Its Been Two Long Years

Well, someone said to me that it was my anniversary today...mine and another worker's.  It has been two long years since I began working as a social worker.  Where did the time go.  In some respects it seems like I just got here, and that it wasn't long ago that I finished school, while in most others, it feels like I have been here for years.  This is the longest I have ever remained in the same job.  ever.  Not that I have been real transient in my careers...just haven't had a career until now other than parenting.  which I did for 18 consistent years thus far.  When I think of all that I have been through, and the changes that have occurred at work - staff turnover, moving offices three times, moving houses, hair color, etc...it has been a long two years alright.  And I think that while I have learned a lot, one thing I have learned is that I have a lot more to learn yet. 

I don't know if I'll be here another two years, or even just another year, but I do know this....I don't relish the thought of moving!  As well, I am still content in my job, even with the events of this week, and as long as I am still content in my job, I'll remain, but when I begin to feel like I don't want to go to work anymore, then it might be time for a change.  for now, I'm here.

two long years.

My Girl
 
I got to see my girl last night, as I had an unexpected trup to Halifax for the evening.  It was just an hour that we stopped by for, but it was GREAT to see the kid and the boy.  The apartment looks great and most importantly, I got a hug!  I'm going back up again on Friday, so will see her for the long weekend, and we're hoping to hit the beaches and the waterfront over the weekend.  The Tall Ships are in, which I have no interest in, but there are tons of activities planned for the waterfront, so that should be fun. 
 
Otherwise, my life is getting busy again, mostly work related!!!

Two Seasons - Winter and Campers
 
Yup, its here...camper season.  I just drove to Antigonish and saw no less than 200 campers, I am sure.  I am referring, of course, to the whole group - winnabegos, truck-pulled, flat top, pop-up...you name it, we got it down here in Camp Breton.  And none of them can go over 70kms/hr.  And then there are the campers that think they can pass other campers on a hill...so they are double laned, blocking off any hope of getting by.  Campers bring out the worst in people too...like the dumbass who tried to slam into me today...I am heading in the opposite direction and there is a camper with a whole string of cars and trucks  behind it, as they usually are, when out of nowhere pops this mini-van (the other annoyance on the road) to pass the camper, and headed directly for me.  I had to swerve to the shoulder to avoid him, the crazy idiot!  I leaned on the horn as I drove by, but it scared the crap out of me just the same. 
 
Since I have moved out into the country, I have less and less patience for driving anywhere that's busy...I couldn't wait to just get home and out of my car for the rest of the weekend.  I'm on call, but likely I won't have to go far or in very busy places (knock knock).

 
 

One more morning and the crow gets it
 
We have this annoying crow...not that all crows are not annoying, but this one in particular likes to travel from one side of the house to the other, squawking the whole way so he wakes both Roomie and I up.  The last tenant (and my friend) used to feed the whole fam damily of crows...she had requested that I continue this tradition...I told her in no uncertain terms that I would love to STARVE THEM TO DEATH.  So now their expectations are high, because she fed them all the time, but she also slept like the dead, so they didn't bother her in the morning.  Now I have them.  They won't get anything to eat here...the kitchen is closed.  Now if I only had a good pellet gun.

The Boy and His Promotion

Well, he did it...hasn't been working there a month and the boy got a promotion.  They have a big job that they will be working around the clock on and he was offered 12 hour shifts for $1.50 more an hour.  Whoo hoo!  Way to go Brad.  I knew you could do it.  He works so hard, that it was bound to be recognized...and is he ever happy.  It was just what he wanted, higher pay with longer hours because he loves to work.  We're so proud...awwwww

Now if he can stop injuring himself...just got his stitches out yesterday.

Pet Peeves
 
We all got em...here are a few of mine...
 

1. drivers who don't use signal lights
2. people in the checkout line with unpriced items
3. servers who don't LISTEN to your order and find numerous ways to screw up your order
4. automated customer service systems - so many menus that I forget why I called...likely their purpose
5. telemarketers - especially those who won't take no for an answer
6. bank tellers who know the customer and feel they should update them with every detail of their life while you wait in line
7. people who run stop signs because they figure no one is coming - that was ME you almost ran down today dumbass!
8. I thought there was more, but I am just too tired to think right now...stay tuned tomorrow for part two of my pet peeves...on baited breath, I'm sure.

