HOME AGAIN HOME AGAIN JIGGITY JIG

Well I am back in my comfy chair, home James home.  As much as I loved seeing everybody it is so good to be back in my wee home in the west.  

I had a great time with Kathy and Kerry, as usual.  They are the kindest most thoughtful people you would want to be related to.  And they have the most comfortable bed I have slept in in forever!

On Tuesday we went to the Kiwanis meeting and wasn't that a boost to my ego!  There was such an outpouring of hugs and people happy to see me.  And doesn't that do the heart good!  And a super good meeting was had. What a great bunch of people.

That morning Stirling was dropped off for Omi and Granddaddy to babysit.  After the meeting we grabbed Stirling and went and picked up Ainsley from kindergarten and headed up to Costco.  I seriously don't know how Kathy does it.  I know I used to but I don't know how good I would be at this now.  At 2 & 5 you can't just tell them to pipe down and be quiet for a few minutes.  They must have said 'Omi, Omi, Omi, Omi, Omi" five million times.  And she would patiently say, "don't interrupt.  You wait until we are finished talking."  Stirling was pretty good at stopping but I noticed Ainsley wouldn't.  Wow!!!  Kathy is so patient and good with them.   I would go crazy!!!!

They are the cutest kids.  When I got there on Monday night, the kids and Craig were at Kathy's and right smack in the middle of dinner.  So I sat down between the two kids and proceeded to dish up.  Kathy had made a lovely chicken and mushroom dish and as I was dishing up I looked at Ainsley and said something like, "Omi is tricking you.  This is rabbit!  Its not chicken, it looks like rabbit."  Well jeez the look on her face!  I quickly told her I was joking though.  Meanwhile, somewhere in there Stirling says, "Auntie Hallen, I love you."  Ahhhhh melts the heart it does!

After we dropped the kids off at home Kathy and I headed down to the hospital to see Alice.  Her mom and dad and a friend were there as well.  We had a good, if you can put it that way, visit with her. She seemed to be in shock a little.  They were taking her to Vancouver cancer centre on Thursday it seemed, for how long I am not sure.  She was about to see her oncologist for a more definitive prognosis and plan.  It was hard to see her laying there with the stuffing almost all knocked out of her.  But she still had a little left, dropping the F bomb on occasion!

On Wed. I had lunch at the Stockpot, our place, with Anne.  We were there for 21/2 hours talking non stop, caught up on all the newsies.  I had so hoped to meet up with Leanne and Amy and Kathy Macgregor.  But there just wasn't enough time.

On Thursday I went and had my hair done, it took about three hours.  She does an amazing job.  Right now it looks like a Brillo pad but I can tell it will settle down to exactly what I want.  That evening we went down to Craig and Jo's and had a delicious dinner and spent some time with them.  And Craig asked if he could hitch a ride down to Langley with me the next morning.  

It was great to have someone with me.  Makes the trip go by so much faster.  And we hit snow, real snow between Kamloops and Merritt.  The kind of snow that will be staying.  And watching the news this morning, the Coquihalla is already closed!!!  People just go tooooo fast!  So that will be my last trip to my family or my grandkids until spring.  I hate driving in the snow.  Maybe they can come see us!  That would sure be awesome and a shock. It ain't gonna happen!!  LOL!!  Now its time to scramble and get ready to go cruising next Monday.  Pack time!

And right now, and for the last almost three weeks, there has been dining room table, with no legs, laying on my dining room floor.  On Tuesday they are delivering the right one, we hope, and taking away the legless wrong one.  We'll see, I am NOT holding my breath!  TTYL

THE WRONG TABLE, ON MY FLOOR, BEEN THERE FOR ALMOST THREE WEEKS NOW

ANNE AND I MANY MOONS AGO

STIRLING

AINSLEY AND I, COMPARING OUR CURLS

SAD SAD NEWS

I have written numerous times about Scary Alice.  My wonderful housekeeper that Kathy recommended.

I truly miss her.  I have Millie now in Port Alberni and as good as Millie is, she ain't no Alice.  (she doesn't empty my garbages like Alice did...shovel list).  I was happy to pay fifteen bucks more just for that.

Alice would arrive at the house, tell me a story about Brandy her dog for the tenth time in long great detail, then start cleaning....like a speed demon.  And the place would be sparkling and squeaky clean when she was done.

Well Alice woke up a few weeks ago with a pain in her chest.  She went to the doctor, which would be hard for her.  She was terrified of needles and body interference of any sort, so my hats off to her for going.

