A Day In My Life

Today was beautiful, a little chilly when the wind blew, but otherwise nice. Too bad we spent the whole day driving around. We were looking for a bra for my new buggy but no one had them for that year of that car. We ended up ordering one.

Tomorrow is Hubbys knee surgery. We're both a little nervous about it. Hubby can't eat anything after midnight tonight, that's worrying him. I'm not sure exactly what time the surgery is scheduled for but I think it's late in the morning. He's going to be a bear. It's going to be a very long day. I've never had to be the one out in the waiting room before. I think I'll bring a book. I'm a little nervous about the drive home because I'm not familiar with the area. I'm sure we'll be fine, but it's only human nature to worry.

We actually took the new car to a shop today. Due to a miscommunication between me and Hubby, I thought they were fixing the little problems with it, but in reality all they are doing is the emissions test. The dealer picked it up and will be fixing the various knocks and rattles. I don't even know when I'll be getting it back. So I'm stuck driving the old hulk tomorrow too. I decided today I want to keep the old car and fix it up. I like it. I'm not ready to part with it. But Hubby will likely talk me out of that bad idea. We don't have anywhere to keep all these vehicles.

On one of our pitstops at home to let the dogs out today, we found that Edwad had chewed through his harness. We don't usually leave it on him but I guess we forgot to take it off today. When we came in we found it hanging around his backside. So on our next trip out we hit the pet store for a new harness. We got a different kind. We also got Bear a new Harley Davidson collar and we got them each a Harley cap. How silly. Upon thinking about it after, I realized what a waste of money the hats were. I'm sure the dogs don't want to wear hats, no matter how cool they are. So I'll take a couple of pictures and that'll be the end of it. What a silly waste of money. That was another impulse purchase. Bear did need a new collar, but anything that says Harley Davidson on it is way over-priced.

The house nextdoor is SOLD! Yay! I'm thinking we can't do much worse than who lives there now, so it will probably be an improvement. Funny that's the first thing I noticed when we came home, the SOLD sticker on the for sale sign. I look at it every day, just checking.

I've changed my mind about the fence. I think we should use chain link after all. It will match the existing fence for one thing. I just started thinking, with that tall wooden fence it might feel a little claustrophobic. And chain link will cost less. At any rate, hopefully we'll get that done in the near future.

I'll leave you with a photo of my first daffodil to bloom and my hyacinths which were planted last year. Hyacinths are another flower with a fabulous aroma.

It's Over, Whew

The community garage sale is over, whew. I think it was successful. We got rid of a lot of crap and made a bit of dough. As I expected all the good stuff went fast and I'm left with a pile of junk. But that's ok, if I can't get rid of it when I have my own yard sale I'll just donate it to the thrift store.

The day started awfully early, like 5:30 a.m early. I had to do a load of laundry and then threw together a last minute load of stuff to take over to the town hall. We got there in the nick of time. Even though it was still before 8 there were already people there shopping! The morning was very busy and flew by but by the afternoon it had dwindled to a trickle. We ended up packing it in an hour early.

Besides the tables of junk there was a lady taking donations for the cancer society and another lady who did these cool paintings. She would take a black and white print and then paint just part of the picture with dye. They were sharp looking, I don't know if she drummed up much business for herself there though.

I'm grateful I had Little R with me. That allowed me to take breaks and go out for a smoke. I even drove home and let the dogs out a couple of times. Little R got her breaks too, going nextdoor to the chip wagon where her friend was working. That's what we had for lunch, poutine.

After we packed up and left, we went to town for a coffee and an iced cappucino. We also popped in at Canadian Tire for an air freshener for my new buggy. Man it smells bad. The lady we bought it from says she thinks the previous owner had it steam cleaned and then closed it all up, didn't let it air out. It smells like something died in it. The air freshener hasn't done much for it yet. I'm going to try Febreeze on it too.

All in all it was a great day. We had fun. It was a long day, but I need more of those anyway. I still haven't unpacked the car, but I have to go do that because I'll be picking up Little R and a friend from the movies in town. So have a great afternoon.

Chaos Is Coming

Today was spent running around. We didn't end up getting the new car until about 6 p.m. I was over at the town hall around 9:30 a.m setting up tables. Then I took a load of stuff over. Then Hubby and I were off, running errands, paying bills and shopping. We went to the new taco place for lunch. It wasn't the best. They have all new staff who aren't sure of what they're doing just yet. I had a taco with no sour cream, that just wasn't right. We went back again for dinner and I had a bean burrito and it was a bit better than the taco had been. But the good news is there is now a Taco Bell opening up in town too! Yay, my favourite! Their tacos are good, well I like them. Nothing is as good as homemade, but on the fly, Taco Bell is good stuff.

We ended up all the way down in Brampton. There was a furniture store having a store closing sale. Everything must go, up to 90% off. So we decided to pop in on a whim and check it out. We found a gorgeous black leather sofa set and the price was fantastic. The only thing was, we had no way of getting it home. We may go back another day. They had everything, and it was all very nice stuff. The prices were so good, hard to resist.

The sun did pop out briefly in the afternoon and it got really muggy, but by the time we got back home it was pouring rain again.

Hubby surprised me by taking me into a store and buying me an early Mothers Day present. A new diamond ring. Not just any diamond ring, a large diamond ring. I had a large one which I lost and wasn't insured. So this was a replacement. It's a little bigger than the one I lost I think. I love it. The other one was a Marquis cut, this one is a round cut. It has a little gold heart on either side of the diamond. It's just gorgeous. This time we will get it insured though. We even got the appraisal papers with it. It was a wonderful surprise!

We finally got to pick up the car, but alas, they hadn't fixed the things they were supposed to because they received the wrong parts, sigh. Because we need it this weekend, they are going to fix it up on Monday. The folks we are buying it from seem to be quite upstanding as far as used car dealers go. We will likely continue to deal with them in the future.

Guys plug your ears again.....
While we were out touring all over the place, my flow started. It was odd because it is a month late and I didn't know it was coming. I had all the usual symptoms tonight instead of last night. I usually get weepy the night before. Strange. So after taking another load of stuff over to the town hall, I came home and got all weepy and upset over nothing. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but I doubt I'll get involved in anything like this again. I'll just do it on my own terms, my own way, in my own frontyard. As much as I tried to be prepared I still wasn't. Hubby was no help. I don't feel like I cleared out nearly as much as I wanted to and I'm afraid what I did take over isn't going to sell, so after all the trouble, I'll still be stuck with it. I know that remains to be seen. But I have a feeling.

It was a mixed day, good and bad. I can only hope tomorrow goes well. The next few days are going to be chaotic. By next Wednesday I'll be able to relax. By then all the chaos will be over with and it will be recovery time. Wish us luck.

Today

This morning we headed into town to the car dealer to finalize the purchase of the TAN Neon. The name of that colour eluded me yesterday. We should be picking it up tomorrow sometime. Tomorrow is going to be hectic. Hubby has to be at the hospital in the morning for pre-op, whatever that is, blood work and stuff I guess. I'm supposed to be at the town hall helping to set up tables and at some point we have to go pick up the new car. I may end up walking to the town hall, gasp.

We won't be able to do the fence this weekend. Hubby will be busy going for his M2 license, in hopes of getting it before he has his knee surgery next week. I can't see him doing it any time soon after the surgery. So we'll just have to keep a close eye and a short leash on the dogs for now, sigh. Apparently there's another skunk lurking around, I could smell it out there this evening.

We tried a new restaurant for brunch today. We've always avoided this place because we knew we had tried it once before but couldn't remember why we never went back. I'll never forget again. I ordered a cheese and broccoli omelet and it was disgusting. They actually used frozen broccoli, the ketchup was off, nothing tasted right. It was bad. On the bright side, a new taco place opened today, the only one around, and I can't wait to go there. We'll probably check it out sometime tomorrow.

