HIERARCHY

The family/friend gathering in the bush last Saturday was even more pleasurable because of the new babies. Miko and Alice were presented, much cuddled, and both little girls took it in stride, It wasn’t the first time for Léna, who is already 15 months old, but she discovered more friends, and got her share of attention too. The Rug Rats, after the initial hug for mémère on arrival, are oldest of the crew and maybe because they are of the male species decided to hole up on the other side of the house away from the crowd. Any kissy-kissy on their parts is now restricted to private moments.

I had a plate in each hand, heading for the already laden table, when Bali (the middle rug rat – the one who pushes the envelope) suddenly appeared before me.

“Mémère, can I play with your ipad?” he asked me, fixing me with those big, blue eyes.
“Where is it, Bali? Is it in the living room?” When he nodded, I told him to go ahead, but to be careful, and he went running off. It was only a few minutes later that I realized he hadn’t smiled at the permission; his expression had been more that of a ‘boy on a mission’.

Hmmm....

I made my way to the living room. All 3 boys were holding electronic game devices, but it wasn’t Bali who had my ipad; it was the oldest, Nalou, who was curled up in the big chair. Both his younger brothers were sitting on separate couches, pretending hard to ignore him without much success. His thumbs were racing over the game, and his comments ‘Wow – that’s a BIG monster! Where was he hiding? Oh, wow – I have to get him!!!’ were way too tempting, and Nalou was well aware of this.

I looked at Bali. So that was why he had come and asked! He was hoping that his ‘Mémère said I could play with her ipad!’ would force his brother to hand it over. It didn’t work, of course. It rarely does, but I guess he thought it was worth a shot.

I stood there, debating silently if I should interfere, and Bali glanced at me, then put his head down, pretending to concentrate on his game, and I interpreted this as a ‘No’.
It was the hierarchy of siblings at work here; as old as time, and each brother would acquiesce until old enough to find his own place. It’s all part of growing up.

I turned and walked back to the kitchen, my mind full of memories of how it had been with my younger brother when we were kids, and I SMILED.

Sharing the SMILE with you as always!

Luv from the Bush in Quebec.

THREE STRIKES...

The company where I now work has recently purchased two lots of mini-warehouses, each lot containing 80 units, and one of my duties is to ascertain that these are well managed. The former employees are still there and, as often happens, they are not thrilled with the change. The information I receive from them is confusing, whether purposely or not, and is out of date. Many times it is even contradictory. I called them to warn that I would be coming by to inspect it all. They pleaded unavailability for the first day chosen, then the second; the third date was today, and I insisted that it could be delayed no longer.

The first hick was my forgetting to check the forecast -the weather was extremely cold and access to most of the units is by the exterior. My clipboard and pencil and are less competent at -20. Or it could be my hands – they don’t write so well when frozen stiff.

Next hick? Although I arrived a half hour earlier than scheduled, I was told that the employee who was to accompany me was already at the second lot. Apparently there is a problem with keys, and he went ahead to prepare.... and could I join him there? Because my GPS didn’t recognize the address, I was given verbal directions. Either I misunderstood, or they were just wrong. I took an unnecessary scenic tour of the area before my exasperation made me call my boss to steer me right. When I did arrive, the designated employee immediately voiced complaints about why this was being done, implying it was a waste of time, yada, yada, yada.

Dude!! This is the 3rd strike! (Ok, the weather really wasn’t his fault, but....)

I subtly reminded him who he worked for (by asking him), but he was still grumpy, voicing his discontent.

“Well, I guess it can be someone else who can come each week to help me do this,” I consoled him.

“Each week???” he exclaimed, staring at me. “What for?” I ignored his question and whipped out my cell phone.

“Ok – let’s go. I have to get pictures. This could take awhile.”

“A picture of each unit??” he sputtered, aghast at the thought. I nodded.

“Yep – boss wants to know what’s inside each unit.” We both knew that meant he would have to unlock and lift 80 sliding doors. He was maybe shivering with the cold now, but he would be sweating soon. And there were still another 80 back at the first lot.

