does that train still stop here?

The sun is shining this morning and trying to turn our apartment into an oven. We face east and get the full on morning sun. I have got to get some plants out there. I need to beautify the area so we can enjoy our time out there but I keep avoiding it for some reason. I guess I'm not that confident in my abilities when it comes to container gardening.
I woke up way too early this morning. I really could have used a couple more hours of sleep because I have a gig tonight and I know my head won't be hitting the pillow any time before 3 am. We are playing at one of Vancouver's more colourful and interesting east side bars. The Princeton is a lot of fun because it come with it's own special crowd of merry misfits. They always seem keen for a good time and everybody is really friendly. Usually. You get a lot of longshoremen and working class types, neighbourhood folks and happy drunks for the most part. Good people. The best part of playing at The Princeton is that the train yards are directly behind the pub and you can actually see the trains go by the window right behind the band during the show. I can't tell you how much I love this especially when we are playing one of our "train songs" or songs about trains. Mostly songs about taking someone you love far away from you. And one pleading for the train to bring my baby back to me. Anyway it's usually good fun with good friends so I am looking forward to it. I'll let you know how it all went.

Are you coming out tonight?

how do you feel about shoes?

This is a photo of an ad by the company that used to sponsor my Dad's softball team in the 60's and 70's. I think that's pretty cool. I don't know why, I just do.

Soooo it's Friday! A funny thing happened today. Let's be clear, I love shoes and I got rid of over 25 pairs when we moved to the new smaller digs so I figure I have just about the right amount now except they keep making cute shoes and I keep looking. Today I was out with my BFF helping her get a few things together for a trip she's taking and I was falling in love with shoes left right and centre. I just kept telling myself that I didn't need new shoes and that I couldn't afford new shoes. Then it happened. My shoe broke in a shoe store!! The strap just ripped right in two and there I was one shoe short of a pair. What the hell! Wouldn't you just know it, I didn't see one pair of shoes in that store that I wanted. What would you do?? I consider myself an industrious woman and I had to do something. So, I asked the clerk for her stapler, stapled the strap together so I could walk to the store where I saw something I liked and I bought myself these...

http://goshopping.thestar.com/shop/product--catId_1002563__locale_en__catCrumbIds_1000002-1002563__productId_3802793.html

I think they are super cute and they are comfy like a sneaker but cute like a flat. finally a shoe to wear with skirts and dresses that I can walk in for hours comfortably. That's kind of a big deal for me. When I went to pay for them, it turns out they were on sale. Bonus! Still, I felt a bit bad about buying them, did I mention I couldn't really afford to be shopping? Anywho, I get home and there is a big stack of mail sitting on the table as my man* has the only mail key and tends to check the mail only once a week or so. For the first time in many years I am getting a refund on my income tax and wouldn't you know it there was that little cheque. It covers my unplanned shoe purchase and helps out with some expenses that I need to clear up. Is it wrong that I believe in a Shoe God??

* you may have noticed that I haven't used any names in referring to people in my life so far. I think I want to keep it that way but I need to figure out what I am going to call the man I live with and am engaged to marry. I have a lot of names that I call him. When you live with someone for a long time you tend to stop using their actual name and just go with nicknames, unless it's something serious. Here are some of the nicknames I actually call him in daily life.

#1 Monkey
#2 Monkey Man
#3 Monka
#4 Man of La Monka
#5 Mr. Bo Dangles (don't ask)
#6 Superman
#7 Asshole
#8 Asshat
#9 Jerk Ass
#10 Fart Knocker

Wow, we are so weird. I can't believe I'm actually putting these out there. I think from now on I will refer to him as Superman or SM. It's not too sucky and it's not one of the names I call him when I'm pissed off at him. I do love him so. You may have guessed I have finally told him about my blog. He hasn't read it yet but I want to be sure to let you know that he is a lovely man and he actually smells pretty good most of the time.
Happy Friday ya'll!
Hope you're enjoying my blog.

don't it make my brown eyes blue?

