ACCOUNTABILITY

I think I have mentioned that I do 100% of my non grocery shopping on Amazon.  Amazon can be tricky dicks.  You really have to know your prices, check delivery dates, make sure they don't charge shipping if you are prime and know that if the item is coming from outside Canada, the two day shipping is completely out the window.

That being said, their prices are simply not consistent from one product to another.  I was looking at their large container Club House spices.  I needed taco seasoning and the only one I use or like is Club House.  I can get it at Costco for for about six dollars but I am sure not making a trip to Costco just for that and I had no idea when we were going to be going again.  So I happen to know that Amazon sells them.

Well what can I say.  I am perusing through the Club House seasonings and they ranged from 6 dollars to 11 dollars.  I finally get to taco and...37 bucks!!!!  Thirty seven!!!!  Amazon can really suck sometimes.

Anyhooo...I have a pretty good idea how much I spend at Amazon.  But...I decided to get the Amazon Master Card and only use it at Amazon.  I got a fifty dollar amazon gift card for signing up for that!  But holy Hannah!!!!  I just did that one statement ago and I know it's xmas and presents are being bought, but jeez!  My new years resolution this year is to STOP shopping at Amazon.  When I looked at the list of stuff though all of it was stuff I would have had to go buy in stores so I am not sure what to do to solve that particular problem.  None of it was fun stuff.  Plant bloom food, gallon jug, whisk, wreath door hanger, batteries, books etc...

I wish there was something obvious I could cut out, stuff I would have to go to the store for otherwise.  I have to stay out of Costco too.  I was going to get four things for under fifty bucks (like taco seasoning and turlett paper) and came out with a belly full of fries and gravy and hot dog and a receipt for 330 bucks.  SHIT!!!!!!

Starting in January I am going to see if I can exist on my pensions only.  Thats about 2014.00.  I am not sure I can pay my income tax instalments and utility bill that comes in every three months.  I think my reno list is getting way smaller and my wish list is growing pretty fast!  Lol!!  Funny thing is I am way more comfortable living on a budget.  It's what I am most used to and I know people that only get half that or less per month.  This is when renting makes more sense.

One thing I can do after Dec. is start selling stuff.  I need to sell my dining room set.  I will be getting the family table and buffet that we had in Bamfield and is now at April's, back.  I have lots of stuff I can sell off.  And I can put that money towards those lump sum pmts I need to make.  Utilities, income tax, property tax, hydro equalization supplement, car insurance, house insurance, handymen for fixing turrlets etc., hot water tank replacement, insurance deductibles, car maintenance, and on and on.  I will try to empty out my sheds and laundry room!!!!!

I was just scrolling through various family pictures and came across a picture of the family gathering at a local Kamloops restaurant the evening of Bill's funeral.  Every one of Bill's family was there, including a few he rarely saw, except for April and Monte.  The kids were shocked and frankly hurt the next day when they saw the pictures on Facebook.  Other than Uncle Frank's family, bless them, it's like that family forgets that not only did he have two other kids spawned by him, but that he was very very happily married to their mother for over 34 years.  Best 34 years of our lives.  I am so glad that April has connected with her cousin Russ and wife Lorraine.  And Auntie Joan is gold.  Monte?  Has never heard a word from a Heyman since Bill died.

Any how time to wrap this up and go wash my hair.  A most detested pass time I must say.  At least it's all brushed out and prepped, the hardest part!!!!  And it is time to start wrapping up the presents arriving on the doorstep pretty much daily!  Have I said I LOVE Christmas?  TTYL

'A personal budget is a manifestation of your decision to grab your finances by the balls'      The Money Tree Man           

 

AMAZON HAS TAKEN OVER MY LIVING ROOM

 

CHRISTMAS TREE....BETTER LATE THAN NEVER

Finally got that wee tree up.  Normally I have the tree up by the end of the first weekend in November.  I am one of those people that LOVES all things Xmas!  And I love that the stores put xmas stuff out as soon as Thanksgiving is done.  It means I can spread the cost out over two and a half months.  Makes sense to me.

