Event Planners (Behind the Scenes)

This week is a bit of a stress nightmare, as it's the week before a BIG event at work.  People seem to think I have the easiest job on the planet, and while it is pretty awesome, it has its moments.  The week leading up to an event would be one of those moments.

Here is an idea of the thoughts and emotions that precede an event:

6 Months Prior to Event: "This event is going to be AWESOME!!  It will be the BEST EVER!!  It will blow last year's event out of the water!"

3 Months Prior to Event: "Things are coming along smoothly.  This event will rock!"

2 Months Prior to Event: "Wow, this event is coming up fast.  No worries, I'll be ready, and it's going to be sooooo much fun!"

1 Month Prior to Event: "Still lots of time to prepare. This event will be at least as good as it was last year.  With luck, it may even be a bit better."

2 Weeks Prior to Event: "Jeez, there's still a lot of work to do to make sure this event is a success.  But, it'll get done.  As long as people have a good time I'll be happy with the event -- even if it's not quite as good as last year."

1 Week Prior to Event: "F* this event is going to kill me!  How am I going to get all this work done?!?!  How did we DO it last year???"

1 Day Prior to Event: "This event is going to suck.  I hope I don't get fired."

Now to add to the complexity of all these emotions, imagine they overlap for multiple events.  Now imagine you are One Week Prior to and Two Weeks Prior to the two biggest events of the year.  Yup, that's where I live right now...  So if you don't hear from me for a few weeks...  Or if you start to hear nasty rumours about me...

And for those of you who think I have the sweetest job in the world...  I do, actually.  Just don't wish you were me in the month of September.

Secret Love Affair

I love tomatoes.  My love of tomatoes goes back to the days of my childhood when I used to pick them from my parents' garden and eat them until I had cankers from the acidity.  To this day I will frequently enter the house with a mouthful of sun-warmed cherry tomatoes answering a garbled "Nuffin'" to the inevitable question, "What are you eating?"

This year when my local Metro was closing the garden centre they began giving plants away for FREE!  I couldn't resist picking up one of each kind of tomato to add to the three semi-exotic varieties I had already planted.  Here they are:

The Grape tomatoes are doing very well and make a tasty addition to salad, or just a nice snack!

The Romas are producing well, but so far everything is staying quite green.  

The Amish Paste are both bountiful and LARGE, but are also staying pretty green.  This is the first (exciting!) sign of colour on the plant.  Between these and the Romas I will be making a lot of sauce this year!  I'll also be looking for a recipe for pizza sauce.

The Green Zebras also seem to be well-producing, but slow to ripen.  These bad-boys are almost there, but still quite hard.  I can't wait to try them!

Also in the garden, but not featured here are Brandywine and Black Cherry tomatoes.  The Black Cherries are on the deck (better sun) and early producers, so I've been eating them for a few weeks.  They're delicious and perfectly snack sized!  The only problem I've noticed is they sometimes disappear at the peak of ripening.  I'm not sure if I have the dog or some other wildlife to blame for it.

I do know it's not @jclarkey munching on them because he has a strong dislike for tomatoes.  I won't say he hates them, because he does like salsa and tomato sauce, but he doesn't tolerate raw tomatoes.  I'm kind of hopeful I can convert him.  Especially given the number we'll have this year!  I also have to thank him for tending to my tomatoes.  They often grow to heights beyond my reach and he has to stake them for me.  Thanks hunny!

Garden Dilemma:
My chives are in flower right now, and I'm not too sure what to do.  We hardly use the chives so I usually try to cut the flowers as soon as they appear because they spread like weeds.  This year some local honey bees have really taken to them!  I feel bad taking food that I won't eat from someone else who's really enjoying it.  Thoughts?

P.S. Blogger is once again taking liberties with photo rotation.  It doesn't matter how I format them prior to upload, blogger seems to have a mind of its own when deciding how photos should be laid out.

Gone to the Dogs

I know every dog owner thinks their dog is perfect, but nothing puts things into perspective like spending time with someone else's pooch.  This weekend we had a friend's pug, Charlie, over for a sleep over.  We thought it would be a good test to see if we can handle two dogs one day.  Charlie's family is also going on an extended vacation later this year, so it was a bit of a test drive to see if he could spend a few months with us.

