D is For... Dave

Hey Humble Readers...

I hope you're all having a good evening.  It's been a dopey kind of day around here.  Ginny slept until 10:30 this morning, and then took a four hour nap this afternoon.  Crazy!  It was a good thing, tho, as I've been asleep on my feet most of the day. 

The grey skies closing in all day haven't helped at all.  We are expecting a big dump of snow tonight (between 15 and 25 centimeters)... typical flatland spring.  Yesterday we were at 15C, and today we have a snowfall warning.  Insane. 

So, today is D day in the A to z Challenge...

And I have only one option for fictional character for the letter D.  I have to tell you about Dave.

Dave is a middle-aged husband and father, former road manager for many big rock and roll bands, who is originally from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia and now lives in a diversely populated neighbourhood in Toronto.  Oh yeah, and he runs the Vinyl Cafe, a used record store who's motto is "We may not be big, but we're small". 

Dave and all his cohorts (wife Morley, daughter Stephanie, son Sam, dog Arthur, cat Galway, and a host of colourful neighbours, fellow business owners, and assorted relatives) are the creation of Stuart McLean.  McLean does a weekly radio show on the CBC, during which he always shares Dave and company's latest antics.  Some of you may be familiar with Garrison Keillor of Lake Wobegon fame... McLean is sort of like him, but funnier in my opinion. 

Dave, while very well-intentioned, often gets himself into some pretty ridiculous situations.  There was the time he decided he was going to install an electrical outlet on the wall by his kitchen table, and ended up punching holes in every wall with help of several of his neighbours.  There was the time he decided to toilet-train the cat, that ended up with the cat doing several laps in the toilet as the water swirled.  And of course there was the whole original Christmas turkey debacle... (a story which we read aloud every holiday season).

Basically... Dave lives life.  And crazy sh!t happens.  But he always starts out with the best of intentions.  And I kill myself laughing every time. 

Kinda sounds like all of us, right?  :)

If you ever get the chance, I HIGHLY recommend that you read one of the Vinyl Cafe books (Vinyl Cafe Unplugged is my favourite) or check out the podcast.  My Beloved and I also listen to the audiobooks whenever we go on a road trip. 

What's the funniest book you've read?

C is For... The Chairman

Good Evening Humble Readers & A to z Visitors...

I confess it took me a while to come up with a fictional character for the letter C whom I love or connect with.  I debated the merits of Cookie Monster and Charlie Brown.  I considered

But ultimately, I decided on the Chairman from Memoirs of a Geisha. 

I have this habit.  There are lots of books on my to be read list, and it's always growing.  Whenever I see a movie trailer that intrigues me, one of my first 'to dos' is to check and see if there is a book that it's based on.  Yes, I'm one of those people... I have to read the book before I see the movie.  I have to get my own image of what the characters and settings look like.  I have to see it play out in my mind before I can see it on the screen. 

Now, combine that with a stubborn streak about half a mile wide.  You see, I haven't exactly bought into the whole Op.rah thing.  Again, I'm contrary.  So when Memoirs of a Geisha started flying off the shelves at every bookstore around because Op.rah said it was good... well, that made it certain that I was *never* going to read it. 

Until I saw the movie trailer. 

So I went out and found a copy of the book without that big O on the cover, and proceeded to devour it in about three days.  I loved it (dang that Op.rah!). 

The story of a young Japanese girl, sold by her father into indentured servitude, intrigued me.  All of little Chiyo's missteps as she struggles to find her way in her new world amused and fascinated me, but it was when she first met the Chairman that my heart was stolen. 

The Chairman... the man she strives to be worthy of.  The man she dreams about and works hard to prove herself good enough for.  He is her motivation, and her guiding star.  He is a quiet presence, who rarely speaks, but shapes every hope and dream that Chiyo/Sayuri dreams.  Sadly, even as her career as a leading geisha gains speed, she appears to be forever separated from the Chairman. 

I think we all have motivators in our lives.  There is always someone or something that drives us to better ourselves and reach beyond our grasp.  I don't think we should focus solely on these factors as we strive to improve our lives, but it certainly helps to have a dream to be looking toward on our way. 

