View of naked man on street 'not very tasteful,' says hotel manager
This was the headline on the CBC PEI last week. The hotel manager quoted is the one my husband works for. The incident took place outside the hotel’s cafeteria windows. It was a simple case of a drunk wandering out on his own balcony within full view of the guestrooms of the hotel. Police were called. Man was asked to get dressed. Headline news on PEI.
After a cold and nasty end to the week, Mother Nature graced us with a day that very much resembles spring. Bright, blue sky. Temperatures SOARING above 15-degrees. A warming breeze to dry the morning dew. You can just smell spring in the air, and on Prince Edward Island that means everything smells like shit. I’m not talking about the you can just smell things growing earthy smell here; the kind where you cannot wait to put trowel in hand and begin working the soil. No. I’m talking about the pungent, grab your nose hairs and don’t let go smell of liquid manure that is currently being sprayed in the fields all up and down the road where we live. Ah, the smell of spring - brought to you by Cow Shit.
Spring on PEI also means lots and lots of furry animals out and about, looking for love or just a meal. Of course this means the road kill ratio is quite a bit higher than in winter. Raccoons and ravens, hedgehogs and even a beaver last week all smeared the pavement near our home. There is no more popular road kill on the island, though, than skunk. Competing directly against liquid manure for worst olfactory experience EVER is the ever-aromatic odor of freshly squashed skunk. Mmm, mmm GOOD!
Once, when we lived in Vancouver I took Snickers out for his last walk of the evening. A walk is never just a walk for that dog. A walk is an opportunity to scavenge and forage, to pee on every tree we pass and to dive into every bush in the hopes that his great reward will be a cast-off crust of something with mould. On this particular night he dove under a bush in pursuit of something that was rustling the branches (maybe it’s a steak! was his thought). For his efforts he was richly rewarded with a double shot of skunk juice right in the face. OMG, I have NEVER smelled anything as bad (before moving to PEI and experiencing liquid manure, that is). My eyes watered as I fought my gag reflex and struggled to get the now very freaked out dog home.
Of course the problem when we got home was what to do with the dog? How do you get skunk off the dog without infecting your apartment, not to mention yourself? Mothers have the answer to everything, so while I locked Snickers outside in the vestibule, I made a panicked call to Mom to ask what I should do with him. She quickly came up with the recipe to bathe him that was guaranteed to work. A concoction of dish detergent, hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and something else. Well, I only had two of the four ingredients I needed and, desperate to get rid of the stench that was now permeating everything within a 20-km radius, I hightailed it to my local grocery store.
It was 10 o’clock at night and thankfully, unlike PEI, Vancouver has 24-hour, 7-days-a-week grocery stores. Anyway, while I’m there I think “Hey, I’m also out of bread and gee, I could also use some butter, eggs and maybe some of those Dad’s cookies”. So while I’m looking for hydrogen peroxide and whatever that fourth ingredient is, I also picked up some other things. When I hit the checkout stand a little Latino guy is manning the cash. Please know, that when I lived in Vancouver I lived in the West End, a neighborhood that is completely safe for single women, because every guy that lived there was totally gay. I’m not kidding. So, there’s this handsome, Latino, gay cashier scanning my items and as he hits the total button, he wrinkles his nose as he says in the most “Chico & the Man” voice you can imagine “ooh-ooh, something STINKS in here!” I looked him squarely in the eye and said, “Why do you think I’m buying all this gear? I’ve suffered second-hand skunking by my dog.”
I skulk home, hoping against hope that I don’t encounter anyone else, walking directly past the scene of the crime (which still stank by the way). I proceeded to wrangle the 50-lb Beast into the (antique, claw-foot) bathtub for a thorough scrub down. Bear in mind this is a dog that does not get bathed on a regular basis, so any mention of the tub is pure trauma for him and subsequently me.
The recipe my Mom gave me worked as promised. In a matter of minutes Snickers was (mostly) odor-free. Realizing after my conversation with Chico & the Man that I also stunk of skunk I jumped in the shower and doused myself with what remained of the recipe. Head & shoulders, knees & toes, I scrubbed. As soon as I shampooed the last of the recipe into my color-treated hair I knew something had gone terribly wrong. As I washed that skunk right out of my hair I could feel every strand begin to contract. A quick rinse and towel dry, I looked in the mirror and to my absolute HORROR saw that my once luxurious mane of chestnut brown hair was now a mop of yellow, brittle straw, the recipe’s active ingredient, peroxide, having done what bleach does.
