girls are weird.

30 June 2006

ouais!

Oh yes. Time to fill up the cooler with Sleemans, unpack the gazebo, and make my sugar pie. Oh yes.

(Pictures and tales of great hilarity to follow, I'm sure.)

[posted by: Lisa Durbin] --

29 June 2006

moose-ic update

Big broad lovin' to Maggie and Stroppy Ms. H. for sending me some Canadian tunes!

Since I need to fill an entire afternoon (minus football match time) plus some evening time, I've had to resort to the CanCon rule - over 25% of my playlist is Canadian, while the rest is full o' stuff I just happen to like. You can see most of it here:

I would like to point out that the Snow Patrol track featuring Martha Wainwright counts as being 50% Canadian.

[posted by: Lisa Durbin] --

28 June 2006

it'll make you i-raaate

I hereby declare that this Frosties advert is the most annoying commercial on British television for the following reasons:
-Poor rhyming. Changing the pronunciation of "pirate" to "pie-rate" to rhyme with "great" is just wrong.
-It'll get stuck in your head for days. Just you watch.
-The incredibly cringeworthy dance moves at the end.
-The fact that Frosted Flakes are called Frosties here. Why?

Watch at your own risk.

[posted by: Lisa Durbin] --

release the moose

It's that time of year again - our annual Canada Day BBQ is on Saturday and I need your help. I have compiled a collection of fine Canadian music, but more suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

The rules:
1. I will not, under any circumstances, not even after 12 bottles of Sleemans, include songs by Celine or Avril.
2. The songs must be available via iTunes' crappy-ass selection of Canadiana. I suspect song availability is regional, so I'm limited to more "popular" Canadian music available in the UK (e.g. I can't download Mitsou, and I'm very upset about this.)
3. Feel free to send songs to me via email. I'll try to find an imaginative way to express my appreciation. Please note this expression will not involve the covering of any body part with maple syrup.

Here is the current playlist:

I love you, I kiss you.

[posted by: Lisa Durbin] --

20 June 2006

cue violin music

Hi, I'm Jasper. I used to have my own blog and a regularly updated photo page until the pink hairless puppy moved in. Now I have to sniff around his food bowl for scraps and put up with my toys being stolen and/or chewed on. He pokes my eyes with his pointy little fingernails and uses me as a stepping stool. He takes over my bed but I get told off if I happen to knock him over with my tail. I'm a dog for crying out loud, of course I'm going to wag my tail vigorously! If you can't handle it, stay away from my back end.

So anyway, I'm Jasper and I just wanted to point out that I'm still around and still very cute. Much cuter than the hairless pink puppy, and I make less of a mess. Thank you.

[posted by: Lisa Durbin] --

19 June 2006

two things

1. Foreshadowing: from last night's Big Brother, Lisa standing in the kitchen furiously stabbing a potato with a fork.

2. You know you're Canadian when...while following a streetcleaner this morning, my first thought was "What the hell is a zamboni* doing out on the road?" In my defense, the streetcleaner wasn't actually cleaning the street at the time and did look remarkably like a zamboni. And I'm really sleep deprived right now. Oh shush.

*(the big thingy that resurfaces the ice between hockey periods or other ice skating events.)

[posted by: Lisa Durbin] --

11 June 2006

reasons to smile

1. I completed my first knitting project - baby booties. Please don't point out any mistakes. I like to live in denial.

2. It's World Cup time!

3. It's beautiful and sunny outside, and we filled up the paddling pool ~~so I can soak my feet~~ for Jack to play in.

4. My dog does Elvis impressions.

5. We have tadpoles, tadpoles just starting to sprout little legs, and these tiny little frogs in our pond (using my thumbnail to give perspective):

[posted by: Lisa Durbin] --

07 June 2006

i want to put little slices of cucumber on my eyes

I was reading a pamphlet from a spa at my in-laws' house the other day. It almost made me drool as I read (and re-read) the descriptions of the luxurious treatments on offer. Exotic face masks, manicures complete with arm and hand massages, pedicures preceded by bubbly foot baths and things involving loofahs, and all sorts of therapies that meant absolutely nothing to me but sounded deliciously indulgent. Their day spa includes a couple of treatments, the use of the pool and jacuzzi, a two course lunch, and a fluffy bathrobe and slippers to wear during your stay. I imagine people following you around with white towels, periodically misting you with some sort of herbal aromatic spray, and offering you drinks with fruit on a stick poking out of them. I want a spa day.

