Two

They say that bad things happen in threes. Maybe good things happen in threes too but I have never paid attention to that. The negative seems to get and hold our attention more than the good things. Bad thing #1: the element in the oven burnt out. Bad thing #2: My central vacuum decided to quit working today. I already have it at the vacuum hospital and the vacuum doctor phoned but I was still out running errands one of which was to get a new element for the oven. It is fixed. The Swanson Pot Pies are cooking away right now. Yup, I knocked myself out with that meal. I call it widow food. Widow food is anything quick and easy and that you can cook in the right amount so that their are no leftovers. Toast qualifies and is a major staple. I came up with a new yummy idea at the grocery store. I have been having problems motivating myself to eat fruit. I bring it home and forget it is there and it goes to rot. I just threw out five pears that I had forgot were living in my fridge. Today I bought one of those lovely fruit platters that you usually get if you are entertaining, the kind with the delusions dip. Oh, yum. I am eating that as I wait for the pot pies to cook. Hmmm...I have somehow got off topic. I went from bad things to fruit. Back to the bad things. I wonder what is going to break next. I hope it is not any badder than #1 and #2. yum...that is good cheese... Jalapeño Havarti...and some olives and Stone Wheat Thins. I have moved on from the fruit. This is what happens people when you munch and blog at the same time.

I Think It Is Time

Today I decided to try out a new church. I figured that it would be nice to go to the city and seeing as how mom is in the hospital it would be convenient for me to whip by and visit her all in one trip. I did not attend church last Sunday as it was Father's Day. I did not want to go and be reminded for a whole hour of what the kids and myself have lost. I do that daily quite fine on my own without any help. Ironically at this church they did not do their Father's Day message last week but decided to do it today. Not good. No matter how hard I tried to divert my attention by reciting nonsense rhymes in my head, some of what was said still managed to get into my head. Five verses of Little Rabbit Froo Froo did not work and I was left gritting my teeth and saying over and over: "I will not cry." That did not work. Thank goodness that when I did break down the service was minutes from being over and I was sitting in the back row by the aisle so with the last "Amen" I was out of there and off down the street. I cryed all the way to the car and did pass by a couple out for a Sunday stroll. I kept my head down. I long for the day when I can go somewhere and know that I can just be at peace and take in things like a normal person. I wonder if that day will ever come.

I have been thinking of going to a different church lately. It is not so much that there is anything overtly wrong with the church I attend but I really feel like I don't fit there any more. I feel isolated and alone and it feels like I don't connect with others on any real level. I thought that in time this would get better and that maybe it is that I tend to see things through my grief coloured eyes. I feel that people do not see me when they look at me. It feels like all they see when they look at me is the lack of John. Maybe that is why I am no longer invited out or phoned by anybody. I find this aspect of widowhood very difficult. I hate being reminded that I am now just half a person. Add to the alienation the fact that I see John everywhere there. He was so much a part of everything. For some this may be a comfort but for me it is pain and heartbreak every Sunday.

I have been thinking that maybe if I start new somewhere that people will only know me for me and that I won't be trying to imagine him everywhere. The church that I attended today was very nice and the demographics are of an older congregation. I am sure that there are a lot of people like me, ones that are now only a half a person, others that have had their hearts ripped out and can understand what it is like. Perhaps I will not feel so alone there and perhaps I will find friends. Perhaps my phone will ring again. Perhaps I will be invited out to lunch or to somebodies home. Perhaps there is a place where I am not simply told to call if I need something, that instead somebody will say, "Hey come on over" and that I can feel comfortable in doing so. I don't want to be a charity case. I don't want pity. This has not been an easy decision. I just feel that if I stay where I am, I will be stuck, that things will not change and that I will have a hard time having a life and moving forward. My wheels will keep right on spinning but I will stay in the rut that I am in.

One thing that I do know, I will never forget the love and support that was shown John and I during the time he was ill, nor will I forget all the great friends that we did have together as a couple. I will treasure that in my heart forever. I will still drop by for a visit.

