DOG WOODS EVERYWHERE

 This town should have been called Dogwood.  I have never seen so many dogwoods in one place....ever!  There is always the massive gorgeous one across the street but as you drive here and there every fourth or fifth house has fully grown beautiful dogwoods.

The other day Monte and I went out to buy mulch and gas up and we ended up way up a logging road on top of a nearby mountain.  It was gloriously gorgeous out.  And much to my complete surprise the forest was full, and I mean full, of blooming, kind of scraggly dogwoods!  I had no idea they grew wild like that.  I guess that is why dogwood is BC's tree.  I did take a couple pics, not good ones, which I will put at the end here.

Then, on Sunday, the three of us decided it was time to get the front garden done.  It was looking simply awful.  Weeds, old dead flowers, renegade blown flyers and junk mail, it was awful and embarrassing.  

So we sent Monte to the nursery to pick up twelve bags of fine dark mulch.  And then we got busy.  We pulled as many weeds that were willing to come out of the ground, which certainly wasn't all of them.

  But Ange had seen an idea on YouTube.  We had been keeping our amazon boxes, which numbered a lot seeing as how Ange and I are online shopaholics.  Monte hauled out a mass of flattened boxes, I had flattened a few weeks ago.  We covered the flower beds with flattened boxes then a good thick layer of mulch.  Bill did that with cardboard or carpet.  It looks fantastic!

Earlier in the day Ange and I planted about ten planters with fresh awesome potting dirt and packages of seeds, every kind of herb you can imagine.  Dill, basil, rosemary, thyme etc...and one planter of cat grass for Ace and Belle.

Then we hopped into the truck with our cameras and headed out the Bamfield road to China Creek fish campsite.  The wind was howling and I was totally freezing.  I only had shorts on.  I was sitting in the back and noticed a giant pair of Monte's sweat pants.  I pulled them on and I thought Ange was going to die laughing.  And Monte's reaction was priceless!  He stopped dead in his tracks, stared at me, then dead serious he said, 'that is the worst you have ever looked!  I am serious.  You look absolutely awful and it isn't even anything to do with your hair.  That IS the worst you have ever looked in your whole life!!!"  I almost died laughing at him.  Ange took a pic.  I will post here as I have zero pride.  You will see why Bill called me Blister.

So the last couple days we have been sitting around letting our legs and back recover from all the unusual activity.  But tomorrow, Wednesday, we are driving out to Bamfield.  Ange has never been.  I can't wait to show her Pachena and the big log house Bill and I built.  I am taking a diabetic friendly picnic and a thermos of coffee and a chair.  What more could one want I ask!!!!!

On Friday Monte and Ange are heading to Nanaimo.  They need to pick up a few things.  I am opting to stay here this time.  I am going to do my mountain of laundry (shovel list) and pack away my winter duds. I need to haul up my summer clothes rubbermaid and do the switch.  Also on June 2 or 3rd the diabetes association is scheduled to come by and pick stuff up.  I must get that all ready too.  (half a shovel list).

So thats it.  I shall take a pic of the front.  Ignore the ugly blue rubbermaid.  We use it for mail as I don't have the tools to drill screws into brick to hang a mailbox.  We lost our mailbox when I replaced the whole front including the door.

Thats it for this round.  Have a great week or couple of days or whatever.  TTYL

'Attitude is the difference between an ordeal and an adventure.'  Bob Bitchin. (My mom always said this!!!!!  and that is truly his real last name!!!)

LIKE I SAID, NO PRIDE

I LIKED THE NAME OF THIS TUG, UNDAUNTED

ANGE, GETTING BLOWN TO BITS

ON THE ROAD TO BAMFIELD

GETTING THAT SHOT

NOT SO RAGGEDY ANYMORE

THOSE DAMNED SHEPHERD HOOKS WON'T STAND UP STRAIGHT. THAT RUBBERMAID WILL NOT BE THERE SOON. I HAVE A PLAN

THE NEIGHBOUR'S DOGWOOD.  I TOOK THIS FROM MY CHAIR OUT THE FRONT WINDOW

I AM HUNGRY I AM HUNGRY I AM HUNGRY

 I am working hard right now to keep track of exactly how much or little I get to eat to keep my blood sugar under 6.5.  I ate the day we went to Nanaimo, I ate poutine (a little) and a hot dog at orange Julius.  Thats about all I ate but it would be enough to totally throw my numbers off.  So the next morning I checked and was back down to 6.5.  And after having a small food day it's 6.5 this morning.  Today is a fasting day.  Sigh.  Beef broth, that's it.  Tomorrow morning I am going to make a grilled cheese sammich.  The bread is sprouted bread, super low carb.  So I am going to sit here and think about that sammich for a minute......

