All good

Well, it's all good here. Daughter # 1 called with the good news that she had received a $1600 raise on Friday p.m. and this is particularly noteworthy as she's only begun the position in October so apparently they understand she's a good catch as well as we do.

The big news on the domestic front is (drum roll please)......we have a new cleaning lady who will start this Friday. She lives just down the road and is an immaculate housekeeper herself so it's a good situation for both of us. I only had to clean two hours on Saturday morning before she came down to find out where everything was. Yes, I know cleaning before a cleaning lady arrives is dumb, but I didn't want to scare her off before she even started. And what I'm describing as cleaning as picking up a coil of rope with moss hanging off it from the Man Cave, throwing surplus computer parts in the hall closet, getting the laundry hamper down so that the lid would close, that sort of thing - crises management really. And of course there is always the need to have surfaces to clean thus the 'evening before pick up' so I must get back into the routine.

I finished reading The Flying Troutmans and am passing it on to a fellow fan before the library due date. It is as expected, another great read by Miriam Toews and I highly recommend the few evenings it will take to make your way through it.

The fellow fan noted above is my most recent cruise travel partner who spent her Saturday in the very enjoyable exercise of shopping in the city with her future daughter-in-law, mother of the bride and attendants for the wedding dress. Apparently the exercise was successful as well as fun with THE dress being purchased, nice lunch at The Fireside and getting to know the female members of the wedding party. Now since my friend is the mother of only one male child this was a highlight event. With three females and one male offspring in this family I may have the chance to participate in various reincarnations of this activity.

I'm including evidence that I DID learn something at the camera workshop. The exercise in the photo on the right was to focus in on the foreground (branch) while capturing a fuzzy (sconce) background. All the shots I threw away, taught me even more things of course, the main one being that it will require a number of these sessions before I make sense of some of the concepts. I think I shall put my new skills to work to immortalize the advent type wall decoration we hang every holiday here. The oldest daughter sent a message asking "did Dad change the bear before he went lobstering this morning?" But as I told her - Dad was the bear before he went lobstering with the price hanging at around $3 per pound, even with his catches up a bit, there is no joy in Whoville this year. The wall hanging circa 1984 or 85 has a bear who searches for Christmas in various locations of his house and the right to 'change the bear' resulted in loud protests of who's turn it was, tussels on the stairs and surreptious early morning risings to 'be the one' a few years back.

I got a late call from the local school on Friday saying they had one box of oranges left from the citrus order if I wanted them - did I ever - headed right up there on my lunch hour to pick them up. I dropped in to Frenchy's on my way back and managed to score a new pink dress which will be great for the neighbour's summer wedding at White Point Resort, a new pink top, a Christmas print scrub top for the nursing student who will be working four hours on Christmas day at the local nursing home and a great holiday, handpainted silk tie which I'm trying to convince the future son-in-law he can give to his Dad for Christmas.

The cruise speaking offers keep arriving in my inbox and if I had more money and free time there would be many choices as to where I'd be spending the month of January. Top of the list would be the offering for the Celebrity Infinity (shown at right) which offers a two week cruise from Buenos Aires to Valparaiso Chile and then two week repeat return trip with description below with itinerary at left:

Destination-Related Special Interest Speaker in the areas of: South America Music /Art History /Cultural /Nature/Wildlife or Dance Duo. The opening is on board the Celebrity Infinity, visiting South America. There are two cruises. The candidate can do one or the other or both cruises back to back.

When I suggested to my last cruise travel partner that we should run away she replied that we could be the dance duo. Hmm.

For those of you with more time and money, I'm pasting some travel advice:

WHAT THEY DON'T TELL YOU ABOUT TRAVEL

Shanda Stefanson, DAILY TAKEOFF.COM Ask anyone who has travelled to tell you about their experiences and they will inevitably regale you with tales of the amazing things they experienced and how much they loved it. You may even feel inspired to travel yourself after hearing the nothing-but-good-things they have to say about it.

