]> http://greasy.com/ciaran/index.html ciaran's Blog en-us © 2008 Greasy.com All rights reserved. Sat, 30 Aug 2008 09:59:56 GMT 30 http://greasy.com/ciaran/ordinary_sand_castles.html Every year Harrison Hot Springs, British Columbia, which is located on the southern end of Harrison Lake, hosts the World Championships of Sand Sculpture, open to Master Sand Sculptures only. These are not your ordinary sand castles. Entries in the competition come in one of four categories: solo, doubles, 5 - 6 person teams, and 7 person teams, with the singles competition kicking off 50 hours of competition. Check out the following galleries of past winners, linked below: Solo Gallery Do ... Tue, 18 Mar 2008 15:06:55 GMT http://greasy.com/ciaran/love_stationery.html I tend to do most of my writing at the computer now and rely on email to friends far more than I do letters. But I have this secret obsession with stationery and cards that I indulge in occasionally. Luckily this indulgence does see some use every once in awhile, so I can justify what might seem a frivolous expense for someone who communicates electronically 8 times out of 10. When my friend Drake was in Iraq, we communicated frequently via email, but he loved getting actual hand written le ... Mon, 17 Mar 2008 20:20:38 GMT http://greasy.com/ciaran/cookware.html I've honestly never had a full set of matching cookware. The husband and I got bits and pieces of Calphalon, both the Professional Hard Anodized and the Commercial Hard Anodized when we got married as it was part of our registry. I added one or two pieces to what we got when we got married. Unfortunately, Calphalon has discontinued both of these lines so I can't purchase a full 10-piece or 12-piece set of either. Over the years, my in-laws have sent us various pieces of cookware (not Calpha ... Mon, 17 Mar 2008 19:19:30 GMT http://greasy.com/ciaran/questioning.html I seem to be fascinated with books of questions lately. I've just finished reading Zoë Sallis Ten Eternal Questions. And last night, I found myself drawn to two books I have by Gregory Stock, Ph.D.: The Book of Questions and The Book of Questions: Business, Politics, and Ethics. I've had the books by Stock for a good 12 to 13 years now because I bought them when I was teaching a Basic Writing class and looking for interesting ideas for prompts for my students to use in their journal writi ... Mon, 17 Mar 2008 18:49:48 GMT http://greasy.com/ciaran/confessions_failed_english.html They say confession is good for the soul; well, here's one of mine. I am a failed English major. I have a degree in English. Correction, I have multiple degrees in English. Two of them to be exact--a B.A. and an M.A. (I almost have a third degree; it's not in English, so it's not really relevant to this discussion...well, maybe. It's in Rhetoric and Professional and Technical Communication. But it's granted through an English Department. So, when people ask and I get blank stares when I tel ... Mon, 17 Mar 2008 03:47:01 GMT http://greasy.com/ciaran/introduction.html I thought for my first "article" I would provide a bit of an introduction. I am not new to blogging; in fact, I have a pretty popular blog elsewhere, but am here checking out Blogster as a possible new site for blogging. I am a work in progress, yet I know who and what I am. I wear many hats and am many things to many people, but none of those "things" is solely who I am. I am a mother; I am a wife; I am a professor/lecturer; I am a tattoo lover; I am a writer/editor/journalist; I am a web/ ... Sun, 16 Mar 2008 23:06:13 GMT