JUNE 30 - Flowers, Rain and zzzzzzzzzzzzz

This was really a Day Off - a day off from everything. Steve and I drove (well, Steve drove, I sat) to Richmond this morning to pick up a trunk, and on the way back we stopped at a Flea Market. No fleas, but Steve was so happy - there was a guy selling off nursery plants at $5 per flat. So we filled the truck, came home, and when Howard saw them, he and Steve went back for more.

 Geraniums - how gorgeous are they? I remember Nurse Morris from 'back home' had her front porch (sunroom?) decked out with geraniums.

Two hanging baskets for $8 each. Even though today was another ultra-rainy day, the truck carried beauty home. If it's not raining tomorrow (which it's supposed to do, even though it's Canada Day and hopefully the clouds will take their stat holiday) I may come home from work to a more blooming garden.

In the afternoon, I just became a boneless jellyfish and lounged around, napping inbetween happenings on a taped Coronation Street, and finishing off Christine between those. I popped leftover Fish from last night in the oven to heat up for supper - I thought it was fine, Howard not so much. Then just as I was deciding to go to bed for a really early night, I realized I have 3 days of work coming up and I needed to do laundry. So I'm tapping and the washer's swishing.

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Ham and Cheese Sandwich, Yogurt
• Dinner - Fish, Fruit Salad 
• Snacks - Even though there is nothing in the house to eat, I managed to snack on and off during the day. Since most of this was done during my dozing off hours, I can't remember what I ate though. Hopefully it wasn't my pillow. 

JUNE 29 - Weather, Fish and Nothing Much Else

Day Off tomorrow! Yeah!

Summer may actually be getting nearer. I don't care what the calendar says, if I have to wear my hooded jacket to work, it's not summer. I walked up to Steve's a couple of nights ago, and noted it was a beautiful evening - for October. This afternoon actually warmed up a bit, and it's 21 on my computer screen  right now - that's supposed to be Surrey temps according to the Weather Network icon. However, I have the feeling it will probably rain tomorrow. If this is Global Warming, then I don't like it.

Howard just came in - he was sitting on the front porch listening to JR FM - country music. Goes well with the smell of exotic spices (curry) from our neighbours' kitchens.

'Do you know what the temperature is at the airport?' he asked.
'21.'

'Oh well .... ' and he went back out, sort of deflated, and amazed at how much one can learn while sat tapping all evening.

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Subway Chicken Noodle Soup, Yummy
• Dinner - Mr Pickwick's Fish 'n ' Chips. Now, I don't know where Mr Pickwick gets his fish, but one piece of fish is about as big as a whale. Double that and there is enough food there to feed a small army. I know for sure he supplied the 2 fish that went along with the 5 loaves to feed the multitudes. Needless to say, we have enough leftover fish in the fridge to last probably until Christmas. Also had coleslaw, a few onion rings, and a ginger ale. Now I can hardly move. Groan.
• Snacks - Iced Mocha, Coconut/Cinnamon Muffin. Now THAT was a Muffin. Yummy. 

If there are any 'new' readers out there, you may like to check out the posts on this older blog of mine. You may find a few smiles there!
http://tamarsdayoff.blogspot.ca/

JUNE 28 - Boozeless Hangover, Roses and Owls

Really tried to recuperate today at work, but no such luck. I was so glad there was no nasty long list of Things To Do - I found it hard enough to stand behind the counter looking pretty, to tell the truth. Home to bed and  a taped Coronation Street - but then I had to get up to do my 'chores' - a few dishes, Howard's lunch (smell the onions and burgers? I just made him two hamburgers. My tummy's rolling), and off course, my Flog, which on nights like this does seem a chore.

The coffee I had at 5 AM only just barely got me to Steveston, and I had to reinforce it with a Medium (which is really a Large in my opinion) coffee at McDonalds. Of course that came with a Sausage and Egg McMuffin. I ran out of that particular steam late afternoon and tried to replace it with an Iced Mocha - I'm sure all the caffeine will kick in the moment I put my head on the pillow.

I stopped to smell roses that actually smell like roses on my way to work. These beauties are in the park by the Post Office/Tourist Information place/Museum in Steveston. My coffee waited patiently while I waited for the wind to stop blowing the petals. Never happened.

My latest project - aren't they the cutest owl fingerless gloves you've ever seen in your life? I showed them to Howard, but he didn't give a hoot about them.

And on that note - I'm going to chug down my Baileys and shut everything down for the night.

JULY 27 - Good Friends, Memories, and Sore Feet

This post really belongs in my Tamar Shags Off blog, but it's going here anyway, as I'm too wiped to write two postings tonight. Thanks to my friend, I'm almost too tired to write this one, as she was dragging me all over Vancouver.

My day started with a bus/Sky Train ride into Vancouver to visit Graham and Audrey, who are friends from my other life, when we were all teachers in a small Newfoundland community.  I got off the train at Granville Station, and then headed up to the Sunset Inn, which I thought was very appropriate  for a couple celebrating their 40th anniversary. It was a longish walk, but very straightforward - walk up Seymour, cross over to Davie, walk up Davie until you see a great big Sunset Inn sign in the sky, keep walking to Thurlow, then turn up an alley that of course had no entrance to the Inn unless you drove in the underground parking, keep walking up to the next main street, walk over a bit, and turn down Burnaby Street, keep walking until you figure you're near the city limits, and there you are.

While I was waiting for Audrey to come git me, a nice young couple with a baby stroller left the lobby. You can be assured that I was surprised when she looked at me and said, "Mrs. Vokey?"

Yes, it was Mr and Mrs Wayne Pond's young maiden, Jennifer, with her husband and beautiful baby daughter, Avery. Now, if you believe there are no coincidences if life, this proves you wrong. Because, if I had taken the bus to the hotel, I would have missed them. If I had gone on inside and not waited for Audrey to meet me, I would have missed them. And they didn't know Audrey and Graham were staying at the same hotel until then, so there Jennifer was with three of her grade school teachers, way across the country at a hotel near downtown Vancouver. I would certainly call that a coincidence.

It was so .... wonderful ... to see Graham and Audrey again after all these years.

We had a few reminiscincesces (whatever) then Audrey and I took off for an afternoon on the Town. Lunch first though, at Hamburger Mary's on Bute and Davie.

