Chances are, if you breathe and can hear, you are aware that Canada won a gold medal in men's Olympic hockey for the first time in 50 years. In fact, fifty years to the day, if I am correct. You would also know that we didn't just beat the USA, we beat them into the ground. 3-2 was a lead, then 4-2 was an insurrance policy, but 5-2 was just overkill - not that I mind, of course. I had the game playing on the stereo at work, which, with the exception of one schmuck who didn't want to hear the game, went over quite well with the customers. There was a lot of healthy patriotism in the air. The celebrations began almost immediately after the victory.

The same celebrations that terrified a stray cat so much that it ran through traffic to seek shelter in the store's foyer. Worried about it, since a couple people thought it might have been hit by a car, we allowed it into the store where it immediately slunk into the corner behind the tarot table and chairs. It was a sweet black and white cat, that originally we thought was quite young. A woman from the street, a customer in Heretic (who'd bought that fabulous corset that I wanted), myself and Leala (?) from Siren (the compitition next door) worked the street trying to find out if the cat belonged to someone. No luck. Even less luck on the phone with the Humane Society and Animal rescue services. Apparently, they do not pick up cats. The humane society doesn't do it anymore (cut backs anyone?) and the rescue services don't because I suppose strays aren't worth it. Imagine that, it's an ANIMAL RESCUE SERVICE. One of the women involved in this rescue operation joked that we should call the cat a small dog in order for it to be helped.

Anyway, Leala said that she lived just past the Humane Society so she would take the cat there. The cat had not moved from behind the chairs for twenty minutes at this point. We were starting to worry that the little feline was truly injured. Finding a cat-sized box with a lid proved a bit of a challenge, but eventually one was procured and I donned my leather gloves for cat lifting. I didn't want to risk being bitten or scratched by what might actually be a stray cat. I shifted the table and chairs and cooed at the poor creature, then very gently lifted it up and cupped it under the bum, setting it into the box. That was when I realised that it was very likely a little female and she was pregnant. She was VERY wide, and very heavy, far more so than her stature suggested. She was also very sweet and pretty, with beautiful golden amber eyes.

With that over with, though I'm sure there is a continuation of the story yet to come, I awaited Nicole's arrival at the store. This took only moments and there she was. Together we drove up to Home Depot and bought four feet of chicken wire, wallpaper paste (now called adhesive, though paste was pretty clear), and several feet of fine copper wire. It was masque making time ! Arriving at Nicole's parents' house, Mark was nearly finished cooking us dinner. He is a culinary master, I will have you know. He cooked stuffed red pepper with curried something or other and goat cheese, avocado and tomato salad with grated cheese, and asparagus in hollandaise sauce that he whipped up on the spot. It was one of the most amazing meals I've ever eaten. I thanked him profusely. Nicole confessed to me when he and his daughter had left that she had only imagined he'd do pasta and sauce.

She and I got very busy working on my masque, as it quickly became obvious that my plans were trickier than we'd thought. I sketched something out which she then turned into something a good deal more useable, and then we started tracing patterns onto the chicken wire for cutting out. I developed blisters on my fingers from the wire and pliers, but it was not only enjoyable, but completely worthwhile. By midnight, we'd created the frame over which the papier machee would be applied. It consists of a nose piece with lovely flared dragon nostrils, cheekpieces to which are attached cheek fins, a skullcap onto which have been placed two lovely large horns, and then the whole thing was wired together with the copper. We did all this while watching some amazingly odd cartoons on Teletoon. When I put on the helmet, it became an awesome helmet, of the sort found in "Excalibur". Fantastic. It was very late at this point, so I helped Nicole do the dishes and she said she would put the little dorsal horns on the top of the masque. We also rummaged through fabric because she's going to make me a shirt. I know, bad Maya, but whatever, I'm going to get it pretty much at cost, anyway, so nyah.

Today I worked very hard at the ROM and was pleased to note that I was there a full twenty minutes before my boss. Jerk. Then I left because my head was going to explode. Happily, tomorrow, I'm going to see a neurologist, so I will push for a brain scan. I'm feeling much better now, which is good, since I have to drive back to the Petes. I'll leave it at that and say toodles.