  I'm kind of liking having a three footer.  I have put it on a table in front of the front window so it looks Christmassy outside. We don't have a plug in out front so no decorations out there.  

Having a smaller tree cuts the cost of decorating way down.  Plus it is super fast to decorate, not my favourite pass time. In fact I have put 200 lights on that sucker so you can't see the decorations anyway.  I like tons of lights and I am leaving it up until at least the end of January.  I am a sucker for anything lights.  But you will see below I couldn't even get a decent pic of the tree due to lights.  I tried to tweek the picture but nothing helped.

It has not been a very eventful week.  Which is good, I guess.  We did have Monique, Ange's friend, over for coffee.  That was fun.  And we made one or two trips to Nanaimo, can't remember what for.  And guess what?  We have to go back again today.

I hate nagging.  And I really really hate being put in the position of 'nagging'.  Monte puts his glasses on the bed beside him when he sleeps.  Several times now he hasn't immediately been able to find them.  It was so so tempting to say 'put them on the bedside table just in case you roll on them or they fall off the bed and break.'  But I held back.  He is a man, not a kid.  But you guessed it.  He rolled on them and now they need to be professionally fixed.  And that means a trip to LensCrafters in Nanaimo.

Many many times I have tried to discern between micromanaging, nagging and just shutting up.  But when there is collateral damage inevitable, I am thinking one should speak up, especially if the consequeses involve you.  But I also know the futility of speaking up.  Monte wouldn't do it anyway.  It's just easier to put them on the bed so on the bed they go.  And now to Nanaimo we go, which fortunately for me I love doing!

Ange had an episode with someone knocking on her door around nine at night.  No one ever knocks on her door.  It's a basement door buried deep in a dark carport.  It was a massively upset female who according to Ange smelled like alcohol but wasn't drunk, who claimed that a car had been following her around. She was scared apparently. She was meeting someone over at QF but it was closed. Keep in mind that it is extremely lit up over there, read safe, and Cascade Liquor is attached to QF and is open til ten.  This just doesn't make sense.

She asked if she could wait in the carport.  But a few minutes later she asked Ange if she could come in.  And because she was so upset Ange let her in.  Ange said she didn't get bad vibes from her.  

 I have been remiss in not telling Ange that the policy in our house has always been you don't let anybody in, ever.  If someone is in trouble you call the police and frankly her story just doesn't add up.  She could be casing our place, figuring out who lives where etc...I haven't mentioned it to Ange yet but I will soon.  I don't want her to feel like she did something wrong. It's my fault for not telling her, how was she supposed to know?  Eventually the female got hold of someone to pick her up....back over at the store.  Go figure. 

 Twice in my life I have had what seemed like innocent types come to my door, I let them in and totally lived to regret it.  When you have been through that you kind of get hypersensitive.  I am still a bit worried about it.  Ange just came upstairs and I mentioned it to her.  And typical Ange she took it as I meant it and not as a criticism.  She is amazing!

Well this post is getting long.  I need to get my day going...like eat breakfast.  I am watching, while I type this, Naked and Afraid.  That show makes me both hungry and cold!  TTYL

'Rice is great when you are hungry and you want 2,000 of something.'  Anon

AFTER THE ADDITION OF 100 LIGHTS.  AS USUAL THIS STUPID SITE DIDN'T PUT THEM ON IN THE ORDER I WANTED.  GRRRRR

THE BEFORE THE ADDITION OF ANOTHER 100 LIGHTS

ANONYMOUS WROTE A COMMENT!!!!!! THANK YOU

I almost never get comments...which is completely okay with me.  This blogspot is so unbelievably difficult to leave comments on.  I have heard from so many people that read this thing that they can't comment.  And truthfully I am really okay with that. If they could leave them and didn't I might give it an extra thought but one thing I know.  The nasty sick heads that like to leave bad comments can't be bothered on blogspot.  It's just too damned difficult!

