Thursday, August 30, 2007

Introducing Miss Platnum

Here's a great music video for the plus girls out there.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Friends at Last

I watched a great movie last night called Friends at Last starring Kathleen Turner and Colm Feore (Bon Cop, Good Cop). It has to be one of Kathleen Turner's best films. It's a made for tv film otherwise I would have provided a link at the bottom for Amazon.

Kathleen and Colm play Fanny and Phillip Connelyn. Fanny is a homemaker to the ninth degree taking care of their child, their home and providing inspiration to her husband. Phillip is a writer with growing notoriety. The more popular he becomes the more embarrassed and withdrawn he becomes from Fanny. Their relationship becomes down right volatile (not War of the Roses) and they eventually separate and Fanny attempts to make it on her own; after a long row of depression and self-pity.

Things between her and Phillip remain caustic until about twelve years later when their daughter invites each of them to dinner to celebrate her graduation. They both handle the dinner well despist the addition of Phillip's new rich wife. At this point Phillip's career is waining and his writing has dried up. The dinner went so well that Phillip calls Fanny the Sunday after and they have lunch and a walk like they did in the old days. The Sunday walk becomes a weekly event that they both look forward to. Their new friendship is interrupted when Fanny finds a large lump in her breast.

I've never been a big fan of Kathleen Turner but I enjoyed her in this film and thought she was excellent. Colm Feore is always excellent and I got to see a very young side of him (this film was made in 1995). If you see it in your tv guide be sure to mark it for watching.

Saturday, August 25, 2007

Fave Photo: Little Suzie

Jeff came a across some old floppy discs from when I use to get film developed in the mail from Seattle Film Works. Along with the pictures they would include a free floppy so you could look at your pictures on the computer. Jeff was able to convert them so I could look at them on my computer (no floppy). Here's a picture of my little princess before she grew into her head.

Isn't she gorgeous? I can't help but smile at her for being so tolerant of me when I take her picture. Little did she know this would be a regular occurrence in her life. At least now we have video and she doesn't have to worry about a nasty flash.

The unfortunate thing about this photo is that the colors are washed out. I don't remember SFW being too great with colors. Suzie has a magnificent pair of green eyes which don't show up well in this photo but she's so darn cute I thought I'd share anyway.

An interesting side note: even though she and Shelby are a different species (?). Shelby being a dog and all. They look alike texturally. They both have dark stripes with a white mush and a beige undercoat. They also both have similar horn markings on their forehead. Hmm... Is this anything like having to have both vehicles the same color? Unconscious of course.

Friday, August 24, 2007

A Painful Life for a Food Goddess

Imagine at the age of 25 losing your mother to liver cancer. Then a short time later losing your sister to breast cancer. Imagine still, you are happily married and find out your husband and the father of your two children is going to die from throat cancer. What kind of person lives through these kinds of losses with any measure of dignity? Nigella Lawson, that's who.

I just finished reading the biography of Nigella Lawson by Gilly Smith. In this neck of the woods London born Nigella Lawson is not known for her tragic life. She's known as the Domestic Goddess and Queen of Food-porn in the television Nigella Bites as well as an array of cooking books.

I was looking forward to this glimpse into Nigella's life but was disappointed by the author's interpretation through columns, articles, interviews (none of which she did), cookbooks and videos. I did learn a lot about Nigella. But I think Nigella, a journalist in her own right, could have done a better job.

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Topic Links
* Nigella Lawson
* Review of Nigella Lawson (coming soon)

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Squi-Doo-ing

I've been Squidoo-ing. Like Pamela Anderson? No? Check it out anyway. I think it looks pretty good.

Visit Blonde Bombshell.

No this isn't my first Squidoo. I created one for plus size curvy women a while go. It's still a work in progress but you can visit that one too.

Visit Curvy Chics.

You can also make your own Squidoo.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Pomegranate Soup

On my trip I finished Pomegranate Soup. I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. You can read my review at the Literary Fiction site of BellaOnline.