I’ll make the long story short. My calm composure – or was it the hard work, or maybe noticing that I was shivering from the cold more than he was? Whatever, he eventually was more agreeable, and we even shared a few laughs during the 3 hours it required to finish our task. At the end, I teased him about being in shape, and secretly asked his co-worker (who will tell him I’m sure) what kind of beer the dude drank. He really did have to pedal, so I’ll show up bearing gifts next time.

I’m thinking the boss will be pleasantly surprised to see pictures. If not, I won’t charge him the full time I was there – it’s worth the SMILE I was wearing when I drove away.

Sharing it with you as usual. This SMILE may smack of some payback.... (wink!)

Luv from the Bush in Quebec.

MARRIED???

I commented on a post that a close friend put up on Facebook, and was tagged in the Breast Cancer Awareness fun. For those not familiar with the game, if you comment on a player’s irregular status, you must then post something on your own status. They give you a choice of 10 rather amusing statements, and I figured that ‘I’m getting married’ would be the one to provoke the most reaction from any of my FB cronies. For each one who commented, most extending their congratulations for public view, and from some who didn’t dare comment publically, I received panicked, private messages asking me if it was for real...if I had fallen on my head....if Brad Pitt had finally relented and contacted me...and all were unanimous in their ‘NO WAY!’ It is hilarious!

I was wondering mostly what my kids would say. My daughter caught it immediately – she had been there, done that – and my oldest son sent me a text that he knew it had to be a joke, but that Yoshiko, his wife, thinks it’s for real and is freaking out. He says he’s having too much fun to tell her the truth. My youngest son has either not yet seen it, or is wisely keeping his opinion to himself. All in all, it sent out shock waves to those who know me well. Now I’ll wait and see if they will follow up and choose from the 10 choices to keep it going.

I do admit that I relented and warned my French-speaking-only friends that it wasn’t true and what it was about. This was done after the third time my telephone rang with OMG –You are kidding!’s. The directions for the game I sent on to my English people, but I would have to translate it for the others to understand, and office and cleaning and cooking for the family/friend invasion tomorrow don’t allow me enough time for the translation or for answering continuous calls. And we though Obama stirred up a hornet’s nest!!!

My BF doesn’t use Facebook, so he’ll only hear about it if someone mentions it to him – which is quite possible. The Bush is not that far from the village, and yes – like every other small place rumors fly fast and furious. I could warn him, but what fun would that be?

It’s a ‘to be continued’. In the meantime, I’m sending you all a huge SMILE, hoping something in your day will make you laugh as much as I am doing right now!!

Luv from the Bush in Quebec.

FOR THE LOVE OF WINTER.

“I hate the winter! I just can’t wait for it to be all over.” The technician was fiddling with the machines as she ranted. I was standing, naked from the waist up, watching her with a leery eye; it seemed the more she stated her displeasure with the temperature, the more brusquely she handled the plates from the scanner. I couldn’t help but be alarmed - she would be manipulating a very sensitive part of my anatomy in a moment. This was not the time to admit that I loved our Canadian winter. I needed to make this lady smile.

"It's nearly over," I attempted to reassure her. "And I heard this week will see a lot of sun.”

“But cold!" she grumbled. “And another snowstorm on its way for the weekend! It doesn’t seem to end!” Uh-oh, I thought silently. This girl has a hard case of season blues and she was heading for me right now!

“I suppose that’s why many people go down south this time of the year – a kind of transition period until it gets warmer here.” I offered while taking a small step back from her.

“That’s exactly where I’m supposed to be!” she exclaimed. “But my vacation plans have been scrapped, so I’m stuck here, in this snow and freezing place!”

Damn! Wrong observation! I needed to think fast. She had her hand on my back and was briskly manoeuvring me into place before the s-q-u-e-e-z-e. And her hands were cold!

“Where?” I didn’t realize that I had yelled the word until she stopped and stared at me.

“What?” she asked, her eyes wide.

“Where do you go down south? What’s your favourite place? Do you visit or just lie in the sun? Ocean or villa pool?” I was babbling, but it was working. She hesitated, and her movements slowed. She was almost gentle as she fitted my right breast onto the bottom plate before lowering the top one.

OUCH! I am really not good with pain, so I hardly heard her answers. I think she mentioned Jamaica, and I believe she gave me some reasons for her love of sun and heat while she had me change positions, then sides, and then, thankfully, the mammography was done.

