Clara is Soooooooo Grumpy

This cold snap we are experiencing is making our Clara, Clara, Ding Dong a very GRUMPY cat. She yells at me to let her out. With the wind chills the last few days it has bee anywhere from -35 to -45 degrees c. That is far too cold to let her out for even a few minutes. I had to go to Safeway this evening and took my mitten off to drive for a bit, my fingers just about froze. With any luck this is supposed to break tomorrow sometime. Tonight is supposed to be the coldest night of the whole year!!!!! I will try to post a phot of our snow in the nest few days. It just has to be somewhat warmer to brave going out to take a picture.

O The Weather Outside Is Frightful %@#&

I am officially tired of this NASTY weather we have been getting!!!!! It is SOOOOOOOOOOOO COLD and the WIND makes it even worse. The other night it took me about an hour and a quarter to get from Capilano Tim's to Gateway. Most of that time was spent going 10 to 20 km on 50th street. By the time I got to the Whitemud, I was frozen as it seems that my car needs to be going some speed for the heat to blast out!!!! :( :( I really don't know why 50th street is so slow lately. It seems that no matter what time I leave the house, between 4:00 and 4:45, the traffic is horrific and it takes forever to get to the Whitemud. I think that I will leave around 3:30 today and see if that is any better.

Clara is going 'stir crazy' as I won't let the little thing outside in this weather. It's for her own good though as she could freeze her paws or ears very quickly even if I let her out for 15 minutes. Of course the other 2 cats don't seem to care. Oscar likes to look out the window at the snow falling and hopes to see some birds fly by (I think!!!). Soonie also enjoys looking out the window, just to see the world she has never known!!!!!!!

Yesterday, Bruce and I 'flipped' the living room around (just for a change). We still need to move the china cabinet to make room for the Christmas tree. I wanted to make a change in there, just because and also because I bought a new table and chairs that I hope we'll get this week. It is an OAK veneer round table with a hidden leaf and 4 chairs. I decided it was time to retire the glass table and the chairs have seen better days. One of them is VERY RICKETY and the screws won't stay in. I still have a bit more stuff to do today as I have had my craft stuff around and want to get it put away, yet easily accessible so I can continue to do some things.

Other than that I have been trying to get most of my Christmas shopping done along with other things that I have on my agenda re: bowling stuff. I may even get the urge to do a bit of baking this year. Although we really don't need it. It would be nice to have in case we get company or something.

Better go for now. Keep WARM!!!!! as it's Very Cold outside. BRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!

What About Horatio?????

Do you watch CSI Miami? I do and the more I watch it the more Horatio Cain drives me batty. Have you noticed he is always the first one in to catch the criminals with his gun drawn?

Tonight's episode was the icing on the cake. They were trying to solve the murder of a young woman that eventually led to drug smuggling and a terrorist plot against the city of Miami. Homeland Security was brought into this. In the end, it was discovered that the drug smugglers/terrorists were going to blow up a nuclear plant with a semi full of explosives. Of course Horatio was there to SAVE the day and was front and center of the road block with a big gun to stop this terrorist plot. A little far-fetched for a Crime Scene Investigator, if you ask me!!!!!!!!!

What do you think of the plotlines on D.H.? I am disappointed in how they ended the Nora/Lynette/Tom storyline. Nora was killed in the grocery store and Kayla was sent to live with her grandmother. What's with that????? They made such a BIG deal of the 2 of them moving to Whisteria Lane and Tom and Lynette buying a house for them so Tom could get to know his daughter. Now she's living with Grandma!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This thing with the body found at the golf course and Mike is a little out-to-lunch too. Wasn't Mike in a coma for 6 months? The body that Orson and Bree saw in the morgue on their wedding day wasn't that badly decomposed that they couldn't identify it. Also, the police don't seem to believe that Mike has amnesia and are certainly intent on pinning the murder on him and not trying to find out who ran him down in the street on the night he was going to ask Susan to marry him. Is the new neighbour a pedophile? I guess we will have to wait and see on that. Do you think that Gabrielle and Carlos will find their way back to each other? Will Mike figure out how Edie tricked him? Will Susan and Mike get together? Since Lynette was shot, there hasn't been any mention of Tom's pizza place either.

Let's get with it writers!!!!!!!

Giving Myself a Pat on the Back!!!!

