Geeky Cat Miusings

I’m so excited to be going to Paris this spring. Friends are sending me links to excellent pastry shops so that I can compare their fare to MoRoCo’s. The pictures on the websites look so tempting that I don’t know how I’ll decide which items to try. Can I try them all?

There is a lot of planning to do. Not only organizing the sights to be seen and when but also miscellaneous stuff like calling the bank to inform them of my trip so that they won’t stop my cards when they notice that there are overseas charges.

I have made a list of the museums and galleries I wish to see and cross reference it to list of museums covered in the Paris Museum Pass so that I can arrange to see the museums that are covered during the six days my pass will be activated.

I will see lovely gardens, cemeteries, castles, and just enjoy the beautiful city.

Edible cactus is also known as nopales (no-PAH-les) or sometimes as cactus pads. It can be found at Mexican grocery stores and it must also be available in specialty produce markets in Toronto because the salad at Dos Amigos had strips of cactus. I believe edible cactus comes from the prickly pear cactus. I’m not sure if there are other types of edible cactus.

While cactus pads are exciting to eat due to the novelty factor they are also good for you. The pads contain beta carotene, iron, some B vitamins, and are good sources of both vitamin C and calcium.

If you can’t find edible cactus, it is also sold as canned — pickled or packed in water or acitrones — candied nopales, packed in sugar syrup and available in cans or jars.

Apparently, edible cactus can be eaten raw or cooked. To cook, steam over boiling water for just a few minutes. Then slice and eat! Cactus can also be cut and sautéed in butter or oil for a few minutes. Steamed cactus can be added to scrambled eggs and omelets, or diced fresh and added to tortillas.

Can i blog with cell? Si! But it is challenging. Going to book club and eat ice cream.

My boss decided that I needed a whiteboard on my wall so that everyone in the office can keep track of my projects and see what my work load is like, so we ordered a medium whiteboard and it arrived in my office in just two days! Then I placed a request for Facilities Management to hang the whiteboard in my office and three days later a handyman arrived with a power drill in hand. While he worked in my office we discussed travelling to work and the amount of time it took us by bus and car and other miscellaneous details about commuting. The fellow lived outside the city and so he drives along a stretch of the country in his commute between home and work. He was excited when he described seeing the wildlife every morning during his commute and said he knew where to look for deer and other critters because they have their favorite grazing areas and tend to be there. His eyes lighted up when he recalled how one day he saw a wild turkey. I thought that’s cool — he was just a wildlife lover — much like I am. So I was feeling all warm and fuzzy thinking about the shared enjoyment of feeling towards the wild turkey who was on the road close to Toronto. I was jarred out of my warm feeling when he said “damn I wish I had my shotgun with me — I could have had me some wild turkey for dinner”. No more happy warm thoughts in my little head.

But my whiteboard was placed on my wall and I’m ready to get to work.

What is the first thing to go up on my whiteboard? A smiley face, of course. Always make sure there is something happy in your office, so, if you do nothing else, do put up a smiley face. When I look at my whiteboard with its long list of things to do I first look at the smiley face that reminds me that out there somewhere is someone with a smiley face…even if no one is smiling in my office. Except for the ever smiling smiley face, of course.

Every day I am updating my whiteboard list so that it is current — and at least people have something to read when they come into my office. I think I’ll try to fit in a joke of the day, but I’ll have to write smaller to squeeze it in.

Another whiteboard story: my boss and co-worker were meeting with me in my office and my boss commented that she smelled nail polish. She goes out in the hall way and tells the staff to put the nail polish away because it was smelling up the office (no mention that doing the nails is not appropriate on company time). Then she returns to my office and says that the smell is coming from my office. Well, I haven’t done my nails in weeks and I haven’t been putting any nailpolish to stop the run in my nylons either, so she got me. Finally (I’m a bit slow) I realized what she was smelling was the markers for my whiteboard. Mystery solved. At least I know how to cover up my tracks if I do decide to paint my nails at work

This week I went for a mammogram and a breast ultrasound. This is the third time I have had a mammogram and the first time for the ultrasound. There are some variations in the recommended age to begin mammograms but many doctors recommend that women get a baseline mammogram at age 40 and then every one-to-two years afterward. If there is a family history of breast cancer, which is the case for me, then they recommend that you start earlier.

Many types of small tumours can be seen on a mammogram before they can be felt by a woman or her health professional. Cancer is most easily treated and cured when it is discovered in an early stage so it is important to keep up with the testing and to do a self-examination on a monthly basis.

Getting a mammogram is usually not too painful — if it is, just advise the radiologist to back off. Sometimes they can apply too much pressure or pull the skin around the breast area — some adjustments can make you more comfortable. They also suggest not having caffeine for 2 to 3 days prior to the exam if pain is an issue for you but I can’t vouch if that helps because I love my morning coffee.

Be good and take care

There is a 19^th century house in Toronto that really does have a subway in its basement. The house, which sounds like it might be in a science fiction story rather than on a busy Toronto street, is an entrance to the Spadina subway station. The only clue that it is a subway entrance is the TTC pole outside. Otherwise, it just looks like a quaint house.

Always carry a safety pin - buttons have a way of popping in a most inconvenient way (and location).

Always be prepared to be a sole speaker at a presentation with all the necessary files and equipment - even if you are expecting someone else to present with you - they may be delayed or not show up.

Wait to make your pharmacy purchases until you have a good quantity of items to buy and Shopper’s Drug Mart is having its 20x Optimum points event - you will make a lot of points that translates to $25 off my next purchase.

Listening to jazz is nice but it is awesome when you listen to it live at the Distillery District.

Just when I start to feel like my big and heavy winter clothes are weighing me down so that my knuckles are scraping the icy pavement, I am informed that stormy weather will dump 20cm of snow on us tomorrow. I think Wiarton Willy owes me more than a pair of shoes.