Are you sure??

No, I am not losing my mind.  I know it's Tuesday.

But it sure felt like a Monday.

A long, long, work day Monday

At mid afternoon a random thought popped into my mind. 

You know when that happens and you just can't talk yourself out of it......

So as soon as work is over.....

You give in to the random thought



Happy Un-Monday

'Nuff said

Boredom breeds productivity

It's not something I say very often but today I was bored.  Too much talk of Irene for days and I have been glued to the news reports on the storm all weekend.   Why?  Who knows. 

I spent a lot of the day on-line with family in Vermont and Massachusetts.  They are OK.  Some minor problems with their homes and properties but nothing too bad.  It was humid and calm here all day with rain on and off.  The wind is starting to pick up now but Irene has pretty much tired herself out by the time she passes over us later tonight.

As I said, the boredom led to lots of munching.  Good thing the major storm threat has passed because I have eaten through most of my emergency junk food.  I even sampled some of the emergency bottle of wine this afternoon :)   Well........I was bored.

It got so bad that I resorted to finishing the snowman rug AND I even whipped it.   Now you know it was bad because I hate whipping and finishing the rugs.

Now that I look at the picture, I notice a wonky snowflake.  It was one of the first experimental ones and it appears I forgot to re-work it.  Hmmmm, maybe the recipient won't notice???



A late bloomer

Todays weather was certainly not an indication that "Irene" is on her way.  It was a beautiful sunny late summer day.   Not so for some of you along the eastern US coast.  I have been watching the news reports and hope Irene continues to weaken. 

We are not in a direct line of her path but are still going to be affected by the outer bands of the storm by this time tomorrow.   Wind and rain warnings have already been issued here.  I have taken all the outside furniture inside and tied everything else down.

I noticed this late bloomer in the planter a few days ago and decided I better take a photo before it drowns or blows away.  The 2nd sunflower has finally bloomed.



5 Weasels and a Rainbow

Let's start at the beginning. 

I had the best sleep last night.  The window was wide open beside my bed and the cool breeze was gently blowing in.  It was a perfect sleeping night.  Just the right temperature. 

I was lying there this morning, barely conscious and thinking of how the feeling of the breeze blowing across my face reminded me of years ago napping on the deck of a sailboat, and how relaxed I was at the time, listening to the waves lap against the side of the boat, the smell of the fresh air. 

It was perfect.    I gently rolled over and glanced at the clock with half closed eyes - still in my delusional state of happiness........

7:50am.....................Nooooooooo it can't be.  I snatched up the clock for a closer look............

OMG   I have to be at work at 8:00am.   Holy Crap - I flew out of that bed like it was on fire.   Lets just say the next few minutes were not pretty.   There were clothes flying though the air,  a very confused dog on the edge of the bed,  2 quick swipes of eye liner and I was down the stairs.  I HATE being late for anything.  And when your day starts off late it has a ripple effect throughout the rest of the day.   I was all discombobulated.  I was all sixes and sevens.  (lol  Thanks Kim H) 

I'm not sure how I did it but I arrived at the office at 8:05am - disheveled but there.  And naturally today was Mom's day care.  So I again had to rush and leave work for 20 minutes around 10am to pick her up and deliver her.  There is a gentleman that attends as well, younger - not an Alzheimers patient but he has his own issues.  For privacy sake I will call him Tom. 

Tom has limited abilities but he always has a small story he wants to share when he arrives.  I love him, he is very sweet and I always try to make time for him.  But today, as you know, time was a bit of an issue for me.  His usual stories are brief -  "Did you see the tornado on the news? .......or Guess what - I saw a deer last night  etc.  

Not today - Today he was just back from a 3 day vacation with his family.  He had to tell us every single detail.  And sometimes he has trouble finding the right word - which extends the length of the story.    Oh dear,  I'm smiling and nodding and uh huh-ing , all the while going from foot to foot thinking  Come on, I have to get back to work.   Just when you think he is finished......he has another part and another part. 

I'm trying to listen and edge my way towards the door.  Now, I bet by now you are wondering what any of this has to do with the title for this post -  well I'm getting there.    Finally, he gets to the end - well I think it was the end because that is when I made my escape.   While he was on the ferry boat........He saw 5 weasels and a rainbow. 

Fifteen minutes later and several thousand of my shattered nerves and that my friends is the story.

Cheaper than therapy

Why spend thousands of dollars to some wacky therapist when a couple of hours at the hair salon will do the trick? 

