tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82963802012-01-30T04:59:59.720-05:00Thoughts from an American turned Canadian in Montreal.tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.comBlogger15531100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-9043296807701907692012-01-14T12:44:00.000-05:002012-01-14T12:44:08.065-05:00

Hey there! I blinked and then two and a half months passed since my last post. I have been unfathomably busy working which makes time pass very quickly. We still got to go on our annual junket out west though. If for nothing else, I figure I should at least do a trip report here. Dad told me I should do a post a week and I said no immediately, and then he said how about once a month? We shall see

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-37301922120571794862011-10-31T16:39:00.000-04:002011-10-31T16:39:14.500-04:00

I guess I'm not disappearing altogether. The proof? I'm sitting here getting ready to post something. That's because shit's happening, and when that is the case, I want to post. So. No I told you so's please. Thank you. First up Serge and Georgie sleeping on the sofa because the one day it was REALLY important for me to sleep, Serge mucked it all up dreaming about something and pawing me in the

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-13827490971262927422011-10-24T11:45:00.000-04:002011-10-24T11:45:22.843-04:00

I wasn't going to do this, but since there's a few folks not on Facebook (Rox, I'm looking at you) I'll go ahead and post some of our trip highlights here. Does this mean I'm continuing the blog? I don't know. I do know that I was very sad after the "last post". But it has also been relaxing NOT having to think about what I'm going to post next. So, to those of you who said I'd be back,

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-66357475266843137762011-09-25T15:15:00.000-04:002011-09-25T15:15:10.289-04:00

Here it is finally, the last blog post for this here blog. It's been coming for a while really, and it feels like a good time to close the story arc, at least here. I'll still be around on Facebook although I don't post much there either. I guess my heart's just not that into it anymore. My creative energies are going more toward work, which is a good thing. I found a website copying program that

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com47tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-35051468597239558322011-09-18T09:54:00.000-04:002011-09-18T09:54:49.242-04:00

More food preparation practice in case I get on that show. My friend R showed me a few of her tricks last night and this plate came out quite nice - presentation wise. It's veal parmesan with pasta marinara and asparagus.  What's most exciting is how easy and fast it was. Seriously I could whip this up in fifteen minutes. I will likely add this to our weekly rotation of meals. There was an

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-2872942080319857802011-09-11T09:46:00.003-04:002011-09-11T17:06:00.370-04:00

He's so darn cute but he's also so darn vile. Case in point = Serge was trimming his own toenails (which he lets get disturbingly too long before attending to) and assembled all the clippings in a little pile on the coffee table. Georgie then sauntered by and slurp, all the trimmings were gone. Gah. This week I took my mentor out to dinner (the guy who brought me into an actual steady job at

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-36790870441293294882011-09-03T15:46:00.001-04:002011-09-03T15:55:32.387-04:00

Georgie found a ball he liked at the park so much (and that didn't belong to us) that he refused to leave at the decided on time. See the routine is I hold up the leash for him to see, he knows it's time to go and he runs over. Then he gets a cookie. Well the ball/toy thing was so good, he didn't even want a cookie. Then he wanted to play chase and I got majorly frustrated at him. Finally, I

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-74958282359250601532011-08-28T09:13:00.000-04:002011-08-28T09:13:39.402-04:00

* Always room for a Georgie pic, no? This camera takes pretty good pictures in just that kind of light. No alterations or adjustments needed. * Love the real time traffic info in the GPS. It automatically chooses the fastest route based on traffic situations. So on Friday, it chose one route to go to the burbs and a different one to come home so as to avoid traffic jams. Why did I wait so long

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-30663045817788895112011-08-23T08:01:00.002-04:002011-08-23T08:04:32.226-04:00

There he is. Serge was handling some kind of food item which is forever bewitching to the George. When I walked him yesterday, a fully grown middle-aged man started cooing and fawning over him, "T'es bon bien beau, toi," completely ignoring the human at the other end of the leash. George has his own way of bewitching too. At the barbecue on Saturday, the gang did a rendition of the TV show I

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-37430830226469562472011-08-19T08:57:00.000-04:002011-08-19T08:57:24.099-04:00

Anybody want to play Scramble with me? Steven? I don't get to play much now that I have like 15 Words with Friends turns awaiting every time I turn on the ipod. Scramble is just like Boggle and if you want to play, prepare to be beaten. People are really good on there but I usually end up in the top three. Another game I was recently turned on to is UNO. The app is really cool and you can play

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-44502450759762143012011-08-14T07:19:00.001-04:002011-08-14T07:20:51.603-04:00

The summer season is dwindling. We had the first not-hot day and you know what that means, the next thing you know it's gonna be Christmas. And the seven month stint in the icebox. Of course, between now and then we get the loveliest season of all, fall, of which there will be more and more hints in the upcoming weeks. Yesterday we went on the jet boating ride, my fifth time I believe, and it

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-51142988806971951872011-08-09T15:21:00.000-04:002011-08-09T15:21:39.275-04:00

Serge felt all manly after having crossed the pond on that thin log without falling. He had his iphone in his hand ready to throw to me if he was going to go down. A beaver had built a dam there and blocked the hiking trail around the lake. When we arrived at the hotel Lac Carling, we checked into our big hotel room and were pretty happy with the grounds and facility. Then I dragged him on a

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-85042703175093146512011-08-05T07:56:00.001-04:002011-08-05T07:57:22.928-04:00

