Well it's mussel-picking time in Rankin Inlet. What a glorious time of year.
A bunch of us went out at low tide yesterday to pick our haul of mussels (quite likely 20lbs worth...) and then ate them at the cabin shortly thereafter.
Deeeelish.
Of course, there were TONS to spare... and so the boy and I are going to try to re-create a dish we had in Greece.... which we dubbed "curry-saffron mussels."
Here's hoping it works out.......
Hey all...
No, I've not completely forgotten about posting photos from my recent Greek Island Adventure. But I've been having some SERIOUS issues trying to upload them. I've probably used up at least three quarters of my bandwidth trying to put them online, but every time I come close to the little green bar finishing it's jobby... the uploader crashes and says "upload failed."
So I'm still working on it... And I've not forgotten... But I have no idea when they will make their way online. For now, here's a little one taken from the boat we were on.
Well, in just a few short weeks I'm heading out and over again...
"Out" meaning out of Rankin...
"Over" meaning eastwards... to the UK.
My grandmother and younger sister have invited me to tag along on their trip to Scotland and England... something Nanny and I did (except for the Scotland part) four years ago... and I was MORE than happy to tag along.
The three of us have been talking about this trip for YEARS. Always delaying... postponing until a more convenient time. Funny how when I move to a remote community (rather than central Ottawa etc.) THAT'S when is the best time to go. But between spring breaks that didn't match up... and DD zooming off to Vietnam (yes, my grandmother at one point this summer had two very far-flung grandchildren)... August 2008 became the best time.
So I leave again on the 15th of August... as the boy pointed out this morning... just 20 short days from now.
And thus began a mini-panic mode to make last-minute arrangements for my OWN accommodations when I'm in Edinburgh/London. I am arriving and leaving a day before/after Nanny and DD ... so I'll be bunkin' it in some cheap hostels ... but I also have to make arrangements for my time in Winnipeg.
The cousins I often stay with... the mother/father pair are going to be on a vacation of their own, so I feel a bit guilty imposing on just the kids (though... by kids I mean 4 people my age). I guess I'll have to see if the one I'm closest with will be home then... and/or not on call (she's a med student). I'd love to see her, and it would make imposing worthwhile. If not, I'll have to look into booking at one of the airport hotels for simplicity's sake.
I'm also having a serious moral dilemma re: what to bring/pack. Given my recent experience... AND Towniebastard's fiasco... I'm very much tempted to forgo doing the checked baggage thing. Yet again I'm in the situation where I have to fly 4 different segments (Rankin-Winnipeg, Wpeg-Minneapolis, Minneapolis-Amsterdam, Amsterdam-Edinburgh) and the probability of having baggage lost somewhere in that mess is pretty high.
I have a small-ish backpacking bag. And I have a wheeled carry-on suitcase. But there USED to be some wonky rules re: carry-ons and the UK ... and I can't seem to figure out if that's still the case. It's been about 2 years since I've flown into there.
And then there's the laptop issue. Initially, I was set dead against taking my laptop. Chance of it getting lost...stolen... especially when I'm in those hostels... but I keep mulling the idea over in my head... there's just something to be said for the unlimited convenience of having access to a computer whenever/wherever.
But then ... if I'm trying to travel light, having a laptop doesn't really facilitate that. And it's not like London doesn't have its share of internet cafes. But I just have this niggling feeling that I'm going to regret not having it.
I mean, if we hadn't brought my little laptop on our Greece trip... the whole delayed flight fiasco had the potential to be a LOT worse (upon finding out that it was delayed 9 hrs, and we were going to miss our boat... we promptly plugged in and got online to find the cheapest, most convenient, alternative).
Aaaanyways. Suffice to say I have some decisions to make.
And now I've sufficiently bored you all to death.
La fin.
Fish pedicures: Carp rid human feet of scaly skin
Monday, July 21, 2008 | 09:55 AM ET
The Associated Press
Ready for the latest in spa pampering? Prepare to dunk your tootsies in a tank of water and let tiny carp nibble away.
Fish pedicures are creating something of a splash in the Washington, D.C., area, where a northern Virginia spa has been offering them for the past four months. John Ho, who runs the Yvonne Hair and Nails salon with his wife, Yvonne Le, said 5,000 people have taken the plunge so far.
"Check it out, it seriously looks like someone took Angelina Joli's lips and stuck them on a fish body. It's gross."
So, it's a slow morning* and apparently I have been tagged in what I BELIEVE is a meme. I get confused with these newfangled terms floating around the blogosphere (:P). Here's the long and short of it. Tales from the Arctic has said I need to tell people three random things about me. I think. I'm not really sure.
To be honest, I've read the chain of events re: how this whole tagging thing happened, and I think this is quite different from the original concept, where you are supposed to have your hubby say nice things about you (?) and then you write them on your blog.
I do not have a hubby (that I know of), and I am much more a fan of just saying random facts about myself. I mean come on, you've READ my blog, right?
1. I get physically violent (well, not really, but almost) when people leave the top off the toothpaste. Because then this layer of paste-crust forms. And then inevitably, someone squeezes ultra hard to break through the paste-crust, the paste-crust explodes from the tube, and settles on the spout of the toothpaste. THEN, experience tells me, people put the COVER BACK ON IT with the exploded paste crust dripping down the sides... forming a toothpaste glue, rendering the tube useless, and me very red in the face.
2. I know all the words to "All Star" by Smashmouth. And prefer to repeat them, verbatim, in the company of my little sister... while picking raspberries in the dead heat of summer.
3. I wear my watch on the "wrong hand" : I am right-handed, and that's where I wear my watch. Apparently only left-handed people are supposed to wear watches on their right hands. According to my grandfather, at least, this is because if you are using a hammer you could break your watch if it is on your dominant hand. ** But I've ALWAYS worn it on my right hand... because when I was little I did an experiment (using my purple Darkwing Duck watch...) to figure out which took more effort: if I were to turn my wrist to look at my watch if it was on my left hand... or if it was on my right. The right hand won.
Okay. That's all. Now you all think I'm insane. So I think I'm supposed to "tag" someone. So ummm.. Megan... if you're not too busy getting oiled up by Steve this one is to you.
*the first in quite some time... Rankin Inlet somehow transformed into a hotbed of news over the weekend... and I've not had much time to sit and catch up on blogs... or write in my own.
** Pretty sure I got that wrong. All I know is there's some reason having to do with physical labour... and watches on dominant hands... which leads people to believe I'm left-handed because I wear my watch on my right wrist.
So I had made the decision to stop paying the CO-OP gross amounts of money, and opted for Bell Expressview satellite.
I wasn't alone in this mission, the boy was also looking at Bell, after the CO-OP cut off his cable upon him owing $3.00 (this is, of course, after having paid for cable 6 months in advance, and then going in the hole a full three bucks.)
So we set out to set up our respective cable. He makes an online inquiry. Finds out you have to call the service centre to get it ordered for up here.
I just got off the phone with Bell. They will not send me a receiver, because Bell has not contracted anyone to set it up. So they recommended I go to my nearest Future Shop, Best Buy or BellWorld store and buy it.
Yah.
I tried to explain to the guy that I live in a fly-in community, and we don't have malls, let alone a Future Shop. He said "Well if people have them, you have to ask around. Someone is selling them."
Thanks Bell, and your stellar customer service.
