Random thoughts.
How time flies.
I'm tired. I need a rest, a vacation that lasts more than 2 or 3 days. Have to work seriously on that. Just want to do nothing, make no plans, sleep when I want to, wake when I want to. My creativity is at an all-time low.
I start a course on Sept. 2. Why do I do this to myself? I really enjoyed the last two years course-free. But I only have 4 courses left to finish my degree. I guess it is a milestone that I never thought I would pass. What am I going to do with a degree in Adult Education at the age of 65?
I never thought I would say this, or feel this, but I'm tired of working for a living. I would like to not have to go to work, even though I love what I do. How perverse is that?
A glass of wine and a good night's sleep. That's what I need right now.
Monday, 26 August 2013
Sunday, 25 August 2013
So I have a complaint for all you techies out there creating apps for those people with cell phones, smart phones, androids, blackberries, etc. You are discriminating against those of us who do not have a cell phone, smart phone, etc. or unlimited plans on our devices. If you are so smart, why can't you create your app so I can use it on my sitting-on-my-desk computer? Streaming music - would be nice. Podcasts - would be nice. T.V. shows - would be nice. Some of which I can get from iTunes, but not all. Not fair, you guys and gals! Discriminatory! Get serious and stop being so one dimensional! This rant is not over...
Tuesday, 20 August 2013
Monday, 19 August 2013
Monday stuff
The rehab of the house next door is really getting on my nerves. The couple who are doing the work and living in the house have been there for a year, and they are still not done. So there is the noise factor which is irritating. Then there is the fact that they do all the outside work - cutting boards and such - right outside my back porch and they both smoke. Sometimes I have to close the windows because of the stink. Yuck!
When I smoked, I really didn't know how bad cigarette smoke smells to non-smokers. The longer I am a non-smoker, the more it bothers me. Oh! How the mighty have fallen!
Their dog, Portia, is quieter since the young dog Buster, was killed by a truck. They never tie the dogs, and Buster was very aggressive. He ran out in the street because of someone walking 2 dogs on the other side of the street. The pickup that hit him just could not stop in time. I feel bad for the dog, and blame the owners. Fortunately, the accident was witnessed by one of the captains from the Fire Department who was behind the pickup. Poor Buster. But I was afraid of him because he was fierce and was trying to get through a screened window on their front porch one day when I was trying to week the front lawn. As long as I was in sight, he was barking fiercely and scrabbling at the screen. He almost bit the neighbour on the other side of the house. If he hadn't jerked his arm back in time, Buster would have gotten a good chunk of him.
Work is so darn busy that I don't know what to do next. One coworker is brand new - this is the first day of the second week. But she has picked up some things really quickly so I have high hopes for the future! Other coworker had a day off today and contacted our manager to say that there was a death in the family and she would be out for "a few" days. Annoying. So I will have more overtime hours added to the huge number I have now - that I can't use without falling behind and having to put more hours in. As soon as new coworker is up to snuff, I'll be taking lots of time off. I'm thinking of being very irritating by taking a whole bunch of Fridays and Mondays off and working 3-day weeks. Ha!
I am thinking of getting into work email and trying to answer some of them, but I'm darn tired. Think I'll give it a miss and add some extra time tomorrow instead.
When I smoked, I really didn't know how bad cigarette smoke smells to non-smokers. The longer I am a non-smoker, the more it bothers me. Oh! How the mighty have fallen!
Their dog, Portia, is quieter since the young dog Buster, was killed by a truck. They never tie the dogs, and Buster was very aggressive. He ran out in the street because of someone walking 2 dogs on the other side of the street. The pickup that hit him just could not stop in time. I feel bad for the dog, and blame the owners. Fortunately, the accident was witnessed by one of the captains from the Fire Department who was behind the pickup. Poor Buster. But I was afraid of him because he was fierce and was trying to get through a screened window on their front porch one day when I was trying to week the front lawn. As long as I was in sight, he was barking fiercely and scrabbling at the screen. He almost bit the neighbour on the other side of the house. If he hadn't jerked his arm back in time, Buster would have gotten a good chunk of him.
