LAST POST TIL MAY 1ST

Off to Mexico and I am leaving lappy behind.  I am definitely going to have separation anxiety!  I don't go anywhere without it but this time I think its safer leaving it here.  I heard that the wifi is less than stellar where we are going so there is no point.  Its just going to seem weird...this thing is my attached sidekick.

So final post for a week.  The trip down was totally uneventful and beautiful.  I left Kamloops at 11 on the dot and checked into the hotel at 2:30.  Tank did really well actually.  I still had to wrangle her to keep her on the road but I am getting so I can predict her harsh and erratic movements quick enough to counteract them.

April's birthday dinner was for six at Andrea's, all the way back at Lonsdale.  I was at Capilano road.  Also I heard that the traffic was absolutely terrible due to an accident.  So I left at ten after five.  There was no traffic all the way there!  And I got a parking space.  I was there within ten minutes, half hour early as usual.  But at least there was no traffic.

When I went in Myles's parents and Bakka (sp?) were already there.  I finally got to meet them!  And they were even more delightful than I already expected!  I had met Gary once before briefly but I got to actually talk with him this time.  And let me tell you...he was soooo much like Myles it was crazy.  Both really good looking boys!  Bakka was so gentle and sweet.  I loved meeting her.  And Heli, her name is Helen too but we go by Heli and Helly!.  She was funny and charming and so entertaining!  I totally enjoyed meeting her and sharing stories and comparing notes!!!  She sure had me laughing!  April and Aryn looked so pretty, I was totally proud of both of them.  We had such a fantastic evening!  I love this Andrea's tradition and I hope that Heli and Gary and Bakka can be with us every year!

Yesterday morning I was sitting in the little breakfast eating area at the hotel, minding my own business, eating bacon, sausage and toast...there were no eggs.  Suddenly down my back, back of my pants around to the side and front I felt an extremely cold liquid hit me!  It was so cold it made me gasp!

I looked down and saw I was covered with milk, cereal, yoghurt and fruit.  There was so much of it it was dripping off me onto the floor.  A woman behind me tipped her bowl of food off her tray right smack all over me.  That poor thing was totally mortified!!!  She almost started crying.  Her husband ran and got some warm damp cloths and between us all mopped the mess up.  Crap!!!  I needed those clothes I was wearing!  It was my airplane outfit.

Fortunately it was only about 6:30 am.  So I whipped back to my room, stripped, showered, washed my clothes whilst in the shower, rung 'em out, rolled them in towels and walked on them, pulled a chair over to the big fan blowing heater unit, and took the next two hours drying them.  And I got them all dry!  I learned some tricks from Spod, he was always having to wash his pants out!  hee hee

I came over to Cookie's and spent an awesome enjoyable afternoon playing with Darren's three and a half year old mischievous little monkey! What an adorable little stinker he is!  I just love listening to them talk at this age...their ideas, their accents, their little temper tantrums and attention getting moves.  He was truly a lot of fun.  Cookie went to work around four and Darren came to pick up Rylon.  And he stayed for a delicious dinner that Brian cooked.  We had a wonderful time.

I have to mention something here.  Brian.  That guy!!!  He went into that kitchen and made salmon, potatoes and vegetables.  A lot of the time Rylon was in there with him and Brian was so patient and taught him a whole bunch of things.  I was so impressed.  Then we ate the delicious meal and while Darren and I visited, Brian cleaned the whole kitchen and did all the dishes.  After Darren left, Brian went around and put a thousand toys away, put all the furniture back where it belonged, cleaned the kid's room...til the house was spotless. I can't even imagine being married to someone who would do all that.  Darling Spod never even once changed a diaper!!!

Now its Saturday, we leave at ten tomorrow morning.  Cookie is dying her hair and packing and doing those last minute things, I am posting here and this afternoon we are going out to do some last minute shopping.  Off to the fat lady store to try to find a tank top....they aren't easy to find.  Then off to the drugstore to get immodium...I've seen those commercials!!!  We have to get up at five thirty tomorrow morning so we shall be getting to bed early tonight.

