Sunny day again, that's lovely. Wish it would warm up a little, but I am not complaining. It was downright hot on Saturday and I got some sun, including a sunburn on the legs.

Nearly ripped my toe off on my treadmill...got cocky and didn't hold the handlebars, as I was reading and my toe slid back to the right and hooked in SOMETHING rather unpleasant...all I know is there is a flap of skin on my little toe trying to grow back. But it has not disuaded me from using it...been pretty good actually and used the treadmill nearly every single day since I bought it.

Sleepless night last night...I haven't slept well since returning from my trip, which is typical, but last night was the longest ever. I had a rough day at work yesterday with a child apprehension, which is never easy. I probably wouldn't have slept anyhow, as I usually spend the night replaying in my mind the events of the day, how the mother reacted, and the look on the child's face. Thank goodness I don't do that sort of thing very often or it would burn a person out.

Went out last night to my friend's house who I hope to rent next month for a look. Resident teenager was late in bringing my car back, so I didn't get out in time to get a picture of the outside of the house, and then I kind of forgot about pics on the inside. My friend is not a tidy person...enough said. But I could look through her clutter and furballs (two long hair cats...) and envision my things in her house. It is much more roomy than mine, and the location is perfect. It was just a mere 15 kms from town. There are some needed repairs/things to be done, but nothing drastic...doorbell needs replacing, tons of lightbulbs burnt out (that would drive me nuts - doesn't bother her), move out the old laundry pair to make way for my new set I bought when I got my job here, get the dishwasher cleaned (don't know how that works, but she claims it needs cleaning - I am thinking there is a food trap somewhere or something), get cables run to two other rooms and phone cords to two other rooms (jobs for my dad, the cables and phone things). So not a whole lot. The basement is huge and has cold storage too and a laundry chute from upstairs! Although I am not sure about throwing my laundry down there...seems to be an abundance of bugs/flies...they might crawl through it.

My friend has yet ANOTHER job interview, so something is gonna happen for her, and she will likely have several job offers. Then I have to give notice to my landlord, and get packing! I have decided not to do a big pack job, but to just take my time and move one room per day if I can, and get a truck for one day to move all the big stuff. That's the plan TODAY...who knows what might transpire as the time comes. My friend hopes to be out by mid June, so I am hoping to be moving in by then, and completed by the end of the month. The resident teen's graduation is at the end of the month - a week-long fiesta it seems. There are three nights, only two of which I am invited to go, but will be expected to drive for the third. They have the grad dinner, the prom and the grad party, all on different nights...and of course there is a party after the prom, so two late night parties in the same week. I was chauffeur last year, so likely a repeat duty.

Of course, my parents will be coming during that week we hope, so that should be interesting - moving during a parental visit. But they did it their whole lives as my dad was in the military, so it should be old hat for them...heh heh. Don't worry mom and dad, won't make you work that much at all. It should be mostly done by the time you get here. Just a few jobs simple jobs for dad :-)

must go get ready for another day.

Comments?

Just wanted to note that with the changes to Blogger, I now have a comments option. Feel free to leave any comments, but be aware that offensive or rude comments will be removed from my blog site. I would love to hear what you think about my ramblings and useless musings!

To leave a comment, simply look to the bottom of the post where the date and my username is and to the right of that is the word comments - click on "comments" and then click "post a comment". You will then get a new screen where you can type in a comment and the choice of posting as registered user (if you are one) or anonymously. Click on Publish your comment, or preview to take a look first. There you go, simple!

Looking forward to what others have to say :-)

Well, so much for being chilly. It is actually very warm today! Must be well over 20C...which is glorious! I was out sunning myself earlier, but got a bit of a burn on my thighs, so had to come in. I need something to lay one other than a towel so I can "flip over" to get the backs of my legs a little tanned. My upper body is well tanned from my trip south, now I need legs to match. I know what they say about sunning yourself, but I really don't care. I like being tanned! Simple as that!

