A Capital Idea or Two ...

Today marks the 150th anniversary of Ottawa's tenure as a capital city. For history buffs, here's a recap, including some very vocal comments from those who preferred Toronto or Montreal.

It is possible, as we get ready to say good-bye to 2007, with an all-time record for December snowfall, I need to consider an offering to the Snow Gods. I most certainly won't resolve to stop expressing some frustration if this trend continues apace. Although truth be told I'm not the resolutionist type anyway!

The Boarder will be happy that Swim Camp has drawn to a close! Given the distance of camp from His Headquarters and transportation time involved, he discovered that what may have been billed as a "2 hour practice" really was more like 3.5 hours of Absentee Staff. A 3 hour block could be stretched to over 5 if Staff went for a bite with some teammates. And this twice a day nonsense?? Problematic at best!

Last night's camp session involved freestyle and backstroke reviews, and swimmers then chose breaststroke or butterfly as their focus for the rest of the session. It's great fun to have the opportunity to work with such keen, attentive and motivated people — and by this I mean the swimmers and coaches alike. There were enough coaches to team teach throughout the camp, and that not only made things interesting but also meant the swimmers got a great deal of individual attention.

This morning I had the absolute pleasure of working with some campers with less swimming experience — and with one of the club's most senior members. There is little worth celebrating more than an almost 75 year old swimmer striving to make stroke improvements and at the same time providing great leadership to the others in his lane. We had some fun with each person having an opportunity to pick favorite and least favorite drills from the camp, and then inflict them on their lanemates!

As we approach the final hours of 2007, I wish you all health and happiness in the new year, and thank you for stopping by! Now, to go catch up on my blog reading! It somehow fell behind during Camp ...

Another Swim Bit!

Swim camp is an intensive experience. You get home, do a couple of things, and it seems you turn right around and repack your swim bag to go back to camp! This may not even be an exaggeration if you go to Stoneface Dolly's for a most enjoyable brunch after the morning session!

This morning we finished up our time at St-Laurent. Next up: Canterbury, where for campers, the distance increases to metres!

This morning the focus was split backstroke/freestyle. It is really impressive to see what great strides can be made in a two-hour block of pool time! From my perspective, backstroke was always the stroke I liked to swim least, and I think that held true for a number of people in the lane I was assigned to this morning. With the possible exception of butterfly. I didn't ask the gang how much they liked swimming fly! One thing I try to do when I'm coaching is ask the swimmers if they had a good morning, what they liked most or least, what they found most difficult, what they were able to carry through from the previous session.

Backstroke, like freestyle is a stroke that rotates on the long axis. Working on your backstroke tends to have great benefits for your freestyle. But it is also how many people are most uncomfortable in the water ... swimming on their backs. To many it is intimidating, difficult to swim in a straight line, and some find it very disconcerting to get water up their nose. But perseverance is a good thing! Among the drills we had swimmers do today were: side kick + 3 strokes + side kick, one arm back rolling opposite shoulder high, back scull + flutter kick, catch-up back, catch-up free, fist swim free, front scull + flutter kick. Among the focus points were finishing to the bottom of both strokes, not over/under reaching, head positioning, hitting a streamlined position off the wall, and on freestyle bilateral breathing.

One universal backstroke hint, especially when switching pools, is to note the location of the backstroke flags — the distance of of the flags from the end of the pool. They generally sit 5 yards from the end of the pool in a yard pool, 5 metres if that's how the pool is measured. At St-Laurent the stantions are not 5 yards from the ends, so that makes counting your strokes on the first couple of lengths even more important.

Now ... to go pack my swim bag ...

Swim Bit!

Finally, a Swim Bit!!! With more Swim Bits ahead!

As you know, due to a mechanical problem at Plant, Swim Camp has moved to St-Laurent & Canterbury pools. St-Laurent is a five lane 25 yard pool circa 1967 that has an extraordinarily shallow end. So shallow you can scrape your finger on the bottom doing a flip turn. No need to ask how I know! But it's clean, well lit, and is part of an overall complex including gym and rinks. In a room overlooking the pool with floor to ceiling windows are dreadmills and stationary bikes. The ideal indoor tri location!

Thanks to Vincent, who gave a couple of us a lift from downtown, practices number one and two are under our belts. Emphasis at camp will be on doing the drills and doing them right. Last night I led lane 3, and we got in a total of 2125 yards.

