Happy New Year 2007

Wishing you a happy and prosperous New Year.
May all of your dreams come true in 2007,
no matter how impossible those dreams might seem.
I'm certainly looking forward to some new milestones and changes this 2007!

P's Corner - Spaced Out Sundays

Since this is the end of our calendar year, I thought it might be interesting to have a look at Analemma's. Described in Wikipedia as:

"...a curve representing the angular offset of a celestial body (usually the Sun) from its mean position on the celestial sphere as viewed from another celestial body (usually the Earth). For instance, knowing that Earth's average solar day is exactly 24 hours (by definition), an analemma can be traced by plotting the position of the Sun as viewed from a fixed position on Earth at 24-hour intervals for an entire year. The resulting curve resembles a figure 8."

The Analemma and the Temple of Olympian Zeus
Credit & Copyright:Anthony Ayiomamitis

Analemma's can also be plotted from the vantage point of other planets. The following simulation shows the late afternoon Sun that would have been seen from the Sagan Memorial Station once every 30 Martian days (sols) beginning on Pathfinder's Sol 24 (July 29, 1997):

Martian Analemma
Digital Illustration Credit & Copyright: Dennis Mammana (Skyscapes)

And, finally, I'll leave you with this beautiful Lunar analemma picture taken at the Organ Mountains in southern New Mexico, USA, by Rich Richins:

Analemma of the Moon
Credit & Copyright: Rich Richins

Our New Friend

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Notice the New Look too.

This curious bundle, known as a Maine Coon Cat, welcomed us into her house over Christmas on Vancouver Island. We played with her and she got really tired out (which was a good thing). I caught her stealing some nuts, so I grabbed the camera and took a shot of her in action, which was all new to her. She was just trying to be like us, a smart kitten at that. It was so cute to see in person...

Maine Coon Cats have long tails and a different face and are known to fetch anything when trained. This was all so new to me too. P and I really liked seeing her.

Maybe I can add a few more pics in time, but I haven't been working on my photos so this is the only one I've pulled out of her.

Aristocratic Bloopers

I'm still laughing at the names which came from this site.

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Her Most Serene Highness Lady J the Appropriate of Dramble Buzzcock Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Very Lady Et the Crepuscular of Kesslington under Ox Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: His Grace Lord P the Imaginary of Waterless St Mildred Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

We're Back Again

The trip to Vancouver Island and back went quickly. I was able to get in a few great shots on the clear day we had upon arrival. We also got in a lot of play time with a cute kitten.

I'm not blogging much this week and would suspect many people are doing the same. Enjoy!

What's in a Line

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I'm posting Early well because we will be out of town! I can't promise you I'll be able to participate but I'll certainly try if I find a computer around.



So what's in a line?
I always Followed it to my dreams with the vineyards
of Chateau Chatelard in Montreux and Lac Leman.
Hope your dreams come true over the holidays.

We're off to The Island Again

Well the time has come for us to visit family for Christmas again. We did the same thing last year considering I wasn't able to leave because of immigration. Guess what? Still the same scenario again. However, I just read that the outside spousal wait is only 39 days! Sheesh... Put's a bigger damper on what I'm waiting for...

I'm not sure what we are in store for this visit. I will certainly bring my camera along. We will be leaving on an early ferry because we couldn't make reservations. I'm getting excited the time is winding down and I'll have a least a few days off, but hoping for more. I know I won't have much time to post but I'm sure most everyone is in the same situation. Enjoy your adventures!

Hope Everyone has a great holiday especially while they are out traveling too!

Toblerone Lovers Dream

photo courtesy unknown crusader in Migros Montreux

Getting into the Christmas Spirit

This is the third year in a row that I haven't visited the VanDusen Gardens Christmas lights. I do hope to go but time is running out. I feel like this is one of the only parts of the city which is full of Christmas spirit. Yes I'm hoping to take a few pics but really we have a lot going on before leaving for Christmas. Besides, the lights and rain don't make for a good combination.

So if you come to Vancouver during Christmas, make sure you check out the Festival of Lights!

Santa and Elf

The most ultra cute Christmas Card ever! Check out the link!

CIC in Spotlight

Since we started our immigration process in October 2005, I've always said the way CIC immigration works is just backwards. Sure they want to reunite people, but I quite frankly think they go about it all wrong. Some of their practices should involve other ways of identifying a genuine relationship. It's sort of like how Canada figures street signals work correctly (they don't)...

