Returned to Caracas tonight after three amazing days on the Caribbean coast at Ocumare de la Costa, with four other Canadians also attending the wedding with us.
Spent Wednesday afternoon at a stunning beach, and all day Thursday at a lagoon camp owned by the lodge where we were staying (to which we travelled by boat). We spent a lot of time on the water, kayaking and then snorkelling on the coral reef. The range of tropical fish we saw was unreal - and apparently, the place we're headed to on Monday is even better for diving. This morning, we were up early for a trek into the rainforest - three and a half hours hauling ass up a jungly mountainside. Waterfall at the top where we could cool off and have some lunch, but we nonetheless emerged at the end very sweaty, sticky and quite filthy. It was still bloody cool, though.
Just had my first hot shower in days and cleaned myself up - Jesus, I'm a wreck after this little adventure tour. I've got to attend this wedding tomorrow and have a lovely strapless dress to wear...but my shoulders and back are sunburnt, I've a rash on my upper arms, and my legs are a mess of bruises, coral lacerations, scratches and mosquito bites. Kinda scuppers the image I had of myself as a bathing beauty on the beach at Los Roques next week, too. Feh. :-/
06 July 2007
03 July 2007
Wedding No. 1
The first wedding was this afternoon. Here in Venezuela, the civil and church ceremonies are different entities, so C. and P. had their civil ceremony today. We all travelled to a small town on the outskirts of Caracas called El Hatillo - very historic, with lots of charming architecture. We got there a few hours early in order to go shopping at a store called Hannsi, which is simply enormous and stocks a huge range of Venezuelan handcrafts. At 3pm we convened at the town hall, so that C. and P. could be married in the Mayor's office. All very nice, and afterward we went to a nearby hotel with about 30 of the bride's friends and family, where the red wine and tapas flowed for many hours. It's the best practice wedding I've ever been to, by far!
Tomorrow begins our jungle adventure. We're being picked up at 8am and will hit the road for the village of Ocumare de la Costa and the Henri Pittier National Park. It's a 3-4 hour drive through the mountains to the eco-lodge, where we'll be staying the next few days. Back on Friday evening!
Tomorrow begins our jungle adventure. We're being picked up at 8am and will hit the road for the village of Ocumare de la Costa and the Henri Pittier National Park. It's a 3-4 hour drive through the mountains to the eco-lodge, where we'll be staying the next few days. Back on Friday evening!
02 July 2007
In Caracas
OK, so...we've arrived. Got in late Saturday night. All went well except that my suitcase didn't arrive with me. *curses* Cue much anxiety and hurried shopping Sunday morning for something clean to wear for the day. But thankfully my bag was delivered this morning.
Yesterday all the Canadians were taken out of the city for the day by the bride's brothers, to visit a "rum farm" (as they call it...haha). Santa Teresa has been distilling here for over 200 years and we had a full tour of the facility and the estate where the sugar cane is grown, etc. Of course there were the obligatory tastings also. I don't much like rum, but I must say that the Cuba Libres, mojitos and other v. tasty rum drinks we quaffed all afternoon were very nice indeed. :-D
Today was a free day so I hit the shopping centre - which was surprisingly North American and so slightly odd. I'm off to investigate the hotel pool now, then have a little rest before dinner with the others this evening. More Canadians and Brits have been arriving today, so there should be quite a few of us.
Blogging from Caracas should be fairly easy as our hotel has a computer room. I'll probably post again before we head out to the jungle on Wednesday a.m.
Yesterday all the Canadians were taken out of the city for the day by the bride's brothers, to visit a "rum farm" (as they call it...haha). Santa Teresa has been distilling here for over 200 years and we had a full tour of the facility and the estate where the sugar cane is grown, etc. Of course there were the obligatory tastings also. I don't much like rum, but I must say that the Cuba Libres, mojitos and other v. tasty rum drinks we quaffed all afternoon were very nice indeed. :-D
Today was a free day so I hit the shopping centre - which was surprisingly North American and so slightly odd. I'm off to investigate the hotel pool now, then have a little rest before dinner with the others this evening. More Canadians and Brits have been arriving today, so there should be quite a few of us.
