I don't think Mother Nature understood my letter.
The news has been saying all week...including yesterday...that today the sun would come back out and stay with us for at least a couple of days. This news still preturbed me because DBF was only home for Friday evening and Saturday during the day, so of course I wanted it to be nice then...but I was willing to take whatever sun I could get.
Mom will be here in 7 days (yaaaaaaieeeeeeeee) and I want the friggin porch painted by then. This is the first time she is seeing my first owned house and I want it to be pretty dammit! Not that it isn't totally pretty anyway, but the scuffed up porch takes away from the perfection. Grrr.
Anyway, the sky was not blue when I got up. I did have hope though because it wasn't raining, and when I made the quick drive for a coffee it did look like it might clear up. No such luck.
As I sit here we are actually having a freaking thunderstorm. Like...grey, dismal, disgusting skies with gloppy sideways hard rain...and massive boughts of rolling thunder and the occasional hugeass flash of light in the sky. Mother Nature...this is not Summer! (Just in case you aren't sure...Summer usually involves blue skies, a yellow sun, and no precipitation...)
Don't get me wrong, the thunderstorm concept is terrifically cool as a general rule. I always wished we had more of them out West. But this is not the time!
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Saturday, August 30, 2008
In the blink of an eye....
Yup, DBF was away for 33 days. Longest he's been away since we moved to Halifax. Not the longest we've ever been apart...not even by a long shot (hellooooo, six months of training last year!) but definitely the hardest time apart of our relationship.
It's tough enough being apart, and tougher still because of not being surrounded by my family or any amount of close friends...but of course it was extra hard because of the emotional times with Mojo at the beginning of the month. That wouldn't have been easy for either of us at any time, but all of it combined just made for a rougher than rough month.
So he finally got home on Friday. I had already warned work that I would be taking off as soon as I got the call and wouldn't be back for the rest of the day. This all works out fine, as it was already 2pm our time when I left to get him so a couple of hours on the Friday before a long weekend aren't that big of a deal.
We came home after I picked him up....happy to be home, but a little tough for him walking in the first time without Mojo. (A little tough is an understatement to be sure.) We enjoyed some wine and relaxation and just time together. He had a little nap and I got cleaned up for our night out.
Dinner was at CUT Steakhouse. Just what the doctor ordered, I think. (you can read about our meal over here)
This morning we again took some time to relax, then headed out for brunch. After brunch we decided to go to Toys R Us so he could have a look at things he might like to buy for his son when he got to Winnipeg. Looking for a big fire truck...found a cool Tonka one, but he would actually like something even bigger and cooler. Then we just enjoyed wandering around the mall...just hanging out...and then a little more time in Chapters.
After that it was time to head to the airport. I opted to just drop him off and spare myself a teary goodbye inside the airport. It's always less emotional to do a stop/drop/run, then to linger at the security gate.
One day certainly wasn't long enough.
Thankfully my Mom will be here in a week, so that's something to look forward to! He'll be back a week into her visit, then he's actually home for three weeks before having to head back out for most of October. Gah, the trips to sea never used to bother me sooooooo much. I must be getting extra sensitive these days.
It's tough enough being apart, and tougher still because of not being surrounded by my family or any amount of close friends...but of course it was extra hard because of the emotional times with Mojo at the beginning of the month. That wouldn't have been easy for either of us at any time, but all of it combined just made for a rougher than rough month.
So he finally got home on Friday. I had already warned work that I would be taking off as soon as I got the call and wouldn't be back for the rest of the day. This all works out fine, as it was already 2pm our time when I left to get him so a couple of hours on the Friday before a long weekend aren't that big of a deal.
We came home after I picked him up....happy to be home, but a little tough for him walking in the first time without Mojo. (A little tough is an understatement to be sure.) We enjoyed some wine and relaxation and just time together. He had a little nap and I got cleaned up for our night out.
Dinner was at CUT Steakhouse. Just what the doctor ordered, I think. (you can read about our meal over here)
This morning we again took some time to relax, then headed out for brunch. After brunch we decided to go to Toys R Us so he could have a look at things he might like to buy for his son when he got to Winnipeg. Looking for a big fire truck...found a cool Tonka one, but he would actually like something even bigger and cooler. Then we just enjoyed wandering around the mall...just hanging out...and then a little more time in Chapters.
After that it was time to head to the airport. I opted to just drop him off and spare myself a teary goodbye inside the airport. It's always less emotional to do a stop/drop/run, then to linger at the security gate.
One day certainly wasn't long enough.
Thankfully my Mom will be here in a week, so that's something to look forward to! He'll be back a week into her visit, then he's actually home for three weeks before having to head back out for most of October. Gah, the trips to sea never used to bother me sooooooo much. I must be getting extra sensitive these days.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Dear Mother Nature,
I am sure I have written to you about this same topic not all that long ago, but it's important so I thought I'd hit you up again.
When exactly are you planning on bringing Summer to Halifax? Just curious, as usually it falls sometimes between June 21st and September 20th, and here we are almost into September and I think we've only witnessed about two weeks total of what I might refer to as Summer weather.
