WHAT is THIS?! I'm working a lot this week yet I'm still cooking... why? Dan said to just go to subway but noooo i decide to buy the on sale PC green curry sauce. I followed the directions but I am not so sure that I want to eat it now. My guts hurt just looking at it. Dan just finished his and he says now he's afraid to fart. Oh man... wish me luck.

Oh, and I took this pic for Mom W so that I'm actually in some of the pics and they're not just of dumb computers and food. :)

Advent calendar

Does anyone have any good ideas for an advent calendar. I'd really like to have one but have been avoiding those plastic/cardboard Nestle cheapies that you can buy at the grocery store. I'd like to have something more real and something that I don't think Dan will pillage before Christmas actually gets here. I don't mind making something but I'm not a really crafty person. It has to be worth it to make too. I want something that I will probably wrap up to use next year and think fondly of... not one that I'd rather just toss. So far its either this one:







.... since it seems to be one that I could easily do and would probably appreciate...


or



... since it looks the nicest and I could probably get it done.





This might be too far out of my abilities but I like the look of this one and figure I would probably save it (whereas the paper would just end in the garbage)


I don't know. I'd love some suggestions though. If I want a traditional, special one that would be used every year I might as well just buy a fancy one.... but i hate buying stuff. Who knows.... i might be the beer case one after all.

One of my favourite things about this computer

See the memory stick ports in the middle? I love them. It is so easy to upload my pictures. No need for a missing camera cord.

Another favourite thing, the monitor is thin. We have a really small place so all the space is needed. Right now the whole thing is on our table (as you can see) but we hope to get a tiny little desk that fits just the computer.

And my most favourite of all favourite things about this computer......

I have high speed internet!! Boy did I miss this these last two years. It took me about 2 seconds to upload the picture!

The American Chestnut Tree

I've found a new hobby/love of mine. I've been talking about it with my family for quite a while and I seem to be pretty passionate about it so I'm surprised I haven't written anything about it on my blog yet.
Part of my Horticulture Therapy course for this saturday is to bring a project. Since the chestnut is what I'm excited about I wrote up a blurb about it. Since most of it isn't really important for this post I just copy and pasted the part that might seem interested. If you click on the link and follow it to other links, you might get excited about it too. check it out.

History of the American Chestnut
Seventy years ago the American Chestnut made up 25% of our trees in our woods and forests from south Georgia up to southern Ontario. The wood was used for furniture and the nuts were used as food. The American Chestnut has a sweeter taste than the chestnuts we know today and the nut harvest could be depended on since the tree was quite drought resistant.
A blight believed to be introduced by the Chinese chestnut tree was introduced in the 1940's and rapidly ran through our forests destroying almost all of the trees. VERY few trees are left standing and because of the nature of cross pollination, these trees are left standing alone with little capability of producing further nuts for more trees. Some tree roots are left from fallen chestnut trees and these send up shoots once in a while but the shoots generally are killed off by the blight. In 1986 the World Wildlife Fund declared the tree a threatened species.
There is research and teams of people interested in ensuring the trees survival. The research involves attempts at cross pollinating with the Chinese Chestnut to produce a version of the American Chestnut that is blight resistance. Other research includes using a virus to kill the bacteria that causes the chestnut blight.
Most people of my generation do not even know what an American Chestnut looks like. People are needed to go out in their own neighborhoods, back yards and woods to find chestnut trees, help the pollination so that we can collect the precious few nuts, plant them, and then, if they die keep planting more.
More information on the American Chestnut can be found at: http://www.uoguelph.ca/~chestnut/

Thanks Cass

Cass gave me her old dead dog's bed for Chloe to sleep in. Here she is curled up in it.

House and Truck

I just realized that most of you haven't seen our new place yet. And since I was taking pictures, I kept on going and took some pictures of our tragic truck. I wish I could just get rid of that thing instead of seeing it sit there everyday reminding me of how we need a new one. boo!

A long weekend and a long day.

