the cat doesn’t let David on the furniture
Been busy with my camera since I got it back from the repair shop.
I’ll let this photo speak for itself…
(click it to read Flickr comments)
February, 2005
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typical
February 27, 2005 by Gail
Posted in House of Fielding, Hugh | 2 Comments
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Harrisburg
February 26, 2005 by Gail
We spent the day in Harrisburg, the state capital of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, which was incredibly quiet in spite of the marvellous weather.
Will write commentary later, I’ll just post the link to the photo set for now:
Harrisburg capitol building and the State Museum of Pennsylvania
Addition: Tuesday, Mar 1
We’d been meaning to visit the state capitol for a while now, but we usually go flying when the weather’s good on Saturdays. David checked the forecast and it was dodgy, so we decided to drive to Harrisburg instead. The tours run every couple of hours on Saturdays, so we timed it to join the 1:00 time slot.
Just our luck, the weather on the way to Harrisburg turned clear and beautiful, but we were already on the road, so we tried not to think of what a good flying day it could’ve been. We passed the two and a quarter hours in the car by tuning into an 80′s radio station and trying to be the first person to rattle off the title and musician for every song they played. What a scream…
When we entered the city limits, the very first sign of life we saw was the crowds of people at the Farm Complex. Yep, the main draw in Harrisburg is the farm show. Because other than in front of the agricultural arena, Harrisburg was eerily quiet. I’m not kidding — we drove directly to the capitol building in the city centre, parked, and spotted maybe TWO people! Were we missing something? Did they evacuate the downtown core?
We took some photos of the exterior of the capitol building with its beautiful green dome before going inside. If I could mimic the Pennsylvania accent, I would, because the security guards definitely had it. The most recognisable pronunciation is the way they say you: they turn it into “ya’s” or “yuz”.
“If ya’s like, you can wait here until the tour starts…” (If there are any Pennsylvanians reading this, let me make clear I don’t hear this ALL the time. Just… often.)
There was a wedding in the building lobby. How did I know this? When I toodled off to the loo, I could hear strains of Celine Dion’s My Heart Will Go On, coming from an organ. How jarring when you’re a… captive audience. I couldn’t even run away.
tax dollars can buy a lot of ambience
Uploaded by gailontheweb.
Smarty Jones
Uploaded by gailontheweb.The tour itself was a bit rushed, if you ask me. The guide was clear, informative, and in a hurry. Why? There were other people besides myself taking photos, and we just didn’t have enough time in the individual rooms. The tours were two hours apart, so I didn’t understand why we weren’t allowed to just stop and take photos. We were informed that during the week visitors may wander the building freely, but on the weekends, we had to follow the guide.
The building is palatial — the lobby is marble, each room has enough gold and art to float the Queen E. II, and many artists have spent years making it look extravagant. The original structure dates back to 1735 — and takes some time to take it all in! David wondered how the civil servants could go to work every day in such a beautiful building. My thoughts are that they would become accustomed to it and take it for granted, probably like working in a museum.
a virtual tour of the building (uses Quicktime)
We gawked a bit at the wedding ceremony before getting our marching orders to proceed to the elevators, then we moved next door to the State Museum of Pennsylvania… which was also practically deserted!
It’s so strange to visit a museum so empty, especially on a weekend. I’m sure the state museum was filled with schoolkids during the week, so I took the opportunity to take as many photos as I felt like, especially after getting shooed around the capitol building like a I was a schoolkid. For a museum in a capital, I thought it was rather neglected, particularly when compared to the ostentatiousness of the building just across the street. However, being the museum geek that I am, I enjoyed myself, anyway. We took our time perusing the three floors of exhibits, starting at the top with Earth Sciences (“Let’s start at the beginning…”) and making our way to the main floor, which was present-day. The level in-between was devoted to the history that shaped Pennsylania — industry (coal mining, engineering, manufacturing) and agriculture.
An exhibit on the ground floor was dedicated to the interesting story of Smarty Jones, a little horse from Pennsylvania that won two of the three prestigious races last year that make up the triple crown — the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness. (He came in second in the Belmont by half a length.) The story is made all the more remarkable by the fact that he had a life-threatening injury in his second season and nearly written off, but was back in training two months later. I don’t follow horseracing, so I’d never heard of Smarty Jones, but I can certainly see how the underdog story made such a mark in Pennsylvania.