I shall post pics here next week.  Have a good week people and TTYL

PACKING....FINALLY

I got called away and didn't post this.  When I got back I reread it and it was so negative I deleted it...I thought.  Just now I have come back to do a post and it was back!  So I am going to leave it with my apologies for the blackness.........

I decided I had better get packing!  So I hauled all my summer stuff out and ironed and tried stuff on and made decisions.  I remember when Spod and I first started travelling I super enjoyed this part.  But I don't so much any more.  I always end up taking way too much.

I got most of my shopping out of the way.  I spent yesterday at the mall, not something I generally do.  But what made it pleasant was Anne met me there and we spent most of the day sitting in the food court talking.  Jeez, she and I could talk the hind leg off anything.  We just never run out of stuff to talk about!

Molly is getting on my last nerve!  Twice now I have been on my way through the house to somewhere, in my bare feet, and stepped right smack into soft crappity crap.  You have no idea how much this just pisses me right off.  I put that stupid dog out all the time...there is no excuse for this.

So, this morning I got up really early, needed to head down to the dr's office to make an appointment, and I am heading to the kitchen and smack, right into one of her little gifts.  God I was mad!!!  So I opened the front door, hollering at her the whole time, and booted her out.  She frigging knows better.  Well, after cleaning it all up, including between my toes, I went out front to get her and she was gone.  Man! I was tempted to just shut the door and leave her.  But then I got thinking about the family and how they would be so mad at me.  Totally unfair.

I went out and hunted and called and hunted and called some more.  It was too early to really holler loud but she is quite deaf so I know she couldn't hear me.  That dog was gone and I had no time for this.

  Finally, I went down the street a ways...no dog.  Then I went up the street a ways....no dog.  But as I was standing there wondering if dog ownership is really worth it, when I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye.  That stupid dog was cowering and simpering under the stand of mailboxes.  I marched over and grabbed her and brought her home.  She skulked off under the dining room table.  Poor dog.  I kind of feel sorry for her...but not really.

  I have been down to the doctor and back, gone about 1 and a half hours and when I got home there was a huge puddle of pee in the middle of the kitchen floor.  Seriously.  I think her end time is coming.  If she can't do better than that then she is done.  I am not going to have crap all over my house and it isn't good for her to be in trouble all the time either. 

That is what I had tried to delete, but it came back...to haunt me.  I am such a bad dog owner.  You should see her right now.  I will see if I can get a picture of her.

Today was Kiwanis day.  Our meeting was held over at the Science Centre.  Jeez we had fun.  I will post a couple of pics to show some of the fun we had.  I also got all the banking done.  Not so easy.  I lost my driver's license.  After hunting everywhere I remembered I had put it in my pocket when I went into the hospital.  Thank God I remembered!  Such a pain in the butt.  Anywhoo, I sign off now.  More ironing to get to.  TTYL

AREN'T WE LOVELY!!

I KNEW SHE WAS A WITCH

WHERE IS MOLLY?  SHE IS THERE!!!

THERE SHE IS, UNDER THE LAPTOP

HELLO!!!  HER FAVE SPOT TO LAY, RIGHT BETWEEN MY KNEES UNDER THE LAPTOP!

TODAY WAS THE DAY! A QUICK UPDATE

Well yesterday was rough, not going to lie.  The stuff I had to drink wasn't all that bad in the end but it sure worked.  I must have been up ten times in the night.  But the real tough deal was going on in my head.  I am such a big baby.  I was so scared of what was going to be said after the scope.

So I got up super early this morning and showered and dressed and cleaned the kitchen and Kathy arrived right on time, bless her.  It just felt so good having her along, reassuring me.  My stomach was doing flip flops and I wasn't even hungry, even after two days of not eating.  I am definitely NOT a stress eater...quite the opposite.

So off we went and before you could say Bob's your uncle I was on a rolly bed under a warm banket having an iv put in.  They could NOT find a vein.  Finally they called a specialist who put it in the crook of my arm, not the normal spot but it worked perfectly.

