Prairie Dog Blog

On Sunday I made dinner for Paul and Pat because they were so good to take Suzie in for the week I was in Vancouver. Chicken cacciatore and salad with a light chocolate frozen cheesecake (no calories whatsoever) washed down with a bottle of Zinfandel. I think it was enjoyed by all. I know Suzie enjoyed her share, although she gobbled it up so fast I don't think the food touched her tastebuds on the way to her stomach.

Pat recounted some of the funny antics that Suzie went through and said they had many a good laugh while she was visiting. I know they enjoy having her, but still, it's nice of them to take her. She'll be going to Uncle Paul and Auntie Pat's again when I go to BC in July.

This morning I took Mother to her regular three-month family doctor appointment. All the way there she groused about having to go, and why should she have to go when there is nothing wrong with her, and, how about the good old days when people only went to the doctor if they were sick, and in the old days doctors came to your house. As Dennis would say: Sheeeesh. I told her it was all about prevention and keeping conditions under control these days. So she said, "What conditions do I have to keep under control?" Sheeeesh number 2. How shall I count the ways? Well, there's diabetes, high blood pressure, her pacemaker, her check of her blood thinner, etc, etc, etc,..... On the way home she was happy as a clam and said it was so nice to visit with nice Dr. H. He was so happy to see her. They had such a good talk! Sheeeeesh number three. I love her, but she do go on some.

In the afternoon I subbed at my favorite school, a grade 1/2. The first hour of the afternoon they were in Phys. Ed. and Music so I went to another room and read one of my stories to them. The little darlings made me a bunch of thank you cards. They are so cute. Two of the girls wrote that I "have a good sense of fashion"! How can you beat that? I love subbing.

Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see. ~John W. Whitehead, The Stealing of America, 1983
Sunday Dinner, Doctor, Cute Children

Hello everyone out there in blogland. I've had a busy week since getting back from Vancouver. I've been doing laundry, vacuuming and going for workouts at the Reh-fit. I went for my routine ultrasound on my carotid arteries. Since my surgery I have to get regular ultrasound tests to make sure all is well. I have not had any TIAs since the surgery so that is a good sign.

I went to the St. Norbert Saturday market to sell gourds this morning for Students Without Borders and their Afrique 2007 Project. They all get together every Tuesday evening to clean and prepare gourds for the students to make into birdhouses and paint them. I might go to some of those sessions to help. There were some really well done new birdhouses today. One had a really cute gray pussycat on it. Another was painted to resemble a little hobbit house with hollyhocks growing up the walls and round windows. A great bargain for about $20, although some are a bit more, and such a good cause. Those of you who read this blog and live near Winnipeg might want to check it out. The gourds will be sold every Saturday between 9:00 and 3:00 at the St. Norbert market, south of Winnipeg on Pembina Hwy.

I have decided to sell the RV. I went to a dealer here in Winnipeg to ask about getting them to sell it. I can't get out there often enough to warrant spending that much money on the seasonal spot. And it's just too, too sad to be there without him. The dealer I went to said they could tow it to Winnipeg and sell it for me. They will take 10%. I think it's worth it. I know it would be difficult for me to show it to prospective buyers, both emotionally and just getting out there.

While I was in Vancouver I phoned a few places to inquire about seasonal spots there, and the cost would be too much. I had thought I might move it there and use it to stay in whenever I went to visit Margot, but it's not practical.

So, if anyone out there is interested, call me. You can see pictures of it in the archives, August 2005.

I see that Gary hasn't blogged since he was in Europe on June 20, just before his birthday. Hope it was a happy one! NOBODY else has blogged either! Come on people, get blogging. I need some more news.

The weather here has been beautiful since I got back from Vancouver. Those weeds in the flower beds are calling me. I'll have to get to them tomorrow. Tata for now. Peace.

A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken. ~James Dent
Selling Gourd Birdhouses, Selling an RV

Here are some pictures of my trip to Vancouver. The first shows Joel's new salty aquarium. Isn't it beautiful? Notice the clownfish, a la Nemo. I had a great time. I did a lot of walking. Vancouver is such a great city for walking, especially the West End. It's the way I picture New York to be, full of neat little shops and ethnic restaurants. I went for dinner once each to the Raincity Grill and Cardero's. The food was great and the staffs at both restaurants treated me like a queen. Do you suppose it had something to do with the fact that my daughter and son-in-law work there?

