Snuffelufagus

LAZY DAYS

2010-09-12T21:36:00.001-04:00

P1040142
Originally uploaded by arlunydd

Saturday morning and the dogs are waiting for me to get out of bed. Chester, the big beautiful boy in front, is 3 years old and as patient and smart as anything. Durban, the youngun on the far side is now 6 months and he is a handful. He is trying to bite my hand to get me to play with him...not so patient, but as cute as the day is long.

Forget Stilettos

2010-09-12T21:21:00.001-04:00

P1000906
Originally uploaded by arlunydd

Whenever I have to wear heals for a dressy occasion I think of these women and their grace and charm. Watching as they passed us by on a busy Cuban avenue, during a festival that I have forgotten, I was struck by the color and life they brought to an otherwise rather grey and barren place. There is so little in the way of luxury in Cuba that even the bigger cities are without embellishments, Buildings, cars, roads, everything goes unrepaired and broken as there is just no money to put back into the country.

Despite the poverty, the people are warm and generous. They earn extra money in very inventive ways and are always thrilled to get anything you are nice enough to leave them. We left our clothes as we had little else to give them. Our suitcases were certainly a lot lighter coming home. We took lots of personal hygiene products there with us, coloring books, pencils, anything we could think of. I wish we had thought to take tooth brushes. It seems that they have a very hard time getting these as well as soaps.

If you are planning to go there, pack stuff you don' intend to keep. Someone will be so happy to have them.

P1000855

2010-09-09T13:15:00.001-04:00

P1000855
Originally uploaded by arlunydd

Micks not one for "shows of affection" , so I was thrilled when he was approached by these two lovely ladies for a smoochie-woochie. He couldn't exactly say "no" without seeming rude, so he became a "Mick sandwich" instead. Notice the lovely shade of crimson he is wearing?

I do so love my Mick but we are so very different. Perhaps that is why we are still married. I am extroverted and not-so-modest, while he is proper, quiet and well behaved. He keeps an eye on me to be sure I am not in too much trouble, but despite all his efforts I still manage to find myself in SITUATIONS from time to time.

Ah...to be in that very square, enjoying the sun and the sights of Cuba again. Saving all my Aero miles up and will be in Costa Rica in March (early on so we miss the rains). Right now it feels as though I've been here forever! A very long, tiresome summer. I need a holiday.

Going to the UK in October. I hope to have some nice pics to share with you then.

TA TA

Something you wont see too often

2010-09-07T09:37:00.001-04:00

P1010046
Originally uploaded by arlunydd

Affection in a dark damp cave! My hubby is such a romantic. The places he takes me have you writhing with jealousy, I'll bet. No roof top, sky line dinners by candle light for me. No river boat night time cruises with gentle music for this girl. I get caves, holes in the ground, bug infested backwood forests where nobody has dared to go! I get dirty, sweaty clothes, bug bites and poison ivy. OH YEAH!!!

A bat took the picture

My Boys

2010-09-07T09:28:00.001-04:00

P1030155
Originally uploaded by arlunydd

Chester and baby Durban getting to know each other the first day home. Chester is three and Durban 6 weeks. Does it get any damn cuter than this?

Baby Durban aka Monkey Jim

2010-09-06T19:20:00.001-04:00

P1030162
Originally uploaded by arlunydd

As an exercise in blogging again I thought that I would share this picture of our latest acquisition and member of the family - Durban. The name 'Monkey Jim' came about in a frenzy of affection and has stuck like glue because of the number of younguns in the family who like the name. Durban is slightly darker than Chester and makes a very aesthetic addition to the family.

Any comments on Monkey Jim are welcome.

Just another word or two

2010-05-30T21:21:00.003-04:00

Its always so long between my blog entries. So many things occur in my life that its hard to know what to blog about. Mum died on February 25th and my world went into a tail spin for months. I have yet to recover what was "normal" for me. Two days ago my favorite aunt died suddenly, though not unexpectedly. I had hoped to travel to see her but within days of making the decision, she was gone. My lovely little house is in full bloom and I am having one hell of a time appreciating the real glory of it. Chester, my lovable Golden Retriever, enjoys it so much and didn't even need to be trained to stay on the property. He does a perimeter search for squirrels every morning when I let him out. I can enjoy my surroundings through him when I let myself.

On Saturday, Mick and I visited an Alpaca farm. We have been talking about what we want to do in 5-10 years and moving North is so important to Mick that we need to be creative about what it is we will be doing with our lives when we do move. Raising Alpaca's is a viable option, as long as we can combine it with other things we both really enjoy. The trip was very enlightening and gave us a lot to think about. BUT....And this is why I am actually blogging tonight, on the way home we stopped at a Mennonite farm and became acquainted with our newest family member, "Durban", an 8 week old Golden Retriever puppy that I pick up tomorrow.

Yes BB.....I expect you will be calling me just as soon as you read this! I am very happy and can't wait to bring him home. I have been so low and depressed and hopeless for so long that this is the first time I have felt any optimism for months. I am truly excited and want nothing more than to spend time with my Chester and his little brother Durban.

Wish me luck!

How refreshing am I?

2010-02-18T20:40:00.002-05:00

Though my posts are read by only a few, I want to share some of what I am feeling right now. If I were the analytical type, which I am not, I might say I am in the "Intimacy and Solidarity Stage of Eriksons 7 Stages of Development. I believe that my siblings and I all managed to make it through these stages adequately and without being seriously stunted anywhere along the way(Its a flipping miracle, I tell ya).

So Point 1; I think I'm doing OK and am where I ought to be socially and psychologically (man, try to spell that one when you've had a few) for this stage of my life.

I cannot say the same is true for my Mum. I believe that life (her earlier life) dealt her some pretty lean nurturance that resulted in her feeling somehow lacking in all things. These things are carrided over into other stages, leaving her feeling always left behind, defensive, insecure and righteous. Thank God for peers and Fathers! We may have turned out a great deal differently, had we only one parent to teach us of the world.

My poor old Mum has spent a lifetime worrying about meeting the approval of others. She tried very hard to teach me to be equally as concerned, but failed to do so, causing her no end of misery. I am, as anyone who knows me would agree, unfazed by the general opinions of others. This has always caused my Mum distress, but she may be getting used to it or at least, too tired to keep trying to change me.

Point 2; I do lack a healthy sense of accomplishment. This is largely due to my "Fear of Failure", and I inherited that little gem from Dear Old Dad who, like me, worked very hard to hide his talents from the world and to never risk too much. I am aware of this and would truly like to strive to change it, but need intensive therapy for this that I cannot afford at this time. So, we all have to live with my lackluster impression of me for the time being while I cope with every day shit that pummels me into submission.

This brings me, once again to Mum, who is once again lying in a hospital bed with a variety of ailments that are brought on like clockwork every time anything new or stressful is introduced into her otherwise dull schedule. I will also state that this same scenario plays out every time I express a negative emotion to my mother, who does not cope well with having to confront her manipulative behavior. Ooops, I said what I felt, (I dont like to be manipulated) thereby causing no end of piteousness and sadness and ultimately sending my Mum off to the hospital where she can be tended to by "professionals" who really care.

Phew! I feel better now. I think I'll head off to bed where I will have fabulous dreams and wake refreshed and ready to take on the world....HA! I dont think so.

I am off to bed but I wont dream and I will wake up wishing I could just sleep a few days longer.

Nighty Night.

"Ty Gwyn" revisited

2010-02-16T20:28:00.002-05:00

As a child, I had a very active imagination. I would spend hours and hours alone with a stream, a couple of leaves and a stick and create an entire scenario that involved pirates on the open seas. I lived for a time in Llanfechell, North Wales with my Auntie Mair and my Nain (Grandma), and across from their tiny cottage "Ty Gwyn" sat a large boulder in a field. Upon revisiting the boulder, years later, it had shrunk considerably. I played for many hours on that boulder, having tea parties, treasure hunts and all manner of exciting adventures. The house (or cottage), "Ty Gwyn", which translates to House White, was THAT PLACE of my childhood that held all that is dear to a child. It was where I was loved unconditionally by an entire family of others, a place full of promise of adventure, a place a kindness and comfort. It was my favorite place in all the world.

That is what my new home will be to my new niece Gianna. My little cottage in Guelph is hidden and secret and full of promise. Its garden will be filled with flowers of many colors and vegetables to be eaten straight from the ground. It has a big old birch tree that hangs low and creates a cooling shade while the wooden boardwalk that wraps around the house is like a little road to nowhere in particular. My sister put this idea in my head and I believe it is a perfect likeness to that wonderful place called "Ty Gwyn".

To finish off the picture perfectly, my little home will always welcome Gianna with a big sloppy old Golden Retriever laying around on the grass or lazily following her around in hopes of a treat.

I will maintain your little piece of "ty Gwyn" for you Gianna. All you need do is visit it as often as your Mum and Dad will allow.

Its a miracle

2010-01-31T19:38:00.002-05:00

I can't believe its still here. I haven't given blogging any thought in the last year, but for some weird reason, I began to think about it again. I guess its a little like a diary and excercise for my writing. Yes, I write. I am currently writing a book for young adults ( or kids around 9 or 10 really). My last effort is being sent out to publishers (5 rejections so far), its about an ant who defies his reason d'etre. As soon as I get a bite, I will reveal more details. But for now I will content myself with writing on my blog and continued writing of my book.

I have moved (or we have moved) and we now live in a lovely little cottage which, although still in the city, feels as though we are tucked away in the countryside.. Our lane or driveway is between two homes and the house itself is hidden from view. The garden is a story book and the very best part is that I now have my own studio. I have a place to create and create I do. I have completed one gorgeous quilt which now is on our bed and looks spectaculr. I am half done another quilt which is for my Mums 80th birthday and I have made her a pair of flannel PJ's.

Apart from sewing, I have begun another oil painting titled "The Camel Traders" and I have run some beading workshops. My studio is the best place I know. Its where the imagination flies freely and where the journey is far more important than the destination.

I will make a better effort to blog about life here on Edgehill. Its such a wonderful place. I want to share it with you.

Time Flies

2009-07-05T09:32:00.002-04:00

I really don't know where it goes but time truly evaporates. I haven't been here for a variety of reason and I just had to see if anyone was still checking in with me. We are trying to sell our house and things have to be done virually every day. Aging parents require constant attention, as do the "offspring" (if you can believe that). Broke my hand getting off a train so just now learning to type whilst wearing a cast..........I could go on but won't.

The worst news is that BB is leaving for 6 weeks and abandonning me to my own PC illiteracy. I must be most vigilant. I must not push buttons I don't understand. I must obey PC laws and never, ever test the patience of the PC Gods.

Just keep limber

2009-01-14T10:47:00.002-05:00

I have an entire 30 minutes to blog this morning. Not enough time to clean the fridge (something died in there, but as long as the door is closed, its all good). Not enough time to start laundry (OK...enough time, I just can't face the DEEP FREEZE of my basement right now), and not enough time to start any new drawings as I just get frustrated when I can't finish things. Not enough time to clean the bathroom as I need a blow torch and a commercial vacuum to do the job properly.

So, after a few minutes chatting with my brother and girl friend on the internet, I am here. I am not here nearly often enough. I find this place a truly creative space. I can ramble uncensored, pretend I'm someone I'm not, or just blow steam like I have in my last two entries (for which I was chastised for sounding too depressing). Thankfully, with some chemical intervention, the blues are at bay and I am feeling a lot more like myself again. Thanks for the tip BB. I was told a few times by others close to me, but I thought they were just bitching. You know how things are, life just gets a hold of your nickers and won't let go until you have a wedgey rash.

I have to leave in a minute but puppy has been walked, run, played with and loved up so I can leave without too much guilt. He has eaten way too much exhaust infused snow and is feeling a wee bit sickly at the moment. Is it any frigging wonder our dogs die of all kinds of cancer these days? In the summer it's pestsicide, in the winter it's poison snow. Well, this boy is my prize. He is damn well going to live to be at least 15. I take VERY good care of him and give him the best of everything. He deserves it.

Gotta run. I know this wasn't the most inspired blog but I will try harder later. Just wan't to keep in practice and keep these old fingers from ceasing up.

BIG DEAL

2009-01-01T13:53:00.003-05:00

And so it begins... A NEW YEAR YOU SAY! Wanna know what I say? Too bad...I'm going to tell you anyway. A new year means nothing. Its a day, just another f---king day folks. The numbers changed by a digit, but that's about it. Maybe you see it as your chance to make new promises that you probably won't keep, or maybe you "resolve" to try harder at things you just sucked at last year. In any case, you could do that on any day...say how does February 15th sound? That is going to be MY official new years days. AND on that day I resolve to look back and feel NOTHING about the last 12 months, feel no remorse, no sadness, no ill will...NOTHING.

I am not a sentimental person, I am not gushing with good will and I am no fool. I know what I suck at and I know I'll probably find another dozen or so reasons I just can't improve. But I do know this. I like the person that I am now. It took a while but I figure I'm OK. Another lousy year like the last one ain't going to change me except to make me even stronger.

So here's to you and another day...another month and yet another year. Hope I'm here to blog about it for some time to come.

Just another pic of Chester

2008-11-22T18:23:00.001-05:00

Okay...I will stop after this...

