It's ALIIIIVEEE

Yes, the new Delcourt House website is live!

I feel a little like Dr. Frankenstein flipping the switch on my creation. I worked hard on this bad boy (along with help and input from my parents, of course) and it's probably the biggest web project I've done. So I'm glad it's up (and done!)

A few disclaimers before you look at it:
1. I'm not an expert so this website won't blow your mind. BUT I like to think it looks a little less homemade than other local websites, and that some people will see my pictures and think it looks like an elegant place to stay. C'mon people, my parents need an income!!!
2. A few of the pictures are just "place holders" until the renovations are a little more finished.
3. The page buttons on the the Maps & Directions page are being a little fickle. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. For me, they show up on Firefox but not Internet Explorer. Sometimes if you refresh they show up or disappear. I don't know why. It's one of the great mysteries of the universe.

So... here it is: http://www.delcourthouse.com/ Enjoy!

I'm off to Halifax in a few minutes to hang out with the lovely and talented Mrs. McKnight! WOOHOO! I've never driven to Halifax on my own before, so hopefully I don't die. If I do, you can fight over my Playstation.

And finally, because I made up that ridiculous rule to post a pic or video every time I post on my blog (augh!) here is a picture I took for the website. I can't wait for this bathtub to actually WORK!

Lots of Love!

Gillian

A New Slideshow!

It's been a busy week! Grandma Bell came to visit and we showed her our favourite Nova Scotia spots. It was pretty chilly, but really nice. I took almost 200 pictures this week (!!!), so I decided to put together a little slideshow rather than posting just pictures on my blog. The slides show a number of shots from Baxter's Harbour, Cape Split, the Halifax Citadel, Lunenburg, Peggy's Cove and the run-down Scott's Bay United Church. The song is "Far Away" by Ingrid Michaelson.

I hope you enjoy :)

Song of the Month for March and My New Plan!

This month has zoomed by! Suddenly it's the 21st! When did that happen? Next week is going to be quite busy, so I'm going to post the Song of the Month now so I don't forget.

March has been full of waiting for me. There are a lot of things I need help with (getting approval for website wording from mum, waiting for the website map from dad, waiting to use dad's computer to do my taxes, waiting for my invigilator form to be signed for my exams, waiting for email, etc!) I'm not good at waiting. Patience is a virtue that I just don't have. Patience just isn't in my vocabulary at all. So really, this was the only appropriate song for Song of the Month. Unfortunately there isn't a real video, someone just put a bunch of photos of No Doubt along to the song, but that's okay. Enjoy :)

Waiting Room - No Doubt


Also, I'm pleased to announce that I have a plan! I fussed over this plan a LOT, but I think I've come up with the best solution.

On May 16th I will be leaving Nova Scotia and going to Los Angeles (I expect Culture Shock.) On May 17th, Josh, Susan and Caspian will meet me and we'll spend four glorious days in DISNEYLAND!!! On the evening of the 20th we'll fly up to San Francisco, and I'll stay there and do some Yoga and Shopping and Touring until May 26th, when I'll fly up to Calgary.

This was a very hard decision for me because I'm really close to my mum and it's going to be very hard to leave. The only way I'll possibly endure that flight without 9 hours of tears is to know I'm going to Disneyland. That and some grade A denial and possibly sedatives. So *ta da* that's the plan! It's not perfect, because it means only two weeks with the new puppy and I'll miss the Apple Blossom festival, but ah well. Such is life, and it's time to get on with mine.

Time to hit the books again, amigos!
Love,
Gillian

Waiting: Day 17

Okay, you guys were NO help about the frames, so I picked them out without you. My mum and I agreed that they were the most feminine-cute-but-still-sophisticated ones. I'll post pics when I get them. After that there were several random errands. Belal and I skipped some of them to give you some Waiting Art:

The calm before the Puppy Storm.

It's that time again! The cups say that your chance of winning is 1 in 9. We're 0 for 13.

In other news, I think I've found a poor, unsuspecting organisation to donate some old text books to (yay!)

That's it for now!

Gillian

A Few More Updates...

... WE'RE GETTING A PUPPY!!!

A local breeder has a new litter of eleven Gordon Setters, so we went to visit them yesterday. They were only two weeks old, so they were just tiny and we won't get our baby until the end of April. They're darn cute though, so we're pretty excited. Here's a random Gordon Setter puppy picture I found online, so you can see how sweet they are.

I went to the optometrist today and have an astigmatism and need new glasses *sigh* Just for reading, computer work and night driving. It's sort of necessary because last week I was working on my courses, the website and the brochure and my eyes literally quit on me. They just wouldn't focus for two days. Still, augh... why now, when I don't have an income or insurance? Gah. Timing. I mean, being able to see will be cool, but that money would be much better spent on these shoes:

Those shoes? Are fantastic.

