Be - Make my Father proud

OK, so I am not the carpenter that my Father was....but I'm trying. Today while siliconing the windows ( read holes ) I fell off the ladder and hurt my leg and hand. But I had to keep on working because the silicone kept squeezing out the nozzle and I couldn't do anything to stop it until the tube ran out. And I have had to hammer nails in for Harry and although I managed OK, I lack the strength to put much ummpph into it, and I tried to saw a piece of wood and I couldn't get the blade to start to cut. I looked at my watch tonight and the face is covered with silicone so I sat watching the news, trying to scratch it off only resulting in it smearing all over the glass. My next attempt is to use GOO GONE. But I'm happy to say that there are now four walls completed with only the roof to put on. If today had been nicer we might have attempted it but it has been cold, and windy and intermittently raining a bit. Once done, then it will have to be painted. We have white paint purchased for the picket fence that is just waiting for us to start. Actually, I think it is the neighbour that is patiently waiting for us to start - it was his choice to paint it white - it will match his place but I wanted to paint it green but thats another story.
Mike arrived home late last night from his Summit duties, and will have a few days to get ready before he leaves for his summer duties in Petawawa that start July 5. I expect we may have to make a few trips again to pick up and deliver the odd time if he is off on the weekends and can come back to North Bay, although he makes every effort to make other transportation arrangements if he can. There is usually always some other person driving to North Bay or even Timmins that he can hitch a ride with, but he knows he can call us and we'll help him out.
Well, tomorrow to Mothers again, so I better have a nice bath and to bed. By the way it was very nice to speak with you both over the last few days - I enjoy the blog, but enjoy your voices even more. Soon I will also enjoy seeing you!!
Take care....

Be - even more excitement.....

This afternoon we went to the dump to look for more windows for the green house (this is not the exciting part so hang on...) while there, an F18 came by at a low altitude and made some really fast manoevers overhead which is unusual. Then we spotted a float plane in the sky as well, and sure enough the F 18 came whizzing by and flew parallel to the float plane and wagged its wings first left and then right. From my flight training I knew this to be the procedure to apprehend an aircraft that is not supposed to be in the airspace. With the G8 Summit, all airspace within 30 km around Huntsville is now restricted. There are military radar units set up now at all the smaller airfields in the area including the South River/Sundridge airport, as well as the Emsdale Airport which we drive by everytime we go to Mothers. So obviously, the F18 was dispatched when the radar picked up this activity of the small float plane when it should not have been flying. The F 18s are currently at North Bay airport so would be really close if needed immediatley such as with this occurrence. I was so excited to watch and to see in real life this event for which I had memorized for my own flying but of course never had reason to implement. And because we were at the dump, we had a clear view of it all.
And so that's my story for today.......Take care

Exciting Lives....

Gee... Earthquakes and visiting world dignitaries.... somehow the two seem to belong together in my mind. Our weather is the same day after day... Chance of thunderstorms. The rain seems to have let up here, but it threatens every day. How about a nice normal sunny day? You must bring us some pictures of your yard Beth. I would love to see the garden and greenhouses. I really can't picture them. Maybe you can give me some suggestions on building a greenhouse here. I really want one, but don't know how to start. Should it be a nice freestanding building, or, more likely, a lean-to shanty. I too, have to make a dentist appointment. I have one tooth that has a loose filling and another that I can't chew on. I know neither will last until my next appointment in Janury. It's just that all my teeth are more filling than tooth, and I think he may have to give up on these two. I have one more week off work. I am still dreading going back, and am "catastrophizing" my return. I dreamed last night that they made me keep all the changes that Patty made at my desk, and I know that I do not want a couple of them. I will just quietly stop using them. The garden has grown a little bit and looks like a garden now. For a while I thought things would just sit there all year. The little bit of sun we have had made a difference. We filled the pool and as soon as we turned the filter on, the water turned red! Our neighbours always had that problem, but we have only had a little bit before. Perhaps the rain has affected the amount of silt in our water. The poor filter is working its heart out. Jim and I are working Meat Draw on July 2. I don't know if it will be extra busy or extra slow with Thursday being a holiday. There is a BBQ there on July 9. The annual ShopEasy BBQ in support of the LEgion. They do all the work and the profits go to the Legion. July 11 is the golf tournament. We were going with Rodney & Kristy, but I think we will switch and let Tim and Crystal go with them and we will go with Larry & Dennis. Tim is good friends with Rodney & Kristy, & Crystal is the same age and knows all three of them. Larry & Dennis are our age. Either way we will be one of the two first to tee off, as Crystal has to open the Bar, and Dennis is in charge of supper. Already the summer is slipping past so fast. I should be outside instead of sitting here at the computer. Sooo....... have a good day!