They found cancer, and by the sounds of it, everywhere.  It started in her lungs and moved to her brain etc...  Don't smoke people.  She smoked. Not heavily but obviously enough to do this to her.

So I am feeling  sad today.  She wasn't my best friend, she wasn't the easiest person in the world, she was a crusty, swearing, smelling of smoke, too talkative, endearing person and I already miss her.

TTYL

I LOVE THESE LITTLE GUYS

I haven't really said a whole lot about my grandchildren or even really have pics.  Not like Cookie and Kathy or Anne.  It might be because I am not around them quite as much but I do get lots of reports from the kids and pics from Kevin and Tandy.

Fenton is 11, about to turn twelve on Halloween night!  Elise is turning nine on Oct. 9.  The most outstanding thing about them is their reading.  Both of them come in first or close to in their school for the reading competitions.  Right now Fenton is reading a great big very fat book on the Greek Gods and Elise is reading a big fat fantasy book.

I have had a lot of fun with them this week.  I pick Elise up from school.  Its quite a ways away so I get to spend a little time with her and she is just the most engaging happy kid.  And she has a wicked sense of humour.

Yesterday and today Fenton isn't feeling well, not horribly sick, but not well so he is home.  Yesterday we spent a good portion of the day watching battle bots.  I LOVE that show so I fired it up on youtube.  He hadn't seen it before and loved it as much as me.  The rest of the time he was putting together lego elastic shooters.

Later after piano, supper, swimming, parent teacher interviews, dishes, recycling, garbage duty, basketball and baths and teeth, (some of it Fenton didn't do because of being sick, but thats their pretty regular routine) we watched really old Disney cartoons that April recommended.  I thought Elise was going to die laughing!

Last night, while Tandy was at work, Kevin had four of his friends over for board game night.  So we cleaned up the house, lit incense because I had made subjit and the house was smelling very dinnerish, got the dog put away and they all arrived.  And for snacks, these guys were not into 'appies', they had many types of chips, two different kinds of mixed nuts, two bags of pirate cookies, dad's oatmeal cookies, Diet Coke and Perrier.  And sitting on my laptop in the living room listening, they sounded like a bunch of twelve year olds.  Really.

There is no tv in this house.  Never has been.  There is only Kevin's laptop and one old iPad.  And any time the kids get on the iPad is earned.  They get paid in minutes for chores.  So if they want an hour on Friday night, they have had to have booked up one hour's worth of chore time.  For example they get 20 minutes for bumping their laundry hamper downstairs, washer, dryer, couch to fold, back into hamper, bump upstairs and put it all away.  Twenty minutes!  Five for unloading or loading the dishwasher.  Five for sweeping.  Ten for cleaning their room once a week.  etc.....  It shows too.  They are really responsible, avid readers, and chore doers.  Expectations.  They live up or down to them.

This weekend I need to go to Naramata to have a look at a potential mortgage property.  I also brought painting stuff to do with the kids.  And we will be taking their giant humungous dog to a beautiful park on the lake out there.  The last time we were there we could hear an owl and we spent a bunch of time hunting for it up in the trees that surrounded the park.  We had Wrangler with us that time.  I miss him :(

I have been cooking up a storm since I got here.  I have been making big bunches and freezing future suppers.  Tonight though we are having leftovers and tomorrow night its sushi night!  And I ain't making it!  LOL!!  We shall be going out for that.

I head to Kamloops on Monday.  I am meeting various ones for lunches.  I also want to go out to the storage unit and make an attempt to find the standing Indian statues that were on Bill's funeral table.  I want to put them where the bent box was. Seems fitting.

Anywhooo gotta bounce.  Have a good day!!!  TTYL

I tried to put some pics here and it just says, "sorry we can't put any pictures on your blog."  No reason why, just no.  Stupid freaking blogspot. Got it to work....said so easily.

THE OLDSTERS.....RETREAT TIME IN SOMEWHAT 70'S CLOTHES

THE YOUNGSTERS....PRETTY GIRLS

YEAH, LETS GET THE BIG BLISTER TO LAY DOWN ON EVERYONE. YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN THE LOOK OF TERROR ON COOKIE'S FACE AS I CAME IN FOR A LANDING!

YAHTZEE TIME!

SO MUCH......

Well starting where I left off:

Gate:  April got the loveliest email back from the head of the strata.  She stated that that gate had been a problem for quite some time and she was going to go to the board to see what can be done about it.  So take that you sanctimonious asshole!

