Dusting this ole girl off.....

Damn cobwebs all over the place in here.

So, I haven't had a vehicle to drive in two days and it's making me cranky. Gord's truck is in the garage and he is driving mine. boo hoo. Suddenly I have run out of everything or so it seems. Not that I really NEED the stuff, but I want it right now. I need yarn to start a crochet pattern I bought a month ago...and I want it today! I should go to the library and return some books .... but I can't because "you know who" has my truck....dognabbit. I guess we will be eating boiled macaroni for supper...because I don't have any fresh food in the house and I don't feel like defrosting anything in the freezer. What if I got sick or hurt myself and had to sit holed up in this god forsaken house without any band aids? Life is very disagreeable today.

Oh look, I have two legs. If I put one foot in front of the other I could walk to the store. But honestly, that would require some effort on my part, and I have put all the effort I have into whining ... so I have none left.

Hold on.... Gord just called and his truck in ready to be picked up. Phew, just when I was about to "walk" someplace... that was close. Now I don't even feel like crocheting....or cooking... and I think there is a box of band aids in the other bathroom. Life is getting more agreeable.

He will be here to pick me up in a minute...so I gotta go.

Here he is in a parade last weekend with his brother's car. He's the mafia guy on the left.

A nice day of rain and some reading

I have read Jane Eyre many times before and also saw the movie on Masterpiece Theatre but that was a long time ago. So I got the book at the library the other day along with 4 others that I picked at random because I couldn't choose. I read the entire book in 48 hours...yes I skipped some crap, only because I wanted to get to the good parts I knew were coming. I loved it as usual.

Just when I thought I got my reading mojo back....I started to read another book (that I had picked at random)...and fell out of love with reading again.

I love books that are written in first person narration like Jane Eyre. You can get into the head of the writer. It's personal. When I started the other books they paled in comparison. Charlotte knew how to tell a story.

If I ever try to write a book it will be in the "first person".

If it quits raining I will be out in the back 40 tomorrow trying to clean up the apples that are falling from about 40 feet above. Man those suckers are big and when they hit the ground or the shed it sounds like a cannon went off. I have to make sure Penny is no where near that area. Or I might have to get a doggie hard hat for her.

I have been receiving all my cheques this month for unemployment and my CPP benefits ....holy moly I like this shit.....no work...but lots of money coming in. It doesn't get better than that.

We will need it for the new house.
Balonie....just a click away.........

I think I should quit making an ass out of myself

Time to grow up and smell the radishes. Or whatever.

I seem to be going through highs and lows this last few weeks. I don't know if it's just the lack of direction in my life or what. One minute I'm all gung ho...and an hour later I regret my decisions...such as the UTube thing. I took it off of Facebook, I was mortified this morning when I saw it. I looked like a pervert. Yeah things look different in the light of day than they did the evening before when you were still laughing at yourself and put it up. These ups and downs are getting on my nerves.

We will be going forward with the new house any day now. The heavy equipment should be there this week to excavate the basement. I know...I know...this is the a lot of the problem. It makes me very nervous building a brand new house at our age. So much could happen. And the money it will cost. Now I am focusing on getting this house ready for sale and watching HGTV on a continuous basis for tips.

So much to think about.

Actually making the video got me out of a bad slump I was in last week and I had fun with it. If I do it again I will try not to look like a Safety Pervert. I should concentrate on doing more helpful videos...such as: recycling your stool...see! there I go again. I cannot get serious. But I must. If I get serious I would probably cry. And there is nothing more pathetic than seeing an old lady sobbing with head gear on.

Sorry....but I really had a bad case of the blues today. I feel like I have lost control of my life as it was a few months ago. I wish it was winter. All these sunny warm days are pissing me off. In winter you can hole up inside without any guilt, summer beckons you to come outside and join the rest of the world. A world where I don't really fit in anymore.

But, I know all I have to do is get off my ass and find something to do other than sitting in this darn house and clean...sort off... I don't even do that very well.

Gord's dad used always say "tomorrow is a new day"....when things went wrong....so I will keep that in mind when I get up tomorrow.

balonie...it's gotta get better.

I don't always look as ugly as in the post below

I can clean up pretty good.

I'm not proud of this

I did the video

But blogger did not like it. Bastards.... So I will try to get it up on Vimeo tomrorrow...too tired out tonight to fight with that. It took blogger two hours to tell me that.
But it was fun....finally I did it. I will get it up an running tomorrow.

I look like a dink, sound like a dink....and am a dink. So let's get that part over with....and I will get the video on line tomorrow.

I did a few Poolie moves....but she's gotta give me more of her moves to make a real good video.

I'm kinda partial to dirt

I've been up in it all day.

Finally I have the back 40 in some kind of sense of order. The guy I married is of no help. None what so ever. He hurt his arm two weeks ago, and has been whining ever since. What gives? Men....they must have a really low pain threshold or they are just effin wusses.

It was windy today again as I was repairing all the damage in the back forty, and I could hear a lot of the huge trees ...creaking... not a good sign. I got hit on the head with falling apples more than once from the smaller trees. I made Penny sit under the pikanik table...just in case a piece of lumber decided to break loose. I found a hard hat in the garage and wore that for about two minutes before it pissed me off and I took it off. I looked and felt like an asshole. I also found a welder's helmet in the garage. It was so cool..it's almost like a burka style head piece. I'm planning on doing a video tomorrow where I will be demonstrating how to work safe in your backyard when you have unstable trees about 60 feet high swinging in the wind... while wearing head safety gear.

Penny's pretty good...when she hears a creak...she's under the table. I however, dive into bushes. And at my age that is not a pretty sight. Especially when I hit the raspberry patch. Ouch.. I'm still taking thorns out of my nose.

Bee Back....tomorrow....

What should I do?

Watch Regis & Kelly or mow the lawn.

Regis & Kelly it is. They are in Canada this week, so it's my duty to watch.

I really takes a long time for lunch to begin when you get up at 9:00 AM. I'm starving. Normally I only get up at 10:00.... I knowwwww....it's ridiculous but I can't get my ass out of bed. Today I started to feel guilty so I got up....and now I can't get motivated to do anything.

I promised myself I would try do one thing each day that I never had done on a week day before I was forced to retire.....heh I still won't let that go. So, this is how it went down last week:

Monday: I wore my watch upside down and on my other wrist.

Tuesday: I did not take a shower.

Wednesday: Took a tick off my dog.

Thursday: Made coconut macaroons.

Friday: Said hello to the mailman. He's kinda cute.

So, here we are at Monday again, and I can't figure out what new thing to do. I think might draw whiskers on my face with my eyebrow pencil. I'll let you know how that goes.

balonie...(starting to lose it).

Where in the heck have I been?

I didn't know you could change up your template this easy. Obviously I have not been blogging enough lately.