Time

Sometimes as I sit in the quiet, I can hear the clock ticking. Time is passing. Tick, one second, tock, and another. Time past went to fast. Time future stretches out before me shrouded in mist. Time present seems suspended and waiting for something. Each tick asks a question that I don't have the answer to. Each tock demands from me something that I don't think I have anymore. It is it is in tune to the beating of my heart. With each beat a little more of life has passed. It trickles through my fingers like grains of sand leaving my hands empty except for a little bit of dust. When I grab for another handful, the same thing happens.

Coincidence?

Sometimes things happen that leave a person filled with wonder, things that most people would call coincidence but still leaving them scratching their heads and wondering because the odds of the event happening were just so small that it seems impossible. today such a thing happened to me. For those of you that are out of the loop I have been searching for a used motor home. I thought I had found one but was very unsettled about it and the whole thing was really starting to stress me out. I had decided to give it a rest for awhile but later last night I found myself back on Kijiji Saskatchewan to see if anything new had been posted. There was a new post of a 21 foot motor home that looked promising so I left an E-mail expressing interest. I didn't get around to checking my mail box until this afternoon so when I did they had mailed me the contact information. I phoned to make an arrangement to go see it even though I had gave myself permission to take a break form all of this. I did not think anything would come of it and really thought it would be a waste of time but decided I really did not have anything to lose so what the hay. When I talked to the lady on the phone I kept getting a feeling that I knew her. When I went a nice elderly gentleman showed me the unit. I really liked it, the layout and the size and the price. He said that a couple of the people that came and looked today were coming back tomorrow. I told him that I would be too. As I turned to leave I got a very strong feeling that I should not do so, that I should put a deposit on it. I listened to that voice. Anybody who knows me well knows that I am not usually impulsive and that this was very uncharacteristic of me. I even thought this myself and as I went into the house asked myself what in the world was I doing. As I entered the house I was greeted by his wife and you guessed it. I know her very well. We worked together for years side by side at the hospital. She had retired about 7 years ago and we had lost touch. Well, we had very big hugs for each other and a few tears. She put the teapot on and we sat down for tea. As we began to catch up on each other I told her that I lost my husband last October to cancer. She asked me what type of cancer so I told her Multiple Myeloma. Her face instantly went still and the tears started to roll down her cheeks. She has Multiple Myeloma. She had been wishing for a whole year that she could know somebody who knows of this cancer and had had experience of it. She understandably is terrified. The odds of me bumping into her in this way are not very good as it is a pretty rare cancer. I have yet to bump into somebody who has it. I told her that I will be there for her. We already have set a date for lunch. I had been praying for a motor home that would suit me. What would you calculate the odds of us finding each other? The city that I live near is a fairly large city. What are the odds? Coincidence? Anyway, I have a motor home and can quit stressing and searching and she has a friend that understands. Thankfully, for her, she has a more gentle form of this cancer and it is very treatable. She may have many good years ahead for her. Her hubby was grinning from ear to ear. All I can say is "Wow" I have the feeling that I was sent there. If I would have walked away we would not have met up again and I probably would not have a motor home yet and one where I feel like I can trust the person I bought it from and I would not be reconnected to this dear lady. Oh, I almost forgot. she gets together once a month with a bunch of the people that have retired from my department. She listed them all and I worked with and know them all. I will be going along with her the next time they meet for lunch or dinner. I should have my new baby home with me by next week and can hardly wait to get my hands on it and jazz it up the way I like all tacky and fun. I do need to go and get a new singing fish. John would have liked that. I want to also put bits and pieces of his fishing things in there some how. It will make it seem to me, that in a strange way, he is with me.

Minus Fifty Celsius x&#!!%xx! Bleep Bleep

The weather outside is frightful.
Nothing about it is delightful.
Nothing you do will keep you warm.
Let it storm
Let it storm
Let it storm

Yes, a good storm is a preferable alternative to this horrific biting painful cold. Usually it warms up when it storms. On the other hand, I guess I had better be careful what I wish for because with our luck it will decide to storm and not warm up. That would leave us all worse off than we are now.

I went to the city today to help Angela paint. Seriously, I have been home for an hour now and my bum is still cold. I think that I froze my big toe as well even though I was not outside for more than four minutes at a time. The car heater had trouble keeping up. By the time I drove back home and took my puppy sitter home and got back my toe was burning. It is still tender.