Awww..she misses me
 
I was talking to Brad earlier tonight before Amber got home and he told me that when Amber was feeling homesick the other night and had a little meltdown, she mentioned that she missed her mother.  Awwww...not that I doubted it, but is sure is nice to hear.  I know I sure miss her, although I am coming to terms with living alone.  She's been gone just 3 weeks but it seems like forever already.  I am going up to visit next weekend, and can't wait.  She is also coming down in early August for a weekend, so that should be exciting!  Besides the one night she and Brad spent here the day before they moved away, this will be her first night visiting me in my new home.  Awwww.
 
Seems the non-resident teen is also a little shy in making friends.  She is a pretty self-confident person, but I know she gets a little shy in making new friends in a new place...its that old fear of rejection that shows up in all of us.  I wish I could make it better for her.  I know she'll meet a ton of people in university this fall, but she really needs some friends this summer too.  She misses her old ones from here, and will see them when she comes back next month for the weekend, but she understands the need to move on now that she lives in another city.
 
Although I talk to her [Amber] every night, its still pretty lonely out here in the country.  I know I have kitty, lol, but my room mate is sparse, so I spend most evenings alone here with kitty. 
 
I miss her.
 

Here I sit...

in the dark...its twenty to one in the morning and I am not tired enough for sleep, not yet anyhow, so I thought I would poke around on the net. It's a beautiful night, a few stars out, no wind, and very warm. It was a fine day today. I got all my laundry washed and nearly all of it dried on the clothesline...gawd, I love the country. Out here, I can hang my clothes out and it doesn't stink like pulp mill, but fresh air. And it dried so soft...the only fly in the ointment was the darn fly on my arm...or should I say swarm of deeres...damn things...some call them circle flies because they circle your head, over and over again, like they are trying to herd you somewhere. I got a big bite on my arm, and a number of them on my legs. Grrrr! I'll be glad when they're gone. At least they weren't out tonight when I was sitting out with friends.

Cooked baked beans today, the first time in many years. And boy is it windy tonight...
I invited my friends R. and A. over, and my neighbors over, and we had a lovely meal. I made tea biscuits as well, and we had strawberry shortcake for dessert...wonderful! Then we sat out (neighbors went elsewhere, prior commitment) and at first we thought the black flies were going to carry us away, but then we lit citronella candles and got a dose of OFF and we were good to go...until it began to rain. It didn't amount to much, just a sprinkle, but we went in anyhow.

I watched the Amazing Race 5 tonight...its gonna be a good season...the fangs are out already. They are down to 9 teams, but it has been interesting thus far. I forgot to watch it on Tuesday night, but I have a dish, so wonderfully, I get several opportunities to watch it again on Saturday night. I can't wait until Survivor comes on again this fall...wonder where the next location will be?

I have all day tomorrow to relax...if the weather is good, I may sit out and read for a bit. I tried to today, but got so busy with laundry, cooking, baking, errands to town, cleaning, and oh yeah, I was on duty and got a couple of calls, heh heh. I need to get a little more color on my legs. I know its not good for me...blah, blah, blah...but I like a bit of a tan.

I see that my friend Tobey has posted her first post...yeah Tobey! She went to a concert tonight, Blue Rodeo with Jimmy Rankin opening. I wouldn't have minded going, but with me being on call, it would have been a pain in the ass, and since I did get a couple of calls, I would have had to leave. I hope they had fun!

And the phone rang on
 
There must be something about sisters that don't want me to sleep...this time I tried going to bed early again, same time, and had actually been in bed, just about asleep for nearly an hour...when out of the dark came BRRRRRRRRIIIIIINNNNNNGGGGG!  My roommate's phone.  And I just about lifted off the bed, it startled me so much.  She wasn't home, so it rang and rang until the answering machine picked it up, and she had the machine turned up loud, so I heard who it was...her sister!  So then it was another hour before my heart stopped pounding and I could get back to sleep.  I think I need to begin wearing my earplugs...I will still hear the phone, but it won't startle me so much.
 

twitch and jerk?  what twitch and jerk?
 
So I began thinking about it and realized that perhaps I didn't blog about the twitch and jerking in my life.  Now here's the real story.  It began with the Effexor in 2002, and subsided somewhat when I came off.  What it looked like was this - think of yourself laying in bed, just getting comfy, restful, and your body does this whole body jerk, just like you tripped on a set of stairs...now try having that happen about 70 times a night before you get to sleep.  My head jerked to the right and my left leg really shoots out...funny I know.  So it got a little better after coming off the Effexor and while on the Trazadone, it wasn't very bothersome...too zonked out to happen I guess.  I wasn't 100% sure why it happened at all, but related it to the Effexor. 
 
