Navel-Gazing-Again

Ahhh ...

2011-01-19T17:51:00.002-05:00

That's better!

My first class today...a great painting class with only 12 people...

Looks good, a little more traditonal than I might like...but that's ok...for now.

I have a self portrait due by next Wednesday...in oil..

Yeeks!

The last one I did took me about 6 months!

...hmmm.

AND...Oreneta...I must draw every day...

Signed up...

2011-01-18T07:28:00.002-05:00

K got signed up for all my courses, turns out I need 6 more credits than I have space for in my program, so will have to do an extra semester, summer or night school...

So far....total of 18 credits.

TUESDAY 4:45 - 7 :15 Digital Skills & Composition II

TUESDAY 7:30 - 10:00 Critical Reading and Writing I

WEDNESDAY 8:30 - 1:45 Sophomore Painting

THURSDAY 8:30 - 1:45 Sophomore Sculpture

FRIDAY 8:30 - 1:45 Sophomore Drawing

So far so good, it's just the self absorbed disinterested teenagers...

The Critical Studies head (Vivian) is well...critical...

Meh...

2011-01-18T02:45:00.002-05:00

Welll...so my orientation week has begun and for those of you who do not know..

My adoring readers (high sarcasm) I have been accepted at Parson's Paris to complete a fine art degree.

The first few days have been, well lets just say LESS than scintillating, and I must confess, I am really wondering what I am doing there, this morning. Being a mature adult amongst freshman, while I thought would not pose much of a challenge...just might after all.

Have not had my first day yet of classes, and academic advising begins today.

So...here's HOPING that there are a few mature students in and amongst my group.

The head of the department did not show up for our welcome lecture yesterday...

After all this effort, moving, changes of schools, jobs and uprooting of lives...that was CRUSHING....

What do you do all day.... anyway?

2008-06-12T14:17:00.004-04:00

A man came home from work and found his three children outside, still in their pyjamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn all around the front yard.

The door of his wife's car was open, as was the front door to the house and
there was no sign of the dog.

Proceeding into the entry, he found an even bigger mess.

A lamp had been knocked over, and the throw rug was wadded against one wall. In the front room the TV was loudly blaring a cartoon channel, and the family room was strewn with toys and various items of clothing. In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the counter, the fridge door was open wide, dog food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the back door.

He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothes, looking for his wife. He was worried she might be ill, or that something serious had happened.

He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way out the bathroom door. As he peered inside he found wet towels, scummy soap and more toys strewn over the floor. Miles of toilet paper lay in a heap and toothpaste had been smeared over the mirror and walls. As he rushed to the bedroom, he found his wife still curled up in the bed in her pyjamas, reading a novel. She looked up at him, smiled, and asked how his day went.

He looked at her bewildered and asked, 'What happened here today?'

She again smiled and answered, 'You know every day when you come home from work and you ask me what in the world I do all day?'

"Yes!' was his incredulous reply.

"Well..." She answered with a gleam in here eye...

'...Well, today... I didn't do it."

Spinning crazy

2008-06-06T06:04:00.003-04:00

So sucked up by my life right now it feels like it has been FOREVER since I have had a quiet moment to reflect, you know that head spinney feeling you get when your eyes have hard time resting in one spot, and it feels impossible to sit down because you have been moving and doing so incessantly?

Ugh.

Snapshot of my week...TBG is away for 2 weeks, so I did an insane cleanup of the house, I am one of those anal (or handicapped) folks who can't think straight if surrounded by chaos... so perhaps also a bug effort to clear my mind...for the nutty week ahead.

As the idea girl and for any of you who know me you will know this is true, I am incapable of doing anything in a straightforward fashion...always way too complicated and complex...ugh...and never really done as there is always another idea...gotta work on that...

It is the last month of school so have been busy with class parties and class scrapbooks, volunteer mentoring, volunteer teaching.... and blah blah blah... home room mom activities...I tried hard to not over commit, but as usual I am up to my ears....big breath...OH and the little guy got bitten by a tick yesterday and though he is fine we also had to make an impromptu trip to the Docs to have the little creatures decapitated head extricated from his calf... BIG UGH...

Gotta get to work on the happy list...and stick to it...

I have been at the at studio 3 days each week and am doing lots of neat things started a new drawing classes ...but really looking forward next week to a bit of a breather...

OH and I MADE A DRESS YESTERDAY....with no pattern...felt good to be wielding scissors and chopping my way through fabric... Hey THAT IS on my happy list...miss TBG

;-)

2008-03-25T15:55:00.002-04:00

..like you'll never see me again... (Yes I stole this from Blind Beth)

Lord, I pray that you remind me of this everyday.
Let me live each days as if it's my last...with no regrets...with no sadness...and let the people in my life know just how much I love them.If I had no more timeno more time left to be here,would you cherish what we havewas it everything thatyou were lookin for?

If I couldn't feel your touch
And no longer were you with me
I'd be wishin you were here
To be everything that I been lookin for

I don't want to forget the present is a gift
and I don't wanna take for granted
The time you may have here with me
Lord only knows another day is not really guaranteed

So every time you hold me
Hold me like this is the last time
And every time you kiss me
Kiss me like you'll never see me again

And every time you touch me
Touch me like this is the last time
Promise that you'll love me
Love me like you'll never see me again.

How many really know what love is?
Now you never will
Do you know until you lose it
That it's everything that we've were lookin for

When I wake up in the morning
You're beside me
I'm so thankful that I found
Everything that I been lookin for

I don't want to forget the present is a gift
And I don't wanna take for granted
the time you may have here with me
Cuz Lord only knows another day is not really guaranteed

So every time you hold me
Hold me like this is the last time
And every time you kiss me
Kiss me like you'll never see me again

And every time you touch me
Touch me like this is the last time
Promise that you'll love me
Love me like you'll never see me again.

*fumbling for hanky*

Sheepish smile...I try to do this...every day but, always good to have a reminder...

Written by Alicia Keys

Aha! Moment of the Week

2008-03-13T08:10:00.006-04:00

In Music it is called REST, I know that because now I am taking piano lessons, go figure!

You know that little squiggle that looks like a baroque-sideways-snail (forgive the fashion designer musician lingo...), and it means a pause, or silence. It is considered to be a note, since without it all the other notes would run on endlessly together.

The absence of sound, or the rests define the music.

In art, I am learning, as in music, what is NOT in a drawing is as important as what is IN a drawing. As a student I am having difficulty not defining every area of my drawings in an effort to be correct and clear. I am learning to realize that light illuminates colours and makes the colour disappear into white or nothingness, softens outlines and removes lines, and that is important to leave stuff out...I am learning that an absence of colour or line, simply NOTHING on the page is as important as the lines and colour there.

Does this principle follow also for life? As I think about it, maybe it does. Maybe the absence of things in life are just as important as the things present. Perhaps this is the key to balance and instead of filling every last particle of our days with thoughts activities and business maybe we we need to create more "rests" and "light" in our lives to better define what we really are...

What do you think?

Later the next day... Beth has commented that yes, it is a good to take moments for reflection, and yes, I completely agree, but to me that falls into the active/shade/line/ note category, and what I am thinking is a little different than that. Conscious nothing. Meditation is hovering at the edge of my mind...just the idea of leaving space...in conversation, in time... just really nothing. Plus the idea that if we are completely scheduled and organized, well it does not leave so much room for creative living...and you all know I all about being creative...

Hmmmm....

The "Nothing" idea seems counter productive (and impossible to do), but maybe that is my/our obsessive western culture paradigm talking...

I am going to think about this a bit more and see where I get with it...

I would love to hear your ideas....

Virtual Age and Life expectancy..this is cool!!

2008-03-12T15:05:00.006-04:00

OOoooh Man,

I knew it.... I am practically still a toddler , my virtual age is 7.8 (HA!!) and I will live to be 101.

I LOVE that!

Check it out, try it out!

I wonder how smart I will be by then, or if I will just be a toothless bag of drool...

*Ick...*

2008-03-04T15:49:00.001-05:00

Just posted at Unlikely Nomad if you want check it out!

See you soon!

Rock you rockets RIGHT ROCKIN OFF

2008-02-25T06:39:00.004-05:00

Ummm….

*Scrumptious*…yummy…*slurpalicious*…Ooooh…yum.

*Looking up*….Ooops….

*Excuse me*

I just HAVE to share this with you.

My favorite soup “Cauliflower Avocado Rocket Puree”.

Not only is it super delicious, it is also ZONE fodder and full of good fat from the avocado and lots of minerals from the veg, AND it is EASY-PEASY takes about 5 minutes to make, AND it will keep in the fridge for several days so you can just KEEP-ON-SLURPIN’….

Here we go…

In one medium sized soup pot place and simmer covered on low heat until tender about 1 to1.5 hours;

One head of Cauliflower whole
About 1.5 to 2 liters of water (4-6cups)
A few onions, shallots, or leeks
Some small new potatoes (4-5) rinsed skin on
About 1 tablespoon of powdered stock, beef, chicken or veg take your pick

When vegs are soft puree the entire mess with a hand held blender and add

1-2 ripe avocadoes pitted and peeled (I figure you would already know the pitted and peeled part….)
1-2 large handfuls of washed water cress or rocket (to taste)
Salt and pepper to taste

Puree again until the avacodo is smooth and the rocket or watercress are just little flecks. Delish also served with a gob of (fat free) sour crème or yoghurt…

Now wasn't that EASY....? And isn't it GOOD!

.......

Slurp....*dribble* ...Mmmmm....drip *slloop*...
*MmmMMmmm …*breaks into song* ....I’m in heaven….!!

The View from my Kitchen window

2008-02-22T07:52:00.002-05:00

Lynda over at Lulu's Bay is doing a MEME about what you see out of your kitchen window.

I must confess I tried really hard to make this shot a little more interesting, and I must confess I could NOT! Don't have so very much to work with, though having said that, I CAN see the steeple of the local Monastery on the edge of the horizon, which is very cool, and even though they are just sticks and branches now, I do have two lovely yellow and pink rose bushes which grace my view with bloom's from May to October.

The only thing missing from this view is the sign on the window that says
"Why the Feck am I doing dishes again!!!"

I used to like spiders...

2008-01-13T16:23:00.000-05:00

and you can read about all of that here...

Today I have another story to tell...

Read on...

Its’ so cool in here!!

I could barely see the top of my young son Riel‘s head as he moved down into the opening, but I could hear him moving around and chattering in excitement.

I climbed through the dark green vegetation, along a narrow dirt path and around a some sharp grey rocks into a low cavern that was invisible from the outside and just only dented the surface of the ground. The cave was small, but large enough to accommodate the two of us, my little boy and I, and the roof of it just brushed the top of my head even though I was stooping. On the ground in front of me the warm afternoon sunlight reflected through openings in the tumbled rock and turf roof above, turning tufts of rich green midsummer grass translucent while others stirred slightly in the breeze.

Oooh this is amazing…

Now he was really burbling with excitement, his red hair flaming in the light, as he moved deeper to explore the further recess of the cavern.

Suddenly I saw him freeze.

Mom….Look!

Following the line of his finger I strained my eyes through the filtered light to see what he was pointing at, but could see nothing. As my eyes adjusted to the half light I could see, peering out from beneath a grassy outcrop about half way up, two gleaming chestnut sized eyes, glimmering with prick points of light flanked by fleshy mandibles, shining through a coat of silky brown hair, and 2, 4, 6...no 8 legs curled ever so neatly underneath its fleshy body. We looked with curiosity at the immense black brown spider who seemed relatively undisturbed by our presence.

My son was fascinated by the spider and unafraid he inched closer to have a better look. The spider recoiled only slightly, and I could see its beady eyes panning back and forth , but still it did not give any ground. I could also see deep beneath its body a bright red stinger hooked with a lethal black tip and on either side two immense spinnerets clicking and glistening and I could almost hear the air rasping in and out of the spiracles on its hairy black body, it was so very large.

With a flash of sudden perspiration that cooled my skin, the hair on my arms prickled so I could better feel the lightweight fabric of my hiking shirt skimming the backs of my shoulder blades and the hair on the back of my neck. I shrugged my shoulders and shivered as goose bumps ran the course of the skin across my chest pricking painfully.

We collectively held our breath as we examined the spider more closely, and he us.
I moved to the opposite side for a better look and as I turned my head to avoid some web hanging from the roof something tickle the skin on my leg. I jumped, realizing it was just a scratchy piece of grass, and brushed it off. Just as my glance skimmed the other side of the cave I realized that there was not just one of these immense creatures but two, for perched atop a ham sized rock was another slightly larger but identical version of the first.

Sweetie pie, I whispered Look there is another one!!

We both stood transfixed not wanting to frighten the spiders off. I was astonished that our nature hike should have proven so fruitful, yet felt torn. I wanted to stay and observe the spiders with Riel and at the same moment I both felt a visceral urge to flee, for as interesting as the insects were, they were also eerily large and frightening looking.

I leaned slightly forward resting my hands on my knees to get a better look and my son dropped to the ground to better study the other insect. We stayed quietly for a moment like that, enjoying the stillness of the insects and the cave. Suddenly something large and heavy drop onto my upper back.

Huuuuuuuuughhh,

I drew my breath in sharply and turned in the direction of my son where I could see sudden fear in his face as he looked past me to whatever it was perched on my back. My skin prickled wildly and I froze. I could feel something scratchy resting lightly the distance from my neck to my arms to the bottom of my shoulder blades with a heavier weight in the middle.

No one moved.

The goose bumps ran wildly over my body as I, in a split second considered my options.
Time suspended itself as it does in defining moments like these, hanging between light and dark, soundless, motionless, energy less, save the frantic kinetic energy expended by the brain to trying extract oneself from the inevitable. The camera in my mind circled the frozen scene in slow motion; my son on his knees gazing wildly up, the two smaller spiders watching emotionlessly from the sides, me stooped heavily over with my hair sticking to the dust and sweat on the side of my face and the sun streaming through the gaps in the roof onto my my rust colored hiking shirt and gleaming off the fat black body, hairy brown legs and needle like pincers of the spider with the lethal red stinger perched on my back intent on anesthetizing me forever…

I could feel the creature securing its grip more tightly around my back as its scythe like claws scraped my skin and I stood completely still, afraid of what would happen if I moved. Unsure how to react I could feel it still tightening its grip more, drawing its feet closer to one another to raise its heavy body higher off the plane of my back, lifting its hind end higher and poising itself to plunge its stinger full of venom deep into the fiber of my spine…

I gasped even more deeply now, completely paralyzed with fear, my son now white pale and covered in a slick of sweat. I could see the sides of his eyes, he was so transfixed by the apparition on my back …

Time stretched…. The silence in the cave boomed as the spider poised…

*And then I woke up…*

LIVE with INTENTION

2008-01-09T16:17:00.000-05:00

So last year I had three Celebrate, Wait and Create.

It was nice, succinct and even better it rhymed...

After some reflection this week I have jotted down some of my hopes and dreams for 2008 in the last post, of course I forgot to include some stuff, German lessons and incorporating some charitable work into my life, but after all that ruminating, I realized the very kernel of everything I would aspire to this year comes down to one thing.

Living in a grounded way with vision and great Intention.

I INTEND my Mantra this year to be, to walk, to act, to do, to give, to love, to LIVE with INTENTION.

*Wish me luck*

Wish List for 2008

2008-01-09T15:09:00.000-05:00

I have given lots of thought to what I INTEND to accomplish on 2008

Whew, the list is long of all the things I would I aspire to do. As most of you know my art studies are pretty high priority, I INTEND to try to spend time drawing every week, I INTEND to upgrade to a new Mac computer and I INTEND to get know Photoshop really well and spend some time on this site the Guru of photoshop Scott Kelby and his online training. I INTEND to learn use my new SLR camera and take lots of cool shots ad share them with you.

I INTEND to get corrective laser eye surgery, cause I am right up there with Blind as a BAt Beth...

Fitness wise I have organized a calender in my bath with a pen and a measuring tape, I INTEND to record my workouts fro the year and keep track of my body measurements and I INTEND to ignore my weight.

I INTEND to try to HONOUR my friends and myself and try not to spread myself too thin.

It is easy to underestimate the influence of our surroundings on our identity and the changes we have experienced in our life recently moving 3 times in 5 years, has made me fell a little less sure of myself. If that makes any sense at all... I INTEND to work hard at trying to be MORE ...well more ME, to feel more comfortable in my own skin, to not worry about being different, to give myself permission to just be ME, to NURTURE the creative and a little weird self that is well...just ME.

Relationship wise, aren't we all striving continually for that connection and balance that makes us happy? I INTEND to be more HONEST and open in our relationship to stop trying to be super woman and to ask for more help when I need it. TBG and I are planning a "retreat" in the next little while. We are booked to go to a local spa town for a two day getaway without the kids to spend some quality time together and to do some important work. We INTEND to put our THOUGHTS together to make a personal, family, and financial map of our 1-3-5 and 10 year goals. I must confess it all began with the top 100 things I want to do before ...well whatever... kind of kick started us into motion...(I would highly suggest it BTW.... )

With my kids, I INTEND to continue to work on patience and being more present with them in a way that is NURTURING for them. Also I INTEND to continue to share my passion for art with the children and to find a great source of chapter books for R. We INTEND to pick a unit of study for the kids and plan our family travel holiday around it this summer.

