It’s been a very long time since I posted and there’s a lot that has transpired. This note is just to keep whoever reads this blog informed that I’ll be posting from time to time again, and I haven’t ridden into the sunset.

Cheers!

Ingrid

After the white noise and repetitive vocal swaggering of Sarah Palin, I have found the refreshingly intelligent, erudite, eloquent, poised, polite, thoughtful and considered words of Michelle Obama. You might think I’m a little over the top with my swooning admiration of her; maybe so, but when you consider the Palin-schlock that has been dominating the media, it’s like water for the thirsty, or fresh air in a suffocating mine. The canary is singing! Hallelujah!

Okay, my notice and opinion of Michelle may be a little late, after the US Presidential race’s fact, but hey, better late than never. What a great woman Michelle Obama is. Not only is she a wonderful dresser, unlike Canada’s own fashionista, Julie Couillard (please check out my entries about her), but Michelle Obama comes across as intelligent and balanced. She’s the kind of person I’d love to invite to a dinner party and have a lively and relaxed conversation with.

My first introduction to Michelle Obama was a four part Youtube video of an interview she had with Larry King. I’ll post that link here: You’ll have to navigate through the other three parts on Youtube. I was so impressed with her. Contrast her with Palin, and you’ve got to wonder why Palin had 49% approval ratings at the time. What the hell were the Americans thinking? As I said before, Michelle Obama is so gracious, intelligent, reserved, poised, articulate, beautiful… Even if she’s faking it, she’s doing a damned fine job! From my vantage point, she and Barack have created an excellent family model.

And then I found this clip. Again… wow!

I could go on and on, there’s a lot on Youtube to watch. Unfortunately it’s hard to know what the sources are or when they were filmed. Never the less, this little exposure into the next First Lady’s character gives me sense of comfort over here on the north side of the 49th parallel. I don’t know what the next US administration can change in the world, if much. I doubt it will stop the crisis in Gaza, or halt the many tensions throughout the planet. But, I’m glad to see that history has finally broken through the race ceiling in the US, and black person can finally be all he or she can aspire to.

Next ceiling to break through: Women’s roles, beyond a supporting one.

Now, what shall we serve up with our Perogi’d government? A little sour cream and chives, perhaps?

Ingrid

Happy 2009, one and all! It will be interesting to see what 2009 has in store for us.

I found a lovely quote online: “life is a comedy for those who think, and a tragedy for those who feel”, which is the guiding philosophy of Roger Sandall, whose website can be found here Roger Sandall

More later…

Ingrid

For your interest, I found a great photo of the entire ensemble Julie Couillard wore to Maxime Bernier’s swearing in ceremony. Please note the shoes! They are SO wrong for the outfit. Seriously, is she really going to give fashion commentary on TV? Wow. Will wonders ever cease?

I suppose the reason we haven’t seen the whole package from tip to toe is because of the bodacious bow at her bosom. It’s distracting, so media outlets have cropped the pictures to only include her upper torso and head. It takes the idea of “bust” to a new level.

One thing is for sure, you have to admire her excellent physique and beauty. She obviously looks after herself, she’s well groomed and fit. No wonder she’s attracted so much attention. She’s a rare bird on parliament hill, and nobody likes a trophy girlfriend and the fallout of having one as much as all us house-bound Canadians holed up in our homes and pottering around with cabin fever in the middle of winter. You go girl!

What will she auction off next? The bugs that were planted in her bed?

Ingrid

Cabin Fevered Puddle Potterer

Oh thank goodness! I can’t believe how relieved I am to know that Julie Couillard now plans to auction her famous dress, the one she wore to Bernier’s swearing in ceremony. You might remember it, the dress, probably not the ceremony, her breasts were amazingly firm and plump, and not fake looking in the least.

But, the money she’ll raise from the sale of the dress will go to an epilepsy charity, a disease she apparently suffered from as a child. I can’t believe this woman and all that she’s suffered! Poor, poor girl. First we heard of the horrible life she had as the unwitting girlfriend of biker criminals; then later, the horrible experiences at the hands of that political cad, Maxime Bernier, and now, oh woe is she, a victim of childhood epilepsy. Give me strength!

