GRRRRR.......

Jesus Murphy!!!!  In the night something woke me up, who knows what, and squinting with my good eye, which isn't all that great without glasses on, I pushed the winder thingy on my wristwatch which lights it up, to see that it was all of four thirty am.  And I could tell that I was AWAKE!!!  No more sleep for me.  Damn!  

So I picked up my phone and figured I would play my word game that I play a lot.  It can sometimes lead me back to sleep.  And for some unknown reason, typical of the mysterious battery land of phones and computers, the battery was almost dead.  It was at 70% when I went to bed.  How does that happen?  One night not too long ago I went to bed and it was at 29%.  It was still 29% in the morning.  And it stayed at 29% while I played my game for an hour.  Stupid phones.  (shovel list)

Now, here I sit, in the dark, listening to the news stories on Global, over and over and over.  I decided I would start a post.  I love talking to all you folks.  Not that I have anything particularly  interesting to say.

As I mentioned in the previous post, Pete and I headed to Nanaimo yesterday.  What a great day we had!  I stopped at the fat lady store first and returned giant items.  They weren't going to take the bathing suit.  Apparently they don't let you return them when you buy them online.  I kind of had a fit.  I figure that maybe they should put a note to that effect on the item online so a customer would know ahead of time. They took it.

From there we headed into town to a fantastic Asian grocery store.  Wow!!!  There is no other store in the western world that looks like or is set up like an Asian grocery store.  The minute you step in, blind folded, you would know you were in an Asian grocery just by the smell. Cabbage, fish, five spice, all evoke an exotic unmistakable odour. The four or five aisles were so close together and crowded that there was literally no room to bend over to see what was on the bottom shelves.

The owner shouted out, "do you need help?".  I answered back that I was looking for ponzo sauce.  "you are in the Chinese aisle," he hollers, "Ponzo is Japanese.  You need the Japanese aisle!"  Okey dokey!  What do I know?  He pointed to the proper aisle and said that there were small bottles and big bottles.  I wanted a big bottle, and guess where the big bottles of everything were?  On the bottom.  No way I could see which was which.  So I ended up with two small ones.

One whole wall was frozen dim sum...which is what I was really after.  I went along and chose various packages, some of them looking pretty sketchy.  In fact one package of bean curd rolls, my fave,  were kind of soft.  I'm not sure if that is normal for them or if they are full of killing bacteria.  I bought them anyway.  If I live I will report here how good they were.  

We then proceeded to Costco.  Siiiighhh.  I love Costco.  I was just getting coffee. Sure.  Four hundred dollars later.....I think I am a food hoarder.  I did buy a kettle...I still can't find mine.  I also bought 90 bucks worth of coffee.  I don't really mind.  We don't smoke or drink much.  Coffee is our addiction.  I buy Salt Spring beans...the best coffee we have ever drunk and we go through a lot so I bought three 2 pound bags.  I also bought a box of Starbucks Verona pods...the best pod coffee in my opinion.

Before we left the store we stopped for a hotdog and fries and gravy.  Sooooo good.  It just wouldn't be a trip to Costco without that. 

 When we drove onto the highway we spotted a KFC.  I decided to get a bucket of chicken to take home.  And before you all, predictably I might add, go "Ewwwww....KFC???!!!!" I want to say something about KFC.

  That delicious treat was just that...a treat.  In our family we associate it with things like birthdays, moving days, Bamfield Friday nights when Bill would arrive from Vancouver with a bucket for us very 'deprived of everything' people, road trips in the US etc...so there!  And it was super well received by a grateful Monte when we got home.

But, before getting the chicken, we noticed it was in the same parking lot as that magical store Cabellos!!!  Peter was a Cabellos virgin. This warranted a visit!  So in we went and spent a very happy half hour wandering around looking at guns, fudge, cast iron cooking implements, sunglasses, clothes, fishing paraphernalia, cabin decor, camouflage everything, smokers, canoes, dead stuffed animals and on and on....A wonderful half hour!

