-Despite technically warmer temperatures on Saturday, both yesterday and today have felt a fair bit warmer. Sadly, neither of these days has been accompanied by the sunnier skies of Saturday.
-Yesterday was Family Day in Saskatchewan. Though I tried talking Jeannette into a day trip to Montana and North Dakota (Plentywood and Williston in particular), we spent most of the holiday cleaning the house. Despite being a little disappointed that we didn't manage an international adventure, I'm quite happy that we did some long-overdue deep cleaning.
-One task I didn't finish yesterday is folding all of the laundry that I did. Guess I should get down to that shortly (and because I've also changed the sheets since then theres even more to fold).
-In most cases I feel as though if I'm not completely unreceptive to ads, I'm relatively unreceptive to ads. There are many companies whose ads I know I've heard thousands of time (if you listen to podcasts you know which companies I'm talking about) that I have no interest in patronizing.
One product, despite the low production qualities of most of its ads, I've long been tempted by is CLR - a product that promises to de-calcify household objects. Even as a child I found this product tempting, though because St. John's has relatively soft water how or when this liquid would be used was never entirely clear.
Since we've lived in Regina the uses for a product that might de-calcify a household objects have become a little clearer.
Since first buying some CLR for Jeannette (so that I could clean our kettle) I've had the pleasure of using this product and observing that it works as advertised and did exactly what I wanted it to do. It was strangely satisfying to finally buy this product after so many years of ads and then find that it works as advertised.
Oddly, I'm not sure that I have similar feelings about many of the other products I've seen ads for on a regular/daily basis for the past 15 years.
Cameron - 6
Neil - 0
Showing posts with label Holidays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holidays. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Monday, September 03, 2012
A Few Quick Notes 589
-It looks as though it is going to be a beautiful Labour Day in Ottawa this year, though maybe a few degrees warmer than ideal.
-Because we don't have the same morning rush to readiness today I'm hoping to crank out a batch of raspberry muffins for breakfast.
-Last night, based on a recommendation from my father, I sprayed our balcony plants with cayenne pepper water. The idea is that this will deter the squirrel from visiting the plants. I'm a little curious to see if it worked, or if the squirrel responded vindictively to the new flavour.
-Yesterday Jeannette and I engaged in a multi-hour cleaning and organizing event. Is there any better way to spend a beautiful Sunday?
-Actually, because it's move-in weekend at the local universities (and one of these universities is only a few blocks away) it was nice not to be outside and in the midst of that craziness.
-Because we don't have the same morning rush to readiness today I'm hoping to crank out a batch of raspberry muffins for breakfast.
-Last night, based on a recommendation from my father, I sprayed our balcony plants with cayenne pepper water. The idea is that this will deter the squirrel from visiting the plants. I'm a little curious to see if it worked, or if the squirrel responded vindictively to the new flavour.
-Yesterday Jeannette and I engaged in a multi-hour cleaning and organizing event. Is there any better way to spend a beautiful Sunday?
-Actually, because it's move-in weekend at the local universities (and one of these universities is only a few blocks away) it was nice not to be outside and in the midst of that craziness.
Wednesday, August 01, 2012
A Few Quick Notes 586
-After a few days of lower humidity levels we seem to be back in the sweat zone. Maybe even more than my trip to Arizona the past few days have made it clear to me how much humidity makes a difference. 30 with lowish humidity is entirely tolerable if you have a fan. 22 and high humidity is a recipe for sweat and aggravation. Hopefully we can slide back down the humidity scale in the coming days.
-It seems that our balcony garden is a favourite site for at least one of the neighbourhood squirrels. Frustratingly the squirrel seems to be picking tomatoes and peppers and burying these finds in the other pots. This is frustrating because we keep losing almost ripe food, and because I know that the squirrel isn't even eating or coming back for its treasures.
Though the tactic was borne of laziness, by leaving the porch light on last night I think I have found a way to discourage this visitor. Hopefully the squirrel won't clue into the fact that the light being on doesn't mean that there are humans watching.