I have a porch that needs painting, I have flowers that are soggy and in need of some heat, my Summer freckles are already faded out, and all of my cute Summer shoes are collecting dust in the closet. What gives?
I even went out a bought a power washer this past weekend, and took the time to really clean my porch good while the sun was with us on Sunday. Unfortunately by the time I went to bed that night, you opened up the sky and dumped a torential downpour on us, and now my stairs will need a couple super hot days to really dry out enough to be painted. And since you haven't brought the sun back since then, I'm starting to worry that might have been the last sight of it for a while.
I think I speak for everyone around here when I say 'PLEASE BRING ON SUMMER...WE ARE MORE THAN READY'.
Thank you!
Sincerely, Bi0nicW0man
When exactly are you planning on bringing Summer to Halifax? Just curious, as usually it falls sometimes between June 21st and September 20th, and here we are almost into September and I think we've only witnessed about two weeks total of what I might refer to as Summer weather.
I have a porch that needs painting, I have flowers that are soggy and in need of some heat, my Summer freckles are already faded out, and all of my cute Summer shoes are collecting dust in the closet. What gives?
I even went out a bought a power washer this past weekend, and took the time to really clean my porch good while the sun was with us on Sunday. Unfortunately by the time I went to bed that night, you opened up the sky and dumped a torential downpour on us, and now my stairs will need a couple super hot days to really dry out enough to be painted. And since you haven't brought the sun back since then, I'm starting to worry that might have been the last sight of it for a while.
I think I speak for everyone around here when I say 'PLEASE BRING ON SUMMER...WE ARE MORE THAN READY'.
Thank you!
Sincerely, Bi0nicW0man
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Health Crisis
Last night I was out for dinner with a couple of friends (friend M, friend B, and friend B's hubby). Good times. Eating, talking, being merry.
As we were finishing up, friend M said she was all of a sudden not feeling well. A wave of nausea, then some funky breathing. I scooted out of the booth so she could walk around. She does have asthma so thought maybe she was having an attack. I walked with her to the end of the restaurant to get some air and to have a drag of her puffer. It didn't help.
So then her breathing started to feel constricted to her, so she thought maybe it was an allergic reaction. She recently found out she has a sort of allergy to potassium...things like bananas and kiwis, so she usually carries Reactine with her just in case, but she didn't have any in her purse.
She got all shaky (like someone might if their blood sugar dropped fast, but she had just eatten dinner), then she got all hot, and she said her breathing was worse and worse. Like she wasn't intaking any air on her right side.
We were just offering to drive her to a clinic or the hospital when she decided that she wanted 911. Freaking scary. I sat with her and held her hands while she kept grabbing ice cubes and holding them to her chest trying to cool down while friend B was on the phone with 911.
Thankfully the paramedics only took a couple of minutes to arrive, so by the time we walked down the stairs from the pub, they were pulling up (I do have to say that they didn't move very "urgently" though....sort of sauntered along...it was frustrating to watch). They talked to her and by then her breath was catching and she could barely say her own name. They got her over to their ambulance, and were checking her vitals, etc. Friend B went with them in the ambulance, friend B's husband followed in their car, and unfortunately I just came home. I felt so helpless...but what was I going to do?
Friend B called me when she got home 2 hours later. Friend M's hubby had made it to the hospital to sit with her, so B and her hubby could go home. After the 2 hours, she was still sitting on the ambulance gurney waiting to even go through triage at the emergency room. Like seriously? Good thing she wasn't actually having a heart attack or something (which is what the paramedics thought might be happening).
In the end, I heard from her this morning that they finally did some blood tests on her at 4:30am, but she had to wait a couple of hours for the results...and of course, really never figured out what the problem was. They recommended that she see her own doctor and get tested for more allergies...maybe seafood or citrus or something...she'd eaten calamari and a pesto chicken sandwich. Her breathing ended up returning to normal on it's own and her chest wasn't tight anymore...but not due to anything the hospital did for her.
I can't believe she waited that long. This country needs some serious help in the emergency care departments.
As we were finishing up, friend M said she was all of a sudden not feeling well. A wave of nausea, then some funky breathing. I scooted out of the booth so she could walk around. She does have asthma so thought maybe she was having an attack. I walked with her to the end of the restaurant to get some air and to have a drag of her puffer. It didn't help.
So then her breathing started to feel constricted to her, so she thought maybe it was an allergic reaction. She recently found out she has a sort of allergy to potassium...things like bananas and kiwis, so she usually carries Reactine with her just in case, but she didn't have any in her purse.
She got all shaky (like someone might if their blood sugar dropped fast, but she had just eatten dinner), then she got all hot, and she said her breathing was worse and worse. Like she wasn't intaking any air on her right side.
We were just offering to drive her to a clinic or the hospital when she decided that she wanted 911. Freaking scary. I sat with her and held her hands while she kept grabbing ice cubes and holding them to her chest trying to cool down while friend B was on the phone with 911.
