A PARTY WHERE??

Last Friday I had the pleasure of babysitting my three little rug rats. We were playing ‘tent’ – you remember the game where a blanket is thrown over the back of the couch, you’re all hiding there in the dark, then a hand sneaks in from nowhere and tickles you? There was much laughter and giggling and squealing going on, so none of us realized we had a visitor until the voice called ‘Hello!’

It was a friend of mine, one I haven’t seen for ages. My son had met her earlier in the day, told her I’d be with the boys that evening, and she decided to drop in. We obviously hadn’t heard her knocking, so she came in and followed the noise, LOL! It started the weekend off with a nice surprise, and it wasn’t the only one to happen that night!

The children were in bed, my friend had gone on her way, and I logged into Facebook on my son’s computer. I was scrolling down the page, when my grandson’s status entry jumped out at me. ‘Party at my place tomorrow night!’ it said.
Ummm…his place? But…wasn’t that MY place too?

It was – and it happened. I had one eye on the hockey game and the other on the cars rolling in. I quit counting at one point. My grandson was out there making sure no-one blocked my exit; he is well aware that his great uncle’s condition could require that I leave quickly. Unbelievably, although the music was slightly louder than usual (but not louder than I play my own most of the time), the noise was perfectly tolerable. The next morning there were wall-to-wall young men crashed on his apartment floor; a wise move after a booze night!

I profited from the occasion. My daughter had returned a bedroom set that needed to be carried up two flights of stairs. No sooner requested than accomplished and with polite smiles too. I must say – it’s handy having strong, young arms around to do grunt work!

Now I have to run. The individual tax period is winding down but, because the majority of our business is corporate, we are in no way over the hump. I won’t be so involved in hockey now (I’m not even going to go into THAT!!!), and both Line and I are hoping that we’ll be able to catch our breath by the end of May.
Wishing you a great day, folks. In spite of my HABS loss (and because I’ve had the night to get over it), I’m SMILING!

Luv from the Bush in Quebec

SNOW AND ICE AND...SMILES

Check it out! A view of Grump through the double-face fireplace - I was in the living room, and he was warming himself in the bedroom. The reflection of living room window is behind me, and the bathroom door is in background behind Grump.

My Dunany Demons played a trick. They do so every year. They let you think it’s spring; you make an appointment with the garage for removal of winter tires, then bang! They are right back in your face with a vengeance! Wet snow, strong wind, hail, ice rain – they poured it all on as of 2 AM this morning…and it’s still happening out there. Very pretty but, for many people, a complete deception…and a semi-depression.

Yours truly, however, has learned from experience, and my truck is still sporting its winter footwear. Yes it IS experience…whatever made you think that it could be procrastination which just happened to pay off??

Because of the road conditions in this area, I was forced to work at home. (Love the word ‘forced’ in this context – it makes things so definite, no choice, not my fault, etc. LOL) Okay, so I decided not to risk the travel. My tires are good for this type of weather, but I knew many others had anticipated nothing but sunshine, better gas mileage (or were not procrastinators) and have changed over already. THAT was what worried me.

The first business call came in at 8:15 AM….and it rolled from there. The electricity did not fail, the reception for remote computer access was adequate, and I managed to get quite a bit accomplished, although not exactly what was planned for today. It doesn’t matter. Grump was a happy doggie, and I was here to greet my grandson when he arrived. He was grinning from ear to ear as he told me he would not have to return up north right away; he’d be staying home. I mentioned his being disturbed when the renovations started downstairs at the end of the month; his smile just got wider.

“I’ll help the dude, M’mère. And there’s the lawns to be raked, the garage to be cleaned, and other stuff to do around here too.” Oh yes!!!
And M’mère, once again, has somebody to cook for on a pretty regular basis! Chicken parmesan, Chinese fried rice, and lemon tarts…I sang gleefully as I prepared our supper for tonight. A little extra to share with his buddies who show up whenever he arrives. And it so reminds me of the way it was when his mom and his uncles were his age and still living at home.

What do you think? Am I SMILING?

