IPOD
RADIO
My life since October:
- Futurist Cabaret's Production Manager, Technical Director and Lighting Designer
- Montreal for weekend birthday getaway
- Move
- Clean old place and return keys
- Prime Basement Floor in New Place
- Paint Basement Floor
- Paint Dining Room
- Move into bedroom
Still to do:
- Paint Living Room
- Set up Living Room so we can stop watching Battlestar Galactica on the laptop
- Buy and install dishwasher
- Unpack
- Winterize the car
- Futurist Cabaret's Production Manager, Technical Director and Lighting Designer
- Montreal for weekend birthday getaway
- Move
- Clean old place and return keys
- Prime Basement Floor in New Place
- Paint Basement Floor
- Paint Dining Room
- Move into bedroom
Still to do:
- Paint Living Room
- Set up Living Room so we can stop watching Battlestar Galactica on the laptop
- Buy and install dishwasher
- Unpack
- Winterize the car
Addie walked herself home from the off-leash park yesterday. Hubby took her to the park, she went into stealth-mode, and just as he was starting to talk himself out of panic--she was at our front door barking to be let in.
Only--I heard her outside, but assumed hubby and doggie had run into Auntie Oryx outside. So I thought nothing of it.
Until our neighbour knocked on the door. Confused, I opened the door to our neighbour holding her dog, asking, "Is that Addie?" Of course, I just thought she meant "is that loud and obnoxious, barking dog your husband is holding on a leash your dog?" Silly, neighbour! Of course it is.
Then I looked past the neighbour. To my dog. On the driveway. No leash. Barking at me.
"ADDIE?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!!"
I call hubby. I assumed he's right behind her running because she's somehow managed to break off the leash. No, he's still in the woods.. He goes through the crazy emotions of simultaneously realizing his dog has left the park without him and knowing that she somehow made it across three intersections including one set of traffic lights safe and sound. I'd give a million dollars to see video footage of her trotting along the sidewalk. A woman told hubby she saw her going across the street the park is on, and then just turning left towards home. If I didn't automatically start thinking about how my hound could have died, that's some funny shit.
Living with a hound, you know this will happen one day. Other hound owners warn you. You be careful because you don't want to be the dope that lost their hound while off-leash so everyone can call you a dope to your face. But after 3 years we thought the worst was over. We've become too comfortable. She'll back to wearing a bell while off-leash FOR THE REST OF HER LIFE.
At least she knows where home is. Too bad we're moving.
Only--I heard her outside, but assumed hubby and doggie had run into Auntie Oryx outside. So I thought nothing of it.
Until our neighbour knocked on the door. Confused, I opened the door to our neighbour holding her dog, asking, "Is that Addie?" Of course, I just thought she meant "is that loud and obnoxious, barking dog your husband is holding on a leash your dog?" Silly, neighbour! Of course it is.
Then I looked past the neighbour. To my dog. On the driveway. No leash. Barking at me.
"ADDIE?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!!"
I call hubby. I assumed he's right behind her running because she's somehow managed to break off the leash. No, he's still in the woods.. He goes through the crazy emotions of simultaneously realizing his dog has left the park without him and knowing that she somehow made it across three intersections including one set of traffic lights safe and sound. I'd give a million dollars to see video footage of her trotting along the sidewalk. A woman told hubby she saw her going across the street the park is on, and then just turning left towards home. If I didn't automatically start thinking about how my hound could have died, that's some funny shit.
Living with a hound, you know this will happen one day. Other hound owners warn you. You be careful because you don't want to be the dope that lost their hound while off-leash so everyone can call you a dope to your face. But after 3 years we thought the worst was over. We've become too comfortable. She'll back to wearing a bell while off-leash FOR THE REST OF HER LIFE.
At least she knows where home is. Too bad we're moving.
Penelope's gone.
She had one more batch of babies, and had recently started venturing out of her web to visit the kids, but last night she didn't come back. I'll wait a few more days, and if she's still not back, I'll vacuum up her web and let the kids move in.
She had one more batch of babies, and had recently started venturing out of her web to visit the kids, but last night she didn't come back. I'll wait a few more days, and if she's still not back, I'll vacuum up her web and let the kids move in.
Readers will remember I agreed to allow Penelope (our live-in spider) to stay until I saw an egg sac. I saw one two weeks ago, and as fond as we are of Penelope, we decided to relocate it (into the garbage).