Thankfully the paramedics only took a couple of minutes to arrive, so by the time we walked down the stairs from the pub, they were pulling up (I do have to say that they didn't move very "urgently" though....sort of sauntered along...it was frustrating to watch). They talked to her and by then her breath was catching and she could barely say her own name. They got her over to their ambulance, and were checking her vitals, etc. Friend B went with them in the ambulance, friend B's husband followed in their car, and unfortunately I just came home. I felt so helpless...but what was I going to do?
Friend B called me when she got home 2 hours later. Friend M's hubby had made it to the hospital to sit with her, so B and her hubby could go home. After the 2 hours, she was still sitting on the ambulance gurney waiting to even go through triage at the emergency room. Like seriously? Good thing she wasn't actually having a heart attack or something (which is what the paramedics thought might be happening).
In the end, I heard from her this morning that they finally did some blood tests on her at 4:30am, but she had to wait a couple of hours for the results...and of course, really never figured out what the problem was. They recommended that she see her own doctor and get tested for more allergies...maybe seafood or citrus or something...she'd eaten calamari and a pesto chicken sandwich. Her breathing ended up returning to normal on it's own and her chest wasn't tight anymore...but not due to anything the hospital did for her.
I can't believe she waited that long. This country needs some serious help in the emergency care departments.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Its not quite the same as shoe shopping...
Who knew how fun it would be to buy a new lawn mower?!!
We had a crappy little lawn mower. Brand new last year, but mind you it was in the clearance area at Home Depot and DBF got it for $20. It is missing the power handle...the piece you hold on to to keep it running. So we have to remove the spark plug wire to turn it off. No big deal if it was actually a GOOD mower, but it's sadly not.
I used it for the first time here in Halifax a couple of weeks ago. DBF has been mowing the lawn most of the time we've been here and although he mentioned it was a bit of a pain in the ass he hadn't really said much else. Well, I'm here to tell you it SUCKS!!! I used it all last Summer at our old place and because the lawn was flat and didn't grow tooooo fast it was fine. But here we have a very sloped portion in our yard, and the lower portion grows like crazy. The first time I used it, it was constantly clogged and it created not one, but two embarassingly huge smoke clouds when I ran it on too much of an angle. (I say embarassing because it was so bad my neighbor came over to make sure I wasn't on fire!)
Anyway, I used it once more a week later and that sealed the deal. No bag on it was the final straw. I hate raking when I don't have to. It's fine to leave the clippings when they are nice and light, or to mulch them back in at the beginning of the season, but right now we need to bag the clippings.
So, after checking out prices for a couple of weeks...I noticed a nice one show up in the Home Depot flyer. The only other mower I had seen that I was considering prior to this was $269...but it was a brand I hadn't heard of. This new sale one was a Cub Cadet...so a good brand...and was $279. I went in, chatted with the guy, figured out that it was a way nicer mower, so bought it.
Woo! Gotta love being on a mission and just going for it without dicking around.
Came home, set it up, oiled it up, gassed it up, and gave it an inaugural run with the bag on our front yard. So freaking awesome!! It's not self-propelled, but it is light and nicely powerful so it runs like a dream.
OK, and to be just a bit girly...it's super cute and yellow!! (and DBF will still like it because it's manly and has all the functions he asked for)
We had a crappy little lawn mower. Brand new last year, but mind you it was in the clearance area at Home Depot and DBF got it for $20. It is missing the power handle...the piece you hold on to to keep it running. So we have to remove the spark plug wire to turn it off. No big deal if it was actually a GOOD mower, but it's sadly not.
I used it for the first time here in Halifax a couple of weeks ago. DBF has been mowing the lawn most of the time we've been here and although he mentioned it was a bit of a pain in the ass he hadn't really said much else. Well, I'm here to tell you it SUCKS!!! I used it all last Summer at our old place and because the lawn was flat and didn't grow tooooo fast it was fine. But here we have a very sloped portion in our yard, and the lower portion grows like crazy. The first time I used it, it was constantly clogged and it created not one, but two embarassingly huge smoke clouds when I ran it on too much of an angle. (I say embarassing because it was so bad my neighbor came over to make sure I wasn't on fire!)
Anyway, I used it once more a week later and that sealed the deal. No bag on it was the final straw. I hate raking when I don't have to. It's fine to leave the clippings when they are nice and light, or to mulch them back in at the beginning of the season, but right now we need to bag the clippings.
So, after checking out prices for a couple of weeks...I noticed a nice one show up in the Home Depot flyer. The only other mower I had seen that I was considering prior to this was $269...but it was a brand I hadn't heard of. This new sale one was a Cub Cadet...so a good brand...and was $279. I went in, chatted with the guy, figured out that it was a way nicer mower, so bought it.
Woo! Gotta love being on a mission and just going for it without dicking around.
Came home, set it up, oiled it up, gassed it up, and gave it an inaugural run with the bag on our front yard. So freaking awesome!! It's not self-propelled, but it is light and nicely powerful so it runs like a dream.
OK, and to be just a bit girly...it's super cute and yellow!! (and DBF will still like it because it's manly and has all the functions he asked for)
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