The weather has been sucky. It's been cool ever since that storm the other day and the rain started up again today. It also got very foggy. It's supposed to start warming up again after this blast of rain. My daffodils are close to blooming, though I've seen lots around opened up already. One day of warm sun will do it. I've even seen tulips in bloom already. I don't know what it is around here, or if it's just my flowers are late bloomers or what, but I'm always waiting for my stuff to bloom. After that little tease of summer last week, I've had enough of the gloom. I can't wait for the sun to come back. I'm eager to get on with the gardening and totally looking forward to riding again. But who knows when that may be with Hubby's surgery and all. And yippee, he'll be going back to work after too! Back to normal. It's been a long 4 months. It's been really strange, thrown everything out of whack. I sure hope all goes well with the surgery.

Well then, that's it for today. Time for bed. Later.

The New Car

Well, we went back to both car lots and ended up picking a completely different car from the first place. It's a 2000 Neon, sort of a pale brownish/goldish colour. It's not really what either of us had in mind, but it's probably the best deal. It has good qualities like good mileage etc. As long as we're still planning to get a big truck in the near future. Now we're also thinking about getting ourselves a plot of land somewhere to park the redneck trailer on. Somewhere with trees.

Our driveway is a disaster. That trailer takes up a lot of room. With it there we don't really have the space to put up that basketball hoop for Little R. Which, by the way, is also out there laying BESIDE the driveway. Now we also have the old pick-up truck in the driveway, and that thing looks like hell. The paint is falling off in sheets. But it runs fine. But it's not plated. We've decided to keep my current hulk just so I'll have wheels this weekend for hauling my yard sale stuff over to the town hall and possibly back home again. The car dealer offered to take it, and originally that was the plan. However, plans are subject to change at any time. We have 3 bicycles, a snowblower and a pile of firewood out on the driveway also. One of the bikes is Little Rs first 2 wheeler. I think that could go in the yard sale. One is mine that I've ridden on once. Paid like $10-$15 for it at the side of the road, randomly, because it looked just like one I had as a kid AND it has coaster brakes. And the third is Little Rs current bike. We're thinking of getting her a new one WITH A HELMET for her birthday this year.

Who knows maybe I'll get in a groove and have a yard sale every year. Can get rid of her old bike and stuff. Something I thought of this morning that we can definately get rid of, but isn't easily accessible, is a hamster cage and accessories. Taking up space in the rafters of the garage. We'll never use it again. It's in great shape. I think I'll ask Hubby to dig it out for me tonight. I keep coming up with more stuff but not packing it for hauling it to the hall. I packed a set of dishes all nicely in a box only to find I missed the soup bowls. So now I have to find a bigger box and repack it. I have toys to clean, dishes to clean, it's endless really. I'll be glad when it's over and I can just do it on my own, in my own frontyard, whenever I feel like it. And can just do up my own signage and flyers. I wasn't overly impressed with the ones done for this. I was asked my opinion, but didn't want to offend. So I just went with the flow. I'm really hoping for a good turn out too.

Ah well, should get at it then. But I would so much rather go out and play around in my gardens. It's not the greatest kind of day for it, it's a little overcast and chilly. But I could still enjoy myself out there. The dogs love to be outside with me, but then I have to keep my eye on them both constantly. I don't know, but the longer I sit here typing the longer it'll be before I can go out. So, have a lovely afternoon.

Bertha Has Landed

Well she's finally back. Bertha has landed. Hubby and D.W used W.S's trailer to pick it up. It was down in the city being stored in a heated warehouse. It took them a bit longer than expected but there was a good reason for that. They saw a pile of free firewood at the side of the road while down there, so they had to stop and load that onto the trailer as well. Anyhow, Bertha looks just like we left her....dirty. She definately needs some TLC, some work and a good cleaning. One of the brake lights got snapped off while being loaded on the truck last fall and that's the second time that has happened. So it needs a new light bar on the back again. Maybe she'll get a much needed paint job this year too.

We went to the car lot to find out about that car we had picked out. No one was there, sheesh. It didn't look like the car moved, so it's doubtful it's been to the shop yet. So we went to another place and saw a couple of vehicles there we were interested in. We'll be going back to both places today, assuming my piece of crap car will get us there.

I haven't checked the weather forecast, but it looks like there may be some rain coming. This is probably a good thing as it will force me to stay inside and work on my sale crap. I have now paid to rent 2 tables at the community sale. That would be pretty silly if I don't take enough stuff to fill 2 tables. It turns out Hubby won't be there to help out on Saturday. He'll be off getting his M2 license. He will help take everything over on Friday night, but that's it. The rest will be up to me and Little R. It seemed like such a good idea at first, but now I'm having doubts. I should have stuck with my original plan and just did it at home in May. Much easier to cart everything out to my frontyard.

So yeah it's funny Hubby has never had an M2 license. He's been riding on an M1 for the last few years. I guess he had it years ago before they came out with this graduated licensing and then he missed renewing it and lost it. And now that they have graduated licensing, he has to go through all the rigamarole. I certainly wish him luck. But you know how it is when you've been driving for years and you form bad habits. I don't know if he has any bad habits with riding or not. I know he's used to using hand signals rather than signal lights. Bertha doesn't even have signal lights. But he won't be using her for his test anyway. I know he will not be a happy camper if he doesn't get it. But he is determined.

It seems I still have only one wild canary hanging around. I saw him several times yesterday. But it's just the one. Later in the season we'll have lots of them. Maybe he's an early bird. I'm going to try out the idea of a platform feeder for the big black birds, whatever they are. I read somewhere last year, if you put out a platform feeder with dog food on it for them, they prefer that to the little feeders and will leave them alone for the smaller birds. Then the idea is to gradually move it further away from the smaller feeders. The problem is they scare off the smaller birds and they can empty a feeder in a day. I bought yet another hummingbird feeder yesterday. I've lost count of how many I have. But I plan on having them all around the house. Last year we had one right beside our front door and it was the busiest one. Hummingbirds are new to me. I had never seen one before moving here. They are facinating to watch. It's like gardening, who knew I'd be so interested in it?

I'm posting a couple of photos. Hubby with his new nose ring and the American Goldfinch (wild canary). Have a great day!

Nothing Much

Good morning.
I'm freezing!
We did get the rain yesterday. Torrential downpour even. With some thunder and lightning and the power flickering for good measure. I did get to spend a little time outside before it all started.

Once Hubby got home from running his errands, we went to town for dinner. We stopped in at D & S's place to see if they wanted to join us, but alas they had just finished eating their dinner. So we stayed for a beer with them and then went on our merry way. We decided to try a new place. The place isn't new, it's been there for a while, but we've never been there. The Mad Hatter Pub. I really liked the atmosphere and decor. Though it made me feel old when I couldn't quite read the menu because of the dim light. I think I have glasses in my future. Hubby of course ordered wings and I had perogies with a Cesar salad. The food was fabulous. The prices were reasonable too. So it was a good experience and we plan on going back there for sure.

Hoping to get the bike home today sometime. It's a lovely spring day, sunny but cool. That storm yesterday seems to have brought cooler air in with it. But the rain will help the flowers bloom. I think we may go buy that car today. We've been waiting for them to take it to a shop and find out what all it will need for a safety etc. Unfortunately it's another vehicle without a trailer hitch. We plan on getting a big truck whenever we get our settlement, with a trailer hitch. But I do believe this car will serve its purpose and it's a decent price. My last 2 cars have been white, it'll be a nice change to have a dark metallic blue car. Hey, I'm a chick, all I care about is the colour and location of cup holders for my coffee.

Anyhow, that's about it. Gonna go carry on with my garage sale crap, four days to go. Have a great day!

Bertha, The Petulant Purple Pig

I got the garbage out in plenty of time. Yay me. Then I proceeded to sleep half the day away. It's been another beauty.

