More Worms

We took out the baseboards so they'll need to be repainted and reinstalled.

The reason for Derrik's "Oh s***" is the fact that the island in the kitchen is crooked. Very crooked. We knew this before but the old floor had been installed before we noticed it, of course. The people who installed the old floor didn't seem to care much about how it looked. They just wanted to finish it. Fortunately, Derrik is a little more particular. What this meant is that last night Wes removed the island, or at least most of it as one cabinet couldn't be taken away because it is attached to the plumbing lines.

The island will be straight. That's good. Everything will look almost as good as new once it's all done but we've got a bit of work ahead of us, that's for sure.

I'm hoping that the can is empty now.

This Old House and a Can of Worms

Oh yes. The proverbial can of worms has been opened. We are supposed to get a much needed new kitchen floor. It was going to be easy. One day was all it would take.

Yesterday Derrick and his side kick (don't know his name yet) arrived at 3:45, just as I was going out the door to pick Kristen up from one job and take her to her other one. I asked them if they were here to start on the floor and Derrick responded by saying yes. His body language said, "Of course lady, what did you think I was doing here?" They were supposed to have come at 9:30 that morning.

(An aside: I have met a few floor installers over the years as we've done renovations a number of times in the various houses we've owned. Most of them seem to be pretty tough. Wes tells me that when his company is doing a job where criminal record checks are required, they often have trouble finding carpet layers who don't have a record. It's a hard job and I suppose somebody's got to do it. I feel perfectly safe with these guys around though. I've got Sammy to protect me.)


My protector.












In an older house, I can say without exaggerating, that every single time you do anything, it never goes exactly as you planned. Today is no exception. When Derrick and the other guy lifted the old vinyl flooring, the worms began spilling out of the can. They (Derrick and the other guy) were appalled, I say appalled, at what they found. The sub floor was not properly attached to the other part of the floor (I really don't know the proper terms for all of this). It was attached with, horrors, drywall screws. That's why there was so much squeeking (I hadn't really noticed. It's an old house after all. There are lots of squeeks. That's part of the charm.)

Anyway, this means that the kitchen will probably take 2 more days to finish and then the carpet that they will be laying will not happen until Monday. And this was all supposed to take 2 days.

Bill, the boss, came and checked things out and now, after consultation with the homeowners (me and Wes) we have decided to replace the sub floor too. It will be the cheapest way to do it. (Ha Ha. Cheapest. That's a good one. There won't be anything cheap about that.)
Oh well, we'll have a great sub floor. I think it's kind of like buying underwear. You spend a lot of money on something that people will not see but you really notice if it's not there or not the right kind.

I just heard Derrik say something like, "this is going to be a long drawn out process." Then he said something that sounded like, "Oh s***."

Oh dear. Maybe I'm looking at 3 more days before I have my kitchen back. I'll keep you posted (as if you care).

Happy Birthday Wes!

Forty-eight years ago today, the man who would most impact my life as an adult was born. I didn't know him until 19 years later and didn't really "know" him (in the biblical sense) until the day I married him, almost 27 years ago.

I'd love for Wes to write a "100 Things About Me" list but I'll just have to write something on his behalf. I won't try for 100 but I'll do my best to write a list to help you know him a little better.