I ordered a Pulled Pork Sandwich with Fries, and Audrey ordered a Hot Roast Beef Sandwich with Fries. She actually ordered a Hot Turkey Sandwich, but the turkey who was supposed to take the turkey out of the freezer forgot to do so. We ate, drank and were indeed maryed.

Mine in the foreground. Sandwich was good, but my recipe is better, naturally.  ( Pulled Pork and Coleslaw  - if you want to try mine.) Lots of food, however, the plates were piled high, and half of mine came home with me and ended up as a pre-dinner snack (I didn't know Howard was going to order pizza.)

Then we went walking, downhill mostly, to Sunset Beach (there's that word again) and English Bay Beach. It was so nice to spend some time near the water again, the sky was gorgeous with cotton candy clouds and the breeze was fresh. 

Audrey's pose reminded me of a Christmas verse I wrote for them many many years ago:

Graham gets the Christmas tree

And Audrey's up the stump

Merry Christmas to you both

And to your little lump.

We took in some West Coast Art -

 -

This guy thought my joke was really funny. When I look at the picture, all I can see is my mom trying to whisper in his ear.

It was a wonderful day - up to the time I hugged goodbye (outside a gay bar) and headed back to the Sky Train station. I walked down Davie, then turned when I shouldn't have turned, and walked way past where I should have walked, and ended up God Knows Where. I knew I was out of bounds when I came to the Burrard Bridge. So I cut down a street, and walked too far that way, then cut across in what I hoped was the right direction and obviously walked too far that way too. I stopped a nice looking lady to ask her if I was headed for the Sky Train station.

 She looked at me and said, "Tak , to jest przez tamtędy."  

So I kept on walking .... and walking .... and walking. It took me about half an hour to walk to the Sunset Inn - it took me an hour and a half to walk back. Then it was an ultra-crowded train ride home, with standing room only, between a guy whose elbow was higher than my head and a group of Asian teens who were never taught to cover their mouths when they coughed and sneezed.

Home was indeed sweet - with many thanks from my poor sore feet - I'm glad my feet weren't like these feet, let me tell ya!

JUNE 26 - Day Off, Should I Get My Ears Checked? and Masked Bandit

Day Off. Yes, I know what you're thinking - I was supposed to be working, it's a Tuesday, and did I forget? Well, no, I didn't forget - the schedule is turned a bit upside down, and my Day Offs this week are a meager Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday.

I had one of these boring Do Nothing Much days, and accomplished very little. Therefore, I have nothing of significance to write about (which is why I'm using big words.) Chris and Lizzie hung out with us for a while, and part of our Dinner conversation was astounding.

Me: Come on, now, eat your dinner. After all, Nanny is the best cook in all the world - right, Poppy?
Poppy: Right. 

Although it wasn't said with conviction, at least it was said. Well, knock me over with a feather.

Scratch my comment about a boring day I just realized I have to stop feeding two stray cats that come snooping at my back door, for I just had a really heart-bopping experience. I had my door open so Blackie  could come in, and what should come to the door instead but a bloody big Raccoon. Yes, and my phone camera could only capture the darkness, so I don't have proof. But this guy just stood there looking in, and didn't even run away when I shooed him away. I went out ... he walked a few feet away, then started back casually. I even threw a plastic bowl at him and I swore he said Thanks under his breath. I was freaking out, he just meandered through a hole in the fence, and then the garden rake and I had a panicky search for Blackie . Teaser (yes, I finally named my Used Cat) was already in, and when I found Blackie I grabbed him and we weren't long getting inside and locking the door behind us. There was a point when Teaser and the Raccoon were nose to nose at opposite sides of the glass door, Teaser growling and Raccoon just staring.

Actually, looking back on my experience, Raccoon was rather cute. Maybe I should put some food out for him ..... NOT!

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Egg Sandwich, Cheese
• Dinner - Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Dressing
• Snacks - Wafer Bar, teeny tiny Ginger Ale, Rhubarb Muffin, more Coffee and about 10000 calories of miscellaneous stuffs - don't ask.

JUNE 25 - Burgers, Nasty Cars, and Memories

It's 10:16 PM and I get to sit down for a few minutes before bedtime. Where did this day go? I know a lot of it went to work, and work kept me pretty busy (for a change.) After, Howard picked me up at the Sky Train station, and we went to Dairy Queen for dinner - and let me tell ya, Dairy Queen ain't no A&W. But then, one wouldn't expect it to be, would one. My treat, as I sold one of my baby sweaters at work. It's really amazing that this -

- could turn into this -

- and most possibly will soon turn into this -

However. We went to Steve's for a few minutes, where I barely missed a bucket of water that came flying off the patio (not the bucket, just the water that was in it,) and grabbed 3 stalks of rhubarb from the huge plant in his back yard. Then it was home to do Egg Salad and sandwiches for a man's lunch tomorrow (there aren't any leftovers when it comes to fast food) and some Rhubarb Muffins for same lunch. Don't I have a lucky man? Then dishes, coffee - same old, same old.

The best part of my day was chatting to a former colleague of mine from back home. Audrey was the Grade 2 teacher when I was the Grade 4 teacher, and we have a bunch of memories from the 'Good Old Days.' We're meeting up on Wednesday - so be sure to tune in on Wednesday night (assuming Graham or Howard will come up with our bail.)

By the way, still no Eagle sightings. I've just about given up fighting for the Eagle-viewing seats on the bus, and have instead started one of my long overdue Bucket List items - rereading Stephen King's books. I was going to start at Carrie and read them in the order he wrote them. I finished reading Carrie yesterday on the way home, but I screwed up this morning and grabbed Christine on my way to work. It should have been Salem's Lot. Oh well.

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - share soup and sandwich day - Lentil Soup, which left a fiery taste in my mouth, and a stale bread sandwich - the first time ever I was disappointed with Steveston Bakery, both in the soup and the sandwich category. 
• Dinner - Cheeseburger, Fries and diet Pepsi
• Snacks - wafer bar, ice-cream (not Dairy Queen, though) NO hot chocolate though! and NO pudding! (now I want pudding.)

ps - don't tell Christine I called her a Nasty Car

JUNE 24 - Sky Train, Rerun, and Boredom

Seems like a lot of people don't bother going to work on Sunday morning, so I got the 'driver's seat' on the Sky Train this morning. It reminded me of when Howard and I went Double Decker Busing when we had the miniest of all mini vacations on  Vancouver Island  a few years ago.

