We took a drive out to Rigaud yesterday and surprised Steph & Olaf. This is their allergy-causing furball, all curled up in the sun under the Christmas tree. AAHCHOO!
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Omi
We took a drive out to Rigaud yesterday and surprised Steph & Olaf. This is their allergy-causing furball, all curled up in the sun under the Christmas tree. AAHCHOO!
Christmas
Thank goodness I wasn't doing Christmas this year cos I was busy enough as it was last week. Lots of baking and some shopping. Tim and I did have my folks & brother over on Christmas morning for brunch but that's nothing compared to 12 for turkey dinner, way to go Cathy!
After the snowfall
Sunday after the big snowstorm we took advantage of the beautiful day and went toboganning in Lasalle. Unfortunately they had yet to mark out the usual lanes down the hil so things were a bit bumpy and Tim was our first casualty after only the first run down! He apparently drove himself home without incident to ice his leg and was walking normally again by Wednesday, I believe it was. Tuesday night's curling game took some improvising in the hack though!
Last day at Dawson
On Friday the 16th I had to brave the 2 blocks up to Westmount Square in the snowstorm to make my way to school for my stage presentation. All went well even if I was cut a bit short and couldn't show the pictures I had prepared which you can check out at Lallemand(if you are a registered user, that is!)
We got a nice little reception with a bunch of people (deans of various dpts) we didn't know and our program coordinator took off before everyone had given their presentation and Sam who was our teacher for most of the classes was AWOL.
Stage
I guess I haven't blogged in a while as the month was busy but rather uneventful nonetheless. Here you can catch a glimpse of what I did during my stage at the yeast company. The bags are yeast samples that came in probably from the production plant in Estonia and I had to weigh out smaller quantities and send them to an outside lab for analysis (microbiological testing for things like Salmonella, mold, coliforms, you know, all that good stuff you don't want to be ingesting in food products!) The stage was good but not relevant enough to my field so I will have to start job searching in the new year. I will try and see if maybe the bacteria division of the company will have something for me though. I figure I will take a long deserved break during the holidays as no one is interested in job interviews at this time of year...
Indian cooking class
3 Saturdays ago (already, how time flies!), we attended an Indian cooking class and learnt how to make all kinds of yummy dishes. Chole masala (chick pea curry), zucchini and green pepper curry, pakodas (vegetable fritters) and especially cool was cooking the puri (fried bread) and seeing it puff up in the oil. Unfortunately I had to settle for Kit Kats for sweets as dessert was topra pak, basically dried coconut (icky, icky, yuck!) covered in chocolate. We all went home stuffed and smelling of frying. Tim and I have yet to try recreating the dishes as we will have to take a trip to an Indian grocery before doing so. Bhanu, our teacher was great and has a very interesting background, she's a third generation Ugandan of Indian origin and she speaks something like 7 languages.
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Where did those feet go?
A couple of weeks ago or so (and not on the day that it hit 17 degrees) as I was walking through the tunnel from Westmount Square to the metro, I glanced down to see a trail of wet footprints from someone walking barefoot. The trail kept up til almost the end where I was sure to see some homeless guy to explain it all. Yet the guy passed out in the corner was wearing shoes. It was not raining or snowing either. Where did the feet vanish to? We shall never know...
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Three weeks later
Well my stage is coming along nicely. Lise, my supervisor, gives me the necessary instructions and then pretty much leaves me on my own to do what I have to do. Today I got to do the glutathione assay with the other stagiere and tomorrow I'll get to do it on my own so we'll see how that goes. It's not complicated but just involves a lot of mixing and timing things properly and the protocol is not written out too clearly.
A couple of Fridays ago, the bakers treated us to pizza and cinnamon buns for lunch and I brought home some olive & onion foccacia too, that was yummy. For some reason even if I really don't like olives, I like olive bread. Go figure!
I think I mentioned that my food processor died. Well, we shopped around to see the cost of a replacement but it turns out that no one makes an equivalent machine to the one we have. Ours is a mixer/blender/food processor all in one but they don't seem to exist anymore. I guess companies got wise to the fact that they can make more money if you have to buy 3 separate appliances. So the $125 to get the motor replaced in the old one seems like a bargain. The loser at Centre du Rasoir says it might take til January to fix it though. Good thing I don't plan on doing any major cooking for Christmas this year.
I finished re-reading the 4th Harry Potter & we went to see the movie for Ysabel's birthday and I even managed to stay awake the whole time! Now if France can only finish the 5th book, I need some reading material for the metro...I've been reading Popular Science magazine instead to pass the time. Zubbles are cool!
Go to ZUBBLES
A couple of Fridays ago, the bakers treated us to pizza and cinnamon buns for lunch and I brought home some olive & onion foccacia too, that was yummy. For some reason even if I really don't like olives, I like olive bread. Go figure!
I think I mentioned that my food processor died. Well, we shopped around to see the cost of a replacement but it turns out that no one makes an equivalent machine to the one we have. Ours is a mixer/blender/food processor all in one but they don't seem to exist anymore. I guess companies got wise to the fact that they can make more money if you have to buy 3 separate appliances. So the $125 to get the motor replaced in the old one seems like a bargain. The loser at Centre du Rasoir says it might take til January to fix it though. Good thing I don't plan on doing any major cooking for Christmas this year.
I finished re-reading the 4th Harry Potter & we went to see the movie for Ysabel's birthday and I even managed to stay awake the whole time! Now if France can only finish the 5th book, I need some reading material for the metro...I've been reading Popular Science magazine instead to pass the time. Zubbles are cool!
Go to ZUBBLES
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
New post as per Eric's request :)
Well it's been a while and we could all use a little something to ease our minds from the recent events so here goes...
How did I spend the few days I had off before starting my stage? Think back, think waaaaaay back...
I made my 43rd blood donation, did some cleaning up of the front & back garden (I am always thankful at this time of year that we live in a row house with a small backyard, only 10 bags of leaves and garden clippings so far!), bought my first bus pass in over 11 years, celebrated Paul's birthday with a bbq and chocolate cake (and the famous macaroni salad of which Eric was very reasonable with his portion size), pureed 2 pumpkins which ended up killing our food processor and experimented with making onion rings, among other things.
Then Monday, it began, THE REAL WORLD!
It's not bad, it takes me about 45 minutes total to get to work. A longish metro ride to L'Assomption which allows me to do some reading (re-reading The Goblet of Fire before the movie comes out this week) and then a 5-10 minute bus ride to the corner of Notre-Dame and Dickson. Lise, my supervisor is quite nice. Luiza is the part-timer who was a stagière this summer and is the person who is showing me the ropes. She is quite excellent as a teacher. She explains really well and makes sure I understand even the basics without doing it in a condescending way. She really knows the theory behind the tests we do too and so I'm not just going through the motions without knowing why I am doing the steps that are required. I just wish there was more work to do. I think I had already pretty much covered all the methods used there by Wednesday. But the added bonus is the other part of the lab is the baking division and they test the yeast by baking bread so we always have a fresh loaf available in the lunch room. The atmosphere is pretty laid back and Lise gives me things to do without constantly checking up on me and lets me be so it's all good. And there's no way I clocked 35 hours last week but that doesn't seem to be an issue. The only half-unpleasant thing is having to taste the yeast. Yup, that's part of quality control, making sure the yeast has a fermented taste or a nutty roasted flavour or is slightly bitter. Yeah, I like taste-testing the bread much better.
On Saturday we got tired of the tv acting up so we took it into the shop for repairs. Turns out the water that leaked from the toilet and dripped down on it wasn't too good for it. No, really?! So it's all fixed and we even have basic cable now so no more having to deal with the intermitent snow on channels like Global and CBS. That evening I got to stuff my face on homemade sushi at France & Dave's while Tim went to his MAW softball banquet and then curled in Valleyfield at 11 pm. Crazy curlers, I say!
Sunday saw me helping Ysabel trim her tree. On one hand it got me out on my bike on a beautiful day. On the other hand it saw me climbimg up a ladder at a somewhat precarious angle. But it's been done before, only on my roof which is just as unenjoyable!
We decided we hadn't seen Eric enough in the last few days (sorry, I have to pick on someone and this time it seems to be you!) so we invited him & Cathy & Christina, Cathy's sister, over for supper to celebrate Cathy's birthday (which reminds me, there's still pumpkin cake left to be eaten, better go take care of that right now!)
Yummy! But the keyboard is a little sticky now, oops.
And all was well until early Monday morning...
How did I spend the few days I had off before starting my stage? Think back, think waaaaaay back...
I made my 43rd blood donation, did some cleaning up of the front & back garden (I am always thankful at this time of year that we live in a row house with a small backyard, only 10 bags of leaves and garden clippings so far!), bought my first bus pass in over 11 years, celebrated Paul's birthday with a bbq and chocolate cake (and the famous macaroni salad of which Eric was very reasonable with his portion size), pureed 2 pumpkins which ended up killing our food processor and experimented with making onion rings, among other things.
Then Monday, it began, THE REAL WORLD!
It's not bad, it takes me about 45 minutes total to get to work. A longish metro ride to L'Assomption which allows me to do some reading (re-reading The Goblet of Fire before the movie comes out this week) and then a 5-10 minute bus ride to the corner of Notre-Dame and Dickson. Lise, my supervisor is quite nice. Luiza is the part-timer who was a stagière this summer and is the person who is showing me the ropes. She is quite excellent as a teacher. She explains really well and makes sure I understand even the basics without doing it in a condescending way. She really knows the theory behind the tests we do too and so I'm not just going through the motions without knowing why I am doing the steps that are required. I just wish there was more work to do. I think I had already pretty much covered all the methods used there by Wednesday. But the added bonus is the other part of the lab is the baking division and they test the yeast by baking bread so we always have a fresh loaf available in the lunch room. The atmosphere is pretty laid back and Lise gives me things to do without constantly checking up on me and lets me be so it's all good. And there's no way I clocked 35 hours last week but that doesn't seem to be an issue. The only half-unpleasant thing is having to taste the yeast. Yup, that's part of quality control, making sure the yeast has a fermented taste or a nutty roasted flavour or is slightly bitter. Yeah, I like taste-testing the bread much better.
On Saturday we got tired of the tv acting up so we took it into the shop for repairs. Turns out the water that leaked from the toilet and dripped down on it wasn't too good for it. No, really?! So it's all fixed and we even have basic cable now so no more having to deal with the intermitent snow on channels like Global and CBS. That evening I got to stuff my face on homemade sushi at France & Dave's while Tim went to his MAW softball banquet and then curled in Valleyfield at 11 pm. Crazy curlers, I say!
