This is a funny picture of a squirrel that my daughter Valancy and/or son-in-law Dave took on a vacation in Nova Scotia this summer. It looks as if it's barfing! Must be a bad peanut.
I spent the day yesterday making Christmas cards at Valancy's place with her mother-in-law, Bev, and best friend, Grace. I ended up making three cards, one of which was awful. But I think overall my cards will be nicer this year.
I have to go to Vancouver again this week, for a team meeting. We had two Supreme Court decisions two Fridays in a row. Much excitement around the office; both were good decisions for us.
Mike had some bad news after his three-month check up with his surgeon, Dr. Oake. His PSA levels went up. They had been about .08, .09 for over a year since his surgery in July of 2004. Now it's .13, which seems to indicate that the surgeon did not get all of the cancer. So he's referring Mike to an oncologist, who will likely recommend salvage radiation. This makes me want to barf. Poor Mike, having survived the operation, the emergency operation later the next day to stop the blood loss, the recovery fgrom all of the side effects, and healing - finally looking and feeling healthy - and now this. It's so discouraging. However, he is a long way from death's door yet. I read about a man whose PSA went up from 1900 to 2200 in a month - living with bone cancer (which untreated prostate cancer turns into after a time, apparently).
Yeah, Squirrelly, I know just how you feel.
Mike needed to get some exacto blades and supplies, so we stopped at the crafts store on the way home. I cannot leave those places without something that I might use - some day...this time it was some yarn, and Knitting and Crocheting for Dummies. I used to know how to crochet in high school, and made a lot of baby hats for Valancy while I was pregnant - and one cape. She turned these into her Super Grover costume when she was two.
My order also came from Stamping Up - but the inks were the wrong type and colour. Everything else was okay though - soon we can make our Christmas cards. Apparently the Scraptivity kit is also in.
I attend a two-day retreat for sr. management starting tomorrow morning (after my doctor's appointment). It finishes early, followed by my boss hosting a social at his house - I may pop in for a bit and see his renovations; we both endured renovations this past spring.
An important decision for our work comes out of the Supreme Court on Friday. Mitch was lead counsel on this, and I hope for his sake (and for the sake of justice, of course!) that he is successful.
Picture here is of the sunset across the street from our place on Saturday, October 8th.
This is Hans, my first boyfriend, in a picture taken in June of 1973. His full name was Hans-Jurgen Hugo Albert Kruger, named for an uncle who committed suicide. He is standing in my Mom's kitchen, all dressed up for our high school graduation. He was the only guy who wore a tux. He had beautiful long auburn hair. Sometimes people would come up to him and tell him he looked like John Lennon, especially in profile. He was a very intelligent guy, who read H. P. Lovecraft, believed in life on other planets, was very musical but wrote extremely bad poetry. If I was upset about something he would rock me in a certain way that would make me fall asleep. He spoke German - it was his first language. He died in June of 1974, just before his 20th birthday in August, a couple of months after we found out my Mom had terminal cancer. She died in September that year. I had just finished my first year at university; he dropped out to go out to British Columbia. He came back in the spring and got sick. He had started using needles and got hepatitis.
I thought of him today, after seeing the end of the movie Castaway with Tom Hanks. I used to dream that he would come to me, after I had married Mike, and be angry, saying things like, "I only go away for a year - five years - ten years - and you go off and marry some other guy! What's wrong with you?" He would never have a really good explanation for where he had been, but in the dream it would make sense.
We were almost opposites: he was musical (piano and guitar), I was artistic; he was more athletic, I was a klutz; he had travelled, I had not been anywhere; he was a Leo, I was Aquarius. He used more drugs, more often; I was nervous. We used to argue about things, after he got over feeling so lucky to be with me (he was a geek). He brought out something contrary in me that just had to play devil's advocate. He had a beautiful swimmer's physique: broad shoulders, strong arms, slim waist. He was a lifeguard and also taught swimming at the YMCA. He skied and sailed. We went swimming and camping together; our favourite spot was Lake Metigoshe in North Dakota.
