Friday Funny

If you haven't seen this video of Nana Dancing to Runaround Sue check it out.  It is HILARIOUS, especially the very end!!!

The sad part is I'm pretty sure I dance like that.  Enjoy!

If the link doesn't work (and it wouldn't in my preview) then copy and paste this link in your browser.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNBOb__hPjk

And if that doesn't work, try going to youtube.com and searching Nana Dancing to Runaround Sue.  Sheeshh...I'm horrid at this computer stuff! Sorry!

Meet Marmalade

No, I haven't gotten a dog!

Yesterday when my daughter got home from work, she met Marmalade in the front yard. I was pretty sure she belonged to one of the neighbours but I don't know them well enough to be certain.

Luckily she was wearing tags with a clinic phone number, an ID # and her name.  I called the clinic, verified they had contact information for the owner, and left my information.  While we waited we took Marmalade around to the back yard where after a drink of water, she made herself at home.

We didn't wait very long before the dad and son came to pick her up.  The dad someone had left the side gate open, so Marmalade went visiting.  I laughed when she went to them when they called, but came back to D and I before going with them.  Apparently she liked us!

They were lucky Marmalade didn't venture too far, we don't live on a busy street, and my daughter didn't simply ignore her.  I suspect they will be checking to ensure the gate is locked in the future.  But if Marmalade comes for another visit, I'll be happy to see her.

Random Wednesday

It's a good thing I planned to take today off work.  We got the selection letters yesterday for the position I interviewed for last week, and I was not successful.  I needed some time to process my feelings (till about 3 a.m. this morning in fact...how sad is that?) 

I'm disappointed, partly because my competitive nature wants a win, and partly because I'm always looking for a new challenge.  My current job, while interesting, isn't as challenging as it once was and I can't see myself in the same spot for 6 years, 2 months and 2 days.  

Tomorrow I'll go back to work, suck it up, congratulate those who were successful and get on with my job. 

*******

I'm this close to booking another vacation.  A friend from Ottawa is getting married in Jamaica in November, and a mutual friend (also from Ottawa) asked if I would join them.  Of course, I said yes!

Because there are two of travelling together, I'm using a travel agent to do the booking.  We got together last night, but for some reason, the flights available on her site didn't match those on the travel companies site. 

Since I was awake so late, I checked again around midnight and found that the flights I'd originally were no longer available and the prices had jumped.

I did some more research and found an alternative that is reasonably priced.  When L called this morning, she checked into it, and again the flights available on her site and the company are not the matching.

She's been trying to reach their customer service, but the wait time is 35 minutes.  Hopefully there are seats still available on the good flights.  

********

As a result of the recent flooding in Calgary, the Calgary Humane Society has been overwhelmed by homeless animals being brought into the shelter.  As a result, they have temporarily halted the intake of owner surrendered animals.  I took a quick look at the animals available for adoption, and there 80 cats and 25 dogs available at this time.  

While dealing with the impact of the flooding is obviously a priority, I hope the animals are not forgotten.  

********

The weather is gorgeous today, 25C (77F) at the moment, with a chance of a thunderstorm later this afternoon.  The forecast through the long weekend is clear, sunny and warm (24-28C everyday).  Summer has finally arrived!

I've got a repairman coming on Friday to check the air conditioning until.  I'm hopeful it is an easy fix, and the darn thing doesn't need to be replaced.  Otherwise it is going to be a warm weekend in more ways than one.

I haven't any thing major planned for the long Canada Day weekend.  I'm taking Friday off as well, so will have four full days to relax (and do housework, yard work and other chores). Oh yeah, and football season starts this weekend as well, so there will be some yelling happening too.  GO RIDERS!

  

Troubling times

This morning I went out to water the containers and on my way back into the house I noticed my daughter's car had a flat tire.  Fortunately it was early enough I was able to give her a ride to work (she starts at 7 a.m., I start at 7:30).

Her brother was supposed to pick her up at 3:30 but he was sleeping (that's why he is her brother and not my son at the moment).  She was able to catch a ride home with a co-worker.  She called CAA, they changed the tire and she drove it over to the tire store.  In the meantime she woke up her brother who picked from the store.