And if you know me even a little bit, you will know I will try every damn one of them.

Be prepared.

balonie.....going "holy shit."

It's me and Penny these days..

My dog is looking at me...with her big brown eyes...and going, hey when can we finally go for a walk! Well Penny as much as I love you .. it will be never...ever unless the entire population of our area moves out. Then you will have no opportunity to lunge at people passing us on the sidewalk....or if you see another dog....turn into a fucking animal...hmmm yes I get that....

But why do you do dis shitz? Mama wants to know. You are ten years old, and you should know better. Time I get's you to boot camp. Or we could just play in the backyard and you will never sniff another dogs piss ever again. I know, it's like crack to you. You are such a loving dog and likes everyone who comes in the house....but outside on the street it is a different story....I think you are trying to protect me, but I really have no idea how your dog brain works. All I know in order not to get sued ...we should stick to the back yard.

You have no idea how boring you have made your life. Now that I am "ummm" in forced retirement we could be doing so much shit....but no....you want to go after anyone that comes near me. Well damit Penny, I was looking forward to long walks in the park with you when I finally had the time and you are as stupid as when we didn't have the time.

I'm going to try a really early morning run when no doggies and people are around....providing I can get my ass out of the bed. Hopefully there will be fresh piss and shit for you to smell ... little one.

balonie.... smelling shit?

100 years ago I was a teenager

I had all the angst that went along with it. In grade nine I decided I wanted to be a cheerleader. In those days when I made up my mind to do something there was no turning back. I went for it. My grades weren't good enough but I promised I would bring them up to standard if they would give me a chance to try out. They did. And I made the team.


I have always been awkward, my feet never went where my brain said they should go, and I couldn't hold a tune either. So, school for me was a struggle, because if you wanted to do extra stuff you had to be athletic or you could sing. I could do neither. Let's remember this is a small school in the 1960's in a small Mennonite town. So I faked it. In choir they asked me to "only move my lips" because my singing was confusing the rest of them and put them off tune. I probably should not have sung so LOUD. But of course I wanted to be noticed. So, in order to stay in choir I moved my lips...but I could sing anything in a very low range...and I joined in on that. I called myself an "Alto." heh....I was a dumb fuck. Seriously.

The cheer leading gig was short lived, and it only lasted one season, but I really did have a good time. We travelled to all the surrounding towns and cheered our team on. But the next year I couldn't even try out, because I had let my grades plummet. It was all about boys....my parents wanted me to get a decent education and insisted I study...and study...and I just mooned over boys and movie stars. I blame it all on James Darren who starred in the movie Gidget. He got my teenie bopper hormones blazing... oh yeah and Troy Donahue!

I am the one on the end on the top picture and the one in the background on the second one. Siss Boom Bah!


So I switched over to public speaking....anything to get attention.. The school had a "Speech Arts Festival" where kids from town and the surrounding districts would complete. I was in there like a dirty shirt. I participated two years in a row. We had to recite poetry. The first year I chose "If" by Rudyard Kipling. Now it is clear to me that I had no concept of this poem at 15 years of age. I did not get this poem. You need life experience to get this poem. That. did. not. stop.me. Most of the poem were only words to me...and dramatics I could apply to it when I thought they needed applying.... I started out dramatically:



If ... by Rudyard Kipling (I screamed out IF so loud it shook the rafters in the auditorium).


If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you; If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies, Or, being hated, don't give way to hating, And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;



.... I had no idea what Rudyard was talking about.... I was making little heart notes in my diary about my latest crush as I was memorizing this poem. Hey there were lies and hating..I got that part of it.... and to emphasize the words I would put a scowl on my face and viciously form the words and spit them out at the audience. One of my finest moments.


If you can dream - and not make dreams your master; If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim; If you can meet with triumph and disaster And treat those two imposter's just the same; If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to broken, And stoop and build 'em up with worn out tools;



...This all seemed very noble to me, and I started to respect this guy, but then I think I got lost with the twisting of knaves and the trapping of the fools. Nor could I fathom watching the things you gave your life to broken, and stooping to build them up with worn out tools. Tools, what kind of tools? A hammer? huh...




If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings And never breath a word about your loss; If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew To serve your turn long after they are gone, And so hold on when there is nothing in you Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";



...This means a lot to me now...then it was just words I was supposed to speak. And I spoke them with a lot of energy....when I yelled HOLD ON the entire audience jumped up. I think I shook my finger at them too to emphasize the fact that they should indeed HOLD ON. I'm amazed I didn't shout out "hold on and back up the truck Jake."




If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch; If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you; If all men count with you, but none too much; If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds' worth of distance run - Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!



...This too was lost on me, I never got the...with sixty seconds' worth of distance run shit..but I really liked the end... Here I brought down the tone of my voice by about 100 octaves and whispered "You'll be a Man my son" with so much drama, you could have heard a pin drop. With that I blew the audience a kiss and made my exit. I was pretty sure I was going to win because ... people clapped at the end. Now I realize they were just so thankful it was over. It seems I was even a dumber fuck than I remember.



The Adjudicator who gave me my marks for my poem....prefaced her remarks by saying that I had done a good job of memorizing the poem, but apparently I was unclear of the entire concept of the poem. In the future I might tone down the dramatics and attempt a poem more within my grasp. Huh...whaaaat you say? I had just given the performance of my lifetime, and she had the nerve to say I didn't get the poem? I was devastated, until my mom assured me that I did indeed do a very good job of memorizing it which a lot of the other kids had trouble with. With that I took third prize with much pride and made plans for next year. (note:there were only 4 contestants in this category). The forth one must have really stunk the place up.

Been working the back 40 today...

I finally got the pond done and put in the new pump. I accidentally donated most of my pond stuff to charity. I thought it was old pots and pans in the bag... but no... I realized today that there was more in the bag than the pump, there was all the ugly/cute little ducks and frogs I used to have sitting beside my pond. I'm frowning at myself.

Well now it probably won't look like a old lady piece of work.

It still needs a lot of attention. Thank God I didn't put in the swing set (of my my mom and dad) in the same bag.





The storms have ripped up so much that it's almost more than I get to...in between the mosquito invasion and bad weather. My little "happy face" pail keeps me going. Right now the pond is still dirty to I have to keep scooping leaves and shit out of it. But my lilies are starting to bloom big time. The buds are just bursting. It's nice to see something good happening back there.

I put out a basket of peanuts and tied it to a tree branch on the deck for the squirrels. I know it was a little nasty thing to do because it took them a long time to figure out. They knew the peanuts were in there, but couldn't figure out how to get into the "swinging" basket...which scared them. It took about an hour before the big grey squirrels figured it out....they just jumped into the basket with their big fat asses..grabbed a peanut and high tailed it out of there. The little red squirrels were much more cautious. They did a perimeter check, then got out their laptops and googled my house to see all the angles .. then just jumped from the highest branch into the basket with the speed of light...and then out with a peanut.