And I must say, I felt and remember nothing.  And everyone was so awesome and friendly.  When I woke up I was sitting in the bed in recovery with cookies and cheese and gingerale in front me.  What more could one want????  After a few minutes Kathy arrived, in time to hear what the doctor had to say.  And its a good thing because later I remembered nothing!

We then went to Whitespot for a breakfast.  I ate the Nat Baily special....two pancakes, two over easy eggs, two sausages, two bacon and hash browns.  Mmmmmmmm...I was so euphorically relieved and happy.  Then she brought me home.

After about an hour the phone rang and it was the Dr.'s office, setting up appointments and surgery!!!  What????  I didn't remember any of that part!  So I phoned Kathy and bless her heart she did!  Apparently there was a really big polyp, a suspicious one, that he couldn't snip.  They did a biopsy and sent it away for pathology.  But it has to come out, along with a portion of my colon.  So that operation is set for June 17th and any follow up will depend on what pathology finds out.  So Its a really good thing I went in when I did.  As for the actual colonoscopy I would go through that any day!  So easy and everyone was so pleasant and happy.

Now I am in my rocking chair with Molly on top of me and I am fading fast...TTY

PS:  thank you all you wonderful people that sent me so much info and support.  You were all right!

BOXES!!!

Its been a pretty good two days!  Jocelyn and Ainsley came up on Tuesday afternoon.  So did Kathy!  Jo wanted to see the colour of my grey I used on my walls.  Its a very difficult colour to get just right and the grey I used stayed grey.  It didn't turn bluish or pinkish or greenish, it stayed grey.

So Kathy came up too and we had tea and convo and watched Ainsley play with Molly and react to Willie.  She is such a good little girl.

At four thirty the young fellow showed up with a bunch of logs and a drill.  It took him only about a half hour and boom! he had the two garden boxes built!  And they both only came to 260.00 assembled!  What a deal!  And they look fantastic.  I am going to use the 4x4 one strictly for tomatoes.  I really want to can tomatoes this year.

Yesterday, Wednesday, Sue, my handyman, showed up at nine.  The poor woman was trying to get the water to my fridge hooked up and it simply wasn't cooperating!  She ended up having to make at least two trips to Home Depot and it took her about three hours.  She doesn't like plumbing too so I am very grateful to her for doing this.  I now have ice and water!!!  So exciting.  

Well today is prep day for the colonoscopy tomorrow.  If any of you have been through this procedure you will know of what I speak.  I shant go into it here obviously but.......I watched poor Spod have to do this and it was so so awful for him.  That poor man.  At least I am not sick and I am at home.  And the stuff you have to drink tastes like pure crap...oh my God it is awful.  You'd think they could do something about that.  They can put a man on the moon for heaven's sake, why can't they make this crap taste better...even Tang would be better than this!

  Anyway the rest of my day is very predictable and I ain't going anywhere!  I just realized that after tomorrow is over I will only have five days to get packed up and ready for Mexico!  Eeeek!  I am so not ready.  I did find the suitcase I want to use and brought it up from downstairs.  Thats a start!  Anywhoo...gotta bounce.  TTYL

THIS IS THE TOMATO ONE.  THAT FACE OVER THERE IS THE CEMENT CAST OF MY FACE THAT APRIL MADE IN COSMETOLOGY SCHOOL

BIRTHDAY SHENANIGANS

Well, shenanigans might be a wee bit of a stretch.  We had a wonderful bbq in Jo and Craigs wonderful back yard.

After a lovely day that started at MacD's in the play area, it moved on to Costco.  What day isn't awesome that includes those two places.  I also stopped at the bulk store, another one of my fave places!

I needed to pop in to Save On and as I walked past Starbuck's outside seating area I spotted Ron, an old old friend of the family's.  I haven't seen him in forever so I sat down with him for a couple of hours and had a serious catch up!  He has a huge security company in town here and is always looking for employees.  Monte has his security license so this may be a win win.  I didn't bring it up though.  Another day.