Blogging from Caracas should be fairly easy as our hotel has a computer room. I'll probably post again before we head out to the jungle on Wednesday a.m.
29 June 2007
I'm Off
Well, I think we're just about ready to go. Leaving for Venezuela tomorrow and I'm pretty much all packed. A Herculean feat of packing too - considering that I need clothes for a wedding, jaunting round the city, trekking in the jungle, and the beach, I thought I did very well to fit everything into a single suitcase.
I will, of course, be writing the usual travelogue. I picked up a wireless keyboard for my Palm several weeks ago, thinking I was all organised...then discovered, while trying to get it up and running this week, that it's incompatible with my Palm's OS. Feh. So it looks like I'm going to have to resort to pen and paper, as in ye olden dayes.
No idea what internet access may be like while I'm there. However, if I am able, I'll post little updates to this blog from time to time. So stay tuned!
I will, of course, be writing the usual travelogue. I picked up a wireless keyboard for my Palm several weeks ago, thinking I was all organised...then discovered, while trying to get it up and running this week, that it's incompatible with my Palm's OS. Feh. So it looks like I'm going to have to resort to pen and paper, as in ye olden dayes.
No idea what internet access may be like while I'm there. However, if I am able, I'll post little updates to this blog from time to time. So stay tuned!
28 June 2007
I Got Me a Cleaning Man!
This spring, I decided I wanted to try having cleaners come in to do my housework periodically. I can't afford (and don't really need) a weekly service, so was thinking about having someone in once a month, just to help with big jobs like dusting and doing the floors.
After a bit of research, I decided to try a new company here in the city. They're an environmental service, only using natural cleaning products, etc. More importantly from my perspective, however, they pay a decent wage and have ethical labour practices - thus helping to assuage my middle-class guilt. (This, of course, being spurred on by Jan Wong's series "Maid in Canada" in the Globe & Mail last year.) That said, they are quite reasonably priced, at $25 per cleaner, per hour.
So I had them come in this morning for a first clean. The hippyish young fella who started the company turned up, with a young woman in tow. They spent the morning mostly doing the ground floor of the house, and did a reasonable job. Not perfect - they missed some dusting, along with things like the top of the fridge and (oddly) the kitchen sink. But generally speaking, it was pretty good. I'd say they did about 70% of what I'd ideally have liked, and that's probably good enough. I'm not looking to never lift a finger around the house again - merely to get some help with the crummiest jobs. And that they did. I think I'll hire them again, maybe for three monthly cleanings to start - and we'll see how we get on from there.
After a bit of research, I decided to try a new company here in the city. They're an environmental service, only using natural cleaning products, etc. More importantly from my perspective, however, they pay a decent wage and have ethical labour practices - thus helping to assuage my middle-class guilt. (This, of course, being spurred on by Jan Wong's series "Maid in Canada" in the Globe & Mail last year.) That said, they are quite reasonably priced, at $25 per cleaner, per hour.
So I had them come in this morning for a first clean. The hippyish young fella who started the company turned up, with a young woman in tow. They spent the morning mostly doing the ground floor of the house, and did a reasonable job. Not perfect - they missed some dusting, along with things like the top of the fridge and (oddly) the kitchen sink. But generally speaking, it was pretty good. I'd say they did about 70% of what I'd ideally have liked, and that's probably good enough. I'm not looking to never lift a finger around the house again - merely to get some help with the crummiest jobs. And that they did. I think I'll hire them again, maybe for three monthly cleanings to start - and we'll see how we get on from there.
26 June 2007
Menu
This is the menu I calligraphed for my sister-in-law's wedding last weekend. Click on the image to enlarge it - I scanned it at high resolution so the detail could be seen (it's big).
