The Ripsnorter Post

The other day when W asked me what I was doing I told him I had to go see what my space people were up to.  How’s that for a ripsnorter of an answer.

“Ripsnorter” was the word of the day last whatever day it was, I can’t remember and it doesn’t matter, but it stuck in my head because my dad used to like that word to describe something he thought was particularly great.  Or terrible.  Or bizarre.  I liked the “ripsnorter of a storm” nights when he woke everyone up and herded us all downstairs into the living room where we waited for one of our big old maple trees to be struck by lightning and crash through our roof.  Best not to be on the top floor if that happened.

I think he might have called my sister Ann a little ripsnorter when she would jump into the pig pen with the dog making him bark and move the pigs around, generally causing mayhem in an enclosed space. It’s a wonder she didn’t get trampled.  She has calmed down a lot since then.

We have had such a mild and pleasant winter until just lately when the temperatures decided to plummet.  And I mean plummet in a completely ripsnorter-y fashion.  I am wearing big socks and a hoodie and drinking hot coffee mostly to warm up my hands.  Even turned up the heat at one point.  And I’ve hauled out my winter coat.  I think old bones feel the cold more intensely.

Or perhaps physical inactivity is a contributing factor, for example, sitting under a blanket watching multiple episodes of “Dark Matter” on Netflix and having a hard time remembering what the series is called and referring to it as a space show.  With space people.  They all woke up from stasis on their space ship with their memories erased.  Sort of like I feel some mornings before getting out of bed. What day is it?  Why am I singing “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence” in my head?  Why is this floor so damned cold??

The best character is an android. I love her. She has ridiculous hair.  It’s a ripsnorter of a hair do.

Also i am busy doing some Christmas baking even though I can’t eat any of it.  The fudge is done and also some rolled up concoction consisting mainly of chocolate and mini marshmallows and coconut which my kids once named the Christmas turds before they were unwrapped and sliced in to more appetizing cookie like shapes.

Shortbread today I think.  Then some butter tarts.  I came across a recipe for cranberry meatballs so I tried those last night.  Kind of sickeningly sweet, so maybe more of an hors d’œuvre than a main dish.  And this year I am going to make some kind of a steamed pudding and make everyone try some.  That’s the one thing I miss from my childhood Christmases.  Being absolutely stuffed but still digging into a plate of hot Christmas pudding covered in a rich butter and brown sugar sauce.

Neither my kids nor W liked it so I quit making it.  My moms version was the ripsnorter one for sure but I will make one less like a Christmas cake and tell them it’s something called sticky toffee pudding cake.  ‘Tis the season to be cunning and devious.  I love how steamed pudding makes the kitchen smell and steams up the windows, which will turn to ice which will make W freak out.

He has ripsnorter freak outs.  He will vehemently deny this, but its true.  After my baking I will be tired and grumpy so I’m looking forward to my space people having way worse lives than I do cheering me up.

In other unrelated non-holiday news, I have gone for my pulmonary breathing test from hell where I had to wear a clothes pin thing on my nose and mouth breathe into a tube for 30 minutes in various strange ways as instructed by some guy who has a very weird job for sure.  I will venture out into the cold again tomorrow to get some shopping done.  Less than two weeks to go.

Hope you’re having a ripsnorter of a December.  Stay warm.

Sharing My World 43

First month of my “World According to Curly Girl” calendar.

This is the last world sharing prompt from 2015, number 52.  Answering it now feels late, but isn’t really because the next one is due out Monday, and today is Saturday, right?  Even though the first of January felt like a Sunday all day to me.  Two days in to the new year and already I don’t know what day of the week it is for sure.  It’s going to be a great year.

Tell how you are feeling today in the form of a weather report. (For example, partly cloudy, sunny with a chance of showers, etc.)

Mostly sunny with a few foggy patches.  Much like yesterday, also predicted for tomorrow.  If there are clouds they will quickly disperse revealing silver linings.  Long range forecast…. rain will fall and then it will stop.  The snow will eventually melt.  The sun will rise and set and rise again.  This is the most boring weather forecast I have ever heard, but sometimes boring is the best thing you could wish for.