I headed down to Jo and Craig's at four for Kathy's birthday bbq.  His parents, from Savona were there and his cousin Elena who lives in Kathy's suite, and her parents from Chetwyn.  (I have no idea how to spell either Elena or Chetwin)  Her dad is Craig's uncle.  We had a fantastic time.  The food was amazing...bbq'ed lamb burgers and greek salad.  Instead of cake we had a huge fruit platter with chocolate dip and strawberry dip.  As it cooled off and the sun set Craig lit his outdoor firepit.  It was awesome!!!!  I want one!!

Now I am waiting for the sprinkler guy to come and fix that little knob.  The mow guys came this morning.  It's forty bucks a visit and seriously? there is nothing to mow right now.  That grass is greening up but it isn't growing just yet.  I haven't even looked into the back yard yet.  I bought two gorgeous hydrangeas at costco yesterday.  So I must figure out where to plant them.  They are a gorgeous deep pink.  Way better than the blue.  So I go now...get some more house done.  TTYL

THIS IS ED.  MONTE IS ATTENDING HIS FUNERAL TODAY IN PORT ALBERNI

HE IS STAYING WITH PAT AND ANGE...HIS FRIENDS, ED LIVED IN AN APARTMENT BELOW THEM ACROSS THE STREET FROM WHERE MONTE LIVED.  THIS PIC IS A COUPLE YEARS OLD.

CRAIG AND KERRY AND AWESOME FIREPIT

JOJO

BIRTHDAY GIRL

CURLERS AND TARTS

The garden guys didn't come.  Dangit!!!  I got a message on fb that he was super sick and in bed so they are coming on Tuesday.  That was a little disappointing.

Last night Kathy and Kerry had an appy soire.  There were about fifteen people there.  We had such a fantastic time.  I am just not used to having social good times.  I always thought I wouldn't really like these things but it turns out I am wrong.

Yesterday was the first super warm day.  It was so warm that we all sat outside in their front yard and it was balmy and warm (like 22 degrees at nine at night...that is 71 in americanese).  The food was delicious (pulled pork, coleslaw, buns, and all sorts of appetizers and butter tarts).   And half the group, some I was meeting for the first time, have been to Maui and stayed in my condo!  It was so cool to meet them!

It was April's birthday yesterday.  On the 21st of April, on my way to Mexico, I am going to go early and spend one night on the north shore and take her and Myles (and I would love Myles's parents to come too) to Andrea's for dinner.  That was the first place we went when I got out of the hospital after having her.  She was at Andrea's before she was home!!!!

Yesterday I had butter tarts and coleslaw to make but I took an hour to go down stairs and fish through one of my many disorganized boxes of photos.  I rounded up about fifteen pics of April through the years. I took pics of them with my camera then posted them on facebook.  Some of them were cute as hell and some of them...not so much!  Ahhhh...the power that parents have!

When I got home last nite post soire,  a very bouncy happy Molly met me at the door.  I kind of stepped over her and headed for the front door to let her out when I noticed something really odd about her from the corner of my eye.  I scooped her up and she was covered with velcro curlers!  That little stinker had been into my tray under my side table by my chair in the kitchen!!  I use those curlers cuz I can't get a perm and there were about eight of them stuffed under the stuff down there.  They were all over her!!!  and boy were they ever stuck!!!  It took me half an hour to get them out, her yelping the whole time!  She looked ridiculous!!!

Speaking of Molly, the other day I let her out for a pee.  That was the day the poop bucket got blown around.  The wind was hella strong.  Molly walked down to the end of the sidewalk and she stopped, facing the wind.  She was looking regal and lovely, wind blowing her hair straight back in a wavy flow, face lifted into the wind.  I was watching her and in the middle of thinking that she was a good looking dog she suddenly  was flipped right over and she tumbled ass over teakettle right across the lawn and smack into the fence.  God it was soooo funny.  She got up and with great difficulty got herself back around the side of the house without the wind.

