The Blog is Dead.

Or, maybe not?

Dear readers, or what few of you randomly gravitate back here every once in a while,

I realize I abandoned you. It was wrong. I am so sorry.

I am going to try to get the magic back.

Here's an omigoshsoquick update since Christmas:

- Cousin Erika is preggers again, due in November. Baby Francis is uber excited.

- Going to Romania in May for two weeks with JY and MC. Livi is uber excited.

- Boyfriend. I know, right? What? RL. Four months. How is still lost on me. Oh, and he's kind of 30.

- Found out I have ADHD. Discovered the wonders of modern medicine. You know how foggy your head feels when you have a fever? I was living like that. All. The. Time. Now I can almost function like a normal person :) Which, if blogging sticks, should mean less procrastination on the posting (Yay!)

- Turned 20. Mild quarter-life-crises during which I considered joining the military or switching to an arts degree. Luckily the madness has since passed (note: madness for me, not for people who choose that)

- Lots of firsts. First segway ride, jello shot and kiss (Not all at once. Just to clear things up). First time holding a baby sheep, going to a reptile show, using a Beebe gun, building a rope ladder, making sushi and playing tag with a miniature horse. Etc. Lots of newness. Lots of good.

That should bring us about up to date. Since exams are swiftly approaching, I may simply elaborate on things which have already happened for a time. Just until more new comes to pass.

NS Power Can Bite Me.

Woke up today all ready to study for my physics exam tomorrow. All the class slides and practice problems are online.

Ten this morning: power goes out.

Freak out for a good ten minutes.

Regain calm.

Pour water into sinks/bathtub so that when the water runs out (we're on a well, it requires electricity) we can still flush the toilet.

Build a big f*cking fire. In the wood stove.

Call mom.

Call dad.

Dad gives run-through on first half of generator start up before phones go down. Including cell phones. (Random? It was like a bad horror movie)

Start generator.

Inhale huge amounts of diesel fumes. Die.

Revive self. Try to figure out how to switch house power over to geni power.

Fail.

Sit huddled in the dark by the wood stove with loud geni running but no power (because I was afraid I would hurt it if I turned it off wrong) until power returns at three thirty.

Seriously NS power? Seriously? I am like the most oblivious person in the world (see "thought the super bowl was televised bowling until I was 13") and even I knew this bad weather was coming two days in advance.

Also, not cool Eastlink. Having my cell phone operational in a state of emergency is kind of the whole point.

Book Worm.

I just finished a new book. Six hundred pages in two days. I should know by now to pace myself, since I always feel cut adrift and a little melancholy when I reach the end, especially when it's the last in a series, as this one was.

Reading has always fascinated me. When I was little, my parents used to have to take my books away so I would actually socialize with other children. If left to myself I would read every spare minute, anything I could get my hands on. I blew my allowance on books. I memorized my 14 digit library card pin before my home phone number.

I can re-read a good book a hundred times and still get something new out of it. My copies of Gail Carson Levine, Tamora Pierce, and Diana Wynn Jones have all been taped together from so many revisitings since childhood. Even my more recent favourites are obviously well loved.

And there's still something almost magical about opening a crisp new book and looking at the words typed on the page, knowing that they came from someone else's imagination, that they are code and I have to go about picking them apart to get to the heart of things. It's like the author takes me by the hand and says 'Hey, look here. I've made something wonderful and I want to share it.'. Whole cities, whole universes, just on paper and in your head. Even after five or ten years, the magic of that first reading lingers there, and that, maybe, is why I find it impossible to say goodbye.

See, finishing books makes me a little glum. But in a contented way, if that makes sense at all.

It also, clearly, makes me especially garrulous. :)

PS: Read bookfessions. They are the life of all true book-lovers.

Baby Face

I don't know what it is, but I'm getting this general vibe that people think I'm younger than I am.

The girls in rez call me 'sweetie' like I'm their little sister, even the ones younger than me. A woman last month thought I was twelve years old. My brother's history teacher thought I was YOUNGER THAN GEOFFREY.

I suppose it's only to be expected. When I say I'm 5 foot 2, I'm cheating (most twelve year olds are taller than me), and my aunt was ID'd until she was 30.

