The Result

So I got my poster framed and here is what it looks like:






I'm quite pleased with the result, a welcome addition to the existing decor.

News

Walkers' brains shrink less with age, study finds

Rainbows and Sunsets

L took these gorgeous photos from her university residence. She said the rainbow was so wide, it was a full arch, so she took 2 photos to try to capture it with her camera. The sunset's also wonderful.

It was lovely having L home for Thanksgiving weekend. I was not prepared for feeling so sad when she left on Monday. Yes, I was 'grieving' again. It felt like shortness of breath and a slight loss of appetite. Well, I missed lunch.

It was a busy weekend. L arrived a bit later than planned on Friday evening due to the traffic. K had been at an all-day inter-school tennis tournament. He didn't win but it was a good experience and he had fun.

L has settled well into university life. She has already joined a bunch of committees at school. She proclaims her roommates 'sisters'. I asked her how these 'sisters' are different than her high school friends. She said it's different when you live together. Her whole floor seems to be bonding well. Some of the kids sound really smart. I was happy to learn that they are offering flu shots in the coming weeks to the students by appointment.

L and I did some serious shopping on Saturday while K was at his tennis lesson. She needed new winter boots and wanted some new fall clothes. They had a lot of sales at the mall, so we were pleased with our purchases. Later on, K and I went to dinner with my mom and the cousins to celebrate the season. L stayed home with her dad because we didn't want my mom to catch her cold. M was helping to paint K's canoe paddle that he's been making for one of his classes. It turned out quite nicely using acrylic paint. I think K will varnish it in class.

L met a friend for a manicure/pedicure and dropped a birthday gift off at another friend's place on Sunday morning while M and I picked up some of the heavier groceries for her. We met my cousin and his wife at the grocery store by chance. I just casually asked how their recent multi-family Mexican vacation went, only to hear that it was a disaster. It seems a lot of the kids and some of the adults came down with diarrhea for 4 of the 7 days. They are suspecting the salads because they were all drinking bottled water.

Anyway, on Sunday evening we went to M's sister's place for their Thanksgiving dinner. It was a large gathering of the extended family and friends. There are 2 new babies on the way, so the gathering will only get larger with time. M's sister has installed a fabulous new solarium on her deck at an insanely reasonable price. The savings come when you can do the installation yourself, of course. They'll be able to stay outside for a few extra months.

On Monday, the kids did some homework and L finalized her packing. We realized she is one of those kids that always has a LOT of stuff. The girl we car pooled with had a couple of bags at both ends of her trip. L needs a moving dolly at the best of times to get her stuff into her room! Oh well!

Creative Tuesdays - Art Theme

I kept finding a lot of good ideas for this Creative Tuesdays 'Art' theme, but I just went with the first one:



I was inspired by this Bodum coffee cup flyer that was delivered to my house:

Low Budget Advertising

This was an innovative idea:

Guerrilla marketing campaign, shot with hidden camera

Fast Lane - The Slide

Here's a cute video advertisement for you today.

Dirty Water Vending Machine

Here's a video worth watching called

DIRTY WATER Vending Machine / UNICEF (tap project)

It describes itself as follows:

'What if someone bottled the water that millions in developing countries drink every day and offered it on the streets of New York?

For just a buck, during World Water Week (March 22-29), New Yorkers in the Union Square Park area were able to enjoy the benefits of DIRTY WATER. It was available in a wide variety of choices like MALARIA, CHOLERA or even TYPHOID DIRTY WATER -- and currently has 900 million consumers. Over 4,200 children die of water related diseases every day and millions of people around the world lack access to clean water resources.

New Yorkers were startled to find YELLOW FEVER or HEPATITIS DIRTY WATER bottles. They looked at the vending machine in disgust. Though no one drank Dirty Water,many did donate to the cause. This idea of "selling" dirty water was inspired by UNICEF's promise that every dollar donated would provide safe drinking water to 40 children for a day.

This eye-opening DIRTY WATER initiative from Casanova Pendrill New York, goes beyond collecting funds for UNICEF in a unique active street effort. The goal was to shock the media and the public with this alarming issue.

The campaign is currently active since people can continue donating online at tapproject.org or via text message. Text TAP or AGUA to UNICEF (864233) to make a $5 donation.'

Half Caff

I thought it was interesting that they are now selling 'half caff' coffee, as in 'half the caffeine'! We will probably just stick with decaffeinated.

It's our 22nd wedding anniversary today. We have no special plans except that L is due home today (along with a lot of other university students) for the Canadian Thanksgiving Weekend. She's caught a cold.

Yesterday, I noticed they now have a security guard on duty outside the small bank nearby. I asked him if there was a problem inside to which he replied 'No'. I mentioned it to the cashier at the convenience store and we joked that it's no help to him until after 4 pm when he really needs some extra security. What can one do in these times we live in?

Later that night, it was in the local news that there had been a bank robbery there a few days earlier. Unreal.