A Skewed View

A few days ago mother nature so gently nudged me into realizing it was in fact November in Edmonton, random snow falls and all: At first I was down. And cold. Then I remembered three things ... namely Puff: Skipper: and Rose: About three Christmases ago I was downtown for an office Christmas dinner, but my fear of arriving late when I do not know how long it will take me to get someplace new left me with many minutes to spare before I was to run into anyone else. So I decided to engage in some window shopping. I had only enough money in my pocket for my meal that eve, so no treasures were to be coming home with me at all. Then I sensed someone staring out from a shelving unit cluttered with some of most ghastly and tacky Christmas decorations imaginable. Six coal briquette eyes burrowing holes in me, begging me to release them from their low-rent neighbours: The best I can do, I promised as I cuddled them in my arms before placing them carefully back in their unfortunate circumstance,...

I fell in love with the work of a local (ish) artist. He does brazilian soapstone carvings of wildlife -- primarily of bears, but there are also various birds, bunnies and walruses. Pictures of his work just do not do them justice, but he mixes realistic creations: With whimsical presentations: They are just exquisite and must be shared. (source: www.vancetheoret.com ) Of course, my last errand of the day was to pick up my baby. He's going to be 10 years old in April, and now he's just as shiny and perfect as new! [If you can't tell, that's the fixed front fender of my RAV4. ] (source: a really messed up car owner )

This morning I washed my red bathrobe with my towels, some washcloths and a random assortment of socks ... and now all my laundry is pink. And last night I was making popcorn in a hot air popper when a super-heated kernel jumped ship and lodged between my big toe and my second, uh, biggest toe. When frantic foot shaking proved fruitless, and before I could put down the dishes in my hand to dig it out, the kernel had actually burnt the skin between my toes -- and damn if the skin didn't blister by this morning. Because of a frickin popcorn kernel! I would have gone to the doctor today, but I refuse to be the reason why nurses titter in the hallways. So the next time I have nothing of interest to report, I'm keeping my big trap shut. (and yes, as mentioned by my anonymous commenter, a "freelance filmmaker" in Edmonton has been charged with killing a man, maybe or maybe not in order to fuel his own storytelling ability. http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVN...

I'm sure all of you who are hanging on my every word are scrambling for a hand-hold right about now. I got nothing. I woke up before noon on Sunday ... but just because of daylight savings time. I'm reading an Elizabeth I autobiography that I picked up for a story idea I have, only to find out that it is a real page turner and I can't put it down. I'm on pins and needles to see how it turns out. My apartment's pretty clean, with the exception of my bedroom. I think I'm genetically predisposed to have a pig-sty bedroom, and fear the biological repercussions if I ever actually cleaned it. Taking in my car tomorrow to be repaired. Yes, the body work business is obviously going like gangbusters in Edmonton because the earliest appointment I could get was about four months after I needed one. I got nothing.