When I was little I took baton lessons. I also took tap. Tap never did stick with me but baton stuck with me for a number of years. We would learn short routines and eventually we would be required to perform at old folks homes. I was just a little girl, maybe 5 or 6 and we would go to these funny smelling places full of old, sick people. Picture the place that Grandpa Simpson lives and you would be pretty close. The only routine I remember was a sort of sexy routine to the tune The Alley Cat Song, or something like that. I mean the old folks always seemed pretty happy to see us but I think anything would have been a good diversion. It didn't really look like a fun place to be. I remember feeling a lot of anxiety about performing there, I really wanted to do a good job and remember the routines. Looking back I think the anxiety came from the bleak, scary living conditions I witnessed.
The only other time we performed was in the Chilliwack Country Living Parade. That's where the above photo was taken. I wore many costumes for these parades but my favourite was the one pictured above. I don't have to tell you why do I? I mean the skirt was made of white shimmy fringe and there were sequins AND a cowgirl hat!! I remember how hard it was to march and remember the routine for several miles and I remember that it almost always rained. In retrospect I think it was a great training ground for the performances I do now. When I am on stage these days I still want to do a good job even if the audience smells funny and doesn't always understand why I am there. It's my duty. I just want to be a good little cowgirl. I just want to entertain you and if I have to wear a cute little outfit to do it. So be it.
Do you remember your first "performance"?

why won't he notice me?

So, I'm sitting here this morning with my morning cereal, catching up on my favourite blogs when I notice this scene. I'm pretty sure she's a female pigeon and she's making the wooo-hooo sound so I think she' just trying to get the attention of some male pigeons. Then I notice her making her moves, ON MY PLASTIC OWL! This owl was designed to scare pigeons away but apparently, for some girls, it just makes him sexy as hell. Now this actually makes a lot of sense to me. I am surprised no one has thought about it. Let's look at the facts, he's bigger than the males she's used to, he holds a position of authority, he's supposed to be mean and her Momma says he's no good but he's never actually done anything except give her long meaningful looks. I mean he hasn't actually eaten or killed anything nor have his gang of friends situated around the building caused any real harm to the pigeon population. And, well, he's just soooo badass. wooo-hooo!

Do you think it could work out?

is it easier to forgive or to forget?

Had a special breakfast with a special person this morning so I had to get out all my most colourful dishes. It made me realize that I hardly ever entertain anymore. Used to be we had parties all the time. For a long time we were the only ones in our group of friends who really had the space because our parties always involved jamming with instruments and singing and drinking and smoking. I do miss the parties but not cleaning up the morning after. Especially my lungs.

I often miss having a yard and a garden to root around in. I used to love setting a tea table in amongst the flowers and fig trees in my old yard but now I am a deck girl. Decks have some advantages over yards. You can create your own garden, which I have yet to do, and then there is the naked part. I love being naked, in the sun, on my deck. The thing I miss the most about having a yard is grass, walking on it not cutting it.

How about you?
Do you still party like you used to?

do you want toast with that?

This is a picture of an underwater scene made entirely of butter. The sign actually said "edible" butter. As opposed to modelling butter I guess. I went to the EAT! Vancouver show at BC Place on Sunday. I arrived hungry and I left full but it was a funny feeling because I got full one bite at a time. Totally full in my tummy from samples. I mean, was it the many, many things I ate smeared on a cracker or crisp bread? Maybe that very small piece of raw fish in some sort of sauce? Maybe it was the four carefully paired small blocks of cheese that matched perfectly with the yummy BC wines? The Belgian waffle? I also ate a small tortilla wrapped pulled pork concoction and a little bowl of Tortilla Soup to name a few. All in all it was a weird and wonderful day. Not to mention the swag! A fly swatter, a bottle opener shaped like a little guy, a pen, toothpaste, a box of Uncle Ben's rice, a cookie, a tea bag a men's disposable razor and a ladies disposable razor named after Suzi Quatro. These razors have 4 blades each AND they are disposable!? Call me crazy but my legs have never been smoother.

There was so many new and wonderful foods and products I had never seen before.

Some of the newest things in my kitchen??? Kashi GoLean cereal and sprouted mixed beans, and I've switched to 1% milk.

What's the newest, yummy, healthy food you've started eating?

did owls and pigeons call a truce?

I live in a brand new 4 story apartment building with a little problem.

The pigeon is a common sight in urban areas ranging from small rural hamlets to large metropolitan cities. Historically, pigeons are descendants of the rock dove and were brought into the country by early immigrants.
The largest problem that pigeons cause is the tremendous amount of feces they produce. Accumulation of the feces may pose a health hazard to the general public. The fecal composition is acidic and occasionally erodes metal and stonework.
In many cases, pigeons present problems in and around the home. Permanent control of the pigeon is not possible because these birds have adapted to stress and the many sources of food made available to them in the urban environment. The most effective control available is the alteration of their environment.

Soooo.... The fantastic people who keep this building running smoothly have taken this problem on as there personal missions. We have spike strips, they make sure there is no food or roosting material anywhere on site and we can't forget the plastic owls. We probably have at lease 30 plastic owls strategically placed around the building.

