reluctantriter

Friday, March 23, 2007

Spring IS Sprung



What we have here are signs of spring. Alberta being Alberta, spring can officially arrive, as it did, with a blizzard. However, this evening, around 6:15 I decided it was warm enough to leave the door open. There has not always been a child gate at the door and I can assure you that the gate is not there because there might be a child.
As the pictures reveal, the cats adore looking out and of course, Precious the more adventuresome, of course, is willing to push the limits.


Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Spook Approved



While there may be some problems with the “craft” of the thing, clearly my efforts are “Spook Approved”. Now, Spook is NOT a cat noted for her social graces. Graceful, yes, in a feline sort of way, especially when making good her escape from any kind of social confrontation.

Without invitation or introduction Ms. Spook decided that she would not only jump up on the newly carpeted, what shall we call this? Window Table? Yes, that works, so without invitation, introduction, indoctrination or any of the other “in” words, Spook spent an entire session lolling about on the window table. What more approval is required than this? Of course Precious has no qualms about “new” stuff. This is a cat who sprawls in the midst of well traveled areas in the hope that she might be petted. You can certainly tell the difference between the animal with the history of abuse and the much loved critter. Possibly, the same holds true for humans.

Sunday, March 18, 2007

It's Official ...

The project:

OK, its official, even with the excellent help of Precious (see picture one), I am not a crafty person at all and I’m happy the project, is, in the main, covered up by the love seat. Where is my big sister when I need her?!? …. Oh yeah, right, visiting the nephew and niece in Singapore.

For a number of months I had put this project off, I think, because I wanted to do a good job and even when I started today, with all my tools, carpet cutter, hammer, tacks, ruler, tape, etc, I STILL wanted to do a good job. Unfortunately in no time at all the “good job” became “good enough for government work” – if you get my drift. Eventually, I suspect it became more like “Crap, lets just get it done”. Really, I have no clue as to the basics of this sort of thing. Certainly I have suspicions, that is, I suspect the corners need to be dealt with differently than the action I took, I suspect too, there is a way of tacking stuff so you don’t see the tacks, but at THAT point I was just thinking I want it DONE.

Maybe, just maybe, that’s how come I WAITED until Sis was out of the country. She definitely is NOT a “good enough” kind o’ gal, she has done beautiful art work, including some crafty stuff like psanky. So maybe this is my way of dealing with less than mediocre work. There is an old saying about the “cobbler sticking to his last”, which kind of means that one should do what one has talent for. Just now I “ripped” a DVD and transferred it to my ipod for later enjoyment. Some people can’t do that sort of thing and that sort of thing is more or less my “last”. Funny thing though, I’m pretty good with Ikea stuff, so go figure … mind you, there is NO cutting or measuring with Ikea, just a giant jigsaw puzzle

Today I have actually done my “To Do” list except the shopping part and there is still time for that … oh yeah, and voice mail … have not done voice mail but I can do that later for tomorrow. It makes me deeply suspicious that my TO DO list was TOO Short!
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Saturday, March 17, 2007

That's Up



What's up? That's up!
Today I mainly rested but I did take time to check the Shriner’s Centre where we are going to hold our big whoopty-do of an 80th celebration. You gotta check it out, it is georgeous! One of the members has headed up a committee to get this sucker of the ground and he has done a marvelous job getting it all together and motivating his committee.

Big Band sounds, prizes, silent auction, roast beef buffet … only $65.00 which I think is cheap given that at an earlier point I purchased a couple of tickets to a dinner theatre presentation in support of a local charity and THAT cost $80.00 each!

Hopefully some of our “alum” will come although lots of them now work as professional pilots
and don’t have a clue as to their schedules very far in advance. Anywhoo that’s what’s for me today, now I am going to relax!...more … again … yet… still….

Friday, March 16, 2007

Hairball?



This cough is taking fooooorrrreeeevvveeer to pass on. The infective part is long gone and I am dealing with the residual asthma stuff that drives me crazy and does not impress those around me much, either. Every day it improves but it still interferes with what I would like to be doing. So far I’ve not made it back to the gym. Plasma people called to remind me that I donate next Tuesday but I’m wondering if I should, not so much because I think I still have something lurking, more because I sound so terrible. What to do, what to do. Maybe it is as the cartoon suggests and I should be taking lessons from the cats on how to cough up hairballs and be done with it!

Pella people came by this afternoon to see how best to rectify the situation of the crooked house and straight window frame. Personally I want to go with the easiest and most attractive fix and not recreate the whole dang job. Matt the painter is due next Thursday or Friday and once he sees what needs to be done hopefully the staining will be done the next week and then the blinds can go up. Tomorrow I am going to try my hand at covering, with a carpet, a sort of “table” that my brother in law “fixer-of-all-things” made me as a spacer for the love seat, keeping it away from the bay window and a cat repository. In fact the cats go on the thing without carpeting but I’m sure would be happier with it. It will be a challenge for me as I am about as “crafty” as … well I don’t know what, I don’t really have a crafty bone in my body.