Work is so darn busy that I don't know what to do next. One coworker is brand new - this is the first day of the second week. But she has picked up some things really quickly so I have high hopes for the future! Other coworker had a day off today and contacted our manager to say that there was a death in the family and she would be out for "a few" days. Annoying. So I will have more overtime hours added to the huge number I have now - that I can't use without falling behind and having to put more hours in. As soon as new coworker is up to snuff, I'll be taking lots of time off. I'm thinking of being very irritating by taking a whole bunch of Fridays and Mondays off and working 3-day weeks. Ha!
I am thinking of getting into work email and trying to answer some of them, but I'm darn tired. Think I'll give it a miss and add some extra time tomorrow instead.
Sunday, 18 August 2013
Sunday stuff
Sunday is my normal laundry day. Mainly because there are no buses in Fredericton on Sunday, so I can't get out to the stores unless someone drives me or I borrow a car. That is okay, though, because it means a day where I do exactly what I want around the house without the distraction of shopping (LOL!).
Today... yes I did laundry. Six loads, but then, I have a small apartment sized washing machine. There is no laundry hook up on the main floor, and I refuse to carry baskets of laundry outside to get into the basement where there is a laundry hook up. I tried when I first bought the house, but that lasted about 2 months. I kept thinking of the difficulty in the winter - and I would probably fall on the stairs with a full basket of clean laundry, knowing my clumsiness. I love hanging everything out in good weather because it has such a wonderful fresh air and sunshine odour when you bring it in. I don't care how many experiments scientists do with chemicals, they will never be able to reproduce the smell of fresh air and sunshine. I love getting into bed in the evening of laundry day. I washed most of my blouses and t-shirts today, too, just because. So my closet also smells like fresh air and sunshine! Every time I pass the bedroom door, I open it and take a big breath. Lovely.
I also washed all the windows in the back porch, and put up the last two sets of curtains. It really looks like a room now, and I have the privacy of the mini-blinds. Joss came over yesterday and moved the mini-blind I had put up. I had tried to get the mini-blind and the curtain rod hardware on the window frame, but it meant that the mini-blind had no centre support. So he moved it up, and moved the curtain rod hardware to above the window frame. It is all good now and, bless him, he put up the other three mini-blinds. So I put up one more of the curtains yesterday, and the other two today. In between loads of laundry on and off the lines.
I do love my back porch. I loved it before I did the window treatments, but even more now. I spend so much time here. If I'm not in the craft room, I'm here. I have the computer, my lazyboy chair, radio, iTunes, books.
Love the fern pattern on the sheers. Fits right in with my huge boston fern.
Since I gave up the satellite dish, I haven't used the livingroom at all. The cats have their beds on the couch, and I have to pass through it to get the craft room or the front porch. I sweep the floor or vacuum once in awhile, and dust even less often!
I also spent way too much time on Pinterest looking at handmade cards posted by various people, and re-pinning them to my boards. I also copied some images, cropped them in photoshop and then put them in a word document to print out. That way, I can have ones that are giving me ideas in the craft room rather than running back and forth from one end of the house to the other to look at the computer.
I called Eleanor and asked her to come over and appreciate my porch too! She did think it was lovely. And also agreed that once the leaves were off the trees, I will enjoy having the privacy I lost when the big apartment building went up. Not that I think everyone is standing at their windows staring into my house, but I can look into their spaces, which means they can look into mine. And I would rather they didn't. You can see the top floor of the apartment building in the top left of the centre picture. It is actually closer than it looks. And because my porch is pretty much all window, it is easy to see in.
Today... yes I did laundry. Six loads, but then, I have a small apartment sized washing machine. There is no laundry hook up on the main floor, and I refuse to carry baskets of laundry outside to get into the basement where there is a laundry hook up. I tried when I first bought the house, but that lasted about 2 months. I kept thinking of the difficulty in the winter - and I would probably fall on the stairs with a full basket of clean laundry, knowing my clumsiness. I love hanging everything out in good weather because it has such a wonderful fresh air and sunshine odour when you bring it in. I don't care how many experiments scientists do with chemicals, they will never be able to reproduce the smell of fresh air and sunshine. I love getting into bed in the evening of laundry day. I washed most of my blouses and t-shirts today, too, just because. So my closet also smells like fresh air and sunshine! Every time I pass the bedroom door, I open it and take a big breath. Lovely.
