just another tuesday night???

Best day ever. Well, in a long while anyway. Woke up with a less sore throat than I had for the previous three days. Dylan came by for lunch, and we sat out in the sun chatting and drinking coffee. Started my day of cleaning convinced that today would be the day I finally get the floors vacuumed and mopped..... Then Will called to see if I was heading up the Dempster - nope, but we could play scrabble in the sunshine all afternoon...


After getting my ass kicked at both Scrabble and Boggle (i did manage to beat John at Boggle though), I decided, "why should the fun end?", and called a BBQ for 7pm. Realized right before the BBQ that I'd left the propane tank on since the last time I BBQ'd (when was that - music fest?) and all the gas had leaked out. Luckily Dylan is a master at calling in favors, and a quick call to Heidi's proved useful in our impromptu dinner hopes.





What is it with Aaron Burnie? He really doesn't like cheese - accidentaly picked up cheese smokies instead of regular ones knowing that he didn't have time to get his own steak. Dylan and I tried to just not tell him there was cheese convinced he wouldn't notice, but he did. Got to give that guy credit - I personally disagree completely with his whole cheese stance, but he's got conviction. Well, on the cheese front anyway - he did let Freddie decorate his beard with daisies...

When it started getting a little cold to be outside, we did what any sane person might do... This time of year at the Pit is awesome - well, from here on out actually... No one seemed to notice that we were getting pleasantly hammered at the pony bar (auntie's back on the rye train), and we didn't really notice that no one was noticing...




The light in the Pit is some of the best light ever - there's a lot going on in there...





When you get people to hold still, and you hold the camera really still, and there's no flash - man. If my batteries hadn't run out, we probably would have taken selfies all night. Let's go winter....




Do you think we're still arguing about cheese? Oh no, I think I was trying to convince Burnie that what this town really needs is a doo-wop band...

i'd happily kill one, if we saw one...

Where are all the grouse hiding? I was told that there were tons out and about, but could we find one anywhere? No.


The plan was, go for a drive up Hunker road, bring along Dylan's new pellet gun, find many grouse, shoot them, eat them.

What ended up happening:

a lot of ridiculous bushwacking...

a lot of aimless hiking....

looking (don't forget the looking)...

and finally, shooting a can because there was NO way we weren't shooting something.


We didn't get to kill and eat our dinner, but we did get to enjoy the beautiful fall time. I hadn't been up Hunker all summer, so that was nice. This really is the best time of year - right until the sun goes down, it's pleasant outside, the sun is warm, the sky is blue, it's just chilly enough to justify scarves.... good times.

floating is a swimming tecnique right?

My reward for making it through three days of stomach flu hell? An f-ing cold.

Of course, going out and staying out after work last night until 4 in the morning probably didn't help my condition. When i woke up this morning at 10:30, I thought my throat would fall out (is that even possible?), then i realized that i was also pretty hungover.... A half an hour after I took two tylenol cold and sinus nighttime pills (hoping that I could catch a couple more hours of zzzzz's), Dylan showed up to see if I wanted to go for coffee. I told him he should go get us coffee, and we could sit in the backyard in the sunlight. I kind of thought (and, at the time, was secretly hoping) he might not come back, but he did - with Freddie. It ended up being an awesome way to coax my body and head out of sleeping all day and missing the beautiful weather. In fact, Dylan had impressed me so much that I took his advice to go swimming with him at the pool - Wow... he's on to something - like maybe the actual best cure for a mild hangover yet. To be honest, I'm not a very good swimmer - I mostly floated and treaded water - but there was something about physical exertion in the water that made me feel a lot better. And the hot tub was pretty sweet too.

Work was okay.

a day for visits...

Stephen Harper gets here today.... But more importantly, Georgia gets here today for a visit! Dylan made the mistake of being seen in the old post office tower across from the P.M.'s secret service and created quite the security scare.... He does look a little like John Wilkes Booth in his old-timey outfit.

I still feel like shit, so no handshaking for me... It's okay, I'm gonna save my energy for next week and all the birthdays that it brings...

p.s. i love you

I feel much better today - thanks for asking.

