Lobster Shorts lifestyle, Pens and Ink

The Perfect Storage Box For Ink

I have a pact with myself, if I work out 7 days in a row (including stretching, nature walks, and yoga before you come for me of not giving myself a rest day), I get a reward. The reward can be anything that isn’t something to eat. I was struggling to figure out what I wanted and I had just made my 7 days. I find it easier to stick with it when I know ahead of time what the prize will be. I don’t want to miss out, so I make sure I get that workout in. I did my 7 days and it was time to cash in.

Mr. Lobster shorts was due for a haircut and we headed to the city. I had him drop me off at the antique mall while I was waiting for him. Browsing the stalls I found a lamp that made me so happy.

I get that this is not everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s mine. I loved it. This was almost my reward. I loved it so much! It was $48 Canadian and my creepy mansion fantasy lamp. I noticed the metal base wasn’t all brass. There were two different types of metal (it’s hard to see in this photo) and they weren’t attached. The cherub and base spun around. That put me off. It was a shame. I would have loved this as a desk lamp in craftroom. I left it behind and I still think about it. I’m not going back for it, but I’ll think about it every now and then.

Then I found this jewelry box and it was perfect. It was $69.00 Canadian and it was missing one drawer pull (I unscrewed one more before I snapped this photo). It didn’t come with a key, but I’m quite sure I’ll be able to get a little skeleton key to lock it. It would be a nice thing to have and isn’t necessary because I don’t plan on locking it. I would like the completeness of it though and also, I love old keys.

A quick search on Amazon and I have a complete set of drawer pulls. They match the hardware perfectly. How wonderful! I knew exactly what I wanted this for and it wasn’t jewelry. It was for ink and all things pen-related. It’s perfect!

Almost perfect. Many of my ink bottles are too tall for the lid to close, and drawers to shut. I found if I put the tall ones in the middle everything can close properly and everything fits inside. Come, I’ll give you a tour.

The top has many compartments and I love that for organization. The storage part of the lid meant for necklaces is where I’m keeping my quill pens. I don’t plan on putting anything else in there. Regular pens would fall out and the tall ink bottles make it too bulky to close the lid. There are storage compartments on either side and although they both open, only one opens easily. So far I have nothing stored in them. The way they fold back in, anything in there would clunk around, so nothing fragile. I haven’t decided what I will use them for yet. The ring section is where I’m storing all my nibs and I like the way they display like that. All other spaces are filled with ink bottles. It was a game of Tetris and I managed to fit almost all the bottles in.

The second compartment is a drawer. This is where I put all my boxed pens and the last of the ink. There is a TWISBI Eco on the far left. The second box has two hand-turned pens that were gifted to me and my spouse as a wedding present. The velvet box is empty. It’s nice but dust and fur cling to it. The last box on the right is a to-go case for pens and ink to make it easier to travel with.

The last two drawers have my ink swatch journal, converters, and screw-in nibs. I’m not likely to keep the journal in here. I was meant to be out on display. The little sack contains all different sizes and styles of ink converters. A little glass container might help organize it a little better, but this works and gives the sack a purpose where it never had one before.

It’s perfect, I love it. I can’t believe what good condition it’s in. It’s twenty years old. I have so much more room in my desk drawers now. It was the best find.

Lobster Shorts lifestyle

Trip To The East Coast and Weight Loss Update

My spouse and I had an anniversary coming up which also coincided with our vacation time. We decided on the east coast. Neither of us had been and we’ve always wanted to go.

We arrived in the late afternoon. Our first evening there we went to the harbourfront. It’s such a romantic spot! We had a romantic dinner on the patio at The Bicycle Thief. The pasta, cheesecake, and atmosphere were incredible. After dinner, we went for a walk along the boardwalk.

Before we left for our hotel a massive cruise ship left the harbour and blasted a song with the horn. It was super loud and really cool. It all felt magical and romantic. It was a great way to start the vacation.

The second day we went to Lunenburg and Peggy’s Cove. Lunenburg was cute and touristy. I loved seeing all the colourful houses and shops. We walked along the harbour and browsed through the stores.

