Doctors, Dentists…..

Finally went to get my sinuses checked out yesterday…..this has been driving me crazy for months.  Thought it was allergies and still might be.  For now she gave me a steroid spray to try for a couple of weeks.  The worst part about all this is that most of the time I can’t smell or taste anything!!  Not good when you’re having company for dinner…..you can only hope that all is good.  I hope this works.

I’ve also got a dentist appointment next week and from what Dr Google says, part of my taste issues could also be my teeth.  I know they’re in bad shape but I don’t think they’re that bad…..

My daughter is off for a bone scan today…..now that is really scary for me!!  She tripped on the stairs at work a month or so ago which caused a pretty nasty injury to her shin.  It was  swollen and bruised and did all the stuff that something like that normally does but it was still aching so thought she’d get it checked just in case the bone cracked or chipped or whatever.  Xrays showed “shadowing” or thinning.  Dr said it isn’t “that kind of shadow” but could possibly mean that there is some sort of a infection in the bone or potentially, the start of some osteo type of thing.   I thought they’ were just going to do her leg but are doing a whole body scan!!!  Worry, worry, worry……….I know, I know, I know….don’t cross bridges etc. etc. but easier said than done.

Lunch today with Brenda.  We’re going to pick up the jewelry that we dropped off a couple of weeks ago to have repaired and then for lunch.  There is a really nice little bistro right there, with live music…..they have jamming sessions….or a new Indian place across the street…..we’ll decided which place once we get there.  We’ll talk about our trip next spring….make more plans, maybe even a decision or two!!!  This trip planning has really ran into some hurdles along the way but we’ll get it all organized and sorted out eventually.

I have a bunch of new birdies at my feeder.  Silly little things should be heading south for the winter….I know I would be if I could fly!!  Not sure what some of them are but do recognize the nuthatches, the little downy woodpecker and the little brown sparrows and of course my hummingbirds.  I also get the odd big flicker (also a type of woodpecker) trying to balance itself to get at the seeds.  They’re really fun to watch…..they queue up on the railing (and poop all over it!!) or on the plant hangers and then take their turns on the feeders.  Some could careless if there is another one on the feeder and others, like the chickadees seem to only feed one at a time.  The junkos are timid and will wait until the others are gone before taking a quick peck or two….they are mostly ground feeders so scavenge around on the deck under the feeder looking for dropped bits.

And of course we’re back to rain……it has rained all but 5 days in the last two months!  And more is expected….oh well, not much you can do about it.  It is getting chillier though so I wouldn’t be surprised if we seen a snowflake or two if it gets any cooler.  At least the snow is bright!!

L.

 

Free Day!

I can do anything I want today!   I have big plans but we’ll see how that all works out.

So far the only thing I have done is make a dentist appointment…..yuck.  But it’s been a long time since I’ve been and better to get it over and done with sooner than later.  I broke a tooth quite awhile ago….and then another.  My mouth is falling apart.  I guess they’re not really broken teeth…..the old fillings seem to be giving out and what’s left of those filled teeth are just falling apart.  I’m sure I’ll need a crown or two so I’m very thankful I still have a pretty good dental plan.

Yesterday was another good “driver” day.  I like this run that I’m being trained on…..you only pick up stuff as opposed to delivering parts.  Other than the 5 gallon drums of oil or some fluid or another most of it isn’t heavy lifting, which is a good thing.

One of the places that we head to 3 times a day is the main supply warehouse…..which is massive.  In their loading bay they’re put in big planters where through the summer months little gardens are planted.  One was entirely strawberries!  What a great idea for their employees that live in apartments or wherever they can’t have their own little gardens.  The growing season is over of course so only remnants are left of what they had during the summer.

Lots of herbs, beets, brussel sprouts, onions, garlic, lettuce, a few different kinds of tomatoes, chard of some sort and one whole bin just for strawberries. What a great idea!

It didn’t rain during the day yesterday, which was a nice treat especially since I was doing all that driving, but it was cold!  Not freezing cold but damp cold.  Since it had finally cleared up somewhat you could see some fresh snow on the top of the local mountains.  Lots of snow on the bigger ones…..ski season has started.  I’m sure lots of people are happy about that!

I really have to start thinking about doing some Christmas shopping…..I keep saying that but don’t do anything about it!  Maybe this afternoon……we’ll see.

It’s been over two years now…..this will be my 3rd Christmas without Ken.  I love Christmas, I really do but it’s still a little bit tough at this time of year.  I guess it’s just one of those things that takes time….a little more time than usual.  I’ve got the neighbourhood Christmas party coming up next week so lots of plans for that.  The tree has to go up, maybe Thursday I’ll do that……psych myself up for all the cursing and swearing that goes along with it….those damn lights that cause me grief every year.  But once it’s up, I love it.  All the ornaments from those great vacations and the ones from the kids…..they all make me happy and bring back good memories.  Then I’ll decorate the mantel……I bought a new thing to put on it this year…..keeping it simple with the garland and a couple of candle holders.  I think that looks better and makes for way less stuff to take down at the end of the season.  Ok….this is good, now I’m really looking forward to doing this!!

L.

A Lazy, Fun Day

Did pretty much nothing yesterday….you’d have thought it was my birthday!

My daughter spent most of the morning watching movies, I searched for vacation rentals so much so that my neck has a crick in it from being on the computer for so long!

Had a great dinner and then home for “the cake”, which was a great success…..lots of laughs….and good too.

lol…..the kids, big and small, had a good time decorating the cake for Auntie.

Today I’m off to work…..at least it’s not raining….yet!  It’s supposed to be OK today, which is good, because I really do not like driving in this.  I think the weather is really starting to get to everyone…..it’s been almost two months of continual rain.  We get the odd reasonable day thrown in, only for it to start pouring later in the evening.  Or it pours all day then clears up at dinner time…..argh.

This is the last of my busy week with something going on every day…..tomorrow I have nothing planned…it can be a me day.  I need to get my hair cut, I need to get out and do some shopping….there is lots that I could do but will pick something that I WANT to do as opposed to have to do.

L.

Happy Birthday To My Beautiful Daughter!

How time flies……37 years ago today we were the happiest people alive!

Daddy’s girl 🙂

Fishing trip (1990) with the kids – in the rain!

1982 Camping at the lake with Rob and Lynn

Happy Hour at “Life’s a Beach” Maui 2003

This is the only picture I have of all 4 of us from that trip! It was an early morning trip up to Haleakala.

Where has the time gone?  All old pictures…..I don’t have any that are recent…..will have to work on that!!

My son and the kids have made her a special birthday cake, which I hope she’ll get a good chuckle over.

Today is also Grey Cup day (Canadian football version of Superbowl).  Many, many years we had a combo Grey Cup party and birthday party….friends and family…lots of people.  Instead of having 2 cakes I’d make a football cake but write Happy Birthday on it.  She’d also have a real birthday cake when she had her “friends” birthday party, so the football cake wasn’t such a big deal.  That was a long time ago.  My son thought it would be a fun surprise to do the football cake for her……bring back a lot of good memories of those fun days with the house full of people.

I hope I remember to take a picture!

We’ll go for an early dinner and come back here for cake…..I hope she gets a good laugh out of it.

The Christmas party was fun!  Lots of good food, a beer pong tournament, good people and lots of laughs but not lots of drinks 😦   Just too risky to even have a second glass of wine around this time of year.  And of course the weather was horrid……raining so hard you could barely see the lines on the road.  I managed to stay until 10, which I thought was pretty good.  It’s certainly not like the good old days when we, or I was one of the last to leave.

L.

Got Through The Week

What a busy week it was!!!

Everyday I had something going on, including a work day…..a long work day!  And the week isn’t over yet…..tonight is the work Christmas party, tomorrow is my daughters birthday so I’ve still got a couple more days to get through.

Next week is busy but not quite as crazy.  I’m not sure if it’s an age thing or what,  it doesn’t seem to matter if it’s fun busy I’m pooped at the end of the day.

Our trip plans keep changing….originally there were 3 couples and ME.  Brenda lost Doug so it went to 2 couples and her and me.  Now the other couple has decided not to go…..her mother passed away a few months ago and they have some estate issues that they think they’ll still be dealing with next June!!   It’s down to R & G and Brenda and me.  We’ve gone from looking for a 4 bedroom place to one with only two bedrooms.  And this is only for 2 weeks of the month that we were planning for.  There is also the possibility of connecting with my brother and SIL in London for a few days at the beginning of our trip….I think that would be a lot of fun and if at least 4 days, we could share an apartment, which would be significantly cheaper than a hotel.

Brenda and I are going for lunch on Wednesday so we’ll talk about it and come to some decisions.  A couple years ago we talked about doing a bike trip in France….we’d have gone a week early, the guys would meet us after…..that type of thing.  Of course that never materialized.  But now it is something that we could seriously think about doing.

The initial plan way back when was to spend an entire month in one location….some place where lots of days trips were a possibility, close enough to a town or hamlet that we could walk too and big enough that there would areas where people could go to for quiet or down time.  Then we talked about breaking up the month into 2 weeks in one place and 2 weeks in another.  That is kind of where we were until the other couple, J & L, have decided not to go.

Glen is not sure he can handle a whole month of being the only guy!!  So maybe we’ll just spend the 2 weeks together.  They’d go off on their own for the rest of the vacation (even Greece is now getting tossed around!!) and Brenda and I would do that bike trip!  We’ll get it sorted out…..it’s lots of fun talking about all the possibilities.

I’m so glad she decided that she still wants to go……it’s what Doug would have wanted.  He and Ken were a like in many ways……quiet, easy going and generally pretty happy, contented guys.  They were the same age but went to different schools in the city.  Their paths never crossed back then but as it turned out they actually knew quite a few of the same people from each others school.  Always good conversations with those guys…..

L.

 

A Work Day

It’s cold, dark and really windy this morning……maybe the wind will blow the clouds away!

I’m not too sure about this work business!!!  Having to set the alarm and get up early….unless it’s because I’m leaving for a vacation….is not my thing anymore.  Once a week will be more than enough for me.

Great progress has been made at the kids.  I had a busy day there yesterday but it was a good busy instead of just a lot of cleaning busy.  Areas that had been cleaned up were still cleaned up, or mostly cleaned up.  I had to use their van to pick up all the kids from school and it was amazingly free of mess and garbage too!  Every time they’d come to my house, after they left, I’d find something….pieces of paper, a sock, an empty yogurt container etc. ….that had spilled out on the driveway.  My DIL, even though she’s not feeling the greatest, she has been busy getting rid of a lot of the kids toys….sorting through them, chucking the broken bits and putting things that go together, together!  She has even managed to sell a bunch of the stuff on one of those bidding/selling websites.  I’m really happy for her and told her she has been doing great because I know, at the best of times, all this is quite a challenge for her and even more so now since the accident.

Yesterday we cleaned up the stairs, which has been my biggest issue there, and in the entry way, put up more hooks for coats and found a basket for shoes.  I’m hopeful all this is finally paying off!

One day soon I hope we can tackle their downstairs room…..should be a family/TV room but has been a dumping spot for anything and everything.  Maybe her Dad could come over and help….there are some bigger pieces of furniture and stuff that is just awkward to try and move in there….a man job!!

L.

Change of Plans

They could only stay one night, which was too bad.  Their tree trimmer finally called back and would be at their place first thing this morning so they had to leave yesterday afternoon to make sure they’d be home.  That is just how things are over there……so much more laid back than in the city.  You can’t just go and get an oil change for your car…..you make an appointment and if you’re lucky they would be able to get you in the following week one day.  There are limited resources, such as contractors too.  It took months to get their ensuite bathroom remodeled…..the cabinet guy had to order cabinets from the mainland, the granite too had to come from here.  Do not get a dint in your car……it can take weeks to get into an auto repair place.

We still had lots of fun of course.  Dinner was good on Monday…..pork roast!  The best cuts of pork, butt or shoulder, used to be the cheapest….not so anymore now that pulled pork has become an in thing.  I dug out my old speckled roaster……got it for a wedding present!  It’s pretty beat up but for whatever reason a roast of any kind always tastes best when done in it.

I think this stuff is called enamel ware…..probably not something you’re supposed to use these days but for whatever reason everything tastes better if roasted in this!

And it was  really good.  I use a dry rub of crushed garlic, brown sugar and black pepper….so much flavor with this cut of meat.  Pork roasts usually make the best gravy….mine wasn’t so good this time.  It was OK but not the best I’ve ever made.

Yesterday was a whirlwind shopping day!  N took the car in for an oil change…..because you can just appear at one of the many oil change places over here and get it done….S and I headed out to shop.  Mostly to get them all stocked up at Costco, Walmart, Michaels etc…..none of those big box stores over there.  At Michaels, I took in a couple of the pictures that I’d bought on holidays.  I’m slowly working my way through the ones I have getting them framed properly….I’ll then do one of those picture walls behind the couch in the family room.  After these I’ll have 6 of them so enough now to start hanging them.  I’ll have a look at the older ones that I did myself and compare them to the professionally framed ones……I might end up taking some of those in to be redone.

We had a late lunch at N & S’s favorite fish and chip place and they were off in a flash to catch the 5:30 ferry back home.  Phew…….

I’m babysitting this afternoon while my DIL visits the lawyers about her accident.  So far the insurance company has been really good, other than paying for any of her physio.  The guy was 100% at fault, so this shouldn’t even be an issue.  But like any insurance company they’ll only pay as little as they possibly can.  Besides the physio, meds etc. there are also lost wages to take into account….this is a little more complicated because my DIL is a “contract worker” as opposed to a salaried employee who would likely have short term disability benefits of some sort to cover wage loss.  I hope she gets this all sorted out today and I hope the lawyers to take a huge big chuck of whatever she ends up getting.  The car was a write-off but thankfully the insurance company gave them a good settlement on that…..more than they paid for the car!!!

Work tomorrow!  Early day….have to be there for 8AM.  It’s only a five minute drive from my house but I still have to get up early (5:30) so I can have my ME time in the morning…..I have gotten pretty used to a slow start most mornings and these work days are no different.  I can’t just roll out of bed and into the shower, dressed and out the door like I used too.  Not sure if my routine is a good thing or a bad thing, but I like it and will get up early enough to make sure I still get that time.

It’s still raining and raining and raining…..yesterday was horrible.  Two or three nice days in a row would be such a treat.  We seem to get one nice day, still with some rain either early morning or late at night, and then days and days of dark, dull, grey rainy days…….I think someone said there is only 129 days until spring!!

L.

 

Company’s Coming!

My friends from Sechelt are heading over for a couple of days.  This also means that I’m going to be scrambling around this morning cleaning!!  They always seem to come over the week after my cleaning lady comes……and believe me, in one week I can make a big mess.

I guess it’s not really THAT bad….a little dusting, a quick vacuum and running over the floors with the mop should do it.  And the bathroom of course…..I’ll make sure I put my glasses on when I clean in there!

This is going to be a busy week for me.  The next two days will be spent with N & S….shopping!  Wednesday my DIL has an appointment with a lawyer for the accident so I’ll head over there in the afternoon, Thursday I’m going to work…..doing another training day on a different delivery route, Friday my daughter and I are having a spa day……it’s her birthday this week and she’s treating ME!  Saturday is the company Christmas party…..it’s been a few years since I’ve been to one of those so that should be fun.

I recovered nicely from Saturday…..that was a really tough day for me.  It’s been 2 1/2 years…..but there are just some things that don’t get any easier.

Yesterday my son and I managed to get all 6 of the kids kitchen chairs recovered.  The first one took a little while figuring out a couple of the tricky corners but after that each one only took a few minutes.  The biggest challenge we had was trying to reload the stapler!  It’s very old….probably an antique in the tool world today.  It was Ken’s Dads…..has WR scratched all over it.

I have a new birdie visitor, some type of a small woodpecker, either a Hairy or a Downy….not sure which.  Not sure if they’re all stocking up for the winter but they’re going through the goodies in that feeder pretty quickly.  I just filled it last week and it’s almost empty this morning…..something else to add to my to do list today.  The hummingbird(s) are still around too.  Last year they were around all winter.  I guess as long as it doesn’t get too cold they’ll stay again this year.  I think there are a few of them now…..I had one very aggressive one that attacked the other birds and scrapped with any other hummer that came by…..I sometimes see two or three of them at the feeder at the same time.

Off to an early start today……get everything done that needs doing and then I can just sit back, relax and enjoy my friends.

L.

 

 

Emotionally Draining Day

Doug’s Celebration of Life was yesterday.  It was standing room only…..so many people in his life that are going to miss him.  Family, friends, work colleagues, students…..just so many.

Brenda did speak….she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to do it but she did and she did a great job.  I’m glad she did.  For me that just seemed like such an important thing to do…..who could talk about him better than someone who has lived with him for 30 years….and it was sort of that point of acceptance of what has happened.  You’re talking about him in the past….

Today is a new day…..this is really when your “new normal(s)” start to kick in…..now that all the paperwork, all the planning, all that stuff that has kept you busy for the lasts 3 weeks is done….it’s just another day.  There is still lots to do of course but now there are no deadlines to meet, there is no urgency to do the rest…..clothes, cars, “his stuff”, etc…..that can all be done when the time is right for her.  She’s a strong person with tons of support….such a good thing at time like this.

For me the tears started as soon as I walked into that funeral home…..the same place that Ken’s CofL was at.  And the pictures of course……so hard to believe that you’re not going to see that person again, but good to know that they’d had a great life….very sad that it was cut so short.

I came home and just wanted to crawl back into bed.  I was so tired…..it really does drain you emotionally.  But that was not to be…..the kids came over with their Grinch Christmas trees that they’d made earlier.  We found some cutsie little Christmas pots to put them in and little strings of lights….. the trees are pretty cute.   Dinner and that was about all I could handle for the day.

L.

 

How Time Flies!

Two years ago today was the last day of my wonderful Middle East vacation…..such a great trip!  So many incredible things to see, fantastic food, many, many beautiful people.

Last day in Dubai……a visit to the Dubai Mall and the Burj Kahlifa.  I still can’t believe I went up there…..whoosh up the elevator 124 floors in less than 1 minute.

One year ago today was the first day of another terrific vacation….my trip to China.  Again, many wonderful things to see, food was a little iffy….not because I won’t try stuff but mostly because of the places they took us to eat…..some very interesting, some really good, some not so good but more often than not, not enough food!!   Definitely not seconds allowed…..when that bowl or platter was empty there was no way they were going to fill it again and they let you know that loud and clear. (just to note:  our trip seemed to be an exception to this….someone else I know went a month before us and said if anything there was too much food!!  But then we paid quite a bit less than her too….)  Buffets were the best when we had them.  China is an amazing place……culturally, historically, geographically….they have everything there.  We did meet some great people and some that well……

Flying over no man’s land, possibly somewhere in Siberia and the Great Wall in the snow….spectacular!

Traveling is such a wonderful thing.  It opens your eyes, your mind and your heart to all the wonderful things that exist in our world, people and places.   I thank my lucky stars everyday for the adventures that we and I’ve been able to go on and will hopefully get to go on in the future.

Yesterday didn’t quite go a planned…..I got called into “work”!!  A couple of drivers didn’t show up so I got to take over.  Luckily I had a good start on the morning and had already gotten a lot done around here when they called around 10.  A quick stop to get storage insurance on my truck and the old mustang and to pick up the naughahyde for the chair recovering project and I was at work by 11ish.  Turned out to be a nice day weatherwise….a bit chilly but no rain and even a bit of sun.  I was done by 5…..workwise and physically.  Hefted around some heavy bits, like batteries and brake pads so made sure I took some advil before bed.

It was a fun day though….off to a few new places and met some great people….mostly men (also mostly too young!!).  One of my deliveries was to a company that moves houses!  What an interesting back lot they had…..

Off to my brothers today…..will be a fun time.

L.