1. Wes is the only person in this household who never loses socks. I have at least half a dozen singles in my drawer, hoping that their other halfs will show up. Wes has none.
2. He is a hard worker.
3. He often finishes up things that I have started and gotten bored with.
4. Once, when I was helping him move something heavy, he said to me, "Don't worry, it's not heavy, just awkward." Now, anytime anything has to be moved, people in our family use that line. Wes will never live that one down. It has become family legend.
5. He laughs out loud at movies. And I mean OUT LOUD. The rest of us are giggling silently but Wes guffaws.
6. He owned a blue volkswagen when I fell in love with him.
7. He was wearing brown, double knit pants when I first fell in love with him. I looked past the pants and saw the man underneath. (No smart comments on this one. You know what I mean)
8. I taught him that you could buy stuff at stores other than Woolco.
9. He was not too proud to wear the free shirts that you used to be able to get at SuperStore when you spent $250.00.
10. When the kids were young, he would almost always put them to bed.
11. He cleans up the supper dishes.
12. He used to do almost all the grocery shopping. Now, I'm in charge and he does only some of the grocery shopping.
13. He seldom complains.
14. He's only crabby when he's hungry so I try to make sure that supper is ready for him when he comes home.
15. He makes his own lunch.
16. He knows how to barbeque a rare steak.
17. He is very strong.
18. He always kisses me when he goes to work even if I have peanut butter in my mouth.
19. I can almost alway guess what he is going to order at a restaurant because it's usually the most unique item. I generally go with the more predictable choice. I often like his better.
20. He's neater than I am.
21. Sharing a dessert with him is good when I'm on a diet. He can eat a piece of cheesecake in 5 bites while I tend to eat it more slowly.
22. He is very willing to remove dead mice from traps.
23. He loves my sisters and their families.
24. He loves me, our children and our daughter-in-law.
25. When we go on trips, he makes sure that he has booked a hotel. We have only one story of being stranded late at night without a hotel to go to. If a car needs to be rented, he does that too.
26. He has never complained about my messiness.
27. He has taught me to slow down and to think before I speak. If I ask him a question, he often thinks about it for a while before he says something.
28. He has incredible patience, especially with cranky babies.
29. He has incredible patience, especially with a cranky wife.
30. He signed up to do the baking at church for a Sunday morning.

I could come up with 100 but I'll leave it at 30 for now because I want to post this today and I need to get some work done too.

Happy birthday Wes!

Waiting...

This morning, I got up early, anticipating the arrival and installation of my new kitchen floor. Last night Wes and I worked hard to get everything ready and now, the washer, dryer, frig and stove are in the dining room, the kitchen table and chairs are in the living room and other things can be found in strange places in my house.

Right now, it's 1:04 PM and my anticipation is waning. They're not here yet. I do not think that they could finish the kitchen in one afternoon so we'll be living in this disorganized mess for at least 2 days.

I keep having to remind myself that in a few days, everything will be neat and tidy and all of my stuff will have found it's proper place.

I hope.

More Homemaking News

In my post yesterday I suggested that there was somthing else I wanted to share with you. I just remembered. Did you know that people are beginning to do more of their own housework again? Yes. That's right. They are getting rid of the cleaning services and are finding value and a sense of accomplishment in doing their own housework. And what's more, THEY ARE POLISHING THEIR OWN SILVER AND DOING THEIR OWN WINDOWS.

Oh for the good old days when we had other people polishing our silver and washing our windows.

Tim washed a few windows for me the other day. Does that count as "doing your own?" Maybe I should pull out my silver and start polishing it.

Wait... I just remembered. I don't have any silver.

Linda's Decorating Tips

I normally go to the gym 5 days a week. No, I'm not one of THOSE kinds of people. I just know that it needs to be part of my daily routine or else I will not keep it up.

But this post is not about the gym. This post is about a television show you just may want to watch if you have the good fortune of being at home with nothing better to do than watch TV at 10:00 in the morning.

I don't watch much TV at home-usually the 10:00 news and if I can stay awake, the local news at 10:30. I am however, able to watch TV at the gym. I'm on the cross-trainer around 9:00 in the morning and I usually have several television show options. They are the Sports channel, children's TV (why that channel, I don't know. There isn't anyone younger than 18 there at that time), some entertainment show and something call City TV.

None of those shows really interest me but I generally end up watching City TV. It reminds me of the women's magazines that Heather loves to hate but it is in the form of a TV show. They usually have a guest on the show who talks about fashion, home decor, the latest plastic surgery available, food and anything else people (women) might find interesting. Today, I learned a great decorating tip that I would like to pass on to you, my blogger friends.

When you have a party at your home you would hate to run out of toilet paper, wouldn't you? (Collective nod of the head) Some people have a type of cylindrical holder by the toilet but that hides the toilet paper and your guests might not know that is where the extra TP is kept. (What kind of friends does she have?)

Well, our designer has come up with a cute fun way to keep your TP in plain sight. I have attempted to duplicate this but it wasn't easy. Designers always make things look so easy but really, they tend to be difficult to copy. Here is my effort:

To brighten it up, you're supposed to put silk flowers in the holes but I didn't have any. I've gotten rid of a lot of my junk so there was nothing I could put into the holes to show you just how attractive this might look in YOUR bathroom for your next event.

