Confessions and surprises!

Confession #1 - I'm getting old. My eyes, even older than the rest of me apparently.

Confession #2 - I mend things. (Things that aren't too complicated for me as I have no formal training or real talent in that department!) I don't toss them at the smallest rip, hole or ravel. Yep as in, drag out the sewing box, yes I have one, and find the right colour thread, size needle and spend the next 1/2 hour trying to thread it. (I should mention at this point we are all going to a wedding tomorrow and I've been ironing too...) Google that if you don't know what an iron is and I don't mean hair iron!

Confession #3 - I use the biggest needle I can get away with. I have been known to use a darning needle, (google it if you don't know what darning is,) for bulkly fabrics.

So tonight I have to shorten straps on a "slinky" type shirt. Can't use the darning needle, have to use a fine one. I can't see the hole, can't see the damn thread, just can't see period. Bob, (husband, not next door,) says, "why don't you use the needle threader?" I must admit then...

Confession #4 - I never figured out how to use one! Yep, tried over and over for years, off and on and could never figure it out. So Bob takes it, shoves it through the eye of the needle, tells me to put the thread in and voila... threaded! OMG... I ask why he never showed me that before? His answer...

Confession #5 - I can't tell you all my secrets at once, I have to have some surprises left! Who knew he had any to start with! hehehe

Turns out I've been taking a very simple process and over complicating it every time. I thought the thread had to slip through the wires PRIOR to going into the needle. Never occurred to me it worked the other way! duh...

The old guy still has a few tricks in him after all!

Coolest vistor this month!

This is a copy of a site meter record of a visit to my blog. Look at the name of this city... (in bold)

thirtypoundsofcat
By Details > Visit Detail
Visit 1,686
[<<] [>>]
Domain Name comcast.net ? (Network)
IP Address 69.250.227.# (Comcast Cable)
ISP Comcast Cable
Location Continent : North America
Country : United States (Facts)
State : Maryland
City : Gunpowder
Lat/Long : 39.3675, -76.2961 (Map)

I googled it, yes Gunpowder, Maryland is a real city! It is a town that grew up along the Gunpowder River so called because of the huge iron deposits and the iron industries that were built there. Another explanation is the large deposits of saltpeter, (an ingredient of gunpowder,) found there.

I think that maybe someone should open a fireworks company there eh?

Doug... the pumpkin ash that we thought beat the odds

Doug is a pumpkin ash tree growing in my back yard. He started life as a teeny seedling in Michelle's grade 4 class. Her teacher, Doug Gorell, who sadly died waiting for a kidney transplant, started the seedlings in his science class. Michelle brought hers home.

We grew Doug in the back kitchen for a year and then transplanted him to the back of the front garden where he would be protected, watered and nurtured. He grew there for years until he got taller than the porch railings.

Bob, (next door, not husband,) kindly dug him up, gathering a huge root ball, and took him to the back yard. Doug is now taller than the garage. (The pic is not of our Doug, but one of his relatives off Google!)

Essex county is infested with the Emerald Ash Borer, killing trees, causing mass cuttings and clearings of ash trees.

Doug had one small dead branch. Bob, (husband, not next door,) cut the branch off tonight. I broke it open in several places. Close to the trunk, it was fine, white and moist. Closer to the tip... brown, dead, full of larvae. :( I burned that branch and now just hope for the best.

Doug the tree who's been with us for over 11 years is under attack. Stupid Ash Borer! (I do not mean to minimize the catastrophic impact of the Ash Borer, I do realize that Ash trees everywhere are in peril, but I don't know those ones!)

three, two, one - and the winner is...

Last night, three of us on the front porch, two citronella candles burning... ONE of us is eaten alive my mosquitoes! Yep, me. I win!

Three of us at the office, two fly papers hanging, ONE of us is dive bombed by the same freaking fly over and over again! Yep, me. I win!

So my prize for being so attractive to bugs? Hopefully NOT west nile or some other plague!

Dinner Musical!

Tonight's dinner was cooked to the entire Jesus Christ Superstar score... much to Michelle's chagrin! hehehe... Another thing you may not know about me, I sing... a lot! While I clean, while I cook, while I do laundry, while I bathe, (that one to my London nephews' chagrin when they are still sleeping and the bathroom happens to be between their bedrooms!)

Evening exercise

Well, I was laying down, watching tv, being a sloth when suddenly I was madly running around the house slamming the windows shut. Michelle, naturally, was asking "what are you doing?" over and over again!

