Happy Halloween!

Here are the results from the Pumpkin Carving Contest we had at work today...it was a ton of fun. 7 adults up to their elbows in pumpkin.


Day
Night

This is my pumpkin....that is supposed to be a bat, moon and a couple of stars. There is a star cut out in the back too.


First time carver and this was her creation...very creative. I love the scarf.
Scary tribal pumpkin.

This was the winner. It was certainly the scariest pumpkin on the table. The egg wasn't as hard boiled as she expected, but we all felt the runny yellow was a better effect than if it was fully cooked.

No the earth is not flat and no I did not fall off....not sure where I was this week. In fact I'm a bit surprised that today is Thursday. It is Thursday, right?

Pumpkin carving today at work. YEAH! Everyone in the office has signed up at this point which is amazing in and of itself. Even the grumps. But...things are not even close to harmonious. It is so sad that the actions of one person can dampen the spirits and harmony of others. Action is finally being taken, but I honestly do not think it will be enough. She is not going to change her attitude and she is not going to quit. She will play coy for a while and try to fit in, but we know tigers can't change their stripes and eventually she will return to her old ways. It is sad when people do not realize that their unhappiness in other parts of their lives spill over into their work life as well...and that they don't know they need help.

Photos this weekend...I promise. I need to get out and practice what I learned in class before I forget it all. And Halloween seems like a good time to learn about taking ghost shots.

Thanksgiving weekend I started to re-arrange my apartment to accommodate the new piece of furniture in my house.


It looks almost like this. Mine is the black/brown and not the birch shown in the picture. You may recall I purchased the shelf last fall in Calgary. The desk will be a great addition to my home...I may even be able to teach myself to eat at the table and not on the couch...maybe.

In order to accommodate the new desk I needed to flip the living room furniture. I emptied the shelf, the drawers of my end tables, and moved everything. Some where during the process I pulled/strained my neck/shoulder muscle. And the rearranging got put on hold. My kitchen was a disaster to try and cook in (turkey and my 5 veggies) because I had moved all the living room stuff into the kitchen thinking it would not stay there long. Famous last thoughts.

Then last week as my shoulder was starting to feel better I found out I was heading to Yellowknife for a couple of days. Yikes. I managed to get enough clothes cleaned for the trip (thanks to the drop off service down the road from the office) and the garbage was sent to the bin. And that was it. My house was/is a total disaster. I hate returning home to a huge mess. Over the years I have learned that I would prefer to stay up LATE the night before a trip than come home to a mess. It is relaxing to not need to do anything but drop suitcases when you walk in the door. But that didn't happen last weekend.

This weekend then needed to be the complete the cleaning/renovations weekend. Ok, there was no demolition involved but for all the mess there might as well have been. I am easily distracted in my tasks and find that I can start one project and end up with 20+ on the go by the end. It happened again.

It was such a simple event. I took everything off the book shelf and decided I wanted to go with simple. So I started going through all my books. What to save, what to toss, what to donate. I have a box in the hallway awaiting a trip to Value Village. Then where to put the books. Hmm, what about moving the bookshelf from the bedroom to the kitchen and putting all the books on it. Perfect. Except that the shelf already had things on it. They are now on the floor in my bedroom. Move bookshelf start re-filling. Oh, they won't all fit. Hmmm. Move cookbooks to cupboard. Move food out of cupboard and onto counter. Perfect, books fit. What to do with stuff on counter. And the vicious cycle begins.

It is just past 7:30 on Sunday morning. I am meeting a friend for brunch in a couple of hours (YEAH) and need to finish cleaning and organizing before then. But it won't happen. The laundry is going to be simply piled or thrown into the closet until later in the day when I can venture to the laundry down the street and the papers I wanted to sort are being boxed until a later date. I hate to not finish, but really even if I didn't have plans it would take another week or two to finish. Thank goodness my apartment is small and I have a limited amount of stuff. Who would think that one small desk, not even a full desk, just an L shaped extension could cause so much work. And who would think that with all the purging I've done in the past 18 months I would still have more stuff to purge. Sigh.

