Monday, December 29, 2008

Of Christmas weather and the 99 meme


Well Christmas is over and we finally have a ceiling in the kitchen.... yeah. The weather has been really awful here in the last week. On the 24 there was 20 cm of snow which quickly changed to freezing rain then into rain and more rain. Then last weekend we had freezing rain again on Saturday, that iced everything down which changed to rain and more rain until Sunday. Sunday night there were 60 km hour winds that were gusting up to 90 km an hour in places. In fact the winds were so strong that it blew out the windows in two office buildings, ripped off roofs, caused a brick wall to collapse and 71000 people were without power as a result, luckily we weren't part of that group. Also as a result of the warm weather of +12 to 16 Celsius the snow has melted and rivers are close to overflowing.... and this is only December.

Now on to a lighter vein. This meme has been going around so I decided to give it a try since I am not really feeling inspired tonight. Thanks to Ian, citizen and geewits. BOLD = done it, RED = never and GREEN = haven't done it but intent to.

1. Started your own blog
(Well I'm writing one at the moment so I guess so.)
2. Slept under the stars (Always loved camping and also during my stint in the army)
3. Played in a band (Zero musical ability)
4. Visited Hawaii (Went to Nepal, Ecuador, Ireland, the UK, France, the Dominican Republic but not Hawaii)
5. Watched a meteor shower (Plenty of times the Pleiads are the best)
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/Disney World (Never been and don't intend to.)
8. Climbed a mountain (Does hiking up to the base of Everest count? I have climbed/hiked to the summit of many mountains but nothing that required technical rope work.)
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo (Can't sing to save my life.)
11. Bungee jumped (Nope and I don't intend to.)
12. Visited Paris (Spent two weeks there a couple of years ago. I'm not really a city person but Paris captured my heart. I loved wandering around the centre of Paris, the Quartier Latin, the Louvre, Notre Dame de Paris.... loved it. )
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch (Photography)
15. Adopted a child (Have two of my own plus twin grand daughters...)
16. Had food poisoning (Couldn't stand the smell of food for two weeks...)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty (Did it with my students.)
18. Grown your own vegetables (Do I look like a farmer?)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France (Oh yes but the painting is much smaller than I thought.)
20. Slept on an overnight train. (I'd like to try a coast to coast trip by train.)
21. Had a pillow fight (Hasn't everyone?)
22. Hitch hiked (Ah the follies of youth.)
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (I'm a teacher, we have no vacation days that we can place where we like. So they are not really sick days but mental health days.)
24. Built a snow fort. (And also had mega snowball wars.)
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping (Yep at Crystal Falls, my but the water was cold. We would jump off the cliffs into the pool below the falls. )
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice (One day)
29. Seen a total eclipse (Yes and a couple of partials)
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset (Many times, I love taking pictures of them.)
31. Hit a home run (I was lousy at baseball as a kid.)
32. Been on a cruise (Nope but I might like to go on an Alaskan cruise...)
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person (Was there last year with my students but that wasn't the first time.)
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (Well I lived in the same place as my first ancestor in New France in 1685 (Québec City) and plan to visit Normandy and Brittany on our next trip to Europe.)
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language (I am trying to learn Spanish)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied. (Money does not happiness make, but yes I have enough to be happy and content.)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person (One day soon.)
39. Gone rock climbing (Used to climb up the cliffs in Chicoutimi, no ropes or safety equipment. What can I say, we were young and stupid...)
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke (As mentioned before, you don't want to hear me sing.)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant
44. Visited Africa (North Africa, Tunisia to be exact.)
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing (off the coast of PEI)
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (And I climbed most of the way by the stairs.)
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling (Mrs. BB and I used to dive when we were younger. We even had a dry suit and the rest of the equipment.)
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China (Definately something I'd like to do. I did however hike along Hadian's Wall in England)
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class (Judo when I was a kid.)
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen (Yes and it made me realise how lucky I was. There but for the grace of God , goes I.)
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies (Wrong gender)
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (Many times, tried in November but since I had been to Equator in the lst year they wouldn't take me.)
65. Gone sky diving (Canadian Airborne School, Edmonton Alberta.)
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp (Will be visiting Dachau with my students as part of a school trip to Europe.)
67. Bounced a check (Don't intent to either)
68. Flown in a helicopter (When I was in the army I was air OP (obsevation post) with my artillery regiment. The Huey would fly so low you could hear the tops of the trees brush against the bottom fo the the helicopter. Great fun.)
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial (Everytime we visit Washington with the the students)
71. Eaten Caviar (Uggh)
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square (Three or four times)
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guard in London (In 2004 we spent 8 weeks in England)
77. Broken a bone (More than one)
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible (From cover to cover also the Koran and the Buddhist teachings. Not bad for an atheist.)
86. Visited the White House (from the outside they don't let you near anymore.)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby (wrong gender but geewits is right I do have two children BBdaughter and BB son as well as two grand-daughters)
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit (We won)
98. Owned a cell phone (Still do, doesn't everyone?)
99. Been stung by a bee

11 comments:

geewits said...

You said "uggh" for caviar but didn't bold it. Does that mean, like me, you are repulsed by the very idea of it?

You DID have a baby, you had two. It soesn't say "gave birth."

It was fun to read these things about you.

Big Brother said...

Your right geewits, we did have a baby, Mrs. BB did the real work and I stood around worrying beside her. As for caviar... and sushi the very thought just doesn't do it for me. I don't like fish much and the thought of raw fish or fish eggs repulsive.

Anonymous said...

Mmmmmm, caviar and sushi.

Oh, sorry, I got distracted. Wasn't this a fun meme? Makes you realize how much you've done.

Jazz said...

Gotta do this one. And I don't own a cell phone.

Ian Lidster said...

Interesting read. I enjoyed doing this one, too. Best for '09.

Voyager said...

Can I have your share of caviar? You have done many adventurous, interesting things though. You are someone I would like to meet. When I win the lottery I am going to book all my interesting blogger aquaintences to a castle in Scotland for a week. You are on the list.
V.

Big Brother said...

Why thank you Voyager... welcome back. It's when you do a meme like that, that you notice all you've done in your life. And here I am, thinking I'd let a humdrum little life. ;Op A week in a Scottish castle might be interesting... I could recommend a few...

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