I did not sleep well last night. At the time I contributed this to the change in the weather and my incredibly sore throat, but now I believe it was my subconscious telling me what I was in for today.
We’ve been having record highs in temperature this week - you should have seen the rain on Boxing Day - and today we had wind as well. We’re not talking a breeze here, we’re talking “Hello, my name is Dorothy and I live in Kansas” type wind.
After a night through which I did more tossing and turning than actual sleeping, I woke up early to a certain taste in the back of my throat that meant I was in for a "very bad day", gastrically speaking, unless I got some yogurt into me, pronto. I hate yogurt, and had to go across town to buy some and when I got home I discovered the power was out.
So much for the fancy breakfast I was planning to make everyone today. Guess I’ll make it New Year’s Day insted.
Although our neighborhood was annexed into the town about 15 years ago, we don’t have storm sewers to take care of the ground water, we have sump pumps. Sump pumps run on electricity. No electricity means no sump pump which means flooded basement.
Fortunately, our neighbor had a generator and was kind enough to run an incredibly long extension cord from his house to our house. It took care of the pump but we still had water seeping in from other sources. The worst damage is to the carpets and a couple of boxes.
The daughter and her fiancé had to go back to London today to finish packing and for him to work his last day. I had fully intended to take them myself, but by the time they were ready to leave I was too sick - stuffed head, sore throat, cough, dizzy, not to mention the funky stomach. So the husband took them and I went back to bed.
Then I found out that one of my friends passed away from Cancer early this morning.
Then, before the husband got home, the daughter called to say her car had been broken into. AGAIN! It wasn’t stolen, but they’d popped the lock off the driver side door, cut through the steering wheel to get the club off, and popped out the ignition. I don’t know if the thieves were interrupted or if they were just making a statement that the club couldn’t stop them, but nothing was taking from the car. Well, except for the starter mechanism.
I’m actually kinda glad this is all happening at the end of the year. It gives me hope that the start of the New Year will bring a change of luck - for the better.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Merry Christmas
Hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday.
Christmas Eve in Sarajevo
Christmas Canon
Michael Crawford singing O Holy Night -
Christmas Eve in Sarajevo
Christmas Canon
Michael Crawford singing O Holy Night -
Monday, December 22, 2008
Shop Till You Drop
I think I’m shopped out. It happens every year. I go on these marathon shopping binges before Christmas, burn out my shopping yen, and it takes until the next year before I feel like shopping again.
Saturday the weather was good so we went out of town to one of the “good” malls to finish our Christmas shopping. Despite the horrendous traffic around the mall, and the crowds, it was worth it because we got our shopping done. We probably should have done the grocery shopping that night, it would have been the smart thing to do, but no one ever accused us of being smart.
Sunday dawned in a swirl of snow. We’re talking SNOW! There were white out conditions around the house. It would have been the perfect day to just curl up in a chair, read a book, and listen to the wind howling. Unfortunately, I needed to get groceries. There was a slight lull between storms and the daughter and I took the chance and braved the grocery store. I must say, the one good thing about shopping during a blizzard is that the parking’s not bad and there’s no big line-ups at the check out.
Today is another nice day. It seems like our weather pattern is one day stormy, next day sunny. I hope the pattern breaks tomorrow as I have to drive up to London to pick up the daughter’s fiancé and the two cats. The drive is bad enough without adding snow to the mix.
There are still a couple more things I need to pick up, but I’m stuck here today waiting for the furnace guy who’s coming to fix our water heater. If he doesn’t make it, it could be a very chilly holiday, at least as far as showers go.
And now, for your listening enjoyment, more Christmas music. This is one of my favorites and when I did a search for it I was surprised by two things. One, that it had been around so long. And two, that there was a whole little conversation at the beginning I’d never heard before.
This is another of my favorite Christmas songs. The video's not so great, but it's still worth the view.
Saturday the weather was good so we went out of town to one of the “good” malls to finish our Christmas shopping. Despite the horrendous traffic around the mall, and the crowds, it was worth it because we got our shopping done. We probably should have done the grocery shopping that night, it would have been the smart thing to do, but no one ever accused us of being smart.