Peggy’s Cove lighthouse was where we stopped on the way back. We were warned extensively by the locals “Do NOT go out on the rocks! People die here”. There were signs EVERYWHERE warning people not to do this, letting people know death has occurred and there is no help close by. I was blown away by how many people ignored these signs. I did not. Getting washed out to sea was not part of my vacation itinerary!

On the way there and back we drove through Mahoney Bay. I really wish we had stopped there. I loved the town as did Jay. We could both see ourselves living there. We also drove by the turnoff for Oak Island. That place fascinates me. I hope there is a treasure and I hope they find it. I don’t think you’re allowed to go on the island, but it would be fun to take a boat trip around it!

That evening we had dinner with a friend I have known for a decade, but have never met. I was really looking forward to this. We have been writing for years and this was the first time meeting in person. We had a wonderful dinner at Ela (a Greek restaurant) with our spouses. They were lovely people and it was like having dinner with an old friend.. because it was, you know what I mean. The martinis were delightful and the salad too. I can’t believe we forgot to take a photo, but that just means the company was great.

The next day we drove up to Cape Breton. It was a beautiful scenic drive. Gas up and get some snacks! Gas stations and places to get something to eat are few and far between.

We stayed at the Northstar Inn. The rooms were really pretty and the Inn’s restaurant was delicious. We ordered macaroni and a blue cheese salad and split them between us. Both were so delicious.

We watched Jaws before bed and cracked the door so we could listen to the sound of the ocean while we fell asleep. The humor here is that this very day a great white was seen swimming around the shore by the locals, not too far away! Unfortunately, the shark died. If I had of known there was a shark around I would have skipped the hikes and went straight to see the shark!

But hike we did and got some much-needed exercise. We went to visit this lighthouse near the hotel. This is the site of the first lighthouse built in Canada! The lighthouse there now is not the original, but pretty cool all the same. Walking up the hill we smelled cinnamon! I NEED to know what this plant is and plant it everywhere. It smelled so good. It made the site even more special. I will remember that smell whenever I think of our visit here.

After the lighthouse we headed down to the Gull Cove trailhead. It was… on the marshy side in some spots, but gave beautiful views of the ocean. The hike goes out 10km one way for a total of around 20km. We only went halfway.

There were spots you could get down to the ocean. There were lots of shells and claws along the water. We saw a lot of birds and one gargantuan-sized spider that I almost walked into.

And look at this cool mushroom! It looks like the mushroom from Super Mario! I didn’t touch it. I have no idea what mushrooms are safe, but it was fun to look at.

Our last night we headed back to Halifax for another night at The Halifax Tower Hotel. We had breakfast there (also good) and headed out to the harbourfront again to spend our last few hours. We wanted to go to Annapolis Valley, but we didn’t have enough time.

This time we got to see some sea creatures! Little schools of mackerel were swimming by. They were so neat looking! There were TONS of star fish! I was so happy! I thought star fish were tropical. There were tons of them stuck to the pier and along the bottom. I wish I had got a photo. They made me so happy. I would love to visit again, we had a great time.

We ate out every meal. A million times at Subway (I love the mozzarella bella!). I was nervous to see if I gained any weight back. I was only up a pound. Sometimes it takes a couple days to show up, but today was good news. I had saved up for the vacation, so I didn’t put myself into further debt either. Now that we’re home it’s back to the gym and healthy meals.

Current Weight: 171lbs
Weight lost: 7lbs
Current debt: -$20785
Starting debt: – $21000

Lobster Shorts crafting, lifestyle

Secret Mission Number One

Secret mission to have my spouse love winter. Mission one: infusing the Halloween spirit

I wasn’t sure this one was going to fly. My guy thinks some of my ideas can be over the top. I thought building a giant spider for Halloween would be one of those ideas that was “too much” for him. I am so thrilled I was wrong. He loved the idea and we built Esther together out of tarp, a beach ball, and yoga ball. She turned out pretty good! The eyes light up and the mandibles are hot glued on. I’m so keen to see it lit up.

