A COUPLE CORRECTIONS

 I work pretty hard on here to catch my mistakes.  I don't like reading things where my brain is constantly being hitched up on misspellings, bad grammar and wrong words.

I noticed in one of my recent posts I used the term bucket list when I should have said shovel list.  It has been so long since I used the expression I didn't catch the mistake!  And in the last post I said we couldn't go to Victoria when I actually meant Vancouver.  Grrrrr.....shovel list!

Well what I can very accurately say is COVID SUCKS!!!!!  It hurts, it's annoying, and boring.  I have never sneezed so much in my life.  And they are really weird sneezes, they are like little trains of three...bam bam bam one right after the other.  What the hell?  And I have coughed my brains out, holding my eyes in with my fingers...I still remember that show I saw where that lady's eyes popped out when she was coughing harshly.  I have coughed so much my stomach muscles hurt like hell.  I guess some exercise is a good thing.  But the worst part is the achey sick feeling.  God!  That part really sucks.  Oh!  I am wrong.  The worst part is no sense of smell or taste.  None.  And I have heard of people that it never came back and if it did everything tasted rotten.  

I remember in 1997 I got what they called 'walking pneumonia' and I completely lost my sense of smell and taste for three months.  If it had not come back when it did I would have had to get therapy.  The upside of that is I lost weight.  You really lose your urge to eat, no matter how hungry you get.  I missed that morning coffee the most.  I might as well have been drinking hot water.

So now it's four in the morning, I can't sleep anymore.  All I have done the last week is sleep.  I am done with it.  I still feel shitty but def on the mend.  I wouldn't wish this on anybody.  Well, I can think of one or two I might.  Lol!!!  The hardest part is feeling like a failure.  I was proud that our hard work had kept us out of the covid bin.  Ange didn't get it!  How does that even work?  Crazy virus!!!  

I see they are dealing with the 'next' pandemic in parliament, getting ready.  If we all quit using animals for our food it would go a long long way to keeping a pandemic at bay.  So during the next one only vegans and vegetarians get to complain!

Well we are trying once again to go on a cruise.  Just to Alaska and back.  I watch a show on tv called Mayday.  I hate watching it but I can't help myself.  It shows a very realistic plane crash, with real footage mixed in, then the rest of the hour is how they try to figure out exactly what went wrong.  I am never flying again.  That show has done me right in.  So cruising is either we drive to where the cruise ship is leaving and returning, or we only consider cruises that leave and return to Vancouver.

This cruise is an eleven day round trip to Alaska.  It does the usual spots, including Sitka and ironically it spends one whole day in Victoria.  Maybe we will call Levi to meet us in China town for dim sum!  We leave September 15th.  It's probably going to rain the whole time but thats okay with me.  I think we will pack rain gear. This will be my sixth or seventh time in Alaska.  You never get tired of it.

What sparked this trip was a Princess cruises email offering ridiculously low prices and our dollar at par.  Super cheap.  Won me over!

I see it is beginning to get light outside.  I am going to try to go back to sleep for a while.  Maybe when I wake up my smell and taste will be back.  I sure hope so.  Take care people and don't get covid!!!  You won't like it!!!  TTYL

'When life knocks you down, roll over and look at the stars.'  Anon

THE WALLPAPER

MY AWESOME PLASTIC CHANDELIERS

COVID SCHMOVID

 Yesterday was an errand day.  I hate them.  I will make a list as long as my arm and head out the door to accomplish.  And at least half of the list will not get done due to things missing, people not there when they are supposed to be etc...and I end up at home with still a list of errands needing doing.  Post office, notary, bank, dollar store, Walmart for jeans, drug store etc.....I hate it.

I think in a recent post I was kind of bragging about our house having worked hard to avoid the covid bug...and winning.  I don't know many people who haven't had it, except us.  We wear N95 respirators every time we step out the door.  Monte can't though.   His head is just too big and no mask fits.  But I figure he is so tall he is way above the virus floating around below.