Be - I feel the same way....

... haven't had to have a dental dam for years and years - but I still feel squeamish thinking about it. My problem in the dentists chair is that once my mouth opens, my jaws lock and I am in excrutiating pain until it can be massaged enough to relax and close again. This doesn't help when the procedure requires the mouth to actually be open.
Well, whether it be torrential rains, or tornadoes, or as in yesterday, earthquakes, the show goes on, and we have braved it all in the last few days. Not the tornadoes thank goodness, or should I say, not yet anyway! We had to set up the sump pump last evening outside at the front of the house as the water just wouldn't soak in fast enough, and overflows the basement window which is quite low. Hope all the international dignitaries arriving for the Summit like this kind of weather. But then they will all be in the luxury hotel wineing and dining and likely not care one way or the other???
Tomorrow we will be at home for the first time this week, and I expect will do more greenhouse building. We found another door at the dump this afternoon so that will be used on the other side of the structure. Should be a good solid building when completed - it withstood the earthquake yesterday.
Hoping you both have a good weekend, and fair weather to go along with it. Take care....

Exciting times at the dentist

We had a negotiation about what we were going to do--since my insurance is all used up and we were talking big money. I even offered the option of pulling the damn thing out and forgetting about it until the insurance kicks in again next January. The problem is that there is now a cavity under the crown. This means cutting the crown off, probably doing a root canal, and then making a whole new crown---about $1200. So we started. Double mandibular block (ouch!!) Then he tried to pry the cown off to see if maybe it could be re-used. No dice! When Tregobov put on a crown it was there to stay! So he had to drill it off. It's a lower right canine tooth, so he had to use dental dam to prevent any of the bits or chemicals from going down my throat. Started to put that on and TOTAL FREAK OUT!! I just couldn't deal with it. Don't know what the problem might be. I certainly dealt with it years ago, but not now. So--off with the dam, lots of reassuring words etc. and then more negotations. He's now recommending that, to treat the tooth, I consider IV sedation ( Ka-ching additional $400), but if I can't afford that, I live with it until the pain becomes unbearable. Hopefully, I can last long enough that the insurance kicks in again. He really doesn't want to pull it, as he says that structurally, it's critical for the alignment of the jaw because of it's position. And he isn't sure from the x-rays but thinks that there may even be some involvement with the next tooth---also crowned.

Now, I know my respiratory function isn't what it once was, and I have experienced a fear of not being able to breath before. Maybe it's time to find out what is going on.

Last night Faith came to pick up the sewing machine. She appeared a little stunned and I'm sure I saw real lust on her face when she saw both the machine and all of the attachments. She was right in there playing with it, ended up picking it up and refusing to put it down, even when they got out to the car. I've always had a bit of a soft spot for her, although we've had very little interaction. She is actually Mary Lou's grand daughter. She was badly burned as a child, and her mother was either too "ditzy" or too high to care for her properly. So the poor kid has signifcant burn scarring on her legs. Her father was the nurturing parent, and he committed suicide about two years ago. I feel very comfortable giving her the machine.

But now I have to re-arrange and clean both the storeroo0m and the studio. A job that's needed doing for some time. Well, other than the floors, it's done. There will still be a bit or re-organization when I get the table for the new machine, but for now it's set up. The big emotional adjustment was in packing up the Pfaff and putting it away. And now we have a huge load to take to the thrift store, but it sure feels great to have the job done.

