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2155 : Moving to the Mountains

Back to work, and it is a Tuesday. It is curious that I feel equally tired after a ilong weekend as a normal itwo day weekend. Bah. Saturday was a busy day. Once we finally got going Saturday morning we ventured up to Orangeville. The main purpose was to meet with a florist to get a quote for the wedding. Orangeville is a cool little town and appears to be home for many artists. We left early so we could stop in at 'http://www.dragonflyarts.ca/' target='_blank'Dragonfly art studio and browse around the store. We found several pieces we liked, in particular, a large colourful abstract by [name to be updated] with a series of trees. It was quite stunning. I also liked a painting that featured two ravens, bdot did not. If we ever won lotto 6/49 the local artists would benefit greatly from our win fall. I'm still looking for options for a wedding ring. We looked at some of the jewelry in the studio from a jeweler named Robin Pouw. Many years ago bdot and I were wandering around the shops in Elora and came across a jeweler that created these unique and interesting rings using a process called mokume. At the time we mused that if we ever got married we would look at this type of ring for each other. Well... we came across a mokume ring at Dragonfly made by Robin Pouw. Seeing one up close again has certainly rekindled my curiosity in this process and this type of ring. Interesting. We shall see. After we left Dragonfly we wandered back towards the car and came across a Chocolatier. iFor the wedding we decided to go in and see what options were available, as we looking for a small take away gift for our guests. What a find! Not only was the chocolate amazing but the owner was extremely generous and helpful providing us many chocolaty give away options. Yum. The visit to the Florist however was disappointing. Sure we don't have all the details about the wedding sorted out... but the designer seems pretty regimented and appeared to struggle devising a plan for us. After a short chat with bdot after we left it was pretty clear that the three florist we met could be ranked as : A (Original Bolton Florist), B (Orangeville) and C (Second Bolton Florist) options. The difference in ability, concepts and product between A and B justified to us a few more dollars it was going to cost. So, bdot booked the original local florist (A) Sunday morning! After we got home from Orangeville and walked the dog I was ready to chill out. The Sabres aren't always relaxing to watch but they were on. The Sabres continue to be mystifying... they handed the Pens a pretty nice, and unexpected, smack-down at the FNC Saturday night. They imay make a run... and they imay get close to 8th... but my brain says there is no way they will make the playoffs. That said, if everything goes right, they could be 7 back at the end of tonight? Hope springs eternal for sports fans I guess. Our friends from Guelph are moving to Edmonton, Albert 2155...

2154 : What the...

Awoke to find a winter storm has passed through. Huh! I thought we were done with snow for this season... Looks like we could get a chance to ski after all! Bloody hell... I burned through ball the remaining episodes of American Horror Story last night. All four of them.... I was up pretty late. Once again I blame KK. It will be curious to see what direction they take the second season as I believe I read the entire cast will be replaced....? Hmmpt. Not sure how I feel about that... In not surprising news Sabres lost again, Darcy STILL hasn't decided if the Sabres are buyers or sellers... In spite of every team around the Sabres already starting to make trades and prepare for next year. Being a sports fan sometimes brings such joy. Sigh.... It will be a busy weekend. We have an appointment with a florist in Orangeville later this afternoon. Sunday (and possibly Monday) will be spent with K & S who are sadly moving out West... This will be the second last weekend they are in Ontario before they leave. *sniff* Thanks to bdot for picking up some jeans for me. In a related story... Lunch from Friday was 'pics/dcam/food/calisausage.jpg' class='blog'California Sandwiches. I tried the sausage and onion. It was good, but I think I'll stick with the chicken. 2154...