She was still going on about it as she opened the door to let me leave, but she was smiling now. I nodded to the lady next in line; this one would never know how much easier her examination would be because of my efforts.

On my way out, they stopped me at the counter to confirm my family doctor’s address. I gave the information and... the devil made me do it...

“By the way,” I said to the receptionist. “Tell your technician that I DO love winter. It’s way better than roasting in the summer.”

I SMILED all the way to the parking lot. Sharing it with you, as usual!!

Luv from the Bush in Quebec.

WEEKENDS ARE FOR...

Wow! It’s like a Winter Fairyland out there. The prediction was for 5 cm, but I have at least 12 on my gallery, and it was shovelled right down to the wood before the storm began last night. It’s still snowing! Skiers will be jubilant; spring watchers, not so much. For my friends who arrived yesterday from the sunny shores of Mexico, welcome home, LOL!

I spent the whole day Saturday working in my home office, taking a short time out for an afternoon nap and, of course, last night’s hockey game, where my Habs kept me on the edge of my seat until I danced in celebration of their well-deserved win over the NY Islanders. Bandit lay purring on my knee at the start of the game, but soon felt it was safer to be elsewhere. Cats are NOT doggies.

Like TAPS, I used to walk barefoot everywhere it was allowed. Now there’s a huge corn on the sole of my right foot that I need to have removed regularly to even walk comfortably with shoes. I had an appointment with a new Foot Care lady, but cancelled because it was the day Miko was coming home from the hospital, so have been limping slightly. I was delighted when the lady called me back yesterday and, hearing my work schedule, offered to see me this morning at 10:00. I must add here that she is also a friend, although we don’t see each other often. I’m not sure she would accommodate everyone on a Sunday morning.

I definitely need to get some housework (UGH!) done today. There is to be a big shindig here next weekend –many of my son’s and my friends and families to come and meet little Miko. We didn’t really get together the past Christmas as is our tradition, so this will make up for our missing out. It will be even more fun because all the babies will be here too. It’s a pot-luck meal, thankfully, because Mémère would be hard put to find time to prepare a huge feast. All the ladies in the group are excellent cooks, and after enjoying their company for a few hours, I also get to keep the leftovers – food and booze. Thinking on that, it’s actually worth having to do the cleaning!

There you go -another full day on the agenda, and an Adnohr who grumbles but is actually grateful that she is still able to get (some) things done. And there could be surprises along the way. Each day seems to bring something unexpected. Ain’t it grand? (Sorry, Ciel).

The starter pistol has sounded, so off I go! Sending you a huge, SMILE, dancing its way to you, surrounded by hug, white, fluffy flakes of lovely snow!!

Luv from the Bush in Quebec.

ABOUT BEING CHILDISH...

I know that we’ve been doing this daylight saving thing forever, and that the media is full of advice on how to cope with it, and that we shouldn’t be making a big deal out of it, and that it may be totally irrelevant to my feeling so exhausted at the moment, but I seem to be so much more tired than usual and I like it much better when we get to turn those clocks back an hour! Isn’t that a mouthful?

With that said, we move on.

One day last week my son sent me a picture of his friend, Keith, who had been to visit Miko. Keith is a very big, black man with a heart of gold. He has a 3 year old son, and one can see how he enjoys children. Tiny Miko didn’t even cover a quarter of his arm that was holding her.

For those of you who use Facebook, you are probably familiar with the ‘Why you don’t leave baby alone with Daddy’ videos. They are short clips with amusing antics – men playing rock music and dancing around their baby, or placing the little tyke on a remote controlled truck and driving him through the house; men being overgrown boys and playing with their child, doing things they probably wouldn’t do in the presence of a protective mommy.

My son posted a picture under the title, and there was little Miko wearing a large, curly, black wig. Under the photo, my son wrote ‘Keith – man – we gotta talk!!’ It was hilarious. Even more so with Keith’s answer: Hahaha! My bad !!!!! She's BLACKINISE - HALF BLACK half ASIAN!

As one girl commented – that baby will never find life boring with her daddy around. I was as much a child as my kids were (and often got lectured about it), and it’s heart-warming to see them continuing the games with their own. I know that little Miko will have many occasions to laugh as she thrives in this family of ours, and the knowledge makes me SMILE!