I think the author Marsha Mehran has found her niche both in writing and promoting. Within the book are 13 real recipes between each chapter. I've been trying them out on Jeff and so far he approves. I do too. It's like a bonus after the book is done and an excellent word-of-mouth promotion tool.

Mehran is continuing on with a series of other books with the same characters and more recipes. I'm looking forward to both.

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Topic Links
* Review - Pomegranate Soup

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Responsible Forestry

One of the things we talked about on our trip across Canada was forestry. Jeff and I are huge fans of trees. They are a natural part of our day-trips and even if we don't see any wildlife we enjoy the view. On our trip this summer we witnessed what we thought was a lot clear cutting (considering the small area we traveled compared to the entire area of the country).

Clear cutting is basically a bunch of men (and a few women) coming in to a forested area with large machinery and chopping down pretty much everything, in search of quality trees for lumbering.

The provinces of Canada supposedly have agreed to "sustainable forestry" (not taking out more than the area can provide) which obviously is great. But everywhere we saw clear cutting nothing was left behind but a mess. Piles of rotting trees, trees that had washed into water systems. One area we traveled through had rotting trees that were floating in the waterways. Bark sinking to the bottome and destroying yet another eco-system. In many places it was obviously more than a year old. Not only was it dishearting, it was disgusting to look at. It is also environmentally irresponsible.

Jeff and I talked about it again on the way home and we think there should be a team mentality involved. The foresters come in to make an assessment, the cutters come in to get the trees, followed by the cleaners, followed by the planters, followed by another assessment. One comes in as soon as the previous job is done and everyone's job is evaluated by the team after them. There needs to be more accountability in this industry.

Now I realize that some members of the Forestry industry are doing their part for the environment and that Forestry has come a long way over the last century but there are still a whole lot of trees being cut down and a whole lot of negligence going on.

I realize we use wood for a great many things. And I'd be the first to say how much I appreciate what foresters do for us but something has got to change. There's no reason for a mess such as this to be left behind. Unfortunately, I'm sure it comes down to costs and in someone's eyes it is cheaper to destroy an eco-system than it is to clean up after themselves.

But I'm just someone from the outside looking in and it is easy to judge.

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Delightful

Yesterday I went to the bulk food store to get some ingredients to make baklava (another story). I love the bulk food store because I always feel like I can spend a little and leave with a lot. I also love it because it has a magnificent array of tasty treats.

When I was finishing the last aisle I saw a sign that said "NEW!" so I went over for a looksee. They had various candies that I don't remember and "Turkish Delight". Now, in the past they've carried Big Turk which basically is red turkish delight covered in chocolate. This is how I thought all turkish delight was made until I saw the movie, The Chronicles of Narnia and witnessed Edward's insatiable addiction to the powdered covered red turkish delight.

This new bin contained what appeared to be the exact thing from Narnia (ok, not exactly, but pretty close for a bulk food store) so I scooped up a handful to try later on. Well, curl my toes. I love it! Jeff was "eh, I can take it or leave it". Me, I'm contemplating when I can go out and get some more (yes it's all gone). It was so fresh, powdery and not too sweet. I actually didn't get much because I was expecting it to be too sweet. But it wasn't. It was perfect.

I believe this is a common British treat so I can only imagine how divine it would be fresh from a retailer there. I could attempt to make my own but after today's adventure making baklava it ain't going to happen. More after the taste test!

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Topic Links

* The Chronicles of Narnia

Friday, August 10, 2007

August MeMe

Just when you think you know enough... My friend Nai sent me this one when I was away and since I'm still getting caught up I thought it would be an easy post.