Guys might want to plug your ears here. I have not had my period yet. I'm a month late. There is no chance of pregnancy or anything. All I can think of is menopause. I am 45 and a half. I've been peri-menopausal for years. I've had PMS symptoms on time, but no flow. For me to sleep half the day, it would appear I'm getting the dreaded symptoms again, already. Ugh.

So Hubby woke me up with a fresh Timmys coffee. He has gone off running errands. One of those errands is making arrangements to bring the bike home. Yay! I'm sure the neighbours all think we sold it, hehe. No such luck suckers. Sitting outside on the weekend watching the herds of bikes thundering by was annoying. In a way I felt happy for all of those who were able to be out enjoying the wind and our best in the province local riding roads, but at the same time I kept feeling like that should be me dammit. There seemed to be more than usual husband and wife riders. I do not want to ride myself. I have no desire to ride a bike. I totally enjoy kicking back in the backseat, trusting my husband with my life. I take pictures back there. I light cigarettes for the two of us, sometimes for other riders too. But mainly I just relax, enjoy the ride and the scenery. We've toyed with the idea of me learning to ride. First off the desire really isn't there for me. Secondly every single bike I've sat on is too big. Even other womens bikes. I don't think I have the strength required. For sure I could never pick a bike up from the ground. I believe you have to be able to do that. Just about everyone drops their bike at some time, believe it or not. Shit happens. But the main thing is, I can't touch the ground, my legs are too short. I'm sure there is a bike out there which is low enough for me, but as I said the desire isn't there, so who cares. I'm happy being a passenger. And that's only with my Hubby. I wouldn't get on a bike with just anyone driving. He is a good rider, he knows what he's doing, he knows when to take it easy, he's smooth, he knows how to ride. That's not true of everyone. So yeah, the neighbours should be thrilled to see, or rather hear it when it comes home, hehe.

On the other side of the nextdoor tards who do all the complaining lives a guy with a Harley also. Now it seems he has his son living there too, who also rides a Harley. So there's 2 of them. Not only do they ride, they wear colours. You don't see these guys without their patches on. They belong to the "Geriatric Club". So they always have bikes out in the driveway, plenty of noise going on and plenty of geriatric guys in "colours". Do these tards complain? NO. They only complain when Hubby has to reset the timing on our VINTAGE bike. He tends to do it inside the garage, maybe that's the problem. Perhaps he should do it out in the driveway. The noise seems louder inside I guess, it echoes. It is because it's an old bike that he has to do these things, like setting the timing. We LIKE old bikes, excuse us. New bikes are much quieter. But you know what? Most guys with new bikes change the pipes to make them louder! Go figure. Personally the sound of a Harley rumbling, whether idling or shifting as it roars off in the distance, is MUSIC to my ears. It's just like that, it makes me feel warm and fuzzy. So fuck the neighbours and their petty little attitudes. I should mention here, that on the other side of us, the ones who whine about dog shit, also have 2 Harleys. So out of 4 houses in a row, these tards beside us are the only ones who don't ride and we are the only ones they complain about. Thank the powers that be, their house is up for sale. And anything we can do to help them sell, we're on it. I think they only pick on us because we're new. The geriatric biker has been here for 20 years. His scoot is markedly quieter than ours. It has an Evolution engine so he doesn't need to fuck around with it, setting the timing etc. He just pushes a button and goes. And he goes out of his way to be friendly with the fuckheads. That's the kind of guy he is. We really tried to be good neighbours when we moved in. We tried our damnest to get along with these fuckers. They had it in their heads from the get-go that they weren't going to get along with us. I can't explain it. I don't know why anyone would want that. But I can tell you the very first, and pretty much only, conversation we had with them over the back fence, was them telling us how horrible the previous owners were. So we made every effort to not be horrible neighbours. It made no difference. We in fact went out of our way to please them when we put in a rock garden which abutted their fence. Long story short, it made no difference. They are freaks. Nothing we can do about that. Except pray for them to move.

So I went outside with my coffee and my guys, and it's nice but windy. I believe we're expecting some rain. Which is good because that's what will make everything just flourish, like the trees and whatnot. I learned this past winter to deeply appreciate every single moment of nice warm weather. I may look like Rudolph, but I feel great. My body's been sucking up those rays like there's no tomorrow.

Well, I'm going back out while I have the chance. I think I'll putter in the garage, collecting yard sale crap and making room for "Bertha". Lo the Purple Pig people...

Random Chatter

Sunday was another fabulous day. Again we spent the day outside and got lots of sun. We got the truck, that was parked at the back of the yard, out, with great effort. It had been there for a couple of years, so it had sank into the ground pretty far. There was a lot of fooling around, but we finally got it out. Now to get it back on the road.

I started to do some weeding and general clean up of my gardens. That was nice, but the sun was brutal, so I couldn't stay at it for long.

We went to town a couple of times. On one trip I bought some more flowers and plants. I got a "Drumstick Primrose" which I've never heard of before, another "Creeping Phlox", a "Common Periwinkle" and some "Dwarf Junipers". I don't have a real plan, never have really. So I just buy stuff and figure out where to put it later. Now with putting up a new fence, I can't really plant anything until that's done. I have a couple of existing gardens that won't be affected by the fence, so I could crowd everything into there until a later time I suppose. It's still a little early for planting anyways.

On another trip to town we came across a pile of stuff at the curb with a sign saying "Free To A Good Home" so we checked it out. We grabbed a pair of night tables, a book and a dog leash. We've never had night tables. We just use the headboard because it has a shelf type of thing. Now we're going to have to rearrange the bedroom just to fit them in.

I now have enough books to have reading material for the next five years!

So we're sitting out back, just enjoying the day, when we see a random dog wandering around in the yard nextdoor. These are the people who complain about Bear shitting in their yard. Luckily I had my camera nearby and I took a picture. I've known all along that our dog is not the only one who gets loose. I see other dogs loose all the time, but I don't usually have my camera with me when I do. I don't even know whos dog this was, never seen it before. But now, next time they complain I can just show them the picture and say "see? it may not have been Bear after all". I plan on getting a collection of photos of all the loose dogs here in paradise. I really feel we are being picked on about it because of his breed and nothing more. And that's discrimination. There is no reason for fear, he has no history of biting or anything. It's all because of his breed. Edwad is more vicious than Bear is, no one complains about him. Then again he doesn't take off and roam around loose. But still. And that's the whole reason for the fence! What an expensive dog.

There were people viewing the house nextdoor in the afternoon. They looked interested. Edwad started barking at them, so I whisked him into the house. We don't need him scaring off any potential buyers. I think just about anyone would be better neighbours than the shitheads who are there now.

It's going to be another gorgeous day. I have to get the garbage out, I put some of it out last night, but there's still more. I now have 5 days left to prepare for the community garage sale. That's what I'll be doing today.
Have a fabulous day.

Progressive Regression, An Oxymoron

Well we got a whole bunch of sun yesterday. Got burnt from head to toe, but not a painful kind of burnt. I could see Hubby burning so I kept telling him to put sunscreen on, it never even occured to me to put some on myself. Neither one of us did put any on. It was another gorgeous day. We hung out outside until well after dark, by which time I got the burnt chill again. We didn't go to that party, we opted to stay home and get shit done.

We got most of the old cedar rail fence knocked down. We backfilled where we had to dig up the septic line. I laid the hunks of sod back over it but I don't know how well it's going to take. We may end up having to seed it. We just got a lot of general yard puttering done.

Two of our least favourite neighbours had backyard fires. At one point a cop drove by out on the main road, and you don't know how rare that is, they only come here when they're called here, we thought for sure they were gonna get told nextdoor, but nothing. The cops just drove on by. You would think the cops would be aware that there is a fire ban in affect, but apparently not. Either that or they were actually busy with a call or something. I just couldn't help thinking if it was us having a fire during a fire ban, someone would have called the cops on us, if not, that random cop would have been on us in a flash.

