BOYS BOYS BOYS AND MORE BOYS

Saturday night Kathy invited me down for dinner and a movie.  Buddy Niblock, an old RCMP buddy of Bill's, daughter and husband were there too.  They are a couple that will be going to Mexico with us and a load of fun.

We had a delicious dinner as usual.  She makes the tastiest meals.  My meals are such ordinary farmhouse dinners.  Hers are tasty and different.  Jackie brought the salad...and it was yummy. 

 Then we watched the movie Joy.  Its a true story about the woman who invented the self ringing mop and became, after much silly strife, a millionaire.  It was an interesting, a little slow, a bit goofy,  movie, one I am glad I saw.  And for you regular readers, do you remember the post I made last summer about that stupid mop I bought that pissed me off so bad I pitched it out over the back deck into the back yard...where it stayed until the gardeners rang my door bell and said "Are you aware that you have things in your back yard?  There is a mop.  And there is a toaster.  And a Gore Vidal book?"  Well, guess what mop that was?  Hahaha!!

Sunday I cleaned the house (what little needed doing) and did laundry and Monte, Anton, Levi, Peter, and Marissa (not the one we all know) arrived with steaks and bread and a lot of energy.  I started cooking and Monte sat down at the piano and played a little Bob Dylan for us!  After being away from him for a while, its amazing how one forgets how huge and tall and loud his presence is!

So dinner over, music being played and a ton of conversation, we finally all went to bed around two in the morning.  This morning I made a huge veggie omelet and sat around with Anton and Peter conversing and listening to more music.  Other than Marissa they all stayed the night.  It was nice having the house full of people.  I think some of them will be back tonight.   Right now they are all off doing different things.

Now I shall go and clean the kitchen and then wash my hair.  Told you my life is mundane....just saying.  TTYL

Well it seems I opened a can of worms.  I had absolutely no idea just who was actually reading this thing.  I have received phone calls and emails from everywhere suggesting I don't shut this down.  I am a little embarrassed that some of you might think I did this on purpose...I can assure you I absolutely did not.  I had spent a little time reading over the latest posts...the past couple of months or so and they just seemed so mundane and boring.  I still think that but I think I will actually continue.  For two reasons.  One of course is you lovely readers and your asking me to.  And because since writing that post that I was going to quit, every time I thought about it I felt sad....really sad.  I like talking to you guys and I would miss it terribly.  So for selfish reasons I think I won't quit just yet.

I had a facebook fight yesterday.  Blimey! I seem to be attracting cranky behaviour recently!  But this particular woman pissed me right off...and not just me,  a few others too.

Aryn posted a very amusing article about vaccinating your children.  A few of us made supportive comments about getting your children vaccinated and even posted supporting articles to that effect.  Then one family member, a distant one, actually came on and started spouting off about how you should never get your kids vaccinated and "no one actually dies from measles anyway"  She actually said that!!  Talk about dumb and dangerous ignorance.  She even went all Jenny MacCarthy on us and claimed that they caused autism.  I mean give it a rest already.  Of course this brought out the daggers.  Finally I just deleted it all.

But, another even more distant relly, one who had no business commenting on our personal thread, went on her wall and made a long self righteous post about how we were disgustingly bullying each other.  Haha!  So I pm'ed her and we pretty much got into it.  She likes to come across all self righteous and holier than thou but I can tell you by the time we were through she slinging crap with the best of them!  Didn't take much either.  Fortunately I don't have to have anything to do with her.  I don't consider her family.  Mind you she is related to another family member whom I am very fond of so I talked with her and all is ok...thank goodness.  All so silly.

Alice, the housekeeper came today.  She set a new record. She was in and out in less than an hour.  For sixty five bucks.  So I am going to chat with her next week.  I know it has to be worth her while to even bother coming but thats just too much.  Now that Monte isn't here I just don't need that much done.  I gotta see what her minimum will be.  But under an hour is unacceptable.

Well I am signing off for now.  I feel relieved and happy that I am not going to quit.  I just apologize for the mundane posts.  Not much seems to happen in my life...but maybe thats a good thing!  TTYL

I TOTALLY YELLED AT SOMEONE TODAY...AND IT FELT REALLY GOOD

Stupid cow.  I was parking at Winners today.  And I will admit I wasn't feeling all that great.  My head was pounding and my gut was out of whack. Anyway, I parked in a vacant spot right across from the door into Winners.  Its the creme de la creme parking spot in the whole parking lot!  The two spaces facing me, in front of my jeep have signs on poles that say Handicapped.  But the back of the signs, facing me, are blank.  Plus the two spaces on my side were not as wide as the two handicapped ones I was facing.