Oh, yeh! Sharing with you, my friends; it’s a biggie, there’s lots to go around!

Luv from the Bush in Quebec.

THE RETURN OF SUNSHINE...AND FRED

Photo courtesy of Photobucket
Sunshine!! The wonderful, crimson ball rose to the chorus of tweets and warbles of our little feathered friends. Grump and I stood on the gallery, enjoying the awesome scene and the cheerful music, and the hot, sweet taste of the first coffee on this splendid morning. I bet there will be smiles on more than one face today; nice weather tends to change our attitudes, doesn’t it? My friend, Kilroy, will be able to take his walk in the outdoors he so enjoys – and drivers will be a little more courteous during the rush hour.

I arrived late from the office last night, then watched the hockey games, of course, so needed to get downstairs and clean up the mess left by my neighbor, and the plumber who finished up the repairs early yesterday morning. My daughter had called to warn me that my grandson is coming home today. He has been laid off - usual for this time of year - and the bathroom was a jumble of broken gypsum and pieces of discarded pipe. It looks terrible with gaping holes in the ceiling, but at least it’s clean and serviceable now. I know a doggie that is going to be ecstatic – his days won’t be so long waiting on mistress. He’ll have Fred to spoil him.

The limit date for tax remittance is looming, and we still have so much to do at the office! Family and friends are showing up here on Saturday for our Easter supper; I have a date to babysit my 3 rug rats on Friday night…I’m really not sure where I’ll find time for it all…but it always seems to work out. Hopefully we’ll have to fit in an appointment at the hospital for my brother too; this waiting is not good. His health is deteriorating day by day and his morale too. Our health system, paid for by the citizens but run by politicians, one as incompetent as the other, leaves much to be desired!

And that’s enough growling. The day is too pretty to be spoiled by complaints. Now it’s shower, dress, do whatever I can with this face, then off to the city to immerse myself in paper and numbers and explanations. We rock and roll, and we do it with a SMILE!! Life is good.

Luv from the Bush in Quebec.

ICE AND WATER?

Photo courtesy of NHL site
My Dunany Demons were up to their tricks again yesterday. It started to snow early Saturday morning. A wild wind was playing havoc with my satellite, but the Wings game came in okay during the afternoon. By evening however, when it was time to watch the HABS, the reception was going on and off…GRRRR! I grabbed the mop with the longest handle, put on my coat, and braved the dark and the elements as I attempted to stretch way, way up there to brush the offending snow off the dish. I was leaning against the gallery railing to keep from being blown right over, and it was scary! That gallery is high off the ground! My efforts helped some, and I was able to yell and scream, then dance to the victory as I watched the HABS show the Bruins what was what. How sweet it is!!

During the lull between the games I decided to start my laundry. Fortunately! If I had not gone downstairs when I did, there would have been another flood in my grandson’s apartment. Sure enough, the pipes are leaking again. The water is turned off until my neighbor, who answered my call for help, comes by later today to fix it. Paying a plumber overtime weekend rates is beyond my budget, so I have to wait. Not only does this neighbor get up later than most folks, I see that a tree has fallen in his driveway – right across it in fact. He’ll have to clear it away before he can get out. I believe I read somewhere that patience is a virtue?
I have enough to keep me occupied until things get back to normal. The file I brought home from the office on Friday is huge. I labored on it from 7 AM yesterday until the games started in the afternoon, yet there is still much to do. Water is needed for housework (which I had planned for today) but the computer works fine without it, so there we go. Everything happens for a reason.

Update on my brother:
Once again we were called to the hospital where nothing was done except a question and answer session with the anesthetist; this after a 90 minute drive into the city, a 2-1/2 hour wait to see the dude, only to discover that any information he wanted was already in my brother’s file...which he was supposed to have read - at least that was the reason given for our extra ½ hour wait. Now it has been decided that Bird must see another heart specialist; they won’t accept the info from a different hospital. Bird had been seen by a heart specialist following his stroke three weeks ago. He will also be scheduled for another MRI. We have lost count how many MRI’s have been done in the last 6 months. Bird stated that that he’ll soon glow in the dark. SO…we wait.