After the museum we discovered where all the townspeople were hiding — in the mall next to the capitol building! There we filled up with Japanese food, and headed directly out of Harrisburg to Hershey Park… the home of the Hershey chocolate factory and its very own amusement park. We were disappointed to find they closed about half an hour before and we wouldn’t be getting our free chocolate at the end of the Hershey tour, but we stocked up on the sweet stuff at the gas station nearby for the trip home. Besides our food court meal, the whole day was free — the tour of the capital and the state museum — so $2 on chocolate was a relative splurge!
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Happy Friday!
February 25, 2005 by Gail
Fill with beverage of choice…
CHEERS!
This post has been brought to you by Murphy’s Law.
Everything is breaking down this week:
- the garage door just got fixed today
- the refrigerator conked out yesterday and the repairman can’t make it until Monday (foodstuffs are in a cooler on the porch)
- David’s car was in the shop on Wednesday
- my camera has just been fixed… what’s going on?? Drinks are in order.
Posted in House of Fielding, Photography | No Comments
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True to Life
February 25, 2005 by Gail
Photo by Sherlock77Click on the pic. If you’re not Canadian, you probably won’t find it funny.
Posted in Expat Life | 4 Comments
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Back on the Wedding Trail
February 24, 2005 by Gail
Last Sunday we (David, his mum, and I) went to a wedding expo in Wilkes-Barre. My primary goal was to win a $20,000 wedding package that was up for grabs, but I had some secondary and tertiary goals as well to make the excursion worthwhile. Frankly, I was lukewarm to the whole idea of a wedding vendor blitz when I first heard it advertised on the local radio station, but the most obvious benefit (besides the opportunity of winning $20K of loot) was to see as many wedding merchandisers as possible in one afternoon.
The event was held at the Kirby Center from 12-5pm, so I thought even if we catch the final couple of hours, that would be all we’d need. Imagine my surprise when we arrived around 2:30 or so and were informed that the fashion show was just about to start and I had to get my draw slip signed by a long list of vendors BEFORE the big draw took place at the end of the show! Yikes!
After some discussion with the rep at Sarno and Sons (formalwear), I scurried downstairs to visit vendor tables and get my slip signed while David and his mother watched the fashion show in the main auditorium. I collected cards, chatted with photographers, DJs, limo reps, jewellers, and beverage brokers.
I had a special interest in the photographers — that was my secondary goal. I wanted to see what kind of services they provided, and one couple in particular made an impression on me. It was a husband and wife who were originally from Pennsylvania, but lived in San Diego for 10 years and also had East Coast and West Coast receptions. We discussed how they managed it, and whether they took their own photos (as David is convinced I’m going to do).
My tertiary goal was to get some ideas about such things as guest gifts. I want to craft as much as possible myself, with David’s help, and put our personal stamp on the wedding, as we’ve done with our rings (David designed them from some ideas I had.)
I couldn’t get my draw slip completed as some of the vendors had packed up their booths, but the expo co-ordinator told me she’d put my paper in the draw barrel, anyway. I joined David and his mum in the auditorium and watched the rest of the fashion show. Most of the gowns were far too princessy for me: tripping-hazard trains, poofy skirts, glittery beadwork, busty bodices, et cetera, but there were some design elements I liked such as interesting split seams. I’m considering getting the dress made in the Philippines as I would love custom embroidery, but that remains to be seen.
I was hoping David wouldn’t be bored to tears getting dragged to these things, but there was enough going on to keep him interested last Sunday, and at the very least I can send him scouting for dessert or beverage samples. Needless to say, we didn’t win the grand prize (you’d have definitely read about it by now), but attending this wedding fair has convinced me there’s much to be gained by going to the next one this Sunday. There are actually two more wedding expos this Sunday (we’ll attend the closer one) and more next month, so there’s plenty of opportunity yet to get FREE STUFF.