If you can't drive your kids crazy----

I guess I really did make them nuts, but the best strategy I came up with for time management--that allowed me actual time for myself--was power cooking. Two days a month of cooking in bulk, divide it into meals and you can sew for an extra two or three hours a week. But I do remember meals when the kids would ask how many of something they could have. I usually put a couple extra of whatever in the pot, and it always seemed to get eaten. And just look at my family--none of us appears to be starving to death!

It looks like I'm going to be giving one of David's great nieces Auntie Lorraine's old sewing machine. Faith is in her late teens, and designs her own clothes, but is sewing them together by hand! I hope no one is upset with me, but this looks like a "Good Thing". I'll be keeping the Pfaff as my back up machine. Lorraine's Elna is a beautiful machine, but I can't drop the feed dogs so can't use it for free motion work. Storage space is the real problem, as I also have the HuskyStar Embellisher. David stood in the studio the other day and looked around and said" Do you realize how much money I see sitting here?" Whoops! Didn't think anyone was counting.

Okay--bed time! Tomorow I have another dental appointment to investigate the toothache that I developed during my previous sessions. While I don't enjoy going to the dentist, it wasn't so bad until I reached the point in life when I have to pay for it myself. Bummer!

Be - you set my heart a fluttering.....

Of course, if you can get tickets, I would love to go to Rainbow Stage. So many memories, so long ago.....I'll be sending you a cheque in the mail tomorrow. I still plan to be at your place for Monday supper on July 26. So if we go to the Lake on the Thursday, that would leave either Mon, Tues or Wed night for the theatre, right?
I couldn't get into the blog again because of "cookies" or something wrong - it seems if you ignore those messages and just restart your log in, then everything is OK.
I will always remember visiting you Patty long ago, and I was preparing the supper you had left out - it was meatballs, and as I started to get them ready, I took one from the casserole and ate it. Amber witnessed this event, and yelled at me that Mom will be mad - she has them all counted. So I timidly replied that, in that case, I would eat one less at supper!
Well, I had my last violin lesson before the summer break today. I couldn't play a decent note and felt so deflated. Anyway, I'll have the whole summer to try to practice more if I can. The problem is that my time is so well orchestrated for me. As an extra, I am going to Mothers tomorrow to weed the garden if I can. We normally do not go on a Wed as her homemaker comes from 9:30 to 10:30 am. It has been raining, and appears may rain again tomorrow afternoon - so maybe I'll be lucky and get a few rows of weeds removed. Of course, I have to take lunch and prepare it as well.
The new greenhouse has two walls up already and today we got an old wooden door from Mike's basement that we will use for one side.
I am getting so excited about my trip because I am buying stuff to take and hoarding it all in a box in the back bedroom now - talk about "stocking up" - I have a real assortment of road supplies - you know, cookies, licorice, dates, crackers, - all the good stuff! And I also splurged and bought a new CD for the long drive - Frank Sinatra - three solid hours of the oldies, so by my calculations, it should play over and over again about eight times? So you know that I'll be very mellow by the time I arrive haha
Anyway, bed time and time to say so long. Take care

Stockpiling food

I'm very used to having to supply food for everyone when we spend time at the lake. When i spoke of this to Dianne she said " Are you nuts? Tell them to bring their own food. Or better yet tell them that they have to feed you as well. It's your lake!" But when she visited she ate everything I served her.

But yes, living on a pension, and actually, even before then, when I anticipate extra people to feed, I buy a little extra whenever I shop in the weeks leading up to it. Right now I can tell you that we'll be having meat balls in honey garlic sauce for supper Saturday night at the lake. Both the meatballs and the sauce are tucked away. I also have rhubarb tucked away for pie. One of the things that my kids complained about was that I have food so organized. Loren's ex-wife thought it was horrible that I calculated serving sizes when I planned a meal. Her mother was able to feed anyone who walked in the door, expected or not, whenever she prepared a meal. I realize that this is common in some cultures, but it can sure lead to a lot of wasted food. Even worse, if there is left over food, I know I'll eat it--and I know I don't need it.

