Jenni's Page

I first posted this on Livejournal because I wanted to use the photos from my scrapbook there. I'm copying the entry into here but don't know if the photos will come out.

It's been a long time since I posted anything with pictures here and since I've taken a few lately I thought I'd try.

I miss my grandchildren and spending time with Olivia but I did manage to take some photos on the first day of school this year while I walked there with them.

This is Olivia walking with Jessie, age 4.


And Joe, age 7, walking beside me.


This is the schoolyard at the back of the school. There's so much greenspace!


We took Jessie into her JK classroom. She loved it!


As for myself, this past Monday I had 3 moles removed from my neck at one of the local hospitals, by a surgeon that I've admired for years. What a nice man he was. He put me totally at ease and he did a great job. I had a discussion with him about removing 3 more moles from my face. He's going to refer me to a dermatologist who might be able to remove them using liquid nitrogen, or I could get referred back to the surgeon who said he could do it as well, although it might leave scars. I wanted the ones off my neck done first so I could assess the scarring issue.

Anyway, last month I took a couple of selfies. This is the way I take them - in the mirror! They come out nicer I think. I was hoping they'd show the moles better - in the second one you can see one of the things on the front of my neck.



Lastly, my cats celebrated their 15th birthday on or about October 20th. I feel terrible that I can't remember the date exactly, although I have it somewhere on their veterinary immunization records. I still don't think either of them looks their age! And Nacho, the calico cat, has lost a bit of weight over the past year, which we are quite happy about.

This is Nacho.


And her sister, Simone.

We've started hiking again despite the overly hot weather. But I need to get rid of the fat roll around my middle ASAP and for me this is the best way to do it. These are pics from our local Heydenshore park in Whitby and the trail that runs east into Oshawa. We only did 2 miles for starters and I managed to twist my knee but not too badly.

Photos below the cut:

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Today was terribly hot - that flesh-melting, steaming-blob-on-the-pavement kind of hot in which you can do NOTHING but flop down somewhere and stay there for hours not moving at ALL.

I had to work today. Sean wanted me to bring him home a smoothie and a sandwich from Tim Horton's, but I could NOT walk the half-block to Timmy's in this weather at lunch-time. I got him a smoothie from the coffee shop downstairs so I didn't have to go outside, and thank god Eddie went to the grocery store today and bought a fresh baguette, so I was able to make him a sandwich when I got home.

But seriously, we have an indoor-outdoor thermometer which is right now showing 109 degrees F outside and 76 inside. Even the 76 is a bit too much but at least it's not 109! The inside-the-car thermometer was showing 36 C on the way home, which I suppose is the equivalent of near 100 F.

Some of my plants are dying. Everyone's lawn has gone from lush green to dusty brown in the matter of a week. We killed two weird-looking bugs inside the clinic today. That's not good.

But in talking to Olivia on Skype, I discovered that in Lloydminster, Alberta it never gets above 23 C during the day and drops to 5 C at night - perfect sleeping weather. And it stays light outside until almost midnight. And they get the Northern Lights! If anyone doesn't know what the Northern Lights are, here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora_(astronomy)



The picture was taken near Edmonton, Alberta, which is near where Olivia is living as well.

So I am good for nothing the rest of the day. I am going to watch some movies, try to eat something although I'm not even hungry, and then go to bed.

Btw, last night I watched an absolute stunner of a movie. It was just excellent, and not the type of thing I usually like (a prison movie) but it was so much more and I thought it was great. It's called 'A Prophet' and here are the details:

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1213205-prophet/

And last week I enjoyed another immensely entertaining film called 'Winter in Wartime', about a couple of Dutch kids who rescue a stranded British pilot during WWII. It was not at all depressing, but kept me on the edge of my seat with its amazing suspense. And it was beautifully photographed, as well as starring the incredibly attractive Jamie Campbell Bower as the downed pilot.



Okay, time to soldier on...

Hope everyone is managing to keep cool! :)

In an interview on TV, Uruguay's coach Tabarez said that in the first round of matches coaches tended to be very cautious in the way they approached the games. Perhaps this is the reason behind so few goals being scored. Yesterday Uruguay came out more offensively, playing with three strikers. Edison Cavani and Luis Suarez played more conventionally, and Diego Forlan was allowed to go wherever he wanted. Uruguay's defense is stronger than what most pundits initially believed. The South African team seemed undisciplined, and this resulted in a couple of yellow cards, a red for the goalkeeper and the coach being sent off as well. Diego Forlan scored twice, becoming the first multiple goalscorer at this World Cup. His two were followed by a goal from Alvaro Pereira to make it 3 - 0 for Uruguay.

Pics from the match:



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In the most enjoyable game so far of the World Cup, South American Chile faced Central American Honduras and won 1 - 0.

Here are the exciting game pics of two very attractive teams.



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I predicted an Ivory Coast win, but this underwhelming match ended in a scoreless draw.

Didier Drogba vs Bruno Alves' legs.



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Some Spain, Switzerland, Mexico, Paraguay, Germany, Argentina and single pics of Nigeria, Greece, Algeria, and Honduras.

Memo Ochoa of Mexico shows how he's dealing with the cold.



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The Netherlands won 2 - 0 on an own goal from Denmark and a strike from Dirk Kuyt.



It wasn't a terrible game, but it was a bit disappointing. I expected The Netherlands to come out gangbusters like Germany, but I think the Danish defense is to be credited for holding the Oranje for the entire first half.

( CLICK HERE FOR LOTS MORE PICS )

These include a few 'extra' pics of the Spain team, Chile, Yoann Gourcuff, Mexico, New Zealand, and single pics of Denmark, Brazil, Switzerland and Portugal.

WARNING: Portugal pic has CR in it.

Javi Martinez adjusts his tie on the plane.



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GERMANY VS AUSTRALIA

WHAT a match! WHAT a team!

Germany 4 - 0 Australia



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