So I totally appreciated anonymous's comment today.  Whoever that is went to the work of getting one on here!  I was excited to see it!!!  And it was such a nice comment!

Well it's another trip to Nannymo today.  Monte is having trouble with his cpap mask and needs a new one.  And I need to make a quick stop at Costco.  There are just some things that if there is a choice, get it at Costco.  So much cheaper.  Tomatoes, eggs, bread, t.p., paper towels, etc...so it's a stop for ten things.  No more!

By the way I found my xmas tree!  It was in the box, out buried under the amazon boxes that are piled on the deck.  It is so hard to throw out those amazing boxes.  The deck is the one extra time to think about it before they get recycled.  Like planes versus boats.  There is no extra time to try to save your life when a plane crashes.  On a sinking boat, even if you don't swim well, you can at least dog paddle for a while.  Sometimes, very rarely, I do go out and get one of those boxes to use.

Yet again I digress.  I got the tree out and put it together and fluffed it and I love it.  I think it's going to be my forever tree.  It's only three feet and not hugely bushy so I can leave it all lighted and decorated year round and find somewhere to store it where it shan't get mouldy.  It still needs more lights and decorating so I won't put a pic here til it's done.

I made a rant on Facebook yesterday.  We have discovered mould and wetness in Monte's bedroom.  To tell you the truth I am not surprised given the ferocious rain and windstorm that had happened a few days earlier in the week.  But the mould that is growing indicated a longer period of dampness, the storm just took advantage of the weakness the earlier stuff had done.  It is either roof or foundation or old, no longer effective drain tiles around the foundation. My only hope at this time is insurance.

The rant yesterday was directed towards all the people that are super jonesing to buy a house.  I think some of them just aren't living in reality.  If you compare owning and renting there is no question that owning is way more expensive than even super high rent plus strata in some cases.  Between your mortgage pmt,  property taxes, city utilities, house insurance (1200 per year on my humble abode) general upkeep and then major fixes like my broken front door and surrounding glass with holes in it, cost me 5,000 dollars, renting becomes pretty appealing.  If you don't do your due diligence you lose either the equity in your home or your home itself.

That being said I made a list when I moved into this house of things needing doing.  Now four years later over half the list has turned into a wish list.  I need the money for the not dire stuff to fix the dire stuff.  Which with me is fine.  I can live with old lady pink carpet everywhere, foil flowers wall paper in the bathroom, green cracked laminate countertops, olive green barely working turlett and matching chipped bathtub!  I think some people wouldn't be happy with that!

So now I need to confirm insurance will help with the mould repairs and it will only cost the deductible, which can be considerable.

Wordle.  I have been hearing about Wordle for quite some time now.  I couldn't find it and couldn't figure out what all the hype was about.  But....I know now!!!  Kathy and Kerry play Wordle and showed me and now I am addicted.  Every morning the New York Times posts seven different puzzles, Wordle being one of them.  You basically get one shot at each one then you are done for the day.  It is so much fun!  I grab my phone when I wake up in the morning, always around 5 am, and do the puzzles.  I love it!!!!  I am def hooked!!! 

Gotta bounce!  I need to clean up my kitchen before bringing home more stuff.  TTYL

'A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing.'  Anon

YOU DON'T NEED ENGLISH TO GET THIS ONE.  WE WERE IN A MCDONALDS IN JAPAN AND THIS WAS ON THE WALL.  SPOD WAS SO EXCITED...HE LOVED SPAM AND MCD'S!

G-DAMMIT!!!!!

 I put a G up there instead of God out of respect for those that attend church every Sunday.  I am not religious, spiritual, but not religious.  Even so I won't let my kids say 'my effing god' in front of me.  We could get struck  by lightening...you never know.  I find the expression offensive actually.

I think I have mentioned on occasion that I cannot find anything in this frigging house.  I am not sure if it's because I can't remember anything anymore or if it's the stupid house cuz there is no logical storage places or if it's a combination of both.  I just know I can NEVER find what I am looking for.  