Recently we couldn't help but notice that our deck was turning into a shit factory meeting place. Oh, they don't just shit, although they do a LOT of that, they also court and mate. This seems to involve a lot of chasing back and forth, it kind of looks like one of those shooting games at the midway. Back and forth, back and forth. Also, and this may be seagulls, someone has been dropping body parts of other animals onto our deck. So far there has been a raw, picked clean chicken back and some part of a crab or lobster. Gross!

We thought it might be time to get our own owl so I mentioned it to the building manager and a couple of days later I came home to this creepy looking owl. His head moves in the wind like a bobble head and it always seems to be backwards, and looking at me.

The pigeon problem is almost completely cleared up but every morning I watch this one pigeon land a couple of feet away from the owl, stand and look at him for a few minutes and then walk right around him. I think they are on to us.

Have you ever had to get rid of wildlife that was encroaching on your domain?

didn't you used to be famous?

When my Mom and Dad were newly married they used to take trips to Reno with some older friends to gamble and see shows. One time my Dad was sitting at a bar in a casino and Fats Domino came and sat beside him. They had a drink and made some small talk. When my Mom came to join my Dad he told her he was sitting with Fats Domino, my Mom didn't know who he was but she still got him to sign the inside of her white clutch purse. She used to show it to me. I wonder whatever happened to that purse.
When I was 15 I went to Hawaii with my best friend and her family. One afternoon we were visiting an art gallery in one of the big hotels. All of a sudden my girlfriend became really excited and started pointing out this guy across the gallery. He was really handsome and was wearing sweats, I remember he had sand on his ass. I had no idea who he was. My girlfriend sure did though, it was Rick Springfield, he was on All My Children at the time and had just released Jessie's Girl. I didn't watch that soap and I didn't like that song but once she told me who he was I was pretty excited too. Her Mom noticed what was going on and she asked him if "her girls" could have a picture taken with him. we were so embarrassed, we were wearing matching shirts, mine was blue and white striped and hers was pink and white striped. He was really nice about it, put an arm around each of us and smiled. The photo turned out pretty good except my mouth is all distorted like I'm talking or something. We got back from vacation and showed the picture to some friends and somehow it ended up in the high school annual. I was always just a little embarrassed by it.
I have a new rule for my blog.
Every day asks a question. If you are reading I hope you will try to answer it in the comments section.
Have you ever met anyone famous?
Do tell.

did you do that on purpose?

So, I'm blond. Actually I'm BLOND! I totally called it. I used the hair colour kit I had and that brought it to an interesting shade of strawberry blond. My boy said it was no good and the neighbour I met in the parking garage on my way to the drug store said it didn't suit my face. Sooooo, off to Shoppers Drug Mart to chat with the lovely girl in the cosmetics section who admitted she really didn't know anything about hair colour. sigh.
We chose Loreal Fieria #205 Extra Bleach Blond with an extra packet of bleach included. I came home and mixed it up, it said not to get it directly on my scalp but my hair is only a couple of centimetres long, and fine. What followed was a most excruciating hour. It burned and it itched but boy did it go blond. When i finally washed it off I had what I can only describe as chemical burns on my scalp, my neck, and my hands! My hair was so light and my scalp was so red it shone right through. Soooo attractive!
I lathered on the 100% shea butter and went to bed. My head kinda hurt when it met the pillow. All in all pretty unpleasant. This morning I have super blond hair with a touch of yellow. I think the blue shampoo I have will get rid of that. My skin is calming down too.
I always feel like a total dork when I first bleach it like this. In a couple of weeks, I'll have roots and it will look cool, In the mean time, I have hats.

who does your hair?

Soooo I did get my hairs cut today and it's pretty darn short. Not that I mind but she cut off all the highlights that were left and now I'm down to my natural colour- Field Mouse #5. I just happened to have a box of hair colour under my bathroom sink from my last home dye job a few years back and now it's on my head. I have a feeling it's not going to do much because it's not burning my scalp. Maybe just change it to Field Mouse #3. I'll keep you posted.
I have been bleaching my hair to platinum blond off and on for years and the stupid thing is, I never remember what I used to get the right colour. I usually end up at Shoppers Drug Mart late at night in a hat trying to figure out a formula. The last time I bleached my hair it involved an emergency phone call to my neighbour, the bald hairdresser and a late night delivery of professional strength chemicals. You would think I'd learn, by the time I get it right it would cost me less to get it done by a professional. But I don't learn.
I just had a look at my hair, I've still got 10 minutes to go and it looks like it is lightening up. Aw Geez! I'm thinking I'll end up with a sort of butterscotch colour, if I'm lucky. I have a feeling I'll be hitting the drug store before the night is over. The anticipation is killin' me.
Stay tuned for the outcome.

do you smell something?

