Crossing The North Atlantic

The window view from our booth on the Marine Atlantic vessel Caribou taken during our crossing of the North Atlantic ocean from Port aux Basques, Newfoundland to North Sydney, Nova Scotia.

The crossing takes eight hours and we've done it both at night (getting a private cabin for sleeping) and during the day. This crossing was a little choppier than the last three we took, but not enough to toss anything around; cookies or our Scrabble tiles.

The Canadian MJ II

St. John's Harbour, Newfoundland.

Good Thing He Didn't PAINT This On His Truck

Unfortunately we have TONS of this type in the trucking industry; but at least he was smart enough to know his sign was going to be temporary, hence his use of scotch tape to post it.

Eddie And The Moose Friday

So far, this is the only moose we've seen up here in Newfoundland; and he was painted on a wall at the local mall!

Can you tell how excited he is to pose with Eddie??

Sparkle And Glow

My lips, last week, courtesy of me.

The sparkly mosaic and the pink glow, courtesy of photoshop.

Yes We Did!!

I had this post originally published yesterday, thinking I wouldn't be able to see the election coverage since I was traveling in Canada, but we got a hotel room in Nova Scotia and watched it happen.

I'd officially like to welcome our new President, Barack Obama, and this amazing first family to the White House....

Barack Obama, his wonderful wife Michelle and his two beautiful daughters, Sasha and Malia.

Holding My Breath

Watching the election in a hotel room in Canada. Watching and waiting.

And for all of you still crying about the "spreading the wealth" thing, why don't you take a look at where your Federal Tax dollars REALLY go:

(click to enlarge)

Let's Hope This Five Year Old Is As Accurate With His Predictions As He Is With His Aim For The Toilet

My mother (MM) has some of the most interesting (and possibly foreboding) conversations with my nephews when they are over visiting. The biggest pisser of them all is the youngest one (YO). This is the most recent conversation they had when he was visiting her over the Halloween weekened:

MM: You know, YO, I'm getting old and I hope you come visit me when I get older.

YO: Don't worry, 'cause you'll be dead when I'm a teenager Nana.

MM: What do you mean I'll be dead? I don't want to die young.

YO: I mean, in eight years when I'm a teenager, you'll be very old and dead.

MM: YO, give me a break. I don't want to die when you are a teenager. I want to see you get married!

YO: Forget it, Nana. I'm living with Daddy all my life.

Newfies, Here We Come!

We are getting ready for our second trip to Newfoundland. This time, we're heading to St. John's, the provinicial capital of Newfoundland and Labrador.

The city is located on the northeast coast of the Avalon Peninsula in southeastern Newfoundland, on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the easternmost city in North America and also the oldest English-founded settlement in North America, in addition to being the second largest city in Atlantic Canada.

Since St. John's is the cloudiest (only 1,497 hours of sunshine a year), snowiest and has the most wet days per year of all the major cities in Canada, I'm not sure how the picture taking is going to fare, but I'll do my best. I have been told by some old classmates that the town has great pubs, great shops and a great downtown walking area in addition to whale watching!! I look forward to checking it out.

St. John is where the Trans-Canada Highway begins; it ends in Vancouver, British Columbia. Once we hit St. John's, we will have been on every kilometer of that highway as we've once before driven all across Canada on it.

I love this exploring and driving! It's such a pleasure to be able to see our country and the country of our neighbors to the North by traveling through so many nooks and crannies of both of them.

* Photo of St. John's Harbour Narrows courtesy of the internet.

A Call To Arms

This goes out to any of my foreign readers, any expats out there in Europe or any people who have traveled in Europe at all and want to share:

My cousin is doing a semester of college in Parma, Italy. She will be there from January to May. During this time, Eddie and I are hoping to go visit and spend two months there. We're thinking maybe Feb/Mar or Mar/Apr but haven't decided yet. The trip hinges on a few other things, so everything has to come together in order for us to go during this time.

The question I throw out to all of you is this: What do I need to know?

Actually, that's not the only question, but I want to know everything. Things like:

1. What should we visit in the area?

2. What countries shouldn't we miss?

3. Rent a car or take the train?

4. Get a hotel room or rent an apartment or villa?

5. What kind of access is there to the internet? Are there a lot of those internet cafes you hear of?

6. What regions of Italy are a must see?

7. Does anyone want us to come visit them? LOL

8. Large purse or backpack?

9. Any special packing tips?

10. What time of year might be best to go?

11. I am very interested in Eastern Europe - any info on that?

There are too many questions, I beleive - but you get the idea. I am checking other expat websites to get some information and of course combing the internet, but there is so much information I'm getting overloaded.

If you have anything to tell me, please either leave it in comments or email me at thedailyranter@aol.com - I look forward to the info!


* Parma Duomo photo courtesy of Google Images

Spooktacular

My brother and I on the steps of my grandmother's house in the Bronx. I was four years old, he was three. Apparently, Casper was very popular that year and my individuality in creating Halloween costumes had not yet been realized.

Emulating The Brazilian Bombshell

This one was in 1993. I went as Carmen Miranda. That's me on the far right.