I wrecked that toe when I first moved to Canada and did not have a clue that people could freeze their body parts. I waited outside for a bus for about a half an hour in weather like this. I froze my toes as well as parts of my face and fingers. The one toe for some unknown reason decided to freeze worse than anything else. The doctor in emergency thought that maybe I would have to loose the toe. Long story short, the toe made it but not until all the skin on it turned black and pealed off. Now the toe is sensitive and objects to any adverse winter weather.

The good news for the day was that when I went to Home Depot with Angela to get the paint, I actually remembered stuff that I needed to get and scored 100% in obtaining everything . So now I am a proud owner of a new stove element. The one I wrecked by welding my cow tea kettle to when I let it boil dry has been patiently waiting to be replaced for half a year at least.

I bought a new shower nozzle as the one I had decided to have a crisis and start to spray water in every direction that you could imagine. This has turned out to be a good thing as the new shower head comes with a 72 inch hose and will make it easier to reach all parts of Roscoe when he goes for his bath. As it is now, I have to cram him forward in the tub in order to reach all his parts. He does not like this and it is hard to shove a 75 pound dog around for pity sakes. I can hardly wait to try this new shower nozzle gizmo thingy.

I got a fifty foot Line Cord for replacement or adding length from modular jack to modular phone. I need to add length so that I can get rid of the unsightly eyesore of wires hanging down the wall in the basement. Now Mike can have the honor of running the wire neatly up the corner and along the ceiling. I sure hope fifty feet will do it as that is the longest cord that I could get.

I hope you all dream of warm beaches tonight and that we will suffer no power outages like they did up around LaRonge in the early hours this morning because Susan and Marv...ya know what I do when I gets cold!

Bliss

Well it is after midnight so I hope this post counts for Monday. My computer says it is Monday. I have trouble talking myself into going to bed. I hate laying there and thinking so I fight it. In the morning, I hate having to get up. Here I am posting only a few hours after I did my last post and procrastinating about climbing into bed. I usually wait until I know that I can`t keep my eyes open another minute. The funny thing about all that is I can`t really turn the thinking off anyway. I was thinking about my last post and how I can tend to grasp onto the negative instead of just letting it go and how I let that negate the positive.

The truth is that I did have a really nice afternoon and got to spend some quality time with Noah. We watched television together. He told me everything that was happening in the show so as to make sure that I understood and that I would be able to laugh at all the funny parts. We took Frankie out for a nice long walk. It was just the three of us, me, Noah and Frankie. It was fun to see his fear of a little puppy turn into interest and him starting to like her. The air was fresh and the autumn leaves smelled so good. The sun was shining. The cool air felt good on my cheeks. We chit chatted. He has so much that he wants to tell me and teach me. It is so lovely to see the world through his eyes. He drew nice pictures for me when we came inside and he beat up on me a bit which is his way of showing affection. If his feet are in your face, he loves you. I rocked Abby to sleep. She is such a doll. She is not usually a cuddlier so it is so sweet when she relaxes and falls asleep in my arms. I love them so much that my heart feels like it is about to burst. It is a nice feeling.

What Do You Do?

What do you do with a person in your life that is manipulative and seems to consistently make you feel like you are the worst person on the planet? The one that say you never phone even though you went and visited them two times a week ago and then horror of horrors didn't phone for one whole week. You try to tell them that you just phoned and they say that is only cause they phoned and left a message for you to phone. What do you do with a person that demands things of you and expects that you will drop whatever you are doing and run to do their bidding even though it is not an emergency and when you do not jump up and do what they want immediately decides you are neglecting them. How do you help a person that does not trust you? What do you do with a person that no matter what you do, it is not good enough. What do you do with the resentment and anger? What do you do with the guilt that you have because you feel like not talking to them or going to visit because almost every time you do you feel so bad after. What do you do when that person regularly tells you that you need to loose weight and has no problem doing this in front of others and justifies this because they are only worried about your health. What do you do with a person who for your whole life you cannot ever remember that person saying they are sorry for anything. The bible says to forgive seventy times seventy. What do you do when you are just so tired of all the games and you are not so sure that you can or will forgive anymore and that scares you to death. What do you do when you really don't have a choice but go back for more because in reality you actually do love this person? What do you do when the one person that you used to vent to and who understood the situation and who did not make you feel bad for your feelings and did not ever judge you is gone? The one person who encouraged you is not longer there to cheer you on, the one person who had the ability to make you laugh and had the confidence in you that you would always do the right thing? Sometimes I wish I was far far away. A sunny beach would suit me just fine about right now.