Well, those suckers hatch pretty fast, which makes for two more suckers (us) because--I love them already.
We're probably housing more than one young family. There are teen-aged spiders everywhere-- chasing each other in the lamps, hitching rides on us across the apartment, finding their way into the sink so we have to save them. They rear up and try to get nasty with us, but I think Penelope's told them about us, so they're quite well behaved after a gentle scolding. Not everyone is afforded the same privileges as Penelope (one little spider suffered a drastic reduction of his living space yesterday as I was vacuuming), but since we haven't been bitten yet, we're pretty lenient with the little guys. We think our apartment has been a spider sanctuary the entire time (3 years) we've been living in this old (built 1916) apartment, which actually makes me feel better about my cleaning habits knowing they are in fact abandoned spider webs and not huge strands of dust.
I know what you're thinking--she's in a for a disappointment. She's obviously not read Charlotte's Web!! Penelope can't be long for this world!!
In fact, I have. And while Penelope may not be as spry as she once was, she is thriving. And has two empty sacs up there, so she's made these puppies before.
Penelope vs. Ant (days after the big hatching)
Well, those suckers hatch pretty fast, which makes for two more suckers (us) because--I love them already.
We're probably housing more than one young family. There are teen-aged spiders everywhere-- chasing each other in the lamps, hitching rides on us across the apartment, finding their way into the sink so we have to save them. They rear up and try to get nasty with us, but I think Penelope's told them about us, so they're quite well behaved after a gentle scolding. Not everyone is afforded the same privileges as Penelope (one little spider suffered a drastic reduction of his living space yesterday as I was vacuuming), but since we haven't been bitten yet, we're pretty lenient with the little guys. We think our apartment has been a spider sanctuary the entire time (3 years) we've been living in this old (built 1916) apartment, which actually makes me feel better about my cleaning habits knowing they are in fact abandoned spider webs and not huge strands of dust.
I know what you're thinking--she's in a for a disappointment. She's obviously not read Charlotte's Web!! Penelope can't be long for this world!!
In fact, I have. And while Penelope may not be as spry as she once was, she is thriving. And has two empty sacs up there, so she's made these puppies before.
Penelope vs. Ant (days after the big hatching)
Warning: The graphic images in this blog post may be disturbing to some viewers. Viewer discretion is advised.
In Homer's Odyssey, Penelope is the faithful wife of Odysseus, who keeps her suitors at bay in his long absence and so is eventually rejoined with him. Her name (which happens to be close to the Greek word for "duck") is usually understood to combine the Greek word for "web" or "woof", and the word for "eye" or "face", which is most appropriate for a weaver of cunning whose motivation is hard to decipher.
Earlier this week, I noticed we had an unwanted house guest.
wifey: Could you do something about the huge spider making its home in the kitchen window?
hubby: Okay. It did kill a big bug yesterday. I was hoping you wouldn't notice. I'll relocate her.
wifey: ...you wanted her to *stay* there?
Alright, so, I admit it didn't take very long for the spider to become a pet rather than a pest. I'd mark the time right at that first "her". I had a bit of a scare when I was looking up spiders by their markings and my google search brought up only articles on black widows, but I quickly realized her markings were not red, nor is she that big. Her fate was sealed when I read the following:
The common house spider is not aggressive. They are not known to bite people frequently, nor is their venom known to be dangerous to human beings. When removed from their webs their poor vision renders them helpless. Their only concern seems to be to find and return to their own web or build another one. They do not wander around inside houses except to find a secure place to build a web. Since these spiders are harmless and their diet consists of pests such as flies and mosquito, tolerating their presence in human homes is beneficial.
In retrospect, I see that I may have been duped. I don't know who Ryan Fiedler is (the source for this wikipedia article), but I see now that he's probably a spider. He and his little buddies were probably all cheering each other on as they typed this one out. No, no, no! Write helpless. That's sure to get them tearing up! "Their only concern seems to be to find and return to their own web"? Yeah, good one! Very Oliver Twist! Oh, write "not known to bite frequently", that way we cover our asses when we bite the crap out of them one night as they sleep. "Tolerating their presence in human homes is beneficial." I'm sorry, did that article just tell me what to do?!
Admittedly, I am now quite fascinated by her. I check up on her every morning, making sure she has some food in her web. We had a little bit of a fight earlier this week when I cut her web down a bit and sucked up her old scraps with the vacuum. She hid for most of the day behind the blinds, but by the evening she was out in the open fixing up her web.
