To the forgotten Blog - I'm sorry

Life has a funny way of getting in the way sometimes. I had completely forgotten about my blog and then couldn't sign in. Grrr.

I'm still alive, Q is doing well considering his rough 2011, but this year I vow to update this, even if no one is really reading it.

Happy New Year Everyone, I'll be back.

Naomi

The Blythe Obsession

Ok, so how the heck did this Blythe thing get me? One doll, then two, then four, then six...now eight. Meet Petey Glum, a custom Blythe that just a short time ago belonged to Lisa. Petey was screaming at me to take her home. I've gotten into crocheting hats, getting accessories and clothing for them now too. Yup, I'm an over 40 year old child who plays with dolls.

Gack. They aren't cheap either. You would think that I would update my wardrobe or soemthing? Nope, I'm hooked, however my brain is saying, no more...well until I get a Happibug that is.

Goodnight Sweet Prince

The old saying says you have to kiss alot of frogs to meet your prince. Well, there hasn't been many frogs I'd actually want to kiss, except for one.

My little pet African Dwarf Frog Kermie. Yes, he was only a little frog, but he brought me so much happiness. Funny that a tiny frog can stir up that much emotion, but he did. He used to love to float to the top of the tank and let me stroke his back. He used to come to the top of the tank when I skirtched on the lid, and he also would zip around like crazy when it was supper time.

Kermie, you made me giggle and I very much enjoyed our time together.

I remember going to Petland very recently and having a chat with "The Pet Guy", you know that guy on Shaw TV? Well, after mentioning that I had an African Dwarf Frog who was nearing 11 years old, his eyes got all big and was amazed. The lifespan of these creatures averages 2 to 5 years, but some make it past that. Kermie was one of them.

He was older than Quincy, just a tiny little thing when Candace brought him to the office for a co-worker. That co-worker didn't want him so Candace kept him. When she left for another job, she gave him to me. I fell in love instantly. He was so very little back then and I felt sorry for him in his smaller than small container. I immediately went to the store and got him a bigger home, with a little ceramic cave for him in which to hide. As he got bigger, I kept buying bigger tanks. I didn't have a filter, so it goes to show you that these frogs to very well with an unfiltered tank.

He would let me scoop him up gently with my hand when I needed to clean his tank, and I loved to stare at him swimming around and then doing his little Zen pose where it looked like he was standing on his back legs.

Shelley and Kat reminded me of all the times they would look after him when his tank was on my desk at the office and how everyone would line up to look after him. He was a great curiosity when I was up at reception and people would come in and check him out. He made friends.

Kermie passed away this morning, but last night I knew he was not himself. No longer did he swim fast, no longer did he come to the top when I skirtched for him. This morning I put him in a little bracelet box, covered him with flannel, wrote a little note for him and placed a tiny piece of amethyst which is supposed to protect one in a "bubble of light".

Yes, I did all these things, for a little frog. Some would call me crazy, but taking care of him brought me joy and I loved him. Pet people get it, no matter bird, nor cat, nor dog, nor turtle or any pet, we love them all equally and are sad when they go.

Goodnight sweet Kermie (1999-2010), I'll miss you, love me.

I remember how to crochet!!!

But don't ask me how to follow a pattern, to me it's like trying to read music but already knowing sort of how to play chopsticks on the piano.

For lack of anything for my little Blythe dolls to wear, I have been making them felt dresses (I made the Monster Dress and the purple ones shown here) and this past weekend even attempted at making them crochet hats. Here's the results. I call these two "Nerple" hats because of the little "Nerple" at the top. ;)

First Nerple Hat modeled by Raizen


Second Nerple Hat modeled by Anaise


Then there was the Elf hat, again modeled by Anaise that was difficult to the extreme due to the fuzzyness of the yarn.


