Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Seven.

Seven bears... minus pictures.

So the last number of nights it has been a land of baron sights in the black bear department.

TWO nights ago there was absolutely nothing. It's hard to figure out... as the blueberries are ripe as ever... so where were the bears. It's strange.

Tonight started off with a bang... and could have been a bigger bang...which I am glad it wasn't.

I was driving down my favourite viewing spot for the bears... now I have seen trucks and cars FLY their way through this space and I wonder to myself... what would happen if a bear ran out... everybody would be dented badly... as was almost the case tonight. I am doing the driveby in my appropriately unspeedy like way... when a big HUGE black bear comes running out in front of me (he may have been chasing the ultimate blueberry.. meaning my car... and the indigo blue colour and all)... and then similar to Bat.man, he takes a flying leap and throws himself into the bushes. I wouldn't have believed it if it didn't happen right in front of me. Run run run... fly... right into the ditch with all the long grass.. and in a shot he was gone. I sat there stunned and relished the moment with great admiration for these wonderful beasts. I was kinda glad that I was cruising at my breakneck speed of 2 kmh an hour... and was thankful it was me, and not some of the morons that fly down the road. It was quite spectacular!... but then I am easily amused.

Eventually I saw another three bears... all in separate instances... and then... just as it was becoming darker... out popped mama and her two cubs. That was brilliant.

Sadly I do not have pictures to share... but if you could just reach into my memory and dig out a couple, then you could have the visual. OH.. right... the memory is fading, don't bother... you will have to stick the words on this page as the ultimate in truth.

I am not sure if I can top seven tonight...

More Lujza again!



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More for you Lujza!



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Monday, July 28, 2008

rickledicklequack

The greeen waste guys are just going by. I wish they would slow their pace so I could quickly jump out back and scoop up some more green waste in the blink of a rickledicklequack.

I have been off my omega 3-6-9-'s... I think it is beginning to affect me.

Other things that are affecting me is the fact that I have no cream for my coffee. It jsut isn't the same without cream.

In other things going amiss:

The crows are eating Till-Till's bone, my hanging basket looks like SHIT! , and it seems that I needed a larger couple of bags for all the stuff that I am giving away to the Sally Ann.... which I do not have. Well... at least I mopped up all the dogs mud prints from yesterday... that she tracked in and out, in &out... in &out... in & out.... in & out of the house yesterday while she was busily panicking that the husbandman was out front and leaving her behind. It was a nice look. this time last year the kitchen was non-existant... so you now... it's good to whimper about filthy dog paws and dirty floors.

Bleh... this coffee is bad... time for another cup.

Sunday, July 27, 2008

psssst

So I was down staring at the NON bears earlier. I got to see ONE.

YES, one. I was a bit pissed... but then, you can't control the wildlife now can you? OH.. and to boot I almost missed it... as a van was driving up I turned to look at the oncoming vehicle... and that's when stealth boy came bulleting through. He was a quick one... with no time to spare. BUT.. I did manage to see him through my lense, which ended in a photo, although it is not loaded here... yet. But then.. they all look like little black blips anyways.

We had a PINK garage sale this weekend. The PIP was willing to part with her PINK things... and we stood on the edge of the driveway and rid ourselves of a large amount of her great loves. ALTHOUGH... the soft fluffy things did not depart, and have once again found themselves in a large bin in her closet. BUT... we can open her closet door, and find things stacked away now.. so it is all good.

The handsome Hamsterson went to his brilliant cousins on Friday. He had a great day... and came back knowing about 4 more songs on the guitar... including.... Thunderstruck, by AC.DC. Well, it was just the beginning part... but he was able to play up a storm, way way way more than I could have... without any music in front of him. He is such a lucky kid in that regard.. and even luckier to have a cousin to hang out with who is so brilliant. I am hoping one day that the lovely and handsome Hamsterson will find his brilliance and let it shine.

Speaking of shiny... the PIP spent the last two days in the pool. So here's to a pound of chlorine to turn the PIP's hair blonder...it's a requirement for being her.

The boy is still outside flitting around with his friend. People might mistake him for being "the looker" as the PIP calls it. There is a THIEF that rifles through people's cars, and the PIP has dubbed him "the looker"... as she has seen him in action. So now... she refuses to have her window open even a smidgen.. until 'the looker' has found new streets to look at. In the meantime the boy and his friend are running around in the dark throwing a CD around as a frisbee.