Hey y'all, I'm just popping in before we go away again for the weekend. This time it's more local, a scant 90 minute drive into the woods to Hotel du Lac Carling. I loaded up on bug spray so I will be a walking deet torch. This is appropriate since I'm also a bug smorgasbord, I'll get 10 bites to your 1 so aslathering I will go. This is another of those Groupon type deals we scored. We got two

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-71560985942181332372011-08-01T13:16:00.002-04:002011-08-01T13:18:38.249-04:00

But not an ordinary dog! We are working on getting him to say, "I wanna go out." You know, like that video that went viral with the dog that whines, "I love you."  He's actually getting pretty close. Once we get it, we'll video it and put it up here. Probably be a few months though. I can't believe it's been almost a week since I posted. The days slip through my fingers like sand, and poof,

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-82414678643161824272011-07-26T12:51:00.000-04:002011-07-26T12:51:29.085-04:00

* There's our favorite pooch. Notice the blurry tail. That's cuz he wags it when you approach him. He's been pretty mellow lately due to the heat wave we had. He's much livelier in the colder months. * Serge gave me a haircut after he boasted about having cut his own. He just number twoed himself (possible ew there) and it came out fine. For me, he number twoed the back and sides and left the

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-29954067532205027592011-07-23T11:11:00.002-04:002011-07-23T11:30:14.099-04:00

The alarm went off at 3:45. We had to be at the rendezvous point at 5am and it was a 45 minute drive from Montreal. Even though I was super tender and sweet waking Serge, he was a monster. It made me laugh. (which probably didn't help with his surliness) It was touted as the largest hot air balloon in North America. I have no idea if that's true (probably not) but with the pilot, we were 13 in

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-67085823462108234432011-07-19T07:22:00.000-04:002011-07-19T07:22:12.143-04:00

Here's part of the 9 bedroom house we stayed in last week with the family. This is the top level which served as the common area while all the bedrooms were located on the two levels below. The house, built on a hillside, overlooked beautiful lake Tahoe straddling the California Nevada border. We were on the Nevada side. It was a short drive down to the beach and the weather was perfect every

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-20202471139372519312011-07-09T12:31:00.000-04:002011-07-09T12:31:20.603-04:00

This is the kind of thing that passes for art these days. At least that's what I think considering it was in the Museum of Modern Art.  Of course Serge and I immediately wanted one for our bathroom. We had one when we lived in the loft and really liked it. Girls are turned off by them though we learned while living there. Here is another piece of "art". We thought it looked like a chair that

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-53500703508684035112011-07-07T10:49:00.000-04:002011-07-07T10:49:23.168-04:00

Hey y'all, sorry but no Georgie pic to start off the post today. I hope he is doing well, and since there's been no news on the matter, I believe we can assume he is. We've been in San Francisco now for three days and have not stopped for a second.  But let's start with the flight out here. I was in the last row of the aircraft and the flight was FULL. About two hours before landing, there was an

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-42867680000464798552011-07-03T07:48:00.001-04:002011-07-03T07:51:35.668-04:00

My two boys. I'm gonna miss one of them for the next two weeks because we're taking off for Northern California. Georgie will be staying downstairs with D, a rather long time renter in what is usually a short term studio apartment. He's had some trouble lately coming up with the rent but he's a good guy so win-win. We'll pay him to take care of Georgie and he'll have a little breathing room on

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-88414654275118467322011-06-28T16:24:00.000-04:002011-06-28T16:24:51.101-04:00

* We'll start with Georgie bathed in light. I've been calling him George a lot more lately and it sounds so sophisticated when you say it the French way Jorje. * The mortgage lady from ING just called and said we were approved for refinancing. I still have my doubts once we submit all the paperwork. We look poor on paper. *Patricia asked about how the screen snap-on pet door was working out.

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-64334594383893501782011-06-21T16:37:00.000-04:002011-06-21T16:37:04.091-04:00

Got a little voice over gig for the high school kids here. Well for the CD that the teachers use for listening exercises. It took all of half an hour to go through it as I nailed almost every line the first time. They love my voice too so it's all happy happy ego stroking. Two hundies for 30 minutes. I wish these gigs came along more often than once a year. Went over this morning to check out

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-21052092147339170432011-06-17T08:11:00.001-04:002011-06-17T08:12:01.174-04:00

  Whose the cutest doggie in the world? We really should get him an agent. He oughta be in pictures don't you think? We've been going on the long walk every morning. He can remember the exact locations of morsels for days and days outside. Some kind of smell memory savant.  The neighbor doesn't know it yet, but we're going to say no to the work on the common wall that he's trying to get us to

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-14720143177839161092011-06-13T07:12:00.001-04:002011-06-13T11:45:41.540-04:00

Woke up early since I had to work. Yes, I worked on a Sunday. It was my last day with the truck drivers which we'll get to later. Serge has been sleeping on the sofa a lot this week which is fine by me. The farther away the snoring is, the better yours truly gets his beauty sleep. After years of hemming and hawing and window shopping, we finally got some nice chairs for our dining room table.

