Holy Mole Artichokey!

A post this long overdue deserves a corny title.

So I'm sitting here. Trying to type this blog while Piper is simultaneously loving me. Actually, loving might be to weak of a word. Attacked perhaps? Molested? Certainly I am being used. It's hard to write anything with a cat head bonking you in an attempt to get at your sweater strings, drooling (because he is purring so hard), and wiggling his bum onto the keyboard with his tail constantly over the line of text I am composing. As I sit on the couch, I keep moving the laptop further off my knees to keep the cat off of it, in return he keeps scooching down even further. Soon, the laptop will be on the floor and the cat will have won. The things I put up with.

There, I think he's finally settled in somewhat. My arms are extended as far as they will reach as my laptop is at maximum distance away from me. I have cat snot across my chin from where he smoothed me and there is a fuzzy in my nose. Perfect. At least he's finally holding still. Sort of.

So what have I been up to? Not really much actually. Same 'ole schedule of work and housework. Of note though, we are painting the upstairs bedroom. Since it's empty we figured we should seize the opportunity for change.  Eric calls it Kermit the Frog Green - and in reality, it does kind of look like we skinned a muppet and tacked it to the walls. It's very very green. But I'm liking it - It will remain empty for now, but I think that once we get some furniture in there with the curtains up, the green will not be so alarming. At least that is the hope!

side note: Cat is now looking adoringly at me while still purring - which means still drooling. It's so funny, all morning I have been chasing him around the house with a squirt bottle because he's been such a terror, but now he's the most lovable widdle fing in dah whole wide world...I am not fooled. Jerk.

Anywho, thought I would post some pics. These are just a smattering of the 1600 photos I uploaded this morning. Hopefully will post some more soon.

A little blue flower (have not looked up the species yet) found on July long weekend by Ghost Lake Reservoir

A baby spruce tree found on the weekend of May 30, taken just outside Takaka Falls, AB. I have named him Alfie, like the Christmas tree in the John Denver carol.

An amazing wild rose taken in the evening light at Red Lodge Provincial Park on June 26, 2011. The entire campground was filled with wild roses - all of them in their prime!

Another wild rose - this photo taken in the morning, after the rain, on June 25, 2011. Same place.

An oldie but a goldie - well, not that old actually. This photo was taken just behind my friend's house on the outskirts of Calgary on May 6, 2011. Alberta skies never cease to capture my interest and take my breath away.

The sun shines through my window.

The title to this blog really has no significant meaning. The sun really is shining through the window. It's quite pretty actually. The light is highlighting each individual pine needle. Each needle is one half golden green and the other half deep forest green. I love it.

It actually rained today, which gave me an opportunity to play outside on the paving stones. After I was done with that, I decided to take some pictures.

These are the strawberries that my dear brother and sister gave me for a birthday a few years back. They were the third thing to sprout this spring. The first was a dandelion (of course), the second were my day lilies (I almost typed dandelions there...)

This was the fourth and fifth thing to sprout. The red spikeys are my new peony. It's a part of the original plant which belonged to my Great Great Grandmother. The tradition has always been that when somebody moves, they bring a piece of that original peony with them to their new house. The green sprout are some chives which tagged along for the ride from my Grandma's house.

These photos are part of another series I took using some water on my counter. There are more of them which I may post soon, but for now this is what I have to share.

It's almost been one year since I graduated from University and I have been thinking about doing a series of photos that are 'nursey' to celebrate. I'm still pondering how to set it up and which things to capture, but I'm getting really excited and that usually means creativity will follow. I am also going to challenge myself to write something meaningful. It's been a while since I was forced to write a paper on how I was feeling about feeling my feelings...and that deserves commemoration. Until then, adieu! I leave you with a photo of Dexter. I would have added pics of the other two, but they would not hold still enough. So they get left out. So there.

Doesn't he look smug?

Calling on creativity

The house is cleaned, the dog is walked and supper has been made. Eric is off writing a final so the dual monitors are mine to play with! As part of my challenge to myself to grow myself, myself took some more photos playing with some of the tips provided by another self. It has been lots of fun and I find it very satisfying to capture a small part of the beauty present in this life.

 As to be expected, many of the images taken do not make the cut, but the following candle pictures turned out all right I think.

Looking at the photo now, it bothers me the candle is not centred in the dish. Also, if you look really close, you can just make out a cat hair on the very top of the candle. Oh the joys of living with kitties!

The actual candle is a creamy white, even though in this picture it looks orange. However, with the flame providing back light, the wax does take on a warmer hue.

Ok, so this has nothing to do with growing my photography skills. This was about playing with my photo editing software and showcasing just how CUTE my kitties can be ... when they aren't trying to kill each other.

