DragynLady's Lair

Selfish?

2014-01-17T08:37:00.002-08:00

I've been feeling both selfish and justified lately, in wishing that Maxx would hurry up and get his car insured and on the road, so that I can have my car back steadily waiting in the driveway, so if I want to use it, all I need to do is walk outside, not hoof it up the hill to my sister-in-law's house, if Maxx hasn't bothered to ask me before going home if I might want to use it that day.

He's asked a couple of times if, when he gets his 1995 beater on the road, if we could then switch cars because I don't need to drive that much, only working in the office once every two weeks, but I have refused. The Ford Fusion is mine ... it was purchased in my name, I have the insurance, and I have made every single car payment on this car ... as well as the Saturn Vue before it, and the SL1 before it, and the 1978 Ford Granada before it ... so by the time the Fusion is paid off I figure I will have shelled out about $100,000 in car payments. No way am I trading that in for a POS 1995 car!

Lovely Luna!

2014-01-16T08:27:00.001-08:00

Full moon last night, and I got home from my errands about 8pm, so I did have time to hope in a nice hot bath with one of my many bath fizzers, then hold a short full moon ceremony. Short but sweet, and I felt so relaxed afterwards I lay down on the sofa for a while to watch my candles burning.

I even got to use one of my special candle holders ... it's a tea light holder with a frosted glass moon behind it. Thought it was very appropriate, except that it is a quarter moon, not full!

Tests and Results

2014-01-15T14:13:00.002-08:00

Having my second mammogram this year, as I just turned 41.

I guess it points to my state of emotional and mental health that I almost hope they find something. After all, if I had to have a mastectomy, I would get my much-needed breast reduction without having to struggle and fail to get down to 178 pounds first ... and having less breast to bounce around being painful and awkward while exercising would be excellent!

Old Age?

2014-01-13T15:06:00.000-08:00

I know I've only just turned 41 last week, but sometimes I feel like I'm spiralling swiftly into old age. My memory is not only no longer what it used to be, but often times fails me completely, and I certainly am not able to multi-task the same way I used to .... guess this is just what I get to look forward to in the future.

Off Kilter

2014-01-08T17:44:00.000-08:00

Just feeling a bit off-kilter this week. Monday was Jan 6th, and I still haven't been able to figure out for myself if it 'is' my anniversary, or 'was', or 'will be again'. Wondering if Maxx ever will move back in with me, as he's made no overtures in that direction.

I guess my life is just going to be one endlessly long waiting game.

And I HATE waiting.

Happy New Year

2014-01-01T11:19:00.002-08:00

Have I made resolutions for the New Year? No.

I have, however, tried to make some ongoing plans. I've been working on eating better and getting more exercise for the past couple of months, and I am going to keep that up. Started off right this year with a breakfast of oatmeal with a tablespoon of chia seeds (high in fibre, help you feel full) and 1/4 cup of almond milk, with a glass of hot water and a mandarin orange.

I also happened to sleep in until 10am today ... which is actually a good thing, considering how hard I usually find it to get a decent night's sleep. It was a surprise when I opened my eyes and rolled over to find it was almost 10, so turning off the alarm at 8am and rolling over was apparently the right thing to do.

Now, I need to go a brief tidy on the kitchen table, and plan to do a painting today. I want to get back into the swing of painting and also doing other crafts, get those creative juices flowing again and see if I can maybe get a few things created that will warrant an online store, to try to get some extra income. While I may need to purchase more paints, if I get that creative, I certainly have lots of canvases at this time, in varying sizes and shapes!

Hope everyone had a happy and safe New Year celebration, and are ready to kick things off right.

Half-Way There ... Just in Time for the End of the Year!

2013-12-31T16:29:00.000-08:00

I have just over half of the carpet in my living room torn up at this time, and the new sofa and love seat were delivered promptly at 11am this morning, so I have somewhere comfortable but not quite de-cluttered to sit in the living room once again.

I had been thinking that when I got everything squared away I might move the credenza from the entry way into the living room on the one wall without a chair/sofa/love seat on it, to be able to use it for storage and be able to set the bird cage back up on it once more, but upon further reflection it looks like it may stick out too far into the living room and take up too much space.

Perhaps when I have some spare funds I will try to pick up another shelving unit like the one I got recently for the main bathroom ... it has four shelves and is functional as well as beautiful, and doesn't take up the same amount of space used by a full book shelf.

We shall see. After all, I don't know WHEN (or even if) I will have any spare funds in 2014.

Oh, well .....

Happy New Year!

