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.