-Despite my best efforts, Jeannette's interest in following the Olympics has spilled over a little. While I seem to be able to keep myself away from the live television coverage, I must say that I find some of the newspaper and social media coverage particularly consumable. The very positive aspect of consuming sports content in this way is that I don't have to listen to the inane commentary that typically accompanies live sporting. I have no idea why broadcasters are so afraid of letting viewers watch the sports uncommented upon. Is this a weird hold over from the visual-free radio era?
-I guess today was Regatta Day in St. John's. Apparently we are due for a Civic Holiday in Ottawa this Monday. Exciting!
Update: Apparently the upcoming holiday is called Colonel By Day, which I can't help wanting to read as the first part of the following sentence: "Colonel by day, X by night."
-It seems that our balcony garden is a favourite site for at least one of the neighbourhood squirrels. Frustratingly the squirrel seems to be picking tomatoes and peppers and burying these finds in the other pots. This is frustrating because we keep losing almost ripe food, and because I know that the squirrel isn't even eating or coming back for its treasures.
Though the tactic was borne of laziness, by leaving the porch light on last night I think I have found a way to discourage this visitor. Hopefully the squirrel won't clue into the fact that the light being on doesn't mean that there are humans watching.
-Despite my best efforts, Jeannette's interest in following the Olympics has spilled over a little. While I seem to be able to keep myself away from the live television coverage, I must say that I find some of the newspaper and social media coverage particularly consumable. The very positive aspect of consuming sports content in this way is that I don't have to listen to the inane commentary that typically accompanies live sporting. I have no idea why broadcasters are so afraid of letting viewers watch the sports uncommented upon. Is this a weird hold over from the visual-free radio era?
-I guess today was Regatta Day in St. John's. Apparently we are due for a Civic Holiday in Ottawa this Monday. Exciting!
Update: Apparently the upcoming holiday is called Colonel By Day, which I can't help wanting to read as the first part of the following sentence: "Colonel by day, X by night."
Monday, July 02, 2012
A Few Quick Notes 584
-We are in the midst of another sunny day. Presumably this also means that we will soon be in the midst of another hot and sticky day.
-Yesterday was Canada Day (or not) and as we are in downtown Ottawa we are, I think it is fair to say, near the epicentre of the annual Canada Day celebrations. Through out the day we heard various celebration-related noises, but as evening approached the frequency with which we were hearing these noises really increased.
At one point we saw about 60 people in red unitards running along a near by street while being accompanied by an orchestra of car horns.
Fortunately we were able to take advantage of a dinner invitation and make our way to a more residential part of town for the heart of the evening. Unfortunately, the fact that we left the downtown core meant that at some point we had to return to the downtown core.
While the bus we took for the first half of our trip was almost completely empty, the second bus was packed with a number of semi-intoxicated Canada Day celebrators. Fortunately this bus ride wasn't too long. Then on the short walk back to our apartment we were able to see a number of attempted acts of vandalism and general drunken tomfoolery. The general attitude on display seemed to be "Canada's great, so lets destroy it!"
-Somehow in recounting our recent bike ride in Gatineau I forgot to mention that as we were passing the Museum of Civilization I looked up and happened to see a few familiar parachutes.
As we rode a little further we approached the parachute landing site and were able to hear the announcement that we had just witnessed a SkyHawks practice jump. In a matter of about 24 hours I not learned about the existence of the SkyHawks, but I also saw them perform twice (and they were did different material in each instance).
-My bread just came out of the oven so maybe that means that I really need to get down to work?
-Yesterday was Canada Day (or not) and as we are in downtown Ottawa we are, I think it is fair to say, near the epicentre of the annual Canada Day celebrations. Through out the day we heard various celebration-related noises, but as evening approached the frequency with which we were hearing these noises really increased.
At one point we saw about 60 people in red unitards running along a near by street while being accompanied by an orchestra of car horns.
Fortunately we were able to take advantage of a dinner invitation and make our way to a more residential part of town for the heart of the evening. Unfortunately, the fact that we left the downtown core meant that at some point we had to return to the downtown core.