Who is/was a motivator in your life?

Week 33: Surreality

Greetings Humble Readers...

First up, if you're looking for an A to z Challenge post, yesterday's is below, and today's will be up later this evening.  Thanks for stopping by!

On the pregnancy front, this week has been better, for the most part, than last week.  I'm still not feeling very productive, which is frustrating.  Part of it is that I'm dealing with a lot of pain in my hips, which makes being on feet and bending to do any type of work around the house difficult.  My Beloved and I have a plan though... this weekend being a long weekend, we are going to make Friday and Saturday our worker-bee days.  It shouldn't be too hard to stay focused as the weather is supposed to be gross and snowy. 

The biggest thing this week has been an increasing sense of all of this being surreal.  In just over 5 weeks, if all goes well, I will be bringing home another wee sweet babe.  After all that we went through to have one baby, after how challenging this pregnancy has been, how is it possible that I will actually get to have the prize... AGAIN?  The fear that the other shoe is still waiting to drop is ever-present, and I have had some scary moments of anxiety that things are still going to go horribly wrong.  I get past them, but they feel like they are never far away. 

I don't mean to sound like a broken record or a downer.  I'm just riding a wave of fear at the moment. 

On to this week's update...

How far along? 33w0d (5 weeks to go!!)

Maternity clothes? Yeah.  I actually can't wait to retire most of them.  (one pair of mat jeans is actually starting to fall apart... the stretchy part at the top is unravelling)

Body Oddities? VERY dry skin, alternating constipation and IBS flares, back ache, cracking joints, super sore & slightly leaky boobs, dry/itchy eyes, leg cramps, round ligament pain, tingly fingertips, tired, gassy, Braxton Hicks, tendinitis in my thumbs, hot flashes,water retention, skin tags, NEW THIS WEEK - a few headaches, dry mouth

Sleep? I seem to be able to get about 5 hours of sleep a night.  That's the longest both my bladder can hold out and my hips can stay in one position.  After that I need to get up and move around for a while.

Intense Dreams? Can we just say bizarre?  Harrison Ford... the blue creatures from Avatar... demon children... ALL IN THE SAME DREAM!!  In a cafeteria where what everyone was allowed to eat was determined by what colour slip of paper you were given when you walked in.  Crazy!

Best moment this week? Seeing the Halfling, be it ever so briefly, at my appointment last Friday

Worst moment? I really was beating myself up about the weight gain that Dr. W chided me on.  I did get over that tho, when I realized that I'm actually only 5-6 pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight.  Yes, I'm fat, but I was fat to start with... so I'm really not doing too badly here.

Movement? O. M. G!  Remember how he/she was breech last week?  Well I don't think that's the case any more.  Over the last couple of days the Halfling has been rocking and rolling in there.  I had my cell phone resting on my stomach the other night and every few seconds it was being bounced hither and yon.

Food cravings/aversions? Apple pie.  Chocolate.  Milano cookies.  In terms of aversions, nothing specific, but my bionic nose is back in a big way and I can pick up a nasty odour from a mile away.  It makes dealing with raw meat and the kitchen garbage can challenging.

Rings? Still off.  I tried to put them on the other day, but I wasn't able to get them past my second knuckle.  I officially have sausage fingers.

Gender? Still thinking the Halfling is a girl.

Medical Concerns? Gestational Diabetes (insulin 5 times a day), High blood pressure (on 50mg of lobetalol 3x daily), continued heartburn (on 60mg of Pan.taloc daily), kidney stones, low lying placenta, low iron

What I miss?  Being able to move freely, being able to eat when I'm hungry and not have to worry about how it will affect my next blood sugar reading, not being quite so hormonal

What I look forward to? Getting our spring cleaning done, the new crib arriving (yup, we went with a crib over a toddler bed for Ginny.  I just don't think she's ready yet.), my next appointment with Dr. W to get some clarification on the anesthesia question.

Emotional State? sometimes anxious and fearful, but mostly okay.

B is For... Barnabas

Hey Humble Readers & A to Z Challenge Visitors! 

