My Christmas List (so far)

1. Boots from Cloudwalkers.

Pecan Boot (WW Width) Was: $99.00 (Now: $74.00)
Size 9WW

Style # 4918329A

Polio - I'm emailing you a coupon for the store that carries these - don't know if boots are included though.

2. Level. I've wanted one for a couple of years. Preferably one that's at least two feet long. The laser kind that projects a beam is cool, but they are expensive!

3. Electric drill/screwdriver. I'm kind of partial to Black & Decker, Skil, and Dewalt. Again, expensive items I know. I don't need a huge number of bits, but a small selection is nice.

4. Bras. These are very personal and there's no way in hell I'm giving out my size on this blog. A gift certificate to Avenue or some other place I can shop in Champaign is nice.

5. Not candy.

weather and taxes? God, I'm getting old ...

Well, we supposedly had "hurricane force winds" last weekend, but we slept through most of it and never lost power or anything so it was less than dramatic. Sandbox kept asking when the rain was gonna start and complaining that "this isn't a hurricane, this is crap!" We did have a couple of trees go down out back, ones that were already lame from previous storms I guess.

This weekend we had snow, lots of snow. It started Saturday afternoon and seemed to go on for about 24 hours! That's probably a slight exaggeration, but it was a long time. Sandbox and I went out in it Saturday night to shovel the driveway. He worked very hard and were out there for at least on hour. In the end, we were proud of what we accomplished.

However, it was snow-covered again by morning.

Today, we all had the day off in honor of Remembrance Day which was officially yesterday. I guess it's a combination of Memorial Day and Veteran's Day. Sandbox got to sing in a couple of Remembrance Day ceremonies during the week and met the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia. Her outfit with the tartan flair kicked ass. (no good picture available)



I have not given much thought to a Christmas list as have other family members. I guess I think others are more organized than I and have done their shopping already. Also, I usually can only think of stores (as opposed to items) because they are the ones I don't have access to up here. But I may come up with a list and put it up.

The cold weekend convinced us that we could no longer put off buying winter coats for the twins.

We went to the big mall in Dartmouth today to look at coats. Old Navy was having a 40% off sale which is not too shabby, and we found one for Sandbox. he bears a striking resemblance to his older brother.
The store where we found Easel's coat was not having a sale per se, but any coats over $50 were tax-free. Considering the taxes here add about 15% to your purchase, that was also a good deal. I must say, she looks very grown up.

Mission accomplished, and now we're back home.

monkeys, singing, and Noel

Just a brief post to let you know I'm still here. I've changed my screensaver to the cutest sock monkeys. I'm kind of really into sock monkeys right now - don't be surprised if you get one for Christmas. I'm just saying..

I'm feeling that crafty urge I get once in a while. I suppose I should sew buttons on the DH's pants and other needlework chores I've neglected before I start some footwear/primate project.

Last weekend we had our master class with the Anonymous Four. We sang Byrd's Ave Verum, one of my favorite anthems in Latin - completely in my range- and it went very well. They commented on how nice it was to see young people singing this music (meaning, of course, Sandbox and Easel) and the twins got applauded. We did a good job, if I do say so myself, and I do. The A4 sang later that day and if you're interested, here's what they were up to http://thechronicleherald.ca/Entertainment/974646.html

I learned today that we will get our first taste of coastal living this weekend as we "welcome" Tropical Storm Noel. Here's what they're saying right now:

So that'll be interesting. Of course, we moved here from "tornado alley" so it will actually be interesting to see how these phenomena differ. We don't live right on the water or anything, and the last forecast I saw said the worst hit will be the western shore, so I'm not worried about massive waves. But I've been told to prepare for power outages. So I guess I'll go fill some water jugs, unpack the candles, and buy some cold cuts.

Enjoy your weekend!

October

This is my screen saver at work for this month. I think my favorite is the Krispy Kreme guy on the left - something about his little shoulders cracks me up. We haven't decided on costumes this year yet. It seems that Halloween is not such a big deal here. I mean, they start putting out big bags of candy in September, just like in America. But WalMart is not all 'weened up like we're used to by any means. Also, when my teenager asked her friends what they do for Halloween and if any of them go trick-or-treating, they asked he if she was "like, two?" Guess not.

On the other hand, there is a Haunted Hollow place near us where you go run around the grounds and get chased by scary people. (No thanks.) And on my way to choir practice last night, I saw a sign out in front of a store advertising "Chain Saw Sale." So now I'm thinking maybe they do take Halloween seriously here, just not in the same way.

Some sad news. My goldfish Speedy died about two weeks ago.