Adding to the irony, she will be a co-hosting a fashion show on a Quebec TV station in the spring. Um, excuse me, I direct you to the blazer over exhibit A, the dress.

The poorly fitted blazer she wore over the dress didn’t match the outfit and it looked like a last minute cover up, like she had planned to do something else that day, like go to the beach, but at the last minute Maxime called her up and asked her to come to his inauguration. Would you take fashion advice from a woman wearing that?

I’d rather turn to Posh, thanks very much, so that’s saying something.

Well, at least this story still makes for fun reading and searching on the Internet, and a reason to post to our blog when all else eludes me.

Happy Holidays!

Ingrid

It’s time for a quick update before I head to work.

I’ve been thinking about our Canadian prorogued parliament (Professional Rogues), and I can’t help but think of union workers who go on strike. As far as I understand, a union leader goes to the membership and suggests to go on strike when all other options have failed. After some discussion, a vote is cast, and the union files a notice that they will be striking. When this happens, the workers no longer get their wage from the employer, and the union pays the workers strike pay.

Now, not that parliament, or government, is a union (they only conduct business for the unity of Canada, that’s all…), but many of the same principals apply. For instance, they follow Robert’s Rule of Order. Like a union, not one person can make a final decision, but make decisions based on the will of the majority. So, when a question is asked, discussed and concluded, it’s done through consultation, debate and discussion with the group as a whole.

When unions and employers meet to figure out their contracts, sometimes a third party is brought in, in the form of an arbitrator. This person is supposed to be unbiased, who concludes (hopefully reasonably) what the best course of action should be taken. In the case of our Canadian parliament, the parties went to the arbitrator (the Governor General), presented their sides, and the GG weighed the arguments on both sides, consulted with experts and looked a precedents, and made her decision to prorogue, or suspend, parliament.

That’s all fine and well, except that in a way, a prorogued parliament is like a union that has gone on strike. Sure, people are still working, but are they working to the same level as before? Do they put in the same number of hours? Are they being effectual? Are ALL of them working as much as they had been? Should they be paid their full wages, or a minimum daily wage, like strike pay?

Now, being a cynic and all, I’m inclined to think that out of the 308 seats that make up the House, not all are working 100% to 110% capacity. Look, it’s the Christmas season, and what better time to get a little break and go back to your constituency than just before Christmas. You can cry and bemoan the “undemocratic” nature of the events that led up to you sitting by the Christmas tree, feet up on the ottoman, rum and eggnog in hand, and taking a little break before you go back into Mr. Milliken’s grade 7 class to practice hurling spitballs and try out your newly minted bullying tactics and insults. What’s even better, the work you did in fact do over this break at 30% capacity, still paid you 100% of your wages. And that nerdy kid in the glasses that bugged you so much? He’s been moved to the back of the class so you don’t have to even look at him any more. After Christmas, Mr. Milliken’s class will have all the bull-dog bullies going after each other, scrapping outside after school by the bike racks. You’re almost in grade 8, and this is practice for the gladiatorial ring of high school.

We should all consider politics as a viable career…. and then go on strike at Christmas.

Ingrid
Pro Puddle Rogue

Last weekend we found ourselves once again surrounded by a happy bunch of nuts, and burned an effigy of Guy Fawkes, the 17th Century British terrorist who was eventually, hung, drawn, quartered and burned at the stake for trying to blow up parliament. Yeeeuck! Hellova way ta go! Our friends Andy and Cathy have been “celebrating” Guy Fawkes night for a few years, and last year was our first exposure to it. It was so fun, we eagerly anticipated this year’s festivities all year long. I made the head again this year, and we upped the ante a little with a stick body Neil made out of wood. It even had feet!

