Playing catch-up

Another week has simply flown by, and I've hardly had a chance to post anything, either here or for the cats.  I'm not certain if it the arrival of spring (finally!) or my continual procrastination that has me feeling as though there is too much to do and too little time to do it in.

Monday and Tuesday were spent travelling to and from Saskatoon, and attending a meeting there. The meeting was good, but the rental vehicle I drove sustained damage when someone backed into it.  Of course, there was no note, so I'm responsible to pay for the damage up-front and make a claim on my credit card insurance.

Wednesday evening was my photography class (7-10 p.m.).  It was warm enough to get outdoors and do some shooting in the sunshine and shade.  For this session, there is just one more class, but I'm considering signing up for the second level.  To do so, I need to make a phone call...which I haven't done yet!

On Thursday evening, I had a landscaper come by to review the plans, and take some measurements, to obtain a quote on xeriscaping the front yard.  He promised to have the information to me by Monday.  I've got my fingers crossed, that it isn't a ridiculous quote, so far above what I'm willing to pay that I have to keep searching for a landscaper.

Last night, I went for dinner with my good friend C, her mom L, and her friends J and H.  L had contacted me earlier in the week to invite me to join her in celebrating C's 40th birthday.  Both J and I arrived before C and her boyfriend H, so it a surprise for her when they came through the door.  We had a great meal and lots of laughs!

Today is housecleaning day, I've got laundry started, my bedroom tidied, bathroom scrubbed, dishes done, and the vacuum is sitting here looking at me.  I also have a submission I need to complete for a selection process at work.  The position is at my current level but in a different area. I'm having difficulty summing up 5 years of work in three pages.

With the warmer weather, the outdoors is beckoning my attention too.  I need to get out and rake the front and back lawn, pick up the tree branches that broke off over winter, and clear out the containers. I took a walk through a couple of garden centers yesterday but it's still too cool to purchase anything, as we are still falling below freezing a couple of nights a week.  I'll be happy if I can get things planted by mid-June this year.
I spotted early maturing tomatoes at Lowes' that are already 2-3 feet tall.  They are pricey but at least I'd be certain of getting some fruit from them this year.  I don't generally grow any other veg, but I do love garden fresh tomatoes.

Well, this isn't getting done the things I still to accomplish today, so I'd best get at it.  Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Friday Funny

Another new illness to watch out for! 

A woman calls her boss one morning and tells him that she is staying home because she is not feeling well. 

 
'What's the matter?' he asks. 

'I have a case of anal glaucoma,' she says in a weak voice. 

'What the hell is anal glaucoma?' 

'I can't see my ass coming into work today. 

One word Wednesday

Hooray!

Random Sunday

Thanks to everyone who commented on the posts of my trip to O'ahu.  It was fun to share my memories of a great trip!  Now I'm back to my regular, mostly boring posts.

Spring has finally arrived here for certain and the snow is melting quickly.  There are 340 homes in the city that have received letters they may have to evacuate if the water rises too much, but where I live this is not a problem.

Although the temperature reached 17C (63F) yesterday, the snow pile in the front yard remains but is definitely getting smaller.  I've been going out spreading the snow so that it will disappear more quickly.

A few weeks and I should be able to plant the front flower bed.  Hurray!

But there are buds on the tree in the front yard! Just knowing things will be greening up soon improves my mood.

The cats and I have been enjoying the sun room at the back of the house, they for playing and napping, while I enjoy relaxing and reading a book.  I feel like my house gets bigger every spring and shrinks again in the fall.

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Last week was the third week of our photography class.  I feel like I've learned a lot already, but this week's assignment was challenging.

We had a do a shoot using AV or Manual mode, calibrating the white balance, and various settings to shoot black on black, white on white, and then finally black and white in color.  Confusing?  It was to me too, although in class it all seemed clear.  Putting it into practice was definitely more difficult.

This is my final picture, in manual mode, with custom white balance.  The black detail isn't as strong as the white, but it is in focus!

The one lesson I've learned is, to use your camera in a manual mode requires much patient.  Not a trait, I'm well know for. :-)

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Work last week was busy and this week is looking the same.  Most of our supervisors and managers are off to Saskatoon tomorrow for two days of meetings.  As a member of the organizing committee I was tasked with arranging for rental vehicles, and I needed to know who the drivers in order to complete the reservation.  Even though there are over 30 people going, finding volunteers to drive was a challenge, but in the end after several requests we had the requisite number.  

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Kea from Fuzzy Tales asked about my plans for my next trip.  She knows me well....there are plans made and some in the works.  I'm heading to Vancouver Island (Nanaimo, Parksville, and Qualicum Beach) for the September long weekend, flights and a rental vehicle have been booked, and my cousin is looking into accommodations for me.  She lives in a resort area in Parksville so gets a discount is she makes the reservation.  

