Musings on a Small Life

I'd like to start by thanking Annie for insisting (via claws) that at 2AM I wake up and pay attention to her. Because of course I'd had enough sleep and wanted to get up. What else would I want to do at 2AM on Sunday? So yeah, thanks, Annie, appreciate it. Okay. So I did make my way back to Michaels Crafts again today. Walked up to Chapters/Starbucks for a short chai and an oatmeal raisin cookie, bused from there. Gotta love the once-an-hour Sunday buses. Got two more inexpensive (i.e. plastic, not wood) 11x14 frames, with mats for 8x10 photos, plus two 8x10 frames and mats for some of the 5x7 photos I had printed out at Costco. I need five more of those, actually. I'll have to go back next weekend, 40% off coupon in hand. I must say that even though they are cheap plastic frames (black, white mats), they look really good with the photos. I'm going to a floral "gallery" in my lower hallway, finally. It's only been two or three years that I've had nothi...

Payday is not till Monday (last business day of every month), but the money was in the bank when I checked my account this morning. That's usually the way; it'll go in after midnight (or whenever) on the Saturday. Yay! So I hauled my butt up to Wal-Mart early this AM and was there just after it opened at 7:00. I went to check their photo frames, couldn't find any mats. But did find a very inexpensive 6 ft x 9 ft area rug that I couldn't pass up. I mean, dirt cheap. And knew that if I left it, it probably would be snagged for a student's room. So I picked that up, and a few other things besides, and took a taxi (van) home. That ran me $16, tip included. I always resent paying for cab fare, but even a few taxi rides a month is far easier on the budget than a vehicle, of course. Plus, there is the whole carbon footprint thing. Yeah, David Suzuki would love me. LOL. Round two was a bus trip out to Home Depot, Dollar World (?) -- it's not Buck or Two anymore, Michael...

Yeah, okay, this works for me, given my love of horses. ;-) BTW, the image was found on a free desktop wallpaper site.

[Potential "gross" alert here] I didn't realize that if you are dehydrated, it can be difficult to get blood out of your veins. I only learned that this morning, in fact. And only because I had gone in for regular blood work, but had to fast for 12 hours, and I hadn't had more than few sips of water since supper time. Which meant that the vein in my left arm wasn't doing anything except "spurting," so the tech had to try the other arm. Which was fine, by the way. And oh, thanks for the "lovely" description of what the first vein was doing--really, I could have done without that. Especially just after 7AM and on an empty stomach. Next time I need to fast, I'll remember I still can drink copious quantities of water. And maybe I'll avoid a high-sodium supper the night before, too. The plus to this morning's small medical "adventure" was that the custodian we had in our previous building was also there, and we chatted and got ...

Sadly, this seems to be too true. And it's not like I ever had a Mensa-level intellect to begin with. Average intelligence with some common sense is about all. But in the handful of years since I turned 40, I notice I've been getting dumber and dumber...literally, it would seem. Or perhaps more scattered, rather than less intelligent. I make more mistakes at work, foolish little things (like I just did, while trying to update our department web site). I remember less. I'm not alone in this, I do realize. I know many people, women in particular, who suffer the same thing. I can understand it in women who are juggling job and children (and a useless spouse to boot). Impossible to keep track of everything, keep on top of all that goes on during the course of a day. But in my case, I, mercifully, don't have that kind of stress. Maybe it's sheer lack of sleep. Because I also don't know anyone in my age group who isn't perpetually exhausted. Or maybe it's horm...

With the exception of an early-AM dental appointment for a cleaning, and a walk downtown at lunch time with a co-worker, this day has been very quiet. Which leaves nothing to write about, and only a few floral pics from Saturday to post.

I'm being a bit tongue in cheek, because it's not that exciting. But I see I have two more tiny tomatoes coming and that the cherry tomatoes are ripening. (Can you tell it's a slow Monday?)

I'm cooking. Really. No, not nuking a frozen entree. I have carrots baking in the oven (recipe below), sausages baking in the toaster oven and a potato doing its thing in the microwave. I can hardly believe it. The stars must be out of alignment or something. Here's the recipe, which I hope comes out, because while I love raw carrots, I can't stand plain cooked ones. Gag. Baked Carrots 4 cups of carrots, sliced ½ cup of water 6 tablespoons of butter (I did NOT use 6 TBSP, that's crazy) 2 tablespoons of sugar 1 teaspoon of nutmeg 1 teaspoon of salt Instructions: In a casserole dish, mix the sugar, nutmeg and salt with water. Add the carrots and dab them with butter. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 10 minutes, stirring after 5 minutes. Allow to rest for 3-4 minutes. Now, I will note that 10 minutes is not near long enough to cook these suckers. I think they'd have to be paper thin to cook in that short a time. Or partially cooked via the microwave first. I figure about 30 ...