November 11

I give up. My scanner won't work and I am too lazy to get the other scanner out and hook it up so there will be no pictures with this Remembrance Day post. I have a neat old photo of my moms seven brothers. Two of them served overseas. Their experience was horrible. One of my uncles had post war trauma syndrome. He told his story once and after that would not speak of it again. My dad and his father were in the Royal Canadian Air Force. They did not serve over seas. The war ended before they were called to go. I am thankful for my uncles that served yet thankful that my dad and grandfather did not have to go. It would have been wonderful if nobody ever had to fight. It would be wonderful if there was no reason for war. Our family was fortunate. We did not loose anybody to war. So many were not and are not so fortunate. My heart goes out to those families today and every day.

I keep jiggling the cord and pushing the button. The pictures sure would have been nice. Oh, give it up Chris! No pictures! Except it. Go to bed.

Used Furniture for sale

Mom is in her new home. Today was her first day. We finished decorating her room and by now she is snugly tucked into bed. She likes her room. It is the most beautiful room in the whole place. She got to test out the fancy upright tub this evening. This is the first time she has been able to soak in a tub for years. I bet she loved the jets. Hopefully that relaxed her enough that she can manage a good nights sleep. She was nervous this morning. It is understandable. Unfortunately, I can't really help her as I have no experience to pass along. I don't know what it would be like to have to let a good portion of your belongings go and move into a private care home. The one thing I do know is that it will be nice to not have to worry how she is doing while we are gone for four months.

Now, to the used furniture! My garage looks like a used furniture store.

For sale:

1.One small oak table. It can be made larger. It has two expansion pieces that go with it as well as 6 oak stacking stools.

2. One over sized chair and matching love seat. Mom bought this a couple of years ago. It is like brand spanking new. She did not sit on them. They were very expensive.

3. A desk. It is like a roll down desk except it folds down instead.

4. A small TV stand with shelves for nick knacks and a glass door.

5. Microwave

6. Small television

7. Various assorted house hold items. Phone me. Let me know what you are looking for. I probably have it.

So, if any of you who live in this area are interested, come on down. I am sure we can make a deal. Yes, let's make a deal! Tomorrow I need to get out to the garage and try to sort things out. After that, the big pack begins again. In that area, I do have experience.

Time Again

Sorry to be so lackadaisical with the posting. We have been pretty busy around here and things have been in somewhat of an upheaval. I have been working on getting my mom into a private care home. We are hoping to have her moved in a month. I am having trouble accepting this change. It is hard to see her have to part with almost all her belongings and give up most of her independence.

John will be admitted into the hospital on June 17 for his second transplant so we have been trying to get things organized around the house and yard. I won't have time except for the most basic and that is even a stretch. It does make me sad. He has been feeling pretty good lately and has been off the couch and very much engaged in life. It will be hard to see him knocked down again. I will be doing updates on The John Braun Page while he is in the hospital and during his recuperation. I find that I have so much on my mind. When I do have spare time, I really don't want to think let alone write. I seem to go for the mindless games on facebook. It helps me relax.

Two More Days To Go

Two more day to go with the NaBloPoMo thing...that is all I have to say. Sorry people. I don't feel like blogging today. Good thing this counts as a post.

Rats! Double Rats!

I can't get the memory stick to download pictures off of my camera. It seems that when David downloaded pictures that it was a fluke. Angela is going to have to mail the cord for my camera. John took some video of the construction site for the boys. I can't figure out how to play the video on the camera. I have lost my manual. I wonder if I can find the instructions online. I have spent the last hour trying to figure things out. I am totally frustrated and now I give up.

We had a couple of hours to kill between tests so we walked down to Lake Union and looked at the boats. They have a bunch of old boats and we did take some pictures that I wanted to show you. I guess that you will have to settle for these that I took a couple of days ago. This fellow was inside the cafe. Nobody seemed to mind. Everybody went about their business and so did the bird. He seemed to be waiting for his order.