2153 : Sabres Season of Suck

Well... as it is looking like the Sabres third loss in a row.... I'd say it is time to stick a fork in 'em because their season is done. The Sabres look like they will be lucky to avoid ending up in last place in the Eastern Conference. Sure injuries played a roll in the failure of this season... but even with a full roster, they drop two crucial games at home. (Crucial if there was to be iany hope at post-season play this season) Many players had the worst season of their careers. I'm hoping the following players bare NOT on the roster next season: -First and foremost, Derek Roy. Dipsy-doodle Derek. Well I think Roy got wind that the Sabres were trying to get rid of him because he's played with no heart and been an absolute albatross for team with stupid penalties and lackluster play resulting in goals against. Pathetic. Some professional. YOU SUCK ROY! -Boyes : He has been invisible 90% of the season, what a waste -Stafford : Apparently he is having some 'family' issues this season. While I empathize to some degree, his degree of underachievement can't be ignored -Hecht : Concussions, injuries... I just don't see any reason to keep him around occupying a roster spot someone else could take advantage of So far Darcy has done nothing... Sabres management better stop talking about ithe goal is to win the Stanley Cup when this bunch of misfit toys couldn't even get a playoff berth. It is time to get rid of the gutless core of this team, anything less will bring another season of the same in my humble opinion. I'd be more inclined to get rid of Darcy before Lindy... but wouldn't be too disappointed to see both positions cycled with some new faces. iI almost typed feces... Sigh... I picked up 'http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/kingdoms-of-amalur-reckoning'Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning after Purolator finally delivered it. I haven't played it much so far, but I've enjoyed what I have. The world looks really big too. I blame KK for my American Horror Story addiction. 2153...

2152 : Valentine's Day

Very cute animated doodle on google.com today for Valentine's Day. You don't have to ibuy into the commercial aspect of the iholiday to appreciate its true sentiment. For me it is a day to stop and appreciate the people in your life you love and care about. At the top of my list is bdot, my partner and mate. Love you chou-san. 2152...

2151 : Walking and Walking Dead

in the pics section under Nature.' src='http://www.unsung.net//pics/dcam/nature/flare01.jpg '>]]>Friday night I watched the Sabres come back from two down to win in Buffalo. They have not played well this year once they get behind, so it was a nice win. Again, it will fall in the too little, too late category but... it will be nice to see the team end the season on a positive note iat least. We lazed around most of Saturday morning, eventually getting out for a long walk with the dog on the Humber Valley Heritage Trail. It was a great day for a walk... cool but not freezing and very sunny. Bdot took a bunch of photos (iincluding the above shot) with her new iPhone 4GS. It takes remarkable photos for such a small device. In the evening we debated about going out to a movie... but nothing playing seemed worth the money. h4We ended up watching 'http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/lincoln_lawyer/' target='_blank'Lincoln Lawyer. Bdot has seen the movie before but watched it again with me. Gee, maybe to see Matthew McConaughey? :P Matthew played a slick and sleazy L.A. defence lawyer. He was quite convincing. One of his cases begins to involve him personally and an intriguing story unfolded. I'm so accustomed to seeing McConaughey in comedy fluff that seeing him in a serious dramatic role was curious. I loved the atmosphere of this film... the music, the camera angles, the secondary characters (like the driver, the bikers), the script... it all worked for me. Did I just like a Matthew McConaughey film? Yes. Yes I did. img src='pics/4stars.png' alt='4 stars' title='4 stars''. A solid somewhat quirkly crime drama with a compelling story./h4 KK mentioned his Father in Law is a jeweler so we decided we would meet him Sunday to discuss wedding rings. We are at the very preliminary stage of looking at them... So far I'm doing more of the eliminating of what I don't want. The first order of business Sunday was to meet up with KK's FiL in Brampton to look at some ring options. I'm very visual so 'seeing' what I like and trying it on is how I would choose a ring. Unfortunately KK's FiL has a pretty small and generic collection to look at home. His business is on the far East side of Toronto as well so...we'll have to find other options to see rings in person. He said he could create anything from a picture so - we'll see. I guess I'm pretty particular about what I want to wear on my finger ifor the rest of my life. Brampton's creep Eastward is insane... the city is slowly filling in all the way to HWY 50 with massive subdivision after subdivision of nice homes on small lots. I'm not a big fan. After looking at rings we decided to go Chapters in Brampton since we rarely get a chance to go. It didn't take me long to remember why we left Brampton after getting in Mall parking lot. It was a zoo. I prefer more open space... it seems you have to fight for ever inch of space everywhere you go in Brampton. That gets tiresome fast. Blah. We eventually found two chairs, enjoyed a coffee and looked through a bunch of wedd 2151...

