SNOW & DOCTORS

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Snow, snow, and more snow. There’s much lamenting going on in this area. My Demons are over-staying their welcome. The closer we get to Spring, the louder are cries of ‘Not again!! We are fed up!’ I have decided to keep my delight under wraps; a bid for self-protection. I strongly suspect that people could start throwing things at me to shut me up, LOL.

I admit that the weather’s ups and downs are much harder on some folks. I just work from home when it’s bad, but many do not have that luxury. My son’s job requires that he spend the whole day negotiating the traffic and slippery roads, and his comment on Facebook this morning left no doubt as to his opinion of the storms. Censored!

It’s not ALL fun and games for me though. Missing a couple of days at the office during tax period means making it up this weekend. Ah well, them’s the breaks. Living in Canada is worth enduring the weather, and this year has not been as wild as some I can remember. As long as the electricity doesn’t fail for the HABS’ game tonight…..

Very early tomorrow morning I have to be at the clinic for some of those tests the doctor ordered, the ones I was supposed to have done…ummm…in February of 2010. It’s a 40 minute drive and nothing but water is to be ingested for 12 hours before my session with the medical vampires. There will be no coffee to snap me out of my zombie state….and I’ll be driving. I’m considering using my hazard lights to warn others on the road.

To be honest, it will be a relief to check things out. I can tell that something is wrong. I imagine it is just stress overload, but knowledge is better. Because I neglected to make the appointments within a year, I had to either see the doc again for a new prescription, or use a private clinic. I opted for the latter. It will cost money, but it will save time (which is money in itself) and I’ll also have the results much faster. The balance of probing is scheduled for next week, and the doctor should be in touch with me shortly after.

Now I gotta make the donuts, so I leave you with hopes that you have a pleasant day, and that you share my SMILES.

Luv from the Bush in Quebec.

SNOW...AND TELEPHONE

Yesterday morning I had an appointment at 9:30 to pick up documents in my area. The phone rang just as I was leaving the house, and I was surprised that it was a client. It was after 9 AM, so the office should be open, but obviously the calls were still being forwarded home. Thinking that maybe they had forgotten to take off the call-transfer, I opened my cell to text a reminder to Line, and was astonished when I read her message.

‘Huge storm. Working from home.’ it read. Storm?? What storm? There was no sign of it in the bush, and a glance outside showed that snow had not fallen during the night either. Between Line’s information, the internet, and the radio, I soon realized that my Demons were out touring again. Everywhere BUT the bush was dealing with one of our biggest storms to date. The roads to the office were passable, but it would take hours to get there because of traffic and removal operations. It seemed I would be working from home too.

I wasn’t able to complete much paperwork; it was a phone day. Every time I put down the receiver, another call would come in, and more than once I found 3 or 4 voicemail messages besides. It was a relief when things started to slow down after 5 PM.

I decided to make my daily call to my brother, then call it quits for the night. He was sick and running a fever; it sounds like the flu-bug that has been going around. Grump and I jumped into my truck, made a stop at the pharmacy for medication, and on to his place where we found the bro wrapped up in blankets, not feeling good at all. He took the medication I had brought, and we waited around for a bit until his fever lowered some, and I remembered to put the phone beside my bed…just in case…when we finally got back home. The surgery for his lung is scheduled for March 18th, and hopefully things will be better when it is done.

Today is another day. I was awake at 4 AM, and have a feeling I’ll be using the futon in my office this afternoon. In the meantime, there’s a ‘to-do’ list as long as my arm… and I’m finding it more and more difficult to rouse the necessary energy. Fortunately, it only takes a few minutes of self-motivation, a reminder that we’ll do it one step at a time, and that things are easier when we do it with a SMILE!

Have a good day, folks!

Luv from the Bush in Quebec.

SHUT UP!!