I remember Bill telling me that his last wife was famous for the same thing and would just go buy another.  I remember arrogantly being quite critical about that, negatively I might add.  And because of him telling me that tidbit, and my negative judgy reaction, I refuse to do that, even when I am desperate.  And Kim, I am totally sorry for my judgement!!!!  Like she has any remote interest in my boring nothing blog and is actually reading it!  Hahaha...right!

Anyway, I digress, as usual.  You guys are lucky I am not dictating this thing.  I would be wandering all over my head, verbalizing silly unnecessary crap!  Like I just did now!! Dammit!!

Back to my G-dammit. I have lost my new Christmas tree.  Seriously!!!!  I replaced last years, oh just a minute, I didn't have one last year, at least not one to be proud of.  The year before I had quite a nice three footer but after spending a year in a bag, it came out absolutely mouldy and stinky.  Out it went and I didn't replace it.  I had a two foot warped badly made atrocity that I rammed a million lights onto and used that last year.  So this year I ordered from Amazon a nice little three footer.  It arrived in a perfect two foot box in a couple of pieces.  I have put that box somewhere and I cannot find it.  Since putting it somewhere I have completely cleaned my house for Kathy and Kerry's visit.  I even cleaned the storage/laundry room and I absolutely cannot find it. I am so fed up with not being able to find anything.

On another note I was not sleeping in the night as usual.  I got thinking about 'influencers', trying hard not to be scathing about them.  I have a hard time not thinking of them as societal parasites.  But I don't really know enough about their interests to be too judgemental...yet.  I know what basically they do.  I have seen them in movies.  They use their phones to show off either travel, clothes, make up, themselves, pets, cooking or what ever.  So I decided to lay there and waltz through my life in my head and decide that if I HAD to become an influencer, what talent or interest of mine would I choose.  The options were not plentiful.  It seems I have a modicum amount of interests and master of none.

I cook but a video of my cooking would be ludicrous.  Most the time I am looking for something I can't find.  My kitchen is too small to do cutesy  shots of me making the title of the video only to end up making something that doesn't even resemble what the title calls it....due to not finding what I need.

I play piano.  No.  Just no to that one.

Clothes for fat broads...hahaha!!!  Most of what I wear I bought after our house fire in 2003.  So a big NOT! to that one.

Hey now!!!!  One time around 2012 I wrote one hundred poems.  It was an internet project suggestion.  Write a poem a day for 100 days.  Well I wrote 99.  I wanted to just do it my way a little bit.

I could influence people to write poetry.  I could film myself reading one of my poems per session and put it on instagram and you tube.  The fact that they are particularly awful is irrelevant.  Have you ever read a Walt Whitman poem?  and he is famous. But with a little more consideration of this idea, I had to admit I am not really into serious humiliation.  It may seem like it but I do have a limit on the feeling.

Needless to say by morning I was feeling like a loser.  I don't do anything whatsoever that would be considered worth passing on to anyone ever.  Now I am feeling bad again just writing this.  I am going to quit this post right now.  TTYL

'Sometimes the amount of self control it takes to not say what's on my mind is so immense, I need to take a nap afterwards.'  Anon.

No pictures today but I am going to put one of my poems here just to prove my point.  Don't worry it won't be a particularly long one!  Hahahaha!!!

POEM 70 DEC. 2

WOE IS ME

I totally despise and hate my bra

it seems for women that this is a law

we must wear them, like it or not

but fighting this law, freedom we got

But hold on a minute I must say

I am still wearing one every day

I tried to discard them in the trash

but I yanked them back out in a flash

for its like this, you must see

if I don’t wear one they will hit my knee

they will swing and swag to and fro

different directions they will go

So I must keep my bras today

to rein them in and stop the sway

I need to anchor them and tie them down

to keep them from dragging on the ground 

BUSY BUSY BUSY

 Wow!  Once again time has flown by.  Lots happening.  

