New Coffeemaker

Yesterday I came home and noticed that there was coffee left in the coffee maker. I asked Hubby if he'd made another pot in the afternoon. He said he hadn't. Unfortunately, the carafe was just a few degrees cooler than molten lead and from this I surmised that the "auto off" feature had failed, completely. I unplugged it and the clock stayed on for 30 minutes -- about 3 times longer than it should have. I decided it was possessed by a boggart and we made a note to use the French Press in the morning.

This morning I realized what I thought was our French Press on the shelf was in fact our Bodum milk frother. Doh! Since I really needed coffee, we gave the possessed coffee maker one last go (but I made Hubby promise to unplug it when the carafe was empty). Tonight we bought a replacement. We had actually looked at coffee makers on the weekend (maybe ours knew it was doomed) -- and had come home with a new grinder -- so we had already narrowed our choices. Big bonus, one of our front runners was priced $30 lower at London Drugs so we went with that one (this Oster model).

I threw caution to the wind and brewed some coffee when we got home. It was gooooood. I'm enjoying it now and will be cursing it at 1:30 a.m. when I am still awake.


Speaking of awake, the sunrise this morning was lovely:

Contest Update:
To everyone who added a heart to my Etsy store, Thank You! -- Anne was #100 and will be getting a special something in the mail.

weather whining

OK, it's hot -- hot enough that we even had a lightning storm Saturday evening -- and it's not just me whining now; Environment Canada has released an Extreme Heat Wave Watch and statement:

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT

ISSUED FOR COASTAL BRITISH COLUMBIA BY ENVIRONMENT CANADA AT 5:20 PM PDT SUNDAY 26 JULY 2009.

Extreme Heat-wave with Temperatures above 32C to Persist through Mid-Week.

An unusually lengthy period of extremely hot weather across the South Coast of British Columbia is beginning. Computer models suggest the heat-wave may last up to 5 days, or possibly 6 days at some inland locales. A massive ridge of high pressure building in the upper atmosphere will result in dry weather through the end of the week and many daily temperature records are expected to be broken.

Most importantly, the pattern of air pressure in the lower atmosphere will cause hot continental air to drift from the interior plateau to the coast. Calm or light winds on the coast will lead to stagnant air which is then subject to fierce heating by the powerful July sun. By this afternoon, temperatures in the low to mid thirties are expected.

Heat-waves on the BC Coast rarely last more than 3 days. After 2 or 3 days, the pressure pattern in the lower atmosphere usually changes, causing a shift in wind direction to onshore. The onshore flow of air brings cooler Pacific air inland, refreshing the air and lowering the temperature by 10 degrees. In this case, the switch to onshore winds may not occur until the end of the week and temperatures in the mid-thirties will persist until then.

It goes on to say that prolonged heat waves have only been recorded 3 times since 1881: in July and August of 1928 (hello! mark that in the Tardis as a time/location to avoid) and again in August 2004. Hmm. that reminds me of the single advantage we lost when we moved from the townhouse: the ocean breeze.

The worst thing is that this is very bad news for forest fires such as those in the Okanagan plus the 30 new fires sparked this weekend.

Speaking of fire, this weekend an infamous landmark, the Holiday Court Motel on Hillside, sustained considerable damage. Here's a recent photo of the boarded up building before it burned:

heat and other headaches...

OK, so it's officially hot today -- we broke a 100 year old record in the Capital Region. Yay for us. In case you were curious, the great basement bed experiment was a minor (but reversible) fail. Basically, sleeping sideways is not an option and we also need more padding. Noted.

The heat is good for one thing, at least: the garden is spewing forth plenty of green things... (below: scarlet runner beans, peas, zucchini)

At work, the panic over moving desk locations* means I brought home two bagsful of stuff that had accumulated in my drawers and on my desktop and I am by no means done... but there is progress. Also, I may have an actual location for my workspace now -- my assigned space has been virtually moved around the floor-plan at least 6 times since we began planning. (Actually we didn't get to plan; a planner was brought in with little knowledge of what we do or how we need to do it.) On the plus side, the digitization equipment has been set up in its new home in the basement. It will be quiet (there should be few if any, "Hey, what are you working on?" interruptions) and there is even a phone so I could be reached at that workspace -- how novel!

***

P.S. My zombie haiku (yes, I was lazy and recycled one) was a runner-up over on BoingBoing.

***

*nearly 2 years ago we started talking about moving... last month we were told "after May 18th" but were not given any firm date or any boxes in which to pack things ... last Friday word came down that we would be moving on June 5th. Today, there were still no boxes. Sigh.

unseasonably warm

Today was warm -- no, it was hot. The campus was full of (sun)burn victims, the sunny weekend having taken them by surprise. While it was partly overcast, we hit a high of 27°C this afternoon -- close to the record of 28.6°C set in 1970.

