Wordless Wednesday

Have you ever had

something go bad in your fridge? I made a salad for supper, put some feta cheese on top and curled my toes when I took a bite of it. Ooooo. I think the word "feta" is a derivative of the word "fetid". Even the cat shuddered and walked away. (She gave me a contemptuous look too). How long does it take a container of cheese to go bad, do ya think? A week? A month maybe? Will it last a year? Or more? This, I've discovered, is another drawback of travel that I hadn't considered. It's probably a good idea to check the fridge before one goes away for a period of time, but frankly that wasn't on my to-do list. In hindsight, maybe I should add it to my packing list. I should have known that something that is already well past it's "expiration date" (like me) likely will not live another couple of weeks, no matter how cold one's refrigerator is. Shoulda, woulda, coulda, didn't. Another lesson I skipped out on at school.
Speaking of refrigerators, what a fascinating word that is! If I had invented the English language, I would have used the -erator suffix (Is it a suffix? Are there any English teachers out there?)a lot more often. Such as in Vacuum-erator. Sewing Machin-erator. Comput-erator. Underarm deodorant-erator. Try any of these words. You know you want to. I'll bet you're saying them out loud right now. Alone in your room. They kind of slide right off your toungue, don't they? Ahh, if only I had invented the English language. We would be having so much more fun.

A Mother's Love

We passed this building on our road trip this past weekend. Interesting, don't you think? Last time we went by, it had some hateful things written on it, but I think this one is quite sublime actually, don't you? This IS digital, who has time to get photos printed? (or at least is that organized?) It would be remiss of me to not mention the lady who created the digital vintage car. Her name is LesleyB and her website is digikeepsakes. She really does some spectacular work! I hope you visit her.

This is how windy it was this weekend.

In fact, we put the car in neutral and the wind blew it backwards!

Here are some of the folks I met this weekend.

These are some of the places I was this weekend.

and I'm not going to travel again for a l-o-n-g time, god willing. Good night.

Movie night

In Lethbridge tonight and almost ready for bed. We went to see Alice in Wonderland tonight, what a blast it was! But I'm sitting here in the dark at my daughter's house and that's all I'm going to say tonight, as I can't really see. Speaking of not seeing, I can't find the delete key on her laptop. Plus, we're getting up early hin the morning to drive south to Waterton Park, in the mountains. On another note, my ex-husband found the coffee pot had mold in it, when he was here. At least she told me. She doesn't drink coffee, but if I don't get a cup right pronto in the morning, my eyeballs kind of wobble around on their own (ie NOT together) until I do have caffeine. Only a little will do. I won't be able to see to drive to Starbucks. Please send help.

BLOG PARTY!!

I made it!

I spent some time last night working with digital elements I downloaded from ScrapArtist. Everything is 30% off until the 28th, so I got all the items on my list. (not a very long list.) Also, there is a giveaway site I check each week (well, a couple actually) and the one at Everthing Etsy this week gives you the opportunity to win some mouthwatering delectable candy from Calabasas. OMG, I HAD TO bookmark their page. Maybe I'll set up a swear jar and use the money to order something special. (NOT THAT there would be any money in the jar.) But before that happens, I NEED to win those Madagascar Vanilla marshmallows. Have you ever made homemade marshmallows? To die for. Anyways, this post is my entry for the giveaway. Wish me luck!

Mystery Solved

Playin' with UTEE

What does UTEE stand for anyways? Unidentified Treasures (for) Extravangant Efforts?
Maybe Unusual (a)Ttempts (for) Everyone (to) Excite (others)? Or Usually Takes (me) Everywhere (I) envision (myself going?) OK, none of these work. I just like it.
If you look closely, you'll see there's a bit on each of these ATC's. The green background on one is UTEE and there's a splat of it on the other. I want to get some more of that molding paste to make some more molds, but I'm waiting for a 50%off coupon. (I'm tapping my foot as I say this).
I'm making stuff tonight. Not Art or anthying real, just stuff. I have to do this, or I do insane. Come next Thursday, I have five, count em, five days off IN A ROW. I'm on call, but I'm going to threaten them with death if they call me. Well, I can only do that in my mind. I have plans, BIG plans to make more stuff. I may even make a list. Last night I played with my supplies for a bit, trying to organize the mess in my studio, actually, and I wanted to forego sleep and get to it! I stayed up far too late, and then had to be up at 5AM to go out of town. DRAGGING, big-time.
But I napped when I got home and have my second wind. I've been doing a little digital art this evening, but every time I get up from the computer and walk by my worktable, I get distracted and work on a LO. If I were my child, I would tell me to settle down. So much to do and so little time.
Oop, pizza's ready, gotta go!

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Friday Fill-ins #169

The right word can often smooth things over.
2. Leave now and shut the door quietly, please.
3. Up yours.
4. Somewhere in never-never land is where you'll find me.
5. Ooh! What is that smell?
6. Friday Fill-ins is a good idea.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to relaxing, tomorrow my plans include driving to Lethbridge to visit my daughter, and going to see Alice in Wonderland together, and Sunday, I want to drive back home early enough that I won't be tired for work the next day!