I haven't looked at frames yet, but they're going to have to be spectacularly cute because I'll have to wear them for work (when I get a job) and you know what Marilyn Monroe says: "men aren't attentive to girls who wear glasses." I bet they'd be attentive if I wore those shoes though. And I'll probably need a new hairstyle. This just keeps getting more complicated and more expensive. It's getting to the point where I almost need a stylist. I wonder if you can hire one for just one day? "I'm looking for a new style... Classic-Retro-Polished... with a little cute thrown in there... and kind of cheeky. OKAY GO!" and they'd just pick out the frames and the hair style and everything for you! That would be fantastic. Anyone out there have any ideas? Let me know. Also, frames? I wonder if I can find ones with Rhinestones in Wolfville? Hmm.

Okay, I have to go make dinner, but give me input people! Frames! Hair! HELP!

Gillian

Various Updates

People keep asking me how my courses are going, which makes me think that I haven't put a lot of updates on here recently. So here goes:

Renovations:

The Renovations are going slowly but surely. The Grey guest room and bathroom are 98% done. The bathroom just needs curtains and glass shelves and then it's ready.

The Grey guest room

The Grey guest bathroom (view 1)

The Grey guest bathroom (view 2.) The tub is deliciously deep!

The Gold room has encountered issues and is going a little more slowly. Mum is finishing up the painting as I type, and we have to find a headboard pronto. Sadly, this means that soon I will have no space at all for Yoga, which makes me a very sad girl. *pout* Hopefully it warms up here soon, and then I'll at least have space outside.

The Gold guest room. Can you spot the back end of a golden retriever behind the shop vac? It's like Where's Waldo?

The Gold guest bathroom, which is not functioning yet because the tub has a problem (it isn't being a team player! Bad tub!)

The problem tub. Once it's fixed or replaced it will have more elegant feet and will also be deliciously deep!

That's it on the Reno-front. The website re-vamp and brochure are both on hold until the rooms are completely done and photo-worthy. SOON, I hope!

My Courses:

... are going. I am completely finished my System Management course work, and am just waiting to sort out the Invigilator process, after which I will write my final. I am exactly halfway through my AutoCAD course and a miserable 1/5 into my MicroStation class (because it's a little frustrating.) I'm hoping to have ALL of my coursework done by April 11th, and have my exams done before May 1st. I have until May 22nd to finish the courses, but I want to make sure I have plenty of time in case something comes up. I'm really enjoying AutoCAD, and am excited to start designing my dream home :)

Anything Else?

In my "spare time" (haha) I have started sorting through my clothes and boxes in attempt to get rid of stuff that I don't want/need. I'm trying to weed out a bunch of text books that I will never look at again (eg: "The Unquiet Ghost: Russians Remembering Stalin" and the thrilling "Communication Theories in Action.") The problem I'm running across is that nobody else wants to read these books either, and I have no idea what to do with them. I'm contemplating leaving them on the doorstep to the library so that they don't have the option of turning me away. I have a few really hideous Canadian plays that should be a bit easier to get rid of, but man... A lot of it is just really expensive bonfire material. Anyone have any suggestions about where I could donate this stuff?

Grandma Bell is coming out for a visit in a week and a bit, and then I'm spending a few days in Halifax with Kirsten! YAY! We'll see if we're brave enough to hit Lower Deck, which is (apparently) a bar that serves only beer and rum and is frequented by the Navy fellas. I might have to get a temporary anchor tattoo on my bicep for the occassion. I'll let you know how it goes ;)

I think that's pretty much it. Still don't know exactly when I'm moving or if I'll make it to Disneyland or if I'll work while I finish my classes or just move to Paris and marry a swarthy, rich Parisian man...

je t'adore!

Gillian

The Peanut Butter & Tuna Fish Sandwich

I have this friend who I discuss Tuna Fish with. Our conversations aren't strictly limited to the discussion of Tuna, but I'm not going to lie, it comes up frequently between us. From sushi to canned. We talk about it.

The other day my friend was pretty excited at a new kind of tuna he'd discovered: Clover Leaf Spicy Peanut Satay. It was really good, he said. Intrigued, I bought some the next day and today at lunch time I decided to give it a try. I opened the tin and paused. For Tuna, it smelled distinctly like peanut butter. I made a sandwich with more than a little apprehension. Surely, SURELY he wouldn't lie to me about something as serious as Tuna. Bravely, unflinchingly, I took a bite and realised the full of extent of what I was eating. This was a Peanut Butter & Tuna Fish sandwich. I was eating a (somewhat spicy) Peanut Butter & Tuna Fish sandwich... of my own free will.

However, I was intent on keeping an open mind about this. With every bite I tried to ignore the nagging voice in the back of my head that screamed "ARE YOU CRAZY!? YOU'RE EATING A PEANUT BUTTER & TUNA FISH SANDWICH!!!" 2/3 of the way in the voice won, I put the sandwich down and sent a rude text message to my friend. That's the last time I trust him about Tuna.

Like most things in my life, the situation reminded me of Sesame Street. Every child of the 80s knows that the magic word isn't "please", but "A LA PEANUT BUTTER SANDWICHES!" *poof*



In my YouTube search for The Amazing Mumford, I ran across this little gem. I had TOTALLY FORGOTTEN about this video, and it all came back in a flash!



The strange thing is that when I was little I just accepted this video as common practice. A small child walking her llama through the city streets without parental supervision to go to the dentist? Nope, nothing weird about THAT!

Love,
Gillian