I also washed all the windows in the back porch, and put up the last two sets of curtains. It really looks like a room now, and I have the privacy of the mini-blinds. Joss came over yesterday and moved the mini-blind I had put up. I had tried to get the mini-blind and the curtain rod hardware on the window frame, but it meant that the mini-blind had no centre support. So he moved it up, and moved the curtain rod hardware to above the window frame. It is all good now and, bless him, he put up the other three mini-blinds. So I put up one more of the curtains yesterday, and the other two today. In between loads of laundry on and off the lines.
I do love my back porch. I loved it before I did the window treatments, but even more now. I spend so much time here. If I'm not in the craft room, I'm here. I have the computer, my lazyboy chair, radio, iTunes, books.
Since I gave up the satellite dish, I haven't used the livingroom at all. The cats have their beds on the couch, and I have to pass through it to get the craft room or the front porch. I sweep the floor or vacuum once in awhile, and dust even less often!
I also spent way too much time on Pinterest looking at handmade cards posted by various people, and re-pinning them to my boards. I also copied some images, cropped them in photoshop and then put them in a word document to print out. That way, I can have ones that are giving me ideas in the craft room rather than running back and forth from one end of the house to the other to look at the computer.
I called Eleanor and asked her to come over and appreciate my porch too! She did think it was lovely. And also agreed that once the leaves were off the trees, I will enjoy having the privacy I lost when the big apartment building went up. Not that I think everyone is standing at their windows staring into my house, but I can look into their spaces, which means they can look into mine. And I would rather they didn't. You can see the top floor of the apartment building in the top left of the centre picture. It is actually closer than it looks. And because my porch is pretty much all window, it is easy to see in.
Friday, 16 August 2013
This waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to go back to sleep is getting very annoying. I could go back to taking a pill, yes, but I don't want to go back on medication. I want to get my body back into a natural cycle. Take a pill to go to sleep and feel slow and muzzy in the morning, or don't take a pill and get only 3 or 4 hours of sleep. I'm going to continue not taking the pill for a while longer. See what happens.
So, this morning's wake up time was just after 3 a.m. I stayed in bed until about 4 but was so restless that I finally had to get up. At least I got my dishes washed and kitchen floor swept. Then I had to decide whether or not to get on the good old computer or read my book. Then there is the decision as to whether or not to write on the blog, play computer games, or connect to work and get some of that done.
I'm not going to connect to work this morning. I'm tired of putting in all the extra hours, and I don't know how I'm going to take off the ones I've built up already.
Oh well.
My course will start in a couple of weeks. Having second thoughts. Of course I do this every time I take a course. Really don't know why I'm bothering since retirement is in 2 years. But it will be nice to say that I have completed a degree, when I'm surrounded by people who have multiple degrees.
But who knew when I was failing in high school that I am academically inclined? Damn those bullies. Shame on me for not standing up for myself.
So, this morning's wake up time was just after 3 a.m. I stayed in bed until about 4 but was so restless that I finally had to get up. At least I got my dishes washed and kitchen floor swept. Then I had to decide whether or not to get on the good old computer or read my book. Then there is the decision as to whether or not to write on the blog, play computer games, or connect to work and get some of that done.
I'm not going to connect to work this morning. I'm tired of putting in all the extra hours, and I don't know how I'm going to take off the ones I've built up already.
Oh well.
My course will start in a couple of weeks. Having second thoughts. Of course I do this every time I take a course. Really don't know why I'm bothering since retirement is in 2 years. But it will be nice to say that I have completed a degree, when I'm surrounded by people who have multiple degrees.
But who knew when I was failing in high school that I am academically inclined? Damn those bullies. Shame on me for not standing up for myself.
Sunday, 11 August 2013
stuff from Sunday
I had intended to do laundry today, even though I have enough underwear for another week and a half. Mainly because it was going to be a warm and sunny day with a nice breeze. But when I got up, I just didn't feel like it. So I drank a big cup of coffee while reading my latest book. Then I made a couple of cards.
