FOR ME

 If there was one phrase in our arsenal that I would remove it would be 'for me'. Whatever in the world  you are going through would make you think you are the only person out of eight billion humans on the planet to have the negative experience you are suffering through.

Oh I know there will be times, positive times, or taking responsibility times, that the two words are appropriate. I am not sure why it bugs me so much.

  Our mother raised us so so strongly to not ever be a victim. (shovel list..I am making myself a victim of two words...lol!!)  Like Monte taught me, it's a choice.  And 'for me' at the end of a whine is so narcissistic and....well whiny.

 Eg: In an unhappy group situation, ' This is so painful and it is so uncomfortable for me.'  Well what about everybody else in the group?  Everyone is in pain and uncomfortable.  If you are one that does say that phrase, next time instead of  saying 'for me', substitute  'only me', because that is what you sound like you are saying.  How can you tell I am watching  Naked and Afraid?  lol!!! In the words of Tim Conway, 'STOP IT, JUST STOP IT!!!!!"

Well now that that rant is done, on to happier thoughts.  My housekeeper is back!!!!  I am sitting on my bed, drinking coffee and blogging whilst my house is getting cleaned.  I do go around and completely put everything away, clear off the table, do the dishes, super clean every inch of the whole kitchen and get the floors ready to be vacuumed and washed.  She cleans and scrubs the sinks, stove and microwave.  Then lastly, after scrubbing the bathroom, she vacuums and washes the floors.

Right now Floppy is locked in the other bedroom.  He is NOT happy.  But he is shedding so extremely it is kind of shocking.  He is my ninth shepherd but he is by far the worst shedder.  They should call them shedherds.  Its ridiculous.  One run of the vacuum through the house and my thirty dollar Miele bag is full.  In his defence he is blowing his coat.  They do this four times a year so the worst of it will end soon.  It's so difficult for me.  hahahaha!!!!

Monte doesn't sleep at night. He sleeps during the day.  He has been like this since he was a baby.

Last night around ten he went out for a coffee and then to Canal Beach/Park to practice swording.  (we don't know the proper word for that).  Eventually around two am he parked outside the house and cleaned out the car.  Then he exercised in the front yard.  I was afraid the cops were going to show up, called by a neighbour, thinking something nefarious was going on at the ugly shit box house on 11th.  It was almost pitch black so all you could see was a super huge hulking man lurking and moving about.  If I saw that at a neighbour's house I would be inclined to think nefarious stuff was going on.

Ah jeez, I am rambling on about nothing you guys could possibly be interested in.  I'm hangin' her up.  TFL and TTYL

BROTHER TIME

We had a fantastic visit from Stan and Antonia.  I managed to get the house free of dog hair.  Floppy is blowing his coat right now and it is shocking how much hair can come out of him.  He spent the entire time stuck in my bedroom.  I think he would have been fine with their dog, but he is way over enthusiastic with people.  He goes nuts, trying to climb into their laps and jumping up.  If we had people here ever, I would be able to train him with a shock collar. He has ADHD and I think I will sneak someone's Ritalin and put it in his food.

I made a massive stew the day before.  It was delicious!  I don't make them too often but it was a miserable day out when I made it and now it is cold enough at night outside to put it out overnight.

Monte does runes.  It is kind of like tarot but he uses stones with symbols on them.  Antonia was super interested in rune reading and Monte and she were going to do a reading.  Unfortunately there wasn't time.  So on Nov. 27 we are going to make a trip up to Campbell River for lunch and a rune reading.  Should be interesting.  He is super good at it!

I am looking forward to going out to the shed with all my storage unit boxes.  I need to make sure rats aren't getting into any of them.  I am anxious to get my native statues and my lamp for the kitchen.  I don't even remember what is in all those boxes. 