When I got home, they were still away from the house, but the front door was open.  I figured they had been gone only a few minutes so I wasn't too concerned.

They showed up shortly thereafter.  While I was changing my clothes, C started putting the cats supper together and D decided to order pizza.  I came out of the bedroom and Sasha (the oldest cat) wasn't in the kitchen.

We spent the next fifteen minutes checking everywhere in the house calling his name, and even checking outdoors when I mentioned the door had been left open.  Finally, when I was beginning to think the worst, my daughter found him.  He was lying under the love seat in the sun room.  I know we'd checked the sun room before but none of us had seen him.  More unusual he hadn't come when C called.  But Sasha was fine...he's either going deaf or was simply ignoring us.  Darn cat, I was close to panic!

By this point I realized how warm the house felt, so I went to turn on the air conditioning unit.  First time this year! AND of course, it isn't working....argghh! My son and I checked the power source but we couldn`t find any reason for it not to work.  Tomorrow I`ll call the plumber and arrange for him to come by on Wednesday.  I`d already planned to take the day off, so now I can stay and spend money.  Oh yippee.

Hope your Monday was trouble free!


P.S. to Trish at Katnip Lounge - I sure hope this doesn`t mean it is my turn!

A perfect recipe

Summer has finally arrived! According to the news last night, it made its official debut about 11 p.m. yesterday.

I wasn't awake to welcome summer but I'm certainly appreciating it today!

Other than a bit of housework, I have spent much of the day either outdoors or in the sun room.

My son cleared out the eavestroughs for the sun room yesterday.  That is, he tossed the junk from the gutters onto the lawn below.  So I spent some time clearing up the mess, picking up branches, pulling weeds and raking.  I took two bags of debris to the bin!

With all the rain we have had, and now the heat, the plants are growing like weeds.  (The weeds are also growing like weeds!)

I will take you on a short tour (it is a small yard!).  The sunny back deck is a lovely spot to enjoy a cold drink.

The osteospermum which live in the containers at the back of the deck, bloom continuously all summer.

While the lobelia is supposed to prefer partial sun and shade I find they do very well in this sunny spot.

 The large tomato plant - I know it is not a beefsteak but something similar has some fruit.  This is largest one!

Surely with all the flowers I will see more soon.

 The hanging tumbler tomato also has fruit. AND lots of flowers.

I am so looking forward to fresh tomatoes in the next month or so.

Speaking of vegetables, I am trying an experiment with carrots, radishes, and spinach (not in the picture).  The carrots are a short variety.

I obviously need to do some thinning!

The dianthus and petunias pairing have been my greatest success this year.  I have six containers, this one and anther with yellow and pink and another four with white petunias and pink carnations. Both are easy care, just needing a little deadheading, and they have all grown like gangbusters!

On the front patio, my coleous, ivy, and New Guinea impatiens are doing extremely well.  I am not as certain about the colour choice, but I really like the variegated pattern in the coleous.

The front flower bed is starting to fill in.  There are impatiens, nicotiana, and vinca in among the few perennials.

Eventually I hope to fill the bed with mostly perennials.  I just have to decide what I want!

This the a view from the patio. I have always loved red with pink though I would never wear it together.

I will need to find somewhere to put the ferns as they do well initially in the spring but die back very quickly when it gets warm.




In the time it took for me to take the photos, the clouds were gathering again. According to the forecast we`re not expected to have much rain, but a thunderstorm is a possibility. I won`t mind in the least, this type of weather is the perfect recipe for my garden.

Friday Funny

A menopausal woman went into the pharmacy, walked up to the pharmacist, looked straight into his eyes, and said, ’I would like to buy some cyanide’.

The pharmacist asked, ’Why in the world do you need cyanide?’

The woman replied, ’I need it to poison my husband.’

The pharmacist’s eyes got big and he exclaimed, ’Lord have mercy! I can’t give you cyanide to kill your husband. That’s against the law! I’ll lose my license! They’ll throw both of us in jail! All kinds of bad things will happen. Absolutely not! You CANNOT have any cyanide!’

The woman reached into her purse and pulled out a picture of her husband in bed with the pharmacist’s wife.

The pharmacist looked at the picture and replied, ’Well now, that’s a different story. You didn’t tell me you had a prescription!”