Sunday saw me helping Ysabel trim her tree. On one hand it got me out on my bike on a beautiful day. On the other hand it saw me climbimg up a ladder at a somewhat precarious angle. But it's been done before, only on my roof which is just as unenjoyable!
We decided we hadn't seen Eric enough in the last few days (sorry, I have to pick on someone and this time it seems to be you!) so we invited him & Cathy & Christina, Cathy's sister, over for supper to celebrate Cathy's birthday (which reminds me, there's still pumpkin cake left to be eaten, better go take care of that right now!)
Yummy! But the keyboard is a little sticky now, oops.
And all was well until early Monday morning...
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Merely hours left
I've been trying not to goof off too much in the last few days, making one last effort at studying before my classes are FINALLY over! I did manage to see Jacquie & Matt (& also Penny) a couple of times while they were in town.
They found a condo on St-Urbain and hopefully everything will be in order with the inspection and they will be back to sign off on November 24th!
Lena moved out on Monday, it's as if she was never here, her room is back to how it was before she moved in and our fridge is bare! Here she is (in the middle) with Anka and Lilly, two of the other assistants before the Halloween party at their friend Sebastian's.
And I had two tests yesterday and one more to go this afternoon. I did play hookie from my lab this morning. I figured I should take advantage of this beautiful weather while I still can before heading back to the old grind next week. I took a long walk around Upper Westmount.
Here's a squirrel with a mohawk!
They found a condo on St-Urbain and hopefully everything will be in order with the inspection and they will be back to sign off on November 24th!
Lena moved out on Monday, it's as if she was never here, her room is back to how it was before she moved in and our fridge is bare! Here she is (in the middle) with Anka and Lilly, two of the other assistants before the Halloween party at their friend Sebastian's.
And I had two tests yesterday and one more to go this afternoon. I did play hookie from my lab this morning. I figured I should take advantage of this beautiful weather while I still can before heading back to the old grind next week. I took a long walk around Upper Westmount.
Here's a squirrel with a mohawk!
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Is the week over yet?!
So I have accepted the stage at Lallemand, the yeast company. The work at the Neuro sounded very interesting, involving PET scans and brain tumours but it wouldn't give me enough experience in my field.
Yesterday was a looooooong day. We started off in the lab at 8 and went pretty much all day until about 7. We did have an hour presentation from CTBR (Steph's company where I went last week) and a few breaks there in between but we were all pretty tired and hungry by the end of the day. Now I'm debating whether to skip that stupid Excel class tomorrow. I think I'll go in for 9:30 and then leave during our break!
I do have to fit in some time somewhere to decorate the house for Halloween!
And hopefully I will hear from Jacquie & Matt as they are in town again to try and find a condo so Julie can get her ass back here from Toronto. You see the plan is that J&M are going to buy a place and have Julie & David & Arianne live there. So then J&M have a place to crash at with Penny, their dog, when they come to town and Julie will have a home in Montreal with cheap rent!
Okay, neighbour's child is having a hissy fit in the backyard. I can hear her, this with the windows closed!
Yesterday was a looooooong day. We started off in the lab at 8 and went pretty much all day until about 7. We did have an hour presentation from CTBR (Steph's company where I went last week) and a few breaks there in between but we were all pretty tired and hungry by the end of the day. Now I'm debating whether to skip that stupid Excel class tomorrow. I think I'll go in for 9:30 and then leave during our break!
I do have to fit in some time somewhere to decorate the house for Halloween!
And hopefully I will hear from Jacquie & Matt as they are in town again to try and find a condo so Julie can get her ass back here from Toronto. You see the plan is that J&M are going to buy a place and have Julie & David & Arianne live there. So then J&M have a place to crash at with Penny, their dog, when they come to town and Julie will have a home in Montreal with cheap rent!
Okay, neighbour's child is having a hissy fit in the backyard. I can hear her, this with the windows closed!
Monday, October 24, 2005
1000 km!
I decided to brave the cold today and headed out for what will probably end up being my final jaunt out on my bike for this year. So I've cycled over 1000 km since the spring, not bad.
Last Wednesday was my interview at CTBR. It went well and I really liked the lab manager and the work in the pharmacy lab would really suit me but unfortunately getting out to Senneville is not easily feasible. And even if they are looking to hire people too, they don't pay very well (to put it kindly!) So I'm still looking...but things look good. Today I had an interview at the company where Olaf's mom used to work and they offered me a PAID stage! And tomorrow I'm meeting with a doctor at one of the labs at the Neuro Institute. So basically now I just have to decide which would be the best opportunity for me. Yay! An added bonus to having my interview this afternoon was missing my 4 1/4 hour Excel class. Maybe I can line up another interview for Friday morning when the next class is scheduled!
So now I just have to keep myself motivated to get through these last 2 weeks of classes and assignments and exams.
I've really come to realize the power of networking while trying to find this stage...luckily I've had a few contacts that have helped me. Most people in my class aren't so lucky. I'm just thanking the stars above for the opportunities that have come my way. Let's hope the job search goes as well. That is starting to worry me. The program finishes on December 16th, not the best time to be looking for a job. And not the best time of year to not have any income coming in! But I won't worry about all that just yet. I'm going to focus on the task at hand and hope I gain some good experience from the stage and then the sky's the limit, right?!
Last Wednesday was my interview at CTBR. It went well and I really liked the lab manager and the work in the pharmacy lab would really suit me but unfortunately getting out to Senneville is not easily feasible. And even if they are looking to hire people too, they don't pay very well (to put it kindly!) So I'm still looking...but things look good. Today I had an interview at the company where Olaf's mom used to work and they offered me a PAID stage! And tomorrow I'm meeting with a doctor at one of the labs at the Neuro Institute. So basically now I just have to decide which would be the best opportunity for me. Yay! An added bonus to having my interview this afternoon was missing my 4 1/4 hour Excel class. Maybe I can line up another interview for Friday morning when the next class is scheduled!
So now I just have to keep myself motivated to get through these last 2 weeks of classes and assignments and exams.
I've really come to realize the power of networking while trying to find this stage...luckily I've had a few contacts that have helped me. Most people in my class aren't so lucky. I'm just thanking the stars above for the opportunities that have come my way. Let's hope the job search goes as well. That is starting to worry me. The program finishes on December 16th, not the best time to be looking for a job. And not the best time of year to not have any income coming in! But I won't worry about all that just yet. I'm going to focus on the task at hand and hope I gain some good experience from the stage and then the sky's the limit, right?!
Sunday, October 16, 2005
Roadkill is dead
I've been told that people are tired of seeing "Potential Roadkill" so I am taking time out from studying (yes, such a very big sacrifice!) to post an entry even if I don't really have anything to write about!
Life is busy as usual, where has the weekend gone? Only 3 more weeks of classes left and no, I don't have my stage lined up yet...but nobody else in the class does either. There is a job fair at McGIll on Tuesday but from the companies listed on the website, it doesn't look like there are really any opportunities. But it can't hurt to try.
I also have an interview at CTBR on Wednesday (the company where Steph works) and I know that I could most probably get it but I can't say I am really interested in working there. Too many factors that add up to it not being a good fit for me.
I should be getting a letter of introduction from the college tomorrow and then I will start sending out CVs like mad!
Keep your fingers croseed for me!
Life is busy as usual, where has the weekend gone? Only 3 more weeks of classes left and no, I don't have my stage lined up yet...but nobody else in the class does either. There is a job fair at McGIll on Tuesday but from the companies listed on the website, it doesn't look like there are really any opportunities. But it can't hurt to try.
I also have an interview at CTBR on Wednesday (the company where Steph works) and I know that I could most probably get it but I can't say I am really interested in working there. Too many factors that add up to it not being a good fit for me.
I should be getting a letter of introduction from the college tomorrow and then I will start sending out CVs like mad!
Keep your fingers croseed for me!
Monday, October 03, 2005
Potential roadkill
The widlife I avoided on the bike path yesterday:
2 big brown fuzzy caterpillars
1 teeny snake, grayish colour
Saw lots of Canada geese too, honk, honk! (They were of the usual Canada goose plumage colour.)
2 big brown fuzzy caterpillars
1 teeny snake, grayish colour
Saw lots of Canada geese too, honk, honk! (They were of the usual Canada goose plumage colour.)
Sunday, October 02, 2005
Time flies!
Another week has gone by and what have I done?!
I have to learn better time management cos having labs on Wednesday and Thursday evenings is a total right off.
But I just have to keep thinking "only 5 more weeks, 5 more weeks..."
(then what???)
The couple of contacts that I tried hitting up this week for stagière positions didn't pan out but I'll keep trying.
(ANYONE OUT THERE NEED A LAB TECHNICIAN TRAINED IN BIOTECHNOLOGY?!!?)
I also sent my CV to my teacher for her to review it but she has't given me any feedback yet. (Is it that bad?!)
On Thursday, the one day that I start late and can sleep in, I still ended up getting out of bed at 6:15, mind racing a mile a minute. And do you think I accomplished anything from that time til the time I had to leave for school? Of course not! Oh, sure, I did a million things but accomplish anything, I don't think so!
Supper that evening consisted of tuna fish salad and popcorn.
Friday had me crossing off almost everything on my "to do" list, everything, that is, but schoolwork. Didn't do any of it yesterday either! So guess what I'm doing today...schoolwork!
But I will go tire myself out with a bike ride first. Maybe it will help me clear my mind. I think it helped yesterday. Certainly can't hurt to go enjoy this beautiful weather before plunking myself in front of my books...
I have to learn better time management cos having labs on Wednesday and Thursday evenings is a total right off.
But I just have to keep thinking "only 5 more weeks, 5 more weeks..."
(then what???)
The couple of contacts that I tried hitting up this week for stagière positions didn't pan out but I'll keep trying.
(ANYONE OUT THERE NEED A LAB TECHNICIAN TRAINED IN BIOTECHNOLOGY?!!?)
I also sent my CV to my teacher for her to review it but she has't given me any feedback yet. (Is it that bad?!)
On Thursday, the one day that I start late and can sleep in, I still ended up getting out of bed at 6:15, mind racing a mile a minute. And do you think I accomplished anything from that time til the time I had to leave for school? Of course not! Oh, sure, I did a million things but accomplish anything, I don't think so!
Supper that evening consisted of tuna fish salad and popcorn.
Friday had me crossing off almost everything on my "to do" list, everything, that is, but schoolwork. Didn't do any of it yesterday either! So guess what I'm doing today...schoolwork!