Two hours of girl talk, laughter, and maybe a little harmless gossip is good for the soul. 

My history in Brenda's chair goes way back.  I started going to her when I was in high school, so you know that was awhile ago. 

I've had several "brief affairs" with other hair stylists over the years but I am always drawn back to Brenda.  We have a history.  Together we have been through bad cuts, worse color experiments and a nasty incident with my bangs and some wayward scissors that although happened over 10 years ago, we still talk about.  Yes......it was that bad!   We are friends.  And she has that dark and twisty sense of humour that matches mine.  I look forward to our "therapy" sessions every 5  weeks. 

I am making a little progress on my rug.   I want to get it over with.  Not sure why I thought about hooking a snowman/winter scene in August?   I think it will be a Christmas gift, so I will be happy in December that I won't be rushed on a deadline. But right now, it's bugging me. 

 The snowflakes are being a pain.  I have tried yarn and it looked terrible and then tried several different smaller cut sizes.  They are still not the way I want but I only have the patience to fuss for so long then I have to move on.   I think they will be OK when it is all hooked.  I'll re-assess them later.

P.S.  I'm over the Mad Cow episode and all the other staff survived!

Mad Cow?

Today I had a brief case of Mad Cow Disease.  I don't often blog about work related things but I thought I would share this today.

We have a regular meeting called Committee of the Whole - or as we call it COW for short.   The staff member who usually puts together the information package is on vacation.  So last night around 10:30pm I had a message from my boss with a heads up that I needed to prepare the documents this morning for distribution by the end of the day.

Its always been an inside joke at the office that you need to take cover on the day the COW package is being prepared.  It is stressful and not a fun job.  And whoever is doing it is NOT in a good mood that day.

So this morning I decided to get it over with first thing.  I went to the shared folder to retrieve the documents and begin to edit them.   Guess what??  The folder was empty.   And the symptoms of my Mad Cow began to surface. 

The next couple of hours involve a lot of calling, emailing, nagging, begging, muttering bad words and eventually getting everything ready.    I had it approved by the boss before 2pm.  

But the funniest part of the day was around 3pm when one of the staff stuck her head in my office and said  "I know you are busy, but when you are over your Mad Cow thing, I have a story"     I had to bust out laughing.  She was holding it in all day but sometimes you just gotta get a story off your chest, even if you have to encounter a Mad Cow. 

Simple - Part Two

Another beautiful day.  Seems like summer has finally appeared - better late than never.

During our  wet damp Spring I had visions of spending summer days sitting on the deck in the sun, reading, relaxing etc.  I even positioned the birdhouse so I could see it while I was on the deck.   Just a simple thing, but I had a relaxing summer plan.

Well, we all know how that worked out.  I supposed I could have sat out alot this summer under a tarp to stay dry! 

This morning was perfect - just as I had imagined.  So without wasting any time............

I enjoyed a couple of morning cups of coffee and finished reading The Secret Life of Bees.  I enjoyed it and just downloaded One Day by David Nicholls.

Because some of the things I bought yesterday are gifts I am not going to show them here but I do want to show you the simple touches that the owner of Sweet Briar Boutique uses to decorate her packages.

She uses old magazines and catalogs to create bows to decorate a simple brown paper shopping bag.

So cute and so simple.  She also uses magazine pages to wrap small pieces like jewellry.  Add a few cute decorated clothes pins and look how cute her packages are......

Just a little simple can make a big difference.   We all need more simple. 

A Simple Day

Sometimes the best days are so simple.  I took the afternoon off work.  Since I got called into work for a few hours while I was on vacation, and the sun was shining, I needed to do something - for me. 

It is amazing what a few days of sunshine in a row can do for a person's mood.   This is only the 2nd time this summer that we have had 3 nice days in a row.

We went for a drive to Parrsboro, through the countryside.  No need to hurry, no schedule, and no dramas. 

We arriving at the restaurant for lunch,  and as we walked in the door a table at the back was wildly waving.  It was my cousin and her husband.  They were playing hooky for the afternoon too.  We had a little catch-up chat.  We live in the same town and rarely bump into each other. 