Its just that he is so damn cute and cuddly and is always posing in these ridiculous ways all over the house. What do you think of this pose?

My Boy

2008-11-22T18:21:00.000-05:00

This is my boy Chester, a 2 year old "English Cream" Golden Retreiver. His favorite toys are balls and sticks but he doesn't like to share. No matter what we try he will not return a ball so it can be thrown again for him. He prefers it if we chase him, tackle him to the ground and forcefully remove the ball from his mouth. In this photo, my son Josh tried to make him look vicious but he closed his eyes and refused to play along.

There are a few people in this world that I hold as dear as my dog. They are usually the ones who, like my dog, just like my company. I think that we should all be like our dogs. I know I am.

Ain't he cute?

2008-09-21T17:13:00.001-04:00

No one gets near my sweet pea ususally but while we were on holiday in Cuba he let it all hang out. A very conservative, gentille sort, he allowed me to snap this one of him being "LOVED UP" by the local ladies. It is weird to spend this kind of time with each other as our lives are normally so work and family focused that we forget how to just have fun. Simple stuff sometimes seems so difficult to acheive.

This is in Old Havana, Cuba. A holiday that Canadians can afford and one I would recommend.

Be sure to befriend a local and you will see alot of the country side from the inside of a 1950's Lada.

2008-09-21T17:08:00.000-04:00

This is the life. This is what I flog my ass for year after year. No more working for the kids, the relatives, the pension.

I want to live by the beach, Pina Colada in one hand and sketch pad in the other.

I want to run around in my bare feet, wear shorts and a tank top, get up when I wake up and eat when I'm hungry.

I want to be inspired by the life around me, not suffocated by it.

I want to have enough to live on and not so much that it consumes me.

In short, I'm getting older and wiser and less ambitious with every passing day.

Timmy's my ass

2008-08-25T13:43:00.002-04:00

After several drive throughs at various Tim Hortons around town I said to myself, "Self, no more buying their stupid cookie. You can do much better". Not only is a cookie 95 cents but its just a stupid cookie, not a culinary masterpiece.

I tried a few recipes that I had in my cook books and finally decided to wing it. I have discovered that it is not the ingredients that make a cookie chewy, its how its cooked. Instead of the usual 375 degree oven, I used 370 and cooked them for 12 minutes THEN (and this is the part that makes them chewy), turn off the oven but leave those little buggers inside for 3 more minutes. And VOILA... yummy, chewy oatmeal raisin cookies.

Heres the recipe;

3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1-3/4 cups flour
1 tspn baking soda
1 tspn cinnamon
1/2 tspn salt
2-2/3 cups rolled oats
1 cup raisins

An update

2008-08-19T13:29:00.002-04:00

The weirdest thing happened. I had two days off in a row (I don't count the weekend as thats just time when I run around getting things done, cooking, cleaning, etc). I have had time....I never have time. I never, ever have time.

My dog got a few fantabadoozie walks/swims, I shaved my legs AND I cleaned the bathtub. I know it wasn't a hallmark moment for creativity but you should feel these hams, man!

I think I will now attempt an artistic feat.

Excuse me now. I'll be back.

Getting Renewed

2008-08-17T10:57:00.002-04:00

Not as easy as one may think to renew old abilities. Although the will is there, the timetable and demands are constant interruptions. My Doitch is dropping by soon with a PC just for me and it will be in my room, away from distraction and phone and kids and neighbours. My art supplies are now there as well and my room is beginning to smell of turps and graphite, a way of infusing creative thoughts into my dreams, as I see it.

Determination is the key. I know I bellyache enough about that elusive artistic lifestyle, but I really am to blame for allowing others to determine how my time is spent. The only one I will absolve of pressuring me is Chester (my lovely puppy) who thinks I exist solely for his entertainment.

Sooooo, today I set up my easel, I rearrange my room to allow for my blogging tool, and I might even change the sheets while I'm up there.

WoooHooo

Rediscovery

2008-08-10T18:01:00.002-04:00

Having rediscovered my old blog today after many moons away (and having a comment left) I feel somewhat renewed in my hopes of a fruitful, artsy, creative future. I am in great need of feedback from all you others who share in my plight.

I am too old to care about anything but my soul and it is STARVING.

Agnostic by choice, my only real spiritual thing is creativity and that means anything creative. Today it meant developing a new cookie recipe and its a good one. Some days it means painting the Mona Lisa in grey tones (using a grid of course), and other days it means making jewelry or redecorating my living room.

Blogging is good too! I love hearing from others so say Hi! I will respond - I promise!

I NEED THERAPY

2008-08-10T11:49:00.002-04:00

I am looking for someone who will help me overcome myself! Yeah, thats right. I want to be someone other than me cuz all these years being me has really sucked. I believe that some people are just truly lucky and as positive things occur for them they generate more luck. Its like a cycle of positivity.

I have tried to force myself to be a more positive person and to will goo d things to happen but I am still and always have been an unlucky person. But if you ask anyone who knows me, I am a good person. I devote myself to helping others and they always seem to do very well. They are grateful for my support and count on it and know that their good fortune is partly do to my assistance. But when I try to apply the same efforts to ME, I remain in this awful rut.

Anyone with the time to help me would be welcome.

New day

2007-10-11T09:42:00.000-04:00

I have decided that my blog will be a daily dairy. Or as daily as I can afford to be sitting here. My life is so completely full of ridiculous stuff, day after day, that it ought to entertain at least a few souls.

Today I actually got to sleep in. I rolled over at 5am and didn't wake up for real until 7:15!!! CRAZY.

I looked over the end of the bed to the loveseat that is Chesters bed and he was sound asleep and not ready to get on with his day but with a little coaxing, he followed me down stairs and outside for a pee. Chester is my 8 month old Golden Retriever. I should have called him Velcro as he is stuck to me every minute of the day. He gets so close that he actually steps on my feet alot of the time. He is beautiful and sweet and terribly smart. But he is not GOLDEN...in fact he is almost white. It was a bit of a shock when we went to pick him up as an 8 week old puppy as we were expecting him to be much redder. But there were two litters of the cutest white puppies you've ever seen. We picked the one with a birth defect. Chester has a whole in his urethra that leaks urine into his rectum. He is awaiting surgery that will likely cost us 3-4 thousand dollars.

So, now I am going to get into my bath that Chester has had several drinks from. Then I am walking up the hill to my Mums to say hello before Chester and I go to work (my little bead shop). Hubby will then pick up the puppy at 3pm and take him for a good walk.

I want to come back, in my next life, as a much-loved dog. How about you?

Gone but not forgotten

2007-08-06T16:34:00.000-04:00

Seems there are a growing number of things I can't do any more. Blogging is only one of those things and I miss it. I have no time left in a week for anything that could be described as enjoyable and bitterness is setting in. The part that I must include in the rant is that not one thing can be eliminated at present. Its all about others and/or working and its not about me.

Let me list things that are gone but not forgotten;
1. Long, hot, relaxing baths
2. Dinners with friends
3. Creativeness (cooking, painting, beading, etc)
4. Spending time with my siblings
5. Dressing up
6. Flirting
7. Going out to dance or eat
8. Physical strength
9. Emotional fortitude
CASH TO DO ANYTHING FUN...

and the list goes on.

The reasons are many and the story sad and long so I won't bore you.
Suffice it to write that I blog when I can and will keep trying until there comes a time when I'm a fun gal again.

Summer again

2007-06-17T13:24:00.000-04:00

Have the house to myself!!! Took a hot bath using all the "product" that belongs to the Princess as she is away having lunch with a sexy man - and now I smell fabulous ! There isn't a soul around to appreciate it but that okeedokey with me. The new puppy is 42 pounds of cuddly flesh now. He's a mere 4-1/2 months old, so by the time he's a year, I guess he should weigh in at 120!! As soon as I can get my photos from the Mole, I'll post one here. He is a beautiful blond Golden Retriever (not at all red, like Shaka was). He is lying at the bottom of the stairs right now, trying to stay cool as it is one hell of a scorcher here today. This is possibly the first time today that he hasn't been directly beside me, chasing the broom, mooching my food, pulling at whatever I have in my hands. PHEW...he's exhausting.

The garden is a paradise. Although the weeds are a constant issue, I really love being out there plucking, thinning, staking, watering. People come and peek at out garden all the time. I catch them spying through the fence as its otherwise hidden from view. I have a Clematis that is so prolific that it stumps description. I also have two lovely little chipmunks who come to feast on sunflower seeds every morning. They are becoming quite tame and run across my feet while I sit on my back steps. I have built up a little rock fortress around their homes so that the new puppy doesn't disturb them.

Ah summer time! Ain't it grand?

No Time

2007-06-04T19:51:00.000-04:00

Life, death, a a shiney new garden... Its all happening here and I feel like I can't process any of it. I have this crazy, gorgeous new puppy and I rarely get to spend the real time I should with him. I have a Mum who, after a long near death experience, has taken up living with a vengence and requires my help to do it and I have a garden that is bursting with colour and needs my attention.

No One gets enough.

Incognito

2007-03-18T19:07:00.000-04:00

I need to get back into the swing of things here. I've been a slave to others and their needs for the last 6 months and I've not spent a moment on me and what interests or inspires me. I am truly disturbed that I haven't picked up my paints or even a sketch book in all this time and the result of the neglect is a truly DULL person.

Although I'm not a particularily suspictious soul or even spiritual, I have come to believe that there might just be a master plan out there. "Why do I feel this way?", you ask? Well, its because that no matter what efforts I seem to make to steer my own path, I get run off the rails with a sickening regularity and this seems to happen as some kind of cosmic joke. Kinda like "So you think your really in control, do you? HA HA HA ".

I recognize my role in things and my duty to others but, seriously folks, this has been insane! I have done NOTHING, and I mean NOTHING, but work, eat(when I remember) and sleep(when I can) for months. OH YEAH, did I forget to mention the worrying, sweating and fretting? How about the sleeplessness, the nail biting and the utter and complete despair?

Lately, my idea of a day out is a trip to my local hospital to chat about cellual science with guys in white coats. Its truly depressing, huh?

Well, to be really frank, that is what I AM....truly depressing. In fact, I am surprised that I have any friends left.

Truth is, I am fun! I am a fun person with a vibrant, albeit loud, personality who used to attract alot of people. But these last 6 months have sucked it all out of me. There is still a vein to be tapped there somewhere and I will find it..I SWEAR! Just give me some time and a little patience and the real me will reappear.

I'm Back.....?????

2007-03-14T10:19:00.000-04:00

My last blog entry was Dec 21st!!!! I cannot believe it. I've had one hell of a time these last 6 months and I've not even thought of sharing it here as it was too damn depressing. Suffice it to say that Murphy's Law was in full effect in my life and I am, only now beginning to see a tiny light at the end of a really long tunnel.

SPRING!!! Yes I said spring. Looks like it might be here (or maybe its just a tease). Either way I've been waiting not-so-patiently for it and I'm chompin' at the bit to do something and go somewhere beside a hospital.

Hello Blog world.
I'm back.
Maybe.
We'll see.

I've been very very good

2006-12-21T19:23:00.000-05:00

Takin' a wee bit of flak as of late for my non-bloggingness. I guess I'd better saddle up again and show ya'll that I haven't drowned in a pool of my own self-pity. Its just that I'm not my usual sparky self and feel it my duty to sheild all you lovely folks from mediocrity.

The Mole asked me for a list of things I'd like to have for Christmas so that he can rush out 2 minutes before the big day, elbow a few dozen other men out of the way, curse at sales people and rush home to throw his treasures under the tree in a bag marked; To Sweetpea - From Santa. I thought about it for a good 20 minutes and realized that the things I'd like I wouldn't ask him to buy as he'd never get it right, so I made a list of stuff I knew he could get right.

1) Male Golden Retreiver puppy (can't have until March).
2) Hair do at the local salon (can't get an appointment until January).
3) Several water colour brushes (he got these - I saw them).
4) Slipper to replace the ones Baby Mole and the big Mole have ruined with abuse.
5) Gold hoops (even drew a picture in case he came home with some awful trinket).

So apart from these things what I want are these; a new kitchen, new floors, the carpets cleaned, a holiday, a maid, my kids moved out, to weigh 15 lbs less, to quit smoking and to have time to myself to paint and blog.

So Santa Baby, what do ya say? I have been so f---king good that I make myself sick. I've earned all of the above (and more) and feel that I should be rewarded for all my efforts. Oh yeah..I WANT 2007 TO BE MY VERY BEST YEAR EVER!!!! 2006 sucked big time.

Bah Humbug

2006-11-30T10:01:00.000-05:00

Alas, the Christmas season has arrived. Its been warm and rainy here in Southern Ontario for the last month or so and its been hard to think "Christmasy". In fact, I have ZERO happy spirit this year and will have to fake the entire scene for the benefit of the wee ones (22 and 23 years old). My off spring, such as they are, have always loved Christmas as I have always put so much into it for them. Curses!

I suppose I'll have to buy a tree again, as "whats Christmas without a tree?" And then there is the present shopping, for which I have neither money nor time. Then there is the cooking and the visiting and the fake smiley face and all the lights and music and all the stuff that normmally gets me so pumped. I get it now...all those folks who have traditionally not wanted to do the whole holiday thing were alway such a bummer to me. But this year, I get it!