But I will go tire myself out with a bike ride first. Maybe it will help me clear my mind. I think it helped yesterday. Certainly can't hurt to go enjoy this beautiful weather before plunking myself in front of my books...
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Job search
Well the true hunt began on Monday as our class took a field trip to the InVivo Job Fair that was being given at the Hyatt Regency.
Nothing much came out of it but it was a good experience nonetheless.
I got to meet with a few companies and added my CV to their growing piles.
It doesn't look like anyone that was present there is interested in having interns nor had any of them any clue that our program existed. But it gave me some experience meeting with these people and trying to find intelligent questions to ask them and pretending to know what I'm talking about!
Nothing much came out of it but it was a good experience nonetheless.
I got to meet with a few companies and added my CV to their growing piles.
It doesn't look like anyone that was present there is interested in having interns nor had any of them any clue that our program existed. But it gave me some experience meeting with these people and trying to find intelligent questions to ask them and pretending to know what I'm talking about!
Sunday September 25th
Tim treated us to waffles for breakfast as we could not make any fresh bread because the bread maker was in pieces. It is now back together again and somewhat working but we still need a new timing belt. Atleast it's not making that ka-klunk sound anymore but there is still a loud whirring happening...
Tim was gracious enough to let Susanna borrow his bicycle so she & I headed over to the Olympic Basin to watch Ysabel dragon boating.
Here is Ysabel with the Alliance Genesis team
And the weekend was capped off by some curling spectating at Long-Point.
Tim was gracious enough to let Susanna borrow his bicycle so she & I headed over to the Olympic Basin to watch Ysabel dragon boating.
Here is Ysabel with the Alliance Genesis team
And the weekend was capped off by some curling spectating at Long-Point.
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Saturday September 24th
Our skills as heavy labourers were called upon as we cleared out Dave's apartment, and yes, we actually moved some of his stuff to France's apartment! (Her place was already jam-packed with her stuff.) We were done in time to pick Susanna up from the airport as she was coming in for a visit/business trip (she is an old friend from Vancouver.)
Susanna & I headed to Old Montreal & strolled around there and then met up with Tim, France, Dave & Geoff at Les 3 Brasseurs. Good beer, ok food, loud music & baaaaaaad waiter!
Here's Dave & his peanut!
Susanna & I headed to Old Montreal & strolled around there and then met up with Tim, France, Dave & Geoff at Les 3 Brasseurs. Good beer, ok food, loud music & baaaaaaad waiter!
Here's Dave & his peanut!
Friday September 23rd
Happy Birthday Maman!
Had the family over sans Tim as he went to the Glenmore open house. P-J did the cooking and we were treated to yummy pork chops. I did make the cake though - apple served with applesauce.
Had the family over sans Tim as he went to the Glenmore open house. P-J did the cooking and we were treated to yummy pork chops. I did make the cake though - apple served with applesauce.
Wednesday September 21st
The excitement of the day was a fire alarm in the morning. Everyone had to evacuate off school property so needless to say DeMaisonneuve Boulevard between Atwater and Wood was not the place to be driving that morning. Five fire trucks and three other emergency vehicles showed up and then left after about 10 minutes. We got to stand around outside for another 40 minutes. Turns out it was a flood on the 4th floor. Oh well, it gave us a break from the boring computer lab we were doing.
I also bumped in to my ex-brother-in law and found out that if I were still married, I would be an aunt come this February (congratulations Marc, I think!)
I also bumped in to my ex-brother-in law and found out that if I were still married, I would be an aunt come this February (congratulations Marc, I think!)
Sunday September 18th
In retrospect, I guess I should have studied a little bit harder than I did last weekend but my test results were decent enough...Sunday afternoon Steph & Olaf popped over (well, I guess you don't really "pop over" from Rigaud, but you know what I mean!) and we then strolled over to the CCA where we saw an exhibit by Douglas Coupland on kit toys (Lego, Tinker Toys, Lincoln Logs, etc.) It was a little disappointing as it consisted of basically one sculpture made from various types of toys. Anyhow, it brought back memories of our youth (oh so long ago!)
We also had the pleasure of watching the Eddie Murphy movie Metro which was quoted as "Murphy funnier than Ever!" which definitely was a misquote. I then tried to convince Olaf that there must be a comedian out there by the last name of Ever but he wouldn't buy it!
We also had the pleasure of watching the Eddie Murphy movie Metro which was quoted as "Murphy funnier than Ever!" which definitely was a misquote. I then tried to convince Olaf that there must be a comedian out there by the last name of Ever but he wouldn't buy it!
Saturday, September 17, 2005
This week in my nutshell
This week consisted of lots of bike riding, lots of time spent at school and lots of dealing with Tim being absorbed by redesigning the Glenmore website and also being sniffly & sore-throaty!
Lena (previously mentioned German border-girl) has decided to stay with us, at least for now. If she decides the commute to school is too long or if she finds something better (ha!) and closer to Lilly, the other assistant, she will move out.
And I could not have asked for a more exciting Saturday evening...it's amazing how much useless information you can search through when you do a Google search...Anyone out there know the limits of detection for the Biuret and Bradford Protein assays???
I GIVE UP!!!
Lena (previously mentioned German border-girl) has decided to stay with us, at least for now. If she decides the commute to school is too long or if she finds something better (ha!) and closer to Lilly, the other assistant, she will move out.
And I could not have asked for a more exciting Saturday evening...it's amazing how much useless information you can search through when you do a Google search...Anyone out there know the limits of detection for the Biuret and Bradford Protein assays???
I GIVE UP!!!
Monday, September 12, 2005
September 2nd and beyond
Friday the 2nd consisted of fixing the toilet which we had left in a state of disrepair the night before leaving
and then in the afternoon, we greeted our new border. We are again letting out our spare back bedroom to a German teaching assistant from College Ahuntsic. Her name is Lena Rüther and, needless to say, she is tall, blond and gorgeous! And I must say, very nice. We really hope she will stay with us for the year and it seems likely she will.
Saturday was car wash day! Our poor baby was quite dirty after her long trek so we headed to Brossard and gave her a good cleaning inside and out. France & Dave joined us for supper & we had burgers and sausages on the bbq and got acquainted with Lena as she also joined us for the meal.
Sunday I spent most of the afternoon in the backyard with Harry Potter as Tim went down to St-Paul-de-l´Ile-aux-Noix to pick up Eric, Cathy & her folks after their jaunt on Voilà !
Eric´s blog
Cathy´s blog
France and Dave came over again that evening, they had bison burgers while we had salmon done on a cedar plank, yummy as always. We also plowed through a 1.5 L of wine!
Labour day was more or less labour-free. Got woken up by Lena´s mother who did not know it was a holiday over here. Had fun framing some of our pictures but ran out of frames so we only got about half of them up on the wall. Our bedroom re-decoration is now almost complete!
And Tuesday was the dreaded return to school & work...luckily I only had half a day and Wednesday was even better, no classes at all! We did have to go in for a meeting with an Emploi Québec agent and giver her an assessment of our program so far. Unfortunately any remarks we make at this point won´t bring on any improvements for our group but hopefully will benefit next year´s students. We were all bitching about how we will have to find our own stage and how we needed help and information which turns out we got the following day in our Job Search Skills class. Thursday was a long day. I´m so thankful I live so close to school ´cos finishing at 7:30 really sucks!
But I have Fridays off this term, yay! Enjoy it while I can! So I biked over to my folks place and brought home lots of yummy tomatoes from my mom´s garden and some green beans too.
Friday evening we initiated Lena to Pub night at McKibbin´s in the Waste Island. I think she enjoyed herself save for being hit on by some guy who Heidi tried to rescue her from until he started on her too!
Saturday I was awarded the ¨Most Valuable Rover¨ trophy for our team at our softball league banquet, woohoo!
And on Sunday, believe it or not, Tim went curling! I made my way to Boucherville by bike to join him which was not as easily done as expected because of all the closures due to the Festival de la Santé/Marathon. But I eventually made my way across the Jacques-Cartier Bridge and got to Boucherville in about an hour and forty minutes. Shall I mention that they lost both their games?! Oh well, the first games of the season, can´t expect too much! I wasn´t brave enough to face the journey home by bike (too tired & too windy) so I stuck around for the second game at 5 which only ended up starting at 5:40.
Okay that´s enough of the boring play by play as I am now all caught up, except for today...
Had to get up to make it to school for 8 this morning, ugh...then spent about 2 1/2 hours learning about pipettes, ugh...then came home and did housework, ugh...but I also made some rye beer bread and some oatmeal cookies, yum! And then we had creamy garlic shrimp for supper, yum again! I didn´t manage to recreate the shrimp entrée we had last fall in Baltimore but it was damn tasty nonetheless.
Creamy Shrimp in Baltimore
and then in the afternoon, we greeted our new border. We are again letting out our spare back bedroom to a German teaching assistant from College Ahuntsic. Her name is Lena Rüther and, needless to say, she is tall, blond and gorgeous! And I must say, very nice. We really hope she will stay with us for the year and it seems likely she will.
Saturday was car wash day! Our poor baby was quite dirty after her long trek so we headed to Brossard and gave her a good cleaning inside and out. France & Dave joined us for supper & we had burgers and sausages on the bbq and got acquainted with Lena as she also joined us for the meal.
Sunday I spent most of the afternoon in the backyard with Harry Potter as Tim went down to St-Paul-de-l´Ile-aux-Noix to pick up Eric, Cathy & her folks after their jaunt on Voilà !
Eric´s blog
Cathy´s blog
France and Dave came over again that evening, they had bison burgers while we had salmon done on a cedar plank, yummy as always. We also plowed through a 1.5 L of wine!
Labour day was more or less labour-free. Got woken up by Lena´s mother who did not know it was a holiday over here. Had fun framing some of our pictures but ran out of frames so we only got about half of them up on the wall. Our bedroom re-decoration is now almost complete!
And Tuesday was the dreaded return to school & work...luckily I only had half a day and Wednesday was even better, no classes at all! We did have to go in for a meeting with an Emploi Québec agent and giver her an assessment of our program so far. Unfortunately any remarks we make at this point won´t bring on any improvements for our group but hopefully will benefit next year´s students. We were all bitching about how we will have to find our own stage and how we needed help and information which turns out we got the following day in our Job Search Skills class. Thursday was a long day. I´m so thankful I live so close to school ´cos finishing at 7:30 really sucks!
But I have Fridays off this term, yay! Enjoy it while I can! So I biked over to my folks place and brought home lots of yummy tomatoes from my mom´s garden and some green beans too.