Monday, I’ve promised myself, will see me back in the gym and back on program. It is so hard to eat properly, rest and exercise with this stuff – also I might add, I am not, repeat NOT the most motivated type when it comes to doing those things particularly since I now, since I’m working at home, dress down a lot. This means my weight is not as obvious as I am not tugging on panty hose much these days.

The cats have spent the entire day sleeping their little hoofies off and I’m not sure what has fatigued them so – unless of course they have some special “Cat Olympics” planned for the evening and early morning hours! On the other hand, come to think of it, the cleaning lady was in yesterday and no doubt the “dreadfuleavilnoisyscarysuckingmachine” terrorized them and they spent the day plotting its demise which of course is exhausting for the little furry beings. Yeah, that “sucking machine” is not to be trusted.

Hope to have a restful weekend.

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Ol' Grey Mare ...


Last evening I attended a Flying Club event where pictures and a few videos were shown of a Club convoy to the Artic Ocean. Quite a trip and many adventures were shared. Not a trip for the easily daunted and interestingly there was a real mix of aircraft from twin engine to single engine Piper Warrior. In view of the that topic perhaps a better picture might have been this old grey mare – at least that is what they call this old Mitchell TB-25J


In either case, it is my way of saying I just don’t have the stamina that I once had and I’m hittin’ the pit early. Whether it is the lingering lung issues or the late night, the result is the same …. zzzzzzzzzzz, snort, sniff, wheeze…

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

A Crooked Little....


At this instant I would make a pretty darned good jet engine with all the whining I’m doing.
. Can’t find a disk that I put away KNOWING that I would need it in the near future. Also … Window is finished and from the ground up, looks terrific. From the kitchen, looking directly across (kitchen is a loft into the living room), there is ½ inch difference between one side and the other at the top of the casement what we have here is a bit of a crooked little house scenario* AND…. staining will not be completed until the temperature is around 20 degrees C. – that could mean summer for heaven’s sake. At one point I had suggested that the Venetians not be re-attached until the staining is done. Hhhhhmmm re-thinking that and the window is just too big and the street too busy to leave without a covering.

The nice Pella sales Rep. came over today on his lunch hour and looked at the situation and will re-involve the installer this Friday afternoon. Did I mention that the venetians don’t fit anymore? We had expected that they would be slightly smaller leaving a bit of a gap, with which I was fully able to accept. However NOW, they won’t fit into the casement area, quite a different story. No doubt they will come up with some solution, they’ve certainly been very capable to this point.

(*pretty interesting website, coloured the cat several different colours as a warning to mine!)

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Exactly How ...

















Exactly how did I offend the Gods? We, meaning the cats and I, we are in the middle of a window replacement. Yesterday the temperature was a balmy 15 Centigrade, 59 degrees F, for the non-converted, today … snow. The pictures tell the story … snow covered ladder, large window not finished with manufacturer’s stickers affixed … a tree of two minds, heavy snow on one side, lighter on the other – neither one of my liking!

“Molly” the SMART car had a well deserved bath yesterday, weeks of mud, salt and crud left at the local hand wash place. She is now, at this minute, sitting on the street rather than in her garage because I am waiting for the Pella guys to come and park on the pad in front of the garage door. The Pella guys who were SO punctual yesterday, so eager to get on with it … it is now 9:00AM; they were here between 8:00 and 8:30 yesterday. The cats are imprisoned, much to their chagrin, in fact I heard some thumping against the door and I’m guessing that Precious would be the “thumper” with Spook more than willing to make good an escape should Precious be successful.

Not much to be done, it is what it is. This too shall pass and while present, offers an interesting learning opportunity.

Monday, March 12, 2007

Not Complaining BUT...



Not complaining BUT … what is that evil smelling stuff that they extrude to fill the cracks around the window frame??? Yes indeed, the Pella folk were here on time and have been working rather steadily throughout the day. The removal of the old glass in one piece was a site to behold. Heavy work, dangerous, not very glamorous yet very necessary. Prior to their lunch break they reached the stage of extruding foam around the new glass and window frame. At first there didn’t seem to be much smell … I retract that sentiment. There is definitely a strong chemical odour and I’m sure, “this too shall pass”.

The girlz are upstairs in the master bedroom with a litter tray, water, crunchies and a pair of BAD ATTITUDES! Every time I’ve gone into the room – after all, is MY room they have tried to escape and fortunately for me, they’ve yet to learn cooperative warfare. Spook is pretty easy to shoo away as she is timid – except when biting and if it looks like I’m about to pick her up she will scoot under the bed to avoid my grasp. Precious, who, I believe, has never, ever been mishandled or abused, tends to be pushy and not easily dissuaded from her chosen course of action. Pssst! In a harsh voice only seems to interest her more rather than act as a sign of impending danger.