But before you set out, be warned that they are only giving you part of the picture, not out of a malicious desire to hide the truth from you, but from the natural human tendency to only remem ber the goods things that happen to us. Unfortunately, the rosy-coloured reminiscing of your friends will not help you prepare for the downsides of travel that will sneak up on you.
The Traveller's Learning CurveThe first time you travel, you will be terrible at it. While most people wouldn't think of travelling as something you can learn to do, I would definitely define it that way. It's like starting a new job. It's scary and unfamiliar at first, there are new skills to learn, new ways of doing familiar things.

From the little things like packing your backpack in a way that makes sense or figuring out how to buy fruit in European supermarkets (you can't just bring them to the till like you do in Canada), to the bigger things like budgeting your money or getting used to the pace and stress of travel, everything you do will be a challenge when you start out. You will likely be intimidated and scared by it, but as you get more comfortable with being in a new place every day and get the packing process down to two minutes flat, you will feel like you are indeed learning to travel.

Don't expect to be an expert right off the bat and the learning process will be part of the fun.
Travel Is HardUnless you're taking a three-week vacation on a beach, travelling is hard work. Add to that the jet lag that you're likely to be coping with and the strain of being far from home. It's hugely challenging, emotionally and physically, sometimes overwhelmingly so.

I can't count the number of times that little things like missing a train or breaking a shoelace have reduced me nearly to tears, mostly due to the sheer exhaustion I was dealing with. If you get to this point, don't feel guilty about taking a day to just rest. Stay in bed all day or spend the afternoon with a book in a familiar setting like a coffee shop to recharge your batteries. The rest of your travels will be much more fulfilling if you give yourself some time to recuperate, even if you have to cross some things off your itinerary. Nothing is much fun when you feel like a child on the verge of a temper tantrum.

Sometimes Travel SucksNobody will ever tell you about the bad times they had travelling, unless it's with the humourous spin that often comes with hindsight. But it's the truth. Sometimes travel really sucks.

You will get sick, you will get home sick, guide books will give you misleading information, you will lose your passport, borders will get closed, it will rain for weeks on end, cathedrals will be closed for renovations. Things will go wrong. There will be days when you will really wonder what the heck you're doing so far from home and wish you had never left. You'll then wonder what's wrong with you that you're on the trip of a lifetime and all you can think about is how much you'd love to eat a cheeseburger and crawl into your own bed. But don't worry; it happens to the best of us.

I wouldn't believe anyone who told me that every moment of every trip they've ever taken was perfect. It just doesn't happen. Don't get down on yourself for being down on travel once in a while. Let yourself feel that for a while, go to McDonalds, then suck it up and get back to enjoying yourself. The only way these crummy days will ruin your trip is if you let them ruin your attitude.

The Ups and DownsI am not trying to dissuade you from travelling -- far from it. It's just much too easy to forget the practicalities of it when you have your romantic vision of the perfect holiday in your mind's eye as you buy your plane tickets. In my experience, the pros far outweigh the cons and every trip, whether it goes as planned or not, is something that will teach you things you never even imagined about yourself, the world and about life. In fact, the fewer things that go to plan, the more memorable the trip can be.

But a realization that travel, like life, is not always a bowl of cherries will help you to be prepared to meet those little surprises with humour and the determination not to let them ruin your trip.

And for those of you who are getting a bit stressed about the holidays I'm pasting this article from today's Chronicle - and no I'm not on track with preparations, have to wait for the cleaning lady to unearth the surfaces to decorate remember?

Balancing elegance, budget Holiday gatherings don’t need to cost a fortune; keep focus on friends, family, togethernessBy ALEX WILLIAMS New York Times News ServiceMon. Dec 8 - 4:46 AM

NEW YORK — I heard a jingle. No, it wasn’t an angel getting its wings. It was my iPhone, carrying word that David Monn, the celebrated New York event planner, was on his way to meet me at Kmart.