As of yesterday, I believe that I have enough stock for all of the sales. Now I can relax and play--hopefully for the next few months. I'm almost giddy with excitement. I've bought a couple of books, and over the next little while I plan to slowly ( or not so slowly) work my way through them.

Beth, if we can get tickets for Rainbow Stage while you're with us, would you be interested?

Be - I am a bit concerned...

What does my visit there have to do with the need to "stock pile food". I didn't think that I actually eat that much but apparently I must be mistaken. haha! Simple fair is all I desire and I will be chipping in for purchase thereof ($). Of course the hot dog vendor idea sounds just fine, Cathy.
All kidding aside, I, too, am very excited about the trip and as time goes by and the hour approaches, my exhilaration increases even more. I even made a hair appointment for July 7 - nothing like planning ahead but I know that if I wait too long it will be a last minute thing and I may not be able to get a permanent done. I want to be able to just wash and wear my hair while visiting - it is so much easier that worrying about curling it.
Hoping for a great weekend here - supposed to be thunder storms tonight and rain all day Sat. Tomorrow ( Sat) is the Recital for the Fiddle school and I am looking forward to the show. We started to build the greenhouse this afternoon and have the bricks layed, and first row of foundation 2X4"s cut. We headed out early to pick strawberries this morning, but when we got to the place (about 60 km) it was closed - this inspite of having telephoned last night at 5 pm to ensure they would be open. Of course, there was no cell phone service to call them from the site, so headed back home stopping at another place we had been to before. They are not growing strawberries this year but we were able to buy asparagus!! So three hours later we arrived home empty handed of delicious fresh strawberries. We did however, have asparagus for supper.
Well, time for a bath - working in the yard has me covered with black dirt and bug bites. Hope you both have a pleasant weekend, and we will talk with you again next week. Take care

Thunderbolt & lightening... very very frightening...

sometimes song lyrics just say it all. Actually, the thunder and lightening weren't all that scary (except to the dog), but the rain is still coming down. We got about 3 1/2 inches yesterday. My garden does NOT need watering. I am finding myself getting very frustrated with the work I am supposed to be doing for Viscount. I am sending in our operating grant, but I don't have the background information that I need. Not to mention how hard it is to do when I am at home and any information we do have is in Neepawa. I told them yesterday that this grant application will be a guestimate. I have not been baking in anticipation of your visit, Beth. But Lily Festival will be on, so we can eat hotdogs from the vender. Or better still, the Chip Truck will be here and we can have some French Fries! Oh yeah! Last year the fudge man was here with soooo many flavours of fudge! I should warn you now, that we WILL be going to the parade and down to the legion afterward. The pipe bands have a jam session there. (if you can imagine 15 bagpipers and drummers in the clubroom!) I hope we have some more decent weather before I go back to work. There is still a lot of stuff to be done outside. There's lots to be done inside too, but I don't feel like doing housework! I should wash the floors I guess, but it seems so useless when it is either muddy paw prints or sand all over them. One or the other. I made Jim buy a lotto max ticket yesterday. We were playing crib and he started with a 28 hand and never slowed down. I figured maybe it was his lucky day. I sure hope so. Tim and Mady get here on July 9. Mady is only bringing one friend. She had said two, but when I mentioned that to Tim he almost had a heart attack... There is no way he is going to be stuck with 3 teenagers. Two is bad enough. The Legion Golf tournament is on July 11, so we are in that, and we are planning to have a 40th birthday party for Tim. Rodney & Kristy will help us plan that since they know all his friends here. Of course, if it keeps raining like this I don't think it will matter. Time for some food. (and you thought you were gaining weight... you should see me!)

You're welcome!

Glad you like it! We'll send some more on to you--we have lots. Unfortunately we discovered that there is a corner of our front garden that isn't getting enough rain and the perennial I bought is dying (??dead??).