At home, the house hasn't really had a chance to cool off since we had it mostly closed up while away for the weekend. After a very challenging night of tossing and turning in the heat last night, I was inspired to finally finish off the built-in bed in the basement. Hubby was kind enough to go out in search of foam to fit the odd-sized platform -- it's 63"x70" While he was out, I put up curtains, stowed the crap we had stored there and made it as ready as possible for a night of sleep.

I trimmed and fit the foam and after some discussion, we decided to set it up sideways so that we can both get in and out of bed without climbing over one another. We'll see how it all works; there's every chance we'll end up stumbling up to our "regular" bed in the middle of the night.

Here's some before and after shots... oddly I don't seem to have photos of it all covered in boxes and stuff....

Ten Days of Winter Left.

Ten days.

Yesterday, we had a surprise dump of snow that fell on top of a sleepy city, not yet adjusted to the early time change this year (I really hope, beyond all hopes, that one of Obama's accomplishments is to do away with daylight savings time).

I find myself unsettled this week. I have a lot to squeeze in -- social visits, birthday celebrations, and all the preparations that go with each of those, as well as breathing life into a website or two. Unfortunately, with the renewed cold weather and the dark mornings again, I just don't feel like doing any of it. At least I only have a 3 day work week and next week is short by a day, too, so I can spend some spring break time with Kiddo.

Snow!

Yup. A day later than originally forecast but Victoria got snow late this evening. Pretty good chance it'll stick around until Kiddo gets up in the morning. Of course there is also a pretty good chance she'll be up around dawn.

Weekend projects....

Before I get into details, I have to note that it SNOWED here today. (Hubby thinks that God may actually be unimpressed by the false idol under construction on our deck... heh heh.) We didn't get any accumulation in our neighbourhood but parts of the region did -- and Nanaimo got an incredible 24 centimetres (that's close to a foot for those of you south of the border).

But enough about the crazy/stupid/record-breaking weather.

We've been busy this weekend... Hubby with his soft-launch of PrefabSite.Net (wOOO!) and me, crafting, as usual... some new Huggitz critters (made from a reclaimed scarf) and four new CuppaJoe Cozies -- I got an order for four of the same so I made them fresh to make sure they matched.

Friday, I took the van in for some minor service (and I continue to be very happy with the service at Searle's Automotive), went out for breakfast while we waited, then indulged in some consumer therapy -- Mayfair Mall, Michael's, and Value Village -- before returning home to do laundry and cleaning and such.

So far, it's been one of those weekends that feels at once full and also relaxed... the kind that is impossible to create if you are actually trying. And I have another day left. Ahhhh!

Snow Day!

(well... for a few hours, anyway....)

It started snowing early this morning and by about 9:30 it was coming down pretty hard... so Kiddo went out to play (and shovel the sidewalk). By noon, almost every flake had melted.

.

Much Better.

Today, there is some airflow through my office -- a light breeze, open doors and windows, and fans. This, coupled with a 10 degree difference in temperature (currently it is not quite 20°C outside) and a fabulous cup of iced coffee from the Munchie Bar in the SUB is making today a much more reasonable day at the office.

Interestingly, the Munchie Bar now features corn-based coffee cups which are completely biodegradable but are no longer insulated... so I'm thinking I need to take over some CuppaJoe Cozies and Wradical Wraps!

Stick a fork in me....

...I'm done.

Seriously. The temperature on campus today was 34.6°C (which is a little over 94°F).

It was somewhat cooler at home, but still over 30. The problem is, by 9:30 tonight, the readings showed that it was still over 30 on campus, but it had dropped to 22 here; now at nearly 11 pm it's 17 here (quite comfortable) and still 25 on campus.

[If you're curious, the school-based weather station network gives a really good read on Victoria's microclimates.]

This is why the library never manages to cool down... the heat just sits there. Ugh. Add to that our lack of air conditioning -- which apparently makes us points as a "green" campus (though I wonder if anyone is calculating the extra electricity being used by desk and standing fans plugged into every possible outlet) -- and you get a very uncomfortable workplace.

At least I managed to find a tiny bit of shade at lunchtime... though since I plunked myself under some sort of conifer (pine? fir? who knows...) I got a big glob of sap on my shorts. Sigh.

They say the weather should cool down tomorrow... just a little...

Oh, in other news, our CafePress stuff showed up and it's great! I wore a t-shirt with one of hubby's designs to work today -- and got several chuckles and complements! Yay!

Get your own t-shirt at our store!

Summer Rain and Summer Concert

First day of summer and the smell of fresh rain greeted me.... after some clearing through the day, it seems to be ending the same way. I don't mind as it was getting too warm for me (mid 20s... too difficult to sleep, yes I am a sissy). When I arrived at work this morning, crews were tearing down the walls on the southwest corner of the library... very odd.