2150 : Snow?

This work week has dragged along. Finally the weekend... and a weekend with no appointments! Also, it is looking like the tempurature is going to drop and... *gasp* snow? So maybe... just maybe.... skiing! I'll believe it when it happens. 2150...

2149 : Small Victory

There hasn't been much to celebrate this year as a Sabres' fan... but tonight was certainly an exception. With a remarkable complete effort the Sabres crushed their most-hated rival the Bruins 6-0. There were fights and checking and the 'compete' that Ruff has been preaching all year. Yes, it is just one game and it may not mean anything for the Sabres who are well out of the playoffs... But tonight the Sabres asserted their will and kicked the Bruins around for a change. And my gawd as a fan that was wonderful to see. The cover for my tablet finally came in. The Prime looks great encased in black leather. *purr* 2149...

2148 : A Super weekend

The weekend started off right with an hour massage. I really believe the fastest hour on Earth is the hour spent on a RMT table. It feels so good to get dekinked, it is as if they release stress with their fingers. If you aren't getting a professional massage, you are missing out. Go. Now. I'm pretty sure I blog this every time. The rest of the day felt like a lot of running around. Maybe because it was. Our first stop was at our mechanic for a ilong overdue oil change on the Vibe. I'm not a car geek. So for me having a mechanic I feel I can trust is paramount. I guess I wouldn't iknow if our mechanic was screwing us... but it doesn't ifeel like he is. I've always felt he has been honest, doesn't overcharge and really just does what is necessary to keep our cars running smoothly. No you can't have his name :P After the cars were dealt with we ventured over to Palgrave Forest to run the dog. Well... the crappy Winter blues continue... not only is there bno snow but there is ice everywhere on the trails. The ice in Palgrave made walking so treacherous we decided to bail and try the flat railtrail in East Caledon. Neither one of us felt like taking a tumble on the ice... it really was that bad. The parking lot for the Palgrave trails on a Saturday afternoon is usually full. This weekend it was empty. Sigh. It has been a horrible Winter for outdoor recreation. So disappointing. AnyWAY, the trail in East Caledon was better. It had sections that were still slippery but it was a tolerable walk. We have noticed post-op the dog has been walking with a strange gait. During today's run she seemed to be running inormally... Strange, a bit of a head scratcher. It felt good to get a good walk in and a big dose of fresh air. While the East Caledon trail is flat, it borders some lovely parkland. After the walk we treated ourselves to some food from our wedding caterer 'http://www.gourmandissimo.com/' target='_blank'Gourmandissimo. Sweet zombie Jesus their samosas are incredible. Then groceries and finally home. I guess we didn't do that much... but my legs felt like I dragged logs up a hill all afternoon. We both crashed after we got settled at home. The evening was laundry, the Sabres' game and a little Dragon Age 2. It is amusing that the Sabres are finally stringing some wins together yet they remain in the basement of the Eastern conference. It certainly looks like a effort in futility, too little, too late. I saw a stat saying the likelihood of the Sabres making it into the playoffs is now less than one percent. Woo! Get excited sports fans. The problem with winning now is the GM can say... look! look! the team is healthy and we don't suck anymore! Keep me on as GM! Gahhhhhhh.......fffffffffffffuuuuuuuu... Superbowl Sunday! I enjoy watching football. The spectacle of the Superbowl being the ultimate marketing and entertainment sports extravaganza. With the Bills long out of the playoffs the f 2148...

