Geeky Cat Miusings

I hope everyone had a fabulous long weekend. It is great to have Monday and Tuesday off to celebrate Canada Day AND to get paid to have fun!

My neighbours were celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary and asked me to join in on their celebrations. They had lots of food but since they didn’t speak a lot of English and I don’t speak any Portguese, I was glad to be called away to visit Port Hope and see The Buddy Holly Story at the Capitol Theatre. Buddy was such a great song writer and singer. It is just tragic that the world lost this star when he was only 22. I heard the song American Pie many times on the old 45 when I was young — and I think I still have it — I guess one of my older sisters was a fan. I didn’t know that the Don McLean song was in part about the death of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper in a 1959 plane crash. It is quite interesting to learn about a song’s background: what was the motivation, the environment, the mood. It changes the way you feel about a song. I found American Pie engrossing before but many of the lyrics are open to interpretation and so it remains mysterious.

I spent Sunday and Monday floating around Toronto with friends taking in a bit of the Gay Pride Parade, watching movies, going to cafes, missing the jazz festival because of timing, and just walking and soaking up the sun.

Tuesday was a funny day. My friends decided to spend Canada Day shopping in the US. It is unpatriotic but it just happened to be a good day to do so. I missed my opportunity to go last year and so I really wanted to go since I have never been to Buffalo, mostly for the experience rather than needing to do any shopping, since my closet has more clothes than some of the boutiques I visited on Queen Street. And so, on my day off I wake up at 5 in the morning to get ready and go to my friend’s place because we wanted to have an early start to miss traffic. We exchanged cell phone numbers and discussed the route and did some general preparation. My friend still had my tupperware from Passover and really wanted to return it to me, so she put it in the car so that I can take it with me when she drops me off.

When we stopped at the gas station, my driver said that she forgot her registration papers, so we went back to her place and we told the others that we will meet them near the US Canada bridge. Along the way we decided that it would be better if we didn’t go to the US (I’m shortening the story here) and went shopping at Vaughan Mills instead. So while I was shopping in Vaughan my lucky tupperware was out in Buffalo. Does anyone else out there have tupperware that has a more exciting life than you do?

Truthfully, Tuesday was just fabulous. After the shortened shopping trip where I probably saved myself a tonne of money I went downtown and did some people watching. There were some folks doing some Celtic dancing and an artist drawing on the sidewalk. Then I got to do some of my own drawing. This is a first for me: I stopped at Tan Cafe for some refreshments. It is a really charming place and they use Fair Trade Coffee. I used their washroom for obvious reasons and there was writing and drawing all over the walls! The walls are blackboard and they provide patrons with chalk so that they can do whatever you want on the walls. It is interesting that you don’t see any of the typical graffitti that covers typical washroom stall walls here.

There is no need to bring a book when you visit this washroom. One of my favourite quotes is “Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.”

When I finally emerge from the stall, I request something exotic from the very friendly cafe owner: a cappucino and avocado iced drink and a cashew cookie. She suggests I sit in the back patio and promises that if I fall asleep she can wake me up in a half hour if I need it. I smile and wonder how could I fall asleep, I had a Red Bull earlier (I found it medicinal tasting). When I opened the back door I understand how I could fall asleep. There were two hammocks hanging between posts and there was no one there! I lay in one just swinging around and totally chilling out with my avoccino (I think that is what she called it) and my book. I spent a couple of hours there enjoying the relaxed atmosphere, looking up at the dwarf statues and the clouds, and ordering more exotic drinks like steamed milk with almond flavouring. Those were the happiest hours of my weekend and I didn’t even miss my tupperware.

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 will write about my corn husk doll soon. Here she taking a relaxing canoe ride through the wilderness

My Angel Tattoo is recorded here to provide proof that it is real:

Niagara-on-the-Lake is a Wonderful Town.

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

I would like to give everyone a head’s up that my name day/onomastico is coming up: Diana of Andalò of Bologna feast day is on June 10. Mark it on your calendars. Some websites claim it is on June 8 or June 9 so if you prefer one of those three days over the others, just go right ahead and celebrate it on your preferred day.

Took advantage of Doors Open this weekend and snooped around Coach House, a quaint book publishing and printing press that is tucked away on Toronto’s historic bpNichol Lane. After the description of the tedious work involved in typesetting, I was eager to sit in a comfy chair which is called The Magical Sleeper Chair and dream about the fantastic novels written by authors such as Michael Ondaatje and Anne Michaels that were published in that very place.

The churches were nice to explore but there is nothing like a excited, chatty person to animate the experience. One church was growing a vegetable garden to feed the hungry people of the area. The enthusiastic guide described the variety of vegetables, which included the rare purple carrot, that grew in the garden. She informed me that the carrot was originally purple but has long been known as an orange vegetable, thanks to patriotic Dutch growers who bred the vegetable to honour their monarchy, The House of Orange.

One grand mansion had a room with wooden panels on the walls. It looked like an ordinary room with one door way but what the unsuspecting didn`t know was that the panels opened to a secret bedroom with ensuite bathroom. The master of the house kept his mistress there. The dirty secrets of the Victorians!

The Hare Krishna Temple started off as a Presbyterian Church and has been passed through the hands of many religions until the Hare Krishna`s had enough money to buy it by selling lollipops and other small items to the public.

I came across a cute story about Scrabulous and how its role in romance:

A Scrabulous fan, who played the game a lot with his girlfriend, requested the application maker’s assistance with a marriage proposal. The prospective groom requested that they secretly create a fixed session for him and his sweetheart. In the session, he was given letters that would allow him to spell the words “Will”, “You”, “Marry”, “Me” and “Jane.” Jane was given the letters to spell the words “Yes” and “No”. Thankfully, she used “Yes.”

I think their wedding cake will have to be a giant cake covered with a Scrabble board icing and tiles place on top, spelling their vows.

I think Scrabble can be the whole theme for the wedding. That would be cool.