While the bus we took for the first half of our trip was almost completely empty, the second bus was packed with a number of semi-intoxicated Canada Day celebrators. Fortunately this bus ride wasn't too long. Then on the short walk back to our apartment we were able to see a number of attempted acts of vandalism and general drunken tomfoolery. The general attitude on display seemed to be "Canada's great, so lets destroy it!"
-Somehow in recounting our recent bike ride in Gatineau I forgot to mention that as we were passing the Museum of Civilization I looked up and happened to see a few familiar parachutes.
As we rode a little further we approached the parachute landing site and were able to hear the announcement that we had just witnessed a SkyHawks practice jump. In a matter of about 24 hours I not learned about the existence of the SkyHawks, but I also saw them perform twice (and they were did different material in each instance).
-My bread just came out of the oven so maybe that means that I really need to get down to work?
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Holiday animation fun
A few days or weeks ago Jeannette suggested that we try to meld her love of making small clay figures with my love of horrible homemade stop-motion animation in holiday-y clip.
After weeks of procrastination (or in this case actually do more important things) we finally got around to it last night. After about an hour of production time (including the creation of the figures and set, script conception and writing, principal photography, and editing) we were able to crank out the following 1:05 second clip.
[Embedded video]
Hope it was worth the minute.
After weeks of procrastination (or in this case actually do more important things) we finally got around to it last night. After about an hour of production time (including the creation of the figures and set, script conception and writing, principal photography, and editing) we were able to crank out the following 1:05 second clip.
[Embedded video]
Hope it was worth the minute.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
A Few Quick Notes 554
-Though we have finally dropped down to sub-zero temperatures in Wolfville, things are still looking quite nice today. A few recent dustings of snow are making things look particularly festive. I am even hopeful that we may manage to squeeze out a nice sunset this afternoon evening.
-My Christmas preparations, aside from some gift shopping and thinking about all of the cleaning I will likely need to do, started in earnest today when I made some bread that I eventually intend to use for the turkey stuffing. As much as I am willing to admit that it does seem a bit weird to intention bake bread to allow it to go stale, it seems even weirder to me to buy bread with the intention of letting it go stale. Anyway, the deed has been done and the bread is now working its way towards staleness.
-The individuals previously associated with our phone number are still receiving daily calls from creditors. While I seem to have talked a collection agency into not calling, we are still receiving regular calls for another individual from a major financial institution. As I have already spoken to the company once I don't really know what my next step is (the calls are automated, making one-on-one interactions with the staff difficult).
(While writing this I had to deal with another such call, though this time from a person. I suspect I was talking to a collection agency, but as there number was blocked I can't confirm this hunch.)
-I probably listen to too many podcasts. I consume them while cooking, cleaning, walking, procrastinating, and riding the bus. They're the best. And there's little I like more than discovering a great new podcast with an archive I can compulsively listen to over the course of a few days.
Anyway, this is a long way of saying that I have recently found two podcasts that I am in the midst of acquainting myself with. The first one, HOW TO DO EVERYTHING, which seems to be NPR/WBEZ associated, is pretty light and concerns itself with a Richardson's Rounduppesque assortment of topics. The second one, 99% Invisible (which I discovered thanks to a recent Radiolab episode), is a little more serious and generally deals with topics relating to architecture and design.
-My Christmas preparations, aside from some gift shopping and thinking about all of the cleaning I will likely need to do, started in earnest today when I made some bread that I eventually intend to use for the turkey stuffing. As much as I am willing to admit that it does seem a bit weird to intention bake bread to allow it to go stale, it seems even weirder to me to buy bread with the intention of letting it go stale. Anyway, the deed has been done and the bread is now working its way towards staleness.
-The individuals previously associated with our phone number are still receiving daily calls from creditors. While I seem to have talked a collection agency into not calling, we are still receiving regular calls for another individual from a major financial institution. As I have already spoken to the company once I don't really know what my next step is (the calls are automated, making one-on-one interactions with the staff difficult).
(While writing this I had to deal with another such call, though this time from a person. I suspect I was talking to a collection agency, but as there number was blocked I can't confirm this hunch.)
