Caffinara|Melanie Watts, Caffinara: Wake up to life

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Friday, November 28, 2008

Black Friday

Posted by Melanie at 10:39 0 comments

It’s 5.55 AM. I’m reading email from a friend, informing me its snowing outside. I can’t see out the window because its pitch black. As soon as the eastern sky gets light I’m out the door on my skis. Gotta leave early otherwise the snow gets sticky. When will it get cold?

I’m using odd poles. The still operable lifelink ski pole and my only surviving komperdell trekking pole, which I bought as a pair nine years ago. Its twin broke last summer. I have brand new, light weight komperdell poles, which were on sale, waiting for me at the MEC store on Broadway. I’ll pick them up in couple of weeks. I’m still bummed about having to spend $360 on new bindings, and now new poles. I keep thinking I should just use the old mismatched poles and forget about buying new ones until those break, except the new ones are on sale and I probably couldn’t get a better deal later.

My parents never indulged in mindless shopping sprees, so I’m blaming my tendency to think twice about what I’m buying and why I’m buying it, on them. Although agonizing over what I’m buying is good because I end up with stuff I really like and use a lot, until it breaks or in the case of clothes are so full of holes they wouldn’t even make a good rag.

Labels: shopping, skiing

Sunday, November 23, 2008

What Price? New Ski Poles

Posted by Melanie at 20:40 0 comments

Since the bindings on my back country skis are out of commission I went cross country skiing today. The bummer part of the whole day is one of my ski poles broke into two pieces. I have no idea why?

I love my life-link ski poles. They are light weight, adjustable into different lengths for going down hill or climbing up, and they screw together to make an avalanche probe. This is the main reason I got them, seven years ago. I'm getting fed up with all my stuff breaking. Skiing is expensive enough without having to replace things that should last a life time. The blurb on Life-Links site for my Variant ski pole says that it has " True Temper Steel lowers for bombproof, performance, " as if.

Luckily someone was able to lend me an extra pole so the day wasn't a total deadloss. We made sure to stop at Magnus and Estelle's fireside lounge, for wine, hot tea and great conversation before driving back home .

Labels: skiing

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Completely Wrung Out

Posted by Melanie at 21:16 1 comments

I could do with another project like this lampshade renovation. It’s an easy soothing way to use up my left over yarn and listen to my favourite CBC podcast. check out their enhanced version.

Yesterday I discovered my ski bindings had smashed when the ski bag fell out of the car ski rack last Sunday. Skis have fallen out of that ski rack before, nothing ever happened to them so it wasn’t until I went to wax my skis that I noticed the bindings were smashed. I can’t imagine not skiing so I ordered new bindings from MEC and paid for them with money I don’t have.

This morning I talked to my Credit Union about why someone had moved money around in my account and taken out $1 under the guise of overdraft charge. I don’t have an overdraft in that account. They said they would get back to me.

Next I spent a frustrating hour talking to my medical insurance provider about a reimbursement problem. they refuse to take responsibility or fix the problem. They told me to phone the government. My husband works for the government and it is through them we have our extended health insurance.

After I hang up I noticed I had a missed phone call from Vancouver General hospital. I feel my heart beat speeding up and think of my son down there, by himself, alone. I press the redial button only to get a robot who informs me, they are sorry but they have no idea who at the hospital phoned me. By the time I see they have left a message I’m practically in hysterics. The message is from some calm secretary in some doctors office in Vancouver reminding my son of his upcoming appointment.

My heart rate gradually gets back to normal as I dial the government office my husband works in. I don’t know why I bothered because their worker says the same thing, your reimbursement problem is not our fault, phone the medical insurance provider. And #$@%*& you too I think as I slam the phone down.

My husband says he will fix it and he does. So now I’m getting my money back from the extended health care. This is good because I need to it to pay for the new ski bindings. My son says he’s at a loss to explain why the hospital phoned me. The only bummer is I still have to confront the Credit Union again tomorrow because they never did get back to me.

