Have you ever opened your fridge to see what kind of music you could make that day or do you strickly think about what to make for dinner based on what is in stock and not overly wilted or mouldy? While most of us view food as something to fill our growling stomachs there are others who have other ideas about functionality and usefulness. There is one group called the Vegetable Orchestra who play music exclusively on vegetables: leek violins, pepper trumpets, eggplant clappers, and cucumberphones.
I needed to go to Halifax for a conference so I decided to go a couple of days earlier to do some sight seeing of Halifax and Peggys Cove. I had a great time and hardly stopped for a break. Fortunately, my hotel was near a grocery store so I was able to pick up fruits and snacks to munch on so I didn’t have to go to restaurants all the time and waste time.
My photo album is the perfect way to experience my mini-vacation.
I’m sorry about not having any time to write to you all, but it has been busy. I’ll be in Halifax so stay tuned for some pics and stories when I get back.
I’m very glad I have the unlimited browsing on my cell phone since I can use it in Halifax…I’ll be able to keep up with the news. I could blog from my phone but I don’t know if I’ll get a chance to look into that.
I love going to the theatre and I was so excited to have the opportunity to go to see a Shaw Festival play at Niagara-on-the-Lake. Wonderful Town is a play based on a novel titled My Sister Eileen, a story of two sisters going to New York City and their adventures in the big city. The sets were beautiful, the play was great, the singing and dancing were catchy (I had to be held down to prevent me from joining the conga line).
When exploring the area, I came across this charming little chapel along the Niagara Parkway. It is called the Wayside Chapel and it is so tiny! It can seat 6 people or 10 munchkins. I would recommend it to anyone who feels their wedding invitation list is getting out of control.
The ghost walk in NOTL was fun and very much worth doing. If you go to NOTL for the theatre you may not have a chance to explore the quaint town at night but I would recommend scheduling a free evening to explore the quaint town in the twilight. The area is reputed to be heavily haunted due to being on the site of a old battlefield. Many people died in battle here but some came to an unfortunate end in their homes or a hotel (eg. The Angel Inn).
A modified picnic: On Sunday a bunch of friends met at Dufferin Grove Park to make pizza in the brick oven. We had all our supplies: toppings, plates, napkins etc but we were informed that we could not use the oven that day due to the heat alert. There was no message on their website indicating that they may close the oven if it is very hot. None of us had any idea that it might be closed. But we had a good work around — we bought some pizza from a local take-out place and added the topping we brought from home that were going to be used on our park-made pizza. We had salad, drinks, fruit, and dessert so it worked out very well.
Later in the afternoon we took in a concert at Hart House that was followed by a strawberry social — where the serve delicatable food made with strawberries. No wonder I feel a bit rolly-polly!
Today is the first time I am celebrating my Name Day. I am aware of St. Joseph’s Name Day because that is a big celebration in the Italian culture, but people with other names never seem to have a feast or celebration in honour of their names and I would like to change that. What in carnation is a Name Day? Name days are a tradition in some cultures of attaching personal names to each day of the year, and celebrating the association of particular days with those for whom that day is named. This is common in many parts of Europe where where parents name children after saints, perhaps in the hope that the saint will offer protection to the child.
How do I celebrate. I am celebrating today by getting an airbrush tattoo. I thought I would shock you all by saying that I got a tattoo and posting a photo of it ;-), but I do promise to post a photo. Honestly, I got the tattoo to support some fund raising initiatives at work Where is the tattoo? On my right ankle. What is the tattoo? A fairy. Why a fairy? She has wings. I want wings. What colour? Black…there were no choices. How long will it last? I hope long enough for you to see it.
I will celebrate by going for an Indian buffet with my friends. There will be two Diana’s in the group, so we will have double the celebration!
Well it has been a lively and entertaining week. On Saturday I went to see Sex in the City with a group of friends. We dressed up in dresses and heels in honour of the occasion. The movie was fun - if you like the series, you’ll enjoy the movie. It is not a great movie but still enjoyable. I find certain things implausible…I just don’t buy into the idea that the four characters are such close friends that speak to each other daily and drop everything to run to their buddies when one sheds a tear. Their personalities just don’t fit into the mould that is scripted for them by the writers. There is much that doesn’t jive with me - I can detect some BS in the story. I wanted Mr. Big to just blow away. But then Carrie would never be happy since she absolutely needs a man with a big wallet to support her clothes and shoe habit. I can’t believe she kept that ballerina outfit. Yuck!
And nobody in my group had cosmopolitans that night.
On Sunday I went to see Kismet at the Fairview Library. I really enjoyed it. It was a light bit of fluff with funny characters and good singing. Here is a tune from the musical (from the movie version). I think Milene will enjoy this.
On Monday I went to see the doctor about my toe. I broke my toe six months ago and I continue to have problems with it. I don’t think my family doctor knows too much about the matter but at least she referred me to a sports medicine clinic for diagnosis and treatment. I wonder if there was something else that could have been done to speed the healing process. The toe aches a bit in my normal daily life and can hurt a bit much if I exercise by doing aerobics or yoga, or if I wear high heels.
On Wednesday I used the spa services at my work place to get a manicure and pedicure. The students in the Esthetician Program work at the spa to practice the skills they have learned in the classroom. They are considered knowledgeable of giving manicures and pedicures after they complete the first semester of the program. I found out that the program is more intensive than I assumed — the students need to know a lot about anatomy and memorize the muscle names. I don’t normally go to the spa but I thought it would be good to support the students at the college and get my feet ready for wearing sandals. I picked a great nail polish colour — it goes very well with my shoes!
On Thursday, after talking about it for about a year, I finally bought a new cell phone. My old cell phone didn’t have text messaging, camera, browser, etc. It was just a basic eight year old cell phone. I learned how to use most of its features pretty quickly and updated my Facebook status on my bus ride home. I used the + sign to mark spaces in my message because I didn’t know how to insert a space, but I figured it out before I got home. I also browsed the internet, read the news, and sent a picture message. I changed the ringtone to Diana Krall’s Peel Me a Grape song. It costs $3 to download a ringtone but I just played the song on my computer and recorded it on the phone. I’m not sure why people download ringtones.
Stay tuned for updates on Wonderful Town and making corn husk dolls
Where is the tattoo? On my right ankle. What is the tattoo? A fairy. Why a fairy? She has wings. I want wings. What colour? Black…there were no choices. How long will it last? I hope long enough for you to see it.