I best go make the PIP find her way to her bed...hey psssst... psssst PIP... it's time for bed....

Friday, July 25, 2008

More wild things



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beanie baby



So... once again high ISO to capture the big boys in the fading light... but in the meantime this little "wild chickypoo", ad they are sometimes referred to... came into the spotlight. The scary thing here is... they kind of look the same.

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Work & Play



Here's the work that had to happen before the playing began. The girl is busily attacking the boy with her stuffed animal german shepherd that we have nicknamed PRANCE. This dog will not be in the garage sale, as this is the dog that took over for when the real dog died... otherwise known as Cicely, and while she had many names over her 11 year life, the name PRANCE was the current one of the hour when she died. Her personality did not fade mind you when she died, it took on a new stuffed animal way of being when this one came into the home. (Which is why she is busy yelling at Hamsterson and complaining how come she isn't going camping... that would be the stuffed dog talking, not the girl behind the stuffed dog)... Cicely really did have a strong personality.
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The 3 bears



These were taken with the 200 mm lens. I am continuously fiddling with my settings, and equally fiddling with the lens. They are find from the perspective, but because of the lighting I have changed the ISO setting to capture these creatures. They are lovely.
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Rolling through the 2nd week

Friday... right.

Here's a secret... I have been home all week, but haven't written here once.

There was a point in time that kind of almost maybe everything was written here, and now.. I just let the keyboard sit in silence, similar to myself. Although I am not that silent.

Here's a fact;

I do not like the family to be separated.

The husbandman and the Hamsterson took off on Tuesday for some guy camping. I wasn't really sure where these two boys were heading off to. I believed that they were going in the direction of Pemberton (prior to the music festival that was thought to bring in an estimated 40,000 people, but they were not two of that number). The husbandman talked of Hurley passes, and Duthie Lake & Harrison Lake Roads, and Lizzie Lake (which was shut down 4 years ago because the road in was impassable), but I wasn't quite sure where abouts these two granola guys were off too. All I could think of was their cooler as a Grizzlie bear attractant & this road that was next to a steep cliff that ended in a lake. I don't even know the name of the lake, and while it is beautiful country up there, I didn't like my two favourite boys out and about to who knows where. It was a good thing that I worried lots, because they went as far as Birkenhead Lake .
They are back, safe and sound, and with pictures even. The husbandman abandoned his great explorations due to a rattling sound that would have created ill effects to his beloved jeep. It would have had greater ill effects on the mother, who would have been driving the back roads of Whistler & beyond looking for them in the indigo blue Mazda 5.

In other things clean:

The PIPPY and I spent TWO days cleaning out her room. She is now going to have a ONE person yard/garage/tag sale on Saturday. That is scary. AND to think that I have already unloaded her room of a couple of garbage bags full of precious items back in April. She hasn't noticed the removal of these precious items, so we are none the worse for wear. Along with the cleaning her room, it was more a whole WHACK of organizing that went on. A huge amount of her precious items were interspurced with other playsets. So we have reorganized the playsets with the corresponding feature homes, furniture, & appliances to keep things organized. NOW, the killer... all the money she has spent on her webkins which are currently sitting at the bottom of her stuffed animal box.. and she is in love with her beanie baby & groovy girl. I told her to sell her webkins at her garage sale.... but that will not be so.. as a look of horror came across her face.

Further than cleaning:

The PIP and I spent time painting her clay things that she made at her art camp a couple of weeks back. She came with me to my walking group, went tot the craft store, and we sat in Starbucks & drank coffee & hot chocolate. We moved on to sushi, where she ordered from the menu an item that I had no clue what we were getting, but she seemed to know exactly what it was... which made me laugh. we rented movies (27 dres.ses one night & char.lie bartlett the next night), ate twix bars & popcorn, and even drank the remaining rootbeer that the boys left behind. More importantly we spent lots of time bear watching, and we saw six bears on Tuesday & Wednesday night.. a pretty successful bear watching event. We ran errands to return pop bottles to pay for our breakfast at Whitespot, while we contemplated our next move for the day. I even did yard work while she milled about playing with her new found love the beanie babies. We still have her desk to go through, which is heaped with pencil crayons and other writing utensily like items, and of course pretty boxes to put things in. I am completlely grateful that her desk does not have drawers, as that would be very scary to try and go through that. On that note, she does have a eight drawered colourful bin trolley that is next to her bed, and we have not gone through that... but she claims that is where all of her precious items are, and there isn't anything that possibly should be put in the garbage from there. I told the PIP that I do not believe her and her blond ways. It doesn't matter, there have been huge accomplishments made already.