Lunch:  Was awesome!!!  I met Clare and Tish up in their beautiful condo.  Truly magnificent!  They were in such good form, both are over 90.  I can only hope that I will be that sharp when I get up there.

Tish is in a wheelchair because of a hip problem, but she was funny, outgoing, and so sweet.  And Clare was his usual awesome self.  He is our last human link to Bill and we can reminisce about Bill days with him, which is so precious.  

We left their place and walked, Clare pushing Tish, a block across from them to a lovely Italian restaurant.  Lunch was fantastic.  Such a good time.  We ate and visited.  Such a wonderful lunch.  I promised Clare I would arrange a lunch when Aryn could join us.  Aryn just loves them and wants to see them soon too.

When I left them I went to Whole Foods and got stuff for dinner.  Its a new Whole Foods and outrageously expensive, but fun to shop in once in a while.  I noticed though that there were no mom's with babies or families in there.  I think its a store for single people that, being North Vancouver, eat less than two ounces of food a day.

Baka was supposed to come for dinner, thus the reason I was shopping.  April was picking her up after 4 when she finished school up at the university.  But, she left on time but she didn't get anywhere.  After sitting on the road right beside the school for twenty minutes, it became clear that no one was going anywhere soon.  Something had happened.  So she pulled a youie (how the hell do you spell that?) and went back to her classroom, which was full of all the other students who couldn't get out, and did homework.  She couldn't get out of there until after 6!  too late for Baka.  I was super disappointed.  I really really looked forward to seeing her.

The next morning I left at noon, went to Costco in Abbotsford, met Aryn and Christine there and we tandemed up to Sunshine Valley, met Cookie and Emily and Kathy at the gate and on to the most magnificent chalet ever.  After the Crap Castle in Princeton, this place looked like a five star accommodation. 

So, today I am going to load pics onto my lappy here and then tomorrow I will write about the incredible crazy weekend we had and load up some pics.  I will also post a pic of the winning slippers in our slipper contest!!!  TTYL

F*CKITY F*CKITY F*CK

Jeez! what a couple of days.  I left home yesterday (seems like a week ago) in the morning and caught the 1 pm ferry and arrived at April and Myles at around four.  We had the slowest ferry captain ever.  It took him 15 min. to dock AFTER rounding the corner into Horseshoe Bay.  Seriously!  Either he was new and in training or there was something wrong with the ferry they weren't telling us about.  Come to think of it the ferry listed to the left (port? starboard?) through the whole trip.  (shovel list)

I found parking in the meagre guest parking spots near their apartment.  You can't leave your vehicle there overnight so later I went to move the jeep around to their place, unload with help cuz its such heavy stuff, then go park on the street somewhere.

I parked parallel to a fence with a big walk through gate, that wouldn't stay shut.  When I got out I tried to shut it and it just wouldn't stay shut.  Annoying but who cares.

Later when I went to move and unload I noticed the open gate in the passenger side mirror and it was very near the side of my truck, just behind the back door, but not touching.  But as I drove away I felt a mild bump.  I didn't pay much attention.

We unloaded, I checked the truck and nothing, and went back the way I came to go park on the street. Well a Dudley Doo Right was jumping up and down and waving at me to stop, which I did.  "You hit the fence and broke the gate" he states.  I saw the gate's lower hinge had been broken.  Right away I knew what happened.  As I drove away the little piece of the back bumper that sticks out must have hooked the gate, which shouldn't be sticking out into auto area anyway, and pulled it and broke the bottom hinge.

OMG!!  Mr Do Right was extremely patronizing, condescending and passive aggressive.  I wanted to smack his smarmy face, the asshole.  He started to lecture me about how one should do a walk around before driving and what if that gate had been his little girl?  Hmmm?  Hmmm?  Fuckadoodle!!!  So I said, "Well you wouldn't be getting any dad of the year awards would you now?"  Idiot.  And I did not hit the fence, any imbecile could see that.  Dumbass.  I finally got pissed and told him I had been driving for fifty years, longer than he's been alive.  Don't tell me how to drive.

I told him right away I would be letting strata know, not only because the gate broke, but that the gate is a hazard that needs to be fixed.  But he kept going on and on and taking pictures I finally drove away.  As soon as I got back we emailed the strata lady manager.  The kids know her.  If there is any problem from this I will go after them for allowing a hazard, that they have repeatedly been told about by the way, and it hasn't been fixed.

Sanctimonious, self appointed cop wannabes  suck.  I would rather be yelled at.  He made my teeth grit. 

