New "Toy"

Awhile back I got a 20 gallon aquarium from Nathalie. Once I figured out what was what and washed everything, scraping and scrubbing and rinsing..blah blah blah, it was readyish. Yesterday I set 'er up!!! Taaaahhh daaaaaahhhh!
This is quite fun you know. We have been looking at fishies and I have compiled a list. I hav two airstones for lotsa bubbles..I like bubbles. And the opening and closing treasure chest was annoying so now its been adjusted to stay open. We had to buy a new heater, the old one wasn't heating. Richard found the old pump too noisy so he demanded anew , more powerful but almost silent pump. Who am I to say no???! Especially since he was all"No aquarium" and now he's picking things out and testing Ph and wanting Angelfish. hahahahahahahaha Aquarium conquers hard ass..News at 11.
So this is what I turn to the right and look at 10 feet away, while sitting here at the computer. Don't you feel like you're here??

Sexy Beast

Regarde! The sexy red moster that now inhabits my kitchen and my heart!! The Kitchen Aid Tilt Head mixer..yeah baby. Its allllll mine. Look how it shines in all its empire red glory. Don't you just wanna touch it? Caress it? Lick it? Yeah, me too.

Boxing Day Sales

This is probably my favorite part of living here .... the kick ass sales!! Sigh...fabulous!
We had a gift card for the Eaton Center and it bought me a gorgeous leather shoulder bag (my poor purse was falling apart) and half the price of a half off lambskin car coat for Richard. Its soooo soft and looks great on him. And did I mention a full 50% off? Woohooo.
After that we were outside and decided to look for a stylish (well...for me anyways) jacket for me. Additionelle had 60% off and for 3 days a further 30% off the last sale price. So I got a powder blue quilted style nylon jacket for getting around in. Its sooo pretty.
Then we hit Indigo and each got a book...more discounts!.. Richard got a novel and I got Knitting For Peace, a book about charitable knitting. It has simple patterns for various charity donations too. Its awesome.
All in all a terrific togetherness kind of afternoon in which the poor credit card got a wee workout. Come ooooon payday.

Boxing Day

Well, Christmas morning was not the fiasco I was expecting at alll. In fact it was possibly the bestest ever! Except for being awakened at 4 am. That was NOT the bestest ever.
By 5ish we were downstairs:put the dog out, feed the cats, mix the christmas morning mimosas for the grown ups, juice for kids. The whole time the kids are bleating " Now? Now? Now?". Finally mommy and daddy's frantic scurrrying and "Just one sec" mantras were over and we settled in the living room to parcel out gifts. And it was great. Wonderful. Exactly the way a christmas morning should be. The boys were thrilled with those gifts and stocking gifts that they did recieve so there wasn't any unhappiness that they didn't get x or y or MORE. And I should have know better than to worry because we have always pushed the togetherness as opposed to gifts. I should have trusted their better natures.
What a great holiday.

Uh Oh

So...we just finished all the wrapping. Its is done. And Santa fucked up big time.
See..this is what happenes when two people shop. One thinks the other bought blah and the other thinks one did. We did go out and shopped until we thought we'd go blind...it seemed like we bought a lot. But then its all wrapped and its not all that much.
And we say "ooh that'd be great for christmas"..then don't buy it. Wait til next week we say.. Well guess what???
Its fucking christmas eve and the pickings are slim for the kids because mommy and daddy are IDIOTS!!!!!!

The 22nd

Depending on your calendar, Happy Day After Solstice or Happy Solstice! Ra! Ra! Ra! He's a Sun god! He's fun god! Ra! Ra! Ra!
Ok..thats done.
I finally made it out of my cozy womb that is my basement, to attend a stitch and bitch with the Montreal Knitters. It was so awesome to sit and sip and knit with like minded people. The gals that showed up were so nice and friendly and inspire me to new knitting heights. I finished Richard's earflap hat which I actually followed the pattern for, more or less. It turned out real good! I'm very proud.
Yesterady I had a couple of culinary disasters. One, exploding candy canes, and 2, fucked up cookie dough. The candy canes didn't actually explode but the may as well have for the mess that happened when I was crushing them for a recipe. Word of advice: Buy the really really tough zip lock bags for recipes that call for crushing, pounding, or whacking.
As for the cookie dough, this was so we could make sugar cookies but i somehow frigged up the ingredient and had to spend much times and effort and hair pulling in fixing the recipe. Grrr....

It never fails. I try to be motherly and it all goes to 773H Upside Down Street in a handbasket. At least I didn't lose an eye in the candy cane fiasco. Those fuckers are sharp.

So now its the 22nd and school is out for the holidays as of lunch time today. They go back on the 8th (I think) so no early alarm clock for me for several days. WooHoo!

Also, the turkey is frozen hard as rock. Should I take it out today to thaw in the fridge for brining on Sunday for cooking on Monday? Just wondering...........

There is a blog for everything

I present to you all..the fruitcake blog.. http://mondofruitcake.blogspot.com/
I accept your thanks and send them on to Sul-dog and Sween without whom, I'd not know this.

Yule-ishness

I keep trying to load up pictures but its not happening. grrrrr. I'm sure all are waiting with baited breath to see our tree etc. NOT....LOL
So, here we are...the Yule season! Solstice is Thursday...yay..longest night leading us to the return of the Light as the days commence to gettin' longer. Woohoo.
I have to miss Marla's Solstice party again this year since I'm hundreds of miles away. Her's was the first Solstice party I ever attended..think Christmas party without Jesus..thats a Solstice party. Great food, fun folk, happy kids hopped up on candy canes, a beautiful tree and many references to the Sun, Light, Winter, and Nature. siiiiiggghhhhh It was so awesome and a really pivotal moment when I was in a bit of a spiritual no man's land after turning away from christianity and exploring other ideas of what I believe and trust in.
What ya have to know about Marla (besides that everything is all about her..kidding...its our joke cuz we got in a fight one time about that) is that no event is a simple dull thing when she gets her organizy mitts on it. She made Ice lanterns...basically candle holders made of ice....for outdoors...had candles for lighting our way to her little pine grove where we had a simple ritual...had a fire outside in the fire pit for roasting hot dogs and adding its strength to the sun (spiritually..we are NOT idiots, just pagans), a solstice tree that is decorated with yellow paper suns on which we wrote what brings light into our lives.... I'm telling you..she could, and perhaps should write a book on how to throw a family friendly solstice party. Last year she was in Cuba/Florida on her sailboat and I was here in Quebec. This year she's home in Nova Scotia, planning the party and I am here. I think I will make an ice lantern or two so's I can light candles in them and bring me closer to her Thursday night as we welcome the sun's return.
Yesterday, I was at Melange for my MPRC shift. May I just say that I really like the new MPRC layout. I can watch the goings on in the store and am no longer hidden in a dark corner. I did some shopping after my shift. Robin was so helpful! She got me my twiggy pentagrams, a pentacle pendant for my kitten's collar (thats another story..) and was able to just be friendly and helpful and sooo Roo-ish. Her hair is growing in so good now from her Shave To Save experience where one raises funds for cancer research and then has their head shaved. Anyways, I got the most awesome hug from her when I left because I won't see the folk at Melange for two weeks or so due to holidays. Nathalie was sooooo busy with customers...go often and spend much because Melange Magique is a terrific resource for Pagans needing pagan stuffs and information. These a good kind people here. ... so we could only blow kisses briefly and poor Eri lost her great aunt to cancer this week so as I hugged her and wished her a happy Hanukah I also offered her comfort for her loss. She is such a sweet calm person.
OOOH! And the amazingest lady I know, Shirley (she just blows me away and warms my soul ) gave mE a gift! She crochetted and starched ornaments for the tree. I LOVE these things!!! I had a few already but just love them so much I may have to have a separate tree just for startched white crochet ornaments...maybe with red lights and candy canes....mmmmmm pretty,.. Oh wait..Shirley... ok so she gave me this bag and there they were and I was sooo touched. sigghhh.
Today as I waited for the bus to take my hoodlums to school, the lady across the street came out and came towards me as I stood in my driveway. I have rarely passed words with her because of the language barrier but we wave occassionally, smile, nodd..you know..not very personal. She's an amazing gardener though and I admire her tree often. Anyways, I figured "Oh shit..the cats have been crapping in her garden..I'm gonna get an earful.." but I smiled and said Bonjour as she approached. She spoke in French and I had no idea what she said so she switched to slightly broken English and apologised for not recognising me at a store one day and held our a small rectangular flat GIFT. What the???! She wanted me to open it..so I did, expecting it to be something for keeping my cats outta her garden..which I apologised for(they dig and pooh in mine too..I KNOW its grosss but thats what cats that go outside anytime for 10 seconds DO. Its like the frikkin' world is their litterbox and if it has pretty flowers? BONUS!) and she said not to worry about it..its what cats do..haha..but it was something to do with my cats she said. I got nervouser then....UNTIL I finished ripping paper and turned it over to see the gift properly. When my brain took it in, I almost burst into tears.
This lovely lady, Christine, had framed a photo of Miss Kitty and Freckles sitting together at her back steps where apparently they spent a lot of time socializing with Christine and her husband. She wanted to give us this photo to remember Freckles by and said how much she liked her and misses her. I got very choked and hugged Christine so tight..this amazing gift from a barely known neighbor!!! We spoke for a couple of minutes and then the bus came and she went to get warm and I tried to find my way to my front door through tears of...sadness, gratitude, joy, wonder....
Its stuff like this that special times are made of. I think this has to be just about the bestest holiday season ever. May blessings of peace, prosperity, and happiness come to all who pass through these waters. I wish that for you, whoever you may be. Pass it on.
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Saturday