I saw my first American Goldfinch of the season! They are also called wild canaries. They are a vibrant bright yellow colour and they sing. I only saw the one, he was on one of my feeders. I just happened to have bought the seed they like the other day but hadn't put it out yet, he was on the sunflower seed feeder. So I went ahead and filled the feeder for them, but he never came back. I took a picture of him but I was too far away.

We went to take the car we're thinking of buying out for a test drive. It has issues, but is pretty sound. It's a decent family car.

Back in our own car driving to another town for Timmys coffee we came across a yard sale. It was in a ritzy neighbourhood. I got a few books and it came to $15! They were asking $1 for paperbacks and $2 for hard covers but she charged me $3 for one of the books I had. Jeez. So that wasn't a deal at all. I actually felt ripped off more than anything. All the books were in very good condition, but still. Remind me not to go to yard sales in that neighbourhood.

One of my Narcissus flowers bloomed yesterday. Of course I took pictures. I just bought them last year, so this is my first year of them. They look like very tiny daffodils. When we dug up the septic line, it was winter, some of my Columbines got dug up in the process. But, it looks like they survived somewhat. I'm glad about that. Columbines are funky looking flowers and I like them. I want to cut back my roses, but I've always had "the clown" there to guide me before. I'm afraid to do it on my own, I'm afraid I'll fuck up and kill them. I'm just not sure where to cut. Still can't decide where to plant any of the stuff I bought this year. I'm just going to wait until the new fence is up before I plant anything. It's a little early for that yet anyways, plenty of time to figure it out.

So Hubby and I were sitting back having a brewski break when Little R appeared asking for money to go to the chip wagon. Earlier I had taken a pile of change from my jacket pocket and put it in my little change purse. I could not remember where I had put the change purse. So I sat there retracing my steps until we figured out where I had put it. I said "talk about progressive regression". Hubby said "that's an oxymoron!" Yup I believe it is. We had some great conversations sitting there drinking beer in the sun. Unfortunately Hubby started out drinking too fast and was pretty much done as I was just warming up. If you've never drank in the sun, I don't recommend it, it goes straight to your head. It seems like you get twice as drunk when done in the sun. I was fine though, I took it easy. We ended up having dinner from the chip wagon. They only opened it near the end of last summer. I can see us packing on the weight with that there now. It's too handy and convenient. There's nothing like chip wagon french fries! Delicious. Hubby got poutine and I had a taste and it was YUMMY. I'm gonna get fat this summer I think, sigh.

This morning, just as I was waking up, Edwad (that's his new name) squatted right in front of me, in the kitchen! I was quick enough to get him outside before he finished. I couldn't believe it. The house smells like a fucking barn thanks to him. I'm so glad we can finally open windows and air the place out! But he had no qualms about doing it right there, in the middle of the kitchen, right in front of me. SIGH. I can't wait to get the new fence up so we can just cut them loose and not have to worry at all about them taking off.

Today is supposed to be gorgeous again. It's sunny and warm already. I'm going to enjoy my coffee outside now. I'll leave you with a photo of my Narcissus. Have a lovely day.

Shopping For A Fence

The day started out on a bit of a sour note when we got a letter from the Township in our mail.

The letter stated "It has come to the attention of this office that, your dogs have been allowed to run at large. The issue of safety is a serious concern. Complaints have been received regarding your dog disturbing/threatening neighbouring landowners, their children and their pets. It is imperative that you resolve this situation immediately."

It goes on further to explain the charges and fines that could be laid on us and contains a copy of the dog bylaws.

Yes it is true that Bear takes off on me on a regular basis. And though I know he wouldn't hurt a flea, others have no way of knowing that. And I don't know how he acts when I'm not there. I spoke to one of the Town Councillors about it and she said she had received 3 complaints. She told them all the same thing, that they must put it in writing for anything to happen. One refused to do that, another did so right away and she is waiting for the written complaint from the third. We have a pretty good idea of who it may be. We have no argument. The one thing I find strange is the timing. When I let Bear out and he takes off on me is usually late at night or in the wee hours. It's just our lovely neighbours being asses. It bothers me because I'm fairly certain it's bullshit, only said to cause us grief. And because I've seen every other dog on this street out roaming around loose. But I don't complain about it.

Anyways, we went fence shopping yesterday. We're getting a small part of the settlement next week, so we figured we'd find out how much it's going to cost to fence the backyard. We were planning to do that even before receiving this letter. We need 205 feet of fence. We decided to go with the pre-assembled wood panels. Not including the posts it will cost over $3000. We hope to have it done by next weekend. Hubby is going to recruit a couple of guys and they can slap it up themselves. We haven't decided if we'll rent a post hole digger or hire a local guy to do that part. We'll have to remove the cedar rail fence which runs across the back of the yard and may use it as a decorative fence in the frontyard. Due to the cost, I may not be able to finish the denture project just yet. Aww, that's too bad, hehe.

Other than that it was a fabulous day. Since my car is on its last legs, and we have that money coming, we stopped in at a car place too. We may have found a reasonable replacement car. We're also going to pull our old pick up truck out of the backyard before the fence goes up, and get it back on the road. It's been a real pain not having a truck.

The weather was amazing. It was as hot as a summer day. We spent the entire day outside. We even had a barbecue for dinner. Little R went for a scoot on her mini bike after school. I got the raking done, even cleaned up the mess from the wood cutting pile. I got a slight sunburn. You know how you get a chill, after getting a burn, when the sun goes down? That was me last night. I'm going to have a decent tan already by the time summer does roll around.

The house nextdoor still hasn't sold. I read the listing and it says "needs TLC", that's not a good selling point and they mention it "has a large sandbox", hardly a selling feature. These folks are freaks, it's common knowledge. Two grown adults who live in a 4 bedroom house and do like to play in their sandbox. They've been seen by other neighbours doing what can only be described as "role playing". They are also the ones who complain about every little thing. It started with the bike which again was quite unfair since ours is not the only bike around. They live between two Harley owners, but it's only ours that bothers them. When they found that there was nothing they could do about it, they moved on to complaining about the dog. The other house, which is down and across from us, sold in a week. This will be the second time the freaks nextdoor have put theirs on the market and still, nothing. We'd be more than happy to see them go. There must be something really wrong with the house for it to take this long. "Needs TLC" could mean so many things. If you really want to sell, don't you make the neccesary repairs yourself before putting it on the market? Doesn't that make sense? These folks don't make sense at the best of times. I also noticed on the MLS site, there are no indoor photos of the place. They just don't seem very serious about selling and that's a shame. I'd love to have some decent, normal people living beside me.

All in all it was a gorgeous day and I sure do hope it's a trend. My narcissus' which I planted last year are just about ready to bloom. I can't wait to get out there digging in the dirt and planting all the things I've bought this year. Did I mention I got a rasberry bush last week? Of course I can't decide where to plant it. The sun and warmth yesterday got all the plants and flowers going good. It is supposed to be nice for the next few days. I plan on being out there enjoying every minute of it.

There is a fire ban in effect until May 18 or further notice. So, we couldn't get a fire permit just yet. If you have a fire and someone calls the fire department or otherwise reports it, if the fire department comes out, you are responsible for paying for the call which is now $1800 and you get a fine. It's very much not worth it. Better off waiting for the ban to be lifted. We plan on expanding our tiny firepit. I might start on that today. I have a lot of plans for today actually. All involving being outside in the sunshine.

Have a great day!

I Am A Country Bumpkin

What a beautiful day! Could it be that spring has truly arrived this time? Man I hope so. I hope this is it. Please, no more snow!

So Hubby and I went down to the lawyers office this afternoon. I don't think I could ever drive in the city again. I was having a total freak out panic attack on those highways. The speed and traffic was just too much. I've become quite accustomed to country roads, one lane of traffic, watching the scenery. I've become a country bumpkin. I even find myself checking what I'm wearing once I get into the city! I think nothing of it when I leave home, and as soon as I'm down there, even though I'm still sitting in the car and no one can see me, I'm thinking "what the hell was I thinking wearing this out in public?" And as always, as soon as we pass that certain road on the way home, I breathe a sigh of relief and feel like all is right with the world once again. It's so damn bizarre.

