November!? Already!?

Has it really been that long since I've posted anything on here? I feel that no one would want to read this anyways - not sure who would at least - so... I'm lazy. That's the alternate excuse anyways... really I'm just too lazy and have so many things to do online anyways. Other time wasting things probably. SO! Winnipeg is great, it's starting to get a wee bit chilly... but that's fine. For now. I left the house yesterday morning, late, and it was snow-slushing... so I dug my jacket out of my backpack - cotton and snow-slush get along too well... and make me cold. So I'm taking classes and they're going well and once again I'm interested in things that don't seem to have any apparent use or direction.. or at least they don't seem to direct me to anything that SEEMS useful. I will have another degree in Useless and Obscure Information - as I joked to one of the sissies. Very Monty Pythonesque. Anyways, that's the deal. Working part time at disability services, did some renos on the home - laminate and white paint (the apt is less cave-like now), and ??? saw a mouse, got a haircut. The normal stuff. Hope whoever reads this is having a fabulous day... or night. ")

SO Sasquatch festival at the end of May was a blast... and there was some blasty wind too. Sarah, Phil and I headed down to the Gorge at George early Saturday to miss some of the show but catch what we went there for - Arcade Fire, Bjork, and I forget who else because I was so focused on Manu Chao... who was fantastic! Anyways, as soon as we got in we went for the $10 beers which we felt fine about because we knew we'd only drink a couple each, otherwise risking dehydreation and sunstroke (not that THAT has happened at a Gorge concert before). It was a great weekend but a long one - we drove home through the night to drop Phil off at the ferry terminal around 5, and got home around 6 which gave Sarah enough time to shower and get to work. Seeing as how I wasn't selling blenders for a living at this point, I went home and had a cat nap... and took lunch to my sleepy, hungry sister. It was a super weekend and I'm looking forward to next year! ")

Bad, bad blogger

HI! not that anyone reads this but I feel ashamed that I have this site posted in some places and I never post anything. I'm sure we're all okay about it but aaanyways, I got some pics from my sister recently and will post some. Life is good.... busy with a semi-satisfactory job, well actually not that satisfactory in the satisfaction department but whatever, hours are good and it is a temporary deal - 2 months. Weekends are full of volleyball and debauchery, not to mention the ensuing hangovers and ridiculous stories, and I mean ridiculous. No pictures to illustrate these still all too vivid memories. But thank goodness! for such an awesome day today after a week of cold - I had to get a wool sweater out to wear on Monday, the horror. And thank you to all who sent me wonderful bday wishes from near and afar, yay.

This is an update

Okay so someone other than myself reads this so here's the update. Vancouver is beautiful (but cold)... and I'm having a great time being back. I went to the Sasquatch Music Festival this weekend at the Gorge with sissypants Sarah and her boyfriend the man-blanket, Phil... and it was aaaaawesome. I was the most stoked for Manu Chao and Radio Bemba, and they totally delivered!! The other highlight was seeing Spearhead, a band that I don't know really well but great tunes and a good show. There were some interesting performers - when we arrived Sunday morning on stage one we had a lady from Dallas who announced that she was going to sing about murder... and on the main stage a gospel choir. Sarah proceeded to baptise Phil while filling up her water bottle. Spiritual rebirth with some Sasquatch. It is an amazing venue, though bloody freezing cold when the sun went down! Other weekend highlights included not paying for camping, Phil telling us that he thought Sarah was knitting all night long (it was windy... ???), no line-up for a substantial veggie burger, different dancing (interpretive), people watching (loads of tattoos), gummy bears, and I'm sure I'm forgetting more, my brain is working vers 30% right now. We left around 12 and got home 5:30am ish... but it was a great time. By the way last weekend I saw a super funny movie with my super fun friends and now we can't stop singing the songs - Hugh Grant is a has-been 80s singer and has some moves like you wouldn't believe, and they're not as predictable as the storyline. Drew Barrymore is in it and is cute but the tiniest creature in the universe. Anyways, I think it's called Music and Lyrics. OK signing off... I've got to rest up, I'm getting a new driver's license tomorrow, need my beauty sleep.

Winnipeg

You know the feeling when you return to a place you've been absent from for a while... and it feels like you've never left? This is Winnipeg for me.. tried and true through and through every single time. Sure I say the same about Vancouver but I don't really mean it.. here I mean it. Did I really ever leave? I COULD be convinced otherwise. Maybe. Anyways, the ville is its usual strange self. Any global warming sceptics would have melted away yesterday in the 30 degree weather (plus extreme sweat inducing humidity)... but lo and behold last night the COLD FRONT!!! moved in and today I'm in jeans and a hoodie AND a jacket... it's hovering around 15. Don't get it. Anyways... I'm going to enjoy another few days here, yes enjoy.. it is green and everyone speaks English and I have friends here! Good times. And Saturday back to Vancouver...

Good times with the Sissy!

