A face with a name.....

A Quebec-er encounter:

A couple times a week or more I see what I presume is a homeless man and his dog. When I leave for a long period of time I find myself looking for them when I return. Today, he and his dog were walking down my street. I took this opportunity to speak to him since his dog, the size of Snuffaluffagus, was check'en out Sam in a "you wanna be my peep kind of way". Once again, I started with a bit of confidence explaining that I speak French a little, in French. He replied that we can speak English...in English. (This is where the camera turns back to me and I make an of course you can speak English look.)
(Inside thought) What do I say now?... (Out loud) "He is huge, what kind of dog?"
Perhaps homeless man,"he isn't a kind, he's a bastard"......
Me in an awkwardly high pitch voice, "Oh! What kind do you thing?" (Here is where I realize that Barbara WaWa makes interviewing look easy.)
He looks at me like "I don't give a ^*%$".

His big, smelly dog is now checking me out....I tuck my tail under. I learn the dogs name and then they both tire of me and my amateur conversational skills. (This normally isn't a problem.) They tromp away, walking in the same direction as before...heading no where or some where?

So, is he homeless? I don't know. There isn't evidence of unhappiness. I always think I can help, but what would I be helping. Maybe he is always present when I need help. A gentle (and a little stinky) reminder. ? ? ?


Sam the dog update: We slept in....ahhhhh. Then we went for a walk, then we went for another walk, then we went to the dog park. We were alone at the dog park. A desolate dog park is one sad sight. The new blanket of snow did however cover the doggy poo, which always makes me gag a little. Sam has taught me how to throw and fetch, what a smart dog. Great she can speak French and teach me tricks.

Sleepless in Quebec City

I have to admit I was sucked into The Bachelor for the last two weeks. I know shame on me for giving valuable time to such, such, such oh you know what I am trying to say. I just finished reading an entire series of encyclopedias, so I had some spare time. In my defense the loser then winner is from my home town. (Is a home town where you spend the majority of your youth or where you were born?) Anyway, I want my 3 hours back. I need a refund! I took this photo because for some reason my t.v. decided I needed subtitles. I was pretty frustrated because I'm completely aware that I my French is absolutely appalling, but I couldn't understand a word....ummmm, that is because they were in SPANISH. Hummmm.


(In case you were wondering, yup...that is a VHS player within the television. We are kicken it old school around here. We also use our Playstation as a DVD player. One of these days we'll get out of the 90's. It took years for the 80's to wear off. I am still choking on Aqua Net.) Photo needed for all my 80's loven peeps.



I am not walking in her shoes, so I shall not throw pebbles (boulders)or emotionally jarring words...if I did however, this would be one of those times that I would be able to hit two birds with one stone and a "what are you thinking" slap to the back of the head. I hope they remain happy.

I'll just put it out there....I also watch American Idol, and I like it (most of the time). Simon cracks me up, the way Paula claps reminds me of an old friend, Randy's "dog" gets on my nerves and Kara seems to fit in just fine. There are some fun and entertaining moments. Just the confidence to get out there and do what they love is admirable.

A side note: Did you know the sunrise is at 6:17, I do because the cute, loving, adorable dog that I am dog sitting decided "we" should get up at 5:00. At 6:17 we were taking a walk. Today she didn't come when I called her, then I realized I was saying the wrong French word. The dog is better at French then me, sigh.

Wordless Wednesday...maybe a couple

I have the cutest house guest....Sam is visiting until Sunday. That means lots of cold walks and lots and lots of giggles.



I heart Sam!

SPT= Self Portrait Tuesday

EIGHT is GREAT! Self Portrait Tuesday!

"each tuesday of march, your challenge is to feature the number 8. you have free reign each week to decide how you will include the number in your post. the only rule is that the numeral itself must be part of the photograph!! so get out there and search for 8s!! i bet you can find them everywhere."...Lelly

I work on the 8th floor teaching English as a second language, in suite 850. Of course, it would have been more fun to be eating 8 cookies, 8 cupcakes, 8 bowls of ice cream.... maybe next week. :D

I love being carded! Card Swap!!!

I love being carded! Card Swap....

Are you ready to get started? Good, because so am I. If you showed interest yet didn't give me your email address please do. If you would rather email me that is just fine. Go to my profile to get my email address. (Thanks)

If you have no idea what I am talking about CLICK HERE. We would love to have you join in, it is never too late. We will continually add people to the card swap, so tell your friends.

Have you ordered your "Good Mail" labels? Just CLICK HERE, and Jill will take it from there. Make sure to mention that you're taking part in the "I love being carded!" Card Swap, so you receive a special price and quantity. ($7.99 for 60 labels)

I will contact you by Friday with more details and announce the winners of the stamps.

Dickie or not?

I am thinking about buying some dickie, this winter has taken a toll on my knees....I keep falling. This is a big decision. I think there are huge personal risks, you know like what would people think. I just need some protection, especially these days.

These are a few things that are important:

- Easy to insert or remove.
- Garment pouch envelope. (Interesting, did you know this was an option?)
- Stay in place protecting you when you move.

Now, what color? So far I have only found black. I was leaning towards nude or tan. I hear there are blue ones out there, but they are hard to find. Speaking of hard, it is important to find ones that are hard yet flexible. Wow, I had no idea this would be so much work.

So, so many decisions....... I really do need your help. Please CLICK HERE. I know it is a little personal, but I feel like we are now friends, good friends.

Thanks!

Low key weekend

Sopping wet (raining hard all day) and tails a dragging....friday night was low key with pizza and a movie. The movie, Lakeview Terrace (French- Harceles) J. thought it had a flat plot. I was mildly entertained. With a hardy belly laugh J. called me into the kitchen to witness my pizza.... hummmm- what was left of my veggie pizza.

On Saturday, I made this yummy healthy cheese, cracker and apple platter for our mid-afternoon snack.

Stranded because our truck wouldn't start, we hunkered down and watched Scarface (French-Le Balafre),a blast from the past movie with a very young and lovely Michelle Pfeiffer and Al Pacino.
Sunday, J. tried to fix the truck and I did laundry....Woo Hoo, we are crazy!
For the first time on my blog I would like to share a simple, tasty side dish.
Brown Rice Salad by Cooking Wild in Kate's Kitchen.
1 cup brown rice w/ 2 1/4 cups of water and 1 teaspoon butter. Heat to boil, stir once and cover. Reduce heat to simmer for 45 min. Remove from heat, let stand for 5-10 min. fluff with fork.
In another bowl- 1/4 canola oil, 1/4 red wine vinegar, 1 tsp balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp salt, 3/4 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp dried dill weed= mix

Cook 1 cup of peas and 1 cup of corn
Mix cooked corn, peas and rice together then pour dressing over mixture...toss. Cover and refrigerate for minimum 1 hour. Yummy Goodness!!!

J. made the stew recipe you can see in the book...venison for him and veggie ground round (soy and veggies) for me. So Good!So Hardy!
Oh, the movie this afternoon was Marie Antoinette with her fancy duds and extreme coiffed hair.
Link to the cookbook CLICK HERE