Lise's Ramblings

The stars came out in droves for Sunday night’s Academy Awards ceremony in California . Meanwhile, here in Canada , a select group marked the occasion in style. When I arrived at my friend Shirley’s house, the red carpet extended from the driveway, up her front steps and right to her front entrance. Indoors, I marveled at the food, drinks, ice candles and floating candles, shimmery tablecloths, swag bags and coveted prizes. The hostess hadn't overlooked a detail. I was on the scene to serve as paparazzo to the stars (a.k.a. the Calendar Girls). These women have a long-standing tradition of gathering to celebrate the Oscars. Throughout the year, these ladies have many other reasons to get together, and the good times roll on those occasions too, but Oscar night is extra special. Why? Well, for the Calendar Girls it’s an excuse to seek out and wear outfits they’d never dream of putting on for a regular evening out. This year was no exception. There were gowns, jewels galore, snaz

Am I the only one who thinks of Grover's near-and-far skit while zooming in and out with a camera? OK, maybe that's just me. As much as I love that Sesame Street clip, I like zoom capability even more. Telephoto lenses and optical zoom technology can score you a picture that looks like you were right beside your photo subject. Digital cameras and even mobile phones that let you snap close-up shots without disturbing wildlife make photo outings       AWESOME!!! Red Fox in the Cavendish area of Prince Edward Island National Park Pin It (Note: Trust me, you'll want to disable the digital zoom option or you'll end up wasting your photo opportunity. You'll also want to steady your camera on a tripod or anything else that's available, because zooming in magnifies movement and can interfere with your photo quality.)

If you haven’t heard of Moonbot Studios before, then allow me to introduce you to an artistic team from Louisiana. The gifted team created The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore as an app for the iPad, but the work ended up garnering an Oscar nomination.   As one of my blog readers, you've no doubt figured out that I adore books, birds and libraries. You may or may not be aware that I’m also a die-hard fan of short animated films (e.g., the National Film Board’s The Cat Came Back  and Pixar shorts). Enter Moonbot's creative video, which combines all of those loves with a generous helping of digital quirkiness. If you can spare 15 minutes between now and Sunday night’s Academy Awards, then do check out this imaginative video. I’m confident you won’t be disappointed. Come Oscar night, you may even find you end up cheering for the geniuses at Moonbot, because this creative gem is       AWESOME!!! P.S. If you’re an iPad owner and enjoy games/puzzles, do download

It's easy to complain about something that doesn't last, but how often do you express gratitude for items that withstand the test of time? Have you ever owned a favourite sweater that no matter how often you wore it, that sweater didn't pill or lose its shape? Maybe you've driven the same car for a decade or more and you can still trust it to get you from point A to point B. I'm sure you can dream up other examples, so be thankful for your stuff with an unusually long life expectancy; it's       AWESOME!!!

Who knew that there was a term―deltiolophiles―for avid postcard collectors? There’s another― deltiologists―for those who study the history of postcards. While deltiology is news to me, I’m no stranger to postcards. I miss receiving postcards from family and friends who have fled winter for a vacation or are away on business travel. How I loved it in my teenage years and even into my twenties when my grandparents would send postcards to me of hunky men with cheesy sayings or a tropical name splashed across the photo. What a riot. In this age of texting, Instagrams, email, Twitpics and status updates, people rarely receive print postcards by mail. Unless you count promotional postcards from realtors and tourism organizations, the only way you’re likely to spot postcards is if you browse for vintage ones at a flea market or on eBay. It strikes me this morning that postcards are basically an early Tweet. At its 4” x 6” size and with an image occupying one side, a postcard limits you to

Yes, fridge art is made and shared with love, so display those masterpieces with pride. If you have a stainless steel fridge (read: it isn’t magnetic}, then just move that art exhibit to another room. Use a whiteboard or find any area your heart desires to frame those works of art. Yesterday, a colourful alligator arrived from Ottawa via Canada Post. I ♥ that showpiece for it makes me smile and lets any of my art exhibit visitors know that the world is a better place with a certain 19-month-old munchkin in it.       AWESOME!

By far, one of my favourite things about Ottawa is the Rideau Canal. It has earned several designations: National Historic Site of Canada (1925), Canadian Heritage River (2000), Guiness Book of World Records holder (2005) and UNESCO World Heritage Site (2007). The 202-kilometre waterway, which connects the Ottawa River to Lake Ontario, was built from 1826 to 1832 for military needs. Today, area residents and tourists from across the country and around the world have varied uses for the canal system.  photo source: canadascapital.gc.ca on Flickr  At this time of year, a 7.8-kilometre stretch of the Rideau Canal serves as the world’s largest * , naturally frozen, outdoor skating rink.  According to the National Capital Commission, the skateway equals 90 Olympic-sized rinks (165,621 square metres). This amazing  outdoor rink i s a major draw for the National Capital Region’s Winterlude Festival (Bal de neige). Avid skaters who brave the cold weather can use the Rideau

 Oooooh, it's a Big Wheels. Flashback to the early 1980s!  In the past, I’ve blogged about special places remaining relatively unchanged . Today, I highlight toys that have barely been affected by the passing of time. Even with the abundance of Dora, Elmo, Disney princesses, Lightning McQueen, LeapFrog and Baby Einstein toys in store aisles and family playrooms, it’s amazing to see how many retro toys still exist. After all these years, you can still buy the following toys brand new: ·           the basic Fisher-Price Rock-a-Stack (tower of coloured rings) ·           the Play-Doh Mega Fun Factory (or as my niece calls the squishy stuff: Oh-lee-oh-lee-oh) ·           a Barrel of Monkeys ·           wooden xylophones, puzzles and building blocks ·           Easy-Bake Ovens ·           Lego sets ·           Barbie styling head ·           Playmobile figures ·           Nerf balls Granted, the manufacturers have likely substituted in cheaper-to-pr

As children, we had any number of reasons for getting together: sleepovers, pool parties, sports, campouts, etc.  Then we grew up and most of us slipped into busy routines of work, family, chores, commutes and all sorts of responsibilities. Yesterday, people across North America celebrated the Super Bowl―an annual reason to kick back with friends, who they may only see once or twice per year.  Let’s face it, the game is about more than football, because far more people partake in Super Bowl festivities than actually follow football throughout the regular season.  For some of us, the only reason to tune in for the Super Bowl is the creative ads and the music performances mid-way through the game. I fall into that group of non-Super Bowl fans. Even if I enjoyed football, I’d be ousted for not liking chicken wings. Lucky for me, I had a separate excuse for an evening of friends, drinks, food and fun. This weekend marked the second annual gathering of the PEI Sisterhood

It seems like airlines, rail and bus companies are all cutting corners. To save costs they squeeze in extra rows of seats and cram in more people, which means we are subjected to smaller seats, narrower aisles, less foot room and all sorts of other nonsense. While in Ottawa, I felt like a sardine along with many other passengers in an OC Transpo bus. That's the norm and that's what made yesterday's flight home such a treat. As luck would have it, nobody plunked down next to me on the plane. I could stretch out. I've I hadn't been working, I could've slept without worrying about my floppy head tilting to someone else’s shoulder. All that extra room was mine for the having. The double jackpot: nobody sat in front of me to slide the seat and seat tray into my lap.       AWESOME!