to market to market

Today being Wednesday, I donned my new peasant skirt with a colourful t-shirt set, threw my straw purse over my shoulder and headed out to the farmers' market to see what kind of treasures I could unearth.

I love the farmer's market, even though I only remember to go a handful of times the six months of the year it's open. I usually think about it Tuesday or Thursday, or sometimes even Wednesday but only after 1 p.m. when it's over.

Today, thanks to a reminder from my well organized husband, I remembered. I just made it, too, about a half hour before closing time - something that apparently worked to my advantage as people were knocking dollars off their prices without even being asked.

Here's what I purchased:

- 22 pounds of White Flesh peaches for $15 (they were $18 earlier in the day)
- A big bag of spinach for $3
- 7 cobs of corn for $2.50 (the guy just threw in the seventh)
- 3 corgettes for $1
- A box of green string beans for $1.75

What I didn't buy:

- A bottle of maple syrup, tapped by the guy who was selling it, from his grove of maple trees in Quebec
- Kettle corn (called sweet popcorn in England) - but I did take a sample
- My name written in Japanese characters, for $1.50
- A song from a certain busker I was hoping to hear (he wasn't there)

At 1 p.m. a man started walking around, clanging a cow bell to signify the market was closing. Off I went with my little cache of produce, feeling good about supporting local growers (for local people) and buying our food fresh.

I must remember to return next week.

am i invisible?

Um, hello . . . I have a new banner too . . . doesn't anyone want to rave about it?

four things about me

I found this, this morning, in my inbox (with different answers, of course - the ones you're about to read are my own). The idea is to forward it on, but instead I thought I'd post it here. Please do add your own answers, in the comment section, after.

Things you may not have known about me...

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Kitchen aid at an old folks home
2. Magazine reader for university profs
3. Hair salon receptionist
4. Gardener at a local heritage park

Four movies I would (and do) watch over and over (and over and over):
1. Out of Africa
2. The English Patient
3. What's Up Doc?
4. Pride and Prejudice

Four places I have lived:
1. A duplex (okay, two) in Kelowna, B.C.
2. A dormitory in Lacombe, Alberta
3. A 100-year-old-ish manor house in Binfield, England
4. A grotty apartment (okay, two, both upstairs from an English language institute) in Kwangju, S. Korea

Four TV shows I love to watch (or would if I had a TV and they were still on the air):
1. Get Smart
2. Friends
3. Seinfeld
4. Mad About You

Four places I have been on vacation:
1. Hope, B.C.
2. Theodore, Saskatchewan
3. Majorca
4. Exotic Enderby, B.C.

Web sites I visit daily:
1. Friends' blogs (see sidebar)
2. www.dictionary.com
3. www.usefilm.com
4. www.castanet.net

Four of my (way more than four) favourite foods:
1. Kyle's Pad Thai
2. My grandma's vegetarian lasagna
3. Laughing Moon muffins
4. My mum's pancakes with blueberries and whipped cream

Four places I would like to be right now:
1. London, England
2. On a train crossing Europe
3. Behind a desk with my name on it at the Globe and Mail
4. In bed, sleeping

Four friends I think will respond (the sum total of my readership):
1. Kyle
2. Kelly
3. Amanda (you can cut and paste the one you sent me)
4. Darcie (welcome back, btw!)

furry fandom

So I'm sitting in the Bean Scene one evening about three years ago, with Darcie, trying to play chess using paper pieces (we finally gave up because every time someone walked by, the board would be blown into chaos - but that's not my point today), when this guy with a tail, protruding from a specially-cut hole in the back of his trousers, wiggles his butt in my face.

He wasn't actually doing it for my benefit. He was showing off his sad, skinny feather boa tail to someone else, who was standing close by. Apparently, it was something to be proud of. Right. "Only at the Bean Scene," we chortled.

Then, last April in London, in front of St. Paul's Cathedral, Kyle, Amanda and I saw a girl with a rather glorious looking racoon tail (put the feather boa completely to shame) attached to the back of her trousers (see picture, above).

Well, last week, listening to CBC Radio, I learned that these two tail-bearing eccentrics were probably furries (aka furs or furry fans) and part of a rather broad movement called furry fandom.

Furries are taken with anthropomorphic animals - characters like Bugs Bunny, Roger Rabbit, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Sonic the Hedgehog et al, who are animals but display human characteristics. They're also into stuffies, not surprisingly. But many go a step further, giving themselves animal characteristics. Like tails. Others are less subtle, like the guy being interviewed, who likes to go out in a full rabbit costume every now and then, just because. Like, these people are into it - some pushing it to fetish levels.

Others get into it from a religious perspective, creating belief systems and philosophies they think are in keeping with the animal world.

There was reference to a negative/extreme portrayal of furries on the TV show CSI - although it was never revealed what exactly went on - at least not from where I tuned in. Their response was, "we're just innocent furries, trying to mind our own business in our little kitty costumes, what's the problem? Leave us alone! We're just like everyone else" (except they're not because everyone else doesn't don a bear suit to shop for groceries).

I know a girl who dated a guy who claimed he was a cat, and could see in the dark and use cat instincts and stuff (was that the attraction?). Maybe he was a furry.

Perhaps Cat Woman was a furry? Ditto Bat Man and Spider Man?

Whatever the case, I'm glad I know, so that next time I see one parading about town, I'll know. And next time I won't let their butt get anywhere near my face!