My sister and husband came for a visit!!!  I love it when people come to visit.  It almost never happens anymore due to my living in the boon docks that requires an expensive ferry trip.  As a result my house, especially my guest room, becomes extremely needy for a thorough cleaning.  When visitors were more frequent the house didn't get too bad.  So their visit was an awesome opportunity to gitter done!!!

I think I moved a mountain, the right way.  I found logical places for all that stuff that was stacked to the ceiling in the guest room!  And best part?  I found stuff I hadn't been able to find for ages and ages!  Plus I got an unusual amount of exercise!  Hahaha!!!

Our visit was awesome!  It was soooo good to see them.  I miss them.  We had the lamb dinner which turned out just okay.  I think I am losing my touch. 

 We went out each day for a tour of the Port area.  One of the trips involved the fish ladders again.  It is just so beautiful out there, especially in the fall.  I also drove them up to our new campground up at Loon Lake.  It is so beautiful up there as well.  We also had lots of just visit time.

  I had a broken drawer in the kitchen.  It would leave sawdust on the floor every time we tried to open it.  And KERRY FIXED IT!!!!  It literally took two days and two trips to the hardware store to get it fixed.  I am so grateful because not one of us in this house is capable of doing those sorts of fix-it things!!!!  They left on Sunday, heading up to see my brother.  Too short a visit!!!  I miss them, the downside of visits.

Later on Sunday Graeme was coming for a visit.  We drove down to Nanaimo to pick him up.  He came for two nights.  I love having him here.  We included a trip to Costco of course.  We were actually going to go out for dinner but we couldn't resist the poutine and hotdogs.  Dammit!!!!  It was so good to have Graeme here.  Then yesterday, Tuesday, we drove him back down.  That trip seems to be getting shorter and shorter!

Now back to current busy things.  First I shall be erecting a three foot fake Christmas tree.  I had to throw out pretty much all my xmas decorations and tree last year.  I stored them in a xmas tree bag under our indoor stairs....and when we hauled it all out it absolutely smelt terrible..mould we believe.  So this year I ordered two boxes of pretty ornaments from Amazon.  I ordered mini glass balls.  Now I know what mini balls are like, but the ones that came are so small you can hardly see them!!!!

When an Amazon package comes, just for fun I try to guess what it is before opening it.  Honing my guess the contents skills, practicing being blind cuz I know I will be one day if things keep going the way they seem to be right now. 

 So this package came, small, square, and I simply could not guess or remember.  A package had come the day before.  It was in a twelve by twelve box and I was pretty sure it was the balls.  Nope...it was a box of powdered dishwasher soap I had ordered. Then the next day this tiny package in a very small box came.  There was no way I was going to guess that one.  Like did I order a ring and just forgot? It was the teeny tiny xmas balls!  At least they are pretty.

I am super looking forward to Christmas!  Tonight I informed the household that I would not be making a xmas dinner this year.  And I went on to say that either of them should feel free to do the xmas dinner, they both know how to cook.  One grunted and the other one said she was going to eat a Hungry Man turkey dinner and stay downstairs and watch tv.  So I am going go out and buy myself unusual lovely food that does NOT need cooking and it will just be for me. They can go out and buy their own stuff.  Cooking that thanksgiving dinner all day then cleaning all the next day did me in.  

Well that's it for this round.  Sorry it's pretty boring.  Have fun getting ready for xmas....time to do xmas cards!  TTYL

'I think homes that are too tidy, neat and sparse look like nothing interesting is going on.'  Shelley Malec Vitale

I DISLIKE (READ HATE) HALLOWEEN - WARNING: A RANT

There I said it.  I have hated halloween since my oldest kids were little.  That means I have hated halloween for fifty years.  

Back in the day when I was little I lived on a government farm. There were quite a few families in farm houses and at one point there were 17 kids on the farm.  There was absolutely no trick or treating, no store bought cheap costumes, no giant oversized pillowcases so full kids couldn't carry them and absolutely no fireworks...at least not the kind you lit and through.