Labels: life

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

007 Revenge

Posted by Melanie at 00:11 2 comments

It’s an exhilarating ride from the ubiquitous chase scenes in cars, boats, airplanes and on foot till you hear the quintessential James Bond music, see the archetypical gunbarrel before the credits roll and it's over.

Take a deep breath and keep watching. All the pieces eventually fit. At times I found myself watched the scenes with detachment. Since I know, after all the gunfire, burning buildings and chase scenes are over Bond will walk away intact.

Daniel Craig is stunningly perfect as the “anonymous, blunt instrument wielded by a government department”. The best line is an exchange between Camille and Bond.  
Camille: "Friend of yours?"
 Bond: "I don't have any friends"

It’s never more true than in this movie. Bond better not admit feeling close to anyone since in the next scene they will end up dead.

Like Derek I too thought the film lacked emotional substance. Nonetheless watching Quantum Of Solace, was an enjoyable way to spend yesterday evening with friends.

Labels: movies

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Torpy Turns

Posted by Melanie at 15:46 0 comments

Winter just doesn’t seem to want to stick around this year. The snow keeps melting, the mercury rises and I find myself wearing runners and a short sleeved t-shirt going for a walk. On Sunday we decided to go and see if we could find somewhere with enough snow for backcountry skiing. As we left town the rain turned to sleet. The Pass Lake road, unploughed and thus usually impassable at this time of year had a well worn track through the slush. By the time we got to the Torpy trail head we had passed two trucks full of sledders and met up with a couple of friends, also on skis.

The bottom of the trail had big rocks, tree roots and open holes in the still running stream. We put our skis on anyway and started climbing. By the time we got into the meadow the slush had turned into a soft fluffy cloud, about 50 cm bonded to a recent raincrust. I began to get excited.

We climbed the ridge, pulled the skins off our skis, locked in our bindings and went down. The slope was very steep, which I like. We were all smiling. We did another run on that slope then descended into the valley for a longer run down a gentler slope, dodging trees and the inevitable sinkholes into the stream as we hit bottom. we ate lunch and went up and down a couple more times before hiking back down to the truck. I hate these short days. We carried our skis on the bottom bit because of the rocks and holes.

Since highways have stopped ploughing all the backroads, the whole time I've been living here, I haven’t had a chance to ski Torpy, only hike it. It’s too bad since it is a really nice place to ski. This picture was taken over the top at Powder King several years ago. Looking at it makes me excited for real winter skiing.

Labels: skiing

Monday, November 17, 2008

Payback Debt And The Shadow Side of Wealth.

Posted by Melanie at 15:58 2 comments

This summer, while in a second hand bookstore, I was given this bookmark along with my purchases.

The subject of this years Massey lectures

My first reaction was goody Margaret Atwood has written a new book. My second reaction was puzzlement. It wasn’t until I listened to this years Massey Lectures that I understood.

The five part lecture series is narrated by Atwood herself. She says curiosity motivated her to explore the concept of debt. Debt, she says, is deeply ingrained in our Protestant notion of payback. Whether we are enjoying a few days of nice weather, a piece of calorie laden chocolate cake or record windfalls on the stock exchange, it won’t last, eventually we will have to pay for our enjoyment.

It is classic Atwood. She illustrates her thesis by exploring her own life as well as the lives of fictional characters. The Charles Dickens character Ebenezer Scrooge, from A Christmas Carol, is the person whom her whole argument revolves around.

In discussing revenge and forgiveness she cites the lords prayer, specifically the part,

And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us"

surmising what would have happened if America had forgiven the instigaters of the nine eleven disaster instead of seeking revenge.

Atwood updates the Scrooge character making him into a self satisfied multinational collector of corporations, whose prime objective is to make more money today than he did yesterday. As in the Dickens story he is visited in turn by the three Spirits of the Future, Past and Present.

Taking the story to its logical conclusion we assume the present day Scrooge, like his Dickens ancestor, listens to the spirits message and changes his life. However, the Dickens character only had his own happiness at stake while Atwoods twenty first century Scrooge has much bigger things to worry about.

The message I got from listening to these lectures is that like Pandora’s box there is hope at the bottom. Averting Global crisis may be achieved if all of us make changes to the way we live our lives and we forgive.