What is most memorable about your high school years?

Five years of my life, (this is way back when there was still a grade thirteen) and the first thing that pops in to my head is the hours and hours and hours spent riding in a school bus, to and from, day after day.  Sometimes running late and missing it, sometimes the weather and the road conditions making the bus late.  My brother missing the bus on purpose so he could take the car.  He had to space those out so it wasn’t so obvious.

I was a shy and introverted loner who got crazy high marks in everything.  My classmates were nice to me and most of my teachers liked me.  I had a few good friends.  Not really a recipe for popularity in there anywhere, and yet in my final year I was voted prom queen.  That was pretty memorable.  My sisters friends all voted for me, the rest of the votes were split amongst the popular girls and my favourite teacher counted the ballots.  This is how elections are won.

My first year of high school I had secret crushes on boys who would have been very surprised to learn about it,  since I so studiously ignored them, in case they might notice I existed and try to talk to me or something.  There was a chance they would say something stupid instead of a great line from a romance novel and I didn’t want any illusions shattered.  Gawd, high school.  Weirdest time of your life.

Have you ever owned a rock, pet rock, or gem that is not jewelry?

No ordinary rocks, definitely no pet rocks, and hardly any jewelry at all except for watches and earrings and a wedding band.  I have never owned a diamond, but that’s another story.

When I was having the mysterious lymphatic lumps on my neck investigated a couple of years ago and saw Yulanda, my favourite psychic, she gave me nothing but reassuring news (which turned out to be bang on, thus the reason she is my favourite).  She also gave me a flat smooth dark yellow stone, almost an amber brown, and for the life of me I can’t remember what it was called except that maybe it started with an A.  It wasn’t just a healing stone, but had balancing properties and other calming helpful things.  It’s the kind of thing I think is a little silly, because, come on, it’s just a rock, but I kept it close to me anyway until things felt resolved.  It was a little worry stone that soaked up my worries.  You do strange things to soothe your soul.  I still have it.  Even put it on a chain so I wouldn’t lose it.  Maybe I won’t need it again, but you never know.

Complete this sentence: I like watching…

Netflix.  Because I want to get every penny’s worth out of my eight dollars a month.  Occasionally I watch movies, but mostly it’s some tv series that goes on for many seasons so I can binge watch until I’m sick of it. There is no end in sight for the mystery shows;  lawyers, police, forensics,  investigators, detectives, criminals, victims, supernatural phenomena – I watch it all.  The latest thing I’m into is Midsommer Murders, but I have to say I’m getting a little tired of women screaming every time they stumble upon a murder victim. Really, there’s a dead body and somebody screams.  Several bodies, lots and lots of screaming.  Other than that, it’s a good show.

Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

I am grateful for a lazy laid back Christmas and New Years.  I was in bed well before the fireworks on New Years Eve.  The Christmas stuff is packed and put away and W is back to driving and doing the grocery shopping.   The furniture is all back to where it’s supposed to be because we no longer need a wide path for the walker.  I am brimming over with gratefulness for that alone.  There was a much welcomed and appreciated phone call from the latest clinic I visited telling me my fibroid test results were normal.  Normal is such a beautiful word, we really should appreciate it more.

In the week coming up I would like to go through my many unfinished drafts and either finish them or delete them.  I expect most of them will end up in the trash because I won’t remember what I was talking about.  And I am looking forward to the increase in daylight motivating me to make use of it in my little art studio, where the artistic “drafts” are piling up much like the written ones.

There are only twenty-nine days left in January!  Yay!  Let’s all be grateful for that one!

Art du Jour 65

There’s been a long convoluted detour away from my original intent to draw lots of faces, so I steered myself back in that direction today with this sketch.

The woman who plays Phryne Fisher (Essie Davis) has beautiful deep-set eyes, incredible cheekbones and a perfect heart-shaped face. All of that makes her Dutch boy bob look like a million bucks.  I wore my hair like this when I was six.  I did not look this good.  If you didn’t know that’s who this is supposed to be, that’s okay.  It’s still an interesting face and worth the big charcoal mess I’ve made.

Feels like I’ve been on vacation for a week with all this Netflix watching.   At least I’m feeling slightly less guilty about it now for having finished this.