Until now.  He started feeling punky on the drive home from Victoria and by the next day he was really sick.  He was that sick that I had him do a covid test.  It was negative.  Good!  But he was still not good yesterday so I had him do another one and it came back definitely positive.  So he is banished to his bedroom.  I went back to Shoppers with a Monte list and loaded up.  I leave his food and stuff on the stairs outside his bedroom.  And if I have to open his door I wear a mask.

But for the two concert days I shared a hotel room with him, shared drinks, shared bites of dim sum off his and my chopsticks and then spent all day in the truck with him on the way home.  And now today my throat is sore as hell, I have a headache and I am dizzy.  But I choose to believe its the power of suggestion and NOT covid.  Ange and I refuse to get the damned thing.  We have worked so hard to avoid it and we both had our last booster within the last two weeks.  And poor Monte is locked in his room feeling like a pariah. 

Of course now we can't go to Victoria tomorrow.  I was really looking forward to seeing April and helping to plan, or at least talk about the baby shower she is helping to host.  It seems baby showers have become a really big thing, bigger than any of their apartments can handle.  They have had to rent a room at the local rec centre.  At least it isn't a 'reveal' party, those are so stupid. (to me). Hopefully no offence to anyone reading this who loves them.  I'd take that statement back but it wouldn't be honest.  I think they really are attention getting, expensive stupidity.  Anywhooo I don't get to spend any time with my kid and I was super looking forward to that.

Well my head is spinning and I can't quit coughing so I shall sign off.  Stay healthy people!!  TTYL

'Being sick is like wearing someone else's glasses.'  Megan Boyle.  (that is exactly how it feels!)

CONCERT AND DRUGS

 

A quick update on the diabetes front.....I have decided to NOT take the ozempic.  Partly because of the cost but mostly because they just don't know enough about the drug and it's effects when mixed with other drugs and the maybe's just became to alarming.  Plus one really stupid thing.  It takes about 26 weeks for the pill form to start working.  In that 26 weeks you have to control your eating to keep your blood sugar under control.  Okay.  Think about it.  If you can control your blood sugar by what you don't eat, why do you need a very expensive drug?  It does help your pancreas make insulin, eventually.  No.  I will just have to control my eating again.  And now and then go off the wagon (like Xmas or birthdays or trips to Victoria).  I think I will put that 360 bucks into our travel/ fun fund every month.  Kinda like quitting smoking all over again.

We had a fantastic trip to Victoria.  FANTASTIC!!!!!!  Monte and I have been to a million concerts, both big and small.  And we both agreed that that concert the other night was the best one we have ever been to.  It was unbelievable.  Sunset Rubdown is truly the most innovative and incredible band ever.  Their drummer was insane!!!!!  I have seen a ton of drummers in my time but never ever one like him!!!!  I didn't know humans could move faster than the eye could see!  And as for the opening act...well words can't even begin to describe that.  A solo act that....nope...can't describe it.

Levi met us at the hotel and we went downstairs to a fantastic Chinese dinner.  Yummmm......we were sitting at our table when a robot on wheels with a face and one big eyeball was suddenly humming and gliding right at us.  At the last second it turned.  Its body was made up of four shelves holding dim sum. They program the table it is to go to into its face and it goes there and delivers the order.  Creepy as hell.

The next morning we went to China town, drove around and around and around trying and eventually found parking.  We trucked it to Don Lee, a dim sum restaurant.  Levi was waiting there for us and we proceeded to have a fantastic dim sum lunch and wonderful visit.  Then into the truck and wended our way home, through horrendous rain, snow laden rain, hail laden rain, winds so fierce ferries were cancelled and huge water deposits were on the road  causing planing.  So exciting.

Now back into my chair and back to reading my books and writing things and making lists and appointments for the notary blah blah blah.  Life goes on.  We are heading to Vancouver for one nite next Wednesday.  More about that next post.  Have a great rest of week end.  TTYL

'No tricks, gimmicks, special pills, special potions, special equipment.  All it takes is desire and will.'  Richard Simmons.  (I love this guy!)