*Letting out of breath and anti-climactic silence...*

Thought for the day...yes the resolutions are coming soon..

2008-01-07T04:32:00.000-05:00

Every river, however meandering, eventually reaches the Ocean...

*I love that*

Quotation from "Amulets of the Goddess, Oracle of Ancient Wisdom.

Check it out here, a book and set of divination amulets sent to me for Christmas by my good friend Trish over at Coffee House Chatter.

We can all use a little divine guidance now and then...so true!!

Thanks EVER so much Trish for you wonderful and thoughtful gift, it was such a lovely surprise to get a package in the mail!

*Humming and playing with my amulets....divination anyone?*

Happy New Year and Recap of 2007 resolutions...

2008-01-06T16:34:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year everyone!!

The house is CLEAN...things are organized, all the decorations are put away and for the first time in a decade or so actually organized instead of just slung into the box any-ole-which-way.

We did a rug lifting, furniture moving, surface shining, pillow spanking, junk sorting, cobweb scaring clean up today and MY OH MY it feels spanky in here.

Thinking ahead to this years resolutions makes me want to reflect back on last years resolutions which you will find simple....as you will see if you link back Celebrate, Wait and Create...

Celebrate; Meaning every one's Birthdays...well I did simply lousy on that one, apologies all round to everyone, I guess I did manage to hit a few of you... not as good as I would like and I will keep trying this year! Ha... if you read this do me a favour and send me your dates and I will keep trying I PROMISE!!

Wait; As in be more patient D**mit...Well I am happy to say that I have done quite well on this one but not perhaps in the expected way. I do like to think of myself as a rather patient person, and I think I am, but it seems that perhaps to a fault. While I am patient, like most people there is an end to that well of patience, and like most people when that well runs dry it is not always so pleasant. Therein, it seems, lies the problem. What I have in fact discovered is that I am often TOO patient, and instead of grinning and bearing it, what I actually need to do is be LESS patient and more PROACTIVE about recognizing the internal signs of frustration and acting on them while I can still be CONSTRUCTIVE. Seems to be working pretty well so far... I am all-turned-out-proud-of-myself for that one. How is that for progress... !!

Create; I am also happy to say that in this department overall seems to be going pretty well too! Santa Claus was very, VERY good to me this year and I am looking forward to getting a little more intimate with my brand new SLR Canon Camera, keep you eyes peeled for some great new shots very very soon, well as soon as I figure out how to work it! I have also been fooling around with Photoshop and have been having salivatory dreams about the Full Monty Photoshop as I only have the "Elements" version as well as a new MAC, a must-have for creative-newbies, no?? As well I am looking forward to starting back at painting classes this week and have my sewing room all set up and ready to go, though it has a borrowed hamster in it at the moment..., with some hot sewing projects in mind (me -not the hamster).

I am so pleased with blogging, tickled pink about the VRS (voice recognition software) and looking forward to building up my art blog Poena into something formidable...as well as continuing to journal about our life in Germany and beyond at Unlikely Nomad for our family and friends back home, and sharing, well gosh knows whatever, with you here at Navel Gazing.

Soo...even though I have (as usual) put a big huge-heaping-helping of activities on my plate this year...I do want to reflect about my mental focus for the year...so stay tuned...that's the next step...

How about you??

One Ringy Dingy.....

2007-12-29T08:40:00.000-05:00

After much cursing and swearing over the keyboard, tears of dyslexic frustration , pulling of hair and gnashing of teeth (as noted in this post) AND much discussion with "The Big Guy" about purchasing voice recognition software as well as some poking around online and more then a little humming and hawing ...we decided that though a great idea for me to be able to write more prolifically (no promises though...) it might be just a little bit too much for us to spend for now.

*Hmmmph*

A few days later I was poking around in my computer trying to do something else I discovered that indeed I have already have voice recognition software embedded in my system...and you might too!!

*Wewhooo!!*

In the control panel you'll find an icon called "speech" and it is there that you can set up your very own voice activated dictation system . I am dictating into it right now so let's just see how it goes . So far so good; a few errors ... A couple of couple of comical mis-hearings which require editing. What I have discovered is that I have to train the computer to recognize my voice and I do this by reading several different passages from different pieces of literature. It seems as though I can read the same pieces over and over again which continues to increase the computers accuracy or I can read several different pieces of literature,when I am done the computer updates its database . There is also a tool to record specific pronunciations for words that are not already included in the computers database which I have yet to experiment with and I am also able to use a voice command for basic functions on the computer .

Of the interesting problems that have developed though, I must confess one of them being that I need silence in order to work and like any microphone worth its salt it records everything it picks up which includes scolding my children and asking them to hush up so that I can write (and you can never imagine how it translates other less odious bodily sounds...LOL) ...to needless to say I just had to delete a whole pile of gobbledygook

One interesting thing of note however is to observe the difference between composing through keyboard and composing verbally . For the moment it feels a little bit difficult and a little bit awkward to compose verbally as I feel that perhaps the cerebral processes are somewhat different, and somehow working without the visual cues of the language seems to be a it different. Anyhow I hope you'll stick with me while I work to find my way .

It's kinda cool... feels a little space-age-like but I look forward to adjusting and to using the program and increasing its accuracy as well as understanding voice command for punctuation and writing structure . I think it will be one of my goals for 2008 ... stay tuned.

*Crinkly star trek music in background...*

Mindfreak

2007-12-28T13:37:00.000-05:00

I turned on CNN over the holidays and was thinking it was a real CNN news cast and was stunned to see this video...

Be prepared, if you have not seen it is freaky...

FREAKY beyond belief...

Then I watched a few more on Youtube...check out this one and this one too ...

I think I might be a fan...

A very mystified fan...a pretty creeped out fan....but maybe a fan.

Merry Christmas!!

2007-12-24T15:53:00.000-05:00

Halloween.

School activities… school activities… school activities… school activities…
Pick kids up…drop them off……
School activities…
Pick kids up…drop them off…
Shop!
Pick kids up…drop them off…
Shop!
Pick kids up…drop them off…
Sew…Sew…Sew…
Pick kids up…drop them off…
Shop!!
Pick kids up…drop them off…
Bake… bake…Sew…
Pick kids up…drop them off…
Shop… wrap… wrap… cart… cart…
Pick kids up…drop them off…
Breathe…Breathe…*OMG almost done*…
Pick kids up…drop them off…
Cook… Cook… Cook…*ooh ma achin’ back*…
Pick kids up…drop them off…

Attend the Nussnacker (that is Nutcracker in German)

Silence….

*Music begins*

And now it is Christmas Eve… I almost can’t believe I made it.

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring not even a mouse,

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care in hopes that Saint Nicholas soon would be there.

The candles were lit, the fire was stoked, our bellies are full of delicious tortiere, Grandpa's Mother's old French Canadian recipe, and now the children are tucked snugly into their beds.

Grandma and Grandpa have arrived on Wednesday, and we’ve had a lovely visit. It is wonderful to have him here for all of us... but especially for the children.

We are so lucky !!

Happy holidays everyone, I wish you all much peace and love and happiness!

See you in 2008!!

Nomad's Poena and the Art Within Me

2007-12-14T14:14:00.000-05:00

Oreneta has tagged me to talk about the name of my blog “Poena“…I am happy in fact to be persuaded out of my little lair of other-than-blogging-activity. I must confess I have been in hibernation a bit, a function of my attempt at balance as happily life has been full to overflowing lately but also a function of pre-Christmas preparations and not the least a function of the fact that I am feeling sort of discouraged about my dyslexia and the difficulty I have typing. You have no idea. I am not sure if it is symptom of fatigue but some days it is so bad the words can come out backwards. Aghh!! For any of you who thought I was kidding…NOT!! I am mulling over voice recognition software and …hmmm not sure…can you imagine??? Could be very cool or just a hassle.

The only thing I can say is for some reason in the last few weeks I am finally seeing what an insanely creative person I am and for that I likely have some function of my dyslexia to thank… otherwise I might feel kind of depressed.

SOOoooOO over to the main broadcast at “Poena” …*AHEM* (skirt smoothing)

Capitalist-Me-Generation list of 100 contd' 61-80

2007-11-19T16:48:00.000-05:00

OK so I am completely embarrassed that the first things on my list way back at #1 were completely material and as of yet do not have any big humanitarian goals...telling (I blame our culture) ... *ahem*

Must think on that.

Maybe I should rename this list the "Capitalist-Me-Generation" list of 100 things... *blush*

Any way, more about ME...moving right along...

61) Learn to cook Asian food
62) Visit Antarctica on a cruise
63) Take opera lessons
64) Cross the ocean on a freighter
65) Live at sea for 1-3 years
66) Purge all possessions and be a nomad
67) Get a masters degree in literature
68) Get a masters degree in creative writing
69)Write poetry
70) Write a kids series of books
71) Sell my paintings
72) Learn to felt
73) Learn tantric sex
74) Learn to meditate well
75) Invent a new way to view/experience art
76) Overcome my dyslexia (completely)
77) Publish a book
78) Write a column
79) Paint with a master
80) Start an International woman’s art collective

100 Things to do before die 41-60

2007-11-15T13:57:00.000-05:00

I must confess just looking at this list is making me tired... (Maybe that is not such a good start....)

41) Buy and run a holiday rental in Europe
42) Live in Africa
43) Design costumes for a piece of grand historical theatre
44) Kayak with my kids
45) Hike with my kids
46) Mountain climb with my kids
47) Build an igloo in the arctic and camp in it
48) Teach art to kids
49) Home school my children
50) Explore the occult
51) Try 10 different sex toys and pick a favorite
52) Visit Stonehenge
53) Attend a druid festival
54) Live like a viking for a week
56) Visit the pyramids
57) Build a global museum data base
58) Study fine art at an ivy league university
59) Design and open a public garden
60) Learn to cook Indian food

Continued 100 things to do before I die 21-40....

2007-11-14T15:04:00.000-05:00

21. Live in China
22. Take the Trans Siberian railway
23. Go to Baffin Island
24.Camp in Newfoundland
25. Cycle across a Continent
26.Learn to speak Chinese
27. Write a performance art dance
28. Meditate in an Ashram in India
29.Study under a guru
30.Take a vow of silence for one month
31.Do the Pilgrimage across the Pyrenees in Spain
32.Study Yoga for one month intensively
33.Learn photo shop inside and out like my belly button
34. Do collage art
35.Perfect photography skills
36. Sell prints
37.Write a book of short stories
38. Study world history
39. Study food anthropology
40. Study Anthropology

Things to do before I die....1-20

2007-11-13T06:59:00.000-05:00

Crazy busy with volunteer commitments, so I am sneaking in an hour for myself to blog...heheheh...

Just read about a very cool blog just published into a book, called "to.do list" ...kay does not exactly sound very exciting, but if you check it out, just behind the trailers for the book you will find someone's "List of 100 things to do before they die"....very interesting and..well... made me think.

Check it out here. I don't know about you, but I LOVED it...

SO I am going to try to do the same thing, but I figured in installments...let see here goes.

Things to do before I die 1-20

Learn to type without looking.
Sail around the world
Build an ultra modern house
Finish the old house we already have.
Design and build a conservatory
Invent and perfect a voice recognition software package for writing (for dyslexic boobs like me)
Read 5 pieces of literary classics from 25 countries
Learn to paint like a master from the Renaissance
Have an art show at least once a year
Relocate an old coach house, design it to be a studio guest house
Hold my grandchildren...(rushing it I know...)
Dream up and execute the million dollar idea
Collect and sell antiques
Paint
Open a Gallery
Get very fit (like rockin' fit)
Run a marathon
Do installation art with video.
Learn to paint portraits like a master...like in my sleep
Live in India

Phew...

M'Kay I don't usally do this but...

2007-11-07T02:44:00.001-05:00

M'kay I don't usually do this....

(Disclaimer....For those of you who know me there is absolutely nothing in this for me.... except to share something I think is really great...!!!)

I used to spend allot of my time as a competitive rower, took several years off due to child rearing and back problems (well that is my excuse anyhow, 'n I'm sticking to it!) and now in the process of trying to get back in shape. This summer with an improving back I went on a bit of an exercise video buying spree having learned that the best way for me to get into shape is at home, you know cut out the travel time and the logistics of child care and all of that...

I have an exercise video that I simply absolutely and fantastically, orgasmically(is that a word?) and wonderfully LOVE, LOVE, LOVE...and I figure I just would not be doing my duty as a friend, blogger and fellow sloth if I did not share it with you!!

The "10 Minute Solution" series is written in 10 minute power packed and body targeted areas. The beauty of this video series is that you can structure your exercise exactly to your needs and your time available by selecting the 10 minute segments you want to do that day. The video puts it all together for you. How perfect! The segments are so well written that even one 10 minute segment a day would make a difference.

(!!!!)

I Have fallen hopelessly in love with this one that focuses on Pilate's but there are others too that I am anxious to check out.

Not only is the video flexible in the way it is used, the segments themselves I find to be well written and choreographed with clear and sensible instruction. It is also a no impact work out (perfect for the sloth in me) and the exercises are suitable for any level of fitness, but there is enough there to build on and perfect to continue to use over time with out getting bored. The focus is on core strength, the exercises are fun to do and incorporate more than one area of the body so appeal to the efficient (or lazy) in me... ie *As long as I am here exercising I might as well do as much as possible in the shortest time possible...*

I checked it out I see it has won all sorts of awards...no wonder!!

After looking for something like this for about 4 years I am really happy to have found it...!!!
OK enough of me blathering...you just gotta check it out here at the 10 Minute Solution site!!!

FITNESS HAPPENING HERE!!!!

Woooooo hooooo!!!! *dancing wildly into the distance*

Potential junkie...

2007-11-05T06:41:00.000-05:00

The weekend here was half-half, half rainy and drizzly, and half gorgeous. On Sunday I asked Bruce if he could keep the kids so I could do some stuff on my own. He and the children had a fab day, made cookies and puttered in the garden pruning and mucking about.

I, on the other hand, went into town to meet a friend who, like me, likes to sew. Our destination, an open air Dutch fabric market that happens 2 times per year. Last spring we went, but only allowed ourselves an hour or two to shop, big mistake as there were probably 100 vendors with an dizzying and amazing array of fantastic textiles...talk about a kid in a candy shop...

So this year not only did I bring along my trolly (my friend was making fun of me...until her purchases out weighted her arms that is...) and a budget, but also a list of exactly what I needed, to try to weed out those impulse purchases. I managed to get everything on my list and, of course, then some, but spent much less than I had planned so was very happy.

I think I might have mentioned this before but I am potential junkie, the less formed it is and the more I can impact the final product the happier I am...does not work in all areas of life I can assure you , but it can be fun!! Sooo....I am dying to get down into the lair of the basement that is my new sewing room and get to work!

Curses!!

2007-11-02T07:12:00.000-04:00

Quick update from me...

PTA meeting this week and am volunteering for the Christmas celebration to do all the decorations, sounds fun (a little boring) so dug through the musty backstage to day with another volunteer and watched out for skunks...smelt like skunk down there. WE will decorate a large entry area with an Xmas tree etc etc, and Ries grade 2 class will have a cookie booth.

Started with physio for my back so heat and massage 2X per week, HEAVEN. It is good but still not perfect and I have curtailed Jazz dancing for a while, and want to do some serious strengthening first. I have the machine set up in the bedroom with my computer, a TV card in it so I can watch CNN with headphones while the kids sleep while ...FITNESS HAPPENS HERE!!! *BIG BOOMING VOICE*...I took me 3.5 years to get this set up...can you believe it!
I am happy...

TBG is around for almost 2 months, !!!!! so very nice. I feel like with all the stress of the last months the move and the insane pace of the last few months we are getting reconnected which is a very good thing.

Riel and TBG have built a model boat which R is very very excited about and they pan to have it's maiden voyage this weekend...a Canadian coast guard boat no less! photos to follow at Unlikely Nomad..

We had a Halloween party this week for the kids at school with parent volunteers, it was great, the kids were totally silent when they entered the decorated room but were soon bopping around to Rock Lobster...good fun.

Still working out and trying to limit the calories....curses...the more I try not to think about food the more I want it!!! ...and the scale has not budged!! CURSES!!

We are trying to save some money so will be using "Betty Spaghetti" less and shortening our anniversary weekend away to an evening or afternoon out. *Bummer*

We thought as a challenge we could try to celebrate without spending a penny??? Any one have any good ideas?

Not taking any crap...To do list

2007-10-30T17:47:00.000-04:00

1) Don't get so comfy (read lazy) we forget to grow...

2) Take nothing at face value...

3) Just because it has worked before does not mean it has to go the grave with you...

4) Throw out old sh*t, including habits that do not improve your life...

5) Look hard at lifestyle choices to improve health and well being

6) Order this book...You Staying Young

Just a start...

*OMG am I having a mid life crisis*???

I'm OK...

2007-10-27T14:49:00.000-04:00

I was talking with one of my friends at home today and she asked me..Are you OK?
You're posts have seemed a bit down and we were a bit worried about you...

I am ok.

We seem to be more engaged here in our lives than we were in France, part and parcel to the fact that the International school has allowed us a great variety of social contact and consequently feel busier, but the truth of the matter is that though expat life can be truly rewarding and challenging some days can be just plain old tough.