Actually, I was thinking of buying some OHenry bars and putting them in the holes. My guests might appreciate that.

There was one other tip that I found particularly interesting but I can't remember it right now. If I do, I'll post that at another time.

Eat your heart out Rena Nerbass!

Mouse Invasion

Every morning for breakfast, I eat half a bagel with peanut butter and jam. I've been having this for breakfast for more years than I can remember but I'm still not tired of it. Yesterday morning, this is what I found:
It was the last bagel in the house because yesterday was grocery day so I had to eat A PIECE OF TOAST INSTEAD! I was so disappointed!

Last year I wrote a piece about the vermin that comes into my house every fall season. I thought I'd re-post it for you all.

"The invasion has begun.The army that would like to conquer, chew and destroy has already sent at least 2 sentinels. We know they are still in the area because we have seen some evidence of their presence. Early one morning, Tim actually saw them but as it was 6:00 AM and he was moving a little slowly, he was unable to track them down.

You'd think they'd learn. You'd think their fathers and mothers, grandpas, grandmas, aunts, uncles and cousins would have let them know that although they might find some sustenance in certain locations of this house, they would eventually meet their demise here.

And so we begin the battle yet again. I pull out my arsenol, all nicely packaged together in a plastic bag. Death Traps, check. Sticky traps, check. Poison, check. Humane traps, check (although I still can't understand why my own husband would buy a mouse trap that allows the rodent to live so that it can be released-Where? Back into my house!) A plug-in thingy that apparently makes noise that only a mouse can hear. This one particularly takes the cake as I'm convinced that the sound attracts rather than repels this army.

I suppose that you can't really blame the poor critters. It's getting cold outside and like us humans, they like to live at ease, where the food is plentiful and the temperature is comfortable. They get all of this in my house. I have been told that I have a gift for hospitality and the mice seem to sense this. The food can easily be found in the bedrooms of certain residents of this abode, in the family room couch or under the fridge and stove in the kitchen. Mice really don't need much to keep them going-chocolate bar wrappers, cracker crumbs, even empty slurpee cups can seem like a feast to a cold and hungry mouse. We even leave nesting material around for them like clothes, blankets or paper on the floor. Last year, they spent some time in the boots of a teenage guest who was living with us but then decided to take up residence in her gym bag because the food and clothes, readily available, were preferable to the footwear.

The year we moved into this house we caught 17 mice in the fall. We had never had mice in any of our previous homes so we were unprepared for this onslaught and it was too late when we finally began fighting back. I think that was the year that word got around in the mouse community that our house was party central.

But I've learned. My nephew Joey frequently tells the story when "Auntie Linda killed 4 baby mice on the stairs with a toilet plunger." Actually it was a toilet brush and there were 5 mice (but who's keeping track anyway). As sickened as I was about this brutal murder, I just knew that if I didn't get them when I saw them, I'd be battling with their offspring in a few short months. And boy do they know how to procreate.

Today, I can say with a measure of certainty that I am smarter than a mouse. I have discovered tricks that will get a mouse every time or at least most times. This year, I'm ready. I've got traps loaded with my prefered ammo-peanut butter. I've laid them out in strategic locations and eagerly look forward to asking Wes or Tim to check the traps every morning before they leave for work. (I am a fairly independent, liberated woman. But when it comes to emptying mouse traps, I believe that it is a man's job. Fortunately both of the males I live with are willing to do this rather unpleasant job.)

So, the battle will continue until the snow falls or things freeze up around here. But I'm ready. Bring 'em on. I'll take care of 'em. Maybe they'll be smarter than their forefathers and foremothers and will tell the younger generation that the neighbour's house is far more appealing than mine."

ATM Etiquette

Yesterday I read a story in the Free Press about someone who had found money in a bank machine. The previous person must have forgotten to remove it and the finder was trying to track down the person who lost the money. Apparently, the bank can't even track it down.

This reminded me of a similar story that happened to me several years ago. I was in the car with Michele and we decided that we would go to one of those drive-thru ATMs. I had never used one before and was driving slowly as I was trying to figure out just where I had to go in and how close I had to be to the machine to reach the buttons.