Sunday dawned in a swirl of snow. We’re talking SNOW! There were white out conditions around the house. It would have been the perfect day to just curl up in a chair, read a book, and listen to the wind howling. Unfortunately, I needed to get groceries. There was a slight lull between storms and the daughter and I took the chance and braved the grocery store. I must say, the one good thing about shopping during a blizzard is that the parking’s not bad and there’s no big line-ups at the check out.
Today is another nice day. It seems like our weather pattern is one day stormy, next day sunny. I hope the pattern breaks tomorrow as I have to drive up to London to pick up the daughter’s fiancé and the two cats. The drive is bad enough without adding snow to the mix.
There are still a couple more things I need to pick up, but I’m stuck here today waiting for the furnace guy who’s coming to fix our water heater. If he doesn’t make it, it could be a very chilly holiday, at least as far as showers go.
And now, for your listening enjoyment, more Christmas music. This is one of my favorites and when I did a search for it I was surprised by two things. One, that it had been around so long. And two, that there was a whole little conversation at the beginning I’d never heard before.
This is another of my favorite Christmas songs. The video's not so great, but it's still worth the view.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Winter Wonder - What?!?
Snow, snow, go away
Come again on Christmas Day
They started predicting an apocalyptic blizzard earlier in the week but, this being Canada and the winter, we tend to ignore these dire predictions. Yesterday wasn’t at all snowy, not even a hint of snow.
This morning when I got up it wasn’t particularly snowy either. Oh, there was a token bit of snow, but more of a light dusting than anything else. No, the snow waited until I needed to go out and then it descended on us like the wrath of God.
The worst part was that I hadn’t even cleared off the car from the last snow dump we had, so I had double the fun. Not to mention the fact that one of my windshield wipers isn’t working properly and whilst driving around the snow kept building up on it so it really wasn’t wiping at all.
I’m hoping that this snow is the daughter’s “third bad luck” thing. You know how trouble comes in threes? Well, a couple of days ago we got word that the movers cancelled on us so now we have to find some other way of moving her and the fiancé by the end of the month. Then on the way home on the train last night her wallet went missing. We’re not really sure if it was lost or stolen, but either way she has to replace all of her identification - credit cards, driver’s license, health card, etc. Which was why we were out in the middle of a blizzard running around town.
I made it back home in one piece and now I’m sitting here sipping hot chocolate. The tree is plugged in so the Christmas lights are glowing, I can see the snow piling up outside the deck window. Go ahead, let it snow. I have no where to go until it’s time to pick the daughter up from work.
It can snow all it wants today, for tomorrow we must shop! The plan is another out of town trip to finish the Christmas shopping once and for all.
Except for the stocking stuffers.
Now, for a Christmas treat . . . the first part of this song is pretty much the way I'm feeling about Christmas right now. But hopefully, if I listen to the song enough, I'll feel like the end of the song before Christmas gets here.
Come again on Christmas Day
They started predicting an apocalyptic blizzard earlier in the week but, this being Canada and the winter, we tend to ignore these dire predictions. Yesterday wasn’t at all snowy, not even a hint of snow.
This morning when I got up it wasn’t particularly snowy either. Oh, there was a token bit of snow, but more of a light dusting than anything else. No, the snow waited until I needed to go out and then it descended on us like the wrath of God.
The worst part was that I hadn’t even cleared off the car from the last snow dump we had, so I had double the fun. Not to mention the fact that one of my windshield wipers isn’t working properly and whilst driving around the snow kept building up on it so it really wasn’t wiping at all.
I’m hoping that this snow is the daughter’s “third bad luck” thing. You know how trouble comes in threes? Well, a couple of days ago we got word that the movers cancelled on us so now we have to find some other way of moving her and the fiancé by the end of the month. Then on the way home on the train last night her wallet went missing. We’re not really sure if it was lost or stolen, but either way she has to replace all of her identification - credit cards, driver’s license, health card, etc. Which was why we were out in the middle of a blizzard running around town.
