Gingerbread Feast 2013

Rem and Steph's was Gingerbread Feast, Friday, was a full house. Many were ready to get creative with gingerbread, icing, and candy. And what was on their minds? (Or should I say who?) 

The oven finished cooking two pumpkin pies, and was then ready for some gingerbread play.





















(Below left: Daniel makes an entrance. / Below right: [House?] Hippo in the tree!) 

Kathy worked away on a Rubik's Cube, while Claire put together the pieces from her cast iron gingerbread house mould.

Michael and Allison and Rob all thought of the TARDIS, but with blue dye and blue prints in hand, Michael and Allison went to town.

After two years of high concept, but badly executed ideas, I decided to go back to something a little more basic... with a spin...

Steph made it pretty and in the end it was comfortable too for all the gummy bear riders (though, they sometimes were upside down). 

While all this concentration was going on, we'd steamed up the windows (below, including a self portrait.)...

Time passed... and then somehow Rem's beard was clipped. 

More photos of the night here. 

Fitty? Bitty? Bob?

It looked like rather a sad lump until I gave it a tap. 

And then it stuck its tongue out at me. 

All right, all right, I understand, you're sick of me being lazy.  I'll get up and walking around. 

And maybe do some tidying up.

Oh, it's time to go for groceries and do some Christmas shopping...

 ... And I'm back!

Some laundry... some vacuuming... more chores... decorate for Christmas... do some cooking...








Up and down the stairs to get things organised...

Wait a sec!  Are you laughing?!  Hmph!










My sadistic fitbit zip is really happy when I'm all tired and achy.  It could probably use a name.  Suggestions?

Enlivening Ephemera and Creating Searchable Scripts

Or _Another Tempting Place for My Time_

Since July-2013, thousands and thousands of submissions and volunteer hours have already been logged as part of The Smithsonian Transcription Center's efforts to make their collection more accessible to the general public.  They want you to join their "army" of digital volunteers.

Transcribing handwritten and typed documents for the Smithsonian?  Yes, that's sound great!  What an incredible project.  A chance to see rare documents from their collection and then making the information searchable for others.

I've heard before about mining online volunteer to identify pictures of star systems (perhaps it was Galaxy Zoo - now in its fourth version and still going strong), but this is the first I've heard of it for a museum.  Anyway, I can see the potential for it.  Like my old SSDS sessions where I read textbooks onto tape, this seems like an ideal way to learn about something cool, while helping.  (But yes, the time...)

So, where to start?  A diary of an artist or an explorer?  The records of the US National Herbarium?  The Scrapbook of Early Aeronautica has such beautiful illustrations...

A Moment at Mandolin: Jackie and Sam

Has it been 3 years?  Definitely we were all at Wendy and Will's wedding... but since? 

However long, it was still nice to get Jackie's out-of-the-blue invite to catch up.  He and Sam met me at Mandolin. 

So, what's new? 

They kept saying they were boring people and nothing's really happened in the past 3 years... But, Sam's graduated and she's had a job change (to Hollister where she uses her neat and tidy folding skills, and sees the "other world" of the MAW after hours).  They're also looking at buying something and moving in together (a condo because neither of them like yard work).  And... they love pokemon. 

There were some health concerns too.  But all in all, they seemed to be doing fine. 

I was generally excited for them.  But, it was also pretty clear that (more than 3 years since it was only the first couple of years of Uni that I was still close to Jackie) that there wasn't a lot there aside general good will feelings.  I suspect they felt the same. 

They finished off their Boylan's Birch Beer (not root beer, and sweetened with sugar cane) that they'd specifically wanted to try.  I walked home. 

Our Dinner with Andre

There have only been a few times Paul has said "wow" about a movie (that I've been around to witness).  My Dinner with Andre was one of them.

He liked how natural it was.  And he wondered why we haven't heard about it before*.

I'm not sure that I "got it" though many points it made me think: about becoming a robot, about feeling things, also the panicky bit about science...

We laughed at first how for the first hour nothing seemed to happen and we were on edge.  Paul said he fully expected that to even out all that inactivity there'd be a storming of the restaurant and a hostage situation (that doesn't happen).

Instead, it continues and at the end, I'm a little confused, but also feeling like a whole bunch of things have happened in my head.

I'll have read the script I think to revisit it.

"I'm adequate to do any sort of a task, but I'm not adequate just to be a human being." ~ Wally Shawn My Dinner with Andre
* It was an episode of Community that got me looking for it.

Getting to YESS

Not just for emergencies... 

The kitchen I remembered from a Circle K breakfast, but the bunk beds I was seeing for the first time.  They brought it home: this is a warm and safe place to stay.  But YESS is more than an emergency shelter now.  The change came years ago to include counselling and training, so YESS is now Youth Empowerment & Support Services.

My tour was part of the volunteer orientation.  But I it's not likely I'll see these spaces again.  That would be for people working with the youth.  And for that, they need long term support.  I would love to do that for someone -- be their rock, someone to talk to.  But then I think, am even doing enough for Kevin and Celina?  I'm probably missing out on being more involved with their lives...  And of course: Am I even managing to take care of myself?