-I probably listen to too many podcasts. I consume them while cooking, cleaning, walking, procrastinating, and riding the bus. They're the best. And there's little I like more than discovering a great new podcast with an archive I can compulsively listen to over the course of a few days.
Anyway, this is a long way of saying that I have recently found two podcasts that I am in the midst of acquainting myself with. The first one, HOW TO DO EVERYTHING, which seems to be NPR/WBEZ associated, is pretty light and concerns itself with a Richardson's Rounduppesque assortment of topics. The second one, 99% Invisible (which I discovered thanks to a recent Radiolab episode), is a little more serious and generally deals with topics relating to architecture and design.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Apparently we are approaching that time of year again
For the past few days Jeannette has been slowly ramping up for the holiday season. One of primary ways that this ramp up has manifested itself is through gingerbread person themed ornament versions of people (fictional and real).
At first Jeannette started with pretty run-of-the-mill gingerbread men.
Then the neckwear started to change.
First there was a scarf.
Then a standard issue necktie...
...and a bow tie.
I am proud to say that a few of my suggestions were even accepted and gingerbreadized.
One of my earliest suggestions was 'construction worker.'
I then moved on to eighties classics when I suggested Richard Simmons.
Jeannette then decided to run with the popular persona theme and chose to do an Einstein, ...
...MJ (from the Beat It music video),...
...Freddie Mercury, ...
...Luke Skywalker,...
...and Han Solo and Princess Leia.
Oh, and because it was Jeannette making these there were also a few zombies.
And just to demonstrate that Jeannette's skills aren't anything special I decided to make one of my own, a school crossing guard.
Not to brag too much, but I totally nailed it. It's pretty clear that I have captured the essence of crossing guardness more than any other artist before me.
Then, to try to top my crossing guard, Jeannette moved to the 3D realm with this third rate wintery scene.
I mean really, can you get more hotel room art than this? Where's the passion and feeling that you see in my crossing guard? Where's the humanity?
Anyway, we're definitely in the ramp up phase. If we aren't careful we will soon be overrun with homemade seasonal crafts.
At first Jeannette started with pretty run-of-the-mill gingerbread men.
Then the neckwear started to change.
First there was a scarf.
Then a standard issue necktie...
...and a bow tie.
I am proud to say that a few of my suggestions were even accepted and gingerbreadized.
One of my earliest suggestions was 'construction worker.'
I then moved on to eighties classics when I suggested Richard Simmons.
Jeannette then decided to run with the popular persona theme and chose to do an Einstein, ...
...MJ (from the Beat It music video),...
...Freddie Mercury, ...
...Luke Skywalker,...
...and Han Solo and Princess Leia.
Oh, and because it was Jeannette making these there were also a few zombies.
And just to demonstrate that Jeannette's skills aren't anything special I decided to make one of my own, a school crossing guard.
Not to brag too much, but I totally nailed it. It's pretty clear that I have captured the essence of crossing guardness more than any other artist before me.
Then, to try to top my crossing guard, Jeannette moved to the 3D realm with this third rate wintery scene.
I mean really, can you get more hotel room art than this? Where's the passion and feeling that you see in my crossing guard? Where's the humanity?
Anyway, we're definitely in the ramp up phase. If we aren't careful we will soon be overrun with homemade seasonal crafts.
Friday, July 01, 2011
A Few Quick Notes 544
-Today, amazingly, has turned out to be quite nice so far. The skies are blue and the wind is relatively non-obtrusive. Though as we are hitting the middle of the day I suspect that temperatures may pick up and things may become a little less bearable.
-On Wednesday afternoon Jeannette and I attended the Grand Opening festivities of the new location of the Wolfville Farmers' Market. Both of us were a little surprised that this event was held on Wednesday instead of Saturday, the day that tends to be busier and have more vendors present. Anyway, while there were able to see local MP Scott Brison looking very handsome in a nice summer suit - he was definitely be best dressed guy in attendance. Jeannette and I probably should have taken the time to introduce ourselves but we decided against it, at least partly because he was always in the midst of talking to someone.
