2010--the Year of Change.

Yep, that's what I'm going to call this year. You never know where things are going and what will happen. Change is the only constant.

Welcome 2010. 2009--don't forget your hat on the way out.

When will this year be over? Yeah, ok, I know, December 31...a few days from now. Sigh. 2009 has been full of challenges and I can't wait to see the back end of it. One of the ladies at work told me that in her household they take the tree down before the New Year. The idea is not to bring any of the bad vibes and 'old issues' from the past into a fresh new year. I like the thought of that...so the tree will be coming down before the New Year starts. Why take chances?

I had a wonderful Christmas day and so did my family. I am enjoying the videos my sister took (post more) and can't wait to see the rest of the photos. Here's an interesting fact...my parent's have had a digital camera for about a year now and I have yet to see a photo that they have taken and if I was to ask the question of if they took any photos on Xmas day the answer will likely be no. Hey guys 'use it or lose it'. Moving on....

I have been mulling over a number of thoughts lately. My brain hurts sometimes from the mulling. Seasons and people come and go in our lives. Destinations are not always known. What is your definition of happy? Where will we all be this time next year and who will be in our lives?

Where will we all be this time next year and who will be in our lives? And that my friends is the biggest question at the moment. But one I am not going to try and answer until after my trip to Italy. Oh, and funds are getting tight on the once in a lifetime trip so if anyone out there has won the lottery recently and would like to donate some cash I'm happy to accept it. ;)

I made a list of 10 things I wanted to do over the holidays. The list was originally meant for the 4 day weekend but I have decided to extend it into the next long weekend as well. It isn't big or important so no worries but a few things I'd like to get done. One of the items is sew on buttons. The pile of buttons and things that need buttons isn't towering over me but it is starting to inhibit my wardrobe selections. A couple of items I managed to cross off the list--hang new shower curtain, finish pink necklace. Yep, its a tough list.

The necklace is actually a project that I originally started in mid-August. I haven't worked on it the past few months so it didn't actually take me 4.5 months to finish. The necklace is what actually prompted a trip to Ikea and the purchase of the desk/table for crafting. Which lead to the re-arranging of the living room the hurting of my back and the list goes on. But with a 4 day weekend ahead of me and a feeling of relaxation I decided to tackle the necklace again and I'm glad I did. I am very happy with the results. Now to start the next one. LOL. The next one has a much simpler design and now that I know a little bit more about what I am doing it should go much faster. Oh, and I purchased a proper crimping tool over the weekend which makes one portion of the projects much easier and faster. Isn't it amazing what the proper tools can do?

Here's a few photos from this weekends work...and the finished product.


Seed beads are very messy. They come on strings but when removed from the string have a tendency to roam all over the house.


I need a lamp. This is my bedside lamp and doesn't produce enough light to see the tiny holes in the beads unless I am holding everything right under the shade. I have looked at Ikea but they are all energy saving lamps and don't seem to have enough sparkle to see. Maybe I should look at the craft stores...hmmm...good idea.
Detail of necklace.



The finished product. The large piece of rose quartz in the centre was not wrapped by me. The lady at the craft store made the cage. That was one part of the necklace I knew needed to be done correctly or I would regret it later on...when the rock fell out and broke. It isn't quite what I had envisioned and I can add more to it if I want...but I'm happy with the results when I wear it. I might just wear it to the office tomorrow and see if I get any comments on it.

In the background is my apartment building.


Just a few shots as I wandered around the neighborhood this afternoon.



Christmas day photos...

Happy Merry Christmas Eve!

It has been a relaxing afternoon. I watched some tv, arranged my Christmas flowers and prepared homes for my new fish. Yep, I decided it was time to get a couple of new fish. I picked their names and am just about to inform them...and you.

Zorba (will be the orange one)
Live each day.

Ferdinand (will be the blue one)
Adventurous in life.

I think their names reflect the way we should live our lives. There is a poem that floats around email now and again. I heard it the other day and it served as a reminder to me...hopefully it will be a reminder to you as well...

Life should NOT be a journey to the grave
with the intention of arriving safely
in an attractive and well preserved body,
But rather to skid in sideways,
chocolate in one hand,
wine in the other,
body thoroughly used up,
totally worn out and screaming
"WOO HOO what a ride!"