If you want to see the rest of the decorations I’ll post a video below. I will get a night video closer to Halloween with everything lit up and the fog machine going.

It was a ton of fun for us and I’m we’re so looking forward to the trick or treaters coming.

Lobster Shorts lifestyle, The Great Outdoors

My Secret Mission For My Spouse To Like Winter

I like Winter. I love it in fact. It’s a source of endless fun and beauty. My spouse doesn’t see past the frigid temps and dark days. I strongly suspect this stems from his dislike of winter clothing, therefore he’s cold, wet, and uncomfortable outside. You need to dress for the weather people! Layer layer layer!

My mission this Fall/Winter season is to show the guy a good time. I’ve got a list started of all the things I think we would have fun doing. Some of them we’ve done before and others we’ve never tried. I’ve added snowmobiling to the list. I’ve never done it before and I’m not sure he has either. Sounds like a good time. I’m sure you could go out and rent one somewhere. I’ll need to do a little research. It’s a good idea to give google a shot. I’ve discovered outdoor patio igloos (plastic igloos, not the snow kind – sadly) at a craft brewery, here in Ontario. Yes, please! That sounds like a hoot! There are some typical winter activities on the list too, like skiing, snowshoeing (never did this as an adult), and Winter hiking. I’m probably going to skip skating, but it’s not completely crossed off. There is an ice wine festival in the winter I’m looking forward to as well. There are so many fun and exciting things out there waiting to be discovered.

Not everything is outdoors. I’ve added the Value Village date to the list of things to do. If you haven’t heard of that one, it’s where you take your partner, or friend to Value Village and pick out each other’s outfits (show no mercy) and then wear them out (maybe to brunch!). Holiday decorating and baking cookies is for sure on the list of things to do. And as it’s currently still October – there will be some scary movies to watch together. The traditional Christmas Eve at chez Lobster Shorts is watching Krampus.

The plan: to get a fun Fall/Winter activity in on the weekends and a few mixed in mid week. I’m not going to tell him what we’re doing, I’m going to tell him what he needs to wear and where to go and it will be a surprise. Maybe, just maybe, by the end of the season, he’ll love winter as much as I do

Lobster Shorts Food, lifestyle, vegetarian

Lackadaisical Breakfasts And A Dad’s Memorial To His Daughter

It was a rare weekday morning that my spouse and I got to enjoy a slower pace in the morning. Mornings are usually rushed between dogs, cooking breakfast, and getting ready for the commute to work. This particular morning was a different experience, one I would even describe as serene.

While I was picking up lattes from The Snapping Turtle (I love them so much!), my handsome fella was picking up breakfast sandwiches from Tim Hortons. We love the Harvest Sandwich made with vegetarian sausage. It’s one of my favourite things from Tim Hortons, I hope they keep making them.

It was a beautiful day and we wanted to be outside. We picked “The Nicole Bench”. This bench was set up recently in my town and I was curious what the “N” or “Z” meant. A man was tending the spot while we were out walking, we stopped and chatted for a bit. It was a memorial for his daughter, taken too soon. She loved to sit out there and watch the water. He made this tranquil spot in her honor and faced the bench in her favourite direction. It was heartbreaking really.

We enjoyed the view that morning while we sat and ate our breakfast, enjoying each other’s company, loving that we had this quiet peaceful morning together. Very rare and so much appreciated. These small moments mean so much because you just never know.

Lobster Shorts cooking, Food, lifestyle, vegetarian

Birthdays and Baking Fails

It was my spouse’s birthday and I wanted to make his day all the better with a decadent breakfast and birthday cake. I made him eggs benny for breakfast and that turned out… pretty well. I did overcook the poached eggs so they were solid in the middle. That’s how I like my eggs. I would rather have eggs dryer than the Sahara Desert than have snotty eggs. My spouse on the other hand likes a runny center in his egg, so that’s the first cooking fail of the day. It was tasty and I used a hollandaise sauce packet so it was pretty easy. I did not put anywhere near the amount of butter they were asking for in the sauce. It was way too much butter. I used half the butter they were asking for and made the rest up in yogurt. It was still really good. I froze the rest. I’m not sure how that will work out, but I love eggs benny and looking forward to trying it.

