Musings on a Small Life

I got home very late last night (April 11), to bed after 1 AM, but I made it! 1. It was a wonderful holiday with Dad, lots of sightseeing, and we muddled through just fine food-wise, though neither of us cooks (I did bake my dairy-free, sugar-free Irish soda bread and pumpkin muffins, though.) 2. Both flights were on time and uneventful, as was the train to Toronto on April 3rd and the UP Express train from Union Station to the airport. No problems at all; yay! The bus home, was a different story, though. 3. I took over 800 pics that I have to wade through, cull, and then edit. 4. Trip highlights, other than spending time with Dad: The Reifel Bird Sanctuary, the Van Dusen Gardens, and lunch in Queen Elizabeth Park (in Vancouver) with its incredible views of the city and mountains beyond. The only glitch: I knew I would get into Pearson from Vancouver too late to make my way downtown to pick up the last Via Rail train home, so I had booked the bus instead (one of the two companies in to...

A couple of weeks ago the university posted info on voluntary early retirement for eligible faculty and librarians.   On Tuesday they posted an exit incentive for (only) Faculty of Arts and Science staff. (Four weeks pay for every year of service, up to a maximum of 52 weeks pay. Those who are eligible for retirement would be able to take it.) A&S has the biggest deficit, so that's why this is limited to their staff right now. The article stated that if successful, and needed, the admin would consider rolling it out more broadly. I'm not sure they would roll it out to us as well, even if they did extend it to other faculties (we're not an academic department), but let's just say that things are becoming a bit more interesting now! Sunrise on Tuesday     As for other things, I'm getting ready to head west to visit Dad; the trip is coming up very quickly! My travel anxiety is ratcheting up, but on the flip side, I'm so over-tired that perhaps by the time I go,...

First, look who's back!  I've seen Leonard's kitty prints in the frost and snow on my step through the winter (the little snow we did get), but other than once (maybe twice), I've not actually seen him face-to-face until this morning. It's nice to see that he's as food motivated as ever. LOL. As for the reno...Arrgh, it's so much harder than I thought to choose countertops and flooring! I had gone up to their showroom last Friday over lunch, brought back a few samples of each, but while I really liked them in the showroom, I wasn't happy with how they looked in the house. So yesterday I popped up over lunch again (all those taxis are NOT cheap, but buses don't go out that far) and, with the help of one of the staff, found a few more possibilities. The designer and installer are coming to the house on Thursday morning for final measurements and will bring the samples then, so I really hope I can come to a decision. I don't want this place to be my...

I know it's been a couple of weeks since I've bothered to post; there's not a lot to write about right now--not that I'm willing to put out in a public forum anyway! As you can see from the two snapshots above, we've had a good wallop of winter weather. First with snow and bitter temps, windchills in the minus 20s Celsius (I know, I know, it's been colder in other more westerly provinces!). Then with rain and freezing rain and more rain. So it's been messy, grey, gloomy, dreary, and dismal, and I'm feeling the effects of almost zero sunshine since what, October? Early November? On the plus side, we're on the right side of the winter Solstice and the daylight is increasing. Thank goodness! I have not been idle, though. I'm now booked for a trip west in early April to visit my dad. His wife will be away at that time, on vacation overseas with her sister. Apparently she had suggested (to Dad) that I come out and keep him company. So I will go for a ...

My little baby bear currently is recovering at the v-e-t, having had his 3rd or 4th dental now. He lost 4 or 5 more teeth, bringing the total loss to 15 or 16. However, given that cats have 30 adult teeth, he still has 14 or 15 left--which means another dental at some point, if his health and kidneys hold up. Nicki goes to the v-e-t tomorrow afternoon, almost a month early this time, because he's now peed twice outside the litter boxes (once while I was away in Halifax, in an empty Rubbermaid container in the basement, and then again Sunday night/Monday AM in the empty laundry basket in the basement). My first thought: His kidney stones or a UTI. I'll find out. He was fine in early April (UA and blood work), but that doesn't mean there isn't a problem now. Cats don't pee in abnormal places for no reason, and to the best my knowledge, they certainly don't do so out of spite. If it's not a physical issue, I can only think it's stress-related. Wh...

Not only was Newton literally a pig, he was a pig of a pig, stealing all the apples that anyone was tossing in for him and the two sheep who share the pen.  Mine, all mine!  No way was he sharing.    One forlorn sheep. No worries, we made sure that the sheep got apples too.  :-) That was at Campbell's Orchards yesterday morning, in Prince Edward County. I just have to say that their pumpkin chocolate chip mini-loaf, fresh from the oven and still hot, was to die for. Mmmm, so good!     That was only one stop of many over the day and a half I spent with friends Robin and Chuck (okay, Chuck was working, it was girl time). I had an absolutely wonderful time and want to thank them so very much, especially Robin, for having me stay. I took 316 snapshots but whittled that down to 161 and currently am in the process of cropping and resizing as necessary. Besides Campbell's Orchards, we stopped (twice) at another farm s...