Here's the view in front of me, sitting on a still train looking over King George Boulevard towards Surrey Central Mall. Howard was the first one of us to notice, shortly after we moved here, that the mall's top is shaped like an airplane. It is a bit hard to see it in this picture - if I had known I would get the pilot's seat, I would have brought the real camera and its zoom lens.

It's not really easy to get a good picture with the train rumbling on the tracks at God knows how many miles per hour. I also forgot I wasn't really good with heights, and the train does travel a bit high, and it is especially scary when the track disappears in a curve just a few feet ahead.  Here we are travelling over the Sky Bridge, way up high above the Fraser River. I don't think I'll sit in this seat again.

The day passed in a kind of blur. Work wasn't very busy, but the day seemed to pass quickly. I got off the bus at the Richmond Centre on my way home to pick up my 2 knitting magazines - although I was so engrossed in finishing Stephen King's Carrie that I almost missed the stop. Howard had dinner almost ready when I got home, and then there were a few Had-To-Do Things before I earned the right to sit and tap. It will soon be bedtime, and I think I'll be asleep as soon my head touches the pillow.

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Ham and Cheese Sandwich, Hot Chocolate, Wafer Bar
• Dinner - Sloppy Joe hamburger stuff with Bread, Yogurt
• Snacks - Wafer bar, a tiny can of Ginger Ale, and a couple of toffee candy, and a Fruit Smoothie

JUNE 23 - Storms, Schooner, and Baby with Cupcakes

A sunny and kinda windy day ended in more huge rain showers and high winds.

Howard attached a tarp above the front porch to direct the rain from the front of the house - then sat on the porch reminiscing about the time he and 'the old man' spent a stormy night on the J&B on their way home from St John's.

On closer inspection, you can see how appropriately he was dressed for the summer weather. He said on the J&B he was wearing sneakers, but standing in knee-deep water. I think he and his dad had a pretty terrifying night being tossed about on stormy seas and not being able to see anything because of heavy fog. Lack of radar and radio must have made it seem even more terrifying.

However, storms do pass - when the morning came and everything became visible again, they found themselves off Catalina, quite a distance from home.  Our afternoon storm passed by within the hour, declaring itself with only one loud clap of thunder and a weak lightning flash. The tarp held steady - the scotch tape and twist ties did their job. I'm not kidding. Really.

Waylon and Jessi - Storms Never Last - the video quality of this is not so great, but if you have an 'other' that looks at you the way Waylon looks at Jessi, consider yourself blessed!

We just had a little visitor - Neil dropped by with Dominik, and of course Poppy had to offer him the messiest and sweetest thing he could find - one of Aunt Nikkie's chocolate cupcakes. Don't tell his mommy. Now I have to sweep the kitchen floor again.

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Ham and Cheese Sandwich, Orange
• Dinner - half a rubber wiener, oh-so-fresh Homemade Bread, warm and buttery and mmm-mmmm good
• Snacks - Aero bar, Baileys and Milk (I have to up my calcium and bubble intake), banana

JUNE 22 - Too Cold, Sports Day, and Bugs

I'm so glad the weather stayed nice for Chris's Sports Day. Lizzie and I walked down to cheer on the White Team - although the athletes were a wee bit unco-ordinated and didn't seem to care if they won any races, they were having a great time.

We cheered them on - Go, White Team, Go! - well, at least I did, Lizzie didn't see the entertainment value  - until I showed her a Hairy Granny caterpillar, which freaked her out and I ended up having to take her home.

I suppose I am a caterpillar racist. For example, I have no problem holding this type of caterpillar, and letting it crawl all over my arm, but I would do a Lizzie and run for a mile if one of these landed on my hand -

Pink isn't always cute and girly. Shiver. 

Anyhow, when I rescued her from the nasty caterpillars - yes, two, because when one of teachers came by, and I told him why she was upset, he reached down and picked up another to show her how easy they were to toss away - one minute she was standing on the grass, and the next she was up in my arms. So I brought her home - only to show her another wonderful piece of Nature in front of our house.

It's a bit hard to see, but there was s a big spider web here in front of the trees, and it had a big hole in the middle. I guess Miss Spider hadn't finished constructing it yet. Needless to say, Lizzie was really happy now to just stay indoors.

After lunch, I decided to take Breehy-hinny-brinny-hoohy-hah to Zellers, on the chance they may sell the foamie stuff you put inside your bicycle helmet when the original foamie stuff has crumbled away. Actually, I was going to be really nice and push Breehy up the hills, and then I was going to let her carry me downhills. I do try to be fair. 

I figured I would stop at the school and catch the last of the sports day fun on the way. Since I didn't want a whole schoolyard of children seeing me ride without a helmet (bad role model - or maybe, roll model?) and it's a pretty good downhill there (Breehy has squeaky brakes that would draw everyone's attention to the old woman with no helmet), I walked her to the field and caught the last few events, mainly 100 yd dashes and Tug O'War between the older kids. Then I hung around and walked Chris home. It was supposed to be home to his house, but he decided he would like to come to my house for just 3 minutes - his 3 minutes seem to be a lot longer than ours.

On the way here, it started to rain, and the wind started to get windier, so Breehy and I gave up our plans of going anywhere.

.

 

If we had, we would have been caught in heavy rain ... again. I guess I have to remind Howard to fix the gutter/downpipe connection in the back. He has two reasons it for not doing it  - when it's dry it doesn't need to be fixed, and he doesn't want to do it when it's pouring rain. 

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Left  Over Rice from last ... month, maybe? week? and Raisin Bread
• Dinner - Hamburger and Fries
• Snacks - Orange, Chocolate Pudding

I think the rain has finally stopped. I guess the clouds are busy collecting more drips and drops for tomorrow.

JUNE 21 - Too Hot, Allergies and Wild Nights (not really...)

Very warm today, at times (like when I was outdoors) it was a bit too warm for my liking. I really tried to force myself to take Breehy-hinny-brinny-hoohy-hah out for a ride, but wasn't too successful - blame it on a really low level of energy - and supposedly non-existing allergies. However, the past few weeks have turned me into the female version of this:

Now I'm glad it's almost 8pm and it's too late to go anywhere and do anything.

