Depression

seems to be the one thing we all share in this family! And we all know how many skin diseases are stress-induced! Will one week be enough to help you? Will you be able to get more if you need it? I can just envision you going back and them all sitting there saying "Don't worry, we didn't touch any of your work. We knew you would want us to save it all for you".

Now, what are you planning to do to take care of yourself? Is there anywhere in Neepawa where you can get pampered? This isn't a time to be trying to catch up on housework. A trick I've used is to write down a list of everything that is stressing me ( pissing me off, so to speak), then seeing if there is anything on the list that I can actually do anything about. It can be something small, but something you actually have control over and can change. Then do it. Sometimes exerting control over one small part of your life can help. The other trick Iuse is Morning Pages. This is a form of journalling where you write three full pages every day before you do anything else. Doesn't matter what you say. It doesn't have to even make sense. Just the physical act of writing something (entirely private-- burn the pages after if you want) can become a sort of "brain dump"that can help clarify things for you. I wish we were closer. I could lend you the book I got that idea from. It's "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron. Julia Cameron is a writer, but this book is directed at anyone who has a creative soul--and you have one, whether you believe it or not. I wonder if you might be able to get it from the library. Or maybe this is an excuse for me to visit.

Enough is enough

I know that we needed rain, but it is lying on the surface of our sand!! And the frost warnings. All our bedding plants are in the garden. We talked to Tim today (his 40th birthday) he says they have had frost in Edmonton. It now appears that he will not be here when you are here Beth. It will probably be 2 weeks earlier because of the on call schedule. We hav promised him a birthday party while he is here. We will probably have to ask R0dney what to do, and who is around to invite. I am off work until the 7th of June. I had enough of work, and Dr. Chapman said that he had seen it coming. I guess it is depression but I cannot believe the work ethic in that place. They come into work 5 minutes late, and the first program they open is their personal email!!!! I come to work early so that at 8am I am at my desk prepared to work. I love ya Dad, but you taught me too well. I was also only 1/2 right when I said that all my scars had appeared. They did appear, but it was Vitaligo. Now I have yet another skin disorder to deal with. I am a walking map of all sorts of skin diseases. Do you think that I can a kickback on the discussion papers? Oh well. Jim is cooking egg rolls for supper (yes, I did say that I didn't want egg rolls, but I guess his hearing was turned off. oh well

Teeth

The new teeth didn't happen! He froze my entire face, nose and tongue, pried off the temporary, put in the new one, decided it didn't fit properly, and we start over again. This meant another impression--I absolutely hate that procedure! Anyway, I have another appointment next Wednesday to try again.

Grandparents' Day was a little different. We actually sat at tables rather than in bleachers. They were nicely set and we were served tea and cake between musical numbers. But it was simply a concert, and there was no interaction with the children. As we were leaving I phoned Amber to let her know that we had seen Jessica's class sing, and we were going home. There were some grandparents having pictures taken, and the children were being called out of the classrooms one at a time. While we were talking, Amber mentioned that she had ticked a box off to have a picture taken. Of course, we had no camera, so I found the principal and told her that we had no camera and she promptly said that they would take the picture and e-mail it to us. So we had to sit and wait awhile longer ( the children were being called alphabetically). But we had a picture taken and returned Jessica to her classroom. I think the one I attended for Gillian and Jeremy was much better organized, and we actually had interaction time with each child in the classroom--even if we sat in bleachers for most of it and suffered with warm Koolaid.

This morning was grocery shopping at three different stores during a thunder storm. The things we do to save a buck!

Be - Hot dam and all that jazz....