There is nothing of him on the internet - he died before these things were invented. I just want him to be remembered somewhere. When he died, he was cremated, so there is no marker anywhere. I have a couple of letters, that's about it. I have his pitch pipe. I am sure that if we meet again somewhere, we will laugh and ask, "What were we thinking?" He won't be angry with me. We will still be fond of each other. I think he has continued his growth elsewhere. Sometimes people who die young seem to have been so thirsty for life, as if they just knew their hours were limited.
I've forgotten most of the German I learned with him, but not him. And here he is, and I hope people see him.
The forecast called for rain beginning Sunday afternoon, and it certainly looked like it might rain later, so Mike and I went out for a walk around the neighbourhood in the morning. Many of the sugar maples were turning bright red, and some poplars and other ferny-leaved trees were a brilliant yellow.
We walked down by the river, where, upstream, hundreds of ducks and geese were floating, making a little noise, but not much (maybe the Anglicans have them trained to be quiet during services?). I got some great photos. Most interesting to me however, were the little tableaus tucked away, out of sight: the hundreds of crab-apples tumbled down to the creek-bed, wasted; the downy, perfectly globular seed puff of a dandelion; the bright blue cornflower-like blossoms of something that might be a weed; the startling scarlet leaves and dusky blue-black and lime-green berries of a wandering Virginia creeper that had crept too far into the underbrush beside the river, shielded by the overhanging trees and unruly brush. A chance to use macrophotography! This is not my best photo, but I like all the different colours and textures.
We actually celebrated Thanksgiving on Saturday, since we have to co-ordinate dates with the in-laws.
Val and I spent the afternoon scrapbooking, while Mike cooked the dinner.
He bought a fresh turkey from the local butcher. Usually we would get a frozen Granny's turkey from Manitoba. This turkey was very good, however. Doesn't it look great? It also produced a very silky dark brown gravy. The house smelled wonderful all afternoon. The dressing was traditional bread with lots of sage, pepper, rosemary, thyme, onions, and celery.
As accompaniments, we had brussels sprouts, wax beans, fluffy mashed potatoes and home-pickled beets. We always forget to have a dessert though. Mind you, no one could have eaten it. We had a Robert Mondavi California fumé blanc with the meal. And our new, improved, filtered water! It was a great day and we sent Val and Dave home with leftovers.
After they left, we watched Carlito's Way with Al Pacino and Sean Penn. As a Brian de Palma film, you just knew it wouldn't end well for the guy, but you wished it did. Now that would be a real twist to a de Palma film: a happy ending! Hey Brian: take a risk once in a while! Don't be so predictable!
These things are always more interesting with pictures, aren't they? This is me (centre) and my sister (left) playig with photo editing. My brother is on the right. We're ready for Hallowe'en anyway.
Took this rainy day off work, to have a four-day weekend. I'm cleaning up my computer, had a nap. We will be celebrating tomorrow, so as to co-ordinate with the in-laws. They have 5 kids - it's more difficult to schedule. But we have more leftovers to take home!
So Val and I will scrapbook tomorrow while the turkey cooks. It is great to have a husband who cooks. I can cook, but don't like to cook. I seem to do most of the bathroom cleaning and dusting etc.
Listening to some old music I downloaded from somewhere - "This Old House" by Tennessee Ernie Ford - I remember my Dad singing it. A real mix of downloads - hymns, country songs, 60s 70s, love songs, Nantucket Sleighride etc.
My brother in Manitoba sent me pictures last night of the snow in his yard, on his car, in "Hobo Junction", and the birds still at his snowy bird feeder. Some places received 45 centimetres!
Couldn't log on last night to record it, Blogger was down for maintenance.
Val and I went out at noon for our daily walk yesterday and today. Yesterday, I bought a skirt and jacket. Today, I found a really cool place to get inkjet cartridges refilled, cheap!
