This Halloween it's in you to give.....

It's that time of the year again. I have bagged up all the candy this year so as to avoid the temptation of placing one candy in a child's goodie bag and the next chocolate in my mouth. Holy run on sentence. In the spirit of Halloween and dear old Boris.....
If you have BLOOD to spare ( and most of us do) I would encourage you to call your local blood donor office. 1-888-2 donate
I heard on the radio that there are only 40,000 regular blood donors in the whole country. The need is great. It doesn't cost you anything except a half hour of your time. 9% of Canadians have the same blood type as I. If I don't donate now who will be there for me if I need help? It's called Karma!!

So in the spirit of "goulies and ghosties and long leggity beasties

and things that go bump in the night,

good Lord deliver us"

call and book your appointment today. I did.

We Are Not Amused....

My poor little tree!

Yes, I know it looks sooo pretty BUT it is only Oct 29th for crying out loud! AND it is heavy as lead and wet.. very.. very.. wet.

Ask me how thrilled I was at cleaning this off. Look at Carl's car and you can see how much it snowed last night....and the joy lingers on


My morning drive to work, broken branches everywhere....

and wires down in my parking lot... The fourth one is hanging just above the hood of my car and then trails along the ground..*shaking my head*

as I said, "It isn't even November and I am not amused!!"

Autumn in Canada

There are seasons of the year that bring out different emotions in me. The Fall is my favourite for its beauty and it stirs in my old heart a patriotic pride. Nothing like a walk when the air is cold and crisp and your cheeks are red. As long as my feet are warm and my mitts are dry I am cosy. I can't help but marvel as I kick the leaves along the sidewalk that that same block of cement would have fried an egg in the summer. I personally derive pleasure out of living in a country that's beauty is enhanced by the seasonal changes. The sun shines, the leaves are glorious in their colour and the clouds thread across the sky. Just makes you want to stand up and shout................



Not bad, eh?

Hows about a song?

Pushin' Paper

Some Monday's I feel the full weight of the forest as I re stack piles of paper on my desk. I lost the "mike" phone today. I could hear Gord's voice filtering through the branches, I mean slivers of pressed pulp on my desk.
I spent a ridiculous amount of time looking for 7 cents while reconciling the bank statement. I had thought I would take a short cut and mentally added some small fees together and do one post. Well duh, that was where I found the 7 cents. Stupid mistake...
So I spent my day posting and stamping, adding and printing, filing and answering the phone , booking appointments and answering questions.....whew. I also created miles of adding machine tape. All in all a satisfying amount of work accomplished. the boss will be impressed. I managed to squeeze in a healthy salad and my ever present apple for lunch.
Now I am going to have "a wee dos"** before Carl gets home from work.

On the Nanowrimo front I still don't have any idea what I am going to write about. I will never get the "Giller"*** at this rate.

**Welsh - a nap
*** The Scotiabank Giller Prize for Canadian fiction, a prestigious award.

Glasses one of life's necessities

Why is it that eye glass frames are so expensive? When plastic frames first came out they were costly. They were the "designer frames" of the time. My dad worked for Canada Customs and when they were imported into Canada he saw that the value was just a few dollars for a crate of them. The consumer is still getting the shaft. I picked out these frames at Lenscrafters. Ya Ya I know they are designer but I need all the help I can get.. You would gasp if I told you the cost. But the lenses will will 50% off. Exactly.... 50% off what? I wonder if the lenses are cheaper because I am picking expensive frames or will they assume I am "flush" and jack the price.
They look really well on me and I rationalize I have to wear them every day......It is still a sin that my glasses are going to cost me almost a weeks salary....by the time we add on the PST and GST...Methinks I will look for a knock off pair.
I recently read a quote by Eleanor Roosevelt, " Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people."

National Novel Writing Month

A.K.A. Nanowrimo
It is all Corinne's fault she intoduced me to this. Now I won't get any knitting done in November cause I will be writing 50,000 words of unmitigated drivel and crap. I have 2 manuscripts of said drivel from the last 2 years. I must remember to drag my self off my death bed... when the time comes.... and burn them gawd I wouldn't want anyone to read said crap. So why do I do it?
1. My Nana, who well into her 90's was doing crossword puzzles with a ballpoint pen, said, "A mind is a terrible thing to waste." Lets face it it is the only muscle in my body that gets any exercise.
2. I get a masochistic thrill out of tormenting myself with the word count.
3. I am a hopeless romantic who expects one day I will write a book, any book..
4. I am a really good daydreamer, just ask my grade school teachers....if they are still alive.
As for this year, I have no plot, no characters, no story, no location, no freekin idea what I am going to do. Which actually is supposed to be perfect for this exercise. ??!!?? I feel your confusion. No plot No problem is the theme song of this little outing. It is like putting a chimp in front of a typewriter Supposedly gems of wisdom will spring forth ...if you have enough chimps, typewriters and time.
I have one month, just little old me and my laptop!
*clue hysterical laughter*

Election results rant........

Now I am really watching the US election. Just who will Harper try to crawl into bed with this time? Mulroney sold out Canada in the first place and we let him. If we weren't so damn nice we would get out and vote. Jeezus, Mary and Joseph people what are you thinking???? If fifty nine point one percent went out to vote that means forty point nine percent of eligible voters sat on their complacency and waited for someone else to do the job for them. What you think, you are telling Ottawa? You don't like them so you are not coming out to play? Well, nice job, now we are stuck for another four years with a minority government.
Oh you bet your sweet bippy I voted cause that gives me bitching rights. If you didn't get off your lazy butt and vote then shut up. I am so exasperated with the whining that has already started. Carl read somewhere that the Green Party got 6.1% of the votes. I could be wrong. Look people for the love of sweet heaven did you really think they stood a chance? What a waste of a vote. I think there were about six choices on the ballot. What on earth is that going to accomplish? I didn't even know who some of the parties were. Let's face it I did my homework too AND English is my first language. Oh now I probably pissed off some people. Well, deal with it I am also sick of being "politically correct." If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck........