See, I'm no expert. Ask me to crochet a sweater and you'll be waiting until pigs fly. Ask me to knit and well, I would fake it and ask Shelley. :)

Happy Birthday to my Best Furry Little Friend

March 14. Happy Birthday my friend. 10 years. 10. Seems like a lifetime ago in some respects and in others it seems like yesterday I brought this tiny fluffball home to live with me. Ten years of him waking me up in the morning wanting to be spooned or have his tummy rubbed. Ten years of him getting so excited when he gets to go with me places that he pokes me every few minutes just to check that we are still going. Ten years.

A few days ago I found a little journal I had started when he was just a baby. I wanted to write down all the new things he was discovering so I wouldn't forget. There's been so much since then that I should write a book. Since May 11, 2000 (the day he came home) he's been the funniest, most affectionate, most needy furball I've had the honour of spending time with.

Ten years of nicknames, Mr. Squishypants, Little Monkey, Q, Q-Ball, Peekieboo. Ten years of his quirks - the hate of linoleum, stairs, the dark and being left alone. Ten years of worrying about him like a child through his rare bouts of seizures and vet bills. Ten years of happy walks and adventures to Spruce Meadows.

All my friends understand how powerful my love of this dog goes and upon meeting him completely understand it. He's a joker, he's a goofball, he's a child seeking attention. Ten years and he hasn't changed a bit.

To Quincy, my best furry friend in the whole wide world - I love you!

Friends, Tea and Blythe

Tonight I met Shelley for much needed tea and visiting. It was so very nice to re-connect. I've missed you Shelley!

She also made an out of control cake for my Quincy's 10th birthday. Pictures will be posted on Sunday, which is Quincy's official birthday. Shelley has mad mad skills when it comes to decorating of a cake. This IS her true calling..well that and knitting, and sewing, and painting etc.

I brought my Blythe Tash to show to her and was suprisingly gifted two Vogel Stitcher Originals for her and her sister Mollee to wear! I have only taken pics of the first dress, the other is soaking in salt water to set the colours. I do this with all my doll clothes. More pictures to come.



Having two little dolls on the table of a somewhat busy coffee shop didn't seem to prompt any weird looks or rolling eyes. Hey, we were having such a good time catching up, even if there were, we wouldn't have noticed.

This is Blythe REDUX

eBay is evil, yup, evil I tell you. Here's living proof that sometimes, but exceptionally rarely when I decide to spend a ridiculous amount of money on myself (or to clarify, spend money on a ridiculous thing) I go big and then I go home.

Here's the other little gal to keep the first one company. She's a customized Asian Butterfly Encore Neo Takara Blythe.

Hey, don't they say that two heads are better than one?

This is Blythe

Barbie Shmarbie, ok I still love them, but have a new gal coming through the powers of evil E-BAY.



I've wanted one of these for quite awhile now, but they are difficult to the extreme to get in Canada, and plus they are ridiculously expensive. But I still hadn't used my "Joe Bucks" from work and felt like spending some money on something totally useless.

She's a customized Casual Affair Neo Takara Blythe. Super cute, red hair and everything. I wonder if I asked Shelley if she would knit her a little sweater and hat for a fee? Shelley??? I'd supply the materials too.

Back to the swing

I decided today I either need a rocking chair at work or a swing. It may be a bit hard to type, but whatever...I wonder if I can requistion that?

Q missed me for the past two days since no more holidays mean no more just hanging out. Poor little guy, however he seems REALLY happy to see me when I get home. That I wouldn't trade for the world.

Here's Q in his Santa outfit that Karla bought for him.

Cake and snowflakes

Sunday was a day for "random cake-age". Must tell you that Shelley is quite the baker. Most impressed by the huge slice she brought with her to give to me yesterday. Did I mention I love fondant? Ah, sweet marshmallowy goodness.

Thank you Shelley for a great lunch. I've missed you.

It's funny that you sometimes get a day at work where for hours absolutely nothing is going on. So Wunder Assistant and I cut out paper snowflakes and taped them to the window in the old accounting office. I like when work turns into grade 1 art class! :)

I love my SuperDog!!

Da da da da!

The cape fits Karla, and in her fourth day is already making good use of it. Able to answer multi-phone lines in a single swoop. It's a bird, it's a plane, it's SUPER KARLA!