Being in a long term relationship is a funny thing. I mean looooong term. Today it took him 10 minutes to notice I had a new haircut. It doesn't hurt my feelings or anything I just think it's interesting how we get so used to one another that we almost stop seeing.
I had to tell him as he was trying to find a good shirt to wear this evening that the white one was to pongy and would only get worse as it heated up and the green one is clean but it looks like he ironed it with an egg beater. Go for the wrinkly one, wrinkles can fall out of a shirt after a while but smelly only gets smellier, that one goes straight to the laundry. Mostly I just like the way the green one brings out his eyes. I don't want folks thinkin' I don't know how to take care of my man.

is it time to wash the sheets?

I woke up just before 7 this morning, took a deep breath and realized that my bed smelled like a used jock strap. (I'm guessing here) It smelled like a sweaty boy. My guy refuses to sleep naked unless I render him thus and just hunkers down under that down comforter and sweats out all his toxins. It drives me crazy because my side smells like flowers and sugar cookies and his smells all sour and assy. I'm not all crazy about changing my sheets every 2 days like Oprah although I would if someone else was changing my sheets. I don't do it once a week either because I get really attached to the bedding I am using and usually wash and put it back on the bed in the same day and I need a full day at home to do the job. Even though I have a nice set of bamboo sheets that are quite lovely I recently bought 800(!!) count sheets and now I feel like a princess. I mean, how dare he stink up those nice sheets. So now I feel like I have to splash out another chunk of money for a summer weight quilt and a nice silk or bamboo cover. I am turning into a fucking princess in the bedroom, I swear. Today I cleaned up my clothing carpet, vacuumed and washed the floor and found a new place for the bed. Now there is more room and we both have access to a window that opens for individual comfort. When he came home from work and saw it he panicked because it's different but then said he would have to get used to it because I was in charge of such things. He's learning!
That reminds me of a funny story. My Mom used to rearrange, tidy and organise all the time. She was a stay at home Mom and she always said she was never bored for one minute, she truly felt that running the household was her full time job but it was probably more like two full time jobs. Anyway, my Dad was in the habit, in the old days of going out for a few drinks with the boys after his softball games or such and I think Mom was probably a little pissed off and decided to rearrange the bedroom. Dad came home late and drunk and probably thought he could sneak into bed and she would never know what time he got in. He went to sit on the bed to take off his socks and slip into bed in the dark. Of course he ended up on his ass because Mom had moved the bed. He fell hard as one would, thinking you were going to land on a nice soft bed and finding nothing but hard floor. I don't think she ever let him forget that one we laugh every time she tells it. I love that story.
Today I am a domestic goddess! I cleaned everything and made a healthy, yummy dinner too. When I got back from my walk after dinner the dishes were all done. Niiice.
Tomorrow is hump day, not for me mind you. I don't have a real hump day, I like all the days but maybe I will get humped. That'd be okay too. ;-)

what's it all about?

Wow, that was really interesting, I wrote that last post without a thought about how it would make other people feel or react, and it was really exhilarating. For about five minutes. Then I started to analyze it. I can't help thinking about who would be reading this and wondering how they would react to it. I made myself laugh out loud when I wrote the last words in the previous post because it felt like I was being really naughty. I am starting to realize that I just want to tap into the more fun and satirical side of myself, not by calling people names mind you, but by having a bit of a laugh. It's a joke! Based on something that really happened and now I can laugh about it. I don't always see the positive side of things in life at first but I like to try to figure it out and come to the humour or the lesson learned with a bit of a giggle.
I am finding it almost impossible to stop editing myself, worrying about sentence structure and spelling, imagining other peoples reactions to every word I write. But I am resisting, trying to let the thoughts flow. Because it's fun. I need to write a bit and let it start flowing a bit more so I can see where it goes.
And I just realized that every title has to be in the form of a question.
That's my only rule.

What kind of blog is this anyway??

I can safely say that I don't know yet. I see a lot of my friends using their blogs to chronicle their lives in words and pictures and it seems like such a great idea. To be honest I have never been able to stick with writing in a diary or a journal for more than a day or two. I have a stack of little diaries hidden somewhere with just 2 or 3 pages written in each, usually earth shattering realizations or maybe a rant about how I feel on a subject.

I have decided that I will do my best not to limit myself to any one type of writing here. I don't even know if I want to make it really personal or more general and I haven't given much thought about who will be reading it.

I will try to write a little everyday and see how it evolves.

I am going to try not to censor myself too much and I think that is going to be the hardest part. I'm gonna write like nobodies reading...

I hope it's kind of funny too.