SEPTEMBER 6- Head Over Heels, Flowers, Stephen King, Cutie-Pie, and Re-run

In all my bike rides over the past few weeks, I could never understand why we had a caution sign warning us to dismount the bike and walk across a railway track. After all, we would easily see, and hear, a train if it was `comin`, a-coming down the track` - but this sign helps to explain. When the track isn`t perpendicular to the road - well, I could see that happening to me. So now I walk.

Now I know everyone is really wondering about our flowers, and my Butterfly Garden especially. My $8 planter is doing really well, although it didn`t attract hummingbirds, as I was hoping. Howard did see one zipping by it a couple of weeks ago, but it was obviously unimpressed and didn`t bother telling its family. The hummingbird feeder we hung in front of the kitchen window became empty over time, although we never saw anything (or anybody) suck the juice out of it - we refilled it, however, and haven`t given up hope.

Here is Howard`s $10 planter, lying in shame in the corner of the yard. To be fair, it was hanging in a sunnier spot than mine, and it just didn`t make it through our first August heat wave.

My Butterfly Garden produced no butterflies, although some do flutterby it now. As a whole, it looks like a terribly weedy spot, but looked at in little bits, it is very pretty.

 I know the Alyssum, but not the pink one. I bet someone knows what it is though.

The yellow one is either a daffodil or a daisy, according to my landscaping son who has the RLT (Registered Landscape Technician) ticket, and who, may I say, passed with flying colours and was the pride of his lovely Teacher. I should know what the blue one is - the face is familiar but I can't remember the name.

 
Very pretty indeed. I guess I should really study up on the stems and leaves so next spring I'll know what are weeds and what are not. Also I'll try to remember to save some seeds.

Meanwhile - this was the sunrise (sort of) Tuesday morning when I left for work. It made me realize that in a few more weeks, it will be dark both when I leave in the morning and get home in the evening. No chance of seeing my Eagle at all then - although sightings are really rare these days. Either he isn't home, I'm eyebrow deep in a Stephen King book, or I'm fast asleep.

 Segue-ing into Stephen King books, it's only as I'm reading them one by one, I realize -
DON'T READ THIS PART IF YOU'VE NEVER READ STEPHEN KING BOOKS AND PLAN TO -
I'll make it small so it will be easier for the non-readers to skip - but - I'm just realizing that a lot of his main characters come to a horrible end. Carrie, Johnny Smith (The Dead Zone), Jack ( The Shining), Louis Creed (Pet Sematary) , for example. Two others I've reread ('Salem's Lot and Christine), may have left the mains breathing, but pretty much nervous, I would think. The other one, Firestarter - well, I think that little gal and her daddy may come out okay.

However, it has made me think of two things:

1. I'm hoping Stephen King never writes my biography
2. I'm wondering how on earth I can fall asleep while reading his books, on a bus full of strangers, some who look a bit 'off', if you know what I mean, and not fear waking up dead before I reach my destination

Okay, you King Virgins can start reading here.
Here's a cute little monster - our grandson, Dominik, who can climb on his horsey frontwards, backwards, and sideways, and who can play the musical instruments that live in the horsey's neck. Pretty smart for a 19 month old baby, if you ask me.

I spent yesterday at Neil and Shannon's place in Ladner, and helped look after this little guy, which was a very easy job, as all he wants is a bucket full of cars and the occasional bite to eat.

Today it was a trip to Richmond for Doctor appointments - the older you get the more you need, it seems. We're both okay, Howard just needs blood pressure meds. I may have to dissolve them in his beer to get him to take them, but one must do what one must do.

Still no Breehy on the road, so that's a bit sad. Tomorrow may be a fun day or not. We'll have to wait and see.

Meanwhile, I'm going to end with this little re-run from March, 2011. Again - some of you would have read it, but some of you haven't. It's proof that I used to be able to write - and some day, who know, I may be able to write again!

SHOPPING TRIPS - yet another reason to stay single

My better (?) half isn't all that fussy about shopping. A quick trip to the mall to pick up my knitting magazines takes a major effort on his part, and at Zellers he just wants to look for, and not look at. Therefore, our shopping is usually done under pressure, as in, 'Let's get the hell out of here, I have to use the washroom,' and most of the time I end up going home with something important left behind.

Things I have learned about shopping with a husband:

• If we need milk, go get milk. I don't need to examine the different tubs of  Philadelphia Cream Cheese and Becel on the way to the milk. No need to price-compare the butter if we don't need any. And buying a dozen tubs of yogurt because they are on sale doesn't really save us money if we don't eat them all before the expiry date, which happens to be at precisely four hours and ten minutes after we get home, which is why they are on sale in the first place. So just get the damn milk.
• Never stop in the aisles. If I see something I need, just slow down and grab it on the way. Stopping half way down the aisle to exclaim about the health benefits of Cheerios as opposed to Choco Crunch Marshmallow Sugar Blasts usually ends with a tall dark and scared stranger walking away quickly - and me realizing that once again, my husband has just walked on ignoring me. I am getting a reputation as The Crazy Lady Who Talks To Herself.
• If I'm going to forget anything,  I'll make sure it's on his List Of Things To Have, and not mine. If I forget my rice pudding, I can go back and get it if  I'm in desperate need. If I forget his Deep'n'Delicious Frozen Chocolate Cake, he'll just go to bed in a huff and  I"ll have a nice quiet evening to enjoy my rice pudding and Cheerios.

However, a trip to Canadian Tire changes all the above.  We can take the scenic route, all around the edges then in and out of each aisle before we end up at the proper department. which in today's case was just inside the entrance door. The driver's side wiper blade broke on a sunny day - go figure- so it was important to replace it today, as the rain clouds were rolling in. I don't know why it's more important to select the 'best' wiper than, for example, the best spaghetti sauce, but I won't go into that here.  So, to the checkout, then to the parking lot, so Hubby could replace the blade in case we got caught in a deluge on the way home.

After an hour passed, the new blade was proving a bit too much for him to install. I was getting a bit concerned as I watched him standing on his little wooden box so the could reach over the hood of the Dodge Ram, trying so hard to push that stupid thing onto the truck wiper thing, and seeing the veins in his neck and forehead pop out with the pressure. So he decided it's the wrong one we ....he....bought, so we trudged back in to change it for a different one. However, the kid behind the counter tapped his computer and concluded that the one we bought was indeed the correct one, and offered the service of a Canadian Tire mechanic to do the honour. This guy couldn't fit the pieces together either,  and concluded that the wiper was faulty, so I got the pleasure of following him through the service bay back to the store itself, getting another blade, and going through the exchange protocol. Finally, after they both figured out that the reason the blade wouldn't go on the whatever you call it, was because there were three different clips in the box...just in case the one that was on the wiper didn't fit. Hey, you guys who don't want to read instructions or open little plastic packs of stuff in the wiper blade box -be you shipwright or mechanic - I'm not surprised you don't want to read the list of ingredients on the can of tomato soup you're planning to eat for lunch.