What's happening in your neck of the woods .. Nov/2011

Evening all

'M" hard to believe you have winter when it is sooo warm here!

Another 4:30 rise, cousin planned to come spend the morning...I sewed till 7:00 when she called to say she was just down the road and was I up??

Lovely visit, think she picked today as roger and I would have been 46 years married today, was her way to keep me busy and not feeling sorry for myself.

Out we went just after she arrived in pouring rain to cut greenery..sure was great for fresh perm I had yesterday! Talk about the frizzies..

Then I taught her how to make pie crust, said she tried many times to no avail but inside a half hour she was a pro at it..even left me a pie shell so I could treat myself to a lemon meringue pie for supper.

No sooner finished that we started our craft project, home sweet home tri candle holder..I'm lucky she gave me time to make us turkey sandwiches. Lol

Before leaving we made 2 outside containers of greenery for her daughters urns..then off she won't

Finished mom's rag quilt early this morning so while I had a tad of energy off I went to laundromat to wash it, didn't want to wreck my washer..yikes $6.00 a load..know the machine was heavy duty but still mega $$$

So now I can wrap the blanket and cross her name of Christmas to do list..if only the 3 quilts I'm working on we're as easy to finish

Needless to say I'm in my jammies and ready for bed..but, need to clean the craft room, at least a bit, talk about santa's workshop being totally upside down, now where is an elf when you need one??

Carol, glad you are feeling better today..did you get to do your shift?

Oooh puppies, not good unless you know of homes looking for them..laughing 'm' can see the look on their faces when you present them with the receipt lol

Would love to stay and chat, but no can do

Night, night!

Was feeling pretty good this morning so I did my shift at LH- stayed about 3 1/2 hours. Busy but not crowded. This is an easy shift for e to do as we dont do tour- just mainly itting in one area to keep an eye on things and answer questions.

Terribly windy here, many large evergreens torn out by the roots, saw one that had fallen on a car, somebody said they had closed the downtown core to car traffic- lots of construction sites so possibilities of things flying thru the air!

I found something new I can eat- they had snacks for the volunteers and I tried some summer sausage with whole wheat Ritz biscuits and it went down fine as did the pickles! So I stopped at Safeway and bought same with 2 bottles of pickles- sweet and sour and dill and ate a plateful when I got home. I also bought a couple of smoothies to try - the first one was orange cream, took one swallow and spit it out - down the drain for that! Hope the other is better.

A neighbor just brought me some Borscht and rolls for supper.

Carol, glad you were able to make it through your shift! Isn't it amazing what can stay down, things you least expect..let's hoping after a few boxes of crackers they'll will have gained more strength.

Wind came up here this morning while we were cutting greenery in the bush, high for about 1/2 hour then cleared up..guess it blew your way..stay safe

Susan, you still feeling poorly?

As you can see I'm still up, too wound up to fall asleep, going to try though. Lol

I'm baaaaaaaaack!
Carol - good to hear you have more items to eat on your agenda! Have you tried pickles and ice cream? lol Thinking of funny food choices made me think of pregnant women lol
Good that you were able to do your shift at LH. Was the Christmas viewing only today? I'd love to see it.

Seems I'm either at work, church, or trying to get some quilting done........ Yesterday had a lot of company for dinner, and one of the guests who "forgot" which weekend it was came for dinner tonight (at our express 2nd invitation for today).
We had Hawaiian Pork both nights as Bob always makes a Huge batch.

Betty - yes, I'm feeling better. I still have to take it easy or I'll get right back on the "bronchitis bandwagon". I sang this morning, with a lot of tea lubrication, and lozenges. As long as I don't try to run a marathon I think I'll be fine :-)

Morning, hard to believe with it being so mild outside (light mist) that it is suppose to snow mid week, sure hoping not on Friday, shuffling off to buffalo again, this time with mom!

Should be fun. Lol. Not sure why she wants to go but I shall humor her.

