Friday 28 February 2014

Day 59

Day 59 by angelamermaid
Day 59, a photo by angelamermaid on Flickr.

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My 6th winning tab, 5th free coffee. I am on a rrrrroll.

FYI there are two tabs this year because of Tim Hortons 50th anniversary. All of my winning tabs have been yellow.

Ocean Beach

Ocean beach by angelamermaid
Ocean beach, a photo by angelamermaid on Flickr.

Thursday 27 February 2014

Day 58

365blog
Day 58 by angelamermaid
Day 58, a photo by angelamermaid on Flickr.

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There is a chance of Northern Lights tonight. There is also a chance of snow.

Wednesday 26 February 2014

Heermann's Gulls

Heermann's Gulls by angelamermaid
Heermann's Gulls, a photo by angelamermaid on Flickr.

Day 57

Day 57 by angelamermaid
Day 57, a photo by angelamermaid on Flickr.

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Feeling experimental.

Tuesday 25 February 2014

Day 56

Day 56 by angelamermaid
Day 56, a photo by angelamermaid on Flickr.

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I just woke her from a bad dream.

Monday 24 February 2014

Day 55

365blog
Day 55 by angelamermaid
Day 55, a photo by angelamermaid on Flickr.

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Is it Spring yet?

Sunday 23 February 2014

This is how its done

How I Spent My Winter Vacation - Part Four

February 10 was my last full day in San Diego. My plans for the day had changed rapidly. Originally I was to meet Judy and Lisa, two women I knew from our mutual love of Owen/Cristina, in the morning. Lisa was taking the train from LA and Judy would pick up both of us and we'd eat. But then Judy's kids got sick and so did she.

So Lisa and I tried to figure out how to meet up - and I tried to figure out what to do with the rest of my day. When Judy started feeling better, it became more complicated. Part of me wanted to see more of San Diego, but honestly, I had been doing a lot of walking and exploring and didn't really feel up to figuring out the bus system. I could have rented a car, but the California freeway system looks pretty complex and intimidating.

Judy felt better so we eventually settled on meeting for supper. I decided I would make things simpler by not exploring San Diego. Polina suggested that I walk to the Mission Trails Regional Park nearby, and that turned out to be a great idea.

So I walked half an hour to the park. I found the environment very interesting - most of my life has been lived in northern climates. (I checked Google Maps - San Diego is actually the farthest south I have even travelled).
February 10 2014

The park has a visitor's centre. A volunteer encouraged me to follow a path around the centre, which he said he could do in 45 minutes and he was "an old guy". He also assured me it was safe for a lone woman to be walking on and suggested I visit the Grinding Rocks.

He also gave me a guide to native plant life around the centre. This is made in the tradition of the Kumeyaay and was on the grounds.
February 10 2014

Day 54

Day 54 by angelamermaid
Day 54, a photo by angelamermaid on Flickr.
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There are only two reasons to be up early on a Sunday - catching a flight or watching a gold medal hockey game.

Saturday 22 February 2014

Day 53

Day 53 by angelamermaid
Day 53, a photo by angelamermaid on Flickr.
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In a burst of productivity, I rearranged stuff so that I could put all of my yarn stash in my walk-in closet.

Friday 21 February 2014

Day 52

Day 52 by angelamermaid
Day 52, a photo by angelamermaid on Flickr.
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Having a bite to eat post-drum circle.

Thursday 20 February 2014

Northern Lights

Northern Lights by angelamermaid
Northern Lights, a photo by angelamermaid on Flickr.
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Another photo from last night - took some extra processing to bring out the aurora.

How I Spent My Winter Vacation - Part Three

February 9 was another beautiful day in San Diego. By this point, I'd forgotten what bitter cold feels like. We went to a restaurant with a gluten-free menu - 's daughter is celiac and was thrilled to have another GF person visiting. The GF cinnamon roll pancakes were awesome. February 9 2014 Before heading out to the zoo, I took pictures of clover. Because I was in love with all the greenness of San Diego. February 9 2014

Day 51

365blog
Day 51 by angelamermaid
Day 51, a photo by angelamermaid on Flickr.

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Flag selfie in honour of Canada's latest gold medal, when our women defeated the US in overtime!

The Northern Lights

One thing that Calgary has over California is the Northern Lights. I've long admired a coworker's photography and wished I had the nerve to chase Northern Lights like he does.

Normally, there's a cloud cover when an aurora watch is issued. Tonight there wasn't. And I decided that for once, I'd go for it. I grabbed my trusty Lumix and a tripod and set off for a nearby park area.

Northern Lights over Calgary

Northern Lights over Calgary

Northern Lights over Calgary

And now I'm going to bed.

Wednesday 19 February 2014

Day 50

Day 50 by angelamermaid
Day 50, a photo by angelamermaid on Flickr.

Tuesday 18 February 2014

Day 49

365blog
Day 49 by angelamermaid
Day 49, a photo by angelamermaid on Flickr.

Monday 17 February 2014

Day 48

365blog
Yay! by angelamermaid
Yay!, a photo by angelamermaid on Flickr.

