Trick or Treat

I would have to say that Millie would likely say that this is more of a trick than a treat.

To say that she was NOT impressed with her butterfly Halloween costume would be an understatement.  It was an extra small and STILL too big for her.  And it fastened with velcro and she is terrified of the sound of velcro tearing so getting it off of her wasn't pleasant either.   But at least for a brief moment she stood still so I could get a photo.    But the chance of me ever getting it on her again are slim to none!

Now for the treat.....(hehehe)  I found this photo last night of my very first Halloween.   I was 5 months old here and Auntie dyed a sleeper orange and took me visiting. (all over town apparently)



I actually found that sleeper recently when I was cleaning out some drawers in Mom's room.  She had saved it all those years.   Awwww.......sweet huh?

This year I suspect this is how I will end the evening........

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Hug someone

This was not the post I had intended to write today. It was planned to be a light hearted catch-up post, full of babble and random stories of the past few weeks.

Instead I woke up this morning to learn some very sad news. A dear friends son lost his lengthy battle with cancer. He had just graduated and should have been planning his future. He was courageous and brave since beginning his fight at age 4.

So tonight give someone a hug, call your family or friends, and remember what is truly important in life. And maybe say a little prayer for B's family.

Kim



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The Move - Part 1

You know I've been antsy to get my office moved to the new building. I was scheduled for tomorrow. I started the day being in good shape, roughly 50% packed. I had time and had a plan.

But you know how I sometimes get ahead of myself (and open my big Yap). This morning I casually mentioned that if the schedule moved quicker than expected, I could be ready to go early. (I was kind of bluffing) Well......at 11:30 they advised me that my moving crew would be taking my office things at 1pm.

Oh Crap! Three trips to the basement for extra boxes and literally just throwing in until full and taping up! (Approx 20 boxes). Can you say Hoarder? Lol I was still taping boxes while they were dismantling my desk around me.

It's amazing how much bigger a room looks when it is completely empty. Here is the only pic I took today as the first piece of my desk arrived. The rest of the furniture arrived soon after this.



More pics once I get it all pretty. But for now all the furniture is in and set up and then there is the tiny matter of all those boxes....

My first goal was to get my desk sorted. Now which box has the phone, cords, cables etc...? The very last (yes last) box I opened. How does that always happen? By the time I found that stuff it was almost 4:30 and I was tired and cranky.

Tomorrow I will get to the rest of those boxes! I promise ;)

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The season of change

It's not just the leaves that are changing around here. This month has been a whirlwind of changes. And although, like most, we can be resistant to change, so far they have been kind of exciting.

I would say the election is 99% behind me. There is still the odd form to look after for a few more days. That is just the beginning of the work related changes. We will have 2 new Councillors around the table next month. But the most exciting thing is that we are moving to a new Town Hall.

Today I started the arduous task of packing up 16 years of my work life.




About that "purge" thing......yeah right! You knew that wasn't going to happen. I admit it - I've just been shoving stuff in boxes. No plan, no rational organizational system, just filling boxes with whatever happened to be in reach.



It's going to be a nightmare if I need to find something for the first few days. Lol

I would guess my next post will be after "the move". Sooo excited. I can't wait to show you our new digs.

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The day after

Whew, democracy is exhausting!!  But it's over.  (almost)  There is still the clean up and reports to file etc.  But the main event that has consumed my life lately has passed.

So, in case you are wondering, our Mayor was re-elected last night.  It was a close race with the margin being less than 250 votes.  Of the 5 Councillors who re-offered, 4 were re-elected but sadly one was defeated.  So we will have 2 new faces around the table next month.

Yesterday morning started at  6:50am with a ringing cell phone as I raced out the door and ended at 10:30pm when I dragged my tired body home on swollen throbbing feet.  (But those boots looked fabulous)  However my new election day suit was wasted.  It is the end of October for Pete's sake and the weather was in the 70's.   Certainly not conducive for my outfit which was meant for a late October cool, crisp day.  That fabulous wool tweed jacket was not on me once and the cute turtleneck was torturous.

While we work on election day we usually just grab junk food on the run.  Yesterday 2 of our male coworkers arrived with contributions of a hot, home cooked meal for us.  Awwww, sweet right?
Warm corn bread and a great Philippine inspired rice and chicken dish.   It sure beat the pizza we were planning to order. 

Today I went back to work and tried to clean up some of the mess. The rest of the day involved just doing nothing.  I sure miss my hook, but I think it will be another few days before I pick it up again.  Office moving day for me is scheduled for Thursday.  So after I finish all the election reports it is time to start packing boxes.  It is amazing the crap you accumulate over 16 years.   If I was smart (and had more time) I would purge, but the truth is I probably will just fill boxes.

I sure have missed regular blog posting and reading.   It's great to have some time back!!

2 more sleeps

Hang in there folks. 

Just 2 more sleeps and I'll be back to normal.

(Hahahaha)  OK stop laughing.  I mean, as normal as I ever get.

Thanks for hanging in there with me.

Talk to ya soon!

Delusional and exhausted

Its been a long time between posts.  And I haven't really been reading all your blogs either.  I hope that tomorrow I can catch up. 