I can't believe it's May 1st already! And that the season is over and we're on our way home soon. It always seems to drag on and on but as soon as it's finished.. it seems like it flew by. At least that's how it feels for me; for Steve I think it was long and painful and there was never any flying. Anyways, they finished 7th? which was disappointing but he's done! So no worries. My sister Claire came to visit for 10 days on impulse and we had an awesome time. It was a great mix of traveling/exploring and relaxing on the beach. We were super silly and drove Steve and friends a bit crazy but I have been deprived of good female friends so it was extra special for me ... awwwww! She left Sunday morning to start school on Monday - we had to call her professor (Mr Harris?) from Mykonos to make sure he'd take her in the class... she could have stayed longer but Mr Harris accepted her so... long term good short term (too) bad. This is a pic of us on Delos - a small island about an hour away from Mykonos in a very seaworthy boat (lots of waves and some puking, not by us) . It is an archaeological treasure trove of a place, with many intact houses and temples from as far back as the 7thcbc... pretty cool. Anyways, we're heading back to Toronto on Saturday I think.. so there's a lot to figure out with the team, apartment, travel plans etc... but yay! back to Canada!

A few more pics...

Happy Easter!

Well, it wasn't such a happy time for the lambs of this world and the next... Easter is the biggest holiday in Greece, and everyone takes off to the villages that their parents and grandparents live in, a sort of exodus to the country type deal. We took part and went south to the small town of Kavasila, located about 60km south of Patras, to spend the weekend with the Mixalopoulos (sp?) family. We arrived Saturday evening in time for the lamb preparation, and we saw it all - from hanging in the industrial fridge to the table to be seasoned, skewered and sewn up... to the pit where it was roasted for six hours on Sunday morning. So Saturday night was the seasoning, skewering and sewing part... which was followed by a midnight church service that was very nice. We didn't take any pics, but it involved some chanting and lots of candles... very nice. After that, everyone took off (almost running) to break the fast of Lent and eat the first meal of Easter around 12:30am. THEN... we went out to the bars as most younger people do.. to arrive home to light the fire for the lamb. Nick's dad got up around 5:30 and beat him to it - he takes pride in doing so every year - we got home around 6. After a few hours of sleep we were up to observe and take part. This involved: eating meat and lots of it, touring the village to say hi to friends and see how their lambies are doing, and ... drinking drinking drinking - our first glass of wine was at 10am. So here are some pics... Hope everyone had a great weekend!!!

Porto Katsiki

This has to be one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen... and yes it was worth being meleed in with all of the Greek Drivers and their exodus out of the city into the country. It took us close to five hours!!! to get there, but we forgot about that as soon as we saw this beach. There were no people as it's way too early for the Greeks to go to the beach, which made it even more spectacular. The water was cold but refreshing and it was hot out so.. no worries.

Going Batty at Alaska's Matanuska Glacier...

A Few Weeks Later...

How well do we know our family's past, history and heritage? My grandmother Doris Hamblin passed away last week and though, of course, it is a very sad occasion for the family I know she is in a better place. She struggled for the last 10 years or so with Alzheimer's and found daily life very challenging as most of the wiring that guides her (and our) every day activities had all but vanished... I can't imagine how difficult it was for her. What was so enlightening though was how she was able to hold on to memories from long ago - growing up on the farm with her brothers and sisters, and hanging out with friends at the lake. I loved seeing her black and white pictures, the old school bathing suits and poses... and knowing that we share something more than genetics... Having lived in many different countries and in different societies/cultures... I know that all across the board humans feel the same emotions.. seems very clear and obvious but.. sometimes it's not. It's neat to think about her growing up with her group of friends, going to the lake, joking around... and that there is an interconnectedness there with my life and my friends. So... as I was saying at the beginning.. how well do we know our own history? There are so many stories that make us who we are... so much to explore.

On another note, we just got back from a trip to Thessaloniki where we ate too much, drank too much, and second-hand smoked too much... there is no respect for non-smokers here, which is very sad because kids are exposed to it relentlessly. I'll have to snap some pics of the play/daycare place next to my gym... there is a cloud of smoke hanging in there that never dissipates. It's disgusting. Not much else is new here, we are trying to figure out when the season will be over for Steve and hopefully find a few days to visit an island and soak up some sun before we head home. They need to win on Saturday or they're relegated to play downs... which would be a catastropha! because it would most likely mean that everyone is out of luck for the last four paychecks, doh. We're looking forward to Easter - it's the biggest holiday in Greece and we hear the festivities are not to be missed. Apparently the spit is fired up around 7am on Sunday, and the poor little lamby is roasted all day long. It may push me over the edge to vegetarianism. A bientot...

This week...