Friday evening we initiated Lena to Pub night at McKibbin´s in the Waste Island. I think she enjoyed herself save for being hit on by some guy who Heidi tried to rescue her from until he started on her too!
Saturday I was awarded the ¨Most Valuable Rover¨ trophy for our team at our softball league banquet, woohoo!
And on Sunday, believe it or not, Tim went curling! I made my way to Boucherville by bike to join him which was not as easily done as expected because of all the closures due to the Festival de la Santé/Marathon. But I eventually made my way across the Jacques-Cartier Bridge and got to Boucherville in about an hour and forty minutes. Shall I mention that they lost both their games?! Oh well, the first games of the season, can´t expect too much! I wasn´t brave enough to face the journey home by bike (too tired & too windy) so I stuck around for the second game at 5 which only ended up starting at 5:40.
Okay that´s enough of the boring play by play as I am now all caught up, except for today...
Had to get up to make it to school for 8 this morning, ugh...then spent about 2 1/2 hours learning about pipettes, ugh...then came home and did housework, ugh...but I also made some rye beer bread and some oatmeal cookies, yum! And then we had creamy garlic shrimp for supper, yum again! I didn´t manage to recreate the shrimp entrée we had last fall in Baltimore but it was damn tasty nonetheless.
Creamy Shrimp in Baltimore
Saturday, September 10, 2005
Newfoundland Recap
I'm going to attempt a quick rundown of our journey to the Rock...
We left Saturday August 20th, pretty much on schedule, just sometime after 7 am. The weather was overcast/drizzly/misty. At least we managed to pack the car without it downpouring on us. Our first stop for gas was in Ste-Hyacinthe and that was actually our first fill-up at over $1 (those were the days!) By the time we got to Moncton, the sun peeked out and we continued driving and then stopped for the night at the Victorian Motel in Amherst, Nova Scotia. 11 hours later! Twelve if you count the hour time difference!
Discovered Alexander Keith's Red ale, very tasty.
Sunday we were again on the road just after 7 and made it to Sydney by 12. Drove around the area and visited the Fort Petrie Miltary Museum, a bunker that was used most recently in the two World Wars but dates back to way long ago.
We then headed for the ferry terminal and boarded around 3:30. The boat ride was pretty uneventful. It was pouring rain most of the time so we didn't spend anytime out on deck. We got in to Port-aux-Basques about 11:30 and actually managed to find our B&B quite easily despite having no directions to the place.
The next morning we took off in the fog and just outside of P-aux-B, we veered off the Trans-Canada and took a side road towards Cape Ray and saw the first (of many) lighthouses on our trip. We stopped in Cornerbrook where we had a pretty nasty lunch at
Mary Brown's
and then got some supplies and hit the road again to reach Gros Morne National Park
We set up at the Trout River campsite.
The next morning we headed out for a 14 km hike along the pond, which is more like a really big lake. It was overcast again with a few periods of drizzle but with the major gusting wind, you could hardly tell it was raining! Very strange landscape on the 2nd part of the trail, almost lunar-like.
That evening we went to a campfire ghost story session (it was actually in a shelter around a wood stove!) The wind was howling in the eaves and the hot chocolate was very yummy and warm (it had the mini-mini marshmallows in it!)
The next day we headed a little further North in the Park to Lobster Cove Head (lighthouse) and came across ¨The Heap of Junk¨, some kind of makeshift friendship monument between Canada and the U.S. and we left a note to mark our visit. In Rocky Harbour we picked up some steaks for supper which Tim cooked over the fire. And we´d come prepared with our Montreal Steak Spices so they were very tasty. We also stopped at South East Brook Falls on our way back to the campground where we got a few good shots of the waterfall and then got swarmed by mosquitoes when we turned back on the trail. The great thing about hiking around there is you hardly encounter a soul. Maybe Gros Morne Mountain would have been busier but there is no way we were going to attempt ¨the longest and most grueling¨ hike in the park (16 km rated as very strenuous and takes 7-8 hours to do!) Although the view is supposed to be spectacular (on a clear day...) and I think its the second highest peak in the province.
Thursday morning we packed up camp and headed to Twillingate. We went on a tour of the Notre Dame Winery and stocked up on some blueberry, blackcurrant, damson plum and rhubarb wines, our favourites from the tastings we got. When I was in NL back in ´94 I had tried the Markland Cottage Winery´s blueberry wine and had rated it as pretty awful. Apparently it has gotten better, maybe the competition has helped!
Friday consisted of Cape Bonavista and Trinity which are best described by our photos and that night we stayed at a B&B in Clarenville. The first two places we stopped at were full and the third place didn´t look promising either as they had a driveway full of cars...turns out they had a wedding party going on but we were more than welcome to stay the night & join in the celebrations! After a brief discussion and a more than enthusiastic convincing by Sonya, the owner, we decided to stay. Although I did not witness it (as I was slumbering at the time), they screeched Tim in, not by making him kiss the cod but by having him eat a capelin and down some kind of nasty rum.
Gosh this description makes our trip sound like it went by much faster than it did...
Saturday we made our way to St-John´s and after checking into the B&B (which was more like a boarding house really), we did the all-important tour of the only microbrewery on the Island, Quidi Vidi. We then walked all around Signal Hill & that area.
Sunday was Cape Spear, just a short distance outside the city and we also visited the Johnson Geo Centre. That evening I got the scare of the trip...we had gone to get take-out pizza for supper and about 5 minutes after leaving the restaurant I realized I didn´t have my wallet...so we raced back and lo and behold, it had slipped out of my pocket on the seats where we were sitting and someone had actually given it to the waitress all contents intact. PHEWF! BIG SIGH OF RELIEF!
Monday we made our way back across the island and camped ina provincial park past Corner Brook at a place called Barachois Pond. We saw our first and only moose! Didn´t have time to get a picture though. Had some heavy rain during the night so we had to pack up the tent wet the next morning, yuck.
Tuesday we got to Port-aux-Basques pretty early so we kept going to Rose Blanche (another lighthouse!) which was very picturesque. Then we caught the ferry back to Nova Scotia that afternoon. We had booked another B&B that evening in Sydney as we were getting in late & it was also raining the whole boat ride. At least it was on time.
The next morning it was again pretty grey and we visited the Alexander Graham Bell museum in Baddeck and another stop was at the Glenora whiskey distillery in Glenville (pretty bad road signs to show you the way but we found it).
That night we stayed at the youth hostel in Wentworth. Pretty quiet place. There were only three other people there, a couple from B.C. & a guy from Toronto. Turns out that the guy running the hostel was from the Shore. He even went to the same high school as Tim. Small world...
Thursday was the last leg home. Pretty uneventful save for the spotting of a Florida RV probably worth $400,000 pulling a motorcycle trailer with a Honda Shadow behind which they were pulling...a Hummer H2. Man, now that´s the way to retire!!!
Okay, that´s enough babbling for now, this last week´s events will have to wait...
We left Saturday August 20th, pretty much on schedule, just sometime after 7 am. The weather was overcast/drizzly/misty. At least we managed to pack the car without it downpouring on us. Our first stop for gas was in Ste-Hyacinthe and that was actually our first fill-up at over $1 (those were the days!) By the time we got to Moncton, the sun peeked out and we continued driving and then stopped for the night at the Victorian Motel in Amherst, Nova Scotia. 11 hours later! Twelve if you count the hour time difference!
Discovered Alexander Keith's Red ale, very tasty.
Sunday we were again on the road just after 7 and made it to Sydney by 12. Drove around the area and visited the Fort Petrie Miltary Museum, a bunker that was used most recently in the two World Wars but dates back to way long ago.
We then headed for the ferry terminal and boarded around 3:30. The boat ride was pretty uneventful. It was pouring rain most of the time so we didn't spend anytime out on deck. We got in to Port-aux-Basques about 11:30 and actually managed to find our B&B quite easily despite having no directions to the place.
The next morning we took off in the fog and just outside of P-aux-B, we veered off the Trans-Canada and took a side road towards Cape Ray and saw the first (of many) lighthouses on our trip. We stopped in Cornerbrook where we had a pretty nasty lunch at
Mary Brown's
and then got some supplies and hit the road again to reach Gros Morne National Park
We set up at the Trout River campsite.
The next morning we headed out for a 14 km hike along the pond, which is more like a really big lake. It was overcast again with a few periods of drizzle but with the major gusting wind, you could hardly tell it was raining! Very strange landscape on the 2nd part of the trail, almost lunar-like.
That evening we went to a campfire ghost story session (it was actually in a shelter around a wood stove!) The wind was howling in the eaves and the hot chocolate was very yummy and warm (it had the mini-mini marshmallows in it!)
The next day we headed a little further North in the Park to Lobster Cove Head (lighthouse) and came across ¨The Heap of Junk¨, some kind of makeshift friendship monument between Canada and the U.S. and we left a note to mark our visit. In Rocky Harbour we picked up some steaks for supper which Tim cooked over the fire. And we´d come prepared with our Montreal Steak Spices so they were very tasty. We also stopped at South East Brook Falls on our way back to the campground where we got a few good shots of the waterfall and then got swarmed by mosquitoes when we turned back on the trail. The great thing about hiking around there is you hardly encounter a soul. Maybe Gros Morne Mountain would have been busier but there is no way we were going to attempt ¨the longest and most grueling¨ hike in the park (16 km rated as very strenuous and takes 7-8 hours to do!) Although the view is supposed to be spectacular (on a clear day...) and I think its the second highest peak in the province.
Thursday morning we packed up camp and headed to Twillingate. We went on a tour of the Notre Dame Winery and stocked up on some blueberry, blackcurrant, damson plum and rhubarb wines, our favourites from the tastings we got. When I was in NL back in ´94 I had tried the Markland Cottage Winery´s blueberry wine and had rated it as pretty awful. Apparently it has gotten better, maybe the competition has helped!
Friday consisted of Cape Bonavista and Trinity which are best described by our photos and that night we stayed at a B&B in Clarenville. The first two places we stopped at were full and the third place didn´t look promising either as they had a driveway full of cars...turns out they had a wedding party going on but we were more than welcome to stay the night & join in the celebrations! After a brief discussion and a more than enthusiastic convincing by Sonya, the owner, we decided to stay. Although I did not witness it (as I was slumbering at the time), they screeched Tim in, not by making him kiss the cod but by having him eat a capelin and down some kind of nasty rum.
Gosh this description makes our trip sound like it went by much faster than it did...