Then I began on the Paxil...now we're havin' fun...try about 200 times a night, and sometimes during the day, when I was laying on the couch, or even sitting in my chair, relaxing.  I even had a couple while sitting in the restaurant with the gals for lunch...WHOA.  And then get me drunk and there's a whole other party going on.  I was pretty sure then that it was related to SSRI drugs.  (Selective Seretonin Reuptake Inhibitors).  They persisted somewhat afer Paxil, so I asked the doc for a referral for neurology, which I got sometime in January I think. 
 
Now THAT was an experience!  Amber wanted to go, purely for entertainment, as well as I didn't know what exactly they were going to do to me, so wanted her there to drive home.  We also went shopping, so it was a good plan.  Well, they gummed up my head and attached a bunch of electrodes for an EEG, and laid me down in a dark room.  Amber was across the room, sitting next to the gal running the show.  And what a light show it was...they talked to me, then flashed lights now and again...and sure enough, they waited just 10 minutes and the twitch and jerk show began.  I was impressed...I had thought I would be too self-conscious for them to happen, but away my body went...it had the audience it needed!
 
Turned out I have Primary Generalized Epilepsy, and while I likely will never suffer a seizure because, get this, I am too old to develop Partial Epilepsy...lol, it will likely be that twitching and jerking I experience will be with me forever.  What the head doc said was everyone has a threshold for seizures, and mine happens to be lower.  And the name for what my symptom is, is Myoclonus, spike and wave disorder.  The Myoclonic jerks are what is happening to the body.  So there it was, in the brain wave patterns on his computer.  He printed off a page for me with a head jerk tracked on it...cool. 
 
So what does that all mean?  Well, stay AWAY from SSRI's for sure, and anything else that lists seizures as a possible side effect, like Welbutrin.  Stay away from anything with stimulants in it, like coffee, Ritalin or Dexadrine (sure...now I have to throw them all out, lol) and so on.  Well, not a problem...don't use any of it.  But good to know about the SSRI's.  And get lots of rest.  When I get tired, it will be worse.  Great...just what an insomniac needs to hear.
 
And the myoclonic jerks have all but subsided now...the only time I get them is just as I close my eyes for sleep...two or three at the most.  Oh well, they help me relax...I remember saying to my sister that I was so tired, I just wanted to go home and twitch...
 
So now you know.
 

Tobey's Tavern
 
got to check out my friend's new blog.  She is brand new at blogging but not at rambling thoughts, so it should be interesting...I know she makes me laugh, so check her out.  She should be posting soon enough!
 
http://tobeystavern.blogspot.com/
 
And look, we can now ad color to our posts!!!  whoo hoo!
 
Now they can look purdy...
 

Insomnia, the home version - not just for Al Pacino anymore

Ah...where do I start...its been in my life for many years...good old insomnia. I've been a poor sleeper for as long as I can remember...perhaps back to when I was first married or earlier. For years I just tried all the regular stuff...cut back caffeine, take warm baths, relax before bedtime, read a boring book, etc...however it never took care of the problem. Then came my trip to Ireland in 2001 and that totally threw my sleeping out the door, on top of me being sick when I got back. Wise doctor thought it was depression because I couldn't sleep and was crying all the time and gave me one of the new popular drugs - Effexor. WEll, didn't we have fun on that...the sleeping wasn't too bad, still irregular, but within about 8 months, the twitching and jerking began. I think I have mentioned that before. So we decreased the Effexor until I was completely off it. Then I went on another trip - slept somewhat because we were so busy on that trip to Europe, but when I got back, so was the irregular sleep and insonmia. I held on from July to October when I finally couldn't hack it any longer and went to see the local pill pusher. She too thought it was a recurrence of depression and gave me something else - Trazadone. Well, I sure got sleep with that one...night AND day. I was like a walking zombie. And if I took it at night on an empty stomach, HOLY COW, I often had to crawl from the bathroom to my room becuase it zonked me out that fast. OH NO...lets find something else...August arrives and a new doctor wants to try yet another SSRI - Paxil - the drug from hell.

