Barbie's Dog is Full of It

[This article was in the London Metro in today's paper] With his chiselled looks and nippy little sports car, we always suspected Ken might be full of it – but now Barbie has gone and got herself a dog that's gone the same way too. The latest Barbie accessory is her pet dog, called Tanner, which not only looks like a loveable labrador but also poops like one too. Almost a soon as Barbie has fed the dog its biscuit treats, a little something comes out the other end. But, in a move designed to encourage responsible dog ownership, toy manufacturer Mattel has provided Barbie with a pooper scooper and bin too, meaning Tanner never has to leave any unwanted 'gifts' lying about on the carpet. Tanner also comes equipped with dog toys, a bone, biscuit treats, a feeding bowl and a pink lead. And, just in case that does not get the message across, Mattel has produced a promotional video of Barbie and Tanner playing in the park that shows you how to 'potty train' your dog. So while Barbie may have seemed like the girl who had everything – including great clothes, cool cars, fabulous horses and no end of accessories – now we know what she was missing. To see the video click here.

The Colours of Poznan

In the middle of Poznan, Poland, is the Market Square which draws tourists during the summer, students during the year, and locals all year round. Each restaurant has an outdoor patio area right in the square and service is not rushed at all. You are expected to take 3 hours for a meal if you would like.

Medicine

I would rather let something heal naturally, feel the pain, and suffer with admirers than take medicine. There are few circumstances in which I will actually take something. Last week for instance I woke up and couldn't move my head. My whole neck had seized up and every movement sent shots of excrutiating pain up my neck and down into my shoulder blades. I buckled and took a muscle relaxant. I woke the next morning and was in pain all over again. Again the next day. Nigel asked me if I had taken any pills the night before. Why would I do that when I would be sleeping? He shook his head in utter bewilderment. Apparently I don't understand how these things work. Ha! I explained this story to a friend who said...Doesn't he know you don't like medicine? That is when it dawned on me...I, Michal, who avoids taking any medicine, am marrying an anesthetist! How ironic.

There Are Renovations Even in Poland!

This one is for the Tk-Porter house! This flat was bought by Kasper, a friend of Sonia's. He was restoring the original details in the upper corner of one room. I loved the colours that were left when the plaster walls were stripped. Note the building on the outside still has bullet holes from the war. (click on the pictures to enlarge)

