September Thanksgiving

We're still a couple of weeks away from the Canadian Thanksgiving but today I can't help but be thankful for September.

The temperature is terrific for this time of year, and even with though the wind has picked up there is no rain in the forecast until tomorrow at the earliest.




I wandered around the yard to check on the containers, but we've had rain earlier in the week so no watering required.

Even the ladybugs were enjoying the moisture.

(And yes my birdbath needs cleaning!)

I harvested my carrots.  This was my first attempt to grow them in a container. I selected a variety that was supposed to be both short in length and in time to maturity.  

I guess I didn't thin the plants enough but we got about a cereal bowl full.  Just enough for a treat!

And then I found this, a volunteer tomato plant just on the backside of the deck.

I had tossed a few tomatoes still left on one the plants last fall in the space thinking the rabbits might eat them.  

Well, apparently, one of the seeds took this summer to germinate. There are even blooms starting...poor thing...the cold is coming so it won't survive much longer.

It may be fall, but today is one those special days when there is still a hint of summer in the air.  It won't last long so I plan to enjoy it!  Have a great day everyone!

Friday Funny

I am not sure exactly how it works, but this is amazingly accurate.   It was used in  a case study on stress levels at hospital in London.
Read the full description before looking further. 

The picture below has 2 identical dolphins in it.  Look at both dolphins jumping out of the water.  The  dolphins are identical.  A closely monitored  scientific study revealed that, in spite of the fact  that the dolphins are identical, a person under stress would find differences in the two dolphins.  The more  differences a person finds between the dolphins, the more stress that person is experiencing.  

Look at the photograph and if you find more than one or two differences you need to go on holiday.... 

No need to Reply, I'll be on holidays. 

Never take life seriously nobody gets out alive anyway! 

Another customer service story

A few days ago, I posted this to Facebook, to TripAdvisor, and a couple of other sites.

I booked several rooms using Easytobook.com for next April 2014 because the site promised free cancellation. I got three of the confirmations out of four but didn't realize it until I tried to cancel the bookings as we got a better rate through the hotel website. As a result I was reimbursed for only three rooms.

I have tried to no avail to contact Easytobook, with three complaint forms to which they send a message that I will have a response the following day. NOTHING!

Today I tried calling the North American 1-877 number as well as the UK number. Both say the number is not in service at this time. Obviously I'm out the $120Cdn...and I'm angry for having been taken in by this so-called company. I'll be posting this on Facebook and on every site I can find to warn others! Beware!!!

The following day I posted this:
Apparently, complaining in a public forum works wonders! Check out the response from Easytobook.com! NOW I am not about to give them banking info...but you bet your a$$ I'll be setting up a Paypal account to get my refund!

From Easytobook:
First of all I would like to personally apologize for the delay in our response and for the inconvenience caused.

We suffered from a series of set backs concerning our contact management system which caused the contacts to be routed incorrectly. Therefore we were unable to deal with the contacts in the time frames provided. These issues have now been resolved and we are working on getting back to all customers who sent us a message.

Furthermore, we are currently experiencing difficulties with our toll-free phone numbers.

I have reviewed your case and am happy to inform you that we will issue a refund for the booking that could not be cancelled by you. This is a courtesy refund as it is not possible to fully determine if you have received the email or not.

Since Easytobook.com has not charged your card, we can only process a refund through bank transfer (wire transfer) or through PayPal, which is the fastest way to receive your refund. If you choose to be refunded through PayPal, we take care of all the costs involved.

In order to process your refund, we would like to ask you to browse to the link below and fill in a form. The form will ask your personal and banking (or PayPal) details where you would like to receive the refund on. Please be sure to fill out all required fields, so we can process your refund.

Funnily enough (or maybe not so funny) I then received an e-mail from another individual at Easytobook and low and behold, they'd found the fourth reservation and I was able to go on-line and cancel as I had the other three. It another day or so for the refund to appear on my credit card statement but I got it.

The moral of the story, for me at least, is conventional methods of contacting the company in question doesn't work, but complaining loudly and often in public apparently does!

(And oh yeah, I have another trip planned for next spring...I'll share more about it in another post).

Slow-down Sunday

I know I shouldn't for time to pass, but I must admit I'm happy to see the end of this week.