I had called Monn with a challenge: to see if he could design a transcendent holiday dinner party for eight at my West Village apartment on a recessionary budget — say, $30 a head (or less than one-hundredth the budget he’s sometimes used to) for food, decor, everything.

Monn said he was game. Considering that he was just back in town from designing the lavish party celebrating the renovation of the Fontainebleau hotel in Miami Beach for 1,500 guests, including Gwyneth Paltrow and Sean Combs, the challenge seemed like handing the artist John Currin a can of Krylon high-gloss and asking him to spray paint a piece worthy of auction at Sotheby’s. But Monn insisted that the tanking economy was actually an opportunity.

"The thing about the recession is, it takes the pressure off," said Monn, 45. "It allows you to strip away all the stuff that’s not important and focus on what is: friends, family, togetherness."
Monn, however, probably did not understand how much he would have to strip away — for starters, everything I knew about holiday entertaining. Even with the domesticating influence of my fiancee, Joanna Goddard, whom I live with, my instincts as a party host seemed to freeze two years out of college.

Maybe with Monn’s help, I would do my part to rescue the holidays for others, and perhaps along the way, my own reputation as a host. But I would have to do it for less than some socialites spend on a spa treatment.

"When you have a budget, you have to think, ‘What’s going to make the biggest impact with the least amount of money?’ " Monn explained. For my party, for example, he decided on a "winter wonderland theme." This was not simple nostalgia for the days before global warming wiped out the holiday sleigh ride. Rather, he chose it because winter is white, and white is cheap.

A roll of quilting batting, for instance, to use as a tablecloth; a 500-sheet bundle of copy paper, which he planned to use to make delicate paper snowflake cutouts to suspend from my living room ceiling with fishing line. Cover them with glitter and dim the lights and they might as well be Steuben crystal.

Still, with only about $100 to spend on groceries, he said, we would have to keep things simple. For dinner, we would start with a pureed-chestnut soup. Perked up by a half-cup of heavy cream and a cup of Sauternes, that didn’t sound too austere, I thought, even if the ingredients were inexpensive.

On a tight budget, we couldn’t afford cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery down the street for dessert. Instead, Monn said, we would make do with an angel food cake from Food Emporium ($4.29). Slather it in store-bought frosting and dried coconut shavings, however, and who would know the difference?

And for the main course, he said, we would have potatoes.
Potatoes.

I could almost see my own skepticism reflect back at me, as if his face were a mirror. Yes, I thought, minimalism is sexy in flush times. But does it have to feel like a sentence in lean ones?
Monn assured me that these would be special, twice-baked potatoes, as big as brontosaurus eggs. Besides, throw enough dietary fat into a recipe, and that in itself acts as a form of antidepressant. We would, he said, "pull the inside out, and fill them with lots of stuff you don’t want to tell your doctor about — cream, sour cream, probably a pound or two of butter."
The toppings would be a choice of mushroom ragout and chili.

After ringing up $72 at the Kmart checkout counter, we headed to our next destination, Jack’s 99 Cent Store near Herald Square. Politely nudging through the clogged aisles of the deep-discount emporium, the dapper Monn reminded me of a late-model Bentley stuck in traffic. But he seemed in his element. Stopping at a wall covered in silver and gold Christmas ornaments, Monn lovingly handled an opaque plastic maple leaf that glistened with silver glitter.
"Simple and elegant," he said, as if reciting a mantra. They were 50 cents each. He loaded his basket with 20. He would find a use for them, he assured me.

With the groceries ordered, our shopping was finished — final price tag: $238.40.
On Saturday, Monn dropped by our apartment in the afternoon to set up the room. By the time he was gone, the snowflakes danced from our ceiling like a Calder mobile. Our battered dining table, hauled in from the kitchen, was covered in layers of white; it glowed like fresh snow at first light. He gave us a shot of parting advice — "Dress up a little," he said, "it’s free." And then he was gone.

Whatever else unfolds during this supposedly downcast season, I would venture to say that eight people have already accumulated five memorable hours.

What I don't know about...