 I do know that Bill's giant fifty pound salmon, mounted on a board, is leaning on the carport wall out back.  It needs to be either hung up somewhere in this house or put into the shed.  Maybe I will hang it over the fireplace.  It would fit perfectly!  At least it's mouth and head don't move as it starts to sing 'Take Me to the River".  Jeez...kill me now!!!

Right now my current project is Monte's bedroom.  There is so much piddlyass stuff in there with nowhere to put any of it.  I also have a zillion dollar store containers that I think I will start sorting his stuff into.  Then I will stack them in the corner.  I really don't know what else to do.  We aren't dresser people. I know that the drawers would remain empty.  (shovel list)

That is it for today.  Got stuff to do!  (not really.  I just want to watch an upcoming episode of Naked and Afraid!). Take care...TFL and TTYL

OUR AWESOME COFFEE SPOT. 'STEAMPUNK CAFE'

BUNS ALL READY TO BE BAKED

WINTER STEW

WHAT WE SHOULD BE DOING ON A GREY RAINY DAY

THE GREY FOGGY DAY OUT MY WINDOW

 

WHAT THE HECK? THE NINTH? OKAY I GOTTA SET A BLOG ALARM

 I apologize once again.  I haven't even been all that busy til the last four days.  Company is coming and all you normal folks will understand, leaving out the ocd anal clean freaks, its frantic cleaning time.  And I am finding it tougher than years ago.  I can't use my right arm properly and my balance is crap.  Plus I am half blind.  How good do you think my cleaning effort is going to be?  lol!!

I think you all know by now that Monte was diagnosed with high functioning autism/aspbergers (sp?).  Probably how he can play the piano like he does.  But I tell ya life with him is very interesting and unexpected.  But I am learning!  If it wasn't so targeting I would write a humorous book about antics and life with Monte!!!  Here is an example.

Stan and Antonia are coming for a couple of nights tomorrow night...thus the frantic cleaning.  I decided to make a proper beef stew for dinner tomorrow night.  I actually did something I never do...I looked up recipes for stew.  I mean I have made a million in my history but I thought I would just read some.

 Of course I found one with some interesting quirky differences and decided to try it.  It calls for tomato paste, horseradish and root beer.  I will leave out the horseradish.  But I asked for Monte's opinion on the root beer.  We had a discussion...pros and cons.  He is all for it, says it would be good.  He convinced me.

This was yesterday.  So I popped into the store and bought one bottle of sugared barks root beer.  I am excited to see how it turns out.  I am making that stew today as per the recipe.  It says it needs to sit in the fridge overnight for better flavour.  So following the recipe exactly I came to the root beer step.  I reached over to where I had put it yesterday and....it's  not there.  (shovel list). I have a habit lately of losing EVERYTHING!!! So I hunted and hunted and finally found the empty barks bottle, beside Monte's chair.  Jeez!!!!  We discussed it just yesterday for heaven's sake.  I should have hidden it!!!! 

He has a memory like a sieve.  It isn't really his fault.  he was highly overdosed with lithium by a dr. in Kamloops, who by the way no longer has his licence due to too many screw ups. 

 One of the unfixable side effects of that overdose was memory problems.  Another example we took a load out to the dump, one being my kitchen garbage container.  This was a few days ago.  Well guess where that garbage container still is...I have asked him repeatedly to bring it in with him when he comes back from wherever he has gone.

  What I don't like most though is how he beats himself up every time he forgets stuff.  Mind you it's only short term things.  Anything past a week or two he NEVER forgets, even when you would prefer he would. 

I rehired my housekeeper.  I just can't keep up with the dog hair on the carpet.  I can't vacuum properly with my right arm giving me grief.  She said she didn't have a spot anymore so I put it out there on our local fb page that I was looking.  Eventually, after a couple of interesting responses, my last housekeeper got hold of me and said she could come back.  But before that....

I did hire one lady who sounded really great.  Until she told me she didn't have a vacuum cleaner!  What the hell?  I went to her fb page and I feel I escaped a potential disaster. 