Anyway, 500 years after Guy’s dastardly attempt to smuggle loads of gun powder into the British House of Commons, under his coat while carrying a torch or something, we’re standing in our friend’s back yard in deepest, darkest Maple Ridge, watching Andy toss gas at the bonfire, while the Guy sits perched on a little makeshift seat, wearing a huge cowboy hat that looks more like a sombrero, going up in flame. The Guy has been stuffed with newspaper and hay, and two fireworks have been shoved into his empty head. When they finally go off, one makes a really lame “pop” while the other shoots out of the Guy’s head and lands in the neighbour’s yard where, after a pause, explodes with a huge “BANG!” Then the drunken Brits, Andy and a buddy, drag out some HUGE fireworks and “bear sticks”, which are like firecrackers that sound like bombs exploding, and set those off from a bucket filled with sand.

It was all incredibly bizarre and very testosterone laden, but fun, too, in that red-neck, backwoods kind of way! The whole scene was surreal, with much laughter and antics all ’round. Meanwhile, everything burned but the Guy’s shoes, which took forever. Nike sure knows how to make them there shoes. One leg fell off with a shoe still attached and continued burning on the grass until someone pushed it back into the fire.

Brits have this reputation of being all stuffy and stiff upper lip and ‘what’, but seriously, they make the Vikings look like SISSIES by comparison. Burning huge bonfires is one thing, but burning effigies in bonfires is wholly another! It’s borderline psychopathic… and fun.

So, for your viewing pleasure, here are some photos I took of that night. And yes, there was a small child at the party. What can I say? Nuts are made, not born!

Ingrid
Fire Puddler

The Guy’s comical head, complete with wonky British teeth.

The “Stuff and Dance”, standard moves…

The “Stuff and Sew”, the only way Guy will keep his clothes on, the cad!

Is it a cowboy hat? A Puritan hat? A sombrero? Whatever it is, it’s too small!

Guy Fawkes, convicted and condemned for all eternity

Flame on!

Ever defiant, even after 500 years.

An eery picture of the Guy burning

“I’ll be back!”

Engulfed in flames

Roaring bonfire

Shoe hanging on to… life?… and limb

Moon, clouds and sparks

Writing with sparklers

Child, sparkler and dwindling fire

Fireworks

The end of the Guy… until next year…

Neil tells me our blog is getting pretty serious, so I thought I’d take a page from Sarah Palin’s tactics and post something with a bit of “levity”… at least Sarah Palin thinks so…

After pardoning a turkey at American Thanksgiving, Sarah Palin conducted an interview in front of a turkey slaughter house.

**Warning: This is graphic, and might offend some viewers**

They say it’s not about race, yet there’s a distinctive atmosphere that would indicate that, Yes, it is about race.

It’s as if the world let out a collective sigh after Barack Obama won the most recent U.S. Presidential election, as if humanity is getting pretty tired of the privileged white male running the most dominant country in the world. It’s not just because people wanted to see the end of the Republicans (for awhile – they’ll be back, let’s hope sans Sarah Palin), it’s not just a change in foreign policy and all that complicated, convoluted, intricate high-falutin’ political stuff that most of us don’t understand anyway that we were hoping for. No, it’s that the majority of regular folk in the world are happy to see a black guy, instead of a white guy, running the U.S. There’s a hope that he might do things a little differently, maybe with a little more sensitivity, and more sensibly. He’s worked his way to where he is today, as opposed to having it handed to him by virtue of familial connections. He’s intelligent, suave, cool and level headed. He seems unknown, somehow, and maybe that’s a good thing. He appears to be a good statesman and diplomatic.

The U.S., and maybe even the world, isn’t ready for a female U.S. president. Not yet. It’s a huge leap that they’ve elected a black guy. It wasn’t an overwhelming victory as far as the popular vote is concerned, but it was a decent victory, and long over due. What a relief.

As for women, I think women in North America, particularly Canada and the U.S. will continue to have problems as long as they are viewed as entertainment objects by the male populous. I just made a prop for When You Comin’ Back Red Ryder. One of the characters reads a Playboy magazine, so I made a cover and put it on a different magazine. The tag line of Playboy reads: “Entertainment for Men”. Consider this: Women as entertainment. Specifically, women as objects of male entertainment.