The bride wanted a little Irish influence in her German-themed wedding, to reflect her own heritage. So she asked me to do her menu and placecards in Uncial script (the same hand in which the Book of Kells and other great Irish medieval manuscripts were written). In the end, to keep things legible, I decided to use a combination of Uncial and sans-serif Roman caps.
I did a large-size original, then reduced it and had it colour-copied onto letter-size Artoz pink bond paper. The original copy was done on A3-size white layout paper, in brown walnut ink. I used 1" and 3/4" Brause broad-edged pens for the Uncial script, and a Perry & Co. Indent pointed pen (no. 2301 EF) for the Roman caps.
While I made some spacing and centering flubs, all in all I'm very pleased with how the menu turned out. One for the portfolio, for sure!
The bride wanted a little Irish influence in her German-themed wedding, to reflect her own heritage. So she asked me to do her menu and placecards in Uncial script (the same hand in which the Book of Kells and other great Irish medieval manuscripts were written). In the end, to keep things legible, I decided to use a combination of Uncial and sans-serif Roman caps.
I did a large-size original, then reduced it and had it colour-copied onto letter-size Artoz pink bond paper. The original copy was done on A3-size white layout paper, in brown walnut ink. I used 1" and 3/4" Brause broad-edged pens for the Uncial script, and a Perry & Co. Indent pointed pen (no. 2301 EF) for the Roman caps.
While I made some spacing and centering flubs, all in all I'm very pleased with how the menu turned out. One for the portfolio, for sure!
22 June 2007
Hellooo?
*blows dust off blog*
I've had a crazy week and a half, thus the lack of blogging. To wit:
- Went to New York City (yes, again) last weekend, to see a certain band play because I am an obsessed little fangirl.
- Have been busy preparing for the wedding of L. and M., which takes place tomorrow. I calligraphed their placecards and menus (will scan some of the work in due course, to post here), and assisted in various other ways; A. is one of the groomsmen. The rehearsal is taking place even as I write, with the rehearsal dinner to follow later this evening. The ceremony is tomorrow, in the city, with the reception down at Domaine de Grand Pré, so we'll be overnight in the Valley tomorrow night. All that is to be followed by a post-wedding BBQ hosted by my in-laws, which we'll need to pitch in and help with - so there's a packed weekend ahead.
- no sooner will that be over, than we need to gear up for the Venezuela trip - for which we're departing tomorrow week. Argh.
- *edit* And just to add - over two and a half weeks on, there is STILL NO SIGN of our builders, who are due to work on our shed. @!$%!!!&*@!!! They're faffing about with building permits at the moment - which obviously they couldn't bother to sort out before the date they claimed they'd start work. Arrrrgh x 672.
More anon...
I've had a crazy week and a half, thus the lack of blogging. To wit:
- Went to New York City (yes, again) last weekend, to see a certain band play because I am an obsessed little fangirl.
- Have been busy preparing for the wedding of L. and M., which takes place tomorrow. I calligraphed their placecards and menus (will scan some of the work in due course, to post here), and assisted in various other ways; A. is one of the groomsmen. The rehearsal is taking place even as I write, with the rehearsal dinner to follow later this evening. The ceremony is tomorrow, in the city, with the reception down at Domaine de Grand Pré, so we'll be overnight in the Valley tomorrow night. All that is to be followed by a post-wedding BBQ hosted by my in-laws, which we'll need to pitch in and help with - so there's a packed weekend ahead.
- no sooner will that be over, than we need to gear up for the Venezuela trip - for which we're departing tomorrow week. Argh.
- *edit* And just to add - over two and a half weeks on, there is STILL NO SIGN of our builders, who are due to work on our shed. @!$%!!!&*@!!! They're faffing about with building permits at the moment - which obviously they couldn't bother to sort out before the date they claimed they'd start work. Arrrrgh x 672.
More anon...
10 June 2007
Gardening Day
Finally got to the garden centres today, to buy some seedling plants. Most were things for our deck containers - with the construction work (and relaying of our lawn to come) the flower beds will be a bit of a washout this year.