All in all it was a great trip.  We listened to fabulous music that Pete had downloaded,  had great conversation, visited various bathrooms, enjoyed the scenery and ate fries and gravy.  What more would make the trip greater I ask!  Well it is now after 6.  Thanks for keeping me company!  TTYL

NANAIMO OR BUST

Well both the boys came home on Sunday.  I was so happy to see them....for two seconds.  They both disappeared to their respective rooms and I didn't see them again until they came up at 7, briefly ate their stuffed squash and disappeared again.  Sigh.  Its almost like living by myself!  LOL!!  But just having them in the house is perfect.

I had an interesting night though.  Around three in the morning I heard a knock knock knock, quite loud downstairs.  Then I heard Monte talking, for about a minute than silence.  What the heck???  As I lay there in the following dead silence, I heard someone outside.  Clearly whoever it was was sifting through stuff, cans and paper etc...  Finally I got up and lifted a flap on the blinds to take a look.

Across the street and just down a bit, just out of the street lamp light, so in the black dark, I could see someone that clearly had a head lamp on.  I could just detect that he was behind or beside or 'in' a car parked in front of the neighbour's house.  He was clearly sifting through stuff.  After a while he shuffled on off down the street.  The next day I took a look in the light and there was no garbage container there or anything, just a car.  Frigging alley rats.  And when I asked Monte about who he was talking to, he had no memory of it and said he must have been talking in his sleep.  And knocking?  Who knocks in their sleep?  Like...no one ever.  Just sayin'.

I bought a cook book.  And you poor folks are going to occasionally hear about stuff I make from this odd cookbook.  But it is intriguing to me so I can't help it.  LOL!!

Peter gave me a waffle iron for Xmas.  I have never ever had one so I am excited.  But in my daily email from Book Bub, about six offerings every email for cheap books in the genres I chose, one of which was cooking, this exciting cook book was listed.  And that book is "Will It Waffle?".  Thats right!  Fifty two recipes for waffling all sorts of crazy stuff.  Some of the recipes I won't make.  For example:  a box of brownie mix, many eggs and butter etc....then waffle the batter, add ice cream and fruit and voila!! dessert!  And a million carbs that are a little too much for us.

But they have all kinds of other things.  You can actually cook bacon in it!  And eggs!  With almond flour you can waffle a base, make hollandaise on the stove and you have low carb bacon bennies!  Anywhooo I shall be experimenting and will report and picture here!

Well I best get going.  A filthy kitchen to clean and Nanaimo to get to.  Peter, bless him, has offered to come with me.  Monte is in the middle of making music so we have lost him for a while.  I have to go.  I ordered a couple of things from the Fat Lady store and they are too big....they gotta go back, and soon.  Plus I want to go to a Chinese grocery in Nanaimo and of course Costco.  We need coffee.  Always out of coffee!  TTYL

THE ONLY GOOD GNOME IS A HUNG GNOME

Dinner was wonderful.  I just love this group of people.  They are so kind and interesting and such a happy bunch....at least when they are here.  A few couldn't make it this time so the table was a little more manageable.  

The lasagnas were surprisingly good.  I don't think I will ever be making my own in the future.  Lasagna isn't really on my supper rotation anyway.  I think I am more like my dad than I realized.  He didn't like either pasta or rice...a potato man all the way.  And I have always said that my desert island food would be the holy potato.  I could live on them!

I made Caesar salad and over cooked the garlic bread....they were pretty dark and crunchy.  The pies turned out delicious, messy but delicious.  The little gift boxes with fudge and skittles were a hit too.  The whole evening was a lot of fun.

Yesterday (Saturday) the boys headed down to Victoria.  Levi bought them all Wolf Parade concert tickets for last night.  So I packed up all the leftovers that were left over from  packing up food to send home with our guests.  Apparently there was enough food that all four boys, Austin was there too, had a full dinner of them.  

I had a rare night alone last night.  I'm not sure I liked it!  Monte will be  home later and Peter is off to Salt Spring to visit a friend for a day or two.  I have to go get my pills today and the kids have my jeep.  So I shall have to climb into Monte's van, figure it out and head to the drug store.  Which of course means getting out of my pj's and going out the door..not my fave thing I must say.