We've already been duped once because the lady who was in charge of my case in Vegreville ASSUMED! Yes she is a big ASSUMER... And you know what happens when you assume things...

I just hope these incompetent people actually feel bad when they get home. Who knows, they could even be reading posts from the internet.

But this You Tube video takes the cake on immigration $%^& up's. It's rather shocking!

P's Corner - Spaced Out Sundays

Thank you to ET for allowing me to post today. I thought I'd share with you some beautiful pictures on a topic that has always fascinated me: Astronomy.

This is the Witch Head Nebula, located about 1,000 light years from Earth (Can you see the Witch? Hint: She's looking towards the right):

Image Data: Digitized Sky Survey Color Composite: Noel Carboni

Living in Northern countries such as Canada allows for the viewing of Auroras. Although I've never been lucky enough to capture one myself, I've managed to find a few spectacular shots I'll share with you today:

Photo Credit: Yuichi Takasaka

The above shot was taken over the city of Whitehorse, Yukon.

Photo Credit: Jody Majko

This one was taken over the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba.

That's all folks, see you next Sunday!

Stanley Park Closed

The wind storm which hit the West Coast Friday morning devastated many older trees throughout the lower mainland and Vancouver Island. The hurricane strength winds, which hit the area around Vancouver the hardest, were most devastating in Stanley Park. The park lost a lot of it's beautiful trees, enough to close the park for possibly an entire week! The winds hit up to 150 km per hour at times and probably was what woke us up personally early Friday morning.

I guess just talking about it doesn't serve justice. It is just amazing that we have experienced a storm like this. Our walls were even shaking from the winds! I guess P and I are most thankful that our power never went out, unlike many other locals in our area. This caused major traffic jams and closed many local malls in the area. But the worst area which was hit was actually in Washington State.

It personally affected me because I had to go do another immigration medical exam on Friday. The Lions Gate Bridge was closed and so I had to detour around the area from the Second Narrows Bridge which was completely grid locked. Needless to say, I showed up late to my appointment. But everything went very smoothly and I'm now just waiting for more news for my immigration application.

Beautiful Yet Annoying

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If I had a photo of all of the traffic from Friday, that would be annoying. There was so much chaos because of the power outages and signals which were knocked out. I had to drive through about 15 outted signals of grid lock. It wasn't fun! But the only real thing I could think that was annoying all of the snow we got last month.

Having this much snow at sea level was annoying. Yes I love snow up at the ski hill but when it snow so much that you can't park in a parking lot and you have to deal with drivers who can't deal with the snow, it gets annoying... You see paradise can get annoying at times. :)

Packed With a Punch

Wow - Punch doesn't exactly describe the near hurricane force winds that came in during the 3am hour this morning all over BC last night. I was woken up suddenly around 3:49am with some wind that sounded like it pounded our place. I'm sure this wind was well over 100km per hour minimum. The winds were so strong that our entire place was shaking. P even told me it happened while he was in the washroom!

What's not so nice is that I have to make it towards the other side of town, across a bridge which is closed and out towards an area with power outages. So really I do hope things will be okay..

This storm has been large enough for the local news to dedicate the news to it as well as crews working last night prepared for calls coming with downed trees. I must say the news we don't need is that there is already freezing rain and snow expected by tonight.

Beta Blogger

ok - now that too many of you have beta blogger, I figured out how to post. Just do annonymous comments (make it aloud), and then you can post and leave your link so you know who read it..

I'm going to try posting a few comments now that this has worked...

Welcome to 1980 Canada

Recently Vancouver has caught up to the 1980's when it comes to signals. I've finally seen more and more street signals/lights here in the Vancouver area finally switch over to technology that I was used to seeing way back in the 198o's in California. Maybe this coincidence only has to do with the fact that California's population is quite large compared to the province of BC.

When I came to Vancouver for the first time, I was really puzzled by the blinking green lights. All they really tell you is that you have the right of way or something close to that. I think pedestrians walk in the cross walks only during flashing green lights too (not that many people can follow this rule since most cross walks don't even work properly.)

But I was still left with one puzzling question, why don't they have left turn right of ways???? It's technology of the 80's in my mind, something every busy city needs. But not Vancouver, we like to make you drive through a crash course to get home.

So lately, I've seen more left turn signals actually give cars the right of way to turn left. Imagine that, actually not having to turn left once the light has changed back to red and you are still left in the intersection to maneuver your way through the traffic.