So, what lessons did we learn that day, dear Internet? We learned that the Beast doesn’t get more than a 2-foot lead, so as not to have access to unseen varmints. We learned that when your dog gets skunked, he shares the wealth and so do you. We learned that when you shampoo with hydrogen peroxide you bleach you hair. We learned that paying your hairdresser $125 to correct your mistake is worth every. single. penny.
Now, go outside and breathe in some spring!
Those little pigs sure do cause a lot of trouble. First it was antagonizing the wolf with their straw, twig and brick houses...then it was that little wee, wee, wee... all the way home thing. Now they very well could have started a full on pandemic. Power to the PIGS!
Then there's the poor pork producers...a public relations disaster if ever there was one...a global pandemic in the making is grinding the pork industry into, um, er, sausage. You have to wonder about the collective IQ of North Americans if they think that by eating a link of sausage, a piece of bacon, a chop or a tenderloin that they run the risk of contract H1N1. Stop and just imagine this for a moment...death by bacon. I can think of worse ways to go!
Pigs & swine and pork have been filling the airwaves, internet and headlines all this week, but they have all played a central role in the relationship I have with the one whom I adore. We love pork here in the Oyster Bed Bridge. The sound & smell of bacon cooking is part of our Sunday morning ritual, and at least once or twice a week I'll whip up a roasted pork tenderloin or a big feed of chops. Pork, it's the OTHER white meat.
Two years ago when we were in Florence I snapped this picture of 4 little pigs enjoying Chianti and what one can only assume is good Italian slop at a local enoteca. Look closely...there really are four stuffed pigs sitting at this table.
Last Wednesday was a big day. It marked the one-month anniversary of the launching of my blog. I know, I know! I can hear you saying it “30 whole days? One whole month? The same number of days it takes the earth to circle the moon? Simply astonishing!” Dear Internet, I feel exactly the same way! I cannot believe it’s been a month since I started writing.
Do I sound as full of crap as I think I do? Here’s the thing…I wasn’t sure when I started this little project back in March. I wasn’t sure I’d enjoy it. I wasn’t sure I would have the discipline to write once a week, let alone daily. I wasn’t sure I’d have an audience. I wasn’t sure I’d have anything to say. I wasn’t sure the words would come, or if they’d make sense. I wasn’t sure of a lot of things. But the one thing I WAS sure about was that I needed to do SOMETHING to engage my brain, to give me something to do besides looking for my next project here on PEI. And with much encouragement from a newly re-acquainted, long-lost old friend, I took computer to lap and began typing.
So, 30 days into it and I’ve discovered a few things. First and foremost, I remembered I love to write. I shouldn’t have been concerned about whether or not the words would come. They come and come and come. I am trying to keep my postings to one per day, but honestly, if I wanted to, I could update this thing every 2 or 3 hours. But then, I’d be giving this blog more attention than I give my husband and that, Dear Internet, would not be fair. After-all, he’s the one that lovingly and kindly supports this habit of mine. So, I’m limiting my entries to one per day. It’s killing me. I’m not kidding.
My audience is still meager, but it IS growing…albeit slowly. Not only are my family avid readers (a requirement by virtue of the fact that they are family) but, I’ve got readers from across 4 time zones in North America and at least two international readers and one as far away as the land of Oz (hi Rensie!). The trick to this blogging thing is to share it with as many people as possible, to increase readership…I’m still figuring this part of it out. I’ve only been at it 30 days though, so I feel like I’ve got some time to figure it out. But, hey, if you like what you read here, feel free to pass it along. The link is http://kimberlycameron@blogspot.com - let someone else in on the joke!
You may have noticed I have changed the name of the blog from Musings & Meanderings to SnapShots. I had to. It seemed that there was another lady on Blogspot with the same blog name. No disrespect to Vera from Toronto, but I didn’t want my Musings & Meanderings to get confused with her Musings & Meanderings. So, as of May 1st, we’re calling this little website SnapShots…a tip of the hat to the other hobby I love, that of taking pictures.