After lunch we headed to our favorite little boutique.  I started my Christmas shopping.  (I know, its shocking!)  In fact, I really started last week when I purchased gifts for 3 people.  I'm so proud of myself.    Today I added 2 more Christmas gifts and a birthday gift for a friend in September.   The owner was laughing at me, because she said "this is the first time you haven't bought a piece of jewellry for yourself."  It is true.  But........Shhhhhh - I pointed out a necklace I liked to Auntie and I saw her later slip it to Joan to wrap up.  Merry Christmas to me!   Hehehehe  But I didn't let on I saw any of this.  I will be so surprised when I open it.  Lol

On the way home we stopped at a new little market that sells fruit, veggies, baking, crafts etc.   I bought some beautiful yellow string beans for supper.  Since we were parked right in front, I left Mom in the car.  After a couple minutes a woman came out of the building.  It was an old friend of mine I hadn't seen in a long time.  She always loved Mom.   Before I knew it she had the car door open and was kneeling on the pavement having a chat with Mom.   Poor Mom doesn't really talk anymore but my friend carried the conversation.  I just stood back and watched for a minutes.   It made me happy.    And I could tell by the look on my friends face that it made her happy to see Mom too.

It was such a simple day but it was so pleasant.  I don't know why, but I seem to get so touched when people show special kindness to Mom. 

A great day. 

Evil Genius for Hire?? Any takers??

OK, sometimes you gotta wonder about people.  This morning a co-worker sent me a link to an advertisement on Kijiji (a Canadian Craigs List).

This was an actual posting.  Luckily I printed it as soon as I read it, because it was too good not to save.  I tried to send a friend the link this afternoon but the ad has since been pulled.    Here is the ad - verbatim from what I printed.

"Nemesis required.  6 - month project with possibility to extend"

I've been trying to think of ways to spice up my life.  I'm 35 years old, happily married with two kids and I have a good job in insurance.  But somethings missing.  I feel like I'm old before my time.  I need to inject some excitement into my daily routine through my arm before its too late.  I need a challenge, something to get the adrenaline pumping again.  An addiction would be nice, but, in short, I need a nemesis.  I'm willing to pay $350 up front for your services as an arch enemy over the next six months.   Nothing crazy.  Steal my parking space, knock my coffee over, trip me when I'm running to catch the BART and occasionally whisper in my ear "Ahhhh, we meet again."    That kind of thing.   Just keep me on my toes.  Complacency will be the death of me.  You need to have an evil streak and be blessed with innate guile and cunning.  You should also be adept at inconspicuous pursuit.  Evil laugh preferred.  Send me a photo and a brief explanation why you would be a good nemesis.  British accent preferred.

OK folks,  just how darn bored with your life do you have to be to post an online ad inviting this stranger into your life?  

There have been some famous hero - nemesis partnerships

Superman and Lex Luther

Batman and the Joker

Spider-Man and Dr. Octopus

So now I have to wonder if he got any responses.  And then of course my dark twisty mind went to work thinking about what kinds of things his nemesis could do to spice up this poor lonely (naive) guys life.  I thought his suggestions in the ad were a little tame (or lame)

Lets see,  Get the the $350 up front and then steal the guys car, leave it in the yard of a local House of Ill-repute and report it stolen.    Ummmm, steal his credit card, buy sexy lingerie, send it to his wife at home with another womans name on the card.     Ahhhh, hack his work email account and send imappropriate emails to the boss's wife.    Well......they guy said he wanted to spice up his life..............

I did consider applying (briefly).   I practiced my evil laugh all day  Muwahhahhahaha

Any other suggested activities for a pure evil nemesis?   I know I have lots of readers here with dark twisty minds like mine.  Suggestions??

Just think - this guy could be following YOU around

Bad decisions

Brace yourself, I feel a rant coming over me.  There are a couple of things today that have prompted this rant.  I'm wondering when it became so popular to make bad decisions.  Has society slid so far off the path?

First, this bizarre trend towards reality TV shows.  Not all qualify for this post but there are some that leave me scratching my head.  I stand before you and state that I have NEVER watched an episode of The Bachelor or The Bachelorette.  My primary source of knowledge is from news stories, commercial promos or water cooler talk at the office.   I have never understood young women (or men for that matter) that compete on televison to "test drive" 25 strangers over a period of a few weeks to find their life mate.   And once the show is over and the relationship shockingly collapses, everyone is shocked that it didn't work out.   Seriously???

Tonight I watched a promo for The Bachelor Pad.  I don't know enough about the show to explain the premise accurately but I think its similar to the Bachelor but along with all the "test driving" there is a bonus of $250,000 to the winner.  The part of the news story that horrified me was the women were lined up in bikinis while the men pelted the ugliest one with paint filled eggs.   Again, I ask........Seriously??   Humilation, degradation, etc  but Hey, there's a quarter million on the line so I guess its OK .    Bahhhhhh.