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-43555516032758942852011-06-06T07:08:00.002-04:002011-06-06T07:14:54.257-04:00

 I've been working hard planning next month's vacation schedule. We're going to spend five days in San Francisco before we head up to Lake Tahoe for the week long family reunion. It feels like there is way too much to do before we leave but one day at a time, one day at a time. There you see the layers of stuff on my desk with our Alcatraz tickets. That's part of the City Pass that I purchased,

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-49300200467414368892011-06-02T16:05:00.000-04:002011-06-02T16:05:14.644-04:00

We saw this in the SkyMall magazine on the airplane when we went to NYC.  Turns out, the pet supply shop which is directly across the street from our house had it in stock for the same price. Last year the house was always full of flies because we left the screen door open for Georgie to go in and out. Not this year though. It's not as sturdy as Serge would like so he may add some screws into

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-14572780074724512132011-05-30T08:15:00.000-04:002011-05-30T08:15:42.885-04:00

What are you lookin at? The tail is blurry because he was wagging it. He's been trapped inside for days since we've had rainy weather the last five days. Today is supposed to be nice though so maybe I will be able to squeeze in a doggie park visit for him. It's not a holiday up here like it is in the US. Our holiday was last Monday which is why we took off to New York. That said, I don't work

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-19902465212895433842011-05-25T18:02:00.000-04:002011-05-25T18:02:13.760-04:00

* Hauled our ass out of bed at 5am to make a two hour drive to Burlington Vermont and catch a 9:30 flight. We reached the border at 6:30 and there were no cars in line. Beautiful. Of course that meant we arrived too early so we were pissed we didn't sleep in more. * My camera decided to stop working again so we relied on Serge's crappy iphone to take pics. Of course he left it in the room most

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-7578483106713871932011-05-16T09:48:00.001-04:002011-05-16T09:52:48.840-04:00

This is his look when I say, "Do you wanna.....?" He knows cookie, go for a walk and go to the park so he cocks his head waiting for those words. He sings too. Serge wants to get him to sing, "I wanna ________" but just how can you do that? Yesterday we went and looked at some condos in a big shiny new tower on the South Shore. (This is just on the other side of the St. Lawrence river.) See,

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-53426954424482818722011-05-13T15:19:00.000-04:002011-05-13T15:19:39.457-04:00

This is late due to the recent blogger site outage.  Georgie slept alone. I'd say he sleeps with us about half the time. Usually he wanders in at some point in the middle of the night. My puffy morning face, ugh. I took Georgie on the long walk through Park Baldwin. The trees are just starting to leaf out. Most of the green is some kind of blossom though a few species have leafed out finally.

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-58787628747101525412011-05-08T09:52:00.001-04:002011-05-08T10:46:37.581-04:00

That's the slow cooked tuna belly we feasted on last night. It's bigger than it looks in the photo. It was a bargain at $28. I've had two little pieces of toro (tuna belly) at a sushi bar for $15 and this was like twenty times the quantity. This part of the tuna I think of as tuna butter because the meat just melts in your mouth and is all rich and buttery. The restaurant is very small and we

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-11022227978749320182011-05-05T16:08:00.001-04:002011-05-05T16:13:39.449-04:00

Who's a good boy? Poor guy has been trapped inside for three days since it has been raining non-stop for an equal amount of time. This has put the kibosh on the magnolia tree blooming across the street. Perhaps it will when the sun comes out on Saturday as they are predicting. Our election is over and done. In case you don't know, we elected a conservative majority government. When I woke up

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-78034345575900107622011-05-01T08:23:00.000-04:002011-05-01T08:23:57.740-04:00

Wow, almost a whole week since I've checked in. Looks like this is morphing into a once a week blog. There's the loverly Georgie, sitting lazily with his hind legs slipping out to the sides. A couple of times this week I came home while Serge was out with him on his afternoon walk. What's so cute is that Georgie knows that I'm home, from my particular human stink I guess, and goes wild in the

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-68969599870494238412011-04-25T13:08:00.000-04:002011-04-25T13:08:12.085-04:00

We've been eating a lot of artichokes lately. It may be my favorite vegetable although asparagus is a close contender. It just occurred to me that those are the two vegetables where it's perfectly acceptable manner-wise to eat with your hands. Maybe that's why I like them - a little tactile experience in addition to the taste and texture. Georgie usually sits next to Serge as he is more apt to

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-52270631113793814242011-04-21T09:27:00.000-04:002011-04-21T09:27:24.416-04:00

Very little to report from my neck of the woods. There's always the weather to mention. Winter just doesn't seem to want to relinquish power to spring so we keep getting snow/ice pellet/rain storms blowing through. I thought I was done with the long underwear, but I've had to wear them the last couple of days with these ridiculously below normal temperatures. We went out to dinner last night to

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-66991593202480314212011-04-17T07:56:00.000-04:002011-04-17T07:56:40.905-04:00

* First a little Georgie porn. Serge did some research and is fairly sure Georgie is a Lemon Beagle. He found this video with a dog that could have come from the same litter as Georgie. Same howl too. * Took the car in to get the oil changed and the summer tires put on. Of course they called back with things that needed fixing. So nine hundred dollars later we have new tires and a new muffler.