Exhaustion has a funny way of forcing you to shut down - I slept for about 14 hours in the last 24. Maybe I was a little tired. I must have been - I watched a stupid romance movie last night (waiting for comments to flood in about my taste in movies) and cried a LOT. Lame. And not the fabric lame. Just lame.

Today, my big plan (so excited) is to do a whole bunch of yummy cooking, fold the laundry that's been in the "clean pile" in my room for two weeks, vacuum (finally), and maybe if the weather turns nicer this afternoon, take out the garden (well, most of it) - I can't imagine much more is going to grow this year.... and the flowers are pretty right now and should probably be enjoyed before they die.

Fast forward to 7pm.

What did I get done today? Nothing. Whatever I had yesterday came back, and I've been camped pretty close to my bathroom all day.

Arg.

It would be really nice to have a day for myself. Maybe tomorrow. I hope tomorrow - Stephen Harper comes to visit Dawson... Don't want to miss that.

why does it always rain on me?

That's it? The beautiful indian summer we were enjoying is over?? Seriously - get it together weather....

I had a lovely day planned with Oliver. And it started great. Janice dropped him off in his pajamas, and we chatted and decided what we would do for the day. Man, he's gotten to be such a little man. Lots of compromising. We ate some breakfast - he even tried some potato pancake against his better judgment. He got dressed by himself (in camo pants and shirt) an we were off to the store on our bikes to pick up some ingredients to make chocolate chip cookies. He thought a nice addition would be butterscotch chips - he was right. The day was going great, and Tara showed up for a visit when it hit - I have NO IDEA what happened to me, but I got really sick. It wasn't quite as bad as the food poisoning in Thailand but it was close. Thank god she was here. So, the wonderful afternoon we'd planned was ruined, and poor Shelby (although later I found out that she didn't mind that much) had to take the afternoon off to look after him. Sucks balls.

I'm feeling a bit better now, and apparently, a few people around town are strangely ill... At least that rules out beaver fever (despite boiling water at camp, I am still paranoid), and hopefully, tomorrow, I'll be back in regular form. I have a lot planned for my second day off - unfortunately this one was wasted in agony and sleeping.

Good blog entry. Maybe tomorrow, I'll tell you about that time I bought office supples - that would probably be more interesting.

back in the city

I made it.

Flying in was pretty uneventful, but informative. Last glimpses of random big machinery and old relics...





We picked up another guy - Brian - on our way to the landing strip, and of course there was time for a quick beer. Should I be proud that I finished mine before anyone else did? Probably not. I even got to sit in the front again.

Here's us landing in Dawson:



And some shots of the flight in:















You know, I live in a pretty incredible place. I mean, to get an opportunity to try something completely new is one thing... How many jobs do you get to commute to work in a plane?!? I was joking with my mom in an email the other day - what a crazy thing: to choose to isolate yourself in the middle of nowhere (I mean it's a 30 minute flight and then a 40 minute drive to the Barker Creek camp) to cook for 5 or 6 men, who are strangers (not to mention a shotgun comes with the job) - that's crazy. And awesome.


So, it's Friday - and you know what that means:


Hooray.

And I am very hung over. I ended up working yesterday at Peggy's, but because I wasn't supposed to, I got off at 8pm. Went for a lovely dinner with Sean to the Aurora, where, this time, despite loving the veal, ordered the filbert crusted salmon. I wasn't disappointed. Then, after the $200 meal (we did have cocktails and a whole bottle of wine), we proceeded to get wasted. Fun times... Sang at the Pit, yelled at Gill (who does that guy think he is, not knowing my name and calling me so-and-so on stage - arg. That guy's head is way too big), stumbled home, made popcorn - you know, the usual. Woke up to a phone call from Dylan wanting to take me for lunch. Then the headache kicked in. And what was the first thing I did at Peggy's? Dropped the bowl full of maraschino cherries in the freshly cleaned fridge. Started cleaning it up, and I guess I wasn't overly aware of where my body was in relation to the fridge, so when I stood up quickly to do something else (answer the phone, stop the sink from overflowing?), I cracked my head so hard that I thought I broke the top of the refrigerator. What a start to the day.