He was a fiesty little guy who lived in my office/home for almost

four years. He made the move to Canada in good shape but

finally went to that aquarium in the sky. R.I.P. my fishy friend.

In proof-reading the above, WalMart cought my attention. Hate on the 'Mart all you want, but they sold me Speedy for 12 cents. And you know what else? They'll take US currency here. That comes in handy when you're digging in your couch for caffeine money and all you can come up with is American coins. Go figure.

We're going to an orchard this weekend. We always like the Curtis Orchard back home at this time of year. We'll see what the Scotian orchards have to offer. If there's time, I'd like to stop in one of the Francofone communities along the way. Maybe Sandbox can put on his puppet show.

TV, Food, and Recycling

Well, well, well. I didn't make it through Canadian Idol - too boring and I still don't even know who won. I caught most of Canada's Next Top Model - even liked the winner a lot.

Now, it's Project Runway Canada hosted by Iman. She scares me. Sure, she looks friendly in the picture, but she'll kick your ass if you make something "unwearable." (if you click that link, go down to the seventh designer - Darin - he's the one she called unwearable) I enjoy watching with Rake and Easel. Rake and I often disagree about which designs we like though (the judges seem to agree with her more). Easel usually starts drawing about halfway through the show and is more interested in her own designs than the ones on tv. As much as I like watching with my girls, I miss Pip. She and I usually agreed on who's being a tool and whose designs we'd wear.


Since going out to eat is so expensive here, we've rediscovered some of our cookbooks and old recipes we used to make more often. Tops in this category is the homemade salsa that the DH makes. It is great and the kids didn't even know their dad could make it. We had him make a pitcher full two weekends in a row. The downside is that there's not a lot of choice in the chip department. Tostitos is about it actually. After Thanksgiving, I went out looking for Fritos - the best chip in the world to accompany leftover turkey. I am told they can be found here but I don't know where yet. I'll be on the hunt for them between now and the American Thanksgiving we'll celebrate in November.


I think we are starting to get a handle on the recycling thing.
At least the DH and I are. The kids keep throwing food in the trash or the sink instead of the compost bin. Also, I finally set up some containers for the paper and the plastic/cans/bottles. Since there wasn't a good, nearby place to put them, people kept leaving them on the counter so someone else (me) would put them away. Having said all that, however, we don't have a clue how to read the schedule for pick-up. We rely on the neighbors knowing, and when we see theirs out on the curb, we put ours out too.

Happy Birthday POLIO!!

20 years ago today I was huffing and puffing and blowing the house down. The "house" being Seton Hospital in Austin, TX. Around noon, a beautiful pink baby boy joined the family. His grandmother came to visit and declared him wonderful. His granddad came later and thought he was awesome. Granny and Grandpa were smitten. His great grandfather called him Pinocchio Nose.

I became an accomplished worrier like I never thought I'd be. His dad became an expert at rocking babies to sleep. I accepted the baby swing as my saviour.

Today, he is a gorgeous, intelligent, 6'1", green-eyed man. I love him dearly. I miss him terribly. Words can't express how proud I am of him. Hugs and Kisses - mom

OOPS I did it again

I was going to post a blog yesterday wishing my mom a Happy 70th Birthday. Then I started second guessing myself:

what if it's not her 70th birthday? What if she's only 69? Then I've offended her and embarassed myself in public on the blogosphere! That would be bad. So, maybe there's a way to find out. But then I have to admit to my siblings (cause that's the only way I could think of to double check) that I don't know for sure. Or that I do know, but I'm too neurotic to trust myself. What to do?

So I waited. Got busy at work. Told myself I'd figure it out when I got home. Only I got home and got caught up in family stuff - driving hither and yon, the never-ending debate about WHAT'S FOR DINNER, and that jazz. Didn't think to call until about midnight (her time).

Here's the thing - I've done this before. I remember a week ahead. I remember a few days ahead. I remember the day before and consider calling then but I don't want to admit that I'm calling ahead because I might forget tomorrow. That's dumb. But here I am looking dumb anyway, so ...





Happy 70th Birthday Mom!!!
Gëzuar Ditëlindjen
Честит рожден ден
Bon aniversari
Per molts anys
生日快樂
Všechno nejlepší k narozeninám!
Gelukkige verjaardag
Χρόνια πολλά
¡feliz cumpleaños! สุขสันต์วันเกิด and Usuku lokuzalwa olumnandi


I love you! You have been (and continue to be) a great role model for me. Hope you are having a raucous party to celebrate this momentous occasion! (and if I'm wrong about your age - or you're sensitive about it - then I hope the partying has out you in a forgiving mood).

Your birthday wishes for my mom in comments ...