mostly pictures of the kids, maybe some links, and probably some music.

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Mango is the new Lychee



The girl had her first properly ripe Alphonso mango this morning. Needless to say, she LOVED it. “apple” “more apple” “more”. There were no lychees to compare to, but I pretty sure that they would have come in second. We have another to eat at breakfast tomorrow and we will work at learning to say "mango" rather than apple.

Toast – We don’t need no stinking toast.


The girl has decided that toast is not to be eaten. Toast is simply a carbohydrate based delivery mechanism. It is there to get the jam or cream cheese or marmite off your plate and into your mouth. The desired topping can be sucked off the toast and the refuse tossed to the waiting dog. Cream cheese is also very good for getting on the end of your finger and then applying to your hair or ear.

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Pigeon Post



This is a picture of the pigeon that is right across the alleyway from my window at work. I watched her and her mate carefully build the nest all last week and now she sits there all day. I haven’t seen the mate around for the last few days, but I was pleasantly surprised that he (I am guessing he, but who knows with pigeons and their alternative ways) helped build the nest. I didn’t know that pigeons shared the family work at all. I am watching closely for when the eggs hatch.

Work Space

Here are some pictures of the agency I am working at now. I am posting them up for Heidi who doesn’t really believe that we have an indoor slide and fire pole. Here is visual proof. I have had the images in Photoshop, but I swear they aren’t faked. I have not tried the slide, but I have sat in the bleachers. Not included is a shot of the fake hot tub TV Watching/Meeting Space.

I may be at a new agency, one all full of cool Queen St. downtown hip, but I am still just a button monkey working on shilling beer. Before it was Molson brands, now it is Labatts. The work here is a bit more challenging which is good, and there is an Island Foods within easy walking distance, which is great.



The fire pole and rotating sign




The slide, note the skid marks as people try desperately to slow down.




The bleachers - good for meetings.




My veal pen.

Kids Germs and Ills




Little Miss Talkalot brought a cold home from Daycare on Friday. All weekend long with the snotty nose and the bad mood, last night hardly sleeping at all. I know it is good for her immune system to have to handle all this and as long as it doesn’t give her an ear infection or spread on to the rest of us it is fine. Unfortunately in this case the Teenager and I seem to have caught it. I have a very sore throat and a fuzzy head right now. The head might be from the scotch I drank last night, but not the throat. Let’s all hope that this cold stays out of her ears. The last couple have had her howling and taking antibiotics. You know with the Teenager it always went straight to her lungs, a simple daycare cold meant at least a week of hacking and coughing and wheezing, herbal tea, ventolin and sleepless nights. Now it is the ears. Maybe the next kid will have a bad gut and it will be night after night of poopy pants.

Speaking of the Teenager she has celebrated her 17th birthday, and begun her in-car driving lessons. Congratulations to her. She is teaching herself all about chocolate making right now, so for her birthday I got her a candy thermometer and a book of fancy chocolate recipes. She is having trouble getting consistent results in the melting department and anyone with suggestions should leave them as comments on here and I will make sure she gets them. I took her out for Sushi and to the Symphony the night after her birthday. The dude in front of us was a total “shhhhh” monster. He was poking talkers, giving them the skunk eye and generally being an uptight killjoy. Oh well, the music was nice and neither of us fell asleep.

Speaking of speaking. Lord can that little girl yack. Not only is she trying out new words everyday but also she is occasionally stringing some together, and she is starting to get inflection. She uses a very different no when she is goofing around – sort of a nahhh! – than when she is serious – no! with lots of headshaking. If she likes you, or something you are doing you are a “good girl” or sometimes a “good dog”. Diaper, apple, bird, and book are the top 4 right now. This morning she tried out “wife”. She was close.

She runs now, and doesn’t fall too much. She does a little happy dance if she is excited and if she really wants to eat something you have she says “sit” sits down and crosses her legs. I guess it is a daycare thing. Her favourite food right now is frozen blueberries, but that is because you can’t get lychees at the moment. Her favourite activities are reading, nursing, kissing the dog, worshipping her sister and brushing her teeth. She has had her first haircut, walked around a farm, and, we discovered with some shock, that she drinks from a bottle. She never has at home, but her mom walked into the daycare last week and there she was boozing it up from a blue baby bottle.