Yes. Way too late. I've come a long way from the early 70's, when I used to be getting home in time to wash my face and change my clothes before I headed up the school hill for a day behind the desk. I would actually be going upstairs after a night out at the same time Eliol would be heading downstairs after a night's sleep - this was during my first couple of years in Trinity, before Howard chased me until I caught him. Now I very rarely see him awake past 7:30 in the evening, although tonight he's doing very well, and if he doesn't go to sleep soon he's going to help me with the dishes, even though he's not aware of that yet.

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - 2 egg Omelet
• Dinner - Ham and Cheese Sandwich
• Snacks - Diet Pepsi,  two teeny tiny one-bite muffins that I made in a rush for Lizzie's pre-school 'party'

I am really tired, even though I did a whack of Diddly Squat today. Howard just informed me he's not interested in helping with the dishes. So I guess I'll go start with that, then do his lunch for tomorrow, get the coffee pot ready for an early morning brew, and go mining for kitty litter lumps.

JUNE 20 - Breehy-hinny-brinny-hoohy-hah, Game of Bat, and a Recipe

If this is summer, I'll take it! Beautiful sunny blue skies, wee bit of a breeze - enough of a weather change to bring about a change for me as well. After my wonderful morning duties, which were walking Chris to school, and sharing Tree House with Lizzie, I plopped myself on the bed with  Howard's and my pillows to watch yesterday's taped episode of Coronation Street, then headed off on a wonderful trip to Walmart.


When I usually go to Walmart, I can count on half an hour of walking each way, plus of course the time it takes to walk around the grocery section about fifty times until I find everything I need. This morning, though, it took me a mere 15 minutes to get there - thanks to Breehy-hinny-brinny-hoohy-hah. (I decided to name my bike after a fictional character in C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia.)

Needless to say, someone was very disappointed, even though I left through the side door so she wouldn't see me go.

Now, Breehy-hinny-brinny-hoohy-ha can't carry as many groceries as my faithful buggy, but she can take me there and back with very little energy on my part. The first few metres of our journey was slightly uphill, and my thighs were screaming in protest very quickly. However, I (and they) persevered, and by the time we got there and back, everything was fine. I wasn't a bit wobbly, and her tires were still nice and firm, unlike any part of me, so it was all good. It's really nice, actually, to just sit back and let those wheels coast round and round on the nice downhilly parts. I think it was the first time Breehy-hinny-brinny-hoohy-ha saw thousands of buttercups, too.

Chris and Lizzie came by after school, and when Howard came home, we all went out in front, where Chris found a yellow plastic ball. I found the big pink plastic  bat that came with the house, so we fooled around with that for a while. I was the pitcher, and Chris and Lizzie took turns batting and retrieving.

Chris said he loves playing Bat - and this pic shows I should stop fooling around with the buttons on my camera, as I somehow seemed to erase all the colour thingies on it. 

• Breakfast - Toast (Raisin Toast, of course) and Coffee
• Lunch - Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich. I would have had a Ham Sandwich, but wasn't sure how that would taste on Raisin Bread. I guess I'm not a very adventurous Foodie. Yogurt.
• Dinner - Beef Stew with my delicious Crust on top. I know I should have taken a picture before we started to eat - but here's some of what's left. As you can see, the Crust isn't really a crust, it's more of a ..... Bisquick type of stuff, but far better than any Bisquick stuff ever made. This calls for a Beef Stew with Crust Recipe  I guess.

• Snacks - Diet Pepsi, a few Special K Cracker Chips (and no, not the whole box. At least not yet.) And a Cranberry Muffin, just because I baked some.

JUNE 19 - back to my Flog

Tomorrow is the first day of Summer, although everybody I mentioned that to today disagreed with me, and said summer started on June 21.  I wouldn't have said it if I didn't know for sure. I figured that since this was a Leap Year, Summer was scheduled to start a day early, and the calendar I was looking at couldn't possible be wrong. After checking on the World Wide Web, I find my calendar and I are right (ahem.) Summer usually does start on June 21, but in the next Leap Year, which is 2016 (2016 divided by 4 = 504), it will start on June 20 also. So much for that.

I'm glad my 3 day work-week has finally come to an end, and I get to enjoy a whole big 4 Day Offs. Unfortunately, they always go by so quickly. I'm not sure what exciting adventures await me - hopefully something, as my posts lately are boring even me.

• Breakfast - Coffee and nice White Raisin Bread Toast 
• Lunch - half a Veggie Sandwich and a sparkling water from Steveston Coffee Co - these sandwiches are really, really delish, and my lunch today cost just over $5, which was a fine deal
• Dinner - Howard really enjoyed dinner tonight, as he cooked most of it. I cooked the Rice-a-Roni, under his watchful eye.  'Aren't you putting too much water in that?'  'No, that's what is calls for.' 'I would only put in half that much.'  'If you don't like the way I make it, why didn't you make it yourself?' (Someone always shuts up then.) And when we sat down to eat the lovely meal, which included chicken drummies, fries, Rice-a-Roni and gravy, I asked him if he liked the rice, which was superbly delicious and just the right amount of moistness - and he replied, 'It's okay.'
• Snacks - Hot Chocolate, to warm my frozen bones after a chilly bus ride preceded by a ten-minute wait at 22nd Street Station, the coldest bus stop in the Lower Mainland, a SMALL slice of Cranberry -get this- Omega 3 - Bread, yogurt, banana, and a little bit of Chocolate Pudding. Sounds like a lot, doesn't it. Oh yes, I forgot, I made a Baileys and Milk when I got home and it's sitting around somewhere, I forgot all about it, so if I find it, I will probably drink that too. Although I guess I could keep it for breakfast since I don't have to go to work tomorrow .....

JUNE 18 - Eagles (or lack thereof), Panini and Spiders

2 days down, 1 to go. I guess I'll muckle through it. No morning eagle this Monday, but my afternoon bus driver informed me that  he had actually thought that was an abandoned nest, as he hadn't seen an eagle there in years, and was surprised to see one a couple of times over the past few weeks. He seems to know a bit more about the birds than a former bus driver, who told me only males have white heads, and said this one may have gone looking for a good fishing spot. So, I guess from now on, I can go to sleep as soon as the bus leaves 22nd Street station in the morning, rather that staying sort of awake until after No 8 Road.

