Fish Pond Magic

Over 45 years ago when I was a little girl growing up in a one-horse prairie town, fundraisers in the form of Community Hall Teas were regularly held by various church groups and women's auxiliaries. Apart from all the little tables at which tea and dainties were served, there would also typically be a bake sale table, a crafts table, a white elephant table and -- my favourite -- a Fish Pond!

The Fish Pond consisted of a blanket or quilt pinned up high on a wire strung across two supporting poles. For 25 cents, you would be given a little wooden fishing rod with a safety pin at the end of its string. You'd cast the line over the top of the quilt and fish, fish, fish! The lady attending the booth would secretly signal your age group and gender to the lady hidden behind the quilt. She would fasten an appropriate little prize or trinket onto your safety pin. Then there would be a tug on the line, you'd pull it back over the quilt and -- wow! Look at what you caught! It was magic. Pure magic.

These internet photos are of modern-day Fish Ponds, pretty fancy-shmancy compared to the ones I knew, but still homemade! I'm glad to see that even today, kids can get a kick out of such innocent and low-tech fun.

My Fishing Prowess

I have gone fishing only once in my life. Many years ago I had a girlfriend named Big Bad Butch whose parents owned a lakeside cabin at a northern Saskatchewan lake. Every day during fishing season, her retired father would take his little boat out on the lake and fish for pickerel. One morning (at the crack of dawn, I seem to recall) we went with him.

He used little teensy-weensy live frogs for bait. I felt bad for them, of course, but hey -- circle of life, etc. Needless to say, BBB's Dad baited my hook for me. I learned how to cast the line out and jiggle it up and down a bit, like the frog was swimming along in a tantalizing fashion.

Eventually, after a few tries, I felt a tug on my line. Oh Gawd! Oh Gawd! I've got a fish on it! Feeling the fish fighting just about scared me to death. But I managed to reel it in and there it was, on the bottom of the boat, gasping out its last breath, my pickerel. Not a real big pickerel but a legal catch nevertheless.

For dinner that night we ate our catch battered and fried in butter, my little pickerel included. Later I got diarrhea, bad diarrhea. Guilt, I think.

Rush Hour in the Fish Tank

My Rare One took this photo last year at our favourite Vietnamese restaurant, which has a gigantic fish tank in its waiting area. Unlike many such tanks, this restaurant keeps theirs spotlessly clean and well stocked with a variety of happy, healthy fish. We love watching them swim back and forth.

It's Robbie Burns Day!

In honour of Robbie Burns Day, I present . . . not one of his immortal poems, not one of his beloved songs, not even a photo of a haggis, but instead . . . a video of the condom bagpipe.



Now this is not as disrespectful as you might think because, after all, two of Robbie Burns' greatest passions were bagpipes and screwing. However, if he'd had access to condoms, he would have produced fewer bairns out of wedlock and then half of Scotland would not now be able to claim direct descent from him.

Classical Gaga

In November, My Rare One and I went to a local restaurant for some fine dining where the food and decor are quite elegant. Classical music was playing in the background. The composer being featured? Lady Gaga! What the . . . ?

And so I was introduced to the Vitamin String Quartet whose signature style is fun and brilliant classical renditions of pop music. I was so delighted with this version of my beloved Lady Gaga that My Rare One gave me the CD for Christmas!

Here's the VSQ version of Poker Face (no video, audio only). I hope you enjoy it!

What more can I possibly say, except: Roll over, Beethoven, and tell Tchaikovsky the news!

I'm so far behind!

So last weekend, we had a big snowstorm and received a ton of snow. That meant I couldn't drive around the city and get my errands done. We spent all our time snow shoveling (me) and snow blowing (My Rare One).

Then I was sick at home with the flu almost all last week. So again, needless to say, nothing got done on my "to do list."

I got a little bit caught up this weekend but nowhere near enough. Plus we got a bunch more snow. *shakes fist at Old Man Winter and collapses, sobbing, into a huge snowbank*

What, I hear you asking, does all this whining mean? Alas, it means that blogging must take a back seat this week to everything else which needs to be done. So I don't expect to post very much until next week.

Just FYI.

Thought for the Day

Ain't it the truth?