I received a couple of additional gifts today, one from a co-worker and one from the 'boss'. They were quite unexpected and very nice. I have also received a few Christmas cards from you lovely folks in cyber space. Thanks.

I had thought about doing laundry tonight, but someone already has the machine and they put a very large comforter inside which led to water all over the floor. Perhaps I will wait and just head to the laundromat over the weekend. My other thought for the evening was going out to view the lights. Now that I am settled into the apartment for the evening I have decided to wait on that and just simply enjoy an evening of peace and relaxation.

Merry Christmas.

We've passed out of the darkness and into the light! That may be a slight exaggeration but the days are getting longer.This of course is fantastic news for those living farther North of me...for those in the South maybe not such a big change.

I was looking up those large generally white boxes that you put food in on the internet yesterday. We need one for our new office. Apparently I have been misspelling the word for years.... but look at this both are correct.....
refrigerator fridge

I have been spelling refridgerator with a D for years. Whoops.

I mailed exactly 5 Christmas cards this year. They are a hit and miss thing in my house. Some years everyone gets one the next few years no one. I found a few cards in my decorations and decided to send them out...then I wanted to send out a few more but had run out of cards and stamps. For those of you who get cards...Merry Christmas. For those of you who didn't get cards....Merry Christmas. I love you all equally.

Everyone seems to be settling into the new office nicely. We are about 85% unpacked. The contractors put the final touches on yesterday and have vacated the board room we had built. There is still some furniture to order but for now everyone has a desk and a place to work. I have been staring at my artwork the past few nights trying to pick the one or two pieces that will grace the walls at the office. One lady asked why I would want to bring in art from home to look at. "I want to see it at my house," is what she said. "I spend most of my time at the office it makes sense to me to have it there." She finally agreed that indeed there may actually be more viewing time at the office than at home. Think about it. 8 full hours a day, 5 days a week. I average 5 hours of OT a week. I am home between 6:30pm and 7:30am M-F and sleeping for at least 8 hours of that. Take out the odd night at the movies, shopping time, walking, etc...and the time actually spent at home awake is minimal. So I continue to look around the apartment and think about the pieces that will follow me to the office.

Have a great day!

The tree is trimmed.

I think it turned out much better than last year. The blue is definitely what was needed. The topper though I will change next year...I think something different is required...not sure what. Maybe I will find something at the boxing day sales.





I have a ton of other decorations including the travel tree...but I don't think I'm putting anything else up...not this year.

Well the week is finally over. Thank goodness.

It was a very emotional week for me and the tiniest of things set me off into tears. Obviously it wasn't the events, it was the loss of my friend, but I am feeling--not happier maybe more accepting of the past week and am ready to remember the good times and not dwell on the terrible end to a wonderful persons life.

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The office move has gone smooth. Very smooth. I spent most of Friday directing movers and re-arranging the things I mis-directed. The telephone lines were moved, the internet and network re-connected, all the furniture was carried up a flight of stairs and nothing is broken or missing. Imagine that. Today a few of us headed in to continue the rearranging. On Monday morning everyone has a desk and computer to use. And a ton of boxes to unpack. We borrowed 105 totes from the movers and 40 of them were unpacked by the time I left tonight. I plan to head in tomorrow for a brief visit to unpack my desk. I hope to do some purging of papers during the remainder of this year. There is lots to re-do and lots that can be sent to long term storage instead of left hanging around our current office. I do prefer to live without clutter....not that you would know that from the state of my apartment tonight.

I also hope to hang up some things on my walls and assume the other folks in the office would prefer I do my hammering when they are not next door. I am hanging up my two degrees, my Inuit art calendar, a white board, maybe a bulletin board if I can find one and a nice framed print or two from my walls at home.

Unofficially I won the office decorating contest. I say unofficially because everyone voted but the winner was never announced. I asked...I had to ask....and was told that I had won but there was no prize purchased yet. Maybe next week when we do the Secret Santa gift exchange...I don't care about the prize I just want the bragging rights.

Here's a couple pictures of my office...