FUNNY STORY.....I GAVE ANGUS HERE TO APRIL FOR HER BIRTHDAY.  SHE SENT ME A PICTURE OF TWO OF THEM SITTING ON HER COUCH!!!  I THOUGHT AMAZON HAD MADE A MISTAKE AND SENT TWO!  BUT NO....HELEN, MYLES'S MOM GAVE HER ONE TOO!!!!  WHAT A COINCIDENCE!  AND LEELOO IS SCARED OF THEM! 

BEEP BEEP BEEP (A BUCKET LIST RANT)

 I think there aught to be a law against back up beeping.  I don't really care how many lives it may save, although I doubt we are talking about actually any, it is, to me, the world's worst noise pollution.  And there is a choice.  It's not like we are talking about birds squawking, or normal vehicle traffic or the occasional jet flying over.  We are talking about there being a choice to NOT beep when you back up.

I remember in Langford we lived about a half mile from two things.  One was a race track and the other was a gravel pit.  The noise from the race track rattled the house every week end.  The dump trucks beeping went on all the time, albeit a lot more quietly.  Yet that beeping drove me nuts.  The track not so much.

Back in North Van the school a block away decided to do some landscaping or something for months and again, beep beep beep beep beep.  Jeez!!!!!

And now....when we first moved here I was well aware that we lived a couple of houses away from a major grocery store.  This would mean rats and trucks beeping as they back into the loading dock.  I set my brain to accept it and not let it bother me.  So it doesn't.  Plus, the beeping is on only when they back up for about ten seconds.

Now they have decided to build a liquor store onto that grocery store.  Just what a town of 17,000 with 20 liquor stores already really needs, bucket list.  And for the last umpteen days, and god knows for how much longer, there is a huge digger over there pounding out and ripping up the parking lot and she has to be doing it backwards because that effing beeping never ever stops.  It's in the key of e, one octave above middle e and it's driving me insane.

It's almost 11 am.  At noon we are heading to Victoria for the concert.  I had to decide, do I take my walker so I will have a seat there (there are a very limited amount of chairs, I emailed them to find out) or do I take my nerdy telescoping stool that has backpack straps on it.  Hmmmm....do I want to look like I am squatting getting ready to take a **** or do I want to look like Granny with dementia who lost her way.  Great choice.  Either way I am going to wear all black, a gunmetal grey leather bomber jacket and my shit stomping black combat boots.  Only to make myself feel better.  Sigh and bucket list.

Gotta go pack.  I shall report.  Maybe I will get some pics.  I know for a fact, unless the bands moms and dads will be there, after all they are mostly from the Island, I will be the oldest person there.  Have a great few days.  Til then TTYL

SUNSET RUBDOWN

 I am pretty sure that title up there means nothing to most of you.  SR is a band.  They were one of the first bands that came to my attention through a very young Monte.  I love them!  They disbanded years ago and the lead singer went on to form Wolf Parade, another stellar band.  I have actually gone to their concerts.

SR got together recently and are on tour.  So Monte got us tickets and he and Levi and I are going to their concert in Victoria on the 19th of this month.  Yippeeee!!!!  I made a reservation at the Red Lion Inn for that night.  It was only a hundred bucks.  I hope it is clean and bug free!!!

I took pics of my kitchen.  I will post them at the end of this.  In the next post I will do the bathroom and living room.  My poor house!  It isn't even cute on the outside!  It is definitely a seventies special.

The other day we decided to go to Nanaimo, I think it was sat or sun.  Monte had to pick up his new glasses from LensCrafters.  We made a day of it.  The day before I suggested we go to Original Joe's for dunch (dinner/lunch).  So I brought up the OJ menu and read it out loud to both Monte and Ange.  She was coming too.  So after much deliberation we made our choices.

The next day just before we were to arrive at the little strip mall where it is situated I suddenly remembered that a few days before, when we were in Nanaimo, I had spied the restaurant, commented that we should go there one day, and there was scaffolding all over it.  Clearly they were closed for Renos.  And I forgot.  What a dolt!!!  It's closed for the foreseeable future!!!  How could I forget that??? We ended up going to Carlos O'Brians, just as good a choice.  Veggie fajitas!!!!  Love 'em!

