My bro is in grave condition in the ICU. I haven't said anything because when you type it ... it becomes real.
Joan
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Monday, April 25, 2011
Just a note
Those babies are scheduled to be reunited with their parents. Family services always tries to keep the family together. SIL takes them 3-4-5 times a week to their homes for visits. One family didn't even have a home until last week. The other one will have a home. But.......
My question is.....a normal baby is a handful...imagine a mother who probably is still struggling with alcohol addition trying to be reunited with her child that has FAS? How will she cope.
I didn't expect to see such normal looking children when I went there. Their outward appearance has nothing to do with their fucked up their iddy biddy brains. They are much slower to develop and when they get older they have a very hard time figuring out right from wrong along with a whole lot of other shit.
The one little guy took a long time to focus. He sort of looked spaced out. But once my niece had him on her lap and got his attention by making noises and putting her hair in his face .... he finally centered on her. It took awhile. Then we got a huge toothless grin. He has problems with his hands and feet always twitching and then he scratches his head ... so he still has to wear little baby mittens and be swaddled at night.
I just hope Child and Family Services doesn't give them back to the parents before they and the babies are ready to go. I hear so many horror stories on how people abuse little children with their addictions ..... and I saw the little one's first hand this weekend ... it hit home. The little guys name is Zues. I think I fell in love.
My question is.....a normal baby is a handful...imagine a mother who probably is still struggling with alcohol addition trying to be reunited with her child that has FAS? How will she cope.
I didn't expect to see such normal looking children when I went there. Their outward appearance has nothing to do with their fucked up their iddy biddy brains. They are much slower to develop and when they get older they have a very hard time figuring out right from wrong along with a whole lot of other shit.
The one little guy took a long time to focus. He sort of looked spaced out. But once my niece had him on her lap and got his attention by making noises and putting her hair in his face .... he finally centered on her. It took awhile. Then we got a huge toothless grin. He has problems with his hands and feet always twitching and then he scratches his head ... so he still has to wear little baby mittens and be swaddled at night.
I just hope Child and Family Services doesn't give them back to the parents before they and the babies are ready to go. I hear so many horror stories on how people abuse little children with their addictions ..... and I saw the little one's first hand this weekend ... it hit home. The little guys name is Zues. I think I fell in love.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
We had a really good Easter this year
We were invited to share Easter dinner at my Bro's home...along with his wife's family. It was the best food I have eaten in a long time. Garry's wife Joan is Ukrainian and when they make a meal....it's the real deal. I counted 13 different dishes. Turkey, Dressing, Cranberry sauce, Pickerel (breaded fish), Meatballs with gravy, Ham, Mashed potatoes, then two different Ukraine dishes both were divine... one was rolled up pasta with a whipping cream sauce...and the other was a baked Perishky I think she called it...yum. Holubtsi, Perogies, Ceaser salad, coleslaw, and pickled eggs. I might have missed one or two....yikes....Cheesecake for dessert!!!
I wish I would have taken a picture of the dinner table before the vultures started to circle.
I love listening to Joan and her sister talk about how much their mom used to make for Easter on the farm....apparently they had huge roasters full of all that I just mentioned and more.
It was nice to sit down at the table with a large family around you ... and partake...very nice. I'm still dreaming of the Pickerel fish (walleye) to you Mericans...it was so good.
SIL also fosters little babies with FAS...and I got meet the two little 3 month old tykes yesterday. It is so sad that these beautiful children will never grow up to be normal adults because their mother drank too much.
Happy Easter my friends.
Joan
I wish I would have taken a picture of the dinner table before the vultures started to circle.
I love listening to Joan and her sister talk about how much their mom used to make for Easter on the farm....apparently they had huge roasters full of all that I just mentioned and more.
It was nice to sit down at the table with a large family around you ... and partake...very nice. I'm still dreaming of the Pickerel fish (walleye) to you Mericans...it was so good.
SIL also fosters little babies with FAS...and I got meet the two little 3 month old tykes yesterday. It is so sad that these beautiful children will never grow up to be normal adults because their mother drank too much.
