We ate at the Red Pepper on Maple today and i ordered off the menu -- Vegetarian Pho. Damn good. And here it is, after what (e:Uncutsaniflush) and i presume was about 10 minutes of eating.




I didn't realize it was going to be this kind of "tree hunt", but today i went to the sticks with Kirsten to cut down and drag a tree back to her place. It was chaotic and fun and i laughed so hard i could barely breathe.

We had both the dogs with us but saw a no pets sign. It would have been too muddy for them anyway. Thank goodness i had my wellies on.

We managed to tie the tree to the top of the car only to find out that our method left us unable to get into the car since we tied the twine through the open windows. I almost burst a lung laughing...

The dogs love the new tree tying on the top of the car method that involved some door opening. Gave them a chance to try to slip out. With me still recovering from the laughing, i wasn't much help, and Ava dashed out like... well, i guess a dog locked in a car. We got her back in by promising treats.

This morning, (e:Uncutsaniflush) and i went to an estate sale on Grand Island. I just don't understand the appeal of that particular suburb.... but what do i know, i live on the West Side!

So today, i had my usual city experiences, as well as a suburban one and a country one.....

Because it has pictures of your xmas gift.

Every year for well over 10 years i have been making my mom the same gift. The first year i did it, she opened it, gasped and told me i would never again be stuck for something to get her. Also in that first year, i did every single bit of it by hand. Now, done on CorelDraw (i swear, 2008 will be Open Source!!).

You would think a calendar would be boring. Or, that it would be easy to describe to people. Some might also wonder why it takes me so much time, even though nothing but my signature on the back of it and my instructions to Kinkos are done by hand anymore.

Here are pics of my Mom's 3 Month On A Page Calendar, 2007.

Front Page



January



February (those dots are hearts)



March



April



May



June



July and a close up to see the cute lil maple leafs




August



September



October



November



December with another closeup

Yesterday, we headed into Canada. Our main purpose was to return a birthday gift my parents got (e:Uncutsaniflush) and since they still had the reciept, we had to go all the way into Hamilton, not just to the nearest Future Shop. There's a lesson in that for us...

After the dastardly deed of returning said gift, getting a gift card for the value of it and purchasing something more appropriate was acheived, we decided to head downtown to the worst neighbourhood in town.

The corner of Barton Street East and Sherman Avenue North used to be that 'hood that i would ignore when apartment hunting, no matter how cheap the rents were.

It is also the Polish neighbourhood. And we were in search of a Polish treat i haven't had in a long time. (And yeah, folks, if i could spell it, i would; the fact that i can pronounce it is a feat in and of itself! Maybe (e:Uncutsaniflush) will be kind enough to tell us in the comments)

We went to a deli that (e:Uncutsaniflush) vaguely remembered when he and my dad walked by after they parked on a side street to go eat dinner at a Polish restaurant before going to Ivor Wynne to see the Ti-Cats play... probably over a year ago.

Didn't get the treat i wanted, but we got lots of other yummy sweets, even by the same company, E.Wedel, including a beautiful tin wiht very very good chocolates inside!

We had fun wandering the two short blocks.

We went out to dinner with my parents.

And, we found out the cedar chest i have always loved did fit into the back seats of our lil Toyota Prius! My mom offered it to us once she got a small chest of drawers to put her stuff into. She found one at Ikea, put it together and emptied the chest out. The customs officer looked slightly perplexed and wanted to look inside... which of course we had made sure was possible.

I am thrilled to have it. It's my late maternal grandmother's. Someone i was very close with. It was her hope chest when she got married. She gave it to my mom. And now, finally, my mom gave it to me.

Not that it is his fault my filling cracked and crumbled in my mouth today. It's actually the fault of a previous dentist, i am sure; he knew i was totally broke and only patched up my teeth, instead of giving me a more expensive crown. Looks like i have to call my dentist in the morning. (e:Mike) , you should get a finders fee from them... they are making a few bucks off me and you recommended them!

I admit it. I love going to the mailbox and finding a letter or a card. I like paper, stationery, fancy pens and cards.

I know i am a dying breed... no one cares much for anything as slow as snailmail anymore. But i do. I just finished my holiday cards.

I mailed off the ones that need to go overseas to England and Australia yesterday. Hope they won't be late.

The Canadian and US ones are mostly ready, save 2 of my cousins that moved last year. Rob, from Michigan to Texas for a better accounting job. Mike and his wife, Nicole moved away from Toronto to get a house in Oakville, i think (shocked the hell out of me; both are total Toronto snobs). Waiting for emails to tell me their addresses. Interesting twist there...

I also updated my user sound, since i was getting all holidayish. Kate Bush's Decemember Will Be Magic Again. Not her best, but hey, it's very holiday-y sounding...