Was up at 2:30' willed myself back to sleep after about 1 hour..imagine what I could have accomplished had I got up

Susan you will have to set a weekend aside before Christmas just to rest.

My goal is to be finished everything by mid December and have my feet up to enjoy the festivities..wonder if that is a pipe dream

Beginning of October I bought 4 Sony e- reader for $169 each for the kids, Jeff downloaded hundreds of books on them..thought I bought them at a good price..lo and behold they are now on for $149. So with tax that would be near $100 savings..bringing receipts with me in hope I'll get rebate..problem is it says no go after 30 days..we'll see how good the manager is..even a store credit would be acceptable!

Susan Sunday was the last day of Christmas All Thru The House. It is an annual fundraiser- started 18 Nov this year.Ususally over two weekends and one full week in between but only during the day.

Sounds like everyone is busy.
Lots of sewing and baking going on.
Carol that does sound like a pregnant thing! I found tastebuds do go wonky on you and good thing is to taste a variety. I'm not so sure about the orange cream thing, I think the drain was a good spot for it.
I have enjoyed your past photo's with the Christmas themed Lougheed house before , it must be splendid to see!

Susan good to hear you are on the mend.
M and B you guys are sooooo busy OMG. you make me tired just listening to what you are doing.
Alberta Ann

Waving Alberta Ann, I'm sure you are as busy..think it's trying to get everything done so we can sit during the entire Christmas festivities... believe me??? lol

Carol, the Martyrs Shrine, Fort St. Marie had their lighting of the Fort on Saturday, much going on for the next few weeks, I'll have to make a point of going..Do they raise a substantial amount of $$ during the 2 weekends? With all the cutbacks must be extremely difficult to raise funds and be self supporting.

Toronto just announced their cutbacks..lot of people will be hurting..over 2,500 jobs loss and many services cut.

Well went to Sony and they had no problem giving me $20 on each of the e-readers..so I'm rich at least for an hour or so..

Betty I don't know how much money they raise but I think it is a substantial amount as it is 10 days.Lots of kids activities and Santa on the weekends so pretty busy then.

Blood work this morning was OK so chemo again tomorrow, transport arranged so I don't need to drive.

Still don't know about the kidney drains, have to see if Creatinine levels go up this week/next week - if so then have to have procedure done. Crossing fingers!

Got a prescription for a wig this morning and have an appointment on Monday next. Thought I might as well buy one instead of a loaner from the Cancer Society on the premise that this might all happen again!
And the place I am going does complimentary head shaves! Wont shave head for a couple of weeks - probably hair will start coming out by then.

Glad that your blood levels are ok...better for you to be on a schedule rather than off/on!!
Prayers and fingers crossed so that you will not need the kidney drains..are you in mega pain? Sure hope not. Bet the animals can sense you aren't feeling good...

Now what color and style will you pick for the wig? Shall it be short or lng?
Do they suggest or can you try several on?

You will be a brand new you!

Poured rain all day, best I check the basement for flooding. Much the same for tomorrow and Thursday/Friday calling for snow..

Sure hope rain/snow stops before I leave Friday for Buffalo!

Lots happening with you Carol .. hope everything turns out in your favour.

No rain here Betty, cold temps and snow that has stayed. Best get to like it.

My sons female Boston Terrier (Molly) had her spay today ... if I was younger I'd be going back to school to become a vet !!! Atrocious prices ..

Seems Christmas events are popping up everyday .. can't avoid it ^_^


~M~

Just finished t.v. Bingo , no, didn't win, not even close!

Ann just left, wind is up, almost freezing rain, imagine by morning it will be a winter wonderland.

Hard to believe isn't it, December is right around the corner

Be careful Calgary way, watched the weather channel and it says bad weather for tomorrow in your neck of the woods..

Going to try this sleep thing.

I'm totally healed - no more bronchial cough. I clear my throat now and then, and everyone has an occasional cough - that's it.