-Yesterday Jeannette and I played an enjoyable game of pick-up Ultimate. The only problem with the game was the humidity. We all found it hard to play well and run hard given the mugginess. Hopefully our game on Sunday afternoon won't be quite so muggy.
-As this week's weather has been generally quite nice Jeannette and I have taken a number of bike rides. Today we finally made our to the local dykes were we rode from Wolfville towards Port William.
While the ride was generally quite pleasant, we did eventually encounter something of a problem. It seems that the derailleur on Jeannette's folding bike is quite low to the ground and was managing to accumulate plenty of dried grass on a particular section of the dyke. At this point we decided to turn back.
Fortunately, we were able to ride several kilometers before we encountered this problem. And now that we know what to look out for it will be pretty clear in which conditions the folding bike is not a viable option.
-Yesterday for breakfast I made another batch of pumpkin bran muffins. This time I accidentally forgot the pumpkin pie spice. While the muffins were definitely fine without the spice I do think that it really does add something nice so I hope to remember it when I make this recipe in the future.
-This afternoon Jeannette and I are thinking of continuing our holiday celebrations by heading to the local zoo. Hopefully we might finally be able to hit the zoo up for feeding time - I presume that this is the best time to be there as it likely will mean the most active animals.
-On Wednesday afternoon Jeannette and I attended the Grand Opening festivities of the new location of the Wolfville Farmers' Market. Both of us were a little surprised that this event was held on Wednesday instead of Saturday, the day that tends to be busier and have more vendors present. Anyway, while there were able to see local MP Scott Brison looking very handsome in a nice summer suit - he was definitely be best dressed guy in attendance. Jeannette and I probably should have taken the time to introduce ourselves but we decided against it, at least partly because he was always in the midst of talking to someone.
-Yesterday Jeannette and I played an enjoyable game of pick-up Ultimate. The only problem with the game was the humidity. We all found it hard to play well and run hard given the mugginess. Hopefully our game on Sunday afternoon won't be quite so muggy.
-As this week's weather has been generally quite nice Jeannette and I have taken a number of bike rides. Today we finally made our to the local dykes were we rode from Wolfville towards Port William.
While the ride was generally quite pleasant, we did eventually encounter something of a problem. It seems that the derailleur on Jeannette's folding bike is quite low to the ground and was managing to accumulate plenty of dried grass on a particular section of the dyke. At this point we decided to turn back.
Fortunately, we were able to ride several kilometers before we encountered this problem. And now that we know what to look out for it will be pretty clear in which conditions the folding bike is not a viable option.
-Yesterday for breakfast I made another batch of pumpkin bran muffins. This time I accidentally forgot the pumpkin pie spice. While the muffins were definitely fine without the spice I do think that it really does add something nice so I hope to remember it when I make this recipe in the future.
-This afternoon Jeannette and I are thinking of continuing our holiday celebrations by heading to the local zoo. Hopefully we might finally be able to hit the zoo up for feeding time - I presume that this is the best time to be there as it likely will mean the most active animals.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Easter Update
This morning we all woke up to find that the Easter Bunny did in fact manage to find us and provide us with unhealthy treats. So far I have only managed to eat a single Kinder egg, it definitely seems like more than enough candy for one day (I have no idea how I will manage to consume the treats still in my basket).
Shortly after examining our baskets and playing our Easter Bingo scratch cards we moved to our holiday morning breakfast, which seems to have been enjoyed by all.
Almost immediately after breakfast I started preparing food for tonight's meal/feast. Part way through the process I realized that I was missing a key ingredient. Fortunately we were able to get the missing ingredient from a friend/neighbour/guest so everything should be as expected for the meal.
Almost as soon as I started working on the food Neil undertook an apartment-wide cleaning mission assigned to him by Rebecca. I have to say, things are looking pretty good a few hours in.
Now that most of the good is ready and the apartment cleaning almost complete I finally have the chance to sit down and use my computer for an extended period (meaning long enough to make this post). What I should probably be doing with this time instead of posting is studying, so I guess that is what I will do as soon as I complete this post.
