Small town road rage

I had the afternoon off today as Mom was getting another in-home assessment.  All went well and I think we have all the scheduling issues straightened out.  And this morning was the first day that home support came in the morning to get Mom out of bed and downstairs.  Auntie is still grumbling but I am no longer afraid they will both be a crumpled heap at the bottom of the stairs.   It's all good! 

We had a small chicken for lunch. I haven't made soup in a long time and since I had a few free hours I decided to make one with the rack.  I needed a few items at the store.  I driving through the parking lot and I see a space.  Just as I'm starting to turn in, some big ass vehicle drives through, stealing my space!   Oooooh, I was fuming.  

I uttered a few choice profanities and drove a few spaces ahead and parked.  Still muttering under my breath.  And I realize that we are both probably going to be walking across the lot at the same time so I decide to just walk straight ahead and avoid the temptation to give a glaring stink eye.

As I'm stomping across the lot I suddenly hear a giggle behind me and voice says "Oopsie, did I steal your space?"   It was my good friend Carol.  The two of us start laughing and teasing each other.  She said she saw my lips moving in the car and could only imagine what I was saying.  Then we planned the next happy hour get-together.   I guess that's Road Rage in a small town. 

LOL.   (This didn't happen but it's too funny)    

No rug hooking tonight.  Going to be glued to Dancing With The Stars again.   Oh, and here is lunch tomorrow.  The smell in the kitchen while it simmered was amazing.  Fall Comfort Food Season is upon us. 

Sweet Dreams

Not a chance!!  We have a little habit of watching the headlines of the news at 11pm as we are getting Mom ready for bed.  Last night, just before I went to bed, in the dark - the news reported a story of a creepy clown terrorizing a small town in England.  

Seriously!!!  That is the LAST thing I want to see before bed.  He dresses up like Pennywise from Stephen King's IT.  His identity is unknown but he goes to different locations and posts the pics on Facebook and he uses the same catchphrase "beep beep".  Shudder

Here is one of the news stories about it.  http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/just-harmless-fun-the-creepy-clown-of-northampton-speaks-outbeep-beep-8826179.html

Or just google - creepy clown England.   There was even one report where he knocked on a woman's door and wanted to paint something (although he had no painting materials)

Ok, if I opened my door at night and Pennywise was there I would lose all control of my bodily functions.  I would probably pee my pants.  Actually, peeing my pants would likely be the best case scenario in that instance! 

This was one of his Facebook posts. Clearly someone is England is "off their meds".   What would possess someone to do this??  CREEPY

It's not good to watch the news before bed.  And needless to say I won't be visiting England anytime soon.   

An opening and a new name

This morning was the official opening of Deanne Fitzpatricks new Electric Street Knitting Room.  When you walked in you were greeted by the huge, beautiful bouquet of flowers.   Sadly, this was the only photo I took but as you wandered around the corner to the new knitting room, that's where all the fun was.  There were lots of knitters scattered around and walls and shelves and baskets full of yarn.  Lots and lots of beautiful yarns.  It's great to see a local business woman succeed and expand her market. 

The other news is that I have changed the name of my Etsy store.  You can still access it from my sidebar on the right or search for Pleasant Hill Studio.

Friday Night Lights

The warm flicker of a fireplace on a chilly Friday night.  Pretty cozy eh?   Very happy the weekend is here and we are all relaxing and happy.  Yay!  

I even brought out the hooking frame tonight.  It's the first night in a long time.  I'm not accomplishing much but it's nice to hold the hook again.  I could probably hook more if I put down the iPad.....:)

It's such a small section but it seems to be taking forever.  The other great thing about tonight is discovering these

Yumm!  I think it has moved up the ranks of my favorite cookie.  I stumbled upon them at the grocery store while I scooped up a couple of turkey's for the freezer.  They we're buy one, get one free.  So we are set for thanksgiving in a couple of weeks.  Not like the year I forgot to buy a turkey and ran through the store like a crazed lunatic the night before!

And last but certainly not least, Miss Millie is sure enjoying her spot directly across from the fireplace.  She's killing comfort for sure.

It just gets weirder

In the category of "strange but true" - this is my life!   I should have known better than to trust things were working out.  I foolishly bragged about getting Moms new care schedule straight.  Today when I dropped her off at day care they informed me that the day had changed for the added day.  It would be on Tuesdays and Thursdays, not Wednesday.    So now I will have to change her schedule AGAIN.  It will be OK, just another bunch of phone calls and another pain in my arse. 