Really, I am so puzzled by this here in Canada. What really gets me is that this technology was changed back in the early 1980's where I am from.... So I say welcome back Canada. I'm glad you're now catching up to the 1980's in technology. What will be next?

Blogger Beta Is ripping me off

I'd like to tell you that blogger beta just bites. I've tried unsuccessfully on like 4 blogs to comment and it won't happen. Blogger beta doesn't like me... So to those who have it, I'm guessing you'd have more comments today if it were working properly...

And I'd assume that is the same with haloscan which was down last night at the very least...

Technology...

When It Rains It Pours

Yes the saying pretty much sums up what is happening right now from one subject to the next, but I won't go into all of those details. If you want to talk about weather, we happened to get another pineapple express on the West Coast. Basically all that means is that we have a lot of wind and rain here in North Vancouver.

Speaking of pouring, the lights kept on pouring out yesterday. Yes it was sort of odd. We had all of our power on at the house, but no cable. The pour people across the street had nothing. Down the way, a street light was out and some 6 or so blocks away only selected stores were dark. I think the trees in our area have had a pounding and don't really understand what month it is. They've been through drought, snow and pouring rain. No wonder there are so many uprooted trees causing power outages.

Question for the day: I want to know how you say Pasta! Do you say Pawsta or Paaaasta? Or something else. I never thought of this until last week, but I'm pretty sure this paaasta thing is Canadian eh!

Meme Monday

Ok - I was up so early and this meme should be easy to do, so I present thanks to CS

"What have I done" Meme
You'll find the things I have done up to now in bold characters:

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins - Not yet, but I've gone out on a coral reef in the
Mediterranean and also in Hawaii
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive.
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone - would a hot tub count? LOL
08. Said “I love you” and meant it.
09. Hugged a tree - I must find this pic of me doing that!
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise - too many times.
14. Seen the Northern Lights - this is high on my to do list
15. Gone to a huge sports game - who really hasn't?
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars - it's called camping
20. Changed a baby’s diaper. - not my own but many a times
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon - also high on the to do list!
22. Watched a meteor shower - The best one ever was in 1994 in Joshua Tree, California. There weren't any lights around for 40 miles. I saw about 20 per second or more... Wishing I had a camera like I do now!
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment. - Who hasn't?
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb - no but touched many, especially near Montreux.
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day.
- My accents change from where I'm living...
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states - No But I'm on about 38
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had/Have amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland - But I hope so soon!
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love - I'm not sure about this one, but probably
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your cds
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day - probably only once though~
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving - even in my parents pool!
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken - I'm still in love with P!
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 day
77. Made cookies from scratch - always!
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the snake river
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Gotten flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house - hope to one day.
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently - not fluent but close..
95. Performed in a Rocky Horror Picture Show
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favourite band/singer on tour
98. Passed out cold
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds.
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane -
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart - More than once
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a TV game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild -

118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper - yes swimmer of the month or something..
.129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Para-sailed -
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read “The Iliad”
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions - yup - been away
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you - hope soon!
145. Had a booth at a street fair

146. Dyed your hair - only once!
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life - being a swim instructor yes...

I think I digressed as the numbers went up...

It's Our First Anniversary

I'm posting this early for your enjoyment/laughs...

One year ago (Dec 10th) today, P (my handsome husband) and I got married at Bloedel Gardens in Vancouver, BC. It was a very small wedding with only our immediate families attending. Maybe some thought we were going to have a little one pop out, but a year later we have proved those theories wrong. We wanted it this way and were hoping to have immigration completed already. We still have a lot of waiting to go for that process. But Here are a set of never posted photos.

My favorite pic taken that night.

We won't be doing anything overly exciting this year. A nice dinner and time together is enough for me. Considering my early Christmas presents to myself consisted of a work permit and a medical check. They are definitely Pricier than most GREAT presents at that! I could afford a vacation at that cost in fact! Or a few days in a wonderful hotel.

But Time sure does fly! Here's a look at what I wrote last year. And a few pics from the wedding.

It's our time to celebrate. I still can't believe it's been a year. In that time, we have only grown fonder for each other and can't wait to spend time together every night after work. I'm wishing for more travels together in the next year. And yes P made sure to get my flowers already. He's so wonderful to me. :)

A Splash of Red

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Shot at Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver
So what is it? See below

This is a creation I did with my photo class. It was really cool to shoot but really I need more practice with it. I've thought about cropping it too. The subject itself looks like so many things.
Water makes a reflection of neon lights, thus the red reflection on a manhole.