 She has seven kids, all of which she just got custody back after a long stint in rehab.  She has a very scary looking boyfriend, a fairly new one.  She just moved into a new housing place and she doesn't have any beds, or any furniture for that matter.  Poor thing but I really need someone with a vacuum.  My Miele bags are like forty bucks a piece and fill up too fast.  My housekeeper has a big dog herself and understands. I am going to ask her to dust every time and do the microwave.

Well enough.  I have to go cut up potatoes, parsnips, carrots, onions, turnips, golden beets and peel shallots and garlic.  I will take a picture.  I bought a new giant Brown Betty bean pot to put the stew in.  The buns I will be baking in the cast iron frying pan.  And it will all go with Kathy's amazing awesome pickled beets!!!  I think Antonia is bringing a cake for dessert.  It is Stan's birthday tomorrow.  I bought him a book that is supposed to be delivered today.  It had better!!!!

Til next time (hopefully a little sooner than nine days). TFL and TTYL

I DO NOT LIKE HALLOWEEN....NEVER HAVE

 Do you remember when we were kids how intensely exciting holidays were?  The anticipation was beyond bearable.  Then we grew up.  And when I say 'we' I am talking about women.

Birthdays in families always end up being up to mom to make happen.  We clean the house, go shopping for endless food, we bake the cake, clean up the mess again, go to the dollar store and get all the paraphernalia one needs for kid's birthdays, get the candles, find the lighter, plan the games.  Then when the dust settles and everyone is gone, who is it picking up all the trash, getting over excited kids into tubs then bed (and the little blighters still want stories), standing at the sink washing dishes, then doing the night time routine, feeding the dogs, making sure all food is in the fridge, finding the aspirin for your aching back.  What the hell is exciting about all that?

Thanksgiving, Christmas, road trips, beach days, over night(s) company.  All exciting.  All exhausting. And all not as fun as when as a kid you slept somewhere strange in the house, giving up your bed to company.  

It's great seeing the joy on your family members face..for sure!  But does it make up for the utter exhaustion at the end of the event?  For your family yes...for myself?  I am not so sure.  The real excited magic is definitely gone and it's due to the colossal amount of work it takes to make a super successful dinner, party, Christmas or day trip to the beach.

And that brings me to halloween.  I can admit it now.  I absolutely hate halloween.  I mean think about it.  What is there to be excited about?  Costumes?  I think NOT!!!  Either the kid wants something impossible to conjure up or impossibly expensive or the 12 year old wants to go out on this most dangerous night with his/her friends...sans parents.  Then a damaging fight ensues when you say no.  And the younger ones bring home an obscene amount of candy...judging the neighbours by how big the bars are.  And face it.  No matter how you spin it to your little offspring how one shouldn't negatively judge according to the size of a freaking chocolate bar, in their head they are still judging, the greedy little critters !  (shovel list).

I do love Christmas though.  I absolutely love the tree and the lights.  I put them on the beginning of November and don't turn them off til spring.  I am a light freak.

I already have my xmas cards and my address list out ready to do my cards.  I love planning the tacky gift party we all are going to do instead of presents.

  I love the xmas carols in commercials and random stores and radio stations.  This time of the year I super use google just for Mariah Carey and Elvis Pressley and sometimes Frank Sinatra and for sure Boney M.  But the real crazy core excitement isn't there anymore.  I guess we just grow up and reality kind of kills it a little.  And for sure the massive amount of planning and work and exhaustion.  The xmas tree makes up for that though!!!!

I think I have mentioned this before but my favourite xmas memory is one year when my Arnie was still tiny enough o be rocked in the rocking chair and  Kevin was eating mandarins and popcorn over on the couch.  The tree was beautifully lit up and the tinsel icicles were shimmering in perfect rows on the branches.  And on my mickey moused together stereo Abba was playing and I was singing and rocking my little one and occasionally Kevin would climb up too.  Life was perfect.  I love this memory.  Soft and dark and shimmering xmas lights, my babies, a rocking chair and awesome music.