On the plus side brunch will be fabulous. I can't speak for the food cause I am not sure yet where we are heading but I know the company will be great.

I can't believe you read all of this post...how boring is that? I really need some new material. Maybe now that the purging, cleaning and redecorating is done I can get the camera out and practice.

I knew all my readers would be wonderful and supportive. The offers to deal with the police officer made me smile. Thanks.

The good news is that the insurance company does not need to be involved. Work was SUPER about the whole thing. Are you ok? Did they break anything? What else did they get? The fact that the work laptop was stolen seemed small and insignificant. There was no damage to my vehicle so no need to go through my insurance company and since laptops are fairly cheap (under $1500) work is not going through insurance either. They just told me to order a new one. Done. I guess when you own pieces of equipment worth hundreds of thousands a small laptop seems insignificant. And likely the deductible wouldn't cover the cost of replacement. So really....if I was going to have this happen...it happened the best way possible.

I still feel a bit odd going out to my truck...it feels dirty. But this weekend I'm heading to the car wash and will clean it inside and out and buy it a fancy air freshner (maybe in the shape of a tree!) to make it feel like mine again. Life goes on.

We are having a pumpkin carving/decorating contest at work next week. My idea. And our new staff seem to be embracing it and they are already asking about Christmas. I know! :) The grumpy staff are not joining us in the lunch room...which is fine. Their choice. In the end it only makes them look bad. And the grumps have not signed up to carve a pumpkin...I asked once but that is it. One of the ladies who is an immigrant has never celebrated Halloween and never done the pumpkin thing...so while she is nervous she also seems excited to try it. And there will be a prize for the best one! I know I won't win...my crafty/cutting skills will certainly place me near the bottom of the pack...but it is about participating and having fun.

I also plan to dress up next Friday. I know...maybe I'm a little old for that but what the heck. I bought the costume a few years ago for a party I ended up not going to....and I'd like to try it out. I'm sure within minutes my face will be itching and the wig will be hot...but I'll do it anyway. I have a Geisha costume. No, there will be no photographic evidence of that. LOL.

Come onnnnnnnn Friday!

Photos from last week...Northern Lights!



I really enjoyed this piece of art. It was taken from a drawing the artists grandmother did and then blown up, digitized and finally cut out of steel. Oh and of course the painting. The image has the traditional Inuit tattoos on the face...I love those facial tattoos. (Relax...I can't even get a tiny heart on my hip let alone all over my face)


The image I purchased and provided the link for. My new glow in the dark painting.


And the other painting I spent my money on over the weekend. I love the white on white images. If I can figure out how to frame it correctly I'd like to hang it in my white on white bedroom.


Camera lessons again tonight. It was class 2 of 2 that I had signed up for. Excellent information...now I just need to find an evening to practice what I have learned. Hopefully in the spring I will be able to attend one of the out of town classes/seminars. And it would seem if I want to take my photography to the next level I need to find a computer program to help enhance the photos. It would appear that every photo ever published is digitized and 'enhanced.' But first...I need to practice, practice, practice. I said on facebook that I have graduated from using my camera in Super Stupid mode to Semi-stupid mode.

Lesson Learned--feeling a bit violated.

Saturday night I arrived home exhausted, but happy from my last trip. You all know about the fantastic paintings I snagged in Yellowknife and the high I was on from their purchase. Unfortunately, the high was not enough to carry me through the entire evening. By the time I got home Saturday night I was so tired I did something I never do. I left a bag in the truck. And not just any old bag, this time it was my laptop bag. And here is where you fast forward and guess what happened. Yep, it was stolen.

I awoke Saturday and the leftover bag in the truck never entered my mind. I didn't go anywhere on Sunday and so the bag continued to sit in the back of the vehicle. Until Sunday night. Someone pried open the back window and managed to get the door open (I guess) and ransacked the truck. The took the bag containing my work laptop, all the files I had from Friday's meeting, my favorite fur mitts from Taloyoak, some earrings I had sitting in the bin up front and thats it as far as I can tell so far.