♦ 800 free
♦ 10 x 50 (25 front scull + flutter kick, 25 side kick drill but I did catch-up)
♦ 7 x 50 (25 free breathing every 5, flip turn, 25 back) on 1:10, I did double arm back
♦ 4 x 75 walk back, dive start (but I did push start, 25 breast swim easy back) on 2:00
♦ 100 IM easy

This morning Duane bumped me up to lane 4, where we completed about 2700 yards. These drill practices are hard on me, as there is a lot of emphasis on kick. And let's be clear, I was partner swimming not partner racing!! Wendy + race + kick = So not gonna happen!

♦ 400 free
♦ 300 side kick drill (I did catch up)
♦ 16 x 50 side kick drill (but I did catch-up)
♦ 10 x 25 partner race kick, thumbs entwined, long underwater kick surfacing when a breath was required, then surface flatter thumbs still together
♦ 10 x 25 partner race kick underwater halfway down pool or more, low stroke count
♦ 10 x 25 partner race dive start sprint — I did 8 x (2 x 25, 1st sprint push start, second swim back finish hard)
♦ 3 x 100 on 1:30

The really fun part of the dive start set was because I swam back, the first racers took off when I touched. So I turned them into proper relay start practice, finishing properly to the wall either breast or free.

We're back at St-Laurent tonight where I'll be coaching 4:15 - 6:15, and have the option of swimming afterwards. Although I'm inclined to think I've already done my swimming for the day!

Well ...

Please join me in a short prayer to the Snow Gods. Or at least help me to keep it G-rated. Because it snowed yesterday. And there are 5 to 10 cm in the forecast for this evening and overnight, to be topped off by freezing rain. Then more snow for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day!

On the up side, my friends are trying to ensure I tough out the wintery conditions with Christmas bounty. For the Evil 50 Minute Bus Waits, thanks to Lise I can tuck this in my handbag to fend off frozen fingers. To stop any heat loss from head (thanks to AD & M) I can look like a Winter Queen with this wonderful soft mutton hat that I can pull down over my ears if need be! Also, it does a remarkably good Boarder imitation!

Construction Project!

Or ... how Emma and I spent the morning!







N.B. Emma made the larger snowgirl; I made her little sister. They both have hats on, and are there to greet people when they come to the house. The garden around the side has trees and flowers, but also cucumbers and other vegetables. The chimney has a proper cap on it, and chocolate smoke rising.

Ooops!

I pressed my little camera into service yesterday.

I took it to Wilfrid's at The Chateau Laurier for a fine brunch with Lise and Ann. I took it to Emma's, too. Now, if I could only find the cable, you'd see some pictures of the fun that was had. Only ... I can't!!! And although this machine has a card reader, it's sure not going to read a CF card! So while I sort the technical difficulties (which are certainly surmountable in the longer term), you will have to make due with a photo of The Boarder enjoying the gift Emma made for him. Because I took that with my fancy new (big) camera!

Suffice to say I had a day that was truly merry and bright — spent in extraordinarily good company, spoiled by lovely gifts, with a vast array of very nice food to sample throughout the day! And although The Boarder was somewhat mystified by the extensive comings and goings, I think it may have been his Best Christmas Ever!

The Boarder and I wish you the very best the season has to offer, and hope that the promise of the new year ahead is fulfilled in wondrous ways.

One More Sleep!

For many of us there is one more sleep until the Big Day. For some of us that means some frantic activity over the remaining hours of this one. The Boarder is a little anxious, and requiring more play than usual. Partly, I'm sure, because I have Things To Do! More cards to make, more wrapping to do, even some finishing touches on some gifts.

There's been a little hitch in my getalong with respect to holiday pool hours ... suddenly and without warning the local pool closure has been extended until January 5 (it was supposed to reopen after 3 weeks on Boxing Day). Swim camp is being rejigged to pools significantly farther off my beaten track. That of course, presents problems in and of itself. So ... although I'm still stuffed up, I foresee pulleys in the immediate future (like later today, even), and Festive Activity ramping up to a cyclonic level that The Boarder has never seen. Okay, in truth, he probably hasn't ever seen Festive Activity Levels. But if you're in need of a break from the seasonal hoopla, here's a link to Mark Sutcliffe's Runner Up column from yesterday's Ottawa Citizen.