Saturday we made our way to St-John´s and after checking into the B&B (which was more like a boarding house really), we did the all-important tour of the only microbrewery on the Island, Quidi Vidi. We then walked all around Signal Hill & that area.
Sunday was Cape Spear, just a short distance outside the city and we also visited the Johnson Geo Centre. That evening I got the scare of the trip...we had gone to get take-out pizza for supper and about 5 minutes after leaving the restaurant I realized I didn´t have my wallet...so we raced back and lo and behold, it had slipped out of my pocket on the seats where we were sitting and someone had actually given it to the waitress all contents intact. PHEWF! BIG SIGH OF RELIEF!
Monday we made our way back across the island and camped ina provincial park past Corner Brook at a place called Barachois Pond. We saw our first and only moose! Didn´t have time to get a picture though. Had some heavy rain during the night so we had to pack up the tent wet the next morning, yuck.
Tuesday we got to Port-aux-Basques pretty early so we kept going to Rose Blanche (another lighthouse!) which was very picturesque. Then we caught the ferry back to Nova Scotia that afternoon. We had booked another B&B that evening in Sydney as we were getting in late & it was also raining the whole boat ride. At least it was on time.
The next morning it was again pretty grey and we visited the Alexander Graham Bell museum in Baddeck and another stop was at the Glenora whiskey distillery in Glenville (pretty bad road signs to show you the way but we found it).
That night we stayed at the youth hostel in Wentworth. Pretty quiet place. There were only three other people there, a couple from B.C. & a guy from Toronto. Turns out that the guy running the hostel was from the Shore. He even went to the same high school as Tim. Small world...
Thursday was the last leg home. Pretty uneventful save for the spotting of a Florida RV probably worth $400,000 pulling a motorcycle trailer with a Honda Shadow behind which they were pulling...a Hummer H2. Man, now that´s the way to retire!!!
Okay, that´s enough babbling for now, this last week´s events will have to wait...
Thursday, September 08, 2005
A good start to the day...
Orange juice, banana, bike ride.
Now it's off to 5 hours of Job Search Skills and 2 1/2 hours of Applied Protein Chemistry lab.
Have a day, eh!
Now it's off to 5 hours of Job Search Skills and 2 1/2 hours of Applied Protein Chemistry lab.
Have a day, eh!
Monday, September 05, 2005
Playing catch up
Well, we're back home now and Newfoundland was most excellent...here's my first try at a panorama using the stitch feature on my camera
The rest of our (numerous) photos can be seen at
Newfoundland photos
The rest of our (numerous) photos can be seen at
Newfoundland photos
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Sigh of relief
Had final test #2 of 2 this morning and all went well (we already got our grades back) and so now a leisurely Friday in class is all that's left before VACATION TIME!!!
But there's lots of packing to be done in the meantime. It's hard to decide what to bring as we could get all kinds of weather so I must be prepared for any eventuality!
On the way home I went and purchased 3 CD's as a birthday/travel gift to myself - the new Jason Mraz & Coldplay & Harmonium (for nostalgia's sake.) I will give a review of the first two after I have listened to them, I laready know HArmonium is good!
Aahh, it feels good to be getting some time off. Now I can come back all eager & refreshed for my final session!!! After which I will have a 5 week stage which we found out this week, we have to find ourselves. Joy.
Anyhow, destination Newfoundland is the focus for now! How may hours til Saturday???
But there's lots of packing to be done in the meantime. It's hard to decide what to bring as we could get all kinds of weather so I must be prepared for any eventuality!
On the way home I went and purchased 3 CD's as a birthday/travel gift to myself - the new Jason Mraz & Coldplay & Harmonium (for nostalgia's sake.) I will give a review of the first two after I have listened to them, I laready know HArmonium is good!
Aahh, it feels good to be getting some time off. Now I can come back all eager & refreshed for my final session!!! After which I will have a 5 week stage which we found out this week, we have to find ourselves. Joy.
Anyhow, destination Newfoundland is the focus for now! How may hours til Saturday???
Sunday, August 14, 2005
Weekend update
No pictures to share today but we had an amazing bike ride yesterday. Perfect weather and perfect company! We met up with Cathy & Eric at the "escatade" and headed towards Ste-Catherine. I love that bike path. It's wide, nicely paved and usually quite deserted save for the keeners with the thousand dollar bikes that whiz by you. We came back on the South Shore through Candiac, La Prairie and Brossard and then headed home on our separate ways at Simard Blvd. Crossing the Concord Bridge and then heading West along the Canal was not the most pleasant way to end the trip as it was windy as all hell! But we made it! All 49.618 km of it. And I have now confirmed that my odometer is off by about 9% as Tim, Eric & Cathy's all registered about the same while mine was lower. I'll keep it as is for the season and compensate for the difference at the end as I keep a log of all my bike rides since I got the bike computer. So that should mean I'm at about 550 km for the season. Lance Armstrong watch out! LOL!
Cathy & Eric joined us for supper and this time Tim mastered a pork roast on the bbq. It was delectable! And I got spoiled with another early birthday present, Cathy made me a carry-all bag at her folks' shop. It will definitely come in handy on our trip to Nfld!
The evening was capped off by a (never-ending) game of Trivial Pursuit for which Dave and France joined us. We were playing in teams as the 90's version we have is a little more difficult so 2 heads are better than one. Although Dave was pretty much on his own as France was feeling a little over-stuffed from the bbq she had gone to earlier. And Eric vetoed Cathy's correct answers on more than one (or two or three or four...!!!) occasions so they could have fared better but it was certainly entertaining!
Cathy & Eric joined us for supper and this time Tim mastered a pork roast on the bbq. It was delectable! And I got spoiled with another early birthday present, Cathy made me a carry-all bag at her folks' shop. It will definitely come in handy on our trip to Nfld!
The evening was capped off by a (never-ending) game of Trivial Pursuit for which Dave and France joined us. We were playing in teams as the 90's version we have is a little more difficult so 2 heads are better than one. Although Dave was pretty much on his own as France was feeling a little over-stuffed from the bbq she had gone to earlier. And Eric vetoed Cathy's correct answers on more than one (or two or three or four...!!!) occasions so they could have fared better but it was certainly entertaining!
Saturday, August 13, 2005
The sacrifices for fresh bread
Yes, the time of this post is correct, on a Saturday morning, I must be nuts...but I awoke at 4:30 to the unpleasant sound of the ka-klunk, ka-klunk, ka-klunk of the bread machine mixing . The poor thing is getting a little tired these days. After all, it must be close to 10 years old now. It's funny how we are amazed these days when things like appliances don't conk out on us after 5 years or so. In my parents day, you could expect your washing machine to last a lifetime (even after they gave up on the washboard!!!)
Anyhow, the ka-klunk made me get up and come downstairs which was a good thing because the bread needed a lot more water than the recipe called for. But then I couldn't get back to sleep. And it being Saturday, the paper probably won't be here for another hour...
I think I will be in dire need of a nap later.
Anyhow, the ka-klunk made me get up and come downstairs which was a good thing because the bread needed a lot more water than the recipe called for. But then I couldn't get back to sleep. And it being Saturday, the paper probably won't be here for another hour...
I think I will be in dire need of a nap later.
Friday, August 12, 2005
A new twist on an old standard
I got out of class early today so I decided to see if I could beat the odds of 60% chance of showers and went for a bike ride...But nay, it started sprinkling as soon as I got to the corner of our street! Anyhow I continued on towards the Canal but I opted to avoid all the slowpokes and rollerbladers by taking the pedestrian path. Now I understand the usefulness of toe clips. There was lots of tree root branch avoidance going on with one moment of slight panic and praying (if muttering Jesus Christ qualifies as a prayer, that is) when some kid got in my way. I had visions of heading head first into the canal. Not a pretty thought. Anyhow I came out of it unscathed. It was fun!
Step by step
This, apparently, is the number of steps I took yesterday.
I wonder what that converts to in km?
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Bye Bye Birdie
We are now birdless, Ganache went home last night But she'll be back in a week when Mommy France (the globe-trotter that she is) goes off to Thunder Bay.
Birdie and her plastic pal.
Birdie and her plastic pal.
August 19th came early this year
Tim spoiled me last evening by giving me my birthday present early - a Canon Power Shot A520!!!
He wants me to learn how to use it properly before we leave for vacation!
It is awesome!
This is me intensively studying the user's manual!
He wants me to learn how to use it properly before we leave for vacation!
It is awesome!
This is me intensively studying the user's manual!
Monday, August 08, 2005
And yet more softball
I actually got around to doing some schoolwork yesterday afternoon then we went over to Paul & Murielle's for supper and had an amazing lamb roast on the bbq. Food is good...
We took off not too shortly after dinner though as Eric & Tim both had softball games at 8:30 in St-Laurent but at different fields. Cathy showed up to keep me company on the bleachers as the game scheduled before Eric's hadn't started until 8:00, I wonder what time they got home!
So, can you name the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World?
As we were leaving the lab today, Darsha came up to me and said "Christine, Christine, do you know what the Seven Wonders of the World are?"
I only got one right...
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
But I did get a few of the other wonders...
Forgotten, Modern & Natural Wonders
We took off not too shortly after dinner though as Eric & Tim both had softball games at 8:30 in St-Laurent but at different fields. Cathy showed up to keep me company on the bleachers as the game scheduled before Eric's hadn't started until 8:00, I wonder what time they got home!
So, can you name the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World?
As we were leaving the lab today, Darsha came up to me and said "Christine, Christine, do you know what the Seven Wonders of the World are?"
I only got one right...
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
But I did get a few of the other wonders...
Forgotten, Modern & Natural Wonders
Softball, softball and more softball
Friday was a long day in the lab mostly because there was a lot of waiting around between steps while we had things spinning in the centrifuge. But the school day finally came to an end and then we had our first softball game of three for the weekend. Needless to say, we lost! But we always have fun and Tim and Bill always manage to get each other riled up!
Saturday morning we had another makeup game for a rainout. Tim had Yohan, a stagière from work play as a spare. That kid has quite an arm. We also had the honour of Eric joining us which was a nice plus. But, needless to say, we lost!
Most of my afternoon was spent moving things out of the blue bedroom to get it ready for our new German border who will be arriving on September 2nd. I didn't think I could rearrange our closets to fit everything into one but it seems to have worked. It might take some more rearranging though once sweater weather is back and I take things out of storage from under the bed.
We had Martin over for supper and treated him to salmon cooked on the bbq on cedar planks, very tasty and then he treated us to Dairy Queen. Walking there and back made us feel a little less guilty about endulging in Blizzards. But this guy, on the other hand...
