The Insomnia Edition

Another week come and gone as I creep closer to yet another birthday. I know I'm not old, nor do I feel old, which I hear tell is the key (of course that is usually from people who are either really young, in which case it is patronizing, or really old, in which case it sounds a bit like wishful thinking...but whatever). I'm having yet another extended bout of insomnia, which as some of you know manifests itself in my inability to get more than about 3 hours of sleep a night followed by a raging restlessness that frustrates me until I am forced to get up and work on my history paper or write my weekly blog entry (lucky you the benefit of my crises!) I envy my wife right now who is sound asleep, with snoring puppies at her feet, probably dreaming of an all expense paid trip to IKEA, while I struggle to make sense of my week and entertain you (a feat which I must admit I'm sadly failing at this point). But fear not, if words may fail me I DO have pictures to augment my weak prose. This has been a pleasantly short week, Canadian Thanksgiving was this past Monday, so Shell and I both had the day off. Which was good since we had to recuperate from Thanksgiving dinner and the turkey hangover. We went into Toronto to have dinner with the family at Tim and Lesley's house and a good time was had by all...especially Quinn and Leah who had a sugar fix courtesy of just about everyone giving them treats (next year I recommend fashioning a large hamster wheel for them to run on and powering the city via their energy!) It's difficult for Shell and I to have moved out of the city since it makes it harder to see those two little rascals, but hopefully we will be having them for some sleepovers soon. A really interesting find this week in our house. Shell found 2 pages from a old newspaper wrapped within something she was unpacking. It's the Toronto Mail and Empire dated February 17th, 1926!!! Anyone who knows me knows how cool I think this is :) One of the pages is a financial page (and since this is 3 years before the Wall Street crash I am going to try and compare some stock prices when I find some extra time. One of the things that is really fascinating is this advertisement for a cruise line: Clark's Famous Cruises Books now open for following 1927 cruises Jan. 29, To the Mediterranean 62 days, $600 to $1700 Feb. 5, South American and Merditerranean in Combination 86 days $800 to $2800 Jan. 19, Around the World Over four months $1250 to $2900 They also listed a 1926 summer cruise to Norway and Western Mediterranean 53 days for $550 to $1250 on the SS Lancastria The trip includes stops in Lisbon, Spain, Tangier, Italy, Riviera, Sweden, Norway fjords, Scotland, Berlin, Paris, London. Now here's the REALLY fascinating part. The SS Lancastria is a very historic ship. 14 years and 4 months after this ad ran in the paper, the Lancastria was sunk (June 17th, 1940) in what has been described the worst maritime disaster Britain suffered in World War II. On June 17, 1940 the Lancastria was being used by the military to evacuate British troops and refugees from France in the wake of Nazi occupation of Paris 4 days earlier. It is estimated that between 6000 to 9000 people were crowded aboard the Lancastria, 5 miles off the coast of St. Nazairre when it was bombed by German aircraft and sunk. There were only approximately 2500 survivors. An official report by the British government has been sealed and remains so until 2040. Photo of the Lancastria shortly after the German air strike-
Last photo of the Lancastria as she sank-
To say the least it is an interesting story and one I'm going to try and explore further. Now for Home Reno Corner news- The living room has really taken an upswing and I'm finally able to post a few photos for you. I am encouraged to remind you that there are still decorative touches not yet in place, but overall the sense of the style is at hand. Shell scored a free sofa donation from a co-worker. I am told it fits in with the style (like I'd know). So some before and after pictures follow. The color on the fireplace wall has changed dramatically and though it doesn't show in the pictures, the other walls color has changed as well though slightly less dramatic. Before-
After-

Before-
After-
I will have a few more as they become available. In the meantime I also thought it time that I share a photo (or two) of me in my work environs. As I've written a great deal about it, I thought I'd take a picture of myself to show you a bit of what I look like when I'm working. I warn you these pictures are quite frightening...parental discretion is advised! First the face of frozen fear. One of the hardest parts for me is that my facial hair freezes quite rapidly (remember its about -30 in there).

Now a wider shot of me (and therefore far less scary) that shows my freezer suit. You can imagine that a person of my size, layered with this bulky suit, is not the swiftest or most mobile. Yet I manage pretty well for an old man.
Well that's all the time I have for this week. I'm still trying to put together a Politics 101 post for you dealing with the Electoral College since I've had some Canadians ask about it recently, also I have thoughts about the debates since they are now completed. I will work on this in between my paper which is due in a few days (yikes). Until then...