Friday Funny

Random Saturday

Damn, I`m glad this week is nearly over.  It had it`s good points but there a few major disappointments that overshadowed everything else.

***
Monday, I took my son to the hospital for his appointment with the cardiologist.  He underwent various and everything came out clear. Thank goodness!

Why he needed this appointment has a bit of a back story.

While I was in Saskatoon in May, my cousin M called the house to let me know his sister H had passed away.  My daughter took the call and tried to call me but my cellphone was turned off.  She wasn't able to reach me until the following day.  She was angry with me for not being available and for my lack of emotion.  Even when I explained I'd met H once for certain, and probably only twice in my life she couldn't understand why I wouldn't be upset.  She hung up on me.

Then the following day at 10:45 a.m., she called me again, this time to let me know that my son C was in the hospital.  He had been experiencing back and chest pain and vomiting so severe that he had woken her up in the middle of the night to take him to the hospital.  When I asked why she hadn't called me earlier, she informed she'd stayed with him for awhile, then went home, took a sleeping pill and went to bed because she was tired.  C had just called her, to say he was being released and she was on her way to pick him up.

It was my turn to be upset and her turn not to understand why.

Later C told me the doctors thought he may have pinched a nerve in his back, and the pain was so severe it caused the chest pain and vomiting.  To be certain they wanted him to see a cardiologist.

****
There has been sh*t going on at work as well...I can't describe any other way.  Almost a year ago, I put in a request to transfer to another area within our office. Then in the fall I was selected to lead the group I'm currently managing.  While it is an interesting project, it has an end date and there is no guarantee where I'll be placed at the end of it.  In the meantime there have been two opportunities to move to the area I initially requested.  Each time management uses operational requirements to keep me where I am and put someone else in the area.

The most recent event took place while I was on vacation.  Before I'd left I'd had a couple of conversations with the senior manager and thought we had an agreement, it was just a matter of deciding when the transfer would occur.  Imagine my shock and frustration when I returned to find they'd moved someone else and again were using the phrase operational requirements.

After a conversation with my senior manager, I got the union involved.  The steward met with both managers, and came back to me with a little more information.  Nothing however, that was meaningful or honest.  There is nothing, however, that can be done so I'm having to mentally get over the disappointment and prepare to be stuck somewhere for the last four years, nine months, and fourteen days before I retire.

****
Normally, I don't say much about my adult children's personal lives.  Today I'm making an exception because something my daughter has done has impacted my life.

When both returned home, and I purchased a larger house so we could live comfortably together, the agreement was for the short-term.  It was an opportunity for both to pay off debt, save some money in order to purchase their own home.  My son, with the exception of the year he didn't work...heavy sigh...has managed to make his car payments and save money.  His goal is to be out of my home in the next year.  I've seen his bank statements and I'm sure he'll reach his goal.

My daughter, on the other hand has taken advantage of the situation. Last December she told she would be debt-free within a year and thought two years of saving would be sufficient.  Then in February she went out and bought herself a brand new car with all the bells and whistles, excepting leather seats.  The car won't be paid off for seven years....she's never managed to keep a vehicle for more than three.

Then this week, I learned something else.  While she's been paying minimal rent, in the last several months she's been "lending" money to a friend!  Now this friend is claiming the money was a gift and is refusing to repay her. We're not talking a small amount either.

I was so angry with D when I found out. I suggested that since she is so obviously able to subsidize her friend's life she obviously can afford to support herself.  I've given her until mid-September to move out.

What she has done is so foolish and reckless, and she ought to have known better.  I realize she is in a sticky situation but I'm afraid if I don't make her take responsibility for herself and her life she will never grow up.  She's 32 years old and I've always come to her rescue.  Not this time.  It's going to hard for both of us, but it has to be done.

****
On a much happier note, on Friday, I went with two friends to a day spa.  After a lovely massage, we went for brunch.  We sat and visited, and simply enjoyed our time together.  It was the best part of the week!

Today it is raining, so housework is on the agenda.  The dishes are done, the laundry is started, and I'll run out for a few groceries later.

No watering needed to keep my containers blooming.  That makes me happy. :)

Have a great weekend everyone!



 

Friday Funny

Thought you might appreciate this, even if you’re not quite old enough to get it! ...

  

ARE  YOU "GOING GREEN?"            

Checking  out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the much older  woman, that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for the  environment.

The  woman apologized and explained, "We didn't have this 'green thing'  back in my earlier days."

The  young clerk responded, "That's our problem today.  Your  generation did not care enough to save our environment for future  generations."

She  was right -- our generation didn't have the 'green thing' in our  day.

Back  then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles, and beer bottles to  the store.  The store sent them back to the plant to be  washed, sterilized, and refilled, so it could use the same bottles  over and over. So they really were recycled.

But  we didn't have the "green thing" back in our  day.

Grocery  stores bagged our groceries in brown paper bags, that we reused  for numerous things, like household garbage  bags.

We  walked up stairs because we didn't have an escalator in every  store and office building.  We walked to the grocery store  and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had  to go two blocks.

