Musings on a Small Life

Happy New Year, everyone! My wish is that 2017 will be less crazy , for lack of a better word, than 2016. However, I somehow doubt the world will be any saner just because the calendar date changes, especially for the foreseeable future. All the more reason to focus our energies on what we can do, to make our little corners of the globe better places. And if we can't help in any way, however small, at least let's do our very best to do no harm. All images snagged from Facebook, the first two from a page about introverts. 2017 will usher in significant work changes in our office, with the impending retirement of our old director next fall (and a new one to take his place, obviously), a new assistant director position created and now posted on our HR site, as well as an external review of our little unit (not the merged department overall). Whether I have a job there--or choose to have a job there--by the end of 2017 remains to be seen. Whatever happens...

I love bubble wrap. Who doesn't love bubble wrap? So imagine my surprise when package 1 of 3 from Ikea (yes, they had free shipping on Christmas Day) arrived today, nicely packed with big bubbles that wouldn't pop. Not only wouldn't they pop, all the sheets (3 in total) completely deflated with just one snip each of my scissors. Agggghhhh! The disappointment! What kind of pseudo-bubble wrap is this?! Who knew there were researchers toiling away in labs to make un-poppable bubble wrap? How can they look themselves in the mirror every morning? Everyone knows bursting those little bubbles is akin to a therapy session. Humph. Okay, I hope you realize that was written with tongue firmly in cheek. Even if it was a crushing blow. *** On a different note, I had the urge to go thrift-store shopping today...in the snowstorm. Of course.  You can't see the wet snow being driven by the wind in these pics; let's just say it wasn't pleasant.   ...

Santa was good to the boys, and they had a great time Christmas morning:            They zonked out for several hours after all the excitement.  :-)   We hope your Christmas was equally enjoyable! Peace .

I'm wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa...whatever you celebrate. May you spend the time with those you love, be they human or non-human (or both). Comments are off today. I'm leaving you with scanned images of some of the lovely "old-fashioned" paper cards received this holiday. Blessings, Light and Peace to you all.          

The real life back story to this is that there's a semi-regular bus rider I've been acquainted with for a year or two now. He used to take the morning bus, but now takes his car and parks close to one of the main streets to pick up an express bus. I see him more often on the way home, also on an "express" bus. He's an accountant and works at one of our hospitals. On the surface, he seems like a reasonably decent person, has two cats (Heidi and Gretchen).  We get off at the same express stop when on the way home, yet never once has he offered me a drive. (He lives down the street from me, half a block away, I'm right on his route.) I don't expect a virtual stranger to offer to drive me home, but if circumstances were reversed, I would at least ask. I guess that's just me. I had that in mind Monday, as I made my way home over the slippery sidewalks, ice-grippers on my boots, and he passed me by in his car. So that must have been the reason t...

I can hardly believe it was 9 years ago today that Derry came home with me.  He and Nicki were tussling from the get-go.  :-)   He's been my precious little smoochy bear from the first day, and no matter how old he gets, or how much longer we have together, he always will be. ❤ Happy Gotcha Day, Derry-Bear! Snapshot from November.   Peace .

In lieu of a "wordless" Wednesday post (because tomorrow is Derry's 9th Gotcha Day), I'll make today's mostly snapshots taken over the past several days, some from the bus window (Saturday's snowstorm). All I can say is that I hope we get an early Spring! Bitterly cold last Thursday or Friday, walking home. Saturday, from the bus.     Our little back space is snowed in!   Freezing rain early Sunday morning.   Sunday afternoon.   Yeah, it's cold, Nicki!   Derry wisely didn't get off the step. Monday, from various windows in the adjoining office building.       I can't say I think much of a "traditional" Canadian winter!  :-P Peace . Comments are off today.

Seven hours, two yesterday for the base cabinet and five today for the doors and shelves and getting all the TV (etc.) equipment transferred over. The problem was (a) the typical crappy Ikea instructions and (b) that I got hardware for the various combinations and permutations of the line (Besta), not just for the item I ordered. So there were two different kinds of legs, two different sets of hardware for the shelves, etc., and I had to try them all to see what I preferred and what worked best. It's easier (and more interesting) for me to discuss abstract concepts like the nature of the universe and of what we call "god" than it is for me to put hinges and soft-closing door doodads together.   But even worse was trying to get everything transferred over from the coffee table I was using to the new TV bench. Folks, there's a reason that the instructions for the bench tell you (via the crappy drawings) to put your devices on the shelves before y...