There is something sustaining about being in a community of people who truly know you, whom you have and will continue to have history with. There is something stabilising about having friends and family who reflect back to you the life you have shared represented by the fabric of your relationships.

However at the end of the day in most ways our life is pretty much the same as it would be if we were living at home in Canada. The reality is that no matter how cool what you are doing is (or not)...some days are great, and some are not. Here or there at the end of the day there is really not much difference...life can suck or it can be great...

The challenge as an expat is not to blame the ups and downs on the fact that the life we are living is different that the one we would be living at home. Sometimes not so easy as "Home" is always a bit larger (greener?) than life...from over here...and I suppose the reverse might hold true too...

For me it sums itself up in one big lesson about the grass being never really being greener, though it may appear that way, that every day and every moment have to count, that life is not a dress rehearsal, that the best life to live is right now, this very minute....

*Phew*...that is alot to live up to...

I think it is realistic to say that all lives are made of of some good some bad and a little indifferent, and I think I am at a point in life with our upcoming anniversary, the age and stage of our children and my suddenly feeling a bit OLD *shudder* not only am I going through a bit of a personal change, my focus is moving away a bit from having really small children. Finally (or so soon?) I am able to take a bit of a breath and think of myself outside of the 2 foot ring of proximity to my children. I feel like I don't want to put up with any crap, not only from myself but from anyone else, and not like there are mountains of it from any particular direction, just well....you know.

I am taking stock, reflecting on what is working for me in my life and what I would like to see differently...a little life housecleaning.

A good thing...no?
Stay tuned...

Root Canal or Latte??

2007-10-21T12:16:00.000-04:00

Well seems that TBG was ratty because he had a tooth abscess, and well... he just didn't think to mention it to me until well I guess around 2 A.M when he was tossing and turning due to the excruciating pain.

!!

I mean I know on his personality assessment from his Pharma Rep days he was defined under the heading "Borderline Detached"...

But I mean ...C"MON!!! ...Does that mean detached from your own body as well?? (I though it was just all of us annoying folk....??)

*Sheesh*

Well thanks to the efficiency of the German medical system he had an on the spot root canal for ...get this $10 Euros.

HA! Guess I know where I will be getting all my dental work done from here on in.

So needless to say we are still here, at home in Germany that is, with a fully packed car and caravan in the driveway, a completely cleaned out fridge, no garbage bags in the bins and everything unplugged. Thank goodness for a well stocked freezer.

Looks like we will head out tomorrow morning...

2007-10-20T16:34:00.001-04:00

So we are all ready to go south to the Moselle Valley, we decided not to get on a plane and use up some of those frequent flier points because well, because it might just be nice to save some money for a change instead of spending it.

I ordered the guide books on Amazon UK a few weeks ago so we have all the maps and stuff we need to figure out what we want to do, and I have spent the day, nay the week getting organized, preparing food, doing the groceries, doing laundry and sorting through kids clothes trying to predict what the weather will be (??) and taking care of the kids at the same time. I swear if anyone had told me that parenting means that I have also to take care of everyone else's STUFF all the time I might have signed up for beach volley ball instead...

*big sigh*

TBG has been here for the week and we are all pretty much burnt out, the kids are ratty. TBG is ratty and yeah, I am pretty ratty too. So we spent the morning doing the last bit of packing and the kids were awful. They are going through a fearful period where they need to know where we are every -and I mean every second. I can't go downstairs into the basement to switch the laundry without plaintive cries wondering where I am, and while I am trying to respect and honour this as a stage... I must confess it is wearing a bit thin.

*UNDERSTATEMENT*

I must confess I am having a bit of a sense of humour failure...what with fighting whining kids and a ratty husband...

On another tack our Irish babysitter Betty, known to the kids as "Betty -Spaghetti" who is in her early 50's, about 6 feet tall, has gorgeous bright red hair, an indomitable spirit and an unfailing sense of humour is a boon to us all. When TBG is away she helps occasionally with the kids, and does a lick of cleaning and ironing every now and then. She seems completely non plussed by the kids yelling and screaming and I have always admired her calm, thinking it is just another element f her kind and generous and centred personality. Then one day I saw her adjusting her hearing aid...

Turning it down it seemed to me...

To Kill a Canadian...

2007-10-15T14:39:00.000-04:00

This is a great fwd. coming to me from my very good friend Oreneta over at Oreneta Aground . She has a great post today as well BTW, dovetails in very nicely with these thoughts.

Here goes...

Australian Definition of a Canadian -Written by an Australian Dentist in response to an ad found in a Pakistan Newspaper advertising a “Reward for killing a Canadian-any Canadian...”.

“A Canadian can be English, or French, or Italian, Irish, German, Spanish, Polish, Russian or Greek. A Canadian can be Mexican, African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Australian, Iranian, Asian, Arab, Pakistani or Afghan. A Canadian may also be a Cree, Métis, Mohawk, Blackfoot, Sioux, or one of the many other tribes known as native Canadians. A Canadians religious beliefs range from Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu or none. In fact, there are more Muslims in Canada than in Afghanistan. The key difference is that in Canada they are free to worship as each of them chooses. Whether they have a Religion or no religion, each Canadian ultimately answers only to God, Not to the government, or to armed thugs claiming to speak for the government and for God.

A Canadian lives in one of the most prosperous lands in the history of the world. The root of that prosperity can be found in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms which recognize the right of each person to the pursuit of happiness. A Canadian is generous and Canadians have helped out just about every other nation in the world in their time of need, ever asking a thing in return.

Canadians welcome the best of everything, the best products, the best books, the best music, the best food, the best services and the best minds. But they also welcome the least - the oppressed, the outcast and the rejected. These are the people who built Canada.

You can try to kill a Canadian if you must as other blood-thirsty tyrants in the world have tried but in doing so you could just be killing a relative or a neighbor. This is because Canadians are not a particular people from a particular place. They are the embodiment of the human spirit of freedom. Everyone who holds to that spirit, everywhere, can be a Canadian.”

And my response is...I am SO proud to be Canadian!!

Random Thursday...

2007-10-04T07:36:00.001-04:00

*AHEM*

Oh YES... and about the "little more harsher editing"...*yikes*
Typing in a hurry... would that be a "hurri-a-typus"?? (Pot calling the kettle black there...sorry folks!)

Anywhooo back to regular programming...We did go to the Landesmuseum in Hannover Wednesday and except for almost murdalating my kids while they goofed off and fought VERY LOUDLY while I waited to purchase a year pass... it was a good visit. The coolest part about it was in the prehistory section (we are freaky crazy about prehistory in our family) the kids got to make a stone age cutting implement using traditional materials and methods. Using a sanding stone they shaped a piece of Alder bark into a flat oval, then cutting a slot into the top edge they inserted and fastened in with tree sap a sharp flint stone...then they bored a hole with another sharp implement through the bark and hand tied the palm knife onto a string. The kids thought they had died and gone right straight to heaven!!! How cool is that!!!

On another note...a friend sent me this and I have had to watch it several times it is SO good... William Tell Overture.

2007-10-02T18:12:00.001-04:00

Gosh guys...

SO busy.

TBG has been away for WEEKS. Yuck. 10th anniversary is coming up...Lot's of thoughts about what exactly that means...taking stock.

I have been trying to stick to my resolution of exercising (3 times a week for about 6 weeks now!!!)*pat on the back* and what with that and the kids I am SO ready to fall into bed at 10...does not bode so very well for the blogger in me.

Not doing so very well on the creative side sadly...the dishes and laundry always seem to come first... ugh.

Life though is going well, have been invited to join a book club and we read our first book, The memory keepers Daughter. OK could have used a little more harsher editing. Looking for an obscure European classic for the next one...ideas anyone?

Have volunteered to be home room mom so am organizing things for R's class. Have started a class scrapbook for both kids classes.

TBG's parents are coming next week so will be nice to see them.

We have the day off school tomorrow and hope to go to the Landesmuseum, Hannover's main museum, and we have our 2 week October break coming up in a week. We were going to try to go away but have decided instead to tour around the area, as we have not done that at all.

So FINALLY you guys can see some pics of where we live!!

On eating

2007-09-18T16:35:00.001-04:00

Who ever wrote the Canada food guide needs to think again.

If I ate what they say I need to eat I would be the size of a house, nay a factory...

I mean really who ever heard of an entire race of overweight people??

I being, the evolutionist that I am, keep thinking if we all had to catch and clean and skin everything we ate, we would be in much better shape.

Imagine?

If we had to carry all the water we consumed, to forage for all the food we fed our children, the berries, grains, fruits and vegetables...

Think about that the next time you reach for a twinkie...

Struggles with Body Image or the Battle of the Bulge

2007-09-17T07:15:00.000-04:00

I have never had a great body image. That is not me up there BTW....

When I was around 28 years old I was on a hot fast rowing team, the light weight woman at the Argonaut rowing club in Toronto. It was a glorious experience of reaching ones personal goals, unmarried and without children I could train as much as I wanted. My entire life revolved around my training schedule and our races during the year, what I ate, whom I socialized with and the things I did.. Though excessive, it was a heady bonding experience hanging out with 8 super woman all ambitious, smart, intelligent, fit and funny. Most weeks we trained hard upwards of 25 hours a week, it was intense, our winters were filled with other training activities, cross country skiing, daily workouts on a rowing machine, running and weight lifting. We worked hard to reach our common goal.

Looking back I was a buff 125 lbs, 5’7 with 13 % body fat. I could hardly have been skinnier or fitter… but I still did not like my body…

At ALL.

I think back to the way I used to obsess about my (skinny) thighs then, the (little) lump on my belly and any other perceived imperfections. *Brother*....It makes me cringe. In my career as a fashion designer images of the runway girls were the ideals I kept in my head, and no matter what I did those ideals could never be reached.

My body revealed its true purpose to me while gestating, birthing and feeding our 2 babies. I appreciate it a great deal more than I ever have, but none the less… I do not like my body any better. It has always felt less than acceptable and I am always trying to loose that phantom 20 lbs. I have clothes that I have not fit into for 15 years and I am STILL waiting for the day that I can wear them again…

WTF!!!?

I am not quite sure exactly WHAT I am waiting for, which magic elixer will be the one that will finally make it happen for me.

During our trip to Spain last summer I was flabbergasted to see obese woman at the beach in teeny tiny bikinis, proudly posing with distended bellies and enormous drooping breasts in front of cameras for their families. Though the average European seems slimmer than the average North American, and even though not every one is a perfect shape, Europeans seem to have an innate pride in themselves and how they look. Folks seem to be well kept and dressed no matter what their shape and it looks great. We know a woman who is not overly attractive, who is a little overweight and does not have a desirable shape but she dresses well, takes care of herself and projects a happy positive attitude. Not only does she draw people to her like a magnet but she looks JUST GORGEOUS!

This set me to thinking. I am tired of all the social pressure to be thin, unrealistic and unattainable goals, all these ideals about how we SHOULD be… the idea if it is not perfect then we must hide it...I need to revamp my idea of what is attractive…and I need to do it NOW…

Thirty pounds overweight and not in shape, I have come to realize that I feel exactly the same way in my skin now as I did when I was buff and fit…not so great…*Huh??*

I decided to hold my very own bikini revolution and this summer and so before our holidays, with great determination I threw caution to the wind and bought me some bikinis of my own, a hot lime green one, a funky striped purple one, and a brown one…

And I wore them (in public) too!! (well like not at the grocery store but you know what I mean...)

It felt liberating some how to say…I know I'm no model but I DON‘T CARE!!! I REALLY DON’T CARE!!!!!

This is for ME!!!

It felt great, and yes Ally Mc Beal I’m not…. I am done with obsessing about it waiting for I don’t know what…

It is high time I start to love me for me lumps and all. I realize it ain’t gonna get much better than it is right now, so what am I waiting for? Maybe this will help someone else who feels the same way I do like our gorgeous round friend has unknowingly inspired me…

I’m not waiting any longer!!! *standing on chair in bikini shouting…*

Hear that everyone!! ...(still looking to loose that 20 lbs tho..)!?!

Getting to know you...

2007-09-04T11:25:00.000-04:00

Would any of my blogging or non blogging friends who read this and are in email contact with me, (you know who you are) like to profile yourselves and appear (anonymously if you like) on my blog??

If so write a little blurb about yourselves, attach a pic if you like and send it to me at my reg email address or at my new spanky hotmail account h.bmont@hotmail.com and and we'll see where this get us...and I will post it here so you can all get to know one another.
....

*crickets*

...

C'mon!!!

Stay tuned

2007-09-03T05:59:00.000-04:00

.....

!!

I have been thinking about blogging..

I really have, but OH MY GOODNESS I/we have been so busy.
It is astonishing how much time it takes to get unpacked and caught up from a month and two weeks away...

Does anyone hate sorting through kids clothes as much as I do???

I will try to finish the posts at unlikelynomad.blogspot.ca with the rest of our trip to Sweden and a bit of a recap from our time at a cottage in Canada.

I must confess it was so very nice to be unplugged for a while, while on holidays. Soo...I guess I DO have lots to tell, just gotta get it down.

A couple of brief new things...

Been exercising for a week and am into week 2 of a diet (very big deal for me as it has been almost 2 years). Have not even dared get on the scales yet.
Am going to try to streamline my life a bit, cut away all the extra, social, financial and mental, (I'll let you know how it goes) Learn to say NO!!
Going to work on not yelling at the kids.
Going to try to read at night at least one hour.
Going to try to paint 2 days a week Tue and Thursday...maybe begin working on a portfolio...
Going to try to get back at blogging...but it is going to be down and dirty...15 minutes and a few hundred words...stay tuned.

What kind of cookie am I??

2007-06-26T10:29:00.000-04:00

You Are an Oatmeal Raisin Cookie

On the surface, you're a little plain - but you have many subtle dimensions to your personality.
Sometimes you're down to earth and crunchy. Other times, you're sweet and a little gooey.

OK I admit it I shamelessly lifted the idea from Trisha at coffee house...check her out on my side bar... PUt it this way I did much better on this one than on the "How shifty are you? Quiz.

*Ahem*

What Kind of Cookie Are You?

I wish I was a Hollyhock...They are in full bloom here and are just stunning...

2007-06-24T15:21:00.000-04:00

My Garden...

2007-06-18T19:14:00.000-04:00

The trip to Canada was amazing…all he wonderful things I love to do, food, friends, no family this time but in the summer, and lots of good sweaty time in my garden.

Why do I love it so much I cannot even begin tell you…

It is like a lint brush for my soul, I can feel any residual angst leaving me as soon as I begin to smooth out the wrinkles in my own little patch of green…As the weeds begin to disappear, as the beds are fluffed and edged, as the mulch is replenished and the flowers deadheaded, a clean green breath of fresh air quietly begins to well up at my toes and spreads upwards towards my middle and into my chest. The rhythm of the work as I move about tethering wayward roses, delphiniums and peonies feels so natural, reincarnate almost as I contemplate last years plantings and dream of nexts. The rising breath warms as I do, I relish the opportunity to pit myself against what feels like simple but meaningful work, to feel the exertion, the pull on my body, the air in my lungs. I love the familiar feeling of the worn handle of my old wooden cast iron pitch fork as the skin in between my thumb and index finger rubs red and warm, almost blistered but not quite.

Pull, shovel, dig, smell the air, smell the trees, pull, shovel, dig.

At the end of the day, having barely stopped to eat or drink I feel tired and dirty, really deliciously dirty with the coffee loam worked into the cracks in my feet well inside my socks and so far up under my fingernails despite my gloves that I am sure it won’t come out for at least a week.

Hah... I LOVE it!!

Dirty and tired but very satisfied.

Just to tide y'all over til next week...(I think it's the Pioneer Woman's influence...)

2007-06-03T11:41:00.000-04:00

A Couple of my favourite photos,

Riel comtemplating the sea as it lies on the rocks off the coast of Scotland...

Lily being a jelly fish at the Science Museum in Glasgow...

Bises!!

Two New Favorites...

2007-06-03T10:27:00.000-04:00

I want to share two of my favourite blogs with you that I have neglected to add to my sidebar until now, though I have been reading them for a few months now.

The Grape Journal is written by a friend of mine who lives in Burgundy, south of Dijon and whose family moved to the area from Canada the same month we did. We were able to share the growing and settling pains of acclimatising to France and compare notes on the reverse culture shock we experienced travelling back home to Canada. Like us she and her husband and their two kids plan to return to Canada some day, but for now they buy and renovate historical properties in the area and run what's locally known as "Gites", a cosy vacation house or apartment that resonates with authentic regional charm. If you want to experience the "REAL" Burgundy in all its sunny and sensory pleasures, with truly authentic food and cultural experiences, Laura and Franck's 3 Gites are right in the heart of it all. Here they are preparing to settle into a delicious meal with us!!!

Franck, who has a wealth of local knowledge, grew up in the region and still has family there and as they are well acquainted with several of the new and old winemakers of the region they can help guide you to your oeneological dreams!! In the time we spent in Burgundy have become very good friends of ours, we miss them very much but happily we can keep up with them by reading the Grape Journal!!

