Once Upon A Time There Were Two Crows…..

Lately I have been doing research on the mating habits and behaviour of crows.  It turns out that they mate for life and if they don’t create their nest by the end of May, well there just won’t be any baby crows that year.

Around my apartment block there are two evergreen trees, one in the front and one in the back.  For several years now 2 crows have nested in the front tree.  A few years ago there was a crazy guy who worked graveyards who threatened to cut down the tree, he couldn’t stand the sound of the baby crows.

This year was a bad year for our crows. We kept watching them like we always do, they fly around dragging  twigs and leaves to build their nests. This week one of the tenants on the 3rd floor woke up to see that a giant racoon was sitting in the nest munching on the eggs.  I don’t know if they will try and build another nest by the end of May or not.

Favorite Fried Food

What’s Your Favorite Fried Food Indulgence?

Without a doubt my favorite fried food, has to be “Fish n Chips”. I can’t say that I have tried too many different restaurants in the Lower Mainland of Vancouver. My usual standby used to be “The Windjammer” on Main Street, it has now moved to my part of town up on “The Drive”. I have yet to go to The Windjammer, but I am hoping that it is as good as it used to be at the old place.

A few weeks ago my Mom and I stumbled into C-Lovers in Coquitlam and I have to tell you that is the best fried fish n chips I have ever had,so far. I tried hard to get the batter recipe from the owner but, he wouldn’t budge. The crust was so delicate and crispy and not greasy at all. I plan on going back there on Mother’s Day.

Let me know what your favorite fried food or fish n chip place is?

My 5 Favorite Rock Albums

I knew this was going to be a difficult choice, so instead I am going to name my top 5 and how they influenced my life at the time.

I grew up in an era where we actually had real, vinyl record albums. I remember the shear joy of arriving home, taking off the wrapper and doing the infamous sniff test. It was the scent of vinyl all new, shiny and black. You would always get excited to find out if there was going to be a booklet included with photos and lyrics. I still remember Led Zeppelin’s “In Through The Out Door”, the inside sleeve featured black and white line artwork which, if washed with water would become a permanent, full water-colour. I still remember when someone accidentally spilt water on mine, and we were all in awe and amazed by what we had discovered. We imagined that we were the only ones in the world that knew this secret. Today if you can still find a CD, the liner notes are so small that I can’t even make them out in my reading glasses. Gone are those days, but I still long for the sound of a good vinyl record, with scratches and all.

In the 70’s there just weren’t many female musicians playing rock n roll. Most of the role models were men, swinging their hips and caressing their guitars as if they were women. I thought how could I relate to that.

I began playing acoustic guitar at age 13, but when I discovered Suzi Quarto, The Runaways, Heart, Patti Smith and Girlschool all that changed. When I saw photos of Joan Jett with her electric gold top Les Paul, I knew I had to have one. I did get my Les Paul at the San Francisco Pawn Brokers and soon a gigantic Custom amplifier followed, which the neighbourhood and police soon learnt to hate. All of sudden I felt like I belonged and that I was in a secret club only for girls. We could be raunchy and play power chords just like our male counterparts.

Here is my list of my top 5

1. 1974 – Suzi Quatro – Suzi Quatro
2. 1976 – The Runaways – The Runaways
3. 1976 – Heart – Dreamboat Annie
4. 1978 – Patti Smith – Easter
5. 1982 – Girlschool – Hit and Run

What Was The Last Thing You Got Really Excited About?

 

Try to remember your first kiss or rock concert or perhaps the first time you drove. When you are young and experiencing life for the first time, there are moments that are so exhilarating that they take your breath away.

Then age happens…as you mature you become jaded and less amazed about adventures, nothing ever feels like the first time. The older you become the less impressive new ideas become, in other words, you have seen it and done it all or at least that is how you feel.

For me learning to play guitar at 13 was one of the most thrilling periods of my life. I can’t say that I have ever felt that way since. I continued to play guitar, mandolin and sing from age 13 to well into my 30’s. There were the constant jam sessions and open mike nights; every time I played and sang in front of a live audience it was new, different and electrifying.

Time and medications have now taken it toll on my mind; my memory isn’t what it used to be (I now have to write everything down and use the Google calendar). The odd time, I think I want to take a stab at it, but it becomes so frustrating trying to remember lyrics. I think to myself why put myself through the agony and misery, so for now I have my two guitars hanging on the wall collecting dust. My days of music are nothing, but a faded memory now.

In lieu of the guitar, I have now taken up art again, yes again. The last time I painted anything I must have been in my late teen or early twenties. This revisited endeavour is kind of “exciting”. At the moment, I am not sure what medium I want to focus on so I am trying different avenues, from pastels, water-colour pencils to paints. I am having fun looking up tutorials online and trying my hand at the different aspects of art. I don’t think I will ever be a Frida Kahlo, Georgia O’Keeffe or Emily Carr, but at least it is something that doesn’t frustrate me and I can honestly say it is stimulating. I even have dreams of painting and when that happens it must mean something.

If You Could Have 3 Wishes, What Would They Be?

Courtesy Of “3 Things“

Like the old Sweeney Todd song goes, ” If Wishes Were Horses Beggars Would Ride”, I suppose in a perfect world that would be true.

This isn’t an easy question, and I definitely had to ponder and probe my brain for a while to come up with this trio of fabulous wishes.

1. Without hestitation, the very first one is to not be bipolar. There I said it for all of Facebook to read. Don’t worry most of you are at a arm’s length and we only communicate via cyberspace so there is no worries about bumping into or fearing “The Black Dog”
2. To live in a place where I would be able to have as many dogs and cats as I wanted, and perhaps there would even be room leftover for a couple of horses and a few goats, just imagine the yummy goat cheese and wine parties.
3. There is no question that the third one would be for my Mother to be able to walk again.