I made it back home in one piece and now I’m sitting here sipping hot chocolate. The tree is plugged in so the Christmas lights are glowing, I can see the snow piling up outside the deck window. Go ahead, let it snow. I have no where to go until it’s time to pick the daughter up from work.
It can snow all it wants today, for tomorrow we must shop! The plan is another out of town trip to finish the Christmas shopping once and for all.
Except for the stocking stuffers.
Now, for a Christmas treat . . . the first part of this song is pretty much the way I'm feeling about Christmas right now. But hopefully, if I listen to the song enough, I'll feel like the end of the song before Christmas gets here.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Christmas Tradition
LOL I was just re-reading Sunday’s post. Only I could take something as simple as a trip to London and make a disaster out of it.
I got the Christmas tree up yesterday, and even put the lights on it. I’ll save the ornaments for the daughter since it’s a tradition in our house that tree decorating is the kid’s job. As one would imagine, with five cats in the house there are no glass ornaments on our tree. However, it’s not because of the cats that we eschew the use of glass ornaments, it’s because there’s no room for them.
One of my favorite memories of Christmas when I was little, was how the first thing my mother would bake would be gingerbread men. Then she’d sit me at the table with a pile of gingerbread men, bowls of different coloured icing, and small spoons, blunt knives, and toothpicks with which to decorate them. I suspect it was a ploy to keep me out from under her feet, but it worked all around.
When my daughter was little, we started making home made Christmas ornaments. Each year we’d make a new ornament, ranging from the very simple (candy cane reindeer) to the very complicated (pinecone/milkweed pod angels). Occasionally we’d make extra to give as gifts.
This year I have some crochetted snow flakes to add to the collection, some with silver thread running through them, some with gold. To be honest, they were a pain in the butt to make - teeney tiny thread, teeney tiny crochet hooks. And I did them a while ago so I’m going to have to brave the closet monsters in the craft closet to find them.
With the way the weather’s behaving, they could well be the only snow flakes we see at Christmas.
I got the Christmas tree up yesterday, and even put the lights on it. I’ll save the ornaments for the daughter since it’s a tradition in our house that tree decorating is the kid’s job. As one would imagine, with five cats in the house there are no glass ornaments on our tree. However, it’s not because of the cats that we eschew the use of glass ornaments, it’s because there’s no room for them.
One of my favorite memories of Christmas when I was little, was how the first thing my mother would bake would be gingerbread men. Then she’d sit me at the table with a pile of gingerbread men, bowls of different coloured icing, and small spoons, blunt knives, and toothpicks with which to decorate them. I suspect it was a ploy to keep me out from under her feet, but it worked all around.
When my daughter was little, we started making home made Christmas ornaments. Each year we’d make a new ornament, ranging from the very simple (candy cane reindeer) to the very complicated (pinecone/milkweed pod angels). Occasionally we’d make extra to give as gifts.
This year I have some crochetted snow flakes to add to the collection, some with silver thread running through them, some with gold. To be honest, they were a pain in the butt to make - teeney tiny thread, teeney tiny crochet hooks. And I did them a while ago so I’m going to have to brave the closet monsters in the craft closet to find them.
With the way the weather’s behaving, they could well be the only snow flakes we see at Christmas.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Early To Bed . . .
Going to bed early and getting to sleep early are two different things.
You know when I start a story like this it’s not going to be good (at least for me).
Being the wonderful Auntie that I am, I drove to London yesterday for my great-nephew’s first birthday. It’s about a 3 hour drive (minimum). The party was to start at 1, so by leaving home at 9:30 a.m. I should have just enough time to get there, picking up the daughter on the way. Theoretically.
However (you just knew there was going to be a however, didn’t you?) though I went to bed early (for me) Friday night, I couldn’t get to sleep. Last time I looked at the clock it was 2:30 a.m. Then, for some inexplicable reason, I woke up at 7 a.m. and couldn’t get back to sleep. So we start the day with me tired, cranky and headachey. My alarm was set for 8:30, but I didn’t actually get out of bed until almost 9.