I hope you all have a wonderful xmas this year.  Some of you are attempting new normals or dealing with scary health diagnosis's or losing a loved one.  Reach out.  There are lots of us out here with open arms ready for you.  Now I am going to dive behind the couch and haul out my tiny but loved xmas tree!  Hibiscus gotta moooove!!!!!!  TFL and TTYL

VAN IS STILL FULL (SHOVEL LIST)

 I have been thinking..and maybe observing.  It is just afterschool time right now.  Kids walk by outside heading home.  I have observed that if the kid is under 11 or 12, they are with friends, they stop to talk to and pet the neighbourhood cats,  they stop and pick an apple or two off the block's free tree,  they slow down and quick chat with older neighbours outside raking leaves.  Anyone over 12 is basically alone, head down, phone in hand, totally oblivious to anything they are walking past.  They are missing so much.

Well until today it has been raining.  And raining.  And raining.  We cannot empty that over packed van until it isn't raining.  And every night it sits out there the cargo is in jeopardy.  Plus Floppy can't go for car rides with Monte.  I am anxious to get my hands on some of the stuff in there!  It has been six years since packing that stuff up!!!

Ange and I are doing our exercises every single day!!!  I mentioned sometime ago the seven minute bite YouTube I used to follow.  It's great.  It's for old fat people, except for not fat or old Ange!, so there is no floor stuff.  You get five seconds between twelve  55 second long exercises to adjust and be ready for the next one up.  Now if I were on the floor finishing some leg thing or whatever, I would need longer than five seconds to get ready for the next one.

Firstly, I would have to get onto my hands and knees and if I am on my back that might take a few more seconds than five!!!  All these exercises happen in the kitchen so I would have to gingerly, gingerly because of old knees, crawl out of the kitchen, through the dining room, into the living room to my recliner to help climb up to the standing position.  Then a quick step walk back to the kitchen and by then he is at the end of the exercises completely.  No floor exercises!!!

In the interest of the extreme budget I am currently on I decided to supplement Floppy's expensive dog food by making some.  Now I buy his food at Costco and a fifty pound bag is sixty bucks.  So I am checking out the cost making him his supper.  Four cups of rice, beef broth, two thirds of a pound of ground beef and half a bag of frozen peas and carrots.  It makes a lot!  And let me tell ya...he loves it!!!  I am not really sure yet if it's cost effective but I shall figure it out. 

 He has one of the dog dishes with a maze of little walls in it to slow his eating down.  Well you should see him eat this homemade stuff!!  We pack it down into the wee canyons and it is really hard for him to get it all out!  It totally slows him down!!!!  As you know I love cooking and if I can't cook very often for the peeps in the house, then I will cook for the dog.  Jeez, I just have a loser life. Sigh.

I need to get the housekeeper back soon or rather another housekeeper.  As much as I liked Caroline, she didn't dust or empty garbages.  She did a great job on the kitchen but that just wasn't enough. Plus she charged 35 bucks an hour.  I can't afford that.  Milly, who was amazing and did a fantastic job and did a full two hours was only 20 to start and near the end it went up to 25.  I need to check out current prices.

So enough about my boring humdrum life.  I shall check out here.  Be happy!!!  TFL andTTYL

ANGE AND A CRAZY DOG

HE HAS BECOME A COUCH POTATO

MY GRANDSNAKE SMOOCH

BIRTHDAY AWESOMENESS

 Well 72 isn't as exciting as 69 but this day is turning out wonderfully. This whole weekend has been amazing.

April invited her five bridesmaids, maid of honour and myself on Saturday for a planning party.  We had sooooo much fun!!!  Those girls, every one of them was a huge hoot.  It started at one pm and ended at one am!!!  I will put some pics below of the food April prepared.  Unbelievable!!!!