Two more days and Auntie gets her first day off in almost a month. And not soon enough - my house is a disaster, and I could really use some catching up on sleep.

somewhere, a friend of mine is going to sleep.

That's all I could think about when I woke up at 5am. With all of the box burning until midnight, I am sleepy..... but I did have quite the time what with all the burning and drinking the last of my beers.


The weather was nice last night - a little cool - but what did I care - I had a huge bonfire to keep me warm.


And what a sunset.
First thing this morning (did I mention how tired I was) a glass EXPLODED into my hand while I was putting the dishes away... awesome... Now I know what salt in an open wound feels like - along with tomato juice, lemon, lime, soap... Although, barely injuries, the little cuts on my left hand from picking bits of glass out of it sure are cramping my style.

I've decided to forgo the morning nap (I had to drink sooooo much coffee this morning to function at all) and cook instead - until this afternoon.

On the (BIG) list for today:

#1. Sweets
Check, and good timing too - the brownies and banana bread came out of the oven moments before Stuart showed up, and Georgia told me it was always a good idea to have fresh warm brownies for him whenever possible... oh yeah.


#2. Chicken Pot Pies
#3. Baked Mac & Cheese
#4. Broccoli something-or-other















Check. I did the pies with leftovers from the night before and the chicken that I cooked Monday. Looked up a creamy broccoli salad recipe on the interweb - man it's awesome having internet out here, and had the mac & cheese done before I had a midday nap. The mac & cheese recipes is one of my favorites - I originally got it out a Harrowsmith's cookbook, but have altered it to my tastes over the years:

Baked Macaroni & Cheese

Step 1: Cook a bit more than a cup of macaroni noodles the usual way. Rinse with cold water, set aside.
Step 2: In a medium sauce pan, melt 3 Tbs butter and whisk in 3 Tbs flour. Add 2 cups milk and stir often over medium heat until sauce thickens. Add salt & pepper to taste (sometimes I also add some dry mustard too for a bit of kick).
Step 3: Slowly incorporate 1 1/2 cups grated cheese (cheddar is the traditional cheese, but I like adding some mozza or swiss). Stir until all the cheese is melted and the sauce is thick.
Step 4: Grease a small casserole dish and place 2 cups cooked macaroni noodles. Pour in sauce and stir to combine.
Step 5: Sprinkle remaining cheese on top and baked, uncovered, at 350F for about 50 mins.


#6. Something for dinner for Melinda tomorrow (in case she has a similar day coming out here as I did)

Check. I made a big pot of chili. I figured it's easy to reheat, tastes good, and can be frozen if there's lots left over.

#7. Clean the fridges, toss old leftovers, scour the kitchen
#8. Get a whole bunch of lunch stuff ready

Check and check.

And, yes, that's the Food Network on TV...


#9. Pack up to go
#10. Nap (if there's time) I made time for a nap - there was no way I could survive dinner without one.

As soon as Dave took his last bite, he asked if I was ready to go - a quick clean up and good bye camp....


And good bye Fred - you cute french dirt bike riding gold miner.

someone left the cake out in the rain...

Man, I am freaking out.... I'm always joking that I'm a redneck at heart, but what if it's true.... in a huge political discussion that more resembled a debate between Dave and I last night, I found myself agreeing with a lot of the things he was saying... And not just to fit in.... It all seemed to make sense... Oh man. I'm sure it's just the isolation working in my brain (of course I'm still a bleeding heart lefty). I had dreams about camp cooking last night.... what does that mean - can someone help a lady out? I thought I'd try something special for breakfast today. I made about 16 blueberry pancakes. I threw out about 13 blueberry pancakes.... Well, screw you guys - they looked delicious.To be fair no one seemed hungry this morning - Dave had his usual (oatmeal - how he does it every day, I have no idea), Fred did have the 2 or 3 pancakes that got eaten and some thick sliced bacon (but I think he'd eat almost anything out of some weird french table manners thing or something), Gary, as I found out yesterday, despite his size and evening appetite, "don't eat breakfast". The night crew came in, and Brad walked in shortly after the truck turned off to "give me the heads up" that Kevin was going straight to bed, and that I could put everything away if I wanted because, as per usual, he grazes the leftovers instead of eating the breakfast because 1) it reduces waste; and 2) he likes to eat dinner for dinner even though it's 7am. It was nice of him to tell me - I cleaned everything up and went straight back to bed. And slept like the dead for 3 hours.

