Monday, September 25, 2006

We had a little adventure tonight because the power went out, from about 8pm to 10pm. I was outside heating the barbecue when there was a big gust of wind, and then the power went. It looked to be just on our street.

Fortunately, with a gas stove and the barbecue, it didn't really affect Heather and me. We had cedar-planked salmon, with steamed rice and a butter / lemon / parsley sauce, and green beans. Also we were lucky that the rice had just finished cooking when the power went.

My flashlight was packed away in my travel box, so we had to use my cell phone as a light to get to it; then we found the candles etc. (The flashlight is now stored in a more accessible spot in the kitchen). We had a nice candle-lit dinner, with music from iTunes on my Mac.

I was surprised at how little needed to be reset when the power came on. The alarm system has a battery, and actually worked the whole time. The washing machine knew the power had gone out, and I just had to hit start and it continued in the middle of a wash cycle. The cable box is digital and sets the time automatically. The only thing I had to set was the clock on the oven!

...

Thursday was the first hockey game of the winter season. I was slightly out of shape, because my Ultimate teams have way too many guys and so I don't get enough playing time. Most of the team came out flat, and we lost 7-2. Oh well.

Friday was the minus-1 anniversary for Heather and me. I surfed around to see if there was any standard gift (like paper for the 1st anniversary), but the only thing I found was another person's blog, and a screen saver that counts down for the year. We had a nice dinner at home.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

I took this picture in Quebec City on our trip:



I hardly spent any time taking the picture, it was more just a point and shoot. I've found most of my favourite pictures are the ones where I've spent the least time composing them.

Last night I was at a couple work functions. First was a dinner with a vendor at Romagna Mia. I had to leave early because the publisher had invited all the people involved with the launch of Star PM to the Star's box to see the Jays vs Yankees. Dinner at the restaurant wasn't too bad, very traditional italian. Luckily the food arrived before I left for the baseball game.

The food at the box was less appetizing, despite the invite to enjoy "fine foods and potables". The potables (Keiths in my case) were good, though. I actually watched an inning or two of the game (I gave up on baseball after the strike). I was surprised at how big all the players are now. Almost all the players were over 6'0".

Monday, September 18, 2006

A new home for my blog...

It's been a while since I last updated here. July was pretty busy, and Heather and I went on a two-week vacation at the end of August. I didn't want to start up in August and then have a break, so I just took a break from blogging until now.

A very quick update:

o Heather and I went on a visit the nieces and nephews tour at the end of August. First to Boston to visit Lloyd (my brother), Mina and 4-month-old Tristan. Then to PEI to see Heather's family (including 8-month-old Claire). Short stops in Quebec City and Montreal, then to Ottawa to see Nalini, Brendan and our nephews Declan and Darcy. It was a very fun trip.

o The exterior front of the house is getting nearer to completion. I finally removed all the old paint off the brick (RemovAll works great!!), and I've painted the door and door frame. I'll post a pic soon. I'm trying to decide what to work on next (most likely the covering over the front deck).

o This season I'm playing Ultimate on Sunday afternoons and Wednesday evenings, and hockey on Thursdays.

o Work's going pretty good, there have been some reorganizing at the corporate level that could present some good opportunities for me. But I'll have to wait and see how this evolves.

o I'm STILL reading the Dostoyevsky book. I'm on page 633 of 985. Some people may remember I started reading this book in Zanzibar on my Africa trip last November. I have a backlog of books to read when I'm done.

This is my blog so anyone interested in how Heather's doing will have to email her :)

I was planning to apply the 2nd coat of paint to the front door today after work, but it's raining and really humid, and so not the best conditions for drying. So instead I've set up this blog.