Calendars last pt...

I just realized I never actually finished what I was saying about calendars.

For everyone out there worried I would not know what day it is, please be reassured. I do have a calendar now. It is even a good one.

As for more updates I've been insanely busy the last week or so. I haven't even been to the craft store. Imagine that! I did take a short detour in there earlier this week and you know what? They had a sale! Yay! Pretty papers I've been ogling for the better part of the fall at 70% off. Isn't that a bargain I don't know what is. So I bought a couple. Now I have four or so shiny new papers to craft with. I'll see if there is time during the weekend between paper-writing and book-reading to make some more cards.

Just letting you know I'm still alive. :)



Nina

Calendars pt 2

Thanks Heather! I think I've found one that will not only fit my aesthetic senses but also the actual dimensions of the wall space where it will be hung. It's not bought and hung yet so let's not get carried away. It could be sold out. Oh well, if they are I'll ask friend S to order a nice one (or two) on Amazon. They had some really pretty calendars. Secret garden with beautiful pictures of gardens and houses and flowers and streams and ponds and... well, nature in general. Also one with pictures from Scotland. Very green. They also have different TV-series calendars and anyone who knows me know which one I would like to have. Take a guess. I double-dog dare ya! :)

Nina

Calendars

Okay, I need a new wall calendar. The one for 2008 doesn't quite cut it anymore. So I went to the bookstore to see if they had any fun calendars left. They had a really nice one with chocolate. Now, one would think that a wall calendar with different chocolate pictures every month would be a great addition to my kitchen, but there were no recipes! Who in their right mind makes a calendar with chocolate and do not tell people how to make them? I don't want to look at chocolate, I want to eat it!

So I went online. Big mistake. My eyes are now square from viewing hundreds of different calendars online. I had no idea there were that many different kinds. Some were beautiful, some were funny, some downright zany. Looking at all those different calendars I realized I have standards. A calendar must have some writing space on it. I have to be able to write appointments and birthdays and such on wall calendar. Most of the calendars I found were grid calendars with tiny tiny squares for each date. If I got one of those I'd have to attach a magnifying glass to see what I wrote. Oh well, I'll do another sweep of the local bookstores and card-shops today. I'll let you know what I found.

Nina

Happy New Year!

So 2009 finally begun. As years are prone to do. One after the other. It feels kind of like a new beginning. I mean, it can't possibly be worse than 2008 right? It's been a strange year indeed. A lot of things happened that I didn't want to happen, a lot of things I wanted to happen did not. It can only get better.

I will not say 2008 was a bad year, it was just strange. A lot of good things happened also. I met several new friends that I treasure and I got to spend more time with family. That is always a good thing.

Right now however I have got two essays in linguistics to write so in concordance with my new years resolution to stop fretting about stuff I will now start on writing one of them. Isn't it fun when you get an assignment you can't wait to get started on? I get to watch "Third Rock from the Sun" on youtube and actually feel like I'm doing something useful. I LIKE linguistics! :)

Nina

Merry Christmas

Ah it is Dec 24th and Christmas has arrived. Finally. I bought all the presents and braved the crowds in the mall. The last of the Christmas cards went out today. One all the way to Australia. I guess it'll arrive by midsummer. :)

Christmas ham is done and ready to eat. I really wanted to make some more fudge and some Christmas buns, but right now it feels like way too much work. Probably because it's in the middle of the night.

Ah... time to go have a taste of that ham and drink some Santa soda. :)

Christmas greetings to all!

Nina

It's Christmas!

Tomorrow I'm going shopping. I admit defeat. I have to go. I promised myself I would never EVER go shopping on a Saturday. Why? Because everyone else seems to get the same idea. I'm not that fond of large crowds of people. Especially not large crowds of people frantically searching for the perfect gift. You know, the one we all know doesn't exist within a reasonable budget.