And now I deserve another cup of coffee without any charcoal dust floating in it.  Hope you’re having a fantastic Friday!

Sharing My World 28

This used to be my world. A basement apartment in the early seventies complete with wood panelling and posters. And bare feet. And long hair. And strange things dangling from the green tulip pole lamp.

 

Share Your World 2015 Weeks 17, 18 and 19

Lately, for whatever reasons, I have seriously neglected to share my world.  So today I will share the heck out of it by answering a whopping lucky thirteen questions.  I will try to be brief, but when has that ever happened.

What type of pets do you have or want? Or do you not want pets?

We always had dogs and cats when I was growing up on the farm but I preferred the company of cats. They slobbered less.  The dogs loved my sister, not me.  My husband had a black lab, and then we had two cats for close to 20 years.  After that I killed a Japanese Fighting fish.  It was no match for me.  I like other people’s dogs and cats, but I’m not a great animal care giver, so I don’t think we will have any more pets in our lives.  It’s a big enough challenge looking after each other.

What was or is your favorite cartoon?

I really kind of hate the cartoons we used to watch on tv.  Although maybe hate is too strong a word.  But they always did stress me right out.  Walking off cliffs, getting blown up, having things happen to you that should result in fatal head injuries.  People and animals being insanely rude to each other.  How is any of that funny?

When you’re alone at home, do you wear shoes, socks, slippers, or go barefoot?

Bare feet are the happiest feet.  Except when you get dry, rough, cracked heels.  Or drop heavy pieces of furniture on them.  I still think the risks are worth it.

Are you a traveler or a homebody?

I am the biggest homebody that ever lived.  And yet I have gone places.  The things we do to ourselves.

What is your most favorite smell/scent?

Coffee brewing while bacon sizzles in the pan.  Tomato plants.  Clean laundry fresh off the clothes line.  The sweet smell of new-mown grass.  Whatever that smell is after it rains.  That one is hard to beat.

Do you prefer long hair or short hair for yourself?

My mom gave me dutch boy haircuts until I begged her to let me grow my hair long enough for a pony tail.  Then I chopped it all off super short, but grew it back long and straight in time for fitting in to the long-haired hippy sixties.  W said when he met me my hair was down around the hem of my mini skirt.  That’s an exaggeration.  Although those skirts were pretty damned short.   I loved my long hair, but there comes a point in your life when all it does is drag your face down with it.  So now it’s short again, and likely to remain that way as long as there are scissors in my bathroom.

Do you plan out things usually or do you do them more spontaneous (for example if you are visiting a big city you don’t know?)

I go along with whatever someone else has planned.  That way I can blame other people when I don’t have any fun.

What is your favorite outdoor activity?

Seriously?  Sitting in a lawn chair with my sunglasses on and my eyes closed.

Would you prefer a one floor house or multiple levels?

Multiple levels are ideal when you’re young enough to run up and down all the stair cases without collapsing in a wheezing heap of broken bones.  When we moved in to this house, W took the hand railing off the basement stairs to make it easier to move furniture down there.  He never got around to putting it back, although I have nagged him about it on and off for years.  Late this fall he is going to have hip replacement surgery, and his beloved tv is down those basement stairs.  Stay tuned for further developments.

If you have a TV, would you prefer the TV in the living room or another room?

Well, speak of the devil.  I like it downstairs where I can’t see or hear it.  Especially when W has the remote control.  But I spend a ridiculous amount of time watching Netflix and other stuff on my I-Pad.  The difference is not having to wear my glasses to read the subtitles, and not having to listen to commercials.  Plus watching any stupid thing I please.

When you leave a room, do you turn the lights off behind you or keep the lights on throughout your house most of the time? Explain your answer.

This is turning into a ‘complain about W’ post and he’s not even here to defend himself.  I turn lights on and he turns them off, so I have to turn them on again.  I especially like to leave the lights on at the back door where the railing-less steps go down to the basement.  If I’m going to fall down there and kill myself I’d like someone to be able to see the results.  But he’s away now, so lights are on in all the normally low-light places.  They will remain on until he comes home.  Or the bulbs burn out, whichever comes first.