I am not so happy with my housekeeper.  I pay her 35 bucks an hour for a two hour stint...which she has never done.  She gets done and leaves at 1hour and 15 minutes.  It's annoying.  Plus she doesn't dust unless I specifically ask her to each time.  She doesn't vacuum all the way down the stairs.  And I put the rugs in the bathroom a certain way and they were exactly askew the same after she left.  She did NOT wash the bathroom floor.  Clearly I have been spoiled by Alice and Milly.

Yesterday I was outside and the next door neighbour Nicole came over and we visited a while.  She is 39 and has two of the cutest kids ever, 4 and 6.

She was telling me that she loves to do housework and she would come over and help me out any time I needed it!!!!  Who does that???  So I told her about my housekeeper.  Nicole is making 18 bucks an hour at the Best Western cleaning disgusting rooms.  I was suggesting she go into housecleaning.  There is always people looking for housekeepers here.  And we all pay 35 bucks an hour!  She is considering it!  I told her I would be her first customer!!!!

We took Graeme back to Nanaimo on Wednesday.  He had to get home for a commitment he had that evening.  I then went to Lens Crafters and picked up my prescription and picked out my fave ray bans and got measured up.  I love love love the glasses!!!!  I took a pic on instagram thinking I would be able to look at them for the three weeks I have to wait for them in person.  But when I went back to look the pic was gone!  I cannot figure out instagram....some pics stay forever and some just don't.  Grrrr....

Anyway this is such a boring post.  My apologies.  But truly nothing exciting has happened whatsoever. It's hot, Ange and I went to a nursery place and bought all the seeds for planting our herb garden.  I need Monte to go get the bags of potting soil.  It's too heavy for either of us to lift.  And that is it.  Have a good few days.  TTYL

'In order to live off a garden, you practically have to live in it.'  Kin Hubbard

....ain't that the truth!!!!!!

ANOTHER BUSY WEEK

 Wow!  So much happening.  We are all better.  Covid is definitely in the rear view mirror and we ain't looking back.

This week went by so fast.  I have been working hard at keeping my blood sugar down between four and six.  It is so blamed hard.  No matter what you eat, no matter how careful you are, your sugars shoot up.  It's so hard to keep it down.  And for me it def means eating very little.  Fortunately I have spent a good deal of my life in that state so I am used to it.

We made another trip to Nanaimo.  Monte drove me down to Lens Crafters.  These glasses I have now are just not cutting it.  The optometrist was utterly amazing.  This is the first time I have had one that not only listened to me but took action.  In the end he asked if I minded waiting for my prescription while he researched my history.  He wants to make sure he hits the right prescription.  I royally complained about my last one.  I was very grateful and happy to wait.  I am going back tomorrow to hopefully choose the glasses and get them ordered.

While I was in there Monte went to the ferry and picked Graeme up.  He has come for a short visit.  He is going back to Vancouver tomorrow.  It was so good to see him.  And he is so good for Monte. Monte loves him to pieces.  They have such a good friendship.

Mother's Day was awesome.  Monte took me out twice!!!  We decided to go get some lunch somewhere.  We knew we would be going to the Spice hut for supper so a light lunch somewhere.

Right.  We went down to the quay for some tacos and the place was closed.  But right there is a place called the Starboard Grill.  It's a beautiful place right on the water.  I wanted to check out the menu in the window and lo and behold they were having a brunch special for mom's day.  So in we went and had the most spectacular brunch!!!  Juicy salmon, lox, smoked mackerel, candied salmon, delicious buns, soft amazing danishes, eggs bennies, scrambled eggs, bacon and sausage, hash browns, delectable rice, ham carvery, fruit bowl, and on and on......When we rolled out of there I was thinking I would never be able to eat supper.  But I did.