The construction and renovations are now going on all around the existing building, making it difficult to avoid all the noise that accompanies such activity. To compensate, I find myself more often wearing headphones. Last.fm was not working for me today, alas, so I dug through my drawer of CDs and pulled out an 80s compilation and found myself bopping merrily along to 88 Lines about 44 Women. I enjoyed it so much, I replayed the track. Twice. :)

Hubby met me for lunch and stuck around to work from the library this afternoon; he even joined me for "walkies" around the ring in lieu of afternoon coffee.

After work, we grabbed some sushi from Fujiya, gathered kiddo, had a quick dinner, and went back to her school for her summer concert. She was, as always, cute -- even though she was in the back row. Unfortunately, we were too far back and my photos ended up blurry. Sigh. Hubby did manage to get some video... but at least now we know to get there earlier next year.
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More Snow on the Way.

angry_snowman
Originally uploaded by triviaqueen.

Damn, this is not supposed to be a weather blog.... but this "winter" stuff is getting on my nerves... makes me angry.... and you wouldn't like me when I'm angry.

I got some frustration out by doodling on a photo of a little snowman I built. People seem amused by it, so here it is.... enjoy.

Art to Beat the January Blahs

It's Friday, and really, it's about time. It was minus eight degrees Celcius this morning. MINUS EIGHT people. That's about 17° Fahrenheit for my American readers, and it's too damned cold for Victoria. I pay big bucks to live somewhere where temperature used to range from about 5 to 25°C through the year -- not minus anything to thirty anything!!!

But enough ranting. On with art.

1. cARTalog -- Art from catalog cards. Sigh. I do hate to see the last of these cards. I work with them each day, and it is a bit sad to see them go... but if they have to go, they may need to become art like these at the University of Iowa.

2. Little Cotton Rabbits -- these are the most adorable knit soft toys I've seen. Some are for sale from time to time, and I think the artist also takes commissions.

3. Simpsonzu -- If you haven't seen it already, hubby blogged about the Simpsonzu, a fan's anime-style interpretation of the Simpsons characters. What I love about this drawing is that many of the characters are one step away from how I imagine them in live action. Fan art is a funny thing; most of it is abysmal but every now and then a gem emerges. The Simpsonzu is one of those rarities.

Weathering the weather.

Sigh. Another day, more extreme weather... I wonder at what point do we consider it no longer extreme? Our region has been battered for over two months now with storm front after storm front... wind, heavy rain, snow, repeat. Meanwhile friends and family in Central Canada are barbequing in January. Frankly, I'm tired of it.

I had a small tantrum this morning trying to get into my snowboots; the lining in the right boot tends to scrunch up and there is no easy way to hold it steady so it just takes repeated attempts. I'd buy a new pair, but until the past couple of months I had worn them maybe a total of eleven days and I've had them for about 15 years.

Also, someone in Saanich Works this morning likely got a real earful as the police had to help our bus get down a nasty unsanded incline (we slid somewhat, which was white-knuckle scary on the top of a double decker, lemme tell ya, but the police had cleared other vehicles) -- on the other side there were three busses waiting to get up. The section of road looked no different than any other stretch but there was a nasty layer of black ice. Yikes. Aside from that adventure, the ride in was just fine and I was thankful not to be driving today.

Now the sun is shining bright and I may try to get some photos... but only from inside; I'm not putting on those boots again until I go home.

Weather Happened.

So... it snowed here today. Quite a lot, actually, about 4 inches (10 cm):

It was enough that they had to close Ring Road around the UVic Campus due to downed trees and subsequently reroute several bus routes. While our lights flickered all afternoon, they stayed on. Other Victorians were not so lucky. I have no idea what the conditions will be tomorrow... or whether I will be able to get to campus. Sigh. At least kiddo got her wish for snow:

For fun, have a look at drivers trying to navigate Esquimalt Rd. this morning. There's ice and slush all over the road, and my bet is not one of those vehicles has snowtires.

tags: weather, snow, victoriabc

snowing1

snowing1
Originally uploaded by triviaqueen.

AAAgh! SNOW. I must actually be in Canada. We rarely get snow out here... and we really didn't believe the forecast (especially when they revised it to say "snow mixed with rain") and yet around 3:30 this afternoon in Nanaimo it started snowing heavily.... thankfully hubby was driving. Thankfully, we called ahead to BC ferries to check the schedule for the Mill Bay - Brentwood bay run. Thankfully we made it on the ferry.

Back on the Peninsula, it was raining -- mixed with snow -- but after returning home, we found out the Malahat (the route we would have had to take if we hadn't detoured to the ferry) had been closed!

PHEW!