What’s your favorite room in your home?

I like all the rooms in my house, but spend most of my time in or around the part of the living/dining room that’s been morphed into a little art studio.  I used to spend a lot of time in the bedroom at my computer, but found myself struggling to do things in the living room on my I-Pad instead, even though it took twice as long.  Then I turned my computer desk away from the wall so that it faces the window.  Now I like it here again.  But not as much as where the art is.

Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

I’m grateful that W finally got everything packed up and ready to go and should be reaching his destination in North Western Ontario sometime today.  I am grateful that I can leave all the lights on now, day and night, and cook things for myself that would cause him great anxiety if he thought I wanted him to eat them.  I’m only looking forward to doing my own shopping because I can now buy turnips without being harassed.

Well!  That’s over a thousand sharing words.  What’s new in your world?  Are you wearing shoes?  Be careful on those stairs.

All Stand Back I’m ‘Bout to Dance

Yeah, not really.  Sorry to get you all excited for no reason.   It’s just that I’ve been watching many episodes of the tv show Suits on Netflix and the theme song is now solidly embedded in my brain.  The lyrics are great.  I think it’s all about working all your life for money, and more money, and never enough money.  And while you’re making all that money you never have time to enjoy all the things you’re making the money to enjoy.  This could be all wrong, but it’s a show about lawyers who deal with millions of dollars in suits while wearing suits, and I must think it’s good because I’m halfway through season three.

Anyway, good song for a Monday morning for all you people out there doing the greenback boogie.

 

Greenback Boogie by Ima Robot 

See the money wanna stay, for your meal

Get another piece of pie, for your wife

Everybody wanna know, how it feel

Everybody wanna see, what it’s like

Baby wanna be a queen, well alright

We all deserve the finer things, in this life … …

So working on a little job, in the night

It’s forty dollars an hour when I, see the light

The boss say you got a little time, and oh my

He’ll be working in a small box, till he die

Me, I gotta be free, all my life

I want a little cream cheese, in my pie
Alright…
Yeah! I’ll step back, while you go dance

The greenback boogie Mother f*ing boogie

Now I’m putting on a big wig, walking hard

Hanging with them big pigs, all them dogs

Got me a couple ideas, straight from God

I want a bean pie Order me a bean pie

I’ll even eat a bean pie, I don’t mind

Me and Missy is so very busy busy making money
Alright…

All step back, I’m ’bout to dance The greenback boogie

The greenback boogie Boogie now for me … … …

Say, it’s far better, when you give it away

It’s called the greenback boogie What people don’t say,

I say  It’s better, when you give it away It’s called the greenback boogie

Don’t give it away now, I say It’s better, when you give it away

It’s called the greenback boogie Don’t give it away now, I say

See the money wanna stay, for your meal

I’ll say it’s gonna put some love, in your life

Don’t you really wanna know, how it feel?

Everybody wanna see, what it’s like

Babe you wanna be inside, it ain’t lies

We all know there’s better things in this life

Yes I’ll step out, on your expense

Doin’ the greenback boogie Mother f*ing boogie

Boogie oogie oogie Greenback Boogie
Come on back to paradise Come on back to paradise Come on back to paradise Come on back to… Come on back to… Come on back to paradise Come on back to paradise Come on back to paradise Come on back to… Come on back to…

It’s the greenback boogie It’s the greenback boogie Don’t give it away now Don’t give it away now, I say
It’s better, when you greenback boogie Well don’t give it away Well don’t give it away, I say
It’s better… It’s the greenback boogie Don’t give it away…

Death By Bok Choi

Here I am, all bleary-eyed, hooked on yet another television series on Netflix.  Do you have any idea how long it takes to watch 26 episodes which were originally spaced out over two seasons?  I don’t either, because I forget when I started watching this.  I do know that partway through my fascination with the show,  Netflix experienced streaming problems and apologized for the inconvenience of almost two days of inability to load.  That was brutal.  Almost made me want to demand my eight dollars back for the month.  But they got it fixed and I forgave them.

The Killing  is an American crime show based on the Danish television series Forbrydelsen  (The Crime.)

