Kids these days...

Today was errands day, so after constantly running around town, we gratefully went out for supper.

There was a couple at the table behind me, and the woman had a scooter.  As they left, Youngest and I could see the big sticker on the back of the woman's scooter.  Since Eldest and Dh couldn't see it, Youngest told them what it said.

"Proud to be everything the right wing hates."

To which Eldest immediately responded, "Stupid?"

So young to be so cynical. LOL

What people see

An atheist friend shared a graphic recently.  It portrayed what people see when they first get to know someone (nice words like kind, friendly, etc surround a line drawing of a person), then what they see when they find out that person is atheist (nice words replaced with nasty ones, as well as words like depressed, lost, confused, etc.).

I don't doubt her experience.  It's unfortunate that it happens, though when I showed it to my daughter, her response was "people don't necessarily think that *because* they are athiests."  She has a point, too.  There are atheists like my friend, and then there are ... the other kind.

I get what she's saying, though.  I get it, too, though obviously not because I'm atheist.

Then, my wonderfully talented daughter drew this for me to illustrate.

*snerk*

Extra snerk when we were adjusting the image on the computer and she added a potential caption of, "I'll bet those kids are home schooled!"

Oh, and in case you have trouble reading the text, the book reads "Sky Faerie Handbook," the big sign read "G*D HATES FAGS and foreigners are taking our jobs" with "Science is SIN" taped to one side and "1%" taped to the other.  Taped to the older daughter is a sign that reads "Future Mom."

The pistol dangling out of her pocket was a nice touch, as are the melon boobies on the little girl's doll. 

LOL!  Thanks, Sweetie.

update:  Wow!  Thanks, Blazing Cat Fur, for the plug and the traffic. :-)  I hope you all have enjoyed your visit.

If anyone would like to see more of my talented daugther's work, you can see some of it here, including her new online comic.

Ready for summer... Ow!

Today, Dh and I headed out to do some price comparisons.  We need to get a new mattress for Youngest.

We came home with a BBQ.

We weren't intending to get one yet.  Our balcony still needs to be renovated, for starters.  But it was a great deal, and we were in the unusual position of actually being able to take advantage of it.

Getting set up was a whole 'nother story.

First, there was getting it out of the van.  Dh, who was banished from touching the thing, considering how badly he injured his back the last time he helped carry something up the stairs, parked as close as he could to our door.  The weight wasn't an issue, but the size sure was.  I couldn't get my arms around to pick it up.  I was able to flip it on its side - after checking to make sure there were no "this side up" signs - and got it off, but just barely managed to keep a grip on it.  I got Eldest to come out and give me a hand, but discovered it was far easier - and more stable - to just keep rolling it on its side.  So up the stairs I went, with Eldest hovering around to make sure I didn't miss a step or something.  Flip, push, flip, push, flip, push, all the way up the stairs.  It wasn't until I got to the very top, where Eldest went the rest of the way to hold the door open for me, that I caught a corner on the hand rail and almost dumped myself back down the stairs again.  Just a moment of imbalance, but enough to make me quite uncomfortable! *L*

Then it was time to maneuver it through the door, where one of the cats was waiting with her crack eyes, looking ready to pounce at any moment.  I kept on flipping it through to the balcony, with Eldest ahead of me every step of the way, making sure I had a clear path.

Any bumps, bends and dings on that thing are purely my fault!

Once out on the balcony, both girls came out to put it together.  Youngest was right at home screwing all the parts together.  After a while, Eldest headed back in to see what we had in our freeze to BBQ and start them thawing.  Then she went looking for our old BBQ utensils.

That's where things got really fun!

First, there's getting to the storage closet, which is under the stairs.  Getting to the door first requires moving the coffee table, couch and armchair.  I knew the utensils were in an open box near the front, but Eldest couldn't find it.  I left the BBQ half done to see if I could spot the box.

Oh, Lordy, lord.  What a mess!

It seems that, in between putting away the AC from last summer, then taking out and putting back the Christmas stuff, everything's been completely switched around in there.

First order of business.  Move the coffee table farther out, so we could move the couch farther out, so we could open the door wider.  Then I start grabbing boxes and handing them to Eldest.

Then we fight with the Christmas tree box, which had popped open, trying to get it out without having more fall out than already had.  Meanwhile, one of Dh's roller blades kept falling down from where I'd put it.  After the third or fourth time, I gave up and handed them to Eldest.  I wonder if these would be garage sale material? *grumblegrumblegrumble*

Then there were more boxes, the hand truck, and the package of foam sheets I use for blocking large crocheted items.

Then we had to get the AC out, which is in several pieces.  Thankfully, the main body of it is on wheels.

Finally, we lugged out two boxes of boxes - remnants of the U-haul boxes we'd used during the move - plus several larger, cut down boxes.  I spontaneously decided to beat my inner packrat into submission.  Those will be either passed on or recycled.  Either way, they're not going back into storage.

Finally, I'm at the very back of the storage closet.  Just a few last boxes under the lowest part of the stairs.  The utensils weren't at the very back.  Just second from the very back.  On the bottom, under another box, of course.

All that for a few pieces of stainless steel!