I got the notice from Sears that my order was in. I called a friend with a car and asked if she could run me up there. There is no bus service in Fredericton on Sundays. Small city. Always hurting for money, they say. Coincidentally, Jude also had a package at Sears, so we drove up after lunch. My packages consisted of the missing mini blind that for some strange reason was sent back from the 5 that I'd ordered. No one knows why. Plus the other 5 panels for the windows. I had thought I would just need one panel per window, but when I'd got the first blind up and put up the rod and curtain, it just looked unfinished unless it was pulled across. So I ordered 5 more. Mini blinds are white and the curtains are off-white sheers with pale olive and tan ferns on them. With my huge boston fern in the corner, it really makes the room come together. The rods are brushed pewter with round knobs on the ends that have - you guessed it, ferns on them!
I really like how the back porch is going to look - I've been using it as my living room for over a year, but since the apartment building went up on the street behind me, I have no privacy once the leaves are off the trees. I had roll up bamboo blinds, but they were a pain in the butt to put up and down and really gave little privacy at night since there was as much space between slats as there were slats. I took them off when I put the plastic up last fall and never put them back up. Kijiji, here I come! (It takes me a while to actually take action.)
I've got one window finished, sort of. I have to re-think how I'm putting the blinds up. It is a little low on the window frame, so I can't put the centre support hanger on, which means it is sagging a bit. But to get the rod support on for the curtain rod on the window frame as well, I had to put the blind lower down. I'm afraid to attach the rod hardware to the drywall, even with the plastic drywall thingies because I don't trust the drywall to actually hold the rods with all the pulling closed and opening of the sheers. I probably should have gone with rod pocked flat rods, but I fell in love with the rods and ball ends.
Of course we didn't just go to Sears. Jude wanted to go to Beauclaire to look at curtains for her front porch, I wanted to go to PetSmart for kitty litter, and then we had to go to Winners (of course). I bought an olive blouse and a couple of other small items, including three stocking stuffers. I do love shopping for Christmas all year round!
Then home again and supper. Then another card made and a couple more chapters read.
Then, surprise of all surprises, a phone call from my friend Dorothy in Pugwash. Dorothy started out as an employer (horse stall mucker outer and babysitter as a teenager - stories for another time), then became a sort of second mum, and finally morphed into a sort of sister. There is 20 years between us, but that makes no difference at all. I think I will have to rent a car one weekend this fall and drive down to see her. She will not be around for ever. We actually haven't talked since Christmas. It was good to catch up on family news.
Time for a shower, and then I'm going to curl up with my book until time for bed.
A lovely day.
I got the notice from Sears that my order was in. I called a friend with a car and asked if she could run me up there. There is no bus service in Fredericton on Sundays. Small city. Always hurting for money, they say. Coincidentally, Jude also had a package at Sears, so we drove up after lunch. My packages consisted of the missing mini blind that for some strange reason was sent back from the 5 that I'd ordered. No one knows why. Plus the other 5 panels for the windows. I had thought I would just need one panel per window, but when I'd got the first blind up and put up the rod and curtain, it just looked unfinished unless it was pulled across. So I ordered 5 more. Mini blinds are white and the curtains are off-white sheers with pale olive and tan ferns on them. With my huge boston fern in the corner, it really makes the room come together. The rods are brushed pewter with round knobs on the ends that have - you guessed it, ferns on them!
I really like how the back porch is going to look - I've been using it as my living room for over a year, but since the apartment building went up on the street behind me, I have no privacy once the leaves are off the trees. I had roll up bamboo blinds, but they were a pain in the butt to put up and down and really gave little privacy at night since there was as much space between slats as there were slats. I took them off when I put the plastic up last fall and never put them back up. Kijiji, here I come! (It takes me a while to actually take action.)
I've got one window finished, sort of. I have to re-think how I'm putting the blinds up. It is a little low on the window frame, so I can't put the centre support hanger on, which means it is sagging a bit. But to get the rod support on for the curtain rod on the window frame as well, I had to put the blind lower down. I'm afraid to attach the rod hardware to the drywall, even with the plastic drywall thingies because I don't trust the drywall to actually hold the rods with all the pulling closed and opening of the sheers. I probably should have gone with rod pocked flat rods, but I fell in love with the rods and ball ends.
Of course we didn't just go to Sears. Jude wanted to go to Beauclaire to look at curtains for her front porch, I wanted to go to PetSmart for kitty litter, and then we had to go to Winners (of course). I bought an olive blouse and a couple of other small items, including three stocking stuffers. I do love shopping for Christmas all year round!
Then home again and supper. Then another card made and a couple more chapters read.