I named the gnomes.  Their names are Grandy and Grub.  I will take some pics and put them below.  I hate to admit it but I am already a wee bit partial to the wee ones.  I think I am willing to eat a little crow here.  I kind of thought I would hate them and throw them out, but I don't.  They remind me a lot of Dead Bob.  He wasn't the family favourite but I do miss him at times.

Well time to pull my duds on and get going.  Trying to get hold of Monte to see if he is coming home today.  I want to stuff kabocha squash but not just for myself.  I think there is a Weiner left in the fridge for dinner if he isn't coming home.  TTYL

THREE CHOCOLATE BANANA CREAM PIES AND TWO LEMON MERINGUE AND ONE WITHOUT MERINGUE

THE HAPPY WINTER HOLIDAY TABLE. (which looks like Ikea or Best Buy tables)

GRUB

GRANDY

APOLOGIES

Just let me apologize for that last post.  A Valley Girl I am not.  Since writing that awful post I have become hyper aware of how often I myself use that stupid word like!  'Whatever' and 'totally' I don't mind, but that word like is just too damned easy to use.  And Aryn, I noticed that 'for reals' you slipped in there in your comment!!!!  And Sharri you are sooooo right!  I am always panties in a bunch for at least two weeks leading up to my checkup and the euphoria I feel after is silly.  Even if it wasn't good I would still be so relieved the checkup was done for another three months!

I am worried about getting an actual family doctor though.  I am glad for sure, but you can't push them around like you can a 'could care less' clinic doctor.  Family doctors get way too interested in what's happening inside of you and always find just one more thing to worry about.  Ignorance is bliss is my motto when it comes to my health.  I am always having to shake sand out of my ears.

Well I am off to the dollar store today.  I have made a commitment to buying all my foil pans etc.. at the dollar store.  They are less than half the price they charge in a grocery store.  And I need to make six or eight pies.  I only have ten people for dinner tomorrow night, but those pies are really small.  Half of them are going to be chocolate banana and the other half lemon meringue.
                        Later
OMG!!  By the time I got home yesterday I was almost dead.  I def exceeded my fifty steps per day.  And I absolutely failed at the dollar store.

I swore to my self that I was just going to go in, go straight to the tin foil stuff, you can see it right through the shop window in the first aisle, and get out...so easy peasy. NOT!!   Two giant, and I mean giant, bags and eighty five dollars later I dragged out to the truck.  Jeez!  Tin foil pans, brownie mixes, cream of mushroom soups, olives, two shiny metal mixing bowls, two hanging gnomes for the garden hooks, and all sorts of party stuff for the table.

I decided to turn dinner tonight (I am writing this in the middle of the night) into a 'chase the winter blues away' party.  Everything is bright blue and bright yellow.  It actually looks more like an Ikea or Best Buy themed party, but what the heck!  I will take pics when I get it together in the morrow.

I made the most delicious dinner last night, one that kind of surprised me.  It was vegan...mostly by accident.  Peter helped me.  I whomped up veggies until tiny....cauliflower, mushroom, carrots, onion, tofu, trail mix which was almonds peanuts, raisons and dates.  After frying it in the wok I flavoured it with ponzo sauce.  Then we ate it with vermicelli and hoisin or peanut sauce on lettuce wraps.  Sooooo good!  Sooo fast and easy.  Now I am sounding like one of those food blogs.  You know, the ones where you want the recipe but you have to scroll through endless commentary you don't want to get to it.

Crapadoodle....I can't sleep.  I was so flipping tired last night but one o'clock on the nose BAM!!....wide awake.  Now its 3:30.  I am going to be too tired by four o'clock in the afternoon.  (shovel list).  I think I shall call it quits here and try again.  If by four I am not asleep I am going to get up and make the puddings for the pies.  I forgot to do that last night and they have to be super cold.  TTYL

LIKE YOU KNOW...DOCTORS

Like, I couldn't put it off any longer.  I hate going to the doctor.  You know, like they always have bad news and like, give you shit and all.  Totally lame.  But I need my scrips...you know?

I mean its way cool to get poz test results but neg ones?  No way....like you get that totally judgey stare from Him...like whatever!  You know, like I have to go there tomorrow and I had xmas and like a really really long cruise with all that free food and stuff, I mean like what does he expect?  Just cuz he's really really totally cuoooouh (cute) doesn't like count, yeah?  Duh.....