On the 16th Bill's death anniversary, we decided to go up to a pub that he and I used to go to.  We had Yorkshire puds and roast beef and a gallon of gravy. But the best part was the singer!  He looks about the same age as me and boy could he sing!!!  And it was all the oldies, a lot of them the very songs Bill loved.  It just couldn't have been a better memory night.

And today, my birthday, I am getting a million awesome messages on Facebook and Aryn and Bradley picked me up and took me to Milestones for a birthday lunch.  What a fun time that was!!!!!!  We caught up on all our newsies and told stories and ate awesome food and drank Caesars!!! 

 Arnie is looking fantastic!!!  She is so skinny and in shape.  She is running a marathon in April and getting ready!!!  I am so proud of her.  You would never ever know she is fifty, not even looking at her up close.  She is absolutely loving her job!!!  She measures, cuts, pastes and preps wallpaper for Bradley to put up on the wall.  I am talking heavy duty commercial grade wallpaper...both thicker and way way longer cuts.  She also helps organize the job.  She is also Bradleybe's only roadie when he is dj'ing.  Such a funny and entertaining girl and one hell of a story teller!!!

Now I am looking forward to getting home.  Monte is picking me up tomorrow and we are heading right back.  I am anxious to get that van unpacked and take some time to check things out. Also I am pretty sure the floor will need cleaning.  Ain't no one else is doing it.  And I desperately need to get back to my proper way of eating.  I just can't eat diabetically when I am not home.  It simply isn't possible.  And if I go for advice from a nutritionist she/he had better be a type 2.  Otherwise they just don't get it.

Well I am going to sign off here and try my best to post a few pics.  No guarantees though with blogspot.  It def has a mind of its own!  TFL and TTYL

AT THE PUB FOR BILL'S SUPPER

SLURPING UP CHEESY ONION SOUP

OUR MASSIVE YORKIE AND BEEF

SIX HAPPY GIRLS

CHARCUTERIE

SO MUCH WORK

SALMON AND SURIMI

 

SOOOO MUCH FOOD

My stomach is still groaning.  I didn't even eat that much.  Craig kindly offered to cook the 2.5 kilo prime rib, thank goodness.  He gets the oven ripping hot, 500 degrees.  He seasons the meat then puts it into the oven for 5 min per pound.  He then turns the oven off and leaves the roast for three hours and absolutely NO opening the oven door at any point.  That meat turned out perfectly!!!!  It was beautiful!  Medium rare and gorgeous.  I stuffed and cooked the turkey in my electric roaster...my ancient roaster.  It did a fantastic job.  In fact Craig asked if I had brined it it was so juicy.

Once again Kathy provided the little suite downstairs for Monte and I.  It was a lovely amazing time...the biggest part of the family all together.  I don't get to see my kids very often so it was pretty special.

  The day after the big dinner, everyone dispersed to various places.  Kathy and I stayed home for most the day and we played a game called Code Names.  Jeez it was so much fun.  Then Myles April Kathy and myself went for a drive.  Firstly Kathy took us to a spot called Truck Chillin' Park.  Two old trucks and one grader, really old grader are parked in the loveliest spot and decked out with flowers etc.  It was a great spot for pics!  Then we went out to the airport.  They have built a lovely monument to honour the Snow Bird pilot death.  Plus they added two rocking chairs, right smack at the end of the runway.  It was amazing and I got pics!

Most everyone was gone by then, back to their real lives.  Myles and April were the last to leave early Tuesday morning.  I spent the day with Anne.  We had such a lovely time.  We went out to lunch at our fave spot and I had yet another chef's salad.  I can't seem to get them out of my system!  I think this is the fourth one since getting off that boat!!!  By far the best one I have ever had was at Smitty's just before we left.  Holy mackerel!!!  It has set the bar very high in expectations!!!

