SHORT POST

 This is going to be a short one.  Not much has happened since the last post.  But there is one thing I have decided to do and I swore I never would.  I have decided to make one, just one, New Year's resolution.

There have been many times in my life that I get the impromptu invite to go out for a quick lunch, or errand or some other little jaunt.  And I just don't.  And I can pin that down to only one reason why. 

 Unless I know well ahead that I have to go out that day, I don't get dressed.  I mean going out the door dressed.  And when someone yells,  'lets go get lunch', I will be sitting in my chair in days old sleep shorts and t-shirt, my hair flat on the back of my head and my poof sticking straight up on top, and no teeth.  To get 'go out' ready, even for here in Port is a daunting undertaking.

So, from now on I am going to be dressed, hair done, teeth in my head,  boots at the ready by ten in the morning.  I told Ange that when she comes through up here to the loo and sees that I am on my laptop typing away in my dirty old yesterdays pjs to please yell at me and I will go get dressed.  Even though covid is not over by a long shot, one does not need to acknowledge that by slovenly and lazy personage.

I have done a lot of scathing commenting on how so many people or businesses have used the pandemic as an excuse to make.... our butter horrible (due to a supposed shortage), or double the price on certain things, or close businesses every Sunday and Monday, or people not getting dressed etc...It really annoys me so I had better not be part of it.  Although I was like this loooooong before covid!

Thats all.  TTYL

' Slovenliness is a lazy and beastly negligence of a man's own person, whereby he becomes so sordid as to be offensive to those about him.' Theophrastus

YIKES!!!!!!!

SLOW BUT SURE

 Well we had a quiet but lovely time.  Xmas eve it was just the three of us.  We exchanged all our gifts. I got a beautiful pendant of Morano glass from Monte and a skookum warm blanket from Ange that has my name all over it!!!  I love it.  Plus she gave me a bunch of my fave candy, all sorts, bridge mix, wintergreen lifesavers, Coca Cola tic tacs, orange tic tacs, two bags of smarties.  Delicious!!!!! We had snacks and spinach dip and we sat around and visited and stared at our sad decrepit thing that was claiming to be our xmas tree.

Xmas day was a cooking day, my fave.  I had made the stuffing the day before.  So turkey went in, in my wok, everything else got cooked and dinner was on the table by six.  And it was eaten by six ten.  And Ange and Monte had that kitchen clean by six thirty. And I mean clean...right down to the last item.  What a treat that was.  By after suppertime my butt was at the end of it's rope!!!  

The next day was clean the house and get the rest of the guest room done.  You may remember the picture of that mess in there.  Well I cleaned it up and I have put a picture below.  I also made a couple of apres turkey shepherd's pies for dinner the next night with Stan and Antonia.  Prep prep prep!!!  It makes the day of a lot easier.

They arrived around five o'clock the next day.  It was so good to see them....and their dog, a very hyper dog.  They had to keep her on a leash the whole time in the house. 

 People and their dogs are so funny and I don't mean that in a mean way.  Everyone has such different ideas on how to manage their dogs.

They had taken their dog, some kind of doodle, to a trainer.  The trainer, not Antonia, had come up with the idea, (their dog has a problem of jumping up on people) that to teach the dog not to jump up, you do some kind of hand gesture and say firmly 'paws on the ground, paws on the ground, paws on the ground". Good grief!  Clearly it wasn't working and poor Antonia was very consistent about saying it each time.  I suggested she shorten it.  Maybe say pog!! pog!!  Or....NO, DOWN, NO, DOWN!!!!!  I don't know.  I don't think paws on the ground was going to ever work.  Fortunately the dog is very lovable!

All in all it was a lovely visit.  Those two are a couple of my fave people to have here and they don't live all that far away.  They are welcome any time for as long as they would like.

Monte isn't well.  Not sick.  I think he is at the end of the currant medication goodness.  It needs to either be increased or changed and for that you need a psychiatrist.  The Dr. he is so fortunate to be seeing is away til after the New Year.  He is completely unable to go to Vancouver right now.  As a result our New Years visit is postponed.  Monte doesn't read this blog so I can say that I am so so so disappointed.  I was so looking forward to being at April's.  I feel so at home there. 

 But you know this is exactly what I signed up for here in Port Alberni.  Monte really is so fragile mentally.  I don't know how much he really needs me but I saw what happened when he didn't have someone looking out for him.  Anyway I so hope that a med change will make the difference.

And now its time to clean the breakfast stuff.  I made a massive pot of delicious turkey soup which is going to become our dinner tonite.  I have lots of Texas toast garlic bread left over from our meatloaf dinner last night so an easy food night.  And I am going to eat, not sharing, a bit of my bridge mix!!!!

So as my title said, this blog has become slow but for sure.  I don't think I will ever quit!!!  Take care everyone and I hope you had a merry xmas and lets choose to have an amazing New year no matter what it throws at us.  (I may eat those words before it's over!!) Yayaya..2023!!!  TTYL

"Life is a matter of choices, and every choice you make makes you."  John C. Maxwell

DINNER WITH STAN AND ANTONIA

OUR GINGERBREAD TRAIN WRECK

THE XMAS TREE...SAD CRITTER

THE LEFTOVER SHEPHERD'S PIES

LIKE I SAID TO MY SISTER, NOTHING SCREAMS XMAS LIKE A BLANKET WITH YOUR NAME ALL OVER IT!!!!