"In August, 2002, a man coined "the DQ Blizzard Guy" completed his goal of eating a Blizzard Flavor Treat in every state with a visit to a Dairy Queen restaurant in Alaska for his 50th Blizzard treat."
Dairy Queen Blizzard link
And this morning, yes, we played softball again and yes, we lost, again! Oh well, I don't think I've ever played on a winning sports team so it doesn't really matter. As long as I'm out there doing something and having fun. It just gets a little frustrating sometimes when you mess up on one of the only chances you get at making a play. (And I'll have you know, throwing my glove to the ground does not consist in me having a temper trantum!!!)
Saturday morning we had another makeup game for a rainout. Tim had Yohan, a stagière from work play as a spare. That kid has quite an arm. We also had the honour of Eric joining us which was a nice plus. But, needless to say, we lost!
Most of my afternoon was spent moving things out of the blue bedroom to get it ready for our new German border who will be arriving on September 2nd. I didn't think I could rearrange our closets to fit everything into one but it seems to have worked. It might take some more rearranging though once sweater weather is back and I take things out of storage from under the bed.
We had Martin over for supper and treated him to salmon cooked on the bbq on cedar planks, very tasty and then he treated us to Dairy Queen. Walking there and back made us feel a little less guilty about endulging in Blizzards. But this guy, on the other hand...
"In August, 2002, a man coined "the DQ Blizzard Guy" completed his goal of eating a Blizzard Flavor Treat in every state with a visit to a Dairy Queen restaurant in Alaska for his 50th Blizzard treat."
Dairy Queen Blizzard link
And this morning, yes, we played softball again and yes, we lost, again! Oh well, I don't think I've ever played on a winning sports team so it doesn't really matter. As long as I'm out there doing something and having fun. It just gets a little frustrating sometimes when you mess up on one of the only chances you get at making a play. (And I'll have you know, throwing my glove to the ground does not consist in me having a temper trantum!!!)
Friday, August 05, 2005
Thursday night at the movies
Tim & I both got home late yesterday (okay, maybe just before 5 is not late for most people but it's later than usual for us!) and decided to go to the movies to get some extra air-conditioned hours of relief on a stinking hot night...We checked the listings & decided to go and see Mr & Mrs Smith which is not playing in many places anymore so Colisée in Kirkland was our best option. We figured we'd head out to the Waste Island early to get some food & checked out the new McKibbin's in Complexe Pointe-Claire. How appropriate on a Thursday night (old times usual pub night.) The decor is very nicely done (no ceiling tiles!) and familiarity is the key: same menu as downtown & Jen was even there but she did not serve us. And the group was smaller than usual but Paul did join us for a drink.
The movie was quite good. I'm not sure how much of it was intended as a comedy but we got quite a few laughs out of it and Tim got in a couple of pretty good outbursts of giggles too!
An overall great evening!
I was relieved to hear the pouring rain at about 3:30 this morning, my poor garden was needing a good watering and I was procastinating getting out there with the watering can as they kept promising us thundershowers this week. And now, here comes the sun!
The movie was quite good. I'm not sure how much of it was intended as a comedy but we got quite a few laughs out of it and Tim got in a couple of pretty good outbursts of giggles too!
An overall great evening!
I was relieved to hear the pouring rain at about 3:30 this morning, my poor garden was needing a good watering and I was procastinating getting out there with the watering can as they kept promising us thundershowers this week. And now, here comes the sun!
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
Sunday, day of rest, I wish!
Yesterday morning we went out and bought a rotisserie attachement for our bbq and I don't know how we've lived without it! We got a couple of beef roasts and Tim the Chefman did an excellent job of cooking them up. And, no, we didn't pig out on our own. We had my folks and brother over to celebrate my dad's birthday (which was on Friday.) Very yummy banana cake was provided courtesy of my mom. My bro even did some of the dishes before taking off. And I can now experiment with the frozen vanilla yogurt again as we finished the last batch last night. I just have to remember to take it out of the freezer a good while before serving it...
Monday, August 01, 2005
Busy week & weekend
Last week was pretty busy at school, most of our labs went overtime but I think that had a lot to do with bad planning which I have now come to expect. It can't be easy to start a whole new program from scratch but sometimes things are just way too disorganized...
At least we got out early on Friday but instead of going biking as I had wished, I came home and worked on my assignments and lab report so I wouldn't have to deal with any of it for the rest of the weekend.
Friday evening we played softball against The Broods, the young Lachine team and we faired pretty well against them. Then we had a makeup game on Saturday morning against The Royals and we got creamed. Which is too bad cos last time we played them we did well, but lost to them in extra innings. On Saturday, we were missing a player though and I was the only rover which at least saw me make a few good catches.
On Saturday afternoon we headed to La Vieille Brasserie by the water in Lachine where Tim's friend Dianna was getting married. It was a very nice ceremony & reception and a beautiful day to boot. The timing was funny cos yesterday was 2 years to the day when I "smiled" at Tim (that's Lavalife talk for making first contact with someone. Yes, for those of you not aware, we're an Internet couple!) See, Dianna met Daryl, her now husband, on Lavalife and Tim & Dianna kind of owe it to each other that they were on Lavalife. Dianna started off on Canada personals and introduced it to Tim which made him discover Lavalife which he then introduced to Dianna. So we're Lavalife success stories who will all live happily ever after!
We were seated with two other married couples and the talk inevitably turned to their weddings and how they did it and it eventualy came out that I had been married and the response was, "oh, so that's why you were being so quiet!" Yeah, well, divorce is not the favoured topic of conversation at a wedding! That didn't stop me from later on being questioned if I would get married again. Some people really have no qualms about asking very personnal questions of total strangers...And, no, I'm not about to tell you what my answer was!
If you wish to see how beautiful the bride was, I will again take the easy way out and send you to Tim's site, be sure to check out the chocolate fountain, it was awesome, we want to get one for ourselves!
Dianna and Daryl
At least we got out early on Friday but instead of going biking as I had wished, I came home and worked on my assignments and lab report so I wouldn't have to deal with any of it for the rest of the weekend.
Friday evening we played softball against The Broods, the young Lachine team and we faired pretty well against them. Then we had a makeup game on Saturday morning against The Royals and we got creamed. Which is too bad cos last time we played them we did well, but lost to them in extra innings. On Saturday, we were missing a player though and I was the only rover which at least saw me make a few good catches.
On Saturday afternoon we headed to La Vieille Brasserie by the water in Lachine where Tim's friend Dianna was getting married. It was a very nice ceremony & reception and a beautiful day to boot. The timing was funny cos yesterday was 2 years to the day when I "smiled" at Tim (that's Lavalife talk for making first contact with someone. Yes, for those of you not aware, we're an Internet couple!) See, Dianna met Daryl, her now husband, on Lavalife and Tim & Dianna kind of owe it to each other that they were on Lavalife. Dianna started off on Canada personals and introduced it to Tim which made him discover Lavalife which he then introduced to Dianna. So we're Lavalife success stories who will all live happily ever after!
We were seated with two other married couples and the talk inevitably turned to their weddings and how they did it and it eventualy came out that I had been married and the response was, "oh, so that's why you were being so quiet!" Yeah, well, divorce is not the favoured topic of conversation at a wedding! That didn't stop me from later on being questioned if I would get married again. Some people really have no qualms about asking very personnal questions of total strangers...And, no, I'm not about to tell you what my answer was!
If you wish to see how beautiful the bride was, I will again take the easy way out and send you to Tim's site, be sure to check out the chocolate fountain, it was awesome, we want to get one for ourselves!
Dianna and Daryl
July 23-24, oh so long ago
So I never even mentioned last weekend when we went camping at La Minerve. It was perfect camping weather. Beautiful, warm & sunny during the day and nice & cool at night so you could actually snuggle up in your sleeping bag.
Just the usual camping activities - swimming, frisbee-golf, pétonque, walking, eating, relaxing.
Check out the pictures on Tim's site (click on folder La Minerve 2005). Elise is just the cutest!
La Minerve camping
Just the usual camping activities - swimming, frisbee-golf, pétonque, walking, eating, relaxing.
Check out the pictures on Tim's site (click on folder La Minerve 2005). Elise is just the cutest!
La Minerve camping
Monday, July 25, 2005
Generation gap
So not all teenagers are rude, inconsiderate and oblivious...Walking in to school this morning, there was a kid ahead of me and I was just a couple of steps too far behind him to catch the door as he went in but he actually turned back and apologized for not keeping the door open for me and then proceeded to hold the second door wide open for me to go in first. There is still hope for our youth!
Meanwhile on my way home this afternoon, some woman pulling out of the parking garage at Westmount Square drove straight past the sidewalk into my path while looking the other way and when she did turn her head to check if any cars were coming she did not even see me or notice that she had come within a foot of running me over. Women drivers, sheesh!
Meanwhile on my way home this afternoon, some woman pulling out of the parking garage at Westmount Square drove straight past the sidewalk into my path while looking the other way and when she did turn her head to check if any cars were coming she did not even see me or notice that she had come within a foot of running me over. Women drivers, sheesh!
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
A good beginning to the week
Monday morning was my first Basic Biochemical Analysis class. The 9:30 start did not in any way alleviate my dread of the day. I guess the heat finally started getting to me cos I really did not want to be going to school yesterday morning. Luckily my mood improved by mid-day. We had Cathy & Eric over for supper and unloaded a few of the leftover burgers on them (but we didn´t manage to get them to take any home, darn!) And for dessert, we taste-tested my homemade vanilla frozen yogurt. I will have to make it again & tweak the recipe cos I am nowhere near to rivaling Chapman´s!
Lazy, hazy days of summer
Saturday was a beautiful day for a picnic which is what the plan was, how appropriate! My class got together on Ile Ste-Hélène for a wonderful food fest. Everyone brought some kind of dish typical to their country (samosas, samsa, couscous, dumplings, sushi and lots more but I don´t know the names...) plus we had hot dogs and chicken burgers and regular burgers (which we didn´t even end up cooking so Tim & I will be eating lots of hamburgers in the next few weeks!) Tim & I had gone over early to stake out a shady spot and set things up and it was 2 o´clock by the time everyone had showed up and we imposed the cooking on Tim. Lots of fun was had by all, playing soccer & frisbee, blowing soap bubbles and chasing after little kids. It was neat too to get to meet people´s better-halfs & kids. Unfortunately all good things must come to an end, it broke up around 6 and needless to say, we weren´t hungry for supper. So we decided to beat the evening heat by going to see Batman Begins. Very enjoyable and I only nodded off once, very momentarily (of course, it was during a car chase scene!)