I could not afford the time to stop and answer her. See, I have a very sensitive skunk detecting nose! I got a slight whiff and sprang to action. Michelle, could not as yet smell anything.

By the time I closed all the windows, on two floors... it was more than a whiff, but I beat it!

Score... me - 1 / skunk - 0 (it's nice to win one!)

Filling in the holes...

The empty spot in my basement now holds my lovely new whirlpool washer. I've used it three times today with success! It did not burn my house down, it did clean my clothes and it is ginormous! If anyone has any spare laundry, feel free to bring it over! (You've heard of rhetorical questions? Well, that was a rhetorical statement!) Oh and now I don't have to go next door to Susan's to do my wash... though her's is a lovely machine also.

Now, the hole where my tooth used to be... that's another story! (See my post of July 19th, if you have no idea what I'm talking about.) No one told me it would take so long to fill back in... hello? Don't you think that maybe this info would have been germane to my decision in agreeing to have it pulled?

Tomorrow's task...

I have picked this lovely Whirlpool washer as the winner of the, "I promise to wash your clothes and not burn your house down" contest! Congratulations Leons Furniture!

Hmmmmmm, wonder if all those cute firefighters will help me get it down the basement stairs?

Where there's laundry there's fire?

This was the scene outside my house about 7pm tonight. That is... after the other two trucks left! Yep three trucks, lights & sirens going!




*Edit* Apparently there was a 4th vehicle I didn't notice... a Chief's car. Thanks Nancy for the info!*

(Photo courtesy of Susan, taken from her porch next door to my house.)

My car, (the lovely red Grand Am blogged about a couple of days ago,) blew it's heater core so Mich and I are sharing a car. I drop her at work at 10, go to my work, leave my work at 5 and pick her up at 6. We ran a couple of errands and came home. Before I started dinner I decided to do some laundry.

Fill the washer, add laundry, close lid and walk away... suddenly, the washer stops running. I turn around, I smell "burnt wires." I yell up at Michelle to call Bob, (next door, not husband as husband is working afternoons.) She starts to do that, I then see smoke, a goodly amount of smoke... I yell at Michelle to hang up and call 911. She hands me the phone, I dial 911, the washer suddenly starts running again, more smoke! I hang up... turn off the washer and unplug it. Then I remember 911, I go to dial but hey, they're on the line already. They call back if you hang up. I explain my washer is smoking they tell me to get everyone out and wait for the truck.

Well, I tell Mich to leave but... ummmm... well... you know that "stuff" that falls down beside your washer? I had to clean it up. I knew they would be pulling it out and well, I was embarrassed. So yes, I was leaning into the side of a smoking washing machine... it did stop smoking after a bit.

Michelle yelled down the stairs, that "they're coming, they're coming!"

I relpied "THEY?" as in more than one? We went outside ... yep you could hear the sirens from all sides!

Three trucks arrived from two directions! I told them it had stopped smoking, two trucks left. The firefighters came downstairs, moved the washer... (I KNEW they'd do that, good thing I cleaned up eh?) Used the heat sensor thingy, looked behind paneling and checked it out well. They plugged my washer back in and let it spin out the water while they were there so it would be easier for me to empty! Nice eh?

They then asked about smoke detectors. I have one on the main floor and one upstairs, but not in the basement. So they installed one! (extra battery included!) Talk about full service!

So, that was my evening, how was yours?

ps... thanks to Bob (next door as I've already explained husband was at work, I did call him and tell him that several fire trucks were here though,) for checking my washer and determining it was toast... burnt toast!

Thanks to Susan for letting me do the load of laundry that got interupted and for bringing it over when it was done.

Terrorists on billboards in Canada

Apparently anything goes in Canada these days including cheer-leading for Hezbollah.

read more | digg story

*no pic on front page of my blog... no pic of terrorists I mean. Click "read more" for image.*

**Edit** It was taken down today.

Patrick Baril, my nephew

He just turned two! C'est adorable n'est pas? (He lives in Montreal, ergo le Francais)

I am offishially fishless!

Time to empty, sterilize and start over. :(

canada stamp - 1 cent Cameo

Anyone into stamps who see this... is it an imperf? Anyone not into stamps... never mind! :)

*for those who've asked* this stamp was issued, perf 12, meaning 12 "holes" across the top where you'd rip it off the next stamp. This stamp has 15 and none on the left side. I think it was not perforated, not cut. It's ripped on the left side like someone had to tear it off.*

Canadian Idol

Canada... what the hell were you thinking?