N is going away for 3 nights 4 days next week and is very nervous about leaving the baby. I wasn’t at first but it is starting to rub off on me. Luckily the Teenager will be at our place next week, and N’s mom is going to help out by doing the afternoon pick up. I know it will be fine, but it will be N & J’s first time apart, and J’s first long period without nursing. I feel sorry for the two of them; it is going to be stressful.

I have included the last rather unattractive picture of the wee one leaving the daycare because if you look in the upper right corner you can see a picture of her sister when she was at the daycare. Circle of life or what?

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Am I lucky or What?

Toothpaste of the Month February-March 2007


Ok, this month we have a double header to make up for the fact that I let everyone down last month and didn’t meet my toothpaste deadline. Two from Colgate; a winner and a loser.

The Winner
Colgate Tooth Powder with Super Shakti and Calcium.
A fine bright white powder; high on the foaming and taste scale, low on the abrasive. This almost talcum fine minty powder has the power to surprise and please; strong enough to brighten even a cigarette or coffee deadened pallet, but no nasty grit on the tongue. At our house and the cottage it has been a hit with users both young and old. Unlike many of the heavily coloured powders it also has the added bonus of not leaving unsightly stains on the sink or walls. This toothpowder has recently had a re-launch in India and I notice they have added a “NEW” splash and lost the “Super Shakti” too bad. Colgate Tooth Powder with Super Shakti and Calcium – February-March 2007s Toothpaste of the Month.

The Loser
Colgate 2in1 Icy Blast Whitening Liquid Gel
I admit it, I am a sucker for sparkly things, and they don’t call me “magpie” for nothing! I bought this because I thought it would look pretty on my toothbrush. No such luck. It looks dull and drab, it is about as Icy as a day in June, the texture is ooze-a-riffic, and my teeth are no whiter. They still make the stuff, but I am not sure why. Colgate 2in1 Icy Blast Gel - February-March 2007s Stink Paste of the Month.

A Request
While I have you in a toothpaste mode, maybe you can help me, if anyone has ever seen this for sale anywhere in the GTA could they please let me know? One of my favourite toothpastes of all time is the Japanese Roasted Eggplant and Salt and I would love to compare this to it. Thanks.

Lousy with Lychee Love


The girl, she loves the Lychee. Can’t get enough of the Lychee. It used to be that she loved the Grape, and don’t get me wrong she still does, but that love is weak compared to the love of the Lychee. She can have a grape in hand, ready to devour, but it will be cast aside, like yesterday’s news should she see a Lychee. One peak at the reddish brown bumpy skin and the fingers start flying and the lips start flapping “More More More”.

She pretty much feels the same way about frozen blueberries (wait until she tries real ones come blueberry season). I was getting something out of the freezer this morning and all of a sudden there was a little hand clutching my calf, and a little voice “More More More”. I offered her an ice cube, the cold pack and was at a loss until I took a peak from her sightline and could see the blueberry container. What a great baby.

Monday, March 05, 2007

Underwhelming


My performance on this blog has been underwhelming. Sketchy posting, sketchy writing, poor punctuality.

My Toothpaste of the Month performance has been very underwhelming, don't worry though, I will do a double of March to make up for it. Hopefully by this weekend.

My health was underwhelming for part of January and most of February. A month of an on again off again series of infections culminated in full on pneumonia, and being bed ridden for 5 days. Great way to start a new job eh? Show up for one day, spend most of it puking in the bathroom and then disappear for 5 working days. Can’t say I’m not smooth. Speaking of underwhelming health, my stupid old arm is still hurting. Carrying around your baby can give you a very sore arm. This didn’t happen the first time around, mind you I was 16 years younger.