Carol - seems every year I miss the LH Christmas decorating. Always seems earlier in the season than I expect it to be.
I rather suspect you'll have a short cap of a wig - am I right?

Betty - I know we're supposed to have a thaw today, then freezing rain tomorrow morning - I'll be leaving for work earlier than usual. Apparently we'll get freezing rain, then turning to 10 cm of snow for the morning. I will be very careful.
I'll need to get my gas tank looked at - apparently I have a slow leak. I will be careful, but lots of people have slow leaks, so I'm not overly excited/worried about it. I don't smoke LOL

Supposed to have a big snow storm tonight but it has not started yet. Glad my appt tomorrow is in the afternoon- snow supposed to stop by then - and I have transport!

The wig thing is a private appt at a place called Compassionate Beauty- they specialise in hair products, mastectomy products etc. I picked it mainly because it is very close to where I live! And yes Susan I will probably go for something short and curly and grey , don't intend to wear it much.

www.compassionatebeauty.com

( think I might go for the eyebrow tattoo if it is not too expensive )

Betty no I am not in any pain.

Susan the LH Xmas show is always mid November.

This message was edited Nov 29, 2011 9:06 PM

Morning, up since 4am, was raining..went down into craft room, just came upstairs, snowing and blowing..best I get a move on..

Be safe

Back when I get to work!!

Drats

This message was edited Nov 30, 2011 12:41 PM

Just sharing .. too beautiful (and thoughtful) not to

~M~


Hope you take the time to listen to this song.... just beautiful .... ~M~













Story behind the Song…




While at the mall a couple of years ago, my then four year old nephew, Spencer, saw kids lined up to see Santa Claus. Having been taught as a toddler that Christmas is the holiday that Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus, he asked his mom: "Where's the line to see Jesus"?

My sister mentioned this to my dad, who immediately became inspired and jotted words down to a song in just a few minutes. After putting music to the words, and doing a quick recording at home, he received a great response from friends. He sent the song off to Nashville without much response, except for a Christian song writer who suggested adding a bridge at the end of the first chorus.

My dad then asked if I wanted to record the song to see what we could do with it. I listened to the song, made a few changes to the words to make it flow better, and we headed to Shock City Studios. It was at the studio where Chris, owner and producer, rewrote the 2nd verse and part of the chorus... with goose bumps and emotions high, we were all hopeful and felt like we had something special. The demo was recorded in just under 2 hours and sent off again to Nashville ... still no response.

Then 2 weeks before Christmas last year, my cousins Greg and Robbie decided to do a video to see what we could accomplish on YouTube. The first day we had 3000 hits and it soared from there. We received e-mails, phone calls, Facebook messages from people all over asking for the music, CD's, iTunes, anything... we had nothing. After a couple of meetings with Chris following the amazing response, we got serious. We headed back into the studio this past spring... this time with guitars, drums, bass, pianos, choirs... the real deal.... and here we are today.

Getting iTunes set up, a website put together, and loving that thousands upon thousands of Christians have come together... remembering the true meaning of Christmas.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=OExXItDyWEY&vq=medium

A banner day yesterday, got the 2 trees up and the house pretty much decorated, now I don't have THAT 'boogey man' hiding in the back of my mind.

I do believe a trip to a local Greenhouse is in order though .. they decorate it so beautifully, and, it seems I always leave with some kind of nic nac.

Weather is damp .. I'll leave it at that ..

Hope everyone is doing well, I have had a few problems getting on Daves over the last 2 days .. today seems OK though ^_^

Take care

~M~

This message was edited Dec 1, 2011 8:20 AM

That was so beautiful "M" thanks for sharring, going to pass it on..

Feels good doesn't it, seeing the house all decorated, light flickering, such a peaceful feeling!
Got all my greenery for floral arrangements last Sunday, will also drop in to the greenhouse near hear to pick up a few different types of greenery..waiting for the weekend before so I can get roses and make and deliver them to friends/family..always a fun thing to do.