Today's been a quasi-challenging day around the hobbit-hole.  Ginny had a bad teething day and she only took one nap (more on her napping battles in a couple of days).  Buuut... it has been so gloriously sunshiney and spring-like that it made dealing with a screaming toddler bearable. 

Today, being the second day of the A to Z Challenge, is all about the letter B!  And while there is an obvious choice for me for favourite fictional character that starts with B, I'm going with someone (or rather something?) a little bit more obscure. 

I'm not sure how many of you have read the Mitford series by Jan Karon, but it's another series that I usually read every year.  It's not intellectual or academic, by any stretch, but it is a story that will get inside you and take up residence in your heart.  Seriously, I cry at the same points EVERY SINGLE TIME I READ IT.  Primarily centered around Father Tim Kavanaugh, a 60 year old Episcopal priest in this little southern mountain town is a confirmed bachelor, until a lovely new neighbour moves in.  Mitford is populated with all sorts of colourful characters, including the slightly batty old lady who lives in the ramshackle mansion on the hill, a freckled red-headed little boy looking for 'a place to take a dump', a fugitive who takes up residence in the attic of the church, and Barnabas...

Barnabas, a very large black (roughly the 'size of a buick') dog of unknown origins who adopts Father Tim in the first chapter by basically tackling him on his way to the church.  The only thing that seems to control the beast is when Tim recites scripture at the top of his lungs.  Barnabas becomes Tim's faithful companion through all the ups and downs of trying to lead a small town parish and trying to win the heart of his lovely neighbour.  Ol' Barn has adventures of his own, including getting dog-napped by some very unsavoury back-woods types, and having to rescue the Father and his neighbour when they are trapped in a cave. 

I love him, for his humour and loyalty, for his 'humanity', and for his gentleness.  If I could have a big dog (or any dog at all really) I would want it to be like Barnabas.

Any 'B' characters out there that you love?

(By the way, I don't have anything against Zs.  I don't know why, but blogger keeps dropping the Zs from the "A to Z Challenge"  Insane.)

A is For... Anne & Anne

Hey Humble Readers (and A to Z Challenge visitors)...

As I've mentioned previously, I signed up for the the A to Z Challenge in April.  The main purpose is to improve your blogging skills by committing to write 26 posts, all themed to the daily letter (and we get most Sundays off for good behavior).  You are also encouraged to check out other bloggers who have signed up for the challenge... there are a TON of people playing along. 

I decided that I wanted to have a unifying theme for all my posts, so I decided to go with fictional characters who I love or relate to.  Books have been my friends, companions, and heroes all my life.  They have seen me through every major life event, from a turbulent childhood to my happy marriage, from long, leisurely afternoons in the library when I was a kid to surviving two miscarriages and my battle with infertility.  Nowadays, I share my passion for books with our wee sweet girl, Ginny. 

Today's characters are my two favourite Annes. 

When I was 11 years old, I discovered the wonderful world of Anne Shirley (aka Anne of Green Gables).  I think it was the first really long book I ever read.  It taught me the meaning of the word fortnight.  I was drawn to Anne's imagination, her sense of melodrama, and all the ridiculous situations in which she found herself (one of my favourites being the cow-in-the-cabbages scene in Anne of Avonlea).  She's a character who grew with me, and there are parts of her story that have touched me differently over the years.  A couple of years ago, I reread "Anne's House of Dreams" and when I got to the birth of her first daughter, it slammed me to the ground, and I understood her pain in a profoundly different way.  If you haven't taken the time to read the series, I highly recommend it. 

When I was a freshman in college, I discovered the wonders of Jane Austen.  It started with "Pride & Prejudice" (of course) but I quickly devoured her other novels.  Anne Elliot from "Persuasion" quickly supplanted Emma, Lizzy, and Eleanor for top spot in my heart.  Her patience with her increasingly infuritating family, her integrity, and the obvious undying love she holds in her heart for Captain Wentworth all moved me. There's something so endearing about how misunderstood she is by almost everyone in her life.  "Persuasion" isn't usually the tops of anyone's list of Austen's works, but for me, it is the one that gives me goosebumps every time I read it. 

(And now, I'm going to have to go back and re-read these books again soon.  I miss them.)

Do you have any favourite "A" fictional characters?