Back  then, we washed the baby's diapers because we didn't have the  throwaway kind.  We dried clothes on a line -- not in an  energy-gobbling machine burning up 220 volts -- wind and solar  power really did dry our clothes back in our early days.   Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not  always brand-new clothing.

Back then we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not a TV in every  room.  And the TV had a small screen the size of a  handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state  of  Montana .

In  the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have  electric machines to do everything for us.  When we packaged  a fragile item to send in the mail, we used wadded up old  newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble  wrap.  Back then we didn't fire up an engine and burn  gasoline just to cut the lawn.  We used a push mower that ran  on human power. We exercised by working so we didn't need to go to  a health club to run on treadmills that operate on  electricity.

We  drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup  or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water.  We  refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we  replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the  whole razor just because the blade got  dull.

Back  then people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes  to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour  taxi service in the family's $45,000 SUV or van, which cost what a  whole house did before the "green thing."  We had one  electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to  power a dozen appliances.  And we didn't need a computerized  gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 23,000 miles out  in space in order to find the nearest burger  joint.

But  isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old  folks were just because we didn't have the "green thing" back  then?

We  don't like being old in the first place, so it doesn't take much  to piss us off . . . especially from a tattooed, multiple pierced  smartass who can't make change without the cash register telling  them how much.

Wordless Wednesday

A little history

A comment from Bellen the other day about the origin and location of the little red-roofed church, made me realize I really didn't know much about the church itself.

For eleven years it's been the signpost alerting me to my destination. Yet I'd never thought to wonder why and how it came to be there.

I knew it was an Anglican church because of a sign out front so I did a quick Google search and found this information.

The Kennell Anglican Church is a Municipal Heritage Property located 10 km northeast of the Village of Craven within the Rural Municipality of Lumsden No. 189. Situated in the Qu’Appelle Valley at the base of the south slope, the property features a single-storey, rectangular wood-frame church. A page-wire fence surrounds the church and adjacent graveyard on the north and west sides of the property.

Originally named St. Nicholas Anglican Church, it was constructed in 1900 about nine km northeast of its present site. After many of the parishioners moved away, the church was dismantled and reconstructed in 1910-11 at its present location, and has remained in continual, although irregular, use. 

My search results didn't provide any information as to how it came to be re-named though my initial assumption would be it was named for a local farmer or businessman. However, the list of those buried in the graveyard doesn't reveal anyone named Kennell.  I guess that will stay a mystery.

A few years ago, my godmother came for a visit, so we dropped in on the little church during a trip to the farm. (You can see her on the left checking out the organ).

Normally, the church would have been locked up but we were fortunate to meet one of the parishioners on site who let us take a walk through.

He explained the church is used in the summer months for services but because it has no heat it is closed the remainder of the year.

It is obvious the church has been well-maintained by its members. The distinctive roof was recently re-shingled and the exterior is painted every few years.  According to the website where I found the most information, it's location and condition make it one of the most photographed churches in Saskatchewan.

That I can attest to!  On my trips to the farm I frequently stop on the hill, even without my camera,  just to take in the view. It's peaceful and calm and so beautiful no matter the time of year.  As a heritage site, it should be around for many more years for visitors to enjoy!

Friday Funny

Soggy Sunday Catch-up

Another weekend is nearly over and it's June 1 too!  I had to run to the store this morning and I was thinking winter was so long and drawn out and now we're nearly into summer.  Spring is a very short season around here.

I finally got the tires changed over on my car on Friday. It was still snowing when I left for my trip, and I had to make an appointment when I got back from my work week in Saskatoon.  This was the earliest convenient date.  While the car was in the shop I walked over to the hairdresser and had a cut and color.  We went with a darker purple this time...I'm getting more adventurous! :)

On Saturday I took a drive out to my brother's farm to visit him and his children.  (My sister-in-law is off on a business trip). I brought the gifts I bought them in Europe, and we looked through the photos I'd taken (and printed).  R and I took our tea out onto the verandah to enjoy the view and catch up on family and work.

I brought my camera along, and stopped several times on the way there and back, as well as taking several photos at the farm.

On way down the hill into the valley, I stopped to get this shot of the "little red-roofed church".  I'm sure I've shared this before, but it's such a neat little church in the midst of the farm fields.

R and the children had just finished mowing the yard when I arrived.  

They've added some new flowering trees in the last few years, but these lilacs were there when they bought the place.  The sight and smell is incredible.

I spotted the robin running across the lawn near the fence line.   R has created another small garden on the other of the fence for my niece to grown pumpkins, cucumbers, and squash.  I'm guessing it's a good place find fresh worms!

There was also a ground squirrel (prairie dog) but he was too fast for me.

The rest of the photos were taken on my way home.  I stopped a couple of times when I spotted ducks or other birds in the water.  R had suggested they were "used to traffic".  May be so, but they tended to be very flighty when this bit of traffic stopped to take their photos!

The sky had been gray all afternoon, and it began to rain as I drove back into the city.  We got about 12 mm (1/2 inch) of rain since last night with more showers today.

Perfect weather for doing housework, I suppose.  :)

Have a great weekend everyone!