Hooray for Raw Cookie Dough

I've been feeling tonight that I should do something creative. But the most creative thing I've managed to do tonight is bake a batch of chocolate chip cookies. And I only really did that because I wanted to eat some raw cookie dough. Yum!

My canoing tomorrow night was cancelled. There was a pesticide spill last week into the creek that feeds into the marsh, so they have cancelled/post-poned the canoeing. Unfortunately, there is not much they can do about the spill aside from letting it dilute in the marsh and bay and letting the chemicals break down naturally. I have signed up for five of these tours, and so far, out of three, two have been cancelled.

I've installed Skype on my computer, so if any of my friends out there are Skype users, look me up. I installed it primarily because Little Sister leaves for Malawi in two days and she uses it. Speaking of friends, I have been looking up people from my past-- both highschool and first uni-- on Facebook. It's strange to see how people have changed and what they are up to these days. Of course, most people just add you to your list without too much conversation, but it is nice to catch up.

European Threat Levels According to Crunkmale

Courtesy of Crunkmale.

The English are feeling the pinch in relation to recent terrorist threats and have raised their security level from "Miffed" to "Peeved". Soon, though, security levels may be raised yet again to "Irritated" or even "A Bit Cross". Londoners have not been "A Bit Cross" since the blitz began in 1940 and tea supplies all but ran out. Terrorists have been re-categorized from "Tiresome" to "A Bloody Nuisance". The last time the British issued "A Bloody Nuisance" warning level was during the great fire of 1666.

Also, the French government announced yesterday that it has raised its terror alert level from "Run" to "Hide". The only two higher levels in France are "Collaborate" and "Surrender." The rise was precipitated by a recent fire that destroyed France's white flag factory, effectively paralysing the country's military capability.

It's not only the English and French who are on a heightened level of alert. Italy has increased the alert level from "Shout Loudly and Excitedly" to "Elaborate Military Posturing." Two more levels remain: "Ineffective Combat Operations" and "Change Sides." The Germans also increased their alert state from "Disdainful Arrogance" to "Dress in Uniform and Sing Marching Songs." They also have two higher levels: "Invade a Neighbour" and "Lose".

Belgians, on the other hand, are all on holiday as usual, and the only threat they are worried about is NATO pulling out of Brussels.

The Spanish are all excited to see their new submarines ready to deploy. These beautifully designed subs have glass bottoms so the new Spanish navy can get a really good look at the old Spanish navy.

Little Sister's Off to Africa!

I forgot to mention--congratulations to Little Sister! Funding for her mission trip to Africa has finally come through and she leaves for Malawi the first of August. I have added a link to her blog at the side of the page. Not sure what all she is doing--something for the SIM mission agency in their offices--but I'm so proud of her. Kinda wish I were going, too--mission trips are fun, challenging and life-changing events. She'll be gone for nine months, which can be a long time when you're having a bad day, but I know she'll be awesome.

Paddling

Does how you paddle your canoe reflect who you are? I don't know, but I do know that I like being in control. In fact, canoeing is best done as a solitary activity, in my opinion. But any canoeing is better than no canoeing at all, and since coming back from vacation I've been canoeing twice.

The first canoe--and the first time my own paddle went in the water--was a Tuesday evening canoe tour of a local marsh. The tour is offered through the Royal Botanical Gardens and involves canoeing with a bunch of other people for two and a half hours. I am going on the tour two more times this summer (weather permitting). As long as I get to steer, I'm happy. The next tour is next Tuesday and I'm taking one of my neighbours as a sort of thank you for taking care of Muggs and my plants for me at various times.

My second canoe was on Sunday. I went with the uni's outdoorclub and we rented canoes for a 25 kilometres down the Grand River, from Cambridge to Paris. It was my first experience with moving water and was excellent. Now I want to try something a little more challenging. I steered the first half of the trip and then allowed my canoe partner the honour for the second half of the trip. There were eight of us--four canoes--and it was a nice size of group. I didn't know anyone but everyone was nice and friendly. We did some body surfing in one of the faster parts of the river. I was a little nervous at first, but after doing it once I did it again. It was a lot of fun floating down the river and the water was nice and warm. Of course, I did get some bruises from the rocks but, unusually for me, nothing major. Needless to say, though, six hours of canoeing left my body sore and I'm still recovering. I hope someday I can do a week-long trip down the South Saskatchewan, but who knows if my body would ever be able to handle that.

I have been busy with scrapbooking since I got back from vacation. I now have all my vacation photos scrapbooked and have even got other photos done as well. It's a little pricey getting started, but since I already do a lot of paper crafts (when I have time/energy), it was only a matter of time until I succumbed. I have also been busy researching the family tree--it started as a favour for my mom, but now I'm also curious myself and have been adding pages and pages to my scrapbook documenting my 'pedigree.'

I Heart Saskatchewan

Six Days in Saskatchewan

Highlights of my trip:

1. canoeing (albeit for only an hour and a half) on a gorgeous lake
2. being bitten by mosquitos
3. being bitten by horseflies the size of Mac trucks
4. running over a gopher
5. private after-hours tour of the Museum of Antiquities at the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon
6. staying with family friends in Saskatoon
7. visiting the Duck Lake Regional Interpretive Centre
8. visiting Pion-era at the Western Development Museum in Saskatoon with my dad-- he is a walking historical agriculture encyclopedia
9. dinner at the Berry Barn in Saskatoon
10. meeting the dean of graduate studies at U Sask-- they are friends of our hosts
11. just being in Saskatchewan
12. oh, yes, my sister's wedding at Candle Lake

Why I want to move to Saskatoon:

1. big, open skies
2. hot summer days--lots of sun but no humidity (Saskatoon is, apparently, one of the sunniest places in Canada)
3. no smog
4. a gorgeous river (the South Saskatchewan) that just begs for a week-long canoe trip
5. in fact, lots of gorgeous rivers and lakes that beg for canoeing
6. loooooong days
7. a beautiful university (but, alas, no graduate classics programme... or I would be there in a heartbeat.)

I will expand more on my trip later, when I'm rested and recovered from my vacation. I have decided to start a scrapbook, now that I take hundreds of pictures on my digital camera.