Posted in Engagement/Wedding | 1 Comment
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Maple Leaf
February 24, 2005 by Gail
It’s funny the things that you miss…
… for example, I miss Canadian currency. It’s colourful, like the rest of the world’s money compared to U.S. greenbacks. American dollars may be worth more, but it’s so boring to look at!
I’ve made a Flickr photo set called The Colour of Money — check it out.
Posted in Expat Life, Photography | 2 Comments
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American Idol: Kick ‘Em While They’re Down
February 23, 2005 by Gail
I had a tough time deciding what the subject line of this post should be. Other ideas included:
Elimination Humiliation
Let’s Rub Salt in the Wound and Pour Lemon Juice Over It
Cry, Baby, Cry
A World of PainAmerican Idol is in its fourth season, but it’s still fairly new to me. Something tells me the writers and producers had only one goal in mind for this stage of the contest:
SHAME
Why? Because they can! Blah blah blah, you know, this is the reality of competition — there’s only one winner and a season full of losers. To put it into perspective, there are thousands of losers, but this week the objective is to ensure the losers get plenty of opportunity to bow out in spectacular Fox fashion — with ample close-ups and white-knuckle drama. Suspense music and all that, too.
We had the foresight to tape all three episodes this week so we could skip the commercials and review the performances. I made some comments on Monday’s and Tuesday’s shows, and wondered how the two dozen contestants would fare with the TV audience as their panel versus the Armchair Critics (us).
Let’s back up a bit. (more…)
Posted in AI - Season 4 | 5 Comments
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Ballerinas
February 22, 2005 by Gail
Ballerinas
Uploaded by Allan & CherylThis photo makes me laugh. You can tell which one has taken ballet lessons (Melissa) and which one is the family clown (Madeleine).
Posted in The Ms | No Comments
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The Eye-En-Ess
February 21, 2005 by Gail
Oh, how I could write about the Eye-En-Ess here. I’d write a long, rambling post about my enlightening interview at Vancouver Airport when I flew to NYC on January 27. I knew I’d get hauled in. After all, there were several key details that I knew would trigger their interest:
- one-way ticket *ding! ding! ding!*
- quit my job at the end of December *ding! ding! ding!*
- fiance in Pennsylvania *ding! ding! ding!*
- did not apply for fiancee visa *ding! ding! ding!*… and so forth. Raise the red flag! The Canadian wants in!
I’d love to write about what the officer said. What I said. The expressions on his face. His choice of words. The other officer who took an epoch to get clearance for me to continue on to my gate, holding my passport and punching data into a keyboard. The other officers who sat in front of another terminal trying to look officious but probably playing a video game or an online lottery. The lady who sat with a mountain of luggage and a scowl on her face so dark she looked like one word would ignite a mental explosion. The Korean family who got barked at. The gentleman reporting with his mobile phone that “our guy got deported back to Mexico…” The first officer who started out so uber-friendly with me that I thought he’d just completed a Customer Satisfaction Seminar, but who became increasingly disappointed with every answer I gave because that meant he’d have to keep hunt-and-pecking more and more data into the computer. The look on his face said he wished I’d just said I was on holiday to Miami so he could just smile and say “Have a nice day, ma’am.”
Yes, I’d love to write more about the Eye-En-Ess, but I shouldn’t. We consulted with a second immigration lawyer today, and I want to avoid pissing off Aytch-Ess. I am aware of how they’ve investigated journal entries and their authors. Plus, I’ve had enough run-ins with immigration agencies to last me a lifetime, thanks.
So, I won’t write any more about it. I’ll do my darnedest. OK, I’ll try…
Posted in Expat Life, Rants | 6 Comments
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catnapping
February 20, 2005 by Gail
David was so knackered last night after flying and a day in Corning that he fell asleep on the couch with Hugh and started snoring not long after we got home.
Hugh always curls up with David, and together they toss and turn and snore.
I took the opportunity to take their photos in the dark with the flash and neither one woke up. David Photoshopped a bunch of them together for me, for my amusement (and yours).
The full-size version is here: catnapping
Technorati tags: digital photography, sleeping, cat, petPosted in Critters + Creatures, David, House of Fielding, Hugh, Photography | 2 Comments