The lucky part of this story is... anything that doesn't get sold on Satuday will be shipped away on Monday.. those people that pick things up are coming on Monday, so all I have to do it bag it up and leave it on my front porch. Now that is magic.

I will see what adventures happen over the next couple of days... surely I should have an adventure to share. Hopefully I will get some decent photos to splash on this space. I have decided yet again that I do not like my lens that I got from air.miles. I really do not like it. I am not sure if it because perhaps somehow it is not compatible with my Nikon, or what.. but I do not like it. However; I keep using it because it gives me a bit more range when capturing my great black creatures. The lens that I like is a 18 - 135 mm, and the sigma is a 55 - 200 mm lens. But I am not sure what the deal is... the pictures I take somehow come out a slight bit blurry, and when you are shooting the wildlife every second counts. Even though I took pictures of almost still life the other day... (the boys in the jeep).. those pictures didn't come out with a nice sharp tone to them. ( I had it on the STUPID button too, just in case...) Anyways... I am moving on.

Monday, July 21, 2008

Real mother

Do youthink a real mother would have at attempted to feed her family something at least by 6:50 in the early evening?

I can not possibly be a real mother.

Some days it just isn't evident that I am the brightest brick on the block. I guess because I am not hungry, and it is lovely and warm out... therefore everybody should be the same.

I am certain I am not a real mother.

Currently the PIP and her friend are busily painting their new wooden furniture that they have built. I am not hearing any huge complaints about dinner, with the exception of ONE question, and that is if we were having dinner. At this point I am not sure....

Clearly I am not a real mother!

OH... PS... Chas... you have disappeared.... 24 weeks and disappearing makes for nervous readers. I hope things are going alright for you.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

First weekend GONZO!

This was the first of my three weekends off.

It has been lovely and warm, and full of nothing. (AND that is not a bad thing).

In other things useless:

ME.

My tasks.

My newspaper reading.

My cough.

My watering chores.

In things exciting:

I saw a bear tonight. He was lovely and doughy looking.
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I started cleaning the girls room yesterday.... and didn't bother starting back up today. SHE decided to start in DOING THINGS... so I most excitedly let her at it. Somehow I am thinking that this room cleaning is going to lead to a garage sale. I am going to have to hunt down some junk from our home to add to the mix... that way it will look like something.

I have managed to secure some project time with her and myself this week. That should be fun, imbetween the demands that I HAVE to take her out for food. Somehow she just loves that.

I am hoping that the headache caused by the coughing will dissipate soon. It is just annoying. Even holding my head to stop it from throbbing about doesn't help. I won't talk about the even more annoying situation of what coughing does. Now that just plain PISSES me off.

But.. I will not leave on a sour note.... the boy and I were doing some casual mirror measuring of our heads. He's probably three inches taller than me... the little rascal! My once cute little 'BOBE-DEE', who now plays the piano on demand.... where did the days go???

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Wildlife watching



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The drugs have started working!

The hissing growling & gurgling have settled now. It only happens when I sleep, so I do not notice it as much.

so ... a recap of the week....

Children at camp.
My accomplishments = zero.
The husbandmans = a cement wall constructed.

I did go out yesterday afternoon with the crazy sister and bought the kids a new pair of summery shoes. Pink & orange for one & black and green for the other. Just take a guess which was for who!

Our friends came over. That was a delight. I am a challenging invitee... as I invited, and then emailed to uninvite but to reinvite for Saturday, but then when they came on the original invited Thursday it all worked out anyways. I think I even said something that would the KING would BBQ. But that didn't happen, and we ordered out for Sushi. It was all quite lovely. We saw bears, listened to the boy play his piano songs, drank wine, tim hortons & ate strawberry shortcake. AND, it was beautiful and sunny out. This all took place even though the KING had not built his wall as he had fully intended, and we are all alive to talk about it.

I saw a momma and her cub last night, but they were far into the field, so there were no pictures to capture.

I have a cool picture of a monarch butterfly to put here... I just have to take it off my camera first. I think I will quite like it.

In other things that I quite like:

I am off from work for the next three weekends. That is pleasant.
Someone called me about a job yesterday. I think I might remember applying for this job... sometime last year. Now there is a score for you!
I am finally feeling motivated to help the PIP start cleaning her room. I have currently laiden the hallway with what looks to be yard sale items.... but that is not the case... her room has just simply exploded!