Our meetings on Monday and Tuesday went reasonably well.  There were a couple of hiccups, not related to anything the committee and I did and the feedback we've gotten has been positive.  It wasn't the meetings though it was rental vehicles that caused the most grief.

When I arrived to pick up my car, my co-worker was just leaving.  That should have been my first clue! The counter staff searched in vain for my reservation for nearly 10 minutes, before a guy wandered by and said, "Didn't you already pick that vehicle up?"  When I said, no, my co-worker had picked up one but we had two reservations, he said "oh, I thought you double-booked and I cancelled the other one".

One of our fleet vehicles was taken into the repair shop on Friday, so we had booked a third vehicle. This one was at the another location of the same business.  The company sent out a driver to pick-up my co-worker, and he got lost. She eventually got the car and as she arrived in Saskatoon the horn started blaring....all on its own and then the service light came on.  When she called the company to inform them, she was told to check the oil and other fluid levels.

Then on the way home my boss, who was driving the car I rented, had a flat tire.  When he checked the trunk he discovered there was no flat tire.  He called in and was told they would send a tow truck which would take them back to Saskatoon...but there were no cars currently available. After the tow truck hadn't arrived within a reasonable amount of time, he called again, and was told there was a car being transferred from Regina to Saskatoon and the driver would pick them up.  Again he waited...and no one showed up.  So he called again, to be told the driver was already nearing Saskatoon and hadn't seen the car.  It is a twinned highway but you would think once he was past where my boss thought he was, he would have turned around.  AND the car was a brilliant red!

Eventually, my co-worker in the unreliable car showed up (she and her passenger had stopped for lunch) and the stranded co-workers were picked up and returned to Regina.  When they called the company to let them know they were advised to leave the keys under the mat and the doors unlocked.  Oh, and the tow truck had not yet been called...90 minutes later!

I suspect we won't be rented from this company again.  It is the one that starts and ends with E...and they boast that they will pick you up.  Apparently not always!

I stayed in Saskatoon an extra day to meet with a few of my new staff.  I had arranged to return with another co-worker who was coming up Wednesday for other meetings.  She showed up in the office I was using shortly after 2 p.m. to say they were leaving right away.  I packed up quickly and we were one our way.  Apparently R was in a hurry...we were at her home in north Regina in two hours.  And that's as far as she was going.  Thankfully, one of the other passengers was heading in the direction of downtown so he dropped me at the office, where I was to find M who lives a short distance from me, who was able to give me a ride home.

Next time...I'm taking my own car!

The rest of the week was busy catching up on everything that I hadn't been able to get to earlier in the week.  I even went on my day off on Friday for a half-day as the piles of work were too high to leave until Monday.

Yesterday was inevitable housework and a little redecorating. Fall is definitely here, we had our first frost the other night, I even had to turn on the furnace.

Today I'm relaxing...boy does it feel good to slow down.  Of course it will only last until the Riders play this afternoon. :)

Have a great week everyone!

Friday funny - Giving up wine

I was walking down the street when I was accosted by  a particularly dirty and   shabby-looking homeless woman who asked me for a couple  of dollars for dinner.

I took out my wallet, got out ten  dollars and  asked, 'If I give you this  money,  will you buy wine with it instead of dinner?'

'No, I had to stop drinking years ago', the homeless woman  told me.

'Will you use it to go shopping instead of buying  food?' I asked.

'No, I don't waste  time shopping,' the  homeless woman said.
 'I must  spend my time trying to stay  alive.'

'Will you spend this on a beauty salon instead of  food?' I asked.
'Are you NUTS!' replied the homeless woman.   I haven't had my hair done in 20 years!'

'Well, I said, 'I'm  not going to give you the money.  Instead, I'm going to take you to dinner with my husband  and me tonight.'

The homeless woman was shocked.  'Won't  your husband be furious with you for that.  I'm dirty, and I probably smell pretty  disgusting.'

I said, 'That's  okay.  It's  important for him to see what a woman
 looks like after she gives up shopping, hair  appointments, and wine.' 

September Saturday

September in Saskatchewan is lovely... especially when the sun is shining as it is today.  Early this morning, when I went for a short walk the temperature was about 15C (60F), so it felt warm but there was still a crispness to the air.