This is a little two season synopsis from Wikipedia, where there’s lots more info if you’re curious –

Season 1 (2011)
The first season covers the first two weeks of the investigation of the murder of local teenager Rosie Larsen and has three main storylines: the police investigation into Rosie’s murder, the Larsen family’s attempts to deal with their grief, and the fluctuating electoral fortunes of a political campaign that becomes embroiled in the case.

Season 2 (2012)
The season resumes the investigation into the murder and reveals secrets about the Larsen family as well as a possible conspiracy within the campaign race and the Seattle police department. The Larsen murder case gets closed with the discovery of those involved in it.

And when they say ‘those’ involved in it, they really do mean more than one bad guy.  The two detectives assigned to the case take two whole seasons to get to the bottom of this mess.  Just when they think they’ve got it narrowed down, new information sends them in a different direction with suspects all over the place.  Everybody has a secret or is withholding information or is basically clueless or simply an idiot.  Over all it’s a good story and well acted and I didn’t need much encouragement to start watching season three.

But there were some pretty hard to believe scenarios.  For instance, when a candidate for mayor gets shot, almost dies, is paralyzed from the waist down, weeps about it a couple of times and then hops into a wheel chair and continues on with his campaign.  Come on.  I know politicians are a bizarre bunch, but that bit was a real eye-roller.  Sorry to give that away if you haven’t watched it.

Nowhere in the first two seasons was there any mention of bok choi.  And I don’t believe anyone could actually die from an overdose.  However, if you could, W is the guilty party here.  He doesn’t eat it, but he keeps buying bags of it, every time he goes shopping.  And I keep trying to figure out ways to use it up before it goes soft and mushy and its leaves shrivel up.  I put it in soups and salads and smoothies and sometimes even eat it raw like you would celery.  Some of it unfortunately ends up in the compost bin.  And then he notices there’s only one bag left and off he goes to buy another one.  And the cycle continues.  This is not a long or interesting enough story to dedicate an entire blog post to, so I’m adding it to the end to explain the weird title.  So far it is unclear which one of us is going to die.

 

Sharing My World 10

Share Your World Week 46

On a vacation what would you require in any place that you sleep? 

A real bed with a real mattress which is a little less solid than concrete.  My back aches after sleeping on a too-soft surface, but when we were in Greece there was one place we stayed with beds so hard my hips and shoulders went numb and I had to keep turning one way and then the other to get the feeling back in them.  With my firm bed I like a soft pillow or no pillow at all.  I also like quiet.  And a night-light helps in an unfamiliar place, so that using the bathroom doesn’t involve breaking any bones or stubbing any toes or falling off any balconies in the middle of the night.  All of those things are much worse when they happen in the dark.

Music or silence while working?

Silence please.  Ever had one of those stupid days where you get distracted by absolutely everything? These last two have been high on my list of occasions when I’ve been mostly out to lunch.  I don’t actually have such a list, but if I did it would be a long one.  Follow me around for a few minutes.  I decide to change the sheets on the bed (which incidentally has the best bamboo chiropractic mattress ever), then gather up the laundry and take it downstairs, remember I have to photo copy an invoice on W’s printer down there because mine isn’t working, come back up to get it and decide it’s time for another cup of coffee, see that my favourite cup shelf is empty so start the dishwasher, notice the stove top looks disgusting and clean and shine it up,  then while looking for clean sheets remember the coffee I didn’t make,  put the invoice on the kitchen table so I’ll remember to take it downstairs with me the next time I go down there….and on it goes.  Music just adds to the confusion.  I don’t know where my powers of concentration have gone.  Maybe on vacation.  I also can’t remember how I ever got anything done around here when I was working 4 days out of 7.

If you were to move and your home came fully furnished with everything you ever wanted, list at least three things from your old house you wish to retain?

Everything I ever wanted would include a library, so I would bring all my books with me.  I’m counting that as one thing.  Thing two would be photo albums and framed pictures of family and boxes of treasures and memorabilia and I would sneak all my artwork into that category.  And finally, my grandmas rocking chair.  And probably that alien giraffe carving because seriously, how could I possibly leave him behind?  And all my electronic stuff.  Three is a pretty limiting number.  I like thirty-three better.