Shortly after examining our baskets and playing our Easter Bingo scratch cards we moved to our holiday morning breakfast, which seems to have been enjoyed by all.
Almost immediately after breakfast I started preparing food for tonight's meal/feast. Part way through the process I realized that I was missing a key ingredient. Fortunately we were able to get the missing ingredient from a friend/neighbour/guest so everything should be as expected for the meal.
Almost as soon as I started working on the food Neil undertook an apartment-wide cleaning mission assigned to him by Rebecca. I have to say, things are looking pretty good a few hours in.
Now that most of the good is ready and the apartment cleaning almost complete I finally have the chance to sit down and use my computer for an extended period (meaning long enough to make this post). What I should probably be doing with this time instead of posting is studying, so I guess that is what I will do as soon as I complete this post.
Friday, December 31, 2010
NYE Festivities
As usual, I have done my best to avoid strenuous NYE drinking related activities. Unlike past attempts to avoid such activities, in this case it appears that I may have been successful.
This year the plan is for Neil, Rebecca, Jeannette, and I to hang out in our apartment and watch a few movies. We are starting with the modern classic Despicable Me. This will be followed with The Trotsky.
Presumably these movie-related activities will bring us close to midnight. I guess if we aren't already in bed at midnight we might do some well-wishing and whatnot.
If I am not back before midnight, I hope everyone has an enjoyable New Year's Eve.
This year the plan is for Neil, Rebecca, Jeannette, and I to hang out in our apartment and watch a few movies. We are starting with the modern classic Despicable Me. This will be followed with The Trotsky.
Presumably these movie-related activities will bring us close to midnight. I guess if we aren't already in bed at midnight we might do some well-wishing and whatnot.
If I am not back before midnight, I hope everyone has an enjoyable New Year's Eve.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Christmas Recap
Christmas, at least for the most part, was pretty much as was expected.
After a night filled with mahjong and food at Jeannette's house on Christmas Eve, we awoke on Christmas morning to find filled stockings and plenty of gifts under the trees.
One of the items that I was pleased to find and immediately intrigued by was a small remote controlled helicopter. For years I have been taken with the idea of remote controlled flying vehicles, so it was nice to finally have one to play with. After charging the helicopter I was able to take it out for a test flight.
[Embedded video]
Unfortunately through subsequent flight attempts I haven't been able to get the battery to hold enough of a charge to get the machine off the ground. This is all the more frustrating because I now know that the machine is actually capable of flight.
Much to my surprise, one of the items that was found adjacent to the stockings was a Nintendo Wii. Though I am not a big video game player and am generally skeptical of such endeavours, in the days since Christmas I have had plenty of fun playing with the basic games on this system. So far we haven't marred the experience of owning a Wii by having any of the type of mishap that are documented in the video below (though from time to time Kirsten does inexplicably opt not to wear the wrist strap).
[Embedded video]
After our stocking-related acquisitions were adequately examined and breakfast consumed we moved on to a quick round of gift opening and scratch-ticket bingo playing. Eventually we realized that we could cut Neil and Rebecca in on the action even though they were in Halifax by using video chat technology.
[Embedded video]
We were even able to have the play bingo with us by scanning and then emailing them a game card. While I don't know how much Neil and Rebecca enjoyed this, I can say that everyone on this end thought it was pretty good.
Much of the rest of the day was spent preparing for Christmas dinner and then consuming Christmas dinner. Along with another couple, we were joined for dinner by Jeannette and her family. As far as I could tell, a good time was had by all.
I imagine that there are a few more things I could mention, but unfortunately I am drawing a blank right now or have decided that they are too unimportant to be worth the effort of re-telling them. Hope everyone else had as enjoyable a Christmas.
After a night filled with mahjong and food at Jeannette's house on Christmas Eve, we awoke on Christmas morning to find filled stockings and plenty of gifts under the trees.
One of the items that I was pleased to find and immediately intrigued by was a small remote controlled helicopter. For years I have been taken with the idea of remote controlled flying vehicles, so it was nice to finally have one to play with. After charging the helicopter I was able to take it out for a test flight.