This is the area I think I want to retire to so this trip is a short one, Friday through Tuesday.  I plan to visit with my cousin and my uncle, and spend some time wandering the communities of Parksville and Qualicum Beach.  If I like it, and I can't imagine I won't, the plan is to take a month's leave of absence in late 2014.  I'll find a place to rent and live there when the weather is less pleasant to see if I can tolerate the rain.  If I can't, then it's either find a different place to retire, or plan to spend that period of the year elsewhere.  I know, I know, I'm a planner...nothing spontaneous about me!

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Time to catch up with all of you.  Hope you've had a wonderful weekend!

O'ahu - Part 7

For our last full day on O'ahu we decided to drive up the east coast of the island, stopping at Hanauma Bay on the way.   I don't have any notes made, so I'll have to use the photos to refresh my memory.

The route we followed was the one the tour bus had taken to the luau so the road seemed somewhat familiar to me.  The coastline is absolutely beautiful.

We started off around 9 a.m. from the hotel, and by the time we got to Hanuama Bay the park was filling up.

There is a pathway down to the beach, or if one needs to ride a shuttle is available.  Before you're allowed to make your way down though the park shows a 9 minute video explaining the ecosystem and reminding visitors not to stand on the coral.

Unfortunately, not everyone pays attention. :(

We spent over an hour enjoying watching the fish in the water, and hanging out on the beach.

If you squint just right, you might be able to make out a little yellow and black fish.  There are also grey striped ones in the picture above the little fish.  I have a lot of pictures of those ones!

I'm not certain where the next picture was taken but it was between Hanuama Bay and our next stop in Sandy Beach.  It was apparent the water had been much higher at some points are the erosion was clear even from the road.

We left Hanauma Bay and headed around the coast up towards Kailua.  I should mention, we'd met a young woman who worked in Kailua on our catamaran cruise earlier in the week so we decided we'd check the place out.  On the way, we came across Sandy Beach so we stopped briefly to take a few pictures.

Despite, or perhaps because, of the waves there were lots of people in the water.  They are certainly braver than I am!










Our goal in Kailua was to find a place to have a plate lunch.  Frankly I'd never heard of such a thing, but we had read about and been told that a traditional plate lunch is two scoops of rice, a scoop of macaroni and cheese, with some form of protein.  We found the L&L Drive Inn in Kailua where we indulged in the "healthy choice" plate lunch.
Just one scoop of rice, with a garden salad and two pieces of grilled masa masa (a local whitefish).  Yummy!

We drove back to another spot on Sandy Beach where we found a park bench to sit and watch the ocean.  When we sat down, we'd taken note the bench had been donated by the "family of" but thought nothing more of it until we were approached by two women.  They explained they were the "family of" and wanted to use the bench to sit and pray.  Of course, we moved to another bench in the small park across the road.

The wind had picked up throughout the day so the park was full of people flying their kites.

This fellow had the most interesting way.  He used the scooter (and I suspect his core muscles) to cross back and forth across the park with his kite.

We headed back into Waikiki, arriving back in the city about 3:30 p.m.  We'd barely made it into our room and opened the balcony door when the sky opened up and it began to pour rain.  It kept up until we went for dinner around 6:30.  Initially, we planned to find a Chinese restaurant but ended instead at Cha Cha Cha, a Mexican restaurant. The food was good, especially the guacamole dip for the tortillas!

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Monday was a short day, we checked out of the hotel at noon as we were unable to get a late checkout.  We spent most of the afternoon at Al Moana Park (across from the shopping center).  We took a walk along the beach and counted six couples having wedding photos taken!

Here I am taking the last walk along the beach.  I don't look very happy about leaving, do I?

After delivering the car back to the rental place we hung out at the airport until our flight left at 8:30 p.m.  It was while we were having dinner at the airport when we learned of the bombings in Boston.  Back to the real world with a thud!  

O'ahu is a marvelous place to visit, as there SO much to see and do. It isn't a place I'd go for the beach (Rodney Bay has stolen my heart) but it offers much more including the history of the Islands, the ease of getting around, the shopping, restaurants, and the beauty of the coast line.  

O'ahu - Part 6

On Saturday we got wheels!  I must admit I was a little nervous about driving in the city of Honolulu, but since we were heading to the North Shore I had time to get used to the car.  We were promised a Ford Focus, but actually got a Toyota Corolla, which was great as I drive an older standard version of the same car.

We started out on the freeway  (6 lanes OMG) but as you can tell by the picture, the speeds soon dropped and the drive became more scenic.

The drive took a little over an hour, and we stopped a beach along the way.  The waves were far larger than at Waikiki, but far smaller than at other times of the year.

I thought they were plenty big enough so I wasn't about to go in!

And seeing this sign confirmed it.

We continued up the road looking for the shrimp truck featured in the O'ahu This Week brochure but never found it.  We did, however, find Giovanni's Shrimp Truck.  

