SMILE! IT CHASES AWAY MR. GRUMBLE!

This is Fred with his sister,Erika, and his little brother Raphael.
I forgot to mention in my last post that my grandson moved in downstairs. Being a wise lad, he was already installed before Christmas Day; he didn’t need to worry about driving home after drinking his season’s cheer.

It is wonderful...I think! Like I said, I was pretty zombie during the period. I knew he was there, but we didn’t interact much. The doggies spend their time going up and downstairs, basking in the attention from Fred’s numerous friends. Very quiet friends. They are careful not to park in front of the garage door, and the only disturbance is the doggies’ barking when they arrive (quite normal), and a faint sound of music. I’m still amazed that these young lads are way less noisy than Fred’s grandmother was at their age. In fact, she still is, LOL! He left to work in Abitibi the day after New Years, but will be arriving tonight. M’mère has washed his bed, cleaned his bathroom, and will leave a pâté chinois (Shepherd’s pie) in his fridge...and maybe a tarte au sucre à la crème (cream sugar pie). My Fred has a sweet tooth. This time we’ll hopefully get a chance to chat a bit.

I’m working from home today, but have spent most of the morning on the phone (some with collection agencies, UGH!) or swearing at this XXXXXX laptop. Not only does it take up all the space on my desk, but it is slow, and works with Vista – the worst program I’ve ever seen from Windows. It has compatibility problems with my accounting program, and flushes me out right in the middle of whatever I’m doing...GRRRR! I can’t afford another computer at the moment, so we make do.....reluctantly.

I need to get in touch with my friend Karen, from Saskatoon. She was to come and spend a few days with me after New Years, but I heard nothing from her. It is probably just as well. My company would have left much to be desired on the mental front, and then there was that drastic flu bug compounding the misery. Maybe a little birdie from Quebec flew out to warn her. Looks like we’re stuck with 4 hour long distant chats.

Okay, it’s back to business. It’s so nice sitting at the computer with doggies curled up at my feet. Now if I could work from home on a permanent basis....aspirations for the future.

I have reading to catch up on – especially in Blogit – although I did slip in and read now and again during my silence. There are many e-mails and messages on Facebook to answer too; it’s gratifying to realize how much friends care. It felt like warm hands stretched out to help me get back up on my feet. Before the end of this week, I’ll do my best to answer and thank those I haven’t yet contacted, and reassure them that the SMILE never disappears for long; I think a fairy tattooed it on my face the day I was born, or, more probably, it’s my grandmother’s motto, so deeply ingrained in both my brother and me: SMILE! It chases away Mr. Grumble!
Sending mine out to y’all!!!

Luv from the Bush in Quebec