I was FABULOUS! I worked at a resort hotel and every year before I'd go out, I'd stop by the hotel to show off my costume to my co-workers. I had guests at the hotel stopping me in the lobby to take pictures with me. This costume was one of my biggest hits!

I made my entire costume from scratch, without a pattern. My brother helped me with the hat, which was we made out of wire lath fashioned into a huge cone, which I then covered in fabric to match my costume, before my brother took his screw gun to the plastic fruit, which was screwed to the wire to hold it on. I finished it off by hot gluing grapes and flowers to the rest of the hat. The hat must have weighed 15 pounds; I felt like a Vegas showgirl trying to keep it on my head!

Out Cattin' On Halloween

I'm short on content this week as I've been busy driving and haven't had time to flesh out any of my post ideas into actual words, so for the next three days I will post past Halloween pictures. This one is from 1995 I think - when my friend and I went to a party as cats. I'm the one on the left!

U.S. Route 287

Springfield, Colorado. The lone man sitting at the end of this row of tables epitomizes the entire southeastern corner of this state, and the only thing worse than actually having to be in this town, was eating at this restaurant.

We Are THAT Good

Eddie and I do the crossword puzzle every day. Not only are we good enough to do it in pen, we kick it up a notch and do it in red pen!

Race To The Head

I don't know what it is with me and bathrooms lately, but I couldn't pass this one up; literally, I had to go. But seriously, look at this seat! (photo taken before I peed!) This was taken at the Hot Rod Cafe in Post Falls, Idaho.

I've been to themed restaurants before, but I've never seen it taken this far in the restroom area. The only other place that has themed restrooms that fit the concept of the restaurant is Buca di Beppo. And although they have plain toilet seats, the entire restaurant makes me feel like I'm at my grandmother's house!

Dormers Of Sweetgrass

Taken at the Sweetgrass, Montana / Coutts, Alberta border crossing, going into Canada.

Weird And Random

Hedon from Highway Hags tagged me, wanting to know all my deep dark secrets. Well, the weird things about me, anyway. I have to say, it was very hard for me to come up with these - I even contemplated asking those who know me what my quirks were. I decided against that though, because I didn't want this to turn into "150 Weird And Random Facts About Me".

And of course, with taggings come rules. Crap. So, here are the rules if you were one of the lucky ones to have been tagged:

1. Link to Highway Hags and list the rules on your blog. (Do you see that link up there?? Done.)
2. Share seven facts about yourselves on your blog — some random and some weird. (Read on, people.)
3. Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their name as well as links to their blog. (I got your seven right here.)
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog. (Oh crap, this is the part everyone hates.)

So now that I've laid out all the rules, let random weirdness begin:

1. I LOVE movie previews. If I am not in the theater early enough to get a seat in my favorite area (top center), I get very cranky. And if the choice were available, I would probably pay the $9.50 movie price to sit through an hour and a half of previews and skip the movie altogether.

2. I eat all the cheese off my first slice of pizza. Always. Typically, I will order two slices of pizza. Ever since I was a kid, I would rake all the cheese off the first slice and eat it with a fork, then I’d eat the slice itself, plain. My second slice I eat normally, cheese and all. And my favorite type of pizza is just plain cheese, New York style.

3. I have a flat spot on my left ass cheek. Yeah, probably too much information, but hey – it’s supposed to be weird and random, right? I don’t know how this happened or where it came from, but the bottom curve of my left cheek is not a curve at all. It’s just flat. And if you were here, I’d let you feel it. Or, I might just grab your hand and MAKE you feel it. It’s sort of like when someone has a flat spot on their head – except I could put pants over mine. (Hey – if Hedon could write about HER ass , I can write about mine.)

4. I sometimes find myself holding my breath for no reason at all and then only realize I’m doing it when I gasp for air. It’s sort of like when someone has sleep apnea and stops breathing in their sleep. Except I’m awake. When I am conscious of it, I realize that it usually happens when I’m doing something – like holding my breath as I drive over a rough road (only breathing when I read the other side) or if I’m writing a post for my blog or typing an email, I hold my breath until I’m finished with my thought or when I'm putting on makeup. That last one might be kind of normal, but I shouldn't be gasping for air while I'm weilding the mascara wand. Definitely weird.

5. I love outdoor stores like Cabela’s, Outdoor World and Bass Pro Shops, but I hate the actual outdoors. I love all the outside stuff available – compact cooking items, little port-a-potties, screened in huts, picnic tables and products, outdoor hanging lights and best of all, the clothes. Capri pants that zip into shorts, hiking shoes that are cute and sturdy, shirts that whisk away sweat, soft bulky sweaters and thick warm socks, hats that repel water and fold up to put in your pocket, backpacks with thousands of compartments, kayaks, fishing poles, walking sticks, compasses, binoculars…. Oh my God, I can go on with the list of things I want to buy but that I would have absolutely no use for.