Had a storm yesterday, good reason to leave my car at dealership so that they can put the snowtires on..also after doing the timing chain on the car a few months ago I can feel a miss in the engine..of course when I dropped in Monday I still had warrantee on the car, after back/forth all week I'm now over..sure hope if it's major they take into effect it was under when I approached them.

Sitting here making trio candle pieces (12) .. way to fill my day and have extra christmas pressies to give away.

Up and down as to wether or not mom, Aunt Muriel and I will go to Buffalo..room booked, Aunt Muriel has her travel insurance, but mom now that she's 80 I can no longer get it for her through my insurance...said this morning she's not well, on breathing machine..so hope she cancels out..I'll get up and leave the house on Saturday morning for Buffalo if she does cancel and get all the things that need doing done and homeward bound by late afternoon..waiting game, mom said she would call around noon so I can either continue to plan or cancel the hotel room and go it alone.

Travel safely Betty!

Had my 2nd Chemo yesterday, feeling great today - had a Healing Touch session this morning then off to the greenhouse to get Xmas greens for decoration and also bought an angel for my collection. Stopped at Joans(foster mom) to deliver some toys for their new dog Zorro ( one of our fosters) arrived just in time for lunch. Then off for a bit more shopping and home. Lazed around the rest of the day munching on various things!

Have been rather lazy though about walking the dogs- today is the dog walkers day so they had a good hour walk at off leash park. Dean says all the dogs at the park were crazy today.

A neighbor just arrived with some meals for me!

Hope tomorrow is just as good - a friend is coming over and we will put up the outside Xmas decorations and maybe inside too.

Here are my two 2011 angels. The larger one is very heavy, almost feels like it might be wood and covered with something that looks like tiny bits of glass ( but probably is not) The glass angel is hand blown in China and will hold a small taper.

Carol - so glad to hear you're feeling well after your chemo!
I love that wooden-look angel - so stylistic and well-made :-)
We're decorating our home this weekend - going to get a lad to put the outside lights up. I was going to call him (now that we're home from choir practice) but our neighbour says it's likely too late to be calling the lad. This boy does some work for our neighbour, so I'll take his word for it. I'll call him tomorrow. Bob's hauled all the Christmas decorations out :-)

Carol .. really like the 2011 Angels :-) Alsp like the fact you seem so 'chipper'.

We don't put outside lights out as our home is too far off the beaten path for anyone but us to see .. I do decorate the mailbox down on the road.

Hang on .. it's +6C here today !! Sunny and SO springlike ... unreal after the last 2 frigid days ..

Doing some baking .. best get back to it ..

~M~

Friend and ASR foster mom came over yesterday with shy foster dog Teddy and helped me get all the outside Xmas decorations up except the big balls on the trees as it is rather windy and supposed to be really windy again early in the week. Dont want my balls all over the neighborhood! I didnt get the timers set properly ( forget how every year) so went out and replugged them normally and just used the inside breakers to turn them off. So all the lights were on last evening.

Got most of the inside decorations up and the angels sorted out, today working on the greenery and candles etc.Not going to put up the tree this year but I have something new which will involve buying a LOT of xmas balls - more later! Also brought in a hanging iron basket - one of two I bought last summer and going to fill with greenery and balls or maybe a string of lights - need to experiment. A trip to Canaidian Tire is needed but wont go until Monday - probably crowded on the weekend. They always have lots of nice decorations and they set them up by color which is what I need this year. Need to get a couple of bags of tealights too/. Thats mostly what I use and I do light them every night so I generally have to replace them all every day! I like lots of candles!

I have loved to do Xmas decorating every since I was a kid.

Had a headache again last evening but not so bad as last week and it is gone this morning. My Creatinine level ( which is the important test for that potential kidney problem) was back to normal this week so the chances I will need to have the kidney drains put in next week are pretty low. YEAH!