There was an older model car behind me and the person driving it seemed very impatient with me because I wasn't moving too quickly. I thought he needed to learn a lesson so I slowed down even more and really took my time at the ATM. He seemed to be losing his patience with me but I didn't care. I figured he needed to learn to slow down.

Finally, I was finished my transaction, put the car in gear and started driving away towards the parking lot. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the man who had been behind me raced out of the stall at the ATM machine and began following me. I was frightened because I had heard stories of road rage and this guy, with his long stringy hair and dirty clothes fit my idea of a man out of control.

He began honking his horn and swerving around, and at one point I began to realize that he wasn't angry, he was just trying to get my attention. I slowed down and opened my window. He rolled down his window and handed me some cash-the cash I had left in the ATM machine. I thanked him, he nodded and went off to do his transaction.

I was embarrassed at my insensitive actions and wished that I could speak with the man and buy him a coffee but of course, that was not to be.

Who do you think learned a lesson that day?

For Tom and Becky

That Black Cloud

I went to the doctor today. The good news is that I am 13 pounds lighter than I was last year. Yippee!

The other good news is that she has extended my anti-depressant medication for another 5 months. I have been on this medication for about 2 months and I was not ready to blog about it until now. I figure if RLP can blog about depression then I can too.

It’s hard to know when it all actually started but I had been fighting a black cloud since the fall of 2005. It is likely longer than that but it was in September that I began thinking that this was more than just “the blues.” I hadn’t been sleeping well, I was having trouble controlling my eating, I had little energy and just felt kind of empty. What really troubled me though was that I couldn’t remember the last time I really laughed. Anytime something good would happen, or I’d have some fun, I just couldn’t appreciate it. I felt anxious and guilty all the time. I used up any energy I had in order to remain positive and upbeat.

I thought that anti-depressants might help and I spoke to a psychologist about it. She agreed that it was likely that I was depressed and that medication might be helpful. I don’t know if depression is genetic or not but my grandmother was on medication and I really think that my mom has been depressed so, it really should be no surprise to me that I too could be depressed.

Things at home were mostly pretty peaceful. Except for a few incidents with Kristen that I am not proud of, I did not yell or carry on too much. I did not cry a lot and I wasn’t suicidal. My greatest fear was that I would take medication and it wouldn’t help because I wasn’t depressed, I was just feeling sorry for myself and had to “suck it up.”

Within a week of starting my medication, I began to feel better. After about 2 weeks, I really began to notice a difference. I was laughing, I was having fun, I was sleeping and I began to feel happier. I did not have to use all of my energy to stay happy. Wes says that I’m more engaged at home now. Before, I was pretty quiet and chose to spend my time at home alone-reading or watching TV. Everything seemed to be a chore.

I am grateful for the many medications that are available these days. The one I’m taking has a few minor side effects-things I can easily live with. I have been enjoying the summer and have not been thinking too much about the fall. Hopefully I’ll be willing and ready to jump in and begin my work at the church. I just feel that this summer has been one of healing and joy. I’m enjoying my time at home and feel that I have become more balanced and content.

I was really hesitant to start down this path. It seems that depression is very common among women in North America. It seems strange to me that there are so many of us who need this kind of help. Why can that be? Are we just a bunch of wimps who just need to snap out of it? Are we so self absorbed that we cannot deal with a bit of stress and anxiety? Are we unable to deal with an imperfect world and so need to depend on a pill? Can I not accept the fact that life sucks sometimes and that I don’t always feel great?

I wonder how many people in Africa need to be on anti depressants. They say it’s a chemical imbalance of the brain. I’m sure that a chemical imbalance happens just as frequently in an African brain as in a North American brain.

I have no answers but I do know one thing. The pills are working and I am a happier, more content person today than I was a few months ago. I will continue taking them for as long as necessary and perhaps some answers may come to me as my brain becomes less fuzzy and I am able to think more clearly. I know one thing. My family has their mom back and I think that’s pretty important.

Depression is a tough thing. I am grateful that mine is not as debilitating as it can be for some people. There have been no thoughts of suicide or of hurting myself. But in its own way, this has been a hard road to follow. It is not something that you can see, like a broken arm or a bad cut. But it’s there and only the person who is experiencing it can really tell what it’s like. For me, it wasn’t too obvious. I was able to function fairly well. But the energy it took to remain positive was extreme. I’m getting my energy back and I’m grateful for the people around me who I’ve told who have given me so much encouragement and support. To have that kind of community around me is the best thing I could hope for. They know who they are and I am so thankful to them.