Gotta go to bed now cuz its like  really really super late.  I gotta get up before noon, like ewwww, to get to the doctor.  Totally dumb.  Obs I will be back here, with what happens, like after.

So like I am totally okay.  Hah!!!!!  My blood presh is totally down low.  My cholesterol was right....like it should be...I just like totally don't eat eggs and cheese and meat anymore, mostly.  The sugars were a tiny bit high but like xmas?  Cruise? Duh....like its not my fault.   And my, well I don't want to say that word, my icky test was neg too.  So no ex for me.

So I totally remember how it takes sooo long to like actually see the doctor so I went early and it still took like two hours to see him.  A total stress  sesh. But Doc gave me good news!  In July a new doc is coming to town, and like my clinic doc put me on the list to be his patient!  Like I hope he's cuooooouh! I don't do doctors that are like uggg.  Totally gotta bounce.....

ANOTHER WEEK GONE BY.....HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN SO FAST?

The week goes by so fast and so little happens that I am always shocked by how long its been since I last posted.  Let's see....

I went to the lab.  Always fun.  It didn't take long.  The biggest issue was the lack of parking.  There is lots of parking but every single spot was full.  I thought for sure I was going to sit in the waiting room for ages but it wasn't bad.  I have no idea where everybody was cuz the walk in clinic waiting room next door wasn't real full either.  The people waiting in the lab area were mostly old men.  So we had a grand old time kabissing and joking and making friends.  People in this town aren't afraid to talk and tease.  Super friendly.

I can't remember if I mentioned that Peter and I went to see the movie Knives Out.  It was great!  The settings were so amazing I wouldn't have minded going back to see it again just to look at the rooms in that old mansion.

Last night we went to the first film festival movie. First let me say, pompously and judgementally, I was surprised, very surprised that this little unsophisticated town even had a film fest.  And I was also shocked at the theatre.  I will mention that later.

We saw the Asian movie "the Farewell".  It starred that awesome actress Awkwafina.  If you saw Crazy Rich Asians, she was the lesbian sidekick to the main star.  In my opinion she stole that show!  So I was pretty excited to go see Farewell.  Meh...it was okay.  It did spark some convo between Peter and I.....mostly revolving around death.  And the popcorn was fantastic I must say!

Now...the theatre.  From the outside its pretty rundown with a small parking lot.  It looks a lot like those old, kind of spooky theatres in scary movies.  We totally expected filthy, flat, shiny from over use carpeting, small (old seats accommodated a much skinnier audience in the old days)  seats, smelly atmosphere from years and years of old frying oil etc......

Well, were we in for a shock!!!!! The theatre had been closed for a few years and in the last year of that closure....magic happened!  It was huge in that theatre, and every single row of seats were giant leather recliners.  (I have a feeling I have already told you guys this.  Apologies if I have but its almost worth another mention it was so unexpectedly fantastic). I know in Vancouver some of the theatres have added a 'lounge' with comfy recliners etc.....I have been in a couple.  And they can't hold a candle to our theatre!!!  It was all new, massive seating, smelling awesome....We were shocked!

So, last night....We sort of sauntered down to the theatre, in the jeep, a half hour before the show.  And they were almost sold out!!!!  I really thought that half the theatre would be empty.  Without question Peter was the youngest person there....a lot of grey heads in there.  But every single last seat was sold.  I couldn't believe it!  There are four movies, one a month, in this little film festival, last night's was first.  We are going to see if there is a place in town to buy advance tickets.

Busy week this week.  Tomorrow I am going to go and spend the morning attempting to see the doctor in the walk in.  Time for pill renewals. Wednesday we are going to Nanaimo to go to Costco and I need to return a couple of things to the Fat Lady Store.  I need an ass.  The bathing suit I ordered is laughable.  I fit the top just fine but I can literally fit my whole waist down in one leg hole.  Then Thursday I clean and set the table for lasagna night Friday.  Plus I will make the puddings for the desserts.