My baby turned 8 yesterday. OY! The pain in my heart.
I remember parts of his birth like it was yesterday and will not bore you/ gross you out with details such as the fact that he got stuck on the way. No, lets us focus on the joys that is my Cammie-Bear.
When he was born I was amazed at both his size (9 pounds, 8 ounces) and his appetite(immediate and constant). Neither has changed. He is the polar opposite of his older brother (6, 13 and picky eater extraordinaire). In personality he is much like me, joking and cuddling but easily wounded and mouthy. He has brightened our lives now for 8 whole years and its so hard to believe we've lasted this long. Parenthood is not a simple thing but having great kids can make it survivable! Really!
Yesterday I kept the kids out of school for the afternoon so that we could join Daddy at his hotel for an afternoon of room service lunch, cartoons, and swimming in the hotel pool. The disapproval emanating from their teachers was palpable but unspoken..hee hee hee..I am sucky mother of the year!!!!
Then it was back home for grocery shopping, junk food and watching Avatar, volume 1 which was one of Cameron's gifts. Very awesome and tiring for all of us.
Today we will go see a movie (Happy Feet or Eragon) and have his cool Star Wars cake (from the grocery store since all agree my cakes are most unspectacular). Possibly supper at Chateau De La Lune (chinese buffet extraordinaire!) also..not sure.
8 years old...its all a blur...sigh.....Soon I will no longer be the love of his life and funniest bestest mother in the world. sigh..... :o)

Sisters

Sisters..sisters..never were there such devoted sisters......
This is me, and my sisters Jessie and Wanda. They are truly wonderful women and I am lucky to have such great sisters. The family holiday party was at Wanda's house this year and Teri-Lynn and Vicky snapped pictures like the mad family paparazzi that they are. Avid scrapbookers are like that I guess.

Its Official

Clown- ESFP 60% Extraversion, 46% Intuition, 33% Thinking, 33% Judging

Congratulations. You are the buffoon of society, the class clown, the general funny guy/gal. Your purpose on earth was to serve as entertainment for the rest of us sane ones. We're laughing with you and at you. Some people would kill to be as funny as you. Other would rather just kill you. You're spontaneous, fun-loving and optimistic. You're all in all an idiot. You wanna know why? It's because you would rather have fun than concentrate on your duties and obligations. You act before you think. You talk before you think. All in all, you don't think that much at all. You did terribly at school, didn't you? You were the class clown. Paid no respect to the teachers or to your fellow students. Paid no attention to your school work. And look where you are now... starting to regret your decisions? Get down to earth. Find a real job and start taking care of your responsibilities. Sure, people love you, but they don't love you because they like you. They love you because you make them laugh. They love you because they can always look at you and say "Well, at least I did better off than him or her!" ...but at least you’re funny, right? ***************** If you want to learn more about your personality type in a slightly less negative way, check'>http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=ESFP">check out this. ***************** The other personality types are as follows... Loner - Introverted Sensing Feeling Perceiving Pushover - Introverted Sensing Feeling Judging Criminal - Introverted Sensing Thinking Perceiving Borefest - Introverted Sensing Thinking Judging Almost'>http://www.okcupid.com/tests/describescore?testid=3076838567116464195&category=4">Almost Perfect - Introverted iNtuitive Feeling Perceiving Freak - Introverted iNtuitive Feeling Judging Loser - Introverted iNtuitive Thinking Perceiving Crackpot - Introverted iNtuitive Thinking Judging Sap - Extraverted Sensing Feeling Judging Commander - Extraverted Sensing Thinking Perceiving Do'>http://www.okcupid.com/tests/describescore?testid=3076838567116464195&category=11">Do Gooder - Extraverted Sensing Thinking Judging Scumbag - Extraverted iNtuitive Feeling Perceiving Busybody - Extraverted iNtuitive Feeling Judging Prick - Extraverted iNtuitive Thinking Perceiving Dictator - Extraverted iNtuitive Thinking Judging

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: http://www.okcupid.com/"> alt="free online dating" src="http://is3.okcupid.com/graphics/0.gif" border=0> You scored higher than 99% on Extraversion http://www.okcupid.com/"> alt="free online dating" src="http://is3.okcupid.com/graphics/0.gif" border=0> You scored higher than 99% on Intuition http://www.okcupid.com/"> alt="free online dating" src="http://is3.okcupid.com/graphics/0.gif" border=0> You scored higher than 99% on Thinking http://www.okcupid.com/"> alt="free online dating" src="http://is3.okcupid.com/graphics/0.gif" border=0> You scored higher than 99% on Judging

Link: UltimateMaster on The Brutally Honest Personality Test written by OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Holiday Card blitz

Today was the day. The day I get writers cramp. The one day a year I buy lots and lots of stamps. Its Holiday card day. Of course everyone gets christmas cards, not too many Solstice cards on the market and in boxes at $5.99 for 20 (sorry folks..I'm a cheapo), but for those not of a christmas mind I picked unchristmassy pictures and wrote happy solstice. All the text inside's in french anyways so they'll all ignore that part. But I am DONE. The list changes from year to years due to marriages and/or deaths in my address book but pretty much everyone that I have had contact with in the last couple of years gets a card. Which brings me to etiquette:
If I knew you but haven't heard a word from you in X number of years, do I still have to send a card? I say NO. BuhBye BFF's of yesterdecade. You think I am put on this Earth to personally make sure Canada Post employees have jobs?

If you made me a lovely hand made card should I feel guilty about sending a cheap ass card? I say NO..the important thing is I got writers cramp addressing your envelope and so have suffered, if not artistically, over your christmas card. And possibly got a paper cut on my tongue from sealing the envelope. Therefore, perhaps you owe ME.

If you send me a card but I don't like you, do I still have to send you a card? I say YES, because I refuse to let you have the last word. Or card.

So, family and friends still in my address book, all 34 of you, I send out to all a happy holiday greeting card. I must now go soak my hand in an epsom salts bath fragranced with pine and vanilla. Fa la la la la la la la la.