I am pretty proud of myself this year. I have gotten a good handle on my Christmas shopping and am just about ready to send a parcel off to Illinois in the next week or 10 days. I have also made several things and made all my Christmas Cards (though they were a kit, but who cares!!!!!).

We are doing okay here. Both Bruce and I have been battling bad backs lately and have been using the heating pads quite regularly. I think I slipped either yesterday or possibly today and sort of pulled my groin muscle on the top of my right leg. Very sore when I get up from a seated position until I've moved a bit. All the kitty cats are well. Oscar is still being quite affectionate with me. He will come and sit with me when we are alone in the house or he comes and sleeps with me at night when he knows no one will see (I swear he knows!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!). Clara has been happier lately as it has been warmer outside and she can go out. She has also begun showing up when we eat dinner/supper so we will let her lick off the plate. She got some chicken tonight and the other day she actually ate Kraft Dinner. Toodles is as lazy as ever. I think she sleeps 22 hours a day!!! But she sure is lovey.

We were supposed to go to Lethbridge this coming weekend for Bruce's aunt's birthday, but I don't think we can make it. Bruce is still so short staffed at the bowling centre. He just can't seem to find any good help.

Well I suppose that's about all for this night. I should go and rest my poor sore leg :(

What A Great ?????? Day

Well, it seems that winter is now really upon us. It snowed ALL DAY today and the roads are horrific!!!!! I should have just stayed home in my warm house tonight. I didn't have too much trouble out there, but there were several things that just did not make it a nice drive to the bowling centre this evening.

Luckily, the traffic wasn't too bad as a lot of people had the day off today for the Remembrance Day holiday. Lately, 50th street is a nightmare and today was NO exception. At the switching yard railway crossing, the lights were flashing and the barriers were down.....But NO Train!!!! That meant that the 4 lanes of traffic had to converge to the centre lanes and go around the barriers. Of course, there are the few a$$holes that think that they should be at the head of the lineup and just keep going until they have to pull over. These are the type of drivers that I just can't stand. Then, if you don't let them cut in front of you, they think you're the a$$hole. Well guys....................take a good look in the mirror. We all had to be in that line of cars before we had our chance to pull over!!!!!

Then there are all the drivers in pick-up trucks and SUV's. I swear, they ALL think they own the roads. Most of them are so ignorant and only care about themselves and how quick they can get to their destination. There was a semi that was turning the corner in the new industrial area on 50th street (where Alberta Transportation used to be), that hit a vehicle turning out of there. So all the curb lane traffic had to swing out a bit to go around the back end of his trailer. This idiot in a SUV decided that I didn't need all of my lane to do that and almost took my side with him.

Lastly, you all know how much I LOVE ???????? cyclists.....well I LOVE them even LESS in the snowy road conditions we have out right now. Anyone who ride a bike on major roadways when the weather is soooooo crappy are destined to be tomorrow's news. This idiot I had to go around tonight was carrying 2 large garbage bags, probably filled with cans and bottles. How absolutely STUPID!!!!

So, that was what it was like for me today on the roads!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's Happened Again!!!!!

God must have decided that I should not own a good quality set of dishes. It's happened again for the second time.......my pattern has been discontinued!!!!!

Jill and Jen were asking me a while ago as to what they could get me for Christmas. I suggested that some more of my dishes might be a good idea as I have only a partial set of 4 place settings. Jen and Daisy stopped by this afternoon and Jen was telling me that my pattern was discontinued. I couldn't believe it!!!! It is a NEW pattern of DENBY POTTERY and has only been out for about 2 1/2 years. Makes me really mad!!!!!!!!!!

I have been sort of busy the last while. Puttering around the house, doing laundry etc. I also have been doing some crafts and a bit of Christmas Shopping!!! I have made all my Christmas cards and have started writing my Christmas letter. Crazy, isn't it????? I have just been in the mood this year. Plus I started picking little things up as I saw them since we were on holidays.

Not much else going on. I think that winter has arrived a little early this year though. There has been snow on the ground for nearly 2 weeks now. YUK!!! We also had freezing rain both Monday and Tuesday nights. I was outside the bowling centre on Monday night when it started pouring rain. VERY WEIRD!!!!!!!!!!!!! Today I had to go to Ed's at WEM and the roads were just horrendous. As long as you take it easy, it's not too bad driving except that it's SLOW.