What Are Ten Things That You Are Awesome At?

I am hoping that this prompt will make you ponder your own skills and abilities. We are all good at something even if we assume that we are not. If we think long and hard, or maybe not so hard we can all come up with at least 10 things that we are good at. These skills don’t have to be earth shattering or life changing. It can be anything from being able to use a hammer to decorate a cake to clean a bathroom and leave it sparkling. Here are my top 10 things and I sure would like to read yours, so be sure to respond.

1. Trouble-shoot a computer
2. Use a DSLR camera
3. Bake a cake
4. Cook a meal
5. Play a song on a guitar
6. Organize a barbecue
7. Drive a car
8. Change a lightbulb
9. Shoot and edit a video
10. Sleep

Thanks to the “365 Topics” iPad app for the prompt.

Keep Your Cats Indoors!

Photo by Charlotte Therese Björnström

Since Smokey passed away last December, I want to have a cat again. Lately I have been perusing the pet section of Craigslist and have noticed several things.  One, people want to sell their animals instead of adopt them out, which is a no, no according to the rules. Charging 500 dollars for a cat isn’t an adoption fee. Second there are a lot of missing cats all over the lower mainland of Vancouver.  If you let your cat outdoors, you have to keep in mind that there are raccoons, which would love nothing better than to have your cat for lunch.  Then there are the big dogs and even coyotes, need I say more.

What I want to say, in no way is it cruel to let your cat live indoors, even in a small apartment.  I have seen ads where people want to get rid of their cat because they move into an apartment and they somehow feel that Fluffy will be miserable.  The fact is cats are flexible and adaptable, as long as you have their favorite things in your new apartment they will live gladly live there.  Cat who live indoors, live longer than outdoor cats, they don’t get scared and run over by cars, get diseases or eat poisons, the list goes on and on.

I know that cats can adjust from my own personal experience.  My Mother had a cat named Sammi who was an indoor/outdoor cat.  When my Mom had to move out of her house to an apartment Sammi came along and approved of her new environment.  She ended living to a ripe old age of 17.  My cat Smokey was strictly an indoor cat all her life and she lived to 14 years old, I never had to worry that she would go missing. So next time you feel like getting rid of your pussycat, think twice about what is “really” best.

 

 

 

Do You Need Coffee To Wake Up In The Morning?

For many years I was a coffee drinker and snob. I wouldn’t drink just any java that came across my table. I wanted my coffee extremely dark and with bite. No ordinary cup of Joe would ever pass through my lips. I even invested in my own espresso machine and grinder, so I could perfect my own cup. I could have gone to Starbucks, but could I actually trust the barista to make it my way.

Now in a very short time, I have become a tea connoisseur. I tried a cup of Chai, and thought, “Hey, why can’t I drink this when I wake up”. Once diving into the world of tea, I discovered a vast assortment, much more so than coffee. There is everything from Lemon Myrtle to exotic Pumpkin Chai. Along the way I have discovered “Davidstea’s” (it is a retail tea store across Canada and they just opened 3 in the U.S.). So the answer to the todays questions… No!…I don’t need coffee to wake me up, but I sure do need a good cup of tea. Happy sipping!

A Wasteful Habit

I have read on “Plinky” about people wasting paper towels, electricity and food. My claim to fame isn’t any of the latter, but instead the misuse of my time on my computer. I can lose my myself for hours until I realize what time it is. Mind you, I do sort and edit photos and do all kinds of research on art, computers and photography. Instead, I could be working on my art or music or even be cleaning my apartment. I suppose, there are worse things I could be wasting my time on, like smoking, drinking or an array of other bad habits.

The Most Exciting Thing Or 2, To Ever Happen……

At the moment I am using an iPad app named “365 Topics”, that gives you a prompt or idea for journaling and blogging. Today’s prompt is to tell a story of “The Most Exciting Thing To Ever Happened To You”. At the top of my head there are a few things, one is going to California (I fell in love with San Francisco) and Arizona (I was able to see a real roadrunner) and on the way back winning two thousand dollars in Reno, Nevada.

The second thrill was meeting Ry Cooder in 1990, but mostly seeing and hearing him and David Lindley play “The Orpheum” in Vancouver, BC. One of the reasons it was so exhilarating was that in your lifetime your chances of getting hit by lightening are probably better, than ever seeing Ry play live. I thought, I would be stuck for the rest of my days listening to the soundtracks to “Paris Texas” and “Crossroads”. I was fortunate enough to have a close friend who knew David Lindley. David and my comrade were able to arrange the concert tickets, as well as getting us backstage.

The most comical event that happened, involved a couple sitting behind us. You have to remember that at the theatre there is no dance floor or any kind of area to strut your stuff. My friend and I were Cooder and Lindley fanatics, so all through the show we wiggled and danced in our seats. One of the so-called couple says to the other, “What is wrong with those two women in front of us?. The other leans into the other and says “That is how deaf people listen to music”. The concert was beyond my wildest dreams and then some.

After the show we waited so long to go backstage, that we almost missed meeting Ry, he was just about to leave. I said “hi”, and then stood there like an idiot trying not to look too guitar-struck. All wasn’t lost, David was there to save the day; he drove us home and I had the privilege of getting the infamous sideburn scraping. So in the end I was most impressed with David’s hospitality and grace.

Now that I have elaborated on a few of the exciting events in my life, and I am sure if I think about it there are probably more, and ones that are more lmportant and life changing, I would love to hear some of yours. Now let’s go out and do something electrifying and blog about it.

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