What’s your least favorite mode of transportation?

Ox cart.  I don’t have to ride in one to know that.  I like things that go fast and get me to where I’m going in the least amount of time possible.  So that means W can’t be driving them.

Bonus question:  What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

Yesterday was my last follow-up with the specialist who walked into the room with a big smile on his face.  Once again they found nothing unusual and no reason to investigate further.  So he said, why don’t we just forget about it?  If anything else comes up I have his card and he will happily see me again.  But he sees no reason to continue with the poking and prodding anymore.  Best news ever.  Carry on as if I’m normal.  I can do that.

I’m looking forward to no more TV issues next week and for ever after for the rest of my life because last night we went out and bought a new one.  Now we have a new TV, a new digital box, and a new remote.  The TV is a SMART one.  Smartest thing we’ve purchased in a long time.  I’m not looking forward so much to paying the credit card bill, but not having W distract me from whatever I’m doing (or have forgotten I’m doing) to rant and rave about what the TV is up to now and telling me I have to come downstairs and figure out how to fix it – that’s got to be worth every penny.   And then some.  We can watch Netflix and You-Tube and all kinds of stuff on this one.  Told you it was smart.

Art du Jour 9

Just in case you thought I’ve been slacking off in the art department, the dog (whom I don’t know personally) was an afternoon before-the-kids-get-home experiment simply to see if I could do it.  Dogs are hard to draw because they’re so hairy.  And you never know what the hell they’re thinking.  He’s probably not that sad in real life.

The man is a late-at-night (late here is any time after 9 p.m.) project, simply being a physical presence while my grandson watched a half hour program  before bed.  I can’t see much without my glasses on or hear much of anything at all, so TV is a big guessing game for me.  Mostly I just ignore it.  We have been watching a few episodes of Bates Motel though on Netflix and it’s on the up side of intriguing.

Just noticed the guys hair is blurry (bad photo) and he’s either a genius or his forehead is out of proportion.  Or both.  My pictures tell a story, as long as you’re willing to make one up.

Have a happy Thursday!

 

Sharing My World 5

Would you rather take pictures or be in pictures?

My dad used to say the only pictures people liked of themselves were the ones that didn’t look anything like them.  Maybe that’s why we can look back at photos from years ago and finally see them objectively because that’s not who we are anymore.  Hey, look at me, I was kind of cute back in the day, who knew?  In real time I have never considered myself photogenic so I’m the one snapping pictures and shying away from being in them.

What did you most enjoy doing this past week?

I most enjoyed being the recipient of attention and concern as to my well-being.  Who doesn’t enjoy that?  Best to milk it for all its worth when it happens, hey?  I have been filling my “healing time” with lots of reading, sleeping, coffee drinking, drawing, pencil sharpening, pill taking and movie watching.  Maybe I’ve died and gone to heaven.

What is your greatest extravagance?

I am always trying to curb my many excessive and unnecessary expenditures.  It’s hard to decide what exactly the greatest one might be.  You could sell me pretty much anything in a health food store, for instance, even though the same products might cost much less somewhere else.  I’m a sucker for skin care products.  Coffee is hugely important to me.    But for the sake of making myself sound slightly less self-indulgent, let’s say it’s books.  I would like to line every wall in my house with book shelves and fill them all up.  So far I’ve done only a wall and a half.  I could do another wall full if all my e-books were real.  I used to have a library card, but discovered that it was much too stressful having to give books back.  Now I buy them and keep them and cherish them.  I will never be rich as long as people keep writing books.

Which letter of the alphabet describes you best?

I don’t know – M?  It’s the thirteenth letter of the alphabet.  Thirteen has been a significant and even a lucky number in my life.  The top of a horned owls head looks like the letter M  and I like to think I’m at least as wise as some pointy headed bird.  I am a MOM.  I like M & M’s.  “Mmmmmm” is the noise I make when I can’t think of anything intelligent to say.

Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming?