That's my niece holding #1
This is # 2.....they are such good babies....but what will come of them. So very sad.
Happy Easter my friends.
Joan
Thursday, April 21, 2011
It's raining...better than snow...
It always starts to rain before Good Friday and into the next week. It wouldn't be Good Friday if it wasn't gloomy....so I will curl up with a good book and pretend I am still at work and this is a paid holiday. This was the last one I had last year.
You remember that....all my bitching about retirement etc.? Yup ... it has almost been a year now. My attitude has changed dramatically. I was just pissed off that they didn't let me stay until I was 65. It had nothing to do with performance ... only with the logistics that was happening with the company at the time. But I took offence. I was given a time line of my choice when I wanted to leave. I chose the end of April 2010.
At the time I did not realize I had made the smartest choice of my life. Timing was everything.
After all was said and done I have made more money this year that I have ever made in a year of my life.
Sitting here on my bony ass! Bitching about nothing to do..blah blah blah......colour me an ass hat.
Sometimes you just have to put stuff in perspective ...and thank the good Lord for looking after you.
That being said....Gord is spending money on the new house faster than I can cash my checks!! He got a stair lighting system to his Man Cave upstairs.... it lights up as you go up the stairs and when you come down. What will they think of next? Magic.
Just got the carpets cleaned today. They did an excellent job. The carpets look close to new. And it smells so good. All the dog smell and hair is toast. I was expecting their truck that houses the water and crap to explode with dog hair and all that has gone on around here in ten years. Yes...ten. The last time Sears did it they did a shitty job and put a hose through one of our walls. So we haven't had it done since.
I'm going to the new house tomorrow and will take some pic's of what is new there.
Happy Easter to you....and yours....
Joan
You remember that....all my bitching about retirement etc.? Yup ... it has almost been a year now. My attitude has changed dramatically. I was just pissed off that they didn't let me stay until I was 65. It had nothing to do with performance ... only with the logistics that was happening with the company at the time. But I took offence. I was given a time line of my choice when I wanted to leave. I chose the end of April 2010.
At the time I did not realize I had made the smartest choice of my life. Timing was everything.
After all was said and done I have made more money this year that I have ever made in a year of my life.
Sitting here on my bony ass! Bitching about nothing to do..blah blah blah......colour me an ass hat.
Sometimes you just have to put stuff in perspective ...and thank the good Lord for looking after you.
That being said....Gord is spending money on the new house faster than I can cash my checks!! He got a stair lighting system to his Man Cave upstairs.... it lights up as you go up the stairs and when you come down. What will they think of next? Magic.
Just got the carpets cleaned today. They did an excellent job. The carpets look close to new. And it smells so good. All the dog smell and hair is toast. I was expecting their truck that houses the water and crap to explode with dog hair and all that has gone on around here in ten years. Yes...ten. The last time Sears did it they did a shitty job and put a hose through one of our walls. So we haven't had it done since.
I'm going to the new house tomorrow and will take some pic's of what is new there.
Happy Easter to you....and yours....
Joan
Friday, April 15, 2011
Busy busy week
Got all the bookwork done for the accountant. Left it till the last minute again.. yes that is the way I roll.
My goodness I had let everything go around here until today. Did the laundry, cleaned up the kitchen, made a new batch of wine ( I was running short)..cleaned up all the winter dog shit off the back patio, cleaned out my fridge ...whoa...lots of crap in there...did some shopping and now I think I have crossed off everything in my to do list....until tomorrow.
Tomorrow I will be doing a big clean around the house. The guys are coming to do the carpets on Thursday and I want everything done before then. After that I will just clean the windows AGAIN...and it's time to sell. Oh and yeah...we have new guys coming over this year to clean the back 40. Last year they made such a mess of it I had to most of it myself.....I'll be out there with a stick in my hand if they so much as don't rake up a leaf. I will give them my balonie face!
