Moving from grumpy to ranting.

I prefer to spend my time with folks that are basically happy.

That are fairly content in their lives.

Why am I finding this harder to acheive?

Is this age? Stage?

Glad I've got a great husbandm, some kids and a dog.

Can I just say that I am sick unto death of all the praise being lobbed around about Michael Jackson. I never liked his music, he was a pedophile, and a nut bar who held his baby out an apartment window. Few others would have gotten away with it, and I am sad he did.

Can everyone please just stop.

While I am asking for the impossible, could it please stop raining? I am such a baby about this, but I am so very tired of wet feet....

And could we turn the d*mn a/c down at work...it is freaking 10 degrees out and raining, and the a/c is roaring away.

I am sorry, I know the skinny folks feel the cold more, but does that mean we have to freeze to death YEAR ROUND in this country? I could do with a little of that Spanish sunshine right about now. Another good reason to reduce childhood obesity...and I thought we were trying to be environmentally aware....not.

Sounds like I need to go to bed.

These 5:30 am wake-up times are a little brutal.

Sounding a little cranky.

I should try and sound more positive. Here goes,

Walking the dog this morning, got soaked, but as a reward I saw a heron, some ducks and their ducklings, as well as a turtle.

The percentage of happy people at my work is improving.

Just killed a mosquito before it bit me, and the kids are both pretty happy right about now. Well, one is asleep, but generally speaking, they are fairly content at this point.

Work is going well in and of itself too, which is also very good.

There...Polly-freaking-Anna.

If you also prefer to spend your time with basically happy people, I am sorry for this post, more in not-quite-rant mode, no?

This garbage strike? Starting to tick me right off. Just thought I'd say so. Stupid.

The idea of storing garbage in the public parks? What, do you all just hate kids? No pools, no camps, no day care and now no parks too? ANYONE THINKING IN CITY HALL?

HELLO????

*crickets!!!*

I thought not.

Making lunch..

How many of you out there just LOVE putting lunch boxes together in the mornings.

*crickets*

Yeah, I thought so.

SO hating that.

I have a plan though, one meal for each day of the week, and some permanent things...

Permanent:

Yogurt, ichiban noodles -dry and raw, fruit, raw veg, pickles.

Varied items:

Pierogues with sour cream, bagels and cream cheese, roasted potatoes with stuff in them, refried bean rollups, then I am stuck...random left-overs.

Water to drink.

So..help me out here folks, what's good in a lunch? Honestly..I need your suggestions here.

Poster girl

That's it.

It's official.

I am now THE poster girl for the coffee mug safety association.

I just need to start the association up.

After five stitches in my thumb a few years ago from washing a mug....and slashing my hand on the broken handle...FYI: the glaze? It's glass. It cuts like glass too.

Well this weekend, while washing literally a wheelbarrow full of dishes, I managed to slash the webbing between my baby finger and the ring finger next to it. The cut is maybe an inch long running palm to the back of my hand. No pumpers though, so I didn't go off to the hospital this time, I duct taped my fingers together and got on with the job. I may tape them together again tomorrow, as it is getting sore with all this air and dryness.

OK.

The boat?

That SO ruled.

Like we'd never left. The kids kept saying she seemed smaller. Well, they've grown a little in the last three years.

She was some filthy....All I did was clean and clean and clean and clean....

Gosh my bed is comfy on that boat.

MMMMmmmmmmmmmm.

Very, very little breakage from the trip up, one mug and a bottle of vinegar is all we've found so far. More from time, sun and moisture. New curtains, awnings, paint, one bit of upholsterey is badly mildewed...

Whatever, almost nothing.

So incredibly sweet to see her again, even if there was a TON of work to do and there is still a ton more. If I can just get the systems operational...we've got beds and space, gotta get the galley into shape now.....and the head.

Looking into composting toilets....

Homework time!

First impressions

What seems strange:

The fact that it seems strange is strange

The traffic and d-i-s-t-a-n-c-e. Everything is so very far apart.

The dogs are so friendly. Chuck is having a BLAST in that way, though he cannot really get off lead the same way.

Not speaking, nor thinking in Catalan.

Weird.

Stress and tension.

The expectation that we stay in and work through lunch.

The expectation that we put in 11 hour days.

Handling so many people's emotions.

Wearisome.

It is so green.

People understand English.

The grass is soft.

The air-conditioning is WAY too cold. Oh for a little warmth. I leave the windows closed in my car after it has been sitting in the sun for at least half of my very long drive. Trying to get some warmth back into my bones.

Food is freaking expensive.

Sleep is in short supply.

Oh, and I am off for the weekend to see the boat....back later. WOOT!!!!!

Have a great weekend!

You know you're too tired when....

This is so sad.

I brought a computer with me from Spain because last summer was so frustrating without one, but this sucker is SLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWW.

But since I so have no time at all, I decided to defrag the thing last night.

I mean night.

I took the d*mn portable to bed with me.

It is THAT slow.

First I set it up to delete temporary files, fell asleep, woke later, and then confirmed it was done, set it up to defrag, fell asleep again, and when I woke up in the morning it was done.

I really don't thrash in my sleep. Really don't.

I have heard of teens sleeping with their mobiles in bed with them, but Mom's crashing with the laptops?

And it's not even a Mac.

coming up for air

workworkwork work work work

drive drive drive

errandserrandserrands

chores chores chores

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!SUSHI!!!!!!!!!

Ain't life grand?

air travel is weird.

We're here in TO now, jetlag can be a drag. Therein lies the beginning of a poem. Not one written by someone as tired as I am now though.


Got here fine, good flight (yeah)

I started work...it's going quite well. (double yeah)

Chuck has jetlag too, he was up on the bed walking around on me last night, which he is NOT allowed to do, but he was quite certain it must be time to get up by then......

More later, I'll read some blogs in a bit, right now it is a constant battle between exhaustion and the formidable to-do list....

Hope you're all doing well.

Cheers,

O

One thing I regret.....

Years and years ago, in a used car lot in Denver Colorado I nearly bought a 1950 Ford pick-up. I would have had to drive it back myself through the fields of Kansas and on through the mid-west...


How I wish I had bought that truck.

The stories I would have to tell, and what a truck.

Ah well.

Some girls want a porshe, but you'd win my heart with one of these....

The house.....

Put in a low-ball bid.

Now we have to wait.

and pack....

groan.....

another festa tonight. Youngest's end our school festival...with dinner!!!!

NO COOKING TONIGHT!!!!

Cross your fingers for us, m'kay?

What a lovely way to end a week

I am not going to go into it all, but it has been JUST a little busy, what with finishing up work (done), packing to go to Canada for three months with two kids and a dog (not even begun bar the list), selling a house in Canada, and gathering info to buy one here, not to mention the decision making process, maybe more about that later, and two kids finishing school....

SO

When youngest's basketball team suggested a trip to the beach this evening, I said a big fat YES!

We got there, we settled the bags, I changed and SPRINTED into the water.

It has been hot here, trouble sleeping at night hot....the sun hurts when it hits you hot.

That felt really, really good.

The only alarming part was when 14 primary school kids all started swimming out to me, and all of them asking if I could touch the bottom (I couldn't).

I had visions of all of us drowning.

Fortunately, none of us did.

Now I have to go shower off the salt.

Lying floating on my back staring up at the sky in the Med.

Pretty perfect end to a week.