I've laid down the law, though, and said she can only stay until I see an egg sac.
Penelope's home, in the top left corner of our kitchen window.
The good work Penelope's been doing.
Penelope repairing her web.
Penelope!
Yes, I photograph my spider with a $65 piece of plastic.
Penelope vs. Moth
In Homer's Odyssey, Penelope is the faithful wife of Odysseus, who keeps her suitors at bay in his long absence and so is eventually rejoined with him. Her name (which happens to be close to the Greek word for "duck") is usually understood to combine the Greek word for "web" or "woof", and the word for "eye" or "face", which is most appropriate for a weaver of cunning whose motivation is hard to decipher.
Earlier this week, I noticed we had an unwanted house guest.
wifey: Could you do something about the huge spider making its home in the kitchen window?
hubby: Okay. It did kill a big bug yesterday. I was hoping you wouldn't notice. I'll relocate her.
wifey: ...you wanted her to *stay* there?
Alright, so, I admit it didn't take very long for the spider to become a pet rather than a pest. I'd mark the time right at that first "her". I had a bit of a scare when I was looking up spiders by their markings and my google search brought up only articles on black widows, but I quickly realized her markings were not red, nor is she that big. Her fate was sealed when I read the following:
The common house spider is not aggressive. They are not known to bite people frequently, nor is their venom known to be dangerous to human beings. When removed from their webs their poor vision renders them helpless. Their only concern seems to be to find and return to their own web or build another one. They do not wander around inside houses except to find a secure place to build a web. Since these spiders are harmless and their diet consists of pests such as flies and mosquito, tolerating their presence in human homes is beneficial.
In retrospect, I see that I may have been duped. I don't know who Ryan Fiedler is (the source for this wikipedia article), but I see now that he's probably a spider. He and his little buddies were probably all cheering each other on as they typed this one out. No, no, no! Write helpless. That's sure to get them tearing up! "Their only concern seems to be to find and return to their own web"? Yeah, good one! Very Oliver Twist! Oh, write "not known to bite frequently", that way we cover our asses when we bite the crap out of them one night as they sleep. "Tolerating their presence in human homes is beneficial." I'm sorry, did that article just tell me what to do?!
Admittedly, I am now quite fascinated by her. I check up on her every morning, making sure she has some food in her web. We had a little bit of a fight earlier this week when I cut her web down a bit and sucked up her old scraps with the vacuum. She hid for most of the day behind the blinds, but by the evening she was out in the open fixing up her web.
I've laid down the law, though, and said she can only stay until I see an egg sac.
Penelope's home, in the top left corner of our kitchen window.
The good work Penelope's been doing.
Penelope repairing her web.
Penelope!
Yes, I photograph my spider with a $65 piece of plastic.
Penelope vs. Moth
At the moment I'm quite convinced there can be nothing worse than having a cold when it's 40+ (104+) degrees out.
On second thought, my sore throat making my morning coffee taste like ash might trump that.
On second thought, my sore throat making my morning coffee taste like ash might trump that.
This has been keeping me busy.
The maples have just about shed all their yellow spawn, so I'm finally able to enjoy spring. Everything is still fresh and green with splashes of vibrant pinks, whites and purples. It's the kind of weather where I long for a garden with peonies, ranunculuses, lilacs, flowering almonds, crabapples, cherries, roses, ivy, gerber daisies, and some wild looking weedy things. No room for grass, Addie, sorry. You're going to have to learn to pee on pebbles or something. A wild garden. A secret garden.
It's the kind of weather where you just feel like visiting all the local shops for fresh baked goods and produce. You walk more; you jog more. You feel like cleaning, consolidating, organizing. It feels like that part in the Wes Anderson film where everyone has some sort of change of heart. Oh yes, it's that Oh Yoko time of year. Forget Sexy Back-it's Oh Yoko blaring that gets me through the tough hills.
So it's spring and I'm feeling like being healthy. I was quite excited today when I thought I finally ended my hunt for the perfect granola. It must be nut free. Short list, right? You'd think it wouldn't be that hard? Guess again. I'd say about 95% of all the granolas and mueslix out there contain nuts. Almonds, hazlenuts, walnuts, peanuts_I have no idea why you non-allergic people are so obsessed with nuts. Eat a raisin once in a while! Ever heard of oatmeal? It's crunchy! In Europe they look at you as if your head is growing out of your ass when you ask if a muesli has nuts because the nut mueslix are in the minority. At our local grocery store they have a berry granola that may contain traces, which, normally, I'm fine with because I'm not as careful as I should be, but I've actually found large chunks of almonds in one box, so now I avoid it.
