Loooooong Post!
Dec. 14th, 2011 07:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lucoIn short, this post will cover the following:
-My trip to Elliot Lake
-The Con
-My biopsy and exploration of a castle
-Some photos of my decorated studio!
Elliot Lake:
The trip there was an event in itself. Mom and I left from the Craft Show at the Church ((where everyone loved my dress, it was my first time wearing it and I got treated like a princess!)) and headed up. I was bored and watched the signs, noticing the deer crossing. Mom was like, 'yeah it happens' and not even 10 minutes after that, a deer jumps out of a dip between the two roads RIGHT in front of us!
Mom swerves, we hit it's rear-end, and somehow it manages to run off into the forest.
The rest of the trip I was awake. There was rain and fog for the whole 6 hours and the signs caused me to be slightly wary....we had deer crossing, moose crossing, military crossing, rockslide warnings and horse-drawn wagon crossing.
...yeah.
Also, there was one road which I fell in love with and wish we had a chance to go down. It was called 'Seldom Seen Road' I mean seriously, what is down there? And why is it called that? Is it seldom seen, will you be seldom seen after, just what?
I'm soo using it in my comic.
Speaking of comic. Ellito Lake was good research. It's an old Mining Town. There was once an active Uranium mine, which shut down, leaving the place as a modern ghost town for the longest time. There is recent activity though that suggests the mine might be re-opened, but the whole city/town still has that 'closed-off' feel. I mean, they were beyond friendly, but you could tell I was the odd one out. Everyone knew everyone, knew where to go, who did what and what everyone's schedule was.
There were certain places you should and should not be, 'proper' people and not, and just....well a whole set of rules and customs! Also the stores. Same stores as here, but the stuff they sold was vastly different! It was cool!
There was also the odd fact that I was the only female in my age group. You saw little girls, a few teenagers and then everyone turned 40 or up. No girl my age. Which of course meant I got a lot of male attention ((and if I lived up there I would have soooo taken that cute little mechanic who would not stop staring and blushing and being sweet out for coffee and possibly more. Just...damn.))
It seemed the ladies left town because there was no real work for them. But, it was fun and grandma took me around so that I could get a feel for the place and pointed out different things that she thought would help me out. We also went through the mining museum and saw the memorials. I still need to go through the photos and size them and stuff, but the displays and info in the museum were really fascinating!
So, the trip let me relax AND was informative! I'd like to go back in the summer sometime. Lots of nice hiking trails and soo many little lakes and such.
The Con:
It was just a little one day event, but it was a nice change of pace and really, I just wanted an excuse to wear my dress. Also, Lee needs to be exposed to more and I think he quite liked it there ^___^ We made him a Kuybey shirt and quite a few people recognized it which was awesome.
Mom and my Aunt also gave us money so that we could treat ourselves to something there as a Christmas present which was awesome. You can see what I got in the studio pics!
Anyways, the stamps weren't ready when we arrived so a guy just signed my hand when we entered. I was kind of amused. There was also a motorcycle convention going on and a few guys offered to show me around. I ignored them. The con didn't expect the turnout they would get and it was insanely crowded in the dealer's room, but still, a good day and really, any day I get a chance to spend time with Bryce, I will.
Yes I'm hopeless. Shut up.
Biopsy and Castle!
Tuesday I had a Biopsy. Which means they froze the area on the back of my neck, used a scalpel to cut away a chunk of flesh, stuck it in a bottle full of mystery liquid and then used a laser to cauterize the wound.
I'm glad I was face-down on the pillow. Still, hearing the sparks from the laser when you weren't told about it can freak you out.
Also seeing a piece of your flesh being sent away is an odd thing to witness.
And before you worry, it's just because I've been getting very slow healing wounds. The one on my neck has been open for over a year. Lee calls it my Matrix Plug. And after hearing those sparks....
MOVING ON!
Mom decided that since she had used her last vacation day to take me that, we should all go on a field trip! So her, Lee and I all went to Casa Loma!! It's a medieval castle in Toronto ^____^ I went there as a kid with dad and had always wanted to go back!
It is sooo very much fun to go through even if it is more closed off then it used to be. Stupid teenagers... But!! it's still lovely. And Santa was there. He was very awesome and in an old style outfit and he chatted with me and played tour guide for a bit!
I also got to see my tower. Last time when I was there, I was really small and I remember this narrow winding staircase that went up and up and up... I was only allowed so far up because of my size, but I remember being in love with it. I didn't see it on the map at first, but then on the third floor there was this old staircase. I climbed that and ended up in the rafters. Exploring there for a bit I found another little set of stairs and there, I found the bottom of the spiral staircase.
