50s that men and marriage become less and less important...choosing instead to be independent.

I am still trying to distill the lesson here.

Making your Koosa and Eating it too...

Well, given that this is the season for Zuchinni giving... I thought that this would be an apprpriate way to deal with excess Zuchinni. Koosa is a delicious Lebanese main dish that is out of this world! Definately one of my favorites.

Koosa (Stuffed Squash)

12 Koosa
1 c Rice
1 sm Can tomato sauce
1 cn (16 oz.) tomatoes
Cinnamon Pepper & (Cloves) allspice to taste
1 1/2 lb Ground lamb (or you can use ground beef...or Tofu beef substitute)
1 ts Salt

Cut stems and scoop out seeds of zuchinni and wash.

STUFFING: Mix rice, lamb and all spices together. Stuff squash with mixture, do not pack tightly. Arrange in pan. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, salt and pepper over squash. Add enough water to cover, bring to a boil; then reduce to medium-low and cook for 25 minutes. Same stuffing may be used for green peppers and small eggplants.

Wednesday, August 25, 2004

Why I love Val: Reason #46 - Finds GREAT Stuff

While there are too many reasons to love my friend Val - reason #46 could e one of my favorites. Valerie has a talant for finding great stuff....maybe that's why she is such an awesome librarian. Here is her latest find:

" Speaking of creativity, I bought this great "Candlelight ecstacy Romance" novel at the Edmonton Public Library booksale. Here is the description from the back, how could I resist?:
"He'd invented a housekeeping robot that threatened to destroy her business. She had no choice but to sabotage Harrison Kent and his infernal machine. But Brit McIver hadn't reckoned on the mad genius's boobytrapped home- or the Adonis who greeted her clad only in a towel! She'd arrived just in time to organize his home and supervise an important investors' dinner. It was a setup for disaster. Now the real challenge was clear: to prove that The Quintessential Woman could guarantee satisfaction that no robot could provide!"


val "

Watch the "Candlelight ecstacy Romance" books spike in sales after this...

Tuesday, August 24, 2004

The Mirror Project- Adventures in reflective surfaces

Today I discovered the mirror project, with the help of Pippa. What a cool project. Another example of an idea being only as good as the action that follows it. I love looking at all the different interpretations of the portrait in a reflective surface. It is so refreshing to see the abundance of creativity... .

Add to "To Do" list for Italy: Prepare submission for the mirror project.


Internet as Oracle

It occurred to me the other day that I was offically old and could be put in the category of those who tell tales of how "when I was a kid we walked 5 miles to school"...club. Only the modern version of Iam old story sounds a little more updated. When I was a kid we had to go to the library to look up infrmation... on microphiche...microfish...what's that?

In my university days (in the late 90s) we had archaic email that very few people could use...no hotmail then... it was like an FTP application. The only people you could email were other people in Universities brave enought o go to the computer centres and get an email account as well.

Now as I ponder the great questions of the universe...I email the Interent oracle...and hope this communal mind has more brilliant insights than having to ponder the universe over a cup of Java...

Monday, August 23, 2004

Weekend in the Soo

My very good friend Lisa got married to Paul this past weekend. It was a great wedding. The food was amazing: depp fried calamari, gnocci, salad, chicken, antipasto, bread, and sorbet for dessert.

We were all in sage green dresses that looked better than they sound. We had a wonderful time - Lisa is very happy.

Tuesday, August 17, 2004

Canon Give me my Camera!

I am grumpy because I do not have my camera back. We hardly had a chance to bond before it was taken back for that blasted errorr 99 catch all.

I want to upload and edit my pics from the wedding. I have so few good shots I will need photoshop to do something special with them to make everyone happy.

I need a new computer as well - the old one Alan has can't handle the file sizes and on-going downloads.

I need my camera - we need to get to know eachother before I go to italy.

Resolution: Purchase kick-ass graphics computer to make beautiful things.

Net Effect of Giving up Coffee to date

So it has been sometime now that I have given up coffee on a daily basis. I have instead taken to drinking green tea (The Chinese gunpowder variety) without sugar each and every morning while I am at work. I also began drinking a litre of water every day while I am at my desk.

Unexpectedly I have not experienced the "I just can't think" starring blankly at my computer screen sensation since. Is it hydration or a lack of caffiene?

In any case I have broken the shackles of the modern chic consumer culture. I am no longer inticed to give away $4- $6 a day to feel part of the new " I'm successful yuppie, sipping grande shade grown, caramel machiatto, hold the whip cream, sprinkles on the side with an espresso chaser" club. I have discovered a new taste landscape - less commercial and more in the tradition of a mountain tea house and less urban coffee pub in shopping district.