Then we had to put it all back in again.

Throughout this process, I bashed my head on the underside of a step, smacked it again on a bike helmet hanging from under the stairs, and stepped on the hook end of a bungee cord.

Did I mentioned I was bare foot?

While maneuvering a box back in, I slammed my hand against the door handle, right on one knuckle and the adjoining finger.  Not badly damaged, but that hand was rendered near useless for the next while.

Oh, and I stubbed my baby toe on the couch, too.

Great fun!

The good news is that not only do we have our BBQ utensils again, but there's more room in the storage space, and the AC is right by the door, ready for when it gets hot enough to break it out for the summer.

After all that, it was time to continue putting the BBQ together.  Youngest had done a bit, but the pictographic instructions really needed two people to translate. Some of them made very little sense at all!

At one point, I squatted down to hold something while Youngest screwed it in place, and I couldn't do it.  My knees simply couldn't handle the position.  So I warned her that I was letting go and tried to get up, only to find my knees wouldn't straighten, either!  After some creative maneuvering and much pain, I got them straightened out.

That was just one of the times I had difficulty with my knees.

By the time it was all together, I was aching from top to bottom.  There was no way I was going to be doing any cooking!  I even left hooking up the propane tank - still nearly full from our old BBQ - for someone else.  Dh ended up putting it on for me.  He and Eldest ended up going to the grocery store to pick up hoagie fixings, which she cooked for us for supper. :-D

I'm still hurting, but as badly anymore.  I gotta say, though, I'm not looking forward to lugging those boxes across the street to the garbage/recycling room!  Just thinking about it is enough to make my knees tell me to f*** off!

We're all set for the summer, though.  I'm really looking forward to trying some new techniques on this Q.  It's got three burners, which means I can do off-heat cooking of larger items, like whole roasts.  It's got the side burner, too.

This is going to be a tasty summer!

A successful evening!

Well, our first historical dinner as part of a formal group is done, and it was quite a success!  The only hitch of the evening was discovering the bathroom across the hall was locked, so we had to take people across the street to our place if they needed to go.  *L*

There were some last minute changes in the number of people.  One person ended up staying home with a fever, possibly a flu, but two other last minute additions made it.  We totalled 20 people, I think.  My husband wasn't able to stay very long - not too much of a surprise there, with the way his health has been lately - and Youngest went home with him.  The noise levels got a bit much for her. 

I'll detail more about the dishes we had on my home school blog once I've gone through my photos.  I did the rabbit, which went over quite well, wild rice.  Eldest did bannock, which also went over quite well, and fake coffee, which everyone seemed to find rather odd tasting. *L*  I also made some "hay time switchel" for a drink.  I imagine it would have tasted quite good after a day in the sun making hay - with all that sugar and molasses, it would have been quite the pick-me-up.  Otherwise, it was... not something I'd make again. LOL

Now, let's see if I can remember all the other dishes without having to go back to the photos. :-D  There were little potatoes, baked whole, a fish and carrot dish, a fish soup that included mushrooms and cattail roots, freshly made saurkraut, rose hip jam, pemmican, roasted pumpkin seeds, a thick lentil and smoked hamhock soup, and a dessert of... I think it was pears, prunes and raisins, but I'll have to double check that.  One of our guests even brewed up some spruce beer (used as a tonic to fight scurvy).  They had to make "essense of spruce" using their own spruce trees and a bit of guesswork.  Like the fake coffee and switchel, molasses figured heavily, too, though they had to make sure the molasses was preservative free, so the yeast wouldn't be killed off.

One of the surprised while researching recipes - when they had it, the pioneers used a LOT of sugar or other sweetener.  Huge amounts of salt was also used, though more often as a preservative.  I guess, with depending on game so much in the early years, fat and protein weren't much of an issue, but carbs were a little harder to come by.  Well, except for the poor souls that died of rabbit starvation.  Hard to imagine starving to death while having plenty to eat.  In our day and age, with dietary fat being viewed as such an evil, we tend to forget we can't live without it.

I think I remembered everything that was there. 

My personal favorites were the lentil/ham hock soup and wild rice.  I'm not big on fish, but the fish dishes worked out quite well.  I completely forgot to try the rose hip jam, though, which I was looking forward to.  The pemmican was an experiment, and I'm not sure if it worked or not, not knowing what "real" pemmican is supposed to taste like.  I was surprised by how much I liked the saurkraut.  I grew up with my mother's saurkraut and never liked it - it was so incredibly sour and acidic - but this was really nice.  The person who made it said it was saltier than it was supposed to be, but I wouldn't know any better. *L*

Before we started, we all talked about the dishes we'd brought and how close we could get to authentic to the theme.  I was surprised to find that lentils were being used in NA that far back.  There are always allownaces to be made when trying to recreate historical dishes, if only because information tends to be sparse or cryptic. 

Some of our guests even dressed up a bit, and one family brought a small table loom used for making narrow strips of fabric for sashes.  Another guest had brought her fiddle and played us a few tunes.  There were games and even dances - it was all a lot more elaborate than anything I'd expected.  The kids had a blast, that's for sure. 