Now I’m starting to run late. I forgot to wrap the Christmas presents I was taking with me. Oops! This takes me to 9:30. I didn’t have a gift back big enough for the birthday present I was taking, which meant I had to stop at a store. Okay, no problem, I had to buy a card anyway. By now it’s 10 a.m. and I’m back in the car trying to stuff the large panda bear into the bag. The bag comes apart. Doesn’t rip, it comes apart, as in the glue that holds it together . . . doesn’t. No time to go back to the store, I’ll just keep going and hope the daughter has some tape.
It’s 10:15 and I’m finally on the road. Traffic is heavy, but moving well. I make it as far as Waterloo before I start losing the Toronto radio station I’m listening to and realize I forgot to bring a CD. The only CD in the car is one I’ve already gotten tired of, however it’s better than nothing. Get to the daughter’s house, get the bag taped together, get to the party. Whew!
Now’s it time to go home. First, we fill up the gas tank again. Gas is 10 cents a litre more in London that it is at home. Nevertheless, I’m still able to top up the tank for $30, which would have made me happier if it hadn’t started snowing while I was filling up. Fortunately, though it snowed most of the way home it never got really bad, just enough to be annoying.
After stopping for a cold coffee (that I used to wash down an asprin) at the Tim Horton’s about 30 miles (kilometres, whatever) outside of London, it was smooth sailing right up to the Toronto Airport, at which point the traffic came to a halt, then crawled all the way to Yorkdale. To make it worse, the radio station was doing some kind of retro oldies thing (60s at 6, 70s at 7, 80s at 8). ARGH! Yeah, I know I could have changed stations, but I didn’t think of it at the time.
Anyway, eventually I made it home, and in time to watch Fringe too. Today, I’m going to take the Christmas Spirit by the throat and put up the Christmas tree. Might even put the lights on it too.
You know when I start a story like this it’s not going to be good (at least for me).
Being the wonderful Auntie that I am, I drove to London yesterday for my great-nephew’s first birthday. It’s about a 3 hour drive (minimum). The party was to start at 1, so by leaving home at 9:30 a.m. I should have just enough time to get there, picking up the daughter on the way. Theoretically.
However (you just knew there was going to be a however, didn’t you?) though I went to bed early (for me) Friday night, I couldn’t get to sleep. Last time I looked at the clock it was 2:30 a.m. Then, for some inexplicable reason, I woke up at 7 a.m. and couldn’t get back to sleep. So we start the day with me tired, cranky and headachey. My alarm was set for 8:30, but I didn’t actually get out of bed until almost 9.
Now I’m starting to run late. I forgot to wrap the Christmas presents I was taking with me. Oops! This takes me to 9:30. I didn’t have a gift back big enough for the birthday present I was taking, which meant I had to stop at a store. Okay, no problem, I had to buy a card anyway. By now it’s 10 a.m. and I’m back in the car trying to stuff the large panda bear into the bag. The bag comes apart. Doesn’t rip, it comes apart, as in the glue that holds it together . . . doesn’t. No time to go back to the store, I’ll just keep going and hope the daughter has some tape.
It’s 10:15 and I’m finally on the road. Traffic is heavy, but moving well. I make it as far as Waterloo before I start losing the Toronto radio station I’m listening to and realize I forgot to bring a CD. The only CD in the car is one I’ve already gotten tired of, however it’s better than nothing. Get to the daughter’s house, get the bag taped together, get to the party. Whew!
Now’s it time to go home. First, we fill up the gas tank again. Gas is 10 cents a litre more in London that it is at home. Nevertheless, I’m still able to top up the tank for $30, which would have made me happier if it hadn’t started snowing while I was filling up. Fortunately, though it snowed most of the way home it never got really bad, just enough to be annoying.
