Brain Fart #679

Isn't it weird how the brain works?  Sometimes I feel quite sane... and then sometimes... not so much.

Take this morning for instance.  I'm pet/house sitting for my daughter this week and life is suddenly crazy.  The animals are pretty good... most of the time, when they're not fighting over food.  As I said, it's been crazy... having another large dog around is so much more work... AND mess. And my Zoe is not impressed. Karen must have picked the worst or for her, the BEST, week to be in Mexico. Vancouver is a flippin' mud bath right now!

But I digress... I was talking about my brain and the way it functions, wasn't I? 

I'm ready to leave this morning, all dressed up in my coat and boots when I realize I don't have my iPhone.  Shoot!  Where the heck is it?  Off come the boots and I trudge through the house looking for it... it's nowhere to be seen. So I call it from the land line... Aha!! Yes!  Success!  I look at the iPhone and see a missed call message.  I think to myself. "Damn! I missed a call from Karen!"

OK... think about it... Karen is in Mexico... you are in her house, yer dummy... you have just used her phone to find yours.  

Zoe and Koda wait patiently for their dinner.

Why I'm walking with Lina's Ladies...

There are two very special people who are at the heart of my motivation to join Lina's Ladies to walk 60 kilometers again this August during The Weekend to End Women's Cancers fundraiser.

Lina & Linda Weekend to End Breast Cancer 2009

First and foremost I'm doing this walk for Lina Vassallo... dear sweet, strong Lina, who was the inspiration behind our "Hoofin for Hooters" team in 2009.  Lina lost her very hard fought battle with breast cancer on January 6th, 2011.  She was only 38.

I'm walking for Lina...

Another huge reason for me to be trudging the sweltering streets of Vancouver again this summer is to support my beautiful friend, Linda.  Linda was one of Lina's closest friends and has been devastated by Lina's death.  It will be so hard for Linda to do this walk again without Lina by her side, but she wants to do it... she needs to do it.  And I need to be by her side every step of the way.

I'm walking for Linda...

It's pretty obvious another major reason for doing the walk this summer is an enormous hope for the future... the hope that together we will raise enough funds to finally end this dreadful disease.  


Since 2004, $33 million has been raised by Weekend participants.  This has meant numerous advances in cancer research and care.  Every year proceeds continue to fund innovative research, treatment, and prevention programs for breast and gynecological cancers at BC Cancer Foundation.


I'm walking with the hope that one day all women will survive Cancer.  That all women will beat this disease and they will have the chance to see their children grow.


I'm walking for all women...



Walking is the easy part, but the part I need help with is the one that I find the most difficult.  The hardest part is asking people for money.  After all this time, we still need funds to help find a cure for cancer, so we will never have to feel the heartache of losing those we care about, ever again. 


Please be a part of my journey and visit my donation page... even the smallest donation would help my cause.
  

Here today... gone tomorrow! But I still want a Teasmade!

I was just checking out this link... 6 Soon-To-Be-Has-Been Gadgets.  It seems crazy to think that some of these things may become obsolete.  Things change so quickly in this technological age; it's quite alarming really.

Who would have thought in the early 90s that our beautiful new CD players, such an advance on the old cassette tape, would become a thing of the past in less than 20 years.  I know you can still buy them, but seriously, who does anymore?  And with the popularity of streaming video, even DVD players, brand new on the market such a short time ago, may not be around for very long either.  They are even predicting that laptops are likely to become technological dinosaurs in the not too distant future.

For some reason this got me to thinking about my parents' Goblin Teasmaid.  The picture in the Wikipedia link didn't do it justice so I found one that was much more like the one Mum and Dad had...

This fantastic device would faithfully wake Mum and Dad up every morning... oh gosh, it was way back in the 60s... OK, sometimes it was a bit of a rude awakening as it occasionally had the unfortunate habit of spurting scalding water in the wrong direction, but it was very reliable otherwise.  I know my Dad really appreciated a nice hot cuppa tea with his first ciggy as soon as he woke up!

I was amazed to see that an Automatic Tea Making Apparatus was originally invented in 1891.  I guess they may have been the very first in home automation.  Goblin, the one we had, are no longer available, but Swan still produces them for John Lewis and Tescos.  Cool!  I want one!

Edited later to add: My friend Tarnia found a Facebook page for the new Swan Teasmade. I "Like" it!

Project 365

I made a decision on January 1st to start a photo diary for 2011, my Project 365.  The plan is to post a picture every day to record my life over the course of this year.  It might prove interesting... if it works out that way, it could be a perfect subject for a Toastmasters speech.  There's something to be said for looking ahead!   


Having reached the third day of my project I have a bit of a quandary. I really enjoy the spontaneity my iPhone has given me, to be able to take a picture and post it right there and then is brilliant.  It's one of the main reasons I wanted to do this. 
My dilemma is this. Do I choose spontaneity over quality?.  When I've been out walking with Jim and he is taking the same photos with his wonderful Nikon D60 the results are incredible.  His photos so far this year are awesome.  But for this project, do I continue to use my iPhone and keep the same spur of the moment posting I originally planned?  Or do I take fantastic quality pictures with a decent camera and take the spontaneity out of it?  


Is it a photo diary recording my thoughts at that moment... like this one?

Sanderlings on the shoreline. Back to work tomorrow, but what a way to end our wonderfully relaxing Christmas break with another peaceful walk along the beach at Boundary Bay. We see so many birds here... bald eagles, brent geese, widgeons, pintail ducks.
01/03/11

Or do I try and compete with Jim and have as a result a great collection of amazing photos like this one? 

Jim took this great shot on the first day of the year.  What an amazing sight!

Procrastination...

Yes... procrastination. It's not usually a problem with me.  Although occasionally I am guilty of leaving things until the last minute.  I work better under pressure.

But yesterday, being the first day of the New Year and all, I felt I should write something particularly significant for my first blog of 2011.  I thought about it long and hard.  I even went so far as writing a few things down... they're right here in my drafts, but nothing seemed profound enough to be deserving of such a lofty perch as 01/01/11.

Procrastination does have a place in this life.  It means that today I can write about anything I damn well please and not feel in the least bit stressed.

Therefore... should you be so inclined, watch this space for more ramblings...

Sunrise 01/01/11 - Taken by my hubby, Jim.