I enjoy a delectable variety of tastes. Light, smoky, floral, herbaceous, spicy, smooth and eclectic. I ahve grown my camomile in my garden this year and it is s splendid hoey tasting tea when brewed fresh from the garden...I enjoy it while I sit in the shade of my garden on ice and before bed all warm and steamy.

I find tea brings me closer to the beautiful plants I enjoy - truly drinking the sunshine that grew it and the earth that stengthened it.

I ma finding it hard to crave the rich dark taste of coffee... like mud in a cup really - in favour of the more light fluid that my grandmom used to enjoy through her day.

I ran 5 K in 25:09!

I went for a run with Kona yesterday and couldn't beleive that I actually ran that well - I did the same run a month ago in 28:03!

I am going to check the distance... it must be wrong ;)

Thursday, August 12, 2004

Camera Doctor

My camera is in to Canon...I am having some major issues with the flash and the body. I keep getting error 99s and the flash is shorting on me.

I am somewhat dissapointed with the photos that I got back from the wedding. I found that on auto the images were either under or over exposed.

The bottom line is that I need to learn how to better use the manual settings on the 300d. I ma going to plan a little outing with my friend Diana and stop hermitting.


Tuesday, August 10, 2004

Life is happening right now...

When you are faced with a difficult situation you will always find someone who is on your side affirming the difficulty and frustration... but ultimately you need a new way of seeing to work your way out of it.

Life cannot be measured by expectations, nor can it be planned. It is a journey through the bush and each person carves their own path - we will all experience the unexpected and we will all waste precious time.

Life is happening to you right now...every moment.

Monday, August 09, 2004


This is my other super dog "Rocket" - Go Rocky go! Posted by Hello

Alan Posted by Hello

Manitoulin Bocce Champions!


Posted by Hello

James Posted by Hello

Every July first weekend we spend at Kevin's cottage...these are the usual suspects...drinking the summer happy juice. Posted by Hello

That is one handsome Weim! Posted by Hello

This is my beautiful companion pup "Kona" Posted by Hello

Tuckerman's trail.

It took us four and a half hours to the top. It was a beautiful clear day, so we could see the panaorama of mountains that surrounded mount Washington when we finally reached the top. We didn't realise until we were halfway up that this was no beginner trail. WE hike nad hiked and scrambled the final two hours. Even while Michele's sight was poor that day she perservered to the top. I felt like the luckiest young woman around to be surrounded by such a wonderful group of ladies. Their wisdom and strength make my life so much more.

Here we are in New Hampshire at the Dana Inn enjoying a lovely dinner before we take on MT. WAshington the next morning.  Posted by Hello

There's nothing we can't do together!


The Loo at Sandy's country kitchen Upstate New York Posted by Hello

Taken with tea

Drinking green tea started out as a was to boost my thermogenic capacity but has turned into a part of my daily routine - get into work, make a pot of Tazo green tea and ginger and finish before noon.

I have recently given up on coffee to see if there is any net effect at all on how I feel. I have noticed that I don't feel hit by a bus first thing in the morning... a very good start to the day. But I have discovered some wonderful teas to replace my coffee habits. There are so many lovely teas. There is such a wide range tastes and pallets - unlike coffee which always in some way tastes like coffee.

I have discovered the pure joy of Morroccan tea http://www.ummah.org.uk/family/recipes/tea.html. There is a Morraccan resturant that got me started on it - it is a must try. Mint leaves with a touch of orange blossom water and a touch of suger...heavenly on a warm summer days.

Another lovely tea is a flower-based tea from lebanon. It is amixture of roses na dit tastes amazing as an iced tea. You can probably get it at any middle eastern grocery.

I ma quite taken with tea.

I think the organic Costa Rican coffee that I brought back from my trip with last a while.

Love came in the form of a camera

I recently purchased the Canon EOS Digital Rebel 300D... I never thought love would come in the form of a camera. I shot a wedding this past weekend with it and I could not get over the performance. It was quick and responsive.. much more so than my G3. THough I do have to say that the G3 is like my first love - a trusty little camera that never let me down.

I will be signign upf ro some advanced photography courses and will bring home some wonderful shots from italy.

I need to remember to download the photos from Mt. Washington to give to the ladies. There are some great shots there as well. Oh yeah - I climbedMt. Washington last weekend! The weather was amazing and we made it to the top (a parking lot on the top of the mountain!) in 4.5 hours. The next day we hiked the 19 mile broook trail - just lIly and I. Wil post pictures soon.