And am I not a stick in the mud this Sunday morning? LOL – actually my mood is pretty good. There is no use getting upset. I’ve got Shaggy on the sound system, singing about sun and love; a nice fire warming up the house, and nobody except Grump to please if the lack of water causes some body odor….and he doesn’t complain. Sam & I did our usual email play by play while watching hockey, I had a long chat with Saskatoon Karen immediately after the game last night, always a pleasure, and my son and Yoshiko are supposed to drop over this afternoon. There is the Vancouver/Chicago series fight to look forward to later today. Granted, it is pouring rain outside, but that’s to wash away the snow, of course! Besides, I really don’t mind rain – it has its own charm.

I’m off to crunch numbers, folks. I hope you are enjoying your weekend, and out floats my cyber SMILE to round it off. It may be a little wet, but you can be sure it’s still warm!!

Luv from the Bush in Quebec.

RUNNING...AND SMILING!

Tao, my youngest grandson, at 8 months. Another reason to smile!

Sorry about the lapse of posting, but we have work coming out of our ears right now! That, plus the hospital visits, plus hockey (playoffs are starting, yippee!!)…it’s rock ‘n roll! I do make sure I give you your clicks in Blogit, even if I don’t comment sometimes. It’s a nice break. When the numbers become so jumbled inside my head I sneak a few moments and read a couple of blogs…it helps.

Last Saturday was the 6th wedding anniversary of my son’s marriage to Yoshiko. The wedding took place in Japan. This year we are worrying about Yoshiko’s parents and family over there, where the aftershocks don’t seem to quit.

To celebrate (the anniversary, not the aftershocks), my daughter held her first family supper in her new home. It was nice, although my youngest son, his lady, and his three boys were not able to make it. My brother came with me so we didn’t stay too late. He’s a Toronto fan, and there was some friendly sparring as we listened to the game blaring from the car radio on the way back.

I watched as he negotiated the stairs leading up to his apartment. He has to stop more than once to catch his breath. We’ve talked about it, but he doesn’t want to move, not that he’s in shape to do so at the moment anyway. One good piece of news – the hospital called and the appointment with the anesthetist has been advanced to tomorrow instead of April 25th.

With all this going on, I’m not paying much attention to the political race. I was too damned tired to listen to the debate last night, but am sure it will be all over the news this morning. The posturing gets to me sometimes. I still think Recall should be made possible throughout the country. Maybe then the candidates would be more careful about making promises they know they can’t keep.

The snow is finally beginning to melt in the bush. One can see spots of dirty, wet grass in the areas where the sun shines most of the day. My lane is full of muck – my kitchen floor is sporting Grump-puppy footprints – its usual spring decoration until things dry out. A fastidious housekeeper would NOT be happy living here.

Last night, just before dark, Grump and I stood on the gallery and admired wave after wave of Canadian Geese flying over. My heart was soaring up there with them; it was just so awesome! When the last one disappeared over the trees, we danced a little jig together, chanting “Here come the Spring, here come the Spring…” It’s okay – the neighbors can’t see me…not that it would matter. We were just too happy, and needed to express it. What better way than to sing and dance?

I’ve been up since 4 AM, finished up my laundry and washing the dishes, did some updating in the work agenda, and now it’s time to prepare for the commute to the office. I was hoping to see the sunrise, but there was just a pink line in the sky; a promise of color before the clouds covered it over. I don’t mind the rain predicted for today; it will melt the rest of the snow.

The hockey playoffs begin tonight. There will be e-mail flying back and forth with Sam444 during the Wings’ game and hopefully Grump and I will be dancing for the win. Life is good, and I’m SMILING! Sending you a whole bundle of them – hope it brightens your day!!

Luv from the Bush in Quebec.

HOCKEY & SISTERHOOD

Photo courtesy of Photobucket
"My husband drives me nuts. He’s got 4 or 5 games on the screen at the same time. I don’t know how he can pay attention to any one of them!"