The next one is written by a former LA socialite now ranchers wife home schooler/writer, named Ree. Her blog chronicles her life on a vast green ranch somewhere in the middle of the USA with a whole heckuva pile of cows, some pretty good looking horse riding cowboys, including her main squeeze Marlboro Man, and passel of punk kids who also ride horses (and seemingly pretty well). Together they run the family ranch. Ree's writing style is always entertaining, often touching and she takes fabulous photos of all in her life. She can be found at Confessions of a Pioneer Woman.

Enjoy!!!

I am off to Canada and Chicago for a week so catch up with you in a while!!!

Bisous!!!

Settling pains 6 things

2007-05-31T17:21:00.000-04:00

1) I am just not sure how this all fits in. Does ANYONE want to read about Germany?? (I am not sure I do!!) Guess I need to work on the angle. ? I don’t seem to have any thoughts other than OK; how do I get in contact with Kable Deutschland cause we STILL do not have TV, can ANYONE translate this for bank statement for me (you have NO idea) do I really need to recycle ALL of that????? ?? and how ever can I avoid the wiener aisle in the grocery store.

2) I am still SO tired and getting used to the routine…up at 5:50, a story on to wake the kids up, everyone up and down for breakfast by 6:30 and out the door by 7:30 class starts at 8:20.… the child is 7!!! By 10 at night I am kacked and ready to hit the hay…and the TBG is still traveling lots.

3) The drive to school and back is beautiful… BUT it takes am an hour both ways and then some…so I am getting used to this too.

4) It was initially really great to be at an International school that was so easy to fit into, but oh my goodness it feels a little too much like home, not like I enjoyed being ignored in France but it did definitely up the level of challenge to get with the program and speak the language. There is something to be said for being different instead just being another Expat…

5) The kids are fitting in OK. Riel last week weepily confessed that his teacher just does not make him feel special and that it is nothing like being with “Annie” *sigh* and well at the end of it all he was feeling pretty left out…*crack* (my heart breaking).

He is such a sweet boy and so sensitive and even though we did not have much choice moving mid term and I knew it would be like this…kinda sucks a bit. It is not that it s all so very bad but that feeling you have when you know your kids are feeling a bit left out. It is a bit hard. I know the bright side is that he will develop these skills and mental toughness as an adult but …still… then Lily tells me she is being pinched and told she is “freaky”…again not a huge deal and there is always the question of the perception of a 3 year old…though in my experience my kids are pretty good at dealing in the truth.
Settling pains I guess..

6) On the brighter side, it is green and beautiful and I simply love the drive back and forth to the kids school. The hills are crossed with crops in an patchwork cover and are spiked with immense white modern windmills roiling through the clouds, there are bicycle paths everywhere which I am trembling to explore.

We had a lovely visit from Trisha and visited some castles and ate us a few schnitzels between us…

Ooh I lost it and now it has resurfaced... Plus OK DUH does Meme mean actually Like ME ME as in it is all about ME???

2007-05-16T15:02:00.000-04:00

10 things about me MEME as nominated by Trisha over at Coffee House Chatter

1) I feel goofy and a little nervous revealing very much about my inner personal self (even saying that makes me feel squirmy…).

2) I am FASCINATED about anything to do with Anthropology. Love to explore these ideas in relation to cultural context and the historical/political framework in which they exist.

3) I was booted off the cheerleading squad in grade nine and when I asked the teacher WHY? (since I felt just crushed) She said “UM…cause you’re REALLY clutzy...!” *ulp* (I still can't bear to do an aerobics class, all that group kicking… )

4) One of my favourite mental themes is CONTEXT, a simple theme that can span many things. I am fascinated by how one thing in one situation is completely appropriate and in another simply distasteful or even illegal or how different things can appear well different depending on the frame of reference. (May have something to do with my Nomadic streak?)

5) When I was about 5 or 6 we had an old claw foot bathtub on top of the cistern beside our old 1875 red insule-brick Ontario farmhouse. The old creaky house sat square in the middle of 50 acres beside an row of ancient pine trees and about 100 yards from the road. On really hot summer days my brothers and I used to fill up the old tub with icy cold water from the cistern and soap up our buck naked bottoms good so we could slide around the edge on our slippery little hineys at lightening speed. So there we were hooting and hollering like we were on some drunken merry go round and when a car would pass we would all shriek in unison ”CAR” and fall into a giggling heap of wet arms and legs into the icy cold water so we could not be seen…and then do it all over again.

6) I want to import antiques and I DREAM *sigh* of going to fine art school….so I can…PAINT, photograph, sculpt, produce.

7) Sometimes I have difficulty controlling my temper. I HATE this about myself as well as the fact that I can be an obscene perfectionist.

8) I figure good soap (L’Occittan), a good haircut and some decent shoes and the world is your oyster.

9) I made have made 5 wedding dresses for 5 of my good friends, by far the most satisfying result of an education and 20 year career as a fashion designer.

10) I can read gypsy fortune telling cards and have had some very good and VERY spooky readings.

Stink

2007-05-01T09:16:00.001-04:00

I feel I need to apologize for not posting. The truth is I have been going like stink to try to get our house in order …and then I feel like we can resume our normal routine…well sort of normal.

It is going OK.

Does not sound SO very positive, but yeah, ok. I am sort of oscillating between delirium and happiness that we are all here and are in the very beginnings of settling into a routine as a family together as we have all been so all over the place for quite a while plus I do really like it here so far, feeling overwhelmed at the amount I STILL have to do before some level of normalcy returns, all mixed in with some impatience, the feeling of being a little displaced and a pressing desire for a very good day at the spa. If I could only find one and sorry to come off sounding princess-y, but yeah a good day at the spa would really help once all the cr*p is put away of course…my toes are whining for a pedicure, my fingers are on their 5th set of cracks and hangnails, and my skin, well…let’s just say me and the shark from “Finding Nemo” have a little more in common than we once did…

We are on the last string of unpacking boxes so indeed I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. It did for a while there feel as though it was never going to end. Moving really does s*ck though, Nomad and all…

*Whine, whine whine….*

I don’t know if it is just me, but I have this great need for organization, and if my “stuff” is everywhere, I have a difficult time functioning , let alone taking care of my kids. Then of course once the boxes are all away I begin to see the little bits of grime left over from the last tenants…yes I think the term obsessive compulsive comes into play here and indeed this living with someone else’s gunk is truly the territory of the renter. Though the house was professionally cleaned and they did do a fair and good job of it, once you find a thriving colony of mold growing on someone else’s old dead skin cells it can sort of tend to run away from you…*ack*
(Muttering to myself …where was that old toothbrush and I need some bleach…BLEACH!!!)

So yes we are sort of in between everything right now, still need to get TV set up, have bank cards but no Visa yet, still some outstanding stuff to do in the house, the kids seem to be doing well at the new school, and OH YES, there is the issue of developing a social life…

Much to do…

Axe

2007-04-23T04:36:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite things about a new neighborhood in a new country is getting to know the local grocery store. This may sound a bit mundane, but to me it is always interesting to see exactly what people are eating, and how that is reflected by the culture.

This morning I went on one of my slightly more leisurely trips shopping as we are beginning to depart from the necessary “gotta-get-food-on-the-table-to-feed-the-seething-masses-and-better-make-it-QUICK” type of grocery run to a marginally more leisurely “lets-stock-the-shelves-and-see-what-they-have-while-the-kids-are-at-school” trip.

On first glance it was seemingly very similar to our ep-procurian (pun intended) experiences in France. My search for lunch foods for the kids lead me round the corner to the wiener aisle….note the word AISLE….not just a shelf of wieners or a section of wieners but an entire AISLE of wieners…dry little ones, shiny big wet ones, wieners under glass, wieners in jars, wieners canned and in bags…every size and shape of slippery fleshy wiener you can imagine…

*Blink*… a little too early in the morning for this…

and then..

*Ack*… I think I am going to be sick...Yes, moving right along…

Next is a cold cut section that takes up half the very large store. Upon further examination I found several products obviously intended to be marketed to children, little teeny tiny squeeze packages of Liverwurst (liver pate but goopier) decorated like Dora or Batman Band-aids (yeah right my kids are going to be BEGGING me for those) and 2 tone bologna sliced into a teddy bear shape for sandwiches (and that too) (ugh…gag)

In another non English speaking culture sometimes something else that can be a bit comical is the liberal use of the English language in product labeling in ways which we can only assume is intended to increase their products market appeal.

I couldn't resist but I am sure TBG can’t wait to lather this shower gel all over himself tomorrow morning….

Quotes for the day…

2007-04-17T14:29:00.000-04:00

Who needs a guy to put together an IKEA cabinet….really…. right?
*Dubious glance at cabinet*….right?

And…

I never HAVE met a Tupperware cupboard that I liked...

Finally Here...

2007-04-15T05:23:00.000-04:00

Well… we are here, finally AND with a phone and internet connection.

Talk about head scratching, trying to figure out how to hook up a modem
A) In a different country and
B) In a different language…German.

Finally we had to get a techy to come in to help us, and he successfully (after L asked me twice in loud clear English why exactly he was SO FAT mommy….) managed to get us up and running. Hopefully he was out of earshot…*Cringe*

We flew to Canada for a week while the movers did their stuff, and so I could get some work done on our old house, which is still without tenants and sitting sad and empty. (Ugh) I had visions of spending a week in the garden getting dirt under my fingernails flirting with blue jays and hungry robins but after one look inside the house with my mom we decided that our time would be better spent giving it a thorough once over. We restored miles of oak trim, washed all 35 windows, gave the kitchens and bathrooms a good spanking, and restored all the maple floors. By the time we left it, it gleamed and it smelt good too.

On my very last night working late in the house as I mopped I could hear loud metal clanging like an anvil adjusting the rusty monolithic boiler that still sits lurking in a dark corner of our basement, now defunct, cold and empty it sits with its door less openings black and gaping. I can only assume our resident ghost was busy stoking up the fire for the night as I heard the creak of the back stairs 15 minutes later and the floor boards sigh above me as he settled into his phantom bed.

Last Friday and the flight home

2007-03-28T23:23:00.000-04:00

All went well, well…as WELL can be expected I suppose, the train journey to Paris, our overnight in a hotel, and the subsequent flight to Canada. The kids are SO good at traveling, they certainly do know the drill though at times it takes them a bit to get into traveling mode as it were, a little “shennaniganning” here and there…but it is to be expected I suppose, no? We stayed at a hotel in Paris in between Dijon and the airport just to break the trip up a little bit where we got to swim, rent a kid movie and order room service, both my and the kids favorite thing. Aren’t we just spoiled rotten? I suppose if room service before dawn because you have to drag your sorry *ss to the airport before any other sane person is up is spoiled rotten… well…then maybe …Yeah. We are spoiled rotten.

We did manage to get out of the hotel packed-bathed-and-fed, with no fighting, before 7 A.M., not bad…I thought. I must have been bleary eyed because while checking out I conked my forehead good on the edge of the reception desk leaning over a little too quickly to hear something that Lily was saying me. It must have looked silly in a slapstick sort of way as Riel giggled in spite of himself. What NOT TO DO when your mom smashes her head before 7 A.M on any given day. I fought back tears all the way to the airport bus…trying to explain to my kids through gritted teeth exactly what had happened and exactly WHY mommy was weeping…

The kids napped on the plane while I watched “A Good Year”, a stunning film shot on location showcasing breathtaking images of rural life in Province about an Englishman who inherits a vineyard in the south of France and his gently awakening appreciation for the finer things in life.

(Ha…figures...)

Not without some relief I wept silently all the way through the film, saying goodbye perhaps as we flew in the direction of our real home in Canada, aware of the irony in already grieving something which had once felt so strange and unfamiliar, which would now be missed. The funny half-land of the expatriate I suppose, never really there, never really away.

The romantic images of the country itself and in the film were so powerful they served to all but erase any unpleasant memories of the frosty local Dijonnais scolding and wagging alienating fingers at wayward foreigners and our glaring lack of a roster of new French friends. Instead I will remember “treasure” laden visits to Brocantes to drag home blackened tart tins and rolling pins dusted with the patina of time, wardrobes and sleigh beds, antique soup turrines, and old tarnished sliver. I will think of the architecture and the breathtaking countryside in the Valley de L’Ouche, our favourite chateaux in Commarin, Chateauneuf, Abey de Fontannay, Malain, and Rochepot, our visits to Lyons, Paris, Marseille, Bescancon, and Avignon. I will only remember mist soaked mossy renaissance gardens cool with morning air, flaking wrought iron market tables dappled with warm summer sunshine laden with pastry, sausages, seasonal fruit, ripe purple grapes and heady fermier cheeses. Only of fresh white linens blowing in the breeze, crisp French breads and sweating bottles of cold Chablis beside equally breathy bottles of heady Burgundies

Aurevoir France!!

Back to the weekend before we left Dijon...

2007-03-26T21:09:00.000-04:00

We had a party this weekend with just a few of our and friends and their families…It gave me great joy and satisfaction to have us all together, the kids running and laughing, the grown ups eating and drinking, much merriment was had (a little TOO much in my case…oooh my aching head and swirling tummy…). We had a wonderful send off and I am so glad that we took the time to get it together. It was great to reminisce about all the fun things we have done over the last almost 3 years…. I can’t believe it, it has gone by so quickly and so much has happened …imagine Lily was only 11 months when we moved here…

Almost all of our mother’s group in Dijon is leaving within the next several months, making it a little bit sad perhaps for the one or two who will remain, but I think the thread of the group is strong and will continue picking up new members. Such a wonderful sisterhood being a mother…*sigh* and now I am entering the phase where socializing with the kids is not so practical since they will be at school almost full time…hmmm...I will have to put on my scheming shoes...oops WAIT…I am ALWAYS wearing them anyway...Let’s see…uuuhh…dinner club, book club…

Maybe a COOKING CLUB???

So today we are in Paris for the night while TBG stays at “home” (well what was home anyway…*sigh*…*pause*…*STRESS*) with all the boxes and the movers and we will travel to Canada for a week or so. It will be so nice to see our friends and family. Our very kind friends have offered us the use of their home while they vacation, so we will get to catch up with every one there and I will get to go and work in my garden as much as I can…

I’m a little nutty that way.

Then back to Germany to unpack and get started afresh in a neighborhood I have not yet visited, to a house I have not yet been in, to meet people we do not yet know, and to discover sights and pleasures as of yet unseen and experienced…perhaps the VERY definition of Nomad after all.

I can’t wait!!

GASP

2007-03-25T23:02:00.000-04:00

FINALLY coming up for air...

Phew.

Normal programming to resume shortly...

Hopefully...

:-)

2007-03-19T07:46:00.000-04:00

Lessons Learned

Almost all I could come up with has to do with food!! (figures…no?)

I have really learned (or more likely only begun to learn) how to really eat. How to appreciate the rhythm of a meal, the dance of flavours, the marrying of wine with meat, fruit and cheese, the importance of taste over sustenance, the threads of conversation that tie a truly elegant and leisurely meal together like the silken threads of the most elegant butterfly…

To select ingredients for their quality and to only begin to appreciate the value of the taste, to discriminate the very good from the mediocre and the poor…

To appreciate beautifully set table, fine linens and china, a wine glass that sings with quality within and without…

How to cook Terrines and Viennoiserie (pastry) including croissants and pain chocolat, brioche, (coming for coffee??)

How to select, present, eat and appreciate fermier cheeses,

What is a raclette, how to eat a fondue,

To drink wine if even only a little bit with most dinners, to anticipate and appreciate the taste, and to appreciate the relaxed glow imbibed by a well chosen glass…

I have learned how to select spices and prepare a traditional pot au feu to cook over the fire so ever slowly until the meat is so delicate and tender that it falls off the bones…even to cook some meats twice enjoying the rich savory taste…

Perfected Beouf Bourgignon …wow…all I can say...who knew??

Don’t waste time, savour every moment and every morsel…

Yeah it will be good...

2007-03-14T16:32:00.000-04:00

Yes indeed it will be VERY nice to be moving to a new environment, and for sure it is very nice to know what we are doing….

I am thinking about;
Having our own yard, with a pond.
Having a big kitchen with an attached dining room and an ISLAND…where we will have room to cook whatever our gluttonous little hearts desire,
Having a great big basement to fix furniture and cache junk (favorite pastime),
Having our VERY-OWN private backyard to entertain in, deadhead flowers in my pajamas in (if I want so there…), do Yoga in if I so desire, sunbathe in, yell at my kids in private, barbeque, read a book quietly, plant a garden, grow tomatoes, cut the grass, run around in our bare feet, pitch the kids OUTSIDE when they are driving me bonkers…
Having room for my elyptical machine so I can get rid of some of this lard attached to my ass…
An outdoor clothesline so I can dry the kids sheets outside…yum smells so good,
Having a room for each kid so they can have their own personal space,
A nice big forest next door to cycle in (why do I see a dog in the future…),
Go the fitness centre that is apparently 1 km from the house,
Take the train into the centre of the big town to SHOP-SHOP-SHOP…
Have the kids at a school at which they speak my language so I can actually talk to and get to know and socialize with some parents…
Walk down town in our little village to shop at the market or go for ice cream…
Have a great big harvest table with a huge cupboard full of art stuff so we can all paint and glue and color and sculpt ourselves silly…

Yeah it will be good.

