Pictures from My Garden

You Wanna Know What Pisses Me Off

Doctors, Hospitals, and Specialists, that's what. Now don't get me wrong, I would not trade our health system for anything, it's free and easy and that's excellent. And I know everyone is doing the best they can with what we have. But that doesn't mean I can't get pissed off and complain about it. I mean, give me a freakin' break.

You find a problem, so you go see your doctor. Your doctor says you should go see a specialist, okay, but it takes like 3 weeks to get an appointment, so you wait. The specialist says you need to have a procedure done, fine, but it takes 2 weeks to get an appointment, so you wait. Then the specialist says you need to come back for the results, good, another week wait. Then you need another procedure, and that will be a 4 week wait. This time you go back to your doctor for the results, that will be a 2 week wait, just to find out your doctor knows nothing, the problem is 3 times as bad as it was 12 weeks ago and you need to go back to the specialist, another week wait. And by the time you get any answers about anything, the stress has already killed you!

Seriously!

And half the time no one know what is going on or where any paper work is or anything! It's a good thing the secretaries and nurses are nice or everyone here would go crazy!

Makes me glad I don't get sick, not that I would go if I did :o)

I don't want to be the calmer-downer

I heard a comedian do a sketch about how with couples if one person is freaking out the other person automatically adopts the role of "calmer-downer". I think I found it so funny because it is 100% true. If I start having a breakdown or start freaking out, my better half becomes the calmer. If he starts having a breakdown or starts freaking out, then I become the calmer. It's a great setup, until you both need to have a breakdown, then what. Seems like whoever gets to it first gets to have it and the other person just gets robbed and is stuck being the calmer. I guess we could take turns, but that seems kind of strange. Once the "breakdown" moment has passed, it feels a little useless to have it. Sometimes you end up having a delayed breakdown and then the other person is like "aren't you over it yet, it's been forever". I guess it's everyone for themselves and whoever gets there first gets to have the breakdown and/or freak-out and the other will just have to wait till next time. I think I'm going to have to do some practicing :o)

What A Waste of Holidays

I am just finishing my first week at work back from Holidays. We had so much planned for our 2 weeks off. We were finally going to get the projects in the yard done! I was so excited. This is a summary of how it went:

July 4th - July 6th - weather: sunny and warm
- Visiting our new niece and nephew and other family away from home

July 7th - raining
- sat at home and watched it rain

July 8th - raining
- went shopping at the mall because it was raining

July 9th - raining
- took the car in to the shop because it was broken
- had a flat tire on the way to the city, it was changed in the pouring rain
- spent the whole day in the city and the car is still broken and had to spend a fortune on new tires because the flat could not be fixed

July 10th and 11th - raining
- sat at home and watched it rain
(Okay, seriously, I will go back to work if it doesn't stop raining!)

July 12th - cold but not rainy
- cut down trees and worked in the mud in the flower beds

July 13th - not too bad for weather
- doctor appointments
(Oh thank goodness the weather is going to smarten up...too bad it's wasted in the city)

July 14th - raining
- sat at home and watched it rain
(SERIOUSLY! ENOUGH WITH THE RAIN!)

July 15th - raining and cold
- changed taps in the house

July 16th - rain in the mourning but nice in the afternoon
- picked up the wood chipper and started chipping dead trees

July 17th - ahhhh...finally hot weather
- just in time to be chipping trees...nothing like 30C when you have to be working hard outside

July 17th - July 19th - really quite nice out
- off visiting family

Thankfully we got a little bit of work done. Kinda seemed like a waste of good holiday days. Although it probably would have rained no matter when we took them. I guess next time we should see when the farmers want rain and then book our holidays then. Maybe we could charge them for "rain days". Oh well, maybe next year will be better. And, of course, it has been gorgeous all week and is supposed to be in the thirties for the weekend.

Africa (Toto - cover) - Jimmie Inch

This is just cool!

Say Anything - Retarded In Love

...
I'm right here and I must admit
I've been pining for you
You're my wish
When I touch I myself I am be conjuring you
From fresh dirt
When we talk all night and the minutes are free
I just hope when I cast my spell, you'll be falling for me

Because
Falling in love could be the first thing
Falling in love could be the worst thing
Falling in love there's no rehearsing
Retarded in love

Jason Mraz Feat. James Morrison - Details In The Fabric

...
Hold your own
Know your name
And go your own way

And, everything
Everything will be fine
Everything

All the details in the fabric?
Are the things that make you panic?
Are your thoughts result of static cling?