Okay. Last cute dog picture today. The dog cousins are bunking together although Jed is definitely more relaxed than Sammy-and it's Sammy's kennel!

I'm Alive and Doing Fine

This will be short. I just wanted to let all of my blogger friends know that I'm alive and doing fine. I haven't blogged for quite a while-there has been much other stuff to keep me occupied this summer. Like...

• the beautiful weather;
• the fact that we have a pool and when people come over to swim, I need to sit out there and provide them with stimulating conversation and companionship;
• watering my garden-It's been so dry here that it's hard to keep up;
• going to Assiniboine Park to watch "Ballet in the Park";
• renovating and fixing up the back porch;
• spending time with Kristen*
• enjoying time with Glenda and her family;
• reading. I've read 2 books (Time Traveller's Wife and The Twins of Trebeca) although I didn't really enjoy either one of them too much. They were okay but just okay. (I know that there will be some people who do not agree with me, especially with The Time Traveller's Wife.) I still love reading and even books that don't really grab me can still be entertaining.

*Until now, Kristen has been home quite a lot this summer. She hasn't been getting many shifts at Esprit, the store where she works. We have had a great time! We've been going to the gym, doing some shopping and just kind of hanging out. It's been just wonderful. She's still feeling well and I too am feeling content.

She just got another job at Aqua-Tech, a pool store. Eric's been working there for quite a few years and now Kristen is there. That means we will get our pool chemicals at a discount for a little bit longer. That's great and it's a good place to work. And Kristen will have a full time job until the middle of October. That is a good thing.

Monday night Jed came over to our house for a week. He's actually doing quite well. The mop and pail have been put to good use but as it's only in the kitchen, I don't mind too much (except when I step in it). And for Micah's information, there has been very little mounting going on.

Here's a picture of the dog cousins:

As you can see, Jed is howling as only a coon hound can howl and Sammy is looking rather pathetically at me. When I leave the fenced area of the back yard, they wait for me there, in the corner and look very sad until I return. Jed has taught Sammy how to whine and Sammy has taught Jed how to pace.

Oh well, at least they're getting along.

Meeting another famous person

Here again is another picture of me (and Michele) with a famous person. If you are a fan of Canadian Idol, you will recognize the man on the far left of the photo. That happens to be Rob James, the first Winnipegger to crack the top 10 of Canadian Idol. I have not yet watched this show but I know that he is in the top 10 because I read it in the Winnipeg Free Press today.

Michele and I had the opportunity to be involved with "The Huron Christmas Carol" one year. Our job was to be in the "green room" (or is it the blue room?) where the entertainers could come and relax and have something to eat. It sounds like a much more exciting job than it is. We were quite bored and not too many people stopped by to say hello. But these guys did. They called themselves "McMaster and James" and I really liked the way they sounded.

Rob James has NO idea who I am but was gracious enough to pose for this picture. I think I just might watch Canadian Idol next week to see how he does and to remind my kids that *I* have rubbed shoulders with someone famous.

Much has been happening in my life over the last couple of weeks but I haven't felt like blogging about it. It seems that many of my blogger friends are in a similar situation. The summers here in Winnipeg seem so short that we really try to make the best of them and we'd rather be outside than inside, on our computers. Today, my life in pictures.

The $50.00 hairstyle that Kristen promptly washed out as soon as she got home. At least she was in good enough humour to take this picture!

Kristen and C.J. before her graduation banquet.The Grade 12 graduate with her dad. One of my favourite pics.

From left to right, Ben, Eric, Kristen and Tim.

We also went to the Folk Festival. What a great time we had! You can read all about it on Heather's blog. I couldn't describe it any better than she did. A highlight for me was meeting Fred Eaglesmith. While his music isn't really the kind I tend to listen to, Fred is a friend from way, way back. We went to elementary school together. I was certain he would remember me but I was unprepared for his exuberant reaction when I told him who I was. We had a great (short) time of reconnecting and will get together for coffee when he comes into town next month.