Literally. The bus, I mean. Heading up between Chapters and Canadian Tire early this morning. I got on and headed straight for the back. Suddenly heard a loud sound from behind me (engine is back there, of course). Didn't pay much attention until I saw and heard the driver call in to base. I shouted up asking if I should flee from the back (joking), but he didn't hear me. Finally looked out the side window, saw clouds of billowing smoke, realized we were losing speed and decided I'd move up to the front. LOL. He made it as far as Canadian Tire and the handful of us riding that route got off, since by then the engine warning alarm had come on. Beats me what it was; we all deserted the "sinking ship" just like rats would and left the driver to wait for the mechanic/tow truck/a new bus. Actually, I think everyone was only heading across the street, into the mall (probably for work), but since I was just killing time till Costco opened, I headed in to Canadian Tire. S...

I called Rogers' customer service department in June, to cancel my long distance service. Took a bit of a run-around before they would, as I posted here at the time, but finally the customer rep did it, effective July 29th. A month to cancel the service...ha. Fine. They do that only to stick you with the service fees, of course. But guess what their billing date is, at least in my area? The 28th of each month. So I got a bill from them, dated July 28th, for the $8 in service charges, even though my account was to be cancelled the next day. Even though I hadn't used Rogers at all during July, having switched to a pre-paid phone card. That is a dirty tactic, plain and simple, to stick the consumer with additional and unwarranted fees. I had to look closely at the bill for several minutes before cluing in that they conveniently billed me one day before the cancellation date. Bottom line: If you make very few long distance calls, don't pay these ridiculous charges. Go with a pr...

Oh, sure, now we're getting summer weather. Hot and muggy with smog advisories, the kind of weather we normally endure all July and August, sometimes most of June too. But now that we're having what many people love, I'm just melting in it. It's 82F in the house on the main level, warmer upstairs. No a/c. Just fans blowing the hot air around. The cats are flaked out, the boys outside and Annie inside (she just came in, actually). I've had a productive day, doing a couple of loads of laundry, getting bedding changed, scrubbing out two of the four litter boxes, plus running errands. I hurt. No, really. LOL. Oh, and while I did manage to dump the two litter boxes into a garbage bag, guess what? The bag is too heavy for me to lift, so I can't get it from the basement upstairs and outside to the garage. I had the brief thought, while doing it, that I ought to empty each box into a separate bag, but did I do that? Nooooo. Now I'm stuck with it down there and unles...

Hunks in Kilts Caption Contest http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/magazinemonitor/2009/08/caption_competition_95.shtml I found this on the BCC News site. The caption contest is closed (loved #2, but you'd have to be "up" on the latest Internet buzz to get it). I'm probably breaking copyright rules by posting the photo, but....! The eye candy sure made my day. ;-) And yes, I prefer my eye candy to be partially clothed. Hmm, maybe I ought to look for eye candy to post on every Friday. That would be a good perk to start the weekend. :-)

Of walking! Not pain-free by any means, but I managed to walk just under 2 kms yesterday, a bit in the AM to work and a bit afterward, to a bus stop. And this morning I walked the 2kms to the shopping centre to pick up a bus from there, rather than catch the one that stops across from my townhouse complex. So things are coming along . . . . I had to get out and get moving this morning, or risk going stir crazy. What I'd really like to do is go hiking this weekend in the conservation area, but I'm absolutely certain that would be too much. Better to take it slow and work up to it, rather than set myself back. Right? Right. But my feet--and fingers (for my camera) are getting very itchy!

I had a long conversation last night with a very dear friend who is going through a rough marital time. Oh, haven't so many of us been there? I can't advise her on what path is right for her and her husband, only they can choose that, of course. But that call left me thinking about so many things.... Does anyone know a man who is so secure that he can understand and respect his partner's deep and abiding love for her four-legged companions and not feel sleighted? No, really. I can't think of any male off the top of my head. Most men I've encountered are emotionally stunted, insecure, needy, shallow and selfish. I'm sure there are some males on this planet not like that; I've just not met them, having lived a small and sheltered life. I didn't have animals when my ex and I were together, though sometimes I thought about it, wanted it. I don't think, if I remember correctly, he wanted to have any additional ties with me. Nothing jointly held, I mean. B...

Oh, yes, public transit is great for the environment, no question. And when you live in a city that has a fairly good public transit system, there's not much need to take a car to work unless you have to drive during the day for your job. But. And there's always a "but." Public transit when you have an injury sucks. Or when you are trying to get somewhere and the bus driver is known to be typically slow and you miss your transfer, and thus have to wait an additional half hour. Case in point, today. I left work at 11:45AM, really needed to go home and lie down and rest my back. Almost five hours at the office was as much as I could handle. But (there's the "but" again) the bus was running late, partly because of all the construction and partly because the driver, nice as she is, runs slow all the time. She used to do my morning route and would barely make it to the Centre on time for transfers . . . and that was at 6:15AM and with no traffic. There are ot...