Well, didn't we have FUN with THAT! First, take away all hopes of sleeping again, ever...then add 10 times the amount of twitching and jerking, followed by the inability to handle any stress...great, just what I needed. Took two months of that before finally saying ENOUGH! My problem is not depression, it is INSOMNIA!!! So after three weeks of withdrawal hell and the introduction of a new drug for sleep only, SLEEP WAS MINE!!! I finally got restful sleep, and without the all day sleep hangover.

However, one can't stay on that drug forever, as pretty as it is...(purple in fact) so I had to train myself to sleep at night again, and then get off the drug. Wouldn't you know that withdrawal from this drug - Imovane - includes insomnia...oh the irony. Anyhow, I managed to get off the drug after a few months, and was sleeping on my own fairly good for a month...then came yet another trip - Guatemala and Belize - end of sleep as I knew it. Ok...time to take up the Imovane again...and now I am on a vicious cycle - take it for a week or two to catch up on my sleep and then off for a week or two to see if I can sleep on my own again...and find out that I can't. So NOW what the hell do I do?

Got an appointment to see the doc next week - hopefully a trip to the sleep clinic will FINALLY be in order. I am so tired...

And then there are those people (you know who you are) who wait until late to call me...sometimes I don't mind, I am usually up, but in light of lack of sleep lately, last night I attempted to go to bed early at 9:45pm...which is really early for me, but I just was so tired. Well, watched a little television (that doesn't bother me, it puts me to sleep) and got all dozey so turned it off and rolled over to snuggle in for sleep...it was within reach, I felt it. Then BRRRRRRRIIINNNNNNNNGGGGG! 10:20pm - it was my sister - hi, how you doing? I was sleeping, whyever do you ask? So we chat for a little bit, and then her kids need something so she hangs up. Ok, back to the bed for sleep. Just get dozing again and BRRRRRRRRRRIIINNNNNNNNGGGGGG! 11:10pm - my sister again - Sorry to wake you again but I forgot to ask you for your address and when you were coming to visit me in September. Yawn...back to the bed...it is now 11:30pm, and I finally get drowsy enough to sleep again. 1:15am - I don't know why I woke up...last night was a drug-free night, so it happens. So I am WIDE AWAKE and decide to call my friend in the North West Territories since she is likely still up. Chat for abotu 45 minutes and then back to bed...this time with 1/2 of one of those little purple pills. And sleep the rest of the night.

My friend suggested that I turn my phones off when I go to bed, but PERISH THE THOUGHT! I would be freaking out about not getting that important call from the non-resident teen that she needs me...how can I dare to go to bed without the phone on? I would get less sleep, believe me.

My problem is not so much falling asleep, but staying asleep. I can usually fall asleep really easy, but once someone or something wakes me up...WIDE AWAKE I am. Yawn...its going to be a LONG day.

the newest A & W employee

Well, the kid did it...she got herself a job at the A & W in Halifax's Scotia Square. Whoo hoo! She is happy enough about it too after her first day and saw how less than busy things are there compared to the last A & W she worked at. No school busses of children to contend with, that's for sure! And because it is a mall store, no tables or bathrooms to clean, which took up a portion of her time. She has even made a new friend, complete with her phone number and invitation to hang out sometime. Ahh, my little girl has moved on...

Yet I call her every single night :-) She said she doesn't mind at all because no one else is calling her yet. Most of her old friends don't have long distance phone plans I guess. So we agreed that we would talk every night, even if it is for just 10 minutes until one of us was tired of it. I can't imagine it would be me :-)

so there you are, both of them gainfully employed in the big city, and loving it. What more could a mother ask for?

I love my house

Have I said how much I love living here yet? Well, I do. And after a morning of baking in my huge kitchen, I love it even more. I had so much room, there were parts of the counter that were empty...imagine! In my place in town, I was so cramped in that tiny kitchen that I didn't really enjoy baking, but out here...lemme at it. So this morning I made a batch of gingersnaps, peanut butter-chocolate chip cookies, and a batch of fudge. I was going to make a lemon loaf, but realized I don't have a zester (something to grate the rind on) and so will either have to borrow one, or buy one. Has it been that many years since I made a lemon loaf??? I have had the same grater for years...hmmm. I also wanted to make some snowballs, rum balls, and maybe something else...I have given up for the day though and cleaned the kitchen. Perhaps next week I will make more. I am sending some treats up with a friend to Halifax for the younguns there, and I have brought some over to the next-door neighbor - I was informed by the past tenant (my friend) that the missus doesn't bake much and that extra treats would never go astray...when I left my house to bring them over, she met me on the bridge...I think she was excited...lol. I enjoy baking when I have the room, and don't necessarily eat it much myself, but love sharing it with everyone.