2007-03-13T10:31:00.000-04:00

Hi guys...sorry I have not posted, but...

TBG signed the contract for our new home in Germany last week (fr**kin finally)...and so now we have less then 2 weeks to get packed up and get out of here...gawd, I swear it never rains it pours...yeah I know it is not like I shouldn't have expected it ...but still...

So needless to say I am feeling just a little FREAKED OUT!!!

Phew. Glad I got that off my chest.

It is sort of a weird kind of no mans land (Nomad's land??), feeling excited to go to a new place and have a new beginning of sorts but also sad to leave the friends we have made here who some of which I know we will likely not see again... and after so much hard work to get settled and try to fit in (at least a little bit...)...Ya I know it it all comes with the territory...but still a bit sad.

I am trying not to be too stressed which may require a little more alcohol than normal...
The state of affairs can be easily seen by the comment my son made this morning in the car on the way to school...when I asked them to try to be helpful (instead of fighting...or whining...or bashing one another) and was talking about mommy being a little bit stressed out and he interrupted to ask if that was the reason I was yelling alot??

**Sheesh**....why do they have to be so direct (and on the money) all the time anyways...??

I will post some more pics of Spain, but as you can imagine I am up to my ass in last-things-left-to-do-why-do-we-always-wait-til-the-last-minute-for-everything-fr**kin-thing???

Yeah human nature I guess...I am so one of those yeah let's just keep piling it on types...

Mantra...
I will not get stressed...
I will not try pile on anything extra...

Oh yeah...I will not yell at my kids...

*sigh*

Friends

2007-03-09T09:28:00.000-05:00

I am RIVEN with jealously (I knew I would be...)

The town is gorgeous, the people are friendly and magnanimous, the food is INCREDIBLE and the view is just spectacular…think Spanish Heidi…(no not the porn version…)(!!) and it is perpetually sunny!!!

We had simply a fabulous time. It was so very great to be with Oreneta, we reminisced about the very first afternoon we met, on the bow of a friend’s sailboat and just launched into a delightful (and slightly fast paced) conversation some 17 years ago and became FAST friends still going strong. Funny and ever so delightful how that is no? Like sisters or kindred spirits?
These relationships so nourish our soul's and I think we both appreciated it all the more since we are both a little out of element... what is it about good friends who bring out the best in us?

One of my children’s favorite poems goes something like this

Some people talk and talk and never say a thing,
Other simply smile and the birds begin to sing…

Some how we seem to be able to be different in lots of ways but so very much the same in many others. I truly admire how marvelously articulate Oreneta is, good tempered, good natured, generous…and…well like with good friends the list goes on.

Lucky lucky me.

Spring, here in Dijon, in the market and in my garden...

2007-03-02T09:41:00.000-05:00

2007-03-02T08:30:00.000-05:00

So we are still trying to finalize our house rental in Germany. God who knew it could take so long or be so complicated. I am stressed even though I am not exactly doing a whole lot extra and am taking great solace in food (and a little wine…) Let’s just suffice by saying I am not saying NO to anything…I was even sucking corn syrup from a spoon today in search of a little sugar distraction…!!

I never drink during the day and even rarely (well… not TOO often) at night, but today had a teeny tiny (somewhat guilt laden) glass of wine with my lunch…(yes I know; slippery slope and all) …but it was with the vegetable terrine (delicious by BTW) from the weekend so it did not seem too out of place…(yes I know the rationalizations abound)

Thank GOD I have my kids to distract me from the fridge…(and the bottle of wine)

The food problem has been going on for a while now and *bulge* I keep telling my self it will all straighten itself out when we move. *sigh* It is a funny mental space to be in, not knowing how long it will be until we leave and waiting but sort of not wanting to really invest too much in current situation…strange. Sadly people do tend to back away a bit when they know you are leaving…can’t say I blame them when all is said and one with busy lives and all of that…sort of sucks still the same though. But still it will be nice to have a million things to do and new people to meet and greet. (Hey maybe I can feed them instead of myself all the time…)

On another note, we are getting ready to go to Spain to spend almost a week with Oreneta, can’t wait, we have been friends for what is now a long time and she is truly one of my favorite people, funny (very) smart(very) and sweet(very).

WE have tickets for the night train to Spain, and have a “Couchette”, a sleeping compartment with 4 beds. We could have had a 2nd class compartment with 6 beds instead of 4 less but the idea of having two strangers sleeping with us and the kids sort of creeped me out…I would be awake the ENTIRE time guarding my children. The train leaves at 1:15 A.M so we will have to get the kids up transport them to the train station and then redeposit them into their train beds. We change trains at around 9 A.M at the border, which should give us lots of time to have a leisurely breakfast and will arrive in Barcelona around lunchtime…(notice how everything is oriented to mealtimes? ) On the journey back we will spend the entire day on the train, and will change trains 3 times...yikes can you say bored kids and an antsy mom?

I will take my camera along and who knows maybe a guest post??
We shall see…gotta go and pack my bag...

Have a great week and see you all when we get back next Thursday!!!

Bisous!!

Terre=Earth

2007-02-27T10:55:00.000-05:00

It is always SO nice to get home.

The weekend was great, and we are pooped.

I forgot to mention that part of the plans for the weekend included another Cordon Bleu experience. The day’s topic was Terrines. The word terrine originating from the French word “terre” for earth referring to the traditional earthen ware baking dish these delectable slice-able picnic-able morsels are baked in.

We prepared a traditional meat terrine with rabbit liver, cognac and herbs.
These are the ingredients marinating, looks sort of gross but the smell was amazing.

Before baking this terrine we surrounded it with the veinous layer of fat that surrounds a pigs stomach, which is said and I quote the chef "To moisturize and nourish the terrine while it is baking".(!!) (I have always sort of wondered what the heck that was...now I know). It is removed before eating. This terrine is rich and earthy with the flavours of the herbs and the cognac all delectably blended together.

Then we went on to prepare a vegetable terrine with the ingredients you see here.

All the vegetables are lightly cooked and then dried with a paper towel so as not contribute to any excess moisture in the terrine which would make it soggy.

No soggy terrines here…

The vegetables are then layered into a baking dish with a mousse made from pureed chicken breasts and eggs, herbs and crème which when done is gently baked in a water bath in a steamy oven.

The finished product looks pretty yummy and is served with a fresh tomato coulis…

Last but not least a smoked eel and salmon terrine with crème and herbs.
The preparation begins with dissolving gelatin into boiled crème and herbs, potatoes are stirred in.

This mixture is layered into a terrine form alternating smoked salmon, smoked eel and caviar with the potatoe creme mixture. The terrine has been first lined with steamed cabbage leaves which helps hold it all together.

Slip it into the fridge cool as a cucumber... wait awhile and then slice it up…

Looks yummy n’est pas?

2007-02-22T16:26:00.000-05:00

We are planning to go to Paris for the weekend, and today I bought tickets for the train.

I was going to drive, but it is 4.5 hours in the car, including the inevitable 1.5 hours of driving-aimlessly-while-lost-and-yelling-with-frustration-at-my-kids-in-the-back-seat-while-I-desperately-try-to-figure-out-which-way-to-go as opposed to a calm 1 hour 50 minutes on the TGV (Train Grand Vitesse) or high speed train gliding rapidly and silently over steel rails, peacefully past farmers fields and quaint villages while we eat-croissants-sip-hot-chocolate-and-eat-thick-creamy-yoghurt-out-of-little-terra-cotta-pots-while-I-play-scrabble-with-R-and-read-to L-while-giving-myself-a-manicure…

The choice was easy… No?

My son has been giving me the gears something severe this week. I think he misses his Dad and feels my stress. As is with most kids (and indeed adults) he is unable to ask for what he needs and instead when he is feeling needy he acts out. Big time.

It is only recently that I have realized that it is when I am under stress and less available to him that this happens and of course usually I am too wrapped up in whatever is going on with me (single-parenting-way-too-much-of-the-time-and-strep-throat-since-christmas-and-flying-to-Chicago-way-too-often-and-where-the-h*ll-will-we-be-living-and-when-the-h*ll-will-we-move-so-not-really-much-of-anything-at-all) to be able to stand back and see what is going on clearly. It just drives me crazy.

Usually by the time I figure it out I am able to take a big breath and be more there for him and then the situation improves, but not before I have done WAY more yelling than I would like. Plus he is bossing his little sister around something severe…aghh!! I do not physically discipline my children but I do use my voice and now they do it to each other and OMG it makes me CRINGE and just want to hide!!!
Ah *c’est la vie* No??

I have always found that a change of environment helps, both me and him, and since we have always done lots of educational things together it is real quality time for my kids. So I have found an awesome map of Paris with all the museums downtown, so we (I) am looking forward to getting sore feet and traipsing ALL over. See ya next week!!

(plus I'll bring my camera..!!)

Gosh I really AM a Nomad…

2007-02-20T16:14:00.000-05:00

Phew just let my breath out…

TBG met with the landlord yesterday morning and it seems as though he is amicable to making some of the changes we are interested in. (!!) The house is in a little quaint old village nestled in and amongst farmer’s fields, about 15 minutes drive from the city centre of Hannover and reasonably close to the children’s new School. It is not quite as big as we might like but has a lovely garden that is completely fenced and kid friendly with a small-not-deep-enough-to-drown-in pond and a greenhouse PLUS the owner says we can plant a veggie garden.

* oh bliss*

There is shopping and amenities within walking distance, not sure about an open air market but sure do hope so, a big forest full of trails and a big brand new fitness club about 1.5 kilometers from the house. The regional rail system runs a 6 minute walk from the house so yes we could stay a one car family…global-warming-and-after-all-Australia-will-be-banning-incandescent-light-bulbs-so-WE-do-like-to-do-our-part-too...

The house itself is a little bit bigger than 2000 square feet, not entirely remarkable and sadly not old and gorgeous…except that it has a lovely large garden room with a fireplace over looking a nice big terrace. Eat in kitchen with a great room, 4 bedrooms, 3 baths yadda yadda. The landlord however it seems is willing to redo all the floors in hardwood and paint from top to bottom sooo…it WILL be quite nice all polished up and once I’m done with it…and the price is right…

Well it just might be ok.

Let’s hope it all works out as it is still not a done deal… cause MAN this is tiring me out...

Suck that breath in once agai…

!!

2007-02-18T16:36:00.000-05:00

Dont' Hold Yor Breath!!

*Sorry about the lapse!!*

Just took a quick peek at everyone’s blogs and I can see you have all been steaming ahead right on schedule…gosh you all write so well… *envy* and I do LOVE reading you all!!

Lots of goofy things to write about…but alas later.

Why is it that when the computer is not available the ideas expound and when it lurks things dry up? Normal I guess…or maybe that when the computer is lurking it is because I need to GET OUT MORE…I need a tape recorder…now that would be a bit obsessive would it not!!!

Just returned from Chicago today …the treatments went well (not a drug user but I must confess I do love occasional and doc supervised use of prescription narcotics…sort of like a quick and inexpensive in office beach holiday…) and am as black and blue as ever with an additional treatment on my collar bone. Sort of feels like I met up with Mike Tyson somewhere along the line and he pile drove one right into the clavicle…**ouch**

Docs say progress is VG so I am most pleased. I received a good sound scolding from the nurse though…definitely time to get back into the saddle or at least the elliptical machine as it were.

TBG hopefully closing a deal on a house tomorrow…so I will spill ALL the beans when it happens…don’t hold your breath though...

I’ll do that for you.

Dreaming

2007-02-12T10:04:00.000-05:00

I had a dream the other morning. I don’t know about you but most of my dreams come at this time. I guess any other time of the night I am just too asleep to remember unless it is one of those scare-you-silly-heart-in-your-throat kind of dreams…

I was standing on a high spot surrounded by an expanse of verdant green hills which fell away into the distance and were lined with fences and hedgerows like some great terrestrial hairnet. The breeze was light and the sky a warm clear blue.

I was alone.

In front of me lay a stone dais and on top of it stood an obelisk, about waist height, 4 sided with a pyramid point shining silver and tall in the sunshine. All was quiet and I remember feeling very calm and well. I stood very still for some time and contemplated the obelisk and far far beyond, hearing the tickle of the breeze and somehow feeling the warmth of the sun through the structure before me.

The front of the obelisk fell away, opening near the top to reveal a small hatch and darkness inside. A brown clawed and feathered foot emerged, followed by another, a ruffled and speckled white stomach and finally a swiveling, and puffed up head pierced with two wise limpid eyes and a punctuated with a glossy caramel beak. The owl regarded me with deference, shook himself, swiveled a bit more all the while looking rather pleased that he had been able to extricate himself so graceful and with so few ruffled feathers. He shook himself again, peered, preened and then turned back to the obelisk.

As if on cue a large cindery grey wing emerged extended, plumed with enormous long flat feathers and attached to a sleek grey body and a regal white head. The eagle stepped out and cast a suspicious eye to the left, then the right, eloquently stretched his wings out to their fullest and gave several powerful blows to the air, settled his feathers and took his place next to the owl. They both turned expectantly, back towards the obelisk.

As it can be with dreams I had become somehow invisible yet was still watching.

As the owl and the eagle waited expectantly I could hear a trill and a rustle coming from inside the obelisk. We all peered a little more closely and waited. In a moment a glossy eye could be seen looking nervously out from the darkness and then a shiny red and black mottled head moved into the light. With wattle and comb a wobble the Turkey emerged trying clumsily to get his bottom heavy body over the lower edge of the trap door and out into the light. He landed with a plop and a shimmy, his body brilliant ruby red like mashed sweet ripe strawberries soaked in sugar and flecked with black as though he had been caught up in an ink well argument. Confused and skittish he searched the ground for clues and then huddled to the other birds for protection.

*Then I woke up*...

As some dreams do, this one immediately faded and I only remembered it later in the day when some subconscious thought triggered the memory.

Since it seemed rife with symbolism I decided just for fun to look it up…to see what it ALL means.

I looked to this site, Dream Dictionary for a translation.

To see an obelisk in your dream, signifies your cold, stern nature. You need to need to warm up to others and soften your nature. A obelisk may also have phallic implications. (I liked the last one…)

To see green fields in your dream, symbolizes great abundance, freedom, and happiness. You may also be going through a period of personal growth. Alternatively, this dream may simply be an expression for your love of nature. (Hmmm yes, yes…)

To see an eagle in your dream, symbolizes nobility, pride, fierceness, freedom, superiority, courage, and powerful intellectual ability. Eagles also indicate self-renewal. You will struggle fiercely and courageously to realize your highest ambitions and greatest desires. (I liked this one too...)

To see an owl in your dream, symbolizes wisdom, insight and virtue.
The owl is also synonymous with death and darkness. (I decide to ignore this last part)

To see a turkey in your dream, indicates that you have been foolish. You are not thinking clearly. Alternatively, it may represent Thanksgiving and thus, a time of togetherness and family. (Not sure what to make of this one?)

Huh…good for a rainy day…!!

Mona is NOT HAPPY

2007-02-10T17:49:00.000-05:00

Is it just me?

I know the French are rude, and I am living with it and yes I know it is not wrong just different, but… this takes the cake.

For any of you who may have checked on Unlikely Nomad lately you will see that my daughter and I spent yesterday at the Cite des Sciences in Paris. We did have a great visit and the museum is fabulous. I would highly recommend it …that is except for one thing…

Our visit started inauspiciously enough with a visit to the information centre to scope out the lay of the land. In true French style the ticketing procedure is immensely complicated. Several different combinations of prices for the several different areas of the museum, combined with prices for different age groups, as well as student discounts, under 3 are free and than annual memberships…Ay yi yi!!! Combined with a 4 A.M start, the pre lunch hungries and another language I was just was not getting it.

When I requested a family membership form from the lady at the ticket desk, she became a little nasty and asked me to move aside so she could serve the next person…(Cultural misunderstanding I’m thinking??)

Well…HELLO….I AM the next person!!

A little annoyed none the less I moved aside to fill out the form. Then I made the mistake of asking another question about the annual membership and well…she just lost it. I was standing there just stunned at the diatribe and the angrier she became the less French I was able to understand…

I have never been spoken to so rudely by anyone in a service position in my life and when I asked her if it was in fact her job to answer the questions of the public well…you’d a thought I’d suggested she give the janitor a blow job every night…

OH.MY. GOODNESS.

All I wanted was information and the more I tried to sort it out the more pissed she got until I finally asked to speak to her manager. She called the manager all right but not so I could voice my complaint ...so she could complain about a hostile (HOSTILE!!) customer…I am thinking…OMG I am going to get thrown out of the science centre for asking about an annual membership…(and in front of my stunned 3 year old….)

*cringe*

Reality is slipping away for me here...

(Yeah I know any guys reading this are thinking...oooh, WAY too much estrogen floating around here...and I must confess I thought of that too...)

Why I did not just walk away I do not know…I thought of it about an hour later…sometimes when you get into something I suppose. So the manager drags me (literally) off to one side and I am trying to explain to her through frustrated tears of anger and EMBARRASSEMENT …that I am not some crazed person and that I was just asking for information. The more I tried to explain the harder I cried and well… the worse it got.

So there I am in bad French saying over and over again, “Je suis une femme NORMAL…je juste voudrais l’information et et…SOB SOB….La dame labas elle n’est pas de tout gentille!!