Lazy day...Lazy Lady

I am spending a lazy morning at home blog hopping and goofing around. I skipped church and am still in my pajamas. My hair is in disarray cause I have not bothered to comb it. I have drank three cups of coffee. While over at Mommiesodes site I came across an article that brought back memories of days long ago when I still had little ones at home under my watchful and ever alert eyes.
Becky was five at the time. She was a very independent little thing. She liked to do things by herself. She followed me around and watched everything that I was doing. I had no idea how much she was absorbing. All parents at some time do wake up to the fact that there is a very active brain in the heads of their toddlers and young children. I know that my son and daughter-in-law were stunned to wake up one morning and see their two year old happily watching his favorite movie. Through the powers of observation he had taught himself to turn on the TV, insert his favorite DVD into the player and make it all work! This is amazing considering my mom could not do this even though she had written instructions! Anyway...back to my memory! As I was working in the kitchen... I am guessing that is what I was doing as that is where I spent most of my time, cooking and cleaning or perhaps I had my head down a toilet either cleaning it or removing a foreign object from it that a person named "I don't know" had tried to flush to China... I heard the most pathetic sobbing I think I have ever heard... I actually did hear this again one other time from the same child many years later when she was in a vehicle that ran over a cat...but that is a story for a different day. It was coming from the basement. I rapidly dropped what ever it was that I was doing and descended the basement stairs in record time. It is amazing how fast a mother can move isn't it? Becky was in the laundry room. She was hunched over holding her fathers blue jeans. Tears were streaming down her face. She was crying so hard she could hardly breath. Her fathers jeans had white blotches all over them. She lifted her tear streaked face up and looked at me. She did not have to say a word. It is true, a picture can paint a thousand words. I guess she had decided that she should help me out by doing a load of laundry. Enter her fathers jeans...check! Enter soap...check! Turn on machine and wait. How easy was that? I can imagine her down there with her satisfied little smile waiting in happy anticipation. Mommy and Daddy are going to be so happy. Open washing machine door...get jeans out and put into dryer. Yes...NOOOOO! Oh my poor baby! I have never seen such devastation of the face of a child. It took a long time to calm her down. It took a long time to calm me down. MY CHILD HANDLED BLEACH! I still get sick thinking about it. BTW...the jeans were an old pair of her Dad's work jeans that were ready for the garbage bin and I was thankful for the excuse to toss them as her father would wear them until they fell off his body.

Hop on over to Mommiesodes site to see what her toddler washed! At least it did not involve bleach. She is a much better Mommy than I was although I think she is just learning what her little one is capable of.

Rats!

I could have slept an extra half hour. Somehow I managed to get ready for work in record time this morning. I went to grab the car keys, took a quick peek at the clock and I don't have to leave for another half an hour! When this happens I have to run a mental check list to make sure that I have not forgotten something.

1. Lunch made - check
2. Thermos filled - check
3. Brushed teeth - check
4. Remembered to put on deodorant - check
5. Cloths on right side out - check
6. Wearing a bra - check

Well there you have it! Rats! That extra half an hour would have felt like heaven. Zzzzzzzzz How has your morning gone? If you are in a hurry you may want to do a run through of the list! You do want to start the day out right. I know that when I don't, I might as well write the rest of the day off.

Have a nice day! Ahem...I am just preparing my happy voice. I must smile when I say "How may I help You?" all day long and over and over when what I would love to say is "You expect me to be cheerful? I could have slept another half an hour this morning!"

Sometimes I wonder about myself. Where in the world do I keep coming up with such deep blog material? Informative, controversial and thought provoking, I aim to please.

Oh...Susan! Everybody else can quit reading cause this is for Susan Why are those fantastic pictures of the sunflowers not up on your blog yet? I think sunflowers that grew to 11 feet are definitive blog material! I wish I would have remembered to bring my camera!

Saliva...Did That Get Your Attention?