The girl has currently left with the husbandman in the jeep to go buy lumber materials. This is right up her alley. Of course she was perfectly outfitted with all her pink & oranges to be beauiful and lovely at the lumber store. Life as a beauty queen.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

How does this happen?

I started feeling very tired on Saturday, which progressed to Sunday, and beyond. But that is par for the course on the weekends, because I am always up late on Fridays & Saturdays, and those are the only two days I work.

I thought something was amiss when Monday rolled around and the kids were off to summer camp. I had my invisible list of great things to do, and yet.. I didn't seem to have any energy to do them. I decided to watch the news at noon, and think about the jobs that I had to do. Eventually I managed to do many things that day... but by 4:30 in the afternoon the couch in the den called to me, and that was it. Tylenol was starting to be my best friend.

Tuesday was just about the worst. Of course I started off by going to my walking group. This was a painful process. Then I watered the flowers outback. And after that I had to make my way out to Pitt Meadows to get my car all oiled up. This was a pleasant experience. I sat in my lawn chair, read my really bad book, chewed on mints & drank crystal light. I was thrilled when they were finally home... as I was only praying to find my place back on the couch. Which I did, for 45 minutes, before I had to go back and get the children. Today Tylenol was my extreme best friend, and I was once again praying for the 4 hours to pass, so I could take another couple of easy swallows, and feel good for another two hours.

Today, I was thinking! I didn't bother taking the kids to camp, nor did I bother to even get up before they went to camp. I even took Tylenol before even thinking about getting out of bed. The only thing I did right was call the Dr's office for an appointment, if I could get one. Luck have it.. I did. So me and my severally aching self are kind of on the mend, after all I have had ONE antibiotic.... I am waiting to take another magic pill for 10:00... so I can start feeling better.

All this because the little Pipster coughed in my face while I was putting her to bed. That Pip... the gifts she gives, a lovely summertime pneumonia....it makes you feel so alive...NOT!

Monday, July 14, 2008

Day one of silence

The kids have gone to summer camp today.

It is just me, the TILL, and the homerenovating HUSBANDMAN.

He is currently cutting up concrete. Too much work for this girl to think about. He on the other hand takes it all as a challenge.

We were talking about the project yesterday afternoon. He said he didn't care if this project wasn't done until spring. AND... I have to admit... either do I! The real reason behind this is it doesn't really affect me in any way. He is building another family room. But until it is done & he breaks the wall in the kitchen, it will not matter. It's all work that doesn't affect my living space. AND you know... I have a hard enough time keeping this little house clean.. let alone another room to keep tidy & in order.

For the meantime... I am listening to BANG BANG BANG... I'd rather that than scowling children.... oh yes... that's right .... they are at summer camp... until 4:00.

Tuesday, July 08, 2008

chicky, wood & windows



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the sunny weather has held me...

at bay!

OK... be prepared people... things could get quite random here.....

No, not really. But as always.. I am busy... how can one be so busy... I am not sure, but I am.

I think I should drink some wine... that will slow down time, only for a moment.

All last week I worked on a slide show for my friend.... it turned out that the slide show was about 12 mb too big for a CD. Now I do not want to try to save it as a DVD, because I have already saved it as a CD... what the hell do I do now... other than going in... cutting some pictures, and chopping up music, and re editing all of the captions. OMG... an incredible amount of work here people...

Tomorrow... come HELL or high water... I am going to insert photographs into some frames. I need to make this home look like it's lived, in actual people that inhabit it. I bought a frame a number o f months back , and it sits in our living room, waiting for life. NOW.. just yesterday I bought another frame... with even more pictures being required to give it life... so things could be challenging!

I might even wash my hair tomorrow. I wonder if it just does a whole cycle.. from clean & looking good, to less clean & starting to look bad, then to kind of ugly and shouldn't be out in public but yet I am, and then back to clean again because there is no movement left in the hair, and in fact it has taken on the appearance of straw. I think that is the stage I will be at tomorrow. Today for the first time ever in the history of my walking group (which adds up to a complete year now people!) I have worn it in a pony tail. It was semi perky, and still curly like. I know that because I checked in the mirror before I left. AND, I am still alive to talk about it.

The sky is lovely out there... and so are the mosquitos.... I might just remain in here, next to a lamp with my book... although I really want to be outside...but I know.. if I turn on any form of light... it will be a beacon for sounding the alarm that human blood is ready for the taking.

