Time..... Enemy or Friend?

I'm semi-retired right now so I think I shouldn't be busy!  Ha!  Not the case right now.  I'm feeling somewhat like I did when I was employed full-time.... lacking in extra time. 

I talked a few weeks ago or is it months?  ...... about my DD's FIL's fracture and subsequent entry into a retirement residence.  The process of disposing of his house possessions other than clothes and a few precious personal items has begun in preparation for selling his previous home, and I have been assisting with this process in whatever way I can.  It's taken time away from things that I normally do, and I've only stopped by a few blogs to see how everyone is immersed in their lives. 

And at the end of the day, I'm exhausted..... sitting and waiting for people to view furniture can be exhausting, ya know.  More mental than physical fatigue!  Anyway the end will come, just taking one step at a time.

Ugh!  Snowed a bit overnight.  Spring??  Where are you??  Come out now, no more hiding!!

A Series of Events

1.  A week ago I brought home a bag of cat food and put on counter intending to put away later.

2.  Forgot to put it away

3.  Cat recognizes crinkling sound of bag of cat food

4.  Cat wants food in middle of night

5.  Cat jumps on counter and slowly but very diligently moves bag over beside toaster oven

6.  Toaster oven moves to edge of counter and ..... yep, you guessed it..... I wake up in middle of night and hear .....

7.  Toaster oven has hit the floor

8.  Cat food bag has hit the floor

9.  Toaster oven smashed and is now garbage; cat food bag intact

10. This Sunday I want toast for breakfast

11.  No toaster, oops!

12.  Monday, I go to Canadian Tire to check if any on sale

13.  Winter clearance sale at The Tire so spot a sign that says $25.99 for a Black & Decker toaster oven

14.  Can't find one stored on the shelf, just the one on display

15.  Call someone to find one for me

16.  None in stock

17.  Department manager is called to double check

18.  Checks, nope, none available at $25.99

19.  But I want this one that has $25.99 tag

20.  Manager hems and haws, talks to another  associate about percentage off, and how much The Tire is losing .....

21.  Comes back and says that this one on display is not the one for $25.99

22.  I say but it says that this one on display is $25.99, not once but on two different stickers posted above it.

23.  He agrees and gives me a $79.99 toaster/convection oven for $25.99 without further argument

24.  Toaster oven works beautifully.

25.  Cat lives to see many more days.  LOL!

:)

While I Was Away...

I missed Blogland while I was away from you, but I also found the time away to be very refreshing.  While I missed having easy access to a computer, being away from it gave me a chance to focus, really focus on other interests.  The computer can be a real time sucker if you are lacking in self-discipline, and my discipline seems to have melted with the snow and run down the sewer.  Spending time on the net has become a form of entertainment to me because I've had more free time to fill this winter.  And it's made me realize that I need to spend less time staring at the screen and move on to more productive activities.  And I thought I was already doing that.  Ha!  Wrong.

Today was a full day of work at the pharmacy and I did not whistle while I worked today.  That's a reference to Carla's post if you're wondering where that came from.  One of the first transactions of the day was the sale of a $100 prepaid credit card which the individual indicated he would be using for online gambling.  He came back an hour later requesting a refund because the card was not accepted by the site he was visiting.  The receipt clearly reads "no refunds on gift cards or credit cards once activated".  Management policy is absolutely no exceptions.  This individual became livid, creating a very tension-filled situation which wasn't going to be resolved easily.  He refused to accept the policy and refused to leave the store, he refused to return on Mon to speak with the owner of the store to resolve this if possible.  He was just plain downright ornery.  After discussion with another store associate, we contacted the store owner at home who gave instruction to refund a portion of the $100.  What????  Now we are going to go back on this policy that you so strongly implemented and backed over these many months.  Confusion reigns!  And my point on the whole thing.... why are we giving a refund on a card that we have no knowledge whether it actually had been used or not.  For all we know right now, this person might have just made $100 from us.  Whistlling while I worked, not today!

The day is over and I'm relaxing with one ear to the TV watching/listening to the Montreal vs Pittsburgh hockey game.  Go Habs Go!  Keep on winning.  We want the Stanley Cup back in Canada.  It's been awhile.  Afterward I'm going to work on my March goals.  I didn't put goals in place for February and I felt a little bit lost.

Night all and thanks for stopping by.

 How's your week-end so far? 

Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street?

photo taken from this Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/#!/ScottIsaacsMD

What can I say, other than it brought a smile to my face.  :)

Waiting For A Diagnosis!

My one and only computer has gone off to the 'puter hospital for a rest and loving care.... I hope anyway. 

It did collapse on me and now will be diagnosed and given a tune-up.  'puter, I miss you already.  Your friend at the library is being so wonderful to accomodate me, but your buddy only shares for one hour a day.

I'm not sure how it will be away, but I'm hoping it will be well cared for.  :)

Mani's and Pedi's

I love the look created by someone who can give a  beautiful manicure and I particularly like the look of a natural French manicure.  It appears so neat, clean and, natural for a lack of another descriptive word.  I have enjoyed many manicures in the past for which I have paid many dollars.  I loved the look of my beautiful, fake nails.  These mani's were completed in the past without much thought to the never-ending cost of filling in the new growth. 