I am not sure how I feel about aging. It takes a person many different places. On the positive side, it has taken me into lands of smiles and sunshine in the persons of my grand children. On the other side it has taken me into places of aggravation and embarrassment in the land of TMJ and Physical Therapy and Dental Appliances. At least the land of Dental Appliances is private for the most part. John does get to see that indignation and has heard me try to talk with the thing in my mouth. On the positive side, it would be amusing to talk to the telemarketers with it applied orally as long as I could manage to keep it in my mouth and not spit it out when I laugh too hard. On the negative side, I seem to be having trouble in my subconsciousness because I do not wake up with it in my mouth in the morning. Every morning is a mystery as to where it is going to show up. I have found it in such diverse places: under pillow, on the floor, behind the alarm clock and in a cup of water by my sink. I do find this so very strange as I do not have dentures! As for the Physical Therapy...it is very embarrassing to have a handsome young man stick his hands in my mouth and stretch and jerk my jaw about and have to deal with my saliva in such an unromatic way. Not that I would want him to deal with my saliva in a romantic way...I would prefer him not to be dealing with my saliva at all! On the positive side...the land of aggravation seems to slowly dispersing. Today there seems to be less pain, less popping and less grinding. When I did the mirror test this morning that involves opening the mouth wide and doing a visual inspection my jaw seems not to be slanting to the right as much as it was. I think that the therapist is managing to get my jaw back into place. This is good on so many different levels.

Trouble

"SAM...SAMMY! NO!...SAMMY!"

I can hear his mother say. I jump out of my chair and come running to see what the damage is. From the particular pitch his mothers voice has attained, I am expecting a real mess. I figured at the very least he had managed to pour out a bottle of corn syrup or something. I round the corner. I laugh. "Thats it?... Just toilet paper?" Maybe it was a whole roll, but really... even though Sam's middle name should have been:
Trouble


When you have a big brother who is so rational and helpful...
Who even demonstrates how to roll it back on...
And proceeds to roll it back up...sort of...well it is still usable...
Hey!...Is Trouble scoping out the shampoo? It doesn't look like Trouble is paying attention!

Anyway... it was decided, seeing how fascinated Trouble was with the bathroom, that maybe a bath would keep him out of living up to his should be middle name.

I guess not!

I haven't posted for a few days. I have been very busy working almost full time and learning a whole new job. It has been a bit of a bumpy ride. When I come home, I am physically tired and mentally spent. It is hard to teach an old brain new things. It seems the more I focus on trying to assimilate the new things that I need to learn the more I screw up the easy things that I know or in other words the harder I try the worse I perform. It didn't help matters that on Friday the computer program that we use was glitching due to changes I.T. was doing. I was frustrated to tears...only about maybe three or maybe four tears. I managed to get my big girl panties on! Fast! This is a very humbling experience because I ace my mail room job.

I was very, very, very happy when Friday 4:30 came along and was met by my husband, daughter and two grandsons right outside the front doors of the hospital. They took me to Kingsman Park and we went of the train ride, carousel and ferris wheel. It didn't even matter too much that I was still wearing the gray man shirt that I am required to wear at work. I will not be posting any pictures of me wearing this very unflattering shirt. It makes my arms look humongous and the color is awful.

Today, we went to the town parade. It was a blast! I will do a post on that later. This post is getting long enough. Anyway...thank goodness for grandkids! They have restored me. They make me laugh and they give great hugs.

The bake sale fund raiser is going great. More about that later as well.

I may be a bit sporadic with my posts in the next month and with comments at blog sites I visit. I have been coming around but sometimes either I am to tired to even think of what to say or I don't have time.

It's A Dogs Life

Reasons It Would Be Nice To Be A Dog

I would have nothing better to do than wait around until somebody fed me or played with me. If they seemed to be taking their time, all I would have to do is make sad eyes at them and then I would get my way.

If that didn't work I could always manage to get some treats from my young friends. They usually cooperate! I would simply hang around and enjoy the ambiance.

I would have time to watch the world go by...no stress...no worries. "Look a car! And another car. A bird! Where did it go? Car...kids, Hey, come here! Can we go swimming?"

I would still have a mission in life. What is better, than to make people happy. With a face like that...anybody would smile. I would have no enemies and everybody would like me. Even if I ate the bread off the counter that I was not supposed to eat, like I did today, I would be forgiven.

I would still share. "Here take it! You know that you want this bear. It is only a little crusty! Hey! A little slobber never hurt anyone. Come on..." At this point, I would act indignant and if that doesn't work maybe I would just chase my tail.

It would only take small things to amuse me. I wouldn't have to comb my own hair. I wouldn't get into trouble if I forgot to cover my nose when I sneezed and if somebody didn't like it I wouldn't even know. I would get ice cream occasionally. I would always get to lick the bowl. Yes...sounds like a good life to me!

