ladybug days

Woohoo, we leave on our 10th wedding anniversary trip tomorrow!


Went to King's Garden last night with Scott Murray. Our server (one of the assistant managers, I believe) thought I was Chinese and offered us selections from the "real" menu. So we had a VERY yummy soup (he wasn't sure what it was called in English, so I asked him to write down the name so we could order it again sometime, see below), steamed eel and melon, chicken and pineapple dish, fried rice with shrimp. It was all delicious, though the eel had too many bones for me to be likely to order again. We went to Second Cup for coffee with Parki afterwards.





A while back, you may have heard about the aphid swarms in Toronto. Well, now it's ladybugs! There were a bunch of them on the condo window as Jeff and I went out for dinner last night. I like ladybugs more than aphids. I suspect that, like the aphids, the ladybug increase is due to the recent heat wave.


Jeff is hooked on a PC game called Bridge Builder. It's free, it's simple, it's incredibly addictive. The goal is to design a bridge for the least amount of money that will support a train without collapsing.





Today's Blatherpics


- I took this photo on the Dingle Peninsula overlooking Brandon Bay in Ireland, just after Jeff proposed to me in June, 1990. We were having a picnic on a sunny hillside dotted with foxglove and daffodils, sheep grazing in a nearby field. Near the end of the meal, Jeff pulled out what looked like a small silver bell. I thought, very nice, but what is it? and then he said, "Open it." Inside was a ring. :-)


- I asked the waiter last night to write down the name of a Chinese soup he had recommended, so I could order it again. If any of you out there can read it, I'd love to know the English equivalent.


- The programs I designed and made for our wedding. I hand-painted a watercolour design on each individual program, as well as doing the calligraphy. In retrospect, I realize that I must have been out of my mind to create about 110 programs by hand. I was much more craft-oriented back when we lived out in the country, and also hadn't yet gotten hooked on the Internet. :-)


- Our wedding site. We used to live out in the country, and decided to have our wedding ceremony across the pond beneath willow trees. It rained very early in the morning, but cleared up into a gorgeous day.

Feel free to suggest a daily poll question.


Today's Poll:



Do you consider yourself a shy person?

trip tech prep

I am so excited about our upcoming trip that my head might explode. Seriously.


Our time at the Wickaninnish Inn promises to be completely relaxing downtime. I have already signed up for several spa treatments, including the Inn's signature treatment, Sacred Sea Thalassotherapy.


Then I get to visit Japan for the first time AND see our friend Alison again!


I am taking my laptop on my travels, and plan to keep posting to Blatherings whenever I can. This shouldn't be a problem in Vancouver, but Japan might be trickier. A friend in Japan is kindly allowing me to use his account access while I'm there, however, so if we can figure out how to do that, it should be fine. My dad says that some public phones have phone jacks for laptops. I had briefly considered signing up temporarily with an ISP in Japan. In the worst case, I can hunt down some Internet cafes in Tokyo. :-)





Here are some useful links I've found while researching:


Laptop Travel: lots of tips for laptop travelers, products, and services.


Traveling with a Laptop Computer: section of TravelDirt.com.


Roadnews.com: "Tips and Tricks For The Computer Equipped Traveler".


In-flight laptop services by airline: includes a listing of power and data options. It looks like Jeff and I will only have power outlet availability on our flight back home (which is on an Airbus A340-300). Doesn't look like Boeing 747s or 767s have that option, at least on Air Canada. The flight home is the longest, however (about 12 hours), so at least this means we can watch DVDs on my laptop.


I've had fun doing extra research about our flights, and have even found the in-flight movie selection: "Shrek" (on our Toronto to Vancouver flight, yay), "Spy Kids", "Bullets Over Broadway", "What Women Want" (Vancouver to Tokyo), "Heartbreakers", "The Natural", "Sweet November" (Tokyo to Toronto). I've looked up our seat locations on Travelocity's seat plans for each flight.





Other tech-prep I've been doing:


-- Adding Japan In Your Palm to my Avantgo channels.


-- Downloaded Abroad! for my Palm. I found out about this application from a travel site; its offerings include a currency conversion, world clock, unit conversion, and country info database. I was dubious when I checked out the programmer's homepage, which looked sort of amateurish with broken English text. I was amused by a supposed quote from Claudia Shiffer saying that she loved the program. On a whim, I clicked through to the link...and found that Claudia Shiffer really DID say that she loved the program! ZDNet also chose it as the best travel app for the Palm. You can download an up-to-date currency database. This program is shareware ($20).


-- Using the "Personalized bookmarks" feature in My Yahoo to keep my bookmarks accessible even if I'm using an Internet cafe. You can also store files in the "My Briefcase" area, and specify which files are public and private. And if it turns out that I can't access my electricpenguin.com e-mail at all, I'll still have my yahoo account (debbieohi@yahoo.com), which I can access through any browser.


