Musings on a Small Life

I planted some seeds a couple of months ago (should have started them inside, in early Spring), didn't think they would germinate, let alone grow. It was tough going, with the cats lying on the seedlings and squashing them. But when I got home today, I saw this one bloom, at long last.

It's a fabulous day because it's Friday, it's Friday before a long weekend, it's payday, and I'm taking my second half-day. I'm armed with a long grocery list, plenty of shopping bags, and money in the bank. :-) Today's pic: Roses from my walk in to work the other morning. They're so bright they almost hurt your eyes! Wishing everyone a "bright" day . . . .

One more day to the work week, then we have a long weekend. One more day till payday. Beats me what it is, but I feel like I've been steam-rolled this week. I've been sleeping well, or so it seems, but I can barely function. I can't possibly drink any more coffee, so don't even suggest it. Yesterday I took a half-day off, was in one of those, "If I don't get out of here this minute I'm going to crawl out of my skin" moods. Returned the "CatIt" water fountain the boys ignored, stocked up on some canned food for the fur kids, then went home and crashed for a while. Dad called, briefly, in the afternoon, to let me know they made it to Quebec City without incident. They got caught in a downpour as he was talking, and I could hear the crash of the thunder over the phone line (he was on his cell). They'll get good use out of their rain coats and umbrellas. LOL. I might take my second half-day tomorrow, go stock up on groceries and kitty litter ...

I stumbled across these easy instructions for a 3-column blogger template, using the Minima style as your base: http://www.thecutestblogontheblock.com/blog-secrets/145-how-to-get-a-3-column-template.html It means you need to adjust your header image as well, if you have one, to make things look okay. I've looked at 3-column templates, where you just upload or replace the existing html with the xml template, copied from the source of your choosing, but you lose most of your widgets by doing that. There are supposedly simple ways around that, but so far, even after going through a couple of tutorials, I've been unable to get it right. So these instructions were a real find for me! Plus, there are sources for 3-column backgrounds, where you just copy their code and paste into an HTML gadget that you add via the layout view. Two super sources for blogger backgrounds: The Cutest Blog on the Block (where I found the easiest 3-column instructions, above), and Hot Bliggity Blog Have f...

I've been doing the laundry and cleaning this morning, stuff I didn't get to yesterday. (Remember, I can get a lot done early, being up at 4AM!). One of those things has been hauling some old stuff up from the basement and elsewhere, for a Goodwill or Value Village donation. Included in that was my old Eureka Boss vacuum, which hasn't worked for a couple of years, or thereabouts. On impulse, I decided to open it up and check it, just to make sure it wasn't the belt that had given way. No, the belt was fine. However, the roller was completely choked up with carpet fiber--all the stringy stuff that forms the edging. No wonder the roller couldn't rotate. So I cleaned that up and tried the vacuum--presto! It works just fine. In fact, it's better on bare floors than my other little Eureka Maxima vacuum, it's quieter, and it has a longer cord for better reach. What I can't understand is why I never bothered to do a simple check in the first place, why I assume...

Used to be, five years ago, that I could hike for two hours and still have energy to spare. Huh. Not so anymore. I've been home for a couple of hours now and am just getting my second wind back. Of course, five years ago I wasn't packing 30 or 40 extra pounds, either. Anyway, I had a great hike! No deer, but plenty of other critters and I have those pics on my Fuzzy Tales blog . A few other pics are below. By the way, while I was out there, on one of the main trails not far from the entrance, a young woman with dyed platinum blond hair and skimpy clothes, plus over-sized handbag, went by. By herself. Not the type to just be out for an 8AM hike, not wearing those clothes. I confess I didn't notice the footwear, but I'm sure whatever she was sporting on her feet wasn't appropriate for hiking trails. I'm thinking she hadn't quite finished her night's work, frankly. I detoured to take a few pics and I didn't see her again. Wondered what married scum she ...

Fabulous cloud formations yesterday evening!

This evening I discovered I have four more cherry tomatoes coming. Right now they are about the size of my baby fingernail. Still only the two on the other tomato plant.

I might get out to the Point tomorrow, the one of the conservation areas in town, if the forecast rain really does hold off until the afternoon. And here you likely thought I meant being direct about something. Which I am most of the time, anyway, and which sometimes lands me in "trouble." No, I meant out hiking. Assuming it's not raining, as stated. Assuming I sleep tonight, yadda yadda. Which brings me to my camera. I love my older Canon PowerShot S3 IS, but am not happy with the limited 12x zoom. Ultra zoom cameras are up to 24x zoom now, though of course something must be sacrificed for that, presumably image quality. However, I'm not a photographer, not even an amateur one, so I don't think I'd notice a deterioration in image quality unless I was printing a snapshot out at large size. I've been scoping out the newest Canons, at 20x zoom. Nikon has a 24x zoom, but customer reviews I've read are less-than-pleased with image clarity. Kodak also has a...