ANGE OPENING ONE OF HER PRESENTS

MONTE OPENING ONE OF HIS

THE SHORTBREAD ANGE AND I MADE

THE TURKEY DINNER, WITHOUT ANY TURKEY, DOING MY BIT TO CUT DOWN ON ANIMALS ON THIS PLANET

CHRISTMAS TABLE

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE!!!

SAME OLD SAME OLD

 One thing that has happened is the door knob on the inside has fallen off my front door, which still feels new to me.  I paid 450 bucks for that door knob/electric lock.  That was six months ago.  You would think it would last a wee bit longer than that for heaven's sake.  And we are seriously handicapped in this house when it comes to even the teensiest repairs. If you have a handyman/woman type in your house be grateful!!!!!

So when the door is closed there is no way we can open it from inside.  And that is dangerous.  There is no way out then except through Ange's place and we can't be doing that...unless there is a fire or something.  I phoned the dude at Windsor Plywood who put the whole shebang together and, of course, he is gone til after New Years.  So we have to leave the door open a smidge and hope we don't get house invaders.

So I left you with a picture of my terrible guest room last post.  And guess what?  It is all clean and ready! What a job.  It has to all be moved downstairs, Sally Ann or garbage.  To move anything downstairs I had to completely reorganize the laundry room. It was worse than the bedroom.  So that is exactly what I did.  And then I went into my bedroom, which was so awful I wouldn't even show it to you.  But I got all that organized as well.  I am on a roll!!!  It feels pretty good.

Next post I will post pics.  I will post an after pic of the guest room, a pic of our humble xmas tree, a pic  of the disastrous gingerbread train.  Ange finally had the 'real' experience with gingerbread.  That train looks awful!

Well I need to go make spinach dip to soak in the fridge til tomorrow night.  I must remember to bring the solid as a rock frozen turkey in tonight to start to thaw.  Tomorrow I will be making all the stuffing as well.  Prep time.  Turkey dinner!!!!  Buckets of cranberry jelly with the can lines indented into it.  Candied yams.  Rainbow carrots and peas.  Mmmmm...cheat baking from the store.  Can't wait!!  So all of you have a very merry xmas and I hope you get lots of prezzies and turkey.  TTYL

My quote I found:

I sort my clothes thus:  1.  filthy. 2.  filthy but still wearable.

A NICE VIEW, A NICE CHAIR, WATCHING THE WORLD GO BY

 I am watching a show on tv.  It takes place in Italy.  There is an old Italian lady, she lives alone.  And that is her philosophy for older genteel ladies.  "A nice view.  A nice chair.  Watching the world go by."  I love it.  The only problem is I don't think I am yet old enough to settle for that lifestyle.  I feel I must still be involved.

That being said, I had a serious convo with Monte on our way to Nanaimo Monday.  I mentioned how I am having second thoughts about our cruise.  We have worked so hard to not get Covid.  I keep up with the news put out by the CDC.  I won't bore you uninterested readers with what I read but I feel we should probably postpone the trip til next year.  If I cancel now all I lose is my 800 dollar deposit plus the three hundred for insurance.  If I wait until spring I stand the chance of losing it all, several thousand.  So I cancelled. 

 My agent at Vacations to go immediately emailed me to tell me that I will be getting back my deposit and my insurance!!!!!  It is going to take three months though.  The reason?  Due to a covid resurgence and variants coming down the pike...many many people are cancelling their cruise plans so they are way behind with the returns.

I know people that are planning a cruise next Sept. and I am positive things will be fine and safe by then.  If so I will buy another Alaskan cruise at that time.  Monte and I have decided to keep all the monies we have saved in the account for the next trip. And if a cruise just isn't in the books, we will use the money to do some shorter safe staycations or driving trips.  

I had a fantastic time at Eithne's.  She and I could probably talk for two days straight.  We caught up on all the gossip and newsies.  I really like her squeeze, Ryan.  He was most enjoyable!  And that baby!!!  He is the most beautiful baby I think I have ever laid eyes on!  And he was so good!  Eithne is an amazing mother...so comfortable with him and her instincts with him are bang on!  I loved visiting.  I think I will visit again!!!

We stopped at Costco.  We got there about 9:15 am.  A Tuesday morning.  The place was freaking packed to the gills!  I mean PACKED!!!!   Why?  What the hell?  I was tired before I got in there.  I have only so much walk in me before my tailbone and hip give out and shoving through that mass was ridiculous!  Thank god I had my respirator on.  And that being said I was the only one in the whole damned store with a mask on.  And after all that I forgot the one thing I mainly went there for...tart shells.  They are so inexpensive in there compared to everywhere else.  Damn!!!

I do not have my credit cards back yet.  As a result I now have to actually go Xmas shopping for Ange and Monte.  Actually go INTO a store..not something I have done, other than Costco and the dollar store, since forever.  I just hate brick and mortar shopping.  I was up all night last night, just couldn't sleep at all so I started my menu plans and shopping lists for the five days of xmas.  Stan and Antonia are coming for a couple of days the day after Boxing Day.  So planning I shall do!  I love it!  I already have a turkey in the freezer.  Thank you Mr. Man.