My poor baby daughter has a genetic disposition to an underwhelming booty. I being of sound body and mind hereby will my daughter Jemima enough of my estate to have cosmetic surgery on her ass if she so chooses once she reaches the age of 18. You can all be my witnesses on that one. The poor thing seems to have picked up all of the unpleasant attributes of my body shape, from the protruding belly to the not just flat, but almost concave arse. Let’s hope she gets some good stuff from her mom.

The bagel I just ate was decidedly underwhelming. Stale and dry. The cheddar was nice and tangy though.

Overwhelming


My big daughter finally got around to signing up for drivers lessons. She has also been giving serious thought to which University she will be going to after next year. That left my head spinning.

The wee one is kicking the backwards walking the last few days and is progressing into running forwards. The running is fraught with danger though and there have been several face and headplants into stationary objects.

My little daughter has mastered the words “shoe”, “thank-you”, “sock” and “poo”.

Speaking of poo, she has successfully signed that she has “pee’d” a couple of times (even though she had actually pooed), and the congratulations have gone to her head. Now anything to do with her nether regions, or diapers, or just not wearing pants is an occasion to both sign and say “Pee” It goes on and on, that and “Hot”. Everything can be and is hot; from the oven, to N’s nipples, from my coffee to the icy cold back window. It doesn’t matter what the temperature of the object in question is, just how she feels about it.

My beloved friend Angela bought me a new iPod! You read right, Angela D of Front Door Organics (please feel free to sign up for their wonderful service if you live in Toronto), took pity on me, and bought me an iPod with her air miles. Is she great? Oh Yeah! This happened back on New Years, so it isn’t exactly fresh news, but every time I press play, every time I look at it’s pretty pinkness, every time I listen to a podcast, just about every day, I am overwhelmed by her kindness. Wait though, there is more; while I was incapacitated with illness, her beloved (JJ) had left us a big container of homemade soup. I tell you, these women are too good to us. Yay for Angela and JJ.

My new job is pretty great. Sure it is basically just the same thing I have been doing since the late 80’s, but it is all-new at the same time. I am downtown, which is exciting and invigorating. I get to walk to work from the daycare every morning, down through UofT and Spadina; some of my favourite bits of the city. The commercialization of this hunk of Queen can’t wash away all the good memories I have from hanging out around here. I am working with a mostly all new crew, but there are enough people I have worked with before to make it comfortable. Yes, a change is as good as a rest, and I am feeling quite rested in regards to work.

I have been doing the crossword every day on the subway on the way home. I know this isn’t a shocking thought, but I really am getting better. I have enjoyed crosswords on and off for about 10 years, but while I was sick I watched the documentary “Wordplay” about the NY Times crossword and the nerds who take if very seriously. I was inspired. I bought a Times on a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and just like they mentioned in the film, it got harder each day. Monday I finished on the trip home. Tuesday’s I almost finished by Wednesday afternoon and Wednesdays was a washout. I can’t even imagine the Friday and Sunday ones. So rather than buy a NY Times everyday I am taking the one out of the Globe and Mail here at work. It is hard in its own way. Because it does double duty as a cryptic and a regular it has few clues but really long answers. So if I miss a word or two it has a deleterious effect on the rest of the puzzle and my chances of finishing it. I did manage to finish the jumbo Saturday one by Sunday evening this week though. I want to be able to whoop my Mom at them by this summer.

I am assuming all but the most confirmed metal heads would be Overwhelmed by how much metal I have been listening to. Most of the Lounge Music blogs I used to frequent have dried up, so it has been on to the Underground Metal blogs. Grindcore, Deathmetal, Blackmetal, Stonermetal, Powermetal, Thrashmetal, Doommetal, and all the different subgenres that you can make up from them. Metal Metal Metal. (I am not responsible for any offense you might take at some of the content of these blogs - you have been warned.) I never liked it as a teen, but for the last 3 years of so I have been rocking it. If you want to find some, go to blogspot.com and do a search through their blogs. Just plain Google doesn’t always work. I am still rocking the Lounge though; I found a great Blog this morning that had a couple of Enoch Light albums, and some Hammond Organ albums and other great stuff. Gotta keep it mixed up eh?

Crap, I have to get to work now.

More soon.