A very busy and productive weekend - just think what I could do with some serious stay at home time eh? But unfortunately it's back to work in the a.m.

I started out with a massage, then after supper a glass of praline liquer and getting into the library book, The Flying Troutmans on Friday night - have to ease into the weekend you know. Had a message that there was a spot for myself and a friend at the camera course on Saturday so a quick call and we were both getting ready to go in the a.m.

Decided to head up early on Saturday morning so we could hit the loss leader sales at Canadian Tire - scored two boxes (8 place settings) of Christmas dishes for under $10 each. I have always wanted Christmas dishes for the past 30+ years but haven't been able to bring myself to the over $100 price tag. These are a great - holly pattern with large and small plates, bowl and mugs which are dishwasher and microwave safe - what more could you want? Also two wind up flashlights for $6 for both so these are his and hers vehicle flashlights now. As well, I found a Christmas wreath for $9 for the front door. I usually buy a natural one but you know, this one looks great and will be around for a while. Then we headed over to Zellers, to again hit the sales early and I picked up a set of four crystal champagne flutes for $14 as well. So a very productive half hour.

The camera course was wonderful and held in a great venue The MacKinnon Cann Inn, here's the website to check it out:
http://www.mackinnoncanninn.com/
The day went so fast, it was 4 pm. before we knew it. I think I'll need to take the course at least three or four times to grasp the concepts. It sure made me realize what I don't know about photography, my camera, and technology in general. Thankfully there was somone with a camera similar to mine who sat next to me and helped me. I eventually did get enough of the material to tell her that she didn't have to come home with me after all. We headed out on assignment at lunch and my friend and I followed a scruffy grey tom cat into his yard much to his chagrin and his owners amazement as we attempted to photograph him on macro. There is so much to remember that my brain hurt by the time we left. After I dropped my friend off I finished running my errands - an $80 blue Paderno kettle on sale for $30 and I earned Aeroplan points. Picked up a few groceries and headed home. A good day.

This morning I was up early thanks to someone looking for fish at ten to eight on a Sunday morning! Obviously it wasn't me they wanted but still felt the need to carry on a lengthy conversation on lobstering. As I mentioned to the Captain when he came home at suppertime - this was the first time in six days and it will be five more before I can sleep in again - so thanks a bunch. Since I was up so early I got started on my to - do list and have accomplished quite a bit, although it doesn't make me want to head back to work tomorrow.

Three loads of laundry, two loads of the dishwasher and putting my dishes and glasses in the china cabinet, making a Christmas photo decoration, hanging the wreath on the front door, bagging the refundables, emptying the garbage, cleaning out the hall closet then moving daughter # 1s boxes from the barn and vacuuming plus baking banana streusal muffins, cherry kuchen, supper as well as walking the dog. Now I'm all broke up.

A little more good news

Well another day and another good news announcement. Things are just on a roll lately. Today’s phone call from daughter # 2 brought the news that her main man had landed the job he was looking for at HRM as a planning technician. Our future son-in-law gets to use the degree he completed in April and earn a great salary at the same time. This is more significant as he’s a very socially shy guy and has had to work on his interview skills to accomplish this. He’s pretty used to us now after six years but I well remember how originally when he started coming to our place, he was terrified to be spoken to in case he had to answer someone. And of course they’ll be lucky to have him as he’s a smart boy, good worker and very loyal. The tickled pink couple were heading out for supper when I called to congratulate.

A further message from baby daughter elaborated that the nursing clinical “is this summer who-hoo” but no more details than that. So when, for how long, who else is going with her to Sweden etc. remains a mystery.

The weather is settling a bit this evening and lobstering and fishing are in the plans for the a.m. with the Captain moaning that it is still rough and he will have to “chase pots for miles tomorrow” and the prodigal son delighted to be heading out fishing as he has eye on a new truck. Of course the auto sales outlet is so desperate to move a vehicle that they actually allowed him to drive around in the half ton on Monday for the afternoon. That is clearly desperation personified.