Well enough for today.  I remember years ago we went to Bill's sisters place for Xmas eve.  It was when they lived in a smaller older home.  Her place always looked lovely and perfect and decorated for Xmas.  I always admired it.

Then one of our times out there I accidentally opened a door that was in the hallway.  And it was her guest/spare room.  And it was packed to the walls with stuff.  In essence a junk room.  I was shocked.  I thought I was the only one that did that.  It doesn't happen in a huge house unless you have a designated room for that.  Well my house ain't huge.  That spare room is packed and I have literally no where to put any of it.  The laundry room downstairs is even more packed.  I have bravely (outing myself) put a picture  below.  That is the room my brother and his lovely wife will be sleeping in.  When I am done I will post an after pic.  I think I will fill the six foot plastic zippered bag with the diseased xmas crap and tree in it and haul all that shit to the dump.  I am so tired of stuff.  If you see anything in all that heaving pile you want, let me know.

Signing off...love y'all!!!!  TTYL

"Out of clutter you find simplicity" Einstein .....or you find a brother and sister-in-law!!!

DON'T JUDGE ME!!!

TICKING ALONG

 Well things are ticking along.  This was a really bad time to not have my credit cards.  It is going to be at least another week before I get even one of the three back.  So there will be no xmas presents sent for.  This is so annoying.  I am pretty sure that we haven't had covid in this house yet is because we don't go out to shop.  I would like to keep it that way by sending for stuff!

I find it funny that eight months ago I didn't really know of any of my friends and family who had had covid yet.  Today I don't know any that haven't had it.  We are just about the only household I know that not one of us has had it.  Clearly SARS is not finished with us yet. 

Monte has to spend a night at the sleep clinic in Nanaimo on Monday night.  Because he doesn't sleep at night he has decided to not sleep Sunday nite and to take his sleepy pills Monday before the clinic.  And there is no way he can drive that distance in that shape.  I know what he is like with no sleep.  He gets super loopy and can't think straight.  So I am going with him and I had planned to stay in a hotel for that night.  But I don't and won't have a credit card by then.  So no hotel.  Then I thought, well I can sleep in the truck.  They have a parking lot and I will just tell them so they don't sic security on that homeless broad out there sleeping in a 55,000 dollar jeep!!!  I sleep in it when we go camping. But then April made a suggestion.

April suggested I go and stay with Eithne.  I texted her and asked and she said a big yes!!!  I will get to meet Noah, who has to be three-four months old now!  And I will get to meet Ryan, her live in and baby daddy.  I am so excited.  So Monte and I will go to her place first, its near Nanaimo,  so Monte can see Eithne and the baby and meet Ryan as well.  Then he can take himself, it's not far, to the clinic.  I am pretty happy!  Sure beats sleeping in a cold truck!

The subject of gingerbread houses came up the other day.  Ange has never ever done one!!!  I was shocked.  So she went over to QF and bought a lovely house kit!

Now, I did warn her that the only thing more assy to build were cake pops and stand up camping canopies. When I mentioned the house to both Monte and April, their immediate reaction was very telling!  Oh god!  Very negative and kind of funny.  The difficulty of making it stand up is just part of the experience.  When I explained this to Ange, she said that we will just build a condemned house then!

Anyway, they have changed the glue...clearly,  and made the house a little smaller.  That sucker stuck together like its life depended on it.  I think it knew I would be pitching it out the back door if it didn't stand up!  So it did!!  Then Ange went to town decorating it.  Thank goodness!  With my wonky eyesight I would not have been able to stick those tiny candies on it in the right place.  The only thing I did was draw the lines on the tinfoil for the icing lines to outline the path.  When I got finished sticking the candy fence along, you will notice that the path leads straight into the wall beside the front door.  Not to the door.  To the wall.  Jeez!!!

Anyway she did a stellar job of decorating!  And we plan to do this every year.  I think if I suggested that we do a whole village she would jump right on it.  Clearly she hasn't had the REAL experience!!!!

You know it's time to do a wee bit of baking.  I will make my obligatory batch of shortbread.  Only this year I have a new thing to try.  You form the cookie into the normal round sort of flat cookie.  Then you take whisk, dip the whisk into a bowl of cocoa.  Then you press the whisk onto the top of the cookie, denting in somewhat.  It leaves the most awesome star shaped outline.  Then you can put a cherry or whatever in the middle!  I saw it on YouTube.

I shall also be going to Costco on Tuesday after the sleep clinic.  I shall be picking up my yearly batch of tart shells and I will be making butter tarts.  I think I will also make apple butter with crumble topping tarts.  I might try a gingerbread bundt cake as well.

One gift that I managed to get was an old schooly meat grinder.  It's the kind that clamps to the table.  It came with a sausage making attachment.  This is for Monte. We have talked about this before.  And he can use his last year's present, a smoker, to smoke the sausages.  When he was working away on all my sites on my computer the other day he saw the pic of the grinder.  Grrrr....so he cottoned on immediately that that was for his present.  I am wrapping it up anyway.  He was pretty excited.

One last thing, this is getting too long.  I saw something on marketplace that I couldn't get out of my mind.  I kept going back.  Then I consulted Monte and Ange.  And I went ahead and bought it.  When I looked up others of its type they ranged from one hundred dollars to over two hundred.  So I got hold of the guy, interacked (sp) sixty! dollars to him and he offered to deliver it because he lived about four blocks away.  And he did and I love it to pieces!!!  You will see what it is in the pics below!!!