The best part of my work day was lunch. I went looking for something different other than the soup and sandwich Pauline and I usually share on Mondays - even though the Steveston Bakery makes the best soup (so far) and really good sandwiches, I thought we should try something new. So I went to Alegria Cafe on 1st Avenue to see what they had to offer.

Of course we ended up with Soup and Sandwich to share. But this sandwich was a Chicken Panini, with Bruschetta, Havarti, and Spinach. I'm not sure what kind of bread it was, but the sandwich was very yummy. The soup - Split Pea - needed a bit more seasoning, and wasn't as good as mine. Pauline thought she detected a touch of curry in it, but that escaped my taste buds - my allergies have me all stuffed up so everything was probably a lot tastier than I thought. However, I think it was a bit overpriced at just under $14,  so I probably won't be going back very often .. or very soon.

The spider plant wasn't part of the meal. I bought it at the thrift store for a buck fifty, and hope it lives long and prospers at our house.

So far on my Favourite List:

Steveston Bakery - Soup

The Cannery Cafe - Sandwiches, Carrot Cake

Steveston Coffee Co - Hot Chocolate

Steve called after I got home and into my jammies, and asked us up for supper. I felt pretty wiped, so decided to stay home, but Howard went, leaving me with a couple of evening hours to myself. Raisin Bread, Beans and Chocolate Pudding for my supper, and very few dishes to wash. See me smile. Now just got to get the coffee pot ready for the early morning brew, and it's beddy time.

JUNE 17 - Praise to the Cook (Me!), Steveston Market

It's been a long day, and I don't have anything uplifting or jolly to write about. Sorry.

Work was ho-hum, ranging from the 'We'll buy our yarn here but go to Michaels to buy our needles' to the 'Just looking but I'll need to talk to you for 20 minutes anyway just in case I change my mind.'

I came home to a complaining husband. You may ask, Why was he complaining? And I would have to answer, Pick a topic, any topic.

 Maybe he didn't appreciate having to cook dinner on Father's Day, even though he had nothing to complain about regarding the meal. He actually said, "Well, that was a fine feed!"

I almost fainted with surprise. He actually praised a meal.

I guess I'm complaining now, sorta kinda.

I walked around Steveston Market this afternoon, and was surprised to see a Food Truck there selling - yes, you guessed it (maybe) - Poutine. And they offered a bacon topping. I did walk past it, but I was sorely tempted, and may not be able to pass by in two weeks time when they come back. You could also buy wood-fired-oven Pizza, or sausages on buns, plus the usual chocolate, baked goods, Kettle Corn, and - get this - Local  Strawberries. Now, I didn't think the strawberries were ripe enough for picking yet, let alone selling at any market. I would probably think these strawberries had a little border crossing trip to get to Steveston this morning and should have probably been labeled as Immigrant Strawberries. But then again, I could be wrong. (Yes, it is possible.) If I had to sell my little strawberries now, I would have to advertise them as albino preemies.

I read that people who read blogs like lots of pictures - is that true? If so, I must start taking more pics. They would help, too, when I run out of words ... like now, for instance ....

JUNE 16 - I Phone, (now maybe He'll Phone), Poutine, and Muffin Wars

Day 4 off - of course, it didn't just rain, it absolutely poured. I know you can't see the rain falling, but notice the wet driveway, and the vibrantly green grass, which in itself is proof of many waterings.

However, the rain didn't prevent us from heading out - on an I Phone 4 search to replace Howard's crappy not-so-smart phone. Rogers at Metrotown had some in stock, so we bused/skytrained there. It didn't take long for him to choose a colour (choices were black or white) and sign a few papers, and my only request was to eat before we got home.

Metrotown has a humungous food court, with tons of choices - Thai, Mexican, New York (fries, that is), Chinese, Greek, Nandos (which is Portugese chicken), Indian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese - plus more, with a sweet sprinkling of Dairy Queen and Tim Hortons. So, as  I was deciding which one I would try 'for a change', Howard chooses A&W and I line up with him.


Now some of you may remember my love of The Mozza Burger, and just assume I ordered that. Well, I didn't. I decided to stick to 4 of my favourite basic food groups (salt, gravy, potatoes, and fat) and I chose Poutine. To balance the calories, I ordered a Diet Coke. Yes, it's been a looooong time since I had one bowlful of stuff that offered me over 800 calories and over 40 grams of fat, so you can be sure I thoroughly enjoyed every last bit, as it could very well be the last time I order one. (I didn't even think to take a picture of my A&W poutine, so that proves I wouldn't have made a very good food blogger. I had to steal this pic from a Yahoo image search - it was the first one out of about 10 that I could actually download - however, the sight of it is making me a tad peckish.)

When we got home, Howard played a bit with his phone, and is very happy that he can get satellite maps and images of anywhere. So some of you better be careful, especially if you cavort naked in your back yard. Sometimes it takes so little to make him happy.

If any of you would  like to make some really really good muffins, check out the link below the picture - it will take you to my Better Best Muffin recipe on the Tamar Gets Stuffed recipe blog.

Better Muffins Than The Best Muffins I Used to Make

If you would like to eat some muffins without the work involved, though, just try these: 3 different kinds, Double Chocolate, Butter Tart, and Cinnamon Coffee Cake. Probably not a good idea to buy them on a Saturday, though, as the one I ate (burp) was a bit stale.

In case you think I was too lazy to bake my own muffins today, you are probably right. But I do have 6 loaves of White Raisin Bread trying to rise in my chilly kitchen. I can't believe summer is only 4 days away, and I can't believe we are losing our bragging rights to warm weather. There was heat on the sky train, Howard and I were wearing jackets, and I had to turn on the heat so the bread would rise - but it's still not very warm in here. I guess I have to get a microwave so I can heat up my magic bag - my poor cold feet are not impressed with the temps either.

JUNE 15 - Butterfly Seeds, The Itsy Bitsy Spiders, and Richmond Food Blogger

I can't believe it was a sunny day, as it was one of my Day Offs, and it usually always rains on my Day Offs. Lizzie and I planted the last of the begonias Steve brought last weekend, and she watered the butterfly seeds. I'm still not optimistic about the butterfly harvest, although there are quite a few seedlings of various types poking through the grass. I won't know which are weeds and which are butterflies until they spread their wings and fly, I guess.