Unfortunately you have to listen to the lectures in streaming time. You cannot download them, although you can buy them or buy Atwoods book. Listen to the lectures here http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/massey.html.

Labels: Margaret Atwood

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Books

Posted by Melanie at 20:30 2 comments

Now my books have been unpacked I went through them arranging them by author and genre. I found books I’d forgotten I owned and books I'd forgotten existed. Most of them I want to reread. I keep a pile of books by my bed, a sort of visual to read list. With all these forgotten books coming to light the pile on my bedside table was threatening to collapse. Even after arranging them on the shelves below. There are still too many books so I’ve started piling them on the floor.

I really should find more time to read. The ten minutes in bed, before I pass out every night, is just not long enough. If I’m going to make any sort of dent in these books I’m going to have to schedule whole weekends or days where I do nothing but read. Ok, so that’s unrealistic. More realistic would be whole evenings given over to reading. I’m glad I don’t watch TV but I do spend far to much time on the internet.

The other thing I found is duplicates. Books I had as a child or bought for myself for English class have been duplicated by relatives and presented to my children. When I’m browsing second hand book sales I forget what I own. The price is only ten cents or a quarter so I buy everything I want to reread or think I might want to read. That is how I ended up with three copies of The Seeds Of Time by John Whyndham.

It’s a collection of science fiction stories. Brilliantly told, like all his stories. Wyndham takes extraordinary things like time travel, Martians, humanoid robots and future worlds, inserting them in to perfectly ordinary, everyday events that anyone is occupied with. He makes the unreal seem almost real, at times creepy but always fascinating.

All the duplicate books are waiting in a box, for my children to decide whether they want them before they go to the second hand store. I’m hoping the second hand book store gives store credits for donated books because, my Amazon wish list isn’t getting any shorter.

Labels: books

Thursday, November 13, 2008

technological trials and tribulations

Posted by Melanie at 19:58 0 comments

My internet connection is shit. All day I’ve had problems connecting to my server, reading blogs, looking at flickr and uploading a blog post. I’ve determined the problem is not local it is somewhere out there, something to do with Westel. It’s been working sporadically all day.

When the internet goes down so does my phone. I use a VoIP service from WebCall. The main advantages are price. For a flat rate of $15.99 a month I can phone all over BC and Alberta and maybe a few other places. All of my family live a long distance call away so I’m saving money. WebCalls tech support is staffed by real people who answer the phone imediently. No more dealing with the frustrating Telus Robot. This in itself is worth the minor hassle of internet downtime. The price also includes all those goodies Telus makes you pay extra for, call display, call waiting, three way calling and all the rest.

Labels: tech

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Remembrance Day

Posted by Melanie at 08:10 0 comments

I woke up before the crack of light, stoked up the fire, folded the laundry and filled the kettle with water for green tea. As I stood by the window I noticed the sky was lighter, I could see down the driveway and out to the road, covered now in snow. Yay skiing.

It snowed all day yesterday, wet sloppy stuff that melted as soon as it hit the road although it managed to pile up on the trees and on the roof.

The thermometer said it was zero, better leave before it got any warmer. The only other signs of life were the neigbourhood dogs, running ahead of me, tongues hanging out, wagging their tails. When I got back home there was two inches of snow stuck to the bottoms of my skis and it had started to snow again.

Labels: skiing, snow

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Books

Posted by Melanie at 19:58 0 comments

More than two years ago I packed all my books into boxes in preparation for moving. They sat in the basement of our new house until today. They withstood a flood when the connection in one of the water pipes blew apart luckily the plumber was still on contract so he fixed it the next day although he did nothing for the books.

The years the books spent in boxes compressed by other books in boxes was such that some of the paperbacks buckled and curled I hope they straighten out on the shelves.

Having all my books in boxes was a pain. I was constantly being reminded of some book I wanted to get a quote from, or reread, or lend to a friend. I was forced too go down into the basement, rummage around in the boxes, in desperation throwing books aside trying to remember which book the particular author quote was in. The book I wanted to lend to a friend was always in the last box I looked in. Now they are all on shelves I’m looking forward to rearranging them, perhaps this time by author.