There are good things though. If I'm careful about my choice of clothes and company, I can get a child's ticket to the movie theatre. I was able to go trick-or-treating last year for Halloween as a junior high student with no one the wiser.

And when I'm 30 (please God let this be true) I'll still look 21. ;) 

The Only Time of Year Spiders are not Totally Disgusting.

Hello friends,

This is definitely the most wonderful time of the year. Windy, sunny days. Cool, crisp nights. Pumpkin pie.

Oh, and Halloween. Did I forget to mention Halloween?

I've almost finished making Geoff's costume for him (he's going to be a viking, blond wig and all). This year I'm a pirate! *rawr*

...Look, I know pirates don't say 'rawr'. But my "arrrrr"s and various other pirate jargon always come out sounding...sad. Hence 'rawr'.

Plans include Sunday shopping day/sleepover with MC and JY (alcohol provided by yours truly), then handing out treats to the young ones Monday night. I have heard of a thing they call "Underwater Pumpkin Carving", but I fear this will have to wait for next year.

Anyway, I hope to actually take pictures this year so you can share in the festivities.

Head Rush.

We got to the donor clinic! JY couldn't participate since she was out-of-country in the last three months, but she stayed to support me since I was rather nervous going in.

The actual needle didn't hurt. But then halfway through I started to feel dizzy. JY called the nurse just as I was about to pass out, and they did a bunch of stuff (I was not really conscious at this point).

Maybe short people shouldn't donate the whole amount?

So I have a bit of a headache now (this always happens after I faint. At least this time I was sitting down!) and they couldn't even tell me my blood type. They gave me juice and cookies though, so I forgive them haha.

On a much happier note, I have a date with an amusing young gentleman once midterms are passed. Which totally makes it all worthwhile. Now if only I can concentrate...

Anyway, if you're able, why not donate blood this weekend? It beats studying for midterms.

Photo from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/18203860@N00/3418761629/

Zey Vant Your Blood.

JY and I have decided to donate blood tomorrow. I'm all new to the process, so I am slightly apprehensive.

Also I don't know my blood type, and they might be able to tell me. According to Asian pop culture, blood-type is essential in understanding one's personality and level of compatibility with others.

I have been living my life in ignorance of this. Sad, sad, soon to be remedied ignorance.

Here's a rundown of my new found knowledge, in case there are others out there who, like me, had no idea blood type was so important to their everyday happiness.

:A:

-deep-rooted strength that helps them stay calm in a crisis
-tend to avoid confrontation
-feel very uncomfortable around people
-shy and sometimes withdrawn
-seek harmony and are very polite, but feel that they never really fit in with others
-very responsible
-crave success and are perfectionists.
-also very creative, and the most artistic of all the blood types
-stressed and conscientious

:B:

- the most practical of the blood groups
-they spend extra time understanding and trying to follow directions than others might
-when they are doing something, all of their attention is focused on it
-stick to a goal and follow it through to the end
-tend to be less than cooperative, as they like to follow their own rules and their own ideas
-individualists
-pay attention to their thoughts a little more than their feelings, sometimes seem cold and serious
-often considered more relaxed, freewheeling, and unconventional than other types

:AB:

-hard to categorize, can have characteristics on both ends of the spectrum at the same time
-both shy and outgoing
-trustworthy and responsible, but can't handle it when too much is asked of them
-don't mind doing favors or helping out, as long as its on their own conditions
-interested in art and metaphysics
-loose cannons, like to set their own conditions drop out when things don't meet their expectations
-sensitive and considerate—at times

:O:

-outgoing, energetic and social
-most flexible of the blood types.
-easily start up projects but often have trouble following through because they give up easily
-flighty and not too dependable
-always say what's on their mind
-value the opinion of others and like to be the center of attention
-extremely self-confident
-the most "average" blood type

So now we are all enlightened. You're welcome!

Some cute comics about blood type:
http://corneliusllw.blogspot.com/2008/09/funny-blood-type-personality-part1.html

Conclusion: even if we have different letters pasted on our foreheads, we can all eat pasta together.



 



Family Updates.

Lots has been going on in my family over the last couple of months. Lots of good.

Frankie has starting walking and talking, although her vocabulary is rather limited. Mostly 'bubboes' (bubbles), 'guck' (duck), and 'ats' (hat, by which she means her bicycle helmet). Oh, and our personal favourite, 'Melmo' instead of 'Elmo', which she yells every time she sees a television.