Monte is not well again.  He goes through this a couple times a year.  He gets super dizzy spells.  This time he thinks it is his inner ear.  With all the pollen around it could be linked to allergies.  I am going to get him some antihistamine and see if that helps.  He has a true aversion to going to the doctor.  The old dude he goes to here in Port is super dismissive with him and really disrespectful...to the point where Monte doesn't want to see him.  So the clinic it shall be.

It is so incredibly beautiful and warm today.  Our mountain is at is glorious best!  The sun is brilliantly shining on it and it is still heavily packed with pristine white snow.  Mother Nature sure knows how to show off!!!  And I get to enjoy it right out my front window!!!

The neighbour directly across the street has a beautiful yellow forsythia in his front yard, in full bloom.  One year Bill cut some branches of forsythia off a bush.  They were covered with green leaves, it hadn't warmed up enough outside  to turn to yellow.  So he put them in a large vase and put them in a bewildered Monte's bedroom and told him that it was a pretty bouquet.  What Monte didn't know was that overnight in the warmth......well the next morning when he woke up that bouquet had turned into a glorious display of yellow.  He was truly bewildered then!!!!

Gotta bounce.  Y'all have a fantastic day....spring has definitely arrived to the point where there is no going back now!!!!  TTYL

'Houses are like people - some you like and some you don't like, and once in a while there is one you love.'  L. M. Montgomery

MY TIN CAN LOCKERS, FULL OF CANNED GOODS

THE FLOOR TO CEILING WALL TO WALL OPEN SHELVES

MY LOSER SINK AND TAP

AND THE CROWNING GLORY....MY LAMINATE EXTRAVAGANZA

HOUSE HUNTERS

 I am pretty sure everybody is familiar with House Hunters.  I am totally fascinated with this show.  I know that they severely edit the show, they for sure show more than three houses and I am also pretty sure they pick either syrupy sweet families or contentious ones, on purpose for viewing interest.  And then there are the ones that it would be shockingly inappropriate of me to identify that certain group that are so picky I can hardly finish watching the episode if I see that they are the buyers.

This morning I was sitting in my beloved ratty torn recliner, it looks like Frasier's Dad's old recliner, duck tape and all, and I started to look at my house as though I was on House Hunters and they were showing me this house.  And I was seeing it as though I had the same pickass expectations and wants as that aforementioned group always does.  Holy Crap!!!  

Every ceiling in the house is popcorn ceiling.  Way too much to ever think of removing it.

  The light fixture over the dining room table was an old colonial style double layered light fan, musty yellow.  I hear them on the show have a fit over perfectly beautiful light fixtures.

My kitchen has open shelves along one whole wall floor to ceiling, no doors.  The counters are a marbly dark green and cracked and old.  One drawer is totally broken and won't close all the way and leaves sawdust behind from wood dragging on wood.  The light fixture is one of those ugly yellowed (used to be white) huge sunshine florescent lights.  Terrible kitchen.  The double sink is small and the tap is broken.

The bathroom is, as Arnie calls it, a time capsule.  The turlett and bathtub are avocado green.  The turlett seat is wood.  There are two swag little plastic chandeliers that hang down in front of the three way mirror, no cabinet behind them.  The mirror doors bang into the chandelier lights.  Maybe thats why they are plastic!  Hahahaha!!!  And even with low watt lights, the light is placed such that you can't see your reflection in the mirror. You have to shut the lights off and when its dark out, you can't see at all!!!!  The tiny sink area has a stainless steel sink and a very small vanity.  But the best part is the wallpaper.  It has huge pink flowers, trellis and the flowers are a shiny metallic.  The towel rack is broken off.

Each bedroom has terrible dull tan wallpaper.  It's down right depressing wallpaper.  The ceiling lights are ancient flush mounts that I forgot had even existed.

The whole front door was rotting and peeling and the surrounding glass above and beside was that bubble glass that was yellow.  I changed it all to the tune of five thousand bucks, but it sure looks better!

And.....the lovely new massive amount of carpet in the house is pink.  Yes....pink.  Like who picks that?  An old lady you say!!!!  Well you would be right!!!! It was an old lady that live here from the time the house was built in the early seventies til she died.

