Too cute for words

In fact I don't know if this will work at all ;) I've never linked or embeded a YouTube video, but I'll never learn any younger.





Hope this worked!

Have a ooey, gooey, awww day everyone!

Just in case it didn't work, click the link above ;)

WWC: "2" & "Expressive Face"

Twosday Tuesday is for Tink, as she hosts the Weekly Word Challenge. This week we are presenting the number "2" and the phrase "Expressive Face".




You have all seen many photos of my beloved Sibu, but maybe not these particular Expressions on his Face
















This is Kai, who I miss dearly. I had to give him up for adoption when I moved into an apartment, but he too had a very Expressive Face. (Standard Poodle - I just couldn't stand those poodle cuts) Photo is from a Polaroid, so it won't enlarge.














Sibu came into my life after Kai - I figured as I was already taking an antihisamine, I may as well have a cat. It was his Expressive Face that made me choose him.










Of course we can't leave out little Shadow. Rikk had to have a kitty of his own to comfort him when he broke his ribs. (Sibu is definately a one person cat) Just look at that Expressive Face!

Sibu took to Shadow right away, so did Kai, in fact Kai tried to swallow him whole!






This Expressive Face is saying: I don't want my picture taken YET again!
















2 sock covered feet - it must be cold!












2's on the microwave.












I think about four decks worth of 2!








If you would like to join our band of merry (or nutty) photogs, drop over to see Tink at Pickled Beef and she will give you the scoop.

Have a good day all.

Wow, time for bed, I have had to come back and edit this 4 times now.

Really Good Recipe!

I am the first to admit that I am not a very good cook. I certainly have no sense of timing to get a meal ready all at the same time. If I have to cook for more than myself, it can be even worse. I think most of it is just being out of practice, I used to be able to pull off decent meals for 4 on a regular basis. Now? Not so much!

I am one of those cooks that takes measurements as a guideline and ingredients as suggestions. Recipes always call for something I am allergic too, so I just ignore that part, or find something to substitute. This tends to make for some interesting meals and if I try to repeat one that turns out well, it makes for yet another interesting meal ;)

Keeping all that in mind, I have found a recipe that I haven't managed to screw up yet, so I thought I would share it with all of you. From RecipeZaar:

Mediterranean Chicken Breasts


Ingredients

1/2 cup pecorino romano cheese, grated
1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried garlic
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon sea salt or salt, to taste
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper or fresh ground black pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons olive oil
6 large boneless skinless chicken breast halves (about 2lb/1kg)

Directions

Mix together the first seven ingredients (from the cheese through to the black pepper) on a piece of waxed paper - saves on washing up later! - or if you prefer on a plate; put the oil in a shallow dish.
Dip the chicken breast halves in the oil, then coat them evenly with the cheese/breadcrumb mixture.
Spray a non-stick skillet with cooking spray and set over a medium heat; add the chicken and cook, turning once, for 15 minutes, or until golden brown and the juices run clear.


Now, I didn't make it for 6 people, I made it for me...so... I guessed at the proportions and I didn't have breadcrumbs or the correct cheese, I used cracker crumbs and parmigiana. Neither are big changes and it tasted heavenly! I have made it twice with chicken and once with pork chop and although it is good with pork, it is best with the chicken.

Of course someone that is a good cook, will have more luck removing the fillet (in order to remove the last scraps of skin and the tendon thingy that the butchers never take out) and then not overcooking it while under cooking the rest of the breast ;{

Have a good day all.

WWC: "Z" (zed) & Abandoned

Tuesdays mean it is time for the Weekly Word Challenge. This week we are exploring the letter "Zed" and the word "abandoned". Yes, here in Canada, we say zed, not zee.




Yep, that is a Zebra in behind all that chain link, from our trip to the Zoo last fall.













There is a store in Canada called Zellers, but the one time I was there this week, my batteries died on my camera, we have to make do though. Title from a magazine article.





Um, I don't know where these came from ;)











Oh, look at all the Zeds!



















People abandon things in the suites here all of the time. This was left behind......















... because of this big crack I suppose. It isn't really my taste, but it fits my budget and the rest of my décor - early thrift shop.















A little ingenuity and a massive investment of $1.00 and a little elbow grease ....















... turned out not too badly.













These next two shots are courtesy of my sister The Bag Lady.




I had to include them because this is one of my favourite abandoned places.















This was my grandparents homestead.