Thats it for now.  Take care.  Love y'all!!!!  TTYL

ICING DETOUR

THE LEATHER SEAT OF MY PURCHASE

THE AWESOME PURCHASE

NOTE THE PATH, TOTALLY MISSES THE DOOR, JEEZ!!!

GOITER EYED GINGERBREAD MAN

IT'S A HACKED WORLD IT IS

 First of all I want to apologize to everyone on my facebook message friend list.  You all got a hacked message from me.  Unfortunately they got into my computer and, as Monte says, put an industrial strength hack on it.  They destroyed every password in my computer.  Every freaking one!!!  Then they started sending a bogus message to everyone asking for assistance getting their phones going.  Bastards!  But Monte, my currant hero, took over my feeble three hour attempts at fixing things and continued but not feebly.  Seven hours later he met with some success.  It was so tricky and difficult.

Meanwhile I got my credit cards and cancelled them all, I say so easily.  There is only three but it took forever.  Actually the whole computer is different now and I do believe that other than banking and blogging I shall not be on here.  I will use my phone, which is very limiting as I suck at my phone.  My texting finger has a callous on the end and most the time it won't work when I poke the screen.  I have to use my swear to god finger which is too fat.  And I have a serious depth perception problem so all combined I think technology is going to become pretty non existent for me.  Which isn't all bad.

Anywhoo if you get a happy merry xmas then request for phone help from me...DON'T DO IT!!!!

I don't think that is going to happen anymore.  I did contemplate just not blogging anymore but I felt like I had lost a best friend.  So that thought lasted a whole two minutes!  So I shall be posting afterall...all about my boring mundane life.  TTYL

'One single vulnerability, all an attacker needs.'  Window Snyder

And that is why I shan't be doing certain things on my computer and now I have a different password for each thing I do and they are so long and complicated they keep me out.  F*ckadoodle!!!

CHOKING

 I am sitting here choking.  I had Monte bring up the 'Christmas bag' from under the stairs.  It is an immense red plastic zippered bag that holds the four foot xmas tree and the decorations etc... He plunked it down in the middle of the living room floor.  After a while I went and opened it and this incredibly strong smell rolled out.  It was very much like pachouli, my most hated oder.  That was yesterday.  I thought it would abate overnight but it clearly hasn't.

I was talking to Ange and Monte and they both think it is mold of some sort.  And that is exactly what happened with the last fake tree in a bag.  But that one was outside in a metal shed for two or three years.  This one is only from last year and it is totally mold free and dry under those stairs.  I don't get it.  The whole thing is going to have to be chucked out.  Grrrrrrr....Maybe this year we will get a small real tree.  I have the decorations for a small one.  I would just need a tree stand.

Yesterday Ange and I took advantage of the warmer temp outside, plus 2 degrees, and ventured out to a couple of stores.  I did a pretty lengthy shop at NoFrills and my tailbone was screaming by the time we got home.  So I put the frozen/fridge stuff away and sank into my chair.  After about a half hour I heard Harry next door out rescraping his driveway.  At that point it dawned on me that the whole sidewalk along the street in front of our house was a slippery dangerous half frozen mess.  Every single other sidewalk as far as the eye could see was beautifully bare.  Damn!!!  In this town if you haven't shovelled or arranged for it the fine is about 150 bucks. And like I have mentioned before we have a fat old dude that slithers around in the night looking for infractions.

As I have mentioned before Monte does not sleep at night.  He is incredibly light reactive so night time is when he writes, reads or makes music.  He loves winter and the increased dark time.  He has been like this since he was born.  It was hard to take him to the beach because of the brightness.  So consequently he sleeps during the day.  Mind you if I need him and call him, he readily wakes up and willingly gets out of bed and does whatever it is I need.  I just hate doing that.

Well yesterday I didn't want to wake him so I decided I would at least try to do the shovelling.  Boots on, coat on, Ange went and got the shovel for me and out I went.  And I guess bending over the shovel, taking the weight off my arse, made the whole exercise possible.  It didn't even hurt one inch!!!  And it felt so good to get some exercise!  I must remember this....bent over stuff works!!!

But whilst I was shovelling, at least three neighbours came and offered to do it for me.  Wow!!!  Poor Monte...I think their opinion of him sank a little.  I gratefully declined their offer and said that I had a grown kid in the house.  I wanted the exercise and if it got too much I could just let him do it.  But it was so nice of them.  Monte was horrified when he got up and found out his old crippled mother had shovelled!  Jeez!!!  Brother our world here is getting too small if thats all I have to report.  Sidewalk shovelling and stinky xmas trees.  Great post this.

Okay I can't stand that smell any longer.  I have come to terms with losing my awesome little tree so its time to bundle it up and chuck it onto the ever growing mess on the back deck.  Have a great day, have fun present buying and TTYL

'Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and everything is softer and more beautiful.'  Norman Vincent Peale

random shots of Viet Nam. I don't remember which city it was.

THE LOCAL SHOP WORKERS WOULD GATHER ON THE SIDEWALK, SIT ON TINY PLASTIC STOOLS AND BUY LUNCH FROM AN IMPROMPTU POPUP 

THIS WAS THE SCARIEST BIKE LOAD WE SAW..A TINY BABY IN THE ARMS OF ITS MOTHER

ALL THEIR HOUSING IS SKINNY AS HELL AND TALL.  THEY ARE CHARGED TAXES ON FRONTAGE, NOT HEIGHT.