My flower garden is growing and lovely, my vegetable garden looks very, very sad except for the tomatoes. The weeds are doing well too. So far, it's been a close to perfect summer.

Our Visit to the Naturopath

It was probably 2 months ago that Kristen and I went to see a naturopathic doctor. As I have blogged before, we were at the end of our rope with her frequent nausea and dizzy spells. We had been to all kinds of doctors including a neurosurgeon who we will never see again. So for the first time in my life, I went to see a naturopath.

Dr. Schrader was as kind, considerate and compassionate as any professional can be. He listened carefully, asked intelligent questions and I was very impressed by him. We spent close to an hour with him and when we were finished, he suggested that Kristen take a test that we would have to send to the US. The results would likely show us what the problem is and also, what we could do about it.

For the test, Kristen had to provide 3 stool and 2 saliva samples. According to her, taking the stool samples was "gross." I won't go into details about what she had to do but she took care of it like a trooper.

Finally, last week, we could see the doctor for the results. It seems that she had candida (too much yeast in her intestines) as well as a kind of parasite (something he had suggested as a possible cause at our first visit). Apparently there is some disagreement in the medical community about this particular parasite. Some believe that it is harmless, some think that it can cause problems. Regardless, we are going ahead with a regime that includes taking 5 large capsules twice a day. She has not had an attack in the week since she's been on this regime and her energy level has certainly improved.

One other challenge is that she's on a pretty strict diet. No sugar, dairy products (eggs are okay) yeast, mushrooms, dried fruit, bananas or peanuts. She can only have 2 fruits per day but lots of veggies. Considering that she has been surviving on bagels, cream cheese and bananas for months, this diet is quite a huge change. Almost all prepackaged foods have one of the forbidden ingredients so everything needs to be made from scratch.

Suppers won't be a problem but there will be no more bagels, or cereal for breakfast-all the quick, easy foods that teenagers are accustomed to eating. She also LOVES cheese and is already missing it. We did find some bread that is okay for her to eat and she says it's not bad so she'll be able to take sandwiches to work if she needs to.

We are hoping that once the levels in her intestine get back to more normal levels, she'll be able to add more foods to her list, perhaps in smaller quantities than before. I suspect however, that this is something she'll be dealing with for the rest of her life.

We see Dr. Schrader in 2 weeks and hopefully, he'll be able to give us some more good news.

We were at SuperStore yesterday, looking for things she can eat. Wes, Kristen and I must have spent an hour just reading ingredients and trying to figure out what we could buy. I am so grateful to be living in a place where there are options! If this were 20 years ago, it would be much harder to find something for her. Next week I'll buy some soy cheese to see if she likes that.


She's got a pretty good attitude towards all of this now as she was ready to do anything to stop the attacks. Thanks for all your words of encouragement, thoughts, suggestions and prayers.

Okay. Time for a new post. Even I'm getting tired of looking at those 2 lobsters! Problem is, I don't feel I have much to write about. The housework fairies have not yet found my house so I did the housework for most of the morning.

Yesterday I helped Kristen and her friend Kim study for an exam. I was very aware of the fact that this will probably never happen again. Even though the material was hard to understand for all of us and the girls were getting frustrated, I enjoyed myself. It's great to be needed and to hang around with my daughter, even though it's just studying. It reminded me of the many times when she would come home from school and do her homework while I was cooking dinner. I enjoyed those times.

I am keenly aware of the fact that I am entering a new phase in my life. My youngest child will be graduating from Grade 12 in a few weeks and it's been a hard adjustment for me. When my 4 children were young and I was feeling overwhelmed with them, I used to dream of the day when I'd have the house to myself and lots of time to do what I wanted to do. Now I don't even know what I want to do even though I've got the time. I never thought I'd have a mid-life crisis because I've always had interests and involvements outside of my children. I suppose we never really know how we will handle a crisis until it actually happens. Thankfully, I have a huge support network of people who love me and support me and I am confident I'll get through this.

I will leave you with a few photos of my garden. I am simply amazed at how these plants and flowers grow. From this:

And this:To this: And finally, this...

What's For Dinner?