There is also a smell that I associate with fall in Saskatchewan. It's probably the smell of the crops being harvested outside the city, but I think partly it is due to the beginning slow decay as my garden and containers begin to die back.

We had a near frost the other night, the temps dropped to on 2C, just over freezing and my impatiens were showing some distress.  I knew it was time to start clearing containers, while keeping as many going as possible.  I'm not ready to let go of the summer yet!

The two white containers were full of the impatiens along with a single vinca but because the impatiens were so full, I rarely notice the other plant.

The low brown container was in front of the evergreen but won't as sun anymore as the days are getting shorter and the sun is lower in the sky.  I pulled out some petunias that had seen better days, but left the gazannias and the million bells (can't recall the formal name)

With the impatiens out of the way, the vinca has a chance to last a little longer.


















I took a few minutes to sit in one of the bistro chairs to relax.

This is the view toward's the neighbour's yard since she had the xeriscaping completed.  I'm going to be a grump and say I don't care for the dry river bed, to my eye it looks like a pile of rocks.
But I do love the flagstone path at curves around to the side.





Sigh...blogger is being really annoying and my formatting looks strange to me, and the preview looks nothing like the layout I've got started.







The backyard containers needed trimming as well.  I pulled out the deal plants and cut back the petunias and dianthus a little bit because they were starting to go to seed.

You can see how the osteospermum are getting dry in the center of the plants. One of them was completely dry so it was pulled out too, though I'm hoping to keep these going for a little while yet.

In front is the container of miniature carrots (with a rogue dianthus...not sure where that came from).  I pulled one of the carrots, it was about the size of my little finger in circumference and about 2 1/2 inches in length.  It tasted pretty good but I will leave them until we have our first serious frost.  Mom always said root crops tasted better when they had a touch of frost.  And who am I to argue with Mom?

The volunteer catnip growing along the side of the lawn is doing extremely well.  Of course, that's because I didn't want it to grow there!

I have a window box just over this spot where I grow the 'nip for the cats and I have allowed to go to seed.  As a result I have catnip in the lawn and anywhere else the seeds land.  So it is my own fault!

On the other I love the smell of the catnip when I mow the lawn.



Speaking of cats, I was about to come in the front door when Saku decided to join me outside.

H

His adventure didn't last long, as he was crying and a little freaked out when the door closed behind him.

I picked him up to take him inside and Sami made a dash out the door(no picture).

Silly cats!

Have a great September Saturday everyone!

Friday Funny

Maybe not as funny as it is true!

Tired Thursday

Phew I'm happy this week is nearing an end.  It's been busy but productive thus far.  I do have to work tomorrow, and although I'm to scheduled to be off at 2 p.m. I suspect I'll be there much later based on the list of things I've got planned!

We've got our event pretty much ready to go for Monday.  Did I tell you I am mc'ing the darned thing?  While I was waiting for my hair appointment this evening, I jotted down some notes for my opening remarks.  Here's a rough outline.

"I want to welcome you all to our September ....event.  We've got an interesting program planned and it's our hope at the end of the day tomorrow you will take something away with you, a seed of a new idea, feeling inspired and having developed a strong network of support??? (hmmm....I'll have to think about what else we want them to get out of this).

I've always thought of September as being the beginning of a new year.  Perhaps it is because the children are back in school, or because so many activities begin again in earnest.  After a lazy summer relaxing in the backyard, or better yet at the beach by the lake, we're refreshed from our vacation and ready to take on the tasks that fall brings.

And to my mind it's a far better time for a new year to begin than January when it's cold and snowy, we're exhausted from the holidays and better still there no resolutions to make ...and later break!"

At this point I'll recognize our big bosses who are to present their "state of the union" address.  And from then on I expect I'll ad lib most of my remarks, though I'll probably scribble things down while I'm listening to the various presenters.

Tomorrow I have to finish the rest of a presentation I'll be giving with another supervisor. Not 100% sure how I got stuck with that as well...I think someone caught me in a weak moment.

Then there is the fleet vehicle which is going into the repair shop tomorrow...we're hoping it will be ready by Monday or we'll have to rent at least one more vehicle.  To paraphrase Robert Burns, "the best laid schemes of mice and men, often go awry".

With any luck there will be no more glitches and the meeting will go better than we even hoped.  I'll be staying on in Saskatoon on Tuesday afternoon, returning home on Wednesday after meeting with most of my new team and a couple of other supervisors in that office.