Mike and I are going out for supper tonight, and have taken tomorrow off - an extra long Thanksgiving weekend. Tonight is supposed to be the first October blues night at the Ironworks...hmmm...we'll see.
Going to Vancouver next week for work. Loooong plane ride...
If I were King of the World, My Traffic and Vehicle Rules:
1. No minivans, SUVs, Hummers, half-tons or anything else you can't see around in the passing lane. Ever. Who the heck do these soccer moms and computer geeks think they're fooling?
2. No semi trailer trucks in the passing or merge lanes.
3. No Volkswagons other than Bugs acn be sold. All non-bug Volkswagon drivers are assholes.
4. Talking on cell phone and driving suspends your licence for a week.
5. There may be only ONE drink holder in any vehicle, for the driver. Too many people drink and drive and aside from manufacturers wasting valuable cargo space with drink-holders, it's DISGUSTING. Our car has about 7 of them! Idiot!
6. People with baby on board signs must drive in the merge lane, and never in rush hour.
7. Turn signals are NOT optional equipment, use them. If you turn your signal on, I will let you in. If you swerve over to suggest you want in, you won't get in.
8. SUVs and Hummers come with an outrageous retail tax; and must pay a toll to drive on any highway. They are not allowed to park anywhere except in gravelled lots with lots of roofer's nail lying about. If anyone in one of these vehicles kills a person in an accident, they go to jail for 10 years minimum.
Even though the leaves are turning colour - check out this tree in our backyard - the forecast high today was 28 Celsius. Daughter and I walked at lunch time agai
n and went to the art supplies store and bought some supplies.
My boss told me he loved me today - actually he is gay and that's his way of saying that he really really agrees with me. He really is the heart of our office. One of the few people I've worked for that are truly inspiring.
I am much reassured and not so worried that what I expect is too much from people. It's always a balancing act for me between being too open-minded (or naive, some would say) and too cynical. It's easy to go too far either way, and I do admit I've struggled with it over the years.
I see others going this way and that too. I don't like to see anyone totally cemented into an attitude.
A lot of places seem to already be booked!
Condos seem almost the same price as hotels. We loved Clearwater Beach - walking in the morning for miles along the sandy beach, picking up shells. The lovely sunsets where spectators applaud. $1.95 Margaritas at Frenchy"s...
I could understand why some people come down and just stay. You could almost stay on the beach.
The bishops are all meeting this weekend in Rome. Will they continue to run and hide or face up to their responsibilities? Or - maybe they're all in training to be cage fighters.. yeah, that's it.
This is our home since April 2005. It's a big change, from living in a duplex in the Byward Mark
et, to living in this 1870s home in a small town. We had fun fixing it up, and hired a designer and contractor to finish the addition on the back. This photo was taken with my brother's camera in June.It's a quirky old place. The living room is on the left main flor in this picture, the dining room on the right. Mike's office is on the left upper floor, and mine on the right.The front porch is not really used yet.The garage also needs a lot of work - if not a completely new garage!
We moved here in April, and are still unpacking. Yet today I must change over my summer clsoet to my winter closet - packing and hanging clothes, putting away sandals.
Last weekend we hung some pictures.
Went into town yesterday for a haircut; bought a Brita water filter pitcher. It works - no more chlorine taste! We also looked at an antiques stores in Stittsville. We need more dining room storage.
Mike is painting the kitchen door, since it's a nice day and we can't count on that too long.
I quit smoking September 19. Doing okay so far.
I am doing well, considering it is October (a bad memories month). I don't know if I accept my life as well as I might. I wish it had gone differently, but I do know that is one thing over which I have no control. Certainly my working life has exceeded anything I could have expected. Yet I never tried to get where I am, it just happened.
We have a new car again; this one is a bit bigger than the old one.
I am planning to work on my scrapbooking today, along with the clothes change. Make chili for supper.
Boring life - but then again, I can't post the good stuff.