Happy Thanksgiving

Cranberries simmering the evening before......

Tables were set early in the morning! The noon table being set up..just a little something to "tide" every one over till the serious eating started.
Bread cut up for stuffing. this year I opted for a stuffing "outside" the bird. Combo of raisins, walnuts, celery, onions, spices and of course butter!!
Potatoes peeled and resting in salt water. Mini carrots washed and ready for the "snack" table.
Twenty-four pounds of turkey just fit into the oven!



My Grand daughters are

getting so tall. The picture

in the top center of the

frame to the left of me was

taken in Feb 08...when I

was "blond"..lolol

Sunday was "our" day. More pictures to follow.

I am so NOT a "little old lady!"

There is a perception of age that society has to get over and I mean now. Let's face it we are outnumbering the "youth." No matter what I say I will be brushed off as "getting old" and it is insulting. I will have you know I am younger than Cher and Susan Sarandon!

Carl will use this as an excuse to say I should colour my hair again. Makes me wonder, I will admit. This little fuss all occured because of what happened to me yesterday at the grocery store.

I was shopping in one of the no frills stores. I wanted the last box of cereal on the top shelf ....at the back...of course. There is never anyone around to help. Did I add I am barely 5"3?" A respectable height thank you. My children, have inherited the giant gene and hold conversations over the top of my head, I digress. So I chucked my purse in the basket and climbed up the front of the rack, reached into the back of the shelf and snagged the box. I was on my way back down when this young woman came around the corner of the aisle and just about had a bird. "OMG" she practically yelled. "Can I help you with that?" Too late, I am on my way back down. Then... I did it again to reach another box...they never stock these shelves....Again she comes rushing back to my rescue(?) Really I am fine, thank you. As I walked away I realized that in her eyes I was a little old lady!! My hair has more silver than last month and the "wings" are definitely white. I don't have Cher or Susan's money so I have laugh lines +. She was a very sweet girl but she was no taller than I was! Four more years and I will achieve official Senior Citizen Status, now there's a bitch slap for you.

Obama and Canada and the Elections

You really don't have to be able to read all the above text to get the idea. I would encourage you to go to This Magazine to be enlightened.
If you know me you will know that I have a great deal of respect for the Obama platform. I would feel a lot better if I thought that Sen. Obama would really renegotiate that joke a.k.a NAFTA but I fear that is not likely to happen. I live in hope. Ole Billy Clinton talked a lot but when it came down to it he reneged and just signed it. ..sigh..
Perhaps it is a sign of my age that I have taken more interest in the elections this time around. Or maybe it is because our lack luster mamby pamby election choices fade in comparison to the spark that is going on south of the border.
My observation of the Presidential Debate is that there was no clear winner, much to my disappointment. My dislike of McCain, the man, was reinforced. (His treatment of his wife in public is a matter of record. Mr Potty mouth.) My parents taught me that when someone speaks to you you have the decency to look at them when you reply. His obvious disdain in ignoring Sen. Obama sent up a red flag in my opinion. If you a regular reader here you will know of my take on "Why Would Anyone Want To Be President." I call it the "God complex." At the risk of offending just about everyone this is the way I see it as an outsider looking in.....
The American population regards the Office of the President with reverential god like awe..
Ergo, "johnny" wants to grow up and be president...
When he becomes president he acts as if he is answerable to no one.....
The general public throw their collective hands in the air and ask, "Who does he think he is, God?"
Ummm, duh
Back to Sen. McCain..attitude???? Fill in the blanks for yourself. I am old enough to have lived through the horror of the Vietnam war. I can not imagine, nor do I wish to, the hell that man lived through for five years. Unfortunately he has to have something else to offer the American people. Sorry buddy but your old and I am getting there. This of course brings me to..
Caribou Barbie...sigh..again. As the mother of four healthy children I can not comprehend how she has been able to manage a home for the children she has, and have a political career, now she has a wee boy who needs more stimulation and attention than the others if he is to achieve his full potential. Did you see her interview with Katie Couric? She didn't have an answer to the "bail out." She babbled about jobs and health care. She was unprepared for that interview. She could be, as the media says, " a seventy-two year old heartbeat" away from being president. She is unrepared for the "top job." Scares me.
Oh the joy of free speech. The beauty of getting out and voting gives everyone who does the right to speak out on what they think of the outcome. Unless you live in a bubble you know that what goes on south of the 49th has an effect on us. Our election will be campaigned, voted and I may add counted before the huffing and puffing is done in Americaland. I sometimes wonder what would happen if we had our election a week after the other one. Makes you think, eh?
Which brings me to the menu du jour:
Stephen Harper - mashed potatoes...boring... same old thing every day
Stephan Dion - creme brulee, Sorry Stephan but it says something when Gilles Duceppe, (The leader of the Bloc Quebecois ("vivre le Quebec libre") has a better command of English than the leader of the Liberal Party (hello Western Canada, can you relate to me?)
Jack Layton - BBQ steak (We are carnivores, we need fresh meat, even if the cholesterol will kill us)