After stopping for a cold coffee (that I used to wash down an asprin) at the Tim Horton’s about 30 miles (kilometres, whatever) outside of London, it was smooth sailing right up to the Toronto Airport, at which point the traffic came to a halt, then crawled all the way to Yorkdale. To make it worse, the radio station was doing some kind of retro oldies thing (60s at 6, 70s at 7, 80s at 8). ARGH! Yeah, I know I could have changed stations, but I didn’t think of it at the time.
Anyway, eventually I made it home, and in time to watch Fringe too. Today, I’m going to take the Christmas Spirit by the throat and put up the Christmas tree. Might even put the lights on it too.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Ho Hum Hump Day
Still waiting for all that money the itchy palm promised me. Any time now would be good. Any time. Right here. Just shoot it on over.
The weather has been off and on a lot. We got lots of snow on the weekend, yesterday it rained and made it a big sloppy mess outside, then last night it snowed and made everything pretty again. Now today it’s sunny which means the snow is melting.
Monday I went to the local mall to finish up my out of town Christmas shopping (I only have the brother in law in NB to buy for before I’m done) but I didn’t have much luck. I’m sure everyone has someone like him on their Christmas list - you need to get them something but you don’t really know them well enough to find something appropriate, or you do and everything appropriate is way out of your price range.
I’ve been trying to get to bed earlier so I’d start getting up earlier but so far that hasn’t really been working for me. I still tend to sleep in late. Might be because my bed is so warm and comfy and if I hold out long enough the husband and the cats all get up and I have the bed to myself. Yes, I am a lazy sod!
It’s getting harder and harder to resist the stack of unread books I have on my desk. I’m not supposed to read them until I finish the first draft of the novel I started writing for Nano, and I’m still working on it. The ideal solution would be to get that first draft done, but the writing is going very slowly and the books are so very tempting.
Does it count if I go out and buy a book that isn’t included in the stack?
The weather has been off and on a lot. We got lots of snow on the weekend, yesterday it rained and made it a big sloppy mess outside, then last night it snowed and made everything pretty again. Now today it’s sunny which means the snow is melting.
Monday I went to the local mall to finish up my out of town Christmas shopping (I only have the brother in law in NB to buy for before I’m done) but I didn’t have much luck. I’m sure everyone has someone like him on their Christmas list - you need to get them something but you don’t really know them well enough to find something appropriate, or you do and everything appropriate is way out of your price range.
I’ve been trying to get to bed earlier so I’d start getting up earlier but so far that hasn’t really been working for me. I still tend to sleep in late. Might be because my bed is so warm and comfy and if I hold out long enough the husband and the cats all get up and I have the bed to myself. Yes, I am a lazy sod!
It’s getting harder and harder to resist the stack of unread books I have on my desk. I’m not supposed to read them until I finish the first draft of the novel I started writing for Nano, and I’m still working on it. The ideal solution would be to get that first draft done, but the writing is going very slowly and the books are so very tempting.
Does it count if I go out and buy a book that isn’t included in the stack?
Monday, December 8, 2008
Itchy Palms and Caramel Corn
I’m trying very hard not to scratch or rub my itchy palm and I hope I haven’t jinxed anything by having rubbed it earlier.
Let me explain. I first noticed my palm was itchy when I was in the kitchen this morning making my breakfast. I was pretty sure there was a superstition about itchy palms, so I looked it up on Google and low and behold, there it was. An itchy palm means money in your future. “Right to receive and left to leave.” One source also mentioned that if you rub or scratch your palm the money will go away, so I immediately stopped rubbing. Though I tell you, it’s not easy.
I can use a massive intake of the cash kind after Saturday. Despite the weather, we went shopping after all. Maybe I should have paid more attention the weather gods and Christmas spirit. The new Costco was not nearly as nice as the others I’ve been in, and the mall I’d been looking forward to had changed beyond recognition - the food court was gone, Wal-Mart was gone, the small, independent store that was the source of many cool items was gone.
THEN, on the way home it started to snow like it meant it. Being a veteran of driving in abysmal winter conditions this didn’t trouble me unduly, however being stuck in a long line of slow moving vehicles did. However, I got to cross two more people off my Christmas list and I think the husband is done so all in all it was a day well spent.