So looking at this house through those snotty people's eyes....I can only imagine!!!!  I think we would hear.....updating updating needs updating, that has to go, this whole thing needs gutting....ca ching ca ching ca ching.    Well it aint happening any time soon.  I have way more fun things to spend money on...like property taxes, income taxes, utility bills, gas and food.  Hahahaha!!!!!

Next time if you happen upon an episode of Househunters, just imagine they were going through my house!!!!!  And you know what?  I love my house!!!!  It's homey and comfy and just the right size in just the right town!!!!  TTYL

I will post pics of my sad house next post.

'Home alone!!! Expectation:  party party!!!!  Reality:  peeing with the door open.'  Anon

'Home...where I can look ugly and enjoy it.' anon

DRUGS

 I haven't really talked about my diabetes type 11 here.  What could be more boring?  But when certain people found out I was put on Ozempic they expressed an interest in the results and side effects etc.  So it has only been three days so this conversation here will obviously be short.  But as I go I will do brief updates for those that are interested.  For those that aren't, well, I totally get it and I am quite jiggy with you skipping those posts!

What worries me is my last doctor sent all my health stats in to ozempic to see if I would be a good candidate.  They said no.  Apparently my kidneys aren't working well enough to handle the drug.  The currant doctor, when I mentioned this, went, 'pffft, your kidneys are good for this.'  (there have been a lot of contradictions between the two doctors).  

I have ended up with Rybelsus, the daily pill form of the drug.  I took a few days to do a deep dive into this drug before starting.  Number one...the monthly dose is 360 bucks.  Number two....when I asked if the drug is effected by my acid pump (omeprazole) pill the answer was less than satisfying.  They said they don't know as it hasn't been tested yet.  All I know is that the extremely huge and acidly bitter pill has to be taken on a completely empty stomach to aid its absorption into the blood stream.  Okay.  Sounds good to me.  So I started three days ago to take the pill when I am awake in the middle of the night.  I am ALWAYS awake in the middle of the night!!!  My blood sugar at ten this morning was 6.5, right where it should be.  We shall see.

I made a gross ghastly dinner last night.  Monte threw four one pound packages of ground turkey into the cart in Costco.  I melted two pounds and perused recipes involving that meat that resembles Styrofoam. 

I ended up in the Mexican section and discovered an interesting recipe that you easily cook in the crock pot.  Browned, actually greyed turkey meat, canned tomatoes, taco seasoning, milk and corn meal.  Four hours later, suffering through the gross smell of cooking ground turkey, (it definitely does NOT smell like roasting Xmas turkey), a spongey, pale mass with grey lumps presented itself.

Both Monte and Ange actually said they liked it, and ate it.  Ange even went back for seconds, bless her, and said she would have it for supper tonite!  Monte I am not so sure he was not fudging the truth.  He did eat it but it took him two or three hours to get through the dish of stuff as he worked at the table.  I tasted it and knew immediately I would not be able to eat it without having to take gravol later.  This doesn't happen very often.  Usually I only make stuff I look forward to eating.

I got up early this morning and cleaned the house.  Today the housekeeper is coming.  It has been a month and the floors are looking terrible.  This housekeeper doesn't wipe the tables, doesn't dust, doesn't vacuum all the way down the stairs, doesn't do the microwave unless asked.....and I pay her 70 bucks for two hours and she always leaves at one and a half hours.  But she is better than no one.  What she does do is super well done.

Enough for today.  Have a wonderful day or two and eat candy, cuz I sure can't.  LOL!!!  TTYL

'Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please.'  Mark Twain

I AM NOT DEAD

 Jeepers!!!  Other than travelling, I think this is the longest I have ever gone between posts!  My apologies!  I have started getting emails asking if all is alright!

Many years ago, around 2006-7, I had a computer, this was before laptops, set up in a tiny office I created after the house fire, in the laundry room. I called it the Laundry Room Shelf.

I discovered rather rapidly that one needs to be somewhat careful about what one writes in a blog, everybody eventually finds it.  And when I started this one I erased the other first.  