So minding my own business, I sat in the jeep reading texts for a few minutes (actually I was listening to a CBC radio interview, but answering texts sounds cooler).  After a couple minutes, I got out and locked up and was about to cross the road to the store when a little squat sixty something woman huffed and puffed right up in front of me.  And I mean RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME.  She was in MY personal space.

So I stopped short and looked down, waaaay down, at her.  And she lit into me...."I think its really selfish of able bodied people like you to park in the easy spots.  I actually have a handicap sticker and you can see that the two handicap spots are full...so out of courtesy to us folks that need to be close you could choose to park further away.  In fact these two spots should be handicap. I can't believe you able bodied folks that can easily walk a distance blah blah blah bah...."

Well, I couldn't believe my ears!!!  Other people started to stop and stare, she was being so obnoxious and loud.  And she was dumping on my happy mood cuz I got a good spot.  The little fat cow.

So I asked her, quietly, "Why can't you walk from two extra spaces down?  Whats wrong with you?" And she proceeded to go on about how she has a bad hip and she can't walk very well and she needs to be close to the doors and so on.  I then suggested to her, this time quite loudly, that if she lost about two hundred pounds it would probably help her hip out and the extra twenty feet of walking was probably good for that hip too.  Holy shit!   It was like I had stuck a hot poker up her skirt!  She exploded, "Why I never!  You can't talk to me like that!"  So I leaned over and very quietly said in her ear..."Shut the F up Bitch"  (sorry people, I know that was crass but she pissed me off)  She spun around, damn near fell and waddled...you know, like fat people do, over to the store.  Crazy cow.

And then of course, who do I continuously run into in the store?  Yup, at every damned corner.  There she was.  At one of them there was a barrel of fancy painted canes.  She came waddling along so grabbed on of the canes and swung it at her and waggled my eyebrows and asked if she could use of them.  Hahaha!  She accused me of being rude. And I just laughed and told her she should not have yelled at me to begin with.  Anywhoo....

I bought a couple of useless things and swung around the store and left.  I went to Safeway and had a much more pleasant time!  I bought one of those humumgous nine dollar sandwiches.  Thats what I will eat over the next three days.  Monte will be back home here in a couple of days so I will probably put more food up then.  I must spend some time over the next couple of days organizing garbage...like empty the house garbage.  He doesn't have his license anymore but Graeme bused to Port and is driving the van back here for us.  Monte will catch a bus back to Port in a few days.  So while he is here we will make trips to the dump.  I am determined to empty out this house, one way or the other.

Gotta bounce.  TTYL

THE WINDOW THINGIES AND THE TRAY I BOUGHT AT WINNERS

A TINY BIT DIFFERENT ANGLE

THINK I CAN MAKE THIS FOR A SHOWER? (ME NEITHER)

THOUGHT I WOULD GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON MY LATEST LOOK

THATS ALL SHE WROTE FOLKS

Well folks I am thinking of shutting this blog down.  My life has become so mundane and boring...which is okay with me.  I love sitting in my chair in a nice clean quiet house contemplating my navel.  But this lifestyle isn't conducive to interesting blog posts.  And the only thing worse than not writing at all is writing boring mundane posts.  You all don't want to read that stuff.

This blog has become a kind of play by play of my daily routine and I never intended for that to happen.  It isn't a diary.  And truthfully?  I am scared of hurting people's feelings or stepping on toes.  I would never ever want to do that unintentionally.  But I think I will finish out this month.  I will really miss writing here.  You guys have been a great support group, especially when Spod was dying and my trials and errors with Monte Man.  And when I was sick. :(

Anyway, I bought a humungous bunch of flowers from Costco about a week ago.  I brought them home and lay them in the sink and filled it with water.  I then set about looking for the giant cut glass vase a lovely couple gave us as a wedding gift many years ago.  I found it.  It was on a shelf on the farthest possible corner of the deck.  And between me and there was a four foot high mound of snow.  I simply don't have boots that high.  So I went to bed.

The next day I noticed that it had really warmed up and everything was melting.  So..I decided to just wait a day or two.  The flowers were fine in the sink .....  for now.  But over the next few days I noticed that the snow shrank but not downwards only on the edges...but of course not leaving enough space to walk on.

