Name That Song: A Contest
I think it’s high time we had a contest around here! Simon (the African Grey parrot) has spent several hours a day over the past few weeks practicing a song.…
Zoom!
Making stuff
Here’s some of the stuff we’ve been making lately. This is the flannel quilt GC made for his son. He just finished it last week. It’s the softest, biggest, coziest…
First visit to the Nordik Spa
GC and I went to the Nordik Spa up in Chelsea. It’s about a 20-minute drive from downtown Ottawa. Neither of us had ever been there before, or to any…
I agree, somewhat, with Tom Flanagan
I have what I know will be a very unpopular opinion about a highly volatile subject. I should probably keep it to myself, but I feel compelled to share it.…
A day in the life
This is what my day looks like so far: 9:00-12:00 – all-staff meeting at work to do a SWOT analysis of the organization (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) 2:00-3:30 –…
We know how to have fun
GC got a sliver in his foot from the hardwood floor. He said it felt like a long, skinny sliver. There wasn’t much to see, but he was limping and…
Gender Failure
I’ve set up a google alert for ‘transgender’ so I can keep abreast of transgender news and activity on the internet, since my favourite part of my new job is…
Aliens, Duncan, and the Baby of Science
This was a busy weekend – we went to a friend’s for dinner on Friday, then breakfast club and a vet appointment for Duncan on Saturday, and the vintage clothing…
Diagnosis: Too much freedom
We took Simon to see the avian vet yesterday, to consult about his behaviour problems. She thinks he’s got too much freedom and he’s taking advantage of it. He has…
First week of work, and a psychotic parrot episode
So far at my new job I’ve been immersing myself in reports and files and getting up to speed on the subject matter and my projects. The subject matter is…
I got a job!
I had the interview on Friday afternoon, and then on Saturday, when I was at Duncan’s vet’s office, I got the call offering me the job. I announced to a…
To nanowrimo or not to nanowrimo?
It’s that time of year again – nanowrimo, or National Novel Writing Month. Thousands of people are devoting the entire month of November to writing 50,000-word novels. I don’t actually…
A road trip and a Jewish wedding
GC and I were in Montreal for the weekend, for his cousin’s daughter’s wedding. It was my first Jewish wedding and I have to say it was a lot livelier…
Simon says hi
Simon has a new word. It’s a little word, and it’s not the most exciting thing a parrot has ever said. But there’s just something about the way he says…
An apple gadget infomercial with GC, Duncan and Simon
GC made an apple pie a couple of weeks ago, and being the clever guy he is, he went gadget-shopping first. Then we prepared our very own infomercial, complete with…
Melancholy Autumn
They said it was going to be a drab autumn, on account of the drought, but it was actually quite dramatic. My friend Nancy says every autumn has its own…
Throwing things off balconies
There’s this three-storey apartment building at the corner of Caldwell and Merivale, on the edge of the Experimental Farm, right by the path where I go for walks. There are…
The lowdown on substance use
Last night I attended a free session at our local mental health facility. It was called Getting the Low Down on Substance Use, and was presented by Michael Coughlin, a…
Best birthday EVER
I had the best birthday EVER. It involved three whole days of getting spoiled. There was an excess of gluttony. GC made me french toast with a mountain of fruit,…
And the winner is…
Thanks to everybody who entered my sock contest! I entered all your names into RandomPicker, and RandomPicker randomly picked a winner. And that winner is…… SID! Congratulations, Sid! Sounds like…