I couldn't for the life of me think of any cool abandoned buildings in the city that I could get to, of course, I will either see, or think of many in the next few days...that's how it goes.

If you would like to see more WWC entries or would like to join our merry band, drop by and visit Tink at Pickled Beef.

MTM: Family Day

This Monday is called Family Day. Although not a Canada wide holiday it has been celebrated since 1990 in Alberta. I think our Premier of the time just wanted a holiday in February, but this is the official reason given according to Wikipedia:

The holiday was proclaimed by Lieutenant Governor Helen Hunley, on the advice of her premier, Don Getty. Premier Getty said it was important for all Albertans to take time for their families and this holiday would emphasize the importance of family values.^[3]

Alberta was alone in this February Holiday until Saskatchewan decided to follow suite in 2006. 2007 saw Manitoba and Ontario join the ranks.

As with any other excuse to have a festival, Edmonton does it up in grand fashion. There is Winter Light Family Day with all kinds of activities both indoors and out including things like sleigh rides and skating, bannock making and some acrobats. Elsewhere in the city, you can take in an art workshop at the gallery, a multi-cultural concert at the Winspear Centre or enjoy an obstacle course at the YMCA. Admission for most events is simply a donation to the food bank.

Personally, I will be staying in my warm apartment, away from crowds. I might spend some time with my urban family and probably chat with my sister. Nothing more exciting than that though. Well, as far as I know anyway ;)

I hope everyone has a good day, whether they have it as a holiday or not.


Drop by Travis Erwins blog for links to more My Town Monday posts from around the world.

I knew it was too much!

Since last Saturday I have had insomnia. I get three sometimes four hours of sleep and then I am awake for anywhere from 17 to 22 hours and then only get three to four hours of sleep.

It caught up to me Wednesday night, I went to bed at midnight and actually fell asleep right away. I woke up after three hours, but was able to fall back to sleep for the first time in a week. The second time I woke up I suppose I should have stayed up, but I thought I might see if I could get closer to eight hours.

I should not have done that. I wound up getting a total of 12 hours sleep and felt wonderful when I did finally get up. Unfortunately, it was too much. So, here it is 06.00 Friday and I am going to give it another try.

Have a good day all.

WWC: "G" & "On this day"

Welcome to Tuesday, the day of the Weekly Word Challenge! Hosted by the lovely Tink of Pickled Beef, this year we are expanding the concept of "word" to include letters and phrases.

I give you "G"!

Used in words and for the
colour Green, the sign at my building













A fence at my building is Green



















A sign across the street has a "g" in it

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The phrase "On this day"



On this day in 1763 France gave up Canada!














On this day in 1863 the fire extinguisher was patented by Alanson Crane






















On this day in 2009, I will be here :(










If you would like to join the merry band of WWC posters, just drop by and see Tink at the link above, she will set you straight.

Have a good day all.

MTM: Big Rock

This week I am taking you to Southern Alberta. Just outside of Calgary, lies a bedroom community called Okotoks (although, I am sure they consider themselves a town) and if you travel along hwy #7 about 10 k to the SW, you will come across this amazing sight.

Click to enlarge

Sitting bold as brass out in the middle of the flat prairie are chunks of granite known as Okotoks Erratic or simply The Big Rock.

Click to enlarge

The Okotoks Erratic weighs 16,500 tons. It measures 9 metres high, 41 metres long and 18 metres wide. The rock has been eroded into pieces, but is still a large landmark on the flat prairie.
(For the geological explanation, visit the link above please.)

Click to enlarge

These are very old rocks and they are a very long way away from where they originated. I like the explanation offered by the Blackfoot Indians.

Click to enlarge

This might be easier to read:

One hot summer day, Napi, the supernatural trickster of the Blackfoot peoples, rested on the rock because the day was warm and he was tired. He spread his robe on the rock, telling the rock to keep the robe in return for letting Napi rest there. Suddenly, the weather changed and Napi became cold as the wind whistled and the rain fell. Napi asked the rock to return his robe, but the rock refused. Napi got mad and just took the clothing. As he strolled away, he heard a loud noise and turning, he saw the rock was rolling after him. Napi ran for his life. The deer, the bison and the pronghorn were Napi's friends, and they tried to stop the rock by running in front of it. The rock rolled over them. Napi's last chance was to call on the bats for help. Fortunately, they did better than their hoofed neighbours, and by diving at the rock and colliding with it, one of them finally hit the rock just right and it broke into two pieces.