What the cyber squirrels didn't factor in their strategy was that "where there is a peanut...there is a Blue Jay." Oh yeah. Big time. The Blue Jays had a GPS system going on. At first they weren't too happy with the swinging basket, but they were very smart. They sat on the branches overlooking the basket ...looked at it from every angle...called a meeting...and I'm guessing Head Office told them to dive bomb it and get out as fast as you can. Which they did. That basket was swinging in the wind for ten minutes later.

I only got one shot of the whole debacle....with the grey squirrel after he jumped out of the basket.

I think retirement is making me a little ..err crazy. I am enjoying fooling wildlife. I think there is something wrong with that.

balonie....enjoying life on the wild side.

The day the women went

I have been following this "reality" type show for about a month now. It's really interesting. It takes place in a small town in Hardisty Alberta Canada where the women leave for one week and leave their husbands and children behind to take some time for themselves and regroup. Most have never had holiday.



The men in the community are mostly oil rig workers in Alberta with little time at home, and the women in the community take care of everything. Now, the men have to do it all.



I was really interesting. The younger women didn't really want to go, because of the young children....and a for a lot of other reasons. Some were divorced and single mothers and the dad's were still in town...that kind of stuff. Small towns sometimes have small minds. If you have ever grown up in one you will know. They were all a little redneck, but that was what made it so interesting. I could relate.



I don't watch a lot of TV...but sometimes I just find something I like. Like last night I was just about to go to bed when I happened on to a movie called "The Waitress"...... what a good movie. And just half an hour before it ended we had a thunderstorm...and knocked out our service....sonofabeotch...... so I didn't know how it ended....but if found it again this afternoon and got to watch the ending.


Today I took my electric friend "Peanut" out for another spin/mow around the back 40. The last time I did that I ran over her cord. Gord said he could patch it together. Today when I was about to harness up Peanut and attach her cord, I noticed Gord had put a lot.. I mean a lot of electrical tape at the site where it was injured. At first I was a little scared I might get electrocuted............. so I plugged the Peanut in.....turned her on ON...and ran far far away. Ahhh but she she purred like a kitten ...We did a little stubble jumping over all the tree roots in the back 40...then we scared a few squirrels and after that I put her on a few ant hills and let her give them all a good massage. She seems to like shit like that. We make a good pair. She, unlike "Jake the Snake" the gas guzzling out of control lawnmower I used to have.. does not try to get out of the shed after I put her in there. She's happy as a clam to wait for our next outing.

I'm waiting for a Lawnmower app. on our smart phones. All I will have to do is start Peanut and it will guide her through the process ....and let me know when she is finished...or even better....slide her in the shed and give a big cyber kiss for being such a good girl. All I will have to do is unplug her.

Balonie....trying to invent the ilawnmower.

testing picture size

Father's Day many moons ago

Snoring on the couch...beside mom. His belly full of her good cooking.

Me and my bro were taping him as he was snoring. He said he never snored! We had just bought a small tape recorder.....new tech in those days....and we taped him. He was blowing the roof off the house. And when he woke up he said that wasn't him.

Heh...that tape recorder got us is a whole pile of trouble over the next year. Apparently some people don't like their conversations recorded. Sorry Grandma... and to the rest of the town residents. We got some really good shit.

Happy Father's Day .....your girl Johnson.

Timber

I have a lot of tree branches down in the back 40. A wind storm went through this afternoon while I was at the vet's getting Penny's nails clipped...and we missed it. This will make the 4th. time I have to clean this shit up.

I need to get my little pond going. I may or may not have mentioned this...(between Faceassbook and blogging) I forget what I have said.....but I gave all my pond pumps to charity..BY MISTAKE. I thought the bag had old clothes in it...brain fart!

I've had a really good month of (forced) retiring. No, I won't get over that.

I have finished painting the shop and today I did a job for one of our tenants who has an Italian Pretzel shop... He has been in the business for about 3 years and is still experimenting with all the different things he can do. He introduced two new lines this week, and needed someone to make labels for the bags. His original pretzels are in fancy commercial bags, but now he just needs labels for the new line to see if they will sell before he spends more money on packaging. I spent all day in Microsoft Word making up fancy dancy labels.....damn I had so much fun. I had to think...I had to come up with ideas....and try to remember all the tricks of MS word. It took awhile, but once I started to remember all that I already knew it went very quickly. I have some clean up to do tomorrow, but I will email it to him tomorrow and hope he likes it. It feels good to be productive.

Actually I have a good chance of helping out any of our tenants....should anyone go on vacation etc. I think I will ask all of them if they need some part time help. But, that would never be in the morning.........MORNINGS...are for me. Sleep, coffee, dog time, blog and facebook time. But the afternoons are like soooooooooooooo boring. Most of our neighbours are retired and I look out the patio doors to see what they are doing in the afternoon.....nothing. They are up at the asscrackofdawn getting it all done before lunch. I guess it's nap time after a sammich and some coleslaw. Then around 3:30 they reappear. A little groggy...maybe they have sex in the afternoon, I don't know but they look pretty happy. Maybe they are just happy to wake up and be alive.

Someone on one of the blogs I read said that 60 is now the new 30. I think it was Jude. I'm thinking that is true...probably not 30 but 40 for sure. I think the younger generation doesn't perceive us as "old" as we did with our parents and grandparents. We can still kick ass, and keep up with the latest electronics if we want to. I feel there has been a definite change of attitude.

On that note....damn am I tired. But I did have a productive day. Will I get paid for it? Probably not, but it's all about keeping active and having a good time. And I am.

balonie....forming a mosquito swat team.

Mowed the back 40 with Peanut

And the front yard....without incident ...until I ran over the cord of the electric lawn mower. You see our regular lawn mower is in the garage behind 3,567 boxes Gord brought home from his shop because he is renovating and did not have the foresight to take out. Let's not talk about that okay? So, I had to pull out good ole "peanut"... we've had her since forever, every time one our lawnmowers takes a dump... eg. Jake the Snake ...Peanut comes to the rescue.

This afternoon I was mowing the front yard and both my anal neighbours were sitting out front. Sitting and watching me....just in case I threw a little grass on their driveway. Yes, they pretended to be pulling up weeds and such, but I could feel their eyes on me every step of the way. You see "peanut does not have a grass catcher...so if I have her spout turned in the direction of their driveway she pukes grass all over it. So, I was very careful.

Our front yard looks like a "V" because we are in the middle of a Cul de friggin sac. So no matter what you do you will either get grass on your driveway or the neighbours. I figured out a plan where I wouldn't have to sweep up grass clipping from both our properties. Mind you ... it was not a well thought out plan...but I did have a PLAN. So shut up. And yes you have to make sure the cord is always in the right place..which you will see later was my demise.

