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!