Ah yes!

I remember it well! This December has caused so many of us to bring up the winter of '70-'71 that The Citizen's Bruce Ward had a charming article in yesterday's paper to help inform those who weren't here at the time. If you have a few minutes, it's worth a click. Although I think his figure for accumulated snowfall so far this year is a bit low — as I've heard over a 150 centimetres thus far from a reliable weather authority. Briargreen, the district we lived in then is specifically mentioned in the story.

And also for a bit of a stroll down memory lane, between renewing my driver's licence and seeing The Golden Compass, I happened on a going out of business shoe sale. I scoured it, and came out with a pair of updated white leather Adidas Stan Smiths, like the second photo down but with three velcro closures. For $20, a fifth of the original asking price. They're not perfect, but they're liftable!

The Boarder is having a difficult day, as he really feels he ought to go outside and look after some Business. It appears some other feline has been up on his deck, and my guess would be that the Interloper also did some marking behaviours on the potted spruce, as The Boarder is not easily dissuaded.

And finally, here for your viewing pleasure is the brush lettered version of the quote my friends chose as a gift for their good friends. Click for more detail.

Tardy but Lucky!

The semi-frantic nature of pre-Christmas has now dawned. The Boarder enjoys wrapping. Well, mostly curly ribbon. But wrapping's good, too. Worthy of being drawn out.

Tardiness for me, though, is an issue this year. Of course, snow, transit and health issues haven't helped. And a bunch of gifts I ordered in plenty of time haven't arrived yet. So they're going to be late. As are most of my cards. And I'm really, really trying to be okay with it.

But right now Rachel and Patrick are on their way from Toronto, and we're going to head to May's Garden for lunch, and that will be more welcome than they know!!! So I'm going to put on a nice sweater and this beautiful ombre scarf (available here) that Andrea gave me for my birthday. She and Michael picked it up in person earlier this year. And I'm going to be extraordinarily thankful for the company and generosity of frends. Because really, being grateful for and celebrating the people who are there for us is one of the very best things the season has to offer.

Bits & Bobs

Yes, folks, it's the Thinking Person's Weeble! (What would I do for entertainment without the nice folks at Luxist??)

I am not blaming the 50 minutes spent waiting at the bus stop yesterday for the winter cold I have today. Clearly I had a germ or two before that happened. But I don't think it helped much. However ...

I have made some progress on a piece I've been working on for a couple of friends who want to give it is a Christmas gift. The attribution (Thomas Glenn) still has to go on, and the ink isn't fully dry so there are a few erasures left, but I love the way the golden diamonds work. They were intended to allude to presents, and I think it works quite well! Sadly their brightness doesn't show quite as well on the scan as it does in person. But you can still click to enlarge.

Go Ahead & Giggle!

Laugh and the world laughs with you. Colleen Jones and the PTB at CBC morning actually suggested Ottawa might have a green Christmas. Because there is rain in the forecast for the weekend. Hysterical laughter ensued here! Personally, I don't know how much rain is required to melt 5' snowbanks, but I'm thinking it would have to be arc worthy. Plus there's light snow in the forecast for the 24th.

And Gus over at Timed Finals has a brilliant post up — The Slackers Guide to Training Trip Survival. Enjoy!

No Swim Bit ...

I will now fess up. We had a discussion in our lane one recent evening when I said I had missed a practice because I shovelled too much. A pregnant teammate looked at me knowingly and noted, "It's hard to accept our limitations." Well, ain't that the truth?? More for some of us than others, I suspect.

When Norris picked me up to shop Monday night, I was in sweat pants. He was shocked, as he had actually never seen me in sweats. Even when he lived across the road. This is an indicator of how miserable my hip was. With the local sidewalks still unplowed late yesterday afternoon, there was just no way I was going risk exacerbating things.

So I put The Boarder's new collar on (he was confused about the bell at first, tried to take it off for a minute, and then wisely decided to ignore it), turned off the overhead lights, put the electric fire and reading light on, and curled up to read The Subtle Knife cover to cover. Although when the clock edged past our regular bedtime, the call of the fleece blanket I wrapped up in was too much for Onyx! I then finished the last few pages in bed.

And unbelievably ... another 7-9 cm called for today and overnight!!!! Plus some freezing drizzle. And it's not winter yet!