The accomplishments of the day:

5 dozen chocolate cookies
butter tarts
pastry (which I hope works out) for five pies for tomorrow
egg salad


and dinner:

Roasted Roots and Warm Corn, Mushroom, Leek and Bacon Salad and, drum roll please - (Mom I hope it's okay to divulge your secret recipe - I also named what was always one of my favorite meals):


Barb MacArthur's Famous Stuffed and Slathered Meatloaf

Step 1: Take a pound of lean ground beef and toss it in a bowl. Add 1/2 a diced onion, 1 egg, and salt & pepper, and a handfull of oats (you're basically making hamburger patties). Mix with your hands and add oats until the mixture is still loose but can easily be formed.
Step 2: Line a baking tray with foil (you don't have to, but it makes clean up a heck of a lot easier).
Step 3: Transfer beef to the baking tray and flatten the mixture out into a huge and oblong patty (it's important to spread it almost as wide as the pan).
Step 4: Place either sliced or chopped ham OR cooked cut up bacon OR a mixture of both along the long center of the patty leaving an inch or two on the ends.
Step 5: Place grated cheddar (I suppose any hard cheese will do) on top of the pig on top of the beef.
Step 6: (This one can be a bit tricky.) Carefully fold the long edges of the patty up to meet each other over the filling, pressing together to form a log. Work ends together to prevent rogue cheese from oozing out.
Step 7: Press an indent along the long center of the log (you will see why in Step 9).
Step 8: Make the "slather" by combining equal parts ketchup and brown sugar with a couple squirts of yellow mustard - this is the "Sweet BBQ Sauce" - until you get a sweet and thick sauce.
Step 9: Pour sauce down the indent and spread out, allowing it to drizzle over the sides and ends.
Step 10: Bake for about 45 minutes at 325F or until the beef is cooked (a good indication is melty cheese and clear juices). Remove from oven, let sit for 5 or 10 minutes, cut into slices, and enjoy!

The amount of the stuff the guys ate tonight seemed to suggest that they enjoyed it. And Fred just told me he loved the sauce and when I credited Mom's secret recipe he told me that "your mom, she have some good seecret." That's my mom - bringing me closer to cute french guys since 1979.

This is Zorro. Zorro is Jayne's dog who stays out here to protect Melinda (and me!) from bears - he's not big, but I hear he chases off a mean bear (when he's not sleeping through it). He came inside last night, and he started on the floor of my room, but when i woke up in the middle of the night to a weird breathing sound, I discovered that he'd jumped up into bed and we'de been spooning for god knows how long. I don't know if Melinda lets him do that, but I enjoyed the company and the warmth - it was really cold here last night.

Off to burn some boxes.... and drink the last of my beer.

I found out today that I leave camp Wednesday night - not Thursday like I thought.

and you thought shot guns was a beer thing...

Holy shit it was early when I woke up this morning. Haven't seen the front side of 4:30am in a while. And to be honest, I really didn't need to be up that early, but, after last night, I wanted some extra time this morning. The early was compounded by the fact that there was nothing I could do to fall asleep last night. I guess anxiety and excitement does that. Is it bad if it takes you three beers to calm down and finally fall asleep? The night shift (the language-challenged cutie Fred, and Brad) came back last night at around 9:30pm - I guess the area they were supposed to be working at was flooded.... So I sat on the porch while it rained drinking beer and taking advantage of conversation with wide-awake people. Brad was very informative, and even showed me how to use the shot gun. I didn't fire it, but I think I could if I had to. Best quote of yesterday: "Adrenaline is the best drug going - well legally anyway". This seems to be the beer camp. Brad said he thought it was funny that all the pot heads were over in Georgia's camp, and all the beer drinkers were over here. I'm fine with that - I can control myself after a couple of beers, and we all know what happens when auntie takes a toke...

