Creative Toys

I got me a new toy!!!!!

Except when i got it, it made a little jiggling sound of a lose or broken little part in the case.

Not Good.

Brother said: "Send it back!"

I sighed and said: "Yes, Brother".

I did.

I ordered again this time straight from Canon.

I should be getting my new Rebel camera within a week.

And i'm excited!!! (Add sparks here)

I've missed having a real camera badly. The pockets versions simply never did it for me.

Can't wait to shoot some more bad pictures ;)

Life, according to Chris Hadfield. Life, according to Sasha.
Chris Hadfield says: "Be prepared!"
Sasha says: "What?"
I like to vary my philosophies.

Pistorius

It has been intriguing me. I haven't lost any sleep over it, but i have been wondering: which opposite side of the tale is the truth? Accident or intentional?
After analyzing every information in my possesion, and i might be missing crucial pieces for I'm so far remote, my conclusion is drawn: i believe Pistorius murdered his girlfriend. I feel like the truth is out there, if only the right questions were asked.
Why would she lock the bathroom door if they didn't argue?
Why, while you girlfriend is sleeping over, do you first think of an intruder when you hear noises in the bathroom?
WHY WOULD SHE TAKE HER PHONE TO THE BATHROOM IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHGT?
Why doesn't he insist on a lie detector test?
Who would blindly shoot through a closed bathroom door, even in a dangerous country?
A friend of mine said: well if he killed her on purpose, he's a very good actor since he's been breaking down so bad.
That argument is empty. I believe he killed her. And i believe the decent human being took over and he is crushed by remorse and fear of consequences. I believe that's what making him cry and throw up. I don't believe he is a cold-blooded killer. But I do believe he murdered her. Crime of passion. Male egos get so big.
I could be wrong. Good luck to the judge. I've been on the fence for a while, but currently, my opinion is formed.
Not that it makes a single difference anywhere.

Sans titre

"Using pain to relieve pain. It doesn't make much sense."
Veronica Roth. Insurgent p.154

Status Quo

It's 9h45 pm and all four cats are curled up and asleep on my bed. In other words, all is well. Until I move my legs.

Respect

He is a doctor so I don't know how many lives he saved, how many he lost.
But on March 13, 2014  in the Canadian Space Agency's cafeteria, Astronaut David St-Jacques jumped in and performed the Heimlich maneuver on a choking man at the table next to him and saved his life.
The next day, he twitted as if nothing special had happened.
I salute you Astro_DavidS. I believe astronaut training really does prepare you for any emergency.
Respect.

Thank You

A furious arctic wind is howling outside.
I am so safe in my warm bed, not fearing any explosion or gunshots, either now nor tomorrow.
I don't know why i was destined to be one of the privileged ones, but i am so thankfull.
Now just imagine Taylor Swift. Young, gorgeous, talented and wealthy. How thankfull should she be?
Now just imagine a young Syrian fighting for survival...
Thank you for my safe, warm house. Never wondering where my next meal will come from. Never fearing for the health and welfare of my loved ones.
I am hugely privileged, but i recognize every moment of it.
Hang in there, World.

Supremacy of a Regime

I've whined about it before. One queen-size bed: 4 cats/1 human. Who do you think is the losing party? Do you know how much space cats, curled up or spread out, actually occupy?

If I dare try to move a leg, I should say to navigate a leg between the lumps:
Miss Sasha immediately jumps off, offended (to comeback in the exact same place 3 minutes later).
Loukhi follows suit (coming back 5 minutes later).
Sweet Lulu... Bites the hell out of me!!!! She who NEVER bites, would bite me to draw blood at night if I didn't quickly remove the offending body part. May be she suffers from nightmares. AND she snores!!!
Chinook... Doesn't budge. It would take ( and has taken) an earthquake to move Chinook.

I am humble. I know my place: Ideally on the couch in the other room. Failing that, take as little room as possible... Then don't you dare move.

I'm owned by 4 cats. Not always a picnic.

Carey Price

"How happy are you right now?"
"I'm very happy!" Big grin.

This is about as excited as I've ever seen Carey Price.
He has his detractors, here in Canada, who claim he's overated. But give him the chance to prove himself with the best of the best, and he simply did it. He was a quiet wall. His last two games were shut outs.
Quietly, without fanfare, he blocked everything that needed to be blocked. He was a rock.
I'm more proud of him that i can say.