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-22424994859677346792011-04-13T06:58:00.000-04:002011-04-13T06:58:54.124-04:00

  On our morning walk together, we look down this alley that was impassable for the last four months because it was filled with snow and never plowed. If you look closely, you can see the last vestiges of unmelted snow.    Usually, Georgie goes back to bed after our walk. With the nice days, however, he prefers to lounge around outside. Time to go to work. Class was on the South Shore so I

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-88380734531113643922011-04-09T07:17:00.001-04:002011-04-09T07:18:48.856-04:00

That's my two boys there. I haven't spent much time with them lately though since I'm always at work. I'm heading into my eighth week with ZERO days off and I'm about to explode. I woke up this morning panicky because there is simply too much to get done in too little time. The deadline for my trucking course manual was Thursday and though I thought I had it all in on Tuesday, Friday morning I

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-50412735556399343242011-04-04T16:56:00.000-04:002011-04-04T16:56:43.885-04:00

We had such fun this weekend. I spent the weekend with 23 women and barring about 7 hours for sleeping, we were together the entire time. The best part was the incredible food that we had at our five star hotel. I would really like to visit again in the summer with Serge. I don't know if we could afford that though. My job was sort of like activities director and we played games and I gave

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-41578896726490624602011-03-31T06:32:00.000-04:002011-03-31T06:32:26.313-04:00

About the only pictures I'm going to get are ones around the house like this. That is until I buy a new camera. It's so irritating though. The camera is fine, it's just the on/off button that doesn't seem to want to work. I want to try everything before tossing it into the garbage. Incidentally, I took this picture with my left hand. Actually I took many, but Georgie is actually looking at the

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-78356042030404757922011-03-27T16:55:00.000-04:002011-03-27T16:55:58.205-04:00

Have you ever agreed to do things without really stopping to think if it's humanly feasible? Because that's what I've done, and although I think the obligations that I've agreed to are doable, I don't think they are doable without a large amount of stress. I'm the kind of person who likes to be organized and ready way in advance, but the workplace doesn't really operate that way. If the lesson

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-50001910611848276822011-03-23T08:40:00.000-04:002011-03-23T08:40:21.680-04:00

But this one was already in the can. His favorite perch atop the sofa back. Once in a while he "talks" to passersby. Usually big fluffy dogs will get him to howl too. Luckily there are few of them in our neighborhood. I went to get a picture of this howling, it's so funny how he tilts his head back to do it, and the camera wouldn't turn on. I changed the batteries and still it wouldn't turn on.

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-45357781881668584752011-03-20T07:02:00.000-04:002011-03-20T07:02:10.760-04:00

Sometimes he sits out there and stares back in at us as though we're in an aquarium. Watching and cocking his head from time to time, we always wonder what is going on in his mind. I like to think he is reading the wind. Probably just a big echo chamber though, is it food, is there food, food, are they making food, food time, foodie food food food, what's that smell? This week I start the new

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-45252853634876623592011-03-17T08:29:00.000-04:002011-03-17T08:29:07.662-04:00

This may need to become a once a week blog. Too busy! Then when I have a few minutes to pound something out, there's nothing really to report. I mean what could be more interesting than what's playing out in Japan at the moment? It reminds me of 9/11 when we had CNN on in the background for days on end. Did you read about the theory that the melting of glaciers has lightened the load on the

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-48342873738483641372011-03-13T08:09:00.001-04:002011-03-13T08:12:02.463-04:00

It's such a rarity for us anymore. Going out to breakfast. It used to be such a weekend ritual, but now it seems easier (and faster and cheaper) to just make breakfast at home. I had bought one of those groupon type deals so our $23 breakfast only cost 12 bucks. And I got to have chili and cheese with my eggs. That may come to haunt me this morning. When we got back from the restaurant, we had

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-76212000907198525042011-03-06T15:02:00.001-05:002011-03-06T15:05:28.159-05:00

They are calling for another foot of snow and this really makes me angsty. However, it looks like the axis of snow might be a little farther Southwest than they are suggesting, which if I'm right, would mean less than six inches. I am, after all, a lay meteorologist. I've been studying it hobby-wise all my life. I really hope I'm right because I want to drive to work tomorrow since it's the start

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-7414740266294762672011-03-03T07:01:00.002-05:002011-03-03T07:24:01.266-05:00

* The pannetone that Daniel brought over had a fabric wrap. We decided to humiliate Georgie. Clearly, he is not amused. I like the way his eyes change color like a chameleon. * Often, I make a piece of toast and microwave an egg for breakfast. I use a little ramekin, pierce the yolk and cover with plastic wrap and zap. Well I forgot to pierce the yolk one day and guess what? Nothing heinous

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-7802411971322261162011-02-27T07:36:00.000-05:002011-02-27T07:36:23.058-05:00

So we haven't addressed the graffiti problem because it's so cold and inclement all the time so someone came along and added a tag to the wall. This must have infuriated the original taggers because then they came back and essentially filled the wall in with their logo. Is it wrong to fantasize about catching them in the act and dowsing them with gasoline and tossing a lit match onto them? I

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-90789682751829623722011-02-23T16:13:00.000-05:002011-02-23T16:13:17.268-05:00

We haven't had a sunrise around the blog for awhile. The sun, after having risen for months behind the building on the right is now marching steadily to the left so we have sunrise season for a while. Eventually it will rise from behind the building on the left. Before I moved up here, I never really noticed how much the sun's trajectory changed. It's not quite as pronounced in Southern

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-19770805773519455042011-02-20T07:55:00.000-05:002011-02-20T07:55:26.099-05:00

Peen alert! Yesterday there was some green gunk coagulated there. I have no idea what that is but it's gross! My peen certainly doesn't do that trick. The other gross thing Georgie frequently does is drool. Whenever the humans are eating, his salivary glands go into overdrive anticipating the possibility of a morsel coming his way, and two strands of drool will do the pendulum dance. Sometimes