Speaking of 4:30am... Speaking of shotguns...


Breakfast went off reasonably problem-free. Based on pork chop consumption last night I opted to go with two packages of breakfast sausage - a mistake. Oh well - when life gives you extra breakfast sausage, make sausage rolls (which I did).

Delicious. Also delicious - a little something I like to call:

Leftover ham, Swiss & Sweet Mustard Tartlets

Step 1: Roll out pastry dough (that Melinda kindly left in the fridge)
Step 2: Finely chop leftover ham.
Step 3: Cut rounds out of pastry and press into muffin tins.
Step 4: Throw a dollop of sweet mustard in each cup.
Step 5: Fill each cup with ham chunks.
Step 6: Place sliced swiss on top of the ham.
Step 7: Bake at (shit what was it?) 350F (?) for (shit how long was it?)... until cheese is melted and pastry is cooked & golden.
Step 8: Remove, cool and enjoy. And I did.

Dinner tonight: Chicken Parmesan with Simple Creamy Pasta and Green Salad.


A crowd pleaser.

Had fun talking politics with Dave and making fun of french people - poor Fred - so cute, so french.



Boiled a whole bunch of eggs today - man the water... words won't do justice to what it does to eggshells....




That there, is NOT tea, nor lemonade - that my friends is my drinking water. Not to worry, it was boiled, but I'm not going to lie, it's hard to look at and harder to bring myself to drink.


Also, by far the funniest thing I've encountered here so far:

I've been using it, but, man, would I love to see one of these burly dirty men drink a cup of joe out of it.

This is what I'm taking to bed with me:

Rhubarb Cream Cheese Dessert.

Not too bad.


Good night kitchen - see you in 5 hours. (I'll probably get into this schedule the day I leave.)

you can take a girl out of town...

So, let me tell you about my first day at camp....

That's gold mining camp (for those of you who might have thought I was camping...)

The day started with me frantically running around, packing, cleaning the house, finishing up some business, etc.... I was at home at 1pm to wait for Dave (the guy picking me up to fly me out) to call, like I was told. He called at 2pm to tell me that he was running late and would pick me up at 3pm. Now keep in mind, this is my first solo camp cooking gig, Melinda (who I'm relieving) came in last night, so I have no idea what I'm walking into or where anything is, I have to make dinner tonight, and we're picking up a grocery order that has to be put away to boot.... So he picks me up, we pick up groceries, he makes a couple of stops and we head to the airport. In the plane at 4pm, and off. A storm front prompted Dave to take me on the "scenic" route - which was scenic but much longer than normal. Land, unload the plane, and off in the truck (which Dave informed me was currently just two-wheel drive due to a mechanical issue, and, "as long as it didn't rain a whole lot, we should be fine"). Well, because it rained tons last night, the road was basically a mud bog (great since I missed the festivities in town), which at points had me a little nervous, especially given that Dave seemed more interested in checking out the landscape more often than the road. So, I'm sitting there, trying to mask my aprehension, thinking "okay - there's going to be just enough time to put away the groceries and do something with the pork chops Melinda left to thaw for me"... and then - wait for it - FLAT TIRE!

So now it's 5:15pm, i am dirty from helping with said tire, and we still have another 20 minutes of treacherous driving through a series of "switchbacks" (basically, a ridiculously zig-zagging path down what would otherwise be a very steep slope).

Now, I was told that the most important things about camp cooking was to have lots of food and on time. First dinner (for the night guys) is supposed to be on the table at 6pm. Oh yeah - right on, it is 5:40pm and I have no idea where anything is, boxes of groceries all over, dirty dishes, and - oh sweet - the pork chops are still frozen....

How did I save the day? With charm and wit of course.

May I present:

White Trash Chops with Mushroom Sauce, Microwaved then Broiled Asparagus & The Quickest Mashed Potatoes Ever in 20 Minutes & 15 Simple Steps.

(photo taken is in leftover form - although it didn't look much better to start with- except for there was soggy asparagus too....)