I feel like I've had an extreme weekend. I worked 27 hours this weekend, drove 5.5 hours and slept about 7 hours a night (too little for me). The weather was super crappy; everything from rain to sleet and snow. Yuck. I worked at the kids camp job on Sat. and Sun. and we ended up spending quite a bit of time outside in that crappy weather but it sure makes me appreciate my bed and duvet. I went to my parents place to get Chloe bred (done and done!!) and really am happy I did (besides the puppy thing). It was hectic but it was so nice to come home at the end of the day, smell the wood smoke outside, come inside and smell freshly baked bred and have good music playing throughout the house. Mom and Dad got a Wii so there was lots of entertaining there too. At 6ish in the morning mom and dad would wake me up and then go downstairs to make me tea and porridge before sending me out for the day. Isn't that great?! And they sent plenty of scarves (thank you Oma) and mitts and hats for the kids too. Dad felt bad for Chloe and let her in the house so she was so spoiled all weekend too. After her traumatic day (or really good day?) she was pretty soaked so she got to lay by the fire place and dry off, even though she was really dirty and stinky. So, thanks mom and dad. It was definately worth it.
Today Dan and I both had the day off so we went over to a friends place who is putting a HUGE addition on his house. Dan is wiring it up and needed to finish the roughing in part. I didn't really think I'd be useful so I wasn't looking forward to standing around in the cold all day but Dan was awesome and taught me how to do really helpful things so I ended up being busy and working hard all day. My finger tips HURT! I tied the wires into the boxes for the plugs switches and lights. Dan is super picky about all the wires being straight and neat so I took quite a while and I'm sure that it wasn't as nice as he wouldv'e done it but I was busy all day and they said it was helpful. Actualy, I feel pretty good about it all... kind of proud. I'm happy that I could do it and not whine about how cold it was or about cutting myself (I did cut myself).
And now, I'm beat! The dog still had to be walked, but the house is neat (Dan did that this weekend!). I can hardly sit here to type this out now so this is it. I'm going to bed, sleeping in tomorrow (a day off!!) and then relaxing tomorrow... maybe I'll do some cooking.

Yaaahh!! Me and Grace

After spending 8 days with the family and baby Grace and then coming home, I'm having some home sickness for the kid. So, here I am in hilo so I thought I'd come and visit. I LLLOOOOOVVVEEE this girl!

I'm waiting for my rental car. I told them to come early so I had plenty of time to get to work. Good thing too since no one showed up. I finally called another location who is now sending the guy down to pick me up. I called work and said I might be late so all will be okay... i just hope I get an upgrade or discount or something for all of this, right? Am I cheap or deserving?
After work I come back here, switch cars with Dan and take Chloe to Hilo to hopefully breed her. I counted the days out and I think it's the right time but we'll have to see. I'm staying there all weekend so we can keep trying the breeding thing to make sure that she's good and ... bred (?). In between all of that I'm working a couple shifts at the kids camp and working my main job. That's a lot of working and running around. I'll be returning to hilo at nights driving all over creation for my jobs and then finally, on Sunday, coming back here. Home. Kinda. I still have lots to unpack and settle. Still no art on the walls.

I hate vacuum cleaners

That's not true... i like vacuum cleaners. I just like them when they work!!! Grr!! We've been living in a tiny apartment with a DOG for 10 days!!! WITHOUT A VACUUM! Can you understand how yuck it is getting around here?
We do own a vacuum cleaner but since at our old place we had central vac., we had lent it out after it had been sitting around for too long. I don't know if it is the 2 years of inactivity or the fact the bag wasn't changed properly or on time but now, it doesn't work. I spent an hour or so this morning walking all over town trying to find a store that sold vacuum bags. Not many do. And the ones that do, probably don't carry my brand of vacuum bags. I had to guess on the type of bag because, of course, the vacuum model and the bag model ISN'T the same thing, of course. I get home, it's the wrong bag. I try it anyway? It just about blows up the whole vacuum cleaner. I spend almost another hour trying to find my vacuum cleaner online so i figure out what bag # i DO need... and guess what?.... My vacuum cleaner doesn't exist! That's right. The model # engraved on my cleaner does not exist!! No kidding!
I'm so frustrated with my vacuum cleaner, the dog hair, the dog that is in heat and the washer/dryer problems that I haven't even started on, that I'm ready to go and just buy everything new.

Time change

Last night I set my alarm clock so that I'd have plenty of time this morning to take the dog for a walk, clean the kitchen (a Saturday job that didn't get done) and take a shower. I slept in for half an hour so I had to cut back on the dogs walk and did a poor job of the kitchen. When I got out of the shower and yelled at Dan to get up NOW, he said "oh maannn... I hope you haven't changed the clocks yet." Woo hoo!!! An extra hour. I'll finish the kitchen and spend the rest of the time reading my book (Pigs in heaven - Barbara Kingsolver)
Woops, I take that back. The inlaws will be here in a bit and we'll visit over coffee until church time. Oh, the good ol' days.