Sister Sarah's in town

Sister Sarah arrived today from Halifax for a week.

We had lunch and then I dragged her to the grocery store ... all the hot spots!

We met Gord at the Bungalow for a couple drinks.

Gord and Sarah

And then we had supper at Politica.

Sarah and Teena

More holiday spirit

Nova came for a visit this afternoon ... and he got into the holiday spirit too!

Festive spirit

KC got into the holiday spirit tonight and didn't seem to mind wearing the Santa hat and collar.

I got the collar on Morgan and, for the most part, it freaked him out.

It took a while to get the collar on Byron. But then he got really really mad and sulked under the bed 'til I took it off him. Hence, there are no pix of him.

Book ~ "Prisoner of Tehran: A Memoir" - Marina Nemat (2007)

From Amazon.com ~ Nemat tells of her harrowing experience as a young Iranian girl at the start of the Islamic revolution. In January 1982, the 16-year-old student activist was arrested, jailed in Tehran's infamous Evin prison, tortured and sentenced to death. Ali, one of her interrogators, intervened moments before her execution, having used family connections with Ayatollah Khomeini himself to reduce her sentence to life in prison. The price: she would convert to Islam (she was Christian) and marry him, or he would see to it that her family and her boyfriend, Andre, were jailed or even killed. She remained a political prisoner for two years. Nemat's engaging memoir is rich with complex characters—loved ones lost on both sides of this bloody conflict. Ali, the man who rapes and subjugates her, also saves her life several times — he is assassinated by his own subordinates. His family embraces Nemat with more affection and acceptance than her own, even fighting for her release after his death. Nemat returns home to feel a stranger: "They were terrified of the pain and horror of my past," she writes. She buries her memories for years, eventually escaping to Canada to begin a new life with Andre. Nemat offers her arresting, heartbreaking story of forgiveness, hope and enduring love — a voice for the untold scores silenced by Iran's revolution.

I was barely older than Nemat at that time. And, to be honest, I didn't pay all that much that much attention to the war. So it was interesting for me to read this memoir, especially since it's told by someone who experienced the horrors of such a war.

Sweeping

KC and I went for our long walk around the 'hood this morning. We've missed a few days because of the weather.

I'd found KC's sweater a couple days ago when I cleaned out my closet. Good thing because it's minus 7C! Brrrr!

We have a maple tree in front of our terrace. Nice tree ... until the leaves fall ... right onto our terrace! And then we track them into our place.

I swept the terrace last week and filled a big garbage bag full of leaves. And it was the same today.

Here is KC supervising (I was almost finished).

Honeycomb mittens

Sister Sarah gave me a pattern for honeycomb mittens a couple years ago.

I'm finally making a pair ... here's the first one! I just finished it.

Moselland Riesling wine - cat bottles

Two Moselland Riesling wine cat bottles just came out ... turquoise and coral ... and I picked 'em up today.

I have 18 now ... all still sealed. As far as I know, I'm just missing two ... a clear turquoise one and a clear pink one issued about five years ago.

Last year I finally bought a bottle to drink. It was a reisling and so-so.

Niagara Falls, ON

I hosted a Single Horizons bus trip to Niagara Falls today. This is my third time going to Niagara Falls with Single Horizons since June.

Gord didn't go because he was tired and sore from fencing yesterday.

The bus dropped us off at the Fallview Casino and we had five hours to spend in Niagara Falls.

I started off by playing roulette. I lost $150 ... which I was prepared to lose. It was fun talking with the people at my table. It's amazing the amounts of money people gamble with.

The Horseshoe Falls from the casino:

I had an early supper with Dorothy at Shoeless Joe's (we went there because the lineup for the buffet was HUGE). Then a bunch of us went for a walk to the Falls.

There is a fabulous Winter Festival of Lights across the street from the Falls.

We walked up Clifton Street, which was as tacky (but in a good way) as ever!

A bunch of us met for a drink at the Falls Firkin (in the casino complex):

Then our driver, Frank, took us for a tour of the Christmas lights displays in Niagara Falls and Dufferin Islands before we headed for home.

It's definitely beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

I walked to the Dufferin Mall this afternoon cuz I needed a winter jacket. With temperatures going below freezing, I can't put it off any longer.