My friend and co-worker A. was by earlier today with her brand new kitty...she is a lovely longish hair tabby and white...and she phoned me just now to tell me what they named HER - Rupert! can you imagine? We are both Survivor fans, so that's where it came from. The kitty is cute as ever, and will be expected to earn her keep at their new lodgings out in the country as there are mice in the area. She is just 8 weeks old, so will have some time yet, but I imagine it won't be long before she bags her first kill. According to A., she is getting along already with the resident dog, Brandy. He is used to kitties I hear.

The resident teen and boyfriend were out in the yard today, goofing around...I was watching from the upstairs window as they attempted cartwheels, handstands, flips, somersaults, etc...it was quite humourous...I rememeber the day when my body would let me do that...

I don't recall if I mentioned it before, but I am considering a move this summer out of town, but not too far. One possibility is to a friend's house in the country. She is pursuing employment up north, so I am pursuing renting her house when she departs. It is a nice 3-bedroom with a huge yard, and nice neighbors. I have also asked another co-worker to move in with me and share expenses since I will have so much room. The rent is less than I pay here, and I am hoping I will actually be able to tackle my student loans in earnest by sharing expenses. The co-worker and I hope we are compatible to live with each other, so it should be an interesting summer. The new house is not far from where A. and kitty are living, so we can visit often!

NOW what can I get up to...I finished my book I was reading...

yard sale, huh? Not tomorrow...it is much to chilly around here. And it is forecast to RAIN! So I have decided to postpone my yard sale for a couple of weeks and try again then. I might actually have my stuff ready by then too. PROCRASTINATION.

TGIF - oh yeah, a full week back at work, what's that all about? My job has been VERY busy, and getting busier. Its mostly because my officemate is gone for the week, and I am having to do all of his work and mine too. Hopefully he will be back next week and I can get back to my own stuff.

So Rupert got the second million bucks...good for him. I think he deserved it. He played the game so hard, and without lying to anyone and only got voted out because he was a threat to win the game, twice! He looked so happy last night with his family, snotting and balling. But what is up with Jerri - don't boo me, wahhh, wahhh, wahhh. Then don't do evil things. And Big Tom, he was "touched" to be on the final four...yeah, ok...touched in the head maybe. What a goofball. So now it's over and they have already filmed the next one, to air in the fall. They are also taking applications for Survivor 10...great! This Survivor fan will get another year out of Mark Burnett's efforts. Next time there will be a pool again. We missed out in this one because it was so different and we weren't sure how they were going to run the show, and eliminate contestants, so skipped it. Now its back to normal.

Now its back to the real world of life and work...

just to let you know there are another couple of dozen new pictures on my website from the trip...have one roll left to go - my black and white film. Now if I can just drag myself over to drop them off!

Well, I finally heard from the interview...I didn't get it, but some lucky aboriginal who invoked their right to affirmative action did. Good for her I say. She will fit right into that native community. But, they mentioned that they had a number of other opportunities they wished for me to consider and interview for. I gently turned them down, explaining my reasons for needed to stay in place for one more year. They fully understood and advised me to contact them next year if I became interested once again. Incidentally, though, they did have my co-worker's name on their list to call for a interview, so I was excited to hear that!

Then I got another call, just about the same thing - we have some opportunities coming up that we would like you to interview for. When it rains it pours! So again, I explained how I needed to stay home for at least one more year and that I would likely look at moving north next year. She fully understood, and also had my co-worker's name on her list to call...eerie!

Sunny here today, but not so warm. I am supposed to be getting things ready for the yard sale in two days...haven't done a thing, but better get hopping tonight. The resident teen also has boxes of stuff, so will put her to work today also, pricing it.

Now I have to take my car in for repair, which is thankfully covered by insurance. They want to replace the filter (which one, I don't know but will have to ask). I will be glad to get rid of the buzzing muffler...the front gasket on the exhaust needs replacing.