So I’m curious. What retaliation do you suppose they have planned for the dark hours of night as I lay snoozing and wheezing? What plots have they been hatching? Perhaps there will be an all night game of stair racing? Perhaps the infrequent game of tag where one or the other feels a compelling need to short cut across the bed with a step and a bounce, the step being on the bed, the bounce being on my body.

The only down side to all of this window business is the fact that the staining of the sash will have to wait until it is warmer out to insure that it “takes” properly. This means no window dressing until who knows when. It made no sense to me to have them put the Venetian blinds up only to have to have them removed for the staining activity. Well no doubt …. More to follow…..

Sunday, March 11, 2007

You Will Be Amazed Before You Are Half Way Thru....


I amaze even myself … here I am, knowingly, not well, and puttering at the most inane thing. Tomorrow the place will be crawling with workers (I hope!) installing a replacement for a 12’ window – that is casing, frame, glass, et al, followed by reinstallation of the blinds and staining to oak, the interior woodwork. Yes, must move furniture. At the moment, I am pushing paper. While thinking about this I’ve come to this conclusion….

Perhaps I am willing to do the thing that requires the LEAST amount of effort, something that has to be done, eventually …. so if I get tired I can just quit and go rest. I don’t do “sick” well. I resent it, hate slowing, hate the feeling of being tired for no good reason and hate not being able to get on with my life. I know I have limited chest capacity by just the sheer effort of hiking my body up the five flights of seven stairs to the upper filing/computer room. At this point, I husband my resources and have little piles of “in transit” stuff on the sides of the stairs, some going up, some going down. As I sit typing I think to myself, perhaps on my next trip up, I will pull the furniture away from the bay window and put the “stuff” away … then that will be done, Yes?

On the other hand … I could just walk up the three flights to the kitchen table and finish organizing receipts and what not from my final and may I say SUCCESSFUL completion of my 2006 taxes ahead of time – thus defusing my accountants “pissed-offed-ness” – which was at MAX capacity this year. The poor guy really doesn’t realize how much I loath numbers AND satisfying “the government”, forgetting for the moment, that like it or not I AM the government….. sigh I really am a miniature anarchist and have the theory that I can spend the money I am suppose to send them annually in SO MUCH better a fashion, bring ME so much more pleasure than what THEY ever do …. what’s a girl to do, eh?

Time to, as my parents would say, when I was a very little girl and I suspect they still saw me as sweet and innocent … “time to climb wooden hill” …. referring to the steep, hardwood staircase that led to the upper level of our home, where the bedrooms were located …

Saturday, March 10, 2007

Sniff, Snozzle, Wheezzzz, Cough



Just a short entry today as I struggle with what I hope is a head cold and also, what I hope does not trigger my asthma. It amazes me that INSIDE of ones ears and the back of one’s eye balls can itch so severely. I’m told that coughing, sniffling and other oozing activities from the neck up are related to the body trying to rid itself of the virus. I wish it would hurry up about it!

Pella people (window installers) are coming on Monday and I MUST be ready for them – furniture away from the bay window, bric-a-brac, plants, etc. The job was arranged months ago so I’m not willing to say “No thanks another time perhaps”. Fortunately I have all of Sunday and I can work at my own pace. I’d like them in and OUT ASAP.

That’s it for now folks!

Friday, March 09, 2007

I'm Baaaa-aaa-cckkkk....



The rumours of my having reached the “vanishing point” are somewhat exaggerated although, I must admit to having been buried in paper, bits of paper, pieces of paper, history, ink, adding and wishing that I really did have an accounting firm working for me called “Wee Cheatum and Howe” instead of the honest guy I DO have – what a pain, needing to prove every single little itsy-bitsy thingy. Unfortunately the following captures the act of FILING taxes quite well … yeah … you file them and THEN what??? We fall for it every time....sometimes the filing is the EASY part, not so easy, the paying ... (especially if one has a bit of, shall we say ...hhhmmm grasshopper tendencies!

On a more positive note, all the paper work has allowed me to monitor the cats at work. This picture shows the utter and complete exhaustion experienced by Spook after a vigorous round of “paper bag hiding”.

The activity itself. No wonder the better part of the day is spent napping!

Sunday, March 04, 2007

Wandering Around Animal Time



This seems to be the story of my life these days. On the other hand, I am absolutely grateful for the unfolding that I am experiencing although at times it gets a little tedious. Some days I think ....

Everyday just about, I haul my sorry butt to the exercise "club" (now I know why it is called a "club" - as in something to beat yourself over the head) and yet I sympathize with the two below:


 
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