When I walked out to the truck this morning I noticed the drivers front window was down. Weird I thought and then two seconds later it hit me. Someone broke into my truck and then I know...the laptop was gone. The went through the glove box, the little console between the two seats and took the bag in the back. They at least left my winter coat. How stupid of me to have left the bag in the truck. I normally always drag myself back outside regardless of how tired I am...but for some reason I didn't.

I went back inside and called the police. "Do you know who did it?" 'um, no.' "Ok then you can go to any police station and report it." 'how do I find out where the closest police station is?' "oh, I guess I can tell you." I was shaking. By the time I got inside the station I was so very close to tears and then by the time I was explaining what had happened I was in tears. The police officer was so not sympathetic. He just pushed the papers in front of me told me to fill them out and then criticized me for not having my license on me and was wondering why I couldn't remember my own phone number--which I just realized I did get wrong when I told him this morning. The license--I had forgotten to switch it from my pants pocket when I flew Saturday night. He never even offered a tissue.

I feel violated. I feel stupid. I live in a BIG city. Ok, not big by US standards, but certainly big enough that I know this kind of thing happens on a regular basis and I should be careful....no one can kick me harder than I have already kicked myself this morning.

I know my wonderful readers will be sympathetic and tell me we all make mistakes and that it isn't a big deal...but for this morning it is. I know it is stupid to feel violated. They didn't touch me, but they touched all the stuff in my truck, they violated my private spot. It just felt weird driving in it. This morning at work is a write off. I know I won't be able to concentrate on anything...which would explain why I am writing a blog entry from the office. Maybe the whole day will be. Next on the agenda is to call the insurance company and find out what the next step is...what a great start to the week. NOT!

Just back from Yellowknife in the past couple of hours. It was a good trip. And an expensive trip. The meetings were great and I was very happy with the amount of work that got completed. There will even be an additional follow up meeting in a couple weeks. But that wasn't where the expense came in....I went shopping.

I had seen these amazing painting in April when we had an unexpected stop over in Yellowknife. I decided this trip that I would check them out again and if I felt I could afford one and found one of them that I just couldn't live without I would buy it. It was a great plan...but first I stopped by one of the other galleries in town. It is a small gallery in the hotel. The hours are random and rare from what I can gather. Upon arriving back from meetings to find the small store open I had to 'pop' in. I saw a painting that I fell in love with. Yep...head over heels in love. I don't have a pic for you yet...maybe tomorrow. It is white on white. There is a white polar bear on the top portion and below that all white animals. It is hard to describe. I parted with some hard earned $ and was thrilled with my purchase. That was Friday evening.

Today, Saturday, I checked out additional galleries in town and finally stopped into the one with the paintings I enjoyed so much on my last trip. And fell in love. Yeah, twice in one weekend. I like most of the works this artist had on display but there was one that just captured me.

http://members.shaw.ca/piano_paintings/Northern%20Lights%20Phosphorescent%20Landscapes/slides/IMG_0768.html

It came home with me on the plane. I am thrilled and so very happy to have it join my art collection. The painting is vibrant and full of colour. It speaks to me. What makes it very unique is that it glows in the dark. The glowing part for me really makes the Northern lights special. I can't wait to see it hanging in my living room...vibrant by day, glowing like the Northern lights I miss from up North by night. It is going to be wonderful.

The thing about art is that you don't pick it....it picks you. If you see a carving, painting, etching, tapestry, etc that moves you...buy it. You don't want to regret it later. Art can never be a bad investment--never. Even if you buy a piece from someone who never becomes 'famous' in the art world and your painting never increases in value--who cares. Think of the hours of enjoyment it gives you--that is priceless and well worth the investment.