HOW awful…

Doomsday Rating

2007-02-06T16:07:00.000-05:00

I wonder why they called them the dark ages…was it …DARK?

Do you think this period in our history will come to be known as the “Stormy Ages” or maybe the “Freakoid Weather Ages” or even the “Windy Ages”??

In any case continuing with the theme…I have an idea.

I think the Global Committee for Climate Change (GCCC) should establish a criterion for every single thing on the planet that is either manufactured or sold.

Let’s call it a “Doomsday Rating” (or as anyone who knows my penchant for acronyms) a “DR”. (More to be found HERE). The GCCC would evaluate the potential of every product currently available to consumers and the steps taken to produce that product in light of harmful effects to the environment. So every product label or box would have a great big BLACK number on it from 1-10.

Something with a DR of “0” would be something manufactured that is utterly benign. Like for example …*ummmm*.....sayaaa…*scratch*???....*huh*…is there anything?
Anyway…(whatever) the particular method of manufacture would be so unobtrusive and pure that there utterly lacks any potential to harm anything let alone change weather patterns.

A DR of “10” would mean that it is so filthy bad for the world, the ozone layer and global warming you might just as well take a great big rocket launcher and punch a huge h*nkin hole right through the stratosphere. Like say… automobiles, wheat, sugar, every single thing we EAT… bleach, (according to my source DD) beef , paper, every single thing we WEAR…toilet paper, gasoline, every single thing we READ… cardboard, milk, dump trucks, every single thing we DRIVE, Pam, transatlantic flights, every single thing we DO, body odor, Jerry Springer…sorry I digress to just plain old bad things…

I mean I guess there must be SOME middling ground around in there with the odd DR of 5 or so…

I am especially sure underdeveloped nations will be right on the bandwagon with this one as I know environmental pollution is right at the top of their agendas…

Anyhow…Don’t ya think?

Then the scared folks like me will actually KNOW if what we buy is good for the planet or not so those of us who care can put our money where our mouths are.

That’s gotta help some no?

Fragile Planet

2007-02-04T16:59:00.000-05:00

The more I learn about the history of science the more astounded I am at how “far” we have come. I have always been a bit of a left winger when it comes to science, particularly medicine, somehow being painfully aware of the ever present political influences that make modern science and medicine what it is.

Imagine only 500 years ago scientists and philosophers thought the presence of fossils at high altitudes was due to the great biblical floods. Leonardo Davinci was one of the first thinkers to begin to refute this theory. Our parents remember when there was no television and some of our grandparents when there was no electricity, and not all that long ago in the whole scheme of things. My son was asking me today about CD’s when I was a kid and was shocked to realize that we did not have them then, and I know we can all remember when a calculator cost well over $300. Does it not feel at though not only have we made some mind boggling technological advancements but that the very speed of those advancements is increasing exponentially every second?

I almost feel as though we are heading at a dizzying speed towards some great technological and environmental abyss…

Yet having said all of that in some shocking ways we still just don't seem to get it.

We just recently figured out, for certain, that smoking can kill us and I can guarantee you there will always be some who out there will continue to staunchly refute that point.

I have always sort of thought if it like a great big goldfish tank...sort of like peeing in the water...sooooo... Why would we do that?

I marvel that we continue to pollute our world the way we do with pretty much complete abandon. But I, like most everyone else, still do all the things I have always done...use chemical cleaners, drive a vehicle, burn fossil fuels to heat my home, use electricity....

I must confess I am more than a little panicked out about the new report recently released regarding climate change...

YES it is man made phenomenon....YES IT IS OUR FAULT!!!! (aaAAHH!!)

This is our Planet we are talking about!!

I was a child who grew up completely freaked out about natural disasters. I remember waking up one morning and hearing my parents discussing a great landslide/sinkhole type disaster that happened late one night to several houses in the Quebec area...houses just sucked up, disappeared without a trace, just like that...

(Talk about fodder for nightmares; yep that's right little girl, land just opened up in the middle of the night and SUCKED them those houses right up...while everyone slept...) *gibber gibber*....

We also lived smack dab in the middle of the landy bit between 3 great lakes and endured some of THE freakiest storms you have EVER seen, green skies with funnel clouds, tornadoes that leave the landscape dotted with dead sheep and lifting the roofs off folks houses while they slept...

This new announcement regarding climate change has me with my head under the covers...(not only in denial like most of the world but in abject and utter fear) This committee on climate change predicts a 10 degree change in temperatures in the next 100 years in Canada...more severe weather and no end in sight even if we do clean up our act....

OMG...

What does this mean for us?

What do we do?

Who is in charge? *gulp*

How do we cope and how do we change? *panic*

OMG(Where is that blanket again...)

*quake*

Mother Earth

2007-02-01T15:36:00.000-05:00

I am in constant awe of the never ending flow of energy and living things in this great world of ours. Nature is master, the power of the universe is my god.

One interdependent species delicately intertwined into the existence of another. Our planet so eloquently self designed; plant, animal, insect, creature of sea or air, ordered into a divine symphony of life, one act naturally following the other.

The great flat surface of the earth jam packed full of legs and arms, eyes and fronds, a veritable tapestry of life, living paradoxically separate and yet together.

In each layer of life can be found a profoundly delicate balance of cells, mitochondria, and electrons as each species quietly continues to evolve to its own ends.

Hands off my Bagel!!

2007-01-30T15:29:00.000-05:00

I have decided to take matters into my own hands…there are so may of you folks out there trying to shed a few pounds I have been feeling like I need to stem the tide a bit to continue to ensure balance in the universe.

I’m working hard to do my part over here.

I don’t know if it is the stress of our upcoming move or what but I have been completely unable to say no…to food that is…(I don’t seem to have may difficulty saying no to exercise though)…

Everyone is loosing weight… 7 lbs I heard someone bandy about… 14 lbs over at Attila…(lucky girl way to go..)

HEY who said that!

I think my body is the receptacle for all those shed pounds (Eeww gross…) as they seem to be appearing over here. Must be some sort of super cool new technology don’t you think? (overseas even…) Yep the fat pipeline…

One of my friends dropped over this afternoon with some home baked cookies for us…so very sweet…less than 1.5 hours later they are ALL gone. Thanks for the cookies and the thought (which WAS very sweet)….but Aghh!!

Is it true that on the weight watchers diet if you mess up and binge on something naughty it is “OK” to skip a meal as long as the total calories for the day add up to your target?

Ummm …can you like carry this total forward?

Ummm…Like how far?

News headline…MOTHER OF TWO EATS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 8 YEARS

Both TBG and I have gained weight since we have moved to France, (you try to live here and not indulge… ) the cheese, the wine, the pastry….Ooooohhh the PASTRY…

When we first arrived I had a pastry problem. I could NOT walk by a Patissier without stopping to sample a morsel. Do you have any idea how many Pattissiers there are where we live in France?? OMGoodness…it is endless.

I remember more than a few days of two or three stops a day…

Once I saw a female comic make a bagel out of her belly (you need some pudge for this)
…with her belly button as the hole…I laughed SO hard…so once I did it for my kids…now they will NOT let me forget it…!!

HEY!! Get your hands off my Bagel!!!

FYI....I Love Acronyms...

2007-01-28T08:21:00.000-05:00

As I am writing on my blog I often wish for a little tiny image to insert where ever it seems appropriate. (Usually whatever face MY face is doing as I type..)

Since I have not found these as of yet I figured I could invent some of my very own personalized acronyms just for “our” use *coy wink* (that would be CW)

It would be something like this...

ER *eye roll*
BER *Big Eye roll*

Would be the two most often used… For the reading of funny stuff of others there would be…

GROL!! *Guffaw Right Out Loud!!*
SUMB *Snicker Under My Breath*…

And in the most extreme

OMG-IPMP…yes you guessed it *Oh MY GOD I’m Peeing My Pants!!!*

Or for those pieces that touch you and make you want to reach out and hug a fellow blogger

BWH *Big Warm Hug* or
FFYK *Feel For Ya Kid*…

And for self amused moments…

SIF *Shit I’m Funny* or
WTW *WOW that’s witty* or even…

DIG*Damn I’m Good*

And finally there would HAVE to be …

GFCISD for *GeeZUZ Freakin Christ I’m SOO Dyslexic* (that's after the 12th spell check… )

I have been thinking about the way blogging is and will continue to change the literary world as we know it. Those of us today who are writing prolifically 200 years ago would not have even known how to read let alone write. Now not only doing that but some of us are even influencing and shaping popular culture. The speed at which we can communicate and the scope and accessibility of readership both for reader and writer is mind bending. In a matter of seconds we can access information of almost any scope. I can only think that the evolution and the development of thought in the literary world will speed up at an unimaginable pace. How very exciting...maybe a little scary, it feels like uncharted waters and at the same moment exciting to be in the middle of it... No?

At the same time written penmanship is becoming less important, my handwriting has degenerated to not much more than a scrawl and as computer culture further encroaches our world I can't help but wonder how computer lingo (the normal stuff) will change our language. Acronyms are cool but I never imagined the scope of use until I checked out an Acronym dictionary online... Not only is there a whole culture of language but subcultures again depending on the user...check it out...

WTF??

Celebrate, Create and Wait....

2007-01-27T16:03:00.000-05:00

I know this is really REALLY late but better late than never.

New Years Resolutions 2007

CELEBRATE

To remember and celebrate all my nearest and dearest’s anniversaries and birthdays…(I am HORRIBLE at this and am either never organized enough or remember WAY to late…) So anyone whom I have ever offended by this please forgive me and realize it is nothing personal just someone who can never really seem to get their act together!!! This involves getting a list from everyone and marking it on my calendar …so if you read this and you are one of those please email me your dates!!

CREATE

To try to do something creative EVERY day…writing, drawing, painting, photography, sewing, cooking. I have realized how much this satisfies me and enriches my life.

WAIT

Try to be in less of a hurry for myself and …especially for my children. I am forever rushing them. Be calm and savour.

I will be away until next week!!

2007-01-24T05:32:00.000-05:00

Check back then!!

Chus!!!(German!!)

More On Prolo !!!

2007-01-24T05:12:00.000-05:00

My story for anyone who is interested.

I am 40(ish) and you can tell from my blog 2 little kids…I spent about 7 or 8 years rowing competitively, suffered a few injuries and the upshot of it is I overstretched ligaments in my thoracic (upper) back. The lax ligaments (the fibers that hold all the tissues and bones together) have allowed for lots of movement in the bones of my thoracic back (subluxation) hence nerve compression etc etc… all of which for many people equals chronic pain. (sorry to be so simplistic I am sure you know all of this already…) Many people who suffer from chronic pain in various parts of their bodies suffer suffer because of lax ligament tissue.

I have had pain for 16 years in varying degrees. The last 2 years have become really difficult, I had to stop exercising, had difficulty sitting through a meal and could not carry anything (even to pick up my kids) not to mention was terminally grumpy. I read a divorce statistic regarding people who are in chronic pain and it was really high, I could see the road I was heading down and it was not good. My life had become way too pathetic for a formerly vibrant athlete and extroverted personality. I kept thinking OMG if I am only 43 I have a good 40 years left I am going to turn into one of those grumpy crooked little old women who complain all the time…NO WAY!!!

I have been trying to find a diagnosis since the original injury on about 1990, but since it is the soft tissue it does not show up in any diagnostic test. Suddenly it becomes phantom pain. I have had every diagnostic test imaginable, and saw every doctor I could find who might be able to help me. Nothing, makes you start feeling like a bit of a freak…

Last summer in desperation since the quality of my life had taken such a downward turn I took up the torch again and decided to try again to find help. I finally saw a sports medicine MD in The Beaches in Toronto, ( I can send you the name if you want who helped a friend of ours with his chronic back pain) and he diagnosed it, (finally) and recommended “Prolotherapy”. In his words the only solution for this type of chronic pain injury. So then I was on the research train on the internet and phoning every single person I could who practices Prolotherapy in Canada and all over the world, and had consultations with several docs in Toronto who practice it as part of their chronic pain clinics.

This process led me to Dr. Hauser. If you are interested there is a great deal of information on the internet regarding this topic. I have been going to see Dr. Hauser since September, and I am going back for my 4th treatment this Friday.

My quality of life has improved 100%. I still have pain but on a scale of 1-2 instead of 8-10 at the conclusion of the treatments (another 2-3) I should be pain free. The treatment is supposed to be permanent, the risks are low and though it may sound invasive (much less invasive than surgery) it offered me complete recovery. I take almost no medication now while I was previously been taking from 2-4-6-8 Ibuprofin a day to manage the pain. Prolo therapy promises a finite cure not band aid as other pain management techniques do.

The difference has been amazing, I am still experiencing subluxation (crunching) but much less and with no pain, eventually it will disappear altogether. Dr. Hauser says I will be running again in a year and could be running marathons (I scarcely dare to hope but if my present incremental recovery is any indication I have no reason to doubt his words.)
My life is almost back!!

My recommendation to anyone who has chronic pain and is curious is to call his office (the info is listed on the website.) Talk to the patient consultant (Matt) who will talk to you at length and in depth about your personal situation and answer ANY questions you may have. (put it this way I probably spent almost 1.5 hours talking to him over 2 phone call because I was so nervous). You can also have a phone consult with the doctor and if you persue treatment the cost of the phone consult (about the cost of a modest dinner out) will be deducted from your first treatment. Money well spent and a fair approach if I do say so.

Having said all of that the treatments for me are more than manageable. I walk back to my hotel after and fly home the next day.(!)

The site again can be found at caringmedical.com and the clinic is in Chicago.

No more Speculating

2007-01-24T05:01:00.000-05:00

So it is finalized, we ARE moving to Germany.

Huuuuughhh. Sort of anticlimactic I must confess, but we are excited nevertheless.

TBG signed his contract on the 24th of December and now everyone is all hurry up and to get us there as TBG is commuting to northern Germany (imagine???). It has been over a year and a half since the first whiffs of this change hit the wind. (like y'all couldn't have gotten your act in gear a LITTLE bit sooner??) Chalk it up to the speed of corporate change I guess...

Lessons learned

1) Don't talk about it until it is a reality.

2) Don't think about it until it is a reality.

Nuff said. Drove myself and everyone around me crazy speculating.

Spent the last two days there on a crazed mission to decide on a school and look at some houses.

Ok so in two days you want to me to decide my entire life for the next 3-5 years????

Aaaaarghh...!!

Telltale smudges

2007-01-18T11:57:00.001-05:00

Am I the only person who eats my kids Halloween candy?

I like to think of myself as honest as the day is long , but I think nothing of dipping into the orange plastic pumpkin (even better now with two kids there are TWO plastic pumpkins) when no one is looking. Months later they ask me…Hey Mom?? Whatever happened with all our Halloween Candy?...

Ummmm…?

I have been known to go to great lengths to eat chocolate bars in secrecy (usually in the car), being sure to check for telltale smudges, and then stashing the wrappers quietly so no one will ever find them…Granted loot I have bought for myself... but still...

Last week my daughter informed me that she REALLY wanted to eat her red and white glossy iced snowman cookie with the neat robins egg blue top hat that I had dragged carefully wrapped in red tissue for her from Starbucks…on the OTHER side of the ocean.

Because I only had one bite Mommy and it was really yummy…

(Now how was I supposed to know she would want the rest of it?)

TBG was sitting across the table from me and after he noted the slight pause and flinch before I could conjure up an answer. He quickly figured out EXACTLY where Frosty the cookie had gone.

Geesh…you’d think since I had dragged it all the way across the ocean for her without eating it, I could have staved off devouring it for a little bit longer…

Easter is coming …groan…gosh don’t even get me started…

Eulogy to a spider

2007-01-17T15:18:00.000-05:00

Eulogy to a spider.

There are two things you need to know about me.

The first is that I am SO far sighted I can see at 70 FEET what the average person can see at 20 FEET…which I will have you know, can be very useful for yacht racing as I can see the marks WAY before anyone else can, but not so good for minute tasks like …well…examining spiders.

The second thing you should know about me is that I quite like insects.

Ever since I was a small child I have found insects to be really rather interesting…in a “Gee I wonder what the world looks like from down there” kind of way and a …”Hmmm what ever will he have for lunch” sort of way…or a “Gosh how EVER do they find their way around when everything is SO small”…Now, I know an entomologist could tell me all of this in a heartbeat, but it is always fun to sorta wonder. No?

When I was little we lived in very old very wooden farmhouse with its resident collection of bugs. The absolute best of which included some very VERY large black spiders we used to call WOLF spiders. Yeah you guessed it, that’s ‘cause they’re just about as big and all out gag-you-in-the-back-of-the-throat prickles-up-your-arms spider, hairy like a wolf...*sideways glance* sorta like this guy...

One cool autumn night when I was about 8, I was all snuggled down in my bed when I felt something sort of tickley like under the sheets and blankets. I abruptly sat up and lifted the pillow to find a rather chagrined and somewhat flattened but otherwise alive and well spider looking guiltily up at me from under my pillow. He knew full well that he should NOT have been there. I hopped out of bed bellowing whatever expletive would have been appropriate for any 8 year old only to hear a peal of laughter from my brothers who had been waiting, breath baited, in their room next door. ARGHHH!!! The poor terrified spider scrambled off with a nary a backward glance to the safety of some random floorboard crack, unscathed….