Personally, I would like to spend a week in a chalet, in front of a fire, sipping expensive drinks and laughing with friends. Better still, I would like to fly to somewhere hot and sunny and sip expensive drinks with friends on the beach.

Ho Hum...guess I'll pull out the twinkly lights now. Toss them around the house and do a bit of much needed vacuuming. Then its off to work at 3pm and home again at 9.
Life goes on.

OKAY....time to fess up! My last 4 posts were a bit of a ruse. I just reread them and decided to come clean. How else are you to believe its the same person doing this blog.

You see,, on October 16th, at 2pm, my beloved best friend had to be allowed to die on the operating table at the vets. After a fucking nightmarish day (from 6am till 1:30pm) we found Snuffy to have a mass on his spleen that had just ruptured.

I won't go into details as I can't do that again, but I have been hollowed out, gutted, suctioned of all my joy. My days, afternoons, evenings and weekends make no sense to me any more and I can't seem to find enjoyment in very much.

I know that this is a process and I am improving as I no longer crash into despair as I was doing, but I'm a long way from feeling RIGHT. Maybe I won't ever feel right again! Missing my buddy every minute of every day has this incredibly draining effect on me and I just feel so tired and unhumorless.

See, this is why I don't want to have Christmas forced on me this year.

Disappointment

2006-11-22T16:46:00.000-05:00

The state of my blog is a sign of my life. I seldom get here and it worries me as I feel I am letting people down. Its just that the "actual" flesh and blood types who are IN MY FACE, seem to need so very much of me all the time that I rarely get back to my blog anymore.

This disturbs me more than you could know. I have tried to put life back on a reasonable level lately, as after Snuffy died I just couldn't find the purpose in doing anything at all. I tried to paint and everyones needs just kept getting in the way. I tried to be social but all those rotten pepole didn''t feel empty and hopeless the way I did so I dropped that idea. I tried going out and doing things like dinners and movies but my attention span equalled that of a fly and my constant squirming and running outside for a smoke was annoying.

So....here I am. Back at my blog hoping that I haven't somehow ruined something that used to be so important to me. The numbers tell me that you've all run off to more fun blogging experiences, but I know that the ruination that is my life will encoureage some of you back. After all, if nothing else, your life will look pretty fantastic after reading all about mine!

Beware though. I could surprise you and become witty and entertaining and then you'd feel all angry and jilted. I'll try to maintain my woe-begotten personna so that you all look happier. I'll tell all and then you'll really have to come back just, like a soap opera. You never know what disaster could arrive and if you don't read, you just won't know!

Stay tuned...oh loyal bloggers. I'll try to disappoint!

Sexy in Kasikstan

2006-11-13T12:22:00.000-05:00

How easily offended are you? This is a crucial question you need to ask yourself before committing to seeing Borat. Those with a delicate disposition need not bother as they will only feel queezy and shocked and want their money back. I know cuz I watched to see how many people got up to leave and to my amazement, only a few did so.

My take on Borat, such as it is, is that it is f---ing brilliant! Any documentary, film, book, article or photo that make people look really hard at themselves and their notions of others and the world is A VERY VERY GOOD THING!!! And Borat challenges everything ridiculous we accept as true and every notion we have held as correct.

Sacha Cohen, an English Jew, is my favorite new hero! Apart from being funny as hell, he is so brave as to be stupid and throws himself into the fray of any uncomfortable situation AND THEN pushes the limits beyond your imaginings. He tests and tests and humiliates and pokes fun and all the while places himself directly in the line of fire.

I am surprised the guy hasn't been lynched, beaten to a pulp, castrated and burned at the stake. There are certainly enough bigots and small minded folks out there to take umbrage to his antics.

Borat was a side splitting show from start to finish. Don't take your Mum or you Aunt Milly as your relationship will never recover. The Mole, SNAFU and I talked non-stop about what we had just seen for 35 minutes (all they way home) and have since been emailing comments to each other since.

Go on then....do it. Go see Borat and then tell all your friends to see it. Its one of the few movies to be worth the $9 that I've seen in years.

Trying to get back.....almost

2006-11-09T19:57:00.000-05:00

How is it that something that was such a sorce of enjoyment for me has been turned into a dirty little secret that I must slither away to do. That which was an hour of self expression has become a frustrating 5 minutes of "YEAH, I'll be there in a moment. give me a blessed minute will ya?"

My blogging has turned into one more of those things that irritates my family as it requires my attention and therefore means I am NOT ON for them.

I have been feeling a certain Krakatuoa type of explosive impulse lately and I am afraid it will erupt with all the force of a deadly volcanoe if I cannot be left alone.

It began with the death of my Snuffy, my best friend and side kick. I had no idea of the depth of grief I could feel at the loss of my dog. After all, he was a dog, right?
It seems that, despite all my efforts to be adult and mature, I must have been some kind of raving lunatic as my family have not left me alone for 5 minutes. I think they are afraid I will implode or run out to th e park and abduct a neighbors dog. (Not that I haven't thought about it).

Anyhow, I feel like blogging again. However, I cannot find a quiet moment to do it. This post has taken 3 interruptions already and I think I am going to hurt someone.

Just changes my internet provider and TV provider to BELL. I was with Rogers and was entertaining evil thoughts that I cannot reveal here so I thought it better to just change. But now I have a learning curve that I simply don't have time to deal with. IT TOOK ME 35 MINUTES TO PROGRAM MY REMOTE....GODDAM IT!!!! Why does this stuff need to be so comlicated? On ---Off, Volume, Channels, whats so damn hard?

Got to get back to my TV so that I can teach the Mole how to do it when he gets home. The extra holes in the brick wall, the ugly satellite dish and the new remote control will likely push him right over the edge.

IMG_5270

2006-10-29T10:30:00.001-05:00

IMG_5270
Originally uploaded by arlunydd.

Somedays it is so hard to make decisions. Orange or blue? Yellow or white? Whats a boy to do?

ME ME ME ME

2006-10-29T10:20:00.000-05:00

I have resolved that 2007 is going to be MY YEAR!!!! I am going to start, as of January 1st, 2007, to pay attention to me. To be fair, this neglect of ME has been my own doing and I have no one to blame, but I now feel I should pay closer attention to the id and ego.

For starters, I am going to get a tan. Then I am going to buy myself some decent clothes. Then I am going to get my studio up again even if its only a corner in my bedroom (sorry about the smell of turps, Mole) and then I am going to go on a holiday somewhere where I can relax, drink funny drinks, tan and swim! I will takes thousands of pics, transpose them onto canvas or watercolour paper and make beautiful things again.

And as an aside to me personally, I am cracking the whip! The Mole will be driven to clean up the mess that we call our kitchen, the Baby Mole will be nagged so ruthlessly that he will either move out or find a job where he works 80 hours a week and Princess MustHaveA will be stunned to discover that I'm not actually just waiting for her to call so that I can run around for her!

Life is going to be good and "I" am going to be at the center of it all!

Any cool ideas?

No more sadness

2006-10-28T18:29:00.000-04:00

Seems I'm taking the same advice I gave, some 12 years ago, to my Mum. I waited painfully beside my Dads hospital bed, watching him die and thought ,(not without a great deal of guilt), that death ought to be quick and painless. Aferward, I coached my Mum through a very long and painful bereivement by saying "one day at a time".

I'm using that same advice on myself now and it seems to be working. Almost two weeks have passed and I can actually speak about Shaka without dissolving into tears and icing my eyes afterwards.

BUT....and this bothers me alot, I have found that, now that the initial grief has passed, others are not open to talking about my magnificant Shaka. I WANT to talk about him. He was ALL to me for 9 years and two weeks isn't enough time to just forget him. My life was all about him and my life has changed over night and I'm not adjusting as quickly as others would like. I NEED TO TELL PEOPLE ABOUT MY BOY.

I went shopping today. I bought a magazine and some drain cleaner. I spent the entire morning, until 1pm, running my Mum around town to buy the things she needed. I listened endlessly to her about the things that matter to her and I said NOT A SINGLE WORD ABOUT ME. I just knew that it was not the time.

There seems to be an unwritten rule that "the time has passed" and that I am not welcome to speak of my loss any more as it makes others feel BAD.

Well, I feel bad about 93 times a day. Whenever I do anything, from get up in the morning to drive to the corner store, every single thing I do makes me think of SHaka. He was with me for all of it and he was there with such happiness and love that everything feels hollow and empty.

I won't blog about Shaka anymore. It is sad. It is my sadness and I have to find a way to feel alright to be alone with it. But, this is a memorial to him.

2006-10-24T20:09:00.000-04:00

So the David Caruso thing was a bit of a ruse. I really wanted to say what I mean but thought the depth of my sorrow would drive you all away. I still mean every single word I said about "Horatio", but he's not so important in the bigger scheme of things.

One week, one day and 6 hours 11 minutes ago, my best friends died. His name was Shaka. We call him Snuffy (hence the name of this site), Snuppy, Silly and My Boy. He was 8 years 8 months old. He was a huge, furry, gorgeous Golden Retreiver who won hundred of hearts with his gigantic personality. He is not here anymore and its killing me.

It seems unbelievable that a dog could leave such an enormous hole, but he has. I look all around me at others with pets and few come close to the relationship I had with my dog. He was ALL. He made sense of every horrible day, of every lousy weekend and of all things that made me lose sight of what mattered. He made my world revolve. I loved him. I will always love him. And I miss him with every single thought and breath that I take.

I have been taught a lesson of my time with Snuffy and that is; I invest everything into my relationships. I expect little from them but when they are gone, I wither.

I just wanted to tell everyone who didn't know us personally, that I ache so deeply right now that I could implode. Let there be a place where he is that I will someday find him again.

Oh This sucks soooo much.

Need Members

2006-10-23T20:35:00.000-04:00

Who would like to join my newly developed "I HATE DAVID CARUSO" club? I just know that there has to be thousands of you out there who share in my utter disgust of this man and his pathetic acting. "What I'm goinna need from you"..."Here's what I'm goinna do"...all the while being sure to flash the badge every few seconds lest we forget how important and intimidating he is.

I couldn't stand him on NYPD Blues and I am repelled by him further on CSI Miami. I'm actually getting a bit sick of all the CSI's these days so maybe I'll just have to find myself another show to obsess over.

I need to hear from you folks who share in my sentiments on "Horatio". Tell me what you love most about our boy. Is it his stunning good looks? Is it his superb acting skills? Is it that revolting way he waves a gun around without so much as looking at where he's pointing it? or is it how he looks away from whomever he's speaking to as if he can't lower himself to make eye contact, or he's far too brilliant to play social niceties with othere mere mortals. TELL ME TELL ME TELL ME!!!!

ANYONE SEEN THESE?

2006-10-03T09:04:00.001-04:00

IMG_3146
Originally uploaded by arlunydd.

Missing since May of 2006, these friends are lost and much needed. They became a valuable asset just after Christmas 2005 when my feet turned blue and then were coveted by all members of this family, shortly thereafter.

The left one answers to the name Tina and the right, Tony! If you have seen either, could you please tell them to come home to Momma as her feet are missing them terribly.

Need Input

2006-09-18T19:20:00.000-04:00

Just getting used to the new blogger stuff and screwing things up all the time. Could be cuz I'm not such a good blogger these days. Seems that work has become my entire life these last two months and I rarely feel like doing anything but flaking out when I get home.

Had to clean up the house yesterday as an old family friend came for dinner. Nothing like shame to get things moving. At least the house is reasonably clean on the surface. Just don't look too hard!

Finally found an LP that I tried hard to find for years. I couldn't remember the name of the artist or the album and it finally came to me as I was sitting in my back yard.
Tim Buckley ...."Greetings From L.A." I think I fell in love all over again!

Find it ...Play it...then tell me if you like it the way I do and then tell me why I like it so much.

THATS...TIM BUCKLEY.."GREETINGS FROM L.A."
songs are Surrender, Nighthawkin'. Get On Top, etc.

I want you to hear this album.

Concert 3

2006-09-10T18:37:00.000-04:00

IMG_5311
Originally uploaded by arlunydd.

Just another peek.

These posts are published backwards so read on..

Concert 2

2006-09-10T18:35:00.000-04:00

IMG_5313
Originally uploaded by arlunydd.

The photo is lousy as its nearly impossible to hold a camera above your head with people jostling you and focus properly. This one is enhanced with the help of Picasa.

Hip Concert

2006-09-10T18:32:00.000-04:00

IMG_5275
Originally uploaded by arlunydd.

So the Tragically Hip was, as per usual, fantastic! The concert was held in an enormous field just outside Stratford and was only just beginning to fill up when we arrived at 4:30pm. Thought we'd get there early as no-one seemed to know who the warm-up bands were. As it turned out, the first two were unimpressive and instantly forgettable, which is why I'm not giving you their names.

Hocksley Workman was up just prior to The Hip and I loved them. Weird, funky, and hugely entertaining. We stood not far from the stage, (far enough back that our eardrums weren't sent into shock) and tried mightily to maintain our spot as The Hip arrived.

