Sip and Strokes.

Today was my "art" class in Louisville.  I am not sure how I came across finding this class, but I am glad I did.  The company is called "Sip and Strokes".  They offer to teach you how to paint a specific painting...(each day has a different painting for you to chose from) ... they provide you with a cocktail(s) of your choosing (you pay for those on top of the fee) ...along with a wee plate of tasty delights!  You can chose a sweet plate of squares and fruit, or a plate of cheese and and crackers.  I was good and went with the cheese and crackers. They also provide the paint, the canvas and brushes required for that specific painting.  The class lasts about 2 hours and cost $40.00.

I think this is such a cool idea.....I really need to bring it to Canada.   Here is the website in case you want to check it out. https://www.sipsnstrokes.com/home.aspx

This is my painting below. I will make it really big because I know you will want to appreciate my art work full size!

The Louisville Zoo!

Despite the cloudy sky, the forecast of rain and the couch calling my name, I decided I would go to the zoo!  Who doesn't like a nice long walk in 90 degree heat around smelly animals!!  That is my idea of a good time.  I unfortunately took a wrong turn getting to the zoo and that made me late for feeding the giraffes. The next feeding wasn't until 2:30.  I didn't last at the zoo that long so I will have to go back to feed them!  But I have pictures....lots of pictures.  I won't show you all 74...just the highlights.

How cute is this baby?  Pretty sure it wanted to come home with me.

The ladies having a snack.

I don't really think she meant to stick her tongue out at me....I think that she was just mid-chew.

There was something about these two that reminded me of Bubba.

Elephant hot!

This camel looked most comfortable in this water.

Pretty kitty!  TC looks like this when he sleeps too.  Sometimes he even crosses his paws.

I just loved how this Meercat was sitting....peeved it wouldn't look at me though when I wanted to take it's picture.

I think this was on purpose!

Pretty Kitty 2!

I wanted to be swimming with this guy.

Saddest bald eagle EVER!  Just not right for a national symbol.

Cute couple.

The monkey on the left was just minding it's own business...trying to have a quiet moment when the annoying monkey on the right swung over and started pestering it!  Climbing all over it and putting it in a headlock.  I couldn't really put my finger on it...but there was something about that monkey on the right that reminded me of my brother and our childhood.....hmmm.....

I have had bad hair days like this!

Who doesn't like a penguin!

That was my abbreviated trip to the zoo.  After my visit I went to Panera Bread for lunch, Target for a few essentials and then Starbucks for my ride home.  Ahhhhh....good day.

Vacation Day.

My plans for a nice relaxing day off from work has begun with a headache, some nausea and pain under my right eye.  Me thinks, me has a sinus infection. Grrr!! Now I have to figure out how I am going to get myself to a doctor....and how much that will cost me!

And if that wasn't enough fun before 10:00 AM!!!......I just dug a TICK out of Bubba's face.  HIS SAD WRINKLY FACE!! That is tick number two here in Kentucky.  I am currently washing everything he has touched since we came back from our walk....including me!

Fried Pickles!

Well last night I finally had them  Deep Fried Pickles.  For some reason every time I have tried to order this most..."interesting appetizer"...they have been out.  But last night at Mammy's Kitchen in Downtown Bardstown I was finally able to order them.  I was having dinner with a co-worker from Woodbridge who is down for the week helping us out in Springfield and I forced him to enjoy the pickles with me.  I was expecting for that whole pickle to be deep fried and it never dawned on me that you could actually sliced them and that would probably make more sense.  I also forced Guy to be my Vanna White for these pictures.

I couldn't tell you what the dip is...cheesy...kinda thousand island sort of concoction...

This is Guy, just about to enjoy his first ever deep fried dill pickle!!!

This isn't the best shot, but I knew you would want to see these babies up close.

My conclusion on the fried pickles is mediocre!  You didn't get a lot of the dill pickle flavour and I felt like I was eating a really greasy dill pickle flavoured chip.  They were a bigger hit with Guy!  I can't say I wouldn't want to try them again at a different establishment.....but I can say that I can get through the rest of my life not having them again. 

Sorry I haven't been blogging much lately.  It has been too long since my last update.  However, the last two weeks have not been very eventful. The heat makes you want to stay home in the air conditioning! Especially when you spend your day enduring the heat while you are at work. (That is all for whining about the heat.)  I am looking forward to this weekend though because I have made it a long one. I have tomorrow off.  I completely forgot that it is the civic holiday on Monday.  I am going to try to convince Amir that we should have it off too.  