It was popular spot with several food trucks gathered in the area.  K chose the shrimp scampi with rice, while I stuck to a hot dog cooked in the scampi sauce.  I'll admit it, I'm a prairie girl at heart and sea food (other than fish) is generally not in my comfort zone.  While at the rest stop, we wandered about the grounds and I found a new friend.  He looks a little like my Saku!

We turned around at this point, and made our way back to  the Waimea Valley botanical garden.  Although it wouldn't have been K's first choice for spending an afternoon, I loved every minute of the time we spent there. The grounds were beautifully maintained, yet looked natural, and the trees provided cover when it began raining lightly.

 There were gorgeous flowers.

And there were lots of birds.  This one is a red crested cardinal; he was quite unconcerned about having his photo taken.

Near the exit was this noisy guy.  At first he wouldn't raise his tail feathers, but I guess I annoyed him enough because he started shouting at me!

All of the trees were lovely, but this one in particular had the most colorful bark I'd ever seen.

The falls were small but worth the walk to reach them.  We hadn't brought our bathing suits with us, but others were enjoying the refreshing waters. 

Throughout the park we saw signs warning of an endangered species crossing, though we saw no birds or animals at these points.  On our way out of the park, however, we saw this duck (?) start crossing in front of us.  I turned to K and said, "if this is the endangered species, it's no wonder!" 

I opened my window to tell it to move along, and it walked right up to my window. I grabbed my camera, then K's to take pictures of the silly goose (?)

When we left the valley we turned onto the highway into a traffic jam.  Cars were bumper to bumper for the next half-hour for no apparent reason.  We pulled into Hailewa to drive through the historic town before getting back on the highway towards Honolulu, by which time the traffic had eased. 

We took the freeway (6 lanes OMG!) back into Waikiki, where except for one wrong turn we made it back to the hotel in reasonable time. Dinner that evening was leftovers from the night before.

Tomorrow - Haunama Bay and Kailua

O'ahu - Part 5

We were mid-way through our trip on Wednesday and there was still so much to see and do.  We got a late start to the morning as we were both tired from the day before.  After a leisurely

Picture taken when we arrived on Friday (late in the day)

breakfast on our balcony, we hopped the bus out to the Aloha Stadium to visit what was advertised as a swap meet.  The only swapping going on was my money for the products on sale!

I found t-shirts for both of my children, a little travel purse for myself, and K found handcrafted bookmarks, and a Parrot Aloha shirt to wear to Jimmy Buffett concerts.

The so-called meet was a bit disappointing, but we had the Chief's luau to look forward to that evening.  We'd done some research before booking the luau as would be expected there are several to choose from on the island. Chief's came highly recommended, not only on Trip Advisor, but by one of my team members who attended the show in February.  We booked the tour on our own, and were not disappointed.

The luau is held at Sea Life Park, and had we splurged on the Royal Package we would have had a tour.  Instead we stuck to the standard tour but still got to see the sea turtles.

These pictures were taken out the window of the bus as we got closer to the park.

This is my cousin Veti,  Seriously!

At least that is what he told all of us on the bus, and K and I immediately adopted him.

He was an excellent guide and gave us both a great hug when we left later that evening.

The picture below was taken just beyond the spot where the pig was roasting.  What a lovely view for us, not so much for the pig.

The food was so-so, but the show was awesome.   The dancers were incredible and I wish I could have gotten some good shots of the final act, where the chief and some of the dancers danced with fire.  Wow!

Check out the tattoos on the man in the middle. The ones on his mid-section extended down to his knees.










After the show we were delivered back to Waikiki about 9:30 in the evening.

It was a lovely warm evening so we stopped at an ABC store for a couple of drinks to enjoy on the balcony.





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The next day, we spent a quiet day on Fort de Russy beach (part of Waikiki, but definitely a quieter part).

We relaxed and read, watched the surfers out in the ocean, and the many aircraft fly overhead.  Despite my attempts to be a human rotisserie, I managed to burn my back and shoulders, though not badly.

Later in the day we hit Ross Dress for Less (think Winners in Canada) where we each scored.  K got two pairs of capris and a blouse for under $50 and I got two pairs of shorts for $22.  Then it was onto the International Market where we each found dresses for $17 a piece.

We hit the Cheesecake Factory for dinner that evening (we have no store here), where we sat on the outdoor patio and watched the continuous traffic pass by.  We both enjoyed our meals, but the portions were too large, so we ended up taking at least half home for the next day.  And who can resist the cheesecake?  We ordered a piece of key-lime cheesecake to take back to the hotel for a treat later in the week.

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Friday was another quiet day, it was overcast so we hung out by the pool at the hotel, did lots of reading and just relaxed.  We did get to the fireworks that evening, but beyond that it was mostly a ``do-nothing`` day!


Tomorrow:  Northshore