What does everyone think of the happenings on Whisteria Lane so far this year? I was rather put off with the Tom/Lynette/Nora storyline as I thought that Tom and Lynette were whimps at letting Nora walk all over them. But the hostage story in the grocery store last week was a tragic ending to it! Do you think that Gaby and Carlos will reconcile? Bree and Orson are quite the couple!!!! It should be fun to see what transpires when his mother is added to the mix.

That's all for tonight. Gotta get some sleep and rest my back. I slipped on some ice in the parking lot near Ed's today and kinda wrenched it.

I Wonder Who's Going To Lose?????

First off, don't anyone die of shock after seeing 2 posts in as many days!!!!!!

So the point to this post is......I was watching an episode of 'Everyone Loves Raymond' tonight and it struck me quite funny and then I had these visions of what my girls would do. You see Robert and Raymond were arguing over who was going to have to take care of Marie, their mother, if Frank died first. Now Marie had been doing everything in her power to get the 2 boys to do something for her even though they had plans to go golfing. She finally made them feel so guilty that they built the shelves before heading out. Of course they find out that she was scheming to one-up-manship a friend by showing her that her boys do lots of wonderful thing s for her. This causes the 2 grown men to fight about who would get her.

Do you think that the 3 girls would have a bowling match to see who would get me?? Maybe a race would be better. Now comes the hard part, will the winner get me or will the loser??? Would any one of them say....."Okay, I'll take her because I know she loves me the most!!!". Or possibly, "No I'll take her because I love her the most!!!". Perhaps, they will just ship me off to some home for 'elderly mothers'!!!!! tehehehehe:) Anyway, I thought it was kind of an amusing scenario.

All in good fun :) :) :)

I'm Really Still Alive!!!!

I'm not sure where the time goes, but yes, I'm still alive here. I seem to be quite busy these days, although it really isn't very interesting. Lately I've been crocheting. I have made some Christmas gifts and also a baby blanket for the newest arrival in Bruce's family. His niece, Michelle, had her second baby boy on the 17th of September. I decided to crochet a blanket for him and I also made a scarf for baby #1, who just turned 2 on the 6th of September. I've also made some Christmas ornaments and some cards. I'm finding it so much easier to do these things now that I have gotten my new progressive lenses and don't have to work so hard to do any close-up reading or work. I don't know why I waited so long to do it???????? Silly me !!:)

Bruce is doing pretty good. Last week, he had some bad back pain and stayed home from work one day and came home early the day before that. He is SUPER busy at work these days as they are seriously under-staffed. There is a staffing stortage here. Every place is looking for workers. Lots of places are offering $500 to $1000 signing bonuses. Hopefully, the guy he fired this week will work out and ease the burden. He has been working 5 and 1/2 days a week for the last 6 weeks. He printed off his hours for this week tonight and already had 38.5 hours and still has another day and a half to go.

This year is going to be very busy for me with all the bowling things. We are hosting 3 national tournaments this season plus the Youth Scholarship Tournament and all other regular events. I am on the committee for the CTF (Canadian Tenpin Federation) Youth Nationals. There is a lot of work to do there as we must fund the event along with all of the other work that is involved. It's scary as we, as the organizing host committee, we want to run a first class event for the youth bowlers from across Cananda.

The pussy cats are doing quite well. Clara is quite put out with this wintry weather we have had since last weekend. We got our first snowfall and it has stayed and the temperatures are rather cold. When I came home from bowling tonight, she thought she would like to go outside but then thought better. Soonie is the same as she always is.....cuddly and FAT. She hates her new song that I sing to her.......to the tune of Lollipop, Lollipop, it goes something like this............Toodle Bug Toodle Bug, my little Toodle Bug. Toodle Bug, Toodle Bug my little cuddle bug or purry bug or furry bug (you can get the jist, I think!!!). Then there is Oscar....he's as funny as ever. He follows me into the bathroom and purrs and purrs and rubs my legs when I'm on the throne looking for his pats. The night before last, I woke up at about 4 am and was watching T.V. and he came over to see me and I motioned for him to jump up and sit with me. To my utter amazement, he did. He cuddled with me and purred and purred for a good hour. He has also been sleeping at my feet more. He's such a goofy boy!!!!!!!

Well, I suppose I've bored you all enough with details of my rather uneventful existence, compared to most of you who have REAL jobs, so I will close for tonight as I'm quite tired.