Finally Back

Well, I am finally back in London after several days of attempts. For those of you who do not know what has happened, there was a plan to blow up at least 10 planes from England to the USA using liquids, gels, and a simple electronic device like a cell phone. Different people would carry on different components in drinking bottles, gel or toothpaste containers, and so on. As a result all flights coming into the UK were cancelled last Thursday (the day I was scheduled to fly back to London from Poznan, Poland). My original flight was with Ryanair, a British budget airline. Sonia and I went to the airport since the airline said they were flying. Alas our flight was cancelled. We were told to go home and rebook on the internet. I saw the line up at the airport, but we opted to head back to the villa. I immediately got on the computer, but due to the volume of flights cancelled the site was impossible to book from. I could see that there was a flight the next day, but it the computer was jammed and told the site was overloaded when I tried to book it. I watched the days book up...Saturday, Sunday, Monday. This is ridiculous, I thought! I have to be back at school! I can't wait 5 days! I decided to book Sonia on the Tuesday flight since she didn't have the time pressures that I did to get back to London. AND ALL OF A SUDDEN THERE WAS A FLIGHT THE FOLLOWING DAY SHOWING IT WAS AVAILABLE! I quickly booked her and printed off her information. I went to book mine and the computer jammed again. The flight booked up and I was not on it. That is when I decided to switch airlines. That night I managed to get onto LOT's website and there was a connecting flight the next day from Poznan to Warsaw to London with a 5 hour wait in Warsaw. GREAT! If I can get to a bigger airport, then there seems more chance of making it back to London. Sonia and I went to the airport the next day. Her flight was a bit later and mine read "cancelled". I stood in line and was told I could catch a later flight (5 hours later) to Warsaw, but that it only gave me 40 minutes to make my connection. Yes, please! I met a fun Canadian/Polish guy who was also on my flight and we headed down to the centre of town to have a meal and to kill time. As we arrived back at the airport I noticed that Sonia's flight was boarding. Good. We checked through immigration (no security, I guess because you weren't leaving the country). I had no hand luggage with me because I knew that it would be allowed on the next flight to London. I dumped my water and carried only my passport, wallet, keys, and some cash. Well, that flight was delayed an hour and a half and I myself got pretty thirsty. I could hear them announcing that Sonia's flight was having technical difficulties and that everyone was asked to unboard the plane to receive the next instructions in 4 hours. OKAY! My flight finally boarded and I kept looking at my watch. I wasn't sure I was going to make the connection. Upon landing there were 8 of us who missed our connection, 6 to Brussels and 2 to London. Right from the plane we were ushered by one fo the flight staff to the main area to pick up our luggage which didn't make it on our connecting flights and told were going to be put up in a hotel for the night. 3 of the people with me were rowdy and hilarious Belgian businessmen, who seemed to canoodle her into lodging us in the 4 star hotel across the street. Free dinner and breakfast. We all ate and laughed away together. Turns out the 3 businessmen own the largest Belgian construction company and are building the world's tallest building in Dubai. I told them I was an artist. They asked for my website. The evening was fun and I went to bed reluctantly. I kept watching the news to hear if flights were now on schedule. The next day I headed to the airport to HUGE lineups. Warsaw has a bigger airport and does more international flights. I was again told no hand luggage. I had my water with me anyway. I checked my baggage with ease, thinking of my digital camera which I would never normally check. I went through security to a large area with duty free shops. I knew from watching the news that none of that would be allowed on flights now. I went through security to my gate complete with the Polish army body searching everyone. I was made to throw my water away. I waited and waited. Surely my flight should have come up by now! I went out of security to check the screens and discovered my flight was delayed. I waited another 2.5 hours until it came. At least it came! I arrived in London and was lucky to get my luggage back. Alas my digital camera did not survive the trip. I am not sure what I am going to do about that, but I have started by lodging a claim with the airline. I actually have hope. I know that Ryanair would have been useless, but I have faith in LOT! Come on, LOT, pull through for me! Alas, Sonia is still stuck in Poland. I haven't heard from her in a few days.

Still in Poznan

Now here some of the action that this site was designed for. Adventure! Battles! Undercover agents! Intrigue! (Notice I am not using any hot-button words so as to remain undetected by authorities.) Well, it seems I am still in Poznan. All flights in as well as outbound to the UK from Europe are grounded. I've been watching the news and it seems that since the clamp down no one is allowed to take hand luggage on board. The sources of potential bombs that were found were liquid, gel and electronic devices. Parents are being asked to sample baby bottles before they can be taken on. Even drinks purchased once past security must not board the plane. No books. No cameras or laptops. No liquids or gels of any kind. In fact all the websites are saying we can take as carry on are our passports, wallets, and medication in a clear plastic bag. I was scrambling to rebook my cancelled flight and it appeared the next flight was in 5 days. Airline websites are so jammed that I couldn't even rebook and no one is able to get through by phone to any airline. I somehow miraculously managed to book a flight to Warsaw this evening. How did I get through? I will be there for 5 hours and then from there I hope to get on a flight to London Heathrow (that is if flights are even flying tomorrow). I will keep you posted...Well, no. I will try to keep you posted. I may be living in the Warsaw airport for the next while.