Weather Woes

Last night the sky darkened and it seemed we were in for a storm. (horrible picture, sorry!)

According to the forecast, it was expected the storm would come through our area around midnight.  I love thunder storms, so I told my son if I didn't wake up he should come get me when the storm started.  (He's the night owl). As it turned out, the storm didn't reach us until 5:30 this morning. I can assure you, I certainly didn't sleep through it!

This afternoon the clouds rolled in again.  I watched the lightening storm and the rain pour down out the windows at work.  At the end of the day, just getting to the car in the parking lot next door was an adventure.  My feet were soaking wet and my jeans were soaked through in the minute or so it took to run to the car (as fast as my stubby little legs could carry me!)

When I got home, my son showed me this.

The eavestroughs could not keep up with the rain, and we had a waterfall running down the exterior of the window.  It even caused a couple of leaks in the sun room in the roof above this window, and through the screens to the right.  Even the seam in the floor showed the damp!  Thankfully there is no flooring on top of the plywood sheeting.  The corners of the carpet got wet but they'll dry quickly.

When the weather improves (hopefully tomorrow) C will go out and check the eaves and the roof line to see if there is any missing caulk.  I certainly don't want a waterfall on the interior of the sun room.

Sangster Blvd. in Regina was hit hard by the deluge. (Courtesy: Zach Obleman)

This photo from CBC news is of a street in North Regina.  I had some large puddles to drive through on the way home, but thankfully my street looked nothing like this!  More rain is in the forecast tonight and again on the weekend.  Yikes...time to get out the rain coat and boots!

Better dayr

Wow, that was a rough day yesterday.  Sometimes my emotions just get the best of me and I can't see my way through.  I didn't get much sleep last night, between night sweats and bad dreams, it seemed like morning came far too soon.  I'm sure much of my discomfort was the result of my out of control emotions.  Gotta say, I'm glad that's behind me!

The interview this morning went okay.  I was given the questions and a half hour preparation time to make notes for the actual interview.  I read through the questions (four of them) and then sat back for nearly 5 minutes because nothing, and I mean nothing, was coming to me.  I simply drew a blank.  OMG!

I looked at the questions and decided I could answer at least part of the third question so I started there.  I got through it, moved on to question four, and by that point the ideas were flowing.  I went back to question one and two and came up with what I hoped was a reasonable answer.  I finished my two pages of notes, squiggles, circles,  X'es and *'s with a minute or two to spare. (The marks remind me when I'm talking of key points and words I want to use.)

From there I went into the interview room. I was given 45 minutes to respond to the questions, and I completed my discourse within 30.  While I was talking the two interviewers were writing like mad, never once looking up at me, or giving any kind of clue that I was on the right track or needed to add something else.

So I left, not feeling the least bit confident.  So I do what I always do, I had a chat with my mentor.  I gave her a general idea of the questions (can't share them!) and told her how I'd answered.  She seems to think I should have done alright.

We'll know soon enough as the results are expected to be out by the first week in July.  That's less than 2 weeks away. I can do this!  I just need to keep busy and keep my mind off of it.

To everyone who commented on yesterday's post, THANK YOU!  I truly appreciate your support; you are very amazing women and I'm so glad I found you in the blogosphere!

What I heard

I wrote this when I came from work today, left it in the draft pile for a bit to consider whether I truly wanted to post it or not.  After some thought I'm putting it out there, warts and all, because I feel safe here.  Funny, isn't it that I feel more comfortable with folks I haven't met than with those I work with daily?


Sigh.....today was one of those days when I should have stayed home.  Just to put it in context, last week I was told by my boss (in a meeting no less) that I am too negative. He had a point as I know I've been letting the little things get to me and pile up to the point where I react too quickly and not always in an appropriate way.

This morning, my mantra was "I will not react negatively, I will listen and consider, I will remain calm, I will remain calm".  My boss and my peers had a meeting planned this morning with the big boss and I was determined to present myself and my ideas in a respectful way.  I think I achieved my goal for the most part as I didn't allow anyone to see I was upset by some comments.

