An Ordeal or an Adventure?

The only difference between an ordeal
and an adventure is your attitude!

Author Unknown

Today's word of the day is wane (WAYN verb 1: to decrease in size, extent, or degree ; 2: to fall gradually from power, prosperity, or influence). I wonder if my interest in camping and getting away from here is going to wane as we get the property all fixed up. Part of the allure of camping was getting away from the reminders of work and the constant demands of our property. Now that we have the time to do things at our own pace the upkeep does not seem so onerous. Our property is lovely in the summer with open pastures, shady nooks, pool and big back deck. I just need to park the camper in a more congenial spot so that we can "driveway" camp when we want a little get away. One thing missing from this at-home scenario though is all the great walking we get at the campgrounds. We just don't have that at our doorstep here, plus there are other distractions that tempt us away from getting that walking done. No matter though, we've got lots of camping already booked for the summer :-)

My pleasures today: waking up without a sick stomach - after yesterday's lunch in the city I was wickedly sick for a few hours - I'm thinking now that I might have a sensitivity to squid, as I believe the same thing has happened when I've eaten squid before - how strange ; seeing my mom & dad after their long trip.

I got two youtube videos in emails today, both worth sharing. One has a soundtrack by Leonard Cohen and a sweet theme, the other is a talking dog - it's pretty funny and if you need a smile (and who doesn't) I recommend both.

Here's the hug campaign video: http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=hN8CKwdosjE

And here's the funny dog one:

 

Lunch with old co-workers

Today I had lunch with the old work crew. I was dreading it to a certain extent - the reminder of work... but then I reminded myself that I'm free of all that so I was able to have a good time and enjoy everyone's company (and in fact got in a few ha ha moments). I was surprised with how little work talk there actually was - what with the election results, Osama's death, and other worldly topics there was lots to talk about. It was great seeing them all again. What a great group of people they are.

Today's word of the day is odious (OH-dee-us adjective - : arousing or deserving hatred or repugnance : hateful). This is a fitting word as I headed into the dentist this morning. Always a fun visit, but at least this time it was just for a cleaning and nothing major. Last year around this time I developed a WICKED toothache which turned out to be an infection from a cracked molar. I spent two nights at the hospital as the swelling was so bad they worried that it might cut off my airway. It was an odious visit full of long times sitting around.

They were short of beds so I had to say in the emergency ward, where of course they were also short of beds. I lucked into an observation room overnight but the rest of the time was spent sitting in the emergency waiting room. Thank goodness my angel of a mother came and sat with me throughout the day - I would have been lost without my mommy. There were one other observation room in the little hallway, often occupied by people that needed constant supervision (i.e. a guard). One of the nights there was a woman in the room next door that was deemed a danger to herself and others. The poor security guard had a devil of a time keeping her in her room. Every now and again she would make a break for it and he'd have to usher her back to her room. At one point I heard him say "PLEASE put your nightgown back on...". I felt for both of them, but it did make for a long night.

The other night there was a cot outside my door with a drunk they had picked up off the streets. There was a security guard with him also. As the guy became more and more sober he made more and more of a fuss. He got rather loud at points, so another long night. Needless to say I was exhausted by the time I got home (oh how good my own bed felt).

In the end, after the antibiotics had done their job to kill infection I had to have the offending tooth removed. You might be able to guess that this was no great hell either. The doctor had to give me 3 injections to get even a hint of freezing. It was horrible - those needles are wicked and I felt each one. In the end he tried without the freezing. He got the tooth out and it hurt, but not nearly as much as the toothache had.

My pleasures today: waking up to the alarm clock - okay that's not really a pleasure but I love how the dogs just spring up the instant the radio comes on. How can they wake up so fast?

Beltane at the Rally

Last night we had friends - Cathey and Jim (not a couple) over for supper. They didn't complain about the diet fare although we did have some chicken. The chicken was marinated with some garlic, lemon zest and juice, dash of sesame oil, and a bit of light soya sauce. Carm did a fabulous job of bbqing - it turned out moist and ever so tasty. We've done a pretty good job of getting together with friends we haven't seen much of over the last several years. For April we managed to get someone over for supper at least once a week. I love retirement. Plus it keeps the house clean ;-)

It was a beautiful day today so we got out for another few hours of cleanup outside. The grass is emerald green and the trees are starting to bud. "Green day" might be a bit late this year though.

Kabira enjoying the sun

Spike sleepy and bored - he is tied to the house to keep
him from sniffing his way away from the house

Bella getting the mud washed off her legs - she loves it
outside and doesn't wander off but does get herself into
mud puddles in her search for chippies

Today's word of the day is Beltane (BEL-tayn noun - : the Celtic May Day festival). This reminds me of the Celtic festival that was in Kingston at the Titanium Rally a few years back. Friday afternoon people started brining in loads of lumber to build stages with. They were alarmingly close to the camper (within 50') but we didn't give it too much thought until early Saturday morning. We were awaken by the lovely musical notes of bagpipes tuning and warming up. Oh what pleasure to start the morning with such delightful music. The festival continued throughout the day with the typical little girls dancing (to bagpipe music of course), music competitions (bagpipes and drums), and then the finale was the band competition. The day was not a quiet one, but was actually kind of fun and certainly made the rally more memorable for us.

That's our camper in the background

band competition

Even Grace came out to enjoy the band competition.
The dogs weren't too sure at first and then got used to the pipes and drums

My pleasures the last few days: again with the lemon vinegar dusting clothes - I just love using these home made cleaning clothes (I must remember to post the "recipe" ; last night visiting with some friends - retirement has been great for getting back in touch with friends ; today getting more brush cleaned up - it looks so tidy ; looking for a serving tray in the pantry and seeing the racks that I got (from Dollarama!), holding everything so neat and tidy ; eating a snack of San Pellagrino water with lemon, smoked salmon and brown rice crackers, and a bit of cucumber - especially good after several hours working outside, and even better eaten outside on the front deck - we are doing stuff OUTSIDE - yeah!

not bad for $4.00! So much better than the jungle that was.