I DON'T GET IT

You know, the quieter, less activity and mundane my life is, the longer I forget to blog.  Seriously!  I thought that that would happen when I was busy up the wazoo!  But noooooo...half the time I sit here twiddling my thumbs, doing nothing.  You'd think I would slide my idle brain to my blog.  Nope!

So here I am now.  And of course one of the things that has happened is snow.  And clearly, watching the news, the snow created quite the issue with the lower mainland. 

 And if you are one of the people (in your mind if this is you, insert idiot) that is driving on summer tires, well all I can say is you are an irresponsible careless....idiot.  I hope every car that got hit or hit someone, who had summer tires, gets nailed.  It is beyond my comprehension how you can get into a car, on the first snowy day, with summer tires and DRIVE!!!!!!  GET OFF THE ROAD AND PARK IT!!!  But I am pretty sure this is none of you!!

Today was garbage day.  So around six thirty this morning I hauled butt (sore butt) out of my warm cozy bed, pulled on boots and coat and out to move the recycling bin out to the street.

Well thats easier printed than done.  It was stuck frozen in about a half a foot of totally frozen snow.  Just trying to get through to the bin through the snow on the grass almost killed me.  Well, not killed but busted twisted ankles.  Then the stupid thing wouldn't budge so I gave it an almighty kick or three.  It finally came loose.  Then whilst I was trying to drag it over to the gate it would tip over as it bumped along the uneven snow.  Monte had taken the garbage out the night before and where his size 17s had stepped, they had left craters, big ones.  And as soon as a wheel fell into a crater, over the stupid thing would go.  Tipping.  I think they call garbage tipping in some countries.

Anyway I finally wrestled it out onto a road that had an insurmountable berm left by the snowplough.  Then on the way back to the house I again damn near went over but caught myself.  And somehow wrenched my ass bone.  Next time I am going to let Monte do it.  He always offers but I don't want to hand off all my physical chores to him.  I need to do them myself.

Yesterday morning Ange and I got the apple butter going.  This involves chopping up (with implements to help) ten pounds of ambrosia apples Monte and I bought in the Okanagan, putting them in the crock pot, adding spices, sweetener and apple cider and then cooking them for ten hours.  Yup!!!  Ten hours.  All day yesterday the whole house smelt like apple pie.  At ten last nite I shut it down.  It was a delicious very dark brown...just the way YouTube Chef John said it should look.  And it is delicious!!! 

Back in the old days up north, Gramma, mom's mom, would come to visit, also when we lived in Westsyde, Kamloops.  She would make amazing brown bread with graham flour.  The margarine, we didn't eat butter back then, Kraft Parkay was pretty good, would get all melty into the soft middle part of the slice.  Then we would slather the apple butter she made on it.  Oh my stars!!!!!  That was delicious beyond delicious!!!  Or we would slap on her homemade rhubarb strawberry (she would always add strawberry jello powder) jam.  Mmmmmmm....  Grammas....they're the best!

I heard from Aryn this morning.  They are STILL up in Grand Prairie.  She said it was -33 this morning.  But it was going to warm up to -26 during the day.  Hahaha!!

  I was telling her that when we were really little, mom would make us go out to play when it was between -20 and -40.  It's amazing how your nose sticks together and you mustn't lick your lips or cry...anything liquid.  And if you peed your snowsuit, get in the house right away! And under no circumstances were you to stick the tip of your tongue to the metal gate.  But of course we did anyway.  If you just patiently wait your tip melts off.  My tip for the day!

 To start your vehicle, this is back before electric block heaters, you had to build a coal fire in a pan that looked like a wok and put it under the car under the block.  Eventually the oil would heat up enough for the engine to start. 

Well enough of all that.  I probably lost you all after the first paragraph!  I must get on with my day.  I will take pics of our finished apple butter.  If any of you want some, just email me!  I will send you some.  Take care, be careful when the snow turns to ice and TTYL

Hahahaha!!!  I looked for a quote about apple butter and this is what I found...I apologize for a naughty word!

"You don't know shit from apple butter!"  Cormak McCarthy

This is so true!  As you will see from the pics I will put on next post!

 

PROJECTS.....AHHHHHHH

 You should see my living room!  As I think I mentioned I brought a couple of Rubbermaids and garbage bags full of April's clothes and footwear she needs to sell, home here.  There is no reason I can't do it for her. I have no life.  And so far it is going great!  I have met a lot of awesome locals and will be meeting more.  There is a pretty steady stream of people at my door.  This beats halloween all to hell and back!

Another project has cropped it's head up.  My guest room is full to the top.  It is my storage room.  Costco size tp and paper towels and boxes of Kleenex, a cooler full of crap to sort, two giant Rubbermaids full and overflowing, the bed has art prints, a printer, two boxes of crap and a ton of other stuff.  I have been waiting to hear that someone is coming to stay for a night or two, to offer up the opportunity to get me off my duff and clean the damn room.