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-11731471879831139092011-02-16T16:43:00.000-05:002011-02-16T16:43:22.364-05:00

No real reason (do we have to have one for Georgie porn?) for posting this other than I like his look in this photo. I always marvel at how different dogs look in photos than when you look at them. Well this photo represents how I see him in real life. It's his serious call me George look. I also have no point for this post other than it's been a few days and as you know I'm trying not to let

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-2383393065833110602011-02-13T07:42:00.001-05:002011-02-13T08:05:30.240-05:00

Good morning Georgie. Did you pester our overnight guest all night? Did you insist on sleeping with her, nay on her all night? You know we don't mind, but non-dog owners might have some issues with that. You need to sleep with your daddies. Must have coffee. And yes I did sleep in my shirt. Lately I've been sleeping with the last layer of everything. Socks, long underwear and undershirt.

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-30904555756551158622011-02-08T16:51:00.001-05:002011-02-08T16:52:37.572-05:00

We can play ink blobs. What do you see in the lower center portion of the photo? This is a fried box that once housed those two double breakers there. In case you missed it on FB, Sunday evening just as the Superbowl got going, the tenant from downstairs came up and said his electricity was out. We called for an emergency electrician, actually we called several and they all quoted similar

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-1368994049510389332011-02-06T07:06:00.000-05:002011-02-06T07:06:21.038-05:00

Ugh. The storm track has moved back our way. First the 10 inches on Wednesday, then this morning there is another 6 inches on the ground even though they were only calling for 2 to 4 last night. They have been really bad about getting the quantity predictions right this winter. And tonight and tomorrow they are calling for another 4 inches. So what, does that mean 8? If human beings had evolved

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-45106122198833750462011-02-02T16:46:00.000-05:002011-02-02T16:46:38.258-05:00

Well it's our turn to get pummeled by snow. I knew it when I looked at that scary satellite picture this morning. They were calling for 2-4 inches but I wasn't buying it. I took public transportation to work because I didn't want to risk having to drive home after a foot of snow fell. So glad I did that because a big dump of snow is what we got. Can't complain though, we usually have far more big

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-39378261634364042212011-01-30T08:27:00.001-05:002011-01-30T08:29:19.413-05:00

Serge says I fall asleep in front of the tv quite often. I never remember really being asleep, just the need to go to bed (and brush my teeth). I couldn't believe it when this picture was in the camera. Not only am I asleep but Georgie is sitting on me as though I'm the throne.  Georgie has been different since we brought him back from the kennel this time. For one thing, he is far more vocal

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-66875833762701621342011-01-27T07:05:00.000-05:002011-01-27T07:05:25.457-05:00

Yes, busy as can be. Work work work work work work work. This is the time of year to do it though since it's so heinous outside. Although it's been ridiculously cold (Monday, the car refused to start it was so cold) the huge dumps of snow have occurred South of us, so at least I've been spared much of the shoveling duties the last couple weeks. It still seems to snow a little bit every day though

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-12133574181424245092011-01-22T15:23:00.001-05:002011-01-22T15:23:51.875-05:00

It seems I've been tagged with a little meme that goes with the "stylish blogger award". Blobby, thankfully, tagged me so I now have to write 7 things about myself, link the person who tagged me and then tag others. I don't like tagging others though so this particular chain link of the chain letter ends here. 1. When I was a kid, I went through a hamster phase. Creative naming was not my

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-80694495517383786362011-01-19T17:13:00.000-05:002011-01-19T17:13:43.967-05:00

Just checking in to say I'm alive. Work work work is keeping me quite busy, so I'll make this short. The funny thing I saw on Facebook, and I can't remember who posted it or I'd give credit where credit is due (can you search your news feed?) but I liked it and have been pestering everyone with it. It's about the importance of the comma. It's the difference between helping your uncle, Jack, off

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-27964197733374562582011-01-16T11:17:00.002-05:002011-01-16T11:32:44.280-05:00

  I paid a visit to the Spain store, L'Espagnole, where I grabbed some Serrano ham, Manchego cheese and my new favorite snackfood and martini garnish, anchovy stuffed olives. I was hoping Serge would hate them so I could have them ALL, but they seem to be growing on him too. Also, I made crab dip which is a recipe that my aunt served when we were up near Seattle, but as it turns out, I already

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-48108308315833677122011-01-14T08:22:00.000-05:002011-01-14T08:22:11.080-05:00

* This was a little present that we came home to. Lovely, isn't it? We have to do something about it quickly before we get cited by the city. It's really big too, at least eight feet by five feet. This is the kind of thing that makes me loathe young males. Thank you for defacing our property. * Out in California, Serge and I witnessed a horrific natural event. It was with my dad's two

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-66814226684537734342011-01-11T14:03:00.000-05:002011-01-11T14:03:55.041-05:00

Let's see where did I leave off. Ah yes, we were getting over our sickness here in Long Beach. Everyone was complaining about how cold it was, and it was jacket weather, but the air was clear and crisp and not at all the kind of cold we're used to up here. We had lots of gorgeous sunsets on this trip. There's Em with Serge up there. This was actually the day before the hideous sickness descended

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-6242371548264575012011-01-04T19:08:00.000-05:002011-01-04T19:08:01.663-05:00