I’m grateful for not having to make a Thanksgiving dinner.  Is that a selfish thing to be thankful for?  Probably.  I should have said my alphabet letter is Z because it figures prominently in the word LaZy and signifies sleep.   (zzzzzz…..)  I’m also grateful for four seasons of the 4400 on Netflix and a theme song that is now stuck in my head forever.

It drives me a bit crazy every time that bath tub overflows.

Next week I’m looking forward to sharing with you whatever happens next.

Share Your World – 2014 Week 41

Sharing My World 3

Did you ever get lost?

The first time I remember being lost was at a fall fair when I was six.  Six was a magical all-grown-up age for me, so I was, of course, totally done with holding on to my mother’s hand. That was for three-year-old baby sisters, not for me.  The three of us were walking across the crowded midway to the exhibits building and I was gawking up at everything in all directions. (Even though you’re grown up at the age of six, you’re still short.) So I got turned around and disoriented and found myself looking up at a strange mother who was definitely not mine.  Panic glued my feet to the ground.  I had no idea what to do next, so I didn’t do anything.  It crossed my mind to yell, but I wasn’t sure what would be appropriate.  Mom?  Help?  Save me?  I’m LOST!  I couldn’t find my voice.  I thought I might cry.  And then suddenly my mom and sister were there in front of me again, having been missing for maybe thirty seconds total, and I was awash with relief.  Mom told me how smart I was to stay in the same spot and not go running off in some random direction so that she wouldn’t know where to look for me.  I’ve never forgotten that.  Now when I think I might be lost, I stop moving.  And thus I don’t get even more hopelessly lost than I already am.

Who was your best friend in elementary school?

The best friend thing also started for me at the age of six.  It was a very good year.  We moved to a different rural township just before I started school and at some community function during that first summer I met a little red-haired girl.  We discovered that we would be starting school together.  We were giddy with excitement. Well, I think she was excited too, although it’s possible I had enough enthusiasm for both of us.  We spent the next eight years together moving through the grades in a one-room schoolhouse, and as much time together in the summers as we could.  Shirley was my best friend well beyond elementary school, even though we went off to different high schools.  We got summer jobs together, lived together for a year at University, tried to always stay in touch.  But life happens.  I moved north and then to a province on the other side of the country.  We both got married, had kids and jobs, sent Christmas cards back and forth.  It really is all down hill after elementary.  Now we’re grandmas, five and six times over.  My hair is grey and hers is still red.  Not everything in life is fair.

Since the new television season has started in the US, list three favorite TV shows.

The only TV shows I watch are on Netflix where there are no commercials and season after season of exciting episodes playing until the battery on my I-Pad dies.  If you’re going to waste time, might as well make a marathon out of it and get it out of your system.  Or not, since that’s never actually happened to me yet.  Dr. Who, Psych, The Good Wife, Hemlock Grove (don’t ask), Sherlock…..(so now you know the above picture of London is not some random thing I threw in for no reason).  OMG!  I just noticed Netflix has new episodes of Once Upon a Time and Covert Affairs!  There goes another month of my life.

If you were a mouse in your house in the evening, what would you see your family doing?

There’s just me and W.  He’s downstairs watching football and I’m upstairs sharing my life with strangers.  The mouse got bored and fell asleep.

Bonus question:  What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

There are so many things I’m grateful for I hardly know where to start.  Top of the list I guess is my health after many tests and procedures and appointments and a month of heavy-duty antibiotics.  The investigation continues.  At my follow-up appointment today the specialist and I agreed that there hasn’t been any change, for better or for worse, and that it’s now time to delve deeper and excise the demons.  If you don’t know the whole story, don’t worry.  I like to be dramatic.  I’m having a lump below my jaw surgically removed in the next 2 or 3 weeks.  It has been assessed as inflammation and benign, but it’s still a lump and it’s still worrisome.  Now I have a bunch of papers and requisitions for pre-op tests and lab work, starting with a patient history and physical on Wednesday morning. All the details you didn’t need to know will no doubt follow.  Because tomorrow is my last day of work.  Now, instead of my work schedule scribbled on the calendar, we will have it filled up with medical appointments and I will have nothing but time on my hands to tell you all about them.  Hey, isn’t that what retirement is all about? I’m looking forward to it, even if you’re not.

 

Share Your World Week 39