So I went to bed early as usual, still feeling crappy. Read for a while, then lights out. Along about 10PM I was awakened (awoken?) by a loud crash, pulled out of a very vivid, strange dream. Something in the house certainly fell, but as I rushed from room to room, I couldn't find anything out of place. I had a wild, split-second thought that maybe lightning had hit the house, because there had been thunder as I was heading to bed, and wondered if the house was on fire. Yeah, when you are in a panic state, fight or flight, you think all sorts of things. Anyway, I went downstairs, nothing. Heard my next door neighbour and thought, well, maybe it was something over in her house, though it really didn't sound like it was that far away. Went back upstairs for another look around and finally saw that the closet rod I had put up in the guest room had given way on one side, with the rod, hangers, hanging canvas shelf and some clothes crashing down. Pulled the rod bracket right off the...

I'm almost in tears with relief. LOL. I have three browser windows open and I'm listening, live, to Jazz FM91 via the Internet right now. Sob!!!! The cable guy, who was serious eye candy, showed up oh, not that long ago. An hour? No, less, maybe 40 minutes ago. Shortly after my previous post. Didn't take long for him to attach a little splitter box to my existing TV cable, plug in the cable modem, and presto! High speed. Hallelujah. No, really . I'll get a router soon, so I can have the laptop back on the table; right now it's on a dining chair and I'm sitting over next to the TV. I don't care. I don't care. I can't believe I survived almost 4.5 years without high speed access at home. The novelty will wear off in less than a week, I'm sure, but right now I'm beside myself with shallow, material-based "happiness."

One of my co-workers had given me a couple of tomato plants her mom had started, and I planted them in my little back space, just to see if they would grow. They don't get full sun (I face north), so I figured not much would happen. I've seen a few tomato plants loaded down with fruit now, whereas my donated plants have been looking less-than-stellar. But in spite of the light/soil conditions and my lack of attention, they've managed to produce some fruit. Wonders never cease. The first plant in the pic below actually has another tomato on it, just developing. Wow, two whole tomatoes. LOL. The rest of the garden is looking a little worse for the wear, thanks mostly to Nicki. Derry does a pretty good job of trampling everything too, but it's Nicki who is scaling the fence every day and jumping back down onto the plants, crushing them. At least my big ivy is doing well.

Last night.

I just broke down and ordered the high speed internet lite plus for the house from our local cable company. I can't stand the dial up anymore, I just can't. $35 per month, plus tax, so I guess that's reasonable. Not as fast as standard high speed, but it should be better--far better, I hope--than the old telenet I've been using for four years. The "down" side is that I have to hang around at home all day on Sunday, waiting for the cable guy to show up. I asked for the modem and cable to be installed downstairs in the living room because that's where I use the laptop. Having to pay the set up fee ($30) plus first month's service ($40) means I can't rush out and buy a wireless router this month, though. Or shouldn't rush out and buy one, as it would have to be on the credit card. I figure I can just plug the cable modem into the laptop for a few weeks, until I can get the router. I hope the lite plus will be sufficient. It's not the download...

I didn't do the whole "block" today (i.e. the 12 km loop), more like half a block. About 6 or so kms, I guess. Felt like more, though. Up to the "big" mall to a branch of my bank, to use the ATM to deposit Rogers' refund cheque (from the cancellation of the long distance service), over to a Starbucks for a short chai and an oatmeal raisin cookie, then across to Home Depot where I finally picked up an inexpensive 4'x6' mat, and finally to Metro (formerly A&P) for a few groceries. Took the bus back to my transfer centre, popped into Loblaws for kitty litter and a few other things, then cabbed home. That's it. I can hardly stand the excitement. BTW, not much in the way of pics today. Took only three, actually. The critters knew I was coming. The snapshot below was at Lion's Park, out at the shopping centre.

Around 7:45PM yesterday we had a brief period of heavy rain and a few far-off claps of thunder. Afterward, the skies cleared again and we got this:

If you want an update on the little boy kitten who found his home yesterday, you can check my Fuzzy Tales site . No pics yet, but the woman who took him said she'd send some around once she's downloaded them from her camera onto her computer. I told my co-worker that if this ever happens again, that she finds stray babies, I'll take 'em home and we can work to privately adopt them. Not sure I really would, if it came down to it, but if I did, at least I'd know the kittens wouldn't be relegated to a tiny cage while in isolation and while awaiting adoption. *Sigh* I'm soft in the heart and probably even softer in the head. :-D

Today's big adventure is the three stray kittens a co-worker found last night and brought in today, to drop off after work at our local shelter. You can see them on my Fuzzy Tales site: Three Stray Kittens at the Office Today

I'll just take a pass on having yet another ortho wire bonded onto the back of my front teeth, thanks. That was an hour and a half in the dentist's chair, partly because she was running a bit behind and partly because I was a guineau pig for the type of wire and method of bonding it on. Yay me. My head is pounding from the tension--and all the drilling to remove the old bonding--and my crown hurts so much that I can feel the pain all through the right side of my jaw. Probably due to the cold air the assistant was blowing on it for much of the procedure. BTW, my dentist saved the "old" wire, the one she had put on last month, just in case she needs to reuse it at some point in the future. I can't do emoticons in Google Blogger, otherwise I'd be inserting a slew of horrified faces right now. No, no, no, no, no. Absolutely not again .