The house is going fine. They put in the wall which holds the 3 sided fireplace and a shelving unit yesterday. I went to see it today, but Gord gave me the wrong key for the house....soo I had to shimmy up the front porch in my velvet pant suit (another story) to look in the window of my own house to see what it looked like. I liked it. I tried the key I had for the back door and it got stuck and I pulled the knob right off...LOL... I t still didn't open. I stuck it back in like I was never there.
Chances of floods in our area are slim.....so that is great.
I just looked out..............it is snowing again!! Shit happens. It will be gone by tomorrow. The birds have been singing so loud these days and making me crazy......and hitting my windows. Mating season seems to let go of their good sense. Most of them sit for bit...look a little dazed and fly off. You wonder if they can remember who their partners were. Or if they mate after that and have brain addled off springs that will hit your window again next year. Hey, what comes around goes around.
I don't let this keep me up a night.....
I had two guys in here to look at our carpets for cleaning this week...and Penny wanted to be their best friend. First she barked at them ... because they were intruders....and then she sniffed them....they wore plastic shoe covers over the shoes to come in the house ..yeah...nice...so she sniffed their plastic shoe covers and found they were not dangerous at all. She did every trick in the book to get their attention while we were discussing what had to be done. She laid down in front of them and looked cute with her belly exposed. Rubbing it was what she wanted but of course the carpet boys didn't want to get sexy with my dog. Then she brought them her fav ball....dropped in front of them 10 times and of course they didn't want to throw it in our house.....plus I was trying to have a conversation with them. Then she pulled out her big one..."sitting pretty".....they couldn't believe a dog could sit on her big fat ass that long. She is a lover that one.
I hope she gets me a discount.
Happy Friday!!!
balonie.............:)
My goodness I had let everything go around here until today. Did the laundry, cleaned up the kitchen, made a new batch of wine ( I was running short)..cleaned up all the winter dog shit off the back patio, cleaned out my fridge ...whoa...lots of crap in there...did some shopping and now I think I have crossed off everything in my to do list....until tomorrow.
Tomorrow I will be doing a big clean around the house. The guys are coming to do the carpets on Thursday and I want everything done before then. After that I will just clean the windows AGAIN...and it's time to sell. Oh and yeah...we have new guys coming over this year to clean the back 40. Last year they made such a mess of it I had to most of it myself.....I'll be out there with a stick in my hand if they so much as don't rake up a leaf. I will give them my balonie face!
The house is going fine. They put in the wall which holds the 3 sided fireplace and a shelving unit yesterday. I went to see it today, but Gord gave me the wrong key for the house....soo I had to shimmy up the front porch in my velvet pant suit (another story) to look in the window of my own house to see what it looked like. I liked it. I tried the key I had for the back door and it got stuck and I pulled the knob right off...LOL... I t still didn't open. I stuck it back in like I was never there.
Chances of floods in our area are slim.....so that is great.
I just looked out..............it is snowing again!! Shit happens. It will be gone by tomorrow. The birds have been singing so loud these days and making me crazy......and hitting my windows. Mating season seems to let go of their good sense. Most of them sit for bit...look a little dazed and fly off. You wonder if they can remember who their partners were. Or if they mate after that and have brain addled off springs that will hit your window again next year. Hey, what comes around goes around.
I don't let this keep me up a night.....
I had two guys in here to look at our carpets for cleaning this week...and Penny wanted to be their best friend. First she barked at them ... because they were intruders....and then she sniffed them....they wore plastic shoe covers over the shoes to come in the house ..yeah...nice...so she sniffed their plastic shoe covers and found they were not dangerous at all. She did every trick in the book to get their attention while we were discussing what had to be done. She laid down in front of them and looked cute with her belly exposed. Rubbing it was what she wanted but of course the carpet boys didn't want to get sexy with my dog. Then she brought them her fav ball....dropped in front of them 10 times and of course they didn't want to throw it in our house.....plus I was trying to have a conversation with them. Then she pulled out her big one..."sitting pretty".....they couldn't believe a dog could sit on her big fat ass that long. She is a lover that one.
I hope she gets me a discount.