Rant - Part 2

Yesterday a young woman fell to her death at Niagara Falls.  She was sitting on the railing, with her legs hanging over, to get her photo taken and lost her balance.  There are signs, warnings, security etc, yet people continue to hang over the railing.  So today, naturally there were multiple news crews on the site to cover the tragedy as searchers continue to look for her body.  A reporter captured another young woman doing the exact same thing.  She was maybe 20-25 years old.   He asked her if she had heard of the tragedy.  Yes, she says she heard about it.   So he then asks her why she would do the same thing today, knowing the risks.   She smiles, giggles and says well "I feel bad but I just wanted a quick picture and its no big deal".   NO BIG DEAL.............Seriously???

Each year during Hurricane/Tropical Storm season, dozens of people flock to Peggy's Cove to watch the ferocious waves crash up on the rocks around the famous lighthouse.  There are warnings and depending on the severity of the storm,  Police Officers have been placed there to deter people from putting their lives in danger.   Every single year someone gets swept into the sea, and rescuers risk their own lifes to save these morons.  Last year, a rescuer lost his life trying to save someone who refused to heed the warnings.

OK, that's enough.  I'm done ranting for tonight.  I wonder if this train of thought has anything to do with the longest Monday afer vacation ever??  Yes, it was not an easy first day back to work.  :)     

Butterflies and Blueberries

My last day of summer vacation ended on a high note.   Thank goodness, because the past 2 weeks have been less than stellar.

But today I spent with a special group of friends. Today was the third anniversary of the loss of a special friend.  One of his wishes was that his friends and family get together each year on this day. 

His parents host the event and, as per Tim's hope, it is less of a sad day when we are all together laughing and sharing.  Having his two little girls running around entertaining us doesn't hurt either. 

The girls (his girls) decided 3 years ago that their Dad was now a butterfly so the symbol is everywhere. His sister and I exchange something each year.  This year I received a beautiful pair of butterfly earrings from her. 

Before I left, Tim's Mom told me she had something in the kitchen for me ----  a 2 litre ice cream container filled with fresh blueberries she hand picked yesterday.  Not a leaf or a twig in the container.  And these are not those large high bush berries - they are the small sweet low bush berries.  It must have taken her hours to fill that container.  I felt a little guilty taking them but she said if I left without them she would kill me!    Now, what will I make with them??

It was a perfect day with great friends.   It might make going back to work tomorrow a little less painful.  Why is it the last night of vacation feels like "dead man walking"?

Is it a UFO?

Something very strange and foreign appeared in the sky yesterday.  It was very confusing for a little while. 

You could see people everywhere going outside and looking up at the sky.

What could it be???     Holy crap ------it's the SUN

We haven't seen that around here for at least 2 weeks, which would coincidentally be the exact time period that I have been on vacation.   Two solid weeks of rain or drizzle.  Bahhhhh.

But yesterday the sun appeared and believe it or not - its here again today.   Yesterday I grabbed the opportunity to sit out on a friends deck, eat Sugar Shack cinnamon buns and drink a little Bailey's infused coffee for several hours.   Mmmm, now this is what vacation is supposed to feel like. 

Tomorrow is an annual party at a friends house.  The forecast is great and I expect to be lounging pool side and eating way to much with a bunch of great people. 

It's a little ironic that since the weather has turned more summer-like, that I started hooking a new pattern - very un-summer like  --  a snowman

I just noticed looking at the picture that he has one huge eye.  Guess I'll have to fix that later.

Update on the Kitties:   I have not seen them or the Momma since that one day.   I haven't even seen them anywhere in the neighborhood.  So I think that they must have escaped from their home that day for a little adventure.  I don't think there was any foul play - just an open door and a brief opportunity for freedom.

Well, I have to go outside now and enjoy that large yellow ball in the sky. 

Maggie's Starfish

First, an update on Hobo Kitty (a name I have borrowed from Kim at My Field of Dreams)  After feeding time on the lawn ended, Momma Hobo Kitty and the kittens trotted off.  I haven't seen them since.  First thing I did this morning was check the back deck but since it is pouring rain, I'm guessing Momma has the kittens somewhere safe and dry.

And for those of you who thought I might actually lose my mind completely and keep them .............NO, that was never going to happen.   If they do start hanging around on a regular basis I will be developing a relocation program. 