P.S. 25 of the last 30 days it has snowed ...

Tuesday Tidbits ...

Light snow is falling at the moment messing up the streets even further. By the end of the day, we will be over our total snowfall for last year, with about 4 cm more in the immediate forecast.

Do not ask The Boarder how terrifying it is when your person suddenly and for no apparent reason drops the crockpot, and it shatters into little tiny pieces of pot (but the glass lid is fine)! Luckily he had three crows that required supervision out the front window as they were hopping along snowbanks and inspecting garbages. That took his full attention and he was able to put the disasterous event out of his mind.

However, do feel free to ask Wendy how grateful she was for Lise's help this morning, as we added to the list of errands a trip to the Stupid Store to replace the crockpot. And if Wendy is able to negotiate the snowbanks and still unplowed sidewalks to get to swim practice tonight, she will be thanking Lise even more, as there will be food ready on her return!

Roman over at Everyman Tri has posted a charming variant on Clement Moore's Christmas poem, and a nifty little shout out, too. One of the highlights of 2007 for me has certainly been hanging with tri-bloggers both in person and in comments!

Oh — and here's a bit from Nature. Some gerbils are better at distinguishing speech sounds than others, but they may be better at it than you know!

Wendy's Complaint ...

Lest you think I was grousing for no good reason. All images clickable for good measure.

I'm the first to admit, it looked pretty, as I gazed to the right standing on the front doorstep this morning!



Looks, however, can be deceiving. It looks like a big snowbank. At it's peak it is taller than me. You'll see it's been cut down a bit. I can see over that! The sidewalk hasn't been plowed. It's been shovelled.



Take a look from this side. But here's the kicker — it is 18 of my boot lengths wide. My "mother of God Neil Armstrong" super insulated boots are ten inches long. The snowbank, is in fact quite massive!!!



But the best part? I'm not the person who left their car on the street.

Snow Day!!!

It was a new record snowfall for December in Ottawa at 37 centimetres (that's close to 15 inches), but with the 40 kph winds, the drifting was massive. Cornwall received 50 centimetres!!!! Parts of the back deck had drifts just below my armpits! Yes, I'm short, but still, that's almost 4 feet! Although the city did manage to plow a lane down the centre of the street, garbage day has been postponed (!) and people are being asked to stay home today if possible to allow crews to dig out. Apparently this was the biggest storm in 67 years (with the tail end still walloping the Maritimes). We're up to 148 centimetres of snow so far this December (58.3 inches!!), 2 centimetres shy of our total snowfall for all of last season! 1970 all over again. The driveway is like a tunnel ... the banks on the frontage are well over my head. Oh, and they are calling for flurries tomorrow (remember, it's swim practice day), snow Wednesday & Friday!!!!

In spite of it all, I had a lovely birthday dinner over at Emma & Margaret's, after I waded over there doing an excellent drunken sailor imitation. Emma made me a card (with cursive writing!), decorated a beautiful box, and there were beads in the box! We made a Play Doh garden, watched a Christmas DVD after supper, and Emma played two songs on the piano for me (one with chords!!).

Deb has some pictures up of the scenes last night and this morning in Renfrew (click to enlarge), Kona Shelley gave us a glimpse of yesterday morning in Belleriver (scroll down to Blizzard). So here, for your viewing pleasure, is a look out my back patio doors early yesterday afteroon. Even in a blizzard, a squirrel's gotta eat! Click to really check out the snow accumulation on the little guy.

Birthday Parties!

Lise and I had lunch and a lovely visit yesterday. At some point in the not too distant future I will post pictures of the useful (and hysterically funny) gift she presented me with. The Boarder was also included in the festivities, recipient of a snazzy zebra print collar! We haven't put it on just yet, as thus far he is still enjoying the fact that the bag makes jingle bell noises. I'm not sure how he'll feel about being belled, but we shall see! After all he took to tags with no trouble.

Yesterday afternoon Zara's dad thought they should sing to me, too, but I insisted it would be enough for me to have the writing on the cake. Something like the writing on the wall, only different! Now this is how to enjoy your birthday! Of course your first is extra special.


Provided the snow is not up to my armpits by dinner time, I'll be taking Misses Emma and Margaret and their parents up on their invitation for a casual birthday supper. Almost unbelievably it is -26°C with windchill this morning, winds from 40 to 60 kph expected during the day, and some snow. An appalling forecast of 30-40 centimetres! Let's hope the best birthday gift of all is significantly less snow than they're calling for!