Cicadas, Katydids and Crickets... oh my!

You know you're in the "dog days" of summer when the cicadas/katydids, start to sing! I'm not sure which ones they are actually, it's either/or... or both but I think they're cicadas as the sounds come from the trees not the ground area. They and the crickets cause a cacophony on my street in August. I love sitting on the porch and listening to them. It's funny as I just asked Patty a week or so ago if she'd heard any yet. Now you hear nothing but. I can actually hear them through the closed windows, here, in the computer room.

I'm just glad I don't live in the places where gazillions of them hatch all at once! Too much of a good thing is just too much! (Except wine, peanutbutter squares and pasta thingys on a toothpick, can't have too much of them!)

My 1992 Pontiac Grand Am (the car that won't die!)

15 years old, almost 1/4 million k and still going strong! It's shiny red and in great shape. The air is strong and cold. Mine has fog lights! (The deluxe model.)

Now, I'm sure that my mulitude of accidents and having virtually every panel and both bumpers replaced over the years hasn't hurt the condition eh? ;)

*this pic is NOT of my car, I don't have any pics so it's off Google, almost the same though! (except for the snazzy fog lights)*

A new cousin! (cousine in Deutsch)

Jana Amelie Finke, a beautiful baby girl born in Germany, to my cousin Heike Hoffmeister and her husband Christian Finke. I think a visit is in order! I haven't been to Germany since the Mich was 6. (1993)

Ach du leiber... the pic won't upload. I'll try again later! (I'm procrastinating... I'm going back to my cleaning.)

*Edit*
YAY! I fixed it, it was waaaaay tooooo big! (and a bmp not a jpg, smallerized it and saved as a jpg and good to post!) Isn't she cute?

Stop me before I hurt myself!

Started a massive cleanup on the house this morning, I have the main floor done, 1/2 the upstairs and the basement to go! So, anyone planning on dropping over for an unexpected visit? hint hint... I'd have to stop, it would be rude not to. Oh, one word of warning, I'm still in my jammies and haven't bathed yet!

Bottled water and the best peanutbutter cookies ever!

There is a Brita jug in the fridge. That's for Bob, (husband, not next door.) I drink from the tap. Michie uses bottled water to carry to work, makes her tea with tap water. When someone comes over and asks for a glass of water, they get tap water, from the Brita jug. I cannot see spending all that money on something that costs more that gasoline! Billions of plastic bottles, that cost more to make than the water is worth by the way, litter our streets and are piling up in the dumps. Why?

*Edit* That is except for the ones made into lovely Christmas decorations of course! hehe

Now, on a happier note, Susan made peanut butter cookies yesterday! OMG... they are the best I've ever eaten! They're magic I tell you. I'm going to eat the last two now and wash them down with a glass of cold, safe, clear tasting tap water!

Oh and speaking of mean...

I've changed the settings on my blog. Comments now are sent to me via email and then I allow them to be published. Two reasons, 1- I got spammed, and 2- along with the spam was a profane and nasty comment left by someone who obviously has no friends, no life and no hope of ever having either. Anyone who would say what they said, especially on the post on which they left it... better hope that I NEVER meet them in real life! Well, I suppose I'll never have to worry about that will I? Cowards seldom come and introduce themselves. (ps, I've deleted it and don't want to talk about it either!)

"mean" - intentional & nasty - not a coincidence

A new Ontario survey shows...
Almost three per cent of drivers, the majority of them men, swerve to intentionally steamroll snakes and turtles on the road.

Daddy said...

Bob, (husband, not next door,) told Michelle to "quit painting her head!" She did not listen. It looks lovely though! (I'll post a pic when I have one.)

Hello? Who's there?

Either someone rang my doorbell at 5:55am or I dreamt someone rang my doorbell at 5:55am, either way, it woke me up. Either way, I wonder who it was? Yawn...

Humidex, haze & hellish hot!

Another RED letter day in balmy Southern Ontario... It should be illegal! Plus, I'm tired of standing in line at Tims for 20 minutes while they're all making ice caps! It's a coffe shop dammit!

ps... heat makes me cranky(er.)

Fish update!

All but one, have left for the big bowl in the sky! I cannot figure it out. Two aquariums, two sets of fish, they aren't even in the same fricking room! sigh...
Same food though? hmmmmmmmm?