I left Monte in charge of my waaaaaaay overdue dining table delivery.  This has been way too difficult for a pretty expensive delivery.  It's delivery date was today at 9 in the morning.  So Monte got up and was ready for them.  I had told him to take pics and send them right away as I am so excited to get it!

He phoned me and said "you aren't going to be happy."   WWWhhhhhhhhyyyyyyy?  They didn't send the legs with the delivery.  WHAT???  "and I thought you got a big table.  This is pretty small and why did you change it to a round one?"

Jesus H!!!!  Wrong table. No legs.  Now I am pissed.  So I immediately got on the phone and called Jim in Boston at Wayfair.  And now they are ordering me a new one.  Maybe I will have a table by Xmas.  Here's hoping!  In the meantime there is a small round table top laying on the floor in my dining room.  Grrrrrr!

Well I am off to have lunch with Clare and best of all?  He went up to the hospital and got Tish!  He has pushed her back to their apartment (not too far) and I am meeting them there and then off to lunch on Lonsdale.  I can't wait to see them.  They mean soooo much to our family.

Tonight Baka, Myles's gramma, is coming to dinner!  I am going to make fried chicken and veggies and I am going to buy rice a roni.  Myles made it in Langford and it was delicious!!!  And fruit for dessert.  I love visiting with Baka.  She truly is one of the most interesting people I have met in a very long time.  Her stories are fascinating.  What an awesome day!!!!  Three of my favourite people all in one day!!!!

Well I better go get dressed and give my poof a yank.  I shall report back soon.  TTYL


PS:  the email April got back from strata just now:

:

MUSIC

Music.  Such a common little word.  But there is very little in my world that can give me instant pleasure, interrupt my train of thought, move me to tears and feel pure joy as thoroughly and instantly as music.  It can also move me to intense distress too.

I don't know if I am the only one in the world (sounds pretty arrogant...shovel list), but I just can't listen to amazing, to me, music without crying.  And that isn't necessarily just in the privacy of my home either.  Doesn't matter who I am with or where I am, if REM's 'Everybody Hurts Sometimes" comes on, I am instantly in tears.  I have to apologize and hopefully not have to explain why.

Monte has hooked up my lappy to my incredible four foot high speakers. So I can sit in my comfy magnetic recliner and play music to my heart's content...magic!!!

Earlier today right after he hooked them up and got my google play going, I hunted for my first experience with this incredible setup.  I landed on, and I don't know why or how it happened, as this particular music hasn't been on my mind for yonks, Keith Jarrett's Kohn Concert.  Now that concert is one of my all time fave pieces of music, especially at the 21 minute mark.  The first 20 minutes is a buildup to that spot with little teasing hints of what was to come.  He magically takes the listener on an anticipatory excited buildup to that 21 minute mark.  Amazing music manipulator!!!  But I digress.

So....I put this precious forgotten piece of music on and with the first three notes I was transported to Jarrett land.  Oh my god!!!!  It took my breath away and I immediately started to anticipate, and had to keep myself from jumping to that magic spot at 21 minutes and by the time we got there I was full on crying.  Thank god I was by myself.  And when that moment came, it was everything and more than I remembered.  I can say honestly it didn't disappoint!

I have a number of memories attached to that wonderful album.  Although if I had never heard it before I know it would have reduced me to tears anyway.

But the most poignant memory I have is one of those moments in one's life that stand out in your memories...and you only have a few of those special memories.

It was 1996.  We had literally, that day, just finished moving into our new house.  I got our bedrooms set up.  In my bedroom there was a huge wall of window, facing south.  No curtains.  I had set my stereo up (always the first thing) and my rocking chair right beside it, facing out the window.  It was an October night, dark outside with a massive harvest moon slowly inching its way from the left side of my window to the right. 

 I grabbed a six year old Monte, my little man, settled him in that oh so familiar spot laying across my lap, head in the crook of my left arm, started the Kohn Concert, and rocked.  And for the next hour, tears dripping off my chin, I knew this was a memory that would be burned in my brain for eternity.  I can't even put it into words.  So I shan't even try.  If you are still reading....LOL!  thanks for listening.  TTYL

CHECKING IN

Rather than leave a giant gap between posts I thought I would just drop in and say.....basically nothing.  I have nothing to report.  Nothing has happened worth noting here.