Poznan, Poland

I am in Poznan, Poland. Actually, I am staying in a villa just outside the city on the grounds of a paper factory. My friend Sonia Nickel invited me to visit and I have been here for almost a week. Remember all those river paintings I painted last year? Well, the river runs right by the villa. I have to walk down to see it, of course. It is beautiful, lined with Polish fisherman, and huge splashes that seem to indicate giant fish (except I never quite turn my head quick enough to see them). I have to scramble down the shore usually through a mountain of undergrowth. Sonia waits at the top for me to snap a photo before she shows me the next opening a good 10 meters up ahead. "Watch out for the holes", she continually calls after me. Holes? What holes? Any questioning for further details sheds no light on whether these holes are big enough for me to fall into, body and all, or just a little tripping dent in the earth. There is absolutely no way to measure whether your next step might actually give way. The undergrowth is so thick. But on we merrily plug, happily not yet consumed by the earth. The other great phenomenon by the river is stinging nettle. "Oh, that is nothing compared to poison ivy", says Sonia who apparently grew up IN the stuff inself. Well, I'd say they competed for first place with poison ivy when I decided I was in need of a little squat! Ow. I have also discovered how much the Slavs (definitely the Polish and Sonia tells me Ukrainians as well) love colour. Once communism had passed, the regeneration of city centres and houses began (and I've noticed the clothes too). The colours are over the top! I love it! Upon close observation I have noticed the most popular colour for a building seems to be Indian Yellow (a rich yellow/orange). The second most popular may be Lime Green or Salmon Pink. I am in my element! The city centre (which I failed to have my camera at on both occasions I was there) is amazing and like nothing I have ever seen before. It is all cobblestones and the buildings have a bit of a Scandinavian feel, although that is probably a Slavic style and I have just never seen it before. The people are so generous. The workers in the villa (the management for the paper factory) have gone beyond their regular duty to show us around town, take us to lunch and dinner, and taking us to some of their favourite Poznan sites. All this during working hours too! (wink.)

My Own Mantra

I lost about 25 pounds a few years ago and here is how I did it. 1. Eat the MINIMUM of the Canada Food Guide. fruit (2 servings), vegetables (3 servings), Grains (5 servings), Dairy (2 servings), Protein (2 servings), Fat (3 servings), Sugar (3 servings), Water (8 cups) Don't try to fill all of these everyday (these are the maximum)...just eat until you are not hungry. 2. No eating after 7:30pm 3. Run for 30 minutes 5 times a week. 4. Eat anything you want on Sundays. I cut this out if I have gained more than 5 pounds. 5. Don't ever eat to get full - just eat until you are not hungry. 6. Eat Slow Food (a movement that advocates homemade and healthy food) I also found that I had to stop focussing on food and realize it tastes good, but it is not something to obsess over or think about all the time.

Grapefruit, Anyone?

I don't know what on earth I was googling when I came up with this Lose 10lbs in 10 days: The Fast Start Plan, but I thought since others are all talking about about this Makers Diet, I would throw in an alternative for everyone. Breakfast: half a grapefruit, 2 eggs, 2 bacon Lunch: half a grapefruit, protein, salad Dinner: half a grapefruit, protein, salad (unlimited), red, green, or yellow veg (no potatoes or corn) Bedtime: tomato juice or skim milk Rules: no eating between meals, eat until full, use organic vegetables, use butter, no sugar or starch. For full details go to this website. Also some good tips I came across: For permanent weight loss, begin a healthy change in your lifestyle, including taking these four positive steps: 1. MODERATE EXCERCISE: Three times a week. 2. ADEQUATE WATER INTAKE: Almost no one drinks enough and when you are losing weight, you need more. 3. GOOD NUTRITION: Fresh fruits and veggies, grains, low-fat meat choices. And for most, a huge reduction in "fast foods," fried foods, sugary foods, white flour products, and red meat. 4. GOOD SLEEP: This is a vital issue. Sleep is when the body rejuvenates and repairs. If you are not sleeping well, we can just about guarantee you won't lose the weight you are trying to lose.

Detergent

Now, if you were faced with the option of Biological laundry soap or Non-Biological laundry soap, which would YOU choose? I put on my reasoning cap and deduced that Biological must mean Environmental and break down biologically (or something like that). So I bought the good one. I washed my clothes, they came out clean, and all was well with the world. Nigel visited me in London and upon seeing my "Ecological" choice of detergents asked, "why do you get that stuff? It is bad for the environment?. WHAT!? He explained that biological means there are enzymes in it (hence the ability to clean more efficiently and the far cheaper price tag). Oh. I have never even heard of such a thing. I have now bought the Non-Biological and am thinking about everyone I have already convinced to go "environmental".

The Canal

There is a canal that runs along at the end of my block. It is quite secluded and a nice way to feel completely out of the big city. (pictures by Andrew Pelling)