I finally got my hands on a movie I have been in search of for many years - "Where the Spirit Lives" with Buffy Ste. Marie. It was originally aired on CBC, and I have been looking for it all over, including CBC and e-bay. Found it on e-bay a number of times but the auction always climbs up rather steeply to about $70-80US, so this particular time, perhaps the seller didn't recognize the value of the movie, but he listed it with a buy it now price of just $15.99, so I snapped it up! Coincidence is, he lives here in Nova Scotia! So it is bought and paid for and should arrive today or tomorrow. Score!

so Brad cooked supper for us tonight...it was delicious! Broiled pork cutlets, rice, and potatoes. Lots of starch, but I love it! And THEN he did the dishes...who can complain about that? He worked all day at his work experience, came home and cooked supper then did the dishes...he must feel like a wife by now! I think he was even a little jealous of Amber who lounged around ALL day, doing nothing. But then she works about the same amount of time as he does, just on different days and in the evenings. He has all of his evenings off. She worked all weekend, where he had it all to himself. We shall see how the division of chores fares out when they move in together.

Day two back to work...great start...jumped out of bed, got dressed for work without looking outside in a short skirt and a tank top, thinking it would be nice out as the weather network said it would be on the net today...went downstairs and darn near froze...looked outside and it was pissing rain...could have done that first, but didn't...so back upstairs, changed outfit to long skirt and longsleeved sweater. Just as well, when I got to work, my co-worker headed down to court on a subpoena and shortly after came racing back up only to tell me that they actually needed me, not her! EEEK! I hadn't read a thing, or prepared in any way for the trial!!! So off I race to print off the case file and quickly skim the part they will surely ask me about, and thankfully I was dressed decently enough for court. I wait ALL morning to go on the stand, only to get up there at 11:45am for about 5 minutes...sheesh...one of the hold-ups was truly classic...they needed a video camera or a converter to watch the evidence tape as it was only recorded on 8mm...and didn't have one. They searched for about 20-30 minutes and when I asked what the problem was, I asked them politely why they didn't try the high school next door for one...they have their own TV lab, and the largest computer lab in the province, with tons of video equipment...oh really? Guess who gets appointed to carry out this task...lol...So off I race to sign out a camera so the trial could continue...gawd I feel like I live in a hick town sometimes!!!

Another hot topic at work is our upcoming camping trip on the long weekend...it is still rather chilly and we are rethinking the whole idea as we don't want to freeze to death on the ground...so looking at cabins in which to camp instead, just for this trip and then as it warms up, tenting will be fine. There is nothing like a night out in the country to begin the summer season!

here's to the continuing saga of getting my pictures...I haven't written about it because it is too ridiculous, but I am just pissed off now. As you know, I was too cheap to put mine in the one hour photo, so dropped them in the cheaper option at Wal-mart where they send them away...didn't know that it was to HAMILTON, but anyway...I had specified what I wanted, which was 4x6 prints, matte finish and white borders...didn't know they didn't do white borders. So I get a call last week, on Friday afternoon - we don't do white borders. Ok I say, then just print them regular. Ok she says, and tells me they won't be ready until about Tuesday since they came to customer service, it slowed them down and they have already shut down the processing lab today as it is late on Friday afternoon. Ok says me...fine...whatever. If that was only the end...

Yesterday they call and tell me they can't do white borders...um, I tell them I have already talked to someone about this and understood they were going to just print them normally and I would have them tomorrow...oh, ok, I will make a note of that and let them know. Duh, what did your coworker do last week then? If that was only the end...

Today I got another call...they can't do the white borders...ok, this is enough...I already told your company yesterday AND on Friday that it was okay, just print them without and send them back to me. REALLY she says, I have no record that you spoke to anyone. I am evil now. I tell her if they are not back to Wal-Mart tomorrow, to just send the damn things back to me and I will take my business elsewhere. I tell her that I have better things to do than to call their customer service desk and wait for 20 minutes to speak to them only to be told the same darn thing again and again. I tell her that I will never use their service again. She tells me she doesn't blame me and that she will make a note of my call. Tomorrow shall be fun. I am going to Wal-mart in person to pick up my photos.