Her words caught my attention. She was speaking to a girl beside her. I was at the grocery store, next in the line for the cashier to ring up our articles, so couldn’t help but hear their complaints. Saturday night hockey games were destroying their social lives. Obviously not fans of the sport.

"Excuse me." I gave her my best smile. "I’m curious. I wonder if you can tell me what channel your husband watches? The one with all the games at the same time?" She didn’t know, but I did come away with the information that her house was serviced by the Television Company I used. Alright!!

The HABS weren’t playing that night, but the Wings were, and they would be well into the 2nd period by the time I got home. I ran upstairs, dumped the groceries on the counter and scooted to the TV. I flicked up and down the numerous channels, excited at the possibility of having access to ALL the playoff games if the girl’s information was correct. There it was – the multi-view channel for the NHL! But...it was in red…I would have to call the server to get it activated.

I quickly found an old invoice so that I would have the client number in hand, then went through the inevitable button pushing on their automated answering system before finally reaching a real live person. We were losing time here! The lady listened to my request, verified my customer status, and started the procedure to give me the service. I kept my eye on the clock as I waited, holding the phone to my ear and the remote in the other hand. What was taking her so long? Finally I heard her tell me it was done.

"It will take from a few minutes to 2 hours then you will have access to the channel," she said sweetly.

“What?? ‘Two hours?? The Wings’ game will be over by then!!” I exclaimed.

“Umm...well, that’s what it takes. I can’t give you an exact time.” She sounded slightly taken aback. It could have been either the volume or the tone of my voice.

“No, no, no! What if I tell you that I really need to see this game?” I insisted.

She was still hesitant. “I’ll see what they can do.” She answered.

“Well, what if I tell you I have a huge bet on the game?”

Doing her best to please an upset client, she repeated, “I’ll see what they can do.”

“And what if I tell you my EX is playing this game, and I want to see him get his ass kicked?”

A gasp, a soft laugh, then…“I’ll speak to them immediately.” She was, after all, a female, and I had gambled that she would relate.

It paid off. Within 5 minutes the game was on. I settled back on the sofa in front of the action and lifted my glass in a toast.

“Sisters, unite!!” I proclaimed. And I SMILED!!

Luv from the Bush in Quebec.

THE RESULTS - OR NOT...

Photo courtesy of Photobucket

The result of my brother’s biopsy was….no result. We drove 1 ½ hours to the hospital on Tuesday, waited another hour, saw the doc for 10 minutes, then one more hour and ½ to get back home, only to be told they had withdrawn infection samples instead of tumor tissue. The tumor is situated higher in his lung. In other words, they totally SCREWED up, but that is not the term used to convey the news.

“We are running out of options,” the doc added. Now they want to put my bro under, but are worried he will not ‘support it’; they think he may not be strong enough to survive the operation. He needed to see another specialist, who could NOT see him the same day, so an appointment was made for today (Thursday)…timed to coincide with rush hour traffic.

They couldn’t have told him this on the phone??? No examination was done – just the information and the new appointment scheduled.

It happened again today. This time the drive in took 2 ½ hours, we waited an hour, only to be told by this new specialist that Bird needed to see an anesthetist…who had no availability until April 25th. That was it. Another swiping of his card in the machine with no examination or tests, another day lost at work for me, and another day forcing my brother, who has difficulty breathing as it is, to go all the way to the city. And another occasion that could have been taken care of on the phone. GRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!

Needless to say, I so want to write a letter to our Deputy (who, being up for election, may just pay attention), with a copy to the hospital board, and another to the doctors involved. I ask myself, “What would Wiley have done?”

However, it is not my health at stake here, but my brother’s, so I need to butt out…I guess.

So I fall back on my belief that everything happens for a reason. It was a beautiful, sunny day for a drive. On both days, my brother and I got to spend some quality time alone together, something that would not have been possible if I was away to work. In spite of, or maybe because of, our being tense with worry, we found ourselves laughing until my belly hurt. We laughed so hard that my driving became dangerous, and that made us laugh even more. Precious moments.