Half way through The Hip we had to escape as the crush was incredible. Drunken madmen, stoned screamers and perverts squished us into a tiny area so tight that I thought I'd have an anxiety attack.

The photo os of Princess MustHaveA(left) , my friend Heather (right) and the Princesses friend Brandy (front). I'm behind the camera so as to maintain my mysterious personna.

Friends

2006-09-08T20:50:00.000-04:00

I feel like Mr Rogers some times. I have so many chatty neighbours that a walk with the dog that should take roughly 30 minutes, most often is an hour and a half. I'm not complaining. I have never lived anywhere like this , where people actually like each other, want to spend time together, are interested in your life and want to help if they can.

It's unnerving for the Mole as he is a very, very private sort and likes to socialise with those he chooses. I, on the other hand, attract friends like I'm wearing fly paper and find that I simple run out of time every day to visit with everyone.

I will admit, however, that because of the job I do and the fact that I spend 10 hours a day talking to people I don't know, find all this comraderie a bit much at times. I really must be some kind of social butterfly if I'm not completely burned out after all these years, huh?

A blogger friend (TC) suggested that because of my current staffing problems that I close one day a week and I say "Thanks TC", for the idea, I might even do it. Another blog friend ask the question, "What is different about blog friends" and I think I know the answer because I've given it some thought.....

On a blog you can pose thoughts, ideas, problems, experiences and send it out into the ether with a few comments. Wait a day or so and then recieve a huge variety of responses from people from a vast variety of backgrounds and then PICK AND CHOSE those that you feel fit your world view. You know that nobody gets hurt, nobody expects anything from you and you still have all your friends intact. This is something that cannot be done with the usual friendship and something a person wouldn't even attempt. And this is why I value friends of all types; the neighbourly ones, the work ones, the lifelong ones, the family ones and the blog ones.

YEAH FOR FRIENDS!!!

Eidelweiss

2006-09-05T21:16:00.000-04:00

I have to hire someone soon or I am going to do something very very bad. It could be I sneer instead of smile sweetly. OR, it could be I answer a simple question with heaps of sarcasm and bile. I have lost two employees and I'm on my own and I am open 7 days a week! The girls (or young women) who worked for me have gone back to school (tired of the retail life) and I am too stubborn to train someone to find out they are quietly stealing from me. Yeah. Its happened!

I just know someone is going to happen upon me and I'll know...I'll just know!
She'll have an aura of sweetness and be as patient as a saint and love people and beads and WANT to answer 5,000,000 questions everyday about inane subjects that are, quite frankly, obvious from the start.

She'll be a mixture of Mary Poppins and Judge Judy and will know what to do in every concievable situation from toddlers pouring formula into the bead jars, to answering the same question 5 different ways for the "bead challenged" hard of hearing. Oh, and don't kid yourself. There really are bead challenged people out there.

In the meantime, I fantasise about Rome. Tonight, I'm lying on my back in the Apex at St. Peters, staring heavenward at the marvels above. When the guards arrive to drag my away i will....

Tell me

2006-08-30T21:09:00.000-04:00

Somethings going on with me right now and I can't quite figure it out. See, thats the really cool thing about having your own blog and blog friends who visit you and leave their opinions for you to use or discard. Its a really great way to get the best from peple without hurting anyones feeling or doing something they would disapprove of (cuz they just don't know....right?) So I am going to spill my guts and you can tell me what the hell is up with me...OK?

I think I said before that both my young adult children are again living at home. I thought I was OK with this, but its really wearing me down. It makes me work harder, longer and for little or no benefit. It makes me feel old as all I seem to do is counsel them and remind them of their obligations. I dont want to do this anymore. I am sick of it. I am selfish and want my home, husband, time and space to myself. I dare not reveal this or all hell would break loose. (OH YEAH...no Dr. Philisms, OK? I hear far too many of those from my Mum who watches Phil every day).

I haven't had a vacation for a really long time, I have no time to paint or draw or write as I work 6 days a week and it feels like I'm being held hostage in my own life! Blogging has to be on someone elses time schedule as the PC is reserved for SERIOUS STUFF and as that usually takes place when I have a few extra minutes, I don't get near it. (This is my bedtime but I just had to rant first).

You know what really sucks? Even the things that I used to feel really happy about and pleased to be doing have turned into expectations and chores and it REALLY PISSES ME OFF! Things like gardening, cooking, taking care of my home, my dog, talking to friends, etc.

You may be thinking that therapy is the right course of action but if I had a few extra dollars I'd rather take myself to the BIG SMOKE and spend the day window shopping and having lunch with Cam. Can't do it. Gotta work to earn enough to feed to hoards, pay the cable, electricity, buy toilet paper.

You wanna know what I really want? I want to go to Rome. I want to see Saint Peters, I want to check out every statue, painting, frescoe and item of artwork that place has. And I want to go by myself. I want to drink coffee at a little cafe and watch people walking by. I want to sketch and to dream about life and to rest my head and my heart.

Yup...thats the ticket. Thats the therapy I need.
Tell me about Rome. Have you been there? What did you see? If not, what do you think you'd see.

New Toys

2006-08-27T20:32:00.000-04:00

Just got a cool new dash board and more toys to play with so I thought I'd make a post. Its always great to screw around with the newest stuff but then everyday life gets in the way and its days before I can return to it.

The next step for me is to buy my own PC so that I can blog, surf or just play any old time I feel like it. My PC time is severely limited to either late at night or first thing in the morning and I am not so bright then. Just wait until I get a little richer and you'll be hearing from me all the time.

The Mole is out visiting a friend right now so I scurried up to the office the minute he left so that I could get an hour in.

Ooops....HE'S HOME!!!

Back later!

Another bucket full of thankyous' to BB

2006-08-24T09:49:00.000-04:00

After yet another "blogger" incident whereby I was unable to login to compose or to reply to other bloggers, I called the "Eveready, everhelpful, everwise guru" and again got sorted out. I am on my merry way to work right now, but when I return I intend to share all my woes with my blogger friends.

Frustrated Michelangelo Wanna Be

2006-08-11T09:19:00.000-04:00

I recall saying something a while back about an artistic spree I was planning and then I just let it go and said not a word about it. Well, intentions were good, preparations were made, materials were either bought or ferreted out and all was set for the heady episode. I was psyched! All I had to do was drop Princess MustHaveA off at the departures doors at the airport and scurry home for 3 days of painting therapy.

I thought that, as I had the car (not something I usually have) and I had some cash too, I'd buy a few much-needed groceries first. So, I stopped in the local food mega plaza where it takes 15 minutes to walk from the car to the entrance way and another 15 minutes to find the milk and another 15 minutes to go through the checkout and another 15 minutes to walk through the parking lot to find the car. An hour later I was on my way home.

I put the $160 worth of groceries away, watched a soap opera (General Hospital), did the dishes for who can work in a mess? answered the phone 3 times to telemarketers and it was 7pm.

Next day, the Mole had other plans for me requiring my company, as he doesn't like to do anything alone (and NO they were not those kinds of plans), and when I checked the time again, it was 5pm.

Next day, after reviewing my options and accounting for the little time left to me for "art therapy", I surmised I was only going to frustrate myself further by starting something that I was obviously going to have to leave unfinished, once again, so I said "SCREW IT" and bought paint for my hallway ($175 worth) and began the enormous job of redoing my entrance.

Apart from my aching back, my striped dog, my empty bank account and my still-messed up psyche, I have improved the overall look of my hallway and I feel like I actually used my time well.

Being a type A, a little ADD, frustrated artist and much taken for granted Mum and wife requires that I go like stink whenever I have a few precious minutes of my own.
Its a real art that I have not yet mastered to shut out all the noise of life and cocoon myself away from all the demands of work and home. I'll keep working on this and one of these days, I WILL PAINT! Or maybe I should say, "I will paint again", as I used to actually practice being an artist.

The ceiling mural still awaits. I AM GOING TO DO SOME WORK ON IT! Just you wait and see.

Lone Long Time

2006-08-08T20:31:00.000-04:00

Bitch Bitch Bitch....I could go on for days. This is part of why I've not been here for so long. But the bigger part is that its been hellishly hot and humid for the last 2 weeks here and to sit on a leather chair on the second floor of my dismally un-airconditionded house was just more than I could bear. Being menopausal and genetically prediposed to hating humidity, I have been tested to my very last breath.

3 days into the awful weather I drove Princess MustHaveA to the airport so she could have a wee vacation in Whistler, BC. The poor girl was sorely tired of working her 26 hours a week and had to get away so Mummy(me) drove her to her plane and home again in 40 degrees (in between work days). She(the Princess) returned 3 days ago during the massive storm that finally broke the humidity and has enjoyed glorious weather ever since!!! Of course, I had to wait for 5 hours at the airport for her and drive her back in a tornado, but then, what are Mothers for?

I'M NOT DONE BITCHING YET!!! This has been the longest, hottest, rottenest(if thats a word) summer I can remember. Have gone nowhere, worked endlessly(and NO I am no wealthier), and suffered the heat like a penitent.

I do believe I am about to go straight out of my tiny little mind.

What is good is that I have finally found my way back to my blog and it feels really good. I will take a bit of time to check in with with everyone again but "HI".

Hope you haven't given up on me.

Excuses

2006-07-25T20:55:00.000-04:00

So... I'm already 3 days into this self-proclaimed artistic spree and do you wanna know what I've done so far?

I've cleaned all the windows! (no small feat). I've weeded the garden (no small feat). I've spent time with my wonderful nephew (easy) and I've gone to work each day, cleaned the stupid house, done the stupid laundry and NOT painted a damn thing.

I have, however, created a cartoon character for the Moles new "upcoming" web site, which went through a few painful re-draws and had a nervous breakdown (AGAIN) trying to explain the creative process to my dense hubby (drawing, sketching are not his world).

TOMORROW...I swear that tomorrow I begin and I will not be deterred. I will not answer the phone. I will not talk to my neighbours. I will not let Baby Mole Hijack me. Tomorrow the paint comes out.

Splatter splatter, lets get atter

2006-07-23T19:15:00.000-04:00

I really admire all you bloggers who stick to it even when all else seems to conspire against. I find it difficult to be humorous or entertaining when I ache, I'm sweaty as hell and I'm working all the time. All I do at times like these is complain and bellyache and even I get tired of listening to ME!!!

I have excuses, as I have mentioned before, but they sound pretty lame. I have worked non-stop (with the exception of Saturday, when I spent 4 hours in lake Huron) and visiting my brother. After today (Sunday - which I spent running around doing things for everyone else), I will be working for 12 straight days. All my staff and stand-by people are enjoying their summer and I have to keep the boat afloat!! Such is the life of a small business person.

BUT....what I will be doing for the next 5 days (after work is over and I have walked the dog) is my Michelangelo impression!!! YEP...back to the ceiling painting that I started in December before Princess MustHaveA came home from the west coast.

You see, the idea was that both kids were gone from their family home, eager to make their way in the world and find happiness and success. It lasted 3 months! Baby Mole had to come home to his room as he had buried himself in financial trouble, and 3 months later Princess MustHaveA came home after her heart was broken and the west held no glimmer of its former self. The room I had begun to paint was to be my studio, a place where all my creative things surrounded me and inspired me to do great things. That room was the one vacated by the Princess, who has since returned TO STAY!!! Boomerang kids!

Anyhow, the Princess is away for an entire week and I have pulled out the ladder, my paint and brushes and bought my wine. The Ghetto blaster is wired up and tomorrow I begin anew! I will keep you posted on the progress I make and until next Tuesday, that room is ALL MINE again!

There is nothing in the world more luring than a blank wall (or ceiling). They just call out for the Snuffy Touch. If I had my was , and there have been times I have, All walls and ceilings would be covered in murals.

Maybe I'll take a pic when I'm done!

Heat, Humidity and Horrible Hatred

2006-07-19T21:05:00.000-04:00

The temperature is still somewhere in the high 80's here, but at least the humidity is tolerable. Truth be told, I am one of those unfortuneate types who feel as though they have no bones and their heads are ensconsed inside a nasty bubble, during humid days. I can't do a thing to change it and suffer as quietly as I can, but I am miserable.

The last two weeks have been a trial of mammoth proportion and I have done as much as was needed AND NOT A THING MORE! I have walked the dog, tidied the house, thrown in a couple of loads of laundry, counselled "Princess MustHaveA", coped with the "Baby Mole" and listened endlessly to the Mole about his work related issues. I have gone to work and been pleasant as I am able (offended nobody) and when I have completed all that was required of me, I have taken the dog for his last walk of the day and then....drowned myself in a cold bath and gone to bed.

This is not a overblown story (or underblown), it is exactly what I have had the energy to do. I really hate the humidity and wither in it. I swear more often, lose my cool with people who don't deserve it, drink too much and feel as though I could hop a plane, leave all those people I love and go somewhere cool.

On Saturday, I told the Mole that we were not spending one more hour in the house and were going to take a trip to visit my Big Brother on Lake Huron. I got up early in order to pack all the essential things like towels, sunscreen, water, dog leash and bowl, camera, etc. and, away we went.