My Tree of Travels. Most of the decorations have been collected from my travels around the globe. Mexico, Labrador, and London are the predominate locations for ornaments. A large number were also made by my niece and nephew.


Snowflakes....

Best display of Christmas lights ever--it's the one on the right of the picture.

http://queenoftacky.com/wp-content/original/2009_11/ditto.jpg

I fought the tree and the tree won.

I purchased my tree on December 4 and left it outside on my deck. Too early to decorate so outside it needed to stay. That was the first weekend of real snow for this season and the tree ended up under several inches of snow. I decided it was good insulation for the tree, especially when we are having -30 temperatures.

Sunday had been designated as tree day but given my weekend I decided against a full out decorating day and wanted to just get the tree and put the lights on. Later this week when I am hopefully in a more jolly mood again I would/will put the actual decorations on. I brought the tree in and placed it on a tarp in the middle of the living room floor to melt and thaw out. Several hours later I began the task of cutting off the bottom couple of inches to get a fresh cut which would/will hopefully draw water up the tree and keep it from drying out completely. It was a long hard struggle but I finally got the cut made and managed to get the tree stand on. I stood the tree up, turned it so the best side faced out and then tied it to the window frame. In my household we always tie the trees to the wall to prevent them from falling over. Based on experience from the one year I didn't and had the tree and all the ornaments tip over I knew it was wise and safe to tie it to the wall.

I used the same nail as last year and tied it good and tight. Then I strung the lights. I like lights and with a black and silver tree I think lots of lights are important. It glowed quite nicely. I watered the tree and went to bed.

About an hour later I heard 'whumph'. I got up and crept out to the kitchen to find my tree laying half in the living room and half in the kitchen. Apparently the tying to the wall was not enough. One of the screws in the tree stand seems to have been stripped, or rather I guess the hole it pokes out of has been stripped. It didn't sink into the tree the way I would like it to. I assumed if the other two screws were in tight and the tree was tied to the wall it would all be ok. Nope.

I stood the tree up barricaded it up against the fridge and put the chair tightly in front of it then mopped up the water and returned to bed.

Tonight I stopped at Canadian Tire and purchased a new tree stand. It is supposed to be a much better system then my current arrangement and for $39.99 it better be. There are no screws in this set up. It has four pieces that you can push towards the centre and 'clamp' around the tree. It has a much deeper pot that my other stand and I feel very confident in its ability to hold the tree upright--without being tied to the wall. I will give it the night and if it is still standing in the morning I may even decorate it when I get home in the evening...maybe.

The following picture shows almost all of the needles that were lost during the falling over, removal of first tree stand, sawing off of lower branches, and finally pushing tree into new tree stand wars. It is a big pile. Days like this make me question why I don't just buy myself one of those really nice artificial trees. The dead needles all over my kitchen, living room and bedroom (apparently I was covered in needles last night but failed to brush them off before climbing into bed after the fall.




Hopefully I don't wake up during the night to 'whumph' or a crash--I'm tired of sweeping up needles.

Suicide in the North.
I've been very lucky in my lifetime, the amount of suffering and loss has been minimal. I'm grateful for that. Tonight though my life was touched with a loss. A friend from Iqaluit has taken her own life. I am deeply saddened.

She was one of the first people I met in Iqaluit when I got off the plane. We connected instantly. Her zest for life was contagious as was her laugh. Unfortunately she suffered from depression and her lows were often hard on not only her but those around her. We parted ways in the six months before I left the North. It was unfortunate but it happened, in fact she lost a number of friends during that time.

I received an email earlier this afternoon saying she had gone missing and that search and rescue was out looking for her. A few hours later I received another note telling me that she had passed. The details are still a bit fuzzy at this point but it all points to suicide. She took her dogs for a walk on Friday evening and when she didn't return home her roommate called search and rescue. She walked out onto the tundra removed her coat and froze to death. Apparently she left a note.

A lot of people are saddened by this loss and we all wish we could have done more. Could have helped her in some way. But we couldn't. Most of us have tried to help her in our own ways, but in the end she needed to want to be helped.

Lindsay, I am saddened by you leaving this life. I only hope you find the peace and love you deserve in the next life. Your laughter still rings in my ears and your heart will always have a place in mine.