Well I gotta go clean a Willie cage.  It stinks and poor Willie aint happy.  Plus I am hungry.  Gotta find some dinner.  TTYL

HEALTH CHECK

Down 45 pounds, check.
Blood sugar averaging 4, check
Blood pressure stays about 120 over 70, check
Walking, mostly, check
Colonoscopy....still pending...April 15th

Just gotta get over that last one and I will be able to breathe a big sigh of relief and happiness.

I have a bucket, not a huge one, it originally came with cleaning supplies in it.  I also have a plastic pooper scooper.  We use that to put the poops in and tuck it under the part of the front porch area thats easy to get to but kind of out of sight.

The mowing guys came by on Monday and I guess they picked it up and set it up on the front porch.  Well a wicked harsh wind came along.  It lasted quite a while.  Blew crap all over the place in the neighbourhood, and literally at my house.  When I went out after the storm there was Molly crap all over the front porch, down the side deck to the back deck and all over the back deck.  The bucket was blown into the far corner of the back deck.  SHOVEL LIST.

Wow I typed this yesterday then life took over!  I ran down to Kathy's and looked after Ainsley for a couple of really fun hours.  Most of that time was spent bouncing a ball of silly putty off the floor and she would run after wherever it landed and bring it back.  But before putting it in my hands she would rip it to pieces!  You forget what simple things keep little ones happy.

I got home in time to meet the underground sprinkler guy.  He was here to set it all up and check it out.  My job was to run up and downstairs turning the water on and off.  So after an hour or so, replacing caps and sprinkler tops etc... we had it programmed and up and running.  This morning when I stumbled out to the kitchen I heard that dreaded noise...water running somewhere!  I dashed outside and the little cap that he had replaced on the guts right up beside the house blew.  Water everywhere!  And it looks like it happened a while ago.  So downstairs again and shut the water off.  I shall be calling them later!

Monte is now in Victoria.  He spent the night in the funkiest hotel I have ever seen.  You should google it!  Hotel Zed.  Its retro to the extreme.  The rooms are funky colours, have rotary dial phones, typewriters, old school alarm clocks and a comic book.  Bikes, helmets, longboards and a 60's volkswagon bus shuttle to anywhere you want (and they pick you up later) are all free.  Its right downtown Victoria.

So I don't know if you remember me mentioning Peter before.  He lived here in Kamloops and helped take care of the house here when I was gone for a month in Maui.  He is truly the most awesome guy, dear to my heart!  Well, I suggested to Monte he call Peter and take him out for dinner, my treat.  I miss that guy.  So he did and did!  They went to Pags for seafood lasagna and I talked to Peter after dinner for a minute.  I think they are meeting up this morning too.  Monte is actually there to go to court to straighten out ICBC's mistake when they said he didn't have a licence..and he did.  He goes to court at one then off to Port Alberni for a week.  He has both a funeral and a wedding to attend.

Well somehow my house has descended into mess again.  Guess what I am going to be doing for the next couple hours?  I also have to go get money from the bank to pay the guys tonight for my raised garden beds.  I know it would be easier and cheaper to just go to the farmers market and buy the veggies, but this is more...wholesome.  Its like going fishing.  Jeez, we not only had a forty thousand dollar boat...that cost 100 bucks in gas every time we went out, but we built a whole log house to accommodate those fishing trips.  I think we calculated once that every fish we caught was upwards of sixty thousand dollars!  But it isn't just the end product, its the getting it!

So I am up and over at the kitchen sink.  Have a great day today people...you never know how long ya got!!!  TTYL

IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN

Ayeyiyiyi!  Soooooo much paper work.  Now I don't claim to be the sharpest pencil in the pencil case but I am no dummy either.  And I have been sending things off to accountants since 1982...and it never gets easier.  In fact I spent this week end in a state of confusion alternating with panic.  I know there are lots of people out there with an IQ of about 100.  How do they survive?  Does revcan give them a break I don't know about?  They must!  I don't even DO the taxes, I have a hell of time just getting the crap together for the guy who DOES do them.  Accountants are gods....unless they are not.