And now my teeth are starting to hurt because while I was typing this post I started munching on the caramel corn the husband bought from the boy scouts (which he does every year). Last year he insisted that it was “his” caramel corn and he should be the one to open it. It’s still sitting on the bar with the plastic seal intact. This year I decided to ignore him.
Stupid me!
Let me explain. I first noticed my palm was itchy when I was in the kitchen this morning making my breakfast. I was pretty sure there was a superstition about itchy palms, so I looked it up on Google and low and behold, there it was. An itchy palm means money in your future. “Right to receive and left to leave.” One source also mentioned that if you rub or scratch your palm the money will go away, so I immediately stopped rubbing. Though I tell you, it’s not easy.
I can use a massive intake of the cash kind after Saturday. Despite the weather, we went shopping after all. Maybe I should have paid more attention the weather gods and Christmas spirit. The new Costco was not nearly as nice as the others I’ve been in, and the mall I’d been looking forward to had changed beyond recognition - the food court was gone, Wal-Mart was gone, the small, independent store that was the source of many cool items was gone.
THEN, on the way home it started to snow like it meant it. Being a veteran of driving in abysmal winter conditions this didn’t trouble me unduly, however being stuck in a long line of slow moving vehicles did. However, I got to cross two more people off my Christmas list and I think the husband is done so all in all it was a day well spent.
And now my teeth are starting to hurt because while I was typing this post I started munching on the caramel corn the husband bought from the boy scouts (which he does every year). Last year he insisted that it was “his” caramel corn and he should be the one to open it. It’s still sitting on the bar with the plastic seal intact. This year I decided to ignore him.
Stupid me!
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Not Funny!
It appears that the Christmas spirit and the weather gods have conspired together and are having a cosmic joke at my expense. Today I was supposed to finish up the Christmas shopping for all the out-of-towners on my list (namely my sisters and their families) and what does it do? It snows.
The snow started last night and is still going. And just to add insult to injury, it’s windy out. Just enough wind to make out of town travelling risky, at best. So no checking out the new Costco in Peterborough, and no trip to a proper sized mall in one of the surrounding cities.
I know, I know, I’ve been whining about not having any snow to get me in the Christmasy mood. But I could have just as easily gotten into the Christmas mood tomorrow, after I shopped.
* * * * * * * * * *
My career counsellor called me yesterday with some good news. I’ve been investigating going back to school through a government program called Second Career, only the course I really wanted to take doesn’t start until September, which was too late.
Apparently, things have changed and it’s no longer too late. If I get accepted then once my unemployment runs out in April I will be allowed to get an interim job that I can quit in September to go back to school. How sweet would that be?
Fortunately, I have all the paperwork, it’s just a matter of filling it out and doing the required research. One of the benefits of getting it all done this early will be that if, for any reason, I’m turned down for the program, I’ll still have time to do one of the Skills Ontario courses which, though shorter, will also ultimately lead me to being employed.
I think it’s a sign, and a good sign at that.
The snow started last night and is still going. And just to add insult to injury, it’s windy out. Just enough wind to make out of town travelling risky, at best. So no checking out the new Costco in Peterborough, and no trip to a proper sized mall in one of the surrounding cities.
I know, I know, I’ve been whining about not having any snow to get me in the Christmasy mood. But I could have just as easily gotten into the Christmas mood tomorrow, after I shopped.
* * * * * * * * * *
My career counsellor called me yesterday with some good news. I’ve been investigating going back to school through a government program called Second Career, only the course I really wanted to take doesn’t start until September, which was too late.
Apparently, things have changed and it’s no longer too late. If I get accepted then once my unemployment runs out in April I will be allowed to get an interim job that I can quit in September to go back to school. How sweet would that be?
Fortunately, I have all the paperwork, it’s just a matter of filling it out and doing the required research. One of the benefits of getting it all done this early will be that if, for any reason, I’m turned down for the program, I’ll still have time to do one of the Skills Ontario courses which, though shorter, will also ultimately lead me to being employed.
I think it’s a sign, and a good sign at that.