We went to Science World and Granville Island. The Dr. Sun Yat Sen garden was beautiful and worth going several times. I tried to get to see Bard on the Beach, but they were all sold out the night I wanted to go. It's something I definitely want to do when I go back there in July. I also saw my sister twice. It was nice to be able to do that.

I see that Gary and Carolyn were having a great time on their cruise and trip to Europe. I'm sure I'll see plenty of pictures on my trip in July.

My little adopted canine daughter was happy to see me. She yodelled as if to say, "Where have you been?" and rushed out to the car. I know she loves staying with Auntie Pat and Uncle Paul, but, like me, she is glad to be home.

Well, it's time to say good night, all.

The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page. ~St. Augustine
Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety Jig

It's been a very busy few days. My siding and window cladding went up on Monday and Tuesday. I hired a young entrepreneur to cut my grass while I'm away. On Wednesday morning I picked out paint, tiles and flooring for my bathrooms(that work starts in August).

I subbed Wednesday afternoon, all day Thursday and Friday. I think sometime during the week I promised about a hundred and fifty people that I would have lunch with them this summer. I don't know if there are enough days in July and August. On Saturday I went to the Humanist Association of Manitoba Summer Soltice Barbeque. On Sunday I went out of my gourd (sold gourd birdhouses) for Students Without Borders at St. Vital Mall. And in between I've been doing laundry and preparing for my visit to Vancouver. Whew! I leave on Tuesday and will be gone for a week. I think I need the break. I won't be posting to the blog while I am gone. I'm taking a break and leaving the computer home.

Goodbye to all out there in blogland. Think of me on June 14. Dennis' birthday. He would have been 59. Now he will never grow old. Not much consolation. I was hoping to grow old with him.

Thanks to modern medical advances such as antibiotics, nasal spray, and Diet Coke, it has become routine for people in the civilized world to pass the age of 40, sometimes more than once. ~Dave Barry, "Your Disintegrating Body," Dave Barry Turns 40, 1990
Busy, Busy, Busy, Bye-Bye

Finally, today the builder, Joe, came to replace the siding and window cladding and shutters. He came at 8:00 and got me out of bed. I had insomnia last night and didn't get to sleep until 4:00. It must be a corollary of Murphy's law: The likelihood of the doorbell ringing early in the morning is inversely proportional to the amount of sleep you've had the night before or some such nonsense.

So, Joe worked all day until 7:00 and he isn't quite finished. He'll be back in the morning but it looks pretty good already. Tomorrow I will take some pictures and post them on the blog.

I forgot to warn him about my neighbour once-removed, Frank. Frank lives on the other side of Glen, my next-door neighbour. It was Glen and Frank who rebuilt my fence. Frank always visits the workers who are working on my house, or any other house in the neighbourhood being renovated, and gets free advice or even free materials. He asked the builder who repaired my basement wall for a pail of tar! And the guy gave it to him. What the heck was he going to do with a pail of tar? I can't even ask him because the thing about Frank is, he is Italian and I can't understand a word he is saying. When I introduced myself to him I told him my name and asked him what his name was. He just smiled and nodded. He has been in this country for over 30 years and still can't really understand or speak English. Unbelieveable. Anyway, Frank asked Joe how long it would take him to do the front of his house. I guess he used gestures a lot. I didn't hear what Joe told him, but Frank was very upset and said it should be one day. I guess Frank won't be hiring Joe for any work.

Luckily I didn't get called to sub today, but I have got a half-day tomorrow and all day Friday. The jobs are both at the Island, so I'm looking forward to them.

It was a beautiful day and I took Suzie for a nice long walk. Then, after the builder left, I cut the grass, watered the shrubs and sprayed a few weeds. It is so amazing that in spite of the fact that I slather on the sunscreen at spf45 I can still get a slight sunburn even through a t-shirt. It must be my pale Irish skin which I inherited from my mother.

I suppose Gary and Carolyn are enjoying their Baltic cruise right about now. I envy them. I'm sure I'll hear all about it when I go to visit them in July. Gary always does the Sudoku in the paper and has some books of those puzzles. I started doing some. I got myself a book of really easy ones. And I only do the easy ones in the paper. I can't even do the medium ones, never mind the challenging ones! But I tried some neat different ones in Discover magazine. They were five by five grids and had five regions of different colors. The numbers one to five are in the rows and the columns and each region. I was very surprised that I was actually able to do them!

I won $10 on a lottery ticket this week. The 649 jackpot here is up to 29 million. I usually have a ticket for each draw. Wouldn't it be loverly....?

