Socks and Shoes

Yup.  My feet are in 'em.

Hear that faint voice?
That's my muffled toes trying to yell "No!  No!  Not 8 months of foot wear again!"

 As much as I dislike colder weather necessitating socks and shoes, I LOVE LOVE LOVE the autumn colours!  I swear I could die this winter and go out with a smile on my face thinking "it was the most beautiful autumn ever"!

That's my morning bus ... waiting for me!
LOVE the colours behind the bus shelter!

Just look at the amazing colours running down the centre of the avenue!  Same kind of tree, but each one unique!

And the size of the wild rose hips!  Wow!

It's been very foggy the past 10 days or so.
This was a fairly clear day - some days it's been like pea soup, you could barely see beyond your own nose!

The last rose(s) of summer?
Even these roses are spectacular in colour!

 On an entirely different topic, I thought I lost Miss Boots this past week!  Let me tell you, I was just HEART SICK!  I just plain do NOT want to imagine life without Miss Boots!

This is our balcony railing.
Those are the frozen remains of a late Morning Glory vine on the right.

This is our balcony railing ... and the balcony railing belonging to the apartment next door to us. 
That stucco wall between the two railings is 10 inches thick.
That's like ... um ... 25 centimeters in Metricspeak?

 You need to remember that our apartment is 3 floors up ... as in a LONG WAYS DOWN should you happen to fall!

You also need to remember that Miss Boots is an indoor kitty who has regular "manicures" to keep her claws short and my furniture in one piece.

Miss Boots and I were both out on the balcony about 8:30 pm, enjoying a last cup of tea and surveying "The Queendom" to make sure all was peaceful for the night, when my phone rang.  It happened THIS fast ... 3 steps inside to pick up the phone and I heard a frantic scrambling ... turned my head and NO CAT!

I grabbed my flashlight and peered over the balcony railing ... expecting to see a broken kitty lying on the ground ... but NO CAT!  So I ran downstairs (in my jammies and flip flops), around to the back of the building, thinking she was so scared that she just RAN in whatever direction she landed, and thinking about the pair of fox and the bear that frequents the green belt behind our building that would enjoy a quick snack of domestic kitty!

I spent an entire hour (in my jammies and flip flops) peering into every bush, every clump of grass, calling and calling ... and NO CAT!  Finally, with frozen toes and tears, I headed back in.  The hopeful part of me thought MAYBE she didn't fall, that she was still on our balcony, maybe hiding under the BBQ, so I shone the flashlight up the side of the building ... AND HEARD A VERY PLAINTIVE LITTLE meow.  It took a while, but I finally caught the reflection of her big green eyes in the balcony next door ... so I raced back upstairs, out onto our balcony, and CLIMBED ONTO OUR BALCONY RAILING.  No, I wasn't THINKING ... I was on adrenaline "must rescue kitty" mode!  I know, I know!  No lectures please!

She was crouched back against the wall, and NO amount of calling or cajoling was convincing her to come anywhere near the balcony railing!  Naturally, or maybe fortunately, the neighbours were not home ... and being Canadian Thanksgiving, might not be home for several more hours.  I didn't know if she was hurt, but I knew I couldn't leave her there.  Eventually, I managed to swing one of my dining room chairs over onto the neighbouring balcony and then coaxed her up onto the chair.  Once on the chair I could reach around that 10 inch stucco wall to grab her and bring her back.  Then I had one heck of a time retrieving my chair!  It was about that point that I realized I was hanging off my balcony railing (in my jammies and flip flops) 3 floors above the ground!  And I'm scared of heights!

"Not going out there.  Nope.  Not EVER again!"

 A week has gone by, and Miss Boots is still rather uninterested in the balcony.  She wasn't seriously injured ... just one scraped paw pad, probably from trying to catch a grip on the stucco.  No hu-moms were injured either.  Phew!

Since Miss Boots became an EVEN MORE INDOOR cat this past week, she decided the best place to be was in the hu-mom's lap.  And what can be better than a hu-mom's lap?  Why, a hu-mom's lap underneath some cozy knitting!  With her ... ahem ... "assistance", we finished this 72 inch long kid mohair and silk shawl.  It's hanging over a curtain rod in this picture ... I spritzed it generously to block it and bring up the fuzzy halo of the mohair.  I've already given it away, but I think I want one for myself now.

