Sunny, sleepy, Saturday

The man-cats, Sasha and Saku have been out in the sunroom most of the day.

Sami, on the other hand, prefers to stay close to me. Every time I take a break between chores, she either curls up on my lap or on the couch.

I  was up at 6 a.m. to watch the Mens World curling, underway in Basel, Switzerland. I had intended to stay up and get the housework done early. HA! At 8:30 I crawled back into my bed for a half hour snooze...woke up at 11. As a result, the vacuum is currently calling my name from the bedroom.

That probably explains why the boys are in the sunroom; they both hate the vacuum...Sami, not so much.

Have a great day everyone!

Another sign of spring!

I'm not certain but I think it's either a re-seed of a pansy or possibly a viola. I've heard them called Johnny Jump-up's - it seems appropriate because this plant has certainly jumped-up quickly! I do know it must be a volunteer plant because I didn't seed or plant it there. However it came to be in my messy flower bed, I'm thrilled to see another sign of spring!

(Mostly) Wordless Wednesday

Still missing my Silas.

How did he know?

Jack Rabbit hung out in the neighbour's yard for a good hour this weekend.

By the time Saku finished his nap in my bedroom and resumed his watch at the front window, Jack was long gone. Funny, that!

What a day! And it's not over yet.

I took today off work, it seems odd to not be going in to the office on a Monday, almost like skipping school. It's funny since I often take Friday's off as my EDO but Monday feels different somehow. And it is different - because it's my birthday! I have a personal rule that unless absolutely necessary I never work on my birthday. Thank goodness for a flexible schedule.

This is the day I indulge myself (within limits of course), take time for introspection, and enjoy time with my family. This morning I slept in until 8 a.m. - well sort of, because I was awake earlier when C & D left for work at 5:00 and 6:45 respectively. I took myself out for breakfast, enjoyed my Tim's coffee and a breakfast sandwich while flipping through a magazine.

I met with a financial advisor later in the morning. Frankly, I've never thought of myself as a person who needs an advisor...mostly because I never have any money! However, my bank has been a major irritant lately with my registered retirement savings plan investment. It's not worth much as I only started making contributions a year and a half ago, but the bank has managed to take most of the growth in fees.

Besides, I plan to retire in a little over 7 years (August 25, 2019 is my target date!) so it's definitely time to do some sort of pre-planning. Probably a little late, but I guess better late than never! It was an interesting conversation as the advisor was pleased to hear I've thought through where I want to be in next ten years. Such as selling my house, buy an apartment condo with the equity, work part-time, while ensuring I can still travel once a year. I'll be meeting with her again in a couple of weeks to put some numbers down on paper. We'll see if my goals are reasonable and realistic!

When I got home, I got a call from my manager. We've had a couple of recent announcements in our office resulting in the movement of our highest level manager to another office temporarily. As a result, our second in command will be acting for her. No decsion was made (or at least announced) as to who would be acting for the second-level. Today, my boss informed he will be acting in that position for 6 to 8 weeks. Since the other positions are for 6 months, it's not clear to me why his acting is so much shorter. Anyway, he informed me he will appointing me to act in his place.

My immediate reaction was to say no. I've only been a supervisor for three years and this position will mean I am managing a team of supervisors, many of whom I have worked for over the years. I explained it would be awkward and I would anticipate some backlash from some of the supervisors. He agreed but said that I was his choice because "I want someone who will get the job done", the decision had been made, and an announcement would be going out shortly. I felt pressured, but agreed to take the opportunity for two reasons. First, it is only for a few weeks but secondly, and more importantly it will also give me a chance to be involved in the decisions being made. We all know there are changes coming, if I can some influence on how those changes are announced or implemented, that will be my goal.

It's going to be an interesting day tomorrow. In the meantime I'm going to enjoy my dinner with my children tonight.

Sunday on ice

The Womens Worlds Curling ended this evening. Switzerland beat Sweden 7-6 in a game that went back and forth several times. This morning Canada beat Korea in the bronze medal game avenging Saturday's loss that kept Canada from advancing. Korea? A power house of curling, who knew?

In between games I went to see Deniece skate in her year-end carnival. This year she even had a solo. The pictures I got certainly weren't great so I'll just share the better ones.

She's the third to left, dressed as Piglet from Winnie the Pooh

This is from her solo - I never get a decent photo.

This was the group finale for the older girls skating to Under the Sea. She's third from the left again - unfortunately I was up in the stands so the picture was taken through the netting.