Ok, so you may have guessed that I have a great new assistant in Karla. She's as wild and crazy as I am so you can imagine the noise!

By the fourth day, she's already realized the following:

1. Sales never really does a thorough job entering crap no matter how many times you show them otherwise.

2. I do everyone else's job, including my own.

3. People ask me questions that I'm sure (well partially anyway) they know are outside my area of expertise, but because they are used to me telling them who they can talk to, they come to me first.

4. I am a glorified babysitter, without the sippy cups and wet naps.

5. That I'm weird and strange with my desk chotchkies (plants, crystals, Star Trek Barbies, stuffies, and other wacky things).

6. That I'm obsessed with my doggie.

A special hello to Lauren, whom I miss terribly. I retired your cape and hung it from the rafters like they do at hockey arenas. Hope all is well in beautiful BC.

Able to leap tall orders in a single bound

Day two of interviews for the "WunderAssistant". I've been told firmly not to call the newbie my "Minion", so this is the last time you'll see or hear me use that term.

Reading resumes has been a highly entertaining experience. I even got a resume from a gentleman who had a truck load of experience. Had a BSc in Chemistry, a Masters in Biology and Zoology, and one dissertation away from a Doctorate. He worked for the SK Government and wrote published papers about the parole system. He also was apparently a professor. This guy took his Doctorate in 1960. YES, 1960. So, if it's say a 6 year program, he would have had to have been say 19 years old in 1954. Doing the backwards math, this would make him born in about 1935ish, which would make him around 74 year old! What, pray tell is a 74 year old man who has this kind of higher education applying for what I would call for him (not really for the next incumbent) a scutt work job? Is he bored at home? Is he lonely? Is his retired wife completely sick of seeing him sit on the couch at home watching soaps all day? I'm tempted to call this guy and take him to lunch just to find out why he applied. Talking to Shaffie, she told me that people of his culture just simply don't retire. Still, want to take him to lunch, that hour would be fascinating.

Some are good, some are too good, some not good enough. The last interviewee was certainly qualified, and seemed eager and nice enough, but there was something...something about her I found grating. If I have to spend 9 hours in a room with someone they have to not be like shredded cheese.

Cape is ready, who wants to wear it?

Forgive me for not blogging, and btw Tuna Helper is gross.

To those who read this, or visit this frequently like I know Shelley does on occasion, I haven't blogged much lately. Not because I didn't have much to say, but because when I get on the computer these days, pretty much all I do is check my e-mail, update Facebook for a few moments and call it a night.

So in the interest of updating people here goes:

1. Thank you Shelley for the Happy Birthday wishes! It was a fantastic birthday. I flew to Seattle to see Tori Amos in concert at the Wamu Theatre the day after my birthday. I met a wonderful woman on the shuttle bus from the Sea-Tac Airport to our hotel and we ended up going out for dinner together. She said it was just plain silly of me having dinner by myself on my birthday. So, thank you Gail!


I had the best day toodling around in Seattle on the 10th. I went to the Science Fiction Museum, shopping, Pike's Market and Pioneer Square. I even found a little Breyer in an antique store who begged me to take her home.

Tori as always was fantastic. Although nothing could top meeting her in 2007, this was a pretty close second. Even the opening act One EskimO (yes that's how they spell it) was great. Check these guys out on their MySpace page! The Seattle trip was 38 hours of awesome!


2. Before all this happened, my douchbag landlord decided to get the entire building fumigated on July 1st. I got 6 days notice to move 17 years worth of shit out of my apartment for 24 hours. Nice and happy frickin' Canada day to you too! All turned out ok with the tremendous help of Glenn and his daughter Sarah, Adrien, Clint, Amber and Tony, Shafina, Lauren, Claudia, Chris, and Mom. Thank you also to Candace who let Q and I stay at her house whilst being fumigated (even though she wasn't there and on holiday). Her friend Chris was there and he made me steak on Canada Day after Quincy and I took a long walk in the residential area on the other side of MacLeod Trail. We walked and took a bunch of pictures of flowers. All in all, other than the fumo-move, Canada Day was fun. But, I still don't know what the hell they sprayed for.