For the kitchen container garden on the front deck, we got a bunch of different salad leaves, herbs (parsley, basil, chives, coriander), strawberries, tomatoes and peppers (red, yellow, green and white!). Oh, and a pumpkin, because A. always likes to try growing odd things.
For the planters on the main deck, I got an assortment of salvia, geraniums and nasturtiums, as well as some ground cover (the name of which I now forget, but it produces small white flowers). Also picked up a foxglove to try under the maple tree - my efforts to grow some from seed last year having failed.
At least the flowering shrubs can be counted on, as always. The lilac tree is in full bloom at the moment - after last year's disappointing display, this year it's glorious. And all the rhododendons are coming on now too - they should be fully out within the week.
Recently I discovered the craziest thing. After coddling some lilies of the valley these last two years, in the front garden, I was wandering around behind the house yesterday...and discovered loads of them, blooming all over the place, under the trees. I can't believe I've lived here almost three years and never noticed them. God, I'm ridiculously unobservant sometimes.
For the kitchen container garden on the front deck, we got a bunch of different salad leaves, herbs (parsley, basil, chives, coriander), strawberries, tomatoes and peppers (red, yellow, green and white!). Oh, and a pumpkin, because A. always likes to try growing odd things.
For the planters on the main deck, I got an assortment of salvia, geraniums and nasturtiums, as well as some ground cover (the name of which I now forget, but it produces small white flowers). Also picked up a foxglove to try under the maple tree - my efforts to grow some from seed last year having failed.
At least the flowering shrubs can be counted on, as always. The lilac tree is in full bloom at the moment - after last year's disappointing display, this year it's glorious. And all the rhododendons are coming on now too - they should be fully out within the week.
Recently I discovered the craziest thing. After coddling some lilies of the valley these last two years, in the front garden, I was wandering around behind the house yesterday...and discovered loads of them, blooming all over the place, under the trees. I can't believe I've lived here almost three years and never noticed them. God, I'm ridiculously unobservant sometimes.
Floor Redone
The flooring guys returned yesterday and finished the floor upstairs. I'm quite pleased with how it turned out.
Before, the wood floor of our hallway landing was covered in multiple coats of old paint, the most recent of which was a dull tan colour:
Friday afternoon, the guys brought in a big belt sander and spent about three hours sanding off all that paint. As you can see in this picture, underneath the tan was a reddish-brown colour:
In the end, nearly everything came off, revealing the original boards beneath - which we thought were pine, but are more likely just fir (which makes sense, in an older Nova Scotia house). Three coats of oil varnish and a buffing later, they came up a treat:
Not bad, eh? Certainly 100% better than before! I'm really glad we had this job done - that floor paint has bugged me ever since we first bought this house.
Before, the wood floor of our hallway landing was covered in multiple coats of old paint, the most recent of which was a dull tan colour:
Friday afternoon, the guys brought in a big belt sander and spent about three hours sanding off all that paint. As you can see in this picture, underneath the tan was a reddish-brown colour:
In the end, nearly everything came off, revealing the original boards beneath - which we thought were pine, but are more likely just fir (which makes sense, in an older Nova Scotia house). Three coats of oil varnish and a buffing later, they came up a treat:
Not bad, eh? Certainly 100% better than before! I'm really glad we had this job done - that floor paint has bugged me ever since we first bought this house.
08 June 2007
Summer Morning
Walking to work this morning, it felt like the first real day of summer to me. The sun finally came out, it was warm enough not to need a coat, and the leaves are now fully out on most of the trees. Strolling past the tidy houses of the South End, with their flower gardens and manicured lawns, is quite delightful on days like this.
I tried to notice and enjoy it all, because the forecast for the next four days is all grey gloom and showers again. *sigh*
I tried to notice and enjoy it all, because the forecast for the next four days is all grey gloom and showers again. *sigh*
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