Happy Friday!!!
balonie.............:)
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Dat Red River ...she is getting higher and higher
Here we go again in spring trying to fight the mighty Red River which runs through the city. But this time it is affecting us big time because we bought property very close to the mighty Red.
It has all been upgraded to the highest flood levels ever recorded....but still. I see the access road right close to the river is flooded which is about 1/2 a mile from our new house. Too close for comfort.
My BIL has lived on that street for 35 years and he told me to shut up.....heh...yes the river gets high but we are not in any danger because we have the flood way which diverts the water in some kind of system so no flooding will occur. Yes... some flooding will occur before they close the floodgates...and that is what happened today. And low lying properties will still be flooded. Hundreds of sandbaggers will be needed. We are expecting the crest here in about two weeks.
So just let's see what we done got ourselves into!
I'm sure it will be okay....it's just not something we are used to ... living inland like we do now.
Everything has started melt and the back 40 is looking good....except for the dog poop. OMG. Melted dog shit. Puddles of poop. The best thing is that she couldn't get off the downstairs patio bricks to poop because the snow was so high and all the shit is pretty much in one area. She did make a trail or two to the neighbours fence and did some pooping there too...but it is all confined. Tomorrow if all the ice is gone I will take my shit shovel and shovel the shit off the patio ... I can't put it in a bag because the shit has already seen the spring rains and has turned into runny old shit. Now it is old runny shit which I will throw on the lawn as fertilizer...and then she will run through the runny old shit and get it on her paws. But it's funny old frozen shit does not stink. I smelled it. Okay because it was on my boots! I didn't stick my frickin nose in it.
So my theory is: If your dog goes poo poo, pick it up and freeze it for a later date... and no smellies. But if you don't really want to have freezer full of dog shit .... step in it like I do. I put my boots in the freezer.
It's always a trade off ...isn't it.
That made no sense. I'm high on dog shit.
Happy Sunday :)
It has all been upgraded to the highest flood levels ever recorded....but still. I see the access road right close to the river is flooded which is about 1/2 a mile from our new house. Too close for comfort.
My BIL has lived on that street for 35 years and he told me to shut up.....heh...yes the river gets high but we are not in any danger because we have the flood way which diverts the water in some kind of system so no flooding will occur. Yes... some flooding will occur before they close the floodgates...and that is what happened today. And low lying properties will still be flooded. Hundreds of sandbaggers will be needed. We are expecting the crest here in about two weeks.
So just let's see what we done got ourselves into!
I'm sure it will be okay....it's just not something we are used to ... living inland like we do now.
Everything has started melt and the back 40 is looking good....except for the dog poop. OMG. Melted dog shit. Puddles of poop. The best thing is that she couldn't get off the downstairs patio bricks to poop because the snow was so high and all the shit is pretty much in one area. She did make a trail or two to the neighbours fence and did some pooping there too...but it is all confined. Tomorrow if all the ice is gone I will take my shit shovel and shovel the shit off the patio ... I can't put it in a bag because the shit has already seen the spring rains and has turned into runny old shit. Now it is old runny shit which I will throw on the lawn as fertilizer...and then she will run through the runny old shit and get it on her paws. But it's funny old frozen shit does not stink. I smelled it. Okay because it was on my boots! I didn't stick my frickin nose in it.
So my theory is: If your dog goes poo poo, pick it up and freeze it for a later date... and no smellies. But if you don't really want to have freezer full of dog shit .... step in it like I do. I put my boots in the freezer.
It's always a trade off ...isn't it.
That made no sense. I'm high on dog shit.
Happy Sunday :)
Wednesday, April 06, 2011
Just coming down
My bro is safe and sound and at home again. All is well with the world for now.
We are getting busy with the house now. We met with the contractor on Monday and went through all the stuff we were concerned about ...shit that always happens ... to make sure all the electrical is where it is supposed to be because once they start drywalling it gets hard to change. I am confident we have chosen the right brick siding and the stucco colours for the house.
I have gone for long rides to different new housing sites here in the city to look at what is happening today. I have to say I hated most of them. They were all huge houses. Nothing like we are building. But I could see how they were using brick and stucco. It was very interesting.