While we were sort of in the area we decided to pop in on my father and sister. My sister was busily baking cupcakes for her granddaughters birthday tomorrow, while my father told us they were leaving in 20 minutes for him to have some tests done at the hospital. It seems he's been having pain ever since the pacemaker surgery. The doctor thinks he may have a blockage. Great. But you know, the mans spirit and smiles never cease! He is fucking amazing. Anyone else would be shitting their pants afraid of dying and/or whining about their pain and discomfort. Not my dad. I don't know if he's just so damn happy to see us, which is just so hard to believe, or what, but this stuff just does not get him down. Always with the smiles, jokes and general good humour. I wish I was more like him.

Back home, it seems there's some karma going on around here. Not at my house, well, except that I get to sit back and watch, hehe. Enough said.

Saw several bikes out on the road today. Oh I can't wait to get ours back. I know it was supposed to be back here by now, but things haven't gone quite as planned. Soon. Next week. And Hubby will actually be getting his M2 this time, so we can be all legal and shit, for a change. Too bad we don't have it here since we are invited to a bash this weekend. Haven't decided if we're going or not, it's pretty far away. Then again we always have such a good time there. It's just the long drive that sucks. Much like us this place is in the middle of nowhere. You don't even go through any major towns once you're in that neck of the woods. So by the time we get there all I want to do is pee. It's such a drag partying and having a blast and then having to drive all that way back home. We could stay over, just aren't comfortable with that. Besides I have to come home for my guys. I know later on they'll be having doos at a property which is much closer to us. So, we'll see.

Ah well, time for bed. Have a good night.

Got Me Some Rays

I did go tanning yesterday. When I signed up I had to buy a bottle of slather for my skin. I assumed it was sunscreen. When I looked at it later I found it was actually accelerator. That was the first thing I said when I went in yesterday "shouldn't I have sunscreen with SPF? This is accelerator and I really don't need any help getting a tan. It's not going to make me orange is it?" I explained that I wasn't really there to get a tan, I just wanted the vitamins or whatever you get from the rays to feel better. She said they didn't use sunscreen because most people do want a tan and I may as well get a tan while I'm there TANNING. They use this stuff more as a moisturizer. You have to have something on your skin or it will get very dried out very fast. Ok fine, but it better not make me orange.
It was an experience. They started me off at 8 minutes, originally it was going to be 7, so I don't know why it was more. I didn't pull the top of the tanning bed down over myself and I'm glad I didn't because it would have been way too hot. It was impossible to imagine I was laying on a beach with her vacuuming outside the room and the fans on the bed sounding like jets coming in for a landing on my head. After a while I could feel that tingle of my skin burning so I figured I'd had enough and I got up. Just then the bed turned off. They're on timers, so I guess I had timed it perfectly. Amazingly, I did feel a little better. I came out smiling and in a better mood. The day suddenly didn't seem so dreary. So I will be going back some time.

After that Hubby and I went for lunch. We went to a little place in another town where we haven't been in quite some time. Then we came home and picked up the dogs and drove them to a park in town. Actually the park where that kid Robbie was brutally murdered a few years ago. As you enter the park there is a light pole with his name on it. There used to be all kinds of flowers and whatnot attached to this pole but the township made them take it all down, so I was a little surprised to see his name still there. It's not much of a park, there is no playground, it's just for walking, there are paths and boardwalks and benches, thats about it. Because of seeing Robbie's name as soon as you enter, you can't help but think about him while you're there walking around. The dogs were very excited to be going for a car ride AND getting to walk in a strange park.

Down the road from home there is this little farm where they have 3 horses. The barn caved in a few weeks ago. I've been told they actually made it cave in before the wind could do it. Less dangerous that way I guess. But since then those horses have been outside. They are there every time we drive by. There is another shed type building that they could be putting the horses in, no one knows, but the horses seem to always be out. I've been upset every time we drive by and the poor things are out there. Snow, rain, sleet, doesn't matter, the horses are out in it. That just isn't right. Yesterday one of them was laying in their pile of food. It looked dead. I was so pissed off. I've been discussing it with S.W, she noticed it too and has been wondering the same thing, if they are putting them in that other shed or what. It doesn't seem like it because they are ALWAYS there. Seeing one laying in its food was the final straw. She drove over there and honked her horn. Two of them looked at her but the one laying down didn't move. So she went to the Humane Society and filed a report. I'm so glad she did that. I wanted to, but didn't quite know what to say since I know absolutely nothing about horses. Though I'm sure they can get sick and catch pneumonia just like any other animal. No other farms had their horses out yet, but even the odd ones we did see had blankets on them. Anyways, the Humane Society told S.W they had already received several complaints about these 3 horses and were planning to send someone out to investigate last night anyways. She went there rather than calling on the phone because she wanted to be sure there was a complaint filed, rather than just blowing her off. I haven't been by there since, but Hubby went by there today and said the horses were still out there. Fortunately today was a nice day, even so, I did see other horses out and they had blankets on. I'll be very interested to find out what happened. Farm animals are protected by cruelty laws just like pets and any other animals. I don't think it's even a working farm, I think it's like a small hobby farm. I've recently learned that a lot of the farm houses around here are actually rented out as well as the land.

Well today was pretty nice compared to recent weather. It started out dreary but the sun finally popped out and my crocuses were finally tempted to open up.

The Dead Scooter

Now I'm wondering if all that womans hullabaloo was because she knew the scooter wasn't working. Feeling a little guilty perhaps.
Hubby had the batteries charging and they never did fully charge, even though he had it on for a good 24 hours. It isn't working. He has a few ideas, just hasn't had the time to fool around with it.
Isn't that the way? After all the hassle we went through to get the damn thing only to find it doesn't work. And now it sits in my diningroom, dead. What a pain in the ass.
The funny thing is, we had one before that we bought at an auction. That was before Hubby was injured, we really had no use for it. We just got it for such a good price, it was hard to resist. The plan was to hang onto it until someone needed it, someone like my father. Well then someone made an offer to buy it. Again, it was too good to resist. A tidy little profit was made. But dammit, that one worked.

I think I may go tanning this afternoon. I need sunshine. This weather is pathetic. I am so sick of it, I'm starting to feel sick. Dreary, rainy/snowy, cold and windy. Mother Nature must be PMSing or something. It was two summers ago we hardly had a summer at all. It was cold and rainy more often than not. I will be most disappointed if this is going to be one of those summers. In recent years I've noticed the seasons seem to change overnight. It'll be like this until the end of May and then BAM it's summer. Or it'll just be like this all summer, with the odd nice day. I didn't used to pay so much attention to the weather. It seems nowadays there isn't much else for me to pay attention to. A rainy day never stopped me back then. Cold didn't hurt like it does now. I did notice a lot of people out doing yard work on the weekend. I guess if you dress for it, it's not too bad. But where the hell is the sun??

The first 4-H meeting was held Sunday evening. Things are looking better already, they have all their meetings lined up, that's new. We'll be hosting a meeting here at our house in September. That gives me plenty of time to have the house cleaned up. Hubby went to the meeting, as he plans on being a lot more involved this year. It sounds like they're off to a good start to having a better year. Last year, even though it was our first year, we could tell, it was just lame. There are a couple of new members also.

The time is nearing for me to finish the denture project, ugh. I'm dreading it, but psyching myself up for it. The money is coming, there is no excuse. I survived the first round, I'll survive again. I've been getting by with only 11 teeth in my head, but it will be nice to be able to chew properly again. The oral surgeon is a pro. That's why he gets the big bucks. Part of my fear is, once it's done, it's done, it can't be undone. I've been getting by. But I would so love to be able to openly smile again. A genuine smile. And to be able to eat anything, not have to worry about being able to chew it. Millions of people have dentures. I don't even know why I'm so afraid. I'm afraid of being knocked out for it, that's what I'm afraid of. I'm afraid I won't wake up. But that's a somewhat irrational fear. Anyhow, soon, probably within the next week or two, it'll be done.