Sheesh...I'm already planning next week and I haven't even gotten to the weekend yet.  Time to slow down, relax, breath and get a good night's sleep.  Yep, it's Tired Thursday alright!

Catch you later....

Careful what you wish for

My work life is going bananas! And crazy me, I love it!  Ask me again in a few weeks and I might not be so happy but for now it's challenging, exciting and fun.

While I was waiting in the Nanaimo airport last week for my flight home, my cellphone rang.  It was my boss calling to tell me I'd been selected to lead a new team in our office.  This team is part of a national program, with only a few teams selected across the country so it's a real honour to be part of it.

As those who have been reading this blog for sometime know, I recently missed an opportunity to move to another area within our office after blowing an interview.  You know the saying, a door closes and window opens...well, this is a big honking window that opened.

My new team has three members in our office and five in the Saskatoon office.  We had training on Thursday and Friday of last week, so I had an opportunity to meet and observe my new team members.  But I expect I'll be travelling frequently between the two offices and in fact, have arranged to spend time there next week after the end of the meetings we're holding Monday and Tuesday. (That's the event I've been involved with in the planning....one project I'll be glad to see come to an end!)

My current team will be "re-shuffled" to other teams in the next couple of weeks.  Of the eight, five are being moved to the team of the supervisor who works just down the hall from me.  This should mean they can stay in their current physical locations which is good.  My boss advised me today this supervisor is going to off work for four to six weeks after a scheduled surgery.  Uh huh...I knew where this was going.  He's going to leave the five employees with me until B returns.  It makes sense because I'm familiar with their work so it will less of a disruption but means I'll be very busy.

I know I'm probably nuts for saying this but so far I'm enjoying all the activity.  I've got so many things on the go, and yet it seems the busier I am, the more organized I become.  Well, at least I think I'm more organized....I guess we'll find out for certain if I drop a ball or two.

Besides, every day I'm busy makes the time go faster which brings me closer to this!

One more day in Paradise

On my final full day on the island, I got up about 6 a.m. and headed down the road to the ocean.  I found a piece of driftwood and sat watching the water.  I was hoping to see a blue heron and capture a picture.  Unfortunately the birds weren't cooperating at that point.

Instead I drove into Parksville and checked out the are where I think I may want to live.

On the way back to Riverbend Resort, I was passing by the same beach.  And what should I see....a blue heron!

This photo is a total fluke!  He (she?) was standing in a pool of water in a small inlet. Perhaps the tide was going out.  But somehow I managed to snap the photo just as the bird lifted off and caught the mirror image in the water. If only my zoom on my camera was better!




Back at the resort, and after our morning coffee, the three of us decided to head into Nanaimo for the day.  It's about a 45 minute drive from Parksville.  We went down to the marina and walked along the boardwalk, looking down to the rocks looking for starfish.  AND we found them!

This is one of the two times I'm going to share what a Prairie girl I am.  I've never seen purple and orange starfish before!

We walked along the marina to the float plane dock.  This one stayed at the dock while we were there but another aircraft took off and landed several times.

I don't think I've ever mentioned that when I left highschool I went to work for an air charter service in Northern Saskatchewan as a bookkeeper and dispatcher.  From that experience I believe this is a DeHavilland Beaver...but I could be wrong!

We continued our walk along the boardwalk to a pier where a number of people were out fishing and crabbing.  I left B and G at the top of the pier (she rides a scooter) and headed down to see what I could see.  I was so surprised to see someone had let the dog go swimming where so many people were fishing.

Uh yeah, I'm a Prairie girl and that's a seal!  I did however know that this was a crab.

We headed back towards our starting point and stopped at the restaurant for lunch.

We choose to sit at the outdoor portion so we could watch the water with all of its activity.  

Just as we were arriving at the restaurant we saw this yacht pulling in.  The name on the ship (boat?) was After Eight so B quickly googled to find out who owned it!  Turned out to be the owner of several car dealerships.







After a late lunch we drove through a few neighbourhoods in Nanaimo on our way back to the resort.

This little deer and her/his mother were making themselves at home in this yard.  Mom was busily helping herself to a snack of foliage, while the youngster appeared to be headed to the flower bed.