What there was was a huge bonfire, all the farm folks and neighbours gathered around it, we roasted wieners and hot dogs, every mother brought all kinds of home made goodies that we sure never got through the year and us kids would play kick the can or whatever in the dark.  It was so exciting and almost overwhelming.  Our costumes were all homemade and so original and funny...and if it wasn't snowing (we lived up north) a lot of crepe paper was used.  Back then you could buy crepe paper in bundles like bolts of cloth and every colour under the sun.  One year mom, busy teacher mom, sewed us three kids amazing costumes, my cute little sister was a pumpkin and I was an elf.  The costumes were amazing.  I don't remember my brother's.

When the fire burnt down to an appropriate level, our parents would call us kids in from our games and hand us a willow branch that our dad's had carved a point on one end.  There would be a big juicy wiener stuck to it....and we NEVER got wieners except on halloween and the occasional camping trip.  A real treat!!  When it was time to go home the moms gathered us up, the left over baking was divided up amongst us kids (I have a feeling now that they had hidden a lot of it away to bring out to share with us to take home).  Mom took tired happy kids home for baths and bed.  Dad's stayed at the fire til all the wood was burned and drank copious amounts of coffee.  No one drank likker back then like they do now.  It was awesome.

Now, both parents are working for the most part.  Imaginative costumes don't happen anymore.  They are all Amazon or Walmart premade predictable outfits á la Disney.  Girls are princesses and boys are pirates or some such violent bad person.  We had about 65 kids last night and I paid attention.  And none of them except a few were from this neighbourhood.  Most of the kids were so focussed on what candy was being offered and how many they could pick they kind of forgot to have fun along the way. 

And....it was 9:30, finally over, lights all out, relaxing in my chair and 'ding dong'. What??!!  So I hobble down to the door.  The entrance way was super dark, the porch was black, I didn't turn on the lights.  I open the door and there is a little girl, about 7 yrs old standing there in a generic costume of a princess.  Dad was standing at the gate.  She said nothing.  In a loud voice I made the comment as loud as possible, 'you are way too late for this and next year try to remember that when there are no lights on  you don't come to the door.'  I threw a tiny candy in her bag and slammed the door.  One nice thing was seeing that dads were out in force and congregating and visiting, albeit beers in hand, but not at 9:30!

By seven o'clock the little ones were literally dragging their pillow cases, so full that as soon as they finished at a house they handed the bag over to dad to carry.  When does trick or treat tradition become greed I ask!!!  And think of the money spent on candy, at the expense of bills and groceries.  And there are lots of people that have to reluctantly and in shame darken their houses because they just can't afford it.

And as for fireworks...I heard about one six year old that had her hand blown up from holding one too long.  Six years old!!!!  I sincerely hope the authorities were called and the parent charged.  And this morning the SPCA has sent out a notice that there are several escaped terrified dogs found and delivered to them, thanks to fireworks.  In this town we had a house fire, started by roman candles.  Geez!

So what's to like about halloween?  And if you think I am going to dress up and go to an adult party where they all get drunk and stupid...are you kidding?

I am sure not everyone's halloween was like this.  My poor kids had to suffer my complete lack of interest in it.  I see it as probably a missed opportunity to have fun with them, but I didn't.

  I just happen to be in a seriously bad mood and decided to be honest about how I feel about halloween!  Now Christmas?  That is a whole different thing entirely!!  I LOVE Christmas!!!!  And this year I am not making a turkey dinner for the first time ever.  In fact I am not even going to make a xmas dinner.  Too much work and clean up.  I am not spending xmas this year in the kitchen.  I am going to put my feet up, watch crappy tv, read a crappy book and eat snacks and processed food!!!

Thats my opinion and I am sticking to it!!!  TTYL

'The farther we've gotten from the magic and mystery of our past, the more we have come to need halloween.'  Paula Guran.      I totally disagree. lol!!

APRIL'S LAST YEARS PERSONAL MAKE-UP --- EVERY HALLOWEEN SHE HAULS OUT HER MAKE UP KIT

THIS YEARS EFFORTS