When the time came where I turned from an "on my bum" job to "on my feet" working with food, these luxurious nail jobs fell by the wayside, as fake nails and nail polish were not permitted.  Now that I am away from this work, I am quite okay with performing the manicure with my limited knowledge of how to create a passable look and saving the cash for this service.

Now on to the pedicure.  Yesterday my daughter was telling me how she truly enjoys getting the pedicure done.  She loves someone rubbing her feet and just truly enjoys all that comes with the pedicure.  She doesn't spend the money on having this completed, but if she did have the extra I'm quite sure she would rush right out and have one.  Not me!  No, no, no, never, never, never.  I absolutely cringe at the thought of someone I don't know touching my feet.  Just thinking of a nail stylist filing my nails brings goose bumps to my skin.  And while I was strolling toward the exist at Walmart earlier today I had to look away from the nail salon where stylists were openly messing with customer's feet.  Cringe, cringe, cringe!!!

I was doing some surfing earlier and found this interesting article which talks about how the nail salon business came to be in North America.  Opportunity for employment at it's finest.

I think I'll be giving my daughter a manicure/pedicure for her birthday gift this summer as I didn't know she enjoyed them so much, particularly the pedi.

How about you?  Do you enjoy a manicure/pedicure? 

'splain yourself

Okay, can do.

"Busy, really busy since Monday", she says ..............
"Oh, come on you can do better than that", says she ..............
"No, really..... busy, very busy", she says ............
"Everybody's busy, but they do find time to blog", she says .............
"I know" she says, hanging head in embarassment. 

A week ago today, daughter's FIL (I'll refer to him as B) whose hip was fractured in a fall at home was moved from hospital, after a six week  recovery period to a retirement residence located 20 kilometers from the town where I live and where my DD's family live.  The actual move was uneventful, and thank God for that as last Thursday was the beginning of the snowstorm covering two days.  He does have a PSW with him 24/7 right now and will continue to have one until he is healed and able to walk more steadily with his walker.  The individual in charge of decision making re his care continues to create drama and the challenge to remain outside the drama is still there but I am finding it much easier to deal with.  When I talk to her, I state the facts as I see them.... only the facts!  And that's working quite nicely.

Because she lives a distance away, she relies on my DD and her DS to provide assistance if he needs something, but DD is bogged down right now.  She has picked up the flu that her daughter had last week and as all mom's know, you can't be sick.  But she is exhausted from carrying on despite feeling unwell and I am now providing support with kids and also assisting with B as there are some ongoing issues re his early days in the residence.  There were a lot of changes very quickly for him so time and patience for adjustment are definitely needed.  Distance, time challenges, illness have all come together in an imperfect storm for a few days. 

Tuesday afternoon I created some time to bake sugar cookies with a simple decoration of red sugar for the GK's for a Valentine treat.

mixing

rolling

baked

packaged and ready to go



Time to get a move on!  The rest of the day is looking busy.  Happy Valentine's Day!

Absence makes the heart grow fonder, or so the saying goes.  Did you miss me?  LOL

Received in Today's Mail

I was the winner of this lovely zippy wallet in a giveaway by Carla.  It is a cute wallet, a perfect size to use in my bag which I lovingly referred to my suitcase that travels with me wherever I go.  It shall become my new change purse as it is perfect for that purpose.  Her workmanship is so perfect, neat, tidy and finished so professionally. 

Thank you again Carla.  I am thrilled to receive this gift.  And thank you also for the wee treat you included. 

:)

That "S" Word!

snow, snow, snow, snow, snow, snow, snow, snow, snow, snow, snow, snow, snow

Okay, what's the big deal?  It's February, it's the middle of winter, snow is expected, right?  Yes it certainly is, but so much?  The fluffy flakes started around noon yesterday and carried on through the evening stopping for a brief few hours.  I know the snowfall hadn't resumed at 2 a.m. when I turned out the light for sleep time.  When I woke in the morning the visibility was really diminished as the snowfall was quite heavy and winds had picked up tossing those flakes everywhere.  The storm of the winter thus far is supposed to carry on until at least midnight in our part of the province. 

So what's the big deal?  We're just not used to seeing so much snow.  At this moment, about 30 cm has arrived in my town with another 4 to 6 cm expected before it stops.  This is the largest storm in 5 years and in the intervening years, the winters have been mostly mild, hence the big wallop to the psyche.  This day didn't turn out to be an official snow day, but some businesses closed early, libraries, the town government offices, the regional gov. offices closed early also.  There were few people out on the roads so these places wouldn't be carrying on any business anyway. 

photo credit:  Province of Ontario traffic camera

Only in Canada would shovelling occur to assist cars to make it on to a major highway.  This is the main east-west route through Southern Ontario.

photo courtesy of my friend James

 What's under the blanket of snow?  Any guesses?

I've been through many blizzards/snowstorms in my life.  I'm an old gal, I'll survive this one too!!!  I've been indoors for two days and do need to get out tomorrow for some pics of this winter wonderland.  :)

'puter probs!

A brief post today just to let you know I'm experiencing problems with my home computer.  Windows won't load immediately, then cuts out, then reloads, then works for a bit, then disappears.  May need some tender loving care by a techie.  Right now, posting from the library computer.  Stay tuned!

I'll Be Back!!