Palak.  Man I love palak.  Plalak paneer is creamed spicy spinach and their cheese they make.  Now I do not like the cheese so I get them to leave that out of the spinach.  And a roti.  Soooo good!  I am going to make palak here at home.  I watched a bunch of YouTubes, making palak with frozen spinach cubes.  It's pretty low carb too.  I did buy a big bag of roti flour.  I found a YouTube that showed how to make rotis easily.  You make the dough like pancake batter.  Then you ladle that into a hot frying pan and cook it the same way.  It even puffs way up like it should.  No rolling.  No fussing. And it's fast.  I'm excited to try it!!!

Well Graeme is here so I should go.  Monte has had to go back to bed for a while.  He isn't doing as well as I would like.  I know the sun gets to him something awful, always did, right from when he was a baby.  Anywhoooo, I hope you all are enjoying the drastic change in the weather and be covid free!!!  TTYL

'The eyesight for an eagle is what thought is for man.' Dejan Stojanovic

ANOTHER DISTRACTED WEEK

 We are a sick sick household.  Covid is nothing to take lightly I tell ya.  I had three days of so sick I don't remember it but the fourth day came and I hopped out of bed, completely better except for my sinuses.  Couldn't taste or smell and they continued to try to kill me til a day or two ago.  But I feel great.

Not so Monte and poor Ange.  I think she maybe thought she was not going to actually get it, or if she did it was going to be a very light case.  Well one week later she went down like a dead man.  That poor girl is so so sick.  And she has the killer headache...that I, thank God, I did not get.  Plus she is puky and gravol doesn't work on her.  Jeez Louise...kill me now!  She will start to feel well, think it's finally over, and then bam!!! down she goes the next day.  And she is dizzy and fatigued.

And Monte just isn't getting well.  He has zero energy and just doesn't feel right.  He spends all day in bed.  I think he is getting worried he may end up long hauling it.

On the other floor of this house is me, alternating between cooking for them and sitting in my chair reading.

I have made an appointment again at Lens Crafters.  These glasses I have are still fairly new but they just aren't cutting it.  I can't see small things and it is so frigging annoying!!!

  I can't read the thermostat on the wall.  I can't read the closed caption on the tv.  I can't read instructions on processed packaged food, which is probably something of a good thing.   I have cut out a wee cardboard strip off the instant potatoes box (Betty Crocker only people, Idaho brand sucks and the Dollar Store sells Betty Crocker), the instructions which I simply absolutely cannot read without a giant magnifying glass.  I have put that in my wallet and when it is time to pick the glasses up I am going to whip that thing out and if I can't read it, I ain't taking them.

Another annoying thing....I have them make the bifocal part super high.  The upper line runs right through the middle of my eye.  That way I can read my piano music without throwing my head way back.  But...my right ear where the leg of the glasses sits is lower than the left one.  So that upper line slants down toward the right.  To get it even so I can read I have to tilt my head a wee bit to the left, which wreaks havoc with my neck.  Getting old sucks.

Travel.  I sorely miss it.  And I am discovering that Monte can only be away and staying with friends for about three days max.  A road trip right now just would be too hard on him.  But he can cruise.  If he has a quiet place to retreat to, our cabin, he is fine.

Now that covid is not something to be afraid of and with five shots and an episode of covid on board, we are as protected as possible.  Plus I would take my N95 respirators and liberally use them.

With this in mind I decided to take another look at a cruise.  I got an email from Princess cruises offering an 11 day Alaska cruise for 695, Canadian!!!!  Thats crazy cheap.  Plus you have to add the taxes and port fees etc... but the starting price is what actually sets whether it is a cheap price or not.  I took the bait!  It is four days longer than the average Alaska trip, it includes Sitka!  Not many trips do.  We tender in and as it is the most Russian of the towns we see in Alaska it is totally interesting.  We also visit two glaciers, Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan.  And if it rains the whole time, which tends to happen in September, thats okay with us.  I can't wait!!!!