I did however, discover how to Freak Out a 4-Year Old;

'Nanny, there's a bumble bee on the watering can.' Said with a slight panic in her voice.
'No, Lizzie, that's not a bumble bee.'
'Oh. O -kay'
'They are spiders!'

Just because legs are little doesn't mean they can't run fast, while nanny takes the can back to the outdoor tap to dry and drown out the last of these little suckers.

If any of you want to check out the blogger who got the blogging job I really really wanted to get - click on the link below. According to some of the comments on her posts, I think I wasn't the only one disappointed not to get the job!. She's been in many exotic places and done some pretty exciting things, so I would think eating tripe and jellyfish in Richmond wouldn't be all that far out of her comfort zone.   http://www.365daysofdining.com/ .

JUNE 14 - Babies Galore (Just Not Human Ones) and Bring On The Carbs

My day started off quite normal - dead on my feet at 5:30, stumbling downstairs in the general direction of a cup of coffee, toast, smoke alarm, and the computer. Between the caffeine and the shrill of the smoke alarm, I wake up enough to enjoy my toast and check out to see what kind of gossip and rumors and cryptic messages are on Face Book. Then, when I am really alert, so as to not overdose or poison myself, I take my  pills.

Now, I don't take many pills, not like some people - two for blood pressure, and one for hypothyroidism, plus an inhaler to keep my asthma under control. I usually take a multi-vitamin, but ran out of them and keep forgetting to buy some. Too bad they don't have a pill for that - forgetting stuff, I mean.

So the morning went fine. I walked Chris to school, and when I came back, I spent a few minutes exploring the Food Network online, and was lucky enough to find two seasons of Dinner Party Wars on video, ready for me to stream at my heart's desire. So I watched three of them while I knitted a couple of bear's arms and legs, and then decided to wash the few dishes that got dirty since last night. And look at what I saw on my pill mini-basket. 

A mother spider felt safe enough to have her 2,387 babies burst out of their egg sac on my kitchen counter. Now it they were puppies or kittens - or even people babies - that would have been amazing. But spiders? Ewwwww. Shiver. Panic.

I wasn't long getting this particular bundle of joy outdoors. I filled my watering can with water, then tried to lift the sticky web of crawlies with a little branch - got most of them in the watering can, but you know, the little buggers were born knowing how to swim. When I checked the can a few hours later, there was a mass of them about the size of a loonie, a little island floating and wiggling on top of the water. A dead spider float, I guess you could call it. So I stirred up things a bit more, and hopefully caused a few more untimely deaths.

Now I'm almost scared to focus on anything, and it's not hard to remain unfocused when you've got one near-sighted eye and one far-sighted eye, especially when neither one of them works very well. I don't want to imagine if there are more egg sacs waiting undisturbed to produce a nightmare. Although, looking back on that comment, I guess I would rather see them than not. I hope my bedcovers aren't floating above me when I wake in the morning.

I think I may have to go back to my original format for my Flog, as I think - no, I know - I am eating a lot more than I would have if I were writing everything down. I am enjoying yummies with a slightest amount of guilt, but I'm not going to enjoy trying to squeeze into too-tight clothes if I don't be more careful. We'll see. 

JUNE 13 - The Everyday Housewife, Rhyme Time, and a Dead Flower

Today, I was mostly an everyday housewife, who gave up my good life for my husband. I spent time with a couple of grandkids, emptied kitty litter lumps, did dishes, cooked dinner, swept/vacuumed/mopped - depending on what was crumbly, cathairy, or dirty - made a bed, rearranged a kitchen that used to be fine but needed rearranging after my hubby rearranged it last weekend, tidied up my Riting Room, and made pudding. The last was for me, all me, burp.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LonUQ5o-vLc

Glen Campbell doesn't really tell it like it was, except the good life part. And the wrinkles that weren't there yesterday, although there were a lot there yesterday too. I wasn't going to marry a different young man, unless you count Davey Jones or Peter Noone, and there certainly weren't line-ups of fellers at Auntie Evelyn's door.

But, I do like the everyday housewifey thing every now and then, since I've spent so many days away from home.

I just hauled out the writing binder I kept when my dear friend Roxie and I did creative writing courses a few years ago, and had a read through, trying to get some incentive to start the tap tap tapping thing again. I came across an assignment I'd like to share with you, and my poetic take on it - it is pretty long, but stems from 8 poorly written sentences that we had to rewrite. I did that - then I did this!  Hope you enjoy!


1. It seemed to Jason that his brother had kind of disappeared during a game of Hide and Seek.  

'Get out, get out,' our mamma said
As she smoked while kneading bread
And so we played some Hide and Seek
Out behind the old back shed.

The air turned cool, the sky turned red
It soon would be time for our bed
And though we couldn't find young Zeke
We found an old stray cat instead.

With only four of us inside
The cot we shared seemed very wide
And ma and pa were having fun
They said they'd make another one.

2. It takes at least an hour to heat up chili.

With all these rumblings in my gut

My stomach thinks my throat is cut

The chili popsicle will take

At least one hour more to bake.

3. 'Mom should be home in half an hour,' stated Jason coldly.

Jason sits down in the mess

He's wearing Mother's brand new dress

Her closet door is hanging loose

He couldn't find the matching shoes.

Nothing seems to go just right

His makeup looks an awful fright

He sniffs and heads off to the shower

For she'll be home in half an hour.

4. 'Pass the salt,' Marietta said.

Marietta's in the kitchen

Can't you hear her in there bitchin'?

She'll say the slop is not her fault, 

And tell you to keep adding salt.

5. The handle of the bat was smashed into my eye by Herb. 

I yelled at Herb, he just struck out, 

The poorest play so far, no doubt

I told him he was just a loser

Probably a secret boozer

I said he played just like a girl

And then he gave the bat a whirl

And like a missile it did fly

And landed smack dab in my eye.

6. He saw the tip of the flag protruding from the backpack and perceived that it had been hidden there by Jack.

The summit reached far in the sky

We planned to reach it by and by

The flag we took to plant up there

Was bright and jazzy, big and square

It weighed a lot, that was a fact

And so I gave the flag to Jack

I figured, being strong and tall,

He'd hardly notice it at all.

