Only a dork...

We haven't had a lot of video game systems at our house. We had the computers where Tetris and Solitaire take up way too much of our time (although I will say I RULE our Tetris scoreboard), and we had an old Atari knock-off with games like Centipede and Breakout and that sort of thing. Fun enough that there's even a geek version available with some of the original games all packed into one joystick. ( Jakks Atari Classics 10 In 1 TV Games if you really want to check it out. But be warned the controls are less responsive that the original system. Don't ask me how I know.)

But I digress.

So someone in the family (won't say who but he's over 5' 10") got the bright idea to get a Wii. "There's sports games and exercise programs and don't forget Wii Fit. It'll be great to keep us active when it's raining all winter and we can't ride."

What do I know about Wii?

There's a website for people that have hurt themselves playing Wii. There are categories of injuries you can inflict with a Wii. There are doctors around the globe worried about Wii-related injuries. And they have a cute commercial. No one sporting bruises at all.

So being the informed consumer that I am, what do I say?

"Okay."

After all, what kind of maroon do you have to be to hurt yourself playing a video game?

Apparently my kind. (Is it spelled "dorque" in Canada?)

Turns out I'm not a very good cow racer (just about leaned off the chair) and my golf game's not good either (bent a fingernail. Don't laugh - that hurts!) And as if the Wii-tennis-strained elbow and the obscure-but-somehow-related-to-Wii-bowling muscle at the back of my right arm weren't enough, for Christmas we added Dance Dance Revolution to the mix.

So now I'm limping (but only slightly) after that last jump on "I Want Candy" proved to be my undoing.

But, hey, I burned 100 calories.

Great idea, hon.

All the blessings of this wonderful season to you and your family, today and in the coming new year.
Merry Christmas!


"Christmas Blessings" by VJCoulman
Digital painting

Garden-fresh carrots for Christmas

One of the challenges when I moved from a Zone 2 to a Zone 7 was figuring out the gardening rules. All sorts of wonderful things grow in my area but I've had to learn HOW they grow. Roses, which were pretty much an annual back in Saskatchewan, verge on being a weed around here. Marigolds, a staple of previous gardens, are lucky to last overnight after the earwigs find them. Heather likes moist roots but peonies need drainage. The dirt is a random mix of rock, clay and silt so soil amending is a gardening lifestyle skill. But the climate means you can plant green peas in April and again in September but NOT in June because of the HEAT. Crop rotation is another gardening skill. And bug identification another that I won't dwell on right now.

When we did our addition last year, I had to rip out the only things that were growing at all for me - my raspberry patch and strawberry bed. They were planted in raised beds so that we could pick the dirt they grew in. And they were doing alright - just starting to produce consistently. But out they came.

This year my wonderful father reset the raised beds when he came to visit and we tried again. Nothing ambitious - just some snow peas, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and carrots. And a few potatoes that were sprouting in the cupboard.

The green peas produced - not enough for a meal - but enough for a healthy snack pretty much anytime we wandered by the garden. The potatoes gave us one meal of new red potatoes (yummy but skimpy). The cucumbers were much happier - we actually had to foist a few off on friends and neighbors. The lettuce yielded enough to add to a sandwich daily. And the tomatoes went insane - not necessarily in production but in size. Whew! And the carrots I forgot about.

Until today.

Now, we've had snow and rain and a couple nights of freezing temps so I wasn't expecting much. But I noticed the sad carrot tops laying along the ground and thought "Well, I guess I shouldn't leave them out much longer." (Okay, it wasn't a plan on my part - just my usual gardening neglect that typically sets in around August.) And you never know, parsnips benefit from a good frost before eating - maybe it works for carrots...

So after 6 months of watering and weeding and tending (and neglecting), here's our crop:















Wait, it looks much more significant after I get it cleaned up...














Don't laugh too hard. They were fresh and crisp and tasted very good both raw and cooked with just a hint of butter. We'll even add a couple to our Christmas day apple-carrot salad. How many of you can do that in December?

Spoiled again

I'm getting spoiled - first I get a night with the house to myself, then my DH gets sneaky and takes me out to dinner last night. Sneaky because he gave me 15 minutes warning.