There are lines also. To the registers. Where I'll have to wait my turn. Ugh! I'm not the most patient person in the world. I think I have to be a bit more zen about lines. Maybe I can read one of those books I will buy someone for Christmas while standing in that line? A couple of hundred pages polished off in an hour. Not entirely impossible. It all depends on how good the book is.

I have gotten a couple of Christmas gifts already. It seems like much of Christmas is celebrated before Christmas or after Christmas rather than on the big day doesn't it? Anyway, I got some very nice gifts from friend S. She gave me an ornamental cross to hang on wall or put in bookshelf (yeah right, we all know there isn't any room in any of my bookshelves), a seriously cute little teddy bear with scarf and hat and there are holes for the ears in the hat. Very soft and cuddly. Me like soft and cuddly. :) I also got a trinket box with an angel reading a book. Very thoughtful and appropriate. I am happy! Thank you S!

I also got a gift from friend J. We had a fun evening eating pizza at my favourite restaurant. Thank you for feeding me J!

I've gotten stamps from Heather which I used on Christmas cards. I probably should scan those before sending them off right? I still haven't read the book though. There seems to be precious little time left for reading lately. The time I don't spend fretting over what is to come I spend sleeping. No wonder I get headaches due to stress...

I know it sounds like I'm terribly materialistic thanking everyone for the gifts I got, but it's just that I'm so happy I have friends that care it's silly. I mean, for many years I didn't have any friends so having several is amazing and I feel blessed every day.

Oh well, it'll all be good by Christmas. I'll just have to figure out what gifts to get people. Any suggestions?

Ta Ta!

Nina

Mobile terriers

Now you all wonder what a mobile terrier is and if not all terriers are mobile most of the time. Well yes, this is just another kind of terrier and it is not a dog.

A day not long ago I happened to enter a mobile phone store. You know the little hole-in-the-wall shops where they try to sell you a mobile phone. Anyway, I went with friend J because she needed to get her phone fixed (no, I am still not talking about dogs. Get your mind out of the gutter and pay attention! :))

So we went into this tiny space where there are three salespeople and exactly zero customers. One of the salespeople lights up like a Christmas tree, bounces up to me and asks if I want a new phone too.

And here's the dialogue that followed.

Salesperson in a bouncy voice: Do you want a new phone too?!?

Me: NO! (I figured that if I tried to use a firm voice and clear message sales person would understand the meaning of "no" just like children and dogs do. I was wrong.)

Salesperson not deterred but still bouncy: But are you sure?!?

Me: I am NOT getting a new phone. I am happy with the one I have thank you very much. (See? I already lost my patience)

Salesperson: But if you would get one, what kind of phone would you want?!? One with an mp3-player?!? One with a really good camera?!?

Me: No! If I was to get a new phone, which I am not, I don't want one with an mp3-player nor a camera. I would want a phone that is good for calling people. And maybe text messages. That is all. But I am NOT getting a new phone. I have Christmas presents to buy first.

Salesperson still not deterred but more bouncy than ever: So you want one that stands rough handling?!?

I felt my eyes doing a mental roll by that time. What part of "no" is so hard to understand?

Me: No! I do NOT want a phone that stands rough handling. If I would get a new phone it will be for calling people and sending text messages!

Now salesperson looks at me as if I just sprouted a new head. Apparently one has to have a phone that does just about everything. Well, if I could wish I'd wish my phone to be a gourmet cook and happy to clean windows. How's that for a phone? I'd even be willing to pay for it.

Fortunately friend J had almost finished her dealings with another one of the salespeople so I took refuge behind her when bouncy salesperson took out a calculator to calculate how much I would save from getting a new phone and how much I could talk and the benefits. I almost wish there had been a representative from Guiness world records there because I fled from that shop so fast that light would seem sluggish in comparison.

Ah yes, the terrier. I was just getting to that. In my mind a terrier is a stubborn, energetic and eager kind of dog. Much like the salesperson. However, terriers are also cute and trainable...

Nina