Today’s noon hour email advised me of my new travel points balance which got me dreaming, then I found a message of a two day seat sale to Buenos Aires for only $255 each way with travel from now to April. The kicker was that add on costs were more than the base costs of the tickets bringing the total to $930. This however, is still an awesome price, for someone with free money that is.

Speaking of travel, the travel agent we use has a new website so I’ll post the url here for you to check out:
http://www.tpiworldwide.com/JenniferAtwoodTPI/
Jennifer is very good about matching others prices and searching for the lowest fares. Over the years she’s gotten us some good deals. And there are good links for travel advisories etc. if you poke around.

In case you are only pretending to travel to a warmer place I’m including a recipe for salsa dip, which I modified a bit from the Kraft posting – it’s yummy:

Salsa Creamy Dip
½ cup miracle whip
1 cup sour cream
1 cup salsa
½ cup grated parmesan
Mix together, chill and serve with tostitos

The workday otherwise was rather dreary as I was covering for two other team members, the place was full to the seams and just hopping. I didn’t blame who ever it was that had been job searching when the career postings for another health authority popped up on the monitor screen. The Director of Care at the attached nursing home told me that recruiters have advised her it’s unusual to have a potential employee agree to a two year sign on bonus contract, now they’re signing for one year and often for as high as $10,000. That is very close to what an RN earned annually in NS the year I graduated. Back in the day…I thought I was filthy rich to earn $14,000 per year by going north.

I consoled myself after work by stopping at Frenchy’s on the way home where I picked up a lovely pair of (previously) very expensive dress slacks, which alone would’ve made the trip worthwhile. I dropped off the article one of my summer neighbours had sent quite a while ago about Frenchy’s and I’ve been meaning to take it in, the ladies were really interested and took it out back for them to read. As well I found a sweatshirt, great Santa hat, which the Captain is planning to wear lobstering tomorrow (got to have your small pleasures) to show his buddies, three new zippers for now that I’ve remembered how to sew, and a great Boston Red Sox t-shirt for the man that was a complete hit. He had even made supper by the time I got home – the secret apparently is to wait long enough it seems.

More congratulations

Well, another week and another daughter to congratulate. Today's phone call from the baby daughter brought the news that she'd been advised she was a successful candidate to do her nursing clinical experience in......Umea, Sweden. Now the details will follow as there was no clarity as to whether it was six or eight weeks or even if was 2009 or 2010 when this would be happening, but according to the Wikipedia link below it looks like a nice little university city in northern Sweden:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ume%C3%A5

This will be a good adventure for a nursing student planning to work abroad after graduation. And of course she is following in the footsteps of her older sisters who have traveled, studied and worked in locations as various as Cuba, Paris, Quebec, Alberta, and California just to begin with. So not unexpected in our global family.

Today was beyond frantic at work so when the gas attendant asked how my day was I replied "rotten" and he was momentarily taken aback as he admitted that was the first answer of that description today. I had been taken to task by so many people by 2 p.m. that I was almost expecting it when an employee told me "that's right try to look busy" as I was pondering my note while I wandered along with a long list of tasks I had written down rather than try to commit them to memory. Brazen pup.

I received some relief in the form of a prior colleague who dropped in for a brief visit on her way to a moonlighting shift at the nursing home next door. Her black furry jacket was covered in white flecks and I thought 'it looks too warm to be snowing outside' when she explained her tardiness was due to a bad experience with a cream puff. As she said "you know that split second when you're going to do something and you think...maybe this isn't a good idea...and then it's too late?" I assured I knew all too well what she was talking about. Well apparently she picked up a cream puff at the market and then decided there was too much filling so she would throw a piece of the cream on top out of the car window as she drove. Now picture, she is doing 100+km and the wind is blowing at least 80 km and when she releases the lump...poof...it blows back over her hand, all up the sleeve of her warmup jacket (which she has had to jettison) and across her front. When I comment on the back of the winter jacket she says "oh no, that was in the back seat!" So can you only imagine what the interior of her car looks like? She has plans to sit on a garbage bag on the return trip home tonight she says. We were both hysterical as we munched on the nanaimo bars she had brought for our treat. She likely saved my (or someone else's) life this afternoon.