And so we hiked up to the clouds

And I lagged far behind the crowd

I thought I would have been the first

But as for speed, mine was the worst.

I slithered in an hour behind

With suicide firm in my mind

And as I rolled from front to back

I felt a sharpness from my pack.

I turned my head and what the heck -

That flag was stabbing in my neck

And so I stumbled up to Jack

And with a shriek I pushed his back

And I just watched and waved and smiled

As he rolled downhill for a mile

The next time I go up that track

I won't invite my buddy Jack.

7. Armand, wearing an elegant red cummerbund beneath his tuxedo, stepped forward to request a dance from Elsa, whose plunging neckline left little to the imagination, while the band played the same Strauss waltz that they'd played on the night Sir Milos Resterman had been killed in that very ballroom.

The band plays on, the dancers dance

All dressed up fine, they turn and prance

Armand is gushing over Elsa

The music turns into a salsa

And as he swirls her on the floor

Her ample bosom bounces more

This pleases him to no extent

(He's not a very tactful gent)

And when the band slows down its beat

He doesn't let her off her feet

But squeezes her tight to his chest

And thinks that waltzing her is best.

Of course, poor Elsa, in his arms

Knows well how much he likes her charms

Pulls out a gun and shoots him dead

And with a hateful voice, she said

'Go join Sir Milos, see how many

Knockers are in hell, if any,

One thing true though, you may say

Now I've sent two more boobs that way.'

8. Reba felt as unbelievably sad as if she'd lost her dearest and best friend and sobbed with uncontrollable emotion until she felt Dwayne take her in his arms with his wonderful, incredible tenderness.

Armand is gone, poor Reba wept

Because a gal with hair upswept

Caught him staring nonstop at her breast

Now I'm alone and life is tough

I'll have to clean hotels and stuff

And even give up all my beauty rest.

Oh what the heck, now here comes Dwayne

He's such a royal bloody pain

But wait - he owns a disco and a spa

Oh hold me tightly, shining knight

Of course I'll stay with you tonight

And as for this old dump of mine - ta ta.

Well, I don't know about you, but that was fun for me, going through my old stuff. These classes were lots of fun, and provided us all with ideas, incentives, and feedback, which really helped us get creative with our words.

And by the way, I DO have a crumbling flower that's withered with age, and a memory to go with it. Life is good.

JUNE 12 - Allergy Woes, Rubber Ball Bologna, and Childhood Games

Yesterday's summer weather didn't last very long - today was a mix of rain, wind, cloud, showers, and rain, not your usual lovely lower mainland weather, that's for sure. Here I sit in slippers and cardigan (sounds sort of Mr Rogers) trying hard to keep my eyes open long enough to please some of you.

My eyes, as well as my nose, are presenting me with huge allergy symptoms, which lead me to believe I have allergies. Red and itchy, accompanied by sniffles and sneezes, forever begging to be rubbed or wiped, depending on the organ involved. I sort of kinda blame one of the pretty trees that almost surround our house. Or maybe it's the used cat, although I would never admit that to anyone in case Howard heard about it. 

He made dinner tonight, which was nice as I didn't get home until after seven. Well, his making dinner was nice - fried potatoes and onions with 'baloney'. We obviously picked the wrong bologna at the supermarket - we always pick the one that isn't beef or chicken. Howard noted that this was probably Beef Bologna, but I disagreed - I said it was Rubber Ball Bologna, as that was what it felt I was chewing.

And that made me think of rubber balls, you must know them, the small ones that have a red, a white and a blue stripe, and are perfect for bouncing off the side of the house - at least, the side that doesn't have any windows? I remember playing so many games with these when I was a little girl - toss it on the wall, catch it, toss it against the wall, let it bounce once, then catch it, then bounce twice ... then clap your hands, once, twice, maybe even three times, or throw it under your leg, or turn around, once, twice, maybe even three times - before you catch it .. and so on and so on. As you probably figured out by now, I don't remember the rules exactly, and I doubt if any of the kids around can remind me, as I never see anyone playing those old games any more.

Red Rubber Ball

 What happened to skipping rope ( Skip A Rope)  and all the songs and rhymes that went with that - and hopscotch, we mustn't forget hopscotch. I actually drew a hopscotch grid in the driveway a couple of years ago, but found out that hopping, and bending over while balancing on one foot, is no longer one of my  strengths. Hopscotch - just like when we were kids, right?

We could spend many hours having fun with a ball, a rope, a piece of chalk and a stone. Kids today spend their hours racing cars and shooting people while sitting on their butts in front of a TV screen. What a difference 50 years make, huh?

JUNE 11 -I'm Not One To Bitch And Complain, But ...

No eagle this morning, no eagle this evening - you could say this was an eagleless day, if you wanted to make up a new word, that is. In between my two eagleless bus journeys, I toiled bravely through 8 hours of customer service, even though some customers - at least one of them- were quite rude and, after buying the bag of yarn I -yes, I - had on hold, vowed she'd never shop in our store anymore. Huh?

I imagine you are all saying, 'What the heck is she talking about?'

Well, I did have a bag of green Christmas stocking yarn put away, so when I started these special stockings later on this summer, I would be prepared. However, my boss told this gal on Saturday that I probably didn't want it, and gave her the impression that she could come and buy it - all I had to do was call her and tell her she could have it. But I never called her to tell her that, because she couldn't have it, as I needed it, and if I didn't need it, it wouldn't have been in the back with my name on it. (I'm going to take a breath now, and try to calm down.)

So she figures she can just come in and get a 'little bit' of it, as that was all she needed. (Oh yes, a 'little bit' that would probably be free.) But then she needed a 'little bit' to finish off about 8 inches of a blanket. Well, I can tell you, it takes more than a 'little bit' of yarn to knit 8 blanket inches, no matter how small your bloody blanket is.

So I told her she could have it, but she'd have to buy the whole bag, and asked Pauline to ring in the sale. I don't think she had planned to spend  a whole $8, when she only needed a 'little bit.'

 I said, 'Well, part of a bag is no use to me,' and I went back to what I was doing. So she complained to Pauline, said she didn't think I should be angry at her, she was a good customer and bought a lot of yarn at our store (I didn't recognize her, by the way, and neither did Pauline,) and she would find somewhere else to shop and not come back to our store anymore. But she did buy the ... I mean, my .... bag of yarn before she left to shop somewhere else. And she was right, I was mad, both at her for compelling me to let her have the yarn to shut her up, and also at Chris for telling her about MY bag of yarn. So there. Still a bit pissed off, to tell the truth. You can probably tell by my language.