A very blah-h-h week around here. We haven't been going out, nor has anything been happening. I'm getting a lot of sewing done, and slowly getting to know my new sewing machine. I went through the same piss-off level of frustration when I bought the old one, but this time I work until I get frustrated and then put it away for awhile. I got a dvd with it that is supposed to explain everything. And it explains quite a bit, but in a little girl voice with a Japanese accent. One thing I didn't get was any explanation of when and why I might choose to use the fancy stitches. I ran into difficulty with the free motion stitching, yesterday, that appears to me to be a tension problem. It's only a week until my first lesson, so I just kept a sample of the stitching, and I'll use the Pfaff for the urgent stuff for now. I'm working on two sunprinted hangings that are very different than anything I've done before. So different that I doubt I'll ever be happy with the old stuff again. But I guess this is how we grow.

Amber is up north for a week with work, so no company for supper on Sunday. We're very much looking forward to seeing you, Beth, and I'm starting to stock-pile food. I made four loaves of banana bread for the time we're together, but I have a hunch they won't last. I had planned to make sweet nibbles this month, instead of buying tasteless cookies at the discount store, but forgot to buy brown sugar, so got one batch of choclate chip cookies made and nothing since. You would think this would be good for me, but over the past week I've gained 4 pounds. This worries me as I've been making a real effort not to eat, so I have to wonder if it's fluid.

Anyway it's good to hear from you both, and I'll try to be better with my contribution.

Be - Thanks for all the rain

So, you just had to send it all this way, did you? We have had nothing but wet and miserable weather. But it has allowed me to do some housework today instead of outside work. Yesterday we had lumber and bricks etc delivered for Harry's new greeenhouse that he is building - with my help, of course. So we moved all the materials from the driveway where they had been dumped to the back yard just in time to cover it up before the rain came.
We were in North Bay again yesterday for shopping, to check Mikes house and my violin lesson. I did better at the playing because I had actually been able to practice during the week, and my wrist was not throbbing as bad has it had been. I believe I must have a chronic repetative injury that exacerbates with any movement eg for gardening, or in the case of the violin, just holding it and trying to play the fingers on the strings. So I will have to grin and bear it if I intend to continue to play which I want to do.
Otherwise, the usual day to day activities keep me busy. I picked up another book at the library today. By the way I think I told you that I read a Mary Stewart book, but in fact it was by Mary Higgins Clark - I enjoyed it as I do mystery, murder types of writing. But today I took out a Danielle Steele book, so I will tell you how I liked it once done. I have really been enjoying the Faye Kellerman books Cathy - I think she was one author you had mentioned?
Well, bath time and then to bed to read. Tomorrow to Mothers and then a quick trip to North Bay to feed Mike's animals. On Saturday we go to North Bay to attend the Annual Recital for the Fiddle and Stepdance School. I am looking forward to attending but "to watch only" because I declined the opportunity to actually play. No one wants to hear me squeak and squack. I have been asked by my instructor to start to record my practicing at home to get an idea of how I actually sound - I did record and was absolutely astonished and terribly embarrassed that I sound so horrible. To think that she has to listen to that every week and then tell me how I am doing!! But the good part of recording is that I take the machine to the lesson and record her playing some of the tunes - then I can hear at home how they should sound, and try to emulate. Yeh, sure! Anyway, take care

Day to day life

I seldom seem to have anything but small things happening in my life. We're not sure what that bright yellow globe in the sky is, but we will enjoy it while it is here. They are forecasting the possibility of thundershowers today, and heavy rain for Thursday & Friday. Hopefully they will be wrong, which isn't that unlikely. I think we forecast the weather better when we looked out the window, or checked to see if the tree leaves were up or down. We have all sorts of plans for tilling the garden and mowing the lawn, but, of course, everthing is still quite wet. It doesn't take long to dry on our sand. It has been so miserable that we haven't even dragged to pool. It's already the middle of June! Usually we have been in it by now. I have never had any luck with rose bushes. They always seem to die. The only one I ever had was in Sanford, and it had been there for years. I dug some up when we moved to Eden, but they only lasted a couple of months. They were a beautiful yellow. We were worried about having any dill come back this year. In the past we have had no luck at re-seeding. I guess dill likes cool wet weather, because we have a bed of dill that stretches from the dill, through the onions and to the peas. I hope the warmth & sun will help the garden, because even though you can see all the rows, nothing is growing. (except the grass ... not even weeds!) Jim is bbq-ing ribs for supper tonight. I will have to come up with something to go with them. Probably rice, as we have had a lot of pasta lately. We will have to borrow Jean's mower again this week as ours is not fixed yet. I sure hope this doesn't become a massive bill! We have had the mower since we moved here, so it doesn't owe us anything, but we really can't afford a new one. they are close to $3000 now. Time to get dressed and go outside and enjoy the day.