So nice about the spring-like weather, Marilynne! Enjoy it while you can!!!! Does this mean the snow's melting?

Yaaaaaaay, Carol! The longer you put it off, the better, for the kidney drains, eh?
Have a neighbour lad putting up the house lights tomorrow. I'm not up to climbing a ladder for it, and Bob doesn't want to, so this year we'll pay to have it done! $11/hr isn't bad, right? Two hours for a quick-limbed teenager! We only have the one-storied trailer, and it's only the front, so that's quick (maybe some of the inside of the deck where we can see it?!?!)

Just came back from the Dr/pharmacist and I'm back to using the puffer for my bronchitis. Also got some antibiotics. Still have the puffer tube from 2010 and now just added the meds. Hope it works better this time around.

Today I'm going to clear out the living room and decorate the tree, etc. For the first time I have a Christmas village - given to us by a friend who's moved and didn't want it anymore. 5 buildings - looks sweet all lit up on our piano top.

Sounds like all of you are getting ready for Christmas!

Carol I like the gold sparkly Angle, the older I get the more I like sparkles so I must have been a crow in my last life. Had a chuckle with the Balls all over the neighborhood. Good to hear that the Chemo is not too nasty and that you are going to be a no drain girl!
Thinking about getting out the X mas decorations but it will be on Sunday. Will do it with my Daughter so it will continue with a tradition of putting things out and talking about family.
Have done some baking with a neighbour this past week, took a vacation day off to do it, that was a smart thing!
Cheers to all.
Alberta Ann

Hi Alberta Ann! Good to see you.
My DH got out the decoration boxes and tested the lights the other day. Now I just have to clear a spot for the tree and unpack everything....... usually watch a Christmas movie while I'm decorating - geeze what's that movie with Jimmy Stewart - B/W - where he deals with Mr. Potter and takes over his father's Mortgage & Loan co? - brain ain't a-working, but it's my fav movie for decorating the tree.........

DUH - just remembered "It's a Wonderful Life"
Love the part where they fall into the school pool!! And then afterwards walk down the street singing...

Wow did we get snow! Started late yesterday afternoon 5-10 cms predicted , surely must have got the high amount, supposed to stop this morning but it is still snowing. One of the neighbors shovelled path ways from back doors to gates for neighbor Marie and I last evening - never even heard him! I just came in from clearing lots more of the white stuff.Cant even find the dog poop to pick up!

Supposed to work a shift at LH today but I will be phoning in a few minutes to cancel- prefer to stay off the roads.

So I will be settling in front of the TV to watch the curling and snack all day!

Carol
Just talked to my Mom who is just outside Calgary. They are snowed in today, decided to just not bother going anywhere. Had to shovel a path for the dog to go out as she has stubby legs .
Has the snow stopped for now?
Sun is shining here but the roads were not that good this am as the slush had frozen. My DH had business in Lacombe on Saturday and they were diverted off HWY 2 due to all the "in the ditch" stuff. All in all got home safely so that is a good thing.
Alberta Ann

Just back from Buffalo with Aunt Muriel 83 and mom 80 who really wasn't well enough to go..got to tell you I'm more than exhausted so will gab with you n the am


Waving though

Tomorrow Bob is going to "borrow" a steel girder piece to put in the back of his truck for icy conditions.
I don't look forward to driving my car on neighbourhood streets, but fortunately most of my driving to work is on Deerfoot in the city, not highway, and the Deerfoot is kept pretty clear by Maintenance. Very slow driving (not the 100k it normally is, more like 60-80k, with some places as slow as 25k on really bad stretches) but that's ok as long as it's safe-driving!!

Hope all you WESTERNERS have a safe day .. I just kind of let out a slow 'OH NO' when I watched footage of the Calgary snows on the Weather Channel.
North Western Ont is cool and clear for now. We'll take it !!

