NaBloPoMo

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!

Didn't I just sweep this?

Remember Wednesday when I swept our terrace?

Two days later and I have to do it again!

Sigh ...

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.

Wednesday morning

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.

Cat wine bottles

You know how I collect cat wine bottles?

Two more 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

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.

Newmarket fencing tournament results

Congrats to Gord for coming in eighth (out of 24) in today's men's sabre fencing tournament in Newmarket!

Yay Gord!

Dentyne Chocomint gum

Have you tried this gum yet?

I like chocolate ... I like mint. But in a gum?

I'd seen it advertised and finally came across it today ... so I had to try it!

It's kinda wacky! Mint gum on the outside and liquidy chocolate on the inside. It got slimy as I chewed it and the flavor didn't last long. I wasn't digging it.

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!

Last class of Copywriting II

Our last class of Copywriting II was tonight.

Where did those two months go?

It was a good course and I enjoyed it.

Copywriting III is in May and I plan on taking it.

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!