As I've written before, we've been going through some major changes in our office.  A few months ago, I was reading minutes from a meeting in another office and became aware of a change that was coming for us.  I asked about it at a local meeting and was asked how I found out.  I explained where I found the information.  Since then the minutes from the other offices have been locked down.  Although this particular situation wasn't discussed in today's meeting there was a discussion about the need to know.  What was said was "some people in this office are too inquisitive".  What I heard was "you're a snoop".

Later we were talking about the best way to make announcements about staffing changes.  The big boss suggested the minutes of the management meetings as a source of information.  I mentioned these weren't always up to date, in fact the minutes of the May meetings (weekly) weren't made available until last week.  A co-worker spoke up at this point.  What was said was "I have better things to do than read minutes from a meeting".  What I heard was "you haven't got enough to do".

This afternoon I was taking a break with another co-worker.  We were talking about my burst of energy on Saturday morning and I said I wished I could find that same level of energy more often.  What was said was "You just have to get started and you'll find the energy".  What I heard was "get off your fat ass you lazy woman".

I know this negative self-talk is not good for me.  I came home tonight feeling beaten and defeated.  I have to wonder if my goal of remaining in control resulted in the emotions being turned inward instead.

Whatever the reason, I need to get over it and soon.  I have an interview tomorrow morning at 9 a.m.(same job/different unit)   Perhaps tomorrow's mantra needs to be "I will be positive, I will do my best, and I know I have worth".

Thanks for listening!

My father's story

My Dad was a story teller by nature.  As a child I recall him telling us the stories of his childhood and youth, of the time that came before a wife and family.  Most often, the telling came at bedtime as he tucked us in for the night, and we asked for one more story to delay the inevitable.

As best as I can recall this is his story.
My father was born at home, the second youngest of six children, on a ranch south of McCord, Saskatchewan on August 23, 1910.  He grew up on the ranch, learning to ride horses, helping his mother with the gardening, and playing with his younger brother.  He and his siblings attended the school in McCord, riding the horses in warmer weather and by horse drawn sleigh in winter.

In 1924, his father passed away, at the age of 54, a result of a gallbladder attack.  Today, this would rarely be fatal but the distance between the ranch and the nearest doctor was too great.  At the time my Dad was in Ontario with his mother visiting relatives.  When word came, that Grandpa had passed, the two travelled back by train.  Dad said he remembered being let off the train in the middle of the night at a siding close to the ranch, one of his brothers waiting with a wagon and a team of horses to take them home.

When the drought of the early 30's began, life on the ranch became increasingly difficult.  As the creeks and ponds dried up, there was simply not enough water for the livestock.  At home, Dad remembered leaving the plates turned upside down on the table until it was time to eat, as the dust blew in and covered everything.  He said in the morning his pillow would hold an impression of his head, a white spot in the middle of the dirt.

In 1931, his older brothers heard of a place in northeast Saskatchewan where they could get land to farm.  All but his oldest sister, who was now married, decided to pack up and move. This was done by train, with Dad and his brothers riding in the rail car with the livestock.  Dad told us of men camping along the rail lines, and seeing the fires at night.  He said, occasionally when it rained some of the men would try to climb aboard the train, and he and his brothers would try to keep them out, as they would steal whatever they could.

They arrived in Nipawin on August 23, 1931, Dad's 21st birthday.  They arranged to stay with some cousins who had arrived some time before them.  The house they lived in was a small two bedroom place.  The house was still standing, though vacant, until about ten years ago, when it burned to the ground.  It seemed unfathomable to me that two families could have shared the space, but they did.

Dad and his brothers found work wherever they could.  He told us the story of walking the rail line back to Ridgedale (about 40 kilometers/25 miles) because he had heard a farmer was looking for help.  In the winter, he went to work in the sawmills where a winter of work, with room and board, provided $100.  Later he and two brothers acquired three quarters of land (160 acres each), which they broke with horses.  His older brother eventually gave up his land but this was the start of Dad's 50 years of farming.

He continued to work off the farm, and so it was in 1954 that he met my mother.  They married in November of that year, and went on to raise their family of four on the farm, retiring to Nipawin in 1990. They purchased a house from our cousins, planted a large garden every year, and Dad got involved with the local museum.  He volunteered his time, painting buildings, repairing equipment, and general maintenance.