The beautiful and bubbly Frances Moon.

Secondly, Cousin Amanda married her long-time girlfriend Kelly in September. The wedding was on Big Tancook Island (see previous posts about how much I love this place), and all of that side of my family was there. It was a beautiful sunny day, both brides were gorgeous, and I got to see all of my family who usually lives Ontario-and-west.

The perfect sea-side wedding.

And finally, Cousin Robin and husband Ian had their first baby only a few weeks later. A little girl named Berkley McKay (McKay is her middle name btw). If you are noticing a similarity between Amanda and Robin...no, I'm not pretending I have more cousins than I actually do. They're twins. Robin was so close to giving birth that she attended the wedding via web-cam, which was kind of awesome.

 The much-anticipated Miss Berkley.

Echolocation: Number 176 on the list of useless skills I want to master.

How did I not know this was possible? I will learn to do this and I will become the Batman. Er...woman.

Just imagine how useful it would be if...
The power went out!
At night! A cloudy night....
And your flashlight dies.
And you're in a strange place.
Playing pinata blindfolded.
And you're too klutzy for fire. Like me.


PS: Bet you just tried to do it. Bonus points awarded if you were in public. o-(^-^)-b

Classes.

Yay! I'm back! Did you miss me? I missed you.

Classes started last week. Here's the run-down as of now:

Evolution: Love it so far, the prof is fantastic, but our first lab (later today in fact) is working with flies. And I'm kind of grossed out by all bugs. Even butterflies sometimes. So we'll see how this goes.

Cell Bio: Class is super boring, but the labs are most enjoyable. And my partner actually does work, which is a plus!

Diversity of Life: Favourite class so far. Haven't had lab yet.

Chem: Soooo easy. Which is a good thing.

Physics: I am still slightly (okay very) wary of this class. The first two classes have been pretty straight forward, but I'm kind of afraid to let my guard down.

As some may have noticed, these are all science courses. Which means five labs and a very packed schedule. But I'm happy overall. :)

I'm still working on the Silva a minimum of three days per week. We go until the end of October (Halloween cruise!). The crew has become like my second family, and as the season comes to an end and some go back to school or find other jobs, I'm finding it very difficult to say goodbye. Many are planning to come back next year though!

Haha, only September and I'm thinking about spring. On another note I have a summer's worth of pictures to share with you, which I will hopefully get to later today or tomorrow. Which long-time readers know means "Next week if I remember, never if I do not". But I'll make a conscious effort!

Hopefully this rather long post makes up a little tiny bit for my prolonged absence!

Not Gone. Just. . .On Vacation.

Dear Reader(s),

A little FYI to anyone who might be wondering: I'm not quitting the whole blog-ish-ness. I'm just enjoying a long period of job-induced monotony at the moment. When you work 8 to 12 hour days 5 to 6 days a week, there's not a ton of time for interesting experiences. Or writing about said interesting experiences on the rare occasions that they actually happen.

To be honest, any free time I have is mostly spent sleeping. However, I will try to at least post pictures periodically, and I will get back to regular posting come September when classes start and I get a bit of a break.

Ha.

Thanks for being patient with me,

Livi

If You Could Box Warm Weather, This is What it Would Look Like.

Yes, I name my plants. Don't judge me.

When I spotted this pot of succulents (my favourite type of exotics, maybe tied with orchids) I knew I had to have them. They will live on my deck in the summer and move with me to rez in the fall.

1) Isabelle

2) Charlie (he's a jade plant, one of my favs!)

3) Thibeau

4) Igor

5) Sophie

6) Bjorn

I am slightly disappointed that it contained nary a barrel cactus or aloe plant, but such is life. Now if we could just get some sun more than once every two weeks. . .

Forget-Me-Nots :)

My favourite childhood flower. And clearly Winnie is fairly fond of them as well! ;)

This last one is her shaking off after wading in her water-filled fish bucket (aka "pool") which can be seen in the background.

Love It.

NOTE: Sorry this re-posted. I am a chronic editor, and APPARENTLY if you change a post title it gets moved to the top of your feed. So yes. This properly belongs in May.



