To my adoring fans...*

I'm working on it. Yeesh.

* Namely Mark. Even my mother has stopped harassing me about when I'm going to next update this blog.**

** Speaking of which, I did write some new book reviews on pixxiefish in the stacks, so you could go read those in the meantime. In particular, Mark, you will undoubtedly enjoy my oh-so-critical review of Anil's Ghost, a book of which I know you hold nothing but fondness in your heart.

bloggus operandi

We're leaving for Winnipeg tomorrow for 9 days. That's all I have to say for now. Just didn't want anyone to accuse the blog of having once again kicked the bucket or anything like that.

In other news, we are snowed in. Almost literally. It's been snowing hard all day. Randal went out to the store in the late afternoon, and the snow had drifted up across our front walk so that it was almost halfway up his thighs. I haven't seen waist-high snowdrifts like this since we lived in Quebec City. I tried to take some pictures but they didn't really show the scale very well. I may try again tomorrow on our way out. It's really neat - I like it!

See that white stuff? It's called snow.

When I was a kid, we lived in Halifax, and I remember thinking that my birthday was the greatest day of the year because it was always the day we had our first snowfall. Now, I have no proof that it first snowed on November 22 consistently every year, and when I think about it, I'm sure there were years when it snowed much, much sooner. But for the last 10 years or so, it's been the reverse: No snow on my birthday. Winter has been coming later.* So I was thrilled this year, when on the 20th and 21st, we had little snowfalls, and then a big one on the 22nd!



This is a picture of our little backyard and the park behind. Sadly, we are in need of more snow now, as it doesn't look so pristine anymore. The last few days have been mild, and it's started to melt and become half-icy, half-slushy. I never thought I'd say this, but I WANT MORE SNOW!!!

In other news, the birthday was well-spent. It was really low-key. I spent the first part of the day lazing around, then I went to the gym. Then Randal made me dinner and it was sooo tasty: bacon-wrapped scallops for an appetizer, butternut squash soup, salad with mangoes and pomegranates and apples, then a main course of baked salmon, and finally, birthday carrot cake and tea! Lovely.

Over the weekend, we painted one room - the little front bedroom that is now going to be our "office" (computer room, really). Instead of butter yellow, it is now a nice dark, mossy green. Today we are putting together the IKEA computer desk. Tomorrow, I'm off to the gym. Wednesday, we're painting our bedroom. Then, Thursday, we're off to Toronto for the weekend. Next week, more painting.

So you see, I don't just sit around in my jammies and play video games all day long. Though that sounds awfully tempting.

* And before you all start saying, "No snow! Isn't that great!", let me compare the lack of snow in Japan in Nov/Dec/Jan to the lack of snow in Canada during the same time period. In Gifu City last winter, the snow was almost non-existent. It didn't even get very cold, for that matter. (At least not for a Canuck.) The grass stayed green. The skies were often blue. Plants continued looking nice. And people grew flowers, yes, flowers, outside in pots throughout the winter. It was pretty and colourful. I told my students, when they asked me why I thought it was better to have lots of snow in the wintertime, that the snow, in Canada at least, where nothing else is growing in winter, hides the ugliness of winter. It is bright and crisp and clean. Of course, I left out part about the spring when it all melts and becomes a foot of slush. Yuck.

It's my birthday. So there.

Things have been so up in the air around here that I just haven't really felt like posting, not that there's much to post about. Randal and I moved into our townhouse on October 30, and since then, there has a been a flurry of shopping and unpacking and organizing and going to Toronto and coming back and more unpacking and more shopping. I think Randal and I have done more shopping in the past few weeks than we've done in our entire relationship to date!

I'm working on taking photos of our place and will start posting them, bit by bit. Still no employment for me, so I really have no excuse other than my usual procrastination and laziness. I just put up the entire Roadtrip to Winnipeg, so please feel free to amuse yourselves with viewing those in the meantime.

In other news, after two tiny snowfalls in the last two days, we are now having our first real snowfall/storm of the year. It's beautiful, but what I really dig about the whole thing is the current feed from the CBC-Ottawa webcam:



God, I love Canada.*

* In other news, rumour has it that Elliott (he of the no-I'm-never-updating-this-again blog is thrilled.

Back to The Cap

Randal and I moved back to The Cap today. Well, half-moved. We drove up to Ottawa, picked up the keys to our new townhouse and dropped a few boxes off there, and went to my aunt's place for the night. The actual capital-M move is tomorrow.

It will be weird, having our own place again and seeing all our stuff after all this time. We're not quite sure what's actually in that storage locker - we just have a vague memory of there being a LOT of it. This time, however, we actually have space for things - we're moving to a 3-bedroom townhouse. In the, uh, suburbs. Yes, pixxiefish is becoming a suburbanite. We're moving to Orleans, which is about 20-25 minutes east of Ottawa by public transit. It's actually a quite nice neighbourhood, and a 5-minute walk to the large nearby mall where the bus to downtown goes. I'm looking forward to it. Every time I see the new place, I remember how much I like it. We're going to have so much space! And the dog will have a yard (our whole reason for getting a townhouse). And there's a garden! It's too cool.

I plan on taking photos of the place hopefully before it's all full up with stuff, and then again once it's all unpacked, and will post those before too long. More to come, I'm sure, though it may be a week or (god forbid) two before we get Internet, etc., at home. Now here's hoping it doesn't rain.

Roadtrip, Part I*

What do an inukshuk:


Winnie-the-Pooh:


and an inappropriate pair of shoes:


all have in common?


ANSWER: They all lead to the cutest dog in the world:


Part I of the Roadtrip to Winnipeg is now on Flickr. Soon to follow will be the Winnipeg Days (just a few pics) and then the Torrent of Photos Also Known As The Photos Taken On The Trip Home, When All The Leaves Were Changing And Hence The Scenery Was Disgustingly Beautiful.


* aka The Blog You All Thought Was Dead, Isn't!

The long and winding road...

We are headed to Winnipeg in the morning. Not only are we going to Winnipeg, but, in fact, we are DRIVING to Winnipeg. My parents have loaned me one of their cars for the next 2 weeks or so, so that we may drive to Winnipeg, visit with Randal's family, collect our puppy, and then return to Toronto. I've never driven through Northern Ontario, and I'm really looking forward to it. I don't think I've ever been further north than Bracebridge, near Algonquin Park.

It's about a 28-hour drive, which we plan on spreading out over 2 1/2 days. Should be fun. We have made some room on our cameras for yet more photos, prepared some snacks for the car, and lined up a bunch of tunes (on old-fashioned CD technology - no MP3 plug-in for the car, imagine!), and we're off! I might stop traveling someday :)