I had a tech email today which played right into my thinking of connectivity for traveling:

Is a Mini-Laptop Right For You?

Recently several companies have been coming out with a new breed of laptop, the mini-laptop. Weighing in usually at about 2 pounds and about the size of a trade paperback, the mini-laptop can be easier to carry around and can look pretty slick.

It seems to have started with the One Laptop Per Child project, where laptops were made smaller and cheaper, with a goal of selling for $100 per unit in third-world countries. Companies are now banking on the idea that they might be able to sell more if they strip down their laptops to the essentials, and offer these mini-laptops at lower prices. It does seem to be working. Some of Amazon's top selling laptops lately have been these mini-laptops. But are they worth the price, and can a mini replace your standard laptop?

Mini-Laptops: What Features Do They Have?

Most of the appeal in mini-laptops seems to come from the smaller footprint and the smaller price tag. Displays range in size from 7-10 inches, and typically include a built-in webcam. Generally, the minis weigh in at just 2-3 pounds, which is definitely lightweight. My Sony VAIO laptop weighs 11 pounds, for comparison. Most have wireless capability, a network jack and a couple USB ports, and an SD card reader for transferring photos.

Prices start at $299 for some of these bite size computers, but they're not going to do everything a standard laptop or desktop can do. So you can use them for basic tasks such as word processing and web browsing, but don't expect them to perform well as gaming machines or entertainment centers.

You should be aware that some of the low-end mini-laptops come with Linux instead of Windows XP. This does knock off about $100 from the price (Linux is a free operating system) but it rules out running any Windows-specific software on the machine. Of course Linux comes with a web browser, email program and word processing software, but there may be a bit of a learning curve since it's not what you're used to using.

Who Should Buy a Mini-Laptop?

Unfortunately, a mini probably won't replace your standard laptop or computer, unless your needs are very basic. Mini-laptops are really stripped down when it comes to hard drive space. Usually the amount of space is about 8 to 20 Gigabytes, but some have as little as 2GB. So you won't be able to store a lot of photos, videos, or emails.There usually isn't a CD or DVD Rom either, so you won't be able to use it to watch movies. In fact, you might not be able to use it for much else besides email, word processing and casual web browsing.

These little devices might be helpful, though, for the low-budget consumer who needs just the basics and wants a lower price. I can almost hear George Foreman saying "I'm NOT gonna pay a lot for this laptop!" A mini-laptop might also be a good idea for kids who don't actually need a full laptop.

One other group that might find the mini-laptop attractive is business travelers. I recently took my XO laptop on a trip and found that it was perfect for keeping up with my Gmail and visiting a few websites. For people who need high performance, through, you'll probably still need to stick with a standard laptop.

The Options: Mini-Laptop Mini-Reviews

So there are several versions of the mini-laptops currently available. The first is the Asus Eee PC 4G system. The price started at about $399 and it had 512MB of RAM. It's noted to be about the size of a paperback book and lightweight. It might be a little too small for most adults, the keyboard is really small. The company released another version of the Eee, that runs Windows XP and they made it slightly larger, and then the price went up a little too, to about $549. It is still on the small side though to keep it in the mini-laptop category.

Micro-Star International also came out with the MSI Wind, which packed on more CPU, 2GB of RAM and stretching the screen out a little, and then they gave it a mega 80GB hard drive. It is still supposed to sell for cheap at $399. Acer also has their own version with the Aspire One, still as powerful as the MSI Wind, though a little trimmer and looks good. It comes with Linux preinstalled and priced at about $400.

You'll also find the HP 2133 Mini-Note PC which is sleek looking, and is now boasting 120 GB of hard drive space and comes with Bluetooth capability. Dell also came into the mini-laptop market with the Inspiron Mini. The Inspiron also comes with Linux preinstalled, only 4 Gigabytes of hard drive space, but promises that you will get free online hard drive space from Box.com.

