Vegas!

Here's a taste of what Kendra and I did in Vegas! Check out my Flickr page for some more pictures.

In a nutshell, it was hot, dry, and sunny. The casinos were noisy and smoky, but some of the resorts were amazing. The main highlights were the rollercoasters, Mamma Mia!, and the Star Trek Experience, not the usual thing when you think of Vegas. I guess we're just not very good gamblers or high-fashion shoppers. But we had a fabulous time!

Seasons of change

For those who asked, and because I feel like celebrating good changes, here at last is a picture of me with new glasses and shorter hair. Ok, so I didn't take a full auto-portrait. I'm not used to being the focus of my own camera, and in Harry Potter-ish fashion, am trying to sneak out of the frame. But I do love my new glasses! I also highly recommend getting a proper hair-cut more frequently than once every couple of years.

Surprised by Indy

Hi Folks! I thought it was time to share a few photos from my recent trip to Indianapolis. I was very pleasantly surprised by this friendly city. If you want to see more pictures, please visit my Flickr page (Indy 2007 set).


My hotel was right on Monument Circle. It's basically a giant war memorial, in a city full of reminders of past (and current) military history.



The US Post Office is celebrating Star Wars' 30th anniversary. Cool!




I spent my free time on Sunday and the following Friday at two of Indy's attractions: the zoo and the Children's Museum - apparently the largest in the world. The second picture here is one of the many I took of an incredible blown-glass exhibit at the Museum.

Middle Earth Framed

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Originally uploaded by Auntie Kangaroo.

Happy Birthday to me! This was a group effort. I've had a map of Middle Earth for almost 3 years, sitting and waiting for a frame. On my birthday, I was surprised with some money from family and friends, given specifically to help me finally get it framed. And I did it! I think I found the perfect frame, and I love how it looks! Here's a close-up of one corner, and you can see a picture of the full framed map on my Flickr page (click on the picture to get there).

Thanks again to everyone who made this possible!

One year ago...

I've just spent some long overdue time playing with Blogger: I upgraded to the new Blogger, changed and customized my template, and added some new links and favourites. In the process, I noticed that it was almost exactly one year ago that I made my first post! Happy Anniversary, two cats and a monky! So I haven't exactly been faithful (or as faithful as some), but it has been fun. Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to visit my blog and to those who have left comments.

Let me take this opportunity to advertise a little software product that I've become excited about (thank you, Claire): Readerware. Anyone who is a bibliophile can appreciate this product - simply enter an ISBN number or use a little barcode scanner, and you can catalogue your entire collection of books, movies, and music. Follow the link in my Destinations sidebar for more details. I'm on my way to order the CD (there's a special offer of a free barcode scanner right now) as soon as I'm finished with this post. Three cheers for being organized! Is there such a thing as being too organized? I haven't found out yet, but maybe I'll get a little bit closer soon.

Birthday Party!

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Originally uploaded by Auntie Kangaroo.

I had a wonderful "first" this year: a surprise birthday party! Ok, so I knew about it ahead of time, but it was kinda necessary as the party was at my place, in my pool. The party was a success, the cake (thanks, Kendra!) was amazing, the theme was lots of fun. I felt so blessed by family and friends, and so loved. Thanks to all of you for coming all the way out here.

Sunshine and whiskers

Saturday morning was one of those that remind the soul, "summer is coming!" There's something about sunshine and cats, each brings out something beautiful in the other.

Losing a battle

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Originally uploaded by Auntie Kangaroo.

Christmas is coming. One of the two most important and wondrous anniversaries of the year. I've passed other anniversaries (a few weeks ago I passed the two year mark of living in my condo), and others are coming up (in March my cats turn 2). But this is the one that we all enjoy, that some of us fight for (happy holidays, indeed) to preserve its name and reason. Some battles are worth fighting.

Other battles obviously are meant to be lost. Like the one that Mr. Knightley is winning here. I gues his watching me from his perch in front of my warm toaster oven is better than his watching me from his perch on my shoulder. Especially when I don't have the benefit of a specially designed reinforced shoulder pad (David Weber fans should catch the reference and my train of thought).

That's all for now, folks. Here's my chance to wish all of you a Happy Christmas, with all the joy that the first Christmas brought to some weary shepherds on a lonely hill.

Home refreshing!

So much has happened this summer! Now it's September, and time to settle down and settle in to work, fiscal responsibility, the new TV season, and the wind-up towards Christmas (yes, choir starts next Sunday). But let's take a look back at all the fun...

It all started with the Agrifair on the July 1st weekend (oh yeah, already posted about that one), a very fun Cousins' Day, then an unforgettable Phantom of the Opera, Bard on the Beach, and the traditional visits to the PNE.

And in the midst of it all, a little project to add some colour to my life. What do cats have to do with painting and new furniture? Everything, if they can get away with it. I couldn't have done it without Kendra's hard work, or had so much fun doing it. There are more pictures here if you want to see the pretty colours I found for my bedrooms.

Mr. Knightley helped us pull the old (ugly) border from the wall of my guest room. Notice the pretty blue baseboards, which thankfully are now a beautiful white!

Sorry, this one is a bit fuzzy, but it's still one of my favourites. Emma loved the new bookshelves, at least until I filled them with books and put the doors on.

Flying High

It's been a busy summer! I was going through my photos from the last couple of months, and was surprised to see how much has happened. Time has flown indeed! And how appropriate to start this summer blog run with pictures from the Abbotsford Agrifair. I went with Milena and Elyssa, and quickly learned a lesson in how the enjoyment of rides changes with age. Elyssa was running from ride to ride to ride to ride, each of which rotated in the same (counter-clockwise) direction. I used to love these rides! What happened to my internal gyroscope, and my ability to recover between rides? It was still a very fun time, with beautiful fireworks to top it all off. Oh yeah, and a wild bumper-car playtime at the end of it all. If you want to see more pictures, go here.