On the way, I passed this house on Brock Street (just south of Dundas W).

They always get right into decorating for the holidays! And it's still November! They have angels mixin' it up with reindeer, Santa and Jesus.

Here's what it looked like at night last year.

Stalking again

While I was in the Eaton Centre this afternoon, I spied David Adjey, one of the chefs from Restaurant Makeover.

Yep, that's him!

I trailed him to a clothing store but he didn't come out ... and I gave up waiting! I guess I'm an impatient stalker!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

The Eaton Centre is decorated for Christmas.

The Swarovski Crystal tree:

And, of course, Santa!

Lunch with Trish

Boxing Babe Trish and I had lunch today at the Bay.

And it was fun to catch up!

Knitting project

I've been looking for a dog sweater pattern to make for KC for a while. I found one last night on Facebook's Stitchbook application.

This is what it's supposed to look like when it's finished.

My progress so far (the back):

I'm not ready for this yet!

When I went to bed last night, they were forecasting snow for today.

Alas, it's true! Not much but enough.

Our parking lot

Our car

There was freezing rain first so it took a while to scrape the windows clear. Of course, my mitts are still packed away somewhere.

The roads are slippery so be careful!

Gyms

I saw this over at Sister Skinny's and thought it was a hoot!



Marge Simpson at the gym

Tuesday morning walk

KC, Nova and I started our day with a long walk around our neighbourhood. It was a warm but overcast 9C.

Nova

Halfway - looking downtown

KC

It had rained last night so the ground was damp. Both dogs are low to the ground so their bellies ended up dirty and wet. It was nice to see the sun on the way home.

Has this happened to you?

Before I went to bed last night, I wanted a drink of water.

A bottle fell off the top shelf in the fridge ...

... and smashed onto the glass shelf.

Sigh!!

So there I was at 1:00 cleaning broken glass out of the crispers (that are now no longer crispers!). Needless to say, I wasn't happy.

Is it possible to buy a replacement glass?

Book ~ "The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich" - Timothy Ferriss (2007)

From Amazon.com ~ Tim Ferriss has spent more than five years learning the secrets of the New Rich, a fast-growing subculture who has abandoned the “deferred-life plan” and instead mastered the new currencies - time and mobility - to create luxury lifestyles in the here and now.

Whether you are an overworked employee or an entrepreneur trapped in your own business, this book is the compass for a new and revolutionary world. Join Tim Ferriss as he teaches you:

• How to outsource your life to overseas virtual assistants for $5 per hour and do whatever you want
• How to eliminate 50% of your work in 48 hours using the principles of a forgotten Italian economist
• How to trade a long-haul career for short work bursts and frequent "mini-retirements"
• How to train your boss to value performance over presence, or kill your job (or company) if it’s beyond repair
• How to cultivate selective ignorance—and create time—with a low-information diet
• How to get free housing worldwide and airfare at 50–80% off
• How to fill the void and create a meaningful life after removing work and the office

You can have it all - really.

Parts of this book were helpful and informative. A good reminder about time management and living life as you want.

Book ~ "The Thrive Diet" - Brendan Brazier (2007)

From Amazon.com ~ The Thrive Diet is a long-term eating plan that will help you achieve optimal health through stress-busting plant-based whole foods. It's an easy-to-follow diet that will help you understand why some foods create nutritional stress and how other foods can help eliminate it, giving you a lean body, sharp mind, and everlasting energy.

Fully researched and developed by Brendan Brazier, professional Ironman triathlete, The Thrive Diet features:

- the best whole foods
- a 12-week whole foods meal plan
- over 100 easy-to-make recipes with raw food options that are all wheat-, gluten-, soy-, corn-, refined sugar- and dairy-free, including exercise-specific recipes for pre-workout snacks, energy gels, sport drinks, and recovery foods
- an easy-to-follow exercise plan that compliments The Thrive Diet -
environmental preservation - learn how The Thrive Diet can help

Boxing Babe Trish recommended this book to me a couple months ago. Though I eat and enjoy meat, I found this book interesting because it explains a lot about stress, nutrition, etc. And most of the recipes looked tasty!