We get to eat lobster once a year. It's too expensive to purchase but once a year, Wes is invited to a dinner put on by one of the sub-trades he works with that includes according to Wes, "The best Caesar Salad you'll ever eat," lobster and dessert. He finds that the hardest part of the dinner is deciding which dessert to choose because he is so full from the other delicious food. (He gets no sympathy from me)

One year, he ate so much lobster that he smelled like a garlicky lobster when he came to bed.

Anyway, there's always way too much lobster so those who would like, may take some home and Wes knows that this makes me very happy.

Tonight, lobster, pasta with sundried tomatoes and if I feel like it, a salad.

Yum, yum.

The Story of 2 Potatoes

It all started innocently enough with 2 potatoes. Ben and Carolyn decided to barbeque some steak and have baked potatoes for their dinner on Sunday night. Ben went out to light the barbeque and shortly thereafter, Carolyn went out to put the potatoes on. Kristen was home too, watching TV and doing her homework upstairs. A peaceful, relaxing Sunday evening.

Suddenly, the doorbell started ringing incessently. Kristen, hoping someone else would answer the door took her time in coming down the stairs to answer it. Sammy was barking like a crazy dog and she chased him into his kennel before she opened the door as Sammy has a tendency to run outside as soon as the door is opened. There was the unmistakable sound of fire engines in the distance but that was not unusual as we live just a few blocks away from a fire station. However, when Kristen opened the door she was not met by a person as she had expected but by a wall of fire.

She ran down the stairs to tell Ben that the fireplace was on fire (she actually meant the barbeque but she was in a state of panic and not making a lot of sense). Ben raced up the stairs and tried to put the fire out with the garden hose but was unsuccessful. Trying to put a fire out with a garden hose is not much more efficient than spitting on it. He then ran into the house to get the fire extinguisher and was able to put some of the fire out. (*Note: Fire extinguishers need to be charged more often than once every 12 years.) Just as he realized that this was more than he could handle, 3 fire engines came screaming into our quiet little bay with a crowd of fire fighters. They had the fire out in no time.

It seems that the hose where the propane goes into the barbeque got pulled away and propane started spewing out onto the floor of the porch. The barbeque is toast, the whole lower part of our deck needs to be replaced, the garbage bin is burned although the plastic garbage cans are still intact and not melted.

We'll make an insurance claim and hopefully get a better looking deck out of the deal. We didn't tell the insurance adjuster that Wes was out that very morning measuring the deck because it needed to be replaced. Wes had also prayed that God would provide the funds for us to replace the deck. Hmmmm.

Incidentally, even with all the fire and smoke, the potatoes are still raw.

We're selling the tent trailer

Yesterday I took a little walk down the proverbial “memory lane.”

We have a tent trailer that we are planning to sell and Wes and I had to clean it out last night. We brought a broom, bucket and cleaning supplies and I was approaching this as a job that had to be done. I have never loved this tent trailer but going through the stuff in there brought me back to our days of camping and I was a little surprised at my feelings of nostalgia because truthfully, I don't really like camping too much. I don't like having to use public washrooms and showers, I don't like the cold, clammy feeling you get when it rains in the night. I don't like the fact that you can never keep things neat and organized (at least I can't) or that laundry needs to be done in a laundromat.

I think that it was the items that I found that brought back the feelings of nostalgia although as you will see, the events were not necessarily enjoyable at the time. I think it was a little like going through all your stuff before you move and knowing that everything you touch at one time, had a purpose and therefore could evoke some strong memories.

I found at least a dozen bungee cords which reminded me of a very unique feature of the trailer. On one of our first trips we discovered that the door popped open when someone weighing more than 75 pounds slept on one of the wings. The first time this happened was at (you guessed it) 2:00 AM. I heard the door pop open and hopped out of bed to close it, thinking that the latch had simply not caught when we first closed it. I had just gotten settled when sure enough, it happened again. It was a sleepless night. Someone would roll over and POP there it would go again.

The next day we had a solution figured out using a web of bungee cords. I just hoped that if anyone had to go out during the night they’d remember the bungee cords, otherwise there could be some trouble. Imagine a slightly uncoordinated 6 foot tall 14 year old stumbling around in a tent trailer, slightly larger than a kitchen table.

When we first bought the trailer, the ad suggested that it could sleep 6. That is a bit of an overstatement as the largest bed was somewhere between the size of a twin and a double. I love Wes and don’t mind sleeping with him but sharing a bed that small results in a fitful sleep. I was always sleep deprived on my camping holidays.