HI Betty .. hope you're feeling better this morning, must have been quite the jaunt to Buffalo .. fingers crossed your Mom feels better soon.

Lorna has an MRI of HER shoulder tonight at 8pm .. she took my appt as I felt foolish going when I am A symptomatic (at present) .. she is dealing with some kind of anomaly in that shoulder .. guess we'll find out ..

Tomorrow I sit at the Hospital for a few hours taking orders for crystal 'Memory ornaments' for Hospice .. very nice pieces .. Doves/Angels or Butterflies ..
Also have to get the baking for the AIDS Committee Bingo sorted out as it's my turn tomorrow .. 'Last minute Lucy' here !!

Have a good week everyone

~M~

A STELLAR day .. kinda springlike almost, until the wind blows ^_^

MRI went fine .. in fact Lorna and I had just sat down and started filling out the questionaire when the tech called her name .. we were 45 minutes early !!! Took her 20 minutes in the machine.

Sold 25 Wings of Remembrance ornaments this afternoon .. that's kind of a 'brisk business' .. was also approached by a friend who is Assistant volunteer co ordinator and asked if I would consider volunteering .. I have the paperwork, will glance over it in a few days .. I already volunteer lots, but, this really appeals to me ..

Off to get supper out

~M~

Forgot .... have a giggle with this one ^_^

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/lhDGQb7aFgnVNPa1

Evening all, quite light outside, of course I have a zillion lights out there dancing to Christmas tunes..love that outdoor music center..thank goodness it has a generator otherwise I'd be blowing electrical breakers!

"m" you have to be so careful not to say yes to everything ..seems a shortage of volunteers and seeing as they know you are a willing participants all the groups will be approaching you! Then comes the burn out

Suffering like crazy, so glad ive an appointment with specialist on Thursday, maybe I'll get some answers...been %#€£ these past few months not being able to use my right arm much..getting old will do it to you every time..guess we should just stay young!

Light snow falling, doubtful it will stay...was thinking, last year at Christmas the boys were out snowmobiling, iffy if they will get to do same this year..

carol, you doing ok?

Susan, the weight will help but it will be costly on the pocketbook..am sure it will need more gas.

Alberta Ann, is your snow now melted?

Doing fine Betty- 3rd Chemo tomorrow then a break for a week.

Bought my wig yesterday. She will style the wig after she shaves my hair which will be the 16th. Having a little party at the store.
Also bought a couple of nice head coverings and tried on a couple of neat hats but didnt buy any hats - will wait till the wig is styled and then try them on again.They gave me a fleece pink head covering to wear when at night when I get cold. And I still have a couple of sort of crocheted skull caps that I used 10 years ago! I still have all my hats but they are summer styles.

Wig

Wig 2

Hard to take a pic of oneself and I cut off the lower part of my face cause it looks pretty awful!

Snow was rained on today so a lot has melted. Some more came and took it's place though.
Carol Looks like a tin can won't be the right shape so I'm assuming that the wig will be styled on your head , right?
A week of rest will do you some good.
Got to go my, my DD has the stomach flu!
Alberta Ann

Alberta Ann .. sure hope your DD is feeling better soon .. nasty gastric bugs doing the rounds here too .. my hands have never been Purelled or washed as much before.

Carol, the wigs, and head covers, look nice .. like the colour .. good luck with chemo #3 today.

As always, I seem to be 'on the go', to where I am never quite certain LoL .. but .. GO I am >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

~M~

Carol, you'll be glad to get a rest..will they do chemo through the Christmas Holidays?? would imagine so!
Love the head scarves, especially the maroon one..very stylish.


Alberta Ann, hope the flu you daughter has isn't that terrible bug going around here, seems to last forever.

"M" much like you, always on the go..was tempted to go South for a week , leave Boxing Day but the more I think of it, the more I think I'd just like to stay in my jammies and enjoy my time off.

Said we'd get snow yesterday, had flurries last night but most of the ground has bare batches..not sure what will come today