It's insanely narrow, only one person at a time and it seems to go on forever. Standing at the bottom of it I was glad I was alone because, it felt like dad was beside me. Like I was a kid again and he was standing on the first step and holding out a hand.
I climbed it slowly, each step my heart was pounding.
I made it to the first landing and just looked around the big, wooden, empty, circular room. I walked all around it, looking out each window and my footsteps echoed and creaked.
I had been here before, barely able to see what I see now.
Slowly, I made it back to the staircase and took one step up, then stopped. This was new. And although everyone else would probably think nothing of it, this was big. I had always dreamed of the top, of climbing back up.
Finally I did. I made it all the way to the stop, past a second little landing and into the Tower Top. And as I looked out over the view I cried and laughed and just sunk down against the stone.
Again I was glad I was alone because I'm sure I looked a mess. But I didn't care. This was real. This was mine. And I think dad was beside me, shaking his head but smiling. I had my tower.
After that, going through the underground tunnel to the old stables felt like it was part of a videogame. The whole day was surreal and I could easily loose myself there again.
Studio:
After I finished the Christmas Card I knew it would be pretty much non-stop work till Christmas, so I decided to take a little break and do the initial Christmas decorating for my studio!
My studio space!! With the world's comfies blanket on the chair!! And Puku's cage, which wraps around in front of the three bookshelves!!
Top of one bookshelf! Tried to show the glitter effect that decorations have, but failed. And yes, that's Chopper, Yian Kit Ku, a Royale Kitty and Pikachu ^___^
The boys needed a little Holiday spirit ^___^ ((me like One Piece? What are you talking about >>;))
The mini Kaito was one of my Convention purchases!! Isn't he adorable? And the little trees and lampposts are from mom! She always gets me Christmas decorations every year! I wanna continue with the village and such! I like creating scenes!
Another decorated booksheld. Sadly i did not get the chance to finish Delmar and Stray's Christmas outfits ;___; Oh and Delmar would like to say that all he wants for Christmas is a re-stringing kit so that his torso will stop leaving his legs behind.
And standing beside Ace you will see my other Con purchase ^___^ I could NOT pass him up, especially when he was only $50. Now I have proper reference for those two!
And the ledge behind my table! Akihiko and Mitsuru are not out of their boxes yet, but they will be joining the other two up there! As will the rest of the cards people have sent me...when I find that box >>;
And that is all!! Hope you enjoyed! Now to work on a dragon!
-My trip to Elliot Lake
-The Con
-My biopsy and exploration of a castle
-Some photos of my decorated studio!
Elliot Lake:
The trip there was an event in itself. Mom and I left from the Craft Show at the Church ((where everyone loved my dress, it was my first time wearing it and I got treated like a princess!)) and headed up. I was bored and watched the signs, noticing the deer crossing. Mom was like, 'yeah it happens' and not even 10 minutes after that, a deer jumps out of a dip between the two roads RIGHT in front of us!
Mom swerves, we hit it's rear-end, and somehow it manages to run off into the forest.
The rest of the trip I was awake. There was rain and fog for the whole 6 hours and the signs caused me to be slightly wary....we had deer crossing, moose crossing, military crossing, rockslide warnings and horse-drawn wagon crossing.
...yeah.
Also, there was one road which I fell in love with and wish we had a chance to go down. It was called 'Seldom Seen Road' I mean seriously, what is down there? And why is it called that? Is it seldom seen, will you be seldom seen after, just what?
I'm soo using it in my comic.
Speaking of comic. Ellito Lake was good research. It's an old Mining Town. There was once an active Uranium mine, which shut down, leaving the place as a modern ghost town for the longest time. There is recent activity though that suggests the mine might be re-opened, but the whole city/town still has that 'closed-off' feel. I mean, they were beyond friendly, but you could tell I was the odd one out. Everyone knew everyone, knew where to go, who did what and what everyone's schedule was.
There were certain places you should and should not be, 'proper' people and not, and just....well a whole set of rules and customs! Also the stores. Same stores as here, but the stuff they sold was vastly different! It was cool!
There was also the odd fact that I was the only female in my age group. You saw little girls, a few teenagers and then everyone turned 40 or up. No girl my age. Which of course meant I got a lot of male attention ((and if I lived up there I would have soooo taken that cute little mechanic who would not stop staring and blushing and being sweet out for coffee and possibly more. Just...damn.))
It seemed the ladies left town because there was no real work for them. But, it was fun and grandma took me around so that I could get a feel for the place and pointed out different things that she thought would help me out. We also went through the mining museum and saw the memorials. I still need to go through the photos and size them and stuff, but the displays and info in the museum were really fascinating!
So, the trip let me relax AND was informative! I'd like to go back in the summer sometime. Lots of nice hiking trails and soo many little lakes and such.