To Do Lists ....

'Tis the season of multiple To Do Lists! I've got 'em all over the joint.

♦ Prototype Christmas card — check!
♦ Driver's license renewal — check!
♦ DVD's for backing up laptop — check!
♦ Container for Christmas goodie gift; check!
♦ Visit with DAK, & see Golden Compass — check!
♦ Practice this morning — not so much! Ah, well, there's always pulleys ...

Minus 30°C with windchill this morning — that's feelin' like minus 20°F. My right knee needs a bit of a rest, and as local buses don't run early on Saturday mornings, the 15 minute walk to the bus was out of the question this morning. Just as well, as I have a "birthday lunch" with Lise, followed by Zara's first birthday party this afternoon! And I wouldn't want to wear myself out ...

DAK hadn't read Pullman's The Golden Compass, so we didn't discuss the movie much, but had a very nice visit afterwards. While walking to the Rideau Centre in the brisk -13°C evening air, the Christmas lights were augmented by fireworks somewhere near the canal! Bonus!

The Boarder is looking forward to more gift wrapping exercises, and perhaps he will take over the quality control function of making homemade toys for our cat friends. Okay, my cat friends. I'm not that sure he has any he holds in high enough regard to dole out George's Special Blend to!

Sleety Swim Bit!

Well, it only sleeted in the practice transit window last night. Not pleasant, and cold enough to be sure, lousy footing, but no big transit issues! Although the bus driver on the way home said a lot of the articulated buses were "missing" because they broke down. And of course it snowed overnight and they are calling for 2-4 more centimetres today. And then down to -20°C overnight. I got to the pool with plenty of time to stretch, and that felt fairly luxurious.

♦ 500 free
♦ 3 x 200 free free descend
♦ 4 x 300 IM on 6:30*
♦ 4 x 50 side kick drill (I did catch-up)

So, 2500 metres in. On the IM set, my standard double arm back applied. Otherwise I swam the first one as assigned, but switched to 50 fly, 25 fly drill for the other 3. I had a warning signal from my back the first one, and I listened. Extra bonus points, right?? Still, I was swimming nice controlled 5:35's, so I was pleased enough with that. The gal swimming behind me, between repeat three and four, asked either suspiciously or accusingly, "Are you a breaststroker??". When I said I used to be, she said, "Oh, thank God!"

In other news, I finally convinced the all-in-one printer/scanner to work with Vista! w00t!!! There will be Christmas cards and letters this year. As long as they arrive by Little Christmas, I'm good with that! The ancient scanner that scans with better resolution, I fear, though, may be lost to the new computer.

And, today, as a reward for renewing my driver's licence, I will meet DAK for a flick. The Golden Compass, in fact.

Thursday Bobs/Bits ...

My cross training yesterday was an hour of snow pushing. Lemme tell you, folks, there are a lot of people fed up with shovelling and traffic snarls — and it's not even Christmas! Today, there is — believe it or not — snow in the forecast. Late in the afternoon. Just in time for rush hour. On a day I have swim practice. Is anyone other than myself sensing a recurring theme here??

I also crossed Renew Health Card off my Things To Do list, which went swimmingly over at Ottawa City Hall's service centre, but I do have one comment. It seems peculiar in this day and age, that they punch a hole in your old card, hand it back with a sheet of 8½ by 11 paper that you are to also present if you visit a doctor, require a blood test, etc. until your new card arrives. Honestly, can we not put some kind of sticker on the old card for the interim? Or issue a temporary card? Perhaps something that will fit in your wallet? Tomorrow ... the Driver's Licence!

But that was followed up by a brief visit to the mall and a nice relaxing dinner with Ann. Complete with early birthday card & gift — thanks Ann!!

On the gear front, my Masters Swimming Canada warmups arrived in a kraft paper envelope. Below, The Boarder demonstrates which part of the package he favoured most.

Swim Bit!

This is the Swim Bit that almost wasn't!! Once again, we had a snowstorm on a swim practice day. At rush hour, and I have to get across downtown. And Preston Street traffic failed to move at all. Although I had a lovely long chat with a different neighbour this time — and all the while we watched the bus fail to advance. I left the house significantly earlier than usual. An hour and a half later I breezed into practice, not the happiest of campers. I missed warm-up, so my total was 1650. :-( But it was better than nothin', right??