It was a very long, hot ride,(with accidents of hideous sights), but when we were finally on the beach and splashing around in the water, I finally found a measure of sanity...and this is after 10 days of suffering. We took our chairs and settled into the surf, legs entwined, and waves rolling over us and for the first time in ages, I felt NORMAL. Puppy was delirious with joy, I was finally relaxed and all was right with the world! My world, at least.

So....how have you been coping? If you are burdened by humidity the way I am, you will know how I have been. I can deal with just about anything and do , almost daily. But when the weather sucks everything good out of me, I don't even like myself.

Give me waves. Give me a beach and I'll give you the best of me in the summer.

So Sayeth the menopausal one!!

Still Here

2006-07-19T09:29:00.000-04:00

This is to say that....for good or evil that...and not because I don't want to but...if I had AC...and didn't have to work so much I would....

HELL, I have been remiss. I haven't posted in over a week and its killing me. I don't have time right now as I HAVE TO GO TO WORK...and then when I get home its an inferno upstairs. But, I am going to be selfles and brave and come up here tonight to update you all on the exciting moments of my ever-so-exciting life.

BE BACK

Our House is a very very fine house

2006-07-10T20:54:00.000-04:00

Have my niece here for the week and for the life of me, I cannot fathom why she likes it here. My sister, her Mum, spoils her rotten and she(the neice) has access to all things any teenage girl would want. Here, she is required to entertain herself, find food whenever she is hungry, is assigned chores like walking the dog and is treated like everybody else in this house, which is to say, "pull your weight".

The fare to get here must have run somewhere around $80 and the payoff is minimal at best. Tonight she said to me, "why do all the floors in your house creak?" I answered, "the house is 120 years old and everything that old creaks. Why does it bother you?"

Her answer floored me. "No, I like it. I like everything about your house".

Whaaa!!! I kinda thought that all teenagers were into BIG, BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL. Our home is anything but. It is small, quaint and creaky!

I also thought that teenager were entirely into being the center of attention. Here NOBODY IS CENTER...YET EVERYONE IS CENTER. We are all loud, eccentric, moody, artistic and just plain weird. Why the hell would a kid from the "burbs" want to be here? I still haven't pegged this girl.. I love her, I want to spank her behind, I want to lecture her Mum, but ultimately, she fits in!!

Strange hey? I always think I am running far behind the pack but when push comes to shove, this is where we all want to be. Even Princess MustHaveA's boyfriend wants to be here every minute of every weekend. Good thing we really like him, huh?

Sweets for the sweet

2006-07-06T19:59:00.000-04:00

When I was a wee girl, living in Saughall, near Chester in England, my siblings and I used to take our pocket money(allowance) and run down the road to the local shop (what I'd now consider a Corner Store) and spend agonizing minutes chosing our sweets. They were always displayed in glass jars at the front of the counter so that no Mum or Dad could escape without buying a least one sweetie for their sniveling offspring.

The process of chosing was a difficult one, made more so by the ever present competitiveness of siblings. I would, being the oldest of the three of us (older brother was far too cool to participate), buy the latest, newest sweets just so I could talk about them with my commrades at school, my younger brother (always the economist) would get the greatest bang for his buck and buy BULK and little sister (having no idea what money meant), would want everything and therefore end up with very little as I would encoureage her to buy ones I wanted.

When we got our loot home, we would sit around and compare, organize our sweets into piles and then ferret them away for private consumption. Mine lasted until the end of the day, baby sisters would last an hour or so or until she got a tummy ache but little brother (the little miser), would flaunt his sweets for days, rationing them out for daily consumption. He made me crazy with his self-control and his superiority and I HAD to find his secret hiding spot.

Many, many hours were dedicated to unearthing the "Sweetie Stash" but woefully, I never discovered where he hid them (although I think big brother knew the whole time). My efforts were met with much lecturing from my Mum and Dad, teary tattle-taleing from dear little brother and frustration.

So see? I did once enjoy a good "Sweetie Surrender". I simply found that I am not inclined to eat sweets unless they belong to someone else!

Yum

2006-07-05T22:10:00.000-04:00

IMG_4199
Originally uploaded by arlunydd.

So, as I have nothing of value to blog about, I thought I'd share a dirty little secret. I love to buy, look at, collect, give away sweets. I just don't eat them. OKAY, sometimes when I am driven by forces beyond myself, I will eat a piece of chocolate, but other than that, I really don't eat sweets.

Here, I am in Tobermoray, trying to decide which colour combinations suit all my different family members (the littler ones) and the Mole was becoming a wee bit frustrated at the obvious time required to make these difficult decisions. He is such a boy and lacks all the nessessary genetic material that is needed for this understanding.

As I was somewhat indecisive myself on that day (I don't work well under pressure), I just bought one of everything, further confounding the Mole.

Aren't they pretty?

Sooooooo tired.

2006-07-05T19:34:00.000-04:00

Hate me, slander me, call me names if you must. I have been one lazy blogger and I have only one excuse. My space shuttle mission to Mars has created so many scheduling problems, I've not been able to get to the PC. What with every "expert" showing off their own special abilities and grandstanding for the spotlight, I've been required to be at news conference after news conference and I have to tell you, I'm exhausted.

Besides that....I feel terrible. I am so tired of being sick and tired that I'm about to petition the Medical Journals to include Snuffelitis as "a condition that attacks tired, working women(who should be retired and lazing about) with lazy grown children who still live at home and a husband who wouldn't know a laundry hamper if it reared up and bit him" . Treatment: Eviction of grown children, whipping into shape of lazy husband and DIVA attention accompanied with several bottles of red wine to be served whilst patient lies in hammock and reads latest crime novels. Of course, this treatment takes roughly 2 months to have its full therapeutic effect.

So, "why Mars", you ask? I would have said Venus but I'm just too tired to go that far at the moment. Maybe on my next mission.

Magnetic Revulsion?

2006-07-02T15:13:00.000-04:00

I was at work today and had another one of those really lightening bolt conversations with a friend and neighbour, who always seems to stir me up. Chris loves jewellery and my shop is one of those places you think you can put it all together and make that piece of art to wear. Chris stops by every so often and we look at a picture that needs replicating and we get to talking.

Don't ask me how we got on the subject of "mates", but we did. It was one of those moments that you know you should have had a long time ago, but only surfaced because it was born of a long, funny, circutious conversation. How did I end up married to the Mole? How did Chris end up married to Sally? How the hell do any of us make that decision and more imporantly...WHY????

No two people could be more different than the Mole and myself. In background, in tastes, in temperment, IN JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING. We should not have been paired, and we certainly should not have been able to survive 17 years of partnership.

Truth be told, I really didn't think we would make it, there were too many obstacles in our path and we were too different. I was divorced, a single Mum of two very young children, living on government assistance and going to university. I am also 6 years older than the Mole and was much more worldly. When I went overseas to meet "The Family", it was a real eyeopener. I met the the Mole's three sisters, his Mum and Dad and had a few days left over to visit some of my own family in Chester. It turns out, my Mother-In-Law is a gift, a woman who is so lovely and kind and generous with her affections that I could never have hoped for such a wonderful relationship. The Moles' three sister, all of whom are younger than he is, are simply the best! I love each one of them and am so thankful to call them my family. The Mole's Dad was a great deal more of a challenge, but I think he is worth it. A difficult, complicated man with very defined ideas, he has warmed to me over these years and I can say honestly that I also love him for all his foibles.

So, how did you find your match? Did you think you were ideally suited? Did wedding bells ring straight away or did you want to have him/her assasinated?

I think this is truly a fascinating idea. We are all so different and somehow find each other. I really want to know....tell me!

The semi-nude Mole

2006-06-29T19:53:00.000-04:00

IMG_4310
Originally uploaded by arlunydd.

The Mole is away for two days on a caving adventure with his friend Doug. They are off to map out several caves that have been itching their brains these last 12 months or so, but were out of reach due to the weather. Now that it is nice all the time, they bugger off every weekend on either the Saturday or Sunday, depending on which day it is I have to work.

I, on the other hand, must work.....So, I felt I'd tell my sad tale in hopes of loads of sympathy and blogging commraderie.

The photo of the semi-nude Mole is quite shocking, I do admit, but I'm always happy when the Mole allows himself some freedom of expression. He is usually too damn conservative. This was when he came out of a cave many hundreds of meters from where he entered, discarded the wet suit and realized he had no pants to put on unless he fought off the black flies all the way back to the cave entrance where he left them.

I'm guessing that Doug found the photo-op too irresistable to pass up, knowing the Mole to be the stuffy one that he is.

Nothing like getting caught with your pants down, huh?

Just some things

2006-06-29T19:36:00.000-04:00

Somethings about me that you don't know and may not want to know;

1) I sit cross legged, with one leg propped up on the table when I blog.
2) I despise reading directions ON ANYTHING and therefore never get all the information and usually bug people to help me.
3) I've always been ADHD but when I was a kid it was considered "enthusiastic and lacking concentration", (according to all my teachers).
4) I smoke.
5) I drink.
6) I swear.
7) If something requires more time in the planning than in the execution ---NOT!
8) I watch a certain soap opera ( I even tape it when I'm at work), FOR SHAME!!!
9) I don't read the newspaper and don't watch the news, lifes' depressing enough.
10) I think bloggers should have a convention where they get to meet each other, drink copious amount of booze and run around swapping ideas for two days, somewhere where there is an ocean and sunshine and cute waiters!

More info than you wanted?

Profuse apologies to delicate types

2006-06-26T19:35:00.000-04:00

I think it must be stated to all those who repeatedly, randomly or by chance, read my blog, that I am usually a half-in-the-bag blogger! I blog at around 7 or 8pm, after work and after 2 glasses of wine. This, of course means that my fingers are unco-operative and clumsy and although, intellectually, I know what I want to say, my fingers are less than accurate! BB, my WEB MASTER, finds my typos highly offensive and lets me know what a sloppy blogger I am and I AM dammit! But see, this is the beauty of the art. You don't know me, you don't know where I live, you don't work for me, are not related to me and my embarrassing moments will not cloak me in shame for all eternity....right? RIGHT? RIGHT?

Sorry BB. I have been horribly remiss, and I know it. Does that make it worse?
I can think of only one thing that would SHAPE ME UP and that is if you were to come to my house and yell at me!!!! How about next weekend?

A Day Of Pampering

2006-06-26T09:06:00.000-04:00

IMG_4580
Originally uploaded by arlunydd.

Evidence of the Mars/Venus debate is the description of Puppy's bath day. I called it "The Puppy Pampering Spa" and The Mole called it "The Canine Cleansing Facility". Either way, we feel it has improved the quality of our lives immeasurably (especially that barn-like aroma that used to permeate the house). As you can see by the photo, Puppy isn't too impressed, but at least he tolerates our incessant "clean" fetish.

The two BATH BAYS can be used simultaneously but upon arriving at the spa, we encountered a really nasty beast who wanted to eat my puppies leg before bathing. I felt it best to let the savage hound have the entire facility to himself. His owner not only bathed him judiciously, but then after the time had run out, decided to allow us to wait a further 15 minutes in the scorching hot sun while she groomed her miserable hound from head to toe. The Mole had to be gagged as his angry comments were getting louder and louder and I was affraid he'd get to meet the nasty hound, FACE TO FACE, if he continued.

One bathing choice on the dial was Skunk De-Scent, and I'll let you guess whether or not we used it....

Its all good!

2006-06-23T22:05:00.000-04:00

Being a loner has some draw backs. After a time people stop seeking you out because they expect that you would rather NOT go to the trouble of being social. Its true, I enjoy time alone, ALOT!!! In fact, if too much of my time is imposed upon, I turn into a UBER BITCH!.

I think I inherited the "loner gene" from my Dad. He loved to do things by himself. Oh, you could tag along as long as you were quiet and made an attempt to appreciate whatever it was that he was doing at the time..and I did! I loved making miniature trains and railroad stuff (N-Gauge), I loved doing the crossword puzzle from the news paper, I loved sketching designs, cartoons and graphics with him. But we were mostly silent whilst doing so. There just didn't seem a need to clutter up the environment with idle chitchat. I learned to value quiet reflection and my own company and I still do. My kids tease me all the time because I am not like the Mums of all their friends who are "joiners" and are involved in all kinds of girlie stuff. I don't have a membership at the gym or belong to Weight Watchers and I WILL NOT GO TO BABY SHOWERS, BRIDAL SHOWERS or TUPPERWARE PARTIES!!!! This is so well know now that I have developed a bit of a reputation.

But I still enjoy the people I like and will go out of my way to seek them out and spend time with them. My family are the first people on my list as they really know me and forgive all my foibles and still (who knows why) want me around. I especially enjoy my brother and his partner, my sister-in-law and her son and my little sister, all of whom share my sense of humour and my ideas of what is good and right and comfortable.

THATS IT!! I like my comfort zone! I have also come to love the things I share with my blogging friends and look forward to reading what they have to say on their own blogs and what they say on mine. Keep it coming folks. I may be unsociable, but I'M YOURS!

The Cuties

2006-06-23T21:53:00.000-04:00

IMG_4357
Originally uploaded by arlunydd.

So...who is cuter? This is THE BOYFRIEND!!! No...not my boyfriend! This is Jay and kitty, Tadpole(the name I gave him). Seems they are quite the pair. Tadpole spends the odd day at our house stinking it up with his litter box and terrorizing the dog with his sideways attacks. The minute Shaka moves it runs like hell and hides behind the couch. Fortunately, Shaka isn't too impressed by the weenie feline and ignores its bizarre antics, raising an eyebrow every so often in disdain.

