Tag: pony party

On the way to visiting the hospital I took a detour to the RBG ( Royal Botanical Gardens) in the Hamilton-Burlington area to see a glass exhibit. My mother wasn’t interested initially but I heard her tell a friend on the phone how lovely it was. It wasn’t officially open but all the displays were up and we had a nice talk with the director/manager who was catching a quiet moment on a bench enjoying the hypnotically calm atmosphere of the indoor gardens. She told us that due to budget cuts, she had about half the staff she used to and every time they had a new exhibit, they wondered if they could even get it done. It made me realize that one of the unspoken necessities of urban life are public spaces where people can enjoy low cost or free entertainment/education with their family. When gardens, libraries, parks, and other “public spaces” disappear, we become less of a democracy, more of a lemming like consumer organism.

Here are a few pictures. All of the glass items were done by local artists….

When I was a university student on a budget, my then boyfriend and I often went to the outdoor portion of the local RBG gardens for a picnic. He was an artist  (painting,photography, graphic design)and I often acted as his “assistant” finding items that had visual appeal. It never occurred to me I might try and develop my own creative side at that time. I was more into local political activism and thinking I was going to help change the world.

Well, I got plenty of “winter driving” experience in since most days were built around going to the hospital. I had a particularly charming drive in a white out on slippery roads. I desperately wanted to find another car to follow and discovered that I was the pied piper leading a row of equally cautious cars.

It was a stressful visit but one full of learning experiences, in fact, I have not quite determined all of the lessons the universe decided to bestow upon me. My grandmother got discharged from the hospital the yesterday and we decided that until a suitable retirement/nursing home can be found we are going to get extra care to help her out in her apartment. She is not ill enough for a tradition long term care facility but clearly not quite able to manage on her own for much longer. I left feeling as worried about my mother who confessed that she felt very overwhelmed and was glad I came down just to help out and be a sounding board. Two of my old friends offered to check in on my grandmother on a regular basis. One friend surprised me by being very unavailable, she is resuming her art career and clearly saw me as a distraction. When I was younger, this would have angered or hurt me. I simply accepted that she chose not to see me and move on. Knowing I had an on line home full of kind people who were sending good vibes my way helped tremendously. It could have been much worse.

My aunt and uncle, who are very unstable, called demanding that we let grandmother move in with them. My grandmother rolled her eyes and said she would rather live in the worst nursing home on the planet. Three days later my uncle called again to announce that he was leaving my aunt and that he was drowning. My mother and I rolled our eyes.

I took some random shots of the area around my mother’s place with “ye old back up camera”, not my best stuff and I am firmly blaming the camera….

Oddly enough, it being winter in Southern Ontario, we had snow…

Long shot of my mother’s place from the road. We won’t even have the discussion about the fact that my 68 year old mother lives in an isolated rural area on 65 acres….

Pre-snow at my mother’s place….

Thursday,  I  Think  Seriously,  About  Stupid  Shit

as always ~ dont rec the pony, another will trot up shortly

Top 10 Buzzwords according to TIME

a la Letterman, starting with #10

10. Freegan

A combination of the words “free” and “vegan,” the term describes an anti-consumer who shuns mainstream materialism and only makes purchases as a last resort. The most sensational and often discussed practice of freeganism involves Dumpster-diving for food, clothing or other essentials, which freegans refer to as “waste reclamation.”

9. Vajayjay

Slang for “vagina.”  The term, popularized in 2006 by Grey’s Anatomy and more recently by Oprah Winfrey, is fairly indicative of where we are linguistically as a nation.

8. Bacn

Similar to Internet spam, this term covers news alerts and other email that individuals signed up to receive but may never get around to actually reading. Much like the pork product it is named after, bacn is something we desire even though it clogs our (electronic) arteries. And like many techy terms, it is willfully misspelled.

7. Locavore

The New Oxford American Dictionary’s Word of the Year, this term refers to the trend of eating fresh, locally grown ingredients.

6. Grass Station

As Webster New World Dictionary’s Word of the Year, the term does not describe an outpost for smoking marijuana, but rather a theoretical alternative to today’s fossil fuel-based gas station.

5. Colbert Bump

Similar to the Oprah effect on book sales, the boost in popularity ratings a political candidate gets after appearing on The Colbert Report.

4. Popcorn Lung

A rare, life-threatening lung disease that can be caused by inhaling diacetyl, a chemical used in butter flavoring. It’s normally not a problem if a) you don’t work in a microwave-popcorn factory or b)you’re not Colorado resident Wayne Watson, who ate approximately two bags of microwave popcorn a day for 10 years and became the first-known consumer to develop the disease.

3. Previvor

A person who does not have cancer, but has precancerous cells or a genetic mutation known to increase the risk of developing it: a pre-survivor.

2. Surge

President Bush’s call for additional troops, which was announced in January, incited more heated discourse this year than almost any other issue save immigration.

and the #1 Buzzword of 2007…

     A great big Hollywood-style, cleavage-flashing welcome, Pony Party People, from both me and my very newest BFF, the legendary Miss Carmen Electra (save the snide remarks, okay? Without her there’s not going to be a whole lot of cleavage going on, so just be nice, you hear?). Tonight’s very special pre-Valentine’s Day edition of the Pony Party is brought to you by Carmen’s latest venture, the “Electra-Pole Professional Pole Kit,” which combines just two of her many talents — dancer and an “expert in seduction” – in one exciting product!  

    Right about now, you’re probably wondering, “Just how exciting is it?” Well, according to the press release:

“It’s the first professional dance pole designed for use in the home.”

    Pretty great, huh? In fact, they could stop the sales pitch right there, if you ask me, right after the words “professional dance pole.” Because here’s something we can probably all agree on – those amateur poles are just not happening. And now, thankfully, those days are over!  

    So far, so good. But wait … there’s more! Just in case you’re not convinced yet, the British distributor, Peekaboo Palace, has come up with the Five Big Reasons to Buy.  

1.   “Ready to unleash your inner sexiness?”   (Oh, hell, yeah — who isn’t?)

2.   “Perform any kind of move, like spins and flips and even inverts.”  (Excellent, I been waiting to cross those off the To Do list.)

3.  It “goes up and down” in a mere five minutes.  (A personal favorite — no more time wasted on account of pesky set-up problems with those amateur poles.)

4.    Perfect for experts and beginners, too, the Electra-Pole will have you “dancing and spinning around with more basic moves as you find your pole dancing feet.” (Feet? Pole dancing is about feet? Okay, if you say so.)

5.    “It will help you get the body of your dreams today!” (First thought – somebody’s been hitting the hyperbole bottle pretty hard. But who knows? Maybe it really depends on what body you’re dreaming about.)  

M’kay, so this one is nominally (nominally) better than the last. At least I bring you Python:

Hi all,

Eek! You know it’s Monday when the Pickle has procrastinated. Sorry it’s late! And lame. Perhaps my lamest effort yet. Is that even possible?

Jeff Beck Group

Morning Dew

(Young) Rascals

It’s a Beautiful Morning

I’ve been away from the computer for a few days. House sitting for my aunt. I’m writing this on Thursday and will auto post for Friday. I’m going into NYC to meet ej… he’s there on business and i’ll be having dinner with him and his boss. should be interesting. Then we’ll head back to my aunt’s house for a few days.

Thanks to everybody for their kindness and caring yesterday. I’m glad you guys are here.