All while I was baking, Darby the horse was out in his pen, and I can see him from the kitchen window, so I whistled to him and he whinnies back to me...its so cute! He was more interested in the neighbor (his mistress) but I liked pretending he was whinnying for me, lol. I brought him a treat too, of the vegetable persuasion.

And while I was amidst the baking frenzy, the roomie finally turned up. She had been travelling in eastern Canada for the past week and a half with a friend. I'm glad to have her back...its been a little lonesome out here with just me and the kitty :-)

My name is not Douglass Schrage so stop calling here.

When I moved out here to the country, I asked for a new unlisted number. I had had a client call me at home and all of a sudden, I felt like they had invaded my last private space. They already knew where I lived and watched me all the time, now they broke the boundary and called me. So I went for the unlisted number like many of my colleagues had. Except Aliant gave me someone else’s number. Douglas Scrage. He seems to be a very popular person, although most of his calls are not personal friends, but business people, bill collectors, telemarketers and the like. I have gotten about 15 calls for Douglas so far, three just yesterday. They call and ask for him and I ask them to repeat the name, just in case it is one of my relatives who have a strong Newfie accent, mumbling my name. Oh no, it is Douglas they want. And when I tell them they have the wrong number, that’s where things get dicey.

“What do you mean the wrong number? Isn’t this 625-****?” “Yes it is, but you have the wrong number.” “But I got it out of the directory, so it isn’t wrong.” “Well, I am telling you it is wrong because Douglas doesn’t live here, I do and this is a new unlisted number.” “Are you sure?” “Yes, I am quite sure Douglas doesn’t live here. I don’t know who Douglas is and I am most certain that there is no man named Douglas living here.” “But I just called Directory Assistance and they gave me this number.” “Well, they are wrong. It’s my number, and it no longer belongs to Douglas.” “Well, do you know how I can get in touch with him.” “NO. I don’t know Douglas.” Then, if it is a telemarketer, they decide to change their prey and ask “Then can I speak to the Sir or Madam of the house?” I answer politely “No. Whatever you’re selling, I’m not buying. Goodbye.”

I have to wonder if it is a ploy by Aliant to drive their customers crazy while they are on strike. And to think, I changed my number to an unlisted one to avoid people calling me. So I called Aliant to tell them of my difficulty and they inform me that Douglas Schrage is not in any of their directories with that number and they don’t know where people are getting it from. “Are you sure they are asking for Douglas Schrage?” “Yes, I am sure.” “Well, can you spell that for us” “Sure can, it was spelled out for me enough times.” “Well ma’am, I don’t know what to tell you. I found Douglas Schrage with another number. Maybe you can give people his number when they call.” Great, now I am his answering service.

Maybe I should have fun with this and start making up elaborate stories about Douglas, like “no, I’m sorry, Douglas has moved to the Congo to train mosquitoes to do backflips.” Or “no, Douglas is visiting Santa Claus, inspecting toys for Christmas.” Yeah, that sounds like more fun.

Postal Service Part 2

So I phoned the post office again this morning. Turns out I was right, my address that is at the end of my driveway on the civic sign is correct and I had the proper address on my form. Also turns out there was a bundle of mail at their office, in another box, so they will deliver it today. Phew. now I know where all those bills are...lol. Actually when I got home and checked my box, there was only one bill and the rest were other stuff...from my old university and from the non-resident teen's future university, as well as junk mail. Egads, I got my first mailer from Doubleday Book Club...ok, what dirty rat sold my address to them...I hadn't had anything from them since I left Newfoundland in 1997. I think it was Columbia House. Dirty rats. In my mail from my university, I got yet another vinyl peel off for my car...how many can I put on my car before it begins to look ostentatious??? I have a frame for my license plate that says University of Waterloo; I have a vinyl peel off in the back window that says University of Waterloo; I have a sticker on the left passenger window that says Renison College Grad; I just got a new one last month and put it on my right passenger window that says U of W Alumni and today I got one that says Renison Alumni. Hmmm...wherever shall I put that?

So I know where I live. What a relief.