It has been busy, busy, busy. As you know I am the Electoral Officer for our town.  And up until today I have operated under the delusion that I had a level of control.  But then today at precisely 12:01pm as the first Advance Poll opened and I watched the first ballot being placed in the box, I realized that it was now out of my control.  Seriously, my stomach did a little flip.  Lol.  For a control freak like me it is always hard to watch that first one.  Now I have to place my trust in the people I have hired to work in the various polling stations.  (another hard part for a control freak)

The last few days have been a flurry of final preparations.  Lots of long hours and then trying to sleep as your mind spins.  See, I am a worry-wart by nature.  But generally that is what makes me so well prepared.  Fingers crossed.   There is one more Advance Poll on Tuesday and then Election day is next Saturday.

So my posts and comments will be sparse for the next week. I will be back to normal in a week.  But for now its good night - I'm exhausted.

Can they hear us?

Did you ever wonder if some our everyday big ticket items like cars or appliances can hear us when we talk? Think about it......doesn't it seem like whenever we talk about having a little extra money something big breaks?

I think they secretly listen and then when no one is around they decide whose turn it is to steal my money! Today, the dryer decided to stop working only minutes after I filled it with wet clothes. And calling a repair man on a holiday......suicide!

I called a few friends and then.....SUPERWOMAN (that's me in case you wondered) fixed it myself! Did you know there are 2 fuses for the dryer........not one, but two. Tah Dah! Fixed and no big bill. Hahaha appliances, I won that round.

Let that be a lesson to the rest of the appliances. Back off - my extra election money is mine!


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Gobble gobble

Happy Thanksgiving! It was a weekend of family and feasting. Like all of you, I have ups and downs in life but I have so much to be thankful for. And while we should count our blessings every day, sometimes we need a quiet day to remember what's important.
And in another thanksgiving tradition, I cleaned out my closet and ended up with 2 garbage bags full of clothes which I dropped off at the charity store.

I am currently sprawled out on the sofa in a turkey induced coma-like state. Here is the culprit.



All the fixings. No Martha Stewart presentation here - we're simple folk! Note the lovely chunk of jelly cranberry blob near the top. Yumm



And the finale. No thanksgiving is complete without pumpkin pie



One last thing I am thankful for........the person who invented Lycra for my thanksgiving stretchy pants ;)

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Fibre walk preview

Today I finished delivering some rugs for the downtown display. I must say the downtown area is looking great for the influx of fibre loving folks next week. Fall decorations and a beautiful renovated park in the centre of town. I think the Fibre Arts festival participants will be happy.

Here are some photos of my hooked pieces for the display. (Part 1). There's probably a few you've never seen before.



I tried to take one outside, looking in the window. Sorry, I couldn't avoid the glare.












The Fall temps arrived today, just in time. Now it feels like Thanksgiving. The turkey is going in the oven tomorrow, and all the trimmings are waiting. I LOVE thanksgiving dinner. I did have to search all over town to get a can of jellied cranberry sauce. I hear some of you laughing and crinkling your noses. I hate than lumpy cranberry stuff - blechh! Me, I enjoy that slurping plop the jelly makes when it comes out of the can.
AND I know I am not alone because there was lots of that yucky whole berry sauce still on the store shelves!

I've got my thanksgiving pants ready!

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Hi Lady......

Happy Friday everyone. I have to tell you what made me smile tonight. I went to Walmart for munchies and as I was walking towards my car a woman was walking towards me with a little boy about 2 or 3 years old.
This adorable boy looks up and says "Hi Lady". I smiled and said hello and then he grins this enormous smile and says "I love you". Awwwww. His Mom and I burst out laughing. He looked so proud of himself. She's gonna have her hands full in a few years - he's a real little flirt!

Tonight I've been gathering up some hooked rugs for my little display for the Fibre Arts Festival. Once they are displayed I will take some pictures. I even borrowed a few back that were gifts :). I'm excited. Next week this little town will be overrun with hookers! I won't be able to take in any of the classes but will try to get to the fibre market.

This is the Thanksgiving weekend in Canada. I've got to start working on my thankful list. Oh, and defrosting out turkey. (And digging out my fat pants for after dinner)

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Mid week madness

I can't believe I haven't posted since Sunday.  Especially since I have written 4 or 5 posts in my head.  But my hands can't seem to keep up with my head these days. 

I haven't been keeping up with all of you as much as I would like.  I am reading your posts but haven't been commenting as much.  I promise as soon as the election is over at the end of the month, I will have more time for myself and get back to regular blog activity.

The election work, plus my regular work, has gone crazy this last week.  My "quiet" little campaign has gone wild.  All of a sudden everyone has gone into high gear.   I think they are trying to push me over the edge!  Lol

Last night was the candidates debate in town.  I decided it was best for me not to attend.  I was curious (well, nosey really) but I know I cannot control my face.  My eyes tend to roll around without me even realizing it.  And if I get frustrated at something I hear I tend to make faces.  Probably best for the election officer not to be seen publically making bad faces :)   So instead, I went to a friends house for martini's.   Much better idea!

Then home to watch Dancing with the Stars.  At least when I'm watching TV they can't see my roll my eyes!   Did you watch last night?  Were you as annoyed with the results as I was??  I thought I would like the All Star season but it is brutal.

I am close to finishing the little hooked rug.  I hope to get it done before the weekend.  Next week starts the Fibre Arts Festival downtown.  Some of my pieces are going to be featured at Flow Lifestyle Boutique.  I'm kind of excited.  When Stephanie gets them displayed I will take some pictures. 

OK, this is bad to admit but here it is.......this weekend is our Thanksgiving weekend.  The time is flying by so quickly I didn't even realize it.  And Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  How does one forget that???  I think I need to start making my thankful list.