Happy Mother's Day!

Yesterday Col and I went over to visit her parents and celebrate Mother's Day with them. We got in a bit of chatting, watched Return to Me, and went out dinner at a place called Mandalay *starts singing* "On the road to Mandalay...".

The food was truly scrumptious, and it was a great night out. Here are a few photos from yesterday. I will add captions later, perhaps...

The Dynamic Duo

Prawn Crackers All Around

Posing With The Prawn Crackers

Us Ourselves (Don't you just love Col's jacket? I spotted it y'know. Linen...) :)

Really Tasty Appetizers

Buddha From Behind

A Carrot Gnome That Was Found To Be Inhabiting One of the Entrees. Col's Mom adopted him Simon II (after our puzzled though I am sure very flattered waiter).

Note the Wood Chimes

A Fasting Buddha in a restaurant?

Golden Lions On Guard Out Front

I really love this picture... I can't fully explain why...

"On the road to Mandalay..."

Simon II now lives on a kitchen shelf a Penguin and a Santa from our wedding cake (the Irish one anyway)

Too Much Rain On The Way Home... Splashy Splashy!

Dun, dun... DUN!

Okay... Perhaps I am just a little slow on the uptake. Perhaps everyone else already knew this.

I was looking at a box of Sugar Puffs the other day (the North American equivalent would be Sugar Crisp... you know... *sings* "Can't get enough of that Sugar Crisp!"). Anyways, the Honey Monster (the mascot for Sugar Puffs) has a head shaped... LIKE A SUGAR PUFF! His mouth is that little dark seam that runs the length of each little puff. I know this may seem like a silly thing to rant about, but I have been staring at that cereal box for months now and this is the first time I have noticed the connection. It's a little unsettling to realize I've overlooked something so simple...

Sick (of) Shrapnel

Have you ever been chewing a mouthful of food when you were suddenly overcome by the need to sneeze? And since you always habitually turn your face into your upon arm when you sneeze (to protect the rest of the world from possibly infectious nasal spray), you find that tiny fragments of your partially masticated mouthful have sprayed all over your black shirt with the help of your nose gust exceeding 100 mph?

Yeah...
Uh, me neither.

A Cold Weekend

While it may not be bird flu, both Col and I seem to have caught a bit of something. It's not to shocking or serious, but we are pretty much in hibernation mode. The tv has been moved into the bedroom for the weekend (for maximum coziness) along with a wealth of viewable material (from our own collections, the library, and the local video store). We even got Ice Age, so that Col would be all caught up for when we go and see the sequel. We were feeling a bit better this afternoon and planned to grab a brownie at the organic market (Saturdays only, at Temple Bar) and then head off to see the collection at the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin Castle. We found, however, that even the short trip down to the corner store for extra milk and similar supplies was a bit taxing for us. So, plans have changed. We are turning on the heating, grabbing so ice cream (or some other throat-friendly food-stuff) and climbing into bed for some more movie madness.

I Love Libraries!

"When I discovered libraries, it was like
having Christmas every day." --Jean Fritz

Today I went to the library. I currently have out:

DVDs
-A.I.
-The Simpsons Classics: Too Hot For TV
-The Simpsons: The Complete First Season

Videos
-Citizen Kane
-Stephen King's IT
-Yes, Prime Minister: Series Two

Books-On-Tape
-Affinity by Sarah Waters
-To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

I know it seems sad not to have any books out, but I currently have four on the go. And Ulysses is enough to contend with on it's own. :)

Oh Canada...

One of the strange aspects of watching the hockey game yesterday were the little reminders of home. The ads displayed around the rink were wonderfully familiar, and I spent as much time explaining the meaning of 'Rrroll up the rim to win' (and the like) as I did explaining what was going on in the game (in accordance with my own limited knowledge of hockey). The CBC logo was great to see, and although I didn't get to point out Don Cherry (he was probably at another game) there were plenty of random things to natter on about (like explaining what a zamboni is for).

Today, while walking home from meeting Col over lunchtime at the quays, I crossed the street to examine again the 'Alberta' poster in the window of the CanAmerica travel agents. I decided to step inside for a moment. For the next 10 minutes, I flipped through the 'Alberta' section of their travel guide. It was strange to be viewing the place were I lived (Calgary) and worked (the Calgary Stampede) through the eyes of a potential tourist.

Fanning the Flames

Today Col and I were able to root root root for the home team over at The Wool Shed (A local Sports Baa and Grill). Col had kept an eye out for any upcoming Flames games. This particular bar shows two NHL games a week. We were able to enjoy Calgary's victory, me nursing my pint of Rock Shandy, in front of a large wall-sized projection of the game. Sweet!

Oh, and today at mass... the priest made a tip of the slounge during the reading of the Gospel. The result was God (instead of John) being arrested (Mark 1: 12-15). Just thought you'd like to know. (Bail has yet to be set)

Rounding the Bases

w00t! We finally have word... it seems that part one of our two-part immigration application has been approved! I have officially "met the requirements for eligibility as a sponsor". As best we understand it, the family class spousal immigration application has two components: my application to sponsor Col as my spouse, and her section pertaining to her history, details etc. Now that my application to sponsor Col has been approved, our file is being sent from the Case Processing Centre in Mississauga (Ontario) to London (not Ontario). It seems that they evaluate the section of the sponsored spouse (Col) in the nearest office that processes immigration. As there our none in Ireland, our file is now on it's way to England. While it it a bit strange to her (being Irish) to think that her file is being picked over by the English, we are relieved to know that Phase One is done, and that things are on their way. I was talking on Msn with a friend of mine from Canada tonight (before we received the email from our immigration consultant telling us of the good news). I had told her that a decision had been made, and that we were happy. She assumed that this meant that the response was favorable. I explained that while we were aware that a decision had been reached, we didn't know if it was "yes, she can act as sponsor" or "No, she cannot act as sponsor". We were simply happy to have had some movement in the progress of our file. That's what happens when you are tangled in red tape for too long.