Mom passed away in December 2003, and although he had a stroke in January 2004, Dad was able to stay in his home with the assistance of home care until August 2006.  He was hospitalized for a brief time and then moved to the local nursing home.  At first, he was angry and blamed me for the move, but within a short period of time he became accepting of his new place.  He continued to tell his stories.  When someone would remark on how good Dad's memory was, my brother would say, "well there is no one around who can contradict what he's saying".

Dad passed away on September 15, 2008, at the age of 98.  He lived a full life, with challenges met and adventures accomplished. He helped others when he could and loved his family most of all.  I'm grateful for the stories he shared and the example he set for us.  I will always miss him and today on Father's Day especially.

Happy Father's Day to all!

Wait for it

What a difference a week makes!  Last Saturday, I did pretty much nothing around the house.  I couldn't summon up the energy (or the attitude to give a damn) to get off my butt.  That mood lasted through most of the week, and I'd have been embarrassed to have anyone visit.

This morning I woke up refreshed.  The cats woke me at 6 for breakfast, but once fed they were all ready for a early morning nap.  It was nearly 9:00 before I got moving - I think the extra sleep did me good!

The kitchen, living room, hall, my bedroom and bathroom all got a major cleaning done today.  Everything was taken off the counters and surfaces, items were purged, paperwork was filed away, and objects out of place were put where they belong.  I scrubbed counters, sinks, cupboards, swept and washed floors, and dusted and polished away a layer of dust and cat hair.  I love the little buggers but boy do they shed!

The cat litter has been cleaned, the floor in the furnace room and laundry room have been washed, and the last load of laundry is in the dryer.  The garbage has been taken out, the recycling is in the bin.

I've cooked up a batch of quinoa (last salad was soooo good I'm making up another batch), and I've got meat defrosting for dinner.  All of this has been done, in less than 5 hours, and the house smells and looks great.

Question....why can I not find this level of energy every day?  I like my house neat and tidy (living with adult children and cats isn't always conducive to that desire) but there are days when I can walk past a pile and simply ignore it.  And then suddenly I have to do everything all at once because I can't stand another moment of the mess. I wonder if this behaviour will change in a few years, when I don't have to work outside the home, perhaps then I'll get better at keeping up with things at home.

Speaking of change, there is a saying in Saskatchewan, if you don't like the weather, wait five minutes.  These two photos prove the saying!

Most of the morning, the sky has been overcast, and I looked out to see the rain pouring down.

Just a few minutes later, the sun was shining brightly, the paving stones were drying in the breeze, and the bird bath was full of water.

It's been very windy all day, so much so, one of my containers in the front was blown over.  We're forecast to see more rain today; possibly even a thunder storm this afternoon or early evening.  The rain is great, as it means I don't necessarily need to water the containers.  On the other hand I haven't been able to get outdoors and enjoy the yard.

Perhaps that's a good thing too...since I felt the need to clean the house!

Have a great day everyone!

Friday Funny

This 80 year old woman was arrested for shop lifting.
When she went before the judge in Cincinnati he asked her, "What did you steal?"
She replied, "A can of peaches." 

The judge then asked her why she had stolen the can of peaches
and she replied that she was hungry.
The judge then asked her how many peaches were in the can.
She replied, "6."

The judge said, "Then I will give you 6 days in jail." 

Before the judge could actually pronounce the punishment,

 the woman's husband spoke up and asked the judge if he could say something.  

The judge said, "What is it?"

The husband said, "She also stole a can of peas." 

Turn around

So after my whining and moaning yesterday, something happened today which brought me back to the place I need to be.

This afternoon, I had a meeting with one of my newer staff members (he joined my team in January).  We were discussing some work he recently completed; the challenges he had encountered, what he had learned, and whether there were any learning or coaching needs identified in the process.  At one point in the conversation, he shared with me a conversation he had with another team member at lunch today.  He told me they considered me a "very good boss", and he said they both appreciate that I genuinely want to see my team members succeed.

It was in that moment that a shift occurred.  It doesn't really matter whether my employer appreciates what I do, it doesn't matter if my boss (and his boss, and her boss) acknowledge the work that I do. That the people I work with appreciate my efforts means so much more than any other form of recognition.  In my work world, my team are the ones who really matter.