I made sure the spout thingie was always away from our driveway for half of the mow...and pointed the other direction for the rest of the mow. See...how easy that was. However, at the end there was a fair amount of grass in the centre of the lawn. I knew this and had a plan 2.

They were still watching me...and I was getting a little nervous. So, I went into the centre of the mess and mulched it all up with a few passes. I was so pleased with myself and decided to do the side of the house that faces theirs and almost completed it...when I fucking ran over the cord of the lawn mower. Yeah, I was showing off my skills...and suddenly the mower was silent....I didn't quite get what happened, once I figured it out I pretended to turn it off...and turned to them and said ...I can't believe why more people don't have electric lawn mowers! I just love them.

They gave me strained smiles.

And once I was on the other side of the house I lowered my sweats...pointed my ass in their direction and quietly told them to kiss my sweaty ass.

Yeah...that's how I roll.

balonie...looking forward to mac and cheese and a pork roast tonite.

Let's see

I have to start posting again...but my heart hasn't been in it for awhile. I have been spending so much time in face book looking out for Kat it has almost taken away my ability to write a real post.

But I can't let that happen because she would be pissed off...she loved to laugh, write and do and say the most outrages things....so I will carry on with the tradition. I was a little crazy before she met me and I'm still crazy now. I gotta get my mojo working....

Update: I am still painting Gord's shop. Downdate: He is pissing me off. Hey, I love going over there every afternoon after he has left to do service calls, and paint myself into a corner... but after three weeks of telling me...there is no rush...suddenly there is! oopsie... I thought you said I could do this at my own speed...which is about..hmmm 3.5 hours a day. NOW....we must rush.

I have finished all the walls and am doing the trim work. You know the baseboards ON THE CEMENT FLOOR...yeah those. I have taped up everything because my paint brush does not know how to paint a straight line. I have more green tape in that place than paint.

My knobby knees...no like the cement floor nor do I like looking at little bugs coming out of the baseboards as I am doing a professional paint job. ha. Those bugs scurry when they see my brush coming. Today I figured out a way so I didn't have place my knees on a mat and only paint three inches at a time...then get up and do another three inches............. I'm fucking stupid. I got a huge piece of cardboard and put that under the baseboards (because the floor is dirty) the top of the baseboards were taped up....so I just bent down and painted my heart out and nothing got dirty nor did I get the paint on the walls. I think I'm getting way too good at this. By the time I am finished, I should have my journeyman hours in painting.

I really love painting...you are all by yourself and you get into a place in your head...and figure out what you should do next ... I had the radio going full blast and was happy, until Gord came in and tripped over the cord and broke it. He put the radio in the most stupid place ever....but since I have been working there I never tripped over it. How hard is it to see a cord that is sitting about 4 feet from the floor? Well he is kinda short...it's just a good thing he didn't strangle himself.

I made a meat loaf pizza for tonight. Yup we had meatloaf for supper last night, and at lunch today we had meatloaf sandwiches, and surprise...tonite we are having meatloaf pizza. That was one big "mother" meatloaf. I made it with half ground beef and half ground turkey...and I really liked it. I'ts not soooooo beefy tasting. Plus I put in a lot of other stuff.

Okay, I have really over stayed my welcome tonight....time to put in the pizza and kick my husbands ass because he just phoned and said he was on his way.

That's how it works here on Peacock Place...

Balonie.....not taking anything for granted anymore......

It's been a bitch of a week

Love you Kat..... sweet dreams
http://www.ilike.com/artist/Annie%20Lennox/track/Into%20The%20West

Rest in Peace

KATERINA

Damn near fell off the ladder

But I caught myself. Now everything hurts. I must of pulled my liver out of it's original position and it landed on top of my kidneys...or maybe my heart fell down and my kidneys when up. That would mean I would be peeing out of my mouth...right? So far I'm not pissing out of my mouth...but of course I am...because I am blogging.

Edging....is a dirty word in the painting industry. Who here can do a smooth edge between the ceiling and the wall? If you say yes, you are liars....and your pants are on fire....and your noses are growing inches as we speak. I have used 9,450 yards of the green Home Depot masking tape to stop me from painting on stuff that shouldn't be painted on. Nothing helps..... but Gord has only given me a pathway of hmmm maybe of two feet from the wall to the crap he has in the centre of the room. Sometimes even less....It's me the ladder and the roller...two inches from my face as we roll. Nothing better than being that close to a roller full of paint. Or then when you get off the ladder to paint the bottom of the section ...that is not wide enough to squeeze a cat through...and you are laying on a cold dirty cement floor with your legs up in the air because there is not enough room for you and all his shit at the same time. But you still have a paint brush in your hand...because you knew the roller was only going to be a big problem in such a tight space. You put the paint brush between your teeth and try to paint the wall while laying on the cold dank floor like a Artist who cannot see. My jowls hurt. I think I may have painted some of my teeth a ugly grey beige color. Son of a bitch....what I do to to make a few bucks.


Balonie... getting out her gun

Buns, more buns and toilet paper

I baked buns yesterday for the first time. They aren't perfect but they tasted pretty good. They didn't rise as much as I would have liked. They sort of look like sliders.

The recipe was too big, so next time I'll cut it in half.

I don't mind when Gord goes shopping, but man how much toilet paper do we need? Did you notice how neatly he put it away? Or perhaps we are supposed to do our business when we come in the front door. Wipe and go!

To my friends of Katerina

Some of you who read this blog ... I should say most of you that read this blog know that our dear friend Katerina has cancer and is dying. She is so young only in her 30's...so much ahead of her, yet her life is being cut short.



She has always been the most strongest person I know, life has thrown her a lot of curves and she has always knocked them back over the fence. This time that didn't happen. She is accepting her fate..with the humour she always had when she was well.



I can't seem to wrap my head around this yet. Kat quit blogging a few years ago, and has gone to facebook, but she was probably the best blogger ever. She pulled no punches, and said it like it was supposed to be said. OMG...remember the PMS days. I've never had PMS but she described so artfully, and so clearly that it just made your vagina hurt just reading it.



She had a way about her...funny, charming, dead on mean if you crossed her, articulate, smart, caring, lonely, ..... a cross between it all. I had the privilege of meeting her in person two summers ago at my house in Winnipeg. I could never figure out why she would like me...I was twice her age, even older than her mom. But that never bothered her; she was only interested in sparring with me and having fun. We had a lot of phone conversations over the years...and you know...I never once felt like I was talking to a younger person...like my niece... we just clicked. She saw the assehole in me...and I saw hers... haaaa. We laughed so much...and that was...and still is what Kat is about..the laughter. I'm sure there was not only laughter in her life, I know there was the dark side. But we all have that. She did what she had to do. To survive.