Unfortunately, things went on a bit too long and we never got to the story telling.  One of our guests is actually a professional storyteller and I was really looking forward to hearing her. She had to leave, though, so it never happened.  :-( 

Things got loud, sometimes a bit chaotic, and was overall a success.  The theme was chosen by Eldest (I picked the last themed dinner we had, before the group was formally created), so the next one will have to be hosted by another family.  It may not happen until the spring, though! ;-D  We have plenty of themes we'd like to try, but I look forward to seeing what someone else might come up with!

Happy 4th...

Wishing my friends and visitors from the US a Happy Independance Day. I hope you have a great time celebrating. :-)

Some friday humour

I got this from my sister this morning. The connection to the Olympics would be an add on - I've seen these questions (and the snarky answers) long before. Still funny, though. I encounted questions like this quite a bit while working retail in Victoria, BC



Because Everyone In Canada Lives In An Igloo.

Now that Vancouver has won the chance to host the 2010 Winter Olympics, these are some questions people from all over the world are asking. Believe it or not these questions about Canada were posted on an International Tourism Website. Obviously the answers are a joke; but the questions were really asked!

Q: I have never seen it warm on Canadian TV, so how do the plants grow?( England )
A. We import all plants fully grown and then just sit around and watch them die.

Q: Will I be able to see Polar Bears in the street? ( USA )
A: Depends on how much you've been drinking.

Q: I want to walk from Vancouver to Toronto -can I follow the Railroad tracks? ( Sweden )
A: Sure, it's only Four thousand miles, take lots of water.

Q: Is it safe to run around in the bushes in Canada ? ( Sweden )
A: So it's true what they say about Swedes.

Q: Are there any ATM's (cash machines) in Canada ? Can you send me a list of them in Toronto , Vancouver , Edmonton and Halifax ? ( England )
A: What, did your last slave die?

Q: Can you give me some information about hippo racing in Canada ? ( USA )
A: A-fri-ca is the big triangle shaped continent south of Europe .. Ca-na-da is that big country to your North...oh forget it. Sure, the hippo racing is every Tuesday night in Calgary . Come naked.

Q: Which direction is North in Canada ? ( USA )
A: Face south and then turn 180 degrees Contact us when you get here and we'll send the rest of the directions.

Q: Can I bring cutlery into Canada ? ( England )
A: Why? Just use your fingers like we do .

Q: Can you send me the Vienna Boys' Choir schedule? ( USA )
A: Aus-t ri-a is that quaint little country bordering Ger-man-y, which is...oh forget it. Sure, the Vienna Boys Choir plays every Tuesday night in Vancouver and in Calgary , straight after the hippo races. Come naked.

Q: Do you have perfume in Canada ? ( Germany )
A: No, WE don't stink.

Q: I have developed a new product that is the fountain of youth. Where can I sell it in Canada ? ( USA )
A: Anywhere significant numbers of Americans gather.

Q: Can you tell me the regions in British Columbia where the female population is smaller than the male population? ( Italy )
A: Yes, gay nightclubs .

Q: Do you celebrate Thanksgiving in Canada ? ( USA )
A: Only at Thanksgiving.

Q: Are there supermarkets in Toronto and is milk available all year round?( Germany )
A: No, we are a peaceful civilization of Vegan hunter/gathers. Milk is illegal.

Q: I have a question about a famous animal in Canada , but I forget its name. It's a kind of big horse with horns. ( USA )
A: It's called a Moose. They are tall and very violent, eating the brains of anyone walking close to them. You can scare them off by spraying yourself with human urine before you go out walking.

Q: Will I be able to speak English most places I go? ( USA )
A: Yes, but you will have to learn it first.

It's that time of year again...

Around the world today, people are once again celebrating Lenin's birthday by taking part in Earth Hour. As I write this, a number of countries have already taken part, turning off their lights and whatnot. Locally, there are events planned, put on by the city, that involve a bonfire and giving away free hot chocolate, face painting and live performances.

Whatever makes people feel better, I suppose. I just wish my taxes weren't being used to pay for it.

Personally, I prefer the slightly tongue in cheek Human Achievement Hour. I would much rather celebrate and be thankful for the great things humans have done to make life better, safer, longer, healthier, and just plan more enjoyable for millions of people around the world.

By the time the hour rolls around in our time zone, I expect the family and I will have just finished a late supper, and will most likely be sitting in the living room, enjoying a movie together, while I crochet a holder for our plastic grocery bags.

How awesome is this!!!

Psychiatrist knits anatomically correct wooly brain.

Psychiatrist Dr Karen Norberg, of National Bureau of Economic Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts, spent a year knitting an anatomically correct replica of the human brain.

Isn't this just wild?? I love it!

Dr Norberg said she started knitting the individual parts of the brain - such as the cerebellum, brainstem and amygdala - separately before bringing them together.

Her patience paid off and the woolly brain is now on display at the Boston Museum of Science.

The psychiatrist is now looking for other ways of using her creativity: "I'm thinking of posters or t-shirts, but I am not so sure whether people will want to walk around with a knitted brain on the front of their clothes."

Me, me!! I'd wear one!

Yes, I'm a geek.