Happiness is...

...A gold medal in hockey for Canada in Sotchi. Happiness is in essence ephemeral. Seize the moment. Congrats, boys. I'm thrilled.

Aaaaaand... Here we go

Just what I didn't want. Price, my favorite goalie against Karlsson my favorite player.
Whoever wins, I'll be thrilled, but in the end, I'll have to go with Team Canada. They played so well against the US!
And the truth is, i'm jazzed in a way. No matter what, my two favourites have earned themselves a beautiful gold or silver olympic medal, and fantastic memories.

Just when you thought...

Just when you thought the suspense couldn't  get any higher... There's the women final between Canada and USA. What. A. Match. What a vicarious thrill. I was on an adrenaline high for hours. If you watched, you know why.

I did feel sorry for the sobbing Americans though. That was rather heartbreaking.

I don't have a good feeling for the Canada- US men semi- final tomorrow. In fact, i expect to lose. I'll be watching! Go team!

If you think this blog has turned into a hockey blog, don't worry. It's the Olympics. You must enjoy while it lasts!

Canada vs Latvia or the End of my Nails

Of course, the truth is, my nails are very short. But if i had had any to bite, they would be gone, baby, gone.
It was an impossible match. Canada tried and tried and tried and tried. Canada sent 57 shots (against 16 from Latvia). Nothing went in.
Ok, there's one time where the goalie clearly pushed the puck in, but it was denied to Canada through the powers that be.
The Canadians were literally camping in the attack zone. Still nothing went in. Latvia was a wall. It was unbelievable.
Weber saved the day. I was spent.
We may lose to the US Friday. It will never be as nerve racking as today, against obscure Latvia. The Olympics are exhausting! (And i love it)
In the meantime, Crosby oh Crosby, WHERE are you?

Hooked on Hockey: it's All His Fault!

3 years ago, i knew nothing about hockey. I mean nothing. Nothing. Did not give a s****.
Then a friend of mine put it in his head to teach me about hockey. I'll never know why.

He's a Great Teacher.

I Listened Carefully.

I started learning a few interesting things.
My friend actually plays as goalie.
I went to watch.
I was hooked.
In 3 years, i must have missed only 20-30% of all the matches he played. I simply don't get tired of watching his performances, wonderful or terrible as they might be.
I also watch his practises, as the learning curve is fascinating.
We went to see 2 Canadian matches together. Was great to have his knowledge.
Of course, I will always be biased towards goalies. I watch them more than anybody in the game. Heh. Learned behaviour.

So here comes favourite number one:
Carey Price.

Then, among the "mere" players, comes favourite number two:
Erik Karlsson.

I'm watching Sochi with my heart being in it for Canada, but hoping Sweden will still medal.
In the meantime, i'm watching garage league games, and i still enjoy the heck out of them. As long as my friend plays goalie.

I'm just hoping it won't end in a Canada-Sweden match. Imagine how thorn i'd be!
Thank you friend for introducing me to hockey. The skills involved fascinate me to this day.

Facebook

Is it really your Friend? Or your friends?
Is it a sign of what your friendships are like? Or a sign of what they are not?
When no one reacts to what you think is a major post, may be it's time to think again. May be it's meant to stay very, very superficial.
Ok. The rhythm of posting simply does not allow for thought or introspection. By the time you post a major post, 10 of your friends have posted about something else and your post is just lost in the tide.
Just remember that.
Throughout, some post are worth stopping and thinking, and feeling.
Slow down, Facebook. Slow down.

Sotchi

So I've been quizzing a few friends: Sotchi, terrorist attack or not? I was tending towards yes until a conversation I had today.  My interlocutor pointed out that Poutine's pride being so much at stake, any dissident party responsible would be... Bulldozered. The payback would be extermination. I believe that. Knowing what Poutine is like, I believe that. A former Canadian Defense Chief of Staff wondered: "I wonder how many people this man has ordered to be killed?" . Chilling you say ? I think even the most desperate black widow will not bring that to her community. The Sotchi's Games might be safe after all. Time will tell.

In Memory

In memory of Charlotte. Potcake. My beloved Bayou-a-mice-coco-Rose aka Rosie. Beloved dogs

Run, Forest, Run!