The Con:
It was just a little one day event, but it was a nice change of pace and really, I just wanted an excuse to wear my dress. Also, Lee needs to be exposed to more and I think he quite liked it there ^___^ We made him a Kuybey shirt and quite a few people recognized it which was awesome.
Mom and my Aunt also gave us money so that we could treat ourselves to something there as a Christmas present which was awesome. You can see what I got in the studio pics!
Anyways, the stamps weren't ready when we arrived so a guy just signed my hand when we entered. I was kind of amused. There was also a motorcycle convention going on and a few guys offered to show me around. I ignored them. The con didn't expect the turnout they would get and it was insanely crowded in the dealer's room, but still, a good day and really, any day I get a chance to spend time with Bryce, I will.
Yes I'm hopeless. Shut up.
Biopsy and Castle!
Tuesday I had a Biopsy. Which means they froze the area on the back of my neck, used a scalpel to cut away a chunk of flesh, stuck it in a bottle full of mystery liquid and then used a laser to cauterize the wound.
I'm glad I was face-down on the pillow. Still, hearing the sparks from the laser when you weren't told about it can freak you out.
Also seeing a piece of your flesh being sent away is an odd thing to witness.
And before you worry, it's just because I've been getting very slow healing wounds. The one on my neck has been open for over a year. Lee calls it my Matrix Plug. And after hearing those sparks....
MOVING ON!
Mom decided that since she had used her last vacation day to take me that, we should all go on a field trip! So her, Lee and I all went to Casa Loma!! It's a medieval castle in Toronto ^____^ I went there as a kid with dad and had always wanted to go back!
It is sooo very much fun to go through even if it is more closed off then it used to be. Stupid teenagers... But!! it's still lovely. And Santa was there. He was very awesome and in an old style outfit and he chatted with me and played tour guide for a bit!
I also got to see my tower. Last time when I was there, I was really small and I remember this narrow winding staircase that went up and up and up... I was only allowed so far up because of my size, but I remember being in love with it. I didn't see it on the map at first, but then on the third floor there was this old staircase. I climbed that and ended up in the rafters. Exploring there for a bit I found another little set of stairs and there, I found the bottom of the spiral staircase.
It's insanely narrow, only one person at a time and it seems to go on forever. Standing at the bottom of it I was glad I was alone because, it felt like dad was beside me. Like I was a kid again and he was standing on the first step and holding out a hand.
I climbed it slowly, each step my heart was pounding.
I made it to the first landing and just looked around the big, wooden, empty, circular room. I walked all around it, looking out each window and my footsteps echoed and creaked.
I had been here before, barely able to see what I see now.
Slowly, I made it back to the staircase and took one step up, then stopped. This was new. And although everyone else would probably think nothing of it, this was big. I had always dreamed of the top, of climbing back up.
Finally I did. I made it all the way to the stop, past a second little landing and into the Tower Top. And as I looked out over the view I cried and laughed and just sunk down against the stone.
Again I was glad I was alone because I'm sure I looked a mess. But I didn't care. This was real. This was mine. And I think dad was beside me, shaking his head but smiling. I had my tower.
After that, going through the underground tunnel to the old stables felt like it was part of a videogame. The whole day was surreal and I could easily loose myself there again.
Studio:
After I finished the Christmas Card I knew it would be pretty much non-stop work till Christmas, so I decided to take a little break and do the initial Christmas decorating for my studio!
My studio space!! With the world's comfies blanket on the chair!! And Puku's cage, which wraps around in front of the three bookshelves!!
Top of one bookshelf! Tried to show the glitter effect that decorations have, but failed. And yes, that's Chopper, Yian Kit Ku, a Royale Kitty and Pikachu ^___^
The boys needed a little Holiday spirit ^___^ ((me like One Piece? What are you talking about >>;))
The mini Kaito was one of my Convention purchases!! Isn't he adorable? And the little trees and lampposts are from mom! She always gets me Christmas decorations every year! I wanna continue with the village and such! I like creating scenes!
Another decorated booksheld. Sadly i did not get the chance to finish Delmar and Stray's Christmas outfits ;___; Oh and Delmar would like to say that all he wants for Christmas is a re-stringing kit so that his torso will stop leaving his legs behind.
And standing beside Ace you will see my other Con purchase ^___^ I could NOT pass him up, especially when he was only $50. Now I have proper reference for those two!
And the ledge behind my table! Akihiko and Mitsuru are not out of their boxes yet, but they will be joining the other two up there! As will the rest of the cards people have sent me...when I find that box >>;
And that is all!! Hope you enjoyed! Now to work on a dragon!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2011-12-15 01:36 am (UTC)