From A Chromebook

I leave this Saturday for the island where I'll be working for the next 9 weeks. Since I use a desktop PC at home, but still wanted to be able to do basic computer stuff and have somewhere to upload photos, I made the decision to buy a Chromebook.

This whole post was done on my Chromebook, from uploading and editing the photos to writing the actual post. I'm still getting used to the different OS. Not to mention going back to a touchpad and not reaching for the mouse every two seconds.
The choke cherries and crab apple trees are in bloom. I'm keeping a bouquet of them on the sill in my kitchen. In a few more days the lilacs in my front yard will be blooming too. I'm glad I get to see them before I go.

   

I'm both apprehensive and excited to start work. It'll be a big change since I've been off school since late April and going back to working 6 days a week will be pretty intense. It'll be doing what I love though, in an amazing place, so I can't complain. Cheers!

Tiny Petals

I bought this dress in the middle of winter for a pittance, and it's great finally getting to wear it. It's made in a way that I don't need to wear a bra and I am so taking advantage of that because that's a rare thing indeed for me.

Summer seems to have arrived all of a sudden, practically skipping right over Spring. The sun is out and it's getting hot. There were barely leaves on the trees at the beginning of last week, and now everything is lush and green and alive.

 

I'm taking a day trip tomorrow up to the island where I'll be working this summer. The camp director will show me the kitchen and grounds, and where I'll be staying. I'm really anxious to see my kitchen and where I'll be working my trade. It's exciting! Cheers!

Camping

This past Friday, I packed up my van with gear and headed out camping. Unfortunately for me, there was a rowdy and rude group of youths there with ATVs and a sound system they seemed to think everybody wanted to listen to, so I left a day early. It's difficult to relax when you have 7 motorized vehicles tearing around the campsite in the day and pop music playing until all hours of the night so loud you can't even hear the frogs or loons...

I had some peace, when they all left to go tear around on their noisy machines elsewhere for a few hours. I even took a swim in the lake. The water was very cold, but clear, and it felt wonderful after sitting in the hot sun. And I just love sitting in the hot sun again to warm and dry off. I did get a bit of a sunburn, but ah well! I also thoroughly enjoyed my camp food. I brought homemade soup in baggies to reheat, and boiled up tasty eggs.

 

I ran around barefoot basically from the get go, the ground was covered in a soft mat of pine needles so it was easy on my feet. I hadn't thought to bring a bathing suit so I just stripped down to my skivvies and went in like that, which suited me fine. There were hardly any biting bugs to bother me so I spent the majority of the day barely clothed, just how I like it.

 

While it was a less than ideal first camping trip of the year, I still enjoyed it. Hopefully my next go will really give me some peace and solitude. Cheers!

Hummingbird Cake

It was my father's birthday this week and I baked him up a cake I'd never tried before. While I have no trouble spending 6 hours on one dessert confection, I was looking for something simple and quick this time around. Hummingbird cake to the rescue! A dense, flavourful cake made with bananas, pineapple and loads of delicious pecans. It's so simple you just need two bowls; one for the dry, one for the wet (okay technically 3 if you count one for the cream cheese icing) and the most involved part is chopping the pecans and I just used the little mini-processor attachment on my immersion blender to do that. This cake was so delicious! I highly recommend it if you need a great cake in a pinch. Cheers!

First Fish

Last Sunday was a lovely day. My parents and I went fishing, our first real successful trip of the year. We caught several pike that afternoon as well as several dozen tasty little catfish after nightfall.

After I cleaned two of the pike, we had a little fish fry on their tailgate. There's nothing tastier than eating fish so fresh it was swimming just hours ago. Especially when you're the one who caught and cleaned it! Cheers!

Wild Flowers

Dance

There've been a chain of rain and thunderstorms here lately, so I've been staying in listening to music and dancing around my living room. Maybe if I dance enough I might actually start slimming down again...

Psytrance isn't for everybody, and even I'll admit that SUN Project is on the slightly cheesy side of things. It just speaks to my soul and makes me groove around no matter the circumstances. Cheers!

Water and Sky

I went to my parents' early Mother's Day morning and I cooked up a delicious fresh waffle breakfast for my mother. There was fresh whipped cream and strawberry compote and everything! From there we headed off on what was meant to be a fishing trip but turned into more of an exploratory trip than anything else.

I found a perfect spot to go camping right by this lake. The site is on Crown Land, but it's monitored by the MNR and they help maintain cleanliness and order so that crazy drunken rowdies don't ruin it for others. Who needs a cabin with plumbing and electricity at a cost when you can camp down the road in your comfy tent for free, right?

I've got some personal matters that need tending to before I can go out camping - there's no cell reception and I need to be in touch with some people for a while - but I figure next week! After the May long weekend I should be able to go, and hopefully there will be less rain and warmer temperatures and I might even be able to go for a swim. Cheers!

Bare Face

I haven't been bothering to wear any makeup these last few days. It began with my just being too stressed and busy due to some irritating tax related issues, and then I just didn't care anymore. I don't really like how I look without it - basically sickly pale, exhausted and spotty - but eh.

I've been wearing a lot of my old office-era shoes around the apartment. I have nowhere else to wear them so I may as well enjoy them a little bit! Cheers...

Slow Bloom

Calendar spring may have been weeks ago but it's blooming slowly here in northern Ontario. Grass is only just starting to sprout up while the trees are still bare. I'm figuring in another week or so things will look much more legitimately springlike.

As I was busy taking photos, a doe silently leapt into a nearby clearing. I froze instantly, since deer react to movement. I watched her carefully trace her way across the clearing, delicately stepping through puddles of melted snow. Unfortunately for me I was upwind from her and my scent had her high-tailing it into deeper brush before I could get a good photo.

It's nice being able to finally take photos outside again. Things are still pretty soggy so there's no way I could be out here on a day after rain, but occasional excursions are better than nothing!

 

Pretty soon I'll be able to take my summer frocks from storage and have fun with what will feel like new clothing all over again. There's perks to your clothes being stored away for 6 months out of the year! I hope you're having a great weekend. Cheers!