I'm not sure where this yearning comes from; I've only had one manicure in my life (I didn't even get one before our wedding) and never had splodgy goo smeared on my face before. Perhaps it's the tired mother in me wanting to spend a day doing something completely frivolous and self indulgent. Maybe I've suddenly become a girly girl? Nah, my shoes don't match my handbag and I have no urge to wax any part of my body.

I want a spa day. Who's with me?

[posted by: Lisa Durbin] --

06 June 2006

shove over, roger ebert

On Saturday, Paul and I finally got to see "The Da Vinci Code". It's based on a novel by some chap called Dan Brown; some of you may have heard of it. The plot of the novel involves a conspiracy by the Catholic Church to cover up the "true" story of Jesus. In the book, the Vatican knows it is living a lie but continues to do so to keep itself in power. The novel has helped generate popular interest in speculation concerning the Holy Grail legend and the role of Mary Magdalene in the history of Christianity. Fans have lauded the book as creative, action-packed and thought-provoking. Critics have attacked it as poorly written, inaccurate and creating confusion between speculation and fact. From a religious point of view, some critics consider it sacrilegious, and decry the many negative implications about the Catholic Church and Opus Dei.

It wasn't as rubbish as I thought it would be. That Audrey Tautou sure is pretty.

[posted by: Lisa Durbin] --

02 June 2006

can i interest you in some of our literature?

It's official - I'm addicted to knitting. I've moved on from rectangles and squares, and I've learned how to increase and decrease. I know three stitches and am working on an irregularly-shaped project that involves buttons (but not button holes because that's just a bit too wacky for me right now). I have a "don't forget" list of things I need to bring to my in-laws' this weekend and on it is my bag of knitting paraphernalia. I have considered keeping it in front with me so I can knit on the drive down (please note that I'm not actually doing the driving), and I plan on going through my irregularly-shaped project with my mum-in-law to make sure I don't make a pig's ear of it, although I'm sure knitted pig's ears are in demand somewhere in the world. As indicated yesterday, I'm a little bit too excited about my personalised stitch markers. I'm also quite thrilled about my new bamboo knitting needles. I find myself searching for knitting patterns online and buying way too much yarn. I'm hooked.

It's a bit strange because I'm not really the crafty type and I don't usually have the patience for fiddly things. I can't sew/hate sewing, would never find the energy to do needlepoint, I haven't had the urge to make my own Christmas wreaths, and I can't quite come to grips with the concept of pottery. But for some reason, knitting has engulfed me. It's like someone's brainwashed me into enjoying it - expect to find me peddling furry scarves at the airport soon.

Seriously, if you find me knitting stuff like this

and presenting it to people as gifts, feel free to stage an intervention.

[posted by: Lisa Durbin] --

01 June 2006

happy days

People don't often do nice things for each other these days, so getting these in the post today:

made me a very happy lady. My fabulously creative friend Melanie (her shop can be found here) made these stitch markers for me, and I think they're the cutest shiny dangly things (not involving diamonds) I've ever seen. Stitch markers are used in knitting to indicate things like changes in pattern or colour, so you can keep track of what you're doing on each row. Or at least I imagine that's what they're for - I'm not actually talented enough to knit anything that complicated (yet). So there you go: pretty beads aren't just for jewellery.

A few people have asked me what's happened to Jasper's blog and if I'll still write about him here. The dog blog has been retired, but his picture pages are still linked to the main photo album page - and yes, I will still write about him here. It was his third birthday last week; he got a new chewy toy, a giant tennis ball, lots of edible/chewable doggy treats, and a brand new collar. Here he is looking elated to be another year older:

Happy belated birthday, Jaspey!

And finally, another thing that made me smile today was this quote from last night's Big Brother: "She's always talking about places I've never been...like Harrod's." (Glynn, the very young Welsh boy who doesn't get out a lot)

[posted by: Lisa Durbin] --