Home Again

We arrrived home by nine pm last night, a full 3 hours ahead of our projected ETA. Divided highways rock! It seems that every trip back to Nova Scotia is faster than previously done. Well done highway building people. Well done.
Of course it was not nearly a long enough visit. It never seems to be. I need one where I am back soooo long that my family all gets on my nerves and I can't wait to get back to my own place. So far, no dice. I am glad to be back in my own basement slurping my coffee and listening to my kids tear the place apart without concern for someone else's sensibilities though. There really is no substitute for your own home.
So, we arrived in the greater HRM (Halifax Regional Municipality) around midnightish Thursday. Bleary eyed and exausted but also exhilerated to be back. Julie welcomed us back with open arms and prepared beds. She is so competant and thoughful!! We all crashed about 40 minutes later and sawed logs through her going to work next morning. We rose to find coffee in the pot and a day ahead of us. Also it was MY BIRTHDAY! Woo Hoo! We ran a couple of errands that turned into cruising the Sunnyside Mall. There is some serious coolness there.
Then it was rush to my visit with the fantastic Karen, surrogate mom/sister/friend and godmommy to my Cammie Bear. So goooooooood to be back in her welcoming home and arms. We went to a yarn shop and became delirious with color, texture, price tags and fiber blends. I was resentful of my spending limit because I was dazzled by the possibilities overflowing the bins. No Fleece Artist for me ....THIS TIME. I got a very soft soft soft 100% wool from England in 3 colors for Richard's earflap hat. 2 balls greyish blue, one ball off white, one ball baby blue. It will be great.
The coffee and pastry at Julien's Patisserie. YUMMY! I had something with apple that blew me away. Very much tasted like MORE. After that it was back to Julie's for supper. Excellent pot roast . Much sipping of wine(them) and vodka soda (me). Her paql Dawn came by with her sister Janice and we all sat around the table sipping and giggling and gabbing. Richard even enjoyed it even though he was the only adult male in attendence. After many "Where are my presents??" they finally gave me my pressies for birthday number 39. Fleece jammies from l'equipeur(Marks Work Wearhouse). Oh my gods they are to die for. Sarah MacLaughlin's WinterSong CD, and the 2007 Witches Spell A Day Almanac, which Julie got for me. I was super touched at her thoughfulness at giving me something like that.
It was an excellent birthday.
Then Saturday was errand and rushing and going to the family party at my siter's home and hour or so away. We were later than they expected us and my other sister was convinced we were dead in a ditch. Sorry!!! It was a wonderful blur of hugs and joy and chaos as kids openned gifts and we all tried to get caught up. After we left I cried and cried halfway back to Julie's. Sunday was a visit to Jessie's to spend some time with her and my mom and dad before my bro Kenny took them back to their home 1 1/2 hours drive away.
Many lovelies were given to me by Jessie both as birthday gift and her closet clear out so the car coming home was more full than the trip there!!!
I kept the boys home this morning to do homework, sleep in (they didn't), and get baths etc. They will go to school this afternoon. I took NO pictures while away BUT my nieces did so I will post some as soon as I have some.

The Yulefication Process

Or, getting ready for Christmas..you choose your term but they are synonymous pretty much. Tonight around ten we leave for our weekend in Nova Scotia. I still need to pack, after yesterday's laundry marathon. Also, yesterday I forgot my hair appointment!! ARGH. Nancy has me booked this afternoon, thank gods. My brain is too taken up with stuff needing to be done or at least not forgotten.
Decorating has not factored huge in my priorities just yet. The lights have been up outside almost two weeks. I hung some snowflakes from the dining room light fixture and filled an antique soup tureen with ornaments and pinecones(snagged them whilst out on a walk.....the pinecones that is). Looks nice. Oh and a red,white, and green striped vinyl tablecloth. Thats more because I am fearing for our table top's health with my messy eaters. Is more a protective measure than decorative .
I have finished 4 out of 5 neckwarmers. Still need to do a purple one for Holly. So, in my neice's gift bags we will see fuzzy neckwarmers, pretty sparkle gel pens, lip gloss compacts, and chocolate initials (A for Annika, P for Payton, etc etc). I think thats good. Last year it was feather boas and other girly stuffs. heh heh FUN!
Ok..so...thats it until I get back, I think. Fare well, my friends.

Grrrr Miss Kiiitttttyyyyyyy

So, its now winter here in the greater Montreal area. For real. WINTER. With snow and ice and cold. In Nova Scotia winter happens but waffles about it. It gets cold then it gets warm.....snow then rain, back and forth, too and fro. Mud and ice are the mainstays of NS winter with some snow that stays for awhile around February. Well more snow than that but the earlier and later snows don't stay.
Here, last week, it was about 15 degrees Celcius. Thats not very cold unless you have a strong wind. Lovely. Then friday was a major ass freezing rain and wind storm all day and night...what a mess!! There were power outages and folk fearing for another catastrphic ice storm like the Big One a few years ago. But it wasn't. Saturdayu was cold but fine and then Sunday...I awoke to snow. It snowed lightly and playfully and a small bit accumulatively all day. We had a few inches down. And...its...still...here... Whats the big deal? you may ask. Well, its not...exactly. But when you come from a place where the ground appears periodically throughout the winter, the prospect of being in a deep freeze for the next 5 months is unnerving. I'm feeling stir crazy already and its only day 3...well, stir crazi-ER. Oh my...5...more....months......

whimperwhimperwhimper
Oh yeah...My point of this post........
Now that its officially winter weather, Miss Kitty doesn't want to go outside. Thats fine with me! She's 10 now and slowing down. She always went out in NS but then again, see above statements on NS weather. When we got Monkey, I moved the unused litter box up to the main floor bathroom to make it more accessible for his Highness. That was a month ago. Miss Kittyy and Flash have seen where it is..have sniffed it...haven't used it, but thats ok.
But now its NOT OK because Miss Kitty, in her geriatric moments, has gotten befuddled about where the litter box is and crapped on the play room floor TWICE. Being pretty is not going to get you outta trouble this time Missy.

My Henna Tattoo

I'd wanted to try one for a long time and Saturday I did! It was a birthday gift to myself a week early. Richard was outraged that I considered this a "gift" from him because it won't last. But the spirit of a gift is something the person would enjoy, however ephemeral. I think..hey..why not try something new for your birthday? So there.
I like the lotus at the top and the swirliness. The fingers, not so much. Oh well.

YULE FAIR 2006

Fancy face........ Singing with Nathalie
I had Fun!!!!

Fun was had! Chatting took place. Cool stuffs were fondled, smelled, oohed over, and possibly bought(heh heh). The ritual was great!! Yan (Jan)and Maxim were fantastic kings and played their parts well. LONG LIVE THE KING!
Ellie The Fabulous took photo after photo after photo and some included moi. Nathalie and I crooned a couple of carols to pass the time and I had some groovy face painting so's I felt "dressed up" for the ritual. Hugs and kisses were the rule of the day rather than the exception.
In all, it was my kind o' day.

Recurrent dreams..Whats up with THAT?

I keep having dreams with recurrent themes in them. I have had three dreams about moving (unwillingly) into various abodes in the last month. Actually had two of them in a row which is wierd. #3 was about a week or so later. I am so not telling Richard about this one because he is getting a complex, since he is the one that instigates the moves to unsuitable homes ( a huge apartment/commune with 3 other families without consulting me about it, and a ultra modern huge duplex with pink plush carpet). This mornings/last nights dream was a bungalow..run down and badly decorated by the white trash former occupant. The children are playing in the large living room, devoid of furniture beyond a couple of bean bag chairs and a tv and many many toys and kid stuffs laying around in a huge mess. There are extra kids there so its neighbor children that have come to play and watch TV. Suddenly two dark haired and bearded men walk in to claim their children, but I'm not allowed to talk to them because I am a woman and their religion forbids me to speak to them. Richjard appears and warns me of this and does the talking. All is very genial. Suddenly I cannot get up from the floor. I am too weak and exausted and weeping. My sister arrives and and I weep uncontrollably in the relief that she is there. I cannot get out of the bed..as if in the throes of an energy sapping disease. Doctors are baffled. My sister proclaims that I am just being lazy and will snap out of it, but not in a mean way. As if I have the flu or something. I wake before I can pull myself out of that pit of despair and bad wall coverings. Very....very...wierd.
Also I have had dreams with Nathan Fillion appearing as a common theme, and I quite enjoy those so that a bonus. He's soooo pretty. Again, its strange but at least not disturbing as the "moving" dreams.
I discussed them with my sister, and said I'm pretty sure what they mean. In my bitterest moments when I hate living here, I blame it on my husband. If it wasn't for him I wouldn't have to live here. Thats totally NOT FAIR of course, and I realise that. My sister said she totally got it because she had similar feelings when her family moved for her husbands work. Maybe it will go away eventually. I mean, life here is very good. Much better than being broke and possibly homeless back in NS. Life here has been a blessing in both employment and great opportunities as a family to experience another part of our great country. We have a beautiful home. Spend more time together as a family. Obviously food is plentiful because I have gained 17 pounds by over eatting in the last 6 months (self medicating with inappropriate food). Its all good...until I go to sleep ....

Wednesday

NOT COLD today. hahahaha
So, I says to the man last night I says" Whats your schedule like Wednesday, sweetie?" and he gets the deer in the headlights looks that says "Oh shit she wanted to get out and I'm totally booked up" and said"Not good, dear. Why? " so I says"Well there is a stitch n' bitch Wednesday night and I was hoping you could be home by 6 so's I could go" to which he replies, loudly"Why didn't you tell me sooner I wouldn't have accepted this invitation to a gala this afternoon!?" to which I replied"Well aren't we all fancy schmancy". Tis the season for charity galas and stuffs for PR purposes. Also, i didn't ask sooner because I didn't know the timing sooner.
So no stitch n bitch for me. Thats ok. There will be others. But I had casted on two slippers to work on in tandem just for this evenings doings at the Second Cup on Monkland. But its ok. I will continue to be tied down to this house for another day or so until we go out for a greek dinner and to the Montreal show of Vinyl Cafe at Place Des Arts with Bruno and Antonella Friday night. I can wait. Barely.
That is all.

T-t-t-t-t-t-tuesday

And its frigging nippy. We had a sifting of snow last night and the front steps had some iciness. Waiting for the bus with the boys this morning was frigid and the bus was late. Wouldn't be so bad if I got DRESSED but no, I am a jammie mommy. Slide on shoes and a coat and stand out in the articness with bare ankles. When will I mend my foolish ways??!
Ok..so the hats are done. Complaints abound in the form of that they are a bitt too big. Oh well. Cammie still wants fleece in his (yes, fleece...) so on payday I'll get some fleece and attempt a lining.
Now I am working on Annika's neck warmer. I am skipping my last two French classes because the final exam is during one of them and really, why should I bother? We all know I am not going to pass, so essentially, level two is done for me. More knitting time! AND ...I gotta see Grey's Anatomy Thursday..ooooohhhhh..are Burke and Christina finito for goodo?? Muts watch and find out. So help me if its a rerun I will flippo.
Also, the knit meet Sunday was a bust for me and a few others. I waited for about an hour once I got there. A) I will NOT be listening to Richard again the his work is "close" to where I was going. Yeah...like the moon is "close" to the earth. So a 10-15 minute walk made me later than anticipated and I missed those that had shown and saw noone and left. There is a knit night this week. I'll see how it fits in.
8 days to leaving for NS. Woohoo. Itinerary:
-Leave late-ish Wednesday night after Richard's cocktail engagement. Sleep in Q.City.
- Richard sees clients Thursday morning in Quebec City and then we hit the road baby! Arrival is estimated at really really late Thursday night. Love you Julie! She is our hotel for the weekend.
-Friday...I must renew my license and we will visit and shop. Whhheeeeeee!
Night time will mean lotsa wine etc. as we settle into Julie's place a reeeeeellllllaaaaaaaxxxx. Love you Julie,
- Saturday: nurse any hangovery type ailments with sitting around slurping coffee in Jammies OR do stuff. What stuff? No idea.
Saturday night; Family do at my sister's place in the Annapolis Valley.
- Sunday: repeat of Saturday's doing minus party and with visiting maybe involved.
Monday : Leave NS very early to come back. If I can't find a hiding place that they can't drag me out of to force me into the car. We shall see.
Right this very moment I have a blob of warm, furry, kitteness on my lap. He only really likes this when I am on the computer. How cute is this. My lap is finally warm after the whole frigid bus thing. Thank you Monkey! My widdle kitten angel. He will have his firsty vet visit in December. He's been growing a bit and we have all his litter issues and food issues addressed. Since our surprise brakes repair we couldn't take him this month so December its time for needles etc. Poor baby. He will be an indoor cat (we hope) now that we live in a town setting. He keeps trying to make a break for the open doors though so we have to be vigilant. The chances of imminent death any second by logging trucks and wildlife are much reduced by living in town and indoors so we want to take the precautions we didn't with the girls and keep him healthy and happy. I know...the logic escapes those that vet their cats regularly..but we just didn't. Plus the vet we used to go to for spaying etc didn't push vaccinations since he was a kinda holistic therapies guy. So there you go. It was a choice and we made it. Plus we were very poor and had babies in diapers to pay for. Now we can afford better care.
Hmmm...lets see... Mom and dad still have the rodent. I'm still jibbering helplessly when the subject comes up, such is my horror. Speaking of rodents: Flash left a present on the back step this morning..a mouse head. She may be a psycho but by gum that girl can hunt.Ben and I praised her skills mightily with much pettings until she seemed like she was gonna turn on us at which point we left her alone. She's a moody girl.
So..must make chickeny soup since the microwave and my chicken had a difference of opinion as to what they were doing yesterday (it was set for thawing but it dang well near cooked the chicken..so we had steak instead and rather than throw the bird out I threw it in a pot). Also vacuuming would be good since Joyce is coming for the night. She better not talk through House tonight is all I an say. She will get a warning before hand and I WILL have the duct tape handy. I mean it.

HATS

These are the finished product! 2 hand knit earflap hats! Today Shirley showed me how to finish the edges with crochet and then I added the braided tassels. Ben's is the burgundy and Cameron's is green.
Cameron was my willing model in the crafting of these hats. Ben refused to try it on and I needed to know how close to done I was.



I'm proud of these goofy hats. maybe the next one will have a shaped crown rather than cinched... hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.......

Oh and by the way...I ran the hats through the laudry and they came out soft as kittens!! uuuuuuhhhhhhhh...kiiiiittteeeennnssss

Saturday

Its Saturday! I slept in until about 9ish. Aaaaaaaaahhh. Good stuff. Ben is at his theatre class and we found out this morning his play is the same weekend we are in NS. Oopsy.
I am working on Heather's neckwarmer right now. Its in fiery orange shades paired with a red yarn to bulk it up a bit. Cameron's earflap toque is about a 3rd done.
The problem with all this knittiness is that my house is not very tidy. Pretty hard to knit and clean house. Also, I wish I had some books on CD to listen to while I'm knitting. Radio and music cds get boring. I've relistened to my Vinyl Cafe cds and that was nice to work to. So I've got some laundry going and I've vacuumed. That helps the messiness.
Tomorrow is Montreal Knits from 1-4. I am so happy to be getting out among english speaking folk. sigh. I've warned Richard that I will be incommunicato all afternoon tomorrow. He's very supportive of this outing, especially since he's been gone since Thursday morning at this conference he's been at. He might get home this afternoon. He managed to have some fun while he's been in the city so the conference hasn't been totally about work. He really needs a regular thing with guys. Like a regular poker night or whatever ...not work..not family. Something just for HIM. We spoke of it and he might ask his guy friends if they are interested...except his guy friends are from work...LOL Oh well.

Fleece as defense.

Get Fuzzy kills me. Go buy books, merchandise..make this strip creator a rich man.
Can you not hear the comically sinister voice of Bucky as he considers the danger fleece poses to the Cat Takeover Movement??? Yeeeessss........... fleece. It will be overcome... heh heh heh
My songet me to read this strip out loud with my Bucky voice that involves a slurring of the S's back by my molars. He near pees his pants laughing.
I wish I could get a job making funny voices that make kids pee their pants. Its SO fulfilling!!!!

Knittyness

Christmas and Yule approach and we are travelling home for a visit before the holiday. This year the family gathering is earlier than usual so I have slightly less time for gift shopping for my grandnieces. This dawned on me with a startling suddenness yesterday and I decided I would knit a little hat for each girl (4 grandnieces and friend's daughter makes 5). Well, the hats have become neckwarmers on the advice of Teri and I have one done already. Its so plushy!!! I paired a boa type yarn with Bernat Satin. I figured wool might itch and I had the Bernat here from hat making. I just hope the boa doesn's shed and go wonky the first time its laundered or something because that would suck.
I signed on online with MontrealKnits, a stitch and bitch group in Montreal. There is a gathering on Sunday and it will be my first. I'm nervous but also hopeful that this will provide me twith someone that can show me how to crochet the edges of the ear flap toque I made for Ben. YES the toque is knit! Now its just finishing touches!! Then I want Cameron's done before his birthday (Dec. 15th) and he has requested that I line his with polar fleece for extra coziness. It means increasing the number of stitches for that hat and figuring out how to make and install a lining. Woo hoo new project.
My mom had bought yet MORE yarn to try the toque in the Canadian Living December issue. What you must know about Mom is that she has a HUGE stash of yarn already. Leftover balls, scraps, and yarns for projects that never happened used. Also projects that were never completed and could be unravelled for their yarns. And yet she buys more yarn. It boggles the mind. Boggles I tell ya.
I chatted with her about this. Mom and Dad are seniors and had serious financial set backs in 2006 in the form on a new furnace and lawyer fees. Their income is government pension so they are not living high on the hog by any stretch. And she buys more yarn. sigh. So I am hoping that I have encouraged her to NOT buy more yarn and if at all possible knit with her stash for gift giving at Christmas. Knit anything Mom..slippers, mittens, hats, anything small simple and quick, wash it to get the storagey smell out and then gift it! Use the stash and save your money for paying your bills. I think the idea "may" have taken. Hard to tell though. It is late in the season for her to knit gifts but maybe, just maybe I have given her an idea for the coming year. I hope so.
My stash is much much smaller than Mom's and I will need to buy a couple of skeins to pair with the girly boa I am making the neck warmers out off. Two of the skeins went with the Ivory colored yarn I had and one might go with the green I have but the other two skeins are shades of dark pinks and magentas , and violets and purples.
After these its Cammie's hat (I can't wait!!) and then one for Daddy..YES my husband actually wants me to knit him an earflap toque!! I feel like a REAL knitter now. No more just knitting scarves!! I can make hats, slippers, and scarves now. Its a heady feeling lemme tell ya. I may get crazy and try a mitten again, just to see if this time I can do it.
Little does Husband know that I had planned on knitting him an earflap toque as a surprise for Christmas...but the yarn I bought is not in the colors he requested. Dang.
And thus a small stash is enlarged............
uh-oh

Let The Crazy...COMMENCE!

I was chatting with my mom on the phone this morning. Oh..My..Gods.......... I had to then call my friend Marla to talk me down. Thank you, Marla. Without you I may have ended up running through the neighborhood in my PJ's jibbering like and idiot.
My parents' house is amazingly cluttered. Stuff abounds. USELESS stuff as well as less useless stuff. Entry to their home results in my having to control claustrophobia and hyperventilation. They are seniors I should add and Dad used to battle the clutter but now he adds to it.
Awhile back, they had a mouse. The first mouse they ever had (amazingly!!). They found out about said mouse because my grandmother's dining room table (massive I might add) is loaded down with things that would be better of in a pantry cupboard...bags and packages of candy and cookies and chips( my brother's step grand-daughter calls the dining room "The Candy Room") and , of course, STUFF.... and they heard rustling in the table area and found gnawed things on the table etc. Trap was set, mousie was caught. Did they change their cluttered and poor food storage ways? NO.
Chatting this morning I hear a new tale: Dad had a container og chocolate covered almonds and after refilling his candy dish, replaced the lid. Then the next day, lid is off and remaining almonds GONE. The verdict? They think they may have a squirrel holed up in the house somewhere. *blink blink*
My greatest fear?? That I will become these people......

jibberjibberjibber runrunrunjibberjibberjibberrunrunrunjibberjibberjibber

Interesting

Katharine Hepburn You scored 21% grit, 14% wit, 57% flair, and 19% class!

You are the fabulously quirky and independent woman of character. You go your own way, follow your own drummer, take your own lead. You stand head and shoulders next to your partner, but you are perfectly willing and able to stand alone. Others might be more classically beautiful or conventionally woman-like, but you possess a more fundamental common sense and off-kilter charm, making interesting men fall at your feet. You can pick them up or leave them there as you see fit. You share the screen with the likes of Spencer Tracy and Cary Grant, thinking men who like strong women. Find out what kind of classic leading man you'd make by taking the Classic Leading Man Test.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: http://www.okcupid.com/"> alt="free online dating" src="http://is1.okcupid.com/graphics/0.gif" border=0> You scored higher than 99% on grit http://www.okcupid.com/"> alt="free online dating" src="http://is1.okcupid.com/graphics/0.gif" border=0> You scored higher than 99% on wit http://www.okcupid.com/"> alt="free online dating" src="http://is1.okcupid.com/graphics/0.gif" border=0> You scored higher than 99% on flair http://www.okcupid.com/"> alt="free online dating" src="http://is1.okcupid.com/graphics/0.gif" border=0> You scored higher than 99% on class

Link: gidgetgoes on The Classic Dames Test written by OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Hat Experiment

I'm getting all knitty wid it and am now attempting a toque with ear flaps by modifying and combining hat patterns. Why can't I just do it the way a pattern says??? Cuz they do stuff I don't want to do like sew it up the back or decreasing. I am lazy. Plus I have no attention span to speak of so doing any fancy patterny stuff like stripes or ribbing is really hard for me to get right.
So, I followed a pattern in Canadian Living for how to make the ear flaps (triangles on a stick!) and how to cast the hat on and add the earflaps. After that I have it on circular needles so I work it in the round (straight knitting..easy) and when its long eough to set on the head right I will cinch the top shut rather than the whole shaping, decreasing thing. We shall see. After a few false starts and ripping outs, I now have taken a photo of it thus far..a blob of knitting on circulars with longer bits on the sides (ear flaps). The first time I had it on the needles it was all backwards and I would have had to purl the whole thing. Now its right (so far) and I will post all "The Making" photos when its all done. I am working it in Bernat DenimStyle yarn. Its so soft and pleasant to work with. I give it a thumbs up.
Laundry is mostly caught up and I have class tonight so this afternoon is about homework. I really need to work on my verbs.

Some days (rant)

You just can't seem to do anything right. Today started well...except for the whole having to wake up thing, but besides that, it was an ok morning.
I read, I did laundry, cleaned the bathroom sink again, showered, dressed, laundry, bleached a bit of the family room, changed clothes before I left the house thanks to bleach marks, went to Veterinarian..and thats when I stopped having a good day.
I wished to purchase wormer and flea treatments for the cats. I did so on a semi regular basis back home and since Monkey is new and all thought I should do everyone. 'Nope" said vet desk lady. "You need to have the animal examined first."
This sounded like insanity to me since I had not required this step back home. "Its The Law" she said and I said fine and left. Steaming I was. I felt like this was just one more pain in my ass that my new province had in store for me and quite frankly, my frustrations beaker is pretty much on overflow most of the time now adays.
This evening I chose to bitch about this to my niece who is a veterinarian and lo and behold, its not just a Quebec thing after all. Ooops. Who knew(besides veterinarians)?? I had no idea whatsoever. She pointed out that it was the LAW and that the vet clinics that had sold me Revolution and other pet stuffs were doing so ILLEGALLY and if I had been a better pet slave and taken my pets into the vet regularly instead of just for spayings and neuterings I might know this and Georgie would have been diagnosed sooner with Feline Leukemia rather than when he was dying of possible poison ingestion and ended up being euthanised anyway(thanks for dragging that bit of scab off that wound yet again), and pretty much got her panties in a twist about how I don't want to drag three cats to the vet for this stuff when I'd never had to before. Bad bad pet slave! BAD! Newspaper to the snout for me.
We ticked each other off, but I did send an apology since my ticking her off was entirely unintentional. What I took as a discussion she took as a belittling of her expertise and knowledge.
What had begun as a nice peaceful day to myself officially went down the shitter at that point. And I ask myself " Why do I care so much? Why?' Why is it so upsetting to me that someone is less than pleased with me? Whats the big deal? Why do I slink along (internally) like a dog thats been kicked too many times and cringe (emotionally/mentally)at someone's displeasure? Heaven fucking forbid that I should accidentally annoy someone or offend them or step on their toes, or make a mistake or shop too often, or laugh too loud or just plain ass be ME. I don't mean to but it just happens. Somehow things get twisted or misinterpreted.
Why do I give a tinker's damn about something so trivial and small in the scope of the universe and the suffering that goes on in it? I have no goddamn clue. And I wish I didn't care. I'm tired of it. I'm tired of guilt boiling in my stomach for stupid shit that I did as a kid that should have known better, maybe did know better, and did anyways. I'm tired of it rearing its head in the dead of night or being flung in my face to cut me down to size.
In December I will be 39. I do not dread it. I welcome it. I think this will be the year I start to stop giving a shit. Sounds like a plan. Then maybe my middle-ish years will be a bit lighter in feel than the earlier bits. I could use a lightening of the guilt burdens and all those other ones that I lug around too. Time for life's airline to misplace some baggage...for good.

I..Hate..Yahoo

At least once a week I get bounce notification. I end up not getting messages or having my messages not delivered. It is seriously pissing me off. Why do they do that????!
Ya hear me Yahoo???! Yer pissin' me off! Quit it! I'll sic Naomi Campbell on your ass.
I mean business.
Also, burnt my feet tonight by taking a hot broiler out of the oven. The grease and liquid in the bottom portion slopped out on the oven door, floor , and my feet.
Ouch. Much screeching and cursing ensued.
Tried to shop today. it sucked. Looked at MP3 players at Future Shop (for Richard) and got confused and headachey. Also looked for Battlestar Gallactica season 2 and 2.5. None in stock. Pokemon Sapphire(for Cameron's birthday), none in stock. Did get the new Evanesence and Stargate SG1 Season One. Priced PSP...almost passed out. Yay me.
Went to Walmart even though it annoyed me. Got a $10 bra I like and they had black microfiber tights in my size..got 2 pair. Looked at PSP..almost passed out. No Pokemon Sapphire. No Pokemon card collections in a can like last year. No Yugi-Oh either.
Went to EB Games...was told Pokemon Sapphire is discontinued. Great. Somene else can tell Cameron because he has been asking for it for a year and we couldn't find it then either. FUCK.
I think I'll start hiding out in my closet with a tub of ice cream.

Photos!

I am plumb wore out from being so cute!!!!! Sleepy time.........
Brush brush brush...brush brush brush.....
Love me! Adore me! I am a cutie patootie!
THUMBS!!!!!! Fuzzy little Monkey kitten thumbs.


Don't you want to touch my Monkey? How adorable is he anyways??! Irresistable , green eyed thumbyness.

Tuesday

Rainy rainy Tuesday. Yuck.
Made it to Maxi to get dish washing powder and whilst there grabbed som laundry liquid too. I'm not out but don't have lots and DO have quite a bit of laundry to be done. Will it get done? Aaaahhh..that is an interesting question....
Cameron has been dealing with some bully problems at school. A little dickhead named Samuel, formerly a good pal, has been annoying Cameron, calling him names, and even physically hurting him. Cameron is almost double this childs size so its not because Cammie is smaller and a good target. But he is a kid who has been taught that hitting is not nice. He gets so confused about this because we have also been trying to teach him that its ok to defend himself.
I personally think he should take Samuel out back and pound the snot outta him. When he kicked Cam after school last Thursday I did call his mom but she wasn't yet home from work. Since I had class I told Richard to try again later because it had to be dealt with. Of course he forgot because we had company and there was wine. Friday was a much better day for Cammie as was yesterday but today Samuel has been antagonising Cameron again. Guaranteed that if Cameron retaliates he'll be the one in trouble because its the Law of Being The Victim...and happened before in an unrelated incident.
Benoit seems to be handling his new dosage of Concerta well. No zombie child, no weird behavior, no side effcts noticeable EXCEPT that today he got 3 (THREE) billets Bravo for excellent examens. Woo hoo!!! He says he feels like he is learning more and he says he feels like he is paying more attention in class. We'd had some issues this fall with him being distracted and forgetful and thought perhaps it was time to change his dosage after almost 2 yrs. HIs doctor agreed. The idea was to give it a try and if there were any problems detected we'd switch him right back. The Best Concerta related side effects of all? His self esteem. No longer last in everything and quite so prone to tantrums due to overwhelming frustration. No longer the bane of his tearchers's existance for the amount of extra "help" he requires. No longer the distraction and disturbance of the class room requiring many parent teacher meeting and notes. In short, he has a happier and more fulfilling school and life experience. For the last almost two years.
Hmmmm... what else...
Richard and I have been discussing an idea that is at once ridiculous and at the same time tempting. NO..not another child. I hesitate to bring it up because it might make us look stupid having gone this route before and not been financially successful at it.(are you NUTs?? my mother, sisters, brothers, would say) The subject has come up between us a couple of times and then been dismissed quickly as memories of disaster come to the rescue. This time the idea keeps tickling but I am partially hoping it goes away...FEAR. It is scary to consider but at the same time exhilerating. Possibilities beckon but so does upheaval and change and we all know how good I am with that! If any more discussion comes up I will note it here and clarify what it is if it looks like we might lose our minds and go for it.
Since I am skipping class tonight I may just treat myself to a wee nappy-poo on the sofa after a trip to Dollarama for Tennis balls. Camerons bed is horribly loud and we have figured its the ladder scraping on the floor. Did I mention this before?? I went to Dollarama this AM but it was still closed. After lunch hour, its tennis balls and a nap. yes!

Monday

Today was good. Then it wasn't so much. And even though what made it not so good wasn't serious or terrible, it was enough to ruin my day. Now I am home with Monkey purring at me and trying to type and the day is getting..better.
I think Iwill be missing tomorrow nights class because I really don't want to bother getting a baby-sitter since Richard's away.
Pizza preparation calls....

This Pretty Much Sums Up My Life........

Company!!!

When Richard and I had our shop in Nova Scotia, we had the wonderful good fortune to hire Sam as a part time clerk. She was a treasure and we adored her. Her time with us was far to short for our liking because of her intended journey to Thailand and a life of adventure!

Sam is BACK in Canada and brought with her the most lovely man, Alex. We had the great great great joy to host then for two nights here at our home as they make their way across Canada. I snapped a quick pic to remember them by until we meet again. We had a great time drinking too much wine Thursday night, and comparing headaches Friday. This picture is Friday evening after they wandered the streets of Montreal and before we had supper. Poor Sammy was sooo tired!

We miss them already!!!

Wednesday

It is most definitely November. Its chilly and damp most days but occassionally you get Sun's warmth and that releases an almost Spring like aroma from the Earth. An aroma of transition. An aroma of change. The smell of digging in, burrowing down, getting ready to rest.
Next on the agenda of celebrations and holidays is Yule. I have always been a fan of Christmas and not just because of the presents. If anything its was all about the anticipation for me. The magic of brotherly love, peace on Earth, goodwill toward men and all that. The whole Spirit of giving and togetherness. Then Christmas morning comes with its chaos and madness of ripping paper and afterwards I would think "Thats it? Thats all there is to this BIG DAY??" and I'd feel let down. Not necessarily out of disappointment at not getting what I'd wanted or not receiving as big a haul as say my friend across the street who always got a big haul. It was more about how all that anticipation and good feelings came to a screeching halt and then it was Christmas dinner and then it was clean up etc and back to school time. I wanted the feeling of Christmas to last..forever.
This love of the holidays continued well into my twenties. I loved carols and decorations and the first snow and getting together with my family and friends.
Now I am in my 30's...will be 39 come December 8th actually, and now I just don't feel it. At least not like I did before I had kid's. I used to knock myself out with home made gifts for my family. Chocolates and cookies in nice tins or bags. Jams or jellies or soup mixes or chutney's in pretty jars. Labors of love for my family. I still want to make Christmas but I'm too tired nowadays and I worry about Christmas more. Will the boys be happy with their gifts? Will this be the last year for Santa?? How will we afford gifts and a tree? Should we move to an artificial tree? Should Richard and I forgo gifts to one another in favor of a "house" gift or charitable donation? (no..I am too greedy for that I think). Will this be the last year the boys are quoted as saying "This is the best Christmas ever!"?
One year Richard said "no stockings for us this year" and to be fair, money was tight. I agreed but got him stocking stuffers anyway. Ya just gotta!!
It was my first Christmas ever without a stocking to open and I was surprisingly devastated. I had to go to my room later to cry when noone could hear or see me. I felt very foolish and yes, very childish, but Christmas has always touched my inner child and this was Inner Child's first year with no stocking, the child like part of Christmas morning. Its has not happened again.
Its getting to be decorating time. I would love to have a magazine perfect spread like my sister in law manages every single year. Martha Stewart could take lessons from Marilyn. The tree is always exquisite, my brother's lights outdoors are blinding and a testament to his joie de vivre, and all the holiday trinkets and vignettes in their home make you feel both jealous and inspired. Alas, I am not so handy with the decorating.
To help myself get into the mood to prepare for the holiday I now call Yule but my family still calls Christmas, I bought Dorothy Morrison's book Yule. You would find it in the New Age or Witchcraft section of your local Chapters and I must say so far I am really enjoying it. Where do our holiday traditions come from and what do other societies celebrate at this time of the year? Some of the answers are well known but she also has some insights that are less common. Its nifty and I am getting into the Spirit little by little. The holiday CDs help too. I highly recommend Bare Naked For The Holidays by Bare Naked Ladies and the Santa Claus 2 soundtrack as a couple of more modern collections.
Today our magazine with catalogue came from World Vision. A World Vision catalogue? you may ask to which I reply Yes! If I may be so bold as to encourage you to try and make the world a more comfortable place for a less fortunate family somewhere, I do so now. We have been sponsors to a little girl in Haiti for some time now. I only wish we could do more. By making extra donations or selecting a "gift" from the catalogue we can. We all can! www.worldvision.ca has detail on how you could gift an impoverished family with a goat kid, or fruit trees, or chickens... Help a village by stocking their medical clinic! Help some children by providing clothing... Check it out. Wake the Inner Child that believes in Santa. BE Santa for someone this year. You will never be sorry.
Blessed Be.

Still Tuesday

And who'da thunk it, I'm a knob. I accidentally posted that entryless header much earlier today but then got distracted (ooh cookies) and forgot to go back and fix it. duh.
Ok...more reasons I'm a knob: Got so wrapped up in the Ashley Judd segment of The View today, and almost forgot to get the kids at school for lunch. Bad parenting. No more View for me.
Went to French class (also known as the French Method Of Psychological Torture 101 at Concordia's Continuing Ed) and discovered I am still not fluent. C'mon!!!!! Its been, like, 8 classes already and I actually attended some of them..what do I have to do to learn this stupid overly conjugated so called language. ARGH..what? study...? You're kidding right?
I can no longer blame my abyssimal (ok..I've tried this word 3 times..this ones staying even if its wrong) GPA from 1992 on work and liquor. Turns out, I'm lazy. WHO KNEW? (Mom, put your hand down!)
Now that I have photo capability (finally capable of putting digi photos on my computer) I will be A) taking more photos and B) posting said photos C) as soon as I remember to buy batteries for the camera. Oh..and this part isn't a part of why I'm a knob..
Or is it?
No more Diet Coke for me after 5 pm!! I'm wired!

Tuesday...

Sunday

It was not a lovely day but a nice day nonetheless. Little productivity beyond some laundry and R fixing the bumper on the Echo that HE damaged last night. Other than that it was lazing about all the live long day. Oh and playing with Monkey of course.
Aaaaah the Saga of Poor Monkey. I have never had a kitten that didn't get the concept of a litter box on a regular basis, and I have had a lot of kittens in my 38ish years. As a result of his inexperience we have been keeping him in Kitten Jail also known as the bathroom. He has a basket and an antique wool crib blankie (that came from Scotland in 1950 according to my mom...is 56 yrs antique??) for his snoozing pleasure and use them he does! He has a doorknob mouse toy, water, food, litter box, a catnip sock and a catnip crinkly toy. He meows ALOT when we cuddle him. In complaint? Or seeking comfort? Sharing his thoughts on the'verse as he knows it? Also frantically meows when wanting food..because he kinda forgets where it is. Right now he is nestled in on my shoulder watching my fingers type, purring softly. How can we not love him even with his toilet problems???!
Friday night had R and I shopping andgoing to see a movie sans enfants. Long overdue outing. We hit Toys R Us for some xmas stuff. What a horrid store. Ladders everywhere, crying toddlers, lack of cool action figures. Seriously!!!! What is the big whoop?? Never again. We hunted at a few other stores in the Carrefour Laval for Gameboy games and DVDs. Cameron wants Pokemon Sapphire for his birthday.
The movie we saw was The Prestige. Oh my. Soooo good. Nary an explosion nor alien nor animated animal in sight and such a good story! I LOVED it. Richard said it wasn't bad. This from the man who loves Underworld. It boggles the mind. If you enjoy a good tale with twists, this is for you. I give it 4 stars out of 5 for a grown up drama that takes place in the late 18800's early 1900's. I'd totally see it again.
Saturday...hmmm..whatd we do..More nuthin'. I went looking for xmas gifts for Richard but Damn! that Bionic Wrench gizmo is pricey!! The version that was on sale last week was nowhere to be seen. Only pack of 2 sizes and the big one were there, at $59 and $39. Oy. I will get him the new Evanesence later and some Star gate dvds. Thought that wrench would be cool though.
Tomorrow is Monday and my shift at the MPRC desk. I will make it this week. Also Value Village has their 50% sale tomorrow and I printed off addresses to find a couple of them. Hahahahahaha. Yes...value shopping ON SALE. Bargain hunting will ensue.