My second failure was attempting a cake decoration. I saw a Youtube video of cake decorating hacks and one of the hacks used stamps for wax seals in chocolate to make really cool chocolate buttons.

I had a bunch of different seals to try and they all failed. The weight of the seal sank all the way through the chocolate.

Even when I froze them I couldn’t separate them the chocolate broke off. I have no idea how they managed to do it, but mine failed and I’m not going to try again.

My third fail of the day was this cheesecake, although delicious, developed huge cracks while cooking. I didn’t read the blog post (the irony of having a blog and skipping through the writing to get to the recipe. Blogger karma?) so the fault could have been mine in something I missed. I know sometimes you are supposed to add water to the oven while it bakes. Either way, it didn’t look pretty, but it tasted amazing.

Overall my spouse enjoyed his big day and although it didn’t look pretty, the cake was delicious.

Lobster Shorts lifestyle, The Great Outdoors

Apple Trees and Smores

This weekend the forecast called for storms. Instead there was sunshine and warm weather.

Saturday started with a dog walk, coffee, and a bagel at the local cafe. My spouse and I ended up spending most of Saturday doing yard work. The lawn was mowed for the first time and the garden was weeded. It was so nice to have it done and it looked so much better. We went to the local greenhouse to get some veggie plants. I know you’re supposed to wait until after the May long weekend, but we were too excited. While we were there I saw a tree that grew my favourite flavor of apple.

Honeycrisp! I bought that tree instantly. I love love love those apples. We got into the parking lot and it hit me…. How are we going to get this tree into the car?

Well, we did! I ended up sitting behind my spouse and we put the tree into the front seat and loaded the trunk up with the veggie plants. The tree made it home with all branches intact and we promptly planted it. We collected a lot of fallen branches from the yard and put them in the fire pit, and later that night we had the season’s first smores.

We bought Dandies Marshmallows from Healthy Planet and used Celebration cookies. They come with the chocolate, so it’s seriously easy smores with all the perfect amounts. They were so freaking good. We had smores and watched the bats fly overhead. I still plan on putting a bat box up somewhere, but I have no idea if they’ll use it. I went to bed around 8:30 that evening. I was wiped out.

Sunday I tried to make friends with the chipmunk in our yard bribing him with peanuts. He came as close as an inch away, but he was not there yet. By the end of Summer, I hope to have him eating out of my hand. I toss him some peanuts whenever I see him, so he is starting to pop out when he hears us.

Late afternoon we went on the first kayak trip of the season. I saw turtles! I haven’t seen a single turtle since I moved here and this weekend I saw at least 10 of them; painted and snapping turtles. There were some fish in the water that I had never seen before either. They looked like a suckerfish and had light and dark brown bands running down their body. I think they might have been northern hog suckerfish. They looked very similar anyway. It was fun and I think I will enjoy swimming there on a hot summer day.

We finished the weekend off with sunburns and a beer. The thunderstorms held off and I’m hoping to fall asleep to the sound of rain and thunder.

Lobster Shorts lifestyle

Going Back To School In Your 40s?

ToNic-Pics on Pixabay https://pixabay.com/photos/read-training-books-a-book-1564105/

I’m in my 40s and have been a receptionist for almost 20 years. It’s been a decent job. My employer will be retiring within the next few years and I’m not sure what I’d like to do when that happens. I know I would like a career change, but I have no idea what. Browsing through online college and university programs a lot of the courses required highschool classes I didn’t have, like chemistry, physics, and a bunch of math courses. I did a little searching around and found out there are highschool classes online for Ontario. It costs $40 a class. I thought it would be free, but I’ll pay to have the convenience of not having to attend actual highschool again.

I’m starting with a science class. It’s a good place to start. Science impacts almost every aspect of our lives. Health, agriculture, energy, robotics, so much more. It has made our lives much more comfortable, convenient, and healthier.