Survivor is over...boo hoo. I can't believe those two went to the end...make me hurl. What were the others thinking, even keeping Rob in the game??? They should have gotten rid of him weeks ago, and now little miss Amber Brkich took the million bucks and because she is marrying him, they will share it. They are too sappy to even watch, but you do, just like a car wreck, you can't turn away. Now CBS is going to give out another million bucks and everyone knows who will get it...Rupert! His popularity has not waned, and when I voted this morning, it already was an overwhelming majority of people voting for Rupert to have the second million bucks. Go Rupert! And we get a bonus night of Survivor on Thursday night, wow.

Its back to work for me today...getting dressed up and all that jazz. I have been rather slovenly this past week since my return home, and now I have to get with the program. Stay tuned for more ramblings and useless musing...

I just finished reading my book from Amber...what a wonderful little book! It is called Dear Mom, Thank you for Everything by Bradley Trevor Freive...it is the cutest thing. It is a collection of photos, mostly of animal babies and mothers with a story about thanking your mother for being there, for all sorts of things. Just wonderful! Thanks Amber, for the marvellous book!

She even made me breakfast, but lacking a tray, I went downstairs to eat it, which was fine with me! Now I have done nothing else but call my own mother and lounge around all day...I have been soooo lazy since coming back from my trip! I have to get moving soon though, and at least get my laundry done! Tomorrow I head back to work.

well that was a lovely evening with friends...got invited out to my friends R. and A.'s new digs...they have moved into R.'s parents' house for a year while the parents travel on their sailboat. We we ate and ate and ate bbq, and watched funny stuff on television. Nice to have an evening out, thanks to A. for rescuing me, and Brad, who also came along as the resident teenager was working til midnight tonight.

A GALE of wind today...I braved it to put some clothes out on the line...silly woman...it all blew off...my tablecloth was in the neighbor's tree. But it was dry, so I can't complain too loudly! If it wasn't for the wind, it would have been a nice day, but at times the gusts were wicked and blew dust and dirt all around in your eyes.

tomorrow is Mother's Day, but the resident youth in the home decided I should receive my gifts and cards today...Brad gave me a lovely bouquet of periwinkle blue hydrangeas, and Amber gave me a lovely book that I can't remember the name of, but is a funny book with drawings and things about being a child of your mother. All that's left is breakfast in bed tomorrow morning!

My last day off tomorrow and then back to the grind...who knows what the week will hold for me...I'm sure you will hear about it here...

the job search - it has temporarily ended...after much thought and conversation with Amber, I have decided not to pursue employment elsewhere for the time being. I am moderately comfortable here, and feel that the timing is just not right for me, or for her. She will move on to Halifax of course, but I will remain here in Port Hawkesbury until at least next spring. I am just not up for a big change at the present...so friends and family can relax, or cry, whatever!

so I will be settling in for another year here, and with Amber and Brad moving out this summer, that will be enough change for me! I will be having a yard sale on the 15th to clear out some clutter, and am looking forward to doing some local travel for the summer..camping and visiting family when I can.

Alas, we have returned from the south! I will post a few more on the Central American Blog, but I'm back here for regular drivel...

today is a day of chores...paying bills, checking the mail, getting groceries, getting film developed, dying my hair back from the awful color it turned in salt water, etc...I have only begun with my hair...once that is done, I am fit to go out in public, heh heh.

I have decided to keep my holidays for the rest of the week and just relax, get some stuff done around here and return to work on Monday, all refreshed. Hope things are not too busy at work, so I don't feel guilty!

Sunny day here today, but not the heat of central america. I will have to put pants and socks on, it looks like! No more shorts for a while.

Lots to do, not much to blather on about this morning...

pouring rain and chilly here today...can't wait to leave it all behind! At least it is rain and not snow, and I hope that all the snow is gone by the time we get back on May 10th. They may even be cutting the grass...

My friend K. is also going on a trip...her blog can be found at K Kwest. She is headed to Spain and possibly parts beyond.