Then, surprise of all surprises, a phone call from my friend Dorothy in Pugwash. Dorothy started out as an employer (horse stall mucker outer and babysitter as a teenager - stories for another time), then became a sort of second mum, and finally morphed into a sort of sister. There is 20 years between us, but that makes no difference at all. I think I will have to rent a car one weekend this fall and drive down to see her. She will not be around for ever. We actually haven't talked since Christmas. It was good to catch up on family news.
Time for a shower, and then I'm going to curl up with my book until time for bed.
A lovely day.
Saturday, 10 August 2013
Since I posted about Mum, I've also been thinking back to Dad, and how he affected my life. He died March 5, 1998. He had been sick for quite a while, but I didn't know how sick until Lorrie called me and told me to come home if I wanted to see him before he died. I flew home the next day, and a friend of David and Lorrie's picked me up at the airport and drove me to the hospital, but he had died about 1/2 before I got there. I didn't recognize him - he was so small in that bed, and I remember him as a big burly man. I tried to call mum at home - she had gone home with a migraine - but I guess she had turned the phone down. Then I went back and just sat in the room at the end of the bed, outside the curtain. I just closed my eyes and started to think about him and what he had given me, all the times he had lent me money when I needed it, supported my decisions, and had just been there as a quiet support when I needed him, and I felt his presence. It was like he was standing there listening to me talk to him and when I thanked him for being my dad, and being there for me, I saw him nod his head, smile, and then he just faded away. To this day, I think he knew I was coming and he waited for me. I love you Dad. I miss you.
When I was taking the Adult Education course on Mentoring, I came to the realization that Dad had been a significant mentor in my life.
Whenever I was in a crisis point, it was Dad who helped me through. In his quiet, unexcitable way, he got to the crux of the matter, and supported me in my decisions. Even when he didn't understand them, or didn't really agree. I remember him telling me that I was always responsible for my on actions and would have to accept the consequences. But that everything that I did also reflected on the family. And that has stayed with me and has influenced my decisions on many occasions.
He also told me that I should never let other people make my decisions for me, to stand true to my beliefs, and to stand my ground when I knew I was right. That hasn't always been the case, but is more in my life now than when I was younger.
When there was an argument in the family, or some crisis or another, and tempers were up, voices raised, Dad would just sit quietly in the midst of chaos. If asked for his opinion, he never gave one. But would often say, "It's not as bad as the North Atlantic in winter." That really puts things in perspective.
Dad was a merchant marine in the British Merchant Navy and during WWII, he spent many trips on convoys between New York and Mermansk in Russia, taking supplies to the Allies. The North Atlantic in a storm could have huge waves. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dYpeakBYkY as an example.
He was one of the most honest men I've ever met, and he was a man of his word. He could also have no patience for what he considered foolishness, and really didn't have a lot of patience with people.
He spent a lot of time "in his head." He wasn't social or gregarious, but once you got him into a social setting, he would enjoy himself.
I remember him teaching me how to do the two-step, and dancing around the kitchen table to the radio. At my prom, he dance with me so much that my date and mom had to cut in to get time on the dance floor! He loved music, especially Gilbert and Sullivan. We had a set of records with a book that had all the words to all of the musicals, and we would sit in the living room and follow along. Neither of us could really sing, but we enjoyed ourselves. I gave him a record on Christmas, the Beatles done by the Hollywood Strings Orchestra. You should have seen his face! He didn't like "modern" music (we are talking the 60s here), but he was polite. At least it wasn't a bag of Licorice Allsorts! Then, one day he listened to it. I don't know if he put it on, or I did, but after he listened to about half of it, he turned to me and said, "Those boys know how to write music!" High praise, indeed.
Mum told the story of how when they were in Zanzibar and they had guests over, they would be sitting on the screened veranda, and dad would play the guitar. He didn't strum, but played all the notes. After he had been playing for a while, they could look out into the garden, and they could see a multitude of eyes in the ground cover. It was frogs, come to listen to the music too! Apparently, dad played the violin when he was a boy, but gave that up and took up the guitar when he joined the Merchant Marine.
I have his papers from when he joined. It is a big certificate, and it says "Indentured Apprentice"on it. Amazing - he couldn't quit I guess, if he didn't like it. It has the list of the ships he served on written on the back. Not all of them, but I guess the ones he served on until he fulfilled his contract.