There are plenty of options in the various types of mini-laptops. Are they worth the money? You do get what you pay for. The lower prices means you will sacrifice some functionality and you might be limited on storage and power. However, it seems to be working well when marketed for younger kids, or for those people who really don't need all the extra features that standard laptop computers have.

On the home front the catch was better than last year's first day for the boys lobstering even though the weather was wild and they're not getting out tomorrow at all due to the gales. The likely low price and uncertainty of even having a market plus having a barge which was being towed from Saint John capsize in the middle of the lobster fishing area off Yarmouth with 70,000 litres of diesel fuel on board is not a good start to the season. There was one boat which sank off Yarmouth before even getting out of the harbour but all made it safely into the liferaft and reports today of a hired man who was recovered after he fell overboard and hung onto the side of the boat. As the prodigal son said "Dad's trying to wear me out, I'm all broke up after today's racket and I'm only 21" So all hands have turned in by 8 p.m. as the wind rattles the windows and I wait for the brown bread to be done.

Snow all weekend

Well I did not get to the digital camera workshop as the major snowstorm we had Friday night prevented travel (well actually I got stuck in the driveway first thing) and it has snowed off and on all weekend resulting in about 30 cm in our area. Walking the dog has meant snowsuit, lined boots, mittens and scarf and the dog has to chew the snow balls from between her webbed toes when we get home. The forecast is for milder temperatures with rain this week so the winter wonderland will likely be short lived. And I have my name on the waiting list to do the camera workshop next weekend. So I have restrained myself from searching last minute cruise speaker requests.

I managed to get some baking done (brown bread, peanut butter cookies, lemon pie, cherry kuchen most of which are now gone) due to my being grounded so that pleased the men going to set lobster traps in the a.m. The forecast according to the shore captain (soon to be wheelhouse captain) is "ok for tomorrow and fairly good early on Tuesday, snotty after that" I am resisting the temptation to translate that into knots of wind as it will do me no good to worry. The prodigal son who is going to assist with lobstering (as the weather forecast doesn't allow for a fishing trip) even went to bed at 8:30 p.m. so as to be rested up.

Due to mechanical problems, Saturday was spent installing two new batteries in the lobster boat - these require two men and a boy (literally) to lift them into the engine room - and resulted in the boy backing into a light bulb and singeing his hair, skinning most of his knuckles in the cramped quarters. After all this the decision was that the starter wasn't functioning. After convincing a diesel mechanic to make a wharf call and install a new one, things are just fine, except for the $1200 bill of course.

This weekend I managed to get a bit of sewing (almost forgot how) and scrapping done as well as reading some in Cruise Ship Confidential which is like the Nanny Diaries, Kitchen Confidential that sort of a read. What a hoot! Haven't caught up on correspondence, housework even though I had the best of intentions. And what do you know? It's time to go back to work in the morning so I guess it won't be happening this weekend either.

Congrats Miffy

I usually attempt to post to the blog at least once during the week – depending on the schedule and my stamina and tonight I’m determined to get a message up, as there is a good news announcement.

Daughter # 2 or our French daughter as I often refer to her has been awarded a major scholarship, which will fund her entire Bachelor of Education. There is a contract to be signed agreeing to work in the province for two years, not a problem and the added benefit of being guaranteed a job. Now that is exciting. Recognition from an outside agency for your offspring is always nice but money is even better, especially when it’s tuition times two for a couple of years. Makes the hard work of studying easier to take. Congrats Miffy.

Work lately has been absolutely hateful – and that’s the understatement – when the end of the day comes I feel like I’ve been released from the detention center and am trying to walk casually to the car rather than running yelling yippee, yeehaw I made it over the wall. I have to travel to the district facility tomorrow so even more painful. Sigh.