Small things

When we started this, part of the idea was that if we could become part of the small things in each other's lives, as well as the big events, it might bring us closer. Those big events are few and far between these days! So I'm pleased to hear about your rose, Beth. Please let us know how it makes out.

We had so much winter kill this year that our two roses finally gave up the fight--after a couple of years of neglect. I had a rose at the house on Woodside. It was very hardy, coming back beautifully year after year. The planter we moved up to the house, on the patio, is doing very well. I had thought that we would have to water it regularly, as it's against the east side of the house and the prevailling winds/rain usually come from the west. Not this year! But the rain is starting to get to me--and I spend most of my life in the basement! The ferns are doing well, though.

Today is more drizzle. Just enough to keep you in the house-given a choice. We are watching the church across the street setting up their annual yard sale. They never advertise, but we now know that it is always the second Saturday in June. We tend to wander over periodically to see what's there. A couple of years ago I bought several huge bags of romance novels that kept me going to months--there may still be a couple around. David has been over and said that they have hundreds of ring binders, and more Chirstmas decorations than one family could ever use. Since my interest is usually dishes, guess there is no point in going.

I'm still trying to clear out the "junk" in the house. Amber wants it gone before I go. I think I've gone just about as far as I can with the studio. There are still dishes around, and of course, my books. The books will be the biggie ( even bigger than the studio, if you can believe it). Part of the problem is that I keep buying more books. David has taken to donating the novels to the public library, and the tax receipts are welcome. But I ordered three books off Amazon on Wednesday, and they arrived yesterday afternoon. Wow! Talk about service! So now I have some leisurely reading with my morning coffee for a couple of days.

Be - Time flies

I guess it is true that time flies when you are having fun - so, OK, I am not really having fun, but time did fly by and before I knew it, a week went by since my last blog. Shame on me....
And nothing really exciting to tell you about except we bought a rose and planted it. We tried roses before a long time ago but they never wintered over and always died. So this time we went to a real Nursery and bought a really good rose bush. It is a hardy type called Hunter and is a brilliant red, double bloom with " a delicious fragrance set off by clean, glossy dark-green foliage" It is planted, as per instructions, in a sunny spot, which happens to be right in the middle of the garden. I have wild roses growing along the trellis, and a wild rose tree in the back yard that do wonderfully well every year, so heres hoping this rose bush will thrive. I also saw a Russian Olive tree at the Nursery and was tempted but did not buy. When we first moved to this house I bought one and it grew for about three or four years but then died. So I have never tried again, and will likely not ever. We went to a park in the next town today to walk the dog as we frequently do because we do our grocery shopping there at Foodland. We ran into a couple we know who do landscaping - they were making a new town park garden and just about finished it after a few years of evolving. It is a tribute to Tom Thomson from the Group of Seven artists so of course the garden comes complete with a canoe and rocks and water. But the point of my story is to say they told us to drive into their yard on our way home and see their Irises. We had not been to their place before, so took the drive in. They live in a "mansion" on the river and their yard is magnificent complete with ponds and rock gardens etc. They have a long driveway and along both sides are gardens full of every coloured iris - bearded Irises mostly but unbelievable colours including varigated. They are going to split them once they finish blooming and have offered us some if we want. We are tempted to take them up on the offer - just gorgeous!
Well, the weekend is upon us again and Harry will go to his garage sales in the morning but this time I will go along because we have to go up to North Bay to check on Mikes place. I do not get out of the car when he goes to sales, so maybe I better take a book along to keep me company haha. Hope you both have a good weekend and survive some of this less than stellar weather we have been having. It was very damp and cold for a few days although right now the temperature is just fine but it is supposed to rain again tomorrow. At least the fire ban has been lifted so if only I could get out to make a fire in our stove. In the spring I cleaned it all out and prepared it to light but have not been able to because of the dry conditions. Besides, sitting by a nice fire pit all by yourself isn't really much fun! So be warned Cathy that I am looking forward to an evening by the fire when I come. Take care.....