2147 : Progress and Primed

Relaxing Weekend? What relaxing weekend? It was a busy iwedding weekend. We has activities booked both Saturday and Sunday... i(which I don't think we'll do again. I need a down day on the weekends, gah....) That said, I think we got a lot accomplished and it was a productive weekend for wedding ideas and planning. Saturday we met with both a florist for our wedding flowers and a graphic designer for our invitations. Some of the fundamental decisions have to be made regarding colours for the event. We've looked at a bazillion ifall flower combinations and we are certain about plum as a colour, but plum and what? Plum and Orange? Plum and Green? Plum and White? Yellow? Pink? I'm hoping bdot will survive this troubling decision. We had some thoughts going into the florist but he pointing our some advantages to certain colour combos which has derailed our initial ideas. Which is fine... I think the florist had some great ideas and I'm confident whatever they come up with will look ifabulous darling!. We didn't find it surprising that iyet again in spite of trying to be modest with our selections, the florist will also be slightly over budget. I think we will look at a second option, even though we are quite happy with our local florist. After hastily scarfing down some food between appointments, we met with the Graphic Designer to discuss invitation options. The designer had an impressive home based business in her basement. I enjoy fonts, typography, layout, graphics, whitespace... so I'm going to be particular about the invitation's design. I could certainly design the card myself, but she had all the paper, supplies and knows how they best work together outside of the digital medium. As with the flowers, we have ideas but we are still not certain what direction to go with the design. This graphic or that graphic, and again which colours to use... The designer was very helpful but I think we need to decide ourselves the fundamental direction to take the invite before we involve her and get charged $100/hr (gasp!) to design the invite. While we didn't finalize anything, we narrowed down a lot of details and have a good idea of costs and possibilities for two more aspects of the wedding. We are getting there. After a long afternoon of thinking and rushing around we chilled out and watched a movie. h4The evening showing in the Great Room Saturday night was 'http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/contagion_2011/' target='_blank'Contagion. (This was my second choice, my copy of Rise of the Planet of the Apes wouldn't play :P) The movie was a little different than I was expecting... It focused more on the vaccine creation process and pharmaceutical behind the scenes politics than on action or characters. While I found this angle interesting and informative, I thought it made for a less interesting and entertaining imovie. I did enjoy the film, but it seemed to be lacking something. 2147...

2146 : Spaced out

. They should have given legoman a toque however eh. Brr... ' src='http://www.unsung.net//pics/blog/legocan.jpg'>]]>I feel drawn to the nerdy story about the two Canadian high school students that launched a legoman into space. Space. Lego. Canada. Nerdy. I'm there. Some of the video footage is 'http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQwLmGR6bPA' target='_blank'remarkable. i(It already has half a million hits too...!) Makes playing with mentos and diet coke seem embarrassing by comparison. *smirk* Congrats guys, very cool stuff! Whoa. Friday already... Another week in the books. My weekend is full of wedding stuff i(ironically typed weeding... Hmmm....hello Freud?). We have a trip to the florist and meeting a officiant planned. Flowers I get. Pick the colours, pick flowers you think are groovy but a bow on them... magic... But what do you ask an officiant? I guess we are looking for a personality type that meshes well with us... We aren't looking for anything religious or any long winded speeches about love and blah blah... so I guess there will be some boxes that have to be checked. Should be interesting. I've ordered a case for the tablet that isn't ordered. I'm getting pretty anxious to get it... with all the wedding money flying out of the account however, I've had to wait patiently for this piece of tech. I think my tech patience is running out however... I was excited when I saw snow in the forecast for the next five days... Sadly this morning the temperature rose, so the snow has become freezing rain instead. BAH. Really started to wonder if we will ski at all this year. Sigh... 2146...

2145 : Bottom of Barrel

Yup. The fall has ended. The Sabres are last in the Eastern conference. Lindy Ruff on WGE today said no changes are coming. I'm absolutely apoplectic with this team and how it is being run. Complete embarrassment. What else is there to say. *shrug* Wow....I past making 'hockey heaven' jokes. This is ..... gah... *explodes* 2145...