By the way, Sunday is our First Anniversary. Come back and visit if you'd like to see some more photos. :)

Busy Busy Running

Laughs... Ok this one is just too funny.

I got the below from Christina who happens to have a great post from Dec. 6th.

Yesterday I felt like I was running around with my head cut off trying to finalize things. And today I have to get moving for our anniversary which is this weekend. I'm not saying much more than that because P read this.

You Are Dasher

You're an independent minded reindeer who never plays by the rules. Why You're Naughty: That little coup you tried to stage against Santa last year Why You're Nice: You secretly give naughty children presents.

Which of Santa's Reindeer Are You?

Oh dear, I think I'm in trouble!

I Finally Got AIP

Yesterday was a turning point. On one side of the world, CanadianSwiss became a TRP while on the other side of the world I became an AIP. How's that for acronyms! So let me explain.

Dear husband (P) called me while I was working yesterday afternoon, asking if he could open up my mail from the Immigration Center. What a question!!! So he proceeded to read the piece of mail over the phone stating we were "approved in principle" or AIP.

What AIP means to me is a huge relief off my shoulders since my work permit was expiring this weekend, which also just so happens to be our 1 anniversary. I can now work where ever I choose also. If I feel like it, I can start job searching as soon as my application is in the mail. I'm sending the application off this morning, after paying more fees. Once I finally land, I'll be able to travel outside of Canada again.

This is basically the milestone part of an inside spousal application where we have now essentially been approved for me to become a permanent resident of Canada. Now it's just waiting for the small stuff, which is just fine with me since I'm already operating just fine as is.

And just in case you were wondering, yes our case did take longer than normal already.

Here's the timeline:
Jan 26, 2006 application received
June 1, 2006 processing started
Sept 22, 2006 app moved locally
Nov 28, 2006 First Stage Approval (AIP)
(Please note it did take 2 people to approve us, and another full 2 months just to look at our application once again. It doesn't normally take this long, but probably resulted because of a stupid address mix up!!! How's that for assuming!)

Granville Island - Worth The Visit

Over the weekend, we had the pleasure of visiting Granville Island, thus getting my fix on seeing a few open markets. It's the artist area of Vancouver which never disappoints.

Since it was quite chilly outside, being inside and checking out all of the shops full of unique artwork was so appealing to both of us. This was as close to a Christmas market that I could find in Vancouver area. They even had some native Christmas singers.

We only had 2 hours to spend browsing and photographing. I wasn't really into the photographing part so there aren't many photos from the trip. But I did find a photographer who has given me even more inspiration to know that I should be printing and selling my work.

But I guess we saved the best for last because we ended up with 2 new pieces of artwork to hang on our walls. The most notable is P's favorite artist, Roy Henry Vickers, who happens to have a gallery in Tofino. P picks Roy's work out every time! I think he uses layers to complete his work. It's so impressive...

Roy Henry Vickers happens to be a native artist and recognized by the First Nations, along with being a featured part for the 2010 Olympic bid.

September Smoke is the name of the above work we bought. It's so impressive! This is what Roy wrote about the artwork.

September is one of the most beautiful months of the year. Those last days of summer, warm afternoons and cool evenings. In the high country of the Rocky Mountains the first frosts change the leaves of the aspen and maple to brilliant hues of red, orange and yellow. In September 1989 I had the opportunity to fulfill a 20 year dream of hunting on horseback in the high country. It took a few days of riding and evenings spent around the campfire to realize that my soul and spirit had yearned for this time in the high country.

Just too Geeky

I hate to admit that I've had a lot of fun this morning just browsing and figuring out neat features on some of my sites.

I finally figured out how to put a Flickr slide show presentation inside a post too. In addition, there is this slide show, as well as this single presentation. I'll have to change the set but at least I know it can be accomplished finally...

Stay tuned as you'll love the next presentation I'm sure! Really... I promise...

The Night Lights

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I had a hard time deciding on a photo so....

I think this is my favorite night photo from North Vancouver.

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend!

My Best Shot

Hi Guys - I've got to come up with my best photo. So I'd thought I'd enlist you guys for help.

Just click on the photo to go to the page to see the actual photo. Which one is the best shot? Why is it that way? I really don't know which one to pic.

Most categories include: nature, people, travel and animals.