I am heading into one evening and three night shifts - wish me luck! And please, would someone ask the Robin to be awake for me on the way home in the morning? His cheerful song is pleasing and hopeful.

I am Tabula Rasa...at least today.

Keira and I have been enjoying some pleasant afternoon walks this week. For the past three days we have been accompanied by gaggles of Canadian geese. On the first day I thought to myself: "Self, are those silly birds are just waiting until NOW to fly away!?!" On the second day I thought "...perhaps they came north only to find it was still winter and are now flying back?" Today I am hoping that they must portend the coming of spring! Even the optimistic chickadees are agreeing with me as they sang cheerful songs of "Springs Here" most of the day.

I took the photo below, yesterday afternoon, when the afternoon light was at its warmest. Flowers on my window sill are an indulgence that I have been quite enjoying the past few weeks. Their cheer takes away some of the gloom of -30 C weather.

To my own critical eye, the broken petal in front and the spot on the petal to the right rear bother me. But honestly; nothing in nature is perfect. That is why it is. Perfect.

Their cheer also reminds me of the joyfulness which is an ever present, yet under recognized, component of the human condition. Over the last few days I have been eye-deep in literature on the weird and complicated ways in which mothers and babies can die in pregnancy. It is very heavy material to cover and comes with a learning curve which really has nothing curvy about it (really, why don't we just call it a learning-ladder? You know, straight up!). Surprisingly though, in the midst of the "nobody makes it alive out of pregnancy" content, something as simple as these flowers brings me joy. Huge joy! My personality is such that I naturally meditate on the serious and grave. I am a worrier and a stresser - yet my innate human must be an optimist because these random imperfectly perfect 'things' bring a profoundly simple, yet pure joy. I wonder then, is it my soul which smiles when my brain ponders?

Credit where credit is due.

So who would have thought that going through bank statements could be such a walk down memory lane?

January: U of C purchases for myself starting a new semester (books and such)
February: First time I bought lunch at the hospital while doing my final focus
April: Buying supplies for my dear sister the day my lovely niece was born.
May: Eric buying things in California (the first time we have been apart for that long). Me buying lunch at Rockyview Hospital during my orientation. Studying for the CRNE with my mom.
June: Celebrating writing my CRNE exam, my first pay cheque from AHS. Celebrating with my mom for retraining to be an RN (again, what an amazing woman!)
July: Visits with family, no more pay cheques from Eric's old job (!), helping reno a house
August: Camping with family, Piper being sick, celebrating becoming an RN, going for a holiday
September: Eric starting school, me starting a full time line.

Wow. Wow. Wow. Maybe not a lot to someone just reading this, but for me going over my financial history line by line, I sure remember 2010 as being a HUGE year for us. So many prayers answered, so many blessings bestowed upon us, so much hard work. Some tears, lots of laughs, sleepless nights and sleep-in mornings. Wow. I am thankful.

There's that thing.

You know the saying "You learn something new every day"? Well. Here is what I have learned today. Courtesy of the BBCs Top Gear TV show, I learned about Bovril. Bovril is a hot drink favored by some chaps as an alternative to tea, coffee, hot cocoa etc. on a cold day. It's purported to be a healthy and nutritious drink, famed for its restorative and fortifying qualities. It is made of ground up cows.

I have nothing against eating meat. I just can not wrap my mind around choosing soup broth over coffee. I suppose if I was malnourished and had just spent the last four months living in a shack in the Arctic, evading curious polar bears and sustaining myself off boiled-boot water; liquid beef might sound appealing. But I doubt it. It hearkens to mind the time my dad got his new dentures. Instead of choosing to eat soft foods for a few days, to pamper his poor mouth, he just threw everything in the blender. Steak, mashed potatoes and peas is a terrible looking smoothy.

Personal dietary preferences aside, the website for Bovril is really quite well done. It's not very often that one finds such an interactive virtual interface, dedicated to one small, albeit popular, product line. The branding which Bovril has is very impressive. I also appreciate the 'cheese' factor. The site is campy and appeals to my inner goof. I encourage all of my readers (yes, both of you) to visit the Bovril website.

Perhaps if I spent less of my time focusing on whether or not it is acceptable to drink a bovine beverage, I might get more pre-reading done for my triage & antepartum course. Procrastination is an appealing, yet inevitably frustrating and/or disappointing mentor. Meh.

Oh learning...how I love thee and hate thee all at the same time. Nothing has the power to terrify me or inspire me like you do. I beseech you, never leave me. For without this capacity, I would be toast.

Hang gliding on a Dorrito

This makes me laugh. Enjoy it!