Are the things that make you blow?
Hell, no reason, go on and scream
If you're shocked, it's just the fault
Of faulty manufacturing
...

The Frames - Falling Slowly

Falling slowly, eyes that know me
And I can't go back
Moods that take me and erase me
And I'll paint it black

Games that never amount
To more then themselves
Will play themselves out

Take this sinking boat and point it home
We've still got time, raise your hopeful voice
You had the choice, and you made it now

I DID IT!

Well, I finally sucked it up and went for my first blood test ever yesterday. First of all, I am absolutely terrified of needles! I know, you're like, oh, whatever, needles are nothing. Yes, I realize they are nothing but just the thought of them sends me into a cold sweat. If I wanted to be used to stabbing pieces of metal into my flesh I would have been a heroine addict!

First they sit you in a cubicle (yeah, not even a room). I had an older lady and it went something like this:

Nurse - "How are you today?"
me - "Terrified"
Nurse - "Oh really, no worries, it's just a pinch."
me - "yeah sure"
Nurse - "When was your last blood test?"
me - "Never"
Nurse - "Really?"
me - "Yup"
Nurse - "I don't believe that"
me - "Nope, never had one before"
Nurse - "Are you sure? That's strange"
me (in my head) - "FOR CHRIST SAKES I SAID I NEVER HAD ONE BEFORE!"
me (out loud) - "Yeah, well I guess I'm just lucky"

...and then on with the little pinch. Little pinch my ass. Felt like cutting my arm with a freaking razor blade! If I ever decide to kill myself it will definitely not be with razor blades! Or needles! My arm still hurts. And supposedly that was a good nurse. At least I only have a little bruise. Apparently I'm just being a wuss. Oh well, it's done now. Hopefully never to be repeated. And I didn't cry, puke, or pass out! Yeah for me!

Thriving Ivory - Angels On The Moon

From LYRICSMODE.COM lyrics archive

...
So don't tell me if I'm dying, 'cause I don't wanna know
If I can't see the sun, maybe I should go
Don't wake me cause I'm dreaming, of angels on the moon
Where everyone you know, never leaves too soon

Yeah, you can tell me all your thoughts
'Bout the stars that fill polluted skies
And show me where you run to
When no one's left to take your side
But don't tell me where the road ends
'Cause I just don't wanna know,
No I don't wanna know
...

Say Anything - I Want To Know Your Plans

From LYRICSMODE.COM lyrics archive

...
You're what keeps me believing the worlds not gone dead
Strength in my bones, put the words in my head
When they pour out to paper
It's all for you
'Cause that's what you do

No more fighting this is only a waste of our time
Oh 'cause soon we'll be leaving
Will this strength still be mine?

I'll look out for you
till I die, till I rot

Oh I'll remember you
till I die, till I rot
...

RIP Millie

On Sunday I found my cat Millie dead in the middle of the road out front of our place. Right in the middle of the road, soaking wet, and dead. Obviously he had been run over. He was, after all, just a cat, so he probably wasn't paying attention to what he was doing and ran out in front of a vehicle. But still, who leaves a dead animal right in the middle of the road?

They obviously did not stop to check that he was actually dead and not laying there suffering. If they had stopped they would have realized that the cat belonged to someone, probably from the yard that it obviously just came out of and they may have come and told us what had happened. Or at least moved him to the side of the road. But we heard nothing. I found him when I went to go to town to pick up supper. Nice surprise right before we eat.

Millie was the biggest, suckiest baby ever. He cried constantly, unless you were petting him or he was eating. I even saw him cry in his sleep once. This may be because for the first part of his life we thought he was a girl! Thus the name Millie. He was a pain in the ass but I loved him just the same.

So we buried him out back beside Midget. We'll have to make him a cross (Midget too since his has disappeared, but that's a different story). I still have Jaxie, Ali, Frank, and Abi to keep me company, and I think Abi is prego so there will be more, but Millie will never be forgotten. It sure seems quiet around the farm now.