Living Room Re-Vamp

2013-12-30T08:38:00.002-08:00

My living room is going to get a bit of a re-vamp today and tomorrow. My loveseat and one chair have finally started giving up the ghost very quickly, so on Boxing Day I went furniture shopping with Maxx, and found a sofa and loveseat I like, which will be delivered tomorrow.

So, that means today I want to pull up carpet in the living room, at least where the new furniture will be placed. I also want to wash my living room curtains, as they really need it.

What with pulling up the carpet, moving furniture around, and generally de-cluttering, hopefully I'll have a tidy, cozy living room all set up and ready to go for Jan 1st. It would be lovely to have a room with good vibes to hold my New Moon ceremony that night!

Apparently it's fairly rare to start off the New Year with a New Moon, with the last one being 19 years ago.

Maybe that means this one will bring me luck!

Tough Week

2013-12-28T22:53:00.000-08:00

It's been a tough week not just because it was the holidays, but also because it's the first holidays I've spent without my husband, since he moved out in November ... but I was also suffering from a stomach flu since Monday, and only finally feeling better (but still no great) today, which is Saturday.

Here's hoping that 2014 is a better year.

Merry Christmas

2013-12-25T13:22:00.002-08:00

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Bright Yule, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza ... whatever your holiday season is, hope you have one filled with love, laughter, and family.

Christmas Eve

2013-12-24T17:03:00.002-08:00

Christmas Eve and it's just about time for me to put on some nice clothes and head up the road to my sister-in-law's, as she invited me for dinner this evening. I've already got my Santa bag at her place, filled with about 30 random dollar store items purchased over the past 8-10 years (so I have NO idea what most of them are, as each year I wrap the new items I pick up), so that we can play a little "Dirty Santa" for our gift pull.

We'll write everyone's name down and pop it into a bowl or other container, then pull out the names and as your name is pulled, you get to pick a present from the bag. The second person has the option of keeping their gift or swapping it out with the first person, the third person can keep theirs or swap with the other two, etc, on down the line. After the last person pulls their gift, the first person (who hasn't so far had a choice) can decide if they want to keep what they have now, or want to swap with someone else. I figure this way, if the kids pull something that they have no interest in as it's too adult, they have a way to get something better ... I just hope we don't end up with arguments between them. I figure we can go through the list a couple of times, as there's lots of presents in the bag!

Down in the Dumps

2013-12-19T08:45:00.005-08:00

Woke up with Smokey asking for food, then while waiting for him to finish eating and use the litter box so I could scoop, sat down at the computer to play a few turns of a word game I'm involved online. While trying to figure out some good words to use for my next turn, I hear Smokey finally using the litter box, then have to get up and chase the dogs out of the bathroom so I can quickly scoop, to keep things clean and less tempting, then I come out of the bathroom to find Imp having a pee on my laundry hamper. So angry!

Got him and Elf outside so they could go for a potty break, and got my laundry started so I can hopefully get it both washed and dried before I have to leave for work.

At least I don't see any snow on the ground, and hopefully we don't get any before 7am tomorrow morning, as Maxx will have to drive me to work today, then when he starts at 9pm when I get off, I'll have to drive home, then back in to pick him up at 7am tomorrow. At least the 7am trip will be provided with some sort of daylight, it will be pitch black when I'm driving home tonight. I have horrible night vision, so I really hope it is neither rainy, snowy, nor sleety, so I can drive as safely as possible.

Now, I need to figure out what to do with the remains of my poor wee Buttercup. I hate the thought of just tossing him in the trash like he meant nothing to me, but I don't really have anywhere to bury him (particularly so as to not then have the cats or dogs dig him up). What a horrible way to start off my work week.

Sad Day

2013-12-18T23:41:00.001-08:00

Started off as a pretty decent day today. Maxx and I ran some errands, then had lunch at Smitty's (and bought lunch for a little elderly lady who was there by herself and looked somewhat unhappy and lonely), then went to see The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.

When I left the house in the morning, all my pets were their usual selves, including both budgies, Summer and Buttercup.

When I got home, Buttercup was lethargic, and didn't eat much when I was feeding them (lately I've been trying to get them to eat out of my hand, as they were not hand-reared and have always been aloof, although I love the pretty little things). Later, I found Buttercup sprawled on the bottom of the cage, and thought perhaps he had caught a chill. I got the budgie house (basically a plush tent that hangs from the top of the cage, giving them somewhere they can snuggle and be extra-warm) set back up, and gently placed Buttercup in it after oh-so-carefully getting him off the bottom of the cage (he had quite a grip on the bottom bars), so he could be comfortable and warm.

Just a little while ago, I heard some fluttering and bumping, and found Buttercup sprawled on the bottom of the cage again. I picked the poor little thing up and held him for a bit, and he passed away in my hands.