6. When I drive (especially through remote areas) I always think that one of these days, I’m going to see a dead body. I imagine that as I scan the sides of the roads, looking for deer and armadillos, I’m going to see a hand. Or someone’s head sticking out of the sand, like you see in the movies. I mean, until you drive all over this country, through every nook and cranny, you can’t even know the places one can dump a body and I bet I haven’t even come across some of the best places yet. The first one, probably on the tip of every truckers tongue has got to be Nevada, especially along US-50, once dubbed the ”loneliest road in America” But border towns near Laredo and Del Rio, Texas are good, the deep woods of Northern Maine and probably anyplace in North and South Dakota. Hell, up there, you could probably leave someone right on the side of an interstate and it would be days before someone drove by them.

7. I imagine myself choking on something while I’m driving (and Ed is asleep) and because he sleeps like a corpse, I will veer off the road never having the chance to have been heimlichtized by him. And I will die or be maimed not from a legitimate accident, but because I had something in my mouth. The things I see myself choking on?

Bobby pins: when I put them in my mouth before securing my hair with them, I visualize the bobby pin getting wedged sideways in my throat.
Fire balls: Those hot, cinnamon orbs one buys at Cracker Barrel; because they are so hot, I suck in air to cool off my mouth while holding it between my teeth and imagine my sucking in air too forcefully and the candy just flying back into my throat.
Cereal: I often snack on dry Cheerios, Fruit Loops or Cocoa Puffs when I drive. I imagine the taking in too many Loops or Puffs and because they’re dry, they don’t go all the way down.

I would be able to holler to Ed for help, so I’d just hack away until I couldn’t breathe anymore. I know, it sounds so morbid, but whenever I think of doing this, I think there is a very good reason parents always worry that little kids will get something stuck in their throat. Except I’m 41 and should know better. But obviously don't.

OK, I think that's sufficiently weird enough; unless there are other people out there who look for dead bodies on the roadside. Anyone? I don’t know that anyone I tag will actually participate, since I don’t know all of them really well to ask such a thing of them, but I’m gonna do it anyway, doggone it. (That’s my Sarah Palin reference) Say it ain’t so, Joe.

Those Who Shall Now Be Tagged are:

1. My best friend Vicki. I know she will very likely NOT be participating in this, but I’ll try and put some pressure on her to do it. She’s definitely got MORE than seven weird things to say about herself.

2. Sheila at Ma Vie Folle, who I just found through another blog and instantly loved because the in first post I read of hers, she used a variation of the word “fuck” like 8 times!

3. Don over at Louise's Daughter. Don and Cheryl are one fabulous couple; they are smart, kind and uber creative! And the best part about their blog? Pictures of their gorgeous granddaughter Maya!!

4. Michelle of Bleeding Espresso. I always love finding out new things about her. Stop by her blog for some great writing, great photos of Calabria, Italy (and the pooches!) and great recipes in her What’s Cooking Wednesday posts.

5. Gi-Gi from Gi-Gi Roxx. A female, solo truck driver who posts some great stories about her life on the road. The thing I love about reading her blog is that most of her posts are long. I know some people don’t like to read long posts, but I find her very interesting and I love hearing what she writes about as she travels the country alone, offering a different perspective since she doesn't drive team with a partner like I do.

6. Paul of The Clue By Four. Love the name of that blog and love WTF Wednesday – best name yet for a dedicated blog posting day!

7. Heather J. of A Lifetime Of Books. I’m not sure if she’ll actually do this challenge since her blog is mainly book review related, but even if she doesn’t participate, you should go check out her posts – especially if you like to read. She’s got some GREAT information there.

If you play along, thanks!! You make me look good. :)

Moabulous

Moab, Utah

Apparently, The Only Time I Lean To The Right Is In My Sleep And Unwillingly

It's been a while since I've unveiled one of the Original Palm Sketches By Salena, but now seems to be the perfect time to do so since last night we had a repeat of the very day I drew the following sketches.

Ed was tired and pulled over to rest for the night. I was already asleep. If he doesn't wake me up with all the noise he makes while getting ready for bed, he is sure to wake me me in some other manner. Last night it was because he parked like this:

It's not noticeable if you're already asleep and I vaguely remember waking and him saying something like, "We're parked on a slight incline." I am sure I mumbled "okay" and went back to sleep, but sometime in the middle of the night I noticed myself scooting my body up toward the head of the bed. My feet kept hitting the other wall, which never happens since I am shorter than the bunk, and I immediately stirred because I hate when my feet touch anything while I'm sleeping.

A few hours later, the same thing; scooting my body up. I was snuggled up against Ed's back and I noticed that rather than spooning him with his butt in the crook of my crotch area (for lack of better description), his butt was now grazing my belly. WTF? He seemed to be staying in one place (how, I don't know) but I repeatedly found myself practically crawling back up, one little scooch at a time.

When I got up this morning to drive (leaving Ed sleeping), the incline of the truck caused me to lose my balance. I was a half awake and forgot about the lean, and since I wasn't holding on to anything, I wound up falling right on my ass.

This second picture is what I look like while sleeping (and yes, I sleep just like that, sans any clothing save undies, and with a frown on my face): What is not accurate about this picture (that I drew, no less) are the perky breasts (mine do not stand up like that while sleeping), the pert ass (mine does not hold my body up buoyantly) and the flat stomach (although, it is a lot flatter when I'm lying down - right girls?). But my hair does look like that while I'm snoozing and I do have very slender arms.