surprise!

Jeff, Luisa, Parki, Ray and me. Photo by Ruth.

So it turns out that my lunch at King's Garden with Ruth yesterday was actually a surprise birthday gathering consisting of Jeff, Ruth, Parki, Ray and Luisa, arranged by my sister (!). It took me a second or two when we headed to our table to register the fact that hey, I knew these people...

:-)

Ruth and Luisa.

We had dim sum, and I happily stuffed myself on steamed shrimp dumplings, my favourite. Yummm.

After lunch, I was horrified to remember that I had forgotten to put Sam (my new Tamagotchi) on pause. He was VERY hungry and unhappy when I got back but at least he was still alive. Barely.

Had a mostly lazy birthday afternoon. Hung out with Ruth a bit, did some work and housecleaning, took a nap, bought some tea at St. Lawrence Market. I recently used up my Mate Vana, Caramel Rooibos and Angel Falls Mist (gave the latter to Ruth because it was too fruity-tasting for me) so figured that entitled me to three more boxes of tea: Celestial Seasonings Gingerbread Spice (tried this at Allison's and really liked it), Celestial Seasonings Decaf White Tea and Tummy Mint Wellness Herb Tea. Also could not resist a bar of Green & Black Mayan Gold Dark Chocolate with Orange.



In the evening, Jeff and I went to Canoe, which is situated on the top floor of the TD Centre. We even managed to get a window table after Jeff told the hostess it was my birthday! I had the Yarmouth Lobster & Cuttlefish Salad with Mustard Creme Fraiche, Palm Hearts & Lemon Balm Dressing for an appetizer (VERY VERY good), and Ted's Organic Char with Honey Mustard, Abitibi Caviar & Creme Fraiche Mash as a main course. For dessert, Jeff and I split the Dark Chocolate Ganache, made with "Superior Cocoa Beans, Mulled Figs & Earl Grey Milk Chocolate Ice Cream."

Yummmmmmm.




The service was very good: attentive but not TOO attentive, friendly, efficient. View was wonderful. Company: even better. :-)

'Twas a very good birthday.

Leaving for FilKONtario tomorrow, so I likely won't be posting again until next week.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

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birthday!

(Click here for a bigger version of the comic above.)

Hey, it's my birthday today! Thanks for the birthday greetings, everyone, and to Allison for posting these birthday photos :-). Happy birthday also to Katy, who is probably on a plane right now, winging her away from Germany to Toronto for FiLKONtario. Ruth's taking me out for lunch, then Jeff and I are going to Canoe for dinner (my choice of restaurant).

So my Tamagotchi (here's an explanation of what a Tamagotchi is, for those of you who don't know) did survive his first full day; my wee little Sam is still snoozing away even as I type this morning. So HA to you, Andy and Kaarel! He even evolved from a baby to a toddler. Hey, parenting's not so hard.

Though I did have to call my niece Sara (my Tamagotchi expert) at one point for advice.

ME: "Um, Sara? Sam's stats say that he isn't hungry or unhappy, but the attention icon is highlighted. What should I do?"

SARA: "You need to give him a time-out, Aunt Debbie."

ME: "What? Why?!?"

SARA (patiently): "Well, if your Tamagotchi is asking for attention for no reason, so you need to discipline him."

I thanked her and followed her advice. And it worked! Sam cried a bit but then was fine. Then I rewarded him by giving him a snack. Sara hadn't advised this part but heck, I figure it couldn't hurt; poor thing was probably still smarting from his time-out, after all. I gave him several snacks during the day, actually. He gained a bunch of weight but didn't die. Yay for me! I was disappointed to see that ice cream isn't an option as a food item. :-(

Anyway, here's my handwritten entry today (click on any page to enlarge):









Two days until I leave for FilKONtario! I'll be rooming with Dave Clement on Thursday night, with Allison and Jodi the rest of the weekend. Hoping to see some of you at the convention!

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chocolate cake for breakfast

My new Tamagotchi, Sam.

I had chocolate cake for breakfast. Just thought I needed to get that confession off my chest right away.

My birthday's not until tomorrow, but I celebrated it with my family last night because Jeff and I are going out tomorrow night. In addition to some handmade crafts, my nieces gave me a Tamagotchi. I've been lusting over theirs for months now; I used to have a Tamagotchi eight years ago but he died soon after birth because I fed him too much ice cream.

My new Tamagotchi's name is Sam, and I'm going to be a much better parent this time, I promise. Interesting to see the changes in Tamagotchis: they can now play games by themselves and with other people's Tamagotchis, poop, behave badly, get married, have kids, make friends.

My brother-in-law Kaarel bet that Sam wouldn't last more than 10 minutes. HA, I'll show him.



My dad and Mabuta gave me the first season of Little House on the Prairie on DVD, a show that we used to watch all the time when we were kids. I still have clear memories of Ruth and me, sitting in front of the television with tears streaming down our faces, boxes of Kleenex by our sides. Anyway, I watched the first episode this morning while I was having my chocolate cake (leftover from the party last night), the one where the Ingalls first move to Walnut Grove.

Yes, I'm aware that it's an incredibly sappy show but man, did I bawl...that scene when Laura and Mary start dragging those sacks of wheat to help out their injured Dad gets me every time. Interesting to watch the show as an adult rather than as a kid, seeing characters and storylines with a different perspective.

Which reminds me, I need to buy more Kleenex.