So I went through it with our decorator and we made a decision. HAAA...then I came home and looked at the samples again ...I changed my mind.... The stucco was too yellow for the brick. I know... Lighting has everything to do with the way you see samples.
So I'm going with my gut feeling about the brick and the stucco. You have to make a decision sometime and right now I think I have got it nailed. I fell in love with the brick siding when I saw the sample.....it looks cottage. That was what I was aiming for. Rustic.
We will use the same brick for our fireplace inside the house.
Off to eat some chicken....
We are getting busy with the house now. We met with the contractor on Monday and went through all the stuff we were concerned about ...shit that always happens ... to make sure all the electrical is where it is supposed to be because once they start drywalling it gets hard to change. I am confident we have chosen the right brick siding and the stucco colours for the house.
I have gone for long rides to different new housing sites here in the city to look at what is happening today. I have to say I hated most of them. They were all huge houses. Nothing like we are building. But I could see how they were using brick and stucco. It was very interesting.
So I went through it with our decorator and we made a decision. HAAA...then I came home and looked at the samples again ...I changed my mind.... The stucco was too yellow for the brick. I know... Lighting has everything to do with the way you see samples.
So I'm going with my gut feeling about the brick and the stucco. You have to make a decision sometime and right now I think I have got it nailed. I fell in love with the brick siding when I saw the sample.....it looks cottage. That was what I was aiming for. Rustic.
We will use the same brick for our fireplace inside the house.
Off to eat some chicken....
Friday, April 01, 2011
LTNSee
My get up and go...got up and said....goodbye.
Just a mixture of my bro being in the hospital and now our house is starting to get built again. Now everything is in a rush. I understand the winter hiatus ...but now suddenly it seems they have just woke up from a long winters nap and we have to scramble with shit that won't even happen until June. It is annoying. I almost forgot about the house over the winter. I lived in my cocoon. Loved it. I'm not rushing anymore. Screw that. We rushed with everything in fall...and nothing happened. We chose everything inside the house except the paint colours .... well how long does it take to go the store and get a freaking can of paint?
Today they are emailing me about the brick siding and other exterior shit....when the house is sitting there with half the wiring and plumbing done. Screw that. Once I see drywall coming up on the interior I will let them know what I want on the outside. I will not be rushed. They told us to do this in fall, but we didn't even know what the house might look like until they put the shingles on ... and the next day it snowed...so I didn't even see the roof until last week.
Don't get me wrong...they are reputable house builders but if you are building your own home it is hard. I got an appointment with their interior decorator on Monday and we will go through the house room by room to see what paint colours etc. we can use. BUT still ... it is only framed...howinthehell can I see what has to be done.
So on Monday I will take the brick and stucco samples to her and maybe she can give me some idea on how to match it all up. I don't want people pointing at our house and saying....WTF are those people on drugs?
It was all so easier buying a house already built....and deal with stuff you didn't like.
I found a new sofa for the house yesterday... It was Corduroy....I sunk into that baby and called her my own....I haven't had a new sofa since we got married. We never had kids so our sofa never got worn out. And I guess I never sat on it because I hate sofa's... I like chairs....but I think I could sit on this one. Plus we will have to side chairs if I don't, Over the years my priorities changed and I didn't really care that much about furniture especially when I discovered computers and I gladly exchanged a new computer instead of getting a new sofa. But now that I have the opportunity of choosing between both of them I will get a new one and some really kick ass comfy side chairs.
Just a note: Bro is still in the hospital. He has a blood infection. They are now going through another 7 days of antibiotics to get this thing out of him. How he got that we don't know. Probably when he had his stent replaced. He lost a lot of memory and was crazy for awhile. Now he is doing better. They assessed him yesterday and attributed the memory loss to the blood infection and are giving him stuff to alleviate that.