Today's Blatherpics


- Jeff cutting Parki's hair. He started shaving it, but the razor ran out of power. Prep for the hiking trip. I think Parki's expression in this photo is wonderfully contemplative, don't you? Jeff's head has already been shaved in this picture.


- Parki shaving Jeff's head. Jeff later complained about the moire patterns Parki left on one side. I found the whole process highly amusing.


- Annie, in Algonquin Park.

Feel free to suggest a daily poll question.


Today's Poll:



Have you ever smuggled anything into your country? (not declaring something you bought when you returned from visiting another country...this includes not declaring gifts you received and souvenirs).

family weekly

We drove out to Bramalea yesterday, to celebrate my Dad's 70th birthday. While snooping through old family archives, Ruth and I found some interesting stuff including:


- An old report I did as a child about Japan. At the time, of course, I had no idea that it would be thirty years before I actually visited Japan. Sadly, the report is fairly dull, the usual sort of fact-spouting so common in school research reports.


- My first "novel", written when I was nine years old. It had 23 chapters (I remember being particularly proud of that fact) and was called The Door to Magic. Here's the first page.


- Some old issues of Family Weekly. I started this family publication as a single page of family news, jokes, and cartoons and taped it up on the bathroom wall. I guess I've always had the writer/editor bug in me. :-) FW gradually evolved (hm, shades of Inkspot, no?) into a a much larger tome (one issue we found was 34 pages!) of material gleaned from all family members. Here's a Family Weekly cover.


The pages are musty-smelling, crumbling a bit at the edges. My plan is to scan all the pages before the paper begins truly disintegrating. I think Sara and Annie might get a kick out of seeing them when they're older.





Going through the issues of Family is a bittersweet experience. I don't think I could have done it five years ago. There are stories and cartoons by my brother Jim, who had a dry wit even as a youngster. Even my mother contributed the occasional drawing and editorial content.


I find an interview I did with Mom. Reading through the interview as an adult is a much different experience, and I'm able to read between the lines of her lighthearted answers. She was worried about my brother being so small compared to his classmates. She didn't really like camping but did it because the rest of the family enjoyed it. She loved us fiercely, worried about our future, wanted us all to be healthy and happy.


I can almost hear Mom's voice as I read her interview answers. Though she was fluent in English in terms of understanding it, her spoken and written English was sometimes more awkward. I remember her being self-conscious about this, and it made her shy about meeting new people.


At the end of my interview with her, I ask Mom whether she wants to add anything. At the time, I dutifully transcribed her answer without much thought. Now, I'm able to read much more from her answer:



"Most of all, the five of us should try hard to make our family the best. So after all, I'm the one who has to try harder. Give me some time. I've never been a wife or mother before, you see."



If she were alive now, I would give her a huge hug and tell her, Mom, you did great.


Today's Blatherpics


- My mom and me, during a camping trip at Sibbald's Point when I was 4 months old.


- The first photo was taken last night, of Annie playing the piano. The second is of Ruth as a child, playing the same piano many years ago. I think this is a pretty cool mother-daughter composite. :-)


- My mom, age 23. She sent this photo to my dad from Japan. The first time they met in person was when she arrived at the airport in Canada to marry him.

Feel free to suggest a daily poll question.


Today's Poll:



Do you like the Three Stooges?

long plane flights

In yesterday's Blathering, I asked the poll question: "Have you ever had your luggage lost or temporarily misplaced while flying?"


I find the results so far pretty shocking: twice as many people answered "yes" than those than answered "no". I've never had luggage problems myself (hopefully our upcoming trip won't be an exception), but know people who did. My music partner Allison, for example, has been through this at least twice. Once with her luggage containing all her written music (she takes her music in her carry-on now) and once with her guitar. She got both back, fortunately.


Thanks for your suggestions about how to cope with long plane flights.


Here are some useful online links I've found related to this topic:


-- How to survive a long plane flight


-- Surviving long plane flights (ivillage) (thanks to Bill Sutton for this link!)


-- Travelling By Air


-- Air Travellers' Handbook: compilation of advice and info from newsgroups related to air travel. A ton of useful stuff here, including tips on how to get the cheapest fares, and how to fly with children. Also see their index of links.


-- Advice for parents about surviving a long plane flight with children


-- Family Travel Trip Planner: includes several articles about how to keep kids amused on long plane trips.


-- About.com's section on jet lag





Advice about coping with long flights (from above resources and advice from Blatherchat) includes:


- Plan to spend about 1/3 of your flight reading. Ideas: a new book, magazine, info about your destination.


- Get noise-cancelling headphones. Not only will you be able to hear your music/DVDs better, but it will also reduce the effects of having to listen to loud plane noise for the entire trip.


- Exercise during the flight by walking around and doing basic stretches.


- Wear loose, comfortable clothing. Wear loose-fitting shoes since your feet will swell. Bring slippers or thick socks so you can take off your shoes during the flight and still keep your feet warm.