I did make a trip to Walmart.  I can't believe how important a Walmart can be to a town.  I shan't be listening to any whining about how bad Walmart is anymore.  And if you are one of those, you know who you are, who are too snotty to go to a Walmart, I know who you are, you would be hooped.  Its the only show in town.  Need a trifle bowl?  Walmart. Need a garden box?  Walmart.  Need really cool slippers?  Walmart.  Need a toilet plunger?  Walmart.  Oh you could go to Canadian Tire and pay waaaaay more, if they even have it but eventually you become Walmart dependant.  Plus other than the mill they are the biggest employer in town and their employees are very happy campers here, (except for those two murdering teens. Apparently they didn't like working there.)

I also went and had a lunch at Quality Foods behind our house.  Watery beef barley soup, and a barely adequate tuna sandwich.  Won't be doing that again.

I also cleaned out the steampunk bedroom closet.  I emptied three big boxes and that was interesting. I always swear that I am going to remember where things are, and I never do.  But I did find a few things I need for my two trips coming up.

And that sums up my stellar three days since the last post.  I think tomorrow we are making a trip to Nanaimo.  I want to stop in at Coombs and pick up some things for the grand kids too.

So my plans are:  North Van on the 11th.  Lunch with Clare and Tish on the 12th...and dinner with April and Myles that same evening. Heading to the retreat in the Sunshine Valley at Hope on the 13th, with a stop at Costco in Abbotsford.  On to Penticton on the 16th, Kamloops on the 23rd and home on the 27th.  Then on the 7th of Oct Monte and I cruise to Hawaii til the 22.  Lots of packing and planning. So I don't mind if these few days before hand are kind of quiet.  TTYL

CINNAMON BUNS, BROWNIES, PRIME RIB ROAST, YORKSHIRE PUDDINGS, ROASTED VEGGIES.......

Guess what came to my kitchen today?  Yuppers!!!!!!  My new stove!!!  Finally!!!

I phoned the girl at the Brick who sold it to me yesterday and laid it on thick, whining and whinging about how I hadn't had a stove for ever so long and I needed one right now and how my daughter in North Van bought one a whole week or more after me and already had it in their place, and it was exactly the same stove.

  She told me that there was one,  yeah, one, in Delta.  Well I said a nasty word, which I do feel bad about, maybe, and had a hissy fit.  She then asked if I would like the floor model.  Yes please I said and today it arrived.  I stole a rack out of the old oven for camping and they hauled that stove  away.  So now I have a brand new one, at the ready, just waiting for yummy things to be baked!

But, no table in sight.  I phoned, yet again, to Wayfair.  The last batch of calls I was told that they would hunt through the warehouse in Victoria and find it.  The tracking showed it arrived there on August 6th.

Today I called him, and said where the hell is my table?  I mean how hard can it be to find a seven foot dining table?

So you know what gall he had to tell me?  Well it is between here and Boston where it originated and it has to cross the border you know and that can just simply take time.  WTF!!!!????  No, I patiently responded, IT'S ALREADY HERE!  IN VICTORIA WAREHOUSE! I HAVE AN EMAIL SAYING SO!!!  WANT ME TO SEND IT TO YOU?

Well the poor sod...he started to stutter and stammer and back track and mumble nonsensical stuff.  I finally interrupted and said, "You lost it and have sent me another one haven't you?"  "Well yes," he answers.  Achh fer geez!!!!  So I just have to wait.

I made a  trip into bylaw at city hall.  I paid my garbage effing bill then went downstairs to the bylaw people.  I first addressed the dog park thing and got totally stonewalled by an overweight, old geezer who just simply kept saying that he had been in other towns and dog parks are not monitored.  That there is no way to word it in the bylaws to make it possible.  Idiot. 

 So then before leaving, I showed him the date stamp on the garbage ticket envelope, a full week later than the date on the actual ticket.  So I put it back in my purse and said, and I quote, "and lastly, would you please pass a message on to the officers slithering around in the middle of the night looking for garbage receptacles, just for the purpose of writing a ticket, to get the time sensitive item into the freaking mail within the fourteen day deadline?  It just shouldn't be that hard, or maybe it is....it is a braindead profession after all."  Then I left.  And I am pretty sure I heard the girl at the desk snicker.

The next ticket I get will be for not having a license for Wrangler.  I refuse to pay some fat cat useless vet for a paper saying Wrangler is neutered.  I think I will just drag him in there and upend him and let them look.  Way cheaper and just as effective.

Cookie this next bit is for you....I remembered that I had bought a beautiful braided runner, basically red was the predominant colour.  So I put it in the kitchen.  It exactly runs from the dining room door to the stove.  Fits perfectly.  I will take a pic. 