As usual we managed to fill two boxes with discards, books I know I will never read again. I only keep books I read more than once. I only try to buy books I think I want to read more than once. Sometimes I make a mistake.

Labels: books

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Knowing Where your food Comes From

Posted by Melanie at 09:43 2 comments

So now I’ve moved back to the country my sources for locally produced food from the Peace have all but dried up; something to do with the new shortsighted rules for farm gate sales. I’ve started to look for food closer too home which is smart given our current world wide crisis (there are plenty to choose from)

My first thought was I would have to construct a fenced in hen house, buy a bunch of baby chicks for eggs as well as the cooking pot and maybe a DIY book to ease my new parent anxieties. I really was not looking forward to it even though I know, in a couple of years, the whole enterprise would pay me back, in the taste department as well as my pocket book. Then, I saw a sign on the community bulletin board for free range eggs, score.

Turns out the hens live just around the corner from me, double score. I got my first dozen eggs for free, to see if I liked them, we did, triple score. Now I have a cold room and freezer, full of tasty vegetables from my garden, fruit from the farm down the road, and free range eggs from around the corner. The next thing was to find a source for locally produced meat.

I decided the best tactic was to place a free add on cragslist, something like, wanting to buy pasture raised lamb, beef and chicken. In less than a day I had a response from someone in Beaverly, west of town. After a long chat on the phone where I quizzed him about what he fed them and what their living arrangements were, the sheep. I decided it was what I wanted so I bought a whole butchered lamb. It was a very reasonable price.

Yesterday I cut up potatoes, carrots, beets, onions and garlic into a pan. Brushed them with olive oil and put a small lamb roast on top, added lots of fresh rosemary, salt and pepper and put it into the oven. I programmed the oven to start cooking before I got home so It would be ready to eat. I’ve never used the program function on my oven before. It worked and as I write this I'm thinking of other useful programs I could write and store in my ovens memory for future cooking.

The lamb taste fabulous. I talked to someone else, who raises cattle just north of here. I agreed with her farming practices but I won't be able to get any beef until early next spring when the steers will be big enough to turn into roasts and steaks .

Labels: cooking, food

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

A New Day

Posted by Melanie at 07:11 1 comments

A quick look at the weather forecast makes me doubt the snow will last this time. I really hope Barack Obama's Presidential win is not like this fleeting snowfall. I hope he is still here in eight years leading Americans towards a new life of tolerance.

Thank you America .

Labels: American Election

Monday, November 3, 2008

Grrr

Posted by Melanie at 20:54 0 comments

I've been in a foul mood all day, a combination of little things, piling up, making me want to scream and slam about. Instead I was all keyed up to take it out on this seriously big guy, four maybe five times my size.

He had the nerve to jump in front of me at the car wash. There were three wash bays. Like the guy in front of me, I waited in a noncommittal line to take whatever wash bay was vacated first.

In my rearview mirror I noticed a three quarter ton with a camper shell drew up behind me. Yeah I’m first buddy, I thought, but before I could feel all superior he turned his wheel and stopped a few feet in front of me, slightly to my right, directly in front of the third wash bay. That’s when my ire boiled over and I thought about the words I would choose to say to him if that wash bay was vacated first and he drove into it.

He got out of his truck deliberately avoided my eyes as he swaggered past me, sitting in my Beetle, to borrow a tire gauge. I felt like he was mocking me. Since the people in the other two wash bays were also men, driving an SUV and another pickup, I began to feel wrong.

The feeling was wiped aside when he got back into his pickup, turned on his ignition, both hands on the wheel so he could be ready, I’m sure, to zoom in at the exact nanosecond the third wash bay was empty.

I was right, except the vehicle in the second wash bay was also finished being washed at almost the same time. I had no choice but to turn on my ignition and drive in to it

I contented myself by giving him the finger ~~not caring~~ hoping if he saw me.

Once I got into the wash bay my wrath evaporated. I spent three Loonies, on hot soapy water, hot plain water and hot wax. Note too self, never waste a Loonie on hot wax again.