KITCHEN

I have finally figured out how to really get my kitchen cleaned up.  I just pretend my house is going up for sale and my past real estate guy, Dane Kingsbury, was going to come to inspect and make suggestions on how to improve the place before listing it.

He was a nut case about decluttering.  No matter how bare the place was he would always find things he would tell me to remove.  He sold enough of our places that it actually became a game.  I would bare naked the place of everything except the bare necessities.  I then would take a detailed gander around the place then call him.  He would come.  Look around.  And declare that the place needed decluttering before he could list.  Grrrrrr!!!!!

Now why was I telling you all that?  Oh yeah!  The kitchen.  So yesterday I didn't like my kitchen.  It needed decluttering.  I thought, 'Hmmm....Dane would have a fit if he saw this kitchen!"  So I dug into the normal cleaning and then started to remove stuff we just didn't use enough or at all.  I removed our giant coffee pot, two canisters full of god knows what, a French press, a carafe, two, not one, two coffee grinders, a tea pot and a sink full of clean drip dried pots and pans.  It is still needing some stuff taken off the counters but not only do I not have anywhere to put the stuff but I use it on a daily basis.  Now to move on to the dining room.  It's worse than the kitchen was.

One time, back when we were moving from North Van to Langford, I put off telling Dane that we were moving and would need the house sold.  I waited until the moving company came and loaded up.  The house was completely empty except for one room that Myles and April were going to use for a few days.

I called Dane and waited for him in great gleeful anticipation.  He arrived and, still outside, I filled him in.  I told him to go on in and take a look around and let me know how much decluttering I would need to do.  A few minutes later he came out and in a dead serious voice he said, " I am going to have to stage decorate the place.  I have a company that does that.  They will bring in beds and couches and knick knacks. The cost will be in the five thousand dollar area which I will attach to my real estate fee."  Dead serious.  Well crapadoodle!  I thought this isn't going the way I thought it would!  Then he started to laugh but did say it would have been better to move in two parts.  Junk first furniture second, after it sold.  Sure, it would be cheaper to empty and stage.

You know I have mentioned Pat and Angie over the years here.  They have become very good friends to both of us but mostly to Monte.  If it weren't for Pat over the years helping Monte I think we would be in a very sad and sorry state right now.  I will eternally be grateful to Pat.  And Angie is a real sweet heart.

I got a frantic, totally panicked phone call from Pat four or five days ago.  Angie had slowly become sicker and sicker over a period of a few days.  She was insatiably thirsty, many trips to the loo, which in the end she wasn't strong enough to do herself and she completely quit eating.  Finally Pat called an ambulance.  She was sent to Nanaimo hospital.  I had a feeling it would be a diabetic issue.  The thirst and loo trips and her drunken type of behaviour that Pat described seemed to indicate diabetes.

Sure enough, when she was admitted they ran a bunch of tests.  For those that don't know your blood sugar should be between 4 -6.  At 10 you have to go on meds for diabetes.  At 18 and above you need to see a doctor or go to the hospital.  ANGIE'S WAS 70!!!!!!  That is unheard of!!!  She must have been having symptoms for some time and just ignored them or misinterpreted them.  And her father was a diabetic but I guess she didn't think of that.

Pat has been utterly frantic as you can imagine.  He called me every two or three hours giving me updates, although nothing changed except they got her numbers down to 6.  But she hasn't changed.  She apparently is agitated, confused, doesn't know where she is and she isn't coming out of it.  The Dr. has asked Pat to go down and go in to see her, just to see if seeing a familiar person will bring her out of it.  And that is what he is doing right now.  Poor Pat.

And a wee word here....Arnie's beloved kitty, 21 year old Fred passed away in her arms two days ago.  Arnie and Bradley are completely heart broken.  The pain when you lose a beloved pet is as strong and terrible as losing a person.  21 years and that cat was different.  He talked to her, played the piano and sang as he did, slept with her, snuggled with Bradley, sat at the table during dinner.....he will be sorely missed.  

It snowed last nite, enough that we have to shovel the sidewalk.  It has to be shovelled by noon or we get a hefty fine and the bastards in this town go infraction hunting on everything to make money.  Our shovels, we had two, mysteriously disappeared during the last move.  Funny how that happens.  So Monte is up at Canadian Tire as we speak buying yet another one.  We get so little, if any, snow here in Port.  The whole province can be dumped on and we will be sunny and warm here.  Not sure why.

Well thats it for today.  I shall do my Covid thingy below, which as I always say, please skip.  But remember if you have an opinion or observation on covid I would love to hear it or even print it here.  And BTW, Arnie, a book mark totally counts!  Send a pic of the finished product!  I am working on a drink, I think I have come up with a timely doozie and the art is a bit more of a challenge.  Stay safe people and try to noodle.  TTYL

COVID

This is a personal note today.  My belief is that humans, who usually take the route of least resistance, are in danger of becoming so used to the  easy habits that can become prevalent by staying home, will be really challenged to get back into the rat race game when the time comes.  And make no mistake, the rat race will return, with a vengeance.  We will have learned nothing by this enforced interlude.

I believe that first of all we will become even more antisocial than we were becoming before, due to social media etc.  I think we are getting used to not having to go to all of the work it takes to maintain acquaintances or friendships.

I believe that we are seeing that showering only when necessary is pleasant, showering every day has now become a chore.  Of course that only applies to some of us.

I have also heard that people are not necessarily brushing their teeth twice a day.  Another healthy but annoying habit falling by the wayside for some.

Also, I believe that not getting dressed is another bad habit that is forming.  It is so comfortable and easy to just wear pj's every day, all day.  Getting geared up every morning is becoming an unwanted chore.

And I think all us stay at homers are ruining our feet.  We wear slippers all the time to the point that our feet are splaying out and getting back into form fitting shoes will be very uncomfortable!  Plus we will have to find all of our socks.

And for us women, I am pretty sure our bazooms have fallen another two inches by now.  Bras were probably the first thing to go.

And I just wonder how many humans have discovered new and easier hairdos because they couldn't safely go to hairdressers.  Permed to unpermed, trimmed to shaggy, coloured to grey....It will be interesting to see how people look different afterwards!!!

And one last one...weight.  If you used to go out of the house to either work, shop, visit etc...and now stay home, you know you aren't getting the amount of physical movement as you used to.  And many many people have had to start cooking every single day now and food has become a lot more important. Plus you have easy access to snackers.  All of that adds up to WEIGHT GAIN.

So let me reiterate:  If we all were swooped up, just as we are and lined up all along our streets...we would appear with bad hair, fuzzy teeth, kind of smelly, in our dirty frumpy pj's, and not our normal slim selves.  We have been COVIDIZED!!!!!!!

THERE HE IS OUT THERE SHOVELLING AWAY (SHOVEL LIST)