The photo at the beginning of this post is one of my favorites.  I have never seen a starfish bleach out like this before.   Last year I place it on a large clam shell on the picnic table to dry and this is what happened.   I thought I would show it again, as I think of it when I look at my latest completed starfish rug.

I finished the whipping last night and it is ready to be shipped to sweet Maggie.   I hope she likes it.

I always find myself a little lost at the end of a project so what I usually do is knit a few of those crazy dishcloths until I am ready to decide on a new rug.   Yesterday while checking blogs I found a pattern for a round dishcloth on Miss The Sea's blog.   I had made a few of them years ago and then lost the pattern.  So I tried another one. 

As mentioned, it is pouring rain here so I am going to have to amuse myself indoors today.  I did buy a new hooking pattern but I'm not sure if I am in the mood to hook a snowman today.    Seems like quite a stretch to go from starfish to snowmen in a 24 hour period. 

Kitty Bed and Breakfast??

After discovering the 2 kittens napping and relaxing on the deck this morning, I later found this scene.....

.....Breakfast

When did my back yard turn into a Kitty Bed and Breakfast??

Morning visitors

Look at what I found on my back deck this morning

There they were, making themselves comfortable.

 Miss Millie -  the Wonder Dog is not going to be impressed.

P.S.  If you are missing 2 kittens please come and get them before they get too comfortable on my deck!



Tah Dah.................

OK, the moment we have all been waiting for.........(quite possible a massive exaggeration there folks)

THE SUNFLOWER HAS BLOOMED

The object of much mocking amongst my family is now revealed.  Finally

Its hard to believe I have waited since Easter for this one little fella.  LOL

Hmmm, someone or something else likes it too.  They have been snacking on my baby. 

Oh well, I have broken the curse ------- I can now prove that I CAN actually grow something. 

Happy weekend!!

Small towns

I love living in a small town.  You can go just about anywhere here and see someone you know, have a little chat and/or a laugh. 

The great thing about where I live is that you can get those same small town connections in surrounding communities as well as your own hometown. 

Today we took a little road trip to Parrsboro, a tiny little town (population 1401) on the Bay of Fundy.   I love to visit Joan, the owner of the Sweet Briar Boutique.  (the picture above is a Joy Laking watercolor print of the front of the boutique).   It is worth the hour drive to this little store.   It is just a tiny 5 room boutique but Joan fills it with the greatest things.   I don't think I have ever worn a piece of jewellry from there without receiving a compliment on it.  And when I tell people I got it in Parrsboro, they all have the same shocked expression. Really??? 

We have been making this a regular stop for several years and have developed a relationship.  Walking through the door is like visiting an old friend.   This is the type of store I call a "breakable store" which means that I have to watch Mom extra careful.  As soon as we enter, Joan knows that I spend more money if I don't have to watch Mom (lol) so she has a special chair by the cash register and keeps Mom amused so I can focus on what I do best ------ retail therapy. 

This is a sample of todays goodies.  A cute little beaded change purse and a funky scarf with metal embellishments.  They had every color and it was a tough decision but black goes with everything.

And I couldn't leave without another necklace.  This photo does not do it justice.  It is much cuter in person and it has so many different colors I can wear it with anything.



And before I left Joan whispered a little secret in my ear.......She is going to Toronto on a buying trip next week.  Sooooooo that means if I go back in a couple of weeks there will be tons of new stuff.  Hmmmm, new fall leather purses !   

I'll keep you posted.  :)

Giveaway winner

  Better late than never.   I'm not sure where my head is lately.  For some strange reason I thought I posted the giveaway on a Wednesday so when I looked this morning......ooops. 

Apparently I was supposed to do the draw last night.   Clearly that didn't happen.  And I almost didn't post tonight because we have been having a terrible, wild thunder and lightening storm for the past few hours.   Yes, I said hours.   It seems to have taken a little break so I'll sneak on the computer. 

If you are wondering, Millie the wonder dog has been burrowed under a blanket next to my legs shivering since it started.  Such a brave little girl --- Not!

Oh yeah, I bet you are wondering who won the starfish.  (I'm so easily distracted).  I did the draw "old school" because with the extra entries some of you "earned" it was getting to much for my brain to keep track of numbers.  So it became a game of scraps of paper.  

And the winner is....... Maggie GRANDMA YELLOW HAIR  from Just Between You and Me. 

I am so pleased because Maggie has been a long time follower and she has been having a rough time lately.  I hope that this might brighten her day. 

Thank you to all of you who entered this giveaway and mentioned it on your blogs.  Its always fun to do these so maybe there will be another one before too long.