Friday, December 5, 2008
It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas
Okay, maybe not. But one can hope the Christmas spirit will get its act in gear soon. At least it’s sunny out today. Sort of.
Space, the Imagination Station, has just given me a reason to get up at 6:30 a.m. on Christmas morning. Starting at 6:30 a.m., they are running all ten Star Trek movies, one right after another. Forget opening presents, forget having a big family dinner, I’ll be in Trekkie heaven!
And the daughter called me last night asking for cookie recipes (she’s going to do some of her own Christmas baking this year) and mentioned that her fiancé managed to get Christmas off, which means they’ll be here for Christmas, so I get the double bonus of subjecting her to Christmas Trekkiness. Muwahahahaha! This is why we have children, to torture them!
It almost snowed yesterday. A few fat, fluffy, flakes, but not enough to get excited about. That’s okay, I can be patient. The weather gods have twenty more days to cough it up for a white Christmas. It doesn’t bode well, however, that I’m still wearing my trench coat. Even when I went to Wal-Mart last night for ice cream. In December.
The cats seem to be feeling the Christmas spirit, they’ve been pretty well behaved lately. Well, with the exception of Panda who managed to dig the bag of kitty treats out of the upper cupboard and devour half of them before I caught her. And maybe Dante, who believes the living room carpet looks better if it’s at an angle, no matter how many times I straighten it. And Taz, who keeps trying to steal my chair. Okay, so Julius and Romi have been good kitties, but I think that’s more because they’re a little too hefty to cause any real trouble.
I, however, have been on my good behavior. I have not yet opened the big bag of books, um, I mean, opened the bag with the two books I bought the last time I was at Chapters that I promised I wouldn’t read until after Nano. As long as I’m working on my Nano novel then Nano is still in progress.
Space, the Imagination Station, has just given me a reason to get up at 6:30 a.m. on Christmas morning. Starting at 6:30 a.m., they are running all ten Star Trek movies, one right after another. Forget opening presents, forget having a big family dinner, I’ll be in Trekkie heaven!
And the daughter called me last night asking for cookie recipes (she’s going to do some of her own Christmas baking this year) and mentioned that her fiancé managed to get Christmas off, which means they’ll be here for Christmas, so I get the double bonus of subjecting her to Christmas Trekkiness. Muwahahahaha! This is why we have children, to torture them!
It almost snowed yesterday. A few fat, fluffy, flakes, but not enough to get excited about. That’s okay, I can be patient. The weather gods have twenty more days to cough it up for a white Christmas. It doesn’t bode well, however, that I’m still wearing my trench coat. Even when I went to Wal-Mart last night for ice cream. In December.
The cats seem to be feeling the Christmas spirit, they’ve been pretty well behaved lately. Well, with the exception of Panda who managed to dig the bag of kitty treats out of the upper cupboard and devour half of them before I caught her. And maybe Dante, who believes the living room carpet looks better if it’s at an angle, no matter how many times I straighten it. And Taz, who keeps trying to steal my chair. Okay, so Julius and Romi have been good kitties, but I think that’s more because they’re a little too hefty to cause any real trouble.
I, however, have been on my good behavior. I have not yet opened the big bag of books, um, I mean, opened the bag with the two books I bought the last time I was at Chapters that I promised I wouldn’t read until after Nano. As long as I’m working on my Nano novel then Nano is still in progress.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Hump Day Quiz
Today started out so well . . .
I was up at a decent hour, got all gussied up and met my friend at the lawyer’s office (we’re taking legal action against our former employer). On the way home there just happened to be a parking place down town so I ran a couple of errands . . . Met my husband (who sprung for take-out)for lunch and then started coughing.
Sinus drip, right into the lungs. The more I coughed the more my sinuses dripped, and the more they dripped the more they leaked into my lungs, which made me cough. It’s an ugly cycle. Needless to say I didn’t get much accomplished this afternoon. Hopefully, I’ll get some writing done tonight, but in the meantime, a quiz:
HOW SHORT IS YOUR ATTENTION SPAN?