What a Mole looks like in the garden

2006-06-23T08:23:00.000-04:00

Just so you know, the Mole doesn't do much in the garden. He digs holes when I request it but otherwise, he sits around in my housecoat admiring "HIS" garden and drinks tea in the morning and beer on the weekends.

My Excuse For Not Blogging

2006-06-23T08:13:00.000-04:00

I'm finding it difficult to make time to blog these days. I spend an hour or so in my garden before work and a couple hours afterwards. I spend every day off collecting plants, weeding, moving plants and just sitting and staring at my garden! Even the dog is getting annoyed with me as I'd rather garden than walk him. The house is a mess at all times, the laundry doesn't get done and my friends are getting tired of trying to reach me. Think I'm obsessed? Yeah!

Guess I'd better get a move on as I have to go to work and I'm covered in soil. A quick scrub in the bath, a quick run around the block with the mutt and a not-so-quick day at the shop, and I'll be back to do some more gardening.

Mars - Venus Game

2006-06-20T16:39:00.000-04:00

Was inspired by a friends blog post recently about The Game he and his better half play. There are so many damn games we play, are there not? But here's the trick guys; you can't win these games. It really doesn't matter what the rules are (they are subject to change) or what the goal is (subject to change) as the female player is stacked to win. See, you can't fully comprehend the game as you are missing the vital gene that enables full understanding of the rules. Its kind of like the tortoise and the hare. The outcome is assured and you can only make a feeble yet valiant, attempt at success, and for that you definetely get kudos, but truth be told, you lose before you even start.
Such is the GAME...Just thought I'd give you a heads up!
(A concerned WINNER)

SEXY NEW Dog Bathing Facility Designed For Especially Bad Smelling Puppies (Guelph Dog Owner Rejoices)

2006-06-15T12:32:00.000-04:00

The clouds have parted and the sun has shone through. All is fabulous in my tiny world today as I have found a "Mothers Little Helper" that really helps!

For the last two years I have had to bathe poor Puppy in the back yard in a Little Tykes plastic pool, in freezing cold water (winter, Spring, Summer and Fall). This is no easy feat, I can tell you as weighing in at 127lbs, he hardly fit in the first place. But Puppy had to be bathed frequently as he stunk like dead fish ALL THE TIME. This is a symptom of his hypo-thyroid condition and not his fault, but nevertheless, was the cause of many a nasty comment regarding my hapless hounds cologne.

The process has been a painful but nessessary one and one I have undertaken with the patience of a saint, but also, one neither of us looked forward to. There was always the fear that soap was left in his fur, that he wouldn't dry properly, thus causing further stench throughout the house and surrounding neighborhood and worst of all, the limits placed on visits to places where the human folk have an aversion to DOGGY STENCH!(and there are plenty, I can tell you).

So it was a truly happy day when, during our routine morning walk at The Pit, a lovely Scottish gentleman stopped to talk with me (he too had a large Golden Retreiver) and happened to mention a place he took "Harley" after he had rolled in a dead skunk! My ears pricked and I stopped him, asking him to please repeat what he had just said, and to my utter and complete joy, I learned of The Doggy Spa!!!! A car wash bay, converted into a wonderful walk in doggy bathing area. This fantastic idea HAD to be invented by a dog owner who suffered as I have with a stinking hound.

OH....wonder of wonders! For the next three Saturdays, Snuffy is taking a trip to the car wash with me. We might turn this thing into an every weekend excursion as it cost a measley $5 and the benefits are a sweet smelling puppy and a house that no longer smells like a barn.

Doggy Spas' in every city, I say!!!

Bathroom Follies

2006-06-12T10:05:00.000-04:00

WARNING!!!This post is not for the faint at heart. If you are a modest individual, provincial, anal or otherwise disturbed by nudity, navigate away from this page immediately.

I am not a modest person and therefore raised two kids who saw their Mum run around half naked, bath with the door open, carry on conversations from the toilet and generally ignore the general "privacy" issues that so many are married to.

I, however, do enjoy a good soak in the tub as a "quiet getaway" after a long and difficult day and it is at times like these, I do close the door and try to release all the tension of my otherwise stress-filled life.

The problem is this; once you've established that all household discussions can and do take place from the tub or the thrown, it is difficult to impress upon those you live with that there are times that they should not impose themselves upon you, naked or otherwise!

Then there is the Mole, who shuts and triple locks the bathroom door to brush his teeth! Yup, "MR. I Don't Care If I Am Entombed", is affraid someone might accidentally notice that he is human and does all the same things everyone else does to remain hygenic. DUH!

We live in this weird twilight zone. Me, I'm irreverent, sarcastic, rude and I play rough and hard with everyday stuff but get weird about the adventurous things and then theres the Mole, who is terrified someone might hear him fart or see him apply deoderant, but will risk life and limb inplaces most rational human beings would never go.

So, I tried to bath last night. Lit candles, had the Ghetto blaster playing softly, poured loads of epsom salts into the water to soak out all that poison ivy, and was just about knocking on heavens door when.........................

BAM BAM BAM "Mum, pull the curtain, I gotta go", the Baby Mole says.
BAM BAM BAM "Mum, I need the blow dryer" Princess MustHaveA says.
BAM BAM BAM "I got 180 hits Sweetpea, come and see", sayeth the Mole.

I know you are all thinking that I deserve it but jeez, this is too much!

I think that the next time I bathe Snuffy in the back yard in his Little Tykes Pool, I'll jump in with him. It would be more relaxing.

Inventory of Ailments - Update

2006-06-12T09:19:00.000-04:00

Read previous post for the beginning of my sad tale and then for more horror, come back here;

After trying desperately to ignore all the various ailments by drinking copious amounts of wine and watching TV, I jumped on the Mole as he walked through the door,

"Take me to a pharmacy. I can't see to drive so YOU HAVE TO TAKE ME".
"What the hell happened to you eye?", he says.

Now I haven't looked in a mirror all day so I wasn't aware that I was beginning to resemble Quasimoto, so I rushed over to a mirror and let out a scream.

"Now, let's go now", (the wine buzz was probably why I was fuzzy on the whole changing appearance thing).

We arrive at the drug store and I run to the back and tackle the pharmacist.

"Help me, please".

He takes one look at me and asks a few ridiculous questions, by which time I'm scratching myself obscenely, and then says;

"But I think you ought to go to Emergency and have a Doctor look at you".

There wasn't a single seat left in the wating room at the ER, which would mean, roughly, a 6 hour wait. LIKE I'M GOING TO SIT WITH ABUNCH OF STRANGERS AND LET THEM WATCH ME SCRATCH MY NETHER REGIONS!!!! Besides, the drug store would be closed then and I'd have to go all night without any relief.

Back to the drug store.

Benedryl by mouth (makes you sleepy), cortisone cream for immediate topical relief and eye drops so that I keep my grubby fingers away from my now bulbous eyeball.

I drop into bed, want to cry but can't cuz the tears will spead the infection and sting like hell. Can't read with one eye, can't watch TV with one eye and can't sleep cuz I want to loofa myself with sandpaper intil I bleed.

So, this morning, after 3 hours of real sleep, the zit on my chin looks like a boil, I have the start of a canker on my lip, my eye is about swollen shut and I look like I've been wrestling with a porcupine all night.

Off to work I go....

Truly Dedicated

2006-06-11T20:32:00.000-04:00

Just so you know what a truly dedicated blogger I am , let me give you an inventory of my ailments.

1...Poison Oak rash all over my back
2...Strange buggy thing under my right eye lid, requiring 1 eyed blogging
3...Itchy bites from tromp through the underbrush with the Mole in search of willow
4...Blisters on both my ankles from new sandals (but they are so cool)
5...Large Mount Saint Helens zit on chin
6...Acid reflux
7...Dull headache remains from this mornings hangover
8...Throbbing hip and right shoulder (bursitis)
9...Ingrown hair on my ....

I would have included a picture but the Mole refuse to take one of me naked, wearing a patch over one eye. He's weird like that!

A Moles' Natural Habitat

2006-06-10T21:53:00.000-04:00

IMG_4285
Originally uploaded by arlunydd.

Is it any wonder that The Mole is a disaster around the house. Really, how can one expect a creature such as this to feel the need for "the comforts of home" when he is most happy in a place such as this!

After he showed me a set of these pictures, I requested that, in future, he keep all photos such as these away from my poor fragile eyes. Intellectually, I know what he does every weekend, but -really, do I need to be reminded with photos of said event? I feel my heart rate speed up and sweat break out on my forehead when I think of a place like that. Aside from the fact that breathing would be a tad difficult, just think of the creepy bug possibilities!!!

Then theres the "getting stuck" thing...which I just can't fathom without nightmares. So, I try not to be smacked in the face with this stuff. However, when he gets home, he's like some kind of kid with ADHD, thats been fed six pounds of oreo cookies washed down with quarts of chocolate milk. There is NO DENYING HIM!

After a hectic slithering afternoon they all treated themselves to burgers and onions rings at O'Neill's in Kenilworth. The Mole and his friend had the "Pugger Burgers" - Famous 1 LB. burger with bacon, cheese on a kaiser and your choice of garnishes, includes onion rings........$6.99

Good thing they didn't stop at O'Neill's first, huh?

My Latest Excuse

2006-06-09T20:53:00.000-04:00

I've been a very bad blogger recently. I keep telling myself that nobody is inside these days and therefore, nobody is reading my blog. Then I got a blast from BB who is my Blog-conscience, telling me that I have a responsibility to those who read my blather and must not disappoint. But really, take a look at my paradise and tell me you wouldn't rather be lolling around in a hammock, smelling the Bee Balm?

Tonight I am inside as it turned cold and I'm so tired after our latest foray that, while sitting quietly at work today, I found myself nodding off. If it weren't for the nasty poison oak rash itching me like crazy, I would have been snoring and drooling when the next customer came in to buy beads. Thats a pretty picture, huh?

All outings and holidays with the Mole include some form of nasty reminder. There are the blisters from walking miles and miles in boots in a mud bog, thereby resulting in blisters; there are the many thousands of bug bites like Deer Fly, Horse Fly, Black Fly and Mosquito to be scratched into infection and later treated with whatever antibiotic is handy. There are the many cuts and bruises acquired by sraping against the inside of nasty cave walls covered in God knows what fungus. There is the sunburn, the windburn and the many many sore muscles to be calmed with warm baths and A535.

Tonight, I soak in a hot bath of baking soda in hopes of a nights sleep without scratching myself bloody by morning. I'm taking the calamine lotion up with me too and if I have to I'll pour it over myself - and to hell with the sheets.

I will say that there have been no dull moments in my marriage to this crazy wild man. Never one to exert myself, I am continually finding myself in these situations where I must prove that I'm not the BIG BABY he thinks I am.

Having fantasies about an All Inclusive trip to a resort where I get up at 11am from my comfy Queen sized bed, order room service, lay by the pool until 5pm, go out for dinner, have a nap, go to a R&B bar for music and cocktials and finally drop back into bed around midnight.

Anyone want to take me?

New Commenting System

2006-06-09T15:24:00.000-04:00

I have changed the commenting system on my Blog. BB is making a few changes. Please keep on commenting as it makes my day :-)
All your previous comments are saved. They just don't come up with the new system.

Stalked

2006-06-08T18:36:00.000-04:00

IMG_4164
Originally uploaded by arlunydd.

I had no idea that I was so damned photogenic but after 2 days in Tobermoray, the Mole had taken over 250 picture and I was in a t least 200 of them. I had my own private (and extremely irritating) papparazzi.

"Just stand a little to your right, yeah there"
"Now, tilt your head a bit this way, no..not like that, you look stupid"
"Okay, now hang onto that branch and hang out over the water with your foot on that ledge"
"What the hell is that thing on your head? Get it off, it looks ridiculous"
"Pretend your smelling those flowers, sweetpea. NO, of course its not poison oak"
"Can you look a least a little happy"
"You want me to have stuff for my blog, don't you?"

This picture shows me stomping away from the lunatic...
"Get a new model, will you. I'm going to scratch my rash"

2006-06-06T21:34:00.000-04:00

YUP... waisted again. I wasn't planning on it this time, it just happened. Got back from the most beautiful place in Ontario, put our shit away, dealt with the ever present "parent" stuff, and WHOOPEE!, found a frozen bottle of vodka in the freezer and .....

Here's the weird thing. When we left for our trip I was so fucked up. I worried about the dog, I worried about the kids, I worried about our parents, I just plain worried so much that my ulcer was playing hell with me and I had a headache that could blind a bat.

18 hours into our trip I said to the Mole "My stomache is good and I don't have a headache anymore'.....WHAT DOES THIS TELL YOU.

On the way home, I desperately hung on to the feeling that we could freeze frame this feeling when, we hit the outskirts of our home city and the Mole said, "Gotta go get the dog from Mum and Dads" and NOT A WORD OF A LIE, the sky clouded over and it promised a big old storm.

