Obsessed

I said it before... I'm obsessed with kitty nose closeups. This one was accidental though, I was trying to get a shot of his eye with the sun shining in it all beautifully. What resulted isn't something I'm going to complain about though!

Clarity

Ice Queen

A kitty, a vintage dress and a tarantula, oh my!

I woke naturally early and rested this morning, which was really great. The first few hours of my morning were spent drinking coffee and reading blogs, which was nice. Then I got a solid chunk of homework done before going to supper at my parents'. I've been doing really well this semester, keeping well ahead of due dates and handing in assignments weeks before they need to be done. It's really liberating and lets me relax much more easily.



My cat Caramel seems to think he is helping me by laying on my book. His handsome catness notwithstanding, I did manage to finish an assignment I'd really wanted to complete this weekend so I'm very happy about that.



I have a strange fixation with my cat's nose close up. It's just so gosh darned adorable, and I love it when he sniffs at my eyes and I get a close up view of his sniffer. The new camera I just purchased myself is great, but I really need to learn all its details so I can take full advantage of it - and not just take weird closeups of my cat's nose!

This is far from being a great photo of myself or my outfit but I haven't worn this dress in over a year, since the zipper broke. My mother replaced the zip for me, but I discovered upon wearing it that the hem was coming undone - hence the weird hemline - and then I jabbed a hole through the fabric with my thumb. Oops! Both those things will be easy to mend at least.


This is Pumpkin, my mature male Pamphobeteus sp. platyomma. He's almost 5 years old now, but he hasn't much longer to go. Eight months ago he achieved his ultimate molt and reached sexual maturity. Male spiders very rarely survive past this molt since they grow large bulbs at the ends of their pedipals that impeed any further possible molts.



Now he's completely stopped eating, which is why his abdomen is so small. That compounded with his excessive silk production to create his elaborate sperm web, and he's exhausted most of his energy. I don't expect he'll survive more than another month. I've watched him grow from a wee thing, barely an inch in size and now he's this big seven inch fella. I'll be sad to see him go... Goodnight <3

Deep Fried Love

I was the Maitre D in the dining room today, and I was completely surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I'd really liked being a captain, taking orders from the restaurant guests and working with my subordinate runner to serve the diners a wonderful meal. My experience as a runner though, was less than positive, although that was largely due to my captain having made several rather large mistakes that I was then stuck attempting to remedy. All that to say, I was apprehensive before we opened our doors this morning. Now I would be happy to do it again.

I wasn't certain how I felt about our dining room duties for half the semester but I'm really glad I get to experience this. It's helping me figure out what I want to do, where I want to go. It's definitely helping my confidence in my ability to achieve my dream of someday running my own little place. Seems I do a lot better in positions of direction and instruction than I do working under others, but that was something I basically already knew.

This was my supper tonight. I am still loving my deep fryer, having made several delicious things with it since receiving it at Christmas. My homemade hand-breaded chicken fingers came out beautifully and tasted great. I overdressed the salad, but it was still very good too. It's a warm fried-potato salad, with heirloom tomatoes and baby spinach, and a garlic mayo dressing. Now I'm going to relax, digest, and watch some Fringe. Cheers!

Sniff Sniff

No Smiling

Yesterday was a hard day. Smiling wasn't something I really felt like doing when taking the photos. I often prefer my face without smiling lately, just something about neutral features that I find interesting.

I've been hooked on Iron and Wine for the last few months. His voice just sweeps me off my feet, and the songs are so beautiful. I don't think there's yet a song on any of his albums that I don't adore.

Several hours after taking those first photos, I got to spot-cleaning snake tanks and doing other pet related activities, and they got my smile out. Trust creatures to bring a smile to my face, no matter the occasion!

Behind The Glass

For the past few years I've worn contacts, but recently returned to wearing glasses. I own two very different pairs; one light coloured and thin-rimmed, and this thick rimmed dark pair. The option between the two is nice because my outfits don't always suit the one pair or other. This outfit was built around the glasses, incidentally, since it was my first time wearing them out in a long time and I had green foresty tones on the brain.

Wearing drastically different glasses makes me feel a little like I'm wearing a disguise, it's fun. I have a sneaking suspicion that my general personal appearance is beginning another changing phase. That might just be winter's effect on me though, and the glasses make me feel so very different. I suppose I'll just have to wait and see what the year has in store for me, and my style. Cheers!

Quiche Me Softly

Eggs are one of my favourite foods but I was never too taken with quiche, until I went to Paris in August last year. My sustenance during my time there was quiche, croissants, pastries and fruit. Those Parisian quiches are really what sparked my love affair with the food and they've been a staple in my diet ever since.

Mine pale in comparison to those I sampled while in France, but they certainly still hit the spot. Not having eaten any in a while, and with all the snow this Sunday, I took the opportunity and made ham and tomato mini quiches, and a large vegetable and ham quiche. My tummy will definitely appreciate it when comes lunch time at school this week. Cheers!

Colour My Life

I'm a colourful person, I like bright, lively things. My home definitely expresses this. I don't know how people can live in homes with no colour, no personality. My home is where my true whimsy expresses itself... where pigs can fly!

I simply can't feel at home without being surrounded by colour. It's comforting, all the little details, all the colours and shapes and textures. I fill my home with the things I desire, the things that bring me joy, and things that hold dear memories.

This kind of living is another large reason why I don't share a home with anyone else. Most people I've met live in these depressing, bland places devoid of any sort of real personal touches. It makes me lonely to be someplace dominated by bare walls and emptiness. I keep hoping someday I'll maybe find a trustworthy, hygienic hippie friend with whom I could make a home. But until then, I live in this kaleidoscopic wonderland with just my thoughts as company.

Winter Quiet

I'm not a fan of winter, but I can't deny its harsh beauty, especially in the deep country. There's just something about that quiet hush, when everything is covered in a thick layer of snow. It's like the world is sleeping, and my soul calms itself a little. The only sounds are the snow crunching under my feet and the occasional muffled whump when a branch sheds itself of a snowy burden somewhere in the thick of the forest.

Winter just makes me yearn for a log cabin somewhere deep in the woods. Someplace I can tuck away during the snowy months, and enjoy peace and rest. Someday I hope to achieve something like that, even if it has to be by myself. At the age of twenty five now, it's painfully obvious to me that I'm the odd one. Not ever having a serious relationship as an adult weighs on me at times, but I'm resigned to it now.

I'm at a point in my life where it feels like I'm not ever going to have a real adult relationship. While I know that pretty much anybody who goes a while without a loving partner follows this train of thought at some time or other, I really believe it. I don't know how to do it.  I'm not even very good at friendships, to be honest, so the idea of somehow managing to find, build and maintain a romantic loving relationship just seems completely impossible to me. I'm sailing the sea of life alone, but I've always been independent from lack of any other option. This in turn created a cycle of individual existence from which I can't break free. I'm out of strength to fight the current, and I'm just going to be swept out with the tide. But that's alright... the lonely open ocean doesn't frighten me.