We are leaving tomorrow for Belize and parts beyond, so be sure to check in on my other blog - Central American Quest

The Job Interview

Well holy cow...I got a call AND an e-mail about a job interview for the North West Territories!!! The job is in Norman Wells, a small community on the Mackenzie River. That would be WONDERFUL!!! I am waiting to hear back from them. They want to know if I am available for interview on April 21st at 1:15pm, but I will be away in Central America, so I am hoping they can interview later, as I don't know if I can depend on the phone system in central america. But holy COW! I was so excited...

turkey day...time to open up a fresh wound while christening the new food chopper...OUCH. I probably need stitches, but I'll be damned if I spend Easter Monday at the ER, waiting for hours. So a tightly wrapped bandaid will have to do. It is right on the fleshy pad of my middle finger of my right hand...GREAT. So I awoke the charming resident teen and enlisted her to help get the bird in the oven, which she graciously did.

Now I have to finish tidying the house for the afternoon guests :-) and dye some eggs for decor...

Happy Easter

Easter morning...I remember when it used to be that Amber got up early in the morning to look for easter eggs (jelly beans) that the "easter bunny" had hidden all over. now they were fast asleep when I got up...no excitement there...but then they got up and we had an easter "conference" in the dining room - chocolate and gifts were exchanged - yummy! There were stuffed bunnies, bubble blowers, snow globe, and tons of chocolate. We had fresh baked cinnamon buns (straight from the can, lol) for breakfast, and settled in to watch some home video.

Seems fairly nice out...might even drag myself out for another walk - not like the one from Friday actually happened...

Good Friday

Yes, it is good, and it is Friday, because I don't have to work and I am getting paid for it. I have been up for a bit today, busy with e-mail, and checking out a website that people from one of my old high schools have set up - Stephenville Integrated High School. Check out their site and if you actually went there, perhaps you would like to join - Integrated High

Kind of a sunny day...I may even drag my ass out for a walk later today, if the stench from the plant/mill are not too bad. Tip for future residence...check out whether or not you are downwind from industrial area...

the younguns are still sleeping...will soon be time to begin morning WAKEUP call...heh heh...

well, the snow in my driveway is low enough to drive over now. We had only cleared enough snow to park two cars instead of three as it was just too much snow, and the pile grew to about 7 feet...now it is mere inches and I am excited...it should be clear by tomorrow evening! I parked on top of it tonight, hoping the heat from the car would melt it somewhat. The yard is nearly clear, just a foot or so in the back and nearly the same in front. There are flurries flying now, but nothing to worry about.

went shopping last night and bought the cutest little electric chopper for about $9 at Wal-Mart. I melted the food holder on the stove of my last one, and had e-mailed Black and Decker about it, to no avail...no one even bothered to answer my email. It likely would have cost me a fortune for the replacement piece anyhow. No more garlicy onion hands!!! The resident teenager also bought one for her upcoming move out plan...which, I might add, brings me to my next topic...

Moving Out

It cannot happen soon enough. Earlier this year I was all worried about the whole empty nest thing, and having a tough time with it...yeah, I'm over that...I am SO over that. It is time for this little munchkin to move on and experience the world. I know I will still miss her, but she has become so dependant on me...doesn't eat most of the day after spending it lounging around the house, and then pounces on me when I come through the door - what's for supper...charming little thing...I show her the fridge and all the items in there that SHE can cook with. I am pooped when I get home and the last thing I want to do is COOK. I do manage once or twice throughout the work week, and usually a couple of times on the weekend, but other than that...she must fend for herself. And today was no exception...I cooked last night (homemade pizza) so tonight was not her night....I show her the fridge again.

Chores, now THAT'S a nasty topic...they seem to be near non-existent in this dear child's memory, and nearly distant in the memory of the boyfriend. He manages to clean the dishes 3-4 times a week, but usually not without prompting...grumble, grumble says I. I don't ask for much, just the dishes done each day from the boyfriend, and from the resident teenager, vacuum once a week, clean the bathroom once a week, and an occasional miscellaneous chore...it is more of a chore to get her to do it, no matter how I phrase it.