Step 1: Freak out a little.
Step 2: Throw frozen pork chops into microwave to defrost.
Step 3: Peel some potatoes (after finally finding the peeler), and find some left over baby spuds to add to the mix. Chop very small and throw into a pot of water.
Step 4: Carefully ignite burner to boil potatoes.
Step 5: Check on pork chops - almost thawed - good enough. Place some olive oil in a skillet and throw in chops to quickly brown both sides. Turn heat down, cover.
Step 6: Find and open a can of condensed cream of mushroom soup.
Step 7: Asparagus! Trim, toss with some olive oil, salt, pepper. Place in a preheated (you wish) oven at, oh say, 400 degrees, decide that they will never cook fast enough, and toss them in the microwave instead.
Step 8: Poke potatoes... yep - still raw.
Step 9: Introduce yourself to the night crew starting to filter in, apologize profusely for dinner being late, and remember "oh shit - lunch stuff isn't out".... say a quick prayer (not that you believe in anything) that there's lots of lunch stuff from yesterday still (phew - there is) and toss meat cheese, condiments, fruit, veggies, and sweets out. No juice made up - okay now you boil water so you can make some juice. It won't be ready in time, but you have to try.
Step 10: Poke potatoes - they're coming.
Step 11: Fuck - pork chops! It's okay, they're fine - definitely thawed, mostly cooked. At this point, add your can of soup and some whipping cream, cover and simmer.
Step 12: Remove asparagus from the microwave and put in the searing hot oven to brown a bit. Don't forget about them.
Step 13: Drain potatoes. Return to pot, add cream, butter, mash. Leave lidded on stovetop to keep warm.
Step 14: Move cooked porkers to a serving dish. Add some more cream to the "gravy" and stir to deglaze the pan. At this point, you can add fresh mushrooms (which I did when I repeated this exact frantic dinner for the next crew for 7pm). Stir, thicken. Pour over pork chops.
Step 15: Throw meat and potatoes on the table with furrowed brow..... something's missing.... FUCK, THE ASPARAGUS. Remove the overcooked (but not burnt) asparagus from the oven and place on table.

Repeat for the guys coming in in half an hour.

Not exactly my best foot forward, but everybody seemed to like it okay.... even had some "thank yous" and one "that was good". And they ate all the asparagus! The worst part of the meal, and they ate it up! No dessert guys, sorry - maybe tomorrow.

Welcome to Schmidt Mining.

okay, okay

So I gave up for a while. It was after a conversation I had on the phone with my mom. I asked if she was reading the blog (because the family back in Ontario is the reason I started it), and she said not really. Same with dad, same with sister. So I thought, forget it. I didn't realize I had a following much closer (in many cases) than those uninterested parties out east. How did I realize this? The comments about my lack of "blogging" made me think maybe I'll just keep doing it.... then I realized I'm lazy.... but I do like positive reinforcement and talking about myself...

So, here it is - a new start to "As Far Away As Possible".... starting tomorrow.

i need a hero

Or I don't - for today, my friend Collette is absolutely my hero. She's moved off to Churchill, Manitoba for the summer (I hope it's for the summer) to run a bar there (and check out some polar bears?). Well if that lady ain't the shit at everything she does. The only person I know who can effortlessly (at least it appears effortless) end up in ridiculous and amazing situations on a regular basis. Shout out to you miss Collette. I've been flirting my ass off with a helicopter pilot for two years, and not even a mention of a free flight. Arg.

Best thunderstorm last night ever. Up here - especially when it's as dry as it is - lightning is usually very bad. I get why. And I couldn't bear another smoky summer like old 2005 (2004?). But I miss thunderstorms - they're such a common occurrence in Ontario - they don't happen that often up here. When they do, it's like magic - I wish I'd had a camera for the amazing sun-thunderstorm last night, and a way to capture and share the smell of thunderstorms in Dawson City.

tuesday is a day for canoeing.