Opus #47

I think the Opus challenges keep me sane. (As sane as I ever am, anyways.) No matter what else is going down in my world, I try to participate in this one thing.I find out what the challenge is on Sunday and then I think about it until something occurs to me. THIS ONE, however, was a toughie. We were asked to create something using a paper that we handle often. At first, I braided some post-it notes for an ATC background. it was kind of cool, but the colours, oh! the colours! You know those neon post-it note colours? They make them like that so they get your attention, I'm sure, which is why I use them every day.....like if I have to go out of the office and need to call someone when I return, I stick one of these things on my computer monitor. It never fails. but, just between you and me, when I stood back and looked at my creation, I almost tossed my cookies. It made me dizzy in fact. Note to self: (on a post-it, tee hee) NEVER, EVER make something out of those neon post-it notes. It will hurt your eyes. Maybe permanently. So, you know what DIDN'T work. I sat at my desk (when I should have been working) and looked around my office for something paper-like to use. I even went through my shredder-box. the problem is, everything I handle is confidential. Like heavy-duty, you'd better-not-breach-this-security-level-confidential, or we will find you... So I was nervous. Like I said, a toughie. I finally took the staff schedule off the wall, photocopied it, cut off the names and brought it home to use.
I have 13 staff and trust me, the schedule is a major part of my day. Either I'm making it, changing it, negotiating it, arguing about it, and then doing it all again next month. In fact, today I should have done up next month's but I didn't get to it. They'll just have to wait.
It's late, I'm wandering here. I cut out some reasonable approximations of flowers, glimmer-misted them, folded them a few times, which didn't really work, so I scrunched the heck out of them, put them togehter with a brad and made them into a card. The rest of the card is pretty self-explanatory. To be totally honest, I would rather buy a card than make a card, but hey, it's Opus, and well, you know how my first idea turned out. So there you have it. Thanks Poobahs!

Birds

I saw a magpie today that weighed more than I do. And that is no small feat. I think Magpies are the terrorists of the avian world. Once I was in my house and I heard this terrible racket outside. I went out to see my cat in a tree, surrounded by a group of magpies. They had her cornered. I had to rescue her. She's never been the same.

I was sitting out back today, looking up at the sky, watching some seagulls. Seagulls. I live in the prairies. In the middle of the country. SEAgulls. Does anyone else see anything wrong with this picture?

What do they think about anyways, while they fly around up there? Do they have normal conversations like the rest of us? Is there a teenage girl bird up there, who wants to go to the dance with her teenage boyfriend bird who drives a bird-Harley (or is that teenage boy bird friend who drives a bird-Harley?) and her parents are flying around saying "not as long as there is breath in my body!" and is she arguing that "You don't understand, I hate you, caw, caw...."?
Or are they just birdbrains?
I live in Canada. Maybe you've heard of Canada Geese. Well, some people think birds, including the quintessential Canadian Goose, fly south in the winter. And god knows, we do have winter in Canada. Sometimes in Canada we even have winter in summer. But I digress. I see the geese fly overhead as the weather turns cooler. They honk. Then I see the geese fly back, in the other direction. They honk. Then I see them fly south again. More honks. Then I see them fly back. Still honking. Tell me, are they stupid? Or just confused?
One day, when my daughter was about 5 or 6 years old, I noticed there was straw on the front steps. So I swept it up and thought no more of it. The next day there was more straw, and a few pieces of string. I looked around and thought, "OK, it must be the wind." The third day, I knew something was up. UP. UP. Look UP. so I did, and there, over top of the motion sensor light, was a nest. Motion sensor lights are really hot, so I called the fire department to ask if I should evict this feathered family and they told me it would be fine. So, since they would be paying rent, I climbed up and peered inside and there were three eggs. As in robin's eggs. Cool! I told my little girl and we waited for the momentous occasion. And lo and behold, sure enough, one day there were three little robins. My daughter named them Cheryl, Lucy and Dave.Oh my gosh, I'm laughing as I write this. I don't know where she gets this from. Do you?
There is bad news, however. Remember my cat and the magpie incident? Well, my cat keeps lists. Little kitty cat "I hate you, evil birds!!" lists. Little Cheryl, Lucy and Dave never grew up to tell their daughters not to date bird-bikers. Let's not tell my daughter, OK?
Have a funny day tomorrow.

These are some of the very first

digital "Layouts" I ever tried. They're not great, but when you consider I had ABSOLUTELY no clue what I was doing, they aren't THAT bad. I like to think I've come a long way since then. My favorite aspect of digital scrapbooking is that I can sit down at the computer anytime and put something together in less than 10 minutes. And if you have basic software, anyone can do it!

Some Layouts

I don't know how people do it, meaning travel all the time. I haven't done much of it and I'm toast with a capital "T". Yesterday I was in a workshop from 7:30-5:30 and then had a three-hour drive home. I wasn't much use at work today either. Go figure. So this is all I've got for tonight, just some proof that I DID go to a crop Friday night while I was away and I had a great time. I'll be back to my old self soon, I'm sure. Good Night.