Sugar cookie self-portraits

HELLO! There's not too much news to report, life in Greece is slow and fairly uneventful... I've gotten back in the swing of things with yoga, cooking .. and eating. What is it with the magnetic impulse between me and the kitchen? I know it increases with boredom and especially with idleness... I miss having a library here, if there were a library down the block I would migrate there. Speaking of books, I went to buy a french paperback this morning, and... they wanted 15 euros from me! No no no.... for a 200 page paperback, that was the thickest I could find for the least amout of beans. So.. the net will have to do I suppose. Here is the latest chocolate wisdom we have unwrapped, and a few old pics. Cheers ")

LOVE IS A SPONTANEOUS GRASS, NOT A GARDEN PLANT.

THE IDEAL HUSBAND IS UNMARRIED.

THE HEART HAS ITS REASONS WHICH REASON DOES NOT KNOW.

Some pics from Prague and Vienna

Me and Wendy....
Sipping some healing sulphur water at Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic
Me and Marie

Me and Doug outside the Hofburg in the Heldenplatz... just in front of the statue you see in the next pic...
March 1938

Back to ... reality?

I'm back from Vienna and Prague, home from vacation and back to... work? Hmm.. I don't think so. Anyways, I had an awesome trip. I flew into Vienna and took the bus to Prague (40 euros round trip, very good deal) to visit a friend from last years team in Southern France... We relived the fabulous times we had with our team and our outstanding coach... how we miss the French! Just kidding. They're not all bad... ahem, umm anyways, it was great. We ate a lot, and I mean a LOT, drank, went to the gym a few times and cruised around Prague. My french was rusty, as was hers, so we invented a handful of new mots, all of which I'm too ashamed to share... very ridiculous. So after five days I took off back to Vienna where I met up with an oooold friend from Gonzaga who just moved there, Doug Griffin. We had lunch and caught up on the last seven years, had some Czech spirits and a beer in the Heldenplatz in front of the Imperial Palace in Wien (where, as Doug pointed out, 70 years ago Hitler stood to announce it's "annexation" of Austria, Anschluss), sat out a rainstorm in the city's oldest cafe (so they say) and ??? reminisced. Next on the program was visiting Chris and Marie-eve, also friends who I met last year in Cannes, in Amstetten. He is playing vball there and she is long distance with her MBA program, so they are both busy busy. I was only there for two days, and we did much of the same - eating, drinking, laughing.. that sort 'o' thing. It was great as well. Then back to Athens on Saturday where two lovely surprises were waiting for me: warm weather and Steve.. yay... The last few days here have been super warm, upwards of 20... very nice. I don't have too much on the agenda now, getting through some thick books, new culinary adventures, yoga and waiting to hear about school. I have my fingers crossed for City Planning at the University of Manitoba.. hopefully I hear something soon. One more thing to share - Steve has a super-fan from last year in Cagliari, Sardinia... she is Buddhist and claims to have known Steve in another life and has given him a bunch of Buddhist paraphernalia .. random, but anyways, she sent him a package for his birthday with a bunch of stuff, including: a messenger bag, a small stuffed animal, several printouts of Buddhist teachings and words of wisdom, chocolates (Bacios), and stuff to make lasagna!! Bechamel sauce, tomato sauce, lasagna noodles and instructions. My point is that I ate a chocolate! No, and it came, as they all do, with a fortune. Read, and learn. Synonymous with Buddhist teaching? Not sure...

FOR EVERY WOMAN THERE IS A SEDUCER. HER HAPPINESS LIES IN HER MEETING HIM.

ATHENS

THE TENTOURA PROJECT

Tentoura is a delicious liqueur native to Patras that we love so much that I'm going to try to make it at home... danger! yes yes yes.. yum yum yum. Cinnamon, cloves, a bit of ginger and ??? Hopefully it's successful, I'm kind of winging it. Keep you posted. Dinner time.

HI! Let's see how this works.. the first post. I'm in Patras, Greece which is about 200km west of Athens on the (in the?) Peloponnese.. very nice country, very nice. This pic was taken just before Christmas down by the port on a clear day, as you can see.... The mountains are periodically covered in snow - now not at all - the ski resorts (YES! there are ski hills here, small ones though) are all closed much to the chagrin of... the 4 skiers in town. Anyways, the city is nice, lots to do.. I guess. Greeks looove going out for coffee, even more so than North Americans... it's a bit ridiculous. A minimum of one hour must be spent sipping coffee, meme si c'est un cappucino and you have to drink it cold for half an hour. Anyways, the coffee is good and the people are nice... most of the time. The food is awesome - they love eating here more than any place I've been which is fine by me.. and ?? Steve and I like it here. It's also the first year that I'm not playing on any team which is a bit different for me but I'm enjoying it. Anyways, time to get din dins on the go, so until next time, cheers... ")

A litte something about me...

About me: I'm a 30-ish (agh!)... autodidact who loves reading, learning, language, food and laughing... yay! I'm a former professional volleyball player looking for a new career. In the meantime, I hang out with my best friend and boyfriend Steve as he continues to pursue his volleyball career.