The Voice Of Reason

I did all the rest of the top cupboards yesterday afternoon, then did the resulting dishes (some of the glasses and a couple of vases had got kind of cupboard-grotty). Also cleaned the tub and toilet while i was in the scrubbing mood. I cleared out old food and spices, anything that was old and opened like half boxes of pasta that were there a long time went as well as old tins of stuff i've had for years. If i've not had them by now, they aren't going to be used! Also weeded out some dishes in anticipation of a new set forthcoming for Christmas. I'm still keeping my most recent set of dishes, what's left of them but ditching the plates and bowls etc from the older set. My nephew is planning on moving out in the new year so if he wants them, he can have them. I still have to do the bottom cupboards but that's actually goign to be a harder job as it's difficult to be on my knees for too long to haul out the stuff and clean in there. I think i can probably use the sponge mop though, to clean so i won't have to reach in so far in the corner area. What's left in the kitchen is to do the oven and pull out the fridge and stove. God knows what's living behind there!

For my own records, mainly...The C List...
Corrie: Ping in 2 weeks, gather prizes, receipts. Email quiz to K. for copying. Will have to do the name labels when i get the registration list. Make notes on chat topics.
I must get some more Christmas chores done too.
Cards: I always like to get my cards done up and ready to go. I print labels for the addresses so i can tell how many of each type of stamp i'm going to need. I buy the cards when they're half price after Christmas so have them already. Also have to buy a few special Christmas cards. Disgustingly organized, i know.
Candy: I also need to make turtle candy but i have a four day weekend off, not this one but the one after so i might do it then.
Christmas decorations: Get them out of the storage closet, maybe do that on the long weekend too.
Gifts: This month i also need to finish my gift shopping. I've really only got three main things to get and a few smaller ones. Two packages to post, gotta get them done before the end of the month.

Every year on this day, they have a christmas party for the kids of the staff including a visit from Santa and lots of sugar lol Now the party's over and everyone's kids are running through the office playing hide and seek. Little girls in pretty red party dresses and little buckled shoes. Most of the boys are just in regular clothes though some have red tshirts or sweatshirts on. It's a bit noisy but it's not unbearable and it's only once a year. they're so excited!

I went and got a new watch battery and a bus pass for January and treated myself to a white chocolate mint mocha :) Very festive! We get off at noon and i'll get home, get everything packed up and wait for my nephew who's picking me up on the way home from work.

Yay! It's Christmas! I love it!

Every year, gramie_dee and i open our presents with the webcams on so we can see each other opening, and of course, we generally do it a few days before Christmas. He also always writes a song for me and this year's was inspired by ZZ Top, only he calls it GG Top! The song is called Lovin' Long Distance and if you click here you can hear it. Another brilliant tune!! xoxxoxo

He also gave me a dvd, a book and some chocolate and a lovely silver celtic knotwork necklace that sits right at my collarbone
( And of course the cd art goes with it! )

Another lovely afternoon visiting sis and Rick and noshing two whole bowls of the best seafood chowder thick with chunks of scallops, lobster and fish. Nom! Nom!!! Rick was the chef, too! Mom and i went out earlier than we planned because it would have been better for Mom getting back home. That way she could take the car home and not worry about driving after dark and the weather wasn't supposed to be too good. It had actually just started to snow when we left. Am having lunch with a friend tomorrow with a bit of shopping and Monday i think i'll stay home and potter around here.

( photos through here )

Crap. Well my Christmassy lunch is off. My friend can't get her car out of the driveway due to the snow and the snow blower is broken. I still had to go out though, over to the corner shop, as i was out of milk and it's pretty nippy out there. -10 with a windchill of -18. The corner shop has a doorbell type sound that goes off when you open the door but today, it chimed a Christmas tune, Jingle Bells i think it was. :) I think it plays from a random selection so the staff won't go insane with all the same tune playing all day.

Speaking of tunes, am still listening to and loving Travellin Wings, the song gramie_dee wrote me this year. He really is the best fiance!

Many of my flist have already scattered for their holidays but to those of you that are still reading, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays! I know 2008 was not a great year for many of you and it's certainly had it's ups and downs for me, too. We've lost people close to us but we've also welcomed new babies into our lives and that's the way of it, isn't it? We always look forward but keep our memories in our hearts. I firmly believe the spirits of our passed loved ones are never far away and there are signs. There really are. You just have to look for them.