Does this blog make me look fat?

I've been eating out a lot. That's cus I've been on the road, but the fact remains that I can't sit down comfortably with my jeans done up anymore. I have an all-day workshop tomorrow and will be wearing my stretchy-pants, even though it will mean I can't wear my runners, will need to wear heels so I don't look like a total dork. I WILL be putting my runners on for the trip home afterwards tho. Last night I had the best Mexican food. Salad with apples and pecans, homemade tortilla chips and REAL guacamole. And then tortilla soup...the waiter brought out a bowl with tortillas strips and shredded cheese and a few slices of (more) avocado and then he poured piping hot chicken stock over top. YUMMMM. I accidentally told him I loved him. Now you might think that's weird, but once in Vancouver I asked the owner of a cheese shop to marry me. My daughter was mortified.

Today for lunch I stopped at a Persian restaurant and had some kind of saffron chicken. I don't usually eat chicken, but it was so good, I did. There was also saffron/pomegranate rice and a delightfully healthy salad of some kind. (I mention the salads, so that my mother doesn't turn over in her grave.) I ate my lunch in the "hookah-free zone" by the way. Pity, I had my hookah in my purse.

Then for supper I ordered room service because I was too lazy to go out. I did some scrapbooking in my room,but have tried on and off for the past two hours to upload some pics with no success. No pics tonight. I should back up for a second and tell you that before I ordered room service, I went down to the gift shop anhd bought a pop and some snacks, knowing full well that to order those things through room service would require me to give them my first born...but when I went to pay, my debit card wasn't working. She tried again and then a third time and then pointed out to me that I had given her my room key, not a debit card. No wonder it wouldn't swipe properly. Embarrassing or what? So I went back up to my room to get the right card, and realized when I got off the elevator (on the 16th floor) that I had put cash in my pocket, cus I needed change for the chambermaid in the morning. So back down I went.

Now here's the good part. I ordered a salad (do ya hear me, Mom?) and sweet potato fries, which I love, love, love. When the woman came in with the food, she smashed (and I do mean SMASHED)into the wall and the food flew up in the air and came crashing down onto the carpet. The poor girl was mortified. I did all I could to reassure her, in fact, the salad landed face up, So I told her I would eat that while she went and got more sweet potato fries. She had a partner waiting in the hall and when she saw the girl on her hands and knees trying to pick up the fries, she gasped and said OMG! Did I mention that this particular hotel makes their fries shoestring-cut, so there were between 600 and 800 sweet potato fries on the floor, along with chipotle dip? Yup, 600-800, maybe 850.

It was a different girl who brought up the new order of fries. I think the other one quit.

TOP TEN

things I wonder about as I sit in a hotel room watching TV:

1. Do husbands REALLY not mind when the wife bonks them in the head if they don't like the juice they are served?

2. If Chocolate Easter Eggs were REALLY dropped from a plane, wouldn't we all get bruises? Besides, can rabbits fly planes? Legally?

3. Do reality stars behave as badly in privately as they do when the cameras are rolling?

4. When did men start wearing eye makeup and why didn't I notice? Why are they prettier than me when I spend 1/2 hour each morning trying to look good?

5. When you bite into those singing dancing breakfast cereals, do they scream? And if they DO scream, do you feel badly for them, or do you secretly laugh an evil laugh and say 'die you little freakazoid" in your mind?

6. Does Judge Judy treat her family the way she treats the people in her court room? Do they want to jail her for contempt of court just like I do? And can they?

7. When was the last time YOU danced with your mop? And why would you do that? Did you kiss?

8. Does that big fat paper-towel guy REALLY think his outfit is slimming? Does he have a magic mirror? Where can I get one?

9. Are those fuzzy little toilet-scrubber people going to fly up my butt one day and scare the S%*@ out of me? If so, they'll be sorry.

10. If I have to spend any more time in a hotel room watching TV, will my brain permanently turn to mush? Will anyone who works with me notice? What, you've noticed? Oh crap.

I seem to have

a ceiling fetish.

Alberta Sunrise

Getting ready for the budget

So while in Edmonton, I took part in a protest against government cutbacks. We're the richest province in the country and we have the highest rates of homelessness, domestic violence and poverty.So suffice it to say that as a social worker, I'm hugely concerned. Obviously the two little protesters are as well!

Weird reflection-view from my hotel room

Another Ottawa ceiling

I'm not sure which is more tiring, flying to the other side of the country, or driving three hours through a snowstorm. Either way, tonight I am sitting on my hotel room bed, relaxing and visiting my friends' blogs. I've missed everyone, as much as I've missed creating stuff. In between visits, I've been uploading some more pics from Ottawa. Probably not that interesting for others, but it's all I got right now. The super-dooper good news is that after my workshops tomorrow, I'm going to a crop at Treasured Memories, my favorite scrapbooking store in the world. So tonight I'm happy and tomorrow night, I will be even happier. Soon I'll have made some new stuff. So no more photos, back to art, art, art. TTFN!

Haida Quilt

The View from Quebec

Detail of an old building