 And you know that giant (you maybe don't as you didn't see the bunkbed room in Kamloops) pink and blue and yellow braided oval room rug?  Well I have put it in the dining room!  Its perfect!  The table will look fantastic on it.  I might not have done it though if I didn't have a housekeeper who will keep it all clean and lovely.

All for now.  TTYL

SEE MY NEW STOVE!!??

HOKEY DINAH!!!! LONG TIME NO POST!!!!

I totally blame Cookie!!!  Its her fault I haven't posted!!  The trouble is when I go this long I then can't remember anything!!!

Lets see....I know we ate bread.  I have that new bread machine and I made a couple of loaves.  And even if you are stuffed to the gills the smell of that bread baking forces you to eat that sucker as soon as it comes out of the machine.  I know people who have actually gotten rid of their bread machine because they put forty pounds on!!!

We went to Parksville twice.  I was without teeth almost the whole time she was here.  I mean seriously without any teeth!!!  Do you have any idea how humiliating that is? (shovel list)  My denturist is in Parksville and finally I did get them.  But I still felt pretty country bumpkin beside Cookie.

I mean first of all Cookie is the most well turned out woman I know.  She never has a wrinkle in her packed clothes, she is always colour coordinated,  she always takes a half hour in the morning to get ready for the day, she wears just the right amount of make up, she wears the perfect bits of jewelry.  And she eats politely and daintily, using knife and fork, even for spaghetti.  I simply cannot keep up with her.  I couldn't even if I spent my last living breath trying.

My hair is a fuzzy mess.  I haven't worn make up for years. I don't wear jewelry...I just lose it.  I can't find my iron so I am a wrinkled mess.    I don't have any teeth, slurring my words, gnawing my food out of the left side of my mouth where my last two teeth are, is humbling. I interrupt and don't listen and argue.  Sigh.  I don't know why she likes me.  But you know, I am going to keep trying to emulate her.  One day I might get there! I know how lucky I am she is my BFF.

We tooted around in Gladys.  In fact one day we went out to China Creek.  Its about fifteen miles along the very very dusty road towards Bamfield.  It was fun.  This is a road we have been over a million times in the past.  My main goal was to get some dust on that blinding red jeep.  Its an embarrassing beacon of attention gettingness.  We succeeded.  She is kind of lost a bit of her glow.

We drove around a lot looking at the old little quaint houses that make up a large part of Port Alberni.  This is an old old past time Cookie and I super enjoy.  We did this in Maui a lot too.  And when Bill was alive, he very very happily did the driving.  Some of the little houses here are so cute.  This was a fishing town and then it became a mill town in the past and it shows in the houses.

We also did a lot of sitting around and talking.  After all this IS me.  We never run out of things to talk about.  Never!  Sadly though I don't have a husband to complain about anymore.  Not that Cookie complains about Brian.  In fact she told me that he does all the dishes and vacuuming!!!!  Can you imagine that!!!!?   We discussed everything...a  lot I simply cannot repeat here.  Sacred convos between friends!!!

We did some shopping....groceries, Walmart, art gallery/gift shops.  But the best shopping, most successful, was at Dollarama!!!  It was like she had never been to a dollar store before!  Mind you this one is truly loaded and huge.

I never get out of a dollar store without a loaded cart of everything I can't live without.  Its amazing  how I can find stuff I need in there.  And seriously! I found all kinds of crap!!  A useless rug (already chucked out cuz it was a slipping hazard), tin foil cake pans for brownies, basket for all my remote controls on my bed, dried onions, dolmads for Monte, crackers, ...I can't remember the rest.  29 bucks!  It was fun.

One unfun thing that happened was I got a ticket for putting my garbage out the night before garbage day.  But what pisses me off is that the lids lock, cuz of bears.  So I put it out the night before, then the next morning I unlock the lid.  So the ticket was for not having a secure garbage can.  Not an unlocked one.  A not secure one.  Never mind it was locked.  And the date on the ticket was the 21st but the stamp on the envelope was the 27th.  I didn't get it til the 30th and now Monday is a holiday so Tuesday I can go in and pay it.  I have fourteen days from date of issuance  to pay or the amount jumps from 75 to 125.00.  What if I worked?  I am pissed.  Money grabbing bastards.  Maybe they should spend their time nabbing the thieving alley rats instead of people with their garbage cans.

Well its raining to beat the dickens out.  So I am having a cozy day in, posting here, watching Judge Judy (the cow) and eating...you guessed it, fresh bread.  I will probably remember more about the week as I post more.  TTYL