growlycat

Crazy maniac

2009-03-08T16:04:00.001-07:00

non-post

2009-01-23T12:37:00.004-08:00

Ok, so I haven't posted in ages and this doesn't really count. BUT... this is cool, a word cloud based on the RSS feed of my non-blog:

dancing!

2008-07-31T20:32:00.002-07:00

Poll - Please respond!

2008-06-11T12:40:00.003-07:00

My new workplace is trying to come up with a new name to reflect it's new configuration and we are soliciting your opinion. We are combining 3 main service areas:
Virtual Library, which includes the website, electronic resources (online resources for news, magazines etc), Virtual (chat) reference and training

Newspapers and Magazines Division (exactly what is sounds like)

Quick Information (our telephone reference service).

The name options are:
1) Virtual Services & News
or
2) Virtual & News Services
or
3) Online Information and News Services

Which one do you think sounds better? 1) or 2) or 3)?

my wee digital native

2008-05-21T23:23:00.002-07:00

He's not even three and he can already work the MacBook touchpad mouse that took me weeks to master.

Season Two of Crow Camera!

2008-05-21T23:13:00.001-07:00

The crows have returned! Read all about it and watch at:
Caje Creative
For those of you who don't recall my post from last year, our friends Jess and Cam had a crow family build a nest in their downtown Vancouver windowbox. Tune into their website for live video stream of crow eggs and hopefully crow babies!

very quick!

2008-04-03T09:09:00.002-07:00

a quick note while my child is occupied with gelato and my husband with vino...

We arrived in Assisi this afternoon from Rome. We just left Sorrento and a peek a boo visit to the Amalfi coast. Sorrento was lovely, the weather divine and our little hotel with the balcony and sea view, perfect.

Rome - we returned for one night to remind us how great it is. I love big cities - the chaos, the flow, the energy, the noise, smells, everything. Rome has it all, plus ancient Roman ruins mingling with 15th-16th century architecture and food and wine.

Now it's time for hill towns in Tuscany and Umbria. We are going to look into sending some wine home. It is so good!

So much seen so little Internet time...

2008-03-25T10:11:00.002-07:00

I just can't seem to find the time or energy to keep up with the blog. Gosh, Where have we been the last couple of weeks? Well, there was Cinque Terre - restful, and honestly I could have written, but I just wanted to sip espresso and watch the waves. We stayed in Vernazza, which was lovely, there were very few cars which meant Gus could run to and fro without us worrying too much. Although he could have easily fallen into the sea since the barricades were minimal to non-existent.
Again we had several flights of stairs up to our room!
The Cinque Terre (or Five Lands in English) are five idyllic coastal towns connected by walking paths. We did two of the (easy) hikes with Gus and I took on a third on my own. I wish I could upload the photos because words are useless to describe it. Just envision vineyards and olive groves, waves craching on rocky shores, and villages perched on rocky precipices. or google it.
We left Cinque Terre for yet another carless destination, Venice. Which Gus hated. He had multiple tantrums every day. The worst being just after we ordered a meal at a canalside restaurant. Venice was nice, really cold, and the least stroller friendly place. We managed to eat and drink wine a lot despite the tantrums and the cold and the stepped bridges. Our favourite little wine bar, just steps from our hotel offered little one euro bites - usually mini sandwiches and cheeese and salamis which you could take outside and stand by the canal with your glass of Venetian prosecco. A gelateria next door provided our toddler with entertainment while mum and dad indulged.

We spent a quick couple days in Verona, lovely little town, most things were closed due to Easter but we enjoyed walking around town. Verona is most famous for being the home of Romeo and Juliet. Large crowds squeeze into a tiny courtyard to look at what mythology tells us was Juliet's balcony. We took photos of the crowds.

We are in Florence tonight en route to Rome. Gus is looking forward to the Colosseum. I'm looking forward to - what else?- eating and drinking!

Firenze!