And it seems my Pepe played a little trick on me.  Tonight when I got home from work, my neighbor across the street came out and was trying to get my attention.  To be honest I was tired and not in the mood for neighborly chit chat but she was toddling across the street anyways. 

She's saying something about a skunk.  As she got closer I said Yes, I have seen a skunk in my backyard but not for several days.  Noooo, she says -- last night!  She tells me she was looking out her window when I took "the little dog" out to pee.  She says the skunk was in the front yard and while we were "doing our business" the skunk was walking towards us.  She was all flustered and said she thought about yelling at me out the window but was scared she might startle it and it would spray.  She said just as she started to panic, I brought "the little dog" inside.   So now that I think about it, I'm not sure if she was more worried about me getting sprayed or "the little dog". 

That bleeping skunk was sneaking up behind me!!   This means war 

Success and a literacy question

Things are looking up.  Our new care plan has been approved and will begin on Monday!  So that should take some of the pressure off.  It is such a huge relief.  We shuffled somethings around and I had to make a few adjustments in my work schedule but I think it's going to work.  Auntie isn't complaining too loudly either.  We have another in-home assessment Monday. I'm feeling positive. 

Now here is my big literacy question.  Can skunks read??  Seriously, I think my Pepe Le Pew can read.

  After nightly visits for weeks, ever since my last post when I "threatened" his existence, he has vanished.  Completely MIA.  Not one sighting, not one hole, not one whiff of stink.  POOF.....gone. 

I think he reads my blog!!  I have this image that he has scavenged a smart phone from someone's yard, and is huddled in his den, stealing the neighbors wireless and surfing the web.  I mean, how else can you explain his disappearance? He knows I'm after him and that I mean business. Pepe is running scared!    The only other explanation is that he discovered netflix and is watching Breaking Bad from season 1 to the end :) 

That's all the news for now.  I still have a little hooking to finish and I've added a few new items to my Etsy store.  (Hint, hint)  and I'm thinking of changing the name of my etsy store.  No firm ideas yet, just playing with some ideas.  

Raising a new flag

First, I cannot tell you how much I appreciate all of you.  The comments and private emails on my last post were truly touching.  They meant so much and I read them over several times.  If I didn't get to respond to you, please know that your words and thoughts helped.  

I did have a little meltdown.  I admit it, I raised the white flag in surrender

All the fight had left me and I was gave in to it.  Kind of like a turtle retreating into its shell.  Even throughout Friday I still felt fragile - clinging to the edge by my fingernails.   And then, after a really good sleep last night, I woke up and felt stronger.  More like myself.

So I ripped down that wimpy white flag and raised the checkered flags.  The race was back on

I'm not one to just do nothing when there is a problem.  And after lunch I informed Auntie that things had to change.  She could keep fighting it but it WAS going to happen.  I did get a weak concession from her.  But I'll take whatever I can get.  The truth is, I think my little "episode" scared her too.  She has been a bit more accommodating the past few days. I am grateful.  

So this afternoon I put my head down and worked out what I think is a new care plan for Mom.  It will address some of the major issues and cause the minimum of disruption to Auntie.  Now I have to discuss my proposed changes with our Care Coordinator this week.  I'm hoping she is able to make it happen.  She has been a wonderful support for us all along this process so I'm not really concerned.  I think the new plan is reasonable.  

Now that I'm feeling better it's also time to tackle another problem.  That bleeping skunk seems to have made a den somewhere in the vicinity of my yard.  He (or she) is a regular visitor.  Every friggin night.  By dusk the backyard is now off limits to us.  Last night at 9pm when I got home from the store, there he was.  By 11pm when it was time to take Millie out, I assumed he'd be gone.  After all, it was 2 hours.    Nope, still there.   It's time to take matters into my own hands.  Oh and if you're wondering, all the things the internet says repel skunks are wrong!  Moth balls and ammonia soaked rags......HAHAHA. No effect.  I think it actually attracts, not repels.  

So let's just say I have a plan.  The details......Classified.  The mission is on a  need-to-know basis.  But I'm gonna win!

Pepe Le Pew will (hopefully) be Pepe Le Gone soon

1 - 2 - 3 ....where's my eggs?

