Don't do anything I wouldn't do...

Hah!

The family has reportedly gone zip-lining, the definition of which is (pulled from Wikipedia):

A zip-line (also known as a flying fox, zip wire, aerial runway, aerial ropeslide, death slide[!] or tyrolean crossing [particularly apt in this case!]) consists of a pulley suspended on a cable mounted on an incline. It is designed to enable a user propelled by gravity to traverse from the top to the bottom of the inclined cable, usually made of stainless steel, by holding on or attaching to the freely moving pulley.

Say whaaaaaaaat?

The important point is they lived through it.

Couldn't resist...

Too funny!

AWOL

Okay, it's not the first time. But this time I've taken action and removed the link to my blog from my website. It's no good proclaiming by my reticence:

a) how boring I am;
b) how little I have to say;
c) how busy I am; or
d) how great a procrastinator I am.

(I'm not sure which is true. Perhaps I should have added an "all of the above" option.)

While John and Kassie are bumming around England and Europe, I plan to do a great many neglected things, one of which may be (see, procrastinator extraordinaire) to finally join Facebook and LinkedIn. I'll report back if I do one or both.

In the meantime, enjoy the summer, such that it is. (I'll never get through the coming winter if it doesn't stop RAINING!) Take care now.

Earth hour

We spent the hour playing the board game Life in the living room surrounded by candles. It was probably Kassie's favourite Saturday night in a long time. I snuck a peak outside, both in the front and in back, and every single house in the neighbourhood was lit up — porch lights on, lights inside, even the street lights. (Wasn't the city going to turn off street lamps?)

I wondered if we'd got our dates mixed up. Oh well, even if we did, it was great fun!

BSG...we've come a long way

Battlestar Galactica then...

and now...

Kinda fitting that the last cover depicts Baltar, Caprica 6, and Starbuck together.

What did you think of the two-hour finale? Not everyone in our family room felt the series reached a satisfying resolution. Me, on the other hand, I got most of my questions answered and I thought the conclusion rang true to the spirit of the show.

My only question is what next to watch on television. Dare I hope to catch an episode of Fringe any time soon? A quick google seems to hint at an April 7th return (see wikipedia). That's some hiatus!

Last ski day

Kassie and John had their last day of skiing last weekend. Here's a shot before they started...

...and one après-ski:

March Break

There's nothing like March break for updating the much-neglected blog and, most importantly, for some quality family time. John had a reception at Parliament Hill Tuesday night, so Kassie and I, both of us on vacation, decided to tag along.

The weather didn't come close to rivalling either Mexico or California (the previous years' March destinations) but we had fun wandering around the Byward market area, taking in the Group of Seven at the National Gallery (not to mention happening upon Rossetti's The Salutation of Beatrice), and touring the Parliament's Centre Block.

Certainly every Canadian should visit Parliament Hill. I'd been before but I must confess I was grateful for a reminder of the different roles played by the House of Commons and Senate in Canadian decision-making. I (re)learned as much as Kassie. If you go, definitely take in a tour and don't forget to visit the Peace Tower (watch for a glimpse of the bells on the way up/down) and the Memorial Chamber.

SYTYCD Canada finale

The 15-city tour finished in Kingston the weekend of February 21-22nd and we were there with bells on! It was Kassie's long-awaited Christmas present and the show was spectacular.

The top 10 dancers from the TV show So You Think You Can Dance Canada took turns introducing the acts — a nice touch — and performed such favourites (in my opinion) as Breaking Dishes featuring Kaitlyn and Izaak, and Nico and Natalli's memorable Knock on Wood. In fact, there were at least two Melissa Williams' numbers, two Mika songs, and at least one Mia Michaels' group number. Not bad!