So, to my old buddies...Mary Lou and Brenda...who have been with her since the beginning... ( and yes we are way older than her) she loved calling us "raisins".... what a bitch!

Balonie...smiling...remembering.....And Kat I hope you get a place in "hospise"... or is that hosspiss..nevermind...never been too good with the spelling.

I will post this on facebook for her...

balonie....mit da sad face.

Wow

You would have thought I would be posting everyday now that I am retired. Nope. I'm a painting machine. I have been painting Gord's shop...for 3 days now. I'm dirty, tired, and feel parts of my body I have never felt before. I have climbed three different ladders in various stages of this project.... all them are wobbly. I am only a 1/4 way through and then have to get a second coat on it.

The prep time make me want to puke. Taping, brushing the edges of the ceilings and baseboards....before you actually get to PAINT. I'm a little crazy, I like to see some results...quickly. But you know... I love it. It is so different than sitting at a desk and someone else making your decisions for you. Everyday when I come in...I assess what I have to do and go and do it. I never thought I had that in me. I actually take the time to figure it out. Life has always been so stressful, that I couldn't take time to do a proper job of anything....now I have been given an opportunity ... to do it at my pace.. I'm..."all yes."

We own the building I am working in and it has been great to finally meet some of our tenants. I have the outside door propped open all the time because I'm hot.....yes I am! .. and this seems like some kind of invitation for them to come and see what is happening in Gord's shop. Yesterday while I was crawling on the floor trying to put masking tape on the baseboards, the tenant next door dropped in. She was facing my ass. But apparently she didn't care and scared the crap out of me when I heard her voice. I jumped up and hit my head on my the bottom of my ladder that was next to me. I am working is such a small space. There is no room for error. Gord has grouped all his crap in the middle of the room, thinking I was I about 95 pounds and our ladders were about 6 inches wide. It's interesting. But by jove I will get this job done.

You know the best part of painting is....that there is no TV..no Internet...a little talk radio...and you and your paint brush. Time to think clearly, time to make small decisions on where to proceed, but so very calming.

I may not be very good at it....but I love going to work everyday.

Plus it is nice when all the tenants walk in and talk...and talk...every one has a story about their business and the ups and downs of it.

Balonie....taking care of business

Been working like a dog.

Gord is renovating his shop. Today was the day we were going to take out the old ass carpet. Well let me tell you....the guy that laid it down had glue in his brains. It was only a small area around his desk, but it was glued to the cement so tight we have spent 2 days trying to remove it , and let me tell you there is NO easy way of taking glued carpet off a cement floor. We fought the good fight today. We took turns holding an ice scraper under the carpet while the other hit it with a sledge hammer. Or the back of an axe when the that didn't work too well.

Finally I gave up and told Gord there has to be an easier way. So I filled up a few buckets of hot water an poured it over the rug and let it set for a bit. It didn't take more than 15 minutes when we could start get the backing of the rug to absorb the water thus making it much easier to remove. I had another thought, as we were doing this, but old bullhead wouldn't take my advise, I was going to go home and get some Fleesy that I throw in the washing machine...which makes fabric soft... I thought for sure that that would work. The hot water and a heat gun we used worked, but by gum I think Fleesy would have worked wonders given about 1/2 an hour to make the fibres relax.

We worked for three hours...he did most of the bitching and the real grunt work, and I looked for solutions plus did a lot of grunt work. Why do men always argue with you when you give them your point of view? Or a solution? Frankly I am getting tired of that. Be that what it may, I will be painting the shop next week. And yes, the company (he and his brother own the property) will be paying me....me big fucking bucks. I have decided I'm starting tomorrow...which is a holiday in Canada...so that would make it stat holiday that I should be paid for if I'm working for the boys. I'm thinking 18.00 bucks an hour. Plus expenses...driving to Home Depot getting the paint...and flirting with the paint guy. I was over there last week checking out prices....and he didn't seem like a guy who would make me shovel out hardened carpet or make me hit stuff with an axe.

When I go there on Tuesday, I will be looking very pretty. I will have removed all the grime from my feet and face by then. I also will be very verry blonde.. I'm doing my make over tomorrow. I'll be ready for him. And that will probably be his day off.

Yeah....I am the most unluckiest person alive.

Hope y'all like the new look.....it suits me I think. It will be a keeper for awhile....me and Bob doing a dance.

Oh hi internet

Will someone please come over here and tell my husband to quit coming home 1,345 times a day. IT'S ALWAYS SOMETHING!...He forgets his service call book on the counter, he forgets his sunglasses, he forgets his keys to the shop, he forgets to get the hell out of here before 11:00 AM.... and then he is back home for lunch by 12:00. Mercy me. I wonder what he did while I was at work. Well not really, he was driving back in forth to the house picking up shit he forgot. And just made it back for lunch.

Then in the morning he has a list of things I should look into. Find a bill for this, find a bill for that......go find it yourself ....you did just fine without me before. This morning when he was ordering me around, and said ...hey you are retired and now you have time to do this. I replied, I am retired, but apparently I just got a new boss! He stuttered for a moment...and started to laugh... Point made. And if I have to make that point again, he will be sitting on it. God forbid he retires EVER. It's obvious we need our space.

We are in a heat wave right now...which is unusual for May and it's making me cranky....You just can't come off a cold winter without rain in spring and into a heat wave. Normally Mother Nature will give us a period of grace taking us from the cold to warmer temperatures. I find it uncomfortable. I need the transition. Many of my trees have suffered from this as well. Their buds never developed and didn't have enough moisture to survive.

I hope we don't have a summer of high temps. I can't stand the heat and I don't want to spend my first summer of freedom sitting in the house with the AC going.

I might have to rent a cottage at the lake. Gord can come a visit on the weekends.

What is it?

About these new TV's that are as big as a barn? I have finally adjusted to watching it without moving my head from side to side. Then when you want to watch a movie.....they cut the top and the bottom off....and you only get to watch the center. Well fuck I want my money back. If I want to watch a movie, I want to watch it from the top to the bottom. Call me old fashioned but it makes me really mad. What a waste of space.

Talk about a waste of space. Me. Two weeks into retirement and I don't know what I'm doing. I'm wandering around with my feet up my ass. It took some time, but I got both of them up there somehow. Everyone tells me that this will be an adjustment time your life...and I want to tell them to shut the hell up. I don't want to knit, I don't want to volunteer, and I don't want to sit around and watch TV. I want to be doing something useful. So, I got myself a painting gig..... so next week I will be painting offices. And yes, I will get paid. I will come home sweaty and dirty and know that the day was worth living. It's just a small job, but maybe I can get some more work if I do a good job. The best part is that it isn't office work, now I can start to use the muscles I never used before. I am so happy. Plus I love painting. There is nothing more relaxing than being in a space...without anyone around ... and painting.... and have your fav tunes, or downloaded books on your MP3 player.