I keep finding more stuff to put in my sale, but haven't done any more organizing. This is turning into quite the chore. I don't know how much to ask for stuff. One thing I read said to price things high to leave room for haggling. But to me it seems that might just scare people off, not everyone haggles. A lot of stuff, for example candle holders, I think, who would buy them? Who would want this stuff? But then I remember the sale I had before, and people will buy just about anything you put out. I've seen such wacky stuff in yard sales, you just never know. That spare bedroom is calling my name. I have to pull myself out of this chair and get to it. We're down to less than 2 weeks. So much for having the big head start. I won't be touching the toys again until Little R is here to help me with it. She knows what goes with what a lot better than I do. Toys were an easy seller at my other sale. I can take some over to the town hall and leave some for my private yard sale. I'm putting too much pressure on myself about it. Really, it's a fun thing to do, there shouldn't be any pressure. Whatever is ready to go for the town hall is what I'll take. No pressure. We get to go in the night before to set things up, so that's good. The lady in charge has managed to recruit several more people too. Ah, it'll be a blast. I'm looking forward to it.

K, I'm outta here, time to get off my butt and get it done. Have a great day.

Remember "Nugget Buddies"?

It's 1:30 in the afternoon. I just came in from puttering in the garage. It was no small feat getting Hubby out there helping me. As we were sorting through everything, I couldn't stop myself from bitching. Some of the things I came across just should not have been there. It is such a ridiculous mess, which Hubby created. He kept threatening that if I didn't stop bitching he was going to leave. About 10 - 15 minutes into it he decided he needed to drive over to S.Ws house to get his ladder. He's gone now LOL. But before he left, I got my new wheelbarrow/planter out of the trunk to take a picture of it, to post here.

Isn't that cute? Not worth $60 mind you, but cute. Something else I can figure out how to make with all my cool saws and barn board some day. I'm thinking that could be quite lucrative if I can ever get to it.

Just when I thought Hubby would be gone til after dark, he came back. I assumed the ladder was just an excuse enabling him to escape. Maybe thoughts of me alone in his garage were enough to drag him back.

It was a damn cold day. It should not be this cold and I seem to recall saying the exact same thing in September. And it was in the pluses, so it shouldn't feel so cold. Even Hubby complained about it and that is mega-odd.

I discovered boxes full of toys that I had forgotten about. Also, boxes full of mainly McDonalds toys. We have an admirable sized collection. Did we really eat that much McDonalds? You bet we did! We once lived in an apartment that was infested with cockroaches. They were so thick I couldn't use the kitchen. I was financially trapped there for three years. As fate, or luck, or Satan would have it, we were right behind a McDonalds. So, we pretty much lived on it for 3 years. That's A LOT of happy meals folks. Man, that was a nightmare, living there. The landlord or superintendant refused to fumigate the place properly. I guess it cost too much, I don't really know why, but that was the most insane time of my life, partly because of my living conditions. The roaches were there long before me. And when I moved out, I left most of my furniture behind and went to a great deal of trouble to be sure not to bring any with me. I was successful, it was worth the effort and extra work. But I digress...

The toys...millions of little doodads. Pieces that go with other pieces. Accessories. OMFG. Now I remember why it's all in boxes out in the garage. But I am determined. This is why they haven't found their way out to the curb. Some day I'm going to sort them all out and they are going in a yard sale. That day is here. Lord give me strength. I may hang onto some of the McDonalds collections though. You know, the collectible sets. UGH.

Remember the stupid hollow plastic "Nugget Buddies" with different little outfits, hats and costumes? We have millions of those. They are the one thing I may just throw away. We have trolls, remember those? And "My Little Pony"? And "Betty Spaghetti"? And game pieces, and "Lite-Brite" pegs, and marbles, and dice, and "Barbie" accessories, dolls, doll houses, doll clothes for dolls which have long since departed, and it...is...unbelievable. The manic or anal side of me refuses to give in and JUST PITCH IT. So far.

Lilacs And Fences

It seems that I am almost always the first one to get up in the morning in this house. Once I start typing a blog entry someone else will get up and interupt me, usually. Before I can do anything I let the dogs out and make a coffee. I like having this time alone. It's never long enough.

This morning I found myself thinking about lilacs of all things. I have one lilac bush which was already here when we moved in. It's pretty small but has grown a couple of feet in hieght since we've been here. I found myself thinking about the lilac bush my mother had. I can still picture it. It was huge. She had it at one end of her covered patio, and it was like a screen. The smell would just waft through the patio in the spring. One of the blogs I've started reading mentioned lilacs the other day and posted pictures. I was thinking where are you that you have lilacs already? Sheesh, I'm still waiting for all my crocuses to bloom. No lilacs here yet. The one bush I have sprouts babies around its base. One year, maybe two years ago, I dug some of them up and planted them in my front garden. I didn't know what to expect. I had no idea if they would survive, never mind actually grow. But they did take, and have grown. I was thrilled when I realized they were going to survive. Lilacs take several years of growing before they bloom. I think it takes 5 years. This will be year three for those baby sprouts. The same year I also got some sprouts from my sister in Gravenhurst. We were there visiting and she was showing me her gardens. She has a white lilac bush. I must have told her what I did with my shoots so she dug up some of hers for me. They also survived. I planted them near the back of the yard. They are growing much slower than my purple ones. Different species do different things. Mine is obviously a fast growing type. So some day I will have at least three lilac bushes.
Many years ago we bought a lilac bush. We planted it at our cottage. It was there for a few years and never bloomed. I didn't know at the time that it takes them years to bloom. I thought it was maybe because of the sandy soil. When we moved from an apartment to a townhouse we dug up that bush and planted it in our little postage stamp backyard. That would have been in the fall. It bloomed for the first time that first spring. I was thrilled. We moved from there to here. I left that lilac behind. I left a lovely 2 year old garden behind. We lived right beside the caretakers and she had promised to give me a rose bush if I would leave the lilac bush. She never did.
That townhouse was my favourite place of all the places I've lived. I loved it there. I still miss it sometimes. I have little pangs of regret, wish we had just stayed there. But they are fleeting little pangs. Living in a rental gets you nowhere. At least when you buy a house it's an investment. You come out of it owning something. When you rent you have nothing to show for it in the end and are at the mercy of the owners. If they were to sell off those townhouses I would have liked to buy our unit. I guess I'm in the "I-hate-my-house" mood this morning. There's a dusting of snow on the ground and I wonder if there's any snow down in the city. Sigh.
Yesterday I noticed I have more crocuses blooming. These ones are purple and white striped. Very pretty if they ever open. This is only the second year for my crocuses. I seem to have a lot more of them than last year. And last year only a couple of them actually bloomed. I guess they're like everything else and have to become established before they flourish.
We bought a small juniper tree last week. It was meant to replace one that died in front of the house. But it turns out the one that died wasn't actually a juniper, it was a cedar. There were 2 of them, one at each end. I wanted to replace it to replace the feng shui. Meanwhile I've filled in the space with other stuff. I'm going to have a lot of transplanting and moving around of plants to do this year.
Yesterday we were out driving from town to town putting up flyers for the community sale, in grocery stores and laundrymats. One town already had a flyer up in the grocery store, I guess someone else beat me to it. Hubby wanted to go to the hardware store across the street, so I put one up in there too. While in there I saw the cutest wheelbarrow/planter. After much ado finding the price, it was $60, Hubby bought it for me! It is so cute, I can't wait to plant something in it and take pictures. It's still in the trunk of the car or I would have pictures of it already. I have absolutely no idea where to put it though. I think I'm going to end up digging some new gardens this year to accomodate all the transplanting I'll be doing. I think we'll be putting up a fence this year too. Eddie is just too fast. I watched him yesterday doing laps around the backyard, it was incredible. He must have gone around the yard 20 times, at top speed. But he has a thing for chasing birds, he's so young and cute, and I could see him chasing a bird right out into the road. The people on the right side of us, the ones with their house up for sale, have a chainlink fence all around their yard. They obviously didn't do a survey or whatever first. Our lots are angled, but their fence is straight. So they kind of messed it up for us. I don't like the look of chainlink fences. I guess it is the best thing for dogs, but man it's unattractive. So we can't even decide what type of fence we want. I just know the people on the other side of us, which is where the fence would be going up, are going to have a problem with it. So we're thinking, when we do do it, we'll get a survey and do it right, so they have nothing to bitch about. Ideally they should pay part of it, but they won't. Not that we asked, it's just something we know. A survey may also mean the people on the right may have to move their fence. How much trouble would that be? A lot! Many of the yards here are not fenced. I prefer it that way myself. But with the dogs, it's kind of neccesary. Unless we just do a dog run. Fence in a small area just for the dogs. I don't know. Then again we could just move. LOL yeah right.
I haven't checked the weather forecast yet. It's looking sunny out there and the birds are chirping. Here we are, the middle of April and we're still in winter mode. Wouldn't it be something to have a nice spring day? I think so.