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Today is Family Day in Alberta, yet Canada Post was still making deliveries. I'm glad - because I got a nice surprise card!

Sunday 16 February 2014

Day 47

Day 47 by angelamermaid
Day 47, a photo by angelamermaid on Flickr.

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Life with cats isn't all rainbows and cuddles.

How I Spent My Winter Vacation - Part Two

The original reason to go to San Diego was the Mermaid Marathon. I thought it would be a good reason to get up and start moving after surgery in the fall. I chose the 5K race because I wasn't sure how much stamina I'd recover by race time.

What makes it a "mermaid" marathon is that 99% of the entrants were female, from a grand and wise mermaid in robes to lots of giggling mini-mermaids.

Since P lured me to San Diego for the marathon, she walked it with me. Starting early in the morning.
Start line

Surrounded by women in colourful tutus and mermaid leggings, we felt a little underdressed. :-) I did tie-dye my t-shirt for the race.

Saturday 15 February 2014

Day 46

365blog
Day 46 by angelamermaid
Day 46, a photo by angelamermaid on Flickr.
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Another Saturday night with my favourite ginger bad ass.

How I Spent My Winter Vacation - Part One

This is how it will go - I'll post a recap of each day, with photos to illustrate, but I won't post all of the photos from each day at once. I will post the others one at a time, later, so I can still share them but not overwhelm one post with too many.

Note: the Jedi camera doesn't want to turn on, I tried it with two fully charged battery packs. I'll take it into a shop - it may be as simple as the date/time battery needing to be replaced. My point is, all of my photos were either taken with my Lumix or my cell phone.

I arrived in San Diego on February 6. My first flight, from Calgary to Los Angeles, was great. I watched Gravity then chatted with the older couple seated next to me. They were going to sightsee for a day, then board a cruise ship that would take them through the Panama Canal to Florida.

LAX is huge. And overwhelming. With the kindness of helpful people, I found my terminal for my next flight. When I went in search of my gate, I got whisked into a shuttle bus and was driven across across the airport to a smaller terminal with one fast food restaurant and no WiFi. #firstworldproblems.

My next flight was in partnership with WestJet. It was an American Eagle flight and cramped. My seatmate and I agreed that we should pull the window shade down and try to nap. This was definitely an economy flight.

P was at the San Diego airport, with her kids, Victoria and Andrew. I've known P for so long online that it wasn't weird settling into her minivan and talking as we drove through San Diego. San Diego is beautiful, by the way.

The next morning, everyone was at work or school. I had breakfast with a beautiful view of her backyard, and canyons and hills. And a hummingbird hovering around these flowers.
Spot the hummingbird

Friday 14 February 2014

Day 45

365blog
Day 45 by angelamermaid
Day 45, a photo by angelamermaid on Flickr.

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I got my phone back with a new motherboard, so covert selfies on transit are back!

Thursday 13 February 2014

Day 44

365blog
Day 44 by angelamermaid
Day 44, a photo by angelamermaid on Flickr.

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Yes, she's sleeping with her paw in my hair.

Day 43

Day 43 by angelamermaid
Day 43, a photo by angelamermaid on Flickr.

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I made great progress while travelling this week.
ravel.me/angelamermaid/mms

Wednesday 12 February 2014

Days 37-42

Tired after a long day of travel and crashing on a guest bed.
Day 37

Enjoying watching the sun set with a friend.
Day 38

La Jolla.
Day 39

Another day where I forgot to take a selfie until I was ready for bed. Also, SPF60 wasn't sufficient for my pale Canadian skin.
Day 40

Visiting the Mission Trails Regional Park. This was taken before I hiked a hot 5K and possibly brushed up against poison oak.
Day 41

After one cancelled flight and a shuttle ride to LAX, I'm homeward bound.
Day 42

Tuesday 11 February 2014

Homeward Bound Boo Yeah!

This morning, I was at the San Diego airport and a little nervous about the status of my flight. I was scheduled to fly to LAX, have a four hour layover, then board a plane to Calgary. RECAP.

 My flight got cancelled due to fog. BOO!

Wednesday 5 February 2014

Day 36

Day 36 by angelamermaid
Day 36, a photo by angelamermaid on Flickr.

Tuesday 4 February 2014

Day 35

Day 35 by angelamermaid
Day 35, a photo by angelamermaid on Flickr.

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I remembered my iPad has a camera.

Monday 3 February 2014

Day 34

Day 34 by angelamermaid
Day 34, a photo by angelamermaid on Flickr.

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I'm not feeling it today.

Sunday 2 February 2014

Day 33

Day 33 by angelamermaid
Day 33, a photo by angelamermaid on Flickr.

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My phone died and is undergoing repair under warranty. I'm using my old phone, with less camera options. So I'm going to be extra creative in figuring out how to take selfies.

Saturday 1 February 2014

Day 32

Day 32 by angelamermaid
Day 32, a photo by angelamermaid on Flickr.

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Experimenting with a laser pointer and the timer option on my Lumix. Just another Saturday night. ;-)