The afternoon was fun, not only for the chance to see her skate, but because I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. Several of the participants were from the CanSkate program for beginners. Watching the little ones wobble and weave their way on the ice was both hilarious and touching. They were so earnest and obviously enjoying themselves. One of the little ones stopped to wave a her family in mid-skate.

I was truly amazed that there wasn't a single meltdown or a child who simply froze in front of the crowd. Today also reminded me it's been about 30 years since I last skated! I almost thought it would be fun to try again. Good thing winter is nearly gone - I'm sure that feeling will have passed by the time the ice is ready!

Friday Night fight

Saku is my youngest cat, and at only 4 years he has a tendency to try to assert his dominance on the older cats (Sasha - 11 and Sami - 10). Despite the size difference (he's much more muscular than the other two) it rarely works.

Last night, Sasha was curled up asleep on the couch when Saku decided he wanted the spot. I didn't get a picture of the initial attack but here's what happened next.

It's a staredown...who will be the first to blink?

The tension was high

Ha - it was Saku...I'm sure Sasha was thinking "these young-ens have no staying power!"

At this point the near-fight was over. Saku headed back to his favorite spot in the window and Sasha went back to sleep. Later on, when I moved over to the couch to watch the end of the curling I took this picture.

Apparently there wasn't room for the two of them to hang outon the couch, but there is on my chair? Silly cats!

More signs of spring

One of the best things about spring is not driving to work in the dark. This morning the sun was rising as I drove west towards downtown. The sun in the rear view mirror was nearly blinding...but I'm not complaining!

Earlier as I was taking the garbage bin out to street for collection I saw these little fellows!

Can you see the red breasts? Maybe the closeup in the next picture is better?

I'm so happy to see the robins are back! Soon the trees will be leafing out and I won't be able to see them as easily so I will put out the bird bath. The cats will be excited...it's like live television out the front room window!

Wordless Wednesday

Are you kidding me?

This is a photo of convicted sex offender Graham James. Please forgive me but I have to say this. What a low-life, cowardly prick!

He is hiding his face as he heads into court to hear the sentence he'll receive for having sexually abused two young hockey players in the 1980's and early 1990's. I assume he's done so because he is concerned what might happen to him, either in prison, or possibly after his release. In my mind, nothing that could happen to him is sufficient after what he's done.

Graham James was a coach in the minor hockey league in our province for many years. A number of the young boys who played on these teams were away from home, many for the first time, and he took advantage of their youth, their naivety, and their loneliness.

Graham James was convicted in 1997 for sexual assaults against three young men and was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison. He was released within 18 months and later pardoned for his crime in 2007, whereupon he left Canada and moved to Mexico. Two years later, another hockey player came forward with accusations against James. After he was located by CBC News and the Globe and Mail in 2010, an arrest warrant was issued and James returned to Canada to face these charges.

His defence counsel told the court that Graham James has been rehabilitated after 32 hours of counselling. (Call me crazy but I find that hard to believe!) His lawyers argued for a conditional sentence with probation because he pled guilty to the charges and has not reoffended since his last conviction. (Repeat last inserted comment here) The prosecution was asking for a six year sentence.

Today he was sentenced to two years in prison for the assaults. He'll likely do less than a year, and may even be released by Christmas. I agree with the judge that no sentence would have satisfied the victims. I do not agree however that a two year sentence for each charge to be served concurrently is sufficient.

How many more young men did Graham James abuse? How many hours of counselling will it require for his victims to overcome the trauma? But even a sentence of one year for every assault will not restore these men. What I would truly like to see happen to Graham James cannot be printed. You can use your imagination!

Playing with fire

I've gone and done it...I'm glad I did even though I know I'm tempting fate!

What have I done? Well, first of all I washed my car. Yep, I took it to the car wash on Friday, waited in line nearly 20 minutes for my turn to wash the winter grime off my vehicle, and then parked it on the driveway.

Now that may not seem like such a big deal in most parts of the world, but doing this in March in Saskatchewan would normally not be a great idea. Chances are the doors would have been frozen shut overnight if not in a few hours. Not this weekend with balmy temperatures near 10C (50F)!

And, oh my god, I still can't believe I've done this.

It's not the best picture so I'll explain. I had my winter jacket drycleaned this weekend. That means I have NO intention of wearing it again this year.

What do you think? Have I gone too far?