I made him wait 25 while I spruced up a bit.

Have to say though, enjoyed it immensely. It's been such a crazy couple months that it was nice to meet the man I've been sleeping beside for so long again.

So we sat in one of those casual restaurant/bars with informal decor but actual staff and the snow fell through the street lights outside and it felt right to be out with my honey and watching his eyes light up as he talked about a challenge he'd been having at work. Of course, reality always steps in and we did a little last minute Christmas shopping at the Toys R Us next door before we headed home. Time was we used to go out and then hit a book store for a few hours as our indulgence. It just occurred to me that a bookstore was on the other side of the restaurant and didn't even appear on my radar.

Do you suppose I'm approaching middle age?

Never mind, don't answer that. It was a good night.

A night of revelry

Sometimes people tell me things but all the dots don't connect very well. And sometimes that leads to some pretty exciting news.

Like tonight.

My last deadline for the year passed 19 minutes ago. I got the article turned in on time after having NO sources for it less than 4 hours ago. But it's done so it's done.

Just as I'm doing some last minute tidying on my desk (it needs more than a minute but still) DH pops his head round the studio door and says "Okay, we're out of here."

Um...bye?

Turns out (and he did tell me this) he's taking the kids for supper and Christmas shopping tonight. What does this mean for me?

TIME IN AN EMPTY HOUSE!! Whew! The possibilities boggle the mind! I could catch up on some baking, write Christmas cards (BTW, they aren't in the mail yet so don't hold your breath), clean, dance around in my fuzzy snowflake socks, paint, catch up on banking (nothing like the Christmas season for not having a clue how much money you have), sew (making costumes seems to have awakened some old demons) or just sit and stare at the wall in a stupor for awhile (although that would be a shameful waste).

I think I'm going to start with quiche and herbal tea for supper, my Go Fish Christmas CD (great rendition of Little Drummer Boy) and then see what notion strikes next.

I'm off to fritter away some time...

While I do that, here's one of my favorite Christmas songs. You know, not counting the ones about Jesus birth and stuff.



Ta.

A Dickens of a play

Well, we're done.

Whew.

The drama I've been involved in for so long is finished except for the clean up. (I'll be getting to that later today.) We ran for three nights, had almost 1600 people come through, 15 people accepted the best Christmas present anyone could get, and the count on the funds raised for the teen shelter should be coming in today. (added 12-21-08 We found out today that we raised just over $6,000 for the teen shelter - yippee!)

You know how sometimes you slave at something, with the progress and the frustrations, maybe a teary session or two, and then look back and say "Well. That was totally worth it"?

That's us. All smiles that things went well, that so many people (over 100) worked together to pull it off, that the snow machine was TOTALLY gorgeous and that we did it and did it well. It's also drawn out some of the reclusive creative types around us that suddenly have ideas for their own stories, dramas and songs. Cool.

It is sort of bittersweet to be done after living it so long but after a chance to recuperate a bit, I'm sure this dynamic duo will be back to the planning board to come up with another fantastic production. And I'm sure I'll end up right back in there doing my thing alongside them.

(I heard a rumor that the next one might be set in the 1940s and I can't wait to plan the costumes for that!).

Photo: Me (just 'cause you asked, Patti), Rene' Phelps (director/scriptwriter), Roger Hutley (scriptwriter/songwriter/composer) and an orphan that a few of you may recognize.

A finished candy cane

Awhile ago I posted a sketch for a candy cane painting I was working on. The painting is finally finished (well, I actually finished it three weeks ago but had it at the print shop to have Christmas cards made) and I'm pretty happy with it. Is it exactly what I'd hoped for? Well, maybe not quite. Am I okay with that - yep.


For those of you that like technical details, the original is painted in acrylic paints on an 11" x 14" wrapped canvas (which means the painted border wraps too). This is a photo, not the actual scan, but will give you a pretty good idea of how it turned out.

If you want to try it out for yourself or know a young artist that might want to try their own color scheme on it, the sketch is now available as a coloring sheet on my website.

Have fun! I sure did.