GYM TIME

I finally did it.  I have been so reluctant to get in there for a couple of reasons.  One, not the least of the two reasons in importance, is because of my medication and what it does to me.  And , sorry about the tmi, I seem to have to run to the loo constantly and if I don't actually make it, well it will bring humiliation to a whole new level.  (Shovel List).  The other reason is pukiness.  Jeez you'd think I was pregnant, and wouldn't that be a jeesly miracle.  I don't have a granny nanny around to take over my kids so no kids will be had here!  

But there is hope on the horizon.  I went to the Dr. the other day and the news was good!  My A1C (3 month average blood sugar) was down to almost normal and my cholesterol dropped as well.  So I asked him for a time release alternative to the drug that is causing all the problems.  So we shall see as time goes by.  I don't think people understand the cold fear that runs through you when you think you can't make it.

Saturday was the strategy planning Kiwanis day.  Then in the afternoon Kathy and I took Ainsley and Stirling to the Little Big Science Centre.  What a hoot that was!!!  I don't think I remember what I did on Sunday.  Monday was the awesome positive doctor's appointment.  Tuesday I was having a sick day so missed the Kiwanis meeting.  On Wednesday I did something.  I can't remember what it was.  I think Kathy and I did go across the river to buy beets at a market store.

That night though we did something awesome.  Firstly I made another lamb shank dinner and had Kathy and Kerry down for dinner.  Then we went to a comedy show!!!  It was so much fun and we laughed and laughed.  The three comics were quite famous and very very funny.  Its such a fantastic experience, sitting in a full theatre and everybody's endorphins at their max.

Then came yesterday.  I was invited over to Kathy and Kerry's to watch the Ford vs. Kavenaugh hearings.  It was soooo interesting and I am super glad I watched it.  Dr. Ford was so amazing and Kavenaugh was a bully.  Lots of fodder for discussions.

This morning I finally got my act together and went to the gym with Kathy.  She meets with several women there...they call themselves the gym bags.  After the gym we go to McD's for coffee and conversation.  All the women are about our age and its such an awesome feeling to be with like minded people.  Lots of groups of older men meet for coffee there too.  Us oldsters just know how to roll!

Afterwards Kathy and I went and did some shopping, she got a hair cut and we stopped at a Chinese store.  I bought frozen dim sum.  In Walmart I bought chicken and when I got home I made a big pot of chicken and dumplings, divided it up and took some up to the Bootles.  And once again we went downstairs to their tv and watched more CNN.  

Now I am home, under my cozy blanket, in my big old red recliner, watching Blue Bloods and after writing this I will be playing Freecell.  Life is grand it is. TTYL  

I LOVE MY TOWN HOUSE COMPLEX

This place is amazing.  I can't believe how they keep up with everything.  I wish I had moved into a strata place sooner.

Every single week a herd of people show up with about eight mowers and a riding one, huge, rakes, blowers, and a big truck or two.  And in one hour they cover the whole property mowing.  We have a humungous amount of beautiful lawn and they keep it beautiful.

  The day after, a fellow shows up with a whipper snapper and goes around the property, whipping and snapping.  They just had a big tree muncher here yesterday and clipped and snipped all the trees, cleaning it up.  They pruned the three awesome huge cherry trees.  Plus they keep all the outdoor cement things like stairs, carports and curbs all fixed and solid.  There was a line painter in to paint all the lines on the road.  

And now they just delivered a giant dumpster for us to throw away all things that don't go into regular garbage.  The email they sent around said for us to clean up our balconies and carports and get rid of our awkward garbage!

Wrangler is sick.  He is sneezing and coughing and not eating and laying around moaning.  I know he picked up kennel cough up at the kennel but he was all better.  Well its come back with a vengeance. Poor guy.  Right now the weather is perfect for him to ride around with me everywhere.  He seems quite happy to curl up on the back seat and wait for me.

He's so funny.  When I say 'car ride' he knows.  I open the door to the jeep and because of his hips he is scared, or can't, jump in.  But he immediately puts his front paws up on my seat, and its quite a stretch, then just stands there and waits for me.  I put my hands under his back leg knees and scoop him up into the jeep.  Its a total routine now.

Yesterday I went in to the lab and did my thing.  And the doctor's office has called already for me to go in!  Ahh jeez.  I know my A1C, blood sugar number, is going to be awful.  He is going to look at me sadly and sigh and probably up my metformin which will be awful.  That frigging medicine is already ruining my life.  I spend my entire outside life looking for bathrooms.  I totally understand Spod and mom now.  

Well tomorrow is baking day!!!!!!!!  My fave!!!!!  We have a Kiwanis planning session on Saturday.  It starts at 9:30 and goes into the afternoon.  So we bring a bagged lunch and some goodies to share.  So I am going to make butter tarts, brownies and lemon squares.  If there are any left over I shall freeze them for my later.