As we drove back, we realized a storm had passed through so we stuck to the main highway, rather than the scenic ocean route.  It turned out to be a good idea, even though we had a near miss when two vehicles hydroplaned and crashed into one another just a few hundred meters ahead of us.  Luckily G is a good driver!

Unfortunately there was flash flooding in Parksville, though thankfully there was little damage.  We could still see the lightening storm to the north and east of us as we drove the rest of the way home. Apparently lightening storms on the island are unusual.

It was sad to head back to my motel room to start packing.  The time I spent on the island, and the experiences I had - thanks to my wonderful tour guides, B and G, have firmed my resolve that this is where I want to live when I retire.  To be certain I'll try to get out there again every year at different times so I can experience the truly wet weather...but the next 5 1/2 years will be all about making it happen!

Have a great day everyone!

Loving life on the island

My cousin B and husband G are nuts!  In a good kind of way.  Every day I was on the island was an adventure.  When I woke up in my motel room each morning, I'd make a pot of coffee and sit out on my front step reading and enjoying the fresh morning air. If I was up early enough I'd head down to the ocean, because by 8 a.m. B would text me to tell me the coffee was on at their RV.

We'd relax and enjoy a cup of coffee while planning the rest of the day. (Isn't it interesting how quickly we humans find routines?)

On the second full day of my trip we decided to make a drive up to Campbell River (about an hour and a half away) for the farmer's market.

It was a small market and was mostly crafts with a few vendors selling retail items, and still fewer with produce.  That was surprising and a bit of a disappointment.

But the view from the market was beautiful!

My cousin B told me it is illegal for anyone to pick up driftwood from the beach.

If the wood is still in the water, it is fair game, which seems reasonable to me. I'm sure the boaters and swimmers appreciate the removal of obstacles.

We had our lunch in a park beside the ocean as we had my uncle's dog Trixie with us.

She is about 16 years old and has both hearing and sight loss.  Uncle G golfs three times a week so B takes care of Trixie while he's out on the course.

She's a sweet girl, very friendly and laid back.





That evening we went for dinner with Uncle G and his friend J at a nearby restaurant.  After a lovely dinner, B, G and I went over to Parksville beach hoping to catch a glimpse of passing cruise ships.  We apparently missed them but not the sunset.

Absolutely I could live here!  A couple of you mentioned the island is an expensive place to live and it certainly can be.  But Parksville is probably one of the least expensive on the island.  In fact the prices of a two bedroom condo unit is less there than here in Regina.  And if I were willing to do so I could live in an RV all year round as my cousins do for even less.  That's not likely to happen as I can't imagine living in such a small space.

But I'm pretty sure I'd be to sacrifice some space to have the opportunity to live in piece of paradise.  I told B this area reminds of my years in Northern Saskatchewan, except with mountains and amenities!

Have a great day everyone!

Retirement home

No, haven't bought a retirement home but I've definitely decided where I want to live.  I spent an extra long weekend (Friday to Tuesday) on Vancouver Island...I'm hooked!

After arriving in Nanaimo on Friday, I picked up my rental vehicle and drove up to Qualicum Beach to the Riverend Resort.

It was certainly easy to spot in the parking lot!

My cousin B and I spent the afternoon and evening catching up on 40 years.  Lots of laughter and a few tears!

Saturday morning, we drove up to Coombs to see the goats on the roof.  Sorry for the photo quality...the silly things wouldn't look my way!

They live above a huge store stocked with items from Mexico, Italy, China, as well as local produce.

One does have to be careful leaving the store.





We drove back to the resort, picked up B's husband G and drove to Port Alberni for lunch.

We had at this lovely restaurant overlooking the water and then spent some wandering about.

Looks like a postcard, doesn't it?

On our way back we stopped at the Cathedral of Trees.  B has some health issues and uses a walker to get about so we did the short loop.  Even that, was spectacular.

We spent the evening sitting around the campfire, enjoying a bottle of wine, visiting with my uncle G and his friend J.

Throughout the trip I took every opportunity I could to get down to the ocean.

There is something so calming and peaceful about being near the water.

I could feel the stress of the past few weeks just melt away as I sat and listened to the water lap against the shore, listening to the birds call, and the traffic in the distance.





There is no doubt I can see myself living here!

I'll have more photos to share tomorrow. Hope everyone is having a great week!