Best part of it all is you can now choose what and when you want to do stuff. It makes ALL the difference.

Balonie....taking the time to paint a picture.

Let's move on.

I made a nest for Penny in the garden. You can't really tell from the picture that it was fairly high. She loves nothing more than a whole pile of old leaves and branches to tuck into. And it didn't take more than a day before she laid some dog eggs. A brown one and a green one. We named them brownie and greenie. Here she is trying to crack brownie open to see if there is a puppy in there.


Soon, she became very broodie.... do you you see the hate in her eyes.....and popped out another greenie. Ahhhh twins... I think she was still trying to sit on brownie.

She waited for days....with much dismay.....and no greenie egg pups cracked open. They sat in the nest and taunted her. She waited and waited.

Then one day, she had enough and ate them. I know...it was cruel but she was at her wit's end.

What's a girl gotta do?

My heart is heavy

My best friend in the world (hippychick) is going through some tough times. More for her two children than for her, but none the less. Their father killed his lover and took his own life. In a love triangle, in my old small town where I grew up in. He had remarried and had a child who is now 8 years old. Hippychick and him had been divorced for at least 30 years.

It is sad, it is so unreal....he was always a cheater....but how could he do this to his family who were the best people in town......how could he do this? Janis's children are devastated...even though they didn't have him as "real" dad for most their lives.....they still loved him. I introduced Hippy Chick to him way back when...and he knocked her up.....and look what happened. I was her bridesmaid...... she didn't really want to marry him.. I remember she was crying before the wedding and said she had so much more planned for her life. But it was the 60's. You marry the guy that knocks you up, and make him pancakes in the morning.

Fate....can be fatal. There is much more to this story, but I will keep it private.

My heart goes out to Hippy Chick, who can't really be part of her children's grieving process because she can't be part of her children's dad's family as much as she would like. She is still a very good friend to them and they love her, but since he remarried years ago...it makes it awkward. Janis and his wife had become become very good friends over the years. She and her former mother in law( who is 93) ...are like mother and daughter...but when shit comes to shove...she is not part of the family...at this time...only the kids. I know it kills her. I hate that.

So, my heart is heavy. Who would ever think I would be looking at that part of my life again.

I just dribbled some wine in my keyboard...it's getting harder and harder to type..or maybe it's a tear or so.

Where do I begin?

We had the back 40 done today. They cleaned it all up except for the broken branches from the trees...which pissed me off a bit, but later on I realized that was not in our contract. Okay. I can do that.

These guy use high powered leaf blowers to get the job done. In our front yard that faces the street, we had already taken most of the leaves off in fall, but they did a small clean up beside the house today, and must have blown some leaves on our neighbours lawn..........well I heard about those 14 leaves when she came to my house to present me with a gift for looking after her house for three months this winter when they were in California. She never even said thank you. They have been home for a month. She told me to phone the company we used to come and clean up her front yard. Yes.

As she was standing at my door, she commented that ...boy they really did a bad job because look at this mess. (on my front steps) Well, NO...that mess is continuous with our trees in spring. I didn't say anything, because I guess her trees don't make a mess in spring...and unlike me...she sweeps it up every ten seconds. Then she has the nerve to say that she hopes our new house won't be build before they take their next vacation next year! Well lady...you used and abused us enough....that will never ever happen again. And you can take that to the bank. I never get mad, but today I could have spit on her.

So tonight I went out there with a Safeway bag and a small rake and took away offending 14 leaves. This will be the end of our relationship Whatever...I spoke to our other neighbours outside for awhile and heard all about what she was doing to them....yikes....I may have to go back to work.....or leave the country...or move to our new house...any which way...I'm packing my bags. I was so hurt by the way she uses us...and what she is doing to our wonderful neighbours.


Three months of keeping house for this: It's a grim piece of plastic made in China. She could have included a bottle of wine...don't you think? Huh ?

Balonie...is going to blow some smoke up a few asses around here. Now that's she's got a few minutes of time.

Day 3

It's been interesting around here. First the waterbed sprung another leak on day #1...and at 7:00 AM in the morning I might add. So we finally put that old piece of plastic to rest and I bought a air bed to get us through until we buy new furniture for our new house. Well, fortheloveofmike...... do you think we could blow that sucker up? ... All Gord's good air compressors are stored in our garage because he is renovating his shop. We looked for them but they were hidden with all his junk. So, he remembered one he bought years ago that was in the basement. Apparently this one was meant to blow up a balloon. It's big and scary, but it couldn't blow a fart if it had to. Finally we found the instructions yesterday and it said to recharge it for 18 hours.....well okay then, why was I trying to blow air in it for every ten minutes and it died. Jeez.



Long and short, still sleeping on the sofa. I kinda liked the sofa last night, I'm starting to make it my own. I love the way the light comes in the living room in the mornings. I have the whole sofa to myself...it's a really wide one once I take the back cushions off the back...and I can stretch out.



Today on day 3 of retirement I went out. I did not clean like I have been doing for two days because my head was still telling me.....get that shit done...before you have to go back to work!



I had a low tire on my truck and took it into WalMart to be fixed. Originally I thought it would only take an hour or so to get it done, but once I got there they said 2.5 hours. First of all I was ticked off....but then .... holy shit...I don't have anything else to do....so I told them to take their time while I perused WalMart and the MALL. I haven't been in this mall for about 3 years ... and it's a big one.



After all... the guys at work had given me a gift card for some new American Company that had just set up shop here...Bed Dead Bodies and Work Them. I checked the whole entire mall and couldn't find this shop. Later I checked my card and found out it was called....Bath & Body Works. Sometimes I get confused with these Linen companies ..bed and bath and that kind of shit. So yeah, I found the shop. A very small one located in the mall...with about 15 sale's reps with headphones on asking me what I was looking for. People you have to realize I have been living in a bubble for the last 14 years...and they pissed me off. I told them I would ask them as soon as I knew what the hell they were selling. They left me alone after that. But there were so many people in there it was almost impossible to smell it all.



You see, we in Winnipeg live approximately 150 miles from Grand Forks North Dakota....and our people would flock to Grand Forks for their products...plus other stuff we can't get in Canada. And in my opinion....people must have too much money if they want to buy BODY products....just take a fucking bath. Get over it. It was crazy. But that's the way the world waggles.

So this will be my indulgence. Maybe it will be a good thing. The scents are not over powering ... as in this will give you a headache. Most perfumes almost make me drop dead on the spot. And I only spent half of the card value because I had a coupon that the company gave me, plus they had a store promotion going on. I can buy more if I want. So, who knows maybe you can get the old people smell off an old chick.