Wow, time sure is flowing swiftly. Much like the chocolate in the multi-tiered fountain you see above. Guiness has certified it as the world's largest. That was in the Bellagio in Vegas. Our whirlwind tour of the Southwest US continues and I'm writing to you now from Palm Springs California. Finally, we have been treated to some sunshine and non-frigid temperatures. Seriously, it was snowing in

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-38580773769870028292010-12-28T10:20:00.000-05:002010-12-28T10:20:39.246-05:00

We had a lovely Christmas holiday in the Pacific Northwest which afforded us the opportunity to make a day trip to Victoria BC. Even though people shots are inherently more interesting, I thought this was the best shot of that day. We were up there for a week and it basically rained the entire time except for one glorious sunny day which just happened to be the day that we had planned to take

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-67128389027795860092010-12-19T07:44:00.000-05:002010-12-19T07:44:48.250-05:00

Here's our holiday picture we sent out. It's hard to read Georgie's shirt but it says, "I love poo no matter what you say." That wasn't my idea, it was Serge's but since it was so fricking true, I didn't protest. Something else we've discovered is that he likes the yellow snow too. He snarfled up a pee snow ball the other day. One can only hope that someone spilled their lemonade. We're off

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-38785142785010152902010-12-16T06:48:00.001-05:002010-12-16T06:49:51.961-05:00

Autumn in Montreal. I bet you can't wait to buy your plane ticket. Actually, it's wonderful for skiiers. I took this picture while we were on our journey to get to the bank. It should have been so simple. Go out to the car, drive to bank and come back. Well, we went out to the car but the key wouldn't turn the lock. So we walked over to the shopping center to buy de-icing fluid to squirt into

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-53144141497243756322010-12-13T07:54:00.000-05:002010-12-13T07:54:17.066-05:00

I'd say Serge sleeps with me about half the time now. I have no idea how the choosing works. I always go to bed around 10 and he stays up a variety of minutes later than that. If he sleeps on the couch I don't get woken by snoring but it's also nice to sleep next to a warm body. I feel guilty saying it's better when they're out in the living room, but it's true. Always someone (Georgie) pulling

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-76339326549628284762010-12-10T07:41:00.001-05:002010-12-10T07:44:03.080-05:00

Although he loves the snow, he's having a tough time acclimating to the frigid temps. Last year was like the winter that never was with little snowfall and balmy (for winter) temps all season. I kept saying that if every winter could be like this, I'd be very happy. Well, it's already colder than it was last winter and it's still Autumn! Anyway, his little feet hurt and then he limps so I bought

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-90067747498501342612010-12-08T07:15:00.000-05:002010-12-08T07:15:58.556-05:00

We got our first big snowstorm of the year. They had predicted 2 inches and we ended up with a foot of snow. I haven't seen them this wrong on a snow forecast in ten years. Fortunately, I am a weather geek and I did see it coming so instead of driving to the hinterlands Monday for my afternoon courses, I took public transportation. Apparently the afternoon commute was a three hour drive for most

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-72495548962081100792010-12-05T06:59:00.000-05:002010-12-05T06:59:08.104-05:00

* Let me in, let me in, let me in. Then three minutes later it's let me out, let me out, let me out. I don't think his short term memory is all that great. * Our good tenants have decided to buy a house (good for them!) and so are leaving at the end of January. It's a great apartment at a good price but February 1st is not the ideal time to rent a place here. Not only is it in the midst of

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-80041795516680578272010-12-02T06:55:00.000-05:002010-12-02T06:55:44.849-05:00

He has readopted his place before the window on top of the sofa. I picked up a throw blanket at the dollarama so his peen gunk wouldn't mar the microfiber. Not that he's constantly oozing gunk, since he usually slurps that up for himself. Yum. For the first time in many years, I have made my self imposed deadline for finishing shopping and xmas cards. Got them mailed out yesterday on the first

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-27424898119893567682010-11-29T07:03:00.002-05:002010-11-29T07:07:23.122-05:00

I've done it. I got rid of those 20 pounds I've gained since quitting smoking 2 and a half years ago. I've never really done a "lose weight" diet before since there was never really any need. I was always the one who could eat and drink anything with weight gain immunity. I learned not to gloat about this fact though since most people don't have that kind of metabolism. Well, now I don't either.

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-29582438922690140462010-11-27T06:47:00.000-05:002010-11-27T06:47:34.527-05:00

Since I haven't taken any pictures since the xmas card photo shoot, you get to see another one that didn't make the final cut. If it weren't pitch dark still outside, I'd take a picture of the lovely blanket of snow that has fallen overnight. Everything is so quiet and white. Although we have snow, it hasn't been all that cold thankfully. I've been watching with horror the temps in Alberta, at

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-75651832676549215552010-11-24T07:20:00.000-05:002010-11-24T07:20:15.055-05:00

Well we did our annual Christmas card photo shoot and although this one did not win the day, I sure liked it. The final will be shown here another day. Serge has to get his photoshop on to further enhance the holiday qualities. Georgie was very well behaved, probably due to the too tight shirt he was wearing. Serge erased Georgie's peen but I don't know how to do that on my computer so there it

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-69769478884913856462010-11-21T06:59:00.003-05:002010-11-21T07:05:13.778-05:00

He played a lot with another beagle in the park yesterday. Here they are sharing a stick. There were sticks everywhere yesterday because the day started off with a thundersnow squall line that really kicked up some dust. The owner of the other beagle just had to tell me how cute mine was. I never really know what to say. Thank you isn't really right since I have nothing to do with his cuteness.