[Embedded video]
Unfortunately through subsequent flight attempts I haven't been able to get the battery to hold enough of a charge to get the machine off the ground. This is all the more frustrating because I now know that the machine is actually capable of flight.
Much to my surprise, one of the items that was found adjacent to the stockings was a Nintendo Wii. Though I am not a big video game player and am generally skeptical of such endeavours, in the days since Christmas I have had plenty of fun playing with the basic games on this system. So far we haven't marred the experience of owning a Wii by having any of the type of mishap that are documented in the video below (though from time to time Kirsten does inexplicably opt not to wear the wrist strap).
[Embedded video]
After our stocking-related acquisitions were adequately examined and breakfast consumed we moved on to a quick round of gift opening and scratch-ticket bingo playing. Eventually we realized that we could cut Neil and Rebecca in on the action even though they were in Halifax by using video chat technology.
[Embedded video]
We were even able to have the play bingo with us by scanning and then emailing them a game card. While I don't know how much Neil and Rebecca enjoyed this, I can say that everyone on this end thought it was pretty good.
Much of the rest of the day was spent preparing for Christmas dinner and then consuming Christmas dinner. Along with another couple, we were joined for dinner by Jeannette and her family. As far as I could tell, a good time was had by all.
I imagine that there are a few more things I could mention, but unfortunately I am drawing a blank right now or have decided that they are too unimportant to be worth the effort of re-telling them. Hope everyone else had as enjoyable a Christmas.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Christmas Shopping Drama
My Christmas shopping for this year has not gone the least bit smoothly. Not only have I routinely been stuck for ideas, and then not particularly pleased with the items I have settle for, but I have also had problems acquiring a few of the things that I have thought about.
For instance, a few days ago I finally had an idea for Kirsten. Unfortunately, though, the store I was then in which might have been expected to sell the product I was looking for did not seem to have a copy. I then started looking at other stores we visited with no success. Then, today, Christmas Eve, I made a last minute run to a street populated with many chain stores only to have a similar level of success. Fortunately, I was, eventually, able to find a store that contained a variation the theme of what I was originally going for.
After this moderate success I still had to head to another shopping centre/district get ideas/gifts for two more people. It was emotionally tiring.
The only aspect of this experience that I might frame as positive was my ability to enter stores and buy absolutely nothing if they didn't have what I was looking for. Thus I don't feel that I bought too many pieces of crap just for the sake of buying something.
Anyway, we now have about 12 hours until Christmas and I think that I have purchased (or it has been purchased on my behalf) everything that I will be buying for Christmas. And while I am frequently quite late when it comes to shopping, I don't know if I have ever before made Christmas Eve morning emergency runs to such a large number of stores.
Now I just have to wrap all of my purchases.
For instance, a few days ago I finally had an idea for Kirsten. Unfortunately, though, the store I was then in which might have been expected to sell the product I was looking for did not seem to have a copy. I then started looking at other stores we visited with no success. Then, today, Christmas Eve, I made a last minute run to a street populated with many chain stores only to have a similar level of success. Fortunately, I was, eventually, able to find a store that contained a variation the theme of what I was originally going for.
After this moderate success I still had to head to another shopping centre/district get ideas/gifts for two more people. It was emotionally tiring.
The only aspect of this experience that I might frame as positive was my ability to enter stores and buy absolutely nothing if they didn't have what I was looking for. Thus I don't feel that I bought too many pieces of crap just for the sake of buying something.
Anyway, we now have about 12 hours until Christmas and I think that I have purchased (or it has been purchased on my behalf) everything that I will be buying for Christmas. And while I am frequently quite late when it comes to shopping, I don't know if I have ever before made Christmas Eve morning emergency runs to such a large number of stores.
Now I just have to wrap all of my purchases.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Christmas Bread on the Video
Finally, what you have all been waiting for, my time-lapse video of my Tibb's Eve baking activities.
[Embedded video]
As you can see, we did a fair bit of food prep today.