♦ 200 swim (while other people did the end of their kick set)
♦14 x 75 (50 free strong, 25 stroke hard) on 1:45 — I did breast
♦4 x 100 choice on 2:15, hard, I alternated IM (1:40's with double arm back), free (1:34's) — really the set was 5, but I told Duane when I got in if I was coaching, I had to scoot out 5 minutes early to make a loo run!

I had an interesting mix of four swimmers last night: two who swim with the club (one who is a blind athlete, one who had been with me at camp on Saturday), one raw beginner, one triathlete looking to improve his swim. Although Duane asked me to focus on high elbows & finishing the stroke with acceleration, some of the swimmers weren't quite there yet. So we began with rotation, did some work on streamlining, kick, and slowing the pace of the stroke. Some got to high elbows & acceleration, some didn't!

And for cross-training this morning ... an hour of snow pushing! At this rate it really is going to be 1970 all over again! Ho! Ho! Ho!!!

A Busy Boarder ...

The Boarder was up and down a lot yesterday.

I made muffins — if the mixer is out he's on Butter Alert.

Then the doorbell kept ringing. A delivery for my Mom (who is in Florida and occasionally has stuff sent here), and one for me from YOOX! Each time the doorbell rings, The Boarder must go and see who is at the door, but I'm happy to report he does not attempt to leave. I practically sang Happy Birthday to Me ... only it's not my birthday yet.

I finally started boxing some of the Christmas gifts I've made, and even made some gift tags. Apparently the electrical noise of the heat embossing gun is close enough to the mixer that The Boarder had to again go on Butter Alert. Plus there was a certain amount of play required, and checking to see what I was up to when I went up or downstairs.

And, for those of you who have been waiting in suspense, here's my festive gift to myself. For all the details, click here.

Forgotten Cookies ...

No, I didn't actually forget cookies. That is a highly unlikely eventuality! But Jenny and I were discussing holiday baking yesterday, and that brings us to Forgotten Cookies. Or, in a Calvin & Hobbesian turn of phrase, as I also like to call them, Sugar Coated Chocolate Bombs! They are ideal for making with children, but conveniently you don't need children to make them. In fact I used to work in an office that had fairly regular pot luck lunches, and I wasn't allowed to bring anything else to a pot luck.

2 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/16 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate bits
1 cup chopped nuts (or another cup of chocolate bits)

Preheat overn to 350°F. Beat egg whites till foamy. Add cream of tartar and salt. Beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, beating to stiff meringue. Fold in vanilla, chocolate & nuts. Drop from tablespoon onto greased cookies sheet. Place in oven; turn off heat. Leave 12 hours or overnight (hence forgotten cookies).

Yield: three dozen cookies

P.S. Here's an abdominal fat variant bound to inspire some Dear Tanita letters!

Swim Bit

Tony over at SCAQ does a great job of posting swimming videos (here's one of Amaury Levaux), allowing us to look at how the very best make things look easy! So given the absence of Swim Bits last week, and the fact that our mini-camp yesterday was freestyle intensive, I'm following in his footsteps. Here's an underwater snippet of Pieter van den Hoogenband at the 2006 European Championships, swimming the 200 metre freestyle.



And for those who'd like to try a drill that perhaps they haven't done before, try some one arm free, non-stroking hand at the hip, breathing to the non-stroking side.

Oh, and today Simon Whitfield links to a swimming post at The Triathlon Book. You tri guys might want to pop over and take a look!

TAUD!

Yup. It's a new acronym for me. Pretty much describes (in a G-rated kind of a way) my X-rated day yesterday (it's the language that played in my head that put the day well past AA). There is an optional "effing" that goes between U and D, although it certainly wasn't optional yesterday! I kept repeating it in my head on my way home from Outer Mongolia (okay Kanata). Mostly so I wouldn't cry on the bus.

Any week that begins with shingles and a major snowstorm is pretty much a disaster, but this — this was the icing on the proverbial cake. I tried to go out to the Palladium to see KD and have her poke, prod and take a look at the mechanics of my malfunctioning hip. To make a very long story shorter, a series of misadventures resulted in my being more pressed for time than I would have liked, but still able to make the appointment. Or so I thought. However, there was one more waiting for me, and it culminated in the TAUD — Total And Unmitigated Disaster.