When I get home I am going to attempt to make one, maybe.  But, I just might just hop down to Smitty's now and then and get it there.  It would probably be cheaper.  I don't have salad stuff in my house anymore.  I was throwing too much out.  It's cheaper to just go get one now and then and theirs is beyond what I could make!  It isn't just different proteins on top of lettuce.  They make a real salad with cucumbers and tomatoes and green onion and peppers etc then pile the proteins on.  And I eat it with Thousand Islands only.  Mmmmmmm....I want one right now and it isn't even 8 am!.

Well April is at Super store right now getting stuff for the gathering this weekend.  It's her bridesmaids and me and wedding planning and bachelorette party planning.  They, for some reason, are flying off somewhere for the bachelorette party.  Man back in the day someone, a rellie or best friend would bake some goodies, make some awesome sammiches and a punch, plan ridiculous fun games and buy a ton of turlette paper to have a wedding dress making competition.  That doesn't seem to cut it anymore.  Sigh.  They all must have more expendable income than they complain about.  Okay peeps I am talking about people in general not specifically the ones coming this weekend.  They are a fantastic bunch!

Well I am going to attempt to put some pics on here.  This site doesn't always cooperate!  I hope you all had a wonderful familyish turkeyish week end too!!!  TFL and TTYL

MONTE DOING HIS THING AT THE KITCHEN ISLAND

FROM THE FRONT LEFT AND AROUND THE BACK AND BACK UP TO THE FRONT ON THE RIGHT:  TINY SLICE OF KATHY, KERRY,JOCELYN, MYLES, STIRLING, CRAIG, AUNTY DOROTHY, UNCLE DAVE, ME, MONTE, DREW, EMILY, (ANNE INVISIBLE) APRIL, KEVIN, DOROTHY, AINSLEY AND ELISE.

APRIL GOOFING OFF WITH LEELOO

THE STUNNING HOMAGE TO THE PILOT

ONE OF THE TRUCKS

APRIL AND MYLES WENT OUT AND SHE WENT CRAZY.  I STUCK HER IN MY SHIRT AND SQUEEZED HER

E

EARLY SUNRISE...AND THAT IS EXACTLY THE COLOUR THE WORLD WAS

THIS IS HOW THE DISHES GET DONE!!!

CRAIG AND KEVIN

THIS IS EMILY'S BOYFRIEND DREW WITH MONTE MAKING BRUNCH.  I WANT TO SAY A QUICK WORD HERE.  I AM PRETTY SURE, EVEN THOUGH EVERYONE KNOWS MONTE IS DIAGNOSED WITH AUTISM AND TOURETTES, I AM PRETTY SURE THERE WAS THE ODD PERSON IN THE GROUP THAT DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT MEANT AND JUDGED HIM ACCORDINGLY.  HE DID COME AWAY PRETTY HURT BY CERTAIN THINGS.  BUT DREW AND EMILY WERE UTTERLY AMAZING WITH HIM.  THEY TOOK THE TIME TO VISIT WITH HIM AND DREW INVITED HIM TO HELP HIM MAKE BRUNCH.  IT WAS TRULY THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE TRIP FOR MONTE.  AND EMILY HAS ALWAYS BEEN A WONDERFUL FRIEND TO HIM...FAR MORE THAN JUST A COUSIN.  AS HIS MOTHER AND THE ONE WHO LIVES WITH HIM, I AM VERY GRATEFUL TO ANYONE THAT TREATS HIM WITH RESPECT AND KINDNESS.  THERE ARE TIMES I FEEL I NEED TO CARRY AROUND THE DIAGNOSIS HE RECEIVED FROM THE PSYCHIATRIST  ON A PAPER REPORT.  MAYBE THAT WOULD HELP.  I KNOW I AVOID TAKING HIM TO A PEOPLY GATHERING BUT THIS TIME HE HAD TO COME FOR THE STORAGE UNIT.  IT'S FUNNY HOW HE KNOWS HE IS 'DIFFERENT' BUT STILL GETS HURT.  GO FIGURE.  POOR GUY.