Woke up at 8:30am to bake a cake - it's Mindy's 40th birthday today - so I was free to go out for a canoe trip down the Klondike. Then the clouds rolled in. It was sunny all morning, and it's sunny now (9pm). Although I was optimistic about the weather and thought we should just go anyway, I got veetoed, and the trip was canceled. There were some pretty loud thunder claps and a few bolts of lightning. Oh well, perhaps next week. So what did I do instead, you might be wondering? I borrowed a bike with the intentions of riding it out to Bear Creek to visit Janice and Shelby. Forty-five minutes later, I arrived - thank god they were home. The ride itself wasn't bad - the head wind at points and the traffic (worrying that a flying rock from fast moving oncoming vehicles is terrifying) were the only bad things. Oh, except for the fact that today's ride was the first time I'd been on a bike in a long time, so my butt hurts - and apparently physical activity is hard when the only exercise you get is carrying beers from one end of the bar to the other.

Best things about today: Making pizzas for Mindy's birthday with Janice and Shelby (from scratch) and hanging out with babies. Wayne and Mindy's new one, Hazel, and Doug and Ashley's new one, Cove, are hella cute. I stopped by the bar to see if anyone was around, but remembered my new plan of not stopping by my place of employ on my days off. Yesterday, I stopped in and ended up having to stick around because of a wee emergency. Which I don't mind doing at all, but if I'm not there, there could be other options instead of me having to work. And it's probably good to spend some time at home anyway.

So I've rented me a couple of movies, and maybe I'll make some popcorn.

Oh, and I made a pretty sweet birthday cake shaped like "40" for Mindy today: Carrot Cake with home made cream cheese icing. Yum.

lucy loves me

Well, I had a great start to the day. First, I fell asleep on the couch after getting home at 4am to a weird late night movie on CBC after eating another awesome midnight snack (baba ganoush and homemade chinese food from the freezer in case you were wondering). At around 8:30am, I woke up to tiny "romping around" noises much too close to me to be able to sleep through it. At first, I thought Lucy was just messing around and being crazy as she sometimes does. Then I noticed the romping had a purpose. Is that a dead mouse? Oh wait, no. It's a mostly dead mouse.... Way to go Lucy, way to go. I get that bringing in dead rodents and birds is supposed to mean that my cats love me, but I'd rather they kept their presents to themselves, or left the dead animals on the door step like civilized cats. At least fully kill them before entering the house - COME ON.



That brings this year's totals to:

• 2 live birds
• 1 dead bird
• 1 almost dead (and then dead) mouse
• 1 very dead (we're talking rigor mortis) mouse (shrew?)

Yep. I've got quite the pet cemetery going outside...

Apparently, it snowed in Whitehorse today. Suckers. It's beautiful up here. We had a ten minute thunderstorm that passed over town, but currently the sun's out , the sky's blue, and it's hot. Not as hot as Guelph apparently - A guy that checked in today said when he left a few days ago it was, like, 42 degrees. Whoa.

I'm really looking forward to my days off this week. For the first time in what feels like a long time, I have no ridiculous obligations. Maybe I'll go golfing again. Maybe I'll get out on the river. Maybe I'll watch the entire first season of Perfect Strangers.... the possibilities are almost endless. I'll definitely spend some time in my yard - the garden is coming along quite nicely - no sign of pesky aphids, the plants I bombarded with insecticide seem to be bouncing back - perhaps, I'll take a couple of photos to prove my green thumb exists....

I wish something interesting had happened at work last night, but other than being super busy, the day went by mostly uneventfully. Oh, except for, Dylan and I had our first serious collision behind the bar. I've worked closely with him for two years. We have a pretty good system when we're sharing the tiny work space at Peggy's, but last night, for reasons unknown to us, we weren't jiving at all. Toes got stepped on, bottles got dinged, multiple oopses and sorries got muttered, and for our crowning achievement, we managed to collide with a full tray of empties in between us. Other than a bit of a bruise on my arm, some drink dregs spilled on my shirt (I got the worst of it for sure), one broken martini glass, and a very loud clatter, it wasn't so bad - just slightly embarrassing for both of us. They can't all be winners.

Me and Dylan last Halloween.
In case you were unsure, he was a sailor and i was a "roll in the hay".