Yea, you say, but both women and men can differentiate between the sex symbol and the intelligent woman who would be able to run the county. Okay, perhaps. And the U.S. has finally been able to differentiate between a capable black man and a subordinate black man. Has this leap of logic extended to women? I don’t know. But what I do know is that it’s more complicated than we might understand.

Woo hoo! 23 people visited our blog yesterday! I wonder if they read any of it… If they had, they’d see that this post is a follow-up to earlier ones about acquiring lye and roasting coffee. And then they’d read about the weather in Vancouver, and leave our site Very Informed.

Popcorn maker as a coffee roaster

Well, it works, kind of. I shoved a meat thermometer in the opening to see if the heat reached the required 400°F needed to properly roast the coffee. It was close, 374°F, but after about 10 minutes of roasting, the beans didn’t really get dark enough. The chafe, or whatever the skin on the bean is that comes off in the roasting process, came off easily and was blown out of the popper by the hot air. That was a bonus, but the coffee wasn’t roasted enough. So, I grabbed our trusty old cast iron frying pan, put the burner on high, and tossed the beans in there to give them a quick hard roast. That was a very quick way to do it, and much less smokey than the oven method because I could just take the pan and put right under the exhaust hood. Now the apartment just smells a little like burnt toast, unlike previously, where it smelled like a burning bakery. And I’m sitting here enjoying a delicious cup of freshly roasted coffee which only took me about 15 minutes to make.

Lye from Home Hardware

Neil and I finally got over to Home Hardware in North Vancouver to buy lye. I now have enough lye to last the rest of my soap-making career. They only had a 3 kg container for about $25.00. I think Lutefisk is made with lye. Those crazy Swedes! My mom loves Lutefisk. Maybe I’ll make some for Christmas…. does Life Insurance cover fish cured in lye?

Changing seasons (inspired by reading Yana Out East’s blog)

Fall has finally arrived on the coast. It’s raining, and will continue to rain. But it feels warmer than usual, and there’s a slower progression between the seasons, so the leaves are actually turning and we’re experiencing a colourful fall. Usually the Lower Mainland (sorry: Metro Vancouver) kind of has two seasons: Summer and Winter. Spring and Fall are like blips on the radar, with their quick transitions. Spring comes along, and one day its all the crocuses, cherry blossoms, and tulips, then the next day summer has arrived and it’s all green. Fall comes along and there’s that crisp Autumn air, the leaves are bright gold, red and orange, and the next day it’s green with a few bare trees. We have a lot of green in Vancouver. Lots and lots of evergreen plants and so the major marker of the change in seasons is the weather. Sun or rain. Lots of sun usually means it’s summer, and lots of rain usually means it’s spring, fall and winter. I read somewhere that Vancouver actually gets less light in the winter months than many communities farther north. The reason for this is because of the cloud cover over Vancouver. Whereas in, say Edmonton, they have less daylight in winter, they actually get more light because of the ambient light reflected off the snow, and when the sun is out, they are awash in light. Vancouver is grey, dark and wet for many months on end. So we put twinkle lights on our trees to compensate.

Our Bathroom

A few months ago I posted that we were embarking upon a bathroom reno. We still are. We’ve embarked, cast off and have sailed 1/3 of the way to our destination. We tore drywall off the walls, raised the ceiling, put in sound and fire proofing insulation, installed potlights and an über fan in the ceiling, fixed the plumbing from the sink which was actually draining the wrong way, as in towards the sink and not away from it, raised the shower head, installed a new, deep tub, put in marble tile around the tub, tiled the floor with slate, and Neil primed the drywall the other day. His dad has been extremely helpful, giving us willingly his time and expertise, thus making the process much easier. We’ve still got to paint the walls & ceiling, install the toilet, build the vanity & medicine cabinet, and install the mirror and vanity lighting. We’ve learned a lot from this experience, and it will help immensely when we get to the en suite bathroom. Eventually we’ll post some pictures of the process for your viewing pleasure. Because I know you really want to look at bathroom renos. I sure have!

Ingrid – Puddle Improver