- Try to get an exit row or bulkhead seat, which have more leg room, or an aisle seat so you can get up and walk around more easily. Some sources advise window seats for those who know they're going to be sleeping a lot on the plane, since you'll be less likely to be disturbed.


- If you wear contact lenses, take them out for the flight (especially for long flights).


- If you want to avoid turbulence and engine noise as much as possible, choose a seat as far forward as possible.



- Try to nap.


- Watch the onboard movie if it's at all interesting. It will help two hours go by more quickly.


- Drink plenty of fluids. Avoid coffee and alcohol, which are dehydrating. Opt for a meal and snacks which are lower in salt. Bring your own snacks and bottled water if you can. Drink water before and after the flight.


- Other suggested things to bring on the flight: skin moisturizer, moisturizing eyedrops, saline nasal spray, damp paper towel in a zippered sandwich bag, neck pillow, eye covers.


- Bring a spritz bottle with water to spray on your face for a quick freshen-up. Some advise filtered water mixed with a few drops of aromatic oil. Suggested fragrances: lavender, or mixture of lavender and mint. However, some sources said that spraying water on your face makes your skin feel even drier, if not chapped. Go figure.


From Bill Sutton:


- Be sure to start working on your destination time as soon as it is practical to do so. I reset my watch when the plane takes off and try to operate with my sleep cycles and such based on "watch time", not body time.


- This isn't so important now that almost all airlines are non-smoking, but take a change of shirt and socks in your carry-on. Change just before you land, if you can. A quick rinse with cold water (a lot of airlines give you hot towels as well ... mmmmm) and a clean shirt can make you feel a lot better.


- If you don't need it, lift up the armrest between the two of you. It really does give you more room to move your hips and upper legs, even if you are disgustingly thin and healthy


- Absolutely, definitely get up and walk around. It not only keeps you from cramping up, it's a good chance to meet people who are also up and walking around.


- Bring a variety of things to do. Sometimes the movie is just bad (or is at the wrong time - resist the temptation to watch it if you should be sleeping ) or your eyes just get tired of reading. I don't usually do many crossword puzzles, for instance, but I keep a book of cryptics with me to do on the plane when I need a break.


- Laptops and coach seats don't get along very well on most airlines. Don't count on being able to comfortably use your laptop unless you're lucky enough to be in Business Class ...





Today's Blatherpics


- Alison and Jeff, asleep in the hammock. A split second after I took this photo, Alison woke up. To say she startles easily when asleep is an understatement. Surprised to see a camera so close to her face, she gave four loud yelps in a row and threw her arms up. Jeff woke up in the process, of course. I felt awful for scaring her, of course! But don't you think this photo's worth it? :-)


- My music partner Jodi. If you haven't already, be sure to check out her award-winning songwriting resource site, The Muse's Muse.

Feel free to suggest a daily poll question.


Today's Poll:



Are you female?

flying advice

Had fun hanging out with Allison and Jodi last night while Jeff played Quake. Allison said she had a great conversation with Riley and Casey Kwinn last night.


Thanks to Mike Whitaker and Bruce Adelsohn for posting OVFF voting ballots online. I've linked to them from the OVFF Web site. I'll be at OVFF for sure, by the way, Jodi will likely be there, Allison probably won't. :-(


I've finished my Killarney trip report, adding a concluding page (with a poem by my friend Parki!). Sure wish I had done some online research about the Killarney La Cloche trail prior to the trip; I would have come across advice like the following:



"This is a world class trail, even though it is less known than ones like the West Coast Trail. Some of the terrain is quite intense. (Do not attempt the whole loop as your first backpacking experience!)"



Still waiting for news from Scott and Amanda. Apparently the baby could arrive Any Day Now (!). You can check out the babytalk forum for updates as well as Amanda's Musings.


Flying advice sought:

Jeff and I will be leaving for Vancouver and Japan next week. Apparently the flight to Japan is about 12 hours (!). To all you flying types: how do YOU amuse yourself on long plane flights? The thought of sitting still in an enclosed space for that long is giving me the willies. We're playing to take my laptop (which can play DVDs) and some movies, a portable CD player, books (Allison and Jodi have both loaned some "popcorn novels"), magazines. I intend to sleep as much as possible (bringing an inflatable neck pillow, ear plugs, eye mask). Any other suggestions? Please post your answer here, thanks.


Japan links

With the Killarney trip over, I've turned my attention to our upcoming trips to Vancouver and Japan starting next week. Here are some interesting Japan links I've found so far (feel free to suggest more!):


Cybercafes in Tokyo


About.com's section on Japan


Japan In Your Palm


Today's Blatherpic

Annie, on their family camping trip in Algonquin Park. Despite attempted washings, Annie always managed to find dirt (but always had a lot of fun in the process). My favourite quote from our visit with my sister and her family in the campsite was hearing Sara yell at her Uncle Jeff: "HA HA! I have a uterus and you don't!"

Feel free to suggest a daily poll question.


Today's Poll:



Have you ever had your luggage lost or temporarily misplaced while flying?