(Stop gagging, Andy. :-) )

Hey, I finished the front and back covers of the Urban Tapestry DVD yesterday! Click on either of the images below to see an enlarged version (or click here to go directly to the large version of back cover):






Only three days until I leave for FilKONtario!

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photoblogging exhibits, latte art and diners with attitude

My friend Ray.

Had a very relaxing Saturday with friends yesterday. Jeff and I are still not used to these, having been through months of recent packing, moving, househunting chaos; we're both (but especially Jeff) still too used to having our weekends scheduled far in advance.



We had brunch with Ray and Craig at the The Patrician Grill (219 King Street East), a old-fashioned tradition diner that has been run by the Papas family since its 1967 opening.

We were served by Louis Papas, the head of the family, who has since appointed his son as head of the business. Mr. Papas was friendly and gruff at the same time. He couldn't get over the fact that Ray didn't want meat with his scrambled eggs even though the meatless entree was a menu item, for example, and wouldn't let me have a glass of water when I asked ("We give out water later. People order water and then they don't drink it"). And when he brought Craig the wrong entree, he clearly expected Craig to eat it anyway.



And at one point during our repeated (at least a dozen times, no exaggeration) explanations that Ray really DIDN'T want any meat, Mr. Papas asked us if we were from out of town.

"No," said Jeff. "We're locals. We live just a few blocks from here, in fact."

Mr. Papas: "Oh. I thought you might be Americans."

I admit I teetered on the fence between amusement and irritation but in the end I accepted the Patrician Grill for what it is: a family-run traditional diner where you're definitely made to feel like part of the family, with the good AND bad of what that entails.



Our other afternoon activities included:

-- Seeing the PUBLICity at the Toronto Free Gallery with Ray and Craig. The exhibit features the work of Toronto photobloggers Sam Javanrouh (Jeff's and my favourite photoblogger), Matt O'Sullivan, Rannie Turingan, Davin Risk, Gayla Trail, Jonathan Day-Reiner, and Adam Krawesky.

-- Visiting Dominion Modern, the Museum of Modern Architecture and Design with Justin (visiting from Montreal!), Craig and Ray. The current exhibit focuses on architecture and design in Toronto during 1945-1975. I admit that my interest was more on seeing my friend Justin again than in the exhibit itself, though it was kind of interesting seeing various aspects of a young Toronto.

-- Picking up our friend Andy and then going to Kendrick Astro Instruments so that he and Jeff could buy an astronomy thingamabobby. Andy took a photo with it last night (see the picture below); apparently it's a globular cluster M3 in Canes Venatici:





Then before heading back to my mom-in-law's condo, Jeff and I dropped by a Loblaw's for some groceries (where we ran into Andy again!) and found a familiar-looking van in the parking lot. Six years ago, I wrote about the pool cue house guy, Albino Carreira (you can also read more about Albino's amazing house here). Anyway, I found myself surprisingly happy that Albino was still around.



And here's a few other interesting links I found while browsing the Web this weekend:

The Zoom Quilt: I originally found out about this from Jeff, but came across the link again in Drawn.

Latte art: A Flickr photo set of latte art images. Makes me crave a latte even though I don't usually drink them!

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comfort zones

For larger version, see DebbieOhi.com.

Hung out with my friend Cathy yesterday; we saw Robots at the Paramount theatre, browsed Chapters, had dinner at the Hothouse Cafe. I found the movie entertaining and even touching in parts, though the humour was often a bit toilet-oriented for my tastes and I didn't like it as much as Shrek or Ice Age. Highlights for me: the little short before the movie featuring the Ice Age squirrel as well as the new Star Wars trailer. Ok, so I know I'm probably going to be let down yet again, but I still can't help but be excited. I'm so lame. :-)

Anyway, it turns out Cathy's employer is closing its Toronto office and has invited selected employees to move out to its Calgary office, offering to pay all moving and legal expenses. Cathy was one of the chosen few and has decided to accept the offer.

I admire her courage. She's lived in the Toronto area all her life, after all, and most of her friends and family are here. Though I'll miss her a great deal (she's known me longer than anyone except for family), I can't tell you how happy I am for her. She admits it was a hard decision but told me she couldn't pass up the opportunity, didn't want to spend the rest of her life wondering about what could have been. I'm going to use my frequent flyer points to go visit her in late October so she won't be celebrating her birthday alone.

Last night over dinner, we talked about comfort zones. Everyone has them, but Cathy and I both agree on the importance of forcing oneself to step outside them from time to time, to do things that challenge and push ourselves. It's tough to overcome the temptation to stay snugly with what's safe and familiar, or at least I find it so.

But I find it worth the effort. My attitude is that even if I fail, at least I know I tried. And if I succeed, then not only do I reap the benefits, but I'm also encouraged to push myself a little further next time. I'm VERY glad that I decided to check out the Irish session at the Tranzac, for example, despite my innate shyness and unfamiliarity with the people and venue. The initial terror was definitely worth it. :-)

Speaking of sessionstuff, here are a few tunes I've memorized recently: Butcher's March (now played after Paidin O'Raifearta's as a set at the Tranzac), Connaughtman's Rambles, Munster Buttermilk. Love these tune names. :-D Here's a list of about 30 tunes I've memorized so far since December, or can at least make a decent effort at joining others playing the tune. My goal is to know over a hundred tunes by the end of the year. Keeping those all polished enough to lead in a circle is another thing entirely, of course.

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