It was a "twenty minute walk" from The Rabbits' Warren (Kanata Centrum) to my destination on Palladium Drive. I had thirty minutes. So I set out on a trek. There's a long low incline (both up and down) on the bridge over the Queensway. As I started at the very bottom of the hill over the highway, a snowplow bore down on me. And it had just taken all the slush and chunks of snow, ice, and salt melted water from the shoulder and thrown them onto the effing sidewalk!!!! The effing sidewalk people!!!! The only saving grace was that he stopped just before tossing a bunch onto me. Well, I'll spare you most of the gory details. I trudged, slipping and tripping and cursing up to the crest of the bridge over the Queensway. And then the sudden realization hit me — it had taken me twenty-five minutes to get halfway over the bridge, down at the bottom was a small lake, and I would never make it to my appointment.

Trapped at the top of the hill, phoneless (because I recharged my phone the night before and then forgot to put it back in my purse) I did the only thing I could do. I shifted from one foot to the other until my brain engaged, and I turned around and wobbled back continuing to put one foot barely in front of the other. My boots got soaked, and then froze. Perfect. My jeans were wet up to mid-calf. Even better! I did manage to get home, and had to shovel the front walk & steps right then, because you know there wasn't a hope in Hades I'd be going back out again to move snow. It has now snowed 18 of the last 20 days.

KD and I will reschedule our appointment, and I was most apologetic (and sorry for myself) when I got home and phoned. And I can't tell you how good it felt to put on my sweats, make a cup of cocoa, heat up the hot pack, wrap up myself in a fleecy blanket and watch mindless television!

This morning, still full of anti-virals, I dragged my very sorry butt to Ottawa U. Well, more accurately, I took a cab. But I took the bus home. It was a mini-camp day, and I was on tap to be one of the coaches. I think the highlight for the participants should have been their video sessions, as they got both underwater and overhead camera work for analysis. The coach-swimmer ratio was sometimes 1:1, often 1:2 — you can't get much better than that! I swam about 45 minutes at the end of the session, mostly easy drills. And I expect that will be pretty much it for the rest of the day!

Hop to it!

Not the pogo stick of my youth — but oh, what heights we'd hit! I can see the gleam in some people's eyes as they see this picture of "The Fly Bar". Although a little more protective gear just might be warranted. (Hat tip and more information: Shiny, Shiny.)

P.S. The Boarder thinks he might be able to leap that high unassisted!

Just Bits & Bobs ...

Thank you for all the well wishes. Here's a sidebar about shingles. If you think you (or anyone you know) may be developing them hightail the patient to the doctor! If you can get anti-virals into the body within 48-72 hours of the lesions developing, much misery can be averted! The right side of my face is much more normal in size, the blisters have scabbed over (so I look like I have an interesting case of road rash/adult acne) & the virus responsible is no longer communicable, and I feel significantly closer to human today. Still a little unbalanced, wobbly and easily tired but in the grand scheme of things, that's quite managable!

Of course I may be slightly buoyed by the fact that the first bloom is on one of the Christmas cacti (which my brother can attest are not actually cacti, but succulents), or that I moped about the house yesterday in my new giraffe print shoes with nary a blister to be found, or that YOOX just sent me an email notification indicating my birthday/Christmas present to me is UPSing its way here! Perhaps I'll be able to use it for my birthday lunch with AD! I confess I often buy myself something a little extravagant for in December and for Valentine's Day. I have an idea for the Valentine's gift too.

The Boarder has actually enjoyed my incarceration — as I have not felt much like doing Stupid People Stuff I have pretty much been at his beck and call. Which, apparently, is how it should be. Who knew? Okay, I confess, I had a pretty good idea!

Bring on the Meds!

If you're not worried about frozen hair, but you are perhaps concerned about the contents of your handbag getting frostbitten, here's an option for you. A very, very, silly option. Instead of a puffer jacket, a puffer purse! Hat tip: Bag Snob ladies. And generally I am a fan of Prada. Go figure.