I have to mention something here.  Cookie has a grandson by the name of Maxin.  He is five and started kindergarten this year.  After his first day his mom picked him up and asked him how was his first day of school?  And he answered "Unnecessary!!!"  Hahahaha!  What five year old says that!!!!  That kid is totally amazing.

Well I must unload the groceries I just bought.  Sorry about the very mundane entry here.  Not much happens in my life I must say.  TTYL

BACK TO IT

Not to whine or anything but I have a beef with Rev Can.  I honestly don't know what a person without money at their ready disposal would do.

Bill and I have never made instalment payments.  They ask business for selfers to do that, a pmt every four months, one quarter of the total you paid the last year.  Bill always felt that he could do better keeping the money and putting it to work and paying a lump sum at the end of the year.

Well, I guess they changed the rules.  If you don't make the instalment pmts, you get fined and interest attached.  And of course, they never told me that the rules changed.  As a consequence I have had to pay all of last years amount again and a hefty fine for being late.  Bastards!!!  At least at the end of the year I won't have to fork out 20,000.  And god help me if I owe less than that...I doubt I would get the difference back.  

Its been a fairly busy week.  I didn't end up going to Kiwanis...I was just too sleepy.  On Wed. I met with my friend Kathy from school for lunch.  We went to Mr. Mike's....couldn't eat.  My timer is just too off.  Plus there was a table of big fat women right beside us.

I know it isn't pc to diss fat people but if black people can call themselves the N word, me, being a fat person, can diss fat people.

Normally I wouldn't really have noticed them if they had just simply walked in and sat down and been normal.  But these four were NOT!!  They could barely fit in the booth.  Each one of them must have been about four hundred pounds plus.  And they were loud and noisy and complaining.

So picture this:  four loud tubalubs, squashed into a booth, their guts spilling over onto the table.  They were wearing clothes that were way too tight and they were so loud.  I wouldn't be so harsh about them but holy hell they were so rude and distractingly noisy.  One of them sent her food back twice!!!  And they burped...on purpose!  Seriously!!!  I couldn't believe it!!  Honestly I looked around to see if we were being punked.  And they ordered half the menu.  And ate it.  Jeez!

Anyway I had a good visit with Kathy.  She has a grandson that has been committed with schizophrenia.  He is also a drug addict.  Needless to say we had a very interesting visit...between neighbourly burps and hyena like laughter.

Anywhoo...gotta bounce.  Its getting late and Wrangler is bashing his head onto my chair and arm, his signal for a bathroom run...TTYL

FROM FABULOUS TO FRANTIC

The last two days in Paris went by so quickly.  I got sick, my turn, and the kids had a couple of wonderful days.

On Wednesday I spent the day on the couch curled up in the fetal position (ha! like I can do that with my huge stomach!) hacking and coughing my brains out.  I had to hold my eyeballs in.  And I felt sick.  But later in the afternoon I started to feel a little better.  The trouble with days like this, for me, was food.  The kids ate their stomachs out whilst they were out and about and they def were not hungry anymore at supper.  I think I had a baguette that day.  We were all on different eating schedules, entirely my own fault.  I will remember this trip as the one I spent half the time hungry...which is a good thing!

April and Myles rented motorized scooters after they went to the Louvre.  And they scooted all the way down past the Eiffel Tower and along a long tunnel under the Louvre.  They came back exhilarated!  

On Thursday they walked everywhere!  They walked to a music box store, that ended up being closed, then to the famous falafel place, then to Jim Morrison's grave site...over thirty thousand steps!  We went to a lovely place for dinner in the Latin Quarter.  I had onion soup...so did Myles, and I ordered escargot.  I finally got the kids to try them and they now eat escargot!!!  We had a really wonderful evening.

Friday we packed up and got a taxi to Gare Du Nord, to catch the Chunnel train back to London.  We arrived at the station and as we were standing inside trying to figure out where to go etc...April discovered she had left her back pack in the taxi.  As long as I live I will not forget that panicked terrible look on my poor little girl's face when she realized what had happened.   And as the minutes, and franticness passed by it just got worse.  We were all in tears.

Luckily Myles had her passport and ticket, but all her money, wallet, id, medication, sketch book with all her irreplaceable notes from her art course and her jewelry etc. and Myles camera......were in that back pack.  

But Myles, our hero, came to our rescue.  Not only was he so kind and understanding with April,  he had happened to take a pic of the back of the taxi, for some odd reason.  As a result we had the taxi's number and licence plate.  And in the end, after a panic stricken terrible hour and a half, that is what saved the day.

But let me digress for a moment.  If this had been in Canada, the taxi driver would have been instantly found and successfully contacted.