Which brings me to this: Enjoy Life Granola.
Eat freely? That's a laugh. It should be renamed Enjoy This-fruity-cardboard-we-shaped-into granola-like- pieces-18-times-the-normal-size-before-shoving-it-into-a-box-18-times-too-big-so-you- don't-feel-like-you're-being-ripped-off-until-you-get-home Granola.
What the hell is this? Tumour granola? How am I supposed to chew this? Very Berry Crunch, indeed.
Well, I guess I can rest easy knowing that this cereal doesn’t contain 10 of the most common allergens, such as shellfish. Thank goodness! No shrimp in this granola!
You know what, guys? You can take your crunchier taste and shove it. This is the worst food I've ever eaten. I have TMJ, people, I can't chew these chunks! Maybe you should put some gluten in. That might help. Hugs and kisses, Ginny.
The maples have just about shed all their yellow spawn, so I'm finally able to enjoy spring. Everything is still fresh and green with splashes of vibrant pinks, whites and purples. It's the kind of weather where I long for a garden with peonies, ranunculuses, lilacs, flowering almonds, crabapples, cherries, roses, ivy, gerber daisies, and some wild looking weedy things. No room for grass, Addie, sorry. You're going to have to learn to pee on pebbles or something. A wild garden. A secret garden.
It's the kind of weather where you just feel like visiting all the local shops for fresh baked goods and produce. You walk more; you jog more. You feel like cleaning, consolidating, organizing. It feels like that part in the Wes Anderson film where everyone has some sort of change of heart. Oh yes, it's that Oh Yoko time of year. Forget Sexy Back-it's Oh Yoko blaring that gets me through the tough hills.
So it's spring and I'm feeling like being healthy. I was quite excited today when I thought I finally ended my hunt for the perfect granola. It must be nut free. Short list, right? You'd think it wouldn't be that hard? Guess again. I'd say about 95% of all the granolas and mueslix out there contain nuts. Almonds, hazlenuts, walnuts, peanuts_I have no idea why you non-allergic people are so obsessed with nuts. Eat a raisin once in a while! Ever heard of oatmeal? It's crunchy! In Europe they look at you as if your head is growing out of your ass when you ask if a muesli has nuts because the nut mueslix are in the minority. At our local grocery store they have a berry granola that may contain traces, which, normally, I'm fine with because I'm not as careful as I should be, but I've actually found large chunks of almonds in one box, so now I avoid it.
Which brings me to this: Enjoy Life Granola.
Eat freely? That's a laugh. It should be renamed Enjoy This-fruity-cardboard-we-shaped-into granola-like- pieces-18-times-the-normal-size-before-shoving-it-into-a-box-18-times-too-big-so-you- don't-feel-like-you're-being-ripped-off-until-you-get-home Granola.
What the hell is this? Tumour granola? How am I supposed to chew this? Very Berry Crunch, indeed.
Well, I guess I can rest easy knowing that this cereal doesn’t contain 10 of the most common allergens, such as shellfish. Thank goodness! No shrimp in this granola!
You know what, guys? You can take your crunchier taste and shove it. This is the worst food I've ever eaten. I have TMJ, people, I can't chew these chunks! Maybe you should put some gluten in. That might help. Hugs and kisses, Ginny.
Still feeling out of sorts after being the Production Designer on a feature that shot in 10 days: The art department came out sleep-deprived, and under-budget.
I:
I:
- lost 7 nails
- lost more than 37 hours of sleep
- put in about 600km on my car, and at least 500 on the production vehicles
- experienced 3 snow storms
- had a flat tire on a uhaul in a snow storm
- mentioned Lost in La Mancha at least 3745 times
- had to pee in a port-a-potty all week
- listened to Silas Marner
- smoked way too much
- lost a lampshade, 2 wine glasses, a flashlight, and a curtain rod
- gained a throw, two sweaters, two shirts, a pair of pants, bookshelves, and curtains
- developed a love for porridge
- need a detox diet (damn you Rancho Relaxo!)
- made some good friends.
- hired some shitty people
- hired some awesome people
Since then I:
- ran about 12km in one day
- read Master Georgie
- experienced the greatness that is Alan Sklar
- returned some bookshelves, clothes, comforters
loading your activity feed...