So anyway, the presents are packed and my backpack is filled. I just have to do some laundry later on for a couple of things i need. Will head to Moms tomorrow afternoon. We may be getting more snow or rain or both or none by tomorrow night. A white Christmas is nice if we can get it, but not too much that the driving is horrible and people get stranded which is what's happening. Toronto has had planes grounded since the weekend after a storm and they're looking at another one. Theirs don't turn to rain, they just get more and more of the white stuff. When Toronto planes are down, everyone else is down since that's a major transfer point.

Ok, i've done enough rambling.
T'ra, see you on the other side.

The snow hath started. I took Mom and my Auntie out early this afternoon. My Aunt wanted to go to a particular store in the Crossing so i said we would have to go out early, before the cars/traffic got heavy and before the weather got bad. Since we had the car, we got through quite a few things on her list in the end, and hit 4 or 5 stores with a final stop at the coffee shop for coffees and cookies. Just got home at 2 and the first little flakes were falling though they didn't start amounting to much until later. It's now after 9 and it's heavier and windier. Supposed to accumulate, turn to rain and then snow some more tomorrow. I don't have to worry about getting up and getting to work in it though so i don't care! It can snow all it wants!

Yesterday i was at a 50th birthday party for my cousin Cathryn. Cat's boyfriend had the party at his mother's house and his mother has some really beautiful things, antiques and items they aquired living abroad, China in particular. They have a full size Chinese screen mounted on the wall behind the couch and little bits and pieces, antique furniture and ornaments around. They also have a sun room that looks down over a lake, with birch and evergreen trees, all covered in snow at the moment. It's really pretty.

( pics behind here )

Gosh, i seem to be buying a lot of sympathy cards lately. My heart just breaks for people that lose loved ones and moreso this time of year.  We've had another death in our extended family. One of dad's cousins died about six months before he did and his widow died yesterday. I knew her but not well but do know several of her kids better. She's not been overly well but has basically just not wanted to live anymore. I guess it's a combination of both of the above, health and missing her husband. She had a heart attack yesterday morning so it was quick. Her children, while sad, know this was what she wanted and she's in a better place now. They're having a private burial and then a memorial service later in January.

I've been hobbling around this week with a sore foot. I have fallen arches and once in awhile the ligament along my instep gets very sore and swollen. The orthotic really aggravates it when it's like that, too. I've spent the last few days with my foot on ice, which helps. It usually doesn't last this long and i didn't do anything that caused it, i don't think. I got up Monday morning to the pain. Weird. Anyway, it's improved though still a bit tetchy. I brought a gel pack to work to leave in the freezer of our little fridge so i can put that on my foot through the day today and tomorrow if needed.

Christmas is one week away!!!! gramie_dee and i usually have a webcam gift opening "party" a few days before Christmas which we will probably do on Sunday this week. He's writing me another song and will finish that up this weekend. The post office has been cooperative this year and our parcels have arrived on time. They didn't last year.

We had quite a lot of snow last night and as my windows are drafty, the wind whistling through them woke me up. It usually doesn't but it was louder than usual. We didn't get as much snow today as they called for at least, so the streets are slowly getting plowed out. I cooked up a nice pot of spaghetti sauce mmmMMMMMMmmmmmm *nom nom*

That' Elf Yourself is proving quite popular and By popular demand, the disco version though i still think the barn dance one is the funniest. I got it as a facebook app. but it's a bit hard to use there because the application window hides some of the options so i was going bllind at first. It kept a copy of all the photos i uploaded, even the duplicates that i did because i didn't think it kept earlier versions.
Anyway...
Without further ado....
( Disco Elfing )

I have recently discovered pomegranates. I seem to recall buying one years ago and cutting it open... it's all full of seeds!! I was astonished. Turns out, that's exactly what you eat! The seeds are about the size and shape of corn kernals and are deep red. When you bite into one, it sort of crispy and you get a little shot of juice. mmmMMMMMMMmmmmmm yummy, tart, but not as tart as cranberries. Usually they're quite expensive but they've been on sale, at Sobeys at least, here, for a few weeks. I bought a couple for 2 dollars each the other day and i'd seen them for a dollar each a month or so ago but i didn't know i'd like them then. Someone at work had one and gave me a bit. You cut into it and break it apart and pull the seeds away from the pale yellow flesh. It takes awhile, and is a bit fussy to do but totally worth it. I didn't do it in the kitchen like i should have and i've got red and purple drips all over various pieces of paper on my desk, a few sticky spots too! nom nom nom! And pomegranates are very good for you as well, anti-oxidants. The same sort of thing that's in blueberries.