A storm is exactly what we got. From my side of the family tree and from the Mole's side too. I will never say that I would be better off without family, but there are times when I feel that the best interests of my marriage are NOT their foremost concern, and it really pisses me off because we are available at all times for anyone who needs us and we try SOOO FUCKING HARD TO BE THERE FOR EVERYONE that it would be really nice if....

ah, fuck it.

2 Days of bliss

2006-06-05T22:22:00.000-04:00

IMG_4208
Originally uploaded by arlunydd.

How do you spend your time off? Mine is always with wine and as much sunshine and solitude as I can possibly find and "did we find it" in Tobermoray. The entire peninsula is a haven of wildlife, peace and stress-free living. I have no question why people seek this glorious place to unwind, clear their minds and kick back.

I, of course, couldn't even begin to fathom it without a trip to the liqour store first and after polishing off half a bottle of red, had a rather difficult time navigating the rocks that make up the beach. (Thank goodness the Mole wasn't watching or there would be several entries on his blog on the "Exploits of Maggie". He called me "Wobbly" after pushing me for a good 24 hours up and over rocky terrain, (this after cortisone shots in both my hips - the man has no empathy). I persevered for almost the entire time until he asked me to drop about 50 meters through a crevice, at which point I said "this is where I stop" and trundled my way up the trail instead.

All in all, I was not too embarrassing to take along. I kept up and am now icing my hips. Oh - to be married to a Mole.

Nirvana

2006-05-30T16:17:00.000-04:00

IMG_3908
Originally uploaded by arlunydd.

ANd as you've all read my ravings about my garden and some of have asked to see it, here is a wee part of it. I took a pile of pics so you're going to geta bunch over this summer as this is a very big part of me and "I WANNA SHARE, OK?"

Wrist bands

2006-05-30T16:14:00.000-04:00

IMG_3904
Originally uploaded by arlunydd.

Thought you'd like to know what I do with ALL that spare time I have. This is one of the hundred or so , Peyote Stitch wrist bands I have made over the years. (I've hidden the price tag so you won't all run for the hills).

These are the "BIG SNUFFY" stuff that I take some pride in doing as a Beader and Bead Store Owner. Gotta have a few areas of life that I excel in, right?

To Love a Mole

2006-05-28T18:46:00.000-04:00

Effing brutal 5 days and another one to go before I get a slight reprieve. Really must stop beginning my days a 6am as by 9pm, I'm pooched.

These last 5 weekends, the Mole has been out caving 1 of every 2 days and this usually means loads of mess, no car and all the housework you can possibly pile on after and before work. Not to say that I'm doing more than my share cuz, ITS ALL MY SHARE!!

So, yesterday, as the Mole is rushing around before leaving once again on a caving expedition, tossing things as he goes, he screams, "where are my sandals?"

WHAT!?! His sandals are HIS sandals - not mine, not Baby Moles (who thinks sandals are totally uncool), not Princess MustHaveA's, as she wouldn't wear them if the floor was on fire and besides, they are a size 11! No one here has feet that big.

"I don't know. Have you looked everywhere you can think of? Maybe they are in the bag you took last weekend?", I say, knowing the entire time that he has left them somewhere..

"I've looked everywhere, someone has taken my sandals and I need them, now", he laments.

"Have you looked in the car? In the office? In the bedroom?", Okay, I'm grasping here, but shit, I KNOW that they are in his bag!

"Well I can't spend anymore time looking. I've gotta go. Tell the kids, I WANT THOSE DAMN SANDALS".

Off he goes, I do my thing, go to work, come home, go to bed AND when I get up THERE THEY ARE!!! The sandals have miraculously reappeared.

"So, I guess you found your sandals, huh?" I say.

"You put them in my bag, didn't you?"

"YOU PUT THEM IN YOUR STUPID BAG", I shout!
"YOU WORE THEM LAST WEEKEND AND FORGOT WHERE YOU PUT THEM", I shout.

"No", he calmly says, "You put them in my bag so I would look stupid".

Home

2006-05-26T22:11:00.000-04:00

I used to think that you bought a house for all the lovely things you got with the house like; bathrooms, square feet, finished floors, etc. I have revised that idea since living in my neighbourhood.

We bought this house 5 years ago as it was a very solid red brick in a good area of town, "Sunny Acres", and it was a huge step up from where we were living before. The house needed, and still needs work, the garden was a bowling alley which we soon took care of and the puppy (then 7 months old) needed some new friends. The kids stayed at the same school, our jobs remained the same so eveything was good.

5 years later, I am here to say that I will never look at buying a house the same way. When we bought our house, we acquired a neighborhood! And I mean a real neighbohood with people who stop to talk to you, watch out for you, make sure that when you are away your mail is in, play with your dog, lend you sugar, baking pans, give you plants, etc.

Then there is our summer "Street Party"!!! Its fabulous and everyone from all the streets around are invited to join in. There are Harley rides, BBQ's, bands and lousy singers, drinks in plastic cups and alot of laughter.

Melissa, if you read my blog, Gill, if you read it too, come to the street party. Its June 3rd I think.

I'm a lucky lady to have such a great place in the world to call home.

Whiskey, wine and weeds

2006-05-24T16:21:00.000-04:00

Ran out of red wine, had no vodka left as Baby Mole took the last of it to a party a few weekends ago. Even the Sambucca was gone, hefted off to the long weekend campout with Princess MustHaveA. This left me with a choice of crappy, Creme de Cocao or Famous Grouse (which I've been trying to hoist onto my big brother for ages, he's a Red Label kind of guy).

The Famous Grouse won out, but...WOOHOO...,not at all sure I should be doing this. Thank goodness for "spellcheck". This may be a big drunken mistake! But I just know that you'll all forgive my dozey ramblings. I'm not a whiskey drinker normally, but when there is no wine left, I do what all true partiers do...I find the next best thing.

I was going to weed and tend to my front garden this afternoon, but that plan is nixed now. The neighbours will see me, start conversations, want to know "Hows the family?".

That would be fucking horrible, because, when I drink...I TELL THE TRUTH! And then...Oh my god...they'd all know! Can't have that..no no no.

Must hide. I will go into the back yard and weed the flower beds quietly (and that means no playing with the dog), as Greg and Ester will hear me and want to have a conversation! Instead, I will try to hum a little ditty (quietly) to myself as I yank out, rip and tear the evil little weedy bastards out of my beloved garden!!!

Of course, the next visitors will drop by, ask to see the garden and the Mole will proudly take them back and basque in the glory of all the compliments. No...he will not say, "But, No It's Not Me You Should Be GIving This Praise To...It's Maggie Who Does ALL The Hard Work". Which, is in fact the case. Oh dear, I believe whiskey has turned me into a nasty drunk!

Thats it. I am going to frolick in the garden with my dog, sing Irish ditties and "To Hell" with anyone who doesn't like it.

Laughing Out Loud!

2006-05-23T22:10:00.000-04:00

Just watched Russel Peter and Robin Williams, "Live" in New York. Think I need a Tylenol for my aching sides. Now that theres nothing decent on TV to watch any more, I gave Baby Mole the job of recording some DVD's for me..these were the first 2. This is going to be a tough summer, I think.

Now, there is one thing that both my kids have in spades (in fact, my entire family) and thats "a really fine-tuned sense of humour". It started when they were really young (like 18 months old) and has developed, exponentially, since then. Sometimes I think that we are a bit OVER THE TOP with our idea of funny, but then thats what we are!

Now, Russel Peters is a western Indian. Immigrant parents, western influence. And can he zero in on all our racial biases and foibles! The guy is brilliant, pointing out stereotypes without the sharp edges. An hour of him and I thought I needed a break.

THEN, Robin Williams...I have ALWAYS admired and feared this guy. His mind is like a DVD on Fast Forward that switches stations every few seconds. He is so well informed, razor sharp and fucking hilarious, that you hardly have time to absorb one joke before he's moved on to the next.

So its been two hours now and my face is hurting, my sides ache and the dog is exhausted from watching me interact with the TV! A first, I think. He's perturbed and wants to get away from the "Crazy Lady".

I've gotta find something weird or serious to do now or I'll have bizarre dreams of Robin WIlliams with a water bottle, imitating a 50 year old having sex on viagra! NO CAN DO! Need some CSI....corpses, blood, weapons, bad guys. That'll make me sleep.

Alternate View Point

2006-05-22T17:48:00.000-04:00

The Spider

Do-de-oh-do, La-la-la. Wait a sec here, is that a skeeto? YEAH - lunch! Looks a bit stunned.

OK...slowly does it. Let myself down the wall quietly and...What-the f--k! Water bombs! Shit.. retreat, retreat.

Jeez, what the hell was that? Better have a look around and see if....Oh My God!
What the hell is that thing? Its freakin huge! And white and blubbery and has no hair (except for that stupid looking bit sticking off one end). Its gotta be one of those deadly, stupid humans. Better get a closer look...I'll BUNGEE JUMP! and be backup again before it even notices me.

AUGH!! Its hideous and thrashing...watch out! Up Up Up! Damn! That was close. It almost got me. Phew, I think I'll just keep an eye on it for a moment and see what it ....OH MY GOD! Its moving and flaying around like a tree in a wind storm. Shit, its seen me! HIDE HIDE.

Now what? Its running away! Stupid ugly human.

Give me a drink...please!

2006-05-21T10:27:00.000-04:00

There simply are NO cute spiders. I am terrified of the creepy, hairy things. As soon as the Mole left for Big Hole Cave, I ran a hot bath to prepare to go to work. A good soak, wash my hair and away I go. Seemes simple enough, right?

The mosquito I stunned yesterday, was sitting quietly beside the tap and I felt badly for having traumatized it, so I left him alone. Leave me alone and its all good. I'm laying back, staring at the ceiling, which needs another coat of paint, and THERE...

Way to f--k up my bath time bliss, man. I sit up and begin to shout at it, the Mole gone, baby Mole sleeping, I am alone with an arachnid. It ignores me (don't spiders have ears?), and continues on its merry way down the wall toward me. I'm utterly freaked out by now, and I don't react well when naked and under pressure, so I start splashing water up at it.

Mr. Ugly Ass, gets stopped by the sudden rainfall and decides to turn back toward the ceiling where the weather is more pleasant. I settle back into the tub, check on the mosquito who is still immobile, and "keep 6" on Mr. Ugly Ass.

All is going quite swimmingly AND THEN...Ugly Ass bungee jumps! He does this scarey, leepy thing and stops 10 inches from my head. I"M FREAKIN' TRAPPED. If I try to get up, he'll land on my head! If I flick water at him, the weight of the H2O will, no doubt drag him further downward......OH MY GOD!!!!

Covered in goose bumps, soap, and shaking like a jelly mold, I wait. Its like one of those awful suspense movies. I can't stand to look at him, but I can't look away cuz he might let more line go and attempt a landing! FUCK!

It felt like hours, but the water was still hot so it had to be minutes, but he ascends! Guess he just wanted to see me naked, huh?

I waited, unmoving, until he was back in place at the ceiling and then quickly, while watching the little bastard, finished up and lept out of my beloved tub.

I'd kill the little shit if I had any balls, but I don't. He has until the Mole returns and if he has any sense at all, he'll swoop down again when I'm gone, eat the mosquito and get the hell out of my bathroom.

PS..I tried to find a "cute spider" clip art, but THERE ARE NO CUTE SPIDERS!

Away My Mole Away!

2006-05-21T09:25:00.000-04:00

IMG_2229
Originally uploaded by arlunydd.

The Mole is going caving again today and there si a huge pile of caving shit by the front door, the size of a Volkswagon, waiting to be loaded into his buddy, Dougs' car. I do hope Dougs' car has decent suspension as they are going to be driving for 8 hours total and I'd hate it if the bottom of the car got scraped off on the road.

Here are a few of the things The Mole takes with him; a map, 2 flashlights, a camera(my camera), memory, batteries, notebooks, helmets, GPS, compass, cover alls, hip waders, rubber boots, axes, picks, water flasks, food, friends and a whole lot more.

Although I try not to picture him squishing into muddy, dark places that no one in their right mind would want to go, I do worry sometimes (must remember to tell him to take the cell phone).

Can you just hear that conversation.
me; "Hello"
The Mole; "Hi, Big Boss"
me; "Hi, where are you?"
The Mole; "Somewhere 300 meters underground, just north of Big Hole Cave"
me; "Oh"
The Mole; "I was wondering if you could leave my supper in the microwave cuz I won't be able to eat it until I've lost 15 pounds of body mass"
me; "Sure, no problem, should I call work and tell them you might be late tomorrow?"

Awful....I know. But I have to have a sense of humour about these things or I'd go completely crazy. I'm just glad he gave up sky diving when I asked him to. This little ticker of mine just couldn't handle it, otherwise.

I'll just go brave the Beading Demons at my shop today, risk handling a needle and thread and have heaps of scarey stories of my own to tell at the end of the day! PHEW!!

You can keep it - Betty Crocker

2006-05-19T16:19:00.000-04:00

As her 21st birthday approaches, Princess MustHaveA has hinted around about a birthday cake. This is somewhat disconcerting as for 21 years I have gone on record saying, "I HATE BAKING". No exceptions. I will happily prepare lavish meals that everyone loves, buy the wine, candles, lay a beautiful table, but at the last minute when it occurs to me that all the world is not like me, I panick, catch the bus (cuz the Mole is usually out caving with the Rav4) and run out and buy dessert! At this point, it matters little what the hell it is, and it could be crushed chocolate bars on icecream. You see, I don't DO DESSERT! Never have and probably never will!