I was up at a decent hour, got all gussied up and met my friend at the lawyer’s office (we’re taking legal action against our former employer). On the way home there just happened to be a parking place down town so I ran a couple of errands . . . Met my husband (who sprung for take-out)for lunch and then started coughing.
Sinus drip, right into the lungs. The more I coughed the more my sinuses dripped, and the more they dripped the more they leaked into my lungs, which made me cough. It’s an ugly cycle. Needless to say I didn’t get much accomplished this afternoon. Hopefully, I’ll get some writing done tonight, but in the meantime, a quiz:
HOW SHORT IS YOUR ATTENTION SPAN?
Your Attention Span is Short |
 What attention span? It's difficult for anything to keep your interest. You are so easily distracted, it's a wonder you could finish this quiz! You find focusing a challenge. Your mind tends to wander to the strangest places. While it may be hard for you to complete tasks, you're very creative. You are easily inspired, and you are often thinking of something interesting. The world would be a boring place without people like you. |
Monday, December 1, 2008
Batteries and Baking
I just had to change the battery in my cordless mouse and it suddenly occurred to me that I’ve been going through batteries pretty fast lately. And then it occurred to me that maybe it was because I was playing more spider solitaire than I was writing.
Don’t bother suggesting that I delete spider solitaire from my computer, I’d only find it online. :-) I’m just going to have to rely on my weak will to keep up the good writing habits I picked up while Nanoing. (Yeah, I know. Good luck with that!)
The weather is not putting me in a very Christmasy mood. It’s been very grey and dismal and when we get precipitation it’s rain, not snow. It hasn’t even become cold enough for me to break out my winter coat yet. What’s going on? This is Canada, for crying out loud, in December!
I need the snow to get me in the Christmas mood and I need to be in a Christmas mood before I can start my Christmas baking. I have a brand new convection oven to try out this year. It will be interesting to see whether it’s a help or a hindrance.
Christmas baking is a family tradition. You can’t have Christmas without cookies. So every year I go crazy baking batch after batch of cookies, and every year I’m so sick of them by the time I’m done I give most of them away. Go ahead, call me crazy. My family already does. :-)
I’ve got lots of rum in the house, maybe I’ll start out with rum balls. But not with the recipe I used the last time. The last time I made rum balls I’m not sure what happened, but they ended up as rum-soaked chocolate cement in the mixing bowl. While my daughter and I enjoyed chipping out chunks of them to nibble on, they weren’t exactly something I could include in my gift baskets.
Now, should I use white rum or dark rum in my rum balls? Hmm. I have both, maybe I should do a taste test before I make up my mind . . .
I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Don’t bother suggesting that I delete spider solitaire from my computer, I’d only find it online. :-) I’m just going to have to rely on my weak will to keep up the good writing habits I picked up while Nanoing. (Yeah, I know. Good luck with that!)
The weather is not putting me in a very Christmasy mood. It’s been very grey and dismal and when we get precipitation it’s rain, not snow. It hasn’t even become cold enough for me to break out my winter coat yet. What’s going on? This is Canada, for crying out loud, in December!
I need the snow to get me in the Christmas mood and I need to be in a Christmas mood before I can start my Christmas baking. I have a brand new convection oven to try out this year. It will be interesting to see whether it’s a help or a hindrance.
Christmas baking is a family tradition. You can’t have Christmas without cookies. So every year I go crazy baking batch after batch of cookies, and every year I’m so sick of them by the time I’m done I give most of them away. Go ahead, call me crazy. My family already does. :-)
I’ve got lots of rum in the house, maybe I’ll start out with rum balls. But not with the recipe I used the last time. The last time I made rum balls I’m not sure what happened, but they ended up as rum-soaked chocolate cement in the mixing bowl. While my daughter and I enjoyed chipping out chunks of them to nibble on, they weren’t exactly something I could include in my gift baskets.
Now, should I use white rum or dark rum in my rum balls? Hmm. I have both, maybe I should do a taste test before I make up my mind . . .
I’ll let you know how it turns out.
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