Finally, my three years slaving away over a hot pizza oven at Sobeys have paid off. In a big way.

Are you curious? You should be.

I bought a sailboat this week. I'm only so excited I can barely tear myself away from it. It was $650 on Kijiji, and it's the best purchase I have ever made, hands down. I responded 11 hours after it was posted aha.

Here are some pictures of my precious. It's name is Ginger, for obvious reasons. I don't even mind that black flies and incessant rain have been holding it hostage ever since I brought it home! :)

The day before my boat and I found each other, I was out walking Winnie. At one point she stopped to sniff a post and when I looked down at my feet I happened to find a four leaf clover. At the time I thought it was kind of neat, and pressed it in one of my heavy sailing books.

I am now a believer. All hail the four leaf clover. You will find me this weekend scouring my lawn for more and sticking them in books where people win the lottery or find buried treasure. Wish me luck! ;)

P.S: Thanks to the old-ish army dude who sold it to me. Hope Hamilton works out for you.

Stay With The Hippo.

I know, I know. I'm late. But Thursday is almost like Wednesday...right?

MC and I have discovered a new species.

I am proud to present the Sand Hippo:

And again, devoid of camouflage:

The Sand Hippo is less shy than its better known cousin, the North American House Hippo. It is also amphibious, seemingly disappearing into the sea at high tide only to resurface days later elsewhere on land.

 It can be found on early spring afternoons on beaches in Nova Scotia like this one here: 

(That is, grey and drizzly. Not diagonal. In case there was some confusion.)

When approached by humans, Sand Hippos will play dead, even when poked with a stick. Predators include the Tiger Shark and the Sea Lion.

Clearly a fascinating species requiring further study. ;)

Please be Patient With Me...

I have been working very hard this last little while. So hard that I have wound up with a backlog of unpublished posts.

These will include sand hippos, insta-bands and tales from the tall ship. I hope you will understand as I finish some editing details before putting them up.

Hopefully we will be caught up by Wednesday...

Also quickly, NM passed the final threshold into adulthood last week! Congratulations my friend. You survived the IB program, first year university and the Rapture. Being legally allowed to drink beer is, in my opinion, the least the world can do. ;)

Bath Day.

Winnie and I were lying nose to nose on the deck earlier this week in the sun after her first outdoor bath of the year. On what felt like the first sunny day of the year haha. Odd then that I decided to make this picture black and white? Perhaps.

Good Things Come In Threes?

So, my cousin Erika (mother to baby Frankie) and her boyfriend Rob have just bought a sailboat as well!!! A Tanzer 22 for those of you who know your boats. Or those of you with Google.

They still have to learn how to sail, but are planning longer excursions in future leading up to an eventual trade-in for a bigger boat (!!!) and a two year sail around the world!

And guess who they've invited along as their third?

We're talking at least five years away here, but still. Best. Cousins. Ever.

If there was an award, they would get it. Maybe I will make them one. Out of macaroni. Because nothing says love and gratitude more than a gluey mass of uncooked pasta.

That's what moms worldwide would have us believe anyway. :)

p.s: Sorry for the sailor-ish trend of this blog lately. Normal content will resume when I come back down to Earth.

Sunfish.

My most recent painting, yay! It's not a great picture of it, but I'm pretty happy with the final outcome. I am, however, debating changing the red boarder to a celery green. Probably won't though.

This one only took me one whole year to finish! My chronic procrastination is improving, haha.

It's part of a series actually, the first installment of which is posted here.

Welcome to History.

This has been a fairly eventful week, and I wanted to capture some of the highlights for when I look back on this place years from now.

Ahem.

Dear future me,

First off was the royal wedding. If you don't recall, it was kind of a big deal.

You liked making fun of the hats. Among other things, of course.

Then they caught and killed Osama Bin Laden after 10 years of trying.

Although PM Harper usually makes your brain vomit whenever he speaks, you thought that his official statement regarding Canada's reaction to the news (i.e. "sober satisfaction") was appropriate.

Finally, you voted for the first time. Harper got a majority. Though I won't remind you how you voted, I will say you were less than pleased with the results.

Oh, and you worked on the Silva pretty much every day.

Hope all is well with you. As I'm sure you know, I'm doing alright.

I'll be seeing you,

Livi