I feel so sorry for my beautiful little yellow budgie. He may not have had any affection for me, but I've always loved them and thought they were so cute the way they would cuddle and snuggle together, even to the extent of giving each other beaky little kisses. Now sweet little Summer is all alone.

I won't be getting another budgie (or at least not for a long time), so hopefully Summer will keep eating out of my hand and eventually feel comfortable giving me some affection.

Going to be a long, sad, teary day in the office tomorrow.

Late Invite

2013-12-15T11:21:00.001-08:00

So, yesterday my husband stopped by on the way out to go grocery shopping, and was talking to me about Christmas Eve dinner, knowing he would be working but I would have that day off. He was wondering if I was going to my sister-in-law's for Christmas Eve, with the update that it would be a light meal, since there was going to be turkey for Christmas. When I indicated I hadn't thought about it as I hadn't actually been invited yet, I think he was surprised, then minutes afterwards I received a phone call from my sister-in-law to formally invite me for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinner. I accepted for Christmas Eve (I'll take up presents for the kids at that time), but declined Christmas Day as her house is going to be really full already with three adults and two kids (and her table barely sits two adults and two kids), plus I had made plans for myself for Christmas Day since I hadn't heard anything up to that point.

I checked one dollar store today to see if they had a "Santa Sack", but no luck, so hopefully when running my errands tomorrow I'll be able to find one. I'd like to get one as usually when we actually get around to celebrating Yule, we have a "gift pull" where I have lots of really inexpensive gives wrapped and in a box (think $2 or less each), from which everyone then gets to pull at least one present, depending on the numbers of people present and how many gifts I have all set to go. I've actually still got gifts left over from previous years ... and no idea what they are at this point! ... and am hoping I can get a Santa bag to put them in as the wrapped box I have used before is giving up the ghost and looking pretty ratty. Plus, a Santa bag would be a nice snazzy way to carry and present them. I figure if I go up Christmas Eve, the kids presents can go under the tree, but everyone can pull at least one present from the bag (or box if all else fails). Hopefully everyone finds that fun.

Blah Humbug

2013-12-13T21:47:00.001-08:00

Feeling very under the weather with a nasty head cold, plus the weather is grey and gloomy (but not cold enough for snow any longer), plus the thought of being forced to give away one or more of my pets to be able to convince my husband to move back home ... the holidays definitely are shaping up to be "Blah Humbug" ones for me this year.

However, on the Monday or Tuesday before Christmas I plan on purchasing a nice prime rib steak to cook up for my Yule dinner, with some potatoes, sour cream, and cheddar cheese, to make myself a batch of potatoes romanov to go along with them. I haven't actually been invited over to my sister-in-law's for Christmas, and I would never presume to show up uninvited, so I am planning on Christmas by myself with the pets.

...And if I then get the "why aren't you coming for Christmas" question, I will mention the fact that nobody actually invited me ...

Holiday Blahs

2013-12-11T21:47:00.004-08:00

Although I my next three weekends in a row are each three-day long weekends, and I have Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day off ... I have the holiday blahs this year.

It's damp, dull and chilly out, and I'm a bit lonely for people company with my husband having moved out, although the dogs and cats give me lots of love.

Just going to be one of those years where while the time not working is nice, the time off itself isn't a celebration of anything.

De-Cluttering

2013-12-05T18:40:00.002-08:00

The past few weeks I've been slowly working at de-cluttering my home. The other day when going through some boxes, I actually found paperwork I had saved from my job in Richmond prior to moving to Vancouver Island back in 2004. I can understand why I kept some of it, as there was a possibility suggested that they might consider letting me work from home from Nanaimo ... but most of it was absolutely useless! Lots of paper added to my recycling! I've actually generated somewhat of a pile of empty boxes in my living room, which I hope to add to box up some of the other stuff in the house which we don't want to get rid of, but which could be tucked away safely in a closer (and clearly labelled to be easy to find again in the future), such as our Star Wars books, which I don't think I have even cracked open in the past decade.

Once I get everything squared away, I hope to be able to put up a few shelves here and there and actually get some of our nicer items on display, to make our house look really classy, instead of a messy dive!

First Snow

2013-12-05T08:21:00.002-08:00

Well, not REALLY the first snow, but it's the first snow of MY winter season. Right now it's just a dusting of those tiny wee flakes which float down oh-so-silently and slowly start to show on the ground and other surfaces out in the yard.

Here's hoping I can get out and get my errands done fairly early today, then ....

......

LET IT SNOW!

I'd love to get a nice big dump of snow, and get out with the wee dogs to film them playing in it.