Have a great week y'all!  Enjoy the autumn colours ... and keep your cats safe!

Squished Finger

Haven't been blogging regularly again, eh?  Shame on you! 

What?

Oh ... I haven't been blogging regularly lately?

You're right.  Shame on me!

But I have an excuse ... I squished my right index finger with the heavy new bear-proof garbage dumpster lid outside my apartment building.  Do you know how hard it is to type without using your right index finger???  Take my word for it ... cuz I truly don't recommend squishing your finger with a dumpster lid!!! ... it's really challenging.  And worse than that ... I can't knit or crochet with the danged thing all battered and sticking straight out!

'Pre-squish', I was busy crocheting bunnies ...

... with floppy ears and fluffy tails.

Then I devoted a weekend to finishing these socks.
(A strange woman on the city bus handed me a
plastic bag one morning and said 'here, finish these
and you can have them, needle and all'.  She had
already knit one entire sock and was past the heel
on the second sock ... I guess she decided
knitting socks was not for her (to my benefit)!

Socks finished, and more bunnies to go, I foolishly decided to do a quick lick of housework and take the garbage out.  That's when I discovered the heavy new bear-proof garbage dumpster lid.

Le sigh dramatique.

Oh well ... last year about this time, Wildlife officials had to destroy a (hungry) young bear who kept 'shopping' at our dumpster, and that was very sad.  Better me with a squished finger than a dead bear!

So ... without THAT outlet, I had to find new ways to satisfy my creative urges.

I participated in a day-long roundtable with folks from
all over our province who are involved in front-line
care services for seniors ... it was held in the BEAUTIFUL
Administration building at our local university ...

... in the University Senate Chambers. 
I've never been beyond the carved Senate Chambers

doors before.

 

I read THIS book.

And I tried a couple of recipes ...

salad type things.

Yummy!

But I'm not impressed with the author's suggestions

to SNEAK beans into brownies and spaghetti ...

some foods just don't need extra beans!

However ... if you are interested in sneaking beans

into other (regular non-bean) foods, then

I recommend this book to read.





I read THIS book.
Fascinating yet disturbing.
I highly recommend it.

I am now reading THIS book.
I'm not very far into it, so will reserve judgment for now.


Getting a little tired of reading here, so ...


I got all gussied up
and had me an evening out.
NOTE TO SELF:  those red patent leather high heels HURT!
QUESTION TO SELF:  how did that happen?  Used to love
wearing them!

 

Another NOTE TO SELF:  do NOT take eyes off cat
when wearing dangly earrings with feathers in them!

 Meanwhile ...

"It was not me who put those nose prints
all over the bathroom mirror.
It was definately not me!
I do not get up on the bathroom counter
and talk to myself in the mirror.
No, I definately do not!
I am innocent!
See ... don't I look innocent?
DON'T I???"

Since this is such a boring post, here are some random thoughts that I have written down in a small notebook that I carry with me on the city bus.  You may or may not chuckle at some of them ...

1. Alarm clocks are self-inflicted torture.




2. Always leave a spare pair of boots at the office.



3. As a rule, people who use the express lane at the grocery store can’t count.



4. Bears like apples even when the apples are in a sturdy box in the carport.



5. Beetle-killed wood is really beautiful.



6. Brainstorming is best done with pen and paper.



7. Bugs bite.



8. Bus shelters were not designed by bus shelter users.



9. Chocolate is indeed an essential food group.



10. City transit buses are only good for the next connecting bus and bus drivers tell each other who is transferring.



11. City transit buses never run on statutory holidays / after 9 pm.



12. “Company dinner” with hunting friends does not mean moose meat will be on the menu.



13. Crows are humorous.



14. Don’t tell me your personal life story ... I don’t want to know!



15. Downtown PG stinks.



16. Downtown PGers care.



17. Every student should wait tables to learn people skills.



18. Everyone came from somewhere else.



19. Everyone in my building listens to CBC Radio.



20. Fabricland is only 0.1 hours away.



21. Formal wear is always optional at formal events.



22. I don’t “get” jogging.



23. I have come to terms with my roots.



24. I like nice pens.



25. Internet users outside the downtown core have dial-up service.



26. It’s a dry cold up here.



27. It’s not unusual to see people wearing sandals and winter jackets at the same time here in PG.



28. Local transit schedulers are not church-goers.



29. Lower BC Mainlanders have no idea about life beyond Hope BC.



30. Moose are much bigger than you think.



31. New underwear is too frequently an overlooked pleasure.



32. News is always bad news.



33. Northern BCers are very generous.



34. Northern BCers are very resourceful / creative.



35. Northern rivers are REALLY cold all summer long.



36. October is definitely too early to put up Christmas lights.



37. Offer free food and they shall come.



38. PGers leave everything to the last minute.



39. Shouldn’t the Tim Hortons Drive Thru sign say Tim Horton’s Drive Thru?



40. Summers may be short up here, but oh! The incredible gardens!



41. The same people who ask businesses to display their event posters in store front windows should return AFTER said event to take down their posters.



42. Thongs are great but you might experience chilly butt cheeks.



43. Trucks rule in city intersections.



44. Via Rail trains give me itchy feet.



45. Waiters always ask how your meal is when your mouth is full.



46. We have Dollar Giant, Dollar Store, Dollarama ... but their merchandise costs $1.25, $1.50, $2 ...



47. Wearing gloves is not eccentric.



48. White Zinfandel is great wine.



49. Why do they put gravy on your meat instead of on your mashed potatoes?



50. You can always talk about the weather.

 
So until next time, cheers from
LD with the squished finger.

Could it be ... ? Is it possible ... ?

Walking home from work today, I heard a sweet SWEET sound ...... water running down into a street drain! That's the first time I've heard that this ... dare I say it? ... shh! ... s p r i n g ! What a difference a couple of warm days have made ...... city sidewalks are reappearing! And what's that I see?Grass! Okay, DEAD grass, but where there's dead grass, there's the potential of GREEN grass! And look at this ...SHOES! I walked home in SHOES today! Of course, my toes won't be happy until they can go NEKKID in sandals. However, this is a step in the right direction! Do you think all these signs mean ... you know ... the S word???

The next part of this post is for you, "L". Yes, I do finish sewing and craft projects! Perhaps not in the order started. But eventually. For example, I have now finished ...... this apron from the cool medieval map fabric I found last Saturday. I also finished ...... this bear and maple leaf bag. It's really cool too! Pockets outside ...... and more pockets inside! Really handy for all my "stuff". Oh, and I also completed ...... the long-arm cross-stitching for this project. I'm not sure exactly how I'm going to finish it yet. I'll keep you posted.

By the way, "L" ... how are those leather gloves coming along? What was that? Can you speak up a little ... I didn't quite catch your answer?

Oh. They're NOT QUITE FINISHED YET. And you've only been working on them for ... is that two years now?????

Vacation

I had one. A vacation. Well ... a MINI vacation. Can't call it a REAL vacation if it's less than 10 days, right? Right. My dictionary defines a vacation as "a scheduled time of rest and relaxation from work", and except for it being too hot to sleep really well, I was definately resting and relaxing away from work!

In a couple of very short days, I managed to:

--gobble down my favourite Me 'N Ed's pizza (the "Gangster" ... whole wheat crust ... extra jalapenos ... YUM!) in the company of good friends, as well as enjoy the company of one special 4-legged furry friend! (If you're one of the good 2-legged human friends I didn't manage to call or see ... sorry! ... next trip, I promise!)

-Catch one Sunday service at a Church that feels like "home" ... and enjoy a piece of birthday cake with a special choir member!

-Travel in a manner unheard of here in PG!

-and feast my eyes on the mountains! I was raised in a valley. I miss mountains. I miss mountains a lot! I DREAM about these mountains ...

-check out at least one "old stomping ground" (which is ... sadly ... closed now)!

-and go shoe shopping! (Ronsonstocks ... $25! What a deal!)

I even managed all this relatively cheaply as I was able to take advantage of a WestJet seat sale ... $69 each way. Of course, the ACTUAL price was more than twice that amount thanks to the fuel surcharge and airport improvement levies and whatnots.

Sadly, it was all too short, and now it's back to work. I think I should do this vacation thing more often!