Well opportunity knocked on my door this morning.  Graeme called and he and Levi are coming up for the weekend.  They will be here Friday night.  Ayayayay!!!  But I did tell him that they have to be out of the house by Sunday mid morning.  I have to do a colonoscopy prep and if you know anything about that, well, even Ange is going to be using Monte's bathroom and not coming upstairs.  But the relief I am going to feel about that room being cleaned is going to be the real gift of the week!!!!  I have put Monte on notice that he is going to have to do the lifting for me.  I am much better than I was but I am not quite there yet.

After I am finished selling April's stuff, and the colonoscopy is over my next project will be getting my clothes under control.  That is going to be a herculean job and I think it is going to be hard.  I have a real tough time getting rid of clothes.  Especially clothes that fit.  But they gotta go.

So I remember I was going to tell you about an event that happened before we left for Vancouver.

I was sitting in my chair staring out the window.  The lady across the street had just arrived home with her two girls, about 9 and 11.  They were standing at the door waiting for mom when suddenly this beautiful brindle pitty dashed across the street from our side, two houses over.  It made a beeline for the older girl who let out a screech and dropped her stuff and tried to stop it.  It latched onto her leg and would not let it go.  The guy next door to them came roaring out with some kind of implement and started bashing the dog on the head.  Meanwhile a lady standing by her car where apparently the dog had escaped from was hysterically calling the dog.  Suddenly the dog let go and dashed back to the car and leapt in.  Mom scooped up her kids into their van and roared off.

Meanwhile a number of people gathered at the dog car.  The woman was crying and wringing her hands.  Just then I saw Nicole next door go over to talk with them and just then a police car pulled up.  After a an hour or more of chat and talking and looking at the dog and more woman crying (if this had happened in Britain, someone would have pushed a cup of tea in the poor lady's hand) an SPCA van pulled up.  They had a pole loop and they snagged buster from the back seat and put him in the van and drove away.  About then mom and girls came back.  The older girl had a nice big bandage around her upper leg.  The crying lady dashed over, chit chat, and hugs all around.

I talked to Nicole later.  Apparently the dog did not belong to crying lady.  She was dog sitting her best friend's dog.  The dog was from Nanaimo.  The girl's leg only had surface owies.  Fortunately it didn't puncture the femoral artery.  The sad part is probably the dog will be put down and it was truly a magnificent looking dog.  This was a lot of excitement out my window to happen in the middle of my very humdrum life!!!!

Now that girl's house looks like Christmas vomited all over it!!!  Their dad is a tinkerer and boy did he ever tinker this year.  I thought last year was amazing but this year is over the top.  I will get pics and put them on here at some point.  As soon as I get April's stuff cleared out we will be putting up the puny little tree we own.  It may be puny but it is mighty!!!

Well it is time to go clean the kitchen.  Again.  Take care people, and enjoy the season.  It's a very happy time of the year.  TTYL

So I was looking for a quote about pit bulls.  And I found they were all terribly mean or unrealistically sweet.  No reality in that.  So I decided to put in a quote here made by one of my fave music makers, Pitbull.

'Every day above ground is a great day, remember that.'  Pitbull 

JEEZ!!! SEVEN DAYS...I GIVE UP

 I am so fed up with myself.  I should have posted two days ago!  And I could have if I had thought of it.  Grrrrr.....

We had a fantastic time in Vancouver.  I'm not even sure I mentioned that we were heading to Vancouver.  I gave Dorothy that other love seat, I do believe I did mention that.  I got all flustered and worried about how we were going to get it into the van.  Neither Ange nor I can lift, given our back situations.  But Monte just picked it up, got it outside, rolled end over end to the van then lifted it in.  Have I mentioned how handy it is to have a strong man in the house?

We got the one o'clock ferry on Sat.  He dropped me off at April's and then went on to Dorothy's and delivered the couch.  He spent one night at Graeme's and the next two at Emily's.

Meanwhile Chef April made a fantastic shepherd's pie for dinner whilst Myles and I had a fantastic visit.  I absolutely love hearing about his job and how it works and his stories.  It's always so interesting.  He is a longshoreman.  How often do you get the chance to learn about that??!!

The next day we just relaxed and the kids reorganized their spare room.  That sure brought back memories.  Hey, just a minute!  I need to reorganize my own.  I was thinking that that only happened yonks ago when I was in little apartments! Sigh.  Some things never change.

Later that afternoon we went to Baka's, Myles's gramma.  She is the sweetest strongest older lady I have ever met.  And incredibly interesting.  She is the same age Bill would be if he was still alive.  And she lives in a beautiful senior's high rise.  The amazing chef was putting on a deluxe buffet in honour of Remembrance Day and Baka, when she heard I was in town, invited me!

So down we went to the dining room and there was the most amazing delicious spread.  Giant med rare roast beef and jus, horseradish, Yorkshire puddings, potatoes, turnips, yams, delicious poached salmon, huge bowls or massive perfectly cooked prawns, cocktail sauce, three different salads and best, and I mean best, of all, were soft pillowy tomatoey, ravioli.  Stuffed as I was, I grabbed a dessert plate and went and got another helping of that ravioli!  And it all came with a delicious glass of red or white.  Incredible.

We then went back up to her apartment and stayed another hour or two and visited.  What a wonderful wonderful time we had.

The next day we headed back to the ferry and then a quick, yeah right, quick stop at Costco.  I have maybe four or five things on the list.  Well, five frigging hundred dollars later....we waddled out of there having made a stop for hot dogs, pizza, poutine and ice cream cone.  No wonder we are fat.  But boy it was good...and fun!