Anyway, (just like for Celina and Kevin?), I'm there for YESS for their special events.  I hope that makes a difference.

Returned, Open Baggage

Extra hour of sleep, but still so sleepy.

Two baking experiments failed: Too much fruit making it much too wet and then the quiche that was too dry.  I wish I could just mash them together to average them out.

Too much fruit.

Mom's back!  Picked her and Theresa up from the airport and ack! all that backseat driving from Dad. (Though he wanted me to drive because it wasn't bright and there was a bit of snow.)

They also giving me a hard time about my big coat... except for Mom.  I think it's the first time in ages she didn't say I was under dressed.

Annoyed as I was, I kept quiet and listened to Mom talk about Maternal Grandmother's funeral.

Aunt 4's husband cried just as much as the rest of them (her children) -- needing 2 people to help him up.

Yunnan (雲南) in 18 lines.

Dad told us that when he asked him why he was so emotional.  He said it was because Maternal Grandma had believed in him.  There was a time when he'd been sharing an apartment with someone (couldn't even really afford to house himself), but she still agreed to let Aunt 4 marry him, trusted that he could take care of her.

Theresa didn't seem sad.  Tired, but when I dropped her off, she was still excited to start unpacking and divvying souvenirs.  She gave me half of the little boxes from Yunnan (雲南) (above and at end).  Each box had a line from a poem (?) / saying / stereotype about Yunnan, and they contained a pastry sweet from the region.

I then went to Mom and Dad's to have dinner and help unpack.

Aunt 5 again performed her packing magic.  I'm amazed again Mom wasn't stopped at customs.  There were steamed puddings (dumplings) Aunt 5 had made, and "egg fruit" (below) she thought were so tasty we (in Canada) had to try some.   Unfortunately, despite all that effort, I didn't like the taste of any of it.

"Egg Fruit", squished

It was pretty late by the time I got home, but I kept thinking about what Jackie said when I told her of Maternal Grandmother's death: It's horrible being an orphan.  I was confused -- my mom's not an orphan.  Not according to the dictionary at least, since she's not child.

But Jackie was concentrating the another party: The only people who would love you warts and all was gone.

Yeah, I can see that being awful, child or not.

------------------------------------------------------- 

Yunnan (雲南) souvenir sweet boxes in more detail - mixed up order (if there is one):

 

 

Playing piano to a cow.

Na and Stephen came for dinner last night.  Again, I was amazed at the depth of the conversation and "sophistication" of understanding of art and music... Well, that between Paul and Stephen.  I mentioned to Na how even the conversation was like playing piano to a cow (對牛彈琴, where I'm the cow) let alone the music.  That at least got an understanding nod and chuckle.

Anyway, my only contribution was at some point to mention the radio program I'd recently heard that touched on the quagmire that is Common-Law marriage in Canada (and in Quebec).  How many people think they do have rights?  And that's when Na said, there isn't such a thing in China.  Is that one of the "economic" reasons people don't live together without being married?  At first I thought it was old fashioned, but it certainly does make some sense.

(Below: How many people does it take to serve a chocolate cake?)

It was really snowing hard near the end of the night -- even the warm and cosy colours (Na said she liked very much) couldn't keep out the winter.

Before they left, I pass along some Chinese cookbooks written in English to Stephen.  Hopefully he can put them to use; I'm much too lazy.

Games Feast at Kathy and Neil's

Me: "You think I have too many of these..."
Paul: "Clothes."
Me: "... in bed."
Paul: "Clothes." 

The answer should have been "pillows", but maybe this was hint?  Kathy simply laughed at us. 

Kathy and Neil graciously hosted a special edition Friday Feast with Games yesterday.  After some tasty baked chicken and fresh vegetables, we started playing Catchphrase. 

Me: "You hire these people to kill someone for you."
Steph: "Assassin!... Ninja?"

Johnwill and Rebecca didn't seem that interested in playing at first, but when they joined in they were incredible!  There was something so to-the-point and precise about their clues.  I was in awe. 

The Borgtron (Daniel) was less in awe, rather all in energy, running 'round the place, looking for the cat, touching things...  Steph managed to kept him at arm's length with a feathered cat toy on stick - might be the most play / interaction I've seen her have with a rugrat :)





After having played so many rounds of Catchphrase, sometimes the words seem familiar.  Not so much last night.  Different reels?  Different version?   Neil got "East Cupcake" and put in a valiant attempt - first breaking it down into separate words...  When time ran out and it was revealed we wondered what the heck the phrase meant.  I was almost worried to look it up on Urban Dictionary (note: it's o.k.).

Next up was Ticket to Ride: Europe.  Played it before, but still took me forever to make any moves.  I blame geography.

The Difference the Photographer Makes

I'll delude myself a little longer and look at these, where Paul for makes me look good. 

From the Funny Face (and Body) photo shoot on the U of A North campus back in September: 

From the Greisbach Colours shoot back in October: