NO. 35, 36 AND 37

My trip down was beautiful.  The sun was shining, the traffic smooth and light,  right straight through to the kennel up the hill in North Van.

I thought maybe Tank would misbehave and wander around the highway, scaring the crap out of me.  But she didn't.  The only time she headed for the rhubarb was when I took my eyes off the road for a split second or relaxed my death grip on the steering wheel.  I took the old highway to Merritt.  I stopped along Nicola lake to use the outhouse and let Molly use the grassy knoll.  Unfortunately I had changed her food and if you own a dog you know what that does.  Eeegad!!!  by the time she was through, her hairy butt was covered.  God!!!  So I dunked her ass end in the cold cold lake and scrubbed with inadequate tp from the out house.  What a freaking mess!!!!

I dropped her off at the kennel and Aryn arrived right then to pick up Granddog.  It was so awesome to see both of them!!!  I hadn't seen Granddog since Mother's day.  I then headed over to April's.  She made a delightful dinner and we spent the evening listening to each others music.  I seem to do that a lot with my kids.  I am so lucky!

Today I met with Clare and Tish for lunch.  It was not only amazing and wonderful, it was so comforting.  I absolutely associate Bill with Clare more than anyone else on the planet.

Back when he first started to meet with the boys, Dave doesn't come anymore, I was so happy he had made friends.  Other than me and his kids, he wasn't involved with anyone else.  I tried to get him to call his family and others but he just wouldn't.  So when he started going to lunch with Clare every week I was so happy for him.  And he loved it. 

 Thursday would come and he would have a fresh spring in his step.  He would make sure that was shower day and he made sure he put clean pants on!  Then he would leave an hour too early and he would come home....happy.  He would settle in his chair and proceed to tell me all about the conversations they had had and how Dave was so bad! to both him and Clare.  Then, all stories told, would fall asleep in his chair and nap for an hour.  A perfect Thursday.

So when I see Clare its like seeing a little bit of Bill.  I want to come down more often, road conditions allowing, and have lunch with them more often.

Bill did NOT make friends easily, if ever, other than Clare and Dave.  I do know that way back, in Bamfield days and before me, for a few years he would take his brother out fishing with him.  He told me once that Frank was his all time fave person to take fishing.  Frank knew what to do on the boat, he was willing to drive it for hours and hours, (something we all balked at), knew how to net, bring up the down rigger in a hurry, and haul in a fish.  In other words, or rather Bill's words, ' he isn't a pain in the ass'.  Before that he fished with his brother in law, Uncle Jim.  He really liked fishing with him too, but Uncle Jim got his own boat.  Those two men were the closest to friends to Bill.  But later, thankfully he made friends with Clare, after the fishing days were over.  And I love seeing him and Tish.

Then, I went to the fat lady store.  (fast moving up my shovel list)  It was really good to see the ladies again and catch up on news.  We are facebook friends though so I do keep in touch.  They have some things in there that aren't in the Kamloops one.  So after visit time, I swung around the store a few times.  Always, I am on the lookout for jeans or pants where the crotch doesn't hang down to my knees, or the waist band isn't tucked under my bazooms.  One can get a somewhat panicky feeling when the only fat lady store in Canada does not have anything that fits you.  And this year the styles are painfully awful.  They are flimsy, cheap looking, ugly patterns, and way way too long.  I look like a walking table cloth in those stupid shirts.  I left with nothing.

And now its early evening, in my hotel room, watching the news, eating ravioli in a can...mmmm its so good.  Soon I am going to go over to April's.  If I can beat through the horrible horrible traffic.  I am putting three things I took pics of before I left on here.  Then there will be no more til I get home.  TTYL

NO ROOM FOR THIS ONE...IT WAS MY MOM'S I THINK

A CUTE LITTLE SUITCASE.  I MUST REMEMBER TO EMPTY IT.  ITS FULL OF PICS AND PUUA SHELLS

AN ABNORMALLY LONG RUNNER

NOS. 31,32,33 AND 34.

Today was a nutsy day.  It is Friday.  Each day since I last posted I have had something happening.  On Tuesday I had the Kiwanis meeting at lunch.  Dr. Pant gave his power point presentation, a lot of it had to do with the awful earthquakes that are repeatedly hitting his country.  Truly terrible.  Such an interesting man and amazing doctor.

That evening Kathy and Kerry and I went to the Pavillion, a small community theatre to see a one woman show.  It was pretty good and its always interesting to see all the locals out and about.  During intermission I went outside and sat at a picnic table to cool off and check my messages.  A scraggly hippie type couple about my age came out and stood over a ways.  They both lit up cigarettes.  At one point I heard her say "Wow!! Out of all those people here we are the only smokers!"  We have come a long way!

On Wednesday I was doing all my business, paying bills etc.  I was checking my Master Card bill for July/August.  There was a charge to Tom Lee music (Richmond) for 5,450 bucks and no credit showing it coming back.  When we bought my keyboard, we noticed an order that we didn't order go through for 5,450.  Somehow their website glitched.  It was for two different keyboards.

So Monte phoned them immediately and emailed to have it cancelled.  Which they did.  We didn't receive two extra keyboards but clearly they did not credit my card back.  So suffice it to say, two to three hours later, and about fifty phone calls, I finally got it settled.  To complicate matters I had had that credit card cancelled so they couldn't just credit it back to that number.  Oh blast it!!!  Its all complicated and annoying but I was successful in the end.

Yesterday I went with Kathy and Kerry to the airport and drove their car back home for them.  They are off on their adventure to the eastern block and parts of Europe.  They were flying to Berlin.  I just about envied them but not really.  I am happy to stay home for a while.  Bill and I had averaged about three trips a year so home is kind of comfy at the moment.

And now today I was up by four in the morning.  And my feet, both of them, were numb.  No feeling.  It was scary.  I couldn't walk properly.  After a course of pounding on them and waving them violently about, I got them to feel again.  These pills I am on are wreaking havoc on me!  

Today was doctor going day.  And thats a crazy process.  You have to drive down there between 8 and 9 in the morning and make an appointment for after twelve noon that day.  Then you go home and come back later.  So I left at around 8 and drove down there only to find out he took today off.  So now this means I won't be seeing him for yet another week.  I could either have a heart attack or stroke out by then.  Oh well.  I have done my bucket list and can die happy.

Then, on the way home I stopped at nature's fare store.  Its kind of grocery and health food store.  I needed stuff for my bread I am making again, like lecithin and gluten, and I needed a couple of tomatoes. (not for bread but for eating)  Found it all but the freaking tomatoes, and they were not the best, kind of over ripe, were five bucks a pound!!  That store is so over priced!  I like to support local small business but thats just a tad too much.  One litre of 2% milk was four bucks.  But they had my lecithin!

Then I went to the bulk store.  Between the bulk store and the dollar stores you just shouldn't shop anywhere else.  I loaded my buggy up...flours, soaps, peanut butters, canister jars, powdered soup mixes, stuff for impromptu desserts, cereal, cherry blossoms (I was so excited to see these I bought six) the buggy was full.  And, I got up to the till and guess what?  Debit/ credit wasn't working.  CRAP!!!  (shovel list) 

 So I dashed out to my jeep and drove over to to the bank and whipped in to use the machine.  And my card would NOT go in!!  After several futile attempts, an old dude behind me stepped up and showed me that I was putting it in the wrong place, that it goes where the bright green flashing lit slot is.  Pure humiliation.  So after I purchased my purchases, I came home.  And now I need to go unload my jeep.  There are about a hundred bags in there to be unloaded and dispersed.

Well thats it for today.  Clare I am going to call you tomorrow about lunch on Tuesday.  TTYL

WINTER IS A'COMMIN!

TED FROM BAMFIELD CARVED AND PAINTED THESE

I FIGURE IF I SMUGGLE HER INTO SALLY ANNE WITH THESE FOX FURS NO ONE WILL NOTICE!

I DON'T HAVE A SANTA FE THEME GOING ANYMORE.

SHOULD I REMOVE THE PICTURE FIRST?  APRIL'S FIRST DAY OF PRE-EMPLOYMENT

THIS SAYS IT ALL FOLKS!!!  I SEE BOLOGNA SAMMICHES IN THERE SOMEWHERE!

NOS. 27, 28, 29 & 30 BUSY BUSY DAYS

I had the most fantastic four days.  Last Friday my awesome friend Anne came over and spent the whole day here.  She and I can talk nonstop for hours and hours and hours.  And we did.  She came around ten in the morning and stayed until about ten at night.  Monte did a white bread and bologna run for us and then we ordered chinese food for dinner.  You have no idea how many millions of times over the forty one years we have known each other we have done this.  Very cathartic.  I have always said if you had a friend like Anne you would never need a therapist.

Saturday morning Shannon arrived.  It was so good to see her again and I so appreciated her making that trip up to visit.  She had never driven the Coke before and it can be a little daunting...especially when its raining billy oh and blowing like a son of a gun.!

And we visited all weekend.  She just happens to be not only exceptionally intelligent but up on all of the latest world and local news and happenings.  We honestly had the best convos and I learned things from her and got some super good web sites to use.  I have already passed one on.  Its moneysense.ca.  There is one section that list the top 100 charities.  You can see how they are graded, their fund raising record, how well they spend the money etc...  Amazing!

Today I trotted about the house, did some stuff, went through more boxes etc...Kathy came over for coffee this afternoon and we had a great visit.  She and Kerry are leaving on thursday for europe. They have a lovely adventure all lined up.  

After she left I put together a decent looking outfit.  I was attending a dinner party at a local Dr.'s house.  He belongs to the Kiwanis club and a few of us were invited to dinner at his place to meet a very special guest.  Dr. Pant is a born and raised orthopaedic surgeon from Nepal.  He has trained and practised all over the world.  The orthopaedic surgeons gather once a year, from over thirty countries for an annual exchange of info and stories and presentations.  This year they met at Tri cities and he came back up with Myles, the dr. from here.

It turned out to be a very interesting evening, hearing his stories and some from the others.  Dinner was tasty and a lot of fun.  I thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

And now its bedtime.  I am tired tonight.  I did a really stupid thing.  I had a trip to the fat lady store somewhere in there and I ended up buying a gunmetal grey pleather jacket.  Its beautiful.  Today upon going through the closet looking for a coat of some sort, I came across a beautiful new gunmetal grey pleather coat, from last year.  Jeez!!  You know when you have too much stuff when you don't even remember what you have.  So, after the Kiwanis meeting tomorrow I am going back there to return it.

I am putting four things on tonight.  One is so bad I have to wonder what the hell I was thinking when I bought it.  TTYL

I FEEL BAD ABOUT THIS ONE...WHEN WE WERE IN NICARAGUA WITH KERRY'S SISTER WENDY, SHE WANTED THIS VASE A LITTLE FELLA WAS SELLING.  SO DID I.  SHE GRACIOUSLY LET ME BUY IT.  AND NOW I HAVE NOWHERE TO PUT IT.

WHAT CAN I SAY.  IT FLASHES THE SHANGHAI SKYLINE...IN CHANGING COLOURS NO LESS.

THE ONLY TWO OF THIS PATTERN I FOUND.

JERKS IN SAFEWAY

I was shopping in Safeway today.  I was wandering along taking my sweet time, looking at everything.  About half way through the whole event, I was part way down an aisle when I decided to stop and check my list...which I had put into my phone.  So I pulled my buggy right over against the products and pulled out the phone and started to go through my list.

I became aware that someone had pulled right up behind me with his buggy and was just standing there staring.  So I looked at him, an OLD man (shovel list for this kind of old man) and his cowering OLD lady wife right behind him, just stood there staring and staring.  So I said, 'Oh excuse me, I'm sorry.'  I started to pull forward when he says, "Oh that's okay, just block the aisle.  Go ahead.'  I stopped and turned around and said, 'You could have just gone around, I AM pulled over."  'Well I need to see stuff right where you are stopped to go on that goddamned contraption you're on.'

Now I am pissed.  "Um, have you ever heard of the two words 'excuse me'?" I ask.  He starts to rant, ' you goddamned people, always on your phones, getting in everyone's way'...stupid old man.  So, I marched back to him, whipped up my phone, and shoved it in his face and said, " It's my shopping list you  technically ignorant old geezer."

I spun around and slowly started to go along the aisle looking at stuff.  Next thing I hear is him going after his wife.  It was awful.  He was giving her shit big time for the amount of coffee they had gone through and the amount she was trying to buy.  He was AWFUL to her!  It was actually kind of shocking.

  I barrelled back to them and got right in his face and told him if he didn't shut up and knock it off I was going to go get the authorities.  I didn't exactly specifically say which ones but if there is anything I have  learned over the years, old horrible men are deathly afraid of the 'authorities'.  And I was right!  He shut up and grumbled off to the next aisle.  His little wife kind of smiled at me, quietly said a thank you and scuttled after him.  What a dick.

I love that Safeway.  They had better not close it down.  Its so clean and organized and quiet.  I really like the staff too.  I used to shop there a hundred years ago when Kevin and Aryn were really little.  One time, when Kevin was about three, he had on a pair of really big, way too big for him but he wanted to wear them, brown leather shoes.  We were at the check out and he was standing just in front of me when he very violently sneezed...and he shot right out of those shoes and landed on his sock feet.  One shoe flew through the air and landed right behind the cashier's counter!  Jeez did we laugh!  And that cashier was Sandra, Cookie's husband Brian's sister.

And also, back then, as we pushed our buggies up and down the rows, with our babies in them, we would be smoking.  And when we were finished our cigarette we would drop the butt on the floor and grind it out with our foot.  Unbelievable!!

I am heading down to Vancouver on Sep. 28th to the 2nd of Oct.  Clare...I am going to give you a call and I was wondering if you would like to meet for lunch on the Tuesday at noon.  It has been far too long since I have seen you and Tish.  I think April is going to come as well.  Thats the only day I don't have any appointments...I so so hope that you can make it that day.  That would be Tuesday Sept. 29th.  I will give you a call next week to make sure its okay.  I can't wait to see you guys.

And my apologies for my salty language in this post.  Its just that I was so mad at that jerk.  I also don't have a pic today.  I will put two in tomorrow.  TTYL

NO. 24,25 & 26

I am now an official Kiwanian.  I went to the meeting on Tuesday with Kathy and joined up.  They meet each Tuesday at lunch in an old folks home downtown.  The old residents run a little coffee shop/restaurant and there are two large meeting rooms.  The meeting was fast and efficient and kind of fun.  Lots of interesting stuff coming up.

Well the leaves are turning.  Last night I opened the front door to let Molly out and I swear I smelled snow in the air.  It goes down to 3 degrees up here at night.

  One thing I noticed....as the leaves are falling off the tree, I can see into my neighbours' yards more clearly.  Right below me and just a wee bit to the right is a hot tub in a yard.  They use the hot tub all the time...pretty much every evening.  And the old dude that uses it comes out of the house naked and goes back in naked.  I don't stand there and wait for it, but its kind of hard to miss if you just happen to be there!

I found my wedgewood!  There was a blue rubber maid packed with what I thought was the final stuff from Bill's mother's place that he brought home years and years ago.  The top layer is a whole bunch of little figurines all wrapped up in old old newspaper.  But underneath I found most of my wedgewood dishes!  The teapot and coffee pot and covered serving dish are missing but all the plates are there.   The container is really heavy and I think I will get Monte to bring it upstairs for me.  I shall unpack it up here.

The solarium guy came.  I took an instant dislike to him.  I am not sure why but he pissed me off before he even set foot in the house.

I showed him what I wanted but the whole time I was talking to him he just stood there shaking his head 'no'.  I finally petered off and asked "what?"  'On no', he says, 'we don't do that.  We don't cut walls like that'.  Well what the hell? ' 'Do you transport yourself molecularly through the wall to get into the room?', I asked.  'Where the hell do you build your solariums then?  Out on the lawn?'  

He couldn't answer that.  He mumbled something about an already existing door blah blah blah.  Then he stepped out on the deck and says, 'And there isn't enough room on the deck for adding insulation. And the same with the roof/ceiling.'  At which point, walking to the front door, I said, 'Well then I simply do NOT see what it is you do.  Where do you build these solariums?  Seriously!  I don't get it.  I have been in lots of solariums built just the way I am describing.  I guess I need to be on the lower mainland where there is more than one show in town.  A little competition would help here in this town.'  At this point he walked out the door and I slammed it.  Sigh.  I was rude, no doubt about it.  But he annoyed the hell out of me.  I could tell before he got in the door he didn't want to be there.  Dumbass.

So no solarium.  That company is the only one in town.  I have decided I am going to bring my table upstairs along with the buffet with the twelve leaves.  If I need to pull the table out further than the room, I shall go through the large doorway in front of the front door.  It will look goofy but what can I say?  I tried.

Well three things are going into the boxes today.  Monte has still not taken the stuff down to Sally Anne.  Its piling up in the garage.  We don't use Value Village.  They are a for profit company and I read somewhere that some of them are owned by a certain bike gang, money laundering.  Don't know if thats actually true, but I am not going to participate just in case.  There are lots of thrift places that are not for profit.  That is if they will even take the stuff.  Its pretty humiliating when a thrift store rejects your stuff.

Monte is off to Vancouver again today.  He has been working a huge amount and its astonishing how much money he makes in tips.  He loves his job.  Except last night he got another flat tire.  This is the third one now.  And I don't like these constant trips to Van.  He needs his van for work and every time he goes, there is a greater chance something shitty will happen.  Soon the snow will be flying and that will stop it all.

Speaking of which, I am heading down myself for a few days.  Its hair time and I need to meet with insurance people and accountants etc...  I think before I go I will pick out more items and get their pics for while I am gone!  TTYL

TRIVETS...BOUGHT IN PORTUGAL..NEVER USED THEM

WHY THE HECK WOULD I HAVE KEPT THIS?

THERE IS ACTUALLY TWO MORE I FOUND AFTER I TOOK THE PIC.  APRIL HAS THE TEAPOT.  THOSE OF YOU THAT ATTENDED BAMFIELD RETREATS MIGHT REMEMBER THESE

OFF MY DECK...REMINDS ME OF THE VOLCANO PICS FROM MAUI

NOS. 20, 21,22 & 23...DANCE HALLS AND BIKES

On Saturday morning I was all dressed and ready by ten in the morning.  Kathy, Jo and Ainsley came along and picked me up and with great anticipation we headed up the hill to the Knutsford hall for the farmer's market/craft/bake sale.  When we drove onto the gravel parking area we noticed a very few tables under canopies set up.  I figured there were probably more around the side of the hall and possibly IN the building.  No.  There weren't.  It was the most pitiful farmer's market we had ever seen.  Keep in mind that downtown, taking up a whole street block plus a school yard was a huge amazing lush farmer's market happening.

It was still fun and all but all the lovely vegetables I had envisioned purchasing were definitely not there.  In fact there was one big yellow zucchini and a small box of spuds...that was it!  There were a few tables of jewelry, knit stuff, art, painted rocks and baking.  Kathy ran into a couple of peeps she knows, Jo chased Ainsley around and I purchased a couple of small things (a little bit of pity buying...I felt kind of bad for some of them).

We went back to the house, sat out on the deck and had coffee and lemon cake.  The lemon cake was good!  We had a lovely visit and they headed home.

Yesterday, Sunday, I picked Kathy up around nine and we headed over to the back of the mall for the annual Kiwanis Toy Run.  We set tables up and papered them and got ready for the pancake breakfast.  Bikes started showing up along with a fantastic array of leathers.  I found it interesting that the average age of all those bikers was older.  That was probably due to the expense and having the time to pursue this awesome hobby.  What a fun time and the noise of all those bikes was fantastic!!! I went through and took pics of every bike!  About twelve of them were in a contest.  We all voted for our fave one.  Mine came in second!  And all of this happening to very loud AC/DC rocking!  Couldn't get better.

Last night I cleaned up the deck and dining room getting ready for the solarium guy coming today.  I sure hope its not going to be an impossible project and/or a really expensive one.  All this just so I can use my amazing dining room table.  (sorry about the order of the pics and text...stupid blog spot...high on my shovel list I tell ya!)

WON FIRST PRIZE....AN INDIAN

A RARE ONE...MADE IN INDIA

Today I am putting four pics of stuff I am getting rid of up.  Was pretty easy this time.  TTYL

IT WAS A LONG LONG ROAD TO HERE

PRETTY PITIFUL...BUT FUN

AS USUAL..BLOGSPOT HAS THE PICS ALL MIXED UP (SHOVEL LIST)  THIS MADE A NICE DINT IN THE HELLHOLE!  ITS AN ANTIQUE DISH BARREL.  WE BOUGHT IT YEARS AGO IN AN ANTIQUE STORE IN LADYSMITH

KATHY DOING THE 50/50 ROUNDS

PRETTY BUT NO LONGER WANTED

I THINK THIS IS FINALLY THE LAST PIECE OF BLUE WILLOW IN MY LIFE

THERE'S TANK!

THE RCMP ARRIVE....KATHY IS LIKE 'FIND WALDO' IN THESE PICS

THERE SHE IS!!!

GETTING READY TO RIDE!!!   SOOOOO LOUD!!!

THE WHOLE REASON WE DID THIS!

JUST A COUPLE OF RIDERS

NO. 18 & 19...I THINK I AM SHORT ONE

A word about my jeep.  I love it.  I really do.  But I will have to admit here there are a couple of drawbacks to Tank.  Now those drawbacks aren't big enough for me to be sorry I bought a jeep, but one or two of them are pretty high on the 'not desirable' list.  I will only mention two.

1.  My hip is hurting again, first time in a very long time.  And today I do believe I figured out why.  Riding in that jeep is like being tossed around in an old wash tub.  Every little bump, every little rock, no matter how small, tosses you up, then sideways and back down.  When I drive around, in town mind you, not even out on the rough roads, I hang onto the steering wheel for dear life, stick my elbows out onto the door on one side and the middle thingy on the other, to brace myself...to no avail.  I still fly up, then sideways then down.  Seriously!!  I can even feel my poof on my head move and its seriously glued down with liquid cement called Aquanet.  Now that I am getting used to it though, its kind of fun.  And when I eventually reach my destination and slide down out of the jeep, I feel a pleasing sense of accomplishment.

2.  The jeep has a certain space in it that I am calling Never Never Land.  And thats because I will never be able to actually touch it or use it for myself.

Its called the back seat.  As I mentioned in a previous post, there is a tiny space between the back of the back seats and the very back swing out door.  Pretty useless.  It fits shopping bags and a sweater.  When I grocery shop I put my groceries on the front passenger floor and seat.

Today I had to send a pair of Monte's size 16 shoes back to Amazon.  They were a tad too small.  So I wrapped the box up, affixed the emailed from amazon labels to it and set off to the post office.  I set the box on the front passenger seat.

When I was told by the post lady that it was going to cost 52 bucks (more than the shoes cost) to send the package, I declined and took the box back out to the jeep.  Knowing I was getting some groceries I decided to put the box on the back seats.  It wouldn't go.  It just simply would not fit over the middle gap between the two front seats.  So I popped the passenger seat forward, pulled the seat forward and tossed it onto the back seat, put the passenger front seat back into position.

When I got home I unloaded my groceries and popped the seat forward again as far as it would go.  I reached into the back to get the box, but I couldn't get in far enough to get a grip.  So I double checked that I had the seat as far forward as possible, yes I did, but no matter what I did, suck in my gut, turn sideways, go high, go low, no matter what, I did not fit through to the back seat.  I could get my chests past if I lay sideways, turned my head to stare up at the roof and push with my feet on the ground...but my giant stomach simply would not let me get further.  I tried stepping up on the running board and flattened my humpy back up on the roof and slide in that way...but no, I was too wide.  Geez!!! So I went to the driver's side and tried it there.  That side was even smaller.  WTF???!!!!  I DO NOT FIT INTO THE BACK OF MY JEEP!!!!  I had to wait for Monte with his ape like loooooong arms to reach back and get the box.  I really need to seriously lose a hundred pounds!  

Anyway I still love my jeep.  It has a dvd player in it.  Won't work when you are driving but I guess I could always go into the bush and park, take snacks, and watch a dvd.

Today I am sadly disposing a couple of things that I will never ever use, I am sure the kids don't want them, but one reminds me of Bill and the other we carefully chose in an antique store in Old Town Shanghai.  This is getting harder and harder.  But its gotta be done.  Tomorrow Kathy, Ainsley and I are going up to the Knutsford Hall (had many a good old hootenanny there back in the day) for a farmer's market.  TTYL

ANTIQUE CHINESE TEA POT

LEE VALLEY TOOLS PURCHASE.....BILL WOULD FILL ALL THE LITTLE VASES WITH FLOWERS...HE WAS SO LIKE HIS MOM

NO. 16 & 17 BASEMENT SHOPPING

Every time I head down those stairs to the hell hole, it feels like I am going on a shopping trip.  But I am also beginning to see a lot of things that are totally missing.  

The dumb asses that did the packing totally spread all my kitchen aid attachments everywhere, including the meat grinder (250 bucks).  I even put the big kitchen aid box right beside the mixer in the kitchen, all ready for the mixer and all the attachments, which were already in the box.  The assholes took out the attachments, emptied the box completely and packed it with OTHER STUFF!!  The kitchen aid stuff got spread out all over in other boxes.  And to this day I have not come across those attachments.  And I haven't found my big five ply stainless steel frying pan either.

Another thing I can't find and unfortunately I can't remember the last time I saw them, is my Wedgwood dishes.  I have a setting for six, complete with serving dishes and coffee pot and tea pot.  They are beautiful and they are gone.  I have a horrible feeling they disappeared in the fire and I am just now thinking of them.

But....if there is anything I have learned to do over my lifetime, is to get over the loss of stuff.  I was down at Kathy's for dinner last night.  Many many years ago Bill and I bought Dorothy, when she was tiny, a wee child's oak rocking chair.  They have brought it out for Ainsley.  We had one too but ours is long gone.  We left it in Bamfield when we moved.

  It got me to thinking about all the stuff over the years that I could have hung on to and now, in these later years, they would have meaningful use again.  Its made me stop and rethink my hundred day purge. Nope!!!  I am NOT going to hang on to stuff...no matter how much I might use it later.  I don't have much of a later left anyway at the age I am.  So out it all goes.  I have warned the kids to keep an eye on this blog and if they see something they want, let me know!  I will hang on to it for one week!!!   Secretly I just want to be Steve Jobs.

 Awful thing  happened about an hour ago.  I was standing in the living room waiting for my coffee to brew.  I was blankly staring out the window across the street at the houses in the cul de sac right there.  They all have steep hilly driveways.  A guy came out of his garage pulling a wagon with two little kids in it.  He handed the handle to the kid sitting in front and went back into the garage.  Well, that kid started to jump forward and back to make the wagon go.  It was like watching a horror scene slowly unfold.

The wagon inched forward off the flat part and the front wheels went over the edge of the driveway and off they went!!!  I couldn't believe what I was seeing.  They went screaming down the driveway, which is quite long and STEEP and the dad came flying out of the garage and tore after them.  But they picked up too much steam to be caught.  They flew down the driveway, into the cul de sac, across it and into the main road, across the road and BAM!!!!  They smashed right into a van parked next door to me.  It was a rotor rooter van.  

Those little guys flew into the air, smashed against the van and landed on the road.  There was like three full seconds of silence and stillness, then all hell broke loose.  They were screaming and bleeding and hurt and terrified....all at once.  That poor dad!  Then suddenly Mom arrived on the scene...crying and screaming and picking them up and checking them and then abruptly whippped around and absolutely ripped an extremely loud vicious strip off dad.  Kids were okay thank God but I don't think dad is going to be!

So today I am getting rid of two things.  One is small and insignificant the other not so much.  Sometimes its hard  TTYL

WHEN BILL WAS IN THE RCMP A MILLION YEARS AGO, HE WAS STATIONED WAY WAY UP NORTH IN THE NWT.  HE ACQUIRED THESE FURS.  THEY TOTALLY CREEP ME OUT AND NOW THAT HE IS NO LONGER HERE, I FEEL I CAN DISPOSE OF THEM.  AND I AM NOT TAKING THEM TO THE THRIFT STORE.

GLASS FRAMES I WILL NEVER USE

NO. 15 NATIVE ART AND CHRISTMAS AND PURPLE ROOM

Well we are getting there.  There are still a number of boxes to get through...stuff to throw out and sort through.  But we are getting down to native art, christmas decs, and boxes labelled purple room or office.  

I have to get out side and rip my dead flowers out of the window boxes, hanging baskets and pots at the front door.  I don't know what to do with them.  I'm askeered to put them in the garbage.  The garbage nazis are checking now and you get into big caca if you throw out stuff your aren't supposed to.  I think I will just put it all in garbage bags and they'll never know the difference.  The skuttlebutt out there now is that they are going to make us use clear plastic garbage bags so they can tell if we are cheating.  You know I am definitely beginning to see why Bill always played 'beat the garbage man'.

Cookie and I talked yesterday.  She and Pam have invited me to go to Cuba with them Jan/Feb!!  So exciting!!  But I will only go if it doesn't change things for the two of them and end up costing them more money.  Cuba has been on my bucket list for a long time.  I can see the three of us, cameras in hand, off on picture hunts.  We all love to take pictures.

Monte got called into work unexpectedly.  He made an extra forty bucks in tips plus wages.  He is on his way home right now and bringing me a creamy decaf from McD's.  My latest toss out is such a stupid one.  I ordered this thing two Christmases ago.  Its an advent calendar.  In the picture it looks so awesome and quaint.  But when it came it looked impossible to build.  I thought it came all put together so I didn't even open it.  Its little drawers to put wee things in.  Sigh.  This project is making me feel stupid.  TTYL

SEE?  A MILLION PIECES

A CLOSE UP PICUTRE OF WHAT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE.  CUTE...BUT NO

NO. 13 & 14 MY BLOG IS NOT ALWAYS MY BEST FRIEND

I love telling my news and stories as much as the next guy.  And when I haven't talked to my close friends for a long time, its so awesome to make tea or coffee, cozy down in purple room and talk and talk and talk.  Till now.

Every single damn story or info I start to tell, they already know.  And, you know there is always that person out there that tells your stories to your people before you have had a chance to.  I do not like them.  (shovel list)  It's so deflating!

Well that friend is my blog.  Everybody I talk to has pretty much read it.  So every time I start a story, I am interrupted with, "Oh yeah!  I read about that in your blog!"  Damn!!!  And if they haven't heard the story, I think "Jeez, why aren't they reading my blog?"  Its seriously ridiculous.  

I am not sure where I left off.  I think I was heading off to Maureen's for tea.  I cannot believe how that woman simply does not change.  She looks just like she did many years ago!  And I have the pics to prove it!

We had an amazing couple of hours!  She is such a wonderful visitor!  And, thank God!, she hasn't read my blog!!!  So we talked solidly for almost three hours!  There was so much ground to cover! We are both grandmas now so we were full of grandchildren stories!  And by the sounds of it all our grandchildren are just as clever and smart and awesome as our kids were back in the day!!  It felt so right visiting with her.  I look forward to many more visits!

I took the crokinole board back.  Didn't get any money back.  I showed them the misplaced pegs but apparently that is the way they make them now.  I argued and said no, its wrong blah blah blah.  They then looked up pics of tournament official boards and guess what?  I was right (or should I say Aryn as she was the one that spotted the problem first).  They apologized but still wouldn't take it back.  So I said well I am not keeping it, I am leaving it here so you can sell it again.  So one of the guys said that they were ordering in handmade heavy tournament style ones for 150 bucks and they will call me when they come in and they will knock 75 bucks off the purchase price.  I'm happy with that.  Its all good.

Last night Monte's friends arrived for the night.  What a nice foursome they were.  Dale is someone I hadn't met before and he was such a nice guy.  The three girls were wonderful as well.  They were on their way to Penticton on a rock climbing adventure.  This morning I got up and made a big breakfast for them and had such a good visit.  One of the girls has been here in Kamloops for a month now.  I told her to get hold of me and come up for a visit, dinner or coffee or something.  She is a criminal trial lawyer and she is kind of stuck here in a hotel until the trial ends.  Molly thought she had died and gone to heaven with four new people to pack her around and make a fuss over.

So now its numbers 13 and 14.  One is so boring.  Its getting harder and harder to find stuff I actually want to part with.  But I simply can't keep all those things if I am not going to use them or the kids don't want them.  Oh well such is life.  TTYL

CUTE LITTLE CREAM AND SUGAR...I DO NOT REMEMBER WHERE THESE CAME FROM BUT I HAVE HAD THEM FOREVER

THIS THING IS ACTUALLY STERLING SILVER AND A BONE HANDLE (CREEPY) OR HORN...NOT SURE WHICH.  AND GOD ONLY KNOWS WHAT KIND OF SERVER IT IS,  THOSE GENTEEL FORMAL DINNER DAYS ARE NO MORE.

No. 11 & 12/ I WENT TO A CASINO!!!!!!

Yesterday morning I was playing Wordfeud with my sister, on line, and you can message in that game.  We started talking and I told her I had to go to Costco.  So did she.  So, in the afternoon, Kathy and Kerry swung by and picked me up.  We went to Costco, Kerry walked down to MacDonalds.  

Monte and I are sort of low carbing it.  I am actually down twenty pounds since getting home from Maui last June.  I loaded up on beef chicken and fish.  Also lettuce, cucumbers, beans and celery.  Then Kathy and I hopped into the casino right next door.

The casino is brand spanking new.  It has a huge parking lot, and at three on a Wed. afternoon, that sucker was right full!  I haven't been to a casino since going to Excalibur in Vegas and one of the kids was in a stroller.  I remember playing a few quarters and walking out of there with two cupfuls.

With that in mind, just before leaving the house, I went to my change pot and pocketed a bunch of loonies and twoonies and quarters.  Just in case.  Boy I felt kind of bumpkinish when we got in there.  Clearly cash is no longer used.  We walked around and around and never figured out how it worked.  I think you buy a card with x amount of money on it and put that in a card slot on the machine.  You don't even have to put money in anymore!

My observation was that the crowd was predominantly old, I felt like I was on an underdressed cruiseship, with a few middle aged women thrown in.  There were lots of overweight peeps there too.  I was happy to see three new restaurants...more choices for when company comes to town and I don't want to cook.  We wandered around and left.  Its not a huge casino but it is pretty, on the inside.

Last night around seven Aryn arrived, spending the night on her way to Alberta.  I cooked her some fish, poured her a glass of wine and we sat back and watched Master Chef and Last Comic Standing.  Its soooo much more fun watching tv WITH someone than by yourself.  That may be why I never have the tv on anymore.  She went to bed around ten and up this morning by six and on her way.  

Next Fri. night, three of Monte's friends are needing a place to crash.  They are coming up for a rock climbing something or other.  Its handy for people to just stay here.  I love it.  In and out!

I want to write a wee note here to Jan, Rob's mom.  I am so happy you found this site and yes, its completely alright to sit and read it all!!  Welcome!!  I just hope I don't bore you to death.  My life is pretty mundane, as you probably found out!

Well, here are the next two items to go.  It feels so good to purge all this crap right out of my life.  I am totally committed to emptying this place.  Later I am meeting a very dear old friend, Maureen, for tea.  We go waaaaay back.  They lived beside us out in Westsyde when I was fifteen.  Kathy and I used to babysit her kids.  I would go over there so I could smoke!  Maureen and I have spent many many hours together over the years.  One summer I borrowed my Dad's truck and she and I and our kids tandem drove and camped through the Kootenays. I haven't seen her since Mom's funeral and I just found out she lives right below me...we are practically neighbours!
TTYL

YOU CAN'T TELL IN THIS PIC, BUT THIS LAPTOP THINGY IS SPARKLY

A LOVELY DECOUPAGED BED TRAY!!  HAHA....AND OUT SHE GOES!