Big Bird

Down the road from us there is a conservation park. There's a lake there. I've never actually gone into the conservation park part of it, so I'm not sure exactly what all is there, other than a lake. There is a diner which is located on the edge of the park. In the diner parking lot there's this huge birds nest on top of a pole. Like a hydro pole. We drove by today and there was a bird sitting in the nest. I'm not sure what kind of birds they are, but they are very large. Luckily, for once I actually had my camera with me. I've been meaning to take photos of that nest for a couple of years now. It's not very often you actually see a bird sitting there. I guess being spring its that time of year that they do their thing. So, here's the pictures...

They aren't the best pictures I know. As sweet as my camera is, I wouldn't mind an even better one for things like this. It was overcast today too, might get a better shot with some better light. I didn't want to walk too close to it for fear of disturbing the bird. Wouldn't want to incite the wrath of a bird that size. I imagine there are eggs, or an egg, which it's guarding at this time of year. I've had a mama robin get upset with me for approaching too closely it's nest of babies. She let me know in no uncertain terms that she was not happy with me. Man, was she ever LOUD too! Be interesting and fun to go back and check for babies. I have no idea how long it would take to hatch baby birds. I think the robins took about 2 weeks, from eggs to babies. If I knew what kind of bird it is I could just look up the info. Now that we know it's there, we can drive by as often as we like and look for the babies. Yay.

No PD13

The decision was made, we didn't go to PD13. It was just too cold, with a cutting wind, and snow. Knowing there will be another one in 3 months , without snow, was a deciding factor.

We had a nice leisurely day. S.W popped in this morning with a round of Timmys. The yard sale lady stopped by with more flyers for me to put up on bulletin boards around other towns.

We went out for lunch.

We went to Dollarama, where Hubby became a bit of a nag. They had some really cute summer hats so I grabbed a few for my Christmas shoe boxes. That's the kind of stuff I like to get when I see it, before they sell out and become unavailable. I got photo printing paper, picture frames, sunglasses, some scented candles, batteries, the things we need, and then he started bugging me about buying other stuff. He wasn't too obnoxious about it, just got started. Once we left he said he was sorry, it could have been worse. We could have gone to PD13 and done some shopping there, which would have cost a lot more than I spent in Dollarama. So, he admitted, he should have just kept quiet. Uhuh.

Hubby set up that scooter in the house, rather than out in the garage. Not sure why. But it now sits in the middle of my diningroom, ugh. It has two flat tires. I think I'm going to insist he move it to the garage tomorrow. Better yet, take it out there and get it fixed up so he can use it.

The things people are asking for on Freecycle continues to amaze me.

Hubby's been putting the new deep fryer to good use. Hopefully the novelty will wear off before we all explode.

To be honest, I haven't touched my yard sale stuff in over a week. I haven't even glanced into the spare bedroom. The day of the community sale is getting closer, fast. I find April is flying by, despite the rotten weather. I'm down to 2 weeks to get everything organized and ready.

After their renovation job, S.W found they don't have a place for their corner cabinet, so she generously offered it to us. I had admired it at some point, so she knew I liked it. I have a perfect spot for it in the familyroom.

Well, I'm not sorry we missed another PD13. I don't think it would have been very enjoyable. Now I'm really hoping it isn't rainy or anything in July. Sigh.

Here's the scooter we got after much ado from a Freecycler. And the corner cabinet S.W is giving to us...

Friday The 13th

Even if you are currently conflicted between your intellect and your intuition, you can feel a sense of well-being that is most welcome in your life today. It doesn't really matter what you should be doing; self-indulgence may be the victor. You cannot fight the inevitable, so enjoy yourself without pushing anything too far.
Friday, April 13, 2007

Does that help me decide whether to go to Port Dover or not? Not really. My horoscope does sound like it's telling me to go though. I don't know, when I woke up and saw the ground covered in snow again, I envisioned walking around Port Dover in the snow, not my idea of fun. But then again, it's not like we have to ride in it or anything. Just walking once we get there. I think I'll let Hubby decide when he gets up.

Hubby took Little R to get her nose pierced last night.....



There it is. She did it. I wanted to do that too when I was younger. But I never did. And now I don't want to so much. It was her idea, she asked for it. Nowadays its not so different from getting your ears done. I think it was a little indulgent of us, but hey, you only live once.

Well, Hubby is up now, so I must go make the decision with him.
Have a great day.

We Have A Scooter, Finally

I went to bed last night thinking it would probably be a snow day today. It was snowing heavily and very windy. They were calling for a few inches. I was quite surprised when I looked out this morning and saw grass. It turned to rain during the night which melted all the snow. This is a good sign.

We picked up the scooter yesterday, finally. After I told her we couldn't make it in the afternoon I was surprised when she agreed to a later time. Finally going to pick it up wasn't nearly as traumatic as I expected it to be. It was fairly quick and painless. It sure seemed like she doesn't want to part with this thing though. She seems like a person with issues, but she kept it to herself this time, thankfully. I sent her a thank you email when we got home. I'm just glad it's over and done with.

I saw a fox! When we were coming home from picking up the scooter, I saw something which I at first thought was a dog. As we got closer I saw that it was a fox. He was just slinking through a field towards the road. Haven't seen much wildlife lately.

All through the Easter weekend I kept having this strange urge to go to church. This happens every once in a while. But now I'm looking at it as a social thing. I know the chances of getting Hubby to go are pretty slim. I don't want to go by myself. It wasn't so long ago I did try going to church and forced Hubby to go with me. We didn't enjoy it. The people were not so nice. You would think they would welcome newcomers, they weren't very welcoming. Now I'm thinking surely our quaint little church here would be different. I don't want to go for the religion. I want to go for the social and community aspects. There's always a good turnout of cars in the parking lot on Sunday mornings. I want to go and have fun with it. I feel kind of bad for not going for so long. It was a part of my childhood. But I don't have clear memories of it. I think we just picked the wrong church a few years ago when we decided to check it out. It's a very small church we have here. They have recruiting signs out sometimes. Easter is over and the urge is still with me.

Going to Port Dover tomorrow will depend on a) my mood tomorrow morning and b) the weather. If it's cold and rainy I don't think I want to go. Lets face it, it'll depend on my mood tomorrow morning.

Well, I have about two tons of laundry to do so I'm gonna go get started on that.
Have a great day.