But not in France.  This country is the most backward, logistically challenged, impossible and not that educated country I have ever been in, and I have been in a lot of countries.  And what is worse, they are arrogantly proud of it.  "Oh well, thats the French way!!!"  Like its cute or something!  Paris should be renamed Hubris.  What it is is stupid and aggravating.  Especially when you come from a well run, organized country.

So you can imagine what a boondoggle poor Myles went through.  Long story short, he enlisted the help of taxi drivers (who were amazing) and security peeps (who were also beyond amazing).  With about twenty minutes to go before boarding, the taxi driver was found, and he rushed back to the station with the bag, and Myles was hustled through customs all over again (we had already gone through not knowing the driver would be found) and got back in the nick of time...with April's bag, all intact.  Thank you God...no thanks to the "French Way".  As  much as I loved my trips to Paris, I think I am through with that country.

Now London!  thats a different story!  What a fun and unaffected city London is.  We stayed in the station long enough to eat and shop.  St. Pancras is a wonderful, well organized, places to sit and eat, station.  So a little shopping was done!

We then lugged our luggage (now I know where that term luggage comes from) (shovel list) out to the tube and tubed it out to the last stop before Heathrow.  We taxied to our hotel, had a yummy dinner in the restaurant, went to bed, got up early and taxied to Heathrow.  We got through customs and security with no issues this time. 

 Vancouver was the wrong passport caper.  Customs in London station we had an issue I haven't told you about yet...to do with a knife and police.  Paris station missing back pack.  I was holding my breath at Heathrow until we bounced through security easily with time to shop!  Smooth trip home and I am spending today at Aryn's and will head home tomorrow.  All's well that ends well!!!!!  TTYL

PS....The first thing I am doing when I get home is trashing that god forsaken assy suitcase of mine.  That piece of crap would not wheel straight...it wanted to just turn in circles.  Keeping it straight damned near wrecked my wrist.  It kept falling over, the wheels were not placed properly on the bag so it was front heavy.  And it wouldn't drag properly.  A shitty piece of luggage can ruin your trip.  I will look for the receipt and take it back.  The only other thing I might do is keep it to store my summer clothes in downstairs.  In the words of NOT one of my fave singers, Neil Young, PIECE OF CRAP.  Good song...you should look it up.

AN AWFUL PICTURE BUT IT WAS OUR LAST NIGHT

THE LATIN QUARTER

ON THE TRAIN...APRIL IS GAZING LOVINGLY AT HER INFAMOUS BACKPACK. 

PAIN

The more I walk, the more my hip hurts.  I think this will be the last trip I make like this.  I simply cannot walk as fast or as far as who I am with and I hate the fact that I slow them down.  April and Myles have been so patient and tolerant and thoughtful with me, but I know I am slowing them down and changing what they would actually be doing.

Today is Wednesday.  We leave on Friday.  Today the kids are doing the Louvre and Notre Dame.  I am taking a miss on it.  I have been into them enough times.  I actually would like to do some shopping.  Our hotel is very close to the Latin Quarter...a foodie's and shopper's paradise.  I may also hike it up to the Luxembourg Gardens and Palace.  Its only a kilometre away.

Yesterday we caught the hop on hop off up to Sacre Couer (sp), Sacred Heart, the massive big imposing church above the city.  I sat in the church for a bit and super missed Bill.  We had been there a few times.  I lit a candle for both mom and him.

Last time he and I were there, we lit candles for our mothers.  Somehow mine hit his and sent his flying onto the floor!  He immediately said, "Look at that!  Your mom just kicked my mom's ass!!"  We laughed too loudly and were told to be quiet by one of the wandering elder types.

We went out for a fantastic dinner last night.  Fois Gras (sorry people), escargot, smoked salmon, lamb chops and beef bourgeon.   Finished it off with creme brule.  The waiters were so much fun and the ambience amazing.  We may try to do that again tonight.  When you are right in the heart of the Latin Quarter, there are people, hordes of them, and street musicians, full restaurants spilling out onto the streets, lights....so much fun.

We three are all sick now.  Sore throats, stuffy nose, running eyes, hacking and coughing and endless sneezing and sore chests.  And its kind of chilly out and raining off and on.  Poor April is pretty upset.  She brought all her pretty sun dresses to wear here but its just too cold.  But other than that, Paris is pretty special.  There is just a magical feeling here that supersedes any negative thing.  

Well I had best hop to and get out there.  TTYL

NO FLASH ALOWED SO A BIT OUT OF FOCUS...THE CANDLES I LIT

THIS GIRL CAN EAT CHEESE LIKE NOBODY ELSE I KNOW.  SHE ATE EIGHT DIFFERENT CHEESES YESTERDAY!