May Long Weekend Fun

For the May long weekend we packed up the quad and headed to the outlaws farm for a family get-together. Some of the other family members also brought their machines. Adam's youngest sister and her fiance just bought a Yamaha side-by-side. It was pretty cool. Plus it could carry a cooler!

We spent Saturday playing in the mud. That was the first time we had ever been stuck. The nice thing about having other people around is that there's someone to put you out! One thing I noticed about the side-by-side is that you tend to get muddier, as Meagan discovered!



Later in the evening we went out and found the perfect water hole to play in. No threat of being stuck in this one even though the water must have been at least 3 feet deep.

Here's a video of us racing through the water.



It was sooo nice to actually have some fun and forget things, even if it was only for a day.

My First Sunburn Of 2009

The sun actually came out long enough on Sunday for me to get a burn. The one thing about my skin is it is either white or red, no tan, so it's not like it will even turn into a nice tan. It will just get dry, peal, and go right back to white, ready to burn all over again.

Adam and I were hanging out in the yard on Sunday when he suggested we go for a "quick tour". I agreed as long as it was quick because I wanted to get some work done in my flower beds. But once we started touring around the hills we found it hard to stop. It was soooo nice out and there was all sorts of wildlife up and about. We ended up being out for a good 1 1/2 hours. Now both of us have bright red arms and faces.

But I will take it. It was so nice to get away from everything for a while.

It's all over but the crying...

And that will be over soon. My cousin died on Sunday afternoon. So now we make the long trek back to St. Albert. At least our hotel has a liquor store in it!

And now I am left wondering who's next...

The Killers

And the decades disappear like sinking ships but we persevere
God gives us strength but we still fear what we don't know
The mind is poison

Castles in the sky sit stranded, vandalized
The drawbridge is closing

Ready To Go

So I have google mapped pretty much everything we will need to know. Bought one auto-fish-feeder but still need to find another. Loaded up the lap top with everything we need (except the maps, still need to save those). Now I just have to pack everything else. I wonder what I will forget.

I am afraid to go. Makes me nervous leaving my home and my animals. I don't like it. I guess I'm kind of a worry-wort. I don't like not knowing what is going on at my house. What if Jaxie gets stuck outside and can't get to her food for three days. What if one of the cats gets run over and I don't find him/her for three days. What if the auto-fish-feeder falls over and the fish don't get food. But I'm afraid not to go. My cousin was in and out of consciousness yesterday so this could be it. But that also makes me not want to go. I am eager to get there but I will have a tough time getting in the car to leave. Oh well, we all must do things that are hard. I guess that's just life.

I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.

Surprise! I'm going on a trip...

...to Morinville Alberta! That's right, I'm leaving the province! Yeah for me! We are going over the long weekend. Three whole days away from my animals, that's a big step for me. I hope they will be okay. It'll be the first time being alone for the fish. Hope they don't hate me! (Yes I know I sound like a crazy person. If you know me then you know it is because I am totally crazy! That's why I live in the middle of nowhere and never go anywhere.)


View Larger Map

My family is gathering there because my cousin is in the hospital there. We are taking our new car. And my sister is coming with us. Should be interesting, Adam, me, and Erin all in a car for 6 1/2 hours. I will definitely take the camera.

Happy Birthdays for Everyone!

Well, not for everyone. That's just me exaggerating!

It is my cousin Landon's 22nd Birthday today. Yesterday they moved him from the Tofino Hospital back to a hospital in Edmonton. Everything went well except my uncle and aunt had to pay for a private charter plane to fly them back because neither the BC government or the AB government would help them pay/organize anything to get him home.

The other birthday is my sister tomorrow. Happy Birthday Erin!

My Hair is Still Long

Well, a late March rain/snow storm kept me from getting my hair cut this weekend. I was actually looking forward to it. Oh well, I guess another week of growth won't hurt anything. The weather here has bee super crazy. It rained all day yesterday and then snowed all night and then the wind came and mixed everything together into a big mess.

Speaking of weather, last week a friend of ours participated in "5 Days for the Homeless". 5 of them basically lived like a homeless person to raise money for at risk youth in Saskatoon. It was very cold last week (-36C) and snowy and they slept outside on pieces of cardboard. They raised a tonne of money. Great job guys! Check it out at 5days.ca.