Only about a centimetre of snow fell overnight — big thumbs up on that! But for those of you waiting for today's Swim Bit, you'll be disappointed. Yesterday I woke up feeling downright miserable, with a swollen red hot itchy right cheek. On the up side, I know what to do when that happens. Although it took till supper time, I did get some anti-virals into me, and I'm working on chasing the shingles business away. Already somewhat behind with Christmas preparations, I think I can safely say, some things are going to be late!!!

Frozen hair?

Enough with the snow already! We're expecting 2–4 cm more snow today. Apparently we haven't had this much snow in one dump in 5 years! And the jungle drums suggest there may be another snow event on it's way from the Texas Panhandle. Yes, I know, it's not snow there — it's a low pressure area. However, this brings me to a reader question from warmer climes: If you swim in cold weather, esp canada, do you have dry off completely, including blow drying your hair before you leave the gym so it doesn't freeze? I'm seriously asking here.

And naturally, it depends. Except I always try to dry my body off pretty thoroughly. How cold is cold? Do you drive to the pool, walk, or take the bus? What are you wearing on your head? Is your hair long or short? Mine is short.
♦ When I was a kid I used to dry my long hair in the car after morning practice with a blower that was marketed as a windshield defroster. It plugged into the cigarette lighter. Really.
♦ If I walk to the pool around the corner, and wear a coat with a hood, dryish suffices .
♦ The same applies if it's not too cold and I'm taking the bus.
♦ But if it's Brutal Cold (like say, -40° with windchill), then I pretty much try to dry it completely. Of course in that case I'm also wearing a good hat that covers my forehead, and a scarf that covers my nose. Pretty much only my glasses are showing!

So — what say the rest of you cold weather swimmers??

Snow Day!!

Well, as predicted snow continues to fall apace here in the Nation's Capital. I am willing to bet dollars to donuts I'll be a bit slow at practice tomorrow. After snow pushing for an hour this morning, my arms were explaining things to me in no uncertain terms! I 've already added to the laundry pile today, as what I wore while pushing was absolutely soaked through! Appropriately, Kelly Egan ruminated on Ottawa winters and our official winter uniform in yesterday's Citizen.

For those of you interested in freestyle stroke mechanics, last Monday Tony at SCAQ posted three videos well worth watching. Or, for a fun hockey story, from Slapshot to interim NHL coach, click here.

I've got another cup of coffee brewing, but I think The Boarder may have the ideal way to spend the day completely nailed down!

Sunday Snippets ...

Oh, please, please, please let the forecasters be mistaken!!! When I clicked on the weather warning this morning the idea that from Sunday afternoon to Monday morning we expect 30-40cm of snow was a bit of a shock! Skiiers will be celebrating, but that's a lot of snow to push so early in December! The expectation that has been bandied about for this winter is that it will be the coldest in fifteen years.

I did head downtown yesterday, motivated primarily by the fact that I need cash for a new monthly bus pass. OCTranspo allows one grace day, and lately I've been pushing my luck of late!

Apparently I had a couple of fashionista moments, too. Go figure! Over at Holt Renfrew I received compliments on my trapper hat and Bellissimo coat. The hat, I pointed out, I call my dorky hat, but having spent my early years in Winterpeg, I do know how to dress for the cold! The Designer Sale is now in full swing, but I arrived before the hordes, so sales associate Sonia had time to reverse my coat and try it on. Her review: "If I had a coat like this I would wear it all winter!!" Which, in fact, is pretty much what I did last year.

Although it is Against The Rules, I did not take my camera to the Second Annual Girls Night In. I have an excuse. This year I needed to wear boots and bring my shoes, hostess gift, and contribution to The Snowsuit Fund. I can only manage so much! But several people commented my gray cashmere sweater dress with black opaque tights. One gal who came in from out of town planned to head down to Holts (with my blessing) today and try on the dress. As I will doubtless wear the combination over and over again this season with different accessories, I will try to get a picture for Rebecca.

Now, for those of you who began wondering when I said "Designer Sale" — did she buy anything?? — the answer is yes. These adorable little Michael Kors 'Rory' giraffe print flats were marked down $100, and there was a pair in size 5.5! Never fear — the irony of someone built so close to the ground dressing in a giraffe motif is not lost on me! Possibly the best feature is that the soles are leather, with rubber bonded to them, so none of that slip sliding that sometimes happens with expensive flats. If you'd like to see some alternate views, they are also available at Nordstrom's. And I'll break them in this winter, so they're really ready for a trip to Oz!