amaryllis, turtles

At least when Otis sheds, I don't get turtle hairs all over my clothes.

But, we do have to deal with this: HE IS STILL GROWING.

Turtles shed their shells during growth spurts. In anticipation of a lazy hibernation, his body will be busy getting even bigger. Great. He should really be living within his means and that means is a 36x17x15 aquarium.

See that darker square in the centre of his back?

That is where one of these came off.

Something's gotta give, they are like fingernails and very thin and almost transparent. Tortoiseshell ornaments will also peel if they get too dry. But we don't have any of those, do we?!

In other news, it is now official that Lonesome George will have no progeny this time around as all the eggs have been verified as infertile. But, he has to deal with this: another turtle (tortoise, actually) that is 176 years old. Apparently Jonathan posed for a picture with some Boer War soldiers and he has been outed as the oldest of his particular species. Not sure how he was recognized - Boer War? So George could have many more years of interference in his social life.

Every time I hear of aged turtles, I give an inward sigh ... how long will Otis decide to keep growing?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I don't have a Christmas Tree, but I do have some twigs I decorate. And I have a plant stand I use for poinsettias and storing small gifts on so that as I buy them, I can easily remember what I have bought (yes, I have been known to forget. sad, isn't it?). And this year, I was given an early present of TWO Amaryllis. Now their growth spurts and the way they shoot up with such magnificent majestic blooms are a joy to watch.

I need to find a good spot for a photo shoot to chart their progress.

I also need to pick up some stuff left lying on the floor and get my laundry bag downstairs to the laundry room.

Auto XP

For all of us who feel only the deepest love and affection for the way computers have enhanced our lives, read on.

At a recent computer expo (COMDEX), Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated, "If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon."

In response to Bill's comments, General Motors issued a press release stating:

If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics:

1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash........ twice a day.

2. Every time they repainted the lines in the road, you would have to buy a new car.

3. Occasionally your car would die on the highway for no reason. You would have to pull to the side of the road, close all of the windows, shut off the car, restart it, and reopen the windows before you could continue. For some reason you would simply accept this.

4. Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to reinstall the engine.

5. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable, five times as fast and twice as easy to drive - but would run on only five percent of the roads.

6. The oil, water temperature, and alternator warning lights would all be replaced by a single 'This Car Has Performed An Illegal Operation' warning light.

7. The airbag system would ask 'Are you sure?' before deploying.

8. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna.

9. Every time a new car was introduced car buyers would have to learn how to drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car.

10. You'd have to press the 'Start' button to turn the engine off .

PS - I'd like to add that when all else fails, you could call 'customer service' in some foreign country and be instructed in some foreign language how to fix your car yourself!

Lights by the Lake

am having trouble uploading the video...
more photos on my photoblog Sightlines


Every year at this time our city puts on a Festival of Lights. Last night was the official opening for this highlight of the Christmas Season. This year there are over 80 light displays, many of them animated. They change slightly from year to year, but here is a sampling of the mainstays.

First up, we have the Guards. There are 32 of them looking out over Lakeshore Rd.
(probably the only bit that looks better during the day)



Down the steps into the Park and we have a Nativity



Further along there is this



and for some reason, the Eiffel Tower
(11 tries at getting it with its top lit up!)

Your carriage awaits - you can see a little bit where the

horses legs move. The dolphins are flying through

the air into a splash behind the carriage.

I went out after work first thing this morning, but my fingers were too frozen to get more than a couple dozen shots and these were some of the best. I'll try again to actually get some animation.

Monday AMuse

daft draft

There is a draft on my feet. My place is actually a trifle chilly. A little surprising as I live in a high rise.

It is the air conditioner's fault.

No, I don't have it on. Actually, I don't even think I turned it on once all summer. Which would make it doubly a shame to go to all that effort to remove it only to put it back in the window next summer. And maybe not use it.

But there is a definite draft coming from all around the unit. Needs a blanket of plastic over it methinks.

But for now, I'll take my tea and return to the cosy room.

Where I have my own perpetual footwarmer.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I thought I'd start on getting my meager decorations out of their boxes and in view to be enjoyed.
This one is one of my many bird ornaments and I enjoy him so much I've kept him out all year.

meme #2

Still feeling sniffly. (which spellcheck says should be sniffy?? or snuffly??)
So am pleased to have an easy post that practically wrote itself. Well, after I copied it from Geewits and Ian.

The Bold is what I have already done, green is what I would still like to do. (everything else, I haven't done and don't really want to do.)

I also won't tag anyone, but if you do it let me know so I can read yours - it is interesting to see what we've done with our lives. So far.