Do you ever find when you're in a funk, that something happens to change your perspective?  I look back and see this pattern in my life and I wonder.  Maybe I'm an optimist at heart?  Nah, that's not it!  :-)  Perhaps it's the good thoughts you send my way that brought this speedy resolution.  In any event, I'm grateful for the support you provide!

I hope everyone had a wonderful, appreciative day!

Lost for words

I generally don't find myself at a loss for words.  But today is one of those days.

You may or may not recall that I work for the federal government of Canada.  I am a public servant.  I am proud to serve my fellow Canadians every day.  I hope in some small way I make positive contribution to the way life we enjoy.

This week, the government announced that some of the benefits available to the public service are unsustainable.  This includes sick leave and the current disability program.  We currently earn 15 days a year, and if we don't use them, we accrue the time since the disability program does not kick in for 13 weeks.  If an employee becomes seriously ill, he or she must exhaust their sick leave credits before the disability program is available to them.  At least that's the theory.

Many employees use their sick leave regularly.  But many of us don't.  Personally I have close to 26 weeks banked over 16 years. Some employees take advantage of their bank before they reach their retirement by finding a doctor willing to sign off on a stress leave.  (I'm thinking the thought of leaving would lessen the stress...not increase it but what do I know).  

Most do not abuse the system.  One of our employees will retire with over a year of accrued sick leave credits in his bank.  Despite the perception of the general public, there is no payout.  What we don't use is gone when we leave our employer.

A couple of weeks ago, the government also announced a new performance management plan for the public service.  According the same minister who made today's announcement "There's simply no way, I refuse to believe, that virtually every single person that the federal government hires is going to perform to the standards we expect,"

The new plan is "aimed at boosting productivity and efficiency while weeding out workers who don't meet the grade".  The plan will bring in annual performance expectations, mid-year reviews and annual written assessments.

He is right in one respect, not everyone is cut out to be a public servant. It's not easy to be denigrated because of the work we do, and the benefits we have earned over the years.  He is incorrect, in that we've always had performance management, and while it isn't as easy to cut someone loose as it is in the private sector, it can and has been done. 

All of this is the lead up to National Public Service week.

From the Government of Canada website:

Since its launch in 1992, National Public Service Week (NPSW ) has celebrated the work and achievements of the Public Service of Canada. The women and men of the Public Service of Canada are among some of our most precious resources, and it is important that we recognize their accomplishments and the positive role they play in Canadian society.

Today, we were served doughnuts and coffee by our senior managers.  Uh, thanks...I really feel my work is appreciated now.

Not-so Productive Saturday

It's been raining pretty much all day, making for a good day to get a few things done around the house.

That's great in theory... :-)

I got a few things done, ran the dishwasher, did a couple of loads of laundry, and cleaned the kitchen.  Yesterday I bought a big package of ground beef at Costco so today I made up two-thirds of it into patties and the other third into taco beef for wraps or salads. The hamburger patties I put in the freezer, they are individually wrapped, and easy to grab and throw on the grill for quick dinner.

I also boiled a few eggs and some quinoa.  The eggs I'll chop up for egg salad for sandwiches later in the week, and I intend to make a salad of the quinoa.  Doesn't this look good?

I'll let you know how it turns out, but the reviews I read were very good.

Later in the afternoon, I curled up on the couch for a quick nap with the cats.  When I woke up they were gone, and my son was feeding them their dinner.

For my dinner, I put together a taco salad.  I quite enjoyed it along with a glass with wine.

The rest of the evening I plan to relax...like I haven't done that most of the day...and watch some television. Perhaps tomorrow will be a more productive day.

Hope you all had a wonderful Saturday!

Friday Funny

And some days.....

It seems to be working!

I'm not talking about the wine (if you read yesterday's post) although it did help me sleep!

As you may recall, I've been having problems with birds flying into the front window of the house. Usually they simply bounce off the window and fly away, but every once in a while one is killed.  I just hate that when it happens.  I suppose if I closed the blinds, they probably wouldn't be attracted, but on the other hand I'd be sitting in the dark and the cats wouldn't have their giant television.