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-20919056352986902182010-11-18T08:06:00.000-05:002010-11-18T08:06:30.030-05:00

He would be able to fly if he could flap those ears I reckon. They are terribly flappy when we go out walking in the wind like we did yesterday. He really is unbearably cute and people stop me on the street every day to tell me. You think I'm exaggerating but actually I'm understating. Often times more than once I'll be stopped on the street to be informed of Georgie's cuteness. He oughta be in

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-28259399288990645862010-11-15T06:36:00.001-05:002010-11-15T06:40:17.539-05:00

I took my first stab at making Osso Bucco and despite it not being all that photogenic, it was absolutely fabulous. Serge didn't want his marrow either (the best part in my opinion) so I got to have that heavenly jello twice. It was super easy too. I even made the gremolata to go with. Serge wants it put on our routine meal rotation but I told him the veal cut is a bit pricey so we'll see. It

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-16721590304177295112010-11-12T20:22:00.000-05:002010-11-12T20:22:18.372-05:00

Brrr it was a chilly minus 4C this morning so I put on Georgie's new shirt for our long morning walk. You can't see it, but it says "i pood", and now that I'm looking at it, it might not be a bad xmas card - the colors are right. Oy. The Christmas word, it's become unavoidable now, people are already decorating houses up here. Breakfast time. He always gets the last bite. I know the dog

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-12373978681053880782010-11-10T07:40:00.001-05:002010-11-10T07:41:26.890-05:00

Even though his little bed is right next to my chair in the office, he still demands to sit in my lap periodically. It's adorable but 35 pounds on my lap is only cute for a few minutes. After that it hurts. But oh how he makes my heart squeeze with love. Come to think of it, that borders on hurting too. Again I'm feeling, all the emotions seem to come from the same source, love and grief are

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-21410616254595556242010-11-08T06:10:00.001-05:002010-11-08T06:49:14.588-05:00

Even though I loathe the camera angle, my unironed shirt, the way I talk and the pasty whiteness (do we ever like videos of ourselves?) the message is a good one.

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-5269055261366897702010-11-06T07:56:00.005-04:002010-11-21T07:30:29.357-05:00

That was my main course last night at dinner. I know we just went here a month ago for our anniversary but since friends were visiting, what better reason to go back to my favorite place in town. The evening did not disappoint. Inside the can was duck, foie gras and other deliciousness. For thirty seven dollors, I was sure going to take a video of the server opening it. His can opener didn't

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-85241231532656211542010-11-04T07:22:00.001-04:002010-11-04T07:22:41.270-04:00

I've been lax in my duties. There have been several things that I wanted to mention but since I didn't write them down, I don't remember them. Let's see if I can trace back my thinking steps to find them. There was the election, maybe I wanted to mention something about that. I voted a couple weeks ago when the Democrats Abroad group sent me a way to vote for the candidates. I didn't vote for the

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-83365919376794151512010-11-01T06:40:00.001-04:002010-11-01T06:42:33.575-04:00

It's not even November (well it wasn't when I took this yesterday) and we got our first snow. Sure it wasn't all that much. I figured it would all melt during the day yesterday but nope, it's still covering the patio. It's pretty cold here. Last Tuesday we hit 70 degrees and now this. The next t-shirt weather will come in about 7 months next May. Oh well I'm gonna look at the bright side - cozy

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-20158438716778655152010-10-29T16:24:00.002-04:002010-10-29T16:29:30.519-04:00

He's going to get lots of attention now that I've got my life back. My schedule is lighter until mid-January so me and my Georgie are gonna hang out a lot more. I've got to get him more exercise since he has gained 8 and a half pounds, or 30%, since we got him a little over a year ago. We've already reduced all cookies to half-cookies and reduced the meal time quantities of food as well. I've

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-76805462473504456322010-10-24T17:45:00.000-04:002010-10-24T17:45:34.289-04:00

It was all going along nicely, hanging out with the dog, catching up on household chores and doing some hard core puttering. Saturday, I went across town to buy fresh corn tortillas so I could make taquitos with the roast Serge had made on Friday. I couldn't find ripe avocados anywhere though, it's a fickle fruit, so I had to buy prefab guacamole. Can I just say that there are very few things

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-74646211368708462192010-10-22T17:22:00.000-04:002010-10-22T17:22:21.306-04:00

What are you lookin' at? Man, he has been keeping me sane this week. I swear I have not had a moment to myself since last Sunday, but it is so great how he greets me and knows the routine so well. Morning walk is right after my shower. He wakes himself up goes out with me and then, according to Serge, he goes back to bed and sleeps til 10:30.  When I get home, he waits for me to change out of my

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-42739044777666908892010-10-17T14:49:00.000-04:002010-10-17T14:49:33.142-04:00

Okay all you haircut picture wanters. There you go. Pretty short again even though I said I wanted to keep it long when I was in the chair. It's fine though and easier to coif in the morning. This picture was taken out at Mont St Hilaire where we took our visiting friends for a hike on Saturday. Unfortunately, the sun didn't come out, but we still got some nice pictures out of it. Our friends

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-10837549094481090142010-10-15T07:34:00.000-04:002010-10-15T07:34:09.495-04:00