So now home and got projects on the go.  I am going to post on Sunday the twentieth.  Maybe something will happen worth reporting between now and then.  There was one incident that happened just before we left last week.  I will tell you about it on Sunday.  Take care people, stay safe, wear a mask if you can and TTYL

'Hunger gives flavour to food.'  Almit Kilmantri

THERE WE ARE, AFTER DINNER

FOOD EXHAUSTION!

INAPPROPRIATELY TICKED OFF

 I am going to sound like an awful person here but I don't care.  I got a GST cheque the other day.  A first.  It's a testament to how low my income has become.  I am now pulling in the belt and doing a little careful living.  I need to make it through ten more years, if I am lucky!

That being said I must admit that I am getting just a touch ticked off that the people on disability get sooooo many perks, for free.  And trust me, half this town is on disability.  And I question the qualification of some of them, present people in this house excepted.  It is disturbing how much they get for free.

Firstly my OAP is severely clawed back.  Joe Schmuck who never made any attempt to provide for himself gets half my pension.  They get not only all their meds paid for, but anything needed for mobility.  They get, or can if they wish, get boxes of food.  They are housed.  If you are a diabetic all your paraphernalia is paid for.  I pay ninety bucks a shot for my thingies that measure my blood.  The equipment was over 200.  The batteries are eight.  My taxes completely support them.  And today Monte got his GST supplement cheque.  Ange got hers a week ago.  The cheques were over 200 bucks. I got one!  It was 7 dollars.  Plus I have to keep this house going financially.  So I am whining.  I think I feel this way because it's super in my face here in Port.  

You know I don't want these people suffering.  Obviously.  But right now at this moment I am bitter.  It will pass by the time I get to the end of this post.

  I know I was on welfare for a long time.  I volunteered through most of it to make up for it.  But since then I added up what I took from welfare.  Then I added up the amount of income tax I have paid.  I would have had to be on welfare for a very very long time to even come close to equalling that number.  But I was very grateful for the help at the time.  Do I sound like a whiney little b**ch yet???  Lol!!!!

The rat lady has quit purveying in all things rodent.  So no trip to Comox today.  The only place here in Port charges 11 bucks per rat!!!!!  Eleven!!!!!  What a total rip off!  Everywhere else is five to eight bucks per frozen rat.  So typical of Port.  The only other place to get rats is in Victoria.  By the time we gas up there and back, the 11 bucks isn't looking so bad.

Okay I feel a whole lot better and actually I am happy to help out the less fortunate.  All that up there was yesterday.  I was going to delete it but then changed my mind.  On occasion I lose my mind.  And I think that was one of those occasions. 

 A doctor phone appointment this morning kind of helps my frame of mind.  My kidneys are doing fine and my potassium level is normal.  My A1C not so much.  So I can go back to low carbing it and get my blood sugar back under control and forget about potassium.  I just wish I could go back to eating spuds!!!  My desert island food for sure!  And as a last kick at the carb can I am making a complete roast chicken dinner tonite!  Yippeedoodle!!!!  And I am eating mashed potatoes!!!!  And candied yams.  And cranberry sauce.  I don't care!!!

Thats it folks.  Sorry about the victimy rant up there. Help a poor person out and stay safe.  TTYL

'The world does not benefit from self-centred people. Be a person who gives back to society.  Reach out and touch somebody, and help out whenever possible.'  Germany Kent. (advice I am going to heed and stop the whining)

MY THREE YR OLD ARNIE....PLAYTIME AT OMA'S

OUR HOMEMADE LOG HOUSE IN BAMFIELD..ONLY OUR ROOF WAS GREEN

I HAVE NO IDEA....I WOULD HAVE DELETED BUT THAT JUST TOTALLY SCREWS EVERYTHING UP ON THIS STUPID WEBSITE

THE BARN WE GREW UP WITH....WE HID LADY CHATTERLY'S LOVER UP IN THAT THERE LOFT!!!

I DO BELIEVE THIS IS PINEAPPLE FIELDS IN MAUI

MY DAD CLEANING UP THE BOUNTY!!


SOME OF THESE PICS I HAVE PUT ON HERE BEFORE.  I JUST PUT ON WHATEVER THE WHEEL STOPS AT.

BUSY WEEK

 Lots going on this week.  Both Ange and I got our regular flu shots today.  Got my banking done.  Super sleepy today.  I didn't actually go to bed til four this morning.  Dummy!  Monte and his friend were out a distance on the road to Bamfield in the pitch dark waiting for the eclipse.

Tomorrow we are making a rat run.  Yes, a rat run.  The rats at our local pet store are horrendously expensive and there is a lady in Comox who sells them cheaper so we are going up there to buy a bunch.  Lucky Smooch!  She only eats one every two weeks.  Wish I only had to eat every two weeks.

As I have mentioned before, we live right beside, behindish a Quality Foods.  The place is too expensive for main shopping, that we get at Walmart curbside, but QF is good for one thing for sure.  Every 'cheque day' for disability peeps, and that is half this town it seems, they put on a meat sale that beats all meat sales.  They sell meat packages that are between six and nine dollars normally.  Turkey chunks, beef stew, beef stir fry strips, pork shoulder steaks, pork schnitzel, fake crab, chicken breasts, hamburger, chicken burger, turkey burger, chicken drumsticks, and a whole lot more I can't remember.  And they sell them five packages for twenty five bucks.  So guess whose new freezer is full to the top!  Then the following Friday they have a five dollar sale throughout everything in the store.  Makes up for the higher prices the rest of the time.  Actually it was a lot of fun buying a ton of meat!  They are a perfect size for Monte.