Money won is twice as sweet as money earned. ~From the movie The Color of Money
New Siding, Frank, Sudoku, Jackpot

Great to see new blog postings by Jack and my sister, Dee. A great big yahoo to Andrew and Jamie for their academic achievements. Congrats are also due to Jack for getting a promotion to Assistant Prof. Professor Ousey. Dennis would have been so proud of his little brother.

Dee, we will get together when I am in Vancouver next week. I will call you. I miss you, too. Nice, newsy post.

I met with Terry today to finalize plans for the bathroom renos. They start as soon as I get back from BC in August. I'm going to pick out flooring, paint, tiles etc. on Wednesday. I am looking forward to my new bathrooms. As Margot said, those renos are long overdue.

I went to J's funeral this afternoon. It was very sad. He was only 52 and left an adult daughter and two sons in high school. He was a very optimistic and compassionate person. I plan to keep in contact with his wife. We widows must lean on each other in these troubled times. I now have four friends who have lost their spouses. I find myself gravitating to those friends. It was not my practice to phone friends just for a chat, but I'm doing it more now.

After the funeral I had planned on going to the Reh-fit Centre, but I played hookey and went to see The Da Vinci Code. I feel drawn to movie theatres. I take a break from grief by entering into the fantasy world created by a movie.

Well, it's good-bye from me and it's good-bye from Suzie. She's grass-free for two days now. I loved reading your blog postings, Dee and Jack. Now, how about the rest of you?

Your absence has gone through me
Like thread through a needle
Everything I do is stitched with its color.
~W.S. Merwin, "Separation"
New Postings and New Bathrooms

Well, some surprises. The funeral on Saturday wasn't too sad, but then I never met W's husband. I saw a few teacher friends. It was nice to connect with them.

Then today I went out to Gimli to check on the RV. I had planned to cut the grass and get the bill for the repair, but when I got there it had been raining for some time and the grass was too wet to cut. The Mr. Fixit who was to repair the toilet hadn't been there. The worst surprise was it was really hard to be there without him. I was there with Margot a couple of weeks ago, but it was the first time I went there alone. I found another pair of his shoes, some New Balance runners that he had left there. That brought on the tears. I wondered if it would be this hard every time I go there. I briefly considered selling the RV, but that made me feel even more sad.

A wasted trip, $25 worth of gas and I was sad all the way home. I did some major howling when I got home. I miss him so. Poor Suzie. She hates it when I do that. She goes and hides in her bed. Then, I put on some Brazilian music and vacuumed and dusted the entire house. That put me in a better mood. Hard work, that's the ticket.

Speaking of surprises, my little canine daughter has a new addiction. I noticed this spring she tends to chew on any little clumps of grass left after cutting the grass. Well, now she is really hooked on grass. I caught her chewing her way through a bag of grass cuttings! The clippings were scattered by the garbage can and she was chowing down on it! It's a full-blown addiction! What a mess I had to clean up. I guess I'll have to send her to a rehab. Would they take her at the Betty Ford Clinic? I have to keep the bags of grass clippings outside the fence from now on. Mustn't feed her addiction. LOL

Tomorrow I meet with a woman to plan the bathroom renos. I also go to J's funeral. This one will likely be harder. He was a good friend.

Am I the only person still blogging? It sure feels lonely out here. Come on, folks, do some blogging! I'm starved for news. Tata and peace.

I am tired, Beloved,
of chafing my heart against
the want of you;
of squeezing it into little inkdrops,
And posting it.
~Amy Lowell, "The Letter"
$25 Worth of Gas and Hooked on Grass

Margot is now back in Vancouver and it wasn't too sad to say goodbye. I will be in Vancouver in less than two weeks. We will celebrate his birthday together on June 14. We plan to visit the IKEA store, one of his favourite places. We'll eat dinner at Cardero's, a favourite restaurant. We will walk on the beach at English Bay and remember the last time I was there with him.

I guess Gary and Carolyn have left for their cruise of the Baltic. I expect Gary will probably post blogs while he's on holidays. They must be having a good time.

It's been sad around here for a few days. My friend W.'s husband died last Monday of brain cancer and my good friend J. died also of cancer on Wednesday morning. These deaths bring back all of the grief and loss. I went to visit both widows and the funerals will be tomorrow and Monday. I am missing him so much these days. These are sad, sad times. Sorry, my heart just isn't in this post.

Give sorrow words; the grief that does not speak whispers the o'er-fraught heart and bids it break. ~William Shakespeare
Sad, Sad Times