At 7:30pm tonight I found out I am heading to Yellowknife on Thursday. It's been an on again off again trip...which in finally confirmed. Except I have a lot to do and little time to do it in. Tomorrow night is my photography class and it runs from 7-10pm which leaves no time for laundry...so off to the laundromat I go tomorrow and hope they can get it done in time.

I am looking forward to the photography class...and then looking forward to testing out my new found skills in Yellowknife.

The trip is fast. Up Thursday evening and back either Saturday morning or late afternoon. I'm aiming for late afternoon. I like Yellowknife and would enjoy a bit of free time to wander around again and just enjoy the city. You never know when your last trip to a certain place will be.

Enjoy the rest of your week, there likely won't be any more posts until the weekend when I am back in Edmonton.

My body must be the body of a 120 year old. Last weekend I stayed home and watched the world spin. This weekend I`m sitting on the couch trying not to move my right arm. In my zest to re-arrange my furniture I must have sprained or stained or pulled something. My neck and shoulder are very sore. Unfortunately this is keeping me from finishing the re-arranging and doing a few loads of laundry. Sigh. If it isn`t one thing it is another lately. Ah well.

The interviews from a couple of weeks ago and over and done. The referencing is finished and on Tuesday one new person starts. Then next Monday another person starts. I`m looking forward to seeing how the dynamics of the office change with this additional infusion of `fresh blood`. Hopefully it all changes for the best. This old vs new mentality is really draining.

It has snowed all weekend...ick. Last fall was amazing and this fall is threatening to be similar to fall in Nunavut. Not that there is anything wrong with fall in Nunavut, but people in Edmonton don`t really know how to drive in the snow, which seems odd seeing as we do live in Canada and snow comes every year.

The turkey I cooked yesterday was/is fabulous. I put fresh herbs inside it and they infused all the meat of the turkey with a lovely rosemary flavour. Delightful! I am getting ready this evening to start the soup. I love having frozen soup ready for yummy lunches for the next few weeks. For a single girl you should have seen the amount of veggies cooked. Butternut squash, turnip, potatoes, carrots, and brussel sprouts. Yummy. I cooked enough so that I can pan fry the leftovers for a few days. I love pan fried left over veggies.

Who wants to come help put away all my knic knacks

Happy Turkey Day!

My family is gathering at the 'farm' today to enjoy stuffed bird, taters, home grown veggies and pie. I'm having a similar meal here in Edmonton....without the homegrown part. I'm thankful for family, friends and fowl today. And chicken is happy I choose to cook a turkey instead of a distant cousin.

In the midst of deciding to cook myself a nice sized turkey I decided to re-arrange all my furniture. This morning my kitchen is hidden under boxes and bags of 'stuff' from the living room. I am siting in a living room with furniture in disarray and can't decide what to do next. It is 10:30, so I think it is ok to drag furniture across the head of my downstairs neighbour and try to figure out new placement. There is one wall that would be perfect for placement but it doesn't have an electrical outlet so it useless for the two possible pieces of furniture. Hmmmm.

Enjoy your turkey dinners and your October rituals. I am enjoying mine.

Snow! Yep, snow in Edmonton. There was a small but generous cover of snow on my truck this morning. I expected it to disappear over the morning but it didn't. In fact during the day it got a bit nasty by times with high winds and blowing snow. It was clear after work and the roads were surprisingly in great shape.

My normal 20 minute commute turned into 50 minutes this morning due to the bad weather. Wow.

It's turkey weekend. I have had a few invites but will end up having turkey solo. With a number of my friends sick with colds, flus and other infectious type things I have decided to stay home and avoid illness. I will cook a small turkey (or buy a pre-cooked chicken--don't tell my father!) and do my own meal at some point.

I have plans to re-arrange my entire living room/dining area this weekend so that will take a large portion of my time...and energy.

Wednesday night is my first (of two) photography classes. I am really looking forward to it. Imagine the photos once I actually learn how to use my toy.