I always ask my kids to respect the bugs in our life…they have the same right to life as they or I (within reason) and even as a kid I hated to see anyone killing any insects. With the exception of flies...So I guess it is a discriminate sympathy. To this day I can never go fishing as I spend more time feeling sorry for the poor writhing worm in his watery condition than I can imagine enjoying the fishing. Yes I know a worm is not and insect…but all the same…

Every summer we have rented a cottage on one of the Great Lakes with just my Mom and the kids and I tell you it is bug heaven. In every nook and cranny some life and death struggle is going on, eat or be eaten and more spiders than you can shake a stick at. The kids and I love to go for little walks on bug inspection. One year we had a bumper crop of lady bugs. So many that we found them EVERYWHERE in the cottage (I think I even found one in my undies once…) and they were washing up on the beach in a great red tide. Another year it was Cicadas and on every pine tree could be found a dozen or so honey crisp just molted translucent Cicada skins. We even found a newly emerged Cicada, fresh and light green, and had the chance to watch his wings expand and dry, utterly fascinated by the business end of BECOMING a Cicada. We collected the scratchy skins plying the pine bark and left a bowl filled with them on the kitchen table to reexamine leisurely later. Only problem was that bowl of honey colored crisp stuff looked exactly like a bowl of potato chips, (did I mention I don’t see so good?) and I caught myself more than once intending to reach for the bowl out of the corner of my eye before I remembered what was in there……PHAtoooii!!

This morning when I was in the shower…(no I won’t go into TOO much detail here) needless to say near blind without my glasses, I could vaguely see a little black spec floating in the water before it went down the drain…yes TBG needs to get at it with the Drano but that’s a whole other blog topic. In any case I sort of ignored it for a while and then I started to think…hmmm …wonder what that is. Sometimes we do get spiders trapped in the tub, and *blush* I always feel sort of sorry for them and let then crawl onto my foot file (good grip I figure) and carry them to relative safety so that they can continue to spin and impale others at their leisure. This always gives me great satisfaction.

So I continued to wonder what the little floating spec is …then I thought…hey…maybe that little black blob has come OFF me or …*pause* …*ugh*….*start*…from IN me….ACK.

Gosh what IS it?

*squint*

Hmmm…. Ahhhh….I think (THINK) I see 8 little legs all curled under his poor waterlogged little body.

Finally I put on my glasses which of course immediately fog, since my curiosity has by now gotten the better of me.

Shheeeeesh. I STILL can’t see it. Ok so whatever it is I’ll just get out the old foot file and dip it out. So I sat it on the edge of the far corner of the tub and moved away.

Just a little bit.

I continued with my morning ablutions while keeping a sharp eye on the wet blob.
Still no movement…

No…WAIT!!!…

Nope.

Gosh poor little guy. I wonder if I get out the blow dryer if I can dry him off a little bit…then maybe he will survive…Hmmm….might be too hot…

I must examine this I thought …so I got a piece of TP and gingerly and cautiously picked it (him) up being very careful not to injure it (him).

Pah!

Foiled . Just a little piece of foam from the kids tub toys…

Did I tell you I like bugs?

Opinions please...

2007-01-16T16:12:00.000-05:00

OK ..am I a complete naive idiot for posting photos of my kids?

I would love your feedback...

Belly up to that feed trough.... again....

2007-01-16T08:28:00.000-05:00

Hey what can I say it is the farm girl coming out in me...

After all the cooking and eating from visitors and the holidays (even at this late date) I sorta feel like this...

Fat and Happy...

Getting into the Sauce...

2007-01-14T11:50:00.000-05:00

A breath of fresh air and a change of scenery...Ahhhh!!!!.....That's what I needed!!

My fabulous husband gave me two sessions at the Cordon Bleu Culinary School in Paris for Christmas, one for French Sauces and one for Terrines. So with a friend from Dijon we headed off to Paris for two days...(after the prerequisite organizational marathon that is always required when leaving the family for a few days...you know, clean house, food in the fridge, bills paid , baby sitters organized etc etc.) I like to think of it as leaving a clean work station for TBG... (but of course I was always the kid who had to have a spotless house before doing my homework...) Procrastination or anal retentive, not sure which...likely some (lots) of both...

As soon as we arrived we dropped of our luggage to wander around for the afternoon. This shot is in Isle Saint Louis, one of the little island villages in the middle of the Seine just before Notre Dame. I love the look of the consummate French woman doing her marketing at a local cheese shop with her wicker trolley basket...

I always fird the food shop windows so very interesting...this one being no exception..

We had a fabulous lunch in a little cafe, a glass of wine to set the mood for the shopping for the rest of the afternoon.

How's this for a BIG CHEESE...

There is a very cool club called the Buddha Bar that produces their own version of club groove music, so were determined to hit it for a cocktail and check it out. Look them up if you want some ultra funky eastern-influenced lounge music...

On the way home (back to the hotel) it was drizzly and grey, but the sky was lit up by the Eiffel Tower and it's spotlight...I am a huge fan of Gustav Eiffel and his temporary tower...but I think you will agree what an amazing image of the Paris skyline (even if it is a little fuzzy...)

The next day we headed for the course, all ready to acquire some more culinary knowledge to get closer to Foodie-Nirvana...

We spent the morning learning how to make Veal Stock, Chicken Stock and Fish Stock, the base liquids for any good French Sauce.

The chef was buoyant and very very french...we all had a great time and came with a bunch of new skills to add to the arsenal. In the afternoon we made Magret de Canard a L'Orange, Blanc de Volaille wih a mushroom sauce, Shrimp and Langoustines in a Lemongrass sauce. Mmmmm....Fabulous.

A traditional "Bouquet Garni" for stock with fresh Thyme sprigs, a bay leaf, 3 cloves and some parsley wrapped into a piece of Green leek stem and tied with string.

Very Cool...(if you are a crazy food freak like me....)

Bossing the SF

2007-01-09T18:32:00.000-05:00

Well... I have just started to boss (with held breath) the SF around and he has been just as nice as pie.

He made dinner for us all the other night...(!!) (once I asked him to) and now is helping and participating...

I sometimes wonder if is sort of like trying to understand the rational of an alien space creature... double whammy as SF is not only from another generation but a GUY to boot.

Go figure...

Sorry I have been only commenting and lurking...

We are almost at the end of the line as everyone leaves Thursday and hope to get back into the routine.

Gosh ...now I am used to having everyone here it'll be (almost) sad to see them go ...except Mom of course...

Such a mind changer **eye roll** after all that ranting...

What a GIRL.

Ostrich or Buddha??

2007-01-07T19:12:00.000-05:00

I really want to get past this...life is too short don't you think?

I hate wasting my life in any form of angst...so trying to move on and approaching things from another perspective as opposed to the downward vortex of frustration is likely a good idea...no?

It comes to my mind like many of the cheesy forwards we get about Carpe Diem and all that cr*ap that we really do need to appreciate the day and at the end of it all it really is our attitude that makes the difference.

So even if it is bugging the h*ll out of me...if I just ignore it it'll go away... right?

*blink*

There must be more to it than that...

Soooo embarrassed...

2007-01-05T18:25:00.000-05:00

Oh well I did what I said I would never do....rant online about someone who would not have the opportunity to respond in kind...(shamefull)...hopefully the Bloglords will forgive me...

**BLUSH**

But man this guy jas been my stepfather longer than my Dad was my Dad....dark and freaky... and I STILL can't stand it...(fumble fumble...ok where is that shrinks # again???)

Oh well, I guess I just have to GET. OVER. IT....

...We did manage to get out of the house today (thank G*d or it would have been a straight jacket for me...), sort of like trying to get a tin of spam out of the can, but finally we accomplished it... (them out of the house not me into the straight jacket that is..)

We meandered over to a village called Vezelay, famous for it's 9th century Basilica...

Here is some of the detail from the massive doors...Beautiful...

Had a nice lunch at a creperie, Gallete Complete. A buckwheat crepe with melted cheese, prosciutto and a fried egg....man...so yummy...and delicious.
Very Quaint old stone building with massive beams and a traditional fireplace roaring...

My Son was with us and really profited from day with just his Mommy and the G-parents...

Grin and bear it for the my kids sake... right??? **teeth gritting**

I love my family.... I really do!!!

2007-01-04T08:19:00.000-05:00

Sorry abut the lapse….hope everyone had a great Holiday and New Year!!

We are back form our week in Glasgow and had a great time with the theatre and museums, very impressive and super kid friendly.

Just a half day to catch our collective breath, admittedly bad planning on the part of the travel agent (that would be me and yes note to self made for next time) when my mom and Step Dad have arrived for 10 FUN-FILLED days.

Sooo….Why is it that I spend a full year pining for my family to visit and when they do finally arrive I turn into the freakin-freako-control-bitch-from-hell-who can’t wait to get a moment to herself?

Mom is a very small slight woman who is effusive and cheery and fun to be around and can accomplish ANYTHING if and when she sets her mind to it. Mostly nice to have around and only sometimes in a Jack Russel terrier sort of way.

Step Father (aka the paperweight) VERY tall and skinny lurking sort, seldom makes eye contact, only if in confrontation, well educated, lets it be known, no obvious social attributes, a complete mystery to me what my Mom ses in him...

Maybe it is because once they have arrived in the middle medieval France where we live, they do not want to go FREAKIN-ANYWHERE or do ANYTHING-AT-FREAKIN-ALL except sit in my living room for hours on end?

Maybe it's because then I get to sit by and watch my children alternately climb-the-walls/ beat each other to a pulp/ annoy the hell out of everybody in our too small house while they go silently or not so silently FREAKIN-CRAZY from boredom and lack of activity?

Maybe it is because while my parnets are sitting around not wanting to go FREAKIN-ANYWHERE they are actually waiting to be FREAKIN-FED all the time?

OR..wait...maybe it is because they are on a special high-need-special-salt-free-fat-free-food-free FREAKIN-DIET that we can’t actually go FREAKIN-ANYWHERE to eat anything other then what I FREAKIN-COOK?

AGHHHHHHHH!!!

Is it a simple law of nature that step parents and step children are destined to despise one another? I love my mom to bits, we get on so well, but my Step Dad well…I feel like he resents my relationship with my Mom, that he actually does not really like my kids, and in the end I am actually not so sure why he really comes at the end of the day. We lost my Dad when I was still a teenager and my Mom is very happily remarried to him and of this I am very happy, as it could be really hard for her to be alone. My O-M-Goodness… My step dad and I are like oil and water. I can feel his dislike of me clinging to the air like a bad smell. He seems to think he is graced with kingship, sits and waits to be served, fed entertained whatever…never says please or thank you, never offers to pitch in a hand or help, knows EVERY-FREAKIN-THING…oh my god it drives me simply crazy.

I know that if I rock the boat I will get to see my mom less so …what to do?

Help!!

It was lovely actually...

2006-12-26T08:38:00.000-05:00

Unlike my last slightly acidic post...

A very Merry Christmas was had and a very Merry Christmas to all...

plus...a very Happy New Year!!

Back on the 30th of January....

"The Impossible Dream" aka (No I'm not bitter...Why?)

2006-12-22T17:41:00.001-05:00

OK I lied.

I am still here stealing a few minutes to myself on the old Boodoo...(what my son used to call it when he was really little..)

I have decided that the Union (the SAHM Union that is) needs to take a different approach next year at Xmas. I think that all the Per-Xmas duties should be divided up equally between all family members.

Somethig like this...

The 3 year old's could be in charge of all candles and all pre-Xmas baking and stuffing the turkey.

The 6 year old's could be in charge of the bar.

Teenagers could be responsible for all the normal household duites that go rank in the business of Noel, laundry, pre party cleaning, dusting... setting the table just so...

The family pet could be in charge of hauling out and sorting all the decorations and the aviary members can decide where it goes and put it all up.

The inlaws can take down and put away all the decorations well after their bellies have been filled with food the toddlers have cooked.

Male Spouses could be in charge of anything that involves list making, multi-tasking or planning ahead.

Mom's could just play catch up, relax this year and not obsess about all the little details trying to make everyone's Christmas perfect!!.

LOVE PEACE and HAPPINESS

2006-12-21T17:54:00.000-05:00

Well.... we are almost ready to dive into the VORTEX of Christmas entertaining...

I love it. Parties every night (here) until Xmas and then off to Scotland for 5 days to see cousin W and then my mom comes for 2 weeks (YAY!)...seriously!!

WE are amazingly prepared at this point, TBG did the beverage run today, just finished the last bit of baking and wrapping ... final grocery shop and clean tomorrow maybe time for the red toes (the Diva is here for the holidays...if only she would stop eating so much pastry...)

Oh my aching back....but it will all be soooo yummy.

Nothing I love better than a pile of hungry mouths to feed...

I wish you all much

LOVE, PEACE and HAPPINESS, have a wonderful holiday and see you all in 2007!!!

Homestretch...

2006-12-19T10:00:00.000-05:00

Bake...Bake...Wrap.

Bake..Bake...Wrap........SHOPHOPSHOP.

Bake.

(pee-eat-sleep)

Bake...Bake...Wrap....SHOPSHOPSHOP.

(phew.....almost done....)

BAKE.

BAKE.

How is everyone else's last week before Christmas going??

Stories and Ghosts

2006-12-16T10:00:00.000-05:00

The trees outside were dripping with moisture, the air cold and fresh. Once through the large doors of our garden wall we could see icy mist mingling with fragrant wood smoke giving the lanterns their Christmas halos and making the street jet slick. We made our way through the cold moist air in the dark, chattering about how chilly it was and where we wanted to eat.

We had always wondered about the little tiny bistro tucked in the side of a series of medieval “Ruelles” (allies) on our path to the market. The Raclette Bistro had always been shuttered up tight, dark and brown, but tonight on my way home from errands it was bright with light. I could see a new coat of yellow paint making it look decidedly open for business. Shall we try our luck?? Once out of the cold and into the warmth of that yellow, we were greeted by the new owner. Seems we were the first customers for the night (that would the Canadians who eat well before the anytime-after-7:30-French). He was delighted to have us and even spoke a little English, astoundingly pretty much the first time since we had arrived 2 ½ years ago.

The place, with its immense low beamed ceiling and ancient red burnished tiles began to feel cozy and warm as it filled and we settled into our wine. Beside us in the old stone wall there was a cubby with a great hand carved slab holding a candle. Perhaps it was an ancient cold store for meat or cheese? To the right of it, a bricked up window, or perhaps a short doorway for long gone wooden stairwells up or down. We wondered.

I can’t help but think about the many souls who have lived, loved and laughed in a place like that bistro, some odd 500 years ago after the first corner stone had been dragged into place. The stories and the ghosts. With it’s position in the alley it could have been many things, a hat shop, maybe an apothecary with herbs and love potions, perhaps a stable, blacksmiths, or even brothel? The stone endures, silent witness to the craftsmen who have altered them, never revealing their secrets.

Blog=Life?? or is it Life=Blog??

2006-12-15T08:22:00.000-05:00

Like any neophyte blogger, I am a little obsessed with my blog(s)…and as a frustrated designer it is a welcome outlet for my creative energy. Like any project I am working on I am thinking, seeing, and living blogging these days.

As I have also heard a fellow blogger complain, the people that I had originally began writing for have expressed almost no interest in my blog but instead it is read by others, and has taken on a life of its own. Of this I am glad, and for those of you who do read and comment …Thanks. I appreciate it.

But wait, I digress.

To my fellow bloggers; don’t you find that throughout the day you tend frame your thoughts in the context of your next blog entry?? Sort of like the image of the cheesy 70’s film director putting fingers together to form a “square” to frame a shot? Yeah… well that’s me but minus the fingers…mentally developing that by-line and with the same degree of cheese…

I have even started to keep a journal to write down my copious ideas as the idea;memory ratio is not so good. This works well when I can remember where the h*ck I’ve put the d*rn journal…

The conversation with myself goes something like this…(and the voice in my head is, I think, Rod Serling’s lesbian sister…well at least she the has the same melodramatic cadence and her voice is almost as deep…)

Little did I know that my survival on the life raft would depend on the very same airline hostess who would brush pass me so casually in the corridor…

OR

As she bit into the croissant she could see, through the drizzle, the same blond man playing guitar that had been in the market every day since they had arrived…

OR even

The Caravan broke loose from its tether and slowly began careening down the slope, picking up speed and taking out every vegetable vendor in its path…

See what I mean??

"EP"

2006-12-14T05:56:00.000-05:00

Whenever I finish typing something I always have this little pile of letters, punctuation marks and spaces left over at the end that I must erase.

Sort of like the the scraps of cloth left on the floor after a sewing project or what ends up in my dustpan after cleaning under the kids dresser; bits of bunnydust, broken Lego parts and Polly Pocket shoes.

Even like the extra little bits of leftover pastry from making a pie.

There must be a name for this collection of verbal flotsam and jetsam I end up with, maybe even a hidden purpose??

I hope that in erasing them I am doing the right thing and that they are not some Davinci-code-esq message from deep within my consciousness meant to simplify (or further complicate) my life, or god forbid a message from someone...

(egads...never even thought about that.)