So, 30 days into it and where to from here? This is my question for you, Dear Internet. What do you want to see more of? Less of? What should I change? What should remain the same? Mouse on down to the little email envelope below (the comments section) and fill me in on your thoughts!
If I may be a little, tiny bit prescriptive here (and I can, because it’s MY website), can I ask that my commenters please use comments in the field below, rather than on Facebook? I love the comments you send. Your encouragement and feedback means everything to me. I’m always excited to read your thoughts either here or there or even in my email box, but, you see, some day (in my DREAMS), I may want to publish a collection of my blog entries and it’d be SUPER if the comments were all housed on the blog and not over there on my Facebook page, if you know what I mean? Thank you, thank you very much.
They say time flies when you’re having fun. I’ve had some great fun with this new passion of mine. Looking back at the last 32 days, the one thing I now know for sure – I need to find a way to get paid for doing this!
Monday night marked the last night of my 3-month digital photography class I’ve been taking since January at the local college. For those of you that noticed the date on the calendar, you’re right, the 3-month course is ending at the end of April – FOUR FULL MONTHS INTO THE YEAR! You know why, don’t you? Of course. Our course went long because of the LONGEST WINTER IN HISTORY. During the first 3 months of 2009 we suffered enough storm stays on Mondays to close down school, thus extending the time we’d be in the classroom learning all the tools and techniques of digital photography. No one, not even the instructor, thought we’d still be in the classroom as late as April 27!
I’d like to say that I graduated with honours, suma cum laude as it were. I’d like to say that my talent clearly indicated I was the only choice for Photo School Valedictorian. That my use of subject matter, light, filter and composition garnered me a diploma suitable for framing. Alas, I cannot make any of those claims. I was clearly not the most talented photographer in the course. That I think would go to Karen who always found unique and interesting subjects for her photo assignments, while mine were mostly Dwayne and/or Snickers & Gidget whom I would cajole, beg, plead and sometimes bribe into being my willing subjects (not that they aren’t unique or interesting – they most certainly ARE, but mostly to ME). Or, perhaps to Bunty who had such an artistic flare that she would photograph the cut-off stem of a tulip and, through her exposure setting and editing skills make it look like a neon green light installation work of art, while the best I could do on that front was the photo of the crystal blue egg against the cerulean blue sky. Or, perhaps to Cara who took such candid photos of her twin 3-year old daughters they simply took your breath away for their beauty, innocence and wonder, while I was busy photographing candid shots of knots in wooden beams. Seriously.
I did graduate the course, but not with honours; not because I didn’t earn that grade, but because they didn’t actually give out grades! But I sure learned a lot. I learned about depth of field and how to focus your camera lens so that everything else is blurred either in the foreground or background, except your main focus. I learned about the composition rule that every photographer should know: “the rule of thirds”. I learned about aperture, lighting, where to place the sun to ensure best exposure or backlight exposure. I learned how to photograph moving water, which was one of my MOST exciting lessons. I learned that when you show up for in the field instruction at the beach at 7am on a Saturday morning you really should be dressed for full on winter, even though the calendar says it’s April 18. I learned that no matter what you take a picture of or how good it is – you can ALWAYS improve it by editing it with a photo-editing application. I learned that the work really begins after you’ve taken the picture, which can make photography a VERY long process. I learned that producing good photography really is hard work and that those people that take this up professionally really deserve the $125 an hour they charge!
I also learned I have a good eye for composition. I have unleashed my inner artist and can spend hours shooting and then even more hours editing and creating digital photo albums and on-line galleries. I pushed the send button to order my very first black & white portfolio album and it should be here in 6 – 10 business days. I can’t wait to see the results of my winter’s work, documented and bound in a professional portfolio.
But mostly, I learned enough to whet my appetite to keep learning. I learned that while the point & shoot camera I used during school is great for people that want to give all control over to the camera, that for those that want to control their aperture, lighting, exposure and filtration – well really, you need an SLR camera. I learned I should start putting all my spare change in the piggy bank because those cameras do not come cheap!
What follows are samples of my weekly assignments at photo school. I hope you enjoy viewing them as much as I did making them.