Two of Lindsay's dogs...her babies.


Christmas 2006 in Iqaluit

Long time readers will know I am a total klutz. I come by it honestly, Sagitarian's are known in the zodiac to bit a bit on the clumsy side. Let's put clumsy and klutzy into the same category and add ditzy to the mix.

The temperatures have been hovering in the low 20's earlier this week and mid-teens later in the week. So I've been plugging my truck in. It isn't entirely necessary at these temps, but why take chances.

My routine is to unlock the drivers door and put my bag, purse, etc into the truck, then start the truck. I turn off the radio, turn off the fans and close but not lock the drivers door. I grab my snow brush from the back of the truck and begin to clear the snow off the truck starting with the back window on the drivers side. As I walk across the front of the truck I make sure the vents up front are clear of snow and I unplug the truck. The I finish off the passenger side and finally the tailgate. I like to leave some of the snow on the license plate, not enough to totally cover it, but enough that if I do happen to go through a light they won't be able to make out the letters and numbers. Then I toss the brush back into the back of the truck and climb in...off to work I go.

The other morning I was following my routine and as I started the truck realized I had accidentally left the wipers on the night before. The wipers went over once and cleared off all the snow...so I decided I didn't need to brush off the rest of the snow and closed the door. I went to work and enjoyed the rest of the day.

When I arrived home that evening I went to plug in the truck and saw that my cord was missing. I immediately left out a few choice words assuming someone had stolen it. But why my cord I thought? It is just a regular run of the mill extension cord, it doesn't even have a light on it. Why would someone steal it? I took a look at the cord sticking out of the front of the truck and noticed that it was slightly bent. Hmmm, did someone steal the cord during the night? And in their haste to snatch it bent one of the prongs? I sighed and went into the house. It was only scheduled to be around -15 so I figured I was ok.

The next morning I had one of those moments. One of those moments when the light inside your head goes off and the decision is made or the problem solved or something else along those lines. It didn't creep into my head, the image popped into my head. I had broken my routine and with a broken routine came the error. I had forgotten to unplug the cord the morning before. I don't recall seeing anything, I didn't feel the tug when I pulled out of my parking spot and I didn't feel or hear anything when the cord broke free of the truck.

It must have been quite a sight. My truck driving down the road and about 25 feet of cord following behind. Oops. I guess I was lucky as it could have caused some damage. The only damage is a hit to my pride and the cost of another cord--this one has a light on it. Oooh, fancy.

It's my birthday today. Yeah! One of my friends asked me a week or so ago if I would be turning 29 again (I haven't used that number in years) and I replied that I would be turning 50. I figure if I tell everyone I'm 50 they will say I look great for my age! ;) My mom might not the implications for her, but then again she has been turning 29 for a few years now so I think I passed her long ago.

I requested at the office--no cake. We are having Christmas celebrations this week and there are goodies on the table all day long...plus we had a one year anniversary celebration on Monday (with cake) so we certainly don't need another one today. I already know there are balloons awaiting me. Our president (my boss) was in yesterday and when he opened the closet door to get his coat a balloon popped out and I could hear the whispering about it from where I was sitting.

The b'day presents from home arrived last night. It seems as though the box had a long hard journey to Alberta seeing as it arrived after some of the boxes I shipped East did and mine were sent about a week later. Oh Canada Post you do like to keep us on our toes.

I will admit to opening the birthday gifts a wee bit early. I cracked open the box last night to eat some of the cookies and by the time 9pm rolled around the temptation took over and I started ripping paper. Technically it was my birthday in PEI...and since I was born there....then that counts, right? I will admit this is only the 2 or 3 time I ever opened birthday gifts early I do normally wait. And I NEVER open Christmas presents early, with the exception of the gift we traditionally open on the 24th.

Happy Birthday!

I almost forgot...the hair. Sigh. I know have platinum blond at the temples and an all over red. The red is great but there is this transition spot at the temples where the hair goes from blond to orange to red. It isn't quite what I was going for...oh well.

"What happens in Edmonton, stays in Edmonton." A direct quote from Stuart McLean tonight at the Vinyl Cafe Christmas show.