Driving in Port Hawkesbury

I have been driving here for nearly two years and I am still scared. I have driven in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Edmonton, Calgary and Halifax…and I was never as scared as I am when I drive here in town. I don’t know what the problem is, but I know what the result is…people who do not know how to drive. Common things like right of way, traffic signs, signal lights and other regular rules of the road are tossed away like schmuck.

For example, when the power goes out, everyone knows all traffic lights become four way stops…well, NOT HERE! Look out mama, they will RUN YOU DOWN LIKE THE DOG YOU ARE. I came back into town one day last year when the power had been out and I knew what to do…too bad I was the only one sitting at the traffic light. Everyone else was barreling through the town, leaving those going across the highway waiting for gawd knows how long.

Another example…where I used to live, I could take one of several streets going “up the hill” in Port Hawkesbury, and because the hill is so steep, several of these streets have no stop signs, as it would be tricky to get going again in winter. HOWEVER, there are stop signs for the roads that cross them. This fact did not appear to be important though to people who drive here. In fact, when I would drive up the hill, I felt like I was in shotgun alley, waiting to be nailed by the next car flying through all those stop signs. Nearly got me three times too.

Another place that feels like shotgun alley is the Sobey’s Plaza parking lot and the Wal-Mart Mall parking lot…you think you are doing the right thing by driving in the painted lane, but bolting out of nowhere is some dumbass crossing the parking lot, not looking at what is coming down the painted lane, and WHAM, you can be the next smear on the pavement. NO one looks where they are going…then add some snowbanks to these lots and we are in for REAL FUN.

Signal lights…why bother? I know where I am going, and it is no one else’s business where I am going, they are only going to talk about me anyway. OMG! They seem to be an optional thing. I don’t know, I am in the habit of using them all the time, even for turning into my own driveway or a parking space…is that not what they are there for? What I really hate is people who slow down, but you have no idea why, until they begin to turn and then flick their blinker on, as if the car crossing the other lanes wasn’t clue enough by then that they were turning….or there is my personal favorite…pulling up behind someone in the inside lane who doesn’t have their signal light on, so you figure you can drive through the lights when it turns green…OH NO. that would be too easy…as soon as the light turns green, they flick on their left turn signal and you are trapped behind them. Lovely.

Right of way…what in the HELL is that? I am sitting at a traffic lighted intersection…the light turns green on me and the fella across the street…right of way goes to those going straight through, or turning right and then when they are gone, left turners can go…right??? Not in Port Hawkesbury. A green light is an opportunity to cut you off while they turn left. Or better yet, an opportunity for someone who is turning right to sit in the opposite side of the road and wait for you to inch your way out to turn left and the light to go yellow before beginning to turn. Look at my hand, I am signing a message for you and I can even do it left handed. Go already.

Then there are those sweet old ladies who sit in the left turn lane, frozen in time and terrified to make that left turn in any traffic…so there I sit in a town of about 4000 people, with a rush hour that lasts 10 minutes and only 4 sets of traffic lights, waiting through four green lights while sweet old lady gets up the courage to turn left.

And then there was the time I was sideswiped coming out of the Sobey’s plaza parking lot. I just turned right into the outside lane when WHOOSH, SCRAPE, PEEL, someone skimmed my new car. I only had the car about 6 months. They kept on going, looking over their shoulder and seeming unconcerned. They were driving a very old blue car. I was in shock, I didn’t think to get the license plate number. I now have a chip of paint off my car and a new rusty spot…I am going to have to pay someone to fix it for me. Aren’t I pleased.

Get me off the road already.

Bird Watching

Well, my friend G bought me a suction cup bird feeder when I moved in here and I put it on the window of the “time out” room. It didn’t take long before the finches showed up and I have even had a starling greedily going through it. Mostly I see yellow finches and purple finches. They’re quite pretty! I haven’t had a bird feeder in ages…now I have two. I went and bought a nice cedar one at Wal-Mart tonight, and filled it with different seed, so we shall see what I get in that tomorrow. The resident kitty caught a glimpse of them yesterday, and thought she might jump up on the windowsill, but I was there and scolded her. After all, I have it full of plants and she would knock the works of them off if she jumped up there…not to mention she would terrorize the birds!!! I am considering a hummingbird feeder too, but am not sure if they are in the area. I am becoming very country.

So now I have to write these blogs on Word because this crappy dial-up keeps frigging up my blog posting. I don’t know what the hell is going on.