The weekend was.....well, interesting.  Ok, maybe not interesting but eventful.  Actually it was more like a triple threat.   A little stomach virus cycled through the house, knocking out each one of us in succession.  1 - 2 - 3 all in a row.  One Friday, one Saturday, and one Sunday.  Luckily it was only a 24 hour thing for each of us.  

You know how it is after you've been sick.  Last night my stomach was still a little dodgy so i didn't dare eat much but I knew I'd be hungry in the morning.   I had my heart set on breakfast.  I went to bed dreaming about the bacon and egg biscuit I was going to devour in a few hours.  So yummy with cheese and a little sauce.  Mmmm

This morning I felt better so I jumped in the car to get my breakfast.  I got home, my mouth watering as I unwrapped it.  And THIS is what I found

I guess someone in the kitchen got distracted while making my order.  All I got was a dried up biscuit with a few strips of bacon.  Who stole my eggs?  Where's my cheese?   Well, that sure burst my balloon!  I know I should have driven back and complained but I didn't. 

I didn't get around to many blogs this weekend. Basically if I wasn't in the bathroom, I was cleaning it! The upside is that we are all feeling better this evening.  And I think I've cleaned every surface we may have touched with Lysol.  I think the cycle has ended.   

My worst nightmare

Yes, it's Friday the 13th and what do you think are the odds that I would encounter my biggest fear??  I was sitting in my office, oblivious to the nightmare going on just below me.  I went downstairs to get a coffee and saw this......

Eeeeeek!  And there wasn't just one in my lobby - Noooo, there was half a dozen!  I hate clowns!!!  I stopped at the front desk for a minute to chat with a few staff members and express my friday the 13th distress.  The receptionist kind of looked at me and gestured over my shoulder like there was someone behind me.  I thought it was one of THEM.  I jumped about 2 feet in the air.  That was mean.   Lol   The next time there is a Shriners convention, I'm leaving town. 

There was another incident this week that I was saving for today.  See, clowns are not my only fear.  Old antique dolls freak me out.  Maybe it's from that creepy Chuckie doll but I just think they're creepy.  The other day I was visiting someone who was clearing out a home after a family members death.  We were looking at antiques etc and they wanted to show me something they had found.  (I really wish they hadn't). 

It was a doll that belonged to his father. We guess it to be about 100 years old.  They put it in my hand.....against my will I might add.  I didn't take a picture but it kind of looked like this

 But the really creepy part was it only had one eye, yet the face had no marks or scratches.  What happened to the eye??  It was just gone.  It creeped me out.  And since we are on the topic and I'm confessing all my weirdness, these also scare me

Whenever I see really old baby shoes I think that some dead baby is hovering around looking for its lost  shoes.  

Now that i have confirmed what many of you have suspected...I'm a little crazy, what are your Friday the 13th issues?

Unfair

There has been a crap load of stuff going on here but I have decided not to go there tonight.  But I can't promise it won't surface here eventually :)

Instead this post is about shopping!  And a sore point I have about it.  You know I like to shop and I'm sure you've heard about Canadian shoppers flocking across the border to the US for bargains.   I'm sure everyone who lives in the New England is familiar with us greedy Canadian shoppers. 

Now I'm going to share why.  This was prompted by a fun email exchange I had last night with an American blog friend.  She emailed me a link to a pair of boots.  Seriously gorgeous boots!  She knew exactly my style.   I told her I loved them but not for $569.   She quickly replied, No, they are $389.  So I double checked again.  Nope - still $569.   They are priced differently on the Canadian and US site of the same store!   That is a $180 difference.  INSANITY.   

I looked at a different style boot, same store.  Canadian page $639.   US page $448.  That's a $191 difference.  

When my Vermont family visits every summer they always say the same thing after going for groceries. "How do you afford to eat with these high prices?"  So I thought I would share a few samples of the prices at my grocery store for basic staples.   

4 litres of milk (close to a US gallon) - $7.80

1 loaf of Ben's white bread - $3.49

1 box of Oatmeal Crisp cereal (regular size NOT family size) - $5.29

1 pound of butter - $5.19

1 block of Cracker Barrel cheddar cheese (almost a pound) - $8.99

Honestly I cannot understand the wide variance in prices.   So now you may understand a bit better why you see so many Canadians across the border.  

P.S.  as HOT as those boots were, I am not buying them ;)