So I think I am going to go to the zoo this weekend.  YOU GET TO FEED GIRAFFES!!! How cool is that?  I have also signed up for this painting class in Louisville for Sunday.  It is called Sip and Strokes.  You get to drink wine or your preferred cocktail and they teach you to paint a specific painting. How perfect is that??!!  Two things I enjoy doing.  Painting and drinking wine!  It never occurred to me to put them together.  One might really help the other.....or help you to really appreciate the other.  I will let you know how it goes.

Delivery for Hiro-san.

This box was delivered yesterday for our Japan Engineer, Hiroyoshi Shiozaki. (We call him Hiro)  All I saw was the DuraSkin logo and X-large and thought, "Wow! I guess it isn't true what they say about the Japanese!!"  But on closer examination  I saw it was for disposable latex gloves.  Sorry... no myth debunked here!

I should also point out it is shut down, most everyone is on vacation and I was a little bored....

Just a couple more photos of Mike and Becky's visit!

Becky sent me a couple of pictures she had taken of their visit.  This one is of Mike after his long drive.  They were so anxious to see me that they woke up at 4:30a.m. and couldn't get back to sleep. So they thought they should get on the road and get here as soon as possible.  Who can blame them really!! This is also further proof that "The Bubba" had no issues when they arrived.  He seemed to recognize them and didn't play strange at all.  I mean he doesn't just nap with anyone!! (TC even got in on the action....or lack of action)

Enjoying the company, view and $9.00 drinks at Joe's Crabshack in downtown Louisville!  The drinks were great...can't exactly remember what they were called.  (they were that good)  You even get to keep the glasses!

This is what Mike ordered for dinner!  The pots of steamed crap legs are what they are famous for.  It is a lot of food!

See...so much to do and eat in Louisville, how could you not rush down to visit??

Bubba goes to the Farm!

Well it is scorching hot here in Kentucky on this lazy Sunday so I thought that it would be a perfect time to drag Bubba outside to visit the Knowles and their farm.  I work with Serena Knowles and her husband TJ at Inoac. Serena is our quality engineer and TJ works in the maintenance department.  They have a daughter Kelcie who is ten and thinks I am great.  She is obviously extremely smart and wise beyond her years.  They are a family of animal lovers like me and wanted very much to meet The Bubba. I was hoping they wouldn't be too disappointed that he wouldn't be as excited to meet them. 

True to form, Bubba wouldn't go near them, look at them or even let them pet him.  I brought peanut butter sandwiches (which are his favourite) so they could try to bribe him to come closer and then they could pet him.  That didn't even work. He did however feel comfortable enough to relieve himself in full view on their front lawn.  I think it was just nerves!

We decided to go for a walk where they could show me their farm and we could meet Ears, their donkey. I dragged Bubba out to their back forty in the heat so he could lay eyes on his first donkey.  I didn't think Bubba would go near him and they warned me that Ears was not a fan of dogs! I was very surprised when Bubba barked and wagged his tail at the sight of the donkey.  Ears seemed quite interested in this stubby-legged dog as well and less interested in getting to know me.  Obviously delusional in such heat.  You would think this donkey was actually a dog as he comes running whenever Kelcie calls for him.  The sound he makes is not anything I have ever heard before.  He doesn't look big enough to make sounds like that.  He was pretty cute though. You will see in the pictures why they call him Ears. I think they are even bigger than Bubba's!





 

BUBBA TIRED!



Getting Closer.

The Big Meet. They both got a big sniff of each other and then Bubba barked at Ears to show him who is boss!

 After the long walk where I think I might have caused Bubba to suffer heat exhaustion, we went to the neighbours pool to watch Kelcie swim.  I really should have brought a swimsuit to Kentucky.  I will be buying one soon because I really wanted to swim seeing this water and being in the heat.  I do have a pretty intense sun burn to show for it. I haven't had one of these for a while!  Bubba passed out in the corner in some shade...well mostly he was panting like crazy with excessive drool.  I put my feet in the water and watched the neighbours dog get down on a boogie board. You don't see that every day.

We are home now.  Bubba is out for the count and I am thinking I need some aloe. I wonder if he will notice if I go to the store.



The Mystery of the Purple Boxes...solved!

My first visitors back in April noticed these purple boxes hanging from trees along HWY 245.  They inquired about them while we were driving by ,but I had no idea why they were there. I remember asking about them at work to see if anyone could tell me what they were for, but no one had any idea what I was talking about! They had never seen them.  I have asked my other visitors if they have noticed purple boxes hanging from trees, but the boxes seem to have conveniently disappeared! This of course has garnered me a few odd side glances.  I have searched for the boxes every time I drive that highway to no avail. I was starting to believe that they had been a figment of my imagination....until today.  Returning to my car after my walk/jog/walk there was one hanging over my very own car!!

