the pomegranate tiger

I couldn’t think of one particular "I" to write about. Instead, I've listed a quick two minute list of “I” words, then tried to see what they mean to me. The blank ones are the ones that stumped me, so I've left them blank. Feel free to fill in or comment. ( An Encyclopedia of Me blog ) Incredibly - curious Innocent – what I’m not, despite accusations of naiveté by those who don't know me very well. Incognito – what I’d like to be at times Insecure – most of my youth Interesting – only in my mind Italy – favourite foreign country Ireland – somewhere I'd like to go Immune – to nothing Involved – not enough Isolated – for my sanity Irreverent – only in my head Indecisive – about the little things Ignominy – not likely Incomprehensible – to some Ivy league – I’m not Injured – in my youth, but healed and stronger now Illiterate – what no one should be Immobile – my fear in old age Immovable Immutable – not me – I’m constantly changing Insincere – hopefully not ...

Good news! The repair guy came around 2 p.m. yesterday and replaced the hot water heater. We now have a brand new Bradford White, 40 Gallon hot water heater that cost enough to pay for a vacation to Hawaii. It has a ten year parts and labour warranty, so I guess we won't be moving anytime soon. That's my good news. The bad news is that my son's goldfish, Hans, is not doing very well. Apparently, he got something called Ich (or ick) which caused strange white bumps to appear around his eye and on his fins. He was treated with a salt water bath and medication and looked like he was better. Yesterday he started sitting on the bottom of the tank in the corner behind a rock castle. He just sits there, dorsal fin retracted, breathing in and out. He won't eat, swims a little when approached but otherwise, just sits on the bottom. Very sad.

You know what they say about the best laid plans? It's true. Today is a case in point. I had plans to get a pile of work done at the office, probably stay late, and go out for dinner straight from work. It happens that this is the busiest time of year for us at work and we generally expect to work late most evenings just to keep up. Today was no different. Except . . .. We were getting ready for work this morning when my husband mentioned that there hadn't been much hot water for his shower. Uh oh. Maybe we should check the hot water heater. We went into the garage to check. We heard water running. Not a good sign. We turned on the light to get a better look. Lo and behold there was a stream of water flowing out the bottom of the hot water tank, into the catch container thingy, into the pipe and down the drain hole in the floor. Not a small trickle either. It was flowing as fast as an open water faucet. Luckily, there is a sticker on the hot water tank with instr...

Sleep can be rejuvenating refreshing inspirational Just what the doctor ordered. Too often needed drug-induced fitful and nightmarish. Elusive. More Sunday Scribblings

The first time I went to Hawaii was also the first time I had been on a real vacation as an adult. By real vacation, I mean going for more than a few days away from my hometown and leaving the country. I was twenty-five years old. The moment I stepped off the plane, it felt like I’d arrived back at some kind of ancestral, prior-life home. The warmth, humidity and fragrance of the Hawaiian air enveloped me in a comfort that no other place has given me since. It doesn’t make any sense, but it feels like my spiritual home. I’m at ease on the islands. Over the years, I’ve returned more times than I can remember. My husband can remember the exact month, year and duration of each trip, but for me, it all blends into an (inclusive) I-wish-we-could-stay-longer/when-can-we-go-again/planning-the-next-trip/and here-we-are-again cycle. When our boys were young, we went almost every year. People used to ask us how on earth we could travel and vacation with young children and still enjoy ...

My fridge space alternates Between Double-stacked Tupperware containers containing I-can't-remember-what, but it must be good because I saved it goodies, Styrofoam and plastic takeout holders with leftovers of last weekend's dinner out, green fuzzy science projects in saran covered bowls, Corning ware dishes with mystery meat in maybe gravy and remnants of what looks like stew, opened jars of condiments, jams and jellies ranging from full to one tablespoon left if you scrape the bottom carefully, seven-layer dip that can't be used because we have no chips, oranges and apples jockeying for in-between space amongst the foregoing because the veggie bins are full, and Where the heck can I put the new groceries Stuffed. To Shrivelled apple, desiccated green onion and limp carrot in bin, half carton of skim milk, slice of week-old dry mushroom pizza, and There's nothing to eat Barren. A Sunday Scribblings post.

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!! February 7, 2008 to January 25, 2009 is the Year of the Rat. If you were born in 1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, you are an Earth Rat! According to Wikipedia : Being the first sign of the Chinese zodiacs, rats are leaders, pioneers and conquerors. They are charming, passionate, charismatic, practical and hardworking. Rat people are endowed with great leadership skills and are the most highly organized, meticulous, and systematic of the twelve signs. Intelligent and cunning at the same time, rats are highly ambitious and strong-willed people who are keen and unapologetic promoters of their own agendas, which often include money and power. They are energetic and versatile and can usually find their way around obstacles, and adapt to various environments easily. A rat's natural charm and sharp demeanor make it an appealing friend for almost anyone, but rats are usually highly exclusive and selective when choosing friends and so often have only ...

(Another Encyclopedia of Me blog G is for Games In the last decade, console games like X-Box, Nintendo 360, Playstation and Wii have overtaken pc games in popularity. But darn it all, I miss those old computer games! They were a pain to install – drivers to download, graphics cards to tweak or upgrade – and by today's standards, they were clunky and slow. Yet I have such fond memories of them. Okay, to look at me, you wouldn't think I was a computer game junkie. But let me tell you, I spent more hours than you might imagine, late at night (and the kids were in bed) trying to work the catapult in BIT, wandering the lonely, spooky levels of Myst, and following clues to the underworld of Grim Fandango with Manny. Hours I will never get back - but oh so much fun. The games I liked best were puzzle oriented. I wasn't good at shoot 'em up or sports games. Give me a good puzzle any day. A few of my all-time favourites (in no particular order): Myst The Dig King...

A Sunday Scribblings blog It wasn't Lydia's finest moment. She lost her cool and snapped at Gail. Gail hadn't done anything to warrant the wrath. She just happened to be the unfortunate rabbit that happened into Lydia's crosshairs at that precise moment. Gail, face flushed and tears welling up, abruptly turned and made a beeline to the ladies' room. Sigh. Lydia went through a quick mental checklist: Should she follow and offer apologies? Let Gail have a good cry first, then apologize later (Lydia was not good at there, there pat on the back hugging consolation)? Just let it go and allow everyone think she's a bitch (which some did anyways). Rats! She headed to the ladies' room. Inside, she found Gail in front of the mirror delicately dabbing smudges of eye makeup on her lower lids. Lydia barely finished her opening line of, "I'm sorry. It wasn't anything you did" before Gail interjected and said it was okay. She understood perf...

An Encylopedia of Me blog When I grew up in the fifties and early sixties, a normal family consisted of a mother, a father and an average of 2.5 children. The ideal dream of mom and dad, kids, dog, and house in the suburb with picket fence was alive and booming along with the babies. TV shows like Ozzie and Harriet , Father Knows Best and Leave It To Beaver helped further promote the ideal. Families always lived in their own house in the suburbs. They might have had problems (but funny ones), mom and dad might argue (but always made up), and the worst a teen could do was get caught smoking (cigarettes). Jokes about the one-half children aside, any deviation from this norm was seen as an aberration. Atypical families with divorced or single parents were looked upon with a mixture of scorn in the case of the divorced; and pity or scandalous outrage in the case of single (unwed) parents. Mostly, people didn't talk about it in polite company. I remember when I was in third g...