I found several decks of cards and was reminded of the time Michele and Kristen were playing some crazy game. They are aunt and niece and have the very same competitive streak. They were getting more and more animated as the game progressed and our friends were getting a little concerned that it wouldn’t be long before they would come to blows.

The blue tarp reminded me of the last camping trip we took about 2 years ago, at Clear Lake with a group of friends. That was the coldest, rainiest trip in my memory. One night we managed to get a wood stove going in one of the shelters. It was windy and rainy so we got a few tarps and used them as a wind break. We spent a lovely evening in the shelter, huddled around the wood stove. We melted pennies, roasted hotdogs and marshmallows and had a great time.

Going through the drawer (yes, there was one drawer) I found sunscreen, mosquito spray and “After-Bite.” We’ve never had really bad mosquitoes on most of our camping trips but we’d never leave home without our mosquito spray. As I was wiping down the ceiling, I found a number of mosquito carcasses and remembered my nightly ritual of death where I pursued every bug with all my power so that nobody would wake up in the morning with a fresh bite.

We took out our dining tent too. I LOVE dining tents and a few years ago we had to replace ours. The only one we could find that was high enough to accomodate the height of Wes and our sons looked like a circus tent with blue and white stripes. It’s a great dining tent and stands out like nothing else in a campground. I remember spending lots of time in it on rainy days. I also remember eating in it. When we camp, Wes does most of the cooking and we generally eat very well.

I found the green coffee pot that I just love to use and was reminded of how good coffee tastes when you’re camping. And the glass wine glasses. Wine does not taste good unless it’s in a wine glass and we made sure that the glasses were well packed so they wouldn’t break.

There were lots of things about that tent trailer that I didn’t like but somehow, with the passing of a few years, those things don’t seem to matter so much. I’m glad that I had the chance to spend a few hours in it again and gain a new perspective. It’s in the yard at Wes’s office and last night, briefly, VERY briefly I thought, perhaps, I wouldn’t mind spending a night in it again. Sanity prevailed and I knew that I could loose any fond memories I have if I were to spend a night in it again. And I sure didn’t tell Wes.

There are aspects of camping that I like very much. Although my children wouldn't all fit now, I loved the snug as a bug feeling I had when we were all tucked into bed in the trailer. One year we listened to Stuart McLean CDs before falling asleep, first giggling and eventually, laughing out loud at his hilarious stories. I enjoyed camping with friends and family and remember walking from one campsite to another with my coffee cup, always finding someone who would have a pot brewing. I'll miss the campfires too.

These days, we're finding that we really love to stay in Winnipeg during the summer. There are festivals and events happening all summer long, right in our own back yard and if I go away, I'm afraid I'll miss something here. We won't need the tent trailer, that's why we're selling it. So for now, we won't be doing any camping.

I'll just be content to remember the great times we had.

Changes

Ben’s moving out-again.

Ben married Carolyn in the summer of 2004 and like all good, healthy couples, found an apartment of their own. While their marriage was a happy occasion, it was also a time of re-evaluation for me. My children are growing up, becoming independent and are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves.

Eric moved out just a few short months after Ben. About 6 months after that, Ben moved back to our house-with Carolyn. They live in the basement. It’s not as bad as it sounds and I find that when I tell people that my 25 year old son lives in the basement of my house with his wife, I find myself speaking faster and faster so I can explain that it really isn’t as strange as it sounds. “You see, we have an apartment in our basement
itsaselfcontainedsuitewithitsownkitchenandbathroomand
theydoalltheirowncookinganditsnotreallyasstrange
asitsoundsandIkeepmynoseoutoftheirbusiness…”

Well, I will no longer have to explain myself. Ben and Carolyn are moving out again, into their own house. It’s an exciting time and I’m really happy for them but I’m going to have to deal with Ben moving out again and the fact that my children are growing up and they don’t need me the way they used to. Sigh.

The good news is that we already have someone to rent the apartment in the basement. The fact that we have such a low vacancy rate in Winnipeg is good for us although not good for those people who are looking to rent.

So, my life changes once again. Change is good. It keeps me on my toes. I'm looking forward to getting to know Briane, our new tenant (and her dog!).