You’re welcome to share in the fun – I’ve sent the SMILE out and it should be bouncing around you at this very moment!! If it’s not the right size, let me know – there are bigger ones in stock!!

Luv from the Bush in Quebec.

A LESSON

I couldn’t take it anymore. I was so lonesome for my baby that I skipped over to see her after work on Tuesday night. Well – skipped is maybe not the right word, seeing that I had to cross the city, but I was well rewarded with a few hours of Miko’s warmth and smell and little smiles. I rocked her as my son and I watched the Habs’ game. They lost, so there was no danger of her flying through the air – I’m rather demonstrative when celebrating a goal – and I kept my swearing to a minimum through the bad hockey moments. I tore myself away finally, and arrived home for bed around 2:30 AM. Yesterday was a loooong day.

My new job finds me among a few familiar co-workers, but there are also some bodies I am meeting for the first time. As I mentioned, my hours are flexible, and often I’ll walk into the office around 11 AM, having already put in a few hours from home or at the local branch. There is one man who remarks on my ‘cushy position’ each time he sees me arrive. I was laughing it off. He’s a bit mouthy anyway and I felt no need to explain myself. His looks and actions only reinforced my opinion of his character – not much there.

He was standing outside smoking when I got to work yesterday. He did his usual routine of looking at his watch, then feigning surprise because it was earlier than usual, so I decided that we would bring this to a head. I stopped to chat with him a few minutes, starting with the beautiful weather at that moment. One thing led to another, and imagine my surprise when I learned that he is an avid reader, that we enjoy many of the same authors! It even went so far as his offering to lend me certain volumes that interested me, and giving me addresses of some second-hand bookstores in the area. Knock me over with a feather, why don’t ya??

He held the door for me as we entered the building, and I could feel that subtle change in our attitudes. He’ll still bug me about my hours, but the teasing will be lighter, amusing, and I’ll accept it for what it is. I didn’t enlighten him as to why I don’t usually come in early. I have a little stubborn streak. He deserves to stew about it a bit longer anyway, just because of his previous behaviour.

Another lesson for Adnohr – Judge not!! Now, to avoid there being truth to his thinking, I had better get my butt in gear and start my work. Wishing you all a great day, and hoping that my SMILE adds some sunshine to whatever you’re doing!!

Luv from the Bush in Quebec.

WHERE IS THAT TO-DO LIST AGAIN?

So – with all those intentions to get so much done this weekend, I have to report that most of those plans turned out to be only that…plans! Well, I did do the laundry, and a touch of dusting here and there, and of course I watched my Habs’ win their game on Saturday night, but those are the only things I can tick off my mental ‘To do list’ this Monday morning.
Bandit, my adopted cat, decided he would finally pull a dog routine and claim the attention he had missed during my week stay in the city. He was continually underfoot, mewling his complaints and/or joy at having me home. It was either kick him or cuddle him, and there is no contest really.

The phone was busy – Suzie from Detroit, my Cuban Suzie – and numerous texts from little Miko’s parents, the Rug rats (sent me a picture of the youngest wearing a Bruin’s shirt, young scoundrels!), other friends wondering how things were going, and to top it all, my daughter and little great granddaughter, Léna, spent Sunday morning here. She is 15 months old, running as fast as her chubby little legs can take her anywhere, and was quite intrigued by Bandit’s bell-balls. I hadn’t seen her for awhile, so we needed to catch up on hugging and kisses and fruit-loop snacking.

They were just leaving when Helen arrived, so more visiting. When she left, my son and I had a long distance discussion about the effects of mother’s nursing on a baby’s constipation...a good part of Sunday afternoon was used for research and discussion about the importance of baby pooping...or not, LOL!

Boring for some people, no doubt, but it is a huge part of my life, and one I would never think of exchanging for a high-stepping career. The perfect end to the weekend were the huge snowflakes playing and glittering under the gallery lights, a scene I enjoyed while relaxing in my Jacuzzi bubbles, the scent of Ocean breeze and the glass of red wine complimenting it all. The world may be in turmoil elsewhere, but here in the Bush life was good, so I am SMILING...and wanting to share it with y’all. Off it goes, soon to land on your doorstep. Any sent back to me will be treated with care!

Luv from the Bush in Quebec.