I was there yesterday and he seemed so much better than when I saw him two days earlier. His mind is working much better. But he has lapses. I took him on a wheel chair walk ... he wanted to go through the hospital to the front entrance where he could see the real world. He was devious however...his idea I found out later was to find a store that sold cigarettes. When he found out that hospitals do not sell cigarettes he opted out for the vending machines that sold chips. He really really wanted them, and chose 4 different kinds but I told him I only had enough change in my purse for one and he could choose. He chose Hickory Chips. He had already forgotten about the cig's and ate them with much gusto as we went back to the room.
I know a guy who just had a new stent put in his veins should not have chips....but but but....he looked so damn happy.
They are treating him for that now.. I can't remember the name they called it...but it's like some kind of memory loss you get from the blood infection. He was the best I had seen for a weeks so I went for it. But the next time I take him out for a spin I won't believe everything he tells me...I have an inkling as we were going through all the corridors, elevators and stuff he was looking for a way out of the hospital. Well I got lost on the way down....so he will never find it.
I gave him a test yesterday. We have a thing between us: I say something stupid and he asks me to repeat it and I say it again....and if I do...he will say...I heard you the first time. Man we have done this since we were kids. I did it to him yesterday and he got it.
So lets see what happens.
Balonie...over and out....gotta family newsletter to put out by Monday.
Just a mixture of my bro being in the hospital and now our house is starting to get built again. Now everything is in a rush. I understand the winter hiatus ...but now suddenly it seems they have just woke up from a long winters nap and we have to scramble with shit that won't even happen until June. It is annoying. I almost forgot about the house over the winter. I lived in my cocoon. Loved it. I'm not rushing anymore. Screw that. We rushed with everything in fall...and nothing happened. We chose everything inside the house except the paint colours .... well how long does it take to go the store and get a freaking can of paint?
Today they are emailing me about the brick siding and other exterior shit....when the house is sitting there with half the wiring and plumbing done. Screw that. Once I see drywall coming up on the interior I will let them know what I want on the outside. I will not be rushed. They told us to do this in fall, but we didn't even know what the house might look like until they put the shingles on ... and the next day it snowed...so I didn't even see the roof until last week.
Don't get me wrong...they are reputable house builders but if you are building your own home it is hard. I got an appointment with their interior decorator on Monday and we will go through the house room by room to see what paint colours etc. we can use. BUT still ... it is only framed...howinthehell can I see what has to be done.
So on Monday I will take the brick and stucco samples to her and maybe she can give me some idea on how to match it all up. I don't want people pointing at our house and saying....WTF are those people on drugs?
It was all so easier buying a house already built....and deal with stuff you didn't like.
Just a note: Bro is still in the hospital. He has a blood infection. They are now going through another 7 days of antibiotics to get this thing out of him. How he got that we don't know. Probably when he had his stent replaced. He lost a lot of memory and was crazy for awhile. Now he is doing better. They assessed him yesterday and attributed the memory loss to the blood infection and are giving him stuff to alleviate that.
I was there yesterday and he seemed so much better than when I saw him two days earlier. His mind is working much better. But he has lapses. I took him on a wheel chair walk ... he wanted to go through the hospital to the front entrance where he could see the real world. He was devious however...his idea I found out later was to find a store that sold cigarettes. When he found out that hospitals do not sell cigarettes he opted out for the vending machines that sold chips. He really really wanted them, and chose 4 different kinds but I told him I only had enough change in my purse for one and he could choose. He chose Hickory Chips. He had already forgotten about the cig's and ate them with much gusto as we went back to the room.
I know a guy who just had a new stent put in his veins should not have chips....but but but....he looked so damn happy.
They are treating him for that now.. I can't remember the name they called it...but it's like some kind of memory loss you get from the blood infection. He was the best I had seen for a weeks so I went for it. But the next time I take him out for a spin I won't believe everything he tells me...I have an inkling as we were going through all the corridors, elevators and stuff he was looking for a way out of the hospital. Well I got lost on the way down....so he will never find it.
I gave him a test yesterday. We have a thing between us: I say something stupid and he asks me to repeat it and I say it again....and if I do...he will say...I heard you the first time. Man we have done this since we were kids. I did it to him yesterday and he got it.
So lets see what happens.
Balonie...over and out....gotta family newsletter to put out by Monday.
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