Trying to configure an Ipad 1 for my mother. Talk about hard work! I've been on it for 2 hours and not done yet. As a contrast, when I went from my Ipad 2 to Ipad Air, it took I Cloud all of a minute to restore every single feature. Sigh. Technology is running faster than we can keep up with!

So long Charlotte. Love you girl.

Father and Daughter

Photo credit: Erik Mosvold Photography

My friend Ollie and his first daughter. What a powerful picture. I adore it.

Win-win-win

I had a dearly beloved Ipad 2. My son had an Ipad 1 and loooooonged for a 2. My mother had no Ipad whatsoever but thought that maybe... One day...
My son was going through a rough time so I thought: that's it. Though i didn't need nor want a new Ipad, i bought an Ipad Air.

And presented my son with my beloved Ipad 2. He was, as should be, on cloud nine.
My mother ends up with an Ipad 1. She thinks she won't use it. Ha! Just you wait.
So there are 3 people now with Ipads, each to their own need.
It's a win-win-win situation except for my bank account. Shall we ignore it?

Quand j'avais cinq ans...

C'est délicieux et nutritif.

It Is Time

It is time.

Some days...

...are tougher than others. You just have to step up to the plate. That's what I did today. Stiff upper lip and everything. Stiff upper lip has a way of taking its toll. On the other hand, there's a time and a place to lose it to emotions. It's a tricky balance. Everybody has experienced that. So I'm sure you can relate.

Freezing Rain

Woke up this morning to a film of ice coating everything, cars included. What was worse was my path and driveway ( which has an incline thank you very much) that were sheer ice. I took little penguin steps and held on to my slippery car for dear life. We needed skates, really.
My mom slipped to the back of her car and was then unable to progress. She had to open the back door then holding on hard, to drag herself to the front door.
It was pretty hilarious if you didn't have to be there.

Cold, cold, cold cold,cold...

Disney has never been so timely. I think I'm going to go see "Frozen" this weekend. Looks really good and it is in keeping with our reality!

Here: -15C (they say), -28C with the winds. They are howling so. It was -36C sometime last week, but windless. It felt twice as warm as today. The wind is absolutely lethal.

Happy winter everybody!

Underwater Darkness

Photo credit: Dakinediving.com

                                         

For the divers among us:

"(...) Morgan and I believed that the darkest place in the world was underneath an aircraft carrier at night."
Marcus Luttrell, Service: a Navy SEAL at War

Wow! I've never been under an aircraft carrier, thank God, but I've been under ships in low viz and I was breathing VERY hard indeed. Good to know even SEALs can feel fear underwater... There's something about that MASS above you, the unknown below you... Brrrrrrr!!! For all my experience, I've always hated such dives.

Dealings with the Union

"Mom is eating shepherd's pie while we only get out-of-date pellets " complained the 4 cats. "We want to speak with the Union."
"The Union is busy eating shepherd's pie" I answered with my mouth full.
That's when they walked away in a disgusted sulk. I couldn't understand it.
"C'mon kitties," I pleaded, "I'll... Let you lick my plate!"
The sulk was over before the plate touched the floor.
Union: one. Kitties: zero. Hehe.

The Constant Gardener

I've just finished the book, by Le Carré. I always loved the title, which now evokes only my sister-in-law to me. But although there are ties to Africa, the similarities do and must end there. The book is depressing. My sister-in-law is vibrantly alive.
Still, what a wonderful title!!

Happy New Year?

A gorgeous friend of mine, with 2 adorable kids under 3, has just learned that her spouse has been cheating on her for ten months and is leaving them for " the other".
They were the cliché "perfect family".
Ok Santa, seems we got our wires crossed. I asked for Happiness for my dear ones, not Heartbreak and Loss.
What a way to start!
My wish for 2014 is that neither I, nor any dear ones, lose a loved one this year. To any kind of loss. Break-up is not death but it's still loss.
So my one wish crashes right away. I hope it was a wish, not a prophecy :(

Sasha

Life is tough... When you're a spoiled princess...

A new painting!

I was looking for a painting of the town of Rockport, Massachusetts, where we vacation almost every year. Instead, I found a watercolor by I.M. Colburn, an American artist. It was painted in 1947 and is called: “Rockport, MA: Reflections” And I love it. And I bought it. And it’s going to hang in my green and pink bedroom. And I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have found it.