A MEME OF FOUR'S

My friend Michael over at Popcultureinstitute http://popcultureinstitute.blogspot.com
has challenged me to a meme about "4's". Seems a good way to pass away another afternoon indoors where I've been recuperating from a nasty chest cold that has laid me low for a week now. So here goes: and I might challenge you too!

FOUR JOBS I'VE HAD:
1. scraping carrots in a cannery (my first job, age 16. lasted til the first payday then I left. Never ate another canned carrot after that!)
2. copy-runner in the editorial department of the Vancouver Sun. Had dreams of becoming a crime reporter. Ended up in charge of crime files in the news library. Best job ever!
3. file clerk in the office of a moving/storage company. Ditto. Boring! (left cause I was pregnant)
4. Daycare supervisor in various inner city daycares/preschools. Finally retired after more than 33 years.

FOUR MOVIES I COULD WATCH OVER AND OVER
1. Shirley Valentine (She's my gal!)
2. Hideous Kinky (loved those kids and it was even more precious as it was a true story)
3. Under the Sheltering Sky
4. Alexander (in spite of critics, I've seen it 3 times and just bought the DVD)

FOUR PLACES I'VE LIVED
1. I was born in Estevan but remember Lloyminster Sask. the most
2. Stratford Ontario (I lived here during the war at my Grandpa's)
3. Edmonton Alta.
4. Athens, Greece (my second home. I'd return in a heart-beat!)

FOUR PEOPLE WHO EMAIL ME REGULARLY
1. Anne
2. Judy
3. Cheryl
4. Rei

FOUR TV SHOWS THAT I WATCH
1. The 6 pm or 11 pm news on CTV
2. The Daily Show
3. Sometimes the History Channel
4. Sometimes Leno or Letterman

FOUR PLACES I'D LIKE TO BE RIGHT NOW
1. Athens
2. any of the Greek islands
3. London Eng
4. Wales

FOUR FAVORITE FOODS
1. BBQ chicken
2. tortellini with 4 cheeses and prawns
3. mushroom/cheese burger
4. roast lamb

FOUR PLACES I HAVE VISITED
1. England/Wales/Scotland/Ireland (Dublin)
2. Greece (and many of the islands)
3. Turkey
4. Morocco

FOUR EVENTS I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS YEAR
1. finishing my novel!!!!!
2. making some money from my travel web site
3. my grandson's graduation from university in Santa Barbara CA
4. my visit to Argentina and Chile with Patrick next Nov.

FOUR PEOPLE WHO SHOULD POST FOUR THINGS
1. Sam
2. Debra
3. Gabriel
4. Marie

OK, there ya go, Michael. That kept me occupied for a little while. I've been too fuzzy-brained to work on my novel lately so maybe little bits of fluffy fun like this will help get those creative juices flowing again!

SPRING EQUINOX

This is the first day of Spring and these were the early signs of what it should look like. Cherry blossoms in bloom.

But this is what it looked like today. Somewhat barren and cold. Spring is here! Why doesn't my heart go dancing?
I had to go downtown to my Memoir group this morning. It was cold, raining and I have come down with a nasty chest cold and cough.
It didn't seem much like the Springtimes I recall from the past. Yet, we on the coast are lucky. Back East they are still up to their armpits in snow!

Today we were writing about the first day of Spring. And this is what I wrote:

On this first day of Spring 2008, I'm longing for sunshine and warmth but instead there's a chill in the air and it's been raining, the skies a gloomy grey. Springtime has always been a time of renewal for me -- as a child livingint he East, it meant shedding the snow suits, bring out the new Spring wardrobe -- quite often made by my mother who was an expert seamstress. I recall skipping down the street in a dreww and cardigan, wearing knee socks instead of those long cotton leotards. Spring broughtout the skipping ropes, jacks, bolo-bats and marbles. Today, it's bringing out th eumbrellas -- again!

There are flowers blooming in some gardens -- the usual crocus and daffs that herald the Spring. The cherry blossoms are just beginnng to bloom and I've seen new leaves sprouting on tree branches. Still, it doesn't seem very "spring-like". Rain here, snow in the East. Spring must be near though as I've heard song birds trilling and usually the birds know when it's time to start nesting (even though the trees are still bare.)

I'm still wearing my winter coat and my wardrobe seems drab and somewhat threadbare. Perhaps if I replentish it, I'd feel more like I did in those choldhood days when I went off to school or to the park on Easter Sunday dolled up in my fancy new Spring clothes. Perhaps if I did some "Spring cleaning" of my house and wardrobek, I'd capture the real spirit of the season. The calendar says Mrch 20th, "Spring Equinox" and it can't be wrong. But to me, Spring still seems a long way off!

DOWN WITH THE FOOD POLICE!

This is me indulging in my favorite Thursday noon past-time on the Art Gallery bench.

There was a story in the paper last week that someone in City Council is lobbying to have the laws changed for street vendors -- that the good old hot-dog stands have to start serving more 'nutritious' food. Here we go again...first the perfume police scolding you if you dare scent yourself up, now the food police telling us what we should be eating! Every Thursday noon when I'm coming home up Robson St. from my Memoir class, I stop at the vendors and buy a Smokie, with fried onions and sauerkraut with a few dill pickles for trim; an iced tea and a little bag of chips which I may or may not eat right then, likely will save for later. This is my lunch-time snack. I sit on the cement bench of the Art Gallery at the corner across the street and enjoy my lunch while people-watching. Sometimes there are even street entertainers to provide some music or magic while I relax and have my delicious lunch. If I wanted a banana or an apple, I'd likely have brought one from home in my back-pack. If I want to buy fruit, I'll get it at the corner grocery. Or, if they really want to do a good deed to the folks who buy street food, they might consider fruit carts as well as hot-dog stands. But I don't think the hot-dog stands need to be selling fruit and 'nutritious' foods. Anyway, what's not 'nutritious' about an all-beef Smokie wiener, or a turkey hot-dog?

Really, all this 'political correctness' and do-gooding is going a bit far these days. I can agree with taking junk food out of the school (although the kids will get it anyway, at the corner store or local fast-food place). I also agree with the banning of trans-fats and anything else like that which is detrimental to a person's health. But please...don't take away my Smokies and sauerkraut!

A MOMENT IN TIME TO REFLECT

This is a meme using six words. "A moment in time to reflect"
The purpose is to write a six word memoir. Post it to include a visual, if you like, and forward it to the person who tagged me. (I'm seinding the tag to Marie although she didn't really 'tag' me. I found out about it on her blog. And then, if you like, you tage five more people and nvite them to reply.

I tag Marie
Samantha
Adrian
Daisy
Sally
and
Gabriele