Charlie was a perfect gentleman for the most part.  He is a cute little guy and we loved having him visit.  Charlie seemed to like us too, for the most part.  He wasn't much of a fan of Moe.  The two dogs seemed to get along fine... when they were ignoring each other.  I was a little disappointed, as I'd hoped Mosely would get a playmate out of the deal, but I figured it wasn't terrible if they weren't too playful.  At least they'd be quiet chums.  As the day wore on it became obvious that the two dogs were not about to be any kind of chums.  Jason and I were busy working on the house this weekend, so we left them to their own devices in the backyard.  After an hour or so passed we peeked outside to see that Mosely had found a comfy spot in the shade and was sprawled out for a nap, as per usual, but Charlie was standing, staring at the back door like he'd been waiting for us to come back the whole time.  After that we decided to let him in while we worked.  He didn't get into any trouble, but just followed us around with his tongue lolling out.

None of this was really problematic...  It was just kind of worrisome, and a bit annoying.  Especially the fact that he didn't relax.  I mean really, he didn't relax.  In the 24 hours he was with us I only saw him sit when I told him to, and that was only for a few minutes.

Later on it became apparent that Charlie had some dominance issues.  He showed Mosely his tough side at dinner time by chasing him out of the kitchen with a lot of noise and a few bites.  I figured that was no big deal -- we'd just have to feed them separately.  A similar display when I threw Moe a tennis ball was another red flag.  The final straw came later that night when we had some friends over.  Charlie LOVES people (hence the following around with big eyes and lolling tongue).  He was so excited to see my friends he started spinning in circles.  Moe thought that was awesome and took it as an opportunity to play.  Charlie was not about to play, and went into full on attack mode instead.  Jason quickly grabbed Moe, but I was unable to get Charlie because he doesn't wear a collar (word to the wise -- Charlie's owner advised us that collars could cause a pugs eyes to pop out.  Seriously).  So poor Moe was unable to escape Charlie's wrath and received many pug bites.  Then he started to growl and snap back.  Lucky I grabbed Chuck when I did, or we would have had a full on dog fight on our hands!

So, that was that.  He still spent the night, but in the morning we had to tell Charlie's family that an extended stay just wouldn't work out.  In the end we realized (again) that our dog is perfect for us.  He's very chill and can relax almost anywhere.  He lays around for the better part of the day (in the sun, in the shade, on the couch, under the table, or frequently, half on-half off a dog bed).  He is quite friendly, but not overly affectionate and very independent.  Moe loves us, but he doesn't need us around all the time.  If we're watching a movie and he's tired he'll frequently get up and go to bed.  We'll often go outside to enjoy some nice weather and later realize we forgot him sleeping inside.  He doesn't need a lot of exercise, though we try to walk for 15 minutes every day with one or two longer walks each week.  In the winter it becomes much less and all our waistlines suffer for it.  He's also a well-mannered walker and I comfortably let other people walk him (even young children) without worrying he'll act up.  Sure, he has terrible door manners and is a relentless sniffer, and every once and awhile he gets into trouble, but for us no dog can compare.

I would still like to add a second dog to our family one day, but I can't help but worry that Mosely has us so spoiled we'll be in for big trouble.  What do you think?  Can a dog teach another dog how to be calm, cool and relaxed?  Or do I just have to hope for the best and see what I get?

P.S. Anyone know how to rotate a photo on blogger?  Seems a mystery.

Whoopsie Daisy...

Wow, it's been awhile since I posted...  Like, a long while.

Well, no time like the present I guess.

I have been working hard to get through my bucket list, but many distractions have come up along the way.  First, the bucket list update:

- Go horseback riding Done.  @jclarkey and I had a great time at the Horseshoe J Dude Ranch, and I hope to go back in the fall when the leaves start to change.


- Go on a portage Done.  Our trip to Algonquin was fabulous.  I have to admit, after the first portage I was thinking something like "Whose %#*$ing idea was this?!?!  I am never doing this again!! %*&$#!!" But it really was worth it, and I look forward to doing it again.

- Catch a big fish (but if you don't, make up a story about one).  Still working on this...

- Go golfing (not on the Wii).  Not done...

- Take a piano lesson.  Not done...

- Finish Auburn Like Anne Sweater (seriously!).  Ahem... Getting there...

- Finish at least one other knit/crochet WIP ...

- Sew something  ...

- Read something for the love of it and do so without guilt. Done.  I've read a few books this summer, but the most enjoyable was my re-reading of "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime," by Mark Haddon.  It's about the 3rd time I've read it and I love it every time.

- Wear sunscreen. I've been wearing sunscreen, but this is obviously a continuing effort.  I must report, spray-on sunscreen has really come a long way!  I used it on our camping trip, and it really covers well without leaving "missed" spots.

As for the distractions that have been coming up -- it's been a busy summer!  @jclarkey and I put an offer on a house, put ours on the market, accepted an offer on our house, and then the whole deal fell apart...  That was interesting.  Our house is still on the market.  We'll see what happens there.