I checked out the food courts in the Mall. Yep, full of ole people having a late lunch...and By George they looked like they were having a good time. I bought an ice cream cone and sat in one of the benches and watched. The Mall is bizarre, doesn't anyone work? It was 3:00 PM! People are buying crap all over the place. Maybe they only work nights?

Plus, as I was walking back to WalMart to pick up my truck I met a friend of mine that I worked with at a radio station about 15 years ago. We live in the same area of town, and meet up occasionally. She is retired now and we got to talking and we might might meet up in the food court for lunch...or a 2.00 dollar movie. Just what ole farts do.

Balonie....making a mole hill out a mountain.

Just settling in...........

Friday was a hectic day. Between our Grand Opening and my umm retirement it was busy. I'm glad Gord, Hippy Chick, niece Tammy and SIL Sheila could attend. There were tons of people there. We had three barbeque's set up and they were pumping out the burgers, smokies & hot dogs. It was really good. The company presented me with a gorgeous patio set for our deck. But, I don't think it will fit. So, I will save that for our new house. The guys all chipped in and gave me gift certificates for Future shop for Bath and Body Works. Apparently I didn't smell good enough at work.

Funny story. One Thursday...for some reason I woke up early..that never happens. And I got up and let the dog out, looked at the clock (without my glasses on) ...and did the old WTF I'm going to be late dance. Jumped in the shower, pulled on my hoodie and my jeans and flew out of the house. While I was driving to work I noticed that there wasn't much traffic for this time of morning (do you see where I'm going)? When I got to work ( I live only about 5 minutes away) ... I parked my truck and glanced over to the radio and saw the time..7:30 AM...I go to work at 8:30AM! Son of a bitch. I sat there for a moment, then backed up and went home. Gord was still in bed when I left. So, when my alarm rang at 7:30 and it didn't stop ringing, he got pissed off and turned it off. He lay there for awhile and realized there was no movement in the house, and got up. He looked for me in the house ...and then looked outside and saw my truck was gone...so he called my work and asked if I was there. One of the guys said they had seen me pull up and left.... haaaaaaa haaa. So when I got home.. I had some serious "splaining" to do ....geez. I didn't think this shit was getting to me...but I guess it was. I had another cup of coffee at home and went back to work later on.

It's going to be interesting now that I am home in the mornings. Because Gord rarely starts work before 10:00 AM. Call him semi retired ... he starts work when he damn well wants. We don't have any staff, so it's all cool. He is going to be totally annoyed with me taking up the bedspace in the mornings that he used to call his own. You should see the bed when I get home from work, you would think 4,560 thousands of elephants plundered it. He really likes all the covers all to himself.

I already started stuff.....I rearranged the living room yesterday, dusted and watered all the plants that were wilting. On Monday my office will get a face lift. Too much junk. I need some space.

So this is my busy list for now:

... Get up, have coffee...go on the deck with dog and throw ball...and drink coffee.
...Think about how to learn to knit
...Wave neighbours off to work
...Try to remove bird shit from the deck with my shoes
...Survey things that might need to be done
...At this point I would should say "take a nap"....but I don't do naps.
...Make lunch
... Eat lunch
... Take a dump...read the paper (multi tasking is still part of my life I'm not willing to give up)
... Watch All My Children...don't hate me....it's always been on between 12:00 and 1:00 when I come home for lunch...so I'm not giving that up while I'm still so weak.
...Plan to scan 5,678 pictures from family albums on the computer.
...Plan supper, go to the store and buy something totally different.
...Watch the clock because I am so used to doing shit by the clock it's going to take a 2x4 to the old noggin to make me stop it.

Other than that, it's weird.


Balonie...looking at life from the other side.

Well it's been awhile hasn't it

Sorry life has got in the way again. Too much going on and I don't know which way to turn. My head is spinning like a top. sooooo much shitz.

All I can think of is: 4 more days of work. 4 more days....sigh...4 more days. I have to write a farewell speech....well I don't HAVE to, but I want to. I will miss my boys. (electricians) They are so unique and each and every one has such a great personality. In all my 14 years there I have never had a confrontation with one of the guys...evar. They might of wanted to kick my ass a few times for bugging them about getting time sheets and work sheets in on time, but they didn't. It's really all about doing what you have to do with a sense of humour...and they can't help but like you because you aren't all up on their shit. I have been criticized at times for being too lax when it comes to MAKING them get everything in on time from our head office. Well a little sugar goes a long way, let me tell you. If you piss them off, they will piss you off. They know they can come to me for anything and I will do my best to do..whatever....

I hope the new guy knows this too. But, I wouldn't put any bets on it. But, I'm sure it will be a learning curve for everyone.

So, Friday will be the first day I will not be wearing a hoodie and jeans to work. Yeah, I decided to dress up because they are going to bestow me with gifts .. and shit. And people are coming from our head office..plus clients... for the....Grand Opening of our new building/Joan's (forced)retirement.

Got any drugs?....because I'm getting a little worked up about this. I think one of Hippy Chicks ..ummm brownies would do the trick on Friday. But I must keep my head clear to say goodbye ..and try not to use words like ... assholes, fuckers, and I really wished you would have waited until I turned 65 in October to let me make the decision.

Yeah...lots of shit going on in my head. 4 more days people.

Balonie....pulling her hoodie over her head.

My ducks

I had to take it with a zoom lens so it's a little blurry. I tried to put it up in Facebook but that pile of shit doesn't like me.

They are cute as hell, and were mating there, but then they moved on. I was hoping to see the little chicks flapping around in the pond. They better come back. If not I will hunt them down. I'm sure they have moved on to our neighbours pool. Ducks have been nesting there for 15 years.

So, what's up with me? Not to much...just waiting until the end of the month. I'm looking into taking some courses this summer. You know the old lady shit. When I retire, as such.

*** Synchronized farting...I got that from my fav web site: http://www.fromthebacknine.com/blog/ she cracks me up.

*** Velcro is your friend ....when you can no longer can tie your damn shoe laces.

***Suppositories are the new sex

*** Playing ... Count the hairs on your chin

*** Perms ... How not to let people know you are two perms away from taking the big dirt nap.

That's all I got tonight. I will try to find more things to do once I sober up. :)

balonie... keeping all the rest of the crazy talk in her head.

I had my picture taken today

For the last time. My boss wanted to put it in our company newsletter, along with the blah blah of my years of service. Well, I don't photograph well. I always look like some fat faced chick with nuts in her cheeks. But he made me.

As we were doing the photo shoot, he wanted me to "wave".. like in goodbye forever mode. I tried....It took four shots before I got the wave right. First I did the bye bye wave, where I crunched my fingers..... no good. Then I did the FU wave...not acceptable... then I did a cheer leading kind of wave....which I think looked like I was too happy to go. Finally on the last shoot he made me do the Queen wave. Hand up... palm showing. Waving like I was on Valium. Perfect.