I am just glad that the bread came out tasting fine. For a while I was a little worried that we had a hot bowl of $30 worth of wasted dairy products.
Editor's Note: I presume that no one caught my pointless allusion to TV on the Radio in the title. And to think that I thought it was so clever and funny.
[Embedded video]
As you can see, we did a fair bit of food prep today.
I am just glad that the bread came out tasting fine. For a while I was a little worried that we had a hot bowl of $30 worth of wasted dairy products.
Editor's Note: I presume that no one caught my pointless allusion to TV on the Radio in the title. And to think that I thought it was so clever and funny.
Christmas Bread Pt. 14
The bread is now all baked and the oven is off. I am happy to report that after all of this work the bread is quite edible, even tasty. Just a moment ago I finished off the loaf that we had for dinner.
I guess this brings the live updates to a close. Hopefully I will have a few videos or photos to upload in the near future.
I guess this brings the live updates to a close. Hopefully I will have a few videos or photos to upload in the near future.
Christmas Bread Pt. 13
My mother just removed the cinnamon rolls from the oven, thus freeing up the space required for the final loaf of bread. So just about 8 hours after my first post we are ready to start baking the final loaf. This has definitely been a full day of baking.
While these last few loaves have been baking I have been working on preparing dinner. To cut down on cooking we decided to have 'make your own salads.' To prepare for this meal I have been chopping up all kinds of vegetables and salad ingredients.
Anyway, the end is definitely in sight now. In about 25-30 minutes most of the food prep should be completed for the day.
While these last few loaves have been baking I have been working on preparing dinner. To cut down on cooking we decided to have 'make your own salads.' To prepare for this meal I have been chopping up all kinds of vegetables and salad ingredients.
Anyway, the end is definitely in sight now. In about 25-30 minutes most of the food prep should be completed for the day.
Christmas Bread Pt. 12
I just realized that we are about 7 hours, or more, into this project and have another hour or two left. Wow.
Christmas Bread Pt. 11
We are now down to three completely unbaked loaves and the cinnamon rolls that need to go in the oven. Of course, none of this can go in the oven until the two half-baked loaves presently in the oven are removed.
As bowls and pans have been emptied or used we have been washing them. So even though we will have made about 20 loaves of bread, rum ball, and hummus in the kitchen it isn't too much of a mess.
For those of you who are curious, we made about 12 batches of the recipe. It seems likely that next year we won't knowingly make a similar quantity. I suspect that about 8 batches worth of dough would be sufficient.
As bowls and pans have been emptied or used we have been washing them. So even though we will have made about 20 loaves of bread, rum ball, and hummus in the kitchen it isn't too much of a mess.
For those of you who are curious, we made about 12 batches of the recipe. It seems likely that next year we won't knowingly make a similar quantity. I suspect that about 8 batches worth of dough would be sufficient.
Christmas Bread Pt. 10
So it seems that in total we will have 22 loaves of Christmas bread and one set of cinnamon rolls.
Two are in the oven, five are ready to go, and the rest are done. A few of those that are done have been decorated. I suspect that it will take about two hours before everything is out of the oven, maybe three.
Wow, this was quite a lot of baking/food prep.
Hopefully I will be able to throw up a few photos and a video or two once everything is out of the oven.
Two are in the oven, five are ready to go, and the rest are done. A few of those that are done have been decorated. I suspect that it will take about two hours before everything is out of the oven, maybe three.
Wow, this was quite a lot of baking/food prep.
Hopefully I will be able to throw up a few photos and a video or two once everything is out of the oven.
Christmas Bread Pt. 9
I just heard my mom say "Oh, I forgot what I was looking for - a piece of thread."
Christmas Bread Pt. 8
I just rolled the dough for the cinnamon rolls. Hopefully my mother will return with the cutting thread so we can make a little more progress.
A few of the bread loaves have now been decorated and Kirsten has even tried to deliver a few. So things are definitely moving towards completion, though we are still a ways away from finishing.
A few of the bread loaves have now been decorated and Kirsten has even tried to deliver a few. So things are definitely moving towards completion, though we are still a ways away from finishing.
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