Home again - temporarily

Well we made it safely home on Sunday, arriving by 11 p.m. and of course back to work after not being able to sleep so still on Calgary time Monday morning. We had to break down and turn the heat on today so have finally admitted that the cold weather is coming and summer is over. Sigh. The air is burping its way through the pipes and the bathroom tiles are warm to the tootsies now though. The hibiscus was severely frost nipped as I left it in the veranda room while away so it is a sad reminder of the nighttime temperatures.

Last night I was checking up by phone on the neighbour who managed to end her summer by experiencing the Canadian healthcare system as she fractured her leg. She was managing with crutches and scooting around in an office chair. Pretty lucky that she has family to check on her as I’ve abandoned her with my traveling and catch up workweek in between.

Today was another day of pure insanity at the salt mines. I’m still not caught up from last week, the tech came to do fit testing late in the day (and this guy makes people with ADD look like they’re sedated) and everyone needed a piece of me – not that there isn’t lots to go around but…….people please, get a grip! Only three more days though until a two week respite from it. As my sister said when I called her tonight “well, lately you’re not hardly working at all” That may be, but it sure feels like it!

I stopped for groceries after work and have been baking as we have friends from the city coming for supper tomorrow evening after they’ve been at Whitepoint Lodge for a few days. Made a cranberry pudding, brown bread and cheese loaf and partially cooked the roast, as they’ll be home before I am in the afternoon. So I have been a busy girl.

I really should have been putting the final touches on the presentations as I need to print the speaking notes but there are only so many hours in the day. I showed the PowerPoint today to a co-worker who does historical reenactments and he advised me for accuracy of my titles / notes (just in case I get some reenacter expert in the audience) and he was impressed so that sounds good. I sent off some last minute emails to a former co-worker in PEI so we can visit in the Charlottetown p.m. and for clarifications of my CB buddy and francais daughter. Only six more sleeps now until departure.

As if I don’t have enough exciting things to write about, my travel partner of next week who lives up the road about 3 km, coincidentally enough across from my cleaning lady who is the neighbour being referred to – sent me this email today which was the only thing which caused me to smile all day:

The neighbour & I had an adventure of the country variety this am... I went to put compost in the cone, the lid was up & of course it was wet in there due to the rain.... guess what's coming next? There was a mewing sound issuing forth....a cat was standing, almost drowned, incoffee grounds & water... I called the neighbour to come see if it was hers. Armed with gloves, I tried to reach it, but arms too short, so she put on the gloves, as the poor critter mewed feebly, she reached in & hauled out - A RACCOON!! We shrieked & ran, like any girls would,what a riot! She, of course, accused me of knowing it wasn't a cat & letting her pull it up, but I really couldn't reach. The husband even came out to see. I lugged many buckets of warm water to sluice it off, it really is a little raccoon, & it is laying there in the sun now, still mewing & wheezing & half drowned. Don't know if it will make it, it seems quite weak, but at least it didn't drown in the compost. That's all the excitement I can stand today.

Since I didn’t hear anything since I’m not sure of the status of the critter but the shore captain thought it ‘likely won’t make it’ and he would know all about raccoons, as I’ll explain in a minute. It reminded me of the stories which were told after supper last week in Red Deer when we were entertaining the new man in daughter #1s life (well actually not so new as he’s a former schoolmate of hers from here working in the west to pay off his student loans while he studies at UNB with our youngest daughter but I digress) The shore captain was telling him about he and his brother taking baby raccoons to bed with them when they were small, among many other sorts of tales if you can believe it! The poor boy is still interested in the first born after seeing her parents. I spoke to the daughter in question this evening, as she was getting ready to go out for supper with him and his ‘push’ and girlfriend. As she said, “whatever a push is, I guess I’ll find out”. So no problema.