Thursday, April 3, 2014

Coconut bras are optional

Have been settling in to my 'at home' routine rather nicely, if I do say so myself. Sleep in, drink tea and read the newspaper, check out the online world, putter about the house doing minimal amounts of domestic chores, walk the dog, read, make an effort to put together some supper, visit with the life partner and then decide later in the evening to take on a project - scrapbooking, crafts, sewing, downloading movies to take north or something else online and go to bed late. In between I can run errands, have tea with friends, plan trips or….truly not have anything to show for the day. Ahhhh, bliss. It is wonderful to travel but…a rainy afternoon spent on your own sofa with a dog and two cats napping beside you and absolutely nothing you HAVE to do is hard to beat. 

Now today however, I have done a bit of clearing up as the cleaning lady comes tomorrow and she must have surfaces to clean. She opened the oven door last Friday, looked in disapprovingly and suggested I get some oven cleaner for her and I had to admit that….the oven is self cleaning. There is no way to replicate the look she gave me but I'm sure you can visualize it yourself without much difficulty. We've been 'moved over' in this house for almost eight years and I hadn't used that feature yet, so…I had to unearth the manual and attempt it. The instructions basically said to take out the chrome racks and press the button that says self clean. Complicated eh? I was a bit concerned about the part where it spoke of providing good ventilation and mentioned some birds are particularly sensitive to the fumes (likely canaries I thought) so they should be moved to another room. But it was actually not too unpleasant and when I wiped out the ash which was left, the oven sparkled. I hope for a good cleaning lady reception tomorrow. I got the shore captain to bring the step ladder down from the barn and clean the blades of the ceiling fan in the living room as per her instructions as well. None of us (except the pets - she is an animal lover and spoils them) are safe from her plans. I cleaned out the plastic storage container drawer this afternoon in keeping with the 40 bags in 40 days theme and wanting to have something on the 'done' list today. Speaking of houses and life hacks, here are some neat ideas:


This week I was awake in the night as the life partner had a belly bug which acted suspiciously like norovirus. He certainly didn't count himself lucky but one 45 min. bout is a mild version. When I mentioned about having the bug for hours (about 10 yrs when I worked in long term care) and lying on the bathroom floor thinking I was dying - he could 'vaguely remember'. One of us does nursing care and one of us avoids it - can you guess? He has made an excellent recovery and is back on his workaholic schedule again. And as he didn't give me the bug, he is still allowed to live here.

 There has been a great deal of media attention about healthcare this week as the government introduced Bill 37 which effectively means healthcare workers have lost the right to strike. This is because the NSGEU has pushed for nurse/patient ratios for safe care. A wildcat strike with a cease and desist order, then the legal strike today both of which were accompanied by pickets and demonstrations ensued. Presentations by nurses (many gave me goosebumps) to the committees in the legislature and lots of public opinion. It is amazing how many people state that the province cannot afford lower nurse:patient ratios but will be the first to drop Grammie in the ER as they are leaving for a tropical vacation - no worries that  the hospital per diem has to be paid by taxpayers. These same people would not hesitate to  phone the CRNNS (College of Registered Nurses of NS) if they felt an RN had not provided safe care (with or without just cause or even thought to the implications for this professional's license) to the aforementioned Grammie dump. The answer is simply to be found in science - all RNs must grow an additional arm. Those of us too old to do that will have to rely on cloning. It is a sad time to be a nurse in this province. I am glad to not be employed here but annoyed that the tax dollars I submit are paying for this circus. Capital Health the employer of the NSGEU nurses has made it mandatory that they all take a customer service course - big bucks spent - versus providing safe numbers of staff. Pretty clear they weren't interested in settling from the start. 

Yesterday I made my way to the bank just before it closed and picked up my Honduran cash (lempiras) which I'd ordered. Not a particularly popular order the clerk told me. No surprise. I also took my rolled coins, (which I save for a tropical nursing course) and after about five years I've managed to amass almost $200 so it's a good thing I have other sources of funding. As the central american mission date approaches I have managed to book myself overnight accommodation in Miami on the way down and back. Taking in to account all the negative reviews of facilities and services in Miami airport hotels + the strong Canadian dollar…I considered myself fortunate to have found room at the inn which includes a free breakfast, shuttle to the airport, and wi-fi with pool for under $115 per night while avoiding the poor reviews. It did take a bit of research. 

Last evening a travel buddy and myself planned our Boston gig for the Jimmy Buffett concert. Who are we kidding? It's all about the pre-concert (tailgate) party! Do you think it's the definition of greed to ask if Aeroplan miles can be earned on a flight booked with Air Miles? I mean, it is an Air Canada flight after all. Well, greedy or not…..don't ask, don't get.  I earned Aeroplan miles anyway on the taxes/fees as I paid with the Amex card which earns Aeroplan miles and will await the answer from Aeroplan. We went out for a late supper at The Lobster Shack and my travel partner treated me so life is good. I spent part of the morning watching videos of the pre-concert parties and now I'm a bit concerned about packing as I am hoping to only take a carry on and those grass skirts take up a bit of room:

Pre-concert party attire

I sent a message to my niece's husband, who's a Navy guy, about borrowing his coconut bra (which he had bought as a souvenir for my niece while on exercises a few years ago) if she agreed. He okayed the loan for sure but advised to not let it touch bare flesh so I think I'll pass. Boston in July is warm so I turned down the 'excellent wig' he offered as well. Think that Frenchy's will not disappoint when we go concert outfit shopping. The concert theme is surf boards. Learned today that the female steel drum band Chicks with Sticks will be playing as well. Good time ahead. 

 As I work my way through vacation planning, I found a nice link to some photos and since several of them are destinations we'll be visiting in September, I offer the link here:

 http://www.worthytoshare.net/seeing-popular-places-almost-surreal-6-seriously-shocked

Tonight the life partner and I watched the Mel Gibson movie Get the Gringo on Netflix which was predictable in both format and brutality but Mel did look good and I got to practice my Spanish. This is what passes as date night in this house and I'll take it. Time to turn the sleep apneaic on his side as the snoring is reaching NIHL levels and crawl into bed as I must be on deck for the cleaning lady or….she finds me housework to do. 
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