Spring has sprung! again!

I want to believe it is spring, even if it just a temporary respite.

Here's the view from my front window on March 1st.

Here's the view this afternoon.

I can't recall a year where we had this little snow this early in the year. And spring doesn't officially arrive until March 21st!

Sunny Saturday

Housework can wait until tomorrow...we're going to spend the day in the sunroom!

Please Mom can I go outside?

Chilling out under Mom's chair

Loving the sunshine!

Hope your day is filled with sunshine too!!!

TGIF

I am so glad it is finally Friday. This has been a crazy week at work and I'm looking forward to forgetting everything that happened and simply relaxing and enjoying the warm weather.

We reached 18C today (about 65F), the snow is rapidly melting and the poor bunny in the backyard isn't camoflauged any longer. I tried to get a photo to share but the batteries in the camera died! I think the bunny is hanging out on purpose just to tease Saku. He sits in the front window watching for the bunny, when it heads through to the back, he heads to the sunroom to look for it. Of course, it often heads to the neigbour's yard instead so the silly cat runs back and forth between the two rooms.

I sort of feel the same way at work. It seems I'm running back and forth, catching nothing and getting nowhere. Yesterday was particularly bad, today somewhat better, at least until this afternoon.

Our team of supervisors and our managers had a meeting yesterday with two of the senior managers. Working for the public service, we all know there are changes coming in the federal budget at the end of the month...we just don't know what they are. We thought this meeting would address some of our questions. However, all the senior manager had to say was, changes are coming and the supervisors need to be prepared to address questions. She talked about better communication throughout the process, ensuring the supervisors have the information they need to respond to staff questions.

The meeting continued on with the second-in-command. The discussion revolved around trust and integrity. During the meeting one of the other supervisors took a couple of pot-shots at me, implying I'm an idiot, and not capable of managing my team. By the end of the meeting I was drained, near tear, and seriously wondering why I do what I do.

This morning I had a chat with one of my team and asked for her opinion. I knew she would be honest with me. I was overwhelmed to hear that she and another team member had been talking with other employees just last week saying that working for me was a great opportunity to learn and develop. I'll just assume yesterday's attack was simply the result of a misunderstanding.

Later today, after I'd left the office I got a phone call from a co-worker. She'd received a call from another supervisor about an e-mail that had been sent out to all staff this afternoon. I called the office and had one of the staff forward it to me at home. You can imagine my surprise when I read the announcement that our senior manager was being transferred to another office on a temporary basis. The second-in-command will be taking her place while she's away.

Do you think maybe we should have been apprised of these changes yesterday? Integrity, trust, communication...not so much!

I'm so glad to see the end of this week!

Today sucked

I think I'll take the advice of Wikihow and go to bed.

'Nuff said.

The season ends

I went to watch my nephew (age 11) play hockey this evening. The regular season has ended and the playoffs started last week. Their team, the Lions, had lost their first game, but went on to win their second against the second ranked team in their league. Hopes were high that the team would continue to do well as the remaining teams in the B side were teams they've beaten earlier in the season.

Here's deNephew during warm-up

The game began with both teams hustling up and down the ice. The goalies were looking sharp. Our team took the first penalty but was able to kill it off with no problem. The crowd went crazy when the Lions got the first goal!

But then just a minute or so later, the Aeros got their first goal. By the end of the second period the Aeros were ahead 3-1. There were a number of penalties on both sides as the boys worked hard not to allow any more goals. About 3 minutes into the third period, the Lions scored again! With 17 minutes remaining it looked like there was a real possibility that our team would be able to tie and maybe even win the game.

Denephew is in position to the right of the goalie waiting for his shot on net.

The minutes ticked by, as the teams continued their forays up and down the ice. The goalies held firm, covering up the shots before they reached the nets. Our team suffered a couple of minor injuries requiring the assistance of the coach (my brother R) to help them off the ice. But then four minutes before the end of the game, our team took another penalty for tripping. They kept the other team at bay but it was pretty evident every one was running out of gas.

The final buzzer sounded with the score Aeros 3 Lions 2. I'm sad they lost but happy I was able to be there to watch the final game of the season. Even worse my batteries died in my camera so I wasn't able to get a photo of deNephew after the game in his suit jacket and tie.

I did get a picture of deNiece though - isn't she cute?

Wordless Wednesday

Thought I'd share this video I found on YouTube. I've heard that monkeys can be very aggressive but these two seem to be having a lot of fun together! Even the dog wants in on the fun!!