Sunday we were supposed to go for a bike ride with Cathy & Eric but we "bailed" on them because of the pouring rain. So we did some Sunday shopping instead. Luckily the rain subsided by mid-afternoon so Tim got to play softball and I got to go watch him as I had no homework to do. Good game, but who ever heard of a tie in softball?!? Weirdo rules...
Sunday we were supposed to go for a bike ride with Cathy & Eric but we "bailed" on them because of the pouring rain. So we did some Sunday shopping instead. Luckily the rain subsided by mid-afternoon so Tim got to play softball and I got to go watch him as I had no homework to do. Good game, but who ever heard of a tie in softball?!? Weirdo rules...
Saturday, July 16, 2005
Softball
We had a realy good game last night against TMR, unfortunately we lost it in the 10th inning. We would have had more runs if their shortstop hadn't been so good. I think he got at least 3 double plays off of us. Gotta stop hitting singles...
Friday, July 15, 2005
I think she liked it...
Re: Assignment 2
"Hi Christine,
This is the best assignment I have received. This is exactly what I was looking for. It's creative, original and covers all the labs and reflects on all the steps taught along the way. It deserves 100% and I wonder if you would allow me to show it to other students as an example. I really enjoyed reading your assignment.
Have a great three-day rest before classes start.
Yolanda
Dawson College"
MicroAsg2.pdf
"Hi Christine,
This is the best assignment I have received. This is exactly what I was looking for. It's creative, original and covers all the labs and reflects on all the steps taught along the way. It deserves 100% and I wonder if you would allow me to show it to other students as an example. I really enjoyed reading your assignment.
Have a great three-day rest before classes start.
Yolanda
Dawson College"
MicroAsg2.pdf
Day off
As you can see, I've been too busy to blog...Intensive Microbiology was, well, intense! But it is over now, I emailed my last assignment last night. Hopefully the teacher will appreciate creativity...our assignment was to write up how to maintain sterility in the lab, the techniques used, etc. So I wrote it a bit in story form, about a student named Christine and how she performed each experiment. I even started with "Once upon a time" and finished with "Happily ever after, the end" ! I'll know by Monday how that went over as our marks should be in by then. But this class was really good even if it was a lot to take in in a short period of time. I feel like I really learnt a lot about working in a lab and the teacher was really amazing. So today is a day of rest, I don't know what I'm up to yet but I'll be sure to write about it later!
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Weekend update
Well, I guess we had a busy weekend seeing that it is now Monday evening and I´m just getting around to posting the last few days´ goings-on...Let´s see, Thursday evening we took possession of Ganache (a.k.a. Birdie) as we are budgie-watching her while Mommy-France is away. Mommy-France was quite reluctant to leaver her but I assured her she is in good hands (or wings as the case may be!) We´ve put her in the dining room for now and she has ventured out of her cage a few times. She´s not too good at finding places to land yet though. She usually ends up quickly retreating back to her cage.
Friday morning was hair-grooming time. Tim gave himself his bi-weekly trim and I hennaed my hair. I would post a picture but I don´t have one yet! Anyhow, I guess it doesn´t show drastically as not everyone has noticed that I coloured my hair red. Or maybe I did a bad job of it & they´re just being polite by not mentioning it!!!
We took off in the afternoon to go over to Cindy & Andrew´s (curling/softball pals) as it was Cindy´s second annual 29th birthday celebration. Andrew had done an amazing looking roast on the bbq but we were about to leave for our softball game just as he was going to carve it. So we got a few slices to go but needless to say, we went back to the party (to the food) after our game. Should I even mention how the game went? 30-1! And no, not in our favour! I blame it on the wind...At least I managed one decent hit and one or two catches.
Saturday we invited ourselves out to Rigaud to see Steph & Olaf. Ome, their eight month old kitten had given birth to four kittens of her own the day before (precocious one, isn´t she?!) The kittens were absolutely adorable. 4 little stripey bundles mewing away with their eyes still shut tight. We went for a walk on the mountain and managed to regain all the mosquito bites that had faded from the previous weekend. Swarms & swarms & swarms of them, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!
Yesterday we took a ride over to the Shore & checked out Cathy & Eric´s gazebo. Very nice. (check out the photos at www.rambleoncat.blogspot.com)
And Day 1 of Microbiology began today. Oh boy. We already have our first test on Wednesday. Today was mostly spent learning how to use a microscope (with a sidebar of Chair 101 - how to properly adjust one´s lab chair!) I got to demonstrate my limited artistic abilities in trying to reproduce various drawings of the slides we were looking at. Mixed green algae nevr looked so awful! Five hours in the lab sure made for a tired Christine. But I did manage to do an hour and a half of reading to review today & prepare for tomorrow. Now ask me if I retained any of what I read! Staining, smears, Kingdoms, Phylums, eukaryotes, prokaryotes...zzzzz......
Friday morning was hair-grooming time. Tim gave himself his bi-weekly trim and I hennaed my hair. I would post a picture but I don´t have one yet! Anyhow, I guess it doesn´t show drastically as not everyone has noticed that I coloured my hair red. Or maybe I did a bad job of it & they´re just being polite by not mentioning it!!!
We took off in the afternoon to go over to Cindy & Andrew´s (curling/softball pals) as it was Cindy´s second annual 29th birthday celebration. Andrew had done an amazing looking roast on the bbq but we were about to leave for our softball game just as he was going to carve it. So we got a few slices to go but needless to say, we went back to the party (to the food) after our game. Should I even mention how the game went? 30-1! And no, not in our favour! I blame it on the wind...At least I managed one decent hit and one or two catches.
Saturday we invited ourselves out to Rigaud to see Steph & Olaf. Ome, their eight month old kitten had given birth to four kittens of her own the day before (precocious one, isn´t she?!) The kittens were absolutely adorable. 4 little stripey bundles mewing away with their eyes still shut tight. We went for a walk on the mountain and managed to regain all the mosquito bites that had faded from the previous weekend. Swarms & swarms & swarms of them, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!
Yesterday we took a ride over to the Shore & checked out Cathy & Eric´s gazebo. Very nice. (check out the photos at www.rambleoncat.blogspot.com)
And Day 1 of Microbiology began today. Oh boy. We already have our first test on Wednesday. Today was mostly spent learning how to use a microscope (with a sidebar of Chair 101 - how to properly adjust one´s lab chair!) I got to demonstrate my limited artistic abilities in trying to reproduce various drawings of the slides we were looking at. Mixed green algae nevr looked so awful! Five hours in the lab sure made for a tired Christine. But I did manage to do an hour and a half of reading to review today & prepare for tomorrow. Now ask me if I retained any of what I read! Staining, smears, Kingdoms, Phylums, eukaryotes, prokaryotes...zzzzz......
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Weekend off
Well term 2 has now ended so I can enjoy the long weekend without procastinating about doing school work! We got our schedule for the new term yesterday and starting Monday we have Microbiology for 2 weeks intensively & then we'll have 5 weeks of Cell Cultivation & Basic Biochemical Analysis. I'm not too sure how I like the idea of completing a course in 2 weeks but it means we get an extra week off in August, woohoo! It also means the last day of classes falls on my birthday, 6 hours of Cell Cultivation lab, boo hoo!!!
Monday, June 27, 2005
Blood donation
We had a great weekend camping in Northern Vermont although we did come back with a few less milliliters of blood due to the enormous amount of mosquitoes. Our campsite was surrounded by stagnant water which made it a haven for frogs and toads but unfortunately also made it the perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes. At least the fireflies were cute and harmless! Some of our outdoor adventurers took pride in the fact that they did not react to their bites while others swelled up with unsightly welts. But we all had an enjoyable time nonetheless, relaxing, swimming, eating and of course, drinking! And if we thought we had escaped the province for St-Jean-Baptiste, we were quite mistaken...the campground was probably a good 90% Quebecers. So whoever's kids were still making a racket at 11 o'clock on Saturday night certainly understood the call of "Vos gueules!" They actually instantaneously shut up. Way to go France!
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
I can't believe we ate the whooooooole thing!
Well, our bbq on Saturday to celebrate Tim's birthday was (as usual) a total food fest! Eric manned the bbq and did a most excellent job (as usual!) Of course, inevitably, we ran out of propane but luckily Martin made the bbq-saving trip to the gas station to fill up the tank (thanks again!) We've even actually almost finished all the leftover desserts. My applesauce cake made with pumpkin instead of applesauce seemed to be a hit too. Mother Nature was also kind enough to keep the rain at bay so we were able to enjoy the backyard jungle even if it was a bit cool for some. And the cleanup wasn't too brutal, thanks to disposable cups and plates, that is...
Of course the weekend was over way too quickly and the reality of Monday hit us way too soon! Thank goodness it's a short week (well, I have Fridays off anyhow so the holiday doesn't make that much of a difference for me.) Yesterday's bio lab test wasn't too brutal but today was kinda painful. The morning lecture was nice & short but instead of a lab this afternoon, we had a very long power-point presentation on High Performance Liquid Chromatography. Need I say more?!!? After two hours of sitting on uncomfortable benches in the dark lab, the teacher felt sorry for us & let us leave even if he was no way near finished. We get to do it all over again tomorrow though. Can't wait!
Of course the weekend was over way too quickly and the reality of Monday hit us way too soon! Thank goodness it's a short week (well, I have Fridays off anyhow so the holiday doesn't make that much of a difference for me.) Yesterday's bio lab test wasn't too brutal but today was kinda painful. The morning lecture was nice & short but instead of a lab this afternoon, we had a very long power-point presentation on High Performance Liquid Chromatography. Need I say more?!!? After two hours of sitting on uncomfortable benches in the dark lab, the teacher felt sorry for us & let us leave even if he was no way near finished. We get to do it all over again tomorrow though. Can't wait!
Saturday, June 18, 2005
Just a novelty
As we were at the cash at Home Depot the other night, Tim noticed the Mexican Jumping Beans they had on the counter and was quite intrigued. He had never heard of them before. Of course, there is no point to them, they're just a novelty item. Watch them jump! They're alive! But I guess some Mexican kid maybe made a few bucks selling them to the gringos...
Thursday, June 16, 2005
Heart-rending news
I found out today that Julie gave birth to the twins last week by emergency c-section. At 27 weeks, Arianne is doing relatively well in the NICU but Florence only lived from Tuesday June 7th 19:14pm to Wednesday June 8th 02:05am.