After supper I made three attempts to show the shore captain some photos as he’d expressed (some) interest in a slide show. After he took the third lengthy call which were all repeats of discussions of a) lobstering, markets, regulations, meetings, weather, and bait b) deer hunting, who’s gotten one, those spotted, days at camp c) fishing, crew, gear, quotas, meetings etc. and was talking on the cordless phone while I held out the cell phone - I called the show off due to lack of interest/participation on the part of the audience. As I told him – when he was in at camp the phone rang once for me in that whole five days. Bliss.

Well off to get settled as the brown bread is baked and so am I. Just a few diversions.
The first is a museum of velvet paintings, where I’m sure you can find one of Elvis:
http://www.velveteria.com/

This is a site called Leila’s Hair Museum, so you just know it’s going to be good:
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/11479

And finally to really reward myself for making it through the week, I’ve signed up for a digital camera course for Saturday. Got to figure out that lovely birthday gift.

Rainy weekend

It is a very windy, rainy Sunday morning but I am consoling myself with a cup of Lady Hannah tea and the fact that I can get online again. As I said to the Aliant tech (Lisa from Newfoundland) that I formed a close relationship with last night after over an hour on two calls with her to re-establish my dialup connection – it’s bad enough I only have dialup, now that isn’t even working! I had first accused the shore captain of laptop sabotage but it hadn’t even been out of the case in my absence. In fact he said “I thought you took it with you”. The final possible diagnosis (after resetting winsock and going to a C: prompt – haven’t seen one of those for a while) was some sort of malicious spyware, which rearranges files. I run an antiviral program and when I was online Tuesday p.m. there was an alert which popped up saying that Norton had intercepted a suspicious file. Apparently that must’ve been enough to corrupt some files and affect the dialup.

The man of the house called home to tell me that CBC radio had a piece broadcasting on antibiotic resistant organisms. After several calls back and forth where I finally decided I can’t get the signal for CBC Radio 2 on Sirius or the regular station here he instructs that “you can go out and listen to it in the car” Now as I plainly told him “I spend my entire work week dealing with this issue as people either ignore or attack me on the subject and you think I should sit in a rainstorm hearing it?” before I hung up. When he arrived home he had the gist of the story (except for the microbiological names) correct it seems and (after checking out the radio and deciding that I WAS right about the reception) he proceeded to enlighten me on the topic and was purely amazed at my knowledge of the subject. After 35 years in healthcare and hand washing, I might have learned a thing or two I guess.

Attended an infection control conference on Thursday and Friday and in response to the question “did you have a good time?” the only response is “consider the topic, now what do you think?” It was a good session, I won a door prize – a nice Christmas candle (LED so I can actually use it here with the cats); one of the sales reps took us out for supper at The Fireside and I had a nice visit with daughter # 2 so not a complete loss. But enough shop talk.

Yesterday a friend and I finally got together to have a great lunch at Charlotte Lane Café and as well it was the Annual Christmas Crawl in town so we made it a full afternoon and made the rounds. Found a few cute things – for me – including a Brie baker, I mean if you’re going to indulge yourself it may as well be in style, a nice pair of fleece mittens and a candleholder. As well, picked up a nice pewter kitty tag for Stanley’s collar (as he’s the least likely to lose it) and some cute holiday clothespins to hang Christmas cards on. We stuffed all the nibbles into ourselves (as we had appetizers, soup/salad, and desserts for lunch) and sampled all the punch, cider, and cranberry sparklers as we went along. So good to get caught up while enjoying ourselves.

Had a chat with daughter # 1 who was dealing with her boyfriend’s cold (no he wasn’t terminal just felt he was) which we decided is not a fun way to spend the weekend. The follow up call was that he had overmedicated himself with cold remedies – no - taking double amount does not make the cold go away in half the time. She wasn’t impressed with his theory and had invoked the ‘nurse mother call’ to settle the argument.

Well off this afternoon to see my sister’s new addition to her house, visit with my great niece who is staying for the weekend and pick up some groceries before heading to a community potluck supper, which has been scheduled before lobstering, as all mixed gender gatherings will be missing the male component after next Monday.