A career in science would fascinating, particularly Botany. I love plants, it would be enthralling to get to know them better. Maybe even go, full mad scientist? Like creating orange trees that can survive an Ontario Winter? A very cool thought, but would probably have some potentially environmentally devastating consequences… which would also be something I could learn about back in school. Why you shouldn’t create a hoard of enironmentally devastating, killer, jack frost, orange trees.

Lobster Shorts happy mail, lifestyle, pen pals, Sponser child

The Book That Inspired Me

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I bought this book at bookoutlet.ca. I love writing people and this book caught my interest. It’s a memoir of an American girl and a boy from Zimbabwe and how they became best friends through their letters to each other. Martin was top of his class, but his family was struggling financially and he was no longer able to attend school and Caitlin’s family sent them financial aid. This happened a long time ago, but I was so surprised by how little went so far over there. It made me think that I would be able to help someone too.

My spouse Jay and I decided to sponser a child, but we didn’t know which agency to use. I searched on Google and I noticed some of them seemed to really force their beliefs onto the children/families they were sponsering. I preferred to use an agency that allowed the families in need the freedom to practice their own belief system. There were also a couple things I wanted to be able to do as well. I wanted to be able to write my sponser child and I wanted to sponser an individual instead of a community. I’m sure there are pros and cons to either one. I didn’t know where to start and I found a really helpful website: https://www.evanforry.com/child-sponsorship-programs/. They let you know which agencies allow you to communicate with your sponser child and whether or not you’re sponsering a community, or individual child. The summary chart at the bottom of the post was super helpful.

We decided to go with Children Incorporated. A child sponsership program that wasn’t affiliated with a religion and would allow you to communicate with your sponser child through correspondance. We are now sponsering an adorable 9 year old girl from the Philippines. We are so excited to learn more about her. An email with more info will be provided to us soon and I can’t wait to read it. For only $30 a month a big difference could be made in someone’s life.

Lobster Shorts dog adoption, dogs, lifestyle

OTIS IS HOME! (Warning, this post contains photos and content of a severely underweight dog. These photos may be too sensitive for some viewers.)

Back in January/February we answered an ad for an animal in need, on Petfinder. Petfinder is a website that lists the pets available at multiple animal rescue agencies. It’s a pretty awesome website you can add filters to and find the kind of pet your looking for. It’s not just for dogs either, it has many different types of animals: cats, dogs, pocket pets, barnyard pets, lots. I’m going to post a copy of the ad I answered, below.

Petfinder ad for Otis

 Sable Golden Retriever  Toronto, ON

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  • Adult 
  •  Male 
  •  Large 
  •  Golden

About

COAT LENGTH Long HEALTH Vaccinations up to date, spayed / neutered. GOOD IN A HOME WITH Other dogs, children.

Petfinder recommends that you should always take reasonable security steps before making online payments.

Meet Sable

This is Sable. He was living in a school yard in Turkey. He was so nice to everyone and always so happy to see everyone and some people were not very nice to him. He was very skinny at the time but since being rescued he has gained weight. He is about 6 years old. He is your typical golden; not a mean bone in his body. Very easygoing, loving, happy and gentle. He is good with other dogs.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sable, now Otis, was a stray in Turkey, living at a schoolyard before he came to the shelter. Besides what was listed in the ad, this is all we know about him. We chose him based on the description of his temperament. We wanted a dog that was safe for Ollie, our puppy. To avoid stress on the dog, once they are adopted they go straight to your home from the airport. I believe this is called a blind adoption. You don’t meet the dog before you bring them home! EEP!

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Otis was flown from Turkey to Pearson Airport by Homebound Houndz (the rescue agency we used). The flight was close to 11 hours long and he was held up in customs for another three hours. That is a LONG time for a dog to be in a crate and I’ve no doubt the whole experience was pretty stressful for him.