Having a good look at the box I had hoped I would be able to understand what they are for.  A bird's nest?  A feeder?  But it was empty with two retangular pieces hanging down.  Happy for finding them but still confused on what they could be, I came home to Google.  Google never lets you down!!

LAWRENCE COUNTY, Ohio (WSAZ) -- If you've driven through southern Ohio lately and wondered about those purple boxes hanging in the trees, well, mystery solved

They're insect traps, specifically for a pest called the emerald ash borer. The Ohio Department of Agriculture has 75 hundred of the purple traps scattered all across the state. Once the insects infest an ash tree, it dies within five years. That represents a significant threat to Ohio's 5 billion ash trees.

The bugs come from Asia and were first discovered in Michigan in 2002. Since then they've continued to spread south. The state placed the traps where the bug has not yet been sighted. Emerald ash borers are attracted to the color purple.

Who isn't glad I finally figured that out??

The Fourth of July!

Sadly the long weekend comes to an end! My guests left early this morning for Florida and Bubba has been sleeping most of the day away. It started out rainy, but now it is quite sunny and again quite warm.  Today I felt the need to visit one of my new favourite friends here in KY.  I have been very neglectful in my visitations, as it has been a good three weeks since my last visit! I have thought about visiting often though....but you know how it goes...work and responsibilities get in the way.

While I was there I met two new friends that insisted on coming home with me....

 

This is Franco Sarto...

...and little Puma.

I love my new friends.  Both of them came home with me for less then $40.00!!  I must remember to visit more often.

I had a great visit with Becky and Mike.  They arrived on Saturday afternoon.  Becky and I spent the afternoon getting caught up on work while Mike had a nap.  We did a pretty good job of finishing up a bottle of wine while we chatted.  (and when I say "we" I really mean Becky had about 3/4's to my 1/4) After a little walk with Bubba it was quite apparent that it was Becky's turn to have a nap. Her eyelid's refused to stay open.  Once we were all refreshed we went to the Kurtz restaurant for dinner.  Luckily I made reservations because it was packed and they had a waiting line to get a table.  Dinner was very good and we made sure to have the Bourbon Bread pudding for dessert!

On Sunday I took Mike and Becky out to Maker's Mark for their first distillery tour.  I made sure to print off directions this time!  That helped to shave off 15 minutes of driving time....Hi Jim! We were a little early for the first tour of the day, so we stopped at the Maker's Mark Cafe for a little lunch.  Highly recommend The Bourbon Chocolate Chip cookies.  Have I mentioned I will be dieting for the next little while....

They really enjoyed the tour, but man it was hot! I got to do the first part of the tour which we missed last time.  They take you into a replica of the inventor's house and you get a little more of the history. I didn't realise that Maker's Mark did not have long history like Jim Beam or Heaven Hill.  It wasn't created until the 1950's. Bill Samuel's created Maker's Mark along with help from his wife.  She came up with the name and the symbol for Maker's Mark.  She was a collector of Pewter and I guess the "makers" of pewter create a "mark" that they put on every piece they create.  She thought this would be a perfect name and symbol for the bourbon.  They explained the exact interpretation of their symbol, but I forget now...I am sure it has nothing to do with the bourbon tasting.

After the tour we came home to relieve Bubba's bladder and take him on a nice, long and very warm walk.  That made him too exhausted to protest us leaving him again so we could go into Louisville for dinner.  I took them too Joe's Crabshack on the waterfront.  It was a 45 minute wait, but we were lucky enough to find ourselves in the middle of July 4th celebrations.  There were certainly lots of stands for junk food and red/white/blue paraphernalia! A concert and fireworks display was scheduled  for later that night, so it wasn't too busy yet.  I am not sure how it all turned out, as it rained pretty hard around 9:00.  We were home and settled by then!

So another great weekend come and gone.  I can't believe it is July!  Four months working and living in Kentucky already in the can....not sure how many more it will be.  The way things are going at work it will be longer than 6 months.  That is ok with me right now. I can't say I am ready to come yet.

July 4th Weekend!

Sadly I did not have the day off for Canada day, but I was able to leave early! Happy Canada Day to the folks back home!! However, I am looking forward to experiencing the Fourth of July here in Bardstown.  I hear there might be a parade!  weeeeee.

Tomorrow Becky and Mike arrive to share this holiday weekend with me.  Tonight however, I am heading to Louisville to see a movie and have dinner.  I am going with a "friend".  A "friend" who would like to be more.  A "friend" who says he understands that we can only hang out as "friends"......I am pretty sure I am setting myself up for something that is going to get ugly.  WHY OH WHY DO I HAVE TO BE SO IRRESISTIBLE? It can be sooooo exhausting. I will let you know how it goes.....from the numerous texts I have received up to this eventful evening it will be a be a doozy!