(By the way, if any of you have an auntie or grandma who will soon give you a Christmas green blanket - it definitely wasn't her. Unless of course she asks you to drive her to Michaels.

Other than that frustrating few moments, my day was rather mundane. Nobody tried to sneak free rides on the bus, although the driver refused entry to two gals who had take-out drinks in their hands. One had a cold drink from Tim Horton's with a straw sticking up the middle. He said, "All drinks must be in spillproof containers.' So she pulled her straw out and started to climb in. That was funny. The other gal asked if this was a new by-law, which I thought was pretty funny, because I've never heard of buses having by-laws. The driver said due to the constant messes caused by spilled drinks, they were enforcing the No Drinks No Food Allowed signs that have been at the front of the buses forever. He told them there's another bus coming in 12 minutes, either throw away your drinks, or enjoy your drinks and wait for the next bus.

I guess they decided to enjoy their drinks.

My life may lack excitement, but it's never boring. Usually.

JUNE 10 - Commuter Loser, Flower Pens, and Dinner Roulette

Ten days to summer, and the heat was on in the Sky Train this morning. I remember freezing my butt off on the long winter rides home, when either the bus drivers were suffering from hot flashes (yes, even the men), or the Sky Train operators saw no need to warm their customers - they were probably nice and cosy in their little operating rooms. I did, however, appreciate the warmth on my legs this morning as the temps barely reached double digits.

One thing I do not appreciate on the bus, though, is the Great Unwashed. At one stop on the way home, a guy was waiting to board - and while he waited, he had his hand up under his shirt, having a good long scratch. Made me itchy just to look at him. He got aboard the bus, had a bit of an argument with the bus driver about his right to a free ride - the driver finally told him this was the last time he'd get on with no fare, and we went on our way. At 22nd Street Station, he even took the elevator to the sky train platform, instead of going up the stairs. He was really getting the most bang for his $0. Really pisses me off - maybe if everyone would pay for their rides, the fares could possible be less. He reminded me of another commuter who was too close to me for my comfort a few weeks ago - he had me wondering if I had made the mistake of putting my lunch in the garbage can by the back door, and actually carrying a bag of kitty litter lumps with me on the bus. Which of course, I wasn't.

Anyhow - there wasn't a long list of nasty jobs waiting for us at the store this morning, so we tackled what was there bravely and got through it all. Pauline and I shared the making of the flower pens. Aren't they pretty? You just start off with pens (duh), floral tape  and flowers -

- tape the flower stem to the top end of the pen, then wrap the whole darn thing with floral tape so it looks like the stem. We sell tons of them for a buck each - they would make a great fund raiser too.


A couple were looking around the store, and when the wife paid for her purchase, she commented on the pens.

'Oh, you're making flower pens?'
'Yep,' I replied.
And the husband said, ' You actually make these?'
And I replied, 'Yep - what, you think they grow on trees?'

She and I thought that was hilarious, him not so much. I still think it's funny, and Howard even smiled when I told him, so it must have been very very funny indeed. He is a really difficult audience.

Dinner tonight was easy - left over beef pie from last week sometime. Hopefully it was still okay to eat, it tasted great - but then again, I was really hungry. My kitchen is in a bit of a muddle - I had asked Howard several times over the past few weeks to put up a couple of nails on the sides of the cupboards that frame the window over the sink, but today, he decided instead, to start building in some extra cupboards. Oh my. I was really happy with what I had - all I wanted was a couple of little nails so I could hang my nice non-stick fry pans so they wouldn't get scratched in the cupboard. I only hope he gets the cupboards finished before we have to move out of here - we were promised a long-term occupancy, but I really don't know if it will be long enough for him to actually finish a project. (Now, if I told him my thoughts on that, he wouldn't smile. I told you he was a difficult audience.)

JUNE 9 - Writing Blocks, Seedlings, and Sloppy Joes

For those of you who don't spend a few minutes every evening tap tap tapping, let me tell you it's not always the easiest thing in the world to find stuff to write about, especially if you take away the topic of food from the table. (Good one, me!)

However. I am just finishing up a very lazy 4 Day Offs, believe me. I didn't walk anywhere, I didn't bake bread, I didn't knit - in fact the only thing I did was Diddly Squat.

I didn't have to water the garden as the rain did that. It also helped the kids' seeds from a couple of weeks ago pop through the ground. I told them (the kids, not the seeds) I had a very tiny huge surprise for them - I thought they would be excited to see the tiny little seedlings. Not so much. They weren't very impressed and still expected a surprise, so I dug out some mouse shaped balloons and blew them up a little.

Once again, I did some magic in the kitchen, and turned 'nothing for supper' into home-made Sloppy Joes. I built the sandwiches with toasted Portuguese Buns - well, mine was only partly toasted as the smoke alarm started screaming after I did Howard's - then a big scoop of Sloppy Joe meat (hamburger fried up with onions, Garlic Plus, seasoned salt, pepper and BBQ sauce,) a big scoop of grated cheddar, and a big scoop of caramelized onions on top - the point being that the heat from the meat and the onions would melt the cheese, which it did, and the top of the bun on top, of course.  Side order of Oven Fries, and that resulted in two stuffed old people. Burp.

I guess I should apologize for including so many reruns in my blogs, as many of you have already read them. You must think that TV is taking a trend from TV, but I haven't written anything new and exciting lately, either in the fiction or non-fiction department. I do have ideas flitting about in the empty space between my ears, and hope to get in the Writing Zone again soon.

I think the biggest reason I haven't written anything fictiony lately is because I am scared to sit in front of the laptop in case nothing comes out. Someday soon I have to braven (?) up and try, because I do miss creating new lives. I think my biggest accomplishment, and surprise, was rereading a story I wrote a few years ago - and weeping for the heroine. It made me realize that I shouldn't get upset at the ending of a book if I don't like it - the writer doesn't seem to have any choice, he has to just write what the characters tell him. So I now forgive Stephen King for ending his Dark Tower series the way he did - I wouldn't be surprised to see me sitting and reading them for the third time in the near future!