I'm finally feeling perkier, the bruising is healing and the back pain seems to be easing. Of course, I haven't done anything today to aggravate things, either . . . for a change. LOL. Back to work tomorrow, for a full day, I hope. I'll see how it goes. :-) Pic from last weekend's jaunt to the conservation area.

I lasted three hours at the office this morning, sitting at my desk. Then that was enough. But it was long enough to send out a few dozen reminders for data I need for an annual project, so that was good. Made it home by 11AM and I think I'll curl up for a while this afternoon and rest. I have a hair cut tomorrow at 9AM and I'm not missing that! I do have my priorities, after all.

Can you believe I wrote that I'm tired of naps? LOL. But I am! Home again today . . . I did get up and dressed this morning, ready to catch the 6:15AM bus, but knew I was making a mistake. So rather than be stupid, I got undressed and went back to bed and slept for a couple of hours. Then got up and bused out to the nearest pharmacy for some over-the-counter drugs. The pharmacist recommended that I keep taking the Advil and suggested also taking acetaminophen. I didn't realize you could take both together. My poor liver. I'm being very careful not to overdo them; they're really not doing much that I can discern anyway. I have to get my ass out of here tomorrow, to the office. For at least a half-day. I have work to do. And I don't think I can stand another day at home, though today seemed to pass faster than yesterday. Hey, I had two more morning glory blooms yesterday, and one today. I hope they self-seed next year. Actually, my former neighbour planted two morning...

We had a heavy downpour yesterday evening, around 6PM. Didn't last long, but boy, the water teemed down! Afterward, I stepped out into the back to pick up the lawn chair, put my flip flops on . . . and promptly skidded right off the top step and all the way down on my back. Holy crap! Never mind the extensive scraping and bruising . . . I managed to wrench or maybe tear a muscle -- or do something to cause significant pain and subsequent limited mobility. It's sure as heck not often that I'm in tears from pain. Fortunately, I didn't wrench my spine -- or I should say more accurately that it's not my spine that hurts. Rather, it's just to the left of my spine, just above my wide butt. Who knew that any little movement or stretching motion could be so difficult and painful? Who knew how almost-impossible it would be to get into bed, let alone try to sleep? Well, I did manage to sleep for a few hours, but it's far easier to sit up than to lie down. I've bee...

For a number of years now, well over a decade in fact, I frequently will wake in the night, or startle awake just as I'm drifting off to sleep, with the crystal clear thought, "I'm going to die." Or, "I don't want to die alone." Complete with impending sense of panic. As I did last night. I don't know why this is so. Oh, I understand that the ego fears non-existence and that is the reason for the fear for death. Or perhaps, more accurately, the fear of the process of dying. But in the light of day, with cool and calm logic, I think, "So what?" Everything passes and humans are no exception. We're a part of the natural order, not somehow separate and superior. I don't even want to live forever, so it's not that. I mean, could you stand to be in the same body for eons? Maybe, if you have a great body and no health issues. But most of us? Shudder. What a horrifying thought. Awake, I'm more afraid that there is reincarnation and ...

It's a holiday Monday here, so I set out, camera in hand, to walk "the block," the big 12km loop from my house, around and back. Didn't quite make it--ended up walking the long way round to Wal-Mart and picking up a few things, including a cheap runner for the downstairs hallway. So I took the bus back down the main route to FoodBasics, stocked up on some heavy items, and took a taxi home from there. So, about 9 kms in total (according to Google Maps walking route info), with the detour to Wal-Mart. Doesn't matter that I didn't make it all the way; my feet hurt enough to have walked 20kms. LOL. You think I should invest in decent sneakers? I was wearing a $15 pair. But with $500 orthotics in them. :-P The only thing I stopped for along the way was a short, non-fat chai to go. No cookie or square or piece of cake this time. The chai was enough.

That means I can crack open the wine without guilt. ;-) So. I had a lovely hike around the Point again today. I really hadn't intended to go back, having just been a week ago, but it was a perfect summer morning (perfect summer day!) and I couldn't resist. I wasn't in the mood to go shopping, didn't feel like buying anything. (I hear a collective gasp !) I thought I'd be out there, camera in hand, for an hour, but no, it was two. It's always two hours. I can't seem to do it in less, not while I'm taking my time and looking for photo ops. It was great mental therapy for me today. Even though there were a lot of people out there, running and hiking and cycling, plus walking their dogs--so many that by the time I was heading for the exit, I was sick of saying "good morning" to every one I passed. LOL. Certainly there was no hope of coming across any deer, with so much noise from we two-leggeds. Afterward I stopped at Jysk to check out their curta...