I did Christmassy things today. I dragged my tree out of storage and propped the pieces in the corner and dragged the box of ornaments and related stuff out. I needed my cards and i went through my list, removed a few names and ended up adding new ones, which is what usually happens. Printed off the labels, stamped the envelopes with my return address and signed the cards and sealed them. I have a few more cards for special people that i have to get. I also wrapped a few presents, the stuff that has to be mailed this week. Looks like i'm going to have to use a similar sized box for Graham and his dad's gifts so i guess i really will have to spend the money to send it air mail much as it pains me. I want to make sure it gets there for christmas. I know it seems disgustingly early but when you're a slave to the post office, it's a necessary thing. I'll have a look at the largest size padded envelopes but it probably won't make any difference, cost wise. Not much anyway and the box will be sturdier anyway.

I was looking around for something to watch on telly. I've been making my way through the seasons of the UK series Shameless but i'm a bit tired of it so it needs to rest for a week or so. What else can i watch? Check the On Demand menus and i see Dexter season 3. Now i've never watched it before but i do hear it's very very good, if also disturbing at times. Oh what the heck. I've dived into season three and yes, most definitely an excellent series. I've seen four so far and i'll make my way through season 3 eventually. The main character is a blood splatter expert for the police but he's also a serial killer in his spare time. The actor played in HBO's Six Feet Under and was completely believable in that and Dexter is a completely different sort of character and he's utterly believable in this too.

It's been a beautiful fall weekend, weather wise and i really didn't do a whole lot. Stayed home and did house stuff yesterday. Just got back from doing a few errands this afternoon. One woman got on the bus and before she sat down, the bus pulled away. She stagged a bit and SCREAMED! She didn't seem that unsteady on her feet when she got on and he didn't seem to pull away with a jerk but it caught her off guard anyway. Still, can you say "overreaction?" She then proceeded to complain loudly to the person whose lap on which she nearly landed and to the person sitting across the aisle... loud enough so the driver could hear but didn't address the driver himself. She's 57 and thinks bus drivers should have more respect for older people etc. All the way to the bus terminal, i could her her occaisionaly muttering about getting no respect, and something about dignity. Lady, if you're going to be passive aggressive, and not complain directly to whomever you need to, you're never going to get any respect. To be fair, some drivers don't wait until passengers sit down and some do. I've seen people complain in *both* cases.

I've made my Christmas list, people i will be getting pressies for and noted what i've already got. Yes, i've already got a few things. I really always took pride in getting it all done and dusted by December so i could stay out of the crowded stores. If i really need to, i will go right after work as it's the best time to go. It's insane on the weekends in December. I do buy stuff online as well, if i know what i want or i see something. It's like anything, i'll see it and think "oh so-and-so would love that". I actually have 6 people's gifts sorted and i've made some notes for what i might get for other people. I'll have to review the Christmas card list too, see if any addresses are going to need changing or adding/deleting.

Oh, remember that poll awhile back about which painting to submit to that United Way thing at work? The people have spoken and the folk-arty painting called The Ship was the overall winner so that's what i went with. I took it in and the lady that was collecting it really liked it too. She's got a contribution from someone else, can't remember if it's a painting or some other type of artwork, she's going to put photos of them both on our intranet at work and see if people will submit bids ahead of the kickoff which is in early November. So that's good, anyway. She seemed to think there would be enough interest in it. I'll be interested too, to see how much it goes for. I really should do more painting, i kind of slowed down on the output over the last year or so. I suppose because i have all these paintings and they're just there. Yes, i know, i should try to put them on ebay or etsy and sell them. I just keep thinking, well what if nobody wants them or i'm asking too much. Yet when i went to an art show in the mall from a few local amateur art groups, even unframed paintings were going for a lot more than i'd have the nerve to ask. And there were a few of them that i saw that i knew i could do as well or better.

When we went to the Eastern Passage boardwalk shops a few weeks ago, we got chatting to a man in the little gallery there and he's done something neat with some of his paintings. He makes copies on paper and then uses "podgy" which is a craft glue that dries clear, to stick them to small canvasses. The podgy, applied thickly and a bit unevenly, gives the impression of canvas and he just puts them on small wooden "easels" or stands that he paints to match a colour in the painting. They are only small, not even the size of a photo but he says they sell really well. It's an idea that i could do i suppose. If i put them on Etsy, i'd have to make sure to specify that it isn't an oil painting, but a print mounted on canvas so nobody would think they were getting ripped off.