Before I started blogging, I read several personal blogs, a lot like mine.  They were kind of like their journals, not about animals, or cooking, or gardening, or quilting etc...they were simply about their daily lives.  I found them fascinating, I am actually super nosey.  And they were long.  I didn't start reading one unless it had postings for at least two years or more.  And now you can't find that.  Lots of beginnings then peter outers.

Another thing that happened twice....I got very into the blogs.  I would comment and they would comment back and you really got to know these people.  And then one day, my fave one, she was in Seattle, just stopped.  It was the oddest feeling.  She posted at least once a week and several weeks went by.  At first I didn't notice then one day I went 'hold on, I haven't heard from so and so in a long time!'  I scrambled to my laundry room, loaded it up and there was a post by someone I don't know.  He was a friend of hers announcing she had died in a car crash.  OMG!!!  That was just plain awful.  I had been reading her blog for over two years.

Another one, she is still alive as far as I know, was from North Vancouver and she worked for Transit BC in their office. She never announced where she actually worked but she took a random pic of her office one day and I could faintly see a backwards reflection of a sign with Transit on it in a picture on her wall.  Skytrain.

One day I was in the downtown bus depot picking up someone and as I walked towards the back doors I walked right past her.  What an odd odd feeling to see this person in person!  It didn't feel right!  I could have said hello and identified myself but I thought that would maybe creep her out.  Then soon after that she just up and announced she was moving to twitter and quitting the blog!  I don't do twitter.  I really missed that blog (and her).

I haven't posted lately because I have been preoccupied.  I do believe it was Cookie that was saying that they (the proverbial They) took a second look at counting household activities as exercise.  That was like a validation to me.  I come from a day and age when there was no such thing as a public gym, causing all kinds of guilt.  You were busy, all day.  Kids, work, cleaning, laundry, cooking, shopping etc...How the hell does that not count as exercise?  Gyms are just evil money making places.  How is it so many people are living into their nineties right now and never ever set foot in a gym?

Well I came home with that mulling about in my brain.  And I have decided to up the home front activities....three or four times a week.  I decided to test the plan over the last couple of days.

So I decided to break down the roof high pile of amazon boxes on the back deck.  The mess out there was really getting to me.  So I spent one whole afternoon cleaning, picking up garbage and flattening a million boxes.  It felt so good to get it mostly done.  We still have to take them to the dump but I sat when I had to cuz of my back, but mostly it was up and down.

I also have started counting how many times I get up and down off my recliner.  And let me tell you...thats better than any leg machine in a gym.  I am making sure I do that 30 times a day.  Now I have to work on not leaning way forward to stand up.  That makes it too easy on the old legs!

I spent another day just cleaning stuff up.  Jeez!  the place was a mess.  And right now we can't use our dishwasher so I am washing them by hand.  I actually am really enjoying that.  Old school.  It feels so familiar.  Appliance guy is coming tomorrow.  I need him to show me how to clean it.  It's only two years old but so slimy and dirty the dishes don't clean, and we clean them before we put them in there!  Worst freaking dishwasher I have ever owned.  Whirlpool deep barrel.  Bad.  Anyway the increased activity should help, or at least count.  And soon the weather will be such I can get out and trot around the block a couple times.

Levi is here this weekend.  What a lovely guy he is.  He is the fellow Monte works for.  He and Monte and Bryce drove to Campbell River yesterday.  Partly it was a picture hunting trip and partly to go to a camera shop up there.  Levi is also an amazing photographer.  The three of them had a fabulous day. I ordered Chinese cuisine and the boys got home in time for dinner.

We have made a trip or two to Coombs Market.  What a crazy place.  It is so crowded in there.  It still isn't totally fun going to these places as I still religiously wear a respirator N95 mask.  And that ain't no joke of a mask.  Suffocating.  But I haven't contracted covid yet...touch wood.

So as you can see, humdrum life.  I shall post again when SOMETHING HAPPENS!!!!  Have a lovely day and TTYL

'My stomach is flat.  The L is just silent.'  Lisa Jones England

A PORT ALBERNI BUS STOP

TESTING OUT MY NEW CAMERA

STOPPED FOR COFFEE ALONG THE WAY

SMILE FOR THE BIRDIE