My City

I really do adore Ottawa!

Sun Worshiper

I came home from the lab early today; I really needed a nap after two sleepless nights in a row. I found Bailie laying on the corner of the spare bed in our computer room, taking up what was left of a patch of sun coming through the window that was no bigger than she was. She looked pretty cute and since I didn't have another photo plan, today you get to see Bailie getting a tan :)

This one cracks me up - you can tell she was stretching right out because even her toes are spread apart! :)

I'm sad that I cut her ears off of this last shot but I just had to post it anyway. She's looking at me with such intensity, which is quite a change from her normal cutie-pie disposition!

Just around the corner??

Spring - that is!!
I'm so tired of snow! I'm cheating a bit because I didn't take these photos today but I chose them for a reason. Pretty soon the vines will again be covered with leaves and there will be children eating snacks at the picnic tables....or at least I hope so!

It's not flowers in bloom.... :)

It's been a while since I posted any 'snow' pics and since it's snowing again.....

Lumpia....and garlic.

Lumpia is a Guamaniam egg roll - essentially. My sister-in-law's mom's family is from there....
We were sent some of these treats after Christmas and we only got around to frying them up last night. SO GOOD.

This last picture confuses me. I was fiddling around with the lighting (I was in my kitchen and was trying to compensate for the incandescent light) and somehow took this picture with a blue tinge. When I tried to do it again just to see if I could remember what I had done I, of course, was unable to do so. Anyone have any idea what I did?? :)
The garlic and lemon were for tilapia filets....

Courthouse

Strangely, both Alycia and I have posted courthouses this weekend....
This one is in Perth; I find it looks eerie in this photo...which is kinda why I like it!

What a Girl Wants....

...what a girl needs....
When I saw this I couldn't help myself; I wish I'd had time to run in to see what they sold!

Lunar Eclipse

I'm a day late getting these posted but the eclipse was much later for us than it was out west and I just didn't have the energy to do anything last night. I went to my parent's house with my new - and soon to be returned to the store - tripod to make my best attempt at photographing the eclipse. I have learned that good equipment is absolutely crucial...let's just say that the tripod I bought (the last in the store, I should add) was garbage and not much better than holding the camera myself.
Anyway, I arrived just as the first blip in the gorgeous full moon could be seen so I had to work fast if I wanted to capture the whole thing. I struggled with the settings for a long time and eventually I just set the ISO to 400 and chose the shutter-priority auto setting in which the camera would choose the correct aperture for the shutter speed I set (1/25). That seemed to work all right although I think I would make some changes next time. Lastly, it occurred to me that using the self-timer would be a good idea and that proved to be my best choice of the night given the cheapness of my tripod!! :)
So, without further ado, here is what I shot last night. I wasn't able to capture much following the eclipse as the moon became visible again because by that point my camera had been in super-cold temperatures for over 2 hours and it drained my battery. I had a spare but my urge to be warm and in bed overpowered my willingess to spend another second outside in the dark.
I would welcome tips and advice for next time from anyone who knows what they're talking about :) :) :)

Winter Wonderland

These were two other considerations for this week's contest.

Keep Away

Don't get too close...these look pretty sharp!

Falling Ice

It seems like we never get a break; today it's a wicked freezing rain storm. This is the back of my car about 10 minutes into it!

Winterlude

Brannon and I dragged ourselves out of bed early this morning to beat the crowds to Confederation Park; I knew if there were a bajillion people there I wouldn't get anywhere near the ice sculptures in order to take some pictures. It was still a struggle though with the bright sunlight and the fact that they are made of ice and are obviously transparent. I was very impressed by the craftmanship and artistry of some of the work. I took ~50 photos so here are a few. I'd like to find some time to play with some image-editing software but I know it'll take me hours/days to figure them out so you get plain old pics again today....

The Viking Ship

Our Inukshuk

Just to make you jealous of our Beavertails....it wasn't even open yet :(

I forget it's significance but still love the photo...oops!

I thought the Ghost Rider was pretty neat....

There's gotta be a polar bear.....I liked the way the sun shone on/through it.

They showcased a lot of Native art; it's hard to tell but this is an ice carving too.

They even had a dinosaur kingdom....very cool! Believe it or not, this is a replica of the T. rex in the Museum of Nature (Ottawa).

Candles burning in the ice at the ice cafe where the bar and furniture are all made of ice!

Polar Express

Valentine's Sushi

So Brannon and I celebrated Valentine's Day together tonight - one day late.
I left our plans entirely up to him and he didn't disappoint. He's not a big fan (actually he's not a fan at all) of sushi but I really enjoy it and don't get to indulge often so that's what we had. He strategically chose a place where he could find lots of cooked things too :)
We had a lovely dinner at 'Festival Japan' and really enjoyed the service we received from our waitress, Metallica (yup, that was her name). I had a sushi/sashimi assorted platter and Brannon opted for steak and scallops...lol. We even had dessert - deep-fried green tea ice cream. An interesting dish to say the least......
Anyway, here are some pics from our dinner out. I could only take a few since Brannon was embarrassed of me and my camera...lol.

Can always count on Mom

Don't let this pretty card fool you.....
Brannon and I aren't spending Valentine's Day together because he's out-of-town playing hockey. That's right - Thursday is hockey night. No exceptions. Not even for Valentine's Day.
You might think that even though we're not together tonight, that my new hubby might have left me a little something.....but that's a big fat NOPE. He wished me a Happy Valentine's Day as he walked out the door this morning but that's it - no card, no nothing. Bah-Humbug; I think I should be allowed to use that expression today :)
Just to be clear, this is all a bit tongue-in-cheek. I think we're going out together tomorrow night for dinner and a movie which is something we (believe it or not) have NEVER done.....
However, still wanting to post something pertaining to the the big day I'm posting pics of the one valentine I (we) did receive.....and it's from my mom. So, it is in fact true, someone is thinking of me. I can always count on my mom.....

By the way, Barnie and BJ are their dogs; my baby boys.....

Best in Show

Last night was the Westminster Kennel Club's 2008 Dog Show, in which the sweetheart little beagle won Best in Show (he was my favourite....really), so when I came across this little cutie sitting outside of a store I thought he (??) would make the the perfect little model for my blog entry today.

In case you're interested in what last night's little winner looks like here is a photo I swiped off the website. I absolutely was not there to take pictures :)
He may be a simple, common little beagle but he pranced around the ring looking so proud! It was adorable and I'm not usually into dog shows....

Tower of Unknown Function

I have seen this tower so many times, yet I have no idea what it's for, or even what it used to be for.