Part of my driveway
I think I may have to move…or at least stay out of sight for a bit. I’ve been lamenting publically that there is not enough snow this year. My Demons paid attention. The past week has left us with many inches of that beautiful white stuff, and now even my children are warning me to ‘Shut the #*%& up!!’ LOL! It seems that there are very few people in my immediate area who share my appreciation of real Canadian winters.

It was a quiet, working weekend for me. I drove into the city early yesterday morning to meet a client, and then toiled at the office until about noon. There were some errands to run afterwards, but my truck was so grimy with muck and sand that it was a feat of athletic ability just to get in and out of it without transferring a good part of the dirt to my hands and clothes. I decided to swing by the local carwash on the chance that, with our temperatures being warmer than normal, it would be open. It was, so I paid my dues (thinking all the while of FSI), and no longer had to rely on contortion antics….plus I felt much better driving around in a clean vehicle.

My grandson was home for his days off, but the poor tyke’s old car died on him, and is now a part of the scrap yard. His pride and joy, a built-up Honda Civic, is stored for the season in my garage, and he had purchased a ‘beater’ with which to boot around. Fortunately there was a buddy following him on the lake road; it would have been quite a walk in the middle of a cold night. Being our easy-going Fred, he brushed off the event with a shrug and a grin, telling me there are ‘other used cars on the market’. In the meantime, he seems to have no trouble finding rides, although most of them can’t make it up my driveway hill. They park at the bottom and climb to the house, lugging hockey equipment and backpacks without complaint. The magic of youth!

I expect I’ll be doing the job from home today. It has been snowing since yesterday afternoon, and shows no sign of letting up. Because of The Weather Network’s predictions, I had stuffed my case full of papers before leaving the office – plus what I picked up from the client. There’s plenty to keep me busy…as long as the hydro holds out. And if it doesn’t?

Well...I have a warm, crackling fire, enough light to read, and a doggie to cuddle...and a toboggan waiting in the garage if that hill gets too tempting….so whaddya think?

Yep…I’m SMILING!! Sharing it with y’all!

Luv from the Bush in Quebec.

WINTER HAS ARRIVED

It was a three hour trek to get home on the snowy roads last night. Bumper to bumper, at 10 KM/hour – the radio announcer telling us over and over that the conditions were terrible, be careful, drive slowly. There were fender-benders, an overturned transport truck, and stalls to avoid…all quite normal for our first winter storm. Having anticipated the scene before even leaving the house yesterday morning, I sat back in my comfortable 4-wheel drive, secure that my snow tires were already installed, the gas tank was full, the window washer topped up…and went with the flow. If the Dunany Demons were trying to aggravate me, their efforts failed. I love winter in Quebec.

The doggies greeted me with their usual exuberance, and were even happier to join me in a short walk down the lane to collect the emptied garbage container. I knew the ploughs would be out during the night; it wasn’t a good idea to leave the container by the side of the road. There was a risk of it being knocked into the ditch and buried.

The doggies clamoured for love, food, then more love…in that order, LOL! A short time later they were fed, the fires were crackling, appetizing aromas from my own meal in the oven wafted through the kitchen, and I stood by the huge window, glass of wine in my hand, looking at the snow swirling around outside. I could only see a short distance past the realm of light from the exterior lamps – the tall evergreens were blurred, dark shadows in the background. Grump was sitting beside me, his gaze alternating between the window and my face. Bud stood, leaning heavily against my leg, pushing me with his nose, looking for more cuddles. “Snug as a bug, we are,” I informed them aloud. They both grinned up at me, tongues lolling. They agreed.

I’m waiting now to see if it’s worth trying to get into the city office. If I do go, I’ll be alone there today. The daughter of one employee has the measles, so she’s in quarantine. Two of the others had appointments, unfortunately scheduled for the same date, and there is one who has a cold. She should have stayed home yesterday – the tickle in my nose this morning suggests that the damage is already done.

With that I leave you, folks, wishing you a great day, and sending you SMILES!

Luv from the Bush in Quebec.