And Princess ships have a Big Brother twist to their cruises.  You get a Medallion upon embarkation.  It's metal and about the size of a poker chip.  Encrypted on this thing is all your info.  One wears that thing 24/7 so the employees on the ship can always find you...for messages, room service, food or drink orders etc.  Also as you approach your cabin door that medallion unlocks it automatically as you get near.  And a lot of the stores in the towns have Medallion pay.  So if you don't want to use your credit card or cash, you just touch the medallion on their machine and it automatically gets added to your  ship account.  And if you foolishly go hiking on one of Alaska's many gorgeous trails and get lost, the ship peeps can find you.  Now if a bear eats you and your medallion, they will be tracking down the bear, not you.  Or you inside him.

Anyway its seems very futuristic to old me.  After reading Brave New World and 1984 (?), I kind of have a touch of a wary feeling about it.  But I bought us a drinks package so I have a feeling we will be using the app that is attached to that medallion a lot.  We have to drink six alcohol drinks a day to make the package worth it.  Plus we get bottled water, soft drinks, juice from the juice bar, specialty coffees, milkshakes etc....and two special desserts per day.  And we get wifi and the daily gratuities that are 16 bucks per day per person paid.  I worked it out and we save 57% by pre purchasing this package.  Kerry would be so proud of me!!!

Anyway we leave Sept. 15th.  We are just taking carry on size suitcases.  One dressy outfit for the two formal nights, and rain gear and two pants and four shirts and pjs.  I have learned to pack what you are going to wear, not choices.  I always overpack.  Not this time!

And now we have created a travel fund for 2024.  But this time we are going to do a thirty day Panama Canal transit trip.  It leaves from Florida.  Again, it is really inexpensive and we have over a year to trickle coinage into that account.  And that trip I believe either starts or ends in Vancouver so flying one way only.  

Anyway, thats it for today.  This is getting too long.  Have a great day!!!!  TTYL

'At night, when the sky is full of stars and the sea is still you get the wonderful sensation you are floating in space.'  Natalie Wood........I almost didn't use this quote because....well...she IS floating somewhere, but that is so exactly how it feels. I have truly felt that, sitting on my balcony at night under a blanket of stars, silently floating along.

ALL BETTER AND BACK AT IT

 Well that was a slice...NOT.  Actually I think I got off pretty lightly.  I didn't get super sick until Wednesday and by Saturday I was basically over it.  I bounced out of bed, tons of energy and cleaned the house.  My sinuses on the other hand are definitely trying to kill me by drowning.  Jeez Louise!!!!  How can one body produce so much liquid???!!!  And until today I couldn't really smell or taste.  I am really glad my taste has come back, not so much my smell though.  Oh, it's back, I just wish it wasn't.  hahaha!!!  The garbage does not smell great at the moment.

It was exactly one week ago, Monday, that I was running around doing all those errands.  And today was another errand day.  Notary, shopping for food, buying my yearly pair of jeans at Walmart, going to the bank etc.... I will be honest though, I don't really remember much about Tuesday Wednesday or Thursday.  Those days are just a blur.

Monte was poleaxed by covid.  Really bad.  He was sick two days before me and as of yesterday he still couldn't get up.  It kind of scared him how bad and weird it got.  But this morning when I called him he immediately said he was much better, thank goodness.  I thought I was going to have to drag him up to emergency.  When I got back from running around town, I made sure he got up and we hopped in the truck and went out.  We drove around and went and got tacos and went down to the quay and picnicked.  It is so good to be better!!!

Poor Ange on the other hand is still battling it.  Yup! she came down with it on about Thursday so she has a couple days to go.  I don't think she got the same symptoms as us.  The poor thing got a killer headache and lost her taste and smell.  Monte and I were very lucky to escape the headache.

Well enough of that.  Not much else has happened.  It's been a week, that's for sure.  Until something happens.....TTYL

This is where I put a quote.  So here is a quote from a not very favourite person of mine.  If there was anyone in the world I would wish sickness upon, she would be it.  Read the quote and tell me that is the most arrogant thing someone can say. She is the one person I would actually wish covid on.

'I'm never sick. Why get sick?  It's a waste of time.' Martha Stewart