Well, Patty there is a plus side to all your activities of old age - you actually get out and associate with people. I always love to read your messages and hear about all you do. I am wondering though how you would be able to talk and eat with your new teeth just installed? I expect it would be painful, or was it not?
We had our first rain in weeks this afternoon- it came in the way of a thunder and lightening storm with a torrential downpour as thick as a wall and that lasted for about 30 min. Then the sun came back on and it was as if nothing had happened. I was in the process of baking pie and cake and cookies to take to Michael tomorrow. The lights flickered but the hydro stayed on, thankgoodness. We are going to celebrate his birthday as he will be leaving next week and won't be back for at least a month or for as long as it takes for him to defend the dignitaries at the G8 Summit the end of June. Then he states he will likely be in Petawawa for the summer as the plans are now. So it will likely mean more house and animal sitting for us again.
Same old life here - gardening, plants, Mother, gardening, plants, Mother, and sometimes all at once! We have a Robin nesting in our apple tree at the back of the house. Last year a pair of Blue Jays made the nest and tried to nest in it ( one egg) but the continuous rain drove them to abandon the nest and egg. Harry climbed up and found the poor egg left there. So this year the Robins reconstructed the nest and now I see the mother sitting there patiently - I watched from the window during the rain this afternoon and it just stayed in position during the downpour. I am happy that the rain did not last longer as I feared that it may turn out to be the same scenario as last year.
Well, time to close up shop for another day, and hit the sack. I haven't even been able to do much reading lately as by the time I get to bed, my poor eyes are so tired and sore, that the words on the page are just a big blur.Take care.....

New teeth

Today is the big day! I get my permanent fake teeth.

And this afternoon we get to go to "GrandParents Day" at Jessica's school! Hot damn! A chance to spend the afternoon in a hot school gym listening to a childrens' concert in French. Then Kool aid and a cookie before going to observe activity in the classroom--in French. At least that's what happened when I went to the one at Gillian and Jeremy's school.

Isn't old age wonderful when we get to participate in and celebrate these passages in life?

Are we obsessed with plants?

David got the rest of the mud spread today, with the help of the young fellow from across the back--who came over and volunteered. Everyone agreed that we have too much mud! So it's all piled up inthe backyard. The father from across the back expressed some interest in acquiring some, maybe later in the year. Good thing it's done, as it's been raining--even thunder and lightening--since about supper time. so the urgent work is finished. Over the summer we ( the royal we) will have to dig out another flower bed. Our Lily of the Valley is invading the neighbour's garden and has to go. We put a few clumps in the front flower bed where it would be contained, and if it takes root, will get rid of the rest. I've moved the Lily of the Valley with me from house to house, having taken the original plant from the garden on Maplewood, just as David has moved his Ladyslippers, ever since we bought the house on McMeans. The other plant that moves with us in the rhubarb. Now Dianne has asked for rhubarb, so I'll be taking her a root when I visit wiht "Ravenesque the first Monday in June. It seems funny when you write up and/or respond to a written offer on property, and spend more time listing the things that will be moved from the garden, than you do the details about the house itself!

Gardens & May Long

As usual, the warm sunny weather disappeared for May long. Very Windy and rain on and off. Thanks to Jim's puttering we have most of the garden in now. Only a few bedding plants to go. He planted a little bit every day. He wanted to get outside, and since he is not allowed to lift anything for another month, he figured gardening would be okay. As a result, we have potatoes, onions, radish and peas already up. The rest shouldn't be far behind. We planted the potatoes in batches, so that we should have new potatoes for a few weeks before they get big. We bought flowers for the office again this year. The facilities manager gave us his credit card number and off we went. Unfortunately, the green house didn't know how to go about not charging GST. Finally the decided that they would just write it all up by hand and bypass the till. Fine with us until they then told us no credit card for this... cash only. The things we do for the office!!! I also discovered 7 or 8 large anthills there when I mowed the grass yesterday! (the wind may have been strong, but it dried the grass quickly after the rain) I can't decide what to have for supper tonight. I really don't feel like a meal, but I don't know what I do feel like. What a dilemma! I need to wash the floors again. I don't know why I bothered. The sand and dirt just accumulate as fast as I clean. Oh well... summer is too short to worry about the inside of the house. Jim is outside puttering in the garden again, so I guess we will get the last of the bedding plants in today.... better not be frost this week!