I did get some of my projects done.  My room, the xmas tree, my papers, the table etc...But I still need to do the deck.  I have been waiting for the sun and right now it seems the sun is out!!!  So I shall go at it now.  I apologize for such a mundane posting here, but that's just how life is at the moment.  I think I am going to try to write a post, a short one, talking like one of the bachelorettes on that show.  A friend from Maui and I watch it then email scathing emails after each show to each other.  So be prepared, its going to be a 'like' forward post!  I'm gonna try!  TTYL

GOTTA GET MOVING....OFF MY CHAIR

I mean it.  I am going to atrophy if I don't get moving.  My whole life I have been in a frenzy of activity...two sets of babies, houses to clean, mouths to cook for and feed, tons of laundry, building a log house a zillion miles over horrible roads away, working eight hour days blah blah blah.  So its been one hell of a treat to just sit in my chair, lappy open on my lap, tv going or music, reading books....  But I am going to die if I keep this up.

So today Monte and I are going to launch ourselves into the public pool.  I can't swim very well which plays in my favour.  Every lap I do, a good swimmer would have to do three or four to equal the amount of joules I burn in that one.  I hope the water is warmer than that stupid pool in Kamloops.  That pool was so cold you got hypothermia.  Not conducive to motivate a return.

The weather is pretty awful right now.  I postponed the lasagna dinner for everyone from this Friday to next Friday.  If I make the lasagnas I will need nine containers of cottage cheese.  And that means a trip to Costco and the roads are such we can't get there right now.

 But I am seriously contemplating buying Costco's frozen lasagna.  It is super good and big.  Four of those should do the trick.  I just don't trust my lasagna making skills.  It's not something I make often enough to know what I am doing.  I see most people use ricotta...I hate ricotta.  What noodles should I use...fresh, boil first, no boil needed?  Should I use straight beef or mix it up with sausage etc...  One thing I know for sure...there would be absolutely NO SPINACH in it!!!! I think I will do them all a favour and buy them already made by someone who knows way more than I do about the damned stuff.

I have so many projects right now.  And not one of them is getting done.  Procrastination at its finest.

The first one is all the stuff sitting in the guest room.  We have a he shed (Monte's stuff) a we shed (a mix of his and mine) and a she shed (the house and my stuff).  We brought in a couple of containers of stuff and they are sitting in the guest room waiting to be disbursed.

My room....its a holy hell mess.  Clothes and stuff everywhere.  I ride Monte's butt to clean his room.  Such a hypocrite!!!!  Gotta get it clean.

The dining room table.....its always covered with crap.  Right now amongst stupid small stuff, I put the big box of pictures to sort.  There are thousands......a very daunting job frankly.  Sigh.  (shovel list)

The deck......it's a mess.  Pots and pans and coolers and turkey roasters, old flowers, garbage, recycling, bottles, cardboard, and on and on and on.  

All these things need to be done by the end of next week.  Oh and of course....laundry!  That never ends!

Look at that!!!  Its only 7:30 am and its getting light out!!!!  Yayyyyyy!!!!!!  TTYL

ANOTHER TOO LONG STRETCH

Honestly, I am going to try to post more often.  I just can't believe how much time goes by!  Although this time I did do some stuff.

On Thursday I took off for Campbell River around two o'clock.  It was a pretty relaxing uneventful trip.  I was listening to the radio and at one point I glanced at my speedometer and I was going 140!!!!  Hokey Dinah!  I put the skids on and slowed 'er down.  No tickets thank you very much.

Stan and Antonia are the most hospitable hosts ever!  We had drinks and convo in their gorgeous living room with the most incredible view of the ocean over to Quadra Island.  We had a lovely roast chicken dinner then retired to the living room and launched into a lively game of chicken foot...a hilarious version of Dominos.  Jeez we had fun!

They have a lovely older house.  The basement is totally separate from the main floor.  You can only enter it from outside and you have an entire two bedroom, completely updated and beautiful suite.  And not only that, they left a big new container of orange juice in the fridge, a new cream, coffee, coffee maker, two delish muffins with butter and a fresh unopened bag of roasted cashews!  So thoughtful and very very yummy!

That night, around two in the morning, I was awakened by a ferocious wind storm bashing away just outside my bedroom window.  That wind was howling!  And super loud!  Things were crashing and banging out there.  The next day, when I was due to go home, it became clear that the roads and weather were such that I ended up staying one more night.