NOT SURE WHY THIS CROOKED HOUSE IS IN FRONT OF THE TRAIN STATION

THE PYRAMID AT THE LOUVRE

ENDLESS CRAZY TRAFFIC...ITS LIKE NORTH VANCOUVER

THE VIEW OVER PARIS FROM THE CHURCH

THE CHURCH

BEST MOJITO EVER AND SOME BLUE THING MYLES ORDERED

RIGHT AFTER A DINNER

SHE ASKED HIM TO CHECK HER TEETH FOR FOOD...HAHAHAHA!

TOOLISH TOURISTS GETTING A SHOT WITH HER FINGER ON THE TIP OF THE Eiffel Tower

OF COURSE...A MUST TAKE PIC

STRANGE DECOR AT AN OUTDOOR RESTAURANT

I SEE LONDON I SEE FRANCE I SEE.....

I am sitting in our Paris apartment, sipping hot coffee and enjoying a beautiful sunrise over Paris. There is just a special feeling you get in Paris.  I'm not sure what it is or how to describe it, but it just makes me feel very cosmopolatan!!!  The only thing marring it is I am freaking hungry.  I have kind of done my own thing over the last couple of days and eating isn't really one of them.

Although the last night in London we three went to the Tattershol Castle Pub.  Its on a boat on the river.  After a few gins and a pimms, we ordered fish and chips to share.  It was delicious!  And other than a couple of snacks yesterday, that was the last of the food.  

We left the hotel at 11 dragging our luggage and caught the tube to Russell Square.  There is a lovely outdoor mall there.  I sat at Starbucks with the luggage whilst the kids roamed about.  I am reading a stellar book right now so was quite happy to sit and read and people watch.  

After a bit we moved to St. Pancras train station.  Again I found a lovely place to sit and bag watch while the kids went around to all the shops in there.  Eventually it was time to get the train.

And then, as we were passing through customs, a crazy scary unexpected event happened to Myles!!!  And I can't tell you about it until after the trip because his mom reads this blog and he wants to tell his folks the story himself first!!!!  So I promised I wouldn't tell about it till after.

The train ride was awesome...so fast.  We couldn't see anything though because it was dark out.  But when we go back to London to Heathrow on the 7th it will be in the afternoon.

Today, if the kids ever get up, we are going to hike it out for food then to that famous falafel place April and I went to the last time we were here.  Its quite a ways to walk, over the river etc...I think we may go into Notre Dame as well.  Our hotel is quite near it and we haven't been inside that church before.  Then dinner in the Latin quarter.  Our hotel is halfway between the Latin quarter and the Muse D'Orsay...our favourite art gallery. Tomorrow we may do that.   There is an extremely ornate beautiful dining room at the D'Orsay that Bill would take us to, so we may do lunch there.

One thing we definitely plan on doing is a picnic on the Seine riverbank at night.  Baguette, French butter, tomato, delicious cheese and a bottle of wine....so French its almost a cliche.  

April is sick.  She picked up a right nasty cold and is hacking and coughing and sneezing.  Poor kid.  But it certainly isn't slowing her down any.  Myles has been amazing.  As it turns out, my fifty pound suitcase, new to me, doesn't roll very easily.  It almost rips my shoulder out.  So when we have a long distance to go he drags or rolls it for me.  And even on short trips he packs that sucker up and down any stairs.  I feel like a helpless old lady.

It really bugs me when people pack to the point where they can't manage their own luggage.  Bill used to do that.  I would get my carry on stuff down to one small back pack so I didn't have to carry anything.  But Bill would have a drag along carry on suitcase, a huge heavy backpack, and a fairly large bag you had to carry, with his cpap in it.  And he used a cane.  So how was he going to carry and drag all that stuff?  ME!!!  So I developed a not so nice attitude towards people that don't maintain themselves.  And now I seem to be one of those.  I don't like it.  And thank god for Myles.

I heard from the kennel and I guess Wrangler is sick.  My poor puppers.  The kennel phoned me just before I left to tell me that kennel cough was going around up there.  Wrangler has had is shots for it so I wasn't too worried.  But he has picked it up anyway.  If he gets too bad they will take him to his vet and get him checked out and maybe some meds.  Poor Wrangler.  I miss him.

Well, it is 8:30 now.  We didn't come to Paris to sleep.  I think I will start slinging stuff around and making noise...get those kids going.  I AM HUNGRY!!!!  TTYL

LONDON EYE....I AM PUTTING THIS HERE FOR THE PEEPS I AM NOT FRIENDS WITH ON FB

SUNRISE OUT OUR PARIS HOTEL WINDOW

TRAIN STATION

DRINKING A GUAVA COLADA...NOT HER NORMAL DRINK