The door stays closed now. During the warm season, we leave it open and tolerate the houseflies, but now it's too chilly to leave it open. Our average high is 12 degrees now (54F) so no more in-n-out every two seconds. He's very patient though and doesn't bark or howl, he just scratches at the glass a bit. When we were walking him Wednesday night we stopped across the street to wait for the

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-64006669921815556732010-10-12T20:11:00.000-04:002010-10-12T20:11:48.978-04:00

Got up before sunrise as usual these days. I don't get up particularly early, between 6 and 6:30, but the sun is coming up later and later. The sun is at that sweet spot where we can see it rise from the horizon in the tree gap. It is traveling to the right pretty swiftly and will rise off camera to the right around Christmas time. After blobbing on the computer for a bit, I took Georgie out

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-63560318556686657962010-10-11T07:15:00.001-04:002010-10-11T07:17:27.192-04:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow Canerdians. So much to be thankful for, beautiful sunrises for instance. October seems to be the month of the awesome sunrises. I checked the archives and the best pinky mauve ones are always in October. So yeah it's Thanksgiving and I'll be putting the bird in the oven later this morning. I went out and got the pre-stuffed, cook from frozen Butterball turkey

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-77072944149852328632010-10-08T16:43:00.021-04:002010-10-09T06:51:41.601-04:00

Well the short answer is because life is more interesting that way. Earlier this week there was a lively discussion on Facebook on the topic and so I've been marinating with my ideas about it. Here's what I've come to believe. I used to be quite the atheist, and when I look back at how I derided the lack of mental prowess of those who follow organized religion, I feel rather embarassed. Only

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-46537819505076356802010-10-05T06:47:00.001-04:002010-10-05T06:49:10.443-04:00

* My second attempt at paella looked great and tasted delightful. Unfortunately, I didn't cook the rice quite enough so it was kinda al dente. The lady at the shop convinced me to use the "best" brand of rice to make it, but this was a mistake as it absorbed the chicken stock more readily. I should have taken the tried and true brand. * People are already wearing gloves up here. Let's not

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-29261467481821637982010-10-02T07:25:00.000-04:002010-10-02T07:25:27.025-04:00

The view out of the home office window shows how the city maimed the giant tree. I suppose its topheaviness made it a wise move, but I bet that really hurt.  It gives us much more light in the late afternoon since the sun sets behind it. Before, it totally blocked the light. Also in the foreground you see the sumac turning colors. The seedy cones it produces feed the starlings well into the

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-40827383254635961872010-09-29T17:23:00.000-04:002010-09-29T17:23:26.994-04:00

Candid self-portrait. Georgie was busy with his chew thing so I got down on the floor. He is so adorable but then I take a picture like this and there is definitely an unflattering look to him sometimes. Funny we both are a bit jowly in this shot too. I really don't have anything to report but we mustn't. let. the. blog. die.  Week two with the health and social workers is going well though

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-72980535393861844662010-09-27T06:59:00.000-04:002010-09-27T06:59:09.558-04:00

It always amazes me that there are people who work 50 weeks of the year like I'm doing these weeks. Then the weekend is at least a day of chores and if you're lucky a bit of relaxation can be had on Sunday. I remember working like this in the past but I haven't in over 10 years and believe me I have no plans to go back to it. That I have to do it for 12 or so weeks of the year is fine. I have no

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-70880600840370908162010-09-24T06:34:00.000-04:002010-09-24T06:34:55.303-04:00

Serge fell asleep for a spell last evening but Georgie was having none of that. After all it was getting close to his late walk, and there will be no missing that if he has anything to say about it. He eventually roused Serge and we went out for our regular stroll. He would have gotten mad if I had woken him, but he's much nicer when Georgie does it. It's the last day of my first week long

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-25284316708150782552010-09-21T06:44:00.000-04:002010-09-21T06:44:54.230-04:00

These squash we inherited are huge! It's hard to tell from the picture since there are no other objects in it for perspective, but huge huge huge, they are. My question is what kind of squash are they and what do you make with such a thing. Saute it up like sliced zuchini? Bake and scoop out the innards a la spaghetti squash? Skin and puree and make soup? There's probably enough to do all three.

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-77659667947597650052010-09-18T07:07:00.001-04:002010-09-18T08:33:13.314-04:00

Just a little Georgie porn for you. Even though the poor little guy is castrated, he still gets little hardons, especially when he just wakes up from napping. Also it doesn't stop him from trying to hump the other dogs, though I know this is more of a domination thing than a courtship thing. The new evaluations of property values came out this week here in Montreal. Every three or four years (

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-10363605824758655362010-09-15T07:13:00.000-04:002010-09-15T07:13:24.628-04:00

It takes a lot to get him to this point. A good hour of running around and playing "chase me" with the ball he found in the park. We've been going every day because for the next six weeks I'm going to be balls to the wall busy with work. I make about a fourth of my annual income in this late Sept to beginning of Nov window so he'll just have to understand. I had a terrible dream last night that

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296380.post-60619349540405794132010-09-12T11:26:00.001-04:002010-09-12T11:32:01.116-04:00

You can't plan a shot like this, but once in a while you get lucky. Georgie gets quite excited in the morning "begging" me to take him out for our morning walk. He knows we don't go out until I shower and dress, but he whines and whimpers nonetheless until I actually do those things. It was a workout day so I added an egg to my usual toast and cheez whiz breakfast. I always give the last bite

tornwordohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.com23