Thank goodness Monte and I sorted all the paper work in this house.  By doing so I knew absolutely what papers were ready and what ones had disappeared forever somehow.  And we have learned the hard way that if you miss declaring even one dime those bastards will come after you with a vengeance and take your first born if they have to.  

So I spent a great portion of the weekend sitting at the dining room table going through files, printing off charitable donation receipts, reading bank statements, finding missing bits etc.  I made a trip to the bank and ordered two new T5's that mysteriously disappeared.  I hopped into the post office and paid twenty five bucks to express post the whole mess down to Aryn.  Bless her heart.  She is adding some stuff and taking it to our accountant.  Feels good to have it done though.

Other than that I don't have huge amounts to report.  I think I am going to have to do something about people coming to the door though.  Its so annoying.  Random people selling stuff or offering services or soliciting donations, constantly come to the door.  This was not something that happened much in Vancouver but here in Kamloops the front door is fair game.

Today I was busy.  I was finishing the taxes, I was paying bills online, I was on the phone a whole lot with peeps and the stupid doorbell kept going off. (Big time shovel list)   JW's (really!  I couldn't believe it was them, haven't seen them in yonks), girl guides selling cookies, an old dude looking for cancer donations (he was lucky I had my phone to my ear or.....), my landscaping guy, food bank......where is Parker when I need him?!!!  I think I will put up a fence and a gate with a big keep out sign.  I am slowly but surely becoming one of those weird hermitty people that just wants to be left alone.

Thats all I have to report for now.  I am tired and I think I am going to hit the sack early.  I always wake up around three and thats it...can't go back to sleep.  Means I get too tired too early in the evening.  Nitynite!!  TTYL

JEEPER JEEPS VERSUS OWNER JEEPS

As I boot about town, wrangling my harsh and erratic jeep into submission, jerking from side to side and hitting the roof occasionally whilst going over speed bumps, I noticed a certain phenomenon.  As I passed other jeeps, the driver would give a two finger signal. After about the hundredth time it happened, I came to the conclusion that this must be a wave that happens between jeepers.  So I googled it and boy did I find out stuff!

There IS such a thing as a jeep wave.  Its based on how many points your jeep has...where it falls into the hierarchy of a very interesting point system, which I shant go into in depth but let me say this...I am sure glad I bought a two door and not a four door.  The four door jeeps are considered owner jeeps...towny sissy jeeps..and they don't deserve an initiated wave by a jeeper (two door jeep owner).  Two door jeeps, being much more difficult to control, more dangerous and just plain cooler, have more points than the four door jeeps, therefore those owners need to wave first.  

And the web page went on to explain the point system...points for mud (you lose points for shiny clean jeeps), battle scars, big tires, holes above the glove box where the grip bar has been ripped out etc...  Who knew?  there's this whole jeep world out there and I am definitely a Jeeper....not an owner.  There have been a couple of people drive my jeep and had trouble.  This little vehicle aint for them!

I am getting my raised garden boxes next Thursday!!!!  I am so excited now its really happening.  One is 4X8 and the other is 4X4.  They even put them together when they deliver them and they were half the price Lyon's was charging for one 4X4.  I will probably have to extra water them but if I am gone for a few days the built in sprinklers will give them enough water to survive.  Maybe I will run a couple of soakers down the middle of them.

I have been in touch with my real estate lady in Maui.  She is sending a price list and contract as we speak.  I have talked with the kids and we just might not go back.  I told her to go ahead a sell the place as soon as she can.  I think the hardest part is that that condo is the last place Spod was.  None of our vehicles or houses or anything was ever his so it makes it hard.

Monte is off tomorrow for Vancouver and then the Island, home on the fifteenth.  Two whole weeks!  That Eric Carmen song is going through my head, "All by myseeeeeeelf,  I don't wanna be all by myself anymore"  but I DO want to be by myself for a while!  Haha...O solo mio.....lalalalalal.  Alright, enough of this silly crap.  TTYL