1. Started your own blog (and aren't you glad I did!)
2. Slept under the stars (it was heavenly)
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii (does a stopover count? probably not)
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain (or was it just a hill? took hours, anyway)
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea (lake actually, but still)
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch (not very well)
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning (not recommended)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty (elevator ride, maybe)
18. Grown your own vegetables (amazing what a balcony can hold)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked (back in youthful days)
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (known as mental health day?)
24. Built a snow fort (of course, I live in Canada!)
25. Held a lamb (New Zealand Spring Lamb, even. yes, alive)
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse (sun and moon)
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset (mostly every day)
31. Hit a home run (if I ever did it was surely an accident)
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language (again, not very well)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (briefly, but satisfyingly)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies (as a Girl Guide)
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a cheque
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy (doll and bunny, and Lego)
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt (if by 'pieced" one piece is meant!)
73. Stood in Times Square (underwhelming event)
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job (should be more embarrassed...)
76. Seen the Changing of the Guard in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper (newsmagazine, crowd scene)
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

dreamlines

Well, I made a bit of a dent in my card signing. Most of them are scattered across the dining room table, waiting for me to pass by and add a signature to a few more and move some from one pile to another. It's rather like a jigsaw puzzle that sits and waits, patiently, not changing, or finishing itself by itself.

I kept getting distracted.
Then I thought: just how long have you been sniffling, anyway??
Damn.
Kleenex.
Bed.
Duvet.
Warm cat body warming cold feet.
Strange intermittent dreams.

I kept waking up every hour and wondering about this strange dream I was having that was rather like my brain trying to tell a long story. In serial form. Of course, it kept slowly disappearing once I'd woken up, so I'm not sure if each time I went back to sleep my brain picked up the story exactly where it left off, but I would wake up an hour later exhausted with the weightiness of the words swirling in my brain.

Then, I was reading The Unbearable Oddness of Stevyn where he had a link to a site called Dreamlines. And I thought: how apropos. So I spent many, many minutes watching the images swirl and morph on the screen as it transformed my keywords into a free association of images. This is all the ingenuity of an Argentinian artist who explains his process here.

I watched and waited for the image gallery to finish so I could enter a new set of words to see what would emerge. But it just kept on and on, reinventing itself along the same themes I had given it to work with. Some of the images were very clear, though most were not and mostly I could see no connection to anything. Kind of like my 'real' dream serial.

Try it for yourself and see what comes up.
I have no idea how he managed to save the images, so I can't show you mine.

from your special newspaper carrier

Got my first Christmas tip last night!

I have around 370 newspaper customers.

That alone requires a lot of Christmas card signing.

My dining table has been cleared.

More warm apple cider is in the crock pot.

The Trans Siberian Orchestra discs are in the cd player.

Two new roller pens are at the ready.

Cards and envelopes are in piles.

a bit of snow would help.....

one-ringy-dingy

Brrrrp, brp, brp, brp, brrrppppp.
Brrrrp, brp, brp, brp, brrrppppp.
Brrrrp, brp, brp, brp, brrrppppp.

What the hell is that annoying noise?
(yes, I talk to myself. and yes, sometimes, even out loud, which is another post all to itself)

Finally, the cobwebs in my head cleared enough to realize it was the phone.

My new phone. The old one having become more of a nuisance than a useful piece of equipment, what with not holding its charge for very long. Sometimes, in the middle of a brrrrrp it will die. Or worse, in the middle of a conversation. No more 30 second warning biip, just an awkward noiselessness that tells me no one is listening to me anymore.

Not even returning the handset to the charger helps. Yeah, yeah, I know. But where is the joy of having a cordless phone if you have to keep putting it back where it belongs? You want to put it down where ever you have wandered while talking. It is a very handy excuse for screening your calls and picking up in the middle of someones message: so sorry, I couldn't find the phone...

Then there is the frantic searching for phone numbers when you try to call back to the person who wasn't listening to you anymore because your phone died, only to realize their number is stored on the phone ... that is ... dead.

So, on the weekend I noticed in the flyers a certain store that doesn't just sell tires* had phones on sale. I went and found a really nice looking model, with a "sleek European" handset. Pondered why there are never any "sleek Korean" designs on the latest LG (whatever) - it's only ever the European design that is sleek. But, for $3 more, I could get this other model that wasn't sleek, or Korean, but did come with an extra handset. Since I do have a tendency to 'lose' my phone, I decided this would be a great option.

Too bad that, sometime within the 16 hour charging period, and 16 hour waiting period for someone to actually phone me I threw out all the packaging. Because, I HATE this phone. I hate the ring. I hate the orange glow on the faceplate. I hate that I can't see the numbers on the orange glowing faceplate. I hate the big orange bar that lights up when the phone is in its charger (instead of the barely conspicuous green dot of my other phone). And I hate the way the handset feels in my hand.

I can be so picky about a $27.00 item I barely use.

In fact, I much prefer my old rotary phone. It has a receiver (note: not a 'handset') that fits quite comfortably in the hand. It has some weight to it, gives you something to hold on to. And a nifty coiling cord to twirl and fiddle with while you're talking. But, sadly it doesn't allow me to press 9 for entry into my building. Nor does it have that oh so convenient 'redial' option. And it does get annoying with those 10-digit numbers beginning with area code 905. It takes a looong time for that dial to go all the way around from 9, then 0.

But it does have a nice comforting, unmistakable 'ring' to it.While looking for a picture of a rotary phone because I thought it would be easier than taking my own I realize that North American phones have the cord on the LEFT while British phones have the cord on the RIGHT. Any ideas as to why this might be??

* Canadian Tire - an auto store that is fast becoming a favourite housewares store.

Monday Amuse