Already harboring an intense disgust towards the health services in this province, I have decided that, when my turn comes, I’m going to Kanehsetakà:ke and seek out a Medicine Man. I’ll pay him with rum (which we will share!); we’ll smoke some peace pipe together, and I’ll let him chant and wave his magic rattle over me as long as he deems necessary. It may not cure me, but I certainly will be SMILING!

Luv from the Bush in Quebec

I COULD HAVE USED SOME SUN....

Photo courtesy of alambrit, Photobucket

I needed the sun to shine today, but it’s not there. I guess I’ll fall back on what I would tell my children when they would fret about the rain, keeping them from playing outdoors. “The birdies have to drink too,” I would say. I think it was a 10 year old Bow who, tired of hearing the repeated reason, grumbled that he would be happy to pour them a glass of water from the kitchen tap, LOL.

I’ve been working some from home…since I got out of bed at 4 AM…but am finding it difficult to focus on anything for long. Our appointment with the cancer specialists, where we are to learn the results and treatment schedule for my brother, is at 1:00 this afternoon. He hasn’t really been up to par these past few days – not sleeping much, low morale, and I can imagine how long he must find the nights alone in his apartment. Last week he had warned the CLSC, the home care service prescribed by the doctor, that he would be away Tuesday. In parity with the confusion that seems to reign lately, they called to say they would be stopping by, at exactly the time we’ll be in the city. It’s easily corrected, but still aggravating when one is already uptight. It was the same thing while he was in the hospital; you have to wonder if they are even listening to you, or relay information to each other. Everything has to be stated over and over again. A little scary when you realize that these are the people supposed to be taking care of you.

I’m sure Bird will be as happy as I am to finally know what’s what; a plan of action can be discussed instead of just sitting around waiting. It’s accepted that there will be rough times ahead, but let’s get on with it. …and I’ll probably regret my impatience later.

Last night I kept an eye on the Hawks/Rangers game while answering numerous calls about income tax. There was a screw-up with the program we use at the office, and Line, who is responsible for the project, is devastated that she didn’t catch it before handing them in. The government immediately returned them to the clients with ‘error’ written all over the forms. Talk about panic! The program is to be repaired this morning, but the poor girl will have to do each report over again, plus calm those people who were unable to reach me during the evening. She’s in for a heavy day. Not fun.

After fielding the barrage of complaints, it was refreshing to hear Karen’s voice from away out there in Saskatoon. We chatted for a couple of hours, and I was laughing when I finally hung up the phone. It’s amazing how chatting with a good friend can improve my mood!!

It’s similar to what happens when we write our feelings out; it releases all that heavy stuff from our system, we can pick up where we left off, and we do it with a SMILE. Mine is winging its way towards you – and there’s a giggle included – hope it improves your day!

Luv from the Bush in Quebec.

WHAT IS A SURPRISE?

The three rug-rats. Tao is only 8 months old! A big boy!

I phoned my brother around 9 AM this morning, just checking in to see how he was doing. He didn’t answer, but within a few minutes he returned the call.

“This one-armed bandit thing ain’t for me,” he grumbled. “It took me a whole day to open the cereal, another to get some in the bowl, and it’s gonna take me three more to clean up what I spilled all over the floor.” We both started to laugh. Those close to my brother know better than to show any sign of pity; that’s not his way. Make a joke, and he’ll listen. Any mollycoddling will be abruptly ignored. He’ll walk away from it; if you’re lucky without staring back at you and making a cutting retort. I’m hoping whoever the CLSC send for homecare has a sense of humor. If not, the relationship will be short-lived. Well…she may be tolerated if she has big boobies…LOL!

I did accomplish most of the list on my agenda yesterday, except for scraping all that plaster off the bathroom floor, a slow and tedious job. My ability for housework shines brilliantly in its absence!