In July of 2008 I tossed out my microwave. It had been a gift from my parents when I was in university. It had served me well. A crack in the door that seemed to be growing and the move South were determining factors in its disposal.

Upon arrival in Calgary in September 2008 I decided that money was a bit tight and the microwave purchase could wait. And then I decided that maybe I didn't need one. Just over a year later I am still microwave free. I know it isn't a big 'green' thing to not have a microwave, but it sure is good for my kitchen. Like most apartment dwellers counter space in my apartment is at a premium. There simply isn't much functional horizontal space. I have my toaster oven (generously donated by Ali when I got to Calgary and needed to at least enjoy toast) and that is more than enough 'gadgets'.

How have I survived without the microwave? It is so easy. It has taken a bit of planning, but I don't even miss it. I can re-heat anything on the stove/oven. I can even defrost meat in the toaster oven and it comes out so much nicer than from the microwave.

I have used a microwave in the past 12 months. We have one at the office and yes, I occasionally buy frozen dinners and nuke them. And generally if I want a hot lunch at work I need to nuke it as well because I don't have a stove and/or toaster oven at the office to use. I'm not against microwaves, I just don't need to own one.

Paper towels. I bought a two-pack of paper towels when I moved into this apartment last November. I have two sheets left. The most often use for them....in my greens in the fridge absorbing moisture so my leafy greens stay fresher longer. Spills....cleaned up with a cloth. I think the biggest consumption of paper towels in my house was when I cleaned the patio doors when I first moved in. I won't be doing that again. Next time...rags and newspaper.

My other green move this past year has been the lack of plastic wrap in my house. I haven't used any in over a year. Or waxed paper. And up until my camping trips no foil wrap. I save all my margarine dishes and plastic containers that my food comes in and transfer food to these dishes instead of covering the plate with plastic wrap. Much better decision for the earth and it has no doubt also saved me money.

Those who know me know I am not a tree hugger. Heck, my truck is not exactly the most gas friendly vehicle on the go....but I don't see anything wrong with making good choices where I can.

My next move is to find a more earth friendly laundry detergent that will still get my white sheets white. I tried to buy soap nuts in India but couldn't find them--even though that is where they are produced. I may need to bite the bullet and just order them over the internet to see if they really are a good alternative to Tide. As one of the girls in my office would say...Happy Monday.

My week is over. Yeah! Granted it flew by and I am grateful for that. I finally got myself to a Dr after work yesterday to see about the dizzy spells. Official diagnosis--vertigo. No particular reason for it and no idea when it will leave. The lovely Dr gave me meds, suggested physio and showed me some exercises to help with the dizziness.

I was surprised with how easy it was to see someone last night. I called my family Dr in the morning and he is out of town until the 19th, not able to wait that long the nursse suggested I head to a Medi-Centre. Basically a walk in clinic. I called in the morning--huge line up she said. Fine, I decided to wait until after work and spend my evening waiting to see someone. I left the office at 6:06pm. By 6:36pm I was back in the truck driving to the store to have my prescription filled. Unbelievable. I walked in and there was no one in the waiting room. The nice nurse signed me in and then I went directly into the office for my appointment. Fastest Dr appointment I have ever had.

Last night I recalled having vertigo before. I was in Boston with my ex (he wasn't an ex then) and I found myself sleeping on the floor because I was afraid I would fall off the bed. I don't remember how long it lasted though. Oh well....it is well under control.

Man have I had a lot of medical issues this year. Oh well....mind and body do not always agree with each other.

While I am feeling better today I have opted to not go far...couch...kitchen...couch...washroom and that should be about it. Let's not take any chances. It's the weekend...so I have no official things to do so a day on the couch watching tv and reading isn't so bad.

Life overall is good. I've made a couple changes/additions to my life that I am happy with and think will make me happier down the road. And I think I have a guest coming for Thanksgiving weekend. That will be nice. We will eat lots of turkey, hit the Indian restaurant down the road and maybe she will help me with my search for a table/desk. What's new with you?