Finally enough was enough.  The flowers had been in the sink for days and days by now.  So yesterday morning I pulled on my gums and out I went, fully expecting to be wearing packed snow around my feet.  I planted my right foot on top of that high pile of snow, hoisted myself up and....I didn't sink!  The snow was as hard as ice!  So now I was teetering on top of the icy snow pack, four feet in the air like freaking billy goat!  So I cautiously slid my way over close enough to pick up that thirty pound vase.  I set it on the snow pack and bit by bit walked it over to the door.  Such an ordeal.  But I didn't fall for once.

Shortly after buying those flowers, there was a ring at the door.  Upon answering there was a lady holding out a purple vase of the most beautiful fresh, really fresh, purple flowers. They were from Spod!!!  (thank you April)  If I had known that these beautiful exquisite beauties were coming I would never have bought the others.  But I put that arrangement in the living room and the Spod ones are sitting right in front of me here where I can see them all day long.  What a lovely gift.  I love them.

Well gotta bounce.  Having lunch with Dana today and her mum.  I LOVE having lunch with them!  TTYL

COSTCO FLOWERS...STILL LOOKING PRETTY GOOD AFTER A WEEK IN THE SINK!

SPODDY FLOWERS (THANK YOU SO MUCH APRIL, I LOVE THEM)

MONTE BOUNCED BACK AND I HAD A FABULOUS WEEKEND!!!

I am blessed, no doubt about it.  Yesterday Monte had a good good day, start to finish!  He was out and about and visiting friends and no symptoms last night.  And today he just plain sounded like the old Monte.  He worked on his music, went out and did his grocery shopping and tonight he has gone to bed and to sleep....no seizures or....what I think is happening...no panic attacks.  I'm not expecting this to be all over just yet, but the fact that he has had two good days in a row is so very encouraging.  Like they say, a mom is only as happy as her unhappiest kid.

And Aryn and Bradley....left Vancouver at 3pm and walked through my door at five in the morning!  The Coq was closed for hours upon hours.  And when it opened the traffic jams and upside down vehicles held them up even more.  But we had a drink or two, visited and off to bed around six thirty.  And we had a fantastic time!!!

I made beef short rib dinner and Kathy walked up.  We had a wonderful evening...well sort of.  Monte was having a dreadful time which was distracting to me.  I was so worried.  The next morning A&B headed out to Sun Peaks for a little snowboarding. Aryn fell getting off the ski lift and absolutely ratched up her knees.  It hurt horribly! That evening Kathy and I rounded up dinner makings and we all headed down to Jo and Craigs.  And we proceeded to have an amazing evening of babies and visits and good food and scotch...for some!

Aryn and B left by ten this morning..heading back to Vancouver.  I spent the day catching up on emails and business.  Monte, having another good day, made it so much better for me!  I was actually able to relax a little.  Tonight I took a soup I made down to Kathy's.  She made the most delish salad I think I have ever eaten.  So she and I had dinner and then watched a movie.  A perfect end to our family day holiday.

Now I am off to bed, in a much better frame of mind than the last post.  And thank you Shannon, Dean and Sharri for your encouragement...so so appreciated.  TTYL

WE CANNOT HANDLE ONE MORE SAD THING HAPPENING

This past week has been horrendous.  And wonderful.  Up down, up down.  So many things tossing my heart around.

An important loved  person to Jojo's family died in the Coquihalla.  And when someone unexpectedly dies like this its especially hard.  And poor Jo has just had a baby so feelings and emotions are at their height.  I am so sorry they have to go through this loss.

Another member of our extended family has had a heartbreaking break up.  And I don't know about you, but I remember just how awful and painful that is.  So much time has to pass before it becomes better.

And Kerry's sister's husband Ted passed away.  He had come down with lung cancer from asbestos...and it spread etc...so sad.  He was one of the most energetic, interested in everything person I ever met.  On one of our cruises, the panama canal one, we ran into them on the cruiseship.  We spent the rest of the trip with them, on shore excursions and at dinners.  They were so much fun and Ted was one of the few people in the world that Bill truly and genuinely admired and just plain liked.  They spent a great deal of time talking talking talking.

April, Myles, Aryn and Bradley were supposed to be here tonight.  Aryn and Bradley will be tomorrow, but right now they are stuck in the Coq.  They could be there for the night!  April and Myles decided not to attempt it...so disappointing.