1. Were you name after anyone? Not that I'm aware.
2. When was the last time you cried? Last night watching the advertisement for the new Princess Diana show.
3. Do You like your handwriting. Sometimes, but my typing isn't much better.
4. What is your favourite lunch meat? Cooked ham with mock chicken a close second.
5. Do you have kids? Not the human kind.
6. If you were another person would you be friends with you? Yes, I'm very loyal.
7. Do you use sarcasm a lot? Jeff seems to think I do.
8. Do you still have your tonsils? Yep. I ate giving nothing up without a fight.
9. Would you bungee jump? If I was 20 years younger and had a better back, yes.
10. What is your favourite cereal? I don't like cereal.
11. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? Never!
12. Do you think you are strong? Very. Unless I'm trying to open a jar.
13. What is your favourite ice cream? Maple Walnut.
14. What is the first thing you notice about people? Depends. Sometimes it's the voice, sometimes it's the stature, sometimes it's their face. Depends on the environment and situation.
15. Red or Pink? Red. But if someone wants to give me a pair of pink Uggs I'll take 'em.
16. What is the least favorite thing about yourself? My shallowness.
17. Who do you miss the most? My babysitter Mona.
18. Do you want everyone to send this back to you? Naw, they can blog it or forget it.
19. What colour pants and shoes are you wearing? Grey shorts, no shoes.
20. What was the last thing you ate? Dark chocolate covered ginger pieces.
21. What are you listening to right now? Jeff vacuuming. While I appreciate the effort... I hate the noise. Someone really needs to develop a silent vacuum.
22. If you were a crayon, what colour would you be? Black, it goes with everything.
23. Favourite smells? Jeff, cinnamon buns, beef in the oven.
24. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? Well, I don't talk on the phone much. In fact, I don't remember the last time I did. It was probably a telephone solicitor.
25. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Mostly. :P~
26. Favourite sports to watch? I love football and baseball movies.
27. Hair colour? Blondish I guess. Ash maybe?
28. Eye colour? Blue
29. Do you wear contacts? I use to live in them. Now I only wear them occasionally.
30. Favourite food? Poutine.
31. Scary Movies or Happy Endings? Happy Endings.
32. Last movie you watched? Emma for like the 20th time.
33. What colour shirt are you wearing? Pink (that's embarrassing).
34. Summer or winter? WINTER! I can hardly wait. It's so frigging hot and humid.
35. Hugs or kisses? Depends who's supplying them.
36. Favourite dessert? Fresh homemade chocolate chips cookies and skim milk.
37. Most like to respond? Somebody, somewhere.
38. What book are you reading now? Nigella Lawson's biography and selected poems by Alfred Tennyson.
40. What is on your mouse pad? Don't have one.
41. What did you watch on tv last night? Mythbusters.
42. Favourite sound? At the moment... silence. Jeff is still vacuuming.
43. Rolling stones or Beatles? Beatles.
44. What is the farthest that you have been from home? Burnaby, B.C.
45. Do you have a special talent? A jack of many trades, master of none.
46. Where were you born? Fort William, Ontario.

Wow, that was longer than I thought it was!

Monday, August 06, 2007

Home 'Sweet' Home

Now I know why they call it 'home sweet home'. Momma Mia! I am so incredibly happy to be back in my own space. It was wonderful to see new things but enough is enough... I really don't know how people do it all the time. The last few days were the worst and the last few hours... I thought I was going to explode or burst or have a psychotic episode... seriously.

Time to get back to business. You should see the weeds in my back yard! Ok, I haven't actually been in the back yard but I can see some huge ones from here.

I'm off to take care of BIW stuff. More to come.

Thursday, August 02, 2007

Thunder Bay

We're in Thunder Bay. I can't believe how tired we are. We are doing some visiting for a few days and heading out on Saturday for home. It'll take two days to get back and a day to recuperate. After that it's back to work. I'll have more updates as the week passes.

Check out Pomegranate Soup by Marsha Mehran if you get the chance. I finished this trip and really enjoyed it. I've written a rough review for the Literary Fiction site that I'll finish when I get back.

Cheerio!