2008-03-11T09:46:00.003-07:00

We've been in Florence for two days. Some highlights:
-Gus constantly talking about the "Dumomo" (Duomo).
-Our apartment. Top floor of a 16th century building (I wish I could say palazzo), which means lugging a 30 pound human up 4 flights of stairs. Other than that it's delightful, wood beamed ceilings (a little low for Darren, those Renaissance Florentines were short), a charming little kitchen with bright skylights and all the Italian television you can watch.
-Getting caught in the rain while Gus napped today. We simply had to run for cover and drink some chianti. Had a nice chat with our server about rain in Florence.
-drinking Chianti. daily.
-panini
-Espresso, as good as I'd hoped. Luckily, we have Cafe Calabria in Vancouver so I won't have to go without entirely when I get back.

Michaelangelo's David was quite impressive. As we were walking behind the David statue Gus said "ooh, he's got a big butt." which made some American women chuckle.

The city itself is beautiful, astonishingly clean and very friendly. I'm pathetically scrambling to speak Italian since I missed my all day Italian for travellers because of pink eye! I've empolyed the Spanish/French with an Italian accent a couple times with success. Most people speak English so they are mostly just humouring me.

The flight was good, Gus was an angel and slept lots. The demon awoke at about 11pm on our first night here. We stayed in a hotel as it was too late to go into the apartment. And poor Gus, whose body told him it was early morning and time to get up was being told by tired mum and dad to go to bed. I'm sure the other guests thought we were doing something horrible because he screamed "NOoooooo" for about an hour. Of course Darren and I were exhausted, not getting any sleep on the flight. So we went to sleep while Gus watched blues clues on the dvd player for close to two hours.

ps, we forgot our laptop - in our living room, fortunately, and not the airport lounge in Amsterdam. So it's the frequesnt visit to the internet cafe....and we won't be uploading the photos as we'd planned.

off the Ufizzi Gallery in the morning. Gus is going to love that!

oh sad neglected blog...

2008-03-05T22:33:00.002-08:00

and what is a blog if not an opportunity to brag about things that are probably quite average...but, don't you know? my kid's a genius!

why I love the mandolin.

2007-11-11T14:46:00.000-08:00

slicer, that is.
in mere minutes I can turn two large onions into this:

it's my blog!

2007-11-05T23:30:00.000-08:00

and apparently I am the only person to write about the bathrooms at Sears.

new photos on flickr

2007-10-14T11:37:00.000-07:00

Augusten Elray's photosets on Flickr
A couple shots on Darren on the scooter, and of course, miscellaneous shots of Gus doing stuff.

Naomi Klein boosting morale on the line

2007-10-06T21:06:00.001-07:00

PA050051
Originally uploaded by rabidsquirrel.

A big thank you to everyone who helped make her visit happen. It was great to hear her supportive words and rally call to fight the devaluing of public service! hurrah!

Walk Score - how walkable is your neighbourhood?

2007-10-02T22:25:00.000-07:00

Walk Score
OK, check this site out - I heard about it on the CBC this afternoon. It calculates how "walkable" your neighbourhood is. Ours, unsurprisingly, gets a low, low score of 35/100. Since we are trying to get away from being so horribly dependent on our car, the next time we buy a home it will be a major priority to have a much higher walkability score.

bathroom etiquette

2007-09-27T23:25:00.000-07:00

In the unusually crowded Sears washroom today.
As usual I pull the stroller into the large wheelchair accessible stall and sit down on the toilet. Gus, who enjoys stating the obvious, says "You sitting, Mama?"
"Yes, Gus. I'm sitting."
"Ohhh, Mama go peepee?"
"Yes, Gus. I'm peeing."
"Mama pooping?"
I don't really feel like answering in this crowded bathroom, so foolishly, I say nothing.
Louder, Gus asks, "MAMA POOPING?"
I say quietly, "No Gus, I'm just peeing."
Now he knows I'm a little uncomfortable. Oh what joy.
"MAAAMMAA POOOOPING!!!!???" echoes in the Sears washroom.

a rant and some new photos.