And now tonight, Monte was at his friend James's house (parents house).  He phoned me and he was in the middle of a huge seizure..he even lost consciousness this time.  The family called an ambulance for him and he is now at the Port Alberni hospital.  I called Pat, our blessed overseer, to meet him up there and help explain what was going on.  So now I sit here and wait and wait and wait.  I am so afraid that one of these times he isn't going to come out of it and either die or be a vegetable...and I don't know which would be worse.  I am worried sick.

Sorry this has been such a downer post.  Maybe next post will be about how Monte bounced back and I had a fab weekend with Aryn and Bradley.  I hope so.  TTYL

JUDGEMENT

One way or the other I am surrounded by critically thinking young folks. And I think I horrify them.  I have reached that ripe old age of cynicism and as such do and say stuff that, to the younguns, amounts to 'selling out' or being bought or influenced by 'the man'.  I don't care anymore.  I watch commercials, I don't or won't read Kafka, I accept that boys and girls are different, I don't buy into old timey thinking on some things.  For example:  I hate bullies.  Yes, some of them are insecure bullied mistreated little individuals that became bullies due to 'nurture' or lack thereof.  But I now believe that most bullies have arrived on this planet already miserable nasty little human beings with warped DNA.  I don't like them, or feel sorry for them.

So, sitting in my kitchen nook with a bunch of these young ones can get interesting.  The conversations can get serious and intense.  Its interesting listening to the exact same conversations I used to be involved in forty years ago.  What amazes me is that the subject of these rags have not changed, or at least not changed much.  But I have reached a level of 'I don't careism' which is quite appalling and just ever so appealing. 

I wrote the above a few days ago.  I think I had best finish this off and get a post in.

Tonight I am sitting here in my chair in total defeat.  I went out this morning, hauled out the snow blower, plugged her in and off I went.  But no one with more experience told me that you can't use snow blowers when the wind is blowing! I carefully pointed the blower thingy to the right and off I went, only to have the wind blow the damned snow right straight left.  What the hell?!!  So whats the point?  Not only do you have to wait for it to quit snowing but there can't be any wind either.

  And not only that, the snow was so deep that the poor blower would grind to a halt as soon as I got right into the deep snow.  And there was no way could I shovel it...way too deep.  I gave it the old army try and I am pretty sure I felt at least six pairs of old dude eyes watching me fail from behind curtains.  Honestly, it felt a lot like those awful dreams you have where you are suddenly naked in public.  So after unsuccessfully chewing up the driveway, and totally giving up on the sidewalk, I slunk myself and Mr. Wimpy Snow Blower back into the garage and shut the garage door, blocking out the humiliation.

I shall try again tomorrow.  TTYL

MYSTERY SOLVED!!!!!!

Well we now know why Monte is seizing, falling, unable to talk, twitching etc....As you know he moved back to Port Alberni temporarily so he could see his GP, his magical GP there.

He saw the doctor very shortly after arriving in Port.  The doctor immediately sent him off to the lab for a zillion tests.  But he did make one comment...he couldn't believe or understand why and how his lithium dose was so high.  And not only high he was not taking the doses properly so his levels would spike extremely high then crash to very very low.

Today Monte was back to get his lab results etc.  and the dr. told him that he is 100% sure that he was suffering lithium overdose.  And when you do the extra depth research, Monte was suffering every side effect that was listed.  In fact the dr. hauled out the text book where the side effects were listed and read them out loud to Monte.  So tonight we have a super relieved and happy hopeful Monte on the one hand and on the other he's pretty ticked off that a very good credible psychiatrist, who did the prescribing, here in Kamloops could not be aware of this.  He has to let it go though.  Such a relief.

And another awesome thing today...I GOT MY HAIR PERMED.....its curly again!!!  Its not long enough to put up in a poof yet but it will be!!!!  And not only that, the hairdresser pointed out that all over my head are extremely healthy three inch baby hair!!!!  My hair is growing back in!!  So I should be back to my normal self in about...hmmm maybe a year.  I can wait!

I did something this morning I haven't done in forever.  Yesterday I bought a tiny package of stew meat.  So I threw it and a bunch of onions in the crockpot.  It cooked whilst I had my hair done.  Then when I got home I threw in turnips, carrots, potatoes etc...and made a delicious stew!!!  I also bought a ton of short ribs which I shall cook up when all the kids are here on the long weekend. 

Okay so now I am rambling.  I shall sign off!  TTYL