I have to read this book for next week.. and so far it isn't exciting me. there was just one woman that emailed the group that she was returning the book as she hasn't finished it... and we still have a full 7 days to complete it. On the other hand, another member has said it was the best book she has read. Interesting.

OK, onto things that are way less interesting but I must tell anyways....

i.Stock.photo actually accepted one of my photos. Yae for me. Although the photo itself is one of many millions of similar photos, so who knows if it will ever get downloaded. I will wait and see if they accept other things that I have offered up.. and then I will try moving on to other sights to sell my wares. I have a feeling if it wasn't for the boy, and his miraculous memory, I would still be trying to answer the quiz! That freaking quiz took me forever! but now that I am in... it's just a matter of uploading my pictures, and then taking the rejections politely, and then learning from the people that are inspecting them.. whoever they are.

The sister has told me that if I even breathe a word of "I-S.... " to her in the slightest she is going to have a massive meltdown. Of course if I were to mention those same words to her husband... it would turn into an all night affair.... if that sounds remotely normalish.

I work one more weekend... and then I am off for THREE... THREE! Yes, THREE. That should be exciting... I think. I should make plans to do things on those days, as if I was home that would spread chaos into this little homestead I am sure....

Maybe my mother and I should go to the casino. We could linger their for hours, and then the whole world would be happy. I quite like the casino, yes I do. I don't even have to play. In fact.. if I do not play, I would still be happy as a clam. Well let me think.. are clams really happy? how do we know if they are happy...? Do their shells change colour, like a gecko-ee thing? Do the juices all foam up .. or what? Does their happiness have peaks and valleys? I s a clam less happy one day than the next.. like depending on the weather? Or how many bugs they trapped in one day? Where did we get that expression from.. because as far as I know.. a clam should only be happy if it's alive and living beneath the earth in the sands, and not being plucked from the deep dark depths by metal utensils, or being flung back to earth by the beaks of seagulls. Now back to this casino thing... I watch people drink at the casino. OK, I have to draw the line...I just couldn't do it... if I am the slightest bit "euphoric" feeling.. I could go all crazy and bet like a movie star, on a washed up has beens post rehab budget, and that wouldn't be good. but all the same... it's fun to think about the challenge. I can see how this casino business can become a bit of a love affair. I was talking to someone the other day that claimed they should go home... as they had dumped a lot of money into a machine. So I said my little piece of wisdom, and told the person that I always set a limit... and the limit is the limit, of course there is always room for a tiny bit more... but then when you play ONE CENT machines, and bet SEVEN CENTS at a time.. TEN dollars can take you places! I have to admit, it is addicting.. but you know.. I love it! AND... nobody can tell me otherwise! Hence the no drinking thing.... NOW that would be scary!

I haven't seen any bears in the past couple of days.. so that deeply saddens me. I love the bears! I was busily reading all about black bears again the other day... just so I can have a deeper understanding & a bit more knowledge about them. Of course it doeesn't help that I talk to them when I see them... and when I saw the mama bear... I told her to go and hide, and raise her cubs right, and be afraid of humans, because that ouwld be her demise... .then of course I took a bunch of pictures of them.

I wonder if ONE day my obituary might read that I was slightly crazy, but it was all good anyways.

OH, and in a time in our lives when it is nice to have friends.. we got another invitation to go out on Saturday night. Let me just clear the air... I have friends.. but my friends all have kids, and because of that reason alone it keeps you from maintaining friendships, it just does. couple that with the fact that the husbandman is a silent guy who works in a small office... so he does have some work buddies... but that keeps our social circle a little on the small side...so any invitation some days is a welcome one. It doesn't help that I work weekends, as it is a tad bit difficult to plan things.. other than in our neighbourhood, who is more than willing on most nights to have a gathering..which we frequently attend. All of my nursy friends have been replaced by younger versions of people, and then any others that are not younger, all have children... so there you have it...life on the crescent... and by GEORGE, I am certainly glad that we decided to live our life on the CRESCENT, rather than the DRIVE, as that would not have been a neighbourhood to live in... but rather just drive by.

Ok, moving on... I might do pictures next. Back in a moment.

Friday, July 04, 2008

At one point



During the day I said to the girl.... quiet... you are only here for your hair! I did manage to capture a couple shots of the happy beach children.. now that it is actually summer time here.
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