Photo loading attempt # 6 jillion and 3

The new guy. So far his name is Monkey because of his enormous thumbs giving him the appearance of monkey feet. Plus he is very very very busy and curious like a monkey. "C'mere you little monkey." is whats said most to him. Thats and " You **&#$% on the floor AGAIN!!??" "Use the #$%^ litter box, pleeeeeease!"







Yugi and Jason, best friends! Or ARE THEY???




Blossom The Amazing Hula Dog! Speak to her and she wags... I mean, HULAS like a crazed hula doll.

Improvements

I am no longer in the bottom depths of the dumps. maybe it was that flu that just knocked me so far down but since Tuesday I have a better energy level, and improved outlook on the 'verse. Thanks to all my pals that cared enough to offer encouragement. You all rock the rockin'est rock there is to rock. And thats saying something.
I have a couple of Halloween photos to post and also we brought home a new addition to our family yesterday. Blogger has been very irritating with my photos..GRRR. I will try yet again today.
Thanks bunch to Aurora and Suldog for their comforting comments about our Freckles. This place is so wierd without her. Its less snuggly thats for sure. Maybe the new kitten will be a cuddler. So far so good..except for the kitten poo everywhere and his current stint in the brig (downstairs bathroom) with the litter box. May he figure it out quickly!! Thank you to Scrappy The Bear my amazing veterinarian niece for the advice. Aurora, you would totally become BFFs with her because she is a phenomenal animal person, scrapbooker, stamper, phototaking type person. Very crafty that way. Her new blog is She Said, She Said and its listed over on the side. Great photos. I am so not gifted in that way.
So, things are better though kitten poopy and photos WILL be forthcoming because you cannot miss Blossom The Amazing Hula Dog. You just can't.

Happy Halloween

Tis a day of monsters, mayhem, and mad sugar rushes. Enjoy!

I Miss You (one month missing)

Freckles was 10 years old in August.

Another day

Funny how they keep happening. The kids have only been home 10 minutes and they are already at it. Its always either one doing something to the other (real or imagined) or they are NOT eating what I have prepared for the meal.
This is not unusual. This is life with kids for many people. I am just bloody sick of it and there is no way out except waiting. There are wonderful things about life with children but its hard for me to see them these days when every shriek, whine, "Mommy!" makes me cringe.
Life is taking on a boring sameness. I hardly even go out anymore. Richard even suggested a movie Saturday night and I could not be bothered to make the effort. I sleep, I eat, I wait for the day to be over so I can escape it again in sleep.
I did get ready to go in for my volunteer shift today. I made it out to the bank machine for parking money only to discover that an extra mortgage payment came out and we were over drawn (we don't have an overdraft, btw). So..no money for parking...no money for gas. I came back home, waited for the store to open so I could phone in. Then I changed my clothes and crawled back into bed. I'd even put on make up. See? Why bother.
Later this afternoon, I took the dog for a walk just to get out. Fresh air and sunshine is good for you! It was a gorgeous day, thats for sure. The sun was shining and it wasn't terribly cold. Blossom thoroughly enjoyed the stroll. It was good to see her padding along with her ears all pricked up, taking an interest in the sights and smells of Autumn. At least someone was.
I take Ben to see a doctor at the CLSC on Friday. Maybe I will ask her about upping my meds or changing them. Something is just not right and its getting harder and harder to deal with it.

Saturday night

It was a week of illness. And it doesn't seem to be ending. I literally spent the entire afternoon in bed. Sleeping. Like a frikkin' rock. I was stuffy headed and sore eyed for the morning and finally gave it up around 12:30. Yesterday I slept the morning away on the sofa and then the afternoon as well. Last night I was in bed before midnight and had no trouble sleeping at all. Tonight? We shall see. I do feel better than I did this morning though.
Acne too. I am plagued with the acne. It could be worse I know but its like my skin is NEVER clear.
All this need for sleep is a bit worrisome. My energy level is zip and was before I got sick as you know from reading here. I love sleep but this is getting silly.
Losses of the week: Jess lost Moushie, and my nephew and his lovely wife discovered that their expected baby wasn't. There is nothing in the sac! I found out last night before I mailed a funny little gift Thank Gods. I have spoken a bit to my sister and she's pretty sad at losing a grandbaby. I feel for Vick. To be expecting a longed for baby, going through all the symptoms etc and then finding out there is nothing there. Which is worse? Miscarriage or no carriage?? I don't know since I never had this kind of thing happen.
Now the kids are fighting. Over nothing. Yay.

Bloggers beware

Apparently, someone absconded with pictures of sweetney.com's daughter that were on flickr and doctored them in an abusive way. This has caused a great deal of anguish on the part of the childs mother of course and is a warning to all that even innocent pictures can be fodder for a freak.
Sad sad sad sad.

Thursday Night

I'm home from class. Nothing on TV. Richard is watching "Deal or No Deal" a game show for the mentally retarded (in my opinion). Its truly the MOST annoying and stupid show EVER. He and the kids enjoy it very much.
Feel my pain.....feel it.

Sweat, chill sweat, chill

Sweat! Is it the virus trying to escape or WHAT!? I break out into a sweat and have to remove my sweater. Then I get chilly and have to put my sweater back on. Grrrrrrrrr. Right now I am drenched because I got all crazy and vacuumed the foot of dust from under the beds upstairs. Holy dustbunnies, Batman! I grabbed a towel and am trying to stop sweating and watch the first 20 minutes of the View. Feel kinda wobbly too. How weird is that?
I may need another shower before this day is done. This will go great with the 3 hot hot hot baths I had yesterday trying to chase away bouts of chills. Who's a prune? I'm a prune!
I don't know why but I totally want to wash down my bedroom and maybe rearrange it. It could use it no doubt! Base boards etc hold onto the dust even with vaccuuming. It would make it smell nice too. I stripped my bed yesterday and Ben's today. I will get to Cameron's before the day is out. Yup, nothing like:
Clean sheets and a sooooooolid alibi. Yup.

Wonder Drug....

Last night I bypassed the Sudafed and grabbed good ol' Allegra D which is what I take during hayfever season. An hour or so later I was breathing freely. Mwhahahahahaha. But I couldn't sleep very well. Every little noise seems to wake me up because I don't have Sir Snoresalot in bed next to me drowning out the nighttime noises of Cameron flopping around in his noisy ass bunk bed, and traffic outside our home. That and having the flu makes me have to pee alot apparently. Who knew?
Yesterday I recieved a Mary Kay catalogue from my niece for Richard to order things for my birthday and Christmas. Lovely stuff that Mary Kay. Once you use it its hard to go back to other products. I want the Timewise cleanser for sure! Easy peasy lemon squeezy! I hate having to take numerous steps in my skin care (Thats any steps over the number two). Timewise cleans, exfoliates, and tones all in one product. Then slap on some moisturiser and you are good to go. Unless you are fussier than I and want to add on eye cream, lip stuff, and sunscreen. Not me. I will forget to use them (as time has proven). I am interested also in the weekly Microdermabrasion stuff too. Anything to help this face. My crinkles are becomeing crevasses and I have a full set of luggage under my eyes. Don't get me started on the adult acne!!!!!! ARGH! Lip lines now! Can you believe it?? When the hell did they show up??? And the forehead..or as I like to call it, my washboard. Because of the deep lines..get it? Ok..not my best stuff.
Am I panicking because birthday #39 is looming in a month or so? Ummmm..... no I don't think so. Frankly, I'm amazed I'm still here! Every so often I start out on a skin care regimen and if it lasts any length of time, its a wonder. Good old forgetful me. But I know Mary Kay products are worth the money. The old face is getting to reflect my tiredness, so I'll start treating it a bit better.
39......last step before 40. Will I freak out next year? I don't know. The only time I ever freaked about my age was when I got the math wrong and thought I missed a year.