Antonia had prior engagements so Stan and I went down to the CR Museum.  It was absolutely fantastic.  I got to watch an 18 minute film on the blowing up of Ripple rock.  Bill would have LOVED it!!!  He told me all about it being blown up in the channel between Quadra and the Island back in the fifties.  And the Native section in that museum was absolutely amazing.  If you ever get the chance......it has been listed in the top ten small museums in Canada...and rightly so! 

We were told we could 'interact' with all the stuff.  Like climb up onto the massive donkey engine logging truck thingy.  So I did.  But I didn't fit between the seat and the steering wheel so I tried to get down and I couldn't!!!  I had to call Stan over to give me a hand and even then I almost couldn't. Jeez!

And in the Ripple Rock movie I fell asleep, right before the explosion!  I woke up to Stanley hollering at me and asking if I actually saw it!  Thank god no one else was in there!  So he patiently went and pushed the button so we could watch it again.  I was quite grateful to him for doing this until he admitted he slept through it too!!! Man Alive!!!

We had another lovely evening and then off to bed.  I packed it up the next morning and got home around 11:30.  

I managed to remember to get all of mom's slides from Stan.  I am going to pick out approximately fifty slides to have made into pictures to make albums.  There is a lot of history there.  In fact the only baby pics I have of Aryn and Kevin are in those slides.  We have a friend in Victoria that may be able to get them all onto a computer and onto a flash stick for me.  I can pick and choose from there.  Its still a lot of money to get Costco or London Drugs to develop slides into pics.

Well I am tired and my horse is tired.  The boys have gone to bed and I think I shall too.  TTYL

CRAZY HOW TIME GOES BY SO FAST

You know I seriously try to post at least every couple days.  It just doesn't seem that long ago that I wrote about the cruise in October.  But I see its been almost a week!

And virtually nothing has happened.  It has rained and rained and rained and rained!  I haven't seen rain like this since living in Bamfield during summer months.  Today we woke up to some snow but that disappeared fairly quickly.

The neighbour has rented his driveway out to a fellow to park his enormous RV.  It's right by my bedroom and bathroom window.  The whole thing is covered by a tarp.  Needless to say that the constant incessant rain simply thunders on that tarp.  As I said before I sleep with my bedroom window open...unless that damned dog is barking, and the rain pounding down on that tarp is LOUD!!!  I love it!  It is just like old timey camping...you know....back in the day when we all slept in old canvas tents with plastic tied over them.  I love that sound.

Suffering a little from cabin fever one day, the three of us hopped into the truck and went thrift shopping...just like that awesome song by Mackleroy or whoever it was.  What a hoot.  Sally Anne, a This and That store and another This and That store. 

 I was really looking for a single big jar to make a dozen pickled eggs in.  Didn't find one but we did find an office chair to replace the ugly one at the piano.  Five bucks!  And I found a little wooden doll that appealed to me and is on my mantle.  One buck.  Pic below.  And an interesting bark and stone frame.  3 bucks. We were going to go do something else but Monte needed the loo so we came home.

Tomorrow is tree taking down day.  I am going to miss it.  I have totally enjoyed the little critter.  The room is going to lose a little life when it's gone.  Also our goofy ancient old cinema has a really good movie happening.  Knives Out...got some Golden Globe notice.  Tomorrow is cheap night so we are going to go.  At least Peter and I are going to.  I don't think Monte wants to.  It's my kind of movie...a time piece and a family murder and whodunnit.  I am just shocked that that decrepit old theatre is actually getting a decent movie in.

Well that is actually all I did over this last week.  Pretty mundane.  Dog goes to Purple Paws Wed for a cleanup.  Thursday I am going to Stan's for a night.  By myself.  Pete and Mont have Friday things to do.  Next time I will be sure to take the boys.  Stan and Antonia have made it clear that they really enjoy their company.  Then one week from there I shall have the lasagna dinner night with our crew.  Oh and the request by Ange was also lemon meringue pie.  Thoroughly testing my kitchen skills this time!  So thats it folks.  TTYL

MY SALLY ANNE PURCHASE....I THINK I AM BECOMING AN OLD LADY