So, I felt that perhaps the universe was presenting me with a new challenge and it was some kind of character test that I absolutely, must not fail. But, Oh my God, the fear consumes me. Apart from the hatred for flour, tin foil, proper temperature readings, exact measurements, etc., I've never had any success. I know its because I'm ADD and can't read a recipe without stopping half way through to play with my dog, that I'm a failure at all things "baked".

However, and this is big, I went to the grocery store with my recipe in hand, walked up and down the isles looking in places I never go for things I never buy and left with a whopping bill of $40!!! YEAH...Another reason I hate baking.

On Saturday, since my house will be quiet, I WILL BAKE! The flour will fly, I tell ya. I will make an unholy mess, swear my fool head off, sweat it out, and create a masterpiece that commemorates the BIG YEAR!!!! I have high hopes and will galdly hang up the 'ole baking mitts afterwards, if the Gods will give me this one success!

I'm not confident enough to give out the recipe yet, but if all goes well, and there are no trips to the ER for knife wounds or food poisoning, and if friends and family shower me with sincere compliments, I will tell you all about it.

Wish me some luck, cuz I'm going to need it...
Away...

Alone...at last!

2006-05-17T16:44:00.000-04:00

They're gone...They are all gone. The Mole left at 2pm leaving a trail of produce through the kitchen. I pretended not to notice so I could bid him a "fond fare-thee-well" at the door. I pulled it off with panache as I do every damn day...GOD I AM GOOD.

The Baby Mole woke after 8 hours of sleep, slithered down the stairs, complained alot and left...HOORAY!

Princess MustHaveA left for her evening shift at The BollyWood Bistro, where she earns more in tips fop one shift than I do in two days of work. She left me several choice recipes for chocolate birthday cakes, on the table in front of where I fell asleep. I think I remember her saying "see you later, Mum". Maybe it was a dream.

I just woke up...I think I've been asleep for 15 minutes but it feels like 3 hours. I'm having a bath now and I'm going to make it last. God...don't you just love solitude?

Oh yeah, the trip to the doctor netted me a gigantic needle in the bursa of my hip. Ouch! It aches like a bitch, but I'm a tough cookie.

Bummer Day

2006-05-16T21:37:00.000-04:00

Aching all over and seeing the old MD in the morning. Taking a pain killer and off to bed. See y'all later!

A girls gotta do what...

2006-05-13T20:54:00.000-04:00

I know I said that I was NOT GOING TO POST, only check out everyone elses Blogs, but the most amazing day just happened. I was supposed to work the entire weekend, Sat and Sun and then pick my Mum up at the train station after work and make sure she felt "loved" on Mothers Day. Then "my girl", the lovely lady who works for me, said, "Do you mind if I work the weekend, I really need the money?".....Duh.
So, I woke up this morning, took both of my adult children shopping with me (which was highly entertaining for me and everyone else at the grocery store), brought heaps of food home, put it away and BEGAN MY WORK DAY!!!

Now, the Mole was still in his jammies when I returned, looking blurry and grumpy and itching to get to his blog, but knowing full well that he had to make a lukewarm attempt at looking like he likes us. I left him alone and went to the garden.

There are so many wonderful things to look at in my garden but I always let my eye travel to those things that insult my senses. Crazy, I know, but its how things get done.

I have a entrance cubby to my basement and the door has been falling off for two years. Today, I could look at it NO LONGER. I dragged every scrap of old lumber outside, all our power tools, extention cord and screws and away I went.

Now you know that the sound of a power tool in the hands of "the little woman" brings any husband running, but evven this could not budge the Mole from blogging. I had completely renovated the stupid door by myself before he arrived. I was stumpted at reinstalling it and had to call him from his latest post to help me and he was not pleased.

The Mole, "What!"
Me, "Can you help me for a minute?"
The Mole, "Yeah, give me a sec"
Me, "Never mind" (passive aggressive, I know).
Ten Minutes Pass
The Mole (now downstairs and looking at me), "Wha"
Me, "What?"
The Mole, "Why are you looking at me like that"
Me, "Like what?"
The Mole, "Are you trying to start a fight?"
Me, "No, I'm trying to reinstall this door, wanna help me?"
The Mole, "You don't have to talk to me like that".
Me, "Like what?"

You get the picture....

So, having lured him from his latest hole, he put in a full days work around the house. He did the dishes after supper, took me to DQ for a Brownie Batter Blizzard and now I feel I can let him off the hook.

Sometimes you just have to take the reins and giddyup

LATER

2006-05-12T09:34:00.000-04:00

After making coffee ,doing the dishes, feeding, medicating and walking the dog; after putting garden tools away, vacuuming, dusting, picking up all the dirty laundry, throwing in a load of darks; after organizing the shoe cupboard, having a bath and getting ready for work, I now have 22 minutes. I will take the poor wretched dog with me today or he will be alone and ignored for over 8 hours. This is acceptable in this house as Puppy is KING!

The Mole has a long day today, poor sweetheart. He must travel to teach a Raymond course in the AM and then go directly to work afterwards to supervise a shift that ends at midnight. Getting ready to leave is a whole other thing for The Mole.

He wakes up "slowly", stumbles into the kitchen and says "is there any coffee?", sits and drinks his coffee while watching the news, runs a bath, soaks for 25 minutes, dresses in one of the many things he has taken out and thrown on the floor, packs up a leaves! Its tough, I know.

So, after The Mole left, I ran around and redid everything I had done so that when I return home from work at 6:30 I am not thrown into chaos straight away! Nothing worse than that, let me tell you.

So, tonight is the night I will visit all my blogroll buddies. I WILL NOT POST, I WILL NOT POST, I WILL NOT POST!!! If I say it often enough, it might work.

Have a great Friday, all you hard working folk and if you're one of the lucky ones and its the start of your weekend....have a glass of vino for me.

Wheres Bob?

2006-05-10T21:10:00.000-04:00

It is time, at last, that Bob has his place on the stage of life. Passed by for so long, I give you...Bob.

Bobs' my neighbour. We share a double wide driveway, the front door of his tiny house faces the side of our red brick (at our living room window).. Sometimes, Bob yells in my window "Your phone is ringing, you'd better get that!"

Bob's about 75 years old and has NO hobbies besides people watching and hockey. He used to be a marine and loves to tell stories if you are inclined to listen. I usually listen cuz I hope that someone will find me interesting when I'm 75.

The Mole goes beserk at the start of the nice weather cuz Bob plants himself on his weeny front porch (good thing the door swings inward or he'd be some ugly wallpaper), and watches and listens to all the neighbourhood. We give him tons of good stuff to talk about - daily.

For instance, what does Bob think when he sees me sitting in the back yard with a roll of paper towel, sobbing at the table? Who knows? But he politely leaves me alone and then, the next day says something like, "when was it the kids were leaving home?"

One of his favorite things to do is irritate The Mole. It began innocently enough, but its hard not to recognize that pinched expression and to not know the mole's not irritated. You'd need to be blind and Bob is not blind. In fact his sight and hearing are better than anyones....I know.

But I like Bob. He's a good neighbour. Yeah, he knows too much, but he keeps it to himself. Yeah, he likes being the "Grand PoohBah" of the street, but I think he's earned it. It's his hobby, I guess!

Almost Gone

2006-05-10T19:08:00.000-04:00

For just a moment I thought I would give up blogging for good. The incident that precipitated it is too ugly to share (I'm British and we like to keep up appearances, you know), and I thought that I had violated some sacred trust by venting and ranting about those closest to me. My Password and Login were ferreted out and my blog was accessed.

I have had a few moments to contemplate and I believe that blogging is perhaps the nicest way of dealing with those issues too volatile to face head on in you physical life. What I mean is, by sharing all your family woes with family and friends, currents of anger and resentment liger longer than they should. By sharing with your blogging buds (people who are kind, sensitive and supportive but not likely to bump into you or those you blog about), you are able to deal with things constructively while letting off a whole lot of steam while doing so.

Blogging is cathartic for me and I'm staying. I will continue to be sarcastic when nessessary, witty and incredibly interesting as long as my souls needs to let loose over the ether.

Thanks, folks. Your comments are like a salve.

It hurts to be beautiful

2006-05-10T08:54:00.000-04:00

After washing, blow drying and an attempt at styling my hair this morning, I give up. Looking good in this mess is impossible. Time for the dreaded "HAIR CUT".

This happens less often than it should but the scars I carry are extensive. I have had more than my fair share of scissor weilding, artist-hair-geniuses than anyone I know and for some unknown reason, the mere sight of my pathetic mid-70's doo, conjures fantasies of elaborate coifs that are intended for poodles. No matter if I bring in magazine clippings, have a long, heartfelt discussion of the previous nightmares I've experienced at the hands of a "styling-psycho" or threats of law suits, they all go the same route.

I am sure they start out well-intended, intent on following my instructions, but it all goes south somewhere around 20 minutes in. The first indication of trouble is when she starts talking incessantly (obviously trying to distract me from the growing pile of hair at my feet). When a "consult" is required, I go cold. I have had The Dreaded Consult the last 3 hair cuts,(much whispering, sidelong glances,etc.) . And price makes no difference whatsoever here. A $30 cut or a $130 cut are equally disastorous.

I am biting the bullet and scraping out the savings account for my next sashay with the stylist. I can only wear my hair in an elastic for so long before it feels as though my brains are being torn out through my hair roots, so here goes nothing.

And don't ask for pics! I "turtle" for about 3 weeks after a new doo, until I can learn to wrestle the stuff into shape and be seen in public again.

Caught Ya

2006-05-05T17:58:00.000-04:00

sleepy1
Originally uploaded by arlunydd.

When The Mole isn't slopping around in mud and dirt in various caves and holes around the Ontario landscape, he is usually sitting at the PC blogging his little heart out night and day. This has created a few issues around our happy home as nothing else ever seems to get done. This is my beloved after an arduous lawn mowing session (half an hour -tops) that completely wiped him out. These moments of domestic torture are always rewarded with beer and a wee nap. He is unaware of this pic and I'm not telling - so its our little secret, right? The book on his tummy is titled "1,000 Places To See Before You Die", and I'll just bet he's dreaming of somewhere in the Carribean at that moment, (oh wait, that would be my fantasy). The Mole is probably dreaming of a dank, dark hole in the ground where albino salamanders and blind spiders live!

Smiles Before The Earth Caves In!

2006-05-05T08:18:00.000-04:00

IMG_3034
Originally uploaded by arlunydd.

Our beautiful little digital camera takes these amazing photos undergound. It used to look all shiney and new, but now it has so much filth caked on it, its hard to tell its a camera at all. As long as it works, I'm OK. "Look out, theres a mighty big spider behind you!"

Is This The Way Out?

2006-05-05T08:10:00.000-04:00

IMG_3029
Originally uploaded by arlunydd.

Here is how The Mole shows us what to do on an Easter weekend. The cave was a tiny one that is well travelled (not the type he usually likes) so it was just right for beginners such as my little sister. The 5 of them came home covered in mud, but excited and happy. My caving days are almost over as the days following an adventure underground are usually frought with too much pain.

Smells are all in your head!

2006-05-03T19:40:00.000-04:00

As much as I love this wonderful change in the weather, there is one thing that plagues me. My beautiful, lovable, devoted Snuffy, (weighing in at 127lbs), must have a bath. Dogs sweat you know, and although he is a lovely boy, he does smell.

The problem is that I work most days when the sun is shining brightly, I return home to do an hour in the garden and then its dusk, and there is no "drying time" left in the day (and Snuffy needs at least 5 hours).

Another problem is that we have only one bathroom, it is upstairs (which are hardwood) and Snuffy is not that stable on his legs as he had surgery some time ago.

I bought a Little Tykes pool to bathe the boy in, but it won't happen until Friday and they are calling for rain...wouldn't you know it?

In the meantime, I will love him anyway, smells and all..My 127lb "fur ball".
For those of you who bond the way I do, to your dog, there is little I wouldn't do for the silly mutt (with papers and a good pedigree). However, I must insist that everyone who plans a visit to our humble abode, be fully briefed on the Snuffy Scent. I am almost immune to it after years of pretending it isn't an issue...but GOD, I can't wait for his bath time! Let there be sun on Friday...Puleeez!

Thank the Gods

2006-05-01T21:50:00.000-04:00

Summer is coming fast and furiously around these parts. I am worried I'll lose all you folks but I realise that there are better places to be than in front of your PC.

It has been glorious here, with every damn thing bursting into life and I am so in awe of Mother Nature that I have spent the entire weekend in my back yard.

I struggle with the urge to put the house up for sale every winter, and make all kinds of noises to The Mole, and then the spring arrives, and our garden begins to look like a painting again , only better than the year before, and I can't do it.

I am going to post pics of our wonder Eden for you as soon as as my Flickr account lets me. It has made me appreciate life in Ontario once again.

BUT, WINTER SUCKS! Let there be no doubt abiout it!