So – Postal Service…would imply that there is some type of service being offered, no? Apparently it is pretty open to interpretation. I called the local post office that I was given the number for last night – no dear, this is not your post office….here is the number for the right one. Ok then, so I call them – well dear, where do you live exactly? So I tell them…well, we can’t quite figure out where that is. So I explain it to them. I live in old Mrs P*’s house…OHHH, in there! Well now we know where you live, but you have the wrong address…WTF? Well, the address you gave us isn’t the right address for that house. Um…it worked for my friend for the past two years. Yeah, we know, but it was wrong all that time. Ok then, what is my address? Well, we don’t know, but what you gave us is wrong. We will find out and call you back.

So here I sit, waiting to find out where I live. Like I said…country life.

Canada Post

they're great aren't they? I've been wondering why I haven't gotten any mail since moving out here, and yet I turned in my mailbox key last week for my old address. I paid the required $37.95 to have my mail forwarded for 6 months and handed in the form about 12 days before I turned in the keys...but still no mail. Actually, for a week after it was to begin being forwarded, I was still getting mail, so I went in to the post office and asked them "what up" since I paid the fees to have it forwarded. Oh, turns out they had a note taped to my box but that everyone appeared to be ignoring it so was continuing to put mail in my box. Great. So then she informed me she would but a blocker on the box, so no mail can go in there. Good, then maybe I will get my mail. NOT. So I phoned the toll-free number on the back of my change of address form. And I am informed that I must "register" with the local post office to let them know I am living on their route. WTF? I paid $37.95 to have YOU PEOPLE DO IT. Sorry ma'am, that is just to put the stickers on your mail to reroute it. You need to go to the post office and register for your mail. Great. Where in the hell is that? I live on a rural route, but now I have to find the town it is named after. So I ask for the post office phone number. I hang up from Canada Post Customer service and call the number...some guy answers and tells me that oh, this isn't their number anymore, it was changed years ago when Polly something or other gave up working in the post office. I can give you the new number - gee, thanks mister. But they're not open, because they close at 5pm. Oh, ok. ahhh, Canada Post and country life...

Country Life

Ah, country life...the sounds of nature...birds twittering, an occasional whinny from Darby, the neighbor horse, the babbling brook that runs by my house, the whisper of wind in the trees that surround me...and the crows. What was mother nature thinking? Better yet, what was my friend who used to live here thinking??? She used to feed them. Now they screech and squawk every morning...early. why I oughtta...

my first Friday night

so here I am, alone with just the kitty to keep me company. the resident teen is no longer resident...how shall I refer to her now? the non-resident teen??? comments anyone? "Amber" is too easy.

roomie is away for a few days with a friend. I have been over to check on my friend's kitty and dog. The kitty, Rupert (yes, after Rupert Boneham from Survivor Pearl Islands and Survivor All-Stars) came BOUNDING out to greet me...this kitty is a freaky one...he has what they call "monkey paws" in front - an opposable thumb of sorts, and boy is he WILD! He miaows so loudly, its hard to believe he is just about 1.5 pounds or so. I also checked out my friend's whirlpool bathtub...mmmm...just what this old body needed after all that moving and unpacking.

there is a sattelite dish here, with tons of channels to surf...looks like kitty and me will be curling up on the sofa, checking it out.

Brand New Nephew

Well, my sister had her third child on Monday morning, wee hours. Cameron Nickolaas James has joined her family...I wish I was there! I can't wait to see pics of the new little man. I am planning a trip out west for late September if I can pull it off. just need the $$$ as I have the vacation time to spare. It will be great to meet her second and third children!!!

UNPACKED

That's it! I am unpacked. I unpacked the last box just last night and BOY DOES IT FEEL GOOD. I sewed a new set of curtains last night too and got them up so we can shut out the night now. I am so tired though, and my feet are so tender...I need a nice jet bath...good thing I am kitty/dog sitting over the weekend where there is one...I plan on bringing a book.

Roomie has settled in and has a friend visiting from BC. She arrived last night at 3am, and we ended up chatting until about 4:30am...the birds were singing as I went to bed...yawn. I had not been able to sleep last night anyhow, so by the time I did go to bed, I finally slept and actually SLEPT IN! A novel concept for me, but I stayed in bed until after 9am, which is late for me.

I don't think I will be moving again any time soon...enough of THAT.