I"m still here

Nothing new to report here. My mind is still going in circles and I still haven't solved any of life's problems. I am giving up the idea of a party in July. You two are the only ones interested. I didn't want a great big party, but I think that just 3 of us is a little bit small. I went to a VCC meeting on Monday, and today I am going into work on a grant. It has been too wet to do anything outside. It may stop raining by the weekend. I really should do some housework, especially since I am at home making a mess. Now I will go into my messy kitchen and see what I can find.

Hi Cathy!

Pati here

What's up?

Other than that, I'm curious about how your plans for an anniversary party are progressing. We still plan to come, but if the party is off, are the dates etc a little more flexible? Will you still need Jeanne's cake for 50?

Brain Fart

I missed your post about Mike's apartment, Beth. How can you say that your life doesn't have its exciting moments? I'm glad you got it sorted out--Mike doesn't need this sort of concern with the life he's leading and the service he performs. I just hope that there aren't anymore surprizes for you.

I missed the post, because for the last two days I've been in bed with a very nasty head cold. I was ill on Friday, but too out of it to go to bed, spent most of yesterday in bed, and am having up times balanced with naps today. Missed Gillian's dance recital yesterday and had to cancel with Amber and the girls for today.

I hope Cathy is relaxing, just as you suggest. But--do you want to bet on it?

OMG! OMG! We actually did it!

Yes, we went out and bought a new sewing machine! On credit, of course. We bought a new Janome 7700. These have just been released within the last few days, and it seems to have all of the features I like so much on my Pfaff. The Pfaff is now 7 years old and has a lot of miles on it. It's starting to show its age. Anyway, the new machine has a much larger space between the needle and the body of the machine ( called the "harp", but I have no idea why). This means that it's a longer machine and won't fit into my cabinet, so we had to order a table to use with it. We got a price break by buying them together. So now we live on KD for the next two years--between teeth and sewing machines.

Be - exciting day but not what was planned

We made a quick trip up to North Bay at 7 am this am with intent to check Mike's place and care for his animals ( he is now training in Borden for G8 Summit) and then come home to do some yard work before the rain comes again. To make a long story short ( if one can!) Mike's landlord went bankrupt and bank has taken over the house and two people from the Property Management on behalf of the holding Bank came to the house about 0830 am. They thought Mike had moved out and the place was vacant. Surprise!! There are 3 apt in this house with Mike on the main floor and only tenant with access to the basement for his storage use. The second floor is vacant but there are tenants on the third floor. We were able to sign the necessary paperwork re: changes to rent payments ( I need to send directly to the holding bank which is in Sask and I have never heard of the name) Also these people changed all the locks on the doors. Since we could not find the key in Mike's place for the basment, they merely hammered off the door lock that was there and replaced it. How easy it is to break into a place if you merely hammer off a lock! They took pictures of the basement and all it's possessions therein including all of Mike's things. I believe I mentioned to you before that Mike has not had hot water for about a month now - now we know that the gas was turned off. So these bank people say that the gas company will come in on Monday to hook it up again. I felt "dirty" in spite of not having anything to do with this situation except as advocates for our son who is a rentor. We were given a key to all the changed locks so we can have access still to check the house for Mike. So with all that was done, and then a bit of shopping we did not get home until about 3:30 pm. That was our quick trip! So once home, we went for a bike ride, and I made supper and here I am just before bed. I may watch the hockey game but the way I feel so wiped right now, I also may just go to bed.
Glad to hear you have your teeth again Patty but the saga seems to go on and on for you - I wish you successful resolution. I enjoyed those Somerset magazines you mentioned and also the book Artist's Way. There is no way I could sit and write three pages of Morning Pages every morning but in my own way, I take time to reflect in a similar manner to the approach of doing Morning Papers even if it is in my minds eye!
Hope you have a great weekend both of you - Cathy I can picture you sittting on your patio gazing at the garden, sipping a nice cold drink, and reading a good book. Good for you!
Take care fornow - talk with you again after the weekend.