I'd thought about putting stickers on the window, but I couldn't find anything I liked.  Then, I was in the dollar store the other day and I spotted these little windchimes.  I knew I had a lightweight shepherd's hook at home that I use to hang the chimes.  AND I mean lightweight...I tried a small hanging container on it and it nearly bend in half!

I placed the hook directly in front of the window and hung the chimes from it.

One thing about Saskatchewan weather, is there is a breeze/wind blowing almost constantly.  So while they don't make much noise, there is a gentle tinkle.

From the interior they don't look that bad either.  I must admit the movement makes me look at the window a little more frequently too.

But so far, so good, there hasn't been a single bird hit the window since they've been there.

I don't feel guilty and no lives have been lost.  Not a bad outcome for less than $10!

Almost Wordless Wednesday

The size of the "wine glass" is directly proportionate to the size of my level of frustration.  AND I'm almost out of wine!

Simple Sunday

When I have a day, as I had today, I hope this is what my retirement will look like.  It's been such a good day, waking later than normal, but still early enough to enjoy morning sun.  Throw in a few chores, time for a visit with family, and lunch outdoors in the sunshine and I feel so rested and relaxed!

I woke about 8:30 this morning to two sleeping cats on the bed.  It was immediately obvious my son was awake ahead of me, since they were letting me sleep. What a treat, as he had fed the cats and made a pot of coffee.  (The third cat was downstairs convincing C to let him go outside.)

I putzed around the house, loaded the dishwasher, put away some paperwork, folded laundry, and cleaned the cat litter before hopping in the shower.  Then I took my coffee and a book out to the sun room, (it was still a little chilly outside), and simply relaxed.

My brother, Deniece and Denephew showed up mid-morning to check out the new patio.  We had a short visit before they headed out to run some errands.  During the visit, we discovered Denephew is a mere quarter inch shorter than I, and Deniece has less than two inches to go to catch up.  They are 12 and 10 respectively and it has been their goal to be taller than aunty for some time now.

After they got away, I made some lunch and decided to enjoy the sunshine on the front patio.   I'd like to say it was much like sitting on a patio at a bistro, but neither the service nor the view was quite as nice. ;-)

There was a robin on the lawn next door, so I took my camera with me.  When I tried to set the custom white balance, however, I discovered my camera doesn't have the proper f stop setting.  I tried a couple of pictures, but they were so badly washed out, I went back to the auto setting.

The robin was gone by then, but I can't complain as it was so wonderful to sit out in the sun. The gazania enjoy it too!

Gazania are one of my favorite flowers, I love the different shades of color in the petals, and the sunny centre.  If it is a cloudy day, or daylight is limited, the flowers close up.  This is the first year I was able to find the pink ones, and I'm so pleased with how well they are doing.

As I write this, the clouds are beginning to gather so I suspect we'll be getting some rain tonight.

Since coming indoors I've put a roast in the oven for dinner, and boiled up some eggs for tomorrow's lunch. I plan to finish my book, have a glass of wine on the deck, and enjoy the rest of the day.

What a wonderful way to spend a Sunday!  I hope you've had a great day too!!!

Is it summer yet?

June 1st already?  We had a lovely day today, no wind to speak of, the sun shining and temperatures near 20C.

Today, I took the car in to change over the tires from the winter to summer set.  It might seem a little late to be doing it, but in my defense we did have our last big snow storm on April 30!

When I picked up the car I went to visit a friend from Saskatoon at the ice rink.  Yep, you read that right!  Her son was playing in a tournament here; they'd lost their first two games but won this game 9 to 3.  According to a four year younger brother of another player, "we kicked their arses".  Despite the difference in scores it was truly a fun game to watch.  They play with intensity and heart, every second they are on the ice.

From there it was a trip to the grocery store.  When I came out with my bags, I found my car was blocked in by a police car with lights flashing.  The officer was out of the car talking to the fellow from the car across the way.  I didn't hear much of what they were saying but it had something to do with his licence plates.  By the time I'd put the groceries in the car and put the cart away, the police officer was preparing to leave.

After an afternoon nap with the cats on the couch, I  went out to water the containers, and have settled in for an evening of watching....,..more hockey!  Even when summer is at hand, I can't seem to shake winter.

Hope you all had a marvelous Saturday, with sun shine and warm breezes.