3. Got the dreaded front tooth root canal (which hurt like a sonofabitch btw)and subsequent prep for one crown and three veneers. I'd like to tell you this experience has been positive, but the arguements with my dentist as to how I want them have been tiresome. I wanted a normal, didn't care if they were slightly crooked natural smile and he seemed to think I wanted to go Hollywood. He put me in touch with the gang who are actually designing them and now the new waxup looks normal. These temporaries are rough and too bulky, too long and are now causing sores. Plus, because it's one unit, I cannot push air through them to talk and I sound like I'm lisping. The 28th cannot come soon enough. That's D day.

4. Since I have temporary veneers right now in one four teeth unit, I cannot bite into anything. I bought groceries on Tuesday mostly completely devoid of nutrition on the basis they needed to be mushy. BTW, do not EVER buy Tuna Helper. I thought it would be ok and mushy enough for me to eat, but the consistancy of that vile product is liken to wallpaper paste and tastes just about as good. The only saving grace was the four tablespoons of hot sauce I put in it. Someone pass me a fricking carrot already!

5. Work is work, same old same old and my "manager" is still difficult to the extreme to deal with. I don't think she believes in emotion, and thusly doesn't understand how much pride I take in my work. Pride is an emotion I think she simply doesn't get.

2009 Dog Jog with Super Q

Quincy and I attended the 2009 Calgary Humane Society's Dog Jog this past Sunday. It was a lovely warm day and Q sure had fun. He wore his "Official Cookie Taster" scarf and it sure got lots of attention. No wait, it wasn't just the scarf!



He made a bunch of new friends, including a group of three ladies who joked that he was tryng to get their phone numbers. My dog, the chick magnet.

Remembering past loves

Sometimes when my work consumes,I tend to forget the past loves of my life. I'm not speaking of past relationships. Last night I was inspired to re-visit one of my passions that I had been neglecting for so long. Here is the first that inspired me.

This is an excerpt of Letters to a Young Poet, by Ranier Maria Rilke, one of my favorite poets, and from reading Shelley's recent posts, seemed fitting to help soothe her hurt soul.

How should we be able to forget those ancient myths that are the beginning of all peoples. They myths about dragons that at the last moment turn into princesses; perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us once beautiful and brave. Perhaps everything terrible is in its deepest being something helpless that wants help from us.
So you must not be frightened, if a sadness rises up before you larger than any you have ever seen; if a restiveness, like light and cloud-shadows, passes over your hands and over all you do. You must think that something is happening with you, that life has not forgotten you, that it holds you in its hand; it will not let you fall...

Congratulations Colleen!

I haven't blogged lately, it's been super busy and the days I do go on the computer, the last thing I think about is writing. I just basically want to flop and become Homer Simpson for the evening. (Picture him with a donut drooling).

So, without further ado, I want to send out a BIG CONGRATULATIONS to Colleen, the fellow Tori Amos fan whom Shelley and I met at the Tori Amos concert in Vancouver on December 3rd 2007. She had her baby today! Welcome Jessica, little sister to Jack!

When Tori tours her new recording, I hope she plays in Vancouver again. I'm planning to go, and maybe hop a bus to Seattle too if my Visa can handle it. I'm sure Colleen will be there as well and we can once again share Tori stories. This is what I love about Tori, her music brings fans together and creates friends.

Happy Birthday Quincy!!!

Happy 9th Birthday Quincy! I love you more than anything in the world.

Not scared to admit it

Saturday night's alright for Barbie. This is my re-done Movie Mixer Silkstone. I'm not having a mid-life crisis, I'm re-discovering something I loved as a kid. You could sue me, but you all know where I work.

Abnormally Attracted To Sin

No, not me. This is going to be the title of Tori Amos's 10th studio recording due out in the Spring. I'm sooo excited. It's like Chrismakah all over again!

Of course if there's a "special edition", I'm all over that.

Note to Tori though: LOSE THE WIGS. You are a very pretty woman with nice natural hair, you don't need that crap.