We also had to say goodbye to a dear friend.  Gordon, our cat, passed away.  @jclarkey wrote a lovely farewell blog post, and I will write one as well.

Also, my sister is in Ontario for July!  It's been great having her home, but also busy as she is expecting so we're having all kinds of showers and family get-togethers.  Tonight we're going to Labatt's brewery and she's our DD.  *smirk*

I think that's pretty much it for the exciting stuff.  I'll try to update more regularly in the coming weeks!

Summer of George and a Bucket List

I  have to thank - patsearle for inspiring this post.  Check out his blog to see his Summer Bucket List.

I also have a decade specific bucket list (things to do before I turn 30), but so far I've been pretty negligent of it. For that reason I hope to start at least one of those things this summer.  I have also included some things I know I'll be doing, but they're on here just the same.

Summer Bucket List 2010
- Go horseback riding
- Go on a portage
- Catch a big fish (but if you don't, make up a story about one)
- Go golfing (not on the Wii)
- Take a piano lesson
- Finish Auburn Like Anne Sweater (seriously!)
- Finish at least one other knit/crochet WIP
- Sew something
- Read something for the love of it and do so without guilt
- Wear sunscreen

Last year Jason decided summer 2009 would be his "Summer of George".  Strangely, it did end up being the summer of George, but not perhaps in the way Jason expected.  I think George had a good time though.

George's Cake

George as George

Manny the dog as George with @jclarkey and @kclarke5

Really though, I see no reason why every summer can't be great, memorable, exciting, awesome, adventurous, and all the things that would make it "George".

Obscure Hobbies Done Right

When I was in high school there was a small group of guys who were very skilled when it came to making funny noises.  I think back then we called it beat-boxing -- almost 10 years later I'm wondering if that's an out of date terminology.  My drama teacher theorized boys were good at that kind of thing because they made sound effects when they were little kids -- you know, playing with trains, planes & automobiles.  I played with Barbies and Playmobil, so it would follow that I am good at manipulating people.  I don't know if that's true, but I do know one thing I'm not good at: drama... and beat-boxing.

Mike went to my high school and he is very good at both.

Smart Food

Every once in a while @jclarkey and I get it together and plan our meals out wisely.  Last night, for instance, we had steak salad with tomato, red pepper and goat cheese.  Today for lunch I had a similar salad (sans steak) and tonight for dinner we had steak, tomato, red pepper & goat cheese pizza.  It was delicious -- and there's still lots of lettuce, tomato, some steak and a bit of goat cheese left!  It was a giant steak.  I'll also be having steak pizza for lunch tomorrow :)

We're not always so clever, but when it works out it's great.

In my opinion, chicken is the perfect food for going a long way.  A roasting chicken is a perfect Sunday night meal.  You can cook it slowly all day, filling your home with mouth-watering chicken aromas.  I usually like to make the chicken breasts the first meal.  That evening I'll separate the thighs and drumsticks, and remove any other meat I can manage.  The legs will be the following night's dinner and the other bits will go into a chicken salad sandwich.  What comes next is my absolute favourite part of cooking chicken -- making the stock.

Throw the rest of the chicken remnants and bones into a stock pot along with your choice of herbs, vegetables and spices.  My faves include garlic, onion, bay leaves, carrots and celery.  For the best flavour, I recommend leaving the skin on the garlic and onions and cutting them into large chunks.  I would suggest never adding salt to your stock -- odds are you'll add salt to your soup or whatever other dish you end up making with your stock.  There's really no need to add salt to stock.  The last time I made stock I also decided to add an apple and it ended up being a wise choice.  You can't really taste the apple, but there's a slight hint of it in the aroma.  You'll want to simmer your stock for a considerable length of time -- this is another one that can go all day and fill your house with wonderful smells.  When it's done just filter out the bones and vegetation and strain your stock into freezable containers.  Make sure you strain it well!  Chicken bones and bay leaves make especially dangerous choking hazards.  One chicken should produce about 10 cups of stock.


If you're not digging the chicken salad sandwich idea, throw the chicken bits into a few cups of stock, ramp up your spices (@jclarkey adds a dry soup mix called Cock Soup Mix.  I wish I was joking -- that's really what it's called) and viola, chicken soup.  For a real masterpiece add homemade noodles about 5 minutes before your soup is done.

Planning ahead to eat smart home cooked like this is not only healthy and delicious, it can save a lot of money.  A $15 chicken or steak might seem like a lot at the grocery store, but if you can make it cover 3 or 4 or more meals it's a pretty good deal!

Aaaand, for a well-rounded blog post, here's a picture of my adorable dog: