The 4-H Dinner

What a day. The snow was incredible. White outs. It snowed all day and all evening. We got a lot more than they were calling for. Mr. Man got back from his appointment mid-afternoon. After he had a chance to unwind a bit, we headed into town to find him some pants for the dinner thing tomorrow. We came home and headed straight back out to the 4-H dinner. The drive was intense. Lots of white outs, lots of snow, strong winds. We got to the dinner early as planned, in fact we were the first ones there. So we got good seats. The dinner was ok, ham and scallopped potatoes. I was looking forward to roast pork and mashed potatoes like last year lol. But I was able to eat some of it, the potatoes and veggies at least and ice cream for dessert. Then it was 2 hours of awards and boring speeches. I was nearly falling asleep by the end of it. Little R got a nice memorial award and her two year membership plaque. She got some gifts and a cheque. Thankfully the drive home wasn't bad. The snow had mellowed out. But it is damn cold out. I forgot to take the camera so I don't have any pictures. I'll take one of Little R with all her loot tomorrow. She headed straight to bed when we got home at 10 pm.
I'm excited about tomorrow. I think I've figured out what I'll wear. I returned the dress to the store today so that isn't even an option any more. With this weather I think I'd rather wear pants anyways. Basically its a matter of picking a blouse to go with my dress pants. I'm looking forward to the long limo ride and the comedy show more than the dinner. I'm sure we'll have a blast. I'm hoping it will lift my Christmas spirit some too. The following weekend we plan to get our real tree. We are also going out to a bar for some drinks and pool with a couple of friends. Something has to raise my Christmas spirit.
Tonight is not fit for man nor beast out there and yet Bear took off on me when I let him out to pee. I didn't get a chance to hook him up to the tether before he was gone.
I noticed those horses down the road were out in it too. Man that pisses me off. I hope someone calls the Humane Society again. It just isn't right. Those horses should be in a barn not standing out in the elements. Poor things. We went through this last winter and the Humane Society was called and did go out to talk to them. They tore their barn down and haven't built another one for the horses. They just leave them outside in all kinds of weather. Grrrrrrr.
Well, I'm off to find Bear or call him home and then I'm getting snuggly warm in bed. Have a great night.

Sweaters And Fur

We've been getting a lot of snow. It's very cold. It's been snowing off and on every day. Yesterday was pretty much on all day. The roads are icy.

Last night we went to town for a couple of reasons. We went to pick up a couple of dog coats from a freecycler. I gave Eddies coat away on freecycle because it was too small and then someone offered 2 bigger ones so I jumped on that. Well, one is a sweater and its too big. It covers him up so if he pees he'll pee all over it. Besides it looks really gay. The other is a fake fur coat, which doesn't cover his belly at all. Its more like a cape. Its the kind of thing you would expect to see on a 70 year old woman. Also kind of gay. Makes him look like a little pimp. The small coat he had was at least cool. So I'll be looking for another one like that in a bigger size.


We also went to visit S & D, always a pleasure.


Today Mr. Man had to travel to downtown Toronto for a doctor appointment. He should be gone most of the day. Tonight is the 4-H awards dinner. We're going to try to go early so we can at least get seats this time.


It's snowing again. I hope the roads aren't too bad for Mr. Mans trip. Apparently there isn't any snow down in the city, so once he gets down there it won't be an issue.


So here's a picture of Eddie in his new fur cape...

The Snow

We got dumped on with snow the other day. Yesterday I looked out and noticed the pile left at the end of the driveway from the plow going by. I thought I would go out and shovel it so Mr. Man could pull into the driveway with ease when he got home. Also we had scored some smaller snow shovels at a yard sale in the summer and I was eager to try them out. The ones we had were so big and heavy they made the job twice as hard for me to do. So there I was shovelling and it started to flurry a bit. The next thing I knew it was a blizzard. There was no point in shovelling during a blizzard. The heavy snow continued throughout the afternoon and into the evening. Mr. Man came home a little early in order to drive me to my dental appointment. He said the roads were so icy and visibility was so poor we had to leave right away. The roads were bad but we still got to town early. Got my cavity fixed. Then we hit the dollar store. Someone brought a little Christmas tree to work and Mr. Man agreed to bring in decorations for it. So thats what we grabbed at the dollar store. I must say he's really in the spirit this year, and its nice. Then back home. It was a treacherous drive. They're calling for more snow over the next few days. I still haven't found anything to wear to the Christmas party. I find now rather than looking forward to it, I'm dreading it a little. I know I'm going to be uncomfortable. I'm pretty sure there's nothing on the menu I'll be able to eat. It's going to be cold and snowy and I have nothing to wear. I sure don't feel like smiling. What a waste.

Not Much To Say Today

I don't have much to say today. We went to town a few times over the weekend and got a good dent in the Christmas shopping. There's still snow on the ground, it's been cold. They're calling for rain and more snow over the next few days. I don't think I'm going to be out there putting up the outdoor lights any time soon. We may just not do it this year, how sad. We have the clear ones lining the roof which stay up all year, if all else fails.

I'm pretty clueless as to what to get for Mr. Man this year. Usually I have all kinds of ideas, this year, not so much. I have a couple of ideas but they're big ticket items and I'm not sure I'll be able to afford them. Other than that, clothes, the man needs clothes. I'll have to sneak a peek at the sizes on the stuff he wears.

We called another place to come pick up the old car. They came Saturday morning and towed it away. And they gave us $30 for it, woohoo. While I was out there watching them take it away, I saw a bunny rabbit. That's the first one I've seen in a couple of years. Even if I had had the camera with me, it was too far away to get a decent picture. I'm just glad to know they're still around, thought somebody was trapping them or something, it had been so long. Used to see rabbits just about daily. So then Mr. Man brought the truck back home now that there's room in the driveway for it. It looks good. They did a good job painting it and whatnot. It still needs signal lights replaced then it's good to go. Hopefully tomorrow I'll have the car.

I have a dentist appointment tomorrow. The teeth are getting better I guess. I was able to eat a cupcake and some pasta yesterday. It was uncomfortable, but I did it. It's getting easier. I do find that I have to go rinse them out right away after eating anything though. That could be a problem when out. We have two dinners coming up next weekend. Friday is the 4-H awards dinner and Saturday is the company Christmas party dinner. I'm just hoping I can eat by then, without embarrassing myself to death. And now I'm hoping I can find the privacy to rinse my dentures out after eating, ugh. Otherwise it's very uncomfortable. I bought a new dress for the Christmas party but don't think I'll wear it since it's sleeveless and I don't like being cold. So I still haven't decided what to wear. Hopefully I'll have the car so I can go to town and shop for something at my leisure.

We put Eddies winter coat on him yesterday and it's now too small for him. The little bugger has grown in the last year. He does have a good little life. The thing was snug last year, but now we simply cannot do it up. So I posted it on Freecycle. We'll have to get him a new one. He really needs a coat, his fur is very thin. He does get cold. Bear on the other hand has a nice thick coat and doesn't mind the cold at all.

Here's a picture I took of some berries growing by my front door. And the old car being taken away, it's a good thing Mr. Man had one last look in it for personal belongings because he found a bunch of lawyer letters up in the visor that we had missed. And a picture of the truck back home in the driveway all painted and being charged...note the wooden redneck bumper lol...

Like I said, I really don't have anything to say today, so that's it. Have a wonderful day.

Snow Day

As planned my father and sister came to visit. The house was a mess but they were ok with it since they were aware I had been suffering. They wouldn't have even noticed my new teeth if I didn't point it out to them. That shows how often they see me. It was a nice visit. My father looked good, he was happy and chipper. It was they who told me we were expecting snow, I had no idea. When it was time to leave I got the Christmas presents for my other sister. I set the bag on the floor and Bear promptly walked over and snagged a gift out of the bag and walked away with it. When I told him to drop it, he did. I sure hope it didn't get broken. He loves Christmas and has tried a couple of times to snag a gift for himself. Poor guy doesn't understand that he has to wait until Christmas to open presents. Little R came home from school just in time to say good bye to them.

The teeth were really bothering me and hurting. At times I could barely speak while they were here. I couldn't wait for my late afternoon adjustment appointment. Mr. Man had sent me an email with my itinerary for the day. It was so cute. He knows me so well, and he knows I'll put everything off til the last possible minute. He had me charging the cell phone and cleaning the windshield on the car lol. He told me what time I needed to be pulling out of the driveway lol. But he was right, running the errands and getting to my appointment went like clockwork. The teeth felt much better after the adjustment. He says I don't need to come back unless they start to really bother me again. That was a surprise since he originally said it might be 7 visits for adjustments.

I ended up not having to pick Mr. Man up from physio, but Little R and I were looking forward to going to town. So when he got home we piled in the car and headed into town. Little R desperately needed new jeans, so we got that. Then we hit McDonalds for some supper. I actually ate some french fries. It was tricky. Apparently its a learning experience, eventually I'll learn to eat with the dentures. Meanwhile, I'm starving.

As we were heading home the snow started. It snowed all night and all day yesterday. Yesterday was a snow day, no school for Little R. Apparently the roads were pretty bad in the morning and the buses weren't running. It took Mr. Man 3 hours to get to work. So I spent the day just hanging out with Little R. I didn't even get dressed yesterday, ugh. I procrastinated putting the teeth in too, I think it was close to noon before I did. I know it wasn't until 4 or so before I got up and made a fire even though I was freezing all day. So now there's a nice blanket of snow outside. It finally looks like winter. Have a great day.

Driving Myself

I managed to get the dentures back in yesterday morning. It was a long day. By 7:30 last night I couldn't stand it any more and took them back out. This morning I'm procrastinating, still haven't put them back in. I'm dreading it. They hurt. I go back this afternoon for more adjustments. I tried eating again last night. Scrambled eggs with toast this time. It was hard to chew. Hopefully it's going to get easier with the adjustments. My whole face still feels swollen and out of whack. I remember when one of our neighbour/friends got dentures, her face was covered in bruises. I guess I'm lucky that didn't happen to me. But I also remember her mowing down on a hamburger with the bruised face, I can't even imagine trying that yet. I find myself regretting doing this. I was getting along fine with the few teeth I had left. I can't imagine these things ever being comfortable. As I'm sitting here toothless I'm wondering what I was thinking. But really it had to be done. Perhaps if they had made the dentures look more like my own teeth I'd be happier. It totally changes the look of my whole face. My smile is what I can't get over, it's not my smile any more. It's a stranger smiling back at me in the mirror. And it's just not attractive.

So Mr. Man got the phone call yesterday. My sister and father are coming up for a visit today. The house is a mess again. I've been too busy with my pain and suffering to do any housework. I expected a little more notice than one day. They'll be picking up my other sisters Christmas presents because they'll be going up to see her and I won't. At least now I won't have to mail the gifts, not that I would have minded. So of course I had to rush to wrap them as soon as I heard they were coming. I did a sloppy job. I wasn't in the mood for wrapping. I'm hoping my sister won't notice, or at least won't mind.

It's another ugly rainy day. It's so dark out it's like night. Mr.Man left me the car and got a ride to work. I get to drive myself to my adjustment appointment yay. I also get to run some other errands while I'm at it. I'll be picking him up at his physio therapy appointment this evening. He went over to Sws last night and finished off the truck. Now he just needs to get plates and stickers on it, then we're good to go. I look forward to being mobile again, but I am apprehensive because it's been so long. Like I wish I had more notice that I would be driving today so I could mentally prepare.

Well the house isn't going to clean itself, I better get at it. Have a great day.

My First Adjustments And My First Meal

What an ugly day Monday was. It was dark and dreary all day and then it rained in the evening. I slept a good part of the day away.

Finally it was time to go to the dentist. He did some adjustments which made the dentures much more comfortable, but apparently they're still not done and I have to go back on Wednesday. He also discovered that I have a small cavity in one of the two teeth I kept for hooking the bottom denture onto. So I'll have to have that fixed as well. He showed me how to remove and replace the dentures and I am to take them out at night. I took them out last night and it was slightly traumatic. I wasn't prepared for how I look with no teeth nor for how it feels. It's a very strange feeling. I'm hoping I can get the dentures back in this morning without much trouble.

I was so hungry, and the dentist had asked me if I had tried eating with the dentures yet, which I had not, when I came home, they felt so much better, I fried up some scrambled eggs and had my first meal in 4 days. Getting used to eating is going to be a challenge. But I did it. It was awkward and I could feel where we need some more adjustments. But it was nice to eat something.

In keeping with the colour theme of the tree Mr. Man and I looked for some gold and green icicles or as we call it tinsel. We looked everywhere and finally found some in Canadian Tire. The tree isn't finished yet but should be today now that we have tinsel for it. Then I will start wrapping gifts. I know it's early, but at the same time, not really. And why have a fake tree if you can't put it up early right. It's getting the Christmas spirit flowing in this house. We could use some Christmas spirit around here. And when you have people who you have to send the gifts to, it's a good idea to get it done early. I like my weekends in December to be spent partying and socializing, not running around shopping. The stuff is out there to be had now. We even managed to get some sales and good deals.

We've always spoiled Bear right along with the rest of us at Christmas. Mr. Man figures that's not a good idea this year because of Eddie. He thinks they'll just fight over eveything. Which is quite possible. So I'm not sure what we're going to do about it. They each have to get at least one thing in my mind. Can't just leave them out. We'll see.

So that's it. I'm feeling better about my new teeth, they're not as uncomfortable now. I'm looking forward to Christmas. Have a great day.

A Pain Medication Induced Haze Of a Busy Weekend

What a whirlwind weekend. I've been in a pain medication induced haze and it seems like longer than 3 days. When I woke on Saturday I was much more uncomfortable than I had been on Friday, the actual day of the surgery. The more I look in the mirror, the less I like the new look. Mind you my face is still quite swollen, in fact it seems to get worse each day. It just isn't MY smile. MY smile is forever gone. It's weird. I suppose I'll get used to it of course, what choice do I have. It's just weird to look so different. So I've been pretty uncomfortable. I'm looking forward to going to the dentist tomorrow and at the same time dreading it. I haven't taken the dentures out at all, though I was told I could, no one showed me how to take them out or put them back in. And I'm afraid of any pain in doing so. I don't know if they feel right or not, I don't know how they're supposed to feel. And I'm starving.

So Saturday Mr. Man suggested we go Christmas shopping together. Mr. Man is not usually into Christmas so much. He doesn't enjoy shopping, usually. We put a big dent in the shopping, it was great. I pretty much got everyone on my list bought for, except for Mr. Man himself, because well, he was with me. I was stoned through the whole thing. We were in town in time to realize we were going to miss the Santa Claus parade. Here I thought it was on December 1, nope, it was Saturday, and we missed it.

We came home and rather than put up the outdoor lights, we put up our fake tree. We've never put up a tree this early before. But we had all this stuff we bought and thought where will we put it all? Well we could wrap it and put it under the tree of course. Nothing is wrapped yet, but hey, the tree is up. Why have a fake tree if you can't put it up early? We'll still get a real tree later to put in the familyroom. This year we decided to do the colour theme thing. We've never done that before either, and laughed at people who do. So the tree we put up is red, green and gold, and the real one will be blue, white and silver. In light of how it turned out, I think next year we'll go back to the traditional eclectic theme.

Stranger things have happened I'm sure, but I've been talking to "Anonymous Cathy" for the past week or so. We've talked online every single day. I must admit, it's nice to have someone to chat with at 5 am. We've been catching up. It's kind of like nothing ever happened, we've been getting along just swell. It's comforting to talk to someone you've known for as long as we've known each other. I am truly hoping it stays this way, that we can continue to get along and that the relationship remains the way it should have been all along. It all started with Facebook and a spur of the moment decision to contact her.

Speaking of Facebook and such, both Mr. Man and I have received messages from two of his neices. Two girls we're related to but don't even know. They're not exactly "girls" any more, they're both grown. In fact one of them got married this weekend. They are in contact with each other and both decided to seek out their extended family, that would be us. So we exchanged messages and are planning to get together for lunch or something in the near future. I've also gained contact with a couple of other people via Facebook this weekend who I haven't spoken to since we moved away.

Today Mr. Man went back to town by himself and I slept all afternoon. This evening we went over to SWs place so Mr. Man could help her out with networking two computers. He did it, techie that he is. She had to bribe me to get dressed and go over there, so she told me she had "some stuff" for me. I think she just wanted to see my new smile. She gave me some clothes. Someone had given her a pile of clothes and she didn't like them all or whatever, so she let me pick through them too. I got a few nice things.

I do look forward to the swelling going down, feeling more like myself, and being able to eat again. Over the course of the weekend I've had fleeting moments of feeling warm and fuzzy. The relief of having the teeth pulled, over and done with. The holiday shopping experience. All the new conact with people. Neighbours putting up their outdoor Christmas decorations. A nice quiet weekend with Mr. Man and Little R. It was a good, busy weekend. I'm sad to see the end of it. I want to feel warm and fuzzy about Christmas this year. It seems that may just happen after all.

I Got My Dentures Yay

Well I did it. I got my dentures. I took a couple of pictures but my face is still too swollen. I have to go back to the dentist on Monday for adjustments. I'll post pictures after all is said and done. Meanwhile they are bugging me. I guess my mouth is pretty sore from getting all those teeth pulled, the pain pills work for that. But otherwise its like having this big foriegn object in my mouth. It was a lot easier to talk than I had expected. Still can't eat anything yet of course. That should be messy at first. I'm glad the worst is over, at least I hope it is.

We've been expecting a snow storm for a couple of days and got nothing. It has flurried a little bit, but really its nothing. I'm hoping some snow will get me in the mood for Christmas shopping. That's my plan for today, to go to town and get started. Hopefully Mr. Man will co-operate. I'm pretty sure he wants to go finish up the truck. But I can always drop him off there and go on to town myself.

I'm finding it impossible to keep my tongue off the new teeth. I guess it was still frozen yesterday, seems to be bothering me a lot more today. When I look in the mirror I just don't look the same. That's not my smile. I think I look like a mouse lol. Ah well, it's done. Maybe the adjustments will make them a little more comfortable. I hope so. I've been told it will take a good couple of weeks to get used to them. I'm off to start my day, though I've been up since 3 am. Have a great day.

Our Visit

Our visit went very well. Dinner turned out good. Apparently I had suggested this be our Christmas visit, I don't remember saying that, I don't know what I was thinking, but because of that Big R brought our Christmas presents. She made me open one and it is a lovely little light up snowman. I haven't even started shopping yet so I'll be sending her a Christmas parcel to PEI. Still having trouble with the idea of not seeing her at Christmas. Other than a couple of outbursts between Bear and Eddie, the dogs got along pretty good. They are very accepting of Penelope. Maybe because she's a girl lol.

Today will be spent stressing about tomorrow. Have a great day. Here's some pictures from yesterday.

Little R Is Getting An Award!

Well I'm glad that's over with. I think the appraisal went well. Even with the mounds of clutter that were impossible to hide or do away with on short notice. As I suspected he was more interested in the structure of the house, the layout and room sizes. He took some photos and measurements. I was glad to see him drive away.

Today I am looking forward to seeing Big R. She has been in Ontario since last Friday but has been busy visiting friends and working. She's coming here this afternoon. This time we won't be taking the dogs for a walk. She'll have her dog with her and I am hoping the dogs will all just get along. They did last time she was here, but that was then and this is now.

We've been having wet, cold, foggy weather. The fog is unbelievably thick at times. It's very dark today. I wish it would just snow already. Maybe that'll give me a boost of Christmas spirit. I don't know what it's going to take this year to get me in the mood. But snow will definately help. The grass is greener now than it was all summer. We had a green Christmas last year. I don't like green Christmases. I know it's still a little early, but it is time to start shopping and putting up the outdoor lights. I sold all of our LED lights at the community garage sale last spring. So we'll be using the energy sucking old ones. The LEDs just didn't look right. They weren't bright enough, except for the blue, and the colours were off, just didn't look Christmasy at all.

I was just informed that Little R will be receiving a memorial award from the 4-H. So it looks like we'll be attending the dinner/awards presentation again. We weren't planning to go this year. It's next Friday, so one week after I get my teeth pulled out. Hopefully I'll be able to eat with my new dentures by then, but not likely. As frightened as I am of going through the experience of having my teeth pulled and being toothless, I am looking forward to having it over and done with and being able to smile again. I'm determined to get used to the dentures. My dentist told me that some people never get used to them. A friend has told me that her husband refused to learn how to eat with dentures and so has to remove them to eat. On the other hand I have a friend who never removes them, ever.

Well I should go have a shower and get ready for my company. Trying not to stress about the whole denture thing. Have a great day.

My Weekend, It Kinda Sucked

This weekend was filled with cleaning and painting and a lot of avoiding doing what needs to be done. When faced with it, I am slightly shocked at the condition I have allowed the house to fall into. This is what happens when you spend your days sleeping or sitting in front of the computer. The appraisal has been set up for Tuesday morning. That leaves one more day to get this place in shape for viewing. It's not going to happen. It'll be better than it was, but still, it's a dump.

We dropped off the Christmas shoeboxes. Oddly, I didn't feel warm and fuzzy. I think next year, besides the shoeboxes, maybe we'll adopt a family or something. I'd like to help out at a local level too.

We went to town a few times. That's how we avoid working on the house. When we went to WallyWorld to look at winter coats for Little R, Mr. Man vanished. He soon reappeared with a vacuum. Ok, but we have central vac, it doesn't work, but why don't you just fix it? I guess it's easier to buy a new vacuum. So there I was, vacuuming the much neglected floors, and man does this thing have suction. As I was going along under the couch it made a strange noise, like it sucked up something big. Hmm. A few minutes later it just shut itself off. Mr. Man got out the manual, apparently if it over-heats it will automatically shut off. Well the place is dirty, I suppose it's possible we over-worked the thing. The book said to let it sit for half an hour then try again. When I turned it back on I noticed it had no suction. Oh oh, I think we broke it. Mr. Man starts poking a wire hanger through the hose part, theres something in there, it's clogged. When he finally got it out, it was a sock LOL. Oops. It worked fine again after removing the sock, go figure. So now the dog hair is all cleaned up, all the better for seeing the pee stains from Edwad. Sigh.

We ended up getting Little R a coat from Marks Work Warehouse. Got a good deal, picked one that was on sale. That store has come a long way from just work clothes, they have nice stuff now. So then we looked at boots. She doesn't like the ones she has and I don't think they are thermal. Ever since I got myself a pair of good boots I now know the difference between good boots and cheap boots. We find a pair she actually likes and they have in her size. Cool lets go. I didn't even check the price of the boots, big mistake. I almost fainted at the check out. They were $170! They better keep her feet warm! So now I'm trying to Freecycle her old boots, which aren't that old at all.

Speaking of Freecycle, we got rid of the two dressers and TV out of Little Rs room. Someone came and picked them up Sunday morning. Then she decided she also wanted to switch desks. So part of the day was spent moving furniture. Her room seems a lot bigger with that TV out of there. Now she has nearly antique dressers and her sisters old desk which were in the spare bedroom. One of the old dressers is missing a handle. I've looked high and low for a replacement, no luck. I've even looked in antique shops. They have handles, but nothing similar. I don't know what we'll do, but we have to do something.

While I was putting out the garbage I let Bear come out with me, loose. Didn't the little bugger casually walk behind the car and the next thing I know he's gone. While I was wandering down the street looking for him, knowing all along he's out in the field, I see one of my neighbours has Christmas lights and a tree up in their front window. The lights are one thing, but it is way too early for a tree. I know the stores are doing it, but they're trying to sell stuff for Christmas. I wonder what my neighbour is trying to sell. And that reminds me that I saw our outdoor lights in the garage when I was looking for the booster cables to start my old car to take to the wreckers. They were buried under a ton of debris. Sigh. The old car never did start. What a run around it was. At one point Mr. Man locked the keys in the car. I knew it as soon as I saw him close the door. So what does he do? Fetch me my hammer would you please? He smashes out a rear window to get back into it! As I say, it never did start, so now we have to call the wreckers to come tow it away. That means we won't get any money for it either. And I don't think he ever did call, so it'll sit there for another month before he gets around to it. And I have a pile of broken glass to sweep up. Sigh. Just getting at the Christmas lights is going to be a chore. I hope we still have some nice weather days ahead to do that. We usually put the lights up after going to the Santa Claus parade. This year it's on the same day as the company party so we won't likely be going. Fortunately there are several small town parades around and they're on different dates, so we will go to a parade, just not the one we usually go to. Now that I'm thinking about it, why do we bother going to the parades? It's not like Little R wants to go, she's 14, she doesn't care about a Santa Claus parade. Having no little kids around seems to be sucking the life right out of Christmas for me this year. I keep expecting to get that warm fuzzy feeling and it's just not happening for me. It seems like a lot of work and that's about all. I've finally reached that point of age where it just isn't exciting any more. People with this attitude used to drive me nuts. How can you not get excited about Christmas? Well, now I know how, it's easy.

All That Panicking For Nothing

Well didn't the dentist call to reschedule my appointment, grrrrr. After I got myself all freaked out, the nerve. Now I get to work myself up into a panic all over again next week, oh goody.

It snowed all day yesterday. I have pictures. Old man winter has arrived. By the time we took the dogs out for a walk last night, it had stopped and was starting to melt. The smells of winter were definately in the air with all the chimneys chugging out the wonderful scent of wood burning.

Little R is still sick. I thought with the antibiotics she would be better by now. She stayed home from school again yesterday. That's four days she's missed, not good. I'm fighting with her this morning to get her up to go. She can't afford to fall behind.

I was hoping to drop off my Samaritans Purse Christmas shoeboxes last night. We only have until Saturday to do it. But due to weather/road conditions, Mr. Man stopped on his way home to pick up supplies and was late getting home. He didn't want to go back out anyways. The first snow and people were driving like idiots. Besides he's sick now too. So hopefully we can drop them off this evening. There is only a window of 5 days for dropping them off. This year I packed candy canes! I bought them last year just for this, because I couldn't find any in October/November last year and had to settle for other candy.

When I got up this morning it was snowing like mad. Seems to be stopping and starting. Everyone gets excited over the first snow. My new nieghbour is so cute, she sent an email about winter arriving. She sounded excited. It immediately reminded me of the old email "Diary Of A Snow Shoveler". I had to send it to her lol. I think I'll post it here too, if I can get it to post properly. Still can't post videos, don't know what the problem is.



Well, I'm off to find my snow shovel, have a great day.

Not Very Peachy

Its been trying to snow for days. This morning it seems to be sticking. I knew it could happen any time now since we are into November, but it's still somewhat of a surprise. I love the first snow. I love a white Christmas too. Other than that, I can do without it.

Well Mr. Man went to his job interview last weekend or whenever it was, and it went well. As far as I know the job is his if he wants it. The problem is, he can't make up his mind. He doesn't know if he wants it or not. He's kind of content where he's at. He asked my opinion this morning and I didn't know what to say. The other job is better in some ways but not any better in other ways. There would also be more stress for him. His current job has a better benefit package. But the other job offers more money and a company vehicle. But he's happy at his current job. So why did he even bother going to the interview? Good question. I think he's going to decide to stay where he is.

It was almost a year ago that Little R had her mysterious allergic reaction. At that time we got a prescription for an Epipen. We didn't get the Epipen til this week. Those things cost $100. The doctors said it may never happen again. We're just damn lucky it didn't happen again. But now with the new found benefits, we decided to get the Epipen just in case. I don't ever want to go through that again, it was awful and frightening. It's a good thing I hung onto the prescription. It was in the dead of winter that it happened so with winter upon us again I started thinking about it. What if...? It's a small comfort to have the thing here now anyways. We have no idea what caused the reaction in the first place. But it was nasty. One of the scariest experiences of my life. They told us at the hospital that the next time it happened, if it did happen again, would be worse, ten times worse even. Hard to imagine. Now I'm thinking she should carry it around with her. It isn't going to do her any good sitting here when she's at school. And wow just thinking about it is causing me to start to panic. Yes, I will send it with her tomorrow and make sure she has it with her all the time. It's funny how I was able to put it out of my mind for almost a year. We are so lucky nothing happened in that time.

Well, the washroom is painted, but it's still all torn apart. It's painted and I hate the colour. I was all proud of Mr. Man for going ahead on his own and deciding to do this and picking the paint himself. The colour is supposed to be peach but basically is yellowy orange. Yuck. I was thinking it would be more of a pinkish shade, which I could live with, but this colour is hideous. We'll be painting it a new colour at our earliest convenience. Maybe we should just do it now while it's still all torn apart. But I don't think there's time for that. We need to get it put back together for the appraisal. It seems to me it was less work to paint the familyroom which is a much bigger room. But then again there was no pressure, no rush. Ugh, I hate it. Here, let me show you...



Doesn't look very peachy to me.

I don't know what's going on with me, maybe all this talk about the Epipen, but I'm starting to have another panic attack. It's not a full blown attack but I can feel it coming on. It's also in the back of my mind that tomorrow is the day I go to get my teeth pulled. Time to get off the computer and do something to occupy my mind. Have a great day.

Back To Emerg.

While on our little detour the other day, we saw a deer! Of course we didn't have the camera with us. I had never seen a deer at the side of the road in my life before moving here. Now I've seen many, and not once have I had my camera with me. If I had known we would be driving up sideroads, I would have brought it, but I thought we were just going to town.

Yesterday was strange. It was gloomy and rainy and I had a panic attack. It came out of nowhere and just hit me. I was trying to distract myself by talking to a friend on messenger when the power went out. I called Mr. Man at work and he called the power company then called me back. He found out the power wouldn't be back on until 5 p.m or so, but didn't find out why it was off. So it was a long afternoon. The power came back on just before 5. By then the house was cold from no furnace all afternoon.

I spoke to my father on the phone. He's going to be coming up with my sister to visit soon. They want to come up before the snow flies. It was trying to snow yesterday. A couple of times it snowed then turned to rain.

It was snowing when we left to go back to the hospital. It occurred to me that I had no way of getting Little R to the family doctor. She wasn't getting any better. If anything she sounded worse. So I knew we had to get her back to the hospital. When Mr. Man got home from work both Little R and I were in bed sleeping, just trying to keep warm until the house warmed back up. Rather than wake us up he just hopped in bed with me. It was around 11 p.m when Little R came in and said "I thought you were taking me back to the hosptital!" So we all got up and off we went. Fortunately it was a slow night, there was no one else there, so we got right in to see the doctor. They gave her a treatment with a breathing mask over her face but that didn't really help. So finally, blessed be, he gave her some antibiotics and a prescription for more. We were in and out in less than an hour. The drug store was closed. And the snow had turned to rain. Mr. Man is going into work late this morning so he can go to town and get her presciption filled as soon as the drug store opens.

I'm hoping today will be uneventful. As in no panic attacks, no power outages and no trips to the hospital. For those of you who don't know, panick attacks are not fun. Yesterday I found my legs ready to give out on me, that's never happened before, that isn't one of my usual symptoms. And it all happened for no reason. It came out of the blue. I'm looking forward to a worry free day today. Have a good day.

Sunday Morning Panic Attack

It's time to turn the clocks back. Because of that I am up extra early this morning. Here I thought I was sleeping in until 6 a.m, only to find it was 5 a.m.

Little R is STILL coughing up a storm. I'll bet my boots we end up taking her to our family doctor after all. It wouldn't be an issue if I had my car. But as it is, Mr. Man will have to take time off work to take her. The truck is still over at S.Ws. It's almost finished and has been for a while. He just hasn't had the time to go over there and finish the job.

Speaking of Mr. Man and time for jobs...he tore apart the washroom yesterday. He got it in his mind to fix up the bathroom for the appraisal. I guess we'll be painting it today. I wish he would finish one job before starting another. By the time he finishes the truck and I get my car back, I will have forgotten how to drive.

Oh and we went for a drive yesterday. We were heading into town for a few things and he decided to go visiting, only we couldn't find the place. So it was another one of Mr. Mans tours. He does this to me all the time. I think we're going to town and will be gone for an hour, but he takes detours and we end up gone for 4 hours. And he was all buzzed out on his new medication. He stops at a red light, looks both ways, and proceeds to drive right through the red light! All the while he's just yapping and babbling and SLURRING. I'm like what is wrong with you? It turns out absentmindedness and slurred speech are side effects of one of his new medications. As if I don't have enough to worry about already. So we ended up going all the way up to Shelburne and back down to Orangeville, stopping for coffee, stopping at a flea market, and finally getting around to doing what we were there to do. After all that, we forgot to go to the drugstore for MY medication, sigh.

It hit me this morning. It is November and I haven't bought a single Christmas present! How unlike me. I damn near had a panic attack thinking about it. It hasn't even occurred to me to start shopping. What's up with that? In previous years, up until last year, I would be well into it by now. I don't even have any ideas. And I saw something cute at the flea market, but it didn't even occur to me to buy it. Now I'm wishing I did. It was a tree ornament. It was unique. I'm sure there's someone on my list I could give it to.

The funniest thing happened this morning. I hooked up the boys to their respective tethers and when I went to let them back in, there was Eddie, loose. How did that happen? When I went to unhook Bear, there was Eddies tether hooked onto Bears chain. WTF? I have no idea how in the hell that happened. I have magic dogs!

So now I'm in a panic over Mr. Man driving around under the influence of new medication, over my bathroom being torn apart, and over Christmas. Jeez.

What Carnival Ride Are You? Quiz

It's true.

You Are a Carousel

You are young at heart and a truly playful person. No one would ever accuse you of taking life too seriously. You are definitely in things for the fun. You find joy easily, and you are often building up anticipation for your next adventure. In relationships, you tend to want to be babied and taken care of. And while you may be a bit high maintenance, you are incredibly loyal. Your life is simple and satisfying. Each day you treat yourself to something you enjoy. You have a lot of emotional attachments, and experiences are extra vivid to you. You tend to be nostalgic and sentimental. The past is important to you. Comfortable around all living things, you have a special connection to animals and children. At your best, you are whimsical, free spirited, and creative. Even if your schemes seem a bit strange, they usually work out wonderfully. At your worst, you are spoiled, demanding, and impossible to satisfy. You've been known to act like a brat if you aren't getting your way!

What Carnival Ride Are You?

Another Friday Night Sitting In Emerg.

You know Little R has been sick with a cough for a week right. She stayed home from school again on Friday. It was the worst day yet. The cough syrup didn't seem to be helping and she just coughed non-stop. She was starting to complain about pain from coughing so much, and finding it hard to breathe.

Mr. Man ran some errands after work. When he finally got home we took Little R to the hospital. We figured she may need antibiotics, or at least some cough syrup that works. The emergency room was quite busy so we were there for about 3 hours. They recommended Advil Cold & Sinus and gave us a prescription for an inhaler for her. Luckily Shoppers Drug Mart is open until midnight so we went there. While waiting for them to fill the prescription we looked around the store. All the Halloween stuff was on sale, including costumes. I got 4 adult costumes, regularly $20, for $3 each. They're pretty flimsy, but hey they're worth $3. We got a few other things too like a big make-up kit for a dollar something, and stuff like that. Great deals for future Halloweens. Now I'll have no excuse not to dress up next year.

Last week I spent Friday night sitting at home waiting for someone from Freecycle to come pick up a mattress. They never showed up and didn't send an email or anything, until the other day. She still wanted the mattress, sorry she didn't make it, her son needed surgery, bla bla bla. Ok fine can you come today? No, how about tomorrow? Ok, tomorrow it is, but if you don't show up tomorrow, it's going to the dump. So I'm expecting her to come today. Last night while waiting for Mr. Man to get home I laid down for a bit. I got woke out of a sound sleep by Little R, "there's some guy at the door to pick up a mattress!" Oh for crying out loud! So I jump up and get dressed and there I was half asleep hauling out a mattress for this guy. I told him we actually have 2 mattresses, does he want the other one too? Sure, he says. So now I'm half asleep hauling a mattress down from upstairs. But hey, killed 2 birds with one stone there and got rid of them both. More clutter gone, yay! When I checked my email much later, there it was, the email saying yes we can come tonight if that's ok with you. Nothing like waiting for my reply.

I'm up early this morning, set the alarm for 5:30, only because Mr. Man has gone on another cigarette run. He likes to get it over with early in the day rather than spend the whole day driving there and back. Little R is still coughing her head off. The doctor at the hospital said if she isn't better in a few days, take her to our family doctor and get antibiotics, sigh. So I guess I'll be spending the day cleaning. Mr. Man bought some paint and stuff. We need to get the house spiffed up for an appraisal. We are renewing our mortgage with a new lender. Before they agree to lend you the money they come and check out the house. It is a wreck. We still have paint from when we first moved here 4 years ago that we haven't used yet. I have a ton of work to do to make it decent for an inspection, ugh. Meanwhile, I keep plugging away, trying to get rid of clutter. Some stuff is too good to just give away, good yard sale fodder. I'm trying to contain that stuff to the spare bedroom.

So, I'm off to start my day. Plenty to do. Have a great day.

My Darling Daughter

Little R has been sick with a terrible cough for over a week now. She was just about cleared up, but it seems being out running around in the cold, improperly dressed, on Halloween night, made the cough worse again. She stayed home from school yesterday. That's the first day she has missed in high school.

Every time I mentioned calling the school to report her absence, Little R would tell me I don't need to. It's all automated and they will call here. And you just leave a message. Whatever, so I didn't call.

Sometime in the morning Mr. Man comes on messenger and tells me "call me NOW, I am PISSED". So I called him right away. It seems the school called him at work. Actually they called his cell phone. Little R never turned in the sheet with all the contact information on it and they had been trying to reach our house, getting nothing but a busy signal, because we're on dial up. So I guess they got the information from Little R the day before, when she was called down to the principals office!

It would appear that our little darling was involved in the disfiguring of a boys hand, with cigarette burns, at his request! The school was concerned and thought we should know. Now that we know, we aren't quite sure what to do about it. She spent the day cleaning up her room and is grounded indefinately. I asked her why she would do such a thing and she said "because he told me to." I am disturbed on many levels. This must mean she was smoking cigarettes again, we thought she had stopped. She is at the age when doing things like this is not uncommon. Has she never heard "just say no?" What would make her do such a thing? I am very disturbed over this and kind of at a loss as to how to deal with it effectively. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Being called to the principals office and being in trouble at school would explain why she wanted to take the day off all of a sudden. Like I said she was sick for a week but never missed a day. It would also explain why she didn't want me to call the school. But nothing explains burning holes in a boys hand because he asked her to. Do you think she's in with the wrong crowd again? Apparently so.

It's funny, the other day she was telling me about a certain gross gang initiation. I asked her where she heard that and she just said "school, things get around at school." Is she learning any of what she's there to learn? Is she thinking about getting involved in gangs? Do they even have gangs here? Oh boy, this is going to be a rough 4 years. Hopefully we can teach her a thing or two. Wish us luck. And again, any suggestions are welcome.

I wasn't feeling the best myself yesterday. I feel like the depression is slipping back over me. I am fighting it. One thing I always do, but didn't do, was go out and clean up all the Halloween decorations. I'll force myself to get out there and do it today. I think it's PMS. I get depressed at PMS time. Sometimes it goes away, sometimes it lingers. Normally this time of year I would start getting excited about Christmas. I feel nothing. When I think about Christmas, I think about Big R not being here for it this year. That upsets me. I feel my mind trying to fall into the funk. I am trying my damndest to fight it. But I don't feel it. I don't feel happy about anything. I feel calm on the outside but turmoil on the inside. I feel lethargic, like I just don't want to do anything. My mind wants me to do all kinds of things, but my body disagrees. I want to feel that Christmas excitement and anticipation again. I want to look forward to going shopping. I want to be happy to clean my house. I want to plan baking new recipes. I want to stockpile firewood. But it's taking everything just to keep up with the laundry.

It's mind over matter. If you don't mind then it doesn't matter. I just need to put my mind to it and do it. Nothing is going to send me back into that funk I just came out of. Not even my daughters. I am on a mission to get this house de-cluttered, and have made some small dents in it and will continue to do so. A de-cluttered house will make me happy, somewhat. Yesterday I went through all the hats, gloves, mittens and scarves we have. The storage box we keep them in was overflowing. I picked out a few things to donate to the thrift store, threw a few things out, like gloves with no mates, and set aside a few things for a yard sale, like Bears boots that don't really fit him. So now the box isn't overflowing. I've collected 2 big bags of garbage from the basement, now I just have to get Mr. Man to take them to work to dump in the dumpsters there. I've offered a bunch of spare chairs to someone who will use them. And I continue to post things on Freecycle as I come across things.

Well I hear Little R coughing again. I should go and give her some cough syrup. Have a great day.

A Grammar Quiz

It's true.

You Scored an A

You got 10/10 questions correct. It's pretty obvious that you don't make basic grammatical errors. If anything, you're annoyed when people make simple mistakes on their blogs. As far as people with bad grammar go, you know they're only human. And it's humanity and its current condition that truly disturb you sometimes.

The It's Its There Their They're Quiz

Happy Halloween Part 2

Well, Halloween is over again for another year. I did carve one of the pumpkins in the afternoon, and it turned out pretty good. Little R did the other one when she got home from school.

The day before, Little R told me her and another girl at school were going to be fairy princesses at school, so she needed wings, a wand and a tiara. We were going to town anyways, so we stopped in at Dollarama to see what we could find. They were all out of fairy princess wings, the best I could do was bumble bee wings. So I got her that and a crown, the wings came with a wand, and told her she could be a queen bee instead. She was happy with that. I guess she wore it all day at school.

She wore her wings to hand out candy for the first half hour, then she got bored and wanted to go tripping around with friends. I think they did a little trick or treating too. Mr. Man was then on duty to hand out candy. It was too cold out for me. I had to keep the dogs quiet. That's why we tend to just sit outside rather than stay in and have the little ghouls knocking on the door. It would drive the dogs crazy. As it was we ended up putting Eddiewad in the bedroom. I drifted from inside to out, taking pictures with my amazing little camera.

So here's the jackolantern I carved...

And here's the one Little R carved...

And here's the dogs. Dogs of many hats...

Then there's us...

I guess Little R lost her crown. Next is the friends who she ran off with and the new guy nextdoor. Mr. Man guessed it was him right off the bat.

As predicted we have candy left over. We handed out all the little bags I made up and then got into passing out handfuls of the extra stuff Mr. Man bought. I didn't decoarate nearly as elaborate as I usually do, but it still worked. A good time was had by all. Now we can start counting the days til Christmas. Which reminds me, I've already seen Christmas commercials on TV! 55 days and counting. Have a great day!