I made a fairly quick run out to Value Village again this morning. Found a few summer tee-shirts and a long-sleeved cotton blouse, plus a cute three-piece summer pyjama set. That was it, I think. Then I popped into Canadian Tire at the Centre, in between buses, to get more of those little propane tanks for my tiny bbq. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the knapsack and package-check has been done away with. Used to be you had to surrender your knapsack and any packages you had with you, for lock up. Apparently, however, there is a new owner who doesn't feel that's necessary. Hallelujah! I would hope their video surveillance plus check-out security would be enough. And that was it for the day! Nothing exciting at all, this last mini-vacation day. And gee, I didn't wield a paint brush once. LOL.

"The block" being the 12 kilometre distance from my place up to Home Depot, over to one of the malls, then back down the other main street. A big loop. "Around" meaning on foot, of course. That's only the second time I've walked that distance in one shot. Hardly a critter in sight today, either, even though I took part of the hiking trail that cuts through the city. Cows in the far fields of the Corrections Canada land; do they count, even though they're not wild? I didn't even buy anything; I'm so impressed! I stopped for a small iced coffee and cherry cheese Danish to go, from Tim Horton's, popped in to Home Depot, Canadian Tire and then Rona and that was it. Priced area rugs. Home Depot has the best selection and the best prices. Rona sucks for area rugs. Canadian Tire isn't too bad, but the selection is so-so. So Home Depot it is, hopefully when Dad makes his visit in September. I've already spent far too much on taxis this month,...

I finally made it out to the conservation area, first time since the latter part of May. Not even the cool, breezy weather and gloomy skies were going to deter me today. Hardly saw any critters at all, furred or feathered, which was rather disappointing, but I had a great "tree" walk. :-)

...but not much to show for it. A 3'x4' cheap area rug from Home Depot, cat food and treats from Global Pet Foods, and groceries from Loblaws. That seemed to take four hours. With a 15-minute stop at Starbucks for a short, non-fat chai and an oatmeal raisin cookie. Really, that's it. Our Zellers sucks. That store always is in disarray (and that's being diplomatic) and always is lacking price info. Plus they are more expensive than Wal-Mart. Right now I'm trying to remember why I even bother to check out their stock. Jysk was full of cheap-quality merchandise. PetSmart was a mine-field, with four large cages on wheels in the middle of an aisle, filled with kittens awaiting adoption. There was one tiny, quiet, dilute tortie I easily could have brought home. And a few other older kittens, young adults stuck in the tiny cages at the back. I had thought to sneak in there and check their kitty condos, avoid the adoption centre. Then I ran smack dab into the portable kitte...

Today is the 13th anniversary of my arrival in this city. I didn't even think of it until I was out and about on the bus, early of course, and passed a large sign that tweaked my memory. That's almost as long as I spent on the east coast. A few more years here and I will have surpassed that time, in fact. I don't feel particularly attached to this area; it's just a place. A pretty spot, true, but I don't think I'd be too upset if I moved--provided it was my choice to move and I was going to something better . But hey, right now I'm just content to be here, grateful for my job, the fur kids, the house, etc. And at my age, frankly, I don't want to uproot myself and start another life. Been there, done that. And I feel too old to do that again. Moving along. No pun intended. The two for two? Value Village! No, not a sale or special of some sort. I tried on two pairs of pants and both fit. Huh. What are the odds? I'd say I had a better chance of being s...

Happy Canada Day! What have I done? Besides not sleep well and be up at 4AM, of course? Well, I had a rebound shopping trip up to Wal-Mart. I say "rebound" because I blithely spent $90 plus taxes on a bookcase to compensate for the ruined furniture painting projects. Almost bought a large mirror, but that was an additional $70 I couldn't swing. I wasn't sure where to put the bookcase (it's an open-backed one), but it fit nicely upstairs in the hallway. I did try it in a couple of spots downstairs, but nope, it didn't go well in either. So upstairs it went, and the bookcase I had up there came down (again) to go in the corner beside the couch (again). The cheap, low storage unit I got at Zellers back in the winter currently is holding my microwave. I really need something a bit higher for that spot, but this will do for now. I'll pick up some baskets for the towels and dishcloths, so they're not just sitting there in a pile. So, with the brisk hour+ wal...