Now we still have forty pounds of apples.  I bought two apple corers and I have a peeler so it shouldn't be too big a job.  I made a little pot of applesauce to see if it was sweet enough etc. and how the apple broke down and all.  It was delicious and perfect.  Another thought I am entertaining is making a four jar batch of apple butter.  Gramma used to make it and its the best stuff on hot home made brown Graham flour bread!  Well...maybe her strawberry rhubarb jam was best.

Today I bought on Amazon a three tier electric steamer.  I have a stove top steamer pot but it just isn't big enough and I steam stuff all the time.  So I feel I am going to end up using that steamer more than any other appliance to date.  I know I would eat way more veggies if I could steam them.  Fish is good that way too.

And one last thing.  I mention this here to keep me accountable.  My bedroom.  There is a four foot high bunch of clothes on the armchair.  There's a four foot pile of clothes on the chair chair.  There is a four foot pile on the big rubbermaid in the middle of the room.  There are clothes on the floor in my big closet.  The wardrobe is plumb full of clothes.  There are stacks of clothes downstairs on the laundry room table.  There is a rubbermaid in the guest room closet full of clothes.  I have nowhere to put them permanently. It's like my house threw up clothes all over the corners of this house. 

 They have to go.  When I get back from Vancouver I am going to bring every last piece of clothing I own into the living room and separate thrift store, keep, throw.  And I AM going to  get rid of three quarters of them.  I used to play house all the time as a kid.  As an adult I am going to play hoarder...like you see on that awful show.

Now it feels like bedtime but it is only nine.  I do not like this time change.  I waaaaay prefer spring time time change.  You get tired too early and wake up way too early.  But now I am going to bounce, and get ready for bed...in two more hours.  Jeez!!  TTYL

'Not eating meat is a decision.  Eating meat is an instinct.'  Dennis Leery

Another roll the photo library dice post.

MY COUSIN AND I AND BABY APRIL

AHHHH...GAY PAREEEEE. IN AN AWESOME JEWISH BOULANGERIE

SMACK DOWN TIME...AT BREAKFAST IN MAUI

OUT IN THE BUSH SOMEWHERE

HOOOOOHAAAAAAW!!!!!

FAROE ISLANDS

EVERY TIME I SAY NEVER AGAIN

 I am talking about Chinese food.  Back in the day, every time, which was almost never, Bill would go away to Bamfield for the weekend by himself or with his brother, the minute the door closed on his butt, the family would order Chinese food.  He never ever ordered delivery. So ordering Chinese food was a big deal to us.

There are probably a few families out there that felt that 'difference' in the house when dad left the premises for a couple or more days.  I'm not saying it was not good when he was home, and I was always glad to see him get back, but whilst he was gone things were, just, well, more relaxed.

So soon there would be that knock at the door and in would come bags of deliciousness.  Luz and I would always order one whole crab each.  Hers was prepared in ginger onion and mine in some amazing creamy white sauce.  Oh Lordy!!!!  The kids got the usual noodles, sweet and sour and egg rolls and the obligatory chop suey (which would sit in the fridge til it got thrown out five days later).  We would sit at the table in the kitchen and joyfully slurp it back.

Ange and I did the same thing two nights ago.  I suggested to her that we order Chinese food right after Monte left.  The difference though is no crab and the bill went from 60 dollars to 154.

  Chinese food used to be the cheap alternative to pizza, one of the two late nite stand by snack meals.  Not anymore.  Pizza is still pretty reasonable but Chinese food has priced themselves out of the market.  It is stupid expensive.  A lot of money for slops, no matter how tasty.  Sushi is another expensive one. But sushi has always been expensive.

Anyway our food arrived an hour and a half later, hot and delicious.  We ate massive platefuls and created giant 'food baby' tummies.   Then, of course, I filled the fridge with six containers of leftovers.  The next morning I open the fridge and out wafts that smell.  Leftover Asian Cuisine.  And it just isn't all that appealing anymore.  But we ate it for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  We ate it till there was  mostly chop suey left.  Monte, bless him finished up the rest.  I haven't opened the fridge yet today.  Hopefully it is all gone!

Monte got back safe and sound.  Well maybe the sound part was a little shaky.  He mentally can only take so much before he has to quietly regroup somewhere.  On Saturday he has his first sword training class.  I think this will be good for him.  He will meet people and get some exercise.  I hope he stays as intensely interested in it as he is now.

Well that's it for today.  I am still sitting in my bed, Border Security on the tv, sipping my coffee and eating crackers.  Time to get moving!  Take care and stay healthy and safe.  TTYL

'Course rice to eat, water to drink, my bended arm for a pillow, therein is happiness.'  Confucius.

RANDOM PICS TODAY....I JUST BLINDLY ROLL THE PICS AND WHERE IT STOPS IS WHAT I PUT HERE...SO APOLOGIES AHEAD OF TIME.  I AM GOING TO DO FOUR.