Uploaded by MaxBilbow on Feb 24, 2012

Catty fun

I got this from a friend and thought it was too good not to share. I hope it makes you laugh...I know I did!

This is how I heard YOUR WEEK was going....

First you had trouble getting out of bed

You had a stiff neck

Your new diet really doesn't seem to be working out

You pulled a muscle when you tried to exercise

Your new hat looked better on you at the store

You keep losing things

You got caught in the rain at lunchtime

Then the lunch you had didn't seem to agree with you

You feel trapped

Uninvited guests showed up at dinnertime

On top of that you think you're coming down with the flu

And finally, you're alone in the house at night when you think you hear a noise in the basement

MAYBE TOMORROW WILL BE BETTER!!

Thought for the Day

Handle every stressful situation like a dog.
If you can't eat it or play with it,
Just pee on it and walk away.

Sleepy Saturday evening

After a busy day we're all tired. The cats spent most of the day in the sunroom while I did more spring cleaning. I cleared out a bag full of clothes from my closet and armoire. I also conquered the paper monster, finally getting around to filing bills, and even got a start on our taxes!

It's almost time for the Brier semi-final. I'm relaxing in my chair watching the news while the cats are chilling out.

Sasha makes a great pillow for Sami!

Isn't Saku a handsome boy?

We reached 7C again today, so now our street looks like this.

Assuming the forecast is right I expect all the snow will be gone by next weekend.

Hope you are having a great weekend too!

Spring has sprung!

Not only did it reach 7C (about 45F) which was lovely, but I woke up this morning feeling the urge to do some spring cleaning. I thought about staying in bed until the urge went away but I didn't. After a very busy day I'm happy I gave into my urge.

I was up at 7 a.m. and by 9:30 when I left to go for brunch, I'd gotten the cleaning cabinet (where the cat food is also kept) cleaned out, unloaded the dishwasher, done a sinkful of dishes, cleaned counters, fridge and stove. I was ready for my break, I had very nice visit with two friends, one currently works with me, the other was my supervisor before he retired. After brunch I headed out to do some shopping.

I don't about you but I get tired of my clothing. It's not that it isn't serviceable but it begins to look faded and tired, or maybe I'm just tired of wearing the same things over and over again. On the advice of my co-worker I went to Mark's Workwarehouse first. I'd never thought to go to Mark's for women's clothing as I'd always thought of it as a men's store. I was thrilled to find two blouses and a t-shirt on sale - all in bright colours that remind me of spring. From there I headed to Winners Home Sense, one of my very favorite stores, I can spend hours in there browsing the aisles.

I found another blouse as well as a couple of photo albums, a new purse, and tea towels in spring colors. I thought about running over to Walmart but decided it was time to go home and get back to work. However, when I got home my son C informed me the coffee pot had died so I ended up heading out to Walmart anyway.

After getting home and setting up the new coffee pot, which just happens to be the same make as the previous one, it was time to get back at the housework. I vacuumed the kitchen, hall, living room and front foyer and then washed the floors. By this point, I was ready for some rest in front of the television with a fresh cup of coffee.

I'm hoping this desire to clean continues tomorrow. I have clothes strewn all over my bedroom since I couldn't decide what I wanted to wear this morning. I think it's time to go through the closet and armoire, make some decisions, and let some old favorites fade away.

Has spring arrived where you are? Do you find yourself with an urge to clean...or I am just totally odd?

In the running

Our current mayor has announced he will not be running in the next election to be held in October. We've already got four individuals who have thrown their hats into the ring in the hopes of becoming our city's next mayor.

One of the candidates is a fellow named Bob Loblaw. Try saying that name three times fast....

Do you hear what I hear?

If he becomes Mayor, he'll be Mayor Boblahblah! It cracks me up!!!

Not complaining

This morning we awoke to -17C (just above 0F). The cold weather won't last long, by tomorrow afternoon we'll be just below freezing. But even better, by Sunday we should be basking in +8C (or about 46F).

It wasn't that warm last weekend but with the sun shining, and the door opened to sunroom, the cats and I were able to enjoy the sunroom for the first time this year.

Saku and Sasha spent most of the afternoon out there.

I only spent about a half hour out there having a cup of coffee and reading my book. Have I mentioned I'm still watching curling?

No matter, if the forecast is correct I expect we'll be out there again this weekend!