2007-09-11T11:51:00.000-07:00

halcyon days of summer - a photoset on Flickr

It's been ages since I've written anything, not for lack of interesting things to share. I just have had a hard time finding the time to sit and write. Being on strike, you'd think I'd have lots of time, and in reality I do. The problem is the being on strike is exhausting. There have been incredible highs: seeing how strong and creative my co-workers are; and incredible lows: reading misleading media quotes from the City's public relations mouthpiece.

It has been nice to spend so much time with Darren and Gus, going to the park, the beach, enjoying the sun. It has been a summer of discovery for Gus and for me. Gus talks constantly, in big sentences of up to 10 words (me no want this bottle milk me want other bottle milk), of course he usually has irrational requests (no mumma me want wet diaper on) or physical impossibilities (watch big tv cars watch big tv pingu - translation: he wants to watch 2 different dvds on the same tv).
I've also been reevaluating my career direction. The strike has caused me to wonder whether people really care much about public libraries. I've always felt that my job made a difference in peoples' lives, helping them find information to help them lead fulfilled informed lives. But I wonder now, since so many people claimed to be "unaffected" by the strike and the City and Library Management were never particularly interested in reopening the library in a timely fashion. I've also had the time to spend with my son, who is at such a precious age - he's learning more every day and is so much fun to be with - do I seriously want to work full time? at a job that seems so thankless?
I am hoping I'll see the point of it all once I get back to helping people again. In many ways I feel like I have connected more deeply with the community on the picket line than I ever could from behind a reference desk.
Changing careers... maybe I should just do something for the money. I certainly didn't become a public librarian for the money. Recently, I've thought about real estate, corporate librarianship, going to law school, or starting a business. How fulfilling would that be?
Or just work part time, struggle a bit (financially) and spend more time with Gus and say goodbye to a career for now. I don't know how easy it would be for me to watch the opportunities go by.

we'll see.

What to say about Gus and growing up? His favourite thng to do right now is wash his hands. He loves pulling the step stool into place, climbing up, and then having one of us turn the taps on for him. He yells "faster, mumma, faster" because I usually do not turn the water on high enough for him. He still loves watching Pingu and Thomas the Tank Engine. He can pretty much tell us everything he needs, but often asks for things he can't have. He's a typical two year old in that way, stubborn, likes to say 'no' but refuses to take 'no' for an answer. He enjoys the big boy bed immensely, and is usually pretty agreeable at bedtime. Unless it's Darren putting him to bed. Discipline is becoming a challenge, there is no reasoning with a two year old! He can be quite defiant at times and really doesn't like to hear "no" for an answer. I usually try to phrase "no" in another way - for example, instead of saying "no chocolate for breakfast", I tell him he can have an egg. It doesn't always work but it has a better track record than just an outright "no". I can always distract him by asking him if he wants to wash his hands...

Gus' favourite storytime rhyme

2007-08-04T18:29:00.000-07:00

hot licks

2007-08-01T20:07:00.001-07:00

hot licks
Originally uploaded by Augusten Elray.

before, during and after the renos

2007-07-30T23:35:00.000-07:00

Colour opinions much appreciated.
Before:

During:

Here is the (almost) final product of the reno of our incredibly small bathroom.

Darren on Urban Rush

2007-07-20T15:02:00.001-07:00

silliness

2007-07-14T21:25:00.000-07:00

he really enjoys the rubber gloves:

there are a bunch on miscellaneous photos to see on flickr as well:
Photos

ontario photos

2007-07-14T21:17:00.000-07:00

My apologies for not posting for so long...facebook has completely taken over my limited computer time.
Anyhow, the photos have been up on flickr for a awhile, but in case you haven't already seen them, click on the photo to see them:

he had a great birthday, twice! and boy have the terrible twos started! right on time.

new dinosaurs all the time

2007-06-13T09:58:00.000-07:00

This morning, Darren was teaching Gus the names of various dinosaurs with his new set of 36 plastic dinosaurs, saying each one's name aloud and Gus would attempt to pronounce them...diplodocus, pterodactyl, tyrannosaurus rex, triceratops, velociraptor. About a half hour later, Gus comes running towards me with a plastic dinosaur in his hand. He proudly yells "DINOSAURUS TOPS!"

bananana

2007-05-29T20:43:00.001-07:00