I can't even possibly imagine what Julie and David are going through.
My thoughts are with them and I send them my love and strength.
I can't even possibly imagine what Julie and David are going through.
My thoughts are with them and I send them my love and strength.
Monday, June 13, 2005
It's a jungle out there!
I really should tend to my garden more often. I was out in the backyard this afternoon and hadn't planned on doing any gardening but I just had to when I saw the state things were in...I also found what appeared to be the snout of a mouse. Eww!
Friday, June 10, 2005
Star Wars
I hate a hot date last night... 
We went to see Star Wars last night. Much enjoyed. Definitely much, much better than Episodes I & II. Apparently there is a difference in quality with a digital screen but me being the erudite that I am, did not notice.
Lots of idiots roaming the downtown core, this being Grand Prix weekend. Joy.
We went to see Star Wars last night. Much enjoyed. Definitely much, much better than Episodes I & II. Apparently there is a difference in quality with a digital screen but me being the erudite that I am, did not notice.
Lots of idiots roaming the downtown core, this being Grand Prix weekend. Joy.
Thursday, June 09, 2005
Bbq delicacies
MMMMMMmmmmmmmm, gorilla burgers on homemade cheese beer buns (I love my bread maker!) We loved them so much last night, we had them again for supper this evening!
And I wonder if Basic Protein Chemistry is better absorbed by the brain while watching Canadian Idol. I will report on my findings after tomorrow's test...
And I wonder if Basic Protein Chemistry is better absorbed by the brain while watching Canadian Idol. I will report on my findings after tomorrow's test...
Monday, June 06, 2005
Weekend fun
What a great weekend, I slacked off & didn't do any schoolwork as of Friday evening. (Although I know I'll probably pay for it later...) And no housework either (the kitchen is a mess - good thing Tim & I didn't eat breakfast at the same time this morning or we would have been fighting for table space!)
So on Saturday we went to the beer fest around noon then strolled downtown for a bit & then went back to the beer fest! Mmmmm, beeeeeer...
It's okay, we deserved it, we went for a long bike ride on Saturday morning.
Today's the first day since last Wednesday that I haven't been out on my bike. I figured I should get some studying done since I do have a test on Thursday...
So on Saturday we went to the beer fest around noon then strolled downtown for a bit & then went back to the beer fest! Mmmmm, beeeeeer...
It's okay, we deserved it, we went for a long bike ride on Saturday morning.
Today's the first day since last Wednesday that I haven't been out on my bike. I figured I should get some studying done since I do have a test on Thursday...
Friday, June 03, 2005
Mad dog or Englishman?
What a beautiful day for a midday bicycle jaunt. But it was rather windy out there. It was supposed to be an early-to-mid morning jaunt but you sit down to do something quickly on the computer and the next thing you know it's an hour later...I also got a call from my brother saying he was going to drop by and then I ended up clipping his hair for him (just don't look at the back of his neck too closely!) and then driving him back home. So I haven't done any schoolwork yet today. Oops better get to it!
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
Summer has sprung
Today's chemistry lab consisted of determining that egg yolks have cholesterol in them. It was a rather short (and pointless) experiment. Which meant I got home nice & early. So I slathered on the sunscreen and went for a bike ride along the water in Verdun. Gotta remember to keep my mouth closed, damn shadflies...
Just drove the boys (Tim & Paul) to the beer fest. I figured the mac & cheese for supper (made from scratch, not KD) was enough carbs for one day so I did not join them. I think I can manage to drag Tim back again before it ends on Sunday though.
Almost time to go laugh at some Canadia Ni Dolls.
Just drove the boys (Tim & Paul) to the beer fest. I figured the mac & cheese for supper (made from scratch, not KD) was enough carbs for one day so I did not join them. I think I can manage to drag Tim back again before it ends on Sunday though.
Almost time to go laugh at some Canadia Ni Dolls.
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Sigh of relief
Well yesterday's test results are in and I did okay. Not as well as I would have liked but it leaves me room for improvement, right?! At least I know I wasn't the lowest grade in the class. And today's lab test went well. So now I can breathe a sigh of relief for this week. Next test, Thursday the 9th.
Wow, where did the month of May go?
Wow, where did the month of May go?
Brake time
Did you know that three young girls can ride on one Barbie Jeep at the same time? I was able to observe this in our lane while studying on the back porch yesterday. They took great pleasure (as I deduced from their squeals) in driving up the slight incline of the neighbour's driveway and then driving down the driveway. (Woohoo.) Although, maybe those weren't quite squeals of delight. They only did it three times. Kids are usually creatures of repetition which wasn't really the case here. I guess the driveway is steeper than it looks.
Maybe I should have been studying harder rather than observing the neighbourhood kids. I'll find out the results tomorrow but I don't think I did so hot on my test today. There was just way too much material to cover. My brain hurts! I blame it on lack of glucose. Lack of glucose causes the stupids. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.
We finally made it to the gym today. It had been 2 weeks since I went last. I'd rather go biking though. But it's been too cold and wet. So I've only used my bike twice so far this year, that sucks. June better be nice.
Maybe I should have been studying harder rather than observing the neighbourhood kids. I'll find out the results tomorrow but I don't think I did so hot on my test today. There was just way too much material to cover. My brain hurts! I blame it on lack of glucose. Lack of glucose causes the stupids. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.
We finally made it to the gym today. It had been 2 weeks since I went last. I'd rather go biking though. But it's been too cold and wet. So I've only used my bike twice so far this year, that sucks. June better be nice.
Saturday, May 28, 2005
Rain, rain go away
Well we didn't get a chance yesterday to find out if last week's softball win (41-14!!!) was a fluke or actually 'cos we have a decent team this year. Just as we were getting ready to leave the house, it started spitting. And the closer we got to Lachine, the heavier the rain got. Eight people from our team actually showed up at the field but it was ruled a rainout so we came back home instead. At least it got us away from the persistent telemarketer that called six times in the span of about an hour. Royal Bleaching really seem to want our laundry business. I took great satisfaction in slamming the phone down on them a couple of times (gotta love caller i.d.)
So the bedroom doors got hung but are still in the re-adjustment stage. I don't know how many trips Tim has made to Home Depot this week & last, resisting the urge to indulge in a Harvey's burger every time (good boy!) Last evening we ended up eating tuna fish sandwiches at 10 o'clock while watching last Sunday's Cold Case episode on tape. Olaf showed up about 45 minutes later to spend the night. He now has a standing invitaion to stay over on Friday nights. It makes things much more convenient for him as he works til 10 at the Westmount Visual Arts Center and goes in again on Saturday mornings so it makes no sense for him to go home to Rigaud. So our guest room is actually getting used now! Just as long as we don't stay up chatting til 1 in the morning every Friday.
So the bedroom doors got hung but are still in the re-adjustment stage. I don't know how many trips Tim has made to Home Depot this week & last, resisting the urge to indulge in a Harvey's burger every time (good boy!) Last evening we ended up eating tuna fish sandwiches at 10 o'clock while watching last Sunday's Cold Case episode on tape. Olaf showed up about 45 minutes later to spend the night. He now has a standing invitaion to stay over on Friday nights. It makes things much more convenient for him as he works til 10 at the Westmount Visual Arts Center and goes in again on Saturday mornings so it makes no sense for him to go home to Rigaud. So our guest room is actually getting used now! Just as long as we don't stay up chatting til 1 in the morning every Friday.
Tools of the trade
Is a bread knife the proper tool to use to fix a window screen?!?
Didn't think so...
Anyhow the kitchen screen is now tauter than it was!
Oh, in case you were wondering about today's forecast - it is going to start raining any minute now. I just hung some sheets outside to dry. Murphy saw me, I know it.
Didn't think so...
Anyhow the kitchen screen is now tauter than it was!
Oh, in case you were wondering about today's forecast - it is going to start raining any minute now. I just hung some sheets outside to dry. Murphy saw me, I know it.
Friday, May 27, 2005
My first post
Well I have to admit it, Catherine's posts have inspired me to create my own blog...I was going to start one a few weeks ago but I figured I was busy enough as it is without adding something else to my agenda. Anyhow, let's see how it goes, a few minutes every few days won't kill me! I need to do some writing to get my mind off amino acids and proteins every once in a while.
So now you'll be able to delve into the usually reserved world that is Christine!
Today is Friday, yeah, that means I have the day off. Well, that means I don't have class today. I still have plenty of housework & schoolwork to keep me busy. But I got to sleep in this morning, ah, bliss (if you consider 8:20 sleeping in, that is).
Term 2 of school is going well. I had my first test for basic protein chemistry yesterday. It went pretty well although I could not for the life of me remember what the heck 2D electrophoresis involves. (I bet you're all saying, well, duh, that's a no-brainer!!!)
On Monday I have my first Cell & Molecular Biology test. I really don't know what to expect on that one. There is so much material to cover but at least it will be multiple choice, phewf. So that's what I'll be doing later on. Studying the cell & mitosis & meoisis and all kinds of other fun stuff!
The smell of paint is gradually fading in the house. We spent the last two weeks with the upstairs of the house in chaos, repainting our bedroom. Why do projects always take so much longer than expected? Anyhow, all that's left is to put the doors back up and then hang stuff up on the walls in a week or two when the paint is set. I don't know what the next project will be. Poor Tim, I do keep him busy!
Well, time to put another load of laundry in the machine & write up a couple of lab reports...
So now you'll be able to delve into the usually reserved world that is Christine!
Today is Friday, yeah, that means I have the day off. Well, that means I don't have class today. I still have plenty of housework & schoolwork to keep me busy. But I got to sleep in this morning, ah, bliss (if you consider 8:20 sleeping in, that is).
Term 2 of school is going well. I had my first test for basic protein chemistry yesterday. It went pretty well although I could not for the life of me remember what the heck 2D electrophoresis involves. (I bet you're all saying, well, duh, that's a no-brainer!!!)
On Monday I have my first Cell & Molecular Biology test. I really don't know what to expect on that one. There is so much material to cover but at least it will be multiple choice, phewf. So that's what I'll be doing later on. Studying the cell & mitosis & meoisis and all kinds of other fun stuff!
The smell of paint is gradually fading in the house. We spent the last two weeks with the upstairs of the house in chaos, repainting our bedroom. Why do projects always take so much longer than expected? Anyhow, all that's left is to put the doors back up and then hang stuff up on the walls in a week or two when the paint is set. I don't know what the next project will be. Poor Tim, I do keep him busy!
Well, time to put another load of laundry in the machine & write up a couple of lab reports...
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