Positive Feedback

2013-11-24T19:46:00.004-08:00

I posted my recent painting on Facebook as well as here on my blog, looking for feedback. At first all I got were likes, no comments, but when I mentioned that everyone was being too nice with no critiques, a co-worker said she didn't feel she was able to criticize as she can't draw, but that she really liked the colours. Then earlier today, she suggested I do a children's story to go along with the painting, as she just feels like reading to kids when she looks at it. How's that for positive feedback! Now I feel I need to plumb my creativity and do a series of connected paintings on a similar theme, and see if I can actually write a kids book. I could try to get good photos of the paintings and publish it online, perhaps?

Something to mull over!

Rusty

2013-11-22T16:21:00.000-08:00

Today I actually did my first painting in well over 8 years. Looks like a kid or beginner did it, I personally think. Acrylic on 8x10 canvas, calling it "Calling the Wind".

What do you think?

November Strawberries ... Noooo!

2013-11-09T15:11:00.003-08:00

The other day as Maxx and I were heading out of the house ... I believe for me to go in to work for my in-office day, I noticed that the three strawberries which were almost ripe on my plants HAD BEEN PICKED BY SOMEONE ELSE! Grrr! I was looking forward to having a couple of ripe strawberries in November. Oh, well, I do have a few more coming along, I do believe, as well as a few flowers, although I am not sure if they will produce or if they are giving up the ghost at this point.

"Everbearing" is definitely the name for these strawberries, though! Whoever heard of still getting fresh strawberries from the garden in November?

October Fog Fest

2013-10-19T13:02:00.000-07:00

Looking out my window the past few days, fog has been blanketing the area to a greater or lesser degree. Some people I've spoken with have had the attitude "Well, there's nothing we can do about it", but to me, it's a lovely chance to enjoy this pearly luminescence that we don't get to see on a regular basis. The fog horn calling in the distance is a reminder to slow down, relax, sit back and enjoy!

Autumn Sunshine

2013-10-06T16:51:00.000-07:00

Seems like this year as soon as fall hit in late September we have had green rainy days back to back to back ... with some really stormy ones thrown in for good measure. However, today has been a lovely sunny day with blue skies and a balmy breeze. Today happens to be my Sunday, and my niece's birthday, so all in all it's a good day to be alive!

Fruits of My Labours

2013-09-27T13:50:00.002-07:00

Not that my labours are in any way done yet ... but so far while on vacation we have dried 10 pounds of plums, a bunch of bananas (although these still need to be dipped in a honey/water mixture, possibly with cinnamon added, and re-dried), some apples, and about 7-8 pounds of nectarines which just went into the dehydrator earlier today.

We still have a few nectarines left, and 10 pounds of peaches, and most of our 20 pounds of apples (when we cored, peeled and sliced them, we only ended up using 4-5 at the time, so the box essentially hasn't been touched).

Hopefully all these dried fruits turn out. I did also dry some peppers from my garden earlier in the summer, which are now in storage. Once I get the current fruit dried, I will look into perhaps drying some more veggies, and some more fruit ... maybe doing up some fruit leather. We also want to do up some jerky.

After we have a chance to try some of these items, it will be nice to know whether or not my efforts to squirrel away food without it having to go through the same type of processing as commercially available food are successful.

Summer Winding Down

2013-09-15T12:31:00.000-07:00

The summer months seem to have flown past and are winding down now, with the last four mornings being very foggy (still foggy out there now and it's past noon). Days and nights are getting cooler, school is back in session, and my pepper and tomato plants have come to an end of their productivity.

Unfortunately, it took so long for the gleaners to respond to the voicemail messages I left over the past couple of weeks that they wouldn't pick our plums. They said too many had fallen and although there are still a bunch left on the tree, they are too high for them to reach so the yield wouldn't be worth their while. Too bad I can either climb a ladder (very shakily and with my heart in my mouth) or I can pick plums, I can't do both ... so no plums to process this year for storage unless I can find someone else who is able to climb and pick for us.

Angel was stung by a wasp on Wednesday, her little face swelled up on Thursday afternoon and then her throat Thursday night. She started having hives pop up over her body and was horribly itchy, even when she was trying to sleep she was squirming and thrashing around, so I wound up having a completely sleepless night that night, what with her tossing and turning and me making sure that her throat didn't swell up so much to stop her from breathing. A few days of Benadryl and she seems to be completely hive-free and the swelling is gone ... thank goodness!

Today is the first day of my two week summer vacation, so while I have some house work type chores I need to complete, while I wait for laundry to finish washing, so I can then do a load of dishes, I am going to kick back and relax with a hot iced tea.