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Once the dogs are cleared and ready to leave the airport, they bring them out in crates to the arrival gates where you pick them up. It’s a pretty busy road and I was really nervous about him panicking and running into traffic. There are volunteers with the agency that are there to help you and I am so greatful for that. They stayed really late with us while we waited for our dog to clear customs and got the dogs collared and leashed. They have you bring food and water for the dogs because after a long flight like that they are ravenous.

I was shocked by the condition Otis was in when he came out of the crate. They warned us the dogs would be smelly, and dirty (they are in an outdoor shelter and unable to give the dogs baths before they come (if you get your dog in Winter, which we did). We were warned by the rescue agency that our dog was extremely underweight. Otis was all these things, dirty, smelly, and emaciated. He was much skinnier than I had realized. I tried to give him water first, he didn’t want it. He stuck his head in the bag I had brought with me. He wanted the food. I had about two cups of dog food with me and he ate the whole thing. All this was happening on the sidewalk at the airport. There were people walking by constantly. At one point someone with a large cart of things needed us to move so he could get through. I was very nervous about moving the dish of food away from a starving dog, but Otis let me. He just followed the food.

It was around 10pm at this point and we were super tired and just wanted to go home. After Otis finished eating we opened the car door and patted the seat for him to get in. He came willingly and without any coaxing. Jay drove and I rode in the backseat with the dog. Otis wanted to sleep most of the way home, but would occasionally nudge my arm for snuggles and pets, while I told him about all the fun things we would do together. We made one pit stop to go to the bathroom (he never went in his crate on the plane WOW) and then we continued the rest of the way home.

We had planned on introducing our puppy Ollie, to Otis on a walk outside. We had not anticipated the delay in customs. We didn’t get home until after 1am. We were so tired we were reckless and just let them meet each other right away in the house. For the next hour we watched with knotted stomachs as the dogs met for the first time. It wasn’t a dream meeting of waggy tails and puppy snuggles. We basically watched Otis hump Ollie for the next hour. They didn’t seem to be trying to kill each other and we were exhausted. We decided to go to bed, I had a train I had to catch in four hours. They must have settled down soon after because we didn’t hear them for too long. Neither of us slept well that night.

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While I was getting on the train and all during the day, my spouse was sending me photos and updates. There was still a lot of humping going on, but the two of them were getting along okay. Otis got along pretty well with my spouse too. He was so dirty he looked wet and he smelled really bad. I remember we had a huge snow storm that day and I was worried about the trains not running and not being able to get home. I also briefly fell asleep at my desk!

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I was finally able to give him a bath the next day. He was a dream in the bath. He just stood there while we scrubbed him. The water coming off him was pretty nasty. You can see how skinny he is. Even after the first bath he was still waxy feeling and we would want to wash our hands right away after touching him. He had so many mats in his fur. Both my spouse and I slowly brushed them out during the next few days. He’s looking so much better.

We did have an incident on the way home from the vet’s office after a weigh in. Otis got some snow, or salt in his paw and we tried to help him out by trying to dig it out. It was extremely naive of us to think we could just go ahead and do that. Otis had only known us for less then two days, he was in discomfort, and we were both looming over him. He snarled and snapped at us. I was so surprised. He had been so sweet and gentle so far. We didn’t have his trust yet.

I was ready to call it quits after that. It’s really scary to have a large, adult dog snap at you (even if he is all skin and bones). I spent the rest of that weekend in tears and full of regret. What a mistake I had made! I was in over my head and so overwhelmed. What had I done! How had I thought adopting a strange dog from another country was a good idea!? My spouse was horrified that I was ready to throw in the towel. He loves Otis and wanted to give him a second chance.

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It’s now a week and a half later. Otis is still here, he’s had a second bath and has been a real sweetheart. He’s gained over 2kg in the last week. He started out weighing 23kg and today he is weighing in at just over 26kg. My spouse was able to put his boots on with no problems and he was pretty good for the vet too. No snapping. This morning I was sitting on the floor and he climbed into my lap for snuggles! I’ve read that it’s pretty normal to feel regret after getting a new dog and usually it passes. I think we’re going to stick with it and I think it’s going to be okay. I love him too.