My daughter’s new house is cute, a split level with nice wooden floors. It will be weird having her live so far away; she has always resided in the immediate vicinity. She maintains that it is on my way home from the office, so I can make a short detour and stop in for coffee at the end of the day. I reminded her that Grump already spends 10 hours or more shut up in the house, and I am usually rushing to let the poor doggie outside. I expect our daily contact will be by telephone now.

The most delightful part of the day was seeing the boys. When I arrived the two oldest were in the tub, and the youngest, Tao, who had already had his turn, was playing in his crib until bath was over. I picked him up for a cuddle, and we went to watch his brothers being toweled down by mummy, who has become adept at multi-tasking. Nalou, the oldest, assured me that he was doing fine in kindergarten, that he was only missing two “smileys”, then he would be allowed to pick something from the Box of Surprises.

“What are you going to pick?” innocently asked his granny. He looked at me, and “Duh!” was written all over his face. “M’mère,” he explained patiently. “It’s a SURPRISE!!!” Of course.

My visit was only long enough to grab some quick hugs and kisses. I made it back to the house for the start of the HABS’ game (they won!!), but by this time was not feeling too well at all. My throat was sore, and the thermometer confirmed my suspicions; I had a fever. I swallowed a Motrin, then did as SAM444 suggested in our hockey play-by-play emails and washed it down with a beer (LOLOL – not true – she counseled gargling with warm water and salt...but beer is salty...sort of…). I managed to stay awake until the game was over (did I tell you we won?), and even went out with Grump afterwards for a short walk. I had promised, and it was a beautiful night. Believe it or not, I skipped the Jacuzzi ritual and crawled into bed. I woke to sunlight streaming through the window, gorgeous blue skies and a brand new day!

I’m still not feeling A-1, but that damned bathroom needs to be finished, so off I go, pail and mop in hand. Later tonight I’ll be in Blog-it, catching up on some of the posts I’ve missed, and that enjoyable event is sure to bring on a big SMILE! In the meantime, I’ve sent a few to fly around in cyber-space; hope one helps brighten your Sunday!!

Luv from the Bush in Quebec

THIS NEW DAY

Photo courtesy of Photobucket

It’s hard to believe that a week has gone by since I last posted. As my friend, Kilroy, says – tempus fugit. Between my brother and myself, much of this time has been spent frequenting the medical profession…UGH…so the flight was not all that agreeable. The appointment for the biopsy results is now scheduled for next Tuesday. I have a feeling our hospital visits are far from over.

Because we are at the busiest time of the year in the office, and due to the recent financial difficulties, our staff has been reduced to two, so Line has been shouldering much of the work required. That lady is worth her weight in gold!! Fortunately, other than meeting clients or arguing with civil servants, accounting can be done in the middle of the night to catch up if need be….as long as your brain is awake. It doesn’t give one much time to worry, and that’s a good thing.

What also helps is the smell of spring in the air. I’m usually up to watch the sunrise, and very soon it will be possible to do so from the swing on the gallery. Already this morning, wrapped up cozy in a fuzzy housecoat, hands warmed by the first coffee, Grump and I spent a few minutes out there watching the different hues of pinks light up the dawn sky, listening to the birds cheerily greeting each other, drinking in the beginning of a new day. Moments such as these renew one’s spirit. It’s like receiving a big, warm hug from Nature; it inspires hope and joy and strength to handle whatever may come our way.

I’m expecting an early visit from Helen this morning. We haven’t seen each other for some time, so I expect we’ll have lots to say. I need to finish cleaning up the mess left by the water break in my bathroom downstairs, run a tuna casserole over to my brother, finish up a file brought home from the office, and stop in to get a cuddle-fix from my little grandsons. I haven’t seen them for ages, so I am overdue for their special brand of morale boosting. My daughter just called and wants me to come and visit her new house, which is a 40 minute drive from the bush.

Grump has been very patient about not getting his regular walks, so I’ll make it up to him later this afternoon. Tonight is Hockey Night in Canada – hopefully the Habs will give me reason to dance.

A full agenda, but delightful activities, so you can be sure I’ll be SMILING! I’m sharing those SMILES with you, and wishing you all a great weekend!

Luv from the Bush in Quebec.