Maybe there is a way to save them and use them later.... (No, I did not just watch the Beautiful Mind...but what a great film no?)

Let's see...

Alphagloop...(noooo...... too sticky)

Punctalitero...(hmmm too Latin)

Stuccoperiodo...(too much like Beth's most embarrassing things list plus too Italian)

I know...."Extrillius punctuatum" "EP" for short.

No?

Boy I REALLY do need a life...

Peeve Thing

2006-12-13T08:45:00.000-05:00

After all the discussion about all things Thong over at Oreneta Aground I kept typing thing…”Thing” instead of “Thong”.

Thing Thong??

Having just watched Cat in the hat for the first time …Thing 1 and thing 2…and entering the Christmas season…thing thing thing…(think lisp)

I mean I guess maybe it has its place like “something” or it’s a “funny thing” or even more specifically “The Thing” of Hollywood fame…” but the garden variety word just plain old “thing”…just too nondescript for me.

Like when someone says to me;

“Can you get that thing over there for me…?”

It always leaves me gaping blankly for MORE INFORMATION and then I am forced to say….

“Ahhhhh….hm…(pause) looking wildly around……what thing?”

Sometimes I wonder if (wish) it IS exactly the “Thing” all green and slimy dripping with orange moss and sprouting stiff black hair lurking…

Then whoever has asked for the “THING” shoots over a look of complete contempt as if you are utterly inept and only half there…

(Ha…(dark look) I’m not the one who couldn't conjure up the name for the thing…)

There should be a law against words like thing…

Earth's Eye

2006-12-11T08:33:00.000-05:00

Disoriented I opened my eyes, straightened out my neck and looked out the window. I could feel the coolness of the air outside even through the fuselage. I thought about how few millimeters lay truly between me and that icy cold air...

An immense peacock plumed rainbow had attached itself to the horizon like a lens to the eye of the earth still deeply inky with the sleep of night while behind us the stars still twinkled. The smoothness of the eye interrupted only by dark pilings of clouds masquerading as mountains and waiting broodily on the horizon. As the rainbow grew broader and brighter I could see the lights of Dover twinkling, outlining myriad roadways and defining the coast as they faintly faded.

Over the Channel the air was clear, the sea not even glinting but only dully reflecting the coolness of the night in the growing light. The northern coast of France slowly revealed itself as the rainbow faded and the sun, distorted by the great aperture of the atmosphere, rose bright orange and still flat into the turquoise, becoming the broad cornea that had been missing.

A very slight fog lay over the land in crested waves, lapping villages and gently nudging bell towers and town halls. It then increased to a proper winter blanket obscuring all but the tallest details which poked inquisitively through to the air above, then cleared to reveal proper green hedgerows, lakes and lanes.

The dawn of a new day.

2006-12-10T15:27:00.000-05:00

Who is that strange person with the red toes??

*blink*??

I was more worried about the pension fund and who will take care of the children...
Ahhh good to be home...

Sincerley "Sensible shoes"...

(the wierdest part of all of this is Nomad is a Gemini....)

2006-12-07T01:46:00.000-05:00

I'm off to Chicago for more PROLO for the weekend- back Monday...

(Y'know I have a friend who has done all his music for his wake (we listened to it at a party...) and you know I HATE the idea of being eternally under without a good pedicure...Does this mean I need to add this to the list of wierd things???...I guess this would be # 7...)

'cause I really hate to fly and I always have strange thoughts like these before I embark on a trip...

The clan

2006-12-05T09:12:00.000-05:00

Call me Evolution girl…I don’t know about the rest of you but, when life gives me pause and something makes me go hmmm…I always think “Clan”.

We seem to have lost the concept of the very essence of our biological makeup, the root of our origins, our place in the cosmos. It has been easy for us to forget this as we press on, into 21st century surrounded by the accoutrements and distractions of our technologically advanced lifestyles, as a society of sub-urbanites and yummy Mummies and Daddies. We feel not only do we understand nature, but indeed we have mastered it, yes…we can control it.

Global warming…*PHA*…nothing…we can reverse it. Can’t we?

Threatening viral pandemics that have historically eradicated significant portions of the earth’s population. Yeah….but we’ll have vaccines by then… won’t we….???

We only just recently conclusively confirmed that smoking can kill you. I mean… c’mon!!

So it seems to me that we really are ignoring this thing called nature, the driving force behind the evolution of every species ever to grace our earth, every living, breathing creature in its basest form. So what makes us different from all those animals…Let’s see heart, lungs liver, brain, reproductive organs hmm…. Ummm I guess… not much??

To be sure we are on top of the food chain (or at least we think so and for now….) but nonetheless we are still and just “animals”. We have evolved with a complex set of social rules and behaviors that have helped us to ensure the survival of our species, so not just animals but to be more precise clan animals. Every biological desire we experience fits neatly into a pattern of behavior established over a millennium, indeed though we loathe admitting it, we really are ruled by our hormones, and for good reason.

Women are like men, we operate the same way and we think the same way…little boys are just like little girls… no difference at all. Right?....Yeah Riiiight… Anyone with children (or a husband) knows that is a load of cr*p. This is not to say that what one can do the other cannot but that there are very distinct differences in the way we think and feel. Obvious. Our hormones are the divining rod of our existence, and maybe we should stop fighting it and just say with a shrug and a smile ...“It’s nature”…

Lets take your typical pair of pre-prandial Neanderthals and call them “Grog and Greta” and let’s follow them through their procreation with an eye to the “hormone of the day”….shall we??

Pre-menstrual symptoms make us grumpy, headachy, and even hostile. If we consider the roving fertile male of our clan, Grog, and we wish to ensure that Greta has new babies at regular intervals (as of course they do keep getting eaten by those pesky saber toothed tigers), then it is likely that Grog will be hanging out with someone a little less grumpy, headachy and hostile (who incidentally is probably or possibly ovulating). BUGGER OFF…LEAVE ME ALONE…GO AND BOTHER SOME ELSE!!!! So maybe in the evolutionary perspective PMS does have value and purpose though how the chocolate thing figures into this I am not quite sure yet…

What about the increased appetite many of us experience about a week before we begin to menstruate... Gee better stock up on those fat stores since Grog won’t be dropping by with some yummy raw Rhino shanks to nibble on since I am so GRUMPY HEADACHY AND HOSTILE. Guess maybe this IS where the chocolate thing comes in, either to bolster those fat stores or to attract GROG back for a little visit after all…although any Neanderthal worth his salt would never dare go near your chocolate…especially at that time of the month…

How about the pre-pregnancy hormone changes which induce loss of memory …
HA….Greta sure won’t be able wander off since she can’t remember where she is going, why she went (where she left her list) or… how to get back…SO looks like she won’t be straying to far from her entirely dependant infant after all… good for the survival of the species no??

Or what about for many the intense revulsion for meat during pregnancy, consider this is in the in the time of Grog well before the world health organization and stainless Kenwood refrigerators... Gee since Greta is busy reproducing she better not eat anything that might be a bit of that could sicken her or deform her baby…no way… especially not that UNREFIGERATED PARASITIC HUNK OF RAW MEAT…(*gack*)

Some pregnant women experience an increased sex drive during pregnancy, which is not to be considered on the list of “inconveniences” of course…
Hey Grog….**wink**Wink **… Wanna come over?? … And while you’re here got anything good to eat???”

Post Partum depression and fatigue. Well I guess poor demoralized Greta isn’t exactly going to wander away from her baby sine she is too tired to move and so under stimulated and lacking in confidence that she can barely function…Imagine how post partum would be if you had oodles of energy…great, but baby might suffer from all the wandering off, no?

So let’s fast forward a bit…How about Seven year itch…the common phenomenon of lost interest and chronic boredom after 7 years of coupledom…If you really think about it a single female with several older children would be quite likely to survive on her own within the “clan” with no partner…freeing Grog up to go and spread the seed… (this explains the attention span Ladies…) (No offence guys!)

And at last but not least, thankfully I do no have much to write here as it is still something I have to look forward to, menopause. (Greta talking to herself) So lets see… we have procreated…I have contributed…I do seem to have a few extra fat stores that have appeared out of nowhere (examining love handles)…(maybe to tide me through the lean times, musta been all that chocolate…) I seem to have a little less mental acu...huh??? a little less sparkle and energy… and Grog sure is a little harder to catch these days… wanders off to find knitting...)But in the perspective of procreation…makes sense no?

To some this idea may seem depressing; it may seem like a giant step backwards. Granted of course we are not in the time of Grog and if my husband forgets to bring home the groceries and wanders off 'cause I'm lacking sparkle, am grumpy, headachy or hostile there'll be hell to pay.

But in fact I think it is exactly the opposite and a giant step ahead. Maybe this is part of the swing from the 50’s Coiffed-slipper-carrying stay at home mom to the Independent-abort-or-adopt-power-broker-suit-woman. Maybe it another giant step forward again to the here-with-the-kids-and-the-laundry-again-but-loving-it mom. A backlash against the backlash maybe??

Granted it is important that we have choice, but perhaps now we can recognize ourselves as what we are. Part of a cog in the giant wheel of human evolution, and that secure in ourselves as daughters of the earth we can move forward to do whatever we wish but with peace and confidence. We can understand that we in addition to many other things, are playing an important part in a much bigger plan…or should I say clan…

So do we really need to loathe the changes we experience in our selves month in and month out, the changes that accompany us through some of the biggest milestones in our lives as women? Do we still need to be bright shiny young things that make Grogs jaw drop and other parts raise regardless of our ages and stages in life?

Perhaps we can just accept them as part of nature, maybe it is ok to age gently and gracefully, to participate sagely in the clan…to teach and to just be.

RETRACTION

2006-12-04T09:32:00.000-05:00

We wish to apologize in advance if in any case we have inadvertently offended any parties as we, in keeping with our new modest and slightly prudish image as opposed to the wild crazy kinky and pierced woman persona we wish we were as defined by Inner Diva several posts ago, to retract a certain expletive in point 1) of the said FIRST list of the previous post and replace ASS with *ss.

The Management

Six Top Weird things about the Nomad

2006-12-02T15:02:00.000-05:00

Since I got tagged by DD as well as CHC I will add a few "Extra"...

Topping the list

1) I have a Tattoo on my ass of a caricature of a lady banana with big red lips and a fruit hat from my old CB radio days when my handle was “Chiquita Banana”.

2) I have a shoulder piercing in which I wear a opalescent glass ring with a tether so TBG and I can play “guilt “games.

3) I always wear two pairs of underwear...at the same time…just in case…

4) I am obsessed with Maltesers and order them by the case on the internet and stash them…again…just in case.

5) I have doubled jointed big toes and can touch my little toes to my big ones and rub them together. (Feels good right before I go to sleep...)

6) I like to collect my shaved leg hair and keep them with the ashes of my cremated cat.

HA!! GOTCHA!!!!

Ok... Ok.... so I am not anywhere nearly as interesting or kinky as I wish I was...*sigh*

THE REAL LIST OF THE TOP SIX WEIRD THINGS ABOUT NOMAD

1) Top of the list for sure …I don’t really think there is anything weird about me…(sort of sums it up to those who know me…)…no? yet...hmmmm ...wait.....

2) I brush my teeth in the shower. All the steps every day, brush once with toothpaste, once with baking soda, floss and rinse with peroxide.

3) I am a little bit of a germ freak…hate to touch anything on public transit and whenever I get home from anywhere the first thing I do is wash my hands.

4) Obsessively compulsive (in a "Mommy Dearest" kind of way) re visual details…everything you name it plus there needs to be two of everything.

5) I don’t let my kids play in public play-places as they are filled with kid snot and other ambiguous children's microbe laden body fluids etc refer to point #3.

6) Hopelessly dyslexic please forgive stupid spelling errors.

7) I am a potential junky (not like someone who has the potential to be a junky but someone addicted to potential) (TBG says…noooo…that would be junk collector) … yes me....loves something old, broke or dusty (even smelly) infinitely better than something new … I love it, sort of like a dog, if I can figuratively pee somehow on it will be immensely improved.

Ha!! So there you have it...right from the horses mouth...

Now since I am a Blogging neophyte and half my list is all of you guys I will only tag one.. Oreneta...

Guilty Pleasures

2006-11-29T15:34:00.000-05:00

For as much ranting and raving as I just did about sh*tty Xmas gifts, I truly cannot complain. TBG is so sweet and always brings me the loveliest things, either he has a nice girlfriend who helps him pick out just the perfect thing to keep the wife happy and unsuspecting or else he is just really good at it. (Contrary to myself who whenever I go out shopping for anyone else end up with one or two intended items and a bunch more stuff for myself...) I can't even use the excuse that I don't get out much as I do it all the time.

**EXASPERATED BLUSH**

Every decent piece of jewelry I own has come from him, not too mention lots of other things that I simply love, like my silver rose urn for Valentines day or a beautiful embroidered shawl from Italy just 'cause. Not sure how I wrangled that but lucky me I guess.

The guy has got great taste.

He also likes to bring home chocolate, which is all well and good but for anyone who is somewhat like myself, a chocolate lover (Trish over at Coffee House Chatter) and on a diet for the last 20 years…the stuff starts to talk to me as soon as everyone else is out of the house.

woohOOoo.............(it always starts out a whisper)......................

Whewwww hoooo!!! YA YOU!!!....................................................

HEY!!!............................ WAnna Little NIBBLE!!!...Just one...... C"MON!

You look a little peckish!...No.............. I said Peckish not SKINNY!!!

(Nothing like being insulted by a box of chocolate even if they are European...come to think of it sort of like my normal life here...)

Hey... wait a minute...

And then it goes off like that until the chocolate and I are both gasping for breath…me wide eyed, satiated, satisfied and it depleted.

The best thing is when TBG gives it to me just before he take off on another trip…then hopefully he’ll forget to go for a little nibble and will never notice.

There I am at the end of it all with an empty-box-that-requires-hiding staring me in the face while I shiftily wipe smudges from my cankered lips, with fuzzy teeth and a guilty conscience really hoping I don't have to explain what has happened to the whole entire thing...

Santa's Sex Toy

2006-11-27T07:31:00.000-05:00

So why exactly is it that “Santa” always seems to forget Mommy’s stocking every year…??

Hmmph.

Reminds me of a story of a co-worker of mine. We’ll call my friend Kirsty. Kirsty was young and gorgeous and with her short blonde Annie Lennox do, tight little Gucci clad body she every girl's lesson in Divadom (read Inner Diva Below). She had a killer job as a buyer for one of our most exclusive fashion retailers back home.

She had this thug sort of husband…god only knows how they ended up together, oh yeah, except he had a very cool lemon yellow corvette...which I guess when you are a kid matters. Any way one year after the holidays she was griping to me that for Christmas he had given her a carbon monoxide detector…ONLY a carbon monoxide detector.

“Now,” she mused “if he wanted to get me something electronic he could at least have bought me a sex toy”…(but no that is not where this story is going…)

So…hold on any of you guys who might be reading this…yes a carbon monoxide detector is VERY practial and yes I know it might just SAVE our tender little heinies one of these days, and what with the spirit of Christmas and giving and all that CR*P...

BUT...

Take it from me or ANY other lady on your Xmas list this year….This is NOT…I repeat NOT a good Xmas gift.

Moral of the story ladies…if you want you stocking filled to the brim and that beautiful diamond thingummy-whatever...

Ya better start dropping hints now!

Another Time

2006-11-25T02:59:00.000-05:00

Did I ever tell you how bonkers the French are about their ironing?
Children go to school perfectly pressed, the average Joe-construction-guy-on-the-street is with pressed shirt and creased pants. The adults; well we don’t even need to go there. While we were caravanning this summer we were astonished to find an entire room besides the toilets devoted to “Repassage” (ironing).

Imagine…Camping!

Pierre (with his comb-over) and Madeline vacationing in Nice sashaying down the dirt path from caravan to loo in robe and slippers en route to the ironing room to give their camping clothes a little freshen up for the day…never mind the obvious irony of the robe and slippers.

I mean it’s so public for Gawd’s sake…

Do you really think I want to see your greasy terry covered ass before my first coffee on a Saturday morning?? Eeeeeuw!!

When we arrived I turned up my nose deciding that our ironing status quo was just FINE. I found it ridiculous…but little but little we (I) started to feel scrubbier and more creased than ever until finally I could withstand it no longer. Once or twice a week now I meekly descend down the basement stairs to genuflect before my zippy-and-spitty-ultra-sleek –turbo-charged “Central Vapeur” (French for steam iron) to put our lives or at least our laundry to rights. Granted it does do the work in half the time.

But I mean really!

Too Many Straws

2006-11-24T08:08:00.000-05:00

Just took my third German lesson today…ever get that little crick feeling in your brain like something has just broken? Man, I thought French was difficult.
My teacher is very kind, not what I would have expected (what did I expect?), soft spoken and sweet. She us suggesting I do 30 minutes of German a day.…I hope this is not the straw that broke the camels back.

Why does it seem that there is never enough time in the day to fit it all in??

I have a pile of junk on my desk the size of the Acropolis. A pile in the laundry room equally as big if not bigger, plus ironing (the French are insane about this will have to elaborate another time…), not too mention the piles I just barely keep at bay in my kids room, the kitchen and elsewhere in the house.

Is it just me??