Now everyone in the company is going to think I won't be able to get another job other than a crossing guard.

Balonie....she's been having some issues.

To the Lady

Who hit me with her cart at Safeway today. You are an asshat. My ankle will never be the same. Then when I went back to my truck with winds of 5,678 miles an hour howling around me... the truck door door closed on the same ankle. Ouch...Ouch and Ouch.

It's Murphy's Law happening..... my company short term insurance will be expiring at the end of the month after I get turfed. It's okay... I can walk and might even be able to kick her ass if I ever see her again.

There are so many things to think about with you are forced to retire. Now, finally the word is out and our employees know about it....and are giving me the sad eyes. People from head office finally got the message today, and are congratulating me on my forced retirement. Little do they know it was not my idea. I say nothing...because that's the way I roll. What's the point.

The company is being very generous, and I'm getting all sorts of stuff and money. And a luncheon with staff clients and friends.

I'm inviting all of you to my private retirement party. It will on Friday April 30th. on facebook. It can't be done here. I'm calling it balonie bites the dust.

If you need the address let me know. Now I'm going to eat soup.

Waterbeds are us.

Gord and I got our first water bed (bladder) in the early 70's before they actually had real water bed frames for them. We were travelling with Gord's brother and wife on a trip to Las Vegas. After that we wanted to see San Francisco ...plus we were on a waterbed hunt because you couldn't get them in Canada....I know...most of you children would have told us to go on the internet and buy one, but HA HA on you, there was no internet .. You actually had to go TO THE PLACE to buy the stuff. The US of A never liked shipping crap like that here. So we found a place in The Haight Ashbury area.....a hippy haven. It was so cool. People were actually wearing flowers in their hair. So Gord and his brother bought a water bed bladder. ..everytime if write that I feel like peeing.


Side note: This was the trip that Gord proposed to me in Vegas. That's for another blog. We are talking waterbeds here people.


Okay...so we bring the bladders home. Gord's brother and his wife built a bed for their bladder ...it's not hard to do just a frame to hold it in place with a pedestal underneath to prop it up a notch. It wasn't much but it served the purpose. Gord and I however did not have the luxury of building stuff...nor did we know how. We lived in an apartment..(in sin) see above ...we weren't married at the time.


We went to great lengths to remove our old bed in the apartment (and let me tell you it was old) It was passed on to us from about 5 previous owners when Gord was going to school. I always wished it could talk.....what a tale it could tell I am sure some children were conceived in it....but ...it was what it was. I am sure some dead beat daddies were denying that mattress .


So, we booted the bed and the mattress of sin. And installed the water bed bladder on the floor of our bedroom. As hippies do. ( I didn't say we were smart). When we were filling up the mattress with water Gord decided...when it was half full that it shouldn't have been so close to the the base board heaters ... and then when we tried to move it...WE TORE IT on the edge of the heater. Well fuck you have never seen two people move faster in your life to catch the water. Thankfully it wasn't full and we could cup each end up before most of the water hit the floor.



So, here we are each at one end cupping it up and it's heavy...now what? Nobody can let go. ( I just read that line and it really is the story of our lives) . We live on the edge of a ledge most days. Our bathroom was just around the corner...so we moved very carefully..inch by inch to get into the bathroom.. we had to round a corner which caused a few tidal waves...then finally we got into the bathroom and the tub............and let it go..... Can you imagine how much that would have cost us if we have flooded the place? There was a lot of water on the floor, but we managed to mop it all up without any damage. Fortunately we were on the main floor.

That was a wake up call. After that we bought a regular bed. But.....then when we bought our first house, waterbeds had finally hit Canada...and you could buy the whole package. And they would come to your house and set it up for you.

And my friends .... we have never slept better. We have had a few different one's over the years but we still like the old bladder style....the beds with the foam in them were a pain in the ass and now when we are starting to think about moving we are going for the soft sided beds. It's like a regular mattress with baffles holding the water in it. I haven't tried one yet but I will.



For me and for Gord...we find there is no pressure points when you sleep in a waterbed. You just sort of melt into it and and it conforms to your body. And it's warm and cozy....especially if you have a a cute puppy snoring beside you.



This is a pic of the one I am going to buy for our new house....and the chick that is sitting on the bed must be my twin.......35 years ago....heh... I love this bed. It sort of looks like the one we have now but nicer. I love the lines of it. There is no box to but the bed in, the bed sits on top of the platform. That's what is so great about the soft sided water beds...you don't have to box them in. The mattress will also fit conventional bed frames so you don't really have to buy a special bed.



So we shall continue the tradition. Laugh all you want suckers.

I'm pissed off..really say you?

Yeah, our waterbed took another dump. Or a pee as the case may be.

I got the couch and Gord's got the girly day bed downstairs....I hope it holds him.

Balonie...holding her breath

I'm giving you guys the finger...oops it's gone.

Remember my food processor problems? Well, I wasn't about to use it this weekend, so I pulled out my new and that has never been used manual slicer. As I was slicing potato's...then carrots...and some onions, I was thinking of what I would write on my blog today. I thought I might fool you and tell you I sliced off my finger, because it's a pretty precarious piece of equipment.

It did not take a minute after that when I almost took part of my left "ring finger"..off. A nice chubby piece of skin. Some of it hung on. So I tucked it all back together and and wrapped in a paper towel and let it bleed out for a bit. Put a band aid on it...and am hoping for the best.

Just when you are trying to be funny, it comes back and bites you in the ass. In my case ...my finger.

balonie..... going..what the hell......

Dark and gloomy day

It always rains on Good Friday. But that is a good thing because it washes away all the crap from the streets that winter has bestowed upon us.

I'm wiped out. Helped out at the Reno house and did the bookwork for year end all day.

Do you realize I am one month away of getting a life!

1. I will throw away my alarm clock. I'm going to kick that bastard to the curb. I am not a morning person.

2. I will wake up in the morning, read the paper at my leisure...and not look up at the clock 2,300 times.

3. I will take my shower and wash all my body parts, not just those that need it the most.

4. I will finish up my cuppa coffee instead throwing most of it in sink because it's getting late.

5. I won't have to call the dog in while she is half way through a shit, because I have to get going.

6. Being able to shop at my leisure and make good choices. And cook. I love cooking, but there never seems enough time for it.

7. Finding something else I love to do....then get passionate and do it.

I will give myself a month or so to get used to this. But I can't even explain how I am looking forward to this. A whole life of work is now over, unless I choose otherwise...but for now, it's looking pretty good. Touch wood.

balonie...sticking her tongue at you working stiffs.