Noise at night...lets see...resident teenager gets off work close to midnight, and the boyfriend gets off work at midnight...what might this result in? You got it...two wound up teenagers late at night...laughing, watching television, carrying on, talking, in and out of the bedrooms, bathroom, up and down the stairs...ARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH

Then there are the dishes that are left all around...been a problem for several years and has never gotten better...

yup - I am so over the empty nest thing...is it July yet???

more rain...and boy is the snow going fast! I am wearing sandals today to coax out the sun later though.

still no tax refund from revenue canada, although I know now that they are not holding money back from me as I received my GST rebate today. I just don't know what is taking them so long. We are to leave for central america in 10 days and I don't have a nickel for the trip yet!!! I have convinced myself we aren't going to be able to go, and then if I get the money, it will be a surprise. Actually, if I don't have it by the weekend, I'm afraid we will have to reschedule the trip, perhaps to mid-May - early June. I have a co-worker who is gone from the 9th-15th or so of May, so I couldn't go until after that. this sucks. so much for filing early...on Friday it will have been 2 months since I filed...what a crock. I should have paper filed, and then they would have had what they needed right away.

well, my weekend of sloth is over...I did barely anything this weekend, but sit around and watch movies, read, or sleep. I did manage to tidy the basement a little, but there is still the huge task of readying for the yard sale in May/June. I am selling piles of stuff, as I refuse to pack all this crap again. Most of what is in the basement is either going in the yard sale, or is empty boxes. I just hope for a nice Saturday, with no rain, as there is a whole lotta stuff.

I am up early this morning, and refuse to go to work this early!!! They get enough of my free time as it is, with me not taking hardly any coffee breaks, and working through lunch when on the road.

Wonder if I will hear about those northern jobs this week???

Check out Inuvik here - Inuvik Info

rain today, but I am fine with that...it is taking the snow...I can see the grass in my yard...mind you it is skirted by about 4 feet of snow, but it is grass, none the less...soon I will see robins! And better yet, the times go ahead tonight at midnight...whoo hoo! Longer days, I can handle that...

I applied for three different jobs in the North West Territories yesterday...the pay is awesome and I think it would be quite a learning experience to live that far north. I have lived in Labrador, so know some idea of the cold and snow, and I have lived in Grand Bruit, so have some idea of the isolation...bring it on! I think as long as I have a sattelite dish and internet on my computer, I will be just FINE! I can live anywhere for a year or two if it means getting rid of my student loan debt!!!

My friend Kathleen is also looking up north, so it might be cool if we both get jobs up there at the same time. We had thought about driving up, but it is probably 7000 kms or more...little more than I want to do on my own right now, and we would both need our cars, so couldn't travel together.

big excitement this weekend...I will be watching movies and knitting on my blanket...whoo hoo! But honestly, I need the rest. Its been a busy week, and I had a few calls on duty to go out on, so need to take it easy and relax.

Got some actual exercise today - let the resident teenager take the car to work, so I walked to my office for a few papers I needed, then walked to Sobeys for some groceries...its pissing rain, but I was dressed for it. I haven't walked anywhere in ages. Funny how places that seem close in the summer seem too far away in winter. Of course, I saw a special on meat while at Sobey so bought extra and packed it in my backpack...what felt reasonable when I left Sobeys felt like a quarter of moose by the time I got home...but I made it nonetheless and I feel better for having gotten some exercise, even if it was just a short walk. I will be glad though, when the snow is gone and I can actually walk on the sidewalks again, so I do not fear losing my life to the logging trucks that thunder by me on the road...

The b/f of resident teen is out shopping today, buying up stuff for their new apartment that they have yet to rent. They are so excited about furnishing it...I can understand that. I remember my first place and how excited I was, but so very poor at the time. It will be nice to go and visit them when they move out.

I should look at rentals in NWT, as I hear they are quite pricey...I only need a room and a bathroom though, a little kitchenette...just fine with me.