Skiing

Today I went cross-country skiing. The last few weeks have been alternating between melting and freezing, but we got a few centimetres of snow this weekend, so I gave it a try. It wasn't bad.

I was happy that my ski boots fit my foot - I've had some issues due to the hardware that's still in my ankle.

I saw one other non-dinosaur skier, but it was pretty quiet.

The dinosaurs had a good time, too.

Women's March

I was sick this week. I was off work for two days, and probably should have been off longer. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to take the dinosaurs out at all.

But I was feeling better yesterday, so the dinosaurs and I went downtown to the Women's March. I checked the website on Friday night, and apparently 700 people were planning to attend.

I was late, and there were at least seven people on my bus who went to the march.

The final numbers ended up being between 6-8000.

Amazingly, that was not my sign.

It was definitely worth going.

Dinosaurs on the hill

After work today, I got on a bus going downtown and walked over to Parliament hill. The dinosaurs and I explored.

They made some friends.

Saw some impressive sights.

And, in general, had a blurry time.

(I know one of the dinosaurs is a dragon, but she's a little self-conscious about it, so I don't mention it often.)

Spice racks

My spice cabinet has been bugging me for a while. Back in November, I started trying different solutions.

I started with dollar store baskets and command hooks. They didn't really work, because the baskets were wider at the top than at the bottom, so they tipped. In a workaround, I added rolled up shelf cover, but it was hardly a success.

I built some shelves out of scrap wood and downing. They were a little better, but I had issues attaching them to the cupboard. I tried cup hooks, which resulted in a bunch of half cup hooks in the cupboard.

I bought permanent sticking tape and attached the shelves.

That's when I discovered they were half an inch too long.

I took them apart and made them narrower, then attached them with the tape.

It got more humid, and one of them expanded just enough that the cupboard didn't close. And then the permanent sticking tape failed to live up to its name, so the top ones started sagging.

Today I screwed eye hooks into the shelves, reapplied the tape, and then screwed them into the door.

It's finally done.

2017 Resolution

Late in 2016, I started thinking that I should maybe leave the house more. In 2008, I was pretty good at getting out and doing things around town, and, since this is the 150th anniversary of Canadian confederation, there are going to be a lot of things going on this year.

And then I saw a post on the internet of someone who went on vacation and took pictures with toy dinosaurs in them, and thought "why not combine the two?"

So this year, I am going to do something outside of my regular routine every week. (I realize it may not be achievable every week, but that's the goal.) And then I'm going to take a dinosaur picture of it.

The rules:
- it doesn't have to be something totally new, just something I don't do on a regular basis. So building a rocking chair wouldn't count, because I regularly build things, but sitting in a giant rocking chair somewhere would count.
- it can be solitary/with people I see all the time OR it can be in the house/yard, but not both.

I had considered going out and building a snowman today, but it's cold and dry, so the snow's not really suitable. Instead, I took a walk over to the local playground, since I've never done that in winter.

It was a really small thing, but the sun is shining and I found my mood improving as I walked.