Saturday Morning and the Sun Is Shining

Hey bidder bidder bidder...80dollardoIhear80dollar?...Sold! SOLD! to the lady in brown. Yes! Just what I always wanted. A 50 year old Hammond organ. Just think! I can teach myself to play and we can have a Christmas sing-a-long. The kids will love it! Right? O.K...so that was not my best auction purchase and now I have to try and sell it at a garage sale and the boys veins just about pop out of their necks every time they have to move it. I promise that I won't bid on anything today that weighs more than I can comfortably all by myself.


John and his mom and myself are heading off to auction wonderland this morning. Angela and Isobel are off to Montgomery Place garage sale wonderland. Why? Why do they have to be on the same day? Oh the tragedy! Anyway...I have opted to attend the auction. I wouldn't want John to come home with anything silly would I? Hehehe!

My Bureaucratic Fiasco Update

Just a little update on the Permanent Resident Card/American Passport/Social Security Number fiasco: I have been promised that I don't need the Permanent Resident Card to get back into Canada by car. After a tearful conversation with Immigration Canada, the phone attendant even offered to fax or e-mail me the data so I could read it with my own eyes. I do not need a passport to get into the United States by car until June 1, 2009. To make a long story short, I will continue trying to get all of the above simply because I cannot fly anywhere outside Canada until I have a passport and Permanent Resident Card. Step one: Social Security Number. The fellow I talked to in the Minot office says that I can apply for that at the consulate in Calgary. I sure hope so because if I can't I will have to go to Minot. I need to have documentation for every year that I have resided in Canada to prove that I have resided here. The fellow I talked to says that report cards, health info etc. would be fine. I am going to check to see if I can get documentation to prove that I worked at City Hospital for 29 years. That would document 29 of the 40 years I have been here. I can prove 6 more years with report cards so that leaves 5 more years to account for. Maybe the birth certificates of my kids would prove 4 more years which leaves me only 1 year to account for. That would be the year that I got married so the whole thing is not totally impossible. Anyway...the pressure is off for the time being and I can work at this on a more casual basis.

You Are Getting Warm

Did you ever play that game as a child? You are getting warm...warmer...hot! ...no now you are cold! Well I played that game today all day at work. I bet you didn't think you went to work to play games. Yes! My day went something like this: "Hey where are the Jackson Pratts?" At this point some one would point me into a general direction then the game would begin. Shortly after that I would yell: "Where did they move the Filshie Clips?" "Where does the Oscalatting Saw go? How about the Hemovacs? Cannulas? Bone Cutters? Where the #@!! did the Lapros cart go? Hey where did everybody go?"

I sure got suckered. My vanity was appealed to. I am an asset I was told. Please, please, please, pretty please come and do data entry today. Surprisingly the computer stuff went fine. I like the way they have set up the new system. It actually makes sense and saves time. I do not know how that was accomplished. I am stunned. The problem was everything in bin has been rearranged due to moving all of ortho over from SPH. Everything! I have to learn the whole set up all over again. My brain is fried. I am going to go to bed now and pray that I do not get called in tomorrow.

I Did It!

Because I am the master of procrastination, I made a promise to myself in January that I would take the month of March and apply for my Canadian citizenship. I am quite intimidated by forms of any kind. I did try to do this online about a year ago and gave up. This time I ordered the forms and received them in the mail. I took them out this morning, gathered all my documents, sat down, read all the instructions and began. Long story short...I finished in one hour. I only felt like banging my head a couple of times. What I thought that would take me weeks of frustration with many phone calls to Immigration Canada, I completed in record time. After I signed the last page I said to myself "Is that all? Have I been putting this off for years and this is all there was to it?" All that is left is to go and get my citizenship photos, go to the bank, pay for the processing fees and mail. I can get the pictures at London Drugs for about $12.00. Processing fees are $200.00. After that I guess I wait. They will send me a book to study. I have to write a test. If I was 55 years old I wouldn't have to write the test. Rats! So close but so far. After that I have to have an interview. When all has passed, I get to go to a ceremony. Then I think we should all have a party. Any way...I did it...I kept my promise to myself. I feels good.