teeth

Yes, I finally have my permanent fake teeth. They are very pretty, and fit well. Smooth--I love running my tongue over them. But--the day before I was to go I got a toothache in an entirely different part of my mouth! We had a chat and I said " I'm worried about this being the start of a domino effect" His reply wasn't reassuring--" I hope not!" Anyway, after putting in my teeth, he looked at the new area and found a cavity! I haven't had a cavity in years! Unfortunately it's around and under a crown. So-o-o--we are starting over again. I've maxed out my insurance coverage for the year, so the plan is to remove the crown ( ka-ching) treat the cavity ( probably including a root canel--ka-ching), put on a temporary crown, and try to wait out the next 6 months, until the insurance kicks in again, so we can replace the crown.

So last night, I took a whole bunch of my embroidery stuff to the garage sale at the Embroiderers' Guild. Made about $400! That's as good as I do in a 2 day sale of art! This means that I can buy some more supplies--probably paint and dye and fabric. I bought a copy of Sumerset Studio, for mixed media artists--I think I gave you a couple of back copies, Beth. Boy, has the price of this magazine gone down with the rise in the loonie! I've actually found a couple of techniques I want to try. I have 4 empty cigar boxes that I had put out for the sale yesterday, but I think I'm going to hang onto them and try some mixed media work. I also got a book fromthe library. Over a year ago, I had gone onthe website and recommended this book for purchase. It took awhile, but they bought it, and I'm the first person to read it. This is a great way to decide whether I want to actually buy a book for myself or not.

So I have a few things to keep me busy and off the streets over the next few days, when the forcast is for even more rain!

Be - Rain at last

It is a great feeling to see the rain coming - sparse as it is, at least it is wet and it is watering the gardens, and hopefully it will also relieve the forest fire dangers a bit here is the Northeastern Ontario area.
I am all clean (freshly bathed) and ready to sit and watch Game #3 of the Stanley Cup on TV. So far I have managed to stay up until the end of the second period on both Games 1 and 2, but had to give up both nights and go to bed with tiredness overwhelming me. Tonight I have a new book that I can start and read while I watch the game. I went to the Library this morning - walked up in the rain, and had time to look around a bit and discover a few authors that interested me. I look only in the Large Print section now as I am completely spoiled. The last book I read was a Jonathon Kellerman book ( Bones) that was in regular print and I have to admit to having difficulty getting through it. Have either of you read any Danielle Steele books? There are so many on the shelf that I wonder if they are just "cookie cutter" plots that one would soon tire of reading the same old predicable story?
Well, Harry bought himself an electric bicycle and he takes delivery tomorrow morning. He has had his mind on them for a while now, and he tried one out last Saturday. So Monday, he went to see about them and ordered one. It will be assembled and charged for him. Today, I took my manual bike out for a spin and it felt really energizing for me. I wonder if Harry will want to go for bike rides now every day? I'll let you know how it goes as I am sure you might get a kick out of these bikes, Patty and maybe be of interest to you!
Today I sorted through my clothes to see what I might need for the trip. I have been buying the odd blouse, top or slack every time we go into Recycle Resources or Value Village and by the look of things, I have plenty to choose from. They always say to pack your bag, and then take half of your clothes out before you leave. This holds true for me as I always seem to pack way more clothes than I actually use.
Tomorrow to Mothers again but this time we shall be going after lunch and stay for supper because of Harry going to get his new bike in the morning. It has been raining at her place as well, so that will be good news for her garden. It is all planted and growing nicely but the soil is similar to yours Cathy - very dry and sandy, so needs lots of moisture. The only time it gets watered is when we go.
Take care.......