For those of you who don't know who I am talking about...check out CBC. I admit to being an addict of CBC radio since the tender age of 14 and this is one of my favorite shows. Stuart does this show where he tells stories about this family (Morley, Dave, Stefanie and Sam) and then intersperses them with various artists. Tonight they were both from the Maritime's...and they were great! The show was terrific. I've never seen it in person before and it is always interesting to see the voice. The show started at 7:30pm and at 10:15pm I was back in my truck. At 10:30pm I was still sitting in my truck waiting for the line of cars behind me to disappear so I could go home--the joy of parking garages in the city.

If you ever get a chance to see or even hear the Vinyl Cafe I highly recommend it. I laughed so hard my sides will likely hurt in the morning. For the length of the show (almost 2.5 hours) it was well worth the money.

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The weather on Friday did not stop me from venturing out and did not S and I from enjoying the day. I made a couple of small purchases and ended my day with a stop at Ikea. I bought my Christmas tree. It is sitting out on the deck waiting for next weekend--at least I think it is still out there. There is a large white lump where I left it.

But fear not, I did some Christmas decorating...in my office. Yes, the 12 hours of Christmas start this week at work. Monday is the beginning of the office/door decorating contest. I spent a good portion of my Saturday evening (while watching the Christmas Shoes--saddest movie ever--LOVE IT) making snow flakes. I bought this kit of Styrofoam snowflakes at Walmart. There are 8 dots on each one, 8 diamonds and one snowflake shape in the centre of the bigger snowflake. It made 35. Well worth the effort and because I had 3 colours in the pack no two are alike. They are now hanging by string and a bit of tape from the ceilinng in my office.

A different type of foam snowflakes are adorning the sides of the desk and bookcase. My 'away tree' is in the window, decorated with Christmas ornaments that I have picked up on my travels. The final touch is a tiny tree purchased at the $1.29 store years ago with a set of working rice lights and some mini ornaments. It is a true winter wonderland...and hopefully I am in the running for the prize...whatever that is.

It is almost midnight and unfortunately I am WIDE awake. I didn't get home until 11pm from the show and tragically the combination of the high from the show, the -17 temps I ventured out into for the show and the list of things to do running through my head are keeping me awake. I'm watching Martha Stewart on tv. It isn't her show, its a bunch of Christmas craft projects from old shows all strung together. I must admit she is still my home maker guru and given the chance I'd love to buy her magazine and try to be like Martha....she always seems to organized. Yeah, some of it is a bit much, but still. I saw them make a house tonight out of sugar cubes instead of gingerbread and frankly, it made me want to try it.

It is going to be a busy week at work...but I'm confident it will be a good one.

It's Friday! Ok, technically not Friday as I write this, but more than likely Friday when you read this (if you are daily reader!). I have the day off...I know, two Friday's in a row. It's a record! I'm off to the big craft fair tomorrow with one of the ladies from work. We are headed to Denny's for breakfast first and then crafty buying followed by a trip to Ikea for me. I'm going to buy my Christmas tree. I may not put it up this weekend but at least I will have it. And a trip to Ikea never hurt anything except my pocket book.

There is a winter storm advisory on the agenda for tomorrow. I'm not overly concerned. I don't think we've had a real winter storm since I moved here. At least not by my standards.

I'm sitting on my couch right now wearing a towel and with a plastic bag from Safeway wrapped around my head. I'm in the middle of a hair experiment. Tomorrow I will either be blond or wearing a wig. Either one is fine. The towel is so I can jump into the shower without wrecking any of my clothes with hair bleach. The bag is to keep the bleach from drying. Apparently when it dries it becomes ineffective. I am in stage two or attempt two. The first attempt I had very blond roots and orange highlights. Not quite the look I was going for. The second attempt is now a paler shade of Anne of Green Gables orange with platinum blond roots. Now I'm in the next stage...adding colour. I have a feeling this has disaster written all over it. Oh well, it is only hair and I can always dye it a darker colour in a few days and cover up all the mistakes. Or invest in a fun wig until it grows out. Either way.

Have a great Friday! I will be spending part of my weekend going through my Christmas decorations to decide what to use in the decorating of my office for the contest on Monday...that i will take pictures of!