Dad didn't talk much about himself. Mum was the one who actually told most of the stories about him. He never bragged about anything.
When I was taking the Adult Education course on Mentoring, I came to the realization that Dad had been a significant mentor in my life.
Whenever I was in a crisis point, it was Dad who helped me through. In his quiet, unexcitable way, he got to the crux of the matter, and supported me in my decisions. Even when he didn't understand them, or didn't really agree. I remember him telling me that I was always responsible for my on actions and would have to accept the consequences. But that everything that I did also reflected on the family. And that has stayed with me and has influenced my decisions on many occasions.
He also told me that I should never let other people make my decisions for me, to stand true to my beliefs, and to stand my ground when I knew I was right. That hasn't always been the case, but is more in my life now than when I was younger.
When there was an argument in the family, or some crisis or another, and tempers were up, voices raised, Dad would just sit quietly in the midst of chaos. If asked for his opinion, he never gave one. But would often say, "It's not as bad as the North Atlantic in winter." That really puts things in perspective.
Dad was a merchant marine in the British Merchant Navy and during WWII, he spent many trips on convoys between New York and Mermansk in Russia, taking supplies to the Allies. The North Atlantic in a storm could have huge waves. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dYpeakBYkY as an example.
He was one of the most honest men I've ever met, and he was a man of his word. He could also have no patience for what he considered foolishness, and really didn't have a lot of patience with people.
He spent a lot of time "in his head." He wasn't social or gregarious, but once you got him into a social setting, he would enjoy himself.
I remember him teaching me how to do the two-step, and dancing around the kitchen table to the radio. At my prom, he dance with me so much that my date and mom had to cut in to get time on the dance floor! He loved music, especially Gilbert and Sullivan. We had a set of records with a book that had all the words to all of the musicals, and we would sit in the living room and follow along. Neither of us could really sing, but we enjoyed ourselves. I gave him a record on Christmas, the Beatles done by the Hollywood Strings Orchestra. You should have seen his face! He didn't like "modern" music (we are talking the 60s here), but he was polite. At least it wasn't a bag of Licorice Allsorts! Then, one day he listened to it. I don't know if he put it on, or I did, but after he listened to about half of it, he turned to me and said, "Those boys know how to write music!" High praise, indeed.
Mum told the story of how when they were in Zanzibar and they had guests over, they would be sitting on the screened veranda, and dad would play the guitar. He didn't strum, but played all the notes. After he had been playing for a while, they could look out into the garden, and they could see a multitude of eyes in the ground cover. It was frogs, come to listen to the music too! Apparently, dad played the violin when he was a boy, but gave that up and took up the guitar when he joined the Merchant Marine.
I have his papers from when he joined. It is a big certificate, and it says "Indentured Apprentice"on it. Amazing - he couldn't quit I guess, if he didn't like it. It has the list of the ships he served on written on the back. Not all of them, but I guess the ones he served on until he fulfilled his contract.
Dad didn't talk much about himself. Mum was the one who actually told most of the stories about him. He never bragged about anything.
10 August 2013 meanderings
Well, I'm not very good at this blogging stuff. As any one can see who actually finds my blog. Today has been bright and sunny, but windy and only about 22 - 24 celsius. It is a nice change after all the rain we have been having.
The yard is doing well, and since the city took out 3 trees on the edge of my yard, the sunshine is welcome. Most of the early flowers are done now. The fancy day lilies in the back of the yard are almost finished, but they get less sun which must prolong them. The oriental lilies are finished, the star gazers too, and the maltese cross and evening primroses are over as well. The golden glow is just starting, but the rain has knocked some of them down. I keep meaning to tie them up, but never do. They have really taken off this year.
The ferns at the back are crowding into the hostas. They have really taken off since we put the bark mulch down. I planted 2 ostrich fern roots about 10 years ago and now have about 20 at least. The hostas are of course doing well. I'd like to dig up a foot or so of sod on the other side of the house and plant hostas along there. I think it would look great, and would help by not having to weed wack along the foundation. Anything to keep from having to mow. The front garden up by the sidewalk is wonderful - old fashioned daylilies, ribbon grass, spirea bushes, shasta daisies, sneeze weed, columbine, creeping phlox, creeping thyme, rose campion, coreopsis, lung wort, and coral bells, just to name a few, all crowded together with "weeds" like purple clover and vetch.