That Damn Scooter

Here we go again. The crazy woman with the scooter says we can pick it up this afternoon. It's to the point of I'm dreading it. It's been a week or more since the whole thing started, it shouldn't be such a drawn out affair. I've never had such a run around before. We've had enough Freecycle experiences to know how painless, quick and smooth it can and should go. She suggested 1 p.m and then when Hubby agreed to that she said we better make it 1:15 to allow for any delay. Whatever, holy moly.

Hubby did it yesterday, he got his nose pierced. Technically his septum. So he'll have a ring through his nose like a bull. Right now you can't even see whatever is in there, it's inside his nose. I was a little surprised he went through with it, but not really.

He ever so casually mentioned that he had cancelled his physio appointment for Friday. It didn't click right away. This Friday is the Friday the 13th Port Dover thing. I figured we weren't going, Hubby had said he didn't really want to go, so I sort of put it out of my mind and forgot about it. After casually mentioning that our daughter has an appointment at the tattoo place and he cancelled physio, I had to put two and two together. We're going to Port Dover, we just won't be riding down. And he had promised Little R she can get her nose peirced, they were supposed to go do it together I guess, so he made her appointment while he was there. She will be getting a very tiny diamond stud in the side of her nose. I think she's a little young for it, but then I think she's almost 14, she's going into high school this year, she's not really too young.

So yay, we're going to PD13! There are two this year, April and July. Hopefully we'll ride to the July one. It is fun there. It's the biggest biker doo in Canada. There are hundreds of thousands of people and bikes. It's a nice little town. There's plenty to see and do. I like seeing all the different bands playing. I like walking from bar to bar. I like the shopping. I like running into people I haven't seen for a while. Good times.

It looks like we'll have the bike back here within the next week, for sure. It's a matter of getting a trailer and coordinating everything. Then hopefully the weather will cooperate and allow him to work on it. The garage looks strange without it. Even if we had it here, it's too cold to ride down to Port Dover. However July should be perfect. There is a place I want to stop on the way there. Its the only garden center who sells the hogs on hawgs statues. I've been wanting to get one for my front garden ever since we saw them at Six Nations Choppers last summer. Theirs weren't for sale, just for decoration.

Unbelievably, they're calling for more snow this week. Will it ever end? What happens to all the birds, like the robins, who have come back? What do they eat when the ground is frozen and or covered with snow? I think when the temperatures do rise, they'll stay up. Overnight spring. And I can't wait. I am going to enjoy every minute of this summer.

I may go tanning today I think. Depends if Flo shows up or not. I must be starting menopause. But I really don't want to talk about that.

Oops. Hubby just got an email and he has to whip down to the city to sign some papers. We won't be able to make it to the crazy ladys house today. Now it's up to me to send her an email explaining this, ugh. No tanning for me today.

Beautiful!

Beautiful!

Free Haircut You Say?

Tonight I have my heated throw turned up to medium. Until now, low was adequate. At some point while we were at S.Ws, the snow stopped falling and the temperature plummeted. If there's one thing I really really don't like, it's being cold. By the time we got home I had a good chill on. The drive is probably less than 2 minutes.

After waiting all morning for a reply email from the woman with the Freecycle scooter, Hubby and I went to town for haircuts. He got the usual buzzcut and I got a trim. The hairstylist told me my hair is now long enough to donate, and, that when you donate your hair, there is no charge for the cut. I didn't know that, bonus. But I've decided I want to keep it long for the summer and I'll donate it in the fall. So I just had my split ends cleaned up. Of course the email came while we were out and by the time we saw it, it was too late.

Hubby was actually on a mission when we went to town. The quest for a pierced nose. We picked up a little gold ring from a jewellry store in the mall and then hit three tattoo shops. There were no piercing people on duty today. Then as a last resort we went back to the mall to Claires, LOL. Not a chance. Oh well, later in the week. He's determined to have it done.

Since we got up late and hadn't eaten, we grabbed a light lunch in town and some wine and stuff to take over to dinner. We had a lovely visit and of course the dinner was delicious. Didn't drink much though. I think we all had enough the night before.

At some point today a SOLD sign went up at the first place that went up for sale. That was FAST. And the people nextdoor had a moving truck in their driveway today. Hopefully we'll get some good new neighbours. It's somehow more of a big deal when you own your home than when neighbours move from a rented apartment or whatever. You expect it in an apartment, renters tend to move more often I think. I know I did. Rental apartment life is fleeting, you have people you say hi to on the elevator or out in the courtyard, but you can be there for years and not even know your nextdoor nieghbours name. Maybe it's only because it's such a small community here, I don't know. But when you buy a house, you seem to have more dealings with your nieghbours and want to know what they sell for etc. because it affects your property value. Can you tell this is my first home of my own? It's just a weird little difference between renting and buying. I know the names of 75% of my nieghbours. I have conversations beyond "hi, how are ya?" with them. We socialize. We help each other out. Things have changed in the last year. Not as much socializing going on, (and some would say that's all my fault.) I continue to socialize, just with different people. We didn't have any get togethers here the past year, which we usually do have several in a year. Things change when people move. That house selling that quickly leads me to think maybe this is a good time to sell. Truth be known, I really wouldn't mind moving. When I think about it, there isn't all that much to do. We need a new roof, that's the biggest thing. Other than that, get the central vac working again, a major declutter, pack everything in storage, some flooring, some paint and a good cleaning. The house would sell itself. Things to think about. And maybe start actually doing.

It snowed all day but didn't stick much. Then all the mud froze. I sure am appreciating my heated blanket right about now.

The Boys

Here's my guys. This is about the only time they get so close to each other, waiting for a treat. They more or less ignore each other. Well except when Eddie gets in a mood to pester.

One thing I've noticed is, whenever Bear comes in after taking off on me, Eddie will pick a fight with him. This has happened enough times that I've noticed the pattern. Is he mad at Bear for taking off?

They're pretty funny together. They're both possessive of me. If I'm petting one the other comes right over and butts in. I am equal with the loving and treats and attention. I have to be.

Eddie is still a playful puppy and Bear is becoming an old man. Not the best mix. They are polar opposites most of the time. But for the most part they co-exist happily. I was hoping they would get close, but so far that isn't happening. They will sleep on the same couch together but at opposite ends. There is no cute snuggling up together.

You would think, just with the size difference, Eddie would run from Bear. But not so, if anything, Eddie is the more aggressive one. He doesn't back down at all and in fact he starts it most of the time. They do play, chasing each other around outside, but it's rare. Hopefully there'll be more of that once the weather gets nice and we're spending more time outside.

So, Hubby got an email from the lady with the scooter. She said he can come pick it up if he still wants it. ??? Apparently she read the email I sent to her nieghbour about it. Now Hubby is making me and D.W go get it for him, ugh. Personally I would have said "no thanks".

We had our ham dinner yesterday. It wasn't so good. I didn't have all the ingredients for the raisin sauce and the local store wasn't open, so I had to improvise. It turned out ok, but not the best. We tried a new kind of Yorkshire Pudding. I don't know how to make it from scratch, so I usually buy these little mixes in a pouch and it turns out pretty good, just not homemade good. While we were out shopping we found frozen ones. You just put them on a cookie sheet and heat them for 2 minutes. Had to try that. But they were awful. Was going to say they tasted like cardboard, but I think even cardboard would've tasted better.

And today we're going over to S.Ws for a turkey dinner. She and her hubby came over here last night. It was fun. We exchanged gifts, just like Christmas I tell ya. We gave them a big rabbit statue for their garden and some chocolate. They gave us a lovely plant assortment in a basket. We played one game of darts and then just drank and chatted. The hours flew by.

And because of that, I slept in this morning and missed the garbage man. Dammit. I'll have to be sure to not miss him the next couple of weeks to get caught up again.

We finally used the camera tripod yesterday. Took a little fooling around and reading the manual again to figure out the delay on the camera, but we got it. They had me running down to the familyroom in the middle of cooking, thus the apron, sigh. Hubby set the zoom so the pictures all turned out grainy. But hey, we know how to use it now, there's always next time.