If you look really closely at this photo you can barely make out the rocky mountains in the background and you can tell just how flat the prairies really are. Unfortunately this was the only website I could find and they do not mention how far away the mountains are.

click to enlarge

These were taken a few years ago on a small 35mm point & shoot camera, so I apologize for the quality.

Have a good day all.

Drop by Travis Erwins blog for links to more My Town Monday posts from around the world.

So, this is morning?

I hate insomnia!

On the other hand, I was able to get pretty sunrise photos and you can see the hoar frost.



Unfortunately, I have now been awake about 22 hours and I have to go to work in 4 hours! Somehow I don't think I will make it. Fortunately, I can call in relief.

Have a good weekend all.

WWC - two weeks worth!

Tuesday are for Tink and the Weekly Word Challenge. This weeks words are the letter "M" and Jump. Click on any picture to enlarge - maybe ;) I don't know what is working these days.


We all remember the Village People and signing out Y.M.C.A. right? Well, some of us are that old anyway ;)


A few M's I found around the area.


I can also get my friend to Jump for me ;)


I even have a jumping rope.



Sibu is not very interested in jumping for me though.



Courtesy of my friend, her hubby, jumping in Jamaica!


Last week the words were Circle and Town Tourist.

My city in some effort to improve traffic flow at this traffic circle put in traffic lights - yes, you read that right. (They also took out three or four other circles and made regular intersections)


I thought this circle might interest a few of the guys out there ;)



If you want to tour in my town, you should visit the Alberta Legislature & it's beautiful grounds.


Try to come in the summer when the man made waterfall is running though.

That's all I have this time around. For more WWC, or if you are interested in joining us, drop by and see Tink at Pickled Beef, she will set you on the right track.

Have a good day all.

MTM: We make a good impression

photo by: Lloyd Sutton/Masterfile

I happened to meet one of our new tenants the other day and we chatted for a few minutes. I wanted to make sure he was finding everything alright, because he is from out of town. He's from Pittsburgh, PA. and is here to inspect bridges for two years.

I would imagine that finding his way around our little city is somewhat easier than finding your way around Pittsburgh, but, every city has it tricky areas. He said he was doing wonderfully and that he "just loves it here, the people are so friendly!" He is so enthusiastic about being here and meeting new people. He said he finds it quite amazing that there are so many different cultures living and working together and getting along. He figures that the States could learn a lot from Canada.

I suspect that he is one of those kinds of people that will make friends wherever he goes. He said the people he bought some furniture from, talked his ear off, he was there for 6 hours and they even fed him dinner. He claims his new hobby is "just talking to people!" and yes, he speaks with exclamation points.

I think some of that blending he sees has to do with the west & Canada itself being much younger than the States and particularly the eastern states. We have gone through the stages of hiring quotas, but currently we are recruiting workers from anywhere to Alberta because of the big oil boom. (Sadly, that looks like it is coming to an end as all good things must.) We don't have the same kind of ingrained prejudices that are found in areas of the U.S. We have our own set of ingrained prejudices. Having closer ties to the British Empire, we have also taken that "British Reserve" to a new level. My British friend tells me "You Canadians are too f'ing polite. Always, saying sorry, or excuse me, thank you - it's just not right."

There is truth in how both of these outsiders see our country and my city though. We are very polite, sometimes to the detriment of the country and it's people. We are losing traditions before they can be firmly entrenched in the souls of our people.

On the other hand:

Religious diversity is a strong part of our local culture in Edmonton. For example, you may be surprised to learn that Edmonton is the site of Canada’s first mosque, built in 1938!

Places of worship for every major religion can be found in Edmonton. A great many Christian denominations (Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant) hold services, some in heritage languages, and mosques, synagogues, Hindu, Sikh, and Buddhist temples are also present in Edmonton.*

We have a festival (of course) in the summer to celebrate the different cultures in the city. Heritage days is well attended and you can sample wonderful food, music and dancing, arts & crafts from pretty much every corner of the world. It also serves to remind us that we are all immigrants to this country, whether we are 7th generation (on mom's side), 3rd (dad's side), or fresh off the plane.

Have a good day all - talk with exclamation points today!


My Town Monday comes to us from Travis Erwin. You can visit his site for links to more MTM posts to learn about other places around the world.


*from The Guide to Living & Working in Edmonton