Due to circumstances beyond my control, I was invigilating exams today, despite it being Saturday. But you help a friend in need, and neither Colleen nor Barb could do it. I thought I'd lost the big one from the states, but they sent me an email and said it was back on track. Nice piece of money for a couple of days! It certainly helps me to do the invigilating that I do - gives me walking around money and I have an opportunity to read a book for 2-3 hours while monitoring one to 3 people.
I got convinced to apply for my BED (Adult Education) and do the Preparing for Prior Learning Assessment course this fall. With that and the portfolio, all I have left to get my degree are 3 more courses. I thought it was more than that, which was why I had decided not to do any more after finishing the certificate. But they have transferred all of my Arts credits as well as the Geology and Biology courses, and added to the Certificate courses, I'm almost there. But I have to say that the two-year rest from course work has been good. I'm glad I took the time and enjoyed reading for pleasure for a change.
The annoying cat from the street behind is back today. He is a young male, barely a year old, and he is not fixed. He comes over here to spray, annoy my cats, and hunt my birds. I've already sent the owners a message that if they don't keep him in their own yard I'm going to take him to the SPCA. The cat from next door is fine. He's fixed, and just likes to lie on my deck, under the table for shade and drink out of the plant saucers. He doesn't bother Lizzie and Zoe at all.
They are doing well. At the last vet visit, they were given a clean bill of health and I was told that theirs were the cleanest teeth Shannon had seen in months. It is that Oral Care from Science Diet. I give it to them as treats, so the scarf it right down, thinking they are special!
The yard is doing well, and since the city took out 3 trees on the edge of my yard, the sunshine is welcome. Most of the early flowers are done now. The fancy day lilies in the back of the yard are almost finished, but they get less sun which must prolong them. The oriental lilies are finished, the star gazers too, and the maltese cross and evening primroses are over as well. The golden glow is just starting, but the rain has knocked some of them down. I keep meaning to tie them up, but never do. They have really taken off this year.
The ferns at the back are crowding into the hostas. They have really taken off since we put the bark mulch down. I planted 2 ostrich fern roots about 10 years ago and now have about 20 at least. The hostas are of course doing well. I'd like to dig up a foot or so of sod on the other side of the house and plant hostas along there. I think it would look great, and would help by not having to weed wack along the foundation. Anything to keep from having to mow. The front garden up by the sidewalk is wonderful - old fashioned daylilies, ribbon grass, spirea bushes, shasta daisies, sneeze weed, columbine, creeping phlox, creeping thyme, rose campion, coreopsis, lung wort, and coral bells, just to name a few, all crowded together with "weeds" like purple clover and vetch.
Due to circumstances beyond my control, I was invigilating exams today, despite it being Saturday. But you help a friend in need, and neither Colleen nor Barb could do it. I thought I'd lost the big one from the states, but they sent me an email and said it was back on track. Nice piece of money for a couple of days! It certainly helps me to do the invigilating that I do - gives me walking around money and I have an opportunity to read a book for 2-3 hours while monitoring one to 3 people.
I got convinced to apply for my BED (Adult Education) and do the Preparing for Prior Learning Assessment course this fall. With that and the portfolio, all I have left to get my degree are 3 more courses. I thought it was more than that, which was why I had decided not to do any more after finishing the certificate. But they have transferred all of my Arts credits as well as the Geology and Biology courses, and added to the Certificate courses, I'm almost there. But I have to say that the two-year rest from course work has been good. I'm glad I took the time and enjoyed reading for pleasure for a change.
The annoying cat from the street behind is back today. He is a young male, barely a year old, and he is not fixed. He comes over here to spray, annoy my cats, and hunt my birds. I've already sent the owners a message that if they don't keep him in their own yard I'm going to take him to the SPCA. The cat from next door is fine. He's fixed, and just likes to lie on my deck, under the table for shade and drink out of the plant saucers. He doesn't bother Lizzie and Zoe at all.
They are doing well. At the last vet visit, they were given a clean bill of health and I was told that theirs were the cleanest teeth Shannon had seen in months. It is that Oral Care from Science Diet. I give it to them as treats, so the scarf it right down, thinking they are special!
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